The Sun.
London, England, 1813-04-02 00:00:00

INDIA SHIPPING.

TO THE EARL OF BUICINGHANISHIRE.

My Loan,
Having read most of the arguments urged
by the advocates on both sides of the momentous
luestions arising out of the renewal of the East
ndia Company's Charter, which now so se-
riously engage thetatte-ntion- of the commercial
world, and particularly that which relates to THE
3111 P-IIU ILDING INTErIESTS of this country, I take
the liberty of requesting your Lordship's most
serious attention to that branch" of the subject,
which has been so much overlooked:

There is a respectable body ormerchants in this
country, termed East India •Agents; having their
foundation in mercantile houses established in
ASia, Who having been. some years endeavouring-
to Ai-cc the Etst India
s(ompany to employ India
built ships in preference to ships built in Great
Britain; and who, from their extensive connee,
dons and opulent fortunes, acquired is their spe-
etdations abroad, have-obtained a very considerable
influence in the important line of Asiatic cOin--
meree, and even in the higher circles of this coon=
try ; therefore, in'.7proportion to the. zeal they.
manifest on this occasion, for the furtherance ,o'f,
their individual interest, and the political power
they possess; those' persons who feel that the
trite interest of t e enintry lays i,n purstiing. that
line Of legi nation. which has for its object the ex-
ttiusive and permanent benefit of the people at
larg'e, should sedulously..attc-!nd to this question,
us it relates to the manufacture of Ships in Great
Britain, that important. branch of trade upon.
which so much depends in this Maritime State.
It is muloubtedlV true, that the Means of build-
ing inn! ccitiiiTing, Ships; are abundant in Asia,
am! the price of labour so low, •that it is impossi-.
ble for the builders in this country to compete'
with thwe in India, who, besides possessing these-
physical advantages, are not called upon to eon-
tribute one iota to the taxes of this country ; and
it is not one of the least aggravatindeirctunstances,.
in the propositions presented by Lord Castlereagh,
for the consideration of Parliament, that thema
-
nufacturers of silk, hair, and wool, shonkl 'be
speciaiilly guarded, whilst the manufacturers • of,
Ships are not only left out, but absosutely,
threatened that British built Ships shall not have
the privilege of trading from port to port in India,
or front thence to China and other 'countries,
whereas India ships are to enjoy that right, as well
as all the others which British ships..now possess.
This protecting " the loons," and discarding " the
sail," is such a stride that certainly never will be
permitted by the 'legislative guardians of the realm.;
and it is possibly only thrown out for the purpose
of eventual relinquishment, that the other object,
viz. obtaining generally British Registry, for Inditt
built Ships; may be less strenuously opposed,

The law certainly allows at present, •by a very
recent innovation, that ships built in India are
entitled to British registry upon equal terms With
ships built in Urcat Britain, or our Ameri-on co-
lonies ; and it is difficult to convince those, who
only look superficially into -the subject, that it'
ought not to ne So ; or that it can affect the ma-
nufacturers of this country in any degree ; for it
appears but just that one colony (although the
territories in Irdia Italie never, until very lately,
been contemplated in that light) should enjoy
the saw* immunities as another but if the cfi
cninstances of the case are so widely diffe-
rent, that a privilege 'granted to one cnhany
should be utterly subversive of the 'interest
of the inothet :country, whilst the same privilege
granted to another colony possesses a diantetticallY
contrary effect ; the general principle ,must be
given up, and the benefit of the .Parent State
shonlil be the pyimary consideration--,-That the
cases ate dissimilar" in a most material point of
view, is clear by the following statement : the Shin-
builders of this country entertain •no'apprehen7
skins from the rivalry -of the British Ainerican
Colonies, for ea-:American 'labour is -very expen-
sive, and theOnterials very inferiOr, the difficulty standing in, enmpetitioti is 'not 'considerable
besides which the American Ships are geneadly Of
the smaller classes, and by their rapid decay (Af-
ford a quick succession of employment to. the
EngliTh.artizans to repair them ; and-they are, in
common with all British-built ships, restricted
from expending in a repair more than U.:J.:. per
„ton .in 'any foreirn port, upon paM of forfeit-
ing their register. On the .contrary, Asiatic
labonr is extremely"cheap, the manufacturer con-
tributes nothing in taxes, and the materials are
; plentiful and durable ; the Indio intik 'ships which
may be sole! for general purposes will notlfforci so
ninth emplOyment in their repairs and refits as the
Anierican ships, and. thine which trade, direct ,
from India- will return to thpir own,parts to'repair
the English Ship-wrights do therefore certainly
regard them as formidable rivals, -.even in this,
limited point of view. • It is' no more the fault of
the English thot they cannot build as cheaply as',
the Asiatics, than it is the fault of the British
Weavers that' they cannot cnmpete, with cheap,
conuti•ies ; but notwithstanding till the disadvan-
tages- the English Builders labour under, and
they are nt- Wier. few nor swill, the itiferenee
of price to the consumer, Whether the ear. 2
RN. brought bottle in. the acciistomed
in . British built' ships, which afford .einpio:,
went :for so.: sunny thousands of persons con -
cerned in the various branches connectel with
them, yielding to the country the benefit of the
taxes upon ail the articles 'consumed by them,
and participation in the profits arising from the
Ynnuerous trades engaged ; or in vessels,
front which no advantages re!nat to the :Parent,
State, is so-trivial, anti Isol even to .be limbed ;
if-Wee-4
hasnot yet appeared that the F.,;!st
Company, have been enabled to !wee, the frtights,.
by employing India built ships ;- and Were. ir PPS':
is the only difference of price-which
is to heyeekoned'; fer hvßrit idt bilk ships the
'Vvhole freight of tea' dpi' not amount to three-
pence..-rer pound, and the most sanguine Cal-
culator couht not proffer the hope -of a retitle-
Goa of more than one, farthing per- pound tipon
that article, or epon twenty:- yards of cloth,
Or a notind rf silk; ,Shall we then be told, for such
itisignificant- saving, we ought to hazard the
best:atilt most vital interests of the State? for its