The Sun.
London, England, 1849-03-13 00:00:00

navigation-laws were suspended, and when the St. Lane-
rence was blocked up with ice. Next came the case of
the West Indies. Hon. Gentlemen opposite were fond
ptaising the sagacity of Lerd Harris when his
views were favourable to their wishes; but it was only
a very few clays ego Government had received a dispatch
from that Noble Lord, in which he declared the naviga-
tion-laws were impeding the prosperity of Trinidad. It
was true no great complaints had come from Australia
or New Zealand as yet; but when any one recollected
the baay nature of their produce, he must expect that,
at no distant period, representations of the gravest cha-
racter would be made by them as to the restrictions im-
posed by the navigation laws. The next portion of
those restrictions referred to our carrying trade
and to the long voyage. The opponents of
the measure were too apt to take it for granted
that the people of this country were free agents in the
matter, and that their concessions were merely gratuit-
ous. No one could look to the foreign correspondence
on the table with, nit seeing that such an idea was a com-
plete delusion. Hon. Gentlemen said they thought no-
thing of threats from Prussia; and the conviction had
been expressed to-night with respect to Russia, that the
Government of that country would not dare to retaliate,
on account of the restrictions placed on her commerce
by Great Britain. That was a most unsafe nay of rea-
soning. Nations, like individuals, acted from passion;
and it was not safe, when just and equitable demands
were made by foreign powers, to resist them on such
grounds as the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Herries)
had urged. The Right lion. Gentleman, whose state-
ment he had heard with great astonishment, had pro-
nounced a glowing panegyric on the Government of
Belgium because they maintained, protection for their
own people. If oilier countries were to follow the ad-
vice
-of Belgium, what would come of the foreign corn
merce of this country—what would come of its carrying
trade? With respect to the long voyage trade, it was
the interest of a country like England to fetch the main
articles she required for her own purposes from the
prime sources. An English ship would not go to
llavre for cotton or to Hamburgh for sugar, but
to Charleston for the one and to Cuba for
the other; though for alpaca, or cochineal, or such
articles, it might be well sometimes to go to a port
which was not i❑ the country of production. It was the
interest of continental countries to come to England for
commodities, instead of proceeding to the country of
production; and the effect of the Right Hon. Gentle-
man's policy would be to cast off England from the posi-
tion she now held as the great depot for other countries,
without securing to her any countervailing advantages.
Of all the evils conjured up by Hon. Gentlemen the
strangest was, that the shipbuilding interest would be
affected. A case might be more easily made out for the
cotton manufacture; for the necessity of bringing the raw
material from the other side of the world would furnish a
very plausible argument to prove that England could not
compete in the cotton manufacture with foreign coun-
tries. But, it was hard to understand what ground there
could be for such an argument with respect to ship-
building. Of all countries in the world, this country
had the greatest choice of timber. The Right Honour-
able Member for the University of Oxford (Mr. Glad-
stone) strongly urged the Government to remit the
timber duties. He (Mr. Labouchere) would be as
glad as the Right Honourable Gentleman to see them
removed. Such a measure would be most useful as re-
garded not only the shipping interest, but the commu-
nity. But if the Government were unable, in the pre-
sent condition of the revenue, to make a breach in the
Customs' duties, that afforded no reason for the post-
ponement of the Bill before the House. It had been
stated, by a commercial deputation, that on a Prussian
ship built at Stettin, the duty on the timber imported
added no less to the cost than 9 per cent. ; while the
duty imposed hero was estimated by Mr. Wigram at 6d.
per ton. He (Mr. Labouchere) said nothing against
their removal ; but no argument could be drawn from
their pressure against the removal of the navigation
laws. The Hon. Member for the University of Oxford
while he generally supported the principle of the bill,
stated that in some respects he took a different view of
the question from the Government, that he thought the
right course was to imitate the course taken by Mr.
Huskisson, when he entered into reciprocity treaties,
and that he proposed to adopt a system of what he called
conditional relaxation, that is, to act on a principle of
strict reciprocity. He (Mr. Labouchere) would deeply
regret if the House were to adopt the suggestion of the
Right lion. Gentleman.—(Hear, hear.) They would be
taking a moat shortsighted and erroneous view of the
policy of this country if they followed that advice. A
closer examination would show him that the authority
of Mr. Huskisson took a totally different direction from
that which the Right Hon. Gentleman supposed. It was
he (Mr. Labouchere) who, in pint of fact, was able
to refer to that authority. It was true Mr. Huskisson
entered into reciprocity treaties, on the ground of equa-
lity of duties and dues. But was that all he did ? On
the contrary, there were large branches of trade
which Mr. Huskisson, for the first time, threw open to
other countries, retaining to the Crown, as the Govern-
ment proposed to do in the present instance, the right of
retaliation. Mr. Huskisson absolutely took off the pro-
hibitions from the importations of goods from the Ne-
therlands; he relaxed the law so as to allow the ships of
foreign countries to import goods as from the countries
of which they were the produce. He opened the colo-
nial trade to its present extent. The Right lion. Gen-
tleman, therefore, was not correct in stating that Mr.
Huskisson went on the principle of strict reciprocity;
for, on the contrary, Mr. Huskisson went on the prin-
ciple of opening those trades at once. He (Mr. Labou-
chere) altogether objected to a system which would
make a foreigner the legislator for this country. That
system might be tolerable in the United States, but was
scarcely practicable in a country like England, with
complicated interests and indisposed' colonies, whose
interests, again, were greatly diversified. He totally
differed from the Right Honourable Gentleman as to
such a system working with respect to the colonies.
Lord Harris had spoken of the importance to Trinidad of
opening communication with France and Spain, which
were the countries least likely to give England a share
of their colonial trade. Should Parliament on that ac-
count refuse a measure which was for the advantage of
the British colonies? Further, it must be observed that
retaliation was by no means reciprocity. It was desir-
able that this country in admitting other countries to
compete with her ships should adopt any course likely to
induce those other countries to act with equal liberality.
But he very much doubted whether the c curse proposed
by the Right Hon. Gentleman would tend to that result.
If the United States imposed a duty of two dollars the
ion on British ships, England might retaliate by putting
the same duty on American ships. But if the United
States put a 10 per cent. ad valorem duty on goods im-
ported in British ships, 10 per cent. on the American duties
would not be the same as 10 per cent. on the British;
for the American had a high tax and this country had a
low tax; and there existed no means of applying the
principle of reciprocity. It would be most inconvenient
for a country like England to adopt a self-acting princi-
ple such as that. That was a position in which
England ought not to be placed; and he trusted
that the House would weigh well the matter before adopt-
ing the advice of the Right Hon. Gentleman. Notice
had been given of an amendment which would bring this
question under the consideration of the Committee; but,
although he might have anticipated that such an amend-
ment would be moved, he certainly was somewhat asto-
nished at the quarter from which the notice of it had
proceeded.—(Hear, hear.) It had been said that, if the
change which the Government proposed should be car-
ried into effect, the British shipowner would be placed
at a disadvantage if he were not allowed to man his
ships from all the nations of the world. "Without wish-
ing to anticipate discussion upon this point, he might be
permitted to observe that the grievance indicated was
rather nominal than real. At the same time it was for
the House to determine whether a vessel should be held
to be a British ship and entitled to British protection
merely because it had a British owner and the British
flag flying at the masthead, although it were commanded
by an American captain and manned by an American
crew. It was contended that danger would ensue from
dispensing with the necessity of shipowners taking ap-
prentices; but shipowners had au interest in taking ap
prentices voluntarily, as was evident from the fact of the
number of apprentices on board our maritime marine,
amounting at present to 33,000, whereas by the compul-
sory enactments of the law it was not necessary that
there should be more than 22,000. One word as to the
effect of the present measure on the maritime power of
this country. No one could deny that a great commer-
cial navy was the only foundation of a great military
navy. The position of England would be insecure if she
did not possess a great seafaring population employed in
the mercantile marine. This had nothing to do with the
question of impressment; but he contended that if the
Bill was calculated to increase commerce, it must of ne-
cessity foster and encourage the growth of a mercantile
navy, and, therefore, establish the foundation for a mili-
tary navy. If the preseut measure were calculated to
cripple our mercantile navy, it would receive no support
from him. The regulations respecting the coasting
trade were the most difficult part of the mea-
sure, and stood upon different grounds from those
upon which other parts of the plan rested ; but he
would reserve what he had to say upon this branch
of the subject for the Committee.—(Cries of " Divide,
divide.") It was of the utmost consequence that the
question should be settled without further delay. The
suspense and anxiety which prevailed on the subject
were producing the most unfortunate effect on the mer-
cantile marine of this country. It was the opinion of a
great majority of the House that the time had arrived
when an extensive alteration of the navigation-laws
should take place, and he implored Hon. Members, and
particularly those connected with the mercantile inte-
rest, not unnecessarily to delay the solution of the im-
portant question which had been raised. The Right
Hon. Member for Stamford had reminded the House that
Mr. Huskisson did not make the changes which were
associated with his name until he was forced to do so by
circumstances. We should act an unwise part were we
to wait until forced by circumstances to effect the alte-
ration now proposed. In how different an aspect would
the question then present itself. We should then have
to deal with the complaints of embarrassed merchants
and of irritated foreign powers, which would make a
friendly and satisfactory settlement of the question much
more difficult than it would prove to be at the present
moment —(Hear, hear.)
Mr. MUNTZ thought that hardly any one who had
heard the Right Hon. Gentleman could fail to perceive
that he was doubtful of the policy of the moasure which
he recommended the House to adopt.—(Hear, hear.)
lie (Mr. Muntz) was' about to do what he supposed
would be called speaking on one side and voting on the
other.—(A laugh.) The object of the present measure
was to reduce the freights and profits of the English
shipowner, and give them to the foreign shipowner, in
the same way as we had taken the profits of the English
agriculturist and given them to the foreigner.—(Cheers
from the Opposition.) He had yet to learn that any of
these changes were productive of national advantage.—
(Renewed cheers.) He had voted for the repeal of all
protection.—(A laugh.) When he heard that laughter
he talway• thought of Goldsmith's line in whioll he