The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-15 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, MONDAYINOVEMI3ER 15, 1841.

SHIPBUILDING in the ISLE of MAN.'
When men begin to be pinched in their income, they
usually begin to look about to economise it by small
savings ; and manufacturers, when trade is bad, turn
with an eye of narrow scrutiny to the price of labour
and raw material, and weigh the advantages of their
position relatively to those of their rivals. The trade
of shipbuilding, for a long time carried on so extensively
on the coast of Cumberland, has recently been in a
very depressed state ; and we learn from the White-
haven Herald, that the shipbuilders of that port, and of
Workington and Maryport, are looking with an eye of
very natural jealousy towards those of the Isle of Man,
who, close at their doors, and with all the advantages
of British registry, are allowed to build with timber
almost duty free, and, consequently, are driving a flou•
rishing and increasing trade. On the motion of - Mr.
Attwood, some returns have been laid on the table of
the House of Commons, of which the following are the
leading particulars :-
Ist. That whilst the rate of duty payable in this
country is 565. 6d. per load of fifty cubic feet, the duty
actually paid in the Isle of Man from the year 1820 to
the year 1840, has been at the average rate of 4s. 7d. per
load, being less than one-twelfth part of the duty pay-
able by the English shipbuilder.
2d. That whilst the duty actually paid on wood from
foreign parts, imported into the Isle of Man during the
above period, amounts to 11,771/. 12s. 6d., the same tim-
ber, if it had been chargeable with the English duty,
would have realised a revenue of 140,995/. 9s. 5d., show-
ing a bonus to the shipbuilders and timber merchants of
the island of 129,223/. 16s. Ild.
3d. That whilst the duty actually paid upon foreign
timber, imported into the island in the year 1840, was
1,1351. 15s. 2d., the same timber would, if it had been
chargeable with the English duty, have yielded a re-
venue of 13,233/. 17s. 7d, showing a difference, in one
year alone, of 12,0981. 2s. sd.
As respects the present state of shipbuilding in the
Isle of Man, compared with former years, it is shown by
the returns that, during the ten years ending with 1829,
the trade had been confined to vessels of small burden;
that the vessels built in 1829 amounted to 194 tons, and
that the average annual amount of tonnage for the whole
ten years was 2361 tons, and the average size of the
vessels 29f tons. In the year 1830 the building of larger
sized vessels appears to have been entered upon, and in
this year we find the amount of tonnage stated at 691
tons. In the year 1831 it had increased to 1.558 tons;
and in the year 1840 it had reached 3,180 tons, being an
increase upon the year 1839 of no less than 2,986 tons,
or at the rate of 1,540 per cent. nearly.
We are far from grudging the poor fishermen of the
Isle of Man the privilege of building their little barks
with cheap and good timber ; but it is a very different
affair to allow capitalists from Liverpool and elsewhere
to go there and build large ships for the foreign trade on
terms with which no other part of the three kingdoms
can compete. Some of the finest ships sailed out of
the port of Liverpool have been built in the Isle of
Man ; and we find that in the year 1840 there was
paid on timber, which in this port would have
been taxed to the extent of 13,242/. a duty of
1,1351., of which by far the largest part must have
been used in shipbuilding. The island possesses every
facility for the successful prosecution of this branch of
industry. It lies within sight of the coasts of Lancashire
and Cumberland, and shipwrights can be conveyed
from the ports of eithar at a mere trifle of expense. It
has, therefore, the less occasion for a bonus of this de-
scription. The injustice is too manifest to need argu-
ment. The Isle of Man must be placed on the same
footing in this respect as the rest of the empire, or else
vessels built in it must forego the advantage of Briti b
registry. The policy of allowing Manx fishing-boats
any privilege not shared by those of England, Ireland,
and Scotland, is extremely questionable. The abuse 1,
no longer an insignificant one ; it demands prompt cor-
rection.
If it be a fact, as we find it stated in the
London Shipping and Mercantile Gazelle, that
" sery many of these vessels built in the Isle of
Alin have b: ea sold to foreigners at a remune-
rating price to the builders, and at such a price
to the purchasers as has enabled them to oppose
successfalt,), uith a lower rate of fre'ghtr, the owners
of vessels built in other parts of Great Britain," it is
one which adds very great practical force to the many
arguments in favour of a reduction of the duties on tim-
ber. It is a very strange anomaly that the shipbuilders
should be, as a els s, the one most strongly opposed to the
measures of free trade, of which the admission, on law
terms of foreign pine and oak, will be a part. This
arises principally from two circumstances ; the one, that
they are extensive owners of a class of ships trading to
British America fur timber, and scarcely fit fur
any other trade ; and the other, that, us ship-
owners, they fear that, by the cheapening of the
raw material, the price of ships should be lorterel,
and, consequently, their capital in shipping deie
re-
ratad. The apprehension is a very natural one, and
we are far from saying that some of them might not
suffer very materially by any sudden and violent change
in the timher duties. Though we have no s) rripath)
with all the nonsense they talk about " protection,'
" British interests," " ships, colonies, and commerce,"
and other hackneyed claptraps, we see very clearly how
their interests are likely to le affected, and acknowledge
that they ought not to be lost sight of. But that has
nothing to do with the interests of the carpenttrs,
riggers, sailors, and others engaged in the actual pro-
duction, whose interest it certainly is that a 2 many
ships should be built in the country as possiblr.
and that the raw material shall be as cheap as possible ;
and we cannot but deplore the blindness and violence
with which the great majority of importers and ship-
builders oppose a change which, if it be not brought
about gradually, will most assuredly come when, with
the emigration of our capital and artizans to countries
where the raw material is untaxed, a still larger portion
of this, one of our greatest and peculiarly national ma-
nufactures, shall have passed into the hands of foreigners.
In this respect, as in many others, steam is working
wonders. A recurrence to the old code of navigation
laws is, for many reasons, impracticable, and steam will
very soon do for Hambergh, Stettin, and Bremin, what
it is so rapidly doing for the Isle of Man and the ports
of British North America. If we are not to bring our
timber to our workmen, the workmen will go to the
timber.—Liverpool Journal.

CORONER'S INQUEST.
SUDDEN DEATH OP MR. G. BENNETT.—On Sa-
turday afternoon a respectablef Jury was empannelled
before Mr. Baker, at the Birdcage Tavern, Birdcage-
walk, Bethnal-green, to inquire respecting the death of
Mr. G. Bennett, aged 64, which occurred under the
awfully sudden circumstances subsequently detailed.
The deceased, who had travelled as a missionary into
the interior of Africa with the Rev. Mr. Tyerman,
M.A., and through many other unenlightened portions
of the world, was a member of the Religious Tract So-
ciety, and a liberal subscriber towards various other
religious and scientific institutions. Several gentlemen
connected with the Religious Tract Society were present.
Mr. G. M. Searle, No. 11, Grove-place, Hackney,
said that deceased resided in the same house. He was
a single man, and was always in perfect health. He
breakfasted with witness that morning between seven
and eight o'clock, and had a cup of coffee and a slice of
bread and butter. He made no complaint, and shortly
after left to attend to his occasional duties in town. He
was never in business, but had a considerable indepen-
dent property. In answer to a Juror the witness stated
that the deceased was a most abstemious man. He
never partook of fermented liquors.
Smith Robinson, a labourer, residing in Morning-
lane, said, at a little past eight o'clock that morning he
observed the deceased before him in the Birdcage-walk,
walking slowly. He suddenly stopped, and tried to
support himself by his umbrella, which was in his right
hand. Witness was in time to support hint for a
minute, when he fell. He was taken to the Birdcage,
where he was seen by a surgeon, who found deceased
dead.
Mr. Jones, landlord of the Birdcage, produced de-
ceased's property found on him, which consisted of a 5/.
note, 61. 10s. in gold, a gold watch, chain, &c. He
stated that Mr. Wallis's assistant saw deceased, and
said that ho died in a tit of apoplexy. Deceased s
1
name and address was on his umbrella.
Nr. Oakley, deceased's nephew and executor, and
-ho inherits his property, said that the gold watch de-
ce used had with him all round the world. Ho also laid
befc ,ro the Jury a manuscript note, written by the de-
cease 'd that morning, and which he (Mr. Oakley) stated
refers( ,d to a manuscript which had been presented to
t:ae Tract Society, and which had been sub-
ri slued to him for his judgment.
Mr. Searle, sen, stated that the deceased officiated
at fa lily prayers that morning, as was his custom, and
that C-Irere ;vas no appearance of any change in him.
The Coroner observed, that, from the suddenness of
the des tb,
it was likely that the deceased died of a
rupture of a blood-vessel of the heart. Verdict—" Died
by the v iiitation of God,"

AIDS
'CO AMATEUR STOCK ROBBERS. —A
' picture of the Operations of the Bourse at
singular pat qication has just made its appearance in
Paris in the ?dive of four pocket volumes, comprising
a complete
Paris." The tiriit of these explains to the uninitiated
.‘
the meaning o t bargains for the Account, and time
bargains, as well 40 the different modes of speculating.
. The second passes ,fit review 411 the French and foreign
1 public Sands, which aro negotiated. at the Bourse of
Paris, the " Tere.ple of Mercury" (or thieving), as the
Chariva ri calls
',t. The third is devoted to a treatise
on mom ty, and the various European exchanges; and
the four th comp- ises calculations made expressly for all
deseripti ons of raorwtary operations which can take place
in the public funds. The whole (say the publishers),
comprises ,an invaluable enscnible, of useful and instructive
notions' ' explanatory of the puzzling tables which ap-
pear in the , daily papers.
THE ( TUN TRADE.—The Bir mingh am manu-
facturers ar, now receiving some large orders from the.
United Stat., ,s. These orders had been suspended while
the M‘Leod affair was pending., but were issued after
the trial had concluded, The calamitous fire at the
Tower will alt .0., give employment to a considerable num-
bm, of hands An the gun trade. Upon the whole, the
prospects oft ba. Ilit7aingham artisans for the winter are
more cheering ; than c0n.14 bave been anticipated a short
time since.