The Sun.
London, England, 1833-12-12 00:00:00

BRITISH AND FOREIGN SHIPPING.

" Any one who places the smallest reliance on the
statements of the shipowners or of their advocates, would
suppose that the shipping of Prussia and of the other
Northern Powers is rapidly increasing, and is in a state of

great prosperity.
" And, though it were really so, the circumstances
ought to excite neither surprise nor regret, and might be
fairly ascribed to something very different from treaties or
custom-house regulations. Prussia suffered severely during
the war ; but she is now mistress of a great extent of sea
coast, and has some of the principal ports in the Baltic.
We believe, too, that it may be unhesitaingly affirmed, that
since tb. peace Prussia has been, beyond all question, the
most tranquil, best governed, and most improving country in
Europe. Her agriculture, manufactures, and commerce have
all made very great advances ; at the same time that she
has added more than two millions to her population, and
organized by far the most perfect system of public instruc-
tion of which the world has hitherto had any experience.
Under such circumstances, could any one suppose that her
shipping should continue stationary? We confess, how-
ever, that we did not imagine that its increase would have
been by any means so inconsiderable as it actually has
been. We nave recently received from Berlin a work of
a Mr. Forted-, a Privy Councillor of his Prussian Majesty,
founded upon official documents, and containing a great
deal of authentic information as to the manufactures,
trade, &c., of the kingdom. At page 174 of this work is
a detailed statement of the ships and their tonnage be-
longing to the different ports of Prussia in each year, from
1825 to 1831 inclusive; we have not room for the whole
table, but the results are as follow :
years, Ships. Lasts. Years. Ships. Lasts.
1825 ...... 576 58,007 18'..,9 630 73,418
1826 ..... 589 64,393 1830 643 75,079
1807 ...... 6'23 70,731 1831 683 76,987
182.8 ...... 631 7'2,434
" Hence, taking the last at 1?2- tons, it appears that the
total increase of Prussian shipping, from 1825 to 1831
inclusive, has been 76 ships and '28,470 tons, being very
little more than the increase that has taken place during
the same period in the shipping belonging to the single
port of Newcastle ! It will be observed, too, that the in-
crease that has taken place since 1827 has only been
29
ships and 0,384 tons. Whatever, therefore, m..ty be
the distress of our shipowners, it is something worse
than absurd to ascribe it to the increase of ship-
ping in Prussia. Considering, indeed, the growing
prosperity and wealth of that kingdom, the smallness of
the increase is the only thing to be wondered at. It
could hardly have been less, had the reciprocity treaty
with England never beer, beard of. Indeed, most part of
the Prussian shipowners think that it p ould have been
decidedly greater had the treaty not been entered into.
For our part we believe it has had exceedingly little in-
fluence either one way or another ; but we are not sur-
prisA, seeing the unfounded and ridiculous clamour raised
against it in this country, that it should have become the
theme of bitter animadversion in Prussia. We trust, how-
ever, that the Government of neither country will suffer
itself to be influenced by so senseless an outcry ; but that
the treaty which is now nearly expired will be renewed.
If it be not, we hazard little in predicting, that our ship-
owners will very speedily be as clamorous fur reciprocity,
and with infinitely better reason, than they now are
against it.
" If reciprocity treaties have been so very serviceable, as
we are told they have been to Prussia, it might be sup •
posed that they would be equally so to Sweden, Denmark,
and Norway. But it so happens that the mercantile
navies of the first two have continued about stationary
since 1824 ; while the shipping of Norway has decreased
to a decidedly greater extent than that of Prussia has
inthnooactvrkeet
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above eight lasts (20 tons) belonging to the different
Norwegian ports on the 31st of December, 1824 and 1832.
At the former epoch the total number of such ships was
-
1,757, and at the latter, 1,223 only, being a decline of no
fewer than 524 in the number of ships ; or taking the average
tonn ge so low
as 60 tons, of 31,440 tons ! Now, if
sauce for the goose be sauce fur the gander, how comes it
that reciprocity treaties are advantageous to Prussia and
injurious to Norway ? And, supposing this contradiction
to be reconciled, how comes it that a decrease of 2,970
tons (31
Europe should all but destroy our shipping interest ?
t 440-28,470) in the shipping of the north of
" Nothing but the importance of the subject, and the
success which the shipowners have had in throwing dust
into the eyes of a considerable portion of the public, could
make us stoop to notice such contradictory nonsense. The
fact is, the shipowners are not able to lay their finger upon
a single grievance originating in the conduct of Govern-
ment. It is true the value of their ships has diminished, and
so has the value of 500 other things ; and it is farther true,
that the value of ships has not declined so fast as that of
the materials of which they are constructed. Instead of
the cuckoo-song in vituperation of Mr. Huskisson, Mr. P.
Thomson
and Reciprocity Treaties, why do not the ship-
owners vary their ditty by a little abuse of docks, steam
tugs, and steam-packets? Eeverybody is aware, at least
everybody who knows anything
of shipping, that, owing
to the peculiar facilities aflorded for loading and unloading
ships, for bringing them quickly to their moorings, and
getting thew taken to sea,
300 ships are now fully able to