The Sun.
London, England, 1802-04-28 00:00:00

dently trusted it would, for he indeed believed., the
period Would arrive] and he believed also it was
not very remote, when it would be proper, in his
opinion, to try the same experiment on the trade of
IreNid. Heevould`therefore say, that this .mea_.
sure was an experimental measure, both to Great
Britain and to Ireland. Experimental to Great
Britain, as applying to its trade now, and at the
same time waiting for that increase in the trade of
Ireland, when it might be made applicable to that
country.. 'lf Lreland continued as it is, then he
should not think• it proper to apply this Measure to
its trade ; but if it advanced in trade; ind ap-
proached to 'that of Great Britain, it ought to par-
cielpate in the burthens necessarily imposed on that'
-of Great Britain. •The Hon. Gentleman said, the
course now. proposed to the House was unusual and
partial with regard to Ireland, and he applied his
observations to Scotland and to Wales. -The state-
ment was incorred. There are duties attaching on
'articles of consumption in this country, from which
Scotland was exempted. A duty on barley, and on
malt and beer, would prove the justness of this ob-
'serration. There was a- difference also in the. duty
,:on salt, as it applied to England and to Scotland
in a word, there were many instances in which there-
was a distinction made in the taxation, as between
England and Scotland, upon one and the same ar7
ticle ; so that dine was no foundation for ,the
tindion in the present measure being unequal. The
Hen. Gentleman also said, that there now is, and.for
some time has been a considerable disproportion- of
Foreigivinstead of British shipsemployed in our trade.
That was pettedly true, ,and it arose from this-
cause—the trade of this-Country had increased with
such rapidity, that it was impossible to supply its
demand? without calling in the,aid of Foreign Ships ;
but itid it follow from thence that British Shippiog
was not to find employment ? Did it follow, that,
because during the War, the demandof our com-
merce and extent of our trade was such that. our own
Shipping was not enough for it, that therefore the
trade will be carried on in Foreign Ships in prefer-
ence to ours ? By no means, nor was the fad of Our
having employed Foreign Shipping at all discourag-
ing, on the contrary, it proved the-last increase of
our Trade. So that instead of the comment of the
Honourable Gentleman, that our Slipping would
decline, he thought it was good grotind of con-
fidence in an increasing Trade, and still greater
prosperity. The Hon. Gentleman. had
.laid consi-
derable stress on that which must be lamented, that
was, the present stagnation in our Exisort Trade—
this he admitted ; from causes that were •ofierous to
us, there certainly had been of- late, a suspension
to a .considerable degree, or at least a stagnation in
several parts of that Trade; but it was to be re-
Membered, that during the' Negotiation, our Mer-
chants followed a circuitous' route, which occasioned
much of this inconvenience, and ' they were under
the necessity of doing so ; but this afforded
.a good
reason for apprehending that, as the course is now
different, the effed will be different also, unless the
Hon, Gentleman meant. to say, that the evil was so
serious that we are not likely to recover it ; an
opinion which, he apprehended, but few would he
disposed to adopt. Indeed, many of the observa-
tions of the Hon. Gentleman were such', as he be-
lieved would not,gain many converts, and the an-
swers to them were such as to himself, Mr. AD-.
DINGTON said, ecarried with them their own solo_
tion.—lt was true, as the Bon. Gentleman had said,
there was at present a great redudien in the price'
of Freight ; this he was ready to admit, and he
was willing to admit also, that this would,affed the
Ship Owners—but not to the degree which the Hon.
Gentleman apprehended, and that for causes which
he had stated already.—Let the Hon. Gentleman
Only consider, that many circumstances would go
in diminution of the disadvantage to the Ship Owner,
from the reduction of freight :• that Seamen's wages
must necessarily be reduced, as alsO the price of tln:,
necessaries of life, from the happy change of seasons.
The expence of the Crew .would be diminished, and
the price of Insurance, as far as the hazards of War,
which, indeed, never had been very great, but such
as they were, they were ,now done away ; and,
,from various causes, 'which were too obvious to be
enumerated, the absobte certainty of the operation
of which, such as reduction in Seamen's wages, and
in the price of the articles. of life, as he had already
stated, by which it was most clear,- that the expellee
of the out-fit of our Shipping would be materially.
diminished ; and when the Hon. Gentleman gave
to these points the consideration which was,due to
them, he would not have.the same apprehension as
he had lately expressed with regard to the Ship
Owners. The Hon. Gentleman had declared that
this was a hasty measure ; in answer to which, lie
would venture to say, that no measure was ever less
liable than the present to that objection, or one to
which that denomination was less applicable.. In
the first place, the measure itself had been already
tried for three years—and suspended for a while, as
the House very well knew, for about three months ;
then-made the subject of a Resolution- in a Committee
of Ways and Means, and which Resolution had
been before the House for three week S—so that
with regard to the charge of its being a hasty mea-
sure, the facts stood thus—lt was one of which the
House had experience in three years of War
House had known that the subject was to come into
-discussion again many months ago, and a Resolution
had been entered into upon it three weeks ago.—
Upon the reason of adopting it, he had to observe,
that the Executive Government had consulted with
many persons, of.great experience .and knowledge,
persons best qualified to form an opinion upon it,
and they had uniformly approved of the measure,
without hesitation, or the slightest doubt of its
propriety ; so that on the proposition, that the
SPEAKER do now leave .the Chair, to see it'opposed
upon the principle of the measure, occasioned his re-
-oer t.--A measure s'O recommended, a-measure voted
on the 9th of Aprilif_ttncifrom that time to rile present,
no objection offetbil on which any great stress was
laid till now ; nor were any of its attributes, or any
:Part of its character said to be unjust. With re-
sped to the 'complaint of the Hon. Gentleman, as to
certain doubts on particular' articles to which he re-
ferred, the observations to be made on them could
only be regularly made in the. Committee; but
would observe, even here, it was intended, by- him
to prOpose certain alteration's in the Conlnittte,
which, as far as they went, would have. the effect

Of encouraging the Merchant in the way or Imports
anti* Exports also—The Duty in certain cases had
.been --made to attach ad valorem, but it was note
interidtfd to be a rated Duty; there was no ad-
dition'to the Impott Duty beyond a fifth of die ori-
ginal Duty, and ail; iedudion on the article -of-Ex-
ports was exadly one half, as applied to the trade
.carried on hy___this Country to any part of the
- Europe excepier.L-Under--- nd-thee. cireurn--
stanceslie was entitled to say;'that Government had
shewn an anxiety on'the, subject of a pressure on a
trade in time of Peace, the effia of which, he be-
lieved to have been much over-rated. The aug-
mentation on they Import was really.only one-tenth,
and the Duty on our Navigation and Shipping re
mained the same.—fie was not disposed at this
time, because it -would be irregular,:, to state the
terms on which. relief was intended to be- afforded
to our Merchants respel to the operation of.
this Duty, ,because that:belonged :properly to
the Committee ; but he thought the. regulations
could not fail to be satisfadory hOW-
ever; any part of it—slmul-d—be—otherwise, he
should not be found adverse' to. any further,
necessary amendment.,-,=-What he wished to be kept
constantly in view was, that this was' to be consi-
dered'as an experimental measure; and as-far as the
subj-dS of Imports and Exports were concerned, the
House would recoiled that notice had been already
given of a measdre.tO be proposed. in the next Ses
sion of Parliament, for consolidating the Duties of
Customs, and then every article Might again bk:Come.
the subjed of discusSion
Under these circumstances, he did not. think he
should be justified in abating in 'the slightest' de.
glee his earnest desire, that the House would neither
diseourage nor discountenance: this Bill. He did
not see the danger which the E-1 n. Gentleman had
expressed, from adhering-to the. Resolution of the
Committee of Ways and Means, even if the whole
of that Resolution .were now proposed to he adopt-
ed, precisely as it had been voted ; but 'he should
propose, that certain modifications of is should, take
place. Above all, he hoped the, House would not
retral the sentiment it had already expressed on
this measure, on account olobjedions which Might
be specious, but which, on careful examination,
would not be found to be solid. _ , _ .

General GAitoYNE having said, a few words in
explanation; • -
The CHANCELLOR 'of the EXCIIEVJER
said, he:trusted the House would. allow him, to sa:y
a few words, which-escaped him in recollection
when'he spoke last. He meant op the subject of
the state of Ireland and Great Britain in the year.
1781. Upon this he understood the;Honourable
Gentle Man to take' notice of the advantage
given to Ireland in the
.Colonial- -Trade,--Now
upon this
,the lion. Gentleman should recollea, or
rather pauSe for moment, and consider the Si Ella:
tion of this Country and, of .Ireland in the year
1781, and consider it at the present moment, and
compare them. In .the "year ,•1781, Great Britain,
had-the excluaive sovereignty of all Colonial, affairs,
and could regulate all Colonial 'Trade as she might
think proper, and therefore she could annex what-
ever conditions she pleased to any boon she granted'
to Ireland in that partieut,ar ; but the caw was now
otherwise, for Ireland was at the present moment a
branch of the British Empire, upon a footing with
Great Britain upon consideration of all future enaEt-
ments in these respetls, and, therefore, as she can
neither receive the Colonial, nor any other trade, as
a boon, but as making a part of.the British Empire,
. the same sort of terms could not now beimposed to
suit the relative situation.of the two. Countries. Ire-
land now received every thing. upon an equal right
with Britain ; -or rather she was now to be con-
sidered as a part of Britain. He hciped he' should
not be contradieted by his Learned Friend, .as, by
some gesture he once aPprehended, upon the effea
of the Pia of Union, that was to say„ hii construc-
tion on the meaning of the Acct of Union, which,
to speak in general terms, was no other than to
place the two Countries on the same footing, ex-
cept Where the, difference is created by tlieAa of
Unipnitself, He thought this was a judi.mode of.
reasoning, and he' thought it was sound doarine—
• Just .reasonind, because there could be-no "principle'
of Union to ,which that doarine did not,-apply---,
sound doctrine, because it was advantageous to
both Great Britain and Ireland. The principle
which obtained before the Union was done. away
by that great ineastire•itself, except as far as any,
thing was retained.by:.special reservation ; and this,
he conceived to be a sufficient answer to what had'
been said on the Aarof 178 z. • . . •
ROBERT• PEEL said; that those wi-thl,
whom the measure originated, had, no doubt,.
weighty reasons for bringing it forward; but this
measure might nevertheless he injurious in a way:
that would not beithmediately obvious. It, would.
be recolleaed that our Commerce had'ilourished and.
been carried to a vast extent during the War, when.
it encountered no competition. ' Al change had now,
taken place ; a considerable Debt had been incurred
in consequence of that. War, which necessarily um-.
posed an additional ex'pence on every "article of
manutaCture, which the. MantifaCturersanusf charge
upon', the Purchaser. We could now meet our com
petitors in Foreign Markets on the grounds
tit and cheapness only, and if the consumer could
meet with articles cheaper than those of oar Mani).
faCturers, he would very probably prefer those ,
which he could procure at a cheaper rate. Her
trusted the House would consider well before thex
sanctioned a measure, the operation of which might
be injurious to our own Foreign .Trade. It had
been observed, that the Course of Exchange . was
against us, and it could not be otherwise, unlesS
we could send our goods at a cheaper rate to Foreign
• Markets. With respea, to the Convoy Duty, he
had highly approved of 'it at the time it was im.
posed, butiJie did conceive that it would cease at
the end of,;_the War, and. that other Duties, if ne-
cessary, -wottld then be imposed, more suitable to
ithe circtinagances of the, Country.. The principal
reasonilkowever, of his rising was, to object to
the partialoperation-of the Tax. It had been for-
'merly laid down as a.principle, that the advantages
'given to the manufactures of 'lreland should be
equally extended to those of this Country. Some
ofrthe manufactures of Ireland. had been nursed with
peCuliar care the linen manufacture had thrown this
Country "out of all competition, and the cotton ,