The Sun.
London, England, 1851-07-25 00:00:00

shipping hod decreased, and that foreign shipping
had proportionably iecreesed. He then lead a sec-
cession of returns to show that in the seaports of this
country the tonnage on thipping nad decretesed, as c=om-
paring 1849 with 1850, and in the same period that
there was a great increase of foreign tonnage. This feet
was worthy of consideration. The tnelaiese against this
country was 406,000 tons outward, end the balance on
the inward against this country was 543,000 ttes. In
this first year of trial the experiment had failed. It had
been injurious to British shipping, and beriefical to fo-
reign shipping. He entered into further statements to
allow a similar result for the year 1851, showing a
diminution, in the total number registered at Lloyd's, of
280 ships. It might be useful to look back to the pro-
gress of our tonnage for a few years back. He took the
years from 1830 to the present time, in averages of five
years. From 1830 to 1835 the, amount of tonuage was
2,242,000; from 1835 to 1840, 2,691,000; in 1845 it rose
to 3,449,000; in 1849 it was 4,099,000; end it 1850 it was
4 078,000. He had shown that the now system had in-
jured freights, had reduced their shipping in British
Ports, and also the tonnage of British shipping. He
would also undertake to show that their exports from
this country had decreased since the principle of proteta
tion had been abolished. Ho would do this by referring
to the period between 1826 and 1849, which he would
divide into six periods. The Right Hon. Gentleman then
referred to the periods in question, and showed by the
declared value of our exports during the period when
protection existed, thee our exports Lalgreatly increased,
Year by year, and that they had not progressed in the
fame ratio in the years when the free-trade system came
into, and was in fact in operation. He did not mean to
say that this progressive increase had resulted from pro-
tection, but he wished to show to those who objected to
Protection that it had not operated to prejudice our ex-
ports. He then adverted to the difference between the
official and declared value of our exports, for the purpose
of showing that the declared value, compared with the
official value, was rapidly dim.nishing. He would now
Come to the object of his mission. His purpose was to
bring under the consideration of the House the injury
done to the shipping interests by the alteration in the
navigation-laws. Ono of the clauses in the new law was
inserted with the view of inducing the foreigner to net
in a spirit of reciprocity with the British in reference to
(index. The shipowners complained that this reciprocity
'has not been adopted by foreign countries. It had been
'suggested that the Government ought not to have given
up the power they possessed on this subject, until they
learned whether foreign countries would reciprocate
with theta. But this suggestion was not acted upon.
The Right Hen, Gentleman then referred to the course
taken by 'the Earl of Derby in respect to the clause in
question., recently in the House of Lords, and urged
upon Coe Government that the reciprocity principle
was tkte only true one to act upon. Prussia had been
refer red to, and it was said that if we did not alter our
nev',getion-laws she would retaliate upon us. But
Pressia declined to reciprociate with them, on the
ground that the German nation was not yet complete.
Unlisted had given us almost nothing for the sacrifices
Which we had made. The French entertained opinions
on this subject, which he would read to them. The
Right Honourable Gentleman then read a paper, to the
effect, that it was for the interest of France not to leave
her mercantile marine in the position that England was
leaving hers, and which placed that marine in peril,
when competing with the shipping of America, As re-
garded. Spain, e was of no consideration in a question
of this kind. The same observation would apply to Por-
tugal. With respect to America, the words of alr. Ban-
croft, when speaking of England, were, "If you do
mach, we will do much—if you do all, we will do all."
But it was shown that America had declined to reci-
procate with them. He should say that by the repeal
of the navigation-laws America had taken from this
Country many advantages that she before enjoyed, and
bat the commerce of this country was materially in-
jured. He then entered into the statistics of the mer-
cantile marine of America and this country, and agreed
that this country materially suffered by the navigation-
and that all that was owing to the want, of
foresight on the part of the present Government. It
'was well known that all the evidence that had been
obtained showed that the interest of the British was
very much deteriorated; and he should say that this
evidence was given by unprejudiced persons.—(Hear.)
Was there anything more unjust he would ask than to
reduce the British merchant 30 per sent., for such a line
of procedure was equivalent to taking 30 per cent. from
the property of any lauded proprietor.—(Hear.) By
this system the British Government impose on their own
'Subjects a taxation (for otherwise he could not call it),
from which all foreigners are exempt. This was any-
thing but just or fair, and for that reason he felt it his
duty to offer those opinions, because he considered that
the British merchant should be allowed to purchase in
the cheapest market as well as the merchant of any other
nation.—(Hear.) He considered that England and her
colonies should be considered for, instead of allowing
America to enjoy advantages that were refuted to the
Mercantile marine of this country.—(Hear.) He did not
require of the; Government to repeal the navigation-
laws, but *hat he wished was to place dais country on
an equal footing with other nations, for directly or indi-
rectly this country was labouring under many disadvan-
tages.—(gear.)
Mr. LABOUCHERE felt glad that the Right Hon.
Gentleman had introduced that subject, because he was
prepared to prove that the navigation-laws had tended
rather to advance the commercial into:est of this country
than to deteriorate them, and he knesi that from the evi-
dence given by most respectable shit owners, before the
Committees of the Lords and Comm ens, which showed,
that through their exertions they. had very much ad-
vanced their own interests, despioe the opposition of
foreign countries. He would cahl the attention of the
Member for Scarborough (Mr. Y, mug) to that fact, and
as he saw him in his place, he hoped that he did not
forget the evidence of some of the most respectable ship-
owners in this country. Now what had been the result?
,Why, at the time when those re
iolutions from which he
Lied read this extract were publ shed, the British regis-
tered shipping was 24,000 ships, with a tonnage of
2,600,000 tons, while in 1850, tile number of vessels re-
gistered rose to 34,000, and the registered tonnage to
4,233,000.—(Hear, hear.) That was to say, that, since
the time when the General Shipowners' Society assured
the country that the shipping interest was irretrievably
ruined, the registered tonnage of l3ritish shipping had
increased by upwards of a million and a half. During the
'awe period the number of regiseered seamen in the
United Kingdom had also increased, for while, in 1833,
the number was 154,000, in 1851), they had risen to
225,000. He would only trouble the House but with
one more refereuce to what took pi ace at that time in
respect of the state of the shipcianers. It was one
Which he had great pleasure in quoting, because it had
reference to a debate which took, place in that House
on the subject at the time when th e Right Hon. Gentle-
'llan who had proposed this resoilution to the House
filled the situation which he at present had the honour
to fill. The debate arose on the presentation of a peti-
tion by Mr. Alderman Waitbman :from the shipowners
of the port of London, complainirew in exactly similar
terms as the one the Right Ron. 'Gentleman had pre-
sented that evening, of the undue (sompetition to which
tne shipowners were subjected by the alteration which
had been made in the navigationwlaws by Mr. Huskis-
Bon, that this competition had iroetrievably ruined the
shipping interest, and praying t 1 tat the House would
Make such an alteration in the taw as would in some
degree remedy the evil. In reply to that petition and
to the speech in which it was en troduced, the Right
Ron, Gentleman (Mr. Herries), who, as he had stated,
Was President of the Board of Trade, used exactly
the same arguments which he would have the
honour of addressing to the House on the pre-
sent occasion.—(Cheers and laughter.) He read
to the House statements showing the increase in tonnage
which had taken place since the change; spoke of the
greater activity which prevailed in all branches of the
trade, and stated that it was net. reasonable to suppose
that if the statements of the pctittioners were true that
that
Ilion of business would lay out t heir capital in. greater
Profusion upon what was a min or and worthless trade.
The Right Hon. Gentleman on that occasion also quoted
an extract from a report which had been presented to
eongress by Mr. Cameron, one of the most celebrated of
the American commercial statesmen of the time, the ob-
Ject of which was to show the advantages which would
inevitably result from a relaxtttion of their maritime
Isys, and strongly recommended a perusal of it to Hon-
Members. The Right Hon. Gentleman still was fond of
quoting the opinions of American statesmen, but some-
how or other they were of a different school to those he
quoted—(Hear, hear)—but, however that might be, the
tucident he had stated to the House showed that the
Complaints of the shipowners were exactly the same
then to what they were no w, and that they could not be
attributed to the recent change which had taken place.
To his mind, and from all he could learn on the subject,
that, change had had quite a contrary effect from what
those petitioners said, and he would demonstrate that
it had been the means of giving a general extension to
the commerce of the country—that the shipowners
benefits
their own country had received their full share of the
of that extension—and that the shipbuilding in-
'crests bad not been injured by it. As to the general
extension of commerce which the change would effect,
foneed not detain the House long in establishing that,
'°r* the very complaint those parties made was, that
'where it had taken place foreign ships had visited these
horess,. increased numbers. It was not, therefore,
pre-
tended that commerce had not increased, but then it was
said that this extension of it had been purchased at the
1 3xPense of the shipping interest of this country. So far
rota that being the case, he found, on referring to the
retarns, that the amount of the tonnage of shipping in the
foreign trade entered inwards and outwards in 1848 was
1,,
eth6oo,ooo tons; in 1849, 11,500,000 tons; and in 1850,
*2,200,000 tons; showing an increase of tonnage em-
Pl°Yed in 1849 over 1848 of 1,100,000 tons and of
1800 over 1849 of 700,000. But then it was said this in-
crease was purchased at the expense of their own ship=
ring. and in proof of that the trifling diminution of the
tang.
in British shipping employed in 1850 as corn-
tred with 1849 was referred to. It so happened,
owever, that there was a similar diminution of the
a°,titlege in the United States shipping which cleared
r the pts of the United States, and the
:et of such diminution in either case was
thing to be wondered at, for there could be no doubt
pthat
it arose from the new channels of trade which the
recent change had opened up to the shipping interest,
*Od which prevented a portion of the shipping from en-
tering the home ports, being more profitably employed
otherwise. He found, however, that for the six months
i'„llding the sth of July last, there had been a considerable
,tteease in the tonnage entered inwards and outwards, as
`.giotnpared with the corresponding period of last year.
1* the six months ending sth July, 1850, the tonnage
entered inwards was 1,600,000 tons, while during the cor-
170tiding period of the present year, it was 1,700,000;
the tonnage entered outwards for the same period being,
1850, 1 977,000 tons, and the present year, 2,090,000
to
showing' a considerable increase of the entries both
La ards and outwards. He had said that there was a de-
'rease in the tonnage of the United estates shipping, and