The Sun.
London, England, 1860-02-01 00:00:00

MARTIN ESCALANTE

Sir A.. AGNEVZIceTth; Secretary of State for Foreign
Affairs, if it was true that the British consul at Cadiz al-
lowed Martin Escalante, a British subject, to remain up-
wards of seven months in prison untried, and also delayed
or declined to take him under his protection, although (at
the instigation of the Spinish judge) an application was
made to the consul to do so.
Lord J. RUSSELL said that the British ambassador at
Madrid had communicated with the British consul at
Cadiz on the subject, and it appeared that Escalante had
committed an offence against the Spanish law, but that
• steps had been taken to prevent his detention in prison
longer than was necessary._
__

THE MILITIA.
Col. DICKSON asked the Secretary of State for War
whether it is intended to embody fresh regiments of militia
in the place of those about to be disembodied ; and whether
it is intended to introduce any measure to place the militia
force on a more permanent and efficient footing ?
Mr. S. HERBERT replied that it was not intended to
embody fresh militia.

THE TREATY WITH FRANCE.
In reply to Mr. T. DUNCOMBE,
Mr. "M. GIBSON said that of course the treaty with
France would be submitted to the consideration of the
house for its approval, but he declined going into anything
relative to that treaty, which would be laid before the house
ao shortly by the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
THE. SHIPPING INTEREST.
• Mr. LINDSAY moved for a Select Committee to inquire
into the operation of the burdens and restrictions especially
affecting merchant shipping, and of the following statutes :
the 9th and 10th of Victoria, cap. 98, an Act for Compensa-
ting the Families of Persons Killed by Accidents ; the Mer-
chant Shipping Act (1854), the Merchant Shipping Act
(1855), the Passenger Ast (1E55), and the Chinese Passen •
ger Act (1855). A committee was appointed, he said, for a
similar purpose, upon his motion, last year, but, owing to
the sudden dissolution of Parliament, no result had fol-
lowed. The object of the committee he was moving for
was to inquire into the actual condition of the British ship-
ping interest, which he was sorry to say had for some time
past suffered from great depression, and to examine gene-
rally the causes of that depression. For his own part, hew-
ever, he felt that these eauses were so apparent that only a
very limited inquiry would be necessary. In the years
1853-4-5 it was well known that the British shipping in-
tereste was in a state of great prosperity, the Crimean war
?Iting a considerable extra dentand for shipping, and cur-
tailing;recut ;,
arinapown
in a very small degree the ordinary wants of corn-
ers during those years made very large
usual trade of great many more ships were built than the
have ventured t the country required. Now, he would not
of the depression
ask for this committee had
cause that the sole cause
would
have
the over-production of ships, be..
e seta bad precedent to other
which when depressed would have thought themselves
tion.
(Hear.)
True house for an inquiry interests
u to appeal toretmedni :
intothei
had tended to a c here 'were, however,
todother causes which
have been abolisherdens and restrictionsepress the shipping
of protection, and the when
British which ought to
other nations after we haar °I
shippingrecipo was deprived
open our ports to ships h a wise ribo,nr liberality, tart of
the same terms as to fromt all quarters of tabletY't rown
Ten years ago the ships
oT our
own world, on
to our ports on the sage of
'`rance Were _aeranu!try.
and yet to this day France footing
as British admitted
tial duties upon our ships. Sugar imported
high differiens '
French bottoms was charged with a
ntd7trted into France it;
100 kilogrammes, while in British ships rlioefrlY £3 R per
In the same way the duty on coffee in FrenclutY wags.
C 4 4s.
Se. per 100 kilogrammes, in Briti,ll.tt 45.; otTsihr weans i. 2
French ships 4s. per 100 kilogrammes, in British fie. ,-- in
cotton wool in French ships 16s. per 100 kilogTamm.e.s oni
British £1 Bs. ; and on tea in French ships Is. 2d. per 'lo°o
kilogrammes, and in British 4s. 9d. Few staple articles
were admitted into, the ports of Prance in British vessels
u`non the same terms as in French vessels, and in some cases
if omounted almost to a prohibitory duty. France did not
gain by her illiberal policy, because, for every French ves-
sel wh.ich entered our ports there were three British vessels
which ettered the ports of France ; but that was no answer
to the injostice inflicted on the British shipowner. He did
not comlain „merely of the differential duties, but of the
high tonnage fluties, which were still levied against British