The Sun.
London, England, 1857-06-05 00:00:00

were thcn named, and empowered to proceed to bnaines3
orthwith.

BOARD OF TRADE.
Mr. HORSFALL then rose to move for a select com-
mittee to inquire into the origin, the past and present
constitution, and the powers and duties of the Board of
Trade, with a view to its better adaptation to the re-
quirements of the country. He disclaimed being actuated
by any political faction, or intending any reflection on
those who presided at the Board of Trade. He was
happy to say that the Board of Trade was not a sinecure
board. They rather did too much. It was in 1638 the
the board was first constituted, and remodelled by Crom-
well in 1645. In 1660, in the time of Charles 11., ano-
ther constitution of the Board of Tradc took place. It
was divided into two branches, and reunited in 1683.
Further modifications were made in 1691, but it was not
till 3780 that any material alteration was made—when
the entire abolition was moved by Mr. Barber, and the
result of the debate was, that the clause for the entire
aholition of the board was carried by a majority of eight.
The mercantile interests, however, though anxious for its
reform, were not anxious for its abolition. The same
was true at the present day. The mercantile interest was
not anxious for the abolition of the Board of Trade—
they admitted its utilities. He would accept the de-
finition of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who the
other evening repudiated all idea of tha honorary mem-
bers, and said that the responsible members of the board
were its president and vice-president. The first point
which presented itself was, what were the duties which
the board so constituted had' to discharge ? It had been
well said by Mr. Thomas that the duties are of a miscel-
laneous character. A parts/3f this duty was to advise the
Treasury on colonial matters, customs, and excise, and to
advise the Foreign-office on comm'rcial treaties. It had
to supervise orders in council, and to examine every dock
bill, every railway bill for the guidance of Parliament.
Nor was this all. It was a general superintendence of
aericulture, of surveys, museums, registration, water sup-
plies ; and after all this, there was a bill before the house
which might impose upon them other duties. These
were subjects managed at the Board of Trade, which did
not satisfy the country. The people of this country
would ever contend for the principle of self-government
against that of centralisation. The Local Marine Bill of
the present Minister for the Colonies, for the regulation
of the merchant shipping, had created a perfect tribunal
to examine into shipwrecks. Mr. Cardwell, in his Con-
solidation Bill, by giving the power to two magistrates
had made a mistake ; and the permissive power of the
bill to the Board of Trade to appoint an assessor, had
given great dissatisfaction. The most important cases
had been taken from the local and marine board, and
brought before two stipendiary magistrates, assisted by
a naval officer. Now a naval officer was not a good
judge of such a matter. He had a sufficient number
of men under his command, all of whom he knew,
while the merchant captain bad perhaps only 25 men,
and could could not weather the gale when the naval offi-
cer could carry the ship through it. The merchant cap-
tains demand, like naval captains, to be tried by their
peers. The Board of Trade, in removing the trial from
a competent to an incompetent tribunal, had created
great dissatisfaction. By the Merchant Shipping Act
captains were bound to give returns of the names of the
owners, the nature of the cargo, and the kind of distress
to which the ship was subject. Besides this, they were
bound by the words of the act to give as much other in-
formation as the assessor might think necessary. On the
strength of this the Board of Trade had asked a series
of irrelevant and inquisitorial questions, as, for instance,
if the vessel was insured or not, questions which should
never have been asked. The act required that the in-
formation obtained should be posted at Lloyd's. But
what captain liked it to be posted at Lloyd's that he had
lost 50,0001. or 60,0001. by not insuring? What under-
writer liked to be posted as having lost 50,0001. or
60,0001. by taking an insurance, Some one had pro-
perly said that the best answer to these questions would
be, "Mind your own business, and we will mind ours."
These questions were mo-t vexatious. Such were some
of the cases of interference. Since he had given notice
of this motion he had had numerous cases submitted to
him in whieh masters had been hardly dealt with, but
in other cases it appeared that the Board of Trade bad
not bests stringent enough, a license in one case having
been granted to a notorious drunkard. Perhaps, how-
ever, that might have arisen from a want of power on
the part of the board. The next point he had to allude
to was the power of the Board of Trade to report on
local bills, and on this point he strongly objected to the
board being enabled to send reports to committees on
)(cel bills, with a view of prejudging their decision one
way or another. He thought that was a principle quite
Inconsistent with the principles of the British constitu
tion. Perhaps he might be allowed to refer to a bill
which was now before the house in reference to the
Birkenhead docks. At the present time vessels were
most unnecessarily detained at Liverpool, not only to
the irjery of the owners, but also to the National ex
chequer. Both the Board of Trade and the Admiralty
bad reported upon that Bill, and while the Board of
Trade had censured the Admiralty with regard to the
present state of proceedings, the Admiralty had been
equally decisive in censuring the Board of Trade. The
next point to which he would advert, was the loss to the
trade of the country from the want of necessary accom-
modation. Some time ago Liverpool had 110 landing
waiters, and although the trade increased 60 per cent.
the Board of Customs stuck to that number, and the
consequence was that vessels were frequently obliged to
wait three or four weeks before they could he discharged.
It was not until strong representations came front Ame-
rica that this system was altered. The American cap-
tains complained that it took them longer to get their
cargoes discharged than to make the voyage, and the
matter was brought before Sir R. Peel, who was then
Prime Minister. The right hon. baronet promised that
the matter should have his personal consideration, and
in less than six weeks 56 additional landing waiters were
appointed. He hoped the noble lord at the bead of the
Government would give the same assurance, and that he
would so reform and reconstitute the Board of Trade
that it shoul'l be no longer an obstruction to the com-
merce of the country. Then as to the agricultural depart.
ment of the Board of Trade, he bad heard that morning
from the Corn Association of Liverpool that the official
returns of grain issued by the Board of Trade were utterly
worthless for any statistical purpose, and that opinion
was confirmed by the President of the Royal Agricultu-
ral Association. The next point to which he would refer
was the supply of guano, in reference to which the Presi,
dent of the Liverpool Chamber of Commerce had stated
that it was a gigantic blunder on the part of Government,
and especially of the Board of Trade. This was a subject
on which he hell it was the duty of the authorities of
the Board of Trade to advise the Secretary of State for
the Colonies. Following up this question of guano, he
might state that be had waited with a deputation from
the Liverpool Shipowners' Association at Liverpool upon
the Colonial Secretary, who said be would take into bis
consideration the propriety of throwing open the trade.
Certain arrangements were submitted to the right hon.
gentleman, and by him forwarded to the Board of Trade.
In this agreement it was arranged that the trade should
be opened to all parties, and that all parties should be
treated alike. When he forwarded that arrangement he
suggested that as no duty was payable on Peruvian
guano the Government shoul I relinquish the small roy-
alty per ton it enjoyed. If that suggestion had been made
to the Chancellor of the Exchequer he could understand
ashy it should have been rejected, but he could not un-
derstaed why the Board of Trade, whose object it was to
promote and encourage commerce, should return as an
answer their lordships could not entertain the applica-
tion. (Rear.) Still less could he understand the grounds
upon whit's the suggestion was refused, and which was
that any advantage conceded to a single port would be
inconsistent with the wider interests involved, whereas
the suggestion was that the trade should be thrown open
to.all parties. (Hear, hear.) Then as to railways, no-
thing could be more proper than that the Board of Trade
should have the power of sending down competent
parties to inspect and report upon Ihem ; but they sent
down incompetent persons ; and in 1849 the Board of
Trade sent down an inspector to report on a line in

Lincolnshire. He sai it was insecure, and reported

against it. A long correspondence ensued, to the
great disadvantage of the shareholders. At length the;
Board of Trade announced that they had reconsidered
their determination, and the I.ne had been used eitbout
any accident up to the present time. Exactly the same
circumstance happened with regard to a bridge on -the
South-Western Railway, between Waterloo and Vaux-
hall. The hon. gentleman complained, on the autho-
rity of Mr. G. P. Bidder, in a report dated March, 1856,
that the inspectors sent down to examine and report
upon new lines had had no experience, and had never had
anything to do with the construction of a single line of
railway. In these and in many other respects he did not
think the Board of Trade, as at present constituted, was
satisfactory to the country, and that a peer and a lawyer
were not exactly fit persons to preside over the commer-
cial interests of the country. (Hear.) He appealed to
the justice of Parliament and to the candour of the noble
lord at the head of the Government to grant the corr.-
!teittee, which as he had already stated was to inquire
Into the origin, the past and present constitution, and
toh t
e powers and duties of the Board of Trade, with a view
a better adaptation to the requirements of the
country.
LA-BoucaEn,E said he had listened with much
surprise
to the censures which the hon. gentleman had
cast upon an important
aret branch of the Government, hav-
ing under its
country. Hec appealedhe rotection of the commerce of the
to the house who had listened to
thed
ehon,tai
lii ofquarrels
s amongst
ether his speech had not con feted
o
h his constituents, and that
he had to.grapple that large question whether
great department of ihe •Government should be ar-
raigned before a committee of the if
ouse of Commons
with a view to its entire dernolitton.
to nay that, beginning' with those great e would venture
measures which
Ifth
Mr. kisson instituted to the presentthe Ward
of Trade had borne a most conspicuon, part time,in
the shackles which for so long a time impedel'e,m, oviug
gentleman corn-
f the commerce of the country. R 'ue Pro-
gress o edid not ex-
actly understand what the honourable
pleined of, but as far a 3 he gathered the object of the
hon. gentleman, it was to introduce into the Board the
of
Trade men who were most intimately connected With
the commerce of the country. He (Mr. Labouchere)
held the opinion which had always been entertained by
the house, that no one should have any control in the
Board of Trade wha was identified with any branch of
commerce. That principle had always been jealously
watched, and when Mr. P. Thompson was made Vice'
Preeident of the Board of Trade, no sooner was the ap-
pointment announced, that he was asked in the House
of Commons by the present Lord Lonsdale whether he
had broken off hie connection with commerce, and he
immediately replied that he had. There could be no
objection to a merchant who had left commerce becoming
President of the Board of Trade ; but it was very
undesirable that he should continue his connection
with commerce while holding any office at the I
board. The principle that the trade of the
country should be 'savaged by merchants was
a retrograde principle, kr ho believed that if the manage.