The Sun.
London, England, 1821-01-16 00:00:00

" The grand points :now remain to be considered ; the ef—
fect which the encouragement given to the importation front •
the British Colonies has had on our manufactures and ship-
ping, as compared With thitse of Norway and Sweden, for it
appears the trade o MI Russia and Prussia has increased, the
former very much. -It appears from the beginning to have
bee' a favourite object of the Committee to ;retitle duties re-.
moved at all events, and fur that purpose, they state.' I bat the
demand for Wood from the countries in the north of .Europe,
has been progressively diminishing, so as to occasion great
interruption-to the 'trade with these countries, particularly
with Norway, whose inhabitants, notwithstanding the
predilection they have uniformly shewn for British manu-
factures' arc taut only left without there rw coliming
them, but of paying. far those, the-pflayF•itkeive and
in another place they say Three can- e little doubt
.

that any material dimi►iution the duties an foreign
' timber would almost immediately lead to an increased dr-
. ma►►d of that article for most t►u►poses of building, ami

.
enable the countries which rodure ;t, but more especially
Sweden and Norway, very greatly to,increase their consiunp-
' lion of British produce. As this circumstance, however,
could not-take place without diminishing the demand for
colonial timber, it must in some degreeaffeet the profits of
the capital now vested in saw-mills, &c. in Canada to the
'-amount of 100,0001. or 130,0001. It could nut be consider-
' ed as directly affecting the interests of the Canadian land-
" hOlder, &c.' So that, from this reasoning, we are to under-
stand the Committee to be of opinion, that, to encourage the
consumption qf our manufactures by Norway and Sweden,
the duties are to be taken off, though 'gradually, and thus
nearly iv exclude the timber of the colonies, only occasioning
a loss of 150,0001, to those engaged in .saw-mills, and little
affecting the landholder in Canada, and probably throwing 8
or •10,000. British seamen, and a proportionate quantity of
shipping, out of emplopuent.
"Before I proceed to point out thelnipolicy:andabsurdityof
such reasoning, I shall just beg the reader to refer to 1f
and the other speeches (inserted yesterday), when he intro-
ducelitthe subject of the duties, and to relict for a moment
on the different feelings of the.parties ; the first in a state of
war, anda he Select Committee in profound peace. I submit,
that the observations of the Select Committee are not-borne
out by the accounts annexed to their own Retort ; and that
the importation of timber and deals from the North of Europe
has nut declined more than was contemplated by 19r. Rose
when be introduced the system of the duties: and that the
decrease of importation from -Norway and Sweden has been
mainly owing (according to Mr. 13orthwick, one of the most
intelligent witnesses examined by the Committee) to the duty
on dealt being charged. by the hundred of deals instead of the
cubic contents ; and those of Norwly being of sum!l size,
the merchants have resorted, more than formerly, 'to those
. markets where the large sized deals are to be
.had, viz. the
Baltic Ports of Russia and Prussia.

",!'he following extracts from accounts annexed to the Se-
lect Committee's Report will clearly prove that a fair propor-
tion of the timber imported into this Country, both for the
171st year and for an average of the last six years, has come
from the North of Europe, and that it has not. beerCdeticient
in quantity, though it may have been unproductive in price
to the shippers:—
from the Year 1814 'to 1819.
'Deals and
'limber. 14attenl.
,:toads. • .C.
ittr34lii '
Prussia 355,3.21 .40,9.0
Sweden -70,641 '39,313
Norway 145,035. - 87,083

Six years 653,445 .:19,513

Average 109,907 36,418

• For the
Timber. Deals.
Loads. C.
Russia 11,372 .12,140
Prussia 68,7,10 4,746
Sweden • 7,974 6,403
:Norway 24,75 G 16,048

02,53,5 ,39,237

Timber. De.ais.
• . C
-t-ttrtititzt -r43,,ift4 21.514
N.l3ronswk. b8P,060 2,020
Nova Scotia 12'2,710 556
P. Edw. Isle 47,79(i
Newfieid.&}
1,409 , 51
C.Liretoti

"Thus it appears, from som

Six years 904,383 94,475

Average 150,730 4,079
.ear 1510.

Timher. Deah:
Loads. C.
Canada 5;,06t 9,331
Nova Scotia 32,346 9R
N. Bruns. 159,763 643
P,51 iv. Isle 17,335 152
Cape- Breton 459 '
Newfound). 96 -

267,0(5 10,225
accidental causes, that the

quantity of Pine "Timber imported last year from the British
North American Colilnies was unnsually large, and the ordi-
nary consequence has • followed,—a .considerable loss to the
parties concerned ; which hag much reduced the quantity
this year, and what is nothing more than what happens
in every other trade, to be occasionally overdone. But whikt
we notice the quantity of limber from the Colonies fu
ex-
ceed that imported from the North of Europe. nn an average
of the last six years, we must particularly observe that the
quantity of deals and • bait ens imported from. the North of
Europe fur the same period of six years, is nearly ten times as
great as the (if:amity received' during the •same period front
the Colonies ! and even last year, the greatest of importation
that was ever known from the- Colonies, the quantity of deals
and battens front the North of Europe was still - nearly four
times' as great ; so t hat, combining the quantities of timber
:Ma deals, it is clear the Colonies have not had snore than
the shale which it was originally intended .they should have
in this trade ; and whilst on an average of six years, the
quantity of deals Imported from the North of Europe is nearly
ten times as great as that imported from the Colonies, it must.
strike every one, who has British interests at heart, with as-
tonishment, to bear a Committee of Parliament gravely re-
coMmend measures for the destrnetion of- the property
vested its the saw-mills, which produce that tenth. In
order to front a fair, just, anal cot reet opinion of
the value of any trade to Norway and Sweden, it.
is -necessary to look not only at what the actual state of
the imports ant exports are to the .cossontriet :sr: Aire North of
Europe and to the British Americao, colonies, but also to
what they have • been in times p:lsA,.arid to what extent thry
may be reasonably expected to reach in future, and to consider
also their respective stability and -proMsble permanency. Ac-
cording. to Anderson's History of Commerce, the imports
from and exports to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden were as
follows :

Denmark and Norway.
Imports. Exports.
L. s. d. L. s. d.
1700 58.773 9 10 44,695 •8 1
1710 60,852 7 0 31,571 8 11
1720 112,263 8 1 -- 19,674 0. 4
1730 ------ 95,715 10 - 3 51,494 12 7
1740 89,496 19 3-- 70,586 0 1
1750 ------ 90,973 3 3
1760 58,745 10 10 108,627 3 0
1770 ^-"-- 76,898 17 '2 . 167,257 4 11
1781 94,689 1 10 179,012 19 9

Sweden.

Imports. •
s.
d.
190,509 1g 5
173,585 10 2
191;352 5 11 ---
191,022 15 7 ---'.---

Exports.
d.
700106 19 2
27,620 3
111,555 7 41
15,271 11 ll'

1700
1710
1720
1730 ---

1740 180,809 17 1 --- 15,557 14 5,
1750 1 t7,(t22 -9 ' 1 16,162 2
1760 --- 193,340 2 5 11,557 13 V
1770 --- 136,616 6 0 58,576 4 '
178) -- 212,414 19 11 --- 62,510 8 0
,‘During a pat t of last ware-large eiportationS were mhde to.
,lienmaik anti Sweden, for the purpose of being introdhced,
through those countries, to the continent, the ports of which
Were shot to obr flag and manufactures by Buonaparie's de-
crees; and in 1810 property to the amount of some millions
was seized in "§Areden„-and the greater part of it ultimately
lost to the mercbantg and underwriters of this country ; and
it therefore must be unnecessary, with a view to thc'quiSdon