The Sun.
London, England, 1821-04-07 00:00:00

TO LORD .ALTIIORPt.

.. •
Lonp—ln addressing•your Lordship_on. the subject.of
the Timber Duties, I am aware :of the small. probability of
making you a proselyte to my opinions ; yet, nevertheless, hav-
ing every reason to belie* you an honest man,- and an inde-
pendent Nember of Parliament, Itake 'the liberty of making
some reinaila on hat fell from your Lordship: on ,this-sub-
ject, en the evening of the 29th ultimo;, when AIr._IVAL-
L'Ac.r proposed a*set of Resolutions, which if acted urn, will,
in my humble opinion, be the most unjust Legislative act that
ever pasSed the - British Parliament :--the Corn . Bill only
excepted. Your Lordship said, that, to let the 4. dies re-
main as they are, only tended to encourage the employment of
bad ships; and that the Canada trade operated as.anirnmense
tax .upaii this country ; both which propositions, .my,LOrd,
tahe,the-libery of contradicting, on grounds, which rbope will
be convineing,- both to your Lordship and the public. ,
In the first place; then, my Lord, for.any,particular branch
of tr;de to operate as -a tat on the- community at large it is
. „
necessary that it should act as a constant drain upon their pur-
ses, without any ramification through-which itcould- possibly
return back again ; and that this is not the operation of the
Canada-trade, I think is very clearly shewn -by the following
facts, exhibited before the Committee of the House of Com-
moni„ First, That the whole of the timber imported from the
Colonies is paid for by our manufactures.. 2dly, That is all
brought home by our own shipping. 3dly; That -none hut
British subjects are employed throughout the whole:business,
except a few American ax-men, -who are paid for their labour
with our manufactures. Lastly, That under the present -regu-
lations it is purchased by the consumers at from 10 to 20 per
cent. Itss than Baltic timber, and is equally valuablefor many
purpoies.

AS to the next proposition, " that it tends to encourage the
emple'yment of bad ships," I beg to assure your Lordship, that
the fact is directly contrary ; and that, if the Baltic was thrown
open, vessels that are utterly unfit to bring a cargo of timber
from North America, - might and would be employed in the
Baltic trade with the greatest comparative safety. To. con-
vinCe-your Lordship of-the truth of this _ assertion, I have only
to remind- you, that when a ship springs a leak. on her paaaage
frOnn the Baltic, or meets- with extreme brash weather, she.
NEVER Carr be more than from one to three, days' sail from a
port whereas it is no uncommon-thing in the Western Ocean
to ei=un.ter gales, amounting almost to hurricanes, for weeks
together,' without the possibility of sheltering. any where. I
once had to contend for a whole month (December 1812)
against a succession of easterly gale?, and had to throw my
gniei overboard, and in other respf„Tts was•reduced to- the ex.
trerieityW distress, without even a hope of relief, except from
a chinge of wind. Had I been from the Baltic; I would have
?ditto the Era.: port on the commencement of the gale, and.
lap snug daring its continuance. It follOwsfrom this, then,.
that the Baltic trade would tend more to the encouragement of
i4'sliips than the trade to North America."•llonourable Gen-
.
tmacq,:ainted with the nature of the subject, may
ankese from Mr. 'WALLACE'S- speech, . that -motives; of
humanity operate with him as well as reasons of politi-
cal' economy, in wishing to divert the timber trade from
~AMeriCa to the Baltic. I hope, however, they_ will guard
themselves from such a view of the subject ; as it must be
a Very qUe.stionable measure of humanity, that will reduce
.sonic thousands of seamen to the CERTAINTY of pauperism or
ftiivition on shore, rather than leave them' (withenough to
eat) to the pOssntrurr of having, one in a hundred, of their
• .
- number, drowned at sea. Jack will not thank:-Mr. Wallace
" officious interference" in this business.. But the most
- extraordinary feature of this measure is its positive inutility,.
(as admitted by the Honourable Shover) - as a measure of relief,
or encouragement, to any part of this suffering community ;
whilst he gravely acknowledges, that it is likely:to ruin flume.
bera of Ship Owners, and throw thousands. of seamen out of
employ. This is legislating with a vengeance, My Lord I And
*ie/o.ly, we may well despair of our Country, 'when it has come
"to this ; to be threatened ivith ruin by. a deliberate Act of the
•
Legislature ; and to be told, by way of consolation, that we
:Will not be without fellowship in misery, as there are already'
"tialtitids suffering without the smallest hope of relief, EVEN
from the WISDOM OF PARLIAMENT,. .
Mr. Wallace and Mr. Vansittart both say, that the measure
ought to be carried, not on the score' of its .bensfitting the.corn-
Munity, for that effect they, of course, cannot expectit to have ;
htit iietise it will be thd " first stop" towards a "7 liberal sys-
tem of commerce."--Pray, my, Lord, what do those two ,
Gentlemen mean by a "liberal system of commerce ?"
I -should suppose, according to my limited capacity for inter-
,.
preting the jargon of those official humbugs, that it meant to
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"put other Nations upon a par with us ;-and to this plan I have_ ,
no objections, provided we are put upon a par with them—that
is to-Say, provided that the Corn Bill is done awayiwith, arid
Our faxes reduced to a lei el with the taxes of thepeopleof the
Contitient. Can our WISE Gentle4;o4ll,4 t41.0?I;114, #4?x-Lord?
''Pliselievii I may safely answer the question by saying no, , they ,
cannot. Is it not, then, mere jargon to talk about a "liberal
Sys ern of Commerce," when every man of common sense, who
icee a's zlny thing about- the matter, knows the thing to be int;
possible. It is true, they may ruin the British Carrying Trade
44-allowing Foreigners to compete with us on equal. terms, and
call that liberality ; but it will be a sort of liberality that de-
serves about as much praise as a thoughtless; ignorant spend-
thrift would deserve who squandered his money about him,
and allowed his family to starve. ,
In alluding to the Corn Bill, as
,I have done, I beg your.
Lordship to tanderstandthat I do not particularly blame the
Agriculturists, as they could not pay their rents and taxes with-
out it; I simply condemn it .as abed and unjust , measure- of
general policy oh the part of Government, as it would, have been
Much wiser 'to have met -their- difficulties at once, than to pro-
crastinate the business, and thereby increase the miseries of the
country-; for sooner or later they must meet them, and I think
the period is not now far distant when they will be obliged to
do it..

. •In another Letter. I intend to address to your Lordship, I
'mean to inquire how it happens that Mr. Wallace, in the
STEP' tow"-axds, A LIBERAL SYSTEM OF COMMERCE,' should
'have begun at the wrong end of the business, by proposing a
iumsu're which will throw hundreds of British ships out of em-
Ploy,,ifist'e.'ad of one that.weuld have created an additional de-
mand, foriuch.ships,and of pointing out where I think he ought
to 'have begun, if he meant to afford-any kelief.to his suffering

PRICE 0

THIS DAY
3 per Cent. Red.... 71i eX Or.
3 per Cent. Cons. ... 72 711,- 7:2
4 per, Cent. 88/i
5 per Cent. Navy Ann., lOW

HIGH WATER AT LONDO.
Morning, 26 minutes after 6.