The Sun.
London, England, 1821-06-26 00:00:00

lIOUSE OF COMMONS.

Mr. S. IVORTLEY presented a petition fiOm the Manu-
facturers of Tobacco and Snuff; at,Leeds, against the Tobacco
Duties Bill.—Laid on the table,

THE ROYAL GEORGE.
Mr. DENMAN
_presented a petition frorpn-indiyidual Of
the name of John Edwards, residing in Crown-street, Soho,
which set forth that he was some years ago authorh.el, by an
order in Council, to raise from the sea the wreck of the Royal
George, a ship of the line, unfortunately lost in the year 1782,
and that he collected 'a considerable . quantity of craft for that
purpose. The principal vessel was, however, run down by the
St: Albans man of war, " Captain Fisher, who fell foul of her
when under a press of sail, destroyed her cabin, and sent her
mizen mast by the board. The petitioner had made various
unsuccessful applications for redreSs to -the Admiralty and other
official bodies ; and he now called on the House to investigate
the circumstances, and to cause him to be placed in a situation
to renew his labours.—Laid on thy-table.
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.
Mr. R. MARTIN presented a Petition 'from Birmingham in
favour of the Cruelty to Animals Prevention Bill; and a similar
Petition from Northampton. Laid on the table.
Mr. S. WORTLEY preSented 'a similar Petition from the
Inhabitants of Sheffield; which, after a few words from Mr.
R. NIARTix, was laid en the table.

Mr. BEI6IAL presentedasililar Petition from Chigwell,
i; Essex. Laid on the table.
SLAVE TRADE.

Mr. ARBUTIINOf 11)1olghtinT.iiiil for granting certain
Bounties to the captors of. vessels belonging to the subjects of
Spain, Portugal, and the Netherlands, employed in the Slave
Trade.

Read a first time, and ordered to be read a second time to-
morrow.

SALVAGE.
The Cinque Ports Salvage Bill was read a second time, and

- Dr. PHILLIMORE moved the third reading of the Salvage
Acts Amendment Bill.

After a few words from Mr. TREMAYIs'E and Dr. PyILLI-
MORE, the Bill was read a third time.

Dr. LUSHINGTON proposed a clause, enabling Agents to
arrest foreign vessels for salvage due of them.
After a few words from Dr. PiilLLimoltE, the clause was
agreed to, and the Bill was passed.
The Consolidated Fund Bill was reported, and ordered to be
read a third time on Wednesday next.
Mr. GOOCH presented a petition from Ipswich against the
Tobacco Duties Bill.—Laid on the table.

The Corn Average Bill was read a third time and passed.
Mr. GOOCB presented a petition from Lynn, in Norfolk, in
favour of the Cruelty to Animals Prevention Bill. Laid on the
table.

The Order of the Day for resuming the adjourned debate on
the Woollen Trade Regulation Bill having been read, after a
few words from Mr. S. WouTLErand Mr. LusuntuaoN,
the Bill passed.
Mr. BRIGHT presented-a petition from the inhabitants of
Bristol in favour of the Cruelty to Animals Prevention Bill.—
Laid on the table.

Mr. EutiNoTos, froth the King's Remembrancer's Office,
presented certain papers relative, to Extents in Aid.
A Petition was presented from an individual in the county of
Galway, complaining that the one third part of a Barony in
that county should have been proclaimed, while the rest of the
county remained in a state of perfect tranquillity.---Ordered to
be printed.
The Tobacco .Duties' Bill passed through a Committee, pro
forma ; the Report was received and read, and ordered to be
taken into consideration on Friday next, and the Bill was or-
dered to be printed.
The Custom Duties' Bill was read a third time and passed.
Sir R. WILSON presented a Petition from Clapham and its
vicinity in favour of the Bill for preventing Cruelty to animals.
—Ordered to be printed.
Mr. S. RICE presented a Petition from certain Inhabitants
of Limerick, relative to the right of Election in that City.—
Laid on the table.

CANADA CLAIMS.
.Mr. ELLICE wished to put a question to the Right
Honourable Gentleman opposite (the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer) relative to the claims of certain persons in Canada
for supplies given, and losses sustained during the late war
with America. They were, upon the whole, claims to the
amount of shout £400,001), and of these about £229,000 was
allowed by the Commissioners appointed to investigate the.
Claims ; the Report of the Commissioners was transmitted to.
the Noble Secretary of State for the Home Department, and
the Governor of Upper Canada had lately issued proclamations
stating that those Claims were to be paid forthwith: The
agents, however, of the claimants in this country had recently
had an answer to an application of their's for payment from the
Lords of the Treasury, stating that they could not grant at pre-
sent any money—an answer which contradicted -the Proclama-
tion. He wished therefore to know what the Government in-
tended to do upon this subject ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER replied, that
many of these Claims were indisputable ; but that such of them
as s7lould be recognised by the Governor should be paid:
The Hop Duty Bill, the Sinkin Fund Loan Bill, the East
India Duties' Bill, and the Irish Silk Bounties' Bill, were read
respectively a first time, and ordered to be read a 'second time
to-morrow (this day.)

NAVIGATION ACTS.

On the motion of Mr. WALLACE, the House
went into a Committee on the Navigation Acts.
Mr. WALLACE said, that the importance of
the propositions which he had to make, required
that he should preface them by a few words, but
he would not trespass further on the time of the
House than was indispensable, for the purpose
of explanation. in enterinc, upon the subject of
the Navigation Laws, he felt it hardly necessary
to remind the House that our situation was now
very different from what it was in the time of
war; we had no longer the dominion of the sea
by arms, but must contend theta on the fair field
of commercial competition, and there was there-
fore abundant reason why every thing should be
done to assist trade that lay within the power of
the Goiernment. Before he came to his propo-
sition, he would briefly state an object which he
had in view, connected with it, and which was
not less important than the intended alteration in
the laws of our commercial code. The object he
meant was one which every eminent writer on
commerce had treated of, which all nautical men
had anxiously looked for ; and which enlighten-
ed Statesmen had often attempted and hitherto
failed to accomplis'h. in his own anxious and
unfeigned desire to promote commerce, he
strongly recommended this object to the Corn-
mittee, and it was simply to fix and render cer-1
taint and clear the general character of com-
mercial law, by separating it from the mass
of legislation which centuries had heaped upon
it, and removing contrariety or contradiction,
whi h rendered all its regulations difficult and
perplexed. Obscurity was the greatest defect
in laws; and in none were its inconveniences felt
more than in those affecting commerce. Another
defect or those laws was in their multiplicity, and
to pr( ve this he need not do more than state to
the Committee that there%arere about 2000 laws
affecting commerce which were passed at several
periods under different forms of Govermaent,
under every system of policy, and various as
the principle of restriction could be-rendered, so
that it was not wonderful, in such a mass of laws,
there should he a great deal of confusion. Such
multifarious and perplexed enactments led to a
series of confiscations, interrupted Commerce, con-
founded the fair trader, prevented adventure,
and checked the general operation of commercial
industry.---(Hear, hear !)—The Navigation Laws
were divided into two classes. The first containing
those which regulated the intercourse with foreign
countries, and the second, those which regulated
the intercourse with different parts of the empire,

Which might be sub-divided under several heads,'
the Colonial, Fishery, Coasting, &c. It was pro-
per that general consolidation should be made of
the Commercial Laws, instead of their being dis-
persed as at present, without form or system, in
such a manner as to produce an obscurity which
should be absolutely cleared up before com-
merce could move with freedom and certainty
in her.operations. By such a consolidation, there
might be procluced a system tijorevclear,, liberal
and perfect, than that which bad belonged to
the greatest commercial nation that ever existed.
From this subject he would exclude the laws for
the production of revenue, and those relative to
particular and private interests. Wore such a
consolidated system once established, it would
be shewn how trade was to be carried on, in what
ships, from and to what places, and in what man-
ner. Those objects every man would then know,
and he would become distinctly acquainted with
all the prohibitions of the law, so that he might
enter fairly into the trade of the country, without
any such apprehensions as embarrassed his enter-
prizes at present, without the danger of penalties
lurking in the hidden places of complicated laws
to rob him of the fruits of his honest industry,
and from a state of affluence, to consign him to
poverty and distress.—(Hear.)—lt was to ob-
viate those apprehensions and dangers that he
brought forward the proposed alterations in the
laws, and which would have the important result
of giving considerable freedom to commerce.—
,This was to be done by relaxing, but ❑ot de-
viating altogether from the principles of Legisla-
tion which have been previously acted upon ;
hitherto, the interests of commerce, however ex-
tensively considered, were always regarded in re-
lation to our character and strength as a maritime
power. Commerce was looked to rather as a
support to our Navigation system than for its own
sake, and this principle was strictly the founda-
tion of all the Navigation Laws. It was our
duty to_promote and extend our commerce by re-
moving every impediment and restriction that it
was possible to remove. The maintenance of our
maritime power was indeed the only ground on
which any restriction on our commerce could
be defended. Such were the impressions with
which he approached the subject of amending
our Navigation Laws. The first object which
he had in view was to simplify and consolidate
the existing laws ; the second to propose such-
measures of freedom to commerce as might make
this country the general depot for the commerce
of the world. He thought that these objects
would be best accomplished by dividing them
into several measures. The first would be a
General Bill of Repeal, applicable to a great
number of existing Statutes ; in fact to every
statute on the subject antecedent to the Act of
Charles the Second. Those Statutes were very
numerous, amounting to about 200, and he pro-
posed to repeal them, on the ground either that
they were obsolete, or that they were contradic-
tory and militated against the object in view,_or
that they had been superseded by other and more
effective legislative provisions. For the purpose
of preparing this Bill, a very laborious previous
investigation had been entered into, and he was
deeply indebted for the researches' which- had
been made on the subject by two Gentle-
men (we understood the Right Hon. Gentleman
to say, Mr. Brooke and Sir Thomas Tomline.)
,Still he was aware that objections might exist as to
the repeal of some of the laws in question ; but as,
of course, it was not his intention to press the Bill
in the present Session, Hon. Gents. would have an
opportunity, during the recess,of considering the
subject in all its bearings, and of coming pre-
pared upon it when it should be.brought forward
in the next Session of Parliament. The laws, of
which it was thus his intention to propose the com-
plete repeal, were classed under the three Heads
of Laws of Importation, Laws of Exportation,
and Laws of Staple. He now came to consider
by what proposition a Repeal of all the Statutes
on the subject, antecedent to the Act of Charles the
Second, should be followed. The Right Hon.
Gent. here entered into an elaborate history of
the Navigation Laws, contending that the object
which those laws had in view, had been entirely
accomplished ; and that they had made us the
greatest maritime power in the world. It had
been truly said, that he who commanded the sea
commanded the commerce of the world ; that he
who commanded the commerce of the world,
commanded the wealth of the world ; and that
lie who commanded the wealth of the world,
commanded the world itself. Having cleared
the way by the repeal which he had already de-
scribed, his next proposition would be—first, to
add to the freedom of foreign commerce ; and
secondly, to add to the freedom of our own
shipping interests. At present (as the Right
lion. Gentleman had already observed in his
history of the navigation laws), the trade of Hol-
land and the Netherlands was subject to certain
exclusions, the vestiges of an ancient animosity
long subsided, which' he proposed to remove.
By the removal of these exclusions and certain
others, to which a part of Russia and of Turkey
were subject, foreign commerce would be placed
every where on the same footing. Foreign trade
would be left wholly free, with, the exception of
what were called the enumerated articles ; to
which, however, generally (as we understood
the Right Hon. Gentleman), he meant to pro-
pose one or two additions. Another purpose
which he had in view (although it was not ad-
verted to in the Report), was to do away with
the inconvenience which the -present arrange•
ments frequently occasioned in the assortment of
foreign cargoes. He also, proposed to abolish the
division by. countries (which was so liable to
fluctuation),- and to substitute the division by
articles. He now came to 'the most impor-
tant consideration, that -of the British ship-
ping interest. At present, goods from the
various ports of Asia, Africa, and America,
as from the ports of Europe, could only be
brought direct to this country. He meant to
propose that those goods might be brought to this
country from any other port ; or that they might
be removed from one port to another. A lthongh
it was probable that this proposition might meet
with some objections, yet the view that he had
been enabled to take of it, and the evidence on
the subject before the Committee on Foreign ,

Trade, confirmed his conviction of its expediency.
Although he was persuaded that there was no
such danger in time of peace, yet as it was possi-
ble in war, the course of trade might change, and
not be easily brought back, he meant to propose
as a security to lay a moderate import on articles,

it
the produce of Asia, Africa, anti America, m-
ing from an European port in fore.ign ships. - e
last prbposition which he skßu offer wont*, e
piNe,calculated to make 'hits con try the general
depot for the whole commerce of the world.
On the general principle of the expediency
of doing this, he felt that he. should have
the unanimous concurrence of the House ; al-

though there might be differences of opinion
on the provisions of the proposed measure.
Of this, however, he was persuaded, that -we
could not expect any solid advantages except
from provisions, in_which the advantage of other
countries should also be consulted. It appeared
,to him.to be very extraordinary thirt it'should be
reserved
_to our days to make this consideration
enter into
_the commercial policy of this coup_
;try ; and yet, for reasons which he was at a -loss

to explain, it was not until the year 1803 that an
Act of Parliament was passed, having the sub-
ject at all in contemplation. It was worse than
absurd, because we could not keep foreign goods
out of foreign markets to deprive ourselves of the
advantage resulting from allowing them to pass
through our hands. As there was some jealousy on
the question of the transit duties, he meant tb pro-
pose that his Bill should apply to all articles," ex-
cepting such as are at present by law excepted,"
thereby leaving the question open to be discussed

in the next Session. He intended to propose a new
regulation with respect to the warehousing sys-
tem. He thought it necessary to divide all im-
portations into two classes. The first class was
to consist of those articles which paid, the highest
duty. These goods were to be warehoused in
the Docks, or in such warehouses as should be
nominated by three Lords of the Treasury. Those
goods were to be exempted from re-weighing,
and from the necessity of making good the defi-
ciencies arising from storage, as in other cases.
With respect to the second class of merchandize,
namely, those warehoused in stores of a less se-
cure description, he thought it necessary that they
should be liable to re-weighing in cases of suspi-
cion, and also to the making good of all defi-
ciencies in weight or quality. He next came to the
present Dock system. He for one felt all the

benefits arising from the Dock system, both to the.
Revenue and the Mercantile interests. But it ap-
peared to him, that all those advantage's could he
preserved at the same time that a -fair eoinpett7
tic:it in the•warehousioag system was encouraged.
hear, hear !)—He wished it to be un-
derstood that it was.nothis intention to pass the
Bill this. Session ; but to throw it out for -con-
sideration, and
,before the next Session arrived,
there would be sufficient time to give a dae con-
sideration to the subject. He thought, however,
that much benefit would be derived from a repeal
of the prohibitory laws. The country had ample
proof of this in several instances. It was forfld
that the consumption of certain articles, though
much in demand, while the prohibitory duty
existed, totally ceased w h ..en that duty was re-
moved.- :The lion. Member proceeded to state,
that :he had in his possession a letter from a Con-
sul abroad, in which it was stated, that owners
of foreign vessels had given strict instructions. to
their Captains not to enter British ports, unless
in cases of imminent peril. This arose from the
excessive harbour dues, and other fees exacted
in our ports.—(llear, hear I)—Now thiS prohibl-
- frequently caused the loss of many vesse.ls,
and, therefore, both on the score of humanity,
well as of interest, bethought itmees.s.ary to re'
peal, as far as possible, those prohibitory laws.
The Committee had also taken this part of the
question into their consideration, and he trusted
that a remedy would be proposed early in the
next Session. The lion. Member concluded 11
moving the following Resolutioos:--.
" That the Chairman be directed to move the house
leave to bring in a Bill to repeal divers ancient Statute,s,.o“
parts of Statutes, so far as they relate to the Importation ifl
and the Exportation from, England, of Goods and MerchallduP
from and to foreign countries.-
" A Bill to expain and amend the several Acts for the ej,
couraging and increasing of Shipping. and Navigation, 01" at
regulate the- Importation of Goodsand Merchandize into fire
,6
Britain, so far as relates to the countries from whence, and.
Ships in which, such Importation shall be made; and,
"A Bill to make more elTectual Provision for the permit°
Goods imported into Great Britain to be_warehouscd or sccurc
without payment of duty." _

Upon the first Resolution having been read b 1
the Chairman,
Mr. SYKES said, he concurred fully in the gel
neral view taken by the lion. Member upon tl;is
question. He would, however, reserve to a
Lure period his observations upon its details.
INT Ile
was not so wedded to the existing avigati°,
Laws as to oppose any amendment upon them'
but he felt that any alteration ought to ben°
ter of serious deliberation. He trusted, tiler',
fore, that the House would do_ nothing rasillYi
that they Would deliberate fully and mature /4
before they attempted to amend the esistlfis.',
taWs. Ile was aware that' there existed ilowitt%
the shipping interest a strong feeling of a 1.,,,";;
upon this question. It was true that the shipPir
interest was of great value, but of late the.
owners derived no advantage from their
(Hear !).:-;-The lion. Member was mistaken
imagined that British ships could compete 'die
those of foreign countries in consequence of 0,
cheapness of our fitting up, &c. The fact;%ll
that in such. an event. as the removal (=to,
restriction, Holland and other countries ".°,114
from the. cheapness of labour, of materiill';sels,
from other causes, be enabled to build vC a to
not so good, perhaps, but sufficiently gooence•
earn double the money, at one half the e F
ianation.
Mr. WALLACE said a few words in exP
Irtshme
Mr. D. BROWNE hoped that °1
the Right
.
would take notice of the motion °
Hon. Member to remove the trans.' duties in t"
course of next Session. He thought
that the
re-
peal of the transit duties on foreign linens wo 1
be.l thud ruin to Ireland.
The- counties of .
.Armagh Cavan and Down would b
those coup
'seriously
P
4
injured, by such a proceeding ; but 1..
ties in which grey linen was inanufact
ured would
suffer still more.
prFscnt distresses of lre"
y
land made it peceTsslawr
branch of their trade should be the more-part

f

I

. •
cularly attended td, and he pledged hirriself that ' fliund those general axioms. This seems to enlarge their stock,
he should attend early in- the next SessiOn, for
,: but it is of fancies not realities. Such theories, built upou
the narrow fotindatictiii stand butweakly; '-d if they fall not
,
purpose of oppoSing any measure likely to I ' of
themselves, are at least very hard to be Soorted
hurt the trade to which he alluded. , .‘ againSt the assaults of Opposition.' AS- the, Commit-
, B
, ARING concurred fully in the plan . tee on' Foreign Trade justly observe in their
•Report, ' it
is impossible to calculate with certainty on all the bearings
proposed by the 'Rio-lit Hononrable Member of- a measure so extensive in its operations' as the repeal of
(Mr- wallaco. Ife thou t I that a free
g i the Navigation Laws,' and in recommending this sweeping
importation ( • experiment, they seem to have lost sight of that diffidence for
'nth a full understanding that no which they give thenaselveS credit. The repeal of those laws,
Part of the articles should be consumed here as far as they relate to Europe, would riot materially injure our
or in our Colonies) would be productive of carrying trade, but repealing them all over the world and
the greatest 1, throwing open our commerce to all foreign ships, With the com-
We i .-ienefit. He hoped that Ministers modities of every part of the globe, is an innovation that can
f u d not be deterred by ignorance or clamour neither he justified by sound policy, nor by the evidence given
_Pni foil • , . .. before the Committee. The Slightest consideration of the sub-
owing the course Nvhich they had laid ject will show, that under the new system recommended, many
(olt?'lti, and which was so likely- to be productive branches of commerce, which now begin and end here, would
e benefit to the country. origijiate in foreign countries. At present, we makeup as
it was trite that
sorted cargoes,
:principally with our own manufactures, but
1. proposed measures would ruin half a dozen partly with foreign goods warehoused here for exportation ; and
coonties in Ireland, no doubt the House would import articles in return, for which our market alone offers a
regret -it , •h f certain and advantageous demand. This is the cage. with palm
mucn. As a British merchant, e• or •
one w oil, gum, and dye woods from Africa, with hides,. cochineal,
the would say, that lie should reject ten times and tallow from South America, with cotton and indigo from
advan now looked to, ifpurchased at the
tage India, and various ', other cinintiodities from different parts of
the world, for which our Manufactories furnish a constant and
euxyence oithe trade of Ireland. But if it conic! extensive consumption. If we permit other European nations
a 7shewn that this alteration could be niade to bring these commodities into our market through their con-
bout any injury to Ireland, and at the said tiguous ports, we shall encourage them to send out their own
tune - manufactures in their own Ships to purchase them with ; and
with great advantage to Great Britain; as remove the only obstacle to their enterprize, the impossibility of
well as to that country, he hoped that no cla- finding a sale for their return cargoes. We shall make this,
moor should be allowed to impede the measure, which is now the exporting country to Europe, the importing
The It country from Europe ; and instead of British shipping having
o,u:c Lon. -Member , after sonic complimentary the long voyages to and from Asia, Africa, and ATmerica, they
er va t ions upon the labours of the Committee, will only have the short voyages from the adjacent ports of the
Continent. Our commerce will be reduced to the present state
remarked, that many foreign merchants were of the other Euro ean Powe s d theirs will be increased to
nuti deterred from trading- with Great Britain in thp present extenrof our own. in short, we shall give un the
consequence of the complication and severity of advantages our ancestors have gained for us by the Naviga-
our Na 0. ton System. This, however, must be proved by facts,
iNavigation Laws,—(Hear 1.)--Strangers/ and not suffered to rest upon assertion. These sentiments
guurant as they must necessarily he of our laws, are given in evidence before the Committee on Foreign
Were• • Trade by Mr: Frewin, Mr. Buckle, Mr.
:Nickall, 11 x.
afraid of trading ,with ns.lest they should
Lyall, and Mr. Blanchard, all of whom object to the re-
-lio entrapped. He concluded by expressing a peal of the navigation laws as to Asia, Africa, and America.—
'lope that the Ri;ht lion. Gentleman would per- Mr. Bowden thinks the measure might be advantageous in
severe in-his motion, and he was sure that under
time of peace, but not' in time of war, and Mr. Hall, though
rather in favour of it, hesitates to give a decided opinion._
pro
interests
would suffer by it. irer regulations, neither the shipping nor the These are the only Gentlemen who were examined upon this
Irish subject, and the Committee in their Report have certainly come
Mr. D. B
1. ROWNE said that he should make use to a conclusion not warranted by the evidence before them.—
Let us consider the effects of the measure upon our Shipping
no clamour, but that he should oppose the and Navigation. ' One of the most valuable parts of the evi-
Ilill to the utmost of his lie wished to power. dente given before the Committee on Foreign Trade, is that
ask e., • which corrects the unfounded assertion contained in the Re-
t nether the measure was to extend to the portof the Lord's
: Committee on the same subject, that' Bri-
POtt
-erY and hardware manufactories of this trill Ships - can maintain a successful competition with the
enuntry ? , . shipping of every other nation on the face of the Globe,' an
assertion which is disproved by the very witness who enea-
, 41r. BAntNa conceived that it would be ex- .
soured to establish it, for he was obliged to acknowledge that the
Leaded to all hardwares to woollen and cotton, British ship-owner pays taxes of near £lOO per cent. on the most
tnatle material articles used in the building and equipment of ships.
tacturers, as well as to others. Irish linens This point is clearly elucidated in the evidence given before the
aj'Peared to him to he the only one among many Committee, which shows the exact cost of ship-building in
"then articles that could be in any way affected England, Prussia, and Norway, to be as follows: in England
bY the .4:17 15s. 3d. per ton, in Prussia £9 19s. 4d., and In Norway
- proposed regulations. .
1'..1 • £8 9s. The rate of seamen's wages, and the expense of pro-
tion r- AN ALLAcE said, that it was not his inten- visions, in the Baltic are stated to belittle more than half what
they are in this country : and it is proved, that they navigate
to propose directly the repeal of the transit
their vessels with as few seamen as we do, in proportion to their
Itlitities upon the articles alluded to by the Hon. tonnage. Or of the witnesses states, that since our attack upon
th:n.ner (Mr. D. Browne:) 'But the nature of Algiers has obtained for all . the other European Powers the
same protection from Algerine capture as we before excluSively
measure was such as to bring that
.question
uncle. . enjoyed, they have completely supplanted us in the carrying
b 1 discussion. He •assured-the Hon. Mem- trade between the different ports in the Mediterranean, and be-
-1./ that in any measure which might be intro- tween the Mediterranean and the Black Sea, which till then gave
thlced,
the interests of
Ireland, as a part of the employment to 700 or 800 sail of British ships, and 10 or 12,000
p.
Britis Seamen, but now employs none whatever. In like
-t "tett a Kingdom, would be most particularly at- manner, the trade between this
_country and the United States
" fled to. . of America, which is open to the ships of both nations on equal
Mr. D. R terms, carried on almost exclusively in American Ships.—'
Navin; ...ROWNE, in explanation, 'd that is
said These facts plainly demonstrate, that other nations can and do
all understood the Right lion. Gentleman to navigate at a cheaper rate than ourselves ; and that if we are
'"ul e to a proposed repealof
exposed te, an equal competition with them, we must sink in
On tao , the contest. It is also highly important to bear in mind, that
.fc,l:- reign. Linen,lie felt it his ditty to make the at some future period we must be again engaged in war, no
1/ observations which lie had offered to the matter with whom, whether with any of the maritime powers
()wee. of Europe, or with the United States of America; for it is ob-
',4 vions, that under the new system, the moment we become a
i'' MARRYATT—" Whenever our Navigation laws belligerent power, the advance in the rate of freight, and the
anti eolonial policy a tta
of
insurance on British Ships, will inevitably throw rethe subject of discussion, they are con- Premium.
the whole
eof our commerce into the hands' of neutrals. We
te,s7ti, 1 lacked by certain Gentlemen, who take every oppor_ shall then have no nursery for seamen, and our maritime power
t .Y to Preach tip must be transferred to those nations who will have become pos-
the new, but 'delusive and dangerous doe , nu.,
sessed of our carrying trade. Thus the result -of the proposed
f '' of free trade, and the abolition of all restrictions upon
crreißa measure will be the ruin of our naval greatness ; which will de-
.
recto e°Mpetition. This course has been pursued on the dine gradually in time ofpeace,butsuddenly in time of war. In
sas, t:stkeasion,,and I cannot suffer the observations which the former state, we shall die by inches, in the latter we shall
"nclen,`,,e4 Wade on these topics to pass unnoticed.. Those who be put out of our pain at once. The Committee, in their Re-
treoisie';;."42'nr uatagation system, and apply to it the epithets of porta look forward to other projects, founded upon the same
tore e,,--", rY, exclusive, anti illiberal,' do injustice to its true na- system of, free trade, and taking off all restrictions upon lb_
. ,'44 ebaraoter. The leading feature of that system is, that reign competition, for they
:adopt the sentirrients, and almost
It BriTsra, 04itie.s shall be imported into Great Britain, either' in the very words of the Petition presented to this Muse by ter-
those ``'''' b-ip or in .a ship belonging to the country of which taro merchants of London in the last Session of Parliament,
rem,' c-''.), rmr-odities are the growth, produce, or manufacture ; a and say, 'We still feel that a principle of gradual and pro-
heei:,a.",.;l founded an the roost perfect justice and reciprocity, ' spective approximation to a sounder system, as the standard
the B;'e n Places the foreign ships of every country on precisely 'of all future commercial regulations, may be wisely and bene-
trie, 'lle footing as British ships Ira the- trade with those coun- ' tidally recommended, no less with a view to the interests of
4bl 'air'd therefore is a principle of which no power can reason- `this 'country, than to the situation of surrounding nations.'_
37 eciu 1 • is
r'er e,„ T_ aul. •It certainly not favourable to the growth c f Experience has shewn the evil consequences of adopting ab-
°l it '-''"'reign commerce, or of that opulence which arises out street theories as rules of political conduct without due regard
ttoll'a,.4 nas been frequently observod by writers on political to time, place, and circumstance.. Nothing can be more just
olsjet-..-‘7 ; but 'while it makes commercial profit-a subordinate in theory, than the doctrines of liberty and the rights of man,
trit:':',, It lays the foundation of Naval Power, by securing to promulgated by the promoters of the French Revolution ; but
trtae.'3";bnih ships, manned with British seamen, the carrying in society every man gives up part of his natural rights, the
ca,Arito.' all the commodities Great Britain imports from those better to seeure the enjoyment of the remainder ; and,the en-
9e's who have no shipping of their own, which was the deaYour to revert to first principles, instead of bringing about
tsteewaell the Navigation Laws were first passed, with all the that utmost perfectibility of human nature which its advocates
ea,
,(Pl-artera of the globe, Asia, Africa, and America. The expected, produced nothing but crime, misery, and the sub-
Sfst,t`inns which have since been made in favour of the United version of all social order. We are placed in an artificial state
fitlea-;/ °f America and the Brazils are not, as they have fre. of society, and this must be taken into account in all our cal-
rqerei
~ been termed, relaxations of the Navigation System, but culations, or they. mill prove erroneous. , I admit that, upon
coisetiseadaptationS of it to existing circumstances, placing those general principles, all commercial restrictions and prohibitions
;tail), floe--',. as soon as they had shipping of. their own, on the appear to be prejudicial to the true interests of the public, and
Dios w,°tine; as the European Powers, which possessed ship- that if we had a new state •of thing
s to form,, we ought to
4re'4 ;fen thr Navigation Laws were originally passed. The adopt the most unlimited 'freedom of commercial intercourse.
41-,tisi?nJect of our ancestors in frothing those Laws was, to es- By these means, every nation would be enabled to import
is ses"ia belligerent navy. The first enactment on this subject those commodities which it does not produce, at
,the cheapest
li ,th of Richard 11, which declared 4 that none of the possible rate ; and would direct its own industry to those
~,leZ,s subjects should export or import, save in ships of 'the productions for which - its soil, its climate, or the genius
f sena, allegiance,' and this is stated to be, in the ancient and habits of its inhabitants were best calculated. The
f''' d' l'alg e. uag. used in the Statute,' per encresir la Navie taxes necessarily raised to pay the interest of our national
N4tngleterre.' The Act of the 4th .Henry VII. recites this' debt, enter into the price of labour and every thing that is pro-
bli;''l`l'Pre at length, and runs thus ;_._.‘ That, whereas great duced by labour, and make it impossible for us to maintain a
,Of ti; lag and decay bath been now of late time, of the Navy successful competition with foreigners who are not subjected to
, the
_a Realm of England, and idleness of the Mariners within the same taxation. I have shewn this to be the case with the
°f4tle by which this noble Realm, within short progress British Ship-owners. It is severely felt and loudly declared
c ()filo •vi.thout reformation to be had therein, shall not be by the British Agriculturists ; and is equally true of ourmanu-
Ners.:aeot ability nor strength to defend itself, tic." It then facturing classes, except where particular .local circumstances
, ,tlereb that no person, inhabitant of this Realm, other than enable them to counterbalance this disadvantage. We have to
ho s, ant :strangers, shall ship in any foreign vessel, out, or - consider how our Colonial interests would be affected, by the
, s ,bn b4rssenastwise • and that no wines or other articles shall adoption of this new system. At present, our Colonies trade
( 7Re ssert from France, but in ships whereof the Ring or his with Great Britain alone; they are bound to take every thing
fsanle Er, '''''.,ts, are ownerst_and the masters and mariners of the from her, and send every thing
double, in British ships
b."e is ~',Xllsh, Irish, or Welch, or Men of Berwick on Tweed.' he
them in return for this moneply, a preference of
,„ut the s';`,Queen Elizabeth repealed the Act of Henry VII ; ' home consumption of their prod* in her market. The
.irlilnxidetiTarofElizabeth, cap. 5, revived it again, and farther Committee, in their Report, toile of lireserving the supply of
on the encouragement and extent of the fisheries.— our Colonial possessions with British manufactures un-
-4 fleshg other regulations it enacts, ' that no subject shall eat der this new system ; s but surely this,. must have been
' the ;neat, or otherwiie than fish, on any Wednesday within written without due . consideration or reflection. But if '
t'house:ar..' 011 pain of very heavy penalties;' adding this on the principle of buying every thing where it can be bought
none •ul_ junction, ' that none shall presume to saY this ordi- cheapest; and takingoff all restrictions merely protective against
su„',_l3 for the good of the soul of man, or other than for the foreign competition, you deprive them of the protection they
In trrt of the fisheries, and the navigation of the kidom.' now enjoy in the home consumption of your market, it will be
the ,;?_rseign of Charles 11. the great Lord Clarendon completed impossible for them to exist; restriction and protection must go
anare_e ent system of our navigation laws, in various statutes together, either both must he continued, or both abandoned.
aihee'Fafted upon it the Colonial monopoly, which has ever' The Colonies must have the same privilege of free trade, in the
hasereen continued. Although not commercial profit, but purchase of their supplies, which you claim in the purchase of
rave,, Power,. was the original object of those who framed our your produce; and under the same free trade, must be allowed
pasininn laws,
:yet both have been most successfully accom- to find other markets for that• produce whichi you repudiate.
RiitX I?3' them, in the result. From the extent to which Great Here then it becomes highly important to consider the cense-
tion '`l,Os raised her manufactures and, her Colonial acquisi- quences of destroying the present system. Mr. Burke, speak-
the Globenaports and exports far exceed those of any power on ing of the advantages of the Commerce of Great Britain with
With e_; and, under her navigation system, all her commerce her Colonies, saxs, 4 Fiction lags after truth invention is Parts
on and dependencies, and those States in distant ' fruitful, and imagination cold and barren;' and the facts
on ssur, the world. who have no shipping of their own, is carried amply bear him out in this assertion. Under the present sys-
, Ts_':Kciusively in British ships manned by British seamen. tern • your "West India Colonies, nontaining a population of less
eilt;Ce, principle of this-system is at once simple and co'Mprelien- than' a million, are far more valuable to you than your East
Ison,al; and,ar wisdom be said tO apply the greatest possible extent of India dependencies, with a population of one hundred mil-
Surely, then,om tot eliclest possible range of human action. lions. The former annually consume your manufactures to the
a sYstern thwe shouldexcellence
e careful not to touch with rash hands,, amount of six or seven millions ; the latter only. to the
none
o„,a _ of which has been proved by the eXpe- amount of two millions. The former, in their direct trade
ed toeear_e(centu,7 and a half, and under which we have attain- to the Mother Country, and their trade to the British
d gree of aomrsercial prosperity and naval power, un-, Provinces in North America, employ
Ptecedented in the- 1000 sail of ship-
Pi:on:1;11s of history. Those who so warmly ping, and more than . twenty thousand British seamen ;
d hastily contend
restrictions imposed' upone rf'elv. system of abolishing all• the the latter not 200 sail of shipping and about 6000 British sea-
oreigners by our navigation laws, men: The former are allowed to manufacture nothing, not
',.,ttund me of an obizsetion of Lord Verulom, in his Novuni even to yefine their own sugar; the,latter manufactUre, not only
sarganum ; a
vi
perusal of those cciirentol-hich I would recommend to the serious for their own uSe, but' their manufactures come into competition
, a to
to hour Gentlemen who have what his Lordshi terms with -yours, in every part of theglobe. This comparison shews the
y generalization.' W only • P 'd
'
ioship says, ' The a vantages o e p ese t h' • d '
n over t e inten ed new -stem, under
xi
"derstainihig is naturally forward, notto learn its know- which you Would enjoy no greater proportion of the corrinaerce
' led
lingge by variety ; but also eager
oil too fast into general observations enlarge its views, by run- of y.our own Colonies, than you now do of any other Colonies,
_ 4 near era is •tons and conclusions, with- having a free trade. Cuba is one of that description, and not
'''-ttl°n ofale particulars, enough whereon to more than one-twentieth part of her commerce is carried on
.. . .

with Gteat Britain. Nothing is more specious than the idea of
a free trade, and of taking off all the restrictions with which
'cOnarnerce is at present shackled; but, the "advocates for this.
free trade, though ready enottgh to make our trade fke, to
'fOreigneri, hate never •Shewn our ,the trade of foreignerS is
to be made free tO us. They call upon us to set the example
of this liberal system, whether Other nations folio* it or not ;.
that is, to give without-the certainty- of r;;ceiving any. thing in
return ; a svStem,.which th,..v would not find it their interest to
adopt as individuals,. and Winch, upon the Same principle, I
cannot consider at liely to be attended with any benefit to us
as a nation. Coinmerce.haS been defined to be an exchange -of
equivalents ; this new '-commerce is tO be founded on the

consumers pay them for the prOduce of their land more than
they could purchase it for from foreigners ? If not, let them
'adhere to the DM, and appose the new system,- which nnist in..
evitabiy lead, to this result. . Let us reflect *hat our situation
would be, if this . new system -of liberal commerce, as; it ig
called, were acted Upon Lo the fullest extent.. Our land-owneri
Would be ruined, 'for their land would. not pay the eXpense of
cultivation, and. of course a .great proportion of our agricul-
tural laboureri would be thrown out of employment. Our car-
rying trade would fall into the hands of those foreign powers
who can'build and navigate ships cheaper than ourselves ; and
as we should no longer ..have any nursery for seamen, our
naval power would of course be, transferred to our more
fortunate competitors : One half of our manufacturers
would be ruined,l being undersold by their foreign rivals.
Upon, a moderate calculatiom not less than twa millions of our
agricultural and manufacturing population
.would be deprived
of their present employment, and thrown upon their respective
parishes, together with their wives andfamiliei. Add the ex-
pence of their maintenance to the cost of the., foreign com-
moditieS purchaied under this new system, and. Tod will
then see whether they would be cheap or dear. The =possi-
bility of supporting. tbeSe ruined classes,_ and at the same
time raising the revenue necessary to pay the, interest of the na-
tional debt; and the expences of our public establishments, could
tenninatc, in nothing less than a national bankruptcy.and a re-
volution ; and this would be the conclusion of the whole mat-
ter. The Report of the Committee on Foreign Trade, em-
braces various objects.. The, simplification of the. CuStom-
howie Laws—the improvement and, ,extension of the ware-
housing system—the reduction Of , our port charges—
the .abolition of all total .prohibitions, which only be-
nefit the smuggler at the expence of the fair Trader and
the Revenue—and the encouraging the sale of British ships, by
permitting them to acquire the character of ships belonging. to
that Country of which their purchasers are subjects. All these
are objects of indisputable utility ; and the labours of the Coin:.
mittee may be made eminently useful by carrying them into
effect, as well,
_as by removing those disabilities which our own
laws impose upon British ships, by excluding them from im-
portant branches of commerce which are open to the ships and
subjects of every other Wier in the world ; but I trust that the
House will not sanction the repeal of the Navigation Laws,
which I consider the sheet anchor of our greatness and our
glory."
Mr. Serjeant ONSLOW was in favour of the proposed Bills.
He thought his Hon. Friend (Mr. Marryatt) was rather unfortu-
nate in the verses which he quoted; for certainly the poet, in
the simile of the pig, alluded only to the restrictions on the com-
mercial system of England, and not to the liberal plan which had
been proposed by the Right Hon. Gentleman, and which the
author of the lines in guestion could not have foreseen at the
time he wrote them. In hislNlr. Serjeant Onslow's) opinion,
the picture drawn by his Hon' Friend, of our commerce; under
such regulations as were now proposed, was too gloomy.
Mr. HUME said, that he was perfectly astonished at the
speech of the Honourable Member (Mr. Marryatt). He was
surprised, at this hour of the day, to hear a Member of that
House defend an exclusive system which was condemned by
the whole nation. He contended that India could supply Eng-
land, free of expence, with all , the articles which she had got
from the West Indies, the establishment of which cost the coun-
try one million and a half. He thought that the plan of the
Right Hon. the President of the Board of Trade, would tend
to increase the trade of this country ; indeed the Honourable
Gentleman (Mr. Moberly) attended a Meeting of Merchants,
praying for. the removal of commercial restriction ; he was,
therefore, surprised to hear the Honourable Member speak as
he did that night. He was convinced that the alterations sug-
gested by the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, if carried into
effect, would increase and promote trade. Considering the su-
perior advantages of the capital of the country, there could be
no doubt that Great Britain, adopting the new regulations,
would not only maintain, but increase her pre-eminence. The
Hon. Member (illr.lllarryatt), might have West India connec-
tions, or other interested motives to mislead his judgment, but
he (Mr. Hume) was convinced that the nation at large was
against the present restrictive and injurious system.
Mr. Man RYATT and Mr. HuME mutually explained.
Mr. T. WILSON said, that he agreed with the Honourable
Member (Mr. Hume), that it would be well if Great Britain
removed all restrictive regulations on trade, provided other na-
tions did the same—until that took place he doubted the expe-
diency of going the full length_of the Hon. Gentleman's views.
He could not agree with the Hon. Gentleman, even though it
might be true that we could get articles at a cheaper rate from
India, and though the Establishments at the West Indies-might
be expensive, that we should therefore neglect the trade and
property. of that country; he was convinced that it was essential
to the prosperity of our navigation system to encourage both.
The. Resolutions were then put and agreed to.
The House having resumed, a Message was received from the
Lords, announcing their Lordships' assent to the Finance Bills,
and to several private Bills.
PUBLIC ECONOMY.

opposite doctrine, of no equivalent. It is to be a sort of what I
have heard called Irish reciprocity, or reciprocity all on one
side. At-present, -our own domestic consumption and that- of
our Colonies and dependencies, secure us great advantages and
an immense carrying trade, all which we are desired to open to•
foreigners, for the chance f what they may be pleased to k,riVe
118 in return -; but before we accede to this proposition, we ought
in common prudence to be satisfied, both as to What they can
give and what they will give. Much stress IS laid upon the
advantages we are to derive from other nations being influenced
by our exaiple, of adopting a more liberal system ; but in
point of fact they have little to offer in return for that immense
commerce of ours in which it is so important an object to thein
to participate. This plan of an equal distribution of commerce,
is something like that of an agrarian distribution of land ; Vary
suitable to the desires and intrests of those. who are poor, but
very unsuitable to those who are rich, and therefOre,- we who
are Hell in commerce, are the last persOns with whoni• such a
proposal ought to originate. Granting then however, for the
sake of argument, the ability, how stands their disposition to
make an adequate and grateful return to this country ? On thiS
point, we may form our 'judgment from their conduct towards
us since the peace, which happily accomplished the deliverance
of Europe, at an expense of not less than eight hundred mil-
lions of our money. I shall commence with our Allies, on
whose attachment we had reason to place the strongest reliance.
The Emperor of Austria, who appears, by the papers printed
for the information of the House, 'determined not to repay us
the money we lent him, has totally prohibited all our manufac-
tured goods throughout his dominions, burns them whenever
they are found, as fiercely as ever BuonaParte did in the days
of his most furious wrath' against this country, and has extended
this system to these 'ltalian' States 'width, through our assist-
ance, he was enabled to add to his territories at the end of the

wen" The Emperor of Russia has laid such high duties on our
coarse woollens, except those which are contracted for to clothe
his own troops, as almost amount to a prohibition;—he
has also totally prohibited our woollens of every de-
scription, from passing through his dominions in tran-
situ ; and thus has deprived us of a large and increasing sale
for them, in China and Persia, through Tartary ; and has
given a monopoly of that trade to the woollens of Prussia.. He
has also made. a new distinction in his Tariff of Duties, between
Sugars clayed in Europe and in every other part of the world ;
by which means he has excluded our crushed lumps, and giVen
the supply of his dominions to the clayed Sugars of Cuba and
the Brazils. This great professor of humanity and philan-
throphy, this champion of the abolition of the Slave Trade,
has given almost a monopoly of the supply of his Empire with
sugar to the Colonies of the only Powers by whom that trade is
now carried on. The King of Prussia, who is a woollen-draper
by trade as well as a King, being the head__ partner- in all' the
great woollen manufactures established at Berlin, has prevailed
upon his Brother Monarch, as I before observed, to give him
• the exclusive privilege of the transit of woollens through his
dominions, and thus has completely supplanted us in the trade
we formerly enjoyed, - through that channel, to China
and Persia. France, we understand, has • rejected our
propositions for establishing a more liberal system ; and
all our attempts to form a commercial treaty- with her
have proved abottive. Such is the treatment we have ex--
perienced from the Members of the Holy Alliance. To do
them justice, however, they are not worse than their neigh-
bours. The King of Sweden has prohibited the use -of almost,
every article of British Manufacture in his dominionS.-L.
The King of Sardinia, whose Italian States were restored -to
him by British aid, has laid such high duties on' British
goods as almost amount to a total prohibition, and al-
though Genoa was annexed to his doininions, •1:3, a treaty
which guaranteed to. her all her ancient laws and privileges,
in defiance of that treaty, he has deprived her of her most va-
luable privilege, that of being the emporium for the transit of
British goods into the neighbouring Italian States: Spain,
since the establishment of the new Government, has adopted a
prohibitory system, which almost annihilates our commercial
intercourse with that country. Such are the pretensions of the
different European powers to a more liberal systeria of com-
merce on our part ; and to our compliance with the modest re-
quest made by their advocates, that we should open to them, all
those sources of our external commerce and internal consump-
tion, which we have hitherto reserved for the encouragement of
our domestic industry. Surely we must be unwise indeed, with
these proofs of their indisposition to serve us, to place
ourselves in their power arid at their mercy !—A liberal
system of commerce is a contradiction ,in tarns ; for the
first principle of Commerce is gain, which it must be admit-
ted is not very favourable to the practice of liberality. So-
ciety is, however, so happily constituted, that men in endeavour..
ing to promote their own interests and enjoyments, uninten=
tionally perhaps, but necessarily and inevitably, promote the
interests and enjoyments of others. Let a man spend his
money how he will, ih building, planting, or indulging him 7
self in luxury and dissipation, he gives employment and sub-
sistence to those who are the instruments of gratifying his
wishes. In this way merchants are eminently useful; and con-
tribute largely to the good of society. The merchant who en:.
gages in• a commercial speculation, furnishes employment to a
number of manufacturers at home in making up!his cargo ; and
adds to the comforts and enjoyments of the inhabitants of thoSe
countries abroad, among whom it is sold. These are the ends,
but not the objects ofhis undertakings ; in which he has no other
view than his own profit. Nothing is more. true than the old
proverb, that 'trade knows no friend."Palk, if you plea:se, of
justice and reciprocity, principles which men will act up to
from a regard to their "owl character, but liberality is out of the
question. Foreigners, without being courted, will buy of you
whatever you can sell them cheaper than other nations; and if
you court them ever so much, they will bily nothing more_
So much for the liberal system of commerce. This system of
free trade is subject to other very strong objections, if those al-
ready Urged were not conclusive. Great commercial changes are
always attended with serious mischief, because the spirit of en-
terpnze and speculation overstocks every new market: Most of
us recollect the ruin that attended the sudden opening of
the trade at Buenos Ayres ; and we all have before Us the
more recent instance of the private trade to India, which
has led to such heavy lOsSes that the tonnage employ-
ed in it has been reduced from 186,000 tons in 1/318 to
43,500 tons in 1820. If the trade of the whole world were
thrown open, in the manner recommended by our new po-
litical economists, the rage for speculation would be boundless,
the revolutions in property unprecedented, and the ruin incal-
culable. But these are the days of innovation and revolution,
which, after making experiments upon politics for many years
past, seem now to be trying their hands upon commerce. Some
men are so prone to change, that they consider all change as an
improvement. Commercial men, in particular to whose specu-
lations.the war gave ample scope, find themselvea circumscrib-
ed in peace, and many of them are eager to adopt any expe-
riment that may again open a wider field to their spirit of ad-
venture. The state of things in which we arc now placed, reminds
me of a jeu d'esprit of the late Professor Porson, who happening
to cut out at whist, the Lady of the house told him he should
write some verses, while the rest of the party were playing.—
He asked lier for a subject; and she suggested that he should
suppOse tic deVil was taking a walk on earth, to see what we
were about, and write his observationS. Among the verses com-
posed by the Professor on that occasion, are the following :
With wind and with tide,
Down the river did glide,
•A pig with vast celerity ;
And the Devil he grinnc4, for he saw all the while,
How it cut its own throat, and said with a smile,

Mr-.lll.luptuy said, that seeing the Noble
MarqueSs in his place, he wished to put a ques-

tion to -The Report of the Agricultural.
Committee, which had been lately brought up,
did.not recommend any alteration of the C9rii
Laws during the preSent SeSsion, but recom-
mended the propriety of making such alteration
at a future 'Session. , The Committee ifprther sug-
gested 'the propriety of adopting publiC economy,
withaview of approximating the takes as much
a's possible to the present state of things. It was
a well7known fact, that the taxes became more
heavy on a reduced income, than they formerly
Were. Ire (M'r. Maberly), on making a motion
at the commencement of the Sessions, had taken
views and suggested plans of economy similar to
those proposed by the Committee; that motion,
hiawe'Ver; was met by the previous question. Ile
Would now beg to ask the Noble Lord, who,
during the Session, had opposed every measure
of economy that had been proposed, what plan of
economy he intended to propose, pursuant to the
recommendation of the Committee ?
The Marquis of.LONDONDERRY said, that .he
did not understand the Hon. Member to put any
distinct 'question whatever. The Hon. Member
niade an unsuccessful attempt at an argument,
and alluded to a statement of his during the
early part of the Session, and the Hon. Gentle-
man
inferred, that because his Maje Sty's Go-
vernment did not adoPt the views of the lion.
Gentleman, that, therefore, they were not dis-
posed to adopt any system of economy.. Ilis
Right Hon. Friend (the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer) was almost derided on a former occa-
sion, when he declared that the GoVermnent
would he able to Make a considerable saving in
the eXpenditure of the present year ; it so hap-
pened, however, that the Estimates of the pre-
sent year were lesS by 1,076,000/. than the year
before. He could assure the Hon. Gentleman
that there was no part of the Report he was more
dispoSed to adhere to than that part of it which
recommended economy. There was no part of
the Report which, in the next Session, he would
be more anxious or more happy to carry into
execution. •
GRANT TO THE DUKE OF CIAR.E-NCE.
TheiCHA.NCELLOR of the EXCkIEQUER moved the
Order ()lithe Day for the second reading of the Bill tor mak-
ing the Grant, to the Duke of Clarence.
Arr. G. BENNETT said, he should not enter into any dis-
euasion upon the Bill, as. so much had already taken Plf.te;!—
fie considered the grant to be one of a most unprincipled cha-
racter, and he should divide the House upon it at every stave:
He moved that the Bill be read a second time that day six
months.

This is England's commercial prosperity.'
What the Professor predicted is now coming to pass ; for we are
certainly cutting the throat of our commercial prosperity, and
the devil, who delights in mischief, may well grin at our pre-
sent proceedings. We must not flatter ourselves that we can
go a certain length in this new career, and then stop. If we
once concede the principle,
.and establish it as a standard to be
referred to on all future occasions, we must abide by it uniform_
lY ; for principles are immutable in their nature, and therefore
not to be maintained or abandoned at pleasure. Nothing can he
more absurd, than to suppose that two :opposite systems can be
acted upon at the same time. To adopt a course of measures
half liberal and half exclusive, would be taking one step for-
ward and another backward, instead
.of going straight on. To
exhibit a parade of pompous professions, adopting them in
some instances and departing from them in otherX, as suited our
interest or convenience, would render us despicable in the eyes of
Foreign Powers, who might justly, reproach us with insincerity
and duplicity. If we take .o.tr the protecting duties on foreign
timber, and relax our navigation laWs,- to shew our sincerity
in this great work, how can we object to take off the restrictions
upon foreign corn ? To prohibit the import of cheap foreign
corn. in order to force the consumption of dear English corn,
would not only be a violation of the new principle of taking
off all restrictions upon foreign competition, but also pf the
great rule to buy every thing where it can be bought cheapeSt.
Besides, the price of corn regulates the price of- labour, and
of every thing that is
.produced by lahour ; and if our ma-
nufacturers are' to compete" with fbreign manufaCturers,
they must be fed at as cheap a rate. Ate the landed interest
prepared to this length ? Will they deduct frorti their rentals
the twenty or thirty millions per annum, which the British

Mr. F. PALMER seconded the motion, and complained that
he had been represented as voting for the grant in its earlier
stages.. •

Lord A. HAMILTON objected to thesrant as well as to the
manner in. which. it had been introduced into that House. He
.
thOughithe tern " arrear" had been improperly applied to the
sum to be allowed ,fur the last three.years. The .No'cle Lord
contended, that the making .such a grant was wholly .with Out
precedent, and stated his intention of opposing it altOgether.
Sir JOHN SIBRIGHT said-he- had spoken with-men on
both sides of the question, and not one had approved of the vete
for the arrears.

The CIIANCELTA)R of the EXCHEQUER said it was
singular that he had not heard of the disapprobation alluded to
by the Hon. Baronet. He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer)
believed the pubhc in the first instance regretted that the Luke
Of Clarence had declined accepting the grant.—(Hear, hear !
and.a laugh from the Opposition'.)—He believed the grant was
fully justified by precedalt.

—The Douse then divided upon Mr. BEITNETT's Amend-
ment, when there appeared,
For the Amendment 14
Against it , - 61
• • Major - -
The original Motion was then agreed to, and the fill was
read a second time. . •

Mr. F. PALMER presented a petition from the inhabitants
of Reading, in favour of the Bill for punishing Cruelty to A9i-.
mats; and a similar petition was 19reSented from certain. Cit-
izens of London, by Mr. I.3artm-..—The petitions were ordered
to be printed.
• EAST IN-DtA PRIVATE TRADE
The House went into a Committee on the East India Private
Trade Bill.

- -
After a feiy i,ords.from he Chaneclloi of the Exchequer anal
Mr.tflume, the House resumed. ' -

CH ANF" CELT:OR of the CHEQUP.R havindstated,
that the duties imposed by the Bill would not attach to Whitd
Sugar now on hand; • •-. •
Mr. BRIGHT opposed the Bill, and complained that it-
would injure:our West India Trade. .
Mr. HUME said that, on the contrary, the West.lndia •stz:;.
gars had a protecting dutY'of lOs. on the hundred, which duty
operated, as a tax. upon the country. - ' •
.Mr. jar. S3IITII Wished to know how long it was intendedth.
contume the Bill ?

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, foi one:

. . Mr..W. SMITH then. said it was scarceworth while in thl
present state of the Session, for the Hon. Member for Bristol;
(Mr. Bright) to oppose theßill.
Mr. BR I GHT explained. • • - -
. Mr, BARHAM agreed that the subject would be discussed
to more advantage next Session. He thought, however, that
the argument of the Hon. Member for Aberdeen, (Alr. Hurn.4),
was perfectly unfounded; and at a proper time he should meet
him on that; argument. The protecting duty was a right, and
had been paid for Under.the security of Parliament. The Hon.
Member spoke-at some length in support of the West India
Trade. • -

W. SMITH said,: he had no connexion either with the
East or the West India trade. He desired to advance the fait
interest of both; and he therefdre protested against the mono;
poly sUppOrted by the Hon. Member. He had always under-
stood that free trade should be the ride, and restriction the
exception.
Mr. BERNAL said, he for One should be ready-to- argue for
the repeal of all prohibitions against the West India Colonies:.
The West India _trade was compelled to purchase every thing
at the Home .Market ; while the East -India Proprietor might
go where he pleased. Ile thought it would be sound policy to
repeal all the,proliibitory laws.
Mr. HART DAVIS followed the last speaker in favour of
the West India trade.

Sir ROBERT WILSON begged to ask the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, whether there had not been, between the years 1815
and 1818, an increase of 35,000 Blacks in the Island of Jamaica ?
If this was the case, he thought the increase very suspicious.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said,. the
question could be answered by the' Colonial Secretary, who
would be in his'place to-morrow. He (the Chancellor of the
Exchequer) could not answer it at present.
Mr. GOULBURN just then entered the House, and said he.
believed an increase had taken place within the period men-
tioned, but. he was satisfied it hid not taken place in conse-
quence of any illegal importation. He thought it was caused
by the improved treatment of the Slaves.
Mr. W. SMITH said, he thought there must be some mis-
take, as the increase was scarcely possible.
After, a few words from Mr. BRIGHT and the CHANCEL-
LOR of the EXCHEQUER, the Bill waa ordered to be ethumit-
ted to-morrow. -