The Sun.
London, England, 1821-03-23 00:00:00

Deals.

Loads.
15,502
26,257
24,750

1817 -
1818 -
1819 -

Timber

Plank.

Loads.

Number.
6,132
8,516
4,644

Loads.
45
55
24

Hundredso
triTgEri
9 800
8,466

)fl2O pieces
---Ti--Th?3
8,850
7,584

1-
1 60,509 1 733 19.292 1 124 1 24,963 1 22,668
The invoice cost of these imports at the most moderate estimate, is
upwards of - . - - . - 450,000
Freight on that portion imported in Norwegian vessels; viz. 221,836
tons (vide official accounts, page 124), after deducting the dis-
bursements in Great Britain - - - - 170,000
£ 620,000
To which add cost and freight of wood imported into Ireland from
Norway during the same period, both of which arc paid for by
bills on London - - - - - - - 200,000
TOTAL Imports, &C. 7 X. 82..,000
OFFICIAL VALUE of EXPORTS from Great Britain to Norway, in the years 1817,
1818, 1819 ; extracted in the official accounts, pages 120 and 121.
IBritish produce IForeign & Colo- TOTAL.
manufactures. nial merchandize.
• X
1817 - 41,452 31,915 73,367
1818 - 76,466 54,506 130,772
1819 - - 60,172 29,174 89,246
- 293,485 Total
Exports.
To which may be added the amount of goods allowed under
a treasury warrant to be exported to Norkay without en-
try, viz. 51. for each of the crew, and 201. for the captain ; 30,000
although the collectors of the customs can prove they sel- £
dom avail themselves of the privilege . - - j- 323,185

496,515

BALANCE payable to Norway in money, being more than one-half the z
cost of the imports from that country into Great Britain & Ireland
You have stated to the committee, that you are intimately acquainted with the
timber trade from our North American colonies to this !country, as a commission
merchant resident here, receiving consignments ? I am.
Can you inform the committee, for account of whom the timber so imported in
the years 1816, 1817, and 181-8, generally, were shipped ? Partly for account
of the persons having establishments in the colonies, partly for merchants resident
in this country.
In 1819 and 1820, has the trade undergone any particular change ? Yes; the
reduction in the rate of freights has induced ship. owners to import on speculation.
Daring those years, has the merchant resident in. this country continued to or-
der shipments of timber, on his own account, from the colonies? The yard
keeper, or timber merchant, has not imported so largely as in the preceding
years, owing to the unnatural and depressed state of the trade.
Can you state, whether the operation of the present duties has not been to
produce an importation of caygoes of deal ends ? The present regulations, with
regard to deal ends, have been the means of introducing entire cargoes of that
description, to the injury of the revenue, which will be illustrated by a statement
I beg to submit to the committee.

[The witness delivered in the same, and it was read, as follows :]
'The duty payable on 120 pieces 12 ft. 3 in. Deals by a foreign ship, is £2l 10 B

Loss to the revenue.

X
Which on 185 pieces 12 ft. 21. in. battens being 1
.£ s• d. y
s. d.
the same cubic contents, - is f 16 13 6 onl 4 17 2
- - - 180 pieces 8 ft. 3 in. deal ends, d° do 11 011 - -10 9 ())
- - ... 120 - ..12 ft. 3 in. paling boards, d° do 3 7 8 - -17 13

The evil might be remedied by admitting at the low duty, as deal ends, those
only not exceeding six feet, which would confine the import to the limit intended
by the legislature, viz. such proportion as is necessary for stowage ; and the ar-
ticle laterly introduced under the denomination of paling boards being of the
same substance and dimensions as deals, and applicable to the same purposes,
instead of being admitted at - - - - - - 3 I 7 8
Ought to pay the full duty of - - 21 10 8

Under the present regulations that apply to paling boards, has not a great deal
of wood, applicable to all the best purposes, been introduced under that name ?
A great deal ; and I should venture to recommend to the consideration of the
committee, that the duty on deal ends should therefore commence from six feet,
and that measures should be taken entirely to exclude the article now deno-
minated paling boards, which is not that which was originally in the contempla-
tion of the legislature.

Navy Office, 17th Feb. -1811.
An Account showing the Time when the Frigates, built in the Merchants' Yardsi,
in the years 18 13 and 1 8 4, of Timber imparted from Canada, were launched;
and when the Timber was received.