The Sun.
London, England, 1827-01-12 00:00:00

Which —Ailiertiati. .Veaseli, Were subjected higher duties "Cr
charge, than Brit.itiA. That. We sincerely believe that negocia-
tiou, and not,Walition,-410he means 'by which it was ex-
pected arrangeinent was, fo be effected by the parties, will
further appear front a letter addressed by me, on the 25th day of
December, 1825, to a Member of Congress, a copy of which is
herewith transmitted. In that letter, the opinion is expressed,
that the British Government could not have intended to apply the
Act of Parliament of the sth July, 1825, to the intercourse be-
tween the United States and the British Colonies, because-1. It
would be inconsistent with professions made by that Government
to this, and with negociations between the two Governments, con-
templated,, if not yet resumed.-2. No notice has been given at
Washington, or at London, of such a purpose as that which, for
the first time, is indicated at Halifax.-3. The British Minister
here isunadvised by his Government of any intention to close the
colonial ports against our vessels.-4. No information has been
received here front any British colonial port, except Halifax, of
such intention."

This letter was published in the American Gazettes ; a copy
of it was furnished to Mr. Vaughan, which be is understood to
have transmitted to his Government. And it is believed to have
had some effect in producing the revccation of an order of the
local Government, by which the port of Halifax was to have
been closed against vessels of the United States from the sth of
January last. The order was, in fact, from whatever cause, re-
voked. And as that port, and all other British colonial ports,
remained after that day open to our vesssels, we were confirmed
in the belief that the act, in the present state of the relations of
the two countries, was not intended to be enforced on the com-
merce of the United States. The belief was further strengthened
by the terms of the fourth section of the Act, which are—" And
Whereas by the lan, of navigation, foreign ships are permitted to
import into any of the British possessions abroad, from the coun-
tries to which they belong, goods the produce of those countries,
and to export goods from such possessions, to be carried to any
foreign country whatever : And whereas, it is expedient that
such permission should be subject to certain conditions, be it
therefore enacted, that the privileges thereby granted to foreign
ships shall be limited to the ships of those countries which, having
colonial posessions, shall grant the like privileges of trading with
those possessions to British ships, or which, not having colonial
possessions, shall place the commerce and navigation of this coun-
try, and of its possessions abroad, upon the footing of the most
favoured nation, unless his Majesty, by his Order in Council,
shall, in any case, deem it expedient to grant the whole, or anv
of such privileges, to the ships of any foreign country, although
the conditions aforesaid shall not, in all respects, be flailed by
such foreign country."
Now his Britannie Majesty was thereby authorised, by his Or-
der in Council, if he should, in any ease, deem it expedient, to
grant the whole or any of the privileges mentioned in the sec-
tion, to the ships of any foreign country, " although the con-
ditions aforesaid, shall not, in all respects, be fulfilled by such
foreign country." This investment of power is the Crown to
dispense with a strict compliance with the conditions of the Act,
in relation to any Powers like the United States, not having
colonies, seemed necessarily to imply discussion, and consequently,
negotiation with such Powers. It is not the object, in bringing
forward the facts and observations which have been stated in vin-
dication of the American Government, to convey any reproaches
against that of Great Britain, on account of the late unexpected
resolution which-it has taken. These facts and observations, how-
ever, show that it ought not to excite any surprise that the Con-
gress of the United States declined legislating on a matter which
it appeared to them was both most fitting in itself, and preferred
by Great Britain, to be settled by mutual and friendly arrange-
ment. When deliberating on the only proposition which was
made during their last Session, that of a simple repeal of all dis-
criminating duties, which it now appears would have been un-
availing, and would have fallen far short of British expectations,
they were unaware that they were acting under the pains and
penalties of a British Act of Parliament, suspended over their
heads ; a non-campliance with the strict conditions of which,
subjected the United &tette not only to the forfeiture of all inter-
course with the British Colonies, but was to be attended with the
further consequence of terminating all negotiation, even between the
parties.
I will now proceed to a consideration of the specific conditions
required by the Act of Parliament, the non-fulfilment of which
is the professed ground of the late British Order in Council.
These conditions are understood to be contained in the fourth sec-
tkas of the Act, which begins by reciting, " And whereas, by the
law of navigation, foreign ships are permitted to import into any
of the British possessioas abroad, from the countries to which they
belong, goods the produce of those countries, and to export goods
from such possessions to he carried to any foreign country what-
ever And whereas, it is expedient that such permission should
be subject to certain conditions." It then proceeds to enact, in
respect to countries not having colonial possessions, " That the
privileges thereby granted to foreign ships shall be limited to the
ships of those countries (not having colonial possessions) which
shall place the commerce and navigation of this country, and of
its possessions abroad, upon the footing of the most favoured na-
tion, unless his Majesty, by his Order in Council, shall, in any
case, deem it expedient to grant the whole or any of such privi-
leges to the ships of any foreign country, although the conditions
aforesaid shall not, in all respects, be fulfilled by such foreign
country." In considering this Act of Parliament, the first cir-
cumstance which commands attention, is, the marked difference
which it makes in the cfinditions required of foreign powers, be-
tween those which have colonies, and those which have none.
From the colonial powers it only demands that they should grant
to aritish ships, privileges of trading with their colonies, like those
which British law of navigation grants to those Powers, of
trading wit:: the British colonies—that is to say, that such Powers
should allow tQ Dritish vessels the privilege of importing British
produce into their coi:
lilies, and of exporting goods therefrom, to
be carried to any country- whatever, except the parent country.
But, from the Powers having no colonies, the Act demands that
they should place the commerce and navigation, both of the United
IKingdom and its possessions abroad, upon the footing of the most
favoured nation. With the colonial Powers, the Act proposes an
exchange of colonial trade for colonial trade, oxcLi.ive of the trade
of the parent country. With Powers not having colonies, it pro-
[poses to give the British ccionial trade only in exchange for a
trade between those Powers and the Cuited Kingdom, and all its
possessions abroad. From the colonial Power-. it asks nothing
'hut mere reciprocity; which, viewing the vast extent of the Bri-
tish Colonies, in comparison with those of any other Power, is ;
only nominal. The Act, on the contrary, is not satisfied with de-
mending front the Powers having no Colonies, reciprocity of pri-
vileges, but it requires that, in consideration of the permission to
import their produce into the British Colonies, and to export
therefrom produce of these Colonies to any foreign country, ex-
cept Great Britain, those Powers should at ones extend to the
commerce and navigation of the United Kingdom, and its pos-
etssions abroad, the full measure of all commercial privileges
!while;_ .they may have granted to the most favoured nation. It
is imposs;,;eik not to see that this discrimination, made, by the Act
of Parliament, between different Powers, operates exclusively
-
upon the United Si:tes- All the maritime States have colonies,
and, therefore, will he fe'ein!othe trade with the British Colonies
upon the less onerous conditions. The United States are the only
Power, not laving Colonies, whle'le trades, or is ever likely to
trade, in any extent, with British Colonies. And, if they alone
had been named in the second class of Powel' described in the Act,
the application of its snore burdensome conditions would not, in
that case, have been_ more exclusively confined to them. The
trade of the United States will bear an advantageous comparison
with the trade of any of the colonial Powers, either ia its amount,
or the value or variety of the articles which it comprehends, is f
greatly superior to that of most of them, awl justly entitled us to
demand from Great Britain as favourable terms as those which
are extended to any of them. It is true, that the Act holds out
the idea of some mitigation of these conditions in the authority
confided to the King. But on what considerations his Britannic
Majesty might he induced, by his Order in Council, to exercise
the dispensing power vested in bins, is not stated in the Act itself,
nor have they been disclosed by any Order in Council, or in any
other manner which has come to our knowledge. The very in-
vestment of Bush a power, I repeat, implied friendly explanations
and discussions, and, consequently, the means of negotiation which
the British GoVernment
nos' rejects as altogether inadmissible.
Being, therefore, unable to ascertain the undivulged considerations
which might have led to some re
laaatim or variation of the con-
ditions of the Act of Parliament, we are confined to at examina-
tion of those specific conditions themselves.

- .
They require that the United States, to entitle themselves to
the permission of the importation and exportation which is grant-
ed by the British law of navigation, hia°,dd place the commerce
and navigation of the United Kingdom, and of its
possessions
abroad, upon the footing of the most favoured nation. The first
observations occurring is, that at the very moment when the
British Government is putting forth the new principle that the
regulation of the trade of the parent country and of its colonies
depends upon two rules essentially different, the one admitting
and the other excluding, all consultation with foreign States, this
Act confounds them together, and requires not merely that we
should place the British Colonies on the footing of the most fa-
voured colonies, but that, to entitle us to enjoy the privileges of
an intercourse with those colonies, we must comply with the re-
quirement of placing the navigation and commerce, both of the
parent country and all its possessions abroad, on the footing of
the most favoured nation. •
The first difficulty which is encountered in ascertaining the