The Sun.
London, England, 1820-06-03 00:00:00

FOR THE SUN,

MR. EDITOR-It is with great pleasure end real
gratitude 1 see you advocating the interests of
the Ship Owner and the British Seaman, in your
truly loyal and respectable Paper, and will feel
that pleasure and gratitude considerably enhanced
if you will insert in your columns the followilig
Letter to Lord LANSDOWN.

I am, Sir, your obedient Servant,
A BRITISH SEAMAN AND SHIP OWNER.
Liverpool, 30th May, MU.

My Lord, in your very able and Statesman-like
Speech on moving' for a Committee to take into
consideration the restrictions on Commerce, you
appear not clearly to understand one of the topics
you introduced, namely, the restrictions on Baltic
Timber--a circumstance not to be wondered at,
when we consider your education, your studies,
and your general habits of life, whilst every man
must acknowledge that your views appear pa•
triotic, and your general ideas liberal and enlight-
ened. With all due deference then, my Lord, as
a Practical Man, acrd an Old Seaman, I will take
the liberty of pointing our some errors which you
have clearly committed, and some hardships which
you have overlooked.

will-begin with the errors, the first of which
is that we (the Ship Owners) wish to enhance
ihe price of an icle th.rt constitutes a rery great
partial: of our capital, namely, Pine Timber.—
Now, my Lord, I dare say you will be astonish-
ed when I inform you, that the Pine Timber used
in the construction of British vessels, including
masts and yards, at the present prices, does not
constitute more than a 50!h part of their value;
so that a vessel that would cost 30001., would
only require 501. worth of Pine 'limber for decks,.
masts, yards. bulkheads, &c.

Anotber error, my Lord, and 0.1 great one, is

that at your imagining a number of vesstis might
be employed in bringing, mass trout Canada, in
consequence of the peculiar fitness of that wood
for masts ; whereas Colonial 'ft tu e r is less suit-
Able for that purpose that; any other ; and, should
the Baltic Trade be thrown open, would not be
used at all; volilst it is egoally durable for a
great deal of house work, and preferable on ac-
count of the ease ,vith which it is worked foi
many useTul purposes, such as cases for goods,
moulds for foutolers, carved work, &c. .

Again, my Lord, you say, as she Russian and
Prussian Trade extends, we. shall find employ-
ment for our Ships, as we shall have the greatest
share of the carriage. That is as much as to say
(;o use one of your own -iimilies) that a-Brit ish
',;erchant would rather take his own carriage and
horses over to the Continent, and travel to Berlin

or bt. Petershingh, at tour times the cost, than
hire the cheap conveyances of the countries be
travels through. My Lord, not one-twentieth
of the carrying trade employ British Ship-
ping—for the very best reason in the world—a
British ship would require double the freight of
a Foreigner, and a British Merchant would not
give it.

The Wages of a British Seaman is 50•. per
month, that of a Foreigner .15s. ; the food of the
British seaman consists entirely of beef and pork,
bread, flour, potatoes, &c. ; whilst the Foreigner
is 'principally ted with dried fish, coarse bread,
barley, and pulses, with a very small portion of
beef and pork. The cordage also and canvas,
carpenters' work, labour, &c. in tire outfit, is at
least one half less ; yet you expect the British
will be the principal carriers.

I will, however, do you the justice to acknow-
ledge, that you only seemed to hope the evil- will
not be so great as is anticipated, whilst 1 must
observe, that a Statesman ought to have clearer
views to guide him, in a great National measure,
than the mere blinkings of hope.
With respect to the hardships you have over-
looked, I will state my own case. I am owner
of two British-built vessels of 300 tons register,
which vessels, at the present reduced value of
Shipping, would he worth , about 20001. each, so
that I may consider myself as worth4oool.; where-
as, two vessels of the same age, capacity, and
build, would, five years ago, have been worth at
least 80001., or 40001. each. I have then already
lost full une-half of my property by the change of
times ; and this, my Lord, 1 bear without mur-
muring. 1, perhaps, sometimes shake my head
and sigh when the tax-gatherer calls ; but I pay,
and hope fur better times. But what are my
prospects now, should the measure you advocate
with so much eloquence, and so little feeling for
the miseries it would produce, be brought about ?
Why, my Lord, I should become a beggar, or
what is quite as bad, a pauper, as my two vessels
could not be employed, and must be laid up to
rot, and this too after having fought the battles
of my country when young, and by sheer industry
and enterprise acquired what ought to have kept
me in my old age..
. . .

This is no fictitious case, my Lord, noc is it an

isolated one—hundreds wottld be In the same
situation. Fortunately, however, my Lord, you
have (as ynn say the Ship Owners have dune)
proved too much ; you have proved by accurate
calculations (vonr owl words), that the country
is paying 500,6001. per an:.utm—for what, my
Lord ?—for keeping up a body of 17,000 seamen,
ready to fight the battles of their country, should
that country be again 'plunged into a ‘var.
will.now ask yon, my L what you think
it would cost the country to keep up 'the saute
body of defenders in his Maiesty's Navy; or what
17,000 soldiers would cost per annum ? After
which, I think, I may fairly a k, if ButtKt's ce,
lebrated'phrase, " Cheap defence of ;Nations,"
would not he very properly applied to a Mercantile
Navy?

1 have now, my Lord, only to put you in mind
of one circumstance, which your Zeal for your own
theory has made you overlook—namely, that every
thing an Euglishman eats, drinks, smells, tastes
(water excepted), puts on his back, into his
house, or into his ship, is enhanced much beyond
its real value by taxation, (a taxation too which
we are bound to bear) ; and that consequently
he cannot compete with the people of the Conti-
nent, unless- he .could employ castiron Tailors,
and navigate his ships by steam.
If, my Lord, it was in your power, or the power
of his Majes►y's Ministers, to take away the Corn
Bill, and reduce the taxation to what it was in
1794, then I should not care how soon you re-
scinded even the Navigation Laws, as our supe-
rior knowledge, activity, and enterprize, would
put us on an equal footing with the Nations of
the Continent.—l have the honour to be, my
Lord, your Lordship's most obedient bumble Ser-
vant, _ _

A BRITISH SEAMAN AND SHIP-OWNER.

FOR TM?. SUN.

PROPERTY .TAX.

Mr. EDITOR—There is some talk of the re-
newal of the Property Tax, and I dread the rehear-
sal of it. Fourteen years ago, I renewed my
lease ; the Property Tax so preyed on my Lind-
lord's mind that he thought proper to raise my
rent only double. Four years ago the Tax was
taken off, but my Landlord has not reduced my
rent, so that in fact, I am still paying the Pro-
perty Tax, not for the Government, but to my
Landlord. And hundreds, and I may say thou-
sands, are doing the same ; so that in truth, they,
'the Land Owners and Landlords, are making a
good thing of the Property Tax to the present
day ; except in some instances, their extreme op-
pression has defeated itself by the total ruin of
the oppressed. And if the present state of things
are of such a nature as that the wisest heads are
at a luss to redress the grievances, what, I ask,
will it be, should another opportunity be given
to Land Owners fa make Sijil.more oppressive
imposts upon us, and so shift the burthens off their
own shoulders I would humbly recommend to
his Majesty's Ministers duly to consider these

things.
Their respectful and obedient Servant,
June 1880.: . w. 11.-

SPUR LING IN I'LLLIGENCE.

ASCOT-HEATH FACES.

FRIDAY, JUNE 2.—Sweepstaltes of 30zs. each for 2 yr-olds ;
colts, Bst. SID; fillies, Bst:2lb.

. ,
Duke of York's cl►. f. by Aladdin, clan, by Rubens
Mi. Rush's h. c. by Hadley, ant of Tobosu
2 to 1 apt the winner.

The Workingham Stakes of sgs. each (Handicap). Three-
quarters of a mile.
' "

Mr. Ramsbottoes h. h. by Watson 5 yrs Bst. 21b.
Duke of York's Snota, Rst. Ilb. -

13 started, btt two only were placed; 10 to I agst the
winner 3to I agst Fanny; and 4to 1 agst Soota. Buckle
rode the winner.

Plate of 501. for all ages. The Old Mile.
Mr. namsbottom's Shriekhorn, 4 yrs, Bst. 911). 2 '1 1
1.4.1 Warwick's Wouvet mans, 3 yrs, 9sl. 31b. 1 2 2
Mr. Forth': Admiral, 4 yrs, Bst. 91b. - 3 3 dr
Mr. Stevens's Charming Molly . - , - • 4•4 dr
Mr. Jenkins's Cracker, 3 yrs, 7st. 41b. . , -
7to 4 agst Atlibiral; 2to I apt Wouvermans. After• the
heat, even yo Wouvertuans. After the second heat, 4 and 5
to lon Shriekhorn. Won easy.—Bnckle rode.

Lord MsLvtu,s, it is said, has intimated his
intention of bringing a hill into Parliament, for
pulling down Rochester Bridge, and building a
new one,across a more safe and convenient part
of the Medway.
Mr. GRATTAN is' as well as can be' expected
after his journey. Some of the most distinguished
characters in the Empire have been to inquire
after his health since hit arrival in town.

Oxford has, during the fast week, presented quite a military
appearance; in addition to our County Militia, which has
'been nearly three weeks with us, Major ..Stratton's Troops
of Yeomanry Cavalry marched in on Saturday last, for 8 days'
training and exercise, accompanied with an excellent band
of music. The conduct of both classes of the military has
been extremely good. (Oaf ord Journal, June 2,)

The custom of peramindating the, streets with the cry of
" Mackerel" during Divine Service on the Sabhath•dav, is a
practice so irreverent, as to demand the attention of Magi-
strates. The privilege may be limited at least to such an
hour in the morning as shall nut interfere with the' time of
rcligious.worship...
Yesterday cherries and peaches were displayed for sale in
the green-grocers' shops of Covent-garden market.
The range of houses in Regent-street, leading from the
crescent westwards, are to have on each side a handsome
continued colonnade.

Wednesday the Sitting Magistrates • in the Police Court,
Edinburgh, sentenced J. Dickson to 60 days' confinement in
Bridewell, the first 30 of which to be f. d upon bread awl
water, convicted of throwing stones at a military escort re-
turning to the Castle from dutT, un the evening of the 234 i
instant: '•