Star.
London, England, 1830-04-03 00:00:00

Sir RICHARD VYVYAN presented a petition from the borough
of Truro against capital punishment, in cases of forgery.
Laid on the table.

Mr. LITTLETON presented eight petitions *ern different dis.
senting congregations in the Potteries of Staffordshire against the
burning of Hindoo widows.—Laid on the table.
Colonel CARTER presented a petition from certain Jews residing
in Portsmouth, praying for emancipation.
The Marquis of BLANDFORD presented a similar petition
from Rochester and Chatham.

Mr. W. DUNCOMBE presented a petition from the Inhabitants
of Whitby, Yorkshire, against the window tax; also a petition from
certain woollen manufacturers in the parish of Morley, Yorkshire,
against power looms.

THE SHIPPING INTEREST.

Mr. SYKES rose to pretext a petition from the shipowners of
Hull, complaining of distress, and praying the house to institute some
inquiry into the causes of the present depressed state of the shipping
interest. The petition came from a great number of shipowners
belonging to that town—men who were well educated, well informed,
and cognizant of their rights. By the petition which he held in his
hand, it appeared that a meeting of these shipowners had taken place,
and a petition had been agreed to, setting forth the melancholy pros-
pects of the shipping interest of the United Kingdom ; and as this sub-
ject had never undergone a full inquiry, they entreat the house
to adopt sonic measures to retrieve them from their hopeless condi.
tion, and praying that their interest may no longer be made the sub-
ject of experiment. They further pray for more rigid econotny in
the public expenditure, and for a more equitable provision for the
expenses of the State, by substituting for a portion of the heaviest
taxes a modified property tax. With regard to the reduction of taxa.
tion and the substitution of a property tax, he perfectly concurred
with the petitioners. He should be sorry, therefore, if the house
should leave the petition on the table, without instituting any In-
quiry for their relief. In his opinion, there were only two modes of
relief-the one was by extending our foreign trade ; and the other was
by relieving the shipping of some of the heavy burdens under which
it laboured. (Hear, hear.) With regard to the first, he looked
with considerable hope to the alteration which might be us.
petted to take place on the renewal of the East India charter.
It was most galling to British seamen to be precluded from traffick.
ing in the Indian seas. He sincerely hoped that the prohibition
would be taken off. (Hear.) He had hopes also that the settlement
of the South American States would open a field in that quarter for
the extension of British commerce. These were the two modes of
relief; but, besides these, theme were other subjects which well de.
served consideration. In the first place, British ships were plated
in disadvantageous circumstances owing to the expenses of the coast
lights. These lighthouses were farmed out, and large revenues were
raised from the impoverished shipownets for the benefit chiefly of per.
sons of wealth and property. Another drawback on them was the
pilotage dues, and also the contribution to the Greenwich chest.
But there was another duty which pressed still more severely on the
shipping interest—he meant the duty on hemp, and he could not
see when other duties were :removed, such u that on leather, why
a heavy duty on hemp should remain—an article which was so
necessary anti in so much use in the rigging of ships. The
marine insurance duty was another evil which pressed severely on the
shipping interest. Again, why was not the duties on timber and
deals equalised That timber in bond should pay higher than when
cut in deals was a paradox, and was, in fact, nothing less than
holding out a premium for foreign labour. There was another im. '
portant subject—the bonding system. Was this system altered and
put on a more favourable footing, a great relief would accrue to '
the shipowners, and he hoped, when an opportunity arrived, that
means would be adopted for removing many of those burdens.
lie had received a letter from an intelligent gentleman of the port of '
Hull, which entered into some particulars respecting the disarm'.
Cages under which the shipowners laboured now, as compared with
MI. The following was a part of the letter, which well merited
attention :

I have procured, from an authentic source, the average rate of
freights from America and the Baltic to Hull, from 1816 to 1828;
also, the prices of provisions and the rate of wages, during the last
nine years of that term, the result of which I beg to submit to your
notice.

Ater age rate of freights, provisions, and wages, from 1821 to 1824,
and froll 1826 to 1820, all inclusive, 1825 being excluded
FREIGHT.:--
.£ s. d.
/ 18'21 Meme1..........1 3 3
to Petersburgh 4 110
1824 America ... 2 4 6 Total.
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