Star.
London, England, 1802-11-17 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR.

Sir—As I have already fhewn, commercial
wealth is a very precarious polefflon, nothing is
more fugacious and evanefcent; nor can any place
be more deplorable than that where it has once
fiourifhed but afterwards abandoned.

Should any man fele& the (pots in the Ancient
World, where want and mifery have attained their
highea degree,it will be found, three times in four,
to be in Tome country that has once been wealthy.
The importance then of preferving riches, once ob-
tained, is by far greater than that of acquiring
them. There teems to be no alternative for a rich
nation, but that of perfevering molt indefatigably
in every thing necefrary for the prefervation of its
wealth, or finking as far below its natural level as
it ever was railed above it.

Some perfons will fay, that England is fo well ft-
mated for trade, on account of its being an ifland,
and the difpofition of its inhabitants for excelling in
manufaaures to great, that it is in no danger of
lofing that fuperiority it has obtained. To decide
that quellion, we muff examine into the manner
by which that fuperiority has been acquired.

In this inquiry k will be fonnd,that to the feller-
ing hand of Government Britain owes its commer-
cial fuperiority, and neither to geographical knit.
lion, nor to the nature of the people, both of which
were the fame 200 years ago that they are now.

Queen ELIZMIRTH was the &if Sovereign who
turned the attention of the country to manufadures
and commerce ; for in her days England was be-
hind all the nations of Fe irope, Raiz only ex-
cepted, in both thofe fources of wealth ; and in•
deed it is yet but a (bort period fence it obtained
any important fuperiority.

In the beginning of the laft century, the exports
did not annually amount to above five millions,
sor our imports to more than three.
• More (hips are row built in one year, and to a
greater amount in tonnage, than the whole mer-
cantile !hipping of England tso years ago.
The following flatement will !hew, in an indit
putable manner, that the commerce gym continuing
upon the increale till latt year :

STATUS/MKT Of TIM mosso Of SIMS SVILT, AND Tat
411UXIBIT Of Tagil Tomaimas,Dirritionisnitto ZACIS T tdi II
SINCE T•ECOMMINCtIMIINT 0 / Till FRILIIOI earourrrox :
Years. Vera,. Tons.
3789 827 71.990
1790 721 68,695
1791 766 68,940
1792 $2l 78,t10
1793 too 73,085
1794 714 66,021
I% 9
r 23 72,181
24.972
179 756 56,242
1791 833 89.319
2799
858
1041 • 98 044
tloo
/34.184
1801 t 065 122,593

From this table it is plainly to be teen how rep
pidly our commeer,e increafed, when nearly ens
handsel tboafand Sow yilippiair were added every
year tb what wet before eziaing.
During this period, the year ;794 is the loweft.
This arofe from the bankruptcies, the ftagnation of
credit, and the diminution of trade in 1793, the firft
year of the war; from which It did not recover till
3796, when again the floppage of 'the Bank of
England gave it another check. In the beginning
of 1797, when once the commercial part of the
nation had made up its mind to the real Itate of
things, confidence was reftored, and-Commerce
Sourdhed; fo that the (hipping built during the laft
year amounts to nearly the double of what it did
in 1794, the whole tonnage then making only
66,000, whereas laft year it amounted to 122,593.
This is a rife fo rapid, and fo confiderable, that
it is very certain it neither can continue, nor could
it have taken place, from the regular courfe of
things, but chiefly from the war which. has lately
terminated ; fo that the care of Government is
required to be exerted in every way poflible, in
order to prevent it from falling off, now that the
circumflance to which the rapid rife is owing no
longer trills.
In my next I !hall give a flatement from the
Cuftom.houfe books, of the Exports and Imports
of Great Britain to all parts during the fame pe-
riod, which will be found to correfpond with the
above document ; after which, the bafis of my
reafoning being laid down, I mean to proceed in
proving, that to the wife policy and judicious ar-
rangement of Government this nation owes its
great commerce and wealth, which have been
regularly increafing for more than a century.—
I very readily admit, that the termination of the
war will of courfe produce a diminution of employ-
ment for the Britifli Shipping • and that as we no
longer command the monopoly of the carrying
trade of E, lull 'lle' ltly

LAW IN7 ELLIGENCE.

COURT OP COMMON PLEAS, NOV. :6.

A motion made on behalf of John King, to fet
afide his arren, on the ground that the bailiff had
forcibly and illegally entered his houfe, was argued
this day. It relied chiefly on the affidavit of his
fervant-maid, who (wore that the door was forced
open upon her, and that The was knocked down by
the bailiffs on their entering. This was as pofi-
tively denied by Serle and the other bailiff, who
fwore that the door was opened to them, and that
they peaceably entered, nu fcuffie enfuing until
the maid called the valet. The Court, in givihg
judgment, faid, that a bailiff might ufe any lira-
tagem to get entrance, if unaccompanied by force,
confequently refuted the rule to enlarge him.

COURT OF KING'. BENCH, NOV. 16.

Rom V. RULt4AN AND OTHERS.

Lord ELLINISOROUGH delivered the judgment
of the Court upon the motion made to arreft the
judgment in this caufe. It was an action againti
three defendants for fo negligently loading a cart
with treacle, that the'fame was totally loft. The
Jury had given a verdid againft one of the defen-
dants only ; the other two they acquitted of the
negligence imputed to them. The ground upon
which the motion in arreft of judgment had been
made, was, that in an action arifing ea cowtratchi to
do a particular thing, the verdict could not Cepa-
rate the defendants, but that it ought to be the
Came with regard to all of them, confequently, that
the verdiCt.in this cafe, having exculpated two of
the defendants, could not conftitute the foundation
of a judgment againft a third. His Lordfhip Paid,
it was the opinion of the Court, that iii aCtions
againft feveral perfons, for a wrong committed by
them jointly, the acquittal of one or more •f
them did not preclude the plaintiff from having
judgment again& the others.—The rule to ant
the judgment was therefore difcharged.

PATER DAY.

It being what is called a Paper Day, the whole
morning was (maimed in hearing arguments on
diet' abllraa qtteftions of lay-
In the courfe of one of the cafes referring to a
point of praftice on the conftruaion of an Aa of
Parliament, Lord ELLZINSOROUGH and all the
Judges lamented, as an intolerable grievance, the
extreme inaccuracy with which many of the Ails
of Parliament relating to
,judicial proceedings
were drawn up. In the particular inftance before
the Court, the Mt of Parliament on which the
quiftion was railed, was palpable nonfenfe, and
perfedly unintelligible. It was replete with mil-
takes, and many words evidently intended to be
inferted, were omitted. There were alfo a num-
ber of ftatutes which formed the foundation of the
proceedings of Magiftrates, to which the fame ob-
jeftions applied, and Magiftrates had frequently
complained of the inconveniencies to which they
were fubjeaed, in confequence of the look and
incorreft manner of penning Alt: of Parliament.
It was much to be wifhed that fuch of our Legif•
lators on whom the care devolved. cf framing lifts
of Parliament for remedying defeat in the law,
would have recourfe to the advice and affiftance
of thofe pevfons who, either as Magiftrates or
Lawyers, were belt enabled to inform them.
The Boa. Camas You*, Secretary at War,
appeared in Court, and took the oaths of allegi-
ance and fupremacy.