Star.
London, England, 1828-06-18 00:00:00

conjured the Government to rook, before it was too .

late, to the condition of this large and now helpless
class of, his. Majesty's subjects.
Mr. POULETT THOMSON denied the expres-
sions attributed to him by the Hon. Member for Wor-
cester (Mr. Robinson). What he had on a former oc-
casion said, was, not that British ships could be built,
but that they could be sailed in competition with foreign '
shipping. This arose from their greater durability, .
their cheaper insurance, and the other palpable advan-
tages which were known to belong to them. As a proof
of this superiority, he need only refer to the Report of s
the Committee on Foreign Trade. Now, how did the
fact stand as to the comparative business of the British
and foreign shipping in the general trade of this coon..'
try? There had been, as the return of British shipping
showed, an increase between the years 1827 and 1824,
of 556,000 tons, and of 44,4.66 trio', and a decrease
of the foreign' to the extent of 7,748 tons, • and of
1,410 men. And this comparative increase in fa- '
your of this country, was observable in the.. first
year of the operation .of the new measures, which
were said to have inflitted• so much evil. There
had been at the same tithe a great increase :of ship. t•
building in the Colonies; still he denied ix tore the. pe-
culiar depression upon which.so much stress had been
attempted to'be He admitted, indeed, that the'
profits in the shipping trade were much reduced, but
he denied that the reduction was in a greater propor-
tion than that of the other branches of general trade.
Let any body look at the list of comparative prices, and
this would be obvious. In 1825, the price of Jamaica
coffee was 91s. at present it was 71s. During the same
period, cctton (an article of great consumption) had .
fallen from Is. bid. to lid. tobacco from 31d. to 2.0. •
olive oil from 54/. to 481. British. iron, per* -ton, 'from; •
151. to 81. 17s. 6d. lead frOm 291. 10s. to .181. tin
from 101 s. to 765. hemp from 431. to 381. Daatzic
timber from 51. 15s. to 41. 15s. so that the diminution
in the price of shipping had not sunk below its rein-
tive proportion. With respect to freights.* found that ,
in 1825. when the highest prices was held out, owingto
the chance of a short supply of ail the commodities
of the country, and a desire to 'spectilate in Iststaimltt:
the requisite substittite, the regular freight ..to*r
hemp from the Baltic was 60s. a ton, .at present it line
455. ; of tallow it had fallen from 40s. to 28s.stIns prow-
Serving the' same proportion to the level of other arts.:'
aim If the shipping then hid not Oult, as hatiliefq.
asserted, but increased—.if the coasting trade gave.
ployment to 9,000,900 of tons—if the fisheriesemplorde.
40,000—the colonial 822,000 tons—the foreign tilde
2,860,000—if, in fact, the general' employment 441)4,1::
tidy shipping was 11,948,000 tons, liOarcould,
'comparatively trifling competition -ak75.006 ftweisnt--:
tonnage, be said fo-to hale affetted them Thenrike-4-
Hon: Men;sber hit said, that the chivy/Ors *ye •ftt4
.culiarly entitled to relict, from the; Meekness. With
winch theyhad. borne their 'depression, and tbo ottani
absence-of all reproach against the Night libuoutse
able Gentleman (\ft; woe nutkui„,rid
were said to have wrought thicpansinl
was the paymentsast year kif 2001. from that body Sort„..
a pamphlet, which -did nor contain onetaff tomutleo..
argument as it did abase, :.no refrOaclCoft,he-Righr,'
Hon. Gent ? Was nthe exhibition the it* 4117. in thsZ
metropolis, of a sort.of general hoisting-46*gs, 'at this.
"tight Hon. Gentleinan's resignation,-which, though
as a source of joy bythem, reif4 yet a atilt o1;oito
profound regret by vreiy ot is co4pt 1-7;c
were these demonstrations nothing ? He.could soupy-,
deed treat with sufficient contempt the authorl'oftehents
attempts atiritimph; Or. With sufficient Off
and delhded instruments that were Mide nue'af:Pfi.'l4,'
occision ? For what were these.hired ltheli—for whit
was this flag hoisting? A pcdr boatean; when be
(Mr. Thomson) put the qtrestibn to him,")imply re-
plied—" Because Of a gemmen,going out wild wons let-
us live"—(A laugh).—This was indeed in thestylielpn,
tone of thepoet's description of the treatment of-rstanerft•
" Pone' doud burns duc in Capitoliiniagnum "4 * "
Cretatumque bovem ; Sejanus ducitur urico ". •
Spectamlus giudent mules: qua labia? '
Vultus erat ? nunquam, si quid usihi credisiantavi
Hunc Imminent : sed quo cecidit sub crimioe? quisnani . •
Delator ? Tams indiciis? quo team probavit?
• .
He might with the same adherence to truth, fioisb the,
quotation—
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