Star.
London, England, 1826-12-07 00:00:00

EXPORTATION 01 MACHINERY.

Mr. HUME presented a Petition from a large body
of machine makers, praying for an alteration of the
laws prohibiting the exportation of machinery. The
Hon. Member said, that the Petition involved a prin.
ciple of very great importance to this country. He
recollected the Hun. Gentleman at the head of the Board
of Trade having said, that he hoped the day might soon
arrive when the word prohibition might be expunged
from our commercial system. He (Mr. Hume) per-
fectly agreed with the Hon. Gent. in the sentiment, and
he appealed to him whether it was right to continue a
system of prohibitions with respect to machinery, when
he was endeavouring to abolish that system with regard
to every other article of industry? In the Act of sth
George IV. cap. 107, he was sorry to see a list of a great
number of ankles, the exportation of which was pro-
hibited. This, he thought, was directly the reverse of
the principles which the Right Hon. Gentleman had
professed to adopt. The object of the petitioners in
presenting the present Petition to the House was, to ob-
tain a repeal of the law which prohibited them from
exporting the produce of their ingenuity and labour to
the markets that would afford them the best remunera-
tion or reward. T.lis object, at all times just, was ren-
dered infinitely mole necessary, now that the markets at
home did not afford any demand for their industry....
The petitionei s declared themselves to be totally out of
work, and in a state of abtolute starvation ; the Ilnitish ,
manufactures affording them no employment, and the
foreign markets being shut against them by the prohi-
bitory system persevered in by Ministers. Every man
was now allowed to export the produce of his industry
to where he could find a purchaser, except the unfortu-
nate maker of machines. The consequence of this was,
that the machinists of England were in a state of desti-
tution, while their sufferings were increased by a know-
ledge that it was in the power of Ministers, by opening
their trade, to relieve their distresses. Those who op-
posed the exportation of machinery were obly like those
who had opposed the opening of every other trade, in
order to augment their own individoal gains, and to
secure to themselves a monopoly. He might illustrate
the truth of this by referring to many trades, but
tarticularly to the silk trade. The persons engaged in
that trade had done everything in their power to persuade
the country and the Government, that removing the
prohibitory laws would ruin the whole silk trade of

England. Ministers, however, bad persevered in ti,..
enlightened views, with respect to the importation of
foreign silk ;'and so far from the English silk manufac.
torers having been ruined, they were even benefitted
by the new system. The opposition to the exportation
of machinery arose fiom the same narrow views and
personal motives, and he did net see why the Go.?
vernment should pot extend their principles to that,
branch of our industry. The House had been so
strongly impressed with the impolicy and injustice of
preventing ihiiish artizans taking their capital and in-
genuity out of the country, that they had come to a
unanimous resolution of allowing artisans to export
themselves wherever they pleased. The rational conse
quence of this measure ought to be, that artizans should
be allowed to export machinery as well as themselves.
If the exportation of machinery were to be prohibited,
artizans would export themselves to an extent to prove
highly injurious to the countey. The effect of the law,
as it now stood, was to encourage the emigration of
our most useful machinists. No apprehension could be
entertained of foreigners being enabled to rival us in
manufactures by obtaining our machinery, for it was
in large works that required the use of machinery, in
which our supplies of coal, iron, our canals and large
capital, gave us the advantage over foreign manufac-
tater:. In works that required little combinations of
capital, and only the application of small machines,
foreigners might rival us. Labour in France, consider-
ing the relative *slue of money, was almost as dear as
in England. The law, as it now stood, was so contrary
to good policy, that it could not be carried into effect ;
rind it accordingly operated solely as a boutor upon the
snuggling of machinery out of the kingdom. The law
is its details was most absurd. Thus, be found by the
list, that whilst the exportation of even a screw was
prohibited, lathes, by which thousands of screws could
,be made, might be legally exported. What rendered
the absurdity greater was, that the potter's lathe was
the only lathe that could not be exported; when it was known that
the French and Dresden porcelain manufacturers so far excelled
ours, that there was no foreign demand for our potter's lathes at an.
On the Question that the Petition be brought up.
Mr. HUSKISSON appealed to the Hon. Member
whether a question of such vast importance to the
country could with propriety be discussed, at a period
when thousands of manufacturers were either out of
employ. or but partially employed. He assured the
Hon. Member that if a Bill was to be introduced, which
had for its object the abolition of every restriction upon
the exportation of machinery, it would be productive
of the most serious alarm in the manufacturing districts,
and would give rise to the presentation of numerous
Petitions frorhall parts of the country to that House:
he trusted, therefore, that the Hon. Member would
confine himself to the presentation of the Petition, and
would not follow it up with any specific motion. It had
been generally agreed that some alteration in the law
respecting, the exportation of machinery should take
place;, and the question having been agitated some time
ars, a regulation was made, giving •to the Board of
Trade a discretion as to the kinds of machinery which
Might and might not be exported.• This discretion
vested in the Board of Trade was oft most disagreeable
and unpleasant nature. It was, moreover, liable to this
objection, that in whatever way the Board of Trade
decided, the party refused the right of exportation con-
ceived himself injured and wrongly dealt by. Upon
this ground alone he felt the necessity of establishing,
some fixed and settled principle of exportation andpro-
hibition of all articles of machinery. lie tract tumselfen-
deavoured to lay down a rule by which the discretion'
vested in the Board of Trade should be regulited ; and
that principle was, that where machinery was of great
bulk, and contained a great quantity of the raw material,
no objection should be made to exportation, as he con-
sidered that no injury could be done to the country by
it. But where machinery was of modern construction,
and depended mainly upon the ingenuity and excel-
lence of the mechanism, and where the raw material
used was trifling, then the exportation of such machi-
nery was prohibited. It wash notorious fact, that many
manufacturing establishments were at this moment
standing still under the expectation of obtaining machi-
nery from this country. Under such circunutances
then, and particularly in the present state of the manu-
facturing interests, he implored the Hon. Member not
to agitate the question of the Exportation of Machinery
at this period—(Hear, hear). He had no objection to
the Petition being brought sip and read, and, if necessary, printed ;
but he did not wish it to go forth to the public, that the whole law.
with respect to the Exportation of Machinery might be safely re-
pealed.--(Hear).
Mr. LITTLETON must also deprecate the evils of
Imparts statements in relation to the exportation of
machinery. The fears of rash legislation on this subject
were productive of much anxiety among the manufac-
turers in this country. He wished a skeleton Bill was
proposed, to the effect of pointing out those articles it
would be expedient to admit to exportation, and those
it would be wise to prohibit. He was the more anxious for this, as
it was impossible to prevent some machinery plug oat of the
country under the existing laws.
Colonel TORRENS thought machinery might be
freely exported to foreign, countries, as England posH
sessed the means of preventing a foreign rifalship, were
it only by fixing an export duty of 50 per cent. on her
coals, without which the best machinery could not boy
advantageously worked: He was friendly to free trade
is the abstract; but considered that great discretion should be ab-
solved in its introdocdon to a country so peculiarly cl,rptastanced
as England—(Hear, heat!)
Sir H. PARNELL mentioned, that the more fo-
reigners used machinery in their productions they would
become the richer—in other words, they would become
the most advantageous consumers of British wares, in
proportion as Great Britain exported to them her ma-
dames. It was most unjust to keep down the class of machine
*sanufacturers, in order to favour the interests of the cotton or any
other class of manufacturers. _

Mr. BARING thought the subject should be reserved
for discussion to a more fitting period ; it was now pre-
mature, and We must therefore deprecate the repetition
of arguments on the subject by the Hon. Member for
Montrose (Mr. Hume). He entirely agreed in his views'
on the subject, with those advanced by the Hon. Mem-
ber for Ipswich (Colonel Torrens), who applied sound
principles of political economy to the elucidation of
practical subjects. He had doubts as t 9 the policy of
the free exportation of British coal, but his doubts were
certainly more practical than theoretical; but he had his doubts on
that point, as on many popular doctrines of political economy. He,
however, still thought there might be a safe exportation of most of
[ the articles of machinery in use in this country.

Mr. WARBURTON said, that however true it was
that men of honour would not violate the existing law
against the exportation of machinery, it was still, with
all the facilities of communication between this and fo-
reign countries, impossible to prevent the exportation of
large quantities of the most important articles of ma-
chinery. It was therefore necessary to remodify, if not
altogether to repeal, the present imperfect and impolitic
,law. It was folly to prohibit the exportation of ma-,