The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-06-26 00:00:00

11•!G1TioN AcTm.

The House wen► tio.o a C ttttt onttee on tin. N.:v!ga-
iun

r. WA LLACE said, that in directing !it ttention of
theCorumittee to these Arts,his object was to simplify and
consolidate them, and to remove from them inconsisten-
cies and contradictions witn which they now abound-
ed. This was an object that hail been inskted upon
by nisay very able writers, and latterly recommended
by the Committee (on Foreign Trade) of which be
ball the honour to be Chairman. There were no
fewer than 2,000 laws operatin, upon this subject, and
fow their having been passed with different views.
sod under various impressions of policy amid utility.
they were often in contradietion to earl, other, and in-
e.fectual tor the purposes they were meant to promote.
—(Hear, hear.)—lt was his wish so to simplify these
laws that every man might be able to kfiont what they
ordained, and what they forbade. He would propose,
also, some alterations for the purpos:; of allowing
greater extension to commerce. This was to be ef-
fected by removing every unneeessary• impediment
which now existed, and by putting an end to every
restri. lion which was not essential to the support of
our maritime power. The first object he had in view
was to repeal every Ac' on this subject antecedent to
the 12th and 13th of Charles II.; these amounted to
no less than two hundred'Acts, and be would propose
their repeal on the ground that they were absolutely
impolitic or superfluous. lie dill not come to the re-
solution of making this proposition on his private
judgment; he was fortified in his opinion by the opi-
nions of .11r. Brooke and Sir T. Tombine, Uentlemen
well known to this House for their atquointance with
every thing connected with this subject. Ile in-
tendei to arrange his Act under three !wads—the laws
of import, of export, and of staple. It was not his
intention to propose that these. Acts shoold be passed
through this Session : they would be printed, so as to
give eve.", one who wished to inquire Into the sub-
ject tme opportenity -of reading over die Bills, and
mg ' i.usnlf master of thew before they shouid be

Wight under the fall cone lie di House.
—The Right Honourable Gentleman entered into a
history of the Navigation Laws from the earliest times
to the reign of Charles the Second, and endeavoured
to thew that in consequence or the spirit and enter-
prise of this country, it had attained an extraordinary
pitch of commercial greatness under that system of
laws. He should just propose to repeal all the Navi-
gation Laws passed before the Navigation Act of
Charles the Second, in order to 'trip those laws of all
the contradictions and contravestioas which now dis-
figured them. And after this it became the next im-
portant step to consider what alteration the Act of
Charles the Second should undergo, with a view to
give additional freedom to foreign commerce, and ad-
ditional power to the vessels of Great Britain. And
with regard to the first part of his proposition,. he
thought it would be most desirable on many accounts
that the distinction which was made by this
country in her commercial relations with respect to
Holland, the Netherlands, and Germany, should be
done away with, and that those countries should be
placed upon the saute footing as other countries, as to
their commercial intercourse with us. He should a!so
take away another restriction, which was nut alluded
to in the Report, but which was perfectly consistent
with the principles which the Committee recommended.
It was well known that certain enumerated articles
could not be carried from a country except in the
vessels of that country, or in British vessels. The
consequence of this regulation was, that if at prese-t
a merchant bad a ship of his own, partly ladch
with commodities, and wished to complete her care."
at a particular port with any of the enumerate]
articles, he could not do so, and he must ei•hrr
employ a vessel belonging to the partici:a;
country, or a British one, to do so.—(Hear.)—
It was further clear, that if those enumerated articles
were intended to be :eel to this country, they
tilt be sent circuitously, and made to perform t•va
voyages instead of one. It would be then an expedi-
ent roorse to take away the restriction now nper.t'ng
against the trade of hose articles, and he did nit tee
that the measure would be attended with aut• effect
that was not consistent with the Navigation Laws of
this country. His next measure would be to do away
oitii the division (for commercial purposes) of Ferope
by countries, and substitute a diviaion by articles.--
lt we could iug articles, the produce of
Asia, Africa, or Ameriel, into this country, except
directly from those c:intitries respectively. He would
pl.ve this part of our trade on the same free footin'Tas
the less extended trade with the different conotries of
Europe. Ile had nu apprehensions that the eaegiioee
trade of (heat Britain would be injured by it. He
had been informed by persons of the greatest auth t-
rite, that for cliepnets and security, a British ship.
mould be always 'mirrored, pat ticularly for long voy-
ages. British vessels 1:ml been introduced i'l the North
with success, where the cheapest shipping in the
world were to be funnel, and, instead of diminishing
their footing there, the vessels of this country were
gaining ground. His object in all these regulations
was to secure to this countty the benefit of those coal-
:nereial advantages to which she owed her soperimity
..y sea. He would therefore propose a moderate duty
im the produce of Asia, Africa, or America, conliuz
into this country Imo Foropean ports, just heiviy
enough to prevent an liabituil trade from being car-
ried on in this count ry, and just light enough not to be
felt as a prohibitory or even a greatly restrictive duty.
t.I the savant iges which lie hail now enumeratel
mie lit be compassed by a very limited enactment. Thii
10-ought Mtn to ti., statement of his last MC.I3.II*C, V:Z.
the carrying into effect the principle of making t'.is
ewilt y the cow uncial depot of the world. The lion.
'leatleinan dwelt ti;ion the benefits which reshltell to
countries, in a lopiiimercial point of view, from becom-
ing depots of this description. The benefits which
accrue to Great Britain front carrying into el-
tett this principle, were so many and so obvious, that
it a waiter of astonishment to him that it should
:lever have been recognised until the year I 03. The
1-tv regulations n bi h be bad now offered to the House
..vonld apply to all commodities IVII itsoever, the enume-
rated ratieles only exrepted ; and the reason was this
—that had lie excluded them for any reason
other than that they were excluded before, be wou!•I
be pre judging the great and interesting question as
10 the propriety of continuing the Transit Dati-s
hearing on for, ia.ri goods. lie did not wish to offer
op:nion upon that subject, and his aim was to
frame these Acts that no opinion would be conreyed.
or i:nplied upon the subject of the Transit Duties one
war or the other ; so that after his Bills were disposed
o , the subject would be as open as before for discos-
.ion. This additional measure would embrace the
following regulation:—that all goods. when imported
inn this country, should he divided into two classes
—tbr first class wiosli include all goods bearing the
highest value, as interfering with articles of our own
manufactures—that all these goods should be confined
to warelionses of a particular description--docits or
whorls, or such warehouses as, by certificate, the
heads of the Treasury might think it proper to appoint.
—The goods being under the care, exclusively, of
particular officers, would be exempted from the neces-
sity of weighing, &c. when taken out, and not be
made liabk to any of the usual deficiencies. The
second class of goods be placed in warehouses of a
less secure description ; and in all cases of suspicion
should be liable to re-wcighing. He would wish to
take the average of deficiency occurring on goods of
the same description for a nnuther of years,- and
allow that extent of deficiency to all goods of the
second class upon its bin removed from the Wire,
house, This statement led him to consider the sub-
ject of Docks. He felt the advantages of Docks to•the
revenue, and to the Merchante. Bat all these advan-
tages, it appeared to him, might be secured, by keep-
lag tip a fair competition between Docks and general
Storehouses. The latter regulations be would corn-,
prise in one Act. lt was not his object to push thew
measures this Session. liettyeen this and that period
there would be abundance of time for the sloe consi-
deration of theta in detail. 7 lie Committee would

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