The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-06-22 00:00:00

THE STATESMAN.

EXPEDIFAPI. OF OPENING A FREE TRAPS
WI 11l lIE VARIO('S STATES OF EUROPE.

It has long been a maxim with the best political
wr:ters, that all restrictive systems arc ultimately in-
' jurious to the country, that adopt them into its legisla-
tioo ; and they hair f.,und proofs enough of the just-
ness of the doctrine, without the instance of Spain.
Put the twitti,l desre of retaliating the injuries of
war oecasi:ined many restrictive laws to be adopted
dnri:te,• the late ardtirms struggle, which the commer-
cial policy of (Jrrat Ilritnin would hove condemned in
other times: and that such laws should remain, after '
the cause that gave them birth is no more, all sound
policy must instantly disown. To extinguish the in-
fluence of the French among the Northern Powers, a
duty teas laid upon iron and timber, tantamount to a
prohil.ition of them. This duty still remains, and
its coa'e.luences are severely felt. Sweden has no-
thing to sell but her timber and her iron : and, if
wr will nut buy bee produce, she has uothing to en-
able her to purchase our manufactures. Accordingly
her people are compelled to suhatitoite their own rude
manufactures for those, with which they would other-
wise be furnished from England.
The proprietor of an Euglish iron mine, and the
speculator in timber from our forests in America. *ill
nu doubt say, that the restriction is beneficial, breams,
it compels us ts, depend upon our own resources; but
this argument will be foetid correct no farther than
their private interests are concerned. These resources
would nut be tliminisheti by our rot continually using
them: in fact, they would rather be husbanded arainst
any futme sweet's 'ivy. 'lite trees of America will not
cease ta grow, because we do not cut them down ; the
inn: will not waste in the milli.. hecan4e the ore is not
extracted: and the matter in dispite comes exactly to
this ; see place ear liarde.-are inhaufacturers under a
disadvautage, compared with those 44 for..igm countries,
by means of the ditty en iron ; and we del.rive our
woollen mantifictnrers of the benefit of the S.-edish
markets altogether, because we will not trade with the
Swedes. •

Thus, t.rivinitamonnitoly to the proprietor of iron
mines au:l the speculator in Ameriran timber, we
indict a g:etteral injutry on two of Our great niatinfar-
taring bodies raisi• a class of overgrown eapitalis's,
at the cspen-e cf our trading ropnLtion anti foster,
the system, which is hastening wit!, rauiti strides to
root oat the middle ranks of society, and convert us
Tutu a nation eI princes anti panpets.
At the same time an e‘i: spirit of retaliation is
generated ahr tad, and .11ft-commercial feelings are
entru.-eti on :di cities. The northern States look upon
ns as the leatlcyt of Coe reitrietive scheme, and the
continental sy4tent of BJ11,1*,• J rte heroines tie favourite
plan of retaliation. In Hn sia and in Prussia it is
well known !ti he, at the i:r Fen t 1:1011Ient, the favourite
topic, on which their me:Aunts declaim, PIA which
they strennotody allvorate.
If the nece:sities of the State, anti the suffering's of
the people, can ever be supportsd to warrant an limp,-
riots. call on the Government, to step forward with a'
powerealksiaat toovemwe the individual istereserillatol
ccrood in supporting restrictive measures, the preesstil
is . (city Vie We are now in a fair train fur
lasing the tra)le of th?-notth of Europe, and the nine-
ket thtt has long hewn open there to oar manufactures.
The northern States fret tinder the same galling re-
straints as our. ; awl, did our lievernisont show
any disposition to relax, it would instantly dc, away
all the existing prejudices against us, and excite such
a burst of feeling among the merchants abroad, as well
as among the Nobles, who derive the principal part of
their issitines Irons articles of export. that it would
compel the most arbitrary Gover.suient to bend heroic
the altar of public o;:inion.
The present law for regulating the importation of
corn, to say nothing of its general tendency, is fraught
with notch eou,mrrcial evil. Called for as it was by
the landholders, and drawn up in a way least likely
to irritate the rankling wounds of the indignant popu-
I: -: in, its imperfect co:istruction will be readily ex-
cused by all who knot./ how difficult it is to conciliate
the jarring interests of Welt : bat now, when the dis-.
ennuis of the Hank must be regulated by foreign ex-
changes, that clause, which makes foreign corn mar-
ketable only when the home price exceeds a fixed sum,
will be found a veiy serious evil.
The opening Of the ports, as it is technically termed,
alusost instantly sets on foot a spirit of rambling ad-
venture, accompanied with every evil incident to a
I:collating exchange: while the steady, regular inter-
course, the very life-blood of trade, creeps on wilt
Iliculty, from the links of its chain bring thus un-
naturally severed. A permanent duty, even if we con-
sider it in Its worst light, would certainly be less ise-
inrions to trade ; and it is very questionable, whether
it would be more detrimental to manufacturers.

It may be thought, that this appears but distantly
connected with the distresmi of Letreashire sod Yet
shire; but whoever has had an opportunity of st
how a gleam of prosperity instantly diverges throo
all the ramifications of the maunfacturing world, will
readily allow, that inferior and even more remote con-
siderations are well worthy attention. Having endea-
voured tu.show the injurious cunsequeikces of restrictive
laws, where the interests, or imaginary interests, of
certain classes may he supposed to stand in the way of
their abolition, we now come to others, which wen
even divested of this shallow excuse for their coat•
tinuance.

To what a pitch of absurdity has this restrictive
mania arrived, when ice will not allow goods in transit
to be imported without paying a duty! The present
state of the country renders a revisal of all laws on this
head particularly desirable. Take, for example, the
article of foreign linens ; and sappoee we were to album
them to be imported free of duty, order hood fete*
portation, instead of paying a duty of twenty-In pea
cent., as they now do, which is in fact a proliibillfis,
the consequence would be, the linens of fiernnOmy
would find a market in England, for the ravioli of
bring re-sold in North and south America; and a de-
mand fur British cotton and woollen goods would he
created in tiermany in return, or as soon as bills on
London could be readily obtained on advantageous
terms. Similar news would produce similar elects
throughout all our mercantile cossoellssas ; and, instead
of being obliged to invest our capitals in &weir' Go-
vernment securities, we could employ it is trade. No
doubt in the fro place it would be paid sway, as the

wheel must be set in motion by those ulto now hold
the drag that confines it; but the difference would be
this--our ware:louses would be tilled in return sr:th
foreign linens, instead of haring our portfolios filled
with foreign Government securities; and, should any
political rupture take place, it•requirrs nut a conju-
ror to determine which is the preferable security.

IRISH BANKS.

We tire happy to find, from accounts from Ireland.
that the failures and distress in the South hare hail
no injnrious effect upon credit or trade in the province
of Ulster.