The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-05-09 00:00:00

STATESM

cold's is the war of openin., th- F:%sterti trade. The
sfircuptstasees of the times were bitch ;:s to render a
eonsideration of those Inlieuldes, nel of the possibi-
lity- of roaraving them, extremely desirable. If the
House tamed its attention to the subject, it would,
perhaps, find that novlt might be done towards re-
moving those restrictions which upi.ressed the roan-
ttwrce of the country. It would, at least, be aco iso-
lation to that country to see that the House was dis-
posed to exercise its judgment as to what was practi-
cable, and that it was prepared to take a fair and itn-
partial view of the interests of all parties which were
e tttttt nitted to its protection.—', floe Hos. tientleman sat
down amid loud and universal cheers).
The petition was then brought up, and, upon the
questi..ll being put, that it be now read,
31r. HAKINO intim:V(i, that he laid a!s apetition
similar iu its object to pr. sent from the Chamber of
Commerce in Edit;hurgb.—The petition was read.
Mr. I I If FN VEI,I, said, that after the able and lurid
speech of his Hon. Friend, he thought it uunecessary
to go at any length at present into the subject of the
petitin. He would not trespass upon the House fur-
ther titan to say, that he fully concurred in all the
trtittions which that petition expressed, and that he
would avail himself of c%ery means in his power to
give them a practical operation.
31r. 11.0111Ntig.IN rose fot the purl o:sy of istAlinz a
few general observations upon the liu.n•tion taaiell bad
been so ably treated by the Hun. Gentleman who pre-
sented the Petition. He was fully as nsibie of the ex-
trent° importance of the sttlijeet. lie had frequently
before expressed the c snrictis.n impress' d upon his
mind, that the system of pas:tire t, triction. carried
to so great a length as it had bera in this country,
was fourths! in t rror.—(ilea hear D--ite had now
no ohjertion to repeat tit tt so, i • . Thr Hon. tient le-
man had paid him a which he w.ts na-
commit's. of 4eservirg; ut the *awe time Ise was
equally unconsen.us of tneririag the qualideation wit:'
which it was ace panics', when it was added, that
both he (Mr. Itohieson) and the Government with
wide!' he was connectesl.were altogether “ apa I helical"

• - •

with I:ar:icilai plea-ure. lie meant that observation
in which be (Mr. Riving) justilkd his Noble Friend
for toot fareing. upon F:•aoce, or annexing to the Treaty
of Prare a 'I reaty of touttnerce, giving advantages td
, us, but intlictinLT a punishment upon them. Ile was
glad an lion. 3lionlier, so well acquainted with the
subject, had done this justice to the llorernittent fur
the prudence and policy of the course they adopted o:t
that occasion. A. to a free intercourse with Prance, he
regretted to say that there were great, he might add,
1 foolish prejudices against it on each side. 'they were
!national prejudices, however, not connected in the
smallest degree with commerce. There were, he was
afraid, feelings in this country which envied the pre-
' sent prosperity of that country. lie wished that it
was felt here as it ought to he, that the prosperity of
!that country was on.• of the safest gr..utls we had for
expee:ing permanent peace in this. lie wished it
was also felt that if pea,.e and counnerre were to go
hand in hand, we would be the less to he again
disturbed by that military spirit which brought so
many evils upon lierope.—(llear, hear :)—With re-
gard to the laws commeted with agriculture, he be-
lieved astrong feeling was excited in the country, and
that there were Members in the House mho nimbi
, bring them under its consideration. o that subject
Hove:lnnen: had given its best attention, but fur his
; part he was nut aide to persuade himself that there
was any thing iu the existing law so radically wrong
as to require alteration. However, 3tinisters w. old
cheerfully attend to any complaint which should he
Made to them, as they always had been to any state-
Isent mule to them iu the fair and candid way is a hid'
the lion. Gentleman hail dune tonight. He had al-
! most forgotten to Ithserve, as to the Indian. trade, that
no (lonia commercial intercourse trunk! be promoted
by the extension of that trade. But the House wuttid
I walled that this was a question of compact, and th.tt
it would be unadvisahle to drive hastily into any thing
• which would look like unfair dealing.—(Hear, hear!)
—The House had no right to contr.! the Company to
abandon eren one of their privileges, if they wished to
retain it.—(hirer, Is. ar

upon the subject. For I,:ueself, he bail in fart paid Mr. PHILLIPS repressed his satisfaction at the
to it much attention ; and the great dial airy which `view taken by the Bight Hon. tientleutan of the lat-
he had 1,, contend with was, bow he cods! rive v ect I portent subject before the House. Ur admired the
to the wishee which he rutin:deed. lie thought that liberal pi inciples of the Hight lion. Bradenton, and
this difficulty arme in roue degree from his {own per- hr only thought it un:Ortunate that he should have
Donal situation in that :ham, and from his relation to yielded them up so easily. lie was also sorry upon a
the tiovernment.aith which lie acted. Hut he might be subject of this kind to we division iu the Cabinet.
permitted to say, t the opposition with which he had . Mr. Lit tIIIII,AS and a 3110111E11 under the (lath ry.
met was nut confined to those front whom opposition made souse olowrvaticns in support of the petition.
was usually supposed to come. Ile alluded punka Lord MILTON said he beard tier petition, and the
laity to the transit duties, which, it eaglet he recul• I speech of the Hon. Gentleman who proposed it, a its
le. tee], were opposed and sop/meted by lientlesoen ten greet satisfaction; fur itaay thing in the p aesent state
the so.her side trf :he House, as well as upon this. He of the country could aront ronsofetkai, it vas to see
cod.' not ray hoer far the Noble Lord to whom the 7 sound rinciples of politiralecossomy eu.hraccol by such
llon. lirutlemau alluded, had any rartiality to that au enlightened body as the suerehants of Ile
restrictive system: but this he knew, that the dilfi- would's:ire heard with eeluai sertisfartion the si.rech of
rutty which Ire hasp to induce pennons to agree in the the Right Hen. tieielcsuan topphsite, but for a little
eeentietion of his mind, was saris a one as lie could net alloy which it eontained, he was sorry to observe that
overe.mie.—(l fear, hear:)—ice thought it right to leis eganduct and his 1 riucipics were not iti animus. Ibe
say thee. mettle as .e reason why his prin.lple were not *abject Wore the House was one Upon which
carried into imsot.s!iste elk-cr.-4111-er, heat `—lint, party feelings ought to lee allowed to operate. his
after all. seeing tetint the nom Gentleman b n virus, was not a sullieet un whirl, to tallisider the interests of
it would hr e•en that mo difference now e eed be- particle:or constituents. 'they trete to legislate fur all,
wee!: sine-elf tend 'aloe Ilan lientleman eel :site.— and hot for Northumberland, or I,r Yorkshire. A
(Hear, loear !)---Upon the general print ip es they union of councils was 111tOt imperatively demanded by
agreed: 1)11! it w..s impossible that a s. stoat %hid, tie.• state of the nation, and they were culled on to in-
had so long lir •ii acteel Lyon, could be all at seeirs. en- 'wile if the restrictions; which shackled and injured
tirelv als.tli slued —t Hear. hear! fr tlic Opposi iv ee.) col 1111 l tree, could be advantageously removed. It was
It was admitted that there carer clearly points suscepti- true that these restrictions here nut peculiar to us;
Isle of alteration mid i:nproreme let. As to absolute for almost every people had adopted them, as if acting
prohibitively, ne.; prepared to ray it was not sin the line of the poet—Omni/ je:nt wools: tithes.
on a fair vivre of the suleiret, that no sitaisee But the great error lay in this selfish principle, both
could take place. In point of fact, within the lust 100 as it regarded our relit:ions with other countries, and
or three years, great relaeations had taken place. our situation at home. It weaned to Idol, that the
Two Ar:s had lee en passed for the• purpose of repeal- 0. r entitling of agriculturists for liieher prices, and the
ing three old laws: and here he should observe, that rompetition f *tureen:Hs itster..sts to meet them were
the laws establishing the restlictive sys:eus were etpialy wrote since the distress pervaded the country
coeval wide the c..nolerree of England.—(llear, at large in welch agriculture and commerce were, and
hear, hear !)—The laws repealed were derived from nut these classes in an insulated state. It must, in
the re'Lies of Hilliard 1., Edward 11., and Eliza- his view, be clear to every one that they could not go
brae. there were other laws a hick imposed pro- on long as they were. 'floe live millions which the
te.cting e!eities without end, which were also repealed. Right lion. lientleuean obtained last year, haul failed
—ln the ii-port of the Lords' Committee upon in its avowed purpose, and the Hight Ilon.Uentlensan
the Hank liestrictiou Arts, there was a list of no lead been proved either to have been entirely mistaken,
less than 3110 articles, which were then proleileited. or one of the worst prophets that ever prophesied in
This prohibition 1111 w ll.* longer existeti.—(liear '.) that !louse. Their true policy now was plainly pointed
There oar indeed a his duty u, on them, but not so lent to them by the failure of the past, wherein Minis-
high as tee preclude them from this country. With re- tees had begun at the wrong end. It was not to rush
earl to timber, he had no difficulty in saying, that in to taxation, but to enable the pe,yle to pay taxes.
his opinion the state of the duties upon that article In taking a view of the distress of the country, many
was sm-li as to require amendment. It was his inten- , tientlemen traced it to differeut causes. Among these
lion to submit an arrangement to effect that oh- the Pons' Laws was one of cuennent occurrence, and,
jrct. objections, he was aware. would be wadi-. But he thought, ought to be examined most minutely.
in all the communications whinh had been made One uf the effects of the war had been to absorb and
with those interested in the trade, he saw nothing draw capital into a smaller number of hands, anal thus
which he thought sufficiently well-founded to prevent the great class of lesser capitalists we.e reduced to
stilt an arrangement. llr agreed that the clime of that condition which was likely to lay many addisional
the duties whirls were imposed upon timber, without barthens upon the Pours' Rates. In this light, he
giving superior protection to the Canada trade, rojureir most say, that the primate of the late conflict had
the trade to the Baltic. They were, in fact, imposed fallen nn the agricultural labourer and artisan in ma-
for the purpose% of revenue, and not for protec.! nufactures, and nut on the wealthy landed proprietahj
tion ; and he there fisre thought it perfectly con- or rich merchant. With regard to the restrictive pets. 1
sisteut with good faith, cites if any persons had ciple, it appeared to him, that at least all the ttailild
acted upon the procredincs of the Legislature, to branches of trade might be left free. 'I bough the
make an alteration with respect to the latter portion Navigation Laws, as tending to our national security,
of those elettirs.—(l!var)ecar!)—As to the Navigation and the Corn Laws, fur their extreme importansm,
Lucas, perhaps it Height be admitted that they did in; might have sacrifices made to thew, nothing short of
some degree tend to injure commerce. lint that in- our independence could sanction the principle. ATM-
jury bore no proportion to the danger whiels would ' doer matter which utast have bad great influence on
threaten the natural defence and security of the coup- our system, was the return to sash pavement. This
try, if those laws were abolished.—(Hear, hear !) must have augmented the preemie of the times, though
But still be was taut pi epared to say that thorn was nu perhaps they had not, in their anxiety to attain so de-
roou for alteratiun. Indeed many relaxations of them sirable an object, looked the difficulties it was mica-
had been already made, which were scattered through laced to create so fully in the face as they should have
several Acts of Parliament. Many exceptions to the done. There were many other difficulties to be en-
written Tule had been admitted, which he presumed countered before they could retrain their steps, bet
were well known to those who bail an interest in ex- when the subject was so ably and fairly presented,
aminine the su'fject. He had already stated his se- there was more. than common grounds for hope that
quiescence in thee opinion which the Hop. lientlensan it might ho-followed up successfully.
hail then with respect to the transitelutiee upon linen. Mr. RI('ARDO took ap the Noble Lord), remarks
He nil not know why that (opinion was opposed; how-ion the subject of cash payments, and considered how
ever, upp reel it was; yet he thought it a subject well far the bullion question affected the:present discussion.
Worthy aconsideration. They west. duties founded upon He contended, that the alteration occasiuned by the
error, and ha.! been imposed under circumstances very I return to cash payments was to* staff to warrant the
different frets, those under which they could now be conclusion; that it had se predlgions an bounce la
contemplated. As to commercial freedom in foreign f producing national calamity, he quoted the price of
ports, he believed that until we removed ell restriction, I gold at several periods, to show tfset this was the case.
others would not. - (Hear, bear!)-s-There was nee, He was him *bear that so map (ittnelosen had
part of the Hoa. theatientaa's speech irkiali he heard Ispekin in form of a fug trade, sad that tie priati.