Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1817-06-06

taxation, IAN object which, by-thebye,
however they may think of Il, they could
never accoaplish,) To- think of the best
node of diminishing il. 1t was only by
such retrogressiol, that the Golfers OF
the state could be filed, commerce be
restored TO health, and general comfort
and prosperity he re-csiablished. The
very collection of our present revenue.
from IT'S magnitude and nature, was OF ~
self a great evil and III order to prevent
an evasion OF many of the duties, we
were compelled 10 give some private com
panies, such as the WestInda Dock
Company and London Dock Con,T ny,
monopoly IN certain articles, very in;u-
rious To the general interest.
Delays too of the most pernicious con
sequences 10 our commerce were reaied
al the Custom House. II would be i'm
vain 10 increase the number of lai,d wal
tiers and excise boards. The evil was es-
sentlal TO the system and he woud defy
any government to collect such rcvc-
nue. as that OF Great Britain at the present
moment, without Ihp occurrence OF dth-
culiies and lnconvenlenCieS as must
hamper and distress ever, branch of our
trade. lie had now come 10 the last top
ic on which he should trouble the House.
He feared that he had already trcspassed
much too long on their attention hear.
hear, hear but he could not prev all on
himself 10 sit down without saving few
words on the subject. The House, he
had no doubt, already perceived that he
| referred to the total abandonment Of all
care and regard for the commercial inter.
| csts of this country, manifested BY the
British Government IN their recent con-
| tinental cgoCiatiOps.--lIc would not
oSl u..gt -
! been made OF the nature TO which he al.
| iudcd-he would ask why. after all our
| sacrifices and sufferings during the war,
| peace had returned without bringing
back our foreign trade; and why, dav al
| ter day, obstacles TO our commerce arose
| IN every part ut Europe, in which, on the
| contrary, II ought to experience the kind
est encouragement? II was not France
| merely--a country which he had long
been accustomed "a consider as our rival,
commercially as well a. ctherwise-that
our trade enioyed no facilities.
In what country Of Europe did it enjoy
! them? Was II not notorious, that with
those very allies for whom we had fought
| and conquered-in the support of whose
| cause we hal eXpende6; our treasure. and
! lavished our best biOod--we had not had
influence enough 10 obtain the advamtage
| our favor bad any thing whatever
been done bv our government Had any
| thing even been attempted He knew
! certainly that Russia had reduced her Ia
riff since the terminatlon of the war. But
lie knew, also, that with respect TO Bri-
| fish commerce, it labour"d i'm that coun-
| try under duties almost prohibitorv and
| that from Nemel 10 the Southernmost
part of Poland, along the whole Russian
| frontier, the trade carried on was almost
| entirely contraband, and maintained by
Jews and others, to The utter exclusion of
! that far and honorable traffic TO which
| the British merchant was accustomed
| In Prussia, also, duties of prohibitory
| amount existed with respect TO our com
| modities and IN the two ports under the
| frusSlan dominion, severe transit duty
| of eight and half per cent had been i'm
! posed on them. As 10 Spain-tIat coun-
| Try whose cause we had so warmly es-
poused-of the expences incurred in the
defence of which by O.. Britain fifty mil
| lions yet remained TO be audited-it ap-
! peared, after all our efforts i'll its behalf,
| Onr Government possessed no interest I'm
| the Cabinet of Madrid, political or COM
mercial. This was a specimen of ingrat.
| itude on the one hand, and of imbecility
on the other disgusting as it regarded
| Spain, and mImiiiating and provoking as
| Il regarded our own government hear,
| hear, hear As soon as the Spanish
| Cortes were eXtlnguIshed, and the below
| ed usurpcr came back, oil mOnopolies
were revived and new monopolies were
established, all equally injurious TO Bri-
fish interests. After the treaty cuncIud-
| ed with Admiral ApOdaca, additional inn
| positions were laid OH our trade. Rut
! the last and worst consideration was, that
| after the British government, in the sup.
port of Ferdinand, had gone further than
| was allowable in the representatives of a
| free and honorable country like Eng
| land-aitcr If had been guilty. of the most
| Indecent subseryiency TO his views-af
! ter il had abandoned the high tone which
| it had assumed against France in his ia
vour; after it had looked on with indiffer-
| ence upon his iniquites-after he had
condescendcd TO become his parasite, and
to pander for him the depreciation and
slavery of his unfortunate suhjects-how
was it requited In " little month" af
ter the signature of the treaty, an edict
was issued bV the Court of Madrid. i'm
posing new duties and prohibitions on
British trade. The consequence OF these
additional measures of severity against
us was, that our commerce with Spain
was almost iii d worse state than with anv
other country in Europe; tile calculation
being that Of our trade with that country
only fifteen parts in the hundred paid
duty, and that the remaining seyenty-five
parts were contraband. IF the House
turned their eyes towards Austria, they
would see nothing but Prohibition
Since the termination of that war. in
which England had fought side by side