The San Francisco call., 1897-06-09
ENGLAND's PROTECTION POLICY.
MEANS TAKEN To BUILD Up THE CoUNTRY's
SHIPPING AND COMMERCE.


book OF much historical value and very
rare is in the possession OF Captain William L.
Merry of this City, who in view of the infor-
nation that it contains will send it to Senator
Frye. 1t was published in 1892 and was in
scribed by John Reeves to Lord Hawkesbury
president of the committee of the PriYy Coun-
Gil "for the con sideration of all matters re-
lating to trade and foreign plantations of
Great Britain. The book was complied for the
use of the committee At their request. The in
terest which it possesses at this time is direct
for 1t includes an account of what Is known
as the acts of navigation and citation of the
various methods which England early
adopted TO build up its shipping and CON-
merce.
The history is divided into three periods
the first containing the laws made from the
earliest appearance of such down to and in
cluding the act OF navigation made in 1851,
dur ing the time of the Commonwealth. The
second begins with the famous act of naviga-
tion, passed in the twelfth year of Charles II
and continued 10 the declara ton of peace with
the American colonies in 1888. The third in
cludes the period from 1888 to 1892 the date
when the committee of the Privy Council was
considering the whole subject and planning
how to make Great Britain permanent tly the
mistress of the seas
The first provision ever made by Parlia-
ment that can be classed as a navigation act
provided that all ships OF England and Gas
coigne which came into Gascoigne should be
first freighted to bring English wines into
England before all other. This act did not
prove especially valua Bile. and so it has been
little made of historically. What is generally
styled the first act of navigation was adopted
in the time of Richard II. and in the begin
ming its purpose Is expressed to be ''for the
increase OF the navy of England, which was
greatly diminished
1t was thereby ordained that none of the
kings subjects should ship any merchandise
going out or coming into any port within the
realms OF England, ''but only in ships of the
kings Elegance" under the penalty of forfeit
ing all the merchandise shipped in other YES
sells or the value thereof. Tn law was subse-
Quently modified so that if English ships
could not be secured or the owners demanded
an unreas enable freight, foreign ships might
still by law be employed
Up to 1892 two principles were steadily ad-
hered TO. one being the encouragement of
fisheries, az q means of increasing shipping
and navigation. The other was the confning
of the coasting trade to English shipping.
very interesting part of the history shows
that duties imposed by Parliament in favor of
the English carrying trade were practically
proh1bitive in some cases as against any other
nation. For instance it was provided that:
mo goods or commodities of the growth
production or manufacture of Asia, Africa or
America may be imported into Great Britain
in any other than Bri h-butIt ships or in
British ships owned by his Ma jesty's subjects
and navigated by a master and three -fourths
at least of the marines British subjects.
mo sort of wines (other than the Rhenish),
no sort of spieery, grocery, tobacco, potashes,
pitch, tar, salt, resin deal boards fir tim ber or
olive oil may be imported from the Neither
lands or Germany upon any pretense in any
sort of ships or vessels whatever"
The following indicates the opinion of the
author in the concluding paragraphs of his
work: ''No one can doubt but that it is the
policy of Great Britain to give her principal
attention to maritime affairs; to carry on her
own trade in her own ships directly to all
parts of the world, and to encourage her fish,
cries in every sea. And from these sources
she may always hope to obtain q naval force
adequate to guard her shores from hos tile in
vasion and TO secure her domestic felicity,
both public and private, firm and unshaken
as the foundations of the island"