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give the sentiments of ministers upon this subject, expressed the high gratification with which he had listened to the able and candid speech of the noble Marquis. He entirely agreed with him in his views of the close connexion between the different branches of national industry, and, at the same time, of the advantage of confining the present inquiry to the subject of our foreign trade. Admitting that commercial distress existed, he saw no proof of its having risen to that magnitude which had sometimes been supposed. He was of opinion that there was no ground of believing that it arose from any reduction of any of the great articles of consumption within the country, except it were the article of wines. He had taken considerable pains to ascertain the truth of this assertion in every instance, and where it could be obtained, he thought the consumption, as to quantity, was a better test than the consumption as to value; for, though the latter was fluctuating and uncertain, the quantity upon which the revenue was raised, was fixed and stable. He had before him a paper containing an account of the articles of consumption for the last four years, and the fair way to come to a right conclusion would be to consider what had been the average on the last three years he meant the years 1817, 1818, and 1819, and to compare that average with the actual consumption. The noble lord then made a comparison, in the manner which he had stated, between the numbers of pounds of tea, coffee, tobacco, malt, and of gallons of British spirits, which had been consumed in the present year, and the average number of those consumed in the three preceding years. In all of these commodities, except the last, he stated that there was an increase of consumption, and that the diminution of the latter had been

compensated by more than a proportional increase in the consumption of foreign spirits. No doubt there was a certain distress felt not only in Britain, but all over Europe, in consequence of the convulsion which had agitated the whole civilized world, and unhinged all the natural relations of men. General, however, as was the distress which prevailed at present in Europe, it was much inferior to that which existed at present in the United States of America; and he would therefore ask those who ascribed the present stagnation of our trade to the effects of taxation, tithes, and poor-rates, which he was free to confess must produce some effect, to compare the national debt of America with its revenue. The cause of the suffering now felt in America was quite evident; it was this-that whilst Europe had been at war for twenty years out of the last twenty-five years, America had only been at war for two years. She became the principal neutral power during the greater part of that period; nay, at one time she was the only neutral power. She supplied this country with articles from the continent which it could procure nowhere else, and thus had increased in wealth, in agriculture, in navigation, in commerce, and in every other national resource, more than any other nation had ever done in the same period. She had made in these twenty years a progress that under other circumstances she could not have made in sixty, no, nor in eighty years. Now, however, when the arts of peace had begun once more to flourish in Europe, America felt the effect, not of her former distress, but of her former prosperity. She was now retrograding, and must retrace the immense strides which she had made in the last twenty years, until she stood in the situation which she then occupied. Lord Liverpool gave his unequivocal assent to the

principles of free trade. He believed it would have been of great benefit to the world if these principles had been always acted upon, and if no state had ever imposed shackles on the trade and industry of another. The noble Marquis, however, was too enlightened not to admit the exception to these principles, which were dictated by the actual policy of the world, and the existing laws of the country. Lord L. only complained that this view of the subject had been too slightly adverted to. An immediate recurrence to first principles, would unhinge the value of all property, particularly in land. How could we expect other countries to admit our manufactures, unless we received their raw produce in return? Yet the state of the country rendered it absolutely necessary, he conceived, to extend some protection to the growers of corn. His lordship, at some length, defended the present system of the corn laws, as preferable to any plan of protecting duties. He defended also the present state of the currency. The restriction on the bank payments appeared important, and even necessary during the war ; but now, it could only serve to create a fictitious capital, and give rise to a spirit of over-trading. In regard to manufactures, his own opinion was, that if all the laws with regard to wool were repealed, our woollen manufacture would not be injured. The same observation might be applied to our cotton manufacture; but with regard to silk and linen, he conceived there was some ground for hesitation. A free trade would put an absolute end to the former. No doubt it might be matter of regret that a silk manufacture was ever established in this country. It would have been much more natural to import it from France, in exchange for some other commodity. But when he considered the

extent of that trade, the artificial encouragement it had received, and the number of persons it employed— 50,000 or 60,000-he confessed he saw no way of getting rid of it.Then, again, was the House aware of the effect which must necessarily be produced upon the linen manufacture of Ireland, by a removal of all restrictions upon foreign linens? When he referred to the peculiar situation of Ireland, it was impossible not to be startled at the contemplation of the possible result. He would again say, that he regretted those laws which had brought about so artificial a state of things, but what was once done ought not, in many cases, or rather could not, be undone. In regard to the substitution of protecting duties for absolute prohibition, and to the extension of the warehousing system and the transit trade, he was inclined to concur with Lord Lansdowne. With regard to the duty on Baltic timber, it had not been imposed with any commercial view. We were then excluded from the continent, and ministers were induced to direct their views towards America, as a quarter whence we might derive a sure supply for naval purposes. On the faith of a countervailing duty, an increased capital was employed by the merchants in the American timber trade. He admitted that this was now an open question. He allowed that the treaty with Portugal, one considered a masterpiece of political wisdom, had no real claim to that character, while that with France, in 1787, had certainly been formed on sound principles. Yet for five years under this last treaty, from 1787 to 1792, the average export to France of British produce and manufactures had been 718,630.; those to Portugal, 637,6521.; those to Spain, 623,340. At present our exports to Portugal and the Brazils amounted to four mil

Ilions. In regard to India, he doubted if the exports of our manufactures thither could be increased. They had already been too great, and had led to a falling-off last year. He was persuaded every attempt to introduce British goods into China would prove abortive. The carrying trade between India and China was a question left open by the late charter; and he certainly saw no objection, that the produce of India should be imported direct to any country in Europe. Under these qualifications he gave his cordial assent to the motion for a committee; believing, at the same time, that the best remedies were time and patience, and that permanence was an important feature in all legislation. The motion for a committee was then unanimously agreed to.

The subject had already been brought before the House of Commons by Mr Baring, on occasion of presenting the petition of the merchants of London. He denied any idea, on the part of the petitioners, of being favoured at the expense of other classes. If commercial men knew their own interest, they could have no other object than general prosperity; if agriculture did not flourish, commerce must necessarily decay. The distress and embarrassment of the country, instead of gradually diminishing, were upon the increase. Whilst every other commercial country was in a state of progressive recovery, this alone had all the appearance of a deep decline. The present languor might certainly be regarded as comparative, as a natural consequence of the peculiar events and termination of the war. Whilst that war continued, we enjoyed a monopoly of trade; we took larger strides in commercial industry and enterprize than ever were before taken by any people. The trade, of which we had enjoyed a monopoly, was now di

vided with all Europe. Every country had its share, and we had to contend against rivals in every direction. In all parts of the world competition was alive and vigorous. What the House, therefore, had to consider, was the propriety of recurring to those old and established principles which had proved the most solid foundation of our commerce. The honourable member then made some observations on the disadvantages which he conceived us to sustain from the change of the currency, and from what he considered the impolitic arrangement of the corn laws. He would not now say much on this last topic, except to reprobate the petitions which had been presented to Parliament for additional restrictions. To him it appeared quite obvious, that the prosperity of this country must now depend on the general prosperity of the world. The same extent of commerce which we had enjoyed was certainly not attainable, and without more subordination there could be neither confidence nor security. The petitioners asked only for mature and calm deliberation-for an unprejudiced review of interests apparently opposite to each other. Something, he sincerely believed, must be done, to enable us to go on at all. It was satisfactory to know that there was no person in the country more sensible of the truths contained in the petition than the right honourable gentleman at the head of the Board of Trade. He was not, he believed, exceeded in zeal for the application of just principles of commercial policy by any of the advocates for a change in our present system. It was painful, however, to find that his Majesty's ministers generally did not look at this question with the eyes of statesmen, and that the true interests of the country were overlooked in the anxiety to preserve place. The object to which,

mainly, this petition was directed, was the adoption of a general principle, having for its basis as great and extensive a freedom of commercial regulation as was possible. The petitioners also prayed that the legislature would contract as much as possible those general or positive restrictions on the importation of certain articles which weighed heavily on the commerce of the country. Why should we be restrained from procuring timber from Riga, and other ports of Russia, Poland, and the various northern states? That trade formerly employed British shipping to a great extent, and was very useful in rearing and supporting seamen. But the restrictive system had driven Great Britain out of that trade, and given to her a character of severity, with respect to her commercial restrictions, which was highly prejudicial to her interests. Without wishing to do away with the general tenor of the navigation laws, he thought there were certain details which might be advantageously modified. He then went over the same grounds with Lord Lansdowne the warehousing system -the transit trade-the communication with the East Indies, and with South America. A very great object was to remove the restrictions which had been imposed by foreign nations. With respect to France, no attempt had been made to put an end to these restrictions. The existing feelings of that country, and the circumstances that now prevailed, operated against any mercantile connexion or arrangement with England, and it would be difficult for some time to form one. He did not, therefore, blame the noble lord (Castlereagh) for not having demanded concessions, when the French treaty was entered into, which probably would not have lasted very long. The first step towards putting an end to restrictions of this descrip

tion, was by removing them at home. To require foreign countries, by treaty, to open their ports to us, and, in return, to shut up our ports against all communication with them, wasmanifestly unjust. The circumstances of the times were such as to call on them imperatively to go into this examination, that they might convince themselves whether nothing could be done for the country-whether no encouragement could be given to its industry

and whether they must continue to bear, without hope of relief, the manifold privations which they must all feel.

Mr Robinson, in reply to this speech, followed the same course which was taken by Lord Liverpool in the Lords. He expressed his acquiescence in all the general principles laid down by Mr Baring. He had always stated it as his clear opinion, that positive restriction was founded in error, and calculated to defeat the object it was intended to promote. The same statement he had no objection to repeat now. He denied, however, the assertion, either that ministers were indifferent to the subject and solely anxious to keep their places, or that he met among them any peculiar opposition to his views. The resistance came at least

as much from the other side of the House. The fact was, that habits, connected with certain systems, became so deeply rooted, that it was extremely difficult to get gentlemen to consent to any alteration. He stated this as a reason why he had not endeavoured to bring his own principles more decidedly into practice. The restrictive system ought to be amended, and it was his intention to bring in a bill this session to effect some amendment. The navigation laws were necessary and advantageous to commerce; still they were capable of improvement, and ought to be improved to a great extent.

He had

heard with particular pleasure Mr Baring justify his noble friend and the government for not, at the peace, obtaining commercial advantages as favours from friends, or punishments on enemies. Justice, peace, and policy, were equally opposed to such an acquisition of commerce. With France it was not easy to manage a commercial arrangement. Great prejudices existed on both sides, and very foolish prejudices they certainly were. Nothing was so preposterous as for any persons in either nation to repine, if any did repine, at the prosperity of the other. In regard to the particular branches of trade touched upon, Mr R. gave views generally conformable to those stated by Lord Liverpool.

Lord Milton strongly supported the principles and views of the petition, and at the same time expressed his satisfaction at the speech made by the President of the Board of Trade. At the same time he took occasion to enter into some general views of the commercial and financial state of the country.

Mr Ricardo took nearly the same view of the subject. He had heard the petition with great pleasure, and he was particularly pleased with the liberal sentiments delivered by the right honourable gentleman opposite (Mr Robinson.) The petition itself contained the justest principles of political economy. The establishment of the system of free trade which the petitioners recommended, was surrounded with great difficulties: these difficulties were of two kinds, as the the change would affect the revenue, and different opposing interests. The question of revenue was of great importance, but it did not necessarily stand in the way of some alteration. The sources whence the taxes were derived might be changed, and a great service might be done to the people

without an injury to the revenue. They might even be brought to pay other taxes to a greater amount with less inconvenience than the present: and the substitution might be highly beneficial. The other question, regarding vested interests, was likewise one of great delicacy. Gentlemen who had vested large capitals in a particular branch of trade on the faith of the continuance of the present laws, could not, with any degree of justice, be subjected to a change in those laws which would seriously injure their interests. This was a good argument against any immediate, or rapid, or precipitate alteration; but it was no reason against gradual improvement.

After some observations by Mr Ellice, Mr Marryat, and Mr T. Wilson, the petition was ordered to be laid on the table, and to be printed.

This subject was brought again under discussion, when, soon after, Mr Kirkman Finlay presented a similar petition from the merchants of Glasgow. Mr Finlay accompanied it with a judicious speech, in which he enforced the views which had been taken by Mr Baring. The chief novelty of it consisted in the better hopes which he was led to form of the future prosperity of the country, and the favourable report which he made of those districts with which he was personally connected. He was happy to be enabled to say, with reference to this subject, that infatuation and delusion appeared to be subsiding where their influence had been most injurious. Peace and order were in some degree re-esta blished, and the condition of the labourer was already bettered. He doubted not that the whole country was progressively improving, and that in our chief manufactures, cotton and linen, we should still be enabled to break down all foreign competition.

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