RECIPROCITY OF DUTIES BILL-ALTERATION IN THE COMMERCIAL REGULATIONS OF THE COUNTRY.

June 6.

The House having, on the motion of Mr. Huskisson, resolved itself into a Committee, "to consider of authorizing his Majesty, by Order in Council, to regulate the Duties and Drawbacks on the importation and exportation of Merchandize in Foreign Vessels, according to the Duties and Drawbacks payable on Merchandize imported in British Vessels into such Foreign Country,"

Mr. HUSKISSON rose. He said it now became his duty to state shortly to the Committee, the nature of the alteration which he was about to propose in the Commercial Regulations of the country. He begged in the first place, to state, that although his measure involved a very important change in the commercial policy hitherto acted upon, and was, to a certain extent, a direct departure from the principle which we had hitherto observed towards foreign powers, yet his plan was so clear, and the benefits to be derived from it so obvious, that he trusted he should, in a few words, be able to satisfy the committee of the propriety of adopting it.

The committee were aware, that it had for a long time —indeed, from the passing of the Navigation Act,—been the policy of this country to impose upon cargoes, brought in foreign vessels, higher duties than those imported in British bottoms; and also, in many instances, to allow smaller drawbacks upon articles exported in foreign, than upon those exported in British ships. Now, whatever might be thought of the policy of such a regulation, it was not perhaps necessary to reconsider this principle, so long as the foreign powers with whom we traded, were not in a condition to complain of its inequality. But it

might easily be anticipated, that whenever those powers did effectively complain, the principle would be found untenable.

Accordingly, it was found, that the greatest commercial nation in the world, next to Great Britain, and her great rival in the trade of the seas-the United States of America -feeling the pressure of this tax, adopted the retaliating system, by imposing duties upon all articles imported into that country by British ships. The consequence of this was, that great embarrassment and inconvenience arose to the commerce between the two countries. So much so, that in cases where the increased duties countervailed the freight, it became necessary to have two sets of ships employed;-that was, to have British ships to bring home American produce, and American ships to convey our produce to that country; each being obliged, of course, to leave its own port in ballast. We, however, in order to get rid of this inconvenience, were obliged to place American vessels on the same footing as English, with respect to duties; and the Americans, acting upon the system of reciprocity, did the same with respect to our ships.

Portugal, seeing the success which attended the effort of America, of course took the same means of getting rid of the evil; and England was soon obliged to agree, that the new arrangement should comprehend Portugal and her dependencies. In a short time, the pressure of this unequal duty began to be felt by other powers also; and steps were taken to adopt the retaliatory system. In July 1821, the Government of the United Netherlands passed a law, allowing a premium of ten per cent. upon all articles imported in Dutch vessels. This was, in point of fact, though not directly, imposing a duty of ten per cent. upon the cargoes of all other vessels. He was warranted in stating, that the Government of the Netherlands, in adopt

ing this measure, were actuated by a sense of the disadvantage under which the commercial regulations of this country placed them; and that they did so, rather as a warning to us to change our policy, than with a wish to establish it as a permanent measure; for he found, that though the law was passed in 1821, it was not to be acted upon till the beginning of the present year. Since that period it had been in operation, and had been strongly felt in the trade of this country with that power. But this was not the only power which had so acted. Prussia had also raised the dues on British vessels, and had intimated, in a manner not to be mistaken, that she would more fully adopt the retaliatory system, if we persevered in our present policy.

From these facts it was quite obvious, that the time had arrived for the reconsideration of the British commercial principle, and that we must adopt one of two courses. Either we must commence a commercial conflict, through the instrumentality of Prohibitory Duties and Prohibitions -a measure of impolicy which, he believed, no man would now venture to propose or else we must admit other Powers to a perfect equality and reciprocity of Shipping Duties. The latter, he thought, was the course which they were bound to adopt. Its effect, he was thoroughly persuaded, would lead to an increase of the commercial advantages of the country; and while, at the same time, it had a direct tendency to promote and establish a better political feeling, and to increase confidence among the maritime powers, it would abate the sources of that commercial jealousy, idly wasting their force in a race of mutual annoyance. It was high time, in the improved state of the civilization of the world, to establish more liberal principles, and to show, that Commerce was not the end, but the means of diffusing comfort and enjoyment among the nations embarked in its

pursuit. Those who had the largest trade must necessarily derive the greatest advantage from a better international regulation. He had no doubt, that when England abandoned her old principle, the Netherlands, and the other powers who were prepared to retaliate, would mutually concur in the new arrangement.

He was prepared to hear, from an honourable member near him, that the proposed alteration would be prejudicial to the British Shipping Interest. In such an opinion he could not concur; for he thought, on the contrary, that the Shipping Interest of this country had nothing to apprehend from that of other nations. The committee would recollect, that when the alteration in the Navigation Laws was projected, similar unfavourable anticipations were made by parts of the Shipping Interest; but those anticipations had proved in the result entirely unfounded. It was quite time to get rid of this retaliatory principle; which, if carried to the extreme of which it was susceptible, must injure every species of trade. One sort of shipping would be carrying the trade of one country, and then returning without an equivalent advantage, to make way for the countervailing regulations of another power, or else must return in ballast. What would the country think of the establishment of a waggon, which was to convey goods to Birmingham, and afterwards to return empty? The consumer would, he thought, feel little satisfied with such a mode of regulating the conveyance of his merchandize. The consequence would be, that there must necessarily be two sets of waggons to do that work which was now performed by one; and that, too, at a considerable increase of price on the raw material.

Labouring as we had been for a long time, under many and unavoidable difficulties, we were, in fact, not able to

Mr. Robertson.

carry on the system of Restriction. Our trade and our commerce, it was true, were continuing to revive rapidly; but they required that we should adopt every measure by which the one and the other could be fostered and improved. What he had now to propose to the Committee was, that the Duties and Drawbacks should be imposed and allowed upon all goods equally, whether imported or exported in British or in Foreign vessels; giving the King in Council a power to declare, that such Regulations should extend to all countries inclined to act upon a system of Reciprocity; but reserving to the same authority the power of continuing the present Restrictions, with respect to those Powers who should decline to do so. Some jealousy might, perhaps, be entertained, at vesting in the King in Council such a power as that of continuing or removing a tax; but it should be considered, that here was no power of imposing a tax. All that the Crown could do, in such a case, would be to continue a restriction, where another Power declined to act upon a system of reciprocity, or to impose a duty upon vessels belonging to another Power, in retaliation for a similar duty imposed by that Power. He knew that it was intended by the King of Prussia to abate his retaliation, when England should relax her regulations. Indeed, he had the best authority, for it was that of the Prussian Minister in this country, for knowing that such was that monarch's intention. That Minister had stated, in his Note, the principle of his Prussian Majesty to be, an admission "that reciprocal commercial restrictions were reciprocal nuisances, prejudicial to all nations having reciprocal interests, and particularly to those engaged in extensive commerce; and that the policy of Prussia was to substitute, in the place of reciprocal prohibitions, reciprocal facilities."