revive those laws which forbade the manufactures, and repelled the productions of her soil-we must sacrifice the mutual benefits, which both parts of the empire now derive from the unrestricted freedom of intercourse-we must again revert to the prejudices of our ancestors?

And, for what?-because, from prejudices certainly less pardonable, if not from motives less sincere, than those of our ancestors, a senseless clamour has recently been raised, against the present system of our commercial policy. I have no desire to disturb the partizans of the opposite system, in the enjoyment of their favourite theory. All I ask of them is, a similar forbearance towards us. Let each system be fully and fairly tried. For the sake of Freedom of Trade and Industry, and for the sake of England, let England be the field of trial for our system. For the sake of Prohibition and Monopoly, let the system of our adversaries also be fairly tried ;-only let the trial be made upon some other country.

But, can Prohibition ever be tried under circumstances of greater favour, than it now experiences in Spain? In that flourishing country, prohibition has been carried to the very extreme. There, restriction has been added to restriction,—there, all the fruits of that beautiful system are to be seen, not yet, perhaps, in full maturity, but sufficiently mature, to enable every one to judge of their qualities. Spain is the best sample of the prohibitory system; the most perfect model of fallen greatness and of internal misery, of which modern civilization affords an example-an example to be traced, not only in the annihilation of her commerce and maritime power, but, in her scanty revenue, in her bankrupt resources, in the wretchedness of her population, and in her utter insignificance among the great powers of the world. The commercial policy of Spain is simply this-to admit nothing from other

countries-except what the smuggler brings in. And the commercial wisdom of the honourable and learned seconder of the present motion is equal to that of Spain.

I must now beg of the House to indulge me for a little, while I endeavour to go through the detail of the specific measures recommended, in the Speech of the honourable member for Taunton, on presenting the London Petition. It will be perceived, how false and unfounded are all those clamours, which have been heaped upon me and my right honourable oolleagues, for having unnecessarily made those alterations in our system of Commercial Policy, which, if I am to believe certain gentlemen, have plunged this country into misery and ruin.

The honourable member for Taunton, who is so great a practical authority, the greatest, perhaps, this country affords-did not content himself in his speech with stating general principles. He referred to details; and, as I have just observed, he proposed measures of relief of a specific and particular nature. These propositions the House, I hope, will permit me to go over, one by one, in order to shew that his Majesty's Government have not been wanting in attention to the suggestions of the Merchants of the City of London, nor backward in adopting their remedies, and recommending them to the consideration of the House.

The first measure pointed out, upon that occasion, and recommended in the warmest terms, to the attention of his Majesty's Ministers, for the relief of the country, was “an alteration of the duty on the importation of Wool.” "What can be so absurd," said the honourable member, 66 as a tax on the raw materials of our manufactures ?" Accordingly, he urged the abolition of the duty on the importation of Foreign Wool, dyeing drugs, and such other articles as ar used in the great manufactures of this

country What, at that time, was our answer to this proposition? Why, this-" We have no objection to take off the duty on the importation of Foreign wool, provided you will consent to allow the free exportation of British wool."-"No," said the woollen manufacturers, "take off the duty on Foreign wool, if you please; but keep in force the law which prohibits the exportation of British wool from this country." To this proposal we would not agree. We could not, upon any principle of justice, open our markets to an untaxed article of foreign growth, unless the manufacturer would concede his monopoly over the like article of our own growth. After years and years of struggle and conflict, we at last succeeded in convincing our opponents, that the duty on Foreign wool might be taken off, and the prohibition to export British wool be repealed, without endangering their interests.

And what has been the result? Where is the ruin that was so confidently predicted? I own I am more and more distrustful of the predictions of these practical authorities. Instead of our manufactures being ruined-instead of the fulfilment of the assurances, that all the British wool would be exported, to the utter destruction of our manufacturers, and that from their destruction the Foreign wool would no longer be wanted in this country-what has been the real effect of this measure? Why, that since the removal of the restrictions on the export, we have sent abroad the amazing quantity of 100,000 lbs. weight of British wool; while, of Foreign wool, we have imported no less a quantity than 40,000,000 lbs. weight. This, Sir, is not speculation. It is practice and result against speculation. We removed the restrictive and prohibitory duties, and the consequences were, that we imported an excess of the foreign raw material, while we exported, comparatively, none of native growth-because, we had a better market

for it at home. Good or bad, therefore, the first measure recommended to the attention of his Majesty's Ministers by the honourable member has been carried into complete effect.

The second measure proposed for our adoption, by the honourable member for Taunton, was a general revision of the Revenue Laws, with a view to their simplification. The honourable member stated-and he stated truly-that those laws were so numerous, so complicated, and so contradictory, that mercantile men could not understand them —that they were at once a great impediment to trade, and a source of vexation and oppression to all who were engaged in it-that no man, however innocent his intention, could escape their penalties; that, therefore, it was the bounden duty of his Majesty's Government to simplify and consolidate them.

The task was one of great magnitude and difficulty; but we did not shrink from it. My right honourable friend, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, devoted a great deal of time and attention to the subject: but, I am free to admit, that we never could have succeeded in our undertaking, without the assistance of an official gentleman, in the service of the Customs, a gentleman* of the most unwearied diligence, and who is entitled, for his persevering exertions, and the benefit he has conferred on the commercial world, to the lasting gratitude of the country. Of the difficulties of the undertaking, the House will be enabled to judge, when I state, that there were no fewer than five hundred statutes, relative to the Customs alone, to wade through; independently of the numerous enactments concerning Smuggling, Warehousing, the Plantations, &c. In the performance of this duty, we had innumerable difficul

* J. D. Hume, Esq., Comptroller of His Majesty's Customs in the Port of London.

H

ties to encounter, and battles without end to fight. And now, Sir, in one little volume,* which I hold in my hand, are comprized all the Laws at present in existence, on the subject of the management and the revenue of the Customs, of Navigation, of Smuggling, of Warehousing, and of our Colonial Trade, compressed in so clear and yet so comprehensive a manner, that no man can possibly mistake the meaning or the application of them. I do not say this to boast of the successful result of our labours. It was the duty of Government to do what it has done. I only adduce it to shew, that this, the second recommendation of the honourable member, as the organ of the Commercial world, has not been disregarded.

Then comes the third recommendation of the honourable member for Taunton; namely, that we should do away with Prohibitions altogether; and substitute, in all cases, protecting for prohibitory duties. I will beg leave to read a short extract from what I consider a very accurate report of this part of the honourable member's speech. "Another desirable step," said he, "would be to do away totally prohibitions, as much as possible." To be sure, Sir, it may be difficult to reconcile "totally," and " as much as possible;" but, I have no doubt the honourable member's meaning was to express his thorough detestation of the prohibitory principle. "Where," he continues, "protection for particular manufactures is considered to be necessary, it ought to be in the form of duty, and not in that of prohibition. Prohibitions had, no doubt, seriously injured the Revenue, by the encouragement which they gave to smuggling. The Customs had fallen off a million and a half, in the course of the last year. He was sure that a good deal of that defalcation might be ascribed to Prohibitions."

Laws of the Customs, by J. D. Hume, Esq.