on their own account. The double voyage required to make The Maritime Charter goes down. Prussian protest. LAUNCH OF RECIPROCITY. In 1815, the game of crossing the Atlantic in ballast was put an end to, by mutual consent; and a treaty entered into between the two countries, under which American ships could clear outwards with cargoes for England, and English ships outwards with cargoes for America. Similar concessions were made to Portugal, under the most favoured nation treaty. In 1823, the American and Portuguese treaties produced their natural result; Prussia took the lead in threatening retaliatory measures. Their minister at our court, in an interview with Mr. Huskisson on the Navigation Laws, said, "You have set us the example by your port and light charges, and your discriminating duties on the goods imported in your ships. Hitherto we have confined the increase of our port and tonnage charges to ships only, but it is the intention of my government next year, (of which he produced written proof) to imitate you still more closely, by imposing discriminating duties on the goods imported in your ships." Our shipowners taken aback by this "Prussian audacity" of imitation, (for they never dreamt of any nation having the presumption to imitate them), and not being then inclined to have no Prussian trade, bestirred themselves in favour of a treaty with Prussia, on the same principle of equal terms as that with the United States. A like convention was demanded by Den Acts. mark and Sweden, and Mr. Huskisson, bending at once to a necessity which he had not the power, even had he had the will, to oppose, introduced and carried the Reciprocity Acts, by which it is enacted, That His Majesty may by Reciprocity an order in council, admit ships of foreign states into our ports, on payment of such duties as are charged on British vessels, provided that British ships are admitted c. 1. into the ports of such foreign states, on payment of the same duties as are charged on their own vessels. 4th Geo. IV., c. 77. THE RECIPROCITY ACTS, AND THE PROPHECIES OF THE After the arrangement with Prussia, there was great outcry from the shipowners against reciprocity. It was declared that if acted upon, it would ruin England. Our trade would be handed over to foreigners; we might sell them our ships, and at once surrender the sea, and our national defences. This ruin was to come upon us, because foreigners could build and navigate their ships cheaper than we could ours. They had timber cheaper, victuals cheaper, wages lower, and they lived in untaxed countries. It was, therefore, most vehemently asserted by the shipowners that for the future, American ships would have all the American trade, AND WE NONE. Prussian, Norwegian, Swedish, French, German, Russian, England to have no ships. and other foreign ships, the whole continental trade, and we NONE. The ships of England were to be beaten every where, but from the coasts and colonies of England. These gloomy assertions were made twenty-four years ago. The following facts and figures taken from the evidence of Mr. G. R. Porter, director of the statistical department of the Board of Trade, and author of the work entitled The Progress of the Nation, show whether these prophecies of ruin have been fulfilled : : "The British tonnage which entered inward from the whole coast of Africa and Cape of Good Hope, St. Helena and Ascension, Mauritius, British India, the British North American Colonies, the Australian Colonies, the British West Indies, the Fisheries and the Channel Islands; places including the whole of our possessions, and tected from our therefore representing the whole trade under protection of the Navigation Laws, was, 7594, 7595. Tonnage pro colonies. Tonnage unprotected from foreign countries. Benefit to colonial shipping from reduction of timber duties. In the year 1824, 893,097 tons. In the year 1846, 1,735,924 tons. Being an increase of 94:37 per cent." On the other hand, "From Russia, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Prussia, Germany, Holland, Belgium, France, Portugal, Spain, Italy, Gibraltar and Malta,* Turkey, Morea, Egypt, Tripoli, Barbary and Morocco, China, Sumatra and Java, the Foreign West Indies, the United States of America, the Ionian Islands, the Cape de Verdes and the South Sea Islands; places showing our whole foreign trade, and in which our ships are not protected by the Navigation Laws, the British tonnage which entered inwards, was, In 1824, the year of the reci- In the year 1846, after 22 years of equal competition with foreigners, 2,558,809 tons. Being an increase of 183 per cent." But even these facts, strong as they are, do not set forth the whole strength of the case against protection and in favour of competition, for "of the 893,097 tons increase of shipping entered from the colonies in the year 1846, as compared with 1824, no less than 650,000 were from British North America; the trade with which has advanced rapidly since 1842. In that year, the tonnage entered from that Colony, was 541,451 tons, being an increase as compared with 1824, of 116,289 tons. In 1846, it was 1,076,162 tons, being an increase as compared with 1842, of 534,711 tons." The cause of so large an increase in the direction of one Colony, and within so short a time, deserves especial attention, and may serve to enlighten those who still linger in the mists of the protective system. In the October of 1842, the duty on colonial timber was reduced to one shilling a load, and the * Malta and Gibraltar, though Colonies of England are dealt with in respect to our Navigation Laws and Customs regulations as foreign countries. reduction was at once followed by increased demand for timber, and for ships to carry it. But for this increase in the carriage of timber from British North America, the whole difference between 1824 and 1846, of tonnage entered inwards from the Colonies, would have been 308,116 tons, an increase of but 36 per cent.; suppose then the Navigation Laws could claim the whole of such increase, the account would then stand thus: Increase of shipping by Navigation Laws in whole Colonial trade, comparing 308,116 tons. Increase of shipping to British North America alone, by reduction of timber 534,711 tons, showing that the reduction of duty on the one item of timber Laws. But say the shipowners, foreign shipping has increased, and Foreign shipthat too very much in the last six and twenty years. Certainly ping increased. it has, and surely no one in his sober senses could expect it to have done otherwise. Was it likely that foreigners should sit gazing in wonder smitten amazement at the energy and enterprise of England, and make no effort to push their way to a fair portion of the growing trade of the world. They are roused by our progress; they follow us; the example of effort and success inspirit them. There is no danger of their monopolizing the entire trade. The following returns demonstrate that where the extension of commerce has created an increased demand for ships, our shipowners have supplied the largest proportion of them. And this cannot be otherwise, so long as our resources in fixed and floating capital maintain their actual pre-eminence. The total tonnage employed in the trade of the country, inwards and outwards, including both British and foreign tonnage has increased, From 4,098,507 tons in 1820 to Total tonnage. British. British tonnage inwards has increased, From 1,668,060 tons in 1820, to Foreign. being an increase of 2,626,673 tons. From 447,611 tons in 1820 to being an increase of 1,358,671 tons, British increase or very little more than half the increase of British tonnage. double foreign. In the outward trade the Navigation Laws can scarcely be said to apply at all, inasmuch as we encourage foreigners to take goods from us as much as they will; the British tonnage has increased From 1,549,508 tons in 1820 to being an increase of 2,843,907 tons, and the foreign tonnage From 433,328 tons in 1820 to 1,921,156 tons in 1846, being an increase of G. R. Porter, 7598. 1,487,828 tons, again little more than half the increase of British tonnage. |