CO885(1-2) — Page 253

PUBLIC RECORD OFFICE

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C.O. 885

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own produce to third countries, while the country which keeps up its high duties cannot get what it wants much cheaper than before. But the case is not so in matters of navigation. If a trade is open to the ships of two countries, and either of them can burden those of the ofher with duties, from which its own are to be exempt, it can clearly drive them out of that trade by putting on sufficiently high duties. Our ships can, at any time, beat Spanish ships in an open trade, yet the Spaniards, by means of differential duties, contrive to engross a great share of the trade from Cuba to Liverpool. That Spain loses by this system in some shape, there can be no doubt; but

if she chooses to pay the price we cannot prevent

her from thus purchasing employment for her own vessels, to the exclusion of British vessels, except by retaliatory duties.

Secondly, the importance of such a power as ́this, in making arrangements with foreign States, is not to be overlooked. It is unnecessary to enlarge upon this point. I may, however, make one or two quotations from the memorial of the Prussian Department of Trade, in order to show the opi nion of the Germans on a similar question. They say, "In the interest of our home shipping it seems advisable that we should go on one step further, and that we should by law, limit the benefits of the reduced duty to national ships and to those that, either by treaty or otherwise, are placed on an equal footing with them. We should thus reserve to ourselves the power of granting the privileges of our national flag to such States, as on their side place our ships on an equal footing with their own, and we should be in possession of a most valuable means of inducing other countries, whose legislation is pre- judicial to the commercial interests of Germany, to make concessions in our favour." Again, "Such a law would, for the first time, place Ger- many, and particularly the Zollverein, in a position to conclude advantageous treaties with other States. At present these States possess, with regard to Germany, all the advantages of free trade exclu- sively on their side, and will consequently not be likely to make any change in the statu quo, until Germany, by placing herself in a position to be

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able to grant or refuse what they may desire, shall thereby induce them to make concessions in her favour."

Lastly, with regard to the objection that our relaxations ought to be made strictly dependent on the conduct of other States, which objection would seem to be countenanced by the answers suggested to the preceding, it may be remarked, that even were we free from the embarrassments arising out of our commercial treaties, it would

be very difficult to put the law upon such a footing as to be at once self-acting and perfectly fair. A law might indeed be made, which would

be very simple, that—without otherwise affecting our present system-the ships of any country which would place British ships precisely on the footing of national ships, should in turn be placed in our ports precisely on the footing of British ships; and I have reason to think that such an idea has been entertained by some persons, and may perhaps be broached in Parlia ment. But though such terms might possibly be accepted by the United States, it is very doubt- ful whether they would be so by other countries, and then would come the question whether you were to subject the vessels of a given country to the whole weight of your restrictive system on account of some minute reservation on her part; and if you held that this was not to be the rule, but that nations which gave us much, but not all, ought to have much, but not all, in return, it would be necessary to have a discretionary power somewhere in order to decide how much should be given in each case. Such discretionary power might indeed be given, subject to regulations which would have nearly the effect of a self-acting rule; but then if it was so exercised as to make our law necessarily vary in each case according to the law for the time being in force in each country, it would become very complicated; and a complicated Navigation Law is a great evil to commerce.

Another and a greater difficulty, however, remains behind. Some of our commercial trea- ties would render it necessary for us to concede the privileges which we wish to make condi-