to apologize, if he might so express himself, for not having brought in the bill of which he had formerly given notice, relative to Joint Stock Companies: but, parties had come before him while he was exercising his judicial duties, and he did not think it right to be declaring the law in that House, while he had to give judgment in another place. He had been employed, since September last, in hearing persons engaged in speculation, who had been quarrelling among themselves. A noble lord near him had, for the last two days, witnessed the proceedings in the court of Chancery. From what had taken place, it would appear, that these parties had enough to fear from the state of the law as it now stood; to say nothing of any new act. They could not be aware of the extent of the danger in which they were placed.

public should be set to rights as to the situation in which they stood. He never knew a moment when there was a greater prospect of lasting peace than the present; but still, no man could answer for events. No man could say how long that peace might last. Now, he would ask any man to reflect what would be the situation of the public, if (not to speak of actual war) any thing short of war-any embarrassing event, were to occur? Their lordships would recollect that, when commercial embarrassments occurred during the late war, bankers and merchants came forward and applied to parliament for aid, which they obtained by issues of Exchequer bills. He wished it, however, to be clearly understood, that those persons who now engaged in Joint-Stock Companies, or other enterprises, entered on those speculations at their peril and risk. He thought it his duty to declare, that he never would advise the introduction of any bill for their relief; on the contrary, if such a measure were proposed, he would oppose it, and he hoped that parliament would resist any measure of the kind. He thought that this determination could not be too well understood at the present moment, nor made too publicly known. He had felt himself particularly called on to make this declaration, because he understood that the speculations were not confined to this metropolis, where people might have a better opportunity of judging for themselves, but that endeavours were making, by means of country bankers, to engage persons in the country to embark in speculation, the object of which they could not know. He would be one of the last men ever to interfere, by legislative provisions, with the property of individuals, or to endeavour, by any means, to prevent men from spending their own money as they pleased. But as the consequences of the present extensive speculations might be so serious, he had thought, filling the situation which he did, that he should not discharge his duty, if he did not give that warning, and say, that he should be found, in common with their lordships, determined not to give relief, or listen to any claims made on account of distress, arising from such sort of speculations. In stating his opinion, it was in reference to no particular measure, but to that general spirit of speculation which was going beyond. all bounds, and was likely to bring the greatest mischief on numerous individuals.

The Lord Chancellor said, that he ought

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Friday, March 25.

FOREIGN COMMERCE of the CounTRY.] The House having resolved itself into a committee to consider of the consolidated Custom Duties,

Mr. Huskisson rose and spoke, in substance, as follows :*.

Sir-In requesting the attention of the committee, whilst I state (in continuation of the subject which I had the honour to open on Monday last) the alterations which I propose to recommend in the duties levied upon the importation of materials employed in some of our principal manufactures, and also in the prohibitory duties now imposed upon the manufactured productions of other countries, I need scarcely bespeak the disposition of the committee to countenance the principle of these proposals, so far as they shall be found not inconsistent with the protection of our own industry. I feel the more assured of this general disposition in the committee, not only as it was manifested on the former evening, but also from the experience, which the House and the country now have of the benefits to be derived from the removal of vexatious restraints, and meddling interference, in the concerns of internal industry, or foreign commerce.

However confident either my right hon.

* From the original edition, printed for J. Hatchard and Son, Piccadilly.

ten shillings more were wanting, to make the balance incline on the side of the British manufacturer, in the market of his own country. These absurd duties, and equally absurd distinctions, attach alike upon the productions of our own subjects in the East Indies, as upon those of foreign countries; whilst our manufactures are admitted, almost duty free, into all the territories of the East-India Company. Instead of this graduated, but monstrous scale, I propose to admit all foreign articles manufactured wholly of cotton, whether from the East Indies or elsewhere, at one uniform duty of 10l. per cent, which, I conceive, is sufficient to countervail the small duty levied upon the importation of the raw material into this country, and the duty upon any other articles used in the manufacture. Any protection, beyond this, I hold to be not only unnecessary but mischievous.

From cotton, I proceed to woollens, one of our oldest manufactures-that which has been most nursed and dandled by the legislature-a favourite child, which like other favourites, has, I suspect, suffered, rather than profited, by being spoilt and petted in rearing; whilst its younger brother of cotton, coming into the world much later, has thriven better by being much more left to rough it, and make its own way in life. Some detailed and authentic history of the paternal and zealous solicitude with which our ancestors in this House interposed to protect the woollen manufacture (should such a history ever be written), will alone preserve future generations from incredulity, in respect to the extent to which legislative interference was once carried in this branch of internal industry. Within my own time, regulating acts, dealing with every minute process of the manufacture, have been repealed by the score; as have also heaps of other laws, equally salutary and wise, prescribing the mode of clipping wool, its package, the time to be allowed, and the forms to be observed, in removing it from one place to another-laws, the violation of which, in some instances, amounted to felony, but which now no longer disgrace the Statute-book. Fortunately for the cotton manufacture, it was never favoured with this species of protection, so abundantly lavished upon woollen, and which was only withdrawn last year from silk, by the repeal of the Spitalfields acts.

I am well aware that this retrospect to

former systems may be wearisome to the committee, but it is not without its importance, if it were only to strengthen us against falling again into erroneous courses. I trust, therefore, that I may be allowed to state, from official documents, what has been the relative progress of our cotton and woollen manufactures, since the year 1765, being a period of sixty years:

The quantity of cotton wool imported into Great Britain, in the year ended the 5th of January, 1765, was about 3,360,000 lbs. The value of cotton goods exported 200,000l.

The quantity of cotton wool imported in the year ended the 5th of January, 1825, was 147,174,000 lbs. The value of cotton goods exported 30,795,000l.

The quantity of lamb and sheeps' wool imported in the year 1765, was 1,926,000lbs. The value of woollen goods exported 5,159,000l.

The quantity of lamb and sheeps'wool imported in the year 1825, was 23,858,000 lbs. The value of woollen goods exported 6,926,000l.

Perhaps I may just add, that the quantity of raw silk imported in 1765, was 418,000 lbs; and in 1825 3,047,000lbs.

In submitting these satisfactory statements, I cannot refrain from calling the attention of the committee to one observation which they suggest to my mind. It must, I think, be admitted, that, in the year 1765, the whole quantity of sheeps' wool grown in this country could not be nearly so great as at present, when, owing to the many improvements in husbandry, and particularly in the art of raising winter food for the flocks, the number of sheep must be greatly increased; and yet the, quantity of wool imported in that year, was not one-twelfth of the quantity imported in 1825. Out of this aggregate supply from home growth, and foreign import, the whole wants of our own population were supplied in 1765, leaving to the amount of 5,159,000l. of manufactured woollens for exportation. In the year 1825, out of the aggregate of the home growth, and of an import of wool so greatly exceeding that of 1765, the whole manufactured export is 6,926,000/, being an increase over that of 1765, of only 1,765,000l. Now, let me ask the committee, how often, in these sixty years, has the increase of consumption in cotton and silk clothing been contemplated with alarm and jealousy, by the wool-grower,

now submitting to the committee. They are all great advocates for free trade generally, all alike forward in their approbation of the principles on which the government is now acting; but each has some reason to assign, quite conclusive, I have no doubt, in his own mind, why his peculiar calling should be made an exception. All these special reasons, I own, have only satisfied me, that the general rule of free competition is the best for all trades, as it is certainly the best for the public; though I can quite understand, that a privilege or monopoly given to any one branch, whilst it is denied to all others, might be an advantage to that particular trade. But is it fit that in an article like iron, of universal use in all our manufactures, in all the arts and conveniences of life, in agriculture, in houses, in ships, we should now be suffering from a scarcity of that metal? That we should submit to have every article, in which it is used, greatly increased in price, as well as deteriorated, perhaps, in quality, on account of the enormous duty imposed upon foreign iron, not for the purpose of revenue, but for that of protection-a duty which amounts nearly to a monopoly in favour of the British iron masters? Has not the price of British_iron, of late, been almost doubled? Have not all the iron masters demands for iron beyond what they can supply? Is there no risk or danger to our hardware manufactures at Birmingham and Sheffield, from this state of things? Can they execute the orders which they receive from abroad, if iron continues at its present price, or is to rise still higher? How many thousand workmen will be thrown out of employ, if this branch of trade be lost to this country? Is there no reason to apprehend its being transferred to Germany, the Netherlands, and other parts of the continent? I have been assured, upon authority not likely to mislead me, that very extensive orders, which have lately been received at Birmingham from the United States, and other parts, have been refused, because the great rise in the price of iron does not admit of the articles being made within the limits specified in those orders. And what is the consequence? They are transferred to the continent; and the share of this country in their execution, is confined to making the models and drawings, which are prepared here, for the guidance of the foreign artificers. It is, therefore, of the greatest

importance, that the duties on foreign iron should be reduced, in reference, not only to the interests of the consumer in this country, but also to the well-being of those numerous classes who are employed in all the manufactures of this metal for foreign countries. The necessity of this reduction becomes the more urgent, from the fact, that, at this time, the whole produce of the British mines is not adequate to supply the present demand. But, quite independent of this evil, which may be temporary, I own it appears to me, that it would be of great advantage to the manufactures of this country to be able to procure foreign iron, particularly that of Sweden, on easy terms. Swedish iron is known to be superior to our own; its admixture with British iron would improve the quality of our manufactures; they would be held in higher estimation, and not only be able to command a more decided preference in foreign markets, but become more valuable for all the purposes to which iron is applied in our domestic consumption.-Take, for instance, the important article of iron cables now so generally used by our shipping; it will not be denied that, by a due proportion of Swedish iron in their composition, their strength and tenacity would be improved. Here, then, an important advantage to our naval interests, connected too with the safety of every ship using iron cables, is directly counteracted by the present high duties on foreign iron. The result of its more free admission, I am persuaded, will be, not only to check those extreme fluctuations, which, of late years, we have witnessed in the price of iron-at one time so low as to be ruinous to the producer, at another so high, as to be greatly distressing to all the other interests of the country-but also by the improvements to which it will lead, to extend the use and consumption of manufactured iron (the bulk of which will always be our own) both at home and abroad. This increased demand, joined to a more steady price, will, ere long, more than compensate to the British iron masters the temporary inconvenience, if any, which some of them apprehend from the extent to which it is proposed to carry the reduction of this duty.

The next metal upon which I have to propose a reduction, is copper. The duty, which in 1790 did not exceed 10%, now amounts to 547. a ton. This high duty is not less injurious to the manufac