$7.40 per ton on iron, which will be $107.30
$14.80 per ton on hemp, equal to 148.00
And on duck, by the late amendment
of the bill, say 25 per cent, 25.00
_______
$280.30
_______
But to the duties on iron and hemp should be added those paid on copper,
whenever that article is used. By the statement which I furnished the
other day, it appeared that the duties received by government on
articles used in the construction of a vessel of three hundred and
fifty-nine tons, with copper fastenings, amounted to $1,056. With the
augmentations of this bill, they would be equal to $1,400.
Now I cannot but flatter myself, Mr. Chairman, that, before the
committee will consent to this new burden upon the shipping interest, it
will very deliberately weigh the probable consequences. I would again
urgently solicit its attention to the condition of that interest. We are
told that government has protected it, by discriminating duties, and by
an exclusive right to the coasting trade. But it would retain the
coasting trade by its own natural efforts, in like manner, and with more
certainty, than it now retains any portion of foreign trade. The
discriminating duties are now abolished, and while they existed, they
were nothing more than countervailing measures; not so much designed to
give our navigation an advantage over that of other nations, as to put
it upon an equality; and we have, accordingly, abolished ours, when they
have been willing to abolish theirs. Look to the rate of freights. Were
they ever lower, or even so low? I ask gentlemen who know, whether the
harbor of Charleston, and the river of Savannah, be not crowded with
ships seeking employment, and finding none? I would ask the gentlemen
from New Orleans, if their magnificent Mississippi does not exhibit, for
furlongs, a forest of masts? The condition, Sir, of the shipping
interest is not that of those who are insisting on high profits, or
struggling for monopoly; but it is the condition of men content with the
smallest earnings, and anxious for their bread. The freight of cotton
has formerly been three pence sterling, from Charleston to Liverpool, in
time of peace. It is now I know not what, or how many fractions of a
penny; I think, however, it is stated at five eighths. The producers,
then, of this great staple, are able, by means of this navigation, to
send it, for a cent a pound, from their own doors to the best market in
the world.
Mr. Chairman, I will now only remind the committee that, while we are
proposing to add new burdens to the shipping interest, a very different
line of policy is followed by our great commercial and maritime rival.
It seems to be announced as the sentiment of the government of England,
and undoubtedly it is its real sentiment, that the first of all
manufactures is the manufacture of ships. A constant and wakeful
attention is paid to this interest, and very important regulations,
favorable to it, have been adopted within the last year, some of which I
will beg leave to refer to, with the hope of exciting the notice, not
only of the committee, but of all others who may feel, as I do, a deep
interest in this subject. In the first place, a general amendment has
taken place in the register acts, introducing many new provisions, and,
among others, the following:--
A direct mortgage of the interest of a ship is allowed, without
subjecting the mortgagee to the responsibility of an owner.
The proportion of interest held by each owner is exhibited in the
register, thereby facilitating both sales and mortgages, and giving a
new value to shipping among the moneyed classes.
Shares, in the ships of copartnerships, may be registered as joint
property, and subject to the same rules as other partnership effects.
Ships may be registered in the name of trustees, for the benefit of
joint-stock companies.
And many other regulations are adopted, with the same general view of
rendering the mode of holding the property as convenient and as
favorable as possible.
By another act, British registered vessels, of every description, are
allowed to enter into the general and the coasting trade in the India
seas, and may now trade to and from India, with any part of the world
except China.
By a third, all limitations and restrictions, as to latitude and
longitude, are removed from ships engaged in the Southern whale-fishery.
These regulations, I presume, have not been made without first obtaining
the consent of the East India Company; so true is it found, that real
encouragement of enterprise oftener consists, in our days, in
restraining or buying off monopolies and prohibitions, than in imposing
or extending them.
The trade with Ireland is turned into a free coasting trade; light
duties have been reduced, and various other beneficial arrangements
made, and still others proposed. I might add, that, in favor of general
commerce, and as showing their confidence in the principles of liberal
intercourse, the British government has perfected the warehouse system,
and authorized a reciprocity of duties with foreign states, at the
discretion of the Privy Council.
This, Sir, is the attention which our great rival is paying to these
important subjects, and we may assure ourselves that, if we do not
cherish a proper sense of our own interests, she will not only beat us,
but will deserve to beat us.
Sir, I will detain you no longer. There are some parts of this bill
which I highly approve; there are others in which I should acquiesce;
but those to which I have now stated my objections appear to me so
destitute of all justice, so burdensome and so dangerous to that
interest which has steadily enriched, gallantly defended, and proudly
distinguished us, that nothing can prevail upon me to give it my
support.[10]
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