History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce, Volume 3 (of 4)

by W. S. Lindsay

CHAPTER XV.

First Navigation Law in France, A.D. 1560—Law of Louis XIV., 1643, revised by Colbert, 1661—Its chief conditions—Regulations for the French Colonial trade—Slightly modified by the Treaties of Utrecht, 1713, and of 1763, in favour of England—Provisions of 1791 and 1793—Amount of charges enforced—French and English Navigation Laws equally worthless—“Surtaxes de Pavillon” and “d’Entrepôt”—“Droits de Tonnage”—Special exemption of Marseilles—French Colonial system preserved under all its Governments, but greatly to the injury of her people—English Exhibition of 1851—Messrs. Cobden and Chevalier meet first there, and ultimately, in 1860, carry the Commercial Treaty—The French, heavy losers by maintaining their Navigation Laws—Decline of French shipping—Mr. Lindsay visits France, and has various interviews with the Emperor, Messrs. Rouher and Chevalier on this subject—Commission of Inquiry appointed, and Law ultimately passed May 1866—Its conditions—Repeal Act unsatisfactory to the French Shipowners—Another Commission of Inquiry appointed, 1870—Views of rival parties—M. de Coninck—M. Bergasse—M. Siegfried—M. Thiers and Protection carry the day, and reverse, in 1872, much of the law of 1866—Just views of the Duke Decazes—Abolition for the second time of the “Surtaxes de Pavillon,” July 1873.

First Navigation Law in France, A.D. 1560.

The first appearance of anything in the shape of a Navigation Law which can be traced in the history of the French nation is to be found about A.D. 1560, during the reign of Charles IX., or rather during that of his mother, Catherine of Medicis, when Regent. It is of the most absurdly stringent character, forbidding French subjects, under any circumstances, to freight foreign vessels in the ports of his realm. Nor would he allow such vessels to carry from his ports any kind of merchandise: but, like most other laws of a similarly rigorous character, they were very imperfectly carried out, and so seldom enforced that, by degrees, they fell into desuetude.

Law of Louis XIV., 1643, revised by Colbert, 1661.

It was not, however, until the reign of Louis XIV. (A.D. 1643) that anything like a regular system of Navigation Laws was adopted; and this would seem to have been copied from the laws of England of that period, inasmuch as it had for its object that which England had proposed with regard to her own ships—the protection and the development of the French mercantile marine. But Colbert, the celebrated finance minister, in 1661, appears to have devoted considerable attention to this question, and, though he framed a law, at first as protective in its character as any of the maritime laws promulgated in England, it was, soon afterwards, moderately relaxed by his wisdom, in favour of the ships of other nations.

Its chief conditions,

In the reign of Louis XIV., as also in that of Louis XV., various ordinances and regulations were likewise issued for the purpose of determining the conditions necessary to entitle a vessel to the privileges of a French ship. Thus in the regulation bearing date 24th October, 1681, and, in several letters as well as in various ordinances, it was provided that no vessel should be allowed the privilege of hoisting the French flag, unless she were entirely owned by the subjects of that country, and unless the names of all the owners were duly registered. For every offence, or any deviation from this law, a fine of 1000 livres was inflicted; and, in case of any repetition of the offence, corporal punishments were ordained against all captains who navigated, under the French flag, any vessel of alien ownership. There was, however, no prohibition against the acquisition of vessels of foreign build. French subjects were allowed to confer on such vessels the French character by certain declarations, such as dimensions, where and by whom constructed, and by registering the names of the owners, and the contract of sale. No alien was, however, permitted to command a French vessel; nor, by the ordinance of 27th October, 1727, could even a French subject do so who had married an alien.

Foreigners were also excluded from any functions of authority; and, as in the case of the English Navigation Laws, it was ordained that every vessel should be manned by a crew of which two-thirds, at least, were French subjects. Indeed, in 1710, French subjects were forbidden, agreeably with their most ancient Navigation Law, to import goods from England in any but French bottoms—a law, at that time, levelled exclusively against this country, as it did not embrace other nations. This law was, however, abolished, three years afterwards, by the treaty of Utrecht, though again enforced when war, subsequently, broke out between the two countries. Besides this, the duty known by the name of “Droit de tonnage” (tonnage dues), for the protection of the French mercantile marine, was levied on all foreign vessels; and, though England obtained a temporary exemption from it also by the treaty of Utrecht, this duty remained practically in force till replaced by another tonnage duty in 1793. Indeed, for a long time, absolute prohibition had existed against all foreign vessels engaging in the carrying trade between the ports of France, except those of Spain, which in 1768 (January 2nd), by a treaty, known by the name of “Pacte de famille,” signed by the Kings of France, Spain, the Two Sicilies, and the Duke of Parma, as members of the reigning Bourbon family, made the Spaniards free of the existing French trade, and placed them in all respects on a similar footing, so far as that treaty was concerned, with the subjects of France. This privilege, though suspended by the Revolution, was restored by the Convention of 20th July, 1814, and still remains in force, on the part of France.

Regulations for the French Colonial trade.

The most important element, however, of the ancient Navigation Laws of France was the system of regulations for the purpose of increasing the trade with the French colonies. In its main features, it has been preserved by all the Governments, Revolutionary and Constitutional, which have, successively, presided over the destinies of that country, continuing almost unaltered far into the present century, when it was materially modified, though not entirely abolished, by the economical reforms of Napoleon III.

Slightly modified by the Treaties of Utrecht, 1713, and of 1763, in favour of England.

That system, known among French economists and lawyers under the name of the “Pacte colonial,” from the implied contract supposed to have been entered into between each colony on its foundation and the mother-country was, so far as the rights of the latter were concerned, characterised by three principles, which dictated, as far as expediency allowed, all the laws and measures of the various Governments previously to the Second Empire.

These may be briefly stated as follows:—First, no goods, the growth, produce, or manufacture of the colonies, were to be carried to any but a French market. Secondly, the colonial market was to be reserved for the commodities and produce of the mother-country. Thirdly, the carrying of all goods between the colonies and the mother-country was to be reserved for the shipping of France.

These rules, which embodied the spirit and policy of France with regard to her maritime dealings with her colonies, though undergoing from time to time various modifications necessitated by circumstances, have, as far as possible, been upheld and enforced, and in many cases with considerable severity. Thus, while the exclusion of alien shippers was jealously secured by the most stringent measures, as, for instance, by the law of 1727, Article 3, in which it was further ordained that no foreigners should land with their ships or other vessels in the ports, bays, or harbours, of the French colonies and islands, nor navigate within one league round the said colonies and islands, under penalty of confiscation of their vessels and cargoes, and a fine of 4000 livres, jointly and severally, upon the master and his crew. These rigorous prohibitions concerning sailing near the coast were, however, relaxed in favour of England, after the cession to this country by France in 1763 under the Treaty of Paris of various islands on the American coast, but with reference only to such as were in the vicinity of British possessions.

But these stringent laws, ere long proved most disadvantageous to France herself, and became a very great hardship to some of her colonies; for, having lost Canada and Louisiana, which carried on a flourishing trade with the Antilles, the inhabitants of these islands were deprived of many essential commodities. Some of their ports were, consequently, opened to foreign shipping for the importation of certain enumerated articles, and the exportation of such of the goods produced by them as could not find a sufficient market within the French dominions.

Such, in a few words, were the ancient Navigation Laws of France; nor did the Revolution, which cast aside so many of the most venerated laws and customs of that country, discard the system of protection which those ancient laws were assumed to afford to their shipping. This system, on the contrary, seems to have suited the views of the chiefs of the revolutionary period, and, being, also, in accordance with the spirit of the stern legislators of that period, was rendered by them still more stringent by the addition of special prohibitions, which their predecessors had not considered expedient.

For instance, a decree of the 13th May, 1791, prohibited the acquisition from that date of all vessels of foreign build; and on the 21st September, 1793, another decree was issued, of a more comprehensive character.

But it must be remembered that France was then at war with all the Powers of Europe as well as with her own Rulers (the King having been beheaded 21st January, 1793), and, consequently, her commercial and naval laws were in accordance with the spirit of war, which has been ever opposed to the progress and well-being of the people. The laws, therefore, relating to trade and navigation, from 1792 to 1814 must not be considered such as the nation would have approved of if at peace, but rather as warlike measures, presumed to be necessary for the welfare, and, indeed, for the very existence of the nation. England being the nearest and most powerful enemy of France, as well as the financial supporter of all the other nations then leagued against her, it is not surprising that French statesmen should have passed such laws as had special reference to the injury of her maritime commerce and her power at sea; and that those laws should have been thought to display a spirit of revenge and hatred, though in reality they were merely counterparts of our own.

Consequently, Article 3 of the law of the 21st September, 1793, enacted that “No foreign commodities, productions, or merchandise, shall be imported into France, or into the possessions or colonies of France, except directly in French vessels, or in vessels belonging to the inhabitants of the countries in which the articles imported grew, were produced or manufactured, or from the ordinary ports of sale or exportation.” All officers and three-fourths of the crew were required to be natives of the country of which the foreign vessel bore the flag, under penalty of the confiscation of the ship and cargo, and a fine of 300 livres, enforceable under pain of imprisonment, jointly and severally, against owners, consignees, and agents of the vessel and cargo, as well as against the captain and mate. Article 4, copied from the most ancient laws of France, ordained that foreign vessels should not carry from one French port to another any commodities, productions, or merchandise, of the growth, production, or manufacture of France, or of its colonies or possessions, under penalties similar to those provided under Article 3. Another article stipulated that no vessel should be allowed the privileges of the French flag, unless built in that country, or in the colonies, or other possessions of France, or condemned as a prize, or for any infringement of the laws of the State, and, unless all the officers and three-fourths of the crew were French.

Amount of charges enforced.

The provisions of this Act were made more complete by those of the decree of the 18th of October of the same year (27 Vindémaire, year II. of the Republic), establishing, among others, various rules concerning the amount of repair to be done to a foreign vessel, sold after wreck in the waters of France, to entitle her to carry the French flag; the amount of repair which a French vessel might undergo in a foreign country without forfeiting its national character; and the conditions under which a French subject, resident abroad, might own a French vessel; together with several enactments for securing the French character of ships, and for the proper measurement of their tonnage. At the same time, there was created by the Act a system of taxes, for the purpose partly of revenue, and partly of protection, intended to supersede the previous system of marine taxation, abolished expressly by Article 29. Of these new taxes, some applied to the vessel and some to the cargo; but the most important of them was a duty, assessed according to tonnage, though in very different proportions, on all vessels, whether French or foreign, entering French ports; excepting French fishing vessels, or privateers, and French vessels returning from foreign countries. It amounted to three sous[219] per ton on French vessels of above thirty tons engaged in the coasting trade of the same French sea-board; to four sous per ton, where the trading was from the French ports of one sea to those of another; and to six sous, where the navigation was between France and her colonies or possessions beyond the limits of Europe. On foreign vessels, whencesoever they came, an uniform duty of fifty sous per ton was levied when they discharged their cargoes in French ports.

French and English Navigation Laws equally worthless.

Such were the most important provisions of these two stringent laws; they were, however, only similar, in nearly all respects, to those of England, so much so that they have, frequently, been called in France Les Actes de Navigation. Indeed, they were almost as famous, at the time, in that country as the so-called celebrated Acts of Cromwell were in Great Britain—notorious, rather than famous, not for any benefits they conferred on the people of either country, but because the object of each was to cripple the maritime and naval resources of the rival power without enhancing its own; for, in those days, the happiness and prosperity of one nation was supposed to be best promoted by increasing its power of summarily inflicting punishment for any wrongs attributed to its neighbour.

But the absolute rule introduced by the law of the 21st of September, 1793, against the importation into France of foreign produce by foreign vessels except those of the country from which the produce originally came, could, in the nature of things, be only partially enforced. Supremacy cannot be obtained merely by the will of a legislator, nor can a stroke of the pen conjure navies into existence.[220]

The mercantile marine of France, which had almost entirely disappeared during the wars of the Republic and Empire, progressed so slowly for some time after the Restoration, that the assistance of foreign vessels became absolutely necessary for the supply of the French market. Strange, however, to say, for the supposed encouragement of the national shipping, and, as the next best protection that could be given to it, the carrying marine of all other nations was heavily weighted, by means of duties levied on almost all the commodities imported in foreign bottoms. In the first tariff, published after the return of the Bourbons, on the 17th of December, 1814, with the object of providing for pressing requirements until a more matured system could be established, differential duties were imposed on certain goods, more or less heavy, according as they were imported under a foreign or under the French flag. The system was developed and perfected by the Finance Law of the 28th of April, 1816, which established a new order of things, brought about by the heavy expenses of the centjours, and of the fine imposed on the French nation by the treaties of November, 1815. Consequently, most of such articles as were admitted free under the French flag, were charged with duty under a foreign one. For goods liable to duty, when imported in French bottoms, the foreign carrying trade was generally mulcted with an additional charge through the instrumentality of a series of differential duties called, respectively, surtaxes de pavillon and surtaxes d’entrepôt.

“Surtaxes de Pavillon,” and “d’Entrepôt.”

The surtaxe de pavillon was the additional duty levied on such commodities when arriving under a foreign flag. The surtaxe d’entrepôt was an increase in the rate of duty on the same merchandise, though imported under the French flag, coming from the warehouses of intermediate countries. An example of both these taxes with reference to coffee may be drawn from the tariff of the Finance Law, Article 3, of the 28th of April, 1816;[221] and, by a further decree of the 26th June, 1841, it was laid down, as a general rule, that all goods under a foreign flag should pay the highest rate of duties.

“Droits de Tonnage.”

But, although this system of differential duties levied on goods conveyed from their place of production in foreign vessels, was somewhat modified by subsequent decrees and treaties of reciprocity, it remained, practically, in force, or to a considerable extent, up to a very recent period, while the droits de tonnage levied on foreign ships alone, were not abolished until 1867: these tonnage duties were of the most objectionable and purely protective character, all French vessels being exempted from this charge. Happily, however, for France, there was one port where they were not exacted, and hence this has ever been one of her most flourishing commercial entrepôts.

Special exemption of Marseilles.

By a strange anomaly, Marseilles had been, by the law of the 16th December, 1814, as well as by the ordinance of the 19th September, 1777, put out of the pale of the tonnage duty, and made substantially a free port. This exception, the revival of a still older privilege, had been conceded for the purpose of drawing again to Marseilles, as far as possible, the trade of the Mediterranean, which, during the long period of warfare through which France had passed, had been taken possession of by her rivals in that sea, principally, by the Genoese. The Marseillais considered it as a very great advantage; and Cette, besides other ports of the Mediterranean, solicited a like exemption from a duty they justly regarded much more as an evil than a protection; but in vain, till the time when, as will be explained hereafter, the whole of France was admitted to the freedom which had so long been the exclusive privilege of a single port.

French Colonial system preserved under all its Governments,

The policy of France with regard to her colonies under the first Republic was continued by subsequent Governments, subject, however, to many qualifications and exceptions, by which the system lost much of its uniformity and regularity. But with reference to the treatment of the foreign mercantile marine, the rule excluding alien vessels from the trade between France and the generality of her colonies and possessions was for the most part maintained.

The term Colonie, or Colonie à Culture, is equivalent to the English word Plantation. Possession or établissement applies to such settlements as were made more especially for the purpose of trading, some of the other colonies and settlements being of a mixed character. In the process of time the name of Colonies, in the vocabulary of the Fiscal and Navigation Laws, came to be applied in a stricter sense to the three coffee and sugar islands which had remained to France, La Guadaloupe, la Martinique, and Bourbon (or la Réunion as it is now styled). These three colonies had always been more jealously guarded than the rest from foreign intrusion, and had remained very much under the same system; a series of special regulations common to each of them, placing them, as it were, apart from the rest. The rule as to foreign vessels was still exclusion, and prohibition against approaching the coast (with an exception in favour of the English flag by the second Treaty of Paris in 1763 as already stated) was still, in principle, maintained under the same penalty of confiscation, a penalty, however, not unfrequently disregarded.

but greatly to the injury of her people.

These restrictive laws, as has been the case with all other countries, while most injurious to the mass of the people of France, are really of no benefit to the Shipowners of that country, in whose favour they had been passed and so long adhered to. A few individuals may now and again have been gainers, to the loss of the community at large, but a reference to the customs returns of that country too clearly demonstrates, that its shipping did not keep pace with the other branches of its commerce, and that, ever since the time of Charles IX., when the Navigation Laws were first imposed, France has had to depend, frequently, to its serious loss, on the ships of foreign nations for supplying its population with, not merely the luxuries, but the actual necessaries of life: the restrictive system, therefore, though remaining so long in force and apparent vigour, has ever exhibited a gradual tendency to decline, and, by slow degrees, has been worn away by the current of events flowing towards Free-trade.

English Exhibition of 1851.

It was not, however, until the year 1851 that the eyes of the people of France really began to be opened to the advantages to be derived from a policy of commercial freedom. In that year, the people of Great Britain had reared in one of the beautiful parks, by which their capital is adorned, an elegant structure. The idea, originating with the Society of Arts, was readily adopted by the Prince Consort of our beloved Queen.[222] Perhaps no grander and nobler idea ever emanated from the mind of man. It had for its object peace and good will among nations, and no structure, hitherto erected, ever conveyed a more striking impression of “the abodes of Peace” than did the Crystal Palace of 1851. To it, all nations were invited to send specimens of the natural and cultivated produce of their soil, and the manufactures and arts of their people.

Messrs. Cobden and Chevalier meet first there,

and, ultimately in 1860, carry the Commercial Treaty.

In that marvellous structure, two great and good men for the first time met—Richard Cobden of England and Michael Chevalier of France. Men of such great intelligence could not fail to see how numerous were the articles exhibited which were required by the people of both countries where they could not be economically produced, but which were heavily taxed, merely for the special benefit of the few who produced them, to the great loss of whole communities; and that, consequently, productions and manufactures were limited by a system of protection, alike iniquitous and unnecessary for the purposes of revenue. They, therefore, resolved to do what they could to modify the tariffs of both countries, especially France, and thus to secure a more free interchange of those articles each country produced more cheaply and more abundantly than the other. The result of their labours was the Commercial Treaty of 1860.

Although, by the great changes in the English tariff, carried into effect by Sir Robert Peel (1842-46), the duty on French goods had been much reduced in England, and on a great number of articles altogether abolished, France still maintained high duties on most manufactured articles, and, indeed, prohibited altogether the importation of various descriptions of cotton and woollen cloths; the Treaty of 1860 had, therefore, not only the effect of abolishing or reducing duties still levied on French goods or produce imported into England, but of abolishing prohibitions and reducing duties on British goods and manufactures imported into France; and, above all, it gave an impulse to Free-trade ideas throughout Europe. In fact, immediately after that Treaty was signed, other treaties were concluded, on liberal terms, with most of the European States, and their direct or indirect neighbours. Indeed there was then a general movement, to a greater or less extent, in favour of increased freedom of commercial intercourse between all nations.

Had it been possible, it would perhaps have been desirable that a Treaty of Navigation should have accompanied or been embraced in the Treaty of Commerce with France, but, as it was considered by Government advisable to keep the one distinct from the other, a resolution I submitted for the consideration of the House of Commons,[223] though unanimously adopted, was held in abeyance until the Commercial Treaty had been finally adjusted.

The French, heavy losers by maintaining their Navigation Laws.

The discussion on that motion, however, paved the way for the changes subsequently made in the ancient Navigation Laws of France. It was shown, in the most incontrovertible manner, that the people of that country were serious losers by the maintenance of these laws, and that, by being unable to send their produce and manufactures, on as favourable terms as other nations, to the markets of the world, they were competing, at a disadvantage to themselves, while they were likewise sufferers by not being able to import the raw materials they required from abroad at the lowest current rates of freight. Practically, thirty-five out of thirty-six millions of the nation (for I presume that not more than one million of the inhabitants of France depend for their living, directly or indirectly, upon its shipping) were paying for the support of the remaining thirty-sixth million.

Decline of French shipping.

Nor does this payment, which their Navigation Laws so long enforced, seem to have been of any advantage to the favoured class for whom it was made. The shipping of France did not increase. On the contrary, it actually decreased during the whole period when these laws were enforced with the utmost rigour. While, in the year 1787, France employed 164,000 tons of native shipping in her trade with foreign countries, she had, forty-three years afterwards, only 156,000 tons. In her colonial trade, which was confined entirely to her own ships, she employed 114,000 tons of French shipping at the former period, and only 102,000 tons in the year 1860. But the most complete answer to those persons who desired still to retain the Navigation Laws was the remarkable fact that, while the protected branches of her shipping trade decreased, there was a steady and not inconsiderable increase in those branches of it, where her ships had to enter into competition with the vessels of other nations.

Mr. Lindsay visits France, and has various interviews with the Emperor, Messrs. Rouher and Chevalier, on this subject.

Though the motion which the House of Commons had adopted was in favour of a Treaty, that mode of negotiation presented so many objections that, nine months after it had been passed, when Lord Russell furnished me with an introduction to Lord Cowley, it was arranged that we should endeavour to induce the French Government to consider this question as one entirely relating to France, and to urge that she would inquire for herself, and, having done so, to pass such measures as would be most conducive to the interests of her own people, irrespectively of other nations.[224] This was the course subsequently adopted.

There were many enlightened men in that country, as I shall hereafter show, who entertained opinions favourable to the desired change, though the prejudice in favour of the ancient laws and customs had become so strong in the minds of the mass of the people, that it would have been all but impossible to remove it, except through the powerful influence of the enlightened monarch then governing France, who readily saw the advantage the nation would derive from Free navigation. Consequently, he in due time appointed a council to inquire into the whole subject.[225]

In the meantime an important step was taken in Colonial Legislation, which paved the way for more important changes. La Martinique, la Guadaloupe, and la Réunion (or Bourbon), the only three of her old sugar plantations which France still possessed, had been long complaining that the benefits they derived from the Pacte Colonial had entirely ceased, since the protection which their sugar used to receive in the French market against foreign sugar, and against that manufactured in France, had been withdrawn; and that nothing remained of that system, except the hardships they had to endure from the exclusion of the foreign trade and flag, and the difficulty they had in getting rid of their produce, which the French shipping was not sufficiently numerous to export.

In consequence of these and other[226] representations, a law, passed on the 3rd July, 1861, enacted (Articles 1 and 2) that all the foreign commodities allowed to be imported into France were to be admitted into Guadaloupe, Martinique, and Bourbon, under the same conditions and duties. Article 3 broke down the barrier which had hitherto shut out foreign shipping from freedom of access to those islands. It allowed the importation of foreign goods under every flag, without distinction, subject, however, to the payment of special duties, which varied according to the ports from which the goods were brought, and those to which they were imported. Thus, goods carried under any foreign flag from Europe or the Mediterranean to the Antilles, had to pay a duty, per ton, of 20 francs; if to the Réunion, of 30 francs: and when from the ports of the Atlantic coast (except the Cape and its territory), to the Antilles, 10 francs; and to Réunion, 20 francs. The duties, however, imposed by this Article, were only applicable to such foreign commodities, admissible under the previous laws, as were not liable to a higher duty. Otherwise, that duty was to continue in force. Article 6 went further, and allowed French goods to be carried to the colonies in question, and their goods to France, in foreign bottoms, subject to a duty of 20 francs per ton of cargo between France and the Antilles, and of 30 francs per ton between France and La Réunion.

The seventh Article granted the like freedom for the exportation of the goods of the colonies, either to foreign countries or to any other colony, provided such colony were beyond the limits of the coasting trade. But the law still excluded the foreign mercantile marine from entering the Colonial coasting trade, and it was only applicable to the three colonies mentioned in the Act. Nor were its provisions applicable to the other French possessions, nor to its coasting trade; nevertheless, it was an important step towards the freedom of maritime commerce.

Commission of Inquiry appointed, and law ultimately passed May 1866.

Many difficulties, however, had still to be overcome, and though the Conseil, after a most minute inquiry, and the publication of three large volumes of evidence, reported that great changes were imperatively required in the laws, their recommendations did not receive the sanction of the French legislative chambers until 1866,[227] and then only after many prolonged discussions.

Among these difficulties may be mentioned the removal of certain local charges on shipping, which had long been maintained in our ports, and against the payment of which the French Government had frequently protested, though neither the vessels of France nor of other countries were called upon to pay more than those of our own, except in some special cases, such as the case of ships owned by freemen, and other locally privileged persons, who were exempt. These charges differed in every port, and sometimes within the limit of the same harbour. Some of them were levied by virtue of Acts of Parliament, but others of a vexatious character, though trifling in amount, were only claimed by a prescriptive right, through long use. Those which were levied by prescription were either in the nature of petty customs, or of duties charged on vessels for anchorage, keelage, or with respect to ballast or to fees levied on goods in the nature of cranage, metage, cartage, wharfage; and, in too many instances, they were extorted for the use of cranes which had no existence, or of wharves which for ages had tumbled into decay. No doubt, in ancient times, it was an unquestioned prerogative of the Crown to create petty customs for local purposes, and, though that power has long since ceased to exist, when once granted to corporations or individuals it became assignable, like other property. It was, therefore, no easy task to abolish them without conceding the exorbitant demands of their owners, as the Board of Trade found out when the Vice-President, Mr. Lowe, brought the subject before Parliament.[228] But France insisted on their abolition, and, since then, the great bulk of them have been removed, by purchase or otherwise.

By Article 1 of the law of the 19th May, 1866, all materials raw or manufactured, including marine engines, intended to form parts of the construction or equipment of iron or wooden vessels, were admitted into France duty free. Article 2 abolished the premium granted by the law of the 6th May, 1841, on all steam-engines manufactured in France intended for international navigation. Article 3 permitted, after the expiration of six months from the promulgation of the law, the admission of foreign-built and fully equipped vessels to registration on payment of two francs per ton admeasurement; while Article 4 abolished all tonnage duties upon foreign ships, except such as had been or might be levied for the improvement of certain commercial harbours.

Its conditions.

But other changes were more tardily made: Article 5 providing that, only after “three years from the promulgation of the present law, the surtaxes on the flag (surtaxes de pavillon), at present applicable to productions imported from the countries where they are produced, otherwise than under the French flag, shall be abolished;” while Article 6 provided for the ulterior establishment, by imperial decree, of such compensating duties as might be rendered desirable, in consequence of any other nation imposing on the French flag higher duties than were to be levied on its own vessels; thus copying the retaliatory clause of the English Navigation Repeal Act of 1849. By Clause 7 these various articles were made applicable to the islands of Martinique, Guadaloupe, and Réunion (or Bourbon); and by Clause 8, the conditions of Articles 1, 3, and 4 were extended to Algeria; while by Article 9 the trade between France and that colony and its Coasting trade (cabotage) was permitted to be carried on by foreign vessels under the authorisation of its governor.

The 10th, or last Article, of the law of 1866, abolished the differential duties (surtaxes de navigation) which had been imposed on goods imported under a foreign flag, and the lower rate of duty on certain commodities, imported from French warehouses, under the flag of that country.[229]

Repeal Act unsatisfactory to the French Shipowners.

But the law of the 19th May, 1866, was very far from giving general satisfaction in France. Many French Shipowners were as loud in their complaints against it as the most noted Protectionist had been in England against the repeal of her Navigation Laws, and with, perhaps, more valid reasons. The new law did not give to them that freedom in the purchase or construction of their ships they had a right to expect. And though the duty of two francs per ton levied on every ship they purchased from a foreign country was insignificant, the restrictions, imposed on all materials necessary for the construction and equipment of vessels in their own country, were of a harassing and vexatious character. The measure in itself was good, but various classes of Protectionists, fearing that numerous articles might be imported which could be used for other than shipbuilding purposes, and thus interfere with their own particular branches of trade, had influence enough with the Legislature to obtain the issue of another decree[230] on the 8th June following, which nullified in some important respects the operation of the law of May 1866, and rendered it less beneficial to the people of France.

Under such vexatious restrictions it was impossible for the shipbuilder of France to compete successfully with those of other countries, as they were nearly as prejudicial to his interests as they would have been by the maintenance of the duties on all the articles he required. Competition in every branch of commerce throughout the world is so close, that, wherever the Legislature imposes not merely taxes but conditions, which, from their nature, must necessarily interfere with the course of business, and occupy a considerable portion of the shipbuilder’s time, which is a part of his capital, he cannot successfully compete with those of other countries where no such conditions are imposed.

Another Commission of Inquiry appointed, 1870.

Such restrictions, though in themselves comparatively unimportant, afforded the Shipowners of France a lever which they worked incessantly, hoping with the aid of the other Protectionists, to overthrow in time, the wise and liberal Act of the 19th May, or at least to abrogate its leading principles. At last the complaints from the seaports, and some changes in the administration of affairs, led to the appointment of a Commission or Parliamentary Committee, with powers to inquire not merely into the effect of these restrictions, but into the state generally, of the Commercial Marine of France, and on the best means of affording it assistance, should any be deemed necessary or desirable.

Although this Committee, which sat early in the year 1870, never concluded its labours, its minutes are interesting and instructive, from the depositions and discussions they embodied, and, more especially, from the important fact, that not a few even of the Shipowners themselves, who had previously doubted the policy of Free-trade as applicable to their own interests, had, within the previous five years, become converts to the advantages to be derived from unfettered commerce. But the larger portion of them were, as, in fact, Shipowners have long been in all countries, Protectionist. They contended that the French commercial marine was both absolutely and comparatively in a state of decline, caused, as they argued, mainly, by the abolition of the protective duties, which they held were necessary to prevent them from being ruined by foreign competition. Among the various causes they alleged, as rendering them unable to compete successfully with the vessels of other nations, was the want of “bulky freights,” in consequence of which their ships had frequently to leave France in ballast, or with incomplete cargoes; and, moreover, that “France, being at the western border of Europe, English, German, and other northern vessels, called at her ports, when not fully laden, to complete their outward cargoes, and compete for French freight with French shipping.”

Views of rival parties.

On the other hand, the partisans of Free-trade denied that French shipping had declined either absolutely or in comparison with the commercial marine of other countries. While conceding the point that the rates of freight had diminished, they maintained that such was the case in all other parts of the world; that this, therefore, was not in any way peculiar to France, such diminution of freight being, in fact, the natural consequence of a competition which, in the interests of the community at large, it would be as impossible as it was undesirable to prevent. Moreover, they showed that, where their Shipowners had kept pace with the movements of the age, by substituting iron for wood, and steamers for sailing vessels, whenever the requirements of the trade necessitated a change, and in cases, where the masters of these vessels themselves were enterprising and disposed to seek for freight, wherever it could be most advantageously procured, they had increased. Thus proving that the French commercial marine was fully able, if relieved from needless restrictions, to hold its own against that of any other nation. What they required was to have the “system of liberty more completely and logically applied” by the alteration or abolition of certain oppressive burdens; and by the removal of all troublesome, onerous, and, frequently, frivolous duties imposed by the French laws, besides a few other reforms which they specified.

But those Shipowners who favoured the Free-trade movement were, as has been the case in other countries, assailed as traitors by the adverse party, who taxed them with having selfish views, at variance with the true interests of French shipping, owing to their position of commission agents or shipbrokers, as well as of Shipowners; and, no doubt, these two interests were conflicting, inasmuch as the profits on the vessels might be made subservient to other and more lucrative sources of gain. But this is an old story, which has been frequently told, and those persons who, in this instance, used it as an argument, did not perceive that it was double-edged. Nor was it, indeed, conclusive, as, whatever the motives which prompted the arguments of the partisans of Free-trade, these arguments were good and sound in themselves. Besides, there were many shipowners in France in favour of Free-trade who had no other interests to serve.

M. de Coninck.

For example, the late M. de Coninck,[231] who was a large shipowner, in his evidence states that he had given up every other branch of business except ship-owning—being at the time, as he remarked, “nothing but a carrier” (charretier). In other respects his evidence was equally frank and straightforward. The cause, he deliberately told the Commissioners, the real cause of the complaints of the Protectionist Shipowners was not loss, properly speaking, but a mere diminution in their profits;[232] this loss, certainly, had, he as frankly admitted, been reduced by competition to an average rate, inferior to that of the palmy days of Protection, during which, he added, the Shipowners obtained unreasonably large profits at the expense of the community. M. de Coninck then gave happy illustrations of the loss so called of which they so loudly complained. “Formerly, and in my time,” he said, “it was considered that a vessel should clear herself in three voyages! That was the golden age of shipowners; but there is no such thing now, and, when we can gain ten per cent. per annum on the cost of our vessel we should be well satisfied.”[233]

M. Bergasse.

In support of the opinions expressed by M. de Coninck we have the indirect testimony of a well-known Protectionist who gave his evidence before the Commission. M. Bergasse, himself a leading Shipowner of Marseilles, was deputed by the Shipowners of that important seaport to appear before the Commission and state the hardships of their case. He was a gentleman of high position and considerable experience and knowledge of the world. After attempting to show the advantages which the Shipowners of other nations had over those of France, he came to the old story which had been told a thousand times in England about the Shipowners and seamen of Norway, Sweden, and Denmark, “accustomed,” said he, “to live poorly, they equip their vessels in an entirely economical manner, and do not seek to make Shipowners fortunes,[234] but only to gain their livelihood.”

M. Siegfried.

M. Siegfried, a retired merchant, who followed, gave much valuable evidence, showing the fallacy of the system of protection as insisted on, in this instance, by its partizans. He contended that France, so gifted by nature, only required outlets for her oversea commerce, a better commercial training, and a more hardy and enterprising spirit in trade. In the course of this portion of his evidence he stated, as characteristic of the business deficiencies of French shipmasters, that French export houses frequently chartered English vessels in preference to those of their own country, because the English masters were more easy to deal with, and more accommodating in their way of doing business. Nor were they subject to the extreme anxieties about their responsibility which distinguished the French shipmasters. For instance, he said, the latter will constantly insist upon somebody coming to take note “that bale number so and so had been wetted in the corner,” and, by calling attention to reserves and protests on the bills of lading were, constantly, wearying exporters by their troublesome and minute precautions against responsibility.[235] With regard to the demands of the Protectionists, he strongly adjured the Commissioners on no account to be induced to advise the resumption of the differential duties, as any such protection to the commercial marine of France could have no other effect, in the end, but to increase the prosperity of the railways and to give a fresh impetus to the maritime prosperity of the Italian ports, on the one hand, and of Antwerp and other ports in the northern vicinity of France, on the other.

But this most excellent advice was given in vain; and, though the Commissioners do not appear to have made any regular report on the evidence, the evidence itself was so full of Protectionist views that it taught abundant Protectionist lessons to the legislators who had to draw conclusions from it. Many of these gentlemen are, indeed, imbued with strong Conservative principles, and are, naturally, prone to seize on any statement in favour of their own views without inquiring very minutely into its soundness.

M Thiers and Protection carry the day,

Although an impression prevails that the spirit of Protection took deeper root, than it had previously done in the French Legislative Assembly, after the terrible disasters of the war with Germany, the truth is that it only manifested itself owing to the pressure exerted by M. Thiers when he came into power on that memorable occasion. The spirit of the Assembly was still as much in favour of freedom of commerce as it had been in 1860, when it passed its famous commercial treaty with England. But the enormous drain on the resources of France, together with other causes, and the then all-powerful influence of M. Thiers, who, throughout his long life, has been an honest Protectionist in its most original form, inspired the Assembly with a financial policy intended to husband those resources and to make the most of them, but, being timorous and narrow-minded in its conception, it was by no means calculated to attain the object in view. That such was the case we see most clearly in the system adopted by the New Assembly with respect to foreign commerce, and even more especially, in its relations with the mercantile marine of other countries. That Assembly, in its wisdom, decided that the commercial treaties between England, on the one hand, and Belgium, on the other, should be revised from a Protectionist point of view, so as to return to the old system. Happily, however, a proviso was introduced into the new law which was only in conformity with the spirit of the Treaties of 1860, whereby it was decreed that timely notice should be given to England and to Belgium of any intention on the part of France to put an end to the Treaties of 1860.

and reversed, in 1872, much of the law of 1866.

But the Assembly had its own way with regard to foreign shipping, and, by the laws of the 30th January and 3rd February, 1872, it was enacted, almost entirely through the overwhelming influence of M. Thiers: That all goods imported in foreign ships, except from the French colonies, were to be charged with a surtaxe de pavillon per 100 kilogrammes, according to the following scale of rates: from the countries of Europe and the basin of the Mediterranean, 75 centimes; from countries out of Europe, on this side the Capes of Horn and Good Hope, 1 franc 50 centimes; and, from all countries beyond these Capes, 2 francs. Guano was, however, excepted from these duties because a French mercantile house had entered into a contract to purchase a large quantity of it from the Peruvian Government.

This law further provided that all goods produced, originally, by countries out of Europe were liable to a surtaxe d’entrepôt, when imported from the warehouses of Europe, of 3 francs per 100 kilogrammes, unless they were, by the laws then in force, liable to a higher duty, which, in such case, would be charged. But, perhaps, the most suicidal portion of this law, as affecting the French Shipowners, was the re-imposition of from 30 to 50 francs per ton measurement on all foreign vessels, purchased for registration in France, together with a duty on marine engines. Again, a tonnage duty was charged on vessels of every flag coming from any foreign country or from the French colonies, of from 50 centimes to 1 franc per ton measurement; while Articles 1, 3, and 5, of the law of the 19th May, 1866, were repealed.[236]

The object, however, of this new law seems to have been, more especially, directed against the vessels of those countries which were in some respect protected by commercial treaties, and would, otherwise, have been free from it. It was introduced by a report of M. Ancel, of a very discouraging character, who charged the law of 1866, which had abolished the surtaxes de pavillon, with the sufferings and depression of the French maritime interests. Among the injurious effects attributed to that law, M. Ancel’s report alleged the diminution of the imports under the French flag from India and the South Seas. Thus, he stated that, previously to 1860, the foreign flag carried only a small portion of these goods (they never carried any on account of the prohibitory differential duties then in force), whereas, in 1869, three-fourths of them had been imported into France in foreign vessels. Consequently, he demanded, forgetting altogether the interests of the consumer and manufacturer, the re-establishment of the surtaxes de pavillon upon all importations, except those under the flag of such producing countries as were protected against surtaxes by the treaties of navigation with France, at the same time, expressing a hope that these changes would afford to the French Mercantile marine “an encouragement and a strength that its situation imperatively required.”[237]

But it is difficult—indeed it is impossible, to understand how the abolition of the surtaxes de pavillon by the law of 1866 could have caused so much mischief in 1869 and previously, as it was only from the 11th of June of that year that the abolition came into operation; and as to the surtaxes d’entrepôt they had, in fact, never been set aside! It was on such grounds as these, that the chief provisions of the wise and liberal Merchant Shipping Act of Napoleon III. were swept away!

Just views of the Duke Decazes.

Happily, however, there are still many able and shrewd men in the Councils of France—men who were, from the first, well aware of the pernicious effects which this law had produced upon the commerce of their country. “It may be said,” remarks the Duke Decazes with great truth and wisdom, “that it is that law which has jeopardised the great trade in corn of the port of Marseilles, in the same way as it has directed towards Genoa the exports of ore from the island of Elba, so valuable for our foundries ... what has taken place in the south is equally brought under our notice from the north, with respect to the port of Antwerp, which has profited by the new law to the detriment of Havre and Dunkirk. In those seas, it is the German flag which has now obtained the advantage, and enjoys the freight which heretofore pertained to the shipping of France.”

Abolition, for the second time, of the Surtaxes de Pavillon, July 1873.

Unanswerable facts such as these, confirming as they did the lucid and strong opinion expressed by M. Siegfried, showed what a nation may suffer, if it disregard the clear teachings of political economy applicable to all nations, and adopt such ancient and exploded dogmas as those propounded by M. Thiers; hence the Assembly retraced its steps, and by the first article of the law of the 28th and 31st July, 1873, which is still in force, the surtaxes de pavillon were, for the second time, abolished.[238]

It is to be hoped that this practical measure will have more effect than the disregarded admonitions of experience and of knowledge, and that the surtaxes de pavillon will no more find a place in the statute book of France. For the present, vessels of all foreign countries are placed upon the same footing as those of France, except with respect to the Coasting trade between its ports, from which foreign vessels are, as a rule, excluded, except those of Spain. Richer in agricultural products than most other countries, and, with a population very largely engaged in the cultivation of the soil, the French people will, no doubt in time, see the many advantages that they themselves would derive, were this trade, also, thrown open to the competition of the ships of all nations; not, that any nation could manage it so well and profitably as themselves, resident as they are on the spot, but, the fear of competition from others would have a marvellous effect in rousing French Shipowners, as it did those of England, to greater efforts on behalf of their own interests, apart from the interests and well-being of their country.

It may thus be hoped that France will not again be found in the crooked road of retrogression, but that, having under innumerable difficulties and after long years of political discussion, often in the midst of civil wars and great changes in her constitution, achieved victory over the antiquated dogmas of a cumbrous and ruinous system of protection, she will continue in the clear path of progress, which so well becomes a nation endowed by nature with the richest soil and finest climate in Europe. Possessing a population, whose industrious and frugal habits will enable her to maintain for centuries yet to come the relatively high position she has always held among nations, her legislators would do well to teach the people that these great natural advantages, and not her armies, are the true sources of the lasting greatness and happiness of France.