[219] A sou is as nearly as possible one half-penny sterling.
[220] To the “celebrated decrees” which followed these laws, that of Berlin of the 21st of November, 1806, and that of Milan 17th of December, 1807, and to our “Orders in Council,” which were all mere acts of war, I have already referred at considerable length (see ante, vol. ii., Chaps. VIII., IX., and XI.). In regard to these Acts, nations would do well to refer to the saying of Napoleon himself, in 1816, at the commencement of his exile, “We must fall back for the future on the open navigation of the seas, and on the entire liberty of universal trade.”—Memorial of St. Helena, 12th June, 1816.
[221] Coffee in French ships paid 48 francs per 100 kilogrammes, and in English and other foreign ships 84 francs.
[222] This Exhibition was followed by a similar one in Paris in 1855, and, when the Emperor Napoleon came to visit the Queen just before it was opened the merchants of London presented him with an address. The late Mr. Samuel Gurney was one of the deputation. After shaking hands with those of its members whom he knew, the Emperor remarked to Mr. Gurney that it was a long time since they had met. “Yes, Sire,” said the fine old Quaker with one of his blandest smiles, “it is a long time, and there have been many changes since then;” having, evidently, in his mind at the time, the means, whereby his Majesty had risen to power, and the Crimean war. “I hope,” continued the Emperor, “you will visit our Exhibition next year, and that you will allow me the pleasure of seeing you there.” “It is my intention, Sire,” replied Mr. Gurney, “to visit thy great Peace Demonstration, and, should I do so, I shall not fail as thou wishest to pay my respects to thee.” The Emperor was, doubtless, pleased with the ready manner in which his old Quaker friend had construed his Exhibition into a demonstration of peace, and, especially, peace with England, which, at that time, and, as I believe throughout the whole of his reign, he was most anxious to maintain.
[223] The motion was as follows:—“That an humble address be presented to her Majesty, praying that she will be graciously pleased to enter into negotiations with the Emperor of the French with the view of making a Treaty for the reciprocal abrogation of all discriminating duties levied upon the vessels and their cargoes of either of the two nations in the ports of the other; and for procuring such alterations in the Navigation Laws of France as may tend to facilitate the commercial intercourse, and strengthen the friendly relations between England and France.”—See ‘Hansard’s Reports’ (March 29, 1860), vol. clvii. pp. 1528 to 1553.
Having prepared and carried this resolution, I had frequently occasion to correspond and converse with Mr. Cobden on the subject, who said that the labour in connection with the Commercial Treaty was so immense, that it would have been impossible to embrace the question of navigation. Indeed, he observed that he, alone, never could have got through with its numerous details, had it not been for the valuable assistance rendered by Mr. (now Sir Lewis) Mallet, who, at that time attached to the Board of Trade, accompanied him on his mission. I can also state of my own knowledge that the services of Mr. Mallet during the subsequent inquiry into the French Navigation Laws were of the greatest importance. With regard to the Commercial Treaty itself, there can be no doubt that, if the Legislatures of England and France, of their own free will, had adopted measures to allow the people of the respective countries to exchange their produce and manufactures free from all duties, except such as were required for the revenue, it would have been much preferable to the system of “bargaining” which Treaties invariably entail; but, unfortunately, all nations do not yet see that, if a principle is sound, it must be beneficial wherever it is applied, and, as they are still prone to set up their own laws in opposition to the laws of nature, no step in advance could have been made at that time, so far as France was concerned, without a Treaty. On the other hand, I have frequently heard objections raised to the Treaty because France was the larger gainer; its opponents said, to use a homely phrase, that the French people got 9d., while we got only 3d. out of the shilling. I offer no opinion on this point, but even if such were the case, we are 3d. better off than we should have been had no Treaty been made, and why therefore should we cavil against it?
[224] I daresay many persons thought at the time that I was interfering, where I had no business, with the affairs of Diplomacy; but the truth was this, as I had taken upon myself the responsibility of the motion which the House of Commons adopted, Lord Russell felt, that I ought to go a step further, and do what I could to carry it into effect, more especially, as the whole question was one full of technical details. Indeed, Lord Cowley frankly stated that it was so technical in its character, that he did not feel competent to bring it under the notice of the French Government, and, in justice to his Lordship, I must state that, so far from feeling that I was interfering with his duties, he, not merely, rendered every assistance in his power, but was most anxious that I should succeed in the object of my self-imposed mission. The advantages I possessed were a practical knowledge of the subject in all its bearings and details—a slight personal knowledge of the Emperor which I had gained when I had an interview with him about his transport service during the Crimean war, and, more especially, the friendship of Michel Chevalier, through whom I became acquainted with M. Rouher, the then Minister of Commerce.
[225] Having consulted with Messrs. Rouher and Chevalier as to the most advisable course to pursue, and, seeing with them the difficulties which had to be overcome, I had resolved with their entire consent—indeed on their suggestion—to seek an audience with the Emperor himself, a course which so thoroughly met the approval of Lord Cowley, that he, at once, undertook to obtain it, and, himself, to accompany me to the Tuileries. I had learned from the “tossing of the horses’ heads” what an apt scholar I was about to meet, and that any imperfect arguments or inconclusive facts would be at once detected. Consequently, I had carefully rehearsed in my mind every point necessary to bring under his notice, and had taken all my figures from the French Official Returns. At first the subject, necessarily a dry one, did not seem to interest the Emperor, but, when I called his attention to the fact that, while the sailing-ships of Great Britain had been increased during the previous twenty years by 2,800,000 tons, and her steamers by 400,000 tons, those of France had only, in that time, been increased by 370,000 tons, and 50,000 tons respectively, though her general commerce, in every other branch, increased nearly as rapidly as our own, he asked me to repeat the figures and explain, why it was that there was such an enormous difference. The task was an easy one; but, perhaps, the facts which struck him most were, that, though the Shipowners of France were carefully protected at a loss to the community, as more than one-half of the whole of her oversea carrying trade was conducted by foreign vessels owing to the differential duties, her people were really paying greatly enhanced prices for everything they required from abroad, without adding one sixpence to his revenue.
The interview, which, altogether, lasted for nearly two hours, must, however, have made a considerable impression on the Emperor, for, on parting, he requested me to put in writing, and in a letter addressed to himself, the leading facts and figures I had brought under his notice, and to let him have it that evening, if convenient. I made it convenient, and by 6 P.M. of that day he received the letter, a copy of which will be found in the [Appendix, No. 4,] p. 582.
On the following morning, I received a note from his private secretary, M. Mocquard, saying that the Emperor wished to see me that forenoon alone. After communicating with Lord Cowley, I waited upon his Majesty, and his first expression was, “I have read your letter more than once, and I wish you to explain more fully the effect of the Navigation Laws.” That I might convey to his mind, effectually, the operation of all such laws, I asked for the use of a Mercator chart on a large scale, which was soon obtained, and, spreading it on the floor, I drew upon it, with a pencil, lines to explain, for instance, the usual course of commerce with India, by way of Egypt as well as by the Cape of Good Hope. I then showed him that, though our steamers and sailing-ships were constantly passing his chief ports of Havre and Marseilles laden with produce, of which his people might be in the greatest want, the differential duties imposed by his laws prevented us from landing these goods; and then, turning to his own official returns, I repeated the fact that not one franc of revenue was derived from these dues; so that, while his people were heavy losers on one hand, his exchequer was not benefited on the other. To obtain the sugar, coffee, indigo, and other articles with which, for instance, a Peninsular and Oriental steamer passing his port of Marseilles was laden, it was necessary that they should be carried through the Straits of Gibraltar (still tracing the lines on the chart), cross the Bay of Biscay, pass his other great port of Havre, and be carried on to Southampton, to be there landed, and, most likely, sent by railway to London, where they were bonded, and thence shipped again in either French or English vessels for Calais or Boulogne, and then conveyed across France to wherever they might be required by his people; possibly even to Marseilles or Havre. “Now, Sire,” I said, still kneeling on the chart and looking earnestly at the Emperor, “if your people prefer to have what Indian produce they need conveyed to them, in that very roundabout and expensive manner, instead of importing it direct in whatever vessels may be ready to carry the produce to them on the most favourable terms, it is a process to which I, as an Englishman, have no objections to offer, for we carry in our ships not merely the great bulk of the Indian produce, but have also much extra profit from it in the shape of landing, bonding, railway carriage, transhipment, commissions, and so forth; I do not, however, see how your manufacturers can compete successfully with those of other countries, if they are compelled by your Navigation Laws to import the raw material they require by such antiquated and expensive modes as these.”