As the whole of the treaties, with their numerous protocols and appendices, their labyrinths of “clever clauses” and mysterious paragraphs, have been published,[28] and can be examined by those of my readers who are interested in such diplomatic intricacies, it is only necessary to give here the general purport of them, as I shall have occasion to notice, hereafter, in reviewing the progress of merchant shipping, those more directly affecting that interest; but, that my readers may understand more clearly the nature of these treaties, I furnish the text of that with France.[29] It gives the general conditions embodied in such documents, and the extent of the concessions England was prepared to make with those countries which were willing to reciprocate with her.
Reciprocity treaties only, partially, of value,
The results of these “Reciprocity Treaties,” however, as shown in the note,[30] were, for the time, satisfactory to both countries, in so far as they materially tended to increase intercourse, while they, certainly, proved advantageous, in the long run, to the shipowners of England. But they were full of inconsistencies, and, as the trade between nations increased, it became simply impossible to carry them out satisfactorily.
Nor was it, indeed, likely that people of different nations, who had been thus far “educated” to the advantages derivable from free intercourse, would continue to endure the absurd clauses of treaties prohibiting them from using corn, cotton, sugar, and numerous other necessaries of life, piled in heaps as these often were in their stores and warehouses, merely because they had been imported in other ships than those of Great Britain, or of the countries where they had been produced.
and do not check the anomalies of Protection.
The fact was, that while these treaties did create a sort of uniformity before unknown, and so far increased the facilities of intercourse, they did not obviate the most glaring hardships and inconveniences of the previous system of protection. An American vessel, for instance, might bring American cotton to England direct; but if this cotton had been landed at any foreign port, neither the ships of that country nor of any other could have conveyed it thence to our shores; while the corn of Russia, if landed in Prussia, or in the ports of any other nation, was prohibited in England, however great might be the demand for it at the time.
Nevertheless, when it was first proposed in 1821 to allow British ships to import non-prohibited articles from any part of the world, the proposal was, for the time, effectually resisted by our shipowners, on the plea that the cheaply built and navigated vessels of other countries would carry the produce of America and Asia into continental ports, and leave to British ships only the small profit to be derived from its conveyance across the English Channel!
Committee of 1844-5 promoted by the Shipowners, who seek protection against Colonial shipping.
But though it was abundantly clear that great changes were necessary beyond the treaties which had been effected (an enlightened class of merchants and manufacturers having now arisen who required that they should be entirely unfettered in the conduct of their own affairs, and that they should be at liberty to import and export whence, whither, and how they pleased) it was no easy thing to induce Government even to consider the advisability of taking a further step in advance and repealing laws so long in force. No important changes were, therefore, contemplated until 1844, when a Committee of the House of Commons was appointed to inquire into the working of those treaties and the condition of the commercial marine of the country: indeed, the appointment of even this Committee appears to have originated from complaints preferred by our shipowners, as one of the duties imposed upon it was the consideration of the best mode of encouraging and extending the employment of British shipping. Curiously enough, the chief complaint of the shipowners, in this instance, was against the privileges granted to colonial-built ships, the owners of which were, of course, on the same footing as those of vessels built in the United Kingdom. It was alleged that the latter, as costing a great deal more, were unable to compete successfully with the less costly ships of North America, and, therefore, legislative protection was sought, on the ground that the competition of these ships had materially lowered the rates of freight.
The Committee of 1844 was appointed at the instance of Mr. Lyall, a shipowner, and one of the Members for London; and, although it sat during the whole Session, it reported that, from unforeseen circumstances, it had been prevented from going fully into the matter, and requested re-appointment in the following Session, which was acceded to. But, as about this time, after a long period of depression, prosperity returned to the shipping interest, employment for ships having become better, while, in many important trades, the rates of freight had advanced, the inquiry by the Committee, under such auspicious circumstances, was allowed to drop. It was, however, plain enough from the temper of Parliament, that no recurrence would be permitted to anti-colonial protective measures.