Modifications of the law.
Some embarrassing questions having, from time to time, arisen as to the right of importing the produce of particular European States in ships built in countries incorporated into those States subsequent to the passing of the Navigation Act, as, for instance, the question whether Prussian produce might be imported in ships built in East Friesland, it was enacted, 22 Geo. III., cap. 78, that the enumerated articles might be imported in ships, the property of subjects under the same sovereign as the country of which goods were the produce, although the country or place where such ship was built or to which it belonged, was not under the dominion of such sovereign at the time of the passing of the Navigation Act. It will be observed that this statute not only effected its immediate purpose of putting the dominions and sovereign of any one country on the same footing in respect to the Navigation Law, but also extended the right of importing, originally confined to ships “built in” the country of export, to ships “belonging to” such country. Several alterations of an unimportant character were made, bearing upon these points; but, in the consolidation of 1825, the proviso was introduced into the Navigation Act, and still retained in 1847, “that the country of every ship shall be deemed to include all places which are under the same dominion as the place to which such ship belongs.”
In the meantime, however, the Act of 1822 (3 Geo. IV., cap. 43, sect. 6) had made an important alteration in the law, by allowing importations of the enumerated goods, either in ships of the country of which the goods were the produce, or in ships of the country whence these goods were usually imported. At the same time, the prohibitions against the importation of articles from the Netherlands, Germany, Turkey, and Russia were taken off.[52]
In 1822 tallow and tobacco were also added to the list of enumerated articles: and, since that time, wool, shumach, madder, barilla, brimstone, bark, cork, oranges, lemons, linseed, rape-seed, and clover-seed have likewise been added; while salt, pitch, rosin, potashes, wine, and sugar were struck out.
The only alteration of any consequence in the European trade, since the consolidation of 1825, was that made to carry out the Austrian Treaty of 1838, which will be noticed hereafter.
East India trade and shipping.
The trade, however, with the East Indies has always been exceptional, and deserves special notice, as the exclusive right of trading within certain limits, long enjoyed by the Company, together with the peculiar nature of the Company’s jurisdiction, produced some anomalies.
The two points most worthy of notice are, first, the concession of the rights of British ships to ships not fulfilling all the usual requisites of the law; and secondly, the admission of certain foreign ships to an equality in some respects with British ships.
On the first point, the statute 21 Geo. III., cap. 65, sect. 33, provided that ships belonging to the East India Company should be held to be British owned, although the Stock of the Company was held by a considerable number of foreigners. Other statutes (35 Geo. III., cap. 118; 42 Geo. III., cap. 20) allowed to ships built within the territories of the Company, or in places in the East Indies under British protection and owned by the Company, the privileges of British ships in trade with India, though such ships were neither British built nor duly registered. When the exclusive privileges of the Company were broken in upon (53 Geo. III., cap. 155) the same privilege was extended to similarly circumstanced vessels, the property of private individuals, by Order in Council. But when the Registry Laws were extended to India, from this time nothing but British-built ships were to be entitled to the privileges of British vessels (54 Geo. III., cap. 35; 53 Geo. III., cap. 116). Exceptions were made in favour of ships under 350 tons burden, and of others, the property of British subjects, and built or building before 1st January, 1816: but these classes of ships were only to be employed in trade within the limits of the Company’s Charter. Subsequent changes were made; and, by the Act 3 & 4 Vict., cap. 56, in force in 1847, the Governor-General in Council had power given him to declare all ships built within the limits of the Charter, and owned by those of Her Majesty’s subjects for whom he had power to legislate, entitled to the privileges of British ships within those limits. By the fourth section of the same Act, the Governor-General had, also, the power of conferring the same privileges on ships belonging to States in subordinate alliance, or having subsidiary treaties with the East India Company.
Trade with India, in Foreign and United States Ships,