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

by W. S. Lindsay

[54] Mr. Lefevre, of the Board of Trade, said he did not know the reason of this; but as a matter of fact, Venice, Spain, France, and the Hanseatic League had Navigation Laws before we had, and would not have our goods except in their own ships. So necessity, not wisdom, compelled us to make this allowance.

CHAPTER V.

Progress of the changes in the Navigation Laws—Reciprocity Treaties—Austria, July 1838—Zollverein States, August 1841—Russia, 1843—Various anomalies, &c., then in existence—Curious effects of Registry Laws, as regarded individuals or corporate bodies—Ship Equador—Decision of the Queen’s Bench, December 1846—Further details: owner to reside in the United Kingdom—Naturalisation of goods brought to Europe—Waste of capital caused thereby; and obstructions to trade—Story of the cochineal—But the Navigation Laws not always to blame—Special views of the Canadians—Montreal, its shipping and trade—Navigation of the St. Lawrence—Free-trade with the United States desired by the farmers of Canada—Negotiations proposed—Canadians urge the abolition of Protection—Views of Western Canada—Canadians, really, only for partial Free-trade—Improvements of their internal navigation—Welland Canal—Cost of freight the real question—Loss to Canada by New York line—General summary of results as to Canada—West Indians for Free-trade as well as Canadians—Divergent views of capitalists at home—Liverpool and Manchester opposed.

Progress of the changes in the Navigation Laws.

Reciprocity Treaties.

Austria, July 1838.

The first instance of privileges being granted to ships of certain countries to import goods from ports in other countries was in the case of Austrian ships. The 4th clause of the treaty of 1838 between Austria and England provided, that all Austrian vessels from ports of the Danube, as far as Galatz inclusive, should, with their cargoes, be admitted into the ports of the United Kingdom and into all possessions of Her Britannic Majesty, exactly in the same manner as if the said vessels had come direct from ports strictly Austrian, with all the privileges and immunities granted under the Treaty of Navigation and Commerce. In August 1840, an Act was passed to give effect to this treaty, the 3rd clause of which, running as follows, was very important:—“And whereas, by the application of steam power[55] to inland navigation, and the facility thereby afforded of ascending rivers in suitable vessels with imported goods, new prospects of commercial adventure are opened up to many States situate wholly or chiefly in the interior of Europe, and whose most convenient ports are not within their own dominions; and, consequently, the trade of this country with such States might be greatly extended if the ships of such States were permitted to use, for the purposes of such trade, some ports of other States, in like manner as if such ports were within their own dominions; and, accordingly, treaties of commerce and navigation beneficial to the shipping and trade of this country might be made with such States if Her Majesty were enabled to carry such treaties into effect. Be it therefore enacted, notwithstanding the Navigation Act, that it shall be lawful for Her Majesty from time to time to declare, by the Order in Council, to be published as aforesaid, that any port or ports to be named in such order, being the most convenient port or ports for shipping the produce of any State, to be also named in such order, shall, although not situated within the dominions of such State, be port or ports for the use of such State in the trade of such ships with all ports of the British dominions, &c., in as full and ample a manner as if such port or ports were within the dominions of such State, &c.; and so long as such order shall be declared to be in force, it shall be lawful to import, &c., any goods in the ships of such State, which, by the laws in force at the time of such importation, might then be imported in such ships from a port of the country to which they belonged, and so to import such goods upon the like terms as the same could there be imported from the national ports of such ships.” Subsequently to this Act, several Conventions of Navigation, to some of which I have already briefly referred, were carried out, whereby the privileges just described were granted to various other nations.

Zollverein States, August 1841.

Russia, 1843.

The first was with Prussia, on behalf of the Zollverein States,[56] whereby the mouths of the Meuse, Elbe, Weser, and Ems, and those of all the navigable rivers between the Elbe and the Meuse were made free; thus offering means of communication between the sea and the territory of any of the Zollverein States thus opened as ports for ships of the Zollverein, so far as relates to trade with the United Kingdom or the British possessions. A little later, in 1843, a similar treaty was made with Russia, by which Russian vessels, arriving from the mouth of the Vistula or Niemen, or any other river, the outlet of any navigable stream, having its source in Russia and passing through the Czar’s dominions, were admitted, as if coming from Russian or Finnish ports. With Oldenburg there was also a treaty relating to the Elbe, Ems, Weser, and Meuse, and also with Mecklenburg-Schwerin. Lastly, like arrangements were made with Hanover, giving very nearly the same privileges as those to Mecklenburg-Schwerin. At a later period, orders were given to allow the same indulgence to ships of Oldenburg, the Hanse Towns, and Holland, as had been given to Hanover; so that, at this time, England had relaxed her Navigation Laws to the extent of calling ports, places not geographically belonging to Austria, Russia, Oldenburg, Mecklenburg, the Zollverein, Hanover, or the Hanse Towns; a concession of vast importance, especially as regarded the import of corn.