balance of public interest between a free trade and a monopoly is restored in favour of the former and that, on the 1st of March, 1814, the entire right of commerce in the seas and to the territories between the Cape of Good Hope and the Straits of Magellan, granted to the East India Company, will expire, when the free trade in those seas and to those territories will of course revert to all his Majesty's subjects, to whom it belongs, and from whom it ought not to be withheld, unless the paramount interest of the state itself requires a continuance of the afore-mentioned monopoly; and that, since the incorporation of the East India Company, the British dominions in that quarter of the globe have been so greatly enlarged, that it is impossible for the Company, in its present circumstances, to carry on a traffic throughout the East, commensurate to the extent of territory under the government or the controul of his Majesty, whence their monopoly is not even beneficial to themselves in proportion as it is detrimental to the general interests of British commerce; and that it is well known that the prosperity of the East India Company has not increased with the glorious progress of his Majesty's arms, which have left the enemies of Britain without a colony; and that the annual exports of our home manufactures to all the regions of the East, scarcely amount to one fifth of the ordinary exports to the United States of America, though the former countries exceed the latter sevenfold in extent, and fiftyfold in population; hence the Petitioners presume that, after the expiration of their charter, the Company still remaining a corporation, may fully, if not more profitably, employ their funds in the trade as heretofore, while the mother country will be benefited beyond what it has been or can be under the monopoly, to the extent of the additional commerce opened by the industry spirit and capital of enterprizing individuals; and that the intercourse with the East Indies, prohibited to the subjects of these realms, having been conceded to foreign powers in amity with his Majesty, the merchants of the United States of America have been enriching themselves commercially and politically, exalting their own nation, and supplying many parts of the world with East India produce, to the loss of this country: and that the Petitioners will not dwell here on the difficulties under which, as merchants and manufacturers, the numerous inhabitants

of their district labour in the present circumstances of the country, but they look, with confidence, to their representatives in parliament for relief, under temporary calamities, by an unreserved grant of every facility to commerce which the interest of the whole state demands, and which the most liberal policy will justify; and they do most earnestly and respectfully intreat the House, not to deprive the whole body of British merchants of any part of their rightful inheritance, a free trade to every part of his Majesty's dominions, by renewing the charter of the East India Company; and they rely on the wisdom and virtue of parliament thus to turn to the utmost advantage the immense possessions of our sovereign in the East, to counterbalance, in some measure, the iniquitous and tyrannical prohibitions of our enemy on the continent of Europe, to compensate for the interruption of friendly intercourse, whether temporary or permanent, with the United States of America, and, above all, to render this country so far independent of commerce with rival nations, that, whether at war or at peace, we may have strength and resources within ourselves to conduct the former with glory and success, and to enjoy the latter with honour and security.".

Ordered to lie upon the table.

PETITION FROM SHEFFIELD AGAINST THE ORDERS IN COUNCIL.] Mr. Wilberforce presented a Petition from several merchants manufacturers and others the loyal inhabitants of the populous town of Sheffield, in the county of York, and its vicinity, setting forth,

"That no inconsiderable portion of the wealth of the United Kingdom is derived from commerce and manufactures, and the town and vicinity of Sheffield are particularly indebted to these for the means of support; and that of all foreign markets yet discovered for the sale of our manufactures the United States of America has been the most important; and that the Orders in Council to counteract the Berlin and Milan decrees of the enemy have for a long period deprived the Petitioners of this most valuable market, in consequence of which mairy of their towns-people and neighbours are unemployed, and their families dependent on the poor rates for subsistence; and they solemnly assure the House, that if they regarded those Orders as necessary for supporting the honour and dignity, the just rights and in

dependence of the United Kingdom, they would willingly bear the pressure without a murmur; but, they are persuaded that they are unnecessary for these desirable ends, that they have proved most disastrous to those, whom they were intended to benefit, and most advantageous to the enemy, whom they were intended to distress; instead of retaliating upon France the evils which her unjust and atrocious Decrees were framed to inflict, they have rendered those Decrees effectual against ourselves, and have done that injury to our commerce and manufactures which all the measures of our enemy had vainly attempted to produce; and the Petitioners are further of opinion, that such is the predominant influence of France over a vast portion of the European continent, that she can command the supply of every necessary article without possessiug a single flag on the ocean, while the exclusion of other nations from her ports, caused partly by her own, but more effectually by our regulations, has encouraged within her dominions manufactures which would not otherwise have arisen; and that the Orders in Council, by producing an amazing extension of the licence system, have not only deprived this country of a considerable amount of bullion, but also enabled France to trade unmolested on our own coasts, and create a navy which may, in time, become truly formidable; and that by allowing the intervention of neutrals, we exclude our selves from the only chance of carrying on a profitable trade with the enemy, and are in imminent danger of seeing our friends arrayed against us under the banners of France; and that should the Petitioners' hopes of preserving peace with America be disappointed, and that most valuable mart for their languishing manufactures be totally destroyed, they fear that the consequences would be ruinous to themselves, and extensively hurtful to the country; and praying the House to recommend to his royal highness the Prince Regent to rescind those Orders in Council, which, in the opinion of the Petitioners, have failed to produce the beneficial effects intended, and while they have enriched the enemy, have deeply injured our friends."

PETITION FROM BIRMINGHAM AGAINST THE ORDERS IN COUNCIL.] Sir Charles Mordaunt presented a Petition from several merchants, manufacturers, and other

inhabitants of the town of Birmingham, setting forth,

"That the Petitioners most humbly represent to the House, that the industry and ingenuity of British manufacturers, aided by the spirit of our invaluable constitution, have produced those great mechanical improvements, and called forth that division of labour, which have given to the merchants of this country a pre-eminence in foreign markets, and have greatly contributed to support that naval superiority which has hitherto constituted the strength and security of the nation; and that not only the revenue, but the very existence of society in its present state in this country, depends upon the prosperity of its manufactures and commerce; and that they view with the deepest regret the present ruinous situation of the manufac tures and commerce of the United Kingdom, and are decidedly of opinion that the Orders in Council, by closing their commercial intercourse with the United States of America, are a principal cause of the evils they deplore; and that they consider the system of licences as a virtual acknowledgment of the impolicy of the Orders in Council, giving relief to their inveterate enemy, affording a just cause of complaint to those whom they desire to consider their friends, degrading to the character of the British merchant, subversive of morality, and highly injurious to the navy of Great Britain, a system which, at the same time that it affords a partial and dear-bought assistance to the commerce of the metropolis, renders not the smallest relief to the distressed manufacturers of the United Kingdom; and that, when nearly all the channels of trade to the continent of Europe are closed, the commerce of the East, possessed by an exclusive monopoly, and the national expenditure unparalleled in the annals of the world, the Petitioners deem it incumbent upon them earnestly to recommend to the consideration of the House, the propriety of revoking those measures which the Petitioners conceive to have been originally contrary to the recognised laws of nations, inconsistent with the principles of sound policy, and which threaten to involve this kingdom in a war with its most valuable commercial connection, America, a country linked to England by the powerful affinities of common origin, similarity of language, laws and manners; and that, in the opinion of the Petitioners, the direct tendency of

and the House could not well err as to the opinion to be formed of such measures, when they saw from the Petitions on the table what was the result. This 51. per ton mentioned in the licences was merely nominal, and in lieu of this 51. there might be imported into this country to the amount of 5,000l. He hoped the right hon. gentleman would now explain to the House, what reciprocity there was in this trade which he had given us, and which no commercial man was able to understand. The right hon. gentleman said, indeed, that our manufacturers were in a state of suffering at the time these Orders in Council were passed; but there was no statement from any of the manufacturing towns to warrant such an assertion. He could tell the right hon. gentleman, and so would all these Petitioners, that at the time alluded to, the trade with America was rapidly increasing, and was greater than any thing which he could obtain for them from all the continent of Europe. He was sorry to think that one of the means of alleviating the distresses, under which our manufacturers now laboured, namely, that of throwing open the trade to the East Indies, instead of being a boon would increase their sufferings, while it endangered the safety of our Indian empire. Throwing open that trade, he was satisfied, could never materially increase the demand for the manufactures of this country in the East, and this would operate as an addition, rather than a diminution of the distresses at present felt by our manufacturers, and would in an especial manner disappoint the expectations of those who speculated in adventures to the East. In these circumstances, he contended, that the House was called on to appoint a committee, to consider in what manner the sufferings of the manufacturing interests could most effectually and materially be diminished. What the House could do, they were called on now to do: it was plain, that no good was to be expected from the fanciful and visionary speculations in which the right hon. gentleman had been indulging.

Mr. Rose said, as the Orders in Council would soon, as stated by the hon. gentleman, come before them for general discussion, he would now abstain from that subject so incidentally introduced. With respect to the Licence trade, too, as the papers and licences were to be laid on their table on Monday; it would, perhaps, be as well to leave that matter till a

fitter time, when the necessary information was before them. The hon. gentleman had said, that for the value of 51. per ton exported, all the manufactures of France were permitted to be brought into this country-but he had not stated, that on these manufactures so heavy a duty was imposed, as sufficiently to protect the British trader. On linen and lawns, for instance, there was a duty of 60 per cent. ; and, as for lace and cambric, the permis sion to import them, he believed, did not add a single yard to the quantity brought into the country; and it was upon this principle, that all administrations had permitted them to be imported. He trusted, the House would not allow itself to be drawn into a discussion every day on the same subjects. As for the iron manufacturers in Dudley and Birmingham, he knew, that they felt the existing pressure more than any other description of per sons, as their articles were more limited to the American market. But the House, on discussing the subject, would be able to see, whether or not our American trade was injured by the Orders in Council, which were not issued for the purposes mentioned by. the hon. gentleman, but for the purpose of retorting upon our enemy, France. No doubt, the manufacturers in this country were, at this moment, suffering greatly; but the question was, whether their sufferings proceeded from these Orders, or, as he contended, from the measures of Buonaparté? If the revocation of the Orders would hurt the country generally, though it might relieve a certain proportion of distress, they were placed in a very painful dilemma, in deciding upon the line of conduct incumbent upon them as a legislature, to pursue, either to come to that revocation, or continue to lock up America from trade. No person could feel more sensibly than he did for the distresses of our manufacturers, and he was satisfied their motive in petitioning was most pure; but it by no means followed that those distresses were occasioned by the Orders in Council. In Birmingham he was happy to think, that the manufacturers still continued to keep the workmen employed, though the pressure upon them was great; and he had also the satisfaction of understanding, that the poor's rates had been reduced in Birmingham within the last three years.

Sir C. Mordaunt confirmed the statement, that Birmingham was not actually in that state of distress which warranted the