SHIPPING GRIEVANCES.
The shipowners of the Tyne held a meeting on the 19th, and passed resolutions. They find that the effect of the present navigation laws has been "most pernicious to British shipping," foreign nations "having refused to reciprocate "; that, therefore, "the time has arrived when our Government should strongly appeal to other nations, and if they still persist in refusing fair play to our shipping, the Government should then put in force the proviso in clause 324 of 16th and 17th Victoria, chap. 107, date 1853, giving the Privy Council the power to put such restric- tions on ships of foreign countries as will place such ships on similar foot- ing in British ports as British ships are in their ports."
Mr. Liddell, M.P. was present and addressed a speech to the ship- owners. He accepted free-trade as a fait accompli. We cannot retrace our steps, but in a race if a horse is over-weighted he loses. "This I take to be very much the same in the case of free-trade. It is all nonsense to talk of trade being free when your opponent—your rival, whoever he may be—hampers you in precisely the same way that you for- merly hampered him. I don't know whether I make myself understood- (" Pei:fatly !" and applause)—but that is not free-trade ; but as long as a rival nation gains by the bargain you cannot expect it to change it. There- fore comes a very difficult matter because no Government—mark my words ; they are not warning words, but I think you'll agree that they are founded upon experience of the House of Commons—be it Tory or be it Whig, will dare to take upon itself the responsibility of reimposing differential dues upon foreign ships."
"But are there not some causes at work which have not been alluded to, but which may in part account for the great depression in our shipping trade at the present moment? If we look back to the Russian war we shall find an enormous, an almost fabulous scale of prices for transport during the war. That was followed by two years of unexampled prosperity in the his- tory of British shipping. Our exports went up in 1857 to something like 120,000,000/.—an amount unheard of in the annals of British commerce. I don't mean to say—because that forms another part of the question—that these returns were not swelled by unnatural and almost,I may say, ficti- tious machinery ; but, however, be that as it may, that is a fact. Well, what was the consequence of that ? Every man who had made money in the shipping trade was induced to build another ship ; there is no doubt about that fact. Well, what followed ? The consequence of that enormous export trade was that some of the markets of the world, and a great many of them—I allude especially to the American and Australian markets—were glutted with British manufactured produce, and the demand fell off. Well, to tell a long story and a sad story shortly, that was wound up by the de- pression and the commercial crisis of the latter end of last year. Happily,
believe, trade is beginning to recover, but it is very slow. People have received a lesson which they will not soon forget, and I am sorry to say, in passing, that they have received, I believe, this lesson—that British trade is not conducted upon the sound principles that formerly marked our commercial transactions. I say this with sorrow—I say it with shame ; but I believe it to be true. I believe that the whole system—even in the trade of which we are speaking, the shipping-trade—of mortgage of ships, hypo- thecation of cargoes, and all these things, are an unsound basis of trade, and that this country will learn by sad experience that until we revert to an honest system of paying for what we get as we get it our trade will not thrive."
It would not be fair to ask the Government to impose differential duties Let the shipowners ask for a committee of inquiry, and a good report from that committee would have more weight than any deputations or memorials.
At a meeting of the friends of the Worcester School of Design, on Monday, the secretary reported a continuous increase in the numbers of the pupils attending the School of Design ; and mentioned that the teaching of drawing had so far extended itself that it had made its way into five parochial schools belonging to the city, and also into the railway school. A letter was also read addressed to the secretary by the Com- mittee of Council, expressive of their especial satisfaction with the state of the schools as reported by the Government Inspector. Lord Ward, Sir E. Lechmere, the Reverend Canon Wood, and the Mayor of Worces- ter, addressed the meeting. The Bishop of Manchester took the chair at the inauguration of the proylisden Educational Institute on Saturday, and gave the audience Who assembled to hear his speech much good advice on the desirability of thoroughness in their reading. Prome has now its mechanics' institution—a lecture hall and reading ,mons• Last week they were opened in the presence of all parties. "lo Marquis of Bath occupied the chair, the Bishop of Bath and Wells, Lord Edward Thynne, Mr. Donald Nicoll, Member for the borough, the Reverend W. E. Bennett, and Major Boyle were among those pre-
was spoken by the Reverend Sidney
William Parsons, a tradesman of Andover, left his home about ten o'clock on Monday "to post a letter." His wife remarked that 1ft put on an overcoat as if he had some further object in view. As he did not return soon, Mrs. Parsons betook herself to bed, thinking her good man had met with a friend. He had met a murderer. One of his own shopmen, walk- ing early on the Salisbury road, saw a body lying in a field covered with hoar frost. It proved to be the body of Parsons. He had been beaten to death with a club. No money was taken from him, nor property of any kind.
In a poaching affray near Beverley, one man has been killed and another, it is feared, is mortally wounded. The dead man was a keeper, the other a watcher. The fight began by the shooting of the poachers' dogs. Eight men are in custody on the charge of murder. One is severely wounded.
A farmer named Birkett is now in Nottingham Gaol on a charge of shoot- ing a gamekeeper. Birkett farmed his own freehold. lie shot and trapped game on his own ground. Some one sprung his traps and took them away. Two keepers were prosecuted and acquitted for the offence. Recently, Birkett met one of the keepers at night and accused him of stealing his traps. An altercation ensued, during which, by accident as he says, Birkett shot the keeper dead. A Coroner's Jury have found a verdict of wilful murder against Birkett.
Richard Taylor, a letter carrier at Halifax, foreman of the corporation fire brigade, and a teetotal advocate, has been sent to York Gaol on a charge of stealing letters. A good deal of property was found at his house. He was detected by stratagem.
Previous page
