The Washington correspondent of the Times stated on Tuesday that
Mr. Luker, the chairman of the American Shipping Board, intended to propose an additional duty of 10 per cent. on goods brought from a foreign country by ships belonging to another country. Mr. Lasker's aim is to check the " indirect trade " carried on mainly by British shipping and to secure more trade for the new American ships, many of which are lying idle in port. Senator JOnes, the author of the Merchant Marine Act of last year, is said to desire the exclusion of all foreign ships from American harbours. Mr. Lasker is more modest. He would revive the doctrine of our old Navigation Acts, first passed in Cromwell's day and maintained in a modified form until 1849, which forbade the importation of goods from any country except in ships of that country or in British ships. It is more than• doubtful whether the Navigation Acts really benefited our shipping trade or did much harm to our Dutch and French competitors. It would be strange if America were to revert to these obsolete devices.
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