1826.} Navigation Laws. 623° 
to'ehe Government; okind-hearted souls—« that’ it might be’somewhat 
hard-to require of the’ West-Indian célonies to draw’ all their supplies 
from the! mother-country."° What then ?° Why, | ordérs’ ‘in “couttell were 
issued, )-as occasion ‘required; allowing ‘the’ coloniés “to trade? diréet 
withthe United2Statesi—In their’ own ships’? No, ‘to2stil? it’ British 
ships’ only’ But-soon, as might ‘be supposed, the’ goveriiment "of? thé 
United States grew jealous of a trade, in which British shipping alone 
were “employed, and’in their’ sturdy style told us—-‘If you want’ the 
roductions of ‘our country for the use of your colonies; and’ will not 
llow*us to'send them “in our ships, we will entirely prohibit’ the expor-. - 
tation’ to'your colonics, in British ships, of those articles, of which-your 
célonies'stand'in'néed.” ‘And this they did. Well, what did twe' then ? 
bully “a ‘little; andthen yield? Not so, exactly; we have given’ “up 
bullying “America. We had recourse to another expedient—quite 
worthy of us—tan expedient, which was at once to avert the threatened 
inconvenience, and also—hear it, reader,—to avoid any positive alte4 
ration’ in our Navigation Laws. Mark its sneakingness. An entrepét 
was-established at some half-way place between the American coast and 
the West-Indies, where the ships of both countries met, and exchanged 
commodities.’ Did Jonathan stand this evasion? Not he; indeed.’ He 
imterfered pretty quickly, and peremptorily forbade the trade, till, finally, 
in the® year 1822, the Parliament of England passed an act, by which 
American: ‘ships were allowed to trade directly between the United 
States:‘atid'‘our colonies,—not only those in the West-Indies, but’in 
North America: 1g 
boWas"this"a willing ‘concession? Manifestly not. America forced’ it 
from as needs! niust; when the devil drives.” ME 7 10919 
Well, wells! but there ‘is nothing like making a'virtue of necessity“to 
blunt theo@dee ‘ofa’ defeat: America compels us to throw open’ our 
eslonies.o2 Their example’ will not‘ be lost upon the powers of the North 
of Ewrope?*Let\us be'before-hand with their demands, and concede 
' withagood'gracé, what we shall notbe able to refuse; besides, a volun- 
tary’ proffer will'look like’a boon, and enable us, at the same’ time, to 
pass ‘off our late concession to America for a similar’ favour. We shall 
save ‘our credit, by this’ politic and apparently generous course—yes, 
and * our’ bacon.’ Iven Mr. Huskisson cannot colour the matter. » «Let 
me ask,’ says he, ‘quite seriously—‘ was it politic, was it altogether con~ 
sistent with impartiality, and our: friendly relations with the North of 
Europe, to grant to the shipping of the United States, first, in the trade 
between them and this country, by the treaty of 1815; and, secondly, 
in the trade, by this act regularly legalized, between those states and our 
colonies, privileges which we continued to deny to the shipping of 
Prussia, of Denmark, of Sweden, of Hamburgh, and of other trading 
communities of Europe ?’—* Upon what principle of fairness,’ urges 
Mr. H.\in the same tone, ‘ upon what principle of sound policy, were we 
to’ continue this preference po ea to a power, towards which, God 
knows;'I entertain no feeling of hostility, far from it; but when I am 
ene of that nation ina British House of Commons, it is not improper to 
y, that in matters of navigation and naval power, there exists, towards 
us, a spirit of rivalry in the United States ;—a spirit of which I do not 
complain, but which should incline every Englishman to'doubt the wisdom 
of any measure; tending to encourage the growth of the commercial marine 
of America, by giving to it privileges greater than are permitted by the 
