resource, and devote them to inevitable | to them the supplies necessary for their ruin. The British colonists, in support of support, until their lands were brought their claim for protection against foreign into a state of cultivation, and taking competition, state that they were encou- their payment in timber; that the export raged to engage in this timber trade by a of their timber now forms a large proporspecific pledge on the part of govern- tion of their means of importing the mament, "that a decided preference would nufactures of the mother country, and be given to timber, the growth of his ma- that if this trade is discouraged, their jesty's colonies in North America," in imports must be discontinued, their agriconsequence of our being excluded from culture decline, and their population emiany supply from the northern powers of Eu- grate for want of employment. They rope. Under this assurance, and in this exi- urge, that if you interrupt the trade of gency, they formed expensive establish- an independent power, to whom the comments, and supplied the wants of the mother merce of all the world is open, it may country. The Report states, that, "so far be directed into other channels; but that from any expectation being held out that the as you bind them to trade with the mother encouragement so given had been consi- country alone, if you refuse to protect dered by government as permanent, or their produce, they are left without rewas intended to be indefinitely continued, source. They contend that the restricmeans seem to have been studiously taken tions you impose upon them, of taking to produce by explanation a conviction of all their supplies from you, and shipping a contrary tendency" but the only docu- all their produce to you, and that in ment I have seen which justifies this asser- British ships, thus making their industry tion is Mr. Lack's letter of the 25th Feb. contribute in every possible way to your 1817; and this refers to the additional great objects, of finding marts for the duty of 10s. 3d. imposed on Baltic timber consumption of your manufactures, and in 1813, and expresses the conviction of maintaining your naval power, gives them their lordships, "that a duty to the same an unanswerable claim to protection amount might be laid on timber from the against foreign competition; and that British North American colonies, without you must either continue that protection, being prejudicial to the great interests or they will be unable to bear your restricconcerned." The ship-owners remonstrat- tions. Political considerations of the ed against this duty, and on the 20th highest importance support the claims Feb. 1818, Mr. Lack wrote again," that both of the ship-owners and the colonists. upon a full consideration of all the cir- We should seriously consider the consecumstances of the case, it is not at pre- quences that may ensue from destroying sent the intention of government to sub- a branch of trade that, in 1819, employed mit to parliament any alteration of the 17,500 British seamen, being 3,500 more law as it now stands. The chairman of than are voted for the whole service of the ship-owners has publicly denied having the navy, and the danger of driving these received any communication which he men into the employ of foreign, who may did not make public; and every witness perhaps soon again become hostile, states. from the British colonies, examined be- We should also reflect upon the impolicy fore the committee, declared that they of making ourselves once more dependent considered the duties permanent, except- upon foreign powers for the supply of ing that of 10s. 3d. and that they acted timber for the use of our navy; who may in full confidence of the continued pro- avail themselves of that circumstance to tection of government. They farther exclude us from their ports, and reduce state, that this trade is now grown up to a us to the necessity of making peace on magnitude, that renders it of the utmost their own terms. The importance of the importance to the British colonies; that British colonies in North America is very persons engaged in agriculture find em- great, and if they continue to flourish as ployment in cutting timber and convey- they have done, they will soon become ing it to the shipping places during the an effectual barrier to the ambition of the winter; when all other occupations are United States; but if otherwise, a dissuspended; that the increased population contented and diminished population will thus employed, has given great encourage- submit to them on the first attack. If you ment to agriculture; that a great number lose those colonies, you will not long of emigrants have been enabled to settle retain those in the West Indies; for they in that country, by merchants advancing will become dependant upon the United States for their means of subsistence, as well as for their supplies of timber: and the wants and interests of mankind will bring them together, in spite of all obstacles. The government of the United States is well aware, that, if she increased her duties on British manufactures, they would find their way into her territories through the British provinces, without paying any duty whatever; but let her once become mistress of them, let her command the continent from the Mississippi to the St. Lawrence, and she would possess the means of making her Non-intercourse and Non-importation acts effectual; these provinces are the only check you have upon her policy. If we look at the present state of the timber trade, as divided between our own colonies and the Northern powers of Europe, we shall find that the imports from the latter have exceeded those from the former, on an average of the last three years; and, therefore, the northern powers have no reason to complain that they do not enjoy a fair participation in the trade. They complain indeed of great losses, and so with equal truth do the traders from the British colonies; but this competition, though injurious to the importers, has been beneficial to the British consumers of timber, by lowering the price of the article. As no charge of want of liberality can justly be brought against us by foreign powers, in our present regulations of the timber trade, we have a right to consider our own interests alone, in any alterations we may think it advisable to adopt, and probably our manufacturers should be the first object of our attention. The report states, that in so far as any alteration introduced is favourable to foreign trade, it must have a tendency to produce an increased importation from the north of Europe, and thereby possibly to induce an increased demand from that quarter, for the manufactures of Great Britain; and it goes on to state that, "your Committee are inclined to believe that an increased demand would be the result." That the export of British manufactures to the northern powers of Europe, does not depend upon our import of their timber, is manifest. In the years 1817, 1818, and 1819, when the import of their timber was so much diminished by the competition of the British colonies, the export of British manufactures to these powers was nearly three times as much as in the years 1799, 1800, and 1801, when they had the whole of the timber trade in their own hands. The power particularly spoken of by one of the witnesses, as feeling this strong desire for British manufactures, is Norway; and if really felt, it appears singular that it has not been gratified, for a statement is given by another witness, showing that her shipments of timber to this country, in the three years 1817, 1818, and 1819, amounted to .820,000%, and that her returns taken in British manufactures, during the same period, amounted only to 323,000l. so that she has the means, but wants the will to increase her use of British manufactures. In short, if we consult the interests of our manufacturers, we shall encourage the trade with our colonies in preference to that with foreign powers, because foreigners only may deal with us, but our colonies must. The consumers have an interest both in the quality and in the price of timber, and the evidence given before the committee is highly valuable, as it serves to correct the violent prejudice that had been excited against the colonial timber, by the report of the Lords committee. The colonial timber is certainly inferior to the Baltic; but answers as well for many purposes; and by coming into competition with it, keeps down the price for the benefit of the consumer. It has been asserted that to encourage the import of colonial timber, is to oblige the public to pay a higher price for a worse commodity. If the colonies applied for an act of parliament to give them a monopoly of the timber trade, the objection would be just; but as every one is perfectly at liberty to give the preference to which timber he pleases, at the difference of price, it surely is not very reasonable to complain of having the option.-One of the resolutions before the House proposes a reduction of the present duty on foreign timber; in direct opposition to the evidence given before the committee. All the witnesses practically concerned in the trade, state, that the effect of this measure would be to raise the price of the article abroad; and not to lower it to the British consumer. It also appeared in evidence, that both the Russian and Prussian governments have either reduced, or wholly taken off, the duty they formerly imposed on the export of timber, in order to enable their subjects the better to maintain the competition to which they were exposed with our colonies. We may, therefore, rea tion of it which is brought in British ships, goes into the hands of foreigners, without producing the same beneficial results, I trust that they will think the remaining protection left to the timber of our colonies is not more than sound policy requires. I shall move, in a proper stage of these proceedings, that the duty on Baltic timber, instead of 55s. per load, continue at 65s. per load. The resolutions were then agreed to. HOUSE OF COMMONS. CAPITAL CRIMES DEFENCE BILL.] Mr. Martin, of Galway, in moving the second reading of this bill, observed, that there could be no doubt of the broad principle, that a prisoner charged with any offence ought to have the same means of defence that the prosecutor had of attack. In treason, the prisoner was allowed counsel; but not in the crime next in degree, capital felony. It had been said, that the court was always counsel for the prisoner. On the contrary, he contended, not only that they were not, so, but that they ought not, and could not be so. Again, adverting to the trial of Bellingham, he maintained, that the failure of Bellingham to obtain a postponement of his trial, on an affidavit stating the necessary absence of a mateTorial witness, was attributable to his not having counsel to enforce his claim. The hon. member proceeded to state the cir cumstances of the apprehension of an Irishwan for supposed burglary, and his trial at Croydon, in support of his argument as to the justice of affording prisoners charged with capital offences counsel in all cases, and concluded by moving the second reading of the bill. sonably conclude, that when that competition is diminished, these duties will be revived, and thus we shall sacrifice our own revenue, either to increase the revenue of foreign powers, or for the advantage of foreign individuals. Another objection to reducing the duty on Baltic timber is, that by so doing, we shall diminish the protection and lower the value of British timber. British oak, of small sizes, now sells at only 4l. per load; and of sizes fit for ship-building, from 40 to 60 feet metings, at 61. per load. These prices will not remunerate the grower; and if you reduce them still lower, you may bid adieu to all expectation of an adequate supply of native timber. These considerations all tend to show the impolicy of reducing the duty on Baltic timber. That part of the resolution which recommends the imposition of a duty on timber from the British colonies, is supported by the evidence, and not objected to by the colonists themselves, who allow that it would have the effect of making them more careful, both in the selection and conversion of their timber, and tend to improve its character and value in the British market. This, then, is merely a question of degree, and the only point at issue is, what duty it can safely bear?-The nett proceeds of a load of colonial timber, which costs 18s., are only 5s. 4d., leaving a loss of more than 70 per cent to the importer. impose a duty of 10s. per load on colonial timber, and take off 10s. from the Baltic timber, must altogether crush a trade already labouring under such disadvan. tages. The number of ships employed in the timber trade to the colonies last year, was 260 less than in the year before. Overtrading naturally leads to undertrading; and any violent corrective in the shape of duty, applied to a trade thus circumstanced, would destroy it altogether. Another consideration is, the doubt whether government do not stand pledged to the continuance of the existing protection, with the exception of the additional duty of 10s. 3d. imposed in the year 1813. From these considerations I shall oppose any greater duty; and when the House considers, that the whole amount paid for colonial timber goes into the hands either of the British manufacturer or the British ship-owner, and thus contributes to the support of national industry and national revenue, while the amount paid for foreign timber, except the freight of that propor The Solicitor General felt great reluctance in opposing the motion; because he had no doubt that the hon. member intended to confer a benefit on those unhappy persons who were charged with capital offences. From his experience in courts of justice, he took upon himself to declare, that the proposition would operate greatly to the prejudice of those persons. As to the circumstances of Bellingham's trial, they would in no way have been altered, even had the bill proposed by the hon. member, been in existence; for when an application for delay, founded on an affidavit, was made in a capital case, counsel were always heard for the thought that if this measure were tried, it would be found serviceable. There was a broad distinction between what a judge would do in behalf of a prisoner, and what his counsel might do. That which it would be the duty of a counsel to do for his client, would be criminal if done on the part of a judge. His learned friend had overlooked the invariable practice of Scotland, where any prisoner might have the advantage of counsel. He did not seek this privilege to enable criminals to have a better chance of escaping; for their escape he thought the greatest slur upon the practice of the law. His object was, not that these should escape, but that the innocent should have a better protection. The utmost that could result from agreeing to this measure would be, that a greater number of guilty persons would be convicted, which must be regarded as a good and not as an evil. Sir J. Yorke said, that an objection occurred to him, upon the score of time. If two counsel were allowed on each side upon every case, it might not be unfair to suppose that counsellor Bore'em on the one and counsellor Bother'em on the other, would each speak for two hours, and this taking the number of cases at 3,000, would amount to 12,000 hours annually. prisoner to whatever extent it might be desired. The only effect of the observation, therefore, was, to cast slur on as humane a judge as ever sat on the bench. In nine cases out of ten, the case was made out very strongly against the party accused. In such cases, if the prisoner had a counsel, he must either be silent, which would be construed to the prisoner's disadvantage, or in his defence he must resort to sophistry and every kind of fallacy to serve his purpose. This would require remark from the judge in summing up, and might possibly have the effect of altering the situation and character of the judge, and of making him counsel against the prisoner, instead of counsel for him. The counsel for the prosecution also, who at present contented himself with a temperate and dry statement of facts, would, if counsel were assigned to the prisoner, feel himself obliged to change the character of his address to the jury, and operate in some degree upon their passions instead of their reason. He contended, that the law, even with respect to high treason, did not allow to prisoner's counsel the privilege of addressing the jury until the statute of William 3rd. But, however salutary that statute as affecting the case of high treason, he contended, that extending that privilege to all other prisoners would only be a waste of the public time, and would lead to no result favourable to the administration of public justice. Sir James Mackintosh said, he was allowed counsel, he would be ready to supway ready to admit that the general proceedings of courts of justice in this country were irreproachable; but he was surprised that his learned friend should have argued this question as if the proposed bill were one which had been tried, and had operated unfavourably for a prisoner. His learned friend well knew that, before the statute of William, allowing counsel in cases of treason, the law refused counsel to prisoners in all criminal cases. The statute of William was the first good fruit which grew out of the Revolution. Its benefit was universally felt as a safeguard for the subject; and he was at a loss to conceive why the same advantage which accrued to a prisoner in cases of treason, out of this privilege, would not also be felt in the same manner in other cases. It was remarkable that all the arguments used by his learned friend against the motion, had been used at the time of the passing of the statute of William. He rather The Attorney General said, that if it could be shown that the innocent had suffered, or that justice had not been administered because prisoners were not al port the bill; but all persons conversant The motion, that the bill be read second time, was negatived. ARMY ESTIMATES.] On the order of the day for going into a committee of supply, Mr. Hume said, that as the House was about to resolve itself into a committee of supply, in which the Army Estimates were to be considered, he felt it his duty to submit a motion respecting the staff and public departments of the army similar to that which he had formerly submitted respecting its numerical force. He was strongly impressed with the difference between the numbers of the army in 1792 and 1821; but he was still more impressed with the difference of the expense of the staff. He should therefore move, as an amendment. That it appears, by the returns before the House, that the total charge, under the head of staff officers of every kind, belonging to the army in Great Britain, and in all the colonies, in 1792 (Ireland excluded), was 33,7947.; namely-For Great Britain 16,6764.; for the colonies 17,118/. And that the charge, under the head of staff of every kind, for Great Britain and the colonies, in the year 1821 (Ireland excluded), is 117,710.; namely-For Great Britain 33,8551.; for the old colonies 52,155l.; for the new colonies 31,700.; being an increase in Great Britain and the old colonies, of 52,216., and in Great Britain and the new colonies of 83,9161. a year, for staff officers belonging to the army; also, that it appears, by the returns on the table of this House, that the charge for the public departments in Great Britain, of the paymaster-general, the secretary at war, the adjutant-general, the judge-advocategeneral, the comptrollers of accounts, and the commissary-general of musters, their deputies, clerks, and contingent expenses, in 1792, amounted to 45,853, including 4,997 of fees; and that the charge for allowances to the principal officers of the public departments, of the commanderin-chief, paymaster-general, secretary at war, judge-advocate-general, comptroller of accounts, the medical department, their deputies, clerks, and contingent expenses, for Great Britain, in 1821, amount to 133,074/., being an increase of 87,2391. more for the public departments of the army in 1821 than in 1792." The amendment was negatived. Mr. Hume said, he had now to propose a motion, on which he should take the sense of the House, and he intreated them to consider how much the salaries of offices had been increased since 1797. There was not an individual who was not aware of the causes of the increase. The motion which he should submit to the House went to pledge them to revise all salaries which had been increased since 1797. He then moved, as an amendment, "That the progressive increase of Salaries in the different public departments look place in consequence of the increase of business in time of war, and the depreciation of the currency, which began soon after the suspension of cash payments, in 1797; and that as peace has been established, and the currency brought to a metallic standard, it is expedient, that a considerable reduction of expense should be effected by a proper revision of all Salaries increased since 1797, by adjusting them to the present value of the currency." Lord Palmerston said, that the amendment referred not only to the estimates which were to come before them, but to every department of the state. It would be improper, therefore, to adopt so sweeping a proposition in reference to a particular question, instead of having a regular discussion on it after proper notice. The amendment, too, affirmed one thing, of which he was utterly ignorant, namely, that a metallic currency had been established. Preparations, indeed, had been made for establishing it. As to prices, agricultural produce had for some time been low, but house-rent, wearing apparel, and manufactures in general, were still as high as they had been. Mr. Baring said, that nothing could be more proper, than that, before they proceeded to vote money, they should lay down reasons for doing so. The hon. gentleman, who was never to be named without gratitude, for his efforts in throwing light on the enormous expenditure of the country, had put before them, in a distinct shape, that which was universally admitted, namely, that salaries had been increased on account of the depreciation of the currency, and that now that the currency was brought back to its old standard, the House should reconsider those salaries. Yet, when the House was called upon to recognise this principle, they were told, that going into a committee of supply was not the time. The remark of the noble lord, that we had not yet gone back to a metallic standard, was rather hypercritical. On the 1st of May, they might get gold at the Bank at the rate of 31. 17s. 104d.; they might now get it at 37. 19s.; and by the admission of all persons, the currency was screwed up, not merely to the old standard, but beyond it. He expected that those gentlemen who, some time since, voted against those taxes by which the present expensive system was supported, would |