Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 3).djvu/145

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not individually. In an extreme case, a ship might, ultimately, become the sole property of foreigners exclusively, and yet be entitled to be registered as a British ship, as a corporate body remains permanently. So that the law created the curious anomaly that a foreigner could not have a share in a British vessel, but might be the owner of all the shares of a corporate body which owned, for instance, the Great Eastern. Another difficulty arose with reference to the residence in or out of England of the owner of a ship. The Free-trade party contended that if a foreigner were disposed to come here and build a ship, there was no disadvantage either to British shipbuilders or British shipowners, or British sailors, especially as he could hold all the shares of a ship. On the other hand, it was contended that this was an extreme case, not likely often to occur, and the principle, if acted upon, of allowing individual ownership, might give considerable power to foreigners to the prejudice of British subjects; in fact, that the violation of this principle went to the very basis of the Navigation Law, which it would destroy. To such a point was real British ownership carried out, that, as the Act required owners of British ships to reside in the United Kingdom, the owner of a British registered ship, if he resided at Paris, would lose his privileges as such.

Other difficulties arose from the indefinite character of the law: thus, gin could be brought into England, but brandy could not, in any foreign ships. American vessels could not bring corn from Holland;