Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 3).djvu/240

 *ping of such States as may place British and national vessels on a footing of more perfect equality."

Practically, Lord Palmerston offered, on the part of the British Government, to remove nearly all the restrictions of the British Navigation Law, whenever such a proposal was met in a spirit of corresponding liberality, at the same time, however, reserving the right to take such course as Government might deem necessary where no such reciprocal feeling was shown.

It is unnecessary to enter at great length into the explanations given in reply by foreign Governments. Some of these are, however, too important to be omitted in a work of this kind. Pre-eminently the disposition of the United States, or rather the opinion of Congress, as well as of the Executive, was essentially necessary to be known on this side of the Atlantic. Consequently Mr. John F. Crampton, our Envoy at Washington, lost no time in bringing the question before the then American Secretary of State, Mr. Buchanan. That gentleman in reply said, that the most satisfactory answer he could give was to furnish a copy of the first section of the Act of Congress, approved on the 24th May, 1828, intituled "An Act, in addition to an Act intituled, 'an Act concerning discriminating Duties of Tonnage and Import, and to equalise the duties on Prussian Vessels and their Cargoes.'" The substance of this law will be found in another part of this work, and it will be remembered that it conferred a power on the American President to reciprocate by proclamation