Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 3).djvu/260

 replies from other nations were gone over seriatim, and the conduct of Belgium in adhering to what was thought best for Belgian interests was applauded as a wise and liberal course. No foreign Government had given a distinct answer except Belgium, and that was not a favourable one. We had abandoned, he said, some of our restrictive laws in relation to European navigation, and wisely abandoned them, because we could not maintain them any longer. That was the ground of Mr. Huskisson's modifications: but we ought, at present, to hold what we could, and to concede only what we must, in matters of navigation. He admitted, amidst the derisive cheers of the repeal party, that the Navigation Laws imposed restraints on commerce, and so far operated unfavourably; but the question to be considered was whether the gain to be derived from the abolition of these laws was a sufficient inducement for running the risk of the loss to which this abolition must lead. All prudence and sound judgment was opposed to repeal. The voice now rising from every quarter would soon reach those in whose hands the government was placed, and they would learn that their first duty was to uphold British interests, maintain British commerce, and promote British enterprise.

Mr. James Wilson, who replied at great length to Mr. Herries, had a few years previously started a Free-trade journal, the 'Economist,' and, having obtained a seat in the House of Commons, became a staunch and formidable advocate of an extreme Free-trade policy. He was a master in statistics, and, as figures were the rage at the time, he happily seized the moment which led to a political fortune, and,