Page:History of merchant shipping and ancient commerce (Volume 3).djvu/466

 *mously adopted, was held in abeyance until the Commercial Treaty had been finally adjusted.

The discussion on that motion, however, paved the way for the changes subsequently made in the ancient Navigation Laws of France. It was shown, in the most incontrovertible manner, that the people of that country were serious losers by the maintenance of these laws, and that, by being unable to send their produce and manufactures, on as favourable terms as other nations, to the markets of the world, they were competing, at a disadvantage to themselves, while they were likewise sufferers by not being able to import the raw materials they required from abroad at the lowest current rates of freight.

got through with its numerous details, had it not been for the valuable assistance rendered by Mr. (now Sir Lewis) Mallet, who, at that time attached to the Board of Trade, accompanied him on his mission. I can also state of my own knowledge that the services of Mr. Mallet during the subsequent inquiry into the French Navigation Laws were of the greatest importance. With regard to the Commercial Treaty itself, there can be no doubt that, if the Legislatures of England and France, of their own free will, had adopted measures to allow the people of the respective countries to exchange their produce and manufactures free from all duties, except such as were required for the revenue, it would have been much preferable to the system of "bargaining" which Treaties invariably entail; but, unfortunately, all nations do not yet see that, if a principle is sound, it must be beneficial wherever it is applied, and, as they are still prone to set up their own laws in opposition to the laws of nature, no step in advance could have been made at that time, so far as France was concerned, without a Treaty. On the other hand, I have frequently heard objections raised to the Treaty because France was the larger gainer; its opponents said, to use a homely phrase, that the French people got 9d., while we got only 3d. out of the shilling. I offer no opinion on this point, but even if such were the case, we are 3d. better off than we should have been had no Treaty been made, and why therefore should we cavil against it?]
 * [Footnote: of navigation. Indeed, he observed that he, alone, never could have