Evidence adduced by the shipowners.
The shipowners, on the other hand, put forward
their most practical and intelligent witnesses[1] to prove
that the repeal of the Navigation Laws would cause
an immediate depreciation of thirty per cent. in the
value of their property, and of shipping, generally,
throughout the United Kingdom; that, if the British
shipowner were deprived of his' privileges, already
greatly curtailed by the system of reciprocity, it would
be decidedly to his advantage to invest his capital in
foreign ships, and to navigate them by foreign seamen:
Englishmen, they alleged, would own, in conjunction
with foreigners (if possible), foreign ships, in
order to secure the privileges still attaching to foreign
flags, since British ships would still be excluded from
many foreign ports, even though the Navigation Laws
were abrogated. It was shown, as they conceived
incontestably, that a ship could be built at Dantzig
at a much less cost than in England,[2] and that, if the*
- ↑ The chief of these was Mr. G. F. Young, who, it must be admitted, made out a very startling, and, at the time, apparently a very strong case against repeal, or even reciprocity; while Mr. Richmond, Mr. W. Philippe, Mr. W. Imrie of Liverpool, Mr. Duncan Dunbar, Mr. J. Macqueen, and others, brought forward an immense array of facts in support of their allegations.
- ↑ It was stated that a vessel built in Dantzig, according to the following detailed specification, would cost 10l. 17s. 6d. per ton, and in the United States 12l. per ton; but that a similar vessel could not be produced in any part of Great Britain under 15l. per ton. Say 757 tons, and first class: length on deck, 140 feet; length of keel, 129 feet; breadth of beam, 32 feet; depth of hold, 22 feet; height of 'tween decks laid, 7 feet; the frame to be of oak; bottom planking to the bilge, elm; topsides, wales, &c., pine; ceiling, pine; to have a top-gallant forecastle, fitted for the accommodation of the crew; round house aft, fitted for the accommodation of the captain and officers; the deck otherwise flush; single bulwarks and monkey-rail; patent windlass; caboose fitted with cooking stove; small capstan in the forecastle; a small capstan abaft the mainmast; three anchors; two chain cables of 120 fathoms each; masts, spars, studding-sail booms,
