"To abolish all discriminating duties upon the navigation of other countries, so that the products and merchandize of these nations, when imported in their own ships, shall be subject to the same rates only as when imported in British ships." Such principles are certainly most liberal; but in what did the wisdom of those who professed them consist? certainly not in that of this world; if the lofty position of Great Britain was considered at the period when such regulations were framed, and when the then state of our commerce with other nations were taken into account. But let us see how this system has worked. Suppose we speak of cotton, (but we might take, with almost equal advantage, other articles imported into the United Kingdom), as being the chief export from the United States. It is mostly brought to us in American ships, navigated, in a great measure, by British seamen, some of whom they pretend to have naturalized; but at present we shall say no more of this. Our merchants will not of course, employ, to any extent, British ships to bring cotton from the United States, because the Americans can afford, from various causes, not counteracted by us, to convey it cheaper to them. Where then can we find reciprocity in the shipping and seamen employed in this great branch of trade? To balance this fairly, we should surely, if it were only in self-defence, lay a tax upon cotton imported in American, or any other vessels, in order to compel British merchants to employ British ships and British seamen to bring it in its raw state from America, or from our East India possessions, or from any other country where we might think fit to encourage the growth of this article. It may be said that cotton, thus raised in price, would become too expensive for our manufacturers to be able to contend with foreigners in the continental and other markets; but this could not be long the case, for the American carrying trade being thus diminished, they could not afford to convey it at low prices to any country, or to pay their or rather our seamen such high wages; and are we not wisely improving the models of all new ships which are built; and consequently their rates of sailing, so that we shall soon be able to cope in this respect, with the United States ships also.