As regards the COASTING TRADE, the law—8 & 9 Vict., cap. 88, sect. 8—in force in 1847, declared that no goods nor passengers could be carried coastwise from one part of the United Kingdom to another, or from the United Kingdom to the Isle of Man, and _vice versâ_, except in British ships, although the original Navigation Act of 1660 did not prevent foreign-built vessels from engaging in the coasting trade. The prohibition in the ancient Act extended only to such as were _foreign owned_, 12 Car. II., cap. 18, sect. 8. By the Act of 1 James, cap. 18, an extra duty of 5_s._ per ton for every voyage was laid upon all foreign-built ships engaged in this trade. Subsequently, by 34 Geo. III., cap. 68 (extended to Irish ships by 42 Geo. III., cap. 61), it was enacted, that vessels engaged in the coasting trade should be wholly navigated by British subjects; and this provision was still in force in 1847 by virtue of the definition of a “British ship,” given in the 12th section of the Act of 8 & 9 Vict., cap. 88. The absolute restriction of the coasting trade to British-built ships was not introduced till the consolidation in 1825. The trade of the Isle of Man was put on the footing of a coasting trade in 1844. Such is an abridged history of the law of Navigation during the intermediate period between 1660 and 1847, comprising the four great divisions of the trade and navigation of the United Kingdom. No one can rise from a study of these laws without a feeling of amazement at the trouble our ancestors gave themselves “to beggar their neighbours,” under the erroneous impression which too long prevailed, that, by their ruin, our own prosperity could be most effectively achieved. It is, therefore, not surprising that, under such legislative measures, maritime commerce was for centuries slow in growth, and that British merchants and shipowners frequently suffered quite as much through the instrumentality of laws meant for their protection as their foreign competitors, against whom these regulations were levelled. [Sidenote: Summary of the Navigation Laws.] For the convenience of reference it may be useful to give before closing this chapter a condensed recapitulation of the principles of these extraordinary laws, as they stood in 1847, so that my readers may more clearly understand the discussions in the Lords and Commons preceding their repeal:— 1st. Certain enumerated articles of European produce could only be imported into the United Kingdom, for consumption, in British ships, or in ships of the country of which the goods were the produce, or in ships of the country from which they were usually imported. 2ndly. No produce of Asia, Africa, or America could be imported for consumption into the United Kingdom from _Europe_ in any ships; and such produce could only be imported from any other place in British ships, or in ships of the country of which the goods were the produce and from which they were usually imported.