§ Mr. Houston presented a Petition from the lord provost, magistrates, and common council of the city of Glasgow, in council assembled, setting forth,
§ "That in the view of the approaching expiration of the charter of the united company of merchants of England trading to the East Indies, the Petitioners beg leave respectfully to convey to the House their sentiments and wishes on this important subject, a subject which, at the pre-sent crisis, is so highly interesting to the city of Glasgow, as well as to the empire at large; and that in addressing the en-lightened legislature of this country, the Petitioners deem it quite unnecessary to use any arguments farther than an appeal to the experience of past ages to prove the general inexpediency of commercial monopolies; the Petitioners presume not to offer any suggestions relative to the future government, civil and military, of the British possessions in India; and they disclaim any interference whatever with the existence of the East India Company as a trading corporation, or with its internal arrangements, and foreign and domestic establishments; all they humbly propose is, that the exclusive privileges of the Company may not be renewed or continued, and that the trade to the Vast countries between the Cape of Good Hope and the Streights of Magellan may be laid open to the commercial enterprize of all the subjects of the empire; and that not only the inhabitants of the United States of America, but also the subjects of all other governments in amity with this country, should have been admitted to commercial intercourse with the British possessions in India, while British subjects were excluded, appears an unnatural and extremely hard, if not an unjust arrangement, and, at the present period, when our inveterate enemy is exerting all his power to debar this nation from commerce with the continent of Europe, the continuation of such a system would be peculiarly inexpedient; the admission of a free and unfettered trade with the very large proportion of the population of the globe, comprehended under the exclusive grant of the East India Company, fortunately presents a substitute for the partial 183 and temporary loss of European commerce; it will afford an extensive field for the employment of mercantile talents and capital beyond the tyrannical grasp of the enemy; and to the opening of such a field, at such a conjuncture, it is not easy to foresee any well-founded objection, especially when there is strong reason to believe, that the capital of the East India Company is not adequate to the trade, and when it appears that the Company has, since the last renewal of its charter, added greatly to its debt; and that the mono-poly has not proved advantageous even to the trading corporation, for whose behoof it was granted; and praying the House, in its wisdom, to adopt such measures as may render it lawful for any of his majesty's subjects, from and after the 1st day of March, 1814, to carry on from any of the ports of the united kingdom a free and unlimited trade with the British possessions in India, and with the other countries situated to the east of the Cape of Good Hope and to the west of Cape Horn."
§ Ordered to lie upon the table.