§ Sir S. Romillypresented a Petition, signed by two thousand useful artisans, whose business was, that of building ships in the port of London; complaining of an evil, extending not alone to themselves, but to the interests of the country.—The Petition stated, that shipbuilding in the private yards, on the river Thames, had, of late, not only sunk into decay, but had been totally annihilated. As illustrative of this fact, it stated, that there were belonging to different persons, on the bank of the Thames, private yards, in which there were forty-one slips for building ships; and in the whole of these yards, there was but one ship building. That of docks for repairing ships, double and single, there were fifty-one 342 double, an eleven single, and in these there were but eighteen vessels, under repair; which circumstances, so injurious to the petitioners and to the country, they stated, was attributable to the arrangements which had been made for building ships in India, whither a great number of the artisans, heretofore employed in England, had been constrained to fly; and those who remained behind were entirely destitute of the means of supporting their numerous families. The prayer of the Petition was, that the House would be pleased not to extend the time for India built ships being admitted to British registers. The Petition, having been brought up, was read, and ordered to lie on the table.