§ Mr. Claypresented a petition signed by 706 ship-sawyers, employed on the River Thames, complaining of the state of business, arising chiefly in consequence of the various Acts of the Legislature, relating to navigation and the British shipping. The petitioners prayed for a general revision of these Acts; but whether that would restore to the petitioners their lost employment, he was not prepared to say. Of his own knowledge, however, he could declare, that no commercial distress was equal to that experienced by the shipping interest of the port of London; nor did he see any chance of amelioration, for nothing could be more gloomy than the present prospect of the commerce of the port of London, which had been supported, as it were, by four great branches of trade. Of these, the silk manufactures of Bethnal-Green had not only to contend with those of France, but those of Manchester. The East-India trade, it was presumed, would no longer be confined to London, but would be distributed among the outports also; and whatever the general 64 effect of that alteration might be, there could be no doubt of its injury to the metropolis. The trade of sugar refining was already all but lost; indeed four-fifths of it were already gone; and all who were connected with the West Indies, began to feel the effect of the projected measures of change for those colonies. Thus, all the great sources, for those he had named were the only great sources of employment of the population of London would be either greatly reduced or cut away. He therefore strongly recommended the prayer of the petitioners to the consideration of Government, lamenting at the same time, that none of them were present to hear that prayer. It had become absolutely necessary that the utmost economy should make way for great reduction in taxation, and, above all taxes, those on houses and windows ought to be abolished. Indeed, they could not much longer be paid. They pressed, perhaps, with more severity on the eastern suburbs of the metropolis, than on any other portion of the kingdom.
§ Petition laid on the Table.