Lord Hollandsaid, he had to apologise, that the bill upon this subject was not yet in perfect readiness to be laid before their lordships; but its main object was to enable his majesty in council to grant certain powers to the governors of those islands to regulate that intercourse, as far as it regarded the importation, &c. of provisions and lumber, from the ports of America into those of our West-India colonies. The bill would shortly be laid before their lordships, and he should propose that it be read a 2d time on Thursday next.
The Duke of Montroseobserved, that he was one of those who certainly thought the measure of a much more serious nature than it seemed to be considered by those who introduced it. They did not seem to be aware of the great amount of the tonnage, and of the great number of seamen who were employed in that trade. He was persuaded that the shipping amounted to no less than 101,090 tons, and the seamen to 6500. To prove this assertion, the noble lord concluded with moving for certain papers, by which, he said, all he had advanced would be fully confirmed.