Note 225 — Chapter XV

Having consulted with Messrs. Rouher and Chevalier as to the most advisable course to pursue, and, seeing with them the difficulties which had to be overcome, I had resolved with their entire consent—indeed on their suggestion—to seek an audience with the Emperor himself, a course which so thoroughly met the approval of Lord Cowley, that he, at once, undertook to obtain it, and, himself, to accompany me to the Tuileries. I had learned from the “tossing of the horses’ heads” what an apt scholar I was about to meet, and that any imperfect arguments or inconclusive facts would be at once detected. Consequently, I had carefully rehearsed in my mind every point necessary to bring under his notice, and had taken all my figures from the French Official Returns. At first the subject, necessarily a dry one, did not seem to interest the Emperor, but, when I called his attention to the fact that, while the sailing-ships of Great Britain had been increased during the previous twenty years by 2,800,000 tons, and her steamers by 400,000 tons, those of France had only, in that time, been increased by 370,000 tons, and 50,000 tons respectively, though her general commerce, in every other branch, increased nearly as rapidly as our own, he asked me to repeat the figures and explain, why it was that there was such an enormous difference. The task was an easy one; but, perhaps, the facts which struck him most were, that, though the Shipowners of France were carefully protected at a loss to the community, as more than one-half of the whole of her oversea carrying trade was conducted by foreign vessels owing to the differential duties, her people were really paying greatly enhanced prices for everything they required from abroad, without adding one sixpence to his revenue.

The interview, which, altogether, lasted for nearly two hours, must, however, have made a considerable impression on the Emperor, for, on parting, he requested me to put in writing, and in a letter addressed to himself, the leading facts and figures I had brought under his notice, and to let him have it that evening, if convenient. I made it convenient, and by 6 P.M. of that day he received the letter, a copy of which will be found in the Appendix, No. 4, p. 582.

On the following morning, I received a note from his private secretary, M. Mocquard, saying that the Emperor wished to see me that forenoon alone. After communicating with Lord Cowley, I waited upon his Majesty, and his first expression was, “I have read your letter more than once, and I wish you to explain more fully the effect of the Navigation Laws.” That I might convey to his mind, effectually, the operation of all such laws, I asked for the use of a Mercator chart on a large scale, which was soon obtained, and, spreading it on the floor, I drew upon it, with a pencil, lines to explain, for instance, the usual course of commerce with India, by way of Egypt as well as by the Cape of Good Hope. I then showed him that, though our steamers and sailing-ships were constantly passing his chief ports of Havre and Marseilles laden with produce, of which his people might be in the greatest want, the differential duties imposed by his laws prevented us from landing these goods; and then, turning to his own official returns, I repeated the fact that not one franc of revenue was derived from these dues; so that, while his people were heavy losers on one hand, his exchequer was not benefited on the other. To obtain the sugar, coffee, indigo, and other articles with which, for instance, a Peninsular and Oriental steamer passing his port of Marseilles was laden, it was necessary that they should be carried through the Straits of Gibraltar (still tracing the lines on the chart), cross the Bay of Biscay, pass his other great port of Havre, and be carried on to Southampton, to be there landed, and, most likely, sent by railway to London, where they were bonded, and thence shipped again in either French or English vessels for Calais or Boulogne, and then conveyed across France to wherever they might be required by his people; possibly even to Marseilles or Havre. “Now, Sire,” I said, still kneeling on the chart and looking earnestly at the Emperor, “if your people prefer to have what Indian produce they need conveyed to them, in that very roundabout and expensive manner, instead of importing it direct in whatever vessels may be ready to carry the produce to them on the most favourable terms, it is a process to which I, as an Englishman, have no objections to offer, for we carry in our ships not merely the great bulk of the Indian produce, but have also much extra profit from it in the shape of landing, bonding, railway carriage, transhipment, commissions, and so forth; I do not, however, see how your manufacturers can compete successfully with those of other countries, if they are compelled by your Navigation Laws to import the raw material they require by such antiquated and expensive modes as these.”

As the room, in which we were was small and the light not very good, the Emperor had followed my example, and, that he might see the lines and ports more distinctly, had himself, before I concluded, knelt down also on the chart.

In the palaces of France are to be found many grand pictures descriptive of the wars of the Empire, but its artists may now add to the decoration of these walls a far grander and nobler scene, and represent their last Emperor performing a duty to his people of much greater importance as regards their future welfare and happiness, and far more worthy of record than the blood-stained fields of Magenta and Solferino. I had, subsequently, frequent occasion to see the Emperor on the subject of these laws; and I gave evidence, for the same purposes, before the Conseil Supérieur he appointed to inquire into them: in the report of these proceedings there will be found a copy of my letter to his Majesty, and also a copy of one addressed to M. Fleury on the same subject. (See Appendix to this volume, No. 5, p. 591.)