Mr. BLAINE. I think it important that the House should come back to a distinct understandin of the question involved in this bill, and I Wlll state it as briefly as possible. At the beginning of the war, as I can show from reliable statistics in my hand, we had 2500,000 tons of shipping engaged in the foreign trade. As the war grew hot and dangers multiplied on the ocean, 800,000 tons of this shipping took refuge under a foreign flag. The flag of our own nation was hauled down, and protection was sought under the flag of our neutral enemy, GreatBritain. I do not question the right of the owners of this shipping to act in this way, and many who did so are honorable and patriotic men. tend is that, having made their election, they shall abide byit. lhey escaped all the hazards to which our flag was subjected; they gained all the profits of their alien connection; and for one I am not now willin to put them on the same ground with those s ipowners who took all the risks of. standing by the American fia in good report and in evil resort, in our dar days as we 1 as in our bright ays. The ship owners who took British resters escaped the heavy war risks to which merican registers were subjected, and now to place them on the same footing with those who hazarded eve thing rather than sail undera foreign fla we (I be flagrantly unjust. To contend for sue a policy is as illogical and absurd as the position of those who claimed for the southern rebels all the advantages and immunities of belligereuts outside of the Union and citizens inside of it at the same time. The shipowners who changed their registers sought the protection of GreatBritain when there was dunder at home; and now they wish, when that anger is over, to return to our flag and share the profits that can be derived from American registry. I think, sir, it would he cruell unjust for the American Congress to permit this policy, and thus turn their backs on those shi)0WDEIB who, under all the seductions of pro1t and against all the rils of war, refused to take refuge for a single him under any other flag than that which was All I conlees. 583 floating over the armies of the Union, and which protects us in this Capitol today. I have said, sir, that many who sought these foreign registers were highminded, honorable, and patriotic men. I am personally acquainted with some of them, and it gives me pleasure to speak of them in this way. But, sir, there is good reason to believe that all of them were not of this class;. that some of them were unpatriotic and even criminal, and that, while securely concealed behind their British regis ters, they were sharing in the enormous profits derived from running our blockade, and engaging, to the detriment of the Union cause, in all the illicit commerce which the English flag covered during the 4 years of bloody war from which we have just emerged. I think the American Congress should be slowto allow even one man who has acted thus to bring his peoperty back under the protection of our laws. o may not be able to punish such men by criminal prosecutions, but we certainly should i not go out of our way to show them favors and confer benefits upon them. But I do not put this question on the ground of simply giving their just dues to those who took this course with their shipping, much less do I base my action onafeeling of “ spite, ” as the Gentfrom Ohio [Mr. GARFIELD] has V intimated. I conceive that it involves a point of future interest and of farreaching import ance, because ifwe treat these shipowners who left our flag with the same liberality that we do those who stood by it, we offer a sort of premium to our whole navigation interest to seek foreign registers the moment we have awar with any Power and should we allow the 800,000 tons of shipping now under discussion to come back under our flag, you will see double or triple that amount leave us if we should unfortunately become engaged in another war. I think that consideration should have great influence on our action on this question. One word more Mr. Speaker. The whole tone of the speeches we have had from both the gentlemen from Ohio [Mr. SPALDING and Mr. ARIIELD] was for free trade. They urge that we shall buy our ships wherever we can get them cheapest and that all restrictions as to registry should be abolished. Well, sir, if we “ are prepared to reduce this free trade theory to practice, why not have it in everything I There 15 no branch of American industryt at is today so little protected and so much oppressed by our revenue laws as shipbuildin. It is taxed at all points, and neatly taxed to death; and I submit to these new advocates of free trade that it would be better to begin with some interest that is essentially protected by our laws today. If we are going to have free trade, let us have it equally and impartiall a plied to all the industrial interests of the and; but for myself I am opposed to it altogether. In theory and in practice, I am for protecting American industry in all its forms, and to this end we must encourage American manufactures and wc must equally encourage American commerce.