The Press. — London, England, 1853-05-07 00:00:00

MAY 7, 1853. tered upon public life,—now more than twenty-five years ago,—it was any conviction that, next to the removal of the religious disabilities which thou threatened the disrup ti o n o f the empire, and to the accomplishment of Auell a reform of the House of Commons as was osptisite to make it a fitti►►g instrument for if every other public itu provement, the political object of the greatest importance to the public good was to relieve industry and commerce from the shackles with which they had been etwitinbered by measures adopted for their advancement under the erroneous theory of " Protection." Henn•, beginning with the year 18 7, when 1 voted with a very small minority against tlw principle of the sliding Neale. in the bill tier the amendment of the eon► laws brought forward by Mr. Canning, I had, both by votes and stweehes, supported every proposal submitted to the House of Parliament of which 1 was a member which I considered to IN• lated to advance the object of giving grvillet'frEcilolll to in• dustry. I believed that the colonial trade ought to form no exception to the general rule, but should be plaerd on the same footing as other brunches of our con ttttt Tee. I considered it to be no less for the real and prominent in. ter•st of ti n s colonies themat•lres, than for• that of the mother conntry. that industry tetould cerise to be divested from its natural channels, and a useless linolen to be imposed on the consumer by differential duties, levied for the purpose of favouring colonial poshn•e in our markets, and our produce in the markets of the colonies But the establishment of unrestricted com petition as a rule in colonies which, front the first hours of their existence, had been taught to consider themselves as united with the mother country in one Imperial Loll•erein— as integral parts of the empire, not only in a political but a financial sense also—as ,justly subjected to certain mercantile restrictions for the benefit of Englaml, and entitled in return to claim exclusive compensating privileges at the expense of England—was not a work of easy accomplishment. It amounted, in Lord tirey's words, "to nothing less than a revolu " tion in an established system of politics, "which could not fail to shock many long "received opinions, and to bring about a great " change in the relations hitherto subsisting "between this country and the colonies?' By that change more than one interest was sure to suffer temporarily ; all the evils of a state of transition must be incurred ; and real as those evils might be expected to prove, and at, the time actually did prove, it was nut less certain that they would be magnified with all the zeal of party. and charged on the minister of the clay with the usual exaggerative eloquence of an Opposition. Nor was it only front the adherents of the old commercial system that peril impended over the new Minister. There seemed equal reason to apprehend that his projects of reform might be thwarted, and that they might, against the author's will, he married too tar. For not a few among both the friends and enemies of free trade, differing in all else. yet agreed in this : that "if the colonies were no "longer to he regarded as valuable on account "of the commercial advantages to be derived "from their possession, the country hind no "interest in keeping these dependencies, and " it would be better to abandon them"—whereby a large reduction in military expenditure might be effected, and, in the event of war, a vast responsibility evaded. Arguments to this effect, used bond fair by one party, might by another be used ad inridiam. Abandon your "colonies," said the extreme reformers ; " they "will then cost England nothing ; they will "provide for their own defence ; you will still "find in them all that you now find—an outlet "for your surplus population, and customers "for your manufactures. Do for them what "you were eompelled to do with the United "States ; it is only anticipating by some few "years an event which in the course of nature "Is inevitable, and for which it. is best to h o "prepared in advance." " Abandon your colo "nies." echoed certain discontented Pr()tee tionists ; " it is true that. in so doing you dis "member the British empire, but. when the "financial bond that held it together is broken, "what is the political tie hut a delusion and "a name 7' In England, both within and with out the walls of Parliament. language such as we have described was not unfrequently heard. Its echo reached the colonies and though there existed not then, nor does there now exist, except perhaps among the white popu lation of the West Indian sugar islands. any real or deep-seated feeling of hostility to British dominion, yet words so ominous for the future could scarcely be heard by those whom they principally ifected without exciting some THE PRESS. manner of discontent approaching to disaffec tion. Between the!.k , two opposite extremes lug• the eourse traced out by Lord limy. A firm believer in the justice autd necessity of free trade : and one of the few who on that quebtioo c•un claim the merits of an unbroken rotnUat- envy, he avows himself a strenuous opponent of the principle of colonial separation, as re ►resented in the views of the mote advanced Liberals of the Nlanchester school. To reor ganize. at whatever cost of individual suffeting. the financial system of the colonies ; to make a clean steed► of all privileges. monopolies, and restrictions whatever ; yet, while doing this, to keep intact the union of the etupire, though the principal cause of its maintenance, in many men's eyes, had now ceased to exist. was the self-imposed duty of Lord .lohn Russell's Co lonial Secretary. It was one for which dicta torial powers were needed, and sinnething, Wu. of a dictatorial temperament. A weak man— one easily turned aside from his purpose by popular clamour—one who should shrink front the Night or knowledge of hardship indicted by the operation of his measures—nay, even one of whose mind strong hoith in certain fixed ideas was not a leading characteristic—must have failed miserably in such a crisis. Lord Grey fought a stout battle. and carded his point. though at the cost of perhaps even more enmity than he counted on provoking. The record of the struggle is contained iu them) volumes : and they bring into deserved prominence the remarkable position of the author, who in the constitutional department of colonial polities may be mekoned a Con servative, though an uncompromising reformer in all that relates to finance. When we speak of Lord Grey by a title which he has not been aeeuston►ed to bear, we apprehend that our meaning will be made clear by the following extracts:— I lowe thought it necesKtry 111 Stine thus strongly my dissent from the views of those who wish to dismember the British empire by abandoning the colonies. he- CHISSe it is impossible nut to observe that this policy-- unworthy of a mat nation, and unwise as I votimider it to be--ie not only openly suit twitted by ono active party its the country, but is also hardly leas effectually supported by 111'11101Di occupying till important position in l'arlitiment, and who. while they hesitate to avow their tallierenee to it, hold language which obviously lends in the same direc tiu t, awl talvtwate meissures the adoption of whirls would inevitably bring about this result. If the reasons which I hurt just hilltl'll fin' maintaining the connection between this country and till` ItrinBll 1 . 0141- tiles tire admitted to be sound. it will follow as a neeowary inference, that two f ery plain nits as to the terns 1111 which that eotinectisin should Ise continued may be laid down. Its the first place. I think it will clearly follsow that this esauttry has no itits.rest whatever in exercising ally greater influence in the internal affairs of the colonies than is indisrusable either I;.i. Ito- purpose of pro-witting war toile colenty fnnan uelol.tut', siseastams injurious to ;mother, or to the empire at large; or else for the pl»nlo tioaa 111 . the nlll'llllll 14114111 WIWI - 111111'1a Ilf 111 t. coluuies. b a y assisting the inhabitants 111 urn 111111INCIV1 . 1 nlll'll stills ciently cif ilizeil to ills so with ash ;image. 111111 Ito !Mit Wing a just and impartial adminict ration for tlasse %his+ the populist' is too ignisnuit and out tihighteusetl to manage its own afraile. Wider latitude of power than this was nev er ehtimed by the veriest ultra-Tory of the last generation ; scareely even by the Ministry which involuntarily emancipated America. " England," mays lam! tirey-. " may interfere for "thin promotion of the internal good govern went of the colonies. by assisting the 'nimbi " t ing to govern themselves" until she eonsiders them qualified in all respects for freedom. Sunly no deMpilt of aneient or modern times could demand It more extended prerogative. The sole argument used in all times and roun tries against self-government is the alleged inability of the people to discern their Own true interests. The most arbitrary masters of man kind whom the world has 14CP11,-'1141141114. Napo leon, or the Czar,—are ready enough to profess themselves lovers of freedom in the abstract. if only men were fit to enjoy it. We arc far frow saving that Lord Grey l o ts made a dempotie or arbitrary use of his power ; but he l o ts laid down a principle on which almost any act of despotism might be defended. Perhaps the very exaggeration of his theory is in some sort a benefit. for the popular tendency at, the pre sent moment is all in the opposite direction, and a counterpoise was needed. But in truth we do not highly value Lord ircy's opinion on the queation of local dependence and imperial 15 control: and for the reason We have stated above. In his cha►acter of financial innovator he required. as the rendition of sUeccsa, powers more ample than those ordinarily Tested in a Colonial Minister. That having used these powers conscientiously, and. in his own belief. with complete snecess, he should %indicate their existence. nay. regard them as indispen sable to the Mitinteminee of authority, is only what might reastutably be expected. We admit the excuse, though we do not concur in the reasoning. Ilut to this subject we may here• after recur. The author *lit ides his subject into six parts, introducing and concluding the whole with those general remarks from which we have qmited. The sugar colonies—the North Ante riven provinces—Australasia, including New Zealand Ceylon -- the Cape and those smaller depeutlencies of the Crown. sc att e red various parts of the globe, which are kept tip or military or trading purposes. am passed successively in review. We shall follow Lord (trey briefly through the various topics here enumerated. I. The existence of wide-spread and severe distress throughout the British West Indies is not disputed. The writer admits it, hut, repu diating utterly the idea of its connection with the act of 1148. refers its origin, with }untie plausibility. to the imperfecti 111 l s of the eman cipatory measure elt . 1 14 :1 3 , to the social degra chit • which succeeded the abolition 4if slaveq, to the previous embarrassment of th e non-resi dent 1k est Indian proprietors. and to the com• menial crisis of 1847. Protection, if it had not caused a part of these difficulties, had totally failed to relieve them. Nothing had been done, when the negro wits set free, to substit ate indirect for direct incentives to labour : the apprenticeship system, prema turely abolishee . had failed in its operation ; the demands of the labourer were yearly in ereasi og.while the quantity of his work remained unaltered or even diminished; education was neglected ; the people had become demoralised ; the complaints of the planters grew l o uder; and a radical administrative change' appeared necessary, before society could be placed in a sound and healthy condition. In this crisis a series of measures was proposed, in which the nitwit-debated net of 1848 formed only a single item. The scheme included the free atlinis- Kinn of foreign on the MIMI' terms as domestic articles to the colonial markets ; the repeal of the navigat' laws ; the vigorous suppression of the slave trade : the encouragement of inimi gratiiin, whether from Africa. India. or China the adopt tlf internal laws ealculated to cheek vagrancy, and encourage industry ; stud a con siderable reform in the economy of the local administration. Plans so comprehensive re quired (line to mature them. and a still longer ime bet Ore their effect could be felt : but Lord (Ivey appeals to the budget speech of Mr. Disraeli to May, 1852, and to the official static:- ties on which it was bused, its evidences of the returning prosperity of the West Indies. Ile, bowtc‘er, passes over, with the skill of a prac tised advorate. the ineontestable ruin in which Jamaica and llniatin are plunged ; and omits to mention that it is entirely by a vast increase of (croduetion in the smaller islands, rtuelt as llurlrudors ,old Antigua (11 . 111 Ch never were at any time seriously distressed), that British grown sugar is enabled to command the Initr ket. One immigrati )))) theory Lord Grey's merits notice for its novelty. lie proposes a large introduction of both free HMI slave tic groes from the United States—the latter. of attl'se, to be rillititeirittell befOre their arrival:— - I ennn..t help herr expressing no turprite that thy sttentbm of teme of our merelittilt and eapindists hat been direeted to the .Tune m:114 . America its It from, dirt iolutelli n .111q$IN of I,lhielr. and tic the great room. %loch 11% Means of flint hilmosr Might be obtained room the retitle binds .4 Trinicloul and tinians. Then' is .1..0bt, I believe. dint it large summit of British capital lam been, direedy 4.r indirectly, imetted in %maw eultivw lion in '1.144i and Ib7vif, and it is to be feared that many of thud ynt.ittl aunt teen 41104 yyd is the T owyhasis of Mimes ill uudh importe.l from Africa. The natural silvan. mites of the Itritish colonies 1 hire mentiomed are, m he ti. ye, twirl' sityrrior—most certainly they Wu not tints.' of rithrr Cohn ow while they have an 111 l 11.4. savant's*. over both in the perfret are arity they enjoy, tool soar Cubs tel latest in the lightness of their taxation. This being t h e ettlle, the piettion nat i = snmettt itself, might not s given tam of motley he a to greater athantag4f in rocarinti labour Cron the shit ommiNINIIMI I