The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser. — London, England, 1826-02-25 00:00:00

trilling a nutcase. In 1810 the country was engaged to an arduous and sanguinary war—such a war as God forbid should occur again. There was then hardly a guinea in the country, and his Right Hon. Friend recommended to the Houle, and publishedllis opinion in a pamphlet, that in two years from that time it would be proper to return to cash payments, and that at a time wten France would l net make peace: yet his Right Hon. Friend wrote, spoke, arid 1 weed toe a return to payment in sperm. Would his Right Hon. Friend say that was his opinion now. HVSKISSON—EntireIy, Mr. BARINO—The House would at once see the utter ab. satiny et such a measure. and that his Right Hon. Friend was not quite so steady a pilot as to be trusted witb such a measure shining war • and even at present, in time of peace. there was ell. Mindy considerable difficulty in getting one poun4 miter oat of peculation. The lion. Gentleman said he would leave the subject with the Moue and let them judge. He could not charge his Hon. Friendwith Inconsistency, ause he had avowed his determine. uon so abide by his opinion. He would now come to the second cue. and from which his Right Hon. Friend could not escape—it watt the corn qurstior. In 1615 his Right Han. Friend advocated the system of advancing the protecting price of corn fromll6e. to 691. pee quarter. He (31r. Baring) was in very bad favour with the House at that time, and was in a minority, but that was a dr. comstance of which he was not ashamed. Would his Rtght Hon. Friend now vote for the protecting duty on corn? He would be glad to know if the opinion expressed in 1815 was the one lie would now abide by. When the House came to that question he would say that it ought to have been a reduction of ptotetting dap/ but that was a question that would be discussed as s separate one, and there ' tom he should leave the two eases for his Right Honourable Friend to explain to the /louse. Ten years ago a Committee was apt pointed on the question of the Silk Rill. and upon that ores. bion he (Mr. Baring) was opposed to his Right Honourable Friend, and was then also in a minority ; he had contendetlthat by that Rill. the inanufaciurer would be sacrificed to vie throaster. his Right Honourable Friend had then decided that 7s. 6d. was the proper protecting duty, but it was to be supposed that, seeing las error, he had without the consent of Parliament reduced the euty from 7s. 6,1. to for., and that betrayed a total absence of infoe. riation as to the sub j ect of that measure. Whether the throw stet ...tight to be protected at all was quite out of the business ; those were liart4, and !arta were most essential to the discussion of the question belbee the Meuse. Re would ask his Right Honourable **resod. as to the protecting duty of 7s. 6d. whether the, opinion warn cotoome to carelmsly and in haste, and whether it was not totally insufficient for the purpose for which it was proposed ? When he found his Right Honourable Friend legislating for hur.dreds of thousands of persons, he did not observe that seemliness which should induce him (slr. Baring) to alter his opinion. He would 00w say that the resolutions of the Committee of le2o had been most ably followed up by the Right Honourable the Master of the Mint (Mr. Wallace), and he must say that in nerd to the trade of the country hit 3lajesty's Ministers had done more good then any other set of men whatever, and he tr.pst say that if the merchants of London, and indeed of England generally did wet reoallect what had pseud they must be most ungrateful. Those measures had relieved the country from most objectionable drawbacks on the prosperity , of comdierce; they had rebored the tourney from the Navigation Laws, front the system of ettargee n front the system of bounties. from the system of protecting Manes, and City of Lenden rose charge*. It was the port of Lou. don to wbachohips now came in consequence of the measures of hie Meeestes Government, and to whom the ingehants of England owed so much. At the same time that herald this he was perfectly • ware that the effect of such arrangements could not be known stn. ell they had been tried ; it was necessary to know the practical re. salt before the good or evil of a measure could be determined on. Times was one question of considerable ireportanee, which was 'rte reciprocal charges on shipping, which he wished to bring tinder the car.sideration of bra Right Honourable Friend. It was surprising to see the number of American ships that • went into tin: port of Liverpool, as well as Dutch and other feeeignars Into that of London. He could not but hope that what the question should be examined England should have her shark In Liverpool there were nothing but American flap is be seen in the harbour. He had thought it necessary to bring the question under the eye of his Right Hon. Friend, in order that the principle of theory might not be carried berms' proper bounds; fir he could not but consider that whets that was the case it was a bad principle of gov..rnmein. In the ease of the small notes the Homey= required to some to a decision without consulting prac. tical men as to the question of bullion. When they came to the silk queition they were required to take off the prohibition at all risks, and at the danger of extinguishing the trade and giving no protection whatever. Then as to Exchequer bills, the same prin. ciple pervaded, because the principle of interference was contrary to the principles of politics! economy, which were to be set up • against general practice. No circumstances were to warrant excep. time = the principle was to be pushed to all extremes. England was a country with interests much too large to apply general prin. ciples without extreme injury. If the country was to be delivered over to the theories of political economists, it was necessary to show the Houk that there was no absurdity into which it would not be lads. Upon the lint principles of the *dense they all differed in the widest manner. He (tit. Baring) would look at the theory of a late Member of that House, a Gentleman now no more (Mr. lu,ordo), and of whom he begged to be considered se speaking with the greatest respect : his was a most fanciful theory, and yet in theory it was perfect, that of making a compensation between the property of the country and the public debt; but this perfect ninny was wholly nugatory in practice. Mr. Ricardo's system of honking also was completely exploded ; and yet such were the Items by which Parliament were to be guided. Mr. MeCulloch Woo wrote to show that abseoteeship did no harm to Ireland. If ever there was an shstudity expressed it was in that opinion. Mr. hieCulloch's opinion of the Irish country gentlemen he should be ashamed to state in that House, where the contradiction In Ms proposition was so maifestly shown. Mr. McCulloch said that it Lord Hertford, who was a large possessor of property in Ireland. resided :n Paris, and spent his money there, that it did no MOM barns to Ireland then the King of Franceopending his mo. Rey in Paris. That was certainly reductil ad nlntro - datn. Ile (tlr. Baring) only stated this to show what was to become of the country if the House was to be guided by such theories. The er. rots of practical men might be just as absurd, but practical rsen acted with a little Itisa contempt of each other than the theorists did, and might come to a decision upon a question of common sense. Tile object of the petitioners in asking for 'a committee called the attention of the House for the first time, and the question was, that having had a peculiar trade in an artiflnial state, we were about to give up that which had teen its peculiar protection. It had long been known that 'France bad a most decided superiority, and yet it was proposed to throw down the barrier which had existed with a protecting duty of 30 per cent. He (Mr. Baring) would say that the question of the silk trade had never been understood until now. The House bad been told that such was the capital of the country embarked in th s trade that it would give England the superiority, and on that point the manufacturers appeared wise as ignorant as his Majesty's Lovernment, for it was found there was abundance of capital in all the pieces on the Continent where the trade was carried on, and in point of machinery and manufacture England was far -behind tot foreign manufactories. The capital embarked at Basle was considerably more than that of England, and therefore as far ais he (Mr. Baring) coald judge from the Information be could collect front all parts of the country. the English ossufacturers are in a state of most decided disadvantage. An experiment had been made on the Continent to ascertain the difference which actually existed between the capabilities of England and of those foreign countries with which she had to compete. The sistonotte was taken at Zurich, at Lyons, and at Basle. At these places thi manufacturers who had been deputed purchased the goods with the permission 01 Government, and the result of the test test, that at Lyons the difference was 45 per cent.; in Switzerland the difference was from 50 to 60 per cent. upon plain, and from 60 to ISO per cent. upon figured articles. If Gentlemen reflected on this coleulauon but toe a moment, it must surely be quite evident that the duty of 30 per cent. could not be considered in any respect a•erosecting one. But in fact those who were acquainted with the d-:ails of these matters were well aware that the 30 per cent. was merely theoretical, and 13 practical Kea sunk to twenty. reo titan couhi give employment, under such circumstances, so as to enable his workmen to subsist. He would freely cootesi that he knew very little or nothing on this subject to east& him to speak with the accuracy of a practical man ; btit if he had not derived information by personal experience, be could assure the House that his statements were founded on the eonr.trrera testimony of men on whose sincerity, respectability, and istelligence, he could rely with the fullest con fi dence. He was' aware that still he would be regarded as a person who might have unintnitinnally, if not designedly. given exaggerated accounts. In imply for s ;rued ask those Gentlemen who entertained such suppo. aitioes to inquire, and they would unfortunately be convinced that th• silk trade was in a most unsound and unwholesome condition front top to bottom, in the beginning, the middle, and tri-c end. It was imprudent to have entered into a system which 1.1 produced such effects, and it would be wise to correct the evil as e arditionsly as po.sible. The Hon. Member for Coventry ( Mr. Ellice) had seated that the utmost price which could be af t for labour was four shillings per week, under the circurn s,ancea with witch the manufacturers in this country had to con. teed. Now it should be considered that the price of labour de pends on the price of subsistence, tot- with the tacility of procuring the means of living the payment of labour snould always amour. In this teepeet however. there existed a fearful disparity between the English and the foreign manutacnirers, altogether in favour of tho latter. The silk .manufacturer of Lyons had all the supply of Provence at their hacks; and the manufacturers of Switzer_ )stud ornisessei not only the same opportunity but had also the 5 .1 k Of holy sk command. These 9cilities were productive of immense edvanagee to the continental competitors of this country. There was. moreover, another consideration in respect to the dif. fr. esee which existed in the article of food. The price of pioyi. pons 9'll not only less. but, from the nature or habits of the category, the foreign wotkman requires' less food than was deemed sueS dent here. Thus, that the English manufacturer should be on a par with the continenewl nee so this respect, the workman of this mildewy must be compelled to pay more and to eat lees food this Is requisite for his mature! sustenance. Should uo regard be pail to the decrease of strength and to the diminution of health which must result to the individual s who would be the victims of sub a eanduelnn le That such a difference of cfrcumstances did ▪ to the prejudice of the labourer of this country. was a matter vech admitted of vary clear proof. One of die workmen who had 1 . 11, 141 its usis noway front Lyons seated the nuke of a manufac ._,‘"V et that sly wbe steed so far on the principle as to un. ~. -- r"we la bed and to lodge the BM In big emmployment. For tbs. .4...., 1 ""11e5e he provided a mieseable room over his manufactory, homed foe the bed and the banquet. But such a st ate of 4.."11 4CC.11111 e1114111011 as was thus afforded, and considered ade quate; IS dal waste of the inmates, and against which they lid hot motthur, was totally incompatible a ith the enjoyment of a particle I of what WY considered to constitute either comfort or convenience in this country. It may be objected that he did not enter deeply into the subject that he was merely ekimining along the surface, and should look to the bottom of the system, to enable hint to ap. ineciato its full value. But, however incomprehensive his views might be, he could not overlook the obvious advantages which the , price of labour and of food furnished to the adversaries of this kingdom. Great imited sheubl be the prospective benefits to compensate the injures which the present system engendered. But contel it be a question that the silk trade of this country would survive a trial of two years under so many oppressioos ? The experiment, it persevered in, must witness its itanihilation in the interval. Would his Right lion. Friend (Mr. Iluskisson) go so far es to suppose seriously that the duty—the protecting duty, as it was called—of thirty per cent., or more correctly of twenty per cent., was sufficient to enable the English work. man to contend successfully against his foreign rivals, or even to procure the means of bare subeistence? DOstruttion stored them in the face, and must be of the most extensive appli. cation. Great numbers had been brought up to the trade, when it was not contemplated that the present course of detrimental policy would hare been adopted. What, then, was to be done with those individuals who mast necessarily be thrown all at once upon the resources of the country? They could not be blamed with having entered into a dangerous and delusive speculation. Such an excuse for tat sympathising with their misfortunes ,as had been alleged in other instances, could not apply to the suffering workmen, whose only imprudence consisted in becoming members of a trade at a time when its appearance was prosperous and its psospeets were exhilarating. VI ere these men not deserving of txtranuseration, because they had the indiscretion of not anticipating that their trade should be rendered subservient to the experimental introduc tion of a new system of free trade ? Sum a species of temerity surely deserved compassion rather than censure. Vs hardened CO the cireumstancegof the new system, he did not feel surprised at the evasive course which his Right Honourable Friend (Mr. Has. kisson) had pursued in his speech last night. lie did not touch on the subieet, but seemed studiously to avoid all contact with it. The Right Honourable Gentleman had not conveyed a particle of in formation on that point, tbr he I:11r. Baring) anxiously listened during the progress of his speech for sonic explanation, and at its conclusion he found himself just as much informed as at the com. meneement. The Right Hon. Gentleman had indeed spoken of the new system of s free trade, but he had confinel his declara tions on that point to the general effects and benefits whieli he anti cipated from its operations. Ile (Mr. Baring) would have expe rienced much gratification if the Right lion. Gentleman had been more particular in this matter--if lie had not indulged in hopes so sanguine as to prevent hint front recurring to the probability, or even the passibility of the fallacy of his protects. It would have been Consolatory to know be, the Right lion. Gentleman meant to meet the contingency of failure; but as to any measures which. were to relieve the suffering people in ease of the occurrence of failure, they were left to guess in total darkness. It would have been more prudent to have held out some signal of teller against the apprehension of a possible casualty, for it really was a subject calculated to excite alarming reflections at any time, but puttee lady at the present period. For, if the experiment had bean made at a time when the condition of the cotton and woollen manufac tories was such as to afford an opportunity of giving support to those workmen who might have been thrown out of employment in the silk trade by the unsuccessful bums of the new regulatiote, the prospect of that refuge would afford some alleviation; but even under that view it would be exceedingly awkward, from their preciously acquired habits to trust men on the 'meant into a trade of a different character from that in which they had been brought up. But the cotton and the woollen trades were by no mesas such a flourishing condition as to afford that refuge for the destitute. In fact they were overstocked, and, to such a degree that several hands were dismissed. The prospect of relief in those quarters must therefore be looked on as extremely dismal for strangers, when those who had been bred up to those departments of business were turned adrift. The cotton and woollen manufacturers naturally reduced their expenditure until they should find how the system worked in regard to the silk trade, which had been destined to un dergo the first experiment of its influence. (Hear, hear, hear.) But instead of competing with the Continent, there is too much reason to apprehend that the silk trade of this country will not only be excluded front foreign places, but will not be able to stand in the home market. (Hear, hear.) One of the opti. mists had indeed expressed his opinion that ail things in this coun try are moving in a favourable train, and are in the proper course to come right. But such an expectation is not justified by circum stances; such a consequence is inconsistent with the natural relation between cause and effect. If things were allowed to go on in the mode that has prevailed of late, the House might depend on it that the silk trade would vanish from the country. It was not to be ex pected that there was any reason why it should be permanent here any more than in other places, from which it had shifted its posi tions in consequence of any injudicious treatment. Thus it had gone from the Mediterranean ports to Holland, and thence It had • arrived in this country. The same consequences must be ex pected here nom a similar !mole of mismanagement, for there did not exist any charm in this countrylto retard its progress to America or elewhete. There was great danger that it would go by little and little to America, to France, to Germany, and other places, for it was in a manner continually oozing, and in process of dine might ultimately be totally drained off. Thus the country would be left in the condition of one which once enjoyed prosperity, and now possessed only the recollection of its departed wealth-4 state of the most desperate wretchedness. Such a condition was much worse than when a country wss originally struggling to attain prosperity, for it was natural to incipient attempts to meet difficul. Mae which hope encouraged it to surmount ; but it was a poignant reflection to a state that bad been once prosperous to consider that It had been reduced from its elevation, and should have again to travel up the ascent front which it had been degraded. The feelings of former happiness is a great aggravation of present misery. When he had observed that the Right lion. Gentleman (Mr. Hut kwon; was reluctant to enter on the subject of the Corn Laws, he was aware of the extreme objection which he had to meddle with these matters, however he might be sensible of the propriety of altering and amending them. Whatever was to be the consequence to the country, that Right Hon. Gent, knew that there was a wrong interest opposed to the necessity of the case ; but if some measure be not shortly adopted in this respect the consequences will be most detrimental to the country. Another consideration in connexion with this subject was derivable from the naval preponderance of Great Britain. This was a source of prosperity to the silk trade of this country ; for in the course ore century there was not a conti nuance of peace on an average for more than 12 yea... Be should be sorry to be understood as expressing a desire that the country should be plunged in war merely to promote $ branch of its trade. Ile was far from wishing to purcloae the benefit at such a rate. lie merely intended to state that while war prevailed the naval superiority_ of the country enabled the ma nufacturers to command a sufficient supply of the raw material, while, if the ports of their rivals were not blocked up the caps. bility of their procuring a sufficient quantity of the raw material became exceedingly procarioue. The nianufacturer of this country can then go on the principle that he is at all events secured by his naval preponderance. Every day of prim contributed to reduce and wear away dust advantage. But that advantage )lid not apply to cotton, or to any other of the manufactures of the country, and perhaps that was the reason why the French silk trade when opposed in time of war, ditlinot succeed. The silk trade had hitherto been the great fivoutite of the Government of the country, on account of the opposition to which it was liable. It was exceedingly desirable to proceed with caution in this matter, for the sinking from the advantage once gained reduced a country to such a state that it would be difficult indeed to regain its former position. When a country had gotten such an elevation, it was not a difference of 10 or 12 percent. which could throw her off front the vantage ground. France and Switzerland have the same advantage in silk as this country possesses in cotton and wool, and it moth' be most impolitic I to confer any additionaliscilities. The lit. Hon. Gentleman (Mr. If uskiemn) had avoided to touch on the main point of the subject. , This was the consideration of the mode and value of subsistence ; , but if Government are determined to proceed with the principle of the new system, and refuse to make any allowance on that point, they willsoon dist:over that the people must be victims to starvation. It was strange that the Right lion. Gentleman should not have adverted to a topic so interesting. If he should proceed with the measure, however, it will be incumbent on him to inquire into the disadvantages tender which the manufacturers of this country must labour, and to appoint a committee to examine whether the enact. meats on this subject should be allowed to proceed. The measure for the House is to act for the country at large, and to prevent the ruin of those thousands who know nothing of political economy, or of those new-fangled theories, from being sacrificed to the expert. menus of these fanciful speculations and schemes of modern device. The workman whe does not profess to know any thing of thmie mat. tees should not be subjected to the danger of being thrown out of employment and of his honest means of livelihood in vindication of these presumptive principles. Besides, if a mistake should occur in this instance, the silk manufacturer has not the means of going for refuge to the cotton trade, as he had before observed; but it was the fault of the Right Hon. Gent. that this was not practicable. Now If the mistake should occur, and the Right lion. Gent. must admit that he was. emuetimes Ii .ble error, the mistake was abso lutely irremediable. He agreed in die explication of the word "mvernading" which haul been given. He was of opinion that sue. cess was the criterion to determine whether overtrading existed or not. But there was nu proof adduced of overtrading; and why ? Because there was no great stock of goods on hand. And again, why WAS this the case? Because manufacturers were afraid to run the risk which attached to the new system; they had mote inkling of disappointment, and were not sufficiently hardy to venture into the danger. They h a d accor di ng l y, i n many i nstance' , di sc h ergr d t h e i r workmen until the result of the experiment should be discovered. They preferred experience taught to experience bought ; but the silk workmen had not the option. If things were allowed to run on in the old course, he did not entertain a doubt that all the hands which were now idle would soon find employment. It had been been said that there was too much overtrading; but on examination of the last thirty years it would be Itiund that the great increase was only three and a half instead of two and a half per cent. The lion, Member then proceeded to explain the Instance which had been cited on the former night by the Right Hon. Gentleman (51r. liuskiss Pi) in respect to the great demand for workmen in the silk trade, which was inferred from an advertisement in a 31acch4eld newspaper, The Hon. Gentleman ascribed the suddeu demand on that occaaion not to an increase of trade, but to an intention of breaking down a temporary combination. The Honourable Member then ssfd that he whiled to advert to some sentarks which had been niatle on the conduct evinced by some irnlivi. duals against Frenchmen. These gentlemen, for whose respectability he could vouch, complained that they had not been coufrunted with their accusers. rinse manufacturers stated that they had been told by a person in their employment that there was a French house in the City which bail iumuggled goods. The in• THE BRITISH PRESS. former was taken to the Board of Customs, and the Commissioners stated that the foreigner in question was a privileged person, and not to be disturbed according to the directions of Government. On inquiry it appeared that this foreigner had the privilege of bringing over thrown and dyed silk. For this exemption he saw no reason. It was natural for the English manufacturers to become jealous of a foreignee with such privileges in extensive business at theapside. Information was then given that there were sonic arti cles of French manufacture in the house. These were seized tinder the suspicion of being smuggled, which opinion very naturally was formed when it was known that the owner possessed the facilities which had been mentioned. It was proved by the evidence of men who were not known in Spitalfieltia, that of the 3 7 piece , seised ' nineteen had been manufactured at Spitallields, and the remaining eighteen were fabricated at Manchester. But great doubt existed at the present day on the point, and he (Mr. B.) ooncurred in the disbelief of their having been made In this country. Now the grounds on which the respectable manufacturers to whom he alluded rested veto-much confirmed by what he had heard from a gentleman recently arrived from the continent. This gentleman met the foreign manufacturer from whom the goods had been seised in Cheapside, and who no* keeps manufactories at Paris and Lyons. That gentleman could prove that the manufacturer had told him, that he possessed facilities for smuggling goods into England at the present period. The Right Hon. Gentleman had stated that it would be dangerous to make a retrograde step In the free-trade system, because it would create a distrust In foreign nations of the ability of England to proceed, and world prevent their co-opera. don. That may be a fair principle, but would It not be worse to make a false titan a retrograde step ? Would not the evidence of insecurity be then stronger, and more decidedly prevent the eon. curreuce of foreign powers. Therefore there was the greater occa sion for the appointment of a Committee of Inquiry. If there be a charge there ihould be some cont;deration for those who wets likely to sutler, whether the principle were right or wrong. The whole matter hinges on the corn question. It was proper that the country should know what was to be its price. The Right /ion. Gentleman was as well aware as himself of the necessity of deter. mining that question, but he cannot touch it, and because he could not settle that matter he had proceeded with this. It was. how. ever, wrong to propose to do something, and vet in effect nothing. IVhat was intended on the subject should be known quickly, and yet' the Right Hon. Gent. and his Colleagues saw that the Coen Laws are not in a settled state. Thus the country is kept in a state of the most embarrassing suspence. The Hon. Gentleman then read an extract from a letter addressed to the Right Hon. the Se. cretary tor Foreign Affitirs (Mr. Canning), but to so subdued a tone that we could not collect the purport. Mr. HUriIi.ISS()N then rose, and stated that his object was merely to advert to what had fallen from the Honourable Member who had just sat down, on the case of the French manufacturers. lie thought it necessary to mention, in contradiction of the person on whose authority the Honourable Member rested, that he had never held communication of any kind with the French manufac turer in question, in regard to the investigation concerning the articles which were seized under the allegation that they had been smuggled front France. In that transation he had acted on the public document signed by the tour Commissioners of the Board of Customs, as his Right Honourable Friends near him were aware. He fearlessly placed their testimony against the charges preferred by persons who were evidently influenced by feelings of disap pointed malignity. Mr. DAVENPORT,made a few observations, but in so low a tone that we could not catch their purport. We understood the lion. Gentleman to be in favour of the motion founded on the pe tition. Ministers, by pursuing the course they were now called on to 'dor, in ight throw themselves open to the charge of inconsistency, , but this should not influence them in a matter of so grave a n inure. From being where he was surrounded by the sufferers—front being, lie might say, their neighbour, he had possessed frequent opportu nities of being a painful witness of their distresses. The only classes benefited by the law as ft now stood were the foreigner and the smuggler. He could inform those Gentlemen who appeared so attached to certain theories that experience might teach them what might grow in a book would not grow in the ground. Mr. C. (.RANT said he rose to state a few of Ws reasons for objecting to the opinions which had been expressed by the Hon. Gentleman on the other side. There was much, however, that he had said in reference to political economy with a hieh he quite co incided, that was to say, so far as general principles were concerned; but his objections applied to the arguments deduced from these general principles. In the course of the observations he might have to offer, he wished it not to be supposed that he intended to slight or treat with any disrespect the prayer of the petition which had been presented to the House ; those who had signed that pe tition had conducted themselves throughout in the most respectable and orderly manner. Looking at the interest which the master manufacturers had in this question, and feeling the consideration to which they were entitled, he should trett the subject with mode ration. They in their tum should reflect that if the House even did that which they might deem wrong, it did so with the best possible ' intention—with a full persuasion that it was effecting that which would be productive of ultimate and lasting benefit. Ile had listened with considerable attention to the speech of the lion. Gentleman opposite. He appeared to complain of the range which had been taken by bis Hon. Friend who spoke last night, but surely that range had been fully justified by the peculiar nature of the speech which bad preceded it. He congratulated the country on the op. portunity which his Hon. Friend had been afforded of laying before it those statements. They were of the most important nature, and the arguments which accompanied them were triumphantly con clusive. The Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Baring)had said there was no charge of insensibility meant to be made against his Majesty's Ministers ; surely when he made this assertion he must have for gotten the speech delivered by the lion. and Learned Gentleman (Mr. Williams) last evening. He (Mr. Grant) did not wish to impute to those gentlemen that they entertained any bad feeling or aentimedt, but they had east such an imputation on his lion. Friend ; they had touched him nearly, and had called forth in re ply one of the most eloquent speeches, one of the most over powering answers that House perhaps had ever heard. The Honourable Gentleman had-complained of the wanderings of his Honourable Friend ; now it appeared to him that the lion. Gentleman had been guilty of the very Caine offence, and without the same excuse which his lion. Friend possetsed, lie had introduced the' opinions of Mr. M'Culloch. Mr. Medlin'. and one or two other political economists, whose arguments did not at all apply, whose reasonings had not the most distant con. nexion with the present subject. Ile regretted that the Honourable Gentleman should have come forward on the present occasion, and have lent the weight of his talents and his high authority to men whoiwere far inferior to himself, and who were glad to avail them. selves of the power which he was so able to afford them. The Hon. Gentleman had made another charge against his Honourable' Friend. it was said that in his speech of last night he had treated very largely on general matters, but had with great caution avoided the point at issue. Now this was the very complaint be had to make of the lion. Gentleman; he had discussed the question itenerally. and had not pointed out what practical remedy there was for the evils now existing. (Hear, hear.) Ile used many argu. ments, but altogether omitted to state what was the alternative The alternative was not between this case and another—it was not whether there should be competition or 110 competition—this was not the question: it was rather the fallacy which had characterized and darkened all the arguments that had been used in relation to the present subject. Ile believed there was not -an individual in the House who would venture to assert that the prohibitory system which had existed '-cured the silk trade from the competition of 1 France. (Hear, hear.) The question then was, whether the cont petition should exist under the most favourable or the most unfa. vourahle circumstance (hear, hear) ; whether Its existence should hold out encouragement to every species of crime, and be so much the more dangerous because of its unseen operation, with no chance of benefit accruing to any but the Consumer and the smuggler? or whether it should be free—so thrown open to all par. ties, that all might, if they chose, derive benefit from it. This, he had said was the question, and be would appeal to the Hon. Gentleman opposite for an answer. If he had made such a reply as he would have made in 1820, the answer would be—let the pro. ' hibithon be expunged. The Hon. Gentleman said that he agreed to a certain extent with the theoretical principles which had been advanced; but he was desirous of adjusting them, and snaking theni subservient to practical measures. Now, this question pre sewed three views:—first, the measure* of Government--secondly, I how far these measures had produced the stagnation complained of—and, tinnily, to what extent the stagnation existed. +With respect to the first, of all measures taken by any Government this surely was least open to the charge of not being practical. Here was as practical grievance to which had been applied a practical remedy. His Honourable Friend said last night this mea sure had caused much discussion in the Committee of the House of Lords. It was there given in evidence that one evil was the duty on the raw materialsand the thrown silk; another, the Spital fields Act; and the third, the prohibition: these constituted the complaints that were trade. The duty on the raw silk was 30 and 33 per cent., and on the two silks, the raw and the thrown, amounted to 741 or La per cent. The drawback, too, was insutficient. This was remedied. The second practical grievance was the Spitalfields Act, and the practical rem ed y was its removal. Next and last came the prohibition ; what had been the fate of this was fully told by the introduction of the present discussion. lie would ask, then, had his Majesty's Ministers followed theory only ? The duties on the two silks had been reduced ; the Spi ts fields Act had ceased to operate ; and the prohibition was removed two years ago. Let the House recollect, too, the proposition now made was not respecting a new measure; it called on them to retrace their steps—to repeal an Act which two years Niece had been passed, anti was now the law of the land. It was said those mew. sures had produced the present stagnation in the silk trade. lie denied this; he denied it because he (mind (and h• lamented it) that the stagnation was common—that it affected every branch of industry. It not only was not confined to the silk trade, but ex tended to those over which the Legislature had exercised no con. trot. There were the timber trade, and the tallow trade, and others that might be mentioned, which were in this condition, but which hod nevertheless escaped the sweeping reform of his Hon. Friend. It was not natural, nor reasonable, nor just, if you could not assign a particular cause; it' there was a similar effect observable, both in the commercial and the manufacturing world, to attribute' the thanes% which might be experienced by the silk trade, in corn- mon with others, to any bad system originating with the Govern-1 went. lie denied that those measures had contributed to the suffer- togs alluded to; and he thought the House would agree with him, when they further considered that there was scarcely a branch of manufacturt: so much exposed as the silk trade to transitions. this the e t ar,hear.) It wou ld b e more reasona bl e , p er h a p s , to suppose prohibitory laws might have had something to do with the periodical misfor tunes that had visited this trade. (Hear, hear.) The House must be well aware that seldom more than three years passed without Its receiving representations of a conrithe able keg. nation being in existence, lie dwelt on this point with some anxiety, because, both in the House and out of doors, he had heard it said the distresses were produced by his Majesty's Ministers. (Hear, hem.) Since he had had the honour of a seat in the House he recollected there was a similar representation of distress said to be then existing is Coventry. He remembered that, particularly in 1819, the Member for Coventry was so pressed by his consti tuents, that lie proroged to bring in a 11111 to regulate the wages. sTre w s , o th f e O n' or co er u n l m d suffering of the weavers in Spitalfields was no new circumstance. en th t e . y na no i w r t a h t e tr y ib h u ad te b th ee e n ir t d h i e st on res i7 ses cso to ft ;l7 n T ie h a- e He found an account in 51`Piterson's Annals of Commerce, which spoke of the distresses of 1793. There had been before that period four ttiounand five hundred looms at work, hut the number was materially lessened by the telling oil of the trade. In 1796 there was a letter received by the Count.' East India Directors, in which it was stated that, in consequence of sonic suffering. they wished a new arrangement to be made in reference to the thrown silk. lu the year 1801 the distress was extreme. and grew to such a pitch that Government, anxious to relieve it, gave a considerable sum of money. In the year 11116 a meeting was held at the Mansion House. On that occasion they seedbed their dig. tresses to the vast quantity of goods introduced into the country by smugglers. This, be it recollected, was under a state of protection, was while the prohibitory laws were in full force, and then out of 16,000, 10,000 were unemployed. (Hear, hear.) On that occasion a respectable manufacturer, who was also an overseer of the poor, was examined. Ile said he had kept 150 men at work, and at that period was only employing three. He attributed the want of demand, first to the duty on the raw Material. and secondly wTahsennot there near a u so ex tensive hist to the smuggling. As regarded the amount of distress he had madeso ss " c o n i n Poi; iry, alt:Cicahsto he must itust say had peculiarity in reference to Spindrields—the population there was not entirely composed of weavers; it was the receptacle, the gathering place that been. it for the very poorest part of the population of London. Then there was a certain class of men who were not regular weavers, and who were only taken on when there was flush work ; these were on such swell the list of sufferers. Ile did not mean by these observations occasions as the present thrown out of employ, and contributed to to deny there was distress existing, or to underrate the actual amount : he was aware that the average number of looms ern. ',toyed in each family was three, and that out of this number there might be found unfortunately one or two now idle. lie had said the suffering was not so great now an in 1111 n ; but there was one thing calculated to make • difference between that time and the present. The distress then experienced followed a eery pinching and trying time : here it came suddenly, and after their trade had been more than ordinarily flourishing. He I had said he did not deny the existence of digress, far from it; be was desitous only that it should not be ascribed to the measures of his Majesty's Ministers. In his opinion they I would find the real cause to be the same as that which had af f ected Ithe whole of the county. (Hear, hear.) To a great extent it was attributable to ovee-trading. The lion. Gentleman who hod just sat down astonished him when he said there had been no overtrading in the silk trade. This had been also asserted, be believed, in other quarters. Ile thought this might be easily and satisfactorily I answered in the ordinary way. Ile would therefore state to the House what had been the importation of the raw material. The importation of raw silk in the year 1824 was 2.512,1641b5. In the year Ins it had increased to 3,135.6441b5. (Hear, hear.) The importation of the thrown silk in the year 1824 was 312.0001b5. I which increased in the year 1813 to 1109,11001 be. (Hear, hear.) He recollected during the last year there was an Act whic hl allowed of Iraw silk being imported from arty part, and there was soon th e n in the country a greater quantity than it could work up for m a ny months. He was told there was a great quantity in the hands of speculators at Genoa. At these periods the raw material rose con. siderably in price. The thrown silk mounted from 335. to 53r., and the China silk was not behind. Surely this was sufficient proof of a great demand, and was it matter of surprise that the overtrsding which resulted should have produced the present lamentable sufferings ? Lord Lansilown had been ad dressed by a weaver -who gave many reasons for the present distresses. In the town of Alacciesfield the operatives had contributed, by their savings, to the building of extensive estab. ishments. Cottages sprang up in every part, and were entered even before the plaster wan dry ; and 6090 additional hands were advertised for. Now really this appeared to him sufficient to ac count for all that had since followed. But was this the only cause? It might be deemed unpleasant that he should refer to any parti. cular class, but he must state what he considered an aggravation. The lion. Gent. opposite had endeavoured to explain the extract'. dinar) , demand for 5000 persons, by stating that it was to defeat the combination of the workmen ; but was it an expedient measure to draw men women, and children in this way from all parts ? The alarm which had aggravated the present distresses first took its rise from the master manufacturers. They were the first to declare themselves incompetent to compete with the foreign mat.ufacturer and was it to be wondered at that the mercer and the retailer should be affected by these assertions? The former had courted the very distress and famine they had so much cause to fear: they might be said to hate cruck work in October last. Under these circum stances they had little claim upon his Majesty's Ministers. During the whole course of these discussions he had never heard the consumer referred to. ( !tear. hear.) Their interests had been quite overlooked. (Hear, hear.) Surely the great mass of the people had a right to interpose some claim. II ben his Hoe nourable friend gave the drawback on the silk, the Honourable Gentleman opposite presented a petition from some in this town who did not accede to it ; but the Honourable Member for Co. ventry (Mr. Ellce) then came forward in a manly way, and said his constituents were no party to the petition, and were not merely satisfied with the measures of Government, but were de. sirous of trying the experiment. How, he would ask, had the experiment been tried ? They were as remote from being able to judge of the effects of the new measures as they were two years ago. (Hear, hear.) He thought it not just of the toaster ma. nufecturers, when these measures had been introduced at their own desire, for them to turn their backs on the operative' instead of trying the experiment fairly, which lie earnestly advised them to do. If they hail taken their goods to market, and had failed, they might have applied to Government on mush stronger grounds. The Honourable Member for Coventry admitted there weredistricts who had proposed a strange remedy. Suppose the House agreed to a committee, this course was nut calculated to alleviate the temporary sufferings. Such a proceeding would occupy at least the Session, for it must involve all the detail of long examinations as to facts, and could nor therefore afford such relief as was desired. There was no doubt but that with a pro. tecting duty of 30 per cent. they could compete with the foreigner. The manufacturers themselves, in their exainination before the Committee, had said they could compete with the foreign market with a duty of 15 per cent only. If a committee was now wanted to examine these persons, his reply was, they had been examined, and under more favourable circumstances, at a time when they were not labouring under the prejudices which would be likely now to characterise them. It was said new light had fallen on the measures. that persons had been sent allover Europe to gather in formation. This however, he wan told had not taken place until after the panic began. lie should, ,before he proceeded farther, make one or two observa. tions upon the whole of the calculations. The lion. Gentleman, the member for Taunton (Mr. Baring) had brought his calcula tions of the difference between the prices of manufacturing silks in this taunts, and on the Continent to no less an amount than from forty-five to sixty per ceat., making a difference upon the whole of from fifteen to twenty per cent. above the protecting duty. It was impossible to admit or to argue upon the mlnutice of these calcu. lations, because they were founded upon a false assumption. It was assumed that, with the exception of the law which must soon come into operation, everything else respecting the silk trade must re. main precisely as it is; for instance, it was stated in the paper which he held inhie hand, that in comparing the expenses attendant upon the throwing of silk in this country and France, it appeared that in each pound of silk there was one ounce and s half wasted in England more than in France, and this estimated loss was brought into the calculations; thus again assuming that machinery must remain as it is, with regard to the manufacture of silk, while it ra. pidly improved in every other branch of business throughout the kingdom. (Hear, hear, hear.) It was assumed also that labour er*. wages must remain at the lowest rate in France, while there was for it a most immoderate demand, thus controverting every eats. blished principle of trade, and presuming a maximum of demand to. gether with a ntieinterni of wages. (Hear, hear.) In fact. through. out the whole of the calculations there had been made the grossest errors and such hating inaccuracies as niaterially to affect their general result. With respect to the dying of silk, the advantage was stated to be as much as fifty per cent. in favour of France; but by the calculations made in that country, theativantage in their favour in warping and dying did not succeed 7 per cent. Even this advantage was to be attributed to the duties upon the articles used in dying, which duties were in the course of being reduced. In a late number of the Edinburgh Review there had been an enu meration of the articles used in dying which paid a heavy duty, but the fact was that more than the half of those duties had already been reduced. Cochineal, the duty upon which had been 21. fid., was now reduced to a duty of Is. fid. Madder and other articles had undergone similar reductions, and as the same principle was to be applied to all drugs used for the purposes of dying, it was unfair to KISUMUe there would be any material advantage in favour of France when those reductions had taken place. Many of those drugs, it should be observed, bore • higher price in France titan in thin country ; but at all events it was the intention of his Majes. Ooverduient„to inquire into every branch of the subject, so as to remove every obstacle to a fair competition. (Hear, hear.) With respect to soap, he acknowledged that th e d uty upon dot ar. tide was severe, but he felt in somne measure authorised to state that It was the intention of his Majesty's Ministers to do every thing in their power to encourage the trade ; and that therefore a niettmre of some sort would be adopted to relieve it from the pre". sure 'Arch theduty upon soap must occasion, tidier by allowing them a drawback or otherwise. (Hear, hear.) Mr. ELLIS.—And Mr. GIANT, in continuation, said that Willa was also in the course of reduction, as regarded the duty upon it. It had been stated that the price of raw loll( was lower in Franco than in Eng. I land ; but then there was in France a duty o f 6d. per pound u p on It, which was exactly double that which was impend upon it in this country. There was no danger whatever that this ommtry could not fatal the Continent in the ex ce ll ence o f their milks, while they had such a country to resort to as the East Indies, the hatural climate of the silk worm, and where it mi g h t b e b eo•g h t to i ts utmost degree of perfection. ' The Committee of 1821 had pro. nonacid the Bilk imported from Bengal to be equal to the finest of Italian production, so that upon that head them was little to be traaiptewpritilcmtenerwdosialedn'aontdistotheht h ad dtmt a o b ti n t a su ct i F i reti th d a t t si b t a l h k i sy so at t l i t t i l o i : so t E tire oa t u l r o ne si la i p y r sa :le b e es o , t but is:planation was extremely clear. The Bengal silk was of two kinds—that which was called country-wound silk, from which the Bandana handkerchiefs were m anu f acture d , and soother called fila ture silk. The distinction between them was, that th e f ormer was worth only per pound, while the latter was ridged at 1 it. ; so that the latter often sold at the same price in the raw state a, t h„, other when manufactured. Persons expert an trade unner st „, 4 these distinctions very well, and why they should be mite , : a 2 ,„. tery of upon such an occasion as the present he ennftssed was a him inexplicable. He Would next advert to the subject of French manufacture, and of the charge which had been ntade of connir a ,,, xt its importation. Neither himself nor his Right Hon. p r i en d f 31 r. II.) knew anything of that charge till it was communicated to th, o , by the Master of the Mint. His Right Honourable Friend, j ust l y incensed at such a charge, ordered an immediate examination upa's oath into the circumstances, and after an examination conducted is the manner expressly pointed out in welting by those who m a d, the charge, the result was such as was contained in the document upon the table. (Hear, hear. i The Honourable Gentleman (my. Baring) had stated that lie ould bring gentlemen to the bi z o f that House who could swear that Mons.- de Pouillet had said tb a; he had carried on smuggling transaction.. Mt. HARING explained. What he had stated was, that that Gentleman had said that lie had the puwerof smugglingsilk s to any extent. Mr. GRANT, in continuation, said that he though' it hard to take away the character of any man, and more particularly that of a foreigner. by introducing his name in such a manner tefore the House of Commons. lie had no acquaintance whatever with the gentleman he alluded to, and he only spoke of him at all in m ere justice to his character. He would nest allude to the prices of ' thrown silk in England and in France. The price in Engine was stated at 7s. lid, but he believed it could be thrown for toe. siderably less. The Member for Coventry complained of th e duties upon every department of the trade ; but if it was not foe the system of monopoly which had always been pursued by this ' country, and its attendant consequences, It might at cam with a reduced duty, enter into competition with France or any other country. It had been said that silk could nut he thrown in Uus country for less than 7s. Gd. ; but he bad been informed by an eminent manufacturer that !remittal throw it tor fht. Tt e duty wa s 14s. 7d. but the Lords' Committee had repurstai that a third of that duty would be sufficient to enable this country to compete with the continental nations. That report stated that a duty of 4s. 6d. per pound would be a sufficient countervailing duty against the introduction of French manufactt Upon a former occasion, whets the question of a protecting duty was under consideration, the silk manufacturers 'lceland that it could not be thrown under Ils. subsequently, however, they acknowledged that it could be done for Ps. Upon the present occasion they came down aglow as 6s, but for his own part he believed, taking the improvements of mt. chinery into consideration, it could be thrown for less than as. In France ft wan stated that silk could be throws at 3e. ad. but it cep, peered tiom the evidence of an eminent Engljsit throwster who had travelled through the continent. and who had written from Lyons upon the subject of the silk trade, that In ,France they cannot throw silk for less than 4e. per pound. This dearly proved tort s protecting duty leas in amount than that which had been proposed would be quite sufficient to give the advantage in the market to the English manufacturer. The Hon. Gent. then described the flawed the process of throweting silk, which operation takes place between im raw state and that of being converted into web. It was true, he said, that if silk were to be received into this country ready thrown, it could be manufactured for much less, but they had two poinu to take into consideration. They had raised a throwsting machinery et the kingdom, and the difficulty by which • they were embarrassed was to protect the throwst e r, w ho must otherwise be destroyed by the very measure that would give additional encouragement to the weaver. How did it happen that the sate expenditure was not saved in silk as in cotton by the application of machinery ? It was because there was a prohibition to the exercise of intellect is the improvement of that branch of our manufactures. Whet answer could be given to the question as to the reason why the silk trade should not reap the sante advantages as the other trades had done from the introduciion and improvement of machinery. Re was willing to admit that it might not be so susceptible of profiting, by mechanical in ingenuity as some others of our manufactures; but ever since the prospect of opening the trade in silk had bees promulgated, attempts had been made to apply mechanical powers to the earlier parts of the process. This had been done in Man. chester and elsewhere, and he telt confident, that if the country would avail itself of its scientific powers. and direct them to the subject. France could not have the superiority in the struggle foe competition. (Hear, hear.) In this country a loom wo-ked by one woman would produce nine yards of grosole-napies silk per day, for the labour upon which she was paid three pence per yard, which, with another item, amounted to three.pence farthing, while in France the same work teceived 7d. pay, mme than double that received in England. It was also said that the looms in fo reign countries were superior to than at Coventry, and this assn. tion lie believed to be true; but the fact was, that as it at present stood with rtspect to the silk trade, it chained down the intellect of the country still that was an evil which might in such a country as this be easily remedied. Another argument that bad been used was, that the shape of the houses in Coventry was such that they woun d not admit of such machinery as is used in France. and that. thetefore, the houses in that city should be rebuilt before they could enter into competition with the nations of the continent. Surely, such a reason could not be considered tenable even fa a moment in opposition to a great legislative measure like that before the House. (Hear, hear.) One Gentleman had stated that the silk manufacturer of Basle or Zurich had every advantage over those of Coventry, for he traversed his mountains to buy his silk et the first hand with his gold, and his expenditure was so trivial as to render it certain that he must be a successful competitor stilt any opponent whatever. Was this, be would ask, a reason for con. tinning the prohibition ? Was it not tantamount to an assertion that we could not enter into competition with the continent unless we first became miserably poor. (Hear, hear.) if comparative advantages were thus to be estimated, the poorer country must always possess the advantage over that which was possessed of capital; but if such an argument was tenable, why were we not ruined by the competition of the peasantry of Ireland, than wtose situation and mode of living no condition could be more miserable? ( Hear.) The object of the hon. gent. opposite ( M r. Baring) seemed to be to gain time—to put off the operation of the measure of last season to a more distant period ; hut, in the first place, he would i ask what was the inducement to do so? Hail they not the result of two years to show clearly to them what would be the end of procrastinating the time from which the measure was to come into cperation ? During the last Session the same arguments had been ' made use of as had been used upon that occasion, and would doubt- less be always resorted to to avert that which was considered the evil day. (II ear.) The Hon. Member for Coventry (31r. Ellice) bed said I yesterday that the prospect of opening the silk trade had created a general panic, which had been productive of disastrous curie. , quencea. Ile would ask him if, supposing a prolongation of the time were agreed to, whether, as the period approached when silk was to be imported, the same panic would not again produce precisely the same effects ? (Hear, hear.) In conclusion, he called upon the House to adhere to the resolution which they had last year adopted. (Cheers.) He conjured them to come upon that meseion ' to a vote which would close for ever the discussion. (Great cheers.) The true course of mercy was to settle definitively the mean. which they deemed it best to pursue (cheers); and taking their stand upon that ground, he trusted that, ere long, experience would prove that they had acted fur the benefit of those very persons who were most apprehensive of injury from the measure. (The Right lion. Gentleman then sat down amidst great cheering.) Mr. DICKINSON said that the manufacturers had been blamed for the speculations they had entered into, but they had been led into those speculations by the Right Honourable Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer), who had talked so largely of the prosperity of the country. With respect to entering into competi tion with France, he thought it quite hopeless, for the chief excel. knee of the French silk consisted in the dying. The colour of French silk was superior to that of English dyed silk, and this it was supposed was owing to sonic peculiarity of the waters of tee Rhone, or else of the atmosphere : but whatever it was owing to, it must preclude the possibility of competition. It was by pro hibitory. duties that this country rose to the height of prosperity to which it had attained, anti by such only could its praisperili be maintained. Mr. WARRE said that he came down to the House on the prr ceding evening anxious for information upon the subject latch was to be discussed, and he could truly say, if he knew his eon feelings, that his mind was totally unprejudiced•owe way or die other. ( Hear, hear.) After hearing the argenterits which hail been urged on both sides of the Howie, he declared that he did rot think that the Hon. Menthe( for Coventry (Mr. Ellice) had shown sufficient gaounds for his proposition. (Hear, hear, hear.) lie thought the Hon. Member for Cheshire was mistaken. in asserting that competition must prove ruinous to the country. If the lion. Member were to consult any of the Lords of the Admiralty, or any of the officers commanding our coast blockade, he would soon learn that it gave them as much as they could do to keep 'putts out of the country, and that they were forced to let the dry goods slip by. (Hear, hear.) This was so well known that he would not say a word more upon the subject. He recollected that some years ago when Lord Newhaven proposed to admit the importation of cotton from Ireland, Sir 'l'. Egerton said, that if once the importation of manufactured cotton was permitted from Ireland. there would he an end to the manufacture of that article in England. laird NOttil had supported that opinion, but it had been successfully CORY' batted by Mr. Burke, and the result proved that the alarm was entirely groundless. The fact was, that in all ages every kind of improvement had been at first opposed—in every history they would find that every improvement raised vehement opposition on the part of those whose interests were thereby brought iota jeopardy. The Hon. Gentleman sat down loudly cheered. Mr. PETER MOORE said that he had no calculations what" ever, nor did he mean to offer any calculation, but to go on the broad ground of experience and opinion. His lion. colleague who brought forward this motion had said that he hail no prooni of his calculations, but that a committee was necessary to obtain it: this was the ground on whi c h hi s H on . co ll eague went, and h e cam e forward on the 'mine ground; but alth o ugh lie had no cskulations to ofrer to the House, he had a high opinion of their value, an d wished to hear them authenticated or disproved ; but this was point to which the Right Hon. Gentleman, in ills @Patch last 1.4," of two houreend ten mi nutes , h a d never alluded. (Laughter.) he often wished to interrupt the Hight Hon. ttlentleman during the course of his long speech, to call his attention to this point. (Laughter.) Such a proceeding might not, perhaps, have been tit' I derly, but yet he could whit difficulty retrain from it. But he begged to know what remedy the Right Hon. Gentleman had Pt contemplation for the existing distresses of the silk trade. Ile had often been the advocate of this trade, during his long MTV'" , in that house of 24 veers, and all h e n ow asked me, that House would legalise the arrangements of the manufacturers tht tn selves. All who bad signed that petition—manufacturers from Alacclestield. Coventry, Congleton Reading, and other towns all agreed In their representations of the prevailing distress ; and the Right lion. Gentleman himself agreed with theta. lie did n.it wish, nor intend, to any w h at was r i g h t or what was wrong, but merely to find a r eme d y , an d to satisfy th e people. The Right lion. l.icntlenton had read a petition, which be emphatically