The Sun. — London, England, 1852-03-20 00:00:00

did not concur, they should, as soon as public business would permit, advise her Majesty to dissolve the present Parlia ment, and submit to a new Parliament the measures they thought conducive to the public interest.-(Hear, hear.) sir, to that course, if they had taken it, not one word of ob jection could have been said. I, for my part, should have been satialed to wait until their measures had been pro posed, and would thea have considered whether they re good, 'and such as ought to be adopted. But, instead of following either of these modes of proceeding, they have taken a course that I venture to say has n o precedent in the history of the country since the Constitution has been esta blished-(Loud sheers from the Opposition benches)-and for which no justification whatever can be found in the maxims and rules of the Constitution.-(Cries of " Oh, oh!" from the Ministerial benches.) Hon. Gentlemen may di- sent, but am I to be permitted to state the argument or not?-(Cheers.) The Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for the Home Department stated the question very fairly the other night. He said that the precedent of 1784 was not applicable to this case. If he means by that that i n applicable to the present case, I the precedent is totally agree with him. Mr. Fox and his party were dismissed from office by the Crown. They said that the Minister of the Crown ought to have the confidence of the House of Commons, and that so long as they were in a minority the Ministry had no constitutional position in this House..- (Hear, hear.) They said further, that the existing House of Commons ought to be maintained, and there they fell into an error, for Mr. Pitt, while he did not deny that it was necessary that the Ministry should have the confi dence of the House of Commons, urged this plea :-He said that the Crown was not bound to refuse to dissolve the Parliament, and that the Crown ought not to be pre cluded from using the prerogative of a dissolution, and from calling upon the people to elect a new House of Commons. Mr. Fox was perfectly right in the first part of the argu ment, and Mr. Pitt was justified in the second, and the prece dent thus established has become the rule of the Constitu tion up to the present time.-( Hear.) But that has not the smallest bearing on the present question. It is not con tended, on the one side, that the Crown has no right to dis solve Parliament, and it isnot contended, on the other side, that the Ministers must not possess the confidence of the House of Commons.-(Hear.) In 1835 it is perfectly true that Sir Peel maintained his situation, although he was in repeated minorities in this House ; but he felt strongly that this was not a situation that could be long maintained, that it was at variance with the rules of the Constitution, and that, as he had already advised his Majesty to use his prerogative of a dissolution, it was incumbent upon him to retire from office, and not again to recommend his Majesty to dissolve the Parliament. But what is the situation of the present Ministers? They will do neither one nor the other. -(Hear, hear.) They are neither going to the House of Commons, submilting their measures to them, as Earl Grey did in 1831, and as I did in 1846; nor will they advise her Majesty to dissolve Parliament as soon as the state of public business will permit.-(Hear, hear.) The proposal was and I read it with astonishment in the speech of the Earl of Derby in another House-;Hear, hear)-that the whole session was to go on upon the assumption that Government were in a minority, and that some time hence, in the course of six or eight months-it might be the month of November or December, Parliament was to be dissolved, and that a Go vernment without the confidence of the House of Commons should meet the House of Commons in February, 11 months after that Government had taken. office.-(Cheers.) Sir, I hold that position to be perfectly unconstitutional.-(Con tinued cheering from the Opposition.) That there must be a delay of some weeks, that some time must elapse when a new Government takes office before a dissolution can take place, is perfectly true; but there is no precedent that can he found that a Government which is, upon its own avowal and which was stated by the Right non. Gentleman the Secretary for the Home Department the other night, as an acknow ledged fact, to be in a minority in this House, that they should yet continue in office for eleven months-for nearly a whole year - without ascertaining whether they possess the confidence of the country.-(Cheers.) Why, that was the position I objected to. Every person to whom I spoke said, " This is a position perfectly new. What is to be done we know not ; but the Constitution is set at defiance, and it is clear that the Ministers do not regard either precedents or those rules to which former Ministers have submitted." Sir, that being the view taken by my friends I had to consider the course I should pursue. Had no ex traordinary course been taken by the new Ministry, I should have been perfectly ready to wait for the measures of the Government. One of the first things that happened after they came into office was, that my Hon. Friend the Member for Wolverhampton (Mr. Villiers) came to me to consult with me with respect to a motion that he had prepared. I dissuaded him from bringing on that motion, thinking it nn advisable to interfere with the Ministers of the Crown before we saw what they were going to do -( Hear, hear.) But it is made a great crime with me, who am after all an inhabit ant of a free country-(Cheers from the Opposition)-that I asked to come to my house those political friends with whom I have been in the habit of acting.-(Cheering from the same quarter.) This is most extraordinary, because these accusations come from the Earl of Derby himself. Now, I have been in the habit of seeing in past years, and indeel in the course of the present session, notices in the newspapers that " yesterday about 100 gentlemen of the House of Commons assembled the house of the Earl of Derby," and that they heard there an eloquent speech from the Noble Earl. /end one of the last things I saw was that he had assembled a large number of Members at his house, that he had entered upon a statement of his own political opinions, and that he, a Peer of the realm, had prescribed to them the course which they ought to take as representatives of the people.-(Loud cheers.) Perhaps that was rather extraordinary-perhaps it never'quite hap pened before that a Peer of Parliament should venture upon such a course.-(Hear, hear.) Sir, lam for all kinds of free discussion upon political matters, and I should never have dreamt of complaining of that course on the part of the Earl of Derby. But it seems it was a great crime in me. I am charged with having entered into a misalliance and a c - rapact, because I received in my own house those political friends who have been accustomed to act with me. - (Iro nical cheering from the Ministerial benches.) During the last five years these gentlemen were in the habit of coming to Downing-street to consult with me when I had any communication to make them.-(Hear.) I asked the gentleman who summoned them whether there were any Members of this House among them who had not been summoned to Downing-street ever since the general election of 1847 ? And he told me that there was not a single person summoned to that meeting who had not been summoned on previous occasions.- ( near.) Therefore it was a political meeting of those with whom I have been accustomed to act which has been called by the name of an alliance. There was but one person who had never been summoned to pre vious meetings of the kind to which I have referred, and that was my Right lion. Friend the Member for Ripon (Sir J. Graham), whom I think I was perfectly justified in consulting.-(Cheers.) What has been the case with re spect to that Hon. Gentleman ? - Upon the misfortune oc curring t o the Government of the death of Lord Auckland, I asked my Right Hon. Friend to accept the post of First Lord of the Admiralty. He declined, for reasons that it is not necessary to enter upon now, at the same time ac companying his refusal with many expressions of personal regard to me, and a general expression of agreement with respect to our commercial policy. More than once I asked him to join the Government of which I was the head. lie certainly declined to join us, but with renewed expres sions of the same kind. I may likewise say that I have upon matters of public importance communicated to my Right Hon. Friend the course I proposed to take with respect to many political proceedings, so that it was natural should wish to consult him with respect to the great ques tion of commercial policy upon which he, as a colleague of Sir R. Peel, had taken a great part.-(Hear, hear.) It was most natural that I should so consult him, and it was not dishonourable either to him or to me that I should do so.- (Cheers.) At that meeting those gentlemen took a part who had been most prominent in diseussions upon the corn laws and upon free trade, and they gave their opinion as to the course that ought to be pursued. I consider that I was not only justified in convening that meeting, but that it was incumbent upon me to call such a meeting, to consider whe ther, upon the one hand, the rules of the Constitution should he suspended or set aside, and on the other, whether the consequences of that suspension would not be that the coun try would be for seven or eight months quite uncertain about the course of commercial policy that would be pursued. As to the groands upon which this extraordinary political position has been taken, the case has been very simple. The former Ministers had resigned, and the present Ministry ac cepted office. But that was not enough. They were not satisfied with that forbearance on position, but they proposed an extraordi narymaking an extraordinary part of the House of Commons, and, m isters, they put inery assumption on the part of Mi. It was forward a new pretences to justify it.- (Hear, hear.) had greatest surprise to me to hear I them declare that they we been called upon unexpectedly to fill the offices thatdesteruhad abandoned-that they had taken no part in the of the Ministry-and that nothing but the pain of seeita t t i t on e the Sovereign left without a Government had induced the Opposition.) u th t• accept office.-(Loud cheers and laughter from Sir, I must say that this pretence is a false one.-V l aa m t l ) which, if successfs brought ued forward from the same quarter.) Last year they must Chancel lor put proposed a an end to the Government. Last av4elmadhe it neces sary plans c e o f the Exchequer vfla scheme which, if financial adopted, would hive altered khe °le of the Government, and would h from fn sary for the Government to retire the o ; e e•--(Cheers.) There were also motions regarding income -tae, the window-tax, the government of Ceylon, and others, and, throughout the session , th e y were forward in pushing on the consideration of motions which, if carried, must have been destructive of the Government.--(Cheers.) Ido not say that they were not motions which they were justified in bringing forward, but I only say that such a course was to tally inconsistent with the pretexts that are now put for. ward.-(Cheers.) At the end of the last session the Chan cellor of the Duchy of L a ncaster (Mr. Christopher) at tended a Protectionist meeting at Edinburgh, at which he said that, although Lord Derby had declined office, yet that he was then perfectly ready, and that if any offer were made to him to form an Administration he was ready to accept it.-(Cheers.) This was the tone of the Right Honourable Gentleman. But, as was said of Demosthenes, "Si ipsum. auclivissetis."-(A laugh)-I have no doubt his language was most expressive and eloquent. At the commencement of the present session the first thing I heard was, that their list was ready, that the new Ministry were prepared to take office, and one nomi nation I heard of was, that the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Walpole) was ready to quit the Chancery bar, of which he was an ornament, and accept the office of Secretary of State for the Home Department. That was in the very first days of February, and yet at the end of February these s , Gentlemen are quite surprised and astonished that they found themselves in officell-(Much cheering and laughter. ) I have mentioned the discreditable motion relative to the Earl of Clarendon, a motion of which the most Hon. Members of Parliament connected with Hon. Gentlemen opposite were so .aehamed that they left the House without voting , and uiniebY gave us a considerable majority against so unfair and so unworthy a proposal.-(Cries of " No , no , " from the e... tc istenal side,and cheers from the Opposition.) So con firmed is he in that belief, that e the Noble Lord who brought forward that motion is, very properly, anxious to wipe away the reproach (;. having nothing but the exigencie s been its au , thor and declares that and desires of party could have induced him to bring it forward.- (Oh ? from the Ministerial benches, and cheers fr m the Opposition.) A case occurred last year which sh owe d , PP •e 1 so far from being anxious to avoid office, how ready that pa s t y were to accept office. During the discussion on the Gentleman who does not usually carry many Members with hi m , gave notice of a motion. 1 had • tion to the matter, but one day, • y, about 3 or 4 o'clock in the afternoon, I saw it Announced in a second edition of a morning paper that all the leaders of the Protectionist party had agreed to act in concert with the gentlemen who were the opponen t s of the Ecclesiastical Titles Bill, and it was as- sorted in this newspaper that the h Government would be out next day. Well, thoug was late, I desired that all the friend's of the Government Should be summoned for this discussion, and the amendment was rejected. But this is evidint proof how ready lion. Gentlemen opposite were to join with any party to defeat the Government and com pel them ass resi en.- , (Hear, hear.) It appears now that the ineCeee - of the motion of the Noble Lord the Mem ber for Tiverton was qu it e , unexpected by those gentle men, that they had no share in it, and that it was entirely earned by Hon. Gentlemen who were friends of the Noble THE SUN, Lord and o ours.—(A laugh.) Now, the facts do not bear this out. The Noble Lord (Palmerston) was, no doubt, like other persons, persuaded of the value and importance of his proposition, but he was not likely to carry that pro position by those who usually go with him. Out of 136 Members who followed the Noble Lord, not above thirteen usually voted with the Government, and seven of those are not usually supporters of the Government on many public questions of the day.—(Hear, hear.) While, on the other hand, among those who voted with the Noble Lord I find the names of the present Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Secretary of State for the Home Departm ent, the Secretary of State for the Colonies, the President of the Board of Trade, and the Chief Commissioner of Works--(Hear)—and, in addition to these five Members of the Cabinet, I find the names of the Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, the Chief Secretary for Ireland, two Secretaries of the Treasury, and the Solicitor-General for Ireland. In all 24 Members of the present Government voted in favour of that motion ! ( Cheers.) The Right Hon. Gentleman talked of the late Government having been overthrown by the internal dissensions of its own supporters. For what is a ll this? I have already said that the position which Ministers occupy is a perfectly fair one, and I cannot conceive why they should attempt to put a gloss and false colour upon facts which show that they were anxious to overturn the late Administration. They were justified in doing so if they thought we were not carrying on the Government for the public advantage, and whether they carried their opposition too far on some occasions it is for others to judge. They might be satisfied with that de fence, instead of which they have taken the extraordinary cou rse of seeking every:kind of false pretence.—(Oh, oh, groans, and hear, hear, which rendered the conclusion of the sentence inaudible.) Have I not shown it?—(No.) Will the House deny that during the whole of last session and at the commencement of this they did the utmost in their power, by party motions, to overturn the Government ? (Hear, hear, and No, no)— and that they were not strangers to the division which led to the declaration on my part that I had lost the confidence of the House ? Far be it from me to find any fault with the individuals named to the offices in the present Government. I could not myself understand the reasons for the extraor dinary diffidence shown last year, when gentlemen of the party opposite refused to accept office, and were parties to the declaration made by Lord Derby, that he could not find persons competent to fill the several offices of the State. But neither do I see any reason for the extraordinary confi dence now shown, when they say that they will not only accept office, but carry on the affairs of this great country in a position which Mr. Pitt was never bold enough to assume.—(Oh! and laughter.) I allude to the project of carrying on the affairs of this great country for eleven months without having the confidence of the House of Commons. —(Oh and hear.) It is true that in this respect a con siderable change has been made in the course of this day. The declaration made by the Chancellor of the Exchequer —a declaration which I understand has also been made else where—shows the benefit of public discussion. The Govern ment now perceive that the position which they have taken up cannot lee maintained in the face of Parliamentary de bate, and they have already—to use the phrase of the Home Secretary—altered and modified their course. I now come to the question of commercial policy, and I must declare that there is something extraordinary in the present position of the Ministry with regard to it. Their position is not one of total reserve, neither is it one of open avowal. Every day produces some change, and every man holds a different opinion as to the course which the Government intend to pursue. Step into the street, and the first man you meet will tell you that Ministers have thrown protection altogether overboard. Before you proceed teh yards further you meet another man, who tells you that Government stand firm by protection, and will propose it in the next Parliament. — (Laughter.) The consequence is that persons are can vassing all over the country, some saying that they will suppprt the Government as Protectionists and others as Free-traders. This is a great evil.—(Laughter.) A Noble Lord to-night said he would tell us what a Protec tionist was. I opened my ears at this, expecting to hear a satisfactory solution of the enigma; but the Noble Lord disappointed me by saying that a Protectionist means a sup porter of the Earl of Derby's Government. Well, but some men say they are Free-traders, and will support Lord Derby's Government ; while others say they will support it because they are Protectionists. In this case Free-trade and Protection are interchangable terms. This is a matter which certainly requires some explanation. The Hon. Member for the North Riding said the farmers of England know who are their friends. I confess I rather doubt it. lam inclined to think that it they had known their friends they would have acted on the advice which I have given them from time to time.—( Derisive cheers.) I think that advice should have caused them to look on me as a friend rather than an enemy. I beg leave to refer to the advice which I have given the farmers at different times. In 1841 I said I thought the far mers of England ought to accept an Bs. duty. I thought that great commercial changes were coming—that an altera tion of the corn-laws would probably be proposed among other things, and that it would be advantageous to them to effect a compromise by accepting a fixed duty. But no, I was represented all over the country as being the enemy of the farmers. There can be no doubt, however, that any one who should now propose an Bs. duty would be deemed a stanch Protectionist and a great friend of the farmer.—(" Hear," and laughter.) In 1e45 I asked the farmers to consent to a 6s. duty and some diminution of the taxes which press par ticularly on the agricultural interest. They would not hear me, and I was still their enemy. In 1849 the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, in stating the case of the party which he was leading, seemed to intimate that he was desirous of having my opinion as to the course he was pursuing. I answered by stating that the great party of which the Right Hon. Gentleman was the leader in this House had a tradi tional pulicy to maintain, and I advised them to give up protection. I believe I was then acting as the farmers' friend. If the party had given up protection in 1849 they would now be in a much better position than that in which they stand.—( Hear, hear.) They would have avoided the diffi culty now before them. Consider the difficulty in which they have placed themselves. From 1849 to the present time they have talked to the farmers of scarcely anything else but protection. Last year a deputation went to Lord Derby, bearing resolutions which enforced the necessity of reversing the financial and commercial policy of Sir R. Peel; and Lord Derby, in addressing them, ex pressed a hope that what he then said would for ever secure him against being misrepresented as having abandoned protection. So matters have gone on up to the present time, and now we are told that the utmost that is to be done is the imposition of a duty so small that it will not make an appreciable difference in price, and even this will not be proposed unless Lord Derby has not only a great majority in Parliament, but also the concurrence of the country. This distinction between the country and the House of Commons, by the bye, sounded strangely from one who refused to make any change in the representation.—(Hear, hear.) It is evident that a duty which is to affect prices to an inappre ciable extent, and which is to be obtained only by a great majority of the House of Commons, in concurrence with the country, will not be obtained at all, and if obtainable would not be worth having. This specimen of protection reminds me of an illustration used in this House a century ago by Mr. Pulteney, who said some proposition of the Minister bronght to his mind the story of Sir Epicure Ddammor e who after having been led to expect for a long time that he would obtain the philosopher's stone, at last could get only some thing to cure the itch.—(Laughter and Oh.) The fixed d sty having departed, there is next some talk about removrig burdens which pressed upon agriculture to the extent of two or three millions ; an objectionable plan in itself, besides which it would afford relief to the extent of only 3d. or 6ce in the pound. What would such relief as this, or a duty producing an inappreciable rise of price be, compared with the descent of price caused by the repeal of the corn-laws from 565. to 38s. or 40s. a quarter? Is there no danger in leading the farmers to suppose that they can obtain an equi valent for what they have lost? The Honourable Member for the North Riding asked what we had to do with the opinions of the farmers. I beg to say that we have a great deal to do with them, because, although founded on mistaken views of their own and the general interest, they have great weight in this House and the country. I re member that during the discussion on the repeal of the corn laws in 1846, although I regretted to see a strong and able opposition directed against a measure which I thought ne cessary to the safety of the country, I found consolation in the circumstance that the farmers and the country gentle men of England were acting in unison, and that the farmers would continue to follow their natural leaders. If, however, after having led them to expect the restoration of protection you should finally abandon it, the tenantry, in stead of choosing the country gentlemen of England for their representatives, will choose from among themselves persons who have not such Conservative notions. A very considerable person, a man of the greatest sagacity in this country, said to me not long ago—" People talk of dema gogues and the danger of democracy, but for my part I believe that some of the tenant-farmers of England are more democratic than any other class."—(" Oh!" and laughter.) I will not tell on what authority I snake this statement, but if I were to do so you would admit it to be high authority.— (" Name, name.") I must decline naming my authority. I am giving merely an opinion ; if I were stating a fact I might be asked for the name. ,Another mode by which the farmers are to be relieved is a revision of taxation. It is easy to talk of a revision of taxation, but when it comes to be considered it will be found to involve a great deal that Right Hon. Gentlemen will hardly like to encounter. In 1830 Mr. Huskisson made a speech in which he requested the House to consider how great a portion of our taxation fell upon articles which entered into the consumption of the great body of the people and called upon it to weigh the danger attendant on such a system.—(Hear, hear.) Sir R. Peel had done much to alter the proportion of taxes borne by the bulk of the population ; but those who have read a speech made by a Protectionist in another country must have seen that we have not gone as far in that direction as France. M. Thiers, in one of the most able arguments in favour of protection I ever read, which was delivered when there was a free Assembly in France, and made a great im pression, said "You ask us to imitate the example of Eng land. We have already gone far beyond her. France pays 18,000, 0001. i sterling of direct taxes and 18, 000 , 0001 . of in direct taxes.bead pays about 20,000,0001. of [direct general els That being local taxes, and 35,000,0001. of indirect taxes under the , ti rd of Customs and Excise."—(Hear, hear.) say that the revision of taxation—a subject whi c h e lease considered when I was in office—is a ques tion which requirte the gravest deliberation, and that will bring you to the conclusion that it is necessary to diminish indirect and increa agreeadt i rrece direct taxation. I am very unwilling orrent to to diminish the and v l en t r mofk w t e .he o r b e ta w in eu b l4 y h m e ea d n e s ng of er th in e oumust ffirect taxation, yet that is the arriveopinion ; and wh addingCustor tso3onUdrEx e presentse e trol expressed last g ea ich ne t e h d e R I i ea h y t thattie e ciOtnieslUeSnir most which ta h °II I no t t i n e : Works p ut t r h a raised e case m a n e question— very th e ot e h e r Hon. president of the Board otoftame. in a discussion respectin the income-bteaxforTe his T a n h d e constituents, s t o h a e t y h b e l y er rbr o ra b en v ag i d o e obvious and dt h that than meat the n e ; b lo , ra asking thereinpgr imprudently i d r he s yn t aysit e Commissionerpp eer. m o i f g they bre x a7 should not also pay tap • ht W pay n it ° soap s These are w N a o y bl ; e and Lord's eay, con " stitu e en c y , suppose we pay none o u verY little on tea? That would be a h e b e e r t . t ) er questions taxing our bread."—(Hear, which the Hon. Member for the Northßiding think s ' ee simple aid easy of solution , b ut if the Right Hon. Gentlemen oppos i te—a b andon i ng protection as odious to the great mass of the people—apply themselves to the question o f the revision of taxation, they will find that they would be compelled to carry further the system of direct taxthatindokti, which Sir R. Peel introduced.—(Hear , hear.) then, that the Government, before going to a general election, ought to state, without going i nto detail, what course they intend to pursue, in order that the country may know something of the issue which it has to try. It is very well to ask the House of Commone to show for bearance, but, on the other hand, I think we ought not to be treated with contumely and superciliousness.—( Oh, oh- ) The Noble Lord at the head of the Government has tried to raise a fresh issue—one which,l think, he has no right to raise —and with respect to which he has no more claim to the ap probation of the country than any other party. The Noble Lord has raised an issue which appears to me astonishing — namely, that he is Minister in order to prevent an outbreak of democracy. I have had the honour of being First Minister of the Crown during five years, and I cannot see that during that period democracy has made any encroachment on the just prerogatives of the Crown, or the authority of the two Houses of Parliament. The throne is guarded by the virtues of the Sovereign, and the two Houses of' Parliament maintain their just authority. I have, however, learnt a lesson from the scenes which have passed before my eyes during no in considerable experience in this House. The first political meeting I remember to have attended was a meeting of Lords and Commons of the Whig party at Burlington House, on which occasion Earl Grey addressed them. That was in 1817. Lord Grey addressed the Lords, and Mr. Ponsonby, as leader in the Commons, addressed the Commons. They told us that a Bill was to be introduced for the suspension of the habeas corpus, and that other Bills were to follow, restorative of the liberties of the subject. Those Bills were not found sufficient, and in 1819 six other Acts were intro duced still further to restrict the privileges of the subject, and to prevent the outbreaks of the demecracy. Demo cracy was then to be feared. We heard frequently of at tempts at insurrection, and the beginnings of riot. We had even the sorrowful spectacle of spies sent out by the Home Secretary, who misused, as spies are apt to do, the power and trust confided in them, and brought, even to capital punishment, some of their victims who had been seduced into rebellion.—(Hear, hear.) That was indeed a melancholy (spectacle. At one time it was said that the factory workers from Manchester were about to march upon London ; at another time that an insurrection had broken out at Derby, and was likely to spread over the whole coun try.—(Hear, hear.) Afterwards a change took place in the executive Government; Sir R. Peel became Home Secre tary, and Mr. Canning Secretary for Foreign Affairs, and it was followed by a change in our position both at home and abroad. Sir Robert Peel turned his attention to the amend ment of the criminal law with the greatest argument and firmness, and at the same time with lenity, and paid much regard to all that related to the domestic government of the country.— (Hear, hear.) Mr. Canning proclaimed the sen timent of " the cause of civil and religious liberty all over the world," and this House and the country re sponded to the generous sentiment he had uttered, and to the admirable policy be pursued.—(Hear, hear,) It was no longer necessary to have those laws that were so restric tive of the liberties of the people. Earl Grey afterwards succeeded to the administration of affairs, and was followed successively by Lord Melbourne and Sir Robert Peel, when the same system was pursued. The Attorney-General, who had been so active in that former time to which I have re ferred, made a more discreet use of the power intrusted to him, and ceased to contend unnecessarily with offences against the public peace.—(Hear, hear.) A change took place—not to the advantage of democracy, not to the advan tage, at least, of democratic opinions—but for the benefit of the great body of the people, who became more attached to our institutions, more attached to the monarchy, more at tached to the authority constituted by the laws of the country, and thereby more satisfied, and less de sirous of any change in our national institutions.—(Cheers.) The Right Hon. Gentleman the President of the Board of Control told us the other day that he admitted the people were now in a state of prosperity. That prosperity, as I believe, is mainly caused by those changes in our com mercial policy which have allowed the people, while their employment has been increased, to obtain with their wages a greater portion of food, a greater portion of comfort, and to afford them some surplus for the education of their children and the cultivation of their own minds.—(Cheers.) These are the means by which democracy is to be met. If the Noble Lord now at the head of the Government means to re sort to other means—if the laws that he has in contempla tion are opposed to the general sentiments of the country— and if he contemplates that those laws will require to be en forced by other means than the present, let me tell him that instead of discountenancing democracy, he will be the greatest favourer of that democracy.—(Cheers.) Rely upon it, that it is not by attempts to reverse the present policy that you can hope to retain the affections of the people. It is by a system of quiet, peaceable, and enlightened progress, by going en without any violent aims or violent convulsions, but at the same time showing that you have the people's in terests at heart, and that you will not abate a jot of the people's rights.—(Cheers.) Do this, and you may rely upon it that the attacks of democracy are not to be dreaded.— (Cheers.) In the meantime, if it is merely intended by that language to raise an election cry, nothing can be more con temptible.—(Great cheering.) Nothing can be more un worthy of a Minister who is called upon to preside over the destinies of this great country.—(Loud cheering.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER Sir, the Noble Lord who has just addressed you, reminded the House that there were two questioas before us, or, rather, that the question before us might be viewed in two aspects—a constitutional and economical view. But I beg to recall to the House this fact, that the question before it is one of a much simpler nature—it is the first motion of the newly-constructed Opposition, and that motion is one to stop the supplies— (Great cheering and counter-cheers)— a motion gaily proposed by the Hon. Member for Middlesex, respectfully recommended by the Hon. Member for Liver pool, and I have a right to suppose enforced in a speech ,. of great length and eloquent preparation by the recent irst Minister of the Crown.—(Cheers and counter. cheers. O ) We shall meet the Noble Lord and the newly constructed ppo sition on the issue they have themselves selected, and on that issue we intend to divide.—(Lo ud Ministerial cheers, an d cheers and laughter from the Opposition ) The Noble Lord seems to be much astonished that any imputation of f ac tion should for a moment have been raised against hi m . We were told, indeed, the other night, by the Nobl e L or d or one of his supporters, that i t wa s a new doc trine in the House to suppose that asking questions of a ne w Mi n i stry. was factious ; but I do not think that the charge of faction on the leader of the new Opposition was established on any dicta of such a character. 1 understood that the N o bl e Lord, when in the positio n of First Minister of the Crown, and unable, in consequence o f the attacks of hi s own friends , to carry on the affairs of the country—(Oh, oh)—felt, by his own confession, and after deliberation with his Cabinet, that it was inexpedient to dissolve Parliament, and that they then recommended her Majesty to send to another in dividual to form a Government. What we think is factious in the Noble Lord is, that after that declaration he should have constructed . an Opposition, the first principle of which is to force his successor to an immediate dissolution.— (Loud cheers.) But, says the Noble Lord, a remarkable event occurred between my declaration as a retiring Minister and my first adventure as the leader of the new Opposition. A speech was made, and a speech, too, in another piece, in which was this remarkable declaration—that the new Government, acording to the chief of the Administration, was in a minority in the House of Commons; and upon that phrase the Noble Lord felt himself justified in changing his conduct.—(Hear, hear.) " Because that phrase was used," the Noble Lord said, "and notwithstandihg my de claration that a dissolution was inexpedient, I now feel my self justified in urging a dissolution of that very Parliament which I had said should net be dissolved."—(Hear.) But, indeed, the Noble Lord is so deficient in evidence to prove the want of confidence of the present House of Commons in the existing Government, that he can refer to no facts, he can appeal to no votes to justify the opinion or sanction the conc lusion he has arrived at. All he can do is to urge a, phrase used in another place, and one employed by the Right Honourable Gentleman the Secretary for the Colonies. Now, I ask, if expressions of this kind are to be considered as conclusive of the disposition of the House of Commons? Are expressions of this kind to justify .the Noble Lord in totally changing his policy on a subject of such im m ense importance, and leading: to such considerablconsiderableresults ?—(Cheers.) I have arrived at; a different conclusion on the subjeot from the Noble Lord.. All the precedents which he has found to apply to this sub ject are precedents of condemned Governments.— (Hear, hear.) . And really to place our position, condemned only by the too friendly or too modest calculations of an individual, in the same catalogue with those Ministers that, after long discussion and great deliberation, and in some instancest quoted by the Noble Lord in Houses of Commons assembled under their own influence, have been condemned—to treat; us as if we were in a similar position, because it is conve aient to the change of position of the Noble Lord, is to mot one of the boldest expedients that ever was adopted even ira tae annals of opposition.—(Hear, hear.) But under what c rcumstances did the Noble Lord have recourse to this position ? I refer to them without apology, because an enumeration of them formed not the least con- , sidirable and not the least interesting part of the Nolle Lord's address. The Noble Lord said,—" Have: I not a right to summon my public friends to my prie vete house? I hear that other leaders in Parliament. assemble their friends together, and surely I am not well treated when you are so severe on me because I ask to my private residence my friends to assist me with their counsel." —(Hoar.) Now, if the Noble Lord had only asked those• friends who had voted for him on the militia question-.• (A laugh)—if he had only asked those friends who were absent on that occasion to assemble at his house, and if they hid atoned for the past and counselled for the future, I am stre not a single observation would have been made. —(A laugh.) It would have been concluded that all wets exactly .11 harmony with the declaration which the Noblis Lord hac made in his last official speech from the Minis terial beeches. But instead of that, we find by the autho ritative statement that has been published, that the Noble Lord does not address his friends, but his enemies. —(.!l laugh.) Ile addresses those who made his Government un comfortab.e, and said, " Gentlemen, you see what it has al I ended in. Let us forget the past; let us understand each other for ;he future. You have a superstitious prejudieie against oligarchical Cabinets : forget the past, and the oli garehial Cabinet shall become a broad-bottomed Opposition. —(Cheers end laughter.) The Reform Bill of this year did not please :sou, but let bygones be bygones, and we shall understand each other, I have no doubt, on that subject."— (Cheers and laughter.) That was the character of the meet ing, and it seems to have been successful. The Noble Lord appears in his new capacity, and the moment he does appear, he announces a course on his part exactly the reverse tf that which he had announced when he matt on this bend.—(Cheers.) But there must be an excuse for this, and the excuse was half-a-dosen words of a speecih delivered by Lord Derby, and an expression in answer to .a question made use of by the Right Honourable Gentleman the Secretary for the Colonies—(Hear, hear)—the easiest reason for the greatest result that probably ever was die covered.—(Hear, hear.) But the Noble Lord also discovered that he had been ill-treated by the Opposition, now the oc cupants of the Ministerial benches. The Noble Lord hes been an unfortunate Minister.—(A laugh.) He was worried. —(A laugh.) After such a long and illustrious experience as the Noble Lord has had—after all that has occurred to him since that meeting at Burlington-house, where they were addressed by Mr. Poasonby about the sad mancenvres of Lord Sidmoath's spies, who would have thought the Noble Lord could have been worried in office by a Protectionis t Opposition;—(Cheers and laughter.) He was worried, too, by loisoned weapons—by a motion about Lord Clarendon, and by a menaced attack on Lord Grey-- he was worried by a commanding majority on the first motion, ard by the second not being brought on.—(Laugh ter.) And now, when the Noble Lord indulges in these as sertions and in criticisms on his opponents,. would it not be better to turn his reproac hes on those political friends and followers who, on the critical night that turned out the late Government, did not muster to the number of 130? I cannot help thinking that some more important reason may be found for the overthrow of the Ministry than a debate upon Lord Clarendon, and a menaced . attack upon Lord Grey, which was certainly escaped, I will not say evaded. —(A laugh.) I have now put before the . House an an swer to the Noble Lord as t o th e exact issue before us. It is a motion of the new Opp osition to stop the supplies, so far as I can collect, sanctione d b y the late First Minister of the Crown,—(No, no.) Lord J. RUSSELL—I made no such motion.—(Cheers.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER —I have to of the lir e . beg the Noble Lord's pardon. I listened attentively to the speech of the Noble Lord, expecting that after he had con cluded. the interesting narrative and amusing arguments with wh T i e h h e h e e H h A ad ut fi A t i v A o Nv u o re th d ere u r s ead he would at last have con descended to announce that ' he did not sanction the proposal e mates.— ri tl s e o m f b ,. er Th f e o r r e, M s nidodsloesoehxmtootionne.gltive these esti mates.—(Cries was received for the number the question before the Com mittee —namely, a The CHANCELLOR._offheExcaE of men for the army, with cheers by the Opposition, there being no mention of any amendment. motion before the Committee • but I understood that the Hon. Member for Middlesex n ' otonlyannounced his QUER.—That is the deter mination to expose the motion, but also his intention to di vide upon it.—(" No, no.") It gives m e pl easu re to under stand that that the Noble ord has rece d e d f rom t h e p er ilous pos ition he was in.—(" Oh, oh!" and cheers.) I am glad the House understands that on; second thoughts the Noble Lord does not support the amendment.---(" Oh, oh :" and Ministerial cheers.) I will now advert to the second part of the question according to the Noble Lord's division of it. I do not exactly understand what the Noble Lord wishes the Go vernment to do on this occasion. He has said that there has been to a certain degree a great want of reserve, and, on the other hand, that there has not been that explicit declaration of principles that would be acceptable to him. He admits himself that there has been, to a certain degree, an absence of reserve, though not such a declaration as he would require. Perhaps an impartial judge might think that on the whole our declaration was as explicit as was neces sary.—(" No, no !") Hero is the Hon. Gentleman, the Member for Liverpool, who gave us a grave admonition to night, and he I most clearly understood as sanctioning the amendment of the Hon. Member for Middlesex.—(" No, no.") Mr. CARDWELL—I beg to inform the Right Hon. Gen tleman that the idea of refusing the number of men necessary for the army, or giving a negative to the proposal before the House, never entered my head.—(Cheers.) The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER.—There is another proof of the advantage of discussion. I should like to hear if there is any other seceder from the Opposition, and I shall be curious to ascertain who has the courage to follow the Hon. and Gallant Member for Middlesex. — (Cheers.) I tell the Noble Lord, that when we go to the country the issue is as distinct as in such circumstances it ever has been. It is clearly an issue whether the country has confidence in the present Administration, or whether it has not.—(" No, no," and cheers.) It is clearly an issue whether the agricultural interest believe or do not believe that if we remain in power we will do our utmost to redress the grievances of which they justly complain. —(Cheers.) 1 believe the issue is distinctly understood by them, and, notwithstanding the speeches of the Noble Lord and his new ally the Hon. Member fur the West Riding, that they are perfectly satisfied that that isses should be placed before them.—(Cheers.) I was reminding the Hon. Member for Liverpool that he had founded his lecture upon the conduct of Sir Robert Peel in cslasnir4nt i Roberto in the 1841 ; but I might also remind the Hon. Gentleman (I don't wish to make more of the instance than it deserves), but still I might remind one who is a most fervent admirer of that em i nen t personage, that i n 1835 Sir Robert Peel professed u p o n this subject very different opinions, and pursued a very different course fr om w h a t he subsequently adopted. I soi Peel in 1835 were those which he entertained m in Pee upon myself as to say that the opinions of at the same ti me I must observe that the circum stances are different from those of the present time. There not now a n y vo te proposed of a want of con fidence existing Government by the existing House of Commons. I think it would be more decent to propose a vote of that kind previous to a motion for stopping the supplies.—(Ministerial cheers.) The Noble Lord has dwelt much upon the unconstitutional conduct of the Government in presuming to carry on the affairs of the country in the present state of the House of Commons ; but I think it is rather a large assumption on the part of the Noble Lord to state that the Government is th e Ministerial b enc h es .) If the state of the House had been undoubtedly in favour of the Go vernment it must be quite vh e unableh it t evidentowas carry Y measures in this House. — (Lou d cheers from f orwa rd at the te rm i na ti o n of a Parliament those measures that the Earl of Derby wou ld not have brou g ht forward on the responsibility of the Gov ernment. It was ca understood he was pledged u l t imatel y to brin g distinctly understood by the country, and accepted by the country, that no attempt to redress the grievances of the agricultural interest should be made until the public voice had been taken. Had we been assured of a majority on ac ceding to office, it would not have prevented us from pur suing the course we are about to take, namely, to advise her Majesty to refer the question now pending to the people. But as regards the result of an appeal, even to this waning Parliament, after all that has occurred, and after all that has been said as to our not obtaining a majority, I want to know why are we to assume that the Noble Lord can command a greater number of followers than ourselves?—(Ministerial cheers ) When the Noble Lord accepted office in 1846 he certainly did not accept it with a party so powerful as that which now honours the present Government with their support.— (Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord came into office and was con fessedly in that instance as we are a t p resent, in a minorit y. The Noble L or d h a d not a majority of fo llowers in s upport of his Policy, but he proceeded to propose a measure which im mediately placed his Government in danger by the over whelming ma j or ity o f Sir R. Peel, and h ad t he followers of that the Nobl e L or d mus t have been left i n a l arge minority. Right Hon. Gentleman acted upon their convi ctions But Sir Robert Peel rose and said that he did not approve of the measures which the Government were then pursuing, but at the same time he did not wish to see the opportunity of proceeding with the Government taken out of the hands of the Noble Lord. The Noble Lord did not on that occa sion dissolve Parliament, although he was p ursuin g a policy ' on whi c h the country wished to ex p ress an opinion, but he went on with his Government, and he was justified in doing so ; just as I conce i ve we are at this moment justified in the course we are now pursuing. I am most sensibly aware of the great difficulties which a new Government, consisting in many instances of inexperienced men, have to encounter, but I have confidence in the good sense and good temper of the House of Commons ; and nothing has yet occurred to make me lose that. I don't understand any existing reasons for me to suppose that the judicial measures which it is in tended the Government should bring forward will not be supported by a majority. With that conviction, I will not defer to the ignoble opinion that her Majesty's present Gover nment is existing on suffrance.—(Loud cheers from the Mi nisterial benches.) lam grateful for su pp ort, but Ido not deprecate hostility. But, if the feelings shown by the Noble Lord should be acted upon in the spirit he has this evening evinced, I do not hes itate to say that they partake lof a factious spirit, and I believ e the Noble Lord will not be supported by a majority of this House. If mea sures are brought forward deserving the approbation of the House of Commons, I believe the House will support those measures. The Noble Lord has made some observations to which perhaps I ought not to allude, because the Noble Lord evidently addressed himself to a speech made in an other assembly by another person. But in an elaborate ad dress by Lord Derby that Noble Lord took occasion to ex press an opinion that the present Government was entitled to support, because it was a barrier to democratic innovation. To this the Noble Lord opposite (Lord J. Russell) says, " Democratic innovation ! Why, was I not a barrier to democratic innovation ? When have their attempts been successful? Have they not in every instance been checked and successfully resisted?" Yes, I admit all that; but allow me to ask the late First Minister of the Crown, by whose aid was he successful ?—(Ministerial cheers.) By what means was the menacing democracy repelled ? By whose aid was the Noble Lord enabled to defeat those large schemes of Parliamentary reform of which the Noble Lord was wont to speak with derision and contumely? And, when an ex-Minister discourses so learnedly and eloquently upon the public credit of the country, and on the difficulties of revising taxation , le t me ask him when a proporstion w hi c h would have at once reduced the taxation of the , and that voluntarily, was pro the very i n di v id ua l w h om h e h as ham-place—(Load cheers from the hat was it that prevented him and supported him on the Militia Bill o en u es c ]Ministerialene pro posed s y otuem b g tmyehnboi gentlemen OeneHm, summoned benches)—what teu o noss , o )ewc_ O hb O ia oWye s / from acceding to so disastrous a proposition? The Noble Lord has confessed to a misapprehension of the meaning of Lord Derby which I did not expect from him. It has not entered into the mind of Lord Derby, in any policy it which shouldhe may recommend P ar li ament to suppor t, th a t fo r ce to uphold it. Lord Derby said he was pre pared to be a policy which will require physical u phold the v enera b le and valua bl e institu tions advance of of thin country.freedom provement to be checked and p h ys i ca l power to be invoked ; but w hat he meant was that, being himself animated b y a f ee li ng o f true patr i o ti sm , em an It was n o t th a t h e wished the dm and believing Parliamen t was prepared to support a policy f oun ded upon national honour, that when that appeal to the country should be made which is now pending, he would meet with such large support that he should be able to originate in Parliament measures which he believed to be necessary, and that he should be able to pass them, and find himself to be a successful and powerful Minister, because he placed the highest confidence in the support of the English people, believing himself to be sup ported alike by the favour of his Sovereign and the confi dence of his fellow-subjects.—(Th e Right Hon. Gentleman resumed his seat amid much cheering.) Mr. BRIGHT did not mean to discuss the various ques tions alluded to—not even the principle of free trade, for that was not before them. The question was, whether a Go vernment formed of a minority which had declared the policy of the majority to be pestiferous and dan gerous, should be allowed to administer public affairs, with out appealing at once to the people. If a minority of 230 could carry on the affairs of the country, so might a mino rity of 30 or 40 do so, and claim the forbearance of the House. The delay that had taken place without any alarm or danger since the meeting of Parliament proved that mea sures of national defence were not urgent, and might be postponed till a new Parlioment. He did not blame Hon. Members opposite for taking office or for their conduct in opposition. One party was not more factious than the other. If, however, Hon. Gentlemen opposite changed their opinions on a question of public policy when they changed sides, re spect for public men would be diminished. From 1842 to 1846 the policy of Sir R. Peel was towards free trade, and the last great advance was made in a case of great emergency. But were Honourable Gentlemen opposite about to abandon protection without having any grounds similar to those on which rested the change of Sir R. Peel's opinion. It was not long since that the Protec tionists endeavoured to excite the farmers against the com mercial classes. He recollected reading a report of a meet ing of farmers in Cambridgeshire, at which one of them stated that he would as soon march on Manchester as on Paris.—(Hear.) That was not unlikely.—(A laugh.) Per haps the farmer in ques ti on f ear ed sea-sickness. Another boasted that the farmers had more horses than the other classes, and knew how to ride them. lie believed that the Noble Marquis Opposite, the Member for Stamford, was the most consistent member of the Protectionist party. In of out of that House the Noble Marquis had always held the same tone, and it was not, therefore, suprising that the Noble Marquis was n o t a mem b er o f the Cabinet. He felt cer tain that if the Noble Marquis had had a seat at the council table, he never would have consented to a course of con duct so ambi g uous as to excite suspicion. He appealed to the Hon. Member for Somersetshire to state his opinion of protection. It was of no use denying protection, for in the House and out of it, and in the press of the Protec tionists—the Morning Herald, Morning Post, Standard —there had been a constant cry for protection. The ditculties of the Government were difficulties which had arisen out of the impossible policy they advocated when in opposition, and they were not ditculties from which they should be allowed to escape until they had either recanted their Protectionist principles, or appealed to the constituencies to decide the question for them.—(Cheers.) What that (the Opposition) aide of the House wanted was a dissolution of Parliament, for they felt confident that the judgment of the country would be pronounced in favour of the policy of 1846 and if the Government felt the same confidence in the contrary policy they would be quite as eager to dissolve as they were now afraid of taking that step. Their organ in the press boasted that the Ministers had been re-elected everywhere without opposition, and that th:s showed a most remarkable unanimity—of course, a unanimity as between the Marquis of Exeter and the Earl of Egmont.—(A laugh.) What were those Ministers as representatives of the people ? Take, for esample, the Pre sident of the India Board (Mr. Herries). The whole popu lation that Right Hon. Gentleman p rofessed to represent was 2,000 persons —men, women, an d children. Of course his real constituency was my Lord Exeter—(L aug hter and cheers.) Take next the Secretary for the Colonies (Sir J. it was said, had That Right Hon. Gentleman, a , had the good fortune to return himself—(Hear, he lived and d in a laugh)—and, as might naturally be expected, h state of uninterrupted harmony with his constituents.—(Loud De art ' laughter.) Take, also, the Secretary for the Home p Bright) would not pass ment (Mr. Walpole), and he (Mr. Ilri by that opportunity of saying, that he w et n quit h e s surs that any Member in th e House would regret to se!s t t Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman in the distinguished pest he now filled—(General cheering)—but that Right Hon. Gen tleman represented a constituency of 7,021 persons only ; and the whole population represented by these three Cabinet Ministers amounted to but 23,050 persons —men, women, and children—whilst the actual number of electors on the registry was 1,212.—(" Hear, hear," from the Opposition.) After alluding to the boroughs of Buckingham, Chichester, Foterarield, Lisburn, and Portarlingto, Mr. Bright said that the Attorney-General (Sir F. Thesiger) sat for a population nominally of 5,954, with an electoral list of 241 `names; but he dared the Hon. and Learned Gentleman to deny that, at the election in 1847, the bribery and corrup tion on both sides in that borough of Abingdon were such that both petitions were withdrawn for fear the borough might be disfranchised.-( Laughter and dissent.) He warned the Government, then, that if they persisted in the attempt to govern the country through nomination counties and little pocket boroughs, they themselves were the men who would be weakening the attachment of the people to the institutions under which they livid, and breaking down the barriers of the democracy which they appeared so much to dread.-(Opposition cheering.) He charged the Govern ment that they were conscious that they had not the opinions of the people with them upon the question of protection ; and that upon that question they dared not go to the great constituencies of the United Kingdom. Having mentioned several places in which free-trade prin ciples had made rapid progress amongst the constituencies of late years, the Hon. Member alluded to the borough of Tam worth, and appealed to Mr. Newdegate to state what the people there said to him upon the subject, when that Hon. Gentleman was attending a Protectionist dinner in that bo rough, in the course of the past year.-(Hear, hear.) And if that were not evidence enough he would cite the Hon. Member for Boston (Mr. Freshfield) to give the House his experience, for he (Mr. Bright) had read a ludicrous ac count of that Hon. Member having, at the period of his elec tion, been kept on one side of the square whilst his dinner was kept on the other-an admirable retribution, he thought, on one who sought to impose a tax upon corn.-(Laughter.) A fortnight ago, a meeting was held at Manchester, of which they had all heard; and he observed that the Noble Lord at the head of the Government had spoken of the subscriptions which were then entered into as " subscriptions upon paper."-(Hear, hear, and a laugh.) But he (Mr. Bright) could assure the House that it required strong arguments on the part of Mr. Cobden and himself to prevent those sub scriptions, large as they were, from being much la r g er.- (Oh, oh.) He did not mean more numerous, but much larger in amount-(Oh, oh, and laughter)-and he yen turned to say that if there were the slightest attempt on the part of Government to reimpose a duty upon corn, and the thing were, so to speak, in the balance, there was a great deal more than their corn-laws that would not be safe for three or six months. The subscriptions at Manchester, which amounted to 27,0001. at the meeting to which he re ferred, had, since reached the sum of 62,0001., and were every day rapidly increasing.-(Free-trade cheers.) But perhaps Hon. Gentlemen would go to Ireland for a Protectionist cry. Let them. They had heard of what had only just taken place in the county of Kildare, and he doubted it they could have gone to an election in Ireland with a Member of the House of Commons against whom personally less could be said than against Lord Naas.-(Hear, hear.) Yet that Noble Lord, who had gone down to Kildare in the full con sciousness that he would be victorious, had been obliged to beat a retreat before the opening of the poll or even the day of nomination.-(Hear, hear.) How could any one expect to persuade the people of Ireland that they would benefit by protection when it was found that a long experience of that system had only landed them in one of the most calamitous famines that modern times had known ? - (Hear, hear.) He would ask Hon. Gentlemen opposite whether they would consider the course they were than pursuing a creditable one, if it were pursued by their political opponents? Who could attempt to justify their conduct in sending one set of candi dates to the counties to preach protection, and another set of candidates to the boroughs to say that they were Conserva tive Free-traders?-(Hear.) That was a question which the country would not allow to be trifled with. The uncer tainty which had arisen in consequence of the accession of the present Ministry to office, and the language they had since used, was undoubtedly very considerable, but he con fessed, at the same time, that it was only partial, because the belief in the power f those gentlemen was but partial. If, however, it were thought for a moment that they would recklessly attempt to carry out in power the principles they had avowed in opposition, they would see a tumult in this country to which the tumult in 1832 was as but a whisper to the raging of the hurricane. The uncertainty which sur rounded the question might be productive of the worst con sequences in foreign countries. In the United States of America the election of a President was about to take place, and if it were supposed in that country that the policy of free trade was about to be reversed in England, the hands of the anti-free-trade party would become greatly strengthened, and we should have -no chance of obtaining one of those reciprocity treaties which Hon. Gentlemen op posite advocated. But if those gentlemen were not for the corn-laws let them say so.-(Hear, hear.) He said dis tinctly that if any authorised member of the Government would boldly avow that the time was past when any duty could be re-imposed on corn, and that while they were ready to effect a fair adjustment of the taxation of the country, they would not tamper with the taxes for the purpose of affording the agricultural interest a compensation for the loss they had sustained by the repeal of the corn-laws-he said that if any authorised member of the Government would boldly make such an avowal, he believed they would give great satisfaction to a large number of Con servatives throughout the country, and they would never find him voting for any proposition of a want of confidence in them as a Government. He would then judge them by the measures they might bring forward-(Hear, hear)-with the same independence and the same honest wish to do his duty to his constituents which he had exhibited in his conduct towards the Government of the Noble Lord the Member for London.--( Hear, hear.) But if they were for protection, and would not say so, then they (the Oppo sition Members) would make war upon them. If they were to carry on an " organised hypocrisy" they (the Oppo sition Members) would see whether they could not break up a confederate imposture; and bad as the representation of this country was- and no one was more conscious of its defects than he was-he was perfectly persuaded that if the party opposite were to dissolve Parliament, and to go to the constituencies on any duty they might like to propose on corn, they would find their ephemeral Government scattered to pieces, and that the united voice of the intelligence of the free people of this country would condemn the policy which they had avowed in opposition, and on which they had scrambled to their seats in power.- (Loud cheers.) The ATTORNEY-GENERAL and the Marquis of GRANBY rose together; but, after a short delay, the former Hon. and Learned Gentleman gave way, and The Marquis of GRANBY said he hoped the House would indulge him for a few moments with its attention, as he had been so pointedly alluded to by the Hon Mem ber who had just sat down.-(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member had paid him the compliment of saying he looked upon him as a consistent man. He believed he was so, and he was prepared to say that he retained the opinions he had before avowed in the House.-(Hear, hear.) It had been generally admitted that the free trade policy had inflicted great injury upon large classes in this country, and that some means should be attempted to modify it. He still retained his opinion that the most advantageous mode of doing so was by im posing import duties, thereby making the foreigner pay the tax, a nd raising a reven ue w hi c h would a ll ow the repeal f other taxes that pressed upon the industry of the community. He would say that he had every confidence that Lord Derby and his Government would en deavour, if the country would support them -(A loud laugh drowned the sound of the words which followed)- that it would be ridiculous, absurd, and highly mischievous to attempt to reverse a policy that had been the law of the land for upwards of five years, supposing the people of the country are convinced that that policy was just and advan tageous.-(Hear, hear.) He thought, therefore, he should have no difficulty in supporting Lord Derby when he found him saying, "That for the relief of the farmers, without any serious difficulty and expenditure being incurred by the country and thrown upon other Glasses, a moderate imposi tion of duty would produce a large revenue, and thereby enable other taxation to be taken off, and that such a duty would hardly produce an appreciable effect on the price of food." Honourable Gentlemen on the other side of the House had taken great pains that evening to show that they were not factious in the opposition they were now making to the Government; but if their conduct was not factious, it was very difficult to say what factious conduct could be. The Noble Lord opposite, when he was at the head of the Government, said he thought a dissolution was most undesirable, and would be attended with great dif ficulty and inconvenience. Now, he wanted to know if, when the Noble Lord was at the head of the Government, that would be the case, why it was not equally disadvanta geous to the interests of the country to require a dissolution now ? But if he was unable, from the speeches of the Noble Lord, to discover why he was so anxious for a dissolution, he might, perhaps, be allowed to suggest that it might be that the Noble Lord and those who supported him were afraid ,if a dissolution were delayed that the prosperity of which they had heard so much would diminish, and that the tide of emigration, instead of setting towards the western shores, would again set into the workhouses.-(Hear.) He had heard with deep pain the speech of the Right Hon. Gentleman the Member for Ripon, because he knew the in fluence that anything that fell from him must have not only in that House but in the country; but the Right Hon. Baronet had indulged in similar warnings on former occa- I Mons, and had shown that his opinions were not unchange ' able nor his judgment unerring. He hoped the present Go ' vernment would not be deterred by any threats or any inti midation from doing what they believed to be their duty to the country.-(Cheers.) The ATTORNEY-GENERAL said it was not his inten tion to take any part in a debate that was sufficiently dis cussed, but that he was actually dragged into it by the per sonal allusion of the Hon. Member for Manchester. What he felt was the attack that had been made upon his personal character and honour, which he was desirous of repelling in the most distinct manner possible. The Honourable Mem ber for Manchester (Mr. Bright) had challenged him to deny that in the election of 1847, or afterwards, he had entered into a corrupt agreement to suppress charges of bribery.-(" No, no," from Mr. Bright.) Well, then, an agreement, not corrupt, to suppress charges of bribery, in order to prevent the disfranchisement of the borough of Abingdon. The Committee might be aware that in the election of 1847 he was returned by a very slender majority of two, by an extraordinary and rather amusing incident. Two petitions were presented against that return, both of which contained charges of bribery. One of them at prayed for the seat, and the other merely th a the election be declared void. Where a peti tion claimed the seat, and contained charges of bribery , it was tehpeenopp toosite party petitioned against to recriminate upon party. Before the period had arrived whenothheio:?, omthmatitttheee were to try it an application was made t charges of bribery should be abandoned e e o answer was this-heknew personally sides eafiectiledia, and that if any agent of his, or he hoped that such o n n 1 both o h t responsible, had been guilty of o b bribery, !in r yepye:son for whom he was Committee, and that party would be exposed before he would be no party to any whatever might be the re r su and cheers.) Immediately after compromise.-(Hea r, hear, to him, and his answer given, that suggestion was f r the seat was abandoned. There the petition praying then stood the peti.tioneawohdicehheperfaythede themchearerglyesfocron twined n_ d e e d c l i e; a rt He believed it was on a Monday tion of a void election, was a charge of bribery rffiery. w h e n the Committee were to assemble to try the case. O n the Friday evening before an application was ma d e to him t o abandon that p etition, providedis n wouldh a e s er w consent s tot this-there t h e costs of the petitioner. His was a charge of bribery made against him in that petition, and he would not pay one farthing towards the expenses of such petition, and the messenger might go back with that a nswer.- (Cheers.) Well, the answer went back, and in about an hour aftewards he was informed that the second petition was dropped.-(Cheers.) He felt his honour and character were both saved, because it was impossible for any one to say that an agreement to suppress a charge of bribery for the purpose of preventing the disenfranchisement of a borough would not be a corrupt and scandalous agreement.- (Hear.) He was the more anxious to stand well in the opi nion of that House, because he felt that he would not be worthy of a seat in it if he had been a party to any such agreement. He had given the fullest explanation in his power to the charge that was made against him by the Hon. Member for Manchester ; and he should like now to know how that Hon. Member could feel justified in making such charges without the slightest material or least foundation for them.-(Cheers) Mr. BRIGHT-The Committee will bear in mind, that when I spoke of the borough which the Hon. and Learned Gentleman represents, I did not make any allusir to any part he had personally taken. - (Cries of " ! ' from the Ministerial aide, and cheers from the Opposition.) None LONDON, SATUR DAY EVENING, MARCH 20, 1852. knew better than many lion. Gentlemen opposite that these things are often managed when the candidate has no thing to do with them openly—(oh. and laughter)—and often when he is totally ignorant of what is being done. What I stated was, that a petition had been presented against the return of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman ;that the Hon. Gentleman s friends—(Shouts of "01., oh" and in terruption)—proposed, as he had said, to enter in' o the case of his opponents; and th'at parties to the petition in the bo rough—(Loud and continued cries of " Oh" prevented the Hon. Member from concluding the sentence.) I never had the slightest idea that the Hon. and Learned Gentleman would have been a party to any such arrangement. - (" Oh, oh," and cheers.) I may appeal, at least, to the evidence of your own ears. Parties in the borough, as I was info med at the time, and as I have been informed recently, upon what I believe to be very good ruthority—(Oh)—were ap- prehensive that the result of an investigation into the con duct of both parties in the borough might end in its dis franchisement. I was further told distinctly that the known price in the market of the borough of Abingdon was 3,oool.—(Laughter, cheers, and cries of " Name.") I acquit the Hon. and Learned Gentleman.—( Interruption, cheers, and renewed shouts of " Name, name.") When the Bill of the Noble Member for the city of London is passed, if the House allows it to pass— (Laughter) —I shall he very glad indeed if the borough of Abingdon comes under its provi sions, or if that borough is subjected to the same or deal which the borough of St. Alban's has gone through Colonel THOMPSON wished to express his satisfaction at the certain increase of what he would denominate just popular influence which must arise out of all these pro ceedings. The House and the country could not fail to be aware what was the species of decision to which they were now referred. They did not think of refusing the reference, because they knew that, though bad was the best, it was the best and only choice they were likely to have. They were aware that they were referred to a deci sion where . , the chances were 10 to 1 against them. He found from Dod—and Dod was a powerful authority—that 10 counties, having a population altogether less than the county of Lancaster, sent 23 Members to Parliament, while Lancashire sent only four. That, then, was 6to 1 against his side of the House. Then 17 borough Members were re. turned by an aggregate number of voters who did not equal two-thirds of the constituency of Manchester, and that borough returned only two Members. He had heard in that House something like an expression that the decision about to be given was to be what was called final. Now, he could very readily believe that Hon. Gentlemen opposite had a conviction that if the decision went against them it would be, and must be, final—( A laugh)—but it did not follow that Hon. Gentlemen on his side the House entertained a similar conviction. For hime elf, and for all who chanced to think with him, he protested against being supposed to be involved in any agreement to make anything like a final affair of the struggle upon which they were about to enter.. He begged to assure the House that if those who entertained similar opinions to his were defeated, from that very hour they would begin to move Heaven and earth in order to recover the position they were desirous of holding. The CHAIRMAN asked whether the Hon. Member for Middlesex proposed to divide? Mr. BERNAL OSBORNE said that the few remarks by which he had brought on this discussion had been intended to extort some avowal of their policy from her Majesty's Ministers. He had failed in this object. He should not di vide the House on the present occasion. lie had been met on the part of one member of the Government, the Solicitor- General for Ireland, with an imputation on his skill as a debater, which, of course, the Hon. and Learned Gentleman was quite at liberty to suggest; but the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had also thought proper to impugn his cenvic tions on a more sacred subject. As to his skill as a debater, he would only say that, at all events, he never indulged in pompous periods of vapid declamations. As to the other matter, he never made professions of pharisaical sanctity, ebullitions of Orange piety engrafted on the zeal and fanati cism of a Latter-day Saint. The vote was then agreed to. Mr. BERESFORD said, that before he proposed the next vote he wished to state that the version which the Right Hon. Member for Ripon on a former night, and the Lion. Member tot Middlesex that evening, had given of words said to be used by them were altogether misrepresentations. The Hon. Member then moved that a sum of 3,682,067/ be granted for her Majesty's land forces et home and abroad, from the 30th of April, 1852, to the Ist of March, 1853. Mr. HUIME objected to proceed with the vote at so late an hour, after so long and wearisome a discussion. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER pointed out that the agreeing to these would facilitate the ultimate object which the Hen. Member had in view. Lord J. RUSSELL said the vote of the House for the num ber of men required for the army and the navy indicated the desire of the House to deal fairly with the Government, but he thought that the vote now proposed might very well be postponed till Monday. Mr. GLADSTONE concurring w ith the Noble Lord, the N BILL. vote w p a s A s postponed, sE sG E a s n d A t c h T e 11 A e N resumed. p E T This Bill was read a second time. IMPROVEMENT ()F TOWNS (IRELAND) BILL. This Bill was read a second time. On the motion of Lord R. GROSVENOR, a Select Com mittee was appointed to inquire into the best means of im proving the ventilation of the House, and to report thereon at as early a period as might be. Upon the nomination of the Select Committee on Crime and Outrage in Ireland, Mr. MONSELL expressed his apprehension that, although three counties only had been named by the Attorney- General for Ireland in his speech the other evening, it was intended to include the whole of that country within the purview of the Committee, and lie suggested that it should comprehend more Members from the south of Ireland, or that the appointment of the Committee should for the pre sent be postponed. Mr. NAPIER said that he had chosen as impartial a Com mittee as he could select. Mr. REYNOLDS objected to the composition of the Com mitte, and asked what Mr. Drummond and Mr. Yorke did there? The former had no connexion whatever with Ireland, and the only claims of the latter rested upon his being a relative of Lord Clarendon's. He trusted that the appoint ment of the Committee would be postponed. Why not sub stitute the name of the Hon. Member for Rochdale for that of Mr. Drummond ? Mr. S. CRAWFORD had no desire to be upon the Com mittee, but he thought it of the utmost importance that it should be so composed as to command the confidence of the people of Ireland, and be suggested that some friends of tenant right should be added to it. Mr. ANSTEY was glad that the Committee comprised so many English Members, and was convinced that it was one well qualified to deal with the subject. After some further conversation the House, on the sug gestion of Mr. WALPOLE, agreed to the first 12 names on the list, on the understanding that on a future day the Government would propose to substitute other names for those of Mr. Yorke, Mr. Hallewell, and Mr. Solicitor- General. The following are the names which were agreed to, viz. : —Mr. Attorney-General for Ireland, Sir James Graham, Sir John Young, Sir William Somerville, Sir James Emerson Tennent, Mr. Baines, Mr. Henry Drummond, Mr. Leslie, Mr. Fortescue, Mr : Caulfield, Mr. Hatchell, and Mr. Bright. PUBLIC LIBRARIES. On the motion of Mr. EVlAlif,Rll;iillowing gentlemen were appointed a Select Committee on Public Libraries : Mr. Ewart, Mr. Brotherton, Mr. George Alexander Ha milton, Lord Seymour, Mr. Slaney, Mr. Cornewall Lewia, Mr. Cardwell, Mr. Banbury, Mr. Duncan, Mr. Greenall, Mr. Hutt, Mr. Charteris, Mr. Heywood, Mr. Mackinnon, and Viscount Melgund. The House adjourned at a Quarter past One o'Clock. RAILWAY RETURNS TRAFFIC RETURNS FOR THE PAST WEEK. Miles opened, NAME OF RAILWAY. - 1852. Receipts. ►BOl. ➢RITISH. Aberdeen ..... • • • • • • Belfast and Ballymena • • •• • • Belfast and County Down.. .•• • • • •• Birkenhead, Lancashire, and Cheshire Bolton, Blackburn, and West York .. Bristol and Exeter • • .., • • • • ...• Ch e ster and Holyhead. • ..... ••• • • Cork, Black rock, and Passage • • • • • • Dublin and Beltast Junction •••••• ,• Dublin and Drogheda Dublin and Kingstown • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Dundee and Arbroath •• • . •• • • • • • • • • Dundee, Perth, and Aberdeen Junction Dundalk and Enniskillen.. • • . •• • • • East Anglian East Lancashire • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Eastern Counties and Norfolk.... Eastern Union ••• • • • ......... •• • • Edinburgh and Glasgow Edinburgh, Perth, and Dundee Exeter and Crediton........ •• • •• • • FurnesS Railway • •• • • •• • • ••• • • Glasgow, and South-Western.• • • .. • • Great Northern and E. L Great Southern and Western (Ireland) Great Western •• • • Irish South Eastern •••• • • • • ••• • • • Lancaster and Carlisle.. • ........ Lancashire and Yorkshire.. • • • • • • • • • • Leeds and Thirsk • • .. ••• • • • • • "•• • • Liverpool, Crosby, and Southport•• • • London and North Western..• • • • • • • • London and Blackwell ..... • •• London, Brighton, and South Coast. • London and South Western. • • • • •• • • Lon d on derry and Ennis killen • • Manchester, Buxton, and Matlock, c. Manchester, Sheffield, and Lincolnshire Manchester and South Junction Maryport and Carlisle •• • • Midland ..... • • •• • . Midland Great Western (Irish) • • • • Newcastle and Carlisle.. • • • • North British • • • ...... • North Staffordshire •• • • ••• • • .North-Western •• • • • • • • • • • • • • Scottish Central .••• • • • • •••• • • • • Scottish Midland .• ...• • ..... • " • Shrewsbury and Birmingham • ••• • • • Shrewsbury and Chester ni ••• • • • Shropshire Union . ••• • • • •• • • • • . • youthSS t t t South York., Devon..... a iv r : en . • Doncaster, •• •.. and .•. • Goole •.. •• • • South Eastern.. ••. • • •• • •••• • • • • Taff 'vale Ulster. • • . • ... : ....... •••••••• . . • • • • Waterford and Linie•r•i • ••••••• •• • •• .. • West Cornwall • •••• • •••• •• Whitehaven Junction .• • • • • • • • • • • • • • York and Newcastle, and Berwick .• • York and North Midland . • • • • • • • • • • FOREIGN. 152 57 21M 63 4423 k 134 U 240 Central of France ...• ...... • • • • • • Dutch Rhenish ••• . • • ...• .••• • - • • Maria Antonia •• Montereau and Troyes ..... • • • • • • • Northern of France • • •• • • •• • • •• • • Orleans and Bordeaux.. • • • • • • • • • • Paris and Lyons .••••••• • • •• • • " Paris and Orleans .• Paris and;Rouen . • • • • • • • • • • • • " • • Paris and Strasburgh ••—••• • • • • • Rouen and Havre .• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • Toursand Nante5..........•••••• 3,344 913 924 18,119 3,5)18 5,638 7,424 5,278 5,158 2,073 1,353 3,313 1,006 D 1,377 4,570 10,527 8,733 6,581 8,480 2,783 2,218 TILE AND BRICK. MAKING. MACHINES.—A series of trials of Hart's tile and brick-making machines were made this week at th e Britannia F oundry , Derby, in the principal landowners, build ers , & c . Th ese ptrrieaslesntcoe of the okplace with several descriptions of earth, and the large brick machine, worked by three persons only, pro duced 2,000 bricks . per hour. The till mac hi ne , w h ic h wi ll lik ew i s e make bricks of any sort, turned out 1,000 two-inch pipes each hour, and produced several kinds of moulding for cornice work, ornamental tiles, &c., with like rapidity. The price of the latter machine was stated to be 301., and it is but fair to add that the results were quite equal to anything we bad seen it perform at the Atlas Works, in the Borough road, where they are constructed. RAILWAY ACCIDENTS.—At the Cork assizes a ver dict of 500/. damages was obtained against the Great Southern and Western Railway Company, the plaintiff being Mr. William Suther land, a fish merchant, from Wick, in Scotland, who suffered severe injuries fi om falling out of a second-class carriage belonging t o the company, owing to the door being left unfastened. THE CO 11 - N T ) .1 A P WAKEmr.D, Alsaca 19.—We have a mu , 'll smaller ar rival of all gram , and fewer samples pressing on the market than last week ; the demand, however, continues very limited for wheat, and the prices of last Friday are barely supported. Not much barley off -ring. but enough tor the demand, and prices rrther easier. Oats and shelling steady. Beans quite as well Fold. Other articles wi , hout material change. Old WHEAT, per qr. bOlbs per bushel : s. 3. Suffolk, Esses., and Kent. red ... —to Ditto, whits Norfolk and red • • New• a. a. 43 to 45 46 40 —43 42 46 40 42 43 45 39 42 43 -45 44 48 33 43 40 Ditto. white ... Lincolnshire and Cambridge, red ... Ditto, white Yorkshire, red Ditto. white Dantzic and Konigsburg, white Lower Baltic and iiamburgh, red... Mediterranean, red ... ••• ••• - BAItLEY, per quarter of 8 bushels: Norfolk and Suffolk.— ... Lincolnshire and Yorkshire Scotch Grinding per 30 stone ... Foreign ... BEANS, per qr. 631b4 to the bushel : Small, fine 33 36 Ticks • ... 32 34 Foreign OATS, per atone : Mcaling —d to —d 10d to lld Feeding ... d to 9d to 101. Foreign ... —d to —d 0 . 1 to Od SHELLING, per load of 2611 b 27 -- 96 MALT, per load of 6 imperial bushels 35 41 PEAS, per Imperial Quarter : Blue and white boilers Grey and Feed - - -- 29 - 31 33 28 - 33 26 - 25..30 31 - 33 30 - 3 2 26 - :27 21 32 28 32 'ALS. Qrs. Rapeseed ..• •••• '" iao la Shelling ••• "' Linseed ••• " Malt ... •.. • • *" Flour ••• ••• ARB.I Qrs. Wheat ... ... 6,797 Barley ... 1,b73 Beans... ... ... ... Peas ... ... ... ... Tares .„, EISETER, MARCH 19.—Cattle—There was a good vaptpyeeoff, sheep, but not a larqe'show of cattle this morning. 7s 6d to 7s 9d per score. Barreners, 4s 6d to 55 per se o 7l . Ca rc ases Butchers' calves, 4id per lb. Caws and calves, 91 Wether sheep, 5d to 51d. Ewes, 4id pe r lb. Pork Carcao' —Owing to the favourable s t a t e o f th e wea th er for slaugh n t F o r ; ing, there was an abu n d an t su ppl y o f por k i n pr i m e condi, this morning. It was no t quite so l arge as t h a t o f this Rai week, and prices went a little higher—the quotations bell • 6s fid to 7s 3d per score. Pannier—This market w as c w r : supplied, but there were no alterations of consequenc e ~' ; e ra our quotations of last week. Corn—A few sales ha/ 6 .l'Z made at from 5s 6d to 5s Hid. Barley, 3s 6d to 35 9d. "-- ing z 3s 9d to 4s. Oats, 2s 8d to 2s 10d per bushel. „, sel • BRISTOL SUGAR-MARKET, MARCH 19. We ha/- h or a very quit market this week, the transactions sinc e last report not being really of sufficient importance to Para , cularise. Refined continues firm, and in very good demo In rum there is nothing doing.—Bristol Mercury. dit to 5'4 RiroN, MARCH 18.—White wheat 5s 3d to 5s yd, red 32s 3 , to 5s 6d ; beans 4s lid to 4s fiti per bushel ; barley 285 to oats 17s Od to 223 per qr. tea l WETHERBY, MARCH IB.—White wheat, 16s to 17 5 ° 3 ' ,;, ditto 15s Od to 15s 6d per load ; barley 32 s Od to 005 Od pe r 41r beans 13s d per load ; oats 1 , id per sto heat 5s 6d to 6s; 2 ne. bese e KNARE 6 SBOROUGH, MARCH 17.—W2* 3s 9d to 4s 6d per bushel ; barley 29s to 32s ; oats, 1 8 ' t° per qr. THE CLOTHING MANUFACTURES. e er'.. FOREIGN WocL.—LEEDS, MARCH 19.—Sales this °ivy: have been to a limit e d ex t en t. W e d o no t re p o rt any al t tion in the prices quoted ;,, for LIVERPOOL WOOL.—THURSDAY.—Very little inqu" , t he, wool, and the m ar k e t iQ d u ll. St oc k s d u ll. The impor ts s rl past week hay.. been 61 bales Buenos Ayres, 147 Lisbon, mo TRADE hair, anoF d 30 LEEDs—There has been little business kit' Gibraltar. „ me st our Cloth-hall s e i t h er on S atur d ay or T ues d ay . the ° 1 , , , A houses being a l mos t t h e on l y purc h asers; nor has there ":ie• much dune by direct deliveries. Prices being unre muner st ! r, the manutacturers are st ill f urt h er narrowing the preducti;,o and in consequence stocks are not large . Business has been dull in the warehouses since this port houses are doing much less than usual at this season. ,_.. BRADFORD, MARCH 18.—Woot —The inquiries eiro'_ wool are alike with fresh suppl es coming to market c o r T , meagre and there seems no desire on the part of the 0 07,,T o e ilit• to buy, for at the current prices they must lose moneY• • so. and brokes are better to sell, the quantity produced blhis. limited as to keep prices firm. Yarns—The position 0 - • , a loe' branch of trade is anything but satisfactory, for to re , 00• cost is impossible, and in what way to best mitigate the 1 0.. seems to be she greatest consideration with the spi ne Nothing now remains but a general curtailment of the prod %, tion, for relief in the raw material cannot be had. Pieces d. There is nothing like the business this month that has b i e j e_: . usual in former seasons; nor is the production greater f c. a ti P t” and the e-v' the wants of the trade ; for not only in Bradford, t throughout the worsted district there is a very great number, are now selling would be ruin in the greatest degree. of idle looms, and to produce goods .-,t the rate at which thY £1,258 - 904 • 1,277 2,56 U 661 380 00AL MARKET.-YESTERDAY. Prices of Coal per ton at the close of the market :••••• 3 d Bate's West Hartley.. lie 9(llEden ,Main ..... ..... 1 49 3 d Huddle's W. Hartley.. 12s 3diLambton Primrose •• 1 " pd Carr'a Hartley ..... ... 12 s 6dlßell ..........• . 1411 od Howard's W.H. Neth. 12s 6d Belmont -•• 1" 6d Jonassohns Hartley ... lls 6d , Hetton .................. 15 ,. 9 4 Longridge'sW.Hartley 12s 6d Ha5we11...... ......••••• lr a o c i North Percy Hartley.. lie 9dlLambton ............. • l'' pd. New Tanfield Ravensworth'sW.Hart 12s Od'Stewart's •• ••• —•• ''. Os 04 Redheugh Main South Peareth Canfield Moor iv 3 3. Wsll's End, Sc. South Kelloe ......... .. 12 , 6d Bell and 13rown ...... Gosforth ..... 1 1 3 3 8 s 0 0 d d BsoauckthhoDuuserb.a..m.. •••••••'' 11s 132: p i d 4 Harton Hebburn [leaton Lawson l2s Od Te e s ....... ......... -• 13 8 60 1 Northumberland Riddell Walker Ships at market, - 1771. 78. COURSE OF EXC dmsterCam •• 11 191 i Ditto, three months.. 12 1 Rotterdam .... •.. .. 12 1 &rat werp • • ...• 25 55 3ru3sels 25 55 iiamburgh ......ALB, 1 3 11 Paris, 3 dayesight 2s 40 Ditto, 3 months 25 55 Marseilles .. • • •....• 25 57X Gonrdeaux.... Frankforton Mains...,, 122 Vienna, enc. do .. 12 45 Trieste, ditt0.......... 12 45 Petersburgh,Sil. Rble.. 37 4 tdadria • •• •• 50 Cadiz • • • • •• .501 i Barcelona •• •• .• .• _3ll A N GE. -FitlDA l ' Gibraltar .•• •• $0 6 ,, Geghorn .......• •• •• " 2 621 " Milan •• .• •• •• •• 404 Naples ••••••" 121% Palermo, peroz.• .• •• " 122 Messina •• 634 Lisbon.... •• •• •• •• •• 3% )porto.. •••• •• itioJaneiro •• • • •• Fluenos Ayres •• •• •• ". New York, 60 day Philadelphia .• • • • • • • 'A r o t 014 PZICE3 Or 111711, 17 Leoreign Geld inbarS••.o" 0 0 Portugal Golei Ccl ll '• 0 0 • .4panish Doubloollo " 0 4 14 New Dollars ••• • " 0 5 0% -411ver in bars .• •• •• THE FRENCH BUDGET. rat ed The report on the French Budget yesterday' att c oel/ little e s will ttenticn in the C, t feeli formal production, which will be altered or that se t e i s s. 'q! w bY itgo e til decrees at pleasure, causing it to be regarded a s whouY tho value. In the document drawn up by M. Fould in " nua t r o Y accumulated deft irlicy of former years was staTA... theur; 25,200,0001. sterling ; and he estimated that in out would be a. further excess of expenditure over a." that of 1,800,0001. M. ttineau, however, now protesste tithe the accounts of the present ye sr will be bre u gl l 2, to an exact balance. lie estimates his requirerat:tan atoily shape of credits at 42,860,0001., and his o n; 40,700,0001., but he trusts that at the endremattitre unappropriated. month/ 20 00,0001., at least, of his credits t af eee c d red 4 t e ts o,o 7 o ol . while although, on the other handro, doubtless be needed, w .,.. .. au li p l i vei n n o e b reduced to 560,0001. will therefore e these will 1) .• The app trent deficiency aatnoimprovement in the indirect MO and this he relies will be met by wise from the President's rtll'' Owing to ;he prosperity. Ivrt chi the estimated expenditure shows sl Al coo pared with twa ?ear , a caused by an augmented charge fO - of 320 • , 00/., chle-Y t upon the expense rtino coosequen of transp• • the army and navy, the Algeria and Cayenne. The extraor.di political to prisoners toa mount of 2,tY20 0001, bests, 560,00u' nary works are bey and the outlay in 1851. As regards the revUe , t , li , e of ng taxes, the restn: h at are to be c,rtain modifications of exists wh i c h will be an increase of 348,0001. in the general burdens —t- i is to be made to produce 384,000/. 11100 .'- e li . " is to say, the sii.l 4 t Otoaoxol more, while the ectroi duties are to D ° ~,s-the the liquor tax mainsheet 276,000/: It merely remains to be added that the calcw ,s e atS• tions of M. I3ineau assume that the conversion of the Five per ,, ,,_ a wilt be carried out without • ifllenity , and that, consequent,d say i ng a 360,0001. will be effected in the la,t half of tlie_Y e :,r i r ich i 5 also that he has net made any • provision for the allowan c f to be granted by the Legislative Assembly to the President. „ [ADvEitTisem E , J—The Ro E t iatcoa ya valuable, newly-invented, very small powcriu_ o , etn ” „_ .l pocket glass, the size of a walnut, by which a Per' vow seen and known miles distant ; they answer everY P an ' eril on the Race-course, at the Opera-houses ; C OUntrY and ships are clearly seen at 12 to 14 miles; they are in v ,,, i3 en, for hunting, shooting, deer stalking,. yachting, to fnii ss rs• Gentlemen, Gamekeepers, and Tourists.—To be bad 5 ' S. and B. Solomons, Opticians, 39, Albemarle -street, P le _ c o at dilly, opposite the York-hotel. Telescope o ar import t • T an invention .elescopes, possessing ."" jeer ordinary powers, that some, 3i inches, with an extra eYe P d t he s_A new arid so 1, will show distinctly, Jupiter's Moons, Saturn's Ring , , 3n t b r ee Double Stars. With the same Telescope, weighing "l o ot, ounces, can be seen a person's countenance 3 tttil ¢ sool and an object from 16 to 20 miles. They supersede sjl other kind for the waistcoat pocket,and are of urged oe , sizes, with increasing powers accordingly. Op era and be course glasses, with wendertul powers; an object ea_sert clearly seen from 14 to 16 miles distant. Invaluable Pr! and ing Spectacle Lenses. The Invisible Organic Vihrat°7oo. all kinds of Acoustic instruments for relief of extreme de l i ptel. —39, Albermarle-street, Piccadilly, opposite the Y° l. t od [ADVERTISEMENT.] Holloway's Ointment /00 Pills a certain Cure for Bad Legs.—Extract of a letter To Mr. George Pates, chemist, Exeter. "Dec. 31, 1861 ; who Professor Holloway. Sir,—Among the many pers °ll l 0 34 have derived benefit from your excellent medicine) bad mention a poor woman residing at Kinford, who h t. ‘ s tA r leg of a severe description for ma ny months. She vgi'' the care of several eminent surgeons, but obtained ne, as ub- At length the clergyman of the parish kindly raise u„ and scription to purchase from me some of your Ointree' of her Pills, and in a few weeks they effected a per fect cure ists leg and restored her to good health."—Sold by all r*nd , and at Professor Holloway's Establishment, 244, Lond W.O 114 on. • bi ILKINSON'S PROJECTILE. — This bal l, 0 0 from 500 to 550 grains, and different fr om the mirne_p_,,a 1 ,04 0 1 ; 1 ,:o e x p e rimented with at the butt, in the Royal Arsenal, i 4 a Yesterday, by the inventor. At 500 yards, 300 yad's ', eyes„, t yards every ball struck the target — several int o the bulli, bu t• all close to it. At 500 yards one of the thr ee fired entered 1 e ar e y e . Experiments were subsequently made with a double pr o 1 0 °, ridge, each cartridge having two spherical balls. At 50 w o f ee yards both balls struck the target at from 18 inches to t r ifie a part. The double ball cartridges were tired fro m Winti„.,ll S° / 3 2 musket, weighing only 7 3 ,a los., with halt size bore tor b." lib. weight. . .........____ , ___ ____ DIED. Esq'' On the 16th inst., at Cheltenham, William Da v l' er late of Ric Cowley-h, aed 77. „lit At hmond, ouse on the g 17th inst., Theresa , third dall i f , 0 ,1 of the late James Dease. Esq. , of Turbiston, Westit'eat the Lady Theresa Dease. f A rest gr Ou the 9th inst., the Rev. Phelips Hanhani , 2 "• —• ' of Ilinton Martel, Dorsetshire. " Id". On tne 16th inst. , at Henry -street, Pentonvllle' Elizabeth Sharwood, aged 82. - " ----- 1 London: Printed and Published by MURDO 1() ,. 4 0, 11 .. it ~ ! 0 , 112, :At and, Printer, At The Sun Ulne , 000 01 V . Strand, in the Precinct of We Savoy, in the Middlesex. *Wag, Mara 20, WA £1,378 2634 85% 18A 94% 171% 24114 188 277 228 33s 77 3043 279 742 3,602 11,b69 1064 3,557 1,960 352 3,601 7,656 4,125 13,53 -- 132 3,815 13,b23 84U 217 39,05,1 181 12,605 7,252 luB 1,058 u 54 3,788 7,24 U 2,183 780 3,813 8,034 2,53 367 Sul 571 339 609 4.396 13,261 2,99 2 10,6 4 ° 5,17 6 14,4 05 139 4,23 0 15,747 929 40.745 739 7,621 8,00 142 5,894 (514 20,4e4 1,125 21,988 2,146 778 2,065 3,326 4,739 2,198 3,425 4,840 482 1,493 611 1,478 511 1,714 8,718 1,568 10,312 1,313 1,449 2,482 924 254 12,388 8,000 3,39 2,246 82i 8,245 8,482 6,604 500 ,6io 616 612 ,568 596