The Sun. — London, England, 1846-05-26 00:00:00

the benefit of another class, who had proved themselves upon all occasions to be of all classes the most disloyal, most turbu lent, and most seditious.—(Hear hear.) The last night that Lord J,,hri Rus,tll wa, leader in the liou-e of Commons he gave notice of his intention to bring forward a measure for a fixed duty of Bs. on the importation of all description of foreign grain. That notice (for it was only a notice) was met with evident marks of disapprobation, not only on the part of the Conservative members of the House of Commons, but also of many of the principal Whig members, although they had on all other occasions given their support to the Premier. There was no person more against that measure than the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of the Government. No sooner was the notice given by the Government than he assem. bled a number of his political associates at his own house, and consulted with these persons as to what was best to be done in order to save the country from these ealamities. There were several Lords in that House who, as well as himself, were present on that occasion. The result of those deliberations was, that Sir Robert Peel should bring forward a motion of want of confidence in the Government. That motion he brought forward, and made, as usual, a very able speech ; but he rested his case upon two points—first, the proposed altera tion in the sugar duties, on which the Government had been beaten by a majority of 40 ; the other point was the proposed alteration in the corn duties—a fixed duty of Bs. in lieu of the existing sliding scale. After four or five nights ee bate, this motion was carried by a majority of one, there being 312 in favour of the motion, and 311 against it, which, with the 4 tellers, made 627 who voted on that on that occasion, being the largest number who ever voted in the House of Common-4. He (the Duke of Cleve land) might assume that his vote had turned the scale ; it was quite clear, however, that if he had voted the other way, the Government would have had the majority. He challenged any person to prove that he had ever given two votes in direct contra-distinction to each other, or that he had ever given one upon ether than conscientious motives. It was with this view that he belonged to party, and though he had always belonged to party, he had not always belohged to the same party--( A laugh) —and he could assure their Lordships that it was not because the name of one party was Peel, and the other Rus sell, that he supported the former, but because he believed the principles of the one were better than those of the other. But he had no hesitation in saying that if he could have fore seen that the very same Minister would have, after flee years, changed his opinions —he who was the keystone of Conserva tism—he need not tell their Lordships that he would sooner have cat his right hand off than have given the vote he did. There was no doubt that the opinions of the Right Hon. Baronet were very able, but after all they were the very same he himself had answered when Mr. Cobden had urged them on him three years after. He would inform their Lordships that he was favoured with a perusal of this Bill previous to the meeting of Parliament. He did not complain of the informa tion being given to him individually, but he must say that before a great measure of this description was proposed— a measure which would make such a change in the policy of this country and of the Government—he thonght it was the duty of the Government to have asssembled their friends in both Houses. and to have given them information of their in tended measure, and of the power they had of enforcing it. He was told that the Right Hon. Baronet, by pursuing those arguments which: it was known he could use so plausi bly, had converted a number of wealthy landowners to his own views. He was not one of those who would find fault with the opinion of any man, nor had he a right to do so, but he did not concur in the opinion given. The wealthy landowner did suffer by this measure, but the greatest sufferer would be the small landowners and country gentlemen.—(Hear, hear.) Another class of sufferers would be the one which ought to be, and was, the pride of the country--he meant the yeomanry, who derived incomes of from 2001, to 3001. per annum from landed property ; and whatever reduction this measure would make on the amount of their produce, from 10 to 20 or 30 per cent. would inevitably fall on these yeomen.—( Hear, hear.) The next class of suferers would be the tenant-farmers ; and with respect to that subject he had heard of an argument so absurd that he was sure that it would not be used in that House. He had heard it said that this was a landlords' question, and that it would not make the least difference to the tenant. In South Briton, in conse quence of the management of the land there, this measure would make a material difference. The tenant took a farm from his landlord, paying all dues and taxes, not excepting the property-tax, the amount of which he was allowed to deduct from the rent. He took all risks of season and disease in the crops, and the surplus money which remained on the sale of the stock and the payment of all expenses, was divided between the landlord and tenant, the latter taking all the risk. Very few landlords received more than a fourth of the produce of the land in rent. Let themstake a farm of 3001. rent yearly, this measure, he was pursuaded, would reduce the gross pro duce of such a farm 201. per cent. This would leave the rent 240/., while the 900 e, which was the property of the tenant, would be reduced to 7201. Thus it appeared, that while the measure would take 180/. from the tenant's 9001., it took but 60/. from the landlord. He now came to another class that would be effected—the agricultural labourers. He was per suaded that the effect of this law would be to throw tens of thousands, he might almost say hundreds of thousands, out of employment. He could net see how the poor lands were to be maintained in cultivation ; and if so, those who were employed upon them, would be sent adrift. The tie between the labourers and the farmers, by which the former had his root in the soil, and which existed in no other trade or branch of industry, would be torn asunder, and they would have no loner found them the means of subsistence by their industry. Not only would the labourers on many tracts of land be sent adrift, but the farmers engaged in the cultiva tion ,of superior lands would employ a less number of hands then they did at present. Just in proportion as land was thrown out of cultivation, the number of factories and mills would be increased, and then employment would be given to the labourers who would be withdrawn from the land. He hoped their Lordships would pause before they passed the Bill for the displacement of labour. Let them contrast the agricul tural labourer, who lived it might be in a small, but certainly in an independent manner, who resided in the bosom of his family, and breathed the healthy dews of the morning—let them contrast him in this state with his condition if removed to a manufactaring town, breathing th e a t mosp h ere of a room where sick and healthy huddled together, where in winter he could not see the sun at noon day; vet this was the condition, it was proposed to transplant the agricul tural labourer to, in the event of the passing of this Bill, The small tradesmen in country towns, the small shopkeepers and artizans, who derived their subsistence from the landowners or labourers, would be materially injured, and after them came another class of persons of a superior sort, who were not un worthy of their Lordships' consideration, he meant the paro chial clergymen ; no class would suffer more by the passing of this Bill than they. The landlords might in some degree be compensated for their loss by an improved system of as But the parochial clergyman was bound down to a cer tain quantity of wheat, no matter how the prices might vary in the market. He had no hesitation in saying that an attempt would next be made by Sir Robert Peel and his party on the Irish Church.--( Hear, hear.) A clamour bad been raised against the Irish Church, and if on this question the Legis lature were called upon to concede to clamour, he contended they must yield to clamour hereafter on that and all great questions.—( Hear, hear.) And after the Irish Church had been destroyed, an attempt would be speedily made to destroy the Church.—( Hear, hear.) If this measure were passed they would find that both one Church and the other would be destroyed in a very few years, and he did con jure their L or d s hi ps to pausebefore they gave their assent to such a measure. The House of Lords had always stood in a high estimation, and he hoped that by their conduct on this occasion, they would not forfeit their high character. They all knew that a building, not very tar from their Lordships' House, was often infested with a peculiar sort of vermin —( Hear, hear)—but he hoped that such vermin would never be seen running across their Lordships' House, He begged to apologise to their Lordships for having so long tres passed upon their attention. He hoped that if he had animad verted in any strong manner upon the Government, he could assure them it was not with a view of giving offence to any of its members. Nothing could be further from his intention. But placed in the independent position which he occupied, and which he hoped he should ever maintain—(Hear, hear)—he considered it his duty to call upon their Lordship to defend those interests on which he believed depended the peace of the country at large, and the welfare and the prosperity of the whole community.—(Cheers. ) The Marquis of LONDONDERRY felt anxious to address their Lordships for a short time, with respect to what had fallen from his Noble Friend (the Noble Duke on the cross benches). He felt called upon to do so, because they were inhabitants of the same town, and in a great measure connected with the same county. He had not defaulted to be present in their Lordships' House when his Noble Friend presented the petition from the county of Durham, for he would have wished to say a few words on its presentation. His Noble Friend would, no doubt, admit, that the meeting at which that petition was agreed to, was held before there was an explanation of her Majesty's Government as to the course they intended to pursue upon this question. The meeting was held at an early period after the publication of Lord John Russell's letter to the electors of London. It was the first meeting, he believed, held in England on the subject of the corn-laws, after the publication of that letter. The meeting was only partially attended, and many of the Noble Duke's own tenants were present at it. After a canvas through the whole county, the total number of signatures attached to the petition was two thousand and three or four hundred. Now, considering that Durham consisted, he believed, of about 12,000 registered farmers, there being 7,000 in one, and be tween 4,000 and 5,000 in the other division, he thought that a petition signed by 2,300 only, could not represent the feelings of the people of the county of Durham. He believed that the people of the North of England generally entertained a very strong feeling as to the desirableness of this measure. He confessed he had not mixed with the farmers of this country as mush as his Noble Friend (the Duke of Richmond), but he thought he might say, that Sir R. Peel didon the whole, posssess the confidence of the people of this country, He could assure his Noble Friend that he had mixed with the farmers of his own neighbourhood, and the majority of them were of opinion, that although this measure might be of a momentary injury to them, yet that it would ultimately lead to the prosperity of themselves and their fellow countrymen ; and considering that the Government of which Sir Robert Peel was the head had so prosperously ruled the destinies of this country, he thought that it was not asking toe much of their Lordships, by voting for this measure, to secure the ser vices of such an eminent political leader.--( Hear, hear. ) Their Lordships would find that there were Conservative pro tectionists and Conservative free-traders, and that this question was by no means a party one, but that it was divided between those who were interested in agriculture on the one side and commerce on the other ; and it was most unfortunate for the country that it should be placed in its present position between t w o powerful contending parties. Exaggerated statements had been made en both sides of the question, and it was necessary to judge deliberately upon it. He gave the highest credit to the Noble Duke for the ability he had displayed in his speech that evening. He (the Marquis of London derry) would not follow him; but he had, at the same time, an opinion of his own. He found that those individuals with whom he had usually acted in public life, who one and all supported the country, and brought it safe from all its difficulties during a long crisis, had ,thought it ex pedient to change the system by which the country had here tofore been governed upon this point. Change was no reproach. ships ch h e l e d rin v g hte fr d o for th f o ree p, t o r t a e d e e tioonni,at their on o G r d r e a t trade many converts to free in their Lordships' House were to politics? The Noble Duke Peers.) Only six had voted; and w ould it be said that the be reproached for their change in p H r o e w vio m us an o y ec o a f si h of the Noble Earl he fancied he had made.—( Hear, upon the great triumph which thought that he hear. ) He (the Marquis of Londond e rry ) had quoted Hansard, in answer to the speech the President of the Board of Control , and h od plumedan d shimselfshow could, if he wished, make use of the same weapons, his Noble Friend that he too had not always been consistent in his political conduct.—( Hear, hear. ) Such changes as had been adopted by the present head of the Government had brought forward great statesmen. (Ironical cries of " Hear, hear.") In the words of the Noble Duke, he could wish to ask how fs the Queen's Government to be carried on if this measure did not receive the sanction of the Legislature? The Noble Duke had b stated th a t Si r Robert Peel had lost the confidence of the country, but h e (the Marquis nish of Londonderry) kn ew thi s , t h at titirsin Noble tille° Friendlaattwelve months not a murmur had b een ra i se d by the p eop l e of this had country against his political measures . conceived th a t t hi s ed his speech by s t a ti ng th at h e measure would lead to the destruction of the church. Now he (the Marquis of Londonderry) could only say in answer to that, t hat Sir R. Peel - had distinctly stated, on the 28th March, to the Whig party in the House of Commons that, although they happened to agree with him on they were considering's euestion in agreem` ut with a policy which r the large masses of their fellow-subjects.—(Hear, hear.) had been veto-' noon for a long Period, and which would not be I It is incumbent on you, not only upon this highest duty of all, done; -av who, with ,, ut oeragioning a dreadful revulsion. The , but also incumbent upon you, from reasons of exped;encv. My ' Lords, the Anti-Corn-Liu Lea gue are cart) Jr,g- on the agitati on question we- how to c arr y ou t a measure i n agreement w i t h the circumstances in which the country was placed.—( Hear, with a view of destroying the Church, impairing the constitu hear.) These (continued the Noble Duke) were the grounds tion of this country, changing the constitution of this House. on which the measure of 1821 was recommended to the House My Lords, you will be powerless if you do not possess as here by Mr. Robinson,—(Laughter.) I will now call the atten- tofore the good opinion of the great body of the middle classes tion of your Lordships to another speech made, not by Mr. of this great country. 1 tell it to your Lordships with perfect Robinson, but by the Noble Lord. It was made in 1841 in respect, this will be the consequence except you do maintain this House, when the Noble Lord was not sitting on the Minis- that good opinion, and you cannot maintain that good opinion terial bench, and he would read a short extract from it. Ido if this great body find you voting against your former promises, this to show that the Lord Ripon of a former day was not the and against your former pledges ; and if you have not them with Lord Ripon of to-day, and that I conceive him better entitled you, you are powerless. In conclusion, I will only, though at to be followed then than now. The Noble Duke then read the the same time most earnestly, implore your Lordships to vote extract which was to the following effect :—" Looking at the against this measure, because I believe that it is (if you do not motives and principles by which men are governed, he could reject it) accepted only as an instalment of future and still not think of abandoning all the settled political rules upon greater changes ; and I ask your Lordships now, at the out- Which they had hitherto acted. It appeared to him that the posts, to fight your battles, or else, depend upon it, you will Government scheme was both vicious and fallacious." There have a difficulty hereafter in showing a proper front. was no word there of Lincoln-heath. "He could not doubt that —( Hear. ) My Lords, I vote against this Bill , be under the operation of the new corn -l aw a cons id era b le portion lieving upon my honour that it is a measure which of the country would be thrown out of cultivation."—( Hear, is only the first attack—that it is a measure which will shake hear.) But if you wait a moment you will get to Lincoln- the foundations of the Throne, cripple the Church, and en heath —you only require to allow me the next sentence or two, danger our institutions, and convert a hitherto happy and con " The evil once commence d no one could see where it would tented people into wretchedness and misery ; and because I stop, or what disastrous consequences would result from it.,, believe it will lead to endless confusion and anarchy, and So that my N o bl e F r i en d l ooks forward to the light-house being that your Lordships are now called upon to make that st an d useful aft er all.—(Laughter.) N ow , l oo ki ng to another speech which I humbly hope you will do.—( Cheers. ) of my N o bl e F r i en d' s, a speech made in 1842, and here he Earl FITZWILLIAM and the Marquis of L ONDONDERRY takes a different view of the question, " The great evil which I both rose together, but in consequence of the calls of the House the Marquis of Londonderry gave way. Earl FITZWILLIAM then said that his Noble Friend l i anticipate from the adoption of the principle that all restrie who had just sat do t.o w r n ,7id h a a n d le read, at t w he it c h on w e h lu k s h ion he of h h a i d s tions on foreign corn should be withdraw is this, that the people of this country will be compelled to depend on other threatenedrf He h ou a their t hi s N L o o h r l de Friend s e n i d f they d consented have doneto this wel l if h e measure. had nations for the supplies of food, not to meet any occasional de ficiency, but to depend altogether on other countries for the ore distinctness the grounds upon which he main portion of their supplies. Such dependence is indeed thawtittillihmeir Lordships acquiesence in these measures hanging upon a broken reed, for they would ever be in danger wouldep. i n e t t e e t d el ed o a g d u t to su • formidable results. He (Earl Fitzwilliam ) of a failure of those supplies." No one doubted that " the pro entertained none h of these apprehensions. He was still willing gress of agriculture, for many years past, has been most re markable ; the progress is not, indeed, able to keep pace with m te eas t u h r i the people, but with a little addition from foreign countries, we He d t any reference to these fears which he has thundered may, indeed, be said to rely upon our own resources. For my we d nursed in his mind, in order to alarm your Lordships ease, it is not necessary to enter into the cost of agricultural products in this country. That cost has become higher than in any other country in Europe." That is true—it was true then, would pass to a consideration of the measure, and should and it is true at this time. It is quite true that the cost of ag- not go into any part of his Noble Friend's speech, nor should he ricultural produce is higher here, but this would not be the trouble himself with its details, but he could not help ey . g case if it were not for the particular and heavy b ur d ens 't o w hi c h that they had a r i g h t to expect an explanation of the state of , , consequent sure.lalnedfrsoce he imenu condescended might f n er the land is subjected. "If we take away protection from the things which should exist consequent on the passing of the mea homesth occasions—and fena m ads ei have measure, an d evt did saoe_sui anardfne od,d n rr moe he est deceiveaddressed, dwe ,awil thehoaauptmsr h esea i sts m nae ton , oeft h f oo i r ,I s feaae N rrgal Noble things ia b oem l n e x e, experience— too, would 0 : i eet however, hvei ebc_o which producer, you will cause the withdrawal of a considerable portion of that produce from the land ; at a time, too, when you may not be able to depend on support from foreign countries; and you will also withdraw the use of that capital which is invested in the land thrown nut of cultivation. he leaped to a conclusion, and called on them to go at once ' There my Noble Friend appears to have been drawn to admit from restri c ti on t o f ree trade. He must defend the N o bl e this point. It was stated b y some of the Members of the House that it was n o t t h e i ntent i on of the Government that Lord from any c h arge o f i nconsistency, because he had not only the Bill of 1842 should be a final measure, and thereupon my now, but on former occasions, expressed hi mse lf as a d verse to Noble Friend says , "If we can imagine that the Ministry had any duty on the import of foreign ' grain. However, the warfare been guilty of the crime of endeavouring to deceive the was concluded. He had been long enough engaged in it, and it people of this country on this subject, I can only say that they gave him th e greatest sat i sfaction to contemplate the time of will be guilty of one o f t h e most miserableas well as base peace when this Bill would pass, for he could not contemplate political vices of which a Ministry can be considered capable." that a time would come when the Noble Lord upon the Wool -(Loud cheers.) "I am convinced that this Bill will be re- sack would propose a revival of the corn-laws. He was not c.‘enizeteLbytt _y xv ou ,,, aj . a satisfactory adjustment of this great one of those who believed that any disastrous consequences would accrue to their Lordships from the measure. His • nestereees sr ell, it appears that my Noble Friend the 'Nome . opi nion was quite the contrary; and, from circumstances which Duke on the cross benches (the Duke of Buckingham) was not satisfied w ith th a t d ec la ra ti on ; and what answer did m had come to his kn ow l e d ge w hil s t t h e measure had been de- Noble Fri en d oppos it e ma k e t o hi m ? H e cer t a i n l y h a d not bated in another H ouse , w hi c h strengt h ene d hi m i n that opinion, y the ar rogance to state t h a t any l aw P arl i ament s h ou ld pass he must speak hi s m i n d on t hi s su bj ect. He was about to on this subj ec t, or an y o th er , sh ou ld b e t a k en as fi na l. All h e vote for this Bill; h e t rus t e d th at i t wou ld b e passed—he be. could say for himself was that if he had brought lieved it would be p asse d b y a great ma j or i ty. But he was forward a measure intending and wishing that it should free to say that if it h a d b een hi s l ot, on any other occasion, not be fi na l h e wou ld sa y so . H e h o p e d thi s measure to have been succe ss f u l i n i nv iti ng t h e i r L ordsh i ps ' attention to would be final, he thought it was a good thing if it were, the kind of Bill now proposed, the present Bill was not the and it should not be his fault if it were not.—( Protection one he would have submitted for their Lordships' consideration cheers.) Now, my Lords, it appears however, that my Noble or adoption.. He was not one of those who dealt in language Friend admits that very large sums of money have been ex- which he thought was more fit for ancient ladies—(A laugh)— ended upon the improvemeet of land in this country im . my than for grave states men . Th ey were to ld of t h e cruelty of rt.'s, a great d ea l o f t h at money was i nvested in such taxing the nece ssar i es o f lif e , b ut h e was not one of those who Provements before the year 1842, and lam sure that there are believed that there was anything inhuman, even under the many of your Lordships here present who will remember that pressure of the greatest scarcity, in maintaining the duty on that money having been laid out on the faith of protection was the importation of foreign corn. He did not believe that there one of the main arguments which were adduced to recommend was any difficulty in levying the duty on that import, and in Your Lordships to reject, the Committees that were moved that respect he disapproved of the present Bill, as it wasted a for year after year to inquire into the corn-laws. I ask large revenue which they could have raised. They had wasted whethe r that argument has not been strengthened since 1842? a revenue which they must replace by other taxes, to be con- I have read the speeches of the Minister who proposed the tinued or to be imposed. He said that other taxes were to be measure in this House, and I ask whether it was not perfectly continued or to be imposed, because even under that system notorious that large sums of money had been expended in this of law which has ju•t been condemned in the Howe Mast laudable and desirable object on the faith of the of C o m mons — and after the anticipated (if he could use such a Act o f P arliament. Then, my Lords, I ask word with regard to the anticipation of the decision of their nu, will you now pass a measure—will you now. Lordships), after the anticipated vote of their Lordships, he pass a retrospective line of confiscation of property—will you might venture to call that law absurd—but even under that sys tleprived th e cap it a li s e — b e h e t h e owner or the occupier of the tem a lar ge revenue was p l aced i n the exchequer of the coon seil--of the means of gaining that fair return for his outlay try. That revenue was about to be removed, and they must Which he made on the faith of the existing law? Now, what find a substitute for it, and where it was to be found he knew does another authority say on this subject? He says, that not ; whether in an increase of the income-tax, or by the in nnier the system of protection which had existed for above 200 crease of the Excise duties, if they could be increased to any Years, wild, heather :and has been reclaimed, extensive tracts greater extent. It so happened that when he was first mane °f country have been drained, by which a healthy population acquainted with this anticipated legislation, he was at a have been emooloyed, and their lives prolonged ; hod this not great distance from this country, and he heard that it at the expense of the manufacturing prosperity. My was said in the other House of Parliament that gen- Lords, I make that quotation, because I see that it is applica- tlemen were not to t a k e t h e measure by itself —the] ble to the present moment. But, my Lords, your Lordships were not to look at th e Bill f or t h e a b o li t i on of the corn laws are aware that under this system of protection, those for whom by itself, but they were t o l oo k at the whole measure—they I know you will always feel the liveliest and deepest interest, were to look at everything that might be given on the principle compensation.. He did no t b e li eve t h at the landed interest suffer i e consequence of this me asure , an d h e t h ere f ore the working classes in this country—those that asst agricultural , ofe that there was m uc h i n th e way o f compensat i on n and those that are operative—for I feel the same sentiments would towards both of them—will be the great sufferers . Look, my did not Lords, at this return : at the present moment there are in the to be given. believ Other persons w ou ld v i ew i t i n a diff erent light, of 2 - , with regard to the compensation to be given to the landed in saving? banks WO,OOO accounts, with an average i . terest, but he thought it , was not a very unnatural expectation, each ; 60000 depositors with an average of 71. each ; that what was considered a great boon to the landed interest— the total . (and it seems to indicate how this country nay, the existence of the present corn-law, should require corn tas been pauperised by protection), amounts to pensation on its removal. When he was told in Italy that they r OO O,OOO l . - sterling. That is the result of pro anticipated a great reduction in the taxation, he certainly did section which is now about to be arrested from us. It rimy be arr este d f rom us b y f orce, b u t never, my L or d s, w hil e not expect that it would be made up by a new t ar iff . Th ere these st a t ements are before us, will they do so by argument, might instead, he thought, have be en a cons id era bl e re d uct i on My. Lords we are told that we are to have free trade. The in the excise -laws, and he had had a san gu i ne expec t a ti on th a t , ma nufacturers —no, not the manu f ac t urers , b u t a sec ti on o f th e her Majesty's Ministers, who seeme d t o care not hi ng a b out taxation, would have done something of this kind. He thought man ufacturers—a section of Manchester cotton-spinners, tell ns that we know nothing abont farming ; and they say we will there might have been at least a considerable reduction, if not ,take your farms from you, we will bring capital — wonder an entire repeal. of the malt tax.—(Hear, hear.) That would have been a large and proper compensation; he thought also 3 1 cod not say experience —and work them properly. This that the landed interest should have had that tax repealed, tehange, then, they say shall be made, and we are called upon ~sis.. remove.. from our farms and from their occupation from as it operated, not only unequally, but oppressively upon them. This tax was not only injurious to the nemp to 30,000 of the tenantry of this country. But, my Lords, f landlords, but more especially to the farmers become of You ream', the from their occupations, what is to and occupiers of land, as it operated to raise the price of beer of them? ' Why m my Lords, all this tenantry with to the pers l o v n e s t w o hom • they erri f p o lo t Ked.. The repeal of that tax o r o t ro mlo t s a t x s , ; (( tut iie in ite h e e t , i i nF t their families, when the are turned out of employment, must go to the union workhouse for their daily bread, or they must t w ha n t l , d h i e nv ev e ould h noletylandgdetno of income-tea, migrate to the manufacturing districts, where, if it is their repealed, but he would lay a large additional tax on real destiny to seek employment, they will serve under these very property. There was another point on which h e en t er t a i ne d ' lien who have been the cause of their ruin an d d estruction, a strong feeling. They were to have a bit o f a s lidi ng sca l e Sod the w h o l e o f t h e i r wor ldly prosperity; bat, my Lords, I know well you w ill no t s a n ction this. You know too well , my for three years ; but what the use of that was h e cou ld not see. Lord s "Lords that these manufacturers have a deep hostility against The general opinion of those engaged i n agr i cu l ture was, that the far if the question was to be settled, it oug ht to b e sett l ed imme 'm e -aye ever farmers of England , because they know that the farmers b ee n warmlyg a ttached to our Constitution, and to diately. (Hear, hear.) He had always been averse the rights and liberty of the Cro wn . The y wi sh a l so to lower to any other course of dealing w ith t h e l aw — he had the p r i ces of pro d uce , and to get a large number of agricultu- always been, and was, opposed t o a gradual abolition. rests into their towns for the purpose of lowering the wages of On these grounds he was always adverse to gradual aboli. the Work-people . They wish permanently to lower the wages tions , and if he were to propose a law on this subject, h e wou ld of th e operative, not only from a desire to obtain greate r propose one very different f rom th at wh i ch was brought in by Profits for themselves, but they do it also for the purpose of her Majesty's Ministers, and he was not surprised at the indig- preventing those strikes which seldom take place when wages nation which it excited among many of their Lordships. It are l ow . But, my Lord., again let me ask you what is to seemed unfortunately as if there were a sort of race, a sort of St. become of the yeomen and tenantry of this great country ? 1 Leger or Derby, between the advocates of the Corn Bill ansi wish to know, when the value of produce is so diminished, and the present Ministry, as to which should render themselves when the poor-rates are so much increased—l should ask most unpopular, but the Treasury had gone a-head of them on lour Lordships how they will b e ena bl e d t o d o any t hi ng b ut thi s ques ti on . W e ll , i nasmuch as it got rid of the question of lager f or a f ew years ? M y L or d s, i t i s a cur i ous circumstance, protection, he rejoiced at it, but he could not but think the nd one w hi c h you are no d ou b t aware of, that in this country Bil l one of which their Lordships had reason to complain. He 4_ gensral wh en th e pr i ce o f produce f a l ls poor-rates in- comp l a i ne d of i t, b ut he must vote for it ; he was driven into a extracting from the t e nth repor t o f t h e P oor- l aw C omm i s- f or t hi s Bill or h e must run the risk of losing the Bill for a e n , er asotnefigures with respect to thi s . I h ave t a k ent h em f rom yea r . H e va l ue d t h e measure f or the abolition of protection to t report, and I could only find th em d own t o t h e year 1843, corn , an d h e cou ld not t h erefore run the risk of such an event. still, at the same time, I bring this return forward, to show He ought not perhaps to say what he was now going to say, i s O ur Lordships that what I have stat e d h as occurre d . I f i nd b u t express i ons had been used that made it necessary for him "1 that report, that whilst the price of wheat was ties. per to do so. Some Noble Lords had asked him to help them in 4,quarter, the cost upon the populatio n f or th e ma i ntenance of t h e i r oppos i t i on ; his answer to those Noble Lords must be— the Poor, and for out-door relief, was 4s. Bd. p er h ea d. My " Y ou never help me. " —(Laughter.) You have therefore no !Ards, ir the year 1843, when wheat was 545. 4d. per quarter, , just right t o as k f or my h e l p on the present occasion. But was expense 5,, s d . ; even i f he were willing to give that support, he could not give it the rate o f upon the population per be a d t herefo re showing that when the price of wh e at i s l ow th e consistently with his views of the great objects o f th e measure. Pc osarat e . are higher; and that when wheat is at a remunerst.. He thought th e G overnment of this acted unfairly t o : lag pric e t - bose rates diminish. And it is self - evident why they the House. He thought th e House L o cl un g t r ry great reason to com es, reduced ; because the people get employment.—( H ear , plain of them. Why, in propounding a measure of this magni hare -- Frien ea r.) Noe, my Lords , one of the attacks m a d e by my N o bl e tude—not merely a measure of this magnitude—but measure Friend, and by his colleagues — the Anti-Corn - law L eague — which must have i s t urp w ri a se a d ri a g l h l t th to eir pr L op o a o r s d o ship t s hTs d, this, that the tenantry of this country have no capital he asked whether and no skil. Alv Lords, I believe there is no country in the measure in such a way as to Worldpreclude their wh ore f ar m' ers are more skilful and more i n t e lli gent Lordships from effecting a desired settlement of the question i f t o i t practiceweedecent, t hi s vf---i1(.1-lear, hear)—and where they are more upright, and by introducing certain amenrdmanrdtssh?ipsH, ellaosokseed, state this, because I measure in this manner s ? It was accordi the ere thev behave better to their humble . neighbours if it was fair towards hei am morethink personally acquainted with the farmers of this empi re a m easure o f this great importance, tha n t g resolutions should en an 0 _ ne of your Lordships, and I contradict the assertion ha . ve been produced in the other House, and communicated t Mat they e been the M. are not skilful, and I think it would be too bad if a this House in the first instance. This would hay e Minister was to turn round and to taunt that important body of proper rule for the Ministry to have pursued. They tnen . have had an opportunity of considering this the bevy aYitg that they have not uestio large capitals. My . Lords, could then unequal, the unjust, the unfair manner in whichq withn with the . other House, and of associating their th e te _Y, the with the nantry cf this coantry are taxed —( Cheers ) — coupled views the views of the other House of Parliament. them. They could not enter o currency into such a ne oti t . Bill of 1819, have decidedly dimished their means Now the round was cut from The smallest amendment to the ( tO tibsi stenee • but th have now sufficient capital to be enabled ~.- implore a ß w i l f l u would an e,. env . fatal g D e i a t a l o e p n ;: r t 0 , r a i n n gd of f e t would he oon conduct beof her one Majesty'st o risk so .;.'Proveine of the land . But the new scheme, the new plan „.,•'ould preventntthis ' fo r i f the y want to get eaPital,for the im- Government, adopting not their opinions, but adopting all the views . which were expressed by his Noble Friend on the Oppo 'rreverientofthe land, cl, this Bill would prevent it, because it co uld diminish the value of their produce.—(Hear, hear.) sition bench (the Duke of Richmond) with respect to the L. lat it is Noble Friend's argument that it will not produce it ; conduct of the . Government on this question, he felt precluded question, implored and d d he entreated made tha t t h e a i p r p Lordshipseappeal n ot only l yn to acting in any other manner than that which he was 17, i t 1 you do not admit that it will reduce the price of provisions, from . gre H at e 4 , ul be dangerous indeed, for that clearly will be the result. a to bo r u is t k t t o h d a o t YLord Inot think that I should myself be justified in much I s,dothose °nger trespassing upon your Lordships' attention. I have who were with him in wishing to set this question at rest, t leter * •feeling which I enter- but he made it with almost equal confidence to those who tai fora moment disguised the strong lam thought the existing law ought to be relieve on this great and momentous question, and I think . do maintaine d ; for it was a d also by doing so from believing that the great majority measure w h ic h would away with a system which had been Your Lordships dislike this measure as much as I do. — mischievous to every class of society ; and there was no class f ormer cs.) My Lords, I believe, and as I stated upon a whitest had reaped such bitter proofs of it as the agricultural .?ri "°..ion, I will repeat it now, that if the votes upon inter. s tner —( Hear The Duke of CLEVELAND regretted that he should be 41 question were to be taken by ballot in this House —(Hear, near)—l do not belie twelve balls in favour compelled to oppose a Government with which he had always of it.—(Lond eheers believe there would be however, hitherto acted. In 1843, he was invited by the Noble Deice there are some of and laughter.) My Lords, at the head of the Government in that House to move the come Se courteLnordship s who say " Free trade must address in answer to h h from ' t e speec the Throne ; and, cone you had better . . give way at (nee ; there lag t° th° contrary ; curing then in the principles of the Government, he readily I deny that the great bode' oafri excitement out of doors." Now consented to undertake the duty, but before doing so he re in favour of this measurye7: operatives in this country are Noble Duke that - rumours were abroad that Minis "' h ear)—and I say that the minded thethe . re- Anti -Corn-law League ha never dared to have a public meet- tern intended to change cure-law which they had passed ing without tickets, even at It their sedition—(Cheers) —they edopester, the very hot bed of the year before. The Noble . Duke , however, informed him no foundation whatever for any such rumour, five s at a public meeting without tickets. dre to trust the opera- that there was Cleveland) u on that a th • u ority, not that even if it were so—if there were ex • MY Lords, I think and he (the Duke of p eiternentthe ru mour, but went further and declared it would be a bad argument to use. 1 think out of doors, only contradicted were concerned, that emit that argument once it will be converted i that if you ad- that so far as the present Government And he understood Precedent (Hear, hear) —an argument which would angerous measure at least was intended to be final.. hee d him ( rs. Remus in future times. Then, my Noble Lord be dan- as much from what the Noble Duke had tol -- C s, there of ta inl other Noble Lords who say "We never voted are eer- A corn-law could be traced as far back as the reign King Government. Y er , Lau hter. ) "We do not like to against the John, and s u e t modificains and im wovements had been made in theoye..n Government ( of this g country."—( Hear, hear.) v 0 t zs,e lost it from time to time supported Sir R. Peel—we cannot abandon our leader,'?ve passed. He contended that the agitation which had recently (Rear, hear . My My Lords, it is not his party who have ahan_ taken place against the Corn Bill ought to have been re do__ , _. ar. e but it is Sir R. Peel who happens to have pressed by the Government, but if they assented to the measure abandoned Sir R. peel, his party—(Hear, hear, and laughter .) And, my one of shedit impossible to retrace their steps, which was s l e rds, others again come forward and support Sir R. Peel on British lar strongest objections he could urge against it. The for gro un d o f ems istency, but Sir R. Peel has lost all character industry of thef was not afraid to compete with the skill or ; et ' c onsistency, for there is no man in this country will ever with the rest o;rtefilien farmer, if he were placed on equal terms regain the confidence of the large classes of the community.— the heavy burdens under runtey, and freed from the influence of I C heers.) It took him upwards of ten or twelve years before poor -rates, or if those n taxeser h it laboured, namely, taxes and a e could gain confidence , after the year 1829—( Hear, hear).— country. He would now refer were borne by the rest of the L n d he has t o more chance of regaining the confidence of the it had been said had be refer to the great concessions which Ole now than he has of sitting on the throne of this coun- farmers of this country. Trnherrently made in favour of the r e •J'ess(Hear, hear, and laughter .) Well then, my Lords, I duction upon linseed, whereby ristt concession made was a re iust call our Lordships' attention to the motives which were could obtain it at a cheaper rate. Now said that the farmer ' ahli el y I will not speak of Parliament, but of those large farmers grew their own linsnewe it so happened that the n 4t _. y avowed. their object is to crush farmers could mot afford to use it. Well, and that the small th e ° l.d , ,ors. They publicly avow that h ,the next con and cries of " No, cession was, the reduction in 40.,!listoeracy of the country .—( Cheers , clover seed. He believed that mostrespectable, the greater part of the he ) My Lords, I will not say one of the they would of derive farmers grew their own seed, and bemuse certainly he is not one of the most respectable mem- 0 kid r the Anti-Cornelaw League, but a Mr. Bright, fairly . The last concession believed was the reduction of the duty on i'li e °l)e nlY , at all the meetings, states that his desire is to French brandy. Now the fact was, that the farmers of this tru st a- th t aristocracy . —( Hear, hear. ) ) My Lords, I hope and country scarcely knew what French brandy was ; they drink et hat : your ear, • that this is a question that brandy which was distilled by themselves, and very much ~ v an •r• your Lordships will remember r a black dose ,—( Hear, hear.) Those 'r e eoll e l 'nportance—( Hear, hear) —that your Lordships will resembled in colour a that he knew of h • 01 a -e t 'the eventful times which we are looking forward to— were the only concessions . as eying been made 'tr e k lk ecr)—that it is of th greatest importance to the in favour of the Uri •tish farmer. He contended that this m e a. °lligf e "aq Legislature of this country—it e is their duty, in my sure was the most cruel, unjust, and oppressive measure that fitrt e -n s to Vote w i t h out favour or affect i on — to l a y as ide was ever attempted to be passed by the Legislature upon an feeling dpolitical bias , and to vote according industrious, loyal, and an independent people—( Hear, hear)-- o w. gan t Iter4icieuces upon measures affecting the weal of and it was adopted for the purpose of oppressing that class for THE SUN, LONDON, .TUESDAY EVENING, MAY 26, 1846. and whether the means proposed to obtain it will effectuate it. You have a right to know from the first Minister cf the Crown the probable effects of such a measure-but in the silence of the Government, we have all argument against it. One of those used in the discussion of the measure, was the apprehended famine in Ireland, and the successful operation of the tariff in 1842; but this does not relieve me from a difficulty-one of these arguments may be valid, but valid they both cannot be, immediately contradictory as they are the one to the other. If the repeal of the corn-laws be calculated to relieve thefamine in Ireland, supposing the famine always to exist, it must be by bringing a large amount of corn into the markets at so low a price as to bring it within the reach of the starving population ; and on the other hand it is alleged that prices will rise on ac count of the increased demand. Let me examine these two questions of the famine, and the operation of the famine, and if on entering on this topic I am compelled to trouble your Lord ships at much greater length than I desire, I must pray your Lordships' i n d u l gence, and on entering on this dr detail of statis tms, I chee r f u ll y and willingly sacr'fice all advantage I would de rive by alluding to more exciting, because more personal, topics. -( Hear, h ear , and cheers.) I would beg your Lordships' atten tion in the first place to the latter end of October, th e com mencement of November last. My Nr ble Friend has t o ld you that the fami ne was not the immediate cause of the introduc tion of this measure to your Lordships-but with h all reaeenctfotor to my Noble Fri en d, I must say that if it had no t the apprehension of scarcity in Ireland, your Lordships would never have been asked, in this session at least, to have passed this measure.-( Hear, hear.) When the Cabinet was called together at the close of October last, it was called together for the purpose of considering the state of Ireland. Papers were laid before us showing the failure of the potato crop, and reports of certain professors were placed before us, which in my opinion, tended ve r y muc h to aggravate the evil of which they complained. We were called on to consider what steps were to be taken for the relief of Ireland, for it was for their relief that we were convened, and we were invited to open the ports by an order in council. I was of opinion then, as I am of opinion now. that at the close of October the real state of the case was wholly unknown to the Government. In the first place, not above one-third of the potato crop bad failed, and in the next, there never was a season in the history of Ireland, when, so far from there being a famine, there was so large a supply in the country of all descriptions of food for the consumption of the inhabitants. We were also told that foreign countries were taking steps to prevent the export of food, and it was stated to us that on the continent there was a scarcity in their crops. I certainly thought that that was an additional reason for not acceding to the invitation, and for this reason, because the effect of opening the ports would be to stimulate consumption, when it was necessary to discourage it by every tneans in our power-( Hear, hear)-and it would be likely to eegravate distress, if distress existed.-(Cheers.) But I en. reat of you to bear in mind the wide and manifest distinction between scarcity and famine, and great local and individual dis eess.-( Cheers.) I speak of the famine as an utterly baseless vision, which haunted the imagination of the Government ( Hear, hear, and cheers.) I speak in very different terms, and with very different feelings, of that amount of destitution and distress which naturally prevailed on the failure of the potato crop, but upon which the repeal of the corn• law can produce no more effect than if you were to pats a law that should reduce the price of pine apples.- (Cheers.) Distress existed then not because corn was dear, ter it might be said never to be dear ; it had never risen to any extraordinary high pitch. Their state of suffering arises from a very different circumstance-it is this, because they are not as the labourers are in England, working for steady ana permanent wages-it is because they have invested their labour and their capital in the cultivation of some small plot of ground for which they pay a large rent-the produce of tha' failed, and they had no labour to look to, and having no means of employment they have no prospect of buying food, and that is the state of the cottiers. Another class, and not an unimportant one, comprising about 5,000,000 or 6.000,000 of the people, namely, the small farmers and occupiers of land in Ireland, in what state were they ? They find their potato crop has failed they find that it is unfit for individuals, and not a few of them have converted the diseased potatoes into food for cattle, and a very good kind of provender it has turned out to be. They had thus the means of relieving themselves from the loss of their potato crop ; but the corn had been very successful, and they had thus also a means of redress. And by the way of further relieving them, you propose to enact a law which has for its object a reduction in corn, upon which they rely ; there fore, when appealed to about the famine, I took the liberty of recording my opinion against the opening of the ports ; but at the same time so strongly did I feel the importance of unani mity, so strongly was I convinced of the evils consequent on the breaking up of any Government, I intimated my entire readiness to yield my own opinion, and consent to the suspen sion of the corn-laws, provided on l y a suspens i on was intended - (Cheer s .) But hen I was told that this temporary exi gency was to lead not to a remedy commensurate with the evil, and that a suspension was to be made for the purpose of not re-enacting the corn-laws again, I felt I should not take a course consistent with my own feelings, as an honour able man, were I to support such a measure.-(Hear, hear. ) An adjournment of the question at all events took place, suffi cient information not being before us. In the close of No vember, when the Cabinet met again, I cordially concurred in the measures of the Government in the appointment of ail the heads of those departments of the Government which might have the best opportunities of furnishing employment, and of communicating with the Lord-Lieutenants of the diffe rent counties for the purpose of distributing relief when it should be wanted, and by a wholesome check of the markets to prevent prices from rising to an extravagant height. I ga ve my cordial con sen t t o t h ese measures, butll conceived that the repeal of the corn-laws would be most unjustifiable, and would be, in addition, an i n j ury to the people of Ireland.-( Hear, hear.) The question, when the Cabinet met again, was nominally different; and it was with some surprise, and no little disappointment, I found myself alone in my opposition. I felt deeply and painfully the prospect of separation. I felt most painfully the weight of responsibility which I was about imposing upon myself. I am not ashamed to say that I eked for a period of eight-and -forty hours to decide my mind.- ( Hear, hear.) It was no sacrifice in me to abandon office. I had to examine, and I did rigidly examine my own mind whether I was influenced in the conduct I adopted by an anxious desire to escape the burdens of office.-( Hear, hear.) I tried to school myself into the belief, that under certain circumstances the interests of the country must require the adoption of sue , , a measure, but I could not bring myself to such a humiliaor, coulee:Lion ; and moat reluctantly, but without difficulty. I felt myself constrained to abandon office, sup ported as I was by one of my own colleagues, whom, if I could name, Isis high position and character,- in his subsequent adhesion to the Government would shield him from the slight est shadow of a doubt that he has not been actuated by the highest and the purest motives; but supported by one of my colleagu s I was compelled to resign.-( Hear, hear, and cheers.) Upon that the Government of Sir R. Peel was broken um Your Lordships have the whole of the subse quent circumstances which have been already stated to you, and 1 feel that I owe a great apology to your Lordships for adverting to them at such length. Then we are compelled to investigate the corn-laws of 1842, and have your predic tions upon that event being falsified? Have they not been fulfilled in a wonderful degree? The object of a corn-law I apprehend to be, to place this country in a state of independence as regards food with respect to foreign countries; and though this view may be scouted, it was not thought unworthy the attention of great and eminent men; and if your Lordships will forgive me, I would refer to a letter of Mr. Huskisson, who placed the question in a much more able point of view than lam able to do. He says, even in peace all dependence on foreign nations for supply is most dangerous.-( Heer, hear.) During the last three years, 741,('09 quarters has been the average of our home consump tion, showing a very considerable increase. Has that been produced by m easures o f proscription or by the increase of prices ? These are the greatest fallacies, but formed to lead us into errors in defending the Corn Bill. Statements are attributed to us which were never made by us. We are said to have asserted that it was the intention of the corn-law to guarantee the farmer a price of 555. per quarter. The inten tion of the corn-law was no such thing. The intention of the corn-law was, that if by legislation we would fix the average price of corn, that we should fix the price from 545. to 58s. The object of the corn-law is, that when the prices are above 58s. the consumer shall be protected by a large influx of foreign corn; and if the price is below 545., that the producer shall be protected against any other competition than that which he met on equal terms those exposed to the same vicissitudes deriving the same ad vantage and subject to the same variations as himself. What, in point of fact, has been the result, as far as the consumer is concerned, of the operation of these corn-laws ? The average prices of the last twenty years have been 575. per quarter, and the average prices of the last three years havebeen 595. 9d. per quarter. The prices of the last year, which they were told was a year of great scarcity, was 50s. 10d. per quarter. My Right Hon. Friend said that he wished to keep the prices between 545. and feSs. If I were to refer to the average prices of last year, the result would he the statement of a price of from 50s. to 50s. 10d. But a return has been laid before the House of Commons, giving a more accurate measure of the cor-law un der the sliding scale, and of the manner in which they operated to check any tendency to a rise or fluctuation in the price of corn. There is the return of the weekly prices of corn, from March, 1844, to March, 1846 ; and of those 104 weeks, this was the result : -The prices were before 545. and 58s. per quarter for no less than 48 weeks of that period ; the price was below 545. per quarter in 54 of those weeks; and the prices were above 58s. in 7 of those weeks only; and the prices never rose in any week above 555. So far as the commercial interest was concerned, have we any right to say that this corn-law, in its operation, have deceived the expectations d rhich have s been formed upon it, although it is quite true that the price of corn has fallen considerably below what was expected by my Right Hon. Friend? If we look at the total amount im ported, since the first great rush of two and a half millions of quarters, since the introduction of this measure, they would find that it was two millions of quarters that have come into the market since that time. There entered under 555, per quarter only 395,000 quarters; and between 595. and 555. per quarter, the point at which we desire competition to bear, there en tered 1,445,000 quarters:; and there entered above 595. per quarter, only 69,000. That shows that the present law operates in the manner, and to the extent which was expected. He was sorry to trouble theirLordships-(Hear)-so long but he would take another point with regard to the fluctuation of prices in corn. Since the corn-laws passed the total amount of fluctua tion between 1844 and 1846 was only 58s. to 455. All the difference between any two succeeding weeks during those two years did not amount to a difference of 30 per cent. The greatest fluctuation between any two succeeding weeks, one week succeeding another, was only is. 6d. ; and the greatest fluctuation betweesi any two months in those years was 4s. and no more. I recollect when these corn-laws were introduced in 1842, it was put forward as a matter of wonder at what they could do, when it was stated they had only produced a fluctua tion of 49 per cent. in one year, the smallest they had ever known. Let us look to the fluctuation of other countries, and see what has taken place from December 1844 to Deeember 1845. During those two years the amount of fluctuation toes in Dantzic, 665. per cent. ; in Hamburg, 86s. per cent. ; in Rostock, 64'. per cent. ; and in Odessa, 84s. per cent. They were told that this was the effect of the sliding scale and the corn-laws. He would refer to the year 1842, when the Secretary of State for the Colonies stated that the fluctuation in New York was between 30 and 40 per cent., the m ax i mum a t N ew Y or k b e i ng 70e. ; at Phila delphia, 76; ; at Portsmouth, 72 s ; and at New Nerfolk 62; and that centetued to the present time from be tween the years 1841 and 1846, when our flu Ouaiioos did not on the average exceed 30 per cent ; while between 1844 and 1e45 they did nit exceed 70 per cent. In answer, we are told that these fleetuetions were the effect of the sliding scale; but so far as I see, during the three years of the existence of the law of this country. it had produced a great steadiness and cheapness of prices. This was the law introduced in 1842, and which now was about to be abandoned. If we wished to see the history of these fluctuations, let us leek at what took place in Europe from the year 1792 to 1805, when we were dependent entirely on foreign corn. Let them listen to an ex, tract from the work of err. Malthus, who states that, during the last century, that part of it in which the greatest iraporta thin took place, namely, from 1792 to 1805, there were no years in which a greater amount of fluctuation took place. In 1792 the price was 42;. per quarter, in 1796 it was 775. per quarter, in 1801 it was 118 s. per quarter, and in 1803 it was down to 665. per (tauter ; so that between 1792 and 1801 the price of corn was trebled; and from 1798 to 1803 the price arAse from 50s. to 118 e. per quarter, and fell again to 565. This errs the period of that century in which this country was most emeendent on a foreign , uppity of corn. ( Hear, hear, and loud cheers.) I will no w as k you to look at some other articles or consumption. The fluctuations of corn have been taken and attributed to the sliding scale i look at the price of the potato this measure, yet on other questions the difference be tween himself and their was as great as ever. The Noble Mar. quis then proceeded to read extracts from the report of the E , clesiastical Commiss on, and that of which Lord Devon was the head, to show that 'he opiiiions of those who had bestowed the most deliberate attention to this subject, believed that the repeal of the corn-laws would be beneficial to England as well as Ireland, and concluded by stating that he felt bound to give this measure his mest cordial support—( Cheers). Lord STANLEY—It is with great mistrust of my own abilities and powers, but combined with the most unhesitating conviction of the truth sod strength of the case which 1 have to support, that I venture to submit myself to your Lordships' indulgence while I enter into the defence of a system of law which has been designated by a Noble Earl as an " absurd system;" a m easure w hi c h is most vehemently and dangerously assailed by those by whom it has hitherto been most ably and strenuously supported, and to whom it owes its very existence. I feel how much need I have for your indulgence, as I find myself on the present occasion opposed to all those who have beets hitherto the leaders of both the great parties into which your Lordships' House and the other House have been divided. But, my Lords, however painful I may feel the inequality of the contest in point of ability, I cannot admit that the weight of authority is in favour of those who propose a repeal of the corn-laws. My Lords, I will not appeal (it would be invidious in me if I were to do so) against the present authority and opinions of the Noble Lords upon the other side of the House, to the opinions which have been formed and the expressions which have bsen made use of by those Noble Lords themselves. But I will venture, my Lords, to appeal from the authority of the living to the authority of the dead.—(Cheers.) I will venture to appeal from the authority of the statesman of the present day to all those great names whose measures have been made the liberal and commercial policy of England in time not long gone by —to the brilliant names of Chatham, of Pitt, of Huskisson.—(Cheers.) And, my Lords, when I mention the names, and refer to those whose eloquence is still ringing in your Lordships' ears—and would to God their prudence and wisdom still directed the counsels of this great country—l trust I shall be forgiven by those of my Noble Friends who now occupy seats in your Lordships' House, even if against their opinion I refer to those who first cast an unblemished lustre on the names of Canning and Liverpool.— (Cheers.) From those it is that I have to appeal to the states menthe who have a l ve be a l w ie a v y e e , d I th m e ay de a a l t s i o ni a e p s p o e f al th to e t m h e e n a o u f t h the or i t py resent o f all day . t h those country, or who have taken a prominent place in the nations of the world.—( Cheers.) I meet the Noble Earl, who opened the discussion, and who says that the question has not been raised by former Governments, upon the principle of protection, and I say, that if my Noble Friend will search the record of history, from the earliest time down to the present day, he will find successive statistics in successive ages, that the principles which guided the Ministers of this country were the principles of encouragement to domestic industry and protection to the agriculture of the country.—(Cheers.) So early as the reign of Edward the Fourth, I recollect a memorable preamble, which might be applied to the state of society in the present day, which recites, if I remember right, " That, whereas the labourers and occupiers in husbandry"—not the great owners, but the great proprietors of land—but " Whereas certain la bourers and occupiers in husbandry, being grieviously endainaged by the bringinin from other countries and ports of corn into the realm when the price of corn grown within this realm is low." The Act then goes on to prohibit that importation until the price of corn was as high as 6s. a quarter. The same principles have guided the Legislature from that day to the present, varying according to the circumstances of the country, varying according to the exigencies of the times, varying ac cording to the state of husbandry, or the state of the relations of the country with foreign powers. But through all, and at all times, this pinciple has been considered necessary in order to secure the independence of this country upon foreign na tions for the supply of food. It has ever been the policy and interest of this great country to give encouragement and pro tection to the cultivation of its own soil.—(Loud cheers.) My Lords, I will not be satisfied with home authorities upon the subject. There is net a nation in the world at the present time of any eminence, not one but has acted upon the same principle. There is not one that has ventured up to this hour on that bold and rash experiment in which your Lordships are invited to join. I mean leaving provision, the food of the people, unrestrained by legislative, unprotected by fiscal regulations, and subject to mere chances, subject to the changes consequent upon unfriendly relations, or the inability of supply from foreign countries. My Lords, go through the nations of the earth—France and Holland have both of them not only a system of protection but they have a sliding scale. Prance has a sliding scale infinitely more complicated. Belgium, Den mark, Sweden, Norway, the Germanic Confederations, Por tugal, Spain, the Roman States, Greece, Austria, Turkey, Egypt, United States of America. Having gone through the principle nations, I will tell you there is not one who ventures to leave it's agriculture unprotected, and leave the provision for the food of its people dependent upon chance. And when I see all this, not only I cannot admit the weight of authority is with the promoters of this Bill, but I venture to doubt the authority of that which has been put forward as an indisputable axiom—that the prima . facie inference is in favour of an all unrestricted theweight tra d trade.—(Cheers.) evidence pastand present , s ) Upon the every withr y variety of de nseness o f popu l a t i on, and scarceness of popula tion, with every poss ibl e var i ety o f civil instit u ti ons f rom th e e highest form of ab s ol u t e mo narchy to the lowest forms of re publicism, when accompanied by the authority of all the coun tries in favo ur o f a sys t em o f protection, I am compelled to admit that th a t w hi c h i s h e ld to be an indisput a bl e ax i om i n favour of free trade, is I contend rather prinzilliscie inference that statesmen in former times, arid all countries of the present day, are not only not destitute of sound opinions, political wisdom, and sagacity, but that the single theme of enlightenment which has dispelled the universal darkness was not that flash which simultaneously, and with marvellous power, enlightened the statesmen of the present day in the month of November last.—, Cheers.) I hope I need not assure your Lordships that, however deeply I may deplore the course that lam compelled to take, no words which may fall from my lips in the course of the observations which I have to make, will in the slightest degree be inconsistent with the deep respect I entertain of my friend's public and personal character, nor that the slightest shadow of sus picion can find a place in my mind with respect to the entire purity of his intentions—if the prominent position which the Noble Duke occupies did not place him, I will not say beyond the reach of criticism, but above the appre hension of censure. Let me refer your Lordships to the high mindedness of my Noble Friend's character—his utter forget. fulness of self. I will not call your Lordships' attention to that trait of his character—his abhorence of all that is low, mean, or selfish. There must be sufficient grounds to your Lordships and the world that whatever may be the circumstances in which he is placed, his decision has been formed upon the sense—l think a mistaken sense, but I doubt not a sincere sense—ot what is best for the public good ; nor will I presume to judge of the convictions of my Right Hon. Friend at the head of the Goverment. I believe that he considered this measure was called for by the great emergencies of the country. —(Cheers.) A man of his great and close experience could not have failed to foresee, as the inevitable consequence of this measure, the complete dislocation and disruption of all party ties, without which, in my judgment, the government of any country cannot be steadily conducted.—(Cheers.) He might have foreseen the shock which would have been given to public confidence in public men—he might have foreseen the shock which would have been given to the confidence of the people in the consistency of their representatives—to the confidence of the country in the House of Commons ; and forgive me, my Lords, for saying to your Lordships' House, if, unhappily, you should imitate the too facile conversion of the House of Commons. He must have known, my Lords, the painful and convulsing struggle between personal attachment. and public principles to which he was exposing his warmest and most devoted friends—he must have felt equally the injury he was doing to his public reputation, to the destruction he was causing to the means of his own usefulness, and believing that he foresaw all these consequences, I cannot but conceive that he conscientiously believed, in making this change that it was called for in consequence of the emergency of the country. I think, however, that he committed the most fatal error which a statesman can commit, that of taking the noisy torrent of agitation for the still, deed, noiseless torrent of public opinion. It will not be the least of the unhappy consequences of these un happy measures that this country and the world will believe that a triumph has been gained by an organised and inte rested association over the first Minister of the Crown, and that a still more fatal triumph has been gained by a first Minister of the Crown, acting under the influence of that association, over his political supporters, and the independence of Parliament. (Hear, hear.) Now, my Lords, with these observations I dismiss all personal opinions. With regard to this measure I must, however, express my re gret that any Noble Lord should have thought it becoming him to cast any censure upon those noble-minded men who, abandoned by their former friends, have put themselves forward in a struggle, and who have exhibited talent which reflects the highest credit upon them, because so long as they could con• fide in their fi iends they had the modesty to keep these opinions from public view. —(Hear, hear.) It is not my intention to follow the Noble Marquis. Ido not desire to speak on the present occasion to your passions, but to your reason. Ido not wish to aggravate your feelings of mortification ; I might use a stronger word than that ; 1 might refer to such feelings as would be felt by persons finding themselves deceived by those in whom they put their trust. Neither will I enter upon the question of consistency ; if I were to do so I should have to direct attention to Noble Lo , -ds upon both sides of the House. There has been upon both sides of the House a difference of opinion, not so much on the real question of protection as the amount of protection to be afforded. And such, my Lords, I believe to have been the case down to the period of that memorable conflict, that verbosa grandiloqua, in November, IB4s.—(Loud cheers.) It may be that some of your Lordships were about to vote in favour of the second reading of this Bill—are de sirous of recording your opinion against the principle of a sliding scale, and that you intend, in the progress of the mea sure, to give effect to that opposition to the sliding scale by sup porting a fixed duty. If that be the case, I have not a word to say against the perfect honour, fairness, and consistency of the course. Now, turning from personal matter to a much more important point, namely, the arguments upon which the Bill is founded, I must say that the difficulties of the question doln)e't ktnhoew were not much removed by my Noble Friend who opened the debate. I do not complain that neither he nor any other Member of the Government has yet stepped forward to explain the grounds upon which they vindicate their conduct, for when we have asked the Right Hon. Baronet at the head of the his simple answer has been, "we must effectwhat Government in the other House what he anticipated as the what yee w e will result of this measue, decline to prophecy; our prophecy failed in 1842 ; we of f hereafter t hese measures a n d will not run any risk of our reputation as prophets it will be. He tells you thal he does not knovv the possi ble or the probable result of this measure. As the old r says: Fiat experiment° inew-pora vini.—( Cheers. ) T l :.r erb some insignificant corner of the globe, some inartiticial sia it in if we y f o ra u nk a lv sk tell society. Let him try it, where a mistake once made is state of irrecoverable, where an error of judgement will not leadnot to formidable consequences. But why are you to tr the midst of the mightiest empire in the world, in this E s y g i l a n ours, highest and mightiest amongst the nations of thelWornld—^ a nation which is in the most artificial state of society o f any country in the world—a nation in which the slightest deranee-- ment of the social scale, the slightest variation in the relati% may produce the most extensive anti the most it - re:n es tl e ' mischief. And in this country, supp orte d by such ''" 3 ments as you have heard from your N o bl e Friend to ,•1.-1 you are called upon to give yo ur sanct i on to the it It may be very well for the A nt i - C orn-law League e. in their own objects and pu rsu i ng their own eng interests. Not that their own interests are consistent with $1 —but it my be very we ll f or such a body, if n ie ot p i ublic weal at least it is natural by th e i r agents to hold difr egitimate, erent lan (Tue..° to different classes of persons —to speak of cheap brew-! and high wages—of a grinding aristocracy --and of hear q landlords, and all that clap-tr a p by w hi c h a multitude deceived—and then t' turn round to th e agr i cultu-ists say, such will be the universal prosperity w hi ch this less; will induce that you must not for a moment apprehend t'lt fall of prices—they will rise, and you will be s e arehoo(„, the blessings about to be poured upon the te es ..ry. will be cheap, but you will get a good pric e for your •u. But if this conduct be natural and legitimate in such it is neither natural nor legitimate in the first Minister o f t ;;, Crown, wielding the authority of the Crown—Speski s s in th name of the Crown—oxereising the influence which his liieh character and station give him, to carry a inns of such great and deep importance with a do;:.„? face. My Lords, you - should be told by the Mi o :, on such an occasion as this, what is the object, and what sr the means by which that object is intended to be effected; you hare a right to see whether that object is in itself desirabl.st. —there was free trade in that article of consumption, there was no restriction on its importa•ion, and yet the price varied from 150 to 100 in the course of a single year. Let us take the price of upland cotton in Liverpool during the years 1836 and 1837—it was ne sliding scale that then regulated the supply —,n January, 1836, it was 8-id. per lb. ;in December, 6id. per lb. ; in November. it was Hid. per lb. ; in March it was 10Lcl. in May it was 50. per lb. ; in December it was sid. again ; and in April it was down to 5-id. again. Is there any fluctuations to be compared with those in the prices of this article, of which we had a regular and systematic supply? With re gard to another most important branch of operation in this country, their Lordships would excuse him if he adverted to one particular point—the supply in a period of the greatest exigency. You will recall to your Lordships' recollection what was the state of the different countries of Europe at the be ginning of the present year. There were apprehensions of a scarcity, an d measures were taken for the i r own protection and security; and that I may not be supposed to misrepresent facts, I will read it from the statement of the First Lord of the Treasury. It stated that in Belgium, on the 24th of Septem ber, the Chamber prohibited the exports, and encouraged the imports of corn. The manufacturing portion cf the country had materially increased since the operation of this law, and even trad, s and professions, of every description had nearly doubted their profits of late years. It is stated that it will defraud the trade and commerce of the country; but, belonging as I do to a manufacturing county myself, and anxious as 1 am to do whatev, r is ca'culated to advance the prosperity or to add to the comforts of the manu facturing classes of the country, I cannot think that the aban donment of the present system will be calculated to meet those ht e ends a y , ev i e . , fnoc ( uanudt Hear, opru os h , p e d ai ri hear.) 0 but rath er t h at i t will be productive of great and serious p l tn ie e li n a t t o b f a s o ur hitherto prod u t b i e v e e n p o t w h e e r e s ff ? ect W o e f succeeded by a glut in the market, ad versity follow tuhpeoenouanfturlyl, d o e r m t a h n a d t .is Irtirytoctahlienuglattoedchteocksetrhvee prosperity of the interests of the manufacturing classes, but do not had them by an unwise system of legislation to depend for their existence on an unwholesome system—( Hear, hear)—in which, I be lieve, the interests of these classes themselves most seriously involved. But if it is desirable to alter the present system fur the sake of the commercial interests of the country, it is not clear to my mind that the repeal of the corn-laws will have the tendency of increasing the manufacturing industry of the country. If there is little or no variation in price, if there is to be no great reduction in the price of corn, then no great increase in the consumption of the article can take place, and the only argument that remains is, the transfer will take place from the home grower to the foreign corn raiser—substituting one class of corn grower; for another. If her Majesty's Govern ment are to be believed on the present question, the price of corn will rise instead of fall. I must say, if you believe that, then will you believe as great a fallacy as was ever palmed on the credulity of any body of men. Who ever heard of in creased competition raising the price of an article. Reason was against it, and not only reason, but facts were against it. True it is the reduction of a halfpenny a pound in the duty on wool did not check competition in that trade. The demand for the article went on increasing, and the supply was not able to keep pace with it. What took _place in 1825, w h en M r. Huskisson red uce d t h e d uty on wool ? In 1824 the duty im posed on that article was 6d., and be reduced it to Id. in 1825. While the price of wool in 1825, before the alteration, was Is. 4d. a lb., in 1830, just five years after the alteration was made, • the price was 10d., showing a reduction of exactly the whole duty taken off—(Hear, hear.) Then the silk trade has been referred to. While the duty has been reduced on manu factured silks, it must be admitted that the duty on the raw silks imported has also been taken off, so that the alteration made in this particular branch of industry is not to be taken as a fair indication of the results of the tariff. While the two al terations I have referred to have somewhat balanced them. selves, the various branches of the silk trade still had a pro tective duty on it, averaging about thirty _per cent.—(Rear, hear.) . Take next the proportion timber. The price of Baltic timber has not fallen in to the reduction of the duty, I admit, but Canada timber has. But it is not to that alone we must look. What compensation has been given for the fall in the price of timber at hom e ? What iz the price of British timber now? Why the fifty cubic feet of timber that was 103 s. before the passing of the tariff, has been since 91s. 3d., and last year it fell as low as 86s. Bd.—( Hear, hear.) I see the Chief Commissioner of Woods and Forests in his place, and if there is any doubts in the fall in the price of Bri tish timber, he can speak to its correctness, for in a sale of timber last October, in the Forest of Dean, all that was offered was but 41. 10s. a load, instead of 61. 10s. Viscount CANNING—It was so. Lord STANLEY—That does net alter the effect of the price. I will not enter into the price of butcher's-meat, as your Lordships are all aware of the causes that have led to the in crease in the price of that article; but I calculate this year that the number of sheep imported has been 7,000. Now, in a single market—that of Smithfield—the supply of sheep this year, as compared with last, has been 16,00"3 to 27,000. There can be no doubt that if this law is abrogated there will be a considerable reduction in the price of corn. But before leaving the tariff, there is one point towhich I will refer, as we have been told a great deal of the effect it has produced on British shipping. Great stress has been laid on the fact that the tariff has in creased in a large degree our commercial activity. Now, I have got a table of the tonnage and number of ships employed in 1842 as compared with 1845 ; and how does it stand ? The tonnage, in 1842, was 3, 619,000, anti the increase in 1t345 was 17,000 tons. If I go back to 1833 I find an annual increase in the tonnage for each year, with the exception of one, and the total amount is 985,00 e, or, dividing it into biannual periods, of 197,000 tons each period. This was the increase from 1833 to 1845, while all the increase since the passing of the tariff is but 17,000 tons.---( Hear, hear.) Why, in one branch of our shipping there has been a larger increase than has resulted from the tariff altogether, and this branch has had no connexion with the tariff, but has arisen entirely from agriculture. The trade to which I referred is the guano trade, a trade which only originated in 1841. In 1843 it was 4,560 tons, and employed 202 seamen. In 1845 it amounted to 219,000 tons, and employed no less a number than 11,434 seamen. Thus from 1843 to 1845 the increase `in the guano trade has been upwards of 200,000 tons to set against the 17,000 tons increase from the tariff.— (Loud cheers.) I admit that the fall in the price of corn will not be equal in all cases to the reduction in the amount of the duty, but it will be so to a very great extent, and I reason from the experienc e of the present I fillla when the price of corn has been 555. a quarter large importations of fo reign corn have taken place. This has been when the duty was 15s. Therefore we may anticipate, if we take off the duty there will be a large portion immediately brought into our mar kets at4os. I have received a letter this rnorningfrom one of the largest corn-dealers in England, whosays that he holds two car goes of red wheat imported from the Danube, which he bought free on board at 145., and the freight to Liverpool was 9s. 6d.; and the party in question had no doubt that he should at the end of the three years be able to supply 5,000,000 of quarters of foreign wheat at an average price at from 36i. to 40s. per quarter. If we go back to 1845, we will find we then im ported 140,000 quarters at 455. a quarter, which paid 20s. duty, thus shewing that it could be imported at a price of 255. or 2 is. a quarter. The reduction may not be so great as this, still that will not reverse my objection to the measure, as I have no doubt corn may ba supplied in such quantities, and at such prices as will press most severely on the English producers, who will be obliged to compete Pith them. I have no doubt also that capital from this coutiry to foreign countries will facilitate the raising of supplies, and thus operate in a very injurious manner, on all those interested in the cultivation of the soil at home. It is not the least of my objections to this measure that it en courages the foreign grower, while it throws in a correspond ing degree the land at home out of cultivation. But now we are told that if the price of corn falls then the manufacturer can get an outlet for his manufactures, because he can sell so much more cheaply. Well, he sells them so much more cheaply ! How is this effected ? Why, if effected at all, it is effected by a reduction of wages. —( Hear, hear.) Now, my Lords, I thought that that was a doctrine foreign to the Anti-Corn law League. I thought that the price of corn had nothing to do with the rate of wages, yet somehow or other the anticipa tion is that the manufacturers will be enabled to produce their goods more cheaply. I cannot understand how they can do so except by paying their labourers lower wages. Now, my Lords, I do not mean to say that in the manufacturing or agri cultural districts the rates of 0 ages exactly fellow the price of corn. I say that wages do not always follow the fluctuations in the price of corn, because they were considerably regulated by the proportion existing between demand and supply. I say that although wages do net exactly follow all the fluctuations in the price of wheat, yet those prices must he steady, whether high or low, for if the markets oscillate the labourer, not ac customed to economise his wages when wheat is low, will be correspondingly depressed when the price is increased. It then surely becomes the duty of your Lordships to balance well the advantages and disadvantages of this measure to the la bourer before you fully pass it into a law. Let your Lords. ships suppose a man with a wife and family of three childen in a manufacturing district —suppose for a moment that that fa mily, on a low calculation, consumes five quarters of corn in the year--suppose also a fall of 10s. per quarter in the price of wheat—and suppose that in consego.,nce of that reduction in the price of grain, the wages of Ot.,e member of that family is reduced one shilling per week, and that, I presume, is the very lowest estimate we can te.‘e. The one shilling thus re tained from that family more than counterbalances the advan tages of the reduction in the consumption of five quarters per year. But we were also told that if the price of wheat should tall, we shall have a highly- increased trade with foreign coup-. tries. We are lbd to believe that Russia and Prussia, and 'are United States, do not take our manufactures because v - , 0 not take their produce in return. Now there never - W as an that argument the ir f upon fact than this. It is a P ac t s with regard to all the countries from whic/.. 1 we dr aw at the present moment, our imports larr„e y p dommate over 1 re' lvw • "" corn our exports, and we consequently allow ad vantages than t h ey give in them :ouch g rea t er is the trade of the Unitcl/ 'return, to us. Here and your Lordships may be mule' , States, for example, of value of cotton alone importer/ ised to learn that the amount greatly exceeds the value oi. , into this country, in one year, veiltha we sent in the same poi: the whole exports put tog n ethLr fi ast years, the exports Lod to the United ,gtate b . I had e ' en to the extent of 7,500,000 i. Yr the United States t, in the eighteen years preceding, the am ount h ad been 7,5 r 00001. Your importation of alone, i n th e l ast five ears, is not a less sum (assuming cotton that we take four-fifhs of our cotton from the United States, and calculating the price, at 4d. per lb.) than 7,817,000/. Now what is the advareter ,e that we shall rece i ve from the United States in reture believe that you will rec e i ve no a d vantage from the passing GI this measure. I find at in th last six years an impore at i, the United States had been e made of 253,000,000 dolt s rs, while their exp or t a ti on to this country ha;( , ached 354,000,000 dollars, leaving a Here balance of 101 is the cos J , O OO dollars i n f avour o f t h e U n i ted States. , i t ,_ti This," he wen s o f the Secretary to the Treasury upon be 25 per cent Sas " is the nominal value, but there should added to make up the real value. There has been a balance and, with the,i n our favour i n eac h o f th e past six years, years, O ur exception of 1839, i n eac h o f t h e l ast n i ne ex t mrt trade is annually increasing, while our imports rema:iii I he same, and any modification made in the oorn-laws , Gres at Britain, which will admit our bread-stuffs On reasolvehle ta rt as " —he does not calculate on this very liberal measure—. O w ill - ive an immense imp u l se t o t h e expor t trade." the other hand," says the Secretary for the Treasury, " every Unproven sent and increase made in our manufactures establishes our al ei,lity to supply the kerne demand both in the cotton and wools a a natoufactures, and tem?s to re.!uce our impor tation from otheo countries." You are told here that as soon as they can dist-tense with your assistance they will do te e . With regard to Russi a and Prussia, the case was the e same. In Russia, in the , year 1533, Mr. Rl‘Grego' ; stated that their total exp ertations amounted to alre ee 11,000,000, while their av erage importations were O nly 6,177,000, showing a halal ice of some 5,000,000 in their favour. And to Preseta s the exportations 2mo...sr.. te a t o 3,138,000, while the itnpertesi‘ e is coached only 50 :e,"000. The duties charged uP'en our ma' eafactures by the Uat:te.d State were almost pro nibitory—th( iy range d f rom 45 tee,s to 150 ; and in the article of glass they re ached 243 per reent. The tariff; of Russia and Prussi a are equally proh i: eitery. Mr. M'Gregor states that the Russian duties are Fareshibitory, because the Government there wishesl to discoaretemance the importation of any artic le (hat ca n b e drawn by tb.e serfs from the mines or forests. Ac cordingly U a the whole of Russia your manufactures are sub jected to an aver Age duty of 65 per cent., while in Prussia y ou ar e e' iarged from 60 to 130 per cent. But the argument . is boldly' cut fon ward that oar duties are equally prohibitory, because v • re 1111 pose 25 per cent. on the article of corn. It is pretende the goods of that this duty prevents our taking countrie I , al' „lough these countries impose no less than five fold on t h lie r oods received from us. Dr. Bowring, wh o was sent ectat ou by a Noble Lord lately in office, held ou t p ex ,nithat a modification of the tinilor duties would be 'AAA -•1.- >ilrl - 7" _...--Ir ---.11,.. .... beneficial to the country. They had now taken off some o f those 'timber duties ; they had taken off some of the duties on cotton, and he should like to know whether the exports to Prussia had increased, as it was expected they had not ? ( The Noble Lord then read several statistical details in corroboration of his argument.) Do we find that our shipping trade has been improved? No. Merchants, it is said, will not enter into the corn trade, because it is a.speculative trade, but all trades are speculative, for all depend upon the seasons, and the markets of the country; yet it is said in this year that it is hazardous to engage in any commercial speculation. The Baltic trade in 1837 employed 612 British ships against 560 foreign. In 1845 the Baltic trade employed 609 British ships against 1,845 foreign. In 1839 the Baltic trade em ployed 148,000 British tons against 147,000 tons foreign. In 1839 the Baltic trade employed 6,016 British seamen against 6,352 foreign. In 1845, the Baltic trade employed 5,375 British seamen against 17,169.-( Hear, hear.) Well, I hare done with the foreign trade, I have done with our foreign prospects. I will admit to your Lordships, that a large ex portation will produce a large increase in the imports, but only for a time, during which you puff up trade to an extraordinary state of prosperity. When that fails, when distress and diffi culty comes, the returns will fall off, and I r , ther think my Noble Friend at the head of the Foreign Department, in the event of a war tkin place with the United St a t es, w i'l find, that instead of a , our_ g fifths, our country will only be indebted to the United States for a small portion, indeed, of our supplies. When war 'cornea, then the markets upon which you have relied are closed against 1 ou, while, in the meantime you have destroyed your home market; and when you have destroyed your borne market, and the foreign market fails you, then comes the period of oppres sion and bitter suffering amongst your manufacturers-of bitter expressions of feeling against those who are now deluding their unhappy dupes with a prospect of increased wages and cheap bread.-(Cheers.) Do not let your Lordships, do not let the country undervalue the importance of this home market.-( Hear, hear.) The estimates and statements I see put forward with respect to it are most ridiculous. If we are to believe these statements, the whole consumption of the home -market in cotton goods amounts only to % of the entire produce, and that amount will give you somewhere about 4s. per head to every one of the population. Your Lordships will be the best able to judge of the accuracy of that statement when I tell you, that in the year 1840 the average ghee.oaonddssuiriph(tacitohnteheoerfs.cioonttsNounnno,gpoods by the inhabitants of the West Indies was not 45., but 1/. 6s. per head. Now, can you be lieve,! if the West Indian negro consumes 1/. 6s. worth of cotton t l ion do of no th t this c i on fe n e t i ry market in cotton stands to the foreign market i t n hisa t t h o e nt p hly r e o 4 p hs o o. r m t p in e-e : of at leas cotton tl4 to 17. In the year 1820 we exported 248 , 000 tons of goods ;in 1844 the quantit value of the cotton go o d s consumed in England at 32 millionsour- Alr. Hu liw fold, or 146 milli ons. I n 1803 ss a n s n in e c t rfase t d he s ima et. sterling. I find that the quantity entered for home con sumption was 73 millions in 1820 ; it has since increased to 289 millions of lbs. of worked up cotton goods, employing British labour and bought by the British con sumer. In 1844, the home consumption had increased four fold, not only in cotton, but in every other articles of British produce, such as cotton-wool, linen, silk-yarn, hardware, leather, cabinet-ware, and paper. These articles in the home market produced 148,340,0001., while the whole value for for eign and home consumption was 280,200,000/. And this is the market you are about to abandon -these are the customers y, u are about to sacrifice in your blind zeal to promote the export trade. Then lam told a reduction in the price of con, increases the consumption of other articles ; but, my Lords, you must remember that cheapness and dearness are relative terms, and not posite. Wheat may be cheaper in Poland than in England, but the population in England, from peculiar cir cumstances, find their food cheaper than the people of Poland. Now, my Lords, I have gone over a great part of this question. I do not kno:v how I have done it, but 1 must not leave the details of the question without knowing where the loss must fall. It will fall most assuredly upon the majority of this country. We have heard of the danger and the difficulty of administering the affairs of Government, without reconciling the conflicting claims of an ancient monarchy. a proud aristocracy, and a reformed House of Commons. Now, my Lords, I admit, that if you legislate for the interest of one class against the interest of another-that is to say, ifyou materially alter me esocial relation o f different classes of the community, it is not in flicting a priv a t e i njury, but a public wrong, a here may, however, balance i n a re f ormed House of , be s me difficulty i n k eeping a Com mons, but, my Lords, the difficulty will not be met, if for the proud . you substitute a pauper and a dependent aristocracy. If you break down an ancient aristocracy, you d emolish the firmest breakwater that can possibly b e established between a monarchy and a repub licanism. hear.) Wh en I speak of an aristocracy, Ido not licanism.-( speak exclusively or mainly of the body I am now addressing-I speak of men, not ennobled in rank, many of them undistinguished in life, but who, with their ancestors before them, from generation to generation, have had centred in them or in their circles a sort of prestige, conducting ably the business of their respective houses, influencing the opinions of their respective neighbourhoods, and exercising over their tenantry, who have a hereditary claim upon their constituents, a useful and beneficial control, My Lords, these are the aristocracy of this country. Redo_c e , these men and you inflict an irretrievable and irreparable injury upon this country.-(Hear, hear.) You lower them in the Beale of society. God forbid, my Lords, that I should grieve that the suc cessful manufacturer, or that the princely merchant, should take his place among the landed aristocracy of this country.-(Bear, hear.) Such !Missions add fresh vigour and fresh power to that class of the their el b l ia a t t erie community.-(Hear, hea r .) B ut depend upon it if you sweep that classaines away, andae associationslltheoldass whichociatlo they havenswith a which c qti t /I , r e ij names, once,and th to their families, and if you substitute a new body of capitalists and go amongst th e t enantry where no associations are Connotes With their name, the expenditure will be a severe OD' their moral in fluence in soci e t y i s irretrievably lost to the eo en t- 3 ...._ (c a 00te Bat, my Lord s , I say I should not s erisned if T were to bellev' be e that the loss would mainly fall upon the landed proprietors of this country ; but I am satisfied, my Lords, there never was so great a delusion as this. Why, the reduotion of 10s. upon • every wheat is a reducti on o f 4 0s per acre of land in this countr quarter ot` y, and that will be accompa n i e d b y a corresponding reduction In the price of articles of produce in this country. My Lords, my Noble Friend on the cross benches has ably argued this question, and I will not pre tend to follow him. He has hilly shown what will he the effect not merely upon the landlords, but the tenant•farmers of this country -(Hear, hear.) And the first step that these tenant-farmers wilt take to relieve themselves will be to suspend all improvement of' their land.-(Hear, hear)-will be to discharge their labourers--• (Hear, hear)-will be to reduce wages-(Heer, hear)-will be to pour those unhappy labourers into the manufacturing districts, wad increase the competiti on there-(Hear hear)-for the l owest 'd . of employment in manufacturing labour. They will there and go live in wretched ness, and pine away in the manufacturs - and lower the waste,' Of the mannfartmcino , .... ^ 4 ' t 3-- - - egfkliftigi uruneer.-(Hear, hear.) ay toe my Lulus, avnat as ,lll be the conse quence to Use landed proprietors ot this countr y ? Assuming even the case, that one of your Lordships is f - • .ee from mcumbrances, although Ido not know that that la +le fact-(Hear, h , and laughter)-but I will assume it tq be 'T But what is the first thing that he does? Why he dismissee a . cert a i n p or ti on o f his establish ment, which is a eacrine, or e..„..ery comfort to h im, he thus turns upon the labour mark , ', - n great number of fresh competitors - (Hear, hear.) And, my Lords, whatever else may be said against the landed propri 1 -- nana of this country, 1 do not think this, at least, can be laid tot tilt' charge, that they are a class of men who accu mulate wealth., but do not spend their incomes, for I think they spend the% 112 fast as they receive them.-(Hear, and laughter.) Well then tate y reduced the namber of the employed, and new mind. m y , r ne a. d l3 'What we are told ? Why we are told " True, but you. m ake no. loss to yourselves-you have only to adopt the real prin eiPlet' of free trade ? - (Laughter.) Well, my Lords, what are these re 4 principles of free-trade.-(Hear, hear.) They are to dismiss " every useless and unpr o fit a bl e hand. They are to employ no man beyond what is absolutely required to make profit." They are to have no consideration for tenants who may have been their de• pendants for the last fifty years-(Hear, hear) -for they say " Ohl it is more profitable to have one large than three small farms ; poor tenants have not capital, turn them off-(Heer, hear)-let them go and starve.-(Hear, hear.) There are above 600 , 000 rmall farmers -at least that was about the number in 1844. But your Lordships must not stop at that -those are but as many drops in the ocean (Hear, hear)--and you must drive them away one and all in com pliance With, the wishes of the Anti-Corn-law League. The law im- POseS, liewover, the exclusive burden on the landowners of the coun try of maintaining all the poor manufacturers as well es agricultural. labourer'a. But, my Lords, I have too good an opiuion of the lane, lords to think that they would act upon the principle recommended by the free-traders. I believe that they would continue to give, as mllch employment as they could. I believe that they know that they hove to deal, not with stocks and stones, but with men,- with Men tilled with the sense feeling, with the same attachment, and with the sense affections as themselves; and I do not believe that, 'were the pressure of the most extreme description, the landlords O England as a body will adopt doctrines of political economy prescribed by the advocates of free trade.-(Hear, hear.) But, my Lords, if this system is to be adopted in England, if you ventures to recommend this system in England, will you dare to advise that it should be put into execution in Ireland ?-(Cherrs.) In IrcAand, my Lords, tho bulk of the population are small farmers, Vaose farms vary from twelve to thirteen acres at the largest; they have little capital and very little skill. They exhaust the land, I admas ; they do not pay you, I admit, but by the application of more ;skill and more capital you might extract more from the land. Carry into effect in Ireland your doctrines of political economy. The. landlords are to suffer, but they may recover themselves ; the eaestrance system was denounced as at the root of half the riots 'and half the bloodshed in Ireland, but the doctrine of free trade veill require you to push forward the clearance system. You arr a y make much more money, yea may preserve yourself from all loss, turn off the farmers of Ireland, turn off the tenants, give ',se lands to the capitalists, and the rest ot the population send off. to die of starvation. He would be ft bold Minister who would advise the experiment. He would be a bold as , areal as a hard man who would act upon it.- (Cries of " Hear, ke,aaae) And, my Lords, to tell me measure measure-this rep ' • . r eF.a ofthe corn-laws -is brought forward as: ninseuasy be to relieve Ireland , of all countries.-(Loud cheers.) You '. for the benefit of told that it is far. the relief of England, and that it in is t,n lung run, but herpopulatiala. I doubt whether it may ep tae country; and to tell Ireland is e aseiusivelY a n naricilliurale reducing o the value of their ex ports,us that ye s :are to benefit Ireland b y obtain the comforts of life and the ar tistes by phi ,th alone she . can herennives from you ; and that you are tisles of u s anunseturesoenicts s er,t Ireland by reducing the to bcr ; value of her exports to the value of n' -''Hon and a half, or to two millions a year, is a prop os iti on nfad a e - n s should venture to put alongsid e th a t increased eeril y-aeration tends to increase the price of oar article,-(Hear.) Lastly, (*and I am quite sure that your Lordships will be very gl al to hear that I am coming to a conclusion), I wish' to speak of cue branch of the question, which is of the utmost importance, and particularly so to me, from the situation which I had the honour to hold.-(Hear,. hear.) I mean the effect which is to be produced by the repeal of the corn-laws, and the carrying out of the principle of free trade, and the doctrine of the removal of protection upon your colonies: -(Hear, hear.) Now, my Lords, yoar foreign trade takes a very large amount of foreign shipping, and a very small amount of British. I beg to call your Lordships' attention in the first place, to the fact which ap pears in the returns of the House of Commons in 1845, namely, that the tonnage of shipping in the colonies, was 1,273,395; whilst against that there was entered not one single ton of foreign. Your colonial trade, therefore, be it what it will, is exclusively carried on by British. You employ British seamen. My Lords, I will not enter upon the extent of that trade. It is certain that the member of exports to your colonies athounted in 1844 to 1,427,0001. You Wile them to trade with other nations-you tell them that they may cleft the country, and the moment they quit the shores of England and land in a British colony, you tell them, you are ic no more to 'as th an t h e D u t chman, the German, or the us. We American. Trade where you please ; you are entitled to no favour from trade with r a give you no protection ; we don't seek to impedewith them as with this other countries; you are just as much connected us. I, have heard it p u t f o rward that measure will benefit the Australian colonies. I cannot exactly see how this can be done by this measure. The present duty on Australian corn is ss. a qua r t er , and they have the advantage of buying or selling their corn in pro tected markets, which you take away from them. The n w i t h refer ence to Canals, you passed a Bill last year on the f a ith o f w hi ch the Canadians imposed aduty .of 3s a quarter on American corn. You encouraged her to commence great works, and yo u l en t h er money to do them with, and you are now going to un d o a ll that you have done ; you are going to destroy the great c ommun i ca ti on of the St. Lawrence, and make New York, instead of Montreal and Quebec, the channels of your trade, and it has been the policy of the United' States to pass a. Bill encouraging the trade in this direction._... I hope this will open your Lordships' eyes,ss this mte,,s:reau. dangerous policy you are pursuing in attempting to 1 )1 of the I hope your Lordships have read the dispatch Noble Lord then Governor- General of Canada upon this subject. The f Lord Metcalfe the pro ceeded to rend extracts from the dispatch e tt o o show the necessity of Go vernor-General of Canada, which went to lii order to enable continuity protection to the trade with this country. Mr. Gregg them to, fulfil their engageme nts lied in the various markets of the showed. -that our trade had i te n ffield was beaten by that of Alsace— world,--that the cutlery or y S was 25 per cent. cher.gcr then that of Alsace-- that the hosiery of stocking Sa"ii frames there had been diminished Leicester, and that the that the only way we could hope to compete from 4,590 to 250, anti that be by cheapening food, in order to cheapen with foreign nations the language of Mr. Gregg, and that was the wages. That was ' tt • WI , • - would think dangerous experiment they w ere El 00 Ilt 0 r,. . (~.e the force of " folly can no further go."-(A )scab.) I trust your Lordships will not be had away by these reclines. lam fully sen sible of the great length, eanCof the feebleness wills which I hart; discharged my duties, but I hope that I have the credit of keeping close to the question - -(Cheers)-and that no observation which have made was coloslated to wound the feelings of any person, but before I sit down i must be permittel to say a few words to your Lordships, who,, In your hearts, go with us in the argument, and dis approve of the 'measure at which you are alarnmd, yet nevertheless eti es are prepared to give it your sanction, I can conceive M any •b m e those v which wouli d influence highly honourable men. Therestm l 3 ntluenced who fear sate authority of the Commons; there were others,are you to col by the to nions of the Commons, bat I ask you hen fonnd-is it to lect the, 'opinion of the Commons? Where is it _ 0 1„, v I find that is majority of lia; at another be fennel in 1842, 1843, or 1844?-(blear, hear.) ' s 1843 flits measure was rejected by a h ; 255 ; in 1544 I y 209 ; 1 1 1 time by 165 ; again by 114 ; in )184,3a by I find that now a majority Junc o 1845, by 132.- (114m1 climm.-ho then rejected, have a asentod to of 9.8 s composed of the same men vi win) disapprove of the 11l eas,ure e the measure. There were others -who supported it. I. tan sym pathise from personal feelings to c but I cannot assent to Om justa ,e of them with those feelings, atice would be ineffective, it wou el be made - Meer, hear.) The saes' a Government which mu' d maintain there never was in vain ; the sufferance of its 1 °pow . ;is , with the itself, w hen it existed on ashamed supporters. There might b e t h ose w ho disguisrsd support of end to agitation ; whet) was organised hopeclathat it might put A