The Sun. — London, England, 1842-08-11 00:00:00

•he really leas not able to comprehend the nature of efforts to wrest from their Governments free institutions. -ties- Hen. Gentlemans questron. .•- .• - -. • The Spaniards and the Portuguese at a later period, SA TTA RA. under happier auspices, under their legitimate Sore- A persoa from tip India hous e wa s c a ll e d in and Feigas, and with the aid of England, had . i obtained thy inestimable blessing of representation. But at was mpos prucented papers relative to Sattara. • . sible that this country should not be affected by the same SL AVERY. • principle. - . England had taken too active and too leading Mr. VILLIERS wiAled• - • to know from the Noble part in the affairs of the world, so that whin peace re- Lord.the Secretary for the Colonies, whether he had lieved the public mind from that anxious and overpower received any report from the colony of Ceylon with. ing pressure, which must always attend a contest for regard to slavery. sessional existence, the attention of the people Lord STANLEY said that not very long ago he was directed immediately to their domestic Lad received from the Governor of Ceylon despatches concerns.---(Hear.) Two questions then principally expressing his regret that he was not prepared to occupied the public mind. One was the gross andgriev furnNh a detailed report on the subject. to which the ous injustice which a large portion of the people had fur Hon'. Me:niber had alluded, but be had stat e d th a t longtimea suffered in consequence of the disabilities Slavery had been almost eXtin uished in the colony unposed on them by a difference of religion ; the other g question was connected with the imperfections and . through the Registration Act, and he was about to in- de tects of their representative system. The question of 'ti s,duce a new Registration Act, which he hoped would Parliamentary Reform most affected the great mass of render the entire abolition of slavery certain. the community, and that, therefore, was the question on CHARTISTS. which they expressed the liveliest interest. The Catholic Mr. R. YORIiE wished to put a question to the question, which was the greatest practical injustice, and Home Secretary. When speaking this morning on the the one the more immediately affecting the national in stil,st .' •st of the Chartist prisoners., he had stated that terests, was that to which the great public men of the it was absolutely 'necessary that political prisoners day, and both Houses of Parliament, directed their exertions. After a long • struggle the Catholic *limit.' be treated with rigour. No w he wish e d " to know from the ho me S ecre t ary w h e th er he was question was carried in 1829, and though emw poered, upon many distinguished public men paved the way for this ex parte statements, to release a great consummation, yet that it was ca rr i e d a t th a t ti me , prisoner, when th a t prisoner had been reported by a and the country saved from all the various evils which Court of .1 ustice.—(Cries of " Q ues ti on , question.") would have arisen from a longer protraction of that in- The SPEAKER said that the question, as it was justice, was a benefit mainly owing to the energy and being put by the Hon. Member, might lead to dis- firmness of three men, the Right Hon. Baronet opposite, cusaion.—(clear, hear.) now the head of the Government, the Duke of Welling. 111 r. R. YORKE trusted that he should be allowed ton, and a person not often combined with them in poli to put the question in another shape. He wished tical action, the Right Hon. and Learned Member for to know from the Home Secretary, whether he 'c as Cork.—(Loud cheers.) To these three men the settle ment of the Catholic Question n was mainly owing.— etnpowered to rec ommen d th e commutat i on o f punish meat for the consideration of money, especially (Cheers.) I cannot on . this occasion mention the name of that great and illustrious man, the Duke of Wellington, when the evidence upon which the prisoner had been to whom this country owes a larger debt of gratitude convicted had not been impugned. than ever a nation before owed to any public man, with- Sir JAMES GRAHAM. said, that part of the out humbly expressing my hope that he is destined to question of the Hon. Member was in the shape "of add another wreath to the laurels which already deck statement, and the other an interrogatory. He his brow ; and that, having saved his country by his appealed to the gentleman who had heard hini, genius in war, and having by his wisdom in peace struck that morning, whether, considering how short a time off the fetters from seven millions of his fellow-subjects, had elapsed, it was consistent with the imperfect me- he will yet add to his military exploits, and his civil mory they possessed, to say he had stated that political achievements, the additional glory of working offenders should b e t rea t e d w i t h r i gour: h e out the commercial emancipati on o f thi s em pi re . —(Cheers.) it The mas Catholic question having been inept,—he who denied thit he had ever ma d e suc h a state had drawn no distinction whatever ; carried , reflect carefully on the state of affairs.e Parliament what he did stat e was, that while he ary Reform was the question which stood next for set was anxious that prison discipline should be con- tlement. That question might have been delayed for ducted with humanity and forbearanee, it some years longer, but the events which occurred in was due to society that criminals in gaols France and other places during the summer of 1830, should have discipline firmly and temperately hastened it. It then became the place of the Government administered. With regard to the limit of the power of the day—the leaders of the party which were now in or: the there power, , y Secretar of State he be gge d to say that ' to determine whether they would undertake was no limit to the exercise of the prerogative of the settlement of the question as they had undertaken mercy—(Hear)—and that was the glory of this the settlement of the Catholic claims. They determined country. that they would not ; and I think, judged rightly. However honourable their conduct was in 1829—and I stated at that period that I believed it was so, nor shall I now change that opinion —however honourable to them selves, and beneficial to their country was their conduct on that great occasion, it'is yet true that it did excite, in a great portion of those who were at that time their supporters, the deepest and bitterest resentment—a re sentment arising from the want of those large views of national interests and political neces sity, which actuated the Government of the day. The interval which elapsed between 1839 and 1840 was of too short a date to allow these resentments to cease. If, therefore, the Government had undertaken the settle ment of Parliamentary Reform, they would have been sure to have gone either too far to retrieve the support of their followers, or too short to have obtained the support of the other side of the House. They therefore took ad vantage of a comparatively unimportant question, and resigned their offices. In resigning those offices the members of the Government expressed their conviction that the time was come when they thought the settle ment of that question was necessary. We succeeded. We brought forth our plan—that plan was more exten sive than any of those gentlemen had imagined to be ne cessary. The mere announcement of it struck many of them not only with astonishment, but with positive dis may.—(Hear, bear.) They thought they saw in it their utter annihilation as a political party ; they thought it would destroy all their influence at elections, and that they should be swept away practically from the scene of public affairs. We assured them that their fears were vi sionary; that property would still, under our improve ments, maintain its just and legitimate influence, and that more than its just and legitimate influence it ought not to have.—(Hear; hear.) That slid not allay their apprehensions. But I would ask the most vehement Anti-Reformer of those days to look at the affairs of the House—to look at the proceedings of this session—and say whether the fears they then entertained have not been proved by the result to be altogether visionary and groundless ?—(Hear.) I say, Sir, not less visionary and groundless are the apprehensions they now entertain that by striking off the fetters which now cramp and pa ralyse the interests of the country, an injury and not some great benefit would be conferred on the owners of the soil.—(Hear.) Now, Sir, Parliamentary Reform being passed, there was this difference between it and the Catholic question, that the Catholic question was a measure complete in itself ; its object was to redress an injury, and the injury was redressed. But Parliamen tary Reform was a question of a different nature. It was not a measure complete in itself, but was rather a means to further improvement.—(Hear, hear.) We recon structed the great machine of the Legislature with the view that Parliament might be better able to correct in our laws what was bad, and to produce good and whole some laws for the future.—(Hear, hear.) Now, Sir, among those evils of our system which obviously must at the earliest moment attract the practical attention of the reformed Parliament, the defects of our commercial system were eminently amongst tin; first. .It was idle to suppose that when you admitted into this Mese in duo proportion the direct representatives of' the great manufacturing and commercial community, that those re presentatives would not state so effectually and with such force as they have done the various evils under which those communities lab Our by reason of y our p ecu li ar and restrictive system. It was . idle to suppose that in the course of no great time Parliament wenld not be forced by the effect of' their reasoning to make great and impor tant changes in their system of monopoly and restritsion. But there are many who did not look deep enough into the course of things to be convinced of that; a large party honestly and conscientiously think that system which we call monopoly and restriction is, of a truth, a system not only calculated for their benefit but the coun • try at large ; they believe that these great stages of so cial improvement depend on the action, not of a large and wide-spreading cause, but upon the opinion of the men who might be in power. They thought, front time to time, if they could only contrive to dispossess us of the power we held, and place it in the hands of leaders of their party, they should be safe in the system they che rished for a long period. They had a large majority in the House of Lords• and all they wanted was a majority in this House.—(Hear.) They set to work steadily and systematically labouring at the Registration Courts, and theygradually rose upon us, and it was obvious,from ses sion to session, their numbers increased, and that the time probably vsould shortly come when they would have a majority in this House as well as well as the other House of Parliament.—(llear, hear.) Sir, the last session brought matters to a crisis, their numbers were, at all events equal, if not greater, than ours, and the great measures of conimercial reform which we announced, some of which we brought forward, and some of which we did not, showed that no tinie was to be lost. They fought it in this House, and they fought it in the country; their victory was complete, and our defeat amounted almost to a rout. When we delivered up the seals surely that was a day of exultation, of triumph to Tory parties ; that was a day that would secure for them for many years to come the maintenance .of that leeislation which they had so long held, and which they considered no less essential to the inte rest of themselves than to that of the country—no less essential to the interests of the country than conformable to their views. Great was then their triumph, and loud was their exultation. But the vanity of human fore sight !---the vanity of the foresight of even the wisest men ! But a few months. passed over their heads when those songs of' triumph. were changed to cries of lamen tation. The very parties whom they selected to he their chosen champions—the very guardians they had armed for their defence, turned their weapons upon them, with the most inhuman, unrelenting cruelty struck blows which; if they have not already proved fatal, must in all probability lead sooner or later to the entire extinction of their system.—(lfear, hear.) Well, Sir, great was their disappointment, and loud their lamentations—loud their expressions of astonishment.. We have not heard much of it in this House for certain reasons, but if much was not. said on the matter in this House, much was said in every other house in London.—(Hear, and laughter.) In all the Clubs, and in every street, the bit terest and loudest complaints were made, that they were most grossly deceived—but by whom ? Not by the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, but by themselves. They have themselves to blame for the disappointment' which they may have sustained. Why did they not, in the ten long years during which they were following their present leaders. take a few pains to ascertain what were the opinions of those leaders upon those important points which they think vital questions ? If they did not ascer tain those opinions they have no right to blame any but themselves for any disappointment which may arise when those opinions'come to be perfected. What those opinions are we have during the present session learned. 1 am bound to say that more liberal opinions, more en lightened views, and juster principles, with respect to the public interests to which they 'applied, than those which we have heaial from these Members of Govern inent who were called on to take a prominent part in those debates—juster views could not have proceeded from the most enthusiastic advocate of free trade on that (the Ministerial) side of the House. It is not to be sup posed, I presume, that we so impregnated the minis terial offices with free trade principles, that they have caught the infection as an epidermic. Still less can it be imagined that these doctrines are the effect of new studies, taken up since the period they have' got into office ; for we know whtit are the labours of public men in this country- s -that every hour, every day, the routine of business comes flowing in on them like the current of the Thames, and that if they do not dispatch it instantly it will overwhelm every thought and faculty of the mind. None know it better than we do. We are aware of the magnitude of the weight which is borne by m en i e office. Their labours are great at all times, but they are undoubtedly greater than ever during the first few months of a. new administration. It is not to be sup- Fosed that between the 3d of September and the 3d o f ebruary, the members of the new Government could have studied their Adam Smith, their Ricardo, their M'Culloch, their Mills, or their Senior, and other works of the same kind. No ; it is clear that those opinions which have been so well expounded, and in so full, and Mr. / R. YORKE said that when he spoke of the Right lion. Baronet's expression he had been misin formed. Sir T. WILDE said it was a matter of sur prise that any question should be made with respect to the prerogative of the Crown. The Crown might commute any sentence, if recom mended to do so by the responsible advisers of the Crown. REGISTRATION (IRELAND). Mr. WYSE wished to know if it was the intention of Government to introduce next session any measure for the regulation of the registration of voters in Ireland. Lord ELIOT said it was the intention of the Govern ment to do so. The Noble Lord said that he would take hat opportunity of confirming what he had said on a former occasion, relative to the employment of Hagan, the informer, by the Magistrates ; and to state, in addition, that he had received a letter from Mr. Forsythe, the Provost of Sligo, in which it was mentioned that he (the Provost) and his colleague (Mr. O'Brien) had not only never employed Hagan, but that, knowing the character of the man, and that he had been a most active Ribbonnum, they cautioned him against having recourse to his old practices ; apcl that there was no foundation whatever for the assertion that they had employed him. MESSAGE FROM THE LORDS. A : Message from the Lords brought down the Dis• senters Marriage (Ireland) Bill, and the Ecclesiastical Leasing Bill, with amendments. - MARRIAGES (IRELAND) BILL. On the question being put that the Lords' amendments to this Bill should be agreed to, Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL expressed a wish that the Bill should not be pressed during the present session. He believed that the measure would not be acceptable to the Presbyterian body generally, inasmuch as it seemed to call in question the validity of all former marriages celebrated by Presbyt&ian eiergymen between Episco palians and Presbyterians. Sir R. PEEL said that the Bill had been expressly in troduced fur the purpose of remedying the evils to which the present uncertainty of the marriage law in Ireland had given rise. Evils innumerable had sprung up under • the old law, and therefore the - Government deemed it advisable to introduce the Bill. Ho trusted, therefore, , that this explaiation would be satisfactory to the Hon. Gentleman. Tht.. amendments were then agreed to. • MESSAGE FROM THE LORDS. A Message from the Lords informed the house that their Lordships had agreed to the amendments proposed by the Commons in the Bankruptcy Amendment Bill, and that the Lunatic Asylums (Ireland) Bill had been agreed to Without amendment. Mr. VERNON SMITH begged to ask the Right Hon. Baronet opposite (Sir James Graham), whether it was his intention to introduce the Registration of Electors (England) Bill and the Ecclesiastical Courts Bill this evening ? Sir JAMES GRAHAM said it was his intention to to have introduced the Registration Bill yesterday even • ing. if the lion. Member for Lambeth had not moved • ••••v •••• • l , •• th - e adjournment of the House.—(Hear, hear.) 1t ,.• was his intention, however, to introduce the Bill before the close of the session ; and he should postpone the intro duction of the Ecclesiastical Courts Bill. until the com mencement of the next session. FOREIGN CORN. Mr. M. PHILIPS begged to put a question to the Right lion. Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Ex chequer). Is was well known that some dispute had arisen in reference to the Act passed for the importation of foreign corn. The 28th clause provided that the average should be taken on the Thursday up to the S4turday previ6us. A question had arisen amongst the imooriera of corn as to the operation of the Act between Friday, the 29th of A pril, and the Thursday following, it being contended that it did not amount to gt clear week. ;The duty lied been paid under protest, and the question was, whether the payment could legally be demanded ? He suggested, if Ahem, was any doubt upon the sutijeet, .the benefit of it should be gison to those districts in the greatest distress prevailed. The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said that the matter had net been brought directly under his bet use no upplieatien had been made to the 'Treasury on the subject. The application bad been made - the Board of Trade, and the.r•-fore his Right Hen. Friend, at the head of that. department, would have been .•nabled to give a more detailed statement than he (the Cilaneelliw of the Exchequer) should be enabled to Ic 1 , e10 , ,.ed the facts of the ease were these. One of t per,ong who employ themselves in endeavouring o di •.cots r filets in Acts of Parliameht,. for the purpose of offering them to persons for a premium Mr. 11A WES-L-That is a most nnfair attack. • Th e [AN( !ELLoR of the EXCHEQUEWdid not mean to say that such was the case in the'present in stance, but there were persons who thus employed them selves.„ Some person imagine I that he had discovered some silch blot in the Corn Act, As that to which the I ton. Gentletnan had alludi d. The law officers of the iroOlt had been consulted on the subject, and they had elated that they could see nothing in the objection. LIMITATION OF ACTIONS (IRELAND) BILL. Mr. HAWES wished to ask one question, in relation to what had fallen from the Right lion. Gentleman, the Secretary .for the Home Department. It was true that he (Mr. Hawes) hail moved the adjournment of the house last evening —(A laugh)—and to that motion he Lelieved the Right Hon. Gentleman had said " Aye."— (Clieer3 sod laughter.) Ilia object in making that mo tion, had been to defeat the 'Limitation of Actions (Ire lan) MI,. a Bill which he thought oueht not, to have . hot-i 4 .presAed at such a late period of the session. -He wished to ask the Noble Lord, the Secretary for Ireland, flit *us: his intention to proceed with the Bill during flak:prescut ;zession ? - LoritELlOT—lt is not possible to do so. REVIEW OF' THI , 3 SESSION. Lord PAK . cIERSTON•rose and said—Sir s I rise in pursuance of the notice which I have given, for a re turn of the Bills which have been brought into the house this session of Parliament, and as this , return 4.ll'l4 : aces. one •may say, the whole policy of the Government, I think this is not an unfitting occasion upon which to submit to the Houso som e few observa tions. Sir, there are times •and epochs to which it is good for us to look back, and endeavour to trace the po litical causes which may have been in operation, to ex un:ne their ef&cts, and to anticipate their future actions. Now the present time appears to me to be a moment of that kind, when the party who have been ten years in :Leave opposition, and who have now been for nearly twelve months in office, are about to close their first Par-. liatneinary session. It appears to me that it is not an unfitting moment to consider what were the ex pectations formed when that party acceded to plwer, and • in what degree those expectations I „:-ve or have not been fulfilled. Now, Sir, in pursuing. this ;nquiry it is necessary to cad a rapid glance a little further back than when they were in opposition. The that. Metalier for Shreesbury in a recent debate traced seine of the causes of what I think imaginary evils to the settlement made of Europe in 1815. But I venture ' to - think that some of those great causes which are still in operation originated in the long war, of which that settlement was the termination—the tvar which lasted a ,quarter of a century, whose progress was marked with the most extraordinary and even romantic vicissitudes, :luring which the tide of conquest rolled' over the Continent from west to east, and bark again from east to west. In that war a ll the passions, all the faculties, and 'all the energies of the nations of Europe were roused into the most vehement action, and it was idle to s uppose that the return of peace would restore the people to the position in which the war found them: It avas in vain to think that men Who were so long. in the Ihabit of hilcussing freely their rights and wrongs would "at once go back to the same policy—l may almost say, "r,',41 into the sa me political s l um b er, out of which they . were.. moused. But, nevertheless, there were men ?tot on on the Continent, but even in this country, who I..dulged that dream. The Italians, the Spaniards, and the _Portuguese made frequent though unsuccessful THE SUN, LONDON'`, THURSDAY EVIPVING. AUGUST 11, 1842 • ample, and sa ti s f actory . a manner, .mustbave beeti the. result of long previous rneditation---(Hear, ficar) - 77 Eof studies deliberately pursued during ten years of comps rative leisure, which an almost uninterrupted oppositiot afforded ; and they came into power fully imbued witl all'those sound principles, the exposition of which.ha: excited so much admiration from this side of the'Honse. —(Hear, hear.) Well, I say, then, that those among tle party opposite who find fault with the Government. find fault with them in that respect withou, due cause. At the satire tifne I must candidly carafes' that in one respect I think the cotirSe of that party, be fore they were in office, is open to some kind of criti cism. ' The Right Hon:Barn:let, the Member for Tam worth, accused me, upon a former occasion, of too much, assurance.— (A laugh. - NOV I am not going to reten that charge ; but I complain, of his own over-modesty, and that of his colleagues. • I complain of their over modesty in this, that on many occasions, while the.l were out of power, matter s came un d er di scuss i on i n t hi House, to which those principl es , w hi c h t he y h ave l ate l avowed, were plainly an d f u lly a ppli ca bl e . I say tha . on those occasions, th e i r mo d esty no d ou b t prevent ; them from doing themselves full justice—(Hear, heal, and laughter)—inasmuch as, by practising an over-scrn pulous reserve, they really concealed from the . publi'y the progress which they had made in their studies.— (Renewed laughter.) When, for instance, we proposei a very moderate diminution in the timber duties, the,' objected to the motion, upon a mere point of techni cal form, it was true, and did not go much into the question itself ; but I thi n k th e y did not do justice to themselves upon that occa sion, 'because they let people imagine that the real objection which they felt 'to our measure was, that it would diminish too much the protection on British I -timber ; . whereas we now know, by subsequent experi- 1 ence, that the real objection which they felt at heart, al though they did not like to make any vain parade upon the matter, was, that our measure did not go h a lf f ar enough—(Loud cheers and -laughter)—that it left toe great a protection upon British timber, and did not suf. ficiently shackle all those branches of British industry into which timber enters.— (Hear.) Well then, again last session—l do not like to multiply instances, but l take the leading cases=—last session, when we announced our intention to propose a material reduction in the duty on corn, they take objection to it ? They did not say indeed that they had no objection to a is. duty—that it was very right and proper that any quantity of foreign corn should conic i n a t an B s . d uty — on l y t h ey w i s h e d it to arrive at that duty by a process of their own, instead of a fixed duty. They confined their objection to the question itself. They did not let us into the secret in an honourable time, but acting up to the good old country gentleman adage, of " Down corn, down all"—(Cheers) — they objected to our reduction in the duty on• corn be cause it was not announced as accompanied by a large reduction in the duty on cattle.--(Cheers.) Now, Sir, I say, therefore, that those gentlemen have not quite don( themselves justice in regard to these matters. But, Sir, I will not entertain them in this way ; we . are thankful to them for the great advanc( made to 'large principles they propounded, nor stop to cavil at any equivocal little matters of that sort to which, possibly, objection might be made. I say then, Sir, in regard to our great commercialinterests, this session.is one of a veryretnarkable character:—(Cheers.) The measures they proposed have, indeed, fallen very short of the necessities of the country—very short of the wishes of those on this side of the House—far short of the principle upon which they. were introduced.—(Cheers.) But it is a great step to have a Government speaking te us as the Government has done, and we must hope for the future and be content for the present.—(Cheers.) However, Sir, I cannot say tint in other respects there is in the present session any - great ground upon which the Government can congratulate itself with reference to the execution, or rather the fulfilment of those expectations which they held out when this session began. Now, Sir, what are the points which the Government in the Speech from the Throne—l treat the Speech from the Throne as the Speech of the , Government—what were the points connected with domestic affairs to which they invited the peculiar attention of Parliament ? Those points were the financial deficiency, the corn and provision laws, the law of bankruptcy, the improvement in the law of ecclesiastical jurisdiction, the law regulating the registration of electors, and the existing distress of the country. Now. Sir, with regard to the financial de ficiency, the first thing they did was to increase it by making an unnecessary sacrifice of a large portion of the duty on timber—unnecitsseryrbecause we say that if our proposals had been carried out, then the deficiency would have been supplied, and that additional reduction would at all events have been left to a period of greater finan cial security. However, having made that increased de ficiency, they completely made good the whole deficiency —they certainly, with a vengeance, supplied it.— (Cheers.) I think the Income-tax will be even more productive than they themselves expected—productive, not only in revenue, but amply productive in discontent. —(Loud cheers.) Sir, I cannot imagine' that every thing which is received in the. shape of Income-tax is so much gain to the revenues, of the country.—(Cheers.) The country was told that they would save the Income tax by the additional cheapness of provisions. -That was recalled afterwards, when the country was told that the change in the tariff would not, in effect, make any great difference i n th e p r i ce o f commo di t i es by which the Income-tax was to be saved.—(Cheers.) But if those who pay the Income-tax cannot save it in the cheapness of their living, if they cannot save it in the price of the articles of their consumption, they will save it in the extent of their consumption, and therefore depend upon it the Government will not act wisely it they reason that all which they may receive in the shape of Income-tax .will be a clear addition to the revenue of the country.- - --(Hear, hear.) That measure, however, has been carried, and as it is carried I trust it will have the effect of making good the deficiency. Now the next point was the corn and provision laws. I have already . said that I think the measure on this sultject• inefficient. 'The next point related to the law of bankruptcy. Now it is curious to trace the course of the Government with respect to that matter. In the Royal Speech, which was delivered on the 3d of February, they invited the attention of Parliament to the amendment of the bank ruptcy law. They found, I. believe, a new Bill upon that subject, prepared by the late Lord Chancellor, Lord Cottenhant. Trey had not much to do ; they had merely to see whether they approved generally of its provisions, and they might then immediately bring it in. Well, on a very early (lay in the session—.-on the 18th of February, I believe—that Bill was brought into the House of Lords, not the whole Bill. I do not know whether there was anything but the Bill—(Laughter)— but they omitted one portion which was exceedingly im • portant Still the Bill contained provisions, all deserv ing .of the attention of Parliament, and not very small in their extent. That Bill was brought into the House of Lords on the 18th of February. Now, one great complaint which gentlemen opposite used to make against us when we were in power was, that we did not bring in Bills as soon as we might have done—that we did not make Sufficient use of the legislative power of the. House of Lords, and that Bills of the utmost im portance were sent up in a heap from this House to the other House quite at the end of the session, when it was utterly impossible to give them due consideration. Now here is a Bill which began in the House of Lords, toed what use was made of the legislative" powers of that House ? Why, from the 18th of February, down, I be lieve, to the 18th of July—a period of five months— that Bill, struck, I suppose, by the torpid influence of the genius loc;, remained in a state of suspended animation. It was not until the 18th of July that it came down to this House, when, in order to give it that most decent consideration, it became necessary that the House should sit ut twelve o'clock in the morn ing, contrary to its usual course, and when many gen tlemen whose opinions and sentiments it was desirable to hear were necessarily absent ; and if it had not been for my Learned Friend (Sir T. Wilde) who is himself such a host that when he is here no other aid is required, we should, as far as this•sido of the House is concerned, `have been obliged to diseusi the Bill almost entirely without legal assistance. Upon that point we have not yet seen what are the intentions of the Government. Of course legislation on the subject during the present session was out of the question, but we may v•?nture, it appears, to indulge a hope that during the interval between this and the present session we may be enabled to meditate on the propositions of the Government with regard to the yoters of Great Britain. There has, however, been one step gained in regard to the subject of registration during the present session. The Right Hon. Baronet oppo site stated at the beginning of the session, in answer to a question put to him, that he could not as a Minister of the Crown, take upon himself the responsibility of pro posing the Bill for the Registration of voters in Ireland,' which in the preceding session, his noble Colleague, the Noble Lord, the Member for North Lancashire, had been so anxious to press upon the House.— (Loud cheers.) That, certainly is so far a step gained:—(Cheers.) If we do not know what we are to have, at least, we know one thing, that we are . not to have.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) I now come to the most important topic of all, I mean the distre ss o f th e country .—( H ear, hear. That dis tress was adverted to in the speech from the Throne during the course of last autumn, and on that subject I grieve to say that not only no effectual means haVe been proposed by Government, for the relief of that distress, but that they are about to prorogue Parliament at a time when that distress is more extensive and more severe than it was when Parliament met, and when the attention of Parliament had been called to the subject at the beginning of the session. When the atten tion of Parliament at the beginning of the session was called to the subject of the distress of the country, it was generally supposed that allusion would have been followed by the recom mendation of legislative measures, for the relief of that dist re. s. I know that the Government think that distress will be alletriated. I know that they hope that times will be better than I believe they will be, lam sure that if that distress should augment during the coming winter, they will feel them selves obliged to call Parliament together, and if it should not augment, or if it should slightly diminish—l trust that the fortitude of the British character will enable the people to hear the distress for a while, in the confident hope, from what has passed this session, that during the course of the next session something or other must be done to investigate the causes of that distress. With regard to our domestic affairs, then, it ap pears that, although there may be something to reprove, we are not without some top;cs: of consolation. The language of the Government has been, as fir as domestic affairs are con cerned, without exception—although their conduct has not been so entirely worthy of approbation—(Cheers and laughter)— with regard to their management of foreign affairs, however, I feel bound to state that it is my duty to find fault with their language and conduct.—(Cheers.) I know it is irregular to make any allusion to former debates ; but I hope that, on the present occasion, considering the nature of the subject, that the sweeping charges which have been made, not only against inyself personally, but against the Government, of which I was a Member, that I may be permitted cursorily to allude to language which has been held during the course cf the present session on the subject of foreign affairs.—( Hear. ) The Noble Lord, the Member for North Lancashire, who was a member of the Melbourne Administration, is the only one I of the present Government who, in this session of Parliament, had said much about foreign affairs.—(Hear, hear, from Lord Manley.) The Noble Lord made a very off-hand speech— ( Hear, and a laugh )—and off-hand debaters are often apt to say of things, without much consideration whether what to come to the question upon principle, and I gave them to un derstand that our Government would not permit the Hanoverian Government to levy those exorbitant duties. I tell the Govern ment what I think ; I tell them what I have been informed they intend to do. I believe they are about to sacrifice the rights of British merchants ; I believe they are about to yield to the Government of Hanover that which the Government of Hanover is not entitled to exact.—( Hear, hear.) I believe they have actually offered to allow that Government to levy upon our vessels twice as much toll as they are entitled to do. Now, if that be their intention, certainly the course we have taken is a very considerable em barrassment-4 Hear, hear)—and if they mean to sacrifice the rights of Englishmen out of deference and personal regard for the Sovereign who now sits upon the Throne of Hanover, I trust that if we have already embarrassed them, we shall be able to embarrass them further hereafter.—( Hear, hear.) I trust they will do no such thing; I believe that the negotiations have been handed over, like sonic other negotiations now-a-days, to the:Board of Trade; and I trust that that Board, whose especial duty it is to watch over the interests of British merchants and British commerce, will not so far forget their position as to abandon ancient treaties, and allow Hanover duties which she is not entitled to exact.—( Hear, hear.) I say, then, we have laid upon the table five treaties of commerce, two political treaties, and a treaty for the suppression of the slave trade. And let not any man imagine that treaties for the suppression of the slave trade are valuab!e only upon the ground of humanity, and 'as tending to rid the civili.ed world of a foul and despicable crime; because in this, as in many other cases, virtue brings with it its own reward, and if the nations of Europe could, by any concert, put down that despicable crime, and lead the great population of Africa to the pursuits of peaceful, inno. cent, and legitimate commerce, the commercial advantages which would follow from that act of justice, not to this country only, but to the whole civilised world, are far greaser than many might perhaps at first imagine.—( Hear.) I, therefore, say, that the treaty for the suppression of the slave trade is, in its direction and operation, a treaty conducive to the interests of commerce. Then, I say, that we have not only helped them to make their speech, but they have been employed dur ing the session in carrying our harvest of treaties and con ventions ; and an abundant one I think it is, and very well worthy of the seeds which had been sown.—(Hear, hear) Now what is it a Government could clo to promote the commerce of the country which we have neg lected? First and foremost I put the maintenance of peace— of peace nut only between this country and all other countries, but peace also between the other great Powers of the world; because it is manifest that if war, and more especially a naval war, were waged to any great extent, the interests of all com mercial nations must be more or less injured. In spite pf every difficulty, then, thrown in the way by gentlemen opposite— ( Cheers)—in spite of every endeavour made by some one or two Members to magnify petty causes of quarrel—(Loud cheers)—with any foreign Power, be it Russia, be it France, or the United States—whether it was one or the other—whe ther it was concerning a chapel in Cuba, or an intractable pilot, yet I say we did maintain peace in spite of all those difficulties during the whole time we had the honour of conducting the' affairs of the country.—(Cheers.) But we did maintain it without sacrificing the national interest. I say we maintained, without derogation, the honour and credit of the country. On the contrary our interests were well cared for during the time we were in office ; end I put it to any impartial man to say whether he can find anything to eomplain of in the position the country held among other countries of the world at the time when we quitted the Government of this country ? ( Cheers.) But, Sir, not only did we keep ourselves, but were frequently instrumental in maintaining the peace of other great Powers, who got into very serious disputes. There were many instances of that s or t, w h en th e recess gives the Government leisure to consult more than they have done the archives of the Foreign-office. But I would merely draw the attention of the House to one instance of the successful media tion between France and the United States, when a dispute, one of a very serious character, had grown up between those two Powers. I say that was a very serial's dispute, because the Legislature of both countries were embarked in the quarrel, and therefore it was difficult for either party to recede with honour unless some third party interposed, its good offices to bring about a reconciliati o n. N o o th er ower at that time possessed so much the good will of both parties as we did, therefore we were more likely to bring about a recon ciliation. We offered our assistance, and we were completely and entirely successful. It might be said, " Very true, but you got a peace which is a mere negative peace, if you have not met nations with whom you trade with the security which stipulations of treaties of commerce give to the subject and his property trading between those countries." When lam told in speaking upon these topics that it was a kind of restless meddling, I hold that to be a compliment instead of a censure. But upon the charge of commercial treaties, I think I said on the former occasion we formed eighteen commercial treaties, including that of Tripoli and Tunis. We concluded fourteen of those treaties. Now, Sir, two of them, Austria and Turkey, were very important. One of the treaties which I made I will, for a moment, call the attention of the House to, for it is an important one—indeed, by name a treaty of commerce, but which is a treaty, certainly, insuring peace— I mean the convention which we made with the Government of France to regulate the existence of the fisheries on the coasts. Sir, it is well known that great disputes, attended with col lisions, and endangering the good understanding between the two countries, had gone on for a great length of time, in con sequence of the want of a proper definition of the boundaries of the fishery between Jersey and the main-land of France, and in consequence of the want of a proper definition of the respec tive rights of the French and English fishermen upon their own coasts. That question had remained open since the last war. We settled that question. We made a convention which has, I believe, entirely prevented all those local col lisions on the coast of France ; one which, if it has not prevented them, has at all events laid down so distinct a rule that the two Govern ments can be at no less how to deal with the irregularities of their own subjects. And it went further; it contained a stipu lation that the sea, within three miles of each coast, should be the exclusive limit for fishing of the fishermen of each country. Now, Sir, there was a clause in that treaty which has not yet been executed ; a clause, namely, by which Commissioners were to meet and to establish regulations for the government of the fishermen of England and of France when they met at sea without those limits of three miles, and without the jurisdiction of each country. Now when we left office the regulations had been concluded, with the exception of one point, which I will mention, for the purpose of explain ing it to the House. The French Commissioner was very anxious to obtain from the English Government permission for the French fishing-boats to anchor and station themselves within the three mile limit, in order from thence to sail forth, and to pursue their fishing beyond that limit. Now, at the first blush there did not appear to be anything in that pro vision which the rules of good polity and good neighbourhood would not least us to accede to ; but, upon further considera tion, it appeared that such a permission would lead to FO many evasions of the general principle of exclusive fishery that it would practically defeat the advantages of that stipulation ; and it was evident, moreover, that the real motive which led the French Commissioner, at the direction of his Government, to insist upon that provision, was that the French fishery on the coast of England might be made a nursery to seamen, with a view to the improvement of the French navy.—(Hear, hear.) I objected to that provision ; I don't know whether the present Government have acceded to it, but I cannot bat express a hope that they will not beled by any idea of maintaining good feelings between the two nations to agree to a provision which exceeds the provisions of the convention, and which in the result may be injurious to this country.—( Hear, hear.) Well then, Sir, we concluded these treaties. With regard to the slave trade, our activity was still greater. We were extremely restless with regard to its progress ; for seeing that when we came into office there were in existence but ten treaties for the suppres sion of the slave trade, and we concluded fifteen additional treaties—and it should be observed that those treaties con tained stipulations which former treaties had not even con templated—well, then, I say with regard: both to the mainte nance of peace, and with regard to the security to be obtained by treaties, we did exert ourselves greatly and successfully for the protection of the interests of the country, and bequeathed facilities instead of embarrassments to our successors. But, thin, it may be said, " Your treaties may be all very well if they are excused, but if they are violated they are ()Ina more worth than waste paper ; and we know that in the ease of re mote countries, especially in remote districts of extensive coun tries, such for instance, as the republic of South America, Turkey, and other places, which frequently abuse their power, a considerable portion of the correspondence of the Govern ment consists of complaints of their lellow-agents, of injuries which they have sustained, and of demands of redress. Speaking from general recollection I should say that during the course of our administration, with one remarkable excep tion, we never failed obtaining for those British subjects who felt themselves aggrieved, such reparation as we demanded. Aral so generally was that known among foreign Powers, that the King of Persia, as appears from a despatch now on the table, when he applied to the English Government to exert its power here to obtain payment of a debt due from a British insolvent to one of his subjects, and when he was informed that the Government could not procure for him that which lie sought, said, " This is most strange. If the meanest British sub ject in the most remote corner of the world suffers the slightest injury, you immediately obtain for him redress ; and yet you now refuse it to one of my subjects." I mentioned that we had failed in one instance to which the attention of the House was called the other day ; we had failed. 'that exception was the case of the British merchants who sought reperation for the injuries inflicted upon them at Portendic. That we slid riot succeed in that arrangement I admit, and perhaps those who have succeeded arc Mare now of the difficulties which prevented our success.—(Cheers.) As they are stilt engaged in negotiations on that most difficult sub ject, I will tint add to the embarrassments by any further allusion to the subject. This, I think, is an answer to the general charges made by the Noble Lord against the late Government ; but the Noble Lord did not confine himself to general charges—he brought forward specific instances. The Noble Lord said we had left him a subject of embarrass ment in North America; then, said the Noble Lord, there were questions which your Administration left us to settle. Now the first question with regard to America is the boundary question.—( Hear.) Did that question grow up under our Administration ? Why, it grew up before the Noble Lord grew up—((;heers)—it grew up before the Noble Lord was born or thought of—( Cheers and laughter )—it grew up from the Treaty of 1783.—(Cheers.) We did not settle it—but did we create the embarrassment ? The whole question depends upon the meaning to he attached to the words of the Treaty of 1783. The boundary was to be a line drawn from the River St. Louis in the north-west, along a ridge of highlands to the head of the Connecticut River in the south. It was supposed for a long time that there was a natural incompatibility between the words of the treaty and the natural features of the country, and on that erroneous impression we for some time acted. In Übe first place, just after we had come into office, and when we had not thoroughly studied the subject, we expressed our willingness to accept of the conventional line proposed by . the King of the Netherlands ; fortunately for us, the Americans refused to accede to that proposition. We then offered, not being aware of the merits of our cause, to divide the country in dispute, making the St. John's River the boundary; and that also the Americans refused to accede to. It then occurred to us to do that which no preceding Government had thought of do ing. The two Governments had all this time been disputing about the treaty, assuming that its execution was incompati ble with the features of the country, but neither of the Governments knew anything at all as to what the features of that country really were.— ( H eer , h ear. ) We sent Commissioners to explore and minutely examine the boundaries, and to report whether the line which we claimed or the American line was the more reconcileable with the strict interpretation of the treaty and the features of the coun try. The Commission was appointed and the first report was made about three years ago; and that report proved that the line we claimed was consistent both with the wordsof the treaty and with the features of the country, inssinuch as it goes from the North Western point a!ong the ridge of a chain of highlands. It was most satisfactory to find that our line could be main tained by a strict aimlication of th e wor d s o f the treaty to the feat ures of tne country. But as it might happen that it might not be free from dispute, as the line claimed by the Americans might also be borne out by the words of the - • • .they say is, consistent with the fact or not.—(Cheers, and laughter.) A very eminent Minister in a foreign country, In .vards the midd e of last century, was giving instiuctions to his tgent, as to what he should say to the agent of another Power. the agent who was receiving 'the instructions, eb,erved, that if he said what he was bid, he would say " what was not in•ac eordanca with the fact, but rather at variance with it."—( A laugh.) But, said the Miniiter, " What of that ? It is a very .good„thing to say."—(Laughter.) Now, the . Ministew was an off-hand dcbater.—(Renew e d l aug ht er .) , Ido not accuse the Noble Lord of saying that which he knew to be untrue, but of speaking of facts'of which he was ignorant.—(Cheers.) He said that we were led by a restless activity, and embroiled our selves with every Power in the world—( Tory cheers)—and that we raised for 'them embarrassments, political and commercial, in every part of the globe.—(Loud cheers.) I distinctly deny that.—( Cheers and Counter dicers.) 'I he charge is not only a proof of want of information on the part of the Government, but of their ingratitude.—( Cheers and laugh ter.) Perhaps they were too busy in attending to the duties of their; departments to ransack the archives of the Foreign-office to learn what had•been done, and to ascertain the truth of their charge, before they resolved to make it.—(Cheers.) But this only shows the greatest ingratitude, for, in foreign affairs we have bequeathed them nothing but facile ica.—(Laughter.from the Tory Benches, responded to by cheers from the Opposi tion.) What have they been doing since they came into office but living on our leavings—(Cheers and great laughter)—on the broken victuals that we left in the official larders.—( Re newed laughter.) They are like a parcel of people who had made a forcible entry into a house and feasted on what they found in the larder. There has hardly been a week but they brought in a measure which they said they found prepared by their predecessors, and thinking it good, they brought it in and hoped the House would pass it—(Cheers) — and this not only in regard to measures but in regard to details. The Noble Lord the Member for North Lancashire found in the larder a little thing, which wherein opposition he considered very bad, but as soon as he tasted it he told us it was very good indeed.—( Great laughter.) That was the clause about the Hill Coolies.—( Hear, hear.) Then the Right Hon. Gentleman the Vice-President of the Board of Trade did not much fancy the Bonded Corn Bill when he saw it at a distance, but when he came into office he gulped it down like a man--(Much laughter, and cries of " Hear, hear")—and found it a very wholesome and useful thing to have.—( Hear, hears) I say, then, it is useless to at tempt to deny that we have not left them facili ties instead of embarrassments with regard to their home policy. As to foreign affairs, I was surprised, and still am surprised, that Gentlemen on the other side of the House should attempt to represent that we have bequeathed their embarrassments. What did the speech front the Throne contain ? If we could except that portion which related to that auspicious event, the birth of the Prince of Wales, half.of that speech treated of foreign affairs. The present Govern ment came into office on the 3d of September—at least we re signed our office on that day. The Speech from the Throne was delivered on the 3d of February, and the Government might be supposed to have something to tell as to what was the state of foreign affairs.—( Hear.) Not a bit of it. The whole Speech was full of records as to what had been done by their predecessors in office; but; instead of stating, according to the complaints of :the Noble Lord, that we had bequeathed nothing but embarrassments with regard to foreign affairs, it contained a series of expressions of satisfaction and happy an ticipations. 'I hey began by stating " that it was with great satisfaction they informed Parliament that a treaty had been agreed upon between England and 'Austria, and Prussia and Russia, and France, for the suppression of the slave trade." That treaty was . not signed in our time for reasons which, out of regard for other persons. I will not mention at this moment. —(Hear, hear.) It was, however, ready for signature, and, as concluded, I believe, it does not differ in any material re spect from that which they found when they dame into office. I will not allude more to it ; but here was a treaty .negotiated by us and brought to a termi nation, and which the Government announced, very properly, that it had been satisfactorily concluded, though not actually carried out. This, I suppose, is one of the foreign embarass ments which we left them.—( Cheers.) The speech went on to mention another treaty concluded with the same Powers, together with the Sultan. That was a treaty which we gave to our predecessors, and was called the treaty respecting th e Straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosphorus. Was that one of the embarrassments bequeathed to the Government ? On the contrary, they were delighted with it, and said it was one of a most important character ; and, not satisfied with the de scription we gave of it they gave it, one of theirown, and called it " a treaty for the security of the Turkish empire," that was to say, in other words, for the security of the balance of power in Europe, " and for the maintenance of the peace of Europe." Here, then, is another instance ; a treaty which they described ,as having for its ends no less important objects than the balance of power, and the security and the peace of. Europe. The next paragraph of the speech takes us to a more distant country—to Persia—and announces the restoration of our, diplomatic inter course with the Court of Teheran. That intercourse was broken off Oh two grounds, first, that insults had been offered to persons connected with'our missions, for which they demanded repara tion ; and secondly, because we thought it advisable to repress the Shah in an undertaking in the eastern part of Affghanistan, a step which we contended he had no right to take, and which it was essential to our interests that we should prevent its accom plishment, we proceeded in both ; we obtained from the Shah complete satisfaction, and the abandonment of the siege of Herat, together with the return of his army within the limits of his dominions. Our diplomatic intercourse with any nation is only valuable when there is an' amicable feeling in the parties between whom it subsists. Our diplomatic intercourse was, on its settlement, not deprived of this essential condition, for the speech mentions, not only the restoration of friendly in tercouse with the Court of Herat, but the renewal of friendly intercourse. This is another embarrassment. The speech goes on to notice the completion of a commercial treaty with Persia ; this is another embarrassment ! Every one knows that our commerce with Persia is a growing commerce, and one of great importance, but it required the security of a treaty, and we obtained one as advantageous as any country could ask. By one or two short articles th e com merce of this country with Persia was placed on a footing equal to that of any other nation. That was all we asked—all we were justly entitled to. Still it was very important we should obtain it, because the commerce of Russia enjoyed very consi derable facilities in Persia,- and it was important that ours should do the same. The speech then comes to the paragraph —the only one--which concerns the present Government. It states that the " Government continues to maintain its friendly relations with the several Powers," and trusted that the nego tiations then pending would have the effect of extending trade and commerce. Now were all these negotiations begun by them ?—( Cheers.) Were they not the negotiations which we carried out, but which, from various circumstances, we were unable to bring to a termination ?—(Loud cheers.) The negotiation with Persia, which the Right Hon. Baronet very fairly and handsomely admitted had been brought very near to a conclusion by us, was one ; and, I say, Sir, that the way to that treaty which the Right Hon. Baronet concluded with Persia, was paved by us. In the other negotiations with Spain, Naples, and Brazil--with all which countries we had from time to time entered into negotiation s upon matters of very happy if the Government should be s to a successful issu e . 'the abletra e —tol b s r h in o g uld th b o e se er next paragraph contained an expression of regret at not being able to announce the re-establishment of peace with China. Now there undoubtedly it said nothing. But mark what follows. And first let me remind the House of what passed here when our quarrel with, and the expedition to, China was brought under discussion by the Right Honourable Baronet, the Member for Dorchester. On that occasion no Member now a member of the Cabinet expressed an opinion that the quarrel with China was unjust. Some Hon. Men,- hers on this side said that it was just, but the leading Members opposite did not condemn the war, though undoubtedly they did nut epprove of it ; they only deprecated the carrying .on of a war at the antipodes wish a nation of 350,000,000 indivi duals. In the ether House Lord Stanhope made a motion which, if carried, would have implied an opinion adverse to the war. The Duse of Wellington, who represented the Opposition in that House, urged the previous question in order not to ex press any opinion one way or the other upon the justice of the war, every wise and prudent step for a Parliamentary tactician to pursue. But, Sir; the honest soldier was more than a match for the Parliamentary tactician. The honest indignation he felt as a warrior and an Englishman, broke forth uncontrollable. He said he would not advise the Queen to submit to an insult and injury su h as he said had never before been offered to this country ; and he said he would prove it, and Ira did enter into the proof. He said that it was a war most atrocious in its na ture, and utterly indefensible ; he said store—he said that Captain Elliot was bound to resist the demands made upon him, even to the shedding of the last drop of blood; and if he ac ceded to those demands, he (the Duke of Wellington) should have been ashamed of the country which gave• him birth.— ( Hear, hear.) That seems to me a pretty strong admission of the justice of the quarrel with regard to China. What else dirt the Government say en the subject? They said that uniform success hail attended the hostile operations against China, and that her Majesty, having the greatest confidence in the skill and ability of her naval forces, had done so and so. It is, therefore, clear that this enterprise, which was to be attended with diffi culties, was attended with success, ar.d Usuppose that that suc cess was not among the embarrassments that have been laid to us.--( Hear, hear.) It may, however, be said that the success which has been uniform vets not important; that it applied only to small territories, and that it might not carry out the objects in view ; now, unfortunately for the Government, that could not be the case, because they state, in a further part of her Ma jesty's speech, that they were encouraged to hope the difficulties with which they were surrounded would be brought to a sue. cessful termination. That is another embarrassment, I suppose. —( Hea-, hear.) But it may be said that a termination may he effected, but not the one that was wished; and, added to this, it might be unsuccessful not the less. The Government hoped, not only for a termination of the quar rel, but that the commercial relations of this Country would be placed on a satisfactory basis. But it may be said that this was only their hope. I think if even we have accom plished as much as that, we have effected at least some ims peovement. If we have only placed on a satisfactory basis, or if we have led to the hope that the commercial interests of this country with China will be placed on a satisfactory basis—let the amount of its population be 300,000,000 or 200,000,000, it is one of the most numerous nations of the world—and if we have assisted i n pacing our commercial interests on a satisfac tory basis we have done all that we could to the encourage ment and improvement of this country ; but this is a matter the value of which cannot be estimated till it is seen how it will terminate.—( Hear, hear.) So much for the speech from the Throne. 1 think I have shown with regard to that speech that we have afforded the Government some facility in making it. for without reference to what we have done their speech would have been meagre indeed. Now what have the Government been doing since ? Why there has not a single month passed in which there have not been lying on the table of the House treaties concluded by us, but which it has been their fate, in consequence of the position in which they stand, to lay on the table of the House. There have been walks u p and down and backwards and forwards innumerable to the table in order to lay upon it treaties concluded by us. Eleven of our treaties have they laid on the table of the House—five of a commercial nature, two political, and four for the suppression of slavery. In that number I have included a treaty which does not bear the name of a treaty, but which is a most important conventional agreement with Denmark for the regulation of tolls levied in the Sound. Those duties, it was contended, were higher than the treaties of 1641 and 170) justified the Government of Denmark in levying. The matter was the subject of very l un g negotiations on the one side and the other, but the Government of Denmark at last acted in a manner which did them great honour, and agreed to appoint a Commissioner to meet a Commissioner appointed by our Government at Elisinore. Those Commissioners, in August last year, signed an agreement, Ly which the tolls were regu lated so as to be in conformity with the ancient principle of one per cent, on all goods pa s sing through the Sound. I hope the Government ail! be able to effect a similar arrangement, on a similar question, between this cou..try and Hanover—l mean the Stade duties. The Government of Hanover have, for a long time, levied higher duties en goods, than they are allowed by existing treaties. But the capricious uncertainty attending ' these duties, is a greater vexation than the amount itself. The - to levy more than one have taken we have clearly ascertained and fully proved that our line is in accordance with the words of the treaty and the features of the country, but that the American is net. This, Sir, ought to be a great facility to the Government, hut perhaps it may prove an embarrassment.—( Laughter. ) Indeed we are told by the American newspapers—certathly an uncertain and doubtful authority—that the Government is about to make concessions on this question ; that is to say, that, as in the case of the Stade 'duties, they would sacrifice the rights of England to their own convenience, and to get rid of their own difficulties. —( Great cheering.) If that be their intention, then, Sir, I say that the proofs which we have put on record of the justice of our claims will be a great embarrassment to the Government. But I can scarcely believe that any arrangement so dishonourable as that which has been intimated to have taken place has been carried into effect or proposed by her Majesty's Administration I say proposed by her alajesty's Administration—because if those reports were true, those concessions would be met with scorn by America, and larger demands would be made. Defend upon it that if, in making arrangements not only with America but with any Government in ehe world, you make concessions and sacrifices, you may gain but little by them.—( Hear, hear,) Ido not say but if you make con-. cessions of national right:, though yeu may be relieved from your difficulties for a moment, you will be involved in still greater for the future.—( Hear, hear, hear. ) There was an other question relating to the matter of the Caroline (as we understood), but it was so far settled, that we had given an an swer to America, and I think that the views which were embo died in that answer are those which, in my opinion, any Eng lish Minister would be led to adopt. But, at all events, whe ther the Government may adopt a different view or not, con ciliatory steps had been taken, and therefore there was no em barrassment upon that point.—( Hear, hear.) Another ques tion was the right of search, enforced by our cruisers, to iden tify vessels which had been suspected of being engaged in the slave trade. That was a question which arose in our time in consequence of the (as I think) very unjust pretensions set up America.—( Hear, hear.) But was that a difficulty ? We answered the arguments of America— we nega tived their demand, and put forward the best reasons we could, and in the best language that our ability enabled us to do. But the course pursued by the Govern ment showed that they did not take a different view from ours; on the contrary, they adopted our arguments, though they may have stated them with greater ability, and, I am free to add, that a more able dispatch than that recently written by Lord Aberdeen on the subject I have never read.—( Hear.) I give the credit of clearness to the Noble Lord ; but though he may have much more clearly expressed his views than I did mine, the arguments were the same—( Hear, hear)—and so far from creating any embarrassments, we have advanced our standard on the ground we occupied, and America has, in some measure, receded from her demands. So much for these ques tions with North America. Then something was shadowed out about blockades. There were some trumpery blockades—that of the port of Carthagena by one ship of war, which existed for one month, and that between the Chilians and the Peruvians in the Pacific, of which we heard but little. and had nothing to do with. But there were, for some time, blockades of a serious character—namely, the French blockades of Mexico and Buenos Ayres. These blockades se riously interfered with our commerce ; so much so, that Gen tlemen opposite, in discussing them, gave us to understand that the French Government, in establishing them, did not do it so much in vindication of French rights and French honour, as to injure the commerce of England. This was one of those insinuations, calculated to help in maintaining friendly rela tions ! That restless activity which led us to meddle with the affairs of other countries, led us to interfere between France and Mexico. With regard to Mexico, it was a formal interfe rence; with France it was a friendly interposition. In both cases, our restless and meddling activity was successful ; peace was restored between the parties, and British commerce was re leased, sooner than it otherwise would have been, from the in. conveniences which pressed on it from the blockade. This is another proof of the multifarious embarrassments we be queathed to our successor s. It has also been a question as to whether a Government may not help forward the commerce of the country by finding new markets for it. We have done this. I have referred before to the establishments we founded in Abyssinia, and the coast of Arabia, Aden, and Jura. This was met by derision ; it was said thatwe had founded commer cial establishments in the wilds of Arabia, and in the desert Gentlemen may not know that that superior sort of coffee, called Mocha, grows in great abundance in these wilds and deserts, and that they are filled with a population who want everything with which we can supply them, and who could in return let us have much that we should be glad to have. Ido not mean to say that these establishments will at once take any great amount of our manufactures, but we have, as it were, sown the seeds, and at some time we shall reap the advantage. Another branch of our commerce I have already referred to, that with China, of which an enlargement must take place whenever there is a set tlement of the affairs of that country, and which is promised at an early period. Another great enlargement of the field for our commerce was to result from that great series of operations in the countries to the west of the Indus.—(" Oh, oh.") That laugh must have come from Members who, till they read our des. patches never heard of Caubul or Candahar ; and till they heard of the gallant actions of Lord Keane, never knew whether Ghuznee was a sea-port or an inland town. I sup pose nu man will deny, if we maintain military possession of those passes, and of those places which enable us to secure the navigation of the Indus, which is navigable for 1.200 miles or more from its source, that travelling in that country, blessed with internal tranquility, would afford a great advantage to trade. No man in his rational senses—no man who has any of the distinguishing qualities of man, except that of laughing, would think otherwise than that it was a matter of great im portance to secure the possession of such tranquillity.—( Hear. ) But, Sir, we are told that it is the greatest assurance in me to say that we had obtained for England that possession; reference is made to the recent unfortunate disaster, and we are told that by that disaster we lost what we had attained. I say that that disaster had nothing whatever to do with the original policy of the measure. Ido not like to say anything to impute blame to any one man, especially when we do not know on whom the blame rests; but as I am speaking on matters of great national interest, I say that if common military precautions had been taken—if the force of 6,000 men, stationed near Caubul, had been properly positioned, notwithstanding the Bala Hisser, or any other place, and with good ammunition, I say those 6,000 men would have been unassailable, not only by the Affghans. but that they might, in spite of all Central Asia, have main tained themselves in Caubul with as much gallantry as the Gal lant Sale did in the noble defence of Jellalabad.— (Hear.) No such disaster could by any possibility then have happened, and you would have held Affghanistan, up to the present time, as you had held it two years previously. Sir, I was particularly struck with the answer of the Hight Hon. Baronet to the question I put to him the other night—not for what he said, but for what he omitted to say.--( Hear, hear. ) It was a question deeply affecting, I think, the honour of the country in its miltary consequences, and that other effect which the Right Hon. Gentleman on a former occasion spoke of, the essential maintenance of our Eastern power. The, question I put was relative to a master of fact, which was whether orders had been given by the Governor-General of India, for tht evacuation of the countries west of the Indus, and the answer e received was, that Candahar and Jellalabad were in possession of our troops. That answer was an admission that such an order had been given; it is susceptive of no other interpretation I congratulate the country on the cause, whatever it may be, that has relieved us from the eternal disgace and irretrievable injury of retreating from Affghanistan.—(Great oheering. ) I do not conceive anything that would tinge the cheek of an Englishman with a deeper blush or strike deeper into his heart, than a flight from Affghanistan.—(Cheers.) The future is in the hands of the Government at home, and I hope that ir, future no discretion will be left. in a quarter in which discre tionary power has been so greatly misused. It is for the GovernMent to consider who they can depend upon to carry on the service on foreign stations ; the greater the interest, the more it behoved the Government to consider whether the persons in whom they invested great powers were such as would consult the interests of the country. Ido trust. and I cannot refrain from expressing a hope, that the Govern. ment will not carry into effect the arrangement thus made. I was all very well when we were in power, and when it suites, party purposes to run down any thing we might have done ; it was all very well when party put pose were to be served for a cry to be raised against the Affehanistan expedition, but I trust the Government will rise above any consideration of that sort, that they will give the matter their fair, dispassionate, an deliberate consideration, that they will come to no hasty resolve ; because I was never more convinced of any thing in the course of my life than I am of this, that the most important interests of the country, both comnter• cial and political, depend on our maintaining the military position we hold in Affghanistan.—( Hear, hear. ) You may rely on it, if we abandon that country, that it will come into the hands of some other Power. Though you may rid yourselves of some little difficulties by Your retreat, depenu on it the day will come when you will be compelled to re occupy that country at a far greater expense, and an infinitely greater sacrifice of human life than it would cost you to retain now that it is in your possession. It may be said that all this is very fine. It may be said, " Come to the test of figures— ! you pretend that your Government have protected comn.erce; now, let us see how commerce has thriven during your period of office." I will try the question by that test. From returns pub lished by the Board of Trade of our exports from the yeas 1831 to down to the year 1840 (the returns are aggregate, not detailed), it appears that the value of our exports were, in 1831, 37,000,0001. The value went on thus-36,000,0001., 39,000,0001., 41,000,0001., 41,000,0001., 47,000,0001., 53,000,0001., 42,000,000/„ 50,000ereW., 53,000,0001., in 1840, 51,000,000/. ; and in 1841, 51,000,00 W. Thus, in the years intervening between 1831 and 1841, both inclusive, the value of our commerce with foreign countries increased from 37,000,000/. to 51,000,000/., being an increase of 14,000,000/. upon time whole amount. 1 say this is conclusive proof that our restless activity aed busy meddling was not attended with injury, but was productive of benefit to the trade of the country. I will take into this aggregate a few points, which are the subject of much criticism. I allude t ' . Turkey, Syria, the Fast Indies, arid China. 7he exports from this country to Turkey, Syria, and Palestine, in 1831,were of the value of 838,0001., the exports to that quar ter in 1840 amounted to the value of 1,461,000/. Thus, in spite of this busy meddling, which not only the Noble Lord op- posite, but some Hon. Friends on this side have perhaps not approved of, our exports during that interval increased from 800,000/. to 1,461,000/. We were told that we stopped the trade to China, that it was totally paralyzed. Now what was the trade to China and Indi? In 1831 it amounted to the value of 3,377,0001. ; in 1840 it amounted to 6 ,547,000/., very nearly double during that space of time, in spite of that entire extinction of trade which was the result of our operations, in spite of the mischievous tendency of our restless intermeddling. 1 say then, that in regard to our home affairs the prospect was upon the whole, cheering rather than otherwise, because we t into committed fausutoerxtehceu to t no l i ir e i r n ief e st i t p h l e e oy s t can—(Hear)—principles, country, i w t:ra a yhrc G , :the v pfy e ro r iran n rte m ei blinero tsuown nd os pledg eda carryk e a a e s di welln I say, from which they cannot recede. They cannot stand still, they must go on---( Hear, hear)—and the country has now time satisfaction of knowing that they have a Government not only proposing and deeply imbued with those principles, but that that Government is supported by a great majority in the House of Lords, is backed by an overwhelming majority in the House of Commons ; and that if by any acci dent they should be deserted by a portion of their friends— ( Hear, hear)—in their attempts to carry those great principles into execution, the Opposition of the present day will not— like the Opposition of a former day —( Cheers)—pride them. selves in obstructing —( Renewed cheers)—every itnprovement, and make it their boast that they endeavoured to keep the affairs of the country stationary; but that there is an Opposi tion which will cordially and honestly sum ort the Government in every measure of practical improvement, and which w.ll enable them, if their own farces should desert th em to cn.rry these principles into fair and legitimate and complete and effectual °pet ation.—(Cheers.) 1 say, therefore, that so far as our home affairs are concerned, the prospect is cheering. As to our foreign policy, I have already stated that I look to it with considerable apprehension ; because I fear that the Go. vernment are acting upon a system of temerity, of apathy, of submission, of concession I am afraid that, whether as re gards the King of Hanover—( Hear, hear, and derisive cheer y There .... Go. , ernment of Hanover is not enti. AO treaty and the . character of the country, we ap- from the MiniWterial benches)—or, whether as regards French sixteenth up on goo d,. Hav i ng bee „ i vi,,d to b y us, they pointed a Commission to ascertain if that could be the missionaries, or whether we look to Affghanistan—l am afraid agreed to appoiro a Commissioner, as enmark had done, to case.—(Cheers. ) So far were we from lea v i n o , thi s an em.• that in every part of the world they are prepared to act upon meet our Commissi:neo to treat on this matter. We thought bareassed case..—(Cheers.) This Report was made last winter, a system of submission; and I know that such a system would that the Hanoverian boveratne.nt, like that of Denmark, would and the Right Hon. Baronet privately showed it to me, but as be as fatal to the best interests of the country, as it would be have instructed their Commissiony* •orevise the existi ng i t h as s i nce been laid before the House, I may say that it proves in my opinion, i ncons i s t en t w i t h , an d d erogatory to its honour tariff, and make it in conformity with toe ancia.t. treaties; but th at t h e Amer i can line does not fulfil the con ditio n s of the f—( Hear, hear.) But if th ere i s an O ppos i t i on which is ready to our surprise, we f oun d t h a t, w hen the Connnissio.. , ?rs met, treaty, for the line starts from the same poi n t as ours , and runs lto support the Government in any attempt to improve our ex the Hanoverian C omm i ss i on er was on ly instructed to makee. - . - ne along a highland country in part, but whi c h, f ar from going I ternal system, let them be assured that there is also an new tariff, neither founded on the treaties of former periods, - wards the head of the Connecticut Ri ver i s se p ara ted from it I Opposition which will watch with increasing vigilance any n o r founded on the present tariff, That at once brought teat- I by a se , ampy plain, which could in no way be construed into a measures that are to affect the inte r e s ts, the honour, or the ters to a stand. I urged upon the Hanoverian Government ridge of tughlaiids.—( Cheers. 1 Thus by the atm which we, knit', of the country. And therefore, though we are - now going to enter upon a long recess during which, more even than when Parliament is sitting, the conduct of foreign affairs must be left to the unquestione d discretion of the Government, let them not believe that 19°' CALM they may meet us again with things done ,however . baillf, those thing s may b e done ethey must be accepted and submitte d to ; 'but let them be assured that if they change—if they losrer the position in which the country stood when it was placed i° their hands—if they sacrifice those interests which we incise tained with that restless activity and perpetual intermeddll of which we h ave b een accused—if they are not convinced. o 9 every affair, however distant and apparently insignificant, - el ohich British interests are concerned, must be attended to be' times—that if they once let events get the start of' them, tb e l d can never recover their lost ground—if they are not couvinel that by standing npen our rights in the first instance, we , most likely to prevent any f urt h er attempts to encroac h urz them—if they are not determined on maintaining the princir d that. Engiand should y i e ld not hi ng that i s r i ght, while she elso-ji ask nothing that is unjust, that we should encroach upon no° but permit none to encroach upon us—if they are not resolvede ° executing what they may have on hand, whatever may be tbe l° , stacks which may from ti me to t i me ar i se to i mpede their OP they maybe assured that they will in the end create insurmoun!' able difficulties fer themselves, and irretrievable injury for tb, k e lf country.—( Loud and l ong cont i nue d c h eers.) Noe' Lord concluded by moving fur the following returnse' Return of the names and titles of all the public Bills that bele. been brought i n t o t h e H ouse o f Commons during the presto' session of Parliament; the date at which the order for brint ing in each Bill was made; also, the dates at which they Bills passed through their several stages. Return of ll names and titles of all public Bills that have been sent down, l l the present sess i on , f rom t h e H ouse of Lords to the H ous e of Commons; stati ng t h e d a t e w h en eac h suc h Bi ll was receive° e, and the dates at which it passed its several stages in the HO! of Commons. Return of the names and titles of all poll Bills that have pa sse d th roug h t h e H ouse of C ommons , an have been returned from the House of Lords. On the question being put, Sir R. PEEL rose and said—Sir, I do not know whet° the motion of the Noble Lord, the important conclusion asf speech with which he has introduced it, has been seconded, I ) °, I rise for the pu r p ose , if i t h as not, of second i ng this mot i on °' the Noble Lord's ; and I do feel under great obligations to hie' for having, at the close of the session, put upon record the On cessful efforts in l eg i s l at i on o f t h e present Government, sal enabled the count r y t o d raw a contrast b etween the prog re9 which we have made, and the operations of our pret cessors.—(Cries o f " H ear, hear," from the Minister°,' Benches.) Si r , I am surprised that the Noble L 99" has deprived an Hon. Friend of mine of the credit whi a due to this moti on . Th e N o bl e L or d h as followed in the tarot'. steps of my Hon. Friend the Member for Lincoln. The 05 tion of the Nobl e L or d i s a mere repet i ton of the moi l s * my lion. Friend on the 7th of June last year. The Not Lord has followed in his footsteps, and has imitated his esa ample, without givi ng hi m credit for the precedent ; and IL . hope that there will be a comparison instituted between I:" results of. our efforts in legislation, and of those which vre"„ made by the Government of which the Noble Lord WI; member. ( Cries of " Hear, hear.") Sir, the 1 4 °"„, Lord commenced his speech by an historical revie"' of the state of parties and of public principles since the sigh' tore of the definitive treaty of peace. With reference. OW Catholic question, I have no observation to make. I ackoof . ledge the fairness with which the Noble Lord his on this , : well as on a former occas i on , ac k now l e d ge d t h e motives eiltit influenced my Noble Friend and myself in bringing forty that measure.--( Hear.) Whether his panegyric upon the ee! ; duct we pursued was or was not greater than our merits . a point for us to determine. He did us justice, at least, 901 ' respect to the moti ves w hi c h i n fl uence d us i n proposing a se , `i tlemen of that ques ti on . Th e resu l t o f that measure m ust have been perfectly well known to us. We deemed it e° public duty to b r i ng f orwar d a measure for the settlement ,:f the Catholicclaims ; the inevitable result we must have for s e i seen in the tempo rary l oss o f t h e con fid ence of those who 13,4 previously give n us t h e i r support.—( Hear. ) Sir, lu Noble Lord then referred to the question of Pa r : liamentary reform. H e state d t h at t h at subject bean'', of pressing impo r t ance i n t h e year 1830; that it bole% necessary in that year, mainly in consequence of the imports') events which occurred in France in July of that year, to WI forward a gre a t measure o f re f orm. N ow, Sir, when the Noble Lord reflects upon his own conduct with respect tow' question of Parliamentary reform—conduct, I am sure, fluenced by the most honourable motives yet when he cop' siders wh a t th a t con d uct pract i cal l y was, the Noble Lor d is a man who ought tohave some toleration for changes in opinZ on that subje c t. The Nohle Lord, who up to u 'd death of Mr. Canning was the bitter enemy . Parliamentary reform in every shape and opilne n ) became the faithful follower of dr. Cantong.—( Hear, bea r. ' In 1832, he was a faithful adherent of Lord Grey's Goverf; ment, before the Refo rm Bill. Th e N o bl e L or d oug h t to 10 , some toleration fo r th ose w h o are now oppose d to him. Durl7,'" the lives of Mr. Percival, Lord Castlereagh, and Mr. Canine"' who was a more determined enemy to general Parliamenlag reform than th e N o bl e L or d ? T he N o b le Lord admits it fie I said before, I never w ill i mpute un j ust mot i ves to the N°." Lord on this su bj ect . B ut I say the Noble is not a man,so ~, exercise intolera n t cr iti c i sm upon t h ose oppose d to him. 'l'. Noble Lord sa y s th at w h en t h e great question of Parliamee.: tary reform was carried, it was necessary to, adopt new prin t e, plea with respect t o commerc i a l re f orm. Ido not deny th a t 0 . ; necessity of more lib e r a l p r i nc i p l es with respect to commerT e reform, originated in th e c h ange i n t h e representation of people. But I say that Mr. Huskisson and Lord Wallace ente r : tained different v iews w ith respect to t h at Commerc i a l reform , You cannot date the relaxation in the restrictions on comine o e! or the abolition of monopolies, from the period at which ref rep in the representation took place. I venture to say that for 1. 11 8 years previous to the Reform Bill more important changes_r_ e ii . made in the commercial pthicy of this country t h an the au' eare tion of monopolies or the relaxation of taxationein which followed the Reform Bill.--( Cheers.) But if from era of reform is to be dated the necessity for conneter a ei al ieeere provement, if that be true, then the Noble Lord pea r Bill fore condemnation upon those who brought the Reform parlia mentary Cheers.) If it was necessary at the policy, if that was mentary Reform to extend the commercial po--C9 ae suit necessary, coincident with that great act, how do you see yourselves of having permitted commercial reform to sleep ne c k lected at the time. You had large and powerful majorities Ott the ten y .the would have carried the timber duties or any other measure thi s you proposed.--( Cheers.) Why did you bring it forward whey your party was broken up ? Why did you come forward after a period of fifteen years, and in the moment of death, like a penitent sinner?—(Hear, and loud cheers.) You say that we spent the recess in reading and studying Adam Smith and Ricardo ; why if in that time we had at' a tempted to reconcile the principles of th e fi rst fif teen years ~0' your life, and the principles of the last fifte en Years , we sheot°. have had a rather difficult problem.—(Loud cheers and laugh' 'er. ) How can you refrain from condemnation on yourself*. when you reflect that you had the power to carry o ut thaws principles, and you refrained from doing so ? There was Hutt's Bill. Who opposed Mr. Hutt's Bill ? I speak of the first four or five years after th e R e f orm Bili. Wh y did you 1 1 °' then set the example of a more liberal commercial policy? I ea in 1836, when Mr. Robinson brought forward that Bill whit you now tax us with opposing, when he brought forward that Bill, the President of the Board of Trade, and the leader of t°,„ Home of Commons voted against it..—(Cheers) ' l 7; with the sugar duti es . Wh o oppose d t h e mot i on o f the Honourable Member for Dumf r i es ( M r. E wart ) e wiie e , he Honourable G en tl eman propose d to re d uce the duty on foreign sugar, the Nobl e L or d di v id e d t h e sum by „ and then the whole strength of the Government was direct against the proposal.—( Hea r , h ear , an d laughter.) I".', Noble Lord then referred t o th e progress ma d e w i th resp ect l° the measures introduced this session. He said that st t fif close of the Queen's speech, we called attention to the stele the finances of the country, the Corn-laws, the Provision-le w d the Bankruptcy Question, the Ecclesiastical Jurisdictien , 5 . ° 4 , .he question of the Regist ra ti on. W e ll , i n conform i ty the prevailing sense of the House, I as the organ of the Govers ment, brought forward the th ree great measures conn ect with the commercial and financial policy of the country, / 4 " he proposal to equalize the revenue with the expenditurl the proposal to reduce the duty on foreign corn, the real of the prohibition on the i mpor t o f meat an d cattle. We; now tell me what charge vou bring against ine the subject of the tariff? Did the Noble Lord 1 0 my friends on this sid e th e House, whom he e° tile representatives of th e agr i cu lt ura l i nterest, t hat I have carried out a principle which would have the effect o f uncle: • milling the agricultural interest of the country ? I s that the charge ? If not, the other was a contradictory one, natne2l my measures are mere delusions ; that the agriculturists 1 9 7, not be alarmed at the present Corn-law, De it is no bet t o than the old one ; that the alterations in the tariff are of ht importance, and that it falls far short of the principles e t. , which it was introduc e d. N ow t h ese c h arges are not cons i s tee t with each other. I take the charge of the Noble Lord, tha t brought forward the cha nge i n th e tar iff to alarm those 9,.„''' gave me support, as the question. I deny that I received port upon any other conditions than those I publicly announe . „ as the conditions upon which I would accept _power. Th% conditions were the same as th ose o f 1835. When I vise ka • opposition I was told that I was more lib era l than those Wu" supported me.—( Hear.) Could any one say that the we r e sures I introduced in the course of the present session seef e e violation of engagement s , or a d eparture from principle ? llsv adorted your principles ? The principles of the tariff, 1 4 ; 0 do I find them ? The N o bl e L or d says, you could not ba;.,a inherited them f. om us.—( L ou d c h eers an d laughter.) .tr,t is perfectly true.—(Loud c h eers. ) H e says you do not 004 them i n the R e d B oo k. Wh y t h at i s perfectly true.—(Lo il cheers.) These remark s o f t h e N o bl e Lord ' citk e , respect to the producing o f th e tar iff were per f e ct'' true. I never do and I never will, withhold Wee from those who called attention to the import duties.—( cheers from boils sides of the House.) I never will within' my praise from the Hon. Member f or M ontrose.— (Cheers'; Who brought that inquiry about? It was t h e Hon. Member for Alonm.uthshire. Did the R e f orm G overnment at th% time acquiesc e in the appoint ment o f t h at Committee? Did le receive any support from the exertions of the Goirerntaenl'i Did the President of th e B oar d of Trade attend tbat- Committee? No; so me one mem b er of the Government' holding a subordin a t e o ff ee, li tt l e aware of the native of,!'i lisclosures to b e ma d e , di d, I believe, give something I'l; regula r a tt en d ance. Then ccmes the defence o f the PI" l Lord. Wh a t d oes i t amount to? That you had not strengtr' co enforce those principles, of the truth of which you w ere eel i ; einced. Th en w h y did you not risk office upon it ?.....(10,7; heers.) Why did you not r i s k o ffi ce for the enforcemen t 'hose principles? Is not that the way to deal with res t principles? I s it no t c l ear t h at you preferred the retent i on o' , tiller to those principles ?—( Loud cheering.) If thee principles were tiue, why did you not risk the fate of your ad' ministration for the maintenance of those principles?—( Renewe d elieers. ) Why did you not come forward with a readiness to make a sacrifice in vindication of the great principles, being satisfied of the truth of those principles, instead of remaining in office incapable of exercising p ower , and preferring the retention 0r .! place to the exposition o f the evils of the t ar iff ?—( Great cheering.) Let me tell you that you ought not to hold .fl q unless you are prepared to risk power upon the maintenance 0 ° l our principles.--; Loud cheering.) I saw the face of the Hone Member for Stockport droop w hen the Noble Lord made big defence. The Noble Lord in his enthusiastic defence of him" ,elf, could say nothing exclusive of the merits of his wit:nines • ration, and referred little to the measures fur the improvemen t of the country, but referred to his own labours in the : - 'oreign-office.—( Cheers.) Well, the Noble Lord gave hieiveif sceeit for having facilitated the trade in Mocha. coffees I give him great credit for the doctrine of investing a- country with a disciplined army, but 1 ask him whether that is likely to tacilitate a peaceful intercourse ?—( Cheers and laughter.) But the Noble Lord took credit to hiuoelf for h av i ng , un d er the old ystem of the Corn-laws, increased the exports of the count* from thirty-seven millions to fifty millions. In' the three great measures which I brought forward I never complained of the unfairness of the di'cussion, but I believe that 4S day` were consumed in the consideration of those three Bills the Tariff, the Income-tax, end the Corn Bill, I sat appealing to Honourable Gentlemen opposite not to -nterpose difficulties. I think 1 sat here for forty-five day out ~f the 115 of the session, fur the purpose of having the Tariff passed into a law, to relieve the country from embarrassments /in aeconnt of suspense. You may depreciate these measuress, but I should like your Government to do that.—( Loud cheers.) I shouts( like to have seen it. When I opposed the taking of eff the Malt:tax in . 1835 I had 150 side. I supporters, had. who then opposed m e . -_(Hear, hear.) I called them lly friend s were generous. The consequence was that I carried I the questio n w i t h a triumphant, majority. The only one lam bound to say that I hail su pport f ro m the other together. I paid we must h ave a Malt tax; I shall persevere . then risked the support of m o wn friends. It was insinuated! on he othe r sid e House that I should be obliged to bow ter