The Sun. — London, England, 1849-07-03 00:00:00

authority of a professor of political economy, a gentleman who, holding a high official situation, and possessing very great ability and a very schooled intellect, has been allowed to generalize upon a greater quantity of data connected with rural life than any other gentleman living. I allude to the Tithe Commissioner, Professor Jones. He is a high authority, and I do not know that this question has ever been put with greater neatness and felicity than in his work upon rent. He there lays it down, that what are called the "agricultural classes," after reserving from their produce all that is necessary for their own consumption, have left for barter with the non-agricultural classes of the coun try a sum equivalent to 100,000,0001. sterling. I should think that is not an exaggerated estimate, for it is much under many popular estimates. Professor Jones then says, that in times of what are called "agricultural distress," at periods when the farmers are scared with losses, it is a very easy, a very common, and an almost imperceptible thing for them t o diminish their cost of production by diminishing the quantity of labour employed, so as to reduce their cost efacoduction 25 per cent. ; and, as he observes, the natural consequence in a short time is, that their production is also reduced in value to the same amount, and they have then to bring into the market to barter with the non-agriculturists only 75,000,0001. instead of 100,000,000/. Now, if that be a correct description of Professor Jones, let us view the pre sent state of the agricultural classes of the country with the light of his intelligence, and see what must be the effect upon the social state of what is called the agricul ural in terest. It appears from the reports of the Poor Law Cout missioners th a t th e average p r i ce o f wheat for the last 10 A, . y m ears is som e thi ng un d er 6 95. a quar t er -1 think 595, 7t appear s f rom the l atest return I h ave seen that I e thel average price of w h ea t i n England at the present moments 445. 61 ob serve, being a re d u ction of 26 per cent, Now, let me that we are a l wa y s well supplied with statistics as to our foreign t ra d e . We can, with attention, research, and study, form generally a very accurate idea as to the circuit ofour commerce; but we have no details whatever—no statistics—as to our home trade. ( Hear, hear.) It is, therefore, only in such calculations as I am referring to that we have anything to guide use Professor Jones, then, cal culates upon a reduction in produce of 25 per cent.—there being only 75,000,0001. instead of 1 00,000,000/., sent into the market for barter between the agricultural and the non agricultural classes. I have shown you that there is at this moment a depreciation of 26 per cent. in the value of agricul tural produce. Well, what is taking place in England? Why that diminution of the home market of which we have heard so much ' • the withdrawal o r di sappearance o f 5,000,0001. sterling, one-half the amount of your foreign trade, which under ordinary circumstances would have been circulating in the country.—(Hear, hear.) It is this which has already paralyzed the agricultural towns of this country —ay, more than that, which has been loading this great and wealthy metropolis with embarrassment and ruin.— (Hear, hear.) That is the second great cause to which I attribute this deterioration in the condition of the people of England,—which has diminished the means of ern ployment of the great mass of the labouring population at a fair rate of profitable wages, and which has made the amount of ablebedied paupers in this country increase be tween 1846 and the present time 74 per cent. What conso lation have we under this depreciation in price —under this diminution of our home market? I am not going to offer you any argument of my own ; but I wish to refer to an authen tic table which I trust Hon. Gentlemen opposite may deem worthy of their notice. I have before me a table prepared by the Poor Law Commissioners, showing the prices of wheat in the seven years in which it was highest, and the seven years in which it was lowest in England, and it ap pears from that return that a larger amount was expended in the support of the poor in the seven years when wheat was lowest than when it was highest by upwards of 200,000/.—( Hear, hear.) Nor must it be forgotten, as the Commissioners remark, that the sum of money expended when provisions were lowest represents a much larger amount of relief afforded to the poor than when prices were high.—( Hear, hear.) The year in which the price of wheat was highest were 1839, 1840, 1841, 1848, 1842, 1847, and 1838 ; and the years when the price was lowest were 1836, 1835, 1845, 1844, 1837, 1846, and 1843. I have shown you the effect the diminution of your foreign trade has had upon the people, and the little hope you have of increasing the profits of that trade. I will now show you what effect has been pro duced upon the condition of the people by the fall in your home market. The Poor-law Commissioners in their report for 1848 attribute the increase of pauperism to manufactur ing' depression and to emigration into England from Ire land. N ow w h y, I ask, has there been emigration from Ire land to E ng l an d ? Has it been the consequence of that par tial.famine of whi c h we h ave heard so much, or is it not rather the result o f th e pol i cy which the Government as sumed in conseq ue • ce o f that famine ?—(Hear, hear.) Wh a t Was the position o f t h e Government with respect to Ireland when the hapless state of that country was placed before t ic, Is h e y m s i c ? ia T n he patient was in a s t a t e o f ex h aust i on, and the had recourse to a system of depletion.—(A laugh.) Instead of stemulating.the industry of the country by the sanction of the State instead of grappling with the question theof emigration, which was then singularly in siiii n g i u st l e a r rly a opp o o o r r tlr a e w —a s l o l Government did icileg„enediously exhaustive in its character that it has suc ceeded in resolving society there into its original elements.— (H ear, h ear.) They called upon the proprietors of sacrifices, w hi le only a short time before they had deprived the property of Ireland of the sin est market for its produce. ---(Hear.) I say that it was the duty of the Government, in. c onsequence of the st a t e o f I re l an d , to h ave encountered the question of emigration. I say so, because as statesmen they ought to have known it was impossible to evade that question; that it must arise, whatever might be the opinion of the Cabi ne t. A nd what has happened in Ireland? The question has arisen, but instead of a Government emigra tion, you have had a spontaneous emigration. Instead of an emigration which, by the aid of the State, would have sent a great portion of paupers to a rich land, which they might have cultivated, eou have had a spontaneous emi gration of those who left their country because they were determined to save what they possessed.—(Hear, hear.) Three years ago Ireland was like a poor man struggling against entering the workhouse. It is now a content pauper. Its demoralization is complete, and the very individual who three years ago would have accepted a very little aid to •proceed to Canada er to Australia now looks upon him self for life as the recipient of a Government dole, and has lost all that self-reliance which it has been avowedly the object of our legislation to create. Why, then, has there been this emigration from Ireland? In my opinion it has been owing to the inconsistent and feeble policy of her Ma jesty's Ministers.—(Hear, hear.) That is the third reason why the pauperism of England has increased—why there has been a deterioration in the state of this nation. I have sketched, with more brevity than so solemn a subject re cjuired, the internal condition of the country as regards its loreign trade, its agricultural condition, and the state of I.wreland ; but when your foreign commerce was declining, Ireland hen ur agricultural interest was severely injured, when was so misgoverned that she was pouring her paupers into Liverpool like some wild nation that appeared at the fall of the Homan empire, are you surprised at the conse quences that have occurred? But let me ask what has been the conduct of the Ministers amid all these wide-spread cala mities and ulmost universal suffering? What has been their conduct in she management of their finances? Did they prepare for the coining storm ? They were left with a well-tilled Exechequer. Taey supplied Ireland by loans, and therefore that was not a reascn why the Exchequer should be emptied. They met Parliament only a year ago in the midst of all those European convulsions of which we have heard so much, in the midst of the consequences of those rash commercial speculations which they stimulated by their legislation, in the midst of the disasters of Ireland, and did they then come forward with any proposition at all conso nant with o ur d epressed and embarrassed state? Increased expenditure was the• proposition placed before the House, and, strange to say, increased taxation was the remedy. No Hon. Gentleman can have forgotten the financial campaigns of last year. The Hon. Member for Montrose (Mr. Hume), who has given notice of au amendment for to-night, be longs to the school which prophecies the increased prosperity of England. He is the leader of those prophets of statis tical celebrity who foretell the future renovation of the country.--(Hear, hear, and laughter.) It is he who told us, independently of the great profits we were to receive from the enlarged markets of the world that were to be opened to us, we were to acquire by sober domestic economy at least 2 ,000,000/. a week by the repeal of the corn-laws. Why, Sir, the Hon. Gentleman ought to be ashamed of h imself —(Laughter) —to come forward with his petty savings, his cheese-paring policy, after the visions of El Do rado in which he then indulged. I have not got the Hon. Member's am en d ment i n my hands at the present moment; buti its very la nguage i s a verdict against the system which he s supporting.—(Hear, hear.) How does the Hon. Mem ber describe those great changes of which he is the ardent ssutpetorter, and which were t o accomp li s h suc h vast an d i n • a neous benefit? Wh y, h e says that he once thought that n they had a tendency in his opinion —dropping the delu 'girace%th gentlen ess, and parting from his errors with that (Laughlteramiability which alway s c h aracter i zes him— he thinks) —to improve the country ; but at the same time fi nancial reform a safer Bard than any further ,expe.riments in what he calls free trade.—(Hear, hear, and 'augnter.) N men who (Y.,we are told by those Honourable Gentle that we mast Promised unbounded prosperity from that system forsooth, because we do not support them in their plans. courage us Joefoseen of their schemes certainly does not en they had succeeded their example —(Hear, hear)—and if in their former measures we might have vtitietweld tphreoitutresent propositions with more favour.—( Hear.) Gentlemen on thaif Finst my lion. F r i en d oppos i te h o ldi ng nch up as the ad vocates of extravagant expenditure;n f or I e agree with my lamented friend Lord il. Bek in the statement he made to the House of Com mons, that if the adopting, he sh ly persisted in the measures they were diture to the amount of on d support a reduction in all public expen- Let this amount twenty-five per cent.—(Hear, hear.) is House and those out of the House decide on persist• ing in those eche merel raes, and I s h all support that reduction, not (Cheers.) I matter of duty but as a matter of necessity.— succeeded. ya : rlot acknowledge that your schemes have such I hay, b rought them forward as experiments; as analyzed and criticised them ; and as experi ments onlYacycoeutvindicate them and defend them. I will not agree to are called ac ecio n in them as what, to use the slang of the day, g r eat body of thefacts;firmlyjoin people will ultimately repudiate them.— Islent until the . is precipit t d • doom o f t • in your plans of retrench it. his great country is sealed—until chan ge _ a e into that course which would rat e a first -rat . state the r ePublie,_ ( H e monarchy into a second ear, hear.) let ow I have examined second inter ° I t he nation as regards free trade, its agricultural e a ed on state of Ireland, the of the policy pro f spirit a nd the by th e Govern teynehenslif the ernpiTe A na cond uct , Government with regard to that country, hey thle Government with regard to the int o a lu_hlherited v f • have shown that the surplus which n en. - l e .. laci eney of a anverted, under their management, by th e iennttleizen that similar amount; and I need not remind tration uf e t rl i ar enee of the deficiency was only terminated state of our ceolocintry, ( Ruse of Commons in the adminis colonial relation Mes? ~,„.1-:-tear, hear.) What, too, 13 the a measure since _ a si nce 1 7, 6 change has taken place i n our gul e, betore the * ? The Government introduced ate the ind Y were re the e se astry of our well warm in their seats to authti°rrilt, consequence of that seefiar colonies. What has been colunic_,Y—one well acquaintsure, according to the highest d • Wi th flea" who for fort with the labour of those tine a sacred cause f y years, has connected himself _ strone free o alltl.Blav According t' trader mean tey, being at the same prejudice, but his h is opinion_ Sir Stephen Lushington ? mittee of ut. contained • not an old oue—not a musty fo und in this Rouse in evidence given before a Com the but a few days aeo, and to be accordifirst with in g to his • report of the Slaver' Committee respect to opinion the Y ' our coloni th e „war Str 0 . es•—He fiear•dutieshas given the deathblow to twined greythewith re , pect *? What, too, is the language of P l anters of e blue-book just the he goveins, con of hodarnaica have befbarrived? He says that the measurelesstof ruin rethem the blank prospect 1 0 e Sir s• Lus e Government hear.) Thus the first great 8 to the al Ington, o f givin uas had the effect, according S us of slave trade ; ; and f t the greatest possible stimu live couutry 'eS at this in appears before us that the •,e.,,.a50 carried on exactly the clinent exported from their na st se ar e s i gni or , : all the nersiaomnse as when the slave trade ‘,l4l;t:laulus o f the 8...nt factsthe ruin f Europe.—( Hear, hear.) i ch tha p. l IK Ve trade 11 of your colonies and the -°P le of E *"-- ear h nalsaid p re p) Is that a policy lug red to sanction, or THE SUN. LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JULY 5, 1849. which even Honourable Gentlemen opposite are ready to support?—(Hear, hear.) But the whole chapter of colo nial administration is, perhaps, the darkest page in the history of this country. Besides the consequences of your econo ,deal fallacies, there are the instances of your mal-administration.--(Hear, hear.) No sooner are the sugar planters ruined, having before them, according to Sir C. Grey, bat a blank prospect of hopeiess depression ; no sooner was the death-blow given them, ac cording to Sir S. Lushington, than the colonists,i e, n the last effort of despair, commit the heinous sin of wishing to accom modate their expenditure to their re sources.—(Hear, hear.) The Government admit that, generally saeaking, it is the . wisest course they can pursue; b ut, if the wisest course in the colonies, why s hould it not be the wisest course in Eng land ? —and those who believe in accomplished facts (and her Majesty's Ministers are of that number, I understand) had better set us the exampl e of financial reform.---(Hear, hear.) No sooner, however, have the colonies shown a dis position to act in this wise spirit, when, instead of s y m p a . thizing with and supporting them, her Majesty's Ministers seemed to have had only one object—that of coun t eract i ng all their efforts, and of finding in all their schemes the means of embarrassments and dissatisfaction.— (Hear, hear.) Look at the case of Guiana, as well as that of J ama i ca . A t fi rst you have the sugar colonies ruined, and then, when any colony attempts to accommodate its expenditure to its means, it is made the victim of the Colonial-office, as if that department had not enough on its hands—as if the insur rections in Canada and Ceylon might not have been sufficient to occupy all their mature considerations, and the war at the Cape enough to employ all their energies.— ( Hear.) Could they then be surprised that all our colonies are suffering, and that there is a diminution in our com mercial transactions with them; though fio:n 1831 to 1846 there had been in the article of calicoes alone—that great branch to Which it seems we are bound to sacrifice everything —an export to the British colonies of 313.000,000 of yards more than to all the rest of the world. I want to know whether the policy of her Majesty's Ministers with respect to foreign powers has not of itself been one of the principal causes of those continental convulsions which have been spoken cf ?—(Hear, hear.) When her Majesty's Ministers acceded to power, they appeared to have adopted a system contrary to that of their predecessors. We find that the Go vernment was in apparent communication with the discon tented party in every state.—(" Hear, hear, ' and laughter) —that party which is sometimes called the Liberal party, but which consists of secret societies, stimulating disturbance, chiefly through the aid of an emigrant nobility. What was the consequeuce of this ? A great convulsion occurs in Europe. I will not stop to trace in 'any degree that ccnvulsion to the policy of our Government. That might not be difficult, but when the hour had arrived when the influence of England might have been exercised to appease the discontents and settle the difficulties of Europe, England was left without power, being only re cognised as the comate and colleague of the limited discon tented minority in every country.—(Hear, hear.) What happened next? That minority was supported by England, who took every opportunity of exposing their power and de monstrating their weakness. All the great Ministers of Europe, who, whatever might be their faults, were at least the representatives of great ideas and of a great and stable order of affairs, were treated by our Government as if personal enmity existed. The Metternichs, Guizots, Narvaezes, and the Collettis were swept off, or attempted to be swept off, from the administration of affairs; but the most curious thing is, that the party with which our Government seems to be connected never succeeded in any instance in produc ing men capable of regulating public busines. What has been the consequence? Not merely that the great influ ence which England should necessarily exercise could no longer be exerted to preserve the peace of the world, and to prevent those complications and convulsions of which we hear so much, but her Majesty's Government app eare d t o h ave failed . in every object which they proposed as worthy object s of attainment.—(Hear, hear.) I take the case of Italy, as affording a complete illustration of the principles and effect of their policy. Her Majesty's Government were so satisfied that Austria could not hold her position in Italy, that they expected a new power would assume the lead there, and that Sardinia would be the chosen one. Her Majesty's Go vernment were also so satisfied that the Pope, being a re former, and indulging his reformatory views, would be the only means of preventing the French entering Italy, that they favoured his notions; and they were likewise so satis fied that the King of Naples could not hold his own, that they went hunting over Europe to find a King for Sicily.— (Cheers and laughter.) The result, however, has been, that Austria is paramount in the north of Italy, and Sardinia, which was to have supplanted her, is now little more than her humble ally; the Pope is not at Rome, but the French are; and the King of Naples is also King of the Two Sicilies still.—( Hear, hear, and laughter.) I want to know, then, with what face can our Ministers go to the Courts of Austria, Rome, and Naples, to tender counsels, and exercise a just influence, when all these powers know that it was entirely owing to their own conduct that they have not lost their thrones, and, if the policy of her Majesty's Government had been followed, they probably would have been emigrants in this country, like other crowned heads ?—(Cheers.) We have a further illustration of how little her Majesty's Go vernment are informed as to the state of Europe in their conduct with respect to Spain.—( Hear, hear.) It is quite clear that what occurred in Italy never could have occurred if her Majesty's Government had been well informed; and how well they were informed of the condition of Spain is evident from the instructions sent to our Minister at Madrid to advise the Spanish Prime Minister to show deference to popular opinion ; for our Minister is no longer in Spain, and the same Spanish Prime Minister still exercises authority at Madrid.—(Cheers.) I hear how much commerce suffers from these continental convulsions, and also great com plaints respecting the blockade of the Elbe ; yet I remember that when I called, on a former occasion, the attention of the House to the evils which I knew must occur in consequence of the state of Denmark I could not find a single gentle man of the Manchester school to support me—(Hear, hear)—and I think the Hon. Gentleman for the West Riding took the opportunity of saying that I was trying to stimulate war in Europe.—(Hear, hear.) I have no hesitation in saying that, had the Government acted as they ought, they might have put an end to those vexatious blockades, and have prevented those evils occurring. —(Hear, hear.) It is impossible to understand why they have not long since terminated, and one is almost tempted to believe those ludicrous stories in the German newspapers as to the manner in which these negotiations were carried on, according to which it would seem that while one post from Prussia brought satisfactory dispatches to this Government, another, or the same, brought di-patches to the Prussian Minister here, tellipg him not to mind the threats of the Minister for Foreign Affairs, because his colleagues were quite resolved he should do nothing.—(Laughter.) I am told that, if her Majesty's Mioisters have preserved the peace of Europe, that is enough ; but I contend that the Ministers have no influence in any part of the world except Paris. They have not, however, more influence there than their predecessors, and is it possible to conceive any sort of Government which should not be on a cordial understanding with France?—(Hear.) It is the necessary consequence of the state of Europe and the situation of the two countries. But a good understanding with the French Government is no compensation for not possessing influence in any other country.—(Hear, hear.) In what other Court or country of Europe can Ministers suppose they can exercise influ ence, when every authority in Europe knows that Ministers have been the patross and colleagues of the minority of dis turbance in every part of the world ?—(Cheers.) This is the position in which England is placed, after having encou raged movements in every partof the world, and withdraw mg only after the insurrectionary party had acted in conse quence of antecedent support.—(Hear, hear.) This is the cause of the diminished influence of this country. I be lieve the influence of the country genera lly was never less, and in no instance has it averted from our commerce the consequences of those convulsions of which Ministers are perpetually reminding us.—(Hear.) I have now attempted, more imperfectly than I could desire, to call the attention of the House to the state of this country in all its principal re lations. The canvass i s so w id e t h at i t has been almost possible for me to do m ore th an to s k etch the principal ifea tures, but I have endeavoured without exaggeration and re lying on documents, the accuracy of 'which cannot be im pugned, to lay before the House a true and impartial statement of our position I will not for one moment pretend that what I deem to be our calamitous condition is to be ascribed to: one particular cause. I am ready to admit that in the complicated transactions of a great country like this, and in a period of time which in this rapid age of events cannot be considered as a brief one, many conjectures and casualties must occur, which the prescience of no statesman could fore. see and some which no minister could remedy. lam not one of those who ever looked on the Irish famine as a cabinet measure—(Laughter)—but I am bound to say that taking a general, but I believe not an incomplete view of the course of the Government in respect to all that has happened in political life during the last three years and more, I do re cognize one predominant cause to which I attribute the great part of our calamities; and that is our legislation.— (Cheers.) Some three years and more ago it appears to me that we thought fit to change the principles on which the economic system of this country had been previously based. Hitherto this country had been, as it were divided into a hierarchy of classes, each of which was open to all, but in which every Englishman was taught to believe that he occu pied a position better than the analogous position of his order in any other country in Europe.— (Hear, hear.) The British merchant's, for example, was most creditable. He was wealthy and trustworthy; the English farmer was the most skilful, as was proved by his obtaining a greater produce than any other farmer in Europe or America. The English manufacturer was likewise the most skilled manufacturer, and silenced the looms of Flanders, France, and India. The ability of the British sailor has passed into a proverb, and chivalry seemed to have found its last resource in the breast of the British officer.—(Hear, hear.) In like manner the learned professions; our physicians and lawyers held a higher position than the professional men of any other country.— (Hear, hear.) I have heard it at the same time stated that the superiority of these classes was attained at the cost of the last class in the great hierarchy—the labouring population. But though I have heard in this House something of the periodical sufferings of that class—as if every class had not its period of suffering—and though I have beard districts referred to where their condition was much depressed—as if a district condition was not essentially exceptional—l have no hesitation myself in saying, and I shall be surprised to be contradicted by facts, that no great community has existed since the fall of the Roman empire where the work ing population were placed in so advantageous a position as the working classes of England.—(Hear, hear.) I speak not of those civil rights which are superior to those enjoyed by princes in other countries, but I speak of their material condition.—(Hear, hear.) I say that they have had a greater command over the necessa r i es o f lif e t h an any popu lation of equal size in any community in Eu r ope.—( H ea r, bear.) For the last sixty years their progress, and it can be proved in detail, has borne a due proportion to the pro gress of all other classes ; and for the last twenty years the spirit of our laws, most important in such matters, and the spirit of our society, have been to elevate their condition.— ( Hear.) Therefore I will not conceive that the position of the last class in this hierarchy was relatively inferior to the others, but I hold that the English working man was in a better condition than the working man of any other country. —(Hear, hear.) It was a state of society based on the aris tocratical element in its most complete and greatest develop. ment. You thought you were destined to change these laws. Instead of accomplishing the best, what you want to do now is to achieve the cheapest.—(Hear, hear.) I have shown you that the economic principle which you have acted on is a fallacious one; and that the necessary consequence of it is to cause the impoverishment and embarrassment of the people.—( Hear, hear.) But your policy has done more in jury than this, and will lead to greater misfortune. The wealth of England is not merely its material wealth, for neither is it the well cultivated acres of England, nor our havens full of shipping, nor our ingenious arts and unri valled manufactures, nor the intrepid industry of our mines, that formed the sole or principal wealth of this country. We have, indeed, a treasure more precious than all these ; and that is the character of the people.—(Cheers.) That is what you have injured. You have destroyed, in destroying what you call class legislation, that noble and indefinable spirit of ambition, the source of our greatness, prosperity, and power.—(Cheers.) I know nothing more remarkable at the present day than the general discontent which prevails, accompanied on all sides by avowed inability to suggest a remedy. The features of the present day are depression and perplexity.—( Hear, hear.) That English spirit which was supported and maintained by your old system seems to have departed. It WM a syatem which tataght mou to aspire, and not to grovel, which gave strength to the subject and s ability to the state—which made the people of this coun try endure adversity with a higher courage than any other people, and at the same time animated them in times of prosperity with a vigour nowhere else equalled.—( Hear, hear.) I put it to the recollection of every Hon. Gentleman —I care not into what social circle or political party he may enter, whether there be not now only one universal murmur of suffering without hope.—(" Hear, hear," and a cry of "Oh I") An Hon. Gentleman seems to be of a dif ferent opinion, and perhaps he will favour the House with more consolatory views; but every man, whether frequent ing the Royal Exchange. the ports, or other haunts of indus try, tells me the people are suffering and they see no hope. I was reminded the other day, in reading a passage in a great Roman statesman, that the present is always the reproduc tion of the past. He said, in the last year of the great Roman Commonwealth, that a new disease has fallen on the state; that all men, of all opinions, and in all condi tions, denounce everything that is done; they complain, groan, and openly lament ; the complaint is universal, but no remedy is offered ; and it seems, he says, that there is a general idea that resistance against what they all disapprove without .some fatal struggle is impossible, and that the only end of concession is in the death of the republic :—" Nunc quidem novo quodam morbo civitas mo ritur. Et cum mimes ea rpm aunt acts improbent, queran tur, doleant, a perteque loquuntur et tarn dare gemunt, tamen medicine nulls afferatur, neque resisti sine interne clone pose arbitramur, nec qui finis cedendi videmus pras!er exitium," I know not what advantage there is in the study of recorded history of the past time, if it be not made to guide and instruct us in the present. The Honourable Member for Sheffield seemed by his observation to suppose that we shared the lot of those who, conscious of the depression of the commonwealth, were not prepared to offer any remedy. He mistakes us —(Cheers.) It is because I wish to offer a remedy that I have presumed to call on the House of Commons to exercise the highest privilege with which the constitution has invested it; and it is to offer that remedy that I now place in your hands, Sir, the resolution of which I have given notice, because I believe in my conscience it is the best and surest means to save a suffering people and sustain a falling country.—(Cheers.) The Hon. Member concluded by moving for a Committee of the whole House to consider the state of the nation. When Mr. Disraeli had resumed his seat, it was evidently expected that Mr. Hume would proceed to move the amend ment of which he had given notice. That Hon. Member. however, did not rise ; and after a considerable pause cries of " Que:tion" and " Divide" were set up, and much laughtste was excited. At length The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER rose and said —I was under the expectation that my Hon. Friend the Member for Montrose would have risen to move the amend ment of which he has given notice.—(Hear, hear.) It is the usual course—(Hear, hear)—that when a Gentleman has given notice of an amendment on such an occasion, he should—as the Hon. Member himself did when a former motion was made by the Hon. Member for Buckinghamshire —rise immediately after the original proposition has been moved, and state his amendment to the House.—( Hear, hear.) I hope now that my Hon. Friend intends not to move his amendment at all.—( Hear, hear, and a laugh.) I can say sincerely that in perfect honesty and fairness of purpose I recommend him not to move it.—(Hear.) It is not because I underrate in any degree the importance of the subject of that amendment, nor because I think it would not be a fair and proper subject for discussion; but with the experience which he has had of the inconvenience of putting such an amendment upon a motion of this description, con sidering the inconvenience to which it must lead in debate, when more than one great subject is brought before the House, the unsatisfactory appearance it must bear in the eyes of the country when speeches follow and one is not in answer to another, and misconception is very possible as to the result of any division upon the complicated question which his amendment would introduce, I do sincerely trust that he has abandoned his intention of moving the amend ment upon this motion.—(Hear, hear.) In that hope I shall proceed at once to address myself to the motion and the ar guments of the Hon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. Disraeli), with the expectation that that motion will—as I think it far more convenient that it should—bethe sole object of our dis cussion. —(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman need not, I am sure, have made any apology for bringing forward the motion in this shape. He stated truly that it was a consti tutional motion ; that the import of it was plain, and that the effect of success w uld be certain. It is a recognised consti tional course, on the part of gentlemen who consider the country to be in a state of distress, brought about by the policy recently pursued. to place before the House and the country their view of that policy, and of the state of the country, and to put in broad contrast with this policy that which they would recommend ; and neither I nor any mem ber of the Government, or of the House. can complain that the lion. Gentleman, as the avowed leader of a powerful party, should come forward on this occasion, describing their views of the condition of the country, and should put before the House the remedy which they have to propose.—(Hear.) The Hon. Gentleman has said that he considers the country to be in a state of great and general distress ; that those with whom he communicates, be they from the marts of commerce or the fields of agriculture. suffer and see no hope. If that is his belief, I say not only that he is justified in making this motion, but that it would have been utterly unjustifi able it he had not brought it forward.—(Hear, hear.) Ido not agree with him in the view he has taken of the state of the country ' • I do not agree in his representation of general gloom and distress pervading every class of society; but I must say, that when he came to the conclusion of his speech, I did not see that he had offered much consolation to his suf fering friends—(Hear, hear)—for when I expected him to propose his remedy, he said that he had only to place in your hands, Sir, a motion for a Committee on the state of the nation.—(Hear.) I doubt whether the distressed manufac turers (as he represents them to be) or the starving agricul turists will, without some more specific proposition, think that he has done much in their cause.—( Hear.) I suppose we must go elsewhere to learn what is the remedy to which he points, though he shrinks from expressing it, when he finds fault with our legislation, and attributes so much distress to it. I suspect we must go to the resolutions of another meet ing, resolutions moved elsewhere, where the views which the Hon. Gentleman has expressed of the state of the country were as fully developed, but the causes to which it was attributed were rather more clearly expressed, and the remedy looked to was rather more clearly pointed out.—(Hear, hear.) I find that there, too, the greatest I difficulty and distress is said to prevail, and it is attributed to recent legislation permitting " the indiscriminate admis sion of foreign produce ;" but the parties go one step further than the Hon. Gentleman has gone at present—though I apprehend that if we were to go into Committee he would take that step—proposing " just protection" against the competition of other countries.—(Hear. hear.) If that be not his meaning, and that the remedy to which he would point, a more hopeless display of his talent and eloquence was never wasted.—(Hear, hear.) It would be utterly unworthy of his party, great and powerful as it is in numbers and character, and in the estimation of the coun try, if their whole effort to redeem the empire were a dis play such as this—a display of the Honourable Member's ability without any tangible result.—(Hear.) The Hon. Gentleman has referred, though shortly, not only to the state of this country, but to our foreign relations, and to the state of the colonies. The domestic ,state of the country formed indeed the staple of his speech, and I will advert but shortly to these other topics. Ido not think it necessary to go far into his observations upon foreign affairs ; that subject will be more appropriately left to my Noble Friend when he shall address the House, and indeed I know not what there was which called for much reply. He spoke of what he could trace to English interference, if he were disposed to do so, but he shrank from doing it.—(Hear, hear.) All 1 shall say is, that I rejoice in that good understanding between our great efforts n the e i g G h b o o v u e r r n m a n e d n t o a u n r d s e i l n v y e s N , a o n b d l e F t i a e t n t d h , e e vuenrd since n i d e e e d heu o n r t d s of e r. took the management of the foreign relations of the country, have been to prese rv e p eace .—( H ear. ) No effort has been left untried on his part to promote reconciliation on the best terms the circumstances of the times seemed to afford every quarter of ; his unremitti ng en d eavour has been in quarter to preserve, if possible, an d t o restore when broken, the peace in which no country is more interested than our own, as none has, through its commerce, a greater stake in the prosperity of ether nations. The Hon. Gentleman made some observations upon colonial matters, referring partly to the effects of past legislation, and partly to the conduct of the Colonial-office. I really know no colonial grievances, to any extent (not referring to those personal and minor complaints which are perpetually made), that are owing to the Colonial office and not to legislation. There are complaints respect ing free trade, the abolition of slavery, the attempt to ameliorate the condition of labourers in the West Indies; but these are matters for which successive Parliaments must be responsible. - (Hear, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman says, that when the colonies found themselves in distress, and were anxious to reduce their expenditure, they were thwarted and resisted by my Noble Friend at the head of the Colonial office ; but there the Hon. Gentleman is mis taken. An Hon. Member whom I see opposite moved early this year for a Committee upon certain colonies, and read to the HMSO a list of salaries which seemed preposterous in amount, and the putting of which upon the civil list he at tributed to my Noble Friend ; will the House believe that not one of them was put on the civil list, and every one of them was in the power of the Assembly ?—(Hear, hear.) A report from the Committee is now on the table; it is entirely in accordance with the views of my Honourable Friend the Under-Secretary for the Colonies, and has been acted on by him. —(Cries of " Hear, hear.") With regard to another colony inquiry is still going on, and I will not further refer to it; but even there, in Ceylon, the ex penditure has already been reduced to the extent of 60,0001. a year.—(Hear.) With respect to Mauritius, the Governor has been sent out with instructions to effect every possible reduction, and taxes to the amount of 30,0001. a year have been taken off.—(Hear, hear.) But says, the Hon. Gentle man, what was the state of the West Indian colonies in 1846 when you came into office, and what has been the effect of that system of free trade of which you were the supporters and are now the advocates? Well, lam willing to abide by the test of facts and experience.—(Hear.) I am willing to abide by the test of the importations from those colonies. Much as I regret the suffering to which many persons in those colonies are necessarily exposed in a state of transition from protection to free-trade, requiring to be alleviated by all measures short of departure from that system which I believe will ultimately be as beneficial to them as to the consumer here, I am perfectly ready to have this question decided by reference to indisputable facts; and we have re turns upon the table which show them. It is needless to prove that, taking the British possessions generally, there is a considerable increase in the importation of sugar. I have had a statement made out which puts it in the most striking light, far stronger than I thought possible. knowing the complaints that have been made, and that in many instances considerable distress and difficulty do exist. I will take the years previous to any agitation of the ques tion of free trade and the years subsequent to the agitation, the early period of the agitation and the later years, the two years ending 1846 and the two years following; and the in crease in the importation is most remarkable. lam not now taking the entries for home consumption—they belong to the question as affecting the consumer; the importations into this country are the best test of the production of the colonies.— (Hear, hear.) Now, take the British possessions together, and compare the average annual importation from 1831 to 1840, before the question of the alteration of the sugar duties, with the importation since. Before 1810 the average was 211,000 tons per annum ; subsequently it has been 298,000. Take 1841 to 1844, before the first alteration admitting free-labour sugar, and the four years subsequent; in the former period the average was 200,000 tons —in the latter 251,000. Take the British West Indian possessions; there, of course, you find in the first period a considerable diminution, because they were affected by the admission of the East Indian sugar; from 1831 to 1840 the average was 171,000 tons—subsequently 128,000. But take the first four years since 1840, and the last four years, since these measures had been completed; the average importation from 1841 to 1844 was 120,000 tons; from 1845 to 1848, 137,000.--(Hear, hear.) To check the calculation, I have taken some of the principal colonies separately. Take Jamaica: comparing the period 1831-40 with 1841-48, the average annual importation fell from 54,000 to 32,000; but taking the years 1841-44 and 1845-48, it increased from 31,000 to 33,000.—(Hear, hear.) Take British Guiana: there lie a decreaae, cc:owing the Ant periods, et 14,000 tons ; but, comparing the last periods, an increase of 3,000 ; and now, this being one of the most distressed colonies, one of those whose state was most pressed upon us, let me call the Hon. Member's attention to the importation in 1815-6, As compared with the two subsequent years, when this measure of destructiou, as he calls it, was in full operation; in 1845 6 the annual average was 23,635 tons ' • in 1347.8, 33,458. —( Hear.) The same result will be found in the case of Trinidad, Antigua, Barbadoes, St. Vincent's, Tobago. tv'ithout occupying the House with the details, I may say, that there is no instance In which the importation from these colonies, since the measure of 1846 was passed, has not ex ceeded the importation for the two years preceding the passing that measure.—(Hear, hear.) I will not detain the House further upon this branch of the subject, which the Honourable Gentleman passed over in a cursory manner; I come to the main topic—a subject most worthy of the atten tion of the House. And in going into the question of the state of the country I shall not confine myself, as the Hon. 1 Gentleman did, to the results to be obtained from a return of the state of things a year and a half ago, which he cited to prove that the country is in a state of great and general distress, progressing from the time when the present Go vernment took office. That might be a very good reason for a motion of this' kind then; but the justification for the motion now must be distress now existing.—(Hear, hear.) The Honourable Gentleman compared the state of the coun try in tha year ending Ladv-day, 1847, with the year end ing Lady-day, 1848. and he cited the Poor-law Commis sioners' report for that year. [Mr. DISRAELI—" I did not take the Poor-law report for the year ending Lady-day, 1847, but 1846; I wished to contrast the present state of the country with its state at the commencement of 1846."] I have no desire to misrepresent the Hon. Gentleman—( Hear) --but I w'sh to notice that in tracing the causes of the dis tress of 1847, and the great amount expended for the relief of the poor in the year ending Lady-day, 1848, he attributed it greatly to the state of the home market, but he overlooked the circumstance of the extraordinary high price of corn.— ( Hear, hear.) No wonder people were in distress when corn was at 69s.—(Hear, hear.) If, as he would have us believe, the home market is that upon which our trade mainly depends, and the prosperity of the agriculturists depends upon a high price for corn, there had not for some time been a year in which the home trade ought to have been so good, manufactures so flourishing, the labouring man so well off.—(Hear, hear.) Arguing from his premises, the year to which he points as one of extraordinary distress ought to have been one of unprecedented prosperity to the home market.—(Hear, hear.) But I, on the contrary, believe that a low price of corn contributes to the com fort of the labourer; and, if I were to trace the causes of the distress of 1847, I should refer to the commer• cial difficulty which prevailed and the high price of corn, which must, in no inconsiderable degree, have aggravated the labourer's suffering.—(Hear, hear.) The Honourable Gentleman says he has communicated with persons in all parts of the country, and that he can hear nothing but com plaints of distress. I should like to hear from the Hon. Gentleman whence these complaints of all-pervading distress have come; I have also been looking about me, as it was my duty to do after the Hon. Gentleman gave notice of his motion, and I have also communicated with people in almost all parts of the country. Ido not say that the entire country, and every interest in it, are in a state of unbounded prosperity. There are trades, no doubt, suffering, and there is, in some parts of the south-west of England especially, considerable and severe distress.—(Hear, hear.) But I must say that, after what we have gone through, after the collapse caused by a time of unexampled commercial depression— after four years of a failure of food in Ireland, and after that which the Hon. Gentleman very much denies, the in jurious consequences caused by the Danish blockade, it is not wonderful that distress should to a considerable extent prevail.—(Hear, hear.) Ido not see the Hon. Member for Hull in the House; but this very day there is, I believe, a meeting of the people of Hull for the purpose of promoting a subscription in favour of these persons who in that place and neighbourhood have been thrown out of employment in consequence of the Danish blockade.—(Hear, hear.) I will now, however, state to the House the result of the inquiries I have made as to the actual state of things in almost all parts of the country; and I will, in the first instance, direct the attention of the House to those facts about which there is likely to be the least dispute. I will take, first, the con dition of our manufactures, reserving to a later period the state of the agricultural interest. I find, then, from those parties of whom I have inquired as to the state of the wool trade in Wiltshire that, "The fine wool-mills about Trowbridge, &c., never were better employed; indeed they have not been so fully employed for some time past. That employment is abundant at Bradford and Trowbridge, and the factories are now in good work. At Bradford an abandoned cloth factory has recently been taken by a gentleman from a dis tance for the purpose of establishing a manufactory of articles of clothing, &c., from India-rubber."—(Hear, hear.) At Wotton-under-Edge " the mills continue at full work. I found one silk-mill machinery standing for want of hands to work it. Two years ago (before some of our measures came into operation) any nurnber of hands could have been commanded." "At Kidderminster and its neighbour hood all the mills are workihg full time, which has not been the case since the spring of 1846." At Norwich " work in manufacture (of which during six months of last year there was an unexampled stagnation) is now toler ably brisk." Then as to Birmingham, I have also received information. Now, lam ready to admit that Birmingham is not one of the places which can be set down as very prosperous.—(Hear, hear.) The iron trade and the hardware trade generally, I am bound to say, has fallen off to some extent. As I said before, some trades are in a prosperous state and some are not; and in Birming ham there are branches of trade which are not to be classed with the latter. But even in Birmingham there is a diminution of the number of paupers in the workhouse, and in the weekly expenses for out-door re lief. I find that "in Birmingham and Ashton there were, in the midsummer quarter of 1848, of in-door paupers, 1,299 ; and in 1849, 1,204. The average weekly expense for out door relief was, in 1848, 6261. ; and in 1849, 6031."—( Hear, hear.) At Leicester, the operatives in the frame-work knit ting manufactures have, within the last six months, obtained an advance of their wages, and their general condition has not been so favourable for several years past as at the pre sent moment. I entirely agree with the Hon. Gentleman when he says that the point to which we ought to look more than to any other is the condition of the labouring classes of the country.—(Hear, hear.) They form the great body of the people; they are those to whom the attention of Go vernment and the legislation of this House ought to be prin cipally directed—(Hear, hear)—and I agree with him in thinking that their condition is the very best test of the prosperity or otherwise of the country.—(Hear, hear.) In order, therefore, to assist the House in arriving at a sound conclusion as - to the state of the working classes, I will take the amount expended for in-door and out door relief in four unions in 1845 and 1848:—The in door paupers in ti.. unions or Barrow. on-Soar, Hinckley, Leicester, and Loughborough, were, in the Midsummer quarter of 18-18, 1,157 ; and in the same period of 1849, 822 ; showing a decrease of 335. The average weekly expendi ture for out-door relief during the same period was, at Bar row, in 1848, 96/. ; this year, 811. At Hinckley, in 1848, 81/. ; this year, 70/. At Leicester, in 1848, 4801. ; this year, 2621. ; and at Loughborough, in 1848, 865/. ; this year, 781. Now, these are facts. But if the state of our artizans and manu facturers is such as the Hon. Gentleman represents it to be, is it credible that these diminutions could have taken place in the expenditure in these unions on account of the work house and out-door relief?—( Hear, hear.) I now come to Nottingham, and there my information net only states facts, but states the causes of those facts, which are, though the Hon. Gentleman will not allow it, traced to our recent legis lation.—(Hear, hear.) A respectable informant says : —" The prices of bread and meat, as well as clothes, are so cheap, that for many years past the ope ratives have not been so well off. 'No mills are working short time, but all fully employed." " The manufacturers of hosiery are very busy, and a large proportion of lace ma • nufacturers are equally so; consequently there is abundant manufacturing employment. A strike of one branch has now continued six weeks, and is decisive of the improved condition of workmen generally. It appears to be the rule to strike for higher wages when the times improve." The exports and imports for Nottingham, per railway, last month, were upwards of 4,000 tons, while they were, for the similar period last year, 3,000 tons. The tonnages of the canals are also increased. I will now come to Yorkshire. Though the Hon. Gentleman did not in his speech go into detail, yet I think it is my duty to put before the House, and in detail, the information I have received from different parts of the country, in order that there may be no mi •take as to what the condition of the country really is— (Hear, hear)—that the people out of doors may not be deluded by anything which the Hon. Gentleman has said, utterly unsupported by any facts that he has been able to allege.—(Hear, hear.) 1 will here only say one thing—and it refers to the possible arguments that may be derived from the amount of wages paid to the working classes—that in comparing the wages paid to certain classes of artisans now with what they were three or four years ago, the reduction of the hours of labour caused by the Factory Act must be taken into consi deration.—(Hear, hear.) I will not give an opinion upon that question. tis not necessary that I should do se; but those gentlemen who argued in favour of that measure con stantly maintained that the same amount of wages would be paid for a less amount of labour.—( Hear, hear.) That was a statement whtch no gentleman of common understanding could believe, and the result has proved that the reverse is true.—( Hear.) We cannot expect to find the same wages given for 10 hours' work as for 12 ; or that no higher wages were paid in the week when there were 63 hours, than now, when there are 58 hours of labour.—(Hear, hear.) I give no opinion whether that measure was right or wrong ; but I say the Hon. Gentleman must not._comP..- • .?... "".". 1 "Y amount of wages pal/ before the passing or the Factory Act and those paid now, without considering the consequences which have flowed from the passing of that law.—(Hear, hear.) I find that the wages paid by one house in Leeds were, in the first five months of 1847, 1,4931. ; during the some period in 1848, 1,4051.; and in the same period in 1849, 2,0421. The number of persons to whom out-door relief was given in the four weeks of May -1847. 1848. 1849. 6,265 8,495 5,985 6,850 8,352 5,875 6,320 8,175 5,823 6,813 8,008 5,847 The last circumstance I shall mention in connexion with Leeds is that of the savings-banks; but I must say that the amount of deposits in the savings -banks is no good test, as vet, of the actual condition of the people, because it is well known to all who are acquainted with the habits of the work ing classes, that in bad times they pledge their clothes and their furniture in order to maintain themselves and their families during the period of depression, and that the first application of their money, on a return of prosperity, is to recover those articles with which for a time necessity has compelled them to part.—(Hear, hear.) But nevertheless I have taken the deposits and the withdrawals from the savings -banks for a month in each of the years 1847 and 1848. From April 20, to May 20, 1847, the amount deposited was 3,1211., and the amount withdrawn 4,904/. In 1848, deposited 3,182/. ; with drawn, 6,8781. (this being the year of the Chartist out breaks), and in 1849 the sum deposited was 3,404/. ; with drawn, 3,7131. At Bradford the number of persons relieved in the four weeks of May, 1848, were respectively 5,258, 5,122, 5,231, 5,427. In the same period in 1849, the num bers were-2,135, 2,120, 2,065, 2,110. The average weekly expenditure in the former period was 276/. ; in the latter, 113/. At Huddersfield the wages paid at Bradley-mills in Slay, 1847, was 5501. ; in May, 1848, 850/. ; and in May, 1849, 1,3u0/. If you go through a large proportion of the towns in the manufacturing districts you will find the same condition of things as I have just described, and therefore 1 must say I should like to know where the Hon. Gentleman has got his information as to the great distress existing in those parts of the country. In the Huddersfield union, the persons receiving out-door relief, above sixteen years of age, were, in the tour weeks of May,-- 1848. 1849. First week ... 107 ... 86 Second week ... ••• 114 .. 82 Third week .. 136 ... 80 Fourth week ... ••• 138 ... 78 I will read an extract of a letter from a manufacturer in Halifax, the owner of one of the largest works in that town : —" The woolcombers are in full work, and in March last obtained an advance of 8 to 10 per cent. on their wages. Factory wages are gradually and steadily advancing; yet, at improved rates, hands are scarce, all being fully employed in this neighbourhood. We are employing about 6,000 hands, fully as many as we have had at any previous period. The advance in wages is by no means an index to the great increase in comfort of the working-classes. The low prices of provisions enable them to live much more comfortably with the same means. I consider the fall in price of commo dities equal to an advance of 25 per cent. in their wages, more or less. The same statement would apply to Manchester; but I will not detain the House with any lengthened details relative to Manchester, as gentlemen who know that district much better than I do are likely to address the House and give all the information that can be derived. I may state, however, that at a district of the Bury Union four miles north of Manchester, the relieving officer is now paying 201. per week less than he did a year ago. whilst at Bury the relievin4 officers is paying 501. a week less than he did a year before. A gentleman connected with a large house in Manchester gives this general view of the state of their operatives. He says :—" The operative manufacturers are fully employed and at full wages. Cotton, which in 1847 and 1843 was used only to the extent of about 24,000 bags weekly, is now used to the extent of 32,000 bags—an in crease of nearly 35 per cent. While such is the condition with respect to the demand for labour, the wages have kept up. In general terms wages are the same as they were in 1844; and food, taken altogether, bread, beef, groceries, &c.; we: e never in recent times, as a whole, so IoW. These circum stances place the mass of the industrious class in a decidedly bet ter position, with a greater command of the necessaries and comforts of life, than they enjoyed even in 1836, which was the most prosperous year they ever had in my experience." 'The gentleman goes on to allude to the pressure that pre vailedqi9llllBogtheseeB4 sl7.t; ,i;ot hnh s a o aean b i da harassingl y e t nnygo indeed, Jo years June, ep,ta:agi difficulties a a n n d astonishing thisth en m g i o d e d s l or, n degree, class s a tye:h—e actuallyw r From e cev e all r re covered. Industry of every kind is returning to its regular channels ; confidence is expanding ; profits in the home trade are satisfactory, though moderate; while, in some foreign trades, the East Indian and Ame:ican, they are un -4Hw9e:asrl.),4BBl.T;heonou j t u - n d e so: 7 7 l l B ie 4 f B h , a i s t , w a a c- s ac cordingly, greatly diminished. In the week ending July 3, it was 5761.—(Hear.) I lay great weight on the diminution of crime, and on the good con duct of the working classes, as an indication of comfort and prosperity ; and I rejoi ce t o l earn from the report of the Inspectors of Prisons at Manchester, in which there is a com parison of the offences in 1840 and 1848, that in 1840 the offences against the person were 1,420 ; in 1848 they were 753. Against property, they were, in 1847, 211; in 1848 they were 110. Offences against property without violence in 1846, 3,454; in 1848, 1,697. Miscellaneous offences, in 1840, 7,064; in 1848, 3,43o.—(Hear, hear.) As to Scotland, Duringa gentleman the in past Dundee, speaking nstphesakainvgeryof extensive e en li s n iv en e trade, and mre say a s a — e. trade;rat i remune rativeh tradete workinghas been classesenjoyed h in av e all beendepa rtme ntswell pol employed, the y edt linenand wages of labour have certainly been more than an aver age." And from Glasgow a gentleman says—" With one or two exceptions, and these not of large extent, all our cotton mills and powerloom factories are in full operation, and working full time. Calico printers are well employed, and there is abundance of employment in the different depart ments of hand-loom weaving. Other trades are also in a state of moderate activity, so that there is full employment for all our operatives. The rate of wages is not generally higher than it was last year, but the people are in more comfortable circumstances than they were, in consequence of the prices of both pro visions and clothing being so moderate," " Note of River Trust revenue for five months-1848, 21,925/. ; 1849, 23,2661." " The number of applications to the Dean of Guild Court for authority to execute building operations has been, up to the 21st of June this year, 103; and in the corresponding period of 1848, only 78." " All the factories in the (Glasgow) district are in full work at present. The persons employed are now in a better condition generally than they have been in for the last two years, as to the means of obtaining the necessaries of life." "All the mills in Belfast district, now working, are on full time, and the position of the manufacturing interest is generally admitted to be better than it has been for two or three years. The condition of the people employed, from the cheapness of food at the present time, is certainly more comfortable than in 1847 or in 1848, and there is work for all." Well, Sir, I have now gone through all the seats of manu facturing industry in the three kingdoms. 1 have read reports from them all. I have stated facts connected with the condition of the people in all of them ; and no one can deny that those facts show an improved condition of the working classes; that they show that the people are employed at increased remunerative wages, and that even those who receive no increase of wages are improved in their circumstances of comfort in consequence of the greater cheapness of the articles of food, clothing, and other things which constitute the ordinary items of consumption among the industrious classes. It must necessarily be so; for who can say that the cheapness of the raw material does not con siderably increase employment; or that the taking off the duty from that raw material does not contribute to increase the amount of its importation ? I will read to the House a statement of the increased amount of importation of certain main articles constituting the raw materials of manufacture in this country, which has taken place in consequence of the cheapness which has been brought about by the altera tion of the law. I take the comparison between the amount imported in the year 1841, being a period before this mis chievous legislation, so strongly denounced by the Hon. Gentleman, commenced, and the amount imported in the year 1846, when that unfortunate, law commenced, and the year 1848: IMPORTATION OF RAW MATERIALS. 1841. 1846. 1848. Flax, cwt. ... 1,355,475 1,146,743 1,462,007 Hemp, cwt. ... 643,423 880,810 832,212 Oil, train, &c., tuns 23,717 17,542 21,959 „ palm, cwt. ... 303,849 367,054 510.129 „ olive, tuns ... 5,316 8,532 9,995 Tallow, cwt. ... 1,243,112 1,189,685 1,411,944 Sheep's Cotton w w o o o o l l, C l w b . t . 53,020,0673,931224 6 4 5: 711716:632678 63,946,373 5734 Silk, raw, lb. ... 3,388,662 4,390,008 4 , 413 , 360 2°o Take, then, either of the two years which the Hon. Gentle man has taken for his period of comparison—take either the year 1816 or the year 1848, it must be obvious that there has been a very considerable increase of importation of raw materials. Now, the argument is irresistible that where there is an increased importation of a raw article of manu facture into any country there must necessarily be an in creased impetus given to employment. It would be absurd to contend otherwise, and it would be equally absurd to argue that when the people were fully employed they were not in a far better condition than when they were only partially employed —(Hear.) The Hon. Gentleman then referred to the subject of exports, and made use of one of those ingenious arguments which have been urged by others on that fertile topic. The non. Gentleman admits that there has been a very considerable increase of the quan tity of articles exported—the produce of British industry and of British skill ; but be says that tee ..1.0 or those ex ported articles is diminished; and he further argues that as the working men have been employed at higher wages, and as from the increased demand of the raw material its price must also be higher, the natural inference is, that from the reduced price of the articles of British industry exported the manufacturers of this country must necessarily be ruined. But are they ruined ?—(Hear.) I leave the Hon. Gentleman to settle that argument with the manufacturers ; my opinion is, that though they may give a higher price for their raw material, they certainly are not ruined; and that though they pay better wages to their labwrers, still, in spite of all that, they look with pleasure at an increased and increasing export of their manufacturing produce, and rejoice to know that misfortune has not yet fallen upon them, and that they are not yet ruined, notwithstanding they have been export ing larger quantities of goods since the reduction of duties, and since prices have been diminished.—(Cheers.) But it is a most extraordinary thing, that when the Hon. Gentleman was pointing out the utter ruin of this country in conse quence of the increased exports of British manufactures, and was indulging in those desponding views with regard to our manufactures, he did not perceive that he might with the same justice have taken similar views with respect to almost every other article of British produce. For I find that, as respects agricultural produce, there has been a very consider able increase of exports—of British and Irish manufactures. The comparison in the following table is between the four months ending the sth of May, 1848, and the sth of May 1849 : ... V EXPORTS OF BRITISH AND IRISH MANUFACTURES FOR THE FOUR MONTHS ENDING THE STH OF MAY. 1848. 1849. Butter, cwt. ... ... ... 7,897 14,483 Candles, lb. 458,369 887,478 Coals, tons ... ... ... ... 886,548 930,835 Cordage, cwt. ... ... ... 17,863 32,128 Cotton manufactures, yds. ... 330,006,028 417,346,084 Lace, yds.... ... ... ... 19,930,517 35,542,263 Cotton yarn, lb. ... .. ... 36,180,024 40,933,700 Herrings, barrels 19,696 24,329 Bottles, cwt. ... ... ••• 68,075 72,428 Leather, wrought, lb. ... ... 338,230 507,685 Linen, manufactured, yds ... 30,845,052 33,623,128 Linen, thread, lb. ... ... 563,538 706,545 Linen, yarn, lb. ... ... .. 3,270,133 5,557,052 Iron, wrought, tons ... ... 23,302 37,730 Copper, wrought, cwt. ... ... 4,420 5,669 Brass, cwt. 3,245 6,477 Lead, tons 1,672 4,179 Oil, gallons ... ... ... 888,965 1,055,941 Salt, bushels ... ... ... 4,406,337 6,0 00 , 829 Silk, manufactures, lb. ... ... - 65,061 90,399 Silk, stockings, doz. pairs ... 3,919 5,945 Silk, twist, lb. ... ... --- 61.678 82.551 996,76 , 3,259,2 I 8 W 001, lb. 652,076 woollen, manufactures, pcs. ----- '' 4B wooll en , :ono. tuccares, yds. ... 8,603,254 12,841,952 Woollen, stockings, doz. prs. ... 19,020 31,200 Haberdashery value in the first four months of 1818 was 275,5841., and in the first four months of 1849 was 324,4661. There was, in fact, hardly a single branch of English manu facture of any sort or description, - the exports of which, during the past year, as compared with former years, had not increased in a very extraordinary degree. The Hon. Gentleman had described the manufacturers to be in a state of distress, notwitstanding the increased amount of exports, on account of the diminished value of the goods exported. Rut even the declared value had not diminished. In the first four months of 1848 it was 15,239,000/. ; in the same period of 1849 it was 16,836,000/. And although he had not the whole particulars of the first five months, he was en abled to state that the amount was in 1818 18,914,000/., and in 1849, 21,191,5431.-(Cheers.) So that, whether they compared the first four or the first five months of the year, the returns showed exports increased in a most extraordinary degree. The Honourable Gentleman had somewhat sneered at the idea that investments in railways had had much effect upon the condition of the capital of the country. He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) did not find it necessary to reiterate the . opinions which he had before expressed upon the effect of invest ments in railways. He should merely say, as •he had said in 1847, that it had had a great effect in withdrawing capital from industrial occupations. lie thought so then-he thought so now. But the Honourable Gentleman thought it very extraordinary that it should not have been felt in 1846 as it was in 1847. Why, the Hon. Gentleman showed clearly that he did not take the necessary trouble to inform himself of the facts. No doubt the contributions were larger in that year than they ever had been before, but the effects could not be felt until a little time had elapsed, and then it was that the weight of the obligations incurred began to tell with severity. In 1845 the sums invested in railroads amounted to 16,129,8091.; in 1846 they were 37,814,993/. ; and in 1817, 41,025.4871., in shares paid up and loans made, being 25,000,000/. more than had been raised two years before. Why, all the money had to be withdrawn from some other mode of investment, or some other description of in dustry. But the Honourable Gentleman was wholly incon sistent with regard to the capital of the country. He said that nothing could be more certain than the decline of the wealth of the country, whilst at another period of his speech he spoke of the abundance of money, and said that mercan tile bills could be more easily discounted at the present time than ever. He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) did not know how the Honourable Gentleman could reconcile those twoycleeanreshet he would t a e n m e w nt o s fiu . dd ( t l l i ho e ao a kt r ,ot our r e sad laughter.) ut t nh h v tees was r. t m ) en nott But of declining, f c t p h e t al Hon. l a alast d that the resources of this great country would bear to a greater degree than, he confessed, he himself was prepared to find the withdrawal of capital. In the year ending with the commencement of 1849 the sum invested in railroads, partly in shares paid upon and partly advanced upon loan, Was, ui this ruined country, no leap than 35,000,000/, ( Hear, hear.) lie believed there were very few of the ma nufacturing towns in the kingdom that were not suffering from the effects of railway speculation.— ( Hear, hear.) li e believed there were very few of the merchants and traders who had not dea't in railway shares. And of course when those parties took railroad shares they did so with the belief that they might as easily deal with them as with any ar ticle of ordinary commerce. They dealt in them without considering the future liability which attached to the holders. If he wanted proof of this he might refer to the meeting of the Great Northern Railway Company, held early in June, at which he found the fact stated by an Hon. Friend of his who presided, that the number of shares in arrear due on the 30th of November, 1848, was 35,076, and that actions were pending against the proprietors of 6,149 shares. They actually proceeded to forfeit no less than 26,000 shares, on whi ch an average of 51. per share had been paid up, thus showing that the parties holding those shares were willing to forfeit upwards of 100,000/., as they thought it better to lose even that sum than ray the remainder, for which tehy would become liable. Such a state as this could not exist to so large an extent, if, throughout a large portion of the country towns, great numbers of the shopkeepers had not involved themselves to a greater extent than their means would have justified, and there could be no doubt but that the stagnation of trade that had been witnessed in those towns was owing in a great extent to this cause. He had stated these matters in answer to that part of the Hon. Mem ber's speech in which he had alluded to the ruined state of the manufacturing districts, in order to show that the manu facturers were not in that ruined state—that the operatives were, on the contrary, generally speaking, in a state of comfort owing to their ✓ having full employment, and owing also to the diminution that had taken place in the price of various articles, in the use of which their comfort principally consisted. He would not refer, tor the present, to the prices of corn and meat, which were notoriously at this moment lower than they had been in former years, but he would take some other articles of general consumption. Taking the wholesale prices, he found that tea in 1844, was 55.; in 1846, 4s. 6d. ; and in 1848, it was but 4s. Raw sugar had decreased from 7d. to 6d. ; coffee from Is. Bd. to Is. 4d. ; cocoa from 101 to 7d. ; rice from 3d. to 2 ; currants the same and raisins the same. Again, taking the price of sugar, he found it to be as follows : In 1842, 785.; 1843, 765.; 1844, 745.; 1845, 625.; 1846, 645. ; 1847, 595. ; 1848, 545. ; 1849, 545. ; being a falling off of 245., or the difference between 78s. and 545. in eight years. Again, taking the article of salt for the same period, the prices were, in 1842, ss. ; 1843, ss. ; 1844, 4s. 6d. • 1845, 4s. ; 1846, 3s. 9d. ; 1847, 3 s . 9d. ; 1848, 3s. 6d., and 1849, 3s. 6d. Rice had fallen from 235., in 1842, to 17s. in 1848; and milk, which was Is. a gallon in 1843, 18 44, and 1845, was now selling at 9d. a gallon, in conse q:itehic ae,ht? believed, of a contr ac t h av i ng b een entere d i nto railway company to convey it from a considerable distance. Sir J. TYRELL inquired how many miles from London the Right Hon. Gentleman meant as a considerable distance ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said he spoke of the distance as being considerable compared with the district from which milk had been formerly- sup plied. The effect of the improved condition of the labour ing classes, and of the reduction that had taken place in the duty charged upon articles of general consumption, was that a considerable increase had taken place in the amount of those articles entered for home consumption, and when the amount of articles entered for home consumption ge nerally increased in that way, it was in itself one of the greatest proofs of the improved condition of the people.— ( Hear, hear.) 'raking the same three years as before, namely, 1841, 1846, 1848, the amount of butter entered for home consumption was respectively 251,000 cwt., 255,000 cwt., and 288,000 cwt.; cocoa increased from 1,930 to 2,906. In cheese and currants the increase was equally marked. Pepper was 2,750,0001b5. in 1841, 3,147,0001b5. in 1846, and 3,189,0001b5. in 1848; molasses were 402,000 in 1841, 582,000 in 1846, and 637,000 in 1848 ; tea had increased from 36,000,0001b5. in 1841, to 46,000,0001b5. in 1846, and 48,000,0001b5. in 1848. The increase in tobacco and snuff was equally remarkable ; but this all showed that though the duty on these articles was as high as before, the greater demand for labour en abled the people to purchase more largely. He did not know whether he need trouble the House by fol lowing up this comparison between the four first months of this year and the corresponding period of 1848, but he might say generally that precisely the same result was to be seen, and that a very considerable increase had taken place in favour of the present year.—(Hear, hear.) He came now to the article of sugar, which was one of the best items for testing the amount of comfort prevailing among the people, because it was mixed with almost everything they used— with their tea in the morning, with their puddings at dinner, and again with their tea in the evening. Now taking the five years ending with 1848, he found the amount of sugar entered for home consumption to be as follows :—" 1844, 206,000 tons ; 1845, 242,000 tons; 1846, 261,000 tons ; 1847, 288,000 tons; 1843, 3t0,131 tons; being an increase, corn pared with 1844, of 49i per cent. within five years." No doubt that was owing, in a considerable degree, to the effect of that recent legislation of which the Honourable Gentle man complained. He would next take another article, which, perhaps, did not enter so largely into the consumption of the poor as those to which he had been alluding, but which was, notwithstanding, a very important test of the condition of the population. Ile alluded to the article of foreign brandy. The importation of foreign brandy amounted, in 1843, to 1,052,030 gallons; in 1844 to 1,037,000 gallons; in 1845 to 1,076,000 gallons; the importation, during these three years, immediately preceding the reduction of duty, being nearly stationary. But the duty being reduced from 225. there was an immediate increase of nearly 50 per cent. —(Hear, hear.) In 1846 the quantity imported was 1,561,000 gallons, in 1847 it was 1,538,000 gallons, and in 1848, 1,632,000. And while this increase took place in the quan tity there had been no loss to the revenue, because whereas the amount of duty on foreign brandy in 1841 was 1,201,0004 ; the amount received for duty in 1848, notwithstanding the reduction of duty, was no less than 1,233,000/. The altera tion was, therefore, a clear gain to the revenue, and at the same time a clear gain to the consumer.—(Hear, hear.) But, perhaps, it might be supposed that this gain had been ob tained at a loss to the native and colonial spirit producer. list was it so? 'faking the three years before the reduc .ion in duty, and the three years that had since passed, he found that the average consumption for the three years ending with 1845, in this country of colonial spirits was 2,257,000 gallons; while for the average of the three years ending in 1848, the home consumption amounted to 2,999,000 gallons.—( Hear.) Again, taking British spirits, the average home consumption for the former three years was 20,845,000, and for the latter three years 22,326,000. So that the increase to which he had alluded in the importation of foreign brandy had been followed by no injury to either the home or the colonial distiller any more than to the revenue.—(hear, hear.) Ile wished now to refer to another return, which was conclusive as to the soundness of the policy of this measure, which he had the satisfaction of pass in,: through the Legislature, and which had been violently opposed by LOU party of the 11...3. Gentleman opposite, and which was to have been attended, as they had been threatened, by the total destruction of the native distiller, especially in the northern part of the kingdom and in Ireland. Com paring the quantity of spirits brought to charge in the years immediately before and after the passing of this mea sure, he found that there had been a diminution in this country frosts 5,298,000 to 5,266,432 gallons, giving a falling off of 32,481 gallons. But in 6cotland, which was the first place that was to be ruined, on the other hand, the quantity brought to charge had increased from 8,400,000 gallons to 9,792,000 gallons, being an increase of 1,392,000 gallons; and in Ireland the increase had been from 6,518,000 gallons in 1848 to 8,262,030 gallons in 1849 ; being an increase of 1,743,000 gallons of spirits distilled and brought to charge within the last year. There had been an increase of 63,000 gallons in the spirits that had paid duty on consumption in England inlB4B. In Scotland there had been an increase for the same period of 198,000 gallons, and in Ireland the increased consumption of spirits in 1848, as compared with 1847, amounted to no less than 607,000 gallons.—(Hear.) During last session he had brought in a measure empowering the holders of spirits in Scotland and Ireland to warehouse their spirits. This had, no doubt, the effect of diminishing the duty, but it was of great use to the distillers in those countries, and he found that 3,000 gallons had been warehoused under it. During the last year, in consequence of the facilities afforded by another Act which he had introduced, 117,000 gallons of home spirits had been exported from this country. Thus, instead of the com plaints that used to be made of Dutch spirits being largely imported into this country for exportation to the colonies, he now hoped to see a new trade spring up and a large exportation of native spirits in consequence of the measure to which he had alluded.--(Cries of " Hear.") He would now refer to one or two trades that it was said had been utterly ruined by foreign competition, and one of which he perceived had been put forward elsewhere in that light. He would first refer to the articles of gloves. One of the orators at the Protection meeting recently, said that the glove trade had been absolutely ruined by competition with France. But he found that, on comparing 1840 with 1846, 1847, and 1843, there had been an increase from 2,292,000 tce3,039,000 in the last year. He held in his hand a letter from one of the leading men in the trade—of haberdashery, as he believed it was called—in London, written in conse quence of this statement having been made, and he would beg to read an extract from it to the House. [The Right - ng Honourable Baronet read an extract from the e l tr.% re t ie " of that the writer had made particular irio s elsT e i r u y , way the glove trade, and that 00.er: fl u e ". "" policy latterly pursued, favour able to the liberal Rea .elenglit the competition with French gloves bad ; I . V :tea that CO produce a marked improvement in the manufacture in this country.]—(Hear.) That might, he thought, be taken as a pretty conclusive proof that the effect of foreign competition was to improve the home manufacture instead of to destroy it, by forcing the native manufacturers to make greater exertions than they otherwise would have done, and thus ultimately to improve their trade generally.—(Hear.) Precisely the same result had taken place from the effect of the competition with foreign silk. In 1846 the importation of silk manufactures from Europe for home consumption was 416,2991 b.; in 1847, 407,3071 b.; and in 1848, 571,0341 b. The same gentleman to whom he had already referred, said, " Speaking generally of the silk trade of this country, no prejudicial effect whatever has been produced by the last reduction of duty on foreign silks (in 1846); but, on the contrary, a very beneficial one, by bringing the manufacturers of this country more closely into competition with the' French, and thereby calling their skill into more active operation, by which the manufacture itself cannot fail to benefit." He might read as many letters of this character to the House as they pleased to hear.— (A voice—"No doubt you can get as many letters as you please.) It seemed to him to be infinitely better to read letters from persons who were well acquainted with particular trades than to make a statement without the slightest foundation whatever.—(Cries of " Hear," and " Oh.") He did not mean to say that the Hon. Gentleman opposite had no foundation for any of his statements. But he would proceed with other trades that had been alluded to as in a depressed state. First, with regard to the iron trade. It was well known that that trade had been raised to a state of extraordinary prosperity by the enormous demand of tha t article for railways, not only in this country but ly ab ro a d. . That demand had to a great extent ceased, not butll,or© t Ban ; country, but to a still greater degree abro ad !his that, .the manufacturers had enorm ousl y o i nc reased their works in what was called the makepresentn of ir and both of time, rendered these circumstances united , at the it a matter of course that the . trade ha m must be depressed. He found that the make of iron increased from 1,396,000 tons in 1840, and 1,315,000 tons in 1843, to 1,999,000 tons in 1847, and 2,093,000 tons in 1848. Now, if that increased production went on without a correspond ing increase in the demand, bat, on the contrary, the demand has been checked both in this country and on the continent, it was clear that !prices must suffer.—(Hear, bear.) Another of the trades that were said to have suffered was glass. He found that owing to the great exertions that the manufacturers had made, after the duty had been taken off, they had, as not unfrequently happened, overshot the object, and the consequence was that they were now in the same state as the iron manufacturers, with a supply greater than the demand. But he held in his hand a letter from a very considerable manufacturer, who thus expressed him self :--That gentleman stated that the glass trade had been overdone, and that the admission of foreign glass was cer tainly not the cause of the depreciation in prices. On call ing for a return be found that the importation by no means accounted for the falling off in the trade. Of window glass there was retained for home consumption, in the year end ing the sth of January, 1848, 4,694 cwt. ; and in 1849, 6,888 Mt. Qt . g l 4§4 OXCeCaing Que-Ailith 91 81 inch itt thickness, • all silvered or polished glass, of whatever thickness,there wail retained, in 1848, 99,841 square feet, and in 1849, 74,806 square feet. Of white flint glass goods (except bottles), not cut or ground, or otherwise ornamented, there was retained in 1848, 16,399 lb., and in 1849, 20,366 lb. Of-all flint:cut glass, flint coloured glass, and fancy ornamental glees, there was, in 1848, 197,8571 b., and in 1849, 409,8711 b. The shipping trade was also said to have declined, and he accord ingly called f or a return sett i ng f ort h t h e quant i tyeo f B r itish : • and foreign shipping that had entered the perte of the United Kingdom within the last ilve years, and be founli that, notwithstanding the check which the apprehended!re- e peal of the navigation laws was said to have given durnig the last couple of years, that the amount of British.ehippinei • d had actually increased.—(lle ar , h ear.) Th e amoun t e shipping belonging to this country, on the 30th of December in each year, was as follows:--In 1845 it was 31,817 i in 1846, 3 . 2,499; in 1847, 32,988; and in 1848 it was 33,672:.-- • (Hear, hear.) Again, taking the entries for the first he's months of each of these years, he found the total that had been entered and cleared in British ports was as follows : British vessels in 1845, 2,268,144 tons; in 18464,240,60 tons; in 1847, 2,531,476 tons; in 1849, 2,627,055 UNA; and in 1849, 2,954,674) tons. With regard to foreign shy-, . ping, in 1845 the amount of tonnage was 157,612; in 1846,. 1 020,074 ; in 1847, 1,284,354; in 1849, 970,279; and in 1849, 1,127,667. The total entered and cleared in 1845 was 3,125,756 tons; in 1846, 3,260,717 ;• in 1847, 3,865,830; in 1848, 3,597,334; in 1849, 4,230,337.—(Hear, hear.) He therefore really did not know in what part of th e question, so far as manufactures went, so far as the condit ion of the manufacturing artisans went, so far as the trade stud commerce of the country went, so far as the employment of their shipping went, so far, in fine, as the condition of all classes in the community, speaking generally, went, be did not know whet it was that he could have to add to what he had already stated utterly to negative the argument of the Honourable Gentleman, and the statement which he had put forward as to the distress which he had contendeel pervaded all classes.—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") He teed shown that wages were, generally speaking, higher, that the prices of articles in general use were lower,lthat employment was more general than for several years past, that trade and commerce, both with regard to exportation and to impo-v -tation had increased—and what other tests any man could see or call for in respect to the condition of those branches of trade lie knew not.—(Hear, ;hear.) Every test that he could think of he had applied to them, and the result in each case was, that, so far from their being in that state of ruin which the Honourable Gentleman wished to make 'ap parent, they were in a state of steady and progressive im provement—slow to be sure, but more sure because it was slow.--( Hear, hear.) He now approached that branch of ' the case in which, no doubt, more difference of opinion would - ' exist, and with respect to which, he regretted to say, he could not, speaking generally, give an equally good account. He was speaking of the agricultural interest of the country, becau.e he must admit, as he had done on a former occa sion, tliat at any rate, in a portion of the agricultural districts of the:country, considerable distress unfortunately prevailed. —(Hear, hear.) lie found that there prevailed among the farmers considerable complaints and considerable alarm— more alarm, in fact, than in his opinion, was at all justified by the circumstances.—(Hear.) Great complaints were made whichof the low p r i ces o f corn an d meat . Th e pr i ce o f wool, esa, admittedconsiderablebe higherticl eof a th gr a i n cu f l o t r u r s a o l me ti produce, mep w a s a t e : he believ ed, was a considerable article of agricultural produce, was, he believ ed but with regard to the other articles, bow did the facts stand? First of all, with regard to the price of corn. He need not state that wheat had risen 3s. a quarter since May; but he would take the prices as they had stood at that period, as it was the time when the Hon. Gentleman had given notice of his motion. Taking the five months before then, he found the average price per quarter of wheat was 455. 3d. N ow , that was not at all a :price unexampled in this country.-- (Hear.) Even in the most flourishing period of protection, the price for a whole year and a half of the next year was not so high. But taking the price of wheat for the last three years, he found that m 1848 the average price was 545. Bd. ; in 1847 it was 695. 9d.; and in 184,8, 50s. 6d., being for the last three years an average of 58s. 3tyd. ' Now, if these high prices had prevailed for three years, up to November last, the farmer, so far from being ruined, ought to be in a state of prosperity.— (Hear, hear.) For it is not alone now in June, but so far back as last Fe bruary, that the Hon. Gentleman had told them that the far mers were utterly ruined. Now, if they were utterly ruined at the end of three years of extraordinarily high prices, what were they to infer from the complaints that were put for ' ward ? If the state of alarm were untrue, the farmers were most reprehensible in raising it; but if it were true, let them see what an unsound state of agriculture it disclosed, when, after a period of three years of extraordinarily high prices the whole agricultural community of the country was in a state of ruin —(Hear, hear.) But taking the average price for the five months of 1849, and comparing it with the ave rage price for the corresponding periods in 1834, 1835, and 1836, he found that for the present year, the average was 455. 3d., while in the former years it was 445. Bd. Again, he found that in 1845, the lowest price was 445. Id., and in the spring of 1846 it was still lower, though it had not reached near that amount in 1849 % With regard to the reduction in the price of meat, there was no ground whatever for showing that it was owing to the im portation of foreign cattle ; and if Gentlemen took the trouble of inquiring into the matter, they would find that there bad been several periods at which the prices were quite as low as at present. Taking the average prices for the last seven years, from January to May, in the London market, he found the results to be as follows ;—llividing the qualities into in ferior beasts, prime beasts, inferior sheep, and first-class sheep, he found that since 1844 there had been at various periods a sonsiderably lower price under every head than at present. Now they had never heard during these years of farmers being ruined in consequence of the low price of meat; and yet, as the House would perceive, each of the articles were at times lower than at present. Again, taking the prices of prime pieces of beef and legs and loins of mutton on each Lady-day for the same years, he found that there was a considerably higher price in 1849, than in many of the former years. Why, meat was actually higher now for mime pieces than it had been for several years past.—(Hear.) He could not, therefore, think that this extraordinary depreciation in agriculture, of which they were told, was owing to any extraordinary low price of meat at the present moment, still less could he think that it was owing to any importation that had taken place of foreign cattle. The whole quantity of foreign beasts imported in 1847 was 63,000, while in 1848 the number had fallen off to 47,000, being a diminu tion of about 16,000 beasts in last year.—(Hear, hear.) Of calves there had been an increased importation, ;he numbers being 12,000 in 1847, and 15,000 in 1848. The importation of sheep had fallen off from 139,000 in 1547, to 118,000 in 1818. If they took the present year, the importation would be found to have fallen still more. During the first five months of last year the importation had been 13,000. while in the first live months of 1840, the, number was wily 9,900. —(Hear, hear.) But the Hon. Gentleman had told them that it was not the importation of foreign cattle, but the im portation of salt pork and bacon that caused the reduction in prices. No doubt a great increase had taken place in the importation of salt pork and bacon, and it was very fortunate that it had been so, and he would tell the House shortly why. In 1846, the quantity of bacon imported was .2,960 cwt while in 1818 the importation was 11,000. cwt. Again, Of salt pork the quantity imported had been increased from 72,000 cwt. in 1846, to 252,000 cwt. in 1848. That wee, a great increase ; but most glad was he that it had taken play*, and that the poor of the country had had this supply... (Hear, hear.) For what would they have done withoa ' considering that they had been deprived of the large 0140 'it) of pigs that annually came to this country from Iraandsixt and on which the operatives in the northern and manufac* turing districts had been so long in the habit of relying? lie would read to the House the falling oil' that had taken place in the importation of pigs. In the first half of the year 1846 the importation was 152,000 pigs, the same period of 1847 it was 45,000 ; 1848, 52,000 ; and 1849, 27,000 only. That was a falling off of upwards of 120,000 pigs in half a year. The supply had, however, to a certain extent, been made up by the importation of food from abroad.. The result was,:that the price of bacon was higher now than it had been for some time, except last year. The price of bacon in the South wark market, which was a large market for the consump tion of working men, was, in 1845, GSs. to 625. the cis t. ; in 1846, 70s. to 635, ; and last year it rose to 88s. to 825.; while this year it was 81s. to 755., which was higher than it was in the years 1845 and 1846. Therefore, even in the supply of bacon, the price was higher now than it was two or three years ago. Now, Hon. Gentlemen did not like letters, because they did not seem to like information (A laugh) —nevertheless he would take the liberty of read ing a letter from a large farmer in Cheshire, who was one of the principal salesmen in the Liverpool market.—(The Right Hon. Gentleman hers read the letter in question which attri buted the fall in the price of stock to excessive supply). Now he ( the Chancellor of the Exchequer) thought that was com plete proof that the low prices of which there was so much complaint could ire no sense whatever be attributed to the importation from foreign countries, but that they were to be attributed partly to the excess of supply and partly to a de ficiency in the demand, at a time o f g reat depression in the manufacturing districts. As trade was now improving, and employmont becoming more extensive, alreadye,hehadstladttelcie doubt that prices would improve. H e had i that the price of corn was rising. The experience of last year bed been no confirmation of the anticipations which w ere previously indulged in as to the importation of corn. It been said that we shuuld be overwhelmed with wheat from the United :..tates and the Baltic ; and yet it was remarkable that the supply of last year had come from countries front - which nobody anticipated a large quantity at all. In the last eleven months there had come from Prussian Poland 490,000 quarters ; from France, generally speaking an im porting country, we received nearly 480,000; while from the • United States, of wheat and flour together, there only came 513,000 quarters, and that after sufficient warning had been given to those countries that our ports would be open; so that there was no reason why they should not, if they could have done so at the prices, have sent corn to this country. - No doubt the corn from France had been sent over under extraordinauy circumstances, and there was no reason to be lieve that the importations from that country would be greater than last year. He found on referring to the last accounts of the quantity of corn in the United States, that no great amount had been brought down to the western countries and in the principal markets of the seaboard; and the price at trails moment was actually rising, not so much for exportation to this country as for their own home consumption. While he mentioned that fact, he was not at all anxious that the price of corn should rise to an extravagant amount; but whichta referred to it to show that the state of extreme I could not be attributed to the extent to which no doubt prevailed in many parts of tile agr icultural cAfplio a rorietcitiwege d uir i ti s hent t oh r tu i tih c hnu ti e the harvest in tries were able to send corn to this country. they had to consider washowhyfatrh country had been depressed_ e t h s et everybody average acquaintede aogt knew wl 161 1 m of a harvest in the south most extraordinary de scription.tphaer part of th th o e f E c n e g e l n a t n r d y , i n the north however, ogmeenveerra: ly reve s r u s ff e e d red last fro y m ear, t as ke is much earlier than in the north, and the farmers In earner times the ha wea ther. This was, w eather came at theba the time of the harvest in the south ; and he was not overstating the fact when he said that nobody in that part of the country ever remembered so bad a harvest, and so badly got in. lie had had last year several speci mens of sprouted corn sent to him, arid he knew the crop , was badly got in, and was altogether of a most inferior quality. That necessarily depressed the average price of corn, and must be taken into account when they were con sidering the average price of corn. That also had to •be taken into account in considering the state of distress " which prevailed in the southern counties, to an extent unknown elsewhere. He believed he was justified in stating that the pressure did not exist elsewhere, and he thought that was sufficiently accounted for by last year's harvest. A friend of his, who had a large farm in Dorsetshire, and whit also had mills on his land, had sent him an account of the yield of an acre of land on his farm in Dorsetshire in the year* 1547 and 1848. The produce in 1847 was seven sacks, 1 , 5 0- clueing 2501b5. of wheat each. The yield in 1848 was five sacks, producing 2301 b. each. The diminution was two sacks an acre, and 20 lbs. of wheat in each sack. But when the wheat was ground the difference was si ll more remark able, because the first year produced 2121b5. of flour, and 38 lbs. of offal, whereas the second 'r ear produced 158Ibs. of flour and 481bs. of offal. The difference in price was 41e. and 335. 6d. So that there was a difference of 51. 6s. per acre between the two years. If the price had not fallen, still the difference would have been upwards of 4/. in the pro• duce of the acre. That he thought sufficiently accounted for the distress in the southern counties. But- what was the case in respect to the better description of t A