The Sun. — London, England, 1842-02-10 00:00:00

MORNING SUN . been long since sent into foreign parts.—( Hear. ) ..He (Me. Taunton) found, from Parliamentary Returns, that in the year 1832 the value of machinery exported from this , country amounted to 92,000/., in 1833 to 1 9 7,0001., in 1834 to '2(1,0001., in 1835 to 307,000/., in 18:36 to 302,0001., in 1837 to 493,0001., in 1838 to 627,00)/., and in 1839 to 683,0601., making a difference in the amount of the value of machinery exported from this country between the years 1832 and 1839, of 591,000/. Thus the total difference amounted to no lesS a sum than 2,845,987/. for machinery alone. So far, then, as the argument went, machinery had gone, and was going,' and that in spite of all which certain per sons said or did. —( Hear.) Increased civilization called forth new and artificial wants which should be satisfied, and no povrer e oweerth could restrain its progress. Another argument used was - that we could produce for all the world. Yes, if all the world would be so silly as we had been, to allow the aris tocracy tee state how much we consumed, it would then be true that we might produce for all the world.—( Hear.) But supposing, by an increased power of machinery, and new modes of creating and distributing wealth, we could produce for all the world, was man for ever to struggle only for the first element of existence—food? Was the great moral principle, implanted by the great Creator in the human bre ast , neve*: to : be brought into action? Were they, in the nineteenth. century to continue struggling for food just as the harba.riins did in the feudal times? Was there to be nothing for the mind? Was the mind not to be cultivated by educe (ion?_ Was it not a disgrace to the English Legislature, that i n the, .nineteenth century—this boasted era of civiliza•ion-e. we should find ourselves struggling fur a morsel of food. The mind had higher, nobler claims, and in his (Mr. T.'s) short period of existence he m remembered many prejudices which had been broken down —many links of tyranny which had been knocked off ; and he hoped to see many more. They had learned to forget the silly distinctions of E ng li s h men , Scotchrnen, and Irishmen. 'they had learned to forget the folly of drawing a dagger to cut the Frenchman's throat. All those influences were increasing and tend ing to the triumph of that spirit of moral sympathy which would make the whole world one i famly, and all it, inhabitants brethren— a sympat h y which would kno w of no alien. Another argument used was, that they were Irvine upon less on the Continent than we were. Was it, he would ask, necessary that because the beggar tame in contact with the aristocrat, the aristocrat should imitate the beggar ii Was it not more likely that the beggar should be rather ire t dined to imitate the aristocrat ? It was false reasoning to suppose, that because we came in contact with the serfs of Poland and of Russia, we should adopt their mode of living. All past experience proved that to be a fallacy—that, on the contrary, when ,one nation came in contact with another, the barbarian became more civilised, and not the civilized more barbarous.—( Hear, hear.) There were various system' and sophisms advanced for the purpose of deluding them and drawing them off from the main point. There were men who seemed to have their minds made up when the flood came— that they never would progress at all. Those men never could make any calculation whatever, but what " had been in the beginning, was now and ever should be."—(Cheers and great laughter.) Men of weak minds, timid, and of narrow views, had in every age and clime spent their puny efforts to stop the rotation of events, and check the glorious en gine of civilization. They had clung to the mighty wheels of progressive good, and idiot-like fancied: that the iron-grasp of their individual selfishness would stop its course and stay civilization ; but how vain the effort ! While they cried stand sell, and with reckless tenacity struggled to retard the steady and majestic course of the wheels of civi lization. They were whirled round, and fell crushed into their, native nothingness. As well might the highway robber, when railways, were established, have issued forth to his vocation, crying "that he would stop the steam-engine and rob every mother's son of the passengers." Who would have regretted, if the robber had fallen crushed beneath the wheels of the steeen- engine.—( Loud cheers.) Ile would not detain them: much longer. The consideration of endeavouring to rescue, from; immediate arid utter starvation the starving artisans of thie country, their wives and children, and if possible to raise man in the snore' scale as an intellectual and dignified being,was a g'orious. conwideration. 'theirs was the e olorious task to seek to make, justice triumph over injustice. Let them remember that there were periods of patience—that to those who were starved out of existence, society had violated its duties. The social compact supposecrsocial security, and social justice, and if the laws did not give that justice and that security, the compact was broken, and , allegiance to it dissolved.—( Cheers.) Ile was not there as the advocate of physical force, but rather of the physical force of the moral power of nwebers. The Legislature se!dom yielded anything save but to feir ; they should not therefore be too demure in their demands. It was only when murmurs ran from mouth to mouth, and the passionate whiteness of in- • dignation and insulted human nature was seen on every faree--when men gathered together united as one man and in one cause—when millions discovered their moral st , en,oth and determinatiunt —hen it was that hypocrites in power became honest—(Cheers) —then it was that the tyrant prepared him self to grant concessions—then that justice t: iumphed over injus tice, virtue over vice, truth over error, principle over prejudice. then it was that society took another! glorious stride for ward in e:vilisation, which should be the prelude to eternal and lastin 4 triumph, and enlightened humanity. —( Chem s. ) Were the people who had conqurred the proud, corrupt bo roughmongers—they who made them run like rats—( Laughter and cheers)—to be treated in that way ?—( Hear, hear.) Would it be said that they were to be subjected to ill-treatment and injustice for a remote good—a good that ' etuld not be immediately atta i ned ? Would it be said that the people who could do all they had over and over again done should be defeated on this question, Which was a question of life and death ?—no, they could not ;they should not be defeated.—( Cheers.) But the result vibieh west inevitably follow, the moral result which must fellow from the agitation of these laws must be attended' with the best possible effects. Hehad not the least apprehension upon his mind $ l.O to the favOniableresult of the agitation of thiiquestion, and if it eficl'iret du', All the good which the enthusiasts of the country wished or, expected, it was manifest at all events that the interests of the country were progressing, and if there were aq'obtitaele. tnOreverd 'their progress for th future, down with the i rde:::e(Cheers.) 'Unless the question they were now agi tating . be, at once decided, Ire (Mr. Taunton) should' be very much displea.ed , ,with . 'the friends of tine people who were in the House' of Commons.—(Cheers.)" Ile should be very much displeas-ed indeed it those gentlemen 'sere in favour of the tallow-chandler's scale—the slippery sliding scale —( Laughter and increased cheers.) If they were for such a scale, he dared say they would, like the tallow chandlers, cut it rather fat--( Renewed laughter) —but the people of the country had made their minds up against all slippery and sliding scales—they were determined to have a larg,e loaf—( Great cheering)— and that loaf they would purchase by the fruits of honest in dustry, if the Legislature would lee them have it.--( Hear, hear.) But if the Legislature opposed the people they would commence an agitation all over the country for the thorough and complete purging of that corrupt House.—( Tremendous -cheering, which was continued for several minutes.) It the people commenced such an agitation they should adopt pre eistely the same principle of action as he was now proud to see actuated the respectable gentlemen whom he then had the honour of acting with. They sl.ould not g ive ue the Corn-laws for the Su ff rage question , but they should say the people should have both the repeal of the Corn-laws and the extension of the. Suffrage too.—( Cheers. ) They would insist '-upon the Suffrage question because it would ensure the tesoreal of the Corn-laws.—( Loud cheers.) They would have .no sliding scale of Suffrage, but they should have a complete suffrage for the entire people—(lncreased cheers)—he would net say the " universal' people, for he did not approve of that term ; the word " entire" was better. It was true there were many mistaken people who might be invested with the privilege of the suffrage, but though there were, he thought the entire people should have that privilege. If there were here and there a distracting firebrand in the country, that was no more proof that the "entire" people should not have the privilege of the elective franchise, than it was to say that the sun should not shine upon the murderer and the jest man alike. The people—the " entire " people--should have the suffrage question carried, and they should also have the Corn-laws repealed. These questions, particularly the latter, could not be postponed—there should he no sliding scale.—( Great cheering.) The sliding scale might be very good for such men as Sir James Graham.— (Hear, hear. ) It might do very well for such gentlemen as that, but it would not do for the people, and the wants and the interests of the people should be attended to.—( Loud cheers.) Suppose a hungry child said to its father, " Father, I want some bread."—( Hear, hear, hear.) " Well," says the father, .4 You shall have bread—you must have plenty when the Corn-laws are repealed."—( Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") The child says, " And, father, when will that be—when will those Corti-laws be repealed?" The father must say he does 'not know, until Sir Robert Peet propounds his measures and calculated the averages ; and, of course, the child could` not be ' very much pleased with that answer—( Hear, hear)--for it Was not ' eery likely it could be able to . wait -for - breed - until Sir Robert Peel thought it right to introduce his w asure upon the subject of the Corn - laws. We reo ot al l ' those who composed that meeting—was not every roan in the coentry, as fathers and husbands, liable to he asked the same gastimii by • their children ?—( Hear, hear. ) 'they were all subjected to the same consequences, and he was sure they could be no longer trifled with. He fully appreciated the character of the clergymen who had cooperated with the people upon this trying and important -occasion. They exemplified the character of .;.'Jesise Christ, " who went about doing good;" arid he rejoiced to wee dust the-time had arrived when the clergymen of this country had come forward to minister to the wants of their fellow trian, , ind assist in the assertion of their just and indisputable slights.. ,- .11.1 r.• Taunton concluded a very able and eloquent ',speech amidst the most enthusiastic applause. . . .Thtt'Cheieman thew introducsd the Rev. Mr. Burden, of ,-,..gust ,:to the meeting. 11 1 01,14 0 t. Dole. iiits nears presented himself in support of the o e resointion. - .lineeitt. after some prefatory observations, that it. was d at no...means necessary that he, though he cor dially .. . eu pponed‘the resolution before the chair, should coincide with all the views which had been so ably and eloquently expresse d by the gentlemen who had preceded him ; be could not give h is hearty assen t and consent to every word which had fallen fry iris able and eloquent friend. He thought it sufficient if he approved of the objects of the resolution, and of the means wh ich the meeting adopted to obtain those objects. He did most cordia ll y approve of those objects ; and he had much pleasure in supporting the resohition.—(Hear, hear.) He was no party man. By that he did not mean to say that he belonged to no party, for he was convinced of the necessity of parties in order to uphold the interests of society at large; but those parties should act temperately and moderately.—(Hear.) He thought that the evil was not the existence of parties in Church and State, but the manner and the feeling which actuated those parties. It was hardly to be imagined that in a country like this all should be of one mind. It was exceedingly questionable, whether even if such a monotony existed in this country it could be of advantage to society.—( Hear, hear. ) He stood there as a Conservative.—( Hear, hear.) He did not affirm that he was a Conservative in the conventional sense of that term, because he believed firmly that the more the meeting steered clear of all party or political questions the better.—( Hear, and cheers-) He did not, however, blame the speakers who had travelled a little out of what he considered, strictly speaking, a prudent line of argument ; for himself, he (the Reverend Gentleman), said lie would not affirm or deny that he belonged to any party—he called hi mse lf a Conservative, but he did not know what meaning the meeting might give to that term ; be did not look into Johnson's Dictionary to see w h a t meaning he gave to that word—( A laugh)— but he believed that all those who belonged to the Corn-law League were true Conservatives.—(" Hea r " and cheers.) lie was com o n e e el that repeal of the Corn-laws would have a decidedly conservative-effect upon the country, and more than that, be rather doubted that anything short of &Wel repeal of those laws would 7.tve that effect._( Hear, hear, and loud cheering.) As a Christian minister he always thought him self called upon in troublesonie times to pl ea d f or peace and , , good order, and in his own locality hl' e had not leaded in va i n . its a Christian minister, he believed it to be his duty t o b e peaceable himself, and promote peace amongst his fellow that the . • on cons agitati on of =en, ,and he was Will ' this question must have a rose salutary . e ff ect: ' - He lived in' a neighbourbiimf where poverty abounde d, wher e a lirge portion of ,the : people were, or rather used to be, sup. employment, and were 4 - ufictiurea, He well knew now that thousands 4.,._. Ithilfll'.'or Partially . out of mill .ri.i.- 1 ,..My. He admired their patience, and a ce hd eili r , ." ''' 04.;.,_. 4 Ififitibirtf j -ears; where he lived, the p is if.:4t;or . -' ' -= , t' , an outrage. He knew; to , hi -", , ee-. ' outra e whatever had occurred. ro the .beat -ot 1• It 40.000 pe , pre aw . .lt s now edge and recollection, about of thot number thee,' ; hat . the borough of Stroud, and out to his recollection occurred one o instancereii religion, b r u a r r g t l l a y r y al . s This oto th h i e s a v t e t r r y ib lz u t i e t d at ipartlyagitat i on , h e t e o aus t h_ee hopew influence as f kept alive in their bre a ln s o ts. cr — w f Hear, he h i e ) a e r o . p ) l e he eo patientlon g a . s hope was cherished, so _ but he feared fo r the result if the time should conic when hope was so long deferred as to make the heart sick. When such was the case he would not answer for the results, but he would answer for his doing his best to maintain the peace of the country, whatever might be the end of this agitation.—( Loud cheers.) He stood there as a religiou s man, and he did not feel that he was going beyond his duty as , a religious man by occupying that situation at that meeting. According to his humble, and they might be mistaken, views of duty, he should think he would be guilty of dereliction of duty did he refuse to come forward and contri r bute his humble quota of influence towards the abolition qf these cruel and injurious laws.—(Cheers.) He quite agreed in the remarks of the last speaker but one, who said that these restrictions—these cruel restrictions, were a crime, and had a great influence on the religion of the country. There were to his (Mr. Burden's) certain knowledge many children who were kept from religious worship by a want of clothes; their clothes having gone to the pawn-shop for the purchase of food. These laws even effected religion abroad—is all their missionaries in foreign lands, and they found that uni ess some beneficial alteration shortly took place they would feel the effects of those laws more and more. Friend as hcl was to religious instruction he desired that every man, woman, and child, should have the means of attending religious worship, and he felt that these unwise and injurious restriction on the commerce of the country, kept the people in a state o degradation and poverty.—( Hear, hear.) He stood there as 4 friend to the poor, and he felt himself highly honoured that morning in being allowed to do so. He saw many of his Rev. i Brethren around him. They represented the poor people in their neighbourhood, and those poor people were delighted to, think that they felt sympathy with them in their troubles:, They not only felt sympathy, but they were determined to exer themselves for the removal of those troubles. He read in. the Bible many severe denunciations against oppressors and oppressions, and while those denunciations were issued agains t individuals merely, it equally applied to large bodies of men,; and to legislators. The country had strongly expressed its, wishes upon this subject, and he felt, that while he lifted up his voice against individual oppression, it was equally his duty, on: the same principle, to lift up#us voice against oppression of the; Government. He did not think that any one present would, differ upon this important question, and while he said that many of their opponents were actuated by selfish, motives, still there were many opposed to them tci i whom he gave credit for different views. He had; great pleasure yesterday morning in being present in that House. As he was coming there he carried in his hand along the Strand a large bundle—larger, perhaps, than he ever car-, ried along the streets of London before. That was a bundle, of petitions, twenty in number, signed by 13,000 persons.— ( Cheers.) He could wish to see such petitions from all parts of the country, for he confidently expected that great good would be the result.—( Cheers. ) It was now that the views of the country should be expressed. Some years ago the people were deluded on this subject, being told by their opponents that high prices were identical with high wages, and that cheap bread was identical with low wages; but that delusion was no longer felt. The ground on which he felt the cause was a just one was, that it was the will of God that no such restrictions should be placed upon the commerce of countries. God had given to some countries benefits which he had denied to others, and vice versa, although there were no direct terms in his Word respecting it, yet he thought there were many passages which proved it to be his will, that trade like religion should be free.—( Loud cheering.) He thought that the best thing in such a meeting as that, where there were so many persons such able speakers— lie thought the best course he could adopt was to cut his speech short ; therefore having thus exi ressed his views, and again ex pressing his full concurrence in the resolution before the meet ng, he would sit down.—(Loud cheers.) The resolution was then put from the chair, and carried unanimously with great cheering. Mr. DIMMETT, of Wolverhampton rose to propose the next resolution which had been committed to his hands. The resolution was originally intended to have been moved by Mr. Greg, the late Member for Manchester, and perhaps that would be a ground of claim for indulgence for him (Mr. Dim mett), because he did net know, till ten minutes before that resolution had been put into his hands, that he was to occupy that situation. As the last speaker had recom mended, he should cut his speech short, merely introducing a few facts relating to the iron trade, with which he was con nected, and which might be interesting. The resolution he had to propose was, that the Deputies present connected with the staple manufactures of the country, whilst they de mar.d the removal of all restrictions upon the importation of corn and provisions, declare their willingness to aid in the abolition of all duties imposed for their own Protection. With the spirit of this resolution ,;his opinion was that protection was rather inimical than beneficial to manufactures. It was like keeping a nurse for an infant after it had ceased to need one, and he would as soon expect to see a healthy manhood after such a childhood, as that manufactures should rise and prosper under protection, with regard to which he agreed in the opinion of Demosthenes, when Alexander requested him to ask a favour. Alexander was standing between him and the sun, and Diogenes said the highest favour he could confer was to stand out of his way. This was all that the ma nufacturers desired of the Legislature, that they would stand out of their way and permit them free scope. The present Assembly were not such debaters as Sir Robert Peel and his supporters, but he thought they understood the plain principles of trade quite as well. Trade to be prosperous should be free, and there never will be a period in this country, and there never has been one in its history, when trade was pro tected that its prosperity also increased. He did not allude to such trades as the Spitalfields silk trade. The trade with which he was best acquainted was the iron trade, i of - which -. he knew a little. About a century ago the number of tons produced had been 17,000 yearly, and employed but a very small number of persons. For the fifty years following the iron trade had been protected, and its prosperity declined. After that time, and down to the present, when" they, had disclaimed protection . (though there was still a ° nominal disty) the ti ade had gone ' 'on ' - gratbially increasing till its amount now was 1,500,000 tons"; But it will be said, If your trade has so increased, what reationAtatriyiwal to complain, at late meetings, of the iron masters in various parts of the country ? It was resolved by iron masters to raise the price 25 per cent., and thus lessen the number of workmen. Ile would not say their trade would be lost to the country, but unless the Corn and Provision-laws were repealed, it surely would decline. At a meeting at New York, of iron masters, they resolve 1 to send an address to Congress intimating that the duty must be increased, or their works must stop. There was a duty in the . United States on iron, which had increased the iron trade there to 300,000 tons yearly, and they took hut 70,000 tons from England, while if the duty on iron in America were abolished, England should send 400,000 tons of iron to the United States an nually, instead of sending only one-sixth of their consumption. He would claim for the borough of Wolverhampton the honour of giving rise to free trade principles, and he was glad that its excellent representative, Mr. Villiers, was to be the organ of that meeting. If the Legislature removed the Corn and I'rovision-laws, the country could compete with any country in the making of iron, and they would successfully hold the markets of the world. Mr. Aciotove, of Wakefield, said, he never found protec tion to answer the purposes for which it was intended. Com merce should be free as the winds and the waves, and then the industry of England would fear no rival, and England would he England still. He knew the labouring classes of Halifax, their industry and value, having been engaged in the worsted trade there, which was a branch of the woollen trade, and from his own experience he knew that the la bouring classes had borne their distresses with infinite fortitude and credit to themselves, which demanded the sympa thies of every one. All they wanted was the bread which their industrious hands could earn, and the principal question now asked on every side was, how was the distress to be relieved. The expectations of the distressed were raised to the highest pitch through out the country, and if disappointment should fol low those expectations, he dreaded the consequences. He could not contemplate the consequences of those expecta tions with composure of mind, of the despair of the people, and the desperation that would ensue, and there was no saying what its results would be.—(Bear.) Among the masses of the people, the people will say, What are we to do? When the father beholds his family looking to him for bread, and no means of providing it, he was dismayed when he considered the feelings of that father. He should recommend perseverance in the good and holy work. Their cause was the cause of charity—it was the cause or humanity ; and its advocacy was a duty which 'they 'owed to their fellow-subjects.—(Hear, hear.) The first want'orinan' was to satisfy the craving of hunger. I ` should Might 'talk' ' about 'education or morality, but men •shotild first'fof all be fed."-=-(Hear, hear.) He had, he ton frised, !greet ' confidence in the Government, luir as the ,titrie 'for' the development of their measures was diaeitieirear; he did not 'wish upon that occasion to be a pro. pile:tot evil. It appeared - Whim that the arieultural body did not truly underst and theirtern interests. What had given this country - its proSperity, and raised' her to the high position which she now filled ? It was the untiring industry of the people— ( Hear, hear)—and that prosperity would inevitably decline if commerce were banished from our shores.—( Hear, hear.) The consequence of such a calamity would be that the capital engaged in trade would be transferred to other countries, where it would be better remunerated; and, with capital, the most industrious and the most valuable portion of the community would forsake their native land. —( Hear, hear.) And when commerce was paralysed what would be the value of landed property What had been its value previous to the introduction of commerce ? It was far beneath its value at the present day. Neither could it be supposed that if trade declined it could remain in the state in which trade had found it. The national debt had since been contracted.—(Hear, hear.) There was a legislative provision for the poor,and the necessity of contributing to it would fall with a tremendous weight upon the landed interest. It should also be remembered that we had now competitors in the race of commercial improvement; and in reality foreigners had this advantage over us; that their ma chinery was all manufactured upon the best and latest principles, while there was in England a large portion of old and inferior machinery, which our manufacturers had sio encouragement to improve. The truth was, the-statesmen of the present day did not clearly see their duty. They had to be driven to the adoption of those measures which the imperious and pressing necessities of the times required ; and it was only by the forc e from without that they could b engaged to repeal the present iniquitous Corn-law. The lion. Gentleman concluded amidst cheers, by calling on the meeting, in the name of justice and of humanity, not to relax in their efforts until they had been crowned with complete success. Mr. BALTBY came forward to second the resolution. He be lieved that if the people of these countries were resolved to obtain any measure of justice, their efforts would be successful. They had obtained Catholic Emancipation, and the emanci pation of the slaves in the West Indies, after long and glo rious struggles.—(Cheers.) The history of those strug gles was pregnant with instruction for the present. --(Cheers.) The history of the Slave-trade agitation offered a double lesson. They might learn, in the first place, that half measures, such as the apprenticeship, were worse than the ori ginal evil ; and they might next learn that interested parties, like the planters, in opposing improvement, mistook their own interest. The sug ar es t a t es h a d b een i ncrease d i n value since the slaves had been emancipated ; and he sincerely believed, that in like manner, if the Corn-laws were repealed, the landed proprietors would thereby be benefited If there was one thing more clear than another, it was that the success of agriculture depended u p on th e p rosper ity o f trade, and it was impossible that the one could flourish in the decline of the other. Ile hoped the advocates of repeal would never be content with anything short of total and complete justice. Sir Robert Peel, as Mr. O'Connell had told them, would try to throw dust in their eyes ; but they should bear in mind, that if any half-measure were no w carried, years would pass away before complete justice could be obtained. A total repeal of the Corn-laws was required by the constitu tion of the country. He had lately received repo r t s o f t h e con dition of the poorer classes i n Manchester, which made his heart ache.—(Hear, hear.) He had seen some in wafit of food of any kind, and he had seen others Milton without a single article of clothin g t o cover them. He had been to the hospital, where he had been assured by fne medical gentlemen that there were many in the town whoa only disease was want and poverty. With these things before his eyes, he should consider himself accessory to murder if he did not exe rt himself to obtain a repeal of the laws to which those evils were itfributed. It appeared that Sir Robert Peel was to bring forward a ;notion to-night; he was happy to say that Nr. Villiers THE SUN, LONDON, TRURSDAY, FEBRUARY 10, 1842, was to bring forward an amendment, the tenor of which would be for a total repeal.—( Hear, hear, and cheers.) The question, then, was what course they should pursue if they were defeated at all points—if Mr. Villiers' amendment should be lost, and Sir R. Peel's plan be crammed down their throats. Some people were of opinion that if they could not get the precise thing they wanted, they should take the next best, and that was just Sir R. Peel's motion. In his opinion, however, that would be the very worst thing they could do ; if they could not get Mr. Villiers' amendment, he trusted that the country would still con tinue to agitate. He, for_ one, would never cease to agitate antil they got a different House of Commons.—( Hear.) 'There was one matter of regret to him ; it was, that in all their proceedings they had not made use of the words " Free Trade" instead of the abolition of Ike Corn-laws only ; hei would have all kinds of protection removed from every article. He did not think that protection did any good either for or against the landlord ; but if they had always gone for a total repeal of all kinds of protection, the landowners would not now have the only leg to stand upon which, as it was, was left them.—( Hear.) He was grateful, however, that the general feeling seemed to be for free trade, and he could wish that all their proceedings had been worded for free trade. They had now rubbed off same of the difficulties which formerly opposed them, the p entleman who seconded the Address having said that distresi was admitted. The evils produced by the Corn-laws were manifest in two ways ; first, by raising the price of provisions ' • and second, by destroying labour. With regard to the first, he did not think so much as others did; he did not think their repeal would lower provisions much, but he was sure it. wou'd tend to increa .e labour. These laws had resulted from people not considering that all commerce. was barter, and that in prohibiting the importation of corn, they did in fact prohibit the exportation. of manufactures. Wages had lately been reduced -about, one-third or thirty-three per cent. at Birmingham, and he would divide the people of Birmingham into three sections; of these one-third were frilly employed, one-third were only em-' Voyed two or three days in the week, and the other one thild were not employed at all; the result of this was, that the wages of the country were reduced from 3,000,0001. a week to 1,000,0001. a week, and it seemed impossible to, conceive otherwise than that the landholders must be injured, by the taking away of twe-thirds of the means of their cus tomers.—( Loud cheers.) When he was a boy, he had heard from Dr. Adam Smith of three reasons for - the, enactment of a mercantile law, and he had never heard of any others; the first was, to compel the people to buy dear when they could buy cheap ; the second was to make them sell cheap when they could sell dear ; and the third was to make them buy a bad, article when they could get a good one. He was now a very old man. He had advocated free trade principles during his life, and he would go on till the day of . his death. The Chairman then intimated that it was understood. that the meeting at its breaking up would go in procession to the House of Commons. . The Rev. Mr. LOWE supported the resolu ion. He thought it could not be said that Scotchmen were cool upon the subject of Corn-laws, when such numbers of Deputies had been sent from that country. (Cheers.) Those Delegates had come there, not as a party faction, but as the friends of humanity ; they had all one object in view, and they would never desist till they obtained it. The resolution was then agreed to. After a short discussion ii'was agreed, upon the proposition of Mr. WiLxiNsoN, the late Ma)or of Exeter, that the Deputies should proceed in a body to the House of Commons at half-past three o'clock for the purpose of showing to the Members of that House, that the Deputies were re spectable, and were not to be deterred from the purpose for which they had come to the metropolis—namely, that of giving to the famishing poor the necessaries of life. _ Among those present we noticed F. Thornely, Esq., Dr. Bowring, M.P., Mr. Ewart, M.P., Mr. R. H. Greg, Mr. Ash worth, Mr. Otway Cave, M.P., Rev. Dr. Jenky ns, Coward College, Mr. Edward Baxter, Dundee, Mr. W. Buchanan, Glasgow, Mr. Biggs, Leicester, Mr. J. Baxter, Dundee, Rev. T. Spencer, J. Evans, Esq., Wales. The meeting having retired for some time, met again at half-past three, when it was unanimously agreed. that the Delegates should go in precession to the House of Commons, and should at the same time present to Mr. Villiers the petition adopted at the meeting, and obtain ithe earliest intelligence of the proceedings of the Legislature. The Chairman intimated that as their numbers might otherwise occasion confusion, they should stand in the lobbies and passages of the House side by side, and leave room for ingress and egress, and the mem bers of the assembly should hold their tickets, which were all coloured, in their hands. The meeting, to the number of about four hundred, accordingly proceeded to the House in procession. . _ PUBLIC INCOME AND EXPEN DITURE. • I.—AN ACCOUNT OF THE NET PUBLIC IN COME OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND IRELAND In the Year ended the sth day of January, 1842, after abating the Expenditure thereout defrayed by the several Revenue Departments, and of the actual Issues or Payments within the same- Period, exclusive of the sums applied to the RedeMption of Funded, or paying off Unfunded Debt, and of the Advances and Repay ments for Local Works, &c. INCOME OR ,REVENUE. ORDINARY REVENUE AND RECEIPTS APPLICABLE TO THE CONSOLIDATED FUND. Customs (including 3,748,9551. for other services) - 421,898,844 19 5 Excise .............................. .. : 13,678,835 18 5 Stamps 7,135,217 7 4 Taxes . 4,482,911 12 0 Post-office • 455,000 0 0 Crown Lauds 162,000 0 0 One Shilling and Sixpence and Four s S i h on il s ii . t a lg nd s inSaiies the ir Pound on pen_ • 5,643 14 9 Small Branches of the Hereditary , Revenues of the Crown 5,562 14 11 Surplus Fees of Regulated Public Offices ........................... 47,917,521 5 2 IMPERIAL• PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF COMMONS, Feb. 9. The SPEAKER took the Chair at Five minutes before Four o'Clock. Sir HOWARD DOUGLAS, the newly elected Member for Liverpool, took the oaths and his seat. The Hon. and Gallant Member was introduced by Lord Sandell and Sir R. Inglis. • Mr. CAYLEY took the oaths and his seat as Member for the North aiding of Yorkshire. CORN-LAWS. Mr. PROTHEROE presented several petitions, signed by several thousand persons, praying a removal of all restrictions .affecting the trade in fbod. Mr. G. W. WOOD presented several petitions from Kendal and its neigbourhood, praying for a total repeal of the Corn-laws. Mr. GRANGER presented a petition from Castle Barnard to the same effect. Mr. BROTHERTON presented forty petitions pray ing for a total repeal of the Corn-laws; one of them from Salford was signed by 9,296 persons. Mr. HINDLEY presented petitions in favour of the total and immediate repeal of the 'Corn-laws, from a congregation of Protestant Dissenters, of the Inde— pendent denomination, at Spring Head, near Oldham ; from the Minister and Congregation of Craven Chapel, Marshall-street s Golden-square ; from a Con gregation of Baptists, at Ashton-undef-Lyne ; and trom the teachers 'of the New Connexion Sunday School at Ashton and Waterloo. Also from operatives in the employ of Messrs. James Knott and Son ; of Mr. Peter Leigh; and of Mr. James Andrew, of Ashton under-Lyne. Mr. WILLIAMS presented a petition from the city of Coventry, signed by 6,000 persons, complaining of the frightful distress of that place, and attributing it to the Corn-laws. Mr. MARK PHILLIPS presented a petition from a congregation in Manchester, praying for a repeal of the Corn-laws; also two petitions from Yorkshire and Derby shire to the same effect. Mr. DIVETT presented a petition from some poor children in Exeter, stating that they were not able to attend the Sunday Schools in consequence of their po verty, and praying for a repeal of the Corn-laws. Colonel GORE LANGTON presented a petition praying for a repeal of the Corn-laws. Mr. STRUTT presented thirteen petitions from va rious places to the same effect. Mr. BUSFIELD presented thirty-seven petitions from different places in Yorkshire against the Corn laws. Sir G. STRICKLAND presented a petition from a place in the West Riding of Yorkshire, signed by 1,800 persons, stating that they consider all taxes which tended to increase the price of provisions as injurious and op pressive, and praying that they should be totally re pealed. The Hon. Member presented . petitions to the same effect from twelve other places in the West Riding. The Hon. Member also presented a peti tion from an agricultural district in the East Rid ing, signed by a great number of a. ° ricultural labourers, stating that they laboured under the most unprecedented distress, to which they stated they have been driven by the operation of the Corn laws-. Mr. THORNELY presented a petition from the Con gregation of Howard Chapel in Liverpool, for a total re peal of the Corn-laws. Mr. HUTT presented a petition to the same effect from a numerously attended public meeting in the im portant town of Hull. Sir J. EASTHOPE presented 104 petitions from va rious places, praying for the total repeal of the Corn-laws. The Hon. Member felt it his duty to represent to the House that the terms in which the petitions were worded called on him to state that he could not be charged with submitting petitions to the House which might be deemed to be worded in an improper manner. He felt confident that the House would extend its indulgence to men suf fering under extreme distress, and he therefore begged to propose that the petition from Leieester be read by the Clerk at the table. The petition was accordingly read by the Clerk. Mr. RICARDO presented a petition from a. place in Staffordshire, praying for a total repeal of the Corn-laws. Mr. JOHNSTONE presented. 'four petitions from Kilmarnock and adjacent places, to the same effect. Mr. YORKE prosented a petition from -a place in Yorkshire, to the same effect. Mr. LEADER presented twenty-two petitions from ' Westminster Marylebone, Chelsea, Ttepney, and other parts of the Metropolis, with a similar prayer. Lord GRANVILLE SOMERSET moved that a copy of every Bill annexed to a petition be deposited in the I'rivate Bill-office the day after the presentation of the petition to the House, and that such Bills be . open to the inspection of all parties applying for the same ; that copies of every Bill annexed to a petition already presented to the House be deposited in the Private Bill office, on or before the 14th instant.—Agreed to. Dr. BOWRING presented fifty-nine petitions from several parts of Scotland in favour of a total repeal of the Corn-laws, and an extension of the Suffrage. Also fifteen petitions from several parts of England, including several bodies of Teetotalers, to the same effect. Mr. WILSON, Mr. MACAULAY, and Mr. DCNCOMBE presented a number of- petitions for a repeal of the Corn laws. Mr. COBDEN presented a petition from Dtindee, signed by IQ,OOO, praying for a repeal of the Corn-laws. Also several other petitions from Lancashire to the same elfeet. Mr. HASTIE presented petitions for a repeal ofthe Corn-laws. Mr. TOWNLEY presented petitions to the same effect. Mr. FOX MAULS presented a number of petitions from Auchterarder, and several places in Scotland, pray ing for a repeal of the Corn-laws. Lord J. RUSSELL presented a number of petitions to the same effect, from Athroath,%and other places. Mr. VILLIERS presented 29 petitions to the same effect. Mr. HAWES presented a petition from Lambeth, against the Corn-laws. Dr. BOWRING intimated that he should inquire of the Vice-President of the Board of Trade as to whether the imports and exports, paid by those who were not parties to a certain treaty, were not less than those paid by those who were parties to that treaty. Sir J. EASTHOPE presented a petition from a place in Lancaster, praying for the abolition of Church rates. Sir CHARLES NAPIER, gave notice that he would to morrow ask the Right Hon. Baronet opposite whether he would have any objection to lay before the House the instructions that were sent out to Admiral Sir Robert Stopford and the other Commanders in the Levant after the submission of Mehemet Ali, and also a copy of the correspondence between her Majesty's Go vernment and that of Turkey, on the subject of the treaty between the latter and the Allied Powers. - Mr. GEORGE PALMER cinPlained of great inac curacies in the returns respecting the importation of corn from Russia and the Baltic, which had been printed by order of the House, Sir JAMES GRAHAM explained, that the error arose from quarters having been printed instead of bushels. REGULATION OF RAILWAYS. Mr. GLADSTONE brought up the Bill for the Better Regulation of Railways. CASE OF MR. ELTON. Mr. CURTEIS said he thought he should be exer cising a sound discretion if he did not put the question relative to the case of Mr. Elton, which he had an nouncedfor this evening. He hoped that the conciliatory feeling he had displayed on this subject would be met by a corresponding spirit on the part of the Government. An HON. MEMBER, from the Ministerial benches, thOtight it would relieve the public mind, and par ticularly of the navy, if some explanation were given. As the matter stood, it would go forth that some degree of injustice had been cominitted.—(Order, order.) Sir GEORGE COCKBURN said he was ready to give any explanation that the House might require. He thought the Hon. Member had acted wisely in taking the course he had done, and unless it should be the pleasure of the House he would not go into the case. If he found - the House wished it. however, he was prepared to do so. RAILWAY BETWEEN LONDON AND PARIS. The following letter has been addressed to us by the Mayor of Boulogne. The pamphlet which accompanies it will be noticed in due time. Monsieur le Redacteur—Permettez ruoi d'appeler votre attention stir la ree.noire ci joint qui traite de la direc tion a downer, en France, au chemin de fer international qui doit unir Londres et Paris. L'interet evident qu'ont les deux nations a ce que la communication entre ces capitales soit assures par la vuie la plus courte, la plus facile ,et la plus reguliere, ne Inc laisse aucun doute qu' apres avoir lu notre travail vous ne reconnaissiez les avantages qu' offre le port de Boulogne sous tousles rapports. Les admirable:, travaux qui ont rendu son entree et sa sortie si faciles et ont pro cure a son chenal une profondeur Wean qu'ou ne trouve dans aucun port voisin, out en pour resultat de lui as surer pres des. trois quarts des voyageurs entre la France et l'Augleterre, : et cela malgre l'immense avantage que procure a. Calais la presence des paquebots de male qui font. tin service. obligatoire. On pent done dire que, sans ce•. privilege , presque tout le passage aurait lieu . par 116tttaogug tit s7embarguent deja la. malle de I'lnde et prestige tousles courriers de commerce. 1 Ices resultats etant encore peu connus, puis qu'ils ne (latent que de cinq ii six ans au plus, it est demon devoir I (len reptindre la connaissance, 'afin que l'opinion pub lique puisse se prononcer en connaissance de cause stir la direction que reclament, pour la liyne de Londres d Paris, les interets des deux nations. 11 ne vous echap patt pas que notre systerne aura en outre, quand it sera execute dans son ensemble, I'avantage d'ouvrir • a tons ports Anglais tine communication avec le reseau de cheinin de fer du Nord, par tousles ports Francais de Dunkerque an Havre. Notre de:ix etant d'Llairer le public, en portant tons les faits avec leurs preuves a l'appui a la connaissance des principaux organes de l'opinion publique, j'ai pense, Monsieur le Redacteur, que vous seriez assez bon pour iti.efer dans votre feuille tin extrait de notre travail, et vous associer ainsi a toutes les tnesures qui peuvent res serrer I'union de deux grandes nations. J'ai l'honnour d'etre, Monsieur le Redacteur, votre devoue serviteur. LE MAIRE DE BOULOGNE, [AL. ADAM.] Departement du Pas-de-Calais, Boulogne-sur-Mer, Janvier 29, 1842. TRANSLATION. SlR,—Atlow me to call your attention to the accom panying Report on the line to be adopted in France for the international railway uniting London and Paris. The evident interest which the two nations have that the communication between the capitals should be by the shortiest, easiest, and most regular route, assures me, that on reading our Report, you will recognise the ad vantages that the port of Boulogne possesses. The ad mirable works which have given it such a depth of water, found in no neighbouring port, and rendering the passage in and out so easy, have made it selected by three-fourths of the travellers between France and England ; and this in spite of the great advantage accru ing to Calais from the packet-boats—compelled to go there. Without this privilege (attaching to Calais), we may safely assert that Boulogne would always be the chosen port for passing from and to France and England, it bcing even now the point chosen for the embarkation of the Indian mail, and all commercial couriers. These facts being but little known, as they date their origin only five or six years back, at most, I feel it my duty to make them known, in order that public opinion mty from accurate information decide on that line from London and Paris, which appears the best adapted for the interest of the two nations. It will not escape your notice that our plan, when fully executed, will possess the additional advantage of opening to all the English ports a communication with the different branches of the Great Northern Railway by all the French ports from Dunkirk to Havre. Our desire being to inform the public, by bringing facts and proofs before the principal organs of public opinion, I have thought, Mr. Editor, that you would be good enough to insert, in your publication, an extract from our work, and so associate yourself with all the measures calculated to strengthen the union between two great nations. .; I have the honour to be,. Mr. Editor, your obedient servant, THE MAYOR OF BOULOGNE.. [AL. ADAM.] libuiogte,- 29th Jativaryi:lB42. ~ . CORN GROWN IN AMERICA. The American Almanac for the present. year contains the, agricultural statistics of the United States for 1840, as taken by the marshals appointed for that purpose. as follows •, Corn and wheat . • 371,110,902 bushels. Rye 16,445,373 „ Oats • Bnclt'Wheat 7,392,018 „ Potatoes Barley Rice Sugar Hogs 20,563,898 number of Sheep Neat cattle Poultry (value of) 10,742,591 dollars. Dairy (value of products) 33,959,681 Orchards (value of) The returns from North Carolina, Kentucky, Michi gan, Florida, and the Wisconsin territory, not having been received in time for publication in the Almanac, are not included in the above statement ; so that, in cal culating the average amount of grain to each individual, we must deduct the population of these States. It ap pears, then, that the harvest of the year 1840 gave to the remaining 15,500,000 inhabitants of the United States 500,000,000 bushels of grain, in addition to a plentiful supply of all other articles of food. This gives a frac tion more than thirty-two bushels of grain to every rit habitant, which is just about seventeen bushels more than the average supply of the people of Great Britain and Ireland, taking the population at 27,000,000, and the annual supply of grain of all kinds at 50.000,000 quar ters, or 400,000,000 bushels. We find that Mr. Mac queen, a favourite authority among the landowners, estimates the value of all the landed property in this kingdom at 3,000,000,000. On a hat data he has made this calculation, we have not been able to ascertain ; but if it be founded on a fair estimate of what the agricul • tural produce of England would sell for in the open market of the wo r ld, it is evident, measured by the same scale, the landed property of that portion of the United States already under cultivation would be worth at least 1,000,000,000 morethan that of Great Britain. - = LADIES' MEmonIAL.--The Anti-Corn-low memorial of the ladies of Wigan will shortly be despatched to London for presentation. We understand it contains the sig natures of 8,000 females. —Liverpool Chronicle. THE CORN-LAWS. MINISTERIAL ANNOUNCEMENT. Sir ROBERT PEEL then rose and said, Sir, I beg leave to move that the paragragh in her Majesty's gracious Speech at the opening of Parliament, relating to the Corn-laws, be now read. The Clerk (Mr. Ley) then read the part of her Ma jesty's Speech, in which her Majesty recommended to the consideration of the House, the state of the laws affecting the importation of corn and other articles, the produce of foreign countries. Sir R. PEEL—Sir, I now rise to move that the House do resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House to consider the laws relating to the importation of foreign Corn. Thellouse having resolved itself into a Committee, and Mr. GREENE having taken the chair. Sir ROBERT PEEL rose and said, Mr. Greene, I rise in pursuance of the notice which I have given, to sub • mit to the House the views of her Majesty's Government with respect to the modification of, and the amendment of, those laws which relate to the importation of foreign corn. I should consider it a reflection on the House, if I attempted to excuse myself from entering into details. Whatever may be the demands I have to prefer, and however unqualified I may be to re lieve a subject necessarily of details, necessarily abstruse, by any illustrations of fancy, yet I am convinced that the paramount importance of this subject will induce the House to grant me that patient attention which, under other circumstances, I should have deemed it unnecessary to prefer a claim to. I am aware of the difficulty that ' encompasses the subject I am about to bring under consideration. A matter with respect to which such adverse opinions prevail, it is difficult to dis cuss, without making statements or admissions which will be seized upon by those who entertain opposite opinions. Still the best course that I can pursue is to submit _ to the House the considerations that have influenced the judgment of her Majesty's Govern ment, and leave this to be decided upon by the reason, moderation, and opinions of Parliament. I am confident the course Government has pursued in bringing forward this measure, whatever the difference of opinion as to the nature of the measure may be—l am convinced that that course, at least, will meet with general approbation. If her Majesty's Government deemed it right to submit a measure of this importance to the c onsideration of Parliament, it wa s d ue t o th e i m p or t an ce of the subject that the attention of Parliament should be called to it in the Speech from the Throne.—(Hear, hear.) is as due also to the importunes) of the subject, that hat Majesty's Government should undertake, upon the re sponsibility of a Government, to propose a measure— (Hear)—for the adjustment of that question, and that no interval, which could be avoided, should elars: between the recommendation from the Throne and the proposal of the measure to the House.—(Hear, hear.) Sir, the only object at which I shall aim, in bringing the subject under the consideration of the House, is to state as clearly and as' intelligibly as I can the considerations which have influenced her Majesty's Government, and the nature of the measure which they intend to propose. One other object I shall aim at, namely, to discuss this question, affecting such mighty interests, in the temper and spirit which is • due to its great importance ; bearing in mind how easy it is on each side to raise exaggerated apprehensions, and to find topics of inflammation by which feelings and passions may be easily excited.—(Hear, hear,) Sir, her Majesty's Government have thought it to be their duty to consider the Corn-laws, with a view to their modification and amendment.—(Hear, hear.) They undertake the consideration of that question at a pe riod when there is great commercial distress—(Hear, hear, hear) when there are great sufferings and privations connected with that distress. But I consider it to be my duty, in the first place, to declare, that, after having given to This subject the fullest consideration which I can, I cannot recommend the proposal which I have to make by exciting a hope that it will tend immediately or materially to the mitigation of that commercial distress under which we are suffer ing.—(Hear, hear.) My belief is, while I admit the commercial distress—while I. deplore the suf ferings of, and sympathize with those who are distressed, yet I feel bound to admit that I cannot attribute that distress in any degree in which it has been supposed attributable to the operation of those laws.—(Cheers from the Ministerial benches.) I do not view, with those feelings of despair in which some persons are inclined to indulge, the commercial prospects of this country. Ido not believe that the re sources of our commercial and manufacturing prosperity are drained; but I do see the operation of causes acting concurrently and simultaneously, sufficient, in my opinion, to account, in a great degree, for the depression which has unfortunately affected our manufacturing and commer cial districts ; and I have that confidence in the natural resources of this country—(Hear, hear)—l have had such frequent opportunities of seeing periods of depres sion as great followed by periods of revival of prosperity as sudden, that I confidently indulge the hope and belief that we may still recover by the operation of' natural causes, and again witness a revival of our com mercial prosperity.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.) Sir, it is impossible to take a review of the causes which have affected the manufacturing and commercial prosperity of this country, without perceiving that there have been in operation during the course of the last four or five years several causes, the effect of each of which taken.separately would be but little, which, acting concurrently, have produced an effect sufficient to ac count for the present state of deprfssion.—(Hear.) If you look at the stimulus given, partly through the extreme facility of credit to great undertakings during the years 1837 and 1838, to the connexion which existed between the Companies and Directors of Joint Stock Banks, and the manufacturing establishments—if you look to the im mense efforts that were then made for the increase of our manufactures, to the numerous buildings that were then erected for the reception of the labourers in our manufactories, to the emigration of labourers from the rural districts into the manufacturing districts, to the im mense increase which took place in the mechanical power of our manufactures, the consequence of the stimulus given to manufactures in 1837 and 1838—you can hardly be surprised that those con sequences should have followed those exertions which have so fre quently followed similar exertions at former periods.— (Hear.) The same causes which were in operation here were in operation in the United States, at the same time; and the same consequences to the commercial interests there, in a greater degree, have been the result, while the derangement in the monetary affairs of the United States has acted most powerfully on the demand for our manufactures in that country. Concurrently with that excitement and stimulus, and with the depression that followed from them, had been the effect of the same causes in the United States, diminishing the demand for our Manufactures. There has been at the same time in interruption in our amicable relations with that country, causing a considerable deficiency in the export of manufactured goods at a-recent period, as compared with a former period of our inter course with that country. There have been also, during a considerable portion of a later period of that time, the elements of war in Europe, and the necessary stagnation of commerce, which is in some degree inseparable from such a state of things. The united effect of these causes will, in my opinion, go far to account for the depression in our prosperity. Sir, I am admitting the extent of the depres sion. I am equally disposed to admit the ex tent of the privation and suffering which have been the consequence of it. But here, again, 1 am bound to say that I cannot recommend the measures which I am about to propose, by the hope that any alteration in the Corn-laws will be a remedy for some of the evils which, in a great manufacturing country like this, seem to be inseparable from society. Extend your foreign commerce as you may, depend upon it it is not a necessary consequence that the means of employment for manual labour will be proportionate to the demand. Speaking of particular districts, whatever may be the ex tent of your commercial prosperity—whatever may be the demand for your manufactures, it is impossible not to feel that, coincident with the general prosperity, there must be the severest partial dis tress. These have been so at periods of the greatest manufacturing and commercial prosperity, The necessary consequence of the 'sudden improvement in machinery, and the consequent diminishing of the de mand for manual labour, must be to expose in cer tain districts of the country those who are depen dent for their support on manual labour to great privations, Sir, we find hundreds of persons occupied in great manu facturing districts entirely relying for subsistence on their labour in some particular department. By the ex ercise of ingenuity some improvement in machinery is suddenly devised, is copied by others, which has the effect of depriving those who so relied on their manual labour for subsistence of the means of em ployment, as was the case with the hand-loom weavers—(Hear, hear)—and with many parties engaged in other branches of manufacture.—(Hear, helm) It is a hard condition, inseparable from a manufacturing country, that there must be such revulsions in the de mand for manual labour. It is impossible, therefore, in any commercial system that great privation and suffering should not frequently exist—(Hear, hear) — although it is not to be supposed that I deprecate the exercise of industry and skill.—(Hear, hear.) It would be madness to interfere with them—(Hear, hear) — and it would be folly to deny that in the aggregate this country has derived the greatest source of its strength from such improvements in manufactures. — (Hear, hear.) To attempt to obstruct it would be merely to encourage competition and rivalry already too formidable.—(Hear, hear.) Inseparably necessary as distress appears to be from such development of skill, and such improvement of ma chinery, I do not state this for the purpose of impressing you against the importance of improvement, but for the purpose of disclaiming the sanguine hope that any extent of legislative enactments can exempt you from the liability to such fluctuations and distress. In proportion to the manufacturing excitement—in proportion to the stimuli to which I have re ferred, to the stimuli of speculation, to the facility of undertaking, ,by undue advandes; the pursuits of wealth, just in that proportion must you expect that in certain dis tricts of the country these privations will occur. But looking at the general state of the country,' I can neither see grounds for that despondency in which some are apt to view it, nor can I see any grounds for im puting to the operation of the Corn-laws, as some impute to them, any material share in the evils which we are uow suffering.—(Hear, hear, from the Tory benches.) I think we are too apt to assume that there must be a constant and rapid increase in the amount of our exports to other countries. We are too apt to de spond when we find any occasional check in the amount of those exports. The extent of our commerce during the last year, if found to be less, when compared to the year immediately preceding it, we imagine from time to time 'that the resources of our prosperity are being dried up. Now, Sir, at all periods of the commercial ,history of this country, these alternations of prosperity and adversity have prevailed. If you will examine, you cannot deny that at the last period to which the returns are fully made up—a period which includes the year 1841—on comparing the state of trade in 1840, with the state of trade of preceding years, I see no grounds for the inference which is sometimes drawn, that the Corn-laws have been the cause of our misfortunes, and that the repeal of those laws would supply an immediate remedy. On referring to this paper, I find that in the year 1840 the exports of British produce and manufactures—l speak of their declared value — the value of British produce exported in 1840 to all parts of the world, exceeded the exports of 1837 by 9,355,0001. ; it exceeded that of 1838 by 1,345,0001. ; and fell short of the exports of 1839 by MORNING SUN__ -- 1,827,000 L—a falling off, sufficient, no doubt, to create great anxiety and apprehension. But there_ were causes amply sufficient to account for that failing on If you refer to the state of our commercial transactions with the United States at that period—with that country with whose prosperity our own is so intimately inter woven—you will find that, during that period, there ' l3 were operating causes connected with monetary derange", i ment,which accounted for the temporary cessation of tratw , l ' , I stated that in the year 1839, as compared with theist : year 1840, there was a deficit of 1,827,0001. in tillq declared value of the export of British Pr (41.1 11, -, , and manufactures. But i n th e year 1839 thel ° '','. ; was an export to the United States amountint;:,,: to 8,839 , 0001 ., whereas, in the year 1840 the t o tal -.,,' amount was only 5,283,0001., leaving a deficit in 11144 i I I value of our exports to the United States in 1840, as cora l : pared with the year 1839, to the amount'of 3,5 56,13°° Now that fact is sufficient to account for -t, falling off in the general amo un t of our eaP' in the year 1840, as compared with the year 1 639 " , The falling off, however, was grea tly l ess than the in" : crease in other parts ; and consequently the differ- ence was made up by the extension of our commerce with other countries.—(Hear, hear.) Sir, it is re f i i satisfactory to view th e p rogress of our co lonial trade. In the year 1837 the whole of our exports to al Colonies amounted to 11 , 280,0001 . ; i n lB3B, to 12,025, 0°° ; 1839, t 014,363, 0001.; and in 1840 to 15,497,0001.-0 1°n ' Now let us look at ou r commerc i a l t ransact i ons with th ese countries in Europe which are the chief sources of our OP' ply of food. Let us look to the state of our export tragic with Germany, Holland, and B e l g i um . I n 1837 the v - of our exports to those thr ee coun t r i es , t h e c hief searace, s of our supply of food, am oun t e d t o 8,742,0001. ; ill l t o , to 9,606,000/. ; in 1839, t o 9,660,000/. ; and in l ',i; to 9,70.4,0001.—(Hear, hear, hear.) So that even 1" f respect to those cou n t r i es w hi c h are the e hi6 ii sources of our supply of corn when we st Ali b e in need of any, and which are supposed to such formidable competitors of our manufacturers, and with which the sale of our productions is sup ; posed to be so rapidly declining on account of ° ll e exclusion of their eorn,—even with respect to til e. -- countries, there has been u p on th e w h o l e an i ncre ase i n ,. export of our manufact ure d articles.(Hear, b e % Sir, I cannot, theref o r e , i n f er t h at t h e opera tion ° r : c i, e Corn-laws is to be ch arge d w i t h t h e d epress ion vi a l ot unfortunately prevails i n th e country at the P rese t .,. moment.— (Hear, hear.) Id o see ot h er cause s in op e nt tiou which are sufficient in a great degree to se e°ll .) for those evils which we all deplore.—(Hear , 1 1 0 : 0 Sir, in considering any modification of the Co rtris r which it may b e d es i ra bl e to propose, i t is le3bees tant to review the several proposals which hav e 09 already made with resp ec t t o th em . V ar i ous opinio ns ar e entertained with respect to the Corn-laws. ,there os sone who would ad m it o f no modi tic3 ' t o whatever in respect to them, but would adhere W ar existing state of the law, without admitting any 4it t bii tion or modification. 'lt is my firm belief that try , party are exceedingly limited in number in this el. 5, I believe that, among s t th e agriculturists thea ls° ,: c e lle it is the prevailing o pi n i on th at t h e C orn -l a wi al l!' $ 0 altered with advantage.--(Hear, hear.) So far a s hav e collect from the various communications that stirsit been made to me by th a t b o dy, I a m ia .., t i l e in saying that the g enera l impres sion is s ' general feeling —amongst th e agriculturists is os favour of a modification in some respects. Th er %s, also others who entertain a decid e dly opposite or il- bo i who would consent to no modificatio n, „ s l would insist on the immedi a t e an d a bsolute rer tbo t of the Corn-laws. Sir, it is impo ss ibl e no t toe el o f those who advocate a repeal of every i m p o sition ° ne t! kind of subsistence for the people, are enabled to ilir eor So topics which give them a great ad v a n tage t 1 0 ' hear, hear, and cheers.) To urge that t bere eo 1 a law which taxes bread—an obstacle to the subs i to• of the community—an impost on the food of the r4..e) lation—to urge that thi s a t ax ma i nta i ne d f or OWi tection and advantage of a separate class--(l l a ar '4pir —to urge arguments of this kind gives th e __Aii rents' of such a system the power of 7:04 a considerable impression on those who listen to 0 0 1 (Hear.) A comparison is mad e b e t ween the dearn e , food in this country, and the cheapness of food l il a , other countries, and the inference is immediately o utlil t that the people of this country o ug ht t o b e placed OO ' same footing with respect to articles of subsistenetsel; that their condition would be materially benefitedl 0 et were permitted to avail themselves of the lab eti bo t) the agriculturists of other countries.—(Hour' A ipo ° Sir, it appears to me that a ny conc l us i on f o urirle" i t i on such a position would be altogether g - r, oundless• - ; ( 14 ari d hear.) 'The question is, can you i n f er t h e cool' °- . for ase of a people, from the price which they 1 394 0er ,food ? Reference is made to the price of food in sir .nany, a n d t o t h e f ac ili t i es which the low Price °I. r s eS' sistence gives for the establishment of manufac tu t c le and the inference is hastily and unwisely drawn tbB la ce` t , people of this country must necessarily b e P ,Te n 'upon a superior footing to what they are if the l'''a V food could undergo a corresponding reduction , ' 411 1 ,0J equal with the price of other countries. I a l l e re fet l ' _ the true question is not what is the price °' 1, but what is the command which the labouringicioti have over it.—(Loud cheers from both sides of the ' o' 4 rho question is, whether luxuries or the neee ssa- ," life are easily accessible to the people, a nd 10111 ;,,, 1 nand the labouring classes have over the cai°' ft of the products of the country. Under the operat le h il ;ris' i Corn-laws let us compare the condition of the hi ' sri S ' t classes of this country with the condition of the labs , ~ e e , classes in those countries in which I admit the P.l provisions is greatly less. There is nothing ii tc ' h i pr i : the cultivation of corn in the Prussian States. - ' — :vot r ',' )f corn there is much less than it is in thi s c- liti °. but can it be from hence inferred that the e° of tY of the P russ i an people is preferable to that :,"y" p p r e i o c p e le o o f f v t a h r i i s o c u o s un a t r r t y ic ? le — s, (L; r d tic cr u i l e a s rl o y f " in i: e r' il p e .9o l: o / 1 1 ; or that the consequence of the immense reducti°lrlice of food, must necessarily be a great increase in ... t . : . (lie sf ,.f 'forts and enjoyment s o f th e l a b our i ng classes? ben6l:t Sir, there are means, f rom sources I liPPrii-cibitile'j unquestionable authority, of forming a J 1 fa rt , i t as to the comparati ve d egrees o f ° el ' ) forei r the people in both the countries alluded to; and i l v es. 4 le termine that a low p r i ce o f pr i v i s i ons is necess' irl : r alli i° i o ; tialtornandacturing industry, to the general coin - cop y', II or to the comforts or enjoyments of the P, wi llc ii , would be well to weigh the materisls c lOi e t you possess before you draw such a 6'll . h ° ln e the Sir, in the Report of the Committee ` v o 0 li e on the Import Duti es , th ere i s evidene e si an t ie l point—evidence give n by the Hon. Gen tle jire c d Merdber for Bolton, whose attention has b eell , te s, ,' to this subject, and who, before that Cono n 'T i estr io . in the Report which he made on the Prussia ° , 1,0 0/ ..; on the state Of, our commercial relations Wi l ' LOP I so r t he has given information as to the comparative e° ° . o at o s of the people of this country, and the consuines y; e ip inhabitants of the Prussian States. - 7 C ° :' , e, 1) A e f oo take the great articles of consumption ; u n r c r : 0 v d e te' by admitting that meat is dear, and that c h — e sti t i eV the great articles which constitute t- ts ' - f i st nance of the people, and administer of 10 as comforts. I admit that they are g el : 09ot in Prussia than they are here.—(Hea r ' ) KW , ' f ie I said before, it appears to me that the trae th© , O tt , by comparative lo wness o f pr i ce, but tomtit mand the people have over t h a t which, :,°seftli a their comforts., N ow I b egan w i th meat, " - per; (o o 3 of that, I shall take my information frog' : j e e rs,' je' unsuspicious source. It is from one wil (1 1 w i l a is:0) me as to the operation of the Corn-laws, anik etar , )2 0e pt tided advocate for their repeal. -- ( d to . Ar iea ; Dr. Bowring's calculation with rega h r e joli; 0 1, is given in 1840. It is the report en t ali , cel l Ar tf he was speaking of a state of things ju . 00 for " - t e n' where the Corn-laws had been in oPer atz thei r ‘ll/ years, and must have effected, if that Iv e iv re b o 0 1 0 4 dency, the comforts of the people. Bu t Ge etle ll3 4 ie Report made by the Right Honourable says , P otoo f NONV, with respect to meat, Dr. Bowr i 0 11 bo tst Prussia he calculates that 14,000,000 of Pe rsons .., o f 0_,,,, 485,000,000 pounds of meat ; that is at the the iiiiivtri 35 pounds annually for each person. put coL , he ourable Gentleman says, that in 9oll s l' / 000 25,000,000 of persons consume 501 b. of mel d it bin w ill says that it cannot be less than 5 0 lb :" ;ow - 9 . s i p pes 4° estimated at double that * moult • twos pen take it at the lowest calculation, and fron: Lilt 35 that the inhabitants of Prussia c onsum " „a, is polo' s ur yearly, whereas in this country fs!l owfi take ~,tio sumed annually.—(Hear, hear.) I'', ot w ere el :; fe stli Observe I am not at all denying t" I f e el r oo sei o prevails in many parts of the country. distres s :P d ° convinced that in parts of the country , c ertai nly s , re s. n to ot g s r a e y at Q e o ttr o .) ptr : sociir stlignobr d: : $ . 010, i in Paisley consume so much ly e ' argu e t rat 014 1/ a m e v a e n ry t o at all ; but it is impossible to enc eli f l iU 6 1 that e xte the 17, ject without drawing general infer in an- ro of look at the whole amount, a nd ,..., the l ef t ' must not be taunted "• 7 ' na _stoc s hos you Paisley a Po t e; of " Can you say, that at , bing . 1 g 11 ,. g such is the amount ? I" say no sue!' ''. in araw i : ;loo, there is no such consumption t o ;?u e `i,, at iou ):` ,0 ,0 1 neral conclusions with respect to %IT:coral ~ .‘ e rtii- j o, no other alternative than to deal _‘ ,1 7_; 09 to si g andcomprebensive results, and_by th t," OTHER ZECEIPTiI. Imprests and other Monies ...... ... 106,538 13 2 Money received from the East India Company... ............................ 60,000 0 0 UnclaitnedDividends(more than pd) 48,084,359 16 4 Excess of Expenditure over Income 2,101,369 2 1 Total Income , £50,185,729 0 5 EXPENDITURE. FUNDED DEBT. Interest and Management of the Per manent Debt .024,476,904 9 9 Terminable Annuities 4,076,775 12 10 Total Charge of the Funded Debt, exclusiue•of•B,2B6l. 2s. 5d., the Interest on Donations and Bequests UNFUNDED DEBT, Interest on Exchequer Bills 29,450,144 15 3 Civil List 389,022 3 11 Annuities and Pensions for Civil, aval, Military, and Judicial Services, &c., charged by various Acts of Parliament on the Conso lidated Fund Salaries and Allowances 246,079 3 7 Diplomatic Salaries and Pensions 185,770 0 10 Courts of Justice 736,994 8 9 Miscellaneous Charges on the Con solidated Fund 232,734 9 7 2,411,114 15 1 Army . 6,418,421 16 4 Navy..... ................................. 6,489,074 0 0 Ordnance..,;. 1,815,132 0 0 Miscellaneous ;• chargeably on the Annual Grants of Parliament ... 2,927,660 2 5 Insurrection in Canada China Expedition 18,167,441 6 5 Unclaimed Dividends (more than received) 157,028 3 8 50,185,729 0 5 SUMMARY OF EXPENDITURE. Funded and Unfunded Debt 29,450,144 15 3 Civil List, &c. Army, Navy, Ordnance, &c 18,167,441 6 5 Unclaimed Dividends (more than received) Total Expenditure £50,185,729 0 5 2.—AN ACCOUNT OF THE BALANCES OF PUBLIC MONEY Remaining in the Exchequer on the sth day of January, 1841 ; the Amount of Money raised by the Additions to the Funded or Unfunded Debt, in the year ended the sth day of January, 1842 ; the Money applied towards the Redemption of the Funded or paying off Unfunded Debt ; the Total Amount of Advances and Re-payments on accour.t of Local Works, &c., with the Difference accruing thereon ; and the Balances in the Exchequer on the sth day of January, 1842. Balances in the Exchequer on sth January, 1841 £3,858,465 19 94 Money paid into the Exchequer in part of 2,467,4321, per Act 5 Vict. c. 8, arising from the fund ing of Exchequer Bills and sale of Stock, viz. : From Funding 409,500 0 0 From Sale •of Slock- 443,537 10 0 Money ra.tsea In the year elided the sth day of January, 1842, by the creation of Unfunded Debt Exchequer Bills 11,000,000/. (charged on Supplies) 3 Viet. e. 12 158,900 0 0 Mt°, applied in aid of Money Grants, 3 Vict. c. 1 0 Ditto, 10,751,550/. (charged on Supplies) 3 and 4 Vict. c. 106 10,389,500 0 0 Ditto, 11,000,000 L ditto, 4 Vict. C. 19 9,920,700 0 0 • Ditto, raised on the credit of the Consolidated Fund in part of 6,200,000/. 4 and 5 Vict. c.. 53 1,343,000 0 0 Ditto, for Public Works, Great Britain (charged on Consoli dated Fund) 3 Vict. c. 10....., 390,700 0 0 Ditto, for West India Reiet dit to, 2 and 3 Vict. c. 125, 5,800 0 0 Ditto, for Public 'Works, Ireland, ditto, 1 and 2 Will. 4, c. 33 7,750 0 0 Ditto, ditto, 2 and 3 Viet. c. 50 46,000 0 0 Ditto, for Shannon Navigation, 2 and 3 Vict. c. 61 45,000 0 0 Funded Debt : Exchequer Bills funded per Act 5 Vict. c. 8, and delivered up to be cancelled 2,972,900 0 0 Ditto, raised on the credit of 6,482,5001., per Act 3 and 4 Vict. c. 12, and delivered up to be funded by the Commission ers for the Reduction of the National Debt, on account of Sai ings Banks, per Act 9 Geo. 4, c. £31,241,753 9 9i ISSUED To the Commissioners for the Re duction of the National Debt, to be applied to the Redemption of the Public Debt : By Issues per Act 10 Geo. 4, c. 27.. Nil. By Interest on Donations & Bequests 8,286 2 5 Paymasters of Exchequer Bills, for Payment of Unfunded Debt : By Money out of the Consolidated Fund for payment of Public Works, and IV. India Relief Bills F e i y or out of h the paymentteCon Consolidated Fund Bills 292,800 0 0 By raised in the Quarter ended 10th October, 1841, on credit of Ways and Means Grants 1,343,000 0 0 By Money out of Ways and Means - - Grants applied for payment of Supply Bills 309,600 0 0 By Exchequer Bills issued for ditto 20,469,100 0 0 By Exchequer Bills delivered up to be cancelled per Act 5 Viet. c. 8 2,972,900 0 0 By Total Amount of Advances for Local Works and other purposes, under the authority of various Acts of Parliament, within the year Total Amount of Re-payments, ditto ditto... 929,22 1 12 4 Excess of Advances over Repay ments 90,887 11 7 ments ....... ...................... Balances in ofEx th p o Exchequer Excess euditure o, or T o n n e o s t t n i t: 2,101,369 2 1 January, 1842 ........................ 3,653,810 13 8i £31,241,753 9 91 G. CLERK. Whitehall Treasury Chambers, February, 1842. FRENCH POST -OFFICE. that T The P virtue ostra a o s f t ear. decision Gene ra of,the theM l rm has no packet from Minister r u o r f t r o in in a f n o cz. the public,.. —r---- no pukes. boat will leave Marseilles on the 21st February inst. Malta for the Levant on the 28 th of February ; from Malta for In consequence of this measure these will be Marseilles on the 6th of Marcb ; from Syria, for Constantinople, Alexandria, Athens, and Malta, on the let of March ; from Con. stantinople and Alexandria fer Syria, on the 27th of February; and from Athens for Syria, on the 28th of February. The sta. Lions on the coasts of Italy will have no packet going from France to the Levant in the last ten days of February; nor coming from the Levant to France, on the first ten days of March. Lastly, the packets which will arrive A C o nstantinople, Alexandria, and Athens, o n th e 22d and 24th of February, will remain there till the 7th and 10th of March.—Moniteur. ...... _ ____ DISTRESS AT ROCHDALE. —The money Col lected at Rochdale for the relief of the poor, has been spent in blankets and cotton sheets. A block has been procured on which is engraved.-6 , The Prince of Wales Relief Fund, Roch. dale, 1842," for the purpose of stamping the blankets; and it is intend e d to v i s i t a ll t h e pawnbrokers, to request them not to take in any bl an k et t h us mar ked. This plan of relief has been adopted in p re f erence t o s oup kitchens , as it has been well as H c u e n r d t r a e in ct e , d h t a h v at e n t o h t e hin poo t r o of Rochdale upon but shavings, a n d t h e i r R e only coveri ng are old g oc hdale and its neighb our h oo d are in a miserabl e a nd wretched con dition as re ga r ds their beds. packsheea, or rent and torn old carpets. ."-" L i v e rPo 0 i Chronicle. - - PUSEYISM.—Scarcely one head of a family in Ryde, who i s a mem b er o f the Church of England, but h a s signed an a dd ress to t h e A rc hbishop of Canterbury, i m pl or i ng Bi,hop . his Grace to a p p l y suc h re medies to the growing evil of the doctrines received promulgated aletter fom in the the IVacts of Winchester , best calculated t o arres t it s progress. Wm. Jaques, Esq., has terms approving of the step taken in Ryde, and ' couched in hoping that la every pce in En g l an d will follow the example of the people of this plum Ifaxipehi. 4oroti:(r. fromfor th• Ti me ., as may be ;/ ter co l 10 4 1 • * 'tttot 4 14 Y Ytj~.~.. itiz 4u - i ! b 1 4,1 Q j±i Ft ;