The Sun. — London, England, 1831-02-15 00:00:00

rue. He was W at bad pamed a ber for Durofril , e4 l a very ha ll iition of f a tax_ e r tY Was ound o Pe . MeMber rep!! ralatina) Colhb!1 a sort of borde r° , ce bordering ura !lt was dioriu ie o k f ter accusing th e present 31ini9te object of congr a tp it was not veilc e cu ; se any G°ve' with dishonoest,),.; to return to o w bt o mull not lo 5 t t himself very s! to taxe east prude n t however n Gen tle. The Hon: • ht: of its second slg but be I before ; in his on ifortsble disco :er place7e would and P engwn • ted• n he ant,: cipa ent the best 0 , 1 1 1: r _ udget, at each r oe; before the fil eo , ied by Ilon'g re at mark. Th e e Ministers, t he aided was, ti r l. at . eg , muta tion or ts - ,, e ble to relieve ri.l,;, ight of Whic h F oe .rrity which h! e t __— ''Pee t. In rea they ne into offic e ', ja. 'mt itomediatti; res in district s oe3 ,i , leficial effect vin_n.,:d , r the country', ;be rover orders' re otton had been a ll he duty u r ul t hos d. per yard ; 00 11 the rich, P ° ' t hel but becarr4 goods t h e c oarFe g of a superior clu_er as, that the r cent., w hile :o l3e ~ rout five Pe r oe sproportioo. Er. Praed) th r cobweb c an '„ o se ,l under the lOr r ielt .nt., and th e s iity [se that in'qte of the f o rmer st:', detain the P:blit in conc lusion , as not ineon'!_.„ of d the impre ss 7o , trot what w ( 3 l thrl people, o 0 t hel momen t that to or ere opposed one s& ieet, !ore A d 'rioters frank l y t he resentatives )5 , the people. 550 emergencYf of Lich Iva .al a tax he f the service ° t he topic, even i° t he brought down not only up on foe as the result trded real prop a ct n indispensrh le t r ot' in an hones ntry—to eticoll7o'r, —had broug ht f idt of the nation ',fe are mistak er- orre e," forward these "re4l nce they " h od üblic good ; f a pot re that they b ' et f Oat e House or lief have been, i t hel )eople becau se t ive ieir re preeeOt lt House, and ..., our of Mini.tebso jected to the c o ff iced most tro e q A o f act a sing l e - per ; having r ee° the ) reassert, 63 OP • 1 a le ruled in drs re' ad addressed ggo ;ument--tb e ed to be sox °or the proPu' iti cho l ' ;ative. Th e o ,itiO pon the stIPP; f one hund red course of the has iced that this 0 01 ,I-founded, i t W o o o country "' e Right person as th e , t ick , had hoped.o-•ab L. jolt) tin a better or dinisters We r t e 10 4 House. l ate ransfer tat , hey fie moblic creditor., cotton, iwpose ot ; 0 value, a 9 tt the .rty and trade 0 0 ssary that a t t e llP utreated the Øe ov, iposition. beets gers by sto w- he •, a o , s imagined, je t ' oppressive stnbetie 'aging a no' its of the c't ß ,e i d with the n r , lo l ` in Act of 1 77 ' bol of the count bas' losed by the Olt is VieW, a't r°- Ol e ipon prope r t y g we e pass i n g frorx e l , e de , o; tax was a Pr „ e el" orally, everY:iroge# ere was anY should be 8 °I • 10 tad that the 0 0 ' 0 ° e ,l; ,use had W; t o t e O,O it were °°,: ° ications of P e f Ol e different side „ oi t r fisted upon g r IV" ce they too'. _ .O O carr ied ids' ioe.o :s. ) -11 e iniTilete; )f abolishing P an ce, 13°, tfi he left 0 ci itronage, o 01) sueeeiso rslt! 00: t 4 1 sling to n-D;tiv.ei le heartily for the rP - 03t ° fia el t a . tthe ehonjoilf d ge. ee' e re however , ..ev 'nes• 0 . extensive xpe , , seasona ble e via t r ca pita(' io t i i e inued unde r ijer ord to re -°°"9 dF • US an e rect tjesty's 0 . 1 ,1 of the d 0 , 1 , ,fe,r e t h a t , it g i ve te . r deo tv,o•i; IP e%; trade very fl it the taN "?: - h ) t be he t ts"'" ft' imP" s / „ s trY °va and ito. - tha t tie o tier ott hilt gre= . . fa ct,' gre it 63 1) %, is et , alway s hear.) 'as Lorj, Nob!, 2 4 110 r of t h e Exchequer ; but whilst he was b y no " s atisfied with all the measures which the plan at Prts ett , 'whi c h "'fore the House comprehended, yet the one k t he most condemned was that which affected Canada. lutt:,_ 7lc hesnes had b een su b m itt e d to the House for the of l of reli ev i ng t hi s over l oa d e d country o f a port i on beh -erc eseive popul a ti on , an d it was with much regret 44 41 a measure proposed, which (by diminishing the t "f vessels coming l oa d e d w ith timber from Canada, pr,fetiirtaing with pa ' ssengers on low terms,) would he f eare d , a serious check to etnigrat i on.—( H ear. ) h~Ort! ROWICK should not go into the subject of the Oh t ransfers, as that project had been abandoned by chti 'ajesty' s M inisters, and therefore did not see any ne h t It Y for his th en un d er t a ki ng it s defence.—(ilear.)— (11 4 4 ; °a • Agent f or th e C a p e of Good Hope had certainly h t , 'led his duty to that colony with much ability. If eqr a ti Rowick) could think that the proposed duty feel v P r "e injurious to that important colony, he would iti li ,Z r Y great difficulty and hesitation in consenting; to its t fer e itiat i. He believed, indeed, that its effect, like hat 'hock r y c hange affecting commerce, would be a temporary deo it t t o h t , he wine-growers of the Cape ; but . he was i con. • a, it would produce no permanent injury to t ue . m. bee - t e ' r ed, from the statement of a gentleman who had tft4 -tir out fur the purpose of observing the condition 1 44 : sev eral interests at the Cape, that the wine trade by far a worse condition than any other class. It Cis; l , s eent to him desirable to maintain by a tax a strug tkz; tr'elo of trade, which could not exist without that t ats o: i t' it not much better to check it at once, and to ttirs -C caPital employed in it into more productive chan i ta„." -- (Rear, hear.) That capital had long ago reached tht ma (Hear, of profit which it could attain, except by tittitdUlteratiOn of other wines.—(llear.) He did not onettioal by any one could suppose it was right to uphold let "Y the p o i son i ng o f hi s Majesty's stihjects.—(Hear.) tl, !i ne bottle of Cape wine sold as such (as we u . nderstciod up a 4 15 Lord), there were twenty disposed of making tkk ti 4 , juferior article , under the name of other wines. The I St t i, ati( lns of the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite.F re. lii4 t i r i lg the difference between our trade with contrary t h e 0 ! With the Cape of Good Hope, proved the ea Inference which that Right Hon. Gentlemanhad '4 4 ,,frorn it. If any thing could, more than another, i tte r ,"'e injuriousness of the policy which discouraged the 111 0 -° L , ll4 e between these two great neighbouring coon ''et'„,,,ranne and England—(Hear, hear)—it was the thit, - "Lch the Right Hon. Gentleman had announced, t likp i f ', 341 E111 and distant a colony traded more with us -r ti aa ce•—(Hear.) Nothing could more please him is °4l "°wick) than the equalization of the duties . on o r e ,: Re looked upon it as the earnest of a better . policy 'S a ta i re, and he was sure that France would imitate . the he lt ur ti P l e• If France would follow up what the Minister %p done, so as to free the commerce between the two kal t .t ' e s from illiberal restraints, he was sure that our wi th Fr ance would as much exceed that with the N P t e ' r e t s at pres en t our trade with the colony exceeded °cr a of ' 'r ance.— (Hear, hear.) With respect to the tax o ho e°tton, he thought that his Hon. Friend opposite 4 111 . that evenin g manifested so much eloquence and 'N t " b eing the first g time he addressed the House, had in'triate mistake. He assured his Hon. and Learned ~4 4 1- ; , t hat he had heard his speech with great pleasure, t hat ' ' ; ''oPed that he would now have the honour to renew tpe c ' ti tittEtey ; but he (Mr. Praod) had forgotten 1141'41 respecting the duty on raw cotton. The lett f „ ° a d been reduced not only on printed cottons, ti t i t ell kinds of manufactured cottons. And if th4l ' a nourable F r i en d would consider the subjesubj ect ta , 4 ', o he would find that the balance of advert late be derived from that reduction was greatly in or the poorer classes. But the tax per pound upon cotton would be found to fall in a great measure la ti r i be richer classes of cousumers, when it was coml. h a utv ninth cotton is employed in manufactures used , L tto -y them, in some of which the tax could reach the o s 4 41 y by weight, and in the raw state. He instanced % t f with silk, and u dctures in which cotton is mixed kt t ' l' h e of which is confined to the more wealthy. There- Stl";,, e , t dx, which load been removed from the fabrics po t - "'Y by the poor, was transferred to those which the °tat °e ver used.—(Hear.) —He considered that much i t kts„ rt hati to have maintained the oppressive and partial i "tta -t which it was substituted. Another objection had ,4 11 : 11 a. ade on the subject of East India cottons,; but that l'tf e ,"°i trade was under the same relative advantages as l'i . t .s ' n e lPecially when it was considered that a very small !ti °- ,.°f India cottons was re-exported. 'pr ti r. 'OULBURN should confine himself to the simple 1 514 .7° 4 of his satisfaction at the announcement of the t 'kp "rd's intention to abandon the proposed duty on )-11e thought it lainent dole that the . tet r h, 4le nt should . have so much weakened itself, as it r°y - ve done by ' proposing a measure calculated to de- Ir ,S; „ t , h e confidence of the public creditor. His regret 4. o laNla on noed by the line of conduct taken by the Noble me a nnouncing his changed intention.—.(Hear.)— h :O., L '," to assure the Noble Lord that he did not think y"nated by any dishonourable intentions towards the ei de credi tor. —(Hear. )—ldut the Right Hon. Baronet, Veh'pthe Noble Lord, had not disclaimed for himself tf .e •He defended the imposition of the tax t. tli lt . r Y different grcun d s . H e d e f e nded the injustice h lla Post, beca use i n j us ti ce h a d b ee n done on other ti' iti v en a l Because Because injustice had been done in the ulte ratio a of the currency, the Right Honour igs es °et thought whatever injustice might now be Itti arot the same sufferers was justifiable by that prece r tht e Would not go into a discussion with the g p eY ion ° n. Bar onet respecting the alteration of cur '797, nor th e re t urn to c a s h payments in . 1819. :4 I the Right Hon Baronet dwelt on the injustice IZtlith."ttai:_are! of 1797 . and 1819, lie Mr. Goulburn) h k ti Right Hon. Baronet would have been the last i l t eW ; t hat House to advocate similar injustice. When 4 es ) 14 his own mind, the consequences of the 'llea e,t, wk .. 'ty of ""-h he load referred, he would perceive the ne• ;f,43,. refraining from injustice of so destructive a ten a,.1.419 a : l, ,lat there was a peat difference between the Act the " the tax upon transfer. The return to cash ( "°'° written as clearly in the contract between t t a l t i e..). ll a . tl a d its creditor as i the tax was forbidden.— s ahe 4e48 the greed with the lon. Baronet that the time 4 4 t h ei oe measures of the Noble Lord would be, r details were brought before the House ; but pr "'t tl e , observation. He sp otaPsaof th toalce one general . Principle of taking off . taxes which pressed tt,eth4,s"wlitioterests that were suffering, and laying them t 101 were more equal to the hurthen. u rkhtha t which h a d b een ma d e already that evening rut t q C•(af t e l 7 3 ' do press e q ua lly on the poor and . upon the hu k e 1% ) - -That was the whole tenour of the speech v tlt red on. Gentleman, which haul been so justly th e y ° n"Y the N o bl e L or d. H e h a d s aid that the raw mitt t tli,, a 'Nobt nu would press upon the poor ; on which % ak 'm in remarked, that the gentleman had pai d th e :' 8 ,1 argument respecting raw cottons, be -0 th sty of printed cottons would principally be th e ri e h th tt e r aw • But was it not the fact that the duty s at)). ttntaterial would press mostly on the poor ? .Was the kt the ate tial, a tax on which would more extensively tloth,'omforts and necessaries of the poor ? Much of ~orlati 14 a of Del e l„.„ .the men was mottle from it, as well as the ire- tear, V` r ung of their children and their wives, who t,l', r t , 4 -tli ee e t lY a gar ment o f any ot h er mater i a l. B u t t h e it mk t "' to the N o bl e L or d' s pl an wa s, that, whe a4etned,4"l Prove successful or not in relieving the poor, `f th~r I t wlcest, h to om b e e , extremely anti-colonial.—(Hear, hat," ta "Id seem, that whilst relieving the distress had the Ministers were forgetful of t, tie teed Jti'te at home, An lion. Gentleman t 'l)c ) t hat : e l House (and he had no doubt that it was , t etn n li t r 'lto; le fr d uties on cotton would act as a . probibition lop of "n 1 India, a country, efforts to improve the tf,Owhich the happiness, and extend the civiliza tlt,l4, 1, el l were Persevered in, at much expense and d thetea. Y tho se i It , n whose hands , its government . was C s , e a " been said that one trade of the colony I N ' 04 °f Good Hope would be ruined by the to ti t" wi nee ; upon which the Noble Lord al tr:4thstressed condition of that trade as a reason ,tet ' t i' iori e : ti to g his burth ens.— (H ear, hear hear.) B , ut tot ,ue effected b y t h e N o b le Lord's plans NN ere eua, tl 4 l4,l a " t tned to India and the Cape, lout would extend 1 1, 4 t ttissi:(Rear)—hy encouraging the timber of other fat /ties the prejudice of that colony. He was sure I ,i l4 4, ll ' l ol ll lt re riet ,ld give considerable dissatisfaction. th at anoth er great objection to the Noble Lord's / Vi tt k 'a Of did not comprehend any provision for the re- NtsProaide",e national deist, and that no surplus revenue Oari,e," should any occasion or extraordinary ex hcal e "fore the end of the Tar An lion. Gentle thtitt,entpiNilained that he 'SI G . ) load not left a suti eh4"e ad Qt the close of tl ( i p ell p a r e ' s , % , y . l e .n ar , : , butt the fact was tT.t,llee tahle I . lic.llit was made 4 ,es ipi mOO/ . be, at the close of 18'30, a surplus . ti l r esq t e , th at he knear.) He had entered o ffi ce with the t,, t er, a a hy „ a l"puld always adhere to the resolution '` 'louse in to the effect that the Mi 't t i va ., 3 r ‘• th . ‘4,. a 00 , eseive . a surplus revenue of . three Cti:;',ly4, 4 ceuthe. line of incurring a d . ebt, Incase a,t410, hao " ea _ rrin g for reased expenditure. He, a,u'r 'collated, that at the end of 1830 he should Pu t tat zttP,l," °f 2,600,0001. He load told the House, i;N t la t, tat tit Z u e end of 1831, he might not have a sur -4 .tilltatevvaioL‘soolalt:t but t l t ie itn e e xp ; ect e d to have additional firstly, from the reduc per emu., which would have les,ened the expenditure by 700,0001.; and secondly, he expected an increase of revenue from the increased consumptinn of malt ; and a similar result, from the increase of other kinds. of consumption; and he stated what was mere important, that if the members of the late Government had remained in their :laces—(A laugh)—they would be able to offer reductions to the amount of 500,000/.—(lear. hear) — and when an objection was made by the Right Hon. Ba ronet opposite, who was then on the side in which he (Mr. G.) now stood, he (Mr. G.) replied, that if his cal culations did not prove to be correct, the House would be called on to reconsider the subject.—(Hear.)—He thought that, in estimating the effect of the proposed reductions. the Noble Lord had gone far beyond what any experience of the past could justify, and, he feared, far beyond what would be justified by the result, especially shou'd there arise, as seemed possible, an additional charge, for which the Noble Lord had made no provision.—(No, no.) Sir JAMES GRAHAM hail not referred to past in stances of injustice for precedent+ to support additional in justice.—( Hear.)—He had said that he considered the transfer tax a just one and defensible, with respect to the funds, on the same principle as the property tax bad been extended to them. But, at the same time that he did contend that the tax on transfers was just, lie said, that although injustice had been heaped on debtor and creditor from 1797 to 1819, and since—(llear)—yet, as long as he had the honour of holding a place in his Majesty's Councils he would not countenance any measure, of the justice of which he was not fully convinced.--(Hear.) Sir T. ACLAND, after a few remarks, we understood was far better pleased to receive the surrender of the trans fer t ex from the hands of the Ministers as a boon than to have it wrested from them by a division. With respect to the reductions which the Noble Lord had proposed, he considered that everything which had been said concern ing them tended to prove, that, however they might be misrepresented by some persons out of that House, never did more cordial pleasure thrill through the breasts of its Members, than when they could, consistently with the gaiety of the country and the maintenance of the institutions, relieve any portion of the distresses of the people. He had been particularly grieved to hear it said that the shipping interest would be injuriously affected by the measures of the Noble Lord, from which he was sure the shipping would find increased employment through the improvement that would ensue in the coasting trade. He considered that the mode chosen for levying a tax upon steam-boats in the shape a of poll tax upon the passengers—(Hear)—was taking an ex tremely incorrect and obnoxious mode of collecting it— (Hear, hear, hear.)—A tax upon the tonnage of those vessels would be much more just, convenient, and satis factory.—(Hear.) As to the duties on timber, he thought they ought to be so regulated as to render the measure ment of that article equitable. Mr. RICE contended that the Government had, with reference to the proposed transfer duties, now abandoned, reasoned quite historically. There could not be a greater error than to suppose that they thought for a moment of being themselves unjust in the imposition of the tax : still less that they attempted to justify such supposed injustice by the supposed injustice of their predecessors. Such conduct would be as opposite to their general principles as to the particular 1 art in the case under consideration. As the tax had now been abandoned, he should not dwell upon it any further than to say, that any breach of faith upon the public creditor was as far from the minds of the Ministers of the Crown as any idea could be. On the de termination to maintain inviolate the faith of the Govern ment with the creditor of the State, there was amongst Viem no second opinion ; and with reference to what had fallen from the lion. Gentlemen opposite, lie must be per mitted to say that not one of the Government dissented from the principles they laid down ; but let it not go forth to the public that there ever had been, under any circum stances, a declared intention on the part of his Majesty's Government to violate the solemn engagements of the country. On the part of his Right Hon. Friend (the Member for Armagh) he could not help saying, that it was rather uncandid in him to refer to the surplus of 1830 —the present Government were not dealing with that, they bad to deal with the possible surplus of 1831. He was perfectly ready to admit that the ascertained surplus of 900,0001. was not within their reach ; neither, with a contemplated surplus of that amount, could he look to the strong probability of their having an actual surplus of 2,900,000/. The present Government did not attempt to say that they could reckon upon a surplus of more than 300,0001. ; what, in fact, it might turn out to be, time alone could determine ; but the advisers of the Crown had at least the satisfaction of knowing as well as the Right Hon. Gentleman that the resources of the country were not impaired, and th t they had the best grounds for calculating that they would he enabled to develope new sources ; and he would not ask his Right Hon. Friend if the present Government have not those resources as much at their command as the late Administration—(Hear)—and refer ring to the surplus estimated, he thought he had a right to anticipate for his friends near him a more enlarged sur plus than even that which had been attained by the former Administration ; and he begged the House to recollect that the surplus of the present Government was achieved by re duction, and, therefore, he hoped more grateful to the country and more acceptable to the House than the surplus of any firmer Government. It hal been affirmed on the other side of the House that the whole scheme of his Noble Friend was anti-colonial—it was no such thing—he de nied the fact. As to the charge of their dealing ungene rously with the colonists at the Cape of Good Hope, he had thus much to observe, that nothing could be more un founded than the idea that they proposed to put an end to the introduction of Cape wine because that manufacture was decaying—no such thing, they protected it for a time, and finding that protection unavailing they gave it up ; it was quite a misrepresentation of his Right Hon. Friend's argument to describe it as a charge against the Govern ment of abandoning a manufacture because it was in a state of decay. That argument was, that the benevolence of former Governments had failed in producing the good intended. There was benevolence, but it was not a wise benevolence : hence, then, they gave up what was no longer useful, and they threw their arms wide open to the products of a country, the nearest, and one that ought to be the most friendly in Europe. The measure to which he refereed was one step in the march of commercial legislation, saying to neighbouring States, you may do right or wrong, but your errors shall form no example to us—we shall continue to assert and to act upon the prin ciple of justice and enlightened legislation. On the sub ject of the timber trade of Canada, respecting which so many observations had been made, he requested Hon. Members to look to the state of that part of Canada where the timber trade chiefly prevailed, and they would find that the condition and manners of the people were anything but in a satisfactory state. So much fur the present state of that colony. Let it now be seen what effect a change of system might produce. It was also important to bear in mind that much timber came from Canada, which, in fact, was not American timber. It was largely shipped from the Baltic, and, having arrived in Canada, it acquired the character and privileges of Canadian timber, and that was a species of fraud which ought and would be put an end to by the duty in future to be imposed. If he might so far separate himself from official connection, and speak as a mere Member of Parliament, he should congratulate his own country on the statement of his Noble Friend. He should not compare the present with the passed budgets else he might, by the use of the shadows they supplied, make the relief stronger. By the present budget consi derable assistance was given to the Irish manufactures. One of the changes proposed would, for example, enable the distillers of Belfast to compete with their North British rivals. He defended the original proposition respecting both glass and tobacco; but at the same time observed, that his Majesty's Government had exercised a sound dis cretion in withdi awing those which did not prove palate able to Parliament. That House was the proper place for submitting measures of taxation, for the purpose of hear • ing from Hon. Gentlemen what their views were upon each distinct proposition, and having them modified ac cording as circumstances might render necessary. He de nied that any want of attention to the condition of the country was betrayed ; on the contrary, every disposition he would maintain, had been sliewn to minister to the wants and improve the condition of the people. Mr. NORTH began by observing upon the gross in consistency which there was in the Noble Lord's affirming at one time that he would rather risk a civil war than adopt a single toe enure in the slightest degree calculated to endanger the union between England and Ireland, and coming forward, within a few days, with a tax upon steam boat passengers. He knew there were some H on . M em b ers of,that House who looked with satisfaction upon a prohibi tion which should have the effect of excluding Irish la bourers from this country; but he begged to be allowed to tell those Hon. Gentlemen that such satisfaction was absurd and pi eposterous. The harvest which those poor men came over to reap was too valuable to admit of their being retained by any such consideration as so small a tax. They might be assured that those poor men, in spite of ail such obstacles, would still find their way across the Channel. Besides, those poor men would feel it as a grievance, and what was not always tl.e ease with Irish grievances, it would be a severe and substantial grievance. Then canes the newspaper tax. But a fe w months ago the utmost aversion was manifested to au equalization and assimilation of the duties on newspapers in England and Ireland, depriving the Irish newspapers of the comparative advantage they bad before possessed. The measure of the Noble Lord in the present year would have precisely the same effect that he so loudly deprecated last year.—(Cries of " No, no.")—There could be no doubt that the condition of Irish newspaper proprietors would now be much worse than it had been. He sincerely rejoiced at the withdrawal of the transfer duties ; and he should certainly have looked upOn the proposed duty in the light of a violation of public faith, had it ,not been for the explanation afforded from the other side. It certainly would have been as gross a vio lation of public faith as ever had been committed. And how did the Noble Lord and his Right Hon. Friends de fend it ? They said, "We are now doing a wrong, be cause others before us have done the same;" but all that had been denied or explained away by the Right Hon. Bart. and the Hon. Member for Limerick ; but as it stood ori einally, there could not be imagined a more evident in fraction of a contract than that involved in the tax of the Noble Lord. In a contract so obvious, could their dis regard of it be so remarkable, or their inadvertence so great, as that they could not perceive what any plain man would take to be the plain meaning of plain words ? But it was very unimportant to the public whether what they did was the result of deliberate intention or of ignorance— the effect was exactly the same. Tke Right Hon. Baronet, on the other side, had so entirely misconceived the nature of the question, as to suppose that the intended transfer duty was not in direct violation of the express words of an Act of Parliament. No doubt it was a matter of frequent occurrence that Statutes should be altered or repealed ; but the difference between the case of a repeal and the breach of a contract was just this, that in the latter the Parliament was acting not alone in its legislative capacity, but in the situation of a party to a contract, and one wherein it had received a consideration.—(Hear.) It was a binding—a contract—and nothing but a contract, and was so understood by the parties, and was testified by the Honourable Member for London, sifter the experience of more than a quarter of a century. These were facts which no declamation could set aside. Thu only way of getting rid of the obstacles to that duty which those Acts presented was furnished by following the example of one of the characters in the Tale of a Tub. There the- will of the father, under which the three brothers derived, prohibited the use of any fantastical ornaments; they were bound to wear a plain coat; however, when shoulder knots became the fashion, they looked in the will, and found no express restriction, then came gold lace, and the same re sult followed ; hut, at length, they deshed silver fringe, and in the 25th section—the same, be it observed, that the imposers of the tax had to deal with—(A laugh)_ the 25th section was as follows:—." I do hereby strictly command, under heavy penalties, that no silver fringe be attached," &e. That was too clear and manifest to be mistaken, and it was found that the only safe course was to lock up the will in a strong box. Now, whenever the Ministers of the Crown contemplated a violation of public faith, all they had to do was to lock up the st.tutes in a strong IJOX.—(Hear, and laughter.) But now they were told that this measure of a transfer duty was to be abandoned. But it was important that the abandonment should be understood to have been made out of respect for national faith ; for, if given up upon any other ground, it would bring with it its own punishment ; for Government would in future be powerless and impotent to contract fur ther debts. He, therefore, as well as for other reasons, felt bound to require at the hands of the Government a distinct recognition of the principle upon which the mea sure was relinquished—namely, the necessity of being bound by contracts as between the State and the public creditor.—(A laugh.) Mr. CHARLES GRANT said it was rather unfortunate that the speech of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had not been delivered that evening before the intention of his Noble Friend had been announced to the House. It was a very good speech, but it obviously Was intended to form part of a debate that was expected, but, unfortunately for the speaker, (lid not take place. The speech was too late, and besides there could be no speech less calculated, though without any intention on the part of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman, to excite feelings which no true pa triot would desire to see called into activity. He would not certainly follow the Hon. and Learned Gentleman through the whole course of his observations, but he must take the liberty of complaining of the something mote than insinuations which he threw out against the candour and honesty of his Noble Friend, when every other gentle man who took part in the debate bore testimony to that candour and honesty in the warmest terms—there was not a man in or out of the House who, speaking of the sub ject, did not express the fullest confidence in that candour and integrity. Something had been said of declamation —how far the speech they had just heard should or should not he considered altogether declamation. As to w hat the Hon. and Learned Gentleman had said about a viola tion of public faith, he thought he had a right to complain of the insinuation so conveyed, and he did so, " more in sorrow than in anger." The present Government never contemplated any proceeding that could be justly open to the charge of being a breach of public faith. The budget was laid before Parliament, and all such state ments were, for the purpose of ascertaining the sense of the House, and of obtaining information from various quarters. It was the duty of Government to propose what it thought to be right, and submit to the judgment of the House as to the expediency or inexpediency of adopting such propositions. It was the duty of the Go vernment to observe the impression made upon the House and the country ; he therefore trusted that, by pursuing that course, they had entitled themselves to the approba tion of both. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman had addressed himself to two particular topics ; the first of these was the steam passengers' tax. If he believed that the English Government were insensible to the miseries of the people of Ireland he was most grievously mistaken. He certainly had hoped not to hear from that Hon. and Learned Gentleman a charge against the Members of that House for indifference to the wants and feelings of the people of Ireland. How often, and to his knowledge, had Committees of t lhat House sat day after day, in quiring'into the C't ndition of the peasantry of Ireland, and making themselves acquainted with the daily life and ordinary habits of that people. He therefore repelled the accusation, and he trusted that the Irish people would not believe it, in the face of the strong manner in which the English Members of that House had manifected their sympathy with the sufferings of the Irish people.—(Cries of " No, no !" from O'Gor man Mahon, which was replied to by repeated cheers from rations harts of the House ; the Hon. Member for Clare, however, repeated his denial.) He confessed he was sorry to see the sentiments of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman re-echoed from that (the ministerial) side of the House : and he did hope that, notwithstanding the unfavourable in terpretation put upon their conduct by the Hon. and Learned Gentleman opposite, the House would bear them out in the assertions that they had clone nothing to serve one country at the expense of the other. The Hon. and Learned Gentleman had told them that last year it was proposed to raise the Irish newspaper stamps ; but why could he not have left that question as it was? The pre sent Government had not so much as alluded to that mea sure. On the contrary, they had preserved a most reli lions silence with respect to it. Why, then, had the Hon and Learned Gentleman, in the warmth of his not declamation—(A .lam,h)—raked up this matter? Why, after working on the feelings of the Irish against the pre sent Government, had he forbade them flying for refuge to the last Government ?—(Laughter, and cheers.) The • last Government would hays actually increased that duty ; the present Government, on the contrary, left it as it was. Where, then, was the complaint? Where was the dissa tisfaction? But he supposed that here they were to find the reciprocity of the Hon. and Learned Gentleman—(A laugh)—for his complaint was not that the Government was going to raise the Irish duty, nor even that it was going to equalize the duties. Mr. NORTH explained. Mr. ROBINSON next addressed the House, but owing to the great disturbance iu the House it was impossible to catch his observations with any clearness. In his opinion, the Noble Lord proposed to hazard the interests of the Cape of Good Hope and Canada, without making sure of reaping any advantage from France or Norway, whose commerce they were benefitting. Had France shown the slightest disposition towards reciprocity since we had with drawn a portion of the duty on their wine? Had she not, on the contrary, persevered most resolutely in her former rule of commerce? He, therefore, contended that this country would do better to remain in its present situation till France manifested a disposition to reciprocate with us. --(Loud coughing and talking.)—lf he was not to heard, after all the declamation that had been delivered that the Hon. 0 11 f le t r h n e be is r y fur night, he would assert his privilege, and move the adjourn inlie thought his d defence adjourn ment of theu ieh debate. :) a Limerick (ML . . n Lord's statement ; for his argument seemed to be, that they ought to abandon the colonies in their difficulties, and trust to the chance of other countries.—(No, no.) — At present the kingdom of Portugal took our manufac tures to the amount of two millions sterling, at a duty of 15 per cent. less than the manufactures of any other country ; that kingdom also took from Newfoundland a I irge poi tion of the fish which was the staple commodity of that c olony. Now he would ask, was it not likely that Portugal, in answer to the proposed alteration of the Nobl e Lord, would assimilate the duties on these imposts? He should therefore take an opportunity in the Committee to combat the proposed alteration on wines and timber ; and he would now conclude by asking the Noble Lord a question ; namely, was it true fiat the boundary question between the United States and the English pos sessions in North America had been settled by the King of Holland ; and if so, how aeon was the public to be made aware of the decision ? Mr. W. DUNCOMBE agreed with the Right lieu. Gentleman (Mr. C. Grant) that the Hon. and Learned Gentleman (Mr. North) was a day after the fair in his speech. If, indeed, the Noble Lord had persisted in his measure with respect to the transfer of stock, the speech would have done ; but that Noble Lord having, with the manliness and consistency which belonged to his character, abandoned the scheme, he could not help thinking that the lion. and Learned Gentleman (notwithstanding his speech was prepared beforehand) might have abstained.—(Hear.) With respect to the repeal of the tax upon coals, he thought that it would be found of great advantage to the country at large, and particularly to those who were connected with the coast of Yorkshire. The principle by which the Noble Lord had declared himself to be actuated was, that of re moving taxation as much as passible front the productive industry of the country. A better principle than that was never laid down : and what the Noble Lord had done was good—it was only to be wished that he could have gone further. In particular, it was very desirable that the tax on soap should have been lowered, as it was of great im portance to the lower classes, both as regarded their clean liness and their health. When the Right lion. Gentleman (Mr. C. Grant) had stated that English Members felt sympathy for the affairs of Ireland, he (Mr. Duncombe) had:heen surprised to hear that denied by the Hun. Member for Clare (O'Gorman Mahon). He could, however, assure that lion. Gentleman, that he would never lend himself, directly or indirectly, to that measure which must be pre judicial to the interests of the nation, and be disadvantageous to the welfare of both countries. He did not apprehend that such a measure could ever succeed; but he would join the Noble Lord in his observation of a former evening, that he would rather have the dreadful alternative of a civil war than submit to so fatal a dismemberment of the empire. O'GORMAN MAHON said, that called upon as he had been by the lion. Member for Yorkshire, he could not refrain from addressing the limise. He thanked that Hon : Member for the sympathy he had professed for that country of which he (O'Gorman Mahon) was the repro sentative.—(A laugh.)—The Noble Lord, however, had declared that he would resort to civil war, which ea-- slimly was not a mode of diction most complimentary to Persons in his situation, when they were expecting sym pathy far their country. Ile was delighted with what had fallen from the Floe. and Learned Member for Drog heda (Mr. North), because he had shown the injustice of the proposed tax on poor Irish labourers cooling over to this country in steam-boats, for such was the object of this tax of half-a-crown a head on every person who tra velled in those conveyances above a certain number of mites. Now he did not suppose that many Hon. Mem bers were aware of the geographical position of Ireland, so far as to know that this tax implicated the Irish labourers.—(A laugh.)—He did not know why there should be a laugh at that, for it was not so very long ago that the Lord High Chancellor had told them in that House that he was able to look round and see many who could not count five on their fingers. Why, then, should not he (O'Gorman Mahon) suppose that the particular geographical situation of Ireland was unknown co same Hon. Gentlemen?—(Cries of " Oh, oh !")—He thanked them for their " Oh !" It was just with that same cry that Lord Brougham's observation had been received and he therefore felt highly complimented at being received in the same manner. Another reason why he was pleased with the speech of the Hon. and Learned Member for Drogheda was, that it declared him to be a staunch anti-Unionist.—(A laugh.)—Never again could the Hon. and Learned Gentleman raise his voice against the repeal of the Union ; never again could he be a supporter of the Bible Society—so abhorred by Ireland. He had in the early part of the evening listened to the cheer which had followed the statement of the Secretary for Ireland, when he declared that no compromise had taken place with respect to the legal proceedings that had been instituted there. lie was glad to hear that no com promise had taken place, for he should have been sorry to see any Government descend to a compromise of any kind. —(Hear, hear.)—At the same time lie congratulated the men on the other tide of the water on their having re turned a plea of guilty, for it was their only resoarce.— (Cheers and laughter.)--He expected another cheer when he finished his sentence. He said that they had no other resource—being prosecuted under a penal Act, which had been designated by the now Ministerial side of that House, by the present Lord High Chancellor, and by the present Premier, as bad, penal, unjust, and unconstitutional: they had no other resource, for they had to deal with a Jury not chosen by the people, but picked out by the Sheriff, how he pleased and where lie pleased—(Cries of " No, no !")—this Jury, too, to be backed with the declaration of the Noble Lord, that though Mr. O'Con nell's speeches always began by recommending peace, they ended with what would bring rebellion and sedition. Under these circumstances, he again said, that they had only to enter their plea cif guilty, for they could expect no justice after such a declaration, z.r.tl with a Jury who would not give them fair play.—(Cries of " Question.")—Gentlemen had spoken of the East and West Indies, and there had been no cry of question—they had spoken of the difference be tween a halfpenny and a penny, and there had been no cry of question--why, then, was question to be called when he spoke of Ireland—a country that they called their sister, and professed to wish still to be united with? The Mon. Gentleman then concluded by observing, that the growth of tobacco in Ireland ought to have full justice al lowed it, for if its seed was to be taxed before it was put into the ground, as the produce of the seed was pounced upon by the parson to support a church which might be considered a blessing here, but whi c h was ca ll e d a curse i n Ireland, it would be in vain to hope that the growth would prosper. Mr. ATTWOOD contended that the Noble Lord might have proceeded with his tax on the transfer of stock with out any rupture of the public faith. The only question was, whether it was just to put a tax upon funded pro perty which was common to all the other property of the country ; and he would ask whether there was any other property in this country that could be transferred with out paying duty ? In fact, the stamp duty, which was a most important portion of the revenue, chiefly arose from the transfer of property ; and why should not the funds be available in their due proportion for an object which acted as their own protection ?—(Hear.) The Right lion. Baronet below him (Sir R. Peel) had spoken at great length on this tax being a . violation . of the national faith, but tt li hi e oan l t i s a l idoofbuefsaeein.t faith i other viola tions sanctioned by Ilme'Vnuhtcelon' on this flagrantt ß o l i l c a w v sheinapaned by the House, which repeated and reiterated the inju s ti ce o f t h e Restric tion A c t of 1797, and carried it to its full extent, the Right Hon. Baronet quite forgot the national faiih. He then said not one word on the subject. The alteration that it made in:all money contracts was great, and was ad mitted at the time to be at least live per per cent. The difficulti e s it caused could not be estim a t e d ; b ut w i t h t h e knowl e dge of those difficulties --which were admitted by Mr. Ricardo, who acknowledged that he had under-esti nis,ted the depreciation : and were also admitted by the lion. Member for Darsetshire, who had taken part in pro moting that measure, to have been very great, the altera tion2o s being oj at first t .o pe stated rcent., at t 4. per r evencent., at a et: id amount afterwards which at teas r evenquite uncertain, but the unfortunate consequences of which were still in operation—to that measure the Right lion. Baronet did not make one objection as a violation of the national faith. Let the Noble Lot d then console h i msel f , for his measures did not deserve, on that account, the same amount of co n d emnat i on as t h e measures which had pre cede d them, and been sanctioned by the Right lion. Baronet, who now opposed the measures of the Noble Lord. Certainly he thought the Noble Lord's measures, at a peri o d w h en everyt hi ng was i n a state of uncertainty, when Europa. was in a diturbed state, and discontent prevailed in England, were at least ill-timed. He agreed with them in their desire to main tain peace, and wished it to be preserved, if that could be done with honour ; but it h a d not b een yet di scovere d t h at the best way to maintain peace was to be unprepared for war. lie trusted that the Ministers, in proclaiming their desire to preserve peace, and their readiness to preserve it at ally r easonable saciifice, would not forget what was due to the honour of the cou n t ry . H e truste d t h at t h e N o ble Lord wou ld weigh well the difficulties of the country abroad, and prepare himself for war, and that the country would be exhibited t o t h e worl d i n suc h an att it u d e as t o dread i t o hostility, and be prepared to meet it when it was necessary to maintain our honour and our security.— (Hear.) He was sorry t o see t h a t th e Ministers did not pursue the wise course of a d o pti ng an inquiry into the difficulties of the country, and the means of removing them . He was sorry to see them pursu i ng a course and introducing measures which, in the present circumstances of the country, could yield it no benefit, and would pro duce a great deal of disappointment and mortification, of which they would be the victims. The country required a change of system, and looked for comprehensive mea sures ; and the Noble Lord would find himself mistaken if he supposed th at a deduction of 300,000 1 . from an ex penditure of 50 ,000,000/. would satisfy the country.— That, too,. was to b e atten d e d w i t h a v i o l at i on o f t h e na tional faith or a defalcation of the revenue, and how was the revenue to be preserved from future defalcations ? In the first part of the Noble Lord's speech, be spoke as if he had an abundant Exch -- oier, and bad no other object in view than to relieve the industrious people from their burdens ; but what a different spectacle did his speech exhibit at the end ? At first, he took off taxes; but at the end he put them on. Then the scene was changed, and he could not but admire the adroitness of the Noble Lord, which was not surpassed by that of Mr. Pitt, in finding out and imposing new taxes. What worthless labour was here ! What industry thrown away ! What toil, without an object ! What change, without a motive ! A change, too, that could not be completed, that was not to be completed, and that could only end in mortification; it could have no beneficial result. The country was against the change of taxes, and it could not be carried itvo effect ; it was against any taxes that were to be put on any part of trade, with which it was the duty of every Government not rashly to meddle.—(Hear, hear.) Ac cording to the information which he had received, all trade was at a stand._(Hear, bear.) People naturally suspended their operations till they knew what taxes were to be taken off, and what put on. The Noble Lord said he meant to take the tax off glees—did that manufacture, then, labour under any serious oppression ? He be lieved not, nor did lie believ e that any immediate benefit would result from taking off the tax. It was one of which no individual complained. Glass, it was now expected, was to be exported in large quantities, but that would be at a distant period. The stream of prosperity would not flow quite so fast as as the Right Hon. Mem ber, the Vice-President of the Board of Trade, supposed. But the conduct of the Government was to him extraor dinary and inconceivable, for it exposed the cotton-manu facture to the same disadvantage of which it relieved g ass. There was already a drawback on glass, and this was all that could be given to cotton.: The Government had taken the tax off raw silk, not for 'fiscal purposes, but to encourage the manufacture, and now they imposed a tax on cotton, so that one was to be encouraged, and the other discouraged. Ministers were walking in one eter nal round of tilling changes, and were sporting with the best interests of the community. The Noble Lord had himself admitted that timber was not a fit object for taxa tion, yet he bad increased the tax on timber. Why did lie do that ? Was it to give employment to our own people ? The Hon. Member for Bridport, who was an authority on this subject, did not think it would have any such effect. He must argue against the political economists, and against the Hon. Member on another subject. The Hon. Mem ber said, that the growths of tobacco ought to be prohi bited in Ireland, because it could not be grown without a bounty; but surely, if it could not be grown without a bounty, there was no reason for prohibiting it. In his opinion, it was a strange policy which would not al low the land and labour of the empire to supply the home market. Whether it was the result of fiscal regula tions, or of any other, the people were not now free to dispose of their labour and produce. Let them be free to do that, and much of the present clamour would be done away ; let, he said, our own markets be opened to the pro duce of our land and labour. There remained only one other tax on which he should say a few words, that was the tax on steam passage boats. If that tax were imposed its a time of great emergency, be should protest against it as a most objectionable tax. It would press with more severity on an important branch of our industry than any tax which had been taken off. It was a measure which, in his opinion, was more hostile to sound policy, in the present circunotancee, than any which could be conceived. The art of steam navigation was yet in its infancy, but there could be no doubt that it was destined to become a most important branch of the national wealth, and a powerful arm of war. Hitherto unprotected, but un taxed, it had produced those engaged in it little advantage, and on these accounts it was one of the last things that ought to be subject to a tax. If any branch of national industry deserved, on account of its importance, to be en couraged by a bounty, steam navigation was that branch ; and there was scarcely a power in Europe which was not giving bounties and encouragements to raise its steam navigation on a par with ours.—(Hear.)—America, Russia, France, Holland, were all encouraging that art, and were using all their means to increase this as a means both of traffic and of war, which made it indis peneible that we should keep our steam-boats up to the highest possible point. The tax would operate most mis chievously in narrowing the market for Ireland. He had been informed by an individual at Liverpool, that he brought over 80,000 persons from Ireland in one year, and carried as many as 80,000 back. He knew it was said to be desirable to keep the Irish out of England, but while the two countries were united, the Legislature had no right to obstruct the Irish in bringing their labour to the English market. There was little demand for it at home, and there was more here than there, and here they had a right to come. This was levying a tax on an ob ject that ought never to be taxed—it was taxing the wages of labour—it was taxing the rags and the potatoes of the poor Irish labourers, and he could describe it in no other terms than as toe most oppressive tax that ever entered the head of man. Whom did it affect here ? Why the humble tradesman and his family, who found pleasure, amusement, and health, in escaping by these cheap and easy conveyances from the dense atmosphere and crowded streets of London. It would be better to invent a tax for staying in the metropolis—better to find out some plan for driving away some of the people occasionally, than invent a tax to make them remain here all the year round. These were his views. He considered the mea sures unworthy of the Noble Lord, and not adapted to the state of the country. They would find no recommenda tion in the public sentiment, none in the desire for economy and retrenchment ; they were unworthy to meet the difficulties, and would not secare the support of the country.—(Hear, hear) Mr. SHAW could not refrain from making an observa tion on what the Member for Clare said of Dublin Juries. If the Hon. Member for Waterford were in the House, he would repudiate the sentiments of the Hon. Member for Clare, for be had frequently expressed his confidence in a Dublin Jury. Never was there a fairer Jury empanelled than the Dublin Jury, and the Hon. Member for Chars had cast improper reflections on the character of men with whom he was utterly unacquainted. Mr. HUNT had listened for six hours to the debate, and five of them had been wasted in the discussion of sub-, jests that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had given up in the first ten minutes.—(Hear, hear.)—Hon. Menthe's had probably come down expecting the Chancellor of the Exchequer would persiq in his plans.—(No, no.)—lle was ashamed that the time •should be so wasted. The House had not discussed the plans of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, but the question if the national faith were preserved or broken. That might be interesting within that House ; but out of doors the people would have settled it in five minutes, by the toss up of a halfpenny ; for the public care nothing about it, It was one Act of Parliament repealing anothee, and he had al ways understood that the Parliament could do what it pleased, and who was to say it tiny? He had heard that the House could vote black to be white ; and be remem bered when it voted thut a one-pound note that was worth fourteen shil:ings and a shilling was equal to a guinea that was worth twenty-seven shillings.-_(A 1 iugh.) He thought it would be a wise regulation to revise all the laws as they slid in America, once in seven years; for he did not know why the last generation should make laws for this generation, or why we should make laws for pos terity. According to the doctrine he had that night heard every repeal of a law was a breach of national faith, which was an absurdity, The public would be delighted with the repeal of the tax on coals, which would show the la bouring classes that the House meant to relieve them. The repeal of the tax on calicoes would be received with plea sure for the same reason. The repeal of the duty on newspapers was also very good. He hoped, however, that the Government would not persist in levying a duty of a penny per pound on cotton, which would amount to a tax of 25 per cent. on low-priced cotton;, and not above one or two per cent. on high-priced cottons : it would be in jurious to the labouring poor, and he hoped that an ad valorem tax: would be substituted for it. The Hon. Member expressed himself unfavourable to the repeal of the duty on the disgusting weed tobacco; and said that we could not walk the streets without having tobacco puffed into our faces, nor get into a stage coach without encountering some whiskered dandy smoking a cigar.— (Hear, hear, hear.) He was glad that the Noble Lord had altered this part of his plan. As to the duty on glass, so it seemed of no u to the peopl e t o t a k e t h at off, as long as the tax was left on windows, which would prevent them using glass. The nibbling away at taxes, however, would not satisfy the country, though it might that House. The present Government had pledged itself to retrench ment and Reform, but ita retrenchments were not equal to what had been effected by the late Government, The late Government repealed the Test and Corporation Act; it passed the Relief all, which he had always denounced, because it was accompanied by a measure for disfranchising the forty-shilling freeholders ; and it had passed the Bill for giving the people free trade in beer. He thanked the late Ministers for these measures. Some people said it was not beneficial ; but in his late excursions through the un Question, question)—he wished to state that country—(Question, effect of this Bill was, in Hampshire and Wiltshire, ' that all the barley was bought up, and the maltsters could not make malt fast enough to make beer for the people.— (Hear.) ----It was said that the people were injured by these 8i11,,--(Question.)—lf be was not to be beard he should wove the adjournment before twelve o'clock—he Would ertainly do hat twelve. He 1 rled that it had promoted intoxication among the peopl e , an d h e h a d seen f ewer drunken people in his late journey than for the last twenty years. With respect to all the reductions, the country, he was sure, would not be, and ought not to be, satis fied. The Government would be obliged to come to a graduated property tax, which had b en several times mentioned and not yet censured by a ny M em b er of the House.—( Hear, hear ! Question, q uestion.)—That wis the question.—(Order, order.)—With respect t o th e tax on steam, it was the first time, he believed, that any lax had been proposed on machinery; and he hoped and trusted that it would not be persevered in, fir it would he a great injury to the people, and in fact, a serious griev ance to the working classes. It was necessary to look abroad--and did the House bhitik these trifling reductions would satisfy the people ? when at a meeting at Hastings, a Baronet, and lately a Member of Parliament, had de clared that the people would not pay taxes unless their grievances were redressed.—(Question, question. )—Was not that the question ? He was determined not to be coughed down ; and if Hon. Members wished to cough him down, he would move the adjournment that inst ,nt. —(No, no--question question.)—" I move, S;r," said Mr. Hunt, " that this House do now adjoin No, no.) It I am not to be heard, Hon. Members shall net put isle down, as I move that this House do now adjourn " Mr. WARBURTON seconded the motion.—(" No.") After a few words from Sir JOSEPH YORK E, Mr. HUNT withdrew his motion for an adjournment. The Hon. Member was proceeding to resume his Cornier speech, when he was called to order. The SPEAKER—The Hen. Member Lad withdr,e.vn his motion, and he could not speak again on that question which was before the House.—(Laughter.) Mr. HUNT could assure the House that h. lu l gi eat pleasure in sitting down. - Mr. HERRIE - S rose merely to ask the Noble Lord op posite for information on a single point. The Noble Lord had said that a part of his financial plan was to equal'ze the duties on Portuzuese, Spanish, and other wilies. lie (lid not mean to make any observations en th,.. fact, hut he wished to ask what proceedings, if any, had taken pktre with reference to that treaty between this country and Por tugal, which prohibited such an equalization ? He abstained from the slightest remark on the policy of the step ; but it had been suggested to him front several quarters, in which a deep interest was taken with respect to the trade between this country and Portugal, that it was desirable to obtain some communication as to the point whether the provisions of the Methuen treaty, which stipulated that the same preference should be given to our woollen goods in Portugal as was given in this country to the Por tuguese wines, were to be altogetlr r abandon,d. The House was well aware that the Methuen treaty, which was concluded in 1703, refeared almost solely to wines and woollens. By an article of the treaty concluded with Portugal iu 1810. the treaty of 1703 was continued " for the present ;" and it was provided that, at the expiration of fi'teen years, either party was to be at liberty to revise the articles of the treaty. It had always been understood by , the Government of.this country, that at the expiration of fifteen years after the conclusion of the treaty of 1810 —or in other words, alter 1825—they had the power of intimating to Portugal that it was their intention to revise the treaty. What he wished to ask was, v. liether any steps had been taken to communicate to Portugal the in tention of his Maj,sty's Government to adopt, instanter, the course which the Noble Lord had on Friday evening described ? Lord PALMERSTON stated, in answer to the Right Hon. Gentleman, that no steps such as he !sad alluded to had been taken, bee iuse none were necessary. If the Right Hon. Gentleman would look inure attentively at the treaty in question, he would see that such was the fact. By the treaty of 1703, it was stipulated that Portugal would thenceforward abstain from prohibiting the introduction into that country of the woollens of England, on condition that England would permit the importation of the wines of Portugal at a third less duty than the wines of other countries ; provided always, that if England varied in the duty on the wines, Portugal might do what she liked with regard to English woollens. The treaty, therefore, left England free to continue, or not, the preference to the wines of Portugal ; with the understanding, that if she did not continue that preference, Portugal might act as she thought fit with regard to English woollens. The treaty of 1810 stipulated that she provisions of the treaty of 170:3 as to wines and woollens, should remain unaltered. Un altered, therefore, they were ; and the option which the treaty of 1703 contained was still reset ved. A s ti l t , quent article of the treaty of 1810 said, that after the expiration of fifteen years, it should be competent to either party to vary or alter the provisions of the treaty ; but in his (Lord Palmerston's) view of the case, no alterations were necessary to jnstify the step which his Noble Friend proposed to take ; because the stipula. tions of the original treaty gave this country an option on the subject ; Mr. HERRIES asked whether, then, it was understood that Portugal was not to receive our woollens ? Lord PALMERSTON said they might decline them. Mr. HER RIES observed that they probably would do so. Mr. ROBINSON wished to know whether the deci sion had been completed with resbect to the boundary in America between our possessions and those of the United States ; and, if so, whether there was any objection to the production of that decision. - Lord PALMERSTON (as we understood the N(,ble Lord) answered, that the decision had been come to, and was on its way to the President of the United States ; and that there was no objection to its production. The resolutions of the Committee we: e then agreed to. VESTRY BILL Mr. HOBHOUSE moved the Order of the Day for the second reading of the Bill fur the better Regulation of Vestries. After a few words from Mr. Ross, Mr. Alder man WIN CHESTER, and Mr. WA RBURTON, Mr. HOBIIOUSE said that the Bill had been two years in agitation—that the principle of it was known to all ; and that he would rather go to the vote at once than poo . - pone it. Sir R. PEEL expressed his conviction that not one fourth of the Members had read the Bill. Lord ALTLIORP also recommended that it should be postponed. Mr. HOBIIOUSE said, as there seemed to he a gene ral wish to postpone the second reading of the Bill, he had no alternative. He would therefore move the second reading on Thursday. SMUGGLING IN IRELAND. Lord ALTHORP moved for leave to bring in a Bill to prevent the smuzgling of whisky and malt in Ireland. The Noble Lord observed that it would be better to punish the offence by fines, rather than as a misdemeanour ; and that it would be more conducive to the object in view that the offenders should be tried at the Petty Sessions in , tead of in higher Courts.—Leave granted. GENERA FAST. Mr. PERCEVAL was about to address the House upon a subject, with no other encouragement than a strong sense of the duty which he owed to his God and his country. He bad but one claim upon them, but it was one which be had frequently found effective—he meant the name he bore.—(Hear, hear, hear.)—lt was his greatest earthly comfort, and his greatest earthly boast.—(Hear, hear, hear.)—There was no individual within those walls who was so completely the debtor of Lis country as himself. dad it not been for ti e great munificence of Parliament, and the still greater favour of his Sovereign, he should not now be in a situation to address the House at ail. If, therefore, convinced as he was of the imminent danger of his country, and c,easinced as he was that there was but one wok of deliverance open to her, he were to be induced by any per onal motive to abstain from expressing his opinion upon the subject, he should be hoer than the basest thine; that was trodden under foot. Ile was convinced of this one fact, and on that fact he founded his just.ficatiun of the course ho was adopting ; namely, that in hia mind the whole country was in a state of disorganization. There was no attachment on the part of the people to their rulers. There was no mutual confidence between the differ, nt classes of the community. For the former connection be tween the employed and the employer, distrust and fear bad been substituted, Our ancient and venerable institu tions, formerly so beloved, were viewed with hatred and aversion, Signs of decay every where presented them selves. The tok,ns of disorder, and perhaps of destruc tion, every where apparent, ought to make us look up to the Great Ruler, and bethink ourselves how we stood with Him who disposed of the destinies of kingdoms as to Him seemed lie. In his (Mr. Percerars) opinion, great struggles, great convulsions, were inevitable all over the world. Under such circumstances we ought to lack at home, and see how little ground there was for security-- how much for fear and trembling. Great iniquities were everywhere rife and rampant. He called on the House to consider these things, He called upon them to reflect how deeply those things must offend the giver of all benefits. Were we like our fathers; or was that spit it of piety which distinguished them gone from us? In urging upon th House th necessity of humiliation for sin and intercession fOr mercy, he felt bound to show that his conviction of that necessity did not proceed from any exaggerated no tions of his own ; but that his opinions were those of some of the ablest and best of men. He would now read some extracts to the House front the works of eminent mec,. He then rod extracts from various work', some s pparetly