The Sun. — London, England, 1830-03-24 00:00:00

'r i. 'eft of lotion, i that Dr the ement. t. and unless demi') nity to Easter. r; but as de bet. to CHAN— anitely 7range.- notice House. nn the ighant r for a 11 WAS rr Ca be aye ittaing praya4 tithefrr part of ing by ly that ight be e ting by pose,it. ion vas eras Ter hipping al Law. [undred alaining low the House, omnut a roads. • runty of livened, fined of. and it ng that Jr great Parlia a viers he vast to the ring the some of y again which :red the 5 rather ny con ,CCUT on 3overn- leration, better. peetabi nred in t. He )te the ining of ) reduce inhabi- to Noble utention , moved 1 on the e yew, Its con- n New may be lel Mil rn of a )n from nd prac. v might iti(l that. his only as, that le other 4 which o move, ) amend said, on to allow e of the ped that in that the suc- Thomas e Bar of I for the iold five alleged, :upation Rut for tter en- algid the :lawn at, I prapa l , 1140414. DISTRESS OF THE COUNTRY. The Debate on this subject was then resumed. Mr. O'CONNELL said he felt that some apology was due to the House for having been one of the persons who t sttaoted this deb a te beyond the third evening ; but he tl an a Pebgy and a strong one, in the sense of the duty be owed his constituents, and in the conviction that the Su bject ihould not be disposed of without their being made siollainted With the great and unusual distress of the people Of Ireland. Th e mem b ers o f t h at ki ng d om were more than O ne.rseventh of the whole of the }louse; but yet, with the e ze,eption of the Hon. Member for Louth (Mr. L. r os te. ‘), not one of them had said a word on the question. He avowed that, as he felt it his duty, so he should make it his object to support one of the motions for inquiry. A plain case had been made out for inquiry. Although he thought that the original metion was the more dignified and useful, yet, if any good reason appeared for preferring the amendment, lie was prepared to vote for that. His reasons for supporting inquiry were these :—lt was gene rally admitted that there was very great distress in Eng land. That fact had been admitted by the Right Hon. secretary of State ; and it was impossible to controvert it, unless it could be proved that the petitions, greater in number * than had ever before been presented to the House, were -a mass of misrepresentation. It was also alleged that them was distress in Scotland ; not so great as in England —but still Of awful magnitude. That there was distress in Ireland was e quallyindisputable. Early in the Session he had made th atostatetnent. It had not since been contradicted ; but,osethe contrary, had been confirmed. He had declared that there was great distress in Dublin, in Cork, and in Bandon ; and to these he was sorry to say that he was now able to add, in Drogheda, in Newry, and in Kilkenny. He had declared, and the declaration was but too well established, that in Ireland hundreds and thousands of the people Were in a state of starvation. The entire agri cultural population of Ireland (and in Ireland the Population was almost solely agricultural) was in the deepest distr eta ; except in those spots in which the Wheat firrraers had more than usually goo d crops last year. The ,l co ndition of the graaieg counti es o f Ireland was such ''` a t 'Attie than purchased a twelvemonth age, were sold for _ „. they cost, so that all the expethr . e2Oftheir food for Jut period was sacrificed. Th e on ly Ireah Member who had spoken in this discussion was the Right Hon. Mem ber for Louth, who had been pleased to say that although in though in particular in s t ances h e (M r . O'Connell) was right i n his statem en t o f di s t ress i n Ireland, yet tha t the general rule was the other way. He (Mr. O'Connell) had, how ever, waited in vain to hear some proofs of this asse r ti on . The Right Hon..- Gentleman had been seeking for informa tion with respect - to the alleged distress ia Ireland. Now . there were two Classes of persons who sought for informa tion. The one who sought where it was to he found, and the other who sought for where it was not to be found. The -Right Hon. Gentleman ranked among the latter. He inquired respecting the condition of the people from the Receivers of the Court of Chancery. Now it was well known that in the collection of rents those receivers received only one half-year - within the other. At the time, therefore, at which the Right Hon. Gentleman made his inquiry, they were only receiving the rents for May ; and consequently could know nothing with respect to the abi lity of the tenants to pay the rent which had subsequently become due. They might fairly say, therefore, that there was then no arrear. But the inference which he drew from that circumstanc e was the reverse of that drawn from it by the Right Hon. Gentleman. The Right Hon. Gentleman then talked of something which he called prosperity at Belfast. It turned out, however, that this summed prosperity was founded on the fact that some Persons in the county of Lowth were earning the enormous sum of four shillings a-week by weaving for the Belfast Inanufaeturers. What was the case, however, at Drogheda, and at Newry? From Drogheda he (Mr. O'Connell) had Presented a petition, declaring that out of 16,000 persons, 8 ,000 were destitute of the means of subsistence. In Newry also, the distress was, to his knowledge, extensive. rt Was thus clear, that there was great distress in England s-that there was great distress in Ireland-411 1 E14W veils great distress in Scotlaie= He called "O r nqlft.alliloll i nquire into th a t distress :'" He must not'A !fin! I ' Committee had been already appointed:',*!POAW into the state o f I re l an d. Th e Committee appoit!leWh.§ Only to inquire into the condition of the not to inv es tigate the general distress-of thel,e;o, not to ascertain how the property of the industrio, IMAes had been taken from them by an enhancement of the value of the currency, and by other causes. The character of the present distress in Ireland was this :—On former occa sions, when the artisans and manufacturers of that country were distressed, and expecially when that sickly exotic, the silk manufacturer, was distressed, abundant funds were collected by public benevolence for the purpose of afford ing relief. In the present year, however, instead of as formerly collecting fifteen, sixteen, or twenty thousand pounds in Dublin, the whole sum collected was 3,500/., of which the Lord Lieutenant had contributed 500/. This was .a proof that the distress was of a character which stopped the sources of charity, and prevented the benevolent from rendering their benevolence available. This was a new feature in the state of Ireland. Under all these circumstances, the people had a right to ask the House to endeavour to relieve them. For what pur pose were they sent there ? Not merely to vote large sums of money for the maintenance of our army and navy. If they were unable to inquire into the distresses of the peo ple, why did they not. abdicate a post to which they ac knowledged themselves incompetent ? It was a confession of their deficiency either in intellect or in honesty. Now he by no means wished to calumniate the House. He was sure that no party in that House would abstain from affording relief to the people if they knew how to afford it- He was sure that neither those who delighted in the name of Whigs, nor those who thought themselves ho noured by the appellation of Tories, nor the small and sa cred band of Radical Reformers—(A laugh)—to which he boasted of belonging, were deficient in inclination to relieve distress. But was it not proper that an inquiry should be entered into to ascertain how far that general inclination could be gratified. If it were impossible to relieve the people, at least let them not be disappointed of the.hoped-for inquiry. The refusal to enter into an inquiry into the distresses of the people afforded a strik ing contrast to the manner iu which the French Par liament had recently behaved under similar circum stances. In their answer to the Speech with which the Xing opened the Sessions, that illustrious assembly, Which had since had the honour of being separated be cause it had,declared its determination to vindicate its in dependence -.-(gear, hear, hear)—thus expressed itself : " The reduction of the public revenue which your Ma jesty has announced is a symptom of an afflicting nature; we shall do all in our power to investigate the cause of the distress which it announces.”—(Hear, bear, hear.) — This was a specimen of the real representation of the people which existed in France; a representation con nected with no oligarchy—with none of those higher, those towering stems, which were secure from the storms that blew OR the humble shrub and withered it in its low liness. But should it be said that the gentlemen of Eng land, of Ireland, and of Scotland were not equally willing to inquire what relief could he given to the distressed po pnlation of those countries? Would they abstain from all efforts, and wait patiently on the strand until the tide shoild come in and float the grounded vessels? Would they leave that to chance which ought to be subjected to the dominion of an over-ruling intelligence? The propo sition the first for inquiry had b een r es i s t e d on var i ous groun d s. I n place, the Vice-President of the Board dof Trade i 4 t hat en Governor had already afforded the people relief y taking off taxation. He (Mr. O'Connell) could not however, concur in the opinion of the Right Hon. Gen tleman that sueL., _w as of taxes were . a su ffi cient relief. Three millions Iffiataken off the people of England ; but then they Were not to be taken off until October. It was an odd species of relief to tell the sufferers that if they sur vbeievedr c until the month of October, they should then drink heap. So much for thep eople of England ; but what was to be said to the people of Ireland ? From the taxationi of the , people of Ireland the Chancellor of the leatherxcur had taken off 30 or 40,000/. in the shape of f „. d uty. It was well done; and as far as it went Righ "" e r el o l em nell) was_ grateful for it. But then the Gentleman had added 110,000/. on stamps, and 20,000/., o r go o on spirits. If, therefore, the Vice-President of ;110e0BLoard of Trade's principle, that to diminish the taxat io inish their distress n , of the p eop l e o f E ng l an d was to that to increase the tour a good to increase their distress. • onTioif principle, it followed the people of Ireland was impracticable to bear their e people of Ireland found it y tese i n t t weight of distress ; and to make them go, more easfl them carry double.—(n. ..ear.)w as Arr o arn s tir d ab to le ' t a n Hie countrymen were said to be of sucha happy tempera meat, that they laughed at distress ; the Right Gentleman seemed determined that they should have enough to laugh at. The lion. Member for Newark, whose talents he respected, and whom he was sorry to hear ridiculed by an Hon. Gentleman opposite—( Hear).— had denounced the opinions of the Right Hon. Gentleman on that subject. He (Mr. O'Connell) would not use so strong a word as 'denounce; hut he would proclaim that to diminish the distress of England by diminishing the taxation, while we increased the distress of Ireland by in creasing the taxation, was a measure of which the Irish people bad just cause loudly to complain. It bad been said in that House that Ireland was not taxed so much as she ought to be, in proportion to England. That he denied. Calculating the rental of both countries, he main tained that Ireland, even in paying the four millions which she did pay, was burdened with more than her proportion. Let it be recollected that from four to seven millions of her rental were sl:ent out of the country. Let it be re collected that she was taxed above a million annually by Grand Jury Presentments and Vestry Cesses. Did he want to abolish taxation in Ireland ? No. What he wanted was inquiry. And was he to be refused, lest the result of that inquiry might be unpleasant to this country, because it would be salutary to Ireland? The principal opposition which the motion had met with was from the Secretary of State for the Home Department. His speech was luminous—the talents of the Right Hon. Gentleman of course rendered it so; but it was Aso humorous. The misery of Ireland had been considered a fit subject for mirth in that House. The spectacle had been presented at one and the same time of perishing artisans and labourers, a facetious Privy Councillor, and a laughing Legislature. —(Herr.) For his own part, that which entertained others filled him with sorrow. He should have preferred hearing the people told that they should not receive relief, and even that no inquiry should be made into the cause of their distress, in the sepulchral tones of the undertaker, rather than with a merriment of manner fit for another stage. After a triumphant reply on the part of the Right Hon. Secretary of State to the Hon. Member for Liverpool, he placed the objections to the motion on two grounds —grounds, indeed, which had been over and over again repeated in the course of the debate. The first was, the fear lest the inquiry might be suffered to un settle the principles of free trade; the second was, the fear lest it should compromise the eternal fixity of the currency. For his part, he (Mr. O'Connell) thought that we had not enough of either of these matters; that we had not enough of free trade, and that we had not enough of currency. The Vice President of the Board of Trade, in advocating the principles of free trade, had said very justly that it was the interest of every country to buy wherever it could obtain a commodity at the cheapest rate. True. But why did the Right Hon. Gentleman forget corn ? What article was there which it was so desirable the people should buy cheaply as bread ? To talk of the principles of free trade, and to maintain the corn laws, was absurd and inconsistent. What right had the Right Hon. Gentleman to tax the Hon. Member for Newark with inconsistency, when he himself advocated the principles of free trade ; yet, before lie sat down, interpose his shield before the corn laws ?—(Hear, hear.)—Then came a Gallant Officer, who talked of the advantages of low wages and low prices. But to be advantageous they must be universal. Let the Gallant Officer repair to the levee-room of an Illustrious Field Marshal in full pay, and talk to him of the advantage of low wages.—( Hear, hear.)—lt was a little too much to tell the poor of the advantages of low wages, when they were starving upon them. The Gallant Officer might find that the commendation of low wages was not always so safe a doctrine as it was in the House of Com mons. When that Gallant Officer led his columns against the enemy, no man could do his duty more bravely or better. But if the Gallant Officer were to draw up his regiment in a hollow square, and talk to the soldiers of the advantages of low wages, it was not very likely that he would produce conviction, but it was very likely that lie would produce a mutiny.—(Hear, hear, hear, and a laugh.)—The people would feel deeply and long any haughty refusal to go into an inquiry with a view to ascertain how far it might be practicable to relieve them. With respect - to free trade, therefore, it appeared that if there was any difference between himselfand the oppOnents of the motion, it was that they thought that those princi ples had been carried far enough, and that he did not think so. He pressed those principles as a reason for inquiry. He wished it to be ascertained whether an extension of the principles of free trade might not alleviate the distress of the people. Then it was said that the currency was fixed and settled, and could not be altered. He utterly denied that the currency was settled. In fact, it was 'anything but settled. There was one kind of currency in England, another kind in Scotland, and a third kind in Ireland. iThere was one banking system in England, another in: Scotland, and a third -in- Ireland. With • these etithevariations, to tell the people that the currency was fixed and settled, was to tell them that at which they would laugh. It might be right that the currency should be fixed ; but in order to fix it they ought to go into an inquiry to ascertain which of the three systems was the best. Let him not be accused of a disposition to run into a wilderness of worthless rags : he wished for no such thing. But he called on the House to deliberate on the present state of the currency. Some Honourable Gentlemen had talked of the spoliation which would ensue, if, after eleven years, an alteration were made in all the bargains concluded in that time, by introducing a change in the circulating medium. The reasoning of these Honourable Gentlemen was good, but their premises were false. With equal justice might it be asserted,sby other Hon. Gentle men with reference to England and Scotland, as he as serted, with reference to Ireland, that the change of a paper currency into a gold currency had violated all the contracts which had been made since 1797,-as all those contracts had been made in a paper currency. Since he had been in that House, he bad several times heard the middlemen in Ire land traduced. He was quite prepared, however, to stand up in their defence. They mitigated the evils of absen teeism ; they gave employment to the labouring poor. In the year 1798 they formed the -yeomanry cavalry of Ire land, and prevented the Revolution of France from spread ing to that country. If it had so spread, what he would ask, would now have been the value of the English funds and of English property ? What was the consequence to those individuals of the change which had taken place in the currency ? That they, the most industrious members of the community, who had laid out their property in va rious ways for the improvement of the land, were robbed and deprived of the advantages to which they were enti tled, which advantages were given to persons who were not entitled to them. By that change in the currency, the clergy (whose emoluments were settled by no fewer than five Tithe Composition Acts) were in many cases in Ire land receiving a fifth where they ought only to receive a tenth. The difficulties of what was called equitable ad justment had, he thought, been exaggerated ; at least, he denied that in Ireland the complication which prevented it Wes as great as had been supposed. He was thoroughly convinced that much misery had been occasioned in Ire land by the change which had already taken place ; and it was surely desirable to inquire whether that misery might not be alleviated by another change. Let the first instruction to the Committee be to report upon the banking system. The country was told that the recent law on the currency would be useful to future generations, though it inflicted present evils.; but, for his part, he must confess that he disliked these experiments upon human nature. What was this but the Jacobinical arguments used in the French Revolution—what signified 20,000 heads, or making 20,000 widows and orphane, if the sacrifice had the prospect of making a millenium for the next generation ? All he argued for was inquiry, and no changes that were not the result of mature deliberation. The country were not to be told that Government had nothing to give them but speeches for three or four nights, the objects of which were to delude them like children. Sir HUSSEY VIVIAN explained. Mr. O'CONNELL explained. Lord LEVESON GOWER had not intended to take any part in this discussion, but statements had teen made which he found it necessary to contradict. He admitted the existence of severe distress in this country and in Ire land. But there was at this moment a Committee sitting up stairs upon the subject of this distress, at the head of which was the Hon. Member for Limerick (Mr. S. Rice.) The whole question of inquiry was therefore virtually and actually disposed of. Were they to compare the present state of Ireland with that of any former period, it would be found that it never was more prosperous. • The pay ment of rents he did not consider quite conclusive; but, admitting, with the Hon. Member for Clare that this was a criterion of prosperity, he must state that all accounts he had received from Ireland led to his purpose, for at no period were the rents more punctually paid. And with regard to the commercial interests of the same country, he would ask whether there were any difficulty of obtaining money on fair security ? And this was not confined to any particular district, for, from the opportunities he had of knowing the state of the country, he could confidently as sert that in the north, the west, and the south of Ireland, the same feature of prosperity prevailed. He would ask the Hon. Member for Clare, who spoke of the stagnation of trade me that country, whether it was worse now than it was tea years ago? The p o p u l a ti o n w as ra pidly in creasing, and the improvements made in machinery by Watt were beginning to take effect in that country,—no slight proof, in his opinion, of the improvement of trade and commerce. On bis first visit to Ireland;in 1820, he hats a boyish zeal, for go he might call it, for the welCirt and improvement of that country. Since that lie had a duty imposed upon him, for which he was salaried by Go vernment, and Isis interest in the prosperity of Ireland still was the same, arid still would continue whether be was in an official situation or not. At that period he went in a Government packet, which was long detained by contrary winds, while steam-vessels belonging to private companies passed them with the greatest faciiity. The case was now different. Government, which generally lagged behind in improvements, had, at last, encouraged steam navigation, and in consequence of this, as well as of the increased traffic between the two countries, there issued now from the port of Dublin alone 35 steam-vessels, which could proceed in the most perfect calm, conveying goods and freight to the amount of 5,012 tons. He held a return in his hand, to which he called the attention of the Gallant Member for Liverpool. It was a return of the number of voyages made by vessels between Liverpool and Dublin, and from Dublin to Liverpool; and it ap peared from this report, that from 1824 to 1830, there had been 2 ; 017 voyages—the cabin passengers, who left Dublin for England, amounted to 12,771, while those who left Liverpool for Dublin, amounted to 14,388, making a balance of 1,617 in favour of Ireland. Bet what was a still more remarkable fact was, the great number of deck passengers who passed from Liverpool to Dublin. The number which left Liverpool amounted to 137,970, while those who left Dublin for Liverpool were only 116,625, making a balance in favour of Ireland of 21,345. The number of cattle which were shipped to this country from Ireland, by steam-vessels, was also a proof of the improvement in that country. The conclusion be drew from this was, to leave Ireland to her own mighty power, to benefit herself without instituting an inquiry which could have no practicable result. Leave that great measure—the settlement of the Catholic question—that moral panacea for Ireland, to work its own effect, and the result would prove what benefits it would confer on Ireland. Mr. BEAUMONT would prefer the amendment of the Hon. Baronet to the original motion, because the original motion, in his opinion, conveyed a censure on Ministers. He was willing to place confidence in Ministers, because, though they might not believe the distress so general or so great as it really was, they were willing to hear statements, and had already made a considerable reduction in taxation. with the view of benefitting the classes chiefly affected. He only regretted that the reduction was not greater. Mr. WM. PEEL admitted that there was distress, but he could not at the same time help thinking that a great deal of time bad been wasted in this discussion. His Ma jesty's Ministers had been blamed for not introducing some measures for the relief of the country, but what would be the result ? The Opposition would be quarrelling with them, and he was sorry to say it was much more easy to say what was not fit than what was. Let the Govern ment only come down with relief, and reduce the taxation. —(Hear.)—They had done so to a certain extent, and he trusted the circumstances of the country were such as to enable them to proceed in further reductions. He was glad that the state of Ireland was no longer such as to pre vent them, and thought some measure might be adapted with success to driVe home the absentee's from this country and Ireland, who went abroad only to learn awkward habits and ape the manners of foreigners. If a tax were laid ors their property, one million might be added to the Budget.—jlear, bear.)—The distress, he admitted, was general, but he hoped sincerely it would not lie permanent. Mr. IiEAUMONT explained. Sir THOMAS GOOCH wished to say a few words. A pledge had been given that still greater reductions would be made, and he hoped Ministers would redeem that pledge. He should vote against the Committee, because lie saw no advantage which it would produce for the country. The country was labouring under distress, but an inquiry would only lead to delusion, because the country would either be ruined or relieved before the Committee could come to any result. The selection of taxes to be reduced was judicious, but he should be glad to see the malt tax, the duty on sugar, and other taxes of a similar nature reduced. A modified property tax, too, he thought would be beneficial. —(Hear, Itear.)—A property tax of five per cent, would produce five millions, which, with additional economy, would enable Government to reduce taxes to a very con siderable amount. The Marquis of BLANDFORD could not refuse his consent to a motion which had for its object an inquiry into the distresses of the country. He was ❑nwilling that, by silence on such an occasion, he should be deemed insen sible to those distresses. He was of opinion that the only proper remedy to be adopted, under the present circum stances of the country, was to be found in a reduction of taxation to the amount of ten or twelve millions, accompa nied by a reduction of expense in all departments of the State. He also, for one, should consent to Government imposing a tax upon capital. If Ministers did not adopt such a course the people had but little to hope from their representatives in that House. They had nothing to ex pect from the sympathies of the other House, and it should be their last and only expedient to assemble front one end of the country to the other; sad respectfully, but firmly, to present addresses to the Throne, descriptive of the utter misery to which they had been reduced, and which they could no longer patiently endure. Mr. LENNARD admitted the existence of great distress in the country, but was of opinion, after what had fallen from the Hon. Secretary for the Home Department, and from the Chancellor of the Exchequer, that his Majesty's Ministers appeared to be fully alive to its extent. They were also pursuing the right course for its alleviation, by a reduction of taxation. In that respect, however, he thought they had not, as yet, gone far enough. He did not think that any beneficial results would follow the appointment of a Committee. General GASCOYNE should support the original mo tion. He could not at all concur with the statements of his Hon. Colleague as to the extent of the wretchedness of the country. Had the Hon. Gentleman extended the circle of his tour, be would have entered on districts of dis tress which had escaped his observation. Independently of this, he could not allow much weight to the repre sentations of the Hon. Gentleman, opposed as they were to the testimony of Members of that House from every part of the country. The very motion for the repeal of taxes was itself an indication that Ministers were well aware of the existence of distress. Some Hon. Members had said, what relief can you expect from 10 or 20 doctors, all dif fering in opinion as to the national malady ? He should not adopt that metaphor, but should rather look upon a Committee as a Jury impanelled to inquire into the murder of the labour of the country. He feared that unless the Ministers should condescend to listen to the complaints of . the people, they would have little to expect from that House, and that they would be compelled to appeal to the Throne. But Hon. Members should beware of the result of their votes that night. These votes would not be for gotten by the people—they would go down from one quar ter to another, and Ilon. Gentlemen would meet with their results when and where they should least expect it. He should perform his duty by supporting the motion for inquiry. Sir F. BURDETT said his Hon. Friend who had brought forward this motion had deserved the gratitude of the country. It was impossible to have heard the peti tions read from the different parts of the country, com plaining so bitterly—it was impossible to consider the number of those which had been laid on the table, with out feeling the magnitude of the subject which they in volved. When, however, no other Member had under taken to bring it before the House, that Hon. Member had with the greatest patriotism and efficiency done so. He should confess that he had been more then ever confirmed in the opinion of the necessity of complying with the prayers of the petitioners before the House, both from the arguments of those who had supported and those who had opposed the present motion.--(Hear, hear, hear.)—He could not concur with the assertion of the Honourable Member for Northampton, that there would be any reason to suppose that the people of England would construe a vote of that House of that night in favour of this motion, as a censure upon his Majesty's Ministers; nor, on the other hand, that such a vote would end in delusion. If it should end in delusion, then all the functions of that House should be considered by the people as a mere de lusion.—(Hear. )—With respect to the distress of the country, it was admitted ; but the assertion of its being slight or partial was but an aggravation to the sufferers, an insulting contravention of the strong language of their peti tions. In reference to the letters which Hon. Members had produced from their pockets and read to the House, he should only make this remark, that he had not observed that any representative of a populous town had been able to say that his constituents concurred in such representa tions. Those letters had been sufficiently answered by the Hon. Member for Newark.. But vas it in the House of Commons that such documents should have been al lowed to prevail against the strongly expressed petitions of a suffering people—petitions substantiated by the individual statements of their representatives from every quarter of the country. Early in that discussion the Hon. Alem. her for Worcester had stated that we had but a choice of evils; but he found it impossible to concur with him. He had said that he admitted great suffering, and that it had arisen from a great diminution in prices. His (Sir Francis's) Gallant Friend had replied that prices should be kept up ; and he (Sir Francis) said, why not? That is a question which they seemed to consider as laid at rest ; but they had not satisfied him of the correctness of the con clasion to which they had arrived, that those high prices which they called war prices could not exiit. He thought the whole question at present was one of high and low prices. If they could have high prices, the distress of the country would be relieved, and it rested on those who maintained tho impossibility of so desirable a consumma tion to staldish its impossibility. Under such circum stances, those who maintained that inquiry was unneces sary ashnitted that the House was a mere humbug.—( Hear) The Hon. Member for Suffolk had, in 1822, presented pe titions from the distressed agriculturists, and he had de clared that the curse of the country should fall heavily upon that House if it did not listen to them. The petitions now on the table were much more important than those had been —( Hear). That hid heen an agricultural distress—it might have found relief, - 'arid have left other interests in the coun try to -struggle in embarrassment; but now the manufac turer, the trader, the shipowner, and the agriculturist, found themselves all embarked in the same bottom, to sink or swim together. He should repeat, that the true general question to be now decided was, whether they could return to high prices ? On that subject let there be inquiry. The Secretary for the Home Department had made a long speech, but not a very conclusive one, and by no means 'an answer to the speech of the Hon. Member for Callington, whom he might call the Member for Bir mingham, by which title he hoped they should soon all hail him. His powerful and expansive argument had been met by the Hon. Secretary with narrow and inconclusive ! details, in which he bad perfjetly enveloped and obscured himself. If that House should concur in those narrow views, and now reject inquiry, it would thereby confess an abandonment of all its functions, and constitute itself a mere registry for Ministerial taxation of the people. ! The Hon. Secretary had broached a variety of fallacious and mistaken doctrines. True, he had said that he had be fore him a chart of the distress of the country; but he did seem to have been in the midst of a stormy ocean—to have been launched on a sea of trouble, without chart cr compass to guide him, and endeavouring to beat on ward - through the waves with a miserable remnant of canvas. He (Sir Francis Burdett) could not but loOk upon the state of the country as alarming, when he saw a Minister of the Crown; in another place, stating such doctrines as that, when the currency of the country had consisted-of 28 milliOns of gold, the circulating medium had been equal to what it had been when there had been so much paper in the country that it bad not allowed one ounce of gold to co-exist with it. This was an alarming circumstance, and one that called on that House to inter• pose between such a Minister and such opinions and the interests of the people. He would recommend lion. Gen tlemen to read one little short essay of David Hume— (Hear, bear)—and they would see from that great lumi nous perspicuous mind, they would see the means of making out a chart, and the Right Hon. the Home Secretary who complained of being unable to ascertain his meridian, would be enabled to see a star by which to steer. Without consulting any other more voluminous writers, he would say that any one who studied that essay of Hume, would be better able to discuss and judge what coorse ought to be pursued under such circumstances as the present. The Right Hon. Gent. said that money had nothing to do with the present condition of the country, because there had been distress previous to-his Bill of 1819, and because distress prevailed in 1810. That was an odd mode of reasoning front particular facts, and there could be no more erroneous species of argument than the deduction of a general conclusion from two or three particular facts. He (Sir F. B. ) had that morn ing seen two gentlemen, Messrs. Hadley and Spooner, of Birmingham, who spoke upon the point, both practical men, and both well acquainted with business at the periods mentioned by the Right Hon. Gentleman. The distress of 1810 they truly said originated from the Bank having issued too much paper, and then from au alarm which had gone through the country they refused other paper, and thus broke several of the most eminent houses in the country. That was the fault of the Government, for a Government ought always to look after the currency of a country. Then came the distress of 1816, and it is true before the birth of his favourite, or at all events his adopted child ; it was true that this distress came before. hand, but it was merely the tidings and a foretaste of the blessings of 1819. For the Bank had begun in 1816 to prepare for cash payments, and then came the distress, and after came the saute relief by the Banks, and the mat ter went on. The Right lion. Gentleman ended his speech by quoting some doggrel lines with respect to an Hon. Gentleman at this side of the House, and said be was more afraid of the doctor than the disease ; but he said that the Right Hon. nritlemari was the doctor of whom he com plained, and like the dealer in empiricism had but one re medy—gold, the fatal remedy of 1819. The distress that then followed was called agricultural, hut was in fact general distress ; awl then it was that the Hon. Member for Sussex brought forward his motion for the issuing of 1/. notes. Then ageism -was the remedy tried, and again the distress had fdlowed ; so that acting not upon any practical rule, but merely upon theory, in spite of reason and of that distress which might now be produced as its acme, the Right Hon. Gent. came forward with his de termination never to alter it again. This, however, was not time first, nor the second, nor the third, nor even the fourth time, at which this, which he might call experi ment= crueis, had been tried. Then againfeame the Right lion. Gentleman's other fallacy, for he said, " We have been going on for eleven years." But he (Sir F. Burdett) said it was no such thing, and he thought the House would utter nothing but a declaration of its own incapacity if it rejected the motion of his Hon. Friend—(Loud cheers) — and yet this was the argument of the Right Hon. Gentle man, to save the god of his idolatry —that golden idol which he thought we must be as besotted as the Israelites in Horeb if we bowed down and worshipped. And others called the money of other days dirty rags—fictitious currency. Fictitious, indeed ! he would like to see that fictitious happiness restored which we enjoyed in 1812, 1813, and 1814, even to the termination of the profligate expenditure of that most expensive war in which we have been engaged, and during which the Government had been so negligent. Whether it was just or unjust, necessary or otherwise, no doubt at all could exist that its expense was enormous ; and though its success was brilliant and complete, that expense was un necessarily great. It might be said this proved nothing, but it went in support of his argument, for, notwithstand ing that lavish expenditure, the country flourished. The circumstance that occurred in 1797, and the withdrawal of the gold then, he believed to have been a step so bold and decided as to save the country. From that time the system of the depreciation regularly spread itself until the end of the war ; and though it might be an evil, yet it was one of which nobody complained. If the people were ruined, they were not aware of it, because every thing had so settled down in proportion, that the ingenuity and time enterprise of the country had produced more than the war had caused to be lavished, and to the astonishment of those who had been its opposers, it was found that the country, instead of deteriorating, was never so full of prosperity—fictitious prosperity it might be—as at the end of the war. It might be said from this that be was not a friend of the country; but he would still-contend tbat every unnecessary taxation was a spoliation ; still he should observe that when the taxes bad reached the height they bad at that time, they did not preis with such weight on the springs of industry as to throw time country back, or even to retard her progress, but that, on the contrary, she was able to bear the burdens of time war much easier than' those lesser ones now imposed. But it was idle then to speak on the cause of the calamity, as it was now considered. Peace Nunc patimur longe pacis mali.! He would say go into the Committee, and men who knew 6 much as the Right Hon. Gentleman of Birmingham, would tell a different story of that which seemed to be his chosen land. He was not himself a practical man, but he could see that the Government had placed the country in situation where, perhaps, it might be as perilous to go back as forward ; but let there be inquiry at all events..— He confessed that, with respect to the Government, he felt as Lord Chatham did at the commencement of a cele brated war, when he said, on looking at the list of Gene rals who were to command, " I do not know what effect this may have upon the enemy, but I know that it makes me tremble."—(Hear, and a laugh.) Let Ministers, he would say, do no more than their duty, for which they were well rewarded, and he asked no more from them than a consideration of the public interest. But the public inte rest hail now come to that point when the sales populi— when the suprema lex authorised them to come, and when there was nothing for consideration but the dis tress of the whole people—except the pensioners.— The Hon. Baronet then proceeded to read an extract from a pamphlet to prove that all that had been received on 509,4 65 , 0001 ., borrowed since 1793, was but 57 per cent., for which we had contracted to pay 1001. Now he could not understand what dishonour there would be in paving only the 571. actually received. The Right Hen. Gentleman might prove he was mistaken, but he could not see he was bound to pay more than he had contracted for, when the alteration was made by the intervention of a third party without his consent. He was ready to meet the Right Hon. Gentleman on the point, whether the dis tress of the country had not arisen from his Bill of 1319, and he (Sir F. Burdett) pledged himself to prove that it b a d. The Right lion. Gentleman also said that this was not a new transaction, as it been going on for fifteen years ; and he bad said, " how, after a long war, was it possible to keep up prices to the same level?" The Right Hon. Gen tlettian was, however, mistaken on one point, as it was not true that we had gone on any regular system. The only point was now whether we, not having any standind fixed rule, but having gone on for eleven years without any settled plan, should not now consider what we ought to do. The Right lion. Gentleman did not talk of the transh ion, -but merely of the difference between war and peace—and this mode of bringing in the war was not merely bad reasoning, he would not call it disingenuous, but it was certainly most decentious. When he said war did this or that, it should, at Wast, be shown how. He (Sir F. Burdett) said that war had nothing to do with the matter. The Right Hon. Gentleman had professed great sympathy for distresses into which he would not inquire, and he would persuade the House that he was especially alive to the distresses of the landed interest ; but the re sult of his argument amounted to this, that those distresses should be permanent.—(Much cheering.) Mr. PEEL—I said no such thing. Sir F. BURDETT continued, that such was the effect of the Right Hon. Gentleman's reasoning—if reasoning it might be called—be was for low prices, and prosperity to the landed interest was not compatible with low prices.— (Hear, hear.)—The Right Hon. Gentleman would fain show that the landed interest was of no importance at all ; and, if so, he (Sir F. B.) should be inclined to make a fight of it upon that point; he was happy e to believe that no interest could flourish unless the landed interest flourished, and he trusted that the landed interest would lay this point to heart.—(Hear, hear.)—This was the time for landed gentlemen to pat to themselves the question asked by the Poet— .. -. Shall we, like exiles, still be doom'd to mourn, And ne'cr, with length of rolling years, return ? Shall we, compell'd by fate's unjust decree, No more our homes and pleasant valleys see? Or shall we mount again our rural throne, And rule the rural kingdom once our own ?" He, however, called on the landed interest nat to give up the situation they held of national defenders of the tenantry, and of the liberties of the people of England.—(Hear, hear.)—And it was because they were in England, and that there was no such hotly in any other country, that the 4 people of England, whether in war or peace, bore themselves triumphantly. If the landed interest were down, he should like to know bow the Right Hon. Gen tleman could keep up the manufacturing interest ; and, if that were down, how could the shipping and the mercan tile interest be kept up? How, too, could they, though last, not least, remedy the distress of the working people? The Right Hon. Gentleman said, " You can't show that we would have high prices;" but he (Sir F. Burdett) said that, but for his Bill, that would not be the case, because we should have a money which would only go in our own country. Then it would be said that we should have no gold ; and that was true : and it would appear as if this appetite fur gold had brought upon us the fate of :Midas—. starvation.—(Hear, hear.)—lt might be fairly asked of our Prime Ministers—indeed, of cur Ministers generally, for some time— Auricular asini quls non habet ?" But it was also asked, was every man who could put up a board to set up a Bank if he pleased. No, for attention ought to be paid by the Government to all such matters ; and if the Master of the Mint paid no attention to the coin, and it because depreciated, could that be urged as an argu ment that it would be better to have none at all? It would be asked again, how, in such a case, was free trade to go on? and he said this had nothing to do with it; but it would be an argument for real free trade—that was merely an exchange, between different nations, of equiva lents; and, if we had real free trade, we would not go to the market of Portugal for had wines, when we had those of France better and cheaper at cur own doors, and when we should do infinitely better by abolishing all our coast guards and limitations, and suffering the two countries, formed by nature to supply each other's Wants, to do so, than keep them, as they were at present, separated by re strictions. Prices had nothing to do with the matter. You sent your goods to a foreign merchant, and he gave you an equivalent. If trade were regulated by prices, none could be carried on, from the follies of Governments. We might and we ought to have high prices. The House were told of the excellent disposition of the Ministers in taking off the taxes on beer and cider to such an amount, that in six or seven months' time we might have our beer Id. a pot cheaper; hut whit NITS this to the manufacturers and to the gentlemen of England? What was it to the poor, who were so badly off that they could not get beer? What sort of mockery was this ? Why the people out of doors would laugh at the wisdom of Parliament. The Right Hon. Gentleman dealt altogether in fallacies, and 'Birmingham would prove it; but neither the Right Hon. Gentleman, nor any other person in the House, had remarked that the causes of the distress were of two distinct kinds. That alone seemed to enter into the Right Hon. Gentleman's view—he meant that nakedness and hunger, which was a shame to the nation not to relieve—and the Government would abandon its duty or proclaim its incapacity if they did not find means to provide for. That was one kind of distress, and from a different cause ; but he would pass by the absurd overstimulating system of creating a great over population, and that labour, when met by competition, is necessarily given at the lowest rate, and distress thereby engendered. This showed the folly of saying that the country we; not over-populated while there were waste lands remaining; but when labour was in the market, and did not produce its proper reward, then there was no doubt of an over-population in the country. That, as he had said, was one sort of distress; and the other description had, in connection with this, which acted on another class—he meant the gentleman who found part of his estate gone from him—that the price of the produce of his land, in stead of being 9!., was reduced to 6!., and who, when pe titioned for relief, found a distress still more urgent press ing himself down. This distress was felt amongst the more wealthy class alone ; and it must be so while the landed interest was distressed ; and it was one in which all labourers must share, and all who employed them must feel. He could not feel satisfied with the reasoning which had been urged against the House doing its duty, and en deavouring to find a remedy for the distress. They mud not be overlaid by a monstrous weight of evidence, and he might say, that either the original motion, or the amend ment moved upon it, would equally answer the purpose ; and he also thought his Hon. Friend, the Member fur Shaftesbury, did not much care which was carried. He con cluded by imploring Hon. Gentlemen to listen to the voice of the nation, and not throw the people into utter despair by negativing the motion before the House. The Hon. Baronet sat down amidst loud cheers. Mr. Secretary PEEL only thought it necessary to notice one extraordinary misconception into which the Hon. Ba ronet had fallen, with respect to what had fallen from him the other night. The Hon. Baronet said that he (Mr. Peel) had avowed that it was his settled policy to depress the landed interest. He thought that every one who heard him (except the Hon. Baronet) must have known that he had said no such thing. What he said was, that during the war many bad soils were brought into cultiva tion, and that the steam communication with Scotland and Ireland brought the good land there more into compe tition with ours in this country, and he regretted that all these causes must keep the level of the landed interest and the prices below that of the war ; and yet it was upon these grounds that the Hon. Baronet had the indecency to say that he avowed, as his settled principle of policy, to de press the landed interest—an interest with which he must beg to say he was deeply concerned, and the prosperity of which he had as good reason to wish for as any one in the llouse. Sir FRANCIS BURDETT begged the Right. Hon. Gentleman's pardon. He had never imputed to the Right Hon. Gent. any desire to depress the landed interest; but he certainly did say that the rule of his policy led him to do so. He was sorry the Right Hon. G en t. f e lt an y warm th, because of any evil design to the landed interest he most readily acquitted him, and merely meant that his policy must have a tendency to lower and depress them. Mr. PEEL did net anticipate any such thing; but he had said, and he repeated his conviction, that the cultiva- tion of the poorer soils must necessarily suffer. Sir THOMAS GOOCH said that the Hon. Member for Westminster had also misrepresented him, as he charged him with saying that the petitions of the poor should not be referred to the Committee. What he said was, that in the long discussion that the subject had undergone he had not heard a single argument from which any good could result, and that, anxious as they were, Parliament could not do the least good. The Hon. Baronet bad made another mistake, namely, that there was a Committee in 1821 upon which I was, and which had been productive of relief to the country ; and then the Hon. Baronet won dered why he should not now agree to this one. But be (Sir Thomas Gooch) called on all the gentlemen around him to testify whether he had not said that he and the rest of that Committee had laboured for two Sessions, and that he asked whether they had produced any benefit at all ? (Laughter, and loud cries of " Spoke, spoke.")--The Hon. spoken but with thefirst the Bart. had also said th a t h e h a d procure d a g reater issue of I/. notes; but he had d one no suc h thing. Mr. F. LEWIS th en rose . When he heard the Hon. Baronet rise in un qua lifi e d praise of the Act of 1797, h e time must beexhpardess ev er ls heardassurpriset,hat A th ct is was epithet of " lamentable" app lied to it. Mr. Hume, the historian, had stated that no country was so pro s p erous as when there was a cons tantl y increasing curre ncy. D id he ' mean a constantly d ep reciat ing currency ? H e was not such a mock phi loso p her as that. He stated w h a t was t rue , that when the country in crease d i n prosperity ' it . necess arily increased the wealth, and quant i ty , an d value of its commodities. Ifthe Hon. Baronet looked to the Bank Restriction as the support of that interest to ,vhieh, of till others, be (I►lr. F. 1..e.‘.: , ) was attatLe , i--if contended that the landed int , 2rcst onght to he upheld unjustly, at the expense of othiirs, to the depreciation of currency, Le never Would countenance him. If Lo relied on the Bank restriction, there was experience to show that the Bunk restriction was istcfneirnt for the pur pose. Tha Bank restriction had failed from the failure of country banks in 1816. If you bad recourse to Bank restriction again, it would fail you when you least expected it. Without the House expressing any wish upon the subject, the currency had l)cwt restored in 1S1(5, and it had created a convulsion ef di•trese, which had extendtal throughout the country. The Hon. B;ronct had pas w.l ever this without notice or observation. The Bank re, striction was so irregniar, that yca could not depend upon it. The Hon. Baronet hml gone go far as to state that you (night have what prices you liked. This was the dream of ti:ose who supposed that you might have some fluctuating wandlardl, which Ministers were to ehange as they please.l. Sir F. BURDETT explained. • - Mr. STANLEY as tier representative of a - great miru- licturing and commercial tr.er, should fcel hitusAf guilty of disrespect to his constituent; if he suffered the• debate t 3 cloee without expressing his sentiments. He did not mean to deny that distress was prevailing to a great ex tent. His constituents had been genanity suffering under it. Although there was a distinct improvement, still it was equally indisputable that many of the industrial': lower classes were in a state of destitution and:poverty.. We were told that there was to be a Committee of the wlmio Roust ; but we were not told how they were to carry their examination into effect. The eaus,s of the distress and ;he remedy must be purely a miner of opinion and spec:lt- latien. The expense of such an inquiry would be great without the smallest prospect of the remotest advantage. Every Member would cute doivn itelh;tiffercnt phm%. The Hon. Member for Stafford hire's brine forward the truck systern..-the Hon. Member fur the subject of emigration—the Hon. .141 ember ftir Newark, I ish absentees. A Committee itp - stairs . was less proper than a Committee of tile whole Iftiose. ./t was superlatively absurd, as proposed by one Hon. Mem her, to go into the causes of the distress, and exclude frona the proposal the question of currenay, whicti F f rrat number of Members considered t o b e th e main and priws cipal cause of the distresa. He hoped that Ministers would carry the reduction of taxation much further.' lie shochl feel it to be his duty to vote against both the pro positions. Mr. WESTERN comp!ained of the distress which ex isted, and said that whatever might he the result of the ' inquiry it was our duty to enter into it. Colonel WILSON was so satisfied with what adminis tration had done, that he confessed he was surprised that they had gone so far to meet the petitioners' wishes by such a sweeping reduction as five millions of taxes. Having gone so far, he had no doubt that they would go still far ther, and effect the object all had in view. It had been said that be had been skulking and hanging back of late, through a wish to support Ministers.—(Laughing.)—ls was false. He wanted neither place, nor pension, nor job, no loaves, no fishes.--(Loud laughing and eheets.)---Had I, said he, been Minister—(Roars of laughter)—had I been Minister I'd have thrown the assessed taxes overboard, and introduced a properly regulated and graduated pro perty tax, embracing all absentees. rd like to know what would .have been the result, if the gentlemen generally opposed to Government had been in place. Should'itt we be out of the dung into the mire? Setting aside alto gether those crack-brained plans some have proposed (A laugh)—l should like to know what good could be ex pected front an inquiry in Committee on this subject, if we were to sit there for a month of Sundays?—(Cheers and laughing, with loud cries of " Question, question ; divide ; clear the gallery.")—Let me tell those gentle men who vociferate " Question," that I want nothing of them or Ministers. I began to serve my •country when I was 15 years of age, and I served my country with Brown Bess on my shoulder. I paid for my soldier's clothes—(A laugh)—and for my Drown Bess too; and she cost me ten pounds. Do you hear that ?—(Loud laughing, and cries of " Question, question !")—I am not one of those that will gallop away to the moon to look for infor mation like some people; but I don't think it difficult to see what's the cause of the present distress. It was only through the country bankers that the distress was not felt long since. Those who could not pay their rents but through accommodation, went for three or four years with their paper to the country bankers, and raised enough to meet their rent. The Cash Payments Bill voila in and broke the farmers, and sent them to break shines by the road side. There is the secret.—(The cries of " Question, question," growing louder the Hon. Member satalown.) Mr. D. W. HARVEY was convinced that-all intelligent men in that House were of one opinion as to the means of • • remedy which ought to be proposed for our present distress. •' That could only consist in a repeal of a considerable propor tion of our direct taxes, and an alteration of the character of our taxation genet ally—(Hear)—in other chests of .our contributions to the wants of the State. • He should not, perhaps, have at so late an hour, trespassed on the House had it not been through a desire to address an obser• vation in reply to those which had fallen from the Hon. Baronet, the Member for Westminster. All who heard._ him must have been overwhelmed with a share of that astonishment which he himself so sensibly experienced this evening. Singular, undoubtedly, were the arguments be used, and more particularly singular as coming from his mouth. Henceforward let no man assent to the trite adage, " There is nothing new under the sun." Having heard the sentiments of the Hon. Baronet, so startingly and astonishingly novel, after it had been imagined by almost all that there remained nothing now to be urged on a question debated so copiously for four different nights by so many able and conflicting antagonists, could it have been imagined by himself, by Members in that House, or the Hon. Baronet's constituents out of doors, that the great and long-tried advocate of the rights' of the people, of the interests of the commonality of England, which lie had alternately defended with a bitterness of sar casm, which was so keenly felt by his foes; and a vehe ment eloquence which had rendered him the rallying point of the friends of freedom throughout this country, should have so far forgotten all he had once advocated as to turn his back on the distresses of the people, whose idol be had been, and when he had to combat the statements of those who attributed eur distress to excessive taxation, assert in his place that night, that the amount of taxation in this instance was of little importance, and that the only relief on which this country could reckon with any prospect of its realization must consist in the maintaining high prices.—(Loud cheers.)- - --Tliat these were senti ments both striking and singular he would admit, but though he would not denominate them absurd. because nothing absurd could come from that Right Hon. Baronet; yet, to sty the least, he must confess they seemed to ap proximate the least to intelligences—(lean) With all these singular sentiments, it was still more singular to bear him talk of being solicitous for the shipping and manufacturing • interests. How could they possibly be benefitted by a re-• turn to high prices, when the other nations of Europe were underselling us in every market; and our greatest rival had shaken off, by a great effort, almost all that cor responding weight of taxation under which wselaboured. —(Hear.)—He should not treat these positioniY absur dities, which it would not he di ffi cult fo - • one so ri es humble as himself to refute ; hot he wo ol not permit them to pass unnoticed, as novelties of the most singular description, considering the quarter from whence they proceeded. He might have entered into these refutations, which, he thought would not be a matter of difficulty to the man of the plainest understanding in that House ; but he preferred redeeming his pledge, and he should, there fore, content himself with thus shortly and pointedly ex pressing his surprise and dissatisfaction, with what had fallen from that Hon. Member, who had hitherto been con sidered the warmest advocate of the interests and well being of the people of England. Mr. TRANT rose amidst loud cries of " question;" feeling himself unable to obtain a silent- hearing, he said • if he were interrupted further, be should be compelled to move an adjournment of the question. He - was deter mined to redeem the pledge he had given to the Manufac turing Relief Committee, which met yesterday in the city, and for whom he had it in charge to deliver a message to 1 that House, stating that they were eonvinoed of a most overwhelming distress in different classes of the commu nity at the present day. Mr. MONCK believed that the redaction of the expen diture and the repeal of the taxes were the only remedies for our present sufferings and distress. tHon. of Gent. one-third sh ould during After a few words from Mr. BICKFORD , Mr. BENETT alluded to th e returns quote d b y the o t e the as Hon. Member for Liverpool, an d was surpr i sed that the Right th o e ve l overlooked year, of the consumpti on in butcher' s m ea t a t Bi rm i ng h am , to he ex t e n t compared with with the years immediately preceding. This if stated, would have rather, he thought, embarrassed that Right Hon. Gent. in his triumphant calculations.—(Hear.) He confessed he should most cordially vote for inquiry. Mr. Alderman THOMPSON alluded to the present condition of the woollen manufacturers of Leeds, who had lately made so strong a representation of their distressed condition to the East India Company for employment in preparing clothing for the troops in India, at reduced prices, as a proof that business was unpredentedly dull, and property depreciated. But he would challenge every man, conversant with general business in London, to state what article was there now offered for sale in the London Le on the don him himself, racter of ed. He :xertions .eches of hours of hole, he led; but , crowd was im nally be acre was o any of nca of a s sure o an ob. Aer, and my. The rind in a , id it was is know country, anner in n to the evening, rt viva to s the fol lr,fgle iu le of the rights of ,e should issue be ' I that he triumph wicked- Ile was he was he con relieved aself too stigma , Now, ring day, papers, " that A 1e wished Don Miguel to die a death of violence." Every one knew that this was calculated to convey the expression of a feeling the most abhorrent to those of Englishmen ; , and he was quite sure, that if in a British House of Com mons he had said anything which could justify such an imputation —... o f a wish for assassination—as that here un- Ilesignedly conveyed, he should have been interrupted by such a manifestation of feeling as would at once have com pelled him to disavow such an expression. He was sure the mistake proceeded from haste and inadvertency, but hoped the House would .pardon him for thinking tha t It Was due to them and to himself that it should be corrected.