The Express.
London, England, 1847-01-26 00:00:00

purposes very similar to those now contemplated, and the
noble anti learned lord was a leading member of that go-
vernment. (Hear, hear.) Bat the noble and learned lord
had displayed considerable Ignorance of all the facts of
the ease. Indeed, H tglishmen could hardly •be made I.
aware of the manner in which the loss of the potato had
armed all classes in Ireland. The farmer had been affected
s well ma the labourer, for he had hitherto chiefly paid the
latter in potatoes, and when the crop failed he put what
money he had into the onvinge-lank, and went himself to
work on the roads. The labour-roe act had been made the
object of very general censure ,n that house. He, for one,
although not prepared to defend it in all pserticulars, must
still decline to join in the general and indiscriminating cry
which had hero raised against it. Withrespect to the recla-
mation of waste lands he had some faith in that
projt et, and in hi. opinion the most effectual way of
currying it out would he to advance money to any respon-
sible company or individual* who might be inclined
to undertake the speculation. The merit of the government
proposals was, that they three: out various ways in which
the improvement of Ireland might hp effected. The great
permanent evil in that country was inadequacy of employ-
ment, and the more ways there were of providing employ-
ment the better. Emigration might lend valuable aid, and
he quite concurred with his noble friend, the President of
the Council, as to the mote in which the emigrant should
he misted. He did not take so gloomy a view of the state
of the country as some persons did. Its prospects were dark
enough, but he bad confidence that, by the adoption of
timely and wise measures, much of the evil might be averted.
(Hear, ha ar.)
The Heel of RODEN mid that this night's proceedings
would recite the most intense interest in Ireland. He was
glad to acknowledge the emotion, industry, and application
which the government had shown in devising measures
of relief for that counter. As far he ova. able to judge of the
measures now proposed, he thought they would be a great
boon to the coutatry ; but he would not express a confident
opinion until he Kew them in print.
Earl FITZWILLIAM said that as to the measures pro-
pounded this evening, he thought they did as much credit
to the wisdom of minister. as they dad to the goodness of
their hearts. (Heir.) Hut he must observe, that if the task
of regenerating Ireland and bringing it into a healthy state,
was to be cast upon one class—the landowners, they would
he treated most unjustly. Did no other clans possess wealth?
Could no other elms be called on to engage in this great and
extensive work? The duty ought not to be east even upon
Ireland alone. Why was Ireland in its present condition ?
Why woe its population now so distressed ? Let wealthy
London and England answer that question. England had
been the mule of Ireland's suffering., by the long
course of erroneous legislation that had been pursued.
(Hear.) England, then, must artist in the work of
regenerating Ireland ; the duty was sufficiently obvious,
even had it not bet n entered by the feet that 22,000
Irish paupers had been relieved from the profits of the rate-
payers of Liverpool. It was the duty of England to resist
the landlo:ds of Ireland in perrorming this important work.
The Earl of MOUNTCASHEL, in reference to the allega-
tion by the last speaker. that the sufferings of Ireland were
solely attributable to England, observed that the pre-
datory wars carried on amongst the Irish chiefs for several
centuries had materially retarded the progress of civilization
in that country. Still, the rule of England hod been painful
to the Irish. from the time of Henry the Second downwards;
and had not England manifested a little petty jealousy, in
treating Ireland as a conquered country, and making many
commercial distinctions in disfavour of Ireland, that country
would now have been in a much better condition.
The Marquis of WESTMEATH expressed the satisfac-
tion with which he had heard the development of the views
of the government with respect to Ireland, but desired to
press upon them the importance of providing by law a better
mode of the occupation of land in Ireland.
Earl GREY said he was sorry to prolong the discussion,
seeing the house was now reduced to so small a number of
its member., but at the same time some remarks had been
made in the course of this debate which ought not to be al-
lowed to pass without some notice. The great majority of
those noble lords who had spoken, had pronounced the
strongest condemnation of the tabour act of last session, and
certainly, listening to those noble lords, the impression created
by them must have been ore of very great censure on her
Majesty's government. for want of common foresight and
common prudence. He (Earl Grey) could not, however.
hells thinking, that if their lordships would consider for
a moment what really had been the course of legittla-
tion last year, they would see good reason for be-
lieving
He begged to remind the house that the act was only a re-
newal of one passed in the early pert of the sa elan by the
late government, for the relief of the distress in Ireland
(Hear, hear.) Of the measures of the late government the
most effectual was that which authorised preventments for
public works. It was hrought in in the month of January,
and carried into extensive operation. Presentments to the
large amount of 1,300.000/. were passed under it, and so fur
from any complaint■ being made with respect to useless 1
works, there were districts in Ire' and where nn distress pre-
vailed, which presented for public works with a view, am
they openly confessed, of having a share in the money.
(Hear, hear.) At all events the mesaure was effectual fee
its purpose, though only 34,0061. out of the 1,300,0001.
which had been presented for was issued. Her Majesty's
present government haying succeeded to office in the month
of June, when the attention of parliament was directed to
the commercial measures which then occupied the mind of
the country, and when there was every prospect of an abun-
dant hareem in Ireland, was it unnatural or unreasonable,
the potato diarese having manifested itself all of a sudden in
August, -that the gnvernment should have adopted with
some mOdifications, the measure which had been found
effectual' during the previous partial failure of the patens in Ire-
land. The fault of that me auire wee, that half the money was
given by the covemment, and in that reamed it was amended.
The principle of the bill which the present government
tarried was reasonable, but they reckoned upon the co-
operation of the landlords of Ireland. That it failed in
some respect he admitted, hut its failure was not owing to
any errant in the hill, hut to the manner in which the powers
which it granted had been exercised. It was said that
works, not only of a uselre., but of a mi•chievous character,
were carried on. Whou fault was that? (Hear, hear,) Was
it not the fault of the gentlemen at presentment sessions? It
was said that oth, r works of a useful character could
not be found. He (Earl Grey) did not believe there
was any part of the kingdom as perfect but that some useful
works might be found and undertaken. He believed if pro-
per care had been taken, that useful works might have been
found. One came of difficulty in working the act arose
from requiring more works to be done than was ever in-
tended; another reason was that it was brought prematurely
into operation. It was well known that persons were ad-
mitted into the work. to whom it wee not intended the act
should afford relief. It appeared that the fishermen of Cove
and Ballycotton It ft their business, drew up their boats, and
went upon the public works, thus diminishing the supply of
food, and taking upon them that labour which was intended
for others. The workmen employed on the Shannon navi-
gation also left their employment for the same purpose.
(Ilene, hear.) Whose fault was this? (Hear, hear.) 'Wu
it not the fault of the gentry of Ireland? He felt pen in
making these observations,and in casting blame on the
gentry of that country; ut it wan necessary that Pula-
meat and the country shorld know the truth. (Hear, hear.)
It was a grievous misfortune to Ireland that she had no
middle clam, whose services would have been most useful in
working the machinery of the system of relief. But that
was not the fault of the Government. In consequence of
the absence of that machinery, matters have been thrown
on the Government with which it wan impossible for them to
deal. (The noble earl read an extract from the Report of
the Board of Wor'vs, which went to allow, that it bed been
impossible to carry out the theory of the system of relief,
and that, in consequence, ditties had been thrown on that
board which it was physically impossib'e they could per
form.) If in working the Bill Government had received
more co-operation, it would have been recoessfal, He was
compelled to may thus much in defence of the Govern-
ment, but he had abstained from dwelling on the wor-t fez.
tures of thecae; he could have carried it much further,
but he had said enough to account for the non-sumss
of the measure. It was expected that more efforts would ,
have been made to increase the amount of private employ-
meat and improvemert. What was celled the Million Act,
although it had not succeeded in Ireland, did succeed in
Scotland, and the aunts obtained under the act, weft ap-
plied to the improvement of estates and the employment of
the people. With regard to the formation of depots by the
government, for supplying the public with previsions, when
the hones was in possession of the papers moved for, they
would see that the government had done as much as it was
prudent and right to do. It was most important that
nothing should aye been done to interfere with private trade
and it was necessary not to open depots till the last possible
moment, because distress prevailed most in Ireland at the
end of the summer. The mercantile transactions in earn,
too, were carried on on a gigantic scale, the quantity of
Indian meal alone en'arel for consumption in the year 1848
being 4,800,000 quarters, while &tents were employed in
every quarter of the world to purchase corn. If, therefore,
the government had attempted to become purchasers in op-
position to this agency, they must have established one at
once most expensive and inefficient. By not doing so the
quantity they could buy, without disturbing the market',
wee most carefully distributed. If there was one thing
more likely than another ta be heneficial to Ireland, it was
the creation of a chute of retail dealers, and if the go-
vernment, by becoming dealers, had cut up that infant
trade, thew would have done a eerie= injury. On the subject
of emigration, after much consideration he had come to the
conclusion that for the government to undertake to find
means to carry all emigrants across the Atlantic. was to un-
dertake a task which they could nor execute. In ten years
the number of emigrants was 687,000, and in then last year
they amounted to 110,000, who went to the British colonies
and North America He moldered, without any inter-
ference on the part 'of parliament, the tide of emigration
would flow much stronger in this than in preceding year*,
and to North America alone he should not be surprised if the
number of emigrants in the present year doubled that of the
last. This and the great expense were the grounds which
induced the government to pause before they undertook to
convey emigrants scones the Atlantic; but what they could
undertake to do WY to provide the requisite information for
them on their debarking in the colony, and to facilitate their
future prompreity when there. Under this system and with
this encouragement emigration had gone on to a very
great extent. This was the system to which they proposed
to adhere.

Lord lIONTEAGILE thought the defence of his noble
friend of the conduct of the government unnecessary, as that
conduct had not been attacked. He altogether denied that
the condemnation of that most mischievous act that had ever
disgraced the statute-hook, the Labour-rate Act, involved
an, condemnation of the conduct of the government.
His noble friend had said it had been effectual for its pur-
pose ; but had it been effectual had this the only act
which gave the government an unlimited control of
the public funds been effectual for its purpose ?
Look at the reports from fikibbereen and other die.