The Express.
London, England, 1851-03-07 00:00:00

DEPUTATION OF PROTECTIONISTS.

A party of the actin; committee of the " National
Association for Protection of British Industry and
Capital," and of the delegates from the provinces
who have been attending the meetings at the South
Sea House in the course of the present week, were on
Wednesday admitted to an interview with Lord
Stanley, and communicated to him certain resolu-
tions in favour of their views.

Lord Stanley, after acknowledging the complimentary
terms in which the resolution adverted to his services, ex-
pressed the hope that neither himself nor thine with whom
he acted would again he subjected to the misrepresentation
to which they had been exporied ; namely, that they had
abandoned the principle of protection. It was a wise policy,
he thought, so far as the House of Commons was concerned,
to rest the case of the chief interest which was sutfering—
the agricultural interest—upon the inequality of burdens
to which it was subjected, and upon the tact that that
inequality was so great that the attempt to produce pert et
equality would effect such an alteration in our whole finan-
cial system that no equalisation could ever he achieved that
world give adequate and just protection; and that if an'
equalisation did take place, the result would he either that
other interests would be called on to bear burden+ which
were oppressive, or, if the whole were thrown upon the
general revenue of the country, that such a deficiency would
be created therein as would have necessarily to be supplied
by the imposition of other taxes. In the course of his ad-
dress, the 'vitae lord also noticed some remarks which had
fallen from Mr. Young, with regard to his having been
represented to say that he was favourable to the adoption
of moderate import duties, with a view to revenue, but not
to price. If he had ever said this, he should have be is
uttering a paradox. He was quite aware that every duty!
that was imposed raised the price of the article taxed;
but he was also well aware that no duty which might!
be imposed would raise the price to the full amount !
of that duty. What he had stated was, that no duty
which could he impaecil would raise the existing price of !
agricultural produce to the point which those who repealed
the corn laws declared would he remunerative. lie con-
templated the imposition of a moderate duty on the import
of foreign corn and provisions, partly for the purpose of giv-
ing a slight—certainly a slight—but, nevertheless, a certain
amount of protection to the British agriculturist, and also
by furnishing a certain amount of revenue, enabling par-
liament to take off those taxes which premed most heavily
upon him. It wax with a double object, therefore, that ate
wax in favour of a moderate rate of duty—first, as a slight
protection on the one hand ; and next, as a slight relief
from the burden of taxation ou the other. One expression
of his, the noble lord subsequently remarked, which had
been very much commented on, was that he had stated
that he was not prepared to reverse the policy of Sir
Robert Peel. He well knew that great and sudden changes
were the most fraught with danger, and that nothing
could be done effectually or safely in a country like
England which was not calmly and deliberately done, upon
full consideration and even after experience. Two most
formidable measures had of late years been enacted. One
had already effected great evil—but he feared not to the full
extent that would yet be developed; the other was the re-
peal of the navigation laws, which was perhaps even more
important, for ohs ems reasons. What he had stated was, ,
that he did not propose a reversal of Sir Robert Peel's
policy, but a modification of that policy in those caws in
which it should have been found to work injuriously. The
evil effects of that policy, he thou went on to observe, had
been proved with regard to the interest which was mainly '
suffenng—the agricultural interest; and he thought that it
was now time and necessary to deal promptly and gene-
rously with that interest. The noble lord further expressed
his opinion that the principle of protection by moderate im-
port duties against competition upon unequal terms with
the foreigner, wax equally applicable to our colonial inte-
rests. Proud as he was to possess their confidence, he
must, however, aik, their forbearance with regard to making
any definite declaration as to how far he might be prepared
to go should the responsibilities of office hereafter devolve
on him, remembering that, es to what he might or could do.
it was very much in their own hands to determine.
On the conclusion of their interview with Lord
Stanley, the gentlemen constituting the deputation
proceeded to NIT. Disraeli's residence, fur the purpose
of communicating to that hon. gentleman also the re-
solutions of the National Association and the dele-
gates from the provinces.
Mr. Disraeli, in reply, said he was of opinion that
land was subjected to undue taxation; but he himself
had never been of opinion that relieving it frees
that undue tavation would necessarily afford to it all
the relief which was requisite. lie had never viewed
the ease in that light; and the way in which he had
siewid it was that which he would now briefly, but he
hoped clearly, convey to them. As long 11.• the old sys-
tem which regulates) the importation of foreign agricul-
tural produce existed, he thought that on the whole
it had worked beneficially fur the onmunity, and for
the class which it was devised to protect. Ile was ten
years in parliament before it was attacked; and
he did not think he was ever absent, or that
his vote was ever wanting, on any occasion ou which
the interests of the agricultural holy were assailed. But
when that system was RbrOgated in 1846, and the
general system of protection, by the repeal of the naviga-
tion laws two or three years afterwards, was entirely put
an end t a he took a very different slew of the course which
ought to be pursued. It appeared to him, then, that nothing
could be more unwise—he was sure, as far as the House of
Commons was concerned, that nothing was more calcu-
lated to be unsuccessful than, when a system had been com-
pletely abrogated, that incl particular class should come for-
ward, and as a remedy for its distress ask for a reminisce
to the old laws. Ile knew and felt that the difficulties
which any one would labour under who attempted such a
course in the House of Commons would be quite insuper-
able. It appeared, too, that that course was founded on a
fallacy—on the assumption that laws which established a'
countervailing or fluctuating duty, or whatever other form
the protective principle might take—that those laws were
',assert for the advantage of the particular interest to which
they were applied ; w heroes he had always held that all these
arrangements were arrangements for the advantage of the
community ; that, weighing all the circumstances of the
ease, the community, represented in parliament, had come
to the conclusion that that was an arrangement which, on
the whole, was most advantageous to the community ; and
therefore he had never considered that after the abrogation
of the protective system it was the interest or the duty of the
agricultural body to come forward and ask fur any specific
remedies for their relief. On the contrary, he thought that
it was their interest and their duty to make the country un-
derstand and acknowledge that there existed in England a
financial system which was invented in the days of protec-
tion, and which, in consequence of that, had laid the burden
of taxation mainly upon the agricultural interest ; and that
all that remained to the agricultural interest, all that was
necessary for them as far as duty was concerned, and in his
opinion also, as far as their particular advantage was con-
eerned was, that they should prove to the country that this was
• burden which could not be borne, and that the means by
which that burden was to be borne were to be devised by
the community, not by the agricultural interest. If the,
community were of opinion that a countervailing duty was ,
the best arrangement, or that a fluctuating scale was the best
arrangement, let them come forward and propose it, if that
were the only way in which they could deal with the just
demands of the land. He would illustrate' that position by
referring to a circumstance with which they were all ac-
quainted. If he could prove that the malt tax was an unjust
burden, and that, under the present system of local taSlidM,
a very unjust burden, to a great amount, was also pressing
upon the land—if it could be shown that upon a moderate
calculation they had a right to be relieved to the amount
of ten or twelve millions sterling—if they could establish
that ease, they might depend upon it that they would be i
advancing to the attainment of the protection they required
is a much more advantageous manner than by going for- !
ward and specifically saving what they wished. In the ono
inatance they would be held up to the community as a body
whose sufferings demanded privilege and favour. In the
ether they would go and require only that which was their
jest right, and which the community themselves would
then suggest to them. That was his view of their position.
He haul not pretended, in bringing forward his motions in
the House of Commons, to make the public fully comm.
bend the unjust burden of taxation which rested on the
warners and occupiers of the soil, and that he really was ask.
hi parliament to take these burdens off. He had hardly
.sleeked lie intentions upon that subject. But he said, e
yeawl do nothing to mitigate the suffering, rest assured
Ira yea will be obliged to take thia other course ;" and
when that should be pressed upon them in the manner in
which public opinion, when enlightened and convinced of
the truth of the position he took, could alone impress it upon
them, it would be found that parliament would arrive sud-
denly at this conclusion—that it would be better, and mare
he the advantage of the community, that this waist
should be terminated, and that they should come le ea
equitable adjustment. What form that adjustment should
fate it was quite premature, and indeed unnecessary,
kw the agricultural interest at present to consider. Tke
system of protection was now abrogated, while they were
hit with the burden which protection alone could
vitt and their point was top r
that that burden
MN unjust and intolerable. The moment that they had
ga
enlightened public opinion on their side in favour of
the troth of that position, they might depend upon it
Ant they would have no difficulty in obtaining as fair a
Settlement of the question as any reasonable man could

desire. He would take two instances of what be eon-
eiders,' was the principal weight of this burden on the land ;
and of what had been the effect upon public opinion, by
following the line which he had humbly pursued in that
respect. He would take these two cases—the case of the
malt tax and the cue of the local taxation. Now, the case
of the malt tax, since the repeal of the corn laws, was in
very different position to that which it was in previously.
Previous to the repeal of the corn laws, whenever agricul-
ture was distressed, many persons looked to the repeal of
the malt tax as a relief for that distress; and in those days
no atesman of great eminence ever spoke on that subject
who did not admit that the moment the repeal of the corn
laws took place the repeal of the malt tax was inevitable.
If that were the truth then, let them remember the posi-
tion in which they were, in dealing with the legislature,
when there was one tax which the greatest authorities h.
pronounced to be unjust to the amount of 5,000,0001. ster-
ling. Take next the local taxation. Certainly it had not
been understood until within the last three or four years,that
in addition to its share of the general revenue, there was
a sum of 13,000,0001. derived from the land. If ever a
discussion took place, in which the burden upon land was
adverted to generally the taxation upon houses was set
against it, and the prevalent opinion seemed to be that the
' burden on land was illusory. But there was hardly a
person who now doubted that 13,000,0001. was levied upon
property in this country, of which land bore the great pro-
portion. Ile took it idso that a settlement of this question
would bring something like a sum of 6,000,0001. upon the
carpet ; and he should like to know how any financial
minister could relieve their just claims by a mere shifting of
the amounts ? They knew that he could not. Therefore he
mast come forward and face a public opinion which, by
degrees, would be guided and formed to the point which he
(Xe. Disraeli) had anticipated, and he would say," Here is
asreat injustice. Here isone ofthe great industrial interests
of the country labouring under an amount of taxation to
which no other interest is subjected; and therefore, as we
• cannot relieve them from it, we must give them that which
science as well as policy justilii s—a countervailing duty."
See how far they advanced then to their point. Let him
now ask, had public opinion responded to these ideas, or
had it not? That was his test. Ile would give up the
line be had humbly pursued in the House of Commons to
obtain what he called a just relief for agriculture, if it
could be shown to him that we had made no advance.
That line had not been pursued until the navigation laws
were repealed. As long us these laws remained it was
always supposed that upon that important question they
had the chance of making a great and perhaps a suceecs-
ful fight ; that they would still have one of the great
interests protected ; and that if that protection were
continued, they would have the opportunity of making
a fair adjustment for the land, and of arresting the down-
ward course of the colonies. But they were defeated.
The "crowning capital," as it was termed, had been put
upon the column of free trade by the repeal of the naviga-
tion laws. Then, the whole system of protection haring
been abrogated, it became necessary to devise some new
plan fur their campaigns, and to lay down some principle
which would obtain the greatest support in the 11011,1, of
Commons ; that the land should nut be isolated, and that
the opinion out of doors of those who were not immediately
interested in the land should be enlisted in its favour.
Therefore in the year 1443, when from unfortunate cir-
cumstances the duty of leading the party in the House of
Commons fell upon him, that was the course he took, in
' order that the country might understand that the position
of the agricultural interest with reference to general
taxation was an unjust one. Ile felt that the more that
was known, and the more the pressure upon the agricul-
taral interest increased, the inure public opinion would he
enlisted in their favour. Well, three years ago, the first
attempt was made with respect to that system of local taxa-
tion, and at that time, in the present parliament too, he
was defeated by a majority of nearly lOU. The follow-
ing year he began with that majority against him ;
but the controversy having been extremely stimulated
in the interval, it hail become a public question, and at the
end of twelve months discussion in the country after that
defeat, the pressure upon the agricultural interest still in-
creasing, when the second atteutpt was made the majority
=
e tst him was reduced to 21. This, he thought, was eve-
of the fact that public opinion was coming round to
them. But in the present year the question was still better
understood, and the distress was even sharper ; and recently
they had had a division which virtually upset the govern-
ment. Thcec circumstances convinced him that the course
the party with which he acted had taken wasa prudent one,
sad that it was a course which in no way compromised their
principles in the slightest degree. If, as a minister, he
were placed in the position of having to recommend that
settlement which he should consider to be 11104 for the ad-
vantage of the country, and not for the advantage of a
particular interest, he should not say " You had better
take off the burden of local taxation upon the land, or the
tax upon malt." On the contrary, he should say, " One
is the source of a large amount of revenue, and the other
the source of an excellent local government. I wish to
have these advantages, hut I cannot recommend the con-
tinuance of these advantages at the cost of the land ;" and
therefore he must come forward with some scheme—to the
details of which he could not pledge himself—which would
secure to the land a sufficient compensation fur the abroga-
tion of protection. Of this he was firmly persuaded, that the
only chance of success they had was in exteuding to each
other a mutual confidence. They had given him the very
best evidence of the confidence which they reposed in him.
He was proud of its expression on their part, and he should
always endeavour to deserve it.

CENTRAL CRIMINAL COURT.

Tills DAY.

OLD COURT.
Arran UM, Cwnr itstles hoops.
James Harding, 22, tailor, was indicted for stealing a hag
and purse, with violence, from the person of Frances Mills.
Mr. Payne and Mr. Nagle were for the defence, and Mr.
MuHuai= prosecuted.
The prosecutria stated that on the evening of the
4th of February she went into a draper's shop,
purchasing some braid, when she saw some one looking
very hard at her purse, which had several bills in it, and
which would lead to the supposition that they were notes.
She left the shop, and had nut gone far, when, about to
cross the road, she was attacked by some one, who she was
convinced was the prisoner, who seized hold of her hag and
struck her several times on the cheat, and finally dragged
the bag front her and ran away. She pursued him a short
distance, and some one else joined in the pursuit, but the
prisoner escaped. She went to the shop, and the 'human
had a perfect recollection of the prisoner. Subsequently
the prisoner was taken, and he denied having been at the
draper's. When taken, at the police-court, some one came
forward, and said that prisoner was not the man, but that
he was. . . .

The defence now set up was, that the prisoner wu not
the man, hut the man who came forward at the police court
was nut now forthcoming.
One witness was called to prove that the prisoner was
elsewhere at the time spoken of.
The jury found him Guilty.
The Lord Chief Justice sentenced him to two years bil-
-1 prisunment and hard labour.

POLICE INTELLIGENCE.

THIS DAY.

BOW-STREET.
G. Tettle, aged 30, was charged with violently assaulting
Mr. W. G. Thompson, civil engineer.
The prosecutor stated that last evening he entered the shop
of Mr. Grafton, an engineer, of Chanc,ry-lane, with whom
he had formerly been in partnership, when he saw the pri-
soner there. Ile obtained what he required, and was quit-
lag, when the prisoner sprang upon him, struck him several
violent blows upon the face, pulled his hair, and attempted
to bite his ear.
Mr. Grafton said the prisoner was in his shop yesterday
evening, when he commenced abusing Mr. Thompson, who
was not present. Witness spoke about a patent in which '
they had been concerned, and the prisoner said he sold out
beeause it was a swindle. Mr. Thompson then entered,
and witness said " There is the man ;" and the prisoner
replied, with an oath, that he was a swindler. The
witness then corroborated the prosecutor's testimony,
and added that the prisoner conducted himself in a most
outrageous manner.
Mr. Jardine fined the prisoner 31., or one month's im-
prisonment for the assault, and also ordered him to find two
reo:1
the peace
ionfolOrczeacnhe,aanolhmimonsetlLto be bound in 201. to
IThe prisonerPac was locked up in default.

UNIVERSITY AND CLERICAL.
OXFORD, NIIRell B.—ln a convocation holden this
morning, the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity was
conferred on the lice. Hibbert Binney, Fellow, Tutor, and
Bursar of Worcester College, Bishop Designate of Nova
&oda.
In the same convocation George Butler, Esq., M.A.,
Fellow of Exeter College, was appointed to the office of
Public Examiner " in Literis Humanioribus ;" and the Rev.
Edward Halifax Hansell, 8.D., Fellow, Tutor, and Mathe-
matical Lecturer of Magdalen College, was appointed Public
Examiner " in Disciplinis, Mathematicis, et Physic's."

SPORTING.
TATTERS ALL'S—Totem.

- -
The betting yesterday was on too small a .tale to ea
fur more than a return of the closing prises.
THE NOITHAMPTONISHIRE STAKES.
7 to I apt Lord Suoler's Lego-Alma.
11 to I Dine of Sodium's St. Remits (t)
IS to I Mr. T. Parr's Clot. worker
DONCASTER HANDICAP.
4 to I apt Mr. Jews'. Cluntrey
1 to I Mr. Jobs Oexa ne's Aebyrinthes
DONCASTER STEEPLE CHASE
4 to 1 apt Marta Day I 1 to I apt Alealtiodis
S to 1 art debris (t)
CHESTER CCP.

11 to apt Mr. Tres•• Rhesus R)
23 to Lord Egliatow's Rated of Ansel
30 to Mr. Ha:Owes Seaman (t)
30 to Mr. T. Lister's Nancy .3)
40 to Lord Enfield's Ftee Hower
30 to Lord Waterbed's Due-ataDttarres (t to £100)
TIER PORT STARKS (NEWMARKET.)
M apt Lord Wales lb. boater
2,000 Gni PAS STAKES.
II to 10 apt Mr. Howard's Oradea
to I Mr. A. NielsoPs Newodaster (t to 130 t.)
-
DERBY.

11 to 2 .it Mr. nalforZlCKlas Mlaialar (t 4to 1)
13 to I Mr Howard's Greci.dt It to IOW.)
11 to 1 Mr. Osbaklieton'eMountaio Sylph colt (t to INK)
ZS to 1 Mr. J. Oath Marlborough Busk (t)
11,000 to 30 81rJ. Hurley'. The Cloolotoor (t)
3,400 to 20 Lord Zetlasfe Lightfoot (t).