The Express.
London, England, 1847-01-20 00:00:00

in putting them in possession of the reins of the
kith government. At a late period of the session
and so shortly before this calamity, that they had not NW
play in dealing with the difficulties in which Ireland was
placed, and for that reason they felt it to be duo to her
Majesty's ministers to look with an indulgent eye, and deal
with a lenient hand with their measures, even though they
might not entirely concur in them. It was unnecessary for him
to say that he deeply sympathised with Ireland, and he and
them with whom he acted were prepared to give the best
attention to the measures of her Majesty's government for
remedying those disasters which had taken place in that
country. But, at the acme time, they would be expected to
deal frankly with the government, and while they were not
disposed to say that her Majesty's ministers had acted
wrongly in declining to call parliament together, or to cen-
sure them for having over-ridden the law and superseded
the duty of the legislature, yet they must say that they
could nut altogether agree in the measur, s which they had
recourse to. It was impossible to view the operation of tho
Employment Act, and Maly it had answered any good purpose.
He could not concur in the right hon. gentleman's princi-
ples of political economy with respect to the supply of food
and non.interference with trade. Those principles might be
good at times ; but at a period when such an unprecedented
calamity had fallen upon those who had been accustomed to
live upon potatoes of their own growth, produced within a
few yards of their own doors, and when there were no
merchants or ret tilers in the whole of the west of Ireland, it
was not reasonable to expect that a sup ly would suddenly
spring up without government intethirence. This was a
time when her Majesty's government should have bioken
through the harsh and severe principles of political economy,
and found the means of providing the people with food.
If it were true that 10,000 people had perished from famine
in the barony of Skibbereen, could it be argued that the
ministry had done all that they could alp to supply the people
with find? He now came to the measures of relief pro-
posed by her Majesty's ministers. He would first touch
upon the proposition to remove the es. duty upon corn.
Olt ar, hear). It was not the intention of hie friends to in-
terpose any obstacle to the repealing of the 4s. duty. (Hear,
hear). At the same time they did not admit that the repeal of
that duty would confer any benefit whatever on the consumer.
That there would be a loss to the Exchequer there could
be no doubt; but if the Chancellor of the Exchequer could
spare three or four hundred thousand a year, they would not
interfere, although they believed that every (lathing would go
into the pockets of those corn-merchants, those forestallers,
of whom the people of Ireland had such just cause to com-
plain, or into the pockets of the American merchants and
agriculturists. (Hear, hear.) He had spoken of the preen
of Indian corn. The price of wheat was 40s. at New York,
and nearly 80s. at Liverpool. Into whose pocket would the
difference go ? (Hear.) It would have been far better to raise
the duty, and to apply the proceeds to feed the people. He
did not expect to see much benefit accrue from the proposed
interference with the navigation law+. It was now too late
to :tumble the ships of foreign nations, and send them to
America, whence they must chiefly look for a supply of
grain. Had it been proposed to make a permanent altera-
tion in the navigation laws. he should have opposed such a
proposition; but understanding from her Majesty's speech
that all that was intended was a temporary suspension, he
should not offer any obstru •tion to that measure. The real
difficulty would be, not to find grain, but ships to carry. it.
If her Majesty's government would cast aside their rigid
principles of political economy, they had yet an opportunity
of purchasing grain in the markets of New York, New
Orleans, Boston, and Baltimore. There were eight ships of
the line, having upon an average, a tonnage of '2,300 tons,
and capable therefore of carrying at least 2,000 tons of grain
each ; and he had the authority of one of the finest seamen
in the British service for stating that if Ministers would
grant permission to have the guns out of those ships, fit them
for the voyage. and before the expiration of ten weeks
return with 80,000 quarters of grain. Ns remedy appeared
more simple as a means of supplying the people of Ireland
in their present emergency. With respect to the foreign
policy of the noble lord, it must he matter of great regret
to the country that one result of that policy should be,
that it was already on bad terms with the King of the
French. If there was any sovereign with which this country
was especially desirous to see a good understanding main-
tained, that sovereign was the one he had mentioned; and
although he was glad to find that the noele bird had not pro-
tested against the Montpensiermarriage,and no longer pleaded
the treaty of Utrecht as a barrier to it, yet he could not but
express regret that anything should have occurred to
produce a bad feeling between the monarchies of the two
countries. He came next to that paragraph in the speech which
stated there had been a violation of the treaty of Vienna.
That was a grave charge to make against three of the most
powerful sovereigns in Europe, with whom, or with whose
predecessors, this country had fought so long the battle of
European freedom. If the event alluded to were an infrac-
tion of one of the 17 supplementary articles, he would ask
how many violations of the treaty had taken place previ-
ously ? What, for instance, was the severance act Belgium
from Holland? He deeply regretted that his noble friend
should have thought it his duty to express in such strong lan-
guage, in the 'Teeth from the throne, his condemnation of
the conduct of three of our oldest and most powerful allies
—the natural friends of England. He had not alluded
to the intention of her Majesty's ministers to admit sugar
into the distilleries and breweries. His (Lord G. Bentinck's)
friends did not intend to oppose that proposition, but, at the
same time, they did not think that any great benefit
would be derived from it. He apprehended that if they re-
duced the price of barley they would raise the price of sugar,
so that upon the whole the people would use se much as
they did before. He did not believe the government would
succeed in driving back the people of England to the use of
barley bread, though (as was understood) he presumed that
was their intention. He trusted that ministers would ietro-
duce measures which would tend to encourage the erupt y-
menu of capital in Ireland. (Hear, hear.) It was not by
alms, by gifts, and by Poor Employment Acts that Ireland
could be benehtted. Her Majesty's ministers must pro.
pound measures by which English enterprise would
he encouraged and English capital would be poured
into Ireland. (Hear, hear, hear ) He hoped that such
measures would be introduced without the interference of
his friends; but he would give notice that if her Majesty's
ministers did not bring forward some comprehensive pro-
posal of that kind, he should at an early opportunity, with
the advice of his party, propose a large and comprehensive
measure for that purpose, (hear, bear.)
Mr. ROEBUCK wished to express in a few words what he
believed to be for the interest of the united countries of
England andlreland at the present time. If it were in the
power of any one man to say that the present misery should
cease, there was nothing which he would not consent to
do in order to obtain such an object. But a government
had other considerations to take into account. A govern-
ment had to consider what MIS within its legitimate func-
tions, and to take care to observe the difference between a
temporary and a permanent condition of society • and he
warned the noble lord and his colleagues against the danger
of altering that which should be a mere temporary
expedient into a permanent mischief to the country.
(Hear, hear, hear.) He knew that their sympa-
thies were appealed to ; he knew what it was
fin- persons to come a begging from Ireland. (Laughter.)
lie expressed his meaning in those term., and before he had
done, he would illustrate the expression by very many ex-
amples He was quite prepared with his need of admira-
tion for the foresight displayed by the right hon. gentleman
opposite (Sir It. Peel) last year ; yet he could not help say-
ing that the very measures which the right hon. gentleman
carried had !seedy led to the very mischief which he anti-
cipated. No government could propose to itself the
purpose of feeding a people. (Hear, hear, hear.)
That was an axiom from which no wise statesman
would deviate. A pressing emergency might arise calling
for some extraordinary expedient ; but no government could
possibly propose to itself to feed a people; and what had
happened was the legitimate consequence of all that cant
which they had seen in nearly every newspaper, both in this
country and in Ireland, and which declared that the people
had a right to labour and to a provision. He clewiei both
propositions; he maintained that they could not as a govern.
ment—for that was the way in which he guarded himself- -
they could not, as a permanent habit, provide labour and
pay for the people. If it were only for one year, or
were any given time specified, he would lay down all he
possessed to maintain the people of Ireland for that space of
time ; but it was a permanency which they had to contemplate
in making such a provision, and though the apprehended
famine did not come last year, it had come now, aggravate
by the statement that England must provide for the people,
put forward by every bawling demagogue who wanted to
exaggerate the misery of his country. He protested against
a permanent provision being made for the Irish people.
(Hear, hear.) He would now say a word about Irish land-
lords to speak of that class of Irish landlords fir
whom the British Parliament had been legislating this 300
year: who had been legislated for as a body opposed in
their interests to the people of Ireland who had been con-
tinued and supported by the English Parliament against the
people of Ireland and who had wrought, for their own per.
soiled purposes, all the mischiefs and miseries of Ireland.
(Hear.) And let him explain how. An Irish landlord
came into an estate he maid, upon taking possession of it,
"if I build cottages fur the people here. I shall get
the interest of my money in the shape of rent." Accord-
regardless of consequence+, he builds cottage+. ,
(" No" from Mr. Bernal (hltorne.) The new landlord
said "he " never did. (A laugh) But the old landlo (Is
had done en ; and by en doing, they had saved themselves
from the operations of a poor law. What was the result ?
That the Irish landlord had, on his estate, a pauper population.
Privileges had been made for him by the British Parliament.
lie had taken advantage of them, and had reduces! the
people to the state of a pauper population spread over
the whole country. And now, after centuries of legislation
tending to these consequences, the Irish landlord turned
towards England to ask England to maintain, not only him-
self, but the paupers he had created. What was, then, the
clear duty of England i He (Mr. Roebuck) should ea) it
was this—to insist the* the land of Ireland should maintain
the people of Ireland. He was prepared to vote I'm a
measure which would take from the sober, industrious, iutel-
ligere, laborious, peace-loving, law-obedient people of
England, for the supper; of the rude system of anarchy
predominant in that canary, which, by a singular misap-
plication of terms was called the " sister" kingdom.
(" Hear," from the opposition.) " I ere," mid Mr. Roebuck,
" that it has been said, by one who tell+ us, forsooth, that he
is a ' representative .4 the people of Ireland,' that all the
sympathy of the English people for their distressed fellow
createres, is evinced in a scheme for bribing them into Pro-
testantism. Sir, I never in all my life felt so greatly the
inferiority of a man who is pushed iateesnotoriety by extra-
neous circumstances, as I have dune within the last three
months in contemplating the condition of Ireland. Ireland
wanted a man. She wanted one who, setting aside all per.
so. al cousiderations all miserable thooghta of private pelf,
would look to the good of this country as his end and aim,
and to her rescue from her present difficulties as his imme-
diste ohject. She did not find such a man; but, In his
place she is altheted with one woo exacerbates ail het pas-