The Express.
London, England, 1849-07-07 00:00:00

worse, as the hon, gentleman supposes, it has &eroding
to the later official accounts become considtrabla Im-
proved. I do not mean by this to say that there ta not
very considerable distress in some agricultural counties. But
I can well understand that there may be a period at which
it is advisable to impose a moderate fixed duty on urn.
(Cheers from the protectionists.) And 1 have no hesitation
in saying that, true as I thick the principles of free trade,
and undoubted as are the principles laid down by Adam
Smith, yet when a nation has for some time been living
under laws which induce men to expect a higher price than
their articles would otherwise bring, it may bar wise to
nuke a gradual change—to depart from Isiah and excessive
protection to a moderate fixed duty, as a means of
enabling the people to obtain corn cheaper, and at the same
time making the transition to the agricultural interest less
precipitate than it would else be. (Hear.) But was no
mach proposition ever made? (Cheers from the ministerial
benches.) And when it was made how was it met? When
it would have been a wise and a safe propnerion —whet,
the people of this country were asking for a change
of the corn laws, and would have co. sidcred such
a measure a generous and spontaneous eenceasino,
when it would have lowered the prim: of food to the people,
and at the same time enabled the agriculturist to prepare for
the greater char go which the e. lorry would finally have re-
(paired—then the propitiation for a fixed duty, was met by a
most violent, ammo out, and pertinacious apposition.
(Hear.) But now, when the corn laws are doge: her abo•
fished, and the people know there is no law to 'nervier be-
tween them aid the attainment of their food at the cheapest
prom—when they have tasted the comforts conseqo ent on free-
dom of commerce, and they feel contented and grateful to the
legislature for having taken airy those laws by which the
price of their feed was eohanced, and when it would be mad-
neu to attempt to reimpose such a duty, that is the time
when hon. gentlemen opposite, who refuted the offer whet,
it was made to them, come forward to ask the house to esta-
blish a fixed duty on corn. (Hear.) But it is singular that,
having asked the two great interests, the agricultural and the
West I hdia coluniol interest, to agree to a duty of Bs. ow corn
and 12e. on foreign sugar, I should have heard it proposed on
the part o' the piotectioniets—that I should have heard, In
the year 1848, a proposal for a temporary duty of 10e. per
cwt. on foreign sugar, and in 1849 a petition should have
been presented, and a motion mad ~ for a moderate fixed
duty on corn. (Cheers.) It does not appear to me that
hon. gentlemen at ell suit the prepositions to the circum-
stances of the times. They know well that they would have
' b:•en carried at a former period if they had consented to
them ; but that nothing would induce them even to hear of
such propositions; aed now, when there is scarcely a
chance of their 64CC(11,—when their success would be
for more fatal to their political intim:ace than the
rejection of such propositions, that is the time when they
thick it wise and statesmanlike to bring them forward. I
have stated with regard to the agriculturists, ants especially
r to thou returns:et which the hon. gentleman has referred,
that those are returns of a later date, showing fir better pro-
spects for the labouring CIASSIS than those of which he hes
spoken. There is another print to which I would
eall attention. That is the great increase in the consumption
of some of the main articles consumed in this count. y from
1842 to 1848. There was an bureau in the consumption of
coffee of 36 per cent. ; of sugar, of GO per cent. ; tea, 24 per
cent. ; cocoa, 30 per cent. ; currants, 93 per cent. ; Teresina
62 per cent. The increase of the population cannot be taken
let m ire than 9 per cent , so that there is an thereon in the
consumption of articles of general use far exceeding
the increase of the population. There is another
point to which I wi-h to call attention, for it
applies not only to the hon. gentleman's motion,
but also to the language held by my hon. friend the
member for Montrose (Mr. Hume) who would induce us to
think the peopte were c .ntinu city becoming worse in their
mein n, and finding it more and more difficult to obtain
articles of necessity, much less the comforts of life. The
paw. r to obtain those articles mu it always depend in some
measure on their price, and with reran, to many of the
chief articl • of daily consumption, 1 find that the price has
been greatly redured. In the year 1818, the prier of wheat
was 980., in 1824, 60s , is 1838, 60. e. 7'., in 1844, 50s 61. The
price of coffee bad tall, n in the none period from Geo to 3s. 10 1.,
end sugar from 63e. to 265. The prices of cotton, wool, flex,
and Lather hare also been reduced considerably, and there
can hardly, I apprehend, have been such a reduction in the
price of toose eoliths, without a corresponding increase in
the power of consumption, and, cot s,quently, of the tom
forts of the people. With retried to sugar, for inetane.., if
the people consumed 303,000 tons now, for the same sum far
which they could obtain culy 200,000 tons some yells
ago, that proem; Crest they can command a greater enjoyment
of the comforts of life, and that they are better off than they
were in former years. Alter the speech of the right hon.
gentleman, Sr It. Peel, and at thee late hour, I do not like
to detain the h use by going any further loth these state-
ments; but there are ore or two quer ions on which the hon.
gentleman (Mr. Disraeli) touched in his epuch to which my
right hon. friend the (Chancellor of the Exchequer) did not
rater, and on which therefore 1 am desirous of offering a few
w or.. s. I feel that with regard to the ministry
to which I am attached 1 am bound gene rally
to say whatevor detects may be found in our
mode of meeting the difficulties we have bad to en-
counter, that though, those difficulties have been great we
have in no way flinched from meeting them, and encounter-
ing them with the b st remedies we could devise, and with
regard to some of them, I may add that the re alto preve
that we were not mi tele, nin the course we took. (Heir.)
In 1847 there was a meat commercial convulsion and great
difficult' vin 0011,1que or in r gaol to the cot rency. We met
that oifficulty by um asures taken on our own responsibil t,,
which was approved by the house unanimously. (He ar,
hear.) That measure has, lum happy to say, been free from
the evils anticipated by the hum gentleman opposite (Mr.
Spoon( r.) When that hon. gentleman came to me as one of
&deputation on the sabjeci, 1 told his that gold was coming
in, and hi. reply was, that if I supposed it would ri main in
the bank I was mistaken, for it would all go away again.
But we never hetet.. adhered to our measure, and our measure
was miccemtul and brought us, without risk or danger, to
the eurreecy, through a period of great danger to the com-
mercial classes of the country Soo, merchants of London
we: e surerieed when I said I felt no despondency OR icemen*
of the difficulties by which we were then surreutv'e I.
I believed that the enterprise and the capirel
of the merchems of this great metropolis w .uld
extricate them from the depression they were then
labouring undo r ; I saw no Teapot for despondency,
arid therefore I proposed the measure I thought best.
In !rend, as well as in Englaeol, the energy shown by the
government—by the Lord Lieutenant—has relieved Ireland
from great calamities. The danger being pueed, it
may be laughed at, but a dangerous conuisecy
did ex at, which, but for the prompt measures tek-n,
might have disturbed the recce of the country Ann
might have octet m eny lives. There was another danger and
a great one too, in the coruse of these three tor*, which
we have shown no w sit of courage in meeting. The hon.
gentleman has ref re• d to our foreign policy, hut knead of
etasieg, much less proving, arty crime or reelige nce en nor
part, he resorted to the common and niter accusation
that we were rirrieg up insurrections in foreign countries.
Tiers is no ground whatever tor that charge. The rove:menu
of some foreign cow-Aries not having provioed by proper
measures thou concessions and those rights which the r
subjects demanded. those countries were involved in rev •lu-
tions; and not knowing how else it could have happened
they were charred to foreign intrigue. Nothing could he
mere unfounded. Ido not conceal my views. lam for the
old toast, " Civil and religious liberty M 1 over the world," hut
I should not he jostifi. d in interfering in the affairs of other
countries wi.hout s ease overpowering nec. ssite. But with
the di sire to pre serve tranquillity at home, we have been
ready to use the influence and advice of this country with
foreign nations, but we have not been disposed to
interfere in the conflicts which have taken place
abroad. Another part of cur policy is that
throughout all the changes which have taken place in
France we have thought it right to maintain the most
triendly relations with that country-.--(cheen)--and the
preservation of thou friendly relations with the va-
rious governments of France, to preserve a tone of mo
len-
tion which they might • not have been able to
keep, if they bad had nelson to suppose that England was
hostile to them. I say now what I have often said before,
that I belie ye the m doh nanoe of intimate and friendly rela-
tions between England and France is the best
security for the peace of the world. (" Hear,
hear," from Sir Robert Peel.) Though we may
not agree with all that the French nation have done, we
had no reason to suspect that their intentions were other
than friendly and pacific—we saw no d on her
part to vi late those !testi ts by which the peace
of Europe hat been preserved. (Cheers.) An to
the mote a of the hon. member for Buckineheinseins,
he has the app Trent reason for saying that if we look back to
three years ego you will find that we have not had
the Fame peace notated—that we have tome important
interests sufferieg at home—that you have had a great
famine is Ireland from which many ere guf ring even now ;
but when he prouseds from this to lay these charges as
matters of blame to the government without reasonno on
his allegation. I will without fear claim the verdict of el-
house. I will not stk them to say that they approve ot
everything we have done ; but I ask them
not to lay on us e.lamities which it was impossible to avert.
Many of these things had depended upon the celsmity
which Divines Providence had brought on a part of the
United Kingdom, and which he h-ped and trusted might be
the commencement of an alter, d and a better system. He
believed that the scourge had been sent to us to work out an
ultimate porpcse of good, that it sae uld stimulate us •o fresh
energy, and that it should ;not induce us by any
means to despair. If we made no efforts for improvement
we could not expect blessings to be showered spontaneously
upon it.. If we continued a system of policy which he be.
liege d to be wise, and if we continued giving an menu& en
other nations of liberty united with awe, he hoped that
the blessing of Almighty Providence might rest open
this kingdom, and that, although our measures and our di.
rectioos mina have no port in it, yet that the energy, the
consistency, the virtue, and the piety of this nation, might
lead to the happiest flout s.
Mr. MUNTZ complined that the right hon. baronet,
Sir R. Peel, had entirely miarepreiented the epee ch he
delivered on a former occasion. His opinien of the state of
Birmingham was, that trans there was anythirg but peer
perous, that the greater portion of the workiog °penny.,
were unemployed and receiving reduced wages.
Mr. DISRAELI replied. He bad founded the seonomic
;maims of bin motion upon the moat authentic returns ob-
tainable from toe officers of the government. TI e right
hon. gentleman tthe Chancellor of the Exchequer) had ap-
pealed only to one savings bank as a teat of the condition of
the people. Why had not the Chairman of the
Poor-law Board (Mr. Bainesi favoured the house
with his 'tallies relative to the state of pauperism and the
prosperity of H ell ? The Prime Minister had come for-
wardin a statistical character, and game an account 0187 unions
out of 662 in Euoland, end a poorer performance .n tl e
ttadatical vein the house had never beta favoured with,