The Express.
London, England, 1849-04-14 00:00:00

popular excitement, nedculit, the great communitme—..._
as I have now the honour of 'damming—lle grist and
popular communities, eat Terse a great power, brows, when
they express their opinion, it pith. r coivineee, or if it does
not cavities, it alarms the agricultural interest into an
sepieuenee in reform. But as the rural and landed interest
was this country, when they ere doing well end getting
they ate walla, for taxation to be high and ex-
re to be lavish ; but when prices tome down
they leek kw a diminution of the national expetees. It is
me tithe great advantages which I should calculate on from
therepselei the corn-laws, that it will put the agricultural
inteteet in the same beat with the rest of the community.
(Applause.) Although they may for • time try to delude
themselvee—or the landlord: may try to delude the tenantry—
with the idea that they will get back protecti en again, and
that they will return to high prices once more ; yr t when
they are once convinced, and they will very soon be toe-
tinted, that they cannot return back to the tax upon corn,
then in spite of all you may hear to thii contrary, you will
see the members for the rural aunties walk into
the tame lobby with myself and Joseph Hume. (Applause.)
They tell us they cannot comnete with the foreigners in the
present state of taxation, and. thetefort i afn very glad that
we have been the first—that we, the pretenders, have been
the first—that the magatheturiag districts have been the very
first—to come forward awl air to help the agriculturists to
reduce taxation ' • and 'sore, if they will co operate with "
that those taxes shall be reduced which I believe presses par-
ticularly apes that interest. But I don't want this to be
misunderstood. Our excellent friend, the obairman, very
properly said, that we have burdens upon our shoulders
which will impede us in the path even of free trade ; and to
have the full advantage of free trade—it is, to be sure, not
perfect freedom of trade yet, but I tappets we shall soca
make it so—(applause)—to have the fall advantage of that
freedom of trade, we must remove the burdens from over
shoulders. Bat Ido not want it to p teeth, or to be under-
stood by our opponents, that we are making this outcry
because we think we shall not be able as well to oom-
pets with foreigners without corn laws as with
them. It was Aiwa) smy opinion, before the corn laws
were abolished, that whatever tthatiou we miPt have to
bear, and whatever our competition with foreers might
be, you will bear it all better without the bread-tax
than with It. (Aispolases.) And Imy so still. (Reiterated
sheen. But if complain that, now, they
an foe)the first tine =lulu eta petition, they can•
not carry on Sok Wines without reffeetion of taxation,
we have pissed aunaleee is opposition towards them, that
we have been the first to come out and offer to Grid them in
reducing taxation. I had occasion, last night, at Wakefield,
to allude to the attempt that is now being nude to mire the
outcry in favour of reaction; that the purple are tired of
having corn at 45e. per qr. ; whereas, they would have had
It at 70.. if they had bad the late sliding scale. (Chests.)
I had ocessiou, last night, to say • few words upon this
subject, because I am anxious that these people, these
Cr::, who keep repeating words till they themselves
them to be true—that they should not run
away with the delusion that the people of the
West Riding, who, more than any others, have contri-
buted to the repeal of the corn lame2l say I am
onsious that they should not delude themselves with the idea
that you are in favour of a return to the old system of corn
laws. (Cites of " Rear.") They tell us all sorts of things
have happened in cot sequence of the repeal of the corn laws.
There is nothing that is mysterious that has happened, but it
is said was is consequence at the opal of the corn laws.
They have lately had the impudence to tall us that Inland
is Bulletin in consequence of the repeal of the tax upon
cam. I thought we had had some inquiries iota the
state of Ireland before the corn laws were repealed ; I
thought I had read some letters of Edward Spenser vim-
tensing • descriptioo of Ireland three hundred years ago,
much the same as if they had been written yesterday. I
thqugh• I had read something in D-an Swift which might
have been received from a corespondent a week ago ; and I
thought that there had been a Devon commission producing 3
blue books that disclosed a state of things most disgraceful to
this country, and unparalleled on the face of the earth.
(Hear.) And yet they now come forward to tell us that free
trade has ruined Ireland. Why, if any country has been in
a state of ruin for 300 pus, it is Ireland. What has ruined
it? Ireland has been ruined because she wanted something
better than potatoes for her people to at. And what has
helped them to live? Why Indian cora, which was brought
cheaply from abroad. Why ? Because you bad removed all
obstructions to its importation. (Cheers.) I have heard
that some graceless vied once said that the best remedy for
the evils et Ireland was to let the Atlantic over it about ten
feet for twenty-four hours. My nostrum is different. I say
inundate Ireland with India* corn and good wheat, and that
will cure them better than by letting the ocean upon
them. (Loud applause, and a voids—"li you feed
them, they won't wok.") Oh, yes, they will work,
if pre will give them two shillings and sixpence a-day.
(Vehement applause.) Well, then, gentlemen, these people
who want to penneele us that there is a greet mutton
is favour of another corn law, complain to us in spinal-
turd meetings in the south of the low prices of their produce.
They any they have got sprouted wheat. I read this account
in • retest of an agricultural meeting in Sussex, where one
of the Deka of Richmond's friends got up and said, " I
have bad to sell my sprouted wheat for 32e. 6d., and to give
some to the pigs, as no the will buy it sow, but before • the
repeal of the corn laws I could have sold it at a gocd price
for the people to eat." (Hear.) This may be very well for
the farmers, but you will not have to complain that inrtead
of eating sprouted wheat, which might produce cholera or
dysentery, or some bed disease, yen can buy good flour ; and
I don't think you will have any right to complain or wish to
go back to the old system. (Applause.) I can understand
that • bad crop is a very bad thing for the Sussex farmers.
We know that in the south sod welt of England we had
had wet weather, which fell in the critical time when the
wheat was upon the ground ; that in last autumn this bed
weather extended from the Land's End to Kent That was
an unfortunate thing for the farmers sod landowners, who
had their corn c:posed and were ready to gather it up ; but
in the north of England and on the east coast they were
mom fortunate ; the crops ware got in in a good state. What
I want to draw your attention to is this, that if these farmers
in the West of England have a misfortune one in four or
five years with their crops, it is just what every manufac-
turer has with his manufactures. Look at the change of
fashions; look at the breaking of machinery; at the new
inventions of machinery ; look at the dvil war I. Ger-
many ; at the outbreak in China, and many other things
which happen in our experience—lcok at all them thing",
which may operate upon and interfere with our trade
and manufactures. (Cheers.) You must bear in mind,
also, In this calculation, that when the year is prosperous
the manufacturer does not come to the public to ask
them to have • share in the balance ; be pockets the profits
of the good year, and when from rain, or fire, or any other
accident, the year happens to be bad, the manufacturer, I
cannot say pockets his loss, but he puts up with it_, and does
not come to parliament whining and saying he has had a
bad trade, and wants the law paned to protect him and to
make his trade profitable. We lay the same thing to the
farmers—make your own arrangements—make your own
bargains. We have got land to let, and you must take into
consideration that you will have bad moons and bad crops
occasionally ; it is your business, and not that of the public
to see to this. And if you omit to take into account these
things kit is of no use your coming, like children, whining
to parliament or to as. All that we an promise hi, that
when you have good profits we wont come in for a Ware of
the profits. (Hest.) Some people ask, What has free trade
done for us ? I have stated at Wakefield what I heel to
night repeated in a parenthesis. From the bent opinions
I have been able to gather, I believe if yam had not been
able to secure the repeal of the corn laws when you did, you
would have had corn at 70s. per quarter now—come say 724.
(Hear, hear.) Before this year, you never knew a deficient
harvest, with a falling market afterwards. (Hear, hear.)
Well, free trade has done that for you, at all events; and
whatever your other troubles may have been—whether your
pockets are boring out at the bottom with railway charts—
(laughter and applause),—whether your trade may be inter-
rupted for • time by the Schleswig Holstein quarrels, or
the coarandons in Sugary sad Italy ; othestker them, or
whatever other things, may happen, be mewed that you
are better off with wheat at five awl thirty shillings •
quitter—that you have more power le molosia your pe-
tition, and more thanes of averting the oils Often ethos ;
that you are in every ',upset batter off then if pa had the
sliding sealtesad its onsentitant of wheat at ems* shillints
a quarter. (Applause.) Now, 1 ham tamely said this that
we may put ourselves straight, and hemp mmodem Mmight
midi our appestats ; that we may undeautond bow we ar,
owl Mothers know that we are saddled with the results of
the mend et theserslain,and with hot trade so far as it has
me.......( Leml endows. ) With regard to the miasmal =pendi-
a., meson, probably, thstl wpm' tosiewidesake
ZoWammel knit the pet womanise to what
II woo ill* I thee. and I maintain still, that I
is propel( as the great ehject
oarroZeisabal Item that we timid revert to that period—
(upplasse)—temmes I as assured that by the time we have
got to that
triebo dissneden whisk we shall have had,
and from tibia bee elready been let into this
matter, we shell Me to get s gess% deal farther. (Great
wPm as dna set get this all at ones ; I never
e Ibsen gist it all at ones. It were despotic—if
gnimesa abssinlio power in this ersatry—l don't. pretend
~tondo
mg we email est it all at own. My es-
ts the staliteas You must pat your colonies en s•
On footing ,• sad I wet you to tell the sole-Ms how to go-
ours themselves. (Applause.) They will be very glad to
pay their own enemas, if you will eeve this W smogs
Othir own affaise—(:hears)—aud so long as you Mem diem
that, they ars right is tax you for their goommont, for
their Whop thel in patting you to all the dray do.
Well, this 'amine thbp so far off—twelve ftumml miles
matt'a—that, as Ihath said, If 1 bed thews sosja
it out at ems. Bat what rwae Is, that public
Oinkswldso use** itself as to mayhems the ex eative
that they should tot about enranging those
ur irpdekly as smith*. We have mak sNg or two—
we made some sniostion. The asmsafier of the
um stated it at semsthirg like a nein Isis UM I
MA Wt yam Itilkost I don't berth Mho lumens the
Alltswey. ItwtilsurYe" he ie tslkYgapiesl the aria.
a** (Awillsown) I wealorow bow really to
tali to menithoneured melee like this ;
beams whoa I rifillodli ts the if Closimms. they
wan say, " Thb les two Sass; be hobs Os etas tuns is
Yorkshire, mils quite a dOflssmt Mir bare." Now, I my,
I &a's like the way in whisk Sees emotion have boss
made; they has all Isms mob hem the lowest end of the
male. (Heer, hear.) It seam to be tholesded. ban the
way in which they law boss nom* to Wag fasosisl
reform into &mate. Here is sedosiths la the may ;
sod how de they go to work? They prdeadtbsZare rig
to redoes 10,000 men. Would it not be that the
simplest way would. have been to reduce 10 nglinute, or
su may regiments es would embrace 10,000 mes—end
thus getting rid of the otherm—(sheen)7-ef Grid--of
that proportion of the civil service which is NOMA for
that large army—nithsein the ordnance stores la
—in fact, redo:lei the whole seals of the military=