The Express.
London, England, 1847-07-27 00:00:00

~~

L g
1.25 ~316 1,163,379 t 3,107,843
1,561,997 1,279,971 4,102,294
1,369,670 863,211 3,949,341
-.I 1,679,936 794,362 4,908,163
-a', miserable, e....,complainiog Ireland re-
__ .._ _ England from 4,000,0001. to 6,000,0001. sterling
yearly, in r schango for these articles of produce alone, to
say nothing about pigs, cows, sheep, butter, porter, end flax
vast quartettes of all which articles England purchases iron:
her.'• 39
ithirrienr pasliesesnenereeenosinsehe-hest sin nrealle el 4(1.-•• 1110
**
1848, being the last six months of Sir Robert Peel's Irish 139 I i -'
i lo
- •__ 38

don which his friend, the author of the " Commercial Policy
of Pitt and Peel" now elaicas for him, I place the two scales
a wheat and barley and minas in contiguous columns,
aids )side, and entire :
Sciai FOR WHEAT.
1827 1828 1842 1846
Lord Liverpool and Sir R. Sir R. Sir R.
Mr. Canning. Peel. Peel. Peel.
a. a. d. a. d.
73 tad upwards 1 .. 1 .. 1 .. 4
72 1 .. 2 .. 2 .. 4
„
71 I .. 6 .. 3 .. 4
0
70 1 .. 10 .. 4 .. 4
0
69 ~ 2 .. 13 .. 6 .. 4
068 4 .. 16 .. 6 .. 4
67 6 .. 18 .. 6 .. 4
~
66 r. 8 .. 20 .. 6 .. 4
65 ~ 10 .. 21 .. 7 .. 4
64 12 .. 22 .. 8 .. 4
11,
63 14 .. 23 .. 9 .. 4
62 „ 16 .. 24 .. 10 .. 4
61 18 .. 25 .. 11 .. 4
„
69 ~ 20 .. 26 .. 12 .. 4
69 „ 22 .. 27 .. 13 .. 4
58 24 .. 28 .. 14 .. 4
ir
57 0 26 .. 29 .. 15 .. 4
54 28 .. 30 .. 16 .. 4
„
53 „ 30 .. 31 .. 17 .. 4
52 32 .. 32 .. 18 .. 6
51 34 .. 33 .. 19 .. 8
„
50 36 .. 34 .. 20 .. 7
~
49 „38 .. 35 .. 20 .. 8
48 ~ 40 .. 36 2_ 20 .. 9
SCALE FOR BARLEY AND.M LIZ M
• - - -

41 and upwards 1 .. 1 0 .. 1 0 .. 2 0
40 1 .. 1 10 .. 1 0 .. 2 0
1 .. 3 4 1 0 .. 2 0
. 110 .. 1 0 .. 2 0
I ":."'"rni"... .. 2 0
1 .. 410 .. 1 .. 2 0
. 1 .. 710 .. 2 .. 2 0
2 .. 6 4 .. 3 .. 2 0
4 .. 10 10 .. 4 .. 2 0
6 .. 12 4 .. 6 .. 2 0
7 .. 13 10 .. 6 .. 2 0
8 .. 15 4 .. 7 .. 2 0
10 .. 17 10 .. 8 .. 2 6
11 .. 19 4 9 .. 3 0I
13 .. 20 10 .. 9 .. 3 6
14 .. 22 4 .. 9 .. 4 0
16 .. 23 10 .. 10 .. 4 6
17 .. 23 4 .. 11 .. 6 0

I will now proceed to notice one or two of the questiens
which are likely to be discussed in the ensuing parliament.
There will be, first, the navigation laws, to break down
which is clearly the settled determination of the free traders
and the political economists.
The navigation laws may be said to be the last kettle-
groued of oblfisehioned English protection of British interests.
The shipping interest now stands alone so a protected',
interest, and, by joining with the free traders In making
war alike upon the agricultural and colonial interests, have,
unfortunately, severed from themselves, in great part, the
sympathies of those interests which before were attached by
fellow-feeling to them. This circumstance will make their
position more difficult to defend ; but, as I hold that their
position is one of national advantage, the effort must be
made sad, with energy, may be successful.
Public polity, and the security of our insular position, and
distant and wide-spread colonial empire, make it absolutely
necessary that, at all times, and at short notice, we should
have a numerous, skilful, powerful, commercial marine to
fall back upon, to man our navies, in case of a foreign war.
Six months suffice to snake a soldier ; nearly as many years
are required to make an able seaman.
In the last two years of the war 114,000 seamen were
scarcely enough to maintain the honour of the British flog.
A few years back, our peace establishment had reduced the
number of our seanso to 28,000. I believe their strength
to be now nearly 40,000; but if we consent to job our ship
and our seamen from foreign countries, hiring them in the
cheapest market, where can we hope, in case of a sudden
emergency, to find 74,000 able seamen to man the Royal
navy, and to vindicate the old claim of England to the
mistress of the seas ?
Of equal importance with this question, even if not of
still greater importance, is the reconsideration of our
monetary system, and more especially of the Bank Charter
Act of 1844, which so crippled the action of the Bank of
England, and through her, the whole trade and commerce of
the country, in May last.
The restrictions of this act are not only mischievous, but
highly absurd, in a country the foundation of whose com-
mercial presperity is its extended credit. They forbid the
Bank of England to make use of her character, her honour,
and her responsibility—in a word, her credit—to mist the
legitimate trade of the country. Year
.by year them restric-
eilas are curtailing them/swans and. limiting the means et,
tranmeting commercial business, which is daily increasing
with rapid and prodigious growth. Indeed, of all the prin-
ciple of modern political economy, the principle which the
Bank Charter Act of 1844 embodies, seems at ones the moat
monstrous and impracticable. It in as consistent with
common sense as it would be to prescribe the same sised shoes
for the feet of a child and for those of a giant—the same
quantum of foals for an infant in arms and for a railway
" navvy."
Having so lately, in my place in parliament, * reseed my
general views as regards the true financial p ' of the
country, more especially as to the clear expediency o getting
rid as much as possible of Excise duties and Excise restric-
tions, and substituting in their stead revenue duties on
foreign imports, be they alike the agricultural or the manu-
factured produce of the industry of foreigners, I shall not
reiterate my opinions on this head here.
To favour and foster our missiles, and our East Indian
possessions, by admitting, as far as the revenue will permit,
the free importation of their produce, whilst we exact the
utmost duties from the rival produce of foreign countries,
consistent with the raising from these a large revenue, ap-
pears to be natural and parental policy worthy of a mighty
eonntry owning colonial possessions containing more than
150,000,000 of inhabitants.
I will here only advert to the necessity of England exert-
ing herself to obtain justice for her own subjects from her
faithless and repudiating, but not insolvent, foreign cre-
ditors.
The annual unpaid interest of what are termed the foreign
debts, " passive and deferred," due to British subjects,
amounts to a BUM equal to the property and income tax, and
to a sum nearly equal to that said to have been drained in
gold from this country during the last winter and spring in
payment for foreign corn and provisions.
Them sacred obligations, if honestly discharged, would be
paid in cash, golds or dollars. The punctual payment of
5,000,0001. sterling in gold or in silver would have altogether
balanced the foreign exchanges, and we should have -hued
nothing of the Bank of England being crippled, nothing of
good bills for 3,0001. of the best houses, at sixty days, being
hawked about the market and sent a-begging for 2,6001.;
or of a South American house being unable to raise notes
upon the security of silver bullion ; still less of an Irish bank
having 40,000/. worth of silver coin in her coffers being unable
to obtain assistance either in note, or gold upon their security
from the Bank of England.
The distress in Ireland and the mode of relieving it have
occupied the greatest and the meat anxious part of the time
of the Legislature during the late session.
You will recollect that on the 4th of February I proposed
a comprehensive measure for the temporary and immediate
employment of the people, and the permanent improvement
of Ireland. The Whig Government, coalescing with Sir
Robert Peel end all the political economists in the House of
Commons, defeated the Protectionists, and scornfully re.
jetted that proposition as one designed for the benefit of
destitute shareholders." At a later period of the session
the Government repented the course adopted in February,
and embraced the railway plan of employing the people. At
the close of the session Sir Charles Wood made his financial
statement of the practical results of the various modes of
relief in which English money, to the extant of 9,350,0001.,
had been and is to be expended.
The following is a summary of the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer's statement, extracted from the Spectator :
" Sir Charles presented the following summer! of the
expenaihre:
1. Grants:
Half of the expense of works ander 9th and
10th of Victoria, e. 107 £2,600,000
Grants by Relief Commissioners (Sir J. Bar-
goyne's commission)
Staff of Board of Works and Relief Commission 310,000
Donations to relief committee made previously
to the establishment of the Relief Commission 190,000
Estimated loss on commisaari•t operations, &c ,
already voted 250,000
Making £4,250,000
Probable expenditure on fishery piers and navi-
gation connected with drainage 130,000

£4,380,000
2. Advances to be repaid out of rates . _
Half of the expense of works under the 9th and
10th Vie. c. 107 £2,600,060
Loans by Relief Commirdotters 1,200,000
3. Advances for works of utility, repayment of
which might be depended on with certainty:
For railroads 620,000
Board of Works loan fund 260,000

Estimated advance forbad ithpuggeneut up to
Apra, 1848 400,000
• Making a greed total of £9,350t000
thmekee exploded in 1 4..4 no.,
The - mi. __a.,'
August last, and to os, r.- .re 31st of Yank,
1848, was 9,360,0001. The reps— pica* of loans has not
began ' • and it would be as menage& as sot to pram heavily
on the debtors. In the of the satsuma they would
only have to the thstaltneat of the advances of
last smiths ITI
To Me stetemeot I will ad add a weed; it Reeds no am-
mentary. The ma who row may reel too it which party
in the state ere the sleet eerekl,=mt, safe, thrifty, and
faithful gurgle= et the ligflel
In eassirselok, I beg row peosletiew to make wee few
ottomans es these_peet whine mite the roll.
gigue thaw oi l the Prelmind wait et Ilailsod,-1 mesa
=wiweettes, and the mei, temlowirotee the Rama
platheed in Ireland.

With respect to popular education I have warmly in my'
heart, although only with my humble vote, supported the
measure of her Majesty's Goverment.
I may say of the Roman Catholic endowment, that it is a
' proposition which is repudiated by the Roman Catholic
hierarchy, and which her Majesty's Ministers have declared
they have no intention of making, and therefore I am not
called upon to give my opinion on • question which is not
' likely to arise. But it would be altogether foreign from my
habits and nature to disguise a thought which I possess that
you have a right to know ; and, after all that his passed on
this subject, I think you have a right to know precisely what
I do feel and think about it.
My animators came over to this country to maintain the
Protestant cause and the principles of civil and religions
liberty. I should be very sorry, is these respects, to prove
unworthy of them. lam ready to maintain the Protestant
' came at any sacrifice, but I never could believe that it was
to be maintained by violating the principles of religious
freedom. I have always thought that the Protestant cause
and religious liberty were identical, therefore I am one of
those Who, for 19 years, have consistently and earnestly
advocated the removal of all disabilities from, and the fullest
and most generous toleration towards, our Roman Catholic
fellow-subjects.
But while I bold it to be the duty of a true Christian and
of a Church of England man to forbear from proscribing in
any way the Roman Catholics of England or Ireland, there is
not in the Queen's dominions one who would more strenu-
ously resist than I would any attempt by Roman Catholics
or others to raise a finger against the Protestant Church,
either in England or in Ireland, or to interfere within either
country, still less to diminish, her revenues.
Taught, however, by the Ingots I have learned from
Burke, Pitt, and Canning—nay, I might add from the prac-
tice of King George 111., of pious, Protestant, and scru-
pulous fame; looking to the Canada,, to the West Indies, to
Gibraltar, to Malta, to the Cape of Good Hope, to Ceylon, to
the Maunnue, and, above all, to our East Indian possessions,
where I find all manner of endowments ; remembering that
before Roman Catholic emancipation was carried the °li-
gation by the Roman Catholic priesthood in Ireland to re-
ceive a state provision was looked to as one of the greatest
securities of the Protestant church, I was myself at an
early period of my public life, of opinion that • suitable
maintenance of the Roman Catholic priesthood in Ireland
' was an arrangement which ought not to excite the religious
scruples of the most deep-feeling Protestant. But lam
equally of opinion, that this is an arrangement which ought
never to be carried into effect without the full and general
consent of the English people. This is a question on which
the Protestant people of this empire moat not be taken by
turpre. They have already been twice surprised - a third
experiment may produce alas which a Minister, how-
ever cunning, may not like to face. The game of 1829
must not be played over again. I will never be a party to
such tricks and detestable menceuvres. It must be a question
on which ample and due warning must be first given, and
the sense of the kingdom asked and taken upon it before
it is attempted to be carried in Parliament. Nor would I,
under any circumstance'. consent to the endowment, if de-
cided on, being supplied from English funds or English
pockets. The land of Ireland, that has already deprived
the Protestant church in that country of one-fourth of its re-
venue, might well afford, if it be deemed expedient, to supply
a liberal and becoming provision for the priesthood ofthit
religion which is professed by the vast majority, the tillers of
the soil. _ . . ..

hr.t) endeavoured to express my opinions without reserve
or muivocauoa. If you extend to me again
the confidence
so which you have often intrusted to me, at least it shall not
be betrayed.
I have the honour to be, Gentlemen,
Your faithful eervant,
Harcourt-house, July 24. 0. BENTINCH.