The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-20 00:00:00

other alternative—that of the resignation of the Govern-
ment.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord who cheers will not
deny that when a Minister fails to obtain the confidence of
the House of Commons he has these two alternatives—resig-
nation of his office, or a dissolution of Parliament. As I pre-
sume, under existing circumstances, a resignation of office is
not that which will be pressed upon us, that which is ex-
pected from the present Government, as upon the former
occasion, is a dissolution. That was what was required of
Sir R. Peel and how did he act when having these two
opposite alternatives present to his mind ? In what way
did he deal with them? The language he held was this—
" I hold there is nothing unconstitutional in the post I fill,
and in the fulfilment of my duty, to persevere in the dis-
charge of those duties to which my Sovereign has called me
in defiance of the majority that is against me upon any
abstract question, and in defiance of any declaration on the
part of the House of Commons that I ought to bring for-
ward a particular question, and settle it in a particular
manner. I will perform my duty until the House shall by
its vote refuse its sanction to some measure of importance

, •
which I may thinkit necessary to submit to tueir considera-
tion " Such was the doctrine laid down by Sir Robert Peel

in the year 1834, and such is the principle upon which her
Majesty's pre;ant Government are now also prepared to act.
But while saying this I do not deny the inconvenience of
a doubt remaining on the public mind with respect to any
material question of policy to be taken up on the part of
the Government. I admit to the Noble Duke, as fully as he
can desire, that an early settlement of the financial policy
of this country, and an early settlement of a still larger
question—namely, who are to be the men, and what are to
be the principles, by whom and upon which the govern-
ment of this country is to be conducted, are matters not of
indifference, but are points an early solution of which I am
as anxious to obtain as the Noble Duke himself. I do not

hold it to be consistent with my duty to offer to your Lord-
ships or to Parliament any specific pledge with regard to
the precise time at which I shall feel it my duty to offer
to her Majesty my humble advice that she should dissolve
the present Parliament. Circumstances may occur which
might render a dissolution dangerous to the safety and
welfare of the country. But lam ready to go so far
with the Noble Duke as to say—without specifying
precisely what are the distinct measures which I think
imperatively necessary to have passed before a dissolution
of Parliament—that 1 am as anxious as possible, that at the
earliest period, consistent with that which I deem to be for
the welfare and good of the country—the country should
have an opportunity of expressing its opinion upon the prin-
ciples upon which and the men by whom the Government of
this country shall henceforth be cenducted. I will go a step
further, and say that I think the next autumn ought not to
be allowed to pass over, not only without the country having
had the opportunity of coming to a decision, but without
Parliament having had the opportunity of pronouncing defi-
nitively and finally its opinion and its judgment on the course
of policy that ought to be adopted on the part of the Go-
vernment. I will give no pledge as to time,.whether in
April, in May, or in. June, that an appeal shall be made to
the country; but I admit that an appeal ought to barnacle to
the country before the ordinary time of commencing the next
session of Parliament; and that the great ques-
tion in issue should be decided and ;adjudicated
I upon by Parliament at an earlier period, so that the

ordinary and current business of the next session should
not be interfered with by a protracted discussion on
the commercial and financial policy of the country.
Further than that lam not prepared to give any assurance.
I feel it inconsistent with my duty as a Minister of the
Crown to say, under all the circumstances, that I shall ad-
vise the Crown to dissolve Parliament at any particular
_ _

period ; but I repeat, that I desire only to Con-diet such
business through the present:session as it is necessary for the
good of the country should be passed. I will nct specify
what are the measures included in that category, except to
say that I do include among them one of paramount neces-
sity—the organization of the internal defences of the coun-
try. After I shall have discharged the duty incumbent
upon me for the present session I beg to repeat thtt I shall
be as anxious as the Noble Duke can be that an early de-
cision and judgment of the country should be taken, and that
Parliament should upon that judgment, before tht close of
next autumn, pronounce its definitive and final decision.
Lord BATE MA N addressed the House from the cross-
benches, with his back to the gallery, which made it impos-
sible for us to hear is Lordship. He was understooC to ex-
press his disappointment at the course pursued by tie Noble
Earl at the head of the Government with reference to the
question of protection.
The Earl of WICKLOW said it would perhaps be re-
membered that in 826 no one was a more anxious supporter
than himself of a fixed duty on corn. He had seen no
reason subsequently to alter his opinion. He saw no reason
why a duty for revenue should not be laid upon corn as well
as upon any other article of commerce. It appeared to him
an absurdity to talk of a tax on the food of tits people.
Why, the food of the people was taxed in every way ; even
corn itself wan taxed. But, notwithstanding the opinions
he urged on a former occasion, still he thought the day was
gone by when any attempt to reimpose a duty on tie impor-
tation of corn could succeed. He did not say that tbe Noble
Lord might not adopt other means that would be satisfac-
tory to the country. Consistently with his own opinions,
with the grounds on which the Government iad been
formed, with the wishes of his supporters in the country, the
Noble Earl at the head of the Government might effect a
settlement of the question by that other mode which had
been indicated, namely, a re-adjustment of taxation; and not
only would the Noble Earl maintain his own consistency by
resorting to such a mode of settlement, but he would give
satisfaction to the country. He (the Earl of Wicklow), for
one, would be MOBS happy to see the Noble Earl sacceed in
that undertaking. Believing the object could be carried out,
he hoped the Noble Earl would undertake the task; while,
at the same time, he should deprecate any proposition for
establishing:a duty on corn, because he was convinced the im-
position of such a duty would be attended with serious in-
convenience to the country.
Lord REDESDALE thought that Parliament generally,
as well as the country, ought to be satisled with the state-
ment of the Noble Earl, and he trusted that the impatience
manifested for the dissolution would now pass away.
There were 255 private Bills introduced already into Par-
liament, and unquestionably it was most important that
those not opposed should be afforded some chance of
passing through this session. There was, however, very
little chance of those Bills which were opposed being passed.
All they could do in respect to them was to grant the
parties concerned the favour of " hanging them up," as it
was called, and thus placing them in the same state of
advancement in which they were in the present session.
In regard to the petitioners whose case was represented by
the Noble Duke that evening, he wished them to consider
the serious impediment that would be raised to the disposal
of private business, by at once resorting to a dissolution.
Millions of money ware perhaps involved in the passing of
those measures, which would necessarily be locked up until
next session if they were to be postponed until that period.
While the Government avoided interfering with any great
public interest or any great constitutional principle, he
thought that they ought to be permitted to proceed with the
necessary business that pressed upon them, and not be
forced to resort unnecessarily to an early dissolution of the,
present Parliament. When he interrupted the Noble Duke.
in his statement that evening, he did so unquestionably with
a view of expressing his opinion that he did not consider the
Government of the Noble Earl was at present in a minority
in the other House. He believed that if they were to collect
the individual opinions of the Members there as to whether
they would prefer the Noble Earl, or the Noble Lord who
preceded him in office, at the head of the Administration,
they would find that the majority were in favour of the
Noble Earl.—(Hear, hear.) He doubted mnch whether
there was one other individual who would command so large
a number of votes of the Members of the other House in fa-
' your of his taking upon himself the conduct of the Govern-
ment. Now, in the present position of affairs, that was
something to start with.— (Laughter.) What occurred last
year.? On that occasion the Noble Lord who was then at
the head of the Government resigned because he felt he did
not possess the confidence of the other House. The necessity
of the case, however, compelled him to return to the head of
the Government with no greater accession of strength than
he had before. And be it remembered that he was not in
a position to appeal to the country, inasmuch as he had no
hopes of obtaining an increase of support ; but, on the
contrary, there was every probability of weakening his
power still more by such an appeal. Again, before three
weeks of the present session had gone over, the Noble Lord
was again obliged to confess that he did not possess the
confidence of Parliament. What, then, was the Government
suffering from? It was suffering from the weakness of the
late Government, which weakness was brought about by its
own measures and by the unnatural position of parties. In
not any of those parties was there sufficient strength to
form a strong Government. He trusted that they would
pass through this transitory state before long, and that the
two great parties would be restored to that position in which
they had formerly stood. He confessed he thought it most
desirable that the present Government should have a fair
trial, and to a reasonable extent, before the dissolution ar-
rived.— (A laugh.) He said that the country ought to have
some experience of the Noble Earl's Government. It was,
however, said that the Noble Earl had put untried men into
office. Why it was a matter of necessity with him to do so.
But tke question was not whether those men were inexpe-
rienced, but whether they were incapable.—(Hear,
pP
heoeare.)
And he must say he thought that the parties o d
to
to the Noble Earl were the last that
complain on this head, for they had
acts occasioned this necessity.
He
('tion ought to
was also of opinion that the Opposition ought
their°t
lt °are)
be tried in the present session,--(Laughter.)
to party in
party in opposition was very different ghter.) Now a
office.—
(Hear, hear.) He regretted the tondiictlott
wthaea lbautte
fGaiorvtehroat.
ment since they went into Opposition.
bat they mean before they went
the country should knowl
mackthtoe tGhoevesrenssion of 1834,
to the country. if they
edowoekdefdrob
ment of that
when the world Earl
taeca
the
cause of that secession was
day, they see h t
going on from that day to the present. Therlaontrdhi ge final
ah
wla
tac
rawnueas
des
51Trl; e ON' Cglnen eRi
of the secess,i,ohniwe
larsisthh
tai
then called
the G
overnment of that day not to yield too readily to the
pressure from
without. Nwouwaeinttewreads
into, and
and he thought it the other day the
Cheshani-place compact
was only fair that the country should have some experience
of what the nature of that compact was before the Members
of tke other House present themselves before their consti-
tuencies. It would appear that the Noble Lord the late
head of the Government was forming a Radical party, and
had promised to introduce a totally different Reform Bill to
the wretched one he hadthopurophotsed the other day. Now,
he (Lord Redesdale) it was most desirable_e
that the country should gave some experience of the
Noble Lord's Opposition tactics as well as those of the
party represented by Noble Lords on the cross benches.
(This observation occasioned much laughter in consequence
of there being only Lord Strangford and another Peer at that
moment sitting in that part of the House.) He would re-
joice if the duration of the session were prolonged to such an
extent as to afford an opportunity for eliciting the opinions
of the several parties in the present condition of Parliament,
and then let every man appear in his true position before the
country. There could be no doubt whatever as to the
opinions of those men who declared themselves to be the
supporters of the Noble Earl.— (Ironical cheers.) No person
could doubt the conservative policy of the Noble Earl. A
Noble Lord opposite said " Protection." He (Lord Redes-
dale) would not go into that subject at any length. He
held that the declaration of the Noble Earl was as distinct a
one as it was possible to make. The Noble Earl said that
he entertained the opinion that it would be advisable
to resort to a moderate protection duty, yet that that ques-
tion was not of itself of such vital importance as to
propose any such measure in the present Parlia-
ment, when it would prove destructive to a Conservative
Government. The Noble Earl then said he would appeal to
the country on that very point, and that he would abide by
the result. The Noble Earl had acted with the most perfect
candour upon this question, and had formed his Government
of those persons who were prepared to support that policy.
Hear, hear, from the Opposition.) The Noble Earl
might have strengthened the Government if he had aban-
doned his policy, but he declined to do so, and said he would
appeal to the country for their deliberate decision upon it.
He believed that too strict an adherence to the principles of
free trade since 1845 had characterised the conduct of those
now in opposition ; and, on the other hand, too strong and
rigid an adherence to what was called the cause of protection
had marked the other party during the same period. The
question as to whether there shall be imposed a few shillings
more Or lax oPOII fig ma RM reAUY sot oul Which C 9414