The Sun.
London, England, 1852-12-07 00:00:00

entered to prepare as an amendment—words which he
thought would secure what the noble marquis professed to
desire, and what he believed all their lordships desired—
namely, a unanimous concurrence of opinion with re-
gard to the question involved. He placed those words
in the noble reArquis's hunde. The noble marquis did
not immediately return them, having stated that before
adopting them he must consult his friends. Who the
friends were with whom the noble marquis consulted he
did not know ; but he knew that he was waiting for the
noble marquis for a considerable period, and that on re-
turning to the house the noble marquis said, that though
he could have wished to place on record:the words which
he had prepared himself, he was quite willing to accept
his (the Earl of Derby's), in order thatithere might be
no division. Now, that was an exact statement of what
occurred ; and so far was he from thinking the scene
which took place discreditable to the House of Lords,
that he thought it was just an example of the manner
in which political opponents in that house were in the
habit—and he hoped would always be in the habit—of
dealing with each other, with frankness and with
courtesy, and as far as possible, endeavouring to
conciliate opponents instead of embittering differ-
ences, and bringing about unnecessary divisions.
Under these circumstances he had framed the resolution
which the noble marquis opposite had adopted—it simply
but fully adopted the principle of unrestricted competi-
tion, in the same form that the house affirmed the prin-
ciple of slavery emancipation and the Roman Catholic
Relief Bill ; and it was unjust to call upon him, or other
noble lords who had thought with him, to retract or stig-
matise the opinions which they had heretofore held as
unwise or impolitic. (Hear, hear.) As well might the
Whigs, after the Roman Catholic Relief Bill was carried,
and Sir Robert Peel had returned to power, have gone
down to Parliament and required the right hon. baronet
and his friends to eat the words that they had uttered in
1834 and 1835. They were not called upon to declare
by a formal resolution that the opinion which they had
opposed had been "wise, just, and beneficial," and why
should the Government of the present day be accused of
wishing to pursue a reactionary policy because they re-
fused to stultify opinions which their friends and follow-
ers had steadfastlyheld throughout the entire controversy?
Such a course of calling upon noble lords to pronounce
against thehifeelings and conscientious opinions in a re-
solution which should seek for nothing but a concurrence
of opinion, in its spirit was most injudicious, besides
being directly opposed to the usage of their lordship's
house. All that their lordships could possibly desire
was to pronounce in favour of the present commercial
policy of the country ; and for his own part, he need
scarcely say that he cordially concurred in the motion
made by the noble marquis. He concurred in it without
the slightest reservation, and he believed it could be con-
curred in by the great majority of his friends and sup-
porters ; but at the same time he was quite ready to de-
clare that, if words could be found to make the future
more clear and, decided, he would unhesitatingly adopt
them. (Hear, hear.) He was, however, convinced that
no such words could be introduced into the resolution ;
and he therefore hoped their lordships would, resting
satisfied with the resolution as it stood, refuse to sanction
an amendment which could only be, looked upon as a
medium for censuring opinions that,. some noble lords
had conscientiously entertained in bygone times.
(Cheers,)
The Marquis of LANSDOWNE had but a very few
words to address to their lordships before the resolution
was put. He was ready to confess that he had been a
party to the agreement which was made by the noble
marquis near him, and he certainly understood that, for
the saice'ef_ securing unanimity, the resolution proposed
by the noble earl at the head of the Government was to
be adopted,, but, of course, that understanding could
not possibly be binding upon noble lords who were not
present when the agreement was made. (Hear, hear.)
He did not find fault with his noble friend, the noble
baron who had moved the amendment, for having done
so, but under the circumstances, which he had just men-
tioned, if the question came to a division, he should
abstain from voting for it. Having said thus much
With respect to the position in which the house found
itself, he wished to say a few words with respect to
the motion which had obtained the concurrence of the
noble earl at the head of the Government. Without
entering into the question as to whether it was proper
or necessary that the house should adopt any reso-
lution, finally sanctioning the principle of free trade,
he would at once confess that it having been determined
that such a resolution ought to be passed, he should be
the last man to dispute about the terms in which the
resol*tion ought to be made. The position in which
they found themselves was this—the noble earl at the
head of the Government was willing to accept the deci-
sion of the country, as being against a return to a pro-
tective policy, and to adopt a resolution which should
pledge the house to adhere in future strictly to the prin-
ciples of unrestricted competition. Now, that being so,
and the Government having requested the house to forge
fetters by which they were hereafter to be bound, all that
the house had to do was to take care that the fetters should
be made with such well-tempered metal, that noble lords
opposite should find it difficult to escape from them. (A
laugh.) They were all free upon this subject ; but so far as
he himself was concerned, he could not help feeling that
there was a wide difference between making an agreement
with parties who had suddenly changedtheir opinions and
with parties who Ifad held the same opinion throughout the
whole of the struggle. He was bound therefore to ad-
mit that the noble baron near him (Lord Beaumont) was
perfectly justified in proposing his amendment, and in
desiring that the house should express its opinion in
terms so strong and decisive that it would be impossible
for the house or the Government hereafter to withdraw
from it. (Hear, hear.)
The Earl of HARROWBY was opposed to any imi-
tation of the House of Commons in assigning reasons for
the resolution they had adopted. The objection to such
a course was that by assigning no other reason, the
house in effect declared they saw no other reason for
opposing the recent policy than the inexpediency of fre-
quent change. It would be best to leave out that por-
tion of the resolution, and make it merely affirmatory.
He should propose, therefore, that they should leave out
all the preamble, and simply declare their adhesion to
the recent commercial policy, and that they would do
nothing to impede its operations or hinder its progress.
He doubted if the noble lord, or any noble lord in the
house, would assign the prosperity of the country to any
one cause, be it free trade or not.
Lord S'PRANGFORD, after listening to so much and
understanding so little—(a laugh)—only rose to express
his deep regret that the noble lord the member for Tiver-
ton (Lord Palmerston) was not a member of their lord-
ships' house. There would then be some chance of
teeming to a conclusion. (Laughter.)
The Duke of NEWCASTLE! expressed his concur-
rence in the view taken by his noble friend (the Earl of
Aberdeen), and in the opinion which he expressed as to
the absolute inutility of the present or any other resolu-
tion. Under these circumstances, he rose to impress on
the noble marquis (Clanricarde) that it would be very
desirable for him to accept the proposal just made by
the noble earl—(" hear" from the Earl of Derby)—and
thus put an end to the discussion, by the omission in
the motion of the commencing words, of which so many
noble lords disapproved. (Hear, hear.) He thought
that they would be acting more wisely and prudently
as regards their own credit and the object they all pro

fessea to have at heart, if they confined themselves
to the practical part of the resolution, omitting all
the preamble. If he were to understand from the
cheer of the noble earl opposite that this arrange-
ment met with his approval—(the Earl of Derby here
said he had no objection to it)—and if the noble marquis
(Clanricarde) would also assent to it, he should not think
it right to trespass long on the attention of the house.
- Some observations had, however fallen from the noble
earl at the head of the Government, with regard to the
course and conduct of the late Sir R. Peel and his friends,
with respect to which he felt bonnd to offer a few re-
marks. He would not discuss with the noble earl what
the noble earl might consider the peculiar mission of his
noble friend (the Earl of Aberdeen) and the followers of
Sir R. Peel in that house; whether it was their bounden
duty, for some reasons which the noble earl did not as-

sign, to act as mediators between noble lords on the

Opposition side and noble lords on the Ministerial side—

to come forward as pacificators, who should turn the
balance, he presumed, in favour of the Government. He
knew not what might be the opinion of the noble earl,
but, with respect to the question immediately before
the house, this he could say, that they (the fol-

lowers qt the late Sir Robert Peol)' considered
that a legacy had devolved on them from that
great and illustrious man—namely the protection of that
commercial policy which he founded in this country, and
to thd success of which they were all duly testifying.
(Hear, hear.) From that duty he could assure the noble
earl they were not likely to be diverted by any observa-
tions he might make. The noble earl said he could par-
don some degree of feeling on the part of his noble friend
(thoeEia,rl of Aberdeen), because it was natural that he
thehnti
oeicY anxious to express an opinion favourable to
saidl.
of Sir R. Peel ; but his noble friend expressly
thatr hough would have been his individual wish
noble earl
Would not that Policy " wise, just, and beneficial," yet it
desirable to endeavour to do that which the
ration, imponeted at in his somewhat impassioned pero-
their opinions " noble lords opposite a recantation of
andi for that very reason his noble friend
said he shonki
hetlio to propose any such words. The
noble earl at the
colleagurnee
studiously abstained, frof the Government had, however,
answering the question why,
when his own
the other house had ac-
cepted certain resolutions In
,11.0duvoted for them, he now
on the
objected to calling
By this course the
same resolutions ? (Hear, hear.) of Lords to adopt the
of two inferences—
noble earl left the house to drav2sotn:
decided slur on his
either that he was willing to
using to call
eoonrsetlered ob •
colleagues in the House of Commons
'y by ref •
on their lordships to adopt words which he
jectionable and repulsive to their feelings ,
would be a still more painful conclusion, and on7eZhich
(the Duke of Newcastle) would be sorry to arrive at, the
the noble earl was not sincere in his declaration with re-
spect spect to the practical acceptance of free trade. The noble
earl had observed what would have been thought, if On
Sir R. Peel's accession to office in 1834 and 1835, a mo-
tion had been made to declare the Reform Bill a "wise,
just, and beneficial" measure ? But the case was in no re-
spect parallel with the present. If Sir R. Peel, from the
passing ofthe Reform Bill up to his accession to office in
1834 and 1835, had constantly brought forward in his place
motions for the repeal of the Reform Act—if he had been
making
speeches session by session against it—if he had
been receiving
deputations in his house and telling his
friends
,that at the proper time the Reform Act would be re-
pealed, and if they onl •
ive ,em ywaitedhewouldg the word "Up,
Guards, and at ;if he had attended a great meet-
ing and said, "he would
course of legislation which was being pursued ;" if that
cry halt in the downward
had been Sir R. Peel's career, then would the members
of either house of Parliamnt have been justified in im-