The Sun.
London, England, 1852-11-03 00:00:00

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body Spoke about Fece-trade. Bat now we are in this
moat stneuler position, that we have undeniably a Pro-
tection Ministry ill power, but wo are blamed, and the
followers of that Ministry artchepositivel hooted, if they
nesuoyn of Protection.
say a single word about
(" gear," and a laugh., A Protectionci meeting is a
thing now not to he thought of ; in feet, I believe it is
ceesidered to be as dangerous a thing as a convocation
o'f the clergy. (Loud laughter.) It is not expected to
end in an harmonious and rational discussion of any
great question of public policy, but in something like a
&tor:view scufle, disgraceful to all concerned in it.
(Laughter.) But this is very easy to comprehend. The
chairman of the Publication Committee of the Protection
Society, that once met at 17, Old Bond• street, is now
transformed into a Secretary of the Admiralty. (A
laugh-) Major Bereeford (groans and hisses), who was
-whipper-in to the Protection party, is now Secretary-at-
'ar, and if he does not hold his tongue somebody will
bate to perform on him the duty of whipper-out.
(latuebter and cheers.) Mr. Christopher is by some
woncFerful tratsformation made a Chancellor of the
Duchy of Lancaster. Mr. Bankes, who declared that
Free-trade would be ruin to Dorsetshiro (hear, hoar),
Io,,CESMEW be was a lawyer under some unknown title of
Cureitor Baron, is now Judge-Advocate. Sir John
'Treetop° (laughter), another eminent Protectionist, is
now at the head (f the Poor-law Board. Lord Naas,
the son of the Earl of Mayo, who recently took the cis°
,of the frith corn millers under his protection, propo-
oetg that fl iur should be kept cut, that Irish mills
might he made more prosperous, le now Secretary for
Ireitenth Mr. Herries, who was the patron of the ship-
ping, ts ?resident of the Ind a Board. Sir J. Peking-
ton, who took the sugar planters under his especial pro-
tection, Las been raised from the contemplation of bills
for the regulation of beer-houses to the government of 40
colonies. (Laughter.) And, finally, Mr. Disraeli
(elatiehter and hisses), the patron ofantasti f all these mach onopemeoli for
es,
the propounder of every•
kind of cal
the amusement of the country gentlemen, and the bam-
boozlement of the farmers (hear, hear), is a member of
the Cabinet and Chancellor of the Exchequer. A Whig
poet wrote a couple of lines about the Whigs, which may
well enough be applied to the Protectionist party
" As bees on flowers alighting cease their hum,
So, settling into places, squires are dumb."
(Great laughter.) But I take it for granted that such
persons throughout the country—farmers and others—
who are honestly convinced that Protection is a sound
policy, and that these men in office ought to endeavour
to advance it, will ask what advantage it is to them that
these talking oratorical Protectionist, when in opposition
should become dumb dogs that cannot bark when in
p ,sver. (Laughter.) I certainly anticipate a great and
most interesting " breach of promise" case (laughter);
and what with corn, and ships. and colonies, Mr. Disraeli
will be the defendant against the claims of three fair
ladies at once. (Renewed laughter.) Now, contrast the
position which we, the Free-traders, occupy with that of
the acknowl, dged stereotyped statesmen of this country.
ilia autumn of 1845, the Whigs and the Toriesees
a body, were in favour of Protection. In fact. Lotiet
Deny and his party, and the country gentlemen, for
any thine they have said in public, are Protectionists
still. Our case, when our meetings were first held in
the Corn-exchange of this town, was just as good as it
is at this moment; and every man who had thoroughly
examined the question, and who was honestly disposed
to do tbnt which economic principles and common jus-
tice pointed out to be right, knew as well thee as he
knows now, that the case of the Anti-Corn-law League
could not be met, and that the corn law was as wicked
and unjust a law as we, in our speeches and writings,
have ever described it to be. But the fact is that we arc
not statesmen. (Laughter.) We are cotton-spinners,
and manufacturers,. and bleachers, and printers, area
shopkeepers, and traders of all kinds, and prolessional
men. We are not statesmen, and have never pretended
to be so. In this country there has been a great gulf fixed
between all those interested in industry and the paths of
statesmanship; and though wo were right 14 years ago,
and have been right on this question ever since—though
threo Cabinets have been wrong, and one of theut
has not yet put itself right—it is to be held that we ar
not state:son u, and that those men only who could no t
see what was simply right on this great fundamental,
all-absorbing question, are entitled to describe and to
carry out the political policy of the nation. We have:
not hereditary brains. (Great laughter.) We are " a
Jaenbin slab.'. (Renewed laughter.) That you know
on the authority of a gentleman who is a member of the
Cabinet, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, and the
lead, r, at !east, of a minority of the Howe of Commons.
(Laughter, some hisses, and cheering.) Why, a man
who calls us a Jacobin Club, must think it is not con-
sietetit with loyalty to the Throne to declare that the.
people of this country shall not be starved. We'll
teach him whether we are a Jacobin Club or not. (Loud
end prolonged cheering.) But we aro the democracy.
Lord Derby says this. and he must be n high authority,
for his blood for twelve generations has flowed at the
high level of an Earldom. Yet not all the ancestors
of the Stanleys ever did one thousandth part so much
to give comfort and tranquillity to this country as we,
the democracy of the Anti-Corn-law League, have
done. (Loud cheers.) But we aro also something
else, if possible, worse. We are, according to the
dictum of a man of noble family, whom a metropolitan
constituency thought it their duty to reject as their re-
preeentutive in Parliament. the anticipated deluge.
(Grant laughter.) Well, I believe the "ins," the gen-
wemen who are in office, always endeavour to persade
the country that after them nothime can be looked for
hut a deluge and national destruction. The Whig
Govettement said something very like this to you. They
said, " Don't turn the Whigs out until you have found
somebody to supply their places." The present Govern-
ment, " Don't turn U 5 cut ; it is better to
" Bear the ills you have,
" Than fly to others that you know not of.'"
(Great laughter.) On this platform we have never
been peritztris of any Gevernahnt. We have never fac
tiousfy allied ourselves with any party in order to over-
throw any Cabinet. We have stood here, as we stand
hero to-night the pledged defenders of the emoted right
of industry to the people of this country ; and no pro-
testations of any kind, no offers from any quarter,
have ever sufficed, or will ever suffice, to turn us one
hair's breadth from our duty ou that great question
(Cheers.) But there does seem a probability that
the Anti-Corn-law Leleue will, in fact, in a very
short period become a matter of history. and it is
usual when some ono of greet value and of great
virmes passes from among us that something should
be said of his character, tied that some lessons should
be drawn frees it for the benefit of those who survive.
Now, ask yourselves this question,—Why was the corn
law pessete at all in 1815 ? (Hear, hear.) Follow that
up with arother question,--Why did the corn law, undo
different shapes, all about equally obji ctionable, remain
upon the statute•beek of this free country from 1815 to
1846? There was not a moment daring those 30 years
when that corn law was not an offence in the sight of
Heaven, and a flagrant violation of the rights of every
industrious man Kt this kingdom. (Hear, hear, and
cheers.) We don't speak of the Crown—the Crown had
little—probably nothing—to do with that law. It could
never be the interest of a monarch of this, or any other
c aittry, to have such a law as that afflicting- millions of
his .tueetcte. I say not much of the House of Lords,
for, unhappily, too many members of that house have
been tduceted in the belief that they have some here
ditary claim to Settle themeelvee upon the industry of
the people of this country. (Hear, hear, and cheers.)
O the House of Commons, however, I will say this
much,--the) it was composed in 1815, and taxi to 1832,
and that in a lesser degree it is now composed,
of lords and squires, the humble servants, the family
relations, or connected by kindred and by interest
with the great territorial aristotcracrwho are eutbroned
in the Hewlett of Lords. (Hear, hear.) If you had had a
real representation in 1815,—if the people of this country
hadmot been led into that awful strife against what
werh called French principles,—if he had not added
500,000,000 L at least to the national debt during that
period.—in all probability, before 1815, you would have
had a better representation of the people in the House
of Commons; and if, at any time subsequently to 1815,
such an unproved representation had existed that corn
law must have fallen amid the execrations of the people,
on some one of those several occasions when distress
was :'pread throughout almost all ranks. Yet, after
enduring to 1833, ft reqaired seven years of labour
—of public meetings—or such an employment of the
pasting-piees for political objects, as this country had
never before known, and enormous subscriptions, and,
even then, there was a majority of 100 men in the
House of Commons against tele° total repeal of the
corn hared, and only from 80 to 100 votes, I believe,
were ever recorded in favour of such a proposition.
Finally, ft requited en Irish famine in 1846,—such a
famine as heat not beau known in Europe for Lien-
ttlfwei—it rtquired that a calamity should overtake
oleo-third of the United Kingdom, under which and
its immediate coneequitecee, 250,000 dwellings of
our countrynien have been swept away,—more then
none times the number of houses in Manchester,—cud
`"t' reeeletiere of Ireland has bean diminished by
nearly 2
this
momihOenOtemo (tor that part of the' kingdom has, at
than 30 year' no
greater population than it had more
web the bl.geo)----lo satisfy Parliament of the imp°.
penalties ahould It was necessary that all these heavy
which are
reeot,elepaid, that all these awful sufferings—
never be aelequa'telt in another world, but which can
constitution
described in this—should be en-
dured before Your
it:needed not to wortlitn)mituti°l3 (ill framed, ill adaptect,
would act upen principleasnd your House of Commons
the requirements of the common justice, cr obey
inf(talleigaent and industrious popu-
latiou of the kingdom,
all this hear.) But when the
House of Commons, after
vinced meet converted, and
theeexpetience, were con-
abolished, what are tae to think thetyulaws were finally
Administration at present in power, conduct of the
t-"c offices, now meeting in Cabinet c'avi (iccuPying the
puJl,wet d
are note shout to prepare the speech of the ' sad who
on
the eipening of the Imperial Parliament ? Sovereign
ask you
what, after this experience, we are to think of a Cabinet
not yet converted? Ought it not to be pointed at with
indienetion and sown, and hurled from their Beet of
power? The fact is thet, as an industrial People we
On Our baeks. Under your r
carry doe aristecehef -cPeessn-
tative. system relauchester, Glasgow, and Birmingham are
dwerled in the House el COXIDOSS to the size of Har-
wieb, Thetford, arid Tetnee, end the whole population,
and ell the electors of those three boroughs are very
mush smaller—nay, do not even approach near—to the
population of a single ward in this borough of Mau.
chewer. lam of opinion that where there tiro popula-
tion, industry, wealth, and intelligence, if we have
free constitution a; ail, there must be power, and it this
be not grareeed, then, I say, that our constitution is a
h,,etaleain, and oar representation is an imposture. (Cheers.)
tI urn not anxious that we should have other great move-
ments for great objects. I myself have had so much
of political agitation Oat netting but the most impera-
tive arideoverwhelehiggtiense of public duty would induce
ma to connect myeelreWith anything farther of the kind;
bail do believe tha(eWtkoeve it to pooteri •
te as to out selves