The Sun.
London, England, 1852-03-16 00:00:00

that
Parliament_ need be prohinged.--:(Hearen As regarded'
Protection, he could hardly reconcile the various declarations
that had been made, but would accept those of Mr. Walpole,
and avowed himself alike indisposed to the reversal and the
Modification of the free trade policy. He had no right to ask
Government what they intended to do in a new Parliament,
but the demand he made was not an unfair one, from those
Who knew they had a majority and he hopedethat Ministers
would not drive the Free-traders to a disagreeable alterna-
tive. It. was, he reminded the House, not with demonstra-
tion but with a practical issue that they had now to do.
They had so to act that, in a few months hence, Protection
Might be spoken of as a thing that was past and gone, upon
the deliberate verdict of a nation.—(Hear.) . • -
Mr. B. COCHRANE addressed the ,House for a few mi-
nutes, but the noise prevented his being distinctly heard. He
was understood to say that Hon. Gentlemen on the opposite
side bad asked Ministers to explain the principles of their
Policy, but had given no answer to the question put to them
as to the principle on which they grounded their opposition.
The Bon, Member then referred to the conduct of the Noble
Lord, the late Prime Minister, when in opposition,
and having taunted some of the Liberal party for the.
course they had pursued, referred specially to the.
Hon. Member for Sheffield - the Andrew Marvell of the
House—whom he accused of "daring audacity and fluent
acerbity," and concluded by declaring that all he could say
was, that he knew no more agreeable reading than the" His-
tory of the Whigs," by Roebuck, unless, perchance the
" History of Roebuck," by Coppock.—(Oh, oh.) lie should
cordially support the Government.
Lord PAL tERSTON then rose and said—" I am anxi-
ous before this debate concludes to state very shortly, and in
a few words, the view which I, as an invididual member of
this House, take of the present position of Government, and
of the duty which I think lies upon this House. The Right
Hon. Gentlemen who have spoken from the Treasury-bench
have disclaimed any wish to appeal to the forbearance of
this House. I, on the contrary, sun willing, on my own
part, and I think the House ought to be willing on its
part to show to them all the forbearance which the peculiar
position in which they have been placed, I think, in the
present state of things entitles them to. Their position is'
perfectly anomalous, and in principle unconstitutional. It is
accidental. Therefore, no blame attaches to them, but they
are a minority proposing and intending to carry on the
business of the country in a House of ,Commons in which
they form the minority. It is obvious that that state of
things could not under ordinary circumstances last for any
period of time whatever. The course which a Government
under those circumstances would have properly to pursue
would be, either to advise the Crown to dissolve Parliament
and appeal to the country. or to resign office. They have
recently/been placed in power by the resignation of that
party which up to a recent period formed the majority,
and still form the majority of this House. A resignation,
therefore, would not be consistent with the decision which
they formed wheel they undertook to form an Administra-
tion. Now a dissolution at the present moment in the
state of business in this House is avowedly by the
consent of all willies an impossibility. The House should,
therefore, give them their forbearance until they can conduct
the necessary business of the country so as to enable them to
dissolve Parliament. They have stated some measures
Which they think of importance. With regard to some of
them I entirely agree with my Right Hon. Friend who has
spoken recently from this bench, but there are one or two
which are of importance; and they must, be carried. The
measures, whatever they may be, which they propose to in-
troduce for the internal defences of the country, are measures
peculiarly necessary if a dissolution is to take place. The
very feet of a dissolution being in prospect renders it still
More incumbent on them to carry a measure of that sort.
With regard to . hancery, the prospect of a Chancery suit is
not very encouraging to those who think that an early dis-
solution is desirable.—(Laughter.) I say, then' the House
ought to show forbearance to her Majesty's Government,
until they shall have carried the necessary business of
• the country to a state in which a dissolution can take
place; but I do think that her Majesty's Government will,
on the principle of good faith to the House and the
Country, on the principle of regard to their own consis-
tency, and the principles they . have hitherto maintained,
that they will lose no time in taking the sense of the
country on the great
.principle of our commercial policy,
which they
,have avowed their intention at some time to
take. Then, Sir, I think more, that, having taken the sense
of the country, it is their duty to call Parliament together
again at an early period, so that in the course of the present
Beason the next House of Commons may c me to a final de-
cision on this grave question. •If this question is to be
allowed to bang up until the ordinary meeting of Parlia-
ment in the commencement of the ensuing year, it is my firm
conviction that such a course would be attended with the
utmost inconvenience to the public interests. And there.
fore. Sir, it seems to me that the Government ought not only
to take the earliest possible opportunity, consistent with the
course of Parliament:. to dissolve the House of Commons
and appeal to the country; and, further, that there should
be a clear understanding between the Government and this
House, that so seen as in the regular course of things the
Dew • Parliament should be assembled, the sense of that
assemblage should be forthwith taken on this great
and important question. —( Hear, hear.) Sir, what
the result of a general election will be, I myself
can entertain not the slightest doubt ; because
I am convinced that the great mass of the
intelligence of this country bits long ago made up its mind
on the question at issue between the two sides of the House.
-(Hear, hear.) -It might, no doubt, have been a matter of
argument at the time when the sliding scale existed whether
a compromise might not have been effected in a moderate
fixed duty, which might have lasted for many years, and
satisfied the feelings and interests of all classes of the com-
munity. But it is quite a different thing when the question
has been settled and decided six years ago; when the feel-
ings, interests, and hopes of the community have been
adapted to the present state of things.—( Hear, hear.) It is
quite a different thing to propose that the policy should be
reversed, and that a duty should be placed on the food of the
poor.—(Hear, hear.) Sir, I should hope that the unde-
fined prospect which has been held out to us of the
possibility that in a new Parliament that question might not
be brought forward, I hope, I say, that that prospect may be
realised, because I would think it a grave and most mie•
mentous proposition on the part of the GoVernment to re-
liflpose a duty on the importation of corn, even if the attempt
tis do so was unsuccessful, firmly believing that the effect of,
it would be to array the feelings of the poorer classes of the
country against the superior orders, in a manner that would
be most destructive of that harmony and good feeling which
ought to prevail between all classes of the people of this land.
(Hear.) I am satisfied that nothing could be more detri-
mental to the real and true interests of the country, than to
attempt to raise the price of food on the poor, in order to add
somewhat to the incomes of the rich.- (Hear.) Sir, the
view which I entertain is strictly this : that the House of
Commons ought to assist the Government in carrying such
measures as may be necessary preliminary to the dissolution,
of Parliament, and that the Government ought to hold them-
selves bound to dissolve as soon as the state of busineSs
admits of their doing so, and as soon as the elections are
over they ought again to assemble Parliament, in order that
these controverted questions of commercial policy, on which
the two sides of the House are at variance, should be at once
submitted to and settled by the decision of the House of
Commons.—( Hear, hear.)
Mr. G. BERKELEY contended that instead of there
being a greater demand for land than before, as had been
asserted in the course of the debate, the value of landed pro-
perty had greatly deteriorated under the present system.
With regard to their West India policy, all that they
asked was that slave produce should not be admitted to
this country on the tame terms with the produce of free
labour.
Mr. M. GIBSON said the question before the House was
evidently that of urging upon Government the propriety of
a speedy dissolution of Parliament ; and on the part of teose
whom he represented he begged most strongly to impress
upon the Government the necessity of a speedy appeal to the
country, in order to obtain the verdict they stated they de-
sired upon the subject of their commercial policy. But if he
properly understood the Chancellor of the EXchequer and
the Home Secretary, they seemed to have chalked out
: business enough to detain the House until July or August.
When he Gibson) spoke of a " speedy dissolution," he
meant that the House should go through the army and navy
estimates and the Mutiny Bill, and that then the Govern-
went shotild at once dissolve Parliament. When a dissolu-
Von took place in June, IS the new Parliament on its
assembling passed a resolution for taking up all the private
business at the, point where it was dropped by its predeces-
sor; and by following that precedent on this occasion he
thought the difficulty raised by the Home Secretary might
- be compleely got rid of.' He denied being actuated by fac-
tions motives; and advised Honourable Gentlemen who re-
presented' the rural districts not to practise again upon the
cLndulity of the tenant-farmers, or to hold themselves up as,
t farmers' friends. for let them rest assured that though
they' might, in a new' Parliament, make some effort to show
that their
maintainwedeer;hrsreoliad been honourable, and that they had
rate fail ih.tt nonsistency in their conduct, they would at any
if they attempt to re-impose a duty on corn. And
giving rise to "ing out hopes to the tenant-farmers, and
fulfil, then, expectationsf that they would be unable to
veers not acting the conscience, he would say that they
lay ptaort of the farmers' friends, but doing
all that in them
grathlaled
improvement and content arrest the progress of agricultural
of the land.- (Hear„ and 'ciZt. among the occupying tenants
Sir J. TYRELL con
the wonderful unanimity Lord John Russell upon
the Hon. Gentlemen who then ortetemed to prevail amongst
a shoort around him. W hen he
recollected that it was only
(tisrZeu ablest of his
ago that the Noble
Lord committed the mistake of
colleagues in the Government, and that the House and her
ount
Majesty's Ministers were placed in their present position
Lord having •
dissolved lc
by reason of the Noble
Cabinet for want of the necessary •am
that House, he owned that the combination
wit-
nessed that night struck him as one of the most extraordi-
nary in the history
that had ever occurred y of parties.
Honourable Gentlemen opposite had endeavoured. to excite
the feelings of the country; but he believed that the good
•
of England would give her Majesty's
C:ltii,Bl,lPpliseorotNvinn
sense of the people
Ministers a fair trial, and that they would not suffer the
Government to be displaced by a combination of heteroge-
neous parties. (Hear, hear.) •
. Mr. OSWALD said that the speech of the. Hon. Baronet
who had just sat down had disappointed him ver
he
because he had expected he should have foundyßin
could the
Speech of a, plain country gentleman something
ht to• be
understand. He decide upt
that
on the
thought that the country oug
called upon at the earliest possible moment to
momentous question at present at issue. He though
lion. Gentlemen opposite ought to let it be known whether
they meant to palter with the country as they were palter-
ing with their followers. The agriculturists of Scotland had
surmounted the present crisis ; and he did not see why the
agriculturists of England should not also surmount it, with-
, out the re-enactment of bad laws, for the maintenance of bad
farming.—(Hear.)
Mr. NEW DEGATE said if they were in such hot haste
for a dissolution, they had it in their own hands—they had
a majority in that House. They did not fear delay; but let
those :,measures first pass which were necessary for the
• country,and let them have their dissolution as soon as they
liked. But let provision first to made for the safety of the
country. If the Noble Lord insisted upon a dissolution ho-
fore that was done, he would risk his character as a states-
. man. He did not forget what the Right Hon. Baronet (Sir
J. Graham) had said—that if the question of free trade was
raised it might tamper with the loyalty of the army. They
sought no violent measures, but justice to the great interests
of the country. They would not/. be allowed to narrow the
question to a fixed duty on corn. His party had proved
themselves Protectionists' of the interests of the poor.
The majorities for the Factory Bill were of their party.
• They had protected the Christian character of the State.
His party had proved Protectionists of -the Pretestantism of
the State, British industry and British capital, whether at
tome or on the ocean: They did not seek to enrich them-
, ;selves at the expense of those they employed. These were
the great' questions at issue whenever the question of
corn-laws was raised. The Right Hon. Baronet had said
the corn-laws were abolished, and my rentals had not
suffered. Why, as a landholder, I should be ashamed to re.
• *sive the same rents as the Right Hon. Baronet.—(Hear,
hear.) Had not the Duke of Buccleuch suffered? Their
best farmers and their beat labourers were emigrating. The
production of corn in the United Kingdom was less in, 1851
than in 1845 by 2,000,000 quarters. He would give another
Attune of the effect of Ow late pOliCan
_The export* from