The Sun.
London, England, 1863-03-21 00:00:00

THE GALWAY SUBSIDY.

Mr. BAXTER rose to move the following resolutions :
—l. That, in the opinion of this house, in cases where
ordinary traffic supports several lines of steamers,
the present system of granting subsidies for carrying the
trans-oceanic mails ought to be dispensed with. 2. That
this house is not prepared to grant a sum of money to the
Atlantic Royal Mail Company for conveying the mails
between Galway and North America. The hon. member
advocated a " fair field and no favour" for all commercial
enterprises; and after referring to the history and present
state of the company in support of his view, that it was
wholly incompetent to carry on the mail service between
Galway and North America, contended that if Government
acted upon his suggestions, the mail service upon that sta-
tion would be well supplied without any subsidy whatever.
Mr. Baxter urged that any promise of the Government to
pay a sum of £78,000 a year not for commercial, but for
political purposes, to secure the support of Irish represen-
tatives, was greatly to be deprecated, and if persevered in it
would inflict an indelible stain upon the Ministry of this
country.

Mr. HORSFALL supported the motion of Mr. Baxter,
expressing his opinion that it would have the general sup-
port of the h use.
Mr. GREGORY represented that great distress and
poverty existed in Galway and that part of Ireland, and in
order to mitigate it in some degree, a variety of improve-
ments were contemplated in connection with the port of
Galway, and the ocean mail service from that part of Ire-
land. He contended that no unsubsidised company could
perform efficiently the postal service of the country on that
station.

Mr. BENTINCK thought that this Galway subsidy was
originally a wasteful expenditure of public money for pur-
poses of popularity, and what he called a "job." After a
trial it became perfectly obvious that the company was un-
equal to the undertaking, and with that fact before their
eyes he believed that the subsidy proposed by the present
Government was a job in a much greater degree, He hoped
the time was not far distant when all subsidies by Govern-
talent would be discontinued.

Mr. WHITESIDE said there was no doubt but this ques-
tion was one which affected the waking and sleeping thoughts
of the hon. gentleman (dr. Baxter), who seemed desirous of
destroying this "job," as he called it. The question of the
Galway communication with America had been for a long
time before the country. It was not a mere provincial ques-
tion, but ranked high as an imperial one. Now, Sir Rowland
Hill, of the Post-office, had given evidence in favour of the
point of communication between these countries and Ame-
rica being at the most western point of the coast. This opi-
nion was favourable to Galway as the port of departure for
America. Allusion had been made to Belfast as regarded
Galway being the point of departure for America. Now,
what was the fact? Why, that a railway had been con-
structed from Belfast to Galway, and this would have the
effect of enabling the merchants of Belfast to obtain their
letters from America 20 hours sooner than they had them
now through Holyhead. But this subsidy was to be ob-
je3ted to because it was an Irish subsidy. Again, because it
had become an English question. But give it to Aberdeen,
and then it would be all right. (A laugh,) It was said that
a particular ship of the Galway company had been mort-
gaged, but what had that to do with the question ?

Mr. ROEBUCK said that the statement in respect of
the mortgage of the ship was not true. (Hear, hear.)
Mr. WHITESIDE, in continuation, said it would seem
from the statement of the hon. and learned member for Shef-
field, that the main fact of the argument of the hon. gentle-
man (Mr. Baxter) was no fact at all. (Hear.) But suppos-
ing it had been, what had it to do with the main question P
The only question for the Government was this. Was the
contract entered into by the company fully carried out ? If
it was not, then the contract fell to the ground ; but if it was,
then no objection could be raised to it, merely because one of
the ships was mortgaged. The hon. gentleman had two re-
solutions. One was right and the other was wrong, and he
withdrew the right one and retained the wrong one. He
could assure the hon. gentleman that, so far as he was
concerned, he should not support the Government one bit
more than if this contract had not been granted. He would
remind the hon. gentleman that Mr. Laing, who was a great
economist, had stated that there would be no sort of justice
in cancelling the contract on grounds of policy, unless the
Government also cancelled the Cunard contract, which stood
on the same grounds. A great many curious things were
done by Governments, and in turning over the statute•book
the other day he happened, quite accidentally, to light on
the Act of the 23d and 24th of Victoria, cap. 48, which was
passed at the close of the session. There he found it pro-
vided that the Commissioners of the Treasury should be
empowered to accept £50,000, in commutation of a sum of
£228,000 odd, due to the Treasury on bonds, payable by the
city of Edinburgh, on security of the ducks and harbours
of Leith. That was a case which he commended to the at-
tention of the hon. gentleman, and the paper on which he
had noted these facts he would preserve as a piece of curious
information. (Cheers and laughter.) It would appear from
a return made to the house that the number of passengers
carried by the Galway route far exceeded those carried by
any other, and this might be accounted for by their endea-
vours to carry third-class passengers. According to the re-
port of Major Robinson, also, out of 89,000 persons, who
emigrated in 1847, 2,593 perished at sea, and 10,000 died on
their arrival. Now if, without doing any injustice to the
empire at large, they could carry the letters more quickly, do
a great service to Ireland, and at the same time effect a great
saving of human life, he said there was a strong case made
out in an assembly like that for the contract under conside-
ration. Even as regarded Scotland, it was easy to show that
Glasgow would be benefitted. At Belfast they had admi-
rable steamers, and communication between those two ports
was now so perfect that a man might dine at Glasgow and
be at Belfast at four o'clock on the following morning, and
from that place there was a railway to Galway. The hon.
gentleman might be accepted as a disinterested witness, for
he was the first Scotchraan who had spoken against the in-
terests of Scotland. (Laughter.) This compact, however,
had been made, and affirmed by a vote of Parliament ; and
could the house apply to public contracts a code of division
which they could not apply to private ones ? That was an
abstract resolution, and he had such a horror of them that
when he heard them mentioned his mind recurred to Parlia-
mentary reform. The hon. gentleman had touched upon a
topic which he might as well have avoided. He had stated
that the contract was given as a political job; but, in oppo-
sition to that, he might mention the opinion of the late Lord
Lieutenant of Ireland that no decision had ever been arrived
at by a Government on more just and patriotic grounds. It
would be a narrow and short-sighted policy to cancel this
contract, for it should be remembered that America was the
great market for Ireland, as up to this time Italy was not
opened for her Irish linens, and the exportation to France
was still small. If the Government expected the assistance
of the Conservative Irish members on the ground of having
given this contract they would not have it, but nevertheless
it was the duty of the noble viscount and of the Government
to advance the interests of Ireland. In this instance he be•
lieved that duty had been performed, and that the contract
had been framed on no other grounds than those of its jus-
tice and policy to that country. He trusted therefore that
the house would affirm the decision of the Government, no
valid reason having been assigned for rescinding the contract.
Lord PALMERSTON said,—My hon. friend moved two
resolutions, or rather announced his intention of moving
two resolutions, but he tells us that he will not propose the
first. It becomes us, then, to tread lightly on the ashes of
the dead. (" Hear,'• and laughter.) My hon. friend has
launched againstthapresent Government a charge, which
is easily made, which always obtains cheers, and which
pleases those who entertain very superficial and shallow
notions of Government—(a laugh) —and are willing to adopt
anything that may be uttered throwing disparagement on
an administration. He has said that the present Govern-
ment, in adopting this Galway contract to the extent we
have done, have committed, or have attempted to commit,
a great public joh—narriely, that we hope, and had reason
to believe, that by adopting this contract, we should obtain
support from the Irish members. Well, certainly, he has
in that statement pronounced a double censure on the Go-
vernment, because, in the first place, he impeaches their
political morality, and in the next place he impeaches their
political sagacity—(cheers, and laughter) —because—and I
would appeal on this point to my hon. friend the late Irish
Lord of the Treasury—experience has shown that if we did
reckon on the support of Irish members by reason of adopt-
ing this contract, we have been more woefully deceived and
disappointed than often falls to the lot of a Government of
this country. (Hear, and laughter.) But I entreat my hon•
friend who brought forward the present motion, to raise his
views a little higher than that state of morality by which
he seems disposed to judge of the actions of others. (Hear.)
Cannot ray hon. friend imagine that it is possible for a Go-
vernment in dealing with a public question to be influenced
by
legitimate public consideratioos of national
advantage ?
Can he not believe it possible that, in recommending to the
house a confirmation of this contract, we may have been in-
fluenced by the desire to promote the
interest
Ireland,
of
one-third of the letters passing to America, being sent from
that country P Can he not imagine that,
in looking to the
state of the United Kingdom, we may have seen a large por-
tion of the people inhabiting a country to which nature has
denied many of the advantages this island enjoys, in which
that abundance of coal, which is the foundation of the ma-
nufacturing industry, is in a great measure wanting, and
where all local circumstances have been so arranged that in
it the accumulations of national defence, the marine eau,.
blislunents of the empire, are not placed, (Hear) Ireland