The Sun.
London, England, 1839-03-02 00:00:00

justify the intervention of the State would be, that without'
such intervention the work could not be undertaken or car-
ried on. These propositions being proved, he would lay it
down as a third proposition that the interposition of the
State should be so limited in the assistance afforded
ler carrying on these works, that it should be no more
than would be absolutely necessary to carry the objects pro-
posed into effect. Now with regard to this question, he
supposed the truth of the first proposition he bad laid down
would be admitted, at least for the sake of argument be
would assume that such would be the case. Now if it were
admitted that the worn was of immense utility and advan-
tage to the country, he would ask where were the funds for
carrying it into effect ? By the interposition of private capi-
talists. Was the Right Honourable Gentleman aware bow
ny of the lines of Railroad in England had received
the assist ance of the Government in the shape of loans, in
order that they might be carried on to their completion ?
This money had been advanced on the security of the share-
holders of the respective lines; but in Ireland these ad-
vance: would be made—for he must remind the House that
this assistance proposed to be afforded by the motion of
his Noble Fe;end mas merely an advance—in Iceland these
advances were to be made, upon much better security upon
the securit the Lead itself, and he for one would much
eather haver mortgage
ion the county-rate for security
than the bond of any body of ehareholders ,vhatever. The
Right Hon Gentleman had said that worles of this sort
ought not to receive any assistance free; the State. Why
he had shown that for the last 28 )caret the State
had afforded this assistance, not only in Ireland by the
construction of public roads, but here also, in Ent,'le
lid,
rteeistance of the public credit by means of lendelg Ethe
""
chequer Bills, had been found necessary for the coranne
ticn of many public works. The Right Hon. Gentlein."
seemed to dissent from his (the Chancellor of the Exche-
verei) proposition, but he would take upon himself to
affirm, that no difference existed in the two cases—in the one
case advances had been made upon the security of the Act
of Parliament authorising the construction of the railroad ;
and in the other case, they proposed the security of an Act
of Parliament, giving them a mortgage upon the county-
rate. Upon one part of this question he was inclined to
agree with the Right Hon. Gentleman. He attached
Out little importance to the construction of railroads as
means of merely temporary employment to the population.
Such temporary employment, he was inclined to believe,
increased the misery consequent upon want of employment,
after the demand for labour had ceased and the work was
completed, more than it tended to alleviate it during the
time the work was in progress. He believed that the
tendency of the construction of the Caledonian Canal had
not been to increase the employment of' the Scotch la-
bourers residing in its neighbourhood, but its only effect
had been to produce a great influx of Irish labourers into
Scotland, and he believed, that even if this had net been the
case the condition of the people after the completion of
the work, would have been much worse than it was before
the work was begun, If he be believed that the employ-
ment afforded to the population by means of railroads
could end with the construction of those railroads, as a
means cf affording employment to the people, he should
consider it as not much p:efera'ele to the method proposed
some years ago, of affording employment to the population
by making them dig holes one day and filling them up the
next ; but he would ask if the employment afforded by
means of railroads, would cease when they should be com-
pleted ? What would be the effects of opening these lines
of railroad, would they not be the means of occasioning,
an increased export •of produce, and an increase('
import of articles in return for that produce!
and would not this furnish permanent increased
employment to the people ? He would appeal to the Hora
sham case, which had been brought forward by the Right
Honourable Gentleman. Could the Right Honourable
Gentleman look at the case and say, that it had been the
source of merely temporary employment to the people,
while the road was making—why, according to the Right
Hon. Gentleman's own showing, the effect of opening,
this road bad been to afford a source of permanent employe
went to the people. He had a right to apply the
stance brought forward by the Right Honourable Gen;
tleman to the case of Railroads, and if he cold°
prove that the opening of these lines of railroad had pp3'
duced, not merely temporary, but permanent occupation
fur the people, then there was an end to the objection
of the Right Hon. Gentleman, and he felt that he was
borne out in this opinion, not only by argument, but by
the facts of the case. He would ask any of the Gentle-
men who had visited Ireland, and were acquainted with
the circumstances of the case, if they believed that in
many parts of that country the present improvement in the
roads would have been undertaken at all, if it had not been for
the intervention of the Government, those roads had not been
carried on at the public.. expense, and he would ask them t°
compare the state of those roads which had been undertaken
by individuals and those which had been completed by the
public, and he would say, without fear of contradiction'
that the loads undertaken by the Government were mile
more convenient, and had been completed at much less
expense than those which had been undertaken by privet.et
individuals. When the Mail Coach Road Act passed '
was enacted that Government should not only advance
the money but have power to undertake the work ; and e_
would ask if the Government had not completed the work
e'
whether those roads would have been in their present state°
efficiency.? If these roads had been left to the enterprizeufthLe
Grand Juries and of the gentlemen of Ireland, on which We
Right Hon. Gentleman seemed to rely, he doubted whether
these public roads would have ever been constructed, 8t
all events they would not have been so with that economy
and efficiency with a bich they have been at present The
-
interposition of the Government had secured a adept' _
survey. The roads had, in consequence, been placed underthe superintendence of eminent engineers, who bad been
selected solely on account of their scientific acquirement's'
The capital had been expended in an economical and ea'.
cient manner, instead of being wasted in private jobs,
which would have been the case had the Government vot,.
undertaken the work. As a proof of the advantage °'
Government interference, he would refer to the works
which had been executed in the South of Ireland'
He would refer to the roads which bad igen
executed by Mr. Griffith in the county of Cork, and n'
the south-eastern parts of Ireland, and be would ask the
Hon. Gentleman to compare the state of these roads wit;;
the state of those which had been undertaken by rivet;
companies, and they would be convinced of the imenonei
superiority in point of economy and efficiency of works °
this nature undertaken by the Government. Before he
sat down he would call the attention of the House to the
amount of the intended advance. It would have beensur
posed from the speech of the Right Hon. Gentleman, that
it was the intention of the Government to propose a large
grant of public money to carry these purposes into effect'
But what was the proposition of his Noble Friend, it ,w 7
merely to advance this money on the credit of the under-
taking, taking, the whole amount of the receipts being devote',.'
the payment of the interest of this advance and to the '°:"
mation of a sinking fund for the reduction and eventual Ii
quidation of the principal. Tbus they had a charge
upon! the whole profits of the work, and if thl-,
should be found insufficient, they could come upon
land. They had the full security of the County-rate 0
these advances, and all that was wanted was the interre'i
e
sition of the State to advance its credit for the raising 0
money sufficient to commence and carry through these
works. The Right Hon. Gentleman assumed that to
Stage could not apply its powers in this manner with°
~
interfering with private speculation. He must hi?
leave to differ with the Right Honourable Gent v.,
man on this subject. He could understand his sag)
that a public work, which could be executed at a;o3st
40,000/. should be left to individal enterprise, but vi'le,.ee
the cost would perhaps be millions, requiring not onlY
great outlay of capital, -but demanding great skill Abe
science, on the part of those conducting it, it would ,„0.
necessary to secure the assistance of the Government ja."
The Right Hon. Gentleman had read the Report, and )he
he spoke but slightly of the probable returns. Nowt the
would have seen, by reference to that Report, that to
maximum of profit which could be expected to accrue from
these railroads was 41 per cent. Did the Right Hon. '.%),
tleman believe that private capital would be attracted bYl—t,
undertaking, of which the maximum profit was ei per `.'_Ai,
He knew full well that if the State would not do this, i°`-ah
viduals would not. The question was, not so eli-ble
whether they were to sanction the proposition of his o°oo
Friend, as whether they were to say there should be;_A
railways in Ireland at all. That was the whole practi_.7
result of the principle laid down by the Hon. Gentlem er
He only wished the Right Hon. Gentleman had to at'so if
the general objections which he himself bad raised,
to
those objections had been made against him atad his 0 of
Government for applying the power and the resourcc'4
the State for the promotion of public works in Irela%,
how powerful would have been his remonstrance, how ' is
dignant his refutation I He would have said, My 53''telfre
to promote all those improvements, in place of discourto
ing them. He (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) c°oo,
readily imagine gentlemen might say the public nroul
would be better employed in the improvement 0' bot
communications than on the formation of new oncl.; aid
to say that in no circumstances ought they to give 1"ecoa•
of the State for the promotion of public works, WI
tradicted by the experience of the last 38 years, an° coy
moo
tradicted by the practice of the Right Lion. Gall°
himself.—( Cheers.) Ode
Mr. O'CONNELL said there was one objection the
by the Hon. Baronet that had not been answered by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, and that was as ,tO.l. to
limited nature of the grant. Ho thought it was unfair be
the rest of Ireland that one particular line sh°°
adopted, and that all should not be adopted at once, e this
cially as they were not asking for one penny front
tide
country. All they wanted was a loan to make re eof
Most of the roads had been made at the eaPeneeti
this country ; but here no grant at all was h— to
for—nothing but the credit of the country of
raise the money was required— the fee =sh°Pl: the
every county in Ireland being mortgaged to fenotie
speculation. The Right Hon. Gentleman bad vow
tioned the case of Mr. Bianconi. Where did Mr. ,`"nort
coni establish himself ? Why, in Tipperary, in thia.,l3ich
a Ireland that was said to be most disturbed, and ft
ft
bwoarseattheTwipopresrtarryephuteatcioomn
minenthceisdc, oaunndtrmy.r. (BAjanlactlogin'ec;etehre
tainly deserved great credit, and ought to have 11‘..,; teas
protection of the Government. But Mr. Biennia'
prosecuted by the Government to which the Rigui, the
Gentleman belonged. He was struggling throng the
hen A
world—took stations for stables for his horses, w-roun-
first person he quarrelled with, one of his men, turned -re an
and said, " I won't take up that station-house—your, eneell),
alien." A case was laid before him (Mr. O''etbat
and he told him it was very true he was an alien-7 would
he had been a Protestant, though a foreigner, hf lie be
have been naturalized, but being a Roman Cat,,°°lcoof
was an alien. He had told him to apply to the u°l.jd the
for letters of denization, that he was a useful man,
ato the
Goveraor would encourage him. He did aPP'Ymeotiber
Goveraor, but was not naturalized. The Hon. n) pas
for the University of Cambridge (Mr. Goulboufa Hon'
th n Secretary fer Ireland. Mr. Bianconi apPlitt
than once,
Gentleman, but be did not get the letters of " hear.)
he thought three times, to that Right
51100
until Lord Grey's Government came iii.—(Hear, Non.
That was an instance of the liberality of the Rire"..„„., that
Gentleman.—( Cheers.) After the great euralpue—oili for
the Right Hon. Barouet had passed on Mr.
uragenleat
his industry, that fact showed pretty well theenc?
n,.
.i3o
shown to industry and perseverance in Irelands