The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-19 00:00:00

R. JOHN BRIGHT, M.P., AT RIR.

MINGBAIt.

BIRSITINTGHAM, THURSDAY NIGHT.
This evening the members for Birmingham ad-
dressed tteir constituents at the Town Hall, which
was densely crowded. The Mayor was in the chair,
Both hon. members, on entering the room, were
lou.dly cheered.

The MAYOR opened the proceedings by calling
'upon Mr. Scholefield to address the meeting, which
he aid in a speech that was merely directed to the
wur in the United States. lie stated that his de-
cided conviction was that the Government was
bound immediately to recognise the Southern States,
a sentiment which created very considerable uproar,
in which it was impossible to tell whether the
cheers or the groans or hisses preponderated. He
was not for either intervention or mediation, because
the former meant war and the latter failure. But
he contended that it would be consistent with all
our policy in past years to acknowledge the South
as an independent Power. He quoted the opinion
of eminent authorities on international law to show
that no easus belli could arise from such a recogni-
tion.

Mr. BRIG/1T on rising was received with loud
cheers. He said—My hon. friend began his address
by referring to two great questions that must
afflict the heart of every man in the country—the
calamity which has fallen upon the county from
which I come, and the strife which is astonishing
ties world on the other side of the Atlantic. I shall
not enter into detail with regard to that calamity,
because you have already held meetings, I believe,
in this town. Many details have been published,
contributions of a generous character have been
made, and if I am rightly informed, your artisans
are doing their duty with regard to the unfortunate
condition of the population among which I live.
(Hear.) But of this I may state in a sentence,
that the greatest, probably the most prosperous
manufacturing industry that this Country or the
world has ever seen, has been suddenly and unex-
pectedly stricken by a blw which has not been
unforseen or unforetold, (Hear) Nearly five hundred
thousand persons, men, women, and children, are
at this moment saved from the utmost extreme of
famine, and not a few from death, by the controbu-
Lions which they are receiving from all parts of the
count*
y, (Cheers.) I will not attempt here an
elaborate eulogy of the generosity of the givers, nor.
will I endeavour to point out the patience and gra-
titude of those who suffer and receive. But I be-
lieve that the Conduct of the country, with regard
to this great misfortune, is such as does honour to
all classes and to every section of the people.
(Cheers.) Some have remarked that there is perfect
order where there has been so much anxiety and
Buffering. I believe there is scarcely a thoughtful
man in Lancashire who will not admit that one
great cause of the patience and good conduct of the
people, besides the fact that they know so much is
being done for them, is to be found in the extensive
information which they possess, and which has of
late years, and now more than ever, been commu-
nicated to them through the instrumentality of the
untaxed Press. Noble lords have spoken, and pub-
lic men have taken upon themselves to tell the peo-
ple of Lancashire that nobody has been to blame,
and, in point of fact, if it had not been for a family
quarrel in that dreadful Republic everything would
have gone on perfectly smooth, and not a word
would have been said to anybody. (Hear, hear.) I
should like to examine whether this be true or not.
If you read the papers you will find that, whatever
may be the chance of again receiving a supply of
cotton from America, the hopes of the whole coun-
try are direc:ted to India. New, the Government
of India is not one of to-day. It is a Govern-
ment that has lasted as long as the Govern-
ment of the United States, and has had many
insurrections and secessions, not one of which
was recognised either by England or France.
A Government of India has existed, and in some
parts of that country cotton is the staple pro-
duce of the land ; but there has been a sort of
piratical joint-stock company—beginning with
Lord Clive and ending, as I hope, with Lord Dal-
housie—governing that country ; and I undertake
to say that it was not in' nature to say that there
was not such improvement as to have given you a
fair ouppl7 of eottuu. Up to 1814 the whole trade
of India was the monopoly of the East India Com-
pany ; they did whatever they pleased in the terri-
tories under their rule, What did Mr. Ricardo, a
member of the Council of India, report in 1812?
Why, that the whole cotton trade of the district was
taken away, without leaving any portion to the free
disposal of the ryots, who were not suffered to know
what they should get for the cotton until it was re-
moved from the country coastways to Bombay ; and
there the Company's servants fixed the price from
10 to 30 per cent, under the market price of those
districts not under the Company's rule. For three
years before the monopoly of the Company ceased,
the brokers' returns at Liverpool showed that only
17,000 bales were received ; but three years after-
wards, owing entirely to the great increase in price
We received no less than 551,000 bales, during
Which period the United States only sent 611,000
bales. In 1818 our imports from India actually ex-
ceeded what were received from the United States.
Soon after that, in 1832, another member of the
Council, Mr, Warden, gave evidence that the taxes
levied on the Surat cotton was 50 rupees per candy,
leaving the grower only three farthings per pound.
In 1847 I moved for a committee on this subject,
because I saw that the growth of cotton in India
was strangled. Under the circumstances what won-
der was it that people in the condition in which the
people of India were could not produce cotton, and
what wonder is it that it should be had ? That it
was had I may illustrate by this anecdote. At a
prayer meeting of the Methodist Connection, not
a dozen miles from where I live, a minister was
deep in supplication, and among other things he
asked for was a supply of cotton for the district,
when some man, with a deep sense, no doubt, of
- what he suffered, uttered, Oh, yes ; oh, yes ; bat not
Surat. (Laughter.) The committee for which I
moved sat during the session of 1848. The evidence
was very extensive, complete, and entirely con-
demnatory of the whole system of the Indian Go-
vernment with regard to the laud and agricultural
produce ; but notwithstanding that, you have had
very little result on which you can calculate up to
the present time. In 1850, as nothing more was
done, I thought it was time to take another step,
and gave notice of a motion that a Royal Commission
should proceed to India to inquire into the obstacles
which prevent the increased growth of cotton in
India, and to report on any circumstances which
might injuriously affect the industrial condition of
the native pepulation, being cultivators of the soil,
within the presidencies of Madras and Bombay. I
asked Lord John Russell, who was then Prime
Minister, to grant the commission, and he said he
would communicate with Lord Dalhousie, out as it
was then June he could not hear from Lord Dal-
h"le before the close of the session. He said that
Sir J. li bhouse, then President of the India Board,
WaS much t‘gtillafit it. The matter came before the
house, and was Opposed by the President of the
India Board.
had seen Sir Robert Peel only ten
days before his death, and endeavoured to gain his
support. He cordiall
and rene,ined in the y
oiu4,:luring my speech; approved
but
of the proposition,
Nor, en he found that the
:tn
Tent would not con-
- sent to it he left his seat, er
nights afterwards
be explained to me why he ias4 left the house—
the ;he Government did not agree to the motion,
and that his own position being so d
e laate with
regard to them and to his own policy h
rev,.
, Was
anxious that nothing should induce lain, except
pressure, to oppose them on any great mat-
under
house, and therefore the proposal
ter in the
*VP, that support which, had it been
did not recel
hive no doubt would have enabled
otherWiqe,
a oboacleg. But to show you li,
sort of men that it to 81".1"t
in reference to the peon-
Sir John Hobhouse state,t,
liar appearance of the time to wh made ave referred,
that tie hon. gentleman had not out his case,
for he found that the importation of cotton from all
countries showed an immense increase during the
past three years. Why, we know that the impor-
tation of cotton has shown an increase every three
years for the past fifty years; but it was because
that increase was almost entirely from one source,