The Sun.
London, England, 1853-03-08 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, MARCH 8, 1853.•

What opinions can be entertained respecting
the consistency of Right Honourable and Honour-
able Gentlemen, who, although three months had
scarcely elapsed, since, by an overwhelming ma-
jority,, they had declared that, the recent commer-
cial policy, it signifies nothing, whether denomi-
ted " Unrestricted Competition," or styled by its
Saxon appellation "Free Trade," should be fur-
ther extended and carried into practical operation
—refused on Thursday evening to recognise the
principle contained in the resolution submitted to
the House by the veteran member for Montrose.
In the beginning of December, they believed that
policy to be " wise, just, and beneficial." In the
beginning of March they refused to affirm a pro-
position that " they would, at an early period, take
into consideration the duties that are strictly pro-
tective in the existing tariff of import into this
country, both of manufactures and agricultural
produce, with a view of speedily repealing the same
as affecting unfairly every interest in the country."
Had a declaratory motion of the kind been brought
for ward with a view of embarrassing the late Govern-
ment, the utmost zeal and energy would have been
exhibited. Each representative would have thought
it his bounden duty to attend at any inconveni-
ence. He would have felt ashamed to meet his
constituents had he exhibited any carelessness or
apathy on such a point. Had the then CHAN-
CELLOR of the EXCHEQUER opposed the motion, on
the ground that " the House ought not to part
with the standing revenue until it knew, and had
determined, what the expenditure should be,"
and " that the house should not be asked to make
promises, without any regard to the power of
performance," what unsparing ridicule, what sar-
castic comments, would be offered. What ! not
ask the House to condemn that which was alike
unjust and impolitic—what was so exceedingly
injurious to the welfare and prosperity of the na-
tion ? Not demand a pledge that it would, at an
early period, take the obnoxious imposts, con-
demned alike by every principle of equity
and expediency, " into consideration, with a
'view to their abolition ?" It was too absurd,
too unreasonable of any Minister to sup-
pose that the House could be indifferent on such a
point, or refuse to bind. itself, by the strongest
pledges, to fulfil the .
natural anticipations, with-
out a moment's unnecessary
delay ; and as to the
power of performance, that was
a matter alto-
gether for the Financial Minister,exture, or who
bsyhouldeither, by reducing his expenditure,
pro-
viding an adequate substitute not liable to so
many grave objections.
We
can
with which
easily imagine
the withering force—the keen irony
a leading member of her Ma-
jesty's Mr. GLADSTONE,
such Leader
woDulisdithAamve;.amddinuicstederial
Opposition,argn..
ments against Mr.
of the House of Commons, if the opportunity
were afforded, if the Right Honourable Gentleman
attempted to shelter, himself under such frivolous
and unmeaning pretexts. We can also conceive
the rapturous and enthusiastic cheering with
which a large proportion of the 159 Honourable
Gentlemen who s constituted the anti-free-trade-
majority of Thursday evening, would have
received and identified themselves with the elo-
quent denunciation. What was Lord PALMER-
STON'S amendment to Mr. VILLIER'S motion but
a "promise"—aye, a promise of much greater
magnitude than that asked for by Mr. HUME,
without regard to the power of performance ?
And yet only fifty-three members were found un-
willing to assume the solemn obligation which,
now that the object is accomplished—the then
Ministry driven from power, and their places
filled by a different set of men—isto be repu-
diated on the earliest opportunity.
straightforward, common
mm We fear that
the plain, strai
on sense of the
country can regard it simply as an act of tergiver-

sation, and that of the most flagrant and unpar-
donable character.

What was the demand put forward ? It was
simply that the doctrines of " unrestricted com-
petition," already partially adopted, should be
carried out in their integrity—that the "strictly
protective duties" should at an early period be taken
into consideration, with a view to their repeal. It
did not enter into the wider field of fiscal policy
which we believe to be essential to a really free
and unrestricted commerce. It did not extend
to the throwing open of our ports so that the
productions of all nations may be admitted with-
out let or hindrance. It did not profess to meddle
with the numerous customs or excise duties, levied
for the sake of revenue on all goods alike, whether
the produce of the British dominions or of foreign
countries. Nothing but what was " strictly pro-
tective" would be interfered with—which exasper-
ated neighbouring powers, inducing them to adopt
measures of retaliation, and without realising to'
the Exchequer anything like an equivalent for the'
injury thus inflicted. It merely struck at what
Mr. DISRAELI happily denominated "the rags and
tatters of the Protectionist system." And yet,
when the question of shaking off these rags and
tatters arose—when a definitive proposition to
that effect, so soon as a suitable opportunity should
arise—two hundred and sixty members only
were in their places—and more than three-fifths
of the number voted in favour of the retention
of these unseemly " rags and tatters," or what
was tantamount thereto, against a resolution to
take them into consideration at an early period,
with a view to their speedy repeal.
Is it, we again ask, worth while to pursue this
anomalous and contradictory course ? Of foreign
manufactured articles there are no less than 233
different items, charged with duties varying from
1 to 50 per cent. on the value ; indeed, in one
case, that of glass exceeding 1-9th of an inch in
thickness, nearly 150 per cont. ad valorem, and
yet these multitudinous and vexatious imposts,
only yielded in the year 1851, a revenue of
434,1541., of which nearly a moiety, or 213,000/.,
was obtained from silk manufactures ; so that
the other commodities only realised about
220,0001. What expensive supervision, what
vexations searching of travellers' luggage, and
other impediments to free intercommunication
might be avoided by the surrender of these paltry
taxes ; and what a token of amity to other king-
doms what a praiseworthy example would
their abolition be. With a handsome surplus in
the Exchequer, we cannot conceive why
there should be any doubt or hesitation on the
subject. The Agriculturists keenly feel the in-
justice of retaining these protective imposts, while
the most important of those by which they fancied
themselves to have been benefitted have been
swept away, while the manufacturers, supposed to
be protected, repudiate that protection with dis-
dain, and are loudest in their denunciations of the
objectionable system—their only desire being for
"clear stage and no favour." There is every
reason, then, for the repeal—none but 434,0001.
a-year for their retention—and that should not,
as Mr. DISRAELI justly remarked, be a considera-
tion, where the industry of the country is in
question.

The charges on foreign agricultural produce (42
in number) are equally objectionable. The revenue
obtained from all those items is but 916,4351.,
while they are directly opposed to the principle
that led to the repeal of the Corn Laws. We
cannot, indeed, conceive an argument that can be put
forward in favour of the duties on cheese and butter
and eggs, and seeds, &c., when the cereal pro-
ducts, and cattle, sheep, arc., are admitted duty•
free. We take the admission of the lion. Gentle-
wan, the Member for Cambridgeshire—a staunch
friend to the farmers, and one of the most un-
flinching advocates of protection, while there was
anything to fight for, that " the miserable duties
on agricultural produce which the motion would
repeal were really no protection to the agricultu-
rist ; while the repeal of the duties on the ma-
nufactured articles comprised in the motion would
benefit him considerably by reduction of price."
Shame, then, to the professing Free-traders who
voted against the motion, which Mr. BALL so
strongly, so boldly, and so independently sup-
ported. Shame to those whose views and opi-
nions are so materially influenced either by acces-
sion to office, or " by a lively sense of favours to
come from the Government for the time being."

Ever vigilant in regard to the more sinister
movements of northern despotism, Lord DUDLEY
STUART has not allowed the attention of the House
of Commons to be diverted from the consideration
of that contest between Austria and Turkey which
has been so very recently provoked by the lawless
and aggressive conduct of the half-civilised bar-
barians of Montenegro. Rapidly as that quarrel
sprang into existence, it fortunately appears to
have been brought no less rapidly to a termina-
tion. It remains, nevertheless, yet to be proved,
whether that termination can be regarded by the
friends of the balance of power in Europe, as, in
all respects, satisfactory. However this may be,
it is at least gratifying to remember that the whole
question has been brought directly under the no-
tice of the British Legislature. By no one could
it have been more ably drawn into the light of
public discussion than by the Noble Lord the
Member for the borough of Marylebone, as most
assuredly by no one could it have been mooted at
this juncture more appropriately. It is the pecu-
liar privilege of Lord DUDLEY STUART to be re-
garded by the great mass of his fellow-countrymen
as the natural champion of those continental nations
whose rights are tampered with, whose liberties are
assailed, and whose independence is not unfre-
quently strangled in the grasp of tyranny, at the
behest of the congenial councils at Vienna and at
Petersburg. It is a privilege, moreover, which
he has earned for himself by his repeated and
energetic efforts in behalf of those ill-fated nation-
alities—the recompence offered by public opinion
to his ardent endeavours in their favour—endea-
vours most sedulously directed by him in the -first
place to the solace of their refugees, and, in the
next, wherever that may be practicable, to their
aggregate amelioration. Nor is the recognition
of all this, by any means, restricted to the people
of the United Kingdom—extending, as it does,
even to some of the remoter corners of Christen-
dom. Lord DUDLEY STUART, in the midst of all
his unselfish regrets over the triumphs of arbitrary
Government, possesses at least that very grateful
and exquisite consolation. He may—and with
reason—exult in the knowledge that he is viewed,
both at home and abroad, as one of the foremost,
as he is also one of the most untiring and devoted,
among the champions of freedom to Poland, to
Italy, and to Hungary. Naturally, therefore, it
was no other than the representative of Maryle-
bone, who, on Thursday evening, brought under
the scrutiny of Parliament the very suspicious
policy pursued towards the Sublime Porte by
Austria—a policy none the less suspicious see-
ing that it was carried out in the name of religious
liberty, and under the pretext of upholding
the independence of Montenegro. Austria,
forsooth, crusading in the cause of reli-
gious tolerance ! Austria breaking a lance
in the interest of any one's independence ! Why,
there was more congruity, between their deeds
and aspirations—when QUIXOTTE bestraddled, in
the name of knight-errantry, the ribs of Rosi-
nante—when. HUDIBRAS, with black puddings
and toasted cheese in his breeches pocket, went
about
Pummelling fiddlers, and bears, and astro-
logers into a state of godliness—or when Doctor
SYNTAX, with his spectacles on his nose and his
lcaibalrairyflowtoerenw:eg well
r upon pmaowmdeermedo,raebmleertgoeurd
infrosmearleiihs
of the picturesque ! Austria dispatching 70,000
command of the Ban JELLACHICH,
to maintain,
aunintd the
ainer
2a
against the forces of OMIR PACHA,
N toinsist !
upon
the integrity of the boundaries of Montenegro
Austria directing Prince LEININ GE
eer
the merits of the principle of freedom of conscience
before the Ministerial advisers of the SULTAN at
Constantinople ! A
--S CHRISTOPHER SLY saith in
the small -beer play—" For GOD'S sake, a cup of _
No wonder Lord DUDLEY STUART regarded all
h g pretensions and insolent proceed-
ings se
on sick
the sickening
part of the Viennese Cabinet with
t e
profound suspicion. No wonder that, doing so,
he at once determined to bring the matter under

the notice of the House of Commons, and. to
extort, if possible, some diplomatic explanation
of recent events from one or other of the leaders
of her MAJESTY'S Government. Thursday even-
ing was the occasion when the Noble Lord ad-
dressed his inquiries on the subject to the late
Secretary of State in the Foreign Department.
The answer vouchsafed to those inquiries by Lord
J. RUSSELL was, let us say at once, delivered with
a readiness, a clearness, and a precision that re-
flected honour upon him, not merely as an en-
lightened statesman, but also as a Liberal repre-
sentative. Nothing could be more manfully ex-
plicit than the declaration made by the Noble
Lord that England would not consent, in regard to
the treatment of Turkey by her more powerful
neighbours, to anything at all approximating to
an attempt at either its gradual or immediate
dismemberment. We are somewhat surprised, it
is true, to find the leader of the present Govern-
ment in the Lower House of the British Parlia-
ment, alluding in almost condemnatory terms to
the military enterprise undertaken by OMIR
PACHA with a view to crush out more effectually
the rebellious—or, if the word be not palatable,
let us say the lawless—spirit of the Montenegrins ;
particularly are we surprised at this when we flied
Lord JOHN RUSSELL himself reprehending in
language of no very doubtful severity the infam-
ous incursions made upon the Osmanli dominions,
by those same inhabitants of Montenegro, incur-
sions marked by the most odious cruelties, the
most execrable massacres, and the most atrocious
depredations. But if the Noble Lord disappoint-
ed us in condemning a retaliation on the part of
Turkey, such as appears to ourselves actually en-
titled to applause and admiration, he carried joy,
we doubt not, to the hearts of all the lovers of
justice who heard him by his resolute avowal of
his conviction that it would be criminal to allow
any person to deprive the Sublime PORTE of its
independence. "Itis my deliberate conviction,"
said Lord JOHN RUSSELL, " that it would not be
possible to attempt the dismemberment, by force,
of the Turkish empire, without the commission of
a great crime, and without a most iniquitous via
lation of all those laws and treaties which bind
nations together." Subsequently the Noble Lord
observed—" I need hardly say that Turkey shall
always find in us a true friend and a faithful
ally." The former declaration was in the exor-
dium of his speech, the latter in its peroration.
It will be well for the interests of the Ottoman
empire if the closing words of that perora-
tion find an echo in the council-chambers
of the SULTAN at Constantinople. ' ABDUL-
MEDJID is thereby reminded of sundry truths
eminently deserving his consideration. Among
others of those truths, the following were
proclaimed on Thursday evening in the House of
Commons by the leader (in that branch of the
Legislature) of her BRITANNIC MAJESTY'S Govern-
ment :—" We have no object to serve," said the
Noble Lord, in reference to the Sublime PORTE,
"of any but the most friendly kind. We covet
none of her territories—nothing of her powers.
It is for our interest, in common with that of all
Europe, to maintain Turkey in her integrity, and
to insure her being governed in such a manner as
not to be subject to those insurrections—those
perpetually recurring weaknesses which so often
afford to the foreign foe the strongest temptation
to be her aggressor." Hitherto, it is gratifying
to remember that there has been the most cordial
understanding between the British and the Turk-
ish Governments. Those Governments, we do
not think, are nowadays to be so readily estranged.
The Noble Lord, the representative of Maryle-
bone, well reminded his fellow-countrymen, when
speaking of this war, provoked against the SULTAN
by the lawless subjects of the VLADIKA of Monte-
negro, that while, within the last quarter
of a century, our exports to Austria have
diminished, and those to Russia have been
doubled, those to Turkey have been actually quad-
rupled ! Interest, therefore, not less than justice,
calls aloud to England for the maintenance of the
integrity of the Ottoman dominions. Our rulers
will do well, consequently, in listening at all times
to the dictates of prudence, but particularly in
hearkening to the yet nobler promptings of
humanity, by watching with jealous attention the
course of that sinuous, and evasive, and domi-
neering, and unprincipled policy which is ever
impelling the Northern despots to acts of turpi-
tude against the Sublime PORTE, and which, it
would seem, can never be reasonably satisfied
until the KAISER has avenged the SULTAN'S gene-
rosity towards the fugitive Hungarians—until
the AUTOCRAT has satiated his ambition by plant-
ing his standard on the Mosques of Constan-
tinople

We are happy to find that the Lords of the
Treasury have evinced a creditable disposition to
listen to reason, and that adequate means have
been adopted to remedy the grievance to which
Mr. JAMES MACGREGOR BO forcibly directed the
public attention, and on which we offered some
comments in our impression of Thursday last.
The Honourable Gentleman last night again al-
luded to the subject, but not in terms of remon-
strance. The mere notice he had given proved
effectual, and very properly he left the matter in
the hands of Government, when he discovered a
fair and bond fide disposition to afford the required
relief. He showed that no less than 176,200
passengers had arrived in England from France
during the last year, "of which number 22,272
made the journey between Paris and London by
night, leaving by the half-past seven o'clock train,
and accomplishing the distance in twelve hours."
To a large portion of these persons any unnecessary
delay would prove, to say the least of it, exceed-
ingly inconvenient. Matters of the greatest im-
portance might depend on their arrival in the
British metropolis before the business of the en-
suing day had commenced. Ruinous consequences
might follow any unnecessary delay. But these
delays were of frequent—nay, more, of ordinary—
occurrence. If any matter occurred to retard
the arrival of the mail packet—whether occasioned
by stress of weather, or dilatoriness on the other
side of the Channel, or even if the passengers
were more numerous than usual—many would
be unable to avail themselves of the next train
leaving after their arrival. Those to whom- time
was of importance, and who had made every pos-
sible exertion to attain their objects, were on many
occasions doomed to experience one of the most
annoying of the petty miseries of human life, viz.,
seeing the departure of a train by which they
were anxious to travel at the moment of their ar-
rival at the station, while others, who have not
gone;to the expense of " a fly" to the railway, who
have seen the utter impossibilty of arriving in
time, are by no means pleased with the vexatious
regulations that occasioned so much delay and ex-
pense.

We have, however, hope of amendment, whenever
the disposition is evinced even to take the matters
complained of into consideration. It is but jus-
tice to the Honourable Gentleman the Member for
Westbnry,lto stateithat, in his official capacity as
Secretary for the Treasury, he lost no time in
grappling with the grievance. The notice that a
question would be asked was only given on Wed-
nesday. On Monday there was no necessity for
asking it, inasmuch as the boon had been con-
ceded, the nuisance abated. Henceforward, tra-
vellers may at their option have their luggage
examined either at Dover or in London, which-
ever may be most convenient ; thus taring a step
in advance even of the French authorities, who
require an announcement in the first instance as
to the locality in which the investigation is to
take place. Travellers are much indebted, then,
to Mr. JAMES MACGREGOR, who expdsed the
grievance, and to Mr. WILSON, who so readily
adopted the suggested amelioration. Much vexa-
tion and inconvenience will Ibe spared in conse-
quence of the meritorious exertions of both Hon-
ourable Gentlemen.

VISCOUNTESS MELBOURNE.—The Viscountess Mel-
bourne has arrived in Hyde-park-terrace from Brocket-
hall. Her ladyship, under the will of the late Viscount
just proved, derives a life interest in 37,0001. from the
family estates ; also of 1001. per annum payable from the
person holding the inheritance of the entailed estates at
Melbourne and Brocket. The residue of the real and
personal estate, the latter of which is sworn under
160,0001., is bequeathed to the late Viscount's sister,
the Viscountess Palmerston.