The Sun.
London, England, 1822-02-06 00:00:00

ADDRESS TO HIS MAJESTY.

The King's Speech having been read from the Woolsack and
at the table by the Clerk of the House,
The Earl of ItonE;s. rose.—He assured their
Lordships that it was his 'sincere wish that the
duty which he now approached should' have been
undertaken by an individual better calculated to
move an Address to his Majesty, and more cog-
nizant of all the points necessary to enter into
the details of that gracious communication which
he should endeavour to recal to the House. Al-
though it was the first day that he had the ho-
❑our of a seat among their Lordships, and he
should have desired to wait for a more distant
opportunity of offering •his opinion .on public
subjects, yet he would freely confess that he felt
considerable satisfaction under the circumstances
in which he stood, because he hoped, from the
nature of his motion and the•wording of the Ad-
dress, that no individual would be found among
their Lordships to oppose either. It must. have
been as gratifying to their Lordships as to the
country at large, to have heard his Majesty say
that he continued to receive from Foreign
Powers assurances of amity and of their anxiety
to maintain that peace which had already sub-
sisted for seven years. - It was natural; after that
long period •of warfare which their Lordships
had witnessed, that every country should have
availed itself of the peachy which ensued, to cul-
tivate those interests and effect those internal
improvements, which were only practicable at
such a time. Yet his Majesty had stated, that
notwithstanding the assurances of amity given
'by Foreign Powers towards himself, differences
had arisen between the Court of St. Petersburg!'
and the Ottoman Porte, which. his ...Majesty, in
conjunction with his Allies, was endeavouring
to adjust, and trusted would be satisfactorily
adjusted. But whether these efforts. should
succeed or not, their Lordships would allow
the wisdom of the line of conduct pursued,
by which, whatever might .happen, the British
Empire would he keptclearof the issue. He would
fairly own the interest which he took in the pro-
gress of the events connected with these neat'
ciations. He could not see a Turkish Govern-
ment opposed to a Christian Power, without
anxiously waiting the result of the struggle : nei-
ther could he see a Christian Power at war with
a Power acting on Christian principles without
equal anxiety. -Whether- the Russian Govern-
ment stood on those grounds, it was not. for him.
to determine._ Ho should. only call upon .their
Lordships to thank his Majesty for his gracious
communication on that subject, and for the exer-
tions which he had made to maintain the peace of

Europe. On reverting to the important fact
stated from the Throne, that within the last year
a considerable increase had taken place in the
Revenue, and great improvement in our manufac-
tures, he might add, that the improvement was
not confined to one alone, but extended to many
important branches of manufactures. It was true
that the agricultural interest had experienced
and was experiencing a deep depression, much to
be regretted and deplored. But farmers and
occupiers of lands were not the only sufferers,
the proprietors of estates, and their Laordships
themselves, were involved in the hardship. It
was one which it would become the wisdom of
Parliament to investigate calmly, and which Hit
could not be removed, he trusted means would
be found to alleviate. In doing this, however,
Parliament must always bear in view
,that
.eredit ,which had hitherto supported the
country through its difficulties,- and never suffer'
any consideration to come into competition with
public faith or national '.4titiour. lie was
aware that in the opinion of some individuals
blame ought to be attached to that Govern-
ment whose measures had produced the digress.
But were they prepared to say that the country
might not have been involved in much greater
difficulties if those identical Measures had not
been adopted ? Could they assert that all would
now be peace and prosperity if the late war liad
not been undertaken ? He had not formed in
his own mind, neither'did hp wish to press upon
their Lordships, any estimate of the extent of the
calamities iu Which the country might now be
plunged, if another course than that pursued by
the English Government had been followed.
The present agricultural distress was the natural
consequence of events which were now passed.
If a remedy were not to be found, Parliament,
he repeated, could at. least afferd considerable
alleviation. In the course of the present Session
it must calmly inquire into the causes of distress,
sift them to the bottom, and endeavour to ascer-
tain and to apply a remedy. Ilis Majesty ]tail':l
next alluded to his visit to Ireland during the.
last year. lie (the Earl of Roden)' had had
the satisfaction, and he would call it the privi-
lege, of witnessing his Majesty's reception, and
he would appeal to every Noble Peer who had
been equally present, whether it was not a
scene calculated to rejoice the hearts of all who
were attached to their King and their country,
and who knew how loyalty must lead to the
prosperity of Ireland? His Majesty's visit had
been, and would be, of incalCulable advantage to
that country, notwithstanding the outrages.with
which it had been afflicted. It had removed
those long-standing differences and deep enmities
which had been for ages the bane of lrelawk;
and his Majesty's parting advice, conveyed in a
letter from Lord Sidmouth,'had produced a.most
salutary impression, which, he trusted, neither
time nor distance would ever erase. This was a
part of his Majesty's Speech in which he felt
himself most deeply interested, as it was con-
nected with the. best interests of that country,
where, he lamented to say, a newly sprung system
of outrage had justly called down his Majesty's
animadversion. But. he was unwilling to occupy
the house at length with his opinion on the cir-
cumstances in which Ireland was placed, as an
opportunity would shortly occur to investigate
the evils which it suffered, and the remedies
which might be applied to them. He should,
however, be guilty of a great dereliction of
duty, if he did not express the convictioa of
his mind as to the root and cause of most of
those evils and outrages. Those causes were to
be found in the absentee landlords, in the want
of knowledge and that of communication and
confidence between the higher anti lower dasSes
in that country. Those were the real roots of
the evil, and he would call upon the absentee
possessor of land in Ireland, however elevated
might be his situation, to remember the heavy
responsibility which lay upon him, and not to
turn his back on the Calamities of the country
from which he derived his affluence. Ile would
call upon him to reflect what great
.blessieg
might 'not be derived front his occasional resi-
dence,on his domains ; how it might operate to
prevent those outrages which were even now
perhaps perpetrating, and to consider whether
his own absence might not have contributed to
occasion the necessity which 'now existed for
the interference of the Legislature. He (the
Earl of Roden) should- be guilty of a grosS
omission if he did not acknowledge the great
improvement which had taken place in Ireland
within the last ten years, notwithstanding these
evils. This was due to an extensive system Of.
'education founded on principles of religion,
and supported by private funds and public insti-
tutions. It had raised the character of the peo-
ple, and the Bible Society, in Ireland as well
as in England, had proved a noble instrument in
reconciling different sects and parties, and doing
away diuse hostile distinctions which had existed
too long. The state of Ireland would soon
come before their Lordships, and he trusted
they would see the' necessity of arming the Exe-
cutive in that country with stronger powers than
the law now alhiwed to meet the present.evils.
But however
,necessary those powers might be,
and however great their extent, in order that they
should prove effectual,' he Still implOred .their
Lordships to consider the remedy as only tem-
porary, and to assist in the great scheme of civi-
lization now carrying on in Ireland, which alone
could_ put art end to her internal commotions,—
He knew that he had trespassed at great length
on the attention of their Lordships, but the sub-
ject preSsed deeply upon his Mind, and be should
not have been contented on his return to Ire-
land next wea) had he not expressed to their

The Marquis of LANSDOWN rose. However.
anxious to offer those explanations which he con-
' sidered necessary.before he assented 4o the pro-
posed Asi.dress, he did not thing it incumbent on"
him to take so early an opportunity of expressing
his opinion ; but as no other Peer had,risen be
had not felt it consistent any longer to withhold
a few observations on topics so important in
themselves and pressed in so direct a manner
Upon the House, both as connected with the
sselfare of this country and that of Ireland--=
topics which had been introduced into his Ma-
jOty's speech, notwithstanding the natural reluc-
tance which the King's Ministers must have felt
at making the admissions which were there made.
The few observations which he should have to
offer would necessarily be divided between the si-
tuation of this country and that of Ireland ; and it
was a melancholy circumstance that although 2;1
years had now elapsed since the Union, the bless-
ings which were anticipated at that event,
had not, up to this moment, been completely
obtained. Au expression of rejoicing had beers
inserted in his Majesty's Speech at the it:-
crease of the revenue, and the flourishing con-
dition of the trade and manufactures of the coun-
try. He should see little cause to rejoice in this,
if the great cause of prosperity to all countries,
agriculture, continued in a depressed state ; and
because he looked upon agriculture as that which
supported and vivified all other interests, let hip
not be thought to despise either tracks or mane-
factures When he saw, however, that much or
that commercial prosperity arose from the open-
ing in North. and South America, he would ask
even 'those who had better opportunities for the
investigation of the subject, _whether truck of
that prosperity did not depend on the value anti
security of the speculations entered into in thttt
branch of trade, and whether some time must
not elapse before a decisive opinion could be
formed as to its solidity ? There was a fact
which he had heard. for the first time in a
Speech from ,the Throne—it was the reduction
of the Establishment. He had heard with satis-
faction that something more than professions was
at last forthcoming ; but he must wait till he
had seen the extent of those reductions, and
how the principle of economy had been applied,
before he could give his full approbation to what
bad been done. Neither would he agree, as he
intended doing, to the Address now proposed, if
it called upon him to express any gratitude for
retrenchment, of which he knew neither the
amount nor the details. -When he was told that,
the use of economy had at last been discovered,
he could not help recollecting how long since it
was that experience had made the discovery,
and apply to the Noble Lord opposite and his
colleagues on this occasion what. Doctor Johnson
said when Lord Lyttleton wrote his Dialogues of
the Dead—" Here the
,Noble Lord has begun
after fifty years to tell the world what those
fifty years have been telling you all the time."
Notwithstanding a resolution adopted by the
.other House three years since it was only in the
Course of the last summer that his Majesty's
Ministers bad been enabled to see the ne-
cessity of economy.. New lights had then
broken upon them. The Receivers-General
who were very fit to be in place two years
ago, were no longer fit 'now. A new view
of things was taken, and retrettehMent had en-
sued. He wished that it should be carried to the
fullest extent, and should be happy to find that
'it had been. He should also Wish to know whe-
ther any other expedient could be devised to
produce the desired relief 'to the labouring.agri-
culturist. If the paragraph in his 'Majesty's
Speech referred to no other measure than that
which had been made known within the last 24
hours, he should. protest against the idea that
any effective relief could be afforded that way.
He alluded to the communication said to .have
taken place yesterday between the. Noble Earl
Opposite and the Directors of the Bank respect-
ing an issue of Exchequer Bills to the amount of
five millions. If the object was to give relief to
the farmers, it was not by means of money tlust
it could be done when money was abundant And
security rare. Should good security be madeshe
condition for receiving relief, then all necessity
for the proposed measure would. cease ; for if
good security could. be found, there would not
be'one banker in the country who would not„be
disposed to lend.. If the loan in question, were
meant ' as a free gift, the effect would be still
more decidedly to injure all agricultural sin,-
terests. Such was his opinion, and still more
must' it be that of the Noble Dahl oppo-
site, who had constantly maintained that
the distresses of agriculturists arose' from
Superabundant productions. To pour in five

millions, to be 'employed in agriculture, would
. be to contradict the whole of his theory, which
rested on the principle, that the most i.:lfeetua I
way tp remove the depression of the landed into-
, rest would be to, reduce the produce to the-
quantity required by the wants of the country. ,
—He was convinced that the distribution, of
.5,000,0001. would produce no good, and that a
very small portion of the sums voted would find
its way in the shape of relief. In saying this he
did not mean to dissuade their Lordships from
entering into the fullest investigaticsn of the sub-
ject, but only to impress upon their minds the
convictionof his, that nothing but a diminished
eXpenditure could afford an efficient and certain
ITsiniedY: ' He `had .now :OOrte to the unhappy
I, :State of Ireland. No man could see without
emotions of pain arid sorrow what had lately
taken place in that country; or could refrain from
contemplating with anxiety. the means necessary
tb be employed to repress the existing evils and
-prevent others. In the selection of the individual
'fass!'Whern the immediate administration of Ire-
:land 'vas entrusted, a more judicious choice could
'ruse- have been .made.---(ilear from all sides.)
-He stated that, -becauSe he believed that in
-that individual were uniltd. the firmness and vi-
- ',Olin- necessary to render his administration effi-
' caent, and a capacious reach of mind to sift the
evils and their causes to the bottom, and not only
to supply immediate checks, but to lay grounds
for applying legislative and- political remedies.
,But he was convinced that no powers entrusted
- .to• that individual, however extensive, would
prove more, than Palliatives, unless they were
_granted on a principle soaring above the pre-
indices of the paSt.. The present. state of Ire-
iand could not be attributed to any particular
..nc.t. It stood on a combination of causes, and
• could only he cured by a combination of reme-
- 'die& Though he was himself one of the non-
resident proprietors of Ireland, yet he was
willing to admit' that their absence was certainly
;one of the evils
,Of that country : not a cause,
:but an effect produced by those very evils
'which rendered Ireland different in laws
and politics from all 'other countries. He should:
'not feel satisfied with what .was done by a,
vigorous hand, if a mind were not employed
with it capable of rising above the vulgar
prejudice that there was something in the
soil and the mind of Ireland, which must Of ne-
- -cessity continue for ages to produce a semi-bar-
barous race. A sounder and more enlarged view
. must he applied to the state of that country he-
Sore a final remedy could be provided ; and the
-causes of its evils would.be chiefly found on their
Lordships' statute books, when they pronounc'ed
'on a difference said to' exist between fhe social
-capacities Of Ireland and those of all other ceun.:
tries. He felt justified for the present in refrain-
ing from fulfilling what he conceived to be a duty
' and bringing the state of Ireland before the
House. But whenever it should be done, whe-
ther by his Majesty's Government or by others,
he hoped that if penal laWs or increased powers
Should be found necessary, however guarded by
law, still they would not assume the shape of penal
enactments, but one more-congenial to the hopes
and feelings of Statesmen legislating for that
country. On the points communicated by his Ma-
jesty concerning the differences between Russia
and the Porte, the explanations given by the
Noble Mover, and the meaning affixed to that
part of his Address, relieved him (the Marquis
Of Lansdowne)- from the necessity of offeringany
Observations: Ile felt with the Noble Earl, that
in a contest between ChriStians and Infidels, be-
tween the Greeks and their oppressors, fin they
Wad been oppressed, there could be but one senti-
•nient in every honourable, liberal, Christian-like,
• British Statesman. He also agreed with him,
that it was not by a direct interference that the
great object in view could be attained ; but he
'could not repress a wish, and he scorned to dis-
guise it,. that Greece might once more be indepen-
• dent. On all these grounds he should give his
assent to the Address of the Noble Earl.
The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, that much which
had fallen from the Noble Marquis did not call
'Ter any explanation- on his part. The Noble
'Marquis, hoWever, in alluding to that part of
;his Majesty's Speech which stated that consider-
able reductions' had been effected in the public
establishments, had made it appear that this was
the first year in which a system of reduction and
of economy had been adopted. This was not
the case. In the last year retrenchments to the
amount of between one and two millions had
taken place in the Establishment of the country.
Ever since the dose of the war it had been openly
slated 'to the House that many reductions might
be Made in the military establishment, bUt that
from their nature they could only be rarried
' into effect gradually. When those of the last
• Year • had been Made, the hope of more had
.distinctly been held out. Whether their ex-.
tent would satisfy the Noble Marquis or
'first; it was 'impossible for him to • know ;
but their Lordship's Would have an onpoilunity
• of judging When 'the Estimates should be laid
PefOre the House. He wished, however, to
gnard their against the idea that any partieular
' class had been Visited, if not with harshness, at
'least with strict justice ; and he "eh:tined the ie.'
ifUlgenCe of their Lord Ships to wait till the
411ole scheme was before them. They would
th'im' find 'that those who had advised the appli-
'oatiei of the principle of economy to their in-
feriors, were not 'less willing tO- submit to it
•theroselves. ' This, however, was not the time
shett .he could 'enter at large into tire subject.
•As to the expediency of foOking at the establish-
itientS, and making every predicable reduction,
•it was admitted ; but be. must not allow the
'House to fall into the delusion that any reduc-
lion of that sort could offeredrisiderable relief to
agriculture. Retrenchment might be right in it-
-141f, arid distresS might be an additional reason for
"inaking"reductions, but it would be vain for Par-
Lenient to au ppoSe that effective relief would en-
sue.-0-feat.);--He agreed that Agriculture must
'always-'considered 'As the first interest. of
'the country,' and that if the prosperity pf trade
"and-MantiPacture4 rested on a solid foundation, it
not': last for d.considerable- time without
beitefiting agriculture. Those would be short-
•Sigfited'ACWS," whioh.would mike commerce ;and

'manuractures 'pay for the relief of agrictiltare,,
and nothing could lead to the support of public
.credit which was not beneficial to the Agricul-
tural interest.—The Noble, Marquis had alluded
to the dan,ger of excessive speculation. That
was certainly an evil.; but it onght not to be lost
sight of that merchants and manufacturers wore
now. contending with ',more moderate
_. profits.
That species :of gambling which ' necessarily
sprung up during the liar,-and which had reached
an unexampled height during the last contest,
had now ceased ; and if the profits of trade
were not so great, at least they were more solid,
and might be considered more substantial. The
Noble Marquis had asserted that it had been pro-
posed issue a
to loan of live minibus. No such pro-
position had ever been made. He admitted that his
Majesty's Government had taken it into serious
consideration whether some measure might not
be adopted to alleviate the present distress. And
he.had no, difficulty in saying, that a proposition
to afford relief by means of Exchequer Bills, was
under views and might still in some shape or
other be submitted to Parliament. But in this,
he did not conceive that he' had deviated from
the opinions which he had always professed on
the subject of agricultural distress. He contend-
ed that the question was governed in its main
character and features by a question of supply
and demand. Out of the state of that any deli-
; Cienicy or superabundance must arise. It had
been said that the great importation of corn in
1816 and 1817
.was the original cause of the disc
tress of farmers; but if 'it was the cause at the
time, he could not see how the distress could go
oo increasing when that importation had ceased.
It was certain that in five years seven millioni
and a half of quarters of all kinds of grain •had
been imported into the country, but in the last
four years only one million and an half had been
introduced. This had led to a great degree of
production, which it was impossible should not
have some effect. It also sometimes happened
that where there was a natural evil, there might
be an artificial evil added to it. There was
an artificial depression in the market which
was not accounted for by the state of the pro-
duce. The issue of Exchequer Bills had been
tried in former years for the relief of trade, and
though he admitted that the principle was not
good, yet the object had been obtained,- not only
without any public loss; but every shilling of in-
terest on the money advanced had been paid.—
He was not insensible to the difference which
might arise in the application of that remedy to
agriculture, but the principle was the same. He
now came to the state of' Ireland. In commu-
nications received from the Irish Government,
Which lie would lay on -the table. this evening,
before the House separated, and as the corre-
spondence would be in the hands of their Lord-
ships to-morrow, it was the intention of his Ma-
jesty's Government 'immediately to propose
arming the Administration of Ireland with
additional powers. With respect to these
powers he wished to state, that they should
be confined in their duration to the present
session, in order that the subject might come
fully before Parliament a second time ere
it close' Ministers would not do their duty
towards the Government and the peaceable
part of the people of that country, if they
lost any time in granting those powers ne-
cessaiv to secure their lives and t& put down the
spirit of outrage and insurrection. He could
assure their Lordsluips that the Noble Individual
at the head of the Irish Government was direct-
inss all the faculties of his powerful mind to probe
all those evils to the bottom, and to ascertain the
most effective remedies. lie agreed with the
Noble Marquis that whatever measures Should
be adopted should not be penal measures alone.,:
The whole state of Ireland ought to he looked
into for the purpose of putting down rebellion
and insurrection. Those insurrections ,had be-
gun before his Majesty had quitted the shores
of that, country, but he could testify that
never had any Sovereign in any period of
the world met with a warmer reception from
his subjects. 'lt was.
.not mere- acclamdtions '
that foimed his welcome, but the universal-
breaking
.forth of -heartfelt affection. Not long
ago he had seen a letter from a distinguished in-
dividual in Ireland, who said that notwithstand-
ing the outrages then taking place, if the King
were to arrive at Limerick, he would be re-;
ceiVed by the people With the some zeal and ac-'
claniations as laSt year. "In all the grievance's of
uhich they complained, in all the Proclamations
issoed, no symptoms had ever been seen that
:looked like dissatisfaction towards 'the Govern-
ment, as a Government, or that
,even assumed,
except in one or two trifling instances, a religious
colouring-. Those disturbances had never borne
any prominent feature. . What were the recent
evils, did they net lie deeper ? Did they not lie
in circumstances connected with the state of so-
ciety in that country, and not in those bettieen
the Government and the governed ? it. had been
for ages unlike that of any other country, and
Whether any effectual remedy could now be ap-
plied he did not know ; but lie should be sorry'
to propose one on the principle of '.a penal mea-
sure. Penal it must unfortunately he'• but to at)
,
to the bottom of the evil was the object. There
was no other part on which he thOnght it neces-
sal to detain their Lordship, and the more so
as there was no difference of opinion with re-
spect to the policy adopted in the relations of the
Country with Foreign Powers.

, The EaA of BLESINTON said, ,he was desirous of
-making a few observatiOns' more particularly with respect to
the present state of Ireland. The Noble Earl had contradicted
the rumour respecting the intention of his Majesty's Govern-
ment to issue 5,00,900 of. ExChequer Bills.in aid of the agri-
chlturists. It would, iiowever, appear that the Noble Marquis
was not the only person who received such• information. - The
rumour ILO civadated widely. It. could. not bo denied, that
the, Noble Earl, in offering relief where 'securitycould not be
given. , might do more injury than good. Ile felt obliged to
the Noble Marquis for, relieving hiin from the burthen. The
Noble Earl was forced to.relinquish his intention of bringing
it on last Session, not as some of the Journals published, be-
cause no one 'would listen to him, but because he could not
get the information he solicited for.—ln case • the subject had
been brought on, he .could have told the Noble Lords what
would 'be the con Sequence of delay in the application of
measures rendered necessary by the state of that unfortunate
country. He could have told the House, as he. did in 181#),
that disorder would happen. The Noble Earl did not wish to
repeat the observations he made respecting the Union, bUt
he: had always, conSidered it a 4,Trievance. He declared that
to be• the impression.. on his mind in 1016 and in 1819.
The Union, in the. Noble Earl's belief occasioned the libsence

of those whose residence in Ireland wm so much required, and
the absentees were the cause Of insubordination. Peace, in-
stead of bringing blessings, had brought tizsyair." But the,Noble
Earl did not rise for the purpose of complaint.—llis.objqct was
to express his thanks to the Noble I‘lttrquis who had so ally be-
friended Ireland. lie had -to congratulate his countrymen
upon the prospect o.f having the state,aral interests of Ireland at
last fairly brought under.the.consideration of Parliament.

The a-ddre,.ss—was • then 'carried. di., and ordered to be
presented to his Majesty. in the usual firm.
THE. EARL OF SLIAFTESBIIitY.
On the motion Of the Earl of LIVERPOOL; Lord Shaftes-
bury was re-•appointed Chairman of Comthittees. •
PAPERS ON THE, STATE OF :IRELAND.

The Earl of LIVFRPOOI, then laid upoa the table Dis-
patches received from -the Marquis Wellesley,• relating to .the
state of Ireland.—The same were ordered to, be printed.
. .

At half-past seven the House adjourned.

TIOUSE OF. COMMONS.

The SPEAKER took the,Chair about two o'clock:
The 'llouse was almost imniediately summoned
by the Usher of the Black Rod, to attend his
Majesty at the bar of the House of Lords. The
Speaker accordingly left. the Chair, and with
the,Members present proceeded to the:House of
Lords. -