The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-25 00:00:00

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PROTECTIONIST MEETING AT
HUNTINGDON.
HUNTINGDON, SATURDAI NIGHT.—This afternoon
an unusually strong meeting of the Protectionist
party was held in this town. ✓lt seemed to have been
intended to make the affair a practical reply to Mr.
Cobden's charge at Leeds, for no pains had, been
spared to compose the assembly exclusively of agri-
culturists. A requisition, with a long list of signa-
tures attached, was sent to the sheriff of the county
some days before, and that gentleman accordingly
called a county meeting, at twelve o'clock. A few
minutes after the appointed hour it became evident
that the accommodation afforded by the Shire-hall
would be insufficient, and, after some delay, an ad.
journment took place to the large hall of the Literary
and Scientific Institution.
Mr. E. FOSTER, the son of the High Sheriff, took
the chair. Upon the platform were Earl Fitzwilliam.
Captain Duberly, the Rev. J. Linton, Mr. Day, Mr.
Pry me, late M.P. for Cambridge, the Rev. Mr. Ben-
nett, and a considerable number of the principa'
tenant-farmers of the county.
The CHAIRMAN briefly called attention to the na-
ture of the requisition addressed to the High Sheriff.
It was signed principally by freeholders, tenant
farmers, and tradesmen of the county, and the meet-
ing was to take into consideration the present dis-
tressed state of agriculture, and to pray her Mejesty
to dissolve the present Parliament and to take the
sense of the country as to the maintenance of free
trade. There were, as they knew, gentlemen amongst
them whose views might differ from those of the
meeting generally, but he requested that a fair and
impartial hearing should he gven to all who might
choose to address them.—( Hear, hear.)
Mr. BRIGHTY moved the first resolution. Nothing
could exceed the importance of the subject whiel-
they were met to discuss ; and, although the evil
of free trade had ,often been pointed out before, the
subject was inexhaustible, as every day added to the
sufferings of the classes already affected. They had
been told in the first instance that under the free-
trade system the supply would not exceed the de-
mand, and that the supply would not be principally
from foreign countries to the exclusion of the sale of
the English produce. How had that expectation beer
realheed ? The present price of grain would easily
answer that question. The Free traders were very
fond of quoting Adam Smith, that the supply and
demen 1 would' regulate the price, but they would
find the truth of that axiom if they looked at the im
portation of this year as compared with former ones
They would find a vast quantity of corn introduced
to the depression of the value of their own cornmo
dity. Adam Smith had sail that the farmers had no
thing to fear from foreign impartation, because the
average of the year was only 28,728 quarters ' • but
since that was said how much had the population
of England increased, and their wants increased also':
That would be easily seen when he told them that,
including meal and their, as well as wheat, the Le
portetion for that year was 9,000,000 quarters.—
(ldear, hear.) Was it, then, to be wondered at, the
with such an importation as 9,000,000 quarters the
present price of wheat should be only 4s. 6d. pet
bushel—a price utterly unproductive to the farmers ce
this country—who, taxed locally and generally, ha,
to compete with the untaxed produce of the fo
reigner ? Tbey sought a remedy for this, and the
only way to remedy it was to place a tax upo:
foreign growth—to make, in fact, the Custom-hous-
e. :toll house for the produce of foreign countries.—
(Cheers.) It could not be said that the Englisl
farmer feared to enter upon the race of competitiot
with the continental farmer; far from it. They were
quite willing to do so; but let them start on fair term
—let the weight rest upon both equally, not only up:
the one side. The Free-traders had told them that al,
plenty and peace would fall to their share under the
new system. Had it been so ? No. The channel:
of trade ;were disturbed and interfered with, al'
classes had been more or less pressed upon, and wen
now upon the high road to ruin.—(Hear, hear.)
would go so far as to say that it was unfair and unjust
of Parliament to make such an alteration in tht
fundamental law of society without consulting telt
population which formed it. It was rash legislation
It was uncalled for. It was a jump in the dark.
All that they now asked was, that Government
should accord to the people an opportunity of expressing
their sentiments upon free trade. The 'ended interest,
which was most affected by this new legislation, was
most heavily taxed. It had local burdens pressing upon
it, in addition to those it had in common with other
classes. The law which placed those special burden'
upon this class ought to provide special privileges for
them to meet the increased call. There was the land-
tax ; he admitted that it was not large in amount.
but taxes, to be just, should be general. This tax
affected real property only ; but an answer weey
given to the obvious injustice of this exclusive tax, be
saying that it certainly did not concern the farmers
who had purchased the land subject to the land-tax
That would be an answer, but it proved a little too
much—it was not true that after one transfer the
burden ceased—the burden remained, though the.
property should be transferred 500 times. Again,
let him refer to the increased pressure of the poor-
rate—very heavy in some places in consequence of the
unequal distribution. That rate was levied for a
national object, and it should be levied by a national
payment. In a small community of twenty, who had
:Treed mutually to assist themselves, and that any
burden incurred should fall upon the whole, would it
be tolerated that one part should have to pay more
of a particular charge than another ? In this country
no man should suffer hunger, abounding as it did
with plenty, but the burden entailed by the proposition
should not be placed exclusively upon land. Again,
let him refer to the highway-rate. The farmer was
heavily called upon for that, whilst the neighbouring
merchant, employing as great an amount of capital,
and upon the same road, would be called upon
only for a third or fourth of the sum paid
by the farmer • and perhaps he might use the
road a hundred times as much. Let them look at
the tithe system. He did not quarrel with the State
for maintaining a religion, if it pleased; but if it were
to be a national religion, let it be supported by a
national payment, and not by the land only. Let
them, however, bear in mind another injustice of the
tithe system. The Commutation Act, passed a short
time ago, had permitted a money payment ; and an
average of the price of wheat to regulate this pay-
ment, was fixed at 563. per quarter. Since the intro-
duction of free trade the farmer could only get 4s. 6d.
per bushel, much less than 563. per quarter ; but yet
the payment of tithe was still maintained upon that
average of 56 shillings. Now, if ever there was a
robbery it was this.—(Cheers.) If these things were
not remedied was it likely that men could stand by
and say to the Legislature—" Don't interefere,"
whilst their property was being swept away ? They
had a right to ask, to demand a restoration of their
rights.—(Hear, hear.) A good deal had been said
about monopoly, but did England ever go on well
without monopoly ? They did not wish to prevent
corn from coming here, but it was only just that i•
should come in at such a duty as to enable the
English farmer to compete with the foreigner. He
did not advocate a high duty, he only asked sufficient
protection that they might run an equal race. If
a revenue must be raised, it must be raised by taxes ;
but was it right to exempt the foreigner who came
with his goo:13 to our shores ? The highest authority
known to man had decided this question, and that in a
manner which placed it beyond the power of cavil.
The Saviour had asked " Of whom do the kings of
the earth take tribute—of their children or of
strangers ?" what was the rejoinder ?—" Of
strangers."—(Great cheering.) Surely that alone
was sufficient to silence vain objectors. It was not
true that they desired to increase the price of the
poor man's food—they required only fair protection,
which would scarcely increase it at all ; but free trade
had withered the sinews of agriculture—had taken
away the poor man's wages, and rendered him a
burden upon those whom he was able and willing
to serve.— (Cheers.) He would propose this reso-
lution—
" That the agricultural and other great interests of
this country are at present involved in difficulties and
distress almost without precedent, and from which no
relief can be expected until the free-trade policy to
which their condition is attributable be abandoned,
and a system of just protection to our domestic in-
terests against foreign competition be substituted."
The CHAIRMAN then waited for a few moments,
and seeing that no gentleman attempted to rise, he
said that he should put the resolution. He read it
aloud, and was about to take a show of hands, when
Earl Ferzwiermssa rose and said—As no other
gentleman has given any intimation that he is desi-
rous of addressing you I will not suffer this resolution
to be put from the chair without expressing to you
the opinions which I entertain respecting the propo-
sition which it involves. In the first place, gentle-
men, I beg to assure you of the entire respect which
I feel for those gentlemen who have called this
meeting—for I believe I may attribute the convoca-
tion of this meeting principally to the tenantry of
this county.—(Hear, hear.) I beg to express the
respect which I feel for this class of my fellow-
countrymen. Myself belonging to another class, I
beg to express to you that I consider that other
class a pensioner upon the industry of those
who are their tenants.—(Cheers.) It is to
their industry and to the employment of their capital
that we owe our incomes. We are pensioners
upon our tenantry, as in a larger sense rich men, in-
cluding that tenant, who is also comparatively a rich
man, are pensioners upon the industry of all classes
of the community. I consider, therefore, that the in-
terests of all the classes connected with land, and not
only of that class, but of all others are bound up to-
gether, and it is impossible—and I say this bee ruse
the experiment has been tried and had failed—it is
impossible for the Legislature to accomplish the in-
, terest of one class without, in some degree, compro-
i thising the welfare of all others. Whenever they have
et 40N:opted if they have always failed, even in accom-
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