The Sun.
London, England, 1849-10-06 00:00:00

be First Lieutenant, vice Aalett.
Captain Moore, First Lieutenant Tinkler, and 96
men of the Portsmouth division, embarked yesterday on
board her Majesty's ship Leander, 50, at Portsmouth.
ROYAL MARINE ARTILLERY.

One sergeant,• one bombardier, and 15 gunners, em-
barked yesterday at Portsmouth, in the Confiance
steamer, for Plymouth, to join a newly commissioned
steamer there.
PLYMOUTH, OCT. 3.—Her Majesty's steam-vessel
Confiance yesterday towed the merchant schooner Eliza
from Barnpool to the sheer hulk, when her broken masts
were taken out and sent to the dockyard. The Admiralty
have given instructions for the repair of all damages
cons& quent on the collision of the Eliza with her Ma-
jesty's steam-vessel Volcano.
The Hccla sailed for the coast yesterday.
The Confiance left in the evening with stores for the
eastern port.
The merchant ship Thomas and Joseph Crisp, 350
tons, Captain Blackall, which left Newport with coal for
Ceylon, experienced a succession of westerly and south-
westerly gales when in long. 12 W., which strained the
ship, and caused her to make 12 inches water hourly,
both pumps going; she, in consequence, put back, and
arrived in the Sound this morning,
- -

PORTSMOUTH, Ocr. s.—The Encounter steam cor
vette, Captain G. T. Gordon, went out to Spithead to-day
ready for sailing orders.
The Leander, 53, Capt. C. S. Duero 3, picks up men but
slowly.
The Cleopatra, 26, Captain T. L. Massie, arrived at
Rio, from England, on the 29th of July ; she reports
several slavers having been taken by our cruizers on the
Brazil coast, and the arrival of the Apollo troop-frigate
on the 7th of August, which was put into quarantine
immediately she anchored, the cholera having broken
out on board when she sighted Madeira. The Portu-
guese treated her brutally there, would allow no inter-
course, nor supply provisions of any description ; ten
men and one officer I believe, says our correspondent, are
dead. The Brazillians are not inclined to assist them, so
she has been sent to about 60 miles along the coast to
clear out.
The Cleopatra sailed on the 11th August for the East
Indies.
The Reynard, 11, Capt. Cracroft, by the above advicos,
bad arrived at Rio from England, refitted, and sailed fur
the Cape of Good Hope, en route to Singapore, on the
11th of August.
The Dragon steam frigate, Captain Hall, arrived at
Gibraltar from this port on the 26th ult.
Several more vessels are about to be commissioned,
among them the Conflict, Vulture, Firebrand, Spiteful,
Terrible, arc.
WooLwicrt, OCT. s.—The Archer steam-sloop went
down the river, under the charge of Lieutenant Robert-
son, on Wednesday to try her speed with the screw-pro-
pelier reduced to nine feet in diameter, but she had only
proceeded as far as Barking-point when the piston rod
of one of her air-pumps became bent, and as her engines
could not work the anchor was let go promptly, and she
was safely brought up. After remaining three hours off
Barking-point the returned' to Woolwich, working only
one of the air-pumps.
The Terrible steam-frigate has been visited by a num-
ber of naval officers during the last and present week.
She is now in the basin having two of her boilers and
two of her funnels taken out, and it is supposed that she
will only have two boilers and two funnels in future,
instead of four of each, having been found when last in
commission to get her steam up very well with the
smaller number.
The Firebrand steam-frigate, of 400-horse power, has
taken her guns on board, consisting of two 63 -pounders
of 95 cwt. each, and 10-feet long, on pivot slides and car-
riages, and for 10-inch guns of 85 cwt. each, and 9 feet
4 inches long, on slides and carriages. She is now or-
dered to remain at Woolwich ready for commission in-
stead of being sent to Sheerness or Portsmouth for
that purpose. This arrangement has given great satis-
faction, as it is a long time since any large vessel has
been commissioned here, and the paying off of vessels
at this port is not of much benefit to the town, the offs
cars and crews generally leaving immediately after.
The Hercules store-ship, with a number of troops on
board for Gibraltar and Malta, passed through the
Downs on Tuesday, piloted by Mr.i Stuart from Wool-
wich, who conducted her safely through the channel,
although she draws a considerable depth of water.
The old Romulus, 74, was towed from Sheerness to
Deptford on Wednesday, to be broken up.
The Magicienne steam-vessel is ready to be taken out
of the East India Docks, and will be removed to Messrs.
Penn's establishment, where her machinery is to be
fitted by that firm.
The .Buzserd steam-vessel- waaa. tah.en out of Deptford
basin tce day, and is to be
.taken into the East India
Docks to have her machinery put in by Messrs. Miller,
Ravenhill, and Co.
The Stromboli, steam-sloop. Commander Lord Amelius
Beauclerk, is hourly expected at Woolwich to be refitted.
A quantity of the stores which sunk in the Bee lighter
when loading from the Terrible steam-frigate were re-
covered yesterday.
The Undine steam-vessel had her steam up yesterday,
and was taken out of the basin to-day.
The Styx steam-vessel had her steam up in the basin
to-day.
Considerable interest has been excited by the attempt
of a number of divers to recover the specie of the
Plumper, a 14-gun brig, lost in 1812, on her passage
from Halifax, Nova Scotia, to St. John's, New Bruns-
wick, under the command of Lieutenant James Bray, and
having on board at the time upwards of 74,0001. in specie
in boxes, destined for the payment of the troops of his
Majesty. A. number of silver dollars, covered with a
grey mould, grape shot and bullets, the scabbards of
side-arms, leathern sheaths, and many other articles,
have been recovered by the divers.
It was made known at the Admiralty that Captain
Knox is to commission the Firebrand at Woolwich,
The Conflict and Spiteful steam-vessels are also or-
dered to be commissioned immediately.

TURKEY AND RUSSIA.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—l trust that there is not an Englishman who
does not feel that the demand of the Emperor of
Russia for the persons of the wretched Hungarians
who have fled to Turkey to save their lives, is a back-
ward march in the civilisation and humanity of the
present age.
A Turk denies the gratification of the bloodthirsty
vengeance which is required by the Autocrat of All
the .Russian I May God bless the Turk in his superior
humanity, I pray. But there is more to be done than
this. Let England support the Turk in his Christian
benevolence and mercy. I, for one, am ready to do
so, and, without calling a meeting of my countrymen
to join in the measure, I subscribe my name for 5001.
towards a fund to be handed over to the Sultan of
Turkey, to assist in defending himself and his coun-
try against the hostility of Russia, if any is shown in
consequence of her humanity ; and let every one
remember that upon such an occasion, Qui dat cito,
dat Lis.
Surely, the day has not gone by when the wretched
persons of a few defeated beings ought to be left quiet
in self-chosen exile, and net be dragged forth for
execution by an arbitrary tyrant, of whom even the
exile is not a subject !--I am, Sir, your very obedient
servant, WILLIAM CRAWSHAY.
October 4.

THE r. ALACE COURT AND TILE LOAN SOCIETY
At orship-street yesterday Mr. Arnold expressed
great satisfaction in announcing to the reporters his
receipt of the undermentioned contributions, for the
benefit of a poor working gun-smith, named William
Jones, the particulars of whose harsh and oppressive
treatment under an execution from the Palace Court, at
the suit of a Loan Society, by which the whole of his
goods, value 501., were swept away for a debt of 31.185.,
shortly after he had sustained the loss of three of his
family by cholera, were recently brought under his
notice :—" A Lady," 11.; " A Soldier," Essex, IL ; " L.
F.," 11. " 5.," 11; "11. 5.," half-a-sovereign; 2s. 6d.,
forwarded from The Sun-office, where it had been de-
posited by " W.D.," a labourer; " W. C.," IL; the first
half of a 5/. note, numbered 93,568, from an anony-
mous correspondent at Tunbridge-wells, in reference to
which the magistrate expressed his intention to devote
one half of the amount to the purposes of the poor-box,
pursuant to the discretion vested in him by the owner;
A. 8." 2s. 61 in postage-stamps; Mr. W. Mercer, land-
lord of tho Coach and Horses, Blue Anchor-alley, Bun-
hill row, and a few of his customers, half-a-sovereign;
and the half of a 51. bank-note, numbered 11,221, from
a gentleman using the initial " II.," who described it as
a tribute of his sympathy for the sufferings the poor wan
had undergone from two such visitations as the cholera
and the Palace Court. The magistrate has also received
11. from " A Lady," I/. from " 5.," and 10s. from "L.
H.," in aid of the poor- box fund; also, from " J.N.," 11.;
" U. T.," 1/. is.; and "A Lady," 12s. in postage-stamps,
for the relief of the widows and children of poor
persons who bad died of cholera. All the benevolent
donors desired to see an acknowledgment of their contri-
butions in the papers.
ROYAL ARTILLERY, WOOLWICLI, OCT. s.—One
non-commissioned officer and two gunners, with one non-
commissioned officer and two privates of the Royal
Sappers and Miners, embarked at RofT's-wharf, at ten
o'clock A.M , to-day, for Shoeburyness, to take charge of
the stores there during the winter; and Captain llyde's
company will return to head-quarters this afternoon
from Shoeburyness, as the company has been placed
under orders, with Major Desbrisay's company, to pro.
ceed to Ireland about the middle of the present month,
to relieve Captain P. Benn's and Captain Wright's com-
panies, being the two first on the roster for foreign
serTieg.

ESSEX.
The annual meeting of the Agricultural and Conser-
vative Club for the hundred of Hinchford, in North
Essex, was held yesterday at Castle He dingham, a
small village about nine miles from Braintree, and nearly
as many from Sudbury.
The principal attraction to the Castle Hedingham
meetirg on the present ;occasion was the presence of
Mr. Disraeli, who, happening to be on a visit to the
Member for the division, Sir John Tyrell, was invited to
came over with the Honourable Baronet, and attend the
gathering. Upwards of 200 persons were present; and
the place was rendered yet more gay by the presence of
a number of ladies in the gallery.
Ashurst Magendie, Lep, the present proprietor of the
Castle, and president of the club, took the chair. There
were president on his right, Lord Headley. Sir John
Tyrell, Bart., and on the left Mr. Disraeli, Major Bens-
' ford, M.P., Sir F. Simpkinson, Bart., &c.
After the usual loyal toasts, the CHAIRMAN then,
amidst loud applause, proposed "Success to the Hinch-
ford Agricultural and Conservative Club."
The Rev. Mr. Cox, of Favistead, who was saluted
with loud cheers, and all the cries peculiar to fox-hunt-
ing, returned thanks. He defended the chinexion of
Conservatism with agriculture in this club, on the
ground that five agricultural societies had previously
existed in Chelmsford and Colchester, which had lately
expired, while this society had met to night, increased in
numbers and influence, to celebrate its sixteenth anni-
versary.--(Loud cheers.) Besides, the friends of the
farmers were invariably to be found in the Conservative
ranks ; for among the Whig and Radical members there
were not five who could be trusted as friendly to their
cause. There were Lord Beaumont and Lord Worsley,
now Lord Yarborough, who, when Peel was in power,
joined the Central Protection Society ; but since the
Whigs had come into power these Noblemen never
darkened the doors of the Protection Society, and they
both voted for the repeal of the navigation-laws, to put,
as was said, the capital on the column of free trade.—
(Hear, hear.) At the same time, he did not mean to
blame the Whig gentry and farmers—he knew they
blamed Lord John Russell for deserting his principles, as
much as the Conservatives blamed Sir Robert Peel for
deserting his ; pnd his advice to the Whigs was to fol-
low the example of the Conservatives—to turn off their
leader and find another.—(Cheers.) He then referred
to the fact that six farms had been advertised in the
local papers to be let for a month together, and there
appeared to be no bidders. This was significant of a
great change of opinion among the farmers, who began
to despair of things ever being better.—(Hear, hear.)
Ile would instance the case of his own farm, which he
attended to daily, and had held for fourteen years. His
farm was of 100 acres, and he had 1,0001. capital in it;
and the result of his accounts for this year was that the
produce paid his rent and all his outgoings, except
41. 17s. 6d. But then he had no return whatever for his
capital of 1,000/. That was the state of the tenant-
farmers at the present moment. It might be said he was
making out a case for the non-payment of rent; but he
was there to speak the honest truth, and the honest
truth was, that the farmers were paying rents out of
their own pockets. He asked the meeting if this state
of things could go on?—(No, no.) The Rev. Gentleman
then proceeded to satirise what he called the modern
agricultural quack doctors, from Mr. Mechi of the magic
razor-strop to Lord Brougham, whose pl..n was to pro-
duce a cross between a steam- engine and a tea-kettle—
(Laughter)—and he concluded by giving his own plan
for the cure of agricultural distress, and that was to
convert the minority that followed his Hon. Friend the
Member for Buckinghamshire into a majority, and the
busines was done.—(Cheers.) How was this to be effected?
It rested with the gentry and the tenant-farmers of Eng-
land, and he called upon them to begin by displacing
Sir E. Buxton from South Essex, Mr. Hardcastle from
Colchester, and Mr. Lonnard from Maldon.—(Cheers.)
What they were to do when they got that majority he
would leave to wiser heads than his own; but this he
would say, on the part of the farmers of Essex, that all
they wanted was justice, and that the Hon. Member for
Bucks should persevere in his efforts to obtain an equ-
lity of taxation—(Cheers)—and to make the foreigner
pay a toll for the liberty of entering our markets, and
then the farmers would be content.—(Cheers.)
'rho CHAIRMAN then, amidst enthusiastic applause,
propos d the health of their distinguished visitor, Mr.
Disraeli, who was recognised as the leader of the agri-
cultural cause in the House of Commons. His writings
were not mere pictures of persons and manners, but he
laid before them sentiments that did honour to the human
heart—he laid open to them the evils of the political
system of England, and held out brighter destinies to
England than that she should become a mere cotton
manufactory.—(Cheers.) But it was not as an author,
but as a politician, that he was now among them. In
his works kindness and gentleness appeared to be his
chief characteristics; but when the time came, and it had
come, to lay bare treachery, he was possessed of
thoughts that breathe and words that burn to expose
and to'scathe that treachery.—(Cheers.) Without fur-
ther preface he begged to give them the health of their
distinguished guest Benjamin Disraeli, Esq.—(Cheers.)
Mr. DISRAELI was received with loud cheers. He
said—l feel no inconsiderable embarrassment in pre-
suming to address you on this occasion. As a general
rule, which has always guided me through any public
experience I have had in political life, I have refrained
from venturing to give any opinion on public affairs out
of the limits of that district where it is my happiness to
live, and which I have the honour to represent.—
(Cheers.) For this reason I have taken the liberty al-
ways to refuse those invitations which have too flatter-
ingly been proffered me from bodies of my countrymen
in other parts of England who wished to express to me
their sense of my humble services in their behalf, and if
I venture to make an exception in the present instance
of the county of Essex it is for two reasons. The first,
indeed, is one which has already been alluded to by my
Hon. Friend Mr. Cox, that I was well assured that in
coming here I would meet with a genuine body of Eng-
lish yeomen.—(Cheers)—that it could not for a mo-
ment be supposed that in appearing before you this
day I came only as the guest of some fortunate indi-
vidual who dictates his opinions to multitudes who were
ready or obliged to accept them ; but that at a moment
very critical to the fortunes of all who are interested in
the cultivation of land in England, I should find among
you a fair specimen and a fair representation of
the yeomanry of the country. But, notwithstanding my
wish to attend a meeting of such a character, I should
have hesitated to accept the invitation which was prof-
fered me, had I nut recollected that in the course of last
year I received from the county of Essex a petition
signed by several thousands, which, with the consent
and the sanction of the Members for Essex, the consti-
tuency wished that I should present to the House of
Commons, as a general testimony of their sense of my
humble services on behalf of agriculture.—(Loud cheers.)
Therefore I hope that I shall not be considered an in-
truder or a stranger—(No, no)—when you have already
so publicly expressed your approbation of my conduct,
and your confidence in me, and since you allowed me
in my place in Parliament to prove that I possess the
confidence not only of my constituents, but the confidence
of the county of Essex.—(Loud cheers.) My Hon.
Friend the Chairman has told you that I wish to express
to you my views on our present forlorn situation. I can
hardly presume to do that; though I will venture, if
you will permit me, to offer a few observations.—(Hear,
hear.) And it' is still less necessary for me to do so,
because you have already had an able exposition of
your condition from my Hononrable Friend Mr. Cox,
to whom I listened with delight, but I confess
I wish I had heard it another place, for if
that speech bad been made in the House of
Commons you may depend upon it that it would have
produced not less effect than it has done in this ancient
hall of the Do Veres.—(Loud cheers.) We meet here
after the advantage of considerable experience since those
changes occurred to which every gentleman who has
addressed you to night has adverted. It was an expe-
rience of three years, on which those great changes
were decided by a Minister and passed by a Parliament.
Three years have elapsed since those change s, and more;
and I accept that test of time which was fixed by the
counsellors of our Legislature, and I ask the country
now to decide upon those measures by the fruits which
they have produe A.—(Cheers.) I remember, when op
position was made to the abrogation of the ancient
agricultural policy of England, we were met with this
question by a Right Hon. Gentleman, a Cabinet Mini-
ster—and, I am ashamed to say, still a county Member—
tie used to say, when we attempted to defend the inte-
rests of national industry against the competition of
foreigners as respects agriculture.' produce, he said, I
wish those gentlemen who are so alarmed would tell us
where the corn is to come from?—(Dear, hear.) Now,
I believe that every one present knows where the corn
is to come from—where it has come from, and where,
unless it is stopped, it will continue to come from.—
(Laughter and cheers.) I have alluded to this, not in
the way of taunt to the individual, but to call your
attention by this trait to the position which you now
occupy. What was matter of theory is now a fact proved
by severe demonstration, and whether what is called the
Protectionist party, of which I am a humble member—
whether they were right or wrong in the policy which
they counselled the House of Commons and wished the
country to adopt—whether they were right or wrong in
this—one thing is quite clear, that every prediction which
we made has been verified, and every prophecy which we
uttered has been realised. We said that the measures
would ho a fatal blow to the agricultural industry of the
country—we opposed those who maintained that they
would stimulate your industry and improve your for-
tunes. Now you are the best judges, from your expe-
rience, who was right on that occasion. It is acknow-
ledged by all—by men of all parties and of all opinions--
I may say by the leading men of all counties—that this
is a critical period—a critical epoch—for the agricul-
tural fortunes of England. That, then, has been, with-
out a doubt, the result of the late changes. That
roeo
is not increased prosperity, it is not even that,eddegu
is
comparative prosperity which you, once erin".versit
one of unmitigated pressure and of menacmeg y,
which even the boldest can scarcely presu teancoun-
ter.—(Cheers.) Well, then, the practical questiond arises
in these circumstances:W hat are we to o? That
is the question of the day—it is the. question to
which every man must address himself who
wishes to influence the opinions of the day, and it is
because I thought I might presume to offer

you a few brief observations upon this subject that I
came here to-day as your guest, to ask your counsel,
and place you in the true knowledge of your position,
and, I hesitate not to say, to induce you to combine to-
gether in order to improve and remedy it.—(Cheers.) I
know from experience the great difficulty which any
person who is your sincere supporter, and the advocate
of your real interests, must encounter at the present
day, if he wishes to suggest what he thinks may be for
your advantage, but which may not be identical with
that particular scheme of policy which has been re-
pealed to your detriment. It is the interest of your op-
ponents to describe such an individual as a person who
has given up the opinions he once professed, if he do
not. as the sole specific for your disquietude and suffer-
ing, rise and tell you that a recurrence to protection is
the only means of relief. I fought as hard as I could—l
fought as bard as most did—iu defence of those laws
which have been repealed.—(Loud cheers.) I don't
bate one inch of the opinions which on that occasion 1
expressed. I don't bate one inch of confidence in the
facts which I then brought forward, of which time has
since proved the accuracy. I don't bate one inch of my
confidence in the truths of the arguments which I then
brought forward. lam prepared at all times, and under
all circumstances, to maintain and to advance those
great principles of
i industrial polity which the Protec-
tion party upheld n Parliament in the great struggle of
1846. But I find that various classes of the agri-
cultural body are suffering. I know that the present
Parliament will not revert to the ancient policy, the
repeal and the abrogation of which I opposed, and still
deplore—l know that the present Parliament may exist
for four years at least longer yet, and therefore I say I
would not be your friend—l would not be, what I trust
I am, both from sentiment and conviction, devoted to
your interests, if I did not venture a suggestion, in the
interim, which I think may ameliorate your position,
and advance your fortunes.—(Loud cheers.) I say then,
without giving up one iota of the principles which I have
always advocated—l say it is wise and expedient, and
most necessary in the present critical position of the
agricultural body, that we should look about us and see
whether there are not certain measures which we might
advocate, and perhaps pass, that would have a beneficial
influence on your prosperity. Allusion has been made
by my friend Mr. Cox to a motion which I brought for-
ward last year. I called the attention of the House of
Commons and of the country to the fact that the real
property of England is subject to peculiar burdens and
severe taxation, from which other property is exempt.
I did not call attention to this subject, or suggest what
I thought would be a remedy, under the idea that that
would be any alleviation of a loss of Protectionist policy;
but I said, you have deprived us of our rights—you
have deprived us of
,that which both in policy and in
justice you were bound to secure to us—and I must, in
our present forlorn condition, look round me and see
whether on your own premises and principles I cannot
find some remedy for that condition to which your policy
has brought us. I do not tell you, gentlemen, that if I
succeed—and with your assistance I am confident I shall
succeed—l do not tell you that that would be any com-
pensation for the laws which you have lost; but I ask
you, as sensible and practical men, whether you would
refuse to accept remedial measures because you have
been deprived of advantages which you think superior
to them? At the present day your opponents acknow-
ledge the difficulties in which you are placed. They
offer you those remedies which have been alluded to with
so much skill and graphic power by my friend Mr. Cox.
You are the best judges of the validity and worth of
those remedies. I confess I have no confidence in them;
I confess I cannot take upon myself the responsibility of
attempting to convince you that in such remedies you
will find relief.—(Cheers.) I know nothing more easy
than to tell the farmers of England that the sure way for
them to cope with the difficulties which they may en-
counter is to have recourse to the commercial principle.
But in the first place I don't quite clearly understand
what the commercial principle is. I sat for forty days
on a Committee of the House of Commons
to inquire into the severe distress of the na-
tion in 1847. On that Committee there was a
majority of free-traders—we differed on many points;
tut there was one point on which we were all agreed,
and that was, that the distress was caused on that occa-
sion by the over-speculation of commercial men.—
(Chet rs.) Now, really, if the commercial principle is a
principle of over-speculation, that is not a principle the
application of which to agriculture would produce the
benefit we all desire.— (Cheers.) Then we were all told,
mixed up with the most sarcastic accounts of our crops
and culture, we were told to look for the application of
the commercial principle to the magnificent results ex-
emplified in railways; but it now turns
.out that
.the
commercial principle, as shown in those enterprises
which were held up as models of management, of energy,
and skill, for the benefit of the: agricultural body—itturns out now that the commercial principle as applied
to them :consists in the payment of dividends out of
capital. I ask, is the commercial principle, as applied
to land, to consist in the payment of rents out of capital?
—(Cheers and laughter.) Well, then, finding these re-
sults, I am obliged to plod on in my own way, and till I
can obtain for you that which, with my friend here, I
believe you are entitled to, and which you can only
obtain by energy and enterprise—energy and enterprise
directed in a very different way and to a very different
result from what the free-traders imagine—till that
moment arrives, I must, so long as I hare the honour to
sit in the House of Commons, representing the agricul-
tural interest, see if I cannot obtain an alleviation of
your position in some degree—(Cheers)—and if, as I
cannot help fancying, in pursuance of the policy which I
shall venture to indicate, you not only obtain relief to
a certain extent—but if, by the exercise of your enter-
prise and energy—for I want both as much as the free
traders do—if you lay the foundation for that great re-
lief which you require—why then I think you will not
be pursuing a policy which you ought to look upon with
suspicion and distrust, and I have a right to call upon
you to support me in it.(Cheers.) Now, gentlemen,
lam at the present moment for practical measures and
for immediate exertions. I want the various claeses that
form the great agricultural body—landlords, cultivators
occupiers, and labourers—l want them all to join to- I
gether within the few months that have to elapse before
Parliament meets, to decide on the line of policy which
they think ought to be pursued and prosecuted by the
Legislatureof the country, and by their petitions. and by
all constitutional methods and by their influence on
their representatives, I wish that when Parliament
meets Parliament should understand that the grand
i agricultural interest of England comprehends its posi-
tion; and not only comprehends its position, but, to a
certain degree, the remedies which that position requires.
—(Hear.) Now, gentlemen, I will not dwell much on a
subject upon which it has often been my lot to speak, both
in the House of Commons and out of it. But it is necessary
to repeat truth when truth is not acknowledged; and it is
only by its repetition that you can get bodies of men to
be convinced of the truth, and to act in a way that truth
ceases to be theory and becomes fact. Now, I have men-
tioned over and over again this circumstance—an ano-
maly in the history of this country—that the real pro-
perty of this country, besides contributing to the general
and imperial revenue of the State, has also to raise a
revenue peculiar to itself. That real property, which,
according to the last official rating does not count be-
yond one quarter of the general iccome of the country,
but which, under no circumstances, can be placed sit
higher than one-third, not only contributes its propor-
tion to the 50 millions or more which forms the general
revenue, but is also called on to raise another revenue to
the amount of 12 millions sterling, for purposes, although
the taxation is local, of essentially a public character.
—(llear, hear.) Gentlemen, I say that that great ano-
maly never should have been passed over and endured,
had it not been for the existence of those laws which
have been repealed with respect to the cultivation of the
land in England. Now let us try this case in a way that
I believe I have not yet put it, but it is a
very simple and a very striking one. Supposo
that the real property, which is taxed to the
amount of twelve millions a year for national purposes,
ought to contribute to the amount of one-third—and if
it were not that I always endeavour to avoid over-
colouring my case, I might fairly, for the argument,
take i', at one quarter—but 1 t us take it at one-third;
and this, gentlemen, may be wearisome, but I must dwell
up ni it for a moment, because it is of the utmost ina•
portatice that the matter should be clearly laid before
you. Now suppose that this twelve millions a year paid
by real property is reckoned for the whole period since
the peace of thirty-three years ago, deducting the four
millions per annum which the real property ought, in its
fair proportion, to have contributed to the general in-
terests of the community, it will show that nearly three
hundred millions more has been pail by real property
than it ought to have done. Why, gentlemen, is it pos-
sible that real property, which has been held up almost
to public scorn for its rapacity for the last few years,
should have contributed, since the peace, to the
general interests of the community nearly three hun-
dred millions, which, according to every principle of
justice, it ought not to have been called on to contribute;
—that this should be the property—the great proportion
and most important proportion of which, namely, the
land of England, has been held up to public indignation
as the interest and property that has obtained such unfair
advantages over the general body of the people?—.-clleanr,
hear.) Why, that fact alone is a fair basis for petitioanyie ft
Parliament for relief. The time has come: you have
t_
is
right to consider—as the owners of real proper y i this
right
whole n d e r
country—not more than one:third,
ne_thirlideofe
any circumstances, approaching
blited to contribute twelve
property of the country,
retLirgjust proportion would
millions a-year,.
sw—hiel the time has "
say
come tthe al:rivedwhen
only be four milhoonf
real property is. entitled too Legislature and
ask for some relief under these monstrous circumstances.
__(hear, hear.) Gentlemen, I was reading the other
day in some book about the earliest and greatest revolu-
tion in Trance; and I met with a story about a pick-
pocket Rho was caught in the fact. No sooner was he
caught in the fact, than he turned round against his in-
tended victim, and said he was an aristocrat, got the
mob round him, and the gentleman was hanged
at a lamp-post.—(Laughter.) Now, that is exactly the
position of the real property of England.—(Hear, hear,
and renewed laughter.) For the last thirty-three years,
since the peace—and I don't wish to go further back—l
don't wish to push the painful investigation further than
that—the real property of England has been pillaged
and plundered to the amount of nine millions a year.
And the moment that, tortured by the Legislature which
has deprived you of the only circumstances that per-

ale injustice, you
longer afford it,"
,stceracy, and you
..;nation.— (Cheer s.)
that is the first measure that 1 counsel
,he land, the most important portion cf real property, and
hitherto considered its representative—at any rate the
most important portion of real property—that is the
first measure that I counsel you to take. I counsel you
to go to the Legislature and demand an equality of
bnrdens; to petition that you shall no longer be called
on to contribute twelve millions a year when you ought
only to contribute three or four. That is a demand
founded upon a principle of justice. I never yet met
any human being who could for a moment impugn
that principle. Much as the question was discussed
when I had the honour of bringing it forward
in the House of Commons, no one ever for a moment
controverted the principle. Discussion, indeed, there
was, end opposition on matters of detail, and many
speeches were made about little minutiae, all of very
second-rate character ; but no one came for ward and
for a moment maintained that it was just that real pro-
perty, which in tact only produces one- third at most of
the general income of the country, should bear the a hole
burden of the expenditure upon objects in which the
whole property of the country was interested. Now, I
have recurred to this point, because it is a prscticat
point—it is a point in which if you succeed in obtaining
justice, you will succeed in obtaining some relief. But
Ido not for a moment imagine—l have never for an in-
stant pretended—that auy equitable adjustment of the
burdens peculiar to real property can remedy the fright-
ful position in w Lich you find yourselves, or the still
more menacing position that is yawning beneath your
feet.—(Hear.) It is necessary, gentlemen, to have re-
course to measures of a much more considerable and
stringent character. If I told you that it is necessary
that we should recur to protection, I dare
say you would give me some noisy, and, per-
haps, very sincere chesrs ; I might sit down amidst
your applause, and this evening, spent in this ancient
castle, might long be remembered for convivial success
and social congratulation ; but I want to know whether,
when you came coolly to moralize upon it on the morrow,
you might not say, What use was there in Mr. Dis-
raeli's coming into Essex? We are aware of his sym-
pathy with us; perhaps (you might say) we have con-
fidence in his good intentions." But in holding counsel
together to-day we can resolve upon some course that
may have the effect which we hope upon public opinion;
which may change the principles of the Legislature;
which may alter for the better the condition in which
you find yourselves. And yet, after all, it might be just
as well if I bad remained in Buckinghamshire.—(Vries
of "No, no.") Now I shall endeavour to express to
you, with the utmost brevity I can command, the
course that I think you ought to adopt, and the means
by which I think you may obtain relief, and by which
not only 3ou may obtain relief, but save yourselves and
the country. I shan't be frightened by that long cata-
logue of specifics which my friend Mr. Cox so graphically
detailed.—(A laugh.) Gentlemen, it is not energy in
the abstract, or enterprise in the abstract, that I am
going to counsel to you to day. That which lam
going to counsel to you is a step which, right or wrong
—and it is my conviction that it is the right one—is at
least a definite and a detailed step. Now we hear a
great deal In the present day of the burden of taxation.
It is the general subject: everybody suffers, and every-
body seeks relief from a projected diminution of the
public burdens. We have been ruled on the principles
of political economy more or less for a quarter of a
century. We are subject, at this moment, to a taxation
diminished almost every year. But the fruits of politi-
cal economy are these—that, with an increased popula-
tion, a diminished taxation is, we are told, insufferable.
Now, when we come to the question of the diminution
of taxation, I have always felt that the first point was
to equalise the burdens; because if you diminish burdens
that are not previously equalised you may only perpetuate
an injustice. I will assume, therefore, gentlemen, that
we shall succeed in our first move, which is founded in a
pure principle of justice, namely, that real property
shall only ply in future its'l own quota to the State, and
that it shall not pay the quota of any other kind of pro-
perty. That, I think, is a proposition so clear, so pure,
that I don't believe upon the merits of this case that we
shall find anybody, in or out of Parliament to contro-
vert its truth. Then, gentlemen, we commence with
the equality of burdens; and having obtained that
equality, I proceed to inquire—What is the best way
by which we may diminish the burdens of taxationT—
what is best for the country generally, and what, at the
same time, may be advantageous to the agricultural in-
terest?— (dear, Hear, hear.) Now, as far as the agricultural
interest is concerned—and I am speaking of course of
the landlord, the cultivator, the labourer, and all those
trades dependent upon them—l speak of that great in-
terest in all its ramifications. As far as they are con-
cerned—and I ought, perhaps, to apologise for entering
into this dry subject—(No, no)—but it is of the greatest
importance that we should arrive at a clear understand-
ing of them, because cur clear understanding of them is
to be the basis of future action—(lear, hear)—as far as
the agricultural interest is concerned, no one will pre-
tend for a moment that the repeal of any particular tax
can be accepted for an instant as a compensation fur the
protection you have lost.—(Cheers.) Every man will
agree with me in this position. In fact, gentlemen,
there is only one tax which can be viewed as a tax
peculiar to the landed interest in the most compre-
hensive sense of the term, and that is a tax
which we are always counselled by our opponents to
repeal, which by the way ought to make you suspicious
of the counsel that is given you.—(Beer, hear.) But
no man, whatever may be his opinions on the malt tax,
will say—no man will rise and pretend in the present
exigencies of England, that the repeal of the malt tax
would rally the fortunes of the agricultural body.—
(No! no!) Well, then, it is clear, that by the repeal of
any peculiar tax pressing on the agricultural body, you
can't obtain that vast and comprehensive remedial mea-
sure you require. Well, then, look to the other great
interests—look to the commercial and to the manufac-
turing interests. What cause have they to complain of
the pressure of taxation? Because we ought to consider
in a meeting like this—a party meeting in a certain
sense, because we are bound together by great principles
of policy—(Cheers)—but not a party meeting in this
sense—that we are met together to cheer delusions and
clap-traps; because, gentlemen, we are assembled for
business. Let us therefore quietly, candidly, and
calmly view the positions with respect to the com-
plaint of excessive taxation upon the commercial and
manufacturing body. Within a few years the manu-
facturing and commercial body have obtained the entire
repeal of duties on all raw materials imported for re-
production. They obtained an enormous diminution of
duty on all tropical articles that enter into general con-
sumption— (Hear, hear)—and the whole revenue of the
Post-office has in fact been sacrificed to the commercial
exchequer. Besides all this, they have obtained the ab-
rogation of our agricultural polity, by which, according
to their own accounts—and I think it the greatest mis-
take in the world to overstate a case—the wisest thing
in public discussion is to take the data of your oppo-
nents; and lam arguing on their data now. They have
obtained then, according to their own account, by the re-
peal of the cores-laws not only vastly increased and
highly profitable foreign markets, but they have
obtained, in sheer economy by the altered provision laws,
two millions sterling a week.—(A laugh, and no, no.)
That is their own statement—the statement of a gen-
tleman high in economic office, and who was returned
to Parliament by one of the greatest manufacturing
cities in the world in consequence of his opinions—a
gentleman whose evidence was the basis of our legisla-
tion, attd who, according to his own account, drew up
the tariff for Sir R. Peel. With what colour, then, can
the manufacturing body come forward and complain
of the burden of taxation? Did not the manufac-
turers say, ten years ago, "Repeal the corn-laws, and
then we shall beat the world." And not only that,
but every other tax that pressed upon them, has been
thus repealed. Ido not grudge it them; they are wel-
come to enjoy what they have got; but at least they
should be the fast persons in the world to come forward
and complain of the pressure of taxation. For, as my
Lion. Friend Sir Juhn Tyrell justly told them in the
House of Commons, with that Doric power that cha-
racterised him, " that they had helped themselves," and
he did not think, therefore, that they had a right to com-
plain.—(A. laugh.) Well, gentlemen, that is the posi-
tion of the case; and it is of the utmost importance that
you should clearly understand the state of the circum-
stances with respect to this question of taxation; for
your future fortunes, and I believe the existence of the
country—at least of that great country to which we are
all proud to belong—at least of that Old England of
which this building must remind every man—(Cheers)—
depend upon your clearly comprehending this question
of the day—the complaints of taxation. Because no-
thing is so easy as to raise a cry about the pressure of
taxation; and nothing is more easy than to lead the far-
mers astray, and make them find out at last that they
had only been playing the game of those whom I will
not call your opponents, but your enemies, Because
you must remember that the leader of the manufacturing
—I may call them Radical—party in the House of Com-
mons, frankly said, that for his part ho believed it would
be just as well for this country it not a single acre of it
was. cultivated ; and, therefore, in a candid and
honodr-
able manner, he put the case in a pro
therefore, a war against your order, rtgaiessiyour_
per light. It is,
o
or faenanmt t
eNn
datdyt c)pihs:ani •tudi nt
dustry, tied you must understand it in that light. 1_ d
What you have to be
openly announce their purpose. _
afraid of is those who pretend tobe your riends.—
Well, repeat that I want to place this
t r its rue ight, for the whole
upon it, I even am bold enough
matter depends upon it. Once entertain a cletdconcep-
oeu
remedy
e ownna h,
is,an hands.
it
aApnpde
alr
sw will tell
my
(Cheers.)t.l° ne soti ni
t;own mind, and I ti ust to
orsiaiyn the
your verdict to-night to settle
it. If no tax will give a bona fide relief from
its repeal to
agriculture—if the manufacturing and
rests have no claim whatever to ask for the repeal of any
peculiar tax, because they have been legislating for the
country for years, and according to their own theories
making all their fortunes—why, then, it follows that
whenever you meet the cry of the repeal of any par-
ticular tax, it is either the movement of some small
speculative body, who attempt to stimulate some foreign
market already drugged with our productions, or what
is really the truth, and what is really at the bottom of all
this cry—it is the effort of those who have ulterior
designs, and under the mask of financial reform mean
political change.—(Hear, hear.) Now let him remind
you of this remarkable circumstance. For a good many
years past the statesmen and the leading men of England
—the leaders of parties and the men who influence pub-
lic opinion—have dealt with a real or with an imaginary
surplus. Sir Robert Peel, then the powerful Minister
of a great country, had a real surplus, and dealt with
that. Mr. Cobden, a very iefluential individual, although
not a minister, has an imaginary surplus greater than
Sir Robert Peek's real one.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.)
But whether the surplus is real or imaginary, the way
in which these gentlemen deal with their surplus
equally indicates their policy. I do not care whether