The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-29 00:00:00

tJe ‘,suu.

LONDON:
WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 1841.

A more impudent piece of humbug than Sir
R. PEEL'S demand for time to mature his mea-
sures was never witnessed. He and his colleagues
have decided, out of office and in office, that
there shall be no alteration 'in the Corn-laws.
They have decided over and over again that
protection, alias taxing other people for the
benefit of the landowners, is indispensable ; they
have come to that decision long ago ; they have
repeatedly declared that they adhere to it,
and yet they tell us now, when, by being
placed in the Government, they have become
responsible to the country, that they require
time to consider what they shall do. Such a
barefaced attempt to befool the people is only
worthy of the performers at Bartholomew fair.
They want time for things to come round.
When the Corn-laws have done their work, when
they have starved down the population to a level
with the supply of food, then the first average year
will bring relative abundance and prosperity;
the people, rejoicing that they have escaped
starvation, will hasten to forget their privations,
and the Government is sure of being unas-
sailed in a season of abundance. From being
eanfined nearly to our own soil years of abun-
dance and dearth are of periodical occurrence,
and Sir ROBERT PEEL asks for time that the
people may stiffer in silence and patience durinc,
the present season of scarcity, .and a season of
abundance may-give him an opportunity of say-
ing there is no demand for the repeal of the
Corn-laws. He asks the Opposition, in fact, to
sooth the people and induce them to submit to

starvation.
Instead of being silent, and granting Sir Ro-
BERT PEEL'S wishes, it is the duty of the Oppo-
sition to speak out, and expose his miserable
subterfuge. His mind is completely made up
against the people. We consider it useless, how-
ever, for the Opposition to taunt him with his
silence, or bore him and the country with ques-
tions as to what he will do. He will do nothing
good. It is the business Of the Opposition to
expose that, and speak through the House of
Commons to the country. Though PEEL will
not discuss the Corn-laws, they should lose no
opportunities to expose their effects. Though he
will not prescribe a remedy, they ought to dwell
on all occasions on the alarming symptoms of the
disease. The distress of the people is great—
crimes arc numerous and alarming—the disposi-
tion of the people is unfavourable to' tranquillity,
and the I-louse of Commons, ,or at least the
country, ought to be roused, if possible, in de-
spite of the Minister's silence, to a true sense of
the deplorable situation into which we are fall-
ing. This is what the Opposition ought to do,
instead of asking Sir R.. PEEL continually what
he means to do. We repeat, he will do nothing
for the people unless compelled, and the Opposi-
tion must try, with the help of the people, to
compel hint.
They adopted a proper course in eagerly seiz-
ing hold of Lord. STANLEY'S admission that the
Corn-laws do raise rent, which ought to be
worked at continually, as a proof that the land-
y
lords have avowed that they have passed a law to
take care of themselves. But some of the Mem-
bers, to our astonishment, after fixing on Lord
were on Friday evening
STANLEY'S admission,
eager to acquit the landlords of having had any
selfish motives in passing or maintaining the law.
That was wrong; to do justice to the people, they
Ought to accuse the landowners of having made
the law to enrich themselves. The proofs of
this are not wanting, and it is playing false with
. everything which ought to be sacred to exonerate
the landlords of selfish- and evil intentions, when
-they have been avowed by themselves. For ex-
an kple:—.
Sir J. GRAHAM asserted in 18-26 (see Corn and
• Currency), " that their constant and avowed ob-
ject had. been to raise the price of agricultural
produce in this country greatly above the level
of the continental market." He also said, that
"rents are raised by high prices," therefore, on
Sir JAMES GRAHAM'S authority the landlords,
instead of being screened, should be openly and
boldly accused. of having constantly and avow-
edly endeavoured to raise prices and raise rent.
He said, " they have fought for high prices," and
he blamed theta for "having bargained with the
Ministers to support a contraction of the cur-
rency, provided their monopoly were maintained.'
It is not, therefore, that the effects of high prices
and high rents, have followed the Corn-law, un-
willed by them, and enriched them by chance.
C.iput they passed the Corn-law to enrich them-
.
let its co aSequenees on the community be
what they migi it. That important truth ought
to be proclaime cl by the Anti-Corn-law party in