The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-25 00:00:00

EVENING- SEJN

devise some means to remedy the exist—existing
di____., s-
. trees. Such a petition, iu his opinion, was en-
titled to something more than being simply laid
upoe the table of the House.—(Hear, hear.) The pre-
sent Government should not blame those who preceded
them in the management of affairs for that distress, be-
calve the best Government might be unable to prevent
such a state of things ; but any Government holding the reins of office in this country, was bound to devise
some means - for its remedy.—(Hear, hear.) What he
(Mr. Stewart) complained of, was that silent system
pursued by Hon. Gentlemen opposite. A Noble Lord
had remarked, in conversation, that the late Govern-
ment had been strangled by mutes ; and the remark ap-
peared to him a just one. When the Noble Lord the
Member for London had protested against the proroga-
tion of Parliament until something had been done to
relieve the distress of the country, the Right Hon. Ba-
ron. t the MeMber for Tamworth rose and addressed the
House, ably and forcibly no doubt, but no other voice
Was heard from the Ministerial benches ; and the Right
Hon. Baronet himself would pardon him when he said
that his speech amounted to little more than a declara-
tion that he would not reveal the course of policy which
he meant to ptirsue. Let bins remind the House
that the late transfer of power had not been
made upon an ordinary question.—(Hear, hear.)
Ministers had formerly resigned upon the ques-
tion of a Civil List or on an appropriation clause ; but,
in the late instance, it was upon a vital question of fiscal
reform and commercial relief that the Goverment had
been changed. It was admitted upon both sides of the
House that distress prevailed to an alarming extent in
the country—a distress which ought to be relieved with
the least possible delay. At the close of the last Session
of Parliament, the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for
Tam worth protested against even a month's delay in the
settlement of the Corn-law question. It was said by
him that the measures of the Government so seriously-
endanmered the commercial relations and the best inte-
rests of the country, that the new Parliament ought to
be immediately assembled to settle the matter. The late
Government had devised a plan for the relief of the na-
tional distress, which, in the opinion of all practical men,
was well fitted for meeting the exigencies of the ease.—
(Ironical cheers from the Opposition benches.) He un-
derstood the meaning of that cheer, but he must say
that, although the Right Hon. Baronet was supported by
a insjority in that House, yet that majority was entirely
a late I lords' majority.—(Cheering, and counter-cheering.)
He said it advisedly ; and although he believed that,
personally and politically, he represented as large a stake
in the landed interest as any Honourable Gentleman op-
posite, yet he would contend that the majority returned
at the last election was to all intents and purposes a land-
lords' majority.—(Loud cheers from the Opposition,
mingled with cries of " No, no," from the Ministerial
benches.) Now, what were the facts ? The counties
of Eagland constituted that majority.—(Loud cheers.)
Ireland bad returned a majority of Members in favour
of the much-abused Budget of the late Government.
Scotl.zad had returned a majority favourable to that
Budget. The towns and boroughs of England had also
returned a majority favourable to that Budget, and it
was to the counties of England that the majority in op-
position to that Budget had been returned.—(Cheers.)
Was he not justified, therefore, in calling it a landlords'
majority ?—(Loud cheers.) He knew that he might be
told to look to the large towns—to Leeds divided—to the
representatives of Liverpool, both in opposition to the
Budget of the late Government, and to London divided
hut his two Hon. Friends opposite (the Members for
London) knew as well as he did that there was a certain
class of watermen whose votes were purchaseable—
(Dere., hear)—and at Liverpool a large proportion of the
old freemen.—(Cheers.) He would confess that he had
voted for the old freemen retaining their franchise under
the Reform Bill, because at that time he represented a
large section of them.—(Cheers and laughter.) The
reason why he had so voted was because they had re-
turned him four times to Parliament ; but he would con-
fess, as indeed he had confessed at the time, that by
voting for retaining them he was retaining a weak, if not a
rotten, plank in the Constitution. He must therefore repeat
that, however respectable . that majority might be, it
was, to all intents and purposes, a landlords' majority.—
(Cheers.) He would also say that they were now, by
their. conduct, torturing the feelings of the country on
tenterhooks, and if they were determined to fight the
battle of the landlords against what were called the
"Cotton Lords," all the great interests of the country
must seffer.—(Cheers.) In the absence of all state-
ment; in that House, he had looked to what had been
said .on the hustings, to see if he could gather any hope-
of relief; and first of all he had read the speech of the
Right Hon. Gentleman the Vice-President of the Board
of Trade, delivered in Newark, in which, after entering
into a catalogue of the crimes of the Whig Government,
he said it was quite sufficient merit for the Tory Go-
vern:it:Alt that it had been the means of displacing the
Whig Government.—(Cheers and laughter.) Then he
had isoked to the certainly able and eloquent speech of
the Noble Lord the Member for North Lancashire, but
he could find no comfort front its perusal.—(Hear, hear.)
He could not tell in what degree the agricultural con-
stituseey of the Noble Lord might be able to judge of
the qiestiohs which the Noble Lord had discussed be-
fore them. The Noble LOrd had attributed the distress
of the country to over-production, but he never pointed
out ev we were to be delivered from that distress by
extending our markets. But with regard to the Cora-
laws, the Noble Lord had justified the principle of the
sliding scale, and he appeared to be almost as firm a sup-
porter of the present system as a Noble Duke in the
other Rouse.—(Hear, hear.) But the Noble Lord had
not ittempted to show how the grinding effects of the
present Corn-laws were to be obviated.—(Hear, hear.)
He hid also sought for information from the speech of
the Right Hon. Baronet opposite to his constituents at
Dorchester, but he had been disappointed.—(Hear,
hear.) The Right Honourable Baronet bad said
that the secrets of the Cabinet must not be re-
peated, or, to use his own words, that he must observe
that reserve under which he had accepted office.—
(Cheers and laughter.) The Right Hon. Gentleman had
argued in favour of the present Corn-law, indeed, on the
question of protection it was hard to say how far the
Right Hon. Gentleman might be inclined to go, for all,
his aroments for protection tended to vindicate absolute,
prohibition, and it was impossible to say how his advice
would be given on the question. He, indeed, indulged jet
a simile which, although it might amuse, could not, he
should imagine, satisfy the country. He had congentu-
lated his constituents on the harmony indicated in the
present. Government. Queen, Lords, and Commons were
now,
lie said, in happy unison, and the .Right Hon. Ha-
ronet the Member for Tamworth, with the master hand
of a umsician, was placed at this harmonious musical in-
strument, to the delight of the people and the country.—
(Cheers and laughter.) He did not know how he wus to
play tea this grand political piano-forte, unless he placed
the two Dukes as pedals under his feet.—(Cheers and
laughter.) The farmers would listen with a hope of hear-
ing him, with the assistance of his pedals, play the old air of
" Speed the Plough."—(Loud laughter.) But while the
people were expecting some exquisite harmony, the only
tune the Right Hon. Baronet played to them was the
mawkish melody. " Oh! no! we never mention it."—
(Cheers and laughter.) He thought that the opinion of
the Il n. Baronet the Member for Dorchester must be
like that of the poet, that—
" The harmony of things
Like that of sounds, from discord springs.'
—(Cheers &tad laughter.) If some explanation were not
given as to the intentions of her Majesty's Government
—if the Right Honourable Baronet attempted to
prorogue the Parliament before proposing some measure
for remedying the widely spread distresses of the manu-
facturing districts, it would be in vain hereafter to at-
tempt to restore the prosperity, or to maintain the peace
of the country.—(Cheers.) If such a course were
adopted the results would be disastrous in the extreme.
It was a course which did not become them, either as
men or as Ministers—as men it was cruelly inhuman,
and us Ministers it wits unwise and fraught with danger
to the country.—(Loud cheers.)
Mr. GIBSON thought the House was indebted to the
Hon. Gentleman who had just sat down for the statements
which ho had made, and the manner in which he had
Tbrought
ntthre y
felt subjectun
disgustedder
withtlte attentionthesil
ent ofs thee !l_House.which
had been pursued by the other side of the House. It
was not treating subjects of such vast importance with.
the attention or the consideration which they deserved.
—(Cheers.) . He would admit, however, that silence
ssiadyet‘i‘iastt
was the safest defence in a bad case • and he dared to
giventshoemaedtlbiictieg the 8
to the defendant in a bad case—to hold-- his toltrslie-
-(Clieers and laughter.) : :So. fur from
broughtc
atnlo.ellaosnt.hGateigitilveennien on the other
during that the subject ought not to
he
that the
forward, he (Mr. Gibson) was of ophtion
usefully
on_
House could not appear to be more tliste'f.vil,r
_,_,,
ployed than in endeavouring to devise a residtt ildistres.ies of the people. With regard financialtnronet to submit
by the counsel
mea-
sures, he did not press the Right Hon. Bs
moment. He
to them his financial schemes that
office ; that he
such as that he had not been a month_
official documents which it
was tee are of the plausible pretext tllti'
had not had access to those
efore bringing fbrward
was necessary he should consult
But if to consult those
a permanent financial scheme. :Iniait be urged,
necessary, he could not but documents were really
re-
gret that
had
they had proposed their
who bad those facilities when.ewers._
) but that they had
not been shown to those
financial seltentes—(Loud 1
h very outset, and cut off ever,
been interrupted in t '
were fully developed.--(Loud
more deferenceso nectdes
before their measures
that in all probability the .
cheers.) But knoalitig
Right Honourable Baronet's finan-
cial result of the
and of the Chancellor of the Ex-
cial ineditatieibis;tiolls,
would end in bringing forward
chequer's u 1
I c'
propositions: for new taxes, he did not care how some 1 sition of the financial scheme was put off,
long toe propo _
d of it at all. But although it had
' I - never heal
or ii 1...
been stated that even
if the Budget of the late ltlinistry
had been adopted
a loan would be necessary, yet it had
;teen s
never 'hewn that that Budget would not produce an
increased
revenue, and if the proposition for an Bs. fixed
duty on corn had beta adopted within the last week,
fleet! e
• ould have been an addition to the revenue of half
a million, whilst corn would have been purchased from
the te•eigner at a cheaper rate.--(Cheers.) But the
financial question was, comparatively speaking, of no
imporzence compared with the consideration of the dis-
tress , I,* the country. The Member for Renfrewshire had
laid bel'ore them a most interesting statement relating to
the distress in the county which he represented, and Hite
were not fearful of fatiguing the ;House he could relate
statements of the distress extstine• at Manchester which ex-
ceede3 even those made by that Hon. Gentleman. In that
town Oere were warehouses piled with goods, of which 110
profitable sale could be effected ; insolvencies and bank-
rupteiss Were of dully occurrence ; thousands were de -
privek of employment—thousands were suffering from,
typhus,, brought on solely through the want of sufficieen
fool ; and there were 8,000 residing in one disti:ict .
livine upon a miserable Pittance of Is. Sid. per head. per
week. If they looked to the agricultural districts, what
did they see ? •
A. state of prosperity, produced by the high
price of corn, occasioned by those laws which the far..