The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-11 00:00:00

'UNr „ LONDON, TITtf

MORNING EDI

lON

. CORN-LAW CRISIS.
. (From the Liverpool Journal.)
Tan GREAT PROBLEM.—The great problem is now to
be resolved, whether the people of England are really
far enough advanced in moral courage and intellectual
cultivation to see the right object of good government,
and,to make efforts sufficiently strenuous to secure it.
Leng and. often hits it been asserted that the Ministers
were to blame .for their timidity ; that they were behind
the spirit of,the age ; that they had but to put them-
eelveS a the head of the movement towards free trade to
be bon vie nionK by the enthusiastic voices of the people -
that sordid- monopoly would quail before the aroused
giant of opinion,,' aa it - (64 ten years ago, on a
similar occasion. :Well; the Ministers have done so.
buhdecisively.at they have declared war
with the three greatest monopolies with which this
country is cursede—those of corn, timber and sugai. They
have declared war with theta, not in the abstract, but in
degree. tin the result, vast material interests depend—
intereits to which. even the existence of a Liberal Go-
vernment is subsidiary. It will decide whether, at the
same time, trade shall be revivified, the returns of capi-
tal and the wages of labour enhanced, and the revenue
augmented ; or, whether trade shall continue to dwindle,
and the people to sink lower and nearer to the zero of
misery, a vast portion of our population thrown on the
land, aliddother permanent property, for maintenance,
and the oeticieney in the revenue supplied by a direct
abstraction from every man's earnings, in the shape of
an income tax. In two words, the issue is national ruin,
or national prosperity.
(From the Carnarvon Herald.)
The most remarkable result of the step ahout to be
taken by Ministers, is the liberalizing effect it seems to
have produced upon certain Tory landlords. 'They begin
to see that every restriction upon corn is neither more
nor less than a tax ; and as it fixed duty upon foreign
wheat wehld, to the extent of that duty, act as a tax
upon the cimsnmer, they are determined to resist
•
so the very knue,• this attempt to fasten a
bread-tax upon the people." So says any Lord Win-
chelsea So say they all ! Heaven bless them How
kind they have grown ! They would, in sheer goodness
of heart,- rather sell corn to the people at eighty shil-
lings under protection, than allow them to have it at fifty
tinder a fir. It is to hoped (in order that such charity
may let properly appreciated), they will condescend to
explain how it is that a duty of twenty-three shillings,
when pia as a protection to the grower, is less a tax
upon tee continuer, than six or seven shillings paid to
It he revenue ; since, unless better instructed, there may
lott people enough to prefer paying a small sum to
tiovernment, rather than a large one to monopolists.
(From the Lancaster Guardian.)
t • seek the abolition of the bread-tax, and nothing
else will ',Satisfy the people. Let this be solemnly gua-
m„t„n, -the electors of Great Britain will, wit most
confidently pr.:.tliCt. carry them triumphantly throug the
storm of the Ir:wending crisis. Should our ardent. ex-
... - r-,aliffed the Whigs will establish a further
pec,,Ations • ••• 7
.said the proudest elairo on the gratitude of their country.
hay have, aided by the hearty support of the peop.le,
e”ted a gigantic reform in the English rese
entative
vast
,system—thrown open to general competition th
;fret -kegs of the East—annihilated the revolting slaver
andy
re of '
the ,N est, and laid the foundation of guoti -
aponsii,i'--iererninent in the towns and cities of this
though important and gloriou
kina-dt. on:. 74("'e,
eunke infinitely less renown than the
achievements,
are abp7t to propose, ii it only fulfils the
act. which they the iniquitous tax on
nation's hope by totally abo!"111Pg
the first nee -es; aev of human exiel"neSs and thus giving
.
liberty to the industrial energies of Pel'Ple. :the
that their
Autv of the electors is ohs ions. We doubt no.
con-duct will be worthy of the 4-we:i4on, and equal LS the
reomeatoos ciaisequences at etake. Laying aside for a
,sei,;on thsir sectional differeintea, they must unite, as the
Burt of one man, to secure the e,rnmercial deliverance
1:1-412li has so unexpectedly appeared in the prospect.
(From tin Ediuburfik CProniele.)
A BouTioN or THE CORN-LAW:4.—We oenderstand that
a Arle,_:her of the Committee of the Anti-Cnien-law As-
sosiation of, this city has left town for Louden, with
the petition 2-ulrettribed by upwards of 27,000 of ''fie in-
habitants in supP•ort of a total abolition of these ohne xiffas
laws. The petition is to be entrusted to Sir John Canepe
bell for presentation. We trust that other associations
throughout the country will act in a similar way. We
eye "happy also to be infermed, that the public bodies of
the city are in motion for the came object—and for a re-
vision of the Import Duties:. •.The Guildry are to meet
on Menday, the Chamber of Commerce on Tuesday, and
the 3ilercliant Company on Wednesday. We believe
that a public meeting of the inhabitants will be held in
the beet bring of the week.
(From the Goth SoutLern Reporter.)
Whet: first announced, many were alarmed at any re-
duct, on in the corn duties, and it was not unnatural ; but
it is q.-iite a mistake ; a fixed duty on corn will not atlixt
prices n.aterially in Ireland, while it will work unques-
tionable good otherwise. Since our last publication we
have had an opportunity of conversing with many largely
intereshal iii this question—men of high intelligence as
great practical experience, and we were agreeably sur-
prised to find that they were, after calm reflection, ctearly
of the same opinion with ourselves, as to the beneficial,
or rather harmless, operation of the proposed change.
Bet not only in its agriculttaral interests, this change
\will not he of immediate detriment to Ireland ; it must
aiso afflict powerfully her political condition. While u
will raise and augment. the popular strength of England,
it hill weaken and disarm the party that bit ever unre-
lentiogly refused the smallest boon to Iretbzul. The
peincip!e of government is changed. Ministers have
adtrpti n new creed. They must henceforward govern
it the pehille, and if so, they have, in answer to the Irish
feople, akehnative but to grant the fullest measure 0:
equality. TheT are pledged as an Administration to
their new course, and it now rests with the people—the
strong, united, and • invincible people—to work out this
measure, and achieve their own happiness in the truth
and jesiice of their laws and government.
(From the Berwick Advertiser.)
Out of evil cometh go:xl—out of a deficient and (le-
en, in, revert:le hits arisen, or is about to arise, the boon
whit h'justice and reason, and the true interests of the
counta.y, were likely long to demand in vain—a tho-
rough I.J-brill and remodelling of the existing system of
commercial tariffs, beginning with the master grievances
of the ecru, the timber, and the sugar monopolies. The
announcenout or the great question of tariff reform
having been ti'l*en up by the Ministry, has pleased as
much as it has bs:uprised the whole community, with the
exception of. the pit-rties having an interest, or believing
themselves to have ien interest, in the doomed monopo-
lies—o. wit, the landlore4s, the West India planters, and
that portion of the " shipcing interest" employed in the
-
Canadian trade—we may add, with the exception also
of the more rabid portion of the Tories, ;vim are-infuri
ated at the Ministry having, at the very mou:ent when
they seemed on the point of falling, adopted means so
likely to bring them an accession, both of credit and of
strength.

(From the Kelso Chronicle.)
.HAwicK.—The promptitude and activity displayed by
the Anti-Corn-law Association here is beyond all praise.
Already has the petition received hundreds of signatures
and will, we doubt not, outnumber the one that was de-
spatched from this place last year.
(From the Bolton Free Press.)
The Vinistecial crisis has at length arrived. The an-
ouncement of Lord John Russell in the House of Com-
LIAMS, and the explanation of Lord Melbourne in the
of Lords, must have convinced, even the most
sceptical, that the ef%rts of the .Anti-Corn-law Leag,in
have not been made in rain. Tlnistruggle will, no doubt,
be, a desperate one. Against us, are arrayed a '
majority of the lords of the soil, and a great majo-
rity of the established clergy.' On our side we have the
ma.nufucturing interest, the shipping interest, and a
large portion of the mercantile classes. More than
all these, however, is the sincere conviction, "which they
of the adverse faction want," that our cause is the cau,i:
of justice mad humanity. Sooner (c):- later these princi-
ples must prevail, and, therefore, no temporary discomfi-
ture can dispirit us. Meantime the duty of all Corn-law
Repealers is, to tell ministers plainly. what they want.
Every man who. refuges to lend a helping hand in the
present struggle to obtain the ago ition of the bread, tax
as accessory to the murder, by " painful extinction," o'
thousands of his fellow-countrymen.
(From the Ca thrian.)
The Tory k3olicy•may doubtless answer well enough
the purpose of the olig,arAy, which is to oppress industry.
annihilate commerce, and grind the poor with taxes.
~,But the great body of and
grind
Must infallibly, if thel
comprehand their intensts, make common cause with al;
"sting
Government, which, if it be remarkable for ant
one thing more than another, is undoubtedly so tin. it:
strenuous. attachment to the principle of Reform. Shetild
shoetly,dissoiv,A, therefore, w
-Parliament _list tin.
'nation will come forward and do its duty menfitllv.
,Ministers have already done theirs.
(From the Waterford Chronicle.) • •
'The announcement made by Li-,rd John tiussell on the
subject of the Corn-laws has raise ahhot of friends fioi
the Ministry throw,
head d
rit
to think
aorirdah,ea•ert-,
landlord in Ireland who has a
to feel is with them on the su JjeCt. foremost in, tin,
rank of the friends of mankind stand mr. O'Connell; a&
-)Mr. Sharman Crawford ; they have uncompromisingly
avowed their determination to oppose the iniquitous
bread tax, and need - Say- that the people of Ir4ane
are preVared to think and act with those distinguisheo
and enlightened patri as. The Tories are for monopoly ;
they care not about the peop7e. To uphold ascendancy
in every thing is their end and aim. The Tories in
power, and we would nut triye one year's purchase for
the whole revenues of.the Church.
(From the Dublin Evening Post.)
THE CORN-LAWS IN iIiELAND.—InUSC very silly—
but it must, at the same time, be confessed, very disho-
rest—peop , who imaSined that Ireland would rise, like
le
one man, for the perpet iation f the bread tax—tier the
monopoly in food-for rack-rents and depopulating land-
lords—have hitherto been most grievously disappointed
in their Ctilettlati.uns. couuti i .
. ri tutt,..ed, out
it is ugairst "A(' tftrvatiol pr.nciiile of the Tories. The
people are rising, Ina it is in array against the wicked
combivatian ot as base, as crud, as unprincipled meo,
~as ever cons:tired aga:ust the liberties of a country. It
Was, hoped that, Ireland being principally agricultural,
,t;; people. might be excited to take a hostile position
ugainst Ministers. Vain is the aspiration. Agricultural,
Ireland is, nollouht, hilt it will take a great deal of „r_
igument to persuade the people that they can be injured
. ..by a substitution of a liked for a fluctuating duty on corn.
-' • • (From the Monmouthshire Merlin.)
;,. TWe have arrived at a.crisis. It is impossible to on-
coal thi4 fact. A financial, commercial, and p
a. . es isis has 4appened in conjunction ; and as Reform came
upon lei like a thundc;ring avalanche, so has the great
• tnaw set in, hreatening to dissolve the very ground _
be-
neath the feet of the monopolists. Lord Joun Russell
77' has delayed to play his .trump card until the end of the
game. It is not lost on that account, although we ad-
mit it might have been better had he played it spotter.
Better now than never. The Ministry were not the men
•" to bow beneath the ills upon them piled." With one

vtorous effor., they have cut their way through the t:
Tory ranks that were encompassing them, and once
rrore stand in the van of the .battle, sour ding a call to
!he rescue, which, we doubt not, will be answered by all
England
(From the Somerset County Gazette..)
GOOD NEWS FOR ME COUNTRY.—Bravely have Mi-
nisters met the exigency of the times. The fears we
expressed last week, lest they should shrink from the dif-
ficulties presented by the financial condition of the coun-
try were vain. Ministers have proposed to meet the de-
ficiency in the revenue, not by putting on fresh taxes,
but by taking off a portion of those which already exist,
and which most oppress the productive classes ;—they
propose to reduce the tax on bread, on sugar, and on
timber, and so to make the mass of the people more con-
fortable, and, at the same time, to increase the revenue
by means of the increased consumption which lower
prices of the necessaries of life would lead to. It is a
glorious object ; may it find the support and success it
deserves. Already a howl of rage has gone up from the
Tory supporters of monopoly. They threaten the Mi-
nistry with their most uncompromising opposition. The
Ministry will look to the country for support in their
struggle with the public plunderers. It is more than
probable that Ministers will be defeated in their endea-
vour. They will then appeal to the country, and leave
it to the electors to say whether they prefer cheap feed
or dear food ; that will be the one question, and on their
decision will depend the fate of England. Can we doubt
what that decision will be ?
(From the Bristol Mercury.)
The repeal of the Corn-laws ! What a mass of human
misery will be swept from the earth by that one single
measure—what germs of future prosperity will be im-
planted for commercial England We regard this as
decidedly the most important legislative step that has
been taken since the enactment of those same most odious
laws a quarter of a century ago, when, in a borough-
mongering House of Commons, with doors guarded by the
soldiery, the high-minded landlords of England proceeded
to tax the poor man's loaf for the benefit of their own
pockets, whilst the sabres of the military alone restrained
the indignation of an outraged community from bursting
into acts of popular violence, and musket-balls and cold,
steel formed the barrier between the people and their
representatives ! The repeal of the Corn-laws is a plain
straightforward, practical measure a measure which
affects at once every industrious man's cupboard-comforts
—every working man's weekly marketinfr•
-(Froin the Devonport Independent.)
Ministers have thus commenced that reiorm which has
so long been needed—their first steps, though few, and
making but comparatively small progress, being firmly
and manfully taken, and deserving the warm encourage-
ment of every one who has the national .prosperity
at heart.

(From the Liverpool Albion.)
The debate on the issue of which, in all probability
depends whether the Whigs or the Tories shall govern
commenced on Friday evening, in the House of Commons.
Lord John Russell expounded the Ministerial policy;
in a very able and statesman-like speech, and moved
the resolution which will be found in our ad-
stract of the debate. Lord Sandon met the resolu-
tion by an amendment, which will also be found in
its proper place. The representative of this great
commercial town, the inhabitants of which are more
deeply concerned than those of any other towt
in the kingdom in the utmost freedom of trade.
stood forth the opponent of the greatest mea-
sure proposed in our time for the establishment of
the principle, and the champion of the West India and
other oppressive monopolies. We have, in another
article, remarked on his Lordship's conduct, whicl,
we leave to be dealt with as it ought by those o
his supporters whose enlightened and. strenuous efforts te
pr67note the principles of free trade he has done his ut-
most to frustrate. The debate was adjourned until this
evening. It is not expected to close before Wednesda:t
morning, when the division will take place.
The division, according to the prevalent opinion, wil!
be adverse to Ministers, though the majority against
them will not, it is calculated, be litrge. The Tories to
man will vote for Lord Sandon's amendment, reckless of
the consequences which the rejection of the budget . may
cause to the finances of the country, and merel,-
iatent on the acquisition ef office for their party. Whip
their g 5. sailants are compact and united, the Ministers
axe dooms lto meet them with a weakened force. The
proposal to admit sugar the produce of slave labour
has frightened from their ranks the party called
" saints," headed by Dr. Lushington ; while th,
project for modifying the Corn-law, _by admitting fo
reign corn at a fixed_duty, has driven away the agricul
turtst,4 at the head of whom is Mr. Handley.. Both Dr
Lushingum. and Mr. Handley- attempted, on Friday night
t i justify their desertion of the Government "at it:
utmost need," 4641 they were, of course, vocifer
aisly cheered by the Tories for conduct whirl
is very natural, bZ7t not very creditable to tht,;.
patriotism. Under stns' circumstances, a mirae.
will be required to pre'`` eat a defeat on tip.
division ; and there is no 17ason to expect
political miracle on behalf of 7,!inisters at th,
present moment. Whether, if defeated, they will resign
remains to be seen. Reports differ on the subjeq.
opinion most prevalent in the political circles is, that the
will resign instanter, and give the Tories the long am
Anxiously desired opportunity of undertaking the diree
don of affairs.
Whatever turn things may take,—whether the Govern.
ment may continue in the hands of the Whigs, or be trans.
f rred to those of the Tories, the present agitation ha
nade one thing certain,—monopoly is doomed. Like
I viathan, when pierced and made desperate Le:'
the harpoons of its assailants, it may flounder and
plunge, and even, in the violence of its agony, excite
temporary alarm in the breasts of its enemies ; but it,
eti. is sealed : die it must, and that right soon. Should
thereto. vt Lord Sandon's amendment be carried, the mo
nopolists, whether home or colonial, will have little
cause to rejoic7 at his Lordship's success. It will merely-
give them a brie
ref-Tito,
and timber, ant: '°l-11'
-Tito, Against the monopolies 01
un7tho decree has gone forth.
aid they will, ere long, shat
the fa of the once formid-
a'Jle and almost impregnable m:n°l3?lY
te
Cie East. The Tories, once more _ln ohffi,,,,, ,th,%
more save the former from destruction ice,
etorauldde
nt::
ht
revive the latter. They cannot, any more tia-na t;,
_ _
Whigs, resist the force of public opinion
decidedly hostile to every system which taxes
the many for the benefit of the few ; while the financia.
necessities of the State, which have their foundation ii.
" the monumental debt of England," the work o'
Tory hands, will compel them to make altera-
ti as in our fiscal system which shall, withou
ocreasing the load of taxation under which the county;
low staggers, suffice to meet the wants of the time:
.:.00n will the Tories be made to feel the truth of Dry-
den's couplet—
"'Tis easy conduct when exchequers flow,
But hard the task to manage well the low."
The prospect now presented to the foes of monopoly i
encouraging. Their course must continue to be " Agita-
tion—agitation—agitation." Amidst the strifes and th,-
,truggles of party, the good cause is certain to prosper.
For our part, we shall not be surprised to see the Tone:
•arrying into effect the very measures of free trade for
proposing which they are, according to every appearance.
,about to turn out the Whigs.
(From the Wexford Independent.)
The reduction of the sugar duty is such a boon to tilt
.)oor—a novelty in legislation that almost compels us to
deny credence to the evidence of our senses, whilst Avc
read the expose of the Chancellor—that it recommends
itself to the support of every wise and benevolent indi-
vidual in the empire ; and the repeal of the Corn-laws—
the great crowning question of all—we cannot designate
otherwise than a mighty revolution whose effects on the
destinies of these countries time only can develope.
(From the Northern TVhig.)
We think it by no means unlikely, but, on the con-
trary, exceedingly probable, that the question of the
Corn-laws will be the matter chiefly to be decided by
general election, at no remote day ; for we consider it
very doubtful whether any wise change will be conceded
by the existing Parliament. It, therefore, becomes the
:core necessary that the public mind should be familiarised
.4th the subject ; and that it should be prepared, as wren
as may be, for coming to a right determination. Men cf
Ire and, and especially those of you—the vast mass--why
Aave to toil fiir your bread, let the fact sink deep into
your souls, let. it remain there as the goading reply to al
the imposition that may;_ be attempted upon you—thal
the object—ay, and the declared object—of the Corn-laws
is, to make your bread dear, thus affording you little t
eat, and leaving you little to spare for clothing and other
necessaries of life. We call, most earnestly and most
,olemnly, upon every industrious man, from the mer-
.,hant to the daily labourer, to consider this state 01
:langs. The carpenter, the mason, the shoemaker, in
short, every tradesman would have something more to
spend upon his wife and children, or for his own com-
.ort, if this cruel law did not step in and snatch a par!
of his earnings from hii hand, by compelling him to pay
no much for his daily bread.

THE LIBERALITY OF LORD
W AL DEG RAVE.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

SIR,—A paragraph is going the round of the Papers.
which states that his Lordship is permitted to promenade'
with his Lady between the gates, as her Ladyship wa::
so much annoyed by the gaze of the prisoners on her
first visit to his Lordship, that she had determined not tc
enter the prison again.
Can you inform me, Sir, whether myself and fellow-
prisoners are not as much entitled to promenade outside
tie gates as his Lordship ? And if so, with whom does
the authority rest of granting permission ? I should
like to be placed on the same footing as his Lordship in
respect to locomotion, and I cannot see why every pri-
soner s wife might not urge the same reason as Lady
Waldegrave that she should be allowed to promenade
outside the gates with her husband.
The paragraph also states that his Lordship has been
" very liberal to the poor prisoners." As I know many of
them are extremely distressed, and, in fact, often in
want of a dinner, it gave me great gratification to hear
that his Lordship had kindly administered to their ne-
cessities. It appears, however, that the person appointed
by his Lordship to dispense his bounty to the poor pri-
soners has neglected his duty, as, upon inquiry, I can-
not find one recipient of his Lordship's or of her Lady-
ship's bounty, except that a gentleman in her suite
dropped 2s. • 6d. into the poor-box on her Ladyship's
departure, when she first visited the prison.
I am, Sir, your obedient servant,
HENRY HETHERINGTON.
Queen's Bench, May 10, 1841.

ARTISTS' BENEVOLENT FUND.—The anni-
♦eraary dinner of this Society was celebrated on Saturday -at
the Freemasons'-hall. About 200 gentlemen were present,
Lord Mahon in the chair. The proceedings of the evening
were enlivened by the sweet voioes of Messrs. Broadhurst,
Hawkins, Hobbs, &c. The subveriptions amounted to a hand-
some sum, her Majesty's name appearing as a subscriber of 100
guineas, being her fourth donation to the same amount.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.
FROM THE DAILY PAPERS OF YESTERDAY. •
CHRONICLE.—The Times and the Tories uro well
matched. Day after day the Times—not years ago, but
within these few weeks—was urging Mr. Labouchere to
attack the West Indian, Timber, and other monopolists,
and boasting of the generous support he would receive
from the Opposition if he threw himself fairly on the
country. On the 16th March last, for instance, the
Times told us that— '
" The measures introduced by Mr. Labouchere to the House
cr, Commons on Friday evening for the relief of the cemnierce
of the West Indies and the North American coloriies, are a
very scanty application cf the principles which the Right Ho-
nourable Gentleman laid down, a very tardy advance in
that able policy of Mr. Huskisson, which has now been ap-
plauded and abandoned for fifteen years, and a very slender
instalment of those commercial benefits which the people of
this country and of our dependencies demand from the legis-
lature It was justly remarked in the course of thede -
bate, that it is a ga'liug spectacle to see the duties of the colo-
nies lightened, while nothing is done to remove the most
onerous and unprofitable restrictions borne by the yeople of the
mother country.
The Times then enters into a detail of the alterations
which Mr. Labouchere's proposition would effect, after
which it proceeds thus :
" The erincipal motive which has guided the Board of Trade
in the selection of these particular points of relief seems to be
no other than the hope that they were so innocent or unimpor-
tant as to elude a vigorous opposition. Are the Government
afraid to throw themselves on the good sense of the House of
Commons and the country ? Have they not had repeated
proof that the grand interests qf our commerce will not be con-
verted by the principal illembers of the Opposition into wea-
pons of offence? We await the disclosures of the Chancell r
o! the Exchequer with anxious doubts—doubts not as to the
financial embarrassment of the country and the msnifest defi-
ciency of the public revenue, but as to the principle and means
by which the Exchequer is to he replenished. For the only
option which the Government is Lee to use consists either in
extending the bases of taxation by enlarging and relieving the
class of consumers, or in narrowing that class and increasing
its actual burdens, to the great injury of all trade and of the
general welfare."
On the 18th March, the Times, referring to various
propositions for relieving the distresses of the labouring
classes, observes—
" But amongst those remedies, those which are undoubtedly
most secure, most ripe, and most urgent, are connected with
the improvement of our commercial system, and the extension
of our commercial relations with other countries.
" It is no slight addition to the claims or a cause which has
already so much justice and reason on its side, that thee are
backed by the most appalling statements of the present deal i-
tion and progressive decline of our manufacturing population.
The sufferings of millions demand relief, even though that re-
lief were not identical with the truest policy of England. But
the welfare of the mass is identical with the interests of the
country ; and it is because the general prevalence and the ge-
neral loss have not been fairly measured aga'nst the particular
advantage of a protected interest that the energies of the coun-
try are weighed down by an unequal and injudicious system of
taxation."
Alluding to its former proposition to reduce the sugar
duties, it observes—
" With how much more weight should we have spoken, if
we asked our rulers not only to benefit the planter, and to in-
crease the revenue, but to feed the people by diminishing the
4tuties on colonial produce—by adjusting the taxes on corn
upon a system better calculated to avoid the evils of excessive
fluctuation in price and entire prohibition, and by sweeping
away the duties which exclude us from foreign markets with-
adding to our own revenue."
The Times then extracts a long passage from the Re-
port of the Hand-loom Commissioners, recommending
concessions to the United States with reference to the
tariff, to Brazil, and to Northern Germany, and proceeds
to observe— . .
"In short, whatever. be the legitimate influence of
plomacy on commerce, it is very evident that if we do not treat
with other countries, other countries will treat without us, and
that the extension of our trade will be impeded as long as such
treaties last, since they are expressly calculated to give supreme
advantages to the intercourse of those_ other countries. It is
not so much the opportunity for successful commercial negotias
tion that is wanting as die ability to improve it."
In another laboured article, the Times reproached
Ministers for not sufficienty attending to the into rest; of
onsumers, and even went so far as to tell them that they
were too easily frightened by the opposition of the
timber monopolists when they abandoned Mr. Poulett
Thomson's &theme for placing the duties on Canadian
and Baltic timber on a more equitable footing. And yet
this same Paper, which thus reproached Ministers with
their timidity, and called on them to attack the mono-
polists, and assures them of the support of the Opposi-
ion, has the unparalleled effrontery to join with the
monopolists against Ministers, and to applaud the disc
itonottrable policy of the Tories.
The critical conflict of parties upon the questions in-
volved in' the )Ministerial Budget commenced, but, as our.
readers will perceive, did not terminate, yesterday evening. It
might have been supposed that, in cases of this nature,
where, as every body knows, the point really at issue is a dif-
ferent thing from the question under debate, the country might
have bt en sparedthe int ction of a tedious succession of speeches.
What is the use of talking about financial propositions notori-
ously brought forward t o serve a political and not a financial pur-
pose ? What rational object can be attained by prefacing with a
series of dissertations on the principles of free trade and politi-
cal economy a division, which cannot furnish any test of the
degree in which those principles are accepted in Parliament?
On the other hand, we see no great advantage in expatiating
e a week together upon the horror s of slavery, in an assembly
which has really met to put an end to a pelit feat crisis by a vote of
confidence or no-confidence in a p..or • oppressing Ministry.
We do not, of course, mean, either that Lord John Rus-
sell, when he utters sententious maxims about the impoliey
f needless or excessive cqmmercial restrictions, is playing the
hypocrite, or that Lord Sandon is not perfectly si ,cere
when he deprecates the Ministerial proposal, as to the
soar duties, on the' score of its tendency to encourage negro
laved. But we feel that these topics are merely collateral to
the point at '-sues and that they are, on both skies, chiefly re-
sorted to for the sa.l'ePffivin". to party struegle the imposing
appearance of a conflicto: oopular principles. The arguments de-
rived from them weigh,nociOut; with both parties, but they are not
he reasons by which their line of Oteluct has been practically
determined. Free trade is thrust forward by the Whigs to cover
the retreat of the New Poor-law, and to break the onset of its
victo ious assailants. Meier the shadow a a banner dear to
many of her opponents, and by the help of # popular watch-
word, despotism hopes to gain time to rally her )ffekNeri forces
and to daunt her adversaries with the fear that in striping
ti r
down they may endanger something else which they would fain
preserve.
What can be said to profligate and unblushing atom-
lonment of principle like this ? Notorious as the Times
for utter and reckless disregard of honesty, it id int-
',ssible not to be struck with its systematic calls on
•-•%rs to proceed boldly with its free trade principles,
-^e on the support of the Opposition, and its
.sound, exclaiming the principles are of
ix quite etwsugh that by
--ro brought on fbemsehes
4 inollopals0.; •nr
office, Ipe
Tu,

n full relitut_
urning suddenly .
to consequence whatev..
troposing them Ministers ha
he enmity of the different classes ,
.v hose help the Tories may drive them froh.
Times, we repeat, is worthy of the Tories, and
ies of the sTimes. The views and honesty of the part,
tre admirably represented by the most unprincipled
Tournal in the world.

Che..~

We have been surprised to hear doubts ex-
:messed as to the course to be pursued, if the com-
bined and factious opposition of Tories and Monopo,
lists to the financial and commercial reforms now
'afore Parliament shall bring on another crisis. That it
till be so, in fact, is certain ; nor shall we be astonished
if Lord Sandon's hypocritical resolution, so ably exposed
by Lord John Russell, is carried by a considerable ma-
:ority. But we are surprised at the question of some well
weaning persons in the streets, " Will the consequence
be resignation or dissolution ?" Do these persons mean
to affirm the Tory imputations on the Government, and to
say that the propositions of Lord .J. Russell and the Chan-
Aillor of the Exchequer were solely intended to cover
:he retreat of the Cabinet, and to embarrass their suc-
_•essors ? Has it all, therefore, been mischievous child's
play ? Was Lord John Russell"s feeling description of
the sufferings and privations of the poor at Bolton only
lrought forward to colour his picture, to justify his good
intentions ; or, as his enemies would allege, to excite the
itiimosity of the poor against other classes of society, and
lead to ferments and tumult under the repressive policy
of another Sidmouth Administration at the Home-office ?
Or, were the motions for the repeal of the odious Corn-
!aws, the reforms in the Budget and of the Financial
(;ustoms Bill, brought forward by a Government truly
,ent on relieving to the utmost of their power the pro-
iluctive industry of the country from the trammels
tild restrictions of a vicious and antiquated com-
inercial code, and the oppressions of the national
debt—the precious legacies to their countrymen of
George Rose and William Pitt. ? If they were not pre-
pared for an appeal to the country on the subject of the
Budget, reflecting and considerate men will doubt ex-
tremely whether more mischief than good may not have
peen done by opening such wide and extensive schemes
;f change to the nation. They must have been aware,
however strong was their own conviction of the justice of
the principle on which they proceeded, however pressing
were the instances of the industrious classes for its
:tdoption, that there was not much chance of car-.
rying their measures in the present Parliament.
in fact, the present crisis :must have arisen under any
Government. Either new taxation, or "a judicious alte-
ration of the protective and differential duties" became
necessary the moment the expenditure of the country
exceeded the revenue. Ministers knew that they could
not depend upon a vote among their own supporters for
new taxation. Even Lord Howick emphatically de-
clared that he would oppose either tax or loan till the re-
commendations of the Committee on Import Duties had
been tried. His Lordship's opinion was a fair index of
that of Reformers generally, and provided that Ministers
even if their measures had not been founded on their
own conviction of expediency, were right in their esti-
mate of the prevailing sentiments of their party on the
subject. The result of an appeal to the people against
Tory combination, the Carlton Club purse, its ready
application in the more restricted constituencies, com-
bined with the efforts of bigoted land-owners, East
and West Indians, monopolists of all other classes—for
they boast of their general confederacy—new converts
to the cause of the Negro, the Anti-Poor-law, and No
Popery cry, may
even be doubtful. But that is the
affair of the country. The Ministers will have done
their duty, and may rest satisfied that, under their gui-
dance, whether in or out of office, if the country shall
determine on the change, the truth will ultimately pre-
vail. There will, in any event, be a sufficient power in
the House of Commons returned by the great towns,
by Ireland and by Scotland, to prevent all the mischief
that might have been apprehended by an unreformed Par-
liament, from power being transferred for a short inter-
val to the opponents of Reform, the abettors and sup-
porters of slavery, and the oppressors of Ireland.

•
Dr. Lushington will repent of the silly course he has
adopted in supporting Lord Sandon's'reSolution. He has,
indeed, added little in the way of argument to the party
to Which he has. lent himself ; but a name is something
with the country, and we are sorry to see him
throw
away his reputation. The 'West Indians promise great
things in tho way of supplying the British market ; but
in the meantime the masses of this country are referred
for relief to a contingency. To a well-fed gentleman in
the receipt of many thousands a year -a vegetable
diet now and then may be no great evil ; but the

poor spinners and weavers can ill afford to try
Mier experiments in the. way of starvation. To them
sugar is a necessary of life. But why arc the West In-
d ans to have a monopoly of our market ? It is clear
t':at Dr. Lushingion is throwing obstacles in the way of
the fgreat experiment now making whether free labour
ern beat slave labour. It is only by supplying the la-
bour market adequately that we can hope to beat the
slave countries, 'and. Dr. Lushington would diminish
the motives to obtain a due supply of labour. In
the mean time, by keeping sugar dear in the Bri-
tish market, while the Continental market is sup-
plied with low-priced sugar, he is giving a bounty
to Continental trade, and enabling it to compete advan-
tageously with this country. This, of course, enriches
the Continental consumers, and encourages the slavery
by- which the additional supply of sugar is ohtainea.
• The protection to our colonists is quite sufficient, if it is
not wished that they should have the exclusive supp'iS,-
of our markets at a monopoly price. The knowledge
• that if prices rise beyond a certain sum foreign sugars
will be admitted, will stimulate them to exertions they
would not otherwise make. Dr. Lushington is the -real
enemy of free labour, as he unquestionably is the enemy
of the working population of England.
POST.—Whatever indignation certain persons in the
Government may affect at the supposition that the pro-
posed change in the Corn-law is all a trick to make an
agitation in their favour, we still hold the opinion that
it is a trick of that description, and nothing else. We
are confirmed in that opinion by the rate of fixed duty
which Lord John Russell has mentioned. It is quite
ridiculous, and he cannot but know that it will thus be
considered. The policy of fixing such a sum was no
doubt to satisfy all persons of the Whig party connected
with the land that the Ministers were not in earnest, mil
that they only meant the proposition as the means of get-
ting up a little popularity. Had a duty of 15s. on wheat
been proposed, it'might have been thought that Mini-ters
really contemplated the experiment of a fixed duty, and
their party in the country might have experienced
something like dread of what might happen. But
when such a duty as Bs. the quarter is proposed, it is seen
at once to be so preposterous that no Government could
really have contemplated any such thing. The Minis-
ters know very well that they could have no more chance
of carrying this than Lord John Russell would have
of carrying Lord Melbourne on his back from London to
Coventry, without letting him once drop in the
dirt. And this' will be, in fact, the excuse of the
honest, very honest, Whig Administration to its
country friends. " Pooh, pooh !" will the pleasant
Premier exclaim, " Didn't you see it was ail a
joke ? You couldn't really suppose that we had any
idea of letting in foreign wheat on payment of Bs. a
quarter. We knew you would see at once there were
reasons of State for the proposal, but that the actual
carrying into effect of such a change was out of the
question. You could not think I was mad enonyh to do
anything of that kind." Such we believe to be the trite
interpretation of the absurd measure of which the Go-
vernment has given notice. We believe it to be—espe-
cially in consequence of what Lord John Russell has
said—a mere trick of a factious Government, which has
nothing to depend upon but shifts and stratagems, and
which has now grown desperate from the wearing out of
those tricks that hitherto have succeeded.
BRITISH QUEEN.—The welcome sound which
carried on its joyous tones the death-knell of the bread-
tax has reverberated through the length and breadth of
the land, and its re-echo fell upon the astonished ears. of
the Opposition on Friday evening in the House of Com-
mons. The north and the south are bristling with Anti-
Cot n-law demonstratiots—the east and west are hurry-
ing.to the struggle. Let a disaolution come when it may,
the people are prepared. The energies of a waiting
nation are now lot loose, and the current flows majesti-
cally in one united and irresistible iiteeein, The Man-
chester League, with a promptitude and probity which
reflects infinite credit on its members, has come nobly
forward ; and while it honourably and consistently ad-
heres to its just and unassailable principle that the trade
in the first necessary of life should be entirely free, it
declares its intention of assisting the Ministerial project
by whieh the iniquitous sliding scale of duties may be
abolished, liitiigtPd It§ C9lllltry is—burdened with
Tory debt, and steeped to the. neckfrom thp withering
effects of half a century of Tory misrule—it is to
be regretted that the exigencies of the revenue
should require any assistance from the importa-
tion of foreign corn ; but there is none who would
not rather eat the bread of industry than that of idle,
ness, that would not much rather pay a regulated and un-
derstood duty to Government, than submit to an exorbi-
tant charge that the profit might go to the cash box, of
the already wealthy and over-privileged. Any improve-
ment on the present system, if it gives clearness to the
plan by which the article is to be taxed, and will give a
fixedness to the market that importation may be de.
ponder! on at stated times and seasons, 'nuist be accept,.
able. The principle of free trade once admitted and
sanctioned by. the Legislature, will work its way through
all difficulties and sophisms, and ultimately become the
leading feature in British legislation. To relieve the
trade in corn from the thraldom of the landed interest
is beginning at the right end. When Mr. Has-
kisson first broached his free trade principles, the
landed monopolists were all complacency and acquies-
cense, for their ideas of reform went no further than
to introduce French silks, laces, gloves, and other
articles of gentle wear ; but now that the very handi-
crafts long injured by the partial application of free trade
principles have a prospect of being benelitted by their
progress, the whole political influence and anger of the
Conservative banshee is supervened to prevent, if pos-
sible, their accomplishment. The opposition may,
perhaps, for a time retard the success of the proposi-
tion of Ministers—as they have delayed the comple-
tion of other important subjects—but the Government
and the people once united on a given subject, truth
and justice becoine irresistible, and triumph speedy and
secure.
ADVERTISER.—We all recollect the instance of the
West Indian compensation. At first it was to be fifteen
millions, then twenty millions, and that, too, in the form
of a loan, and not or a grant. Everybody must remember
the hubbub that was made on that occasion—a hubbub
6t) violent, that in the benevolent enthusiasm in which
the petiell was at the moment, it was quite forgotten to
make the terms which it will' now cost the country so
much pains and so mull cost to obtain. This forbear-
ance 1s MAO no account of by the West Indians, and the
cry of "Unit), ruin !" is made as furiously as the cry of
" wolf !" by the boy in the fable, with this differ-
ence, we fear, that the people of England, and not the
rogues, are to be the sufferers on this, as on every other
oa'eaeion. To show the very preposterous character of this
opposNen pn the part of the West Indians—how fla-
grantly- dishnuest lee-we have only to call to mind the
piet qi file relief that ha§ been etforded to them with re-
> F 4 to the rostrictione tippli the trade of por colonies,
te en
*nigh a4a theen the mle band, to /so to the
titaykets tar thpiF §horee and for their fish, and
tious,t4safy Inatorials of production,
.of dick, labourPriti and, on the
by the ehoptv6t out tP
' markets. By
'aaen

tbr other ar,.
or for the subsistence,

other hand, to take their prouth—
the most convenient and the most prolitante
the relaxation of the former the cost of production as
greatly diminished, and by that of the latter the cost oe
transport has also been diminished—which taken toge-
ther, and with the proposed difference of 50 per cent..be7
tweet' the duties on colonial and foreign sugar, is pretty
nearly, if not quite, equal to any advantage which the co-
lonies now possess, and which ought to suffice to enable
them to compute with any and every country in the
world. If this be so, the argument drawn from the ten-
dency of the measure to obstruct the progress of the
great experiment of negro emancipation in the West
Indies, is all a dishonest tram, got up to deceive the ho-
nest abolitionist of slavery, for these fugos of West In-
dians know full well that their pretences are without a
shadow of foundation.
GLOBE.—The period has now arrived for the people
of England to show that they can be true to themselves ;
for, by a prompt and powerful expression of their senti-
ments, they have now an opportunity of facilitating the
execution of the Ministerial plan for placing on a newfoundation the commercial prosperity of the country,
and materially ameliorating the condition of the great
mass of the community. the proposition of the Go-
vernment to revise the Corn-laws—even when uncon-
nected with any other portion of their financial scheme
—may be regarded as one of the most important benefits
that have occurred from the passing of the Reform Bill.
When it is remembered with what anxious energy the
adoption of that Bill was demanded and obtained, it
may be conceived with what determination the people
will insist on securing one of the most desirable of the
many advantages that have been expected to result from
it. After so much pains to sow the seed, it is not likely
that • the great body of the nation will feet indifferent
about the harvest, and the revision of the Corn-laws
henceforth be the object that will be pursued with the.
perseverance and energy which no people—least of al,
the people of this country—can for any length of time
unsuccessfully exercise. The wish of a community is
one thing ; its determination that the wish shall be ac-
complished is quite another. While an alteration in
the Corn-laws was merely desired, there was no certainty
of any change ; but public opinion once being decided
that a revision of the law shall take place, it becomes from
that moment a matter of imperative necessity. W hatever,
therefore, may be the game of the Tories, though they
may snatch a temporary ,advantage from one of those
side-moves in which they are so eminently expert, they
will encounter ultimate defeat in their tactics on the
question of the Corn-laws.
STANDARD. ---- THE MINISTERIAL CRISIS.
IThe following is a later view of the crisis than we have
given elsewhere. Sir Robert Peel's determination may be
relied on :—Ministers are understood to be desirous of
protracting the debate upon Lord Sandon's motion, and
do not expect a division, it is said, before Wednes-
day: Why they should prefer this seems odd, unless they
desire to provoke a few more speeches like Dr. Lush-
ington's and Mr. Handley's. The amount of the
majority seems uncertain, as it is impossible.
to tell how many of the Ministerial men will
vote against them, and how many, -in sham,
and sorrow, may absent themselves. The precise extent
is however indifferent, and whether it be fifteen or
fifty the one effect will be the same. It is likely to
be somewhere between these points, probably twenty-
five. The inclination of opinion fluctuates as to the
probability of dissolution, or resignation without dis-
solving. In favour of the former there is no one
argument beyond the despe
rate character of Minis-
ters, and their likelihood to take any plunge
that holds out even • a shadow of hope. It is
possible that, calculating on
their power to dis-
pose of the troops in Ireland so as to
give all the scope to the violence of the priests and
their mobs, and thus to buy the returns by blood-
shed, and hoping also to embarrass the in-com-
ing Ministry by forcing them to a second dissolution,
they may advise the
geteen to `that course. There
are, however, two reasons against this. In .the first
place, it is • well understood that Sir H. Peel, on suc-
ceding to office, will instantly. dissolve -a- second -tome,.
And tints annihilate any.. gains that the Government may
hope to get by hriberyi influence, or violence. He
must have the power of doing so as a matter of