The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-29 00:00:00

t ' un.

LONDON:
FRIDAY, JANUARY 29, 1841.

In the House of Lords last night the LORD
CHANCELLOR read her MAJESTY'S answer to their
Lordships' Address.
The Duke of WELLINGTON complained that
public notice had not been given of the time
when their Lordships were to go up with the
Address. Had he known it, he would have
attended.
The LORD CHANCELLOR informed their Lord-
ships that an indictment had been found in the
Central Criminal Court against the Earl of CAR-
DIGAN for feloniously shooting at Mr. HARVEY'
TIICKETT• Their Lordships, on the motion of
the LORD CHANCELLOR, appointed a Committee
to meet on Monday to inquire into the practice
of the House on such occasions as that of a Peer
harged with a felony.
The Copyhold Enfranchisement Bill was read
a first time, on the motion of Lord BROUGHAM,
who announced that, after it was read a second
time, he should propose to refer it to a Select
Committee.

In answer to questions put by the Earl of HA D-
DINGTON, Viscount MELBOURNE stated that the
Ministers did not propose to introduce any mea-
sure for settling the disputes in the Scotch
Church, and they did, of course, mean to protect
those who obeyed the law. The Noble Earl in-
timated that the dispute could not be settled with-
out any new law. Their Lordships adjourned.
The Commons only met at one o'clock to carry
up the Address to her MAJESTY, and, on march-
ing in procession from the House, adjourned till
this day.

For many years the West India planters re-
sisted all the efforts of the humane people of
England, first to meliorate the condition of their
slaves, and then to abolish slavery. They
struggled pertinaciously to keep hold of the
whip, and flog men, and flog women, and flog
children, at their pleasure. They professed
themselves almost ready to fight for the privilege
of putting their slaves out of existence, whenever

it might suit their convenience. They obsti-
nately resisted Acts of Council and Acts of Par-
liament to improve the condition of their slaves,
or evaded them ; and so insulted both the autho-
rity of the law, to which alone they owed their
safety, and the dictates of humanity. Gradually
the firm and persevering kindness of the people of
England overcame the short-sighted avarice of
the planters, and by successive exertions one

provement after another was .compulsorily intro-

duced into the condition of the slaves. Finally
the people of England achieved emancipation;

and, when they might, by simply withdrawing the
protective power, have commanded it, they gene-
rously gave the planters who had for many years
strenously resisted and ridiculed their philan-
thropic efforts, 20,000,.0001. sterling, for little
more than a mere name.
The laws, be it observed, were not otherwise

altered to any great extent. No compensation
was made to the slaves, but a reward was given
to the slave-owners. The slaves by the neces-

sities of their condition, living where the land
is generally appropriated, and where a Govern-

ment is maintained by the troops of Great
Britain, became the labourers of their former
masters, who obtained their services on cheaper
terms, we believe on the whole, considering that
their masters were relieved from the obligation
of'always supporting them, than they paid for their
services as slaves. At any rate, they have ob-
tained their services, and are still enriched by
their labour, while they have received 20,000,000/.
sterling from the people of England.

Nowhere has there been anything like an in-
surrection, nowhere have the former slaves
refused to work for reasonable wages, nowhere
has there resulted. from this great act of the
British people anything but order, prosperity,
and public happiness. Never were any men
more favoured than the planters. They were en-
riched by our contributions, they are enriched
by the continued labour of their former slaves,
and they are protected by the power of the whole
empire.

These advantages, however, are not sufficient

EVEN ING ED OP

for the planters. They labour -under some
fashioned and aliz,urd restrictions as to
porting food and clothing into the., .for,
mer slave colonies, except from Ptol
and her dependencies ; and, with no o'er
itto
earthly pretext or ground of justification I a
this, which might be, and ought to be, aholis!?e,,
to-morrow, they claim and receive -a diSesullo',
Hating duty on all sugar not of their groWth.‘
ti
about 4d. per lb., which enables them to pat!uo
their pockets between two and three InP°to
~,
sterling a year levied on the people of thisc9P,
try. For their advantage children; wilen!)llee'b
eat cakes, puddings, and tarts, to make; ''.,!!et,
sugar is used—women, when they drink.
ened rea—and men, however poor,,who can;
le
no better breakfast than coffee made 1).0.!4
with sugar_-all these are obliged topay tPI
ers, who already have so many advantages/ B°oot
he ::
whom they have already given so much, a.
4d. on every pound of sugar they use. The74o
a similar tax on coffee, so that the
planters
so long condemned the Africans to slaver'', iibt
ride on the English public, and enslave therm
the help of the law, as they used to flog',
slaves in spite of the law.
We did hope a short time ago that there 0,
probability of an end being put to this sYstebt
but it has of late been again strengthened-
to
those who were the opponents of the Pkuistoo
and are still enemies of slavery. The persons- 0(
were most solicitous to promote the abelitnis,
slavery are somewhat naturally, but 1110" ork,
trustfully, afraid of the results of their WO 054
and many of them have now made connrOefio
1)
with the planters against the tax-paying. ."
of England.
Some of them, like Mr. GURNEY, have!vted
the emancipated slaves, they have been clialrf,ti,
with their felicity, and they demand the e9n1,1,
nuance of the bounty exacted from the fos
payers of England,—and the continuartee,°,oo
monopoly, lest the abolition of this initiciijot
should do injury to their proteges. TheY digood
so reason in the prosecution of their own or
work. They then disregarded all the rePre- 0
tations of the planters, and, turned aside bY
b e
expediency, went straight to the just and tlief
object of giving freedom to the slaves. N°``;tell
mistrust the principle of righteousness, 37, d 4
the heavily taxed people of England that twei, of
justice to them would endanger the 'prosPet'ilid
the West India planters, and probably ll°
newly emancipated negroes. d°
They reason in this way :—" By abolislyaol
discriminating duties, and by allowing the
of Cuba and the Brazils to come into the °loll
at the same rate of duty as the sugars of °tire
colonies, our planters would be so much lido
sold in the market that they would be Inia"theil
keep up their cultivation, unable to emPiO oui
negro labourers, and planters and labourers:sf the
go alike to ruin." This trainaf reasoningtill
singular defect of keeping wholly out of (01
tax-paying people of England, for whose estiott
benefit the Legislature is constituted an k,ll
made. At same time it may, we thin
heo
doubted whether the consequences apPre-
by the abolitionists would follow.
t the
We proceed on the supposition 154-
planters shall be at liberty to buy theirs
and procure their labourers wherever sod
please, not introducing any kind of she';ecolti;
reviving slavery in any form. They wil.y%
vate their lands by freemen in freed
we affirm that the supposition of Mr. col
and his friends, that they will be beatfrof
of the market by the labour of slaves leo It
in chains, is contrary to all experience.
true it would be an encouragement to slaver:',slisf
a condemnation of their own conduct inaholl
it, which no argument could surrnotilit.thee
making the supposition, they are false t°
selves, and to their own ennobling Prix' 00
They commit the palpable mistake of c 0 ph the
the produce of the slaves of the Brazils.. oef
produce of the former slaves of Jamaio7 ill t 4
make no allowance for the growth of %,,Dif:
freedom none for division of labour, 74p
cannot extend in a state of slavery, and 1;0
two elements of our own cheap production/ 'o,oi
they come into operation in our colonies,
ovel
soon enable them to produce much eljed
than the slaves of the Brazils toe
Cuba. We therefore may that the assli
on which the benevoleAt men who have e bol'
the emancipation of the slaves now seek to
f Y•P •
ster up a most injurious monopoly of a -e'n'foir
ters against the people of England, have %re,
dation in facts or in the laws of human Ilato
by
They seem to us, also., to overlook the laoicle
which wages are regulated. The argurnellAjoieo
they employ is that of our landlords--
you allow us to tax the community we rifee
employ our labourers,, and they must 600.°
Experience has demonstrated that the Id'
the landlords' plan is actually to reduce t.lO
bourers to the lowest stage of existence* sioe
can it be otherwise ? It does not create 1004
particle of capital for the employment of 004;
it only adds to rent, which is dissipated i°
vagance. It does not increase prodneti°oo,
be
without an increase of production there ;bout;
no increase of capital. The wages of Ole
roe
ers in the West India Islands will be &teller W
in a state of freedora, like the wages of °too('
bourers, by the demand and the supply cifiiealr,
It is quite clear that the abolition or '
criminating duties will not increase the 11t Pr
of labourers. Will it decrease the derrni,loo°(
their labour ? We believe not. The ablAto 001
t°
those duties will compel the planters, whbeotOli
actually live on takes levied on us,
more attention on raising colonial produ ce„;,.},o
on raising it at a cheap rate. It will efailofeu
them to task their ingenuity, it will in'.
amongst them competition with one another'lll ft°'
they now slumber on in monopoly, but it out'
destroy a single crushing mill, nor root
single cane, nor allow a single sugar 110
to ruin. Competition amongst capit2-joy'r
another name for a briskand increased de il°,
for labour, and, consequently, the abolition
lea 1
discriminating duties would increase capit#/),90t
increase, not diminish, the demand for the la
of the free negroes. Mr. GURNEY and his l'spieo
friends may rest fully assured that the P Ifeei:.
will not give the negroes sixpence *.no
more than they can help, and that the WPv.,,y
the free negroes are not enhanced one Pe"'sltof
the three millions sterling which the ultsur 01'
for the benefit of the planters levies annu-
the people Of England. "4g
We see that some writers call the leg' t em
of the planters to be enriched at 0. fro
0
pense, and to raise a large inconle pt °'
holding land in the West Indiesvaie tas
perty ; but it is no more property than tit sic::
on corn is property. We are not with°,
prehension that property itself will be
`whole
he
endangered, to the great injury of t
°af 1
community, by being perpetually co
with taxation, both by law-makers and PP
fl
writers. ere
We admit, however, that we have dl oe;
clients from Mr.. GURNEY and his friends' cause
advocate the cat use of the ne roes we the
'lonr
of the suffering-, sorrowing, and toiling' i'believ.e
ers of Englund. Nor can we
1, 01;
su gt(l.
that we do not exhibit as 'nue use"
lanthropy in protesting against the ,
by the wives and children of our hard-
enrich
and half-starveC people, being taxedtfor%
the owners of 'Vest' India estates, as he
NEY by his imag'_naryapprehensions tilled
glO.
plaintain and you n grounds of the well-Xe • doe
uitou
• • s yet
negroes will go -t( ) ruin, if the miq
minating tax aa sugar be repealeo. corol
us have our sug'ar as well as o'll-.4eri
without paying a hoavy toll to time land°'w

bee"

The French Government, it is saw/ f
obliged to interfere with the publietta°ll°,oo°
letters in the journals, attributed tO
il ‘licit/
PHILIPPE. It could llot overlook these P.vocet
tions. Accordingly, au Monday, the -f/
the Gazette de France, the Quaid/010Y