The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-01 00:00:00

single member for Birmingham (Ln"7.' `,—)
to enter into the list, but a ,• • en
each flank, was too much to be resistrd.—(Laugster.)
He considered -the present occasion one most inoppor-
tune for entering into a discussion on tge ni. netary
concerns of the country. The Hoe. Gentlemen made a
s,,rt of promise, that it I erwlsined n Er.t was the it.wid,
that he would explain what ho or any other honker
meant, when they promised to pay five peun.le, The
Hoe. Gentleman refused an explaeatien of Ne hat the
pound wts. He said that he (Sir R. Pei-4) v• as an insidi-
ous man, and that he would not enter into the election.
But he would assure the Hon. Geraleman that a pound
at the Conquest, really meant a pou:,d of the prettieut
metal, it may have varied in the quantity of inettil, hut
it took its dame originally from the •fact of its corres•
pondence to that weight.—(Hear. hear.) At all times
quantity of the prceious
(Mr. Spooner) thought
the pound signified a definite
metal. The Hon. Gentleman
that a worn coinage and ao enconvertibie paper eurreney
were the only and certgahitn,,rroesnedrriehs,, fiorr„,r.tieGeNntaitti,norin
Isisei.altil:Tt'lifialSlir. Pitt had been e7•3llc,te,cl,,zl:_,tsvvvrears,
r'lT:t'-Peil c.
Id et°•ered in :I:, sesie
li
IDtt'bh::d:bn:a;ts—l)lstien)( de.,
ltlinetdr.,is f
v.l,t,eui,r•i tall -
vrt;t.
of ,nitittr;s—(Grczt laughtt r)-7111ifi .t he leaf ado need
the , ithax, be would 1-14.ve ,niti. ',;:ri he (Mr. Spo e er)
iwould not ha,. e [lad a seat In .:I,:q liflui,'.—(Gc,-at
It:Umghastet;LehMurs. li),:teoiatt
it:f'l'fevllnt ;bah'L'tarteriN' %e: an ..t :i.i'►Fr ri",h Le' nsjlesd-
! by diffictulties, which 21.5 shake off ; a. n(..,.the.re
rotes the sail of the hfi('Ne77ll::‘,:lrilye fr. in flinetoe, he
would say that the
• was much improt ed . ity
saMat not d:;.:
iris
1 the
which bt country
d
• etetiltlai;t.i. jfilha,icte
cilnealthwelli,c.i7reelz,edan.ia;sneirc,!:l7bLebstpmer-.
The Hen Gentleman the Member for Birmirghron slid
that the 'Act of 1819 was most unwise in rustle ingthe
gold standard of currenev. He declared himself agesnst
the fixing of the value .of gold at 31. 17s. 141. the es,
instead (.4 41. 55., the value of the impel- currency at the
time. His complaint is that the standard of gold was
not fixed at the depreciated standard. Now, with re-
gard to this, he (Sir Robert Peel) submitted that, Nkth
the exception of peculiar engagements, it matters no-
thing whether the gold standard was fixed at
3/. 17s. lOid. the oz. or 41. 55., as far as the present
difficulties of commercial embarrassment was con-
cerned. If the standard was 4L ss. instead of
31. 17s. 100., foreigners would know it, and would
regulate their transactions accordingly. Regarding
internal debts it might make some difference, but with
regard to the foreign transactions of the country it
would be the same whatever the standard of gold might
be fixed at. He would ask them what the Honourable
Member for -Birmingham wanted? Would his Hon.
Friend revise the arrangement of 1819? If he would
not do that, and deprecated an unconvertible paper cur-
rency, then it was clear that he had no remedy to pro-
pose. If he would issue one-pound notes, and allow
gold to go out of the country, it would realise some
temporary good, though an ultimate evil, but if they
were to have a convertible paper, then no proposal
of the kind would be of the slightest benefit in
alleviating the difficulties of the country. Respecting
the Act of 1844, the Hon. Member said the object of it
was to maintain the standard of the measure of 1819.
This was the reason alleged for the passing of that Act.
To this he (Sir R. Peel) begged leave to observe, that
the intention of tie Act of 1844 had been very much
misunderstood. That measure was passed to secure the
convertability of paper into gold; and another object of
it was, to ensure the holders of paper a full equivalent
for its value, and at the same time not to restrain the
operations of trade and commerce. Now, it was his firm
opinion, that this arrangement had not imposed any
injurious restriction, and he denied the claim of the Bank
of England to relief from the operations of the conditions
of 1844. In that arrangement the Bank had the power
to right itself in retard to the issue, and had the power,
by due caution and watchfulness, to prevent ultimate
ernharrassment or of an undue development of the cir-
culation. He must say—while he never could speak of
the directors of the Bank of England in other than terms
of-the highest favour—he mutt say they had been far
from acting on that sound and careful policy which the
measure of 1844 indicated. He thought that if they
had adhered more closely to the principle of that
measure they would have prevented in a great degree
the intense pressure of the evil. He believed that all
parties had neglected the indications which had been
made for some time vast. In August last it was seen
that there would be a deficiency of the potato crop, and
that large importations would be required to make up
the deficiency from abroad. To make up this deficiency
and for the construction of railways, enormous amounts
of money had been expended ; and if the Bank had
been early alive to the signs of the times,
and in January last made a provision to meet the
danger, the difficulty would not be what it now was.
Had the Bank raised the interest to five per cent, or six
per cent for all hills, instead of maintaining an arbitrary
distinction of such bills, he believed that.' the pressure
would have been most materially removed. But to come
to the real question. This was whether they were to
have a currency convertible into gold, or no standard of -
value at all. This was the matter which they had before
them. Whatever course the House may take, it was
his firm belief that no relief would be obtained by
intermeddling with the Act of 1844.—(Herr.) They had
nice or ten millions of gold at present, they were tree of
internal panic, and their commercial relations were
good ; let them, theref'ore, take care that in the hope of
relieving the present difficulty by interfering with that
Ae', they did not plunge themselves in much greater
dangers.—(Hear, hear.) At present the Bank was
issuing ten million of notes instead of fourteen millions;
but let them beware oc the danger of any great increase
as had been recommended, in depreciating the value of
all the present issuesin eireulation.—(Hear, hear.) If.
at the present time, trade is flourishing, and if the Bank
is solvent, if the population of the country is in a satis-
fieetory condition, if the wages of labour was regularly
paid, and all classes of the community participating in
a state of comparative eecurity, then he earnestly
entreated the House not to tie tempted by any hope of
solving the present difficulty, to incur the risk of a far
greater danger in a depreciated currency. If they ad-
mitted the unconvertibility of paper into gold,ithey would
find that they would have to encounter a!1 the ills they
had experienced subsequent to 1819, and do that which
could not be done without shaking the foundations of
the property of the country, as well as the social condi-
tion of all classes of the people.—(Loud cheers.)
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that after the speech of
the Right Hon. Gentleman, he would not enter upon the
subject which had been so much under discussion, bat
would call the attention of the House for a short time to
the merits of the resolution before it—(Hear, hear)—in
order to place before them the difficult position of
the Government in regard to the question, not
solely as affecting the general principle which
had been under consideration, but to the ques-
tion as relating to the present condition of Ireland.—
(Hear, hear.) The Hon. Member for Wycombe had
put a question to him as to how he (Lord John Russell)
intended the :immense surplus population of Ireland
should be absorbed. His reply to that question
was, that the present grant was one means,
among others, of providing for the ale.orp-
tion of the excess of labour in that country.
Be it owing to the faults of the landlords, be it owing
to the faults of the tenants with long leases, be it owing
to the disposition of the peeple themselves, or be it
owing to all of these causes together, they had arrived
at a state of things in Ireland. in which there was an im
mense class of persons living on agriculture, and yet
not paid by wages of labour sufficient for their subsist-
ence. Taking the proportion of these as being eight in
Ireland against four in England, an immense calamity
happens to the country, a destruction of produce to the
amount—according to the calculation of the Secre-
tary for Ireland—of 18,000,0001. takes place, it is
supposed that for the future they cannot subsist
on the food which had hitherto been their chief nutri-
ment. What was to become of them in future years ?
He denied, on the part of Government, the reaponsi-
bility of terminating, still less of suddenly resolving,
that question. He said that a more difficult problem
never bad come before a Legislature. He said that they
might mitigate the misfortune, they might pass the
difficult transition with more or less of success, they
might arrive in time at a more or less happy state of
things, but this evil grew upon them, and only arrived
at maturity by the full destruction of the potato crop.
This calamity might do more for the regeneration of
the people, than anything the Legislature could have
effected ; it might place them at once in a
state of happiness and prosperity. That was a thing
which neither they nor any Ministry could or ought to
expect to perform. But what he thought they could do,
they had endeavoured to do, that was, to investigate the
present suffering, and to save as far as possible the de-
struction of life, and to facilitate in some degree a better
state of things. He need not refer to the measuresoese
objects. They bad been costly, and added considerably
which they bad taken with this view to the first of
.these
to the difficulty of their finances, and great suffering to the
people
; but when they were—or as some philosophers
put
it—placed in this position, when the question was
w haherthe Government or the Legislature could not
interfere, or whether two millions of people were to
be allowed. to perish off the land without
any interference whatever, he said it would _..
be repugnant to the feelings not only of the present Mi-
nistry, but of any Government which might occupy their
places in the House of Commons, not to have attempted
Well, then, their_ measures were
t. oa
inn that
these head.
to have relieved
teoffemet them,
mthoereatotermlepstsHe could not regret
0 persons on the
public works during the severe months of the winter.
H e cou
tl do notthe but
preservation
suPP6sethoaft a these measures were con-
ducive
great number of those
persons. The next question—and a most serious
question it was—it might be remembered
that in the expo,ition of the general
po-
licy of the
Government at the beginning of
the session, it was announced that they intended, by
measures of a permanent character, to facilitate the tran-
sition to a better order of things, so as to provide for
the future prosperity of the people ; and he would here
say at once to the House—he would say at once to the
Hon. Member for Wycombe that he did not pretend, be
could not pretend to say that the Government could
frame a comprehensive measure, or a series of compre-
hensive measures, which would modify the position of
that people, and justify them being at once adopted in
Parliament. He had not that confidence in his own re-
sources ; he did not look at things in so sanguine &
manner as the Honourable Member..—(Hear, hear.)
The utmost that they could do was to pro-
pose measures calculated for that end, some of
these might be modified and adopted by the Parliament.
Some might be found beneficial, and others only bene-
ficial in part; and in others great changes might bel
made, or perhaps they might be entirely rejected. In
his statement at the commencement of the session, he
said that he should propose to advance a million of
money for the purpose of improving the landed estates.
its Ireland, and that we should propose a million fur the
reclamation of waste lands. The framers of that measure,
svlidi was only an extension of the measur