The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-18 00:00:00

PRICE SD.

;II V,F=titt
exposed, and from which it was not conk,
amendment of a five-shilling fixed duty wi 'l4
,
was threatened in the House of Lords. ' a.e.
would have given great satisfaction to the Nl6,
the House of Lords, and who would ham
Lord John Russell would have been declar Alfa:7V
acclamation if he had consented to take office'cln-4tat
principle. He had declared, in his letter from Edinburgh,
that the time for a five-shilling duty was past, and that the
period had arrived for a total repeal of the corn-laws.—
( Rear, hear.) At a subsequent meeting at Lansdowne
House, and which decided the fate of that Bill, Lord John
Russell had persuaded his friends to concur in his views;
and the policy was there decided which the Liberal party
in future intended to pursue. It was a singnlar casualty
that the repeal of the corn-laws should have been moved
by the Earl of Ripon, who proposed the corn-laws of
1810. It was carried, and the Tariff was carried; and on
the day after the royal assent had been given to the Bills
the Government was given up by a majority of 76, and
by the same Parliament that placed the Government in power
by a majority of 91. At that time there was a great sym-
pathy for Sir Robert Peel, for he had made great sacrifices
to repair great errors. I want no greater proof of it than
the great calamity now sweeping 0.-er Ireland, and which no
sacrifices on our part can avert. Ask yourselves this simple
question, are not these the very principles upon which we
acted six years avo, and upon which our whole commercial
policy is henceforward to rest? Had this principle been
adopted in 1841, should we not, under the Bs. duty, which
was scouted and laughed at, had' a greater amount of corn
brought into the English market from Germany and Russia;
and would it not have doubled and even quadrupled the
supplies which we now hope to receive? You will say that
we have got a better settlement of the question now. In
February, 1849, the last vestige of the corn-law protection
will be destroyed. Had it been so before, the famine in
Ireland might have been much mitigated, although it was
not possible to calculate to what extent. Now this should
be a warning to all political men, and it showed the advan-
tage of having men in power who were ready to act on their
own principles. It was no excuse to say that Sir Robert
Peel was kept back by his party. Ile should- not have
encouraged the delusions of that party, but should have
given the support to Lord John Russell which Lord John
Russell gays to him. The interests of his county would
have been promoted by the change, and if the late Alinistry
have fallen, it is not to be regretted. I have alluded to two
transactions of great importance ; there is now one other
subject., on which I have already given some political offence.
I allude to the discussions on the Factors. Bill. l have
strong feelings on this subject, and by differing with some
friends on it I place myself in oppaiti‘ai to the Ministry
and to a part of the constituency to whom I am bound by
gratitude and respect. I think that the principle of a Ten
Hours' Bill is dangerous to the best interests of the working
man. I was the first to allude in the House of Commons to
what had been done in Sheffield. It was forced upon me,
and I could not speak of it there in a way different from what
I spoke of it before you. But I have been led into error with
respect to the operation of this Bill upon some of your trade
regulations. I stated that there were limitations as to the
sons of men connected with the trade, and which regulations
I am happy to find do not exist. At a meeting held yesterday,
with the trades' delegates, I was completely satisfied that I
was wrong. lam also of opinion that an error made in the
House of Commons should be repaired in the House of
Commons, and I told the gentlemen whom I met yesterday,
that if they would submit to me a written statement of what
was told me yesterday, I should have the greatest pleasure
in acknowledging the mistake which I had unconsciously
made. Upon all other points of this question I retain the
same opinions which I always did. With the mass of intel-
lect and energy which are to be found among the working
classes, I think they are doing themselves the greatest in-
jury by restricting the hours of labour, and building for
themselves prisons which they might be brought into. By
a free interchange of commodities higher wages and more
permanent employment might be obtained than by making
factious complaints. I tell you fairly I shall go to the House
of Commons this year to see the Ten Hours' Bill carried. I
say this on a higher authority than my own, and believe
that Lord John Russell will give some modification of a
Ten Hours' Bill his support. I believe the Bill is founded on
principles utterly destructive of the right that there should
be a minimum of labour and a maximum of wages. It can-
not be done, for there is no permanent profit and demand ;
and adhering to these principles, I do believe most fairly
that I consult your interest by taking the course I intend to
take. I believe I have now gone into everything. I have
told you what we agree upon and what we disagree upon.
You have inferred that I was the instrument of a party de-
sirous of putting down trades' union and re-establishing com-
bination laws. But to put down open associations lead to
secret associations, and I would not inflict such an injustice
upon the country. The combination law was useless while
it existed, for masters had a right to combine on one side and
men on the other, and I do not wish to prevent them if their
combinations are kept within proper limits. When you fix
a price independent of demand, you may obtain a temporary
gain, but you will not obtain permanent employment, nor
is there so much certainty of extending the foreign trade. I
hope you are satisfied with the frankness of the statements
which I have made, although you may not agree with them;
and if I have done anything wrong, I am perfectly willing
and perfectly desirous to make you amends, The Hon.
Member sat down loudly cheered.

FAMINE in IREL AND & SCOTLAND.
MEASURES OF RELIEF.
In showing the exertions made by the Governmeat
for this object, we subjoin a complete list of the steam
and sailing vessels, with their tonnage,
_ horse•power,
complements, present station, and to what places they
are ordered to proceed from the depots. A large pro-
portion of the list, it will be noticed, are steam vessels,
they being preferred, as most useful in securing timely
relief, where immediate assistance is imperatively de-
manded, to re: cue the distressed population from abso-
lute starvation:—

STEAM VESSELS.
Terrible, 1847 tons, WO-horse power, 280 men.—Refittine
at Woolwich, and will soon be available vs a most powerfe'
and capacious vessel.
Avenger, 1444 tons, 650. horse power.—Manned
Majesty's hip Queen, at Devonport, and loaded at that pot
for west coast of Ireland.

PPM , Tinlif§,WlTAvistmegi.l7-19-mnd 11.01
Maje-ty's ship Caledonia, at Devonport. To be loaded im-
mediately by the Bri.ish Government, at Deptford, for Tober-
mcry and Portree, Islands of Mull and Sky.
Scourge, 1124 tons, 420-horse power, 160 men.—Prepar-
ing to take in a cargo at Portsmouth, for Cork. Her heavy
mortar has been landed.
Bulldog, 1123 tons, 500-horse power, 160 men.—Taking in
a cargo at Plymouth. Her guns and shot have been landed
to give greater stowage.
Rosamond, 1059 tons, 287-horse power, 160 men.—At
Woolwich, preparing to load.
Sphynx, 1056 tons, 500-horse power, 160 men.—Prepar-
ing to load with meal at Devonport.
Geyser, 1054 tons, 280-horse power, 160 men.—Preparing
at Portsmouth to take a cargo of meal.
Stromboli, 970 tons, 280• horse power, 160 men.—Now dis-
tributing meal at the Western Islands of Scotland, and will
return to Plymouth for a further supply.
Rattler, 888 tons, 200-horse power, 110 men.—Preparing
at Devonport to receive a cargo.
Medea, 835 tons, 350-horse power, 140 men.—Ordered to
Deptford to load.
Rhadamanthus, 813 tons, 200-horse power, 60 men.—Gone
with a full cargo from Portsmouth to Clifden, and then to
return to Plymouth to reload.
Acheron, 720 tons, 170-horse power, 60 men.—Conveying
provisions from the depot at Galway to neighbouring places
and districts.
Dee, 704 tons, 200-horse power, 60 men.—Carrying pro-
visions from Cork to Cahirciveen.
Firefly, 553 tons, 220-horse power, 67 men.—At the dis-
posal of the Commissary-General, at Oban, for service of the
Western Islands of Scotland.
Blazer, 527 tons, 120-horse power, 69 men.—Now con-
veying provisions to Sneem and Kenmare.
Tartarus, 532 tons, 136-horse power, 44 men.—Manned
from St. Vincent, Portsmouth, and fitting at Woolwich,
when ready, to proceed with meal to Bantry and Beerhaven.
Alban, 405 tons, 120-horse power, 46 men.—Replenishing
depots en coast of Ireland.
Lucifer, 387 tons, 180-horse power, 64 men.—Employed
under the orders of the Commissary-General on the coast of
Ireland.
Porcupine, 382 tons, 130-horse power, 54 men.—About to
load at Portsmouth for Kenmare.
Myrmidon, 374 tons, 150-horse power, 43 men.—At Cork,
employed, as required, towing provision vessels and convey-
ing relief.
Pluto, 365 tons, 100-horse power, 42 men.—Employed
under the orders of the Commissary-General on the coast of
Ireland.
Avon, 360 tons, 170-horse power, 53 men.—About to pro-
ceed with meal to the islands on the west coast of Scotland.
Shearwater, 343 tons, 160-horse power, 61 men.—Employed
under the orders of the Commmissary-General at Oban for
service on the west coast of Scotland.
Torch, 340 tons, 150-horse power, 48 men.—On coast of
Scotland.
Dasher, 260 tons, 100-horse power, 46 men.—Now em-
ployed conveying provisions to Westport.
Swallow, 240 tons, 70-horse power.—Manned by her Ma-
jesty's ship Madagascar, at 'l'arbert, and employed as a tender
conveying meal to neighbouring places.
Comet, 238 tons. 80-horse power, 28 men.—Employed at
Tralee and Westport.
Cuckoo, 230 tons, 100-horse power, 34 men.—On coast of
Scotland.
Rocket, 70 tons, 20-horse power.—Manned from St. Vin-
cent, and ordered to take meal and escort three tenders and
lighters to Ireland.
Total of steamers ...................
Tons
Horse power 7,943
Men.. 2,369

SAILIN U-VESSELS.
Cockatrice, 182 tons, 30 men.—Manned from Ocean, and
fitting for the service.
Emerald, 86 tons, and Mercury, 70 tons.—nnrom
St. Vincent, and loaded wit meal from that port for Irel ed f
and.
Devon, 50 tons.—Loaded,h and about to sail for Ireland or
Scotland.
Ant, 40 toos.—Loading at Deptford with meal, biscuit, WA
pork, for Castle Clare, Ireland.
and ordered from Portsmouth for
Lively, 40 tons.—Loaded,

Ireland.
Total of sailing vessels
Tons .................. 468
Number
of
1 crew 3O
And two ordnance provision hoys of 80 tons.
Andromeda,
E6PO ° nir en . Moor ed at Billybegs,
21 tons,'
,5
Ireland.
Madagascar, 1,167 tons, 51 men. Moored at Tubed/
Ireland.
iEolus, 1,077 tons, 60 men.—Moored at Portree, Scotland.
Belvidera, 946 tons, 60 men.—Moored at Tobermory
Scotland.
Andromache, 717 tons, 30 men. Moored at Galway
Ireland.
Total of depots
Tons
Number of crew
Ships.
Grand totals ... 44 261
Tons. Steamer's ii. p. Men.
27,523 7,943 2,660
In addition to the above there must be added the crews-
lent from guard-ships, &c., not inserted in this table,
amounting to between 600 and 700 men, making a total
of nearly 3,000 men. And three of the larger packets
will be temporarily taken from their stations for the
relief service, of which the aggregate tonnage would
probably be about 2,000, and the amount of horse power
between 600, and 800.

WESTMINSTER COURT OF SEWERS. A general
Court of the Commissioners of Sewers for the city and liberty
of Westminster was held on Friday at the Sewers Court
Greek-street, Soho-square, Captain George Bague, R.N.
in. the chair. There was a very full attendance of eora•
=Wolters.