The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-26 00:00:00

expensive and complicated machinery of conveying it, and the
continued intermeddling of Government.
Mr. STAFFORD O'BRIEN rose for the purpose of putting
a question to the Government upon one point of the Noble
Lord's speech which he wished to have explained. It related
to the jurisdiction--the contemporaneous jurisdiction of relief
committees and boards of guardians. Did the Noble Lord
mean to put an end to the relief committees, or to combine
them as boards of guardians ? At present each had a separate
jurisdiction, and he should be glad to knew how this was to be
in future.—( Hear, hear.) Since the commencement of this
session he had heard a good many charges brought against the
Government for passing the Labour-rate Act. Now, he was
quite ready to admit that Government could have been justly
blamed for bringing forward such a measure, but after the
House had passed a:measure, responsibility ought to be sharedby
the House.—(Cheers.) He knew, from experience, that what
the Noble Lord had said with regard to the landholders of
Ireland was corrrect, and he was quite ready to allow that
whatever had been the errors of former occupants of the land,
it ought still to be made ,responsible for the maintenance of the
poor. Unless, therefore, the landholders were prepared to co-
operate with the Government, with self-denial, energy, and
exertions which were not to be confined within common bounds,
or limited within ordinary duration, Ireland never could be
freed from its wretchedness and saffering.—(Hear, hear.)
He warned the Noble Lord, however, that if the landholders
of Ireland were slow to avail themselves of Government's
assistance, it would not be from a lack of desire to do so,
but because they were ruled by an agrarian law,
that had its origin with their forefathers, and which placed
them in extraordinary difficulties. All those who were ac-
quainted with land holding in Ireland, must be aware that it
was not a very easy matter to induce a tenant, to increase his
rent, for the improvement of his farm. It was difficult to put
suck a question ; or if it were put, no doubt the landlord would
only give one very significant answer.—(Hear, bear.) The
Noble Lord must, therefore, be prepared to find a slow opera-
tion of his measure. He regretted to hear his Honourable and
Gallant Friend, the Member for Clare, blame the Government
for not putting a stop to the exportation of oatmeal from Ire-
land, because he was decidedly of opinion that it was for the
benefit of all parties that the trade should be free and un-
fettered. He would relate a simple anecdote to show why he
thought so, which would perhaps carry much more weight with
it than any arguments based on political economy he could
urge in favour of the principle. He spent the end of last
summer and the early part of autumn in two very different
parts of Ireland. He dwelt first on the alluvial shores of the
river Shannon, and then passed to the mountainous districts of
the county of Clare. He found in the last place that in con-
sequence of the peculiar nature of the climate they had to de-
pend almost entirely upon oatmeal. The crop. however, this
year was exceedingly short, and in consequence of the failure
of the potato crop they were compelled to carry their oats to
Limerick, then sell them in the market, and purchase wheat
imported from England. The oats brought an excellent price
but had Government interfered to prevent their expor-
tation these poor people would have been entirely de-
prived of food. This showed the necessity there was for
the interchange of the commodities of the two countries.
He begged to express his entire concurrence in the general
views laid down by the Noble Lord. He cordially hailed the
proposition that the land of Ireland should support the poor of
Ireland. Before concluding, however, he would draw ona
more moral from the calamities of Ireland, which was, that it
was to the landowners and proprietors of Ireland that the
country alone should look for its political regeneration.
Mr. ROEBUCK could not entirely concur in every view
taken by the Noble Lord ; he could not, however, refrain from
expressing his admiration of the tone and feeling which cha-
racterised the whole of the speech of the Noble Lord. He
could not, however, allow the world to believe that he would
find it easy to carry out the whole of his elaborate scheme.
That portion of the Noble Lord's plan referring to the pre-
sent difficulties he (Mr. Roebuck) would not then touch
upon. That portion, however, referring to the regeneration
of Ireland, he could not connect with the end proposed the
means which had been proposed by the Noble Lord in his
speech that night. He (Mr. Roebuck) considered
that taking the money from England to foster
and assist the Irish landlords was a grievous
error. All the money passed from the country to Ireland
was absolutely given to them.—(" No, no," from the Minis-
terial benches.) He had seen loan after loan of the public
Imoney sent over to Ireland, but ;they had never come back
again, and it was proposed to take only one-half of the money
in return for the advance which was proposed to be made.
He was glad to hear that a blow was now struck at the root of
the evil in Ireland, and that it was ackn ,wledged that the
land of Ireland must support the poor of Ireland. The Noble
Lord would no doubt meet with considerable opposition
from the landlords of Ireland, for the measure would no
doubt be a bitter one to them. He hoped, however,
that the Noble Lord would preserve that gallant bearing which
he had shown that night,and not spoil the effect of his measure
by endeavouring to sweeten it or make it more palatable to the
people of Ireland by taxing the people of England for them,
and he hoped the Noble Lord would recollect that there was a
large English population to be considered even in legislating.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER would take
that opportunity of answering several questions which had been
put to him by Hon. Members. He had been asked what was
the distinction between the functions of the board of guar-
dians and the relief committees. The Government did not
propose to make any alteration in the functions of the board of
guardians. They were to remain as at present constituted,
and to continue to superintend the administration of the poor-
law, but in each electoral division a relief committee was to be
appointed. The members of the board of guardians and the
magistrates of the county would be ex-officio members of the
relief committees. These committees were to be constituted
legal bodies for the duration of these temporary measures,
administering relief throughout the electoral districts. The
rates would be levied by the board of guardians, and a cer-
tain portion of the rates so levied would be allotted to the use of
the relief committees. In answer to another question that had
been put to him, he would say that twenty-six depots had been
established in the west of Ireland, all of which had been open
the last six weeks. With reference to the question as to why
the delay had taken place till the introduction of these Bills, as
though the relief had been suspended till these Bills were
passed, he would say that such was not the case.—( Hear,
hear.) The most active measures had been in progress
on the part of the Government in the establishment
of food and soup kitchens, which were now becoming very
general throughout the country. Ho would merely add, that
consequent upon the pa.; ng of the AO. for tho .usreheion of the
duties upon corn, large quantities of grain, to the extent of
500,000 quarters, would pass from the different warehouses,
and a reduction in the price of corn had already taken place in
the markets of Dublin, and in other places, and he hoped that
the present high prices would not long continue.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that it was the intention of
her Majesty's Government to proceed with the Bill founded on
the provisions of Mr. Labouchere's letter on Monday next,
and that he would move the second reading of it on Thursday.
Mr. S. O'BRIEN thought the time mentioned by the Noble
Lord was much too early.
After a few words from Lord J. RUSSELL,

from the adoption of this plan, and hoping that she would thus
become an integral part of the United Kingdom, he con-
cluded by elpressing his intention of not pressing his motion,
as he was content to leave the subject in better hands—namely,
in the hands of the Noble Lord (Lord G. Bentinck ).
Lord J. RUSSELL said the question of granting money
to aid in the construction of railways in the way proposed had
received the consideration of the Government ; in fact, the
details of such a proposition were still under consideration,
but information on several points was necessary before any
measure could be brought forward on the subject. He should,
however, be very happy if the Noble Lord would introduce
the Bill of which he had given notice.
LIBRARY OF THE HOUSE.

ETHIOPIAN ',ERENADERS, ST. JAMES'S THEATRE.
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Wednesday Morning until Easter. Doors open at Two o'clock, and
the performance commences at Half-past Two. Ths Programme will
be varied on each occasion.
Boxes, 45. ; Pit, 2s. ; Amphiteatre, 2s.
Private Boxes, Stalls, and Places may be engaged at Mitchell's
Library, 33, Bond-street; and at the Box-office.

On the motion of Mr. PARKER, the following Select Com-
mittee was appointed to assist the Speaker in all matters relat-
ing to the printing executed by order of the House, and for
the purpose of selecting and arranging for printing returns and
papers presented in pursuance of motions made by Members,
which might be referred to the Committee—Mr. Parker, Sir
Robert Harry Inglis, Mr. Pusey, Mr. Vernon Smith, Mr.
John Young, Viscount Mahon, Mr. Hume, Mr. Cardwell, and
Mr. Loch.
IRISH DISTILLERIES.

Mr. S. O'BRIEN said the distillers of Ireland had taken
alarm at the proposition of the Government with respect to
rum. That morning he had received a letter, signed by seve-
ral of the distillers of Dublin, stating that the proposed reduc-
tion would be ruinous to them. The measure partook almost
of a free-trade character, inasmuch as the duty to be paid on
the admission of rum into Ireland was proposed to be reduced
from Bs. 10d. to 3s. 2d. per gallon. This would only give
them a protection of 6d. a gallon. All he had to do was to
press upon the Right Hon. Gentleman to consider the subject
well before he consented to the passing of a measure which
would prove so ruinous as the distillers set forth.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, un-
questionably there was a great reduction of the protection
which distillers had hitherto enjoyed in Ireland and Scotland,
but even now they would be placed on an equal footing with
the English distiller, as the duty would be 6d. a gallon. We
stated in the course of last session what the intentions of the
Government were upon the subject, and now such a reduction
was warranted by the circumstances of the country. He could
not hold out any hope that the distillers of Ireland would be
placed on a better footing than the distillers of this country.
In reply to an HoN. 111E3111ER, who wished to know whether
the results of certain experiments which had been made in
brewing with molasses and sugar, under the direction of the
Government, would be laid before the House,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER intimated
that he did not think it advisable to lay their results on the
table, as the experiments had only been conducted on a small
scale, and as they did not partake of a conclusive character.
Besides, he did not base any of his observations in introducing
the measure on them.

Lord G. BENTINCK said that he agreed with the greater
part of the propositions of her Majesty's Government, with the
exception of the provision for the compulsory sale of waste
a nds. In his opinion the measure fell short of the necessities
of the occasion; as, for instance, when the Noble Lord spoke
of a grant of 50,000/. to supply the wants of Ireland with seed.
That sum would be scarcely sufficient to sow five baronies—( Some
remark was here made across the table by Lord J. Russell,
which was inaudible in the gallery.) The Noble Lord then
went on to say that that sum would only be sufficient for about
25,000 acres of oats, or 5,000 acres of potatoes. A grant of
50,000/. would be almost like doing nothing. With reference
to public works, he (Lord George Bentinck) was in hopes that
the Government would have brought forward some measure
by which the employment of English capital might be stimu-
lated in Ireland. There was one feature of public works in
that country, viz., the formation of railways, which he had
hoped that the Noble Lord would have come forward
with some well-digested scheme to promote, upon as great
a scale as the construction of railways in England. He knew
of no other means by which, at so short a notice, so many
persons could be brought into a profitable employment as in
the construction of railways in Ireland. He (Lord George
Bentinck) was prepared to introduce a measure upon that sub-
ject, to which he hoped the Noble Lord at the head of the
Government would give the same amount of consideration as
he had given to the measures proposed by Government. He
entirely dissented from the opinion of the Hon. and Learned
Member for Bath, who considered it a grievous error to foster
or assist the landlords of Ireland. He (Lord G. Bentinck)
knew nothing that could be of greater advantage than foster-
ing to the utmost the Irish landlords in the cultivation of their
estates. A noble proprietor of that country had stated, a
short time since, that if he could have obtained an advance
from Government of 24,0001., he would be able to improve
his estate to the amount of 3,0001. a-year. He could not
conceive how England could possibly do better than lend to
the Irish landlords 24,0001., or even 24,000,0001., if they
wanted it. It appeared to him, that by so doing, the State
would bo merely putting out its rneney at the most
profitable rate of interest, and he would be happy
to see 10,000 persons coming forward and asking each of them
24,000/. He did not approve of a system of emigration.
He thought that it was not the way to improve a country by
transporting the best of her sons. If a system of emigration
was carried on in Ireland it would take away the bone and the
sinew of their country, with all its enterprise, its strength, and
industry; and instead of leaving the country richer, but leaves
it poorer and weaker than before. The plan of facilitating the
sale of land contained in the proposition of her Majesty's Go-
vernment he looked upon with satisfaction.
CRACOW.

Mr. HUME said, as he did not see the Noble Lord the
Secretary for Foreign Affairs in his place, he wished to inform
her Majesty's Government that they were waiting for the
papers referred to in her Majesry's speech. He was reluctant
to make a motion on the subject.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, since the House had met,
a paper relating materially to the relations between the dif-
ferent Powers had been received, and that the whole of the
papers would be presented with the least possible delay.
GRANTS FOR IRISH RAILWAYS.
Mr. W, R. COLLETT rose to bring under the considera-
tion
of the Honse a notice of a motion which stood
in his name in the papers,
no public works can be of
greater
which was to the follow-
inga" That at is the opinion of this House,
effect ;
prosperity of Ireland than railwatyesr, and
everyto thefaci
facility
ity futurefor
importance
their construction be given by her Majesty's Government • provided always, that proper security can be afforded ferthe
repayment of any advances made by the Treasury." He said
the intimation of the Noble Lord, the Member for
(Lord
G. Bentinek), would render it superfluous in him
to press his
motion, but he could not forbear addressing a few observations
to the House on the subject. He deprecated the plan of spend-
ing millions of money in the cultivation of reads, whilst
the country was suffering so much from the want
of speedy and easy communications from
place to
place. The interference of the Government was
absolutely necessary, for the purpose of carrying out
railways throughout the country. Without such interference
on their part, the Dublin and Kingston Railway would not
have been constructed, and the Government would advance
loans on good security, capitalists would be forthcoming to invest
large sums of money, and to guarantee ample security to the
Government. If the Government would step forward in this
way, before 45 hours had passed by 150,000 persons, who were
now subsisting on the charity of England, would be set to work
at profitable and useful employment. It would be unnecessary
for the Government to advance any more money until the pro-
moters of such lines had paid up 20 per cent. of the required
capital, the money advanced to be secured upon works.
Thus 100,000 able-bodied men, and 30,000 mechanics, would
get instant employment. When he heard that agriculture was
to be fostered, and the whole country drained and improved, he
thought that all this expenditure of money would be useless,
of liless railways were constructed for the conveyance
the commodities required for the
of the land, and for the ofconveying the
Produce l purpose
ago he urgedpaysand speedily to eligible markets. Ten years
would material)
argument, believing that its adoption
He did not speaZ redound to the advantage of the country.
because he was solelye as one connected with Irish railways,
When he apprehende,trively connected with English lines.
famine, he bought all thethat
Ireland would be visited with
suit had been, that in thatepoarrnt he
could obtain, and the re-
was connected, no one had received Tipperary with which he
committees ; thus 500 men, or t,OOO assistancee from the relief
ported since the calamity began. Pint:.;l,,had been sup-
could be employed if the Government woulcre 2"(30
men
onsent to ad-
vance money for the construction of railways. After enlarg-
ing upon the advantages which would thus accrue
to Ireland

THE SUN, LONDON, TUESDAY EVENING, JANUARY 26, 1847.

taking his stand upon the old constitutional law, claims
for the State those lands which the original grantees

have neglected properly to cultivate. It is right that
England should bear her fair share of the calamities
which have befallen Ireland. The Irish, we admit, have
a full right to demand, that in their hour of distress, we
should aid them to our uttermost. If the whole wealth
of the United Kingdom, during the nest twelve
months, is required to support the Irish
people, they have a right to it, because,
as the United Kingdom has legislated for them, it is the
fault cf the United Kingdom that laws have not been
enacted to make "the property of Ireland maintain the
poverty of Ireland," in the same manner as the property
of England maintains the poverty of England. But
having given to the people of Ireland every assistance
under their present difficulties, it is incumbent upon the
Imperial Legislature to provide against the recurrence
of such a calamity by giving the poor a lien upon the
land, and by forcing the insolvent proprietors to dispose
of their nominal holdings, so as to substitute real for
sham proprietors—a solvent for an insolvent gentry.

The rashness of the Royalist statesmen of Por-
tugal in fomenting the animosities of the population
against the reigning dynasty, by their intrigues to
restore the associates of the CABRALS to authority,
must at length be perfectly obvious to the unfortu-
nate QUEEN herself. The last brittle barriers which
have hitherto protected her from the national wrath are
trampled into the dust by the ruthlessness of her own
abhorred supporters. On the commencement of the
insurrectionary movement in the Portuguese division
of the Peninsula it was very manifest that the vast
proportion of the multitude regarded the question at
issue with an indifference that almost amounted to
apathy. It seemed, from the paucity of the forces
assembled together under the banners of the revolted
chieftains, that it mattered little to the million of their
countrymen whether the Court party or their oppo-
nents were victorious. For awhile the fortunes of
the intestine wars fluctuated so perpetually, as to
testify that no overwhelming enthusiasm, either on
the one side or the other, had been germinated. The
belligerents dodged each other hither and thither;
casual skirmishes resulting in the death of some ill-
starred dragoon, or the more torturing expiation of
some yet more ill-starred guerilla, tended to keep
alive the anxieties of the citizens of Lisbon ;.the con-
fiscation of property, and the deprivation of titles and
prerogatives promoted the cause of the insurgents
at straggling intervals; sometimes a more disas-
trous encounter would threaten to annihilate the expec-
tations of the defeated party ; sometimes, again, the
Conde SA BANDEIRA, or some less conspicuous revo-
lutionist, would picturesquely escape from the clutches
of his antagonists, by skulking among the rushes of
some river bank in an open boat and a ragged uni-
form. As with every revolutionary movement in the
sunny south, the matter has opened with melodrame,
and promises to terminate with tragedy.
By a most unexpected and bewildering magic the
heterogeneous bodies of the Septembristas and the
Miguelites have combined, and appear for a time to
have forgotten all their antagonism to each other,
and to have resolved themselves into a homogeneous
band. As may naturally he conceived, this coalition
of parties so powerful of themselves presents a most
formidable obstacle to the success of the Royalists.
It is little matter to the Royalists whether, in the
arrangement of this alliance between forces
heretofore so diametrically opposed, the Libe-
rals have conceded all their cherished ideas
about government, or the adherents of Dom
MIGUEL have yielded the preponderance. It is
but a secondary consideration with the upholders of
Queen MARIA as to what may be the tacit under-
standing of the united enemies of her domination, as
to what may be the details of their mutual conces-
sions, as to what, 'in short, may be the actual condi-
tion of the dynastic question. The primary consi-
deration of her Government is, of course, the exist-
ence of so extended an insurrection, and the nature
of the steps which are most advisable for its discom-
fiture. These are, however, but the feeblest glim-
merings of hope as to the fortunes of this doomed
and erring SOVEREIGN. The execrable atrocities per-
petrated by her soldiery upon the inhabitants of
Torres Vedras, on the occasion of the recent disper-
sion of the popular forces, has enkindled a flame of
indignation among the peasantry and civilians of
Portugal, which has already spread to
an appalling extent, and threatens to in-
volve the whole kingdom in the moral
conflagration of civil war. One of the most odious
illustrations of the evils consequent upon battles is
this diabolical sensuality of the Royalist troops after
the seizure of Torres Vedras. The multitude are
quick to recognise this circumstance, and the re-
sult has already been the sensible diminution of the
army of SALIOANIIA, and the extraordinary enhance-
ment of that under DAs ANTAS, SA DA BANDEIRA,
and their associates. It is little anticipated that the
former General will, under existing circumstances,
seek an encounter with the insurgents, while
it is most certain that the latter are solicitous
beyond merniure for his arrival. According to
the latest information it would appear that SAL-
DANHA has departed from Coimbra, and has
advanced four leagues northwards, viz., as far as
Agueda. Acoording to the same account, the Royalist
General BERNARDINO has joined the popular forces
at Oporto, while the redoubted General Povoas has not
only dispatched fifty veterans, fully equipped, to
Oporto on the same mission, but has so far ingra-
tiated himself with the Junta as to have received the
rank of Lieutenant-General and Governor of the two
Beiras. It is unnecessary to enter into the nume-
rical surmises, as to the strength of the insurgents,
which were ,E )a ating about the Portuguese metropolis
on the departure of our latest dispatches. What is
mainly worthy of observation, and what is ostensibly
credible is, that the army collecting about Oporto is
of such dimensions as to be universally considered as
ominous to iht! cause of the reigning SOVEREIGN.
Even were That army less formidable in point of
numbers, it would still be most formidable in point
of earnestness- The absolutism of Queen MAnlA's
Government has driven the Portuguese peasantry to
desperation, sml by setting the most sacred principles
of the Constitution at defiance, she has loosened the
foundations cd. "her dynasty.

The intelligence from America, which reached
England on Saturday by the packet-ship Anglr
Saxon, will b e esteemed very grateful by every lover
of peace, ever 7 admirer of national honour, and every
opponent of u uprincipled despotism. It confirms the
hope breathed when we commented on the news from
the United St ;ates, received twelve days since by the
mail-steamer Cambria—that " Congress would
not consent to sacrifice free-trade principles
to gratify the insatiable ambition of Mr.
PoLa." A recommendation having been offi•
cially made by- the Secretary of the. Treasury to tax
tea and coffee, is order that the Government might
raise a loan lor prosecuting the Mexican war, the
House of Rep.! !se ntatives, on the 2d instant, promptly
rejected the pr( )sition by a large majority, the num-
bers being 11,J and 48. This spirited resolutio
may, by this ti m.a, have served to convince the Pre-
sident that his Awl tdstrong and repulsive military po-
licy is repudiated by the Legislature. Had the war
been a just one, instead of being a ruthless invasion,
the Chief Mag let rate of the great republic would,
doubtless, have 1a and himself " thrice armed" for the
conflict; but the war being what it is—foul in its
origin, and marke d with revolting rapacity through
all its subsequen• t stages—has completely failed in
eliciting any pat riotic demonstration in Congress,
without which it can never be maintained or honour-
ably terminated. It is at length manifest that there
is a point beyond' which the representative authorities
of the States will not suffer themselves to be carried
in a mere idle x ttempt to slake the unquenchable
thirst of Mr. Pox K after territorial aggrandisement.
For so vain an: object, Congress has now plainly
enough given tit air President to understand that
the vitality of c ommerce shall not be re
compromised,--f; r so reproachful.l andnot
subject theirus a
American subject is to commercial restrictions, ever
harsh in their re a tits upon the humbler classes, and
hostile to the d 4 velopment of national resources.
The effect of tin • recent. vote in the House of
Representatives has struck consternation into
the minds of • the Democrats. The " sinews
of war" are' happily wanting. To supply
them, Mc labor, Ju )c opus est. We recommend Mr.
Pomc. to retr: Ace his infamous steps as speedily as
possi*ble •
He 1 =ever can escape from the struggle