The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-28 00:00:00

INIORIVING SUN

his cordial and earnest support. The Hon. Member for
Yorkshire had singled out the foreign policy of the Go-
vernment very infelicitously. It was to be lamented that
he had not made up his mind before he came down to
that House, and had found out what was right and what
was wrong. One great distinction might be drawn be-
tween the Government of the Right Hon. Baronet and
that of Earl Grey. The latter had pledged his party to,
peace, retrenchment, and reform; and he would say that,
riotwithstanding the exception referred to by the Hon.
Member for Yorkshire, the peace of Europe had been
maintained by the present Government, in spite of the
'greatest possible difficulties.—(Cheers.) With regard
z-o retrenchment, much had been effected by the Whig
Government, although they had not done so much as
was anticipated. The grounds, therefore, on which he
reposed his steady confidence in her Majesty's Ministers,
was that they upheld the great principles which they had
put forth to the world. On the other side, he heard
4' no principle or no measure propounded. He
!,card nothing to meet the exigencies of the
^3mmercial community, or the wants of a suffering peo-
.

They have said that some time in the course of
text year they will condescend to take into consideration
the state of trade and the sufferings of the people. But
there was anything which could justify his confidence
is Ministers, and his want of confidence on the other
side. it was the course that had been taken in the pre-
sent debate. The Bight Hon. Gentleman opposite was
the colleague of Mr. Huskisson, who had extended the
alarkets of their industry, and had reduced their taxa-

tion to a certain extent, and if the Right Hon. Baronet
were imbibed with his principles of free trade, surely,
after the discussions that had taken place upon the ques-
tions of timber, and corn, and sugar, it was not too
much to expect that the Right lion. Gentleman would
!,ate what _ course he meant to take. It was not too

ouch to ask him to get up in his place, and say to the
eople of England, whose commerce was now at a stand-
till, that at a future time he would endeavour to see

what relief could be extended to them, consistently with
he exigencies of the case, and the circumstances in
which the country was placed.
After a few observations from Mr. GOITLBURN, in
explanation,
Captain POLHILL was astonished that so much time
:lad been taken up upon so simple a question as that
which was before the House, which was merely, had the
House of Commons full confidence in her Majesty's Go-
vernment or not, or were they capable of carrying on
the Government of the country with any advantage to
the people. They were not then discussing the corn,
the sugar, or the timber question ; it was simply confi-
dence or no confidence in a Ministry which had been
cc Jemned by the late House of Commons. Many Hon.
Members had alluded to the tenacity to office shown by
the Right Hon. Baronet the Member for Tamworth in
1335 ; but he was sure the Right Hon. Baronet would
rather have cut off his right hand than have con-
tinued on the Treasury Bench after Parliament had
passed such a verdict as had been passed on the present
Government by both Houses of the Legislature. The
practice pursued by the Government was directy at va-
riance with the doctrines upon the constitution laid down
by Lord John Russell in 1823. Holding these senti-
ments, he would give his vote for the amendmen with
m:;c11 pleasure.
Mr. M. J. O'CONNELL said that the debate wls re-
makable only for the silence maintained by the Gentlemen
opposite upon the great questions which were raised in
the Speech from the Throne—questions upon which
the whole country was deeply excited, and full of
expectation. He must say that he did think such a
prot;)and silence was neither just to the country or
respectful to her Majesty. lion. Gentlemen grossly
lec...ived themselves if they imagined that, because they
chose to pass over in utter silence the great question
!aid before the House by her Majesty, it would lay
lottinant in the public mind. No, the people would think
.leeply, and with a sense of burning indignation at the
policy of the inccming Government k:eping in such
ot-ofound darkness. aoe people would think the more
.f these questions because they, were passed over in
,Hence now. In his opinion the Corn question now
ood in much the same situation as the Catholic ques-
tion did in 1828, and the celebrated letter of the Duke
oi! Wellington to Dr. Curtis in that year, with the substi-
ution of corn for Catholic, would be quite in accord-
erice with the times. It gave rise to hope, when it was
recollected that that letter was followed, in 1829, by
c ,ncessions—concessions which were made in considera-
tion of the perilous nature of the period, and not to
ef•ason or justice ; and he would not much wonder if the

11:stress and privation now existing, without any hope of
,Ileriation, might, during the ensuing winter, produce
11::,gors so threatening as would force ion. Gentlemen

,Ti;,stite to abandon the sliding scale, to which they
were no more bound than they were to Protestant as-
eondancy in 1828.—(Hear.) One word with respect to
eland. Last evening he was astonished to hear the
shout which was set up by Hon. Gentlemen when' his
Ffiend the Member for Meath alluded to intimida-
tion as practised at the Irish elections. But in what way
(ad they receive the allusion to the conduct of the late
}iigh sheriff of Fermanagh? It was received with a titter,
id the great oracle of the party opposite, found much
I:vilt with Earl Forteseue for dismissing him from the
,i.tuation he had polluted. The writers in that paper
rt:.ought lightly of a man who had merely, as they said,
,Ititelied the return with orange ribbon instead of a bit of
red tape. He would venture to say that not one mezn-
-I,er for an English University—noteven one of the mi,m-
liers of the Irish University—not one member of the
Church of England in that House, would say that the seal
used upon the occasion was not a sort of blasphemy.—
(Cheers from the Tory benches.) He was glad to hear
that cheer ; it showed that good feeling was not en-
tir.,4y banished from the breasts of Hon. Gentlemen op-
posite
; but still, because Lord Fortescue had justly
upunished a man who had so misconducted himself, that
punishment was to form one of the ingredients towards
vote of want of confidence. Coming events cast their
shadows before. He had been deeply hurt to see a most
obnoxious practice revived on the Forth EaStern Cir-
cuit. On a late trial in Armagh, every Roman Catho-
lic who was called upon the Jury was set aside by the
Crown Solicitor. He was afraid that practice would he
followed throughout the country, and if so, it wonld
greatly add to the anticipated difficulties of the Right
ilon. Baronet. He would tell him that if Ireland was
his difficulty in 1835, he would find that that difficulty
was not lessened now. The course taken since that pe-
rif id by some who would form part of his Administra-
tion had not much conciliated the good-will of the peopl.-,
IS Ireland. He did not know what situation 'the
:.'N:Toble Lord the Member for Lancashire would
till; all he hoped was that he would have nothing to do
with Ireland.—(A laugh.) An excess of caution was
often dangerous, and might be so on the present occa-
sion. With the distress now prevailing in England, and
the position of affairs abroad, he could see no reason
why the people should place confidence either in the
ability or the disposition of Hon. Gentlemen opposite
to recover the country from temporary distress, or
guide it through its difficulties. He, at all events, had
none.

Mr. CHRISTMAS would not have thought it neces-
sary to address the House but fur the observations that
had fallen from the Hon. Member for Limerick, in re
Terence to the election for the city he now represented.
Ile had said that Members had been robbed of their
seats in Waterford in consequence of the system of re-
gistration that existed there. Now he (Mr. Christmas)
contended that he had no rieht to make such an asser-
tion until the return of that election was brought under
the consideration of the House. The Hon. Member had
ascribed all this to the defective state of the registra-
tion. lf that was so, he (Mr. Christmas) would ask
whose fault that was ?—(Cries of "Hear, hear.") Was
it not that of the Honourable Members on the
other side of the House—(Hear)—for when the Noble
Lord the Member for North Lancashire proposed a
remedy, it met with the most strenuous opposition of the
ocher side of the House.—(Hear,) He thought :,he pre-
sent question was one of confidence between wee side of
tiie House and the other. His own opinion seas that the
present Ministers were not entitled to the confidence of
the House in consequence of their vam'etating policy.—
(Hear.) He believed that the insurrection of Canada
had arisen in consequence of the conduct of some of the
late Members of the House and that of the Government.
—(Wear.) He thought a very. one-sided View
of the
ouestion involved in the present debate had been taken
by the other side of the House. He knew something of
the Corn-laws, and he knew also that the repeal of those
laws was unpopular in Ireland.—(Cries of " Hear," and
" Oh, oh.") He would support the amendment of the
Fon. Member for Yorkshire, although in doing so he
should be assisting to place the Right Hon. Baronet in a
station of difficulty, though one of honour.—(Hear.)
Mr. C. P. VILLIERS then rose. When the Hon.
Gentleman who had spoke last thought proper to remind
the Right Hon. Baronet of the difficulties he was about
to encounter in taking office, and when he thought
proper to remind him that he had to discuss both sides
of the question, he did not prescribe the means of ex-
tricating himself from the difficulties in which most of
the Hon. Members oa the other s
T 1 am ely that of preserving ;eeie had been placed,
place.—(Hear, hear.)
le (Mr. Villiers) having .1*
-sae occasion to address that
, )ionse, and to address -seiniself to the subjects that had
eeen recommeneeii.' for the consideration of Parliament
the speech rerinn the Throec on several occasions, he
11`-1 e"r!a,"edy looked about and listened with great
srlietY tor any reason that would save him the trouble
r'-eea.ting these arguments. Ile had, therefore, given
*emelt attention to those gentlemen who had spoken on
-dee other side, in order to find out, if possible,
'what it was they intended to convey to
the House, but he must confess that he had been un-
etee to effect that object. He had listened to his Hon.
Friend the Member for Winchester, who wondered how
any persendared to speak on the subject—(Hear)--and.
w:t'!. deference to his Hon. and Learned Friend, whose
in confusing a Jury he had often great pleasure in
witnessing—(Laughter)—he thought he had not less
in confusing the present question. For his own
jsu•t he could not understand him.—(Hear, hear.) Nor
sva, he more successful in discovering the meaning of
toe lecture which had been read to them by the Hon.
Member for Pomfret.—(Laughter.) He had stated
that those who sat on that side of the House had no
legitimate position. in the discussion, and that anything
they stated was impertinent.--(Hear.) Neither did he
Mr. Villiers) apprehend anything that had fallen from
the Hon. Member for Bedford or the Hon Member who
lad just sat down.—(Laughter.) He could not help
th:e::ing that those Gentlemen who had talked of their
consistency, and had given circulation to every fallacy,
and misrepresented the opinions of their opponents, and
the objects .of their policy having been successful in the
course so pursued, were somewhat ashamed of the means
IT which they had obtained their seats, and when they
eame face to face with those whose policy and principles
'_'.ley had assailed, they thought it wise and prudent to
reaintain a dead silence. There was also some discretion,
"hich was pretty obvious to the world, in not commiting
themselves to their opinions, because that discretion had
been observed elsewhere.-(Hear, hear.) Those
vesre some of the reasons, that accounted for the silence
• ,tit had been observed, added to which it appeared to
lean that it had bcoalotuld by come partici inconvenient