The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-22 00:00:00

Sir H. W. BARRON regretted that the present mea-
sure had not been brought forward before. In many
parts of Ireland the price of wheat was 82s. per
quarter, Bs. or 9s. higher than even those quoted
by the Noble Lord himself, and bearing this fact
in mind the committee would have some idea
of the destitution of the people of Ireland,
when he told them, that with perhaps a family
of five, six, or seven children the highest wages a la-
bourer could earn was 10d. per day. Why, within his
own knowledge, in his own vicinity, not only were there
hundreds but thousands of unfortunate people living
upon one scanty meal, and yet labouring upwards of 12
hours per day. They could not afford any more either
for themselves or any one of their families. This
was a fact which he stated upon his own authority
without the slightest hesitation. Ile was chairman
of two relief committees in that district, and had
the means of knowing the dreadful destitution
which existed in every part of that neighbourhood. Par-
liament had no idea of the terrible destitution that
pervaded Ireland, while, from what he read in the public
prints, the people of England appeared yet unconvinced
of the dreadful condition in which the unfortunate millions
of Ireland were living. On Thursday last, in the city of
Waterford no less than 107 applicants were refused ad
mission into the union workhouse solely on account of
the want of sufficient room to locate them. The phy-
sician reported to the board that it would be dangerous
to the lives not only of the applicants themselves but of
the inmates of the house from the crowded state of the
wards if they were admitted. Under these circumstances
they were forced to refuse admission to the 107 applicants,
but he was glad to say that the board, upon their own
responsibility, had since taken another building, capable
of accommodating a considerable number more.—(Cries
of " Hear, hear.") There was not among the gen-
tlemen who attended the sessions one dissentient voice
when the proposition was made for taxing himself for
the relief of those poor pet sons who were suffering
under the distresses that had been justly and eloquently
set forth. He was one of those who had imposed
upon himself a taxation of 28s. in the pound on the
property of the baronies for the support of the poor
for only three months of the year. He attended regu-
larly at the sessions where he resided, and other places
where the country gentlemen were accustomed
to assemble, and where these matters were re
gulated, and he had not seen one single instance
where a landlord had set himself up in opposition
to the principle that property was bound to support
the poor ; and yet they were told gravely by the press
of this country, and that statement was retailed second-
hand in that House, by some second-hand lawyer—
(Laughter)—that they had not performed their
duties in reference to the poorer classes of their country,
and that thsy were miserably deficient in all the duties
which they owed towards those who were entitled to
relief from the more affluent portions of the community.
He asserted it without fear of contradiction, that these
was not in the whole world a class who had come more
liberally forward towards the support of the poor,
or had acted more magnanimously towards them
than the landlords of Ireland on the present occasion.
They had done this in the mode that was most accept-
able, and which clothed the act with proper grace and
dignity, for they had done it liberally, and without any
distinction of party or sect.—(Hear.) So great was
the calamity that impended over his unfortunate country,
yet he could not help thinking that it might yet be of
considerable advantage to that country, and rescue it
from many of the horrors that were inherent in the
organization of the country, and the vitiated state of its
political condition, and he trusted that speedily it would
be delivered from the horrors that now caste gloom over it
Mr. GOWLBURN would not follow the Honourable
Baronet throughout the details of his address, because
he had recently arrived from a place where the greatest
distress prevailed, and consequently he was well
able to depict the nature of the sufferings of the people
to the House. It was perfectly natural for a gentleman
so situated, to press, iu warm language, upon
the House the dreadful nature of the calamity
which had visited his country, and it was
equally natural that he should feel irritated
at statements which, in his opinion,_ reflected upon the
character of his countrymen, and that he should take
the earliest opportunity of contradicting them. But the
Honourable Baronet would not suppose that he was
in the least degree indifferent to the sufferings of
that country it' he (Mr. Goulbourn) expressed
his opinion that that was not the occasion on which he
should have taken an opportunity of entering into such
a discussion.—(Hear) They all knew and felt for the
distress existing in Ireland, and considered that it
was the duty of England to come forward and
to relieve the distresses of the Irish people. He
had but a single observation to offer to the House. He
entirely concurred in the mAheeemairnseuerraisecrhaitwhich the
Noble Lord had proposed, and be thought
al-o that it was most essential that that concur-
rence should be universal, and that that concurrence
should carry with it to the people a conviction of the
interest which England felt in the welfare of Ire-
land. He would not, however, avail himself of the
opportunity to advert to the past proceedings of that
House with respect to this subject, except to state
that the adoption of such a step at an earlier period
question
uoheumsl
thdi haveo.int
thweagyso farnhneaudt t
to
to
consider
oh preparedsvied alleviatedetru mwas—were
e t_t(hHe
etahre.
y)difficulties
or notsb oe, tohg ea
lvpe deriveehxi expressing
re
s s entirean igv
aahsnistitg regret,te, anf rdo from a
tthecouldth
em seduaousl
piutk,rti likely
yen!
Tdooinigt
numscuohopsftpa course,ldtiheeess
fo re
foreign
an
countriesantecedent
to which
ehriieohd wwoeu Idl
oh
ka
ev
de
been most advantageous ; as at the present time the
wasto
obtain
eesnsigoang
oe w
hbayt e
v,er other
ogiwbfrorasis
f
purchasers whroahwleere competing for its possession • yet it
sur-
plus remained through the suspension of the duties, as
the continuance of the duty might divert those sup-
plies from our shores to othfer countries. With re-
;ithair,dargtuo m
ettl,itea p
p suspensioneven
t
had suspended her navigatio laws the f navigation atvhieg ati o n
purpose la wost
with greater force, as France
tsssuch
eei gettingph ships
saa
were
oeerr ne advantageinto
course. r
Ca
informed norc
ne ; and, therefore, they had not
would have had if wFafirttruhamncthte had ships
adopted
s for
poas
tinstance,thheayt
would be carried to France when the American
rt
the navigation laws of France had been suspended
He thought that in order to keep themselves on an
equal touting with foreign countries, the suspension of the
navigation laws during the urgent period of distress was
a measure quite necessary, and from which no one could
dissent, and for his own part he did assent to it
most freely. At the same time he was sure that the
Noble Lord and the House would not suppose him about
to throw obstacles in the course about to be pursaed if
he took the present opportunity of preserving entirely
to himself the question of any further suspension of
the navigation laws, or of prohibiting any interference
with them hereafter, either in the matter of corn or
in respect of any other commodity. He must
should he be precluded from conai•
consas of i the
er
:ed
it; (a)
ibgea pt
ii roei lluadwesd,
ht ryo mt h
ea
vd
uh
teer ihneg
athouthe
give that night; nor
ustortict ben e
take place on the present
them, by what might
dering any point that might arise with regard to
With respect to these laws, he
they only further
then about
press his hope that the measures
occasion.l He thought it right tohpaudt
uinulthifsurrte;sieurrvtautieoxn:
famine in this country, and that those w..
and dis-
tress take might be the means of allahtui
uwcrysuot_f
fem.. under the greatest depths of privation
allaying
ethne
dif-
ferent interests in this country had given up those
would see, iu the readiness with which the
points for which they had heretofore contended as most
important, without a moment's hesitation on it, an
"iiiehee of the strong and liberal feeling of a British
Parliament to those of its subjects in any pan, of its em-

pire who might be suffering under the severest calamity
which could be inflicted on the country. He trusted
that the unanimity with which they had ucted on this
particular occasion would carry with it a degree of sa-
tisfaction which would tend to alleviate that misery, to
remove which they had acted.
Mr. EWART rose, but was for some time inaudible.
The conduct of the commercial Minister of France in
the suspension of the navigation laws had been worthy
of all praise, and yet, altheugh the example had long
been before the eyes of the Government, they did not
follow it until three or four months after the necessity
had occurred. He had been one of those Mem-
bers who had supported the principles of free
trade from the first in that House, and he was
cordially pleased to find that the Hon. Member for Dor-
setshire had voted for a temporary suspension of the
navigation laws. As an advocate for a total repeal of
commercial restrictions, he preferred that plan to a
temporary suspension. He only regretted that her
Majesty's Ministers had not come to a resolution for
that total repeal ; and he thought the same obser-
vation might be applied to the navigation laws.
Since, however, the Government would not consent to
the total repeal, however much he regretted it, he would
assent to the temporary measure. There were no old
associations to justify the retention cf the navigation
laws. They only took their rise in the reign of Henry
VII., and were confirmed in the time of Charles 11., and,
he believed, simply in consequence of our connection with
the Dutch at that time. He repeated that he would much
rather if the Ministry had for temporary suspension
substituted that temporary suspension of those laws, yet
he did not wish to disturb the unanimity of the debate.
But he could not help observing that labour in this
country could never be sufficiently rewarded until
they did away with the restrictions on external commerce.
He should vote for the measure before the House.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said
that, however sensible of the force of the position of the
Hon. Member who had just sat down, he trusted that
the nature of the circumstances which were to be
brought under review of the Committee proposed,
and which had led to the motion for that Committee,
would prevent anything like dissension in the debate.
In October last the belief was, that corn had been raised
in price from being kept back for speculative purposes.
general
mirtrehewistanhhwtgwei
As soon as the determination of the Government was
known not to suspend the corn-laws prices fell, and
about the latter end of October large arrivals of grain
took place from foreign parts. We were then told, on
good authority, by gentlemen intimately acquainted
with the corn trade, that there was every probability of
large arrivals in a short time. Even at a more recent
date it was stated to us that the somber of vessels in
America taking in grain as cargoes was very
large indeed. He held in his hand a letter from
a gentleman in Liverpool, dated the 14th of January,
which stated, that according to the last arrivals from
the United States there were at New York, loading with
grain for Great Britain and Ireland, thirty-seven vessels
of 25,000 tons burden. There was loading at the same
time at New Orleans 33 vessels of 19,000 tons; and in
addition to this, there had cleared out from
Liverpool twenty-nine vessels of 17,000 tons, with
meecdhatyhpihs caatoehhi
ntnoat wouldannldsbeaahalvoesnaiftgdt apprehension
iat bthiri
epneoi
enanongtcecodcdluo .00nsrutenrbIdyt,:
America,acth shbci
eeconwhrnmooosrteuuerhwrl
return to this country with corn. These amounted
disap-
pointedanßt
hneuaadt tr
would l
ilaytatnrwgtoi oonet
thatu 7blt
deb
suppliest
evifaotepu supplies
petus
ehept
aclbpfsroool,
would appear, however, that within the last two or three
weeks the imports have considerably increased, but this
was the time when the spring trade fell off, and when
there was a greater demand on the part of the
shipowners for freights. The suspension of the naviga-
tion laws would enable the ships of all nations
to enter into the business of importing food for this coun-
try as soon as the navigation opened. The navigation of
Odessa opened in March; the navigation of America opened
about the same time; and it was with a view of ensur-
ing early supplies as soon as the trade is opened that
the Government proposed to suspend the navigation laws.
It must be remembered that they had received as yet
none of the Indian corn of the crop of 1846, and he
believed that .he whole of the crop of 1845 had been
brought to this country. The crop of 1846 was not
ready for exportation till last December, and he be-
lieved that in a very short time some of it
would be on its way to this country. From New
Orleans he expected some ships to arrive in a few weeks,
but from the northern states he feared that little could
be expected till the navigation be open. When this
period arrived the measures which were now proposed
would greatly accelerate the supplies. He considered
that the information which the Government re-
ceived up to October last was quite sufficient
to warrant them in taking such a course. He was very
anxious to take that opportunity of stating the course
which the Government pursued with regard to sending
corn to Ireland--there had been so_ much misappre-
hension prevailing in the House, and there bud
been so many mis-statements made last night on
points with respect to which it was so essential
that there should be no mistake. He hoped the
House would excuse him if he briefly detailed the course
pursued on that occasion. It would be remembered
that at the close of last session an announcement was
made in reply to questions put to the Government, that
they should not undertake to interfere with
trade in Ireland. This was the answer inva-
riably given to the queries made on that subjeot.
And while he adopted such a course, he did not mean to
disapprove of the course which the late Government
adopted under different circumstances last yeax.
When the question had been put to them fro tn
merchants in different parts of the country, this w:as
the reply returned, and he continued to believe in the
prudence of such a course, as a partial interference by
Government would have completely paralysed thie
exertions of individuals. Private enterprise afforded as
larger supply than any exertion it was
possible that a Government could make. Wheni -
ever it was likely that any private 'entrPris 43
could not provide a supply of corn, the vei:n -
°forent, as far as they were able, established depots
the sale of corn, and they had come into the market;
on] market;
ployed was that they should not allow the G:
and the only limit they put upon the merchants_
overnment t4+
appear as purchasers ;for if they had done s
of the,
would have been inflicted upon the
Pac,ma ej
country, for they should remember that distress existed!
elsewhere than in Ireland; for if the Government hadi
acted so unwisely, they would have raised the priori
on iur j.
of food upon those who were maintaining.
themselves'..
sufficient to feed,
8.000,000 of persona for a period of four
The amount of corn imported was
months and ie
t
d would bpi-
done for this country all that could be expect would
attended
seriously to underrate the success which had
made by
half. To say, therefore, that private enterprise had noll
their efforts. In all the purchases which had
f Russell, why t
market price. A person of the name o,
Government.
had been employed as the agent of the
tprices:
Government they had always been made atb been
ne
highest.
eiglskeests.
at Limerick, had always given the
.
which had been given in the English mar
quantity of corn exported from Ireland The average.
had been less than in any preceding years.
3,000,000.
of the three years preceding the last had been
tinted 000'
of quarters. In the last it had only amounted by,
1,700,000 quarters, being less than the precedingm
1,300,000 quarters. The quantity of foreign cornt,
thehowever
into Ireland was only 500,000 quarters ; England
inadequately, represented the quantity
uantities of
Eng-
land of English and foreign corn. Greatt.
gn, while the•
fine flour had been kept for home consumption, y
t of which
coarser had been sent to Ireland, the "oaf September he
was very considerable. In the beginning
stating
received a letter from a person at Liverpool,at
Liverpool,
there were thirty-three vessels waiting
rent
evil
was
to receive cargoes for Ireland.
Oned,g The Govern-
the deficiency of mill-power in Irelan•
for
private use,
went had left all the mills in Ireland
Portsmouth, at
sentia from
and had employed mills at Plymouth,
in Indian
roduce
constantly at work, and their p a sent to Ire-
be
Davenport, and at Rotherhithe ; theyat had
corn-meal and barley-meal bad eblished in the I
land. Depots had also been establish
were nine -.•
western districts of Ireland. 1"
the present year il
depots established last year. been kept
In
e of which were '.
their number amounted to 26, some
south. There
part of Ireland, and Kinsale, on Mayo,
in Galway,
were some of them in Sligo,
in
nrous most northern
in Limerick, and in n
situated to the east of the Shannon,
the
supplies food, by the estab-
lishment With regard to other
measures, other places.
as some Hon. Gentlemn I
wpopulation of Ireland had been en-
that the poorer .
appeared that measures
pose,
• he thought it
tirely neglected,
at the proper time, sufficient at least
had been taken,
l , of food had not been inadequate.
to prove that the
bsupp )
dt true that those depots y
of depots and otherou
deabsauvrees,tibtediHdonuosteatpopseuapr.,
But it was uudou tted. y
- When they had a larger mass of
recently been open
furnishing of those supplies. Some of those
re-
quired in the furnb.
a opened, others had been partially
Westmeath, and in Sligo,
beau
food considerable reserve was
of the autumn, as, for instance, the
the Government gave ex
depots in GalwaYt They found, in many
and other
11 from a journal published
da
cases, in proportion
that the persons in the locality
pectations of relict,
their own resources. He
depotso
Peoplep ee d htioandt supplyhn ee ee oru"r
Places'
e i
no s
relied no longer on
stated that distress had greatly
ionvetrbnement
overnment intended - -
ndtoepofatsc.ilitAatetitmhee
the people were willing to depend
deiot there, and
d by it. The G
in
increased, heldettsinti e
thoiws n handw
becauseh
which
,
cal-
culated upon a supply of provisions
they werecountry
till Christmas, and then
.prepared to afford,
• when the people of Ireland would have to
was earning
and here they had
sustain themselves with
andg by themselves,
upon the relief afforded
but purchases by dealers, . therefore Govern-
ment had been particularly
establishment of small dealers throughout the country.
with
froeoldiefnfaurnt_oxm_i
ortuohwie
In many places, however, they could not succeed in
been compelled to open depots to supply the large num-
ber of men engaged on the relief works with food.
Government had been told that they had taken no steps
whatever to relieve the aged infirm out Of the workhouse
establishing these small dealers, ;
or, at all events, that the relief must have been afforded
recently, for that within the last few days they 'vere in
Ireland, and had heard nothing of it. This cotipl - t
however, was unfounded, and it would be found 1 ain
'
report that had just been received from Irelanrm anda
which would shortly be laid before the House, that
ample means had been furnished to the relief
committees to enable them to supply food
to the aged and infirm who could not be
accommodated in the workhouses. It 'you'd'
be seen, too, that the relief commiss • •
triat
instructed each committee to confine h - t eir suppl:ss to
such mode of relief until the pressure became
other quarters. One of these reports was dtttesdev neorittienr
than Dec. 3, while another from Skibbereen, dated Item
21, stated that a large measure of relief had been ebalt
out to the aged and infirm poor of that distrct.
The Right Hon. Gentleman then went on to read es.-