The Sun.
London, England, 1847-02-05 00:00:00

and deduct 40 per cent for the w:lrking of the line, a return 01
622/. per mile mould pay 3fr per cent., and pay an aggregate
total of 16,C00/. Ilut he takes the Arbroath and Forfar at I

only 9,00e1. per mile, consequently, taking ti.at as the basis,
after deducting money paid to Government, a net return of
702/. would give 1 per cent. profit; 800/. would give 2 per
cent. ; 993/. would give 3 per cent; 1,055/. would give 4 per
cent. ; 1,155/. would give 6 per cent. ; 1,299/. would give
7 per cent. ; 1,335/. would give 8 per cent. ; 1,423/. would
give 9 per cent. ; and 1,521/. would give 10 per cent. Such
an instrument as this --could not fail of going to the length of
improving the country, and bringing capital into Ireland, and
call that into use that already existed there, while the poor
rates and the county cess would be greatly relieved, since
they would not employ only the 110,000 labourers now en-
gaged onthe useless works, but would employ upwards of 200,000
in the construction of these mile ays. He did not wish to overstate
the advantages of this measure, but he did say, that if railways
could be constructed, as had been shown for 170/. an acre at
twenty years' purchase, the advantage was amazingly increased,
and that the funds of the country would rise. He had assumed
his date, on the calculation, that these railways would cost
1,6001. or 1,5001. per mile, whereas, he believed, that they
could be made for at least 100/. lower, and he believed that at
least 300 miles of ground had been already purchased. This
would give an expenditure for the payment of land of
1,250,000/., and that would form another sum to be added to
those which he had already paid, and which would swell the
amount of 240,000/., which would come to the relief -of the
poor. He now came to that portion of the measure which
affected the public revenue. He had given an expenditure of
16,000,000/. on a security of 8,000,0 W/., to make 1,500
miles of railroad, and it was alleged, by a Member of
the Government the other night, that this would dis-
tress commerce and disturb the money market.
He did not think that the expenditure of 1,900,000/. per an-
num could have that effect. He had consulted several gentle.
men, who ought to be well informed, as to the state of the
money-market, and, amongst others, the Member for West
Essex, and all had agreed that it would not have that effect.
Did the expenditure of 15,000,000/. in 1835, which was raised
for the compensation of the West Indian slave-owners disturb
the money-market? They contrived to pay 3,000,0007. in the
year 1835. We found that during the year before, the price of
the Three per Cent. Consols was 89/. The day before this
money was paid, the price of Consols was 90/. 155., and the
price of Reduced Three per Cents. was 90/. 12s. 6d. The
contract was taken for the Reduced Three per Cents. at
88/. 13s. 4d., and at 75/. for the Three per Cent. Consols.
The whole of the contract was taken at 90/. 2s. 6d., the
Consols being 13s. 7d. above par with the long annuities, so
that the whole of the contract was taken 1/. 4s. 3d. to the
advantage of those who had contracted the loan for 15,000,000/.
Did this at all affect the funds? Certainly not ; for en the
day after the contract was completed Consols stood at 91, and
in the year that followed they had improved to 21.175. 6d.,
and in the year after that to 41. 14s. Had they not had the
experience of the lean of 15,000,0001. ? And it should be
remembered that this money was not raised to be disbursed in
the country, in the digging of canals, the formation of rail-
ways, or the building of mills; but was all sent out of it. But
the money which he proposed to raise was to be expended in
relieving the distress and in rewarding the industry within the
country. Lord Bacon had made a just remark-that "muck
must be spread before it could fertilise;" and it was the same
with industry. They had expended seventy millions a year in
the support of foreign war, and to uphold the power of the
State, and be allowed that such a course might depress the
money market, but then the whole of the money was sent out
of the country without their being a single pound returned.-
( Hear, hear.) But did the expenditure of 7,000.000/.,
which had in bygone years been employed in the
working of silver mines depress the market. Did the capital
engaged in the silver mines of Bolanos, in their Candonga,
Cata Branca, their Brazilian and their Capiago Association,
and used even for the working of mines in the West Indies, de-
press the money market? But he would not go through the
long list of the twenty-three mining companies through whose
agency this capital was sunk in the year 1825, never, never to
lee returned.-( Cheers.) He thought that upwards of
13,000,0', 0/. had been sent to relieve the necessities of Ohio
and Kentucky, and where were they ? Where were the mil-
lions that had been sent to Portugal? and the more than two
millions that had been sent to Spain? and which were only
now to be seen in the funds of Passive and Deferred Annui-
ties. Had there not been immense sums spent in America in
railway;, and did they not all realise the outlay ? for
he believed that there was not one among them which
did not repay the money expended upon them. Yet all
these, so far as Great Britain was concerned, were dis-
bursements out of pocket, and disposed of out of the country.
But he most beg leave to say, that whilst he was calling
upon his own country to lend to Ireland 16,000,000
sterling at a reasonable rate of interest, without any
charge or expense, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
when he advanced to Ireland a loan to be employed on
public wen ke. did not stand in the same position as the
private capitalist. The private capitalist was restricted
to the bare interest he received for his money, while the
public officer derived many other advantages besides his
interest. When they looked back to the last four
years, and reflected what an expenditure of 13,000,0001.
a year in railway enterprise had done in increas
ing the revenue of the country-in the • excise,
in • the customs duties, in the consumption
of beer, of malt, of spirits, and of tobacco-
peculiarly the consumption of railway labourers he
thought they must be of opinion with him, that in-
directly the State would be a sleeping partner in the
advantages to be derived from Irish railways. They had
it stated in evidence by Mr. Peto, that at first he found
drunkenness amongst his men was a greet drawback in
the completion of his contracts, tied he accordingly re-
stricted each man in his employ to a gallon of strong
beer a day.-(Laughter.) Now one gallon of strong
beer gave a quarter of a peek of malt consumed by one
railway labourer ; and, setting aside what his wife and
family might consume-setting aside what came to the
revenue in tea, tobacco, and sugar, he paid
51. 4s. a year in the excise duties upon his beer
alone. Well, let him see how this would work
out. Upon looking at a calculation of the
excise duties in -Scotland and Ireland, he found that
in Scotland the excise duties gave 11. Os. 3d. per head
upon the whole population, whilst in Ireland there was
only 3s. 10,1 d. paid per head. This, after deducting the
soap returns, and such duties as were not paid in Ire-
land, gave a difference upon the excise in favour of
Scotland of IGs. l id. per head. Now he was not going
to pretend to say, as was calculated by Mr. Stanley, of
the Board of Works, some ten years ago, that the effect
of making 1,500 miles of railway in Ireland would be to
bring the population of the counties up to the level of
Scotland, but he thought he might say with great
confidence, that out of 550,000 labourers, 110,000 would
be raised to the average level of Scotland ; and if
they calculated that number at 16s. lid. it would give
an annual sum of 440,0001., which divided into three and
a-half per cent. interest would represent a capital of
12,600,0001. Well, hitt still there were the Customs'
duties. It was not unfair to suppose that the construc-
tion of .a railway would increase the Customs as well as
the Excise duties. He was aware that there was great
difficulty in getting at the Customs' duties of Ireland and
Scotland, because a large proportion of them were paid
in this country, but an estimate had been made, not by-
himself but by an excellent authority upon such matters,
and from that estimate it would appear that the gross
amount of custom paid in Scotland averaged 13s. per head.
while the gross amount paid in Ireland only averaged
ss. 21(1., making a difference of 6s. 90. The increase
of the customs would, he calculated, represent an annual
sum of 202,0001., which, at 3} per cent., would give ft
sum of six millions sterling. Well, then, if he calcu-
hued, and it would be perfectly fair to do so, that the
employment would continue after the railway was com-
pleted and in full vigour, he would have a right to say
that there would be an increase in the revenue of no less
than 642,0001., which, at 3f per cent., would give a ca-
pital of nine millions sterling. Now he be-
lieved there were good grounds for thinking
that, after the execution of these various lines
of railway, the employment would• be continued
by the improvements which the railway would
introduce. It was calculated that ten men were em-
ployed per mile in maintaining the permanent way, ex-
clusive of the artific engaged in building carriages,
and the driving andilhanutacture of engines, while it
was estimated that the improvements that naturally
grew out of agricul ure from the construction of a rail-.
way would absorh six men per mile. But when they
recollected what railways had done in this contry-when
they looked at the large towns which had grown up
upon the South •Weetern Railway, and the extension of
Southampton, which had since the opening of the railway
nearly doubled its size at d its docks-it was not
to') much to suppose that every mile of a new railway
would absorb sixty of the men who had been engaged
in its construction.-(Hear, hear.) Take the railway,
for instance, to Valencia harbour. They bad the evi-
dence of Mr. Walker, the Admiralty engineer, that
sooner or later Valencia harbour must become the
American packet station of •this country. They hod
also the authority of Lord Liverp iol, who said-little
thinking at the time that railways would be carried to
the extent they had been-about the year 1827, that
Valencia must eventually become the point of departure
for America. Before, however, the prediction ceuld
come to pass, a railway of one hundred and ninety--
five miles in length would have to be made, and innu-
merable would be the to ens and improvements it would
give rise to. It might be said-he knew it would be urged
by some-that if Irish enterprise could not walk esitbout
crutches, Irish enterprise must be allowed to tall ; but
he had that day received a communication from Mr. M oss.
of Liverpool, one of the early promoters of the T.ivcrpool
and Manchester Railway, to the eff,ct, that had it not
been fora loan of 100,000/. advanced by tile-Government
of that day, he believed the Liverpool and Manchester
Railway never would have keen paid.-(Cheers.) But
there was another argument that would be used. He
had heard, not in that House it was true, but elsewhere,
that whenever loans were made to Ireland they never
were repaid. Grosser ignorance never, was displayed
than was displayed by those who had made that
statement. True it was that one million sterling which
was advanced had never been returned, but unfortunately
this was not owing to a disposition to repudiate the debt,
but to certain religious prejudices which could not be
got rid of.-(Hear, hear.) They bad it upon the
authority of Lord Devon, that so far from the loans to
Ireland not having been repaid, the truth was it had been
the custom of England to lend her money at usury
prices, but still even at these prices two-thirds of all
the grants had been returned. A circumstance had
come to his knowledge within the last few days
about the Agricultural Bank of Ireland, whose hscd
quarters were held in Cork. It appeared that
no less a sum than 900,0001. was out at interest
upon the joint notes of two tenants together,
greater part of them in sums not exceeding
20L, but to the astonishment of all the bankers aud
assignees of the company, when the affairs came to be
wound up, such was the good faith of the little people
connected with the concern, that not a'shilling was lost.
-(Cheers.) lie had another instance of the good faith
of Irishmen in matters of loans, which had been re-
lated to him by Mr. Prosser, the engineer. Mr. Prosser
some years ago, went to the counties of Limerick, 'Wa-
terford, and Cork, to construct wooden railways, but
the labourers were so ignorant that he could not get
them to work at first. Mr. Prosier, however, reasoned
with them, and, one by one, they saw the utility of the
invention, and readily entered upon the work. Some
of them, however, were in so wretched a cond:tion, being
without clothing to cover their nakedness. that many
of them applied' to him for loans of 205., 255., and 30e,
which he readily advanced ; and in no one instance
was the money not repel:L-(1i( ar, hear.) Those
who said, then, that if they made their leans to