The Sun.
London, England, 1840-01-30 00:00:00

Secretary of State in that liouso, or the Noble Lord at

the nead of the Government in the other, had departed
from the opinions they had so long entertained—( Hear,
hear. ) lie formerly believed that, while he had the
honour of belonging to the Government, the policy of
his Nk,hle Friend was to maintain uninjured the settle-
ment made by the Reform Act, and he believed that such
was still tae iwentions of the G,r;ernment and his feicuils

that Hear, hear.) 11 did rot rtlinluiAlt
he situation winch he nal uc honour of hoiding
n the Administration of the G_sternment because he be-
ieved there nas not to be any cliaatte in its policy, fir

otherwise, his reasons -.sere what he had already stated; he
differed from his Noble Friend, net cs to what ought to be

the policy of th. Government, but as to the means by
which that policy could be best carrion into effect—(

hear)—and he trusted that in leaving the Government on
that point he had acted justly to the country, the House,
and himself.—(Hear, hear.) He trusted that in the result
it would be proved that he mistaken in the course

he thought the Government ought to pursue, but he
thought they might depend upon his support and assist-
ance, as an independent Meawr..in every measure which
he believed to be for the good of the country.,—(llear,
hear.) He had supported the present Ministry as a
colleague fur four years and a half, and he trusted
that it would still be in his power to do so.—
Hcar, hear.) He cordially joined with his Right Hon
Friend, the Judge Advocate, in resisting the motion now
before the House, not only from the confidence he placed
in his friends in the Ministry, but from his apprehension of
the House coming to a vote hostile to the exist'ng Admi-

nistration—(Hear, hear)—because he could not fait con-
fider by whit species of Government it would he sue-

ceeded.—( Hear, hear.) He had been too often in direct
opposition to the Right Hon. Baronet opposite, to make
it necessary under all circumstances to say that he should
greatly regret his accession to power, but he mint say
that that opinion had been greatly strengthened by what
had occurred during the last recess—even before the rc-

cess, during the lest two or three rears, tie thought the
confidence of impartial and cool-minded men i❑ the party
who sat on the opposite benches, had been greatly
shaken by the course they had adopted. To their
party interests, the interests of the empire, as con-
❑ected with its colonies, had been sacrificed. When he

looked back to the proceedings of the House of
Lords at the conclusion of 1137, and when he recollected
the disastrous proceedings they might have produced, and
Almost did produce in Canada, he thought he had good
ground for the opinion he had expressed. Then, during
the last year, look into the preLvedings with respect to
Jamaica. The Right Hon. Baronet, the Memb♦ r for
Tamworth, had taken great credit to himself for the policy
Oe then adopted with respect to that country. He had
Appealed to the House with triumph as to what had taken
place in that island; and he had stated that it had been
the result of the course he had pursued.—(Hear, hear.)
Now he (Lord Howick) could only say, from the observa-
tions that be had made, that whatever might be the im-
proved prospect of Jamaica, yet he regarded the rejection
of the measure of last year as the infliction of the death
wound upon the real improvements and civilisation of Ja-
maica.—( Hear, and cries of " No.") He trusted that what
he had stated would prove to be incorrect—but he believed
that Parliament had lost an opportunity of improving the
institutions and laws of Jamaica which never could be re-
called. Then the Poor-laws had been adverted to. Now
it was impossible for him to observe otherwise than with
the highest degree of approbation, the conduct of many
gentlemen whom he saw opposite, with reference to the
Poor-laws. The leaders of the party opposite had no
doubt abstained from taking part in that agitation. He
wished he could say more than abstained—( Hear, hear)—
for who can doubt that although they had abstained from
taking part in the agitation, still that they were at the
bottom of it ? It was true that the leaders who had been
opposed to them had been no parties to the agitation—but
still all the Newspapers who advocated the interest of the
party —( Cries of " Oh, oh,")—he (Lord Howick) had
yet to learn that Newspapers did not exercise in this
country great and formidable powers, and that they were
not in a considerable degree influenced by what they be-
lieved to be the views of particular parties.—( Hear.) Not
only had the newspapers set up this New Poor-law cry,
but Hon. Members opposite had made use of it, for the
pose of carrying their elections.—( Hear, hear.) Even so
lately as last autumn, a person of no small account among
the party on the other side, a Gallant Officer, who once
tilled the office of Secretary of State for the Colonies,
made use of this cry at Manchester.—( Hear, hear.) Sir
G. Murray adopted this cry at Manchester, and made use
of expressions, with respect to the Poor-laws. which were
only worthy the columns of a party newspaper. He con-
tended that Honourable Members oa the other side had
acted most unjustly in raising this cry, and he would as-
sert that any person who had attended to the transactions
on this subject for the last two years could not but perceive
that the anti-Poor-law agitation had begun, and produced
Chartist agitation. This cry it was that brought forward
such men as Oastler and Stephens, who recommended re-
sistance to the law by physical force, and who broached
opinions subversive of society altogether. These men it
was that made the working classes believe that the Poor-
law alone kept down their wages. If this state of things
was to be allowed, what would be the result ? Why, the
next cry would be that the Representatives of this House
must not be the representatives of property, but of num-
bers.—(Hear, hear, hear.) It would be said that a
Paxliment representing property ought to be discarded,
and that a Parliament representing numbers,
and numbers alone, was to be endured. But
if such was the case during the last year or two, what
had taken place during the last recess? Why, a spirit, if
possible, still worse and more dangerous for exciting the
people, had been employed, and he alluded to the attempt
made to get up the cry of " No Popery," and the " Church
in danger."—( Hear, hear.). He rejoiced that every Mem-
ber who had spoken on the debate, even the Hon. Mem-
ber for Dumbarton, had been ashamed of that cry, and he
could not help remarking that if the Right Hon. Baronet
the Member for Tamworth, returned to power, he would
in a great measure, have to trust to those persons in Ire-
;and who, for the last few years, had been casting con-
tumely upon those who professed the religion of
three-fourths of the people of Ireland. tlt was most
true that the Right Honourable Baronet disapproved
of the conduct and the language which different persons
had used. And he (Lord Howick) was convinced that it
was the ease that many Hon. Gentlemen on the other
side, holding extreme opinions, found themselves com-
pelled to avail themselves of the talent and ability of the
Right Hon. Baronet, and placed themselves under his
guidance, but still entertained no real respect or affection
for him.—(Cheers from the Ministerial side.) The
wounds of 1829 were not yet healed—they were but
thinly skinned over ; and he would state his belief that
no change in the Government would still the tem?est that
was then raging in the kingdom, or put down the discon-
tent which, he was afraid, they all acknowledged to exist,
and which, he was sure, they all lamented. It appeared a
fearful thing for the safety of the empire, if the discontent
prevalent in England and Scotland should spread itself to
Ireland. He had detained the House longer than had been
originally his intention, but he was anxious to take that
opportunity of making an unreserved and explicit declara-
tion of his opinion of the present aspect of affairs, and he
would conclude by expressing his Isearfelt hope
that no observation of his could, by any possi-
bility injure his friends, with whom he had heretofore
acted—( Hear, hear)---or would in the slightest degree
tend to produce any estrangement or alienation.— ( Hear. )
If that should be the consequence of what he had stated, he
sincerely regretted it, but he believed it was his duty to
state the reasons that had compelled him unwillingly to
withdraw his services from her Majesty's Government.
Sir JAMES GRAHAM then rose and said he was
truly grateful for being allowed to follow the Noble Lord
who had just sat down, and he must say in the commence-
ment that he had heard parts of the Noble Lord's speech with
unmixed satisfaction, but he must observe that twing heard
the Noble Lord's premises, he hastened with unbounded
astonishment to his conclusions. For the Noble Lord had
admitted distinctly, that the motion, such as had been
made by the Hon. Baronet the Member for Devonshire,
was a motion of great importance, to be sustained by strong
reasons and unusual circumstances.—( Hear, hear.) The
Noble Lord had admitted that distinctly, and if he (Sir J.
Graham) were called on to state a single circumstance
hich could satisfy him of that, it was the secession of the
Noble Lord on the grounds which he had that night
stated. And those grounds constituted ample and suf-
ficient reason for the motion that had been made,
and for the attack that had been commenced on
his side of the House. He would recall the recollection
of the House to what the Noble Lord had stated. He
(the Noble Lord) had referred to the transactions of last
May, and strong as were the expressions of the Noble
Lord at the head of the Government in the other House,
and strong as were the expressions of the Noble Lord op.
posite, announcing to the two Houses and the public the
loss of confidence and the great crisis of public alai. s
which had induced them to resign office and quit the con-
duct of affairs, he (Sir J. Graham) said those ware the
reasons, and strong as they appeared, which seemed to
him weak, compared to the declaration just made
by the Noble Lord of the c,mscions inability of the Go-
vernment any longer to conduct the affairs of the nation in
a crisis when they did not possess the confidence of the
other House, and when the confidence in that House was
daily becoming weaker from the secession of respectable,
powerful and important friends, till their majority had
dwindled to a mere nothing.—(Cheers from the Opposi-
tion.) He (Sir J. Graham) had taken a memorandum of
the expressions. The Noble Lord had said, that he
( Lord Ilowick) had left the Government, because he
thought they had not the means of carrying it on with
credit. He (Sir J. Graham) wanted no greater argu-
ment : that was their case ; and it was admitted by the
Noble L•rd that on the 6th August last he loft the Go-
vernment, because he thought they had not the
means of carrying it on with credit to those who
composed it.—( Hear, hear.) And that was the whole
case of the Noble Lord, by which Government required
further assistance, and assistance too that might strengthen
them. He ( Sir J. Graham) had evidence that the Noble
Lord had said the Government must strengthen i'.self
wit'mut asking aid of those desiring further changes in the
Constitution. The Noble Lord's opinion was, that to
strengthen their weakness, assistance should be obtained,
but assistance of a particular kind—namely, from those not
disposed for a democratic movement or for the introduction
of farther changei in the Constitution. He (Sir James
Graham) understood the Noble Lord's declaration to be
that in his (the Noble Lord's) opinion it was necessary to
ask aid from those upholding progressive improvement, but
opposed to great changes.—(" Hear, hear," from the Op-
position.) He k Sir J. Graham) was confirmed in that
statement by the recollections of his friends. Now the
Noble Lord, entertaining the opinion of the Government
being weakened by changes, and rendered still weaker in
the opinion of the Noble Lord by the changes that were
taking place, he (Sir J. Graham) said his astonishment
was unbounded when a motion was made that, in such
a case, the Government was not unworthy of the confidence
of the House —he (Sir J. Graham) said his astonishment
was infinite when the Noble Lord stated that ho should
support such a motion. The Noble Lord had
said that his responsibility was great in leaving
his colleagues in a crisis of such difficulty.
The Noble Lord said the danger was in the state of affairs
then, but he rendered the case stronger by thinking that