The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-19 00:00:00

► were once in the exclusive enjoyment, were now known
to, and in operation by, their foreign competitors. The:
present proposition opened to them new markets where
no manufactures at present existed. To those markets
the eyes of every British statesman ought to be turned,
and, above all, to the great and expanding empire of the
Brazils.—(Loud cheers.) He was astonished that any
man speaking the language of their commercial policy,
should contest such principles. He did not think the
Noble Lord the Member for Liverpool before his consti-
tuents would use such language. He did not think that
the Noble Lord the Member for Liverpool would venture
to insinuate that the renewal of the treaty with the Brazils
on favourable terms was a matter of no account.—(Hear)
--orif he did, and if from the hustings he looked down at
the harbour of the noble city which he had the ho-
nour of representing, the numberless sails which winged
their way to that part of the western world, would show
the fallacy of his assertions.—(Loud cheers.) Was it
not plain that if the Parliament of England was unpre-
pared to take the produce of the Brazils, the Parliament
of the Brazils would be unprepared to take the produce
of England ; and, independently of these considerations,
without reference to the slave trade, was it not obvious
that they might be able to aecomplish much more by ne-
gotiation and treaty than by any fiseal regulation ?
Events proved that the experiment made for the sup-
pression of the slave trade had hitherto been worthless
or unworthy ; and he hoped he might be permitted to
say, that when England stood forward as the champion of
humanity, it was not from Custom-house regulations that
her arias ought to be supplied.—(Hear, hear.) Despite
their financial regulations, the slave trade was still in-
famously prosperous—despite their differential duties,
that monstrous system still consumed its victims, and.
there was scarcely a recess on the slave coast in Which
barges engaged in that atrocious commerce did not lie in
wait for captives ; and even on that ocean which English-
men were accustomed to regard as their own—even on
that ocean, not inaptly called their " home upon the
deep," how many a slave traversed to the scenes of his
captivity. Why, then, with that painful experience be-
fore them of the utter futility of all the expedients to
which they had resorted, not call upon the people of
England to put down that mighty evil by the only effi-
cacious means which could be adopted ? They had heard.
Hon. Members expatiating on the advantages of colonial
interest, and discussing duties of 635., 325., or 245., while
they propounded resolutions for sustaining a system of mo-
nopoly by which, and they knew it, the slave-trade had not
been put down, but by which the revenues of the coun-
try were impaired, by which the fiscal difficulties of every
Ministry, whether Whig or Tory, had increased—by
Which the price of one of the neceaaaries of life—by,
which industry was affected and the employment of the
people curtailed—by which the continuance of our com-
mercial relations with the rest of the world was endan-
gered, and by which a field of -boundless enterprise was
closed to the British people.—(Loud cheers.)
Mr. HERRIES said that Considering that the discus-
sion of the present question had lasted for so long a
period that even the House itself was not more wearied_
of its continuance than the country at large—(Hear, hear,
from the Opposition side of the House)—which looked
for something more from -the House than long protracted
debates—which looked for decisions rather than ex-
tended conversations ; he therefore would not on the
present occasion have troubled the House, if he had not
thought it necessary to make a few observations on the
course he was about to adopt. He seldom asked. for the
indulgence of the House, and when he did, he endea-
voured to occupy its attention as short a time as possible.
There was another reason why he thought it necessary
to shorten his observations as much as possible, and that
was the admirable manner in which the Noble Lord, the
Member for North Lancashire (Lord. Stanley) had em-
braced in his speech almost every point which had been
advanced on the other side, and replied to each of those=
points in a manner that defied all the arguments of Hon.
Gentlemen opposite. There were, however, some points
to which his Iloble Friend did not advert, and to which
he (Mr. Herries) wished to draw the attention of the
House, and those points related to the origin as well as
the nature of the present question. The origin of that
question was our present financial emergencies ; and
it was for Honourable Members in the- first place
to examine into those emergencies Which required
the application of such remedies as were pro-
posed, and next to see how far those remedies were
calculated to effect the object for which they were in-
tended. The reason given by the Government for the
proposal of thoSe measures was, that the public finances
were in a most deplorable condition. It was admitted
inthat after five years of increasing embarrassment they
'had at length got to.a dead-lock.l(lfear, hear.) The-
Chancellor of the Exchequer had been reminded, in the,
course of that debate, that, in adverting to the -prin-
ciples of Mr. Huskisson, he had forgotten to observe that
that Right Hon. Gentleman always maintained the ne-
cessity of keeping our finances in order and maintaining-
a surplus revenue. The Hon. Gentleman opposite had
almost challenged a comparison between his own admi-
nistration and that of any preceding Chancellor of the
Exchequer, and had treated it as a matter of absurdity
that any other Chancellor of the Exchequer ("odd
have acted different to himself. But it was an
portant fact, that this administration was - the first
in history which in a time of peace had- srAffera
a continued deficienCy to exist in the finance of
this country.—(Hear, ,hear, hear.) He waii • 'astonished
aluazaaa f
alz rOra the that the Hon. Gentleman had 'iots
retro-
spect. In time of war there. were extra ordinary con-
tingencies
to be met, but the deficiency in this instance
was widely different from any which had existed under
any former administration ? He (Ma Harries) would
call the attention of the House to the history of our
finances at antecedent periods. Between the years
1816 and 1828, when that subject was brought under
1 the consideration of the Finance Committee, it appeared
1 that the surplus arising from the public monies and
applied to the reduction of the public debt, in
those twelve . years was 3,190,0004 In the three
years which followed, 1828, 1829, and 1830, when the,
finances were under the administration of his Hon. Friend •
1 the Member for Cambridge, there was a surplus of ten:
millions. Under the administration of Earl Spencer andi
of Lord Monteagle there was a surplus Of 0,700,000/.
(Hear, hear.) That carried them up to the commence-
ment. of the present administration. He would mention
that, in one year, when there had been a slight
deficiency, 'Lord Althorp greatly deplored the
circumstance, and provided for it in the subsequent
year. Then came a time of commercial difficulty, and
he must say without an apology.—(Hear, hear.) There
was a deficiency of some millions under the present ad-
ministration. The greatest shifts had in consequence
been resorted to, and amongst other things the Savings'
Banks had been encroached upon—(Hear, hear)---a Zit
the simple statement, that as the power was posaessed,
though evidently not intended to be exercised, the Hon.
Gentleman would use it. The blame rested not, with the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, but with the •.vhole Go-
vernment. He charged that Government with_ most unjust
and flagrant administration of the finances ; the result of
it was a great national calamity. The cause of the defi-
ciency must be obvious to every one. It was the result
of a system of compromise, of attempts to obtain that
support without which the Government could not exist.
For example, a deficiency of 1,700,0001. was. entirely
owing to the alteration in the.. Post-office.--(Hear.)
But for that measure there would have hewn scarcely
any deficiency.—(Hear, hear.) To meet these difficul-
ties they were called upon to go into Comeatee on three
measures ; and these measures were proposed upon
two grounds, first as measures of finance ; and secondly. •
as introducing some new and beneficial principle in com-
mercial policy. With respect to the alteration in sugar
and corn, undoubtedly the principle was that theyahould
admit into the consumption of this country, a certain por-
tion of the produce of other countries, so as to displace a
part of the native produce used for home consumption.
Timber and sugar, at least, were singularly ill chosen
for the reduction. The Noble Lord opposite had ac-
knowledged that he had received an intimation from. the
Governor of Canadii, stating that the measure would em-
barrass him in settling the Canadian Governmer.t. It
that were so, it was a sufficient reason for rejecting
it. But the question they were called upon then to
decide was that of sugar.—(Hear, hear, hear.)
• The objection taken, and properly taken, as to going
into Committee at all, appeared to him of such import-
ance, that he, for one, was convinced of the validity of
the objection, and was prepared to give a vote against
going into Committee. The objectioo on principle was
this, that they were about to make a change of those
'duties, whereby they would either do nothing, or admit
into the consumption of this country the produce of
another. He thought, if the present proposition was
carried into effect, it would put to hazard the great ex-
periments which had been set on foot in the emancipa-
tion of the slaves. Upon this point the House had re-
ceived so much testimony from those who. were .so able
to give it, that it was unnecessary for him to enter into the
any measure of the
_
subect at any length, but he could not refrain imn
most
trn
forcible'stating
and pressing upon the House some o
-grounds which made it the imperative duty of the
House
in
• descriptionl°e to a
bosft from a
eone
state of the case with respect to the West India Cola- s
nies and the emancipation of the slaves ? . Why all
those who were best able to speak upon the subject, and
now adopting it. What was the
before
all the documents and reports, together with the
opinions of those who were most deeply interested in
the question of emancipation, all concurred in this, that
the experiment that had been made was working suc-
cessively-, that it was producing the fruits which-this
country had a right to expect from it. But then it
was said that it was a matter of doubt at present
whether that free labour established in the colonies of
this country would be enabled to produce a sufficient
quantity of the staple articles of those colonies for
the consumption of the country. That was the whole
question.—(Hear.) When he looked to the
opinions which had been given upon this subject, he
could not but come to the conclusion that beyond all
question if they would give this experiment a fair trial—
if they would avoid interference of any description
while this experiment was
pending, they might expect
that their utmost hopes would be realised, and that there
.would be a successful termination of all their endeavours.
A gentleman who had visited these colonies lately had
given testimony upon this subject That testimony had
been adverted to by the Hon. Member for the Tower -
Hamlets, and, as he considered it well worthy the atten-
tion of the House, he would read it: The Right Hon.
Gentleman then read the opinion of Mr. Gurney, which
was favourable to the maintenance of prohibluiry duties
on foreign grown sugar, while, at the same time, he ad-
mitted that the high prices of that commodity was
a great detriment to the people of this country.
The Right Hon. Gentleman also read the opinion
of Sir Thomas Powell Buxton, which was to the same
effect. These were the fundamental grounds of objec-
tion upon which he felt disposed to object to this mea-
sure. He thought the proposition that had. emanated
from her Majesty's Ministers was ill placed at a time
like the present when they had such prospects in the
West Indian colonies. He thought that the chance of
the noble experiment, to which he had alluded being
successful, was a sufficient ground to induce the House
to pause before it sanctioned going into Committee upon
the propositions that had been submitted to it by the