The Sun.
London, England, 1841-06-08 00:00:00

CORN-LAWS,

Lord JOHN RUSSELL said that on Friday night he
had stated the course which the Government intended
to pursue with regard to the Committee of Supplies'
and the remainder of the Estimates; he had also stated
that he would amnomice on this day his intention with
respect to the motion on the Corn-laws, of which he had
Oxen notice. It. •would be in the recollection of the House
that he had given that notice on the day or which
MI Right Hon. Frieed, the Chanjellor of the Excite-
qa er brought i:)rwa ecl his financial' statement.
He (Lord John Ilmeell) afterwards rent wed that
notice. It was hie intention to ascertain
, what was thought upon. that motion, as it was one
of very particular importance. Ile did not make the mo-
tion for the mere purpose of bringing forward adiscussion
npou it, but it was his wish to obtain from the :abuse its
opinion with regard to tile policy of an alteration
in the Corn-laws, and with regard to the, principle of
the alteration which he proposed, and the course which
the Government should pursue. The Right Hon.
Gentleman, the Member for Tamworth, had, how-
ever, about a fortnight since, given notice that he
would move it resolution to the' effect that the present
Ministers of her Majesty having been unable to carry
through the House measures which they deemed
4:f the highest importance, their continuance in
office wrts at variance with the spirit of
the Constitution. • ,After the Riebt Honourable
Gentleman had giver . that notice 'he (Lord John
Russell) stated to his collenguesn as a matter for their
consideration, thet if the Rvent Hon. Gentleman should
succeed in gaining a majority in favour of his
motion, it was his (Lord John Russell's) opinion
twit he eur,ht not to act under ate anthoritywhich he lied
obta,!ned from the Cabinet, and brio e• forward the motion of
which ..he had given notice. He stated to them that he
considere; it a measure of the highest importance
to be submitted to the consideration of the House. If
the House should decide that her Majesty's Ministers
r did not possess the confidence of the House, and ought
not to continue in office, it would not, he thought,
be respectful to the House, nor consistent- with
their duty to submit a• measure of so much import-
ance to the present House of Commons. He (lord J.
Russell) found that his colleagues concurred wi,ii him
in opinion, and it was not his intention to proceed with
the subject. In stating that it was not his inteetion
to go on with the subject of the Corn-laws, he mier,ht
perhaps be allowed to go into the general question-4.'4
he stated that he should not hive been deterred fronr
bringing forward that measure by the various reasons
that were stated at different times on the other side
against the propriety of brining forward that motion.
Among the reasons urged agamSt ' bringing forward the
question of the Corn-laws was, that it would increase
the excitement amongst the people. :Cow it
did not appear to bun, he confessed, that dis-
cussion on the subject would . have that effect.
Another branch of the arguments lie would have used
was as to the importation of corn within the last fee,
years, and the duty which had been paid upon it;
and he thought the resnll would have shown that'.
the proposed duty would afford a greater protection than
the duty had been of late. Another questionrelated to the
statement which had been so often madethat this particular
laW . was intended and does act fur the protection
of the agricultural interest. He thought he could show
that what had occurred sincelB2B, ewecially what had cc-
! curred of late years, had shown that the present
sliding scale of duties had tended to derange the
prices more than would a fixed duty. Without vino
into any colter branches of the subject—(Loud Tor,
cheering)—the accusation against him and the Govern,-
reent, of which he had not taken any notice, was that%
for three weeks or a month they ! had put
ihrwerd the pretent question without the hope of
carrying it, and sodely with a view to egitati on.—(Cheers.)
Had he brought forward the question, he should have
shown that the effect of their proposal was not to raise
extravagant, hopes, but fie considered that the question
was One well deserving the attention and full considera-
tion of the liouse.—(Hear, hear.) Let it be recollected
that the whole principle on which his Right Hon-
ourable Friend brought forward his Budget, was
that prohibition should no longer be continued, and that
the great delleieney in the revenue should be secured by
an alteration in these duties. Pint it would have been .
course which might have given some advantage to his'',
Right llon. Friend in making that proposition if he had
left the Coen-In ws altogether on orm' side—if he had left
s that question as it waduring some yeems poet—as it was
uncle rthe Goveeement of fmi (-IG ivy wheftite assumed office
in 1830, and had not considered it aa i h an way
connected with the proposal regarding the sugar and'
timber duties, and ors other matters. He repeated. that
the question might have been left as it wayc in the
time of Lord Grey and Lord Spencer, an open quctilitan,
but he did not think that such a course woultl
have been fair towards the egrieultural interests.—
(Hear, hear.) It did not appear to him that they.
could have stated as a general principle that prohibition
should be done away with, and that the whole tariff should
be revised—that they should make changes to promote
commercial intercourse with other occuotries- without
including the .question of the Corn-laws.—(Hear.)
Therefore he thought it the fairer and plainer
course of proceeding to adopt this principle, nut.
merely with a view to increase the revenue.
but with a view to the various other and extended

interests which would be affected by it, and there-
fore, at nearly the same time, he had thought it would
be best to propose an alteration in the Corn-liaws.

He had tiow- only one remaining statement
to make as regarded the charge made by the- Hight
Hon. Gentleman opposite in the course of his reply ilia
otter evening. The Right Hon. Gentleman had staten:,
and as he (Lord John Russell) understood, had stated hit•:
belief in the statement, that the Government had had two •

Budgets prepared—a fair weather budget and a foul
weather budget—(Cheers.) It was stated at the com-
mencement of these discussions, as acharge against the Go-
verment, that the Budget had been a sudden thought;
that his Right Hon. Friend had, he supposed, in .the
course of a single morning, prepared the whole of those
extensive alterations which he had proposed. That was
a charge so extravagant that he had taken no notice
of it, and the inventors of it, he imagined, had become
so convinced of its extravagance that they had dropped
it.—(Hear, hear.) But those who had invented
that, story, had then invented another, not one
whit more probable than the extraordinary state-
ment to which he had .alluded, and that was
that there had beeu two Budgets prepared,
He could not imagine that any person could. be-
lieve that the advisers of the Crown could so far forget their
duty as to frame two budgets, with e view to their
own political situation. There was oot the least found-
ation for the allegation, mid he regretted that the Hon.
Gentleman should have brought forward such a charge,
or that he should for a moment have given credit
to so absurd a statement • The course which
they then proposed to pursue, was - that which had
been already intimated on Friday evening. They pro-
posed to take the sum that was in the .estimate with re-
gard to the service of Canada and the service of China,
and•they proposed to take, with regard to the Miscel-
laneous Eesumates, a course similar to the one pursued
in 1830, after the death of King George the Fourth ;
they proposed to take a sum on account of the Mieeel- •
laneous Estimates for six months, from the Ist of April,
which would supply the immediate wants of the public
service, and prevent inconvenience both to individtlals
and to public officers. He
(Corti J. ltussell) thoteght
there could not be any objection on the part of '`thatHouse to allow them to take that course. The Noble
Lord the Member for North Lancashire said,
the other
night, that the question of dissolution was not
One
which ought to be discussed in that House, as it was the
undoubted •prerogative of the Crown. Whether
a_ In. 0 •
there war
‘.Pv;idsv
bfeCerd," the
Opinion were right or not, he thouglit
man who could say, that lifter that division
voted.
noed
night, when 623 Members of that IrTioha
there
not de-
Rightthere
wasH ( no.
were only eight Members
al?3-ava.onienta, majority of tvilftheont:e.hei
had
I°
Glared their opinions, andh
a had not beent
House—(Hewn)—
"°
waited upon by either party n Government, or env
• for the support of the exisuGngeoceman
(Sir R. Peel'
Government the Right Hon.lnd
laughter)—he said
might form—(Hear, hear,
when suchwas the division of ofonion in that House,
case, as to the propriety Of giving
any advice to her
whatever might be
itliit;.est y
respecting an appeal to the
9
country, he thought it must be generally allowed, both
of the kingdom,that
not.
there and in every part it was nothe
continuance of that Housa,
to be expected, duringb
foundt in favour of the
any majority•would support of ,
being the -
the Government. teuch case he confessed that. .
it appeared to hint as clear as any proposition in polities ~e
ever did, that the only mode of solving the queseaon was
that the country itself should decide upon a eraleation -eft
which so affected it--(Hear, hcar)—that that Ckeisioneat
being made, if it was not in favour of the party in office',
he thought it would be highly inexpedient and mut&
visable to continue any struggle for the purpose
,of con-
tinuing in the offices they now held ; but if the opinion
was the contrary way they might then make some progress
in those ineasures which they felt so necessary for the pule-
lie welfare. This was the whole statement he had to make ee
with respect to _the course which they meant to pursue_
He had at least stated as fairly and freely as •he could
their intention. He knew not if there was any question
which he had not touched upon, but if there was any
such, and he could do so consistently with his duty to
the Crown, he should he ready to answer it.—(Cheers.)
The Order of the Day was then read for going into a.
Conunittet of Supply. . . .
Sir ROBERT PEEL .said. he would simply state,
clearly and distinctly, but he hoped as frankly as the .Noble
Lord, his view of the present position of the Government.
In reference at those questions to which the Noble Lord
more particularly referred, in the first place, he would
' notice the charges -which the Noble Lord had brought e
against him. He was somewhat relieved to 'find that 4
they were at one with reference to the budget. He had 4`
-
not taken advantage of a reply on the late debate, al--
though he knew that he hadA perfect "lc-lit to do si).
Nothing could be farther from his interb,tion., When
he heard the Noble Lord speaking of ilia advuttie
resulting to the country from the FOreign •