The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-25 00:00:00

Ti.j N, RUN,: LONDON. TUESDAY, MAY 23. 1441.

POLITICAL PARSONS.

I HOUst Aot
F, IL)
Their Lordships met at -Fire ()VW:. •
The Duke of WELLINGTON presented several peti
AORRAI, A11f310E247
flops from pine in Kent against alteration of the c;orn-
laws.

The Guardian has attacked Dr. Joynes, the rector of
Gravesend, for attending a corn-law lecture, and inter
a/ia giving the sanction of his countenance to a political
manmuvre. Before we dispose of this attack in the man-
ner it merits, we must congratulate our contemporary on
his new born zeal against political clergymen ; like other
sudden and modern conversions, it is worthy of particular
remark. " The Duke" and Sir Robert were suddenly con-
verted .tothe necessity of _Catholic Emancipation, and
opened -the doors of Parliament to. statesmen of that per-
suasion ; our beloved brother of the Guardian is as
suddenly shocked at the clergy interfering with po-
litical . matters. Does he also desire to open the
doors of Parliament :and request the bishops to
walk out ? Perhaps he is not prepared to stretch
his principles quite to this extent. Well, we will not be
too hard upon him ; let him just whisper into the ears of
half his readers—rather more, we fancy—who belong to
the cloth, that it is highly unseemly for clergymen to
mix with party politics, and that if any of the many in
this clerically-blessed county interfere at the next gene-
ral .election, he will incontinently gibbet them in his
columns, and hold them up to the contempt and execra-
tion of the " many thousands " who weekly listen to his
patriotic denunciations. _ _

messengers from the Commons brought up the South
Western Railway Bill, the Clent Vicarage Bill, the
Shotts and Wilson Railway Bill, and several other pri-
vate bills, which were severally read a first time.
Earl FITZ WILLIAM presented petitions for repeal
of the Corn laws from the Ward of' Farringdon, in
the City of London ; from Bridgewater ;'from Lothian,
and several other places in Scotland ; from Griridleton, in
Yorkshire ; and from a great number of places in va-
rious parts of England.
Lord WILLOUGHBY D'ERESBY presented a num-
ber of petitions from Lincolnshire, Nottinghamshire,
Huntingdonshire, and parts of Yorkshire, against any
alteration of the Corn-laws; the Noble Lord Made-some
.observations which were not heard in the gallery.
Earl FITZWILLIAM rose amidst some laughter and
cries 'of " Oh, oh." My Lords I undoubtedly told my
Noble Friend that I would not raise' a discussion upon
the presentation of petitiOns.(Hear, and a laugh.) But
as my Noble Friend has presented petitions from parts
of the country with which he and I are equally connect-
ed, I think I could find no opportunity more convenient
than the present , for calling your Lordship's attention to •
some facts connected with the question.—(Oh, oh.)
Yoiir Lordships,. I have no doubt, have seen the recent
publication of a letter addressed by the Noble Lord to the
Chairman of a Meeting in the County of Lineoln,
in which an apprehension is expressed, that the measure
proposed by her Majesty's Government will be detri-
mental to the country.—(Cries of hear, hear, and a laugh.)
But, in my opinion, the fear of my Noble Friend and of
those who agree with him, have prostrated their under- i
standings.(Laughter.) My Noble Friend states in the
letter that a duty of Bs. upon corn would have the effect
of sweeping away one-third of the rent of the country.—
(Cheers.) I believe, my Lords, it will have no such ef-
ect.(oh, oh.) If you think, my Lords, it will have any
such effect, what becomes of the charge which your
Lordships so often make against me, in speech and ges-',
ture, that I falsely accuse a part of the Legislature with'
acting upon selfish motives in maintaining the present
laws ?—(Hear.) For if the ground of your Lordships'
apprehension be, that the proposed alteration would sweep
away a third of the rent, then it follows that you wish to
maintain the law to prevent a reduction of your rents.
(Cries of " No.") What then, my Lords, is your object ?
The Earl of WINCHILSEA—To give employment
to the labourer ? •
Earl FITZWILLIAM—What labourers ?
The Earl of WINCHILSEA—To the labourers who
are now employed upon those lands, which would be
thrown out of cultivation.—(Cheers.)
Earl FITZWILLIAAI—I wish to be told in what
part of the country those lands are that would be thrown
out of cultivation ?—(Cries of " Oh," and " Question.")
The Earl of WINCHILSEA—Why in Lincolnshire
itself, as the Noble Earl must know very well.—(Hear.)
Earl FITZWILLIAM.—I defy any one to find out
the place in Lincolnshire in which one-third of the rent
would be swept away. Is it in the fens ? Is it in the
rich lands of the north ? Is it on the heath ?—(Hear,
hear, from Lord Winchilsea.) I am glad to hear that
cheer. I am owner, and I have been a cultivatora great part
of my life of lands upon the heath, and I am bound to say
that the effect would be to lower the rent to some extent,
though not to throw any portion of that land out. of cul-
tivation.—(Hear, hear, and a laugh.) My Lords, lam
right glad to find that their Lordships admit that this is
a landlord's question. You admit that the reduction of
the price to the farmer would be met by a reduction of
rent.—(Cheers.) My Lords, I wanted no more
to justify me in saying that this is a landlord's
question, and not a tenant's.—(Cheers, and cries of " Oh !)
But my Noble Friend says that the value of agricultu-
ral capital would be swept away.—(Hear, hear.). My
Noble Friend says one-third.—(Hear.) Now what
the meaning of this? Is it meant that the farmer will
lose every third waggon, plough, and harrow ? Or
is it meant that' these would be reduced one-third
in cost? If so, I think it would be a great advan-
tage to the country that one-third less capital would
be equally efficient in cultivating the land. .The
Noble E_.rl proceeded to say that the value of labour
did not keep pace with the price of provisions. That
was the opinion of Mr. Burke, who said that the squires
of Norfolk, when they expressed a contrary belief,
" must have dined." A temporary rise in prices was, in
fact, more prejudicial than otherwise to the labourer,
inasmuch as it necessarily left him more competition
to contend with, without any compensating demand,
During the late high prices he had received a statement
from a Poor-law Commissioner to the effect that wages
had in no instance with which he was acquainted, been
raised more than 2s. ; in other cases they had been raised
Is. ; and in other cases there had been no rise whatever.
The greatest delusion had been attempted to be practised
as to the price at which foreign corn could be sold in this
country. A gentleman, formerly a Member of Parlia-
ment, had stated in a pamphlet, that corn could be shipped
from the warehouses on the Continent for 265. a quarter.
There could be no greater delusion' than was attempted
to be practised upon the people of Lincolnshire on the
present occasion. It was in that way that appre-
hensions were attempted to be excited, and for which
there was not the slightest foundation. That the pro-
posed alteration would have the effect of lowering prices
touch below the average of the last eighteen years, was a
proposition he did not think any man would be able
,to
make out.—(Hear, hear.) He was aware of the great
authority attached to every thing emanating from
a p:!rson in his Noble Friend's station ; and, therefore,
he could not suffer these statements to be made, which
were founded on misrepresentation and misconception,
without offering a few obserVations to their Lordships.
• Lord WILLOUGHBY D'ERESBY, who was very
indistinctly' heard in the gallery, said he regretted the_
Noble Earl had not waited the arrival and presentation
of the petition to which he had alluded. Although
the Noble Earl might despise that letter—[Earl
Fitzwilliam—" No, indeed, I do not"]—he was gra-
tified to say thßt he had consulted the labourers as to
the amount of Wages that would satisfy them—he em-
ployed 180 of themllimself, and might be supposed to
know something of their edition.—(Hear.) The letter
had been written by him as ansapology for not being able
to attend the meeting. He certainly never expected that
it would have been brought undr their Lordships' con-
sideration.

But while we perfectly agree with the principle of our
contemporary's remarks, we are afraid that he has not
such a good case to illustrate them as we could wish.
We much regret the same truths did not strike him a
short time ago, when a reverend gentleman—we beg
pardon clergyman, for clergymen are not always
gentlemen—denounced the Queen, the head of his Church,
as a "Jezebel," and her Ministers as something worse;
or when another rev, clergyman took occasion, at Ash-
ton, to attack the Government as " democrats, infidels,
and atheists," and called upon his hearers to oppose them
to the last extremity. These would have been capital
cases in point, but, unfortunately, our contemporary was
not then converted to his present opinions.
A lecture on the repeal of the Corn-laws is not a party
matter ; at least our contemporary's friends say not.
They claim, as the great leader of the free trade move-
ment, the late Mr. Huskisson ; nay, the present Lord
Ashburton, one of their chief speakers, has done more to
advocate it than any other man ; and their especial
" Thunderer," of Printing-house Yard, has over and
over again enforced its necessity, policy, and expediency.

But though a lecture on the-evil effects of the Corn-
laws may not be a matter of party politics, and though
Dr. Joynes and the lecturer may have held and uttered
the same opinions long before Government adopted them,
still we think there are several matters in which the
Rev. Doctor lays himself open to the lash of our contem-
porary. He is in truth a very strange man, and in most
of his actions and opinions seems to do things differently
from his brethren. During the good old times when
the pulpit was perseveringly and most profitably used as
a tool of the Government, Dr. Joynes refused to do any
thing of the sort, and was for many years professing
principles which shut him out from all profit and all ad-
vancement. Conduct like this was a censure by implica-
tion upon his reverend brethren, for which the Guardian
should severely trounce him.
_ _

Moreover, when it was the fashion, as it is the
fashion, to support the Church by "forced contribu-
tions," warrants for Church-rates, &c., Dr. Joynes
positively declared that he did not approve of such pro-
ceedings, and wished the Church to be supported by
pillars of faith and hive, piety and charity, rather than
by, pillars of gold and the strong arm of the law. This
was extremely heterodox, but as it was so very unusual
in a clergyman, and Dr. Joynes could not do much mis-
chief by himself, it was passed over by his ecclesiastical
Diocesan ; no. reason, however, that it should be passed
over by the Guardian.
Again, the conduct of Dr. Joynes and his family may
be greatly complained of by the other clergy. What a
depraved taste, what a shocking example, it must be to
see a Rector of a great parish, and his female relatives,
instead of paying court to hierarchs, noblemen, Mem
bers of Parliament, or even the gentlefolks of the
county, going day by day into poor and miserable
cottages, inhabited by low-bred people, who may
happen to be dying, and without medicine, or famish-
ing, and without food. Really such perverted habits
and extraordinary conduct should draw down the ful-
minations of our contemporary, as being at total vari-
ance with the common practice; though they may pos-
sibly have led to the Dochir's opposition to prohibitory
laws.

As we wish to " help a lame dog over a stile," we
throw out these few hints, which we think contain suffi-
cient matter to enable our contemporary to give the hete-
rodox Doctor a thrust under the left ribs, which, should
he succeed in doing, and Gravesend be deprived of her
present pastor (our contemporary not choosing to take
the office himself), we could recommend as his successor
the present Dean of York, or, should he not be procura-
ble, the Rev. Dr. 3.lolesworth, either of whom will be
more to our contemporary's mind, and much less deviate
from established practices and principles than Dr. Joynes.
—Kentish Mercury.

THE THREE PARTIES.
"GLORIOUS CONSTITUTION!"

In the course of Mr. Villiers' admirable speech in the
House of Commons, on. Tuesday evening, he observed
that " there were now three parties in the State—one of
which thought that no justice should be done to the
people ; another which admitted that justice was not
done to. them, but that it ought to be done, and that it
could be done under the present Constitution ; the third
party consisted of those who were hourly increasing in
numbers and strength, and who thought that justice
was not done and would not be done without a change in
the Constitution." The three parties alluded to, we need
scarcely add, are the Tories, Whigs, and Radicals.
There never was a definition which fitted the case so well
as this of Mr. Villiers; nor does he exaggerate when he
says, that the third, or ladical
,party, are " hourly in-
creasing in numbers and strength."
We believe that the great proportion of the thinking
people of this country are rapidly losing faith in what is
called " our glorious Constitution in Church and State."
That glorious Constitution is neither more nor less than
a huge and overgrown lie :; and, as Carlyle says, " no
lie can live." What is the Constitution to those who
have not bread to eat ? What signifies to a bankrupt
and impoverished people, that they have a glorious Con-
stitution, if under that very Constitution they have been
reduced to want and beggary ? Of what consolation is
the " Church and State " to starving hand-loom weavers,
to half-fed agricultural labourers, to ruined merchants,
to decaying tradesmen, to whole towns and cities of
paupers ? Is not the Constitution which produces such
results, rather a public nuisance and imposture than a
thing which should be praised and honoured of mankind?
"It works well !" says some one. Yes ! For bread-
taxers, for established clergy, for sinecurists, and for all
the hungry hangers-on of the monied and landed aristo-
cracy. But does it work well for the people ? A system
of imposture ; an organized scheme of depredation, cor-
rupti,n, and oppression of the industrious classes ; a col-
lectiu:i of the pretences under which the aristocracy have
been in the habit of carrying on an incessant war for the
sacriiice.of the universal to their own particular interest.
The people want a real Constitution, not a sham : they
will recognize a true Government, but they refuse any
longer to bow down before an established lie. It is to
obtain a genuine Constitution which is the object of the
" third party " of which Mr. Villiers speaks—the Radi-
cal Reformers .of the United Kingdom.—Leeds Times.

SHIPPING INTELLIGENCE.
(LLOYD'S_ )
.. _ ..

LONDON, MAr 24.--:Wind this day at noon, N.E., fresh,
fine, clear weather.
DEAL, MA Y 23.—Wind E.S.E.—Arrived from the River
and sailed, the Surprise, for the South Seas; Euphrates, Mau-
ritius ; Hercules, St. John's.
HASTINGS, MAY 23.—Arrived off, the Albers, Ester,
from New Orleans, for Bremen.
DARTMOUTH, MAY 21.—Arrived off, the John Pirie, from
Antigua; Burney, Hopkins, New York. Sailed, the Sophia,
Joup, for Teneriffe ; Nisith, Labrador.
_ _ _ _

PLYMOUTH, MAY 23.—Wind E.S.E.—Sailed the China,
for Sydney, New South Wales,
FALMOUTH, MAY 21.—Wind E., fresh gales and fq nally.
22, Wind E.—Arrived the Tagus steamer, from Gibraltar,
left 13th, Cadiz 14th, L'sbon 17th, Oporto 18th, Vigo 19th.
Sailed the Crane packet, for the West Indies ; Mentor, Con-
stantinople; Two Sisters, Montreal.
LIVERPOOL, MAY 22.—Wind E. moderate. 23, slight.—
Arrived the Montague, Crane, from Buenos Ayres; Mary,
Hawkins, Demerara, sailed 13th ult ; Enchantress, Bassett,
Nassau; Fenella, Smardon, Malaga; Mary, Wheelwright, St.
Domingo; Octorara, Smith, New Orleans; Catharine, Ma-
son, Mobile • European, M'Clellan, ; Christiania,
Simpson, Charleston. Sailed the Majestic and Madonna for
Bombay ; Lord Althorp, Valparaiso; Lady Flora Hastings,
Bahia ; Eliza Johnstone, Pernambuco ; Lancaster, Berbice ;
Fleurs, St. John's, New Brunswick ; Otter, Constantinople ;
Isabel, Leghorn; Peruvian, Baltimore; Thomas Sparks,
Canton; Columbia, Jamaica; Lynx; Tampico; Horatio,
Honduras; Palestine, Boston; Albina, Quebec; Lotus,
Quebec ; Winscalas, Montreal; Cloughtane, Naples ; Prince
Albert, St. John's, New Brunswick; Hortensia, St. Do-
mingo. Arrived off, the Arethusa, Card, from Cuba.
PETERHEAD, MAY 20.—The Ida, from Stettin to Liver-
pool, is stranded on Ratray Brigs, and it is expected will be-
come a wreck—crew saved.

SHIELDS, MAY 21.—Arrived the Weldon, Williamson,
from Valparaiso.
RAMSGATE, MAY 23.—Arrived the Lady Jane, Stewart,
from Charleston. Arrived off the Wight, 23d, the Juno,
Gibbs, from Brazils ; Julia, Danneman, from Rio Janeiro.
GXUNSTADT, MAY 7.—The Hilda, from Gottenburg to
Algiers, put in here on the Ist with rudder pintles broken, but
has been repaired, and will proceed.

VESSELS .SPOKEN Wm-J.—The United Kingdom, London
to Quebec, 4th inst., lat. 44, lon. 50; Sovereign, lat. 45, lon.
47 ; Charlotte, 9th, lat. 45, lon. 46, and Rainbow, same day,
by the Josepha, arrived at Liverpool. William Walker, Scar-
borough to Quebec, 2d, lat. 46, lon. 54; Lord Wenlock, Hull
to Miramicki, sth, lat. 40, lon. 49, by the Arethusa, arrived
at Cork; Grace, Mauritius to Southampton, Ist inst., lat. 30,
lon. 41, by the Julia, arrived off the Wight.

MIRACULOUS ESCAPE.--As three men, who
were employed in removing some stones which pro-
jected out rather more than wished, in the Gotyrcoed
tunnel, Taff Vale Railway, were standing on a platform
at work, a large rock, weighing about 2 tons, gave way
and broke the scaffolding in pieces. The effect was such
as to render the men quite senseless, but when they re-
covered they found one of their companions, a most in-
dustrious man, named Lewis Abraham, lying down with
the whole of the weight on his hand 3 they lost no time
in getting him up, and then carried him home, when
Mr. Strange, surgeon, was sent for, and upon exa-
mination found his collar bone fractured, and that he had
received severe bodily contusions. He is now doing very
well.—Cambrian.
ITALY.—Letters from Rome of the Bth inst.
announce that Viscount Carreira, the-new Envoy of. Portugal,
would be admitted to present his credentials to the Pope on
the Corp-
lthe 10th. The Russian Ambassador, M. de Potemkin, was
to be. emoved to Naples, and replaced is Rome by M. de
Boutenieff.
Corn-
laws The
was D
signede rby in five
by repeal6?s
ma ofles,Which
is
upwards of 2,000 more than signed the petition to the
same effect last year.—Derby Reporter.

would say to us, in times of scarity, " You have thrown
your own lands
.out of cultivation, you have a starving
population, clamorous for food, and we know that, whatever
duties we choose to impose you must pay, for you can-
not do without our corn."—(Hear, hear.) If the state

--(mired additional burdens to be laid on the people,
the agricultural interest would cheerfully bear their share
)t sueii burdens.—(Hear, hear.) He would say to the
Government lay them on, but do not pursue the fatal
course of raising this cry of cheap bread throughout the
%;otmtry.—,(Hear, hear.) Did the Noble WO wish to
see the price of wheat down to 355. a quartet, as it had
been in 1832, when the labouring classes had no employ-
ment ?--.--(Hear, hear,) Of what use would cheap bread
be to them if they had no employment ?—(Hear, hear.)
The manufacturers, he was convinced, were as much in-
terested in the maintenance of the Corn-laws as the
agriculturists, and he coincided in the opinion which had
been attributed to Mr. Chaplin.—(Hear, hear.)
Earl FrrzWILLIAM cared little about the accusation
brought against him by the'Noble Earl of having misre-
presented Mr. Chaplin, but the fact was he had not done
so. He had said Mr. Chaplin was labouring under a
misapprehension, and the Noble Earl seemed to labour
:uider a similar one, that the present price of corn in fo-
reign markets was •to be taken as a criterion of what it
would be under an altered state of things,. forgetting that
the first consequence of a demand for corn from the Eng-
lish market must be to raise the price abroad.—(Hear.)
Lord REDEpALE characterised any alteration of
the Corn-laws as the spoliation of the largest interest in
the kingdom.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Earl said that
if a man could stock a farm under the proposed system
for 1,000/., whereas it would now cost 1,500/. to do the
same thing, he saw no great harm in it. That was the
same as saying there would be no great harm if a manu-
facturer should be able to purchase for 100,0001. a gentle-
man's estate which was now worth 150,0001.—(Hear.)
He believed that was what the manufacturers wished to
do—(Hear, hear)—that the object was, by these mea-
sures, wherever they had a mortgage, to obtain posses-
sion of the-estate.—(Hear, hear.) All the great landed
interests, the landlords, the farmers, and the labourers
nust all go together, for he was convinced that the
-"arrners and the labourers were equally interested with
the landlords in upholding the present Corn-laws.

Earl FITZ WILLIAM should be very sorry to have
uttered such a speech as the Noble Baron had Just made.
—(Hear, hear.) He denied that such were the motives
ofthe manufacturers in seeking a repeal of the Corn-laws.
The Earl of HARDWICKE said it was too much to say
that the object of their Lordships was only to keep up
rents. Their Lordships were not, the sole proprietors of
land, but they were anxious to protect the rights of
chose who possessed a few acres only, upon which their
whole subsistence depended. The Noble Lord talked of
rent as if it was something that affected the Members ( f
that House alone—as if it were not the staple of the
country.—(Cheers.) In time-of war and financial dis-'
tress, where did you turn but to the land, which bore
every burden ?—(Cheers.) Tax us (said the Noble
Lord), but do not destroy us.—(Cheers.) The Noble
Earl (Fitzwilliam) spoke not to their Lordships, but to
the reporters of the press and to the people out of doors.
—(Cheers, and a laugh.) Why did not the Noble Lord
fix a day for the discussion of the whole question ?
(Hear, hear.) He did indeed give notice once, but (said
the Noble Earl, repeatedly clapping his hands) he
flinched—he was choked off.—(Great laughter.) He
(Lord Hardwicke) deprecated the ,practice of making in-
cidental speeches of an inflammatory tendency upon this
subject night after night, and imputing sordid motives to
the Members of that House.—(Hear, hear.)
The Earl of RADNOR supposed that the reproof of
the Noble Lord was inteuded to apply to him as well as
to his Noble Friend (Earl Fitzwilham), but he denied
that either of them intended to excite the people. He
still contended that the whole object of the Corn-laws
was to uphold rent. It was said that the object was to
employ labour in the cultivation of the land. Now, if
that were the case, why was the produce of grass land
protected ?—(Hear, hear.) There Was a tax upon the
importation of horses, also upon the importation of asses.
—(Laughter.) Horned cattle were prohibited, so were
sheep and swine.—(Hear, hear.) Turkeys, fowls,
cheese, milk, and eggs were taxed.—(Hear, hear, and a
laugh.) There was not an article of food of any descrip-
tion which was not taxed. What could. be the object of
that but to put money into the pockets of the landlords?
—(Hear, hear.) Not only the produce of the land, but
that of the seas was taxed.—(Hear, hear.) Now, this
was said to be done for the sake of protecting the
fisheries, and of encouraging a race of seamen.
How was the fact ? What fish was the most highly
taxed ? Why, salmon the fisheries of which
had nothing to do with educating seamen. Se-
veral Noble Lords by means of this tax derived
as • much as 4,0001. and 5,0001. a year from their
salmon fisheries. But what fish did their Lordships
think was exempt from taxation ? They would suppose
it was some ignoble fish ; but it was no such thing. It
was a fish that never was seen on the table of a poor
man. It was turbot.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) Yes,
there was another fish not taxed. Was that a poor
man's fish ? No, indeed ;it was lobster—that their
Lordships might have sauce for their turbot.—(Laughter.)
This was not a matter for their Lordships to laugh at.
Hundreds of thousands of their countrymen were starv-
ing around them ; whilst every animal upon the earth,
every fish in the sea, and every bird of the air, was taxed
to prevent its coming to those famished people.—(Hear,
hear.) The Noble Earl then went through a series of
returns from 1802 to 1839, to show that the rate of
wages did not depend upon the price of food, but, like all
other prices, on the demand and the supply. In the
course of the years to which these returns referred wages
were at the highest when food was at the lowest, and on
the other hand when food was dearest wages were lowest.
It was also pretended that the effect of the Corn-laws
was to render this country independent of foreign coun-
tries for the supply of corn. Nothing could be more
contrary to the fact. In the years 1838, 1839, and 1840,
6,235,000 quarters of wheat were imported ; and since
the establishment of these pernicious and disastrous laws,
one-sixth of the corn consumed in this country was de-
rived from abroad. He believed the laws to be most mis-
chievous, and he would do all in his power to procure
their repeal.

LordASHBURTON hoped that the temper in which
the subject was discussed in that House and throughout
the country, would be a warning to the Noble Viscount
at the head of her Majesty's Government, that he should
not, without the most urgent necessity, agitate questions
which had the effect of setting every interest in the coun-
try in hostile array against every other.—(Cheers.) It
was a maxim with a statesman, to whom history has done
tardy justice (Sir R. Walpole), quiets non movere.—
(Cheers.) But the Noble Viscount acted upon the very
reverse of that maxim.—(Loud cheers.) But he would
not accuse the Noble Lord of throwing the country into
agitation, for tte sake of covering his weakness in both
Houses of Parliament.—(Cheers.) As the Noble Lords
opposite contended that the wages of labour did not
depend upon the price of food ; he would beg to refer to
the practice of the manufacturers, when the price of food
was low. They collected labourers from all parts of the
country to compete with those already in employment.—
(Hear.) In their petitions upon the very question of the
Corn-laws, they made it a subject of complaint, that the
high price of food compelled them to pay high wages,
and prevented them from competing with those countries
in which food was cheaper.—(Hear.) He read an ex-
tract from a pamphlet of Lord John Russell, in which
the Noble Lord pronounced political philosophy to be an
awful thing—(a laugh)—upon the most important points on
which no two writers were agreed—this question of the
relation of wages to the price of food being the most dif-
ficult and the most disputed.—(Cheers.) In the same
pamphlet the Noble Lord (J. Russell) deprecated any
interference with the Corn-laws.—(Hear and a laugh.)
He (Lord Ashburton) was of opinion that, if the people
of this country would have food at the same price as
other countries, they must be content to live as the
• people of other countries ; and it was to be remembered
that Mr. Jacob, in his report to the Government stated
that the people in the east of Europe all, lived upon
black bread, and that he never saw white bread on the
East side of the Rhine.—(Hear.) The Noble Lord then
went into a comparison of the quantities and kinds of food
consumed by the mass of the people in this country, in
France, and Germany, to show that the condition of the
people of England was, In respect to food and comfort,
vastly superior to that of the people on the Continent.
He contended, therefore, that the system had conduced
to the good and happiness of the nation at larger and
ought not rashly to be ilpset topsy.tniwy,—(Cheers.)
The Earls of KADIN OR and FIT/IWILLIAM ex-
plained.
Lord PORTMAN brought up the Report of the Com-
mittee.on the Brighton and Shoreham Railway, which
was ordered to be re-committed 'to-morrow,

Earl FITZWILLIAM believed the consideration of
the farmers, and the good nature of individuals had in
many instances met the necessity of the case, but that
was not the rule which should govern the rate of wages.
Lord W. D'ERESBY said the wages which he had
stated were not those paid in his immediate neighbour-
hood, but throughout the whole country. •
The Earl of WINCHILSEA thought it was exceed-
ingly inconvenient to bring in discussions on so impor-
tant a subject, affecting not merely the agricultural inter
rest, but every interest connected therewith, on the presen-.
tation of petitions. He had on former occasions refrained
from offering any observations on the presentation of
petitions, but he begged leave to say a few words
on the present occasion. The Noble Earl could
not be unacquainted with the character -of
that respectable country gentleman, Mr. Chaplin, who
represented the county of Lincoln on a former occasion;
there was no man who lived more among his te-
nantry, or was more anxious to promote their in-
terests.—(Hear, hear.) He had never attended a pub-
lic meeting at which so much devoted attachment
was displayed towards any individual, and he had no
hesitation in saying that the charge to which the Noble
Earl had alluded was false.—(Earl Fitzwilliam—" I did
not make any charge against him.") He would go with
Mr. Chaplin, in saying that corn could be brought in at
26s.,which, with the Bs. duty, would be 345. per quarter.
—(Hear.) It appeared to him that the present syStem
was the best that ever had been devised—(Hear,
hear)—on an average of years it had worked well,
and he was convinced that under it all labouring classes
had received a better price than they could hope for
under any other system. He was surprised to hear the
Noble Earl contend that the price •of wages did not de-
pend upon the price of corn. He thought the average
of many years past must have convinced him of the fal-
lacy of that assertion. He was his own steward on all
his properties ; he let his own lands, he drew up his own
agreements with his tenants, he directed the method.of
cultivation that was to be pfirsued, and lie was as prac-
tically acquainted with the agricultural interest as any
land agent in the Kingdom. In K4int, in Lincolnshire,
in Northamptonshire—in all the counties with which
he was connected, wages had been invariably. affected,
arid the price of corn in Kent, where, when the price of
corn was low, in 1835, the wages had • been 9s. a week,
they were now from 13s. to 15s. In Lincolnshire when,
12 s,—(Heffr, hear.)
telFbe a delesion.-7(ltear, hear.)
in 183 N they had been 10s. they were now 13s. 66.
..1179'.hwere, in 1835 they
hiand.ed b
ebi nlieeelneNd9oasr.
fit lixatemhdepd)truo
tnyv,sh
neontplrro•
The
efighriithulturists only wished for.
When the price of corn was low ino
t woouolvdprbnem
ot el
lcd-
tvieonnt
venture
e all,to collect and whenit. it
a fair protection, and the great body of them shared the
advantages and the burdens equally. with-the
.labourers,
and if the manufacturers had done the same ho did not
believe that the present distress would have existed.—;
(Hear, heitr.) no factory system had caused all the
existing evils.—(Hear, hear.) Men, when they at- HOUSE OF COMMONS, May 24.
tamed the age of twenty-five, were thrown out of em- The SPEAKER took the Chair shortly before Four
ployment, because it was cheaper to employ women. and o'Cloek,
children, and those men, thus thrown out of em- Mr. Rawson, from the Poor-law Commissioners,
ployment, were so crippled and demoralized by brought up papers.
their previous labours in the factories that they were Mr, BERNAL brought up the Reports of the Com-
unfit for aniciiitural employment, and were driven to mittees on the Leeds and Selby Road Bill, the Gourdon
work at hand-loonue et which it was impossible they , Harbour Bill,- the Olveston Inclosure, and the Great
could earn more than 6s, Bd, a-week. He hoped the at Leinster and Munster Railway Bill.
tention of the Legislature would, en long, he drawn to Mr. GREEN brought up the Reports of the Cm;
the growing evils of the factory ,system.--(I at., )tgo„,) mittees on the Totnes and St, Helen's Snail PAt§! Till. The effect of any alteration in the Corn-laws would be to. On the motion of Sir lie officnEwrat, the Baru,:
throw the laud out of cultivation. In Lincolnshire staple and Braunton Roads Bill was read a third time anti
there were lave tracts of land which were not worth 'passed.
more than 'ls. 6d. an Ere, . and which were On the motion of Mr. BLAKE the South 'Western
only kept in . cultivation in on artificial man- Railway Bill, was read a third time and passed.
nee.--(Hear, hear, from Earl FitzwiWam.). Now,' Sir D. NORREYS brought up the Report of the Corn-
if the price of pm were such that the farmer mittpe on the Ipswich Docks Bills,
could not afford to Menthe. these lands, they must be i3la the mottoh of Mr: TIOCKUART, the shot, and
thrown out of cultivation, fe Kmit there was land which Welsontown Railway TM was Mild a third time, and
had formerly been offereq to the faring!? cola i free if he passed,
would cultivate it, and it had been refused ofi those mr. GILLON presented petitions from Kilmarnock
terms. That land was now manured and cultivated.— Pl 4 li"CreW in favour of the propositions of the Govern,
("Hear, hear," from Earl Fitxwilliao,) , The proposed Mellt ; and from Gfeello43 Wing, any alteration in the
measure would entail rain on all proprietors of land so. present system Of haldiing in Scotland,
situated. Let their Lordships recollect, that, Vehether Mr, T-/BADK presented a, petition agreed to at a
cultivated or not, land had to support the burden of the' public meeting of the inhabitants of Westminster. The
Poor-rate and the Highway-rate $ and., while all , other petitioners complained of the laws which enhanced the
interests were protected, the agrictatimfits
worp
els° en- price of provisions, which appeared to them a violation of
titled to protection.—(Heax, hear;)• They world . no, tioloojotiee—that the Corn-laws were mwtt smiwe
allow them toe have cheap shoes; Pr'eheAp ttgs, or cheap high pftoo ti gip iimllpos mid tf, ~,ippie t__, tfa4e
silks—why, then, shon.44 they 07 o!tt for cheap corn?— enramerce, P. manufactures r b
of 14 country-,tbut leg..i§!
(Hear, hear.) If the. e4!•inifFY„- w°re • ever dependent 1400 IcT clgss interests as they regarded the laws Mating
upon foreigners for a suPPY. corn, anti if h • • t corn timber, awl sogar wo
~ wea it O,• t • • • ! ili. Ilil longer be endured
and they •
came in, it were made a source of revenue, was it itii to- by the people, an prayed t e immediate
repeal of
be supposed that other countries would make it a source all taxes affecting the necessaries of life. The Hon.
of revenue as it, Yrott out ?--(Hear, hear? hear.)
,Theiy, ,Member also rresented petitions to the same effect from
~ 04,-,..-iL.,.:-.,,,. :-:, i,:,•:,i... , ,
. .

Lord YARBOROUGH presented a number of peti-
tions from Wigan, and other places, against the repeal of
the Corn-laws.

The Marquis of WESTMINSTER presented petition,:
froni•Vnisle, ttucl other phteeo, fiwoor of five 'trade.
Lord ME.I4BOURNE presented a great number of pe-
titions from Dundee, and other places, for a moderate
duty upon imported corn.
Lord MODEN presented petitions from Hereford and
Essex, against Altgrgion of the Camdems.
Lord SONDES presented similar petitions from Kent.
Their Lordships then Adjourned.

Bridgewater, West Hackney, Clerkenwell, Cannon-street,
St. George's, Cheltenham-place, Westminster-road, .Wap-
ping, London-road, and several other places.
Mr. WILBRAHAM presented a petition from a con-
gregation of Protestant Dissenters of Soho, prayinf, for
the abolition of Church-rates; also a petition in favour
of a repeal of the Corn-laws.

Mr. EWART presented a petition from Warrington
and other places in Lancashire, in favour of the mea-
sures introduced by Goverfunnt for the alteration
of the duties on corn,_ timber, and sugar 4 also a peti-
tion to the same effect from an individual named
John M'Taggart, of Liverpool, and another petition to
the same effect from a place in Surrey ; also a petition
praying for the remission of punishment on all political
offenders at present imprisoned.
Mr. THORNELY presented a petition from a Bap-
tist congregation in Staffordshire, praying for the aboli-
tion of Church-rates, and the liberation of Mr. Baines.
Mr. GREG presented a petition from the inhabitants
of Cowes, praying for a repeal of the Corn-laws.
Mr. BROTHERTON presented a petition to the same
effect from Salford. •

Mr. IVRIGHTSON presented a petition from 13romp-
ton, in the North Riding of Yorkshire, in favour of the
Government measures for the alteration of the duties on
timber, sugar, and corn. _

Mr. ELI,IOT presented several petitions from the
borough of Southwark, and other places, in favour of the
repeal of the duties on timber, sugar, and corn.
Also a petition from Gallashicls, praying for a repeal
of the Corn-laws, and another from the same place in
favour of the commercial measure of the Government.

Mr. WARBURTON presented a petition from Brid-
port, in favour of the Corn-laws. Also six petitions to
the same effect from the inhabitants of the metropolis.
Also fifteen petitions to the same effect from the calico
printers of Manchester, and five petitions also to the
same effect from different operatives employed in
the manufactories of the same place. The Hon. Mem-
ber also presented a petition praying for the abolition of
the Corn-laws, from a place the name of which we
could not catch; the petitioners stated that thq would have
recourse to physical force.to obtain the object of their
petition, if they could not accomplish it by other means.
Mr. EASTHOPE presented several petitions from
places in Leicestershire praying for a repeal of the Corn-
laws, and a revision of our commercial system.
Lord WORSLEY presented several petitions from
places in Lincolnshire against any alteration in the Corn-
laws.--(Hear, hear, on the Opposition benches.)
Sir G. STRICKLAND presented six petitions from
places in Yorkshire, in favour of the commercial mea-
sures of the Government.

Lord HENNIKER presented a petition from the pa-
lish of Woodbridge in favour of the present Corn-laws.
Mr. YOUNG presented a petition from a place in
Cavan to the same effect.

Mr. EDWARD FELLOWES (as Ire understood)
presented six petitions from Huntingdon against any al-
teration of the Corn-laws. The petitions were signed by
the inhabitants of 107 parishes, which comprised all but
five of the entire county., The Hon. Member also pre-
sented a petition from Huntingdonshire, praying for
Church Extension.

Mr. MUNTZ presented a petition from Birmingham,
in favour of a duty of Bs. on foreign corn; also a peti-
tion from Cheltenham, signed by 1,536 working men,
praying for Universal Suffrage, and an Address to her
Majesty for the release of political offenders; and a peti-
tion from John Joseph Stockdale, praying for a reduc-
tion in the sugar duties.
Colonel WOOD presented several petitions from
Brecon in favour of Church Extension.

Mr. HUTT presented a petition from the Corporation
of Hull, deprecating the high rate of duties on sugar,
and praying the House to adopt the measures of her Ma-
jesty's Government with reference to those duties.

_
Air. B. WILBRAHAM presented a petition from
Manchester, complaining that a petition in favour of her
Majesty's Government from that town, presented a few
evenings ago, did not fairly represent the feelings of the
inhabitants ; that at the meeting from which it emanated
no one was admitted without a ticket, and that the room
was filled before the time of meeting by the partisans of
her Majesty's Government.—(Hear, hear.)
Mr. BROTHERTON had no hesitation in saying that
the statement of the petition was contrary to the fact—
(Cries of " Order, order")—amidst which the Hon.
Member sat down.

On the motion of Sir 11. HARDINGE, the Launces-
ton Small Debts Bill was read a second time, and or-
dered to be committed.
WANT OF CONFIDENCE IN MINISTERS.
The SPEAKER having called on the Notices of
Motions,

Sir R. PEEL rose, amid the most profound silence in
a very crowded House, and said—l rise, Sir, to give
notice, that I shall, on Thursday next, move a
resolution to the following effect :—" That her Majesty's
Ministers do not sufficiently possess the confidence
of the House of Commons to enable them to carry through
the House measures which they deem of essential im-
portance to the public welfare, and that their continuance
in office, under such circumstances, is at variance with
the spirit of the Constitution."—(This announcement was
received with tremendous cheering, which lasted for some
•
minutes.)