The Sun.
London, England, 1848-05-24 00:00:00

The chair and the table parted with from starvation on
the one hand, and her Majesty,
"From nature's impulse all unchecked by art,"
and without the advice of her responsible Ministers on
the other, bringing, by her kindly iufluence, joy and
gladness into hearts where gloom and sorrow had before
prevailed.—(Hear, hear.) But in other towns dis•
tress was not alleviated. He found, from the
statement of Captain Willis, that 14,000 operatives
were either out of work, or working only short time,
in Manchester alone. There were 6,000 operatives in
that town out of employment at the present moment.
They were told that Bradford was in a prosperous con-
dition, and certain returns were produced, but it ap-
peared that there were 15,000 persons receiving relief
from the parish in that town.—(Hear.) But it was not
only cottons and woollens, and boots and shoe fronts of
which he spoke on a former occasion as being imported,
but he might be permitted to speak also of the lace-
trade. What was the state of Nottingham ? That
might be learned from a letter of the Rev. Mr. Wright,
of that town. But, to come to the lace trade ; a fourth
of the operatives were bordering on starvation. The
people would not go into the union workhouses, because
they would disfranchise themselves. They would rather
starve. The letters of clergymen, describing the distress
and destitution, contained very startling statements.
The Reverend Mr. Davis, of Notting halo, the Reverend
Dr. Williams, the Reverend Mr. Howard, the Reverend
Mr. Buckler, and other clergymen, had described,
in letters, the state of the operatives in their
respective towns. These fearful changes were simulta•
neous with the change of their commercial system. In
the suburbs of Nottingham houses were deserted, the
poor inhabitants having been driven into the union. The
Rev. Mr. Milton wrote, that the wonder was that the
people had not become desperate. That was the effect
of allowing the foreign lace to come into competition with
the home manufacture. That was the result of those re-
turns for which he moved. In Mr. Porter's trade and
navigation returns there were items suppressed to the
amount of 1,186,0001., upon the ground that the value
could not be ascertained. He understood that these re-
turns were to serve as a guide to the House, but the
effect was, that you came away, after inspecting them,
more ignorant than you were before. They were doctored,
and made up to suit a particular purpose.
which had been imported in consequence
had not been so imported, employment
aIo nff dt
free
egd
goods
tradecoad tse d,
would have been afforded for 100,000 persons. The
number of bankrupts had greatly increased lately, and
yet the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Gladstone) would
have you believe that bankruptcies had gone quite out
of fashion. In Scotland, within the last nineteen weeks
there had been 292 Scotch sequestrations. In Paisley,
out of 51 mills 18 had stopped altogether, and seven
were working shirt time. It was not merchants, and
planters, and brokers alone that were feeling the effect
of this system, but its effect was being felt by persons
in the lowest scale. From a comparison of the adver-
tisements from servants this year, in the Times news-
paper for situations, as compared with last year, the
number would be found greatly on the increase. That
was the case with all classes of domestic servants, while
the advertisements from masters for servants this year.
as compared with 1846, had fallen one-half. He did
not mean to ascribe it all to free trade, but he had
shown considerable grounds for ascribing much of the
distress to the change in our commercial system, and
when these returns, which he now moved for, were
granted him, they no doubt would show more of the
details connected with the ruin of the trade of this
country than the Board of Trade was now willing to
disclose.—(Hear.)
The motion having been seconded and put from the
chair,
Mr. GLADSTONE said he fully admitted with the
Noble Lord that great distress existed in this country ;
he granted fully that he had shown to the House-Ist, a
great degree of depression in the commerce of the
country, but he did not believe the Noble Lord had
raised the most insignificant prescription ; that it was in
any degree to be inferred the legislation of former years
had produced it. The Noble Lord not only failed to
produce proofs, but he had not oven made an attempt to
prove such a proposition., He referred to the lace trade
of Nottingham, and quoted the opinion of the Rev. Mr.
Brooke, iu a description given by him of the distress in
that neighbourhood, on an opinion given by the Rev.
Gentleman, that that distress was owing to the changes
which took place in the law. Now he (Mr.Gladstone)would
not say that the Rev. Gentleman had not something else
to do besides studying political economy, but wether that
were so or not, he had no hesitation in stating, that his
opinion was entirely without foundation. Not another
word did the Noble Lord's speech contain to show any
connexion between distress among the lace-makers
at Nottingham and the principles of free trade.
He (Mr. Gladstone) should not follow the Noble Lord
through the details of the statement he made to the
House, except two, which impugned the accuracy of
what he had said when those measures were under
consideration. If the Noble Lord be correct in ascribng
the distress of the country to the legislation then sanc-
tioned by the House, undoubtedly he was rendering a
great public service in seeking to induce them to retrace
their steps; but if, on the other hand, his opinions were
erroneous, then he should tell him that, instead of con-
ferring advantage, he was inflicting serious injuries on
the pulic interests, and, most of all, on the labouring
classes, and those connected with labour. If the Noble
Lord should teach those classes to refer the cause of
that distress to the legislation he had alluded to, and if
he induced them to seek a remedy by any changes in
that legislation, it was impossible, in the first instance,
that such changes could be brought about, and even it'
they could, they would only aggravate the evil they
were intended to remedy. The Noble Lord laid par-
iicular stress on the evil influence of free-trade
measures on the silk trade and timber trade. With
regard to the timber trade he (Mr. Gladstone) was
obliged to confess that, lengthy as the statement of
the Noble Lord was, he could not understand it.
He should be glad if the Noble ',it'd committed himself'
to some definite proposition, instead of making some
vague declarations ; he should wish he had stated some
facts, or committed himself boldly to a proposition on
the subjects made in the changes of the law. On that
subject, as far as he (Mr. Gladstone) could understand,
he carefully avoided committing himself, but he sup-
posed the Noble Lord meant to say from the manner in
which he spoke of their colonies, and of the colonial
timber trade, that they were both fallen into something
like ruin in consequence of the legislation of that House,
under the influence of his Right Hon. Friend
the
Member for Tamworth. If that were the case, the
Noble Lord could not blame him, when he said that he
Gladstone)while
he
alluded
was grossly misinformed on the subject. He believed,
however, he was correct in his quotation of prices, and
toforthothsee
of NobletB4BL. Lord
so
opokweas ofhelB(47l,r.
great difference took place in prices; but he believed
the Noble Lord was accurate in the quotation which
he made for the year 1347. He was sorry to have used
the words grossly misinformed. He must not, however,
judge of the charges by the state of the markets in pe-
riods of depression, nor when the country had undergone
a severe visitation of Providence, followed by the most
outrageous and improvident speculations. The Noble
Lord must not be surprised if the country, under these
circumstances, should have fallen into a state of collapse,
although, certainly, he had the advantage of stating facts
which then existed and could not be disputed. But none
could judge fairly of the success or failure of principles
by such a period as that. They should look over a
series of years, and compare the results of each, both in
times of prosperity and depression. He (Mr. Gladstone)
was never more astonished than when the Noble Lord
Found fault with him because, instead of confinires him-
self to a single year, which might vary, he took the
aversete of ten years from the parliamentary returns then
before the House. And because he (Mr. Gladstone) did
that, the Noble
Lord had called the result which he
drew from well ascertained facts that could not be dis-
puted " his tile"_
riesr'E
Mr. GL BENTINCKNo
Lord GEOReI •
GLADSTONE did certainly understand the
Noble Lord to have called the conclusions which he thus
ns "theories ." but be
drew from Parliamentaryakreetur
he would the timber trade, and test
that as it may,Noble Lord. lie
should the satisfaction of the
it in two ways (
should first give the average price and the quantity im-
take the price of the greate
name st market
ported, and then
--1
for colonial timber, perhaps, in the world y,
the years 1840, 1841, 1842, the average
Liverpool. In •
2s.
°idand deducting 2Ae
orice of timber per foot a•as_ e
average price really l.
left th
duty, which was repealed,
ls. 101. Now take the six years, including this portion
of 1848, and the average price was Is. 9d. against Is. 10d.
in the former year, showing a reduction of ld. per foot,
which was calculated,
according to the Noble Lord, to
drive their colonies into that d_
stateibescrof ruin which he had
ed.-(Cheers and
so earnestly and feelingly they be ruined by do-
how could that
laughter.) Now
Hear, hear.) For his own part,
clension in prices ?—(
he was exceedingly glad
of the reduction, because the
d
by the colonial timber, and
monopoly heretofore enjoy!'
aoyed, pressed hard on
the enormous protection it e it
but if pro-
the superior article from the Baltic
it would follow that tho im-
portation ruin to their colonies,
would have diminished
portation of colonial timber
Lord
say their colonies
With what face could the Noble• • _
of free trade, when he could
were ruined by a system
take plat
e in the
have seen that a vast increase
had
h ) He had his
ear. •
importation of that article.--(Hear,
authority from a circular issued
mby the eminent firm of
Warton and Co., giving
thechanges
six years
in the
before and six years after the lace. The tonnage
commer-
cial policy of the country had token
tipmber from British
of ships employed in bringing
six
years before the
America to Liverpool, for tit, on an average
change took place in the amountedlaw!
for the six years after,
to 152,000 tons annually; while _ow
N he would ask the
it was 181,000.—(Hear,
bear.)that, and whether he
Noble Lord what ho could say to
that colonial interests
would still persevere in assertiug
protective duties? If
were ruined by the removal of the p
condition,
the colonial
the timber trade had been in that con
their while to
merchants would not have felt it worthishe _
d prices, and
send increased quantities
at
diminished
to complain.
of which they had no very great
benefitedr by the
The British British public were greatly
at a cheaper rate.
vantage of having a better article
an increase in
The Noble Lord then proceeded to show
was got at
the price of foreign timber, which het
saysheought to have
the expense of British merchants. But
lace within
known the rise of freight which had takenp _
i I havin had the ovi-
the last four years, and, certainly, the Committee on
deuce of a witness examined before
tauthority on the
the navigation-laws, on unsuspected
,ground of personal honour, or as an
economist and phi-
blo Lord—he
loiupher infallible in the eye of the Nosed
to believe
meant Mr. G. F. Young—he was not dispo
•
the Noble Lord was accurate in his deductions. Now
rate of freight
what did he state? The increase in thed
showing only
from the Baltic was 73. 6d. per 10,
which he
3s. 6i• per load given to the foreigner,
reduction of the
managed to get out of the increased
'
duty of 40s. per load. But his
Honourable Friend Mr. Gladstone's)
object, and that of his Right
foreigners should
tho Member for Tamwortb, was, that