The Sun.
London, England, 1846-06-08 00:00:00

THE DUKE OF CAMBRIDGE ON
THE CORN-LAWS.
(From Punch.)
By accident or design our contemporaries have shown
considerable unfairness in the report of the speech of
the Duke of Cambridge. It is no joke when a person in
the distinguished position of his Royal Highness thinks
proper to " pronounce" on a subject of such grave im-
portance as the corn-laws, and we have therefore been
at some pains to prevent one syllable being lost of the
harangue with which this great Prince condescended to
favour the Peers on Tuesday. The following may be
relied upon by those who are trustingly disposed as a
verbatim copy of the Duke's manifesto :
eMy Lords and Gentlemen,—l mean Mr. Chairman
and Gentlemen—that is, my Lords—l think I owe it to
my country—no, I don't mean that, for I can say I never
owe a shilling to anybody, but it is due to the country—
to state the line I shall take—though, thank goodness,
I never had a share in any line in my life—on this im-
portant question.—(Hear.) I believe—no, I don't be-
lieve, for I never believe anything till I see it before my
eyes, and then I can't say what is passing behind my
back—that lam the oldest member of this Ilouse. No,
not the oldest—yes, yes, the oldest member, that is, the
father of the House—l don't mean that, but the father
of the Peerage. When I started in life—that is, before
I started at all—to go to Hanover, I made up my mind
—no, not my mind, exactly ; but I determined not to
vote. Yes. No, no, I didn't determine not to vote—yes
I did—not to vote against the Government.—(Hear,
hear, from the Government benches.) Nine or ten
years ago, when I came to settle—no, not to settle, for
I never owed a penny, as I said before—but when I
came I went to the Noble Duke—no, not vou—no,
that—yes, you—that one—the Duke of Welling-
ton, who was then Prime—Prime, What-d'ye-
call-it—no, no, not Prime What-d'ye-call-it—Prime
Minister—yes, that's it—Prime Minister. Well, I asked
him if I should be right to vote for the Government?
The Noble Duke being at the head of the Government
said yes. Well, a little while before, I had asked the
same question—no, not the same question—but the same
thing in other words—yes, that is the same—well, well
—I asked Earl Grey, who was then the Prime Things-
magig—Prime Minister—l asked hina whether I did
right to vote for the Government? Earl Grey said, yes
—no--I have the satisfaction—yes I have—no I haven't
—well I had—that is to say, I have the satisfaction of
securing the approbation of these two—yes, two—no,
three—no, I'm right, these two great characters. Well,
gentlemen, I don't come to this dinner—l beg your par-
don—this House—l don't come to change my conduct at
my time of life. When the Hon. Baronet proposed this
toast—no, no—l beg your pardon—not this toast—this
measure, I went to hear his speech. I hoped to be con •
vinced, but I wasn't—yes I was—that is, I was con-
firmed—no, no, no—l was confirmed when I was 15
years old—l was convinced the measure was bad—no,
no, not the measure—l don't care for the measure—that
might pass—it's not that I object to, it's the consequence
of the measure I don't like—though the measure's of no
consequence. Not that I mean that exactly—but you
know what I mean.—(Cheers from the cross-benches.)
His Royal Highness, after having whispered some-
thing to the Bishops, concluded by stating that he could
not approve of the measure, and, as he could not vote in
in its favour, he should not vote at all.

A feeling that his speech not being followed by a ♦ote
was much ado about nothing, became immediately very
general, and his Royal Highness sat down, but did not
conclude his speech; of which he continued to reiterate
detached sentences throughout the remai,der of the
evening.