The Sun.
London, England, 1848-08-31 00:00:00

in a semi-diplomatic character from this country to
Cuba, as au authority to show that half of those employed
in the mines of Cuba were slaves.
Mr. SPOONER thought if British manufacturers
were exposed to the competition of foreign countries
they ought to be enabled to get the raw material of their
manufacture at as cheap a rate as possible. The case of
copper produced by slave labour was exceptional. But
he recognized only two exceptions to the.principle of free
trade, namely, in cases involving slave-labour and in
the case involving the national defnces, i.e. the naviga-
tion laws. He, therefore, could not support the motion
of the Hon. Member for Oxfordshire, unless it were
limited to copper the produce of slave-labour.
Mr. DRUMMOND understood the Right Honour-
able Gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer to
argue that the introduction of foreign copper would be
an advantage to the British smelter. If the introduc-
tion of foreign wool were taken as a precedent, the
illustration was au unfortunate one, for the exports of
wool had on the whole diminished while tha imports had
increased.
Mr. MUNTZ thought the proposition of the Honour-
able Member for Oxfordshire adverse to the interests of
his constituents, as it would raise the prise of the raw
material. The House having determined to carry out
the principle of free trade, he, for one, was desirous
that it should not be carried out partially. He thought
that when a principle was once adopted it ought to be
fully carried out, and if it should be found not to work
well, then let them endeavour to find out why.—(Hear,
hear.) He would not object to the principle of pro-
tection, provided it was extended equally to all classes
and to all interests; but in the present instance it was
partial, and consequently unjust, and therefore he should
oppose it.
Mr. NEWI)EGATE reminded the Hon. Member
that protection still existed on other articles besides
copper, and remarked that those who enjoyed a protec-
tion of ten per cent. had no right to quarrel with six
per cent. in favour of the miners of Cornwall,
Mr. VIVIAN supported the amendment.

Colonel DUNNE said that there were no fewer than
10,000 persons employed in the mines in Ireland, and
about 50,000 persons in all dependent upon those mines.
These parties were under the apprehension that if the
free importation of copper ore were allowed, their inte-
rests would be seriously injured. He, therefore, sup-
ported the amendment.
Mr. ROBINSON confessed he thought there was a
good deal of fairness in what had been said by the
Honourable Member for Birmingham, that as he was in
favour of the principle of free trade he wished it to be
applied generally, not partially. For his part, how-
ever, he (Mr. Robinson) was disposed to agree rather
with the Honourable Member for North Warwickshire,
that, as he considered the principle, er free trade a bad
principle, he would not be a party to tarrying it further
than he could help. He would, therefore, on this,
and on all other occasions, enter his protest against
it. The error of the free-traders, he thought, was in at-
taching an undue importance to the consumers as con-
tradistinguished from the producers of the country.
Now, in his opinion, if cheapness was produced at the
expense of the producer the effect would ulti-
mately be to place the consumer, notwithstanding the
cheapness, in a worse 'position than before. That was
Chancellor protection.ancellor of the
L
his reason.erdG
forBEN T supportingiN cK saidth e
thatprinciple
the
Exchequer had used a singular argument, the long and
the short of which was, that the greater the supply of
copper ore the higher would be the price of the article
produced in this country.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—No !
Lord G. BENTINCK—What, then, was the meaning
of his argument when he said that it would be for the
good of the copper producers in Cornwall that copper
should be imported from Chili and Cuba 2—(Hear.)
There was the strongest reason to believe that the price
of the produce of the Cornwall miners would be con-
siderably reduced by the measure of the Right Hon.
Gentleman. The House might know very well what its
effect would be, because by anticipation, the price of
Cornish copper had fallen 11 per cent. since
January last.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord the First
Minister of the Crown had boasted that the Govern-
ment had succeeded in suppressing sedition, quelling an
incipient rebellion, and maintaining the ancient institu-
tions of the country in the midst of European convul-
sion. He (Lord G. Bentinck) was very much afraid
that if there was any truth in the doctrine of the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer, that disaffection and discontent
were very apt to go along with want of employment, the
boast of the Noble Lord could not be long maintained
if they passed a measure depriving the miners of Corn-
wall of their employment, and, consequently, of their
means of subsistence. He held in his hand a letter,
dated St. Austel, Saturday, the 26th instant, from a
proprietor in Cornwall who cultivated a considerable
portion of his own estate, in which he said, " Are the
Government mad ? Will they throw this unfortunate
county into a state of open insurrection by their acts ?
You know the people of this district well ; you know
their loyalty, their intelligence, their patient endurance
of severe labour, their extreme temperance, their natural
con tentedlli es under circumstances of even more than or-
dinary suffering ; but you know also that with all their
industry, their loyal feeling, their high order and intel
ligenee as labourers, in consequence of the neces-
sary requirements for the effective prosecution of their
labours, there is mixed up a determination of character
which suffering will call into action, and which it will
be dangerous to test or tamper with beyond a given
point." The writer then proceeded to notice the
gloomy prospects of that county for the coming winter.
if her Majesty's Government persevered with this mea-
sure. He (Lord G. Bentinck) hoped, however, that
the amendment proposed by the Hein. Member for Ox-
fordshire would be adopted, and the threatened evils su
far averted.
Mr. LACY understood the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer to say, that one advantage of the present mea-
sure would be to enable the smelters of copper to amal-
gamate the rich foreign ores of Chili and Cuba with the
poor ores of Cornwall, and thereby to produce a better
article. But he (Mr. Lacey) begged to ask if the pro-
posed scale of duties was agreed to, where would they
Beth the Cornish copper ore to mix with the foreign?
After a few words limn Mr. WYLD, the Committee
divided, when there appeared,
For the Amendment
Against it
Majority against Mr. Henley's amendment —24
The schedule was then agreed to, and the House re-
sumed.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said, as
he understood it would be more convenient that the
House should meet at two o'clock to-morrow instead of
twelve, he would propose that the report be received
to-morrow at two o'clock ; which was ordered ac-
cordingly.
The Exchequer-bills Bill was reported and ordered to
be read a third time to-morrow.
The West India Colonies and Mauritius Bill was
also reported, and ordered to be read a third time to-
morrow.

SAVINGS-BANKS BILL.
On the motion that the report be received,
Sir 11. WILLOUGHBY said he did not intend to op
pose the bringing up of the report, but wished to remind
the House that a petition had been that day presented
against the Bill by a number of gentlemen who repre-
sented sixteen savings-banks, 175,561 depositors, and a
capital amounting to 7,04!,0031.; this, added to a former,
petition, represented one-third of the entire savings
banks of the kingdom. These gentlemen did not object
to%n audit, however rigid it might be ; but they com-
plained that the Bill would impose upon them regula-
tions which would be wholly impracticable. The objec-
tions they urged were, he believed, shared in by a Noble
Colleague of the Right Hon. Gentleman. The President
of the Council happened to be a manager of one of the
London savings-banks, and possessed great practical
knowledge of the whole subject. He (Sir H. Willoughby)
hoped the Chancellor of the Exchequer would confer
with that Noble Lord before he moved the third read-
ing of the Bill. The Hon. Baronet concluded by sug-
gesting certain amendments in clauses 3 and 6.
Mr. HENLEY hoped the Right Hon. Gentleman
would consent to limit the operation of the fifth clause,
which required the production of the books of such de-
positors as should have received previous notice. It
would be a great hardship, and against all principle, that
parties who had deposited their money upon the faith of
certain terms should be subjected to other and more
stringent conditions without their having any previous
notice. If the Chancellor of the Exchequer would agree
to.this amendment it would in some Measure mitigate his
objection to the Bill.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was
always disposed to consider any suggestions cgompoinsgtpfornoemd
the Hon. Gentleman, being, as they, almosttahviirnd reading
were, recommended by their practical character, and
otten by their valuable tendency.—(Hear, hear.) He
certainly would take into consideration the amendments
suggested both by the Hon. Gentleman and
letdhweotreHkiotnnhg.e,
ptßhraeersoani
Bill.ne gt
tahnedm heu pfoe t obligedn
the House for
tilltheir h
the
Mr. SPOONER said the Bill would be attended with
ltdl isbtneoyfeobntrehtmtoehreesdc,secretary
unnecessaryahaebicumorseuetttahayot
almost insuperable difficulties in its praocptpicoas
and considered it to be wholly uncalled for as respected
the savings'jbanks in England.
measure.
Mr. ZOADNEIIOUalsoßi
as far as Scotland was concerned, and hoped that, at all
events, that part of the kingdom would be exempted
from its operation.
Mr. SCROPE supported the Bill.
tao
great
.1.11( ra
Idt Gahra.yrißde
sbEhoNinpeTswl
allovuCilndKg
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wrought
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h e
re-
quiring the depositors to produce their books. There
d annually, so
or
rezo hpeelrocnegnintg.
ofto whomthatbealnaki
mBe.d7oaoddi
veipdoesni
that their books were of course produced. But the
other 20 or 30 per cent., being servants, generally left
their money for the whole period of their service, and if
they were obliged to produe their books once a year it
would not only be productive of great inconvenience
and annoyance, but would also put them to considerable
expense, and would greatly discourage the investing of
their savings in these banks. He trusted the Right
Hon. Gentleman would reconsider this part of his
proposition. There was much reason to fear that
clergymen and tradesmen would refuse to sign their
names as security for 1001., and if they did, and the poor
saw the names of these individuals withdrawn, great
alarm would be caused in consequence, and many might
withdraw their accounts.—(Hear, hear.) He wished to
take another opportunity of protesting against the prac-
tice of sitting so many consecutive hours, to which he
said a great deal of hasty and slovenly legislation was to
be attributed. He, like many other Members, occa-
sionally felt so exhausted, that he was obliged to recruit
himself by a nap. There is another set of gentlemen
(continued the Noble Lord), whose talents are worthy
of all admiration, and whose endurance was equal to
their talent, who are also so entirely worn out that no
reports of our proceedings go forth. These gentlemen
must be iron to do as they have done—(A cry of " Hear,