The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-28 00:00:00

HONG-KONG.

Dr. BOWRING gave notice, that on Thursday, he
should move for a return of the expenditure of the co-
lony of Hong-Kong.
ISLE OF MAN.

Dr. BOWRIIit- postponed his motion for corres-
pondenee, or extracts of correspondence, on the subject of
the House of Keys, in the Isle of Man, till Thursday
next.

COLONIAL ACCOUNTS.
Dr. BOWRING then moved that the resolutions of
the last session on Colonial accounts should be read by
the Clerk at thy table and confirmed.
The resolutfons were then read at length by the Clerk,
and agreed to.
Mr. M. PHILLIPS presented a petitior, signed by
52,579 inhabitants of Manchester, praying for the total,
immediate, and unconditional repeal of the corn and
provision laws.
On the motion being put that the Speaker do leave
the chair,
Mr. MILES rose, and said he wished to ask the Right
Honourable Baronet at the head of the Government
a question before they resolved themselves into a
Committee of the: whole House, and be was sure,
from the well-known courtesy of the Right Hon. Baronet,
that he would answer his question if it was in his power
to do so. He understood that the Hon. Baronet was
now about to make his financial statement, and he
wished to know whether it was his intention to take any
vote that evening upon the question? And if it
was, he should be glad to know if the Right
Hon. Baronet was prepared to press for the decision
of the House upon his financial proposition before
the country had had time to express its opi •
nion upon it. He hoped that previous to their
coming to any decision upon the question, time would
he allowed for duly and properly considering it in all
its branches; but, at all events, whether the Right Hon.
Baronet answered the question in the affirmative or the
negative. he would afford ample time to the counties
to state what their opinions might be upon it.—(Hear.)
Sir It. PEEL—The statement which I shall make to-
night will be more a commercial than a financial statement,
and, thsrefore, I do not intend to take any money
vote in the Committee of the whole House.—(Hear.) It
is not my intention to ask the House to express an opinion
to-night upon any part of the statement, because it is
my earnest wish that the proposal I shall make should
bp maturely and deliberately considered by the House
b,fore they come to any decision upon it.—(Cheers.)
For this there are sufficient reasons. I believe that the
task which is imposed upon me is such that the House
will be ccmtent to take a candid and indulgent consi-
deration of the position which I hold, and whatever
may be the opinion entertained, I have no doubt in my
own mind as to the result at which we shall arrive ; but
I trust in the mean time that the matter will be dis-
sussed in a candid and impartial spirit.
Tile SPEAKER—The subject for consideration is the
alteration to be made in the corn-laws, and the altera-
tionti which have lately taken plaee.—[The Speaker then
referred to the Queen a reply to the Address, part of
which he read, and the whole of which has appeared in
the columns of The Sun.]—The question now is that I
have the Chair.
The House then resolved itself into a general Com-
mittee, and Mr. Greene took the chair.
THE PREMIER'S STATEMBNT.
Sir ROBERT PEEL then rose and said—Sir, what-
ever opinion may be ultimately formed with regard to
the merits of the proposal which I am about, on the part
of her Majesty's Government, to submit this night to the
consideration of the House, I am convinced that the ex-
treme ,ifficulty of the task which devolves upon me to
perform, and a consideration of the magnitude and ex-
tent of the interests involved in the questions with which
I have to deal, will insure for me from the House that
patitnt and intelligent attention without which it would
be wholly out of my power, either with satisfaction to
myself or utility to the public interests, to discharge ray
duty.—(llesr, hear.) I am about, in pursuance of the
recommendation contained in her Majesty's Speech, and
which recommendations were advised by her responsible
servants—l am about to review the duties which apply
to many articles the produce and manufacture of other
ciuntries. I am shout to proceed on the assumption
adopted in the Speech from the throne, that the repeal
of the prohibitory and the relaxation of protective duties
is in itself a wise course to be pursued—(Loud cries of
" Hear, hear," from the Opposition benches)—and lam
about to proceed upon the assumption that protective
tittle% abstractedly and in principle, are open to
objealion, and that the policy of maintaining them
ma` be defended, but that there must be special
!onakrations, tither of public policy or of justice,
i
tc iindcate their maintenance. am about to
act upon this assumption. During the period of
tic last three years there has been in this country
an increased production of revenue, notwithstanding
hat there has been a remission of many heavy taxes—
thatour
there has been an increased demand fur lab
that there has been an increase of eommerce, andth—a
that
there has been increased comfort,s
country.—(Hear, happiness, and con
in thitry.—(Hear,
eentmene hear, and 'sheers.)
I do not 59,y that these blessings have no-
eessarily been caused by any particular policy you
have adopted, but this I say, the enjoyment of them has
been confirmed by your measures—that these blessings
have been sanctioner by the House of Commons—the
policy of repealing prohibitory and reducing
protective duties. I am not now, then, by praitiag
that policy, about to call upon the House to
recede from any course that has been pursued
a course which has been sanctioned by the
Rouse of Commons, and which, as productive of
'Public good, ought, with regard to consistency, to be
persevered in.—(Hear, hear.) Sir, I am at the same
timer Ai advising the continued application of these
principles, not about to discard the other recommenda-
tions contained in her Majesty's Speech, namely, that
the adoption good principles should not be
the means of endangeringperaan the public credit, or
of causing. any
have
in the revenue
of the country. Neither, I lost sight of the
other recoMmendation—namely, that in
principles, we should act with proposing fingo4.
sound
atide, and jiot prejudice any great atirtirttura '