The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-10 00:00:00

the
ha t Hon. Baronet for the details into which he
—"entered,
ktr,
-ARIMELL was rure that nobody who had
ot. his Hon. Friend the Member for Somersetshire
alletittle3), but must feel that he was perfectly sincere
isn e declared, in the strongest and most emphatic
peogplleagoeitt,hat he sympathised with the sufferings of the
eine e that part of the United Kingdom, whose prin-
*aTtis°°tl „was the potato.—(Hear, hear.) Now, what
read s psition which te questioa? His Hon. Friend had
tatensents were exceedingly exaggerated ; it
"IS untrue that 87,000,000 quarters of corn could be
Porti "d
America. It was admi.ted that a very large
era. °n of the people of Ireland depend upon the potato-
ts
a I their only means of sustentation; now, if they
-seal b
lather 3' any proceeding of theirs produce a taste for a
e deseription of food among that people, and intro-
titesihabitsof indust which would be calculated to make
ono (pie to live upon that food, they would be effecting
ikgio the most practical measures of reform, of any age.
greet, b4in would be able to assist them but little, but it
the th baton
that an affliction of Providence produced
eoss-,°st beneficial effects. They should, therefore, take
andolation that there would be such a result in Ireland,
hiolethat the famine would produce a demand for a
had
.r land food.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord
p;twintroduced into the House some specimens of the
Qacoe'°d• gr°wn by a Mr. Chapman, which were of
.an
takes rin:tly healthy nature, though they were slips
had „,'rom unhealthy plants. He (the Hon. Member)
ses,„"atie Personal inquiries, all of which confirmed. the
fore 'l,ntti received by other Hon. Gentlemen and laid be-
4ra Latit ll°ose ; and he therefore believed that the in-
°Pies°,,sti°ll of Government at the present moment was
man-tine- He also believed that, before the lapse of
i Y Yea
t rs, the potato would recede from the position
°rains at present as an article of staple food, toits
Lea "-r7 level as a vegetable, which he believed would
did
blessin: to the people of Ireland.—(tea
4id ter a few words from- Mr. NEWDEGATE, which
set reach the gallery,
rasa' slimtmAisr CRAWFORD said, there were
014 'easuns than one why it was absolutely necessary
Yid,,tireare than a temporary aftliznion should be pro-
tlpri In the first place, to his knowledge,
disej the last ten or twelve years, there • had been
bEp°rin the potato crop in various forms. In the year
roast the the last, the disease appeared in the corn ; but as
gat ;`:4l the potato crop, be bad every reason to fear
Prot',Zoll:d not be removed speedily.—(Hear, bear.)
that, •;"ese and tither reasons, he was inclined to think
the ble' Possible, other measures should be adopted for
thati,eent of the people of that country. He thought
the greatest blessing to Ireland would be to lead the
e
rotaP,l - that country not to depend alone upon the.
to 11) for food. It would, indeed, be a great blessing
aloe if if they could get cheap food.—
hoe,-;1,') The people of this ',country wondered
lleos°se in Ireland lived at all. To enatale the Irish
,ttos's.,l` to live they must be furnished with plenty of
11,a1,13toent. He should be glad to find the one shil.
441 ts'butY taken off the Indian corn.—(Hear, hear.)
ei,".e,,Rouse imagine
.how a man and his wife and
it 1,, uadrea were to provide food, when for that family
Itst.:l4lred five bushels of potatoes at three pence a
locoTr
loco-seUME hoped that Indian corn would be brought
pee le°ropetition with. wheat, as it would enable the
toutde to obtain good and wholesome food, when wheat
*hill: not be obtained. He, therefore, hoped that the
00nig duty even would be abolished.
Rood %el SIBTHORP wished to know if he had under-
th the Hon. Member for Rochdale rightly, in saying
4atke wages of the Irish labourer were as low as
was . per week. If that were the case, all he could iay
hF3itthe Lord have mercy upon them. He had nu
kantion swing
that they were an excellent people.
i:/r,,icw a good deal about them. He had been exposed
r
'acle,:sao(l, and yet he had never wituessod in the, owne
of the Irish anything but kindheartedness. a q
if th Y• He did not wonder at their being discontented,
esev,„F'r wages were only 2s. 4d. per week. Ile was
was 'aced more than ever that the proposed measure
sill'ere trash, and utterly worthless.
Lis sr' SLIARMAN CRAWFORD observed that for
lip Part he would very gladly see the duty of one shil-
iirr quarter removed.
444 e Earl of MARCH said that the Hon. Member
to ~,etafed that considerable disease existed in the pots-
13ilit.°P of Scotland, and that there was every probe-
ll,s t.of the disease becoming as extensive as it was in
that ..itcrl States. He (Lord March) felt bound to say
Pe). had received letters only that morning from
.go,
states residing .in Morayshire and Ayrshire, which.
ka dt•
hat the disease did not exist in those counties,
tituttuat there was every prospect of a good and plan-
ers,
Sir P.
tilts ARTHUR BitOOKE observed that the general
tO i„'r wages in the north of Ireland averaged from 10d.
btenroil sometimes to ls. Bd. per day. A considerable
,000 t 1.,. of the landed proprietors, with incomes from
°r Igo a 9,000/. a-year, furnished employment to 100
fonotast-a°Purers throughout the year. If the same
ofhalf th wages was paid in Ireland as in England,
?ttral;' Jabourers would be thrown out of employ
her 111 Portion of the year. He was bound to thank
*hieOes,tY's Ministers, and others, for the great anxiety
111„ re sa t`_eY had manifested to guard against the
tots'etifitiethatfatnine in
Ireland ; but, at the same time, he
unless measures were taken to introduce
thea ant employment among the labouring classes,
of 4:would not be much benefited by the bringing in
'ets, e,41) food. He (Sir A. Brooke) had seen, during
log 4, Years, the usual food of the Irish people sold as.
tlisr,,aks 10s. per quarter, during which period never had
eo4ueell known so much starvation and distress in the
4to iri• And why ? Because the farmers, who held
thsaja-sltrizs. averaging from 20 to 30 acres, finding that
,Ivsp,;""ce of their produce was reduced in the market,
4041.-"ere°o3pelled to diminish the number of their la-
*oaht s• He did hope that her Majesty's Government.
l'lse is take into consideration the means of devising a
to th u,Y which constant employment might be secured
wool labourer. As to railroads, he considered that they
tds °e productive of great misfortunes, and more evils
11;(''and than any other evil which he could conceive.
rail, Present condition of Ireland was not adapted to
e"taia the number of railroads that were intended to
try vvqnstructed and carried on. The traffic in the coun
5,111/4,,55 comparatively small. The duty of furnishing
Riadment to the labourer rested first of all with the
Proprietors of Ireland. They should put their
ado dots to the wheel and use their most energetic
the 4-ours to supply food and employment for
illeitwretched and unfortunate people. The resident
teSe°ll,3 would be willing, he was sure, when the exi-
tltef's 'oould arrive, to provide for the poor on their own
Th,,'S' The landlords were dividable into three classes.
lisi;e were the absentees, the middlemen, and, lastly, the
If the Government want to see Ireland pros-
,Tri'.-s,,,and happy, they must deal first of all with these
s'',att's'asses. The only way in which he could suggest
ntie "aaiee three classes should be dealt with, was to
74e, `ueln in the power of the poor-law guardians, who,
„,`Piot. eases of distress and famine happened in their dis-
co "ould possess authority to levy extra poor-rates,
by the landlords, the absentees, and middle-
ee'v When he made use of the term absentees, be did
'atktz'sh. to include all who did not reside on their
ken's. There were several noble exceptions, in such
endtasb the Earl Fitzwilliam, the Duke of Devonshire,
L'lte• °-"„sere, who, although not living in Ireland, mani-
iAse4," greatest care to see that the comforts of their
Ztqs,,;s were properly attended to. He/(Sir A. Brooke)
L44L'er, knew of some proprietors who had never seen
rric,d-aants, and who bad not visited their estates for a
30 years, and the consequence was, that the
tp time landlord was obliged to provide, for the people
of difficulty and distress. Without employ-
• :is" was his firm conviction that it would be useless
as„,o3uce cheap food into the country.
N8.,:,--eOULETT SCROPE thought that the poor of
%,-k4 should have the right of relief from the district
1;44t 'htell they were attached. It had been mentioned
;Lit it ere Was at present an abundance of food in Ireland,
'4l)iei,,'"Jalid be borne in mind, that that food was
elN'y "tog carried out of the country. It would be
'4l)4%irable that an additional supply should be ob-
,ea",„!rorn America ; he considered, however, that the
'los.'" of Ireland should be allowed to be fully des
arty
°f
exhausted before they applied to the gene-
tltleo! (1,1 England, or had recourse to the superabund-
Nel America. He trusted that the wants of the
I'4 tSee ,C Ireland should be supplied from the resources
oi3trict where the distress should exist, and he
tot,s,a, that her Majesty's Government would keep. that
thot,l4,eration in mind in dealing with the question. He
k'ts,""it that the bounty of England might be repaid in
s't,",pe by the levying of district taxes.
7q I' thought it was extremely desirable that
isas ee of food should be reduced to so low an amount
1-tri if- Possible. They had heard that wages were so
1,,4,-t(t)hat it was impossible for the best-disposed land-
s eel. , , Pha his labourers more than five shillings a
was additional reason why the price of food
„41 lae reduced. Some inquiries had been made at an
In of the evening for information, respecting
L 3I "ti corn, which it had been proposed to bring in.
(- tt tea.lestY's Government had introduced a measure to
~4to/T:11a Indian corn, of which there was a large supply.
Zl.tact'a: Member for Somersetshire had supplied him
0, 1;4) with all necessary statements as to the Indian
had proved that it was an excellent article of
1 ,The only difference between them was that the
:;Itts,ealber thought that Indian corn, being an excel-
s":llelele of food, ought to be kept out. of the country,
t e (Mr. Escott) was of. opinion that Indian
A b, being
e an excellent article of food, ought
elre et into the country.—(Hear, and cheers.)
'al Illtan a 1 e time back, the par-
4se ars occurrei som
„°f which came under his own personal know-
ker,
44ti„"`-' which he would state to the House. A large
11,13 et3,i7 °f Indian corn had been brought into port in
is 44 kritrY, but owing to the severity of the duty, it
t„'ltl"e,vented from being landed. The consequence
004" the whole of the corn was transhipped, taken
alOien44ll,tnd used in teeding Dutch cattle instead of
ta9-4ral tia would ask, what is the state of the agri-
i),,Paly arbourer at this moment with respect to the only
ttek e 4 °L animal food, which he ever, by any chance
o
ttl,q ten r Viz , bacon and pork ? Why, in nine cases
tbaoals t where the agricultural labourer is respectable
fs' Pit is kit
keep a pig, one half of it is pawned before
it w. in order to supply the labourer and his
le„,Wsala wit
caromon necessaries. Now, what a blessing
sot afl if every agricultural labourer could keep for
that Pig, or even two. He (Mr. Escott) knew of
h .Im, at would tend more to exalt the condition of
tattered rin
th g poor than a plentiful supply of food. He
tkitte the "at the extension of trade and commerce would
„foldarket for agricultural produce to.an extent
e▪
et
e grain P Y repay any imaginary reduction in the
•Year • What was it that had, during the pre-
NI" the given an impulse to agriculture, and partially
b COAd' •
axon of the agricultural labourer ? It
the oyttieri ribed to no other cause than the increase of
tait,,easu, t, which had taken place in consequence of
a/hp,pitieeaotation in productive duties, which had
illraeft; had gel...ew years ago. It was this relaxation
ttp44terest "a degree of prosperity to the agricul-
ll4Alinleh it had never previously experienced.
was of opinion that the Government