The Sun.
London, England, 1846-01-17 00:00:00

this country are used to toil—their labour is often
protracted—frequently it is of the most skilful nature.
The curse that was pronounced, that man should earn
his bread by the sweat of his brow, is submitted to ; and
whether in the country in agricultural occupations, or
whether in the towns in mechanical and manufacturing
operations, you see men, not from sunrise till sunset,
but for far longer hours, giving all the strengh of their
sinews to labour—to hard labour—with the view of ob-
taining their daily bread. They submit manfully—they
submit with courage to that toil, in the hope of keeping
themselves and their families in sustenance, if not in
comt'ort ; and if they wish that their bread should not
be farther stinted—that man should not make that more
difficult by legislation which the eternal doom of the
Almighty has already made difficult in regard to the
natural course of things—where, I would wish to know,
is the House of Commons, elected by the people, which
will long resist such a wish ?—(lmmense cheering.)
Gentlemen, there is another advantage which I think
will accrue from the total abolition of the duties on the
importation of grain--Uhink it will bind us more closely
in relations of peace ME amity with foreign States, and
more especially with one—l mean the United States of
America.—(Cheers.) I think nothing of the questions
which may now be in dispute—questions of territory, in
which, as they now stand, the honour of neither nation
is engaged, and upon which calm men, representing the
Government of ber Majesty, and representing the Go-
vernment of the United States, may, as I believe, by
calm and fair discussion, come to an amicable agree-
ment. I see no prospect of war arising out of this
difference—if we on this side are determined with
regard to the importation of the produce of the United
States, and if the Government of the United States is
determined with regard to the manufactures of thii
United Kingdom, that there shall be free intercourse—
that they shall be permitted to teed us, and we shall be
permitted to clothe them.—(Loud cheers.) I believe
that if no unhallosVed and partial legislation should stand
in the way of such exchange, that these two nations--
they being of the same race and the same language as
ourselves—are formed to continue for centuries together
in the bonds of amity—united in a family compact—not
such a compact as that between France and Spain, aris-
ing from the mere relationship of the reigning families
and their courts, butts compact arising from feeling our-
selves to be of the same blood, and admirers of each
others institutions—they respecting
.the freedom of our
monarchy, an 3 we admiring their republic. I be-
lieve such a union may for centuries endure for the
lasting happiness of the world. I have now to
thank you, net only for the honour you have conferred
upon me, but for the indulgence with which you have
listened to the expression of my political opinions. It
will be my duty before long, in the House of Commons,
to declare my opinions upon some of the most important
questions that were ever agitated in that community. I
fear not the discussion. I should have little fear of the
opposition or the arguments of the men to whom I may
be opposed—even though they should think, as a gentle-
man who was lately proposed as a Member of the House
of Commons did, that the fittest comparison of me was
that of Satan.—(Laughter.) I say I shall be very little
afraid even of so brilliant a comparison as that, if the
gentlemen of the House of Commons, who represent
protection, will only employ such arguments as they
adopted last year.—(Laughter.) You will hear Sir
Robert Peel accused of treachery to the landed interest.
I will not enter upon that question now; but I would
here just say, that he was very unkind to the landed
interest, for he allowed them to speak for themselves,
and make out their own cause.—(Laughter.) And such
an exhibition as it was—such a melancholy show of bad
argument, and worse declamation, I have never heard.
One day we had a gentleman for an hour and a half,
with a number of statistical documents, to show that
beef would be one penny and mutton a halfpenny a
pound cheaper, all of which he attributed to the tariff,
and asked how can you possibly support any law so
disastrous in its results? There is no saying how cheap
beef and mutton and lamb may become if you go on in
this ruinoas policy of free trade.—(Laughter.) Another
day the Minister proposed that a number of articles
should be free—he proposed, not indeed corn, or oats,
or maize, but a number of unpalattsble articles, such as
rhubarb and senna, and all those drugs whose names
' themselves are very nauseous.—(Laughter.) But these
protection genllemein were still afraid. Though assured
that these laws really allowed nothing of human food to
be admitted free, they were always on the look-out, and
alarmed lest some food should come in,—(Hear, hear.)
And when they came to the article of grease, they were
under great apprehension. They said—ls not grease
butter ? and may not some persons import this grease
for the purpose of eating it ?—(Laughter.) And Sir
George Clerk, Vice President of the Board of Trade,
was obliged to .get up with great solemnity—for he
does most of these things with great solemnity—
and assure these gentlemen, all the county Members,
and a vast phalanx at the lower end of the House,
that this grease meant butter spoiled for human food by
tar—(Great laughter)—and he confidently assured them
that no human being would attempt to eat it.—(Renewed
laughter.)—New, if, they will but use such arguments as
these, which, as I say, Sir R. Peel most unkindly al.
lowed them to use for themselves, and did not stand
forth in their behalf, they may call me by any terms
they please. Ido not know they can call me worse
than the devil—(laughter)—but if they use such ridicu-
lous arguments as these, I shall be sure of a triumph
over them.— (Cheers.) I hope I may be entitled to say,
having received this honour from you, and being the
representative of the city of London, that the great
cities of England and Scotland are determined that this
monopoly shall last no longer, and that commerce shall
be free."—(lmmense cheering.) The Noble Lord, on
sitting down, was greeted with three tremendous rounds
of applause.
The meeting then separated ; and his Lordship, on
leaving the hall was loudly cheered by the immense
multitude assembled outside.

In the evening, Lord John Russell dined with the Lord
Provost, in the Town-hall, when there were also pre-
sent—Lord Belhaven, Sir T. D. Lauder, Hon. Fox Maule,
M.P., Andrew Rutherford, Esq., M.P., W. Gibson Craig,
Esq. M.P., J. Campbell, of Craigie, Esq., the Marquis
of Esq.,
D. Ross, Esq., M.P.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL, in proposing the toast "The cause
of civil, religious, and commercial freedom all over the
world," said—You are all well acquainted with the toast
given in former times by Mr. Fox, and afterwards by Mr.
Canning, and I have no doubt but you have heard that
toast on many occasions, and haveheartily responded to the
Sentiment of " Civil and religious liberty all over the
world." But there is another kind of freedom now more
in question, upon which the immediate fate of most im-
portant measures depend—l mean commercial freedom.
—(Cheers.) And when I say commercial freedom, Ido
not mean that it is to be any partial. or unfair applica-
tion of that principle. I have never looked upon this
question but as upon one which required the careful
deliberation of statesmen, and upon which particular
measures, from time to time, in a particular state of a
manufacture or a colony, may not demand special con-
sideration. But I have always considered the object to
be obtained, not partial, or to be applied to one interest,
but to be general commercial freedom ; and that any
duties to be imposed should not be imposed with the
view of protecting any class against another class of the
community. (Great applause.) Now, this principle
has the merit of rendering, what I atn sure is very de-
sirable, all our legislation far more safe and satisfactory
than it would be otherwise. We have subjects enough
and more than enough to occupy the time, the atten-
tion, and the ability of the Members of both Houses
of Parliament, and it will be the means of easing
us of some of our labours, and of facilitating every
other subject of legislation, if any part of the bur-
den borne by us were taken off our shoulders, and
the most simple way to accomplish this is to save Par-
liament the trouble of maintaining this system of
protection. The subject of taxation should be viewed
only in the light of making it press lightly on
the community, and give the largest return to the
Exchequer. It was only in this view that any jus-
tification can be offered for the protection of what is
called native industry. But, in my opinion, native
industry will do much bettor without any protection ;
and if I may be allowed to confess an error, it is in not
having sooner come to this conclusion. I will give you
an example which will justify me in making this confes-
sion. The late Dr. Bailie, of London, to my knowledge,
attended a patient affected with consumption for many
weeks, and at the end of the time, he said to his patient
that he maturely considered his case, and had come to
the conclusion that he had been entirely wrong in the
medicines he had given him ; that instead of doing, him
good, they had done the reverse, and that he would have
been much better if he had left him alone at the com-
mencement. Dr. Bailie was a man of skill and great ex-
perience, and could afford to make that confession; and I
say it would be well for us legislators to do sometimes the
same.—(Cheers.) And I certainly believe, that if, at the
commencement of these corn-laws, the patient, suffering
as he was, had been left alone, he would now have been
found in a far better state than after having undergone
the various courses of medicinal preparations to which he
had been condemned. This question, I trust, of com-
mercial freedom is about to receive its solution. The
principles have been amply eascussed, and are approved
by men of the greatest research—such as .1 dam Smith,
Ricardo, Malthus, and a great host of. British and Con-
tinental writers on ec utomical science. The public
mind has been deeply imbued with correct views on this
question through the works of these authors; but when I
speak about the state of the question with regard to the
public mind, I would be doing an injustice to the persons
belonging to that association which is held up as a bug-
bear to the country, and the members of it stigmatised as
revolutionaries and Jacobins.—(Hear, hear, and cheers.)
It would not be consistent with fairness it' I did not say
that the progress this question has made, is very much
owing to the persevering exertions, the instructive
statements, and the lucid are,uneents emploi•ed by the
members of what is called the Anti-Corn-law
League.—(Applause.) I do not think it would be
just to speak of this great question, and to speak of its
present position, and fur me or any other person to talk
of our efforts on this subject, without rendering due
justice to_ them. And, having done so, I will say
also that, with respect to much of the languages of par-
ticular members of the League with regard to the landed
interest, and with respect to the harsh terms used to-
wards the landlords, I regret it, I dispute its justice,
and I differ from its polio but when I say this, I am'
y ;
not one of those fastidious persons who, because in,
the warmth of discussion, harsh language, which
I disapprove of, is used,
will, irrespective of the
justice of the cause, or th© questionck
at issue, make that
back an excuse for my turning my upon it altogether.
(Applause.) If I was that fastidious person
shrink from more than one good cause towhich civil and
tgo
religious liberty is deeply indebted,
will only refer instead of following
it with admiration and respect.
one example. All of us must admire those efforts which
were made by us for religious freedom, and to o'otain
liberty from spiritual bondage in the sixteenth century.
Individually, I view with great admiration the efforts
tkep made, the gallaat spirit which w,p,s ready to
encounter rnartyrdoim, and the glorious Auto which