The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-27 00:00:00

verted to all the main arguments in favour of protection, lie
would now proceed to say a few words with respect to that
which was called the colonial argument. Now, with regard to
that argument, he would venture to say that the position in which
they had put the colonies had been, as he always understood
it should be, in the same relation to the British
Crown as were the counties of Middlesex or York, or any
other English county. But it was reserved for this debate
that they should adopt a most fallacious policy, and one which
was injurious to the imperial interests, merely for the purpose
of serving the interests of the colonies. But he believed that
the same reasoning applied to the colonies as to any other part
of her Majesty's dominions. The colonial argument was
greatly urged by his lion. and Gallant Friend the Member for
Liverpool, as well as by the Honourable Member for Rox-
burgh. They quoted in support of their arguments
the 'speeches of Mr. Pitt and Mr. Huskisson, as well as
that of the Hon. Member for Shrewsbury. But when he (Mr.
Cardwell) looked at the speeches of Mr: Pitt, he found him
saying, that what was good for the mother country was also
good for the colonies, unless the circumstances were very pe-
culiar and special. Having said thus much, he (Mr. Card-
well) would ask Hon. Members on his own side o; the House,
whether they believed there was any strength in the argu-
ments which he that evening feebly endeavoured to lay before
the house? If their arguments were not so absolutely irre-
sistible,and their facts not so perfectly conclusive as they had ap-
peared to consider them, what was the position in which they
stood before the country ? Were there any strong argu-
ments against them? Were they not seeking to leave upon
the food of the people a tax, a very small portion of which
found its way into the coffers of the Exchequer ?—(Loud Op-
position cheers.) Were they not claiming to raise an arbi-
trary barrier in the way and proper course of trade ?—(Hear.)
Were they not seeking to deny to industry its obvious right
of disposing of its own productions according to its own dis-
cretion?—(Cheers.) He had not troubled the House with a
single statistic, but he would venture to read an extract from
am Smith, which he was happy to say was quite opposed to
t views held by those Hon. Members who were in favour of
protection to agriculture. The Hon. Member having read the
extract, 'proceeded to say that an illustration had occurred to
his own mind, in connexion with a different subject, which, if
he might be permitted, he should like to mention to the
House.—( Hear.) A young men who, during the late war,
had made himself conspicuous in the defence of his country,
had risen to be chairman of a commission for the consideration
of the state of the maritime defences.—(Hear, hear. )
In the course of a conversation with a Gentle-
man, he said he was afraid that the wooden walls
of old England were in danger of being thrown, in conse-
quence of the improved condition of the vessels of foreign
countries. The gentleman, however, with whom he was con-
versing, met the difficulty by saying, that England need not
fear if she only met foreign improvements in maritime forces
by improvements in her own, and be prepared to face them
at all times.—(Cheers.) The same should be the conduct of
the agriculturists of this country—let them prepare themselves
for the competition of foreign countries.—(Hear, hear.) Such
steps would be the means of improving the condition of the
agricultural labourers of this country. He would
say to those Honourable Gentlemen who were afraid
of the march of improvement, don't be afraid of it.—
(Cheers.) In removing the protective duties from
agriculture the Legislature would be increasing the amount of
consumption ; and this country would, as the lion. Member
for Shrewsbury had eloquently expressed it, become a
country in which the demand for agricultural produce would ra-
pidly increase, and that they would find that by such a mea-
sure the interests both to commerce and agriculture would be
promoted.—(Hear bear.) lie would now beg to
bring another statistic before the House. From a
work published in 1833, by Mr. Porter, it ap-
peared that the population of Manchester had increased
189 per cent., and that of Salford, 194 per cent. during
the last few years. The quantity of butcher's meat and wheat
which that vast increase of people would require for consump-
tion must necessarily be immense, and the interests of agri-
culturists must also be promoted by that increase of population.
lie found that the populatien of Liverpool and other manufac-
turing places had increased in a similar ratio, and the effects
were similar. A very remarkable speech was lately made at
Liverpool, in which it appeared, that in 1815 the increase
of vessels over the preceding year was nearly 4,000, and he (Mr.
Cardwell) begged his Hon. Friend, the Member for Durham,
to pay attention that. The increase in the East India trade
had also been about t 4.0 per cent. despite hostile tariffs. Ho
should think it presumption to come to the House of Commons
and express sanguine anticipations, which he might be pleased
to entertain, of the great increase of those commercial and
manufacturing districts, with which he had the honour to be
connected ; but the speeches which he had quoted, were the
speeches of men. Those men said that they really believed
that if the commerce of this country were left unshackled the
results to the country would be most beneficial. —(lean)
He for his own part believed that that merchant of Liverpool
ho said that the benefits which would accrue to the country
from free trade could not be calculated, had said 110 more than
the truth. With respect to the timber trade, a few facts would
show that it had increased since the removal of its protective
duties. In 1841 the increase of vessels, engaged in the timber
trade, was nearly 200,000 tons. And with regard to those
concerned in the Baltic trade, the amount of tonnage in 1845,
was 33,000, it being only 22,000 in 1842. Seeing the Hon.
Member for Sunderland (Mr. Hudson) in his place
he was anxious to disabuse his mind of a policy which he ap-
peared to labour under. We had received 2,000,000 quarters
of foreign grain, and that had consequently increased our ex-
port trade. If the Hon. Member would permit so humble an
individual as himself (Mr. Cardwell), he would venture to
tell him what would be the result of that proceeding—it was
this, that as the industrious navigators had been benefited by
the importation of those 2,000,000 quarters of corn, they
would invest a great portion of their receipts in railways, which
would do a great deal towards promoting useful intercourse with
different parts of the country. Such, then, were the conclu-
sions which he (Mr. Cardwell) had arrived at, and he believed
that those conclusions were based on reasoning of the most
mathematical kind. Those opinions he had always entertained
in the abstract.—( Hear, hear.) He had never disavowed
them, and he had never attempted to disguise them.—( Hear,
hear.) He certainly did vote against his Hon. Friend the
Member for Wolverhampton two years ago on this question, for
he had always considered that great changes of this kind
should be regarded as questions of time. And he (Mr. Card-
well) could riot deny that at the present time, above all other
times, it was necessary to look out for a supply of food. He
would not deny that this measure was brought forward to
meet a great emergency, and he believed it was calculated
to promote the good of the country.—( Cries of" Hear, hear.")
There were 'Hort. Members in this House who had never dis-
guised the opinions which he had expressed, and he would
acknowledge that there were a great commercial interest in
this country, who had lent their support on the present occa-
sion to the Government. He believed that the people of Eng-
land were slow to learn from abstract documents, but they
were quick at learning from experience—(Hear, hear)—they
had had the experience of the last three years, and that expe-
rience had not been lost upon that great and reflecting people
which they represented. He maintained that the support of the
great and important commercial interest was essential to the true
Conservative int erests of this country. He would frankly eel now-
ledge that the members of this large and powerful influence had
ever shown a disposition to watch the ever- varying circumstances
of this country.—( Hear, hear.) He begged to apologise for
the great extent to which he had trespassed upon the kindness
and attention of the House. He believed that in the di-
minution of prices, in the general removal of sources of dis-
cord, and a generous and discriminating regard to all the
complicated interests of the country, that the present was a
Parliament competent to decide.---( Hear, hear.) And if that
House would decide in the affirmative, they would bestow upon
the country, by passing these measures, great, lasting, en-
during, and inestimable benefits.—( Hear, hear.)
Mr. FINCH said he felt great reluctance to address the
House ; he would say, however, that the speech delivered by
the last Hon. Member did great credit to his taste and temper.
He did not think, however, that it was a speech cal-
culated to carry great weight with the country. His glowing de-
tails of the prosperity of the manufacturers would tell powerfully
in farour of that side of the finase to which he (Mr. Card-
well) was opposed, for if they were in this nourishing state
under a system of protection, why did they wish to change it ?
—( Hear, hear.) lie (Mr. Finch) believed, however, that
the prosperity would have been greater if there had been none
of the alteration which had been made in the last tariff.—
( Hear, hear.) lie had noticed the speeches of many lion.
Members made on the opposite side of the House, but in none
of those had he been able to discover that they had succeeded
in tracing effects to causes, nor had they shown how the tariff
had wrought out the prosperity.—(" Hear, hear," from Colonel
Sibthorp.) He considered that there were many reasons to
account for the prosperity previous to the passing of
the tariff. America was in a state of complete prostration,
her credit and her finances were gene, and insolvency covered
the land, and as a natural consequence great distress was
felt in that country, both in America and amongst our manu-
facturers. Trade, however, revived, and with that revival
came an increased demand for goods in the manufacturing dis-
tricts of this country,—( Hear, hear.) In addition to this, it
had been stated that railway speculations had given a stimulus
to native industry, and thereby caused considerable improve-
ment, and even produced great prosperity to the agricultural
interests. Now, he thought it was going too far to say that
those improvements were atteibutable to the tariff. lie be-
lieved that if they were to fellow the tariff through all its
ramifications, it would be found eliat it had operated as a bar
rather than a stimulant.—( Hear, lacer.) When he had the
honour of a seat in that House, use occupied the opposite
benches. The Noble Lord, the Member for the city of
London, was then a strong protectionist, the question between
him and the Right lion. Baronet at the laced of her Majesty's
Government was not then one of protecti on or no protection,
but only a difference as to the mode of applying that protection.
hhe one party were in favour of a fixed u uty, and the other
advocated a sliding duty ; but now, however, t here was al strik-
ing
upon which we had seen the Right Hon.
ng change ; the only sliding scale that there wasi
of
in.--(Hear, hear.)
rtloonwe t esflti diTnags
ult ts
eoefmoeffid cteo
hainmd
the leaders of the two gr eat parties.—( Hear, hear, andlaughter. )
rbelewLasorad
t th
ha
et
t Nh
et)
s
lie did net think, however, that the opinions of either
sort
of moral murrain among
the Noble Lord or the Right Hon. Baronet could have much
weight. If the conversion of the Noble Lord had been effected
at railroad speed, the conversion of the Right Hon. Baronet
had been effected with the speed of the electric telegraph. If
the Right Hon. Baronet had, like a Noble Lord in the Upper
House, comfortably ensconced himself in a chateau at Caens,
in the south of France, and surrounded himself with all the
ponderous volumes of Adam Smith, Malthus, M'Gregor,
Macculloch, and all other political economists, he would frith
greater haste have come to the conclusion which he had. He
could theta come back to England, like the "fair penitent,"
or he would rather say, the contrite statesman • he might
then have stormed the Cabinet, triumphantly regained
possession of the seals of office, and his opinions
might then have been entitled to some weight.—(Cheers and
laughter.) The change in his opinions seemed to have been
brought about by a combination of circumstances. There was
the Anti Corn-law League mounted upon the boards of Covent
Garden theatre. There was heard in the distance the sounds
of battle, with the confusion of war and bloodshed in the Pa-
cific, the Atlantic, and the Western possessions, in fact a
tremendous bugbear of a North American war. Then came
the failure of the potato crop. Then in their affrighted ima-
gination they beheld O'Connell, at the head of his repeal
legions, marching into this House, brandishing his javelins,
defying its authority.—(Cheers from the -protectionists.)
Under these circumstances, lie did not consider the change of
opinion on the part of her Majesty's Government worthy
of much weight. And, with reference to the Noble Lord the
Member for the city of London, he had. no doubt, about
this time heard of the dissensions in the Cabinet. He had
heard, no doubt, that they were directing their -course in favour
of free trade; he immediately passed his free trade into Scott's
Lake, and wrote his famous letter to the electors of London,
which caused so much sensation throughout the empire. He
considered, therefore, despite all the speeches -which hal been
made on the subject, they had just left the quention where they
had found it. The Noble Lord, the Member for the West
Riding, had read a very solemn lecture to the aristocracy of
Britain. He reminded them of the immense) forests ef Amy-
rice, and its mines of inexhaustible wealth--he said nothing,
however, upon the subject of American opinion respecting free
trade. The Noble Lord must have known that the democratic
party in America wore adverse to free trade, and that in Penn-
sylvania, out of 26 members returned to iCongress, 25 were
against any modifleation of the tariff of 1841.. With reference
to the speech of the Right Hon. Baronet made a few nights
ago, the particulars of which were terrific few a Minister to
utter—he would say that it possessed so little claim to a de-
liberative character, and so flattish ef the wildest
enthusiasm, that it was perfectly necessary that it
should be answered, in order to Alolm a complete