The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-18 00:00:00

of the Hou e.—(Hear, hear.) He had been in the habit of
not unfrequently addressing public assemblies, but he had sel-
dom addressed such an assembly as he was then before, and he
peculiarly felt the necessity of throwing himself on its indulgence,
whilst he explained his opinions on the important question then
before them. He had not been returned for a pocket borough.
—( Hear, hear.) He came there on as independent grounds
as the Hon. Gentleman who last addressed the House.—
(Cheers from the protectionists.) He deeply felt upon the
subject, and it was not the first time that it presented itself
to his mind ; and the speeches of the Right Hon. Baronet had
induced him to give it a more serious consideration. He
thought of it as an individual who felt deeply for the
interest of his fellow creatures.—(Cries of " Hear, hear.")
He had listened to the speeches which the Right Hon. Baronet
had made since the Parliament assembled, and he returned
from that House with a perfect conviction that the principles
to which he (Mr. Bright) had given expression when ad-
dressing the electors of Sunderland, were the sound and consti-
tutional principles which should be carried out in the Govern-
ment of this great country.—(Hear, hear.) They had no-
thing to do with the greatcalamity which had befallen the coun-
try. He regretted it as much as any man, and sympathised with
those who would be affected by it, and no one would be more
ready to contribute to alleviate as far as possible the distresses
of the sister country.—( Hear, hear.) He did not think,
however, 'filet they should be called upon to legislate upon
that calamity, for the emergency might have been met by the
• exercise of those extraordinary powers which were vested
n Us& Government for such occasions.—(gear, hear.) He
did not .think that the Right Honourable Baronet had
treated his party with that fairness which they had a right to
expect.—( Hear, hear.) If the Right Hon. Baronet const •
dered it necessary that the appeal from Ireland should be
answered by a public subscription, why not let them come
down at once and make a proposal to Parliament of that de-
scription? The Right Hon. Baronet bad spent upwards of
half an hour in his speech with a description of the madertibes
e
which were at present to be witnee"ed in that country, _on
feelings were harrowed up. He (Mr. H.) would be
__ most happy
to contribute, as he had said, for the alleviation of those dis-
tresses, but he objected to be called upon to legislate at the
same time on a subject which was not essentially connected
with that calamity. Why not make a special motion en the
object, and let them go fairly into it?—(Cheers.) He would
tvccrone to the policy of the repeal of the corn-laws.—( Hear,
car.) He admitted that that was a question of the greatest
naportance, but he contended that it should not have been en-
umbered with the previous discussion which embarrassed it.—
( Hear, hear.) The Right Honourable Baronet had stated,
;n his speech last night, that he grounded his
-measures on the success of the alterations which
lad been made in the tariff in 1842. To that
success the Right Hen. Baronet had alluded last night.
Let the House examine the position of the country when the
Right Hon. Baronet came to the head of her Majesty's G'-
vernment. He (Mr. Hudson) had had an interview with him
at that time about a railway which he (the Hon. Member) had
taken a great interest in. At that period it was quite impos-
sible to raise funds to carry out a railway scheme, so great was
the depression in the money market, although it was one of
these undertakings which had done more good than many of
those measures which had been introduced and carried by the
Right Hon. Baronet.—( Hear, bear.) He had to go about
from comp any to company' to get them to guarantee 6 per cent.
to this line of railway. He succeeded, and the scheme turned
out to be a good one, and the country had benefited by the sys-
tem, which had since been so generally adopted.—( Hear, hear,
from Sir R. Peel.) The Right Hon. Baronet might cry out,
" Heir, hear," but he (Mr. Hudson) could tell him that he bad
acknowledged those great benefits. After this came an abun-
dant harvest, and the monetary system was quite recovered,
and the Right Hon. Baronet acknowledged that railways
bad done a great deal towards the prosperity of the country.—
( Hear, hear, and cheers from Mr. Peter Borthwick.) The
abundance of corn which we then had was not owing to Abe in-
troduction of foreign corn, but to the produce of the land
of this country.— ( Bear.) This was under the law of protection.
—(llear, hear, from Mr. Peter Borthwick and Col. Sibthorp.)
The Right Hon. Premier proposed to reduce the duty on the
importation of shoes, paper, and other articles of manufacture
in the country ; and he (.tlr. Hudson) wished to ask whether
the question did not resdlve itself into one of labour—for if if
was one of machinery, they would be able to contend against
the world ?e—(Hear, hear.) He had taken some trouble to
acertain what the price of corn would be in the year 1849,
after the present measure bad come into operation. He recol-
lected that in 1837, he was able to deliver corn, free of all
charges, at 255. per quarter • and what he was able to do in
1837, why should he not be able to do it in 1849 ?—( Hear,
hear.) Before they legislated on a question that affected so
vitally the interests of the country, before they came to so
important a decision, they should be furnished with the rela-
tive alterations ill the price of corn on delivery.—( Hear, hear.)
If they took the right view of the case they eould see that
under the new Bill corn would be from 30s. to 355. per quarter.
He could not refuse to give to that House the information
which he had obtained from various sources, and from his own
practical experience. Ile would ask the Hon. Member for
Wiltshire, who had spoken on the subject of agricultural
distress in this country, whether he believed that a
price of 355. per quarter for corn _would be better for
the farmer than a price varying from 451. to
50s. It appeared to him a mockery and an
attempt to deceive. Ile hail listened with much attention to
the speech of the Hon. Member, and he would not answer
what distress would occur under the present Bill. As to its
being a matter of rent. he believed honestly and firmly that it
was more a matter of land, for with a high rent the farmer
could not afford to cultivate his land. The Right Hon.
Baronet had said that he believed that the farmers would be as
well off under the new measure as they were before—that
there would be little or no alteration in that respect. The
Right lion. Baronet might perhaps know that a paper called
the League was published. That paper bad ventured an
opinion as to the operation of the Bill in 1849. It said that
the Bill would most likely work well, but it was possible
that the Ist of February, 1649, might he the commencement of
a period of unexampled distress to alt classes of farmers,
and re-act fearfully on every interest of the entire country.
That was the opinion expressed by the great agitators of this
measure, the supporters of the Anti-Corn-law League. He
expressed the opinions now which he had entertained for many
years, and he could not support the Right lion. Baronet.
The Right lion. Baronet had changed his opinions, but the
change in his ( Mr. Hudson's) view, was for reasons most un-
satisfactory. The. Right Hon. Baronet bad dwelt strongly
on the state of the country the other evening,
but he had not satisfied him (Mr. Hudson) that the
measure he proposed was necessary. Before the agita-
tion of this question, the country was fast recovering
from the depression under which it •had been labouring—its
commercial in erests were improving, and the exchanges
were in our favour. —( Hear, hear.) And it was a natural
effect that in such a state of prosperity the price of provisions
would rise.—( Hear, hear.) And he would say, why not, when
all the other interests were prosperous—why should not the
agricultural interests also participate iu that prosperity ?
( Ilear. hear.) When the brickla)er received his 28s. a week,
or the labourer his IBA. or 20a., why should not the agrieul;
turist abo receive an increased reward for his exertions ?
( Hear, hear.) If the Right Honourable Baronet carried out
his measure, let the principle he fully carried out to all. He
(Mr. Hudson) knew that this would seriously affect many trades
and interests in the country in a manner similar to the manner
in which the shoemakers are now proposed to be affected. He
pitied the shoemakers and paper-stainers, as he knew their
interests would he seriously affected ; still if one great interest
is to be affected, protection should be taken from all.—
( Hear, hear.) Ile had a few facts which bore on this ques-
tion, and he would refer particularly to the paperstainers.-
He had a f. iend in York, who employed in this manufacture
a great nun.ber of workmen at from 18s. to 21a. wages. Well,
as soon as the Bill of the Right Hon. Baronet was brought
forward, his friend showed him letters from tradesmen in
different towns, stating that the Bill would enable them to
import paper from France, and they therefore countermainled
their orders. His Friend said that he should be obliged to
pay off the men he was then employing.—( Cheers from Mr.
P. Borthwick.) Were the real interests of the country con-
sidered in the measure which the Right Hon. Baronet had
brought forward. He believed the fact to be that this mea-
sure would throw large tracts of land out of cultivation
(Renewed cheering from Sir. Borthwick.) It would exactly
act as in the years 1825 and 1826, when the larger tracts
of land were applied to other purposes than cultiva-
tion. The consequence would be, that for a time theywould
revel in low prices—they would have abundance of food no
doubt, but the manufacturer would not derive the benefit
they anticipated. He world lose the home customer ; there
would come bad harvesti, and low prices would change to
high prices, and then the Right Hon. Baronet would come do en
to the House with an extraordinary measure to provide for the
sustenance of the people. They would ultimately be thrown
on foreign countries far their supplies, and those supplies would
depend on circumstances over which the country would have
no control. —( Hear, hear.) He believed that the Right Hon.
Baronet had at the commencement of the session, brought
forward a measure to limit the expenditure of capital. He
believed the effect of that measure would be to paralyse the
energies and industry of the country, for it had already
affected their commerce to a very considerable degree.
He had understood -that they were to have a number of com-
pensations for the benefit of the landowners, bat he confessed
that irion looking through the Bill not the least compensation
was offered. He would like to ask why a person receiving 3001.
a year from the funds should not contribute to the poor-rates?
(Cheers from Mr. Borthwick.) It seemed to him to be
monstrous.—(Continued cheers from Mr. Borthwick.) He
did not see why the land should be charged for the maintenance
of the poor, when a person receiving 3,000/. a-year from the
funds did not pay anything. This was evidently unjust. He
did not see why they were to be burdened with county-rates,
He maintained that this measure would inflict great injury
upon the labourers of the country, for England was essentially
atlagocultural country; and how would the agriculturist, with
the heavy charges be had to pay, compete with the foreign
farmer, who had no burd'n to bear, and who paid his
labourers at very reduced rates? It was not right, he said, then
to allow the foreign farmer to
come into the English market
and compete with the British farmer, and he called upon the
Government to appeal to the country upon this question.
That was the course which was adopted with the Catholic
Ernancipatio:i
to maintain the , and if the Right Hon. Baronet wished
country, they"'
wouldgood opinion of the people of this
pursue the same course in
this instance.—Loud
His intercourse with the
people
e from Mr. P. Borthwick. )
of this country was very great,
and he could truly sleya,3,,,:t all with whom he came in contact
were against this
In
they
measure they would d, so'— If
circumstances he
(Cheers.)
under ywihiaiscshedwotuhlids
make it unacceptable tpooatihtiis Country. They would damage
most materially the
Hon. Members on his Ze f public men.—( Cheers. )
charged with acting wron of
the house had been
but he (Mr. Hudson) grcj„l,,M9ling this measue,
that House, acting in aCcordanc
towithntistnitdtuheenn:seiolltehrneinny
pledges which they had given their
were bound to do so by the most soleeZ
eould bind man to man. He knew that it was perfectly which
for him to address that House, for he felt that anything t etlheant
he could say would be totally unworthy of its acceptance,_
( Hear, hear, and laughter.) He knew that it would he
more unworthy of the acceptance of her Ma;esty's Govern.
merit, bat be could assure the House that when he first pr e-
sou ted himself to his constitpents to obtain their suffrages he
had art ambition to be sent to that House for the purpose of
supporting the Right Hon. Baronet. He stood there as an
honest man, and he believed he stood there also for the welfare
of his fellow countrymen, but he would not vote for a measure
which-he believed was the offspring of a divided Government.
—( Cheers) —and which he also believed was the
offspring of great excitemement of mind, as well
much more prejudice' than any measure which any Govern-
ment of this country had ever brought forward. He, therefore,
called upon the House to reject the measure. With regard to
the complaint about the distress in Ireland, he was prepared to
give his support to some other measure which must (as far as it
was in the power of Government to do so) remove that distress.
—(Cheers.) The price of agricultural labour in this country
was much higher than in other countries—for instance in
Prussia and Poland, where the agricultural wages were ss. per
ie week,ythilst in this country they were 12s. and 14s.—(Cheers.)
called upon the Government and the House to give the
country an opportunity of deciding upon this question.
He felt that ic, opposing
hag his duty to(h ilizear, constituents, thi the present measure he was perform-
tuents, whose:comm,rcial interest he
represented.
hear,thal e Colonel Sibthorp, and
laughter.) the believed
item e himself or the Right lion.
Baronet at the head of the Governmenti.was incapable of adopt-
ing any Act likely to producean but benefit to the
country.—(Laughter.)
.11p was resolved
e!d t
his unqualided support.—(Loud cries o;)ive-this measure
F• No, nn," from .
Colonel Sibthorp, and roars of laughter from all darts of the