The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-11 00:00:00

is ;ant, he found that there was a decided advantage o k I,',"\ki
e", , ... -
the side of the proprietor of the soil—a remarkable adv /.:i? 11,T
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from
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tage, for he cave a singu tar evidence of the relation betwe -.t.e:ia..''l_ 17:
likely to arisßebyetonebtriioltatltidei
landlord and tenant, and of the advantages which we t". ''.4: ‘•',-"',...,:e.:•;e:2,1
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positions.
o f the k\s
iteitlahepeepsecoafirletdhoefitrhiasretev:atrnh:::4XL.:-;-
was not more than 14s. 2d. per acre, and that' l ly.a.
the gross revenue of the country from that el ksi
4,
source was not more than 6,000,000 L per annum,
whereas it was known that although the soil of Eng-
land was not more than that of Ireland, that at least
40,000,000/. per annum were realised. There was a
part of Ireland in wllich the protection of agriculture
was not considered to be of any benefit to these con-
cerned in agriculture—he meant Ennisfail. Agriculture
and manufactures were then in a perfect union, and the
people were prosperous and happy—every class of society
was in the enjoyment of the comforts of life. For his
own pertehe dreaded not the repeal of the corn-laws ;
he dreaded not the lowering of the price of food. He
did not believe that the repeal of the corn-laws
would damage the interests of the agriculturists. In
fact, he was perfectly convinced that the lowering of the
price of feod would increase the profits of the agricul-
turist, and that that increase would be followed by in-
creased employment; and the general prosperity of the
people of this kingdom would follow in such a
manner as could not be created by the main-
tenance of protection to agriculture. He wished to
see Ireland cease to be a land in which agriculture
was protected, and he wished to see Ireland depending
on her agricultural produce as well as her manufactures.
It was said that the corn-laws opened a market for her
agricultural produce in England and other countries ;
but of what benefit were such markets to the agricul-
turists of Ireland ?—(Hear, hear.) He admitted that
vast quantities of food were sent from Ireland to Eng-
land, the purchase of which cost the English millions
of money. But did Ireland benefit by such sales ?
The exports of the provisions from Ireland
instead of having conduced to her wealth, had led to her
wretchedness and misery. Those exports were not the
exports of her superfluiti,:s; they were the exports of her
means of existence ; they were the exports of those
things which the people should have to support ex-
istence and a comfortable life ; they were taken from her
comforts, and they did not therefore benefit the people
of Ireland. The poor in that country were at the pre-
sent moment suffering under privations which no man
could at all cone-ive, and that fact, he submitted,
was a proof of the justice and correctness of
his position. It was found that the number of acres in
tEanngt sl
,a
a nd
dw yet•e r
feafinr.
oort: es
Ireland,t.,ffitehi
esn,ta
the
eru
acresatlhlye reeoxl
of which
rhtoiecfdhh e‘mir.
eoirsneth
pro-
portionatelyai
mbi
im-
mense quantities of provisions. They were therefore
exporting the life and blood and substance of the
people of Ireland. The injury done to the people
of Ireland by this means was incalculable. Such
a system produced the most barbarous murders
and assassinations in various parts of Ireland. They
fell into those horrid crimes because they were without
employment, and deprived of the means of existence.
Such were some of the effects of agricultural protection.
When they go to Ireland, what do they find? They
find the people, except where those murders of an
agrarian nature took place, obedient to the laws. They
find the landlords living among their tenantry in peace
and in security; and if the landlords of Ireland gave up the
system of agricultural protection, and turned their
thoughts and energies on the development of the country,
those crimes which he alluded to would be heard of no
more. Nothing would promote the happiness and com-
fort of the people so much as cheapcorn, and, therefore, he
was most anxious to see the tax on that necessary
article of human food totally abolished. There was sn-
otts !. great fault committed by the rulers of Ireland, in
not doing sornethiug to enable the people to
get a better description of food. They are
now compelled to subsist on the potato, which is the
one of the lowest articles amongst all descriptions of
vegetable diet. But if they once made corn cheap by
removing all restrictions on that article, the people
would be enabled to procure it, and thus secure
for themselves a proper du scription of food, for •
they could then command the corn market.
The potato was an article of food liable, from various
causes, to periodical injury, and he was therefore aux- •
ious that a-substitute should be provided for it by
the abolition of the corn-laws. If the landlords of Ire-
land, by a repeal of the corn-laws, were forced to adopt
other means for increasing their incomes than that which
land afforded, it would be better both for themselves and
for their tenantry.—(Hear.) They could also, by culti-
vating and; improving their land, increase to a consider-
able extent their present incomes.—(Hear.) In the
greater part of Ireland land at present is not more than
half cultivated, and ice was certain, if the tenants
were induced to improve the farms, the produce
might be double that which it at present is.
Ile (Mr. Sharman Crawford) would not refer to par-
ticular cases, but would address himself to the general
condition of the people of Ireland. There was no
period or season of the sear at which a great por-
tion of the poorer class of the people were so
reduced as not to be able to prccure food. He
did not mean to say that they were actually starved to
death ; but there the insufficiency of' food, and the bad-
ness of its quality was such, as to produce the most
alarming consequences. Knowing such to be the case
amongst a large body of the poorer classes,
he could not reconcile it to his conscience,
indeed he would hold himself accountable for the results,
if he did not protest against any mode of raising the
price of' food.—(Hear, hear.) He considered it the
bounden duty of every landed proprietor to use his
best exertions to procure cheap food for the peo-
ple, and to counteract the many grievous calamities
that were coniequent on a scarcity of food—the least
amongst which was not typhus fever. With regard to
the scarcity of food, be should say, that that very day he
had received a communication from districts with
which he was connected, informing him that the
potatoes—the staple food of the poor—were en-
tirely destroyed, and that the people were obliged
to have recourse to oatmeal. Therefore, seeing all that,
he could not be indifferent to the great benefit that was
certain to be derived from the measure then introduced
by the Government ; and he should, therefore, feel it his
duty to give his most cordial support to the Government
proposition.—(Hear, hear.).
Mr. BAILLIE (whose opening observations were
wholly inaudible in the gallery) was understood to say,
that the Noble Lord the Membelor the City of London,
in his address to the House last night, seemed to
assume and to take it for granted that free trade
must prove most beneficial under any circumstances,
If that was the opinion of the Noble Lord, how would
he reconcile it with the fact that foreign nations knew
well enough the value of protection to their national pro-
ductions? Foreign nations were well aware of the great
advantages which England possessed for manufactures.
This country had large manufactures and every facility
for production. We had rivers, and ships, and every
means of carrying out our trade at a cheap rate ; and
we also could produce articles of manufactures of a
very fine quality which would compete with them. It
was for that reason that foreign countries had erected
barriers in the shape of protection for their manu-
factures ; and if that was the case, how was it was pos-
sible for this country to have all those advantages from
free trade that they were led to expect? France had
manufactures of her own, and if the manufactures of
this country were introduced into that country, we
should be competing with them to the injury of their
own trade. In India we had introduced our manufactures
of cotton goods, and that did away with their own beau-
tiful fabrics, to the great injury of the people of
that country.—(Hear, hear.) Ever since the dominion
of England in India, there was more injury done by the
introduction of our manufactures there than by all the
blood which had been shed or all the massacres which
had taken place. By doing away with their staple
production, we had thrown out of employment
thousands of the people, who suffered by starvation.
This was the result of' our free trade-doctrine there,
And having tailed therefore, in all our endeavours to
induce foreign i ations to adopt free trade,
shall we try the experiment upon our own people ?
They had only to refer to the occurrences of the
last few 'ears in order to be convinced of •
a/ and coaamerci
state tinhe the
country
inthe intimate connexion which existed between their
agricultural al prosperity. They need
not look farther back than 1848. Itw
recollec-
tion of every one what was the ofa
that year. Their trade and commerce was stag-
nant ; their manufacturers in the deepest consternation ;
thousands of their operatives thrown out of employment;
the revenue fallen belOw the expenditure and threatening
the utmost commercial difficulties. Such was the state of
the country—to what was that state to be attributed? It
had succeeded several years of unexampled manufacturing
prosperity. lie alluded to the period commencing in 1838.
Let them look however at the present state of things in
the country. All theirloperatives were in full employment,
they were working on good and sufficient wages ;
they were happier and better: off than at any former
period in their history. To what was this to be attributed?
lie did not wish to take away, and he was fully pre-
pared to do justice to the talent of the Right Hon. Baro-
net, but he was not prepared to give him the sole credit
of restoring the country. That altered state was to
be attributed to the three abundant harvests, commenc-
ing from the year 1841.—(Hear, hear.) How clearly
thee, did not these facts demonstrate to us
how careful we should bo to preserve the causes
that produce this prosperity and success ?—(Hoar.)
It was not, however, his intention on that occasion to
enter into a discussion as to whether there were
pecuniary or heavy burdens on the agricultural portion
of the community, because he thought he should be
able to show that the agriculturists laboured under a
greater disadvantage on account of the competition
with the foreigner than from the peculiar and heavy
burdens on lan. This disadvantage had not been duly
appreciated or considered in the course of these discus-
sions ; but there was another disadvantage which none
of the advocates of free trade principles could get
rid of. He meant the disadvantages which
laboured
the inhabitants of this country
under on account of the inferiority of the climate
to that of other countries, whichnotp rthink they
finer description of grain.
Hethe farmers of
this country were less
had any reason to believe
that did
skilful or intelligent than
_ heard it stated that
those of other countries. H had e
foreign countries were
superior in the arts of agricul-
ture, and he believed there were many parts of Germany
not inferior to our own. In Poland the % •
ages
of those engaged in agricultural pursuits were as much
as the wages paid to those engaged in similar pursuits in
England. The soil was equally fertile, and the
corn realised 10 to 20 per cent. more in the
markets ,of England than our own. He knew
that samples of wheat might be produced in Essex and
in some of the southern counties of England equal to the
wheat grown in Poland, but he spoke of what constituted
the whole produce of this country, which was of a very
inferior quality, and varied with the seasons. This
inferiority arose from the great heat of the
countries to which he had alluded, end the Wm!