The Sun.
London, England, 1846-04-28 00:00:00

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LONDON, TUESDAY, APRIL 28, 1846

The LORD-CHANCELLOR took his seat on the Woolsack at
Five o'clock.
Lord BROUGHAM complained of the delay which had
taken place in the passing of the corn- law, and moved for
some returns on the subject of corn importation.

The Earl of DA.x.noustm moved his resolutions on railways,
as a standing order.

Lord DIONTEAGLN complained, that by this standing
order the Government were endeavouring to shift upon
other parties that responsibility which fairly devolved on
themselves.

The Marquis of CLANRICARDE complained of the manner
in which the proposed standing order would affect the Irish
Railway Bills.
The Earl of DALHOUSIE having replied,
The resolutions were agreed to, and the House adjourned.

The SPEAKER took the chair at Four o'clock.
On the reading of the orders of the day for proceeding
with the adjourned debate on the first reading of the Irish
Life and Property Protection Bill,
Major BERESFORD took occasion to defend his noble re-
lative, the Marquis of WATERFORD from the attacks of the
Honourable Member for Kilkenny, relative to the ejection of
his tenantry. The statements of the Honourable Member
were totally without foundation.
Lord INGESTRE believed that the Marquis of WATER-
FORD was one of the best landlords in Ireland.

Mr. J. O'CONNELL was sorry for the statements he had
made ; he thought them true or he should not have adverted
to them.

Mr. O'CortwErs, admitted that the Marquis of WATICR-
FORD was one of the best landlords in Ireland, and that his
amiable Marchioness was continually employed in acts of
charity.
Mr. C. WOOD, as the chairman of the Bridport Election
Committee, reported that the Committee had come to the
resolution that Mr. B. COCHRANE had not been duly elected,
but that Mr Rommx had.

The Clerk of the Crown was ordered to attend to-morrow
to amend the return.

A discussion then took place upon a question put by Mr.
CHRISTIE, relative to the petition against the return of Mr.
B. COCHRANE, which ended in Mr. GEOMGE BANKS giving
notice of his intention to-morrow to move that the peti-
tion be printed.
Sir J. GRAHAM,in answer to a question from Mr. PowELK,
saidethe Government would do all in their power to put a stop
to the evil practices that were going on in Sheffield.
In answer to a question from Sir G. GREY, Sir J. GRAHAM
said it was the intention of the Government to proceed with
the Charitable Trusts Bill.
Mr. APCARTHY then resumed the adjourned debate on the
Irish Coercion Bill.

Mr. H. BAILLIE defended the course pursued by the Go-
vernment, and supported the first reading of the Bill.
Colonel VERNER supported the Bill.
The House was then addressed by Sir R. PEEL, Mr. WrsE,
Captain CONOLLY, and Mr. Rim.
The debate was then adjourned till Thursday next.
The orders of the day being then disposed of, the House
adjourned at One o'cicok.

The Premier, in his speech last night, made a gratify-
ing declaration of the sincerity of his feelings with re-
spect to the great measure introduced by him, and the
successful termination of which is looked for with such
feelings of intense anxiety by all classes of the commu-
nity, and gave the most direct contradiction to the reck-
less and calumnious assertions of those, who, unable to
contend in fair argument against the justice, the impera-
tive necessity for its adoption, seek to whisper away the
character, to impugn the motives, and to cast doubts on
the sincerity of the Government by which it has been
introduced. The Right Hon. Baronet says, "I will now
allude to an injurious surmise which I have heard
thrown out, that her MAJESTY'S Government are indif-
ferent to the progress of the Corn Bill, and that they
interposed this discussion, or rather the motion for the
first reading of this Bill, with a view to the defeat or the
delay of that measure. I have heard some Hon. Gentle-
men say, not that they thought so themselves, but that such
was the impression on the part of the public. Sir, in answer
to that statement, I will only say, without any unneces-
sary boast, that I shall be prepared to give whatever proof'
may be required of the sincerity of my intentions."
Chis is, indeed, clear, distinct, and explicit, and from
our hearts we believe in the sincerity and devotion of
the Prime Minister to the glorious cause. Inde"d, we have
no occasion for any declaration to convince us. Ile has
already, by his acts, afforded the clearest evidence on the
,übject. At the head of a great and powerful party,
who felt that the only hope they had of withstanding
the popular demand, of retaining to themselves a vast
smourt of income wrong from the earnings, the industry
,f the people, who sustained by the righteousness of their
cause imperatively required a full and immediate settle-
ment of their claims—when the subject was clearly
argued with the utmost ability, and all the atrocity of
the system was exposed with truth and fidelity—when
daily converts were swelling the ranks of the free-
traders, and each division showed a largely increas-
ing minority, formidable from their numbers, formidable
from their abilities, but, beyond all, formidable from the
integrity of their purpose, the justice of their cause, and
the zeal and fervour with which they urged on the coun-
try their principles, and pressed for their adoption—was
in retaining the advocacy, in securing the services of a
man so remarkable, so talented, as Sir ROBERT PEEL
has ever shown himself to be ; and who, in return for
such advocacy on his part, yielded to him the most
strenuous support, so that no one was ever placed
at the head of a stronger Government, or with
a greater prospect of long continuance and stability,
in office than he was at the time when first the pleasing
intelligence was communicated to the public, that he was
convinced of the impolicy of retaining the corn-laws in
their present condition, sad was prepared to recom-
mend a great and immediate change, with a view to their
ultimate and total abolition, and this be was prepared
for, although then unsupported by many of his col-
leagues with whom previously thereto he had
ever acted with the utmost cordiality and con-
cord—although ignorant how far the honesty
of his purpose, the overwhelming strength of
his arguments, would convince those who had
hitherto followed in his track—nay, satisfied, as he must
have been, that he would provoke the undying hatred
and animosity of many of the ultra-protectionists, who
would not, in the narrowness and selfishness of their
views, permit any consideration of public policy to
interfere with what, in their short-sightedness, they
supposed to be their individual interests, and who would
be little scrupulous to avenge by any means what
they might consider his desertion of their cause—
when, we say—because convinced of the im-
policy of continuing the imposts, he at once sacrificed
place and power, he broke up his party—then probably
the strongest in Parliamentary influen_T that had existed
for ages—he proclaimed his feelings and intentions to
the country, and fearlessly appealed to that country and
to posterity to form an accurate estimate of the purity
and integrity of his motives. We look in vain to his-
tory for a similar example. Many pages are filled, a
black catalogue exists of Ministers who, for personal
aggrandisement, for ambition, for the sake of
place and power, have sacrificed their former
feelings and principles, and joined with those who had
previously been their bitterest opponents, but few indeed
t
have bees prepared to sacrifice all that is desirable
public man for the sake of the public
welfare.eSier
ROBERT PEEL has, by his conduct, at once attained for
himself a place amongst the most virtuous,
the highest
order of statesmen, happily for his country, and by the
magnanimous appreciation of the nobleman who
had been his great political rival, who could
alone as a satesman be weighed in the
balance with him, and by the force of truth
acting on the minds of many of the less prejudiced and
most reasonable' of his party. The sacrifice he was
prepared to make was not demanded of him, and he
still presides over and rules the destinies of this great
country, But not the len is he entitled to honour fer
his resolution ; and from him no words, no pledges, are
necessary to convince us of his undying devotion to the
cause for which he has risked so much. But he has
stated one thing which must fill the public mind
with delight, and, if possible, make assu-
rance doubly sure —he made all these sa.
crifices because he felt the time had arrived
when public policy, when the welfare of his country de,
manded the immediate settlement of the question; bu:
he last night proclaimed a still higher motive, a cons:

deration more lofty than any he had hitherto put for-
ward. He says—" It is sufficient for me now to say
that the progress of the discussion, the lapse of time
and intervening events, have more strongly increased the
feeling with which I spoke when I proposed the perma-
nent and final settlement of the corn question. I will not
deny thatduring the debates on the question my opinions on
the subject have undergone a change ; and it is this—
that restrictions which I at first believed to be impolitic, I
now believe to be unjust. Consequently the sense of their
injustice precludes any compromise on my part." This
is, indeed, a bold avowal, and one which must carry
with it the most satisfactory assurance to the minds of
those who have so long, and at such disadvantage, strug-
gled 404 behalf.
OUZ OUR is, indeed, II 129b1e

one, and contains in itself the immutable principles
of everlasting justice, and it is a proud moment when
such an admission falls from a man so distinguished, so
eminent, and one whose interests are so wrapped up
with those of our opponents, in respect of the posses-
sions of wide demesnes and ample estates, as Sir R.
FEEL. However much we may regret the delay, inju-
rious as it is to the great commercial interests of the
country, we shall not blame the Premier, therefore, but
rest contented in the conviction that all that ability,
zeal, and honesty of purpose can do will be exerted to
bring the measure to as early and satisfactory a con-
clusion as the state of circumstances will admit.

A general belief begins to prevail that the hostility to
the repeal of the corn-laws is decreasing, and that many
of the Peers, following the noble example of the Earl of
ESSEX, have begun to revise their opinions, in order
really to ascertain whether the object for which they
have long contended is worth the price, or rather
whether the sacrifice that must be made for a doubtful
purpose, would justify them in maintaining their
resistance. The present corn-law, or anything like it,
or we might say any corn-law whatever, cannot
be retained on the statute-book without a violent
struggle between two parties, very unequally matched.
On the one side is only a portion of the landed interest,
and by no means the most influential or the wealthiest
portion, for it is a singular fact that nearly all the
Peers possessing vast estates are in favour of the
Bill. The Dukes of RUCCLEUCH, and DEVONSHIRE,
and SUTHERLAND, and NORFOLK, and HAMILTON,
and BEDFORD, the Marquises of LANSDOWNE, BREADAL-
BANE, ANGLESEY, and AILSA, Earl FITZWILLIAM,
the Earls of CARLISLE, CLARENDON, FORTESCUE,
ESSEX, FITZHARDINGE (we believe), and several others
that might be pointed out, are all against the continuance
of the present law, and will vote for the measure of Sir
ROBERT PEEL. It would be impossible to make such a
selection of wealth and respectability from the opposing
Peers. These are all proprietors of large estates, the
largest estates in the kingdom, if we except the Northum-
berland property, and as far as public rumour can be
trusted, the Duke is more favourable than adverse to the
measure, and would be the list Peer in the realm to risk
the tranquillity or the commercial prosperity of the
country for a selfish purpose. In fact, the more
conspicuous of the Peers hostile to the mea-
sure are only comparatively small landed pro-
prietors, or possess estates burdened with mortgages,
or marriage settlements, or other drawbacks of this
description, which probably make them timorous for the
very means of existence. But these are not the men
that ought or that can sway the destines of this great
trading community. England, in fact, exists by her
trade, commerce, and colonies, and without these are
liberally encouraged would soon be reduced to a fifth-
rate power. She is not, like France, a purely agricultu-
ral country ; a very small proportion of the taxes here
is levied from the land, and a slight glance at the main
sources of our revenue is sufficient to convince any man
that, if her customs' duty were materially lowered by
restrictions on trade, and the deficiency to be supplied
by the land, every landed proprietor in the kingdom,
would be ruined, or the Government must cut down the
army and navy, neglect the colonies, and leave India, as
the Romans, in their decline, left their distant provinces,
to shift for itself. No more absurd proposition can be
laid down—(yet it is constantly in the mouth of
the protectionists)—than that the greatness of this
country rests solely on the landed interest.
Comparing the revenues derived from that source
with those produced by commerce, by our
vast manufacturing power, by the carrying trade, and by
intercourse with countries where we can buy in the
cheapest market and sell in the dearest, we might as
well say that Holland, when enriched by her wise and
liberal commercial policy, owed all her greatness to the
few rich plains which she had rescued from the ocean.
The customs alone produce about 20,000,0001. a year, or
only a few millions short of one-half of the whole
revenue. If we look, then, to the classes ranged
against the protectionist Peers—those in favour of free
trade, and, above all, free trade in corn—we see nearly
the whole community. The cotton lords and all their
dependents—no small number—are to a man with the
Government ; so are the enterprising and skilful mer-
chants and manufacturers engaged in the hardware trade,
in the woollen trade, and, in short, every other
trade without exception, by which the greatness,
wealth, and influen2e of the country are maintained.
The large towns that seed two Members to Parliament
each, the metropolis itself, with its enormous wealth, and
even the small towns, where the influence of a protectionist
Peer does not prevail, are all anxious for a speedy settle-
ment of this question, and amidst the present unforseen de-
lays wait patiently, solely because they know their game is
secure. Never were there such strong odds against a
party ; the vast proportion in favour of the Reform Bill
was nothing like it, yet then the voice of the people pre.
nailed, and the Peers were compelled to yield with a bad
grace what they might have conceded with honour to
themselves, and without compelling the Crown ;to threaten
a measure dangerous to the balance of power in the State,
and which never should be resorted to but to avert some
greater calamity.

We find in the Observateur Rhenan a letter from Vienna,
which announces that, according to the last protocol of
Berlin, the free city of Cracow is to be placed by the three
protecting Powers under a provisional administrative direc-
tory, to be composed of three senators, and which is to re-
ceive the orders of the Powers as long as the occupation
shall last. The directors are already named.

A revolution has broken out in Portugal. It commenced
on the 15th, by a rising of the inhabitants in several small
districts in the Minho, who, armed with lances, muskets,
and scythes, proclaimed war against the authorities, and
proceeded to the administrative department of the district,
for the purpose of destroying the documents relating to the
new assessment. Several thousands of the country people
were in open rebellion, -and many collisions had taken place
between them and the troops. Full particulars will be found
in another column.

Madrid papers to the 20th have arrived. The Gazette of
that day contains the following announcement :
"Department of the Interior.
" With the exception of the localities occupied by the in-
surgents in the provinces of Lugo and Pontevedra, the in-
surrection has met with no sympathy. Entire tranquillity
continues to prevail in the other parts of the kingdom."
And in an extraordinary Gazette it is stated that a body of
insurgents from Vigo have been repulsed in an attack on
Orense. The insurgents, therefore, must be in considerable
strength to be able to undertake aggressive movements of
this nature. The insurrection appears to be gaining ad-
herents daily, and many of the QUEEN'S troops have joined
the insurgents.

MADRID BOLSA, APRIL 20.—The Three per Cents. are
quoted 3114 cash ; but the the editor of the 80/8a List states
that they were offered at 311 and 31, with but few pur-
chasers, and the Five per Cents. at 201 i.

We have received the Paris papers of Thursday. Their
contents are unimportant.

LECOMTE was examined on Saturday for two hours by the
Chancellor of France, in the presence of the Procureur
du Roi.

The discussion on the Bordeaux and Cette Railway Bill oc-
cupied the whole of the sitting of the Chamber of Deputies
on Saturday, but was not very interesting. The only
decisions of importance arrived at were the power
given to the Government to make a direct con-
cession of the line to a company, the aiproval of the terms
offered by the Company represented by Messrs. ESPELETA,
RICARD, BARRY, DROUILLARD, LUZACHE, ROYER, and SAR-
JET, and the exclusion of the clause of the Bill which binds
the Company to construct a branch line of railway to Castres.
The final vote on the Bill was postponed till Monday, in
consequence of the suppression of the clause relative to the
Castres branch, which renders it necessary to make some
alteration in the cahier des charges. The discussion was to be
renewed on Monday, and there was no doubt of the Bill
being passed.

Algiers papers, of the 20th State that the Grand Duke
COASTATIXE, of Russia, had arrived at Algiers on tha 19th,
and that, on his landing, he was waited on by Markel,
BUGEAUD, who accompanied him in an excursion round the.
environs of Algiers. The different Arab tribes were daily<
sending in their submission.
•
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, APRIL 27.
Bordeaux, Toulouse, and Cctte (Mackenzie), 2 —Dutch Rhenish,
6%—Great Northern of France Constituted, 15%—Great Western
Bengal, %—Lyons and Avignon, 2—Luxembourg, 2—Orleans and
Bordeaux, 11—Paris and Rouen, 40%—Paris and Strasbourg Con-
stituted, s%—Rouen and Havre, 30%—Tours and Nantes Consti-
tuted, 6%.

THE SUN EXPRESS.
FROM A CORRESPONDENT.)
CARLISLE, APRIL 25.--I beg to inform you that The Express
Suns were received here at half-past two yesterday afternoon
containing all the debates in the Rouse of Lords, and those
in the House of Commons up to a very late hour, on Thurs-
day night, thus forestalling all the other evening papers full
sixteen hours.
We have received, by the courtesy of Mr. Sotheran, book-
seller, Coney-street, a third edition of The Sun, of yester-
day, containing the Parliamentary debates of last evening,
up to the adjournment of the House.—The Yorhshireman of
Saturday.

_ _7"

THE NEW TIOUSE3 OF PARLIAMENT.—On Monday a
~
portion of the New Houses of Parliament, consisting of the
ein
'Mace-rooms of the south facade (some dozen in number) was thrc'own.
open to the public convenience of several railway committees.
These rooms enjoy a pleasant aspect upon the river, aro lofty, and
although in a rough and unfinished state, aro exceedingly munio.
dious.
ANNEXATION OF TExAs.—The Commissioners of the
Customs hive received a communication from the Foreign-otlice,
stating that the Earl of Aberdeen is of opinion that Texas must
beneeterward be considered as fermbig part et the lowa= Linton.