The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-17 00:00:00

THE ADJOURNED OEBATE.

On the order of the daj for resuming the adjourned
debate being read,
Lord MARCH said h could assure the House that

t wis not his intention to enter at any great length
into the consideration of the question then before
it, or to trouble them with any statistiesil de-
taila, as Honourable Members aho preceded him
on Friday night had gone so fury into the
matters that he should consider it presumptuous in him-
self to follow in that course. At the close of the de-
bate on Friday night a Noble Lord, the Member for
Dungannon, astonished him (Lord March) not a
little indeed (Hear and a laugh) although
from the recent conversions that he had noticed
he ought not to feel surpris,,,d,—(Hear, hear.)
That Noble Lord, in the short period of one month, had
made two speeches in that House, one on either side of
the question.—{" Hear," and a laugh.) However, it
was not for him (Lord March) to say to what that
change in his ideas was owing ; but he should
say that he did not seem to have attended to.
the debate, for his speech had beeu al-
most one-sided. The Hon. Member fir Bridport had
made a statement, and he (the Noble Lord) wished to
urge on him the necessity which every man of honour
in that House would admit to be correct, that no man
should make s statement in that House withoutbeing fully
convinced of its truth and aceurrcy. He stated that a
Noble Duke, who was a member of the Administrate Administratein that
passed the Reform Aet, threatened to swamp the Douse of
Lords. He most appeal to the Hon. Meinber whether the
Noble Duke did not resign his seat in the Cabinet when
such principles were broached, and he was sure that it'
the Hon. Member was present, he would bear him out
in that statement.—(Hear, hear.) He believed the
Noble Lord, the Member for the city of London, would
bear him out in that statement. Now, with regard to the
immediate question before the House, ht belie tad that it
would be the ruin of the agricultural classes Of this
country. It was said that free-trade would be of im-
mense advantage to Ireland. This he could not believe,
for he had not heard of the Hon. and Learned Member
for Cork taking part in the debate. During the five
nights the question had engrossed the attention of that
House, the Hen. and Learned Member hied
not risen in his place to state that her Ma-
jesty's Ministers were about to confer a gr, a' advantage
on Ireland.—(Hear. hear.) The Hon. and Learned
Member hail done no such thing. The Right Hon.
Baronet at the head of her Maksty s Ministers hail snia
that the agriculturists should lay out mere_ capital on
their land in order to make it more profitable. He had
said that the agriculturists did not yet know what great
benefits were to be derived by the improvements in
chemistry, as applied to land—that they were yet
in their infancy. He (the Hon. Member) maintained
that if they were in their in feney,ehey required protection
The Secretary of State for the Home Department, in the
speech which he made the other night, stated that the
, feelings of the whole hulk of the community were in fa-
vour of a repeal of the cern-law. Now he would mein-
tein that the contrary was the case, and that the great
reeling of the country was in favour of protection.e-
(etear, hear.) It was his opinion that the measure of
the ilevernment was opposed to the wishes of the peo-
ple ; :end if the Right Hon. Berenet waded a proof of
his std keinent, he would only refer him to the elec-
tions a.hout taking place for Gloucester, Sussex,
and Dors etshire. An lion. Gentleman opposite men-
tioned the city of Chichester ; but he would tell him
that in a came ass made by his brother for five days in
that town there were not over twenty gentlemen in
favour of free trade. There was a show of hands cer-
tainly in favour of the measure.—(Hear, and cheers.)
His brother offered to go to the poll, but the free traders
reused, from the best of all possible reasons, }hearse
th,y were certain of being beaten.—(Loud laughter.)
Neither the Chancellor of the Exchequer nor the
Chancellor of the Deerhy of Lancaster had as yet de
livered their opinions on this subject. He would wish to
know if they had changed, and what motives induced
them to support the. Government ? The Noble Lord
did not say that in the year 1841. He was then an advocate
of protection to agriculture It was no concern to him (the
Earl of March) how the Noble Lord at that time chose to
pledge himself to his constituents. But he (Lord Lincoln )
was sent to Parliament for the purpose of following and sup-
porting a party in favour of agricultural protection—( Hear)—
of which the Right Honourable Baronet at the head of the
Government was supposed to be the head —(Cheers and
laughter from the protectionists.) That party was cer-
tainly opposed to the proposal of the Noble Lord the
Member for the City of London; that party advocated
protection to agriculture in the strongest manner. He did
not impute to the Noble Lord (Lord Lincoln) any impure
motives in changing his opinions; but if he and the other Noble
Lord (Lord John Russell) had altered their opinions on this
question he conceived that they were bound to consult their
constituents. and see whether they approved of the change.—
(Protectionists' cheers.) 'their constituents sent them to Par-
liament to protect agriculture—( Hear, hear)—and they
were therefore in honour bound to support that in.
terest.—(Hear, hear.) The Right Honourable Baronet
at the head of the Government, is hen he was member for
University of Oxford, and chose to alter his opinions, at once
resigned his post. The Noble Lord (Lor I Lincoln) in the
year 1841 had addressed his constituents in different language
to that which he now held. He then said that free-trade was
all humhug—(Laughter)—and that if protection were to be
taken off agriculture, it should also be taken off every article
of manufactures, to every one of which a large protection
was at present given by the Government.—( Hear, bear.)
Now, he opposed the measure of the Right Hon. Baronet,
because he (the Earl of Match) considered the principles of
free trade which were advocated for corn were equally favour-
able and good with respect to every other article.—( Hear. )
He opposed the speech of the Right Hon. Baronet (Sir R.
Peel), because it put forward no new arguments on the sub-
ject.
It was not his wish to sacrifice one class of her Majesty's
subjects in the country for any other, because he thought the
interests of the agriculturists with those of the manufacturers
were closely and intimately united. He thought what was in-
jurious to one class, was equally so to the other. He found
it impossible to advocate the measure before the House, from
the speech made by the Right. Hon. Baronet himself, if there
were uo otherereason ; but when he (the Earl of March) felt
that it was wrong on principle and in justice, and detrimental
to all classes of her Majesty's subjects—Cries of " Oh, uh")— I
he could not sanction such a measure.—(Cheers. )
Mr. BAILLIE COCHRAN said be di l not wish
to misrepresent the conduct of the Nob7e Lord,
and that he was sure the Noble Lord would do
him the justice of thinking so. It was stated by the Noble Lord,
that a certain Noble Duke stated that he would not oppose the
creation of Peers, should such be necessary; and:it appears tl.at
such was proposed to be done.
Mr. GIBSON said it would be unnecessary for him to detain
the House at any great .length on the subject of the corn-laws.
The main object which the party with which he was connected
had in view, was the abolition of all protection, and in that re-
spect he should be always happy to go with the Noble Laid,
with his friends around him. But the question before them
was not protection to the manufacturers, but whether
they shold resolve themselves into a Committee of the •wl o'e
House to take into consideration the fluty which regulated
the import., with a view to a repeal of these ditties.- ( Cries of
" no.") He imagined that each part of the Right Hon.
Baronet's plan would be discussed separately, and he imagined
that the question before them was the question of the corn-
laws.—(firer, hear.) He thought the question of what
Ministers had said at former times, or the relations in which
they stood to Hansard, was really of small moment to the
nacre important question of whether it was right or prudent to
repeal:he corn-laws. They told him that the present Parliament
was elected to maintain protection, and therefore this Parliament
could not deal with the question of protection, because that
question was settled at the general election of 1841. Now it
was because the question was settled at that election, that he
thought the present Parliament was the best fitted to decide
upon the proposition before them. If the question-