The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-21 00:00:00

CORN-LAWS.

Mr. BRIGHT presented petitions from Essex, Surrey,
Stafford, Newbury, Reading, and one from Sunderland,
signed by 4,000 persons, praying for the total and immediate
repeal of the corn-laws.
Sir THOMAS ACLAND presented a petition in favour
of protection.
Mr. R. PALNIEIIt presented petitions from several parishes
in the county of Berkshire, against any alteration in the
corn-laws.
Mr. WAKLEY presented a petition from the parish of
Clerkenwell. The petitioners stated that the present corn-
laws operated injuriously to their interest, and prayed fur a
repeal of those laws.
ADJOURNED DEBATE.

Mr. G. BRUCE rose and said that it had been stated in the
course of this debate that increased opposition to the repeal of
the corn-laws would give an increased force to agitation. He
(Col. Bruce) thought that if by conceding or voting in favour
of the present measure he could succeed in putting an end to
agitation, much of his opposition to the present measure would
be removed. He could not, however, so persuade himself.
He believed that if this measure was carried discontent of a
more dangerous character, and agitation more difficult to re-
press then anything with which we had now to contend,
would be the result. He could not eusiceee the point, that
the passing of this measure would put an end to agitation.
He feared that they could not but expect that the great masses
of the people would be occasionally visited by distress. He
feared that if the present cause of agitation were removed,
there would not be wanting individuals who would point out
other alleged causes of distress. There would be little diffi-
culty in indicating other of the most valuable institu-
tions of the country which would be exposed to the
same danger as the corn-laws. The existence of tithes,
the Established Church—the aristocracy—the existence of the
great mass of property in the hands of the few, and the neces-
sary expenses of the Monarchy, would be made the most of by
designing persons, in order to excite agitation. He certainly
did not think that there would be much to be apprehended from
such agitation, if they had a firm and steady Government, be-
cause agitation always derived its principle from the weakness
or strength of the Government. He for one could not attach
such importance to the association of the Anti-Cown-law
League as would induce him to withdraw the protective duties
on corn. The experience of the Right Hon. Baronet must
have shown him the danger of any concession. The experience
of every gentleman in that House would tell him the necessity
of keeping up the national institutions. The country was
teeming with an energetic population, and an occasional popu-
lar agitation would arise, but they should not concede to it
when their reason and judgment were not convinced.
He thought that the advantages derived by the people
were generally in an inverse ratio to the strength
of the agitation. He did not intend to go into the question of
the corn-laws, as so many gentlemen had preceded him in the
arguments that he could use ; and if they went on at their
present rate of discussion, they would arrive at a conclusion
soon after Easter. He did not blame those Hon. Gentlemen
who had gone into the discussion of the corn-law question, be-
cause " Quand le emu est pleine, la bouche parle." it ap-
peared to him that ever since the members of the Government
had taken upon themselves the task of acting upon the princi-
ples of political economy, they had made up their minds to act
as if they had neither hearts nor feelings. It was upon this
principle he presumed that the Right Hon. Baronet at the
bead of her Majesty's Government was now acting : and when
his Hon. Friend the Member fur Northamptonshire had made
the speech which he supposed might have been addressed to
one of his tenants, he had assumed to himself the character
of a political economist. Now the fact was, that
the friends arouud him were in the habit of acting
as if they had hearts as well as heads; and had his Hon.
Friend the Member for Northamptonshire spoken in his natural
character, he would, instead of his own, have uttered the
speech that the Right Hon. Baronet had made for him. Nose,
if the Noble Lord the Member for London, when he failed in
forming a Government, had declared that the measure now
before the House would be carried—if carried at all—not by
the votes of those who had the pleasure then of supporting the
Right Hon. Bark-met, but by the votes of those who sat around
himself, he (Mr. C. Bruce) thought after the speech of the
Right Honourable Baronet—which he could not help de-
segnating as a most imprudent one—there would be less
inclination ,than ever on his side of the House to sup-
port the views which the present Ministry entertained
Now he was not disposed to think that there were not ten or
twenty men to be found in the country able to undertake the
management of affairs--( Hear, hear)—for that would be re-
ducing them to the condition of his poor country (Scotland)
after the battle of Chevy Chase, when all their great men were
slain ; but when the jolly English monarch heard of the death
of Earl Percy, his words were--
" Now God be praised, said the King,
Sith 'twill no better be,
I trust I have within my realm
Five hundred good as he."
And he did net doubt that England was not in worse position
than she was then, but that s'ie could easily find many able
statesmen to guide her destinies. He considered that it they
did pass this measure of the Government, they would see before
two years elapsed an agitation which would compel them to repeal
it. ftut, in his opinion, those considerations were overborne by
considerations of public morality, and by that respect and con-
fidence which should ever be maintained between constituents
and their representatives. In his own case many of those who
voted for him were tenants of the Gallant Officer to whom he
was opposed, but they bad confidence in his support of the opi-
nions in which he sought their suffrage—namely the sliding-
scale. It had been stated by the Hon. Member for Bridport
that the landed proprietors of Scotland were in favour of the
proposition of the Government. Now, he (Mr. C. Bruce)
was of opinion that they were extremely dissatisfied with it.
In Scotland the carrying out of this principle had been the
means of creating the greatest alarm amongst the tenant
farmers, and, in order the better to prove the truth of this as-
sertion, he would take the liberty of reading an
extract from a letter which he had received
from a friend of his, a considerable landowner in
Inverness and Ross-shire. The Hon. Member then proceeded
to read the extract, which was in substance to this effect :
That the announcement of Sir Robert Peel's measure had
been the means of casting a gloomy sensation over the inhabi-
tants of that large district." And he (Colonel Bruce) had no
doubt that that was the general feeling of the entire people of
Scotland ; and he looked upon such a fact as a set-off against
the assertion of the Hon. Member for Redford. If he (Cc lo-
ne) Bruce) were to pass an opinion on the attempt of •the
Noble Lord the Member for London, in his late endeavours to
tu-rn a Government, he would say that his conduct was sue/ t as
highly became an English gentleman, instead of an advan ce-
ment for office, as it had been called ; and, therefore, he vas
entitled to treat his Lordship's letter as a speech from .the
throne. The Noble Lord, however, failed to term aMinist ry,
even for the temporary misgovernment of the country. :His
Right Hon. Friend at the head of her Majesty's Governns out
adopted the Noble Lord's letter. He found all that t hat
letter contained was very true ; but he wondered the
Right Hon. Baronet had not found it out before.—(Hew r. )
(At this time the Right Hon. Baronet Sir James Grah am
entered the House.) He was glad to see the Right HOD. :Ba-
ronet come in, because he wanted to tell him how exceedie gig r
anxious he was to say how his speech of the other evening
read as compared with his admirable and conclusive speec b. of -
1839. He well remembered the cheering with which th at
speech was received by the Members on that side of the
house. He (Mr. C. Bruce) acknowledged that he had
aim-
self cheered until he was quite hoarse. It had creatiltedaii;e,oenArwn:abiinellyi
im-
pression upon him which had never been effaced—c
not effaced by the speech of the other evening. He
was
ready to acknowledge that the speech of the Right
obHlee
Ba-
ronet of last year showed a great modification of op
,aiaa.
would apply to the Right Hon. Baronet the ltah..ene,oe:sitt,toitbshi,lee
had been used by the Ayrshire farmer to a Se
kind and
Lord. The farmer happened to meet in the st•
invited th ► far-
mer Lord, the proprietor of the farm he held, and
NlNX.ord,
anxious, like all Noble Lords, to be exce,selingly
courteous where his rents were regularly praid.,
to his table, where he was placed, as honoured gee: it be-
side her Ladyship. Unaccustomed 'to the ape odour
which surrounded him, he permitter!, the first c erurse
to leave the table untouched ; bWt when he gIA a
little more familiar, he was anxious to express his satisf, action
in the most delicate manner to the lady beside him, and turn-
ing round in the most engaging manner, he said, " I ne t d na
ask yer Leddyship wha made the pudding."—(Laught ter.)
The pudding which had been dished up for them by the. Go-
vernment plainly exhibited the master hand of the aprons and
white paper cap of the Home- office.—( Continued late& .er. )
This measure, in his opinion, would touch most seri° asl y in
the department of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, an d he
should like to know what that Right Hon. Gentleman 'Gould
have to say on the subject, becatese he knew of no one on whose
opinion, experience, or ability he should be more ready to rely
than that of the Right. Hon. Gentleman himself. A ,n illus-
trious Dulee in another place had announced that he sup-
ported this measure, not because his opinion had uncle, -gime a
change, but because his feeling were in its favour, and h e (Mr.
W. Bruce) regretted exceedingly that that noble person; age had
allowed his better judgment to give place to his fs ings.
He thought that the Right Hon. Baronet had made one p; art of
his speech plain, but in other parts he signally failed tse show
the truth of his position. He also thought that the Righr t. Hon.
Baronet had signally failed to show that corn would be subject
to a much greater amount of competition when the co. rn-laws
were abolished. He failed, in his opinion, to show tl sat this
country would not be deluged with such an amount of corn as
effectually to destroy the agriculture of this country.._( Protec-
tionist cheers.) The Right Hon. Baronet had said tha the be-
lieved that such would not be the case, but he had entirely
failed to show any grounds for his opinion. He had al: :o failed
to show that he might not, with perfect certainty of e ;uccess,
have made a great modifications in the existing corn-law, which
would have met with the general assent of the He :use.—
( Cheers.) He had also, in his opinion, failed to sho w that
there were circumstances in his position which, on his re-
sumption of office, justified him in bringing forward the I ?resent
measure. He had failed to show whether it world be . either
wise or expedient to leave this country dependent for i tscrorheirggasruatilighrdpge
athe
on foreign countries, which had already adopted hostile
ag
o
tariffs with regard to the manufactured articles e:tporte d from
this country.—(Protectionist cheers.) Far be it fie sin him
(Mr. Bruce) to join with any Hon. Gentlemr,n in ; accusing
fo
rthgezißightnasr characters
hi
himi H
e improper
phat
r pni
toeeprit
go
nshoaftol t
Hai
vnoeHyns mßpe hhpaaerrdeohp etnaoedort
d mtt
too ooe t
rpi v3zaatekrrSoeengl
agni
yad f
b .i
o e
for his integrity to do so.--(Cheers.) He believed t bat his
motives were upright and honest. Ihe well knew
that the Right Honourable Baronet hen, at all times
hitherto enjoyed the high character of being' most
distinguished the
distinguished advocate in that House of thrights 'ofthe
people of this country. But whilst he honest! y made tin i 5 con-
fession, he doubted the policy of the present'
Bruce),roposal the
Right Hon. Baronet.—(Hear, hear.)
Ile (Mb.
every due weight to the obligation of consistent ey, and toga ye
opinions that emanated from such ; at the same time he
bound to say, that he could not recognise in the pe„em
coarse of policy any such honest observance of former con.,
sisteney.—( Hear, hear.) Ile should say that he, could not
urge anything like unfairness against the Right Ho. 1! Baronet