The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-06 00:00:00

INDIA.

Sir V. BLAKE begged to put a question to the Right
Honourable Baronet at the head of her Majesty's Government,
the purport of which was understood was to inquire whether
the Ministry were at all likely to bring in a Bill for providing
pensions far those individuals who lost their employment after
long service. If net, he should himself bring in a Bill for
giving a pension of 751, s year to all those who have filled prin-
cipal situations after twenty years duty.
Sir ROBERT PEEL
.was really not aware the Hon.
Baronet was going to ask such a question. Ile had not given
any notice—at least it did rot stand for to-day—(Cries of
" No, no")—er he would have taken care to have provided
himself with the information on the subject.
The Hon.
Baronet was quite competent to bring in a Bill if he thought
proper, or if he chose to put a notice on the paper, he would be
prepared to give a reply on a future day.
Sir JAMES GRAHAM moved the second reading of the
Turnpike Roads ( Scotland) Bill, in order to have it postponed
for ten days, in consequence of the absence of the Lord Ad-
vocate.

FAMINE IN IRELAND.
Mr. O'CONNELL rose to call the attention of the House to
a letter which he had reeeivad from a Catholic clergyman, de-
Hon.
Aie
m 23 had
o f
Queen's h
ertels Ptailing the misery which existed in his parish. '1 he gentle-
man detailed that in his whole district there were 1,222 feral-
lies, comprising 7,332 individuals ; of these, 72 families had
six months' provisions, 16 had four, 184 had
three, 4l had two-and-a-half, 218 had two, 87
had six
Countys7
Sir John
ten, 32
had one, and 309 were without any provision at all.
He was sorry
200
the had four,
Charles Coote) than whom a better landlord did not exist,te'e
because he .could be able to corrobate intelligence which he
(Mr. O'Connell) had received from that part of Ireland, that
half of the potatoe crop of his tenants had been utterly de-
stroyed, and that they were compelled to subsist as they best
could, en the indifferent portion
left, and on the charity of their
friends and neighbours.
PriOTECTION TO LIFE AND PROPERTY IN

IRELAND.
Mr. ROSS presented a petition from Antrim, in favour of
the Government measure for affording better security to lite
and property in Ireland.
SUPPLY.
Lord INGESTRE asked when the Government proposed
to move f,r a Committee of Supply ?
Sir R. PEEL . said, the Government would be entirely
guided by the length to which the discussion on the Govern-
ment measures might extend this evening.
THE GOVERNMENT MEA SURES.—ADJOURNED

DEBATE.
The llonse then went into Committee on the Customs and
Corn Importation Acts.
Mr. W. 0. STANLEY rose to propose the following
amendment to the propositions of the Government :—" That
in lieu of the duties now payable on
the importation of corn,
grain, meal, or flour, the product of foreign countries, there
shall be paid a fixed duty of ss. per quarter upon wheat, 2s. 6d.
on barley, and 2s. on oats*; meal and dour in proportir n."
He said, although he represented a purely agricultural county
(Anglesey) he had not yet thought proper to trespass on the

attention of the House; snd iu noN stating the grounds on 3
which he had thought proper to propose this amendmen:, Pe
Rhould not occupy much time. Before he did so he had paid i
the utmost attention to the observatnms which had fallen from
Hen. Members on both sides of the House, but their ob-
servations had tot in the least shaken the opinions
which he had always maintained. In his estimation the
the proposition of the Government were just, and would con-
fer great benefit on the country. He would say, in the words
w,th which the Noble Lot 11 the Member for the City of Lon-
don conclu,,ed his last address to the House:—•' I think the
interests of the country deeply involved in the immediate, com-
plete, and tranquil settlement of this question." He cordially
agreed in these sentiments. It was most important to the best
interests of the country, that the question of the corn-
laws should be set at rest, and that it should be
effected immediately, completely, and in a tranquil manner.
No person could say that the proposition of the Right Hon.
Baronet if passed into a law would be a tranquil settlement of
the question ; and with reference to an immediate settlement
of the question the recorded votes of that House had declared
that it should not be immediate. Neither is it a complete set-
tlement, and as a proof that it is not a tranquil settlement he
would refer the House to what had been stated by several
Hors. Members in the course of the debate. The Hon.
Member for Durham (Mr. Bright) end the Hon. Membeve
for Wolverhampton (Mr. Villiers) said they would agitate th
question, year after year, so long as the duty remained on
foreign corn. He would resat to the recollection of the House
the speeches of Hon. Members on the Opposition benches.
The Noble Lord the Member for Lynne (Lord G. Bentinek)
said that he would vote for the proposition of the Right Hon.
Baronet, because in the course of three years there must be a
general election, and that period would give them an
opportunity of reorganising their forces, and of raising
such a cry in the country as would compel the
Government to seseind those measures if they should
he passed. No one, then, could think the present
a tranquil settlement ; he therefore proposed an alteration in
the proposition of Government, which he thought wculd be a
complete settlement of the question. He felt assured that the
country would be satisfied with a moderate fined duty ; a duty
of that kind would improve the revenue and would not injure
the interests of the consumer. He had the auth*rof the
Noble Lord, the Member for the City of Lon113111is;"
stated that a fixed duty of five shillings would,: • ,111
price of foreign corn to the consumer more tha •-g4
The Right Honourable Baronet at the head of se,Govern-.
ment had stated in his first proposition to the Houle-;cthat,the,
principle which he recommended he was not about to confine
to any particular class or interest. Now,_ upon many other
important articles of manufacture, such as cotton, linen,
leather, and cheese, the Right Honourable Gentleman de-
clared it was his intention to reduce the duty ten
per cent. On that principle he (Mr. Stanley)
proposed that a moderate duty of ss. on wheat, 2s. on barley,
and Is. 6d. en oats, per quarter, should be laid on these ar-
ticles. Another reason he had for proposing the duty was,
that, while it would not hurt the consumer, it would be of
great advantage to the agriculturist. He appealed to the Right
Hon. Gentleman, and begged to ask him why, in the face of all
he had stated, and with the power he possessed of judging of the
state of the country, as First Minister he felt justified in pro-
posing in the present instance a 4s. duty to be levied on home
consumption, while after the lapse of three years foreign corn
would be admitted free. It would be but justice to the agri-
culturists that when the duty on manufactured articles should
cease the duty on agriculture should cease also. That was the
reason he felt it his duty, though he, calculated en very little
support, to introduce the present measure to the House, and call
upon Hon. Members to deal with it as might be deemed worthy.
The Hon. Members on the other aide of the House deceived
themselves, and they should pause before they ventured en
such a step as to throw the country into a state of tumult and
agitation by a general election. They would have to array
their forces against the League, and:such an operation would
be attended with some difficulty, for if their proposition
were carried out it would disarm their friends. He had no
wish to go into the comparative merits of a fixed duty on the
sliding scale, it would be quite sufficient for him to submit his
present postponement to the House. If be did so, he must ne-
cessarily go over ground that had often been traversed before,
and he certainly did think that it was for the interest of the
country that there should be a complete and final settlement of
this question.

The SPEAKER having put the question,
Colonel WOOD said that he, like the Hon. Gentleman op-
posite, had not as yet taken any part in this debate, and he
would therefore now trespass on the attention of the House for
a very short time.--(Hear, hear.) He would venture to say
that the delay in the settlement of this question had caused
most serious results to the poorer classes and the country at
large. He was acquainted with a certain extensive miller
who now, in consequence of the delay of the settlement
of the Right Honourable Baronet's measure, did not
purchase one farthing-worth corn more than what would just
keep his mill going. All parties connected with the agricul-
tural interest were also suffering most seriously from this delay.
The small tenant farmers, about whom Hon. Members pro-
fessed to take so much interest, suffered the most seriously ;
and the large farmers next. Lady Day was fast approaching,
and the small tenant farmers must prepare for the payment of
their rent on that day, by the disposal of the little
wheat which yet remained to them ; and he had
no hesitation in saying, that they were now losing
three to four shillings upon every quarter of wheat, by reason
of the present suspension of trade and his firm belief was,
that upon the settlement of this question, the price of
corn would either rise or fall to an awful ex-
tent. '1 he present suspence in the corn trade
was productive of the most serious results to the small tenant-
farmers, and now for the large tenant-farmers. He believed
that in consequence of the present ministerial proposal the
duty on the importation of foreign corn had risen, and was up
to the present day 18s. per quarter.

S. S. Thullusson. Esq., b Captain ; F. A. Lang
Gent., to be Lienteuant, I eb. 28.
Commi.si,ins by th 4 Lord Lirmten.a:lt 11e,.ife;..-'l7,h ire.
Bedfordshire Regiment of Militia—J. 11. ET, to
be Captain, vice J. H. Campbell, resigned, Feb. 21 ; C. H.
Smith, Esq., to be captain, vice W. Stuart, resigned, Feb.
23; Adjutant T. J. Smith to the rank of Captain, Feb. 7;
Ensign William Copland Redmond Judd to be Lieutenant,
vice Blacket Robf,rt Harrison, resigned, Feb. 20;
W. C. Cooper, Gent. to be Lieutenant, vice F. Polhill, re-
signed, Feb. 21 ; W. H. Alderney, Gent. to be Lieutenant,
vice J. B. Osborn, resigned, Feb. 23 ; W. K. Browne. Gent.
to be Lieutenant, Feb. 24 ; J. Lowden, Gent., to be Ensign,
vice W. C. R. Judd, promoted, Feb. 20 ; G. Ledger, Gent.
to be Ensign, vice H. F. Alston, resigned, Feb. 21; C.
Lindsell, Gent., to be Ensign, Feb. 28.
Commission by the Lord-Lieutenant of Dorsetshire.
Queen's Own Dorset Regiment of Yeomanry Cavalry—
Cornet H. G. Stud to be Lieutenant, vice Smith, resigned,
Feb. 25.