The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-24 00:00:00

etend to say that after the declaration made by the Right Hon.
aronet, and dry the Noble Lord opposite (Lord John Russell), the
Cdfn,lawit in their preSent shape could be maintained, but se long as
he sat in that flatiele—do long as he had the honour of representing
his constituency—so long Would his voice be heard in favour of a
Modified protection.
Mr. litflip said NI two cii.,-;:t; aFo he had thehoriaUf ureesenting
seteral petitiont tt ni Ship°%MA On the Wear and the Tees, 11.1",.
they refuted the faildeieS advance 4 the lion, Member who ha!
last spoken relatiVe to the inttireats of Hritisii Oppo.s(xl to foreign
shipping. The Hon. Member Wished td ttndield the iiitereats of
British shipowners by maintaining high dtitiet4 in timber.—(Hear.)
Cotlid anything be more absurd than thus to place an Interdict on
the materials of ship-dmilcling ? The principle was scooted by
all the intelligent shipowners of the north of England.
The only market at present opened to them was the Baltic, but he
would not folioiV the lion. Gentleman through all his detailed argu-
ments on this subject. Ile expected that after the petitions
presented by the Honourable Member he would on some
future day bring the whole of this question before the House.
He thought that if Hon. Gentlemen opposite were so dissatis-
fied with the Right Hon. Baronet, they ought to adopt the recom-
mendation of his lion. Friend the Member for Finshury, and bring
the Right Hon. Gentleman's conduct before the House in a motion of
want of confidence. What was the worst charge that they could
bring against the Right Hon. Gentleman ? It was only that
he had been unwilling to he an instrument in their hands.
'They had supported him in his tariff and Corn Bill of
1842, ant now, when they came to the best and IN isest tariff of all,
they suddenly stopped. He thought the Right Hon. Gentleman had
greater reason to complain of them. It had been asserted by Hen.
Gentlemen opposite, that if the measares of the Right Hon. Gentle-
man were adopted by this country, foreigners would give us their
corn, but they would take nothing but our gold in return. This had
been represented as a most alarming state of things ; and that we
should be giving employment to the labourers of the Continent,
while the people of the Continent would give no employ-
ment to us. Now, he was prepared to say that foreigners
would not require us to give them gold in exchange
for corn. Even if they did so be believed that it
would be advantageous to us. Look to our trade with China. We
carried our dollars to Canton, and we took the Chinese silks and
teas in return, and did Hon. Gentlemen mean to say that our Chi-
nese trade had not Lunn a most advantageous one to this country ?
He denied that the repeal of the corn-laws would hare any effect
on the precious metals, and concluded by declaring that their aboli-
tion would not only improve the condition of the country, but prevent
what some Honourable Gentlemen so much feared, an undue impor-
tation of bullion.
Captain HARRIS said, in the month of June last, they divided
a united majority of 254 against 125 against the repeal of
the corn-laws, and on that occasion they heard nothing from any
Member of the present Government to indicate so great a change in
the corn-laws as now proposed, since they heard something from
the Hon. Secretary at War, while he was in Wiltshire; tint he
attached no importance to what fell from him on that occasion, and
certainly did not think that they were to take that as a notice of the
proposed change. He would be glad to see any measure
introduced which would relieve the population of Ireland,
and particularly the lower classes. He would ask the lion
Gentlemen opposite, whether it was not the wish of every
Member at his side of the House, be he Whig, Tory, or Radical,
to relieve the distress at present existing in Ireland ? The Govern-
ment have, much to their credit, taken measures to relieve the dis-
tress now so prevalent in that county' , by ordering In great hnporta-
Mils of flour, but that precaution should have been taken some
months ago. He would ask the Government, was it a sufficient argu-
ment to use for the purpose of removing those laws ? Can such tem-
porary distress be adduced for one moment in support of the present
measure? And the question naturally arises, to whom Were the pre-
sent state of things due ? and the answer was, to the night Hon.
Baronet at the head of her Majesty's Government. He had never
entertained any doubt of his sincerity, and of his patriotism, and he
,did not ask hint to change his opinions to meet the views of his side
of the,. House, but he a'ked him to do so as a Minister of tile British
Parliament. On the details of that question he was well aware he
could not advance any new proposition on the subject, for he had
heard it eloquently debated in that House, and every argument used
for and against the measure that great talent could command, and
he (Captain Harris) would only bewilder himself by entering at any
length into details. (Here the gallant member read a statistical account
of the trade with Russia, which went to prove; that if 'it were not
altered, there would be a serious derangement in the currency. The
Gallant Captain continued, and said that he frequently heard it
stated that free trade gave great development to the commercial
classes, but he did not intend to state any objections on that point,
although, if they looked to the manufactures of France and the ex-
torts and imports of this country, he thought the measure would
strike the House as one of great injustice in its details.—(Hear.)
He pledged himself to protection principles when he was returned to
that House by his constituents, and he had not heard anything to
make him change the opinions which he then expressed with the
utmost sincerity.—(Hear, hear )
Mr. MONCKTON MILNES observed that the present was the
second occasion on which he had witnessed the great subject of the
corn-law come before that House, and as it had been his ob-
ject during all the discussions which had taken place
to give the party who sat opposite the credit of acting
from the best motives, he would not act differently on that occasion,
but he would believe the party with whom he had acted for so
many years were likewise influenced by the purest motives.
—(Cries of " Hear, hear.") He did not consider that statesmen
were to be judged very harshly for modifying their opinions on the
subject of the corn-laws, for they would rind that Mr. Ricardo him-
self, one of the great apostles of free trade, recommended a fixed
duty of ten shillings ; and he believed that if the Honourable
Member for Shrewsbury told them his candid opinions, he would
be found to have experieneed some slight change at the very least.
It was not for him to say whether a statesman of the experience
and ability of the Right Hon. Baronet was conducting the affairs of
the .country in such a manner as was best calculated to confer a
benefit by doing away with what was called monopoly, but he
could not but regard the proposed measure as presenting but very
insufficient reasons for a deviation from his former opinions.—
(Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Milner) did consider that the ques-
tions of the Irish Church and the repeal of the corn-laws,
were the two great questions upon which depended the fate of the pre-
sent Ministry. He had always entertained this opinion, and he fe-
lt now so deeply, that he eould not see how he could change

He could not understand why a man should sacrifice his conscientious
opinions, in order to support a Government upon a particular mea-
sure. lie, for one, would not do so ; and he should say, that if ever
an opportunity offered when the Hon. Baronet might have done good
by a different policy, and had thrcwn it away, the present was that
opportunity; at a time when, under Providence, he had the greatest
and grandest opportunities of doing great practical good for the country.
Ile believed that the present Government had done more to reconcile
differences between hostile parties than any Government which had
preceded it. lie also believed that they had accomplished many
great acts which Hon. Gentlemen on the other side of the House per-
haps desired, but had not the means to accomplish.—(llear,
hear.) He now saw those means of confidence which had been
hitherto afforded to the Right Hon. Baronet by Hon. Members on his
side of the House utterly lost, and their power utterly destroyed.—
(Hear, heat.) He could not say that he gave the Right Hon. Baro-
net his support cordially and freely. He did it simply because it
was the only course which he could conscientiously pursue. He
would go back to the year 1841. He then represented to hir consti-
tuents that he would do all in his power to place the Right
Hon. Gentleman at the head of her Majesty's Government, for the
purpose of enabling him to effect a settlement of the corn-laws.
At that time there were provincial Chancellors of the Exchequer,
and he (Mr. Milnes) brought before the Right Hon. Baronet a proposal
for changing the duty on corn, which was considerably simpler and
lower than that which the Right Baronet rhea proposed, and therefore,
however much he might regret separating from his friends on this
question, he felt bound to give it his support. Hon. Gentlemen on
his side the House had asserted that their party was broken up by
the conduct of the Right Hon. Baronet ; but the array of talent
and unanimity which they had manifested showed that that
assertion was without foundation He could not give
hii assent to the doctrines of the agriculturists. lie had ever
regarded the core-laws as of mere accidental and temporary opera-
tion. lie had never seen anything else in it, but as the mere means—

perhaps the useful means—of educating the agriculturist of this

country so as to enable him to compete with the foreigner.—(Hear,
hear.) And when he saw at that moment that that end was so far
accomplished—when he looked at what ho might call the chemical
agricultural changes which had lately developed themselves, seeing
the increased improvement with respect to tile draining, and all those
other advantages which had so rapidly developed themselves, he did
feel that it was but just to say, that the corn-laws should be changed.
He had always been anxious to modify the present system, but he
could never disabuse himself of the idea that a total repeal of the
corn-laws would be attended with a great displacement of pro-
perty. But, nevertheless, he could pursue no other course of con-
duct, in reference to the measure, than that which he had ever ob-
served. The produce of America had been alluded to by several
Hon. Gentlemen, but corn might be flourishing in the valley of the
Mississippi and the people of England not be able to procure it. If
these changes should take place suddenly, he had no doubt but
great suffering would be occasioned. The difference in price in com-
petition between the English and foreign farmer should be distri-
buted somewhere, between the landlord, the tenant, and the la-
bourer. It was contended that a large proportion would fall upon the
labourer, but he did not believe that such would be the fact.—(Hear.)
The worst that could happen would be that the labourer would be
left where he now was.—(Hear, hear.) He had somehow or other
imbibed the notion that there was far more equality on the subject
of wages between the labourers of England and those of the
Continent, than is generally supposed.—(Hear, hear.) There
was something in the question, of which political economy could
hardly take account. Wages depend in a great measure upon
the physical capabilities of the labourer. He had heard that gentle-
men employed upon the continental railways were ready to give half
aslnuch again to the English labourer as to the French, provided
they will not get drunk.—(Hear, hear, and laughter.) Compare the
Frenchman, with his nightcap en, and stopping every five mi-
nutes to speak —compare such conduct with the hard, steady work
of the English labourer. Ne need not fear competition in this
respect. The labourers would not be the immediate sufferers in lists
case. Ile considered that the labourers derived advantage
from their contiguity to the large manufacturing districts.—
(Rear, hear.) They tended to raise the price of labour, not only
in their own neighbourhood, but also throughout the wlsole country.
The tenant-farmers, he believed, would come worst off by the pro-

posed alterations. At present they were, by the consolidation farms
and other causes, subjected to a great many evils, and these would be
aggravated by the repeal of the laws relative to agricultural protection
lle believed that the land was not at present let at its
due value, for if it were higher, he considered that the
consequence of the abolition of protection would be
more seriously felt. The landlords would, in the language
of the Right Hon. Baronet be exposed to the temptation of becoming
mere manufacturers of food.—(Hear, hear.) That was a point on
which he could not change, or his mind acquire additional experi-

ence. The landlords were exposed to a very great temptation which
he believed they would overcome ; but to which they ought
not to have been exposed. He believed they would resist that
temptation. They would consent to make some sacrifice of power and
convenience rather than lay the burden on those who were dependent
upon them. To do that, to overcome that temporary difficulty, they
must exchange their present splendid benevolence for another and
more useful class, and must consent to employ more protective means.
Their wealth was considerable. The proof of that was, that a great
portion of it was spent in amusement and accomplishtinenr tstiiernlt
they were ready to make the sacridce that was
,demandef o
might be interfered with. Let the landlord maintain the
all would go well. It was possible that many early associations'
and although they might
lose evn
something,ad a tag e st h
el
)11,
would
condition,
1.
sitTogrsteslysiroeng,aln their prosperous
and remain the great bulwarks of the peace and permanence, or
the fluctuating fortunes of this great empire.
On the motion of Lord I.NGESTRE, the debate was adjourned.
JOINT-STOCK BANKS IN SCOTLAND AND IRELAND.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER obtained leave to bring
in a Bill for the regulation of Joint-Stock Banks in Scotland and

Ireland.
The other orders of the day were then disposed of, and the House

mljourned at Half-past Twelve o'clock.

COURT CIRCULAR.

The Queen will hold a Privy Council to-morrow (Wednesday), at
Buckingham Palace. The Council is appointed at three o'clock in
the afternoon.
" " ' • -

Her Majesty and Prince Albert took their accustomed early walk
yesterday, in the royal gardens.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert, attended by Colonel Bowles
and Colonel Wylde, visited Captain Sibonm's Waterloo Models, at
the Egyptian Hail, yesterday. The visit was qUite private, the
models having been closed to the public on Saturday. His Royal
Highness expressed much pleasure in examining those historical
works, and examined them minutely.

Their Royal Highnesses the Princess Royal and the Princess Alice
were taken airings yesterday, in the royal gardens of Buckingham
Palace.

The Queen and Prince Albert honoured the performance of the
French plays with their presence yesterday evening. The Royal
suite consisted of the Viscountess Canning, Hon. Miss Stanley, Earl
of Warwick, Colonel Arbuthnot, and Colonel Wylde. Her Royal
Highness the Duchess of Kent, attended by Lady Fanny Howard and
Sir George Couper, Bart., alas honoured the performance with their
presence.

His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge, attended by Major
Stephens, presided yesterday evening at the German Hospital dinner.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited her Royal High-
ness the Duchess of Gloucester yesterday, at Gloucester Mouse.
Summonses were issued yesterday morning to the Cabinet Minis-
ters to attend a Council, at half-past two o'clock, at the Foreign-
office. The Ministers who assembled were Sir Robert Peel, the Duke
of Wellington, the Lerd Chancellor, the Duke of Buccleuch, the Earl
of Haddington, the Earl of Aberdeen, Sir James Graham, Mr. Secre-
tary Gladstone, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Earl of Ellen-
borough, the Earl of Ripon, Lord Granville Somerset, the Earl of
Dalhousie, the Right Ron. Sidney Herbert, and the Earl St. Germans.
The Council sat two hours, _ _ .

Mr. Murphy, the Mexican Minister, transacted business yesterday
at the Foreign-office.
Mr. Cunard had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exche-
quer yesterday at his official residence in Downing-street.
Dispatches from the Governor of Hong-Kong were received yes-
terday at the Colonial-office.l
Viscount Jocelyn hail an interview with Sir Robert Peel yesterday-.

The French Plays were last evening most brilliantly
attended on the occasion of the debut of Mons. Felix. There were
present the Queen and Prince Albert, attended by Viscountess Can-
ning, the Honourable Miss Stanley, the Earl et Warwick,
cColonel
Arbuthnot, and Colonel Wylde; her Royal Highness the of
}tea, attended by Lady Fanny Howard and Sir George Cowper ;
her Royal Higirno,s the Duchess of Cambridge, attended bness Ofy the
Baroness Ableieldt and Mr. St. John Mildmay;
the io
Ailesbury, the French Ambassador, Lord Mahon, the Baroness
Brunnovr, the Austrian Ambas;iendlmohroapaie.idgatghneed,
sc
ior
Lady
un teens
Henry
syDhvil erieterbyl
Webb,
11,
saLti
tea
di :7,
J.
the Earl and Counters Brace, Lady and the Misses Burgoyne,
Jitnr°eullr,altrol'in rsg:olLle'rr Cotteirnt
H. Lowther, the Honourable Jit/RfP Macdonald, &c., &C,