The Sun.
London, England, 1846-02-06 00:00:00

FEBRUARY 6, 1846.

would, I flatter myself, be compensated by the demand for the
different kinds of produce, and for the food which is pro-
duced on our native soil, and it would be compensated
further by the withdrawal of the superfluous hands from
the old rural districts into the new and improving fields of
manufacturing industry.—(Cheers.) What I am tempted to
look forward to as the result of an entire repeal of the corn-
laws would be much the same in effect as a perpetual cue•
cession of good harvests. There would be more to eat in
the land, and when there is that, you may depend upon it
there will be plenty of mouths to take it.—(Loud and long-
continued applause.) I cannot but suspect the motives, or,
rather, I will say I cannot but object to the reasoning which
shrinks from abundance.—(Cheers.) The blessing of hea-
vensetad
alxtl.ci— ( C
considerationh eers ~ )
as a Why,me supposing,
k token
of their r
cannot be the bane of mae.—(Cheers.) It is not ,so
much to me the absolute diminution of the price of
matter
provisions
co r n
g- corn-laws.
iss.
er to
corn which I look to as the result of an alteration in the
law, but it is to the uninterrupted steadiness of trade—to
increased supply following increased demand—more to do
and
c,ful more
regard
or ei n
fSourchthae are
Britishtlle ull
eoblt e con-
sequences
mereasae
p
.
smitten of fancy, that some foreigners were to be so violently
with love for us, as to send over every year large
cargoes of
pepsl, are
we to say, " Oh no, not by - any means ; we are much obliged,
but really we have plenty, we would rather be excused ?"
Why, as I have tried to
.ion is not much more in fapNr-ooiNice,o;htiteextravagant supposi-
than the present state of things. B6ittish corn-grower
()reign
corn-growers will have money's worth. course
be paid in manufactures, and more manufacturesymust will
produce a demand for more home and for'
food. And now let me ask you, gentlemen, whether these
are all crude and unsupported theories—will they stand the
test of facts ? Why, our more recent experience sufficietetiv
shows, that in saying what I have said I am only speaking
the words of truth. and soberness.. We have recently
had periods of dear and cheap years. This point was very
fully stated in the House of Commons by Sir James Graham
—lt has been demonstrated also by Sir Itobett Peel, anal no-
where more fully or more ably than in our excellent weekly
instenctor, - the .he-ds ireictiry.—(Cbeers.) ' Wtll, if you re-
member, there were two periods of commerce ; diminielied
home trade, diminished wages, diminished revenue, with an
increased amount of poor-rates, turbulence, and crime;
while the cheap years have as uniformly and regularly ex-
hibited an increase in wages and employment in everybranch
of industry; they have recruited the public revenue, and,
comparatively speaking, set open the doors of the workhouse
and the prison.—(Loud cheers.) In the summer of 1842,
which closed the last period of dear years, who does not re•
member the state of affairs ? Every manufacturing town .n-
-vaded, every mill barricaded ; while last summer, which for
the present. but I hope not ultimately, has closed the period of
cheap years, what spectacle did it exhibit ?—(Hear,
hear.) Why, every man, from the Premier to
the navvy, turning up the sod for new railways
(Cheers and laughter)—while the great difficulty to be en-
countered was, that of preserving people from throwing away
their good money too fast.—(Cheers.) Now, I wish to ob-
serve that we have been charged with reckless, almost with
revolutionary conduct in suddenly propo•ing to subvert
long-established protection, and to upset deeply-rooted habits
of industry. Well, with respect to the suddenness of the
proceeding, I think that the events of last autumn will suf-
ficiently acquit use I have told you of the rise in the aver-
ages of wheat, and in fact the prices of wheat have varied
in the same market from 365. to 725. For a practical view
of the results of such variations let me refer to an agricul-
tural paper, the Mark-lone Express. That journal stated
last autumn that "the very inferior quality of a large propor-
tion of the wheat of this year's growth has hitherto prevented
the duty from receding more than a step or two; and from
present appearances it is questionable whether the article will
be for some • time admissible below 12s. a quarter." And
again, "Had the quality of the new produce been only tolera-
bly good, the duty would undoubtedly, ere now, have fallen
to 10s. per quarter, or even lower, in the regular course"
of things, the finer sorts of red having been for some time
selling at 70s. and upwards, while choice samples of white
have realised as much as 80s. per quarter at several of the
principal consuming markets. It may be conceived, there-
fore, how bad must be the quality of the common runs to
have kept the general average below 60s. per quarter : such,
however, has been the case, the 'last weekly return for
the kingdom being only 595.-2 d. per quarter.—(Hear, hear.)
So you see the rates of duty founded on the averages are
no indications of the real quality of wheat in the market.—
(Hear, hear.) Then we had the failure of the potato crop,
respecting which
.I may as well read one of the resolutions of
the Mansion-house Committee, which sat in Dublin to in-
vestigate into this melancholy subject :—" We are, unfortu-
nately, able to proclaim to the inhabitants of the empire,
and in the presence of an all-seeing Providence, that in
Ireland famine of a most hideous description must be im-
mediate and pressing, and that pestilence of the most
frightful kind is certain and not remote, unless imme-
diately prevented."—( Hear, hear.) Now, however Pro-
tectionist Societies may declaim and protest, I appeal to
you whether a Prime Minister could lay his head on
his pillow, had he not first taken every means in his
power to augment the stock of the nation's food, without
the risk of being awakened from his sleep by the sharp cry
of a nation's famine?—(Bear, hear.) With respect to the
more prominent and general charge, that there'll anything
revolutionary in our proceedings, I say, that whilst there
are many things in the constitution of this country, in the
modes of thought and habits of feeling
.interwoven with the
framework of society, which I should wish to be enduring
and eternal, yet'tliere is one feature, one painful and per-
vading feature of our condition, which any one who, like
myself, has visited the younger world across the waters—at
the same time that he saw many things which he might not
wish to copy, would earnestly desire to see remoeed—an
abiding plague spot which he would be ready almost to give
up the wealth of both nations to wipe away.—(Hear, hear.)
What I allude to is, the striking and painful inequality
between the two extremes of society—the extreme of wealth
and the extreme of poverty.—( Hear, hear.) Do not
mistake me, I am not declaiming against wealth; wealth
we must have to find our millions; neither am I trying to
stir up your minds to repine against poveriy. While
such numbers continue to cover such space, poverty we
must have. But I confess I should not much lament any
change which would have a tendency to reduce the
extreme inequality of the balance. For what is it I see among
my countrymen—what is it I see among the inhabitants of
the West Riding, who, in the wonderful multiplicity of their
employment, are a very apt and complete representation of the
community at large ?—(Hear, hear.) Why, I see industry
without limit and without parallel—lining the valleys,
swarming up the hills—plying on the rivers, chinking even
the railways—an extent and variety of active production
calculated to warm, to clothe, to arm, to defend the whole
world, if they could but be our customers. But what is it that in
this boiling, warming, struggling mass of life and energy alone
seems wanting ? Why, more to eat—(Cheers)—a large loaf,
1 a fuller meal.—(Cheers again.) Why, I sometimes feel
that the very strength of our case constitutes my weakness.
I sometimes feel I could willingly shrink from putting it in
its full outline before you.—( Hear, hear.) I almost wish I
had made a mistake in reckoning the extent of the injury
which I conceive has been brought about by restrictive and
exclusive laws.—(Hear, hear.) But is it not so ? Taking
our whole population together, can it be said that we have all
of us enough to live on ?—(Cries of " No") And is there, then,
not reason to believe that by the removal of restriction, by the
admission of foreign corn—by the downfal of monopoly—we
can get much more to live on?—(Loud cries of " Yes," and
cheers.) I know that it always bears the appearance of in-
vidiousness to quote or rely on any religious grounds as the
means of enforcing a political question, and I quite agree that
it is most invidious and objectionable if we assume that we
are more guided by conscientious and religious motives than
our opponents.— (Hear, hear.) But still I think the person
who discards all the religious considerations which can be
brought in favour of our view of this question of free-trade,
shows himself strangely wanting in his estimate of the real
importance and urgency of the healing measure which we
would propose. And, though I will not dwell or insist on
any such grounds, I cannot, before closing these remarks, re-
frain from asking why, in the face of such evils as we have
experienced, and in the face of such advantages as we may
hope to realise—why may not human legislators sometimes
endeavour to act in the spirit of that blessing
inchwithe
national church repeats on every Christmas rn
II
will bless her victuals with increase, and will satisfy
I bread ?"—(Loud cheers.) And if sin
her poor with in reference to
asked whether the chosen people of old,
the limits of
whom these words are used, were confined to . .
Id quote again, in
their own rocky and barren Judea, I would
ht be onred in
reference to the foreign supplies which mig . p .
slew shall bring
h " The kings of Tarshish and the is . .
upon t em— • and Saba shall bring gifts.
ts; the kings of Arabia
Pr rhe se re: shall be heaps of corn on the earth, and high on the
hills."—(Cheers.) I may be told that those words refer to a
still higher fulfilment. They may so; but I contend that
the highest and most sacred ministry of faith and of pro-
phecy may be faithfully copied and adopted in every act of
disinterested benevolence, in every exercise of comprehen-
sive charity, in the cup of cold water, and in the crust of
dry bread to the meanest disciple.—(Loud cheers.) I will
not venture to recommend the great cause we have in hand
to any meaner consideration ; I will not let my argument
stoop from the height to which it may fairly be raised; but
I commend this whole question—the question of free corn, of
free food, and of free-trade—l commend it to the reason, to
the feeling, and to the consciences of mankind.—(The Noble
Lord sat down amidst the most overwhelming applause.)
Mr. W. WALKER (of Bradford) wished to ask whether his
Lordship would support the measure for limiting the hours of
factory labour to ten in a day for all
young persons between
13 and 21 years of age?
Lord MORPETH said—l think the
willgive repeal of the corn-laws
an opportunity for a fresh consideration, and, I
hope, for satisfactory adjustment of the question of the
hours of labour. 1 ardently wish that the question could
be settled by agreement and adjustment between the erne
ployers and the employed.—(Cheers, and a voice, " No one
else has ought to do wi' it.") I consider that in the vote
I shall give on the subject I may very likely go against
the opinion of some of the masters--itgainst some of the
men ; but I will leave myself at liberty to act with respect
to both as I think the circumstances of the time and the real
interests of both shall at the time require.---(Loud cheers,
and cries of " We'll trust you with it.")
Mr. WALKER having thanked the Noble Lord for the
courtesy of his reply,
The IINDER-511E1MT came forward, and said—Has any
other elector any other candidate to propose ? If there he
any such elector, let hiln come forward, and he shall be
heard.—(Cheers.)
No other candidate having been proposed,
The UNDER-SHERIFF said—Those freeholders and other
electors ltho are in favour of the election of Lord Morpeth
hold up their hands.
In an instant a dense forest of hands were exultingly dis-
played.
The UNDER-SHERIFF continued—Thom freeholders and
other electors who are against the election of Lord lilorpetb,
let them hold up their bands.
We tenld only distinguish seven hands held up against the
Noble Lord, resent
The UNENII.SITERIFF then said—The electors p
nth,
being unanimously in favour of the election of Lord Morp
Howard, coin-
Ido declare that George William Frederick l
elected to
d
monly called Lord Viscount Morpeth, is i_• y
if
Yorkshire.
serve in Parliament for the West Ridragtsoan
d handker-
(Vociferous applause and waving 0
hf se in the immediate
chiefs. The example was set by
vicinity of the hustings, and wae
the vast crowd, extending thew
those taken up by
bollmelength of Wood-street.
which prevailed rendered
The enthusiasm and unanimity
the scene strikingly imposing.)
said—
add constituents— Gentlemen—and I may now again
Lord Monrwrit
i Hear )—not for the first time—(A voice,
"Nor th ise last")—this
indeed like old times. This scene
recalls many striking memories. We have, gentlemen, as I