The Sun.
London, England, 1846-03-25 00:00:00

be thrown out in another place. Had they calculated all the
cost of such an opposition? In the first place, was it corn-
lortable that the House of Lords and House of Commons
should be opposed to each other on such a subject as this?
. ;Hon. Gentlemen opposite were quite prepared to meet the
'difficulty by an appeal to the country. Was it to light a
Ailing to have an election where they had banded (against
each other the agriculturist and the protectionist.—( Hear. )
'The question to be considered was one of the gravest cha-
erecter. It was the question of the supply of food to the
:people—one of the most exciting of all subjects. How would
•they treat the state of Ireland in an appeal to the country ?'
What would be the arguments used at a general election ?
•On one side the manufacturers would say that the labourer was
.deprived of his food by monopoly ; on the other, the agricul-
Jurists would say that the manufacturers were seeking the de-
etruction of the peasantry. Those were not very safe
srgtiments to use at a general election. Unless
Hon. Members opposite were perfectly satisfied of this,
they would take lepon themselves a heavy responsibility,
13y throwing the country into confusion upon such a question
as this. Suppose Hon. Gentlemen opposite were to succeed, and
were to ge a protectionist Government strong enough to
triumph ever any minority in that House, would they have no
ethrsr enemies to contend with? Let them look to the history
91. every administration since the year 1815. From that time
tio the present there had been one constant course of relaxation.
Whether they looked to the administration of Lord Liverpool,
or of Mr. Huskisson, or Lcrd Grey, the whole course of the
policy—the commercial nolicy of this country—had had a
tendency to relaxation. What did he draw from that? Why,
that there was a kind of free-trade influenza always raging
in Downing-street.—(Cheering and counter cheering. )
It was not, as they supposed, a faction arrayed against them,
but it was owing to their cause being averse to reason and jus-
tice, that they, the protectionists, were unable to succeed.
Their castle, in fact, was built upon the sand, and not upon
the rock, and sooner or later it would fall to the
_ground. He
would not trouble the House with any further remarks, but
should sit down, expressing his cordial assent in the measure of
the Right Hon. Baronet.
Mr. SHAW wished to refer to some official documents re-
lating to the famine in Ireland. From the first he had stated,
that while he approved of every preeasuion that could be taken
to avert the possibility of a great calamity, or to alleviate the
sufferings of a large portioei of the Irish people, still
be thought that the potato failure in Ireland had
been exaggerated.—( Polar, hear.) He was aware of the invi-
dious statement made% in a morning paper, but at the same time
be felt it to be incessubent on him to state in all sincerity what
he believed to be the real state of the case. He admitted that
there was a large portion of the Irish people who depended
%pen pota:dets for subsistence, and any failure in the potato
emP waist of necessity have the effect of reducing the con-
ditior, of some of the people of Ireland. A partial failure in
the e crop he was quite ready to agree had taken place, and he
Rad therefore given a ready support to all the remedial mea-
sures which the Government had proposed for affording em-
ployment to those who were unemployed, and giving medical
aid to those who were suffering from sickness. Ile had been
charged with accusing the Government of having wilfully exag-
gerated this subject ; he could assure the House he had never
said any thing of the sort. He had said that the Govern-
ent had exaggerated the subject, hut he never meant to ac-
e Use them, or those from whom he received the information
With doing so intentionally. Ile had, however, been challenged
tu prove the statement he did make, and he was now prepared,
if the House would allow him, to put in that proof. Now, the
first document laid before the House upon this subject was the
report of Prafessor Playfair, and Mr. Tilney, who stated
in November last, that from their experiments thy had come
to the conclusion that half the potato. crop in Ireland was de-
stroyed. Now, any practical man at all acquainted with the
subject, or with Ireland, must have known that this was an
erroneous conclusion, and a subsequent report proved it to be
so- In January it was ascertained by another Committee ap-
toinied by the Government, that instead of there being a de-
rteiency of one-half, there was only a deficiency of one-fifth.
A return was moved for by his Honourable Friend,
!he Member for Somerset, and it had been since
laid before the House, which gave the highest
Lifts of potatoes in the various market-towns in Ire-
d in the week ending the 231 January, and this document
afforded him greater demonstrative proof that hs was perfeotly
eorrect when he stated that the Government had exaggerated
ttlam this subject. From these returns, it would be seen that,
ut the week ending the 23d January, the average price of poe
Ulises in all the market towns throughout Ireland was 4d. per
stone, and under 3s. per cwt. It did not require a man at all
Isequainted with Ireland to know that this was approaching a
%nine price; and, indeed, he would venture to declare that it
was not more than a remunerating price. Now every body
must admit that price was a fair criterion of the existence or
non-existence of scarcity. These returns then tally proved
That there was no scarcity ; and in point of highness of
Price, the figures in this return could not, for a
'Lingle moment, be compared with the figures of 1817.
'f-le would now refer to the statements that had been made by
the medical officers of the public institutions in Ireland, of
'thorn he believed there were about 600 or 700. He had
analysed those statements, and it appeared that out of
the 108 who sent in the result of their inquiries, in reply
to the circular that had been forwarded to them by the Go-
Vernment, respecting the failure in the potato crop, there were
only twenty-ntne who gave any positive opinion that the fever
at present rafting in Ireland was to be attributed to the blight
the the potaacrop. There were also seven who said, that
land,
fever, or some other epidemic at present existing in Ire-
`4,nd, was not at all attributable to bad food.—(Hear, bear.)
mason,
said that it was to be attributed to the wetness of the
7son, insufficiency of clothing, and other similar causes.
bh'ne of the medical officers certainly recommended the este-
esliment of fever hospitals in Ireland, and it appeared that
:1 the 500 men and women whom the fever had attacked in the
s,°nrity of Cavan, and other places, there was not one
'at was not an able-bodied, well-fed individual.—( Hear.)
Ve also held in his hand a letter from a clergyman of the
c,',tablished Church of those districts, to prove the fact that
41,e epidemic with which the people had been attacked was not
lane result of bad food. He also saw, from the rettuns which
been made by the medical officers, that one great evil
'nritir, the present ealam.ty prevailing in Ireland, was the
great distance which they had to travel to attend to the cases of
the sick afflicted, ard this naturally recommended the establish-
tiet",'l of fever hospitals in that country. He was perfectly
willing to admit that those medical officers had every right to
hia'Ke those suggestions, because they had to attend in many in-
and patients who resided at twelve miles' distance. eha
eavoured to show, by the very returns which had beenH made 10 the Government, that the cause of fever in Ireland
*as not the apprehended famine; and if the House would bear
with loin a littis longer, he would show, from the extracts of
leveral communications which hail been addressed to hi:‘, on
the present state of Ireland, that the Government 'were not
4i4tfficd in stating that there weuld be an uT:.precedented
famine in Ireland (luring the ensuing sumr-
oer. The first
o1;41-less that he would quote was his Hon. P:dd Learned Friend
f Torrens, a man of considerable exeserience in the affairs
tf Ireland. That Gentleman stated that he hd assed through
Omagh
, in the county of Tyrone; and that hep had not been
;I`rflek by any appearanee of stervation.—( Hear, hear.) He
l4ad also passed through Fermanagh, Donneg, Londonderry,
ad other adjo:ning coutities and he must confess that the
t° of the people andthe country generally was similar
,that of previous years. He had also a written cominunica-
t24, dated the 17th instant, from a gentleman who was a grand
';v4ro r in the country of Kildare, and whose residence
Os in the county of Wexford, and in that statement
ha said that the present amount of the distress in Ireland
std been greatly exaggerated.—( Hear, hear.) Last Saturday
Naas he purchased good potatoes at sd. per stone—( Hear,
4411--and on the 18th inst. so plentiful was the supply of good
,stow at the same market, that they were selling at 31d.
atone. The same was the case in Enniscorthy and Wea-
k 4. He would now go to the south of Ireiand. A gentle-
epae living in the neighbourhood of Cork had stated,' that
tiver within his memory or experience had he seen less starve-
in his district ; and a clergyman of the Established
Shur in that district had stated, in a communi-
tete,
t, to him (Mr. Shaw), that the question of the
‘L n-laws should be settled upon its own merits, and
htt the failure of the potato crop had been greatly
thaßgerated for the mere purpo=e, as it would seem, of making
14'41 case for the repeal of the corn-laws. The potato panic in
141,t Part of the country was, according to that gentleman's
te einent, vox et praterea nihil. When the pits were opened
that district the potatoes w ere universally found to be very
te:4- A gentleman residing in Donnerail made similar state-
-I,,tlts, The last letter from which he would quote, was one
ill '4l another gentleman living in the South of Ireland, dated
0i,,44.th inst., (and he would here remark, that all the letters
teh he possessed on this subject were volunteered, with the
eteption of the last-mentioned ore.) He (Mr. Shaw) had
tee ten to that gentleman to know what was the actual state of
Ito Potato crop in Ireland, and in reply he said,
14: it was a most singular feet, that the injury to
crop appeared to be the most where the greatest care had
iese taken to avert it, and that whenever the plans recom-
e _
btkl 'ed by the Commissioners were adopted, there destruction
ah sure to set it.—( Hear, hear, and laughter.) But, on the
tllt°le, it appeared that the potatoes were in a very good con-
ker:4a and that farmers would be glad to supply thousands of
es of potatoes at 3d. per stone in the county of Cork.—
itr.hear. ) It appeared, then, that the quantity of potatoes
;;`'latid was muck greater and better than was supposed ;
the 1, correspondents 11,L1 stated it ti, be their firm belief that
11:Present cry of faeeine in Ireland had been raised for the
P°lse of aiding the repeat of the corn-lavrs.—(Hear.)
kseie °lmoi he had now redeemed the pledge which he had
tfee 41 the commencement. From the very important nature
It/4`, question, he thought the House would excuse him for
eeo so much into detail as he had done. For himself he
kite"' hot see how any thinking man could support the proposed
kt :earful
in the corn-laws without consumating a contingency
e,:-arful as that of which the Right Hon. Baronet appeared
epr Dprehensive.—( Hear, hear, from the protectionist;.) Ac •
41'og to the Right Hon. Baronet's own showing, his
t:t" Y was ton late for the disease.—( Hear, hear. He
dig that if these measures were to pass they would be
, r!trous in their effects to England, and more so to his own
4setrY.--( Hear. ) He could not forget that his country
till
hexported 3,250,000 quarters of corn to this country,
kill he Could not think how a repeal of the corn-laws would
Seri event the exportation of that article. He was not, he
see, a " political economist," but he fancied he knew
Ilise'`ing of common sense.—( Protection cheers.) He
cliktß'n they might as well tell the baker and the butcher
ki theY would be able to live ketter on the stock which
remain •
, ()all on their bands, as to tell the Irish farmer he
be able to live better when he lost his best customers.—
teila,,r, hear.) There was something unaccountable to him
,tee conduct of the Members of the Government. The
l'set non. Baronet, the Vice-President of the Board of
thet ee had not even vouchsafed to the House the information
t!,th, " had changed his opinions upon the subject. He
Ilk' like a piece of of official mechanism, and he (Mr.
thought that if the Right Honourable Baronet' at the
:I,thu Government had not changed his opinion,
el's,lll have heard nothing at all of the
.opinions of the
0114 egadent of the Board of Trade. He wished to suggest:
11111‘,
,that passage with reference to Caliban might made
441 e to himself
" Ban ban ! Caliban,
a 41% Get new master, if you can."
0,„ ,811 t he would then be " a much better man."---(Loud
-skt ,ront, •
4,, the protectionists.) He thought it rather hard
e`tre,!o4. Alembers opposite should ask questions, first with
er' to the pohey of the Government. He thought it
h'at,,,,,tlYannoyit.g for Ministers to answer such questions. Hi
red an occasion of that sort, and the Right Hon.
fipt j "n ans,ser to similar questions, said, "Do not suppose
tOritemnlate keeping myself in power by proposing
ftkilißsreB of th‘e same kind as yourselves (referring to the
toov) uhorn he had then thrown out) ? 1 tell you
(lq, I purpose nothing of the sort."—( Loud cheers.)
ke>ied 1' Shaw) believed that the How. Gentlemen who sat
tight til!!'n acted upon one simple principle. They opposed
') thought wrong, they supported what they thought
I 1 il,jProtelionist cheers. ) He was persuaded that they
e, Qe`l.?!ght of office. They were not so full of that as the
kt,4p,aremen opposite ; they were not so apprehensive of
", ,0 the country as they were. They would take a
a straightforward course. They could not see that
t4e7ti........`" with only 112 followers could long continue in
!e,,eeetfl7ol.ld cheers from the protectionists.) And if the
'141,11),,t obtaining a majority at the next election, they Ne•-..4;';',1g want a leader either in that or in the other
ktv, I,‘-'nee!s.) He hoped, however, should the Bill pass
"lakt his anticipation of the measure would not be
t4eeett.`4 this however he was sure, that throughout
teee43ln it would leave an innelible stain upon the
4 tkki th,tlP 0f England.---( Hear, and cheers.) It could not
41a , rnueh explanation had been given the he Members
`114%. Only three kiembere 9f t Cabinet of