The Sun.
London, England, 1833-02-12 00:00:00

he read the report of a Committee in that town, which showed
the situation to which the people were reduced. They
would then see whether the prosperity described by the
speech was borne out by the fact. If the Ministers were
aware of the distress, it was most barbarous of them to
put a statement into his Majesty's mouth which led to a
belief of the prosperity of the country ; if they were igno-
rant of the distress, they were not fit for the situation of
King's Ministers. The speech said, that in this part of
the United Kingdom, with very few exceptions, the pub.
lie peace had been preserved. They might well be peace-
able, for their rulers took good care to keep them peace-
able. The Hon. Member then read a part of the report
from Leicester, which stated, among other cases, that
William Hazlitt, a weaver, received only 6.. 6d. per week
for his labour, that he has! to work 18 hours per slay,
and when the charge for framing, &c., was taken off, all
that he pocketed for his week's labour was 3s. Yet
these people were peaceable, and did not say a word.
At this rate of payment, the sinecure of Lord Grenville
alone would support 1,084 persons. The Herries family
received as much as would support 271 families, includ-
ing their living, and the bringing up of their families.
The First Lord of the Admiralty, when on the opposite
side of the House, had applied for returns, from which
it appeared that the one hundred and thirteen persons who
are members of the Privy Council receive among them the
enormous sum of 650,0001. a year, enough to maintain
163,220 persons. One gate-way was proved, from returns
made to that House, to have cost as much as would have
supported 9,000 persons. Would they say that all that
was a laughing matter? It might he so for those that
had money. It put him in mind of the expression made
use of by St. Paul " to the Heathen"—words used not
while he was a persecuting, blaspheming Jew, but after
he was converted to Christianity. The Hon. Member
then adverted to the affairs of Ireland. He denied that
the Hon. Member for Dublin had begun the attack upon
Ministers. Their own Mover of the address had attacked
that Hon. Member. He had accused him of fomenting
civil discord for the purpose of attaining the repeal of the
Union. He (Mr. C.) thought, that as the Hon. Mover
of the address was dressed in uniform, and wore a sword,
he should have handed over the address on the point of
his sword to the Hon. Member for Dublin. The Hon.
Member then said, that the Seconder of the address bad,
a year before, assisted at a public meeting, at which re-
solutions were put and agreed to, that the Church pro-
perty in Leland should be resumed by the Government,
and now that Hon. Member came to the House and se-
conded an address which called on them to give to the
Government the power of throwing the advocates of the
freedom of Ireland into dungeons. He could not repeat
the word " dungeon" too often. He could not conceive
why the Members of his Majesty's Government should
have such an aversion for the Honourable Member for
Dublin. He did not understand what great spite they
bore him.—(Hear, hear.) He (Mr. Cobbett) differed
from that Hon. Member on some points—be differed
with him especially on the subject of the poor laws in Ire-
land, but be did not consider that a ground of quarrel.
In his opinion it could he fur no other reason, but merely
because that Hon. Member was beloved by the people of
Leland, and because great confidence was placed in him
by a large portion of the people of that country. He
seemed to wish to destroy that Hon. Member, but he could
tell them, that if they were able to destroy him to-morrow,
they would only be the more heartily detested in Ireland.
They were detested because they hated the Hon. Member
for Dublin—and the more they hated him, the more
would they be detested. They failed in their arguments
regarding the state of Ireland, until they proved that the
export of all the produce of that country was of no dis-
service to it, for it was notorious that Ireland was drained
of her produce. This he considered one good argument
in favour of the Union. He remembered, in 1817,
when the same cry of dungeons rattled in the ears of the
people of England, but that did not prevent a million and
a half of persons from petitioning for Reform. And so it
was at present with regard to Ireland. There was a man
who, at the period of the Union, did all he could to resis•
it, and was one of the moat powerful opponents of it
After saying everything he could against the Union, he
continued, that he would resist the Legislative Union
to the last gasp of his existence ; and, when the hour of
his dissolution came, that he would, like the father of Han-
nibal, draw his children together, and make them swear
never to forgive the invaders of their country. And
who did they think this was who was such a vio-
lent opposer of the Union, and who was so deter-
mined never to become reconciled to it ? No less a man
than the present Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Well, but
where are all the young Hannitials? In the first place I
will begin with the Dean of Durham, who bas united six
parishes under his spiritual cure. There is a pretty
shepherd. He is riot content with one flock—he must
hove six.—(Laughter.) Next comes Hannibal the second,
who is Crown prosecutor fur Munster, and has 1,7001. a.
year. So much for the second Hannibal. The next
Hannibal is the Hon. Patrick Minket, Secretary to the
Bankruptcy Commission, &C. &c. 3 900/. a-year fai-
ths third Hannibal. The next is the Hon. William
Plunkett, with 4,700/. a-year. I consider him ill used.
He is the Vicar of Bray.—(Great laughter.) (The Hon.
Member here made some remarks, the import of which
we could not ascertain.) He then proceeded to enume
rate various offices enjoyed by members of the family o:
the Lord Chancellor of Leland, including that of Mr.
William Corbyn, a Secretary, with a salary of 2,000/. a-
year ; a Mr. Caiveley, with 2,0001. a-year; a Mr.
Erasmus Smith, Solicitor to the Society of Benchers, and
Law Agent to the Board of Charitable Bequest. Alto.
(,Tether, this Hannibal had 1,3001. a-year. Thus 22,2331.
were divided among these ten Hannibals. Mr. Cubbett then
made several remarks on the apostacy of certain individuals.
The nation, he said, was in the hands of gorged apostates.
It was the duty of every hones: man to pray that the nation
might speedily be delivered front them ; and it would
not be in the power of any one long to delay that delive
ranee. He then referred to May's History of the Long Parlia-
ment, and to the famous apostacy of Wentworth. He
(Wentworth) also had taken measures which tended to
oppress Ireland ; and he was confident that the result
would be the same in the present case as it was then.
All things were then in the hands of gorged apostates.
Still, unless the people came to the aid of their faitlifto
representatives, unless they exerted themselves for the
purpose of obtaining that relief which was absolutely
necessary, no redress of their grievances would be obtained.
Time reform of Parliament would turn out to be of no use.
They might be told they had got Reform, and what more
did they want? Reform was of no use unless this House
did its duty ; unless it looked to the complaints which
were made to it ; unless it resolved to put a stop to the
system of plundering which hail so long prevailed in the
country. Ali ! say you (continued the Honourable
Member) but they have got 10,000 soldiers in Ireland ;
but these ten thousand soldiers will not protect the paper
money, on which an attack is threatened to be made. if
in May last the run upon the banks had continued for
forty-eight hours longer, they would have been completely
knocked up. If the least insurrection takes place, away
goes the paper-money as you would blow off the down of
the dandelion. After giving his opinion about the King's
speech, about the gorged apostates, and about the in qs.y
spent on the aristocracy, he said he would divide the
House upon his amendment, and the House might divide
as it pleased.
Mr. FIELDEN, in seconding the amendment, ob-
served, that the increase of production had invariably been
accompanied by an increase of inisery. He could speak
with respect to a circuit of twenty miles round Oldham.
He was sure, if the Government were successful in carry-
ing measures for the coercion of Ireland, that their nest
step would be to adopt measures to coerce England. The
Hon. Member hem mentioned a district containing it po-
pulation of 120,000, among whom 20,000 were without
bread.—(Cries of " Question.")
A MEMBER, whose name we could not learn, observed
that the Hun. Member for Oldham wished to divide the
House in order to ascertain what the opinions of the Mem-
bers were on the topics to which he had a lvei ted in his
amendment. It was not by vague declamation that the
sufferings of the people could lie relieved ; nor was it by
the efforts of individuals that these sufferings could be
alleviated. The only method of accomplishing the object
proposed was by intrusting it to the Members of his Ma-
jesty's Government ; and lee trusted that it would be
shown, when their plans were brought forward, that their
intended reforms much exceeded, instead of falling short
of what was expected from them. But the coininence-
ment of the Reformed Parliament was far from auguring
well to the just expectations of the people. Four slays
had been occupied in the discussion of one subject. For
his own part, he was willing to give a large share of his
confidence to his Majesty's Ministers ; and he should cer•
tainlv vote for the address. He had no doubt that any
measure intended for the good of Ireland would meet with
the immediate concurrence of the House. The Hon.
and Learned Member for Dublin had, he had no
doubt, entirely mistaken the feelings of the House ;
and should he (Mr. O'Connell) bring forward any spe-
cific plan for the benefit of his country, he was sure
that he would find the British Parliament ready to assist
him, as far as was in their power; but when agitation
was conducted systematically—when, under the pretence
of public objects, private views were aimed at—(Great
cheering)—it could not be expected that they would sup-
port the views of any individual. Upon certain points,
the lion. and Learned Member for Dublin would find
English Members disposed to go as far as he could wish.