The Sun.
London, England, 1860-06-09 00:00:00

MR. COBDEN, M.P., ON TEE LORDS
THE CONSTITUTION.

The following address from Mr. Cobden was re-
ceived in Rochdale on Wednesday :

TO MR. ALDERMAN HEALEY, CHAIRMAN OF THE
CONSTITUTIONAL.DEFENCE ASSOCIATION, ROCH-
DALE.

Paris, June 4, 1860.
Sir,—l regret to be unable to accept the invita-
tion to the public meeting of the inhabitants of
Rochdale; but feeling that my constituents have a
right to know my sentiments upon the recent pro-
ceedings of the House of Lords, which are, I under-
stand, to be brought under their consideration, I
beg leave to trouble you with this communication.
Stripped of all mystification, the question on
which the meeting will be called to pass a judg-
ment appears to me to be this :—Shall we submit
to be taxed by an irresponsible body or shall
we hold fast to the constitutienal.maxim of our
fathers, which declared that taxation and represen-
tation should be inseparable ? We need not stop
to inquire for technical precedents ; the broad and
simple maxim that to the Commons alone belongs
the power of imposing or retaining taxes is an all-
sufficient guide for us on the present occasion. Is
it to be supposed that our forefathers, two centuries
ago, rose in defence of their fortunes against the
exactions of an arbitrary monarch, merely to place
the national purse strings in the hands of upwards
of 400 irregular rulers ? On the contrary, I do not
believe they would have sanctioned an hereditary
branch of the Legislature, without that constitu-
tional reservation which denied to it the functions
of taxation.

The course pursued by the peers on the present
occasion in respect to the paper duty will, if tole-
rated, be established as a precedent, and be re-
peated with future budgets. Let us see what their
course hast been.

It is now more than ten years since an associa-
tion was formed for advocating the repeal of those
.axes which impeded the diffusion of knowledge—
foremost among which was the julper duty. The
usual mode of appealing to public opinion in Eng-
-2. Lia w resorted to—that mode which alone
makes great reforms possible without a resort to
violence. Meetings were called, speeches were
delivered, the co-operation of the public press was
invoked, and at the time of general elections the
question was brought under the notice of candidates
for parliament; Gradually, by means of petitions,
an enlightened public opinion was reflected in the
House of Commons, where motions for the repeal of
these taxes were repeatedly made by Mr. Milner
Gibson, which led to important discussions, and in-
vestigations before committees; and at length the
paper duty, having the year previous undergone
the process of a vote of condemnation, was in the
present session abolished by the House of Commons.
Bear in mind that during all this time not one
syllable or thought was bestowed on the House of
Lords ; not a petition reached it. No committee
sat to inquire into the subject; not a breath of dis-
cussion was raised within its walls. And why was
this ? Because no rational being ever imagined
that if the House of Commons, with the consent of
the crown, decreed the abolition of the tax, the
Lords would assert the right to perpetuate it. Yet,
suddenly, and after one evening's debate only, their
lordships have reversed a decision founded on ten
years' discussion and investigation, and have de-
fended their rash proceeding with arguments which
I am sorry to be obliged to characterise as at once
arrogant and insulting to the House of Commons.
They who never hear the voice of a Chancellor of
the Exchequer, they with whom the Sovereign holds
no communication upon the subject of taxation—
for she averts her countenance from the peers, and
in express terms avoids even to recognise them as
a portion of her audience, when addressing the
Houses of Parliament on financial questions—they
have made themselves responsible for the stability
of our finances, and have assumed that the House
of Commons is incompetent to deal with the contin-
gency of a deficit in the revenue, should it arise,
though the powers possessed by that house for such
a purpose are in a national sense omnipotent !
It is difficult to believe that one individual mem-
ber of the House of Commons will be found to sup-
port this invasion of itgrights, privileges, and duties.
Surely the counties, which in former struggles did
so much to put down arbitrary power, but which
have lately shown so little signs of political vitality,
will remind their representatives that they, as well
as the boroughs, have an interest in preserving the
constitutional franchises bequeathed to them by
their ancestors.

There is at least one great party, comprising a
majority of the house, with the members of the
Government at its head, to which the country will
not look in vain on the present occasion. To that
party and its chicfs belongs, by their antecedents,
peculiarly the honour of vindicating the rights and
liberties of the people. If these high motives were
wanting, others might be found in the instinct of
self-preservation, for it is evident the so-called
popular party in the House of Commons could not
exist if the power to control its financial measures
were conceded to the peers. It is notorious that that
party is always in a minority in the House of Lords.
We feel it in the weariness of our task whilst pass-
ing year after year through the lower house such
measures as the Church-rates Bill, with the con-
sciousness that so long as the Liberal party is in
power those measures will be systematically re-
jected by the Peers. It is difficult for a political
party to hold together, and to know that much of
its parliamentary labours are in vain. But we
have at least had the consolation of believing that
on the vital question of taxation and expenditure,
including not only the power of imposing, but of
removing our fiscal burdens, a majority of the House
of Commons possessed an uncontrollable authority.
Let that principle of our constitution be invaded,
open the door to the House of Peers to revise and
reject our budgets, and what man possessing any
self-respect would remain in the hands of a party
which was impotent to carry its measures in any
one department of government ? If such a state of
things were to arise, it would only remain for the
people out of doors to find a remedy for the evil.
These are broadly and briefly my views on the
question at issue. Viewing the matter calmly from
a distance, it appears to me that there is a more
important principle at stake than has arisen
during the political contests of our time. lam
amazed that the Peers, yielding to a haughty, rash,
and reckless guidance, should have selected the pre-
sent moment for an attack on the most cherished
rights of the Commons—a moment when even ab-
solute rulers are ostentatiously professing allegiance
to the principle of popular sovereignty. Must we
regard it as one more proof that personal qualities,
however great and good, can never protect a body
of men from the deteriorating influences of irre-
sponsible power ?
Let me, in conclusion, assure you, how gladly I
would have presented myself at your meeting.
Nothing could have prevented me from obeying
your summons but the important work in which I
am engaged here, and which, it is my unabated con-
viction, involves the highest interests of the two
countries.—l remain, sir, your obedient servant,
R. COBDEN.