The Sun.
London, England, 1835-06-11 00:00:00

AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.

The Hon. W. DUNC 0 MBE presented a petition from
Richmond, Yorkshire, very numerously and respectably
signed, by landed proprietors and land holders connected with
th Agricultural Society of the North Riding of Yorkshire.
The petitioners expressed their discontent at the House not
having taken into its consideration the distress under
which- the agricultural classes laboured.--( Hear, hear. )
The Hon. Member expressed his cordial concurrence in the
prayer of the petition, and joined with them in expressing his
regret that their distressed state had not been taken into
consideration. Year after year the agricultural classes
had come forward with statements of their distress, and with
the view of obtaining; some measures of relief. He (Mr.
Duncombe) had felt it his duty to give his vote in fa-
vour of the motions that had been brought forward upon
this subject during the present Session of Parliament. He
had given these votes without any reference to party feeling.
He had supported the motion of the Noble Marquis the Mem-
ber for. Buckinghamshire for the repeal of the Malt
Tax, because he believed that it would have been a boon
not only to the agricultural classes, but also to those other
classes that have been alluded to as partaking of that distress,
namely, the labouring classes.—( Hear.) He regretted that
Members had been influenced by the fear of a Property Tax
being imposed, from voting for the repeal of the Malt Tax,
which would, in his mind, have essentially relieved the produc-
tive and industrious classes. He had also supported the mo-
tion of the Hon. Member for the revision of local and general
taxation, and lastly that of his Hon. colleague (Mr. Cayley) to
inquire into the distress affecting the agricultural classes, as con-
nected with the present monetary system. He regretted the Rt.
Hon. Gentleman (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) was not
in his place, but lie trusted when the Right Hon. Gentle-
man brought forward his budget, he would not follow the ex-
ample of the Noble Lord his predecessor, who, on coming
down to that House with his financial statement, and in com-
municating his proposed measures of relief, had thought it
consistent with his duty to pass over the agricultural interests,
and relieve other classes which were represented to be in an
unexampled state of prosperity.—( Hear.) He (Mr. D.) did
not grudge these other classes the relief that had been afforded
them, but he thought it contrary to the principles of sound
justice and fair dealing to pass over the others, and refuse to
relieve them. He hoped Hon. Members would not shut their
eyes on the deplorable state of the agricultural classes, know-
ing how much the welfare of all the other classes depended
upon them, and that the House would not refuse to lend its
assistance in affording them that relief which on every ground
of fairness, sound policy, and justice, they were entitled to.
( Hear.) The Hon. Member then presented a petition from
Cayley, Yorkshire, complaining of the increase of beer shops ;
also a petition from Stavely, West Riding of Yorkshire, pray-
ing that the revenues of the Irish Church might not be appro-
priated to any other than ecclesiastical purposes.
CORK ELECTION.

Mr. LONGFIRLD took the oaths and his seat for the county
of Cork, in th© room of Mr. F. O'CONNOR.
MESSAGE FROM THE CROWN RESPECTING

THE SLAVE-TRADE.

Mr. B YNG, the Comptroller of the Household, appeared
at the bar, and stated that an address having been presented
by this House to his Majesty, on the 19th of the present month,
praying that his Majesty would take measures to put an end
to the continuance of the Slave Trade, his Majesty had been
graciously pleased to return the following answer—stating that
he had received their dutiful address, containing the expres-
sions of their wishes, that he would enter into nego-
tiations with his allies for the purpose of putting a
total end to the slave-trade ; that he regretted deeply that this
nefarious trade should still be carried on to a considerable extent
under foreign flags ; that he had already entered into negotia-
tions with the other foreign states, and that he hoped soon to
be able to lay_ the papers connected with the subject on the
table of the House ; and that, in the mean time, the House
might rely upon his continued efforts to conclude with his al-
lies arrangements to carry the wishes of the House into effect.
THE IRISH CHURCH.
Lord CA STLERE AG H rose for the purpose of present-
ing a petition of which he had given notice. This petition
he thought would, under any circumstances, call forth the most
serious attention of the House, but in those times, in the pre-
sent peculiar situation of Ireland, he must say that he felt it
more particularly encumbent upon the House to take this sub-
ject into its most serious and earnest attention. He was always
most unwilling to trespass upon the attention of the House,
for he thought from the heat of the weather, and other causes,
many Members might wish to be elsewhere—( Hear, hear,
hear)—yet he thought that he had a most important
duty to discharge. He would only say that he never experienced
such feelings of pride as at this moment, when he was entrusted
to lay before that House the opinions of a large portion of his
fellow-countrymen upon a subject of the most vital importance.
The petition was from the county of Down, which he had the
honour to represent, and was agreed to on the 3d of Oct. last.
It was necessary he should state, and he would do so as shortly as

he could, why this petition had not been presented at an earlier
moment.—( Hear, hear.) It would be recollected that a dis-
solution took place since the 3d of October; it was therefore
impossible till the 12th of February- to lay the petition on the
table of the House. In February the Parliament met under
very different circumstances from those which the late Parlia-
ment had met under. The feelings of those who had
signed the requisition for the County meeting at which this
petition was adopted were, that the Government of Ireland
did not employ the power they possessed for the maintenance
and vindication of the laws ; they therefore felt it expedient by/
petition to that House, to show that certain counsels, opinions,
and influences prevailed at the time in the counsels of the Govern-
ment, and they were very fearful that those principles might
obtain too great a sway ; that they knew that they were hos-
tile to the best interests of Protestantism. Under these
circumstances they hailed the accession to power of the Right ,
Honourable Baronet ( Sir R. Peel), who had staked his
political existence upon the maintenance of their dearest rights.
He should have been very anxious to present this petit;:z,n ;
but communicating as he had done with many influuitial per-
sons who had signed the petition, he found the., it was their ,
opinion that the petition should not be, 'Drought forward at
that time. The petitioners were c.lixious not to throw any-
thing in the way of the Government of the Right Hon. Ba-
ronet. With respect to the petition itself, the requisition to
the High Sheriff was signed by 84 names, seven Peers, 13 '
Deputy Lieutenants, and 25 Magistrates.—( Cheers from Mr.
O'Connell.) Among them were the names of the Marquis of
Downshire, the Marquis of Donegal, Colonel Ford, and several
Reformers ; in fact, nearly the whole weight and respectability
of the county, whether property or anything else were
taken as the criterion, were attached to the requisition. As
it was not his wish to cast any personal reflections upon
any Member of the House, he would confine himself to
stating openly and fairly the facts connected with the petition.
The meeting was called on the 30th of October; he was him-
self present, as well as many worthy friends who he then saw
in the House ; the resolutions were passed, on which the
petition was founded; and he was only stating that which was
the real fact, when he observed that the resolutions were
passed, and the meeting closed without violence or breach of the
peace, and not a single circumstance occurred that called ,
forth interference.—( Cheers.) If, at a time like that, ,
and in a County so quiet and undisturbed as Down, it was
thought right to come forward and express to the House the
distrust and dismay with which the petitioners viewed
the measures that were being carried forward by the Govern-
ment—he would only ask the House whether at the pre-
sent time the reasons which called for the petition last year
were not increased ten-fold ?—( Cheers from Mr. O'Connell. )
The Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin cheered him. He
did not wish to say anything that would be offensive to any
man, but he thought that he had a right to consider him as one
of the leading persons against whom the petition was directed.
The Noble Lord then read the passage in the King's speech
of last year, which he thought alluded to Mr. O'Connell, and
said that Sir R. Peel's Government was now at an end—
( Cheers)—and he saw the Hon. and Learned Member for
Dublin cross the floor of that House for the support of a
Government composed of almost the same men as coun-
selled that speech.—( Cheers.) They were placed in
the seats opposite, by, and fought under the green ban-
ner, of the Honourable Member—(Laughter)—which fact
had given great and just alarm to the Protestant loyal in-
habitants of the North, as well as all other parts of Ireland.
He ( Lord C.) was quite sure the Noble Lord, the Secre-
tary for Ireland, would not dare to get up in his place in
that House, and repeat the declaration of a Noble Lord
in another place, that the Government had no connection with
the Hon. Gentleman—( Cheers)—for be ( Lord C.) believed
that at the present moment the Hon. and Learned Gentle-
man's influence was paramount in the Cabinet. Let them
look at the Law appointments in Ireland, which had
all been filled up from the ranks of the Honourable Gentleman.
In those appointments the handwriting of the Hon. and
Learned Member for Dublin was plainly seen upon the wall.—
( Loud laughter.) Yet for all these things it did not appear
that outrages were at all less frequent than formerly. Lately
a Noble Lord had left the shores of this country, to take upon
himself the government of Ireland—of course he had the King's
Commission, and bore with him the even scales of justice.
But it was only justice for one side.—( Laughter.) How
had that Noble Lord made his entry into the capital ? The
Hon. and Learned Member for Dublin had caused all the con-
gregations in the neighbourhood to assemble, with their priests
at their bead--( Laughter)—the Noble Lord was not accom-
panied by the usual retinue, but by the tail of the
Honourable Member when he went into the capital_
( Laughter)—in the procession there were many green flags—
emblems of party—he believed there was one with the
motto " Dan's Lord Lieutenant"--( Laughter)--but there were
certainly many with the Harp without the Crown, which was
the emblem of rebellion when a party went to join the French
at Bantry Bay. Had the Noble Lord been accompanied
with but one Orange flag, or loyal inscription, the whole
country would have rung with it from one end to another.
All the answer to the complaints was, the petard let
off by Lord Melbourne at the Loyal Protestants,
threatening them with all the pains and penalties of the
law, in case of their having processions on the 12th of Jul.:—
he believed there would be none, but it would not be out of
fear for the threat of the Noble Lord, but out of defe-
rence to the advice of those who were the best friends
of Ireland, and out of a respect to the laws. The meet-
ing- at which the petition was agreed to had often been
called an Orange one—certainly many of the Orange
party were present, but there were many also who never
belonged to the Society. Amongst others, there was
one name which would command the attention of the
House—he meant that of Dr. Cooke, a most eminent
man amongst the Presbyterians of the North. The Noble Lord
read a long extract from the Rev. Doctor's speech delivered on
the occasion, and said he begged the House to remember it was
not his own language, for lie durst not have made use of any
so strong.—( Laughter.) He thanked the House for the at- !
tention they had paid him, while he was discharging what he
considered a sacred duty. He moved that the petition be
brought up.
The SPEAKER said, before the Noble Lord brought up
the petition he felt it was his duty to call the attention of the
House to the great inconvenience of the practice pursued
on the present occasion. The Noble Lord had, on the pre-
sentation of the petition, gone into many matters perfectly
extraneous to the subject of the petition, and which had
occurred since the petition was agreed to ; lie had alluded to
upwards of 30 members of that House who were all entitle r,',„
to a reply. He would put it to the House, whether, if -such
a course were to be pursued, they could get through, the busi-
ness, even if they sat the whole 24 hours.
Lord CASTLEREAGH said he was not aware whether lie
owed an apology or not. It was seld_zen he troubled the House,
and lie considered the subject, one of so much importance as
obliged him to make the. few observations he had done.

The SPE A KER begged it to be distinctly understood that
his observations did not apply to the Noble Lord, but to the
system. The petition was then brought up, and on the mo-
tion of Mr. O'Connell was read by the Clerk.
The petition having been read at length by the Clerk, Mr.
SHARMAN CRAWFORD rose, but there were loud calls for—
Lord MOR PETH, who said that he would certainly feel
it his duty, in the course of the discussion, to offer a few ob-
servations in reply to the speech of the Noble Lord
opposite—if the House did not concur in the views of the
Speaker, and put an end to it at once. If so, he should re-
serve any thing he had to say till a more fitting opportunity.
Ile was quite in the hands of the House—( Cries of " Go
on," and calls for Mr. S. Crawford. )
Mr. S. CRAWFORD entreated the indulgence of the
House while he offered some observations upon the petition
which had just been presented, as representing the opinions of
the Protestants of the county of Down—a county with which
lie was intimately connected; he was prepared to show that
this petition did not emanate from the Protestants of that
count, and did not express their sentiments. It was a re-
markable circumstance, that although this petition ema-
nated from a meeting of 50,000 Protestants, it was only
signed by the High Sheriff. How did this happen, after
the petition had been delayed for seven months ? Were
the concoctors afraid that they could not obtain the sig-
natures of those by whom it was represented as being approved ?
—( Hear.). Perhaps it was the custom, as it was in some parts
of the county Down, to send the tenants to the hustings to give
votes, not for themselves but their landlords, to procure the
signature of the High Sheriff, as representing that of all
the Protestants of the county.—( Hear, hear, and cheers. )
He did not believe that the Noble Lord opposite would wil-
fully mis-state anything, but he was satisfied that he had
been deceived by the misrepresentations of others. The
reason why the signatures of the petitioners had not been
affixed was, that it would be manifest from them
that the petition did not emanate from the Protestants of the
County Down.—( Hear, hear.) He was willing to accept
it as the petition of the High Sheriff of the county, and
the House might attach whatever weight they pleased
to his signature, but further than that he (Mr. S. Crawford)
would not go. So far as his vote went, he would not
permit it to be received as the petition of the Pro-
testants of the County Down.—(Hear.) The meeting
was held at Hillsborough, a small town on the verge of the
counties of Antrim and Armagh. Why had it not been held
in the county town, or in a central place ?—( Hear, hear.)
Because it was far more convenient for the Orangemen of
the districts of Armagh, Antrim, and Down to meet at
Hillsborough.—(Cries of " Hear, hear, hear.") The meet-
ing had been called by two requisitions, one signed by the
High Sheriff, and the other by the grand dignitaries of the
Orange body. The two requisitions went hand in hand ; that
front the High Sheriff was not considered sufficient to convene
the Protestants of Down until it had been backed by the grand-
dignitaries of the Orangemen; the requisition was extraordinary
in more points than one. The High Sheriff had li-
mitted it to one portion of the inhabitants, the Pro-
testants, thereby excluding the Roman Catholics from the
privileges of the Constitution ; it had no precisely defined ob-
ject ; it stated no particular constitutional purpose ; it was
called to consider the general state of the Protestants of
Ireland. The Hon. Gentleman then read the requisition
from the Grand Orange Lodge of the County Down;

calling upon all the brethren to attend the meeting.
( Hear, hear.) The consequence was, that a large body
of the Protestants of the county did not attend the meeting,
and published their reasons, in which they stated that they
staid away, because they considered it unconstitutional in
the Sheriff to summon any one portion of his baili-
wick, as distinguished by their religious opinions, from
any other portion, such being in direct opposition to those
acts of the Legislature by which all religious distinctions
were abolished. The signatures of 39 Magistrates were
attached, but there were in the county 130 Magistrates-
-13 Deputy-Lieutenants had signed it out of 25, and although
7 Noblemen had signed it, only 3 of those could be considered
resident, and 2 resident Noblemen had refused to sign it.
In order to show that this meeting was considered by Orange-
men themselves as a meeting of their body, he begged to read
an extract from the speech of the Grand Master of the
Orange Lodge of the County.—( Hear.) He said, that
" he felt glad at seeing so many Magistrates at a meeting
of Orangemen. He bade them go home and tell what
they had seen, and that they did not require aid from the
Government, but offered it to them ; and that they; would
show that they were not contemptible."—( Hear, (,ear.) The
speech of the Rev. Dr. Cooke was referred to as exhibiting
the sentiments of the Presbyterians of the North of Ireland.
Now he would maintain that the sentiments of Dr. Cooke had
been repudiated in the strongest niar:ner by the Presbyterians
of Ireland. He felt it necessary to call the attention of the
liouse to what was the object of that petition.
The requisition flailing the meeting did not state
what particular '.7.seasures were to be discussed; it appeared by
the vote of tide meeting that it was called to receive articles
of iml2;:achment against his- Majesty's Government. With
re;pect to the system of national education which was adopt-
ed in Ireland, and against which the Noble Lord so
loudly inveighed, he could state that it was supported
by a very great body of the Protestants of Ireland. He would
conclude by stating that if the Government did not take means
to disconnect the civil and judicial authorities of Ireland from
Orangeism, they would not be able to carry into effect the go-
vernment of that country.
Mr. O'CONNELL having been personally assailed
by the Noble Lord, would trespass upon the House
for the space of a few moments. The Noble Lord
had praised the late Ministers, and he did not im-
pute blame to him in that respect. He recollected.
that the Right Hon. Baronet, ( Sir R. Peel) began the
present session by reading a letter of his, as a topic against the
present government, to show that they had lost the government
of Ireland, because they had been assailed by him. It was too
bad in the Noble Lord to assert that the Government of that day
had lost the confidence of Ireland, because he had assisted them.
It was said by the Noble Lord that the appointments which
had been made by the present Government had been advised
by him, and the late Secretary of the Ordnance cheered it.
He had just as much to do with those appointments ; as with
that of the late Secretary of the Ordnance himself. He had
not interfered with any one appointment, he had not suggested
or in the slightest degree influenced any one--( Hear and
cheers)—he was sorry he had not.—( Cheers.) He would have
been exceedingly obliged to have done so, and he thought the
appointments would have been much better for it.--( Great
laughter and cheers.) They would be different from what
they were, but therefore he did not quarrel with them. He
acquiesced in those appointments.—( Tremendous cheering
from the Tories.) He acquiesced—( Cheers)—he acquiesced
sincerely, as the late Secretary for the Ordnance was
obliged to acquiesce.—(Tremendous cheering from the Mi-
nisterial side of the House.) As an humble individual he ac-
quiesced in appointments over which he had no control what-
ever. Because there was no ground to impeach those ap-
pointments, a species of ribaldry went abroad, and not being
able to impede the appointments themselves, they threw hint
upon them.—( Hear, and cheers.) Let them. look at the
Law appointments, and say if better appointments could
be made. Look at the Attorney-General, was he not, year
after year, at the head of his professie,e, before he had any
connection with the Government? And, then, the Solicitor-
General—had he not risen to the fullest business in his pro-
fession, by the mere force of his talent, and the amiability of
his disposition ?—( Hear, hear.) But because they could
not impeach these appointments directly, they threw his
( Mr. O'Connell's) name upon them—thinking that that
was sufficient to damn them in the eyes of the people.
This was too bad, coming as it did from the Noble Lord
( Castlereagh) who had slept over the complaints of this petition
from the 3d of October up to the present moment. These pe-
titions complained bitterly of the new system of education in
Ireland ; now, since this petition was adopted, the Right Hon.
Baronet ( Sir R. Peel) had become the foster-father of this
system of education—the Noble Lord's zeal, however, in sup..
port of the Right lion. Baronet was too edifying to allow him
to present this petition while the Right Hon. Baronet was at
the head of the Government.—( Cheers.) The Noble Lord
had assailed the procession which had met the Lord Lieu-
tenant. What ! were the people of Ireland not to dare
to meet the King's representative, if that representative
were not a decided partizan ?—( Cries of " Hear, hear.")
If there had been a banner in that procession inscribed with
the cry of " No Protestantism," was there a man in that
House who would not rise with indignation ?—( Hear, hear.)
Nevertheless he would prove, that at the Theatre, when the
Lord Lieutenant of the late Administration was present, an
Orange banner was displayed, with the marks in black,
and inscribed with the cry of "No Popery." This was in
Dublin, where the number of Catholics were in the same
ratio as the Protestants are to Catholics in London. But this
was all loyalty, and when the King's representative was cheered
by 100,000 men this loyalty was put to flight. He had heard
the story of a man who knocked down another for singing
" God save the King," and being asked why he did so, re-
plied, " Oh, I dislike party tunes."—(Great laughter.)
Now, he would maintain that there was no legal
prohibition against the display of such banners as were
displayed—they had been displayed out of respect to the
Crown, and the Crown's representative, and if there had been
any thing illegal, surely there was sufficient loyalty in the pure
Corporation of Dublin to induce them to prosecute the leaders,
He supported the present Ministers not for their measures,
but in faith upon their intentions, and because they inter-
posed between Ireland, and a party in whom Ireland
could not trust.—( Hear, hear, hear.) What right had that
sheriff to call any particular sect, or portion of a sect,
together? He had made himself the sheriff of a party—( Hear)
—he had made himself a partizan, and was it recollected
that this was the man who nominated the Grand
Juries, and selected the petty-jurymen co-operating
perhaps with the Orange lodges in that country, when
Catholics, with certain sheriffs, had no chance of justice, their
property being at the mercy of partizan, furor, and
the temple of justice polluted by theet? Such was
the party who were calling out about the:,: loyalty to the ex-
clusion of the rest, and who would 'oe loyal as long as the
House supported their " just " demands—their just de-
mands for ascendancy and privilege of crushing others I
They had been told of the outrages of the peasantry,
and of a recent 7aurder ; but had they heard that
a gentleman, on of his own relations, was shot, at just
before that u.:dfortunate man was killed ?—( Hear, hear.)
Had the,; heard of the 14 houses that were burnt by the
Orangemen in Armagh ? Had they heard of the cruelties prac-
':ised in the village of Ma.gharagh ? Not one of the persons
concerned in them had been taken up. A woman saved an
Orangeman, and brought him out of a crowd by which ho
was attacked, and gave bins refuge in her own house. Had
the Orangemen visited her in gratitude? No; but they
did in vengeance, and set her cottage on fire, though, to
be sure, for humanity's sake, they allowed her to take
her aged father out of the house, and he was
placed upon a dunghill, where, in consequence of his decayed
strength, he expired. No magistrate or policeman had brought
these men to light, but such were the men who came to that
House with their exclusive loyalty.
Lord MOR PET H thought it his duty to be present at
the presentation of this petition, which he perceived en-
tered in the Notice paper, as it was one relating to Irish
affairs, but lie had no object in being present beyond that ; nor
could it be expected towards a petition which had been agreed
to seven months ago, referring not to the conduct of this Govern-
ment, nor to the last, but to the anti-penultimate Government.
Hear, hear.) Ile declared that this Government repu-
diated no support which was cordially, fairly, and
constitutionally given to it, and whatever support it received,
or from whatever quarter that support was obtained by no
improper measure or unworthy motive—(Great cheering)—.
the object and course of his Majesty's Government in
Ireland would be to administer the law faithfully and
without favour to any party.—( Hear, hear.) lie
did not think the Noble Lord was justified, after
so long a suspension of the opinion of his constituents, to re-
vive those differences which it would have been well if they
had been long since sunk in oblivion.

Sir R. BATE SON said the cause of the meeting was that
the great mass of the Protestants of the North of Ireland
(and by them he meant not members of the Church of
England, but all those who had dissented from what
they called the errors of the Church of Rome) that the
great mass of the Protestants felt aggrieved that
even-handed justice was not dealt out to them ; that their ene-
mies and been promoted and rewarded, and their constitutional
privileges were at stake. The reason the petition had not been
signed by all the Meeting was, that it was impossible 50,000
persons, or even half, or one tenth of them, could sign it
in the short days of October.
Mr. S. CRAWFORD explained that there had been no
counter petition got up, but only a protest, and was then pro-
ceeding to explain further how it happened that so few names
were attached to this document, when he was interrupted by
loud cries of " Spoke," and sat down.
Mr. RONAYNE denied that the Castle guard band was
silenced to allow the procession's music t be heard.
Colonel VERNER rose to make "3. few observations ; but,
failing in obtaining a hearing, thr`latened to adjourn the debate.
Mr. RUT HVE N robe ani.,Cist cries of " Order, order," and
" Chair chair."
The petition was, then ordered to lie on the table, and the
discussion droi,-I,ed.
Sir R. riEIZON reported from the Ennis Election Com-
mitt'le that they had been obliged to adjourn their proceedings
'until to-morrow, in consequence of the absence of General
Palmer.