The Sun.
London, England, 1857-05-08 00:00:00

istulated us ; that well-being of the people to which
the condition of agriculture, commerce, manufactures,
and trade bears such striking and irrefutable testimony.
(Cheers.) lam convinced this house will not shrink
from that sacrifice of time and labour which the oneroas
task of amending the laws, so prominently recommended
to us in the speech from the throne, will require. If
this house should in this session deal successfully with
those questions, on that account alone it would prove
one of the most useful and beneficial to all classes of the
community. I trust that the house over which you. sir,
have been called on to preside will prove itself, by the
breadth and comprehensive character of its measures, an
honourable and worthy successor of the Parliaments
which have preceded it. I trust that it will, by continu-
ing the work of reform in season, and not by making
premature changes, nor yet delaying them tit it may be
necessary to have an entire reconstruction—l trust tha-,

by pursuing that truly English policy, we may contri-
bute in our time to maintain England in that proud po-
sition which she occupies amongst nations. With re-
gard to those less ambitious and more pressing mea-
sures of practical improvement and domestic reform—
if it be not too presumptuous in one so inexpe-
rienced as myself to venture the observation—l hazard
myself to say that this Parliament possesses peculiar
advantages for enabling it to carry out such practical and
useful measures, for in the returns to the house made
by the different constituencies of the kingdom, I see no
antagonistic array of interest against interest, of class
against class, no symptom of a contest between town
and country, or between the different portions of the
empire—no differences in fact but those a hich result
from conviction and reason, and which therefore may,
by the same motives, be converted into harmony and
unanimity. (Cheers.) And indeed if I may venture to
go a step further without being thought guilty of
alluding to myself, I would say it is a happy augury of
the unanimity which on such matters prevails to find
that the address to the throne is moved and seconded
by the representatives of two such very different con-
stituencies as the hon. gentleman who sits on my right
hand and myself—that it is moved by one who has the
honour of representing a county situated in a purely
agricultural quarter of England, embracing within it
several towns, one of them the most extending town
in the south of England, and which is intimately can-
fleeted with agriculture, and mule a resort for the pur-
poses of health and pleasure ; and that the address is
seconded by one who represents one of the greatest
commercial ports of the empire, and one of the busiest
hives of mining and manufacturing industry. (Hear,
hear.) I beg leave to conclude by expressing my
sincere and heartfelt thanks to the house for the kind-
ness, forbearance, and indulgence with which they have
listened, and by moving that an humble address be
presented to her Majesty in answer to her Majesty's
gracious speech. The hon. gentleman then read the
address, which is a mere echo of the speech, and eon
chided amidst loud cheers.
Mr. BUCHANAN, who appeared in the uniform of a
deputy-lieutenant, said that it afforded him much pleasure
to second the address. He concurred in all the sentiments
which his hon. friend had so well expressed and it would be
almost superfluous for him to enter into a discussion on sub-
jects already so well noted, but that it seemed desirable
that those members who represented large constituencies
and who had recently had an opportunity of observing
what were the sentimentsand opinions prevaientamonget
them, should report to the house the result of their ob-
servations. The noble lord at the head of the Govern-
ment had submitted to the country the question of "con-
tent or not content," with his administration, and par-
ticularly with his foreign policy. That was the issue
placed before the country, and the answer was a verdict
if not unanimous, at least by a large majority, in favour
of the noble lord. One conclusion had been established—
it had been clearly shown that neither eloquence, nor
talent, nor long and valuable public services, would suf-
fice to support the position and influence of statesmen
who bad opposed themselves to the general opinions and
convictions of the constituencies. It was not because the
country had ceised to admire the eminent talents of the
right hon. member for the University of Oxford, or be-
cause it had forgotten the services of the late member for
the West Riding, that the majority which had supported
them in the late house was so signally reversed, but be-
cause not all their talents, nor all their eloquence, could
carry the country with them—its unsophisticated good
sense conldnot comprehend their arguments. The policy
announced by the noble lord was one by which the hon-
our of England would be maintained, the ex-,cutive in
distant lends supported, it was a policy identified with
the interest and honour et the country. If he might al-
lude to the question which was the immediate cause of
the dissolution of the late Parliament he would say that
out of doors it was regarded as one involving most impor-
tant interests, and it had been well remarked that the
argument in the house had been conducted on narrow
and technical grounds—the seizure of the Arrow, the
legality of the license, and other details of the trans-
action were all no doubt worthy of careful discus-
sion, but the most important point was its hearing on
our relations with the empire of China. (Hear, hear.)
It was not because the people of England were in-
clined for a war with China, or for any other war, that
they bad come so enthusiastically to the rescue, but be-
cause they believed it was ueceesary there should be an
expression of opinion in support of tee interest of the
country. The circumstances of China were altogether
peculiar ; for 200 years England had no representative
there except a trading company, no pel tical relations
with it. The East India Cernpany, perhaps, were not
to blame for the too pacific policy they bad adopted with
a view to their interests, but it must be admitted that
it bad produced very detrimental effect. ; for many
years the company, in their negotiations with the Chi-
nese officials, had submitted to treatment totally un-
worthy of the spirit of Englishmen. The result was,
that when the British Government itself began to put
forward its own influence, and when it became necessary
to eetailish the relations and olnervances of civilised
states, it was found to be a matter of great difficulty and
delicacy. It was not until after most vexatious and
harassing negotiations, and after a war, that the treaty
of Nankin was at length obtained, by which free access
was granted to the different ports. In the northern
ports the Europeans were received with courtesy, but
in Canton and the southern ports a different course was
followed ; the Cantonese refused to open their gates,
and that condition of the treaty was still unfulfilled.
From time to time it was found they became more dis-
posed to hostilities, and more offerisive in their language
towards Europeans. If under these circumstances when
a treaty was about to be negociated one of the most
important conditions of which would be tree access to the
interior, was it for a moment to be contended that the re-
presentative of England shoul I stand by and allow her flag
to be dishonoured ? If such a line of conduct had been
pursued, it was evident the arrogaeee of that peculiar peo-
ple would only have been more inflated, and all negocia-
tions rendered entirely impossible. It was not in China
alone, but in all the neighbouring seas, that Englishmen
came in contact with the Chinese. That industrious
people had spread over the whole Eastern Archipelago;
they were to be found at Borneo, Sumatra, Java, and
Malacca, and had recently spread to California and Aus-
tralia. Even in the British settlements they far out-
numbered the Europeans. At Singapore there were
70,000 Chinese, while the Englishmen did not number
as many hundreds ; at Penang and Malacca the relative
numbers were stilt more disproportionate. These Chinese
emigrants maintained the closest connection with home ;
they were in constant correspondence, and their secret
societies had ramifications through ali our colonies.
Under such circumstances danger might easily arise to
the handful of British settlers scattered about, and the
sanguinary excesses of Sarawak be repeated. In such
circumstances a vacil'ating and unsteady policy could
not he prudent. It should never be forgotten that the
British empire iii the Eat was cetehlished entirely on
opinion ; they were a mere handful amongst millions,
and if the prestige of their arms ones broke down, from
the Persian Gulf to the Yellow Sea the empire was at
an end. Under such circumstances it was a matter of
congratulation that Lord Elgin hat been sent to China,.
and a nobleman whose ability and prudence bad been
so fully tested chosen for a cornmiseien of so much diffi-
culty. He would, however, have to encounter in the
course of his mission not only the Chinese, but another
ambitious Power, whose movements on the north-east of
China were well calculated to ex Ate alarm and apprehen-
sion. It was known that Russia, during the last 10 years,
had, with the silence which characterised her policy, ac-
qutred a very large territory on the Amoor river, which
she made available for purposes very inimical to the cone-
merce of this country. There was another subject of
foreign policy most interesting to the people oftbis country.
He alluded to the present state of Southern Europe.
He trusted he would not be considered to travel too far
beyond the prescribed routine of the reply to a royal
speech if he called the attention of her Majesty's govern-
ment and the house to the feeling so largely spread
threireh the country of the disgraceful scenes now exhi-
bited in Italy. He had no distrust of the energetic ac-
tion of the diplomacy of this country. The noble lord
the Secretary for Foreign Affeirs bad frequently exhibited
his true British feeling, and would, be doubted not,pro-
test in the most decisive manner anainet the abuse' of
power exhibited in Southern Italy and the R mien Stetee
but he wished them, in the name of humanity, to protest
against the misgovernment of Naples. With' regard to
the internal reforms there was one which must soon oc-
cupy the attention of the golernment—that wee
Hethe ex-
tension of the franchise. for one, did not think that
a large roll of electors woul,d'vs eevcure a better House of
lo
Commons. The question,
whonot onecn s
iodf e
re
exd-
pedieney, but involved the rights oefrt w
ho
se they were entitled to political power,
Poor as well as
e b: of.
t
rich were entitled to that poser, within he
constitution. If, however, the franchise We 8
a to
no limits
low-
ered, a system of generel education should bae
conoonutant. He would object to extend the franchisersary
ehse
to an uneducated voter, who would not properly exercise
it. On that ground.he was an advocate of a eyetern of ri-
'
finial education, and be trusted that the number of able.
men on both sides of the house who had devoted their
attention to the subject would ere long devise such a mea-
sure as all might adopt. Thr royal speech congratulated
the country on the prosperity of their commercial rela-
tions. He fully participated in the view so expressed,
but he might be allowed to say teat at the present ma.
ment there were indications well calculated to inspire
doubt, it not uneasiness and alarm, in the excessive dear-
ness of money. It wasitepoasi hie that ind ustry could pros-
per, when that was sapping out the very vitals; of trade.
It might be said that the present etate of thing; was to be
attributed to very obvious causes, but the effects of it
on the prosperity of the country would be most ruinous.
Under these circumstances, he was rejoiced to bear that
the committee on banking was to be re-appointed. He
tra ted they would a.semble without any foregone C°l/-
elusion, and admit all evidence without regard to high
authorities, and frame their report, after hearing th.,se
competent to form an opinion, without regard to the
influence of monopoly in the house or elsewhere. These
we some of the subjects which should employ the at-