The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-01 00:00:00

would find themselves entirely dependent on the services
of those gentlemen, whose experience and ability ren-
dered them thorough judges of the maueer in which of-
ficial business was conducted, and whose zeal and
energy were at the disposal of the Government in
office, whatever its opinions, the Whig servant
of the department as faithfully and energetically serving
the Tory Minister of the day as the Tory servant the
Whig Minister.—(Hear, hear.) With such convictions,
he could not consent to any resolution that should in-
jure the interests and the prospects of so valuable a
body of men—(Hear, hear)—that should propose to give
them a less reward for their great labour than their
labours intrinsically merited, merely because the price
of provisions might be low at a particular time.—(Hear,
hear.) It was to be borne in mind that the great public
bodies, the East India House, the Bank of Eugland, the
great commercial firms, thoroughly appreciated the ser-
vices of such men, and gave them their fitting reward.
Let the House of Commons once resolve that the same
fitting reward should not be given to the servants of the
State, and an irreparable injury would be at once inflicted
upon the public service; the economy would soon manifest
itself to be a deeply mischievous waste, that should drive
such men as the public service now possessed into pri-
vate service, that extended to them the due reward of their
energy, their ability, their experience, and their labour.
He felt, therefore, on thisoirouud that the motion ought
not to be adopted. But there was another part of the
motion which was perfectly understood by the Hun.
Member for the West Riding. even before it was ex-
plained by the Hon. Member fur Buckinghamshire. It
proposed not merely a revision of salartes in all the
public departments, but a revision of wages in every
department of the public service, with a view to a just
and adequate reduction thereof. It would be impossible
for the Government to accept such a motion—as the Hon.
and Learned Member for Sheffield (Mr. Roebuck) seemed
to suppose they might have done—without exciting an
expectation throughout the country that they were about
to make a reduction of wages in every department of the
public service. And on what ground was such a reduction
to be made? It had been clearly explained by the Hon.
Member for Buckinghamshire. That ground was
not that the wages of persons employed by
private individuals in the metropolis or elsewhere had
generally fallen, but it was this—that there was so much
distress in the country arising from the repeal of the
duties on corn and other import duties, that the only re-
source by which they could satisfy the distressed part of
the community was by reducing the wages of every
man in the public department. He (Lord J. Russell's)
answer was that this statement was not true—(Hear,
hear, and cheers)—for, from every account he had heard
with respect to wages, except in some few of the agri-
cultural counties—(Cries of " Oh, oh!" and laughter
from the Protectionist benches)—there had been no re-
ductions of wages, and the labouring classes of the
country were not now obliged to receive a less remune-
ration for their work than they obtained before the Act
of 1846 was passed.—(Cries of " Oh, oh!" from the Pro-
tectionists, met by cheers from the Ministerial side.) He
(Lord J. Russell) would not, therefore, give any coun-
tenance to that delusion. He would not aid the Hon.
Gentleman in inducing the House to express an opinion
that the country was in such a state of distress, owing
to the adoption of what had been called the policy of
free trade, that it was absolutely necessary for the Go-
vernment to reduce the wages of every labourer in their
employment. His (Lord J. Russell's) belief was, that the
reverse was the fact. He believed that, generally speaking
—and he had received a good deal of in.ormation on the
subject from various quarters—the labouring classes
of this country were now in a better condition than they
had been in before the adoption of that policy—
(Shouts of " Oh, oh!" from the Protectsonists,
and cheers from the Ministerial benches)—which some
Hon. Gentlemen opposite so strongly reprobated.—(A
cry of " No, no.") The Hon. Gentleman who doubted
this assertion was quite welcome to entertain his own
opinion, but he could not expect him (Lord J. Russell),
entertaining, as he did, an opposite conviction, to assent
to a measure which would disseminate throughout the
country the belief that the House of Commons con-
sidered that the nation had been reduced to so distressed
a state in consequence of the adoption of free-trade that
it was absolutely necessary to reduce wages. He (Lord
J. Russell) had asked the Hon. Member for Bucking-
hamshire, the other night, instead of proposing motions of
this kind, and voting for the reduction of various taxes,
to bring forward some direct motion for protection, that
they might have the question fairly tried between
those who thought that system ought to be restored
and those who, wore opposed to its restoration. The
Hon. Gentleman then said that he and his friends had
only need for these reductions of taxation to save their
suffering constituents. It appeared, then, that the Hon.
Gentleman, in order to promote the interests of his con-
stituents in Buckinghamshire, had felt himself obliged to
vote for a reduction of the duty on paper, and of the
duty upon marine insurances.—(A laugh.) That cer-
tainly seemed an odd mode of relieving the distress of
Buckinghamshire. But the Ilon. Gentleman had also
said that this was a kind of campaign, and he told them
he was too skilful a general to take his plan of campaign
from his opponents. He (Lord John Russell) thought
his Honourable Friend the Member for Montrose (Mr.
Hume) should pay due attention to those words.—
(Laughter.) Whether the plan of campaign adopted
by the Honourable Member for Buckinghamshire was
good or bad, he clearly showed what his object was
—that, whether he marched to the right or to the lett
for the purpose of a feint, his real object was to
assail the intrenchments of the Free-traders, and to put
an end to that system. The Hon. Gentleman plainly
showed that he and his friends were convinced that they
would be in a minority if they were to bring forward a
motion for the re-establishment cf protection, but they
considered that under the guise, or rather disguise, of
motions fur a reduction of taxation, they might secure
the assistance of some allies, who would otherwise shrink
from joining them; and that they might thus at length
attain what they declared plainly to be their object—the
restoration of protective duties. With that of ject
plainly declared he (Lord J. Russell) thought there
could be little doubt that the Hon. Member fsr the
West Riding had perceived with sagacity their inten-
tion—(blean hear)—aed had determined not to be misled
by their plan of campaign.
" Alutemus clypeos, Dsnaumque insignia nobis
Apterous."
" We have no chance of escape," said the Hon. Gentle-
man and his friend; "in our own armour as Tories; but
if we appear as great economists, as great friends of re-
duction, as men who wish to diminish taxation, then we
may carry some motion which will be, at all events, ex-
ceedingly hostile to the Government, and thus by certain
roundabout and circuitous modes, we may at length at-
tain our real object—the restoration of a protective duty
upon grain. He (Lord J. Russell) thought this was quite
enough toinduce those Hon. Members who did not seek
the attainment of the same end, not to vote for a resolu-
tion which would effect no real economy—(ob, oh!)
—which, so far from saving 1,000,0001., would not save
a single pound of the public expenditure. He doubted
whether, with regard to true economy, they could make
reductions more speedily or more safely than in the
mode proposed by the Government. He believed the
State might find, as the railroad companies to which his
Right Honourable Friend referred had found, that
if they made sudden reductions in the public
departments they would unsettle their whole es-
tablishments, they would induce many of their
best public servants to look for other em-
ployments, and they would probably be obliged to buy
good service with larger rewards than they now thought
it necessary to give. He believed the only true mode of
economy was thlt adopted by the Government,—to make
a gradual revision of the public departments, to treat no
individual with injustice, but in the case of any vacan-
cies not to fill up places which were unnecessary—
(Hear, hear)—and if any other departments besides
those which had been mentioned should hereafter seem
fit subjects for inquiry, t:) let such inquiry be made. In
that manner they would carry into effect, gradually, in-
deed, but with justice to individuals and with benefit to
the state, a large and permanent system of economy.
If, en the contrary, the House were to adopt this resolu-
tion, they would appareetly be giving a vote for economy,
but, in fact, they would do little for economy, while they
would tend to promote a further object, against which
he believed a majority of that House—if the question
was presented to them plainly and directly—were pre-
pared to decide.—( Hear and cheers.)
6ir C. BURRELL observed, that as the Noble Lord
had stated that the wages of '
agricultural labourers had
not been reduced, he begged
south of England they to inform him that in the
that the price oflt was impossible
corn couldafahilaevne. fallen one-third, as
comparedlaws withsiithout an eft.
whathietcwas before the repeal of the corn-
of labour. t being produced on the wages
Mr. HENLEY, in reply,said heh thought the Noble
Lord (Lord J. Russell) had -shewu usual ingenuity in
endeavouring to gather back into his s proportion
of the Honourable Gentlheamdennootnshtohwenfootlhdear side, who,
on some late occasions,
themselves dis-
posed to act, as a very disciplined bed
because ctahueseHocuetre-
The Noble Lord had taken great ofTsn3h—(A laugh.)
lain Members on that (the Opposition) siect
bad voted, on a late occasion, against certain taxes.
the Noble Lord seemed to have forgotten what happenedßut
two sessions ago, when he proposed to put on an arldi-
tax. There was a sort of growl all
t roundioual
the
h o propertyi 0u5e..... (
A laugh)—he could not call it any-
thing
else—which warned the Noble Lord that it would
not do to go on with his plan. And what was the result?
That the Government were obliged to come down to the
House with amended estimates. The Noble Lord had
opposed this motion as unjust both to the Ministry and
to the subjects of the proposal.“ The Chancellor of the
Exchequer, however, had said, I agree wit te mover
in his principle, but I will not consent to the motion,
because it will be a vote of censure upon the Govern-
ment "—(A laugh)—and then, because the motion was
a vote of censure, the Right Honourable Gentleman did
not face it with a direct negative, but he moved the
previous question. It was urged that the Treasury bad
been reformed; but it was forgotten that it had been
reported upon by the Committee on the me,cellene-
ous expenditure two years ago. But he (Mr. Hen•
ley) did not bring the Treasury or the Home-office
especially under the consideration cf the House ; those
were in the estimates every year.—(Hear, hear.) No
one who had opposed the motion had raid a word about
any one great revenue department.—(Hear, hear.) The
Noble Lord talked about the savings in 1833, but he had
overstated the amount by nearly 100.0001. The fact was,
that the establishments often paid off with one hand and
took on with another. The Hon. Member for Oxford
had alluded to a matter which would have been. as well
a private
not brought before the House,. ter of a
county society, which he said had dissolved itselfma because
the members gave up protection. The fact. thatif to
PO; r, s. ~ was a defensive society, and there was nothing:
e 1 eltefind• there was a difference of opinion
/..77--7-"°;:----r—ree- uld'be done in future, and as to havingitnseowawartuoles7ahnadt
tseeito.o: ----e '''': ' the ociety, therefore, came to an end of
would
own accord.
i.ens,:s e . e Ail the Noble Lord's tauat, if their (the Protectionists')
hoetttee\t
a.;t, ''...; s' `. Vie 44 of the recent policy were right, the time
e ,
2.,:. .e. 044 , when the subject would force itself on the
7shiee n s e se.—(Bear, bear.) Ho (Mr. Henley) had not brought
4.... z.,/

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