The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-16 00:00:00

--,.
them for for they had the same chances as other men, a those goods which they gave in exchange for diet
but, being born to broad acres, they did not think it ' imports.—(Cheers.) Therefore he contended, that
T
necessary to cultivate their minds, and exert them- although the first effect of free trade might be to re-._
selves, like other men.—(Hear, hear.) The inven- duce price, the ultimate effect would be to raise !t f
tions of Watt and Arkwright enabled others to sun higher than it could possibly be under a system
pass them, and those who were once magnates in the restriction. There was no error into which they
country were now nowhere, and a new class of men were more apt to fall than that of attributing
were leading on its dense population.—(Loud cheers.) too much importance to mere price. When,
It was the industry and intelligence and perseverance they talked, for instance, of the reduction 02,
of the manufacturing population that made Lan- the duty on sugar, they were incidentally toll
cashire what it was. Its coal and iron were invalu- that a farthing, or even a penny, a P°llll
able, but they were underneath the surface for ages could not make any material difference to the
col"
before. It was only in later times—in fact, in their sumer. Now, even if it made no difference in
Pri,c,e
own generation—that they had learned to bring them at all, if the only effect were to give them an ad.a..r
up, and manufacture from them those machines which tionar quantity of sugar, the change could n9t but ev
So many despised; but which enabled the population beneficial to the country.—(Hear, hear.) If they
of Lancashire to stretch out their hands to every imported a larger quantity of sugar, and paid the
district on the face of the earth, and make the riches same price, nothing in his opinion could affoer
and prodacts of other countries supply their own stronger evidence that an advantage had acorn
wants.— (Cheers.) And that little soft flakey substance conferred on the community, because it wee'
which they took from the pod of the cotton tree, prove that by the additional trade which had bee¢
and which was first imported into this county (Lan- created, the wealth of the community had been
ili.
cashire) about seventy or eighty years ago—it was creased to such a degree that they could afford to
the fibre which they got from this that had given that pay for the larger quantity the same price whied
county its greatness.—(Cheers.) Lancashire was a they had paid for the smaller.—(Cheers.) They" ea
child of trade and industry in its most remarkable seen some of those principles illustrated in a remt
form.—(Cheers.) That trade was, not long ago, an able manner during the past year. They hat'":
infant struggling into life ;it was now grown up, and gun last year with extraordinary low pricei. .il '
was become a giant of enormous proportions; and yet cultural produce of every description was very cliesP'
that giant, great and powerful as it was, was lying manufactured goods of every description were lel
prostrate under the fetters and shackles which an cheap; and the raw material was cheaper than it of
ignorant, and shortsighted, and tyrannical legislation ever been known to be before. In consequen frost
bound around it.—(Loud cheers.) The question the extreme cheapness, and in accordance with
..
now was, would the people of South Lan- principles, which for many years had been as truefe
cashire any longer endure those fetters ? their operation as the barometer in indicating the
or would they allow themselves to be bound by them state of the weather—(Cheers)—in consequenc,,,,',e st
for ever? Would they allow them to be rivetted the cheapness they found a revival of trade. 30
firmly, or would they snap them asunder, and give revival of trade had had a great influence In,
freedom to this giant to become more powerful, and prices. During the last year there had been an. as
give a more extensive growth to that great county creased import of many of the most important' iOl
and this great empire ?—(Cheers.) If the electors of of raw material ; and one of them, which widen
South Lancashire knew how much depended on the before the Legislature, afforded triumphant eviee' d
votes they would give, would there be any man in of the truth of their principles. The Dultie
that county who would go to ask their suffrages for Richmond complained bitterly because Sir 11°00
that worst, and vilest, and most pestilent of all curses Peel had made up his mind to reduce the dutf t 0
—the corn-laws ?—(Cheers.) If these electors were foreign wool, believing that the effect would beds
conscious, and he believed many of them were, that diminish the price of the fleeces which were eels)
the disasters of the last five years owed their origin to his flocks in the north of Scotland.—(Langtae 1
that law—if they knew that that law had cast their Now, if he had taken the trouble to look into be
merchants from prosperity to ruin—that it had statistics of the trade of wool in this countriiriso
driven many thriving shopkeepers and traders into would have found, that just in proportion as the
I) tea
misery and ruin, and even expatriation—that it had of wool had been high, they had imPer
desolated hundreds of thousands of cottages, and car- largely from abroad, and that ioo
n those Y€ is
tied poverty and sorrow among millions of the when their imports were the smallest "also
people. If they knew all this, did they think amount, the price of home-grown wool WO, to $
they would give their voices on this occasion in the smallest. In 1819, foreign wool was subiee'4
favour of perpetuating the most blind folly that ever duty of 6d. per pound. Their imports were then r•ssos
entered into the minds of any legislators upon earth. about 19 millions of pounds weight. Mr. Husiti ty
—(Loud cheers.) If those electors saw this meeting induced the Legislature of that day to rechieelo,
—if they had before their eyes 4,000 of their coun- duty to a penny per pound. The coneequeliee is.
trymen who looked into their hearts and consciences that, in a few years, the import of wool gradually of
—to see if there dwelt any care for their coun- creased, until, in 1836, it amounted to 64 naillie is
try's good—was there one of them who would pounds. During that period the price of hornesed
have such callousness and hardness of disposi- wool, instead of falling, rose from 13d. to 19
'Bg6,
tion as to vote for the perpetuation of such an pound. It was very remarkable, that since 1 0
evil? He had hopes that the result of the struggle during the bad years of trade, the import of
i'reoli
would be glorious to the country.—(Hear, hear.) wool had fallen from 64 millions of pounds to
40 004
Free trade was gaining ground everywhere. It might lions of pounds, which was the amount in 1842; is
be they would not find that the minority now in Par- that, during that period, wool red fallen in prictee
liament would speedily become a majority—it Might the absence of twenty millions of pounds, in tnes,oo4
be there were portions of the public that sneered at of foreign competition, from 18d. to 10d. per ' ,: •
their efforts—they wholly denied that they were During the last year they had had a little e'„te
making any progress, and which, if they could, He held in his hand a return of the corariol
would extinguish their efforts altogether. But, tive trade of the three first months of the ty
notwithstanding, the wave was swelling on, year and the three first months et wee
and in public and private life they found present year. He found that in the first oil'
that the delusions about protection were dispelled, months of last year they imported 41S: tbt
and that the truth of free trade principles was be- lions of pounds ; in the first three months' wioasi
coming apparent to all minds.—(Loud cheers.) There present year they imported 9} millions of Pea se
was one subject of congratulation in looking at and at the present moment the English grove, esof,
what was now going on in South Lancashire. The ceived 25 per cent. more than he received lasl.'ool
free trade candidate was, perhaps, the most ex- So true were free trade principles that the In°reerot°
tensive merchant in this country, and almost in the were examined the more did they appear to 001
whole world.—(Hear, hear.) He was a merchant of as an index to the trade of the country, vp
long standing and experience, great wealth and high month to month. He would refer try'
character—he had a large property invested in of Richmond, and all who were against this feu fibe:(
commercial undertakings, and was also a proprietor to the solution of this question. Last year' no
of the soil. In business he was mainly connected they imported four and a half millions of 01l Pb'aci
with the trade of the United States of America. He wool, the price was 10d. per pound ; this yea.'o7(o,
looked on him as the better candidate for that.— they imported nine and a half millions, the Priootte' '
(Cheers.) He had extensive establishments there, ls. ld.—(Hear, hear.) But he turned to 1,1‘,000
and he knew how abundantly Providence had given fact ; he looked to the exports of manufacturo.4 Si
to that country the means of supplying the wants of They could not buy without also selling. Lose
this, and how eminently the manufacturing skill and quite obvious that if they received Belli
f fo tIl!
industry of this country were calculated to give abun- they would export more.—(Hear, hear.) (01ofti
dant blessings to that country in exchange for what first three mon colf last year, when they wee
s
los
they gave us.—(Cheers) Why, he was like a man ing very little , and when wool was ab,..etirl 1
who stood on the shore of the island representing price, they exportedl,3oo,ooo/. worth of reanlyl:ressl,
the millions who worked in this country to clothe woollen goods. In the first three months of thele sio:
the inhabitants of the prairies in America, and he year, they had exported 1,700,0001. worth of ll'al Fe
stood there to receive that which America produced, description of goods. The increased expel; ,
and which this country asked for; and were it not forded an explanation of the increased inelY3' el
for this law, which he was going into Parliament to the principle of restriction were followed 04004
uproot, how easily might they bring not only the would necessarily be a diminution of exports,
0101'
cotton, rice, and tobacco of America into this decrease of employment, and increasing poverti tf,
country, but food, substantial food for the people, hands. On the other hand, the more free 0.041
for the want of which thousands of their fellow principles were acted upon, the more wouldto 0
countrymen were suffering the deepest privations f.— flourish, and the more would it contribute off
(Cheers.) Considering the responses which met the wants of the whole country. The principlem be
sentiments he uttered, he might conclude that there striction were principles which, if acted uPO
~trorlo
was no want amongst those who filled the theatre of came more difficult at every stage ; on the cumoiti':,'
deep and earnest feelings for the success of this strug- the principles of free trade, if acted upon, b,cl„if Ire,
gle.—(Hear.) If they who were more immedietely every stage more easy, and diffused more wilasifisi
connected with them might in the
,meetings held there, benefits which resulted from them. Their P_P;:l,
in the speeches they made, in the lett .rs they wrote, were by no means new. There
had never 19,,i
sidei
communicate to the 18,C00 electors of Lancashire, statesman, a great philosopher, or a great In?'
who were interested in this decision, the feelings no, not even a great landowner, with el:"'
of the citizens of this metropolis, represented by the views, who had not, in one way or other, „lord
thousands whom he saw present, he prayed—he im- those principles. Eighty years ago Lord v_i;oo.,,
plored—he exhorted—and he besought them by all in the Houee of Lords, speaking of the exteoPot dot
they held sacred and valuable, to cast away all the the trade of the country, said—" I do °be,
trammels of party feeling—all the old war cries of pair of my country, and I have no,, 04.0,
faction—and declare that the flag under which they to state what, in my opinion, wow.. oirord
would fight should be that which was inscribed with the country to its once flourishing %ore tif I
Free trade all over the world, and perfect justice to the Give freedom to commerce, lighten the
rip fdi
a
people of this contry.—(The Hon. Gentleman sat taxation, and you will have no cornplainitaid,
down amidst loud cheers.) streets. As commerce is always a
coot o'!
Mr. JAMES WILSON then came forward and ad- equivalents, a nation that will not buy pilot
to ty
dressed the meeting. He said he did not appear there and every restriction of imports is an obstitajoitsift
to amuse or excite them, hut rather to endeavour to ports. On the other hand, the more we (300,0
throw some light on a few fallacies which, being productions of foreign nations, the raeTe 0001
little understood, operated to the prejudice of free becomes their demand for our commoditituelli.,ol'
trade in certain circles. As there was some ap- accursed system of our corn-laws be g- eta,
pearance of reasonableness in those fallacies it was cautiously abrogated, and allow the chee.boli
the more incumbent on him to try and remove them. tural produce of the north of Europe anu, eV
The two points on which he wished to address to be freely introduced, and we shall 0h0...J.1rd
them were these—They were chared with saying tended vent for our manufactures."—(CheTeW,
that the corn-laws were disastrous tog trade in conse- principles had been reiterated by almost the of;e
quence of the high prices which they inflicted on the who was celebrated in history. There evits,,,„st eO.
consumers, and then with saying that free trade est perverseness, however, on the part of ales ii,e)
would not injure the interests of the agriculturists, Government, for they excluded those artica fof
and would have even little influence on relative prices. they really wanted, and admitted trbeeo,oti
Now those were two statements which he was willing they did not want. A friend of his hauv STO
to admit bore on the face of them some appearance of ployed, three or four years ago to negotittiestoti,
inconsistency, vet he believed nothing was more easy with France to admit our hardware and cutbeipti
than to prove that both were correct.—(Hear, hear.) French would only consent to enter int° rogic Ae;
It should always be borne in mind that dearness and on the condition that we exported our fiallisa
.P.:e
cheapness might be produced by two distinct causes. Theo stipulation wee agreed to; the Eng,eool Y offei
Dearness might be produced on the one hand by factrers, on being consulted, were so b.': itistj.,
scarcity, and on the other by large consumptibility to offer any objection. Our Governmee.'„,
on the part of the community. If dearness were introduced a Bill, permitting the free mi. the i
produced by scarcity, then price kept no relative machinery, as it was very right and prePeopoito,
proportion to the means of the community to pur- should have done.—(Cheers.) The frOsbis et? ,f
chase the article. If, on the other hand, dearness of machinery being thus permitted from Ithe
~...k.,
were produced only by a large demand for the corn- what was the first step adopted by
_veil:A
modity, it argued, in the first place, a great con- Government? They lacedp a large Pry joe, o'
sumptibility and the wealthy condition of the con- on its importation.—(Cheers.) On tiro, OK
snorers in order to produce that dearness. Cheapness, of cotton machinery into France, wThirtf.di,„
on the other hand, might be produced by two causes. not want, they placed a duty of
_„" &One
It might be produced by plenty, and then it was a per hundred kilogrammes, and on the iforxioir
blessing ; or it might he produced, as it had been for flax machinery, which they had been s°,..'oed et, i
the last two or three years, by an inability on the taro, and which they did want, they r 5...-01, °Pry
part of the consumer to command even the first neces- tive duty of one hundred kilogranun'onoc,kto?:if
series of life. Now, what he contended was, that the Now this was the explanation of this cs„islie°,tri
principles of restriction and monopoly had a tendency partpf the French Government : theY,inery,ll,Jl:ol
to create the dearness which was objectionable, be- I courage the manufacture of flax rliac`:,a ,s bifosi Pi
cause it was a dearness arising from scarcity ; that own country, and therefore they Mest tbio ciofel
free ,trade, on the other hand, although, if followed out, upon its importation.—(Cheers.) i'l!i, own
to ,e
it might produce dearness, would only produce it in more absurd than the conduct
right
to fiad Alit;olJ,
consequence of this increased wealth and the ment. Our Ministry had no , et.
increased means of consumption.—(Hear, hear.) He the French Government for their conla WI the
contended also that restriction had a tendency look at our own Custom-house Acts, a 0401 to,
nglll te" 1 i
to produce cheapness, but not the cheapness which find that they had no reason to co
__t we 0010,
was derived from plenty, but the cheapness which selves. Those things which they EgTile t-hei Pelf/
arose from diminished means on the part of the con- kept out by a prohibitive duty, w ,
soil coy
sumer.—(Cheers.) The very object and aim of the portation of articles, which they did
yes cbsaeete re,
corn-laws, and of their commercial laws generally, was permitted. The same perversen.oes_ies. ale of,"
was to restrict quantity. If they restricted quantity, our legislation with regard to our co; frosio
.000001
the first effect might be, he admitted, to raise prices. one article, a principal article of ex,roga iutil'ey
But the first tendency of restricted quantity was to colonies, but which was not Prca"
1 the e°l36ellstiri;°(oi
restrict trade; the next tendency was to restrict em- quantity by the colonies to supP Y sow se A Pie
means
; the next tendency was to restrict the this country, he meant the arl_3_roduce'roviiolV
means of consumption ; and the next, and last, ten- (Cheers.) The quantity of sugalefeensliteellolel
dency was an impossibility to consume, and colonies was not sufficient for tr7,,ratec ety
a diminished price.—(Loud cheering.) On this country, and yet that sugar wee rf austtooteviot,
• h rate 0 1 ~t,
01
those grounds, therefore, he contended that imposition of a very high ,of she „Atllf4t
neither the corn-laws nor any other commercial he considered that the conducass _
,„reatPiorlt,'o,tert
restriction could ultimately be of any service even to regard to this article of sag a 5 ems asl
those for whose benefit they were intended. Although free trade principles. What
ueeiroeon?-
.3:_iitirei oillitut.
such laws might first produce a high price, that high the Ministers on the sugar (lit 'jive lig oot6
price was delusion, it could not be maintained. Bar- they would onl p
gains were made which could not be maintained; thate brought into the - emtr_raaerkeftrieenfas
.oefstforeeea
coco:toli:
contracts were entered into which ended in nothing Now, he believed thatte Is
be the igrfheAtt tbe,jlll„Ve;'
but disappointment; and the resources of this corn- had always been found t
he
denieo. -- eoo,t - , j 11
munity were sapped to their foundation. How of personal liberty ; b
clearly and palpably, was this effect exhibited which the Governmebnotlu.wtiaose
in the case of this restriction, which they to conduce to thef a
l biour sugar (Ssit ii or, Ole ft tlllO,l
poufroisi:lgerw.liessTabileirioci?,
were assembled to oppose. The first tendency posed to admit reef
of the corn-law was to • restrict quantity and sugar the
Java,produce o
ssaluamveatlarab,ouL;distiliailblei teeebtotoe!
raise price. But the next tendency was to destroy of sugar
inin
hich sugar was Pre'Thauili.oo evil
trade. The farmer, having made his contract, cal- countries
impafroto ttelied
ootl'
consumercul atin g oon
hada highhe
ebeen
destroyed,rice, found
andth a t
the
ee
pmeansriee feolfl,thtee
4boou,oro,
• wou state sa pe
of the world. This quantity Sta cc e f
all around him.—(Hear, hear.) If they had free
the disappointment of the farmer, and to the ruin of try, thus withdrawing_ that amouriat be suPof 6litsie: Owt'aosnsaobN‘fe'tuhtis 93,000 tens
Portedrfi iP t° t l'ild
trade in corn, the first tendency would be to increase
the quantity, and that would, perhaps, diminish the slaveA me r
ilcaab.o labour 0
ll
a n d , countries—fromG erinan atnhaei.tehatipottre
iliser,,:ev
. they
price. But, with an increased quantity,
in the supply of sugar's Of free' lito 'OO
would have increased trade; with increased .
of continental Europe, would luillioonsealuaboe sicir6er;
d from Java, Sumatra, and 4T'an eePe
trade, they would have increased employment
for their ships, for their sailors, for their millers, angenerally, he
our taking these 40,000 tiaons
ilia. flot:ted,
for all those ho were engaged in the manufacture of many, and Europe