The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-25 00:00:00

TTIE AUNT, LONDON, TTTURSDAY EVENING, APRIL 25, 18441-.

principle of free trade, and spread it by a
peaceful agitation, conducted wisely an, har-
moniously, from the centre to the circum-
ference, inculcating the principles of peace and
good order. They maintained that, with the extension
of commerce and manufactures, the good order and
enlightenment of this country were increased also.
He maintained that during the late severe trials in the
manufacturing districts in this country, it was the
greatest triumph the human mind could conceive or
human efforts accomplish, to see that, notwithstanding
the existence of privations and sufferings, not only
unfelt, but even unimagined before, yet peace
prevailed in these districts of the country.—(Loud
cheers.) He feared that if the same temptations
to disorder had existed in the agricultural districts,
among the ignorant and unenlightened agricultural
population, he feared they would have applied the fire-
brand instead of submitting with patience to their
sufferings.—(Hear, hear.) Depend upon it that the
doctrines of free trade inculcated those principles o
sound sense which taught the people that the princi
ples which could alone vanquish their difficulties and
conquer in the strife in which they were engaged,
were the doctrines that were consistent with tran-
quillity and peace.—(Hear, hear.) These were the
principles which were before them, and before
the country, and he called on them for their sincere
and enthusiastic, and he might almost say their unani-
mous support. If they knew their own interest, they
would support principles such as these. But, whether
they supported them now or not, or whether they
were destined at the present moment to have only
a species of temporary popularity, and afterwards
to lose their impression on the minds of a portion of
the people of this country, he was convinced that they
would eventually triumph, that the people of England
would not forget their interests—their dearest interests
—the interests, not only of themselves, but of their
wives and families, and of their descendants, which
he believed were intimately and indissolubly con-
nected with the doctines and principles of freedom of
trade.--(Cheers.)
Mr. HOWARD ELPIIDZSTONE, M.P., having been
announced by the Chairman, then addressed the
meeting. lie said that after the able speech of Mr.
E wart, he should feel, perhaps, more hesitation than
he then did in addressing them on the present occa-
sion,'did he not feerconyinced that he did not yield
either to him or to their excellent Chairman in
the deep conviction he entertained of the
injustice of the system of the corn-laws.
which inflicted a double wrong on the people, that of
making their food dear, while by diminishing their
employment they made the wages of labour cheap.
Now he must say that, when they considered that
there were in this country no less than a million and
a half of their fallow-subiects receiving alms in work-
houses as paupers, he thought that every man must
be of opinion that there was something morally wrong
in the social condition of this country. And when
he knew, as every man must know, the great skill
and great industry of the working classes
of this country, and when they knew the abun•
dance of capital that there was in this country,
which was only waiting for employment, he was one
of those persons who thought that it was bad laws and
bad legislation which had been pressing for so many
years on the productive industry and energies of the
country. Now it appeared that the persons who were
at present their legislators, and who were interested
in the continuance of the present monopolies, had
proposed various remedies against this state of things ;
some persons, exceedingly well meaning men, he had
no doubt, had proposed what they called a system of
emigration, that was to say, they wished the
poorer classes of this country to leave the
home of their forefathers, and they wished the
people to believe, as sensible and well-thinking men,
that it was easier to remove men, women, and
children from this country to the countries where
they might obtain food, than to bring the food to
this country where the people were accustomed to
live. He thought that before they tried this experi-
ment, they might at least try the more simple one of
making use of the commercial industry of this coun-
try, sending their ships to foreign lands to bring their
produce to this country, and endeavour to give the
people that food of which they stood so much in
need. This logic, owing to the exertions of
the Anti-Corn-law League, having been what
was called "blown upon " another crotchet
was started. Some very estimable individuals had
brought forward what was called the factory ques-
tion. Under the pretence of being the friends of the
people, they had introduced the ten hour system. He
believed that no proposition that had ever been made,
either in the House of Commons or elsewhere, was
more likely to do harm to the working classes of this
country. He believed that there was nothing so mis-
chievous as any attempt to interfere with industry
and labour on the part of the Legislature.—
(Loud cheers.) He need not, before them, go into
all the arguments on this question ; but there
was one which he thought was almost irresistible.
What they obtained in this country—the production
of. this country—was of course produced, by the la-
bour of their workmen. By the Ten Hours' Bill
they diminished the hours of working, and conse-
quently that which was produced, by one-sixth—that
was to say, that the goods produced by the energies of
their workmen should be diminished by one-sixth,
and that all classes of the community had one-sixth
less of the goods made by their workmen to enjoy
for the benefit of themselves and :their families.
It appeared to him that both nostrums of
these quacks of legislation—(Great laughter)—
would be failures, and he believed that the only sound
principle by which they could relieve the distresses of
the working classes of this country, was by adopting
a really good system of free trade; because by adopt-
ing such a system they would encourage manufac
tures, give employment to their people, and by giving
them employment, enable them to find the means of
supporting themselves and their families in plenty and
comfort. But he found that those who supported
these monopolies were on every occasion willing to
benefit themselves at the expense of other classes. He
should like to call their attention in the first instance
te what was called the land-tax. They were all well
aware that in almost every civilised country of Europe
the land paid the greater portion of the burdens of
the State. Let them take France for instance—let
them take the greater part of the States of despotic
Germany or Italy, and they would find that almost
all the public burdens were paid by the land-
tax. It was originally the intention in Eng-
land, when the present land-tax was imposed
on this principle, that it should be rated
at four shillings in the pound, or one-fifth of the
whole Legislature of landowners,
whnrental.
last enactment on this subject,
saw
tradeßutththe e
and commerce of the country
et
that the
t madehe
were fast increasing. They saw that in the course of
years their rents would be likely to rise, and they
persuaded the House of Commons and the House of
Lords to pass a regulation that the land-tax,
for the future, should not be increased. The
whole rental of the country was then ten
millions, and they persuaded both Houses that the
land-tax should only amount to two millions per
annum; whilst if that enactment were not passed—
if they followed up the plan originally contemplated,
inasmuch as if the present rental amounted to fifty
millions per annum, they would now be deriving a
revenue of eight or ten millions a year from the land-
tax. That was a specimen of class legislation.
which on so many grounds he considered had done so
much mischief to the best interests of the country.—
(Cheers.) If it were not troubling them too much,
he would call their attention to another point, some-
what connected with this subject, and which he had
felt it his duty to bring forward in another place, that
was, the exemption of land in this country from the
probate dnty.—(Hear, hear.) They were all aware,
that, as the law now stood, on the death of any per-
son who had personal property, a large sum, under
the name of probate or legacy duties, was
taken from the family and children, and paid
into the coffers of the . State. • That sum
amounted annually to two millions and a quarter,
and, by a return which had been made to the House
of Commons, it appeared that since this tax was im-
posed, in 1797, no less a sum than 66,835,0001. had
been taken from the pockets of the people, under the
name of the probate-tax ; but while this enormous sum
was levied on personal property, landed property had
gone entirely scot free. If they took the value of land,
even on the experience of those gentlemen themselves,
who told them that it was the Most valuable and
important interest in the kingdom—a proposition
which he did not wish to deny—he would ask how
in common fairness and common justice it could
happen that, while one description of property yielded
a revenue of 66,000,0001. to the exigencies of the
State, another description of property should pay
nothing at all ? It did appear to him excessively un-
just that, while the widow and children of the poor
mechanic who had saved some 1001. or 150/. in the course
of-a long and laborious life, were heavily taxed, that the
heir apparent of half-a-million of landed property
should contribute nothing at all to the State.—(Loud
cheers.) He might multiply those instances from the
statute-book, for there were many others, but he
wished to say this that in all matters in which these
monopolists hada direct interest, they exclaimed against
free trade, and formed associations against the spread of
its doctrines ; but in matters in which they had no
direct interest, and no monopoly, they were the very
first persons to take advantage of the principle of free
trade, and of the commercial and mercantile pros-
perity of the country. To-morrow would be the
birth-day of her Gracious Majesty, and he would
ask them all to mark what would take place
at the Drawing-room of St. James's, when the
ladies of the country, with great propriety,
would wait upon their Sovereign to congratulate her
upon her natal day. The proudest Duchess, they
would see covered with diam6nds. When they
brought these diamonds from foreign countries, they
did not bee that there was any heavy tax on' their
introduction.—(Hear, hear.) Take the ostrich