The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-02 00:00:00

It had been said that distress was decreasing. For hi
own part, he believed that there never was such
destitution known as was in London at the Pre-
sent moment. Was it not horrid to see women destroying
their children sooner than that they should starve, and was it
not a lamentable thing when people committed crimes in order
to hurry them into prison, because they were wore comfortable
there than in their own homes? And jet they were told that
SW change or alteration was to be permitted to take pace in
these laws, whatevee may be the consequences to the people of
sin adherence to them.—( Cheers.) hatever might be the
consequences to the people, the landed proprietors had deter.
mined that if else iota of those duties were diminished, by
which the rents were increased, they would not permit the
Minister to retain his place.—(Cheers ani counfee
He believed that in bygone times such intimations might
have been privately conveyed to a Minister ; but
be believed that never before bad announcements been
publicly made, so indecent, so haughty, and so dictatorial as
those which had been recently made by the landowners at their
various public meetings.—( Loud cheers.) They had openly
threatened that if the Minister did not do that which was the
most injurious to the interests of the country, but which, at the
same time, increased their rents, he should be put out of office.
—(Cheers.) Such was the language held by Noble Dukes
and Noble Lords at those meetings. There was no abuse
which had not, at those meetings, been lavished on the Right
Hon. Baronet. For himself, he had no wish to see the Right
Hon. Baronet removed from office. He would as soon that the
Right Hon. Baronet should be in office as any other person
who supported the restrictive system; but what was to him a
source of regret, was to see—be hoped the Right Hon. Barone
would excuse the term—the want of spirit which the Right
Hon. Baronet exhibited.—( Cheering and counter-cheering.)
Why did he not turn round upon these people—( A laugh from
the Tory benches)—why did he not show to them their utter
helplessness without him.—(lmmense cheering from all parts
of the House.) Why did he not show to them how utterly
unable they would be to administer any system of Government
without him?—(Cheers)—how, with all their rank, and
property, and pride, they were compelled to fall back upon
persons of talent, and experience, and capacity ?—(Loud
cheers.) If the views which the Right Hon. Baronet enter-
tained were jest and sound, why did he not carry them out,
and rely upon the people ?—( Loud cheers.) By that means
be would maintain that high standing, and attain that sound
reputation, for the sake of which alone he had said that he
valued office.—( Loud cheers.) Let him set at defiance that
miserable party which urged him to do that which would be
injurious to the country. They had not the capacity to manage
the affairs of the nation, even if her Majesty should send to the
Duke of this or the Duke of that, to form an Administra-
tion.—(Loud cheers.) Who were the victims of pride on the
one side, and of avarice on the other ? the people.—
(Hear, bear, and cheers.) Could they, then, wonder
that, as a representative of that struggling people, his Hon.
Friend the Member for Rochdale, should make a motion to
stop the supplies and to create confusion when they were suf-
fering under such great and trying grievances without any
hope of redress?—( Loud cheers)—or could they wonder at the
influence which his other Hon. Friend (Mr. Cobden) who
did not go so far as his Hon. Friend the Member for Roch-
dale, who did not desire any organic charge—could they be sur-
prised at the influence which he had attained over the opinions
of the people—(Loud cheers)—when justice was thus refused
them ?—( Loud cheers.) While they refined to do justice to the
people, what right bad they to complain of his efforts ?
(Cheers.) Could they wonder at the power of that great
combination of which he was at the head—(Loud cheers)—
while the people were suffering such evils and were hopeless of
obtaining redress?—( Loud cheers.) He entreated the Right
Hon. Gentleman to consider the state of the people, and if
they treated their distresses with indifference they would find
that they had committed the greatest error that a Government
could possibly commit.—(Cheers.)
Mr. GLADSTONE rose to explain. The Hon. Gentleman
opposite laboured under a misapprehension. He bad made a
quotation from an article which had appeared in a recent
number of a periodical publication, and had accused him (Mr
Gladstone) of having been the author of that article. Now,
not only was he (Mr. Gladstone) not the author of the article,
but he was not aware who was the author, and he had never
read a line of it.—( Cheers and laughter.)
Sir JOHN HANMER said that when the Right Hon.
Member for Wolverhampton spoke of the sufferings of the
people, he touched a chord which vibrated, not only in his (Sir
J. Hammer's) heart, but in the hearts of all those who sat on his
(the Ministerial) side of the House.—( Loud cheers.) Whe-
ther the landowners were right or wrong in their political
economy the statement that they were at all regardless of the in-
terest or of the suffering of the people was untrue—(Cheers)
—and could be rebutted—(Cheers)—by every act of every
gentleman belonging_to the landed interest who had come for-
ward in public life.—(Cheers.) He thought it was by no
means difficult to discover some of the causes of the distress to
which the Right Hon. Member alluded as worthy of being
seriously investigated by Parliament. He depended greatly
upon our foreign trade.—Cheers.) Now, all trade consisted in
a double operation. Hon. Members opposite had specially
adverted to free trade, and he knew that it was the opinion of
many persons that they should establish free trade with all the
world, without the slightest regard to the duties which foreign
nations imposed upon our productions. Now, it appeared to
him that it stood to common sense that when an import duty
was unfairly placed upon our productions by foreign nations
they must operate upon the whole course of national exchange.
The labouring population had suffered greatly from depres-
sion from which they were now recovering gradually, he be-
lieved in consequence of the good harvest. Free trade was a
good thing.—(Cheers.) He only. wished to see it carried
into effect—(Cheers)—when he denied that that was free trade
which disregarded the impediments thrown in the way of trade
by other nations. He knew that many high authorities were
against him—he knew that Mr. Deacon Hume had said that
it wouldbe for their interest to diminish all duties on their im-
ports, regardless of the conduct of foreign countries in that re-
spect; but, with all respect for that gentleman, be must beg
leave to deny the conclusions to which he had arrived.—(Hear,
hear.) He hoped the Right Hon. Baronet would follow up the
line of policy which he had commenced last year, of treating
the colonies as integral parts of the mother country. With the
colonies we could always have free trade, without any fear of
hostile tariffs; and, considering their variety and extent, there
was scarcely any commodity which we could not obtain
from our colonies. He trusted to see our colonial trade fully
developed, and our trade with foreign countries increased, on
the reciprocity principle, and by that means the demand
for labour in this country would be increased, and its indus-
try developed. He hoped that the demand of the
people in 1842, when, unfortunately, instead of exhibiting the
effects of their industry, they were forced to show their desti-
tution in the public streets—he hoped that the demand made by
the people of a fair day's wages for a fair day's work would
never be obliterated from the minds of the Members of that
House.—(Cheers.) Any man who could forget it was un-
worthy of a seat in that House.—( Cheers.) That question
was at the bottom of all the evils of our social system. He
hoped the attention of Parliament would be constantly directed
to it ; and he considered that the colonies afforded a constantly
increasing sphere fur the employment of our capital and of our
labour, and he trusted that through those means the desires of
the people might be accomplished.—(Cheers.)
_ _ _

. -
Mr. GIBSON rose to explain. He should be sorry_ to
misstate or misunderstand the statement of the Right Hon.
Baronet. He had understood the Right Hon. Gentleman to
say, in reference to a change in the corn-laws, that be did not
contemplate any change, but he did not understand him to say
that the maintenance of the corn-laws should permanently,
form a part of his policy, or that he would, under every cir-
cumstance, adhere to the protective system.—( Cheers.) He
did not understand the Right Hon. Baronet to say that he
would maintain the present corn-law system as part of his po-
licy,—( Cheers.)
Mr. SCARLETT thought it was singular that on the first
occasion on which a gentleman connected with the Anti-
Corn-law League should have addressed the House during the
present session, he should have accidentally, no doubt, misre-
presented the declaration of the Right Hon Gentleman. He
congratulated the House on what had taken place, as he con-
sidered it of the utmost importance that the declarations of
the Right Hon. Baronet should be rescued from the misrepre-
sentations of the Anti-Corn-law League. He distrusted the
Anti-Corn-law League, and no one who had not wit-
nessed it would believe the state of vexation and irri-
tation which the proceedings of that League had in-
flicted on the country. It had prevented the outlay of
capital on land, and had impeded the improvement of agricul-
ture. It had been stated that the League intended to interfere
in the election of Members to that
_House. He took .that
opportunity of pretesting against such conduct as a gross breach
of the privileges of that House.—(Cheers and laughter). If it
was a gross breach of their privileges for a Peer to interfere in
the election of Members to that House, how much .Ingree-rwas jt
a breach of their privileges for any body of men to enter into
a great combination—a conspiracy to raise money for the pur-
pose of interfering generally in the election of Members of
Pailiiment? Such a body was never before known, nor could
it .
tong exist consistently with the public safety. It was attempt-
ing to sow dissensions between a'l classes of the country, to in-
timidate the Legislature, and to unsettle the public mind upon
great questions lately sett'ed by Pasliament, in contempt of
Parliamentary authority. The authors, the promoters, and the
subscribers of the League, taking upon themselves, as they did,
a sort of dictation to the country, ought to be regarded as en-
gaged in a great criminal conspiracy, deserving of every dis-
couragement and of every mark of displeasure.
Mrr_ bIUNTZ said he felt that he should not be doing his
duty to his constituents and the country if he suffered tte
speeches of the Right Hon. Baronet and the Noble Le;rd to
pass without observati• a. He had learned to his sur;aise that
they were all in a state of prosperity. It was singr..iar that he
always heard the best report of affairs awe:, from his own
town. With all the boasted improvement, however, there was
sewrcely any alteration in the price o! manufactured articles,
and no one article had advanced in price up to that mo-
ment, and some had even been reduced. The question
of mployment was. ,a question of profit. The middle
classes were glad to be the medium of feeding the
lower, but then they themselves must receive some profit
in ,return for their investments. —( Hear, hear.) He would
advise the Right Honourable Baronet not to halloo till he
was out of the wood.—( Hear.) An advance in prices—.such
an advance as would _secure a fair remuneration to the em-
ployer—was necessary to secure permanent prosperity.—( Hear.)
A good deal had been said about improvement in the state of the
revenue. Undoubtedly it was nothing but right that the income
should be equal to the expenditure of the country, and he
had supported the property-tax. because he believed that that
mode of increasing the revenue was less open to objection
than many others. But when they considered the sum which
had been raised by the property-tax, and added to this the
Chinese money, he did not see that there was any great cause
for congratulation. It those sources of income did not exist,
where would be the increase ?—( Hear, hear.) It was scarcely
to,be supposed that the Noble Lord and the Right Hon. Ba-
ronet knew any more about the state of the country than they
were told, and no doubt they believed in the alleged improve-
ment
; but from his own knowledge he was enabled to state,
that so nicely were the English balanced with foreign manu-
factures, that if they were to rise only two-and-a-half per cent.,
the English trade would materially suffer. Let them not boast
or brag of improvement until they saw that it was based on a
permanent foundation.
Mr. M. PHILIPS said no one would more rejoice in the
improved eondition of the country than himself, but he believed
that the improvement was exaggerated ; at present it was very
limited in indication, and it was too much to conclude that they
were entering on a certain career of prosperity. The im-
provement was rather in the condition of the people from extra
employment, than in the profits of the employers.—(Hear.)
Ile regarded the low price of provisions as having made a most
material change amongst the operative classes, and he wished
h6.bauld conclude with any degree of certainty that further
leitislation'in the same direction would produce that effect in a
ratter degree. He regretted that the speech of the Right
tin.. Baronet would convey to the minds of those who had been
enduring so much suffering, that they were not to look for re.
lid at his hands by means of any alteration in the laws
which regulated the price of food in this country.
Ile • was apprehensive that wheat would rise before
many months had passed over their heads, and so surely•
as- a rise took place' so would the ability of the working
classes to purchase manufactures' be diminished. He did not,
therefore, derive such confidence as some Hon. Memhers ap.
feared to have done, from present appearances. .It was to be
remembered, too, that the price of the raw material of the
Cotton trade wad from id. to id. per pound higher in this than
in other countries. He extremely regretted this result with
reference to the exportatiens to China, as he feared there would
be- a large export of British manufactured goods which were
not suited to the real wants of the country. The tea question
was one which necessarily involved the sugar duties, and they
must relax the latter it they 'A lialVdto push the tradew ith China.