The Sun.
London, England, 1826-05-12 00:00:00

present sufferings were so much to be lamented. He trusted that
no esse of absolute necessity would call upon the Government to
Prog4o4e, the. power entrusted to them by the second. measure.
I,l4fit would be their duty after all, whether these measures were
ou-ried or tuft, to take. the responsibility upon themselves if a
scarcity, should unhappily arise, and admit foreign gi:ain in what-
ever quaLtities the exigencies of the country might require. He
should vot against the -motion, and doing so he should . not
consider .hialielf pledged in any way .upon the general question of
the Corn Laws. Whenever that should come before their. Lor-
dships-, he should consent to no change which .did not secure a
/term:item and' sufficient prot.44.ion to the agriculture of this

i.ouutryf: . •
'the Earl of IInsr.W!RRT explained.
Led ELVENBGROUGH contended that the speech of the
Nobl i Earl 'oppOSite (Lord Aberdeen) lied not been directed to
sny which denied that the, Inotion before their Lordships
was sucdi motion as ought to be entertained. He was sur-
prised. to hear, the Noble Lord who replied to the speech of the
Noble Mover, declare that he knew not what the system of the
Corn Laws was. Now that system, whateVer might be its. de-.
f,eni,-and howeVer absurd it might be in parts, was the work of
the Noble Earls opposite. The measure of 1822 was theirs, and
the measure of 1815 was in part theirs ; therefore he was asto-
nished to hear that system reviled and declared incomprehensible by
them which they themselves had created. He denied that one single
fact.had been stated which gave the least ground for anticipating a
famine price of corn; and he was surprised that such a cry
should have been raised, when it was known that the cry of
famine was as mischievous as the cry of fire in a crowded theatre.
Upon what ground could an . expectation of a famine price he
entertained ? Was it upOu any signs of scarcity to be found in
the granaries of this country, or was it, in the large, produce of
Ireland ? He confessed he could only suppose that the Noble
Lord had gathered his apprehensions frost the rex stellarum
of Poor Robin's Almanack, or Some Stich Source. • He begged
their Lordships to observe how the Government were creeping
upon them by degrees With the question of the. Corn Laws.—
Last year a measure wax introduced justified by fac-h and the
necessity of the case. Now they had other measures without any
frtets4et without:any justification whatever. In public affairs
what was innovation one Year becarne'preceileof in the second,
andfrnle iu the third. He was ready to confess-and he was per-
haps. kingitlar in that respect--that he had not made sip his mind
-upon' the generid question of the Corn Laws. But this he was
quite :sore would rather keep the poor lands of this country
-10,e4thivation than, the poor latids of Pomerania; lie would rather
'W.,* the tern consumption 'of 'the country produced upon the banks
of the Thais is Pthannien 'than' upon those of the Nile, the
Alississinpi; ab:rthe.Vistnta. He would not place the granaries
of the' country under tho conteoul nod power of these who were
jealous of our power :Old greatness. He looked upon the agri-
culturists of this comary as the life-guards of the Constitution;
and .he would support them. He was strengthened in his opposition
to the Measure 4 by the circumstances tinder which they had been
Ilieught tbrward. Although he might be induced to make smite
coneektion to argument and reason, he never would, while he had
a seat in Pediment, or while be had life, make concession to out-
rage. Looking to the systematic attacks which had for swine time
past been directed against the landed interest, and at the connec-
tion which was attempted to he established between, .the Corn
Laws and the existing distrets, he could only view these measures
as a premium upon insurrection. He felt that the. agriculturists
had been unjustly and cruelly used; for whatever might' have
been the intentions of the Noble Earl at the heed of the Govern-

ment, in bringing foricard the Subject, was understood,
by the 'dense and by ' the public, to connect the:agriculturist
with the distress, and to. something t4en from the agriculturist
the distressed manufacturer looked for relid. Neither could
he forget the pledge of faith given "to the public by the
Government, not mice, but frequently and recently, that no
interference with the Corn Laws should take place during the
present year. But if ho had none of those reasons, all of
which would induce bins, to negative the measures, he could not,
with the love)te bore the free Constitution of this country, een..
%out to place this dispensive pincer in the hands of any Govern-
ment whatever. Ile had no direet apprehension that it would he-
, absurd in the present ease ; 'but what was done by the Minister :of
would be followed- by his successor.,: There was no man'
in tho.eonntry try whop he 'would more readily entrust such a
power 'than to the l'i4trlp 'lint he. Would net consent to pert
with it at 7tII. Arid, altlibugh this dispenSive pincer was asked by.
ttsc Noble .Earl, thiAt L6ilTifilp"4 oust net forget 'that' It tvottla be
exercised by the,CounelVtiftrhicli he formed only s part,. If he
• 'had not his 'word to the contrary, Ike,would net believe, for the
honour of tine Noble Earl, t,,14,.1te had
,origmated tl.O agitation of
this question, after the. tissuraneiStile- prMinedy given to the
House coil fhe'cenetty. 'H6' not believe it when be 're-
membered the character of the Noble Earl, and the sentinicnts and
opinions expressed by him in the year 11M. He called upon
their Lordship* by their love for the best interests of the' country
and by their respect for their own chitracter, to adopt the motion'
:now ender their consideration.
, ,
The.. Earl of WESTMORELAND, in addressing their Lord,
ashiper is support of the amendment, would not follow the ex-
.attiplecof the Noble
,Lord who bad
,just sat down ; for he should
not, say. one word upon the su,ject of the Corn Law Oeastion,
sit t7t it• ntd. been agreed on all hands to postpone that diieussion
to a future opportunity,' and because he thought, it Wholly
.undnnect#4, with .the, measure to which the ntotien before the
;,:Hottse referred. Ile denied that any one would be plAgerl

. .
to a removal of the Corn Lawn by Supporting,thoe measures.
would Mk wliAtber any of their Lordships in voting for the'
toopeusiuu of :the Jialwas Corpua Act were pledged thereby to
rapport its repeal? It was said that there was no proveet of
aeartity beratete.prices were low,at present; hut any man who
Iriokad at the stlitejlie country was now in unrit see that the
• price of corn was very high in proportion to that of other or-
- -ticles.. The ,Nolde Y,'arl who introduced the motion had alluded
to the com of 1766, wiwit Lord Chatham's Administration hid

an embargo upon All grain in our ports, But it must not be

gotten the Act (lid net pass without severe animadversior
They were tar that the King had no prerogative to interfere will.
the law, acid that it was an'irct 'of power...-uot of prerogative. -lii
r'eply to the argument that there were justifiable acts of power, of
which tlt;s was one,' they *ere told that' such calamities. did na
•eome upim a Wise rind '''Wetchful Government on. a sudden, and'
• they ought tol4re tome to' Parliament to' ask for power,
armed throttler the'exigehey. ' Thiewaiwthe course now pursued
by the Government, and if the House refused to mit them with
that power- they hattthe trlternativeof resorting to the other at
their own Aims:flow end respensibility.- He trusted the Muse
would grant it, and be was sure it would be exercised only in the
case of urgent necessity, and in such a manner as could not be
open to objection:
Earl GROSVENOR said he approyed of the motion; and wart
the more'satiStied with it, because it must lead to ali inquiry into
the whole question of the Corn Laws! Tie ohjectisi to both the
twasures proposed -by the Government;' to the first, because it
fixed a . duty which would hereafter be taken as amount for
permanent protection ; to the second, because of all things'the
limitation of quantity was most objectionable,. If such a crisis as
waft supposed possible should actually arise, then the limitation
*mild render the Measure wholly inefficient. He admitted that
these measures ought to be kept'separate front the general question
• of the Corn. Laws ; and' when that Came regularly before their
LOrtlahips, be should be-disposed to agree to some alterations..-.-
Bet before the 'questioa was granted there must be it large reduc-
tion Of 'expenditure. 'lf these mea.ures had been brought on be-
fere the iiiipplies were Voted in the tither Howe, he was sure the
country, geotleueM' would hence risen as one man to ell for a re-
doctiOn of expenditure:and tates, lla thought inquiry necessary,
and their Lordships Would. do will to pause before they rejected a
proprtsition which could lead to, nu possible ill, and might do a
great deatof good,
FALMOUTH made. a few obsertmtions in oppoitien to
the motion, which were inaudible.
; The Earl of DARNLEY complained of the want of fermight
And fOrtithought on the part of the Government. If they had
fore ten this distress, and come forward to meet it in thin., be
Lave given them his soriluttl support. But instead'of doing
that, they had rejected a motion made by his Mible Friend, which
for its object to provide employment for the labouring pupa,
Wien. The manner in which the meashres laid been brought tor-
Ward certainly led to the conclusion that the distress depended
• :upon the earn Laws. Notwithstanding that he entertained these
opinions' he timm.:,,lrt the name ought to he provided for. When
Ln fre'atd tlie'epinions 'of his Noble Friends' around. him, it was
with'considetable hesitation that he doubted the propriety Of the
orotiori halite the thruSe. But the mere pesSibility of a famine
poidi being tontemplarod,wepld induce him to vote for the pre-
vious question, ' :He .had no fears as to tliii meinier'es theintelvA,
it. Was marillestly, the intorest of
,Alinisters not to abuse
isiWerij ieh kvoublbe4ntruated, to them. •
Lord KING said, the. Corn LawsiWere mischievous. The
, Earl who had intreilinieksthe suhject, had omitted to
bk ravii,ns !la hriqing tthe,:inewire forward, die Auost
_ofN iotiV4 4 Jt scams Pileoa4y. ib to catch
witmoont politicianq nn hi side of the house.—(A
'l4xi.Noblki thought they were,;rill, to.he tal4ut by his pro.
LlG•W•kit 'wonfd ue romrived On the Miejyterial, side of
ie House he could not say, but it certainly did not give ge-
• eral satisfaction. It had been said the King's Ministers had
dcen advantage of the danger to intimidate the landholders.
.:II he could say was this; he knew his Majesty's Ministers to be