The Sun.
London, England, 1826-05-06 00:00:00

EXPORTATION OF DIACHINRRY•

Mr. HUME rose for the purpose of presenting two Petitions;
the one from the Master Machine Makers, and the other from•
the Operatives engaged in the same business, at Manchester,
praying for a repeal of the law which prevented the exportation
of machinery to foreign kingdoms. There were several fo-
reigners in Manchester, who declared that if machinery, were
allowed to be exported, it would prevent the number of work-
men (who were going abroad, he, Mr. Hume, was sorry to add),
from departing from this country. He knew full well there
was a prejudic. existing in the breasts of manufacturers, that if
machines were allowed to be exported, it would produce a
competition with them, which they (the manufacturers) could
never excel. It was a distressing fact, that our workthen were
proceeding abroad every day, and that the capitals of foreign
states were crowded with our workmen, and this materially di-
minishing our celebrity as machinists every day. This was all
owing to the prohibition of the exportation of machinery. He
entirely coincided with the petitioners, and hoped that Parliament
would repel those laws which prevented machinery from being
exported from this kingdom. The country owed a great deal to
machine-makers, and he hoped the House would direct their attest,
Con towards protecting them. From the evidence on the table of
the House there could be collected a fact of great importance,
namely, that if the power looms were destroyed that an immense
number of hands would be deprived of bread.—(Hear.)—The
power-looms were in fact a great source of industry to the coun-
try, and he hoped that the poor deluded men would he informed
that they were going on in a wrong course when ahoy thus de-
stroyed them. He trusted the House would introduce a Statute
similar to his two years ago, which would 'allow a free ex-
portation of machinery, and that Ministers would withdraw their
restriction upon this subject. He did not see why machinery was
to be the only merchandise excluded front exportation.
Mr. P. GRENF'ELL concurred in the prayer of the petitions.
He could speak front practical knowledge, as he knew one manu-
facturer at Manchester who employed 150 workmen in manufac-
turing machines, which were not allowed to be sent abroad. He
knew very well that there were foreigners who smuggled work-
men abroad, 'because they could not smuggle machinery. He
could :vouch for the fact of there being agents of, foreign maim-
facturers who were employed to inveigle the work Men abroad,
and thus robbing England of her best workmen, and reducing
manufactures to a low ebb. During the time of the American
war, dovernment thought if they prevented the exportation of
copper. bolts, nails, and other articles engaged in ship-building,
they would prevent France front rivalling them in their ships—
what was the consequence? They seduced our workmen over to
Normandy, and established manufactories of these implements,
and which manufactories remained up to this hour rival schools
with our own. Ile trusted the House would give their serious
attention to the Petitions.—The Petitions were brought up, and
ordered to be printed.
LORD CHIEF JUSTICE NORBURY.
Mr. SCARLETT rose to present a Petition from an eminent
and Learned Oe ritlenten of the Irish Bar (Mr. 'Daniel O'Connell),
which he had received in the course of the last Session, but which,
for various realms, he was, then unwilling to present. He had hoped
that time, which does much, and that the additional counsel of
friends, would have prevented the necessity of its presentation now;
but in that expectation he had been disappointed;
.and a' sense of
public duty now induced him to offer the petition to the notice of
the House. The petitioner did taut even complain of the honour or
integrity of the Noble .Judge, but his object wee to shun-, from the
age and infirmities of, that Leerned Person, that he was no longer
fitted to hold the exalted judicial situation which be had held for so
many years. The petitioner stated the Noble Lord to be so deaf
as to be scarcely able to hear ; that ha frequently laboured under
lethargic stupor while presiding on tint Bench ; toil be (the
Petitioner) partieolarly referred to one case (a criminal case too)
in which the Noble Judge was asleep while the evidence for
the defence was 'going forward. The Jury convicted the man
against the Noble Judge's charge, but the man was 'iittleiequantly
pardoned. (Hear, hear !) The'Learned Gentleman (Mr: -Sear-lett) said he was inductal to present this petition now, as litany
'legal gentlemen from Ireland were present,, and the more an, ae
-
the petitioner left the truth of his statement upon the, issue, that
if any Judge in Ireland, or 'any practising -Barrister,' Weald de-
' claret openly upon his honour, that the-Noble Judge was- fit for
his situation, then, that he (the petitioner) Would altogether give
up his object. The petitioner concluded by saying, it was' a dif-
ficult matter to get others to sign the petition, but that he, feeling
he was performing an hottest duty (even though late) did not
shrink from it. Thelearned Alember (Mr. Scarlett) said, he
did not mean to found all motion on the subject, althditgh no'
doubt, it would IWiennetent'fer tuts Member of that House' to
bring such a subject undeiits,censileeetion. Ile knew nothing
of the Nettle judge,"andliiiithoadd therefore only move; that this
petition be brought up.
Mr. :GOULBURN said, that as no motion was intended to be
founded on this pe; ition, he felt altneet inclined to paea it over in
silence. It should be remembered, however, that the petition Was
only signed by one individual, however respectable; and princi-
pally related to the question, at what period of life a Judge may
be presumed incapable of exercising his judicial functions.—(No,
no.)—For himself he would not pretend to say, what the age
was ; but this be knew, that there were ether Judges as old as
Lord Norbury, who still continued on the Bench. From his
habit of, per,on..l intimacy with the Noble Judge, he could not
dieeover ties pA.stesal intirMitiets alluded to; and as to the dis-
order of his faculties, though 'he (Mr. Cr.) had not the ho-
nour
,of a being It preetitiensr at the Trash bar, yet be thought he
bad evinced unwell to she w that the Noble Lord was not incom-
petent to the sli,xlsarge of his judicial situation. Previous to
his leaving Ireland last, he was influqued that a difficult case had
come Olt in Lord :Norbury's Court, that be differed with his three
Learoesl Brethren as to the' ; that the case sebsequently came
before the ,Twelve Judges, Who decided with' the Noble Lord.—
This he (Mr; Geullturn)"thouglit to be sufficient evidence, that
the Noble Lord was not incapable of discharging the clothe) of his
judicial situation. It might be well, perhaps, to have souse ge-
neral regulations upon this subject. But until Parliament thought
proper to adopt ItiOttle such proceeding, it would he unfair to snake
a s,h.eti‘eli:f that Noble Lord; who, whatever obloquy Might
hat„ ea,t against hint, never yet had his honour or his inte-
grity insrached or sullied.

llr. 'NORTH said thut the statements contained in the petition
were exaggerated, and he hoped that the Noble Lord ,would
be contimust in his situation. At. the same time he admitted that
he would have better consulted the interests of his own fame, Hite
had retired sonic years since. .

Mr. Secretary PEEL bore testimony to the unspotted character
of the ,Noble Lord, who would have retired before but for the
menace of the petition now before the Tlouse. He wished to im-
press, that when the Noble Lord's retirement would take place, its
occurrence would not be occasioned by the petition.
The Petition was on the table. . .
DUTY ON CORN. • :

Lord STANLEY presented a Petition from the Inhabitants of
a place in Lancashire, praying for a protecting duty on Corn,
and stating that they would be sufferers by any other change in
the law.
Mr. HUBKISSON opposed the prayer of the Petition ; and
as he was on his legs, he took that opportunity of adverting to
the observations made Jot night by the Honourable Member
for Somersetshire, and cautioning him against giving credence
to the information upon which he hail grounded, his State-
ments. So fur from his having made any communication of
the kind ititinAted, be held,in his hand a letter (to which he had
not yet.replied), stating the great advantage which would result
from the purchase of bonded grain by Government; and that
the foreign wheat was now at 6d. That letter was written on
the Tuesday, and on the fellowing Saturday the returns of the
Liverpool Corn Market showed the prices to have been from 4s,
to 4s, Ikre,WaS a depression of three pence per bushel in
the market. The accounts went'further to say, that the transac-
tions in bonM wheat and flour were unimportant, and the prices
low. He hill in his harid a paper of yrsterday's date, which con-
tained like returns for Tuesday,-and stated that foreign wheat and
flour contimird to be dull at the last quotations. He would put
these dfuturnitilti" into the .Bands of the Honourable ,Baronet, that
he might show them to his autherity for the statements he had
made ; and' he hoped that he (Mr. llttskisson) now stood no.
quitted in the estimatWn of the House.-- (Lond, cheers, and cries
of assent.)
Sir T. LETHBRIDGE said, that the explanation of the
Right Hon. Gentleman was Lull and s,:ti,factary ; anti certainly to
be preferred to the authority on which he (Sir T. Lethbridge)

spoke. At the same time be was bound to state his conviction
that the person who gave him the information believed that what
he said was a fact.—The Petition was then ordered to be
printed.
Mr. HEATHCOTE'presented a petition from certain Inha-
bitants of Boston, , stating that they Were holders of English corn
to a considerable amount ; and that after the repeated declarations
of Government,•and on the faith of thelanswer made by the Right
'Hon. President of the Board of the Board-of Trade to the Mem-
ber for Shaftesbury, they had entered into such engagements as
would be ruinous to their property if any change were made in
the Corn Laws. The Hon. Member said that the petitioners,
who were every way competent judges, attributed the public dis-
tress which prevailed to a want of faith and' credit throughout
the country, and the dearness of provisions, or the difficulty of
procuring food.
Mr. LEYCESTER mid, that though the Petitioners were
over-nice in some of their complaints, they had yet reason to
object to the low duty on corn, which was of no real advantage
to the country, and only went to put money in the pockets of
certain individuals at the expence of the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer and of the Petitioners.
Sir J. SEBRIGHT was apprehensive that the lowering of
the price of corn, if it even affected the price of bread to the
amount of a halfpenny, or one penny per loaf, would not reach
the sources of the present distresses in any very perceptible de-
gree. Want of employment was their genuine source. He con-
sidered 12s. a quarter no adequate protection to the British corn
grower, and he could not refrain from now expressing his un-
feigned and deep regret that a blow, such as that meditated by
the Right Hon. Gentleman against the agriculturists, should
have proceeded from an Administration which, more than any
Ministry for many years, in his. opinion, merited the gratitude
and confidence of the people of this country.—(Mr. Canning
bowed.—Cheers.)—The Petition was ordered to be printed.