The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-30 00:00:00

amount to virtual slavery. Those engagements might
be the source of very great dissatisfaction and disoontent
in the minds of the labourers. That such an emigration
might not be made and paid for out of the public funds,
these restrictions were imposed, but beyond these he
knew of no others. But these regulations were in course
of relaxation, and had been already much relaxed. He
ssould venture to tell the Right Hon. Gentleman that as
far as the present Government was concerned, the
course it had taken was not one of restriction, but
one of relaxation and remission, of relaxations prudent
indeed, and in conformity with what was known to be
the opinion of the .community, and these restrictions
would be limited only by the necessity of such prohibi-
tions as should prevent much unfounded speculation, as
to the advantages to be gained by such immigration.
The whole course of the proceedings of the Government
had been, as it would continue to be, that of removing all
restrictions which were felt to be uncalled for on the
importation of labour into the colonies from all parts of
the world.

Mr. P. M. STEWART explained. He was sorry
that he had so excited the Noble Lord on this question
—(A laugh)--but having made this apology, he must
say this—that the charge of the Noble Lord of his
having changed his opinions on this question was un-
founded. The Noble Lord forgot the battles in which
they both fought, side by side, together on:this question;
he forgot that he (Mr. Stewart) had seme hand in
framing the Act on the subject. He must beg the
Noble Lord to refresh his memory on this
point. He bad never swerved from his prin-
ciples. The Noble Lord had made this a party
question, when he (Mr. Stewart) wished to make it
only a colonial question. The regulations he had re-
ferred to, were those contained in the letter of the Noble
Lord the Member for London to the Governor of Sierra
Leone, and which was considered by the colonists as a
model of instructions ' • he maintained and repeated his
assertion, that every Minister at the Colonial-office was
subjected to an influence, by which they were made
mere tools and puppets—(Hear, hear)—and he wished
that the Noble Lord would apply his own good sense
to the question, so that these restrictions might be re-
moved, and of which some hope had bean this night held
out to them.
Lord STANLEY denied that ho had made it a
party question, and contended that he had spoken
of the Noble Lord with the greatest respect.
He stated, and he now repeated, that those model regula-

tions for the coast of Africa ought to be in the main
acted upon ; and ever since, whatever was done, was
done in the way of relaxing the restrictions. The Hon.
Gentleman repeated an accusation with regard to some
secret influence in the Colonial-office. Now he did not
believe that the Noble Lord, whom he succeeded in the
Colonial-office would allow his judgment to be set
aside by any secret influence—(A laugh)—and for him-
self he could only say this, that no paper passed through
the Colonial-office of any kind which did not come under
his own eye and was examined by him ; and with regard
to the particular question of immigration into the West
Indies, since he had the honour of being in the Colonial-
office, he gave the most constant and unrestricted atten-
tion to the question and had examined every part of it,
and he ventured to add that the attention which he gave
to the subject was not inferior to that which was given
to it by the Noble Lord.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said, that his Hon. Friend
was quite justified in putting the questions on the sub-
ject, as the reduction of the sugar duties had been
brought before the House by the Right Hon. Gentle-
man, the Chancellor of the Exchequer. He (Lord John
Russell) had, he hoped, exercised his own judgment
during the time he held the office of Colonial Secretary,
and endeavoured to give attention to any subject that
came before him ; and he was not conscious, though he
felt great obligations for the very great informa-
tion which was afforded him, and felt respect for the
abilities which several gentlemen in that office possessed
—(Hear, hear)—yet when he reviewed all the circum-
stances in any case which came before him, he applied
his own judgment, and yielded to it in the decisions
which he made. With regard to the question of emi-
gration from Africa, he wrote a dispatch to the Governor
of Sierra Leone on the subject, containing certain regu-
lations. Those regulations were intended rather as
temporary regulations, and he was glad to hear
from the Noble Lord that he diminished the restrictions
because his view was, considering that emigration
had been totally prohibited before, it was proper to at-
tempt emigration with caution, and to put many restric-
tions on it which might, from time to time, as experience
dictated, be diminished and relaxed ; and that was the
view which the Noble Lord took of his duty, and the
question as it at present stood. With regard to the sub-
ject of the introduction of Coolies into the Mauritius, he
was surprised at the Noble Lord's statement, because the
Noble Lord said more than once that the pre-
sent Government first introduced Coolies into
the British colonies. Lord Glenelg proposed to the
colonies an order in Council which would admit Coolies
into the colonies of the Crown ' • but that order was
opposed and rendered null by the House of Lords. The
present Government concurred in the view taken by the
House of Lords. He (Lord John Russell) attempted
again the subject of emigration into the Mauritius, and
the Right Hon. Gentleman the Secretary of State for
the Home Department, when he (Lord John Russell)
stated that such was his intention, said that the hest
mode of bringing the question to an issue was to bring
a clause by Bill into the House. He (Lord J. Russell)
introduced it, and then the Noble Lord (Stanley) and the
Right Hon. Gentleman, and others who sat opposite,
came down and defeated him by the help of the Hon.
and Learned Member for Cork, and several other gen-
tlemen in the House who were interested in the subject.
—(Hear, hear.) He was very glad that they afterwards
changed their minds on the subject and came to agree
with him, but he knew they were anxious at the time to
get a majority against the then Government, and were
not very scrupulous what the subject was.—(Cheers.)
The introduction of Coolies into the Mauritius served
them as well as any other.—(Cheers.) He should not
have referred to this, but that the Noble Lord boasted
that he was one of a Government which had for the first
time introduced Coolies into the Manritius, and that
they were able to do so. No doubt they were, because
when he (Lord John Russell) introduced the subject
they were the chief opponents to the measure, and all
the obstructions came from them.—(Cheers.) But they
now received every facility to carry, in fact, the
measure of their predecessors.—(Cheers.) This was a
sort of episode to the main subject in discussion. With
regard to the minor subject, he would at once allude to
that part of it which referred to the introduction of
foreign sugar, and which was so nearly connected with
the subject he had just left. He quite agreed with all
the objections made by his Hon. Friend near him, thet
if the Government made up their minds to allow the in.
troduction of foreign sugar, it was far better for them to
say at once they would admit foreign sugar from
whatever colony it might come than attempt
to make any distinction.—(Cheers.) It was vicious
in principle, and would be found impracticable
in its result--(Cheers.) As to its being vicious in
principle he wanted no other proof than the speech of the
Right lion. Gentleman, the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
because after he stated his intention to exclude the
sugar of Brazil, he went on to say that it was from no
hostile feeling towards the Brazils, because he said the
• Government had no intention to exclude coffee from
Brazil. Why, he could not understand thia strange and
very particular morality. (Cheers, and laughter.)
They looked with horror at slave grown sugar, but they
had no scruples with regard to slave grown
coffee.—(Loud cheers.) What made them im-
moral if they introduced slave grown sugar and
and laudable if they introduced slave grown coffee ?
(Laughter.) They might say that the labour required
for the cultivation of coffee was lighter than that which
was required for the cultivation of sugar, but certainly
this could not be the reason, because what they wished
to discourage was the slave trade and slavery, and that
existed in the same degree whether the slave was em-
ployed in the cultivation of sugar or coffee.—(Hear.) It
was a principle very objectionable to make distinctions
between States allowing slavery, and those which would
not allow slavery, but far more objectionable to make a
distinction between the different employments in which
slaves were engaged, and to make tariffs of duties accord-
iug to the mode in which slaves were employed.
This would be most intolerable—(Hear, hear)—and
their morality would become the plague and nuisance of
the world—(Cheers)—if they thus interfered with all
kinds of labour in foreign countries.—(As to the practi-
cability of the scheme, they would have sugar from the
Havannah with forged certificates and papers from New
Orleans and other States of North America.—(Hear,
hear.) All this would happen. It was so with regard
to coffee, as was proved before the Import Duties m-
mittee, of which his Hon. Friend (Mr. Hume) was
Chairman. If they introduced new regulations with re-
gard to sugar, what was to prevent persons from sending
sugar to the Cape of Good Hope, and introduce it as
coming from the possessions of the Dutch?—(Hear, vest
hear.'
Then, again, with regard to competition with the _ e
Indies, it could not much matter to them which of h
the
two principles they should adopt ;
aboutstons,
t e Rightil
amount introduced Gentleman
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He could conceive nothing lesis_butiar, thatie theyiean) By introduced
this knowing it could not hod.
in-
troducing this foreign sugar, they would thereby
to a certain degree benefit the consumer in this
country, but they would find their regulations would not
stand in practice, and having made one step they would
make a last step, and would be obliged to introduce the
Bill which he introduced himself in 1841—(Cheers and
oh")—with this difference, that instead of 245. and
365. they would have 245. and 345. He foresaw that
would be the end as clearly as possible.—(Hear. hear.)
The distinction they now proposed might be useful to
them—it might serve to cover their inconsistency for a
ittnhepraenotideabtlhoeyplanwouwldu findonly thfiits
year or two—(Loud cheers)—but depend on it in
tounnbeaturraelplaacnedd
by the clear and simple rule of doing away with the
high differential duty on foreign sugar. There was
great inconvenience in announcing this great principle in
1842, and it was to be brought forward with proper
caution.—(Laughter.) The application of those prin-
ciples was most convenient, as well as great, because
certain of them were applied, in 1842, to a certain num-
ber of articles. To others they were not applied ; they
were applied to timber, and would be applied to sugar
and then to corn.—(Loud cheers.) The Right Hon.
Gentleman might say—" Recollect what I told you
in 1842 ; recollect I said the true principle was
to buy in the cheapest market, and to sell in the
dearest. I stated that principle in perfect consistency.
I have waited for au opportunity.—(Laughter.) That
opportunity has now arrived. I applied it then. I
applied it .n 1842 to onion seed—(Laughter and cheers)
applied it to spices—(Laughter)--and to herrings
—(Laughter.) You may remember how strictly I
applied it to herrings."—(Loud laughter.) In a year
or two this principle would be again applied in the most
strict manner, to faciliiate, according to the maxims of
the greatest philosophers, to the food of the people—.