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

Engla,,d than in ant ce-,,itry in the wed& —( Cries n
"Oh ! oh I") Yes. he repeated it—where could they get
a shirt made for lid. and a knife and fork for the same price?
So great hail been the dissiess, that many had been anxious to
get a paltry sum of three halfpence for twelve hours' labour.
Was it possible, I.c wouli, ask, to conceive such a state of things?
The truth was, in the country pauperism was increasing ;
the poor-rates, which had been reduced, were now rising
rapidly, and paupers were increasing ; added to this, prices
were failing, and how was this? why, because men had no
work by which they could get money. In his
~pinion the House of Commons was doing great injury to
the country, and he called upon them to reconsider their
course. if the Right Hon. Baronet would only
postpone the address till Monday, in order to afford
an opportunity to the people of knowing what
it was that the address contained, he was sure if the Right
Hon. Baronet would adopt that course, as quick as the post
could bring them, the grievances of the people would be
poured into that House. Now it was his intention to move
two amendments, he considered the distress that existed in the
country was owing to two causes, one the existence of the
corn-laws and other prohibitory enactments, which if put
an end to would remove that distress and suffering, and the
other was the great increase of taxation. Her Majesty, in her
speech—or rather her Ministers, in their speech—had been
cautious upon that subject ; but these taxes caused misery to the
people.—( Hear.) He regretted to see taxation increased to the
extent it had been when it ought to be reduced. Then, again,
with respect to the income-tax, that impost instead
of falling on the wealthy had fallen very heavily on the
poorer classes. He believed the larger portion of the
poor people had been obliged to pay that tax,
and the trouble of getting it back was such that the money
was not considered worth it. The Right Hon Baronet did not
tell them, as he did in 1828, that a Finance Committee should
be appointed to see where the excesses of the expenditure had
taken place. He thought her Majesty ought to have called
upon her Ministers to look to the distresses of the people.
What was the use of having peace, when they were obliged to
keep up a war establishment ? He was anxious that
the House should not be led away by a species of trickery.
If they wished for an example of the evil effects which must
follow from any breach of faith with the public creditor, let
them look across the Atlantic.—( Cheers.) He had always
opposed everything like a breach of faith with the public
creditor, although he saw those on the benches opposite
who had, in their speeches and their writings, recommended a
breach of the public faith.—( Cheers and laughter.) For every
pound that was withheld from the public creditor, the country
lost millions.—(Hear, hear.) They had recently had
an example of the effect of upholding public credit.
What occurred in Virginia? There had been considerable
difficulty in raising funds to meet the interest of the debt.
The Governor had recommended the House to raise a tax to
pay the interest due to the public creditor. A small sum,
amounting to about 800,000 dollars, had been raised for that
purpose, and the effect had been that the stocks which
had been at 45 or 50, rose immediately to 70 and
to 82. Three-fourths of those funds were held
by inhabitants of the States who thus found that their capital
was doubled, and that they were able to exchange it, and to
use it for any purposes which they might require. Every
State in America which had broken faith with the public cre-
ditor had suffered, would suffer, and ought not to recover
until they had regained public credit, by paying their creditors.
He agreed with the Right Hon. Baronet as to the necessity of
maintaining public credit. That person was the greatest
enemy to the working classes who should recommend a breach
of the public faith with the national creditor, for the working
classes would suffer more severely in consequence, than any
other. The most effectual way, however, to maintain the pub-
lic credit, was by a reduction in taxation, to lessen the burden
of the people. If less were taken from them by the income-
tax, they would be more effectually enabled to contribute to the
other taxes of the country. The public credit would have been
more effectually preserved if, instead of raising five millions by
an income-tax, a reduction had been made in our establish-
ments. All that was wanted was that they
should set free labour, the industry and the commerce
of the country.—(Loud cheers.) They had ships rotting
in their harbours for want of employment, with which they
would have been furnished if we had had free trade. He
scarcely pitied the ship-owners, for they had been the
greatest monopolists, and they were now paying the penalty of
their folly. Much had been said about commercial improvement.
Let the Right Hon. Baronet look to every trade except those
connected with the woollen and cotton manufacture, and he
would see nothing but distress. Our condition could not be a
wealthy one as long as there were millions of
money unemployed and capital lying dead. Nothing
but extending the outlets for our exports, could furnish the
means of employment. They were told that if they did this it
would not give increase of employment ; but he denied
that position. Even those States in which the most
stringent regulations existed against our commerce, hail been
compelled to take more articles from us whenever we relaxed
our commercial code. Our commerce with France had been tre-
bled. There was not a bushel of wheat imported which did not
give additional employment to the people. It did not lower the
price of British produced wheat, but it afforded a full meal to
those who had only before had half a one.—( Hear, hear).
The articles of butter and cheese had not been affected bythe
tariff, although a Noble Lord, speaking in the enlightened
county of Buckingham, had complained that the farmers had
been all ruined by the duty having been taken off cheese—(A
laugh)—and when they looked at the article of live cattle—
why the whole of the cattle imported in the course of last year
wou'd not have made a single breakfast for the working people
of this country. They had every right to complain of the
Right Hon. Baronet, because he would not carry out the
same princles of commercial policy which he had enunciated.
—(Cheers.) He believed that over-taxation was one of the
evils under which this country was labouring, and he
thought that many of those evils had been produced
by the conduct of the Right Honourable Baronet.
With regard to the subject of the revenue, if it were properly
looked into and fairly stated, it would present a very different
appearance to that which it was assumed to have by the
Ministerial party. If they would deduct the amount
received for the income-tax, the revenue derived from
corn, and the amount received from China,
instead of speaking in the glowing terms which they did of our
financial situation and our returning prosperity, they would
find their asserted increase sink down into a revenue less
by a million and a half than that of last year. Re-
athey them
weell
'meting to the condition of the working classes,
let
riche caotmpetlhleed tore sdauye etdh
at r at thee y
wereof
iwn n
a ga es;
anal
thing but a state of comfort. When the time arrived at
which the Right Non. Baronet at the head of the
Government would propose a continuation of the income-
tax, he would beg them to bear in mind that there would
be no occasion for it, no necessity whatever for
its further infliction, if they would only do away with the
trammels of industry, and give to capital its fair and
legiti-
mate expansion. The Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Cardwell) in,
seconding the address to the Crown, had said much in
se of pthe home market, holding it up as the best,
snotif the only one for this country. Why, for his
(Mr. Hume's) part he could see no difference between the
home and the foreign. When a man could sell his articles
better at home he would sell them at home, and if he could
find a readier market or a better price abroad he would sell
abroad.—( Hear.) Here people were constantly protesting
against foreign markets, and holding up Home mar-
kets as the only good for the country, and what was
our actual condition? Take the agricultural parishes. Were
they not now burthened by persons thrown upon them for relief,
thrown back from manufactures, which were rendered
idle and unproductive by the very system which
he (Mr. Hume) complained of, but of which Hon. Gentle-
men opposite desired the continuance. These poor people,
thus thrown back upon the agricultural parishes, were so
thrown, by their own narrow policy and unjust laws. Let
them give employment to the people, and they would very soon
find all their difficulties at an end. Their disasters were not
limited to one class of the people—the agriculturists were suf-
fering the same as the manufacturers—they were both to be
pitied, and ought to be relieved. In order that these matters
might in a proper way be brought under the attention of the
Crown, he should move certain paragraphs to be added, by
way of amendment, to the eleventh paragraph in the proposed
address. (The Hon. Gentleman then read his amendment,
which was to the effect that the industry of the country was
shackled by laws of repression which ought at once to be re-
pealed, and the principle of free trade fully acted upon—that
monopolies should no longer be permitted—and that her Ma-
jesty having announced the prospect of continued peace, very
considerable reductions might and ought to be made in the
naval and military services, and the various overgrown esta-
blishments of the country.) The force now in Ireland was
larger than that of 1792. It was a question of importance both
to Ireland and England whether such a force shonld be con-
tinued. Why was it maintained? Because they would not
do justice. When the Hon. Member for Cork introduced the
question of repeal in that House, he opposed him, believing
that repeal would be injurious to the best interests of both
countries. But they must now make their selection between
two courses ; they must either remove the well-founded com-
plaints of th Irish people, or they must let them have repeal.
—( Hear, hear.) If he believed that justice would not be done
to Ireland by the British Parliament he would himself become
a repealer.—(Hear, hear.) What was the feeling of
Irishmen themselves in reference to their present
position? He had in his hand a copy of a petition
agreed to be presented to that House, not by the riff-raff, who
they were told were the only supporters of Mr. O'Connell and
repeal, but at a meeting at which the Duke of Leinster pre-
sided. (The Hon. Member then read the petition, which de-
scribed the state of Ireland as one of deep-seated and wide-
spread discontent, and stated that the petitioners considered
that until the causes of complaint were removed, peace could
nut be secured on a lasting tooting). He thought the Right
Hon. Baronet (Sir James Graham) and the Noble Lord his
colleague, might have learned something from their experience
in 1834, when, as Members of the Government of that day,
they brought in a Coercion Bill for Ireland. What was the
result of that measure? Why, it was a perfect failure.
When, subsequently, injustice ceased, when a desire was mani-
fested to remove all causes of complaint, Ireland immediately
responded to the new feeling ; and at one time the army was
reduced from 20,000 to 8,500, and troops were sent over to
assist in maintaining the peace in Yorkshire. What had oc-
curred since? They had refused justice to the nation,
after pledging themselves to remove all grievances,
and the country was deluged with a naval and
military force which was a disgrace to any Ministry in a time
of peace. The Noble Lord, who had proposed the address,
said that he did not wish to raise any topics of dispute. Why,
unless they stated what they were prepared to do, the Mi-
nistry were shirking their duty.—( Hear, hear.) They wanted
the moral courage to brin the subject fairly before the House,
and they did not redeem the pledge which they hail given, to
propose all measures which might be necessary for the welfare
of the country.
Mr. S. CRAWFORD said he wished to move an amend-
ment to that part of the address which referred to the esti-
mates. He wished to add to the paragraph the following
words :—" To assure her Majesty that her faithful Commons
will be always desirous to vote such supplies as may be found
just and necessary for the public service, but that under the
existing circumstances of the country we hall deem it our f rst
and most important duty to inquire into the various grievances
complained of by her people, and to devise such measures as shall
be most effectual for the removal of all just causes of complaint."
It was their duty to inform her Majesty of the causes of the
complaints of the people. That House was the proper organ
of communication between the people and the Crown. They
possessed no other, and it was therefore their duty to represent
to her Majesty what the wants and wishes of the people were.
The people had at various times represented those grievances
to that House, but their complaints were not listened to, and
they therefore believed that they were not fully or fairly repre-
sented in that House. By representing their grievances to the
Crown, her Majesty might, if she so thought fit, desire her
Ministers to inquire into their grievances. They complained
of the accumulation of property while the destitution of the
great body of the people was every day increasing. They com-
plained that the means of living of
lessened, and that while the taxes on fond were continued they
sought to give re lief through the administration of the poor-
law. He would not at that time eater into the subject of the
poor-law,_ though he had strong opinions upon the subject.
When the grievances of the people were not inquired into, it
became their duty as Members of that House to take all fair and
reasonable means to tome their consideration upon the House,
and if possible to obtain redress for them. It was to be
regretted that references were not made in the speech from
the Throne, but that not being done, it was their duty
to make those references in the address. He maintained that
it was only their duty to inform the Crown of all the com-
plaints of the people, and it was the best means of securing
the stability of the Crown. It was with that view he brought