The Sun.
London, England, 1827-02-23 00:00:00

CORN LAWS-POSTPONED DISCUSSION.

Earl BATHURST rose, and required that the Order
for summoning their Lordships on Monday next, which had been
made on the motion of the Earl of Liverpool, should he read. His
Lordship then said, that although it was necessary, from the na-
ture of the measure which would be proposed, that all the pro-
ceedings relative to the Corn Laws should begin in another place,
yet his Noble Friend bad given notice, in consideration of the great
importance of the question, and from what he considered due to his
own high station, that he should take an early opportunity of ex-
plaining in detail, the nature of the Resolutions which were to be
submitted to the other House, and he had fixed Monday for that
purpose. His Noble Friend also hoped that he might be able, by
his explanation, to arrest that conflict between the great interests of
the State which had been most unjustifiably augmented. And un-
doubtedly there was no man whose character and disposition rendered
him better able to interfere with effect than his Noble Friend.
Unfortunately, he was now prevented from doing as he had pro-
posed by his sudden illness, which made it impossible for him to
give their Lordships the explanations he had intended. He would,
therefore, move that the Order of the Day for their Lordships
to be summoned on Monday next should be discharged. Before
he sat down, it was proper he thought, to state, that certain Re
solutions on the subject of the Corn Laws would be moved in the
other House on Monday next, which would make the substance
of the measures to' be proposed known to their Lordships, and
give them an opportunity of judging whether any further inquiry
was necessary to be made before adopting these measures. He
felt it his duty, however, to add, that if any of their Lordships
should make a motion for a General Inquiry—to such an inquiry
' there were so many real objections, and it would open such a wide
field for delay, that he should be obliged, unless he heard some
stronger arguments than he could at present conceive, to oppose it.
To a limited inquiry, similar objections could not be made ; and
such an inquiry would, probably, involve two different questions.
The first, was into the rate at which the home grower could bring
his produce to market ; and the second, into the rate at which
the importer could bring foreign corn into our markets. If any
inquiry were to be made as to the first question, their Lordships
would be doing what had already been done to a great extent.—
Parliamentary Committees had carefully inquired into this subject ;
au4 after all that had been done, any of their Lordships acquainted
with the subject would, probably, form a more correct opinion of
the sum at which the home grower could bring his Corn to mar-
ket, than many of the witnesses who would be examined. As to
the second part of the inquiry, his Majesty's Government had
thought that the information was not sufficient, and they had sent
a gentleman abroad to collect information. The report made by
that gentleman was before their Lordships, and if any of their
Lordships should think fit to propose further inquiries into this
part of the subject, he, for one, should be ready to agree to any
reasonable proposition.

The Earl of LAUDERDALE did not rise to
make any objection to the course just proposed by the Noble
Earl. He could not, however, help expressing his sincere regret
on account of the Noble Earl whose motion it was proposed to
discharge. As a public man, he was looked up to by the people
of England, and was well qualified to be the mediator between
those conflicting interests to which the Noble Earl (Bathurst)
alluded, for no man's character stood higher. As a Peer, there
never was a fairer debater than the Noble Lord whose absence
their Lordships all deplored. But he hoped and believed that the
friends of the Noble Earl would not be deprived of the pleasure of
his society, whatever might be the case with that House. With
regard to bringing forward the question of the Corn Laws at any
future period, whether he should think proper to submit any reso-
lutions to the House, or whether he should think proper to pro-
pose such an inquiry as that mentioned by the Noble Earl, in
whatever manner he might trouble their Lordships, sufficient time
must be taken for consideration ; for the question was of too much
Importance to be speedily decided. Whatever step he might wish
to take, he could assure the Noble Earl, however, that he would
give him timely notice of his intentions.

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augmented, it had been done by the most unjustifiable delays to
which this question had been subjected. It was to be brought
forward one Session; it was then postponed to the next. It was
to come on this year ; it was then put off to another, and then
came the dissolution of Parliament. After what bad been stated
by the Noble Earl, he looked on the question with despondency,
and almost despair, particularly now they were deprived of the
assistance of that Noble Lord, whom be regarded as the most
sincere in wishing to get rid of the Corn Laws. He had hoped,
that before this time their Lordships would have seen the neces-
sity of agreeing to such a measure as would content the people.
Now he was afraid that the plan would only be an alteration, and
scarcely an improvement ; and whatever it might be, he was
afraid, after this long delay, the worst plan of all would be brought
forward.

The Order of the Day for summoning their Lordships on
Monday was then discharged.
Lord KING said be had several petitions to pre-_
sent, praying for an alteration of the Corn Laws, and the one he
would first offer to their Lordships was very numerously signed,
and was from the inhabitants of Great and Little Bolton. The
petitioners said, they remembered the large majority of their Lord-
ships, who voted for removing all the restrictions on the impor-
tation of foreign manufactured commodities, and they expected to
see the same large majority as eager to remove the restriction on
the trade of foreign corn. If they were not, the petitioners thought
their Lordships would be like the man in Holy Writ, who was
eager to cast the mote out of his neighbour's eye, but who could
not see the beam in his own.
His Lordship presented a second petition, with the same prayer,
from Crieff.
On presenting a petition from Blackburn, in Lancashire, his
Lordship said, it came from a place at which the people were at
present suffering the deepest distress. Their sufferings were, in-
deed, so great, that they were distinguished even in the midst of
general distress. He should not be dealing fairly by their Lord-
ships if he did not state that the petition contained many hard
things said against Parliament, and particularly against that
House. His Lordship then moved, that the petition be read.

After it had been read,
Earl STANHOPE, who had betrayed some emo-
tion while it was reading, and had gone to consult Lord Col-
chester on the cross-benches, rose and said, although he was never
disposed unnecessarily to reject the petitions of the people, and
wished to open the doors or Parliament to them as widely as pos-
sible, yet he held it was inconsistent with the duty which their
Lordships owed to themselves, and inconsistent with their dignity,
to receive any petitions which, like the one then offered to their
Lordships, was couched in the most offensive language, and con-
tained the most false statements. The petitioners said " the Le-
gislature," not the Act of Parliament, " had, for their own ag-
grandisement, ruined and degraded the working classes." He
knew not that the Legislature had ever done so ; but he would
.say, if they were to adopt rashly, and without any inquiry, any
measure founded on Mr. Jacob's Report, any
measure which went
to alter the Corn Laws, without a full inquiry, not into a part of
the question; but into the whole of it, any
measure which went