The Sun.
London, England, 1842-01-26 00:00:00

EVENING SUN

NECESSITY TO 'REPEAL- THE
CORN LAWS.
TO THE RIGHT HON. LORD JOHN RINSELL.
JANUARY 22, 1842.
MY LORD—The opening of the approaching
session of Parliament is waited for by the vast
population of these realms, with unprecedented, in-
tense, and fearful anxiety, grieviously augmented
by unnecessary and heartless procrastinition, and
now wound up to the verge of despair by the sad
foreboding that her Majesty's Ministers will refuse
to concur in the only measure that can arrest -Abe
progress of the wretchedness and destitution which
prevail throughout the land. The patient endur-
ance and Christian fortitude with which the poor
of the country have so long borne their se-
vere privations, must command the admira.
tion of every good subject, and happily leaves
the Government without an objection to put forth,
which might in the slightest degree invalidate the
claims of justice, or prejudice the sacred cause
which the nation has now taken up, in a tone-that
proclaims the fixedness, the firmness, and the high
import of her resolves. Surely our present rulers
will not madly imitate the conduct of Pharaoh of
old, and harden their hearts against the cry of the
poor for bread, until the anger of the Almighty is
kindled against them, and they, their adherents and
supporters, be swept with the besom of destruc-
tion, and the innocent plunged with the guilty into
all the horrors of civil strife.
I shall not adduce quotations from the Inspired
Volume to prove that our existing Corn-laws are
directly opposed to the laws of God, because
I consider that to be a fact placed beyond the reach
of controversy, by the conclusive and momentous
testimony of the many hundred clergymen 'aisero
bled in Manchester, and Edinburgh, and in Wales,
of whom several are eminently distinguished for
theological learning. In the minds of religious and
thinking persons there is now no doubt ; and since
the sinfulness of those laws has been so ably, tiro
incontestibly shown, who cane hesitate : te:kroe-
diet the final result? Public discuesion 'his
awakened the consciences of ' millions of sin-
cere Christians, who will not violate their
duty to God and to their neighbour, and in whose
breasts will henceforth reign such a hatred of the
accursed bread-tax, that no human power can long'
maintain it.
But we must gird on our armour, and prepare for-
a bitter struggle. I know our opponents too well—
the constitution of their minds, their thoughts, their
feelings, their habits, their prejudices, their self-love
—to indulge the least hope that any concession of
importance to the welfare of the people, in this
case, will be madd by them. Their very existence,
as a party and as a Government, depends upon a
close 'adherence to the vile policy of duties—spe•
ciously called protecting, but which, in truth, are
prohibitory—clinching a few thousands, but im-
poverishing millions. Those men have neither
sufficient patriotism nor moral courage to recede.
Their course has been long determined, and no
change for the better will be accomplished until the
union and resolution of the people become strong
enough to extort submission.
In combat for sacred rights, for glorious ends,
•we shall shortly be engaged ; but before the trum-
pet sounds for the onset, it will be well that the
armed host should distinctly know and. acknow-
ledge their leader.
To you, my Lord John Russell, the Anti-Corn-
law Members in the House of Commons, and that
mighty party in the kingdom, look as their cham-
pion. They have read your reply to the address
of the inhabitant:, of Plymouth, and they there find
sentiments which, coupled with your great talents
and ability in debate, have decided them to commit
the working out of their destinies to your hands..
You have thrown down the gauntlet with a spirit
worthy of your most renowned ancestors, and you
will, I am confident, be found at your post to' de.
fend the opinions you have unreservedly and hor
nourably propounded, and will not cease to
agitate for the repeal of the Corn-laws until your
efforts arc erowncd with success. You will take
your station on a dangerous eminence, and your
adversaries will assail you with powerful weapons.
The eyes of your countrymen, nay, of the civilized
world, will be rivetted upon you ; and while the
greatest earthly felicity, that of providing for, and
extending the happiness of, your fellow-men, and
the personal enjoyment of honours which will be
coeval with time, await you if triumphant,—re-
member, that any deviation from the principles you
have avowed, any compromise of the people's inde-
feasible rights, will involve you in irretrievable ruin.
In contending for the supremacy of the violated
laws of heaven over the iniquitous statutes of men,
you will be sustained by the truly great, the wise,
and the good ; but you must show that you are
thoroughly imbued with this lofty principle, by in-
sisting on its truth, and claiming obedience to it.
However much may be pleaded, on moral and poli-
tical grounds, yet such are only secondary consi-
derations in this great question, which must, and
will be, decided by the persuasive force of the in-
junctions of Holy Writ on the haughty mind of Man.
You, my Lord, are doubtless at liberty to decline
the championship in this fierce contention, and
leave another to climb the giddy precipice ; but
if you do accept the office, you must draw the
sword throwing away the scabbard, and manfully
fight the battle of the people until you obtain the
repeal of all and every kind of duty on the
importation of foreign corn. Upon this vital
point the country is determined and inexorable,
and one modification only can or will be ratified
out of doors. The people would still be generous
enough to agree to a fixed duty of ss. per quarter,
diminishing ls. annually for five years, to give
time Mr landlord and tenant to see how their re.
spective interests were affected. Be wise, short-
sighted statesmen, and purblind landowners; adopt
this plan, and restore peace and plenty to your
distracted country. And now, my Lord, having
viewed you as our General, and considered the jus-
tice of our cause, let us examine your armour.
You are girded with the representation of the ca-
pital of this mighty empire, buckled on by six
thousand fearless men : your rival is elected for a
borough, adjoining his family property, by a small
constituency, bound to him hand and foot. A two-
edged sword, the Word of the Lord, is yours : the
hapless shaft of oppression is in your adver-
sary's hand. You command the willing hearts
of twenty-four millions of your countrymen : your
opponent heads a phalanx of a few thousand des-
perate men. You are surrounded by those whose
allegiance is secured by every motive to truth and
faithfulness : the enemy's camp his already many
well-known traitors within it. You plead the
cause of the widow, the fatherless, and the poor:
time Minister advocates the continuance of spolia-
tion by the rich and powerful. Finally, you con-
tend for Liberal opinions and just rights : the
Lord of the Treasury fights for place, patronage,
and monopoly. And now for your banner—
" Patrice infelici fidelis ;" the Baronet may as-
sume " Quid pro quo," as best descriptive of his.
My Lord, there never were such exalted inter
rests at stake—so excellent a prize to contend for.
Victory is not doubtful. Be not disMayed, there-
fore, by the issue of a .first campaign. Retire
within your lines—(remember Torres Vedras) ;—.
reassemble your forces ; augment your resources
—(supplies will be enthusiastically brought to
your assistance) ; and return again and again to
the charge ; and you will assuredly obtain a.glo-
rious triumph . for your country, and imperishable
fame for yourself.—l have the honour- to be, my
Lord, your Lordship's most obedient humble ser-
vant, PHILO-JUSTICIA.

POOLEWE, JAN. 15.—DISTRESSING OCCUR-.
RENCE.—A young man of the name of Macphail, from
Portlair, in Torridon, having gone in company with two
of his neighbours on Old Christmas-day, with his gun,
in search of ptarmigan to Benaligin, while attempting to
cross a narrow corrie over a wreath of snow, lost his foot-
ing, and was precipitated over a rock upwards of 200
feet high, and was found by his companions (one of whom
was his father) in a dreadfully mutilated state, and life
quite ex tinet.—lnveracss Paper.
PAISLEY, JAN. 22.—1 n Paisley things hare
now reached the pitch, that, as regards business, they
can scarcely be worse. We anticipate no more
failures in this town, because all who were in busi-
nessts to any extent (except a very few capitalists,
who have for a long time been lying on their..,o,; ~..
rather than pursuing their usual vocations) al, '41,:):,.
have failed. We anticipate no further throwing°i
our workmen, because, so far as the treamde
arre Pais-
ley is concerned, scarcely any of
of Paisley,
em-
ployed, at least three-fourths of thetohiafeswgoww°vera
who have work being employed by
ware-
houses. The number on the relief
sie list
y the increased ac-
Johnstone, &c., is 16,770. In
week becoming more
cumulation of misery the ap_
protracted sufferings of people.
parent, from the teis,
industrious and hide-
Several thousands of our 18
i s every
• are now as t- t t
es 1 u e ansl helpless as
pendent operatives
Glasgow Post.
common beggars.—