The Sun.
London, England, 1842-04-08 00:00:00

t; covered petitions against it from all parts of the coun-
taa
ast quilckly as the post could bring them in. The measure was
efu
clash a, all classes. The farmers disliked it quite as
r e ten pounders, and such would be the number of
"n i tos
against it, that no Members, unless they happened
fnse, else eounties, as many Hon. Members oosite did,
%m pp
Venture to support it, and no Minister, even with a ma.
brity
k-chat. tcif_ 111(.1 to back him, would venture to carry it through.
tit uuse had been enleavourin raduall to abolish the right
terPteel;i..ttm ; they had negatived ghigs Mr. AVallace's)motionto
lee. 1. Members to speak,on presenting petitions. lie should,
sa'a-t7:r, renew that motion next year, fee'ing perfectly certsin
a, hi!' slniuld ultimately carry is. If the Right lion. Baronet,
'ocet of pressing on his resolutions, had announced his intena
per, , be public t tvo or three weeks before hand, and haat sus-
ee"'re7. themin the meantie:e, and allowed the people to
er ole m
nion with regard to his easure—a measure
7,ciade ented in time of peace—he believed the people wou'.d
firjhit their hostility that no Minister would be able to
_tne measure. He never gave'a vote with so much !dea-
ler , and be should he almost sorry if the motion were carried,
4,17 did desire to see the odium of resisting it put upon
theernen opposite. If the Right Hon. Baronet would appeal to
thie toi "ntrY, and advise her Majesty to dissolve Parliament on
:retold, that the people had no confidence in that House,
Thet sZl't see what returns they wiatild make to Parliament.
lhaa, titat he (Mr. Wallace) wou'd like to see, but the
Mat; r on. taentleman knew too wel the advantages his ma-
il Ease him to venture on such a course.—( Divide.)
tttt• .11A.NMER (amidst cries of " Divide, divide,") said
taarl."e•atas desirous to state the reason why he would support
Ts *ion of the Hon. Member f r Finsbury. —( Cheers. )
NO tit saach e more numerous classes of the people were not
to a 'll by the income tax, still, looking tn the tar.ff, which was
jade connected with that tax, and which should be taken as a
the Of the tame measare, he should be very j:aleus in limiting
tia,hts.ef the people en such a subject. With respect to
lastP,lecedent on which practice had rested, he must say
tifie Mthetigh he had as much respect as any one for the prin-
the which placed King William on the throne, he had not
(ti,,:alTle respect for the Parliament which sat in his reign.—
teal. Bear.) The Parliaments in that reign were corrupt,
sitio and disgraceful Parliaments—(Cheers from the Oppo-
sa "`) —and he thought that the practice under consideration
if worthy of the source from vahence it originated.—( Hear.)
he 0Z(.4'11 give his vote with great regret on this occasion, but
hsaa°,il(l fearlessly and honestly votefor the motion, because,
Niyee_ms'ed it to be his duty and the right of those whom he
tilted there.—( Cheers. )
taopa l' K LEY said that an Hon. Member opposite had
iut WA
how many of his (Mr. Wakley's) constituents would
lisp Ted by the measure; but he gave a very curious illustra-
r the nature of his own curiosity. He confessed hat 1
ljaae: °f them were favourable to the views of the Right Finn.
eiaget•—( Hear,They thought his proposition would
aatentetive of benefit to trade, but at the same time they
144,411itlimous against the proposition of an income tax.—
NNta 4.) So far as he could learn they were all of them
al: to an incsme tax.—( Hear, bear.) The Right Hon.
4ste., 1,7 t had that night made one of the weakest speeches lie
gikeeeir, 1--( Hear, hear.) And the reason was obvious.
s without
a case, without the semblance of an argument.
hear,) The Right Hon. Baronet had given the
4 few historical data, and he went to the year 1795,
wililentioned the contests between Grey, Pitt, nd
a Fox,
%air (ale. Wakley) thought that the Right Hon. Baronet
Ittee have stated that then Mr. Grey and Mr. Fox were pre-
-1/44
Qat 11,_ the House; but nothing of the kind was stated; he
' the petition was rejected, hey had no record of
ilit:lllinion of those statesmen. beset (Mr. Wakley) was
4v,ied to ask this plain question—Was the right ef petitioning
hsa,u!ble right.? He put the question fairly to the House,
hey.
tie he really thought that Hon. Gentlemen opposite, if
titia`'ere prepared to vote against the motion of his Hon.
No:agues ought, in candour and honesty, to follow it up by a
.elaring the practice of petitioning to be altogether use-
Na.,,Mone that ought to be aiscontinue7l.—(Hear, hear.) If
114,e'lere was a time when that practice was useful, and could
Ka° street upon the proceedings of that House, it was when
leoftsition was before the House to take money from the
tha',4 of the people. That practice never could be of more
kisoa4' when employed in a case where the whole of the corae
taatY was to be affected. Now it was known that here the
test secrecy had been observed as to what measures were
Xisedte be proposed ; and after that game of secrecy had been
'he Itieht Hon. Baronet surely ought to give tbe people
sretPor, rtutitt; of expressing their opinion.—( Hear, hear.) At
a'tsaainoing of the Session, he asked. several Gentlemen if
ttorre aware of what propositions were to be put to the
-`ra' The answers invariably were, " No ; can't tell ;" " Not
aO"ti;" " Havn't heard a word •" " Can't form an idea."
It'tt 41°1%11 came the Right Hon. Baronet with a proposition to
'4s "le interests of every man in the kingdom, and the doors
411 '0
use were to be shut against the prayers of the people.
It.ight Hon. Baronet know that the resolution of the
fact „Whi ch he read referred to a tax which was to be pro-
Roi'tltor the current year only, whilst the Right Hon. Baronet
;tawsd his for three years?—( Hear, hear.) He (Mr.Wakley)
k, that if the resolution. in the original ease were objec-
to 41c, it was much more so now, when it was made to apply
'tsta4:4l °f years.—( Hear, hear.) He did hope that in this
(1/4 tho Right Hon. Baronet would be in a minority.
ion the nnmbers were— •
+sees 136
„.
the, Majority against the motion ... —3l
'"-LAW IMPORTATION BILL.—WAGES OF
LABOUR.
tili"e Order of the Day for going into. Committee on
%the
thet'uliDEN rose to propose his motion as follows:-
114t,t inasmuch as 'this House has repeatedly declared,
ahaat'nes and the Reports of its Committees, that it is
Olea the 'tower of Parliament to regulate the wages
ill this country, it is inexpedient and unjust to pass a
''gVate with a view to raise unnaturally the price of
"kttia, f At the eleventh hour (proceeded the Hon. Member,
indisposition, We were sorry to perceive, was indif-
Nteltucard), he would call on the House to prevent one of the
0 %traps whieh a Legislature had ever perpetrated.
a!ta 44'e said now that it could interfere to attempt to regu-
ot:r.w,agvs of labour. In fact it was the custom of our
io do so; indeed the latest attempt of the House to
iLittilci? in 1823, when the Spitalfields Weavers' Act was
ose -,t(aa This was their last direct act, but until 1834 the
attel h`" It under the old Poor-law. The French war
Ztlt„ prices of provisions, disturbed the trade •of the
;,,ISet4el atnad caused a sudden agitation of the currency. In con-
itlasta " wages_ of the working people were unequal to sup-
, oits, the* Therefore, relying upon the precedents of former
tiiteaeuse People repeatedly petitioned the House to fix a
ion' of wages. Mr. Whitbread proposed a resolution on the
e 11 and endeavoured to have the object passed
.`lii4.‘,.eaW• Mr. Pitt resisted the motion, and, instead of the
L , prayed for, a modicum was paid out of the poor-
041,7 supply the insufficient wages. This was indirect
tote for the regulation of wages.
But in 1834 the
eisoatepealed the old Pour-law, and since that time the
wklea''',lg man of this country received neither protection
t't.ittiess from the Legislature.—( Hear, and cheers.) This
tt'stie ills° dreadfully, that in 1835 he endeavoured to per-
Hat'use to regulate wages by law. The House had
let areu its inability to regulate the wages of labour,
FttTle sante House was about to read, for the third
'a et aea'ohich had for its object to raise artificially the
tl'ent4sil Hear, hear.) He would probably be met, as
tie-earittiee:° met before in those discussions, by those vague
the je Under which Honourable Gentlemen some-
va.'"th cered themselves, that in raising the price
the °4kl necessarily raised the wages of labour. It was
(hi'itatte-tictt the half-starved people of this country, when
Itl e eon work and food, had not been told that the object
Itairi'-e( 411-law passed in 1815 was to raise the wages of la-
y t ea', hear.) Their ancestors, if they had harboured
aC-aaaa-tught, would have put it in the preamble of the Bill.
ta° ) That, however, had never beera stated by thase
4,441 eat'u"iced the Bill. He had statements in his possession
itataain, d show that practically the high price of food had
I,44teniftoinf
theg wages. The Hon. Member then read a
Seefa average amount of wages in several branches
tt'4lthi 'tore, which had not been affected by the invention
'thattrY- The calculation showed, said the Hon. Mem-
lista`"e wages were not more than half what they were
tal't ; the average wages at the present time
i' and the labour for that sum was harder
t at
it it bad been in 1815 for twice that sum.
thete aue wondered at, if by the operation c f the Corn-laws
Opres duction of wages, they had a great number of peti-
fNateu ' fed to that House, calling on it to do something to
%;lise: the wages of labour, and to prevent the continually
lait'at,".;.(l course ef earnings, while they maintained the price
to
Press had some extracts from a petitions or
redotw which
lieeented to- that House, and he would art of
itg,l"l. the. operative weavers of Manchester, presented so
taa"'ea tals 1827, long 'before the Anti Corn-law League came '
titeN ',e"e, which was accused of having instilled all this
y ei"" the minds of this class. The petitioners stated that
n" by experience that one species of property
loa'siaaaected by the operation of the Corn-laws, and they
allt.pai"" thata even-handed justice required some protection for
y 27. This was the language of the weavers of Manchester
Otte, a It was to be regretted that the middle classes of this
ta"au not taken up the question of the Corn-laws as they
ttktit*%ei,t l'avv, when the labouring classes were endeavouring
:lot
thereofttior their repeal. The other extract was from the
tie ~ s. poor fustian cutter, made in 1829 ;he said,
104 "oaerament never protected labour, it was un-
to' t1,,t5 that it should protect land, and as they
ho't• ,i'iffer one monopoly, they should allow another to
'it'llself the labourer was obliged to work cheap, he ought to
tkitt aatiet4 to live cheap." He had seen the man who drew up
tite,4114:%, and lie believed it conveyed all that could, be
'ia',llstaas! subject. The labourers in Lincolnshire and .Not-
:_tieas'itre! even in that place, where they were working for
eastai wages, must live—they must have breath or po-
klo,l4'iala who had them to sell ? Why, the landowners of
lietl4t'ts'ilquritood. If they said they could not give the price,
°Po'littt,asY heard they could get wheat for 40s. a quarter at
)solt the landowners say—Oh !we have a law to keep
tai;lao:L'ecs• But, says the poor frame-work knitter, have
hrtthe no law to: keep up our wages? And he should like
9e4lise,a4oldeman or landowner that could meet him, when
It 'the, 'llat question He did not object to the law, simply
it taxed the food of the people ; he objected to
Ito't ha-,, higher ground. The Right Honourable Ba-
itllletr" brought-.forward his Corn-law scheme, with the
'i'',0111:11)"se of keeping up an artificial price of corn.
ta co brought in a Bill to lay a fixed duty on foreign
114 (.;11voohl have opposed it, as he did the proposition of the
Lbsl.l', °tent. But the present measure was still worse.
p'tce,d thabourer that they could not fix his wages
NtllB'eadY plcce and now the Right Hon. Baronet
► 61
tat the object of the new Corn-law was to maintain the
st stht,e4)4l at from. 545. to 565.—( Hear, hear.) Under this
telsalla!"1114 be no lowering of prices from a superabundance
,Prices could only fall through the inability of the
,hha keel " a sufficiency—however objectionable any tax
°4l),"tite°l
PusY t be, still a fixed duty was not open to the same
qtat'sti injustice as this new scale. They put
? duty of 2s. on French hats, and a fixed
tottsia Prench gloves. The gave the home
teo'llt, • et that advantage ; but they told him that if he was
114'its"kh,,he he, did not exert his skill and industry to equal the
tits soould have no higher protection. But they did
ps,to the landholder. They told him that no matter
N:tl),i,?ws, or the Americans, or the Germans might
nsa" ea: ,agricu'ture the British landowner, however intio-
iltioas_Nelle's he might t be, should' be secured a price of not
Otiqltt • ' the quarter. The conduct pursued by the Go-
Flasa .VDeared to him to be a violation of principle and
:147,1444 the whole area of the country to be appropriated
4 .40 °rds as they might think fit, while the people were
eatt,sti at?otrol over the production of the principle article
usistence ? He would tell them that that doctrine
u,L'aq—he would tell them that it had awakened
aaa te "te minds of men which they would have been
he ere •en''trtain a few years aim. And why? Because
lo'N; ta'ikil,-vadlng the rights of industry, and because they
hid 744.„.? unjustifiable inroad upon the property of the
a"caa (Hear, hear.) He believed that if the principles
tle°,ll4 ,bY the Legislature were carried into effect
'';t e.a."
pr see te. to important changes in this country.
iaNta;,ltei, "it the law would not be allowed to remain with-
thlilea.tts to Changes which many who took part in the agita-
Lc,a aal‘li,eal had never contemplated. They had refused the
t arearuca of justice. They bad placed the trade in
ttier "a of human commodities—the tiade in corn—
alltltia",‘ itec Oahe the merchant and the manufacturer, and
ttc,,,\''ttitir," hands of the gambler and the speculator.
ttu'cv,i se 1.1,,s the, hadreceived against the Corn-laws from
ta-.4-1,1 `tore `ri•to were treated with less respect than the w his-
-I'atiatecora "41f-a.dozen failures in the City.—( Hear.) He
t 9 t/11°11,_11 lion. Gentlemen who had some stake in the
144 what would be the consequences of such a