The Sun.
London, England, 1842-07-09 00:00:00

MERCHANT SEAMEN'S FUND.

Mr. AGLIONBY begged to ask the Right Hon.
Baronet whether he intended to bring forward any
remedy for the defects in the management and appro-
priation of the Merchant Seamen's Fund, into which a
Committee was appointed to inquire iu 1840 ?
Sir R. PEEL said that the Hon. Gentleman must be
aware that in the Reports of the Committee difficulties
were suggested, which would require consideration, and
these should be considered beforji any Bill was intro-
duced.
Mr. SHIEL said that there was a draft of a Bill on the
subject, founded on the last Report but one.
TREATY WITH THE BRAZILS.
In answer to a question from Mr. FOSTER, relative
to the treaty with the Brazils,
Sir R. PEEL said that he was aware of the importance
of the subject. The Hon. Gentleman must be aware that
differences for several years existed between the Govern-
ment of this country and the Brazils, as to the expiration
of the commercial treaty. Their Government contended
that the treaty would not expire till the year 1844,
while the Government of the Brazils contended that
it would expire in 1842 ; and on their accession to
office the subject came under consideration, and the
Government stated their impression to the overnment
of the Brazils, and, not content with that, they submitted
to the Brazilian Government the policy of making a
new treaty, which would solve the difficulties which arose
from the different constructions as to the existing one.
That treaty had been before the Brazilian Government
for some time, but delays arose respecting it from casual
circumstances—the indispbsition and the instability of the
present Brazilian Ministry. The lion. Gentleman
would not, he hoped, expect him to give any further in-
formation on the subject.
Lord JOHN RUSSELL wished to know from the
Right Hon. Baronet whether he was to conclude, from
what he had stated, that the Brazilian Government had
given any notification of its intention to bring before
the Chamber a measure for an alteration of duty on Bri-
tish goods ?
Sir R. PEEL said that no notification had been given.
ECCLESIASTICAL CORPORATIONS LEASES
BILL

Lord JOHN RUSSELL wished to know whether
it was the intention of the Right Honourable Baronet,
the Secretary of State for the Home Department,
to proceed with the Ecclesiastical Corporations
Bill. It could
.not be considered until after the Poor-
law Bill and other measures were gone through ;
and as it was a measure of considerable importance, and
his Hen. Friend the Member for Oxford had given notice
of a motion on the subject, he trusted the Right Hon.
Baronet would not press the Bill this session.
Sir JAMES GRAHAM said (as we understood) that
it was not his intention to do so in the present session.
MEDICAL CHARITIES (IRELAND) BILL.
Mr. LITTON wished to know from the Noble Lord,
the Secretary for Ireland, whether it was his intention
to bring in this Bill during the present session, and it
so, whether he intended to proceed with it ?
Lord ELIOT hoped he would be able to lay the Bill
on the table in a few days ; and, as he did not think
that sufficient opportunity for discussing the Bill would
be afforded in the present session, he only intended to
ask the House to sanction the principle of the Bill, and to
allow it to be read a second time. The public in
Ireland would then have an opportunity of considering
the measure.

LAW OFFICERS (DUBLIN).
Mr. SHAW wished to know from the Right Hon.
Gentleman, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether
it was the intention of Government to alter the licenses
of the officers of the Law Courts in Dublin ?
Tho CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEOITFR. ..;‘1
that he was In Coto's° of framing a Bill on the subject,
and would submit it to the consideration of the House.
Ile was not prepared to say that he would proceed fur-
ther with it at present.
ADJOURNED DEBATE ON THE DISTRESS OF
THE COUNTRY.

Sir G. CLERK having moved that the House do re-
solve itsel Itennittee of f3upply,
--IVI-rt-O'CONNELL said he hoped it would not be sup-
posed that, in rising so early in the evening to address
the House, he did so because he felt himself inadequate
to discuss the subject in the manner it deserved. He
believed that great perils were at hand ; that
the social state was in danger. There was
no dispute that distress pervaded the country. He
never knew such unanimity upon any one subject as upon
the general statement of distress. -Ireland was suffering,
though, alas, that was nothing new, to a direful extent at
the present_mornent. There were two sources of the diffi-
culties of Ireland. There was one in its nature temporary,
which often occurred there ; another of a more per-
manent nature, and for the relief of which he saw no pos-
sibility of any measure being adopted which did not
first secure the prosperity of England. The first
kind of distress was the consequence of three bad harvests.
He had a confident hope that the poor man's harvest
was likely this year to be abundant ; but the wheat har-
vest and the oat harvest were likely, he feared, to be
very deficient. He wished it might not be so, but he
was afraid there was great accuracy in the information
which he had received on that subject. The other kind
of distress, which was more permanent in Ireland, was
the distress of those who were engaged in any
kind of trade, and especially the retail dealers.
Accounts from every town with which he was
acquainted stated that the business of the shopkeepers
was diminishing daily; and he saw no possibility of their
being relieved from their difficulties except through the
prosperity of England. The Right Hon. and Learned
Gentleman then read an extract from a newspaper
upon the distress in Mayo and Galway. Now (he con.
tinned), could it be doubted that equal distress existed
in this country P The statistics of misery had been re-
peated again and again by every gentleman who had
risen on that side of the House. The question had
been not whether distress existed, but what
place was most afilicted,—what class of opera-
tives were most distressed—where the families
which were pining in want and suffering were \most
numerous. Sush was the condition of this great country,
a country which held a proud station. among the nations
of the earth, a country which was first in arts, in
sciences, and in arms, in commercial industry, in genius,
in talent, and in mental power, a country which had
once been the envy and admiration of the
world. How was it fallen ? The scream of dis-
tress, the cry of wants, families famishing with
want in every direction—he could not depict in lan-
guage strong enough the extent of the misery
of the country. Were these things to remain
thus / Were they safe in remaning thus ? Was
the social state safe, if they remained thus ?—(Hear,
hear.) He had listened with great attention to the
speeches of the Right Honourable Baronet, the Se-
cretary of State for the Home Department,
the Right Hon. Baronet, the head of the Government,
and the Noble Lord the Secretary for the Colonies; but
ho could not find that they held out any hope
of relief. The speech of the Noble Lord,
was characteristic—it was a reply, and, of course, an
able reply—but it had no more to do with the distress
of the people of this country, or of any mode of
relieving that distress, than it had to do

with the late Cabinet of Shah Soojah, or the convocation
of Mandarins at present established in Canton.—(Laugh-
ter.) The Noble Lord gave a longcattilogue of the causes
of this distress. What signified it %hat were the
causes—the grand question was how. a remedy could be
be applied. The speech of the Right Bon. Baronet was
equally bare of hope. He, too, held out no prospect of
relief. In his objections to the words of the motion he
was perfectly triumphant ; but, there would be 'no
difficulty in getting rid of words, provided they
could get rid of things. The Right Honourable
Bart. concluded his speech by stating that the quantity
of corn admitted for home consumption this year was
equal to that admitted last year, and he went
on to tell them that some new mills were
about to be opened. It was a kind of mystification;
there was no hope afforded of better times. He
answered to that mystification that the people were
starving. The Right Hon. Baronet boasted of the
superiority of his tariff to the plans of the late Ministry,
and he entered into several details upon the subject. he
answered to that tariff argument that the people were
starving. The wave which overwhelmed everything in
its course formed an apt illustration. if the evils under

which England now suffered.- Day after Orel
trade and then another was deelining•-"'A 0,
Day after day more operatives were discharg'-ori
work, and more want and svoe ensued. Nobody 00,
that ; and yet, there they were, without havinl4Yd
wised any remedy for the evil. For his part, Peomi
not divest himself of the impression that 9°o'
fatal to this country was approaching. Tit° ttl'
should not forget that they were class legislate s.
they represented almost exclusively the wealthier rid 0,1
and especially the firming interest. They sheo 0!
forget that the people were as well aware of that "eil
could be themselves. They should not forget till /er
generally alleged that that House was strong v„v_ld ,
sons who owed their seats to the most bar •
scandalous bribery. Why, that was admitted
,iio
hands, although the admission might be, q
more or less. Was it a wonder, then, that thesre °
should say that Members owed their se 00
the worst and foulest means ? He had seel' 0,1
strong language in print upon that subject
stronger than any he had heard in that House. 1 jift
knew that Anti-Corn-law Delegates from the ,ittid
rent towns of the kingdom were at this molnet4eel'i
in London. He supposed there was no tm4
present so insensible to passing events as not woe/
read the speeches delivered before that b'or
(A laugh.) He was met with a laugh. Such a °Elio/
stance only confirmed his apprehensions that some spo
calamity was about to befal this country. The 00
seemed disposed to treat with ridicule a descriptiuy,
public miseries. He would read an extract from °ire
delivered before the Delegates, to whom he had ruts
The Right Hon. and Learned Gentleman then r° fcr
following extract from a speech of Mr. Taunton, red
ventry, delivered at the Anti-Corn-law Conferee'oso
" Had not the working classes and the middle SO,
reason to speak with unqualified contempt dui!, ft,
of Commons ? Had they not been returned lute r
bribery ? Had they not all declared such
the case ? Had not the aristocracy of P 11,
and also the money-bag aristocracy, assi,ss i f
bringing about that consummation ? Had neooo
caused thousands of honest and independent nt
brought to commit mental and moral „mime,
against their country ? Would they not It''",,, Or
that system that scourged men into vassalacto!
cursed them with slavery, that maddened them ix,
males, drove them into rioting and inue'l4.lil4,l
and under which, if they did not end tbre,
on the scaffold, they were made paupers, and t IF,
as such ?" It should be remembered t"11,3 01
language was not used by what are called protasis.
tators ; but that was the language of men e 0
middle class of life-of men devoted to lnu"-
pursuits-who under the pressure of tic ati
ties from which the country suffered, werecirc
to the use of expressions which, under other /we
stances, they would never have emptoyed.--k 0
Well, that was a symptom of a cause for alart'gr,
Right Hon. Baronet said, that in the towns '1"ot
1
distress prevailed, there were persons engsr"o.o4
citing the people to acts of violence and des.re
He told them that upon the authority of the F.O/01.1,
nister of the Crown. He then gave them tb° 3e4
tion-a kind of melancholy consolation-that tl,f to
sufficient physical force, sufficient military P°Wefiviel
down any outbreak of the people. This was °to,
choly consolation. He was happy to find protee4o:e
the social state, but it was melancholy to thinit._t' 011
were given the information. When the suffernis t`ei
people were treated with recklessness, weal", r, 01'4
excite revenge, added to the violence of pass;°;e ro
by misery? He put it to the gentlemen anti, `lirti
of wealth, the proprietors of this country, svu° sti:
a state of luxury and ease, if they could rest in sefas . 0
Were their states secure-were they not surl7eso
with perils ? Would they have their manufactori iipY
blaze ? Would they. have their farms set on 6,re.'"
they stood by, expecting something better and pi,
thing ? He was surprised that there was so mile jf7
sibility among men. He was not accusing theta fegof
insensibility of not feeling for the wants of theire4
creatures, but the more kind and good they tr de
~
more was the insensibility which seemed t°,4. o'l
amongst them. This was to him totally inexplieaurocie,o
were tauntingly asked what scheme do You tole'
what plan of relief ? He (Mr. O'Connell) weld" evi
r 028
make an experiment to relieve the situation 0-, se?
try. It only required a fair experiment. Tue lift:01
were hungry ; the plan was easy-to feed thenic,ol
a plan which every prudent housewife would segils cr,
carry into effect. They wanted food. They thetedi
vernment) said they had it not to give. Let t spop
him no such thing.-(Cheers.) There were 1,
quarters of wheat in bond in this country at tlit selk:
moment-locked up, waiting till the prices s'°oeli;
come so high that the holders could afford t:d 01.'0
They should recollect that that corn was louk, forrm
order to have higher prices for the corn in the 01)6'
in order that they might get more rent.-(Lo„ur ,„ 0014
If the present distress had not been of so awn!' -007,
he would not thus urge the question. But the clistreiV
so awful that they ought to make experiment of
this 1,500,000 quarters. It would afford at least a Pororj;
of alleviating the distress, and would take Oa 0. ~1
gument made use of by those who, it appear ' ins
instigate the people-the argument that they peri
sible to their sufferings.- (Cheers.) The starvr, Om'
knew that this food was in the m arehouses-ttioe idy
that-they knew that it was locked up to in''''re",,l
rents of the country, for the benefit of one 11,53 t,
class. He knew that those belonging to that c, 11
that it was for the benefit of all classes that taeoto
laws were kept up. In answer to that, the pe,o fir,
" You prosper, but we are starving."-(Cheers.) 00,4
literally true that the masses of the country wi,l, e,i;
starving condition. They were told that if t„"c"015
were released, many manufacturers would at on tllO
710
on fresh hands, and yet they refused Iliec-srnj
relief. He proposed the release of this
..'.4 i")
a measure of relief. Let it not be )7, beers'id
he had not proposed something practical.--k et,(100,
At least let the experiment be tried. If it sect ,sd
would be well-if it did not, it would at least simorseof:
sire to do something to relieve the distresses of tee P,l
pee Let them at least inquire into the sliklteitf“
would not take much time to ascertain the gnarl dt'
wheat in bond, and the effect which the releasiets4
corn would have upon the market -(Cheers.) ,A sotto
sible men meeting together and consulting etel!cuct,,
L',l
long in making up their minds upon thug 5°14089;
the name of the people h....1mi upon them to 11/
co /
7,l)ciiroCtit.-ktbeers.) At the present ineud;tioo',o
whole social system was in a most perilous con ',I be`
(Cheers.) This was not the first time they babe tbi
_.,1t0
in peril. Let them recollect what had occurr7i-stber,
end of the last Tory Administration. The soiiss",j,
counties of England were at that time in a state tmci
rection. Barns had been fired, houses had been a,, iiii
lives tad been lost. England was at that tilpileori;
vi orse condition than Ireland.-(Hear, hear'sJ tm,.
A Special Commission bad been issued, LI till,"it
Judge had called in the hangman for th,ets Of
cation of the law. The King had not dareui, l'Pe'f
the First Magistrate of the first city of the empire the'„
lied escaped from that danger-were they `stress
would continue to escape ? What iyas, the 04 tPi,
that time to what it was now ? it was Ple,-00me,i'e,
abundance then to what it was at the present • 00,
Oh ! do not then wait till another insurrectionarY oe,r;
ment of that description occurs in this country.w olle,
was no nation on the face of the earth that w°lliefit, ij
so much as England would from such a movers t cl, ~rl'
from uny outrage. Society was too compliclatboorof
classes depended too much on each other; the ' ecuil',
depended for, wages and food on the safety auilleb ley)
of the manufacturer. If a convulsion of well Wilt
up the manufactories, if an end were put ~ „f et te.
establishments-no matter who might tritimPu smeitt9
hour in consequence of such an insurrectionaV
ment-deep miseries of every description r,daitili,t
the result. This, then, was an 'l, ,ht
motive for their compassion and generestr),;t P',
their adopting some expedient that should icher,eqe:ol
maddening influence of the distress under whic"fer I I)!
ple laboured ; it was an additional instigationb s eo,
to make every experiment to relieve them. T ieolit !tic,
did they defer it ? Did they wait till the iniu°"Stivi 1,
cendiary Set his torch to the manufactories of the cri scot,
till their vast silk and cotton mills should be s'etj yo`lo
tering forth flames to the midnight skies ? 1,°„;011)),e
selves (continued the Hon. and Learned Gentle:' 086
such a state of things cannot be safe. But if Y-1,05':e
.0
no effort to afford the people relief, if that classby 0
tion which has been introduced into this 'louse ° retol,
means I have described, obdurately continuest ti.ai 4;1,0
relief, I, at least, shall have done my duty-live' lie' '
f re ~ igil
main meam. I have suggested some measure omit, 0 0t
an earnest of my desire to see it afforded. rlO wilto
wrong, ' let us have some suggestion, le' J. 0
close on the people the door of this 'lousen' esa°o,o
Ministry have not announced any svintlie,o
they hold out no prospect of doing so ; then "f car';it
make a vigorous effort to burst. the trannnelsgeois ilio
Let us show some wish to retrace our steps jr-0011 e'
course of legislation which led to the enact d ge°
these Corn-laws, that have caused such deep an ci
ral distress. h
r her I
Lord ELIOT said the Hon. and Learned rhea iret';;
referred to a particular case, for which he bacibge 1)//0
the authority of a Galway newspaper. NO .5q
. gag. 0
received a communication from a stipenchrul se. oft
of the county, which he would read to the IN° ;Oa 0
ID .04
should not mention the names of the parties - , ,0,..t
in the letter, because it involved serious chargeo'notryte,
them, and he had not had the opportunity ofcolnin „istrtg
with them. The letter was from Mr.Brough, the lug°strit'vot
The Right Hon. Gentleman then read a letter' did °de
that the reports were greatly exaggerated.
..heeen 0/4,10
underrate the statement of distress that had "" oat 'js
by the Right Hon. Gentleman, but ho must 031 distre
landlords of Ireland had shown themselves that
existed. hid
Mr. ESCOTT wished that the Right non. gfijb
it; 11
would bring forward some remedy for the (l'i_Lt eer;
complained of. He believed that the distress that
that
had not arisen from legislation, but from oti that se
That distress had been spoken of in language
of o,o'
must condemn, and it was not time language vireo,,.
who were poor, but those who were in c 3%, arts„ j
stanc. It had been said that " the curse of be
ve,
cracy was upon them." He heard the -11°,!]„°11tbe fltf`he
Learned Gentleman use such language within must 'be
where they were now debating ; but how n'il,edresseo any
people to whom such language was a" nristoer,' ?
surprised if they were aware that an " t 01":-,0
meant the government of the best am ongs_isooo
of
He heard the policy of the present Aduue'robers „,
arraigned by three Nate Lords opposite' r° -,;cv 6-..'
the late Government. But was nut their Pal',oldrcls!!,
demned in two successive Parliaments, and after"ut is. joiJ:o
the whole country? He stated that the prese 3ut Of to
tration had done nothing for the pe°Ple', ctioll ° eet
repeal of the Corn-laws was good, the reul.lbe re! 0.! •
duty by one half which was effected by "Inothluld
Government, must be a benefit. Was the taxi cat '.°l of
He did not think that lay tities of fat ea cattle ,
ge quan ,_ the .i IP _
come into the country to compete with
._ntst r
this country, but he believed that large ccoifetb"
inferior meat would be imported. 'Mar the