The Sun.
London, England, 1845-06-19 00:00:00

casion as a pledge of what they were willing to do for the '
future—(Cheers)--and we now know, through that effort of
theirs, that this is no longer a question for the statistician, or
one of mere political economy, but one which will, in future,
be the topic of the domestic circles in the hundreds of thou-
sands of homes in this kingdom.—(Cheers.) I may be dis
posed to ask your attention for a moment to what has been
said by some who are anxiously opposed to this measure of free
trade. They say that we have exaggerated the advantages that
would result from the repeal of the corn-laws ; and this, too,
has beet* said by those who say they concur in the principle,
but are rather luitewarm friends to the practice ; but before all
these I am ready to maintain that no mar., however eloquent
or skilled in the powers of discussion he may be, can truly
picture the evils and the cruelty on which those corn-laws are
based--( Hear, hear.) I say there can be no safety in laws
which tend to spread over the land a partial famine, for the
sake of the private interest of a few individuals.—(Hear.
There can be no, possible good in any law which shuts out the
public from a full and fair supply of food—(Cheers)—but it is
a law which does certainly and most imperatively resist and
interfere with the free exchange of the property of the vas
majority of the population of this country I mean
their skill and labour —( Cheers. ) On this subject I shall
now quote for you the words of a man, who is said to have
been as far-seeing a statesman as ever lived, and who in wisdom
and oratory has never been surpassed, I mean Edmund But ke
—( Hear, hear.) He says, that " monopoly is contrary to
natural right, and that free-trade was the same thing as the
free use of property."—(Cheers.) We have always maintained
that the poor man had as full a right to all the proceeds of his
labour as any man had to his property who wore a coronet, or
ruled over half a county.—(Hear, hear.) If the property of
the people's labour could be weighed in the scale against all the
jewels, and plate, and land, and all else that aristocracy deemed
most valuable, thet former would far outweigh all that the rich
hold most dear.—( Hear, hear.) I will now call your atten-
tion to a few facts which have been well authenticated, and
which will serve to show that our statements have not been as
exaggerated as it has been attempted to be asserted they were. 1
hold in my hand returns of the prices of food in the town of
Bolton in Lancashire, at various periods,from the -year 1835 to
1845. During the years 1835, 1836, and 1837, the average
price of wheat in that town was only 445. Bd. ; during that
time the town was in a state cf great prosperity and all the
labouring population was employed. There was no poor-rate,
wages were well paid, cottages all occupied, rent well paid,
shopkeepers were stirring, and improvement was visible every-
where.—( Hear, hear.) From the year 1838 to 1842, the
average price of wheat in the same town was 645. 4d., being .
nearly one-half more than it was from 1834 to 1836. (Hear. )
During the the years 1839 and 1840 the mills were working
short time, being only engaged from three to four days in the
week. Several establishments had stopped work altogether,
and remained so till 1842 or 1843. Taking twelve months in
1839-40, and in 1840-41, and comparing them with twelve
months in 1834-35, it was found that the loss in wages alone
was 130,0001., and the loss incurred in the price of food con-
sumed by the population of Bolton, 195,0001., making a total
loss of 325,000/.—( Loud cries of " Hear, hear")—or a loss of
1,0001., every working day in the year. From 1835 up to
1841, 1,500 houses and shops had been emptied of their tenants
thousands were thrown out of employment, and wages hid'
fallen from ten to fifteen per cent.—( Hear, hear.) Pauperism
had generally increased, and out-door relief was extensively
administered.ln 1838, the sum applied for the relief of the poor
was 1,558/. ; in 1841, the amount applied for a similar purpose
was 6,2581., showing a fourfold increase in the amount dis-
tributed.—(Hear, hear.) In addition to this, soup-kitchens
were opened, and continued in operation for the casual relief of
the poor till 1842. In the latter year the Poor Protection
Society of Bolton relieved 6,127 persons, leaving out
of view the other sources of relief he had referred
to. The effect of this state of things was seen in the rapid
diminution of the funds raised for the relief of the destitute; the
difficulty with which the people could be got to attend places
of worship ; and the neglect of the education of the children—
the schools being deserted. The whole town was in the con-
dition of a fallen ruin. This was the time that Colonel Thomp-
son addressed a letter from that town, descriptive of its mi-
e:rable and desolate condition, in which he termed it the
" siege of Bolton." In 1842 the price of corn fell, and since
that time it has only averaged 50s. per quarter. With the re-
duction in the price of food came an improvement in trade and
manufactures. Places of employment were again sec in motion,
workmen again fully employed, while wages underwent an in-
crease of from 10 to 15 per cent. For the second time in the
progress of the cotton trade an advance took place in the prices
paid to the mule hand-spinners. I may state that those are
the men in the cotton trade who always receive the highest
wages, and that,there is always a strong desire manifested by
other parties to get into it. The effect of this strife is to pre-
vent wages from rising in this department, even when other
branches of the cotton trade are flourishing. Hence the
wages of this branch have generally fallen from the effect of
this competition; but in 1835 end in 1645 an increase took
place from the peat impetus which had been given to trade,
arising from the reduction in the price of provisions, and this
year the same result might be expected, did she game cause
continue to operate. The cheapening of the price of food had
overcome the competition for employment, and the result is
seen in the increase of wages to which I have referred.—
(Loud cheers.) Collateral with the increase of wages the
poor .rates had fallen, shopkeepers had increased in business,
and iron-foundries, engineers' workshops, and machine esta-
blishments, that had been lying idle, were brought into active
operation.—( Loud cheers.) Cotton mills, that had been
sti.nding still since 1819 and 1840, were now going, making an
increase altogether to Bolton, in the wages received by its
working. population, of 2,.c821. weekly, or an annual increase
of 155,0641.—( Hear, hear.) And if each of those engaged
saved a penny each day, as compared with the previous period,
it would make a further sum of 151,6661., which, added to
the increase of wages, would show that the whole town was
better off by 306,7301.—( Hear, hear.) This shows whether
protection does best for the working classes ; whether dear food
tends to keep up the rate of wages. —( Great cheering.) I
need not look at Bolton alone, for every town in the manufac-
turing districts shared similar results; and, in some towns,
there was a still greater contrast —(Hear, hear.) Not only
have the manufacturing operatives been benefited, but the
agricultural labourers also. Contrasting the condition of the
agricultural labourers at the same periods of time, a conside-
rable improvement had been effected. I have evidence of
several intelligent farmers who admit this, and who say that the
returns they have had at low prices, have remunerated them
better than under the other system, and that they were in a
better position to reward their labourers—( Hear). While
they had high prices, from 1838 to 1842, pauperism increased,
and a state of things prevailed, showing a much greater evil in
operation than that which has, in the fancy of certain parties,
been ascribed to free trade.—(Loud cheers.) What is the
case now ? lam in the habit at present of having a sort
of levee with the farmers, three days in the
week. I meet with from nine to twelve intelligent farmers,
with whom I discuss the game-law question. What lam
about to state regarding them is the result of private conversa-
tion, for what is said in Committee is not allowed to be used till
it is published. They all admit that the present state of things
is much more satisfactory than what it was six or seven years
ago. For this satisfactory change there must be a cause. It
cannot be the work of any party. It cannot be attributed either
to the single conduct of Sir Robert Peel, or of Lord John Rus-
sell, or be ascribed to Sir James Graham as an emanation of
the Home-office.—(" Hear, hear," and cheers.) It was during
the years of so much suffering that monopoly existed almost
without adulteration, and it did its work well; and the reason
why an improvement had taken place was not because mono-
poly had been strengthened and extended, but because freedom
of trade had been admitted and partially conceded.—( Hear,
hear.) If monopoly is good in itself, why should it not be
carried out ; if it is good for the working classes, why not
give them the benefit of its rigid application. Let us see wHat
would be the result if that experiment were tried. Were such a
state of things carried out for ten years, there is no force or
cohesion in society that could hold it together. Order could
not be preserved, and the spectacle would be most dreadful
were such a principle to be carried out.—( Hear, hear.) The
effect of such a system would be the putting of every man on
short allowance.—(Loud cheers.) Sir Robert Peel says the
improvement we have experienced in trade has arisen from two
causes—partly from a good harvest, and partly from his own
legislation..—( Hear, hear.) He is not particularly modest, it
appears, in taking so much credit to himself.—( Loud cheers. )
But, if legislation is to be taken as the cause, and I admit that
to a certain extent the statement. is right, then it is to be
ascribed to his going forward in the direction of free trade.—
(Loud cheers.) For the improvement which had taken place
to legislation on this subject—but in a higher degree, to the
seasons—was to be ascribed the change for the better that had
been brought about.—( Hear, hear.) If the case I have this
night given of Bolton be not true, is it not clear that too much
evil cannot be attributed to monopoly ?—( Hear, hear.) And
ff the beneficial effects produced may be mainly attributed to
the cheapness of provisions induced by three good harvests, is
it too much to say that the abolition of the corn-laws would
lead to a still greater improvement, and tend to the permanent
prosperity of the population ? A cheap and plentiful supply of
food constituted the foundation of true prosperity ; and what.
ever interferes with this supply is a prolific source of ignorance,
the parent of crime, and the cause of the premature death of
thousands, who, in other and better circumstances, would have
grown up to be useful members of society.—(Loud
cheers.) I can show you the results, founded on the
authority of the Secretary for the Home Department. In 1836
the number of commitments were 20.000 ; in 1841 they
were 32,000, showing a gradual increase between the two pe-
riods. Now, what were the effects when an improvement had
been brought about by the reduction in the price of food?
In 1842 the commitments were 29.000 ; in 1844 they were
26,000 ; and if the present harvest turns out a good one, this
year will no doubt show another proportionate decrease. I
will ask, where is there a philanthropic society like this
League? It is good to visit those in affliction, to give them
counsel and assistance. It is praiseworthy to educate youth,
and to assist with the hand of benevolence the poor and the needy
in the hour of distress. I honour every man and every
woman who engages in this godlike work.—(Cheers. )
Yet how little can the efforts of single individuals do, compared
with what this association aims to accomplish—the unlocking
of the granaries of the world, so as to give to the-people fairly
that abundance which God intended all should possess—
( Tremendous cheering)—to furnish industry with its due
reward, to effect the redemption of thousands from crime, and,
to save from infamy or a premature death those that
otherwise would have fallen victims to this odious
and detestable law. The opposition to the principle on which
our present agitation is founded is gradually becoming weaker,
and it is now difficult to catch a single fallacy. Sir Robert
Peel, in his opposition to the motion of the Hon. Member for
Wolverhampton, could not oppose it on the grounds he had
formerly stated, or on those taken by other parties on his side
of the House. He admitted that it was impossible this country
could supply itself with a sufficient amount of food, and denied
what had so often been insisted on by the monopolists—that low
prices of grain necessarily implied a low rate of wages.
These questions were therefore settled.—( Loud cheers.) He
further admitted that the corn-laws could not, be defended on
account of mortgages or incumbranees on land.--( Hear, hear.)
This showed a great change in the opinions of the Right Hon.
Gentleman, who, in 1838, said that the corn-laws were a part
and parcel of the Constitution of England, and must be main-
tained, and that the interests of the landlords should be pro-
tected on account of the particular burdens they had to
bear. Now, however, there has not been a single
word spoken about this constitutional COT n-law , or
about the special burdens which the land was said to bear.—
( Hear, hear.) I have heard frOm a gentleman, a member of
the Royal Humane Society, instituted to save people from
drowning, that there is an annual dinner of the members and
friends. When the dinner is over, and it is necessary to get up
the subscription, the persons who have been saved from drown-
ing are made to walk in procession round the room. When the
sympathies are highly excited, then the subscription is set a-
going, and the experiment is found to be successful. Now, as
the Royal Humane .Society adopts the course 1 have stated, and
as dinners of the monopolists are occasionally held in Free-
mason's Hall, if it were wished to get up a subscription on the
same principle, for all the farmers saved by protection, how
long would be the procession ? lam sure it would be no diffi-
cult matter to count the number.—( Loud cheers.) The de-
fence of the corn-laws, it was plain, could no longer rest upon
the grounds previously set forth. The growino intelligence
of the people, and the improving spirit of legislation
were equally opposed to their maintenance —(Loud cheers.)
They had had an agricultural meeting in Wiltshire, and
though Ido not wish to speak hardly of the parties present at
that meeting, yet if I needed a justification of the harsh things
which had been said by members of the League—if I needed
any justification of the means which had been taken to accom-
plish the ends we have in view, I should turn to the circum
stances which occurred at that meeting, and feel that I hail
found a full justification of everything we have said and
done to free the country from a thraldom which has Wall-