The Sun.
London, England, 1842-02-04 00:00:00

ally they had brut in those illustrious exploits that threw a
lustre round his name, and secured the peace of the world—
even on that occasion, in the year 1814, he (Lord
isr:Jugham) would venture to 1,41. y his .'ilajesty 4iid ooi
any appearance of greater loyalty and of greater d,votion
to the Crown than he had seen on the present, in 1t342.

He (Lord Brougham) would draw a conclusion from that
presently, but he first wished to advert to another circum-
stance. If it so happened that his Majesty had visited this
country, a few years subsequent to the former period, he would
have found our joy turned into grief—he would have found the
whole of the people of England° plunged into the deepest sor-
row by the death of the Princess Charlotte—a calamity that
was felt in every part of this country, as if each family had suf-
fered a similar deprivation. Now, his Majesty came in 1842
and he found that upon the birth of an heir to the Throne
there was as great joy and universal exultation, all over Eng-
land, as if there had been born an heir to every family in the
kingdom.—( Hear.) From that two conclusions might
well be drawn by the Prussian Monarch. Since his
former visit very great changes had taken place in
the Constitution of this country, and a very large increase
of the privileges of the people had been effected, and a very
ample extension of the representative system had been con-
solidated by that which same people ca'led a revolution. He
(Lord Brougham) denied it all, and he should always deny the
accuracy of that expression, but by a very great reform, a very
great change, and a very great extension to the popular prin-
ciples, and a very ample increase to the representative power,
and a very great admission of the people to privileges within
the pale of the Constitution during the interval since his Ma-
jesty last visited us. Did his Majesty find that there was any
truth in the fears expressed as to the effect of Parliamentary
Reform ? Did he see any of those dangers which they were
told strewed the path of the Reformers—did he find that the
people's love for the Crown was diminished—did he find, as it
was said would be the case, that the foundations of the
Throne were shaken? On the contrary, he found now, that if
a change at all had taken place, it was evinced in an increase
of that devotion and loyalty to the Crown which hut ever
characterised the people of this country, and which he
(Lord Brougham) was proud to say still existed,
notwithstanding all those extensions of privileges.—( Hear. )
And, peradventure, ene conclusion might be drawn by
his Majesty, with respect to his own country, and an-
other conclusion by ourselves with respect to our
own. There was not in all Europe, at the present time,
he believed there never had been, a more benevolent, a more
philanthropic, a more kind and humane Prince, on any of the
thrones of Europe. He was a Prince of large and liberal views
—he was a Prince universally beloved by his own people—
and universally respected abroad—(Hear, hear)—and unlike
many Princes, at least of former times, of him it mightbe truly
said, that he was the more beloved and the more respected
the better he was known. He believed that the result of his
Majesty's observation in this country would be thithe would
be encouraged to proceed in those nstost beneficial reforms
he was making in the constitution of his own coun-
try, because it would show him that there is no

Langer, but only safety in those measures, which, fulfilling
the promises made by his predecessor—promises on the faith
of which his predecessors raised the Prnssian people, and were
enabled by their aid to repel the invasion of France,
and to restore the independence of the Prussian Crown. The
fulfilment of those promises, by giving his people a representa-
tive Government, would be safe and beneficial, and would even
tend to the security of his Crown and the Monarchy of his country.
He (Lord Brougham) drew the same conclusion with respect
to their own country, and he ventured to say that those who
had been alarmed at the idea of admitting larger numbers to
the elective franchise, ten years since, no longer held such fears,
but looked on it as judicious to extend the franchise, so as to
admit within the pale of the Constitution the great bulk and
body of the working-classes. He entirely concurred in the
observations made by his Noble Friend, the Noble Viscount,
on the Corn-laws on the first day of the last Sessien. His
Noble Friend then warned their Lordships, and warned the
landed interest, against allowing a state of things to continue
that was neither safe for them, nor safe for the Constitution of
the country. Here, he said, was a code of laws made by one
House of Parliament, and in a great part by another, consist-
ing almost exclusively of one interest. That was not a sate
system which was liable to suspicion, and it ought to be altered
for the safety of the landowners and of the two Houses of
_Par-
liament themselves. He did not think that was a safe state o:
things, either for the two Houses of Parliament, for the Crown,
or for the general stability of the Constitution of this country,
to have a representative system from which all were excluded
except those who were owners of property. In what way they
were to admit those other classes, by what degrees, by what slow
degrees if they would—but in what way they would break
down that line which places all the property of the country on
one side, and all the members of society not possessed of pro-
perty, if? not in conflict, at least in opposition—by what rules,
what means, what degrees, he cared not how slow, how gradual
their operation might be, by what means they might best and
most safely get rid of the unhappy state of things that now
prevailed, he could not determine. But that a beginning must
be made, and that right speedily—that a beginning must be
made, however cautiously, however carefully, however guard-
edly—that a beginning must be made for the purpose of showing
the:people that it was not their determination thatmatters should
for ever remain in their present state, 'was a proposition, of the
truth of which he was as satisfied as with the truth of any pro •
position in law or physics. He knew that that was a subject
on which he had not the happiness of agreeing with the ma-
jority of their Lordships. On many former occasions he had
frequently felt it to be his duty to state his opinion to their
Lordships on those points. The difference of opinion between
them, however, he was happy to say, did not extend to the
earlier topics of the Address; he meant those alluding to our
relations with Foreign Powers ; and with regard to one of
those Powers, he could only repeat the earne,t hope, which he
had before expressed, that our negotiations with that Power
might be brought to a speedy, a safe, and a satisfactory
termination.

Earl FITZ WILLIAM could not but be surpriseed at the
conclusion of his Noble Friend's speech. Ile believed his
Noble Friend had alluded to an expression which had been
made use of by him (Earl Fitzwilliam) in reference to the
Reform Bill, which he had denominated as in essence a revo-
lution. He would not then enter into that discussion, or al-
lude further to what, had fallen from his. Noble Friend on the
subject ; but he felt anxious to say a few words on one of the
subjects alluded to in the Address ; the more so, because he
was apprehensive that if he were to remain entirely silent on
that subject," his silence might be attributed to motives by
which he was not actuated. He felt the most entire gt atitude
to her Majesty's Ministers for the course which they had adopt-
ed, as far as that Course was known. He felt gratitude to her Ma-
jesty's Ministers for having directed the attention of the House
to that particular law to which, under auspices less favourable, it
had been his lot to endeavour to direct their Lordships' attention,
during several former Sessions of Parliament.' He had not,
however, met with much support or attention from the majo-
rity at least of their Lordships. Although he had earnestly en-
deavoured to draw their Lordships' attention to the subject he
bad failed to impress the importance of the question upon the
majority at least of their Lordships, and a large majority had
thought proper to negative those propositions which he ha I had
the temerity to propose to their Lordships. And now, at the
end of those three years, since he endeavoured unsuccessfully to
draw the attention of the House to this subject, he had the sa-
tisfaction of hearing it recommended to Parliament by the Ad-
ministration in power some months ago, and now by the Ad-
ministration which had overthrown them, and overthrown
them not by the power of their Lordships only, but by that
power which they were able to obtain from the agriculturists,
and which was distinctly at variance with those interests which
they were told they had in the present law. He had now the
satisfaction of seeing her Majesty's Government recommending
the consideration of the Corn-laws to Parliament.—(Cheers.)
He did not exactly know in what relation to the Administra-
tion a Noble Duke of great authority in the country, and
whom every man who knows him respects, stood, but he had
been for many years the leader of the party now in power in
their Lordships House. But it was a marvel to him, and it
only illustrated the proverb 6' that marvels never cease," that
he who might be supposed to be the inspired genius of the Ad-
ministration, who, without holding office himself, was a leader
in the Administration, and who had a sort of fraternal affection
for the Corn-laws, should now agree to recommend its conside-
ration to Parliament, though, of course, he could not know
whether he had been present at the Council in which it was
determined to recommend it.—(Hear, hear.) He was sur-
prised, after all he heard of the well-working of the law from
him, that he should now be one of those who recommended
Parliament to consider it. This recommendation, he thought,
must mean something—( Hear, hear)—it could not mean that
nothing was to follow from it, or only something so small as
to require a political microscope to discover it. He did not
know what assurance he might have, because another Noble
Duke had ceased to be a member of her Majesty's Administra-
tion. He was desirous of knowing, and he was sure a large
class of the community were desirous of knowing, the precise
difference between the one Duke and the other, knowing well
the sacrifices which one Noble Duke had made for the party
of whose interests he was the great organ. He was sure he
would not be singular in expressing himself most curious to
know the particular points that constituted the difference be-
tween the Noble Duke and the Noble Lord who had succeeded
to him. He was, no doubt, as anxious to protect the interests
of agriculture as the Noble Duke who had seceded, and who
thought it so injurious to alter the present law.--( Hear.) But
it was time the public should be disabused, and be put in posses-
sion of their position in regard to a law so important to them.
Ile collected, from all that had passed that evening, that some
very great and important change was about to be made in the
Corn-laws—the greater the better. He hoped the Govern-
ment would introduce a large and comprehensive measure—
he hoped that the Noble Duke, who was the inspiring genius
of the Cabinet, was about to deal with the Corn-laws as he
had before dealt with the question of Catholic Emancipation.
—(Hear, hear.) He hoped the Noble Duke would repeat in
1842 that campaign, as useful as any of those which he had
conducted in time of war, so glorious to himself and so im-
portant to the country, which had distinguished his Adminis-
tration in 1829. There was some resemblance in the history
of the two epochs. He had no doubt but many of their Lord-
ships now felt as much surprise at the announcement of the
determination of the Government to effect a change in the
Corn-laws, as they had formerly felt in 1829, when they were
told that they were to swallow that large measure of Catholic
Emancipation. The country required the contemplated altera-
tion. Let it not, however, be supposed that he was one of
those who considered such a measure as a nostrum
for all the evils under which the country laboured.
He had never expressed such an opinion—he had never so con-
sidered the. question. But this was his opinion of the Corn-
laws, that of all the various causes which could be discovered of
the distress which now prevailed throughout the nation, there
was no one which was anything like so efficient as the opera-
tion of the Corn-laws. He did, not, however, go so far as to
say that even a large alteration of the Corn-laws would go to
retredy all the evils of the country ; nor did he say that those
evils were remediable. He meant to go further—he believed
they could not go back to that state of prosperity which they
had before enjoyed. This had been no case of fluctuation—
there had been a gradual declension—( Hear, hear, from a
Noble Peer on the Ministerial benches.) He was glad
to have the assent of his Noble Friend opposite to
that assertion—of one who was so well acquainted with the
manufacturing districts. Each successive year had been worse
than the preceding; and he understood from high authority,
that even at the present moieent there was not the slightest ap-
pearance of any improvement. They had gone on too long in
a course of mischievous legislation. They had gone on too
tong upon an exclusive commercial system, and they could not
now recover the position which they had gradually lost. But
that was no reason why they should not use every means in
their power to arrest the progress of decadence. Ha had often
urged it upon their Lordships, and he (lid so again, to go into
the full question, and devise some remedy for the state of the
country. He was aware that a great change had just taken
place in the Cabinet—a great and important change undoubt-
edly it was. Their Lordships who formed so large a majority
in this House, and the individual Members of that majority,
were not the persons who would say it was of no consequence who
were the Members of the Governmeiit,or who were the Members
of the Cabinet. They woisld not say look to numbers anti not t•
persons, as was the case at the opening of the fit st Session of
the present Parliament, about five months ago. His Noble
Friend the President of the Board of Trade, at that time
moved an address to be presented to her Majesty, in which
was this paragraph :—" But we feel it, however, to be our
duty humbly to represent to your Majesty, that it is essential
tc our deliberations on this and other matters, that your Ma-
jesty's Government should possess the confidence of this House
and the country, and that that confidence is not reposed in
your Majesty's Ministers." The majority of the House held
that op tk' on—a pretty co:ivineing per ,of that a majority of this
House held a doctrine which he (arl Fitzwilliam) undoubt-
edly held with them, that they were sometimes to look to
persons as well as to measures. He thought that doe-