The Sun.
London, England, 1827-05-26 00:00:00

already offered. Ido hope that your Lordships will permit
me to impress upon you the extreme importance of a can-
did, fair, and temperate discussion of this great subject.—
(Cheers.)—Give me leave to say, that on many recent oc-
casions more warmth has been displayed than usually dis.
turbs the equanimity of your Lordships' House.—( Hear, and
laughter.)—l trust that I shall not appeal to you in vain,
when I ask you on this occasion to allow this spirit, for a time
at least, to slumber. True it is, that you may naturally
consider yourselves the representatives of a particular class
—(No, no !)-1 say, that to a certain extent, you may
not unnaturally consider_ yourselves the representatives of a
particular class.—(Hear, and " No.") It is no reproach
to any Noble Lord—it is the very essence of the Consti-
tution of the country that the Aristocracy should be con-
nected with the land.—(Hear. )—lt hannot be otherwise ;
but I do not de' you the injustice to suppose, that because
your Lordships are interested in agriculture—because it is
entitled to look up to you for support, protection, and, I
admit, fur favour—you are on this account insensible in any
degree to the claims and interests of other classes.—
(Cheers.)—It would be a libel on your House—a libel
upon an English gentleman, to suppose that he was ac-
tuated by the miserable feeling of mere personal interest.
I believe that on this occasion you will discharge your
duty, from an honest conviction, that the course you are
about to take—whatever that course may be—is best cal-
culated to promote the welfare of the whole community.—
(Hear, hear:)—l only regret, to a degree which I can-
not adequately express, that all your Lordships should not
accede to the proposition for passing this Bill, because I
feel it is most essential to the interest of the country ; and
because I never would have brought myself to adv rate
it if I had looked at it in any other point of view.—
I hope—l know that you will recollect there are
other interests besides those of agriculture deeply con-
cerned in the issue , and watching anxiously the course
your Lordships may take.—(Hear, hear,)----Without
presuming too far, I may venture to state, that they have
a just claim, at this moment in particular, upon the con-
siderate attention of the House, because your Lordships
are aware of the degree of distress which, for the last 18
months, has pressed upon many classes of the community.
I think I may safely assert, that there never was a period
when distress pressed so heavily, and when the pressure of
that distiess produced so little complaint.—(Cheers.)—
Your Lordships may easily suppose that this bill relates to
a subject on which the passions of men may be easily ex •
cited, and inflammable materials may take fire with the
most destructive rapidity. This, at least, I may say of
the interests to which I allude—that they have merited
consideration by the fortitude and resignation with which
they have borne privations by some ascribed to the law you
are now discussing : not, indeed, so attributed by me. I
do not view the existing law and its effects in that light;
but no man will deny that these privations were not mate-
rially calculated to excite the warmest sensibilities. lam
not one who thinks that even to the law I propose to alter
can be assigned any portion of the prevailing distress; but
I know, that great error and much prejudice has prevailed
upon the question. I have said before, and I conclude
with the repetition, that if I am convinced sincerely of
anything, it is this—that in the success of the measure now
before the House are involved the real and permanent in-
terests of all classes of his Majesty's subjects.—(Hear.)
The Earl of MALMESBURY next addressed the House,
but the low tone in which his Lordship spoke, and a tem-
porary confusion at the Bar, prevented us from catching
the opening sentences. The Noble Earl was understood
to account for his rising so early in the debate, by the re-
gretted illness of the Noble Lord (Lauderdale) who was
used to take a lead in the discussions on this subject. As
to the hope expressed by the Noble Baron (Goderich) that
no party feeling would be allowed to influence their Lord-
ships in the decision of the question before the House, such
allusion could not apply to him (Lord Malmesbury), as,
though the Noble Baron had been but a short time among
their Lordships,'he must have been aware that he (Lord
Malmesbury) indulged in no party feelings on the subject
—in truth, the 'question was not a party question—it was
a national question—nor would he allude to the recent co-
alition between the lately opposed parties ; it had no con-
nection with the present subject—it could produce but little
influence on it. When that coalition, with all its circum-
stances, would be forgotten ; when the angry feelings
which it had excited' would be extinguished ; when the
very persons who had figured in the scene of party colli-
sion would be laid in the grave, the injuries of the bill be-
fore their Lordships would continue to be felt, if that bill
should be allowed by their Lordships, to pass into a law.
On that conviction of its injurious tendency, be rose on
that occasion to' oppose its further progress. He would
have opposed the proposal, when it was laid on their Lord-
ships' table, in the shape of resolutions, and before it
had assumed the shape ofa bill, bad he not been pre-
vented by the postponement of the debate, on the se-
cond reading, by the regretted illness of a Noble Earl
(Lauderdale.) The Noble Baron had dwelt at great
length, and with much force, on the many alleged evils
of the present system of the Cora Laws; but did these
most exaggerated evils exist in the year 1815, or the year
1822 ? Or, if they did, why was not the entire system alter-
ed, and these evils removed? The Noble Baron had certainly
proved the existence of inconveniences, as arising since the
-lawrs'el 1815 and 1822 ; but then he bad omitted to state
the very material alterations which the system had under-
gone since that period ; in fact, the prices, since then, were
not too high, as the Noble Baron had contended, but rather
too low, for the average price of any of the intermediate
years did not amount to sixty shillings, and the cause of
that was, that the system had been tampered with ; first,
by the measure called " Peel's Bill," which went to alter
the currency; and secondly, by the Bill allowing the ex-
portation 'of grain from British Canada.—The latter mea-
sure was pregnant with very important effects on the corn
trade of the mother country, for it appeared from returns
on the table of the House, that the ports of British Canada,
which before the passing of that Bill, had exported not more
than 9,000 quarters of wheat in the year, had sent out, the
very year after the removal of the restrictions, no less than
26,000 quarters. As to the Noble Lord's comparison of
Canada to Ireland, nothing could be more unfortunate for
his argument'; for the eqse of Ireland proved what a for-
midable rival to the agriculture of England the removal of
restrictions had gradually made that country in the pro,
gress of a few years. For instance, in 1807, the quantity
of wheat exported from Ireland was only 5,000 quarters ;
in 1808, it rose to 43,000;. in 1809, it was 66,000 ; and
in 1826, last year, it was no less than 569,000. In these
fifteen years, the produce of Ireland was increased ten-fold
—why, then, might it not be reasonably presumed that the
progress of Canada in the growth of corn, would be, in
course of time, as great as that of Ireland ? He would
allow, that the larger population of Ireland created some
difference, but it would appear to be the object of some to
remove it, by transplanting the population of Ireland
to Canada. He, however, was not one of those who thought
it right to assist Canada against Ireland, and to encourage
the Irish growers of corn in Canada, to compete with their
countrymen in the English corn market. Besides, it was
probable, that, in consequence of the differences between
this country and the United States, the corn trade of Ca-
nada would do nrucli among the West India Islands. He
had ever opposed that Bill on the principle, against the ar-
guments of the Noble Earl (Liveipool) then at the head of
the Administration; that Canada, as a British colony, ought
to be bound by no. restriction in her commerce, zeith the
Mother Country. He ha.d ever contended, that the Mother
Country, being over-taxed for the support of the general
empire, ought to be protected against the colonies—that
was the ground on which he opposed the Bill. And here
he had to complain of the disappointment of expectations
held out last year by that Noble Earl, who declared, through
the course of the Session of 1826, that no alteration was
intended to be made in that year in the system of the corn
trade. The Noble Earl had been asked, whether he in-
tended to let out the bonded corn? The answer was, no.
When the distresses of the manufacturers of the North were
pressed on the notice of the Noble Earl, and his (Lord
Malmesbury's) friends asked the Noble Earl, whether it
was the intention of the Government to adopt any public
measure for the relief of the distressed classes, the Noble
Earl stated, that it was not the intention of Governmen
to propose a grant of money, but to leave them to the cha-
ritable aid of the public; and they were left to the public,
and well it was for them ; and among the several classes
who contributed to their relief, the most prominent, (he
was proud to say,) were the agriculturists—yet, after these
repeated declarations, five hundred thousand quarters of
bonded wheat were let out on the market—a most injurious
measure—which, to his own knOwledge, produced a reduc-
tion of no less than from four to five shillings a quarter on the
stock of the British Agriculturists. Then followed the
opening of the ports, which, though not a measure deserv-
ing his commendation, he must allow to have been adopted
in the most constitutional manner, with the sanction of
Parliament; and here he was anxious to state, that he was
not such a stickler for the existing system' as to eontend,
that it ought to be left in the' condition in whichit stood at
preset ? No; he would retain the principle, but alter the
machinery by which it worked—as thus, he would suggest
the admission of fOreign corn, by instalments; at separate inter-
vals of time, and in limited quantities. If this suggestidn
Were adopted by the Govertnnent, it would make a better
system than any yet proposed ; for instance,-no snore than
500,000 quarters of wheat ought to be admitted at a time.
Suppose the average price to be 605., then let not more
than 300,000 quarters be let in; if, then, the average
should remain at the same .'price in October, 300,000
quarters might be -admitted; that manner of proceeding