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

were reasons to hope that all things would return inte r
that peaceful channel and pacifie state that existed pre-
vious to the late dissensions. The success of the nego-
tiations, which had been carried on in that part
of the world, justified the confidence expressed in that
portion of her Mojesty's Speech, wherein she trusted
that affairs would be settled to the mutual advantage.
With respect to trade and commerce, of that part of out
foreign possessions. In the midst of all this, your Lord-
'ships will naturally regret that her Majesty is unable
to announce the conclusion of the war in China.
It was not his business, nor did he mean to
enter into an examination of previous questions con-
nected with that war, nor of the measures that would
probably be adopted with respect to it by the present
Government. He should confine himself to his pro
per task, which was to express his sentiments o:
.:ongratulation at the uniform success that had
attended the, British arms, and the gallantry
mad skill of the British forces. lie did not mean to say
hat the conduct of those forces placed them in all re-
pects, as to the brilliancy and importance of their ope-
•ations, equal to operations of a former period. He would
:lot venture on so extravagant an assertion ; but h,
night say that they bad done their duty in the face of
„he enemy, both with gallantry and skill. They had
lone it too in the face of such disheartening things as
sickness and suffering, and in spite of such temptations
o disorder, as were quite as formidable as any enemy.
It would be impossible to conjecture what the success o'
he n"gotiations with China might be; but he trusted with
wrfect confidence that, as far as human efforts can avail,
.he conduct of affairs in Chiria would be distinguished
)3, gallantry and guided by the skill and experience of
he officers her Majesty had selected to command in
hat country. Their Lordships would be able para.
•ularly to assure her Majesty that they would enter on
he consideration of those matters of grave moment par-
ticularly recommended to their deliberation "on points
:onnected with the finances. It was in vain for their
Lordships to shut their eyes to the fact that for several
years past the annual revenue had not been
aifficient to meet the annual demands upon it,
‘Hear, hear.) It would be perfectly preposterous
o dwell on points of detail for the purpose of showing
he danger of such a state of things. He was sure their
Lordships would turn their instant attention to a remedy,
trid while they enforced the most rigid 'economy con-
sistent with the perfect efficiency of the public service,
.hat they would institute an inquiry into the state of
he finances and the mode of their application, and that
their Lordships would be prepared with such measures as
t'arliament in its wisdom might think proper to accept.
[heir Lordships would also have to take into their consi-
dderation the state of the laws affecting our imports.
the question of a duty on foreign corn had for Kern
time excited much and warm discussion, and lie was
oath to introduce it on this occasion lest it might pro-
loke that discussion which it was so desirable, on an oc-
oasion of this kind, to avoid. He was unwilling to in-
`rude his poor opinion on their Lordships on a question
,f such magnitude and importance, in which all were
interested. At all events he would not venture to do
so on the present occasion, in the absence of all know-
ledge on the subject. But he might express his satisfac-
tion that a measure was to be proposed on this subject
from the only quarter from which such a measure would
prove effectual, from the Government the country.
When the details of that measure were unfolded, every
Nlember of that House would he prepared to giveit a calm
tad impartial considerat;on, and view the measure both in
itself and in the bearings which it had on every class of
her Majesty's subjects. Their Lordships would also pay
the closest attention to a measure proposed to tje intro-
duced with regard to the law of marriage, and to a mea-
sure affecting the registration. He trusted that every
class would be enabled to have the full exercise of their
privileges without delay and without distinction. In
the whole range of topics contained in her Majesty's
speech, there was not one in which their Lordships would
more cordially agree than with the statements referring
to the distress prevailing in the manufacturing districts,
except the expression of admiration of the fortitude with
which that distress had been borne. Notwithstand-
ing all the temptations which
.poverty and suf-
ferings held out to crime, their privations had
been borne with the greatest patience. Their
Lordships asked earnestly whether there could be
devised any measure which would have the effect
of mitigating and preventing the recurrence of
those scenes which he (the Earl of Dalhousie)
thought, that, while the world remained as it is, could
never be by any human sagacity foreseen, nor by
any amount of human wisdom be altogether pre-
vented. He (the Earl of Dalhousie) had endeavoured
to discharge the duty with which he had the honour to
be entrusted, and no man was more sensible than he
was of the deficient manner in which he had
acquitted himself. He trusted, however, that their
Lordships would excuse him if in the insufficient
manner in which he had treated those impollant sub-
jects he had unnecessarily wasted their Lordships,
time.—(Hear, hear.)
V i srddunrte Address ,M
d OUthe RN d'e L
h e Nobleori who Lord
bad
wlaobad e
seconded
moved
the
him, had properly stated that there were- occasions on which
it was most difficult to acquit. oneself, and that such
an occasion was the present. He ( Viscount Melbourne) ex-
pressed his entire concurrence both in the Speech which
her Majesty had been advised to deliver from the Throne,
and also in the Address which had been moved
by the Noble Lord opposite ; and unquestionably if there was
nothing in that Speech or in the Address, which should excite
opposition, there was certainly nothing either in the speech of
the Noble Lord who had moved it, nor of the Noble Lord who
had seconded it, to warrant opposition. Upon no occasion
had he (Viscount Melbourne) heard a speech of more ability
and propriety than that in which the Address had been moved
on the present occasion. The Noble Lord who seconded
the Address had already given to their Lordships
specimens of great ability on former occasions, and
he ( Viscount Melbourne) was sure that their Lord-
ships had heard, with satisfaction, the manner in which
he acquitted himself on the present occasion. With
respect to those matters which formed the first part of the
Speech, there could be but one feeling in joining in
that voice of gratulation to her Majesty on the joyous event
which had recently occurred. Connected with that event was
the arrival in this country of that Illustrious Monarch whose
coming and whose character had been treated with so much
just and proper eulogy. Not treating othercountries with dis-
respect, he ( Viscount 111. ) must be allowed to say, that he always
looked with peculiar interest to the kingdom of Prussia.
Never did he feel more regret than when causes of difference
and alienation had arisen to prevent any concurrence
of our country with that kingdom, with which, by simila-
rity of religion, and by most intimate ties of blood,
and by considerations of public interest, we were united. He
( Viscount Melbourne) thought that what had happened on
the present occasion would be an additional guarantee for the
future union of the two nations upon all occasions, for the
purpose of advancing the benefit of the human race,
and the preservation of the peace of Europe. It was for the
good of human affairs that those entrusted with the Govern-
ment of a country should hold a good opinion of the state of af-
fairs entrusted to them, and upon the present occasion it was
impossible not to congratulate Ministers upon the more com-
fortable view which they took of affairs now than on the 24th
of August last.--(Hear, hear, and cheers.) It was impos-
sible for him (Viscount Melbourne) not to rejoice that
upon a more intimate acquaintance with the transactions
which had been and were still going on, Ministers, had found
that affairs were not so desperate nor so hopeless as had been
supposed. He particularly congratulated the Noble Lord the
the President of the Board of Trade, who took perhaps the
most melancholy view of any person, knowing as he
did that Noble Lord's anxiety for the public
welfare ; he could not but congratulate him
at finding affairs in many. quarters of the globe in a better situ-
ation than he had anticipated. That Noble Lord had talked
of the strange and anomalous war in China, which he (the
Noble Lord) had seen no hope of bringing to a conclusion.
Now his Noble Friend was so far changed in opinion on that
subject, that he now joined in that Speech which stated that
what had taken place encouraged a hope that the skill and
gallantry of our naval and military forces would soon put an
early termination to that war. He would next refer to the Corn-
law. He supposed there were measures intended to be introduced
on this subject ; he begged leave to say that he hoped her Ma-
jesty's Ministers would reconsider the sliding scale. He hoped
they would re-consider the sliding scale—( Cheers and hear)—
that measure which they had brought forward with so much
formality and solemnity, but he would remind them that no so-
lemnity could sanction such an absurdity as that was.
He did hope they would re-consider the sliding scale.—(Loud
cheers.) It was all that was ridiculous in romance—such things
might be read of in Rabelais ; he knew there was nothing to
which men might not be driven by absurdity—( Hear, hear)__
but he did think that this was the greatest absurdity that he
had ever heard of—an absurdity which made it necessary for
the leaders of the great Conservative party—great and pow-
erful as it was, to declare their opinions on the Corn-laws.—
( Loud cheers.) They had laid their heads together,
and they had come down to the House of Parliament—the
leader of their party and his Honourable Friends, Lord
Stanley and Sir James Graham—and they could not say
one word on the subject; but one thing they did say,
that they would still stand by the sliding scale.
They never would do anything with the sliding scale, or the
average system —(Hear, hear)—with a scale rising with the
fall, and sinking with the rise in the price of corn.—( Hear,
hear.) With that system they never would do anything, but
add to the uncertainty, insecurity, and instability of a trade
already in its own nature uncertain, insecure, and un-
stable.—( Cries of " Hear, hear.") He agreed with the
the Noble Lord who moved the address, that it was not the
time to go into the detail of those topics; but he would express
his hope that the Noble Lords opposite, before they introduced
their measures, would re-consider that point of the slid-
ing scale, and that they would not be governed in
dealing with it by any engagements which they might
have made.—( Hear, and laughter.) The last topic on which
he would make any remark was that in which her Majesty was
advised to express her sympathy for the deep distress which pre-
vailed. Whatever could be done by prudent measures
to alleviate that distress, or to prevent its recurrence,
should be done with the utmost promptitude. But it
was decidedly his opinion that no measure could
altogether prevent the recurrence of such distress. He
fully concurred with the Noble Lord opposite (the Marquis of
Abercorn) that in a manufacturing country like this, having a
large mass of population depending upon taste and fashion, and
the uncertain demand of foreign countries, it would be a delu-
sion to hold out any promise of measures which
could prevent the recurrence of distress—of great fluctuation
in employment, and in the wages of the working people.—
( Hear, hear.) When such distress recurred it was, at dif-
ferent periods, attributed to various causes, to which he never
thought they could be referred. Thus it was now
attributed to the Corn-laws, which he did not be-
lieve to be the cause, but the uncertain nature of
the employment, or its being inevitably subject to periodical
depression.—( Hear, hear.) He would never consent to hold
out the expectation that such distress would be alleviated by
great and organic changes in the Constitution, or by change
of the persons by whom the Government of the country
was administered. If that were once admitted there would no
longer be any stability in the institutions of the country.—
( Hear, hear.) We had passed through times of much change
and reparation of the Constitution, and it was said that those
who supported those measures had lost their popularity.
But if those changes had fallen into discredit, it was
not on account of their own demerits, but on account of time
disappointment occasioned by their not having effected all that
was expected from them. If Catholic emancipation disap-
pointed the people in its effects, it was because it did
not produce all the good that was expected from it.
The Reform Bill also had not fulfilled all the good
that was expected from it. But with respect to those mea-
sures, their failure to give satisfaction was not because they
had not worked well—he believed they had worked
well—but it was on account of the wild, unmeasured, and
exaggerated expectations held out from them.—( Hear,
hear.) He never was a party to raising those