The Sun.
London, England, 1842-02-12 00:00:00

those geLtlemen who had been appointed Delegates were the
best medium through which the feelings of the people should
be made known to the country, but he could not resist the
request of the Committee to appear on the present occasion.
Every person must be aware that, from his earliest political
career, he had urged upon the Legislature and the country the
necessity for the total abolition of all those restrictions which
tended to impede the manufacturing interests of England.
He had, therefore, to look back with perfect satisfaction
to his own efforts, humble as they might have been;
but. at the same time, he had to look back with great regret
that the suggestions which he had offered, when they could
have prevented calamity, had been neglected until they were
driven to the last extremity. He could have no hesitation in
saying, that if be were in the House of Commons he should
have designated the proposition of Sir It. Peel as a cold-blooded
insult.—(Loud cheers.) After five months' deliberation—
after holding out the hope that he would bring forward some
measure for the relief of the prevailing distress—he (Mr.
Hume) had certainly a better opinion of the intellect of Sir R.
Peel, than to suppose he would treat the people as he did. He
(Sir R. Peel) declared in the House of Commons that he be-
longed to no party, but that he would bring forward such mea-
sures as, in his honest judgment, he thought would relieve the
country. After such a declaration as that, he never met with
such a disappointment as when he read Sir Robert Peel's
plan which, in point of fact, was no improvement whatsoever
upon the present one. If the small modification which he
proposed 14 years ago, when he made a proposition to abolish
the taxes, had been acceded to, these restrictions would now
have been nearly abolished. But those times were gone by now.
--(Loud cheers.) His opinion was that nothing could secure
the country from the calamities at which every good man must
shudder, without the entire removal of those laws.—(Cheers.)
He spoke not of the Corn-laws alone, but of the Provision-
laws in general, and all those restrictive duties which prevent
our industrious fellow-countrymen from earning an honest and
independent livelihood.—(Loud cheers.) '1 he people were
not now the idle vagabonds that wished to eat the bread of
idleness. He was an old tactician, and had often expressed
his opinions on matters connected with the markets; but he
believed that at no time before were the affairs of this country
placed in so critical a position as at present. Sir R. Peel
confided in the House of Commons not having discrimination
sufficient to see his scheme—not to see the farce between him
and the Duke of Buckingham. Such shallowness of intellect
would be ridiculous in any man of the most ordinary capacity.
He (Mr. Hume) could not believe that Peel, as a reasonable
man, could have gulped the pledge which he had given a few
months before to bring forward some remedy; and now he
brings forward what must be considered an insult from the
laudlord's Parliament. They could expect little better from a
Parliament constituted as the present was, composed of
deputies from the landlords, deputies from the clergy—in fact,
they were nothing more than an assemblage of the deputies of
the aristocracy and of the monopolists. He often had regretted
to think that men of capital, holding high positions as bankers
and merchants, took the part of the Tories, and supported re-
strictions. It had fallen to his lot to study the character of
different classes, and he found that as men increased in wealth
and became landed proprietors, they forgot their former position
and those with whom they toiled, to join a party who tried to de-
prive the people of that share of liberty to which they
were entitled under a constitutional government. To
those capitalists he would address a few words. Lei
them look upon the present system—capital was wasting away
—property ere long will be scarcely able to maintain them in
the situations in life in which they are placed, and what
must Sir R. Peel think of those men who would support him,
whilst he was crushing to the ground those interests upon
which they had been raised themselves to their present posi-
tion? He rejoiced to see so many delegates from all parts of the
country, as it was important at the present juncture
to have such an array of public opinion.—( Cheers. )
It was therefore his sincere wish that they would teach the mo-
nopoly-men—Stanley and the rest—that they would not give
protection to the few at the expense of the many. He there-
' fore trusted that on separating, as he understood it was possible
they might separate to-night—he trusted that every man who
was there, and :every one who read the accounts of what had
taken place there—he hoped they all would consider that per-
haps on him depended the repeal of these iniquitous laws.—
( Cheers.) Let every man feel that he himself was the com-
mencement of the agitation, and then they would obtain their
wishes. He spoke deliberately, because he had heard in the
House of Commons and elsewhere that when the people of Eng-
land shall show a desire and determination of obtaining justice
for themselves, the Legislature must yield.—(Loud cheers. )
Let them therefore bring the subject forward in every town and
village—let every man come forward and assist in the object,
and let them not satisfy themselves with a simple meeting, but
let every man get up and record his aye or no with respect to
the principle of this taxation. If they would go on that princi-
ple, they might with perfect confidence look to the result. In
a population of 1,000 men—take the ladies in addition, if they
pleased—(Hear, hear)—but let him have the men, and out of
that thousand men let them see how many there were
amongst them who refused to denounce the oppression of their
fellow-men. If they did this he had no hesitation in saying
that Sir Robert Peel and his party would not be long before
they changed their course, or yielded to others to take their
situation. He (Mr. Hume) thought that now an opportunity
was offered for the Whigs to come forward; let them come
forward, then, and join in the ranks of the people.—( Loud
cheers.) Let them demand the repeal of these laws—no hold-
ing back—no fixed duty—but a total and immediate repeal.
He was proud to see that many of the Whig aristocracy had
shown a nobleness and disinterestedness of purpose, and he was
sure that if full evidence of the justice of the cause of the peo-
ple was shown to them, they would come forward and heartily
join in the great cause.—(Cheers.) He (Mr. Flume) there-
tore hoped that the result of the insult which had been offered
to the public would induce those who had hitherto proposed a
fixed duty, to come forward and demand a total repeal.—( Loud
cheers.) Not only a repeal of the Corn.laws, but a total re-
peal of all restrictions on the importation of every thing which I
tended to add to the expenses of living, and place the labourer
of England on the same footing, with respect to food, as the in-
habitants of other countries; by which the country would be
continued in its present high situation. England had many
advantages,. and she had many disadvantages; but she occupied
a position in the world, and he would ask what England would
be, now the dearest country in the world to live in. what she
would be if it was the cheapest ?—( Hear.) Place England in
the same situation as France with respect to provisions, and he
cared not if the people were insulted by comparing the comfort
of the Prussian with. the Englishman. It was not to say this
man has Is. a day and this man 6d., but they must look at the
state of comfort of each, and the state of happiness, morally
and physically. Let him ask Sir Robert Peel if there was any-
thing in Prussi a like the protection which existed in England?
Was there any country in the world like Britain? He was sorry
to say Ireland was worse, and England was fast progressing to
that state of destitution which existed in Ireland. England and
Scotland would come to the same footing by the same baneful
legislation that devastated Ireland. What they claimed
was equal laws, equal constitutional rightls—this it was
that they claimed, and this he hoped they would obtain.
—(Cbeers. ) He would not enter into statistical details, they
heard them from day to day and year to year. He would
make one allusion to a motion which was brought forward by
the Marquis of Chandos, now the Duke of Buckingham' for the
relief of the landed interest. He (Mr. Hume) stood forward
on that occasion. He had just returned from travelling on the
Continent; he had visited many of the manufacturing towns
of the Continent, in Germany, France, Belgium, and when
this motion was brought forward he was well enabled to judge
of the situation of each country, and he showed the difference
on that occasion between this country and those of the Con-
tinent. He showed that so far from the landed interest having
any claim to be exempt from taxation, and have a monopoly
over their fellow-countrymen, that they were exempt from
taxes on the land, which were paid by the landed proprietors
of other countries; and what was more, the amount
of millions which were paid by the people to the
taxes, did not fall on the landed aristocracy. He would only
say, that the Committee of Inquiry on this subject, which was
formed in 1836, had shown that the taxes paid by the landed
proprietors were not one-eighth of the taxes of the country.
the farmer who paid 3001. and 4001. of rent, said before that
Committee, that he could hardly mention any taxes they paid,
they were so trifling, the principal being the tax upon his
horse, upon which he rode to market. Hence the taxes of the
landed proprietors were altogether unequal to that of
other nations, whilst the working classes were burthened
to an ' enormous extent. New taxes were levied
in 1841, and he would first state the facts, and then draw his
conclusions. In 1841 Mr. Baring proposed to raise two mil-
lions and a, half of money by additional taxation. He (Mr.
flume) informed him that the plan he was about to adopt
could not succeed—that two and two in political economy did
not make four. The taxes we paid then were upwards of fifty-
three milliens,and profits were higher, and provisions cheaper than
they were at present. Things were dearer now and profits were
low, and then the people paid equal to 73 millions of taxeitcompa_red
with the times when profits were high mid prices low. The
the
The
mode of increasing the taxes was only a means of reducing
revenue, and the best means of increasing the revenue,wass bye
reducing the taxes on the necessaries of the people.
had represented to Mr. Baring, but the additional taxation was
levied, and what was the consequence ? Instead theof reve-
nuethe
coming up to fifty-three millions, notwithstanding ad-
dition of two millions and ahalf of tales, the revenue fell 200,000 /.
below the revenue of the former years. It was then that he
Loudhad represented to the House of Commons that the onl tax
that would benefit the revenue was a property-tax.— (
cheers.) They must relieve the industry of the country, and
it they relieved the taxes on the industry of the country he
had no objection to taxes being levied on personal property.—
( Hear, hear, and cheers.) The rich landed proprietor
did not pay one quarter the amount of the taxes of
the country in proportion to the poor man. He came to that
portion of Mr. Thompson's statement to the meeting relative
to the resolution of the ladies. He hoped no step would be
taken that was not constitutional. He wished to see the ge-
neral taxation reduced, and he would tell them how they had
the power to stop the exchequer by constitutional means. 7he
Exchequer received five millions from the duty on spirits.—
( Hear.) He counselled them, therefore, if they sought to teach
the unchristian heart of their oppressors, that their cause was
worthy of their notice, to show to them the effects of these
laws—the destitution, the disease, privation, anti death, which
ensued from these laws,—let them refrain from the use of
spirits, which Would deprive the revenue of five millions of the
taxes, and thus would they not only confer a blessing on the
country, but great moral blessings on themselves. Could the}
not imitate the example of Father Mathew in Ireland
The revenue In Ireland had greatly decreased in consequence of
these exertions, but he was sorry to say that while it had de-
creased in Ireland, from this source, it had increased in Eng-
land The Right Hon. Member for he did not know how
many places he was Member for—( Cheers, andlaughter. ) He
only wished he was Member for rural places. He (Air. Hume)
recollected the Hon. Gentleman asking him seriously if he
thought that agitation would progress, did he (Mr. Hume)
think it would go on ? He ( Air. Hume) then told him he
thought it would go on.—(Cheers.) It had been raid that
their agitation would create schism amongst class and class.
They would show, by their determined opposition
to these, laws, how fallacious was the idea.—(Loud cheers.)
Now, there were five millions of money received from the duty
on spirits.—( Hear, hear.) It was in their power to put a stop
to all this.—(Cheers.) Five millions more were received from
beer.—(Near,
hear.) He would not say that they ought to
put a stop to all this, for sometimes he thought beer was a
. neces-
Ml,—(Cries of " No, no.") He thought there were circum-
,
ga/lePt, which it might be allowed to be a uecessary, but it
it was
very possii4 for thgrn to effect a great reduction in this
branch of revenue. Now, as to tobacco—wily should any man
poison himself to swell the revenue?—( Hear.) There was a duty
of three millions a ear on that, to which it was in their power
/1? put an end.—(hear, hear.) With respect to the revenue
!pterfere Witt} ttit, for
derived from Bug".
- • could not see that it was possible to
wa,:; sorry
necessary, especially to young mem and fcmales. Indeed he
must not do ailything to oporive thpm ti. (A pry of
Idreeacr ofn:dihereemd,aalnmdothey
a
" When do you have • "".Th H h d
wine, followed by cheering.) e tad
« idea of persuading the poor
to i4l that wasSliagiraOradmyigtooht
to dispense with spirits,
whilst he allowed the rich man drinkto
oman
If
):e joined in such a movement wine.—(Cheers.)
as he recommended, he would
eel himself hoard t 9 set the example, and to abstain from
.ine:--Lipeat, 'hear.) Thus the of
20,006,0001. of rethtte • sail' if had the comluan, .
they cddtd inily by aSlioeiation
and arrangement give the 'test
to a stifficietit` number to re-
de that expenditure, they would brink the Government to
a sense' of Oleic Cheers, and • '
ItirtillibM tfi'e boVernment with a 400.) So long as they
• t filoilev the would continue
insult 'the' peciPle(llfeli.,' ear ..
•electors indeed,
in their own' ,otf • T '
, it,power , but Mid vas to' lid eireeted
ftoni that body as at present'constituted' wh
Mit in favour of Corn-law' m • • when th ey turned him
an in such a town as Leeds
(Heal., 'hear, and a laugh. hat could b• • • • .