The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-02-09 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS-TUESDAY,

The adjourned debate 'on Ireland was resumed by Mr.
Hamilton, who was followed by Mr. John O'Connell,
Mr. C. Lawless, Lord Castlereagh, Mr. Gregory, Sir 11.
W. Barrow, Mr. Lefroy, Lord Clements, and Mr. Labou-
chere—all more or less in favour of the Ministerial mea-
sures. Sir It. PEEL closed the debate. He deprecated a
general debate on the measures before the House in their
present state, as they. could be weighed and considered in
all their details when they were brought into committee.
They should at once proceed, if possible, to enact those
measures intended to meet the present distress. He was
prepared to grant full indemnity to her Majesty's govern-
ment for: the responsibility which they had assumed in the
crisis whieli had fallen upon them. He thought, how-
ever, that it would be an advantage in reference to the
future, that there should be, in the bill which granted the
indemnity, an explanation of the circumstances under
which the responsibility had been assumed. He was wil-
ling to give his assent at once to the bill for giving further
power to the relief committees. The evils of the present
system of public works in Ireland were great, and the
sooner the remedy was applied the better. He was sur-
prised that the right hon. gentleman who had just resumed
his seat, underrated the danger which arose from the ap-
plication by the government of the labour of the people to
public works, when he remembered that the right hon.
gentleman, only in August last, when commenting on the
conduct 'of the kite government, stated that the greatest
inconvenience arose in Ireland from directing labour from
the ordinary operations of business, when only 60,000 or
70,000 people were engaged upon public works. If this
was the ease then, how much more must it be so now,
when about half a million of people were so employed.
He was ready to give, under existing circumstances, a
wide discretion to the government. The officers who had
been engaged in carrying the present system into opera-
tion were entitled to the greatest credit. As to the land-
lords of Ireland, he thought that great allowance should
be made 'for the difficulties with which they were sur-
rounded. And in reference to that sex who were always
foremostin the works of charity and mercy, there was no
country in the world the " ladies and females" of which
exhibited instances of greater devotion and sacrifice of
health, time, and all worldly interests, in attempting to
alleviate the distress which existed around them, than did
those of Ireland. •It was impossible to read the volumes
which were- before the house; relating to public works,
and other subjects connected with Ireland, without award-
ing the highest meed of praise to both the higher and in-
ferior officers employed, for their industry, intelligence,
and integrity. As to the measures which had been fore-
shadowed to them, for the permanent improvement of
Ireland, it would be improper in the house to enter into
the discussion of their principle at present. He thought,
however, in respect to one of them—he meant that for the
sale of encumbered estates, that if was of far more import-
ance to Ireland than were some of the measures which
they were now discussing. With respect to the cultiva-
tion of the waste lands, he hoped the noble lord would
pause before he appropriated the public money to so pro-
blematic a purpose. In the conclusion of his opening
statement; the noble lord had advised the Irish proprietors
to act independently and for themselves, before they
looked foi external aid. Let him extend the application
of that principle to the reclamation of the waste lands.
To accustom the Irish people and proprietors to depend
upon this country for aid was only to paralyse the energies
of Ireland.. If the speculation in regard to the waste land
was a profitable one, private capital would soon be em-
barked in the enterprise ; if it was not profitable, they
would only be throwing away the public money in so ap-
propriating it. The noble lord had many and arduous
duties to
.perform, but if he attempted to make himself an
improver, on a large scale, of Irish bogs,lie would involve
himself in difficulties from which it would be no easy mat-
ter to escape.
The bills were then read a second time and ordered to
be committed.