The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-04-28 00:00:00

SIR ROBERT PEEL AND MR. D'ISRAELI.

The Daily News gives the following report of the smart
scene which occurred in the House on Friday evening be-
tween these two honourable gentlemen, another account
of which is given in our usual parliamentary summary:—
In reply to Mr. S. O'Brien's questioo, Sir R. Peel an-
nounced, amid loud cheering, that be unhesitatingly de-
clined any compromise affecting the Corn Bill.
A scene now ensued which imparted somewhat of pi-
quancy to the debate.
Mr. B. DISRAELI had commenced what he promised
should be a reply to Mr. Cobden. As a champion of " the
country party,"
.Mr. Disraeli had taken exception to his
opp 'rent's boast about the influence of " the people liv-
ing in towns." Diverging, however, from the main of his
discourse, he was taking his wonted gratification by a side
attack upon Sir Robert Peel, for having cheered the ut-
terance of ihis heresy. At first the right hon. baronet al-
iowed the speaker to proceed without interruption, but
upon a rather superfluous iteration of the taunt, the mi-
nister suddenly rose, and in emphatic tone, exclaimed :
" 1 totally deny it." Loud cheers followed this brief in-
timation. A pause ensued. " Sir," said Mr. Disraeli,
with apparently suppressed emotion, " if the right hon.
baronet charges me with having :aid anything false, I de-
cline to proceed," arid immediately resumed his seat.
After a few moments, Mr. Newdegate rose, and with
much solemnity inquired of Sir Robert Peel a hether his
(Mr. Newdegate's) ears had deceived bin during the re-
cent confusion. The inquiry was answered affirmatively.
Mr. Peter Borthwick rose, and having gracefully cast his
.tEgis over his friend the member for Shrewsbury, the
angry dispute proceeded. Major Macnamara suggested
that the t'me of the house might be spared, by some other
place being selected as the rendezvous for explanation.
Lord George Bentinck rose to dispel, however, the belli-
gerent tendency of the debate. Mr. H Hinde followed
the course. Sir James Graham, Mr. Miles, Mr. Stuart
Wortley, Mr. Brotherton, and Mr. Corbally, cleared away
whatever remained of bitterness, by bearing w.tness to
Sir Robot Peel's complete innocence of Mr. Disraeli's
charge. Sonie civil words inlet changed by the disputants
themselves terminated to the satisfaction of the house
what promised at one time to be " a very pretty quarrel."

DARING ROBBERY BY A CLERK.-EXTRA-

ORDINARY CONFESSION.

A few days since. information was received at the I divi-
sion station-house, High-street, Kensington, that at about
one o'clock that at'ernoon, a young man. named Henry
Nom. an, clerk in the service of Mr. William Hoot, the
builder and railway contractor, had absconded, stealing
and taking with him the sum of £57, the property of Mr.
Hoof. On the same evening, Mr. Hoof received the fol-
lowing letter from his dishonest servant. which is a
curiosity as a confession of misdeeds :
" Sir,-1 have to inform you I am not what I repre-
sented myself to you, when I came to your office, and to
give you a slight history of myself, that you may under.
stand that it was quite impossible that I could remain a
eerk in your service. At 17 years of age I entered the
Queen's service in the Customs ot Jamaica, and continued
robbing them of many thousands of ptunds before I was
tweirty•orie years of age. I afterwards went to the United
Stwes of America. where I committed numerous crimes,
not even hesitating at murder,' and finished ',lf by
robbing a pawnbroker's shop of about .£l.OOO worth of
money and property. Since my return to this country, I
have committed so many robberies in differen places, and
so many people know my renown, that you must soon
have discovered it. Circumstautais over which human
beings c..in have no control have made me what I am.
The principal is my having had the misfortune to have the
most degraded drunken monster for a father that ever
poor devil had. What I might have been, had not the
Almighty made me the son of a despicable wretch, I dare
not think of, or I should drive myself mad. Caesar, in
his account of his Gallic war, say he took TJVATC-ifies by
assault, and slew a million of men. I have committed
more than 1.800 distinct robberies, and have been con-
cerned in five murders, besides many other atrocities,
which, on a small scale, entitles me to consider myself as
great as Caesar. Fortune sent him into the world, nobly
born, in fortunate times to push his fortunes, and the
same jade s nt me into the world the son of a low —,
and that scoundrel took care that I should not have a
chance of being anything higher in the social scale. Mr.
—'s address is If you are lucky enough to catch
him sober, he will inform you of the truth of what I tell
you, or you may ascertain it by calling at the Custom-
house, in Thames-street. Ask to see the secretary. The
greatest games er, felon, villain, murderer, and swindler
in the world bids you farewell for ever.
" HENRY NORMAN."

The letter was addressed to " William Hoot, Esq.,
Madeley House. Kensington," and bore the post-mark of
" Judd-street, New-road." Similar letters were also sent
to Dr. Pali., at whose school at Barnes, Surrey. the de-
linquent was educated, and to annther gentleman, to
whom he was known. It has subsequently been ascer-
tained that he resigned his situation in the Customs on
the 31st of December, 1841, his defalcations amounting at
that time to £750, and also that he was apprehended in
August, 1812. on a charge of stealing a gold watcb from a
house in the Haymarket, at which he was lodging, but was
acquitted.

THE EARL OF HARwA I( IC AND TIIE
CORN LAWS.

The annual meeting of the trustees of the Bedford Level
was held a few days since, his Glace the Duke of Bedford
in the chair. After the tran,action of some routine busi-
ness, it was proposed to petition the House of Lords not
to sanction the measure for the repeal of the corn laws.
The Earl of Hardwick, in support of the motion, ob-
served that there was no part of the British dominions,
which, from its posi'ion, had mere tight to express a
strong opinion on that all important question than this
Bedford Level, inasmuch as there was no part of the
country in a similar situation. The manufacturers con-
tended that they deri,ed their prosperity from the em-
ployn ent of art and science as aids to capital. That was
undoulyedly true; hut he felt that they of the Bedford
Level were er, titled to use the same language, for then
they existed by the very same means. That great
country had been broueht to its presont high state of cul-
tivation by the art and indos:ry of man. lie could not
help feeling that the House of Lords and the i igher ranks
of society were of all others the least. interested in this
question ot free trade. Suppose that his noble friend on
his eft (the Duke of Bedford) were to find his property
reduced one-fourth in value, would it be believed that it
would make any very material alteration in his comforts
as a British nobleman ?—pr.iuil from his high descent,
and noble from his virtues. But what was the case of
other classes? Look at the condition of the artizan.
Stetuld he suff-r a diminution in wages, what a serious
effect would it not have—how much must it lessen the
comforts of his family. There could be no doubt that the
proposed alteration of the law would reduce wages; anti
it was chi-fly upon this groind that he was prepared to
support, in his place in the House of Lords, the present
system of protection to the industry of the lend. It was
impossible to estimate the extent of mischief which such a
measure was calculated to inflict on the country. By a
rep al of the corn law they would run the risk of throw-
ing that vast district out of cultivation—and they would,
therefore, run the risk of increasing the price of fool io
the long run, in place of eff.cting any diminution. That
was his de iherate conviction. and it was for that reason
he advocated the continuance of a moderate system of
protective duties. After the moat careful examination—
having viewed the subject in all i's bearings—he felt can-
fident that the manufacturer of Manchester would, before
many years, be the man to come to parliament to ask for
p oteetion for the produce of his mills. Only let the corn
laws he repealed, and we shall see with what competition
the British manufacturer will have to contend.. Before
long, the progress of science in other countries, and the
advantages given to fereieners for the purpose of render-
ing the British agriculturist powerless in raising food tor
home consumpthn, will cause the mill-owners of Man-
chester to supplicate Parliament to extend them protec-
tion for their skill, industry, and capital. Facts would
soon come forth, showing that a great pressure upon the
cotton-manofaciuring interest, caused, probably, in some
measure, by our sending out steam-engines to facilitate
the manufacture of cotton at the very place where the raw
material is grown, had been to the manufacturers a fear-
ful notice of the risk by competing unprotected with the
advancing science of other countries. The cheap loaf was
a sort of last hope to there—the y thought if they could ger
what was called a cheap loaf, even for a time, they might
so reduce t. e wages of labour, as to enable them to hold
up against the tide of competition which they bad brought
to bear against themselves. There might, no doubt, be
some persons connected with this tree trade movement
who were acted by ulterior motives; but the immediate
object was personal gain. It was not for him to predict
the issue of the present movement ; hut as far as regarded
the House of Lords, he was assured there was not one in-
dividual in that ms,inbly with whom the question would
weigh for one moment as to whether a repeal of the corn
law would raise or depteciate the rent of land. No; the
real and single question would be this—had those laws
really, and in fact, tended to cheapen food by the encou-
ragement given to agriculture ; or. on the other hand,
would the abolition of the law have the effect of increas-
ing the price of food ultimately, if not immediately, by de-
creasing the means of agricultural industry, and transfer.

ing our dependence for bread from the British farmer to
a foreigner, that foreigner possibly an enemy ? 'Those were
the lights in which the House of Lords would regard that
great question. For his own part, it was of little moment
bow it might be settled. The view he took of it was no+
connected with his own property ;, he had never taken that
into consideration. and he felt quite confident that his no-
ble friend (the Duke of Bedford) had never allowed his
individual interest to interfere with his judgment upon the
subject. He believed that the House of Lords collectively
world only come to a decision upon the same broad and
public grounds. The members of that house would only
look to the p-rrnanent interest of, and with a view to the
welfare of millions. The noble lord concluded by ex-
pressing his determination to support the petition.
Several other speeches in favour of continued protection
having been delivered, the petition was agreed to.