The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-02-24 00:00:00

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-FRIDAY.

The adjourned debate was resumed by Mr. C. Bruce,
who spoke against the government measure, as did Mr.
Newdegate and Captain Bennett ; Mr. P. Scrope, Mr.
Barkly, and Mr. Muntz spoke in favour of it.
Mr. D'ISRAELI said he would leave the right hon.
baronet at the head of the government to settle the ques-
tion of the currency with his new supporter, merely ob-
serving that the speech of the hon. member for Birming-
ham was even a more powerful protectionist effusion than
that of Lord Sandon on a former evening. He had no
reason to complain that Sir Robert Peel had deferred so
much to public opinion ; but he did complain of the right
hon. baronet for having, in acting upon his changed opi-
nions, outraged public feeling. He believed that it was
owing to the existence of a just, a judicious, and a mode-
rate protection, that the country had risen to its present
state of prosperity. If he were even to admit that Prus-
sia was shaken, that the United States were coming round
to free-trade principles, and that France was similarly
situated, he would still doubt that the example now set
by the Government would be extensively followed. The
manufacturing interests in this country and in the United
States were directly opposed to each other, and exactly as
we gained the western we should lose the eastern states of
the Union. With respect to France, also, he must say
that he believed the statesmen of that country were, for
the most part, in favour of high protection. He warned
the government that it was incurring a serious responsi-
bility by furthering the policy of the school of Manches-
ter, and by suffering themselves to be actuated rather by
panic than by prudence. The hon. gentleman argued at
great length against the doctrines of free-trade, which, if
carried out as proposed by the Government, could not
fail to prove most injurious to the interests of agriculture
in this country.
Mr. G.:BANKES then moved the adjournment of the
debate until Monday, which was at once agreed.

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL.

THE WEST INDIAN MAIL.

By the steamer Tay, R. Sharp, commander, which ar-
rived at Southampton on Friday afternoon, we have re-
ceived our usual files of papers. They contain, however,
little news of interest.
The traffic on the Kingston and Spanish-town Railway
was progressively increasing, and appears very likely
greatly to exoeed the anticipations of the projectors. No
accident or interruption whatever had occurred.
In Jamaica the crops on the south side of the island had
suffered from dry weather. On the north side the seasons
had been more propitious, and a corresponding result was
expected. The resignation of Sir R. Peel had caused
some sensation, and the West Indians are somewhat
alarmed at the prospect of an early adoption of free-trade
measures.
The Jamaica Despatch says—
" The question of immigration thrusts itself with in-
creased force upon our attention, now that the prospect of
an early competition with the produce of slave states seems
all but certain. It is obvious that without a greatly in-
creased labouring population, and a consequent reduction
in the price of labour, the British West Indian colonies
cannot compete on equal terms with countries which pro-
duce the same material by the far less costly means of
slave-labour ; and it behoves us, therefore, to neglect no
opportunity of increasing our population from whatever
source an increase might be derivable."