The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-07-10 00:00:00

HOUSE Or COMMONS. "W - EDNESpAY.

On the house going into committee on the Marriages Bill,
Mr. A. J. HOPE moved a clause, of which Mr. R. Palmer
had given notice, (in substitution of clause 3,) providing that
the act should not be construed in any court to alter or affect
any doctrine canon, or law ecclesiastical of the Church of
England and Ireland, or that of Scotland, whereby the degrees
of consanguinity and affinity within which marriage is now
prohibited by those churches are settled, and that no clergy-
man of either church should be required or authorized by the
act to solemnize any marriage contrary to the doctrine or dis-
cipline of his church, or be exempted by this act from any
spiritual censure or punishment to which he would by law be
subject for solemnizing such marriage.
Mr. WORTLEY objected to the alteration, which was likewise
opposed by Sir G. GREY and other members, and strongly
supported by Mr. GLADSTONE. After a discussion of some
length, in which the binding virtue of the canons was much
considered, the amendment was withdrawn until the bringing
up of the report.
The clauses of the bill having been gone through,
Mr. F. MAULE moved a clause exempting Scotland from the
operation of the bill, but on a division it was rejected.
The bill, after the alteration of the preamble, was then or-
dered to be reported.
Mr. DUNCOMBE withdrew his Mines and Collieries Bill.

The Highways (District Surveyors) Bill was read a second
time, on the understanding that it is not to be pressed forward
during the present session.

HOUSE OF LORDS.-THIIRSDAY.

Lord BROUGHAM gave notice that on Monday week he would
submit a motion to the house relative to the intervention of
the French at Rome.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-7THURSDAY.

Mr. GLADSTONE moved that an humble address be present-
ed to her Majesty, praying her Majesty to direct means to be
taken to ascertain the legality of the powers, in respect to
territory, trade, taxation, and government, which are or re-
cently have been claimed or exercised by. the Hudson's Bay
Company on the continent of North America, under the char-
ter of his Majesty King Charles 11., issued in the year 1670, or
in virtue of any other right or title.
Mr. HAWES said there was no objection to the motion,
which was accordingly agreed to.
Mr. J. O'CONNELL then moved for leave to bring in a bill to
establish, by law, throughout Ireland, the custom of tenant-
right that has prevailed in the province of Ulster.
While the hon. gentleman was still speaking, the house was
counted out.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.-FRIDAY.

Mr. HERRIES gave notice, that on the first supply night he
would call the attention of the house to the state of the public
revenue, and to the propriety of increasing that revenue by
imposing a fixed duty on foreign corn.
In reply to Mr. Hume, Lord J. RUSSELL said the interfe-
rence of Russia in the affairs of Austria and Hungary did not,
as far as he knew, cause any breach in the treaty of Vienna
nor was he aware that Russia was to acquire any territorial
accession as the price of her Assistance to Austria.
The adjourned debate on the state of the nation was then
resumed by Mr. SLANET, who opposed Mr. Disraeli's motion,
as did also Mr. HUME. Mr. G.A. HAMILTON and the Earl of
MARCH supported it.
Sir R. PEEL said it was not his intention to enter into the
political questions raised by the motion ; the discussion of the
state of Ireland, colonial policy, and foreign policy in one
speech would leave little time to consider the main point at
issue that night—namely, shall the Government be displaced
for the subversion of our present commercial policy? Since
the accession of the Government, he observed, he had felt it to
be his duty to give to the great majority of their measures his
general support, making great allowance for the difficulties
they bad to contend with at home and abroad; at the same
time he wished it to be understood that all he implied by. the
vote he should give was that he approved of the general princi-
ples of commercial policy by which the Government had been
guided, and that he would not consent to a motion the direct
or main object of which was to substitute some other economic
principles. He then proceeded to examine the grounds upon
which Mr. Disraeli had impeached our present commercial
policy, and whether or no the new, or at least different, prin-
ciples of economic policy proposed to be substituted had any
• foundation in reason, or would contribute to the welfare and
prosperity of the country. Sir Robert showed that no new
principles had been introduced in 1846, which Mr. Disraeli had
selected as a point of comparison, and when he had admitted
the country was prosperous; before the end of 1845 the amount
' of taxation reduced upon raw materials or articles of food was
£6,582,000 ; and if any evils had resulted from the repeal of
the Corn Law, they were not earlier than the Ist of February,
1849; and he undertook to prove that the free-trade tariff not
only had not caused any one of the evils complained of by Mr.
Disraeli, but, on the contrary, had greatly mitigated them.
• He then showed that with the increase of imports there had
been no diminution, as predicted, but a large increase, of bul-
lion; that the reduction of duty, increased importation, and
greater cheapness of cotton, wool, dye-stuffs, and other rawmaterials, instead of interfering with, stimulated domestic in-
dustry, whilst they augmented the material comforts of the
labouring classes. The imports of manufactured goods, more
than half of which were re-exported, proved that this country,
by its warehousing system, became an entrepOt for other
countries. Having disproved the supposed inability of con-
tending with hostile tariffs by principles of free trade, Sir
Robert pointed out the fallacy of Mr. Disraeli's inference from
the apparent deficiency of £6,500.000 in the declared value of
' the exports in 1848, compared with that of 1845 and 1846—that
the working classes received so much less in one year than in
the other. Cheapness of materials diminished cost, and otli-

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cial value, he remarked, had no reference to quality, whereas
declared value was regulated by it. He next considered the
condition of the labouring classes—a most important element
in the question—reading communications from the country
which represented their condition as much improved ; and he
showed the inconclusiveness of Mr. Disraeli's argument drawn
from the increase of the poor-rate. The impeachment of our
commercial policy for the last five years having entirely failed,
Sir Robert nevertheless proceeded to consider what was the
policy proposed to be substituted, and this had been thus de-
clared by Lord Stanley—" We must return to the principle of
protection." Sir Robert assumed this to mean legislative en-
couragement of domestic industry for the purpose of protec-
tion, not of revenue, which, he maintained, was a vicious prin-
ciple ; if the Legislature required more to be paid for an article
at home than it could be got for abroad it was an interference
with capital, and would diminish the annual income of the
country. The doctrine that we should buy in the cheapest
market and sell in the dearest was, he observed, neither new
nor speculative, and in spite of hostile tariffs the true policy
was to buy our raw materials in the cheapest markets, no
mistake being so great as that of fighting such tariffs with
countervailing duties. One of the consequences of the success
of this motion would be the re-imposition of duties upon food ;
and he could truly say, as an agriculturist, no boon could be
more fatal to agriculture. By the policy adopted in 1842 the
Legislature had gained the confidence and goodwill of powerful
classes, and this country had been enabled to pass through
storms which had convulsed other nations. Sir Robert Peel
concluded a long and powerful speech by a very solemn appeal
to the house to reject the motion, and not to barter the glorious
heritage it had obtained by a most timely policy for a conside-
ration smaller, more sordid, and more worthless than any
since the days of him who had sold his birthright for a mess
of _pottage.
After the Marquis of GRANBY had spoken in favour of the
motion, and Lord JOHN RUSSELL against, the house divided,
when there were 156 in favour of the motion, and 296 against;
majority against, 140.

FOREIGN AND COLONIAL.

THE WEST INDIA MAIL.

The Royal Mail steam-ship Tay, Capt. Chas. M. Chap-
man, arrived at Southampton on Tuesday, from the West
Indies. _ _ _

The Tay brings on freight specie of the value of
£270,000 sterling, and consists of 1,334,325 dollars in gold
and silver, 6801 ounces of gold dust, &c.
Out of the above remittance are 300,000 dollars' worth
of sold from California, shinned at Chagres, some of which
is in very large lumps ; but it is principally in dust ana
flakes. _ _ _

The barque Mars Elizabeth, of Liverpool, bound to
Santa Martha, was reported to have been wrecked on the
morning of the 14th of May on Punta Gallinas. The
captain and crew proceeded on to Rio Hache, and but
little of the cargo saved.
In Jamaica everything was still dull, and the papers are
full of extracts from the London and American journals.
There had been several shocks of earthquake felt, but lit-
tle or no damage had resulted from these alarming visita-
tions. A fire, causing damage to the extent of £3,000 had
taken place at Montego Bay. Several meetings have been
held against the slave trade and the manner in which trea-
ties are carried out, and urging the Home Government to
use greater endeavours for suppressing the frightful traffic
in slaves. The meeting was of all parties in politics, and
attended by persons of the highest respectability. • The
House of Assembly had been further prorogued to the
19th June.

At Porto Rico they now find the sugar crop will he un-
der an average one, the canes not yielding so much juice
as was expected.
The West India islands continue quiet.
Hayti still continues in a state of ferment, and people
are actually starving in this fine climate, where anything
will grow. The Haytiens have claimed a victory, but it
is everywhere fully believed that they suffered a great de-
feat. Trade is nearly at a stand-still.