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 risenlito 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 Al onday, 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 bad 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.

The following we copy from the Trinidad papers :
" The bark Senator arrived yesterday from Sierra Leone
in 23 days, with 235 immigrants, of whom 145 are women.
This will prove a timely and acceptable arrival to our
planters, who are just now particularly in want of addi-
tional labour to gather in the crop. The people are chiefly
liberated Africans."

The weather has continued dry for some time at Bar-
b adoes, and had become very sultry, and there was little
prospect of rain. The young canes were I:ast perishing in
some places, and plants were scarce.
Mr. Hancock, employed on the Kingston and Liguanea
Water Company, had succeeded in finding water at the
depth of 124 feet below the surface; he tapped the spring
with a three-inch bore, and the water rose 5 feet 10 inches
in 15 minutes. The supply promises to be abundant.
The question of railways continued to be discussed fa-
vourably in all the papers. The respective engineers of
the Trinidad project had arrived in the island, for the pur-
pose of commencing an immediate survey.
The first Coolie ship of the season has arrived at Deme-
rara. The Gazette says,—" The first of the transports
hired arrived from Madras on the 27th ult., with 233 im-
migrant 4, all in excellent health. Not a single death oc-
curred in the passage of 82 days, though one birth did.
There were 37 females and 8 children to 118 males. Like
former arrivals of their countrymen, the Coolies nave all
been located in that fine and healthy part of the country
generally known as the Arabian Coast. Emigration from
Madeira still continues to flow into the province. The
Portuguese, though existing in a wretched state of destitu-
tion in that beautiful, though not very extensive isle, are
an intelligent race, and are sensibly alive to the advantages
which a migration to this country rarely fails to secure to
them. Scarcely a fortnight passes without a brig, a bri-
gantine, or a schooner coming to anchor in our river from
Madeira, with a freight of hopeful human beings on board,
varying from 80 or 90 to 140 or 150. This species of
immigration, it should ever be noted, by way of indirect
refutation of the slanderous detractors of our colonists
in reference to free African immigration, is of a purely
spontaneous character. The authorities of Madeira are
hostile, rather than favourable, to the exportation of
Donna Maria : still, in spite of all official obstructions,
they manage, almost week after week, to smuggle them-
selves out of the island, and cross the Atlantic to the
more favoured countries of the West Indies. We pay no
bounty at present, as we did two or three years ago, on
every Portuguese from Madeira landing on our shores.
The day before yesterday a brig, called the Aguia, ar-
rived from that island with 77 emigrants—viz., 30 men,
24 women, and 23 children. Like the Bucks, or native
Indians of Guiana, the people of Madeira seem to have
the good custom of never travelling without their wives.
To their habits of domesticity may, no doubt, be attri-
buted in a great measure their success here."

The United States government are about to build im-
mediately several large steam vessels for carrying the
mails to Europe.
SPAIN.—The Spanish ministry, with General Narvaez
at their head, resigned office on the 10th instant, and the
Queen accepted their resignation. A new ministry has
been formed, with the Marquis de Miraflores as president
of the council and minister of foreign affairs.
A woman, belonging to a little town of Mecklenburg,
is in custody for havine killed no less than seven of her
illegitimate children. She was assisted by the father, who,
tormented by remorse, has denounced her, and confessed
his own share in these horrible crimes. _

FREE TRADE ABROAD—A HJNT.—A sort of panic has
seized the silk-manufacturers of Lyons at the discovery
that the Chinese can produce every description and co-
lour of silk as well as they can, and in some respects even
better. Orders having been given by several ladies for
articles of Chinese manufacture, the silk people have
assembled in solemn conclave, and have called upon the
French government to prohibit the importation of silks,
&c., from China, as likely to be ruinous to their com-
merce. Yet—strange inconsistency—of all the trades of
France there is none that cried so loudly, a little while
ago, for free trade, as this of silk.—Letter from Paris.