The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-05-22 00:00:00

(the hiss that greeted the mention of Mr. Cobden's name
continued). Gentlemen, I• will wait while you give three

gruaus mr mm kappiause: --
He stated that, the population were never better employed
than at present. I wish that Mr. Cobden would go to
my rates every morning; and see the number of artizans

groans were given

ing for einployment ; and

made to me day by day from all parts oftiiecoaitry,
asking me either to employ, or get employment for, dif--
fe:ent members of the working classes. Yesterday I re-
ceived a letter from a professional gentleman of consider-
; and able respectability. I shall take the liberty of readinz it.

ising, at the same time, that I receiv-A• one of 'like
t the_same time, and receive twenty such
eldest son, brought up a

every week

employment, and, in common with thousands of the
same class, finds it utterly impossible to get work,though
he has travelled over the United Kingdom in search of it.
Under these circumstances, he is desirous of emigrating
'o the United States,. where he understands employment
' i!ad, but unfortunately neither of us can bear the
,ense." And the letter concludes by asking for my
subscription to enable him to emigrate. Yet, sir,. in- the
face of all this, and in the face of this increasing popula-

guvernors are :loom to ering the vast shipping
interests of this country into unprotected competition
with cheap labour, cheap timber, and cheap outfits of the
Baltic, and other places. (Hear.) The Duke of Wel-
lington once asked how was the Queen's government to
be carried on. Here I ask, how are the taxes of En-
gland to be paid ?—(hear, and applause.) How is• the
national credit to be maintained ? We must, like honest
men, pay our debts, or that glorious standard (pointing
to the flag that hung above the platform), would be dis-
graced in the eyes of the world. How are we to do it, if
ministers persist in this bill ? The merchant muse go
where he can get his ships built cheapest, because he has
to compete with those who have cheap-built ships.:: and
it is the fashion in this day to hold, that we ought to buy
in the cheapest marzict. That doctrine has been reiterated
in this place again and again ; if the principle have aught
in it, the Liverpool shipowner cannot employ bands to

ps on the bithks of the Mersey

bUt he must

go to the places where they can be built Sand rigged the
cheapest. (-rear.) And as the shipwrights of Sunder-
land, Hull, Whitehaven, and Liverpool, must prepare to
meet in open competition the shipwrights of Sweden,
Denmark, Isir Salt' 't

.orway, ti.ussia, and other L .tic ports, 11
follows,.. a natural consequence, that they must cat as
they eat, be clad as they are clad, and receive such wages
as they receive, or it will be impossible to compote with
them ; and the merchant of Liverpool will not be able to
pay you. (Hear, and applause.) Then, sir, again, we
are to maintain our colonies—we are to raise taxes to
preserve and protect our colonial possessiOns, but we are
to give to the foreigner the power of importing from those
colonies and dependencies all that we now require.—
(hear.)—And now let me ask how he is to be reimbursed
From tabular statements, as well as daily exp-
o we know that the exports from. this ---

lerience

not been increasing ;-(hear, hear)—and it would
be well for government consider, if the imports of this
country are not materially increasing,. whether they are
acting wisely in destroying our home trade.. (Hear.)

our Roydens,Wilsons, and Other shipr.buikkrs going to a
Liverpool bank, and taking every week end bags of gold
to the west side of Brunswick Dock to pay the wages of
their workmen—those wages which pass through a thou-
sand fingers, irrigating and doing good to the whole

the same operation -again—those sovereigns must go to
pay wages in the Baltic, to benefit shopkeepers and manu-

not reciprocate with us. (Applause.) A
me here say, and boldly, and I wish Sir R
hereto hear it, that free trade is perfec
with Sir Robert's currency bill

.abert Pcel were
tly incompatible

of `' hear

hear.") Tho parliament of England, if they pass this
measure, stave it off as they please, in a short time will
be obliged to do away with the currency bill of Sir Itobt.

Peel, or I and other tradesmen will be in the same posi-
tion as we were two years ago, when gold was sent out of
England, the Bank of England restricted its issue notes,
and, in consequence of the scarcity of the precious metal,
we were within a few days of stopping our establishments,
and dismissing our workmen. k Hear.) Let it be recol-
lected that foreigners spend little in town ; they merely
pay their port charges, whereas British ships are not only

bunt, but refitted here ; the money circulated here indi-
rectly flows to the neighbouring manufacturing towns ;
and I think that Manchester will find to her cost that the
fable of the belly, as opposed to the other members of the
body, is correct. Manchester insisted upon the abroga-
tion of all duties on cotton. She was right if she could
they

Mr. Bolling told us that with the dut