The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-01-20 00:00:00

leration of Parliament in the ensuing session

Ay has been incurred in the necessary
surveys, and the preparation of the necessary plans,
&c. ; and the time is close at hand when some mil-
lions of money will have to be deposited in accord-
ance with the requirements of the standing orders of

A vast c

both Houses, in the hand

ral of the B

of .Tra

Hence the question is
Will the measure of Sir
ect to the settlement of the

anxiously canv
Robert Peel, wi

such a nature as to excit

the strenuous opposition of his usual supporters and
compel him, in his attempt to carry it, to resort to a

Such a

he early period of the session, will, accord-
Le ordinary practice impose upon railway
companies the necessity of commencing their pro-
ceedings de novo, and thus entail upon them ruinous
expenses, besides retarding the progress of works, to
whose carrying out the country looks with great in-
terest. In addition to this evil, a dissolution would
lock up for a session the ten per cent. upon the

taken

ing to th

capital of the various companies, about to be depo-
sited in the Board of Trade. Until this doubt, as to
the duration of the present session and the ability of
the present Parliament to deal with the various
schemes before it, is cleared up, speculation,

whether

for permanent investment or otherwise, must obvi-
ously be suspended. It has already paralyzed our
stock markets, and rendered any attempt to realize
the money invested in even the most promising and
legitimate undertakings an impossibility. We pro-
pose to inquire whether the fears to which we have
referred are well founded ; and, if in doing so, we
shall have to trespass upon the patience of those of
our readers who do not feel themselves interested in

the subjrc
others, and a numerous class, to whom it is one of
vital concern, affecting their interests and their
position in the world more immediately than the
question of the corn laws itself.

d them that there are

In the first place we would submit that it is not
necessary or certain that a dissolution of Parlia-
ment should throw back the new companies for a
or involve new surveys, new plans, or new
deeds, with the repetition of the compliance already
made with the standing orders. The House of
Commons, last year, permitted the schemes, upon
whose merits they had commenced their enquiry, to
stand over, and gave them liberty to commence in
the ensuing session, at the stage which they had
reached at the prorogation. It may be agreed,
however, that this step could not be justified in a
case where such unfinished enquiry would have
to be taken up by a new tribunal—a new parliament,
composed of men who had not heard a word of the
past evidence. Probably it would not be attempted. ;
But we much question whether a dissolution, if it
take place at all this year, will not come at so early
a period of the session as to render it unlikely that
the entirely new schemes can have passed through
the very first stages. There would not be the
slightest difficulty, therefore, in their coining at
once before the new parliament to go through the
whole of the necessary ordeal, without being made
to re-survey, and comply again with the standing
orders. A short Bill would, we think, be granted
before the dissolution, enabling them to do this,
and thereby save a vast unnecessary outlay of money
and delay of time.
But shall we be destined to see a dissolution, at
all, this year ? We think not; and our reasons for
so thinking are many. In the first place, we feel
convinced that Sir Robert Peel, and the Duke of
Wellington are not the kind of statesmen likely to
stake their existence, as ministers, upon a measure
which they do not, at least, think themselves pos-
sessed of means to carry. Whatever may be the
form or the extent of that measure—whether total
repeal, or a large step that way—they will be pro-
vided with something to allay the opposition and
break the fall of the agricultural body. They have
found the present Parliament most pliant fn their
hands—most feeble in its resistance to aggression—
most conveniently forgetful of pledges and of prin-
ciples ; and they would not be likely to increase
their power of carrying any Free Trade measure by
an appeal to the agricultural constituencies, in their
present excited state, although the commercial con-
stituencies might perhaps aid them with a few addi-
tional representatives of the Anti-Corn Law League.
The premier and his colleagues will therefore prefer
to work with materials which they have tested—
whose capability of gulping down new tariffs, and
new commercial principles, they know by past ex-
perience ; and they will frame their corn-law mea-
sure with a nice adaptation to that capability, and
with such adjuncts and sauce, as will serve to ren-
der the distasteful morsel endurable to the palate.
Presuming, however, the forthcoming measure of
government to be one of the boldest and most
sweeping description, there is, in our opinion, little
chance of such a very strenuous opposition as would
be required to drive the Premier to a second re-
signation or to a dissolution. We see ominous signs
of defection amongst the ranks of the most ultra of
the protection party. Scarcely a meeting of the
protection society takes place without some in-
fluential member, whose countenance was depended
upon by his constituents, pleading to be excused
attendance, and covering his recreant conduct under
a shower of professions and vague generalities, or,
if present, pleading for time to consider and care-
fully avoiding any specific pledge. Thus, of the
twelve Conservative members for Shropshire, who
were recently invited to a protection meeting to be
held at Shrewsbury, we find no less than five re-
fusing to attend. Mr. Tomline declines because
he "has not the honour of being a member of the
society." One would have thought that, if con-
vinced of the necessity of opposing Sir Robert Peel,
and standing up for protection to British agricul-
ture, the present crisis was the time to become a
member. Mr. Forte cue "waits to see what the
measures are which it is the intention of the govern-
ment to introduce." Mr. Milnes Gaskell simply
cannot attend," but states that his principles- are
unchanged. Mr. Whitmore does not think it ne-
cessary to travel to Shrewsbury when he can as
easily explain his sentiments at Bridgenorth. Mr,
Ackers has a cold, and shall be prevented attending,
but " so long as he has a seat in the legislature,
shall give his humble, but strenuous, opposition to
all measures emanating from the Anti-Corn-Law
League or its supporters." How with respect to
measures emanating directly from a Conservative
Cabinet ? Lord Clive, who was present, " would
do his best to secure them what they were entitled
to ; but, until he knew what was Sir Robert Peel's
plan, it was impossible for him to tell precisely what
course he should pursue."
Such frigidity as the above does not at all lead to
the notion that any very strenuous opposition is to
be offered to• Sir Robert Peel. The following, how-
ever, more plainly indicates that grumbling con-
cession is to be the order of the day amongst the