The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-08-31 00:00:00

great was the distress throughout the country, and so great
would become the general discontent if not relieved, that not
only the repeal of the corn laws, but also the repeal of all
other protective duties, would be forced upon the right hon.
baronet (Sir R. Peel) soon after he should succeed to power.
He was prepared to support the proposition of an Bs. fixed
duty on corn, in the hope that hereafter they might be en-
abled to send the Bs. after the rest ; for he looked upon corn
received in exchange for our manufactures as much our own
produce as if it were grown in England. He deprecated the
course which it was said hon. gentlemen on the other side
meant to pursue, for it would be showing a want of respect
to the country to decline the discussion of questions of such
vital importance to its best interests; and it would be said
that the right hon. baronet (Sir R. Peel) had given instruc-
tions to his supporters not to speak upon them, lest the
country should get an idea what it had to expect should the
conservatives accede to power.
Mr. BORTHWICK supported the amendment, and said the
real question before the house was, as to which party in the
house could carry out. these important measures, which had
been so often adverted to, with the greatest likelihood of
bringing them in a practical shape into successful operation.
Mr. W. S. O'BRIEN defended the conduct of the govern-
ment, and declared his intention, as an Irish member, anxious
to declare the gratitude of his country to the present ministry
for nearly the whole of their conduct towards Ireland, to
oppose the amendment moved by the hon. member for the
west riding of Yorkshire.
Colonel SIBTHORP congratulated the house and the coun-
try that the period had at last arrived when the present
ministry were about to meet the reward of all their vices and
misdeeds, and to be drummed out of their seats to a tune
which the forms of the house prevented him from more for-
cibly alluding to. (A laugh.) The present government had
raised the cry of cheap bread and cheap sugar for the mere
purpose of humbugging the people, and the whole of their
appointments had been of the most profligate character.
Mr. Pow ER advocated the gradual modification of restric-
tive duties, and supported the address.
_ _

Mr. E. TURNER contended that the house could never
hope for a more favourable opportunity of settling the ques-
tion of the corn laws favourably to the landed interests. He
did not know that a fixed duty would give the people cheap
bread, but he felt quite sure it would give them bread when
they required it.
Mr. ESCOTT did not consider it right to enter on the con-
sideration of questions of vital interest to the country, while
he perceived a ministry persevering in holding office in de-
fiance of parliament and the constitution. The hon. mem-
ber for Bath had taunted the conservatives for the use they
had made of the poor-law upon the hustings, and if it had
been so used he was willing to join in the censure thrown out
by the hon. member ; but, at the same time, it was to be re-
membered that hon. gentlemen on the ministerial side of the
house were in the habit of holding up the conservatives as
startlers of the poor. The hon. gentleman asserted that mi-
nisters had committed the_soverogn by a course of conduct

for which no parallel could be found' in tile annals of the
country for a period of two hundred year,. He then ex-
pressed his confidence in Sir R. Peel, and said that he would
feel proud to support him, should he (the right hon. baronet)
be called by his sovereign to the administration of the affairs
of the nation. (Hear, hear.)

. •
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQ,UER said that an appeal
had been made to the country on the questions of the corn,
sugar, and timber duties, and yet, on the very first-discus-
sion of these questions, it was attempted to be said that
they had no right to discuss them while the present Ministry
remained in office—a doctrine which, he must say, he then
heard for the first time. He thought that honourable gen-
tlemen on the other side of the house had a right to bring
the question of " Who was to govern?" to the very earliest
possible decision ; but he thought it neither consistent with
wisdom now good policy to pursue the course of silence they
had adopted, and to leave the country in the dark as to what
were their intentions or opinions upon those great questions
which agitated the whole kingdom. The right honourable
gentleman then, in reply to the charges against the Govern-
ment, resorted to the to quoque argument against Lord
Stanley and Sir J. Graham, as far as they had shared in the
whig measures passed while they were still members of the
Administration. •The right honourable gentleman, after en-
tering into details in order to show that the present Govern-
ment had been as economical as any that had Preceded it,
referred to some reports which had been circulated, implying
that the security of the moneys in savings banks was endan-
gered by his measures, and expressed a hope that lion. gen-
tlemen on both sides of the house would avail themselves of
an opportunity, in the course of that debate, of assuring the
public of that which in that house they knew to be true, that
the security of those funds-was in no way interfered with.
With respect to the proposition of altering the corn laws, he
wished it to be understood that although he believed a fixed
duty would give an increased revenue, yet that question was
not brought forward as a revenue question, but because the
experiment of the sliding scale was proved to be a failure,
and a change was called for with a view to promote the wel-
fare of all classes of the community.

Mr. GouLaultN said it was not his intention to have ad-
dressed the house, because the question before it was of so
plain and simple a character that it was perfectly understood
both in and out of doors ; but the allusions made to the
finances of the country rendered it imperative upon him to
enable hon. gentleman to perceive that the calculations of the
right hon. gentleman (Mr. Baring) had not adverted to the
sugar duties, because he knew that all the anticipations
formed on his (Mr. Goulburn's) side of the house as to the
importation of sugar, and expressed so repeatedly in their de-
bates upon the subject, three months ago, had, within the
last three months, been more than realised--(hear,hear), the
importation for the three months, ending the sth of August,
having far exceeded that of the same months in the prece-
ding year. (Hear.) With respect to the timber duties, the
Chancellor of the Exchequer calculated in his budget upon
an increase of £600,000 upon the revenue of the present
year arising from these duties. It so happened, however.
that he had the copy of a letter from Lord Sydenham to Lord
John Russell, written last April, and laid before the Cana-
dian Assembly, in which letter the noble lord stated that he
had no doubt, if there was any proposal for altering those
duties, care would be taken to render the change as gradual
as possible, and thus to diminish individual losses ; but that
at all events the change could not affect the importations of
the present year, as that would be both unjust and injurious,
as orders had been given which were in the course of execu-
tion, and could not be countermanded. (Cheers.) What
confidence, he would ask, could be placed in a government
which could be ignorant of the mischievous effects of such a
measure, for surely they might know that at the distance of
Canada from this country, such a measure could not be car-
ried into immediate operation without being productive of
the greatest mischief and injustice. With respect to the
savings banks he was anxious to disabuse the public mind of
the belief that anything had been done to endanger the secu-
rity of the savings banks, though the proceeding which had
been adopted was in his opinion very objectionable, inasmuch
as it gave the Chancellor of the Exchequer power to add
largely to the permanent delg of the country without the
controul of Parliament. Objectionable as this proceeding
was, it in no way tended to endanger the security of the
savings banks, The right bon, gentleman, in conclusion,
said that the ministry were not then upon their trial, for they
had been tried in the last parliament and found guilty ; they
subsequently appealed to a higher tribunal, the constituency
of the country, and the verdict had been confirmed. They
were now therefore sitting to hear judgment passed upon
them to give up the administration of the affairs of the coun-
try. (Cheers.) _ _

,
Mr. WAKLEY said that the present government had not
lost his confidence, for they had never possessed it. (A
laugh.) He had supported them as the best he could find,
and that they were leaving, he feared the radical party would
have no reason to congratulate themselves on the accession
to power of the right hon. baronet, The errors of the pre-
sent government were enormous. He prescribed for them
in 1837, and without waiting for a fee. (Cheers.) He pre-
scribed only three small powders, but they would not take
them. (Great laughter.) And now he would like to know
how they liked the 360 bitter bills they had got opposite to
them. (Great laughter.) And now he would like to know
how they liked the 360 bitter bills they had got opposite to
them. (Roars of laughter.) The right hon. baronet should
receive as hearty support from him, if his measures were
good, as if they emanated from the most confirmed radical.
The right hon. baronet had great capacity—he was a man of
great ability. He knew more of his capacity than most men,
for he had made a phrenological survey of his brad. (Im-
mense laughter.) He had great ability, and he had also the
power to do good to the country, and he sincerely hoped he
would not sutler himself to be influenced to refrain from
doing so. The hon. gentleman entreated the right hon.
baronet to take into his benevolent consideration the poor
law amendment bill, which was the most objectionable law
This was tannY,
blaaste,imidn ever been enacted by parliament—a law which was
and marked by cruelty in its operation.
and ~ the law which destroyed the present government,
" would destroy any future government which might
attempt to lila'
adjourned. Intain it. (Cheers.) The debate was then

HOUSE The Earl of Emn, (),, LORDS.—FRIDAY.cious answer to the adLdr-ersow`;ht up her Majesty's most gra-
soarttatnce of , which was to the effect that her
Majesty felt great
satisfaction at finding that the House of
Lords was sensible of the i
the circumstances
to which she had directed theirti'
commerce and revenue of the country,ention in reference to the
to the trade in corn; and that in deciding
especially as regarded
the laws relating