The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-02-17 00:00:00

POLITICAL MEMORANDA

Lord Ashley is not to be called to the upper house.
The Marquis of Chandos was returned for Bucking.
ham on Wechieithiy Wahout -op plisi thin. r_
The Glasgow Town Council have passed a resolution
approving of the Government commercial scheme.
Lord Canning, late Uuder Secretary for Foreign Affairs,
will succeed Lord Lincoln as Chief Commissioner of Land
Revenues.

On Friday, a petition was presented against the return
of Captain Lindsay for Wigan, on the alleged ground of
bribery.
EAST SUFFOLK.-Mr. E. S. Gooch has come forward
as a strong protectionist, for East Suffolk, vacant by
Lord Henniker's resignation. There is no likelihood of

a contest.
Earl Fitahardinge is opposed to the free-trade measures
of ministers, and is a friend to protection. It is strongly
rumoured that both the Hon. Grantley Berkeley and the
Hon. Craven Berkeley entertain similar opinions.
The Corporation of London have passed a resolution
approving highly of the government commercial scheme,
but they express their regret that the repeal of the corn-
law is not immediate.
HUNTINGDON.-Mr. Jonathan Peel, one of -the repre-
sentatives, has addressed his constituents, stating his
conversion to the free trade scheme of the government,
but offering to resign his seat if the course he proposes to
adopt should not meet their approbation
The Right Honourable Wm. E. Gladstone is spoken
of as the ministerial candidate for North Notting-
hamshire, vacant by the death of Mr. Gaily Knight, and
Lord Henry Bentinck, third son of the Duke of Portland,
it is confidently stated, will be the protectionist candidate.

Mr. Cob,:len is at present confined to his residence,
Connaught-place, London, from severe indisposition, the
result of exposure to cold while proceeding to town. He
has not been in the House of Commons for more than a
week, and it is very doubtful whether he will be able to
take a part in the discussion on the proposed repeal of
the duties on corn.

Mr. Bowes, M.P. for South Durham, has written to
his constituents to say that he is " unconvinced of the
great benefit which the promoters of the government
commercial reform anticipate from it to the country at
large ;" but he will support it rather than "force the
government of the country into inexperienced and ineffi-
cient hands." Mr. Bowes is a Radical, but has always
opposed any tampering with the corn laws.
On Friday, a meeting of the electors of North Cheshire
was held at Knntsford, when Mr. G. C. Leigh stated
that he did not think the c,,rn law could now be supported,
and that consequently he should vote for Sir R. Peel.
A resolution was passed by the meeting, that " though
they could not agree with his opinions, they would leave
it to him to pursue the course he deemed right at the pre-
sent crisis."

The Newcastle Journal contains an extract from a let-
ter written by the Duke of Northumberland, in which his
Grace says that " be seriously expects that much land will
be thrown out of wheat cultivation by Sir Robert Peel's
premature measures." The Duke adds, " since, how-
ever, there is no alternative, I must make up my mind to
unite with my tenants in meeting any alteration which
may occur, lest by a change of ministry the country
should run the risk of more destructive arrangements."

CHICHESTER.—The election of a member of parliament
for this borough, in the room of Lord Arthur Lennox,
took place on Tuesday. The candidate was Lord Henry
Lennox, but a show of opposition was raised by the no-
mination of an emissary of the League, a Mr. Falvev,
who had the show of hrmds in his favour. A poll was,

however, demanded on behalf of Lord Henry, and Mr.
Falvey immediately resigned. His lordship was there-
upon immediately returned.
Lord Ashley has addressed a letter to the electors of
the county of Dorset, informing them that having learned
that very large contributions hare been advanced towards
the support of other candidates, he is not ashamed to avow
that it will be impossible for him to sustain the expense of
such a contest ; and therefore he relieves his opponents
from the necessity of incurring any pecuniary responsibi-
lities by announcing that, although he will be present at
the nomination, he will not demand a poll.
LYNN.—Viscount Jocelyn has determined not to vacate
his seat for Lynn. He offered to do so if his support of
the government was not approved of ; and at a small
meeting of his constituents his offer was accepted. Since
then an address, signed by 200 electors, has been pre-
sented to him, requesting him not to resign, and he has
consequently addressed another letter to his constituents,
expressing his determination as above given.
ULTERIOR MEASURES.—It should not be forgotten
that Mr. Adderley, M.P. for Staffordshire, at the last
meeting in that county, said, "he knew it to be a fact,
that when Mr, O'Connell appeared in the House of Com-
mons the other night, he was asked by a gentleman what
he thought of the state of things ? to which he replied, I
must be a fool, now, if I do not carry my own repeal ;'
and Dr. Bowring, who was near him, said, ' And within
five years we will have the bishops out of the House of
Lords.' "

WESTMINSTER.—The Hon. Capt. Rous, by whose ac-
ceptance of a lordship of the admiralty a vacancy has oc-
curred in this borough, will be opposed by General Evans,
who sat for Westminster for several years after the passing
of the Reform Act, on Radical principles. At a recent
meeting of the Westminster Reform Society, a resolution
was carried that General Evans should be requested to
offer himself. The general, who was in waiting, was then
called in, and he formally accepted the invitation. He
said that if returned, and the League and the Whigs de-
cided upon supporting Sir Robert Peel's propositions, he
should go with them ; but if the League insisted upon an
immediate and total repeal, he should act with it. _

CONSISTENCY OF " THE TIMES." The London
Times is now strenuou,ly contending for a free trade in
corn, out of alleged sympathy for the poor. On the 4th
December, 1813, our contemporary said—" If we thought
that a perfectly free admission of foreign wheat into our
ports could give food to the hungry and the famished that
crowd our streets, we would willingly accede to any pro-
posal made in favour of such admission• But we know
that there are other causes in operation—that wheat
might be imported without paying a farthitzg duty—that
bread might be sold at one penny a loaf, and yet that they
who starve now would starve then just as much—that in-
dividual suffering would not be stayed, but the revenue of
the country would be diminished."
THE HOP AND SEED IMPORT DUTY.—The Govern-
ment free trade scheme threatens to inflict a severe blow
on the hop districts. It is proposed to reduce the exist-
ing protective duty of £4 10s. to £2 55., and if from this
be deducted the excise duty paid by the grower, which may
be estimated at very nearly £1 sterling,—a protection of
only five and twenty shillings remains to enable the Eng-

lisp hop-grower to compete with the fresh and peculiarly
well-adapted hop soils of Flanders and America. There
is a complete stagnation in the hop and seed trade at this
time on account of these proposed alterations. Sir Robert,
however, has stated publicly in the house that as regards
seeds the reduction will not take place until June, which
will enable the seller to get rid of his present stock for the
spring sowing, before the price can be materially affected.
THE TIMES AGAIN.—In 1841 the London Times ex-
ulted, in no measured terms, in Lord Morpeth's defeat;
in 1846, the same journal is equally elated at the noble
lord's success. How is this? Is the leading journal to-
tally destitute of fixed principle ? Or has Lord Morpeth
adopted the opinions which ware then advocated in the
columns of the Times? Lord Morpeth has even advanced
in the cause of repeal : consequently the change is in the
Times. It has, in short, copied the example of Sir R.
Peel, but with this difference, that, while the Premier
was honest enough to make a public confession of his
change, the Times has :he audacity to speak as though
its present opinions were those which it had always advo-
cated. It is a favourite practice with this journal to
refresh the memories of members of Parliament by ex-
tracts from Hansard ; but its own columns exhibit charges
of inconsistency against itself which were never equalled
since the invention of newspapers.
SOUTH NOTTINGIIAMSHIR.E.—There-is every appear-
ance of a most desperate struggle for the representation
of this division ; Lord Lincoln's re-election being opposed
by T. B. T. Hildyard, Esq., of Flintham, a staunch pro-
tectionist. The Earl of Lincoln's return will be opposed
by his father, the Duke of Newcastle, the ,Duke of
Portland, and the Earl of Chesterfield ; while Lord Mid-
dleton, Lord Howe, Lord Rancliffe, Sir Robert Brom-
ley, &c. have given him decided promise of support; and,
although Earl Manvers, the Duke of Rutland. and others
have not spoken with so much favour, yet they expressly
stated that their influence shall not be exerted in any way
to prevent his lordship's re-election. Lord Lincoln and
his opponent are busily engaged .in canvassing, but of
course it is impossible as yet to predict the result. The
leading free traders of Nottingham have formed them-
selves into a committee to promote his lordship's return.
The nomination takes place on Saturday next, and the
polling on the Tuesday and Wednesday following.

GETTING UP LEAGUE PETITIONS.—A FAcT.—Sheets
of paper for the purpose of being signed and attached to a
petition against the corn laws, were placed in the different
shops and factories about Haslingden, during the past
week. One was placed in an ironmonger's shop in the
centre of the town, and great were the endeavours to
obtain persons to sign. The sheet at the place just men-
tioned was very soon filled up, the person in whose care
it was being lucky enough to espy a batch of schoolboys
on their return from school. These little urchins were
invited to sien, and they chuckled at the idea of their
names being sent to London ; and but for the awkward
look such an array of signatures would have had, they
would, no doubt, have been permitted to sign their names
for themselves. It was thought better, however, that the
iron (or we should say petition) monger should sign for
them. which he actually did. One person on seeing his
son's name attached to the petition, blotched it out with
ink ; whilst others who saw their son's names appended,
laughed at the idea ; and permitted them to stand as a
monument to "the purity of the League." One little
boy, not more than eight years of age, signed
IRELAND AND THE CORN-LAWS.—On Tuesday a pub-
lic meeting of the county of Fermanagh was held at the
court-house, Enniskillen, to consider the important
changes announced by Sir Robert Peel. The meeting
was well attended, and William Archdall, Esq., High
Sheriff, was called to the chair. Amongst those present
were, the Earl of Enniskillen, Lord Henry Loftus, W.
D'Arcy, Esq, &c. The Earl of Enniskillen moved a resolu-
lution expressive of the greatest alarm at the proposed
measures, as utterly ruinous and destructive to all classes
in this country. A petition was agreed upon to both
houses of parliament, praying that "the measures might not
pass into a law ; but if they should, that, in justice to pe-
titioners, some valuable consideration for the loss of their
property, such as relieving their lands from the burdens
of poor-rate, jury cess, police tax, and rent-charge, which
now press heavily upon them, will be entertained by your
honourable house ; and your petitioners are emboldened
thus to offer their suggestions, from a precedent in such
matters, viz.:—When at the time the property belonging
to West India merchants was about being interfered with
by law, to the injury of the owners, the then parliament
voted twenty millions of money to be paid out of the Con-
solidated Fund by way of compensation."

Mr. Hume, it is likely, will claim the credit of Sir
Robert Peel's " comprehensive measure." In a letter
written by him to his constituents, he says, " I recom-
mend that 1000 of the entries in the British Tariff should
be abolished out of 1150, and these articles admitted-. Si:
Robert himself, in 1811, abused me in the House as an
Utopian and visionary, to think of, or to recommend such
a clean sweep of the tariff' as I had e'one ; but he was not
one year in office before he adopted every one of my prin-
ciples. and now I have grounds for expecting something
large."

RICHARD OISTLER AND THE. TEN HOURS' BILL.—
Men slmetimes cannot comprehend the great importance
of a subject in which, at first sight, individual importance
can only appear. Despite this difficulty, however, we
contend that no subject of greater importance can possibly
present itself to our mind at the present moment than that
of FORCING Richard Oastler into the House of Commons,
whether he will or no. If not the inventor, he is the re-
novator, the improver, and the engineer of the short-time
machinery ; and he is the man, above all others, to enforce
the weight of the pressure from without, to strengthen the
opinions within upon the subject. Moreover, we wish the
question of labour to be forced in all its phases upon-the
consideration of the house, pending the debate upon the
ministerial policy. He has a way peculiar to himself, and,
at the same time, not distasteful to the most critical, of
plumping out truths and stroeg facts. There is an ear-
nestness, a sincerity, a vigour, an irresistible courage
about the Old King, which sets feeble opposition at defi-
ance, and laughs prejudice out of countenance. Shall we,
then, without a general election, put our every shoulder
to the wheel, and give to the ten hours' cause a comman-
der that can neither be corrupted, bribed, or intimidated ?
By all that is just, we would suffer any amount of priva-
tion to hear the lion of labour roaring amongst the w Ayes.
And we further assert, that full and unrestricted free trade
in everything, with the unrestricted use of machinery,
would be the greatest curse that could befall this country,
as the inevitable result would be an active and destroying
competition in slave labour, to maintain our manufactur-
ing pre-eminence abroad ; and no man in England can so
effectually bring this question before the House and the
country, as Richard Oastler, the KING OF THE FACTORY
CHILD !

MINISTERIAL REASONS FOR CONVERSION
TO FREE TRADE IN CORN.