The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-04-22 00:00:00

learasksaatlsmau argued at constilerable length In support
of Sir Peel's proposition, declaring that no honest minister
could attempt to leave the finances of the country in their
present state without making an exertion to place them on a
proper footing. He must still say that he hoped the right
hon. baronet would alter that portion of his proposition
which was a crying injustice—the imposition of the same
amount of per centage upon income the produce of industr
ar "-` "

Jar arising from property.
r. Muyirz said be should vote for the proposition of the
right hon. baronet as being best calculated to benefit the
people. By laying the burden of taxation on those who had
to legislate, he thought he was giving the best security for
sound legislation.
The gallery was then cleared for a division, when Lord J.
Russell's motion was negatived by a majority of 285 to 188.
The bill was then read a first time.

The house then went into committee on the municipal
corporations bill, which occupied the remainder of the night.

HOUSE OF LORDS.-TUESDAY

Viscount MELBOURNE moved a resolution to the effect
that a fixed duty on the importation of foreign corn was pre-
ferable to a sliding scale of duties varying with the averages.
He had little hope that his resolution would meet with the

concurrence of the house, but he had not the less confidence
that it would be one day yet adopted.
The Earl of RIPON contended that it would be highly im-
prudent to accede to the resolution of the noble viscount,
which was in direct contravention of the decision of the pre-
vious evening in favour of the measure proposed by govern-
ment. He did not think that what was called a fixed duty,
but which was to vanish from Bs. to nothing one day, and to
go back the next from nothing to Bs. could ever be made to
work satisfactorily.

The Earl of CLARENDON supported the proposition of
Lord Melbourne, and said he rejoiced to find it was admitted
that the present corn law was so bad that it could no longer
be maintained. He could not, however, congratulate their
lordships upon the measure introduced in the room of that
law, for, in his opinion, the Duke of Buckingham had no oc-
casion to have left his colleagues because of this bill, for it
would not take one atom of protection from the agriculturist,
and its only advantage was, that it was an abandonment of all
the principles respecting the trade in corn upon which the
ministerial side of the house had hitherto depended. For his
own part he was opposed to all protective duties—he was op-
posed to all duties except when levied for the purpose of re-
venue only. _ . . .

The Earl of WICKLOW said, if he thought the bill before
the house would reduce prices he would not give it his sup-
port. He did not think the bill would, in the slightest de-
gree, injure the agriculturists, and he supported the measure
because, without doing any injury, it would prepare the
minds of the agriculturists for greater changes. With respect
to the preference to be given to a sliding scale over a fixed
duty, he would say, that in reference to the latter there could
be no doubt but that, for the promotion of trade and com-
merce, a fixed duty was much more advantageous than a
sliding scale. The object, avowedly, of the government,
however, was not the promotion of trade and commerce, but
the protection of the agriculturist ; and be had no hesitation
in saying that, for the protection of agriculture, the sliding
scale was preferable to a fixed duty. The great value of that
part of the tariff which permitted the importation of foreign
cattle he looked upon to be that it would tend to raise the
price of meat on the continent, and thus give a better chance
to our manufacturers to enter successfully into competition