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Dec. 13, 1351.] «fp * 3Lea9et. 1179 _ - ...
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CUSTOMS' REFORM. A deputation waited on ...
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A DEFENDER OF "LAW.AND ORDER." Whig offi...
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A PLAN 1'Olt itKLIKVINO THE 11UKJL TOOK....
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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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Dec. 13, 1351.] «Fp * 3lea9et. 1179 _ - ...
Dec . , 1351 . ] « fp * 3 Lea 9 et . 1179 _ - . _ . _ ^ _
Customs' Reform. A Deputation Waited On ...
CUSTOMS' REFORM . A deputation waited on Lord John Russell , on Tuesday , appointed by the public meeting on Customs' Reform , held on Wednesday-week , in the City . Fourteen members of Parliament , headed by Mr . Masterman , and accompanied by a numerous body of merchants , composed the deputation . Mr . Travers , the chairman of the committee of merchants , read a long statement , comprising the case of the merchants against the Board of Customs , and being a recapitulation in an official form , of the facts brought to light by the February trials and their attendant
circum-. In reply Lord John Russell fenced with , the question . He introduced his answer by observing that he could not be expected to accede to the statement of facts or reject it ; that the Customs and the Treasury were very intimately connected ; he had heard Mr . Huskisson say he had reformed the customs' laws , and Mr . Huskisson was a man who ought to know ; and yet in spite of all this the laws possibly were capable of being improved . At length he reached the kernel of the matter .
f * Looking at the very grav « charges against the Board , it is my bounden duty to do them the justice not to suppose that the Board of Customs are guilty because they are charged ; but to inquire into the facts alleged , and learn from the head of the Board and from the other members what they have to say in answer to them . Without entering into the various particulars stated with regard to the dock prosecutions , I should say generally that it does not follow because there are very respectable men belonging to the dock companies , that therefore frauds may not have occurred , or that their officers may not have participated in those frauds The Board of Customs were persuaded of the existence of these frauds to a very great extent—perhaps wrongly
persuaded , but they made that representation to the Treasury ; and it would have been a very grave responsibility for the Treasury to take upon itself , and certainly ( if I may be allowed to say so ) for me , as a representative of the city of London , to take upon myself to say , if the Commissioners of Customs were fully advised by their legal officer that they had been defrauded , and that they ought to go before a court of law , that we would not allow it , but preTent them from protecting the revenue from loss , and the merchants of London in general from interference with their trade . And when at a former interview , at which the Chancellor of the Exchequer was
present with me , we were asked to put a stop to the proceedings altogether , we did not find that the Commissioners of Customs had any doubt as to the course they were pursuing ; and it would , therefore , have been a serious matter for the Treasury to have arrested them . With regard to the Chancellor of the Exchequer , something is stated here [ the document handed in by Mr . Travers ] about ' remonstrances against such unheard-of acts ' having been received by him ' with disregard , and dismissed with discourtesy . * ' He has persevered in the infliction of wrong until its very enormity has alarmed its TifHims into submission . ' I cannot admit the justice of
these complaints . I think he was bound not to interfere with the course which the Board of Customs recommended . He stated the whole matter to me , we conferred upon it , and we thought it was not possible for us to interfere . Another allegation is that ' he has broken the conditions of an honourable understanding , ' and technical legal admissions were drawn from the London Dock Company , which rendered future resistance impracticable . ' I do not know what tins alludes to ; but there is a certain allegation about a £ 5 line being raised to £ 100 . Now , a representation was made to me that when a case of this kind occurred in 1817 or 1818 , a payment was made of one per cent , on all that had been ( seized , together with all the expenses of the suit ; and the Chancellor of the "Exchequer said it would be much better to get rid of this matter altogether , and that , instead of £ 6 , an arrangement should be made lo take £ 100 , and so put an end to
it at once . " With regard to the general statement that the Board of Customs , if they were wrong , ought not to be exculpated , and if they were right , ought to have proved their charges , and should not have entered into any compromise , every gentleman knows , with regard to revenue boards , that , over and over again prosecutions have been instituted with regard to irregularities , and that constantly the practice has been to give up the whole of the proceedings on the payment of a certain Hum . With regard to that very important point , the rcappointinent of the Helect committee , I know of no actual objection to its reappointment , but 1 do not pledgo myself to that course now ; because , on considering this paper , I should like perhaps to eonfer with the chairman of the committee of laHt session ( Mr . Mitchell ) with renpeet to the advantages which are likely to accrue from the step . "
Mr . Alderman Thompson rejoined , that both the CommissioneiB of the Customs and the Chancellor of tho Exchequer hud refused a joint inquiry into ]> osaible irregularities , oil ' ered by tin ) dock companies , with discourtesy ; in fuel , Unit the committee had treated them , not as merchants of the city of London , but . " like a net of Hwindlera or Hinutri'lerH on the
couHt . of Kent . " Mr . Powlen , Hficrotiiry <> f tin ; London Dock Company , Htatcul that the understanding about the payment of u lino of live poundH wan " an clear and diHtinot as any understanding contained in any communication could be , " and that im < lr : rHtun < h » g had been imeeremoniouNly broken by the ( Jovcmment . Mr . Mitchell , M . l \ , nuggeHted that Lord Uranvdle , who waa present , nhould bo requested to r « ad the
evidence of the Select Committee , issued to-day , and " come to an unbiassed opinion on the case . " After a statement of individual grievance from Mr . Hall , the deputation retired .
A Defender Of "Law.And Order." Whig Offi...
A DEFENDER OF " LAW . AND ORDER . " Whig officials are driven to choose strange champions of " law and order , " as those abused terms have been employed during the last three years . From proceedings in the Dublin law courts we obtain a specimen defender of law and order—for a consideration—whom the Whigs delighted to honour , through Mr . Corry Connelan . The facts are extremely simple . Mr . Birch is the proprietor of a Dublin newspaper , designated the World , which , in the year 1848 , became the organ of the Castle . At that time , as everybody knows , Ireland was in a very dangerous state ; and , whilst the revolutionary or " Young Ireland " party was represented in the public press by writers who combined very high ability with ex-Government
uberant political enthusiasm , the possessed no literary allies whatever . The Dublin officials , with a respect for public opinion which does them great credit , were deeply grieved at the absence of all popular support ; and , with a view to repair their inferiority of moral force , they descended into the arena of journalism , and retained the World . That newspaper became the exponent of the policy of the Castle , and , for a certain consideration , undertook , in those troublous times , to promote the cause of "law and order . " The patriotic and conscientious Birch became the advocate and apologist of Lord Clarendon , and devoted the columns of his journal to suDporting the interests of the Irish Government . It appears from the evidence that the World was strictly conscientious ; yet Lord Clarendon successfully coquetted with it , and obtained its
unswerving advocacy . Lord Palmerston also came in for a share oi the benefits derived from the stupendous alliance . For two years the Government " subsidized" this " power "; that is , so long as in Whig estimation law and order were endangered . But Birch , animated by a fiery zeal and devotion for the cause , continued to indite articles which nobody read . Then Government , ungrateful , ceased to pay , and Birch brought his action . So long as he came before the public menacing the Castle with war there was romance and mystery in the case .
But the romance is dispelled in the prosaic atmosphere of the Queen ' s Bench . A regular debtor and creditor account is submitted by Birch , from which we learn that a large sum of money has been actually paid by Lord Clarendon , from his personal resources , to reward the assistance afforded by the World to his Government ; and "we also find that its distinguished proprietor , —not contented with the reward which he had received , and strongly impressed with a sense of the magnitude of the services which he had rendered—boldly asked for a very large additional subsidy . As the original transaction had taken place in the office of the Irish Secretary , Sir William iSomerville was the ostensible defendant . The witnesses who were called
fully established the agreement between the eminent journalist and his official clients , and the only question which remained to bo decided was , whether the services rendered by the plaintiff had been fairly remunerated . Some thousands of pounds had been already received by lurch during the years * 1848 and 1819 , but he placed his demands at a much higher figure . In hia evidence he drew a nice distinction ; for , whilst he admitted that all that had been written by himself or his subordinates had been a conscientious expression of his real opinions , he rested his claims to recompense on the great unpopularity oi the Government . The caHe was fairly gone into ; and , after a patient and elaborate investigation , the jury him damages to the amount of sixpence .
gave Nothing could surpass in candour and amiability the evidence both of Mr . ISiroh and Lord Clarendon . Birch admitted hia position , of course , as a hireling : Clarendon confessed , with complacent sarcasm , to the hiring of the "defender" ; confessed that he paid the money out of his own pocket , " every farthing " of upwards of three thousand pounds . This is all very well . But what Bhall we say of the cause of Irish " law and order" us administered by WhigH . when we find that the Government had not one . spontaneous defender in the capital of the country ? One thing in clear , Homo of the ministerial press are hired . 1 'o . s fubly they are the " base exceptions "—for there are more than one .
A Plan 1'Olt Itklikvino The 11ukjl Took....
A PLAN 1 'Olt itKLIKVINO THE 11 UKJL TOOK . [ Wo have ; received the following letter to Lord John Russell , from Sir JameH Anderson , liuronct . j London , I ) ccc-inlicr ( I , 1 Mf > 1 . Mv Loan , —Since the Exodus of the Israelites , no nation ever emigrated in such iuuhhch as the hinh people arc now doing , and uiiIchh some prompt , and decided plan be adopted by Government , the brave and hardy working cIuhhuh of the Emerald Isle will , ere long , havo become the subjects of a foreign rival
state . Such an irremediable loss is beyond human calculation , and will inevitably be the precursor ofc the decadence of British power . It , therefore , becomes the duty of every lover of his country to endeavour to point out a remedy to prevent so calamitous an event . The last dreadful famine has aroused the sympathy of the Eng lish and the Scotch . The honest and ! liberal of both nations have willed that justice shall at length be rendered to their fellow Irish subjects . I consequently anticipate a glorious change for the better .
That it is the duty of Parliament to enact suck laws as will permanently secure to the Irish their rights , no reasonable man can deny . To accomplish that desirable end , I hold it would be unjust to the overtaxed people of Great Britain to augment their burdens when ample means are within our reach . By the labour of man the wealth and power of a state is solely augmented , and it behoves a wise Government to secure to all industrious persons a permanent interest in their native land . So circumstanced , no rational being will quit the country of his birth . Fully believing this to be the case , I take the liberty to suggest the following outline of a plan for profitably employing and relieving the Irish poor , and thus make it their interest not to emigrate , which I hope will meet your Lordship ' s approval . _ I propose that Government be empowered by Parliament to issue £ 16 , 000 , 000 in labour notes , which should be made a legal tender in Ireland , and not convertible . That Government be also empowered to purchase from the present owners all the reclaimable waste lands , to be paid for in labour notes at one shilling an acre , at twenty years' purchase , to be vested in commissioners in trust , for the purpose of locating thereon the ablebodied poor , appropriating to each family twenty acres . That £ 100 in labour notes be laid- out for establishing each tenant , as follows : — For erecting a cottage £ 34 0 0 A cow , four sheep , and one pig .. 12 0 0 Furniture 10 ° ° Seeds and implements 4 0 0 One year ' s rations .... 20 0 0 The produce of 20 acres , Is . an acre , at 20 years' purchase .... 20 0 0 £ 100 0 0 That no rent be charged during the first three years . This indulgence will enable the tenants to get their lands into cultivation . At the expiration of three years a rent of £ 5 per annum , to be paid for each , location . The lands to be free from tithes , county and poor rates , for twenty years . On 3 , 000 , 000 acres , allowing twenty acres to each tenant , 150 , 000 locations can . be established by an advance of £ 16 , 000 , 000 in labour notes , viz . : — 1 / 50 , 000 locations , at £ 100 each £ 1 , 5 , 000 , 000 ' Making roads and draining lands , & c ... 1 , 000 , 000 * £ 1 ( 5 , 000 , 000-That all minerals shall be the property of the state . That lea-os shall bo granted for thirty-one years , renewablo for ever on good behaviour ; but sublettingoil no account to be permitted . The leases to be forfeited should the tenants aid in rebellion , join illegal associations , or be implicated in murders or robberies . The men on the locations to be regularly drilled . Thus a force of at least 100 , 000 men , costing the nation nothing , unless when called into active service ., would be ready to defend the kingdom in case o £ invasion , and each man , possessing an interest in the land , could alvvayw be depended on . At the end of the fourth year and thenceforward , from . 1 . 50 , 000 locations , at £ 6 each , £ 750 , 000 would be the annual rental . All the necessary expenses for managing these home colonies , for building places of wornhip , for schools , hospitals , and medical attendance to be first paid out of the proceeds . The balance to bo expended in working the mines which may be found in the . lands , in establishing fisheries , and in giving other useful and profitable employment to the people . That this annual expenditure be continued for fifty yearn , when in that period lands now unproductive will have produced in rent £ : 57 , M ) O , O 0 O , besides providing amply lor an industrious population . That sum expended on reproductive wmiw , cannot fail to raiHO the destitute Iri . sli to a state of comfort , independence , and happiness ; and the heart-rending misery , ho long and so patiently endured by that oppressed people , will cea . su to exi . st . The bond ol union between the Ihitinb and Iriuli nations will be permanently cemented , the power of the . state consequently augmented , and all these great , advantages can bo attained without either loans or increaurd taxation . Ah capital is the great wan I . in Ireland , I have proponed that labour notes to the extent , of £ l ( i , ()()() , ()()() Hhall continue in circulation for fifty years . At tho expiration ol" thai period , £ 700 , 000 of those notes received for the rent ol the locations , can be annuall y destroyed , nhould il be contudered advisable to do ho , leaving £ 60 , 000 a-ycar to defray the expense o ' i hcIiooIh , lioni ) italH , management , & c . This object I havo in view in muking the lubour notes nonccm . ver . t-
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 13, 1851, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_13121851/page/7/
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