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The following speech -was delivered by M...
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The Following Speech -Was Delivered By M...
The following speech -was delivered by Mr O'Connor on the debate on the « Budget , ' on Friday evening * ( Feb . 25 th , ) and which , from press of matter , we could not find space for . 31 b O'Coxxor said ; The noble lord has commented jocosely and not unjustly upon the want of BTismmity displayed by the supporters of the hon . memb er for Montrose , while the noble lord may congratulate himself upon the perfect unanimity and cordiality by which his placemen and pensioner p halanx are bound together , and in their support of the government . ( Cheers . ) The noble lord , he contended , had not once touched the question under
discussion , but had ridden off upon his limping hobby—the Irish difficulty . He had hoped to have heard an explanation of the speech of the ri ght hon . the Secretary for the Admiralty , from the noble lord _ a speech in which sinking fund aud floating fund , ordnance and stores , men and dockyards , had been so fascinatingly jumbled by the right hon . secretary , £ 5 to make it difficult to understand what belongnd to naval expenditure , to the dead weight , to permanent taxation , or to the fail ! that we were called upon to pay . ( Hear , bear . ) But the hon . member for Sheffield ( Mr Ward ) must rest assured that this country will no longer tolerate such a jumble of its accounts fre-m . a paid servant . ( Hear , hear . ) The
noble lord should recollect that the honourable member for Manchester had told him that the present was a middle-class government . If he reduced the expenditure to meet the income , instead of increasing tfaeincome to meet the expenditure . he would have the support of the middle classes and the working classes ¦ pith him . But by inflicting the tax he was about to levy , and the weight of which would fall upon the middle classes chiefly , in the first instance , but which they would subsequently not only shove off their own shoulders , but ultimately would make a large profit of—it would press most heavily upon the poor and industrious . ( Hear , hear . ) Let him explain the nature of the proposed svstem of direct taxation , in order
to prove that the pressure must eventually fall upon the poor . A manufacturer employing a thousand hands , and returning his profit on their labour at £ 10 , 000 per annum , would be compelled by this additional tax of two per cent ., to pay an additional £ 200 a year . ( Hear , hear . ) Ay ! but see the source from whence he would draw it ! Will thi s honse believe that a reduction of one farthing per day from the wages of those 1 , 000 hands , will give the employer nearly £ 330 a year , or £ 130 a year profit upon the tax ? ( Hear , hear , hear . ) Well , but to go further—where is the master who would not be able to reconcile his unprotected hands to the reduction of a shilling per week , to
meefe ' such an infliction , and which would give him a profit of about £ 2 , § 00 a year , upon the paysent of a tax of £ 200—and all crimped from the wages of tbe poor , and abstracted from the profit of the shopkeeper . ( Hear , hear . ) The eaopfceeping class was an important part of tha industrial community . They lived npon just profit , produced by fair competition , and that profit was increased or diminished in proportion to the ability of the industrious classes , to secure the necessaries of life . ( Hear , hear . ) Well , the deduction he drew from the opposition of the middle classes to this measure , was creditable , generous , and honourable , because they preferred opposing their old friends , to beine
placed in the odious and unenviable position of being compelled to makelosjesgood out of diminished wages . ( Hear , hear . ) It was a fact , that could sot be ( denied , that the infliction of this tax would compel the shopkeepers to pay it , not out of their profit ? , which were nil , but out of their remainine capital , which was daily melting away . ( Hear , hear . ) It would cause the middle and the working classes to unite for the first time , and their union would be against him . He objected to the manner in which Ireland was made use ot by Irish members in that house . He objected to the honourable membar for Limerick telling the government that , if a certain poller were adopted , they had only to whistle .
in order to get 200 , 000 Irishmen to fight the batiks of this country . That was the manner in which the Irish mind had been always debased and destroyed and for his part , he could sea no chance of regeneration in England until Ireland was regenerated in the first instance . ( Hear , hear . ) He felt gratified for fche aid -which h * d been extended last year by this country to Ireland , tut what , he asked , wonld Irish membsrs be told if they had to apply for farther aid to the people of England next year ? Would they not be told ' you have since taken another tax out of onr pockets , and wa are no Ion ger able to afford you relief * ( hear , hear ) The noble lord told theai that he had not made a warlike
speech , but however that might be , neither he nor the right honourable gentleman , the Chancellor of the Exchequer , had certainly made a retrenchment Epeech . ( llear . ) At " a time when the industrial classes of this country were selling everything they had , in order thet they might keep out of the workhouse , was it right to tell then that this was the very moment to increase the pay of the soldiers and the rations of the sailors ? ( Hear ) , hear ) He would tell them that there were events passing aronnd them that neither the noble lord nor he could shut their eyes to . The noble lord must bo aware that the present etate of France was not one which would warrant an
increase of the expenditure of thig country . ( Hear , hear . ) The sentiments expressed by the hon . membsr for the west riding ef Yorkshire on this subject had his most cordial assent . That hon . gentleman had the confidence of the middle classes of this country , and he ( Mr O'Connor ) could tell them , that if this tax was imposed he would also have the confidence of a portion of the working classes , for having opposed it . ( Hear , hear . ) . The noble lord felt that he might rely on gentlemen on that ( the opposition ) side of the house , who might be led away in the present state of Europe , with a feeling that it was necessary to hare a strong government in this country . But the people would not be satisfied . Since 1 S 35 there had never been a divieioa in that
honse against any proposed increase in the expenditure . As long as there was a farthing in the wallet the cry was , ' Let us spend it ;* but now the country was iesolved that tkere must be retrenchment , and if the gorernment asked how they were to save the public money , let them look to the placemen and the pensioners who were sitting behind the Treasury benches , who were ever ready to bring up the rear , and howl at the back of the minister . ( Here Mr Treiawney , who sat immediately behind Lord John Russell , started precipitately from his seat and without taking off his hat rushed from the Treasury benches , skipping across the officials , amid tremendous laughter , until the hon . gentleman seated
himself at a considerable distance in the background . ] There ( continued Mr O ' Connor ) if my petard has created such confusion in your ranks , what effect will the broadside of universal indignation have npon your corp ? . ( Hear , hear ; and laughter . ) He would remind thenoble lord that the profligacy , prostitution , subserviency and treachery of French officials , who howled at the back of the minister , and resisted reform , led to revolution , and the system wasas cerrnpt in England . ( Hear . ) They should have reform , The country demanded it .
The people felt that what led to the struggle for reform , in France , was the tampering with the public money by the government . ( Hear hear . ) The people would oblige thenoble lord , or whoever was minister , to find out from what quarter economy should come . The nobie lord might ask the supporters of this amendment where economy was to come from . If ministers gave them their salaries ' , they might perhaps pet an answer . ( A laugh . ) There was a saying in Ireland , it is not fair to keep a dog and bark yourself . The course pursued by the noble lord reminded him of the man who had orderd his servant
to cut the tail off a young dog . Hearing the dog barking every morning for some days after , he inquired the cause , and the servant said he was cutting oS its tail . * Did I not order you to do that a week ago ? ' said the master . * Oh yes , ' was the reply , ' but I cut off a joint every morning , because I was afraid , as the dog is young , that he could not bear to hare it all cut off at once . ' ( Laughter . ) That wa ? precisely the policy of the notte lord in trying the extent to which tho people conld btar taxation —( hear , hear}—be was eutting a joint of our tail off every morning until , at last , we would have no tail at all . ( Great laughter . ) When this question came before tbe public , it would be hard to recoBcile them to the belief in their poverty that the countryrequired more soldiers . It wonld be hard to satisfy
them that all tho ? e items of expenditure were innoxious and harmless . When they were seen in one . bulk , tbe people would have a very strong opinion asto tbe ereatness of the amount , although , when ther were better able to bear it , tbey might not have been so ready to find fault with the amount . lie felt cratelul to this country for what had been done for Ireland , but at the same time , as an Irishman , he should deny that an agricultural country had any right t ~> cmiefor assistance as an alms to this country , while Ergland wanted her agricultural produce , or th * t the existence of a nation should be left to depend on the besging letter of an archbishop . ( Hear , hear . ) The r . cb ' e lord might rest assured tl > at while Ihe religion of the Irish people was made a charge agaicst their loyalty , they would be tempted to Jolik to iiiointr cjuntry piofestlcg the same re .
The Following Speech -Was Delivered By M...
ligion , that had liberated itself , for relief , rathei than to a country ef a different religion .
MONDAY , Pes . 28 . HOUSE OF LORDS . —The bill for enabling her Majesty to establish diplomatic relations with the Court of Rome was read a third time , and passed after' a short discussion . The other business was of a routine cha . raster . . HOUSE OF COMHON 3 .-O 0 B Relations WrTH Fbasce—Mr Huhe again rose and said—Sir , I wish to ash a question of her Majesty ' s ministers in connexion with the state of affairs in Prance , where the government that existed no longer exists , and a new government has bsen established . I wish , therefore , to ask her Majesty ' s ministers whether it is their intention to withhold altogether from any interference with the people of France , and to leave them at liberty to choose what sert of gorernment they please f I simply ask the question , if there is no objection to answer It .
Lord J . Russell . — . 1 hare no ohjection whatever to answer the question of the hon . gentleman . We hare received , of course , the intelligeace which is generally known to the public of the change whieh has taken placa in France ; and I can assure the house—indeed , I should hardly have thought it necessary to declare Ittbat we have no intention whatever to interfere with the form of government which the French nation may choose for themselves —( loud cheers)—or in any way to meddle with the internal affairs of that country . ( Renewed cheering , ) -
CHARGE OF BREACH OF PRIVILEGE AGAINST FEARGUS O'CONNOR , IN THE HOUSE OF COMMONS . MrJ .. O CoxNELz , satd he rose io discharge a very painful duty . He had to complain of a breach of the privileges of that house , in the shape of an invasion of the freedom of the tribunal for the trial of contested elections . The breach of privilege , to which he referred , consisted of an article in the Nortbebk Star newspaper of last Saturday . That article contained imputations on the right hon . gentleman the Secretary at War ( Mr F . Maule ) , as chairman of the committee of selection , and on him ( Mr
O'Conuell , ) bv name , he being therein accused of being the deadly enemy of the hon . member for Notiinghsm ( Mr F . O'Connor ) . So far as regarded himself , he could assure the house that he would be prepared to treat the charge with perfect indifference . But he considered that ia hit person an attempt was made to overawe members of that house , which , if allowed to pass by unnoticed , might be fatal to the freedom and deliberation of election committees . He begged leave , therefore ,, to move that the paper in question be laid on the table , and that the passage which he complained of ba read . The article was then read by the clerk : —
Mr J . O'Cossell then proceeded to say , that he believed he was bound by the forms of the house to submit te it a motion ; and he would do so as a matter ef form , in order that he might have anoppertanity of statin ? , that is his belief neither the chairman of the selection committee , nor the chairman of panels , nor himself in particular , need care much for the attack that had been made oh them ( hear ) . Itappeared to hira , hswever , to be desirable that the public should be made acquainted with the mode in which election committees were appointed . He had to state . in the first place , that the right hon . gentleman , the Secretary at War , had no more power in the committee af selection than any other member of that committee ; for he could only co-operate with a majority of the committee—that majority consisting of four out of six
members—in selecting the committee that should try any particular election , and in fixing a day for the commencement of its proceedings . He had to observe in the next place , that if there were any objection against any particular member being ap- » pointed to serve on a committee , that member might be challenged for cause , altbengha mero ber could not be struck off as special jurymen could be struck off , without cause shown . He did not mean to trouble the house with any further observations upon the subject . Bat as a formal motion would be necessary , in order to give the house an opportunity of expressing an opinion npon the matter , if it should think proper so to do , he begged leaTe to move that the printer and publisher of the Northbrh Star newspaper be summoned to appear at the bar of the house .
Here the Speaker inquired who seconded the motion , and n » ene appearing for a considerable time , ha declared that there was no seconder , when the hon . member for Paisley , Mr HA « iiE , ! fiew to the rescue and seconded the motion . As a breaclfof the privileges of the House of Commons is considered a matter of the gravest and deepest impart , when Mr O'Conkob rose there was a death-like silence . He said that as proprietor of th * Northers Stab newspaper . be wished to say a few words in replv to the observations of the hon . member for Kerry . In former cases of complaints against that paper , he had suffered in person ; and that was the first time that the printer or publisher had been made in any way answerable for anything that
had appeared in its columns . He would now jnstify tbat article by precedent , statute law , and experience . He believed that many members of that house had spoken of election committees as being unfair tribunal * , because the members of those committees generally decided according to their political opinions . He had himself been canvassed for an election committee , and he had on one occasion been denounced for voting according to his oath in favour of a Tory candidate , while all the other members of the committee had voted according to their party predilections . So much for precedent , which justified him in the conclusion that party bias set all other obligations aside . The hon . gentleman was wrong when he said that there was a right of
challenge for cause shown against any member of a committee . There was no such thing . There was a right of challenge on account of relationship , or because a member had himself been petitioned against . Bat there was no right of challenge for eanse . If there had bean such a right he should have challenged the right hoa . gentleman the Secretary at War , and the hon . gentleman the member for Kerry , ( Mr M . J . O'Connell ) in consequence of a personal quarrel he had had with that hon . member . Now wh * t was the practice , if he , ( Mr O'Connar , ) was on trial for his life , Jand if the Secretary at War ,, or the hon . member for Kerry . wasnpon his jury list he would not waste his peremptory challenges upon exceptions to these two jurors , bnt he would
make his ohjection upon cause , and m both cases he ; would show sufficient cause to justify the " , court in setting them aside , and the house should understand that this wise . provision of the law was as protective of the delicacy of the juror as of the interest of the prisoner , as it was not at all anu . 'ual for a joror ta object to himself on account of bias , and he felt assured that that bias on the part of the hou . member for Kerry was suffi . ciently strong to have justified such an objection . He had dealt with the questions of precedent , law , and ex perience , and he wonld now answer the sneereaused by his aopeal to the country for funds to defend his seat . He had had a taste of previous committees . He was an independent member . He did not buy
his constituents and he would not sell tbem ; and being a public servant , he neither felt it , ner thought it , to be his duty to defend a seat which he held for the public benefit . He did not deceive his constituents or the country upon this point , nor was he going to pauperise himself , if those for whom he struggled did not consider his position worth defending ; and as to the sneer of the five farthings a man from the Land Company , he be / rced to tell that house , that since that Company was incorporated he had never travelled a mile , or eaten a meal , at the expense of the funds , but had spent nearly £ 1 , 000 oat of his own pocket onbehalf of that Company ; and that he had never through the whole course of his life
accepted pay , gratuity , or compensation for any service he had performed . He had before declared to his constituents , that as he would derive no personalbenefit from a seat in that hoose . he would not defend it at his own expense . He had sat in three parliament s without having given offence to anyone ; and if he had done anything to hurt the feelings of the hon . member for Kerry he begeed leave to express his regret . ( Hear , hear . ) He had certainly written theartielein question under a feeling : of some irritation ; and he could not forget that he had formerly been unseated by an election committee for want of qualification , at a time when he could declare on his oath that he had £ 5000 a year and that he did not owe asy maa a farthing
Mr M . J . O'CossEii said ha could assure the hon . gentleman that he had not brought that matter under the notice of the house on account ef anything that had been done to hurt his feelings . He had not brought forward the subject on personal grounds . The hon . gentleman and he had had a difference , bnt it was not on that acaount that their intercourse had ceased . If an apology had been needed from the hon . gentleman , the apology he had offered would have been accepted . But he could assure the hon . gentleman that no apology-was required . He hoped that the notice that had been taken of that matter would prevent the repetition of similar attacks on the roembsrs of election committees . He did not , of course , mean to press his motion . The motion was then withdrawn . The Budget . — An immense number of petitions having been prosfnted against the propose * Income Tax ,
The Chasceixor of the Exche quer then rose to move the order of the day for the Committee of Ways and Mean ? , andin eo doing entered more fully into the Snanclal state of the country than Lord J . Kussell bad done when he made his statement . The excess of expenditure over income in the year ending 5 th January was £ 2 , 955 . . Bnt out of the expenditure they should deduct £ 1 , 5-25 , 008 incurred for Irish distress , leaving tbe actual excess of expenditure over incrme at about £ 1 , 400 . 000 . The £ 450 , 000 of China money , retained in the commissariat chest for the Caffre war , would be received this quarter , so that if the ordinary income of the current quarter-would equal the ordinnry expenditure , thU sum mifht be fairly deducted from the expenditureof the jear ending 5 ' . h April , 18 J 8 , when the excess of expemiitmeover income ? for the year ending on that day , vronid be reduced btlow £ 1 . 000 , 000 , an excess which he thought was not greatly to he wondered at when the
The Following Speech -Was Delivered By M...
circumstances of the country for the past year were consiaered . Many hon , gentlemen called for reductions , ana some to a very large extent . But he begged them to remember that the revenue waa divisible into two distinct-parts , over the amount of one of which the house had no control . ' The charge for the funded debt was £ 27 , 778 , 000 , and that of the unfunded debt £ 752 , 009 , making the whole charge for the debt £ 28 . 530 , 009 . The charge on the consolidated fund was £ 2 , 750 , 000 , and . that for supply service £ 3 058 000 . making , with the interest on tbe debt , tbe whole sum not susceptible of reduction , and over which the house had no effective control , upwards of £ 35 , 000 , 000 , Tbe estimates for effective services for the year , and over which the house had a control , did not exceed £ 18 , 153 , 600 . When honourable members , therefore , talked of reductions , it wonld be as well for them to
remember that these reductions could not be made upon fifty millions , but upon about eighteen millions , which were alone required for effective service . He would bo very glad if a reduction of expenditure conld be effected , but he hoped that they would not set to work reducing it in a reckless and thoughtless manner . There were two portions of the expenditure in which reduction might be effected . It was possible to reduce the expenditure npon onr army and navy forces , and to make redactions in the miscellaneous estimates , bat the events which had recently occcurred proved tbat it would be inexpedient in them to recede from the proposal , as to our military forces , made by Lord John Russell . To that proposal tho government must and would adhere . If any reduction could be made in the miscellaneous estimates , he would be happy to make thsm . But ha would deceive the house if he left them
to suppose that he thought such ' reduction * could be made within the year . If reduction was to be made , It should be made ) gradually and not on the spur of the moment . The utmost exertions ef the two committees lately agreed to , would not enable them to propose to the house any great practical reduction within the year , whatever they mi ght be able to suggest for a subsequent period . The right honourable gentleman then adverted to the estimated income for the coming year , which lord John Kusseil had set down at £ 51 , 250 , 000 . Deducting this from the estimated expenditure , the deficiency for the coming year had been set down at £ 3 , 500 , QR 0 . How was this to be made up f Under existing circumstances h « believed that they would not be justified in having recourse to a new loan . Nor could they propose to
reverse the financial policy of the house for the last six years . If , instead of looking to direct taxation , they re-enacted direct taxes , their policy would be denounced as that of retrogression . They therefore proposed to renew the income tax for a limited term , five years . It it were renewed at the present rate , tbe deficiency above alluded to wonld exist , if but for a short time . To meet it whilst ltlaitsd , they deemed that it would ba unwiio to impose any tax tbat would occasion any derangement in trade , such for instance as a per centsge upon existing taxes . He regarded . tho increase of the income tax as the easiest and mostlegitimate mode of providing for the temporary emergency . Should the tax be continued be . yond the temporary emergency , it was a tax which Ire * land , as well aa Great Britain , should pay . In the
present state of Ireland , however , it wonld b » nowise and Inexpedient to extend it to her now . They bad proposed , therefore , the renewal of the income tax for five years , with an increase of two per cent to it for the first two years of that term , by which time they bad hoped that the extraordinary expenditure would have ceased . He had been aeksd if he would guarantee the withdrawal of tbe additional impost ef two per cent , at the end of two years , to which he had replied that it would be very unwise to make asy such promise . What might be the necessities of this country bsfore two years were expired—what might be its condition and policy in the course of a few months ! How long was it since an honourable gentleman recently returned from France ( Mr Cobden ) had assured them that
the French had no object to serve by revolution . ( Loud and prolonged cheering from tbo Opposition and partly from the Ministerial benches f ) Ssch bad been the proposals of the government . He eertainly could not say that they had been well received . From all quarters , both of the house and country , they had received unequivocal demonstrations of the popular disapproval of tbe proposed increase of two per cent , to . the income-tax . He himself thought tbat the Ministerial preposition was a wise one , although , in consonance to the public feeling , it was not now the intention of tho government " to press the resolution which iavolved an addition to the income-tax . ( Load cheers and laughter . ) It was not wise to attempt to force on an unmlling'HoHie of Commons an napopnlar tax . He proposed , then , that the expenditure of the Caffre war and for aavy excess should be defrayed from the balance in the Exchequer for the
present year . That would reduce the excess of expen . diture over income for the coming year by from thirteen to fourteen hundred thousand pounds , which would reduce , with the existing estimates , the contemplated deficiency by from a million and a half to two millions . The balances in the Exchequer were very high , and if they were to rely on high balances writhe time being , they must enable him to keep up the ordinary average revenue , so that in three or four years the revenue aad expenditure would be brought into a state of equilibrium . This he would not be able to do unless they consented to the renewal of the income-tax at its present amount for a period of three years . He begged the house at the same time to understand that he left it open for the government to propose such an increase of taxation , in some shape or ather , as might be necessary to equalise the income frith tbe expenditure within tbe year .
Mr Hcme observed tbat big mind still remained unchanged as to the injustice and inequality of the tax . If the house consented to it , there wonld be no reduction of expenditure . They should now reduce their military force , and show Franca tbat she had nothing to fear from us . Mr Osbobke said that it was not so much to the amount as to the principle of the income tax that the industrious classes objected ; He would divide the house on the principle of the tax . Hr Cisdweix asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer , seeing that his statement varied in eo many particulars from that of Lord John Bussell , to postpone tho further coneideratien of it to a future period . The Chancellor of the Excbiqueb complied , bsiog willing to postpone the committee till Friday night , to give time to consider . Mr Gladstone , Sir H . Yerney , and Mr Francis Baring addressed a few remarks to the bouse .
The Chihcelloe ef the Exchequer ,, in repl ; to a question from Mr Gladstone , explained , that he proposed to take the vote for the Caffre war and the naval excess out of the unappropriated balances of the Exchequer , which on the 5 th January last amounted to £ 8 , 00 » , 000 , and which would amount to £ 7 , 000 , 000 on the _ 6 th of April next , when these charges were defrayed . Mr Waelit said that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had been shuffling over his money bags ev « r since tha failure of the budget , and he had found in consequence that he hid ia a corner some add balances , out of which he could pay all the demands at present made upon him
Daring the last administratis ^ the Whigs had described them as gentlemen made of very squeezable ma . terlals . Tbe screw had beea applied to tbem againtbey bad yielded considerably , and in so doing had acted wisely . They rami yield msre ; for tho EaglUh public was resolved not to aceede to the financial projects of Ministers . He asked Lord J . Russell to postpone the discussion for a month , and in the interim , to revise the whole subject ef expenditure and taxation , in order to see whether he conld not give the country some real and substantial relief . He doubted now whether tbe proposition to continue the present income tax for three years would be received kindly by the public .
Mr Cobden excused his false prophecy with respect to a revolution in France on the ground that he had not bsen prepared for the insanity of a minister and the madness of a king . He charged the government with covert hostile intentions towards the French people . Lord J . Rcssill deprecated a discussien of the budget vrhea the question was adjourned , as most unfair . With respect to Mr Cobden ' s unsuccessful prophecy , Lord J . Russell said—The hon . member has tried to excite a suspicion that I was not sincere in the declaration I made this evening , and that I would be induced by some coteries and clubs to assume a hostile attitude towards
France ; but I reiterate my declaration that it is not the intention of the government to interfere in any way whatever with the settlement tbat France may think fit to make with respect to her own government . We , as close and friendly neighbour * , only wish that tbe institutions France may adopt shall tend to her own prosperity . England did not hesitate to perform those duties of hospitality and frlendehip which hsvo gained for ber the title of asylum of the unfortunate ; and these duties I for one will never consent that England should refose to perform . ( The noble lord ' s declaration was loudly cheered .
Mr Bibbaeli said that , as we live in an age of revolution , we had , of course , our share of revolutionary Ministers ; for , within one week , we had a Prime Minister proposing one budget , a Chancellor of the Exchequer a second , and an intimation g iven tbat , before long , a third would he propounded . We had now a seven years' trial of the new principles of commerce and finance , which were to furnish , not simple millions , but hundreds of millions , and add more wealth to the couatry than oil Potosi ' s mines ever produced ; and yet we were puzzled how to obtain a miserable two millions . The people of England had to test Mr Cobden as a judge , not merely of the policy which would fill a Treasury , but also of the policy wbinh weuld secure the happiness and independence of nations . In the one case he . stood fornarl as tho supporter of national bankruptcy ; in the other , he pointed as a model of per .
fection to a revolutionary nation . . What he most deplored was that we had been told tbat we ought to accede to the present budget on account of external circumstances . He lamented that Lauis Philippe had fallen . He was a great prince , a great gentleman , and a great man . ( A roar of laugh ter followed this oracular annunciation . ) Whatever might be his faults to bis people , to England and Englishmen he had alwajs shown a sympathising attention ; and of this characteristic nothing could deprive him—that he had been for seventeen years tbe securer of the blessings of peace . He deplored that any Minister should have assumed as a contingency that war would occur between Eng land and France . What had . occurred in France was . an additional reason for not passing the income-tax . The income-tax was a war tax , and ought not to be enacted in a time of peace . Mr Bright and Mr Baukes made a few observations ,
The Following Speech -Was Delivered By M...
Mr O Connor said : Sir , I shall not pretend to say what influences have induced the right hon . baronet to surrender his second budget , bnt I am happy to learn , from him and his supporters , that public opinion has at length begun to operate upon the judgment of this house ; and , sir , although an unpractised financier , and although it is not my duty to point out the blunders of the financial minister ot the country , yet , sir , being challenged to the encounter by the right . hon . baronet , I undertake to prove , from his own financial statement , that whatever temporary increase he is entitled to call / or to pay his out-standing bills , that the country , from his own showing , is entitled to a permanent
reduction of taxation to a large amount .- ( hear , hear)—and from memory , sir , and without a single note , I shall endeavour to follow tha right hon . gentleman through his complication of incidental and casual expense and permanent taxation . He had only to observe that the noble , lord and his collsagues bad split on the old rock , namely , an empty Exchequer . The country had more than once seen that when the \\ hig 8 turned into office with a full Exchequer such had been their lavish expenditure , that before they had been long in office they had been obliged o come upon the country for more . He had come to the conclusion that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was looking for a permanent taxation in order
to meet an incidental want . The right hon . gen-SoTnnS ? SJT ? an /^ reSate deficiency of ii yOU . OUO , which he reduced to £ 1 , 400 000 by taking credit for tbe balance in hand of £ 1 , 500 , 000 on [ account of Irish loan . He is also bound to give eredit for £ 460 , 000 in the Commissariat chest at the Cape as applicable to the expense of the Sfnnnnnr , ar ~ that , red T 8 his necessity to £ 1 , 000 , 000 m round numbers ; and then , presuming that the house will not grant the half million for the enrolment of a militia , the increased naval and ordnance estimates , this reduces the right hon . gentleman ' s demand to £ 500 , 000 . ( Hear , hear . ] And now , as against that casual demandfor the
, payment of which , he says , national faith is pledged , and being challenged to the contest , I proceed to show , firstly , the . sources from which permanent reduction may be mate ; and , secondly , the proper source from whence to draw for the immediate call . The right hon . baronet , always yielding , always pliant and submissive , and easily coerced by the house when any ' addition is to be made to the salaries of placemen , pensioners , and idlers , has , and I think unguardedly , stated t ' e numerous instances in which he has augmented the salaries of the non-effective force , or , in other words , the
idlers , at the request of parliament . And from this I shall be enabled to deduce a great , a startling and irrefutable fact ; because the right hon . gentleman went on to tell us that the military service had , within this period of pressure , been increased by 35 , 000 men ; and , taking credit for economy , he told us that the expenditure for the management of the affairs of that augmented service now was £ 620 , 000 a year less than it would have been under the old system . ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) Well , then , if such was the case , that such a reduction had been made in the management of tbe affairs of the employed , was it fair that an addition should be
made to the salaries of the idleand the unemployed ? ( Hear . ) Perhaps , sir , this is the reserve which furnishes to the government the largest amount of support , and consequently , receives the lion ' s share of patronage . But let us apply this rule to the case of the mechanic , the operative , and the tradesman . Does their idleness in time of famine and distress secure for them the increased sympathy of the right hon . baronet ? ( Hear , hear . ) But , sir , he has told us that' those salaries are based upon national faith . ( Hear , hear . ) This I wholly deny . It may be that those salaries , in their original form , were based upon national faith ; but their
increase stands upon the' whim , the caprice , and the necessities of government ; and therefore , in times of general distress , the increase consequent upon this parliamentary sympathy should be lopped off , and the salaries should stand upon naiional faith . That ' s one item of retrenchment constituting the large amount admitted , but not stated , in figures by the right hon . gentleman . Well , sir , the next item was , in round numbers , £ 27 , 700 , 000 interest upon the funded debt , and between £ 700 , 000 and £ 800 , 000 interest upon Exchequer bills reduced for the March account from 3 d . to 2 Jd . interest , leaving the June bills for the present untouched , but upon which account however we are entitled to take
credit for a sixth of the half of the interest upon Exchequer Bills , presuming that those falling due in June will share the same fate as those due in March ; and , in round numbers , sir , presuming that those Exchequer Bills are equally distributed over the two periods , and if the interest on the June bills is reduced , that will leave a surplus of one sixth , or a halfpenny ; in threepence of the interest upon those bills , which in round numbers would be £ 60 , 000 5 o the credit of the Exchequer . ( Hear , hear . ) Now , lir , I am following this statement without a note , but yet correctly , and to the farthing . Well , sir , to show the incapacity of our finaneial secretary ,
the right hon . gentleman made a blunder of £ 400 , 000 , when he stated that the interest upon the funded debtlwas in round numbers , £ 28 , 800 , 000 , whereas it is but £ 28 , 400 , 000 ; he gave us the amounts correctl y enough , £ 27 , 700 , 000 interest on the funded debt , and £ 700 , 000 interest on Exchequer Bills , but he made the two sums amount to £ 28 , 800 , 000 instead of £ 28 , 400 , 000 , and I , for one , am not prepared to vote away the money of the people upon such wholesale miscalculations of a minister , whose duty it is to be correct to the farthing . ( Hear , hear . ) I shall now follow him through his labyrinth , and see what his admissions amount to He admits that in the estimates for the naval
department , that large , very large , sums are due for works that have been performed in the dock yardsbuilding steamers , building stores , and paying workmen ; indeed out of the £ 7 . 600 , 000 of navy estimates presented by the right hon . the Secretary for th * Admiralty , he showed us that no more than £ 4 , 300 , 060 was justly chargeable upon that account , and £ 1 , 300 , 000 for the dead weight , leaving a surplus of £ 2 , 000 , 000 for the payment of tbe bill , as the right hon . gentleman called it , and the current expenses of the year . Now , that was another largo margin to justify permanent reduction . ( Hear , hear . ) Then the rig ht hon . gentleman informed us that the substitution of percussion locks for flint and
steel locks to muskets was a tremendous expense , which , however , he did not name ; but as I must suppose that we shall not have another change , I may naturally conclude that this is another item of incidental expense , butplaeed to the account of permanent taxation . ( Hear , hear . ) Then we come to the adoption by the government of expenditure on account of lighthouses , amounting as the right hon gentleman has informed us to no less than £ 220 . 000 a year , which he ( Mr O'Connor ) contended should be a local tax —( hear , hear)—aud when seen in the general estimate ] in juxta-positiori , with £ 150 , 000 for educating a whole nation , the wonder , the marvel , and astonishment of that house , should be that the
people of England , now surpassing all other nations in sagacity and political knowledge , should have so long tolerated such a reckless expenditure of their money . ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) Next came the expense of substituting the long range for the short range cannon , which he presumed would not again be reduced to its original dimensions , and which may consequently be placed to * the account of incidental and not permanent expenditure . ( Hear , hear . ) But , sir , the right honourable baronet introduced these warlike improvements with a flourish . He told the house that the improved science of war led to those improvements . What , then , while the science of war , of slaughtering , and
murdering , and all other sciences , are rapidly hurrying on to the gaol of perfection , is the science of legislation alone to stand still ? ( Hear , hear . ) He had now shown that the expense of the Caffre war was incidental j that the' sunk capital for dock-yards , increased stores , and other works was incidental ; that the long cannon and percussion lock was incidental ; the payment of cost of lighthouses was unjust ; that the Chancellor of the Exchequer had made a blunder of £ 400 , 000 and a slip of £ 60 , Q 00 ; and , therefore , he had made out his case and defied contradiction , that while £ 500 , 000 was all thai
was required to pay the bill , he had shown a margin from which the country had a right to demand a large pennanent reduction of taxation . ( Hear hear . ) But he would go still'farther , and if we were not to be eternally legislating lor posterity without reference to the wants , the comforts , or the wishes of the existing generation ; and although not paid for performing the duty , he would show the right hon . gentleman a source from which he might draw enough to pay his bill , and leave a surplus of four millions , and he begged the attention of the house to this particular portion of the subject . There was included in our funded debt £ 3 , 000 , 000
per annum in Ihe shape of long and terminable annuities , which would expire in 1859 and ' 60 , and one million per annum paid on account of life annuities , and with which latter stock he could not well deal ; but if he chose to purchase up one quar-
The Following Speech -Was Delivered By M...
ter of a million of the long terminable annuities , at the present market price which was eight years purchase , the sum he should pay would be £ 2 , 000 , 000 , while if he choosed to make that small amount of a quarter of a million per aunum ' permanent , instead of expiring 1859 and ' 60 , he could at the present price of stock realise six millions and a half , leaving bim two millions . to pay the holders , half a million to pay his bill , nnd four millions to add to the Exchequer , thus . entitling . the country , from that source and other sources which he had shown , to a large reduction cf permanent taxation . ( Hear , bear . ) But , says the right hon . gentleman , a government cannot deal with the affairs of a country as a private gentlemnn
deals with his establishment . Sir , I deny that the rule does not apply , because a private gentleman , if he is wise , will cut down his establishment according to his ability to meet expenditure , and so should the government ; while , upon the contrary , all former precedents prove that the greater the distress of the nation the greater the demands of the government . He ( Mr O'Connor ) was by no means a convert to the op inions of the ri g ht hon . hart , the member for Tarnworth , when he stated that it was the desire and the policy of all governments to pare down expenditure to the lowest point , and that it was a fallacy to suppose that increase in taxation was the desire of the government , while on the contrary , 'their interest
was in keeping it down to the lowest point that the necessities of the country would permit . Now he , ( Mr O'Connor ) denied this because one fact was worth a bushel of arguments , and they had the unbroken and irrefutable fact as admitted by every preceding ministry and confirmed by the present that taxation had gone on 'increasing in the same ratio in which poverty , destitution , and want increased . ( Hear , hear . ) But the right hon . baronet loved to deal in plausible precedents , end so did the house . One hon . gentleman got up and read a postscript from the letter of a friend of great capacity and undoubted talent , of whom the house , or the world , had never heard before , and we were asked
to pause ere we legislated in the face of such philosophy . ( Hear . ) Another hon . gentleman informed us of what one dead man said , what [ another dead man thought , what another had written , and another had done . And they asked us to be guided by those dead men ' s lucubrations , who were no authority when living , and whose opinions and notions were drawn from the sluggish mind of an unenlightened age , governed by borongbmbngering legislation . ( Hear , hear . ) Were these the sources , he would ask , from whence precedents were to be drawn to govern the active mind and genius , of the present day ? What had a great authority ( Lord Plunkett ) . told them , one of . their Chancellors , upon the passing of the
Reform Bill ? Why , that all antecedent history was . an old almanac . And he ( Mr O'Connor ) told them that henceforth they must draw their precedents for the government of the excited genius of the country from the electric telegraph , steam navigation , and the flight of railways ; from the printing press , the penny postage , and the penny stamp upon newspapers ; from the invention and improvements of mechanical power and other sciences , which had disinherited man from his natural position—in short , from those electric sparks which were now communicating an interchange of opinion between man and man , thus concentrating' thought—and not by the opinions of the dead . If the precedents relied upon
were good , and if they were to be governed by dead men , let them henceforth meet in the grave-yard , and sit upon the tomb-stones . ( Hear , hear . ) He would now call the attention of the house to a branch of the subject , auverteu ^ o by the hon . member for Manchester . That hon . gentleman , in order to prove the value of free trade , told us that within sixteen months , three times as much of our manufactured goods had been taken by the Americans ; but he ( Mr O'Connor ) would be glad to learn how much less wages the operatives of Lancashire and Yorkshire , who produced those goods , received for the large amount of produce . ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) Now , that was the whole
question , and that constituted his ( Mr O'Connor ' s ) reason for opposing any additional tax upon the middle classes , because it was invariably shoved 'from their own shoulders to those of the producing class . ( Hear , hear . ) As to the question of Free Trade , which had been introduced into the discussion , he ( Mr O'Connor ) , never flinching from tbe position he had occupied out of doors , would now undertake to prove that Iree trade increased the horrors of famine by increasing the price of food , and that , but for free trade , wheat , which stood at 110 s . the quarter , and touched 120 s ., would not , under the sliding scale , have reached 80 s . a quarter . ( Hear , hear , and cheers from the Protectionists ) Yes j but
he could answer that cheer presently , by showing them what , under those circumstances , their position would hare been . If free trade had not been carried , the importers of grain would have bought and sold with the day ; they would have adopted the farmer's maxim of quick sale and light profit ; they would have sold directly to the miller instead of to the speculator , the monopoliser , and the forestalled because those who were obliged to speculate in the duty , as well as in the raw material , would not have undertaken that hazard of
sacrificing their capital upon the chance of increased duty , consequent upon diminished prices . ( Hear , hear , and cheers . ) And thus , we should have had demand and supply equalled—whereas , only having to speculate in the price of the commodity , and not in the duty , led to a scandalous amount of speculation on famine , the necessity of renewing bills , and , eventually , to a diminution of price and loss of capital , conssquent upon the glut , occasioned by a large supply being thrown upon the market at once to meet the demands of
the bankers . Now , this , he contended , led to the derangement in the money market , and led to famine in the midst of abundance through unrestricted speculation . ( Cheers . ) But the hon . member for Manchester asks what we would have done without that corn ; he ( Mr O'Connor ) replied that they would have had it at 80 s . or 70 s . as freely as at 120 s ., because other nations were able to spare it - England was the richest market and able to take it , but its price abroad was naturally ruled by the price at home consequent upon the famine , for let it not be supposed that any brought to this market , with risk , freight , and insurance stamped upon it , would have been again re-shipped . But now he
would answer the cheer . Suppose upon the other hand tbat the opposition to free trade had been successful , and that the measure had not passed , and that wheat had ranged from 80 s ., 70 s ., or even 60 s . a quarter , what would have been the power of the free traders ever an excited , famishing , and unemployed people . ( Hear , hear . ) Why , air , the people of this country , if free trade had not passed , would never have learned that the premised blessing would have amounted to 120 s . a quarter ; and if under restriction it had stood at 80 s ., 70 s ., or even 60 s ., the free traders would have been enabled to persuade the people that if their measure had passed the price of wheat would have been much , very much
lower ; whereas the high price took the charm off free trade , which , had it been otherwise , Parson Spencer , the perpetual curate of Hinton , might , according to his promise and threat , have led on a starving phalanx of unemployed operatives , whose belief would have been confirmed that had the measure passed they would have had cheap bread and plenty of employment , and they would have raised the famine howl before your doors . Then , instead of coming to this house for the amendment of your Game Laws , and an alteration in the laws of Primogeniture , Settlement and Entail , they would have invaded your every institution , and have demanded the surrender of those privileges which tbey have
now permitted you to enjoy , in the hope , mind , that you will henceforth use them far national benefits instead of individual enjoyments . ( Hear , hear . ) Hence , sir , I arrive at the conclusion , that the right hon . baronet , the member for Tamworth , although reviled , denounced , and deserted by the landlords of the country , has been their saviour , their protector and emancipator ; and never was there in the history of politics a more unjust , ungenerous , or fatal desertion of a leader , who , as I have shown , saved the landlords from their own folly and from the inevitable vengeance of their opponents . ( Cheers . ) The hon . member for Buckinghamshire spoke of a paltry £ 3 , 000 , 000 , but it was only in the sense in which it had been used by the Chancellor of the Exchequer
who was accustomed to deal lightly and jocosely with round numbers ; but let the house see what this three millions would have done , —it would have given £ 6- a year to half a million of his ( Mr O'Connor ' s ) starving countrymen ; it would have given £ 12 a year to 250 , 000 starving Spitalfields weavers and English operatives ; thus , if properly applied , allowing five to a family , it would have given to two millions and a half of Irishmen , or to twelve hundred and fifty thousand Englishmen , more than they can earn in the year . ( Hear , hear . ) As the fubject of Ireland had been introduced by the Chancellor of the Exchequer , he ( Mr O'Connor ) hoped that the threatened necessity of England , which promised the I extension of the " Property and Income Tax to Ireland , would operate upon the susceptibility of
The Following Speech -Was Delivered By M...
those pliant honourable Irish members who followed in the tail of the ministry , whether he led them to the new lobby or the old . ( Cheers . ) This was what he always expected , that the slavish precedent established by Irish members would one day inflict a wound upon their own country . That was his ( Mr O'Connors" ) reason for opposing a tax upon the middle classes of this country , in order that h . « may be at liberty to oppose such an infliction upon his own . And " for the same reason he would oppose any additional tax being laid upon the landed interest of this countrv , because lie hoped to 569 the
landlords giving up their useless and anomalous privileges , in obedience to the requirements of the age , and once more becoming the natural patrons of their natural clients , bound by the mutual ties of protection and support . He had visited and examined more estates than any man in England within the last three years , and in the discharge of this duty he naturally inquired into the character of landlords , and he found that adding the relation of landlord and tenant there was scarcely a bad one to be found . He turned to where he commenced his operations , in Hertfordshire , and there he was surrounded by the tenants of the brother of the noble lord at tha
head of the government , and by the parishioners of another brother of the noble lord ' s—one faithfully discharged tbe duties of the landlord , and the other amiably discharged the duties of a clergyman . ( Cheers . ) He then turned to Worcester-hire , where he was now engaged , and he ashed any honourable member who doubted the value of the landlord elass , to take a walk or a ride with him through the estates of the honourable member for Worcester , ( Mr Ricardc , ) and he would show him schools for tho instruction of the children of the peasantry that did honour to the honourable gentleman , and such as would not be found or permitted for the instruction of the operatives in the manufacturing districts . Well , then , this was a class whom he
would invite to the correction of their own abuses , in the hope that the real market for industry may be opened . He would now conclude by exposing th * delusion attempted to be practised by the Chancellor of the Exchequer upon the house and the country . He had asked for more , much more than he was aware would be granted to him . If he had asked for the increase of the Income Tax and the continuance of the Income and Property Tax for two years , he was aware that the infliction would have been refused—that would have amounted in round numbers , with the proposed increase from 7 d . to Is ,, upon one class , tofabout fourteen millions , whereas , he now proposed the continuation of the present Property and Income Tax for three years , which ,
in round ' numbers , would amount to sixteen and a half millions , thus rewarding our opposition and the country ' s resolution by an increase of two millions and a half above the amount we have rejected —( hear)—while the right hon . baronet had forewarned us that he would watch the period of pliant yielding to come again to the house in an opportune season and ask for an additional vote to pay his out standing debts . Did the Chancellor of the Exchequer suppose that he could come down after a short time and demand another increase in taxation ? Let the hon . gentleman beware that he was not obliged to come sooner than he expected for something of another kind . If government seriously intended not to interfere with the affairs ef France , let them show that although [ they wished to preserve peace they were in a condition to go to war , but let that condition depead upon the conviction cf the industrious classes , that neace was worth
preserving . He begged the noble lord not to mistake the calm attitude of tlie people of England to an acquiescence in grievances . He wassorry there were not more competent gentlemen at the head of the monied department , to give a more satisfactory explanation of our expenditure . The day of temporising was gone . We lived in new times , and required new men to govern us < Before he sat down , he would call upon the hon . member for Montrose , who had upon the last occasion deceived both him ( Mr O'Connor ) and the house , and he would tell that hon . ptentleman , that a wavering , temporising policy , was not the way to unite the people or gain credit for himself . ( Hear , hear . ) He hoped tbat this time he would divide the house , and give the country an opportunity of distinguishing between their friends and their enemies ; consistency was an important ingredient in a representative of the people , aud he for one would not consent to be made a fool of .
Col . Slbthorp , Mr Munis , Mr Mitchell , Lord Dudley Stuart , Sir R . Inglis , and Mr Blackstone , made a few remarks . Mr HoasiUtf g & ve aotico that he should persist in Mb amendment for a more equitable assessment of tbe income tax . The debate was then adjourned to Friday . Tha Jeint-Stock Companies Bill was read a second timo . Toesdat , Feb , 29 . HOUSE OF LORDS . —The Loan CnAHCBLLoa proposed a resolution , which was seconded by tha Duke of Richmond , expressive of the thanks of the house to their late clerk assistant , Mr Birch , on his resignation , which was agreed to , as was also a motion for granting to tbat gentleman a retiring pension of £ 2 , 000 per annum .
Tbe Earl of AncxiiiMD , in reply to the Earl of Malmesbury , stated that tokens of approbation and rewards had been forwarded , to be conferred through the Bey of Tunis , on all persons concerned in savins and assisting tQO surviving portion of the crew of H . M . ' s late ship Avenger , thrown on tbo African coast . The Marquis ef Claneicabde , in answer to the Duko of Bicbmoud , said that he had good reason for believing that the rumoured destruction of the India mail was false . He had M , Arago ' s authority for stating that it reached Paris on the 27 th , and after some delay in that capital , for which neither the postal authorities nor the provisioaal government of France were responsible , it was forwarded on in the usual manner . M . Arngo also stated that every effort would be made , he Iwing now at tho head of the postal department in France , to ensure the speedy and safe transit and delivery of letters pausing- into aud through that country .
Sari Gbet , in an explanatory speech , moved the second reading of the New Zaaland Government BUI , which motion , after some ebservations from Lord Stanlay and the Earls of Waldegrave and St Germans , was agreed to , HOUSE OF COMMONS . —Mr Deedks reported , from the Lancaster Election Committee , that Mr Oregson was not duly elected , A now writ was ordsred to be issued , F & 5 NCU KErOBMC . —Mt MoFCKTON MlLHEB , —I am desirous to know , sir , whether the provisional government established at Paris has made any formal communication of Its existence to the foreign powers of Europe .
Lord JPaimbhston , —I have receives this morning from Lord Normanby a copy of a communication which was made by M . Lamartine , who is minister for Foreign Affairs in tbe provisional gorernmsnt , —a copy of a communication made by him , I think , to all the foreign ambassadors at Paris , anaounclug the formation of tbe preseat provisional government and declaring at the same time that the new forms and institutions which hare been adopted by Frauoe will make no alteration in the position of France in Europe ; and that the French government will display the same loyal and sincere desire of maintaining the most amicabla relations with all powers who may , like France , determine to respect tho independence and rights of nations , ( Cheers . ) Irish Pooh Law . —Colons ! Dhnne movedfota select committee to inquire into the working and efficiency of the Feor Law ia Ireland . The honourabis [ and gallant mumber contended that tha Irish Poor Law was a C 6
tnpleta failure , and urged the necessity of lessening the area of taxation . Mr O'Flaherty seconded the motion . Mr Druhhond opposed the motion . Sir 6 . G & E * , although beadmitted that some defects were found in the Irish Poor Law , could not consent to the appointment of the eomralttoo , because he thought It would have a most mischievous effect , inducing the belief that the Irish poor could not look to the law for support , but that a grant from Parliament could alone relieve them . The law mlgbt require some alteration after due experience of Its operation ; but to create the idea that jt would . immediately be repealed or greatly modified , which tho appointment ei a committee of the House of Commons would do , would be productive of great mischief .
An Irish debate thea followed , in which the principal speakers were Mr Fox , Colonel Conolly , Mr J . P . Maxwell . Mr Fltzstephen French , Captain Jones , Mr Pagan , Sir J . Walsh , Mr S . Crawford , Major Black *!! , tho Marquis of KAldaro , Mr Hume , and Mr Agllonby , who , as English members , made an application to the government not to refuse this committee , which had bien called for by almost every Irish member who had oddressed tho house . Sir W . SoMEttviiXB argued that , as the Irish Poor Law was not jet actually in force , and as , theref " 1 e » tho materials of inquiry were not ready , it would Da premature to appoint a committee of the House of
Commons . MrS . O'BaiEN spoke in favour of the motion . Mr HBoueuEBB likewise spoke in opposition to tho " lortlwooMi considered that the Irish members had be « n , badiy treated by the government on this occasion ; VH-1 . ^ withstanding that the Irish members generally g ! i ' ,, ' : * . * desireus of this committee , be v , as himself oh-Hb eu'tfi vote against it . . . . , . Mr W " AKLEy censured tho ministers for opposing the wishes of the Irish members when they wr-. re all unanimoUB . The unanimity of the Irish members was a phenomenon , and ouglit to produce an effect . He asked the government to consider in . wbat an awkward plight it would be left , if the English members were to walk in a body out of the house , and to leave them to deal with the Irish mecabera by themselves . The English
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), March 4, 1848, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_04031848/page/3/
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