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f&mjABY 28, 1846. _ THE NORTHERN STAR, 7
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foreign iflotaitnts; *
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it jkn dl wiUwar, at least in words, (An...
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"REVELATIONS OF'HOME, so. i. ¦ Ihe last ...
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FIVE PERSONS POISONED. Liverpool, Feb. 2...
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The late Mcrdeb ix Cmt-plkgatk.—Last eve...
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t J\"; ^ an M if,J lfr«m ***tafede , hol...
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totrial f aiiiamentv
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HOUSE OP LORDS—Mosniv , Feb. 23. PROTECT...
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Transcript
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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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F&Mjaby 28, 1846. _ The Northern Star, 7
f & mjABY 28 , 1846 . _ THE NORTHERN STAR , 7
Foreign Iflotaitnts; *
foreign iflotaitnts ; *
It Jkn Dl Wiuwar, At Least In Words, (An...
it jkn dl wiUwar , at least in words , ( Anfl—diouldmy chanc * so happen—deids , ) ffrthallwho war with Thought " ,
It Jkn Dl Wiuwar, At Least In Words, (An...
, j tfuak I " he » r a little bird , who sings »} j e people by and by will be the stronger ^—Btacs
"Revelations Of'home, So. I. ¦ Ihe Last ...
"REVELATIONS OF'HOME , so . i . ¦ Ihe last number of tiie llfatmuHfcr licview con-. gjns an article founded upon two publications , engtled , first , "The Christian Alliance ; " second , mjpo & lato Popolare . " The first of these may be gnucd the " Constitution" of an American Society , frfing froin the 12 th of May , 1 S 43 , which has been Esjablished "to promote religions freedom , and to diffuse useful and religious knowledge among the girives of Italy , and other Papal countries . " The aim of this association is purely theological : it renndiates political questions . Admitting that the , { vject of this socK * ty may be as good as the motives cf its members are undoubtedly pure , still tbe writer ri the article in tie Westminster Review well argues
jjut" it is impossible to get at the religious question pjjicrwise than through the politicaL" The writer pnip haticallyadds : — " To he must precede tothudc ; jBd Italy is not . " Again— "You may warehouse bibles , or copies of Merle d'Atoigxe and M'Ciue , at every point around Italy that may favour their dispersion ; slowly , and . in numbers imperceptible , they josy reach the hands of tbose who have no need of tian , of those whose sorIs are already freed ; but the mass , ' the gay unthinking peasantry' of the villages of Italy , 'tbe mechanics and shopkeepers of her towns , ] will never hear of them . The gendarmes , the priests , and tbe Custom-bouse form , between them and the instruction you seek to afford , a triple vail , insurmountable to individual agents of a transatlantic society . Every theory of education , then , for the masses of Italv , resolves itself into a problem efliberry . "
Th & " 4 postolato Popolare " is , we are informed by the writer we have above quoted , a periodical publication in Italian , published in London , of which j twelve numbers bare made their appearance ; it ] represents tbe opinions of tbe "National Italian Association known as " Young Italy . " On these two publications tbe writer in the Westminster Review grounds an article on tbe condition and prospects of tbe Italian people . He commences with ( and in the present article confines himself to ) an investigation of the condition of the Papal States . He complains most justly of tbe disgraceful apathy which prevails in this country in reference to the Italian question , "tbe cause of a people to whom Europe owes its civilization . " He reminds the English public that "The map of Europe has to be re-modelled . The part of statesmen should , therefore , be to prepare for England a new political and
commercial existence , by cultivating the germs of sympathy and alliance with the new Powers that will spring out of tbe crisis . " For ourselves , desirous of enipfeying every available means to promote the great principle of Fraternity , and knowing that we could best do so by imparting to tbe working classes of England a knowledge of their brethren of other lands , we saw ihe utility of transferring to our columns at least the principal facts contained in the article in the Westminster Jlevieio ; we accordingly applied to tbe author of tbe article for permission to extract from bis valuable composition , which assent , we are " nappy to acknowledge , was kindly and promptly given . The extracts we bare now to lay before our readers cannot fail to deeply interest them , and wiB , wedonbtnot , kindle in their breasts feelins of the warmest sympathy for unfortunate Italy , and corresponding indignation towards her cruel gaolers , and intolerant oppressors : —
iDTHOBrrr or the popes—sapolios—bistosatiok of "LEGmHACV "—ISSUKKECTIOH OF 1831 . Our readers will recollect how the districts which now form the territories of the Pope accepted his authority in the middle apes as a power protective of the spirit of democracy aud of the municipal franchises , against the despotic usurpation of foreign emperors . Originally , it was a sor taf synallagmatic contract , more or l « ss explicit , hy which there was conferred on the Pope a right of suierainty and a tribute , reserving to themselves the uncontrolled administration of the finances , the choice of magistrate * , the power of making and dissolving alliances—all , in a word , that constitutes bmafde . independence . Afterwards , devotion to the Holy See , the splendour necessary to the centre of Christianity , the necessities of the Church , reforms to be accomplished , petty grants to be put down , furnished so many bases for the profound and Jfachiarelian sjstera of usurpation
contaminated by Alexander the Sixth and Clement the Seventh . One by one , the popular liberties were swallowed op : those that were nominally spared were rendered nugatoiy . Thus , a council and a magistracy were left in the towns , possessing » he right of voting on municipal natters ; but the Sovereign reserved the power of appointment to the C-tiutirii the choice of the heads , the fixing of the time when and the matters on which thty were to deliberate . If focal statutes were conserved , ik-j were those which might tend to maintain division j and rivalry between city and city , and which , such as the j difference of weights and measures , were bars to com-1 rawce and intercommunication . Deprived of liberty and political life , and under the thousand ills notorious as in- ' herent to ecclesiastical government , the Roman provinces : had attained , at the time of the French Revolution , the . wretched supremacy of Italy in misery and misgovernsc-nr .
Under Napoleon , the Marches and Legations formed part of the kingdom of Italy , as they had before been com- ' prised in the Italian Republic An enlightened publicadministration , thesubversion ofeveryfendalprivilege , the abolition of the old law , and the substitution of codes more adapted to the times and manners , the equality of all in the eyes of tlte law , the diffusion of education , military rank open to all classes of the youth , and , lastly , nationality beaming brightly before the eyes of all as possibly to be realised at no distant time , rapidly elevated these provinces from tbeir sunken state . Home , and the other portions of ihe estates of the Pope , which were united to the empire in 1 S 10 , made less progress than the Marches and Legations . The inevitable consequences of foreign domination , obtrusive m all things , even to its language , neutralised tbe aril and legislative benefits that might otherwise have resulted . However , these provinces were also improving , when in 1814 one r troke of the pen annihilated all these elements of wealth , of life , of progress , so recently manifest .
That epoch restored old authorities , hut did not restore ancient rights . Promises were larisbed , as at the beginning of all restorations . The Kapvleon Code was to be maintained , taxes were te be lowered , public education was to be confided to those whom public opinion esteemed the most capable . Afl these promises were violated . The canon law wa « resuscitated ; old forms were revived . The taxes remained such as they had bten under the exigencies of war- with this difference , that their produce , of which a part at least , under the
kingdom , had been appropriated to public works and institutians , was wholly swallowed up in pensions , in sinecores , and in suppor t of the luxury and vices of the bijili dignitaries of the Church : thus , while the salary of the Prefect of Boiogna was K . OSfl francs annually , the Cardinal-Legate , discharging the same functions , now receives 64 , 000 francs . Education was no more mentioned ; bat to possess and to exhibit talent was to give cause for suspicion and persecution . From all this , combined with the ever-present idea of Italian nationality , sprang tbe insurrection of 1831 .
This is not an occasion for going into the details of the mcvement , or for referring to the motives that localised it in the Roman States—motives , in our opinion , Arising from the errors of the men whom accident placed at the head—but we will remind our readers that the in-• snrrection spread over ten provinces in three or four days , without the effusion of a single drop of blood , without a shadow of opposition , and that it succumbed only before the Austrian army . A capitulation was signed at Ancona , on the 26 th of March , between the Insurrectionary Government and Cardinal Benvetmti : & full nnd entire amnesty was guaranteed . This was shamefullv
broken . The document was sent to Rome the same day , hut remained unanswered whilst the patriots were iu force . On the Srd of April , when all had been given up , arms and fortified places , and when Bandiera , tbe Austrian Eear-Admiral—the same whose two sons died , in July 18 * 4 , for the national cause—had arrested on the nigh Geas tome of the most compromised , an edict of the Pope annulled the convention . Prosecutions commented . Edicts of the Uth and 30 th of April declared guilty tbe authors , the accomplices , and favourers of the insurrection ; thegwete who had celebrated it , tiie orators who had eulogised it , all those who had in any manner concurred in-it .
In the meantime the local caustts of insurrection appeared so eddent and so just to the eyes of other governments , that a memorandum was addressed to the Court of Rome oaihe 21 st of May , 1851 , in tbe name of the five powers , Fratce , Austria , Prussia , Russia , and England , in which ther-e was enforced the necessity of introducing radical changes into the system . < if admini « tiation . By a circular of the 3 rd of June , addressed te the Ministers ef those powere , the Pope himself admitted this necessity , and he ecgagedMmself to give such institutions as would , be said , open for his reign a neaefa . The edicts of tbe 5 th of July , 5 th end 31 st of October , and 5 th of Xovember , 1631 , made tfeeir appearance in discbarge of these engagements .
What kind of constitution these edicts gave to the P & pal government « all appear further on . VTc will here etatethat the people ops . nu and angrily repufiated it . The municipal bodiesexdaimed against what they termed ? deception . F ^ thm * circulated in town andoauatrv , and were coveredl with ^ tares . tbcre were - that of Fork , that boasted the nam . of the bishop ' s vicar himself . They were uaaiumousm demanding the admission of fathers of families to the higher offices of the magistracy ; the election by the people of the Councils for tbe CouiUid , from whieh were taken the Provincial Councils , that were to iurnbh in their torn tbe members of the Council of State ; the publication of the revenue accounts ; publicity to the proceedings of courts of law ; and the permanent establishment of the National Guard . The essential defects in the edicts were pointed out in an argumentative memorial addressed to the Pro-Legate CountGrassi , by the corp < of judges and advocates ot "Bologna . A committee was formed at Jlologna , on the
ot January , 1832 , chosen , with , the assent of the Pre-Le ^ ates , by tne heads of the , maglstracj , who were charged to tnako known to the government thereal-Wishes of the people . This committee was dissolved . The Pope persisted in exacting the precise and simple execution of the enactments of tiie 5 th ef July , and succeeding dates . On quitting the legations , at the end of July , the Austrians had intrusted Xhe preservation of order to the Civic-Guard : the disbanding of this guard was decided upon , and on the Wth of January , 1 S 32 , Cardinal Bernctti announced that It would te replaced by a re-organised regufar soldiery . These soldiery , whose pay was forthcoming by the raising of a loan , were in great part
composed of banditti aud miscreants picked from the prisonsofCivita-Castellana , San Leo , aud St . Angelo ; the officers were in general men known for their ferocity pr for an ultra Sanftdism ;* their commander was Barbieri , who , in 1831 , had been with difficulty saved from the foxy of the populace . Foreseeing a frightful reaction ,, the Romagnese refused to receive them . Resistance was however hopeless , for on the 12 th there came notes from the four Powers , appro-lug the march of these troops , offering their assistance to the Pope to obtain him an immediate and unconditional surrender , and informing tiie recusants that they had uot to expect justice . The Romagnese re . » olred that it became them to evince their
opinion to the world by a marked demonstration . The troops advanced , under the direction of Cardinal Albani : tbe Civic Guard resisted , then fell back , to weaken the enemy by compelling him to spread over the country . The Papal ruffians copimitted horrors which would b * incredible were it not that there are living and unexceptionable witnesses of the facts . Cesena was given up to plunder : even the churches were not excepted ; in that of the Madonna del Monte , men suing for life , the crucifix in baud , were pitilessly massacred . At Forli , children , old men of eighty , and pregnant women , were among themurdered . These excesses would have driven the whole people to the direst reprisals , when the Austrians made their appearance a second time , invoked by the Pope .
We omit the French expedition to Ancona , which took place at the beginning of February . It bad no bearing on the principal question , and was only undertaken to quiet the anxiety of France , But we dwell with pleasure on the noble language held at tills time by Lord Seymour , who had been despatched to Rome by the English government . He alone of the envoys of the great powers plainly declared that the pretended reforms neither answered the requirements of the people nor even the guarded demands of the memorandum of tbe 21 st of May , He alone affirmed , in a correspondence with Prince Metternich , that there could be no possible tranquility for the Italian prorices . until justice was done . On his departure he bore with him the esteem of the Italians , who were afflicted to perceive that , while every intervention for ill was tolerated in Europe , there was not a single government that deemed itself obliged to
interfere effectively for good . The language of the other powers was mean , false , and designedly canting . They spoke of tho imprescriptible rights of the throne , and of UgiXmote authority ; they loaded with commendations the wisdom of the court of Rome ; the King of Prussia declared his profound veneration for the sacred person of the Pontiff ; Nicholas laid his sincere regards at the feet of Gregory . France descended still lower , and even to calumny , in the person of 1 L de St- Aulaire , who asserted that the Civic Guard had plundered the public treasury . The Belgian question now absorbed attention ; Austria and the Pope remained masters of the ground ; tbe patriots commenced a more silent struggle ; but the Italian question had made one step in advance ; for the subjects of tho Pope , convinced that they had nothing henceforward to hope from without , drew closer their bonds with those whe alone can work out their triumph , the twenty millions of their brethren .
From this rapid survey , our readers will have deduced the unanimity of opinion that reigns in the Papal States respecting their government : we shall now show what that government is . ( To be continued . )
Five Persons Poisoned. Liverpool, Feb. 2...
FIVE PERSONS POISONED . Liverpool , Feb . 2-L—An inquest was held yesterday on the bodies of Jane Gilton , aged 1 ?; her sister , Margaret Gilton , aged 16 ; and their brother , John Gilton . aged 12 years . Two others of the same family had di . d previously to the three deceased , namely , on the 15 th of the present month the youngest son , Edward Gilton ; aged seven years , and on the 17 th , Mrs . Gilton , the mother , widow of the late Mr . Gilton , printing-ink and colour manufacturer . The business had for some years past been carried on in the premises in West Derby . The whole of the inmates of the house had been more or less ill for about three weeks ; the eldest and yet surviving son ( aged about twenty ) being the least affected , he not having
been so constantly at home as the other members of the family . The female servant and a nurse were also taken ill . The eldest sou deposed to these facts , I and stilted that about three weeks ago he was employed in making green verditer , an article used by paper-stainers , and iu colouring walls . In this preparation there was a large quantity or arsenic . He nut the ingredients into a boiler in a shed at some distance behind , and detached from the house . Between this shed and the house there is a long building , whieh appears to have been formerly a conservatory or greenhouse , but had been converted iuto what is now called " the colour-house . " In one division or compartment of the colour-house—that nearest to the shed—there was a well with a pump
« u one side of it . The well is about four yards deep , and contains about two yards depth of water . This well has also a pipecommunicating with a pump in the back kitchen , from which the water is taken for domestic purposes . It appeared that , after the eldest son had made that part of the preparation containing the arsenic , it had to be ladled into a bucket , carried into the colour-house , and there put into a . tub to cool . This was carefully done by a labourer who was employed on the premises . After being cooled , and the other ingredients added , the liquid on its top required to be drawn off , which was done by a siphonpipe , letting it into a wooden spout whieb ' diseharged its contents into , or near to , a sewer which is between the colour-house and the boiler-shed . The daposit from the liquid was all that was required in the trade . There was no evidence that any of the liquid had been spilt in the transit , but it is not improbable that some of it lias either found its way into the
well by the top , which was only covered with a , wooden lid level with tbe floor , or , it may be , that some of the poisonous liquid had oozed from thesough into the well , between whic ' a there is a distance of six or eight yards . The three deceased ( on whom the inquest was held ) were similarly affected during their illness with nauiea and vomiting , and the mother had also a severe cough . Neither of the three deceased were confined to their beds on Tuesday last . John died on Saturday afternoon at six o ' clock ; Jane about three hours afterwards ; and Margaret at half-jast eleven on Sunday sight . A postmortem examination of one of the bodies was made by Mr . Garton . lie found all the internal inflammation and appearances , such as led htm to the decided opinion that the deceased had died from the effects of poison . lie had analysed tho water from the well , and found unequivocal traces of arsenic .
The Coroner suggested that the inquiry should 'be adjourned , in order that the well , the sewer , and the pipe should be taken up , and every means used to -discover in wb » t manner the poison had got into tie water . Adjourned accordingly . Livekpool , Feb . 25 . —This morning at ten o ' clock , the inquest on the bodies of John , Jane , and Margaret Gilton , was resumed before the county coroner at West Werby . The coroner , in summing up , said it must be satisfactory to all parties to know that the arsenic had accidentally communicated with the water . Tlte jury accordingly found a verdict to the effect that the deceased parties had died in consequence of having drank a solution of arsenic , which had accidentally oozed from tlte drain into the well .
The Late Mcrdeb Ix Cmt-Plkgatk.—Last Eve...
The late Mcrdeb ix Cmt-plkgatk . —Last evening Mr . Wm . Payne held an inquest in St . Bartholomew ' s Hospital , on the body of Thomas Martin , aged thirty-seven , the man killed in Cripplegatc , when the jury returned a , verdict of "Wilful Murder " against John Facey , who is alrealy committed to Newgate to take his trial for the offence . Destructive Fire is the Soethwark Bridob Roab . —On Tuesday evening , shortly after ten o ' clock , afire , that caused considerable alarm on the Surrey side of the river , broke out upon the premises of Mr . Martyn . starch and farina manufacturerat No 23
, , , Little Guildiord-street , Southwark Bridge-road . It commenced in the manufactory , a large building composed principally of timber , and adjoining the extensive candle-works of Messrs . W . and R . Brookes . Plenty of water being at hand , the engines were quickly set to work , ana a vast stream was discharged upuii the blazing building ; but it was nearly halfpast twelve o ' clock before the fire was safely extinguished , and not bofore the spacious premises in which it originated were almost entirely destroyed and the contents consumed . The origin of the fire is unknown .
I-ORCEUT . —At the Mansion House , on Monday , Louis Philli p * [ not tho royal knave Louis Philippe ] was brought up for final examination , charged with having forged several acceptances , which were cashed by Messrs . Prescott and Grote , bankers , for Mr . Lyons Michael , a customer of the house . lie was committed for trial . Law of Sewxemest . —If a person , on the passing of this new hill into a law . ban had an industrial residence for five years in the place where he then resides , he will be entitled , immediately , to claim parish relief from the parish or union in which he has so resided .
Life ix Austria . —The STeck publishes the following letter from Vienna of the 12 th inst .: — "Two days since ( beinu the fifth time within a very short space ) a sentinel fired upon , and severely wounded , a person who refused to remove a cigar from his mouth when peremptorily ordered to do so by the sentinel . It is not many weeks since a similar occurrence happened at Vienna , when , itwill be remembered , the unfortunate transgress was shot dead up'oa the spot .
T J\"; ^ An M If,J Lfr«M ***Tafede , Hol...
t J \"; ^ M if , J lfr « *** tafede , holy faith ) were , like theCalder : A of the XwpnlitaJ States , a ^ eta ^ orH * Hon oppose , ! to th- - -patriots . ' " is . ou . i-
Totrial F Aiiiamentv
totrial f aiiiamentv
House Op Lords—Mosniv , Feb. 23. Protect...
HOUSE OP LORDS—Mosniv , Feb . 23 . PROTECTION OF LIFE ( IRELAND ) BILL The Earl of St . Germans moved tho second reading of this bill , of the necessity foe passing which it became his duty to endeavour to satisf y the house . The object of the bill was to invest the executive government in Ireland with powers with which it was not at present armed , inconsequence of the increased amount of crime , murder , and outrageous assaults in that country . The noble earl then proceeded with the view of establishing the necessity for the measure , to read a mass of documentary evidence , proving the increase of crime in Ireland , particularly as regarded offences against property , hitherto of
rare occurrence in that country , as compared with England , under the head of robberies . The total number of all offences committed in Ireland against the person , against property , and against the public peace was , last year , 3 , 103 , and in the present 6 , 281 The noble earl then went on to say , that he was satisfied it would be in some degree consolatory to their lordships to know , that in eighteen counties of Ireland crime had diminished , and in four others that it remained stationary . It was only in ten counties that it had increased , viz ., Cavan . Fermanagh King ' s Co ., Longford , Westmcath , Clare , Roscommon , Limerick , Tipperary , and Leitrim . The noble earl then proceeded to detail a variety of cases of outrage and violence of an appalling character in the
more disturbed districts , by bands of armed men at night , by men who it was believed belonged to secret associations , bound together by oaths , and banded together for the purposes of violence , robbery , and intimidation . Out of 137 homicides and aggravated assaults , five only were committed on the persons of gentlemen , the rest being committed on small farmers and cottiers , persons , some of whom had lived many years on their holdings , and only were subjected to these acts of outrage because they were employed by persons obnoxious to these sanguinary depredators . As the law stood , the rich man , with his house well secured , and his servants well armed , was in a comparative state of security , while the poor man had at best , but a most inadequate and
insufficient protection , although everything bad been done tbat could be done by the government to afford it him under the existing law . He thought , therefore that he was justified in asking their lordshi ps to pass a law for the protection of the lives and lands of all classes of her Majesty ' s subjects in Ireland . The principal provisions of the bill were the empowering of the Lord Lieutenant to declare , by proclamation , that anyi district in which offences should be committed required an additional police force , the expense of such addition thereupon to be borne by the district . The inhabitants of the district so proclaimed are to remain within their houses from sunset to sunrise . Another clause empowers the executive to offer rewards for tke apprehension of offenders .
The next provision levies a fine on any district in which a murder occurs , for the benefit of the surviving relatives . The rates for these purposes are to be levied on the poor-rate valuation , and no holding , however smafl , to be exempt . No persona are to be permitted to congregate in public-houses , or places where liquor is sold , between sunset and sunrise . The offence for so congregating is , by another clause , made a misdemeanor . Trial by jury is in all ca-. es preserved . The intimidation or injuring of witnesses is , by another clause , declared a misdemeanor , which may be tried like the other misdemeanors , under this bill , either at quarter sessions or the assizes .
The noble eari , after alluding to the fact that Parliament bad , in the present sessions , already voted the sum of £ 448 . 000 for the purpose of public works in Ireland , and that last year railway bills involving an expenditure of £ 9 , 000 , 000 in the same country passed the legislature , said that it was impossible these sums eould produce the results expected from their employment , unless by other measures they could ensure security to the capitalist , and to the labourer employed in carrying out these works , security for life and limb . He believed the measure he proposed would give that security , and , therefore , moved its second reading .
The Marquis of La . vsdow . ve did not rise to offer the slightest opposition to the second reading of the bill , which he had no doubt was intended , as it purported to be , for the preservation of the lives of her Majesty ' s subjects in many parts of Ireland . As things at present stood , no man would be permitted the free use ef his labour , in connection with the measures proposed by her Majesty ' s government , with out finding his industry or his enterprise liable to be arrested by the hand of the assassin . He fully admitted the justice of the proposition that the object of the bill was to afford protection to the poor ; at the same time he should reserve to himself the right of urging on her Majesty ' s government the necessity of endeavouring by some other methods to alleviate and improve the condition of the Irish people .
Lord Brocgiiam said their first duty was to make Ireland a ^ iabitable country . He could have wished to have found a provision in the bill to change the venue , by feaving the trial and accusation take place in a part of thecountry where the parties prosecution and witnesses would not be subject to the shot or blow of the assassin . Lord Faksiuu gave a sketch of the disturbances in Cavan , wnich from being the most peaceful county in Ireland had become in foorteen months the seat of desperate outrages . The origin of these © rimes might be traced to the Ribaoid societies—associations of the most dangerous descri ption . The noble lord concluded by giving his most cordial support to the proposed measure .
The Marquis of CuyRtcAROE defended bimself against the attacks of a portion of the Irish press whidh had assailed him for adhering to the proposed coercive measure whicfe -seemed to him to stand alone , and to be unconnected with any other projects for the benefit of Ireland . He did not , however , concur in all the details of the bill , which lie thought should be limited as to fes duration , and which was defective in the degrees of punishment apportioned to certain offences . The Earl of WicKtow-said the measure , so far as it went , had his support , but to make it effective , additional clauses were required , which weiild ensure the bringing to justice of the perpetrator'of crime . The bill , as it present stood , merely aimed at
preventing its commission . The Earl of ' CtAxcAsasr objected to a clause in the bill , giving the Lord-Lieutenant power te send down into a disturbed district any number otf resident magistrates or any additional police furcedie might think proper , and recommended communication with the local magistracy as likel y to be more-efficient . Lord Campbell protested against the . proposition of Lord Brougham , that power should lie given to the Executive to choose another place ofitrial . His noble and learned friend had said such * power was sanctioned by the law of England , feutifche house might rest as-ured itnvas not , and that it would be an encroachment on the liberty of the subject . After a few words in explanation from Lord Brougham ,
Eari Gret said , that though some of the provisions in the bill were repugnant to his feelings , he thought a case had been made out for arming the government with additional powers . He could not , however , consider the present measure as disconnected with other plans for the amelioration ^ Ireland , and he thought the house should record , by a solemn vote , its opinion of the necessity of coupling this coercion bill with others of a more comprehensive and statesmanlike nature . So strong was his opinion on this point , that if no other noble lord came forward , he should feel it his duty to move , on the third reading of this bill , a resolution for an address to her Alajesty , pledging tlieir lordships not to rest satisfied with this measure alone . After a few words from Lord Westmeatk , the ibill was read a second time , and the house adjourned . HOUSE OF COMMONS—Mokdat , Fed . 23 .
THE WAR IN INDIA . Sir Robert Pml , in reply to Sir Robert Ing & s announced that despatches had been received from the Governor-General of India conveying intelligence of the recent victory achieved by our troops over tho army of the Sikhs .
THE FRANCHISE IN IRELAND . In reply to a question put by Mr . O ' Connell , Sir Robert Pkel stated that it was the intention of government to introduce into Parliament , as soon as the commercial measures at present before the house had been completed , a bill to encourage the improvement of land in Ireland , by giving compensation to tenants for improvements whieh bad been effected during the period of their tenancy . Also a bill to amend the county registration , and the mode of holding elections in Ireland generally , tlte effect of which latter measure would be to produce an alteration in the county franchise . Government likewise proposed to bring in a bill for assimilating the municipal franchise in Ireland to that adopted in England
CASE OF BRYAN SEERY . In reply to an application from Mr . O'Connell , Sir James Grahah expressed his readiness to lay before the house the correspondence between Bishop Cantwcl and the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland , relating to the recent execution of Bryan Seery , at Mullingar . He also stated that a deputation from the county of Westmeath . had applied to Lord Heytesbury tohavethesentenceofthe law , in this instance , rigidly carried into effect . The result had coincided with the petitioners request though his lordship ' s decision had been influenced by totally different considerations than anything those persons had advanced .
ADJOURNED DEBATE The wearisome and protracted debate on the Corn and Customs Bill was then resumed ; but as it is impossible for even the most talented speakers to impart any degree of novelty to a question so thoroughly worn out , we shall not waste space , which can be more profitably employed by giving at any length speeches which seem made merel y to spin out the debate and protract the final prostration of the Protective party . Mr . E . Buixwt was the first speaker . He controverted the argument advanced by Mr . D'lsradi , that
House Op Lords—Mosniv , Feb. 23. Protect...
free triwb was inapplicable to any separate country , and could onl y be successfully adopted under treaties of . reciprocity . Turkey could not legitimately be cited as an instance of a country ruined by free trade , the institutions of that kingdom being wholly averse to the pursuits of commerce . The plea for protection derived from our future dependence upon foreign countries for corn , was neutralised by the circumstance of our being at present / to a great extent , dependent upon such supplies . He should give the proposal of government his hearty support . Captain Batesos avowed , tbat a » an Irish member , he should give his decided opposition to the haiwrdous and revolutionary scheme of the government . He availed himself of the opportunity to accuse Mr .
Bright , on the authority of Mr . Leonard Horner ' s Factory , Report for 1845 , of dealing in professions of humanity / which were hot genuine , and in declarations ol'liberalify and philanthropy towards the poor , which were at once spurious and hypocritical . The measure more immediately before the house , ho contended , would destroy the export trade of Ireland , shut out from Great Britain its agricultural produce , and annihilate its linen trade . It would likewise give a premium to agitation , by enabling the Repealers to state , and unfortunately with truth , that Irishmen were treated in England no better than other foreigners . He treated as perfectly ridieulous the compensation which government proposed to give to the landlords of Ireland for this most injurious
measure . ; Four millions of waste land in Ireland would have been brought into cultivation under the fostering influence of protection ; but the heath would still continue to flourish on one part , and the bag to encroach upon the remaining part of them , under the system new proposed . For such a loss , what pecuniary grant could bo a compensation ? Mr . Mo . vtaoue Gore avowed a change of opinion with , regard to the policy of maintaining the Corn Laws . The apprehensions of the agriculturists respecting foreign competition were groundless ; the expenses attending the transit of corn , of other countries affording a sufficient protection to the
native grower , and various circumstances concurring to prevent any superabundant supply from those sources . The success of our manufactures mightihe relied upon as a better security for the welfare of British agriculture than could possibly be derived from any legislative protection , lie read a variety of statistics to show that free trade would be advantageous to every class of the community , whether labourers , tenants , farmers , landholders , shipowners , or manufacturers . These arguments he reinforced by quotations from the speeches of many of the most famous statesmen of past and present times . He gave his' hearty support to the measure before the house .
Mr . A . Fithskralb approved the measure as a prelude to a policy not merely advantageous to England , but also to every portion of the empire , and especially to Ireland . Captain Lockhart was favourable to moderate protection , and had supported the measure of 1842 on account of its conformity to this principle ; but the present proposal of government went the full extent of withdrawing it , and would thereby throw our inferior lands out of cultivation , He should therefore vote for the amendment .
Sir George Clerk , like Mr . Buller , principally occupied himself in replying to the speech of Mr . Benjamin Disraeli , and in controverting his statements . Mr . D ' Israeli had alleged that the proposals of government were directed to a two-fold purpose ; first , to provide for a sudden casualty , . and secondly , to construct a new system . He admitted the first , but denied the second inference . Government were carrying out a policy which , for the last twenty years , had been successivel y acted upon by every administration which had presided over public aftairs . He then proceeded to defend the measure now proposed by the government , and to show that it would equalise prices , not by bringing English prices down to the continental level , but by raisins
continental prices to the English level . He likewise entered into a description of the agricultural resources of Germany , Poland , Russia , and America , for the purpose of demonstrating that the apprehensions which had been once entertained , that so large an inundation of foreign corn would follow the repeal of the Corn Law ' s as would throw our arable land out of cultivation , were false and unfounded . In the last five years we had imported 10 , 000 , 000 quarters of corn , or 2 , 000 , 000 annually . He did hot think tbat any man would contend that the people of England had been overfed in that time ; and he now asserted , that if in the next live years our importation should amount to 3 , 000 , 000 a-year , it would not be more than sufficient for the rapid increase of our
population , and would not throw a single British acre out of cultivation . He next referred to the speech of Mr . Hudson , and commenting upon his assertion that in the year 1837 he had imported foreign corn into England at 25 s . a quarter , observed that no argument against the present measure was to be deduced from it , as there had been then four consecutive ' good harvests , and a glut existed in the corn markets both at home and abroad . But what happened the very next year ? The price of corn at Hamburgh , from the badness of the harvest , rose to 63 s . 9 d ., and the freight to England rose from 3 s . Od . and 3 s . 6 d . to 8 ^ . and 9 s . That led to great fluctuations of price in the home market—fluctuations wlucil would be avoided in future by the operations of the government measure . He then answered in detail the
other arguments aaVtnced by Messrs . D'Israeli , Hudson , and MunU with respect to the injury inflicted on the silk trade , the paper-hanging trade , and the zinc and spelter trade , by the relaxation of protective duties . He replied to their assertionsand arguments by the production of Custom-house and other public documents , proving that every one of these trades had derived the greatest benefits from the very measures which were said to have been so pernicious to them . He also accused Mr . ^ 'Israeli of having been guilty of the greatest unfairness in his " business speech , " as he had himself been pleased to call the speech which he had delivered on Friday evening . He showed that Mr . D'Israeli—in the comparison which he had drawn between the effects of protection and
those of free trade—had never taken his comparison during an average of years , but had always made his contrast between the best year of protection , and the worst year of free trade . After stating that he could net congratulate the lion , member on his first appearance upon the stage as " a man of business , " for he shone much more as a joker of jokes , and a fabricator of pleasant sarcasms , ho proceeded to notice his question , "Canyon fight hostile tariffs byfr « e imports ? " Now , to that question he replied , first , that this measure had not been introduced with any reference to foreign nations , but with reference to the interests of the great mass of the community in the British islands . ; and next , that Mr . D'Israeli had grossly exaggerated the repugnance of foreign countries , and especially that of France , to a liberal
system ot commercial policy . Having grappled with all the alleged facts of Mr . D'Israeli , and having satisfiedthchouse , he hoped , that in the statement of them all Mr . © 'Israeli had been inaccurate , he next proceeded to comment upon Mr . DTsracl'f s opinion that the house ought to give a , preponderance to the agricultural interest . For one , he ( Sir G . Clerk ) repudiated it both as a member of Parliament and as an individual landowner . If the influence < f the agricultural interest depended on the continuance of the Com ; Laws , he for one should tremble for it . Mr . D'Israeli ' s argument , on that point , was the most dangerous one that could be used , and had hitherto been always disclaimed by the landowners ; for translated into plain English , it meant nothing else , than that the Corn Laws must be maintained to keep up the landlords' rents .
Mr . Mo . vtz entei < ed into an explanation of his arguments respecting the zinc and spelter trade , which was at last cut short by the interference of the Speaker . Mr . Liddell said tbat Sir G . Clerk had made one or two of the boldest assertions in his speech which it had ever been his fortune to hear , even from the Treasury benches . Sir G . Clerk had told the opponents of the present measure that they ought to took out for « ome arguments against it . They had not occasion to look far ; for they had only to turn to Sir George ' s own past speeches against the Corn Laws to find plenty of arguments against it . He condemned the proposals of government as , iu tbe matter of timber , placing in jeopardy the welfare of the
shipping interest , and in opposition to the policy upon which the Navigation-laws had been constructed , postponing our national security to merely chimerical commercial advantages . Another consequence of the present measure would be to damage our own colonies by ruining land * hitherto under corn cultivation . It contained , however , one redeeming feature . He approved tke proposed change in the law of settlement as a great boon to the agricultural interest , and an act of justice to the labouring artisan ; but concluded by claiming for the shipowner and the agriculturist the protection which they had long enjoyed , and by declaring that so long as he had a seat in tlm House of Commons , he would endeavour to maintain that protection , aud would oppose all such hazardous experiments as the present .
Mr . Hutt had marked the gradual development of Sir Robert Peel ' s creed , until it had eventuated in the complete enunciation of free-trade principles ; simultaneously he had watched the Protectionist party giving the minister their support to pass the Canada Corn BUI , the tariffs of 1842 and 1845 , and he could imagine no grosser inconsistency than tlieir repudiating that policy on the present occasion . He cordially supported the proposal of government . Captain Fitziurris repeated the trite invectives of his party against Sir It . Peel ' s inconsistency on the subject of the Corn Laws . He condemned the present propositions of the government , and regretted that we were about to lose our place among the nations of Europe , in order to become a great shop for the benefit of the whole world .
Mr . M . Muses was not inclined to take the harsh view of Sir . R . Peel ' s conduct which had been taken by many of his friends , when he recollected how many great men had modified thoir opinions upon the subject of the Corn Laws . Looking , however , at the past commercial measures of Sir R . Peel and his goverjiment , he could not consider the present Fitycct as a legitimate deduction from tliein . It was
House Op Lords—Mosniv , Feb. 23. Protect...
not , therefore ,- from any feelimx of confidence m either Sir R . Peel or his government that he gave his support to it , but because ho felt that it was the only course which he could pursue consistently wit i the opinions which he had formerly held , and which he still continued to hold on the subject of the Corn Laws . The question , then , before the house was , not whether it would be satisfied with a modified protection , but whether it would adhere to the principle of protection in all the force of the Central Association in Bond-street ? To that principle he could not assent , and therefore he must vote for the original motion . ¦ On the motion of Lord Ingestre the debate was again adjourned . The other orders of the day were then disposed of , and the house adjourned at twenty minutes to one o ' clock . - .- •'' HOUSE OF LORDS—TuESDAvf Feb . 24 .
The business this evening presented no feature of importance or novelty . The only measure deserving of notice in this journal was a bill introduced by Lord Dacre for the purpose of preventing dealings between poachers and licensed dealers for the sale of game , by compelling the dealer to keep a book of his purchases , with the' name of the seller , when , if it appeared the latter was not a person possessed of land , it might be concluded that he had obtained it illegally . A qualification of ten or fifteen acres might be deemed sufficient for a seller . He also proposed a remedy , by way of compensation ; against preservers
of game ; in case of damage to the neighbouring lands upon which the Duke of Riehmondand Lord Hatherton said they had long caused the hares and rabbits on their estates to be shot as mere vermin , and had found the practice conducive both to the welfare of the landlord , the tenant , and the labourer , whom the preservation of game merely tempted to poaching . Lord Ashbbrton suggested that taking hares out of the class of game would meet the popular complaints against the Garae . Law 9 , and " He would propose a clause to that effect in the committee on the bill . The bill was then read a second time , and the house adjourned .
HOUSE OF COMMONS-TuEsnAT , Feb . 24 The house met at . four o clock .
FROST , WILLIAMS , JONES , AND ELLIS . Petitions , praying for a remission of the sentences on Frost , Williams , and Jones , were presented by Mr . S . Crawford , from Rochdale and Dalkeith ; by Mr . Bain , from Greenock ; by Mr . Williams , from Coventry , signed by 2500 inhabitants ; by Sir J . Guest , from Mertbyr Tydvil , and one from Southwftrk Sir G . Stricklakd presented a petition from a place in the West Riding oCYorkshire , praying for the remission of the sentence passed , on Ellis . He was convicted of setting fire to some houses , but since his transportation circumstances had occurred which left little doubt that he was innocent . The petitioner * prayed that a full inquiry might be instituted into all the particulars of his case .
THE ADJOURNED DEBATE . Mr . M . J . O'Conhkm / resumed the adjourned debate on the Com Laws . He supported the ministerial measure . The other speakers in its favour were Messrs . Packe , Trelawney , and the Chancellor of" the Exchequer , who contradicted the rumour of his being opposed to the measure before the house , and yielding it a reluctant support to preserve his party in power . - He gave a history of the part he had taken at the time of the ministerial crisis , and then plunged into a sea of statistics for the purpose of answering the statistics adduced by Protectionist speakers . Agricultural alarmists were not a modern race ; they had existed at least as early as the time of Charles II ., arid in that reign the Protectionistsheaded by the Duke of Buckingham—had vaticinated most mournfully of the danger of the admission of Irish cattle into this country . Their
apprehensions were entirely disproved , according to the testimony of Sir Wm . Temple . The agriculturists must necessarily be benefitted-by the impulse which a free commercial intercourse with other countries would afford to our native manufactures . ' The consistency of public ! men had been a topic prominently introduced into this discussion , buttheterm " consistency " meant something different from a blind adhesion to a particular law , at all times and under all circumstances . The Protectionist party were not consistent , if unanimity upon the Corn Law were to be taken as the test , some proposing its continuance for a longer period than others . He might be charged with political cowardice , but he was afraid to retain party connection at the expense of great public interests ; and if he was guilty of political tergiversation , it had been to shield his friends from the consequences of their own want of foresight at this importantcrisis .
Mr . Ferrano made one of those slashing and outspoken speeches which have given him such a celebrity in the country , and which are so rare in the house . He commenced by repeating his assertion , the other night , with reference to the petition presented by Lord Morpeth from the West Riding , that the signatures were obtained by the compulsion of the League masters . The house would remember that in the year 1843 he had produced evidence in the house that the Anti-Corn Law League had purchased signatures in the West Riding of lorkshire at the rate of a shilling a hundred . ( Loud laughter and cheers . ) He was well aware , when tho noble lord ( Lord Morpeth ) presented these petitions ,, tbat however muck he ( Lord Morpeth ) might believe that
they were the honest and the independent acts of the parties who had attached their signatures to them , that was not the fact . He ( Mr . Ferrand ) was prepared to preve before a committee of the house the truth of his statement , that the working people were compelled by the master manufacturers , who favoured , the Anti-Corn Law League , to attach their signatures to the potations , however much they might be opposed | td them in principle . ( Hear , hear . ) And if the men dared . to refuse to attach tlieir signatures to the petitions , tbey would have to sacrifice their daily bread . ( Hear . ) He was indebted to the hon . member for Montrose ( Mr . Hume ) for having , several years ago , exposed in the house the intimidation and oppression wliich was practised by the master
manufacturers towards their men in the north ofScotland , He ( Mr , Hume ) had stated to the house that there existed a regularr system in the north > of Scotland , by which any man who threw up his employment was prevented vfrom obtaining employment elsewhere from the master manufacturers—keeping a 'register of such men , and communicating their names to the other manufacturers in the neigbbourkood . The hon . member for Montrose had said that itbat was an odious combination . That combination had now been introduced . into the manufacturing districts of Yorkshire and'Lancashire ; and he repeated , that no working man who was employed by . an Anti-Corn Law League manufacturer dared to 'refuse to attach his signature to a petition when it was presented to
him . ( Hear , hear . ) Notwithstanding the number of these petitions presented by members on the opposite side , they had never been referred to in the debate , a proof that they were considered petitions even by themselves . Ho was prepared to prove on evidence , before a committee of the house if they liked , that , one man attached 14 , 000 signatures—({ loud laughter)—to one of those petitions , without ever having left his house or asked a single person to affix his name to it : That was a specimen of the style in wliich these documents were manufactured , and then palmed upon the country as the opinions of the working men . Mr . _ Ferrand then gave a graphic account of the proceedings of the late West Riding election . He denied the statement of
Mr . Ward , that £ 2000 had been subscribed to enable him { Mr . Ferrand ) to fight the battle , and offered to give Mr . Ward 20 per cent , if he could get the money . ( Loud laughter . ) If Mr . Lascelles or Mr . Lane Fox had either of them stood , Lord Morpeth would not now have been in that house as the member for the West Riding . Mr . Ward had styled his ( Mr . FcTrand ' s ) letter a very able one . He begun to think it was so , for it had never been answered by the League . He repudiated the accusation that he had endeavoured , and succeeded in his peculiar mission , of creating hostile feelings between the masters and their men , He ( Mr . Ferrand ) denied that charge , and every statement made by that hon . member . It was true that he bad exposed to public
gtm , and brought under thonotice of tho house , the cruelties and oppression which had been for years practised by the master manufacturers towards the men ; hut the hon . member for Sheffield , in continuing his speech , had said that his ( Mr . Ferrand ' s ) own friends absolutely repudiated his doctrines . He ( Mr . Ferrand ) would wish to know how it was , then , that he had been so successful in sowing hostile feelings ? He thought that that was a contradiction of itself . ( Hear , hear . ) But to show to the hon . member that tho working men did not repudiate his doctrines , he would tell him tbat be bad stood on the hustings at the election , and lie had heard a friend of the noble lord ( Lord Morpeth ) twice during the proceedings propose to the cood working mon who
had been taken down to Wakefield by tho League manufacturers , that they should give three groans for him ( Mr . Ferrand ) , and tAvicc they had refused to do so . ( Hear , hear . ) Surely , if they had repudiated his doctrines they would have answered to the call , and would have given him ( Mr . Ferrand ) three groans . ( Hear , hear . ) Was the hon . member for Sheffield aware that when he ( Mr . Ferrand ) was down in the West Riding of Yorkshire , he had challenged every member of the Anti-Corn Law League who was a member of the house to meet him in public , and discuss the question of free trade before the working men ? ( Hear . ) He had made that challenge
at Leeds , at Bradford , and at Huddersfield , and he now repeated the challenge in that house , and dared them to accept it , and appear openly to discuss the question before the working men of the West Riding of Yorkshire ; and in order that no doubt might remain , he had made the same challenge to them in the house that he had given in the West Riding of" Yorkshire . The same challenge that was refused then was again refused there to-night . Mr . Ferrand then proceeded to review the circumstances which caused the last general election , and the state of public feeling at that time , together with the speeches made by several members who were returned im protective principles , and had , during tbe
House Op Lords—Mosniv , Feb. 23. Protect...
present debate , avowed their intention to vote contrary to thair recorded pledges on the hustings . Among those who came in for a ih . ire of" the castigation administered by the honourable member , were Mr . Beckett , Mr . Escott , Mr . Cripps , Mr . Sidney Herbert , and others . We must , however , make room for a specimen of the manner in which it was administered . Having in each case asserted that the personal honour of the members named was at stake , he continued : —He ( Mr . Ferrand ) had heard the right hon . baronet , the member for Stamford . Sir G : Clerk , argue last niglvttbe great brass case with considerable ability on behalf of the right hon . gentleman , the First Lord of the Treasury , but he had failed in im-Drcssinff the house with the truth of his arguments .
But he would suggest that whilst the right hon . baronet was attacking the Protectionist " , he knew all the while that amongst the other contents of his official red-box that lay upon the table , there was an address from liis constituentscalling upon him to resign h , Seat for having deserted his principles . ( Hear ) He ( Mr . Ferrand ) had looked the right hon . bart . xn the face whilst he wasspcaking , and he & o » £ t-no he would not say what be ^ ough « - ( a lau h * K-but e was imagining what his ( Sir George Gle k s ) const - tuents would think of him . ( A laugh . ) Mr . . Perrand ' s next onslaught was upon Sir James Graham . I am glad to see the rig ht hon . bart . the Secretary ot State fo ^ the Home Department , in his place , tie , toowent before his constituents when he accepted
, office , and how stands he pledged to the electors of Dorchester ? Itell him , too , that his pergonal honour isatstake . ( LoudcheersfromtheProtection , benches . J He may dispose of his changes of opinion by one fling of his arm ; but he will not dispose of'his constituents in that manner . ( Hear , hear . ) He is bound to redeem his pledges on the hustings ; and if his political opinions have changed . Itell him that he is bound as a man of honour to resign his place into their hands once more , in order to enable them to be freely and honourably vepvescnted . I have read the speech vibich the right hon . baronet delivered to his constituents on that occasion , and was delighted with its talent and ability ; and I think the best thing the Protectionists could de would be to print it in a cheap form , and
circulate it through the country , as the First Lord of * the Treasury used to do with his speeches when in opposition to the Whigs . ( Laughter . ) I was then one of the rank and tile of the Conservative party , and I used to receive large packages ol" Sir R . Peel ' s speeches on the Corn Laws , which were sold at one penny each . ( Laug hter . ) Who sent them to me I never found out , but I suspect that tbe right hon . baronet had heard that I was a warm and earnest supporter of his principles , and therefore favoured me with packagesrof his speeches , carriage paid , which I circulated among the people in my i-. cighbourbood , and I rejoice to say they made many proselytes , and were the chief cause of the return of Mr . Stuart Worfcley as a Protectionist . ( Hear . ) But to
return to the rig ht hon . baronet , the Secretary of State for the Home Department ; he said , "A friend of mine said , and what about the Corn Laws ? I conceive the true principle to be , that a protective duty should be substituted for absolute prohibition ; and I think that , as a general rule , it should be the smallest amount which , on a careful revision , would be found , to give to native industry fair play in its competition with foreign countries , the circumstances attending our relation to those countries being duly considered . " Then he went on to quote what poor Lord Melbourne said on the Corn Laws . " What did Lord Melbourne say in the House of Lords when tho proposal to alter the Corn Laws was mooted in that house ? He declared that it would be absolute
madness in any one to make such a proposition . Tae right hon . baronet then proceeded to say— ' I never have and never will shrink from public opinion . " Then , why don't he go down to his constituents ? ( Cheers . ) I am delighted to see the noble lord ( Lord J . Russell ) in his place . The right hon . baronet thus spoke of the noble lord and his party : — "The late government is fallen to rise no more . The question now at issue is this—shall the Consei * vative or "Democratic principle prevail ? Shall Messrs . Roebuck , Warburton , O'Connell , and Bowringsway the destinies of" this great empire , or shall Sir R . Peel continue Prime Minister ? " ( Laughter . ) Let
me ask the First Lord of the Treasury who have been ,. his supporters of late ? ( Loud cheers . ) Where . ha & betm the "democratic Roebuck ? " Where has be < ia . the '' democratic Warburton ? " Where has been t Jie : " democratic O'Connell , " who was only a sbtrfc t ' aaeago a "convicted conspirator J" ( Applause . ) The right hon . baronet continued his address to his constituents as follows : — " My opinion is , that a fi jrther prevalence of the democratic principle would , provemost destructive to the institutions and gre . ' it interests of the country . Should that unfortu nate day , ever dawn upon the political horizon when , the principles of democracy will be . paramount , degraded indeed will be our fate , —
The day when thou , imperial Troy ! m ast bend , And see thy warriors fall , thy glories , end . Butlwiiladd-•• May I be cold before that dteadfi \ l day , Pressed with a load of monumental clay . " ( The mock-heroic tone in which the hon . member reod this extract threw the house into convulsions of laughter . ) After this poetical fervour , the right hon . baronet concluded his speech thus— " It now only remains for you to decide whether I shall return to the House of Commons as your representative . ( The right hon . baronet then sut down amidst most vehement and long-continued shouts of applause . As no other candidate presented himself , Sir j . Graham was pronounced duly elected , and was afterwards
chaired through the town with the usual honours . He then took up Sir R . Peel , and after quoting from his speeches at Tamworth , continued : Now , sir , the right hon . baronet is pledged in the face of his constituents—he pledged himself of his own free willto stand by his principles and the pledges he gave on that occasion ; and I call on him , not as Prime Minister of this country , not as once tbe leader of a great party , but as an honest member of this ' house , to resign his seat , and go down to his constituents for their approval or disapproval . ( Hear . ) I said this should be the last quotation ; but perhaps you will allow me , as a make-weight , to throw in a re . mark of his hon . colleague ( Captain A'Court ) when he contested the borough of Tamworth . ( Laughter . )
His colleague said , ' He was certain that the prosperity of Tamworth depended mainly on tho prosperity of the agriculturists , and if they were permanently depressed , every farmer , shopkeeper , aud labourer in it would be involved in one common ruin . ( Cheers . ) With that feeling he would never consent to take from the British farmer such fair protection as would enable him to compete on equal terms with the foreign corn-grower , nor consent to reduce the English labourer to the same condition as the ill-fed and ill-paid labourer of the continent . " Great laughter . ) What a figure to cut before his constituents ! ( Laughter . ) Can you ( pointing to the Treasury bench ) look these hon . gentlemenhonourable by the courtesy of this house , and honourable by character in their political
principles—can you look them in the lace at this present moment , and say you are conducting yourselves with common honesty ? ( Loud cries of " Hear . " ) Do not tell meyou were bound to re-accept office , and carry those measures in this house . ( Hear , hear . ) T tell you , you were uot bound to do so ; but that the moment you found yourselves unable to carry out the principles of protection , you were bound , as honourable men , at once to appeal to the country—( loud cheers from the Protection benches)—and ask the constituencies of England for their approval ol your conduct . ( Cheers . ) Now , I believe it the right hon . baronet had pursued that course at first , he might have rallied around him a great party in the country ; but I must tell him that the people of Great Britain and Ireland view with unmitigated disgust
his contemptible apostasy and tergiversation . ( Cries of "Order , " and "Hear , hear . " ) From these personal matters Mr . Ferrand proceeded to an examination of the physical , social , and moral effects of our manufacturing system , for the promotion and extension of which it was now proposed to sacrifice the agricultural interest . In support of his statements as to the injurious effects of the factory system , he adduced the authority and statements of the late Sir Robert Peel , Mr . R . II . Gregg , Dr . Snuttleworth . Kay , Dr . Shaw , and others . As a general specimen of the nature of this testimony , we give an extract from Dr . Cooke Taylor . He says , speaking of the manufacturing population : — " I have seen misery in many forms ; I have been in the huts and hovels of
Ireland ,. when my native land was visited with the scourge of the cholera ; I have visited the cellars of Liverpool , where existence assumes an aspect that ceases to be human ; I have ponctrated iuto the wynds and venals of Glasgow ( localities that would try to the utmost the hardest of hearts and the strongest of stomachs ); but nowhere nave I seen misery which so agonised my very soul , as that which I have witnessed in the manufacturing districts of Lancashiie ? And wh y ? Because the extreme of wretchedness was there , and there only ; combined with a high tone of moral dignity , and a inarmed sense of propriety—a decency , cleanliness , and order , the elements which produced the vast wealth I have described , and which do not merit the intense suffering I have witnessed . I was beholding the gradual immolation of tho noblest and most valuable popu . latum that ever existed in this countrv . or anv other
under heaven . " Yes , I say they aro muvdered by the factory system , in order that a few may grow rich . Are we to be told , that with the manufacturing po . pulation in such a frightful state as this , we—the agricultural party in this house—are to consent to hand over the agricultural labourers , who havelooked up to us and to our ancestors for centuries for succour and support , to your tender mercies— ( cheers from the Protection benches > -andallow them , in the language of Dr . Cooke Taylor , to be immolated , that a few cotton lords may get rich ? ( Loudcheers . ) Mr . Ferrand then contradicted the statement of the Home Secretary as to the diminution of crime , on the authority of a charge of Judge Coleridge , delivered at a winter assize in York , on the 20 th . November , 1 S 44 , and added , that the West Riding Gaol at Wakefield was never so full of prisoners as at this moment . The hon . member next took up the question of machinery , and the opinions prevalent
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Citation
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Northern Star (1837-1852), Feb. 28, 1846, page 7, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/ns2_28021846/page/7/
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