now say a word as to the concomitant importation and exportation that had taken place in the foreign trade of this country, in consequence of the measures adopted for giving it greater freedom. It was perfectly true, that these measures had produced, or had certainly been followed by, a very considerable importation of foreign merchandize, and the increase of the exportation of British goods. During the three years before the restrictions were removed, as compared with the two years since, there had been an increase of the importation of foreign goods of no less than twelve millions, according to the official value, namely, from thirty-two to forty-four millions. During the same period, the increase of the exportation of British manufactures had been from forty-two to fiftytwo millions. He wished also to call the attention of the House to the fact, that the imports were chiefly of those articles which were either of our own manufacture, or in which there was no competition with this country. These were glass, molasses, raw silk, sugar, tea, cotton, wool, and the only article of a doubtful nature was sheep's wool. During the same time there had been also a very considerable increase indeed of the importation of cotton goods, cotton yarn, wine, and steel, wrought and unwrought, and linen manufactures. For every importation of foreign goods there was a corresponding export of British produce and manufactures in iron, copper, brass, hardware, and lead. There was no symptom of the consumption of articles of English manufacture having decreased at home or abroad, but the contrary. It was not too much, then, to assume, that the principles of what was called the Free Trade System were consistent with the general prosperity of the country.--One argument had been resorted to against the importation of foreign silks; namely, that we should not admit foreign commodities without obtaining reciprocal advantages from other countries in return. In answer to this, he declared that he entirely entered into and concurred in the truth of that passage of the famous petition of 1820, in which it was maintained, that the power of importing foreign commodities on the lowest possible terms was extremely desirable; and, being likely to prove beneficial to this country in many instances, ought to be possessed and exercised without reference to the conduct of other countries. Besides, supposing we were to sti pulate with foreign states-France, for instance-to receive their commodities on the condition that they should accept ours upon similar terms. that they should admit our woollens and articles of hardware-how would British silk manufacturers be benefitted by that? But, he could not admit that our measures of free trade would be entirely without effect upon the commercial systems of other countries. He knew of no country in Europe, except Russia, that avowedly and systematically adhered to a close system. In France, though the government had not as yet given way, there was a strong party in favour of the free-trade system. A considerable portion of the press in that country took this view of the case, and the public mind was daily becoming more favourable to it. In Germany there were similar symptoms; and for Prussia a freer system than even our own was claimed. Spain, one of the most bigotted governments in the world, had recently been applied to to prohibit the importation of foreign rice; but the answer given was-" No: we will afford you a moderate degree of protection." With regard to the throwster, government found a considerable duty on foreign thrown silk; and certainly, at first sight, it would seem that the disposition should be, by taking off that duty, to improve the condition of the manufacturer: but then it must be remembered, that thrown silk, though to a certain extent a raw material, was also partly a manufactured article, and the English throwster was entitled to be dealt by with tenderness, and to receive proper protection as well as the British silk weaver. He thought there was little probability that the duty on thrown silk would be ever again raised: he did not mean to convey any pledge as to its further reduction; perhaps that also was unlikely; however, it would be the province of parliament to deal with the subject, if necessary. So far from the throwster being sacrificed in order to promote the interests of the weaver, as the hon. member for Callington appeared to suppose, the former would still possess a protection against the foreign article, equivalent to the difference in the cost of production between the English and Italian commodity. There was to be a drawback allowed on the exportation of English silks. The principle of the measure was this-we gave the British throwster what was intended to be, not a monopoly, but a considerable protection in the home market: that was perfectly fair, but we should not give him a protection in the foreign market; and it was therefore proposed, that the duty imposed on the importation of thrown silk should be drawn back on the exportation of English manufactured silk. The export of a corresponding quantity of British silk was to entitle the exporter to the amount of duty previously paid. He was an advocate for what had been termed free trade, not solely or exclusively on the principles of political economy; for he was afraid there were points in that science, with regard to which he, in common with some hon. members, must continue a heretic. Thus far, however, he would go, and declare his conviction, that whether in trade or any thing else, the principle of government should be one as far as possible of absolute freedom. No particular individual or nation should be prohibited from buying and selling as their respective interests directed. He was ready to admit that existing interests should be treated as tenderly as possible, and that, as the hon. alderman had said, all changes ought to be brought about gradually. He thought his right hon. friend's measure calculated to effect this, and therefore gave it his cordial support. Mr. Baring said, that his hon. friend and colleague (Mr. Attwood) had undoubtedly treated the subject before the House with great ability, and had placed his arguments in opposition to the doctrines of political economy in the strongest point of view. For his own part, upon this subject, he laboured under the misfortune of not entirely agreeing with hardly any one class in that House. Admitting the general principles referred to, he was anxious to bring them to the test of particular facts. Nothing was more absurd than to decry general principles without due examination. Those hon. gentlemen, the members for Callington and Newark, who spoke so much against theories, had themselves done nothing but favour the House with their own theories, and in all probability unconsciously, like the bourgeois gentilhomme of Molière, who found that he had been talking prose all his life without knowing it, they had given vent to theories without being aware that they were doing so. The right hon, gentleman who spoke last had told the House of the favourable disposition towards free trade existing in France; a disposition that might, undoubtedly, be much enhanced, if we were able to offer the French a similar advantage to that which we desired in the free admission of their silks. But we put this out of our power by adopting the pre sent plan. His hon. colleague had alluded to the trade with India. But that trade was peculiarly circumstanced: it took a large portion of bullion, an article by which our own circulation was regulated; and if a constant trade was kept up in that arti cle, which was not only an article of trade but a medium of circulation, it must create some difficulty, which the purists were not aware of, but which a man of common sense must perceive would produce endless confusion. Then with regard to recipros city, there were some articles which we could not dispense with; we must be dependent upon the northern countries for our marine stores, for example. With regard to the Silk Trade, if it stood on the same footing as it stood some years footing of entire prohibition-though he had a great objection to it, he would not interfere: but now we were differently si tuated; we had let in the system of regu lated duties, and the bill appeared to put the manufacturer in no worse situation than he was in already. He was therefore disposed to vote for the measure which continued the present system. He was more willing to do this than to go into a committee of inquiry, which would excite expectations that would be disappointed, or to go back to the old system of prohi bitions. He felt an objection to that part of the present bill which related to the bounty on manufactured silks exported: he thought it would be better to reduce the duty on the raw material than to give a bounty, which was an encouragement to the manufacture of light and fancy goods, but which was paid upon the heavy goods, in which the silk was mixed with gum and starch. Such a plan afforded no protection to the throwster. Looking at the trade with a wish to do all that could pos sibly be done to protect it, even to thei abandonment of general principles, heq thought that the only safe course was to go on with the present system. zigza Mr. Maberly said, he should not have risen had not the hon. member who had a just sat down complimented the hon member for Callington, and the hon member for Newark on their speeches, which speeches he thought would do much harm, if they went forth to the country could be permanently relieved, except by. a relief of taxation. The hon. member continued to speak for some time upon the necessity of removing the assessed taxes and of providing a property-tax : but owing to the loud cries of "Question,” which were vociferated from every part of the House, he was inaudible in the gallery. The House then divided: For going into the Committee 90. For the Amend ment 22. Majority 68. The House then went into the committee and the clauses were agreed to. After which the House resumed and the report was brought up. List of the Minority. Palmer, C. Sibthorpe, col. uncontradicted. The arguments of the hon. member for Callington were ingenious, but they were entirely fallacious; and the speech of the hon. member for Newark was a declamatory appeal to the passions of the people. Those hon. members professed to be opponents of theory, yet they were theorists themselves: they opposed their theories to those which he and his hon. friends supported. He would suppose, for the sake of argument, that we imported silk goods from France, and that we paid for those goods in gold; and no opponent of free trade could desire a more liberal concession. The silks employed the labour of France, and the gold came from South America. But this gold we purchased by woollens which we sent to South America. It was, in fact, a barter of labour for labour, in which the British artizan had a fair share. Then how could the hon. member for Newark say, that the labourer of this country was deprived of his bread, and doomed to starve? How could he justify the highly-coloured picture he had drawn? This was the whole of his (Mr. Maberly's) theory, and he would ask whether it was not more practical than theirs? The hon. member who had just sat down, professed himself an enemy to both theories; yet to what conclusion did he come? Why, he approved of this bill. The principle of the bill was not the principle of free trade; it was only called an approximation to a free trade. The right hon. gentleman who introduced the present measure, had merely limited-My lords; the moment is now arrived the amount of the protecting duties to thirty per cent, and declared that there should be no prohibition. He thought it would be well if the hon. member for Newark, with his knowledge of trade and manufactures, would come down to the House and offer to his majesty's government a better system than the present. Mr. Monck said, he thought that the British throwster, by the effect of this bill, would be placed in a worse situation than those of foreign countries; for even supposing that he could work at the same rate, and could produce manufactures at the same price, he would still be labouring under the disadvantages which would necessarily arise from the fact, that a drawback of 3s. 6d. would be allowed upon the re-exportation of any foreign imported silks. He thought the labouring classes of England had great reason to complain; but he did not see how they Attwood, M. Waithman, alderman TELLERS. Fyler, T. B. HOUSE OF LORDS. Monday, May 4. THE MARQUIS OF ANGLESEY'S RECAL FROM THE GOVERNMENT OF IRELAND.] The Marquis of Anglesey rose and said: which I have been looking forward to with the greatest impatience and anxiety, because I have been suffering under a severe stigma and rebuke, and have been subjected to many misrepresentations and insinuations, which I have felt conscious that I had the means of relieving myself from; and yet, much as I have wished for the arrival of this moment, now that it is come, I feel myself greatly oppresesd, if not entirely overcome, by the difficulties I have to encounter. First, I am conscious that I am about to do that which of all things gives me the greatest distress, that of addressing your lordships, or indeed any public body: but this is not my only distress. In doing it, I must of necessity speak principally of myself, always a most unpleasant task; nor does my difficulty cease here, for in attempting to vindicate my self, it is possible I may have the appear ance of wishing to criminate, or rather to 1 inculpate others a motive which I certainly disclaim; and I therefore beg to bespeak your lordships' indulgence not so to construe any expression that may escape me. It is my purpose to give some explanation of the circumstances leading to my sudden recal-of the unusual manner of that recal-of the subsequent dismissal from my high situation-of the letter which is said to have induced it. But, before I come to this part of my subject, I am anxious to relieve myself from those charges which have been not unsparingly alleged against me; not, indeed, in direct charges, which it would have been easy to refute, but, in undefined insinuations; such as those of having neglected the Protestant interests of having encouraged the agitators of having neglected to put down the Catholic Association-in fine, of having generally neglected the duties of my situation. with my view of the state of the country; and that before them I had no disguise whatever. I was also anxious, my lords, that my thoughts should be known in the highest quarter. I took from the first great pains, and before I went to Ireland, to explain the grounds on which alone I would undertake the government of that country, and your lordships will find, that I never deviated from the course which I then laid down. My lords, I shall have occasion to refer to several papers, to letters, and communications made to his majesty's government, by which it will appear that I was not negligent of the Protestant interest, and did not encourage agitation in Ireland; that I did not support the Catholic ascendancy; that I was watchful over the first interest, and alive to the difficulties of my own situation, and the danger to which the state was exposed, from the exclusion of the Catholics. I can assure your lordships, that I have documents to prove this; and I am sure his majesty's ministers will allow me to make use of the papers, because they would strengthen their cause, if they had wanted any additional strength to carry into execution that great measure, for which I feel much obliged to them, and in which they have already succeeded. My lords, nothing would give me greater satisfaction, than that every paper, every document, every letter connected with my government in Ireland, should be laid on your lordships' table; but, as I can hardly expect that to be done, I must make such quotations from them as will explain my proceedings. I must state, my lords, that I have the highest permission to make use of these papers. I wish first to prove to your lordships the anxiety I felt for all the great interests of the country; that I did not encourage the Catholics at the expense of the Protestants; and that I kept his majesty's ministers in full possession of all the circumstances which could enable them to judge of the state of the country. As early as the 22nd of March, (I arrived in Dublin only on the One noble lord only has had the manliness to stand forward with a direct accusation. I thank him for it. It gave me the opportunity of showing what an erroneous impression he had taken; and I have not the slightest doubt of being able to combat not less successfully every other direct charge that may be made. I invite them. I am not only ready at any time publicly, but even privately, to satisfy the curiosity of any noble lord, upon any case that may appear to him to require elucidation. I wish here to state, that I was in an error in the admission I made upon a late occasion, that Dr. Cheyne had not signed the certificate with the other medical gentlemen of the committee. The noble earl stated his belief, that Dr. Cheyne had refused to sign any certificate but one which would vouch for the safety of the patient. I was so fearful of overstating the case, that I acquiesced in his belief; but I can now state from authority that Dr. Cheyne did sign the paper, and was fully sensible of the danger to which Mr. Eneas Macdonnel would be exposed from his incarceration being continued. I shall now go on to give your lord-3rd), I wrote to the noble duke at the ships a sketch of my proceedings in Ireland, which will prove to your lordships the unreserved familiarity of the intercourse which I kept up with his majesty's ministers, and will shew you, that I was anxious to put them in full possession of all the circumstances of the country; that I wished to make them acquainted head of the government as follows "I am engaged in collecting such ́information as may enable me to form a judgment upon the course it may be advisable to pursue in regard to the Catholic Association, and I hope it may be in my power to transmit such informa tion within a fortnight." At the same time I wrote to the Secretary of State for the Home Department, in order to show that I kept my eyes on that body:" In the Catholic Association there appears a sort of calm, not, however, I fear, to be depended upon. Tipperary is not in so desperate a state as you imagine. The prosecutions are going on in the most satisfactory manner." I wrote again, to the same member of the government, on the 12th of April, showing how closely I held my eyes fixed upon the proceedings of that body: "On the subject of the Catholic Association it is with extreme reluctance that I venture an opinion; but my situation requires that I should do so. I ground it upon the information I have assiduously and impartially collected from the best sources. I think the bill should be allowed to expire without notice-if possible, without allusion to the possibility of re-enactment. Supported by the powerful aid of that excellent establishment the constabulary force, already working the greatest benefits and capable of still further improvement, and protected as this force is by an efficient army, ably commanded, I feel perfect confidence, that no material mischief will arise during the short period of seven months, when the parliament would again meet. During this time, should the Association resort to measures dangerous to the peace of the country, the proposal of enacting energetic and coercive laws would be met by the parliament with a far different feeling from that which such a course would encounter at this moment." To the then Chief Secretary for Ireland, the present lord Melbourne, on the 22nd of April," I expressed my anxiety that a fund for making roads through the mountain fastnesses of Glencaloo should be granted, and that police-stations should be established, with the view of impressing upon the minds of the turbulent in Tipperary, where the assizes had so successfully terminated, that the government was determined to put a stop to all further disturbance, I say, I am convinced that peace and any thing like comfort in this country can never be felt until the great question is settled." 'Yet, as to the making of roads and erecting policebarracks the true means of effecting good in Ireland, is to give security to resident proprietors, and thus to induce others to return and become residents'." VOL. XXI. Again on the 7th of May, I explain my views and those of the Attorney-general about factories to Mr. Lamb, but I put it to him, "what are we to do with this immense population, unless we find employment for them? I am confident the making roads through the at present inaccessible districts, would have a very favourable effect." In the same spirit, I address Mr. Peel on the 14th of May, and say "I pursue the subject, and show that prompt measures will have the best effect, by showing a determination to eradicate the evil.” In consequence of these representations, 10,000l. was granted for the employment of the poor in making of roads in the distressed, thence disturbed, districts, and as a consequence the evil was destroyed. But I was not unmindful of another main source of the discontent of the people of Ireland. On the 16th and 21st of May, I expressed my opinion by letter to Mr. Lamb, that "no attempt should be made this session to push on the Catholic question. Let time be given to reconcile the. public mind to the Dissenters' case." "It is," I remarked, "the system of exclusion and of suspicion that drives the Catholic leaders mad. I know, beyond all doubt, that many are not violent, and wish the question to be settled with every consideration for even the prejudices of the Protestants." On the same subject, on the 24th, I wrote, that "I shall see sir Harcourt Lees. He is taking unnecessary alarm. My conviction is, there will not be simultaneous meetings." There is And now, my lords, with respect to the Catholic Association--my friends of the Catholic Association [a laugh]. On the 21st of June, I thus expressed my sentiments to Mr. Peel :-" The Association is becoming very troublesome again. There is much irritation. I have caused a strong muster of the constabulary at Ennis. The Orangemen in the north are getting violent. Sir H. Lees has promised to exert himself to keep them quiet. great irritation and violence of language at Clare. The system of intimidation is carried to a great height. I cannot, however, discover any revolutionary feeling: it is merely the effect of a new election in a Catholic county." Again, on the 30th, I wrote to the same right hon. gentleman:-"There is ample force in Clare to keep the peace. I am sorry to observe, that the Catholic bishops (many of whom 2 K |