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have been acquired by him by his slave-labour. He reminded the House, that last year he had ventured, notwithstanding the general opinion that no minister could accomplish such an object, to impose direct taxes. He had, therefore, cleared away that difficulty for the future: but at this season, and under present circumstances he did not think it justifiable to repeat the experiments. The present Opposition made objections: but they proposed no measure of their own. Such a policy was perhaps requisite, in order to keep that powerful party together.

Sir Robert Peel then addressed the House in a speech which was listened to with peculiar interest, not merely with reference to the pending debate, but because it ⚫ contained a statement of the principles by which it might be understood his conduct would be regulated in the now probable and nearly approaching event of his succeeding to the government. He began by saying, that even though no question of timber or corn had been mixed with that of sugar, he would have voted against the introduction of slave-grown sugar into the English market, not upon the abstract ground that conscience would forbid all commerce in the produce of slave-labour-he had voted for the reduction of the duty on cotton, and for the removal of the absurd restriction which required foreign coffee to be sent round to the Cape-but he now rested mainly upon a consideration of the social and moral condition of the West Indian people under the experiment now in progress. If the personal interests of the planters were only to be considered, the House might possibly have expected them to sacrifice

those interests to the public advantage. But much higher interests were at stake, in the moral and social condition of the people in that part of the empire in which we had recently made the most hazardous, and he rejoiced to admit, the most successful experiment in the annals of the world. But he could not conceive what might be the consequences of that change, if we now took a step which would introduce sugar produced by slave-labour into the market of this country, Sir R. Peel expressed his conviction that a sufficient supply of sugar for our own consumption would be furnished from the East and West Indies, and from the Mauritius. There had been a material reduction in its price even since the beginning of the present debate. He urged the importance of providing new articles of remittance from India to England: and quoted instances of extensive mortality by famine, in Hindostan, produced in some measure by the expulsion of the Hindoo manufactures, through the superiority of the English. After such fearful examples, he was unable to feel the paramount obligation of those free-trade doctrines which now required him to give a preference to the industry of Cuba and Brazil over that of the East Indies. The proposal alleged to have been made by Mr. Grant, now lord Glenelg, to a Tory Cabinet, had been misrepresented. It was a proposal only, for reducing the duty on West India sugar, not for admitting the sugar of slavecolonies; and since that time, slavery had been abolished in the British possessions, so that the circumstances were totally altered. He owned he was surprised at the tone taken upon the slave question

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in this debate the abandonment of the whole position heretofore maintained by Government abandonment which the country would view with disgust. The time was passed when a nation could rule her neighbours by force: but he had hoped that England might still sway them by the greatness of her example. Sir Robert Peel then proceeded to defend himself against the imputation of being actuated by motives of faction, in his present course, appealing to the support which he had rendered to the Government on many great public questions, and reminding them that he was only now pursuing the course which he had taken conjointly with the Ministers themselves, on this very question last year. It had been said, he continued, that viscount Sandon's resolution left

its supporters a loop-hole to escape by, so that they might afterwards bring forward the measure which they now opposed. Sir Robert Peel would not avail himself of ithe said,

"I will be frank and explicit with you. I do now say that my opinion, my deliberate opinion is, that the great experiment which has cost this country so much the great experiment for the extinction of slavery should be fully, fairly, and perfectly tried; and that to this effect we ought to encourage sugar the production of free-labour, by giving it the exclusive preference in the market of the United Kingdom, as well as to attempt to increase its supply in all our colonies. Sir, if I had been in office, I should have taken the same course that I did take on this question; and if I should be in office, I never contemplate changing it. (Cheers) I do not

propose to follow your example(addressing lord John Russell) — to resist the proposition now under discussion this year, and come down the next with a motion for its adoption. (Great cheers.) Sir, the principle we contend for is this, that East India sugar and rum-all produce of that colony in fact, but especially sugarsshould be placed on the same footing as the produce of the West Indies. My confident_hope and firm belief is that a sufficient supply of sugar will be produced in our own colonics. I should rejoice at it; and if it be procurable at a reasonable price, I shall be prepared to continue the existing protection, so long as our West Indian colonies remain in a state analogous to that in which they are placed at present."

He

He did not deny, and he deeply regretted, the existence of great distress in some of the manufacturing districts: a distress, however, which unhappily was to be found in all times and circumstances. But he did not contem-. plate with alarm the financial prospects of the country. referred to parliamentary returns showing the recent decrease of exports to have been but small, and to have been chiefly owing to the late embarrassments of the United States, our great customers for those articles in which the decrease had taken place. The state of our shipping had been not only not retrograde, but actually progressive. He had been called upon by Mr. Villiers to make a declaration of his opinion on free-trade. Mr. Villiers said the principle of free-trade advocated by him and those friends who concurred with him was this, that without refer ence to any other consideration,

our true policy was, to buy in the cheapest market. If such was the principle of the honourable gentleman, to be acted upon as an invariable and universal rule, without reference to time and circumstances, sir Robert could only say that in principle, or at least in this application of it, he could not concur. He did not contest the principle in reference to countries, if it were possible to conceive their existence, in which no preformed relations subsisted; but, as lord Stanley said in the admirable speech he had delivered, in a country with such complicated relations as this, of such extensive empire, of such immense trade, the rigid application of such a principle as this would involve us in inextricable confusion; and sir Robert Peel apprehended that the Ministry themselves would dissent from the principle of free-trade thus laid down. If Mr. Villiers's principle was really and simply to go to the cheapest market, what could the honourable gentleman say to the Government proposition to impose 8. a quarter duty on the importation of Wheat? He must, consistently with his principle, insist upon the entirely free and unrestricted importation of Wheat, Timber, Sugar, and every other commodity. Sir Robert Peel and his colleagues in office had been cordial supporters of Mr. Huskisson, the recollection of whose authority confirmed him in his present opinions; and the only actual resistance to Mr. Huskisson's measures was from Mr. Edward Ellice and Mr. Williams, partisans of the Whigs "Yet now lord John Russell seemed to claim an exclusive possession of the principles of Mr. Huskisson. ("Hear, hear," and laughter.) He seemed to say, "If

we go out of office, we will pack up the principles of free-trade and carry them away with us. (Loud cheers and laughter.) But such is our magnanimous generosity, that we give you notice that we shall stand by our principles; and we will not withhold a supply when you demand from us a contribution of liberal policy." ("Hear, hear," and laughter.)

Proceeding to the subject of Corn-laws, he next announced his fixed determination with reference to that question-this declaration is too important to be abridged:

"I do then say, that notwithstanding the forcible combination which has been formed against the Corn-laws-notwithstanding the declarations that either the total repeal or the substitution of a fixed duty for the present scale is the inevitable result of the agitation now going forward—notwithstanding this declaration, I do not hesitate to avow my adherence. to the opinion which I expressed last year, and now again declare that my preference is decidedly in favour of a graduated scale to any fixed duty. (Loud cheering.) I said that I preferred the principle of a graduated sliding duty to a fixed one.

I said that I would not limit myself to any rigid details, but that I reserved for myself the opportunity of considering them; the principle of the graduated sliding-scale as compared with the fixed duty I bound myself to, but not to any details.

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The noble lord will propose the adoption of a fixed duty; but I will offer my opposition to it on the ground that I do not think a fixed duty can be permanent."

With respect to the Timberduties, he said it was not a question upon which any rational man

could venture to form an opinion without having been put in possession, not only of the financial and commercial, but also of the political circumstances connected with them. He then adverted to the state of Finances of the country. The Government talked of a great finan cial crisis-they were themselves mainly responsible for it. They came down to the House year after year, and announced a deficiency; and now they boasted themselves martyrs of free-trade, and applied to him (sir Robert Peel) for a Budget. He proceeded in a strain of taunting severity:

"I am by no means surprised at your confidence. You recollect that when I left office in 1830, I had been connected with an Administration which, during the period in which it had the manage ment of the finances of this country under its control, reduced the pub liv debt by 20,000,000l. of capital, and the annual charge upon that debt by more than 1,000,000l. You remember, too, that we left a surplus of 1,600,000l. of revenue over expenditure; and that we did all this with all the difficulties of an unreformed Parliament. (Loud cheers.) Now, you have had your way for five years. You have had all the benefit of cheap Governs ment. (Laughter.) You have had that superior advantage-you have had the Administration of affairs for ten years. You recol lect, no doubt, the aid which I gave you with respect to the Jamaica question on a former occasion when I enabled you to retain popular representative Government when you were compelled to take my advice, and were glad and rejoiced in your counsellor-you remember all this; and, if the circumstances were the

same now, I would again give you the same advice. (Cheers.) Sir, I cannot but confess that I view with unaffected sympathy the position of the right honourable gentleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer for "to see a good man struggling with adversity," says the poet, "is a sight which the gods love to look upon;"-(Laughter)

and I cannot conceive a more lamentable position than that of a Chancellor of the Exchequer seated on an empty chest, by the side of bottomless deficiencies, fishing for a Budget. (Protracted cheers and laughter)-I won't bite-Reiterated laughter and cheers)—and I refuse my aid, on this ground, that I can see nothing less worthy of public confidence than my conduct would be were I, out of office, to come forward and offer my Budget in competition with yours." (Loud cheers.) There might be some young gentlemen in that House who would be silly enough to fancy that he would say something about a property-tax, and the propriety of abolishing the Penny-postage systém. But he would fairly say at once, that he would bring forward no Budget; his vote that evening was upon a question of Confidence (Opposi tion cheers); and he would not endeavour to obtain the confidence or support of the country by raising expectations that he should bring forward plans for relieving the necessities of the country, or encourage any precise expectations of relief. He stated what he should do if called to office.

"No man had a right to anticipate being taken to the confidence of his sovereign, and placed in the position of Minister. If it were in his power to do so to-morrow,

he should endeavour to secure the confidence of the House of Commons without delay; but he would not make any public profession of what he would do if in office. He should certainly profess so far as this, that he should carefully review the circumstances of the country; and that, considering the existence of a deficit in time of peace to be an intolerable evil, he should make some effort to equalise the income and expenditure of the country; but at the same time, whilst he asked of the House of Commons a manifestation of its confidence and friendliness, he should ask to be allowed time to consider the circumstances of the country, and the best mode of applying a relief to the evils and distress complained of in it."

His belief was, that no particular cause could be assigned for the deficiency. He would not mix up with the questions before the House the larger questions of foreign policy, but he declared that he retained his opinions in respect to China, and he admitted that Government had been called upon to incur expenses in Canada. Still, making these allowances, the Ministers were responsible for the ills which had resulted from general mismanagement. The evil had occurred, not from want of individual ability, but because, as a Government, they had retained office when they no longer possessed the means of effecting the measures they knew to be necessary: because they had endeavoured to carry on their Administration in violation of the principles of the Constitution, which they had given him credit for acting upon in 1835. It was not for the interest of a representative Government that these things should con

tinue. He thus stigmatised their tenacity of office :

"Sir, I cannot think it is to the advantage of the monarchy that the servants of the Crown should he retained when they are unable to carry those measures which, as the confidential servants of the sovereign, it is their bounden duty to bring forward. It is not the measures themselves (said sir R. Peel, addressing the Ministers) which you introduce that are injurious, but they lose the grace and favour of the public eye when it is believed that they do not spring from your deliberate will are not formed in consequence of the deliberate convictions of your own minds; but are proposed merely for the purpose of propping up your falling fortunes, and conciliating the goodwill of a particular party, to whose support you look. (Cheers.) It is not, believe me, consistent with your own high character as public men, that you have made your present proposal. The publicI do not mean the needy and suffering portion of the people whose miseries you have affected to describe, but the intelligent, welljudging portion of the public will hardly admit that you possess their confidence." (Cheers.)

Viscount Palmerston, on behalf of the Chancellor of the Exchequer, denied sir Robert Peel's charge, that he was fishing for a Budget: he had caught his Budget and laid it on the table: though, in doing so he had been charged with forgetting the duties of a Chancellor of the Exchequer, because he had proposed to supply part of the deficiency by relieving the people from some of their burdens. Sir R. Peel was mistaken when he supposed that he was asked for a Budget:

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