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    MABca 26,1^52.3 T H E L E A D E R. 263

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    Histoet Of Parliament. Ministeeial Expla...

    would not individually differ from me m opinion ) --I have expressed the opinion that in regard to those who . have suffered from the changes made , in being left without a corresponding alteration in the expenditure thrown upon them . Ue moderate imposition of a duty - producing a large revenue , and thereby enabling other taxation to be taken off with hardly an appreciable effect on the food of the neople wouldtoe a inosfc just , a most economical , and for the country a most adyaritageous mode of affording reliefl / Hear hear . ) But I think , that a proposition which ho minister ought to bring forward and submit to parliament unle ss he is clear , not only of a bare majority , but of a very < reneral concurrence of opinion throughout the country . is l portion of great tionIn

    I say that it ony one a ques . takin «* into consideration the course they ought to pursue , they are bound not , as the noble lord suggested , to fling down some months before a definite fixed proposition , which for five or six months to come should be made the subject of controversy and agitation , but , commending those suffering interests , not to the care of agitators and demagogues , but to the calm , deliberate sense of the country , the question would be , having ascertained that calm and deliberate sense of the country , how to take those measures which , though not in their own judgment abstractedly the most desirable , they may yet carry into effect with the general approbation , and in accordance with the opinion of Parliament , and without rousing angry feelings among other classes of the community . " ( Hear , hear . )

    It was not a " paltry question it was not a question whether a duty shall be imposed on foreign produce ; not on such a question- ^ -said the noble lord-r-when I appeal to the country , do I intend that appeal to be maae ! " Then turning abruptly from stating on what questions he intended to appeal , he attacked the " Chesham-place convention , " which he said bid fair to rival the " Lichfield House compact . " The course adopted by Lord John had filled him with surprise and regret . The 168 members present at that convention had been absent from , the Bouse in the moment of danger , and although they had shown themselves " unwilling to support the measures of the late government , they were quite willing to join in measures for rendering any one impossible . " And Lord John Hussell , who hud claim to the character of a statesman- and a

    patriot , consented to organize such ah opposition j thought it not unworthy his hig h character and station to associate with those who had strenuously opposed him ; and said that his next administration should not be a Whig administration , but on a much wider basis I Eising higher and higher in his tone as he approached the termination of his speech , Lord"Derby turned away , as if in disgust , from the intrigues of _ Chesham-place , and stated , still melodramatically , his own intentions . " I shall go then to the country when it is consistent with my duty to my Sovereign and to my country that I should go there , hot onji . question of the kind suggested . That question I shall leave to the deliberate judgment of the public . I shall leave it to the

    general concurrence of the country , without which I shall not bring forward that proposition . ( Loud and renewed cheering . ) I pay I will not flinch from performing my duty without fear , if the sense of the people and of the Parliament shall be with me and shall support me in a measure which I believe would be useful for the country . But I will not overstrain the influence which belongs to" a government , I will not abuse the high position in which my sovereign has placed me ; and I will not by a bare majority force on the country a measure against which a great proportion of the country has expressed an opinion . ( Cheers . )" It might be possible to render available the assistance of those who generally agreed with him , but objected to protective policy . But there was another question : —•

    " We are threatened with far more serious' difficulties than opposition to the imposition of a 5 s . or 6 s . or 7 s . duty . It is a question whether the government of this country can bo carried on , and on what principles , and . through what medium ; and when I appeal to the country I should do so on this ground—Will you , who desire well to all the interests of the country , place your confidence and give your support t o a government which , in the hour of peril , did not hesitate to take the post of danger when the helmsman had loft the helm P ( Loud cheers . ) Will you support a Government which is against hostile attacks , which would maintain tho peace of the world , which would uphold tho Protestant institutions of tho country , wliich would give strength and increased power to religious and moral education throughout tho land , and which would

    exert itself moreover , I will not hesitate to say , to oppose some barrier against tho current , that is continually encroaching , of democratic influence , which would throw power nominally into tho hands of tho masses , practically into those of tho demagogues who lead thorn P Will you resist a Government which desires to oppose that noxious an ( J dangerous influence , and to maintain the prerogatives ot tho Crown , tho rights of your lordships' house , and tho privileges of tho other frooly oloctod and fairly represented nouso of Parliament P Thoso aro tho principles on which A siuvu mako my appeal on behalf of myself and of my colleagues ; and in words which aro placed in tho mouths oi tho meanest felons in tho dock , and which aro not unworthy tho lips of a First Minister of tho Crown , « I elect that wo shall bo tried by God and our country . ' ( Great

    Lord Gkey followed Lord Derby , stoutly defending the lato , and attacking the present ,, ministry , with lioreo pertinacit y . He insisted at groat length , and in Iw u and Vlirioua expressions , of tho same opinion , Y fc Wtta now fln <* anomalous for a . minister to cbmo Jiovm to that house and say , " Our convictions , my lords , oa to what ought to bo done aro as strong as over , 1 > ut wo will not tell you whether or not wo intend to act upon thoso convictions . " Ministers woro bound to Bay «< Wo are for protection / ' or « Wo nro against protection . " Lord Grey represented tho policy as to tho food of tho people us too vital to bo kopt in tho

    background . And as to the uncertainty beinglessened by the change of ministers / until the change there had been no uncertainty whatever . The uncertainty had been created by the advent of Lord Derby , and for the best of reasons—that it had always been stated that the great object of the party composing the present government ; , was to re-establish protection . As to the fall of the late , cabinet , when Lord , Derby said thatVit had fallen from want of support , he ought to have remembered the cause of that . Had not Protection been the rallying cry of a party for five years and a-half ? Lord Grey did not say that there had been a factious opposition , but , by all the means in their power , the noble lord and his colleagues had collected and kept

    together a powerful party , whose binding principle was the restoration of protection , and conducted a decided arid eager opposition to the late government . He did not complain of that , but it Was too much , after the Earl of Derby had been finally successful , for him to turn round and say—office fell into our hands , we did not seek it , therefore we may dispense with the ordinary rules of proceeding . And that Lord Derby would attempt to restore the protective policy it was natural to expect , especially after the declaration made by him in February last year , when he said that , as an honest man , and as an honourable man , he could not take office without attempting to retrace the- false step which had been taken , and remedy the wrong which had been done , by imposing a moderate duty on

    corn . Lord Grey argued that a dissolution was imperative on the ^ possessors of office , because they were in a minority , and held opinions hostile to Free-trade . That was the course insisted on by Sir Robert Peel in 1841 j that was the honest course . But what an extraordinary state of things . had come about . The Prime Minister declared that he would not attempt to re-impose corn duties without the concurrence of the

    country , iiot even if he had only a bare majority . " JNow , there was no man . of common understanding who , hearing these words , did not clearly see that they gave up protection . " Nothing could be done with such " rose-water support as this / ' What , then , was the object of the noble earH > If he meant to give us protection , why did he not say so ? The fact was , he meant to canvass the counties as a protectionist , and the towns as a Free-trader . Would it not be difficult

    for the noble earl to prove , under these circumstances , that want of foresight , not want of candour , had been at the bottom , of his conduct ? In this strain , Lord Grey wound up a not ineffective speech , the sting of which was in the final words : Never , he said , throughout the annals of this country , had there been an instance of the public interests being so grievously sacrificed to party feelings . The regular , partisans of Government and Opposition now succeeded each other . Lord Abinger said he

    had " privately remonstrated with Sir Robert Peel " on the danger and injustice of repealing the Corn-Laws ! Lord Cianricarde echoed Lord Grey , pushing home the charge of inconsistency between practice and opinion , and , what was more damaging to Ministers , pertinaciously following up Lord Grey ' s line in showing that Ministers were about to cheat both the farmers and their parliamentary friends . Tho Earl of Habrowby ( formerly Lord Sandon ) addressed himself to the friendly task of converting Lord Derby to an honest avowal that he had given up Protection .

    " Ho behovod that there was not tho slightest chanco of success for a proteetivo policy , and if thoy went to tho country upon that ho felt suro that tho result would be that tho Conservative interest would bo put upon a falao issue , and that instead of trying tho question of " Protection or not , " tho real question that would bo tried would bo " Democracy or not r" ( Hoar , hoar . ) Lord Beaumont gave a second edition of his former speech . Lord Wodeiiouse preached on tho moral danger of establishing the precedent that it was consistent witii the duty of public men to abandon , when they obtained office , tho measures tho advocacy of which had brought them into power . Lord Powia defended Ministers , and bo ended tho debate

    In the House of Commons the debate partook of tho character of the groat contest in 1840 , There was a strong muster of members early in the afternoon . Tho . dramatis personce woro newly arranged . Tho Opponition benches and tho gallery above woro crowded ; indeed , bo ftul that some Opposition members were soon' perched over the Ministerial benches . On tho Mountain of tho Opposition , but not below tho gangway , woro seated Mr . Cobdon , Mr . Bright , and tho members of that section of the supporter * of tho Chesham-ploco policy ; while below the gallery woro Lord Piilmorston , his ordorly , Mr . Monckton Milnos ; Sir James Graham , Mr . Gladstone , and the PecKtoa generally . Mini fit era occupied tho front benches on the right of tho Speaker , backed by tho baronet chivalry of tho Country Party—Sir John Tyrrel and

    Sir John Walsh , and next to them , Mr . George Frederick Young . Below the Ministerial gangway sat a select squadron of agricultural members , headed by Colonel Sibthorpe . The battle began by small skirmishes with Sir John Pakington and Mr . Disraeli . Mr . James Wixson asked the Colonial Secretary what he intended to do with his notice of . motion respecting the sugar duties , now standing on the paper as a dropped order ? Sir John Pakington replied , that he had felt it his duty as a member of the Opposition ( a remark met by ironical cheers ) to press upon Her Majesty ' s Ministers what he believed to be the disastrous effects of their own acts :

    but as the present Government was " in an acknowledged minority" in that House , it was no less his duty to do what he tbought best for the promotion of the objects they had in view ; and he did not think he would be doing his duty by pressing the question , and therefore he did not intend to bring forward the motion . ( Cheers and' counter cheers . ) He , however , reserved the right of hereafter dealing with the question , " if they should be in a position so to do . " ( Ironical cries of " hear" front the Opposition , and cheers from the Ministerialists . ) It was understood that the Government would not interfere in any way with the reduction of the duty on sugar , which would come into operation on the 5 th of July next . Mr . Headxam asked whether it was intended to put a tax on coals . The Chancellor of the Exchequer

    thought that was not a fair question . But he would so far overstep the bounds of the usual official reserve as to say , that at present Government bad no such intention . " But , " continued Mr . Disraeli , "if the proposition is likely to obtain the favour of the honourable gentleman ' s constituents , it shall receive on our part the most respectful attention , " a sally followed by " loud laughter" and " cheers . " After these small passages of arms , the main combat Was commenced by Mr . Milker Gibson , who , amid the stirring cheers of the Opposition , presented , and stated with great gravity , the now famous Manchester petition ; and Mr . William Brown followed up the advance of the member for Manchester , by throwing in a similar petition from Liverpool . The order of the day for going into-Committee of Supply was read , and the Chancellor of the Exchequer moved that the

    Speaker do now leave the chair . This was the signal for Mr . Villieks , the old champion of free trade , who rose to put to the Chancellor of the Exchequer a series of inquiries , agreed to at the Chesham-place meeting , as to the intentions of her * Majesty's Government . This he did in a speecli of great weight , solidity , and with a certain , earnestness of tone and language , supported by the encouraging cheers of the Opposition , and ironical interruptions from the Ministerial : benches . He described the importance of the subject as it affected trade , commerce , and domestic life . Information , ho said , was wanted ; it would bo incorrect to say that the public had received none ( alluding to the hustings speeches of

    Ministers ); but it would bo quite true to say that they would have been less perplexed if they had not received any . ( Laughter . ) Ho hoped that his motives in asking for information would not bo misunderstood ; ho had no factious motives ( ironical laughtor from tho Ministerial benches , and cheers from the Opposition ) , no party object . ( Choers . ) Ho proceeded to vindicate his right—indeed , his peculiar fitness—as an old and disinterested advocato of freo-trade , to ask for explanations . He had only been silent because ho had believed tho question safo . But tho advent of tho present Ministers hail unsottlod everything 1 , and caused groat apprehensions . Ho did not rogrot to soo thorn in power ; ho know what forboaranco was duo to a

    Ministry suddenly installed in office , and as yot unprepared to state their opinions on matters which required long consideration . JBut that was not tho ense with tho present Ministers in relation to tho chief question , sinco their minds had long boon made up , and they were unknown except as identified with protection . To r oh tore that , thoy had boon banded together—for that thoy had sought and assumed power ; and he thought thoy could not object to boing called on to state in what way and how soon they intended to establish , now thoy wore in power , tho policy which thoir chiefs had rccommonded while in Opposition . Passing by Mr . Pisraeli and tho lessor lights of tlm country party , no dwelt at somo length on tho reasons wh y , above all mon , Lord Dorby ought to frankly declare his policy ; and ho quoted tho famous speech of May , 1861 , wlion Lord Dorby said to his followers , that in him thoy would find

    " no hesitation , no flinching , no change of opinion ; " ho only looked for tho moment to cry , " Up Guards , and at thorn ! " It was not therefore unreasonable in persons , representing tho iutorosta to bo attacked , to ask tho hoblo lord to havo tho kindness to toll when ho was going to direct hi « soldiors to bo " up and at thorn . " ( Choera and laughter . ) H « j described tho prosperous state of tho country ; oven agriculture had improved , ovon tho colonies were bettor off ; and tho country rested in ( hat prosperity . JJut now mon pledged to royorso tho policy in forco were in power , apprehension and uncertainty prevailed : contracts woro not completed , orders woro not sent homo by foreign ugontH , because they did not know how to act for their Erinei pals . For three woeks tho country soomod to have oon labouring under a paralysis . After vindicating tho poople from tho charge of being indui ' eron to groat Rbortios conferred on . thorn , and flaying thoy wero often too

    Mabca 26,1^52.3 T H E L E A D E R. 263

    MABca 26 , 1 ^ 52 . 3 T H E L E A D E R . 263

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), March 20, 1852, page 3, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_20031852/page/3/