Parliamentary Record of Elections in Great Britain and Ireland

the low price of food in 1822 (hear, hear). He could not pass over the speech of the Hon. Member for Wolverhampton. He must say it did not overflow with the milk of human kindness (hear, hear); and when the Hon. Gentleman came forward and gave his evidence of his conduct, and motives, and intentions towards the agricultural interest, he thought the Hon. Gentleman might, to use a term well known in Westminster-hall, be sworn on the voir dire (hear); for he was receiving a fine salary, though he did not come within the category of annuitants and tax-gatherers, who rejoiced in the increasing value of money (hear). It had been said that Hon. Gentlemen on his side of the question had made use of no arguments, but he thought that the speech of his Honourable Friend near him (Mr. S. O'Brien) was full of argument, and had received no answer. The Right Hon. Baronet had thought fit to sneer at his Hon. Friend (hear, hear), but when the Right Hon. Baronet went down to Drayton Manor and looked over his large property, and thought that at no distant period it had belonged to the old landed interest of the country, (cries of "oh, oh !") he might remember that there was a measure passed in 1819, which was said to have added half a million sterling to the fortunes of his family (cries of "oh, oh! order, order”), and he might feel that he had not dealt fairly with the landed interest. He recollected the Right Hon. Baronet somewhere about 1842 went to Tamworth, and addressed his tenantry, and that he then hinted at the destruction of rabbits and hares, and even went the length of saying something about long leases, and that he had really granted one lease of a farm; but he did not remember to have heard that the Right Honourable Baronet, after exciting the expectations of the farmers, said one word about advancing any capital, or a reduction of rent. His practice was against all his professions (loud cries of question, question," and "divide"). As to the apprehension of scarcity, he could refer to documents to show that in Glasgow alone the stock of wheat exceeded by far that of any preceding year. In reply to the charge that the landowners were indifferent whether the people were in a state of starvation or not, the Noble Lord denied that there was any danger of famine. He read extracts from several letters from Scotland, which represented the corn crops as of good quality, and the country as " completely choked with good potatoes," and that so far from there being any likelihood of a famine, the country was literally labouring under repletion (laughter, and "hear, hear"). He had also received a letter from Liverpool in December, which treated the idea of a famine as a mistaken notion, and stated that there were no less than two hundred warehouses in that town crammed as full of corn as ever they could hold ("hear," and a laugh). He might observe that the Hon. Member for Somersetshire had moved, five weeks ago, for a return of the prices for potatoes in all the markets in Ireland, but that return had not yet been laid upon the table. The Right Hon. Bart. (Sir R. Peel) had entered into a long statement relative to the potato disease, which was distasteful to many Hon. Gentlemen on that side, not on account of the length of its details, but because it appeared to them that the Right Hon. Gentleman did not tell them the whole truth (a laugh). The Right Hon. Baronet had read seve

ral letters and communications on this subject, and, among others, one from a Mr. Wood of Yorkshire. He knew something of that county; and he might state that his Hon. Friend the Member for Leeds (Mr. W. Beckett) had some time since made a communication on the subject to the late Lord Wharncliffe, stating that there was no foundation for the report that the potatoes in Yorkshire were seriously affected with the disease. That was not a private communication and had therefore probably been brought under the notice of her Majesty's Government. The Right Hon. Bart. had read several accounts relative to the condition of the potato crop in Ireland from inspectors of police and others occupying official situations. Why had the Right Hon. Baronet not read the report of the Lord-Lieutenant of Carlow ? A Nobleman whose opinions were entitled to the greatest weight, Lord Besborough, had also taken great pains to ascertain the truth as regards the disease among the potatoes in Ireland, and he understood that a report was made by him to the Government. That had not been read, and what was distateful to Hon. Gentlemen near him was, that the Right. Hon. Baronet had not told both sides of the case (cheers). With respect to Antrim, an Hon. Friend of his, the Member for that county, if he were in the House, would, he was sure, state that the disease was not so bad there as had been represented, and he understood that there was no disease in Roscommon. In Tyrone, he had been informed that the price of potatoes was 3d. per stone, and in Tipperary, 44d. per stone, whereas they were last year in Tipperary 10d. per stone ("hear," and loud cries of divide"). He must say, that though the debate had lasted three weeks, he believed that he was the only gentleman who had entered at large into the real question ("hear," and cries of "oh!"). The Right Hon. Baronet had read a statement with respect to Queen's County. A few days ago, he (Lord G. Bentinck) saw his IIon. Friend the Member for Queen's County, who assured him that he had received a letter from the Lord-Lieutenant of that county, stating that the price of potatoes there was 23d. a stone, and that the disease was only partial (cries of "divide"). They were going to repeal the Corn Laws on the ground that a great calamity was impending over Ireland. Shew them that there was that calamity, and he would venture to say that the Hon. Members sitting near him would be found behind no gentlemen in England in endeavours to mitigate it (hear, hear). With respect to Galway, he had been told by the Marquis of Clanricarde that the potato disease had been most extremely exaggerated; that there were here and there bad potatoes; but that they would not have been noticed if it had not been for the cry raised; that one-half of the mischief had been created by the Government Commissioners, who had advised the lifting of the potatoes before they were ripe; and any one of common sense would have known that under such circumstances they must have rotted; that the Government and the Commissioners together had excited such a panic about the potatoes that all persons rushed to destroy their potatoes; that even he (the Marquis of Clanricarde) had been so far biassed as to feed his horses and cattle, and every other animal that would eat them, with potatoes; if there were a scarcity, it had been in a great degree occasioned by the bad advice of

the Commissioners and the Government (hear, hear). But they were told that 4,000,000 of the Irish people were on the brink of famine. If the Government believed that to be the case, he wished to know what provision they had made for these 4,000,000 of people? To subsist, then, for three months it would take 1,000,000 quarters of corn; and yet the only provision made did not exceed 100,000 quarters of maize (hear, hear). He (Lord G. Bentinck) did not believe it was intended to feed the Irish people on wheat, the grain resorted to would be oats; but then it was most unwise to allow 100,000 quarters to be exported from Ireland in January (hear). What said the Duke of Wellington? Why, that he saw no necessity for opening the ports, because in case of a famine price they opened themselves, and that, in fact, there was not a deficiency of food in Ireland. According to Lord Cloncurry, also, there had been oats enough in Ireland to feed the entire population (hear, hear). There never was an occasion in which Government presumed to make a great change, and gave so little information to the country (hear, hear). The Right Hon. Baronet (Sir R. Peel) read some returns as to potatoes, but omitted to read the parts which would have shown that the crop was at first beyond an average, and at last only damaged to the extent of one-fifth; and that the price in most parts was but 44d. a stone, or little more than half what it had been in various countries (hear, hear). And how would Repeal of the Corn Laws three years hence help this emergency? (hear, hear). Indeed, if the Government was to interpose by purchasing corn, what harm was there in paying duty on it, for the duty was paid to themselves (hear, hear). The Noble Lord then proceeded to contend that, so far from "Protection being the bane of agriculture," as had been affirmed, agriculture had made the greatest progress under that system, and that there were not the least grounds for alarm as to want of food to meet the yearly increase of the population, seeing that of late years the extra amount of corn produced per acre had more than kept pace with that increase; that there was as little ground of alarm for the future, considering the quantity of land in Ireland that yet remained to be brought under cultivation. England produced more food in proportion than the countries around her. Her produce was 28 bushels an acre, while that of France was 14, Holland 23, and America only 15 bushels an acre. If they wished to add to the comforts of the people, he contended that they ought to take the duties off tea and sugar, particularly as those articles did not come into competition with the produce of this country (hear, hear). The countries, too, that produced those articles were friendly to our industry, and received our manufactures to a great extent. This was particularly the case as regarded China. And it should be borne in mind that those who were our rivals in the Chinese market admitted tea without charging any duty at all. If they were a proud aristocracy, he trusted they should show by their votes that night that they were proud in the chastity of their honour, and that if they were parties to turning out the Whigs in 1841, they did so in simple-mindedness and honesty of heart (cheers and laughter).

The House divided at twenty minutes to three o'clock. The numbers were:

For Mr. Miles's amendment

Against it

Majority in favour of Ministers

240
337

The announcement was received with loud cheering, and the House then went, pro formâ, into committee upon the Customs Duties Act.

Adjourned at twenty minutes past three o'clock on Saturday morning.

ANALYSIS OF THE DIVISION.

THE following is a tabulated statement of the total number of Boroughs and Borough Electors, represented by the majority and minority who voted for and against Sir Robert Peel's measure :--