Debates anti Vraceebings in Varliatnent.

OPENING OP THE SESSION: THE SPEECH.

Parliament was opened at two o'clock on Thursday ; but as it was opened by Commission, the ceremony did not attract very great atten- tion. The attendance of Peers in the House of Lords was thin ; but there were several ladies on the hack benches of the Opposition side of the House, and the strangers' gallery was crowded. The Lords Com- missioners were, the Lord Chancellor, Lord Wharncliffe, the Duke of Buccleucb, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Earl of Shaftesbury. The Commons, headed by the Speaker, having appeared at the bar, and the commission having been read by the Clerk at the table, the LORD CHANCELLOR read the following Speech- " My Lords and Gentlemen—We are commanded by her Majesty to acquaint you, that her Majesty receives from all Princes and States assurances of a friendly disposition towards this country, and of an earnest desire to cooperate with her Majesty in the maintenance of general peace. " By the treaty which her Illajesty has concluded with the United Statesof America, and by the adjustment of those differences which from their long continuance had endangered the preservation of peace, her Majesty trusts that the amicable relations nf tbe tire, countries have been confirmed.

" The increased exertions which, by the liberality of Parliament, her Majesty was enabled to make far the termination of hostilities with China, have been eminently successful. The skill, valour, and discipline of the naval and mili- tary forces employed upon this service, have been most conspicuous, and have led to the conclusion of peace upon the terms proposed by her Majesty. Her Majesty rejoices in the prospect, that by the free access which will be opened to the principal marts of that populous and extensive empire, encouragement will be given to the commercial enterprise of her people. As soon as the ratifications of tbe treaty shall have been exchanged, it will be laid before you. " In concert with her Allies, her Majesty has succeeded in obtaining for the Christian population of Syria the establishment of a system of administration which they were entitled to expect from the engagements of the Sultan, and from the good faith of this country. " The differences for some time existing between the Turkish and Persian Governments bad recently led to acts of acts of hostility ; but as each of these states has accepted the joint mediation of Great Britain and Russia, her Ma- jesty entertains a confident hope that their mutual relations will be speedily and amicably adjusted.

" Her Majesty has concluded with the Emperor of Russia a treaty of com- merce and navigation, which will he laid before you. Her Majesty regards this treaty with great satisfaction, as the foundation for increased intercourse be- tween her Majesty's subjects and those of the Emperor.

" Her Majesty is happy to inform you, that complete success has attended the recent military operations in Afghanistan. Her Majesty has the greatest satisfaction in recording her high sense of the ability with which these opera- tions have been directed, and of the constancy and valour which have been ma- nifested by the European and native forces. The superiority of her Majesty's arms has been established by decisive victories on the scenes of former disas- ters; and the complete liberation of her Majesty's subjects who were held in captiiity, and for whom her Majesty felt the deepest interest, has been effected. " We are commanded by her Majesty to inform you, that it has not been deemed advisable to continue the occupation, by a military force, of the coun- tries to the Westward of the Indus.

" Gentlemen of the House of Commons—Her Majesty has directed the Estimates for the ensuing year to be laid before you. Such reductions have been made in the amount of the naval and military force as have been deemed compatible, under present circumstances, with the efficient performance of the public service throughout the extended empire of her Majesty. "My Lords and Gentlemen—Her Majesty regrets the diminished receipts from some of the ordinary sources of revenue. Her Majesty fears that it must be in part attributed to the reduced consumption of many articles, caused by that depression of the manufacturing industry of the country which has so long prevailed, and which her Majesty basso deeply lamented. In considering, however, the present state of the revenue, her Majesty is assured that von will bear in mind, that it has been materially affected by the extensive reductions in the Import-duties which received your sanction during the last session of Parliament, and that little progress has been hitherto made in the collection of those taxes which were imposed for the purpose of supplying the deficiency from that and other causes. Her Majesty feels confident that the future pro- duce of of the revenue will be sufficient to meet every exigency of the public ser- vice. Her Majesty commands us to acquaint you, that her Majesty derived the utmost gratification from the loyalty and affectionate attachment to her Ma- jesty which were manifested on the occasion of her Majesty's visit to Scotland. " Her Majesty regrets, that in the course of last year the public peace in some of the manufacturing districts was seriously disturbed, and the lives and property of her Majesty's subjects were endangered by tumultuous assemblages and acts of open violence. The ordinary law promptly enforced was sufficient for the effectual repression of these disorders. Her Majesty confidently relies upon its efficacy, and upon the zealous support of her loyal and peaceable sub- jects, for the maintenance of tranquillity. " We are commanded by her Majesty to acquaint you, that measures con- nected with the improvement of the law, and with various questions of domes- tic policy, will be submitted for your consideration.

" Her Majesty confidently relies on your zealous endeavours to promote the public welfare ; and fervently prays that the favour of Divine Providence may direct and prosper your counsels, and make them conducive to the happiness and contentment of her people."

The Commons retired ; and both Houses adjourned.

THE ADDRESS.

The Commons reassembled at five o'clock ; and after some prelimi- minary business, including a shower of Notices, the Address, a mere echo of the Speech, was moved and seconded by Lord COURTENAV and Mr. W. Mn.Es; whose orations were copies of the Speech diluted. The debate on the proposition so set forth was opened by Mr. CHARLES WOOD; who touched lightly upon several points of the Speech. He was gratified at the close of the Chinese war; which had se- cured all its objects—reparation for insult, compensation for loss, and an opening for commerce advantageous both to Britain and China. Not much difference would be found with respect to Afghanistan ; but the alleged excesses of the soldiery on the retreat would require expla- nation. He regretted that the treaty with the United States had not adjusted all our differences with that country ; and he took occasion to explain the distinction between the right of search and the right of visit; pointing attention to the fact that President Tyler had con- founded them in his recent message to Congress. The state of foreign affairs generally afforded matter for congratulation. He desiderated some further indications of the policy which Government intended to pursue in applying remedies to the existing state of the country ; the hopes of amendment which had arisen a, various times during the past year having been succeeded by bitter disappointment. In proof of this be referred to the state of his own county, of Leeds, and of Scotland— Sanguine hopes were indulged with respect to the measures of last session, and extensive effects were anticipated with regard to the wool, the sugar, and the corn-markets; but, after all, it must be atknowledged that the people who indulged those expectations were grievously disappointed. Even the prices of meat, in which it was expected that so great a change was to be effected, did not undergo any material alteration. 'It was true that at one period of the year corn happened to bear a lower price; but that was no effect of the corn- law which the right honourable gentleman opposite had introduced. All the' wheat that did come in was imported at the time of harvest ; and therefore in its effects both upon the agricultural and manufacturing classes, the sliding. scale was just the same sort of measure as the old corn-law. To the producer, as well as to the consumer, the whole bill was a dead letter.

Mr. Wood observed, that perhaps it was the intention of the Secre- tory for the Treasury to lay a balance-sheet before them at an early; period of the session— If he did, the country would be not a little surprised at the result. On the let October, the deficiency was 2,500,000/. ; but that was augmented by sawn of 940,000L ; which brought the whole deficiency to very nearly 3,500,000/. On 'the 5th January last, the deficiency bills exceeded 3,500,00W. The failure of the ordinary sources of revenue deprived the people of the hope that they would be relieved, at an early period, of the Income-tax. He called on Sir Robert Peel to carry oat the principles which he asserted last session, as Mr. Eluskisson found it necessary to do in the crisis of 1825-6 ; promising him in such case the support of the Opposition.

A pause of more than a minute here took place ; and at length, yield- ing to the tacit compulsion thus put upon him to speak early in the debate, Sir ROBERT PEEL rose. He followed generally the points of Mr. Wood's speech. He forbore to enter upon the subject of the occur- rences in India, because the question would subsequently be raised by .two motions of which notice nad been given. When occasion offered, he should be able to show the country th_t extent of obligation under which it lay to Lord Ashburton for the adjustment which he had effected in the treaty with America- " I could show, if the policy of that noble Lord had been called in question America- . this House as it has been out of doors' that the treaty which was effected by him affords to the country every thing which can be considered essential to the security of our North American possessions: not perhaps as much as we were justly entitled to and had a right to expect, but, considering the uncertainty attached to the interpretation of the old treaty—considering the great length of time which had since elapsed—taking into account that the geography of the country was in a great degree unknown at the time of first assigning the boundaries—and considering the difficulty, not to say the impossibility, of exactly ascertaining the intentions of those by whom the assignment was made, we should feel satisfied to accept, not, it is true, all that we claimed, or all that we were entitled to, but such a division of the disputed district as secures our British Possessions in North America, and at the same time preserves our military communication intact. The adjustment of the question by Lord Ashburton is far more favourable to this country than that formerly proposed by the King of the Netherlands, in which we were willing to concur. He remarked that Mr. Webster had been assailed in the United States j.ust as Lord Ashburton had been here, with taunts that he had abandoned the interest of his country. He concurred in what Mr. Wood had said respecting the President's misapprehension—that Lord Aberdeen insisted, in 1841, on the right of search, which extends to the cargo and destination of a vessel, instead of the right of visit, merely to ascertain its, nationality. He was surprised that a conventional right of search should be resisted by the United States, affording, as it did, protection to the honest flag, and leading to the exposure of contraband trading, which must be as injurious to their commerce as to their revenue. Nay, if Mr. Canning would have consented to exempt the coasts of the United States from the operation of such a treaty, one would now have existed, almost at the instance of America, through Mr. Rush, who negotiated one with Mr. Haskisson in 1824. Sir Ro- bert made a passing allusion to the French view of this question- " I hope that those who at present appear so eager in the French Chamber, who are opposed to a treaty so calculated to promote the cause of humanity, and who are urging on the United States to resist it, will not succeed in their efforts. For myself, I do not look upon the concession of the right as pecu- liarly important to England. The question is one which considerably affects all commercial nations. It is the only security which can be adopted against fraud ; and even on a principle of mercantile security it should be consented to by all maritime nations. With respect to the treaty lately signed between this country and the United States, I say, that in acting upon that treaty, we have not abandoned our claim to the right of visitation, nor did we understand that in signing that treaty the United States could suppose that the claim was abandoned. On the contrary, we thought that a step in advance of our object had been taken when the United States consented to send a naval force for the suppression of the traffic in slaves; though we by no means considered or accepted of that proceeding as an equivalent for any right which we claimed with respect to visitation." Turning to the revenue, Sir Robert Peel said that he would produce such an account as Mr. Wood had alluded to; but nothing could be more unfair than to infer future results from what might appear on the face of that- " In the last session I admitted that there was a great deficiency; and I also Said that I proposed to create a stew deficiency by the measures which I should bring for■vard, by the decrease of the Import-duties, and those upon several articles which formed primary sources of our home manufacture. For instance, timber was one of those and 700 out of the 1,100 articles included in the Tariff. The reduction Of the duties, it must be remembered, took place at an early period, in most instances as early as July, and in other instances in October; and this of course produced a material effect in increasing the defi- ciency; whilst the taxes which were imposed to supply the want created had not yet come into sufficient operation. The honourable gentleman ought therefore to wait for the next quarter; and yet I do not know that even then there would be a sufficient operation to meet the reduction thus created. I admit the falling-off in the Excise, and I am ready candidly and at once to allow that it arises from diminished consumption : but at the same time, I must caution honourable gentlemen not to be too apt to draw unfavourable and gloomy inferences from the fact. I admit the effect, but I in a great measure attribute the cause to the unfavourable harvest of 1841. I think that the re- duction on that account alone has not been less than 910,0001.—that is, upon malt alone. There has also been a reduction on the article of spirits ; which reduction, however, must not and ought not to be taken as evidence of the distress in the country, because, depend upon it that improved habit of temperance are in- creasing here as well as in Ireland, and those improved habits have a tendency to diminish the consumption of spirits : but 1 repeat, the deficiency in the Ex- cise has arisen from the reduction in the consutnption of malt, which in a great degree was occasioned by the unfavourable harvest of 1840, and the diminished consumption uf 1841. [ Sir Robert quoted a table to show that duty was paid OE malt for 1,844,000 bushels less in the last two quarters of 1841 than in the last two quarters of 1842.) I am not, be it remembered, contesting the distress of the country—I cannot mention that distress without the deepest regret ; but let not honourable gentlemen misunderstand me—I wish to caution the

House from drawing gloomy and unfavourable inference's from these and circumstances.'

Sir Robert maintained that a great redaction had taken place in the price of articles of subsistence ; and in parts of the country he saw in- dications of increased consumption, which justified a hope that the condition of the people is improviug. With respect to further altera- tions, be declared thdt he adhered to the principles which he laid down last session, but that he did not now contemplate further immediate or extensive changes-

" I did make, with the aid of my honourable friends and colleagues in office, more extensive changes in the commerce and in the code which regulates the commerce of this country than were made at any former period. If I had contemplated any further immediate and extensive changes, I would at once have proposed them in the course of last year. And why not ? I stated last year the general principles on which I shoal art ; and to them, I repeat, I still adhere; but I did not lead the House or the honourable gentleman to sup- pose that I would go on year after year introducing extensive changes. I think it would be infinitely better, when a man has made up his mind as to the changes he contemplated, for him to propose them in one year, than to pro- pose a certain number in that year, with a secret reservation as to what he would bring forward in the next. Whatever changes I do propose will he in conformity, when I do propose them, with the general principles which I have already laid down, and from none of which I recede, and of the truth of which I sin perfectly convinced but, as I said last year, I cannot forget that for this country protection has been the rule ; that under it great and extensive inte- rests have grown up ; and that, in substituting a better for a defective system, if you proceed too hastily—if in your beneficent efforts to create contentment you produce distress—you run the risk of obstructing the fair and satisfactory progress of right principles. I cannot therefore state that I have any great changes to propose in the commercial code of this country. When I do, it will be in conformity with the principles I have laid down ; but I should de- ceive the right honourable gentleman if I led him to suppose there would be any such extensive change as he had hinted at, this year."

Some of the arguments used last year against the present Corn-laws had not been verified by experience : the alteration of the method of taking the averages, for instance, had noflatui the effect of lowering the apparent price 5s. and thus raising the duty. He remained of opinion that the law had not had a sufficient trial to warraut him in prop *big its abrogation. He concluded with a renewed and distinct declaration-

" When I introduced the Income-tax Act, I stated my 'firm conviction, that the effect of the other laws introduced would enable every party to make a saving in his expenditure equivalent to the sum I called from him in the shape of income-tax. I believe that prediction has been fully verified, and that there has neen such a reduction of prices as enables all parties to make a saving equivalent to the amount contributed by him in the shape of income-tax. There will be other opportunities of discussing all these important matters; but as I was asked by the right honourable gentleman to come forward and declare my intentions, I think it right now to avow that her Majesty's Govern- ment have not in contemplation any amendment of the Corn-laws."

Lord JOHN RUSSELL took up the points of the Speech more amply than Mr. Wood ; admitting, however, that it had been "wisely and judiciously framed" to avoid calling for a difference of vote. He con- curred with the seconder of the Address in praising the energy and promptitude with which Ministers had directed the feeltpt in China to the attainment of peace ; but if there had been any choir with regard to the means placed at their disposal by the late Government, he should have been prepared to answer it. Before thanks, however, were voted to the Governor-General and the Army in India, according to a notice which had been given, two points ought to be explained : first, there was a rumour that the victories of our troops had been stained hy s spirit of revenge and retaliation ; and secondly, there was a rumour that at a certain period the Governor-General had issued an order for an immediate retreat of the whole of the forces. Nor could Lord John avoid adverting to two remarkable proclamations : one was a violent party attack on his predecessor, containing also very extraordinary and very shocking doctrines-

" The Governor-General states that he was about to leave Afghanistan to that anarchy which the crimes of the country had created. I should have thought the Governor-General, instead of exhibiting feelings of malignant revenge, ought to have endeavoured to leave Afghanistan in the hands of ...me chief capable of carrying with him the confidence of the people of that country, and of reestablishing as much order as possible, and by that means have en- deavoured to attain that which Lord Auckland had declared he hoped would be the result of the expedition—namely, the establishment of a Government at Afghanistan favourable to the relations of peace with India and to the de- velopment of industry in that country. It seems by that proclamation and also by other tranaactione, such as the burning of the bazaar, as if, contrary to any policy which I can remember in the history of this country, our sole pure pose was retaliation and revenge in consequence of the ;treat losses and disasters which we had suffered, instead of a calm, well-considered policy."

Lord John followed up the blow—" But there is another procla- mation—(A laugh„)—the very mention of which almost excites the ridicule of those who have read it ; a proclamation so strange, that I believe there are many persons in this country who believed at first that it was not genuine." And he went on to object to the respect paid in the proclamation about the recovery of the gates of Somnath to gross and idolatrous worship. These matters were not simple and insulated blunders : they certainly did alarm one as regards the general calm, sober, and judicious conduct of the present Governor of India.

The Ashburton treaty was next attacked; Lord John premising, that he did not think a country like this gains any thing by showing too great a readiness to concede. He blamed Lord Ashburton for ultimately conceding what in his first despatch to Mr. Webster he said could not be conceded, as the Madawaska settlements. He could not see why, with a little more firm uess, Lord Ashburton could not equally have obtained a settlement, only a more advantageous settle- ment than the present-

" The Americans believed in the justice of their claim, we in ears. As for war, we had no more reason to be apprehensive of it than they. We had great reluctance togo to war • so I believe lied the United States; and we had both the same reasons for walling to avoid it. The circumstances, therefore, having been equal, the settlement ought to have been equal." He considered Lord Ashburton unfit for the office, because he had declared in 1838 that Canada could not belong to this country for twenty years; and he could not but think that some such feeling must have swayed him in consenting to such a boundary. Lord John believed that the hold of this country upon Canada depended upon two things,—giving the Canadians a constitutional government, which he 7 thought Ministers had done ; and giving them proof that the Queen of ' 04- country would be ever ready to employ as far as possible the resources and means of the country in their defence against any

foreign enemy whatever. It was part of such a duty to secure them a good boundary.

Coming back to home affairs, Lord John said, that experience of the new Corn-law had confirmed him in the opinion that a moderate fixed duty would be the best system upon which to carry on our trade in corn-

" I see that the operation of the sliding scale is, by the largeness of duty, to keep up a quantity of corn in this country, and then let it out at particular times, when the consumers are so much in want of it, and when it is obvious that the farmers would be injured by the sale of so vast a quantity. It is as if a gardener, instead of watering his garden, waited for the appearance of a great deal of rain, and only began the process of watering as soon as the showers began to descend. In the early part of the year we had the high prices of 60s. and 61s., with no great introduction of foreign corn, but in August, when a favourable harvest was about to be reaped, and when this country could enjoy the benefit of it, then you hai more than 2,000,000 quarters of corn and wheat- flour admitted into the markets. The markets were then depressed for the time to come; and the operation of the sliding-scale was such that the speculator was ruined by not getting his expected price, the farmer was injured by the low price competing with him, while the consumer did not get the benefit which he ought to have had many months before. I cannot conceive that the right honourable Baronet is determined to maintain this law. Nothing which I heard from him tonight at all persuades me that it was his intention perma- nently to abide by that law. I recollect the principles laid down by the right honourable Baronet last year. They applied to the articles of the Tariff, but not to the Corn-laws. The Secretary of State for the Home Department said that he did not consider the Corn-law a final measure."

Lord John ridiculed the declarations and explanations of the Agri- cultural Members during the recess ; observing that the Minister had reduced his supporters to this difficulty, that they were obliged to vindi- cate the Tariff on principles of free competition and the Corn-laws on principles of protection. Last year the Anti-Corn-law League (to whose opinions he did not subscribe,) would have been content with an 8s. fixed duty ; and would it not have been for the interest of the farmers if there had been no such powerful body as the League agitating the country ? Lord John touched upon the Income-tax ; waiving general arguments against it, and addressing himself to abuses in its adminis- tration. There had been the old ad cap tandem statement that persons of incomes under 150/. a-year were not to pay the tax- " I have heard of several cases of persons having 30/., 401., or 50/. a year in the Funds, from whom the tax is deducted at the Bank in the first instance ; and when they complain, you tell them "Oh, they may recover it." Why, here is the case of a poor widow I heard of yesterday, who lives at Boulogne, and who having had the tag deducted in this way, upon complaining was told that if she will come over and be examined before some board, her case would be taken into consideration. Now, why should persons be held liable to be examined in this way who are so old or infirm as not to be able to endure this kind of hurry and buffeting ? The consequence is, the tax is never reclaimed in such cases. I call this confiscation. With respect to house property, I have heard of one surveyor who said that he made it a rule to put on 20 per cent to the returns made him. Another grievance is, that numbers of people find that having made an honest return, a surcharge is nevertheless made ; and upon complaint they are told the remedy is, that they may go to Clerkenwell (or some country-town, if they live in the country) and so get redress. The con- sequence is, that many do not attempt it : indeed, the surcharge is made in the confidence that they will not."

Every means ought to be taken to diminish the abuses in the admi- nistration of the tax.

He was not satisfied with the way in which the Speech alluded to the disturbances in the manufacturing districts: tnere was much in those dis- turbances which showed on the part of the people conduct deserving of admiration- " If you recollect that there were thousands of people, who had suffered for three years very great privations, assembled from their workshops and factories, while there was no force at band to control them for three days,—if you re- collect this, and recollect that propositions were made to them to join the Chartists and to overturn the constitution, urged 'with all the inflammatory arguments that reckless demagogues could suggest—and that the people, of their own mind, and without any influence from without, refused to listen to any inflammatory proposals, and returned to their work peaceably after having been out of work for so long,—if you recollect these things, I must say I think some degree of respect and admiration is due to the people who exhibited such conduct. 1 can see no such feeling displayed in the Speech."

He thought that the House would soon give a pledge that it would enter upon an investigation of the causes of the distress with a view to find practical remedies for great practical grievances.

Sir CHARLES NAPIER having attacked the Ashburton treaty, and Mr. WALLACE the Speech in general and the Income-tax in particular, Lord STANLEY replied to Lord John Russell. The most interesting points in his speech referred to India. He declared that "it is the intention of her Majesty's Government to claim for Lord Ellenborough that praise to which he is amply entitled, and to hold that his energy, and the orders which he has issued, have greatly contributed to the success of our arms in Afghanistan." If Lord John Russell denied that credit, he hoped he would do it on a consideration of the whole circumstances— not of parts—the terms of a proclamation here or there ; reviewing the position in which Lord Ellenborough found our arms, and the state of the resources of India. Lord Stanley challenged his antagonist to bring forward in the House a resolution condemnatory of the policy which has been adopted in withdrawing our troops from beyond the Indus and the Sutlej, and approving of that policy with which we invaded Afghan- istan. He explained that in bringing back to India the mementos of a former conquest, [the gates of the temple of Somnath,] nothing was further from the mind of the Governor-General than to invest the pro- ceeding with any thing of a religious character. As to the American treaty, if a better one could have been obtained from the United States, why did not Lord John obtain it during the ten years that he was in office? He asked Lord John upon what foundation his stories against the Income-tax rested ? Were they just picked up in the streets ? He pointed out a provision in the Act, the ,169th clause, under which the poor widow at Boulogne" might have preferred her appeal by affi- davit.

Lord PALMERSTON followed up Lord John Russell's speech, in which he said he entirely concurred ; but with less than his own usual originality and smartness of manner. He claimed for the late Government all the merits of the plans and appointments which had led to success in China ; and put some questions, which drew from Sir ROBERT Pam the reply,

that M. Guizot had been mistaken in stating, recently, that the English cruisers on the coast of africa, to the number of 80, had been reduced by one-half—the number last year was 50, this year it is 49.

Sir ROBERT INGLIS would like to see the House without reference to political opinions, declare that they had no confidence in the men that issued the proclamation about the sandal-wood gates.

Mr. VILLIERS condemned the ignorance of the state of the people exhibited in the Speech and the interpretations put upon it. It really seemed to amount to an alter contempt of the feelings of the people, a total disrespect of their sufferings. The people have suffered, are suffering, and there is every prospect of their continuing to suffer, to such a degree that every one is alarmed and looking for the cause of so much distress ; and most people think that they have found it. The people had been excited not only by their own painful expe- rience, but by the opinions expressed by Sir Robert Peel and his Mi- nistry last session. Now it was understood that there were to be no measures brought forward to establish commercial freedom, thus leav- ing the people in a perfectly hopeless state. To prove the excitement, Mr. Villiers pointed to the municipal honours showered upon Mr. Cob- den in Scotland : he had been presented with the freedom of nearly every municipal borough in that country.

The remaining speakers may be more briefly dismissed. Lord HOWIcE. announced that if he were not folly anticipated, he should at an early day call the attention of the House distinctly to the existing dis- tress, with a view to ask for an explicit declaration whether any legis- lative remedy might be found for it or not. Mr. HUME, approving of the treaty with America, and hailing the peace with China as likely to produce the greatest advantages to this country, urgently called upon Sir Robert Peel for "a second tariff," and threatened to turn his back upon him as he had upon Lord John Russell for asserting the doctrine of finality. Mr. FERRAND, with more of his attacks on the manufacturers, declared that there would be no protection secured for the poor unless machinery were taxed. Speaking of the Opposition, he said that Sir Ro- bert Peel had been led away by their cheering smiles until now. Not only the manufacturing districts were in a state of ruin, but the agricultural districts also. Mr. EiveitT recommended more foreign treaties—with Brazil and Java, and a reduction of the tea-duty to Is. Mr MILNER Gnisoar accepted a challenge, which Mr. Ferrand threw out, to public discussion ; inviting Mr. Ferrand to Manchester for the purpose : and he argued to show that Sir Robert Peel must inevitably give his consent IO a total repeal of the Corn-law. MY. BROTHERTON, Mr. MARK Prtruos, Sergeant MURPHY, and Dr. Bowarirc, succeeded on the same side ; Mr. GEORGE BANILES on the opposite.

Eventually the motion was agreed to without dissent.

In the House of Lords, the Address was moved by the Earl of Povire, and seconded by the Earl of EGLINTOUN.

The Marquis of LANSDOWNE touched upon many of the poiats which had been raised in the Howe of Commons. He sarcastically approved of the discreet silence respecting the new Corn-law. If we were to have a corn-law at all, it should interfere as little as possible with the ordinary operations of trade ; and never was there a period in which the convulsions of trade, as connected with that law, had been greater. He complained that the large concessions of the ntw treaty with America had not procured the settlement of other questions. He approved of the close of the Afghan war, but alluded to the rumour that the troops were to have been withdrawn without the reccvery of the prisoners. [The Doke of WELLINGTON exclaimed, "Take care, take care, take care! "] He condemned Lord Elleaborough's proclamations. He approved of the Chinese war in its intention and results ; but he professed hlmself puzzled with the allosion to the "liberality of Parlia- ment" as furnishing the nacans for increased exertions to terminate the Chinese war ; and he attributed the phrase to an intense desire to say something i favour of the Income-tax : he never heard of such an attempt : he claimed the merit for Lord Auckland, as the provider of the means and suggester of the plans. He exhorted Government and Par- liament to direct their attention to improve the vast opportunity in the opening of China ; which he regarded in its ultimate results as an event of not less magnitude than the discovery of the Transatlantic countries three centuries ago ; a discovery the consequences of which those three centuries have but imperfectly developed— It would require all skill, and attention, and assiduity upon the part of the go. verning powers, as well as of various individuals in this country, so to lay the foundation of that intercourse with that people, that it should continue to operate uninterruptedly and beneficially for the interests of the great mass of the people. Every precaution should be taken to prevent the commission of injustice, and every means used that would result in satisfaction both to the ruling powers and to the vast mass of persons in that country. It should be determined that not only their interests should be regarded, but that their prejudices should be tolerated and respected; and it should be seen by them that we did not enter their country as conquerors, but as friends, as well as upon the footing of ajast equality.

Lord Lansdowne concluded with a tribute to the forbearance of the working-classes under the distress and privation which had led to the disturbances in the manufacturing districts. He offered no opposition to the Address.

The Duke of WELLINGTON enlightened Lord Lansdowne as to the allusion to the " liberality of Parliament" ; observing, that it was per- fectly true that the late Government had abandoned the ordinary course of coming down to Parliament first with an estimate of the expenses of war when engaged in it, and then with an estimate of the means to meet those expenses ; and that they had attempted to carry on war with all the world with a peace establishment ; but nevertheless Parliament had furnished means--

" I was one of the parties who advised her Majesty with respect to the mea- sures which should be carried into execution to enable her servants to bring the war to a speedy conclusion. What did her Majesty's servants ? They re- commended her Majesty to call upon Parliament to grant an additional force to the Army, and to grant a large sum of money, very nearly double that which was granted in any former year, for carrying on that service. But remember, my Lords, that not a week after this, orders were sent out to India to prepare and send reinforcements to China ; and there were sent from England both troops and ships, as soon as the ships could be equipped, in order to carry on this war; and those very ships and troops did arrive and were engaged in the very operations which brought the war to a close, and which immediately pre- ceded the negotiations for a treaty of peace. So far in respect to the noble Govern- iMarquis and the veracity of the Speech. It appears that there was some plan contemplated, and that some operations were carried on by the former Govern- ment ; but the noble Marquia forgets altogether the evacuation of the island of Chum, and the withdrawal of the forces from the Northern par :s of the Chinese seas. He forgets the number of men that were lost at once at the commence- ment of the campaign, before the troops evacuated Cbusan. He forgets the operations of the troops ordered from India in the month of September or October last. All this lie forgets, because he seems to desire to represent in this House that her Majesty's Speech, delivered by her Majesty's command, is wanting in veracity."

The Duke rather ridiculed Lord Lansdowne's suggestion respecting the regulation of the intercourse with China ; observing that the Mar- quis's colleagues had many wise plans for the purpose, but they never executed any ! He defended Lord Ellenborough without reserve-

" I have seen something of G overnors.General of India, and I know a little of military affairs and of military difficulties; and I must say this, that I stand here prepared, on any day, to justify every order or movement, either one way or the other, the Governor-General of India has given, from the moment at which be took upon him the adminstration of the affairs of India. My Lords, I Bay, that the Governor-General, as soon as he attained to his position, did as snuck as he was enabled to do, according to the state of preparation which he found in India at the moment. He could do no more than he did : every order he gave, whether to halt or to march, was an order absolutely necessary for the safety of the troops at the moment ; not occasioned by any omission or act of his, but by acts done or omitted to be done by his rivals."

The discussion on the negotiations with the United States should be postponed till papers were before the House. But in condemning the treaty, Lord Lansdowne forgot the measures of his own Government-

" Ile forgets his adoption of the award of the King of the Netherlands-- totally forgets it. Probably, if he recollected that award, he would remember that it involved all the very points for which he blames my noble friend." Lord BROUGHAM declared that he cared not how the boundary-line was drawn, so that the relations between America and this country were placed on a friendly footing-- Ever since 1807, his noble friend (Lord Ashburton) and he had been engaged in a controversy which had been carried on in the House and out of the House, which gave them both an aptitude to pay attention to the question, and made them more familiarly acquainted with the state of things to which the treaty put an end. lie took, therefore, a great interest in the success of his noble friend; and be felt proud of his old ally—proud of his success for the sake of his countrymen ; and be thanked his noble friend that he had brought the treaty so skilfully, so temperately, and so firmly to a conclusion.

In his own emphatic language, he alluded to the glorious termination of the Afghan war, or rather, "the happy event in being delivered from such a war " ; and the excesses of the retreat. He was gratified with the assurances on the part of foreign powers of a desire to preserve peace—especially that foreign power, peace with which was peace with all Europe—France. He took occasion to correct a degree of ignorance in France respecting the right of search, which he should have thought incredible if he had not al itnessed it— It was supposed in France that we did not really care for the suppression of the slave-trade, but that we claimed the right as a means of maritime supe- riority and the sovereignty of the seas. That was the reason why the treaty of 1841 was not ratified, and why the abrogation of the treaties of 1831 and 1833 was sought. For the eight years beginning in 1807, party questions turned on our maritime rights and the sovereignty of the seas: Lord Ashburton and he espoused the side of low maritime rights, the Tory party the side of high maritime rights, and the same party were opposed to the abolition of the slave- trade. The right of search au now pursued by the very party. that had op- posed the high maritime rights, and had been blamed for their conduct as anti-national." It was also said that France would not submit to that which the United States refused as " Anti-American "; and M. de Tocqueville spoke of the right as new, and to be exercised in the "solitude of the ocean." M. de Tocqueville would have done well to make himself acquainted with the A B C of the matter. So far from the right being exercised in the solitude of the ocean, when a French vessel is seized it is carried—not into an English but into a French port to be judged. And as to the newness of the claim, in 1823, the Americans themselves proposed a much more stringent light of search : a treaty establishing it was actually signed on the 7th March 1824, by Mr. Ilus- kiason, and Mr. Stratford Canning, and Mr. Benjamin Rush ; and it was only on the treaty's coming back to this country with a slight, and as he thought very proper alteration, which this country would not allow, that it was thrown up. Otherwise the right would have existed, even with respect to America, for the last nineteen years, Did any one suppose that France wanted to retain the slave-trade? Excepting a few West Indian speculators and slave-dealers haunting the purlieus of Bordeaux and Nantes, there was not one man in a mil- lion in France that did not feel the same horror of the traffic as was felt in this country. The real grievance lay elsewhere— Things, it was well known, often passed by different names from their true ones; and watchwords were constantly used as the rallying-cries of party, when the things, apparently suggested, were never once thought of. The right of search, for instance—the Barcelona affair—the conduct of fishermen on the coast of France—this matter and that—he might safely say, for be knew the French well, and the present state of French feeling and opinion ; all such variegated expressions were merely different forms of speech, more or less cir- cumlocutory for one short thing, which was a reality and not a name, and which lurked at the bottom of the whole matter; and that was, in plain Eng- lish, and neither more nor less than "the 15th of July 1840, Lord Palmer- ston's negotiation." He rejoiced, however, that this hostile feeling in France was on the decline. We ourselves are chargeable with a parallel ignorance, as in the instance of Barcelona. It was said that the insurrection there was a Christino rebellion, encouraged by France : it really broke out among the Republicans, provoked by an unpopular law of enlistment and enrol- ment. It was said that M. Lesseps the French Consul took an active part : he thrice refused to give his countenance to it when asked by the authorities. It was said that he harboured fugitive rebels : the fugitives that he sheltered were the family of Van Haien and some officers of the Regent. With a warm expression of equal admiration for both the great countries of France and England, Lord Brougham said he was con- vinced that it only required a little temper, a little conciliation, fair dealing, open manly conduct on the part of the Governments of those countries, to relieve the people from the unhappy pass which late events had unfortunately occasioned, but the effects of which were daily pass- ing away. Lord AUCKLAND briefly vindicated the course which he had pursued in India ; reserving fuller explanations for a more fitting occasion. He undertook the war because he saw a danger approaching the Indian territory, which he advanced to meet : he acted with the advice and on

the authority of nearly all those by whom he was surrounded ; and he firmly believed, that if the danger could be represented as no longer threatening, it was solely because that decisive step had been taken. He had no wish to attack the present Governor-General : he could conceive no more unbecoming spectacle than that of one Governor-General lately retired from office, and another Governor-General lately come into office, bandying against each other terms of depreciation and dis- paragement. Lord Auckland stated some details respecting a suggestion which he had sent hcme in June 1841, suggesting the attack on the intersection of the Chinese Grand Canal with the Yang-tse-kiang river, to show that, although not in its details, his plan had been carried out in its main features.

Lord COLCHESTER, the Earl of MiNTo and the Marquis of Craantr- CAREE carried on this part of the debate without much advancing the question ; and then Lord ASHBURTON said a few words, to assure the House, that when the papers came before it he should be able to show that in the new American treaty he had made no important concessions of boundary, no important concession of right as regarded the naviga- tion of the St. John, none with respect to the right of search—which bad not, indeed, been discussed in the course of the negotiations. The right of visit had been mentioned, but it had been set at rest by Lord Aberdeen's despatch. Of the Oregon boundary question Lord Ash- burton spoke hopefully— He did not believe that the non-settlement of that question would be pro- ductive of the evil consequences that had been supposed. He believed that there would be no great difficulty as regarded the settlement of this question The proceedings that had been alluded to on the subject were not those of the American Government, but of an individual member of the American Congress. The fact was, he believed, that there had not existed a better understanding between the two countries since the war than existed now. The Bishop of EXETER having put in a word for the promotion of Christianity in China, the motion was agreed to. A Committtee was appointed to prepare the Address : they retired, returned, and the Earl of Powis reported that the Address was prepared. It was ordered to be presented to the Queen. The House adjourned till Monday.

MISCELLANEOUS.

STATE OF THE COUNTRY. In the House of Lords, Earl STANHOPE, instead of moving an amendment on the Address, gave notice of a substantive motion, for Thursday next- " That this House do resolve itself into a Committee of the whole House, for the purpose of taking into its most serious consideration the present condition of the productive classes of the United Kingdom, with a view to providing for their profitable employment and to the improvement of their condition." In the House of Commons, Mr. WALLACE gave notice of a motion on the 7th, for a Select Committee to inquire into the treatment of the unemployed poor at Paisley ; and on the 14th, "to call the attention of the House to the general distress of the country." THANKS TO THE FORCES Di INDIA AND CHINA. The Duke of WELLINGTON gave notice, that on the 14th, he should move the thanks of the House of Lords to the Naval and Military officers and men en- gaged in China ; and on the 16th, thanks to the officers and troops en- gaged in the operations in the East Indies, including in that motion the Governor-General. Similar notices were given in the House of Coin- moos, for the 14th, by Lord STANLEY and Sir ROBERT PEEL. THE TREATY tvrret Russia was presented to the House of Commons. FUTURE PROCEEDINGS. Of the number of Notices given in the House of Commons on Thursday, we can but enumerate the most interesting— Mr. LABOUCHEIIE—copies of Correspondence between Government and the Canadian authorities respecting the Importation of United States Wheat into Canada since 1st January 1842; 9th February. Mr. AGLIONBY—returns showing the Expenditure and Revenue of the Colony of New Zealand; 10th February. CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER—motion relative to forged Exchequer Bills; 13th February. Mr. W. S. O'BRIEN—Select Committee to inquire into the Administration and Operation of the Irish Poor.law ; 16th February. Lord ASHLEY—an Address to the Queen to take into considera- tion the diffusion of a Moral and Religious Education among the People ; 16th February. Mr. Tnontes DUNCOMBE—Select Committee to inquire into the Administration of Justice by Magistrates during the Disturbances in the Mann- factur-mg Districts, and into Lord Abinger's conduct as Judge under the Special Commissions in October; 16th February. Mr. ROEBUCK—" Select Com- mittee to inquire into the circumstances which led to our late hostile proceed- ings in Afghanistan, and to report upon the policy and justice of that attack "; 16th February. Mr. CHARLES EULLER—" That with a view of Bettering the Condition of the People, and giving Security to Property, it is necessary to have recourse to extensive and systematic Colonization ;" early in March.

The following NEW MEMBERS took the oaths on Thursday-

Vicount Clive, North Shropshire ; Mr. John Neilstone Gladstone, Mr. Sack- ville Lane Fox, Ipswich ; Lord Charles Wellesley, Southampton County (Southern Division); Honourable James Stuart Wortley, Buteshire ; Mr. James Emerson Tennent, Mr. David Robert Ross, Belfast ; Mr. David Arthur Saunders Davies, Carmarthen County.

NEW WRITs were issued for Dublin University, in the room of Ser- geant Jackson, now Judge of the Irish Common Pleas ; Coleraine, in the room of Mr. Litton, now Master in the Irish Chancery ; Bodmin, on Captain Vivian's succession to the Peerage ; Monaghan County, on the Honourable Henry Robert Westenra's succession to the Peerage of Rossmore ; Cavan County, on the death of Mr. Clementa.