

June 8 f ] 



THE NEWSPAPER 





present Minister, Ram Rao Phalkea, who is most likely 

 to be inortly forced to resign, from the general feeling 

 shown towards him. From Afghanistan the intelligence 

 is of some importance. Dost Mahomed, it appears, had 

 not left his capital in company with his son Ukhbar,the 

 latter ilone being at Jellalabad, at the head of a large 

 force, for which he appears to have found some occupa- 

 tion, having attacked the city of Bajawr, and succeded in 

 finally reducing it, after a two days' siege. His real 

 intentions towards Peshawur are not clearly esta- 

 blished, though it is suspected he has intentions of 

 no friendly nature towards the Seikhs, his brother 

 Mahomed Aseem Khan being stated to be at Khut, 

 south of Peshawur, with a considerable force. The 

 accounts from Scinde still continue satisfactory, and the 

 various buildings are rapidly in progress. The case of 

 the mutinous portion of the Bengal force has now been 

 disposed of — the 31th alone have been disbanded, and 

 the rest have returned to their duty. Lord Ellenborough 

 has postponed for a time his intended tour to the north- 

 west, but was about taking up his residence at Allaha- 

 bad. The intelligence from China comes down to March 

 the 10th. A ship had been seized with opium on board 

 in the port of Shanghai, and sent down to Victoria, 

 where she was subsequently liberated on payment of a 

 fine of 500 dollars. This seizure appears to have been 

 brought about by a British merchant, who compelled 

 both the Chinese authorities and the British Consul to 

 take official notice of the opium being on board. Several 

 chests were thrown into the sea, and others injured. 

 This step has brought the question of the treaty and of 

 the opium smuggling into discussion. The United States 

 flag ship, Brandy-wine, having on board the Hon. C. 

 Cushing, American Envoy, and suite, had arrived at 

 Macao, and was detained there until her arrangements 

 were completed for prosecuting her journey to the mouth 

 of the Pexho. At all the ports business generally was 

 represented as exceedingly dull. 



United States.— The Yorkshire packet has arrived 

 at Liverpool from New York with accounts from that 

 city to the lGth ult., but there are very few items of 

 news. Philadelphia was quiet, and several arrests of 

 ringleaders in the riots and burnings had taken place. 

 Congress had fixed to adjourn on the 17th June, and it 

 was probable that the Senate would concur. No further 

 steps are reported upon the Texas question ; but import- 

 ant news from Mexico was looked for daily, and pending 

 its arrival, the annexation question was at rest. 



parliament. 



HOUSE OF LORDS. 



Friday.— After the preliminary business noticed in our last, the 

 Ilouse proceeded with the Factory Bill. Lords Brodoham and 

 Fitzwiluam ridiculed any interference with the "rights of 

 labour, and charged upon agricultural employments worse evils 

 than those which resulted from manufacturing labour. — The 

 Buhop of Ripov expressed his satisfaction on the part of the 

 hundreds of thousands of factory children committed to his spiritual 

 care at the limitation placed on factory labour ; and he only re- 

 gretted that that limitation'was not carried further in the other 

 .House of Parliament.— On the 32d clause, Lord Kinnaird moved 

 that it be struck out. He was opposed to all interference with the 

 labour of adults, even of females. He was supported by Lord 

 .Brougham.— Their Lordships havingdivided, there were— For the 

 clause, 48; for the amendment, 21: majoritv, 27. The clause, 

 together with a 1 the others in the Bill, were agreed to, and the 

 Bill was ordered for a third reeling on Monday. 



„:'°, nd ^:~M ord K IJf -YAiRD put a question to the Duke of Rich- 

 mond -w nether his opinion on the policy of the late abolition of 

 the wool duty had changed, since the appointment of his brother, 

 7. . #■ ^ Lennox ' as one of the Lords of the Treasury ?— The 

 <„.™ £ ,CHM0N , D ^ aid ' that amore extraordinary proceeding, 

 t,rS ?« *l 1 P «i rt of th « noblc lord himself - was never brought for- 

 IISJ « I -\ S l The noble lord dealt in insinuations. He 



Towii K Perm r t Um, V , ranyothermanto deal in insinuations 

 Km?™ « the noble lord had any charge to make against 



contrary to the proceedings of that House, contrary to the 

 IfTenoTlnri« y ^l ° f ^ntlemen, to make insinuations 

 men of aSS h ! ^f"? ° f an a PP°intment under Govern- 

 T???hpnnwSw* ° fhlsfa ™ ll >' that hewastobegaggedinthisHouse, 

 t hi 1,1 „ ? M 8ay S0 " ™ at WOuld have bee " the fair, the manly 

 t« ff ??„ i ble C0Ur3e ° f P rocee ding. He begged to say that no 

 wf LTn e f t r aS made - He knew nothing of the appoint- 

 £h UI1 ,? 1S b - ro J her °* me i° him ' teIlin « him that he had been 

 S£E?hS? ?ETw tin , cn ] mthe Treas ury,and to ask his advice. 

 He told him that he had better wait with his regiment. He begged 

 to remind their lordships that he gave up his seat in the Cabinet 

 because he (the Duke of Richmond; could not give his consent to 

 all the measures of the Government. With respect to the question 

 put by the noble lord, as to the wool duties, he begged to say that 

 when that question comes regularly before the House, he should 

 state his opinion upon it.-The third reading of the Factory Bill 

 horded another occasion for Lord Brougham to denounce all 

 interference with the free contracts of factory labourers and their 

 employers.— The Duke of Si/therlayd, on the contrary, stated 



?tlT m ? n - that had the hours of labour neen limited to ten, in- 



ilnori ?- m r g cxtend ed to twelve, it would have given greater 



81 " a I SatlSfactlon -~ Lor(l Wjiarncmffk adverted to our manu- 



iS «&f rea . tness and civilisation. » No doubt," he said, " that 



our ™™, If \ * and P ros P er »ty of this country has flowed from 



wi 3d p^ w 8 " but We have P aid a terrible price for it. He 



W?st Rid n^nr v re =\ ember a very different state of things in the 



X?n in a mlch h^ k - Sh,re ' and SUre he was that the country was 



facture -then ^e^ ^ ? hen there was a domeslic ™ anu " 



woman was at he snlnnfn * L" 6Very man ' s h °nse-then every 



to her domestic £ ^ h< ? me > ™* she had time to attend 



women in the factories ° tSI^mi 80 ^rantasthe unfortunate 



passed.— The Ni«ht >Li -1 ™ read a third time and 



been drawn in a very slwenlv m*«L Was p ° st P oned because it had 



Commons in an uni5*7l&^ 



moved the third reading of the S; ^ Larl of d *"ioi;sie 



Of R.CHMOM, Obi^tOtht^^J?^ BilI - The Duke 



admitted that the question was oTiewh^f ^ <Iuty on wooL He 



wool growers; but he ].' ved h?a i hor? ™ V" 1 * conccrned short " 



felt bound to 'stand up for their ^S^V^S^ i"? * 



he considered that it was inexpedient the B ill shin /^'l^T 



Should oppose it also because it was another .ten in t R bU ^ 



of free trade, and became of the du£^i^^u£^ 



much as he believed it would be the ruin of tl is coun rv ' If he 



thought he could throw out the Bill, he would divide the House 



against if but knowing that he should not, in this instance 



receive that support from those who always acted with him on 



agricultural subjects, he should not do that which he never did to 



any Government-namely, give it a factious opposition. The 



noble duke also protested against the reduction of the duty on 

 vinegar, which would ruin many persons in the trade. The Bill 

 was read a third time and passed. — A Bill for the reduction of 

 Duties on Marine Insurance was read a second time. — The West 

 India Relief Bill was read a third time and passed. 



Tuesday.— The Stamp Duties (Ireland) Bill was read a third 

 time and passed. — The Lord Chancellor stated that the cause 

 of delay in proceeding with the Bill, which he had introduced 

 early in the session, to facilitate the transfer of freehold property, 

 was, that he had forwarded copies of it to the most eminent 

 conveyancers for their opinions, all of whom had not as yet given 

 them — probably because no fees had been sent along with the Bills. 

 — Lord Campbell said that the opinion of a barrister, obtained 

 without a fee, was worth nothing. 



Thursday.— The Royal assent was given, by commission, to 

 the Customs Duties, the Stamp Duties, the Edinburgh Burghs, 

 the West India Colonies, the Lancaster and Carlisle Railway, 

 the North Union Railway, the Carlisle and Maryport Railway, 

 the Eastern Counties Railway, and two Inclosure Bills.— The 

 Assaults (Ireland) Bill passed through committee.— The Earl of 

 Eg.mont moved the second reading of Sir T. M. Wilson's Estate 

 Bill, the object of which was to enable him to sell part of his 

 estate at Hampstead.— Lord Dewmav opposed the Bill on the 

 ground that it would be a direct interference with the will of 

 the late Baronet— that it would materially injure the property 

 of the copyholders of the manor— and that it would deprive 

 the public of the benefit of air and recreation which they now 

 enjoyed on Hampstead-heath. The Noble Chief Justice said 

 that he was supported in this view by Lord Chief Justice 

 Tindal and other Judges, and moved that the Bill be read a 

 second time that day six months. — Lord Colchester, the Earl 

 of Wfcklow, and Lord Cottenham supported, and Lord 

 Campbell, the Earl of Mansfield, and Lord Brougham op- 

 posed it, the latter on the ground that Sir T. Wilson held his 

 land on the terms prescribed by his father's will, and that Par- 

 liament had no right to release him from the liabilities by which 

 the directions of his testator concluded him, or in other words 

 to put an end to his tenancy for life.— Their Lordships then 

 divided, and threw out the Bill by a majority of 31 to 20. 



Friday.— On the order of the day for a committee on the Educa- 

 tion of the Poor Bill being; read, the Bishop of Salisbury 

 opposed the motion. The Bill, however, passed through com- 

 mittee.— At this stage of the business the King of Saxony entered 

 the House, and took his seat opposite the Bench of Bishops, and 

 near the Woolsack ; a chair having been previously placed for 

 his Majesty's accommodation. The House was at this time ex- 

 ceedingly crowded both by Peers and strangers. Lady Lurgan 

 and her daughter were in the House. The King appeared 

 to pay particular attention to the proceedings in the House, 

 but he was not seen to converse with any noble lord, with the 

 exception of exchanging a few words with the Marquis of 

 Londonderry. Shortly after his Majesty entered the House, 

 the Lord Chancellor begged Lord Monteagle to postpone 

 his motion for a select committee on the Import Duties, as 

 many noble lords, in duty to her Majesty, would be ne- 

 cessarily absent from the House. Any day, any hour, in- 

 deed, which the noble lord mentioned in iuture should be 

 granted to him. After a few words from the Duke of Welling- 

 ton, Lord Monteagle agreed to postpone the motion till Mon- 

 day. — The Marquis of Lansdowne and Lord Brougham com- 

 plained of the inconvenience of such delays. — Lord Campbell 

 said, amidst great laughter, that much of the inconvenience 

 might be prevented were the House to meet earlier. He found 

 that the House in ancient times met at eight in the morning. — 

 The Duke of Wellington would have no objection to 

 come to the House at eight in the morning ; but he 

 thought that noble and learned Lords who had other 

 business to attend to, and were younger than he was, 

 would find it inconvenient to come down to the House 

 at eight o'clock. He had no objection to Monday, or 

 any other day, for the Noble Lord's motion.— Lord Monteagle 

 said that it would perhaps be as well to postpone his motion to 

 Thursday next.— The Gold and Silver Wares Bill was read a 

 third time and passed. 



HOUSE OF COxMMONS. 

 Friday.— On the order of the day for going into committee 

 on the Ecclesiastical Courts Bill, Mr. Duncombe brought forward 

 his motion for the abolition of all Ecclesiastical Courts. On a 

 division the motion was negatived by 115 to 70.— Mr. Borth- 

 wick moved that the Bill be committed that day six months. 

 This was negatived by 62 to 25, and the House went into com- 

 mittee. Several amendments in opposition to the leading 

 principles of the Bill were then moved, and after seven divisions 

 on different points, the chairman reported progress, without 

 having passed a single clause, 



Monday.— Mr. Entwisle took his seat for South Lan- 

 cashire.— The House having resolved itself into a committee on 

 ways and means, the Chancellor of the Exchequer rose to 

 state the nature of the resolutions proposed by the Government 

 with respect to the sugar duties. Standing on the great anti- 

 slavery principle, yet looking to the necessity of enlarging the 

 supply of sugar for the people of this country, he thought both 

 could be reconciled, consistently with due regard to the interests 

 of our sugar-growing colonies, and of those the entire of whose 

 property was invested in them. Sugar, once only a luxury.had 

 now become all but a necessary of life j and there would be no 

 difference of opinion as to the importance of maintaining such 

 a supply as would keep it at a fair price. In earlier times, our 

 colonies not only supplied sufficient for all our wants, but also 

 enabled us to export; but when the great act of Emancipation 

 gave nse to fears that the change from slavery to freedom 

 would cause a diminution in production, Parliament interfered 

 and by equalising the duties on East and West India sugars 

 enlarged the field of supply. The increase of the population 

 had rendered this additional supply insufficient ; it was neces- 

 sary to increase facilities for obtaining an increased amount of 

 tree labour sugar, and our new commercial relations with China 

 rendered it a matter of importance to enlarge our trade with 

 that great country, as well as with other countries, where it 

 was produced by free labour. The question of admitting free 

 labour sugar was not raised for the first time; but when for- 

 merly discussed peculiar circumstances forbade the adoption 

 1£ P r °POSition. Java, the Manillas, and China, are the 



?hin„ Sn n w fr0tt l- Which a "PP* is at P«*ent expected, 

 though our informationwith respect to the produce in China is 



Sm h«7^ mpl ?S; V** check to be Stained at the CoJ- 

 torn-house against the fraudulent substitution of slave-grown 



H. r /in C t*K°^ a . S T r i S t0 be th ? Same as that "Mch was effec- 

 tlVu^Luf - f co ? ee : l namely ' certificates of origin, one of 

 which is to be given by the British Consul at the port of ship- 

 ment. Tne differential duty of 10s. to be maintained was not 



fnl^lVl^Zf ^ ir tereStS required - m" SSSpTSofed 

 to equalise the duty on all sugars imported; that could not be 



S Snr. ?h^ , ; , n Mr ' HP* MUe8 had an *™endmeut in order 

 to reduce the duty on colonial sugar to 23*., thereby increasing 



£p S2J e f n „H?I?^ f He we l Iknevr the Acuities with which 

 the West India interest had to contend; but he thought that 



he Government proposition would afford them adequlte pro- 

 tection, and though they might not at present approve of it 

 they would find that it will insure their ultiiate^V/it y : 



l , h o e .A Pr I£ e * i SUgaf We ? t0 F1Se in this cou «try to what it was 

 in 1810, that, however temporarily beneficial, would be really 



& r m ° r c in J ur,oa , s to *£? *«*t Indian colonies than anything 

 they had to fear from the competition of free labour sutrar 

 Then, again, Lord J Russell proposed to equalise the duty on 

 nil foreign sugar, whether raised by free or slave labour This 



ZVh Q o l h H att -5'5 r0lln - Ci °" which the ^est had taken place 

 in 1841, and decided against him; and he apprehended that the 



people of this country were not yet prepared to overthrow what 



had cost so much blood and treasure to effect, namely, to reverse 



the emancipation policy, and to abandon our coinn"! — 

 could not withstand the competition of the sucar o? r\ WniCn 

 the Brazils-finer in quality, cheaply raised, and »i,£k ^ 

 lead to the perpetuation of the slave-trade. It wm »r ?*** 

 we had treaties, according the privileges of «« th t * tt 

 favoured nations," with countries, under which we HZ. i?°* 

 compelled to admit slave-grown produce, if this measi.?. * 

 passed. The only countries with which we had such ! * tr; 

 were the United States, Sweden, Mexico, Buenos AvJJ? 4 ** 

 some of the other South American republics. Sweden do>*LS! 

 only one sugar-growing colony, and its produce 2? 

 amount, went direct to the mother country. The United 5 » 

 imported a large quantity of sugar for their own consumnr 

 from other countries, and the price of sugar was higher it v °° 



that such a proposition would be adopted by Congress • and » 

 was not at all probable that the Americans, who whatem 

 were their faults, were not insensible to their own intemti 

 would withdraw sugar from the higher markets to their own 

 country, to send it to this, where it would fetch a lower price 

 He proposed— 1. That, towards raising the supply granted tn 

 Her Majesty, the several duties now payable on sugar be fur 

 ther continued for a time to be limited, save and except that 

 from and after the 10th day of November next, there shall be 

 charged on brown, muscovado, or clayed sugar, certified to be 

 the growth of China, Java, or Manilla, or of any other foreign 

 country the sugar of which Her Majesty in council shall have 

 declared to be admissible, as not being the produce of slave- 

 labour: the cwt. 1/. lis., together with an additional duty of 

 5/. per centum on the aforementioned rate. 2. That, from and 

 after the 10th day of November next, Her Majesty be autho. 

 rised, by order in council, to give effect to the provisions of 

 any treaty now in force, which binds Her Majesty to admit 

 sugar, the produce of a foreign country, at the same duties as 

 are imposed on sugar the produce of the most favoured nation. 

 — Lord J. Russell remarked that the Chancellor of the Ex- 

 chequer was retreating from the ground he once occupied, 

 and was abandoning weapons he formerly wielded with so 

 much effect. The rising price of sugar was now put forth 

 as the reason for enlarging the amount of supply; bat 

 neither the present price nor the amount of supply differed very 

 materially from what they were in 1841, when the then propo- 

 sition of the late Government was rejected. What he objected to 

 was, that they did not make their proposition a straightforward 

 measure, in accordance with the sound principles of trade. 

 They were adopting a new principle in commerce; making 

 grounds of morality the guide of trade ; erecting a pulpit in your 

 Custom-house ; and turning landing-waiters into preachers of 

 anti-slavery doctrines. Commerce was best set free from all 

 such inquisition. Christianity and civilisation would be sooner 

 and better diffused by freedom of intercourse; for, by adoptiug 

 this new moral principle as the guide of our commerce, we 

 offended every country against whom we declared; the Brazils 

 and Spain were thereby tempted to retaliate, and to shutout 

 our manufactures, as we did their produce. We legislated for 

 Java, yet in Java they were told that labour was eompulsory, 

 and the condition of the peasantry was very low indeed. What 

 was the state of our trade with Cuba and the Brazils ? We sent 

 them the manufactures of Yorkshire and Lancashire ; and in so 

 doing, encouraged slavery asmuch as if we took their slave-grown, 

 produce. From Russia we got tallow and hemp, articles to us es- 

 sential, and which we could not well procure elsewhere. Pass this 

 measure, and our merchants will have additional inducements to 

 send Brazilian sugar to Russia, and in return for it to import 

 Russian tallow and hemp. We would thus enable the Russians 

 to eat the sugar which we considered it an abomination to 

 touch. The pretence of discouraging slavery was a flimsy veil ; 

 for the 90,000 tons of free-labour sugar which was proposed to 

 be admitted would only be withdrawn from the general market 

 of the world, and the vacuum be filled up by slave- grown , pro- 

 duce. It was a matter of astonishment that the Government 

 of this great commercial country should deal with such a ques- 

 tion in such a way. There were 50,000 tons of sugar P™ QU 5 e * 

 in the United States ; of that quantity 40,000 were sent to , New 

 York, and our merchants, importing cotton, woul J "°°" w dl 2 J 

 ver that they could also bring over the sugar as cheaply as it 

 was now carried to the northern American ports. f»*J"™ 

 falling off of consumption in sugar was a sufficient reason for 



reconsidering these duties; since the c « mm h e n n "^f e V wh u e 

 century, the consumption of tea and coffee had trebled while 



that of sugar was all but stationary. Do n0 ^2' ^cSinet, 

 bolstering up the consistency of the members of your Cabinet, 

 act contrary to all commercial principles. Bathe was opp osec, 

 however, to the equalisation of the .duties on «« ^^1, 

 great event of Emancipation had altered ^ n ^ p e n °oTl d.s- 

 Ispect of the question, and justified the exped ency of aoi 

 criminating duty, as between foreign and ^^ J e ^ W a 

 Indians would find out that the distinction betw.ee :n »" ee J 

 and slave- grown sugar was wholly delusive ; the JO ooa 

 of free-grown would be augmented by tons , oi " "^ 

 slave-grown ; and for this we will have {h«>wn away the I 

 will of the Brazils and other countries. Let them ra K « _ ^ 

 ciple of free trade as their rule, the straight line, as w > ^ 

 ville defined it, to which we should .approach as ™*™ by 

 can. The true principle was not to attempt to resw ^ 

 legislation as to where and what people s Q £ ul . tt ° u b y est esS ays 

 Prizes were offered by the Protection Society lor :ne ^ 



on the benefits of protection ; they should S°*f n Y A dam Smith, 

 offer a prize for the best refutation of the worts or * 

 Lord Shelburne, as far back as 1783, more than i sixty : , ^.^ 

 had eloquently expounded the doctrine or »" render ed 



the position, the capital, and the industry of MB» &friid we 

 it, as he expressed it, best for us to establish. He We 



had made but little progress since Lord SheiDurn* ^ lecture: 

 should now set the example ; for, with wnac nice Gove rn- 



other nations, as Lord Aberdeen has fl one the r ru northera 

 ment,iwhenwe shut out the corn and the timber ui dple we 

 countries of Europe ? By now acting on soanu v w nobl g 

 might unite in one all the nations of t& e wo " ; duty f 

 Lord concluded by proposing an amendment, u of glare 

 34s. should admit all foreign sugars, w ke tn " me nt had 

 grown.— Mr. Gladstone denied that the o-o v obiec tion then 

 abandoned the ground taken up in 1841 , for ine j gnt ^ 

 taken was, that the proposition of the late i u one f 



hasty and premature. If the question had oeen ^ In 

 commercial monopoly it would navebeen cone ^ be a - 



1840 Mr. Labouchere had admitted that it oi »J' c ;, ere uu nted 

 proached on commercial principles alone. n» * m House, 

 with erecting a pulpit in the long-room &***£ t0 guard tie 

 Why, the Whig Government ^^^^^traffic, bad con- 

 coast of Africa in order to put down the slave i rality AS 

 verted Captains of ships of war into Preaeher* oi theT 



to Java, they had no detailed informant". ^ 



had enough to decide that the sugar raise" duce , 



strictly that of free labour. The rent was paia ^a 

 but no man was compelled to hold land, and ther tb * 



tion was no more compulsory than that c-J a i klfld oi 



country holding under a lease. There was a iption to the 

 expiring domestic slavery, but there was no adsc r^ tn ey 

 soil. Siam was not included in the reso J*tu>ns, ure 



had not information on which they could H »J twI * avcry . There 

 Parliament that sugar was not there raised b> • q( siain wM 

 was a jealousy of foreigners ; and the Monw couotrr- 



himself the great sugar-broker or mercha^ consideration- 

 That country was therefore reserved for m ■ upp iy. J tt 



From China they had no reason to expect a larg £ C e 



though 90,000 tons were calculated on a»P A large portion 

 labour, it would not all come to this country. 



