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ALIEN BILL, ETC.
The alien bill was renewed this session. It was vehemently opposed by Mr. Hobhouse and Sir James Mackintosh; and from their opposition, the act, though carried, henceforward operated with less stringency than before. Much discussion arose on the subject of the abuses in the church of Ireland, but it led to no legislative enactment. Much attention was also given to the state of Ireland; a committee of inquiry being appointed in both houses. But nothing effectual was done to improve the condition of that country. The close of this year, indeed, saw the establishment of a political engine of extraordinary power in the Catholic Association. Mr. O'Connell, a barrister of eminence, soon became the acknowledged leader of the disaffected party, and encouraged them to effect by union and agitation what had been denied to petition. This association subsequently extended its correspondence, and appointed agents for every Roman Catholic parish in the kingdom, and then levied a large revenue under the denomination of Catholic rent, for the support of the demagogues who were at its head. This "rent" continues to be collected to this day, and Mr. O'Connell and his party divide it among them, promising great things in return, but failing to perform their promises from utter, inability. Ireland, therefore, is still hood-winked by interested agitators: stop the "rent," and then they would be silent. Their patriotism depends upon the amount they receive from their miserable, poor, and suffering countrymen.
DISCUSSIONS ON THE REVOLT IN DEMARARA, ETC.
During this session Mr. Brougham called the attention of the commons to the circumstances of a revolt in Demarara. The negroes of that island had been led to believe that their freedom had been granted by parliament, and was withheld by the colonial assemblies. This delusion caused an insurrection; and a missionary, named Smith, was tried by martial law, on a charge of exciting the negroes to revolt, and was condemned to death. His case was sent to England for the consideration of the privy-council; but he died in prison before the pardon extended to him could arrive. Mr. Brougham moved that the court-martial held on him was illegal, and the sentence unjust; and it was with great difficulty that ministers could procure a small majority to acquit his judges. This discussion, however, led to beneficial results. Government formed plans for abolishing the habitual use of the lash; for regulating the punishment of refractory slaves; for preventing the separate sale of husband, wife, and children; for protecting the property of slaves, admitting their evidence, and facilitating their manumission; and for providing them religious instruction, and a regular ecclesiastical establishment, with two bishops at its head; one presiding over Jamaica, and the other over the Leeward Islands, These were the principal measures of parliament during the present session.
STATE OF THE BRITISH COLONIES.
At this time our settlements at the Cape of Good Hope were greatly disturbed by the unpopularity of the governor, Lord Charles Somerset. Another part of the great African continent was also the scene of more tragical events. The administrators on the Gold Coast having taken part in the quarrels of the natives, and violated the terms of a treaty concluded some years before with the Ashantee monarch, he led a well-appointed army against them. Sir Charles Macarthy, Governor of Sierra Leone, advanced against him with a few Europeans and some thousands of barbarian allies; but the King of the Ashantees was victorious. Sir Charles Macarthy was slain, and his forces were defeated with dreadful carnage. Alarm was entertained for the safety of the principal settlements at Cape Coast Castle; but the "Thetis" frigate having arrived with a few troops, and the garrison being strengthened by some auxiliaries from Acra, the enemy were repulsed. They were afterwards overthrown in several engagements by Colonel Sutherland, and compelled to desist from hostilities. In North America our colonies were in the enjoyment of great commercial prosperity, though in Lower Canada dissensions had commenced, which portended future important consequences. From the continent of Australia, also, the most pleasing prospects continued to be unfolded. In New South Wales and Van Diemen's Land the population, from emigration, had doubled itself; and important returning cargoes of wool, &c, began to compensate for the expenditure of the mother country. A brisk trade was also carried on from thence with India and the remotest regions of the world. Similar pleasing features were unfolded in the Society Islands and the Sandwich Isles; in the former of these Christianity was established. In New Zealand, also, there was a marked improvement in the manners of the natives: they began to eat potatoes, which they derived from trafficking with New South Wales, instead of human flesh. These improvements were the elements of a new order of things, to be developed fully in the lapse of time.
EAST INDIA AFFAIRS.
During this year a serious war broke out between the East India Company and the Burmese sovereign. For some years a misunderstanding had existed between the two powers, arising from a mutual claim to the countries of Chittagong and Dacca, Moorshedabad and Cassimbazar. These, the Burmese monarch said, did not belong to India; and on several occasions he had demanded them of the company, threatening to destroy their country if the revenues were not given up. It was the Rajah of Ramere who actually laid claim to them; but he could do nothing without the aid of the Burmese king; and the latter took up his quarrel. Under the administration of Lord Teignmouth and Lord Hastings various petty encounters with the Burmese troops had been sustained, as well as with other predatory hordes of India. The contest between the British government and the Burmese empire did not actually commence till the present year. The Burmese forces had advanced for the purpose of restoring the deposed Rajah of Cachar, who had sought refuge in the Burmese dominions, and whose successor was supported by the British. For this and other acts committed by the Burmese sovereign, it was resolved to chastise him. Early in this year orders were given for equipping a force of about six thousand men at the presidencies of Forts William and St. George; and the two divisions were directed to assemble at Port Cornwallis, in the Great Andaman island, whence the combined forces were to proceed to attack Rangoon, the principal seaport in the Burmese territories. The command was given to Major-general Sir Archibald Campbell; and the total number of troops under him was 8,071, about half being British. The expedition put to sea on the 5th of May, at Calcutta; and a part of the force was detached, under General McCreagh, against the island of Cheduba, and another, under Major Wahab, against Negrais. The rest of the fleet sailed up the Rangoon river on the 11th of May, and anchored off the town. As the place was not prepared for resistance, the governor, after a few shots had been fired from the principal battery, which was quickly silenced by one of the ships, directed the inhabitants to retire into the recesses of the jungle. The city, with its mud houses, was abandoned to the invaders, and everything that could serve for provision was removed far beyond their reach. It had been imagined that the capture of Rangoon, or any part of the enemy's maritime possessions, would induce the king to accept the terms of government. It was soon found, however, that not only the Burmese monarch, but the people of Pegu, whose co-operation had been reckoned upon, were preparing for decided hostilities. Distress soon prevailed among the British troops, for there were no provisions near, and the boatmen of the Rangoon had removed every serviceable vessel out of their reach. To add to the distress of the army, the rainy season set in; and it was also kept in continual alarm by the nightly irruption of the enemy into its lines. The chief command, however, had been given to an officer of ability and zeal; and every obstacle was finally surmounted. On hearing of our offensive operations, the court of Ava lost no time in making preparations for our expulsion. Every town and village within three hundred miles of Bangoon was obliged to send its complement of armed men, under their respective chiefs; and the Irrawaddy was covered with fleets of warriors from all the towns on its banks, proceeding to the general rendezvous of the army. The Burmese monarch had said that the English should not disturb the women cooking their rice at Rangoon; and now that they had not only been disturbed, but driven from their homes, he resolved to be revenged on them. The first conflict took place on the 16th of May, when Captain Birch dislodged the enemy from the village of Kemmendine, a war-boat station three miles above Rangoon. Nothing daunted, however, the enemy, as their numbers increased, gradually approached the British position, and threw up stockades in the jungle within hearing of our advanced posts. Of this work the British commander took no notice, as it was his wish to come into close contact with his antagonists, he being unable to attempt any distant operation. On the 28th of May an advanced corps was stockaded within little more than musket-shot distance from our piquets; and Sir Archibald Campbell, with four companies of Europeans and four hundred native infantry, with two field-pieces, moved out to reconnoitre. His advanced guard soon came on the first stockade thrown across the path; but the work being incomplete its defenders retired after exchanging a few shots. Continuing its march, after a progress of about five miles, the column came to a narrow wooden bridge over a morass, where the enemy was beginning to form. This bridge had just been forced by the fire of the artillery, when one of those tempests which usher in the south-west monsoon came on; and as the field-pieces could be dragged no further, the general left them in charge of the native infantry, and advanced with his European troops. They moved on by echellon of companies; and the left flank, which passed close to the jungle, found some villages defended in front by two stockades, whence proceeded shouts of defiance from the enemy. These stockades were attacked at the point of the bayonet; and a fierce and sanguinary conflict took place, in which great numbers of the enemy were slain. During this attack on the stockades the Burmese general in the plain made no movement for their defence; but as soon as the British were seen in possession of the works, a horrid yell was heard, and the whole line of Burmese troops was seen to advance towards them. They were checked by a company which had not yet been engaged, and by the appearance of those troops which had carried the works, who moved forward to receive these new opponents. An attempt at negociation was now tried by the enemy; but it was rather to gain time than to seek peace. They were, in fact, still occupied in erecting fortifications; and our troops were obliged again to attack the war-boat station of Kemmendine, as well as other stockades in different parts. Before the end of June, however, the enemy recovered from their panic; and, having received large re-enforcements, advanced again, under Sykia Wongee, third minister of state. The jungles were animated with living masses, and their tumultuous preparations for battle contrasted strangely with the stillness and quiet of the British lines. Our troops at this time had been much diminished by sickness and death; but they were recruited by the eighty-ninth British regiment from Madras, and the detachments that had been sent to the capture of Cheduba and Nagrais, places which soon fell into their hands. Early in July a battle took place round the great pagoda, in which the Burmese were signally defeated. Sykia Wongee was recalled in disgrace; but his successor, Soombe Wongee, was not more successful. This latter general lost his life, with eight hundred men, in the fortification; and the jungles and villages around were filled with unhappy creatures who were left to perish. Soon afterward the rains were at their height, and operations ceased in this quarter; but an expedition was sent eastward, under Colonel Miles, who reduced the whole coast of Tenasserim. During the season of tranquility the princes of Tonghoo and Irmwaddy joined the Burmese army, in order to inspire them with confidence, and to keep the officers to their duty. They were accompanied by numerous astrologers, as well as by a corps called "Invulnerables:" men curiously tattooed, and accustomed to exhibit the war-dance of defiance, and to expose themselves to the hottest fire of an enemy, that they might inspire the rest with courage and confidence. The astrologers were some time before they could mark out a propitious day for attacking the British position. At length, however, they fixed on the night of the 30th of August. The invulnerables promised to assault and carry the great pagoda, that the princes and grandees might celebrate the grand annual festival in that sacred place. On the night in question, therefore, this body advanced with swords and muskets, uttering clamorous imprecations against the invaders. They advanced toward the northern gateway; but they were greeted with showers of grape-shot and successive volleys of musketry, which made such havoc in their masses, that they were compelled to seek shelter in an adjacent jungle. At length the Burmese monarch determined to repair the loss of honour which his troops had sustained. He had sent his most celebrated general, Maha Bandoola, to take the command of the Arracan army, destined for the invasion of Bengal. Maha Bandoola had routed a detachment of native infantry at Ramoo, and was busied in erecting stockades as the basis of future operations, when an order arrived for him to return to the defence of the golden empire. His return to Ava not only restored confidence to the Burmese troops opposed to the British, but acted as a spell to draw the reluctant people round his banners. In the meantime, whilst a large fleet of war-boats, with a train of artillery was preparing to fall down the river, and orders were issued for the various detachments to join Bandoola on his progress, the British ranks were thinned by the endemic fever of the rainy season, and a severe dysentery. It was determined to remove the sufferers to Mergui and Tavoy, two towns on the coast of Tenasserim, where they rapidly recovered, and were soon restored to their comrades. In the early part of November, the rains having ceased, and the men again become fit for action, they anticipated with joy a forward movement. At this time re-enforcements were received from Calcutta; and a regiment of cavalry, a troop of horse-artillery, and a rocket corps were ordered to join. Before, however, the British could advance, they had to dispose of the whole military force of wa, This force now consisted of 35,000 musketeers, 700 Cassay cavalry, and other troops, amounting in the whole to 60,000 men. On the 30th of November this great force assembled in the forest of Rangoon, fronting the great Shoedagon pagoda. On the following night the low hum of voices proceeding from the encampment suddenly ceased, and it was succeeded by the distant but gradually increasing sounds of a multitude moving stealthily through the woods. The British commander soon became aware that the enemy's masses had approached to the edge of the jungle, ready to rush from their cover at break of day. A great number of war-boats had been seen in the morning, by the "Teignmouth," coming down the river; and in the evening they came forward with fire-rafts. The post was left open to a furious attack by land and water; but it was courageously defended by the garrison under Major Yates, supported on the river by a small naval force. Hostilities commenced on the morning of the 1st of December with a heavy fire of musketry and cannon at Kemmendine, where the "Teignmouth" was again driven from her station by fire-rafts. The yells of the assailants were distinctly heard by our troops at the great pagoda; but when the firing ceased, and the smoke dispersed, the masts of our ships were still seen at their old station off the fort. In the course of the morning, Burmese columns appeared on the west side of the river, marching in five or six divisions; and when they reached the bank of the river opposite Rangoon, they commenced stockades and batteries for the destruction of our shipping. Later in the day columns were seen issuing ont of the forest, with flags and banners, about a mile in front of the eastern face of the pagoda; and the different corps, successively taking up their positions along a sloping woody ridge, formed the left of the line, the centre of which extended from the pagoda to Kemmendine. When this position was taken, the troops began to apply their intrenching tools with such activity and skill, that, in about two hours their moving masses were concealed behind a mound of earth. A detachment of the British army, however, soon forced these intrenchments, and drove the whole line from their cover. The intrenchments were discovered to be a succession of holes, capable of receiving two men each, and so excavated as to shelter their occupants from the weather as well as from the enemy. Every hole contained a supply of water, rice, and fuel, and a bed of brushwood, on which one man could sleep while the other kept watch. The Burmese re-occupied these trenches in the evening, which they protected by a strong corps; and on the next day they intrenched themselves within musket-shot of the northern face of the great pagoda. As their fire could now be brought to bear on the barracks of the soldiers, it became necessary to dislodge them from various points; and a series of attacks and combats commenced which lasted seven clays. Great spirit was manifested by the Burmese troops; for when their left wing was defeated, it merely retreated on the right, and the struggle was renewed until that division also was routed, with the loss of 5,000 men. Still undismayed, the Burmese general intrenched himself within four miles of the great pagoda, at the village of Kokeen, but he was driven from his post after several brilliant exploits, in which the operations of the army were powerfully seconded by the flotilla. This was the last conflict during this year: after it had taken place the Burmese general retired to Donoobew, about fifty miles up the river. After their defeat the Burmese had recourse to negociations; but they were found to be not sincere, and therefore were unheeded. As a great number of inhabitants had returned to Bangoon, they introduced incendiaries into that town, who lighted up a conflagration which was not extinguished until more than a fourth part of the place was destroyed. During the whole of this campaign the British vessels and their boats were occupied in destroying fire-rafts, most of which were about one hundred feet square, and composed of dry wood piled up, with oil, turpentine, gunpowder, and other combustibles.
CHAPTER XXXV.
{GEORGE IV. 1825—1826.}
Meeting of Parliament..... Bill for the Suppression of Unlawful Associations in Ireland..... Catholic Relief Bill..... Committee of Inquiry into the State of Ireland..... Mr. Hume's Motion against the Irish Church Establishment, &c...... State of the Irish Charter Schools..... Debates on Alleged Abuses in Chancery..... Regulation of the Salaries of the Judges..... Rejection of the Unitarian Marriage Act, &e...... Act against Combinations among Workmen..... Free Trade System..... Surrender of the Charter of the Levant Company..... Report of Treaties..... Financial Statements..... Proposals for the Abolition of certain Taxes, &c...... Prorogation of Parliament..... Great Commercial Panic..... The Burmese War..... Review of Foreign Relations.
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
Parliament was opened by commission on the 3rd of February. The speech took a pleasing view of all our affairs, foreign and domestic, except those of Ireland, where strife and animosity still prevailed. The usual addresses were carried by large majorities.
BILL FOR THE SUPPRESSION OF UNLAWFUL ASSOCIATIONS IN IRELAND.
The proceedings of the Catholic Association in Ireland created alarm in the minds of ministers. It was clear, however, to them that public opinion would be against the enactment of a partial law against that body, while the Orange societies, which were also mischievous in their tendency, were tolerated. A bill, therefore, was introduced by Mr. Goulburn "to amend the acts relating to unlawful associations in Ireland." This produced a warm discussion, which extended by adjournment through four nights. In the course of this debate Mr. Canning vindicated himself against the insinuations of those who considered him estranged from the Catholic cause. He remarked:—"I have shown that, in 1812, I refused office rather than enter an administration pledged against the Catholic question. Nor is this the only sacrifice I have made to the Catholic cause. From the earliest dawn of my life, ay! from the first visions of my ambition, that ambition was directed to one object, before which all others vanished comparatively into insignificance; that object, far beyond all the blandishments of power, beyond all the rewards and favours of the crown, was to represent in this house the university at which I was educated. I had a fair chance of accomplishing it, when the Catholic question crossed my path. I was warned, fairly and kindly warned, that my adoption of that cause would blast my prospects; I adhered to the Catholic cause, and forfeited all my long-cherished hopes and expectations. Yet I am told that I have made no sacrifice; that I have postponed the cause of the Catholic to views and interests of my own." Mr. Goulbum's bill was carried by large majorities; but though the Catholic Association yielded to legal authority and became defunct, it was soon resuscitated under a different form. Ostensibly regulating itself according to the late act, it disclaimed all religious exclusions, oaths, powers of acting in redress of grievances, and correspondence with depending societies; and, concealing its intentions under the mask of charitable purposes, it pursued its original course with impunity.
CATHOLIC RELIEF BILL.
After the above bill had passed, Sir Francis Burdett brought forward a plan, in which the principal bill for the removal of Catholic civil disabilities was accompanied by two others: one to enact a state provision for the Roman Catholic clergy, and the other to raise the Irish franchise from forty shillings to ten pounds. The principal of these bills passed the commons with large majorities; but it was clearly foreseen that it would not in the lords. In the interval of the second and third readings the Duke of York, in presenting a petition to the upper house from the Dean and Chapter of Windsor, declared that the concession of Catholic claims was repugnant, not only to the king's coronation, but to the principles of the constitution. He added:—"I will oppose them to the last moment of my life, whatever may be my situation, so help me God!" This declaration was extolled by those who opposed the claims, as the most manly, patriotic, and noble expression of sentiment that could be uttered at a critical moment; and it was printed in letters of gold, and became their watchword. On the other hand it gave rise to bitterness of feeling among that class of politicians who were in favour of the bill. Its effect on them was strongly displayed by an intemperate sally into which, on the very next night, Mr. Brougham broke out in the house of commons against the speech of the royal duke, in which he was several times called to order. The great bulk of the nation, however, concurred in the principles to which his royal highness had declared his adherence, from an honest conviction that such concessions to the Roman Catholics were inconsistent with the coronation oath, and fraught with danger to the cause of Protestantism.
The bill was carried up to the lords, and read a first time on the 11th of May; and on the 17th Lord Donoughmore moved the second reading. He was supported by Lords Camden, Darnley, Lansdowne. Harrowby, and Fitzwilliam, and the Bishop of Norwich; and opposed by Lords Colchester, Longford, and Liverpool, and the Bishop of Chester, and the lord chancellor. The debate presented little novelty; on the one side the right of the Catholics to political equality was insisted upon, together with the innoxiousness of their religious creed, &c.; while, on the other hand, it was contended that, with respect both to the nature of the religion in its political consequences, and to the inconsistency of admitting Catholic elements of power into a Protestant constitution, the reasons for excluding Catholics ought to be as operative now as at any other period. The most remarkable circumstance in the debate, was the vehemence with which Lord Liverpool opposed the measure. In allusion to the grand argument in favour of the bill, that of conciliation, he remarked:—"I cannot bring myself to view this measure as one of peace and conciliation. Whatever it might do in this respect in the first instance, its natural and final tendency will be to increase dissensions and to create discord, even where discord did not previously exist. I entreat your lordships to consider the aspect of the times. The people are taught to consider Queen Mary as having been a wise and virtuous queen, and that the world had gained nothing whatever by the Reformation. Nay, more than this: it was now promulgated that James the Second was a wise and virtuous prince, and that he fell in the glorious cause of toleration. Could the house be aware of these facts, and not see that a great and powerful engine was at work to effect the object of re-establishing the Catholic religion throughout these kingdoms? And if once established should we not revert to a state of ignorance, with all its barbarous and direful consequences? Let the house consider what had been the result of those laws, what had been the effects of that fundamental principle of the British constitution which they were now called upon to alter with such an unsparing hand. For the last hundred and thirty years the country had enjoyed a state of religions peace, a blessing that had arisen out of the wisdom of our laws. But what had been the state of the country for the hundred and thirty years immediately preceding that period? England had been the scene of the most sanguinary religious contentions. The blessings of the latter period were to be attributed solely to the nature of those laws which granted toleration to all creeds, at the same time that they maintained a just, a reasonable, and a moderate superiority in favour of the established church. Their lordships were now called upon to put Protestants and Catholics on the same footing; and if they consented to do this, certain he was, that the consequence would be religious dissension, and not religious peace." Upon a division the bill was thrown out by a majority of one hundred and seventy-eight against one hundred and thirty. The two auxiliary bills, called, by way of derision, "the wings," after this failure were of course abandoned, although they also would have passed the commons by large majorities.
COMMITTEE OF INQUIRY INTO THE STATE OF IRELAND.
In the last session a committee of the lords had been appointed to inquire into the state of those districts in Ireland which were subject to the operation of the insurrection act. Early in this session another committee was appointed to inquire into the state of Ireland generally. The result of the labours of the committee was a brief and vague report, but accompanied by a mass of evidence, which threw great light upon the condition of the general body of the Irish people. It showed that they lived in the most degraded state; that they were without property; and that their existence was sustained by an insufficient quantity of food of the most unwholesome kind. This report, however, was presented at too late a period of the session to be made the basis of any enactments; and though various discussions took place during the session on particular circumstances connected with the state of Ireland, none of them led to any result affecting the condition of the people.
MR. HUME'S MOTION AGAINST THE IRISH CHURCH ESTABLISHMENT, ETC.
On the 14th of June Mr. Hume moved two resolutions relative to the Protestant church of Ireland:—first, "That the property now in the possession of the established church in Ireland is public property, under the control of the legislature, and applicable to such purposes as in its wisdom it may deem beneficial to the best interests of religion and of the community at large, due regard being had to the rights of every person in the actual enjoyment of any part of that property." And second, "That this house will, early in the next session of parliament, appoint a select committee, for the purpose of considering the present state of the Irish church, and the various charges to which ecclesiastical property is liable." The first of these resolutions was negatived without a division, and the second was lost by a majority of one hundred and twenty-six against thirty-seven.
STATE OF THE IRISH CHARTER SCHOOLS.
In consequence of the report of the commissioners on education, which showed that great abuses existed in the chartered schools of Ireland, Sir John Newport called the attention of the commons to that subject. After detailing at considerable length the condition of the funds of these schools, and the barbarous manner in which the pupils placed in them were treated, he moved, "That an humble address be presented to his majesty, expressing the marked sentiments of regret and indignation with which the house of commons perused the details of unwarrantable cruelty practised on the children in several of the charter schools of Ireland, contained in the report presented to both houses of parliament by the commissioners appointed by his majesty for examination into the state of the schools of Ireland; and praying that his majesty may be pleased to direct the law-officers of the crown in that part of the United Kingdom to institute criminal prosecutions against the actors, aiders, and abettors of these dreadful outrages, as far as they may be amenable to law." Mr. Peel admitted that the system of charter schools was one which did not admit of correction, but ought to be extinguished altogether. He stated that an order had been sent prohibiting the admission of any more children upon those foundations. He thought, also, that if any of the masters could be proved judicially to have been guilty of such atrocities as were stated in the report, they ought not only to be dismissed, but prosecuted. At the same time he hoped that Sir J. Newport would so far alter the wording of the motion, as not to assume the existence of the guilty practices which were to constitute the subject of inquiry. In consequence of this suggestion the right honourable baronet withdrew the original motion, and substituted the following:—"That an humble address be presented to his majesty, that he will be graciously pleased to give directions to the law-officers of the crown in Ireland, to institute criminal proceedings against the persons concerned in the cruelties detailed in the report of the commissioners, so far as they may be amenable to law," This motion was agreed to nem. con.
DEBATES ON ALLEGED ABUSES IN CHANCERY.
A commission of inquiry had been appointed last session to inquire into the abuses which were said to exist in the court of chancery. The report of this commission had not yet been made, but nevertheless the subject was again mooted in the commons. Two discussions on it took place in the present parliament. The first of these was introduced on the 31st of May, by Mr. J. Williams, on the occasion of presenting some petitions complaining of particular proceedings in chancery. The speech which Mr. Williams made was an attack not merely upon the court of chancery, but upon the whole law of England. He particularly animadverted upon the law of real property, upon which, notwithstanding, he declared himself ignorant; and the most important part of his speech went to prove, that courts of common law should cease to be so, and that the equitable and legal jurisdiction should be confounded. The subject was brought under discussion again on the 7th of June, by Sir Francis Burdett, who moved that the evidence taken by the commission instituted to investigate the practice of the court of chancery be printed. Mr. Peel opposed this motion, because to print such evidence, without any accompanying report, was contrary to the practice of the house; and that if it were printed, the session was too far advanced to take the subject into consideration. These attacks were chiefly made against Lord Eldon; and in the course of the discussion, Sir W. Ridley made a remark to which his own party, from whom those attacks came, would have done well to attend. "He wished," he said, "as much as any man to see the system altered, but he must object to the mode in which an individual was attacked night after night. He was persuaded such attacks did no good; for Lord Eldon stood very high in the estimation of the people of England." Mr. Brougham, however, did not profit by this advice; for he broke forth into an uncalled-for and indelicate attack upon Lord Gifford, who had been distinguished by the patronage of the chancellor, and was then deputy-speaker of the house of lords. The motion was rejected by a majority of one hundred and fifty-four against seventy-three. A remarkable circumstance in all the debates which took place on the court of chancery was, that none of its assailants ventured beyond general declaration. No part of the system in which the alleged evil lay was specified, and no remedy was propounded. All that these discussions could lead to, therefore, was to render the court of chancery the subject of popular odium, and to lower the general administration of justice in the public estimation.
REGULATION OF THE SALARIES OF THE JUDGES.
During this, session the chancellor of the exchequer brought forward a measure for augmenting the salaries of the judges, and at the same time for prohibiting the sale of those ministerial offices which the chiefs of the respective courts had been allowed so to dispose of. It was proposed at first to allow the puisne judges L6,000 a year; but the scheme ultimately adopted was to give L10,000 a year to the chief-justice of the king's bench; L7,000 to the chief-baron of the court of exchequer; L8,000 to the chief-justice of the court of common pleas, and L5,500 to each of the puisne justices of the courts of king's bench, common pleas, and the exchequer. This arrangement met with considerable opposition, some of the members as Messrs. Hume, Denman, and Hobhouse, arguing that the dignity of a judge did not depend upon money, and that the cheapest mode of doing the judicial business of the country was the best. On the contrary, Mr. Scarlett argued that the arrangement was improper because it diminished the emoluments of the lord chief-justice of England; and he moved an amendment, which was lost, that the sum of L12,000; should be given to him. Mr. Brougham, in a different spirit, proposed that L500 a-year should be taken from the salary of the puisne judges, but that alteration was also rejected.
REJECTION OF THE UNITARIAN MARRIAGE ACT, ETC.
The Unitarian marriage act was this year again rejected, although supported in the lords by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of Lichfield, and Lord Liverpool. The same fate was awarded Mr. Serjeant Onslow's bill for the repeal of the usury laws, though Mr. C. Wynne stated that not only himself, but the chancellor of the exchequer, and most of the cabinet ministers, were favourable to their abolition. Ministers had left the house when the subject was discussed, anticipating that the division on the bill would not take place till a late hour, and that their presence was not necessary for its success. While they were absent the bill was rejected by a majority of forty-five against forty. This decision was owing partly to the arguments of the solicitor-general against the measure. Borrowers, he said, might be divided into three classes: mercantile borrowers, landed borrowers, and persons who might be considered general borrowers; they not belonging to either of the above classes. Mercantile borrowers, he continued, generally obtained a loan to profit by it. They did not borrow from necessity, but to trade; and if they could make ten or twelve per cent, on the borrowed money, there was no reason why they should not pay the lender seven or eight per cent. But was there, he asked, any landed proprietor so ignorant, as not to see, that, if the monied man could lend to the trade, at a higher rate than five per cent., he would not lend to him at that sum. It was one advantage to the lender, that he could recall his capital at pleasure, or get it back at a short notice. Now when a man lent capital to a trader, he was generally enabled to command the use of it when he pleased; but if he lent his money on land he could not do this: there was all the trouble and inconvenience of a mortgage; he could not recall it for two or three years; and therefore in proportion as he could not command the use of his capital when he lent it to the landowner, he would make him pay a higher rate of interest for it than the trader. He believed he was not wrong when he stated that eight out of every ten estates in the kingdom were loaded with debt. Now under what circumstances did the country gentlemen borrow money? Was it to employ it at some seasonable crisis, when by prudence and dexterity he might obtain vast profit? No. The benefits which he could receive as its produce were fixed: he never could obtain from a borrowed sum beyond a determined amount. Could any one say, therefore, that the repeal of the usury laws would be beneficial to the latter class? But if the terms of borrowing were so unfavourable to the landed class, what expectation could the general borrower entertain of being able to obtain a loan under any other than oppressive terms? These persons generally stood in need of only small sums; their necessities were pressing, and therefore they were exposed to the most grinding demands. They could have no choice but to submit to the terms imposed upon them, be they never so oppressive.
ACT AGAINST COMBINATIONS AMONG WORKMEN.
In a former session, Mr Hume had obtained the passing of an act repealing both the statute and common law concerning combinations among workmen. This act was attended with mischievous effects; and therefore, during this session, Mr. Huskisson called the attention of the house to the subject. In his speech he detailed some painful reports regarding it which had been forwarded to the secretary of the home department: reports which went to show that the most atrocious acts of outrage and violence had been committed by workmen on their employers. Misconceiving the real object of the legislature in the late act, they had, he said, manifested a disposition against the masters, and a tendency to proceedings destructive of the property and business of the latter. This disposition, if it remained unchecked, he asserted, would produce the greatest mischiefs in the country; and the evil was growing to so alarming a pitch in some districts that if not speedily arrested, it would soon become a subject for Mr. Peel to deal with in the exercise of his official functions. As a general principle, he admitted that every man had a right to carry his own labour to the best market, as labour was the poor man's capital. On the other hand, he contended for the perfect freedom of those who gave employment to them; whose property, machinery, and capital ought to be protected. Mr. Huskisson entered into details to show the nature of the system which was acted upon in several quarters. Associations were formed, he said, which, if persevered in and prosecuted successfully, must terminate in the ruin of the very men who were parties to them. The associations had their delegates, their presidents, their committees of management, and every other sort of functionary comprised in the plan of a government. By one article in a set of regulations it was provided, he remarked, "that the delegates from all the different works should assemble at one and the same place," on certain occasions; so that it was not the combination of all the workmen of one employer against him, or even of one whole trade against the masters, but systematic union of the workmen of many different trades, and a delegation from each of them to one central meeting. Thus there was established as against the employers a formal system of delegation, a kind of federal republic, all the trades being represented by delegates, who formed a sort of congress. Another regulation which Mr. Huskisson noticed was to this effect:—"Each delegate shall be paid out of his own work with, these exceptions only—the president, the secretary, and the treasurer are to be paid out of the general funds." The delegates are elected for six months, and may be re-elected. Here he remarked was a tax levied upon each workman for the maintenance of general funds applicable to purposes of a most mischievous character. Other articles declared that it was the duty of the delegates to point out the masters disliked, and to warn such masters of the danger in which they were placed in consequence of this combination. Here, Mr. Huskisson rightly observed, was an acknowledgment of the dangerous nature of these associations. But, he asked, what followed? Why another duty of the delegates was to try everything which prudence might dictate to put the disliked masters out of the trade: not everything which fairness and justice might dictate to workmen who sought to to obtain a redress of grievances, but everything which "prudence" might dictate. In such a position, "prudence" must be understood as implying that degree of precaution that might prevent the "Union" from being brought within a breach of the law, such as the crime of murder. Was it, he asked, fit, right, or reasonable that persons engaged in commercial or other pursuits should, by combinations thus organized, be kept in constant anxiety and terror about their interest and their property. After noticing other regulations of this class of associations, Mr. Huskisson went on to show that others were governed by regulations, if possible, more extraordinary. One of these regulations was, that no man coming into any given district or county within the control assumed by the associating parties, should be allowed to work without previously paying five pounds sterling, to be applied to the funds of the association. In a similar spirit, another regulation set forth, that any child being permitted to assist, should at ten years old be reckoned a quarter of a man, and pay a proportionate sum accordingly. It was also provided that any man being called in by any collier to his assistance should not be at liberty to work, unless previously adopted, like the collier, by the society, and unless, like him, he should previously pay his five pounds. Mr. Huskisson rightly asked whether this amercement of five pounds, and this subscription of one shilling a week to the funds of the association, which every member was called upon to pay and contribute, would not produce to each of the parties, if placed in a saving-bank, far more beneficial and advantageous results? and whether there were not, among these combinations, men anxious for the enjoyment of the power and distinction which they considered the attainment of certain posts would confer upon them? With reference to Mr. Hume's act, he declared that when he looked at the way in which it was worded, and the artful misconstruction that might be put upon it by those who best knew how to mislead and deceive the men who had engaged in these combinations, he was not surprised that the associators should consider themselves to be warranted in their proceedings under that act. It repealed all former statutes, and then enacted that no proceedings at common law should be had by reason of any combinations or conspiracies of workmen formerly punishable under those repealed statutes. Without imputing to the framers of the bill the slightest idea that any misapprehensions could be entertained of its enactments, he did not doubt that a great portion of the associated and combined workmen in the country did actually believe, that so far from violating the law, its second section proved that they were only pursuing a course strictly conformable to the legislature. It declared that "journeymen, workmen, and other persons who shall hereafter enter into any combination to obtain higher rates of wages, &c, or to regulate the mode of carrying on any manufacture, trade, or business, or the management thereof, shall not be subject or liable to any indictment or prosecution for a criminal conspiracy or combination, or to any other proceeding or punishment whatever, or under the common statute law." "Would not," Mr. Huskisson asked, "any person, on reading this sentence, suppose it was something fit and commendable for workmen to conspire together to regulate and control the management of any manufacture?" In conclusion, he said, that under this act, the plotting together for the destruction of machinery, and even threatening life or property were no longer any criminal offence; and that he considered the existing law was not adequate to put down an evil which was increasing to a formidable extent: not the evil of committing the offences to which the act adverted, but the evil of workmen being permitted to plot, and the bold, open avowal of carrying such permission into effect. He moved for the appointment of a committee to inquire into the effects of this act, and to report their opinion how far it might be necessary to repeal or amend it. This motion was agreed to, and the committee, after a laborious investigation, made a report, in which they recommended the repeal of Mr. Hume's bill; the effect of which would be to restore the operation of those laws which were suspended by the second and third clauses of that act. But while recommending that the common law should be restored, the committee expressed an opinion that an exception should be made to its operation in favour of meetings and consultations amongst either masters or workmen, the object of which was peaceably to consult upon the rate of wages to be either given or, received, and to agree to co-operate with each other in endeavouring to raise it or lower it, or to settle the hours of labour; an exception which, while it gave to those in the different classes of masters and workmen ample means of maintaining their respective interests, would not afford any support to the assumption of power or dictation in either party to the prejudice of the other. But in recommending that liberty of associating and co-operating together, so far as wages or labour were concerned, should be preserved alike to masters and workmen, the committee deemed it requisite to propose that the resolution of any such association should be allowed to bind only parties actually present on personally consenting; all combination beyond this should be at the risk of the parties, and open to the animadversion of the common law, and should be dealt with according to the circumstances of each case. The committee further proposed that every precaution should be taken to ensure a safe and free option to those who were not inclined to take part in such associations. The language of the report on this subject is emphatic. "The most effectual security," it says, "should be taken that legislative enactment can afford, that, in becoming parties to any association, or subject to their authority, individuals should be left to act under the impulse of their own free will alone; and that those who wish to abstain from them, should be enabled to do so, and continue their service, or engage their industry, on whatever terms, or with whatever master, they may choose, in perfect security against molestation, insult, or personal clanger of what kind soever." The punishment of offences of the nature alluded to recommended by the committee, was, in case of conviction, six months' imprisonment, with or without hard labour, according to the circumstances of the case. A bill founded on this report was brought into the commons, and after considerable discussion, was passed into a law. In the committee several of its clauses were resisted, and especially that which made it penal to induce any man to leave his work by threat, or intimidation, or by molesting, or in any way obstructing him. This was said by Mr. Hume to be too vague, as what one man might consider an obstruction, another might not; and by Mr. Mansfield, as being deprecated by the workmen. In reply, Mr. Huskisson said, that he had no intention of acting harshly towards the operative mechanics: the object of the bill was to protect the weak against the strong; to afford to the man who chose to give his labour for a certain value that protection against the combination of large bodies to which every man was entitled. Upon a division the clause objected to was carried by a large majority; the members rightly conceiving that man is free to act upon his own responsibility, and that he should not suffer from the control of others. If a man chooses to give his labour for a certain rate of wages he should be at liberty to do so without intimidation or molestation. And he is the more entitled to act thus independently of his fellow-workmen's interference, because no man will throw away his labour. Self-interest is, in fact, the best protection from oppression. A skilful mechanic with a good character can always obtain the true value of his labour without the aid of his fellow-operatives. He can act as a man; can ask, and obtain his just wages.
FREE-TRADE SYSTEM.
Many petitions had been presented in the course of this session for and against the existing system of the corn-laws. On the 25th of April Mr. Whitmore was induced to move for a committee of the whole house to consider of these laws; but his motion was rejected. Previous to this, however, Mr. Huskisson, in pursuance of the scheme of commercial policy which he had adopted, brought forward three important subjects: first, "The system of our commercial policy in respect to our colonies;" secondly, "The expediency of revising many of the duties payable upon the import of the raw materials used in our manufactures, and of relaxing the prohibitory duties which, under the name of 'protection,' were enforced against the manufactured productions of other countries;" and, thirdly, "The means of affording some further degree of relief and assistance to the interests of our shipping and navigation." The alterations he proposed in our colonial system were explained by him on the 23rd of March, when, by entering into historical details at great length, he proved to demonstration that all those articles of manufacture which had been most fostered had most languished; that excessive duties made the smuggler's fortune, while the manufacturer was disappointed, and the exchequer defrauded; that the apprehension which guarded our fabrics with high duties was unfounded; and that the true policy of the state, as well as the advantage of individuals, would be consulted by the reduction of duties sufficiently to countervail whatever might be imposed upon the raw material used in the different manufactures. Having shown the ungrateful return made by the United States of America, which had been allowed to trade with our colonies, he proposed to open their ports to all friendly powers on the same principle, though with some modifications, as that on which they now traded with Jersey or Ireland. With the further view of encouraging our own trade and that of our colonies with the countries of South America, he proposed to extend to certain ports in those colonies the benefits and regulations of our warehousing system as it was established in this country, by allowing goods from all parts of the world to be bonded and deposited in warehouses without payment of duty till proper opportunities of selling or exporting them should occur. Another boon proposed by him to our colonies and trade was, the abolition of the large fees which were levied for the benefit of public officers in almost all our colonial ports. He further proposed two alterations of a local and specific nature; the one relating to the Mauritius, and the other to Canada. That relating to the Mauritius lowered the duty on sugar to the same rate as that from the West Indies, and that relating to Canada admitted the importation of corn from thence on a fixed and permanent duty. The resolutions embodying Mr. Huskisson's views were adopted nem. con., and were afterwards, with one trifling exception, carried into effect. That exception was, that the bill for establishing the free intercourse in the article of corn, subject to the duty of five shillings per quarter, between Canada and this country, should not be permanent, but limited in its operation to a period of two years.
The other part of Mr. Huskisson's scheme for promoting commerce was brought forward on the 25th of March. These parts referred to protection rather than revenue, and to the affording relief to the shipping and navigation interests. He began by proposing a reduction of duties on the cotton and woollen trade, as well as those on manufactured linen. In some cases these rose as high as one hundred and eighty per cent.; and Mr. Huskisson proposed to lower them to ten, fifteen, and twenty-five per cent, respectively. He next adverted to foreign paper, books, and glass, which were almost prohibited by excessive duties. He proposed a duty upon all books, bound and unbound, imported into this country, of sixpence per pound; on paper threepence per pound; and upon glass bottles three shillings per dozen. He next proceeded to the duties on metallic substances, as iron, copper, zinc, and lead. The duty on foreign iron was to be reduced from L6. 10s. to L1. 10s. per ton; that on copper from L54 to L27 a ton; that on zinc from L28 to L14 a ton; and that on lead from L20 to L15 per cent. ad valorem. Upon tin he proposed to reduce the duty from L5. 9s. 3d. to L2. 10s. the cwt. Mr. Huskisson next proceeded to consider how far it was possible to reduce certain imposts on raw materials which interfered with the success of the capitalist, who was obliged to use them in his manufactures. He instanced the cases of articles used in dyeing, as well as olive and rape-oil. He wished to take off the duty from the latter altogether, and thereby enable the manufacturer to supply the farmer with cake instead of compelling him to procure it at a large cost in the foreign market. He proposed also to reduce the duty on all foreign wool imported at a lower price than one shilling the pound to one halfpenny. He concluded with proposing measures to relieve the commerce and navigation of the country. There was already a bill on the table to do away with the quarantine duties, which the committee on foreign trade had proposed to lay on the community at large. Mr. Huskisson thought this proposition was equitable, as the amount of these duties was considerable; and they were placed on the shipping interest for the protection of the country. lie proposed further the abolition of all fees on commerce with our colonies, and the removal of the duty payable on the transfer of any share in a ship, or of a whole ship, from one person to another. There was still another mode by which he proposed to relieve the shipping interest. This consisted in a reduction of stamps for bonds, required from exporters of certain goods to be delivered at certain places, from forty shillings to four shillings. He also proposed to apply the same principle to Custom-house debentures, or documents given by way of security to those who were entitled to drawbacks. As conducive to the same end, he further proposed an alteration in the system of our consular establishments, granting instead of fees a regular salary to the officers who superintended them, retaining only certain fees, which were to be small, for acts which were extra consular. Though some members of the house expressed an apprehension that these changes might prove injurious, yet in general they were acceptable both to parliament and the country. The resolutions in which they were embodied were adopted unanimously; and they were afterwards carried into execution by bills framed in conformity with them.
SURRENDER, OF THE CHARTER OF THE LEVANT COMPANY.
Connected with the above changes was the surrender of the charter of the Levant Company. That company was established by royal charter in the reign of James the First, when considerable privileges were bestowed upon it. Thus they were allowed to appoint all the consuls in the seaports in the Levant; to levy duties on all English ships for the maintenance of their consuls; and to exercise a certain jurisdiction within the territories of the Ottoman Porte. These powers and trusts had been exercised by the servants of the company with general fidelity for two centuries; but, considering the state of the countries in which the company's consuls resided, in apolitical point of view, it was now deemed expedient that the public servants of this country in Turkey should hold their appointments from the crown. A meeting of the company was called in consequence of a communication from the ministers; and Lord Grenville, the governor, having proposed the surrender of their charter, the company acceded to it; and an act of parliament was subsequently passed for carrying that surrender into effect.
REPORT OF TREATIES.
During the month of May the secretary for foreign affairs laid three papers on the table of the house of commons, which were of considerable importance. The first of these papers was a treaty of commerce with the independent states of Rio de la Plata; the second, a treaty concluded with Russia, settling the disputed claims which had existed between the two countries with regard to territories on the north-west coast of America, and to certain rights of trade and navigation in the Pacific Ocean; and the third was a treaty between Great Britain and Sweden, having for its object the abolition of the slave-trade, as carried on under the flag of either nation. The effectual measure of visitation and detention was, with a manly policy, adopted by both powers; so that the cruisers of either under certain limitations, were permitted to stop, and bring in for adjudication, slave-vessels trading under their respective colours.
FINANCIAL STATEMENTS.
On the 28th of February the chancellor of the exchequer gave an exposition of the financial situation of the country, and of the pecuniary arrangements for the year. From his statement it appeared that, notwithstanding the reductions made in taxation during the last session, the finances continued to improve. There was a surplus, he said, of L1,437,774; and he proceeded to show that the receipts of the customs, though about one million pounds sterling had been taken off some of the articles it comprised, had been equal to those of former years. He asked:—"What are the causes which have produced this result? The proximate cause, doubtless, is the increased capacity of the people of this country to consume the produce of other countries, aided and invigorated by the reciprocal facility which our consumption of foreign articles gives to other nations in the extended use of the products of our own industry. That increase may arise in some degree from the demonstrated tendency of population to increase; but, independently of that cause, there is a principle in the constitution of social man, which leads nations to open their arms to each other, and to establish new and closer connexions by ministering to mutual convenience; a principle which creates new wants, stimulates new desires, seeks for new enjoyments, and, by the beneficence of Providence, contributes to the general happiness of mankind." The chancellor of the exchequer next stated that the produce of the excise and of stamps had been greater than had been anticipated by government; and then proceeded to make his calculations for the present year. He calculated the produce of everything at L56,445,370; and that the expenditure would be L56,001,842, including L5,486,654 for the sinking-fund. This would leave a clear surplus of L443,528. He argued from this, that a surplus of L864,676 might be expected for 1826; and of L1,254,676 for 1827. This, together with the surplus of 1824, namely L1,437,744, would make a total of L4,000,624; and in applying this surplus to the diminution of the public burden, the chancellor of the exchequer explained that he had three objects in View: increased facility of consumption at home, in conjunction with increased extension of foreign commerce; the restriction of smuggling; and some alleviation of the pressure of direct taxation. To accomplish these objects, he proposed to lower the taxes on various articles to the amount of L1,526,000. This relief was in general judiciously applied: the imposts reduced were on hemp, coffee, wines, British spirits and rum, cider, and those articles in the assessed taxes, as husbandry-horses let to hire, taxed carts, etc., which pressed particularly on the lower classes of society. Of this it was calculated that there would be lost during the present year about L600,000, so that the total surplus of this and the two ensuing years, estimated at more than L4,000,000, would be sufficient to meet the diminution. Some parties were dissatisfied because there was not a greater diminution of direct taxation; others, because greater relief was not given to the West Indian interests; and others, because the duties on tobacco were not lowered. On the whole, however, Mr. Robinson's financial statements were satisfactory to the public at large. The estimates for the year were voted with little opposition.
PROPOSALS FOR THE ABOLITION OF CERTAIN TAXES, ETC.
During this session Mr. Maberly moved for the repeal of the assessed taxes, which was lost by a great majority. On the 5th of May, also, a resolution, proposed by the same member, respecting the duties on beer was negatived. The same fate awaited a motion made by Mr. Hobhouse, for the repeal of the window-tax; and likewise a motion for the repeal of the duties on soap and candles. A more than ordinary share of the time of the members was occupied this year in the consideration of private bills. So great was the passion for joint-stock companies, and so abundant the capital ready to seek employment in schemes of local improvement, &c, that four hundred and thirty-eight petitions for private bills were presented, and two hundred and eight-six private acts were passed.
PROROGATION OF PARLIAMENT.
Parliament was prorogued on the 6th of July by commission. The speech announced that foreign powers were amicably disposed; regretted the continuance of the war in the East Indies; and expressed satisfaction at the measures adopted by parliament for the extension of commerce. "These measures," said the speech, "his majesty is persuaded, will evince to his subjects in those distant possessions the solicitude with which parliament watches over their welfare. They tend to cement and consolidate the interests of the colonies with those of the mother country; and his majesty confidently trusts that they will contribute to promote that general and increasing prosperity on which his majesty had the happiness of congratulating you on the opening of the present session, and which, by the blessing of Providence, continues to pervade every part of the kingdom."
GREAT COMMERCIAL PANIC.
The golden prospects unfolded in the speech of the chancellor of the exchequer when making his financial statements, and reiterated in that of his majesty at the close of the session, soon vanished away. The causes of this reverse were manifold. The abundance of capital, and the consequent low rate of profit, during the last three years, had greatly increased export manufactures. As the system of country banks continued in operation, this apparent prosperity of manufactures attracted much capital to them; and a system of credit was generated which caused a still further extension. Speculation added its impulse to this system; until, in the course of this year, paper money thrown into circulation, increased the currency beyond what the causes determining the supply of gold could sustain. The exchanges now turned against us; the currency became depreciated; and gold, the sinews of a nation's prosperity, began to flow out of the country. The Bank of England finding that the demand for gold diminished its stock of coin, contracted its issue of notes and its discounts. In this way, if the state of trade had been good, the currency might have been reduced so as to restore the exchanges to par; but the reduction in quantity took place first among those who had pushed their credit to the utmost; and these persons being unable to meet their engagements became bankrupts. The distress soon reached the bankers themselves. Some of the country banks stopped payment; and apprehensions springing up from thence with respect to the stability of the London banks, caused such a run upon them, that many failed. In the month of December all the usual channels of credit were stopped, and the circulation of the country completely deranged. In this state of affairs several cabinet deliberations took place; and it was at length determined that one and two pound bank notes should be issued for country circulation. This measure was carried into effect on the 16th of December; and an order was also issued to the officers of the Mint to expedite an extraordinary coinage of sovereigns. For one week one hundred and fifty thousand were coined daily. In the meantime meetings were held in London and the great trading towns, in which resolutions were adopted for the support of commercial credit and these had the effect of restoring mutual confidence to a considerable extent. Such was the contrast between the commencement and the close of the present year: it began in visions of prosperity, it closed with a certainty of adversity. The derangement of commercial affairs doubtless arose from the dangerous mania of speculation, aided by a vicious system of making paper money, which increased the currency, drove gold out of the country, and then caused a demand for it in exchange for paper, which it was impossible to meet. The natural consequence was an almost general breaking up of those who depended on paper money, and an approach to its utter annihilation.
THE BURMESE WAR.
{GEORGE IV. 1825—1826.}
During this year the hostilities against the Burmese were prosecuted actively and successfully, but yet without producing any decisive result. After the successes gained by Sir Archibald Campbell, towards the end of the previous year, he remained unmolested at Rangoon; and the only military operations in that quarter in the month of January were some unimportant skirmishes. During that month it was discovered that the Burmese generalissimo had stationed himself at Donoobew, about fifty miles up the river, where, having drawn to his army all the resources of the Pegu vice-royalty, he prepared himself to sustain an attack. It was now determined by Sir Archibald Campbell, though his invading force was small, and his Siamese allies reluctant to join him, to advance into the interior of the empire. He joined the camp on the 13th of February at Mienza, passing through forests lined with formidable stockades, a deserted country, and destroyed villages. On the 26th he arrived at Soomza, of which the governor of the place gave him possession by retiring from his post. In the meantime, Donoobew had been attacked by a division of the British force which had proceeded thither by water, under Brigadier-general Cotton. The outworks of Donoobew were carried, but the main-work was too strong to risk a further advance, and the troops were withdrawn for a time. By the 18th of March General Campbell crossed the Irrawaddy to the west bank in some of the country canoes, and on the 25th reached Donoobew. He pitched his camp before the extensive works of Maha Bandoola on the 2nd of April. During that morning the enemy kept up a heavy fire on our ranks; but towards noon it ceased. A calm succeeded; but it was the harbinger of a storm. About ten o'clock, when the moon was fast verging towards the horizon, a sharp sound of musketry mingled with war-cries roused the sleeping camp. The soldiers seized their muskets and formed into a line; and this was scarcely effected, when the opposing columns advanced with an intention of turning our right, and at the same time keeping up a distant fire against the left and centre. On their outflanking the right, our two extreme regiments changed front, and by a constant discharge of musketry checked every attempt, so that the assailants were compelled to retreat. A series of various petty actions now took place by river as well as by land; but in the meantime preparations were being made for the attack of the enemy's works. The mortar-batteries and rockets began their work of destruction on the 1st of April, and on the following day the breaching batteries opened, when two Lascars, who had been left prisoners in the fort, came out to inform Sir Archibald Campbell that Bandoola had been killed the day before by a rocket, and that the garrison, in spite of the remonstrances of the other chiefs, had fled. This information was quite correct; for the enemy had retired, leaving behind them all their guns and a large depot of grain. In this service the British commander was ably seconded by the navy under Captains Alexander and Chads, who assisted in forcing the stockades, capturing the formidable war-boats, and conveying our troops to the best places of attack. After the dispersion of Bandoola's army, Prome was considered the best place to stop the invading troops, and the utmost energies of the local authorities were employed in fortifying that place and organizing a force for its defence. All the disposable force of the empire was, in fact, concentrated at this spot: a spot memorable for the many battles fought there with the people of Pegu. But all the Burmese preparations were wholly disconcerted by the rapid movement of our army: Sir Archibald Campbell entered Prome on the 25th of April without firing a shot. Before they withdrew, the enemy had set fire to a part of the town, and one quarter of it was reduced to ashes. In their flight, also, the Burmese troops burned and laid waste all the villages in their route, driving thousands of helpless people to the woods. This now became their mode of warfare; and it has been said that Russia in her memorable resistance to the French armies did not offer to the invading hosts such a scene of desolation as did the Burmese empire to the British troops. Neither man nor beast escaped the retiring columns; and heaps of ashes, with groups of howling dogs, alone indicated the spots where villages and towns had stood. While these movements occurred, a series of actions had put the British in possession of the kingdom of Arracan, and the Burmese were totally expelled from Cachar and Assam. Thus terminated the second campaign of this desolating war. The British army took up its winter-quarters at Prome, where cantonments were provided for the troops, and preparations made for future operations. Nor was the Burmese monarch idle; rejecting all overtures made by the British general, troops were levied in every part of the kingdom, and the tributary Shan tribes bordering on China were called on to furnish their contingent force. Before the end of September a disposable force of 70,000 men was ready to act against the British, who threatened to advance on the capital. At the close of the year an armistice was agreed upon, and negociations were entered into for a definitive treaty of peace; but as there was no honesty on the side of the Burmese, and no lack of penetration on that of the British, all proposals failed.
REVIEW OF FOREIGN RELATIONS.
Among the events of this year that which seemed pregnant with the most important consequences to Europe, was the death of the Emperor Alexander of Russia. This appeared capable of putting not only the tranquillity of the empire in jeopardy, but of changing the whole course of its foreign policy. This event however, was not felt beyond the limits of Russia; the grand duke Nicolas succeeded to the throne, and professed a determination to pursue that course of policy which had been adopted by his predecessor. France was this year occupied in the coronation of its monarch, whom the people was soon again to repudiate. Sweden, Denmark, and Germany remained without much alteration of circumstances; but Spain was not only in the possession of foreign troops, but was distracted by the miseries of factions, revolts, and changes of administration. In Portugal, the king was induced, chiefly through British influence, to recognise the independence of Brazil, the sovereignty of which was ceded to his eldest son, Don Pedro. The interior state of Brazil, however, was much disturbed by the tyrannical, conduct of its new emperor, and war was also commenced between Brazil and Buenos Ayres. In Italy and Austria all were tranquil; but the relations between Turkey and Russia still continued to be in a very critical state, though no hostilities were commenced on either side. Greece was torn by internal dissensions, and assailed by barbarian foes, who reduced Navarino, and invested Missolonghi. In the United States, Mr. John Quincy Adams was chosen president; and in South America the various republics were proceeding to consolidate their power, though Chili was much disturbed, and Paraguay had fallen under the tyranny of D Francia. The independence of the united provinces of Rio de la Plata was formally recognised by Great Britain, and a treaty of commerce and friendship was concluded between the two powers. A treaty of amity and commerce was also concluded with the congress of Columbia, and with the new sovereign of Brazil.
CHAPTER XXXVI.
{GEORGE IV. 1826—1827}
Meeting of Parliament..... Measures proposed for relieving commercial Distress..... Bill to enable private Banks to have an unlimited Number of Partners, &c..... Appointment of a Committee on Emigration..... Modification of the Corn- Laws..... Debates on Free trade..... Financial Statements..... Bill to prevent Bribery at Elections..... Parliamentary Reform..... Alteration of the criminal Code..... Case of Mr. Kenriek..... State of the Colonies..... Motion for amending the Representation of Edinburgh, &c...... Resolution for the Regulation of private Committees..... Motion to disjoin the Presidency of the Board of Trade from the Treasurership of the Navy...... Motion to hold Parliament occasionally in Dublin and Edinburgh..... Restoration of forfeited Scotch Peerages..... Catholic Emancipation, &c..... India Jury Bill, &e...... Naturalization Act, &c...... Prorogation and Dissolution of Parliament..... General Election..... The Burmese War..... Meeting of the New Parliament..... Motion for a select Committee on Joint Stock Companies, &c..... King's Message respecting the Conduct of Spain, &e...... Resolutions against Bribery at Elections.
MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.
{A.D. 1826}
Parliament reassembled on the 2nd of February, when the speech was again delivered by commission. Its principal topic was the depression of manufactures and commerce which still existed. The commissioners remarked:—"We are commanded by his majesty to inform you that his majesty has seen with regret the embarrassment which has occurred in the pecuniary transactions of the country since the close of the last session of parliament. This embarrassment did not arise from any political events, either at home or abroad. It was not produced by any unexpected demand upon the public resources, nor by the apprehension of any interruption to the general tranquillity. Some of the causes to which this evil must be attributed lie without the reach of direct parliamentary interposition; nor can security against the recurrence of them be found, unless in the experience of the sufferings which they have occasioned. But to a certain portion of this evil, correctives, at least, if not actual remedies, may be applied; and his majesty relies upon your wisdom to devise such measures as may tend to protect both private and public interests against the like sudden and violent fluctuations, by placing on a more firm foundation the currency and circulating credit of the country." The commissioners further stated that they had his majesty's commands to lay before parliament copies of conventions, founded on the acts relative to trade and commerce passed last session, which had been concluded with France, and the Hanseatic towns of Lubeck, Bremen, and Hamburg. They concluded by stating that his majesty's attention had been directed to certain measures recommended in the last session of parliament for the improvement of Ireland, and that his majesty had the satisfaction of acquainting the peers and members assembled, that the industry of that part of the United Kingdom was in the course of a gradual and general advancement; an advancement mainly attributable to the tranquillity which now prevailed in that country. The addresses in both houses passed without any serious opposition, although much discussion took place on every topic on which the speech touched, and on some to which it made no allusion. In the upper house Lord King, after ascribing the pecuniary embarrassments to over-issues of paper money by the Bank of England, attacked the corn-laws, and urged the necessity of a complete alteration in them. He moved an amendment to the address, pledging the house to revise the corn-laws in this session; but this proposal was resisted as too precipitate, and the amendment was negatived without a division. The principal object of Lord King, however, and of other peers who spoke on the occasion, was to elicit from the minister some general description of the measures alluded to in the speech, as likely to be proposed for the purpose of preventing future pecuniary embarrassments. Lord Liverpool, in gratifying them, attributed the embarrassments to the mad spirit of speculation which had existed for the last two years; a spirit doubly mischievous, because it had affected the issues of the country banks to such a degree that they had increased in a far higher proportion than those of the Bank of England. He showed that in the course of the last two years the issues of the country banks had increased from four to eight millions. The correctives government intended to apply were to prohibit the circulation, after a certain period, of notes under L2, whether issued by the Bank of England, or by any private banker; to increase the stability of private banks by enabling them to augment their capital; and to repeal that clause in the charter of the Bank of England which rendered it unlawful for any private banking establishment to consist of more than six partners. In the commons, on the occasion of the debate on the address, Mr. Brougham stated that he believed that the distress now existing proceeded from causes much more complicated than those to which the speech ascribed to it. He believed it to be universal; and he took occasion to combat the opinion of those who derived it from the late introduction of more liberal principles into a commercial policy. He remarked.—"If the embarrassment were confined to any one branch of our commerce, for instance, to the silk trade, then an argument might be raised, and, without any great violence to facts, the distress might be attributed to our new commercial policy. But when it is observed that not only silk, but wool, cotton, and linen are equally affected, it is in vain to deny that the nature of the facts rebut the assertion of any connexion between the present distress and the principles of free trade." The chancellor of the exchequer maintained that many of the difficulties arose beyond the control of government, although he allowed that some were within its reach, and that their influence might at least be modified. The principal of these, he said, were the great increase of the issues of the country banks, and the weak foundation on which many of these establishments stood in point of capital. Mr. Hume denied this hypothesis, and maintained that the true causes of the distress were to be found in the pressure of taxation, and the lavish expenditure of government. The whole empire, he said, presented one scene of extravagant misrule, from the gold lace and absurd paraphernalia of military decoration of the guards up to the mismanagement of the Burmese war: it was a farce, he added, to attribute the distress to the banking system. Other members defended the country banks from the imputations cast upon them; and Mr. Baring passed a high eulogy on the conduct of the directors of the Bank of England in this crisis. He remarked that it was impossible for any public body, for any set of men, to have acted with more honour, promptitude, or good sense, than the Bank evinced upon that emergency. Although it was not till the 10th that the propositions for proscribing the small notes and enlarging bank partnerships were formally brought forward, yet they were incidentally up to that period the subject of discussion. The views of different members on the subject, however, will be better seen in the debates which ensued when the measure was proposed.
MEASURES PROPOSED FOR RELIEVING COMMERCIAL DISTRESS.
On the 10th of February the whole house having resolved itself into a committee on the Bank charter bill, the chancellor of the exchequer brought forward the proposition for prohibiting the circulation of small notes. In doing so he said that though fluctuations were inseparable from trade, in defiance of any precautions which ingenuity could invent, yet their effects were often aggravated by a state of currency, and a facility of speculation like those produced by the existing issues of paper. The small notes especially carried the consequences of these changes among those on whom they pressed most severely. These notes were chiefly in the hands of the labouring classes, and a few of them constituted a poor man's fortune; consequently when a panic took place he hastened to save his little store by withdrawing it from the banker. As the alarm spread, the more wealthy imitated this example, and a sudden run brought with it the downfall of the bank. From this he argued that if these notes were replaced by a metallic currency, the security of the banks would be ensured, and the misfortunes which their failures would otherwise produce limited. This measure, he said, was not a novelty, but had been the regular policy of the country; for an act had been passed in 1775 prohibiting the tissue of bank-notes, and in 1777 another act had prohibited their issue under the sum of five pounds. The chancellor of the exchequer argued that any apprehensions of injury to commerce from the proposed measure must be founded upon this—that the prohibition of small notes would diminish the circulation by the amount of these notes; that their absence could not be supplied by gold; and, that, therefore, manufactures and trade would, to this extent, be left without their necessary and legitimate purposes. He went on to show that these apprehensions were visionary; that the withdrawal of the small notes, while it gave security to the bank which issued, and to the party who held them, would not operate injuriously on the currency, or on the trade and manufactures of the country. There were two ways, he said, of effecting this withdrawal: one by enacting that no small notes should be stamped after a certain period; the other by allowing those already in circulation to run a certain course till a fixed period, and prohibiting any new ones to be created. In three years the first of these modes might lead to unsatisfactory results; for if the power of stamping were to remain unlimited during that period, so considerable a number might be stamped as to subject the country, in its ultimate endeavours to get rid of them, to all its present evils. It was intended therefore to propose, that no new notes should be stamped, and that those in circulation should cease to circulate at the end of three years. In conclusion, the chancellor of the exchequer moved the following resolution:—"That it is the opinion of this committee, that all promissory notes payable to the bearer on demand, issued by licence, and under the value of five pounds, and stamped previous to the 5th of February, 1826, be allowed to circulate until February 5th, 1829, and no longer." Mr. Baring took the lead in opposition to the measure, objecting to it as being inadequate to meet the evils complained of, and ill-suited to the present state of the country. He could not agree, he said, in attributing the existing embarrassments either to speculation or over-trading: much of it had been owing to the conduct previously pursued by the Bank. The resolution was likewise opposed by Sir John Wrottesly, Alderman Thompson, Alderman Heygate, and Mr. Wilson, who were adverse to it on various grounds: that it would be wholly inoperative to give any effectual relief; that it would be positively mischievous; and that the present state of the country required the postponement of such a measure. The scheme of increasing the number of partners in a bank by way of security was treated by opposition as visionary, since it was not on numbers, but on prudence, and their mode of conducting business, that their credit depended. Sir J. Wrottesly maintained that the country bankers, instead of exciting the mad spirit of speculation, were the only persons who had not speculated; and, in reality, were obliged, from a regard to their own safety, to discourage such a practice on the part of their customers. He asked, where did this spirit of speculation commence? It first showed itself in Manchester and Liverpool, where no local notes circulated. The cotton speculations, in these two places were the first heard of, and yet in neither of them was a single note circulated. The next point at which this spirit was manifested, and at which it had led to its un-happiest results, was not in the country where the notes in question circulated, but on the stock-exchange of London. It was further urged by the opponents of the measure that the very essence of the present pecuniary embarrassments consisted in the curtailed state of the currency; and that the direct tendency of the proposed measure was to increase them by limiting it still more. Taking the currency at twenty millions, it was argued, and the deduction to be made on account, of the recent failures at three millions and a half, the effect of the scheme in contemplation would be to cause a still further deficiency, and reduce it to about ten millions, with which it was impossible to carry on the trade of the country. It was further argued that although a respite of three years was ostensibly granted to the small notes, yet the adoption of the resolution would be tantamount to driving them out of circulation at once, inasmuch as every banker who entertained a due regard for his credit would be compelled to take measures for withdrawing his notes as quickly as possible. They had been issued, it was said, in reliance on the stability of the system, and on the faith of acts of parliament, which ought to be as inviolate as the charter of the Bank; and if these sources were now called in, the course of industry in various channels must be stopped. How, it was asked, was the gap made in the circulation of the country to be filled up? At the termination of the war there existed a strong desire to return to a metallic currency; and during the first years of peace there was a great facility of obtaining specie; but it was not so at the present time. No country could obtain it without giving its value in commodities. At the end of the war, our manufactures, still in their prime, commanded every market, and enabled us to obtain our gold: but at present the manufactures of the continent and America were springing up all around us, and every year we were more and more excluded from foreign markets. The inability to dispose of our commodities was, in fact, it was stated, one of the most aggravated features of the existing distress. In such circumstances, therefore, it was urged, that it would be most unwise to adopt a measure, which besides injuring an individual class, would tend to increase public calamity. The resolution was supported by Messrs. Huskisson, Peel, and Canning, who denied that to ascribe much of the distress which had prevailed to the issues of the country banks, was to attack the character of the country bankers, or that anything had occurred to justify the extreme sensibility which had been manifested on their behalf. With regard to the measure itself, they stated it was not intended so much a remedy for existing evils, as a preventative against their future recurrence, by bringing the currency, to a certain extent, to be a metallic one, and especially that portion of it which alone supplied the wants of the lower classes. All experience, it was urged, proved that this restoration of a metallic currency could not be effected so long as small notes were allowed to be circulated; a permanent state of cash-payments could never exist by their side. It was argued, that if crown notes and half-crown notes were issued, crowns and half-crowns would disappear; and that if the one pound notes continued to circulate, sovereigns would become rarities. There never was a gold circulation in the country except in Lancashire, where no country notes existed; and when, in the year 1822 and 1823, the Bank of England was anxious to supply the country with gold, the sovereigns sent down by one mail-coach returned with the next. Great sacrifices had been made to effect the introduction of even the partial metallic currency now in existence; and these sacrifices had been made in vain: the currency of the country could never be placed, on a solid basis unless country bankers were prohibited from issuing notes, excepting such as were of a considerably higher denomination than the current coin, so as to save it from the paper currency. The principle of the measure therefore could be resisted only by those who held that the pecuniary relations of the country were best secured by proscribing a metallic currency. But its necessary effect would be to give solidity to the banks themselves, by compelling them to maintain a portion of their circulation in gold, instead of worthless paper; and thus, even where a failure took place, extensive misery, which such an occurrence produced among the lower classes, would no longer return. The security of the poorer classes in such cases lay in the absence of small paper. Let the Bank of England retain in its hands as much gold as might be necessary for the ordinary operations of commerce, for such demands as the exigencies of government might require, or to adjust an unfavourable state of foreign exchanges; let every country bank be governed by the same rules, and compelled to keep an amount of gold proportioned to its operations; and a sensitiveness to occurrences likely to cause a pressure on the country banks would be created, which would tend to the security of the whole kingdom; the issues would be kept within bounds, and gold would be kept in the kingdom. The expulsion of small notes, it was stated, could not operate injuriously to the country bankers. The number of country banks was about eight hundred, and the circulation of each of these would average about L8,000; could it be supposed that a stability which had stood the late shock would be shaken or destroyed by a gradual curtailment of paper, to the extent annually of two or three thousand pounds for three successive years? When the difficulty was thus reduced; when the means were so limited and humble by which a mighty principle was to be established; when, by an operation so minute, and a process almost insensible, the prodigious advantage could be obtained of placing the pecuniary concerns of the country on the broad and imperishable basis of a metallic currency; it would be as imprudent to let slip the opportunity as it would be unreasonable to deny the principle. The intended change was neither to affect the paper circulation at large, nor to trench upon the great mass of paper currency, which was confined to notes of the higher denominations: these might be piled mountains high, provided the base be refreshed by streams of the metallic currency. To those members who, without objecting to the principle of the measure, wished it to be postponed, it was answered, that instead of coming too soon it had come too late. Mr. Brougham, who also supported the resolution, strongly urged the inexpediency of delay when the work was already half done, in consequence of the general want of confidence having of itself greatly limited the issues of the country banks. Mr. Baring moved as an amendment, "That it is the opinion of this house that, in the present disturbed state of public and private credit, it is not expedient to enter into a consideration of the banking system of the country." This was negatived by an overwhelming majority; as was also an amendment moved by Mr. Gurney, to exclude the Bank of England from the operation of the resolution. A bill for carrying this resolution was immediately brought in by the chancellor of the exchequer; and, though much resistance was offered to some of its details, both in the commons and in the lords, the bill passed into a law. The Earl of Carnarvon, who moved, on the second reading in the lords, that the bill should be read that day six months, stated a new reason why an actual gold circulation ought to be kept as far from our doors as possible. A return of it, he said, would bring back the highwaymen of Bagshot and Hounslow heath.
There was a greater temptation to commit robbery in the case of gold than in the case of paper, because there were greater facilities for escaping detection. It was easy to understand that there could not be so strong an inducement to crime when the currency consisted in notes, numbered, and signed with a known name, as when it consisted of gold coin, which it was impossible to identify. Lord Liverpool, however, had no such fears of highwaymen as the noble earl. He once, when he was a boy, he said, lost all the money he had in his pockets by a highwayman; and it was natural that he should be as much alive to this danger as the noble earl. But still, with all his early associations, he could not help thinking that if danger must revive with a return to a metallic currency, it would have been felt during the last four or five years; for during all that time their lordships had been travelling about, not with notes, but with sovereigns in their pockets. The almost total extinction of highway robberies was to be attributed to the only thing that could check or extinguish them—the establishment of a powerful and effective police.
While this measure for annihilating the issue of small notes in England was making its way through parliament, the fitness of its application to Ireland and Scotland was discussed. In Scotland there was a great opposition even to the very idea of it. In every city and county public meetings were held to deprecate the destruction of the one pound and guinea notes, and men of all ranks and parties joined in one unanimous outcry against the threatened introduction of gold. During the discussion on the bill regarding England, indeed, the tables of both houses were loaded with petitions from Scotland, setting forth the benefits which that country so long had enjoyed from its banking system, and the evils which would arise from every attempt to give it a new and an untried form. Parliament rightly paid respect to the anxiety and unanimity with which these opinions were expressed, especially as they came from parties who were acquainted with the nature and practical effects of the system. Moreover, the difference between the two systems of the two countries, and the difference between the effects of the two systems, formed good reasons why parliament should pause before extending the plan to Scotland. Accordingly select committees were appointed by both houses to inquire into the state of the circulation of small notes in Scotland and Ireland, and to report upon the expediency of altering the laws regarding it. Many Scottish merchants, manufacturers, and bankers were examined by these committees; and the reports presented to both houses towards the end of the session justified the resistance made. The stability of the banking system in Scotland, the committee stated, did not justify any alteration; and they were apprehensive that a prohibition of small notes would injure one branch of the Scottish system which it was essential to preserve, namely, the giving of cash credits. Under these circumstances they recommended that the paper money of Scotland should not be meddled with. Sir M. W. Ridley, however, who, with others, was apprehensive that a metallic currency in England could not exist with a small paper circulation in Scotland, moved a resolution that the house would, in the course of next session, institute an inquiry as to how far the interests of England and Scotland were likely to be affected by the existence of different systems of currency in the two countries; and to ascertain whether any, or what means ought to be adopted to assimilate the currency in both. But this motion was negatived without a division; and thus Scotland was left for the present in possession of that system of currency under which her commerce, manufactures, and agriculture had so long flourished. |
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