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210 scale with all its uncertainty and attendant speculation and derangement of the currency, gave strong proof that he was opposed to ministers in the narrow spirit of partizanship, or that, if he had the ambition to rule on broader principles, he was willing, in the meantime, to follow in the wake of men infinitely below him in understanding. Lord John Russell, who has often great tact in availing himself of the blunders of his opponents, exhibited himself in favourable contrast to his able rival, and while advocating only a compromise between conflicting interests, gave utterance to doctrines in which the principles of entirely free trade were involved. The conclusion of his speech was what might have been expected had he, instead of only lessening the grievous burthen of an impoverishing tax, been proposing its immediate abolition—and for ever!

"The right honourable baronet had not held out the probability of any amelioration of sugar duties, neither had he shown how regularity in the corn trade was consistent with the sliding scale, and he might depend upon it that any great alteration in that scale would be resisted with equal vehemence. However, he would not now enter into any further discussion of the Corn Laws, because he would have a future opportunity of doing so (cheers)—he only wished to make one observation upon what had fallen from the noble member for North Lancashire in reference to the trade in grain. That noble lord had said that the producer of corn could not depend upon his own skill and industry, but must rely upon the sunshine and the storm, for the abundance and scarcity of his crop. That was true as to the producers of a particular country. He must depend upon a higher power; but the same power that directs the storm had given a remedy for any local disadvantage; for such was the bounty and benevolence of Providence that if in one country there was a bad season and deficient crop, another was blessed with good seasons and an abundant harvest. (Hear, hear.) It was fortunately in the power of man, by his skill and ingenuity, and the means they gave of traversing the ocean, to take advantage of the beneficence of the Creator.(Cheers.) If that intercourse were not permitted by short-sightedness and error, do not let it be said that it was to the infliction of heaven that a deficiency of food was to be attributed.—(Hear, hear.) Let the blame be laid were it was due ; let the laws be blamed which defeated the beneficent scheme by which plenty would be