industrious classes of the community. Such were the views he entertained, and, entertaining them, he gave his cordial support to the resolutions on the subject of protective duties and of the Corn Laws; but he would not conceal from the House that he went far beyond Lord J. Russell in the conclusion which he drew from his facts. Ile thought that the time for compromise was gone by, and that the conclusion to which parliament ought now to come was, that the system of restriction which takes the bread out of the mouths of the labouring classes ought to be completely abandoned.
Sir J. Hanmer said he could not vote for the resolutions of the noble lord without evincing ingratitude towards the government, which, though it had not gone quite so far as he could have wished, had yet done a vast deal towards improving the condition and prospects of the whole com: munity. He was, however, in favour of a low fixed duty on imported corn.
Sir Robert Peel denied that the thin attendance in the House during the greater part of the evening could be ascribed to any apathy on the part of its members with respect to the welfare of the labouring classes. On the contrary, he viewed it as an indication of the general impression which prevailed that the noble lord had not introduced his various resolutions in a manner which rendered it possible to act upon them with practical effect. He could not attempt to venture upon the discussion of topics so multifarious, many of them of great importance, and cach of them sufficient to justify a long debate. It was far better to deal practically with these various subjects as they became ripe for legislation, instead of dealing in promises, which, however easily made, were sometimes very difficult, as they had very recently experienced, to be carried out in all their details. Government had already done much towards the advancement of education, and of other matters referred to in the resolutions of the noble
