House will take the premises into your consideration, and, in your wisdom, adopt such measures as shall remedy the evils of which they complain-furnish to them new incitements to ingenuity and enterprise-ameliorate their condi tion—and promote their moral and intellectual improvement, and by thus enlarging their means of usefulness, add to the security, and augment the force and riches of the community at large. "With the assurances of undeviating zeal for the support of His Majesty's Throne and Government, your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever pray," &c. &c. MR. CANNING* said :-As no question had been raised to excite even a difference of opinion, this debate might have closed with the remarks in reply of the honourable and learned mover (Dr. Lushington), who had so fairly and temperately introduced the subject of discussion. In justice to the honourable member for Surrey (Mr. Palmer), however, it was necessary to say, that his speech had not left the impression upon his mind which it seemed to have made upon that of the honourable member for Winchelsea (Mr. Brougham). He did not understand that honourable member as defending, but as lamenting the system-not as contending that it ought to be permanent, but regretting the slow progress of improvement. He confessed he rather augured from the honourable member's language, a fair disposition to meet this part of the subject with a desire, as far as human means could accomplish it, to get rid of all possible difficulties. But the speech of the honourable member for Norwich (Mr. W. Smith), and particularly the fact with which he had concluded, proved still more strongly how much ought to be left to time and circumIf once an adverse disposition were created, it might be found impossible to accomplish the object. The honourable member for Norwich had quoted a familiar stances. letter, giving an account of a union, or rather of what the French called a mésalliance between a man of colour and a white woman, which was termed buying a white woman, and which had diffused general disgust as a monstrous atrocity. This fact established the enormous difficulty of the subject; it was inherent in the nature of the thing, and no proceeding of the Legislature could precipitate its removal. The advocates for acceleration adopted, before the Senate of Great Britain, the reasoning of Shylock before the Senate of Venice: "You have among you many a purchas'd slave, Because you bought them. Shall I say to you, Let them be free-marry them to your heirs ?" It was easy to say, "let them be free-marry them to your heirs;" but the thing was now impossible, and it might be long before the time arrived when it should be possible. He was not of opinion, however, that justice was impartially administered, and here it might be very fit to exercise authority, if without the exercise of it the object could not be accomplished. It was one thing to combat prejudice, nature, and an order of things that could not be controuled, and another to plant human institutions for the purpose of correcting human evil, and producing human good. The first was the resource of legislation, the last the province of manners; and the error arose from not observing the due limits of both, from not marking the difference between grievances which the Legislature could remedy, and those which must be left to a slower process. He concurred with the honourable member for Winchelsea, that it was impossible justice should be done, unless the prejudices of the colonists were not broken down, but acted upon, first trying the power and willingness of the local Legislature, and interposing with the higher power of Parliament, if it were found necessary. The whites in one island had been stated at 25,000, the blacks at 360,000; and there were besides 30,000 neutrals, whom the governing part of the society might win to themselves by indulgence and conciliation, and whom it would be absolute madness, and the most incredible folly, with their eyes open, not to conciliate, and thereby gain a most important acquisition. He would leave to the colonies the means of attaining this object as fast as they could, by a conquest of prejudice, but he would exact from them the removal of positive evil. In due time, if they did not remove it themselves, it must be removed for them. The Petition was ordered to be printed. THE CORN AMENDMENT BILL. JUNE 18th, 1827. Mr. WESTERN moved the following Resolutions :- "That it is the opinion of this Committee, that so much of the Act of the 3d Geo. IV. c. 60, relating to the importation of Corn, as renders the provisions of those Acts dependant on the admission of foreign wheat for home consumption, under the provisions of the Act of the 55th Geo. III. c. 26, should be repealed. "That the scale of prices at which the home consumption of foreign corn, meal, wheat, or flour, is admitted by the said Act of the 55th Geo. III., shall cease and determine; and that thenceforth all and every the provisions of the said Act of 3d Geo. IV., shall be in force, the same as if they had not been made dependent upon the admission of foreign wheat for home consumption under the said Act of the 55th Geo. III." Mr. CANNING rose and said:-Sir, the first observation I shall make upon the speech of the honourable member is, that I consider the tone and manner which he has introduced his motion, exactly suited to the great question which he brings under our discussion-a question involving deeply the interests as well of the agriculturalists as of the community at large. I beg to assure the honourable member, that I shall address myself to the question in the same tone; and whatever may be the future opinions on matters not strictly relevant to his motion, which I may feel it right, in justice to myself, to others, and to the King's Government, to express, I shall abstain from all allusion at present to them, not because I do not feel the provocation, but because I do not think this the most proper time, for the expression of those opinions.-Sir, I can conceive no species of faction more inexcusable, more blameable, or more wicked, than that which would make a subject touching the interests, and involving the prosperity of the whole community, a ground for exciting party feelings, or exasperating political animosities. With respect to the motion of the honourable gentleman, I may be allowed to say, that the honourable gentleman has not assigned any reason to justify the terms of it; and next I must say, that I do not think that his proposition is one at all calculated to meet those disagreeable circumstances of the country, which he seems to think render some proposition necessary, and which he also supposes call for the adoption of his particular proposition. The honourable gentleman seems to think that he has only to submit a proposition to the Committee. It was as if he said, "Your late Corn Bill is lost. The place is vacant, and since it must be supplied, allow me to present to your notice a law which has been passed these five years, and has not been used." This bill he is forced at the same time to acknowledge, possesses so many defects in principles that it has never been brought into operation. It contains, among other clauses, that clause which I will call the deterring clause, namely, that which prevented the introduction into our markets of foreign wheat until our own wheat had attained the price of eighty shillings, a clause which was no better than a bugbear, and which utterly prevented that bill from being efficient and operative. I admit, Sir, that there are circumstances in the country, such as require some interposition of the Legislature; but I do think that the honour |