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Ireland And Her Debts. The Famine Debt Q...
Before there was any intimation at all that such a demand would be made , the tide of emigration was rapidly progressing . It commenced at an earlier period than could lead it to be supposed that it was even caused by the heavy poor-rates . The tide of emigration commenced from the oppressive conduct of the landlords . ( Confusion . ) . " Captain Macnamara : I , for onej deny it ; and I shall always oppose such unwarrantable insinuations as that . { Great confusion . ) " Mr . A . Bulter : I call Mr . Corbett to order . We came here for the purpose of remonstrating and petitioning against this additional taxation , and not to listen to any class of the community being insulted and libelled . ( ' Hear , ) hear and uproar . )
' '' Captain Macnamara : Yes , Sir , but we must stand here to be bullied and browbeaten by these men ; for they will bully and insult you . That is their custom . ( ' Hear , hear , ' and great excitement . ) " Reverend M > . Quade , parish priest ( vehemently ) : I deny it . ( Uproar . ) " Mr . D . J . Wilson : In the name of our afflicted country— { hear , hear)—m the name of Almighty God , are we to be a byword for ever—( hear , hear )—to be pointed at with acorn ? " Reverend Mr . Quade : Yes , you are ; and I know who are the cause . [ Increased uproar . )"
Ultimately , after much confusion and calling of names , the Reverend Mr . Quade calling Lord John Kussell a liar , and otherwise exhibiting much passion , the amendment was carried . It was obvious from the speeches that the priests were no advocates for repayment ; but that they hated the Minister and the landlords alike . To show how heavily and how unequally poorlaw taxation presses on the unions , we append a few facts .
In Antrim union , the maximum rate is 8 d . in the pound , and some electoral divisions are only assessed for 4 d . In Gort , a western union , the maximum rate is 11 s . 3 d . ; and , out of the twenty electoral divisions , there is only one in which the rate is as low as 3 s . lOd . In some of the Kerry unions , rates , even for the current half-year , often exceed 5 s ., and in one case a rate of 8 s . 3 d . is required for ordinary expenditure alone .
On Saturday last the guardians of Coleraine struck a new rate for twelve months , the maximum being 9 d . in the pound ; but several of the electoral divisions are charged with only 5 d ., and there are four from which the extremely low rate of 3 d . in the pound is required . In the notification of new rates for Belmullet , Mayo , in which no reference whatever is made even to a contingent provision for the instalment of the Consolidated Annuities , the assessment upon the fifteen electoral divisions ( for six months' expenditure apparently ) ranges from 5 s . to Gs . 3 d , in the pound .
In Letterkenny union , county of Donegal ( one of the least favourably circumstanced districts of Ulster ) , the average rating is less than Is . in the pound ; one electoral division is charged with 2 s . 3 d ., but several are limited to 7 d ., and one division is assessed for Gd . only . Claremorria union , in Mayo , where there has been a vast decrease in the population , is charged with rates ranging from 4 s . down to Is ., and one electoral division , Ballindino , is as low as lOd . in the pound .
In the union of Newcastle , county of Limerick , there are still greater discrepancies in the rating . Two electoral divisions are charged with 3 s . 9 d . ; others with 2 b . i ) d . ; there arc some assessed for 5 d . ; others for 3 d . ; the division of Dnnganbeg bus the nominal rate of Id . ; and there are three divisions of this formerly deeply embarrassed union , against which no rate whatever is charged ! A great provincial meeting was bold at . Limerick , on the 1 / ith instant , convened by the " Committee of Consolidated Annuities , " to deliberate respecting the repayment of the Government advances . Deputations from twenty-live unionH were present . A letter was re : ul from Lord John Itu . ssell to Mr . John
O'Hrien , M . P ., intimating that Ministers would attend to statements of distress , but by no means " give any countenance to the doctrin (! of repudiation . The rt'Hult of this important meeting wim a memorial forwarding nccounta of the deplorable Htatc of the country , asking for time , and a correction of erroneous calculations of the liabilities of certain unions . THE EGYPTIAN ItAILWAY AND THE TURKS . The route to India and China across the Isthmus of Suez ih admitted on all hands to be one of the neccfiHitieH of Jiritisli commerce . Why that route ban not been converted into a railway ih one of the myHterieH of modern diplomacy . For ten years the mils Ah did
have been lying in t "" H ^> l < - Mehemct not make it , though he did many great things . It in thought be would have made it , bud there not been Bomc Hecrot opposition . Ibrahim Pacha h reign wan too brief for any great entorpri ™ . Urn successor , Abba * 1 ' acba , Iiuh h mind to make the railway ; ban contacted with . StepheiiHon ; everytb . ng ih read y to begin . The next Htej > ? A note Irom the 1 orto , lor-Imlding the making of any railway without Uh authorization . How thin comeH about wo are not ablo to explain . Hut ho the matter stands , lhoro aro norm : lingers in the pie , Borne occult iniluoncoH at
work , not discerned by a credulous public—all gratitude to the rulers of Egypt and to Lord Palmerston . At this stage the "Egyptian Railway question" is taken up in the City , and a public meeting was held at the London Tavern on Tuesday . The . object of the meeting was * 'to adopt such means as might be thought most advisable , by memorializing the Government or otherwise , " in Order that " the danger which now menaces the important British interests connected with our colonies and possessions in the East" maybe averted . The meeting was numerously and respectably attended , and among the gentlemen on the platform were Mr , A . Anderson , M . P ., Mr . M'Gregor , M . P ., Mr . Aglionby , M . P ., General Briggs , Mr . S . Gregson , Mr . Larking , Mr . Barton , Mr . Foster , Mr . de Salis , Mr . Briggs , Mr . Ewart , Mr . R . Brooks , Mr . T . Fox , & c .
Mr . Samuel Gregson was voted to the chair , on the motion of Mr . Barton , seconded by Mr . M'Gregor , M . P . The Chairman ' s statement of the case was as follows : — " The line of communication to which he had just adverted had been carried on most satisfactorily for more than ten y » ars . It was established by that great ruler of Egypt—that wonderful man , Mehemet Ali , whose penetrating mind foresaw that great prosperity was sure to accrue to his country by making it the highway for all the world . ( Hear , hear ) Under his successor , Ibrahim Pacha , the state of things continued still to be satisfactory ; and , up to the present moment , under his Highness Abbas Pacha , it was not only in a satisfactory state ,
but the Pacha , emulating the energy of his grandsire , now proposed to improve the communication by introducing into his country the greatest of all modern improvements—a railway across the Desert . ( Cheers . ) The Sultan , however , to the consternation of all parties in this country , had interfered to prohibit the completion of that railway . It was contended , nevertheless , that by the treaty of 1841 , guaranteed by all the great Powers of Europe , the Sultan had no longer power to interfere with the internal arrangements of Egypt—( cheers )—and it so happened that upon former occasions greater works , if it were possible , had been undertaken without any such interference , such , for example , as the barrage of the Nile , and the fortifications- of Alexandria—great
works begun and completed without a thought of soliciting the authority of the Porte . ( Cheers . ) With regard to the construction of the railway by the Pacha , upon a question being asked of the noble Secretary for Foreign Affairs , on the 5 th of Augustlast , he said , ' Undoubtedly , it was the opinion of the Government , which had expressed that opinion to both parties , that the Pacha of Egypt was entitled to make that railway out of his own funds , according to the terms of the firman which was granted to him in 1841 . ( Hear , hear . ) It would , therefore , be for the meeting to consider the proposal now to be made , that
they should ask the Government immediately to take up this great question . ( Cheers . ) He thought , when they reflected how many more difficult questions the noble lord , the present Sectetary for Foreign Affairs , had overcome and settled , that the settlement of this question with our friend and ally the Sultan would be no difficult matter for him—( cheers )—and he almost longed to see the time when the Sultan , imitating the example of our most gracious Queen , should visit his own provinces , and most delightful it would be to see him and the Pacha of Egypt and Lord Palmerston present at the opening of this great railway . ( Cheers and laughter . )
Mr . Briggs moved the following resolution : — " That a safe , speedy , commodious , and economical means of transit through Egypt has become essential to the security and good government of our Indian empire , to tbe extension of commercial intercourse between Europe and the East , to the industrial and social improvement of Egypt ; and is opposed neither to the interests nor to the legitimate ambition of any nation on earth . " He had been long connected with Egypt—he might Bay for lifty years , and witnessed the arrangements for this railway ten years ago : —
" The communication through Egypt had been brovight to great perfection under the present ruler of that country . lie had already macadamized a part of the road between Cairo and Suez in the Desert . He had increased the number of atation-houtu'B in the Desert , and had multiplied greatly the means of conveyance for passengers , both upon the Nile and the canal . ( Cheers . ) lie was also willing to undertake , at his own expense , this magnificent railway between Alexandria and Cairo ' and to increase by every means in his power the facilities for passing through Egypt , thus cementing more closely , not only the interests of India with England and Egypt , but , in a political point of view , promoting the highest interrstH of this country as well as Egypt . ( Hear , hoar . ) Ahbaa Pacha had , however , met with preat difficulties oince he succeeded to hia present position , und now the climax of opposition had appeared againtit thin railway . "
Looking at the great commercial , social , and political intoruatB involved in convoying the maila and pus-HcngcrH through Egypt , he thought it was not poattible to overrate the importance of the question . The resolution was seconded by Mr . liurton , and unanimously adopted . Mr . A . Anderson , M . P ., moved the second resolution , which wan a » ibllown : — " That the interference of the Ottoman Porte in tbo internal admiiiiHtrutiou of Egypt , i » h recently manifested by itn uHHuuipiion of the power to prevent the con-Htruction of the Egyptian railway , and to diveHt tho Pacha of Egypt of the neccistmry authority to maintuin order in that country , iH calculated to injure the important British interests involved In tho facility and eafoty of tho
transit through Egypt of the mails , passengers and goods , to and from the East . That it is , therefore expedient to press upon her Majesty ' s Government the ' necessity of a prompt and active interposition to prevent the Porte from proceeding further in the course which she has in this respect pursued ; and that with this vie w the memorial to the Prime Minister now read be adopted , and put in course of signature . " Mr . Anderson also read a memorial , which was subsequently adopted , to be presented to Lord John Kussell . He clearly stated the ostensible grounds of the dispute between the Porte and the Pacha .
" The two points in dispute related to the construction of the railway , and to the introduction into Egypt of what was called the tanzimat . The Porte contended that the Pacha had no right to engage in the construction of a work of such great importance as the making of a railway through Egypt , or rather throug h a part of Egypt ; and , because the Pacha had not asked permission of the Porte , the undertaking was threatened with ruin . One could hardly judge in regard to this question without
referring in some degree to the terms of the settlement made between the Porte and the Pacha of Egypt , in 1841 ; and , in order to give a better idea of what was the real state of the case , it would be necessary to take up the question from the beginning , to recur to the period when Mehemet Ali gained the battle of Nezib , when Constantinople might have fallen , and the power of the Sultan was lying at his feet . That was the position of the parties at the time . Four great European Powers interfered between the Porte and what had been
the former vassal of the Sultan ; for there was nothing short of that interference which ' could have prevented" Mehemet Ali from annihilating the power of the Sultan , and from dictating terms by which he would have been recognized as independent Sovereign of Egypt and Syria . Great Britain and the other great Powers of Europe interfered . Mehemet Ali was compelled ultimately to retire on Egypt . It was finally agreed that the hereditary Government of Egypt should be vested in him and in his family . There was a condition imposed which was easy to be observed ; it was required that the Pacha should not levy higher duties than the Porte . The Pacha was to have the surplus
revenue of Egypt after paying a fixed sum to the Sultan , namely , 60 , 000 purses , which was equal to about £ 300 , 000 sterling . Surely , under this arrangement , it was competent and continued to be competent for the Pacha with the surplus revenue of Egypt to carry out improvements , and to apply his own revenue to such works as the railway . The Porte said , ' This is so important a work , that we require you , not only to ask our permission , but to send us in all your accounts , to show what is the state of Egypt , lest you should be laying out too much on this
railway , and may not be able to pay the tribute to us or may have recourse to a foreign loan . ' He ( Mr . Anderson ) was of opinion that the Porte had no right to insist on the production of accounts . On that part of the subject be did not mean to dwell , for Mr . Briggs had well disposed of it already ; and Lord Palmerston , who had made the treaty , and who ought to understand the meaning of it as well as any one , admitted the right of the Pacha to make that railway out of his revenue . The treaty of 1841 was said to be very vaguely expressed . It was vague —like most Oriental documents . But if it was vague on
thr ? one side , it was vague on the other . Where was one to look for the best interpretation ? For what had been done by these two parties during a period often years . During those ten years Mehemet Ali had laid out a large su > n which had been estimated as amounting to £ 1 , 000 , 000 sterling , on the Nile ; he had taken what was a much stronger measure , he had fortified Alexandria . There was another instance which bore on the point , m 1841 Mehemet Ali madean agreement with the 1 cnin . su wlucii
lar and Oriental Steam Navigation Company , by he gave them the right of navigating the internal waters of the country , namely the river Nile . He gave them tne right of making what communication they thongni proper . There was at the same time a transit duty oi three per cent , on everything that passed througn Egypt . Mehemet Ali did away with that duty of turix per cent ., and reduced the duty to a half per cent . A ' these circumstance established the position of the 1 acn very clearly , that , all this having taken place , the » u ,, could not interfere to prevent the construction of tn <
railway . ' . The tanzimat ia a code of laws published by t | 1 ( j Porto , concentrating in itself all power of life Iin death . The Pacha of Egypt says that it is not applicable to Egypt ; that the demand to administer- inc laws is preposterous . And Mr . Anderson stated tn a if the power over life and death were taken Irom in Pacha , it would be impossible to keep l ^ gyi * order , and that country would retrograde to the to - dition in which it had formerly been when it swarm with robbers . " At tho present time hie and V perty wero more secure in the pasBuge across desert than in England . Mr . Anderson brituy alluded to the political part of tbe subject . ailUdUU IU 111 V | JlMIU (; iU pirn- «» »»"' " J . r
" Lord Palmerston had effected the *™ K j thllt 1841 , and statements hud appeared which B » o *' . t ) l ( , the policy ho then acted on was not oarrica o « J- ha hw , vigour one would have expected , and th » e »«• , fr (| 1 II been left without the support ho oiwhtw nav « J $ itiim England- Abbas Pacha had identify himsclf with r ^ interests , and , reducing hi- -rmy and fleet hi tur wU | i attention to agriculture , couriering the con . » £ » Oro . il Britain to be far more valuable to h m h » n and fleets . ( Cheer .. ) lie h . d broken tip a numb cr « < f Icbh . BtabliHhmentH . In doing bo lie ha , I een < 1 K ^ courHo , to diHoliarge a reat number oi In Men- , t and they no doubt had had Home influence nij £ « I ^ intrigues against him at the Porte ; and « ** " , in () ro that nt Constantinople it might be thoughtmuch i convenient to hate Mr . / Sbephenaon making ° onir
984 Wfrt %T&1lt T* [Saturdav,
984 Wfrt % t & 1 lt T * [ Saturdav ,
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Citation
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Leader (1850-1860), Oct. 18, 1851, page 4, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_18101851/page/4/
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