The Sun. — London, England, 1829-05-27 00:00:00

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT. HOUSE OF LORDS.--(LAST NIGHT.) THORNDIKE'S DIVORCE BILL. Witnesses were examined to-day on this Bill. Lord SHEFFIELD presented a petition against the importation of foreign wool, from the owners and occupiers of land in the county of Sussex. The Earl of MALMESBURY presented four similar petitions from flock-masters in the neighbour hood of Salisbury, Swinton, mid Shaftesbury. GAME BILL. On the motion of Lord WHARNCLIFFE the receiving of the Report on the Game Laws Bill, which was ordered for Thursday next, was postponed till Monday. The NOBLE LORD also gave notice that on Thurs• day next he should draw the attention of the House to three standing orders which were already on their Lordships' table. ANATOMY BILL. Lord MELVILLE presented a petition from the Royal College of Physicians of Edinburgh, against the Anatomy Bill. The Earl of ROSEBERRY had been requested to support the petition, which honour he had de clined, as he firmly believed, when the Bill went into a Committee, it would be so altered and re vised as to obviate every objection raised to it by the petitioners. The Earl of HADDINGTON was placed in the same situation, and took the same view of the sub- ject. Lord CAWDOR presented a petition against a Private Bill. culties of the country that se many individuals not long ago had been brought to the greatest state of hardship, a recurrence of which, it was to be feared, would very soon take place. The petitioners proposed as a remedy that Government would review all their former arrangements respecting the currency, or that Parliament would relieve them from a considerable portion of the taxes they were now paying. On former occasions he had stated his opinion as to the effect of the alteration of the currency; and then he had stated, that after the alteration had existed for a number of years, when new contracts were entered into and new debts con tracted, that then it would be more injurious again to alter the currency than to allow it to remain. It should be recollected that the larger part of the National Debt was contracted in a depreciated cur rency, and it was therefore neither just nor equi table to pay that debt in a currency of the full value. In 1800, the last year when there was no sensible depreciation of the currency, the amount of the National Debt was not much above 300,000,0001. CORN LAWS. Lord KING presented petitions from Stone, Staffordshire, and several other places, against the Corn Laws. The Duke of NORFOLK presented petitions from the wool growers in Suffolk, and several other places, against the importation of Foreign Wool. Several Bills were read a third time and passed. SION COLLEGE. The Earl of HADDlNGTON,according to notice which he had previously given, presented a petition from the Kirk of Scotland, relative to certain ancient records belonging to that Church. This petition would have been presented before now, had it not been for an understanding that the Noble Prelate opposite (the Bishop of London) and a Noble and Learned Lord now in his place, would make a com munication to Sion College. A communication was made by the Secretary of State, the answer to which was, that the College neither could give up the books required of them, nor allow them to be copied, nor allow them to be seen, in consequence of the existence of a trustee. The Kirk of Scotland had adopted the only resource they had left for the recovery of them, and applied to Parliament. The books which the Kirk of Scotland wished to get from Sion College, were three vols., entitled " The Book of the Universal Kirk of Scotland." The Noble Lord here went at some length into details of a na ture precisely similar to those stated when an ap plication of a similar nature was made to the House of Commons. The Bishop of LONDON rose—He had no power to interfere in the administration of the affairs of the Fellows of Sion College, but believed that he bad information enough to vindicate the line of conduct they had bo adop f t ted. He he Fell be ows lieved that the great dy o would be extremely pleased at being released from the charge of these books altogether. But under the circumstances by which they had been placed in their hands, they did not think themselves at liberty even to permit a copy of them to be taken. Whe ther they were right or not in pursuing that line of conduct, their refusal was to be attributed to a strict desire on their part to fulfil in every particu lar the former agreement. There was one point at i.sue between the Kirk of Scotlan material the Fel lows of Sion College, a most point, namely as to the originality of the documents of which they were possessed. It had been stated by some that they were the original documents; by others they were called original copies. Their originality was extremely question able. There was no clause empowering the Fellows of Sion College to deliver a perfect copy to any body. The correspondence that preceded the deposit of thosjooks in Sion College Library, prevents any copy being given to any body but to the Bishops of the Church of. Scotland, if even they would pay the expenses of it. By that correspondence the Noble Prelate thought they could not deliver them sip, except by an order of the Legislature. At the same time he thought, if his Majesty were to order his Law Officers to make inquiries with reference to these documents, and ascertain to whom they be.. longed, if the Fellows of Sion College were told by such authority that they were the property of the Church of Scotland, he (the Noble Prelate) thought there would be no difficulty, nay, that the Fellows would be inclined to deliver them over to them. The Rev. Prelate read a portion of the terms of the covenant under which the Fellows held theca, since the Noble Lord who presented this petition had in, timated his intention of doing so, he (the Rev. Prelate) had had an opportunity of communicating with the President and Fellows of Sion College; and the result of that communication was that, as Mr. Campbell had said, a copy of the volumes might be delivered to the Bishops of Scotland upon their paying for the transcript ; they had no objection to let the Kirk of Scotland have one new on their paying for the transcript; at the same time they disputed all legal pwer to compel them to deliver up the volumes themselves, or indeed to act respecting them at all. Lord HADDINGTON moved that the petition might lie on the table, reserving to himself, after what had been said, the opportunity of taking what ever other step he should deem expedient. Lord LAUDERDALE held that if the Church of Scotland could identify the volumes to be theirs, that as original records could only belong to the Court of which they were such records, the Church of Scotland could compel Sion College, or any other person or body of persons, to deliver theni up. The only doubt was, whether they were not copies, and he thought that measures ought in the first place and forthwith to be adopted for the purpose of ogee**• taining for a fact whether they were originals or copies. Lord ELDON had applied to Sion College on the subject during last Session, and he was then informed that there were objections on the part of the College to deliv erin g u p the books, which they could not get over. He agreed with the Noble Lord who had spoken last, that the College could tZly retain them upon the ground of having a property in !hero. Lf they had a property in them, and were at ;;:ZrtY tc detain them, if lie were their adviser, he shouiti recommend them not to deliver them up.—(Hear.) has ventured to recommend for adoption, except an alteration in the state of the currency. But the Noble Lord himself admits—as I understood him— that it is impossible now to revert to the state in which the country stood in that respect before the year 1819. My Lords, I was a Member of the Committee who, on that occasion, recommended , . the reverting to cash payments; and I can assure the Noble Lord that he labours under a great mistake if he thinks that the Committee came to the resolution of expressing that recommen dation, of returning to the condition in which the country was placed before the Bank Re striction, without due deliberation, and without considering the subject in all its bearings. The Noble Lord is also greatly mistaken if he supposes that the whole of the debt of the country was con tracted in the depreciated currency to which he has adverted; and I say, my Lords, that if it had been so contracted, the good faith of the country requires that it should be paid in the existing currency. But, my Lords, the alteration of the currency has not had the effect on the state of the country which he supposes, and I am convinced that the alteration has had little, if any thing, to do with the actual distress There were two modes of calculating the deprecia tion. The first was, by comparing the paper money in circulation with bullion at the Mint price ; and the second was, to attempt to ascertain the depre ciation in the value of the bullion itself. In conse quence of the precious metals being banished from the circulation in this country the value was depre ciated in the markets of the world; and the real depreciation of our o am currency was to be estimated by this depreciation, added to the depreciation of our paper as compared to the Mint price of bullion. He should confine himself to the depreciation as estimated by the comparison between our paper circulation and the Mint price of gold. The unredeemed National Debt of Great Britain in 1800 was 303 millions, and the amount of debt created during the next eighteen years was 635 millions. Taking into consideration the operation of the Sinking Fund, the proportion of the debt contracted in the depreciated currency was as six to four. It was also to be considered what amount of the debt contracted in a currency of the full value was transferred and purchased durirg the eighteen years in a depreciated value. He could not pretend to ascertain the quantity of stock so trans ferred, but he thought he might assume that one half of the old debt had been transferred during the eighteen years subsequent to 1800. It was neither equitable nor just to pay this portion of the debt purchased by a depreciated currency in currency of the full value, and we ought either now to reduce the national debt to the extent of the depreciation, or to take off taxes to an extent to countervail the increase of burdens occasioned by the reformation of the currency. There was no justice in paying a debt contracted in a depreciated currency in an improved currency. He thought also that when the subject of the currency was formerly discussed, the parties came to discussion heated by controversy, and over looked some points which, were the subject now to be taken into consideration, would have considerable influence on their Lordships' judgment. Every con tract made, for example, and every debt incurred between 1800 and 1819, was made and incurred in a depreciated currency, and the reformation of the currency virtually imposed on the debtors an obligation to pay a greater sum than they had con tracted to pay. It was a virtual abrogation of those contracts. He was disposed to think, that of the whole debts and contracts in the country, four out of five were made during the depreciated cur rency; and, therefore, while the return to a sound currency did justice to one creditor, it did injustice to four debtors. The depreciation of the currency, and the subsequent reformation of the currency, must therefore be considered as having caused much of our distress. He did not, however, agree with the petitioners that this was the only cause. During the same period we were engaged in war, and con tracted more debt than ever before was contracted in the world. During that time, therefore, a large portion of the national capital was borrowed and ex pended, aril all classes felt that sort of prosperity which an individual feels when he is expending a large capital. At present we were in the situation of that individual after his capital was expended ; we were suffering from our greatly diminished re sources. The prodigality of a former period was therefore another cause of our present sufferings. The relief which the petitioners called for was a re duction of taxation. Now see what the Ministers had done. It had been said that eighteen millions of taxes—some said twenty-four millions—had been taken off. With respect to that he referred to a pamphlet which had much less circulation that it ought to have, and less than it would have had, if the subject of which it treated had appeared in the shape of a speech from the Noble Duke. In that pamphlet it was stated that the Revenue in 1815, while the property tax existed, and all the war taxes, was sixty-eight mil lions and a fraction; and that in 1826, it was fifty two millions and a fraction. One would think at first that hare was a reduction of sixteen millions, but, in point of fact, the real Revenue had increas ed by an addition of 552,000/. during the peace. But what the people of Birmingham called for was an alteration of the currency, or a real reduction in the amount of taxation. But he did not feel bold enough himself to propose any measure of this kind to their Lordships, but he trusted the Noble Duke would, before the next Session, look narrowly at the subject, and make some attempt to apply an effec tual remedy to the present distressing state of affairs, in which prosperity was closely followed by adver sity. We ought not to have prohibited the circu lation of small notes. They formed, in many re spects, a better kind of currency than any other. They could not be exported, and the man who de pended on them could not export himself and his capital, but was bound to the country. It was manifest that the people had a preference for them, and had even resorted to expedients to supply the want of them ; and had it not been for the measure resorted to by Parliament for put ting them out of circulation, the confidence in the Banks who issued them would soon have been re stored, and many of the failures prevented. But the measure of Government relative to the small notes, and the attack on the country bankers had greatly increased the difficulties of the country. An opportunity of returning to a paper circulation, un der proper modifications, would be afforded by the expiration of the Bank Charter, now close at hand —of which opportunity he hoped due advantage would be ta4n. Another alteration of great ad vantage would be to make silver a legal tender for some considerable sum, and to increase the amount of the larger pieces, so as to fill up a gem space in the currency. He threw out these observations merely as suggestions for the consideration of their Lordships, and particularly for his Majesty's Mi nisters. The Duke of WELLINGTON-4 am very thankful to the Noble Lord for his having stated, at .the conclusion of his speech, that he did not expect that 1 shed at present follow him throughout every topic ,:; on which he touched in the course of the various suggestionswhich he has thought it his duty to throw out for the consideration of your Lordships generally, and that of his Majesty's Mini sters particularly ; for the Noble Lord himself hes stated that he considers them only as suggestions thrown out for c onsideration, without any intention on his part to provoke a discussion at this time, I am not prepared at this moment to enter on the discussion at length of topics of so much import ance on occasion of the presentation of a petition; and should not think it proper in myself, nor re spectful to your Lordships, to go at large into the subject without being prepared with the documents necessary to explain and confirm the statements and opinions to which I might have to call your Lord ships' attention. But, as the Noble Lord has ad verted to so many topics of great interest and len portance, I shall, with your Lordships' permission, trespass on your Lordships' time for a few moments, taking a brief notice of some of them. The ohLo Lord, in the observations which he has made in the course of his discussion' of the state of the country, has suggested a variety of different remedies for the distresees to whichniany parts of the nation are now expose d_ n ,: , !le whith; h9weyer ; the Noble Lord . . of the country. My - Lords, notwithstanding a re duction of taxation to the amount of 27 millions— whether real or nominal I do not at present stop to inquire—the revenue of the country has increased. It is higher now in real currency than it was when these taxes were taken off, which is a proof of a real increase of prosperity. But in every branch of manufactures, in every description of commercial transaction, and in every species of industry, there has been an enormous production, exceeding the average of the three preceding years, notwith standing the remarkable, and even prodigious pro ductiveness of these years. The Noble Lord cer tainly must look to something else than the alter ation in the state of the currency in estimating the causes of the existing distresses of the country. His Lordship has said, and truly said, that be fore the year 1815, any one might obtain money for any kind of speculation, however wild and extravagant--and, consequently, these specula tions were carried to an extent which could not', continue for any length of time without terminating in the destruction of the country; but in conse quence of the impulse at that time given to the spi rit of speculation, it became extremely difficult for the national mind to return to the other habits of thinking and acting which prevailed before the cir cumstances occurred which gave rise to that extra ordinary spirit of speculation, and to which the people must at last return; and that, I apprehend, is the real cause, or at least a principal cause, of the present distress of the country. Besides, let it be considered how much the population of the country has increased, and how prodigiously the power of production has been increased by the use of machi nery ; so that now more is produced in the course of one year than was but a short time ago produced in five years, and more than can be taken off the hands of the producer in a year and a half, or even two years. The consequence is, that notwithstanding the immense commercial intercourse of this country, do occasional glut is produced, and alterations in the state of demand and supply take place, which cause the condition of the great mass of the people to change rapidly at different periods from the extreme of riches to that of depression. The Noble Lord has said that it would afford a great alleviation of the evils to revert to the circulation of One Pound Notes. But your Lordships will recol lect the proceedings which took place in Parliament on that subject in the course of the year 1826. Par liament, finding that the worst effects resulted from the facility of speculation afforded in consequence of that description of circulating medium, and that it gave rise to the numerous bankruptcies which hap pened in that and the preceding year, thought pro per to pass a law to put an end to the small note circulation, at the end of three years from that period. The Noble Lord has said that the law in question occasioned the breaking of the Banks; but when he says so, he does not correctly state the fact, for the breaking of the Banks took place for the most part before the meet ing of Parliament, so that the measure for put ting an end to the circulation of small notes did not occasion the bankruptcies; but the bankruptcies produced by the small note circulation gave rise to the measure, and there is now more currency in sovereigns and Bank of England five-pound notes, than there was at any period during the war, or at any time previous to that period. The effect of the measure has been as it was intended to be, to put an end to the facility with which those could raise money, and engage in speculation, who had neither capital nor credit. Those who are possessed of capital and credit can now ob tain with perfect facility all the money that can be required for any proper purpose. Those who have riot capital and credit have not the same facility as before in raising money, from the want of persons to supply them with these one-pound notes, and assist them in their extravagant specu lations. That is what has been done by the measure of 1826, and I hope it is a coarse in which Parliament will persevere. The Noble Lord says, and I think justly, that the best kind of cir culation is a paper currency founded on a metallic security ; but that is exactly what we have got at present, arid while it continues I hope we shall soon find that the prosperity of the country will revive, and that so much distress will not again be pro duced by ruinous speculations. But the Noble Lord has left out of view one great cause of the present depressed state of the country; arid that is the im mense capital sent out of it in loans to foreign States the principal of which will never be paid, and in some instances not even the interest. This has oc casioned a great loss of capital, and consequently employment, in all parts of the country, and has produced a glut in the foreign markets by the im mense quantity of exports made in the advance of these loans. A great loss also resulted from the coming back of the interest where it is paid in a manner not requiring any exports. These things ought to be adverted to in tracing the causes of the pre-ent distresses—for the effects are pernicious, not merely to the manufacturing and commercial inte rests of the community, but also to the persons themselves who engage in such speculations, who often lose both their capital and the interest for ever. I shall not follow the Noble Lord at present any longer, not deeming this at present a proper occa sion for discussing the subject at any length; but as to the Noble Lord's recommendation to the Minis ters of the Crown to take the subject into consi deration, I can assure him that they will consider it, and keep it always in their view ; and for myself, I can sincerely promise, that whatever measures may occur to me likely to alleyiate the distresses of the country, I shall most eagerly and gladly adopt them. Lord KING recommended that the corn laws should be repealed, which was the measure that would afford the greatest and the most speedy relief to the country. As to capital going out of the country, that was the necessary consequence of the low profits of capital here. Wtth respect to the corn laws, it was a great consolation toliim that the Noble Duke could not have a high revenue and a high price of corn at the same time; for when corn became dear, the people could not afford to consume the Noble Dukes excisable commodities, arid the VON, in explanation, diminished. Earl was, revenue saiTd hthea t‘lh must a to b fl e ie d ( i h t that if the small note currency had pot been put an end to by Par liament, the banks would soon have recovered their credit. He did not think that the circulation of the small notes had any thing to do with the distresses of the country, which resulted_ rather from the cir culation of fictitious bills of exchange; and he in stanced the case of two individuals, who were not worth a shilling, having bills of exchange afloat to the amount of three millions, The Noble Duke had mentioned the fictitious prosperity that had been pro4ecpd in the country; but theNoble.Dt i ,. k: o rn 4o u u st s pow, instead of a fictitious the same time that g • • be aware, that it Isla g wee had a real debt debtdebt andw. as c a o t c r t t v e u d s p a ro d s peaity? and real adversity, agai:: 4t .country could - :__ '- not bear up, unless 901118.1118a118 of relief were found. Paper,. founded on a metallic currency, was the best kind of circulation ; and without it trade would soon quit our shores and fly to others. There were six millions of sovereigns in circulation ; and the people had to pay their taxes in that dearer currency. He thought a cheap currency, well secured, preferable. The petition was laid on the table. WOOL TRADE. A petition was presented by the Duke of RICH MOND from certain wool growers of Gloucester and Somerset, praying for a higher duty on the im portation of foreign wool.—Laid on the table. The Duke of RICHMOND then rose and soli cited the indulgence of the House, while he stated his views on this subject, which he had promised to bring before them at an early period of the present Session, but had not till now had the opportunity. He owed it to the petitioners upon this subject to state that their complaints were strictly true, and their Lordships would perhaps bear in mind that he had last year intimated his intention of bringing the question under the consideration of the Legislature early in the present Session. But the important communication contained in hiq Majesty's Speech, on the opening of Parliament, prevented him from bringing it on at an earlier period. He now came forward to redeem his pledge. In introducing the subject, he wished to observe, that the smaller duty which he was anxious to impose would fall partly on the Continental grower of wool, and partly on the rival exchequers of the two countries. He assured their Lordships that there was not, either within that House, or without its walls, any man more anxiously alive to the distresses wider which the manufacturing districts laboured than himself, and it was with a view to relieve them, as well as the wool-grower, that he introduced his present motion. This, he conceived, would cause some stir and spirit in that trade, which was now a mere drug in the market. He had been told that no good could be obtained from the course he was about to pursue; but he had undertaken to make out a strong case, and he now pledged himself to do so. The Noble Duke at the head of his Majesty's Government had dwelt much upon the deterioration of the quality of wool in this country ; but with deference to the Noble Duke, he considered this to be a mere fallacy. He maintained that the reduction in the price and quality of our wool was owing to the enormous im portation of foreign wool. This was proved by the fact, that what was called Hoggett wool, in which article there was not a competition in the foreign market, still continued to maintain its price. The Noble Duke here read some letters in support of his argument. The Noble Lord (Wharncliffe) had on a former evening expressed his satisfaction at having, as he termed it, stolen an enemy out of his camp, but he would refer that Noble Lord to the evidence given before the Committee on this subject; pre mising, however, that those who had been tutored at Leeds and other places could not be looked upon as impartial witnesses. The Noble Duke then read the fol owing table of calculations : ACCOUNT OF BRITISH WOOLLEN MANUFACTURES Exported during the last Eight Years, distinguishing the periods when the Sixpenny Duty was existing upon Foreign Wool imported, from the period when that Duty was reduced to One Penny. Years beginning the 6th of January, when the Duty on Foreign Wool was Sixpence. I Won!. Total Pieces. Value. Yards. Value. lens at declared Value. Value. - --- --- -- 1821... 1,598,891 5,724,022 6,321,723 603,162136,740 6,41:3,94 1822... 1.705,248 5,6(06,493 8,432,924 721,673 160,507 6,489,673 1823...1,695,9`22 4,857,977 8,135.399 646,516129,978 5,634,471 1824...1,856,201 5,280,518 7,335,259 628,566 133,327 6,042,411 -----.. 6,836,262 21,469,010 30,225,305 2,599,917 560,552 24,629,479 Years when the Duty on Foreign Wool was reduced to One Penny. Wool. Total Pieces. Value. Yards. Value. lens at declared Value. Value. 1825* 1,741,983 5,334.485 7,798,610 717,938142,503, 6,194,926 1826-, 1,617,746 4,466.299! 4,936,9-a 404,235 112,375' 4,982,969 1827... 1,850,687 4,561,809' 6,09,353' 540,735 175,257' 5,277,861 1828...!1,819,2461 4,393,613 6,828,t5.31 527,336 143,033 5,063,982 rwo .14,3,4 1011.1 i 57.4.11 RA 21_519.61/3 i;,0~,t; 18;756,266126,023,3431V,190,2441573. 168 21,519,678 * Year of speculation. From the above statement it appears— That during the Four Years, 1821, 1822, Yards. 1823, and 1824, when the Duty on Foreign Wool was Sixpence, the British Woollens exported were 30,225,305 And that during the Four Years, 1825. 1826, 1827, and 1828, when the Duty on Foreign Wool was One Penny, the British Woollens exported were 26,023,343 Being a Decrease in the period of the Penny 4,201,962 Duty of Yards, or nearly 14 per Cent. And that during the Four Years, 1825,1826, 1827, and 1828, the Number of Pieces ex- Pieces. ported were '7,029,664 And in 1821, 1822, 1823, 1824 6,856,262 ,~ . and a fraction,' to every on of English Wool ex- ported. - - English Wool exported "(Including woollen and worsted yarn, and yarn of wool or worsted mixed with other materials) in the year ending sth January, 1829 2,106,110 Proportion of Foreign Wool imported, fourteen pounds and a fraction (i), to every one pound of English wool and woollen, and worsted yarn exported. He wished not any exclusive advantage to the wool-grower; all he asked for him was equal justice and equal protection. Was the wool-grower less taxed—was he less liable to contribute his share to the well-being of society than any other individual ? He implored their Lordships not to reject the reso lutions; if they refused to take them into their con sideration, they would take away the only remaining hope of a large, an industrious, and a suffering class of society. His Grace concluded, by moving the following resolutions : " That it appears from the evidence laid before the Select Committee of this House appoin:ed to take into con sideration the State of the British Wool Trade, that since the year 1824, there has been a fall in the prices of South dawn wool of one-half, added to a general depreciation, in a more or less degree, of all wool of British growth. " That this depreciation has befallen the occupiers of sheep farms over and above that which occurred, nearly equal in extent, simultaneous with the alteration of the currency in 1819, and simultaneous with a general nomi nal reduction in price of all produce and of articles of commerce at that period. " That it appears from the same evidence, that very large tracts of light lands cannot advantageously be con tinued in cultivation, without such a price for the wool grown upon them as may enable the fanner to make the breeding or feeding of sheep a constituent and principal feature of the agricultural economy ; that the result ef such lands being thrown out of cultivation, would not only deprive the population of those districts specially of the means of their own existence, but in discouraging and di minishing the breeding of sheep, would enhance to the labouring classes the price of one primary article of food, and at the same time to a considerable extent place this island, more than it is at present, in dependence upan fo reign countries for subsistence. " That it appears, likewise, from the same evidence, that the owners and occupiers of sheep farms are protected in a less degree from the overwhelming competition of foreign countries (not being the dominions of Great Britain), than the generality of proprietors of indigenous produce, and are thus excluded from the general rule of moderate protection by duty, adopted and practised in modern times by the Legislature of Great Britain, in re spect to her commercial policy. " That whilst it appears by this evidence that the price of South Down wool is reduced at this time to one-half of the rate it bore in the year 1793, it is notorious that the various State burthens of parochial assessments, and of general taxation, have, within the same period, more than trebled upon the agricultural interests. " That under a continuance 'of the present depression in the price of their produce, it would be distressing and ruinous to the wool-growers of England to be obliged to submit to these increased burthens of the State, aggra vated as they have been by the necessity imposed upon the country by the Act of 1619, of paying in a metallic Cur rency of full and sterling value the interest of an enormous debt contracted in a currency of greatly depreciated paper. That it is, therefore, highly expedient that Parlia ment take into its serious consideration the distressed con dition of the wool growers of this empire, with a view to their relief " The Motion having been seconded, The Earl of HAREWOOD said, it was not his intention to contradict the Noble Duke as to the general distresses under which the growers of wool at the present moment laboured ; but on behalf of that class of the community, as well as of the wool len manufacturers, he felt called upon to state that any attempt to tax the introduction of foreign wool would have the effect ef injuring both the one and the other. The trade, it was true, was distressed, but the question was, could our manufacturers do without the aid of foreign wool? He maintained that they could not ; the moment they attempted to impose a duty upon foreign wool, they would drive to the Continent that supply which we were at present furnishing to foreign markets, and what then would become either of the wool grower or the manufacturer ? Whatever might be thought to the contrary, it was a well-known fact, that the wool of this country had deteriorated in quality, and with that wool alone unmixed with foreign wool it would be impossible to supply foreign markets. He should upon these grounds oppose the Resolutions of the Noble Duke. The Duke of NORFOLK thought that there was riot such a deterioration in the growth of wool in this country as had been stated by some Noble Lords. He had considerable means of judging from having attended a good deal to his own flock of sheep, that some alteration for the worse had taken place in wool, owing to the amelioration in the food; for it was well known that, when the animals were well fed, the wool, though it increased in weight, would deteriorate in quality. He had kept an account, from which it appeared, that, in 1810, the clip of a flock (not of fat sheep) averaged 31b. 30z.; and in 1828, the last clip, it averaged 31b. 2oz. With respect to the distress under which flock farmers laboured, he believed it to be very great; greater, indeed, than of any other class of subjects in this country. Under these circumstances, he felt called upon to support the Resolutions of the Noble Duke. Lord WHARNCLIFFE and Lord MANS FIELD rose at the same time; but the call for Lord Whanicliffe having become loud and general, Lord Mansfield gave way, and the other Noble Lord proceeded to address their Lordships. He ad mitted that the flock farmer and wool grower were labouring under distress, owing to the low price of wool ; but the question was, how was the evil to be remedied ? He very much feared that the mea sure proposed by the Noble Duke (Richmond) would have the effect of still further lowering, in stead of raising, the price of the home produce in that article. He must observe, that he had re ceived the evidence of the wool grower with cau tion ; and so he should the evidence of the manu facturer, who told him that his cloth was as good now as it was twelve years ago; he should judge from the material, and not from the statement in either case. The Noble Duke had urged it as an argument against the importation of foreign wool, that Hoggett wool, im which article there was little competition with foreign markets, still retained its price. But the Noble Duke should bear in mind that Hoggett wool was of two years' growth ; and being longer and better in quality, could be used to greater advantage than the other wool of this coun try. It was a notorious fact that the wool of this country had deteriorated; and unless Ministers were prepared to pass a Bill to prevent the people of England from wearing as good cloth as their neighbours, the French and the Dutch, it was im possible to prevent the importation of foreign wool, which was so necessary to be worked up with our own. He was not exactly aware of the forms of their Lordships' House, but he hoped the motion would be met with something like what was in the House of Commons called " the previous ques tion." Noble Lords must be aware that even their servants would not now wear cloth which they them selves would not have objected to forty or fifty years ago. It was because we had a nearly free importa tion of wool, that we were enabled to supply not only our own markets, but the markets of Europe and the New World. The Earl of MALMESBURY supported the motion, and maintained that the wool-growers did not receive equal protection with the other branches of trade. He conceived that a large import duty should be placed on foreign wool. Lord ELLENBOROUGH believed that the two Noble Dukes and the Noble Earl were the greatest Being an Increase in the period of , the Penny 173,402 Duty of Pieces, or rather more than 2i per Cent. Average Export of British Woollen Manufactures, com puted by the Real and Declared Value, during the Pe riod of Four Years of the Sixpenny Duty's existence, as compared with the Average of those Four Years since that duty has been reduced : Average of Four Years, comprising 1821, 1822, 1823, 1824 £6,157,369 15 0 Ditto 1825, 1826, 1827, 1828 5,379,919 10 0 Exhibiting an Annual Decrease on the ---- latter period of £777,450 5 0 Aggregate Number of Pounds of Sheep and Lambs' Wool exported in each of the same periods of the foregoing exports :- 1821 34,226 lbs. 1822 38,208 1823 28,563 1824 53,743 1825 112,42411 n. 1826 142,980 1827 278,552 1628 1,669,389 2,203,345 154,740 Shewing an Increase during the Pe- 2 -- riod of the last four years of S 2,048,605 lbs. or about 1388 per cent. Aggregate Quantities of Woollen and Worsted Yarn (in cluding Yarn of Wool or Worsted mixed with other Materials) exported in eaeli of the same periods :- 1821 17,678 lbs. 1825 76,961 lbs. 1822 31,078 1828 131,002 1823 18,1381 1827 255,659 1824 20,060 1828 436,721 154,740 36,9541 900,343 86,954} Shewing an Increase during the last Z four years of or about 935 per cent. Aggregate Number of Pieces of Cloths of all sorts exported in each of the same periods : 1821 375,153 i 1822 419,748 i 1823 355,6974- 1824 40'7,1541 1,5.'9 . 7,741 1,417,418 1825 1826 1827 1828 384,598 i 327,968 i 370,850 334,0011 1,417,41$ 140,3251 Shewing a Decrease in the period of the lut four yeors of 140,3251 pieces, or about nine per cent. Aggregate Quantity of Wool imported in each period of four years of the last eight :- 1821 16,632,028 lbs. 1825 43,795,281 lbs. 1822 19,072,364 i 1826 15,964,067 1823 19,378,129. 1827 29,122,447 1824 22,558,222 1828 30,235,915 77,640,744 119,117,710 Inc g r r e p a g s o a e te f ( 1 , f V t o h e e l nn ported last f r p rd yearsuonan g of a t he 11, ,7L4 last eight, a 4 compared with the 41,476,96614 first four years of the same period j orahouts3 per cent. Average Number of Pounds of Foreign Wool imported in each Year of the last Four Years, of the last Eight, and of the first Four of the same Period : sufferers by the depreciation of the price of wool but that depreciation was greatly caused by the improved breed of sheep, which produced more wool than formerly, and by the fact, that more sheep Average per Year, for ihs• I were fed than at any previous period. There was a 1821, 1822, 1823, and 1824, 19,410,186 . material difference between the depreciation of the 1825, 1826, 1827, and 1828, 29,779,427} South Down wools and those of a coarser descrip- Foreign Wool imported in the Year ending ' tion,—and in both cases the depreciation had arisen sth January, 1829 30,246,89S from other circumstances than the importation of the Eriklish Sheep and Lambs' Wool exported the Year ending sth 4a'nuary, 1829 1,669,389 foreign article. The importation of cotton had in inpoporiion of Fort* Wool imported, eighteen Punch creased enormously, and the labouring classes that . . BIRMINGHAM PETITION. Lord CAII7NARVON presented a petition signed by 1,800 of the merchants, manufacturers, and tradesmen of Birmingham, complaining of the distress of that town, pointing out what they con ceived to be the causes of the condition into which they had been brought, and representing the means which in their opinion would be calculated to relieve them from their present existing dis tress. Though the Noble Lord could not in presenting the petition bind himself to support the whole of the stitements it contained, yet there were statements and truths in it which well deserved attention; and which, if their Lord ships meant to discharge their duty to the public, they would well consider between then and next Session. The Noble Lord earnestly hoped that tLe Noble Duke who had ,zentended so success fully on 3 late occasion against the enemies of his country a•oJl endeavour to meet the prayer of this petition, mid ihimediately resort to measures calculated to wipe off the national debt, The petitioners attributed the greater ;:iart of the dis tress to the alteration that had been Made in the currency of the country since the peace. The Noble Lord believed it was to the financial diffi- "~y .~ A t ;4 were formerly clothed in woollen were Daw,clitik— in a great measure by the cotton noup,tracPqNSr ,: He would maintain—and, indeed, thatiet t ifita vibus—that, with a low price of ;cotton It impossible to have a high price of wool. iirete to House to consent to any measure increasing price of wool, what other consequences could t ea l but that the poor would resort inure tO the l'O e cotton clothing, until the price of wool was apo l . reduced; so that if the revenue henefitted. the growers of wool would receive no correspond ia l advantage. In the year 1825, there were itnport into this country 147,000,000 pounds of cotton meant, of course, the raw material; but in Ir the quantity imported was 268,000A0 This great demand for cotton, of course, impliguL • some degree a less demand for woollen. The NIS • which the Noble Duke had stated were, therei? evidently not the real causes of the fall of pot nor would the measure of relief proposed by Noble Duke have the effect he imagined. It Iv ° 'i be impossible to shut out the low-priced foreign vir°,..% and admit the higher price He should move th e the House proceed to the other Orders of the Pat Lord DE LA WARRE could not support tl motion. He acknowledged that great distress oiste7 but he still thought it would be inexpedient to 4OP the measure proposed. The Marquis of SALISBURY was sorry that Noble Friend had considered the interest of the nufacturer and of the wool grower to be at varian ces; when, for his part, he could not help viewing t i n as inseparable. His Noble Friend had acknowledg e .;. the existing distress, but he had left out the coll i c deration of the consequence. It was more to 1 " • advantage of the wool-grower to have the home tom, than to possess the protection of a tritling 4l :l, t fr The Duke of RICHMOND said, that from he saw of the feeling of the House, he should nl avail himself of the, privilege of reply. He e; however, upon the House to meet the question , a° in relation to the South Down grower, but in ref e j e rence to the general interests of the country. a could now sell his wool in France for 'lid. the whilst in England he could get only 7d. The revenu e might be materially benefited by the mpsure proposed. Y• Their Lordships then divided, when there sr., peered, for Lord Ellenborough's Amendment •" Contents Non-Contents SS Majority... .......... --53 Adjourned at a Quarter before Nine o'clock. ": HOUSE OF COMMONS.--(LAST NIGHT' ) - Only thirty-seven Members being presen' t Four o'clock, the House was adjourned till to-0 0 row. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. FRENCH PAPERS. (From the .21fessager des Chantbres of Sunday.) PARIS, MAY 23. 0 n the sth of April the 14 4 . 1/ „ 6 ; Sian squadron was at Poros, to the number of ' a .; . ships of the line, three frigates, a corvette, lia .t d ,„, t i . I brigs. It was reported in that island, that Au" 1 , 11 Heyden having considered with the President v1"-f place of refuge the squadron should choose in c ase ° war with England, the port of Napoli had been chose4ll" and that in consequence 30 pieces of cannon ( g lt pounders) had been placed at the entrance of it• n is added, that the Admiral having since become se,"; sible that it was impossible to escape in that P te , from the English fleet, had resolved to join hit sq dron to that which is blockading the Dardantei o. and in case of a declaration of war, immediately force the passage to proceed into the Black Se id, It was affirmed at Poros that this junction wc )a q . very soon be affected.—Courier de Smyrne, April The Chamber of Deputies, in its sitting of Sat day, received the report of the committee of the bo get. The debate upon it was fixed for IVlondg, June 1. (From the Gazette de France, dated Mai 2 b* ) PARIS, MAY 24.—Mr. Gordon arrive d at i,T apleo on the sth of May. Several German Journals anc nounce that M. de Royer, the Prussian A mbassado. to the Porte, is on his way through Italy, to emba/c at Naples with the Ministers of the other Pow r°. The Chamber of Peers has adopted withou t de" bate the project of law on the endowment of, tb . peerage. TRICKS OF STOCKS THIS Bank itoca 2ll 103 i 8 per Cent. Red. . .. 87%% S per Cent. Cons. .. 8 1 4 3Yi per Cent. 03 14% Ditto Red. 96 %34. 4 per Cent. ...............103%%% Ditto, 1826 Ditto Scrip 3 ,4 3 pm. Bank L. Ana ..... 19% 9-16 India Stock 230 Ditto Bonds ...... 53 54 pm. DAY Ay DWI O'CLOCI. South Sea Stock ...•••••• '''' .0* Old Annuities ....••••••.••••• ........... •••• New Di ttu ...... ... . pri• Ex. Bills, Llpu .$" 06 a pia. Ditto 500 66 65 pm' Ditto Small ...... Na' Ditto Commercial •...... " Bank for Account ........ India for Account . ........ Cow. for Op. July 23...m7,' • ------- --- 7, L oa% TAIGAS OF FOREIGN FUNDS THIS DAY AT 014 R 0 0 " Austrian Bonds Brazilian Bonds 57304 834 9 - 34 P N eTu P :i l a i r Bo' ; 'n " ds ". '' ..." '' ''''' .... : ........ ..,". Buenos Ayres Bonds 25 Portuguese Bonds ............ .., Colombian Bonds ....... .... Ditto , Pnigsia N n e Chilian Bonds . ........... i s ' .. a Ditto, 1824 Danish Greek Bonds ---- 1823....... .......... «E...,, Ditto, 1825 —'French Renter, sp. C. '7... 4 * Guatimala I Mexican Bonds — ; 3 per cent . ...••• .... 1 44. Ditto, 1825 — ! ----- Exchange .• w Old ..... « ........ .......... .._____Spanish,ElxB2chl.an....g..:.. .. .... .... ............ • LOC‘. ..4 PRICES OF SHAMS TRIO DAY ' AT OK! 0% ,- P Paid. re 9) Anglo Mex. Min. Co. (iss. at 51. pm.) 2100 I Ditto Subscription Brazilian Imp. Min. Co. - (us. at 51. pm.) £2O 11: Ditto National 5 IP ' British Iron Mining Co. 47li United Mex. Min. Co. (iss. at 21. pm.) £:39j6 ____,--<‹. PRICES OF IRISH STOC Bank Stock Consols, 3 per cent. Gov. Stock, 334 per cent 9636 Ditto, New 4 per Cent lOl% Gov. Deb. 3% per cent 96X Royal Canal Stock 42% Grand Canal Stock City Deb. 4 per cent S4I Ballast Office Deb. 4 p. c -1 K SL B, Pa b t u ntk iN lti ' ru li r.7l: :4l'..h.)A Royal Irish Ditto ............. National Ditto... ............. Patriotic Ditty.. . ............ 0 Hibernian Bank ........... 'Provincial Ditto Royal Irish Mine. ............... Imperial Mine ... ... . ........ „. Mining Co. of Ireland ....... ,• Commercial Buildings ..... COMUI OP IEXCH.4 A masterda.m C.Y.12 Ditto, at ........ 19 24 Rotterdam 4 U 12 44 Antwerp 12 41 Hamburgh M. 8.13 14g Altona 11 144 Paris, 3 days' sight 25 ISO Ditto 2 U. 25 85 Bordeaux 95 90 Berliit MIN YESTERDAY. 4 ,14 Leghorn ........................ 5 Genoa 1 1 4 :1, Venice ..................... Malts— ..... .............. NWel; . l lO Palermo per su• Lisbon ......... Oporto . ........................ ft , o Janeiro .....«.......•... Bahia ...........«....... . ...... _ Buenos Ayres .......... Dublin, days' sigh Cork .......................... Rumors, ran 0 1 . ,. 0 Portugal Gold, coin... 0 . II Foreign Gold, in bars 0„ New t )oubloous ......... 0 u .0 A u new Dollars ....«..••• 0 - 0 Silver, bars. standard Frankfort on Maine, Ex. M. 152 Petersburgh, ruble, 3 Us. 10 • Vienna, effective d. 2 M. 10 7 Trieste de 10 Madrid ZN 4 Cadiz Bilboa Barcelona 96 Seville Gibraltar 4B eri L (1 LONDON, WEDNESDAY EVENING, MAY 27, 1529: The Messager des Chambres has some cle rious remarks (extracted from the Cant= er Smyrne) respecting the Russian Admiral 110i' Dzi. He was apprehensive, it seems, of a Ne' lf England, and was therefore adopting eel quisite means to ensure his own and his se ll oo , safety. "Qn the Atli April the Russian sq iii e 4roo wits at floras, to the number of fou r ° t oo of the line, three frigates, a corvette, 061 brigs. It was reported in that island tht' i re , miral HEYDEN having consulted with the 00 sident what place of refuge the squadron e b : s choose, in case of war with England, the p° ep ee Napoli had been chosen, and that in c onsse ve o 30 pieces of cannon, 24-pounders, had AO' placed at the entrance of it. It is aid e( ' $ ;1 1 the Admiral, hating since become sensible