The Sun. — London, England, 1830-01-09 00:00:00

/. health.—(Cheers.) It had hetet his fortune to spend a great part of•-his early life in Kant, at a time when the trade of srrogelitig was scarcely elOseiced, and the consequence was that the Ismer classes of the county universally resorted to that pernicious liquor called gin. And what was the result ? Why, that there wits scarcely a man who was able to do a good day's work in the whole county S to which he might add, that his father's house was - etery night surrounded by thieves on the lookout for tiny thing that might have been left unguarded or exposed to their depredations. Such were the blessings derived frOm the use of ardent spirits.— (Hear.) He should perform his promise of being as coecise as possible; but he must entreat them, on an occasion so important as the present, not to give way to any sort of exaggeration. Men were not always aware of the mischief that arose from painting a picture too highly, or representing things as they were not really. He remembered an in %tante of this, which took place in that very Castle yard, on the occasion of a public meeting being held respecting the Corn Laws. One of the persons present on that occasion stated that in the opposite port, on the Continent, there was sufficient corn to supply the consumption of this country for seven years. Had he stated seven days instead of seven years, he (Sir Robert) thought he would have ex reacted the fact. But what was the consequence ? Instead of the statement being treated with the rid'. utile it deserved, it went the round of the public !lapel c-was bandied backward and forward ma both aides of the House of Commons ; and in mere ways . than one did incalculable mischief to the cause— ( Hear, hear)—and he was sure that he had a right to complain of it, for he was set down as the author of the assertion. In connection with the Repeal of the Malt Duties, a most important question was :nom e times asked—how the tax was to be replaced ? He was not the Chancellor of the Exchequer ; and maces they were shortly to have a better Chancellor of the Exchequer than those feeble men who, of late years, had exercised —or, :ether, left unexercised —the important functions of that office, the country was not likely to be much better off.—(llear. her.) But he did not pretend to say that the tax 'could be repealed; it was true that pamphlets had been published for the purpose of endeavouring to Tow that the additional consumption would be the means of restoring the amount of the tax; but his of was to petition that till the taxes should be taitie away with—(Bravo, and a laugh)—he meant all the taxes on Malt and Beer. In his opinion, the •iktereased consumption would do nothing towards krepiog the tax at its present produce ; for sup poaing half the tax should he repealed, what was pained by the additional consumption might add to the amount of Malt Duties, but it would as cer tainly be absorbed by the deficiency in the amount of duties on ardent spirits.—(Hear, hear.) But he would say at once that he did not wish that the tax should be replaced, because he knew that by a long, decided, nod radical economy—by a new organi zation soul diminution of the army—by a reduction of its pay and pensions, every deficiency in the taxes might be supplied.—(Cheers.)—A great deal of talk was made about the necessity of keeping the national faith with the public creditor; but in his opinion the doing so would be the breaking that faith with the grossest injustice towards all the rest of the community. He did not mean to say that the Government ought to be blamed for the altera tion in the circulating medium, or for reducing that which was once exclusively British circulation to the circulation of all Europe; he believed that in time of peace such a course was necessary; but he objected to their now paying the interest of what was borrowed at a depreciated currency in the ad vented currency of the present time.—( Hear, hear.) Those who were calling out loudest re apecting the national faith with the public creditor, knew that it could not be done; they knew that in the very first year of a war the whole system must he put an end to. His object was to anticipate that time—to prevent its running to the last—and to put an end to a system which carried with it the destruction of thousands, and the ruin of millions. lie trusted therefisre that the petition would meet with the unanimous approbation of the meeting. The eyes of all England were upon them —every county was waiting for the issue: Lincolnshire had for once, at least, taken the lead ; and if they gave 'their unanimous support to the present proposition, their resolutions would be echoed through the whole of the Empire, and they and the people of England must ultimately prevail.—(Cheers.) The following is the resolution which was pro posed to the meeting by the Hon. Bart. in the course of his speech : " Resolved,—That Richard Thorold, Esq., Shoff of this county, by refusing to convene a County Meceting, no 3 requisition most unanimously signed by the Gentry, Clergy, end Yeomanry, has shown an unwarrantable con tempt for the wishes of the county, and has set a most slangerous example, tending to deprive the people of Eng land of their legitimate rights and constitutional privi leges, in a manner inconsistent Kith the due and impartial exercise of his; official duty.—llesolved, that the above resolution be printed in the county papers." Mr. SHIELD seconded the resolution. In his opi- Mon, the county of Lincoln had acted most wisely, and had shown its independence by being the first to come forward on this important question. The question of malt, however, was not the only one that pressed so severely upon the country; for if the importation of foreign corn was permitted to go on numb longer, the end of it would be that they would not have bread to eat, and then drinking would be of very little use. (Laughter and applause). Sir EDWARD F. BROONHEAD was quite of opi nion that a most unconstitutional example had been set on the present occasion : the right of the people of England to meet, through the proper authorities, tei ally subject that was not dangerous to the public pence, was indisputable. He, however, did hope that the mover of the Resolution would revise it in one part, which appeared to him to be personally offensive to the High Sheriff: the phrase that he alluded to was that of sliming " an unwarrantable contempt." For his own part, he had not seen any of it. On the contrary, the Sheriff's letter was un commonly civil and gentlemanlike—(Cries of no no; laughter, and hisses.)—He also begged to re mind the meeting of another thing, which was that the High Sheriff had most handsomely given the county Hall and Castle-yard for them to meet in that day.—(Laughter and uproar.)—lf Sir Robert Heron, therefore, did not wish to withdraw the words " unwarrantable corrempt," which he hoped he would—(Cries of " I hope he won't"—hisses.) Sir ROBERT HERON—I can assure you that I have always considered the High Sheriff as a man of libe ral principles and gentlemanlike conduct ; but my person:4 regard for him must not and shall not in terfere with the duty which I owe to the county.— (ApPlause.)—The words that I have used I have used after due consideration; and, let me add, that they are not applied in any . way to .his private cha racter, but to his public conduct. Colonel SIBTHORp said he bad great pleasure in meeting his: brother freeholders and freemen, he be lieved he might say, on that occasion, to discuss one of the most important questions that could ever come before the public. Till he came to the hustings hs had not seen the Resolution to be; proposed relative to the conduct of the Sheriff. Generally, he did not coincide in the language which bud been used by the Hon. Baronet. He knew nothing of the Sheriff—nothing whatever of his private character, and meant to speak of him only as he had, in the exercise of his discretion, thought right to refuse to call a County Meeting,:when the Requ'si ion had been most numerously sigeed. He knee ,aim only as a public man, and could not use toward:. him any of those expressions of forbearance or civility which the Hon. Baronet seemed to desire. He agreed completely and fully with the Hon. Baronet who had first addressed them, and cordially concurred in the proposed Resolution. It was altogether a mat.' ter of public duty; and the High Sheriff, by refus ing to call the meeting, had not behaved either well or respectfully to the county--(Bravol)—During the period that he had been in London i.e had at tended a meeting relative to the subject they were that tiny called on to petition about, and he knee that the conduct of the Sheriff in refusing to call the county of Lincoln together, bad been a subject of general interest and painful regrets At the meet ing which he bad thought It his duty to attend he hall heat(' the tonduct of the High Sheriff cen sured in tht warmest manner. It had been justly said that the eyes of all England were on that meet ing; and he hoped, now that they had met, th a t they would, by their firmness, by their determina tion, and by their unanimity ; ingriente other counties o follow their esesinple i and when the whole cone try toot up tbe question, be had do doubt that it would influence Ministers to discharge their duty, which on this point they had neglected, and induce them to institute such an inquiry into the distress of 'lie country as would lead to some measure of rt He hoped too that they would reduce the taxation which new pressed so very heavily on the country, and bore it down to ruin, and go fully into the dis cussion of all the causes of distress, so that the people should have no more cause to complain of their ne glect.—( Hear.)—He had he and with shame—arid he should not deserve the respect of his fellow countrymen—he should not deserve to exist—he should have no pleasure in any of the luxuries and comforts he enjoyed—(and he had his full share of them)—he should not deserve to be there, if he had not heard with shame, that the members, cn the motion of his Pon. Friend the Member for Corn wall, reffised to go into any inquiry as to the cause of the great distress of the people. He had, he was happy to say, attended in his place on that occasion, though many of the Representatives of the people had neglected their duty, and had given that motion all the support in hin power. He trusted and hoped that the strong expression of public opinion beginning with that meeting would make such a profound irn preFsion on the feelings of the whole country, that the Ministry would not be able to deny to the gene nil voice what they had refused to some individual., He differed from the Hon. Baronet in his opinion of the words applied to the conduct of the Sheriff, and he hoped that the meeting would unanimously agree to the Resolution.—(Great applause.) Sir EDWARD FFRENCII BROOMHEAD said, as he understood the Hon. Baronet to mean nothing per sonal by the words he had objected to, he would not destroy the unanimity of the meeting by pressing his Amendment. The Resolution was then put by the CHAIRMAN, and carried by acclamation. As was also a Reso 'trim', that this Resolution be printed in the County Papers. Col. JOHNSON was very happy to meet his fellow freeholders, and he should have the honour to pre sent to them for their adoption a petition relative to the repeal of the Duties on Malt and Beer. He meant not to trouble them at any length, but to stick close to the question. Sir Robert Heron had said that these duties were 150 per cent. on the cost of the article: he begged leave to correct that single observation—these duties were 200 per cent. —(Hear, hear.) They were ditties also which ope rated in the most odious and oppressive mariner, affecting all the poorer classes. Ile hoped to call things by their proper names, arid be meant to do so. They all knew the words that a publican was obliged by law to write over his door—" Licensed to sell Malt Liquors." Now, the meaning of these words was ' very contrary to what they were sup posed to imply. Besides the dirties on Malt and Beer, there were also duties on hops; and the meaning of these words really were—a licence to collect the public revenue. If he went into a public house and asked for a quart of beer, the landlord might be disposed to make him pay 2d. for it; and he would be well disposed to do th;s, but there was, in fact, an exciseman at his elbow, who, for every 2d. he charged, made him pay 4d. to the Excise. If he went to a public-house, and was made to pay 6d. for a pot of beer, he should think it a great hardship, and he did not think it made any difference that 4d. of his went to the Excise, and 2(1. to the landlord.—(Laughter.)—The words, therefore, meant a license to collect the revenue of Excise.—(Hear.)—F•e did not exaggerate—he had no occasion; it was only necessary to describe the thing fairly. The duties were altogether a most hateful tax. There was also the Excise duty on hops, and a man could not grow a stalk of hops for his own use, without being liable to a penalty of 201,—(That's true.)—A man could not make his own malt in his own way, and to get rid of these I odious taxes would be a great benefit to the public. He did not advocate the abolition of them as an advantage to the landlord, but to the public gene rally ; and lie hoped that they would receive the petition unanimously. The eyes of all England were on their decision. He knew that some of the Ministers thought light of county meetings; but they would not, and could not, think light of the general opinion of the country, if strongly expressed and Strongly enforced by its representatives, as he hoped it would be, if that meeting set the example. —(Bravo, bravo.)—l-Ie trusted the petition, which he would then read, would be unanimously sup ported. Colonel Johnson then read the follow ing petition to the Honourable the House of Commons : " We, the undersigned inhabitants of the County of Lincoln, call upon your Honourable House, beseeching you earnestly, though respectfully, that you will give your undivided attention to the insupportable distress which pervades the country. " We humbly represent that taxation, excessive as it was at the conclusion of the war, has become far more so by the change in the value of money. " That it is incumbent on the Government to accom modate its expenditure to this new order of things, which it has itself created. " That the burden is now intolerable, and must be lightened. " We, therefore, under a perfect conviction that taxes must be remitted to a great amount, beg to point out to your Honourable House the injurious nature of the taxes on Malt and Beer. " That they arc hostile to Agriculture., and equally dis advantageous to Manufacture, for they deprive us of the use of our own produce, and send millions of pounds cut of the country to purchase the produce of foreign soils. " That they deprive the people of their national beve rage, forcing them to the use of noxious drugs and ardent spirits. " That that those obnoxious taxes fall principally upon the middle and labouring classes; and that the effect is to demoralise the one and to make the other dissatisfied. " We, your petitioners, therefore, humbly pray your Honourable House that you would be pleased to repeal, forthwith, those odious taxes, and grant that the trade in Beer may be made free." Major HANDLEY seconded the motion for the adoption of the petition. He was confident it would be found generally acceptable. If the petition were riot good, he was sure the character of Colonel John son would make them receive it with favour and indulgence.—(Bravo.)—But he did not use the character of any man to impose on them a measure of a doubtful utility, arid the petition was, he thought, so good that it might well stand on its own legs. The petition went on the great principle that taxation was excessive, and was carried beyond what the nation could bear.—(True, true.)—lt must therefore be reduced. Under such circum stances, it would follow that all taxation, even sup posing it justly and'fairly levied on the whole com munity, and the best taxation which could be levied, must be reduced; but the taxes they now wished to have repealed were neither just nor impartial; they were not levied on the whole community, but on part of it, the least able to bear the burden. They fell altogether on the middle and labouring classes. To the labouring classes beer was a neces sary of life; some drink they must have; and, as they could not get beer, they took to gin, which made them unfit to live. The Government had proved its partiality by reducing the taxes on tea and coffee, which were the luxuries of the rich, which were also the produce of a foreign land, and consinn ing which took away the employment from our people. Beer was the produce of our own fields, or the ma nufacture of our own people; and using it gave em ployment to our own labourers. In looking at the causes of our distress, some people would not look straight-forward—they looked to the right or the left, and would squint.—(Bravo.) The only cause of all our distress was excessive taxation. It was taxation which deprived capital of profit, and hrbour of employment. The frruPtl toe, that we're taken from the industry of the country and carried into the Exchequer, were doled out among the idle and the luxurious. They were extorted from the labour and sweat of the people, to be given to those who did nothing.—(Bravo.) Those who were adverse to the repeal the petition propoi,A , =-If am such were present—Might say that the Government could not do without these taxes, but he believed the resources of the Government could well spare them. They all knew that salaries had been raised when money was reduced in value, and that they had riot since lowered. They ought to he lowered, and there was some public property which might be appropriated. This was a delicate subject, and he would not then say anything further on it, as he hoped he might soon have another opportunity. He believed that the resources of the country were ample, and he hoped to see them so administered that England should again acquire prosperity, and again deserve the name of Merry England. He hoped the time would yet come when songs might be again heard in honour of the can of nut-brown alettow almost forgotten; and when every cottager ; surrounded by his wife and family, might be happy with them over the nut-brown beverage of his forefathers. Ile hoped, too, that they would be unanimous in ex pressing their opinions, and that next year he should be able to wish them joy that their taxes were done away, and they all in the enjoyment of good ale. Mr. CHAPLIN (Member for the County) always felt great pleasure in meeting the freeholders, whe ther they were called together by the Sheriff or by any other means. He was happy to say that the obnoxious laws which ,impeded county meetings had been done away, and that the Magistrates had the right, which they had exercised, of calling the county together. He was always happy to meet the freeholders, to hear their opinion, and boldly to express his own. Though he differed in some re spects from the gentleman who moved tire petition, he did not mean to olject to it, and indeed he thought the greater part of it very good. The first part of it was not, indeed, quite strong enough; for they ought to make a strong and earnest request for the reduction of taxation. He drought they ought also to call for a full inquiry into the cause of our distress. That such distress existed nobody could deny; and to no persons was it better known than to them, many of whom, he believed, found it difficult to pay the enormous poor-rates which now fell on the county. From this pressure, and other similar ones, they would obtain no relief what ever by the beer being 4d. instead of 6(1. (No, no! that won't do!)—He did not mean to make any disagreeable remarks; but it was not by clamour there or elsewhere that arty measure could be carried. It must be done by argument addressed to the reason of the community. The great dis tress which existed could not be relieved by the re peal of one tax—he was going to say this; and that there ought to be a great reduction of taxation to give them any sensible relief. He would not then go into the financial questions connected with the subject, but he would make one or two remarks. They were suffering partly from the introduction of foreign coarse wool ; and it was impossible for the farmer to thrive if the home market were supplied by foreign growths, at half the price they could sell wool for. While Ministers were allowing the pro ductions of foreign countries to be brought into this country, every nation on the Continent eas :prohi biting the introduction of our commodities. He agreed to the petition, as far as it went to ask for a reduction of taxation; but lie did not think that would relieve the distress, unless they also obtained protection for their own industry. The meeting must be aware that it called on tire Government to abolish taxation to the amount of seven millions; anti to meet this, there must be a great reduction of expenditure. To make this, both Houses of Parliament ought to be petitioned, to institute a full investigation into the circumstances of the nation. He agreed fully with the petition, except that he thought the prayer of it too confined.—(Bravo). Mr. A. CALCRAFT was perfectly satisfied wit' the petition, and he hoped they would alsopetition against free trade. Free trade only deprived the British labourers of employment to give it to foreigners. It disabled the farmer to find employ ment for the labourer and give him adequate wages. Our people must have employment before they could be prosperous. Employment and prosperity went together, and he hoped, therefore, that they would ask for that protection for their industry which was now more than ever necessary. Colonel SIBTHORPE had before said a few words o them relative to the conduct of the Sheriff, and he would then, with permission, say a few words on the subject of the petition, anti glad was lie to find t brought underdiscus,ion. He coincided with his Hon. Friend (Sir R. Heron), that it would not be well to take up their time by entering into the wide field of the general distress, or to enumerate all the causes—and perhaps they were innumerable—which had led to the present state of suffering. He agreed with his Honourable Friend, the member for the county, that a great deal of it was to be attributed to the shameful encouragement given to the con- somption of articles of foreign growth. He had lately thought it his duty to perambulate the City of London, and, to his great regret, he had noticed that the shops were filled with foreign article's of the most trumpery description, all fancy and finery, and of no real value.—(Hear, hear.)—Hc been into a glass shop, and the honest man he found there would rather have sold English than foreign goods ; but he said nobody would buy the English, and he was obliged to keep French. At the same time when he attempted to send even a pair of decanters to France, they were seized as soon as they were landed. It was with glass and other things as with ladies' bonnets—unless they were of a peculiar kind, and got at a particular place, the person who used them was considered to be no body.—(Hear, hear, and a laugh.)—Not to be no body, people went to Paris, or bought foreign goods, instead of staying at home and consuming the pro duce of their own country. He liked to live in his own country, and in his own city, and to spend his property in his own neighbovrhood. He was some time ago passing down liegent-street, and he could hardly get along by the conflux of carriages which were putting down persons at two shops, that con tained nothing but some new fashions imported from Paris, or from some other foreign place. For things of that kind people had to pay tenfold their value; anti after they had bought them they were of no use. He rejoiced that they had come there to petition against the taxes on malt and beer, which were heavy, partial, and oppressive, affecting the labouring classes chiefly, whom they compelled to to have recourse to the noxious liquor gin. He had bought a bottle of this, and not hav ing the power, like the Fire-King, of resisting poi sons, he had been quite satisfied with the sm e ll.— He understood that three gin-shops in the neigh bourhood of Covent-garden sold 400 gallons of gin per month, or about 1,300 glasses each day; and he had heard of one house that had sold 350 glasses before breakfast. Porter, as at present made, was half composed of semi pepper, quassia, liwtorice, coculus Indices, and nux voinica. If it were exa mined it could not be sold, arid it was principally intended to give employment to informers. He h a d a great respect for the law, but it was impossilhe to approve of a law from the punishment of which an honest mini could not escape. They had often be fore met, and lie hoped they would often again meet, to express their sentiments fearlessly and boldly, and convince the Government that they had both the power and the will to resist oppression. He hoped speedily again to incet the county, and hear the people give instructions to their Representatives to promote an inquiry into the causes of our dis tress, and endeavour to remove it. He would not then, as the day was so very cold, trespass longer on their patience, as he should probably speak more at length when he got with them into warmer quarters, arid when he and they had something bet ter in their stomachs than the cold air.—(Applause.) Sir E. FFRENCH BROOKBEAD was of,opinion that , ihe price of beer was much teo high. Ile waealso of opinion, that the Government had acted Unwisely and unfairly. It had reduced the duties on rum, on brandy, on wine, and on every thing except beer.— Either the duties ought to have been left on the other articles, or the duties on beer ought to have been reduced. The consequence was ; that respect able people had been driven to drink drabs, who would forMerly have been ashamed of it. He would be the last man to object to the comforts of the people ; he did not, like some people, look on beer drinking as a crime, but be was averse to gin drink ing from its ruinous consequences. The labourers of England worked better than those bf some other countries, only because they were better fed; they were formerly used to have meat and beer ; in harvest time they now had both, and then they pro bably did more work than any other people. Farmers' servants who were well fed worked well, as they all knew, and he should like to see the time come when our labourers again got plenty of meat and beer.—(Bravo.)—He should be glad to see the taxes on beer done away, and instead of gin, that the people should drink good ale ; but unless the public-house monopoly was at the same time done away, he did not think they would gain much. This monopoly levied a tax of three millions on the people, without contributing one farthing to the revenue. In fact, it diminished the revenue, by diminishing consumption. The Govern ment violated the most approved principles of taxa don in taxing hops, and that tax also ought to be done away. So far he believed that what he had said was consistent with the views of the other gen tlemen preien-, and he thanked the meeting for the attention it had paid him ; but what he had yet to say, he was afraid might not be so well received. Something had been said about public property. He hoped that nothing was meant to be undertak,n against the Fundholder, and against the property of the Church.—(Voices in the crowd, " Against both I")—Major Handley explained that his obser vations had applied to the Crown Lands. Sir E. F. BROOMIIEAD—There was a great deal of exaggeration with respect to them. They were already included in the sources of public revenue; and did nor, he believed, produce more than 200,0001. a-year (take the Parsons' property.) He was afraid, if they demanded the abolition of ton many taxes on articles of consumption, that the Go vernment _would be obliged to have recourse to an income tax; and be did not want any such thing, and he hoped none such would be adopted. He was an enemy also to free trade, unless it were all free; and while the farmer was called on to submit to a free trade in wool and in corn, he was not al lowed to have a free trade in Bank Notes. The people were not allowed to have free trade in public houses—nor free trade in game—nor free trade to India—not free trade to China—nor free trade in anything but in the produce of their bitterest ene mies. The country did not want the long coarse wool of foreigners, but with it the trade was free to the injury of the farmer. He wanted to see trade universally free, or else protection afforded to the British farmer. They would best show the mode ration of their proceedings by disclaiming any inten tion of meddling with property; and to express his own views, he had drawn up an amendment, which he hoped Colonel Johnson would allow to form part of the petition. Sir Edward then read the following amendment : " Your petitioners at the same time distinctly disavow any intention to urge the adoption of measures which may endanger the public credit, or the honour and safety of the k•ngdom, and they especially deprecate any financial measure or arrangements which may lead to the imposition of an lncome Tax in time of peace." [The meeting on hearing the amendment read, called out loudly, " No, no."] Mr. WRIGHT, of Brattelby, seconded the amend ment. I Colonel JOHNSON opposed it :he did not vsant an Income Tax; he wanted the Government expendi ture reduced, and if the Chancellor of the Exche quer could not reduce it, let the Ministers put him in that Right Hon. Gentleman's place, and he would reduce it twenty millions. As for public property, he wanted to have a slap at all public propert►es; and after that he would compromise with the public creditor on the best terms he could, but so that every person should bear his fair share of the public burdens. He wanted to see the energies of England relieved from the pressure on them, so that she might nut silently suffer the aggrand'sement of other Powers. He should oppose the amendment; and he hoped they would now unanimously petition against the duties on malt and beer; he hoped, too, that they would succeed in getting them taken off; and that next year he should meet them to petition for the abolition of some other taxes.—(Bravo, bravo.) Sir WILLIAM INGILBY, the other County Mem ber, then offered himself to the notice of the Meet ing, and was received with some marks of appro bation. He was glad to meet the county on any terms, but he thought it not very liberal in the Sheriff to refuse to call a county meeting. It was not perhaps a regular county meeting, in the absence of the Sheriff; but he felt much gratitude to the Magistrates who had signed the Requisition for the Meeting, and under whose guidance they ,had as sembled. He had been sorry to hear, on a recent occasion, when he had met a body of his constitu ents at Grantham, that they were in so bad a state; and since that time, he had busied himself in find ing out some plan to give them relief. He had drawn up something which he should probably submit to the Meeting, if he were not afraid of interfering with the results of that day's proceed ings; and if that were the case, he should propose it some other and more suitable opportunity. What they wanted was a great reduction of taxation, which at present was enormous in its amount. If they could get the Malt and Beer Duties taken off, that would be one step, one point gained, anti they might afterwards gain another. He hoped he should meet the county ut some future time to submit his propositions to the freeholders. The distress in Lincoln hire was very great, but it was not so great as in those parts of the kingdom where manufac tures were established; and he had lately been re siding in one of these, where he knew that the people were almost starving at his own door. Even in Lincoln the distress was greater than he was aware of, till he had met someof theagriculturistsat Grant ham, a few days before, he could not know it to be so great as he had found it to be without at tempting something for their relief. As to what hatfbeen said about the Government not reducing the taxes, and not touching public property, lie knew that the taxes had for some time past been paid out of the capital of the farmer. If not taken out of the capital of the farmer, he was sure that they could not come out of their profits, and he did not know why they should be ruined to enrich the tax-gatherer and the fundholder. If the country was in such a bad state that its resources were no longer equal to its wants, the Government was bound to reduce its expenditure, to lay its taxes on equally, and: allow all to go down together, not to ruin only one class. The people ought to come forward, and he hoped that they would, to expos tulate with Parliament when it was opened, in order to obtain a reduction of expenditure. Nothing but that could give us any great relief; and to show that he was in earnest, he had drawn up such a peti tion as he thought ought to be sent to Parliament. He had taken considerable pains with it ; but he did not think that he should propose it for their consideration at that time.—(Let us have it; give it us now, and a general call of the meeting for the Hon. Baronet to read the petition.)—He accord ingly read it as follows 4 TO TIIE HONOURABLE THE COMMONS OF THE UNITED KINGDOM OF GRZAT BRITAIN AND IRKLAND IN FAR- LIAMENT ASSEMBLED, " The Humble Petition of the People of the Ccunty of Lincoln, " SHEIVETII,-That your petitioners are plunged into distress absolutely intolerable : that in a county so highly favoured by nature, all the proofs of decline, decay, poverty, and misery are seen in their strongest colours ; that farm ers, tradesmen, and shopkeepers are become one mass of in sulYetits ; that thousands of virtuous, and industrious, and frugal families are either ruined, or are on the verge of ruin; and the consequent want of employment amongst the labouring classes has led to a state of want and misery such as no people on earth, much less English people, ever besore bad to endure. " That your petitioners ascribe this disgraceful and fearful state of things to the changes in the value of money, atbitrarily made by your Honourable House, and unac companied with a reduction of the taxes ; because, by that change, the taxes have, during the last Moen years, been more than double in amount. " That your petitioners, therefore, pray that your Ho nourable House will cause to be made a great and imme diate reduction in the taxes; and that you will be pleased to begin by totally abolishing the burdensome and cruel takes On malt/ hops, leather, soap, and candles—(laugh ter)---all of which are inttilefab!y oppressive to farmers, to labourers, and to all the tradesmen and others depend ing on the cultivation of the land. " And your petitioners will ever pray." It went a little beyond the requisition, as the meeting would have seen. The distress, as he had described it, was intolerable, though he might pos sibly have used too strong language.. —(lt is correct.) —The Hon. Baronet concluded by saying, that he hoped to see the time when the repeal of taxation, such as he prayed for, would be carried into effect. —(Applause.) Sir ROBERT HERON begged to set the Hon. Ba ronet right as to county meetings. A county meet ing was legal when called by the Magistrates as well as when called by the Sheriff or by the Lord Lieu tenant, and that was as much a county meeting as if the Sheriff had presided. Mr. CHOLMELEY differed from the Hon. Baronet in not thinking the counrry in such desperate circumstances as he seemed to suppose. He might, indeed, think our circumstances desperate if he could not trace the measures which caused our distress; but every measure which had produced evil was distinctly known, so that the steps which it was necessary to retrace, to restore our prosperity, were plainly before us. There was no cause to des- pair, Though he, for one, must say that he thought the agriculturists had partly been the cause of their own distress. (" How, how They had partly caused it by their extreme apathy. Like charity, they had believed and hoped, and suffered all. The reason why the Ministers had not taken off the taxes on Malt and Beer was, that they, like other people, were ready to attend to the most clamour ous. The Ministers had given relief to those who had been constantly and steadily asking it of them. Now the agriculturists could hold out no longer, and, as had been said, the contest was soon coming between the fundholders and the landlords. If the agriculturists did not take care of their own interests, they might be sure the Ministers would pass them over. He formed this opinion from the eagerness he noticed in several weekly and daily journals to decry the agriculturists; and in particular there was one journal which he noticed be cause of its great influence, but which displayed most lamentable ignorance on all questions con nected with the agricultural interest. Its sentiments, too, were those of wishing to destroy that interest. It seemed to think that. the gentlemen of that part of the country were born under a fenny atmosphere, and could not comprehend their own interest. But he would add, that the Meeting would regard him as thick-pitted if he did any more than touch on such a topic in such weather. lie wished to see the Malt and Beer Duties repealed, but he was afraid that this would only be like a drop its the ocean. There were many other taxes which must be repealed—many other laws which must be amended—and there were many other causes of their distress of more importance than these duties, to which l►e could not even allude. There was the currency also, which had added, as they all knew, One-fourth to all their charges, and bad increased the value of all public taxes and salaries. By an arbi trary and most unjust change, by violent operation, their property and the.property of all the industrious parts of the community had been altered in its value. —(The Meeting expressed some impatience at being detained.)—Mr. Cholmeley therefore concluded by ' expressing his satisfaction at the respectability of the Meeting, and declared, though he had not very san guine hopes of attaining their object, yet the con sequence of that Meeting would be important, and it would not, he hoped, be without some effects on the authorities of the country. Mr. HEALY expressed his satisfaction at hearing what had fallen from Sir W. higilby, as he had been one of the Hon. Baronet's tutors, and had taken some pains to make him aware of the true situation of the country. He also expressed his satisfaction at the respectability and great numbers of the meeting. Mr. T. SMITH said a few words to recommend Parliamentary Reform to the attention of the meet ing, but the cold had made the farmers so impatient, and their usual dinner hour having nearly arrived, they cut Mr. Smith very short. He said that they could not expect any reform in the expenditure as long as the Parliament was unreformed, and he there fore hoped they would next petition fur Parliamentary Reform. Before the meeting broke up, Colonel SIBTHORPE proposed that they should consider the propriety of calling another County Meeting, to discuss the question of the general dis tress.—(Bravo.) Colonel JOHNSON would readily agree to the pro posal, but he hoped the meeting would not be called till the weather was warmer. The CHAIRMAN then read the petition and the amendment, and afterwards put them to the vote, when the amei.dment was rejected, no person but the mover, that we could see, holding up his hand for it ; and the petition, as at first proposed by Col. Johnson, was unanimously agreed to. Col. JOHNSON stated, that the petition would soon be ready for signature, and he hoped the peo ple would sign it numerously. It would subse quently be sent round to the different market towns, and would lie there for signatures. Sir W. INGLLBY moved the thanks of the meeting to the Gentlemen who first signed the requisition for calling a county meeting, and also to the Magi strates who had, on the Sheriff's refusal, called the county together; and also to Mr. Handley, one '.lf them, for his able and impartial conduct in the chair. Sir C. F. BROOMHEAD seconded this motion, which was carried by acclamation. Mr. HANDLEY, in the name of his brother Ma gistrates and in his own name, returned his thanks to the meeting. He congratulated the persons pre sent on the propriety of their proceedings ; he was pleased to see 'so numerous and respectable an as sembly ; he was glad of their unanimity, and lie sin cerely trusted that the next time they met he should have to congratulate then on the success of their exertions, and on having obtained the object they had then met to petition for. He hoped, with Col. Johnson, that they would cease to see the Excise man walking through the laud, or standing in the streets. He hoped, too, that the brewers' monopoly would he done away, and that he would sell most beer who brewed it the best and cheapest.—(Great applause.)—MG, Handley then declared the meet ing dissolved. Long before this period the people had gone away in considerable numbers, under the influence of the cold and the damp ground, it being covered with snow. In a few minutes the Castle-yard was entirely clear, every liody appearing anxious to get into warmer quarters. The Life and Correspondence of Sir THOS. MUNRO, the late Governor of Madras, of which we lately gave a brief outline, is now published, and may be said to comprehend an recurate history of India during the last 45 years, told in the vivid language of one who writes the impressions he feels at the moment. Nor is this we are assured, the only charm attaching to the work hi• private letters to his parents, his sister, and hiv wife, an said to be as replete with amiability, wit, humour, de scriptive talent, and single heal tedness, as his official cor respondence is comprehensive of accurate and extensive information ; whilst his minutes and papers upon the opening of the trade, the system of internal government, and other questions relative to the general management of British India, will be read at th:e moment with the deepest interest. MEDICO-BOTANICAL SOCIETY. Last night an adjourned Meeting of the Medico• Oil nicat Society was held, for the purpose of continuing inquiry into the conduct of Mr. Frost, and of considei", the course which, under the circumstances, it might expedient to adopt. At seven o'clock, the hour appoio"- a considerable number of gentlemen had assembled ; Earl STANHOPE, the President, took the Chair imp. diately; upon which be inquired if Mr. Frost was r, pared to &liver up the papers, books, and other prope l belonging to the Society, then in his possession ? Mr. FROST-4 wieli to ltsk a question— The PRESIDENT-Oedrf, &Mer You will plexe confine yourself to a categorical y'ei? of ceo I Mr. Frost was silent. The PRESIDENT-Gentlemen, you see that N. ien gi man is not disposed to make any answer. It was t, fectly time that thegentl e m an h a d o bj ecte d to t h e au thor , of the Coun c il ; b u t it W as se aree ly to b e suppose d the' would deny the right of the &sciety to resume Its 41. property whensoever it might think proper, and to e l l the custody of that in whomsoever it pleased, NoW had to report t o th e M ee ti ng th a t i n con f orm i t y ttith'' , vote of the Meeting held on Tuesday, applicatiort P been made to Mr. Frost for the articles in question, °f • that up to that time no answ e r h a d b een rece i ve d f rom b' ; by either Treasurer or Conservator, who both had $: dressed communications to bins. The Herbaria, books, and the other matters in the possession of ril, l Frost, were of value and impo r t ance to t h e S oc i et y Council had done all in th e i r p ower t o accomp li s h thee' jects of their appointment, and more especially as respe li Mr. Frost ; he wished that every part of their proceed' had been made public—he wished that their into thoughts.could be known—and then, indeed, it would 1 4 pear, that they had been actuated by nothing but el! of which Mr. Frost had t a lk e d so muc h, " t h e go od , ' the Society." There were some facts to which he shoP . , now deem it necessary to ca ll th e i r a tt ent i on . In J P spring of the past year they received notice kora P trustees of the house in which they then were, that eb l must quit the apartment they occupied. It was prop) ° , to transfer their property either to the residence of e Treasurer, at Bromptan, who very kindly offered 0 4 the requisite accommodation, or t o t h e residence o P f . Free., Bridge -street, Blackfri a r s . B ot h were exceediot inconvenient, but the latter was adopted for the ar tie mentioned. Now it was well known that Mr. Frost sided in the house of the Humane Society only on ale' ance, and they, of course, knew not the moment at strl , i• his successor might demand to have the rooms vacated which the pro ; -arty of the Society had been deposited ; Treasurer therefore applied to Mr. Frost for the article' his hands. • Mr. FstosT-I never received any typlication on subject. The PRESIDENT knew not whether the gentleman b e received any application ; but this he knew and belie"' that application had been made to him at his custoM° place of residence. At that time he believed lie had be removed from his situation und er th e D u k e o f C um b er l a o and he did not know whether he then resided at Ken' e elsewhere, but he was informed, and could not doubt, the applications were made to him at his proper place ° residence. To the conduct of one who had been goi l l of retaining the property of others he would not apr; the language which that conduct merited. Neither CO OII he, without a feeling of extreme reluctance, direct s ° attention of the meeting to a matter respecting the cc" duct of Mr. Frost as to the accounts of the establia le i meat. Bringing this subject before the meeting large might be attended with consequences most t° pleasant to Mr. Frost, and therefore it would 1 4 1 been infinitely better if the whole cons id erat i on o f had been reserved for the Council. His Lordship 010 entered into various details, the object of which was to 8 1 ° I that Mr. Frost had received sums of th e S oc i ety ' s moo ., for which he had not accounted, and that he had be, guilty of acts manifesting a disposition to raise himself O," the dictatorship of the So c i e ty, th us d o i ng i n j ury the rt'F„ serious, instead of the good of w hi c h h e was so consta os? , speaking. His Lord s hip th en recurre d to t h e m i sch i ev ci: effect which must ari s e t o th e S oc i e t y f rom t h e pract i c e; the Directors usurping the power of admitting Membej without th e consen t o f t h e b o d y at l arge . H e was gr i e f to state th a t o n l a t e occa ions he had been gr ea tly delud', by the representations of Mr. Frost. He wondered It,; any persons could have confid ence e i t h er i n the jtst ment of Mr. Frost, or i n th e accuracy of his rein sentations. He then adverted to a s t atement ma de r him by Mr. Frost respecting the conduct of a Mel° her of the Society, Mr. Brown,. which had bed made the subject of inquiry by the Society. T 1 37, he had fou n d, w ere not f oun d e d i n fact, an d i t Was the* fore no matter of surprise that he had withdrawn his fulence from Mr. Frost. The whole of his conduct at peared to he governed by a spirit of dark intrigue, w hie, though not skilfully conducted, was fiequently producti" of mischievous effects. With such a man it was iraP° / ' sible he could could continue to act—that be could r e m,in President of a Society of which he was the Direct tor. He would DOW read an advertisement, that %rots, show p re tty conc l us i ve l y w h at h a d b een t h e conduct n'w, proceedings of Mr. Frost. His Lordship then read th following advertisement : " At a meeting of the Members of the Medico-Bet s nical Society of London, holden on the 24th of Decembe! 1829, John Frost, Esq. Director, F.S.A. in the Chair' The Chairman having laid before the meeting a numb° of circumstances, proving that the present system of con", ducting the Society, as adopted by the existing Coun o was contrary to the Bye-laws, and calculated to frustro ! the objects for which be f oun d e d i t; an d t h at i ts constr tution being thus violated, its laws were no longer a W e 'd guard ; it was resolved unanimously, ' That a change President is hereby declared necessary, and that the Chair man be empowered to take measures for filling up of 08 said office accordingly, and make such other arrange; ments as may appear to him to him 'o be for the good 01 , the Society; and report thereon to the next me e ting' Signed by order of the meeting, John Frost, Chairrn o N.B. All communications on this subject to be a ddresse d to Mr. Frost, No. 32, Sackville-street, Piccadilly." That the Director had there assumed the office of diets; tor, was evince" in a manner almost ludicrous—it We effrontery without parallel. It was as if th e Lord private Ch an r d es c i . d al e i n eci ce, th s e um m m ee o t n in ed g a a e r i o t u ti l n i; ilq Nothing th a t h e ever reme lts' e the consummate assuran ce' t iorh) l eefi i erml ti er ed ae n c flho:lalalwir(loiad'ulolseaelfilteetodhigfl th e P e e rs, s e ji (P ff io r e equaletr o od n r t . r y, the unheard-of audacity .' 1 [Here Mr. Frost rose to quit the room. Lord St a aboll said, I will net go any further—_l have done. Sever a l Gentlemen said it was impos s ibl e t h at M r . F rost co ol remain to hear such grossly personal attacks. On tb e understanding that there was to be an end of them, SP Frost returned.] The Pazsinzwr resumed, saying that he wottld the°, call before them a wit ness , w h ose test i mony, h e d ou btej not, would excite no small surprise. He then calk * Thomas Knight, porter at the house, No. 32, Sackvili e street, in which the meeting was then auembled, srh e made a statement as follows : " On last Tuesday night, Mr. Frost came to me, . 4 said I could do him a great Fervice. I replied I should h e happy to do anythi ng f or hi m th a t l a y i n m y power. It asked me to turn off the gas th a t s u pplied thi s roo m wit': light. I refused to do any such thing. He replied, 60 ti hat n i d o n c o o i a d l e l r w a t o i d on w b o e u o l d v e i r n i c t e h m h e i ni t; do l s aB o, 'u fo r r ed l wee aware that there were nearly one hundred gentlemen 0 , the room, and any one in the room, were the gas turn s" off, would have been subjected to much inconvenience fron t the escape of gas from the pipes ; I mentioned the prop(/' sitisn to the Secretary and Treasurer." The SECRETARY stated that he had some doubts of the porter's representations ; for Knight said to him (the Se' cretary) that Mr. Frost offered him 101. The PRESIDENT then read the draft of an intended AP davit, in substance agreeing with the foregoing testimony' Mr. FROST-Why was that not sworn to? The Pitestnexr—The Magistrate of the Marlborough' street Office thought proper to decline receiving it. • The examination resumed—H e did not make any Offe r of money ; he merely said he would be my friend. , The TREASURER stated th a t th e p or t er had represen t Mr. Frost as having offered him money. By a MEMR ER—I have general directions to turn 0 1 the gas at ten o'clock ; and I have frequently done it w hile the Members were in the House, but not in the room. By Dr. Sic MOND-Mr. Frost was perfectly serious; j e was the beadle desired me to turn off the gas. (At this moment Knight was taken suddenly ill, o' l was carried nut of the loom in a state of insensibility.) The PRESIDENT to :k that opportunity of apologisint for anything which fell from hint at the conclusion of hie speech, reflecting, perhaps, with too much severity, up" the conduct of Mr. Fr.st. With reference to the gas, h e • certainly had no intention of imputing to Mr. F. any cle f sign of bringing about a dangerous explosion by means 0 the gas. Ile, o f cour)e , acqu itt e d hi m o f ever y thi ng W I, an intention of setting them all in confusion by the extine; Lion of the lights, the more especially as the poor man kr carried out did not appear to know whht he was saying. _ _ Mr, FROST then rose to enter ttnew upon his defence• Alter various prelimin iry ob,en'ation•, he went on C, rn phin of the difficulties whit:lllle 11101 to contend aga in ,3 in meeting his Accuthr And his judge in the same person' It woul4 Noble L that. dealing bad just could de bear in Mr. Fito th e impressi such as had but no w e. not these a pected to h should be IL Mr. Fros . rcturn. T he p, , et , new 4 Tal entitled It i t of th e rei gt :Puk en o f 4 . o f tv v _ ENT I 4.1.641:1r0us adve Inateri i 815 jettoont the i is feature tak i 1 flitirs ! the ti:e2lB)ofly cf. A ee ee „ tll, under deat h 0 0 41 , , 4eath t ' Afte l A' 44 ra t o the f tivi: 4 e 4 ti4 n oft 4 , e eiiied 1414 trea4 of: