The Sun. — London, England, 1822-02-27 00:00:00

''' • coo • :;;;.T.'s 5 ‘ 1 , 1 14 t ioL, . 1. .. " V" 0(3 ;L77:17-relf - - S u • 1/2_ (IZlv-1 4 V , • to ano. justice, unity is out any A those destion uences, .1 .t - , single xisting system kestruc ters of ionolar- , NUMBER 9207.] WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 27, 1822. PRICE SEVENPENCE inten t their all the hortest .oughout be NV. rti Lualy lb. oz. tgh 4 5i ..42i Foreigfi. 900 I 30 a 41 159 a3l 39 ; a 41 4s er cwt. lc r qr. !r cwt. 5s 4d 4s 04 ..164 ...240 5s Od 4s Od 41 los 15$ Od 9s 6,1 Os Od 63 od os od 115 od los od les ed los od os od to OJ o OsOd . 845 949 . 98 9 149 ALE.. od. 805. 108 5 . , 83S r. 70.% Y4S 6 led Ad S. d• 7 ,5 5" 3 7 6 4 0 is Oct 2s ad 11 25 1110 5 11 7' II 55 LadY stt, of Esqe tidies, Eagis' r , pr. SUN' MORTGAGE. WANTED, on the MORTGAGE of a most ample FREEHOLD ESTATE, in a highly u f avorite County, from THIRTY to FORTY THOUSAND 'POUNDS at FOUR per cent. ~.Letters addressed to ROBERT S. ATCHESON, Esq. Great ' vl uchester-arcet, London, .will be duly attended to. h EPTFORD VICTUALLING-YaRD, Feb.2:2, 1822. THESE are to give Notice, That on Thursday, the 14th of next Month (March), at Ten, o'clock in the Forenoon, will be exposed to PUBLIC S-ILE, at 111. 3 I .lajesty's Victualling Yard, at Deptford, sundry Lots of the following Unserviceable Stores, now lying in the said Yard, vie.:— Bread, Bread Dust, Flour, Flour Sweepings, Raisins, Rice, P ease, Pease Screenings, Oatmeal and Sweepings, Bakehouse S weepings, Pieserred Meats, Bags and Rags, Sacks, Beef, fork, Suet, Sugar, Butter, Cheese, Leager, Butt, Pun ' . e 4 ("), Hogshead, Barrel, Half-Hogshead, Kilderkin, SmaW C4 ' 4 . Irish Barrel, \Vine Pipe, and Rum Puncheon Stares, n kl Timber, Iron, &c. &c. and Boards Ends. ,4 Dep os it o f 251. per cent. is to be made upon the amount l ' i e ach Lot at the time of Sale, and the remainder of the pur '''4ase-money to be paid beforeit he Stores are removed, for which 1 / .""Pose a peri o d offourteen working days will be allowed rent the day of Sale: the Buyers particularly observing that 7 ' ° t less than one half of the quantity is to be taken away 7 Phiu the first seven days, and the remainder in the seven 'Wowing days, otherwise the Deposit Money will be . fotfeited, pd the P r O v i s i ons or St ores rema i n th e nroperty of the - wit, as no extension of time will, on any account, be ranted, ; The Provisions and Stores ntay be viewed during the work '!`e hours of the Yard, on the three days immediately preeed '"g the day of Sale. Catalogues nmy be had on application at the said Yard. P AYMENT of PRIZES drawn on the 26th'Instant, being the FIRST DAY of DRAWING the FIRST LOTTERY for 1821. LOTTERY-OFFICE, SOMERSET-PLACE, February 27, 1822. THE COMMISSIONERS appointed for MA NAGING the LOTTERIES do hereby give ,Notice, that Numbers of TICKETS and SHARES thereof•in all Preceding Lotteries may be examined at this Office every day ( Sundays excepted) between the hours .of Ten and Three, With their Registers of Benefits and Blanks. , And the COMMISSIONERS app o i n t e d t o t a k e i n th e BENEFIT TICKETS of the FIRST LOTTERY for 1821, do hereby give Notice, That they will attend at their Office in Somerset-Place, on SATURDAY, the 16th day of March next, from Ten o'Clock in the Forenoon to Two t'Cloek in the Afternoon, to take in and enter the BENEFIT TICKETS drawn on Tuesdayi, the 26th inst. being the First day of drawing the same Lottery, to be exchanged for Certi cates, pursuant to the Act of-Parliament in that. behalf. And for fin ther dispatch, the persons possessed thereof are directed to bring with their Tickets separate Lists thereof, formed in numerical order, and at the bottom of each List to write the name with the proper additions of the person entitled to the value of the said Tickets. And the said COMMISSIONERS a l so g i ve f urt h er notice, ghat Certificates for the value of the said Tickets will be de livered out on WEDNESDAY, the 40th day of March next, at Noon, after which the said COMMISSIONERS will take in and enter Tickets in their usual Monthly entry ; and all per "" i nterested are desired to observe they must bring dupli cates of their Lists when they come for their Certificates. Ti 6f e COMMISSIONERS also give further notice, That ore ets brought Office for Payment, the Checks of which turn or destroyed, will not be entered for payment, with a Bond being given to indemnify the said CO-MMISSION RS for granting Certificates for the same. Recently published, price 2s. A LETTER to the Right H on . FREDE -4,-11. RICK J. ROBINSON, President of the Board o f trade, &c. &c &c. on the SUBJECT of the recent DUTIES : 41 COLONUAL TIMBER, and on some other Colonial Sub jects;, a n d on th e re l a ti ve SITUATION of the BRITISH 'NORTH ANIERICAN POSSESSIONS with the United States !'r America and GI eat Britain, pointing, out the value and 'mportance of the North British Colonies to the Parent State ; a crd the means of increasing their mutual prosperity. By WILLIAM SABATIER, Esq. Late Chairman of the Halifax Committee of Trade. ,r This Day was published, price in b o ards 3s. HE TEMPTATION of CHRIST in the 1 , Wu DERNEs • considered as a Guide to u s in the • s .! . owledg e of our Christian Calling; and for the Cultivation . the Principles which are requisite for an Adherence to it. By the Rev. J. Tl'EliS BARRE'ET, D. D. Of St. Peter's College, Cambridge. Printed for F. C. & J. Rirington, No. 62, St. Paul's Church. : i'ambr'rd; an Kt'', d No. f r 3, Waterlou-place, Pall-Mall. Sold also at d d &c. • , ATENT PLATE GLASS WINDOWS 1 11 j WITHOUT CROSS BARS, by a p ecu li ar me th o d o f r'ing, which produces the effect of one unif o r m s h ee t o f I,.‘ a ss. The plans are adopied in the first mans i ons i n th e i r , s edoin for Windows, Casements, Cons erva t or i es , Lib rar y ''''ek-cas e s and Sky-lights, for which latter purpose the Ark Ves are comparatively cheaper than others,—for Picture leries and Rooms requiring an equal diffusion of Light, in i'litely superior, effectually excluding the Weather. Win 4f *s H of various kinds and models shewn at the Inventor's, HEROES', Looking-glass Manufactory, corner of D e an and Compton-streets, Soho, (established near 50 years,) 1, 'ere Looking-glasses of any size, completely framed, to the „"rFest that can be made, reduced in price 50 per cent. are t`liellecred on his spring machines, expressly constructed for ose. IMPERIAL PATENT CLOTH. pAMILIES going Abroad, and the Public, are very respectfu informed the above CLOTH the h Vruliar a d van tage derived from-the use of which in the , East .2 1 t 1 Kest Indies, as well as in the colder Climates, render it Isllential to Families and Individuals going out, for Gentle hens' wear, and general Family purposes, effecting a saving poi early one-half, is obtained exclusively at the Patentee's 44. , t eign and British Linen Warehouse, No. 16, Cheapside, 4 no where else, in Cases of 30 and 60 Pieces each for Ex tittation, and by the Piece of 26 to 53 Yards each ; where h e t greatest Assortment of Foreign and British Goods are Pt Whol esa l e and Retail. — Families coming from India, forming partial or entire Establishments, derive the 4• n te ,, at estadvantage . in selecting Household Linens, Foreign qn `, British, Mushns, Chintz Furnitures, coloured Muslins ih`, 4 Cambrics, &c. with the utmost economy; and those taken ;he entire Piece at the Wholesale Price.—lndia Shawls ta- E change. ANTI-MILDEW PROCESS. IN addition to the number of EXPERT f MENTS in favour of this Invention, made ;by orders Rki the Ad m i ra l ty an d N avy B oards, in all parts of the 1 . ; ° lid• and by Ship-owners and others in the Mercantile ser 4j!", the PROPRIETORS have received the following vain "de Testimonial : I have to acquaint you, that in August last I had a Main ,.4ll repaired of Canvas, one Cloth of which hail undergone Process, with others of the same make and number, un thepared. The Cutter has completed her voyage to and" from t 1 ,5 Coast of Africa; and the same Mainsail continued bent t''t whole of the voyage, from the middle of September 1621 , r :Ti beginning of February 19•2:?. The Prepared Cloth has , t ° _; sOffered by Mildew ; and the adjOining Cloths (not prepa ,uo are materially injured. The Cutter's first Gib, which s"a: repaired entirely with your Prepared Canvas, does not 4, %Pony symptoms of Mildew. Feb. is, 1822. " 0. B. WALLER.. Master of Cotter Trafargar." l i c • )0,", 5 • B.—The above facts are also certified by Messrs. WAL iV,s.-'n and Co. Sail-Makers, 310, Wapping, where the Sails .Y be seen —three pieces of which are in the possession of St "DWELL and Co. at their Warehouse, 23, Aldermanbury, attped by Messrs. W. and Co. THE COLONIES. PROVINCIAL PARLIAMENT of LOWER CANADA. HOUSE OF ASSEMBLY, JAN. 2, 1822. Resolved,—Thattlie wages of labour, and the price of the produce of theboil in this province, have diminished within the last year, to nearly half of their average amount for the two years preceding,. That the prices of land and other real property have, within the same period,- experienced a corresponding diminution. That great difficUlties, distress and ruinous sacrifices have, in consequence, occurred among all descriptions of the .indus trious classes of this community. That the exports from this Province of its staple commodi ties have diminished within the same period, from an average value of 1:766,787 to £511,392. That the imports have diminished in the same period, from an average of £1,294,734 to £863,155. That the Provincial Revenue, which is almost entirely raised from duties on importations, has diminished within the last year, from £102,142 to £78,164. That the afore-mentioned results have been partly produced by the apprehensions which were entertained of an unfavourable alteration in the duties levied in the United Kingdom on the importation of wood and timber of the produce of this colony, by the actual imposition of an increased duty on the timr and wood of BritiSh•Ntrth AMerica, on the 28th of May last, while the duties on foreign wood and timber were lowered ; and prin cipally, by the unexpected operation of the laws regulating the importation of corn, flour and meal into the United Kin g dom, whereby the grain of this Colony has since the month of No vember, 1820, been excluded for home consumption as effectu ally as foreign grain. That his Majesty's subjects, resident within this Provtnce, are subject to various restrictions on their trade, imposed by British Statutes in favour of Briti s h nav i ga ti on , by' the opera tion of which foreign vessels are excluded from the ports of this Province, and its inhabitants prevented from carrying or sending their staple commodities to foreign markets and obtaining there from, in exchange, such articles as might be useful to them. That the afore-mentioned restrictions, during the general ab sence of manufacturing , establishments in this Province, c om p e l his Majesty's subjects in this Colony to resort almost exclusive ly to the United Kingdom for a great variety of manufactured articles, which they can only purchase with the price of such staple commodities of the Colony as they may be able to sell out of the Province, and that the want of such goods would greatly increase the existing difficulties and distress, and eventually pa ralize every branch of industry throughout this Colony. That under the continued operation of the aforementioned Laws, affecting the sale and consumption in the United King dom of the principal staple commodities of this Province, toge ther with the existence of the aforementioned restrictions, his Majesty's subjects in this Province must soon be put to serious inconvenience for the means of providing for the necessary sup port of a rapidly increasing population, of raising a public revenue, of maintaining and improving their highways and in ternal communications, of supporting their religious and muni cipal establishments, and aiding, as they have hitherto done, with their pecuniary means, and serving personally as they are bound by the Laws of the Colony, for the defence of the Pro vince, in any future wars in which, as a part of the British Em pire, they may be involved with the adjoining States. That itis expedient to petition his Majesty and the two Houses of Parliament for the free admission into the United Kingdom of all sorts of corn or grain, flour or meal - and provisions of the agricultural produce of this Province, for consumption in the United Kingdom. Resolved, That a Committee of five Members be appointed to draft Petitions conformably to the said Resolutions. Ordered, That Mr. Neilson, Mr. Cuvillier, Mr. Quesnel, Mr. Viger and Mr. Davidson do compose the said Committee. FRIDAY, JAN. 4.—Ordered, that leave be granted to bring in a Bill to enable the inhabitants of the Seigniory of La Baie du Febyre to provide for the better regulation of the Common of that seigniority—read the first time, and to be read a second time on Monday next. Ordered, that the Bill , for the relief of P. L. Letournetix be engrossed. • • The Bill to authorize the Trustees of the Commons of Three Rivers to concede lots to Ei limited extent was read a second time. Ordered to be engrossed. The Bill for better regulating the Sales of Real Property taken in execution by theSlienffs was read a second time, and referred to a Committee of five Members. The House resolved itself into a Committee of the whole, to consider the expediency of repealing the 25th George 111., inti tuled " Ap Ordinance concerning Advocates, Attornies, Solici tors and Notaries, and for the more easy collection of his Majes ty's Revenues." Ordered, that a Committee be appointed to inquire what amendments are necessary to the said Ordinance, and to report by Bill or otherwise. SATURDAY, JAN. s.—Mr. Davidson presented the Report of the Commissioners appointed to treat with those appointed on the part of Upper Canada, to the House. Mr. Quesnel presented the Report of the Carmissioners for superintending the making of Lachine Canal. Mr. Davidson presented the Petition relating to the Agricul ture and Commerce of this Province. The question of concur rence being put upon the Petitions severally, they were agreed to by the House, and ordered to be engrossed. An engrossed Bill, for conceding lots or implacements to a limited extent in the Common of Three Rivers, Was read a third time, passed, and ordered to the Legislative Council. An engrossed Bill for the relief of P. L. Letourneux, a stu dent at law, was read a third time, passed, and ordered to the Legislative Council. Mr. Blanchet presented the report of the Committee appoint ed for inquiring into the means of making known the proceed ings of this house and the principal purview of every bill.—Or dered that the said report be referred to a Committee of the whole House on Tuesday next. Ordered that the Bill to authorise an enumeration and return of the population of this Province be engrossed. Ordered that a Committee of seven Members be appointed to take into consideration th a t p ar t o f hi s Excellency's speech at the opening of the last Session relating to the settlement of the Crown Lands. QUEBEC, Jax. 3.--Last evening, between five and six o'clock, a fire broke out in Mr. Lee's Manufactory of Linseed Oil, at St. Rock, by the accidental boiling over of a kettle of oil. In an instant the whole inside of the building was in flames, which with every thing in it was consumed. The flames also spread to the adjoining outhouses, and two other houses on the same side of the street, belonging to Mr. J. B. Cham berland, and 31r. Charles Lemarie, which were also burnt down. Mr. Lee's dwelling-house was saved from entire de struction, but has been much damaged. The site of the fire was close to the River at high water mark, but the tide being low at the time, water was at first procured with difficulty. The weather was also intensely cold, and there was a remissness on the part of some of the by-standers in form ing lines to hand water from the river. Fortunately the wind was westerly, otherwise from the proximity of the Houses, all of wood, under all the circumstances, the ravages of this fire must have been very extensive. The circumstances of this fire, in so far as Mr. Lee is con. cerned, are truly deplorable :—after overcoming the numerous difficulties which are attendant upon all new establishments, he had, by the introduction of a Steam Engine and an. Hydraulic Press, succeeded in bringing this manufactory to a state"of perfection far beyond any thing heretofore known in the coun try, and was beginning to have a reasonable prospect of future remuneration. He had also added to the establishment a brewery on a small scale.—The whole is destroyed ; and the insurance, which is only, we are told, £lOOO at the Quebec Office, will cover but a small part of the loss, To add to his misfortunes, and that of a numerous young family, M rs . L ee has been lying very ill for some time past in the adjoining dwelling-house, from which she was forced to be removed to a neighbour's. MONTREAL, DEC. 29.—A fire broke ,out on Wednesday night in the house of Mr. Berthelet, St. Paul's-street, tenanted by Messrs. Willard and Dupre. Neither of the tenants, we un derstand, can conjecture the origin of the accident. The goods of the former were insured at the Phoenix Office for £l2OO ; those of the latter at the Quebec Office for £6OO. Mr. Dupre, by the activity of his friends, sustained a loss comparatively trifling. The house, we understand, was not insured. WEST INDIA PRODUCE.—The importations at Quebec last year from the British West Indies were— Rum - - 10,517 puncheons 128 hogsheads 11,118,347 gallons. 8 casks Molasses - 653 casks 60,187 gallons. Refined Sugars 357 331,5651fia. Muscovado ditto 2,570 1,419,05616. 1,354 bags t Coffee • - 1 " cas s 73,175 M. 84 bags PARLIAIVIENT, HOUSE OF LORDS, TUESDAY, FEB. 26. AGRICULTURE. Earl STANHOPE Exresented a Petition, com plaining- of Agricultural Distress, which was un derstood to be the same withdrawn last week on account of informality, and to proceed from cer tain occupiers of land in the county of Kent. He was aware that the Petition could only be received as that of the individuals by whom it was signed. But if there ever was a time when the people ought to express their sentiments with firmness and vigour, it was at the present moment, when the burdens of the country had become intolerable. The Petition was then read and received. STATE OF THE COUNTRY.- - . The Order of the Day hivitii.cleen read, The Earl of Livcaroor, rose.—He assured their Lordships that, on this and all other sub jects, he had always been of opinion that the Petitions of every body of men who stated their grievances to Parliament, and applied fol' relief, were entitled by the Constitution to a fair and full consideration. He had no doubt that those who had come forward on the present occasion laboured under the heavy pressure which they described, however mistaken they might be with respect to the nature of the remedy which they pointed out. It was for their Lordships to at tend to the statement of the Petitioners—but it was for their Lordships to attend to them, in their wisdom, and in the exercise of their own opinion and :judgment, certain that if the Peti tioners had fallen into any error, there was no way to remove that error more effectual than that which the Constitution allowed—a free and full investigation. The motion which he intend ed to make was for information, a motion which was not of a nature to meet with opposition. Their Lordships were aware that the subject had been extensively taken up in the other House, that an inquiry had been instituted, and that measures were in progress, and it was on that account they had judged that it would be advisable for them to investigate the state of the country before any specific measures came before them. He would therefore trouble their Lord. ships with a few observations on the present in ternal state of the country, and on the recom mendations contained in the petitions, in order to .be able to judge what were the points on which they agreed, and those on which they differed. To be intelligible, he should be obliged to go a little beyond the immediate object of the mo tion. Their Lordships must first and constantly ' bear in mind the great increase of population, which, from the census taken last year, appear. ed to have occurred in every part of the British empire. It was a fact, that, from 1801 to 1811, the population had increased from 10,900,000 to 12,005,000, or at the rate of fourteen per cent. From 1811 to 1821 it had augmented from 12,005,000 to 14,000,000, or in the proportion of above seventeen per cent. Neither was this increase confined to any part. It had taken place in England, Wales, and Scotland. In England and Wales the aug mentation was proportionate—in Scotland it was rather less. It was greater in manufacturing counties, but very little less in those chiefly oc cupied in agriculture. In the last twenty or thirty years the population had in fact increased more rapidly than in a whole century before, and that North, South, East, West, and in every district of the country. The next point that he should consider was the state of the Revenue. It was highly satisfactory to find from the offi cial returns that the Revenue last year had ex ceeded that of the preceding by no less a sum than one million sterling. It might be asked how had that Revenue been collected ? With what degree of pressure upon the people ? lie could state positively that the produce of the Excise alone had been twenty-seven millions, and that in their collection the only deficiency was a sum of five thousand pounds, the greater part of which it was expected would be re covered. Not only had the Revenue increased, but it had not been screwed up by any extraor dinary exertion. It had 'not been wrung from the people by forcing the execution of the law, but had been paid with as little difficulty as that of any other country could.. ever have pos sibly been. There was another important fact to which he thought it his duty to allude. It was the beneficial Institution of Saving Banks, and the rapid progress of the objects of the In stitution. The sums laid in these several Banks in the year ending on the sth January 1821, were, 707,1061. whilst those placed in the year ending January 5, 1822, amounted to 1,205,1601. In the short space of a year the sums remitted by those who had been able to save them from their income, had thus increased from seven to above twelve hundred thousand pounds. The next point was the state of our foreign commerce. The increase in our exports last year amount ed to between two and three millions sterling. He was aware that in one branch, the iron trade, there was a small diminution, but in the cotton, woollen, and hardware manufactures, a considerable degree of industry was going on. He should now come to that part of the subject which re lated more closely to the object of the petitioners. He wal far from insensible to the fact, that a depression had prevailed for some time, and still existed in the state of all concerns con nected with agriculture. But he contended that there was no proof of its being occasioned by excess of taxation. A similar depression was found to exist in all the countries on the Con tinent. He did not mean to state that as an argument of eon solation ; but it was an important consideration bearing fully on the question, that it was impossible superabundance or dearth should prevail in other con es ' without affecting Eng land in some degree, whatever be'' system of its Corn Laws. He then referred to the information laid kat year oft their Lordships' table with respect to the state of agsiculture, and read several passages of Mr. Jacob's evidence, to show that he had, found agricultural distress existing in Holland, Flanders, Germany, and France. The Noble Earl also read those parts of the Address of the French Chaniber of Deputies, and of the King's Answer, which allude to the same subject. In the kingdom of Hanover wheat sold at 3s. 7d. a bushel, the other kinds of grain still lower, and butcher's meat equally cheap. The prices were in most instances about half what would have been considered a fair price. It might be supposed that this arose from excess of taxation, had there not been a country, Switzerland, where there was no national debt, no stand ing army, and scarcely any taxes, and where distress ,was as great as in any other state. A letter from those parts stated that the people were suffering under abundance, and the low price of provisions. Superabundance was not con fined to this country. It extended generally throughout Europe and to the United States of America. He now came to the question of the measures proposed to encounter those evils. An immediate and complete remedy, from the nature of the case, was beyond the reach of any enactment. The House had heard last yeaK numerous complaints against the great importation of foreign corn. The question of the amount of the taxes was not then started as the cause of the existing distress. It had also then been generally admitted that agriculture and commerce had been in a most thriving 'condition during the last war. Then, however, the taxes were much higher than they were at present. ; Since the close of the contest one-fourth of the whole taxation of the country had been reduced. In 1815 not less than 18,700,0E101. of taxes had been taken off, and though 3,000,00001. of new ones had been imposed in 1816, the reduction upon the whole could not be estimated at much less than 17,000,0001. And what was the nature of those taxes, the Property Tax and others, which were direct imposts and gave immediate relief. He ;did not mean to say that the reduction of indirect taxes did not pro duce an ultimate relief, but three-fourths of those repealed were direct taxes and went immediately to the pockets of the consumers. It was stated that although the country paid only 50 millions now, whilst she had paid 70 millions before ; yet under the circumstances of the times 50 millions formed a more grievous charge than 70 millions had been. And to support this position the depreciation of the currency was brought forward. But making the amplest allowance for that depeeciation, still the relief obtained was fully equal to the loss which the state of the currency had occasioned. The alteration in its value had never amounted to more than five five per cent.; and when Noble Lords talked of the depreciation which had taken place during the war, they talked unfairly, because they referred to a period when the depreciation was the high est. H e contended that the country had gained some relief, and that the great mass of landed proprietors were not in a worse situation than they had been. They admitted that agriculture was in a most flourishing state during the war; if it had suffered since, they had their equivalent for it beforehand. Previous to 1792 the whole Revenue was be tween sixteen and seventeen millions ; it was now fifty ; let their Lordships consider what an increase that was. Could it be denied that the wealth of the country had increased in a greater proportion than taxation ? Taxation, he submitted, was an evil only as it bore upon public prosperity ; and the question must be viewed in all its circumstances, in order to ascertain whether that prosperity had increased or not. There were few among his hearers who could remember all the cir cumstances of the country previous to the war with France, so as to compare them with those of the present day. There were, however, documents upon their Lordships' table, which clearly proved that a great portion of the national wealth had accumulated since the period he had mentioned. Indeed, the whole appearance of the country had altered to advantage._ He would bring some of the circumstances he had mentioned before their Lordships ; and that he 'might deal as fairly as possible with the argument, he would take the average of the three years preceding the year 1790, and the average of the three years following the year 1319. The annual exports upon an average of the years 1787, 8, and U, were twelve mil lions ; and upon an average of the years 1819, 20, and 21 (in cluding a very unfavourable year), were forty millions. The imports upon the former of these averages were seventeen millions ; upon the latter, thirty-six millions ; so that the Ex ports had more than trebled, and the Imports had nearly so ; independent of the improvement in the various other branches necessarily and inseparably connected with these. Looking at the state of agriculture, was it necessary to bring under their Lordship? notice the number of Enclosure Bills which had pass ed since the year 1790 ; and which had been the means of en closing immense tracts of land, formerly waste, or sheep walks at the best ? This was a new source of public as well as of indivi dual wealth. But he would desire their Lordships to look even at the state of the old lands. H e ventured to say that rents had considerably increased, notwithstanding the late reductions, which he sincerely wished had been made before. There was another subject to be considered, principally with reference to the population, and upon this he thought there would be little or no difference of opinion. He meant the consumption of exciseable articles. He should not at all advert to the increased consumption of corn, as it was difficult to draw any conclusion from this circumstance, and more difficult to draw a correct one. Much was to be attributed to the altered habits of the people (no matter at present whether that alteration was for the better or the worse) and to, an artificial consumption. But respecting the increase in the consumption of articles most tax ed, and the taxation of which had increased since the year 1789, he had obtained as accurate accounts as possible. He found that upon the article of Tea, the tax had increased since the year liß9, from 13 to 100 per cent. ; and yet had the consump tion increased since that period from 16 millions to 22 millions of pounds; being an increase fully proportionate to the increase of population, notwithstanding the increased weight of the tax. Respecting the article of Candles, there would, he apprehended, be less difference of opinion than there could be respecting that of tea. He would here fairly state, that in the year 1792, being a period shortly subsequent to that which he should take for one of his averages, a auty of one half-penny in the pound had been taken off by Mr. Pitt. So trifling an abatement could not he (the Earl) thought materially affect the consump tion, but in candour he mentioned the circumstance. It ap peared then that in the years 1787, 1788, and 1789, the ave rage annual consumption of Candles was 49 millions of pounds; anu for the years 1819, 20, and 21, 83 millions of pounds ; being an increase of one-third more than could be expected from the increase of population. The next article of consumption to which he should refer was Soap ; for the years 1787, 8, and 9, the average annual consumption was 292,000 cwt. The duty had been increased ; and yet for the years 1819, 20, and 21, the average annual consumption was 643,963 cwt. being also an increase of one-third more than could be expected from the increase of population. Upon the article of Leather taxation had increased, but the consumption had kept up nearly with the population, the increase, upon the same averages, being the difference between 32 millions and 43 millions of cwt. It was difficult to estimate the consumption of Salt, but he might con fidently state the increase at 10 per cent. per annum. The consumption of bricks had increased front 600,000 to consider ably snore than a million, being an increase upon the same average of upwards of a third, allowing for the increase of population. Upon these details he would ask what was the actual state of taxation, compared with the increased wealth of the country ? He would not ask the question with reference merely . to the currency, but with reference to the state of the nation just before the French War, and its state at the present time. He would ask any man seriously, and desire gum to put the question to himself, seriously and in his closet, what relief could be expected, after such a detail, from a practical lessen ing of taxation ? He, of course, assumed in his question that a violation of public faith would not be contemplated ; because such a violation would ruin onebranch of consumers. The truth was that the farmer wanted merely a market, and Parliament had it not in its power to find him one. He was aware that he should in this part of the question be met by an argu ment of his Noble Friend opposite; an argument he by no means undervalued. It might be said that we created the market for the farmer; and then took it from him, —lt was true, that during the war an expenditure had been made, which, if continued, would be fatal to the country ; and this had caused an immense market for the produce of the farmer. But it should not be forgotten, that much of this marked, consisted in the demand of Government for the far mer's produce—a demand of course enormously increased by the war. During the last years of the war, the demand of Government for flour only amounted to two millions annually, and it was now, upon an average, but 6,000,000. This reduc tion of the Government demand had undoubtedly been caused by the reduction of the public expenditure and to create at the present time an artificial market, would therefore be to aggravate rather than lessen the evil complained of. It was ;tot then a question whether this was a state in which we could wish to have no public mortgage upon the lands ; nor was it a question as to what we might wish if we were about to be come a new community. This was out present situation. Here were two great Classes of tho community : those who held the land, and those whohad a mortgage up on it. It was not denied that to injure the latter would be to injure a con.. • siderable body of consumers. It was agreed on all handS that faith should be kept with the public creditor ; and that thdbpube lie establishments should be reduced as much as possible, con sistently with the safety of the State, and the nature of a Mo narchical Constitution. How far this reduction•might be carried was a particular question. It would best he answered by an examination, and To this he would readily agree. But the broad and general question was, whether we should remit in taxa , ton the excess of revenue over the expenditure, or apply it in part reduction of the debt. Upon this question he would first state his opinion of the profit and loss attending these two courses. What would be the advantage to any parti cular interest of this partial reduction of taxation ? What proportion did five millions (for that was the excess in ques- _ tion) bear to the annual income and the annual revenue of the country ? The annual income was 218 millions, the revenue from fifty to eighty millions. So that a reduction of five millions would bear a proportion of about one-tenth of the revenue, and about one-50th of the income Such a reduction he really believed could not relieve the agricultural interests ; indeed, he doubted whether it would be seriously felt. So much for the supposed profit attending the remission of this five million in taxes. He would now consider the loss. This would consist in the giving up of that Sinking Fund, which, kept within reasonable bounds, was the main prop- of our national credit. The destruction of this Fund would .cer- , tainly increase the interest of money; an increase which would be most severely felt by the agrichltural classes. The principal advantage of low interest, was, that it assisted that class which was suffering the most. In fact, by giving up this Fund, we should be givihg up on one hand what we gained upon the other. If, therefore, he was correct In his statement of the profit and loss, could those who regarded tha true interests of the country hesitate a moment in their choice ? He might here be allowed a few observations upon a political measure, which, like all other political measures, had had its feshion. He meant the principle, itself, of the Sinking Fund. This measure was not entirely Mr. Pitt's, althoogh he had proposed it for the consideration of Parliament. When it was first introduced, it was not objected to by those who were prominentin their opposition to the Ministers of the day.— Mr. Fox not only approved of the measure, but assisted in the formation of the Bill in detail ; a nd offered some suggestions, which were properly and gratefully accepted ; and even after the death of the two great men he had mentioned, it had been warmly extolled by Mr. Sheridan. Doubts had been thrown upon its policy in a work written, undoubtedly with consider able ability, by Dr. Hamilton, about the year 1803 or 1804. But if he (the Earl) had succeeded in his endeavours to under. stand Dr. Hamilton, he thought the amount of his objection went to the retaining of a Sinking Fund in time of war; hes , cause he contended that what was borrowed from that Fund during that time was lost to the country. Yet notwithstanding all that had been urged by Dr. Hamilton and others upon this subject, he (the Earl) was firmly of opinion that the advantage of a War Sinking Fund more than counterbalanced any pose sible disadvantage resulting from it. It possessed a moral ef 'feet, which was to be taken into consideration as well as the question of profit and loss. It should be recollected that during the last war we were fighting for our very existence; and that our exertions in war gave us a snore unfavourable view of our condition than we should have in any other state. It had .been contended, that with a War Sinking Fund we merely received with the right hand and paid with the left : but what would be our situation without a Sinking Fund ? Could we expect to go on interminably in a state of p eace ? N o d ou bt we h o p e d for a continuance of peace; we wished as much as possible to avoid a war ; but war might come ; and should we then place ourselves in a situation which every succeeding 'war must render worse and worse ? We should bear in mind that every other country which had a national debt had also a sinking fund. France and America, in particular, were the two. countries to which our observation should be directed. The • former had a Sinking Fund greater in proportion to its debt than ours ; and the Sinking Fund of' the latter was so consider. able as to promise the extinction of the debt in twenty years. Should we then proclaim to all the world that, with a national debt greater than that of any other, we took no measure, ea.i cept during peace, to lessen it ? Ile trusted not ; he trusted that in the face of all our difficulties we would maintain our Sinking Fund ; and that if we left our debt to posterity, we would leave something like a fund for the payment of it. He now came to the question, whether any measure could be -de vised for relieving the distress of the Agricultural Interest. 11 E had already stated his firm belief' that that distress could not b: ascribed to excessive taxation ; and even if it were otherwise; he was satisfied that no reduction of taxation which Parlia ment had the power to'make could possibly relieve it. He had also stated his opinion as to the cause of the distress. The: cause he believed to be a great excitement, created by a war.. in the course of which we had to contend actually for our existence. This excitement led to an over production of the articles of the soil ; and high prices, which in our then situation were the natural consequence, forced the very poor land into cultivation. Why should not one production cause, with re spect to agriculture, the same effect which it did to every other branch of national wealth ? It was - impossible for any man not to know that during the last war the high price of produce had actually forced immense tracts of poor land into high ceiti vation. In considering this part of the subject, it was a matter of course to observe upon the situation of this country towards Ireland, with respect to the imports of corn into the former from the latter. Those imports had been greater within the last three years than could be expected, after malting every allow ance for circumstances which might be supposed to influence the importation. It was impossible to conceal this fact ; a fact which could be got rid of by no Legislation whatever. But was, no one, was no interest benefited by this over production ? 1: was the duty of Government and of Parliament to hold the be. lance with even hands, as it regarded all classes of the cot-• munity. For the Agricultural Interest he begged to express his high respect. He would even say, that if, without injus tice, he could be permitted to throw a feather into one of the scales, it would be into that which contained the agricultural interest. But could it possibly be contended that there was no advantage to any person in the being able to purchase meat for four-pence a pound instead of eight-pence ? Could it. be said that this was not a benefit, as far as it went, to any class whatever ? He was ready to admit, that he thought it might go too far; but it was a subject which could .not be regulated by law. The consumer gained by the fall in price ; but the evil, as far as regarded the produce, must be left to cure itself. It was obvious that the want of profit upon produce would diminish production. Ile took it to be a palpable mistake to say that the distress benefited no one ; for, in the present instance, it benefited the majority.. In all great towns it had worked a benefit by lessening the amount of the poor rates. He had been at sonic trouble to ascertain this fact; and he could pledge himself for the accuracy of his statement. The poor rates of the parish in which their Lord ships were assembled were never in so good a condition as they were at present. In fact large masses of the community. had been benefited by that which he repeated ought not to be touched by legislative interference. He now came to state to their Lordships a general outline of the measures to which his Majesty's Government had thought it expedient to resort in the present situation of the country. The first related to the re duction, of the expenditure. This, in the course of the last year, would have been much greater, had it not been for to situation of Ireland. Whether Government, in this reduction, had gone far enough, it was for Parliament to decide ; but he would beg to refer their Lordships to the Estimate of the Re. venue and Expenditure, as settled by the Committee of Fin ance for the year 1817. The Committee admitted that the pera manent Peace Establishment might with propriety. be fixed at 17 millions ; but the Estimates for the present year would shew a reduction of 1,200,0001. below the sum voted by the Corn.. mittee. He was free to admit that many reductions had been made, which in his opinion should have been avoided ; but he was peisuaded that the minimum of expellee had been fixed, • • even at a desire to submit to inconvenience. The next metes:. sure to which the Government had directed their attention was • the securing of a Sinking Fund of at least, five millions.—The • next was the reduction of taxation, where it could be accom... plished without a violation of public faith, and without en- dangering the public safety. The saving by a reduction of the interest of a portion of the national debt was to be applied to the reduction of a tax upon an article most in consumption ; and further reductions might confidently be expected here. after. In particular we might look for a diminution of that which at present he might call a dead expence to the coun a try. He alluded to the half-pay and allowances. 'chic expence, heavy as it was, we were bound by every, principle of law and justice to defray ; for it was paid principally to those who had foug,ht our battles in. the late arduous contest.-. It amounted to nearly five millions, a sum greater than -the whole expenre of our army and navy, at - ,no very earlyper:44,- From this Charge we might of course look for - a gradual redue.: