The Sun. — London, England, 1822-05-09 00:00:00

'the 'favour, respect and esteem of the people—such, he fear ed, was the fact ; but against that evil there was no other remedy than a demonstration on the part of that House to attend to the public complaints, and to redress the public griev ances. It was by entertaining such_ motions as that of his Ho. nourable Friend, that the House would best evince its anxiety to the welfare or to the distresses of the people. By diminish * ing their burthens—by resorting once more to the salutary, but almost antiquated constitutional controul, of stopping supplies, • that House would best evince a disposition_ to relieve the suffer ings of the people from the grinding taxation under which they gcaned. As no other remedy had heen proposed, and as he felt and believed that the motion of his Hon. Friend would go far to establish the confidence of the people in that House—a confidence which was much wanted—he would,vote for that motion.—[This was the Learned Gentleman's " maiden" speech in the House of Commons.] Mr. PHILLIPS said, that from what he heard of the speech of the Hon. Mover in support of his motion, he should be dis posed not to vote for it. Ile could agree with the Hon. Mem ber for Essex neither in his reasons for supporting the motion, as the precursor of a return to a dep rec i a t e d c u r re ncy. Hay ; . ing wisely returned to a metallic standard of currency, he - thought it would be most improper to depart from it again. , Ile proceeded to contend that the effects of the change in the currency had been much mistaken, and this he supported by chewing that what had followed the adoption of the measure of 1812 was not that which might have been expected, and which must have taken place, had the reasoning which they hid heard on thiS subject been correct. He could not support the motion now before the House on the arguments which the Mover had used, but for other reasons he should vote for it, and he hoped it would be carried. The present Agricultural Distress arose • from the charges which now fell on the farmer which he had not fqnnerly to sustain. These made the prices which would for merly remunerate him insufficient. His expences generally augmented—his tithes had increased—wages had increased— the poors' rates had increased—and taxation had been en ormously increased. With respect to certain articles of con sumption, such as clothing, their price had not been raised, but generally, however, the articles used by the farmer and agriculturist had been much advanced in price, and mainly through taxation. Tithes and wages had in some measure settled themselves according to the circumstances of the coun try, and Poors' Rates had been reduced in something like proportion to the diminished price of provisions. To him, therefore, it appeared that the only way in which the Agricul tural interest could be relieved by Parliament was by the re mission of taxes. For that reason he thought the motion of :his Hon. Friend ought to be adopted. The circumstances of the country were such that the public expenditure must be re duced, and that House ought not to rest satisfied with voting against the continuance of two Lords of the Admiralty, or with doing away one of the Postmasters-General, bur they ought to carry retrenchment and economy into every depart ment. Sir I. COFFIN did not understand much about these sub jects; but he begged to correct the gallant General who was the Member for Southwark. That Honourable and Gallant Gentleman had said that the Frenchman lived as well as the Englishman. Now he (Sir I. Coffin) had travelled over every part of France, and lie could take upon himself to say, that an English farmer ate as much at one meal, and that of the best too, as any four Frenchmen.—(A laugh.)—Bad as our situation was at present, he believed that the Nobility, Gentry, Clergy, and Yeomanry of 'England, were better off than those of any country in the world. %I r. K. DOUGLAS was surprised that the Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Phillips) could support a motion, while he deprecated the principles which had been advanced by the Hon. Gentleman who brought it forward. Mr. CURWEN should not have supported this motion, but that, on the grounds stated by the Honourable Mover, he did in his conscience believe it to be necessary. Unless very speedy . and very effectual relief should be given to the country, he saw a period approaching, and no very distant one it was, at which, before total ruin should ensue to the landed interest, the funded interest would be called on to bear their part in these over whelming times. He should therefore infinitely regret that any remedy should have been omitted to be applied for the purpose of averting such a calamity.—(Hear.) Mr. D. BROWNE was surprised that any one could vote for the present motion who did not wish to favour' that which tended to a revolution. He, however, was glad the subject • had been brought forward, not doubting the decision which would be come to by the House, because he hoped that the repeated negatives put on questions of this nature would do • good out of doors rather than harm. Mr. BEAUMONT thought it was certainly possible that the day of that revolution might be put off for some time, or altogether ; but the only way of averting it was, not by paying taxes, but by reducing taxation • by placing the country in -such a positi on as m i g h t enable her to exert all her natural energies.—( Hear, hear !)---He (Mr. Beaumont) objected to the Speaker's leaving the chair, seeink that the measures now pro posed by Ministers could furnish no real relief, and that the reduction of 'taxes was the only absolute remedy. He should therefore support the motion. Mr. NICHOLSON CALVERT supported the motion, as wascollected. Mr. W IT'LL, in explanation, declared that he felt it to be his duty to persevere in taking the sense of the House upon his motion.—(Cries of " question.") Mr. BROUGHAM would support it, not because it had .any tendency to prevent the House's going into a Committee, hut because his Honourable Friend had brought forwa f rd a . principle of the utmost possible importance, looking to the'way in which his motion was worded. If it were carried, the only . effect would be to delay the Committee for a single day, as at must sit again to-morrow ; and he (Mr. Brougham) thought delay so valuable, that he looked upon it as cheaply purchased ,by the sacrifice of one day. - Lord LONDONDERRY suggested that it would be highly proper, before a motion was agreed to, the effect of which was to confiscate 20,000,0001. of the revenue of the country, to ask the Hon. Mover what he precisely meant by it?—(Hear, hear!)--When they should be satisfied as to the cruel calami ties which it must entail on the public creditor—the violation or public faith—and the disgraceful abandonment of public pledges which it must carry with it, the Committee would be in possession of the full scope which the motion would take ; acd the Hon. Gentleman himself would perhaps , feel satisfied that he had performed that duty to his constituents which he declared had alone induced him to persevere in it. Mr. TIERNEY said that he was quite as much averse to revolution as the Hon. Gentleman (Mr. D. Browne), and his conduct and opinions were a little less likely to produce it. It was not usual at all to speak of the motives of Honourable Members, but at least they ought to be judged with charity, and none needed more of that virtue than the motives of the lion. Gentleman himself. All he (Mr. Tierney) hoped was, that the Hon. Gentleman would allow him to exercise his dis cretion. The motion did no more than establish a principle, and he could-have no objection to it, unless it put an end to the discussion of the resolutions. Whatever their merits, it was admitted that they would give no immediate relief; whereas the amendment before the House was calculated to produce that effect. If he were asked whether it ought to have been brought forward now, he should immediately answer in the ne gative. If sufficient notice had been given, a fuller attendance might have been obtained. Ile should not vote for it, because be thought that 20 millions of' taxes might be taken off; nor did he support it because lie thought it would endanger public credit, but because, in the words of the resolution, immediately to reduce taxation would be " the best and most effectual re lief" to the general distress of the country. Mr. mucin T thought that a great reduction of taxes was necessary, might be made, and would afford relief.--(Question, question.)_ The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER only begged to be allowed to say, that it was generally understood that those who voted for a resolution concurred in the arguments by which the mover supported it—(No, no, from the Opposition side)-- 7 unless they distinctly in their places expredsed their dis sent.—(Hear, and no.)—He was very happy to find that so many honourable Gentlemen had adopted this course. He concluded by some remark upon revolutionary principles, which was net heard. kr. POWLETT supported the amendment of Mr. Wyvill, though he by no means concurred in the opinions that Hon. Gentleman had expressed. Sir W. DE CRESPIGNY said a few words, which, amid the numerous calls for question, were not audible. Mr. J. BENETT (of Wilts) did not concur with the Hon. Mover of the amendment in any thing but the vote he should _give. As the greatest relief might be afforded by lessening the weight of taxation, he was, almost against his will, compelled to support the Resolution. Mr. T. WILSON would willingly vote for the remission of taxes, nor did he think he gave any pledge to the contrary by opposing an Amendment made under the present circum stanses.—(Hear.)—lt was brought forward in a mann er , i n hi s opinion, humiliating and d egr ading to,the dignity of the coun try, and its terms alone ought to induce every man to vote against it. 'The Gallery was then cleared for a division. The numbers were the following_ For the original motion - - 120 . For Mr. Wyvill's amendment - 37 Majority - - 83 When strangers.were re-admitted, the House had resolved itself into the Committee, and Mr. BENETT (Wiltshire) was speaking. The Act which had restored cash payments had virtually added not only to the taxes, but to the private debts of everyindividual debtor. He thought it would yet be necessary for them to retrace their steps, or the country could never recover from its present de pression. It.was said that the present Corn . Bi,ll had given the Agriculturists a monopoly, but he could never discover that it had benefitted the landed interest. It indeed prevented the importation of grain for a time, till the price rose to 80s., but when the ports opened it subjected the country to an inundation of foreign grain, from which it could never recover. Whenever the price of corn should again rise to 80s. besides throwing open the ports, the present Bill would cause fo re i gn corn , t o t h e amount f a million of quarters, to be thrown on the country. He therefore contended that a protecting duty on foreign, corn was necessary, anne could not conceive on what grounds this could be opposed by those who were friendly to a free trade in grain, and who wished its price to be low. What .they had to do then was to ascertain the price at which the protecting duty could be equitably imposed. To determine this, it was necessary that they should inquire into the cost of productions in other countries, and act on the best information they could procure on this subject. Mr. Solly in his evidence had said corn co .brought from the interior of Germany cost 21.165. ihe quarter: —(" From Poland," several Members called - out.).-He wa4 sorry that he had been wrong, but it made no difference to his argument, and he would therefore say from Poland. He had had a calculation furnished, -which made the price at which corn could be brought into this country much lower. The price at Memel in January last was 335. 10d. This he thought he had a right to take as a very high price. To the autho rity. of Mr. Solly, who was a very respectable man, but who as an importer of corn had an interest in the question., he thought it but fair to oppose an authority of equal respecta bility-that of a farmer. His informant stated that that might be obtained for 325. which Mr. Solly believed would cost 565. He should take the price above the medium if he took it at 345. To this, adding . for freight and insurance 45., for landing and warehousing in London 25., and fifteen per cent. :for the merchant's groat, the price, including all charges, would amount when it came here to 675., which was exactly the amount paid for rent in 1792. Mr. Solly had said nothing about over measure. But another honest man (all the parties of whom lie had occasion to speak were honest men) had ex plained to him what was meant by over measure. This was the difference between foreign and English measures, which he un derstood did snore than cover the freight and insurance. He then !went over a series of calculations chewing the expence attendant on raising corn in England. It was admitted by the Hon. Member for Portarlington, • that the British farmer was entitled to protection to the amount of those duties which he paid, and which the foreign farmer did not pay. These he shewed to amount to 11. I,os. Bd. the quarter, and he only pro posed' to call for a protecting duty of 245. !He was convinced that the people of England could be fed cheaper by the farmer than by the merchant. This was proved by the expe riment made for 52 years in the last century, when this coun try exported corn. During that period corn was cheaper than it had been at any other time. By encouraging the cultivation of the soil, the people would be made more happy and com fortable than if they were detached from agricultural pursuits, to become manufacturers. The latter course might add tem porarily to' the wealth of - the country, but would not contribute wits permanent security. There were petitions now on the table against protecting the agricultural interest, and he was sure that the public generally wished that it should be r e li eve d. What he desired was, that that protection s h ou ld b e g i ven to the farmers which was afforded to the manufacturers of the country. He should be very glad to see. a free trade established, but under existing circumstances this was im possible. ! If the monied interest could find a way of paying themselves by means of a free trade, why then let them have it, and let all protection be denied to the l a nd e d in.: terest, but while the-funtiliolders expected to receive the in. terest on the mortgage which they said they had on the soil and property of the country, protection must be afforded.—To this the monied interest ought not to object, as while the value of landed property was declining, theirs had been improving from 20 to 24 per cent. Capital was at present being paid for rent, and property was changing hands more rapidly than was generally supposed. The country might recover, but the pe riod at which this would take place seemed remote. The dealer in money would make a good landholder in time ; and, in. the mean time, as he would pay the taxes, the country might go on. The Farmers were a patient body of men, and suffered much without complaint; but could it be expected that they would see themselves almost ruined without making some ef fort to obtain justice ? lie most anxiously:p i ressed these things on the consideration of the House, and announced it to be his intention, when the proper time arrived, to submit to the House that proposition which he had described as being, in his judg ment, most applicable to the circumstances of the country. Mr. CRIPPS said he observed that among all the plans pro posed, there were not three persons who approved of any one of them. They had nothing but a choice of evils, and the only thing to be decided was which of the six they would make choice of. The only object he could hope for was, to effect all the re lief they could, consistent with the other great interests. He was free to allow that a reduction of taxation must he a great relief to agriculture. how far it was beneficial hitherto might be seen from the reduction of the duty on malt: Since that time the price of barley had decreased. He thought no plan could afford effectual relief but that of the Member for Somersetshire. But then it could 'not be carried into effect without loading the table with petitions against any such proposition. They must next consider the other plans. Amongst all that occurred during the inquiry of the Committee, no evidence was given of an impor dun off breign corn that could affect the home produce. Therefore he must conclude that the present import price operated as a prohibition. He was fearful of adopting any proposition but that of the Noble Marq u i s (Londonderry) but could wish the import price a little higher. He could not reconcile himself to lower ing the 20s. down to 10s. without an import price. It had been stated in the Committee that corn might be had at 265.; there fore, with a duty of 20s. it might come. in at 465. the quarter.— If, under these circumstancee, there should be a good crop on the Continent, and a failing one here, there would be no protection to the English farmer. It was desirable to set this question at rest one way or the other. The farmer would be made easy, when he became satisfied that every thing was done that could be done. He knew the distress to be great.— (Hear, hear !)—but he-did not think it cou ld b e remove d by any of the plans proposed. He did not see how the plan could be curried into effect of letting farms on an average price of corn. How could this be done with such a crop as that of last year? It would put the Agriculturists in the most cruel situa tion. All farmers who made contracts or not knew they must have suffered severely. All they could do now was to prevent an inundation of foreign corn.. He should wish, to adopt the proposition of the Hon. Memb e r f or S omerse t s hi re , (Si r T. Lethbridge), if it could be done without injury to other inte rests. It was the only means of atlimding effectual protection. Altogether he thought the Resolutions of the Committee the best. The CHAIRMAN suggested the propriety of taking each set of Resolutions seriatim. This would greatly simplify their ' proceedings. , Mr. BANKES agreed that the course suggested by the Hon. Chairman would be the most convenient for them to pur sue. 1 hey could take them seriatim, beginning with the highest scale of duty, and so descending to the others. He ap proached this question with great anxiety and apprehension. Though it had been stated that this was a favourable time for • legisleting on the Corn Laws, as perhaps it was in some re spects, he doubted whether they could do qood. Since the Corn mittee had sat last year, the prices of agricultural produce had continued to decline. The only reason that led him to think it expedient to introduce a new law was the feeling that it was necessary to guard against the country being deluged with fo reign corn, when the price of wheat should again rise to 80s. If that were not guarded against, the landholders and farmers would receive a blow, from which; he thought he did not over state the ,case when he said it, they never could recover. An Hon. Baronet had thought the importation of corn might now be permitted without injury. He stood alone, he believed, in this opinion, for it was generally considered that the importa tion of foreign grain was an evil which it would .behove them to guard against at almost any expence. It was not necessary to regulate by law what should be the general price of corn. He was of opinion that there might be a regulation providing, that if corn should get up in price beyond what now appeared to be the verge of possibility, then to prohibit importation al together until the time when Parliament should meet again to take the subject under its .full consideration. Much had been said about the superabundance of corn which had lately been grown. Undoubtedly sonieOf the late crops had been abundant, but he doubted whether that of last year reached the average growth. The fact Was, that from the low state of prices, the farmer was compelled to bring his produce into the market in larger quantities, and that led to the belief of a superabund ance. He contend4d that the present was not a time for le gislating to fix the prices at which the trade in torn should be carried on. If the highest duties that had been proposed were to be laid on, they would not keep foreign corn out of our ports. The distress being general, and the foreign far mer being as unable to get a remunerating price as the British farmer was, he would bring his corn here and sell it for what he could get. The Honourable Member then alluded to the calculations which had been made by some Gentlemen. upon the averages ; hut he argued that they who so looked at long averages deceived themselves, because they did not attend to the extreme fluctuations. If they intended to adopt any par ticular plans out of those before them, it would become neces sary to discuss the principles of these plans as a se p ara t e an d distinct question. But he saw another reason why they should not now legislate upon the subject, in the numerous projects which had been submitted to them, ,and the small number to whom they appeared to give satisfaction. All ages had their peculiar fashions and usages, and the fashion of the present time was to talk about liberality and a free trade. The coun try had grown up in its power and in its greatness under a dif ferent system from the universal freedom which some Hon. Members now thought of. The Hon. Baronet wished for a perfectly free trade m Corn, and even •argaed that it would give relief to agricultural distress. This principle, if acted upon, must necessarily lead to a free trade in all - articles of - manufacture, and in all raw materials. Now this might be right, but it was not the system. under which the country had acquired its wealth and power. That system was one of re striction upon all articles of home produce, and upon none more than corn. Th e y mi g ht b e muc h wiser than their ances tors, but lie was - not disposed to consider them such fooli as modern philosophy would make them out. They had been wise enough to make a little country a very great one, and to acquire for it fame and power far beyond the apparent propor, tion of its. means and resources. A free-trade in corn must ne cessarily make our imports larger, and ir we had greater im ports we must become more dependant upon foreign countries. There would be some Hon. gentlemen old enough to remem ber, _that' at the beginning of the present century great alarm existed on . account of scarce crops, the increase of prices, and an apprehended inadequacy of ' the borne produce to meet the consumption. It was now curious to see the siulden absurd, and, as he thought, unreasonable change which had taken place, in the general opinion. At-that time it was considered a mat ter of great triumph that 100 inclosures had taken place in one year, and all attention was turned to bring the produce to an average supply. He did - not wish this feeling to have changed.. He should consider it to be a public. calamity if one acre of the' land so enclosed should be now thrown out of cultivation. If they refused to protect agriculture, the question was', whether they would turn the country from an agricultural one to a ma nufacturing one ? At the p resen t ti me t h ere was an evi dent tendency to this, and he thought the country was more manufacturing than was good for it already. He was dis posed to give all just encouragement to agriculture, in order that capital should not be withdrawn from the land. —Some Honourable Members said that, if capital would not pay in agriculture, it might be put somewhere else. He would ask them where it was to be employed ? Our manufac tures were, he hoped, as they had been stated to be, in a state of activity and prosperity. But he deemed it impracti cable to increase them in any considerable degree without ge neral detriment. It was fearful to contemplate the inroads that bad been made upon the capital employed in land within the- last five • years ; and that made it necessary that they should protect what remained. By encouraging foreign agri culturists instead of our own, they would be reducing those who had formed the strength Of the country to irretrievable ruin. 'This must be the result of the liberal doctrines of the day, if they were to be adopted and acted upon by the House. The alteration in the currency had, to a certain extent, operated to keep up the distress; but its effect had been greatly ex aggerated. With regard to that, as well as taxation, being the chief causes of distress, he must confess that he had never heard any reasons advanced why they ought to be treated in any other than the lightest manner. Since the close of the' ar eighteen millions of taxes had been reduced, and that without affording relief to agriculture. The greatest further remission which he had heard proposed was that of five millions, and what.benefit could be expected from that, after the experience they had seen ? The Hon. Member concluded by reminding the House of the fable of the bundle of sticks, and conjuring them to hold the interests of the country bound up together. If they did so, they should be safe. But if they became dis united, and suffered the political economists to pull one out of the bundle, they would all be broken up. Let them look to agriculture as the chief stake, and protect it as far as lay in their power. But above all, let them continue to follow in the course by which their ancestors had made a small country be come a great one, and he had no doubt but they should even tually triumph over partial distress, and remove all the obstacles which opposed their progress for a time. Mr. HUSKISSON said that, after a debate which had ex hibited a greater diversity of opinion than he ever witnessed in Parliament, the House would doubtless be glad to hear that he only meant •to trouble them for a very short time.— His object was to explain what he had done upon this subject during the present Session. He had abstained from attending the Committee, because after all that had passed in the former Committee, and the observations which had been made with regard to him, and after he had drawn up the Re port, his - Noble Friend concurred with him in the view that he was justified in staying away. Upon that Report he should say nothing. If he deserved the observation made with regard to it, that it was a mystification, it was a mystification con fined in a very narrow compass ; and as the French would say, (from whom the word was borrowed), with respect to the Hon. Members who had used the observation, he thought it was only a mystification of themselves. His Noble Friend had the other day adopted the principles of that Report, but with a mystification of those principles to a greater extent than he was prepared to go. He then thought it necessary to recommend what he considered to be the true principles, and with that view alone he had put his Resolutions on the table. He should take no further part in the proceedings, because he found it impossi ble to discuss the question without being subject to animadver sions,which were unpleasant to him, as to the part he took in the Committee of last year. It was, therefore, because he was anxious to support the principles he recommended to the Com mittee, that he had proposed his resolutions ; and also be cause lie wished to take off the responsibility of th e ex i st i ng laws, which, if th e y rema i ne d , would wholly destroy the Agri cultural C a pi ta l. of the country, already injured to a fearful extent—not by the importation of foreign corn, but by the mo nopoly and the restrictions which they created. He should no'v leave the question to the House, to be disposed of as ' should think fit. t Lord ALTH()RP expressed his desire to state the opinions - he held on the question. The reasons of the Right lion. Gen i had no weight, the principles of the resolutions had not been explained to his satisfaction, and he should abstain from - voting in support of theory, which did not prorhise any real ad ; vantage to the country. He had looked to the inconvenience to which the fanner was subject. He found it arose from the great fluctuation of prices, and the objeet was to give a settled price. With regard to the protection which the farmer had a right to demand, he did not wish to extend it beyond the present Corn Laws, but lie was desirous to give • a steady price, from fifty • shillings to seventy shillings. - If that were the arrangement, the consumer would not suffer more than at present. Looking to the evidence before the Committee, - and finding that Dant zio corn might be sold in this country at 60s. an import duty of 20s. would be quite sufficient. The Noble Lord was better sa tisfied with•the resolutions of his Hon. Friend than those pro posed by the Hon. Member for Portarlington. The propositions of the Noble Lord and the Right Hon. Gentleman were to be preferred to the law as it stood. With regard to the best relief to agriculture, he did not see that any.relief could be afforded except it came from reduction of taxation. The manufacturing' districts would no doubt suffer by a rise in agricultural prices. In the present state of distress, the Farmer and Country Gen tleman had certainly a right to call on Government for relief.— , They were all satisfied upon that proposition, but the question was, how could that relief be given ? The proposed drawback on exportation would doubtless have the effect of taking off the glut from the market. A bounty of 18s. would increase the advantage. Mr. GOOCH did not rise to trespass long on the attention of the House, but he wished to explain a few points which had occurred in debate. He had unfortunately given offence by stating, that the last report of the Agricultural Committee was a mystification. He really considered that report drawn up with talent; but it was not a report which could afford much instruction. He lamented that any party spirit should per vade the House on this subject, yet the abandonment of , one resolution by the Noble Lord was . certainly ground for the attack made by an Honourable Baronet. He wished the first resolution moved by his N o bl e F r i en d h a d b een agreed to. It would have relieved' the • country from the glut in the markets. As to any sweeping measure for the relief of agriculture,. he did not believe there was any pos sible chance of giving relief in that way. All they could do was to stem the torrent' of mischief which was inun dating the country. All they could do was to prevent a fluc tuation in the prices of corn, which kept the farmer always in a panic. That panic ought to be removed. He agreed in the third resolution, which declared that the ports ought not to be open till wheat came to 755. The protection of the agri culture of the country was seriou r sly called for. They were expected to adopt measures which might enable landlords to maintain that situation they had so long held with respecta bility. It was said reduction of taxes would accomplish that object, but he was convinced the reduction of half the present ' taxation would not remove agricultural distres s . If t axes cou ld be removed, he should say, impose no restriction—open your ports—England would be able to enter into competition with all Europe ; but under the unnatural state of commerce throughout the world, agriculture in England ought to be protected. He wished the protecting duty to be 15s. and the price at which they are to open 755. It was almost impossible the farmer could sell his corn and Eire by it at less than 655. per quarter. Sir T. LETHBRIDGE rose to explain. Nothing less than the scale of duties he had proposed would operate as a protec tion to Agriculture. The expectation of the count r y was raised for immediate relief, and he had stated how immediate relief was to be obtained. The half-way measures submitted to the House did not probe the wound to the bottom. The Hon. Baronet expressed a hope that the Committee would adopt his Resolutions. Mr. NICHOLSON did not suppose any effectual relief could be afforded. He wished to support the existing law, and he was anxious to caution the Committee against giving implicit confidence to the 'statements made by corn merchants as to the prices of foreign corn. He did not wish to say any thing uncivil of witnesses; but he could not help feeling that the evidence of interested persons ought to be looked at with jea lousy. It was important that the landed interest should have a remunerating price, but he was not partial to any of the re medies proposed. Mr. IRVING rose amidst the cry of " Question !" and, ad verting to the Resolution which had been abandoned, said, some blame had been cast upon him as the author. He had not left the Noble Lord - in the lurch. The proposition made by the Noble Lord differed from his. The Noble Lord's pro : position was inadequate to the_ object, and his would have an swered the purpose. The withdrawing of his resolution had disappointed the expectationvof the countiy. The Hon. Mem ber concluded by saying he should take the liberty to submit the Resolultion :wain to the House;—(" No, no !" from several of the Committee.)w. Sir N. COLTH . URST made a few observations, but the call " Question! question !" made the Hon. Baronet inaudible in the gallery. - _ Sir W. W. WY NN supported the Resolution of the Noble Lord. Mr. GRIFFITHS attributed the distress of the Agricul turists to change in the currency and excessive taxation. Mr. BROUGHAM rose amidst a loud and general call for the question. He said; althoughlie had risen late to address the House, he should not detain them long. He was surprised to hear the House call for adjournment. The subjecthad been fully discussed, yet if there was any Gentleman desirous of speaking, he should consider him entitled to a patient hearing. The question before the House was, whether and what altera tion might be m a d e i n th e existing Corn Law ? Almost every Member who had spoken on the subject admitted that some re gulation was necessary, and,that a worse principle could not be' than the - present principle of the Corn Law. To provide a remedy they were to adopt importation prices and average. The question then was, which of the resolutions propounded would he most advantageous ? The Noble Lord had proposed. the importation price and protecting duties. His Honourable Friend, the `l ember for Portarlington, had proposed a plan free from objection. His plan was gradual, and in prin ciple he saw no objection to it; but he thought the scale' ..of permanent. duty was much too low. The principles of the . Al embers for Wiltshire and Somersetshire were the same. But were it not for the particular circumstances of this country, he should be for a free trade altogether. He thought the Member. for Somersetshire had treated with some acrimony the un happY political economists ; but he should 'recollect that they were all political economists, though they belonged to dif ferent schools. His objection to the plan of the Member for Somersetshire was, principally, that it amounted to an exclu sion. But it s h ou ld be borne in mind that eighty shillings now were equal, to 100 s. some time since. It was said, however, that the agriculturist was burthened by poor rates and tithes. He admitted that they were great burthens ; but Honourable Gentlemen forgot how indirect taxation pressed upon all. The breaking up of the poorer lands had caused a cessation from the demand of labour ; but still he was happy to find that the situation of the English labourer was infinitely better than that of the Polish peasant, who stood in the midst of abundance. Ile should, were it not for the lateness of the night, enter into an examination of .many of the arguments of the Member for Corfe Castle. He (Mr. Brougham), for one, thought that at least much of our distress was attributable to taxation ; and that we should be worse than folly-stricken if we did not direct our attention to it. The proper object for consideration was, cure for the present, rather than prevention against a future disease.. It was better, he admitted, to legislate on the subject while "we were at low prices ; but he protested against this, his temporary admission, being drawn. into an argument that he approved of the general principle. Before, however, they touched the currency, he warned them to beware. He did not altogether subscribe to the Right Hon. Gentleman's 'Bill, but he deeply regretted the wrongfully placing of the power of altering the currency into irresponsible hands since the year 1797. He deeply deplored that the effects of the resumption had not been more maturely weighed before the passing of the measure; but it was another thing now to undo what had been so solemnly done. To tamper with it now would be to admit that we were reduced to extremity. It was policy as well as justice to retain this rather than avoid worse. Let us reduce taxation, and relieve agriculture as much as we can ; ' and then and not till then would it be the bounden duty of the. House to consider of that which had been called by many a Sinking Fund, and which they still called a Sinking Fund fo r the sake of their own characters. He concluded by saying, that under the circumstances he should support the proposition of the Hon. Member for Portarlington. The Marquis of LONDONIIERRY admitted the right of the Honourable and Learned Member to reserve his opi nion on the general question. He (the Marquis) only begged in return the right of contending hereafter that the Honourable and Learned Gentleman was in error, in believing that the reduction of taxation would be productive of any great re liof to the agriculturist. Such a reduction might relieve him as a grower, but not as a consumer. As for the question of the currency, he really thought the Honourable and Learned Member would have allowed it to remain asleep.— The Honourable and Learned Member appeared to object to the principle on which the measure had been passed ; and yet he admitted that it was now too far advanced to be questioned ; thus keeping the subject in continual agitation in the minds of the people of England. With regard to the observation of his Honourable Friend, the Member for Corfe Castle, he really thought his Honourable Friend would on re flection see that he was rather advancing than opposing the recommendation of the Committee of last year. The sub ject had been discussed in the House with calmness ; and he had no doubt the people of the country looked with confidence to the decision of the House. He could not agree in any respect with the propositi on o f th e H onoura bl e Mem ber for Somersetshire ; and he thought that Honourable Member would himself admit that his proposition was against the general opinion of the Agricultural Committee. His (the Marquis's) object was to assist the Agricultural Interest, con sistent with the duty which they owed to the country at large ; but he deprecated the passing of any measure which, from its partial character, would have the effect of exciting jealousy among the'other classes, and ultimately work an injury to the Agriculturists themselves. tinges were 'then ordered to withdraw, and the Committee divided, when there appeared For Sir Thomas Lethbridge's Motion - 24 Against it - - - 243 Majority - - - - -219 Strangers were not re-admitted into the Gallery ; but consi derable discussion took place on the other motions. The cheer ing was very loud and frequent, from whence we infer that it was an animated debate. No other division, however,. took place; and it was at length agreed that the Chairman should report progress, and ask leave to sit again to-morrow (this day). The House adjourned at Two o'CLocic. LIST OF THE MINORITY OF 37 WHO VOTED FOR MR. WYVILL'S MOTION', " That it is the opinion of this House, that the best and most effectual relief that can be 'given to the agricultural interest is a large remission of taxation." Allen, J. A. Denman, Thos. Power, R. Barrett, S. B. M. Dundas, Hon. T. Powlett,'llon. W. Brougham, H. Fitzroy, Lord C. Palmer, C. F. •. Blake, Sir F. Fer g us s on, Si r R.C. Sykes, D. Beaumont, T. W. Guise, Sir W. S e b r ight, Sir J. Birch, J. . Griffiths, J. W. Tierney, Rt.Hn: G. Bright, Henry • Graham, S. Williams, J.• Benett, John Hornby, Ed. Webbe, Colonel Bernal, R. Heron, Sir Robert Western, C. C. Coffin, Sir I. Hume, J. Creevey, T. Lennard, T. B. TELLERS. Crespigny, Sir W. Maul e , Ho n . W. Wyvill, M. Chaloner, Robert Monck, J. B. Wilson, Sir R. Curwen, J. C. Philips, G. R. 11. Gurney paired off in favour of the motion. PARLIAMENTARY PAPER. PROPOSED RESOLUTIONS for REGULATION of the CORN TRADE.—MAY 7, 1822. (MR. CURWEN.) 1. The Average Price of Wheat exceeding ' 80s. • and the Ports being declared open for th e Importation of Foreign Wheat; a quantity, not exceeding Four' Hundred Thousand Quarters, shall be admitted, on a Duty of 10s. per quarter. • 2. The Average Price of Wheat continuing above 80s. at the expiration of Six Weeks from the first opening the Ports, a farther Importation, of Fo ur H un d re d Thousand Quarters, to be permitted, at ris. per quarter. NATIONAL SOCIETY. Yesterday the General Committee of the Na. tonal Society for the Education of the Poor in the Principles of the Established Church, held their Meeting at St. Martin's Vestry-Room, Pre sent— The Archbishops of Canterbury . and York ; Bishops of London, Bangor, Worcester, Salisbury, Ely, Exeter ; Lord Kenyon, Right Hon. Richard Ryder, Sir James Langham, Bart., Archdeacon Pott, Rev. Dr. D'Oyly, and other Members of the Committee. Some fresh Schools were united to the Society, and several Grants of money were made towards the erecting and fitting up of School Rooms.— Amongst others 2001. to Bridlington , and 2001. towards building a School in the Forest of Dean. We have the pleasure to inform the Public that several of the Bishops very benevolently lend their aid in the National Society's Chapel, in Ely-place. The Bishop of BANGOR preached there last Sunday, the Bishop of SALIS BURY intends doing the same on the 19th in s t., an d hi s G race the Archbishop of YORK on the 9th of June. FOREIGN INTELLIGENCE. PARIS, MAY 6.—The following bulletin o f the health of the Duchess of Angoulenie is pu ll " lished " May 5, halfpast 7, A./IL—An increase of fever wok pie between four and five o'clock in th e evening. Last nliPt however, has been p asse d w i t h l ess agitation. Her R°Y t Highness slept till two o'clock. There is still some fever,. the perspiration is complete. The pain in the head is nished. There is no longer any chohc. (Signed) " LLTCAT.". It is reported that Prince Schwartzentpug L is expected t o arr i ve here without delay. 1 ( arrival of thi s P r i nce, i n t h e present situation 13` affairs, cannot fail to excite considerable interest' The news from Spain, brought by this day's courier, come down to the 25th of" April, and ar e not of the least importance. Po. - • Fresh attempts to set fire to farms have been made in the neighbourhood of Nantes, but th e authorities redouble their activity, and it is illy possible the guilty can ldng escape justice. An ordinance in the Moniteur of - Sunday tends the premium of 10 francs .in the 100 10 1° ' grams, granted. under certain conditions by f9r met... ordinan ces , on A mer i can cotton imported into France in French. ships, to every imparts' tion effected by vessels which shall sail from th e ports of France previous to the Ist of Septembe r next, whatever may be the period of their return'' 'Seven persons have been tried at Toulouan s charge of Conspiracy against the Government." AmOng them, Valle, formerly a Captain of t he Imperial Guards, was foUnd guilty of the plotj and two, Sal omon an d Bl anc h ard, were found guilty of 'making propositions for entering into a conspiracy, which' were not accepted ; but th e , latter only, by a ma j or i ty of seven against five °` the Jury : and the whole of -the Court coinciding with the minority of the Jury, he was acquitte d ' Vallo was condemned to suffer Death, and to be degraded from the Legion of Honour; lie im mediately swallowed the Itibband of - his .Order : —Salomon w as con d emne d to. ten years hanis h meat. FRENCH FUNDS. - • 11lay 6, Five per Cents. Opened at ' 88 f.pct c. Closed at B6 f. g 0 c. ' Exchange on London—One Month 25 f. -•‘—• c• Threationths 24 f. S 3 c. SERES, APRIL 2.—We have been for a week in great disquietude ; the Gre'eks of the Morea ar e advancing on all sides. Colocotrone has assume d the Command-in-chief of that Peninsula, a nd hal undertaken it s d e f ence ; Demetrius Ypsilanti has advanced into Livadia, and had already take° possession of Athens ; Ulysses, and the Car tains Diamarty and Anastasius Nasaare march ing at the same time on the side of Macedeir la i and one of their corps has taken possession 11 the town of Veria, 15 leagues from hence. ft ll these movements cause us disquietude, becalis we fear that the Turks will make a gen era l massacre. The Greek vessels re-appear every T er ~e : which seems t o p rove t h at the Turkish fleet h' disappeared ; thus our affairs are a little better, and if we receive succours from the North a g e ; neral insurrection will inevitably break out bel Macedonia, which will communicate to all t Provinces where there are Christians. Chourschid Pacha is menaced in the rear; the Sonliots and the Albanians give him much 0 - easiness. LEGHORN', APRIL 15.—Accounts from AIC S.. andria state that • the Paella :of Egypt has bee° for some time making considerable military Pre; parations, the object of which is not kilt's" , bil d it is said th a t hi s w h o l e f orce will . be direcie f against th e G ree k s an d P ers i an 's . '•Perserisr: information, h owever , assert that. he has*.a ject of rend er i ng hi mse lf i n d ependent ,' a nd ° establishing a new kingdom, al is which Egyp t to be the centre. VIENNA, APRIL 25 , —Commercial letters fro"' , the Levant announce the renewal of hostilities be tween the Persian - corps in the province of - 1 • 335. sora, and the tr oo p s o f th e P ae l la o f Bagda d ' According t o th e sam e letters, important even ts were expected in A rmen i a ; a strong Per sian Army was marching to 'conquer that provinc e " It is said that the Greek flotill a w hi c h watch ed the Dardanelles h a d re ti re d to H y d ra, to with the other divisions at Spezzia and Ipsara, In order. to attack the Turkish fleet in the• wa ter ' of the lonian Isles. The accounts . from Constantinople are of t h ( e i 29th March; they s t a t e not hi ng important, iDlr say not a word . of the negociations with Fer e ' Powers. FRANKFORT, MAY -I.—lt is said here that th e Austrian General, De Lan,uenau, who has P re ; sided over th e Milit ary C omm i ss i on for so , years, and who was lately summoned to Vie liu h l .' will be empl o y e d i n.organ i s i ng t h e army 4 " r n pr s servation which will b e s ta t i one d on the 0 6 ' 1 ' • of Turkey. a The report is still k e pt up h ere, that Au ctri , and Prirssia are occupi e d i n con t ract i ng ne w lea-tnso ST. PETERSBURGII, APRIL 17.—1 t appea rs be still undecided w h e th er we s h a ll h a ve Pea 0 or war. The di s p a t c h es l as t rece i ve d , and w",;ve , are reported to b e i m p or t an t, d o not see m t° • made any change in the political state o f atra' r " e d the expectation of the public is eagerly dir ect ,, to the arrival of M. d e Tatischelf, which i s a th , flounced as being near at h an d. Hi s .MajestY,.' o ; Emperor will n o t se t ou t f or t h e arm y . till to t the arrival of M. de Tatischeff. • the HAMBURGH, MAY I.—To-day for th fuse time, the Berli n fly-p os t h as , b roug ht us o n letters from Russia which were used to oeru e . ce Thursday ; to-day, too,' the first time sl e the misunderstandings in the East .of E ur° 6 o 7 l private letters from St. Petersburgh of thei t, of last month, coming from respectable auth°, ri Z e ! favour the opinion that war will really take P,,lthe. • WARSAW, APRIL 20.—After the close ei Polish Diet, for 1820, an Address to his M a j es ' j the Emperor King of Poland was agreed up on ', renewing the the kingdom. assurances A ot o c f e the inviolable f rom the d elltp of ulster of the Interior has now been published, the official papers of all the provinces, by way answer. In his remarkable paper the 111inis‘_ says, his Majesty's sole motive for taking O u t° o. him to restore the kingdom of Poland h as promote the happiness of the would persevere in it- till theimpossibility danger of the enterprize shall oblige him to aloe nation ;tat or , tu, t he . 1 41 4 tt, th a 03(