The Express.
London, England, 1864-10-06 00:00:00

[Stamped, ld. Additional.]

MR. DISRAELI Al' SALTHILL.

The annual dinner of the Royal South Bucking-
hamshire Agricultural Association took place at Salthill
yesterday; Mr. C. J. PLUM in the chair. Among those
present were the Right Hon. B. Disraeli, M.P.. Mr. Harvey,
M.P., Major-General Hood, Rev. W. P. Marryatt, Mr.
H. W. Tramper, Mr. Wolds, He.
Alter the customary loyal and patriotic toasts,
Mr. TROMPLII pee " The Comity Members," and in the
mums of his observations remarked that Mr. Disraeli, is
his speech the other day at Aylesbury, had described farmers
mid farming in a too roseate hue. The returns
from wheat and staple articles of their produce were most
unsatisfactory : this year their turnip fields were in a
very miserable condition. He was told that one effect of
the right hon. gentleman's speech was that wheat fell 2s.
(A laugh.) Bat he was sure that was • result which
Mr. Disraeli did not wish. At this moment beans, the food
of beasts, were producing • higher price than the great
article of human consumption. He also dissented from
the proposal of the right boo. gentleman to cross Downs
with Cotswolds.

The toast was drank with great cordiality.
Mr. Dnittaxu, in replying, said—Mr. Chairman and gentle-
mime, I thank you for the very kind manner la which you have
received the proposal of my health—not the first time
offered ie this rooaread always reosiving from you that
cordial welcome which la my beet encouragement in the per-
formaace of my duties. (Hear, hear.) I ham always felt
peat regard for this part of the country in which my
earliest years were pseud. I still Wok that the man
who rides through the vale of Chiltern rides through the
finest part of English scenery, and one which recalls oar
ideas of old English scenery more than any other part of
the island. 1 should have been glad on the present cies-
&ion to have confined myself merely to thanking you for
your recognition of me as one of your members, and I did
not expect that I would be called upon for the very arduous
duty of replying until the 4th of next February. (A
laugh.) But Mr. Tromper has thought fit—and no man from
his long experience was more entitled to do so—to maks
some remarks about observations which 1 meetly made
before a portion of my constituents in another part of the
country. lam sore you will allow me very briefly to notate
these observations, and I am apt to think upon rased°,
that you will be of opinion that my views are Dot so ill-
grounded as Mr. Trooper would lead you to suppose. With
regard to the character of the pressot beirved—a very
grave question, upon which no one ought to speak with
levity or thoughtlemiess I certainly formed my opinion
from information which reached me from almost all puts
of the country. From that ieframation it was my opinioo
that we had • very fine harvest, and as resod' that pot
of England in which I am most interested, namely, the
county which I represent, I had some individual means and
some peomeal opportuaidos of obtaining informations.
I listened mid observed in the Chiltern Hills
is my owe immediate neighbourhood, sad from what I
leveed and observed I thought the harvest had reached the
character which it had received in the greater part of the
country. (Hear, hear.) Ido not mean to say teat all cur
crops have eneespded. I moot recall • harvest is which
that result Ma coeurred, but I thought that the peered re-
sults of the harvest were highly satisfactory. I visited the
northern part of our county, and our celebrated central
vale, and all my obeinvations led me to believe that the or-
dinar, character which was given to the harvest wee sound,
and that it was abundant and atiormsful. I confide, bos-
omy, that I made uoe mistake. I was remiss in not visiting
the extreme south of the county, but the roam was this :
I found that all parties aimed that the cereal crops were
most abundant sad knowing what Sissy were in the district
in which I lived, sad leaning what they were in the valley
of Aylesbury, it never occurred to me that in the extreme
south, where there ia a piece of corn land lutist°, to tow'
in England, laid out most cooveuisetly is ample and ad-
mirable fields, and cultivated by some of the most skilful
farmers in the county—l say it saver occurred to me that
in the land of the Troopers and Washes and Alridgeoi, and
the Pullets, there had been such a complete sad absolute
failure. (Load laughter sod cheers.) There I cootie' I
made& great mistake. I have lamed again what I have
often learned before, that you should
mythic' for granted—(a laegb)but such was my cos-
fidence in the soil, such were my recollections
of Chippeultam fanners, such was my knowledge of ti i•
men whom I had always looked to with confidence as
constituents, that in the general abundance of cereal crops
I believed they would produce multi equal to theme of
any other part of the country. And from what I have seen
today 1 menet believe—even after the Denmethatio 'emo-
tive of Mr. Tramper—that this favoured part of the county
of Buckingham has been struck with that barrenness to
which he has alluded. (A laugh.) Indeed, when I listened
with attendee to the speech of my friend, I discovered
towards the end that it was not so much low production
as low prices that he complained of. (Laughter and
cheers.) Gentlemen, I honestly admit that I meet
secure you high prices. I once supported • system
—as did also • great majority of the gentlemen connected
with the oultivatioe of the land in this °vestry— which might
have had that effect ' • but that has been now universally
given up by the country, and 1 don't think that I shall be
called upon to enure high prices is that way by the skilful
farmers of Buckingham. Mr. Tromper stated that at this
moment food for men commands a lower price than food for
boots, and asked " what are we to do?" I will tell you
whet to do—produce food for besets. (Bear, hem.) Your
business so traders is to get a good return for the employ-
, anent of your capital, and although I regret that the *dent-
' able cereal production of this part of the country do not
command • price which can remusierate the grower, still if
you consider that • bat is only intended as food for beasts
will give you a larger price. as commercial men you have
only one line to take under the circumstances. Bot
mot refer to the statemeot, which it I cannot
contradict it may cot me the honour of reps-
septum you, namely, that those unhappy observation
which I made to your fellow constituents at Aylesbury,
absolutely lowered the pile* of wheat two shillings. My
friend Mr. Trooper. who is • cautious man, said that he
only beard it ; but he had an ardent supporter tabled him
who stated that it was quite true. (Laughter.) I have
rarely Hesse serious • charge made, and I don't know upon
what authority the portentous cooclusioe hes hems arrived
at. Now, I should say myself that the results of my °bier-
' witless at Aylesbury, if I had my intender' upon the sub-
ject, must have beet of a contrary tendency. If any person
of authority, who is supposed to have the confidence dome
part of the country, mammas that the harvest has base so
prolific and abundant that it Ins seldom been equalled,
Use foreign importer would begin to fume and salt what
was the use of seeding his produce to en
island where be was told there was so good
a harvest. I should therefore say that if I bad not made
that speech, the price of wheat would breve sunk 4s. instead
of Ys.. (Loud laughter and cheers.) The third charge 'meant
me is that I rsoommended my friends at Aylesbury to cross
their Downs with Cotswolds. What hays we beard against
that proposition ? An immense deal of declamation, but no
facts, no data, ever placed before you which should make
you for • moment give any conclusive opinion. An boo.
friend of mum who represents • sister county, who renerslly.
when I have made some afterdiener remarks, follows me
with some very grave observation—(a laugh)—has made
some retinae* to the views which I offered upon that cc-
casiou. Mr. Walter, above all men that I know, has a
happy art of making the mot oracular obssrvatioes in the
most oracular ramose. (Laughter.) He bas doubts—grave
double—of the justness of my observation, bat his cely
answer is an d priori one. Everybody takes it for pasted
that if the Downs of this county are crossed by a Cotswold
ram, then immediately the meat will prove worse and in-
ferior. Bat has any one proved that. I have heard of gen-
dome, and I ,believe there are gentlemen in this room,
who have tried the expertineet. I have been told be them
that the result is very diffesset from that which I pro-
loaned without any proof whatever. If you cross • flock
of South Downs with a Cotswold rem, the effect upon the
meat is not p 4 an appreciable character, bet what is the
effect upon the fleece! Why, suppose you get Is. mere for
each fleece that you produce off it, emd your decks amoun
t
to 300; then, iu these days of agricultural demo-
!adoa described by my friend, you will find that at the
end of the year a profit of Is. on 300 dome forms
an item sot to be despised. Nobody supper you are going
to cross like so many cosine intermarry nig (A laugh.)
You must crow with discretion, acid you will find that as
ewe with • black noes will
( Hear, hear.) I have now Same over the Salthill iodietmeet.
I appeal to you with eriefirieuce whether I have sot replied
to those charges which hem been brought forward. (Chests.)
I feel confident that is a very short tiros you will be all of
my opinion that it has been a good harvest. My test of • good
hamlet is this—why is there not • great importation
of corn? (" P i liere s.") If there wets a great
isa-
pcetaties of corn at the present moment, it is impossible to
describe the injurious effect that it would base upon the
public credit generally sad upon the public property
of the country. It ought to be some consolation
to the fomers of thiscounts, that by their skill under Divine
Providence, thoobava produced such abundant erred crops;
that at the moment whes the credit of the country we. is •
most delicate state, and when it was streicad to its utmost
they hem saved us fives • commereied collapse, the effects of
which would have been of a most deleterious and deogerem
character. (A Voice— '• What thanks do they sat for it r)
Our fermate may be proud of their position, and ought to
feel • meat notisfacties that the crops which booboos pro-
duced under their skill have preserved the country frees cue
of the most severe and serious failures that probably ever
could have occurred in England. I will now, before I aft
down, Woe to the circumstances under which we mat.