The Express.
London, England, 1849-09-29 00:00:00

THE NORTHAMPTONSHIRE AGRICULTURAL

SOCIETY.

MEETING AT KETTERING.
The second anniversary of the Northamptocehire
Agricultural Society was held at Kettering on Thursday.
The weather bring fine a numerous company wts attracted.
The show of stock we, good, the ploughing confessedly very
badly performed. At the clue of the competition about 200
peraus sat down to an excellent dinner at the Royal Hotel.
Lieut.-Col. CAR.TWICIOHT, the president of the year, filled
the chair, and the Rev. Sir G. Rogiffsoff, Bart., the vice-
chair. Among the company we obeervtd the Eight Hon.
Vernon Smith, Esq., M.P., Lord Lilford, S P. Matinsell,
Esq., M P., and Augustus Stafford, Esq. M.P. Oa the re-
moval of the cloth the usual routine toast; were given.
The CHAIRMAN, in proposing prosperity to the society,
would say that those who scoffed at such societies were not
practical men. Before preeenting the laboured rrizes he
would claim their attention for a few moments. Without
the slightest intention of nuking personol charges or allu-
sions, he would beg to remark upon a fact which come under
hie notice as • magistrate. He alluded to the practice of
foisting the labourer from one parish to another, to get rid
of an inconvenient population by small degrees. He had
seen more than one ease of a man being brought to pri-
son, as he verily believed, in consequence of such treat-
ment. He is driven out, and finds a house, or more
likely, • part of one, in a neighbouring parish, where he is
looked upon as ballast alien. In parishes where the indus-
trious poor are Excused rates, he is not excused, for he does
not belong to the parish. When charity is to be dispensed,
he is passed by, because he belongs not to the parish • he
is not employed, because he does not belong to the parish.
lie had seen such a man come to prison ,• his wife and
children then came to the workhouse. The parishes
which did this might think they evaied • pay-
ment, but the day would come when they would find
this practice as bad in point of economy am in
feelinr. With respect to the relation of landlord and tenant,
he would say that the two great enemies of both were the
water and the weed. He thought the landlord was bound
to remove the former, and the tenant the latter. The land-
lord should not keep a tenant who would not combat the
weed, and the tenant would be unwise who, rn these times,
remained on land to which the landlord would not apply
capi,al to drain it.

AUGUSTUS STAFFORD, Esq., M.P., had been en-
trusted with the toast of the evening, " The health of the
successful labourers." The question of the labourer, how
he was to be disposed of, was the great question of Modern
society. A new system had come into operation • it was for
them to say whether into favour. (Hear, bear!) But the
old system of reciprocity of good feeling between the em-
ployer and labourer he hoped would me to an end.
Let them not, however, "appose that by distributing those
neatly folded paper Freels which he sew contained the
prizes, that they had done with the labourer till another
year, nor let them blink the impor. alit fact of the
labourer's situation, or &naive the poor man in these
eventful times, He believed he descried signs and
tokens of a coming change, when circumstances would
compel the legislature to reconsider those vast theories
in pursuit of which it had been travelling at railroad speed.
He had considered the subject to find some ens: urging,
gratifyirg topic, but he saw nothing in their position on
which to congratulate them, though in their tenacious Saxon
character and in the union and good feeling between land-
lord and tenant he saw some ray of hope.
The CHAIRMAN having suitably addressed the labourers
after presenting the prizes,
The Right Hon. VERNON SMITH, M.P., rose to propose
• toast. He wow(' smith, r plunge into politics nor daintily
touch the surface, as his friend Mr. Stafford had done.
To address fanners wee now a difficult, a delicate matter—to
speak of their position, their prospects, their profits (" We
have no profits," from many voices.) Well, then, that made
good his statement, it was always difficult to speak of
nothing. The farmer had many advantages, but it was dis-
advantageous to him that he was a producer of food, ' .-..
scarcity comes on the farmers upbraided with .N. ,:j
Under the pin bent circumstances of the farmert e w !' , r., ~.,
rather not ask what might the legislature do. Hotirgetzed toe
useS
t 9
ask, what can we do for (Rinsing ? The oatlay of allyerisimunit
improvements ho considered ought to be made by the', land- ....;
lord. The landlAtt and tenant were swimming in the same

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