The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-02-27 00:00:00

PAtiLLIMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, TUtIDAY, FIIIRVAIIT
•-••
TLeir Lordships met at a quarter of au hour before four
o'clock. and as four o'clock adjourned duriug piessure.
The LORD CHANCELLOR at fifteen minutes after
fire o'clock rearmed kis was us the Woolsack.

AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.
Earl STANHOPE resealed a Peiitiun from some ports
of the (moldy of Kest, complaining of agricultural distrers
His Lordship repressed his hopes that minim cousiilerattoo
woad be given tie their distresses, rith a 'Metre desire no
the part of the Waive to do something for the relief of their
Intolerable burdens.—Laid on the sable.
STATE OF THE NATION.
The corder of, the Day for, summoning their
Lordships eras thrii read.

The Earl of Lamm:rot rose. He began by
expressing his coiscurreoce with the Noble Earl
who had Jost presented the Petition, in the senti-
ment he had expressed of oiutidence in the atten-
tion of Parliament a* the dismisses of the country.
Ott this, as on every occasion wherein a body of meu
were found petitioning their Lordships in proper terms
of submission and respect. their prayers, not as a
matter of constitutional right, but of political ex-
pediency, ought to receive due consideration, and
the heat attention of the House ought to be given
' to the representation of their grievances, with a
view, if possible, to contriving a remedy. Though
they might even be tnisuaken as to the causes
of their sufferings, and their Dotterels of a proper
cure, yet the feet of them having, in becoming lan.
guage, repre.enied a state cf distress which was
bearing with considerable pressure on them, was
• sufficient claim to Oast attention. It would
be for their lordships to use their best judg-
ment as to the case brought .before them—so weigh
the propitety of that which might be proposed—so
apply the proper means of relief, and, if necessary,
to dispel the errors into which they might lyre
fallen al to the crimes and remedy of their Suffer-
ings. The motion it was his intention to make
wield have the effect of producing information
essentially connected with the prayer and subject
of the petition presented by the Noble Egli. A
very short statement of the general contests of the
papers, with the uses to which they might be after-
wards applied. would be necessary. It might pro-
bably have beef' dispensed with; but as the sub.
jret was one of 'general imeresit—as meatuses had
been proposed and were then. Under deliberation in
regard to it elsewhere, which their Lordships might
be culled upon also to consider—and ns su inquiry
into the condition of all ths.brainclies which mike
up the general interests inigld be iiistitutedid:iente
other time, if had beeu thought advisable to
prepare their minds by some preliminary discussion,
and that great advantage would be derived to the
conduct and effectof that inquiry, if they were to
take a general view of the site of the country, be.
fore they should be called to deliberate on the speci-
fic meusures which would probably come before them.
Those measures would have rcterteice to circum-
stances of very different periods* and would tie ap-
plicable to different objects.,..lt could not but be
highly advantageous to this Lordahips to give the
general subject a preemie% examination. He wished
therefore, before moving fur the papers he wished
to have produced. to offer a few remarks uu
the general state of the country internally, aid
in the first place. to apply himself to the soh.
jest of the petters,' just laid un the table—in
determine as nearly as possible what were the
points of discussion which properly claimed their
atteniloae and what measures were likely to be. of
application the most beneficial. in taking thia
course. it might be necessary for hirn to go a step
further than the immediate object of his motion ; fur
without doing to he could scarcely make his state- •
meat intelligible so regard to various highly im-
portant parts of it. There was one statement which
had got abroad, and iti•pt have a/trachea their Lord-
'hips' at tentlim, whirls ought first to be taken into
their minds before they entered on the topics which
he had to oiler, and to which it bore strict relation.
He alluded so the general increase of population
in all parts of the muted kingdom. and especially
in. Ireluml. Notwahistondiog the distresses of the
war, the difficulties and large waste of human life
wlndi had come out of it, hose causes which seem-