The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-02-22 00:00:00

would cull their attention to what was the nature
of use distress complained of; it did not he in
•bstruce inquiry, and he was the more induced to
say this, because he understood it was the inten-
tion of the Noble Esrl (Liverpool) to make some
observatiems on the subject. It was ince-fury,
therefore, that their Lordships sl Id hike Imo their
consideration what had been the course of thisigiaes
related to the commercial and financial state of
the country. The capital of the country lied been
for a great number of 3 ears drawn frern the iFith-
jects or it, 1.. r the purposes of Goveraiment ; this
great expenditure of the Governmem, and the de-
mand so promoted, caused a guest supply of menu-
fsctores to the foreign market, but it was only an
extension and supply to answer the immeiliate
proevase... The time hod conisr when thin expeliett-
tare of capital could not survive under the present
iierinasient tax lion, and when they returned to Ilie.
old standard the demand was diinmished. This lie
asserted to be the fec', without the fear of beteg
contradicted ; and if it was not the fact, it was de-
lusive to seek fur relief from inquiry, if that inquiry
did not go into these circuinstasices. It was
ful for him to be obliged to say that no prompt
remedy from the Co tttttttttttt particularly on that
subject which bore must severe, the aglicultitral
dearer, of the country, whether lie took it in the
view of the Noble Earl (Liverpool), that the in-
cie Ise of production was the cause of it, or his own
view, that it originated from the decrease of the
co ssumrtion of articles of life ; whirl, ever was right
it was impossible to come to the suhject of relief
without inquiry. According to the Corn Lawi,
corn was fixed at 80.. as a maximum price; hut
it was kept down to 70a. ; then there was nue oc-
casion for an alteration in the Corn Laws. whether
it was kept at the reduced price, or the di
arose from the home market being furnished with
too great a supply, or by a _defichisry of supply,
it should not be a matter of surprise that there WAY
no remedy for an evil which hid been grossing fur
years ; *lieu it was 1101 a matter of YS'Osiishilient,
for it, was like a physician called to attend u
diseased malt, hr first inquired into the ',attire of
his diarase, and then into the causes whirl: pro-
duced them; alien master of them, lie then ap-
plied the remedy : and so here the cause •of the
disease must be ',squired into before relief could be
odriiiiiistererl. The distress of the foreign nude
was cancel by the legislative restrict on it ;
amid those of the home trade by excessive taxation,
which was also a res'e'ction, and the only restudy
was to remove the load of taxes, and to etiatile
them to do that there must be a diminution int he
expenditure of the Government; %nisi he trusted
the other House of Parliament would after's' to that
*statljeer: A. to ll* foreign trade of the county,
it was clogged by the inistaken policy of the Legis-
lature, and it was therefore to that view of the sub-
ject that lie would call the attention of the Com-
mittee, fur it was on that principle that the ettera-
tion was wanted to be made. He was aware that
Iris view of the subject was opposed by some out of
doors, for science had come to such excellence iu
machinery, that bodily labour was forgotten. Ile
remembered reeding of an Austriataluan, when it
was said that the people of fashion only attended to
the thine of it, but the vulgar swaggered on the
term, as if it was to sink the whole reeourcee of the
country. So it was here, persons out of doors had
wiitten and published pamphlets, some in favour
of the old school of manufactures, others in favour
of machinery ; but they both forgot the interest of
the consumer, and he was of opinion the latter in-
terest was the greatest, and that was only to he
attended to by foreign commerce, which flourished
in spite of the laws against it, but it would not now
flourish unless the laws were revised. Tile Noble
11 irquis then moved, That the saint Committee
witch sus uppoiuted last year should be re.ap-
pointed.
Lord F:I.LENUOROUGii said. he pet reedy agreed
with ;he chief pert of the viorrelo of the Noble Alar-
quis, and with his general view of the ease, but he
dissgreed with him when he stated that he ex-
pected a reduction in the taxes. It was a thing
impossible when he took into coneisfreation the
snarl obligation we were under fur the re-
payment of the national debt.- Ile was of opi-
nion that the inquiry of the Committee would be
most useful ; wlieti he looked to the Report of the
Committer on the timber trade, and found the duly
nu the log to be higher than the duty on the manu-
factured timber, and when lie fromil Norway deals
only paid 111. in Ireland, and Sto/. lii England, the la-
bours of the Committee e ould be most useful. It
was not pia inteistiou to detain uheir Lordships
longer, particularly as lie uutlerstood the Noble
Ent (Liverpool) intended to deliver his senti-
ments on the subject. The motion fur the
Committee had his approbation.
The Earl of LtveaPoot. rose. lie had en-
deavoured to provide their Lordships with all
the information likely to conduce to thr clear-
est unilerstaistling of the subject Which the
means of his office afforded, and if after the fullest
perusal of all the paper. which he would have the
honour of brineing before the House, any of their
Lordships should deem other *lamination wanting
which it was in the power of Government to fur-
nish, no efforts to satisfy such inquiries would
be left utiettenapted. In regard to the ex-
planation which be hail given the other night,
iii reference to something which had taken place
at the commencement of the Session, he would
have occasion to repeat it in the course of the
observations he was about to submit, namely;
that one great and important cause of the existing
distress iii the agriculture, and in the great branches
of manufactures and of commerce, mast be traces'
to the increased and excessive production which had
taken place in various instances connected with
those interests. The Noble Marquis had suggest-
ed, that the distress did not arise from the ex-
erosive increase of production, but from the very
great diminution of consumption in most of
the essential articles of Itfe; and he was ready
to admit, that the great question to be tried