The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-04-04 00:00:00

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ever-
,
productioo was not confined to grain; it affected
timber and every other article. The lands pro-
iteteol -tea Much frirn—the trees grew too fast.
Thete was iei reality only one way of account*,
for all the distress. There ass such a demand ass
the pocketi of the people, that there was nethißg
left far landlord or -tenant after the Crowe,
the Church, and the poor rates were satisfied;
He defied the ingenuity of man to 'Miami
other • cause than taxation for the distress:
ob other Ye:IA..III could be Jiven which would
not consist •rif mere •words slid sophistry. The
country could not 'go on in • this course. They
might dislodge the Isndholder ; they might drive
the landlords front the *sit is the zeinimlaries
of India bud beets removed, add hold the lands in
“celterotron• for the benefit of Government, and he
- believed that they were rapidly approaching that
owe. The Government; the Church, and the
poor rates would swallow all the property of the
loud. A revolution of property had been going on
for tweisty.seight years past, and more hastily in the
last three or Astir years., for which there was na ex-
ample in the' history of any Government ever in-
flitted on mankind. lie was astonished at the rea-
'ironing of hisflon. Friend on the effects of taxatioe,
-end the' alteration of the currency. To talk of too
millions of additional taxes being the
sorbele effect on the tenantry, was something which
:her ono ki • hardZy tiesefibe. The same sum, it wits
Itesse4 iwns allowed for the incresie of the horded'
sof thedenAteveler But did his 'Hon. Friend reckon
tenthing. fee the beggaring of the tenantry—the
alteration '4R tetiurke—the difficulty of taxis,
'dower. uadlettleintmis for widows and children, mod
all otheepayments fixed in a currency of a &hal-
-eel Woe,' and now claimed io one of full value?
These eXying what limits this ruin would
have. Ife knewit periain'of 6,000/. a-year nominal
smote. whose net income was now reduced
4,1111111/. a-year. marred 'of '3 or 4,0001. a-year,
sattith ire thatightliimielfpoilseaseil. He could not
swree to4epeal the Bill of 1819; he had hailed
M dace etteseure that Would put down the traffic
erhiChl.teent on before 'between the Right Hon.
Geatilecrom and 'Jew-corner and 'Change-alley.
Thank God they were at length nut of those trarrsT
actioris; but it was impossible not to see that them
arrangementi•had creatig I necessity for the House
to examine nolo the dawns of making a consider.
able Tednetion of isairtiim. fie 'could not find
words to enuresis hii contempt for the opinion that
theyrotild•hhld on ist'their course without relieving
the-pockets of the fartnOrs from the hands of the
tax-gatherer. &diked 'fixation was their only
reteekly.' That iltin'e; 'aitd the sinking fund swept
aterty. With 'it ' (file they ought to get rid of that
tsairble-titakimr oche**, and lease the money in
the Stitels 'of Wte Icople)—if after all some.
thing'. more mast fsedfected, it must be dorm'
The :plough was the public creditor. He
would not Toratent to %tire the country gentle.
men-stripped of their estates; they must, ea to pri.'
vase awes. come to 'invite accommodation with the
putrite, elieditcie; fie eraccibite sure that this would
. coine to pass; lend that heettotald live to see it; lie
was certein"thot the Klett lion. Gentleman or
t-he Notylv IMO Intik WaselB come forwartfand
propose it thentOele tudeekilme plea of necessity
or ether. Ili the titetillitiie; 'it would be to shew.
destitution nY' common %bitty if They were not to
• tithe every means 'in their power to avert it, by ef,;
feetiog a redtiction of taxes end expenditute. tiff,
' woo rvilling' that they shotild pay the •last
iitivas,for the public interest to pay as far as rhari
wens would go. The committee had considered,
efinothing* but of come' plan to raise the price consider
grata; they .slicittld tree taken a directly opposite',
coarse, awl fonresooglrt to have brought down the
eupernies of -praductile'to the low prices of grain.
'• The 'Marquis of Lowoott DERRY regretted that
the 'Mae 'should have embarked in a discussion
on to wide a *ale of argument in respect to topics
of most extensive interest, fur the consideration of
which another tiolie would have been so much more
ptoper; ati opportunity would arrive not only
mere convenient for the purpose, but one which
Mould allow the 'House to consider of some practi-
cal propositions for the relief of agriculture. If
the Houmsrable Member -for Essex was sincere,
•ho hart entitled s great deal of useful time to be
stinted abOvelltoirs. lie should have laid the sub-
ject before the CoMmilteein another point of view,
and have' come down with some proposition for
altering' he standard once more. He would have
'been sure of the assistance •of the Honoura-
blelklettiber for Coventry. at least. though, if
he terileibbered right, the Bill of 1819 had not
'strenuous advocate than the .Honouni-
bie Gentlettsse. Ile seemed to have some feel-
ilat it ass necessary for him to stone by
repetitaoce for the vote which lie thensaire. Ever
since, on every mention of this subject, he had com-
plained of the effects of that measure. It' the Hon.
Member for Essex had any reasons which lie thought
were likely to influence Parliament to repeal that
measure, he should have adduced them. He could
understand why that had not been done. He was
anxious not to be drawn further into the discussion
arprettent. He would not have risen, brit to meet the
' suggestions of the Hon. Member for Shrewsbury.
He protested against that most alarming and agi-
tating appeal made by him to the public mind.
through the medium of its distress. He protested
against that flagrant proposition for breaking faith
with the national creditor, which, if they could
stoop to it, would relieve BO one. Let the House
and the country pay no attention to the pro-
posal for declaring a national bankruptcy, which
would indeed be the worst national calamity.
To haste the sinking fund, which would be
bet at a drop of water to the sea, could not be
supposed as s measure capable of bringing relief
in soy reasonable degree. if all the taxes were
repealed, without reference to the neceiwary ex-
penses of Government, and those which were neres-
par", to secure the pi niciple of the public con-
tracts—it the whole sere swept away, it could act

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wll7lllti4benktha"t"'"injusticeilt be done—they IV,
twirls to'break 'faith w public creditor.
the Sinking Fund tolielokemearrerfrons necesetty,
it .would only lame the delay wr o;ussealietit before
the completion of a national bankraisttcy. Any re-
duction of taxes Short of such a °aerie would produce
that result vroulil.give no relief. Tlie,Hon. Gentle-
man had coloured his picture of the national distress
high, hut not faithfully. The agritelbere-was the
only class of the population now suffering. The, mst•
nufectbrers were in the greatest activity of exertion,
and enjoyed ninth cderfort. Commerce was flourish.
Ing, and every pelt of the country thriving except,
the agrieelturiets. The distress was not, then,
owing to any thing 1106143 in the history of the Go.:
remittent; or if so, 'hew erne it that America, a
country peculiarly to the taste of the Hon. Gentle-
man for the cheapness of government, was suffering
rather a superior degree of distress ?
Mr. G. Bessterr explained. He had not.
charged any .particular measure of Administration
with a tendency to bring on national bankruptcy :
their whole carter had no other tendency.
The Marquis of LOBIDOaDIMILY understood that
the Hon. Gent. was for repealiag all the taxes which
could be spared, rod if that would not de he would
go further. He would pay if he could, if not be
•would compromise, and he pate) be the judge on
'his own cause. .
. .
. Mr. G. BENAITT—" And so you will."
Mr. Etuce ezClained. Ile hart been always I
aware of the effects of the Bill of 1819; but WI
Ifpptaved of if, because it put a stop to the discre-I
hisenry management of the finances between the(
Bask and
~ A
the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
• le
lr. nICIDO explained. He had been treated
In f e discussion es if he were a friend to teeetion,l
whereas he had on trafyiaCCa•ittll voted for the re-
peal
of taxes. . .
Mr. Past. thought that thew were terions. objec-
tions against going so much •at large into the dis-
cussion of the subject ; he °sly ,rose to pretest, for
the present, spinet being ineluded.among the ad-
vocates of the doctrines which had been held forth
against the Bill which hi had the honour to intro.
, duce in 1819. It wee impossible that the dis-
tress could be owing to the canoe assigned—
namely, the operation of that Bill. He did
net deny the existence of the distress, but
it existed is countries where that Bill had no
operation—is Renders and Switzerland. In the
latter place the landholder could not afford himself
proper implements for cultivation. All the pre-
diction, ea to the impossibility of carrying that
Bill into effect, had been falsified. Ile only asked
that the question should be tried under fairer cir-
commencer. Let the numbers and condition of
the manufacturing population, and the state of the
commercial interests for any or several periods be-
for and since the passing of that Bill be examined.
The opportunity would soon come, slid he was
sorry to have been led eves thus far in the discus-
ion at present. Ile only rose to entreat the Noose
to suspend their judgment on the subject until the
proper season.
Mr. CaIT.CaATT said, that the Committee had not
done right in sot going into the subjects df taxetion
lied the alteration of the currency. Their imme-
diate duty was to secure the British grower from
foreign competition. Fir this they had provided
no relief. There could be none in laying out a
million to warehonre refuse grain. He was sato-
naslied to hear the Noble Lord say that the sweep
itsgawiry of all the taxes would give the farmer no
relief. They might talk of extravagant proposi.
tions—there was Delhi.% ever heard of to nonith
this. To say that 60 or 70 Millions of 4;%iisits,
which, by going through he knew not ow
many bawd*, lose to he knew not what amount,
before the articles reached the consumer—to
say that the repeal of all these burdens Ciouid
give the coustry no relief, was the most isron-
woos proposition that' had ever been heard in
Parliament. There wee no way of relief but
reducing the charges of production, and that
could only be effected by reducing rents and
tithes (which had beim' done in some degree al-
ready), and lastly, a reduction of tuxes equal to the
increased value of money. Ile wea no advocate'
for breaking faith with the national creditor.
He thought that the Committee had entirely
wasted their labours. No Report had ever gone
out from Parliament so calculated to defeat iin
reasonable hopes of redress to the parties suffering.
What was to have prevented them from con-
sidering the effects of taxation and the alters-
boo of the currency ? The Petitions referred
to them were full of allegations of that nature,
' and they were to consider of those Paitions.—
It would have been far better that the Committee
Arnold. in its Report, have spoken out plainl3:, and
said. i‘ We hare looked iivtooll your Petitions, we
have inquired into the circumstances and the nature
of your complaints, and we tell you, though we Shy
it with regret, that it is wholly out of our power to
give you any relief." That, he contended, would
have been far better than putting froth, in
the form of a Report, a Tweet of words
meaning nothing, and calculated for no other
purpose than to obscure the subject on which
it should have spoken clearly. When that Re-
port came regularly under discussion, he should
feel it his duly to have the Petitions. which had
been referred to the Committee rend at length, and
the Report gone through peregraph by paragraph,
iii outer to chew bow entirely the Committee had
neglected their duty, of reporting upon the parti-
cular points into winch it was referred to them to
umpire._

Marquis of LONDONDERRY explained.
Mr. GURNEY Said he did not menu to deny that
the importation of foreign corn might have had
some etluct in lowering the prices of produce
in our markets, but he would nisirowin, that what
was called the " distress of the country," but which
might be more properly teemed its " exit mire pe-
cunisry embarrassments," had been mainly pm-
duced by the Bill of the Hight lion. Gentleman
for the regulation of the currency, which had the

mollPi!*

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IP
N . •

.411f.C..-W.v.Wilethl in rising to mike the mo-
tion of which he had given notice, said, that as it
would be better to take tha•discussion of 'the mea-
sure which he we. about to introduce in a more
advanced stage, he should at present only remind
the Heine, thist in the list Session, by an amend-
ment of the House of Lords in the Bill sent up
from the Howe of Commons, the right of elect.
ing two Members, which was taken from the bo.
rough of Grampound, instead of beiog transferred
toshe borough•of Leeds, was given to the county
pf .York ; so that its it then stood, the right of
electing four 'Knights of the Shire was vested in
the frrehoWers of the whole county. Now the
number of the electors was so great, 30,000 having
polled et the last contested election for that county,
wrid4hey were scattered at so gnat a distance, that
the great expense of briugiog them together to any
oettpbsce for the purpose of voting at an election,
and the vast somber. that would be so brought to-
gether, implored to him to, threaten consequences
the roust destructive, not only of the ,purity, but
mile of the freedom of election. He therefore ill-
.tereled to propose that in future two:Knights-of
the Shire should be elected by the West .Kiding,
and the other two Knights of the Shire by the
'North and East Ridings. He concluded .by
moving—

" For leave to bring in • Bingo, (nether re`ulalio• the
Election of Knights of the Shire fer the County of York."
Leave was given, and the Bill afterwards brought
in; reed a Irit time ; ordered to be pi inted, •nd
to be rods totood time Thstelay fortnight.

never wait known to have been so rich. Why was
there .uch a difference between that period and the
pr..sent ? Why we. it impossible for tlircattivatom
of 00011 to live ? The reason was this : the 18
millions af-taxes of 17ge.fted Iwo:ease 86 militate; •
the cathatry was well titwated, with a tertik sail,
atAclictri aari itigrutotri popsilation; yet there was
scalecery'Cimy thnig-to be heard "but • cry of want
ascending from all dimes. There was
_plenty of
rptuttatMAThelk triiirniseE- -It was tratd, Over-

relieve such distress as the country was now se& effect of aggravating to an oppressive degree the
fering. That distress was owing to the pro- weight of all pre-existing mammas.
&activeness- of swops, fwd Id out be at. i 'The Petition was then read, sod maned to be
tributed to ato the . hiiteey printed.
of the Goversvisentcs caiintry. It was mislead- ClVii. LW. IPMENIONa
lug the country to • • • supposition tin* the • Re. !smuts moved he as ammo of the nu rn.
repeal of taxes walla o any thing to relieve it. her of pensions payable out of the Civil List, the
He knew the temper of the people—he believed stwount of whictwisetaled...lool. _per_asiassni, and
.that. they ...souk' ligffer patiently. glory were iiisf*. 'Tars similar account of pensions payable out of the
Willing,that injustice shaald be .done—i hey ,hwl no l Civil List of Ireland.—Ordered.