The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1822-06-15 00:00:00

the subject of the salt lax. Ti was his intention to pretpoce
that the intentsl duty on salt in this country should 6r re-
clined from lbs. to 2s. per bushel ; and that the existing re.
gulatious fur the &hem of sell fur the /Aeries, and other
matiofseturing purposes, should be coetineed to the bth Ja.
nosey,• 1825 With respect to thee:portion* of salt from this
,
country, it was Ins ententes to propose that it should he el.
lowed to be exported, duty free, to foreign ports. and ono to
livened, and that, upon being landed ii. Inlaid for mum nip.
tic's, it should be subjected to the some duty and regulations
as at preacat. He should also propose that Ireland should
be allowed to make salt for interest consumption without
payment of any duly ; and that the last allowance should
likewise be extended to Scotland. Should his plan meet the
approbation of the House, he intended to per.evere in the
reduction of the tax on leather, to the retest which he
had before promised; lot he was %whaled that the recension
-if taxes could not be carried soy farther.
Rh. CCRWEN said, lie was by no means satisfied with
the explanation df the Right Hun. Gentleman; he therefore
eroded that be would give notice for Mond., for the Corn.
IMAM in order that they eight then go into the discussion,
asd the sense of the House be take,, on the Resolutions.
After a few words from Colonel Davies, the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, and Mr. D. Gilbert, the eutiversation dropped.
KENT PETITION.
Mr. HONYWOOD presented a Petition from the Free-
holders of the Comity of Kent, in County Meeting assert.
bled, on the subject of the distress which now meson on the
country, complaining that Petitions on the subject of Dud
distress and its causes bad not received from Parliament the
attention which they merited, and praying fur a reel and
efficient economy, and a full and fair emeTeintatiori of the
people in Parliament, sad that the House would he pleated
to make a jail redaction of the interest on the public debt
of the country, as soot' as it had reformed itself.
Sir E. KNATCHBULL said, that though Ise had the nele.
fortune not to agree in opinion with the petitioners, yet he
did agree with his Honourable Colleague in the stannic*
he bad made, that the meeting at which it was adopted wan
highly numerous and respectable. He said It was extremely
difficult fur him to express in appropriate language what be
telt ou the subject of ibis Petition, and of the meeting et
which it was resolved upon ; bat he meat say, that it ap-
peared to him to be very unfair, and to savour not • little of
manmuveriug, to couple the two topics of the distress of the
country aid reform of Perlistennit the requisition on which
the meeting was convened. The Honourable Baronet the.
proceeded at great length to describe the proceeding; at
the meeting, which be characterized as the most orderly
sod respectable he had ever seen. All was conducted
with fairness, and a Petition was agreed upon, the seine In
substance as the pentad, with the exception of one dance.
Every thing was conducted is the most orderly manner
emit a gentleman, stating himself to bee freeholder (whether
be were so or not was met withi• his (Sir E. Krialehbuit'w)
knowledge, proposed that that these should be engrafted
on the Bill, chub called upon the Noose to violate the ne-
bula! faith. Su astonished was the *hole meeting at the
irropolitios, that • pause of several moments ensued before
ern person could be found to inroad the motion. At length
on person did step forward for that purpose, who however,
upon re 9, thou, thought better to decline ; and, after another
pine,* nut lier person did snood the noniou. ThetYhig leaden,
who load called the meeting, remained silent at first,but he was
sorry to say that after a pewee there were some among them
elm seemed to applaud the Resolution. Some others, how.
ever, oar Noble Lord (Danny) it' particular, who made a
twat 'taint it, opposed it; •nd appeared to feel indig.
sant that the aristocracy of the country should be led by a
man of such a character as that person who proposed the
clause, which deserved the highest reprehensins. He (Sir
E. K) differed In opiniou with the meeting on the subject
of Parliamentary Reform, and called fur some explanation
of what Reform was intended, aid whether they meant a
change of meta or a change of us aaaaa ea? and be was an-
swered by Sir. Colibell, that their main object was • reduc-
tion of the int-rest of the debt. If those who had under.
taken the lead in the proceedings of the day bed then slept
forward, and expressed the now abhorrence of that proposi-
tion which his Hon. Friend soil the Noble Lord of whom
he had spokes expressed, they might have prevented the
nilop•ion of the clause.—(Hear, bear)—He therefore pro.
tested, is the name of the county of Kent, against the Peti-
tion being considered as emanating from the great body of
the freeholders of that county. The Petition of the snisjo-
shy of that meeting it undoubtedly was, but not of the ma-
jority of the freeholders of the county. He felt eon/dent
that it •as in ',manse opposition to the feelings of sine.
truths of the county. He protested abo„on the part of the
Whig leaders themselves, against its being considered as
their Keene; far though, being takeu by surprise, they had
not exerted themselves to previon the adoption or the clause
to which he had alluded, be was confident that it was an di-
rect opposition to their opiiiions.
Mr, HO,NYWOOD said, though the requisition for the
meeting did in some degree emanate from the Whigs in
the county of Kent, a great smother of the requisitionists
were not Whigs. The requisition was signed by 450 of the
plumps' landowners of the county, owning • property of
tint lass than 50,000 acres. Whatever his Hon Colleague
might say, be (Mr. H ) would maintain that the Pomona
• did express the general amnion of the meeting. With re-
spect to the opinions of the freeholders of Kent on the sub-
ject of Parliamentary Reform, that topic was expressly pro-
prod in the requisition for the meeting, and if they were
uopuie d to it, that was the time and place for them to ex.
press their opinions.
Lord J. RUSSELL said he smitld not but feel surprised
Thee he heard it stated by the Honov;eable Baronet (Foe C.
lintelibull), that ene-tenths of the respectable freeholders
• of the (natty of Kent were against the Petition, that they
144114511 come forward an.l stated their 'Feminism's ow the
hcession. He regarded the adoption of thin Petition,
by the meeting as a proof that theirs was in the
trosetry • considerable body of pentium of the highest
• reopectebßety, and of considerable property, who were re.
doted to nth a stale uf distress that they were ready to
sure to say propos/les that bore upon the Gee of it • pro
mile of relief from their present rendition, without any in.
',mien to injure or overlent the Government. Having been
caked on several occasions whether he inteuded again to bring
forward his mottos or the sash net of Parliamentary Refoeur,
he would take that oppectuwity of stating that at some fu-
ture occasion he should renew his endeavours to yr
, what he comeived to be • fur and fell representation of the
people err Parliament. He would not pledge himself to soy
path solar time nor to the peitteuler terms of the propos,.
lion which he might hereafter submit, but his motion would
be for a Committee. But whatever opinions he might enter-
tan se the necessity of Parliamentary Riform, anal on the
present mode of returning Members to Parbernent, Ise lover
could countenance the doctrine that that House were not
the legal representatives of the people. They bed been ad.
mined end wcoguned as such, and any debts eoniracted by
that Hons.., any future Goverument would hr humid to pay;
tier could he a ver be brought to Coeseut for a moment to
rinds'', any proposition for reducing the interest, or ens-
ceiling the obligations which bad been entered into respect-
ing any part of the public debt, but In the case of an seer-
wbehning necessity. Hedid not mein noels a necessity as
mere expediency, or the wish to avoid the inconvenience of
the charge might iodine some tees to immure, but such a
feresarty as would onovines all parties is that Homer of the
impenibility of longer coetinuing to pep lt.---(Hrar.)
Sir E. KNATCHBULL made some uhaervatiuus in so
Inca tour that we could sot collect them.
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY saigl he was not in
the Hume ether the Petition was read, lint from what he
had learnt of its contests mid the remarks whieli had bees
made upon them, he dial not apprehend that the clause which
recommended the reduction of the iutneet of the debt,
would form soy obstacle to the Petition lying upon the table.
indeed although it was perhaps to be lamented that a meet-
ing of the freeholders of the county of Kent should have
adopted suels • proposition. yet be thought it shuuld re-
main an a record upon the Journals of the House, to warn
other cueutymeetings against beteg betrayed into the situp.
SIOn of such propositions. He bad heard stilts pleasure,
and indeed without surprise, the disavowal by the Noble
Lord (lord J. Russell) uf such Anwar., as that which
"IS littMemtion contained. But the Noble Lurd would
excuse bins fur saying that be could not feel altogether ea.
thfied with the manner is /Aids that disavowal had hems
exprened. The Noble Lord said he could
to induce the interest uf the debt, but in the ease of WI