The National Register.
London, England, 1819-04-26 00:00:00

-cibt

No. 1176.—V0t. XII.]

Volitical It cttozpect.

Lord Castlereagh commenced his Parliamentary ram
paign this session by affirming that "he was warranted in
making the declaration that no distren existed in the
country." We know the noble Lord's unblualtiog effron-
tery, but what we moat admire is the extprisite folly of
this assertion. What man in the kingilontsiu the House, or
cat of the House, believed itt We knOw that his creatures
shouted out, " Hear, hear," but even they must have re-
garded it either ma trial how far Uts it leader's impudence
world carry him, or as a specimen of the most gratuitous
folly that ever MI from the lips of mortal man. Never,
,:ertninjy sever were "our commercial and financial pros.
recta" (to borrow a phrase time the collective tviodoos of the
n ition) in such a hopeless and desponding ',Reader). 'ruin
ishich way we will—Matichester,Leeds, Norwich—eottun,
..soollen or worsted, never did such a prune of despair pre-
scut itself; and we firmly believe that the realisation of the
prospect will far exceed in the cum of calamity, the most
desponding antieipation. Let us not deceive ourselves
with the absurd and foolish hope that " things will
mend," that " they will conic about"—we are now only at
the brink, and the slough of Despond lies in wide stretch-
ing and appalling extent before us. If we look to api-
culture, can we discover a gleam of hope? Nut one.
klisery and distress unknown and unequalled lies in that
quarter. Wiq our commercial relations revive our sink-
ing spiiiti? Alas! no. Foreign mannfactories rivalling
our own, and their mat kets glutted with Ettglish goods,
winch are sr Ding uU over the world at leas than prime
rest, are the leading features of this part of the picture.
And then, as to finance—where is the mat:, however igno-
rant, besotted rind stupid, wko eau look there without,
we will nut say, alarm or apprehension, bet without utter
despair ? It kits beet, our constant and Mire:thing
endea-
your to strip this subject of the jargon and mystery in
which it has been slit elided, and to lay before our readers
the real and ti tie state in which it stands, We houesity
confess that we shedder at the fulfilment of every predic-
tion we have uttered in relation to it. A lean of Perfect
91 it LIONS, and probably of Five AND TWLINTY, in the
fifth year of peeve, is now pretty openly avowed! In a
very raj s of the system last an long) the inietest of
the debt must swallow up the vs hole revenue of the reen-
try. More than twenty years since, Mr. Fox foiewareed
the ignorant and &holed asstinbly he was addressing of
die necessary consequenee of their measures. "If we
do not apply die remedy in time," said lie, " our fate is
,n,vitaido." His advice was disregarded, his counsels. were
siespised, his predictions were jeered at. Miserable in.
fatuation ! England vs ill have to ,it' lore iii misery and
and to weep it tears of blood the rejection of his
salutary counsel.

Accounts have been received from Halifax to the
2.3 d ult. The finances of Nova Scotia are repre-
sented as being in a condition far from flouri,hing.
They had came under discussion in the House of
of Assembly, in a Committee of Ways and Means,
when Mr. Archibald moved the &Honing reso-
lutions:—
Resolved. That an in,:resse of tic revenue is necessary to
—.rash' expenditure of the current year."

On this motion a great number of Members de-
ed their sentiments, as to the best mode of
overcoming the difficulty, which was greater, as the
House. was convinced, that it would be injudicious,
either to increaNe the duty on any article, or to im-
pose any new ones; it was recommended that the
expedient of a fresh issue of paper should be re-
sorted to, this would be altogether unnecessary.—
The first resolution was, however, laid upon the
t,ble. On the I:2th of March the debate we: re-
s Irncd, and after many fresh arguments had been
made use of on both sides of the question, a bill
4:as introduced for raising the amount required, by
the imposition of duties on superfine flour, tobacco,
urandy, Torn, and wine imported into the province,
and apse on all ar:i:er imported b; foreigners.