The National Register.
London, England, 1822-02-03 00:00:00

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SUFFOLK AGIIICULTVIIAL AME
Two metiers were hehi ut Stownsatket on Tees,lny
lai4t, under circumstances of perfect novelty The ti,t
was a meeting of the Ostler, and Occupiers of Lind
iu
the eoultlY of
nigh'Sitrotk, payment to a iiiitiiie appoittoneait
of ifs sheriff; mini, Bennet, Esq. of Rungham

near Bury.
At one o'clock the High Sheriff ascended the hustings,
which were immediately filled with a number of the lead-
ing nobility mid gentry of the comiti v. Amongst those
present were His Grace the Doke of Norfolk, E.M.; the
Doke of Grafton, Lord 11. Fitzroy, Lord C. Fitzroy, Lord
Calthorpe, Lord Viscount Dianwich, Lord H gtield,
Sir W. Rowley, NIX, Sir R. Harland, Sir H. Blitibury,
Sir Wm. Middleton, and Sir Witt. Parker, Bails.; T. S.
ljorich, Esq. M.P.; J. Macdonald, E4q. ALP., cite. ece.
The Ilion SHERIFF (P. Bennet, Esq.) iii rooming the
business of the day, still, that it was with considerable
saiislectiou he informed them that little difference of old-
Mon was likely to exist amongst the geutlemen who
attended to address them.
After the High Sheriff had been called to the chair,
Sir H. Burr nunv came forward to address the nu cling.
—He was told that in considering the causes of, and re-
medies fur, the ',resew agrienitural distress, he otielit to
consider it without any leferenee to polities. How he wa,
rigidly to agree with this suggesti smite did not know ; for
how were they to understand effects without alluding to
their causes? or how point out remedies without treating
of the bootees of the disease ? If by inquiry they were to
detect the causes of their present distress in the acts of
public rum, how were they to reprobate those acts with-
out casting a stigma upon those who were the authors of
thetii? (Cactus.) The care with which some gentlemen
wished to keep the coutluet of ministers oust of sight, re-
minded him of the lan.mage of Uennis Bralgraldery, in the
play of Jan Dull—" You'll be so good as not to be spaking
of my wife iu my presence—for it would not be becoming
ill me to hear her ill spoken off, and I know you can't
snake well of her %Ulm's I telling a hie, lie." (Laughter.)
So said the present so pput lets of klinisters; and as he
did not wish to irritate them, he would do It's best not to
touch upon any sore places. (Cheers ) There were, lie
believ«l, two points, und not more than two points, upon
which they were all agreed. 'the lirst of them was, that
the *listless under which the country now laboured was
almost insupportable; and the second, that the nation
Mil it either raise its means to meet the present high sten-
d of expenditure, or cut clown its expenditure to meet
the low level of its means.—lt was unnecessary for him to
upou the extent of the distress; indeed it was too
painful a subject for him to follow. 'llse labonrers had
no employment, hi:close the farm( rs had no money to pay
them. The condition of the farmer was even worse than
that of the la:ooirer ; and he roily believed that the time
would shortly come, when they would be absolutely una-
ble to pay their rents, rates, taxes, and tithes.—He should
take op no more of their time with his observations, Lott
should proceed to rea I a series of resolutions, to which
he trnsted that they would give their cordial approbation.
—(Lund cheers.)
Mr. J. W. D. MEI( EZT read the resolutions. They were
OS follow :
" That the owners and occupiers of land in the county of
Suffolk are now labouring Ulltiet unexampled distress, which is
the more alarming, because it does not appear to result from
temporary causes.
" That we cannot concur in the assertion that our distresses are
owing to an excess in tile production of corn: we cannot consider
plenty as a curse, but we fear Mat a decrease in the demand has
resulted filial the lamentable poverty of the people ; and we de-
sire to sec the condition of alt classes so much unproved as to
ensure steady prices to the farmers, and employment to the

labourers.
" That excessive taxation is the main cause of' that distress
which is crushing the landlord, the tenant, and the labourer, the
gross amount of the taxes rising tar above that proportion which
the income of the nation is able to sustain, and their effect having
been aggravated by injurious operations on the currency of the
realm.
" That the return from a paper currency to that of gold has in
effect increased the profits of all persons enjoying fixed pay or
salaries, or places. as well as of the fundholders, at the expense of
the agricultural and trading interests.
" That if further and more effectual measures be not adopted
for the relief of the agriculturists, the proprietors and occupiers of
land, together with those traders and artisans who are chiefly
dependent upon the farmers fur their support, must sink into
irreparable ruin.
That the decay of agriculture already disables the farmers
from employing the laliourin,,, poor, and thus tends to degrade
the condition, to demoralize the habits, and to destroy the inde-
pendence of the labourer, as well as to aggravate the overwhelm-
ing pressute of the poor's rate.
" That the landed property of England is burdened exclusively
with the support of the unemployed poor, with the maintenance
of our chtuch, and with various charges from which other pro-
perty is exempt: while, on the contrary, must of the branches of
our national industry enjoy immunities and protection from
which the agriculturists are excluded. Under this double
inequality, they find it impossible to bear that amount of taxation
which is deniaoded from them on account of the civil and mili-
tary establishments of Government, and of the interest of the
national debt.
" That the expenses of Government ought to be reduced
immediately, and to the lowest scale possible—not merely by the
dismissal of inferior clerks, but by the abolition °fall unnecessary
places, and by large reductions in the charges upon the civil list,
as well as in all official salaries, and is the expenses of the army,
ordnance, colonies, collection of taxes, and other branches; and,
if possible, so to regulate the finances of the kingdom, that the
gauss amount of taxation iitay be lowered it) as large a proportion
as me Miterenee iu value between our present currency and that
is' site depreciated paper in which the grimier part of our debs
has been contrite:en."
Sir 11T. An L A NI).--001.1e ult. Mg as Ido with every
thing that has been said by my honourable frieuil Sir fl.
I take the filo:fly of seconding these icsala.
tubas. (Chet!. a.)
Lot tont ingtield, Lot dI) titi ich, Lord Calthorpe, Mr.
(jinni', anti 11,iril lit ii cy y , hissing se vet nily
thowsed tae meeting in soppy' t u; sir ki. Buubnry's rebus

lotions,
Air. tiRIGI:v propovtd to arl.l the following to them:—
•• itelslvett,-114.d. to the want of control over the public
punv:, which a Partition:at freely elected would exertabc,
attribute the ori;dti of our pretest di.rreaves; and therefore re
iinerr that the :Avalon ot the Honourable. the House of Cool-
won. way be iltrcewl w etixt an inionorbate reioroa in the
wpre,enbuton, &iv the only ore.ras of artvinA. what of our
propel ty—of prwervutg tit:: tranquillity, and ruittring the liberty
ul tl,-;
tits having bccu eueited with thunders of applause,
and Itsviut; been seconded by Sir 11. Ituubstly, eab sap-
poi led by the Doh.: o Grafton, sir %V tat. Middleton, Ste.
ea C. and uppwed by Ltd Gultboria and Colvuul Kolb-

THE NATIONAL lIEGISTER

The 111(1H SIIMRIII,I, pill ull the resoliiti )))) s, seriatim, eit-
rept that relative to Parliamentary reform. They were

carrivd by acrittatilth.o.
Lewd CALTHOttre.—I milve thit the m=olatinns which
the ili4ll Shelia' ha, 110:\ I't'Bl be by him ou the part

of th meeting.
A scene of 11111,(1. 1111(1 1.1111f115(11111 Colin% et! I hat words c:tn
scarcely do ju.lice to.—Ttle Fr, eholders exclaimed lltey
%%wild have 1;.• petition nutria lteha In Were etnbrared in It,
and the High Slierilr &claiming VI OUlti slot put the question

upon Ilefortn, al Ina
Tite Onto: of NonroL came forward, mid silence wit 4
partiall re tared. Huespressed a hope that t It Sheriti,
after the nitwit tiality with Welt he hurl conducted %nitwit*,
would not refuse to allow the opinion of the meeting to be
taken upon the propriety or impropriety of a reform in Par-
liament. He believed in his conscience that a reform was
the only means left to the country of aye; titsz still greater
&tarter, titan those by which it was at present surrounded.

(Gtiett cheerios.)
The HIGH SUERIFir pot au end to it by declarthe to the
meeting that he conceived the resolution iii favour of reform
to be so irrevelant to the business of the day, that he should
take anon himself the responsibility of deelinine to propose
it In the time-libation of the meeting,—(Loud hisses.)
%fr. el enter said, that alter the expression of public
opinion w loch they Ire -1 jug n iliiessed, they were justified in
coils define the resolution as carried.
Sir 11. llUuaeaY reminded the Iligh Ftheriff, that as he had
allowed the rrsoluttini to he brought forward and canvassed
by the meeting, the time for ',musette agienst its relevancy
hail gone by. He eimetered it to be rather extraordinary
in the filet' Sheriff to telk of the irrevelnney of the resolu-
tion In the Me:trees Of Ihe day, after he had allowed it not
only to he eseportiel, but also to he opposed by deferent
members of the assembly which lie saw aiound him.
Col. !testi BROOK If declared III:it the proposed resolution
took the county by surprthe mid advised the High Sheriff
not to propose it to the meeting.
The. theft SIIERIFIr declared, that he het himself quite
petrified by the (entree pursued. Ile nod heard various itei
Moue as to Ili • Ipropriet yof putting the pi °posed resolut• .
Some gentlemen said I eat he afield to stihmit it to the meeting
—others, that he ought not. by neither of these two 'tartlet
was he to be intueiteed : he 'Mould rely entirely teem his own
judgment; and that certainly led him to decide, that he was
perfectly jo.litied in refusing alto:ether to put the resolution
to the meeting. (Lend disapprolintion.)
It was then attempted to submit the eighth of the original
resolutions to the meeting; hot the toloasism which was
created by the 'monist completely frustrated it. Finding it
impossible to make himself heard upou the subject, the Huth
Seeritf informed the freeholders that the hetheiess of the day
was concluded; and immediately afterwards declared the
ineetfie, to he dissolved.
The Welt Shesitle though he had taken this decisive step,
still remained upon the hustings, as did also the greater part
of she reeptiationisls.
The declaration that the meeting was dissolved appeared
so incredible, that many of them continued their demand
for the resolution a Inch was so obnoziou, to the II lett Sheriff;
others also densanded that a petiti )))) , founded on the resolu-
tions, should be sub:tinted to their consideration; and the
cry for " The petition" was in consequence becoming sit
enerul. that
Mr. Meager was at last Miliged to come forward unit de.
elare, that the decision of the High Sheriff had prevented
theta from presenting filly petition whatsoever to the House
of Commons.
The Hien SaiEatr►,asa as this fact was made known
to him, declared thud it bad by no means been his intentioti
to prevent tt petition from being presented to Parliament.—
Ile was pa reedy wiilin, to put it to the meeting, whether
they noted consent to adopt a petitiou foouded on the reso-
lutions a leek they hail jut passed.
This speech was succeeded by tries of" The petition,
the petition ;^ as also by shouts of " You've h !rayed
the couniy, Mr. High Shei a," find of " No petition that
does not contain a prayer fur reform."
The Hiatt Sit Eat re again declared his determination not
to put any petition or restitution to the nteeting which ad.
vetted to the necessity of parliamentary reform.
Mr. Mee err entree forward to assure the High Sheriff, that
thete would he no inconsistency in his putting to the meeting
the resolatiou in favour of reform. even (hunch he was most
strongly amid conscientiously opposed to it. Isis signing;the
resolutions in the capacity of High Sheriff would by no
means pledge hint to the support of the ductiines which they
contaiiied. He (Mr. Merest) would not deny that the High
Slier if had a right to dissolve the meeting, if he thouelit
'proper j but he trusted that the worthy gentleman who filled
that ()Rice would consider well before he determined to take
such a step. (Cheers.) He implored the High Sheriff to
reileet what a foolish appearance the county wotitl make,
if, after a meeting so numerous and respectable as the pre-
sent, every practicable object was prevented front being at-
tained by hi-fixed deterininstiou out to tallow a resolution to
eland in favour of reform. (Cheers.)
The 1-110111 SIIERIVP ageht repeated, that lie conceived
the question of reform hr.:relent ; and that he therefore
could not allow it to be put to :he meeting.
Mr. Maltase repented his assertion, that the High Sleeiff,
in putting Mr. Grigby's resolution, would not pledge himself
to support Ihe substance of it. He wits sure that the fligh
Sheriff, if he gave the subject u consideration,
would see the impropo iety of refusitig to put the resolution
to the freeholders.
The lIIGI4 SII MUFF again declared, that he could not
meal:Acuity with his seroe of duty, submit to the meeting the
resolution in question.
11 out now eeuerelly known that the meetine hail been
dissolved; and some persons eitelobned—" Let Its begone,
the Mr.:11114 is dissolved, and the six acts may mew be called
into i iiii nediate operation."
About this time Mr. 'eine, of Ipswich, e Ito was standing
amid the crowd before the hustings, addressed the
high
Sheriff to the fullowiue effect i.e." Mr. Sheriff, I maintain
tom/ slit discretion is left tit you; it is your duly to put the
resoletiou to the ateetine, and to abide by ill result. As •
freeholder, 1 say that the meeting is nullified by your
di-graceful, shameful, and tlibl10:1011rable conduct."—(Loud
cheets.")
Tluf Hien See:rue? said he hod dissulved the meetine
utelet tote imptession that all the bitditesl of the (ley bad
lit ell 6niaii d. lle again asserted his readilicsi Us put the
question on the praprirty of embodying their resolutions into
petitiou to the House of Cwouwtts. (Great and increased
confusion.)
Me. GniGue clime foreard sad said, that us the lligh
Sheriff was detetthieed tai throw every oustaele iii the nay
of reforru, he should now &notate., If to though the High
Shout bad itgaiii celled the meeting eat esee, ace, that the
lute:tide be theedved immedietely. (Wel Lieu...)