The National Register.
London, England, 1816-03-31 00:00:00

THSTREsq.

Mr. WESTRIVI no wed, thAt the 111111. f! 411,,u1,1 resolve iNelf
into a Committee, to consider the state of the act ieulture of the
!Jolted Kingdom.

Mr. WESTERN then rose, and described the general ilis-
Iroise% of the agriculturists, which he declared were of a
natal c en:mralle'e I. It now became the Committee to ex-
amine into the cause of these distresare. It had arisen, in the
first place, front a fall in the price of the products of the land,
and a large surplus of these products. The fall of the pro-
ducts had remised a superaildition by the nominal valee of
the real cat rency ; and the circulation of a paper one in its
eistitrilinted greatly to increase the rust!. It had the
effect of altering entirely the distribution of property ; and
that alteration hail doubled the taxes, and consequently in•
creased the distresses of the country; while the circulating
medium increased thus aggregately the es ids. To returnee the
esti, he suggested the pripritty of providing a market for the
surplus, by encouraging exportation, and by reducing the
duos on virus. lie would not venture to urge this IllCA*llre,
if he thought thi• ft•VVlllie would derive any i!lltilt 1.1,110 Cl,ll-
- 1110se 111111e4; bait, in his opinion, the consumption
would lie greatly increased. The duties on barley were to n
millions per annum, exceeding the whole amount of the other
duties of customs. 'I he Him. Gentleman then read his tint
resolution. setting forth the pressute on the country.
Lord CASTLEREAGH thought that the very going into
Committee admitted this abstract resolution. It would he
much Mater to proceed at once to some resolution that would
produce u practical result.
Mr. WesTensi then read the fourth resolution; "That the
consumption of flunky, and eonsequently the demand for it,
were very materially reduced by the excessive donee to which
it was subjected, and that those duties ought to be repealed.
Mr. BHA'S', thought the whole of the propositions of his
Don. Friend were so simple, that no argnineuts were necessary
to elucidate them. The only subject for the consideration of
the Committee would be the relief to be atforuhal. Ile had
before stated, that the time wonlil arrive, when the distresses
of the laud would increase, and the peasant be deprived of sea-
renanoe truism labour. This time Ina now arrived, and he had
a kttcr flout Cambridge, which proved those distresses, for
it stated, that a labourer iu the full power of health and
strength, could not now obtain more than Is. tld. per day. It had
heel asked how there could be general poverty in the midst
of general plenty: but while there was such a lead of taxes,
the great loss consisted in the shrinking of agricultural capital,
and the land was halide,' over even to the mortgagee in a very
deteriorated state. The lioh. Gentleman said, the resolutions
proposed to the Committee hors two characters; one of them
contemplated the relieving the land from the charges upon it at
;nese:it ; the other was, to raise the prices of the produce so as
to make theoveyikil to meet the charees on the land. With
ri•srect to the resolutions which related to the charges on Mud,
rt, last N, re,ated to tithes, was the most important. lie
antleistood that Mr. Pitt at one time had in contempiation
a measure for relieving the land from the collection of tithes.
De was of opinion that it would be ads atitageons if, Mateo' of
tithe being taken as it now was, it should be taken by a corn
rent; or, by & commutation, formed on a general valuation of
land. Tau would ruse a very considerable relief to the farmer.
The euetr subject which prcs„oll on the farmer was the poor rates;
the uticet of these rates, if' they .;rut on as they had dime, would
be to swallow or destroy the a hole agricultural interest of the
country. The lion. Gent. the adverted to the relief which the
farmer would derive from the repeat of the Mall Tax. lie
observed, that from the most accurate caicnlation which could
be made, it appeared that the duty paid be the man who farm-
ed 400 acres of laud, for the omit from wit:el; the beer consum-
ed on that farm was made, was more than equal to the Property
Tax paid um that farm. And in this place lie could not avoid
asking the Chancellor of the. Exchequer to explain his iiitention
as to the repeal of the War Malt INity. Did the Right lion.
01.11tICIIILIII 01110 immediately to relieve the Malt on hand from
this ditty ? Or if that Malt, or any part of it, was brewed into
beer between this and Judy, would the Hight nom Gentleman
altos% the Si 11111• draw book on the beer so brewed, 1-1 he would
base done on the malt, had it remained in its original state?
Ludes. this Wit, 11111.111111211, no oil, would porch:ls.•
brewing between this time and Jul, and the molting trade
xse.olul come to a total staenation, to the utter ruin of many re-
spectable individuals concerned in this trade. Mr. Brand then
tumefied shortly on the Mean," suggested fur increasiog the de-
m:m.l in the market, He recommended a duty innwitiataly on
rape and linseed Imp Oct!, and, if it were puu,sible without de-
triment to the manufacturers, a dummy 011 the importation of fo-
reign wool. _

Mr. V.tastr-r, tnr, in reply to the question put to hitu by
Mr. Brand, respecting the time at whieli the Malt Duty wax
Iv cease, Said, that he was aware the chit of it. repeal must
operate very considerably on astagnatiou oftrade. He thought,
however, the interest of all parties might be conciliated by
giving a power to :Wow a fair draw back on beer br;:wed front
the beginning of Feto nary up to the period when the duty
would cease. This i%ould enable the trade to continue their
purchases, and though some ineotivenience might still be telt,
yet it would he relieved as notch as possible.
Lord L tscELLEs thought the priueipal cause of the distresses
consisted in the state of the cirrulation of the conntry. I-ie
was against encouraging speculation by the warehousing of
grain, as wen as a duty un toreigu wool. 'the main poiats of
the Malt and Property 'fax haul been gained, and the others
were of miller importance. The actual relief that cuedd

THE NATIONAL REGISTER.

he afforded, w is to redure the expels:limn., and set all CIaSICS
at liberty from that bra then which weighed so heavily on them.
Mr. CURWIN differed with his Hon. Friend (Mr. Western)
in several parts of his speech and resolutions. 1k attributed
the present distress nut to a surplus produce, but to the with.
drawing of that accoimmidation which the farmers received
from the country banks, and an increased circulation. There
was a perfect stagnation in the market, nobody being willing
is buy, because though the price was low, there was an expec-
tation that it would fall still lower. He dal not thick there
was in the country that quantity of grain, whir+ in ordinary
e.tses would have produced such an effect on prices. He was
persuaded that this would be felt before next harvest. He
aativipaied a rise, and he would hail the event, not because he
wished the people to purchase at a high rate the necessaries of
life, but because he was of opinion that the la orious classes
of society wunld be benefitted by it. In his opinion a scarcity
will ensue, and bring a remedy to low pi ices, without putting
an I nJ to the general embarrassment or distress.
Mr. Itont,OiON believed the general sense of the House to he
unfavourable both to the plan id* abainliming the warelioasing
system, and to that of affording temporary assistance by au
issue of Exchequer Bills. As to the butter-traile, a ;prohibi-
tion might be imposed; but on that of tallow and hides it would
he impossible; because, by doing so, we should destroy our
trade with South America. He was afraid, that on the system
of prohibitions, they had already gone too far.
Mr. FRANALAND LEWIS made a very able speech, in which
he recommended the growth of tobacco by repealing the Acts
against its cultivation. lie moved two resolutions—first, that
it is expedient to esport wool free of all restrictions and penal-
ties; secondly, that it is tespedient to permit the cultivation of
tobacco. Ttiese ri.solutions, however, he afterwards consented
to withdraw for the present, and the debate was Wen adjourned
till Tuesday next.- -Adjourrad.
Falnti, Mutest 29.
The Deputy Ilsher cif the Marls Biel summoned the House
to attend in the Hirase of Peers, to hear the Royal Assent
given by Ceminisaion to sundry Public BJIa ; and the Speaker,
on his return, man graced that the ltuyal Assent hail been given
to the Bill for Naturalizing and settling the Precedence of the
Prince of Saxe Cohourg.
STOCK EXCHANGE FRAUD.
Lord COCHRANE said he had further charges to exhibit
against the Lord Chief Jestice of the Court of King's Bausch,
in addition to those read by him on a former day and ordered
to be printed, particularly regrading Lurch Ellenborottees re-
fusal of a new trial, and Alt. Justice Le Blanc's wUful misre-
present:lions in pronouncing the sentence of the Court. His
Lordship moved that they be painted.
Mr. Loexii ART stated, that he could not consent to the print-
ing, of these charees,because they accused Mr.J under. Le Blanc

of wilful misrepresentation in pronouncing the sentence. The
Noble Lord professed to accuse Lord Ell'mborough only, but
he now extended the charge to o:ic who was not to be put up-
on his

Sir T. SIMEON suggested to the Noble Lord, who avowed
that he only intended to implicate one Judge whether it would
not be better to withdraw his charges, and alter the language
to which the House had objected. --(lJear.)
Lord Coctins sz said, lie had no objection to adopt this
course. for he had loathing to allege against Sir S. Le Blanc.
Lord Cue URINE withdrew his charges to alter them.