The Sun.
London, England, 1830-04-30 00:00:00

DISTRESS AND T tXATION.

Earl GREY presented a petition from the county 9f
Northumberland, complaining of great distress, and pray-.
ing for relief by a reduction of taxation. The Noble Earl
stated that he believed the distress of the country to he
very great. He agreed With the petitioners that relief
should he given by rome general uaeasute, and by a re-
vision of the laws which had been passed since 1819. He
thought with them that a great deal of the present dis-
tre,s was occasioned by the alteration of the currency
banking the weight of taxation, and the burden of the
National Debt. He admitted that this change half taken
place without sufficient consideration, but be did not th'int
it could again be altered. lie for one Would be the Iseri
man to propose any alteration that would be an injury'
to the public creditor. There could not, therefore,
he believed, be any relief given by mah!ng another change
in the currency such as the petitioners prayed ; rant
there was another measure which. he believed, might
give relief—he alluded to the issue of small notes)
under proper regulations; and when he considered the
present anomalous state of the law on the subject, he was
the more inclined to recommend some change. By the
law, as it at present stood, the small notes of bankers,
both in Scotland and Ireland, were allowed efill to CireAd-•
late. He could state, too, that in the part of the country
with which he was connected, Scotch notes continued to
circulate to a very considerable extent, in spite of the re-
nalties of the law, more particularly in the northern part
of the county of Northumberland. 'Within thirty milers
"orthe boundaries the people of Steotiand were supplied
with coals from England, and they had no other means
of paying for them but by small notes. It was not to be
expected that these people would give up their market for
coals, or that the farmers of Northumberland would cense
to go to Berwick market; and they must continue to be
paid in small notes in defiance of the law and in defiance
of the penalties. Another anomaly of the law was, that
the persons who paid the notes were not subject to any
penalty, while the persons who received them were. This
did not prevent persons from receiving them, who sent.
them back to Scotland for payment. Under all the cir-
cumstances of the case, considering the state of the lave
and the great inconvenience occasioned by it, he thought it
might be prudent to revise that part of the system which
related to the small notes. He did not think, however,
that it would be possible to return to the former state of
the currency as prayed for by the petitioners. He never
would consent to anything which had the least appearance
of defrauding the public creditor, unless under some strong
and uncontroullable necessity.
The petition was read and laid on the table.
SLAVES.

The Archbishop of YORK presented a petition from a
congregation of Protestant Dissenters in the county of
York, praying for the gradual abolition of slavery in his
Majesty's dominions.

Mr. M. A. TAYLOR and others from the Commons
brought up several private Bills, and amongst them three
Railway Bills, which were severally read a first time.
Mr. Crater presented returns from the Treasury of the,
quantity of corn imported, and amount of duty received
for foreign corn.