The Sun.
London, England, 1830-03-17 00:00:00

THE TRUCK SYSTEM.

Colonel LYGON presented a petition against the Truck
System, from Worcestershire.

DITTY ON CIDER.

Lord EASTNOR presented a petition from Hereford-
shire, praying that if the duty :on cider were repealed,
allowance might be made for the stock on hand.
A petition was presented from Aylesbury, complaining
of general distress, by an How. INlEmarta whose name we
could not learn. _ _

. Mr. ;I....ANEY observed, that the chief complaints re-
specting di-tress proceeded from bodies whose own abuse
of the Poor Laws in a great degree led to the evil of which
they complained.
Lord NUGENT said, nothing could be more true than
what fell from the Non. Member opposite. The farmers
and landowners had the improvidence of their predecessors
to blame for much of the present distress, for, during the
time of high prices, labour never received the remunera-
tion which was proportioned to its deserts. With respect
to the beer tax, the repeal of it lately announced was a
great boon to the public, and was calculated to operate

much improvement in the condition of the lower classes in
the neighbourhood from which the petition came.
Sir M. W. RIDLEY doubted that the distress was
by any means so great as bad in some quarters been re-
presented, and at all events he thought those who so loudly
called for reform ought to begin at home, and effect re-
formation amongst themselves.
Lord NUGENT could scarcely recommend reform
amongst his constituents.—(A laugh.) -
The petition was then brought up, and ordered to lie on
the table.
Lord NUGENT then presented a petition from an in-
dividual named George Goodwin, of some place in Hunt-
ingdonshire, complaining that an application of his for a
beer license had been refused by the Magistrates, and the
petition complained generally of the licencing system.
An How. MEMBER, whose name we could not learn,
said that there were thirty-two public houses in the town
from which the petition came, and with only a population
of 2,800. Within one hundred yards of the house which
he claimed to have licensed, there were six public houses,
one of which brewed its own beer. It was upon these
grounds that the license had been refused.
The petition to lie on the table.
Mr. WILMOT HORTON presented a petition from
the Emigration Society of Somersetshire, praying for
assistance to Emigration.—To lie on the table.
The same How. MEstuzs. presented a petition from the
Licensed Victuallers of Newcastle-under-Line, and from a
parish in the same town, both complaining of the Track
System.---To lie on the table.
Mr. PENDARVIS presented a petition from the Mer-
chants, Bankers, and others, of Hull, in Yorkshire, against
Capital Punishment.--=To be printed.
Lord MANDEVILLE presented a petition from Hunt-
ingdon, complaining of distress, and praying for a repeal
of the malt duty.—To lie on the table.
Mr. CRIPPS presented a petition from Cirencester
against Capital Punishments.—To be printed.
Lord MILTON presented petitions from Huddersfield.
Halifax, and Bradford, against the East India Monopoly.
—Referred to the Committee on the East India Company's
Charter.

Mr. SADLER presented a petition from Mr. John
Wright, a large proprietor (as we understood) of Coal and
Iron Mines, complaining of the public distress.
After a few words from Mr. TENNYSON, which were
not audible,

Mr. SAD LER bore testimony to the respectability of the
petitioner.—The petition to be printed.
The same HoN. MamßEa presented a similar petition
from Leeds, signed by 1,500 persoas, many of whom, he
said, were heads of families. He observed, that to those
the remark of the Hon. Member opposite, respecting the
abuse of the poor laws, did not apply.
Mr. SLANEY said his remark was applied to the agri-
cultural, not the manufacturing districts.—To be printed.
Mr. BYNG presented a petition from the Landowners,
Farmers, Cowkeepers, and others, in the vicinity of the
Metropolis, complaining of the intended removal of the
Haymarket.

The same HON. MEMBER presented a similar petition
from the Licensed Victuallers of the Haymarket.
Bath to lie on the table.
Mr. CARTWRIGHT rose to present a petition from
the county of Northampton, complaining of general dis-
tress, and praying for general relief. The petition bore
the signature of the High Sheriff; and as his, of course, it
must be received ; but it certainly proceeded from a county
meeting. At that meeting another petition was proposed,
which included a prayer for Parliamentary Reform. The
two petitions were put to the meeting; and the High She-
riff, upon a show of hands, decided that the majority was
in favour of that now in his hand. He would not con-
ceal that a strong feeling existed that the decision on the
show of hands was erroneous. He would not say whether
the High Sheriff was right or wrong ; but this he would
say, that he never saw more good feeling or good temper
than prevailed during that meeting ; and he had no doubt
that those who attended would receive the announcement
recently made by the Government on the subject of taxa-
tion most gratefully; for the relief was calculated pecu-
liarly to benefit the poor.
Lord ALTHORP—No doubt the petition was the peti-
tion of the High Sheriff. The High Sheriff persuaded
himself that it was the petition of the meeting; but there
were not two persons present who agreed with him in that
opinion. Some of those immediately near the High Sheriff
might have held up their hands in favour of the petition ;
but the great mass of those in the hall were against it ;
amongst whom were one Banker, several Clergymen, and
others of much respectability. He had great satisfaction
in thinking that so respectable a meeting of his constituents
had declared in favour of Parliamentary Reform.
The petition to be printed.
Mr. MARSHALL presented a petition from Selby, in
Yorkshire, against the East India monopoly.
Referred to the Committee on the Charter.
Mr. F. BUXTON, in presenting a petition from the
Protestant Dissenters assembling in Eagle-street, Red,Lion-
square, and two other places, against Suttees, wished to
know from the Noble Lord opposite if there were any foun-
dation for the report that the British Government in India
had prohibited the practice of burning widows ?
Lord ASHLEY, in the absence of official documents,
could say nothing definitely, but he thought the report
might be well founded.
Lord ALTHORP presented a petition from a parish in
the county of Waterford, complaining that in consequence
of its union with the parish of Ross it was made liable to
Church Rates, though the petitioners were all Roman Ca-
tholics, and though the perish church was eleven miles
distant from them. •
After a few words from Sir J. Newport, Mr. O'Con-
nell, Mr. G. Moore, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer,
the petition was ordered to be printed.
DISTRESS OF THE COUNTRY.
Petitions on this subject were presented from Norfolk,
by Lord Althorp ; from the weavers in King's County,
and from Gort, in the county of Galway, by Mr. O'Con-
nell ; and from the County of Ross, by Mr. W. Smith.
Mr. OTWAY CAVE presented a petition from the
manufacturers and tradesmen of Leicester, and Mr. DUN.
COMBE a petition from the President, Vice-President, and
Subscribers to the Agricultural Society of Yorkshire,
complaining of the pressure of distress on certain classes of
society.
Mr. CAVE also presented a petition from a parish in
Leinster (Ireland) against the Vestry Act.
Mr. O'CONNELL presented three petitions against the
tax on leather from different places in Ireland. As that
tax was to be taken off, the petitions were unnecessary ;
but be would take that opportunity of suggesting that a
speedy composition Of the duty would be adviseable, in
order that the trade of tanner and currier might be united ,
as soon as possible.
Mr. O'CONNELL presented a petition from Belfast,
relative to the Fisheries there.
Mr. O'CONNELL presented petitions from St. George,
Limerick, and from St. Mary, Dublin, against the Vestry
and Sub-letting Acts.
Mr. O'CONNELL presented a petition from five united
parishes in the County of Wexford, against the mode of
levying tithes ; and also a petition from Gort, in the County
of Galway, against the Sub-letting Act.
Mr. O'CONNELL gave notice that he should, on Thum-
day, move for leave to bring in a Bill to repeal, in express
terms, the several statutes that were in force in Ireland
against the Dissenters and Roman Catholics, that had been
rendered inoperative by statutes since enacted, but which
had not been directly repealed.
Mr. DUNCOMBE presented a petition from Swain-
bridge, in Yorkshire, against the importation of foreign
lead.
Mr. W. SMITH presented a petition from the Ministers
of Wesleyan and other Dissenting Congregations, in Dud-
ley, against the Truck System.
Mr. HUME protested against Clergymen interfering on
such a subject.
Mr. W. SMITH said, that the petitioners stated how
unwilling they were to interfere, but that they had felt
themselves compelled, on witnessing the degree of mischief
produced by the system.
Lord STANLEY presented a petition from Rochdale,
against the East India Charter.
Mr. SYKES presented petitions from Hull against the
Assessed Taxes and the Poor Laws Amendment Bill ; also
a petition from the same place, relative to the Recovery of
Small Debts.
Mr. HEATHCOTE presented a petition from Boston,
on the state of distress prevalent in the country.
Mr. IRVING knew, from excellent authority, that at
present there was more work at Leeds than there had been
for many years. He did not believe there was one man
who might not find employment.___fHear, hear.)—For
some of our manufactures there was at present a greater
demand than there had been at any fortn;..r period.
Lord RANCLIFFE bore testimony to the existence of
great distress ; but expressed his thankfulness to the Go-
vernment for what it had done, and said that the people
relied on his Majesty's Government and on the wisdom of
Parliament. _ _ _

After a few words from Mr. lIEATHCOTE, the
petition was read and laid on the table.
PUBLIC DISTRESS—TILE MALT TRADE.

-

u to the statement of the Chancellor
He admitted that the reduction of taxation had been ju-
dicious; but he would recommend the Chancellor of the
Exchequer to revise the whole system of taxation, with a
view of adapting duties which had been enormously
raised during a depreciated currency to the present raised
value of money. He would like to take that opportunity
of asking the Right Hon. Gent. opposite a question re'a-
tive to the reduction on the malt trade. He would ask'
what were his intentions, as lie proposed to make no
alterations in the malt duties, with respect to alleviating
the burden of restrictions under which the trade laboured ?

The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER had re-
ceived during last year a number of communications from
gentlemen to whom the malsters had entrusted their inte-
rests. He bad consented that those gentlemen should
have an interview with the Commissioners of the Excise,
with the intention of providing such regulations as, with-
out injuring the revenue, would give relief to the trade.
They had come to an agreement, and a Bill had been pro-
posed accordingly, which he had not yet been able to in-
troduce into Parliament from the pressure of business.
Mr. PORTMAN, as a party to the arrangement, hoped
that the Bill would soon be introduced.

Mr. BROWNLOW took that opportunity of remind-
ing the Chancellor of the Exchequer of petitions he had
frequently presented to have the duties on Irish and Scotch
Malt equalised.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER was un-
derstood to assent to the suggestion of the Hon. Member.

Mr. SLANEY and Mr7BRANSBY COOPER each
said a few words.

Mr. ESTCOURT having, also, a petition to present
from Duraley, took that opportunity of confirming the
statement of the distress in that town made by the Noble
Lord. Besides the fifteen hundred persons mentioned as
receiving relief, one thousand others were unable to con-
tribute to their support. Of seven factories, three were
entirely shut up, and two were only working one day in
three. There was another town in the neighbourhood
equally distressed; he doubted if there were that prosperity
in the woollen manufacture mentioned by the Hon. Mem-
ber from Bramber, and heartily wished it were true of the
distressed people of Gloucestershire. It certainly was
not the case among the petitioners.
Mr. IRVING thought that the cause of distress in
Gloucestershire was, that the manufacture was migrating
from thence and from the West of England into Yorkshire,
principally on account of the cheapness of coal. In the
same manner, the silk manufacture was emigrating from
Spitalfields to the country.
Mr. DICKENSON knew that the reverse was the case
in the West of England : he had received a letter from a
manufacturer, stating that it was no use embarking capital,
and that he meant to withdraw from the trade.

'Mr. CRIPPS was understood to say that many parishes
were in such a state that they could not possibly support
their own poor, and must be assisted.
Mr. SLANEY was prepared to answer the statement,
but he would not then do it.

Mr. C. FERGUSSON thought it would be more satis-
factory to the House if the Hon. Member for 'Bramber
had also stated that the manufacturers who were doing so
much work were making adequate profits, and that the
men were obtaining good wages. He knew on good
grounds that the wages of the manufacturers were not
above 4s. 6d. per week. In the west of Scotland, where
the distress was not so great as in England, the wages
were not above ss. per week. He wished to take that op-
portunity of correcting a mistake which had got abroad,
as to what he stated on a former evening. He had never
stated that there was no distress in Scotland. What he
stated was, that the distress among the agricultural
labourers in Scotland was not equal to that among the
same description of persons in England ; but he believed
that the distress among the landoWners and farmers was
quite equal to that of the landowners and farmers of Eng-
land, if not greater.
_ _ _

Mr. W. WHITMORE was understood to deprecate
such desultory remarks.
After a few words from General GASCOYNE, Mr. In,
viric, and Mr. FYNES CLINTON, the petition from Durs-
ley, presented by Lord .1. Russztr., was brought up and
read, and ordered to be printed.
The Nonr.x LORD also presented a petition from
Wexford, relative to the late election.

Mr. ESTCOURT presented a petition from Dursley,
praying for a full inquiry into the causes of the distress.

WEXFORD ELECTION.

On the motion of Mr. I. CI.IVE, the evidence taken
before the Wexford Election Committee was ordered to be
printed.

TRUCK SYSTEM.
Mr. LITTLETON presented a petition from Ampney,
Staffordshire, against paying labourers' wages in goods in-
stead of money. The petition was agreed to at a large
public meeting, and signed by 9,000 persona.
Sir JOHN WROTTESLEY supported the petition.
Mr. HUME -wished the House not to believe that the
Truck System was the cause of the distress ; it was the
consequence of it.
Mr. LITTLETON presented a similar petition from
certain colliers in Staffordshire, from Wolverhampton, and
from Uley, Gloucestershire.
The Hon. Mesreee also presented a petition from the
liberties of Lington and Lane-end. The petitioners com-
plained of distress, and prayed for relief.
The petition was ordered to he printed.
MALT DUTY.
Mr. SLANEY, in consequence of the very satisfactory
announcement of the Right Hon. Gentleman last night,
with respect to the duties on beer, and the removal of some
of the taxes which pressed heavily on the poorer classes,
withdrew the motion, of which he had given notice on
these subjects.
Sir F. BURDETT presented a petition from the parish
of Uley, in Gloucestershire, complaining of distress, and
praying for a free trade in corn; and from Stroud, in
Kent, complaining of the duty on beer.
The petitions were ordered to be printed.
Mr. DENISON presented a petition from the woollen
manufacturers of the parish of St. Mary Magdalen, Ber-
mondsey, one of the most populous in the county of Sur-
rey, complaining of the duty on wool, and praying for its
reduction. The Hon. Member, after expressing a hope
that the Right Hon. Gentleman, the Chancellor of the E-
xchequer, would pursue the course he had begun, and re-1
duce more taxes next year, presented petitions from the
agriculturists of several parishes, praying a reduction of
the duty on malt.
Mr. DICKENSON presented a petition from Frome, in
Somersetshire, praying that the monopoly of trade with
India may be taken away from the East India Company.
DISTRESSED STATE OF THE COUNTRY.
Mr. EDWARD D. DAVENPORT, in bringing under
the consideration of the House a motion for a Committee to
inquire into the distressed state of the country at the pre-
sent moment, expressed a determination not to shrink from
the task he had imposed on himself, although the statement
elicited from the Chancellor of the Exchequer last night,
by the repeated calls of the people, had probably afforded
some of his (Mr. Davenport's) friends—his lukewarm
friends—an opportunity of blinking the present question,
and given them an apology for abandoning an inquiry into
the distresses of the people, from a supposition that they
would receive relief, in consequence of the measures the
Government proposed to adopt. He trusted, however, by
the vote of that evening, to ascertain how far they were
disposed to exert themselves to procure a remission of tax-
ation, and thereby to' obtain the means of giving employ-
ment to thousands who were, as, he would presently show,
not only without bread, but without the roots of bread.-
I,A laugh)—from the pressure of distress. It would be
seen whether they were desirous of giving relief to those
who demanded it, and whether they were determined to
persevere in giving a Ministerial or patriotic vote. He
could not understand how that House could continue as it
did to disregard the prayers of the people, who were now
suffering a distress which might be truly stated as unpre-
cedented in the history of the country. He doubted, in-
deed, whether in any country whose interests were en-
trusted to Representatives of the people, there ever was an
instance of that people being placed in such a state of de-
priVation and distress as they were now suffering, and yet
at the sante time being refused by their own Representa-
tives all means or opportunities of proving to them that
there was such distress; and still more, he believed there
was no instance in the history of any country possessing
Representatives, who displayed nu disposition to relieve
that distress, or even to inquire into its existence. La
proof of that distress, lie would call in the evidence of one
of the largest of the central towns of the kingdom—he al-
luded to the town of Birmingham—and he would also call
in the evidence of the petition from the town of Leicester,
Presented that evening, as a proof that he had not been
guilty of exaggeration of the facts ; but the petitions
were disregarded. Those to whom they were addressed
seemed to be deaf to the prayers and blind to the misfor-
tunes of the people. They seemed, indeed, to come truly
under the description of those who
‘. Made the measure small and the coin great,
Falsifying the balance by deceit."

The petitions, 'it-was singular to say, were not addressed
to the House of Commons, to the House of Lords, nor eveg
to the King ; fur the Father of his People in these times

Lord JOHN RUSSELL presented a petition from was no more heard of than if he was not a member of the
Dorsky, complaining of great (ogress, and asking for family.----( Hear, and a laugh.)—The petitions were ad-
relief. Of 4,000 inhabitants 1,500 were receiving relief. dressed to the Most Noble Arthur Duke of Wellington,
The Noble Lord stated his concurrence with what had who was generally supposed to be a kind of fourth Estate
fallen last night from the Hon- Member for Northampton in the Country, and to unite in his person the other three

41.
put teogher..—()'reat and laughter.)—Tl . people seemed
to thin , with some reason, that it was better to addreis
the person from whom all power emanated, and they
hoped that he would show more solicitude for his coun-
trymen, who had showered on him such boundless fa-

Yours, than they had received from those representatives
to whom they had entrusted their interests. He could
not blame them for this. The fault lay with that House,
which refused to hear the complaints of the people ; but
this he would say, that an innovation of that kind coming
in a petition from no less than three counties, would have
made their forefathers start from their graves with horror,
to reproach them for their degeneracy, and to incite them
to recover their independence. A country placed in such
a situation was a thing scarcely to be believed. The ship-
ping interests, the trading, the manufacturing, the agri-
cultural, every class in the country, came before the House
with petitions, complaining of distress ; but when they
ventured to allude to the cause of that distress, or called
on the Members to inquire into the cause, they were
treated with indifference, or silenced by clamour and con-
tempt. He did not overstate this. It was but too true ;

and if any one presumed to raise his voice in their defence,
or dared to interfere between the spoliators and their vic-
tim, they were opposed by a conspiracy of persons inte-
rested in a continuance of the abuses, and anxious to pre-
vent the voices of the people from being heard in that
House, or even to allow what was said in their favour

being heard beyond its walls. Government, however,
seemed just now to have slightly altered their tone,
and to be determined, if he was to judge from the
reductions announced last night, and the explana-
tions connected with thenA, to give a kind of Dutch con-
cert, in which there would be an ample number of bass
voices. He would ask them, however, to extend their
candour and their entertainment a little farther, and grant
him a Committee to inquire freely and fairly into the
cause of the sufferings of the people. Why was it, in-
deed, that such an inquiry should be refused? It was
never resisted in the case of a Turnpike or a Road Bill ;
and why it was that they should refuse to look into the
abyss of misery in which they were plunged, and reject
all examination into the method of alleviating their condi-
tion, it was impossible to conceive. If they rejected all
inquiry, it might end in locking up the House of Com-
mons. He did not venture to predict that which was said
of the House elsewhere; but he really did think that they
might be very properly disposed of by such a fate.—(A
laugh.)—He only suggested the possibilitz of such a ca-
tastrophe. Another danger to be apprehended was, that the
people would begin to suspect there was a distinction drawn
between the rich and the poor—between the capitalist and
the producers of capital—between the payers and the re-
ceivers of taxes. Of course there was no such thing in
that House as a preference of their own interests; but then
there was a danger that the people might not be aware of
the wisdom of the House, or of its excellence and probity;
and at all events there was prudence in not calling on
them to take these things too much on assertion. He did
not attribute to others that which he was not willing to
confess applicable to himself. He had a personal interest
in the discussion of the question. He was not one of
those who had amassed a large fortune through the means
of laws made for the protection of themselves. He had
not made a fortune by usury, or by taking advantage of
favourable changes to turn over his property in the money
market. He was one of those whose estates had descended
to him from his forefathers—one of that unfortunate class
to whom belonged almost the whole of the land in the
country ; and in the name of that class, and of every
other class suffering in common with it, he solicited an
inquiry into the nature of the evils which produced their
distress. He knew well that the Government were deter-
mined to oppose whatever course, he might think proper'
to adopt, but lie hoped at the same time that there might
be some Members who were now sensible of the
cajoleries attempted to .be practised on them, and who
would join with him in compelling the House to do
justice to the people. He did not mean by the motion

the downhill race all ought to start fair. The
_question 1111
suffered from the indisposition of the landowners of Engler.„
to speak out. He was sorry to say that their servility, toes
love of titles and distinction, and still more, their disposi.
tion to provide for their families in various professions, IVY
vented them from speaking out, and denying the statemendte
of his Majesty's Ministers. The commercial interest 41°
not speak their minds freely on the question, from apPre.
hension of personal results. It was far better that a not:
chant should have his honour suspected than his wealts'
With the merchant, respectability and wealth were cull;
vertible terms. When the matter was put to them, a 64'
dear," they answered, " there are some sufferers, certainlY,',
but persons of credit and capital are doing vastly well ;
and at the very moment they themselves were probably
on the verge of bankruptcy. Out of a hundred greet
foreign merchants in Birmingham five and twenty years
ago, only five now remained ; and of the internal merchants,
in the same place three-fourths had disappeared. There'
had been 1,677 bankruptcies within the year, a greater;
number than in any preceding year except one. The Hon',
Member here read a letter from a respectable merchant 01
Manchester, a man of the highest character, to show hoer
much the trade of that town had suffered; and how inef
fectual the precautions which up to 1828 had been success'
ful in preventing bad debts had lately proved. The ins&
vencies were as numerous as the bankruptcies. There wss
no money circulating. The consequence was that in mssr,
cases people were obliged to revert to the old system Is
barter. The miller and the ironmaster interchanged tbed
commodities. The manufacturing districts were struggling
with absolute want. At Coventry alone, a short time API
a charitable subscription having been raised, there were
12,000 applicants for relief on the first day. Mucks'
field was equally distressed. At Huddersfield, 13,0001
people had been working through the winter at twopence
half-penny a day. Leeds, Blackburn, Norwich, and a va-
riety of other places, were all experiencing the greatest
misery. He had reason to know that at Barnsley, Settle,
and Skipton, half the population were maintained out 0
the poor rates. At Barnsley, the impatience of the people
broke out into riot. He would call the attention of 1110
House to the state of the bullion market. He had stated
three years ago, upon the authority of a Minister of Fi-
nance in Spain, that the supply of the precious metals
would cease as soon as soon as the South American colo-
nies were independent of the mother country. The Ge
velment, therefore, had chosen a wrong period to call in
the paper, and to revert to a metallic medium. He ob-
jected to depriving the people of the option of paying i°
gold or silver, and he had to conplain of the repeal of the
laws against exporting the current coin of the realm. The
Hon. Member went through numerous statements respect'
lug the currency, which it was impossible to hear in the
gallery; and he concluded by moving " That all the peti-
tions sent to that House by various parties, and complain'
ing of distress, he referred to a Committee of the whole
House, with a view of inquiring into the distress, and its
causes, and to report upon the remedies."
Mr. IRVING addressed the House. If he (Mr. Irving)
could understand what the Hon. Member had said, it was
his opinion that the alterations in the currency had occa-
sioned all the distress. But although he (Mr. Irving) had
originally opposed the alteration of the currency, now tbst
the change had taken place, he thought that in any further
change the evils would be great, and the good at best but
problematical ; and he was now convinced that the circu-
lation was quite adequate to the wants of the country.
From the overflowinga of the counting-houses in the de-
positories of the, bankers, there was now a sum of not less

to turn the Ministry out.—(A laugh.)—He did not un-
derstand the laugh. He knew that It would be madness
to hope for such a result, and that be might as well
say he would pull the Home down, as attempt to
remove a Government supported by such majorities. For
two-and-thirty years all contracts had been framed, all
taxes imposed, in one currency. That currency had been
altered ; and yet his Majesty's Ministers said that the cur-
rency question had nothing to do with the distress, that
the currency question had nothing to do with the want of
currency ! lle knew, however, that they would endeavour
to shut the eyes of the House to the present state of the
country, by painting flattering pictures in the most glowing
colours of the state in which it would be next year. The
fallacy of such a prediction would be best exposed by a re-
ference to the fallacy of similar predictions in former
years. The Noble Duke at the head of his Majesty's
Government had adopted a very convenient method of an-
swering all the arguments and statements on the subject.
In the first place, the Noble Duke directly denied the ex-

than five or six millions in bank notes belonging to indivi-
duals totally unemployed. There might be great distress
in the country, but it could not be to the extent pretended
by the Hon. Member. There was a great difficulty t°
get the metallic currency into circulation in the•country,
for when issued it returned to the Bank of England. Ile
doubted very much the propriety of a silver tender, as
silver was more exposed to fluctuations and to frauds. A'
the Hon. Member had spoken of the state of Manchester,
he would take the liberty of reading a paragraph of a letter
from that town, from a parson very well known to be in-
telligent upon such subjects. The writer said that the
hand loom was better employed than it had been some
years ago ; and that wages, although still very low, had
been advanced. A greater number of people were em-
ployed than ever, and they received good wages, and many
of them high wages. The writer went on to state, in reply
to what had been said by the Member for Coventry, that as
to the silk trade, he lord paid some attention to it, awl
had good :terrain to believe that, from 1823, the silk trade
had never been in a better condition, and there sex'
now a great export of Bandana handkerchiefs to Ger-
many, Italy, and South America. The activity M
Glasgow and Paisley had likewise increased. The
import of cotton since 1819 had doubled, and the Pre-
duce of the manufacture had doubled also. Of all branches
of industry, none had a greater reason of complaint than
the ship-owners ; but still, looking at the value of ships in
comparison of the prices at which they could be built, he
did not believe that even this was a losing trade. Agri-
culture had suffered, but from a great variety of causes,
and none was more prominent than the badness of the
season. He had occasion this day to inquire into the state
of trade in that town, during the last two ntiontbs and a
half, and he was happy to mention the result of his in•
quiries. From Ist January to 13th March, there had
been an increased importation of 32,400 bales of cotton,
making an increase of twenty per cent, compared with the
imports for the same period last year. In London there
had been within the same period an increased importation
of indigo to the amount of 49,0001b5. The increase upon
coffee had been fifty ;per cent., and upon sugar twenty-
seven. He produced this statement in refutation of what
had fallen from the Hon. Member for Shaftesbury. He
had thought that the lion. Member for Shaftesbury would
have stated some other causes for the distress of the country
than that of an alteration of the currency ; but since he hail
not thought proper to do so, he would take the liberty of
mentioning a few. In the first place, it was very well
known to that House and to the whole kingdom that
almost every country in Europe, and even in America—
not omitting the States of South America—had been
making efforts to manufacture fur themselves. Russia,
with a serf population—with a winter of eight months--
with an interest on money of ten per cent.—yet insisted on
having its own manufactures. The same anxiety pre-
veiled upon the part of Prussia, Austria, the Netherlands,
and France ; and they attempted to place prohibitory
duties on our goods, by which there certainly had been a
great interruption to our manufactures ; still British com-
modities had found their way to some extent into those
countries. The United States hail proceeded even farther
than the other Powers he had mentioned. They had im-
posed duties on our goods, amounting to 15, 20, and in
some cases 25 per cent. Was not this, he asked, a reason
for the interruption which had been given to our manufac-
tures? And still, notwithstanding all, our exports had
exceeded those of former years. Upon the whole, he
believed the description of the nature and extent of the
distress given in the King's speech was much more correct
than the assertions embodied in the comments upon it.
Mr. WARD was anxious to correct a misrepresentation
of a statement made by him on the first night of the Ses-
sion, when placed under peculiar circumstances. He did
not say that the distress existed 'only in particular districts
—he did not say it existed universally—but he left gen-
tlemen to consider the description of the distress, and to
come to a conclusion respecting it for themselves. He
did say that the distress was of an extraordinary charac-
ter, and this assertion he repeated, and would abide by.
On all former occasions of distress, there was some ob-
vious reason for its existence. In 1810 the Berlin and
Milan Decrees took place, and the distress which followed
might be assigned to them. In 1816 the change from
war to peace accounted for the pressure. In 1826 there
was the change in the currency ; and after 1826 there was
the panic which prevailed to account for the distress; but
the present was strange, because there was no feature of
this kind to be observed. Now these were the sentiments
he had uttered ; and as he certainly had been misunder-
stood, he thought it necessary to make this explanations
He had risen fur the purpose of stating this; but, as he
was upon his legs, perhaps the House would permit him
to say a few words more. The Hon. Member for Shaftes-
bury seemed disposed to think that the persons interested
in the funds were anxious to undermine the connection
between landlords and tenants ; but lie certainly was not
one of those who wished to break the ties that bound those
parties together, or who was desirous of making the poor
man look upon his superior with a jealous eye ; still, how-
ever, at all risks of misconception or misrepresentations
he must say that rents should be reduced—it was un-
avoidable. And he would state the principle upon which
he founded this opinion. His idea was, that the relation
between the landlord and tenant was precisely the same as
that between the capitalist and the manufacturer—and as
the interest on the money of the capitalist was in propor-
tion to the profit of the manufacturer on his manufactures,
so should the rent of the landlord be proportionable to the
profit of the tenant on the produce of the land. Now,
eush being his opinion, he could not consent to maintain
the landlord in the rents he enjoyed during the war, when
the capitalist was obliged to be content with lower profits.
One of his principal objects in rising was to show the
fact—or, at least, the nearest possible approximation to
the fact. It appeared from a paper he had applied for to
the House, that in 1828 there was a circulating medium
of 22,400,000/. in gold. From May 28 to January 29,
there was an additional sum of 410,000/. in gold.--
Dori's?: this period, it was calculated that there was half

istence of any distress ; but afterwards, abandoning that
direct denial, behind which he was as impregnable as be-
hind the lines of Torrea Vedras, he admitted that the situ-
ation of some of the retail traders was an exception to the
general prosperity. That was certainly true ; fir a peti-
tion had been presented from Manchester, signed by almost
every retail dealer in the place, stating that the distress was
never so great on any former occasion. The Noble Duke
then talked of the great quantity of business done on the
canals. He carefully abstained, however, from saying
anything of the present value of the shares ; most of which
were at a discount of thirty-five per cent. To that the
Noble Duke added, that wool and meat still produced re-
munerating prices ; the fact being, that wood had fallen a
half, and meat five-and-twenty per cent, in one year.
After all this it was evident that the Noble Duke ought
not to meddle with calculations ; but that he should con-
tent himself with silence, or, like Lord Burleigh, with
shaking his head. Reverting to the question of the cur-
rency, the Noble Duke had stated that the amount in cir-
culation was 28,000,0001. ; the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer stated that in 1828 the amount of sovereigns in
circulation was twenty-two millions, and that there having
been since issued 4,800,0001. the amount now was twenty-
six millions. But from that must be deducted what had
been exported for the payment of corn. He had reason
to believe that 11,000 quarters of foreign corn bad been
so purchased ; and therefore that the amount of sovereigns
at present in circulation did not exceed twenty-five mil-
lions. The Noble Duke had made several other discoveries
of equal value ; for all which he supposed it was that his
Grace received so large a salary from the public. The Right
Hon. the Chancellor of the Exchequer said in May, 1828,
that the amount of. one-pound notes in circulation
was 2,400,0001. He (Mr. Davenport) impugned that
statement, on grounds the accuracy of which had been
proved by the result ; and had maintained that the amount
was nearer six millions. The Right Hon. Gentleman had
said, that if the one-pound notes were withdrawn from
the circulation, they would be replaced first by a small
issue of sovereigns, and then by an increase of ten and
five-pound notes. What was the fact ? That although
there had been issued 800,000 sovereigns, instead of
400,000, yet that there had been a diminution of above
four millions in the circulation office-pound notes ; which,
added to the six millions of one-pound notes, made the
quantity of paper withdrawn from circulation in one year
nearly ten millions. Was it surprising, after this, that so
much distress had shown itself? Many of the friends of
his Majesty's Government endeavoured to screen them on
the score of their ignorance. He should be deficient in
candour if be did not give them the benefit of that plea.
But it could not go beyond a certain extent. How could
it be pleaded, after they saw the havoc which their mea-
sures were producing i❑ the country ? They saw that the
country was filling with pauperism and misery, and yet
they adhered to the measures by which those evils had
been occasioned. He rather accused them, therefore, of
tenacity of purpose than of ignorance—between culpable
ignorance and culpable obstinacy he believed that they
had chosen the latter. How had the Chancellor of the
Exchequer's statements of last year been borne out by the
results ? The price of wheat had fallen in May and June
last 25 per cent. ; and if the last harvest had not been so
had, he had no doubt that the present price would have
been 4e. 6d. a bushel. The graziers had fared still worse
than the farmers. Referring to the prices at Ballinasloe
fair, as compared with preceeding years, the price of cattle
had fallen considerably. At Dumfries they had been sold
at a loss. In Warwickshire the price had fallen 25 per
cent. It would be said that this was good for the con-
sumer. But it was no great consolation to the farmer
that the value of his commodities was thus to be eon-
verted through the consumer into three per cents. Cheese
had fallen 30 per cent. in nine months. Cheshire alone
produced 12,000 tons of cheese ; so that by that fall no less
a sum than 240,0001. was lost to one county. In the va-
lue of pigs a similar reduction had taken place. Was it
not high time, therefore, for the Legislature to interfere ?
While all this confiscation of property was going on, the
Government papers kept talking of improvement and of
changes. Changes there certainly had been ; hut they were
changes for the worse rather than for the better. What
must be the feelings of the poor farmers who were rendered
unable to fulfil their contracts ? The moneyed interest
were very liberal in their advice to the landed interest to
reduce their rents. " Reduce your rents," they exclaimed,
" and all will be well." But it was the turn of the moneyed
interest now to make sacrifices. The agricultural interest
had already reduced their rents. The confiscation of property
should in justice be made to effect equally all classes, In