The Sun.
London, England, 1830-12-10 00:00:00

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I buy it at home I may appear to pay a little dearer for it,
but I can make that payment in paper." in his opinion,we
ought to follow the same course, and give the same answer
to the advice of those political economists who recommend
us to buy the agricultural produce of other countries, and
to continue to pay in gold ; for whilst we paid in money,
we diminished our means of competition, and threw out
of employ the workmen by whose labour we were sup-
ported. He wo'uld just call the attention of the House
to the history of 1815, 1816, 1817, 1818, and 1820, in
confirmation of what he had just stated. If they read the
history of those years, they would see that our manufac-
turing interests were as they always must be, affected by
the prosperity or decline of our agriculture. When the
latter flourished, the former were prosperous—when the
latter declined the former felt the consequences of the
pressure. In 1815 corn, from the monopoly of agricul-
ture existing during the war, in consequence of which
our lands were well cultivated, was very cheap; and
though he admitted that manufactures were then suddenly
depressed, be knew that depression was occasioned by
other circumstances. In 1816 the quantity of c .rn in
the country was exhausted, and the agricultural interests
were distressed, In the same manner the manufacturers
were affected. In 1817 the corn got up in price; no supply
was obtained from abroad, and corn was at 105 s. per
,guarter ; yet, in spite of that, and because the agricultural
interest was flourishing, manufactures %etre in a pros-
perous condition, and the Prince Regent, in the opening
Speech of the Session, congratulated Parliament on the
flourishing state of the country. In 1818 both the agri-
cultural and the commercial interests were prosperous,
but in 1820 corn fell lower than it had ever before been
known, and manufactures at the same time suffered an
exactly similar depression. At that time his Majesty, in
his Speech from the Throne, expressed his sorrow at the
unfortunate state of the country. He now begged to re-
mind the Noble Earl at present at the head of his Ma-
jesty's Government, that when the Address in answer to
that Speech was moved, that Noble Earl desired that some
expressions of a stronger nature than those inserted in the
Address should he employed, on the subject of the dis-
tress of the country. He wished now to mention another
circumstance not less important than the flourishing
or decayed state of the trade of the country—he meant that
of the danger of famine if the agriculture of our country
should be suffered to go without its full support. That
danger had existed when agriculture was in a better state
than now. In 1817, if we had Corn Laws such as those
now in force, that evil would have happened, for, instead
of corn being 105 s. a quarter, he believed that a great
body of the people would have perished from famine. The
same causes which produced a scarcity in England would
produce it abroad. He -was sure, that unless care was
taken to accomplish this object, some dreadful famine would
fall on the country. In the course of his professional life
he had become a little acquainted with the matter of Ex-
changes, and, from what be had learnt, he was of opinion
—and he believed ethers agreed with him—that the Ex-
changed of the country ought to be kept as uniform as pos-
sible--at least that they ought not to be allowed to go
against us. That which he regarded as an evil—the Ex-
changes being against us—was a matter always determined
by the importation or non-importation of corn. During
two kaf the years which he had before referred to, when
corn had been imported, the Exchanges were against us in
one instance to as great an amount as 6 per cent. ; when
the importation ceased the Exchanges rose, and in a very
short time were actually in our favour. In his opinion,
protection ought equally to be given to every species of
labour. Toe same cause which depressed the agricultural
interest deprived a part of the industry of the country of
that protection which it deserved. The agricultural pro-
duce of this country was, in consequence, not equal now to
what ithad been in some former years. In what he had
already stated he had not mentioned all the mete of the
present distress, but all those things which were usually
described as the causes of it. He would not diminish the
security of the fundholder—he would not deny that per-
sou'sjust demands upon the State; but lie was persuaded
that if things went on as they did, though the fundholder
might now have his full dividend, the security of his pro-
perty would be worth nothing. He would not appeal to'
their Lordships on the score of interest—that would be the
last motive that would influence their conduct; their only
motive was to exert themselves in the best manner for the
protection of others, not of themselves. Their Lordships
held their high situation to protect the interest of the poor,
who could not protect themselves—for their sakes he im-
plored the House to adopt some course of inquiry, in order
to discover some means of remedy for present evils. Lord
Graham, in a most excellent pamphlet that had lately been
published, had used these striking expressions, addressed to
another Government,' but equally applicable to the present
Government as to any other. The Noble Lord then read
the following extract
Let me entreat them to depart from their usual course of
awaiting the event : a great and an lumwdiate end is necessary
to burst the cord now orawn so tight around them ; If they he-
sitate, they will be entangled in such complicated difficulties,
that resistance and escape will soon be alike Impossible."
his Lordship would not weary the patience of the
House, which, he had already tried at so great length,
but would at once submit the motion of which he bud
given notice—
...net a Committee should be appointed instantly to inquire
into the causes of the present lame of the distress in the country,
and, as far as might be, Into the nature of the remedy to be
apopted."

The Earl of ROSEBERRY having been in the course
of the la+ t Session a warm supporter of a tnotioa of this
sort, felt bound now to state why he dissented from the
present' motion. The first reason on which be objected to
the present motion was, that a few days ago a Committee
on the Poor Laws had been appointed ; and thinking, as
he did, that the mal-administration of those laws was a
principal grievance of the people, and therefore one of the
instruments of the present distress, by bringing a redun-
dancy of population and a constant interference with la-
bour, breaking the spirit of the labourer and destroying
all his feelings of independence, inducing him no longer to
trust to himself and hia own industry—thinking this, he
could not but feel satisfied, that if that Committee did its
duty, and the Government did their duty (of which he had
no doubt), by co-operating with the Committee, the evils
now in existence would progressively be removed. It
must be a subject of grief to their Lordships that the state
of the labouring classes, was as in other countries, date.
riorated within the last few years; and what was more
important, this depression was coexistent with the eleva.
Con of their minds by the diffusion of knowledge, and by
the vast strides which education and readingill, d made within
the same time. The second ot.jection which he had
to this motion arose from the recent change made
in the Government, and from the circumstances which had
led to that change, and from the pledges which his Ma-
jesty's Ministers had made to the Parliament and to the
country. The Noble Earl now at the head of the Go.
vernment had, immediately upon his introduction to office,
on the very first night of his appearing there in his pre-
sent office, not only agreed to a motion made by the Noble
Marquis for a Committee on the state of the Poor 1.4174,
but made a most solemn declaration, that he tool hit rol-
-1 leagues would take the whole state of the country into
their moat serious, unceasing, and deliberate considera-
. lion ; that they would use their utmost efforts to relieve
the country, as far as retrenchment could effect its relief,
and, as far as their power went, would do their utmost
to restore present confidence, and to lay the best founds.
tion for the future prosperity of the country by Reform in
Parliament and in every other department of the State.
Under these circumstances, he asked whether it was fair
and courteous to persons who had so recently been Galled
to fill their situations to interfere in this Wapner, pot "1Y with the duties they were celled on to discherge, 'but with
those which they hail expretsed themselves willing and
ready to enter upon? Stich an interference consumed
time and disturbed their labours by cornpelliog tbent to
attend a Committee, when they.had tys geotl, if oot hetter,
means of examinetion hende, tyhen they
might, in a few weeke, state their owo piton to the House.
He tipped with the Noble Baron, that the present admi-
nistration of
the Poor Laws was All evil of itielf• and the
cause of many others—that the present distress was very
extensive and dreadful, and that there matters might
to be the guided of a Parliameotvy inquiry. He
should, be sorry, either b, whet he said, or by the vote
he otiould givN to stifle) a Parliamentary inquiry ;
bp he thought it would be better for them to weitt,
since he believed it' was in the power of Miniotere. an'h-
tat4 a more effectutil measure thaA etld ow tOmitted
by suY.N°hls PaitiCnlee. t WAS not his Woo-
iqn tl o:peals ;oppt Of, 14toptIgn of their Lortl.hips,
\tv ;he Noble ttord would velthdraw his motion—(Lord
744f0rd.-.No, no !)-..but, as he found that was not likely,
he should take the liberty of saying a few words on rpma
topics introduced by that Noble Utile The Noble Lord