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

seemed to imagine, that the Right Hon. Gentleman now
no more, had asserted that the capital of this country was
locked up in strong boxes, or lent out to usury. Although
he did not mean to enter into the circumsteoces of the
distress of the country, he had no hesitation to state what
he hail gated last Session, that one of the causes that con-
tributed to the distress had been the unnatural or impro-
per, and inconvenient distribution of the capital of the
country; but it would require more than the imagination
of the Right Hon. Individual alluded to, to suppose, that
my part of the capital of the country was hoarded in the
strong boxes. The Noble Lord bad gone at length into
the subject of rents, and had stated that rents throughout
the kingdom had materially lowered since the peace ; and
he had been understood to say, that if rents were more
lowered, the distress that might ensue to the landlords, espe-
cially those on whom it would be charged, would he such as
they could not bear. His belief was, that rents hid been con-
siderably lowered, but he would not go the length of saying,
that they had been universally lowered to that level which
the price of produce and the expence of farming made
necessary, and he did not agree in the interference that
' the distress on the landlords was such as they could not
bear, for if the farmer was unable to pay the present rents,
they must be reduced to the price of produce. At the
same time he must be allowed to say that in his judgment
the distress among the agricultural population did not
arise from the high state -of the rents.' He believed that-
distress was greatest where low wages existed from the
competition of the labourers, arising from the excess in the
number of labourers above the demand for them—an
excess which was mainly attributable to the tned-tuhninis-
tration of the poor laws. In reference to the general in•
ternal state of the country, and, perhaps, more particularly
with respect to the observations of the Noble Lord with
regard to the increase of crime, he could not close the few
observations he had to snake without adverting to the state
of the game laws. He was conviaced that the game laws
of England demoralized the people, while no good was
obtained from their continuance. As he saw by the votes
of the other House that a Bill on this subject had lately
been introduced with enactments similar to those which
hail formerly passed that House, he trusted that this Ses.
sion would not pass away without a total alteration of
those laws. He felt the greatest confidence in the recti-
tude of the Noble Lord now at the head of the Govern-
ment. He believed that the Ministers would co-operate
with the Parliament, and do not only as much as Parlia•
ment required, but more ; and would lend their utmost
ability, and all their faculties, to ascertain the causes of the
distress—a matter more easy than to discover a remedy.
The Earl of ELDON and Lord KING rose together ;
the !louse called for the former, and he observed that he
should detain the House but a few moment,. He was
surprised that the Noble Earl opposite should object to the
motion ; and for himself he must say, that he had long felt
a Parliamentary inquiry to be absolutely necessary. He
differed from the Noble Lord who had made the motion,
with respect to machinery. There were, he knew, many
persons who declared the necessity of altering the laws re-
lating to machinery—in otherwords, there were persons who
thought that machinery ought to be put an end to in this
country. But how WAS that possible ? In this country, as
in every other, labour had at first been performed by the
hand of man ; but afterwards machinery was invented,
and the various combinations of it gave us the means of
easily and cheaply manufacturing many things that we had
before been obliged to make slowly by the hand. Ma-
chinery had, therefore, given us wealth; and if we were
to destroy it, and return to the old course of hard labour,
we should but ruin ourselves, by throwing into the hands
of foreigners the benefits we now obtain from machinery,
and thus enabling them to beet us by the very means by
which we had at first obtained an advantage over them.
He was for some inquiry, but he did not wish it to be
understood that, by what he now stated, lie presumed to
cast reflections on any Administration that was past, or to
express his distrust of any present Administration ; but
he would say, that in the state in which this country now
was, they were imperatively called on to grant a Portia.
mentary inquiry. He hid net conception how a Committee
could embarrass the Government, and he should therefore
support it.

Lord KING could not but confess that, in moving an
inquiry into the causes and remedies of the present die.
tress, the Noble and Learned Lord had taken a view of
the matter peculiar to himself. In taking that view, he
had shown that an inquiry so conducted would be utterly
fallacious ; for be had marked out a path which, if fol-
lowed by the Committee—as it was likely to be by a
Committee of his own nomination—no good could arise
from it. The Noble and Learned Lord had derided at
once the science of Political Economy and the Public
Press. He had said, " What evils have the political
economists produced !"—Why, it was because the political
economists had not been attended to, that the country was
in its present state of distress. Now; lot their Lordships
see what was the pokticaal economy of him. who derided
political economists and the Public Press. 'The notion he
had of political economy was this said' that there
was capital in the country, but that it was loCked up in
strong boxes. Nuw, what was capital ? It was com-
posed of roads, canals, food, and raiment—end yet, said
the Noble Lord, it was locked up in a strung box l Yes !
indeed, in a strong box as big as the island itself—long
might it be so locked up ; the longer the better.—(Hear,
bear.) The Noble Lord had quoted Sir Robert Peel
where the opinions of that Right Hon. Gentleman would
answer his purpose ; but where they were opposed to him,
he said nothing of them, though in the very same line
with that which he did quote, for the Noble and Learned
Lord recommended that It. notes should be again brought
into circulation, while it was Sir Robert Petil wbo had
introduced the Bill to put an end to them, The Noble
Lord and the Right Hon. Gentleman were, therefore, as
much opposed to each other 41 condemnation to approval
of tke same thing could possibly make them. Another
part of the political economy of the Noble Lord
was, that the Russians and Danes were now about
to be the ruin of us, for they bud engaged in
manufactures. Why ? The reason was, no doubt,
that we would not take their raw produce in return
fur our manufactures. The reason the Noble Lord gave
was, that they paid in paper for their work (Lord
Wynford t "No !") lie certainly so understood the
Noble Lord. The Noble Lord forgot why the4aati ma-
nufactories, and why their manufacture. flourished ; it
was because we refused to take the raw produce off their
hands and return our own manufactured goods kr them;
it was because we had acted oa the system of exclusioa.
The Noble Lord was perfectly wren on that part of the
question. Dial he imagine that the goods we received
from them were given us fir nothing? We must pay for
them ; but that was the mistake of these people, that they
fancied what we got frem foreigners woe obtained for no-
thing t they thought we obtained the Saw produce for no.
thing. Ile wished it wee so; but foreigners did not
exactly do this ; they did not exactly give their produce
for nothing; but expected an equivalent Advent :It for it.
Another sample of the Noble Lord' political economy was,
that he talked of the impel Wee of maintaining the uni-
formity of the limbianges, If that could be maintained,
he said, we must not import corn, for the exchanges went
down when we imported foreign corn—there could be no
doubt of that. He asked the Noble Lord whether, in ma
of necessity, lie would not rather have theeign corn than
not have it ? If he would not here it regularly, and in a
way that could be subjected to known rules, he must be
content to NO t•,p witii the sudden effects with which its
intradtiotioo in cases of necessity was attended, But the
Noble Lord had not said lie would mat ilaye corn when
necessity required it—he only insisted that when it ryas
introduced it turned the gxehenges against us. For W:m.
self he would rather hare the corn when it was %vented,
then not hale it, titougla theexpence of the intaela,valeed
4311anef, Ad Noble Lord had given flaw, a action
of his political economy, he (Lord King) waltald give them
a notion of his pilitieal economy., lie took the distress of
the country to arise from their legislative measuree, which
haul a tendency tik encourage the over-supply of po-
Imitation With `an under-supply of food. The opt
%yea koduced by the makulministration el the
poor laws, by the detestable practice ot underpay.
ing single men, and overpqmo married men ;
so that they made it *IA advantage to a toast to be improvi.
dent! f ocaxwo of his acquaintance had told biros an
aueciiptc ttiat abatvstl the spirit in which these laws wetly
atianioistered, and sufficiently proved its affect, 4,1 young....
a very young couple came to him to get marries ; he ob.
served that they were • young, rand asked the reason of
their marriage; he lok, t 214 by the young man the cause
in these words em a very young man; I can't get
work; if lam married, they must find it fur me," That,
accounted fur the excess of the populetioo. 'the under.
supply of food was occasioned by the Corn Laws, Some I