The Sun.
London, England, 1822-03-01 00:00:00

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AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.

CAittuvrooz, FE8.213.—A County Meeting has;
just been held here, having been called with the.
view of presenting a Petition to. Parliament,.
praying for Relief to the AgriCulturists. Four
or fize Whigs, and about a dozen Radicals,,.
usually figure on the ljustings iu this town on,
such occasions.

Mr. ADEANE, the Ifigh Sheriff, was in the
Chair; but he looked round in-vain for a single
'Gentleman of weight and property. The Reso-
lutions (purporting chiefly that the distress is
owing to excessive taxation, and that this must
be reduced,) were moved by Mr. PRYME, a Bat-

sister resideut here, and who possesses in this.
County a house, and perhaps a garden, just suffi-
ciut to make him a Freeholder. They were se-
coßd.ed by Mr. BROWNE, a Fellow of one of the.
Colleges, whose interest in Agriculture may
perchance be great elsewhere, but in this County
is nearly on a par. with Mr. Puymt. Ile has, how-
ever, the character of beluga great orator,and hav-
ing soon quitted the narrow, uninteresting subject.
of Agricultural Distress, be seemed to be spread-
ing all sail on the boundless sea of Parliamentary
Reform : already he had enlivened his audience
with the old story of the Irishman and the Cat-
o'-nine-tails, and was proceeding with great
glory, when unfortunately he was reminded that

Reform was not mentioned in the requisition,
and. the Sheriff insisted that it should not now be

introduced. Thus unexpectedly cut off from his,
favourite topic, he disappinted the listening
throng by the abrupt termination of his harangue.
Next appeared the Reverend Mr. MABERLEY,
a gentleman of' considerable notoriety in this
part of the country. lie had published, he said,
a Tract six years ago, shelving Ist, and above all,
that Rents must be reduced, and 2dly Taxation;
but this valuable Tract had not met with the at-

tentionit deserved, and sue the -consequence! !
However, he was so obliging as to repeat the sub;.
rstance of it, dividing his subject into three parts.
investigating (1) the cause of the distress, (2) the
remedy for it, and (3) by what means that re-.
medyis to be obtained. Under the first head he
insisted very largely on the necessity of reducing
Rents, which seemed very unpalatable to the two;
_or three *Landowners present, by whom he was
assailed with cries of No, No ! No reduction of
Rent ! -We need not give mdre account of this
Gentleman's speech, ai it is in substancecon-
-
tainedin the above 'mentioned Tract, which will
.no doubt soon.have a great sale.
I,Vie!Whigs were now exhausted : next came
the Rldic-als,_haNing in -kept a Fen-farmer, who,
sulip's3l-ted, by'.Mr. 13EALES, a Corn-merchant, and
WELLS, an Attorney, from Huntingdon,
completely routed the Learned Mover of the
Resolutions, and , prevailed upon the snobs wito
Were roaring beneath the Hustings, to decide
than was of no use to petition Parliament any
in.nger. In vain Mr. PItYME gesticulated, and
protested that the honest legislators-below did
-not understand .the force of the Amendment :
was put again and again, and still decided that
Parliament was to be petitioned no more.—:-A
letter from the Duke of BEnfonp, expressing
similar opinions, contributed 'greatly to this;
.triumph of the Radicals.'

By this time the Gown had mustered in great
force ; words of defiance were interchanged, and
a row was raised, Which furnished employment
for the Proctors and Constables fOr an hour or•
two : in the midst of which the Meeting had
been dissolved, and the more respectable portion}
of the distrmed Agriculturists had retired to a
surt►ptuous dinner at the lloop Inn.
From this account you will easily collect that
a more complete farce, under the name of a
County Meeting, wag never exhibited.