The Sun.
London, England, 1822-02-05 00:00:00

AGRICULTURE.;

COUNTY OF-SURREY MEETING.
Yesterday a numerous and most respectable
Meeting of the Freeholders, Land Owners, and
Occupiers, of the County of Surrey, took place
at Epsom, in pursuance of a Requisition address-
ed to the Sheriff, to take into consideration the
propriety of presenting a Petition to Parliament
on-the present distressed state :of the Agriculture
of the country. At 'about a quarter past 12
o'clock, the High Sheriff, accompanied by the
principal Noblemen and Gentlemen of:the County,
among whom were Lord Ellenborough, Lord
King, Honourable 11. G. Bennett, Mr. H. Sum-
ner, Mr. Denison, Mr. Leech, Mr. Maberly,
proceeded to the waggons, which were drawn up
in front of the principal inn, where they had pre-
viOtislynsse-mbled.—The Requisition, sigued.,by
the principal Laud 0 wners•of the County, having
been read by the Under 'Sheriff,
J. Smut, Esq. the High Sheriff, said, that as
the Requisition was signed the 14th of Januar)‘,
and the advertisement calling it did not appear
till the 21st, he felt it due to himself to explain
that circumstance. The Requisition did not, in
fact, come into his hands till the 21st of January ;
and as soon as he perceived that it was called for
a legal purpose, and respectably signed, he lost
no time in calling the meeting, and immediately
sent a messenger with instructions for that pur-
pose. He felt it necessary to state this, lest it
should be supposed that there was any hesitation
or reluctance on his part to accede to the Requi-
sition.

The HIGH SHERIFF having taken the Chair,
begged to call the particular attention of the
Meeting to the subject which they were that day
assembled to discuss. He trusted that Gentle-
men, in delivering their sentiments, would con-
fine themselves to the object for which the Meet-
ing was called. That object was one of the
greatest importance, and could not hut be
weakened by the introduction of any subject
with which it was not immediately connected.

Mr. WEBB WESTERN, in coining forward to
move a Petition to be presented to Parliament,
had to apologise for addressing them ; but he
was an old land proprietor in the county, and as
such he could not give a silent vote upon this im-
portant occasion. Knowing at the same time his
own incapacity, he thought it better to precede
than to follow those who would address them
with so much eloquence, that any thing he could
have afterwards said would be lost and dazzled
in the brilliancy of their speeches. He was not
surprised that the meeting was so numerous, be-
cause of all questions that ever called for the at-
tention of the nation,'this was the most important.
(Applause.) It was not possible that the landed
interest should sink, and that all others should,
not; all must sink or swim together. (Applause.)
It was impossible that the other classes should
exist if the agricultural class should fall. (Ap-
plause.) Landowners, farmers, householders,
shopkeepers, traders, fundholders—Who never
could be paid without the aid of the other
classes, and particularly the agriculturists—he
was ready to pay them, and to do justice to all,
but they must have the means : all were in the
same situation, and must stand or fall together.
It was an easy matter to talk of high rents ; but
before he came to that topic, he would advert to,
another subject. It had been sometimes said
that landlords and tenants had not the same, in-
terest : he maintained they had. It was very
bad management for a landlord to let his land at
a rent which his tenant would not be able to
pay, after having had a fair compensation for
his capital, and a fair remuneration for his exer-
tions. (Applause* No landlord who was not
a fool would let his lands otherwise. it was
the interest of landlords, and every man's feel-
ing of interest actuated his conduct more or less,
to let his lands at a rent that could thus be paid.
If he let his lands otherwise, the tenant was

obliged to neglect his lands, and the landlord
lost the unreasonable rent he had imposed; and

afterwards he was obliged to let his lands at a
lower rent than he could have got in the first in-

stance. The present distress was of a very par-
ticular nature : he hoped it would not last long.
The labourer was in unison, too, with the land-
lord and the tenant. Landlords, tenants, and
labourers, were but links of the same chain—
(Applause ;) they were all in the same bog,
and must sink or swim together. Another mis-
apprehension was more generally believed ; it
was, that high rents and high prices had enriched
landlords and farmers. He believed neither of
the assertions was true, and he thought he' could
prove it to demonstration. Landlords were said
to have doubled or trebled their estates. lie for
one had doubled his rents, and he' was poorer
than he was before.—(Hear !)—This was occa-
sioned, not by squandering, but they could not
live in the same state with double the income.
They had not more to spend ; they had not so
much ; this he would say in his own case. When
he had come to this country, he had laid a pipe
of wine in his cellar for 391., which would now
cost him from 1001. to 1201. The double, then,
would not now pay it. The carriage bad cost
him 1101.; it now cost him 3501. But to get out
of his carriage, to leave luxuries, and get to the
necessaries of life, he had then bought a pair of
boots for U. ss. They now cost him 31. 55., at
least so his sons, told him.—(23t. laugh.)—Now
the farmer could state a case for himself better
than he did as a landlord. The poor's rates now
were more than doubled ; leather, every thing was
in proportion, but the poor's rates were decisive,
and they were tripled—quadrupled. Ifohen,
neither the landlord -nor the tenant had the
money, who the devil had it ? (" The Govern-