The Sun.
London, England, 1822-02-26 00:00:00

agriculture support itself under its pressure; but
that is not in fact the case : an erroneous prin-
ciple once adopted and persevered in, daily and
hourly goes from bad to worse, and so far from
reverting to a right course, and leading the wea-
ried traveller to the end of his journey in ease
and safety, the further he pursues his course the
further is he deviating from that which he ought
to pursue, every step leading him further from
the object of his attainment. It seems quite be-
side the purpose to say you have already done
sufficient mischief by trifling with your currency,
do not hazard a greater by further trifling with the
same edged tool, for what is this but an acknow-
ledgment of the error you have committed, and
furnishing the very worst of reasons why you
should not acknowledge your error, retread your
steps, and reduce things to that state in which
it found them_ previous to that injurious vote,
by which the whole currency of the Kingdom
was at once completely changed. It is with dif-
ficulty that any private individual is brought to
confess his errors and retread his steps, and with
much greater is Government, actuated by good
and honourable motives, yet assailed by powerful
factions, both from within and without the walls
of Parliament, to be brought to that confession
which gives its opponents evident advantages,
and enables them to hold up the power of the
State to the contempt and derision of the people.
Yet where power, and good sense, and honour-
able intentions exist, the magnanimity of such
confession would be approved by every honour-
able and well-intentioned mind, and very shortly
reap the fruits of its concession in general
applause. In the present instance you have only
to rescind the destructive vote complained of,
and restore the Bank restrictions to that state in
which the nation has flourished for the last 20
years, and so far the mischief is at once remedied :
years of uninterrupted peace and a flourishing
commerce may, in the course of time, render
your paper fully equal to your metallic currency
—but till then the adoption of a totally different
system is premature and destructive in the
highest degree. It is well for Mr. R. and the
great fund-holders to hear that the revenue is
flourishing ; that a surplus of upwards of 5 mil-
lions is found to meet the demands of public
creditors, &c. they cannot receive more delightful
intelligence, or in fact be placed on a better
foundation than they at present stand. Their
monies, borrowed under one currency, are to be
paid under anotHer greatly more beneficial, whilst
all the articles of life are furnished them at de-
preciated prices, so that whilst the poor agricul-
turist is beat to the earth by an increase of taxes,
and a diminution of the means of paying them,
the fundholder is in, the enjoyment of a much
larger revenue, and that too considerably in-
creased in value by that very distress of which
the landed proprietor so feelingly and justly com-
plains. What was one thousand pounds under
the Bank Restriction Act is now in fact some•
hundred pounds more, whilst every pound pur-
chases nearly twice as much at market as it did
before, through the general depreciation of prices,
principally•caused by this change of currency.—
Much has been said about supply and demand,
and it is certain the one must be proportionably
regulated by the other, in favourable seasons ; if
the soil, under good cultivation, yields more than
the community can consume, prices will neces-
sarily fall, and to that the landholder must sub-
mit; be may possibly be compensated in quantity
for a certain depreciation of price,but whether so or
not, he has but to submit, in common with all his
fellows, to• the disposition of Providence ; but
when any great disarrangement of things takes
place, of which the oppreision felt is in conse-
quence of the errors of the ruling Powers of the
State, he naturally and necessarily complains,l
and when he peremptorily points out the evils,
and calls for redress, it is the duty of a just and
benevolent Government to listen to him. In the
humble opinion of the writer, let the complained
of vote be rescinded, and a very considerable
portion of the mischief is at once remedied. In
addition to this, let the Minister consent to the
repeal of one, no very considerable tax, not more
than equal to the reduction of one shilling, as
proposed on the Wit Duties, and the whole evil
is at once done away. That is, the taking off the
stamp duties on the notes and bills of all private
bankers, which now nearly equals the interest
gained upon them,.and renders all accommodation
to the farmer and others impracticable ; the banker
would• then. be able to assist the farmer, as on
former occasions, with advances to pay his rents,
his tythes, and his taxes, and place the whole
agricultural system on that flourishing footing,
which would afford an ample rent to the land-
lord, and to the tenant not merely the means of
scanty subsistence, but comparative opulence.—
With regard to the Corn Laws, they are cer-
tainly most egregiously defective, and require
early amendment; but that is a wide subject, and
requires more attention than the writer is at this
momentable to give to it ; besides, the pushing two
points at once may tend to defeat both ; let only
an immediate remedy be applied to an immedi-
ate evil, and the rest may follow in course. When
the prices of agricultural produce are raised, so
as to give an adequate rent to the proprietor, and
a decent maintenance to the farmer, on the skil-
ful and prudent application of his labour ; we
shall then see most plainly the principal defects of
the existing Corn Laws, and be enabled to apply
those remedies by which a home market could
be secured to us without pressure to the commu-
nity at large. That low prices and high taxes
are incompatible is self evident; so that if nothing
be done to raise the one, it is impossible that the
other can be productive, nor will it be less so
for the revenue to meet the expectations of
the Minister or the exigencies of the State, if prices
continue as they are, to the utter destruction of the
productive orders of the community. Although
it has been already urged that common justice
will not permit that what has been borrowed or
contracted for under one system of Currency
shall be enforced under another of a very diffe-
rent description, yet as a due consideration of
the subject is of the highest importance, the
writer must be permitted again to inforce, and it
cannot be too often repeated, that every million
borrowed, every tax imposed, every pension
granted, and every salary created or increased