The Sun.
London, England, 1836-02-19 00:00:00

THE suN, LoNnoN, VAIDAY, PEttituAßY

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, FEIRILIRT 18.
The LORD CHANCELLOR took his scat on the Wool-
sack at five o'clock.
Lord ABINGER presented a petition in favour of Mr.
Buckinaham's claims.
Lord T EYNH A M postponed the presentation of the peti.
tion from Brighton, relative to the administration of justice, as
he understood the Noble Duke, the Lord Lieutenant for the
county of Sussex, would not be in his place this evening.
COMMUTATION OF TITHES.

Lord D ACRE presented a petition from the owners and occu,
piers of land, and the tithe-owners of the eastern division of
the county of Kent, praying for a Commutation of Tithes.
AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.

Lord WYNFO RD rose to move for the appointment of a
Select Committee to take into consideration the distress of
the agriculturists. As it was not the intention of the Noble
Viscount at the head of his Majesty's Government to oppose the
motion, he should not trouble their Lordships except by moving
for the Committee in the same words as it was moved for in
the House of Commons—that a Select Committee be ap-
pointed to inquire into the state of Agriculture, and into
the causes and extent of the distress which pressed on some
important branches thereof, and that the Committee should
report their opinion thereon.
Viscount MELBOURNE said, though it was not his inten-
tion or that of the Government to have moved for a Com-
mittee; yet it having been done by the Noble Lord, aver the
recommendation which was in the Speech, it was impossible
for him to offer any opposition to its appointment.
Though the Government would not take the conduct of the Com-
mittee, they would be most happy to give it every assistance they
had it in their power to do. They had introduced the paragraph
in the Speech in consequence of the reports which had come to
them from all parts of the country—of course the Government
could not but be most anxious for the welfare of that

tterest with which they were so intimately connected,
and upon which the incomes of the greater part of them
depended. He hoped the Committee would go into the
question upon large and extended grounds, and though he
did not oppoFe the appointnient of the Committee, he trusted
they would abstain from all those wild and fantastic notions of
relief which have been promulgated of late. Especially he trusted
they would keep clear of that wild visionary form of relief which
was said would flow from any tampering with the circulating me-
dium, or undervaluing the value of the circulating medium.
To these Government was decidedly opposed, believing,
they did, that anything of that kind would be most fatal to the
best interests of the country. It was to be remembered that
the distress of the agricultural interest was not confined to this
country. The Minister of Commerce, in addressing the
Agricultural Committee in France, had used almost the same
words as those used by his Majesty ; and so strong was the
feeling in Holland, that it induced her to abrogate that
which bad raised her to the pinnacle upon which she
now stood—free trade, and had induced her to impose
a duty upon the importation of grain. He trusted
that the Committee would consider all the laws relative to
the importation of grain, and to the corn trade generally. He
trusted also that they would remember that the agricultural
interest depended upon the prosperity of the other interests
of the country, and that when one trade sunk the agricul-
tural interest could not rise. It was a great and important
question, and he trusted it would be considered upon large
and extended grounds.
Lord ASHBURTON wished that the Noble Lord, in pro-
posing the Committee, had stated the precise objects he in.
tended to bring under its consideration, and the benefits that
were likely to be derived by the country from it. It was
true, as the Noble Viscount had stated, that the whole subject
would go before the Committee, to be dealt with in the
largest sense ; but he (Lord Ashburton) was not very san-
guine of anything that Parliament could do. He was as
much convinced as any man could be of the distress under
which many portions of the agriculturists laboured; but at the
same time he felt firmly convinced that little or nothing could
be done for them by Parliament. He entirely concurred in
the recommendation of the Committee of the House of Com-
mons, that relief was more likely to be given by the cautious
forbearance of Parliament, than by any active means to be
taken by it. The Noble Lord at the head of his Majesty's
Government, the subject having been mentioned in his Majes.
ty's Speech, could not do otherwise than adopt the course he
had done. lle hoped, however, it would not be supposed that
Parliament could do any good. No Noble Lord could bring
forward any imaginable measure which Parliament could
adopt, that would relieve the agricultural interesta._-__
(Hear.) When the Noble Viscount stated that this question

would be laiTely and genertilly gone into by the Committee,
kp should feel. :sonic ankiety it the Committee thOueht proper
try deal with,gre4t queition: white); tti hts qi.ttlotii bad not
he stigntest bearing on tie agricultural interest of the
country ; viz. the currency and standard as it at present stood.
ism-, near.) an his there riQver,was it
dc-
-1 plott Draeltiged thou In,the"stat6itietititliat it had the elightemt
lizsiori to It had riti iriore 46 au it ilib
dKtiSsed tt.* of agrieultiire. ban an other portiofi of the
li?t1)440, 8f T tiCr6 riCipr was a more wild
or absurd notion than that ‘Viiin *d'.? filo a d Par-
liament cotild be induced to ati act of such eonsurnmate tne-
taiie ind,had taith; iis taaikrink with. tho Cikrency of the
rtitidtry,thei the. yet4.ltl not be inbred. Another opi-
nidn that prerailerl was; that the proteCtion to ilid fitrthet under
kekent err was' faiiiefr ink/Hods than otherivite: He
t P.tli 4ri4 kUi:l cif toiattary oiwiton: It
• • (I •
was clear to him that upon the currency of ilia edYi-ttry aisting
as it did at the present moment, depended the best interests ttl.
the fafthrf.
The Earl of WIN C IL gg A itie,i4oble Lard
placed
badhis name on the.list of the Committee begged that
it might be withdrawn, ag ltd VEO4 one of those who laboured
under the delusion that the currency had a very glatefial beating
upon the question, though he would not say entirely: lie tint
the last man in the world who wished to dlief the currency of
the country so as to affect public credit ; but he firmly be-
lieved that upon its alteration depended the removal of many of
the distresses under which the agriculturists laboured. If,
therefore, the question of the currency was to be excluded from
the consideration of the Committee, he begged that his
name might be withdrawn from it.
Lord ASHBURTON said that he had never suggested
that 'the consideration of that subject should be omitted. In-
deed it was his anxious wish that it should be fully discussed
and settled. All that he was anxious for was, that it should
not go forth to the world that the state of the currency was
tire chief cause of agricultural distress, or that Parlia-
ment, by any measure, could afford it any kind of relief.
He thought it desirable, under all circumscances, to go into
Committee ; but it was absolutely necessary- that the country
should understand that very little was to be expected from
these deliberations, and the agricultural interest most make
up their minds, if they expected any thing of importance to
be done for them, to meet with a very great-disappointment.
—(Hear.) tie thought that the Committee would take into
consideration the repeal of the Corn Laws. He would
vote for such a Committee most cordially, and why ? Because
in the first place the Corn Laws as a protection to the
landed interest, had entirely failed ; and in addition, there was
this objection to them that they were a monopoly, and thiL-',
never was a monopoly known to be attended with any matelV
advantage ; on the contrary, there was scarcely any that had:
not failed. He regretted that the Noble Lord (Wynford)had
not stated any remedy for the distress that was allowed
to prevail ; and, in conclusion, he warned the agricultural
interest not to expect too much from the proposed Committee.
After a few words from the Earl of WINCHIL SE A,
Lord WYNFORD replied. He had proposed only that
which his Majesty's Speech recommended, and that which,
acting on this recommendation, the other House of Parliament
had adopted. He had not proposed any remedy—if he had,
he should have stated the remedy which he proposed—it was
only when they had all the facts before them that they could
adopt any efficient remedy. He felt that great relief
might be extended to the agricultural interest—they only
wanted to have equal justicedone them. The Noble concluded
by moving for the proposed Committee.
The motion was agreed to, and the Committee appointed.