The Sun.
London, England, 1822-04-13 00:00:00

MERCANTILE SHIPPING, &c.

DEAL, APRIL 12.—Wind E.S.E.--Remain the Setern
frigate, and thirteen coasters.

SEVEN o'CLocK.—Wind S. by E. nearly calm.

FALMOUTH, APRIL 11.—Wind N.E.—Arrived the Dutch
Galliot Eliza, Brown, from Amsterdam, to take on board the
stores of the Dutch ship De Voyheed, condemned at this port.

PLYMOUTH, APRIL IL—Wind E.—Arrived the Marti.
nique, Duncan, from Hull to Madeira.

PENZANCE, APRIL 11.—Wind E.N.E.—Some passengers
landed here from the Boyne, Captain Bidwell, from Calcutta ;
spoke on the 23rd of March the brig Lady Popham, Jenkin, 40
days from Jamaica.
LYMINGTON, APRIL 12.—The Maria, Ryeson, from
Liverpool for Stettin, loaded with salt, copper, &c., ran on
shore- last evening to the westward of Church Head, having
sprung a-leak the evening before. The vessel is full of water,
and expected to go to pieces.

Yesterday the dispatches for Bencoolen by the ship Layton,
were closed at the East India House, and delivered to the
Master of that ship.

NAVAL APPOINTMENTs.—Lieut. Coxwell and Captain
Knight, of the Royal Navy, are appointed to the ordinary at
the Port of Chatham.—Captain William Radborn, to command
the ordinary at Chatham.—Mr. Whithurst, to be Purser of the
ordinary at Chatham.—Mr. Archdeacon, to be Purser of tha
Northumberland at Sheerness.—Captain Frederick Pettman, to
the command of the ordinary at Sheerness.

Decree of his Majesty the King of the King-
dom of the Two SICILIES, dated Feb. 15, 1822 :
" Art. 1. All those who, on account of the political events of
July, 1820, are out of our kingdoms, cannot return without our
special permission. Those who transgress this order shall be
brought before a court-martial, and punished with death. Their
sentence will be executed in 24 hours.
" Art. 2. Every other person found in our kingdom withoun
his papers in due form, in the company of those mentioned io
the Ist Article, or of any other person or persons
.plotting is
disturb the public peace, will suffer the same punishment a
mentioned in the Ist Article.

(Signed)

" FERDINAND."

IRON TRADE.---We feel sincere regret in stat-
ing, that great uneasiness prevails among the work-people at
the Iron-works in Monmouthshire and South Wales, on account
of the low rate of wages, and want of employ. A reduction of
from 2s. 4d. to Is. 3d. per ton has taken place, and several hun-
dred people are out of work in consequence. These reductions
however, we understand, are absolutely necessary to enable the.
Proprietors to carry on the works at all. Sunday se'erright (As-
size Sunday) considerable sensation was caused at Monmouth
by the arrival of Mr. Lewis' of Llandilo, the Commander of
the West Monmouthshire Yeomanry Cavalry, in order to get
his attendance dispensed with, his troop having been suddenly
called out to preserve the peace at some of the iron-works
on the hills. Two active Magistrates (the Reverend Wil.
liam Powell, Vicar of Abergavenny, and J. H. Iloggridge,
Esq.) likewise left Monmouth, with the sanction of the Judge,
before the Grand Jury were discharged, ; and Government
having been applied to for troops,' a detachment of the Scotch
Greys has arrived in Gloucester, where they expect to remain,
to be in readiness should their assistance be called for.—
(Shrewsbury Chronicle, April 12.)

In our impression of the 25th of December last, we noticed
the singular variations of the barometer on the five preceding
days, with its extraordinary depression on the morning of that
day ; the night of Thursday the 20th of December was also pe-
culiarly marked by a hurricane. On the same night, it appears
by the accounts from Copenhagen, inserted in our last, that a
volcano, situated above 20 miles to the south-east of Mount
Ilecla, in Iceland, which, according to Sir G. Mackenzie, had
been silent since 1717, suddenly emitted flames, and for some
days threw out stones to a considerable distance, and continued
burning till the 23d of Februayy ; the agitation of the barome-
ter may be thus probably accounted for.—( licwash Gazetlr,
April 12.)

MONSTROUS REVENGE.—Yesterday a master
chimney-sweeper, named Richard Smith, was finally exarnir ed
at Hatton-garden, charged with desperately wounding El as
Duke, another sweep, on the 27th of March last, while playing
at skittles at the Brewers' Arms, Mutton-hill, owing to a dispute
as to paying for some porter. Ile afterwards came behind the
prosecutor, made a plunge at his throat., and falling on the
ground, in order to avoid fighting, while rising, took occasion to
plunge a knife (the blade whereof was four inches and a half
long) into the prosecutor's left thigh, and also his side. It was
stated by the officer, that the prisoner had been some time ago
in custody for a similar offence, and that since he had been in.
prison upon the present charge he was heard to declare, that
whenever he got his liberty he would do for the prosecutor. The
Magistrate said that the prLoner was a complete monster, and
that it was a fit case for a Jury. The prisoner was fully com-
mitted to Newgate for trial. During the examination the pri-
soner appeared quite indifferent to what was going on, and
norant of the awful situation in which he stood.

FOR THE SUN.

AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE.

Purturiunt monks, nascitur ridicules mus.
EDITOR,—It is not without some degree
Of Concern that I apply the'above motto, to the
Repiirt Of the Agricultural Committee just pub-
lishet,'giving credit to the Gentlemen composing
it foi•Y,upright and honourable intentions, and as
actuated by zeal for the public service. If any
thingloWever could contribute to cast a shade of
contrary reflection on that supposed honourable
.meeting, it would be the particular caution that
appears to have been taken to avoid touching
upon the real and substantial cause of the far
greater part of those miseries under which we
suffer, viz. the premature change of currency ;
that substantial origin of the mischief seems
wholly to have escaped their attention ; and
-what they propose are simply and avowedly only
experimental and temporary remedies for the
relief of the Corn Market, to which some little
-Spur may be given at the moment, without sub-
stantial and permanent benefit either to the corn
growers or to the public in general. Without
fathoming the mischief to the bottom,. and fully
ascertaining its principal if not only cause, it is
perfectly vain, nay, to a certain degree, mis-
chievous, though I should hope unintentionally
so, to assign fictitious or adventitious causes, and
argue upon false premises, from which all con-
clusions drawn must be equally fallacious. Pro-
bably one Committee of polished Gentlemen was
fearful of stating a direct and positive contradic-
tion to the unanimous- vote of another, at the
head of which stood a Gentleman of unim-
peached character and brilliant abilities, which
have since raised him to one of the first situa-
tions in the state. But such complimentary feel-
ings are not in unison with the strict duties of a
Committee expressly appointed to investigate the
causes of an evil that depresses the best and
most substantial interests of the nation, and as-
certaining them with all the acuteness they are
masters of, to suggest the best and earliest reme-
dies in their power. In that point of view, they
have certainly disappointed the hopes of the
public, and, in a certain degree, still further de-
pressed 'them, by stating that they see' no other
remedies than those proposed, which would seem
to render matters altogether desperate. After
these observations, tendered in the full spirit of
candour, to the consideration of the public, and
with all due observance of the rules of gentle-
manly politeness towards the Committee, it may
not be amiss to repeat what has been said in a
former letter on the supposed unanimity of what
has been usually termed Mr. PEEL'S Committee,
which, in fact, was more apparent than real.
The. inexperience of the son at the head of that
Committee having been strongly opposed by the
long and tried experience of the father, a gentle-
man of distinguished probity and good sense,
who, by a sagacious application of capital, a
perfect knoWledge' of bu3iness in all its 'various
ramifications, and a strict adherence to the prin...
ciples of honour and fair dealing in all his
transactions, had amassed a princely fortune,
which he distributes with as much liberality as
it was gained with industry. To 'the Resolu-
tions of the Committee that Gentleman opposed
a decided and declared negative, heartily wishing
his son and supporters all possible success, but
foreboding evils, if those measures were carried
into effect, which he almost feared to detail.
Such possibly might not be the wi ords precisely
.used, but were in effect Sir R. PEEL'S, as re-
corded in the papers of the day. Such opposi-
tion, though not supported by a positive and
useless
.vote, stands entitled to consideration,
and in a great measure tends to do away that
boasted unanimity, in which all parties appeared
to combine, in considering the immediate change
of currency as essential to the well doing of the
state, and called for by imperative necessity.
As very long and able debates in Parliament have
taken place on the last Report in question, as
well as on other general topics of Agricultural
Distress, it may not be amiss to recapitulate some
of the arguments used on both sides, and to give
them that candid and impartial attention to
which they stand so well entitled.
Mr. WORTLEY, the worthy Representative of
Yorkshire, who presented a Petition from Lin-
lithgow, seemed of opinion that the application of
1,000,0001. to the purchase of agricultural pro-
duce would have a most beneficial effect, but
that the Bank was now contributing to the dis-
tress of that part of the community, by keeping
up the high rate of interest.
Mr. MANNING. rebutted this assertion, in a
bold and gentlemanly manner, and perfectly ac-
quitted the Bank of all reasonable cause of cen-
sure. Now, in the present writer's humble opinion,
the application of 1,000,000 might and certainly
would give a spur to the Corn market for the
moment, but it would be merely a temporary
measure, and would not ultimately lead to any
substantial and permanent relief. The radical
cause of all our immediate mischiefs is the
premature and impolitic measure of Mr. PEEL'S
Bill, and all relief without its repeal is totally
hopeless. Mr. WssmaN, in a subsequent debate,
restated what has been already repeated, agree-
ing perfectly in the writer's opinion, that with-
out a change of system the whole frame of so-
ciety would be disorganized, which must inevit-
ably be the case. This Gentleman confirms what
he had said in a former debate, and his opinion
ought to have due weight. Mr. BENETT, repre-
sentative of the County of Wilts, lamented, in
common with many other Members, the dreadful
state of the agricultural interest, which he seemed
to consider as insusceptible of relief, but from
the removal, probably meaning the reduction, of
taxes. Now this, consistently with the present
state both of our debt and our necessary esta-
blishment, is absolutely impossible, without a
breach of public faith to our creditors, and such
a diminution of the power of the State, both at
home and 'abroad, such a distress to all officers
under Government, as would at once not only
lower us in the opinion of Europe, but render
the carrying on the government of the country
altogether impracticable; he thought, however,
that the protection of our own produce from all

competition with foreign countries was absolutely
necessary. He agreed with those that considered the
utmost exertions of the House as necessary, to save
from distress, nay from absolute ruin, that most
valuable class, the agriculturists, which must be
wholly and for ever lost to the country, unless
some measures for its preservation were imme-
diately adopted.
Mr. ELLICE very strongly expressed his dis-
appointment at the late report df the Com-
mittee, and stated the change of currency as
one of the great causes of the depression of prices.
---In the papers just moved for, he stated that
the House would be at no loss for the true
causes of that depression, as it would be found
that the greater or lesser quantities of circulating
medium had been intimately connected with rais-
ing or depressing the prices of produce. The
amount of the circulation of private Bankers'

notes was, he stated,
In ftli-1—£11,000,000,--Th 1317—X12,000,000.
1816— 7,000,000, 1821— 2,500,000.
—The scale of Issues from the Scotch Banks
accorded exactly with those of England. lie
further stated that though the Bill for reverting to
metallic currency, might be beneficial at the mo-
ment to the labouring classes, it would add 30 or
40 per cent. to the taxes on all property, but
still doubted whether the measure was not the
best mode in which relief could have been ex-
tended to those classes. In one thine-..he agreed
with the Ministers, that it would afford no relief
to the agricultural interest to repeal taxes to the
amount of the Sinking Fund. Relief could be
afforded only in two ways, either by a repeal of
the Right lion. Gentleman's (Mr. PEEL'S) Bill,
to which he would never consent, or by making a
reduction in all contracts and taxes proportionate
to the depreciation occasioned by the measure of
1797. Ile cared not whether the depreciation,
as his Hon. Friend (Mr. RicAnno) maintained,
was one-tenth or not. His lion. Friend admitted
that, in addition to other causes, that depreciation
was increased by a forced importation of gold.
The Committee, in his opinion, should have gone
into an inquiry as to all the causes of the existing
distress. Even though they had done so, and
made a full report, he did .not see that it was
possible, during the present Session, to digest a
plan for the relief of the country. The only
thing the House could look to after the holidays
was a reduction of the expenditure, carried as
far as it could, consistently with the payment of
the interest of the public debt. In the year
1815, the landed interest was assessed to the
amount of 37,000,0001., from which, deducting
various incumbrances to the amount of about
6,000,0001., the clear assessment was 31,000,0001.
The income of the funded proprietors was at the
same period 40,000,0001. The revolution that
had since taken place in property was equal to
that caused by the French Revolution, though
not attended with violence. The income of
the landed interest has been reduced one-
third, that is to between 18 and 19,000,0001.
while that of the fundholder has been doubled.—
The only remedy proposed by the Committee
for the existing evils was a loan of 1,000,0001,
for the purpose of advancing the price of Corn,
and, of course, increasing the price of bread to
the consumer. He felt as much as any man
could for the agricultural distress of the country,
and was as willing to forward measures of relief.
But he would oppose any proposition that would
not have the effect of throwing a proportionate
burthen upon all parts of the community.—Would
there not appear to be something contradictory
in the worthy Member's statements and opinions,
who, when he expressly states that the plain
effect of Mr. PEEL'S Bill was the depression
of prices, yet says he will never give his assent
to its repeal ; in other words, that he will not
assent to that raising of prices by which alone the
landlord and cultivator can be saved from ruin
—Mr. F. LEWIS vindicates the Committee from
the censures cast on it, but in rip manner shews
or attempts to slim upon what principle they
cautiously kept out of sight the principal cause of
those dreadful evils of which the landed interest
so feelingly complained, their duty, as it strikes
the writer, having been first to ascertain the causes
and then to suggest the remedies. Had that been
done, the principal causes of what the landed in-
terest complained of, in the depression of prices,
must necessarily have been the unfortunate Bill
in question. Mr. WESTERN so far unites with
Mr. F. LEWIS in vindicating the Committee,
saying, that neither the alteration of the Currency
or the reduction of taxes had been referred to
their consideration. True, they had not been
expressly included in their instructions; but
surely it could never have been in contemplation
that a Committee should have been directed to
propose remedies for an evil without first ascer-
taining its causes. The very idea would appear
contrary to the plainest dictates of common sense.
The lion. Member had no doubt that the distress
of the country would at length compel them to
give up the Act of 1819. The House would be
obliged to retrace its steps. lie saw clearly that
this must be the result. The advance of prices
in consequence of the measure of 1797 was at
least 401. per cent. If they looked to the tables
in ADAM SMITH, it would clearly appear that no-
thing else could have produced such an increase
in the price of Corn. For 150 years previous to
1792, there was little or no fluctuation in the
price of Corn. In the course of 20 years, from
1792 to 1812, the price had doubled. What
could have caused this but the alteration in the
value of money ? Enormous taxes had been laid
on since 1797 ; an immense debt had been con-
tracted in a depreciated currency, the interest of
which they were now compelled to pay in another
greatly increased in value. They were paying
in standard currency double the value of the
amount for which they had contracted. By this
means such havoc had been made in the property
of the agricultural and industrious classes, as had
never been occasioned even by civil war. By
the measure of 1797 the prices of produce and
the rents of landlords were doubled, it was true;
hut it should be remembered that taxes were also
doubled, that outgoings of every kind were
doubled, and that therefore the landlords were
not a bit better off by the increase of rents. If
the standard should come down to what it had
been a century previous to 1797, the consequence
would be that the value of the property must be

reduced to one half what it is at present,' with
all the incumbrances still remaining. Taking
the incumbrances into account, such as dowers,
settlements, agencies, repairs, not to speak of
taxes, he would say, that the net income of land-
lords did not amount to more than one ha,lf the

nominal. What, then, must be the consequence
of a further reduction ? II was not the agricul-
turists alone that were distressed; let them look at
West India property ; the change of currency had
as great an effect upon that and every other spe-
cies of property as on the agricultural. Even look-
ing-at the labouring classes,he was disposed todraw
a different conclusion to that of thell on. Member for
Coventry, (Mr. ELLICE). He (Mr. W.) contend-
ed, that their situation must eventually be ren-
dered worse by the Bill of 1819. The price
of labour did not, it was true, immediately follow
the price of corn ; and in this way the alteration of
the currency had for a time an effect beneficial
to the labourer; but the moment the price of
labour settled down to the price of corn, the si-
tuation of the labourer would be rendered worse,
for he would be paid less for his labour, and re-
mai❑ still chargeable with the taxes, in a cur-
rency greatly increased in value. Never were
any effects so unjust, so disastrous, and so cruel,
as those produced to the public creditor by the
measure of 1797, and those inflicted on the pub-
lic debtor by that of 1819. If some person
more capable of doing justice to so important
a subject did not bring it forward, he should
feel it his duty to do so before the close of the
Session.—Mr. RICARDO differed in opinion from
the last Honourable Member, contending that

the present distresses of the country in the de-
pression of prices could not result from the
cause assigned by him, and instanced the West
Indian interests, which, he said, were suffering
in like manner from over-production; than which,
in the writer's opinion, nothing was ever less ap-
plicable to the corn markets of this country,
in which the writer maintains that no over sup-

ply of the commodity, or deficiency of demand,
has in the smallest degree operated.—Mr. G.
BENNET, M. P., for Shrewsbury, made many
strong statements on the subject then in discus-
sion : "He (Mr. B.) knew families, who, a few
years ago, had been possessed of 6 or 80001. a-
year, but whose incomes were now reduced to
1,2001., and that not from any extravagance of
conduct, but from the outgoings of their estates,
from the payments made to the younger branches
of their families, and from the difference in the va-
lue of landed property : so that, in fact, by the
operation of the measures which had been pur-
sued for some time, that class of persons which
had once lived upon their estates as opulent
country gentlemen, were now obliged to live in
lodgings in London or Bath, or to go abroad,
because they were unable here to afford their
children that education which, from their rank
in society, they had a right to expect, and which
they had themselves enjoyed. Whether there
was any remedy for this he could not say ; but
it was a joke, a mockery, (and he could not suf-
ficiently express his contempt for those who held
an opposite opinion) to say, that no relief would
be afforded to the country by reducing the taxes,
and enabling the landed proprietors to preserve
the small remnant of their property. If any
one would look to the state of the country, and
to the manner in which taxation pressed upon it,
it would be impossible not to see that the remo-
val of taxation would be the only effectual relief.
If the removal of taxation were not sufficient to
afford a remedy, then he was prepared to say,
that the first creditor of England was the plough
—and that, sooner than Gentlemen should con-
tinue to be robbed of their estates, and farmers
of the small pittance which remained to them, it
would be better to come to a composition with
the public creditor. This was bold language,
but he felt confident he should live to see the
measure put into execution ; and he felt equally
confident, that he should one day see the Noble
Lord and the Chancellor of the Exchequer come
forward and advocate that very proposition, at
the mention of which they now felt so indignant.
He spoke of this, however, as the last resource ;
and he should despise himself if he did not first
take every step to prevent its necessity, by en-
deavouring at the reduction of taxes and by every
possible means. But if, after all, the nation were
unable to pay the interest of the debt which it
owed, then he should not scruple, as a public
man, to ad-vise that which private individuals
were often obliged to do, viz. to pay as far as
they could go, and to make the best compromise
they could. He attended that House for the in-
terest of the community at large, and he thought
that the measure now recommended had but one
object, that of raising the price of corn,—and in
that object he could not agree."
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY reprobated in
very strong terms the language of the Member
for Shrewsbury ; but as every thing from Minis-
ters is of the highest importance, the writer will
give his Lordship's and Mr. PEEL'S speeches at
length, as reported in the Newspapers of the zlth,
of this month, and presume, to snake comments'
on them :—" The Marquis of LONDONDERRY
rose to offer as few observations upon what had
fallen from the different Gentlemen who had
preceded him. Nothing which he had heard
that evening had led him to think he had taken
an improper view of the subject, in considering
that the distress of the agriculturist would be
more likely to be relieved, if all discussions were
to be spared, and the consideration of the sub-
ject reserved for another opportunity, when some
practical measure might be proposed to the
House. But he appealed to the House, after
hearing the arguments which had that evening
been urged, whether the Gentlemen who had
spoken had not abandoned their duty, if, enter-
taining the views which they had professed, they
had suffered the Session to run on to its present
period, without endeavouring to carry into effect
those measures which they considered to be of
such essential importance. If the change of the
currency had been attended with all the evils
' which the Hon. Member for Essex supposed,
why had he not made it the subject of some dis-
tinct motion ? a motion in which he would pro-
bably have been seconded by the Hon. Member
for Coventry (Mr. ELLICE), who, although he
s had in the first instance voted for the Bill for

Cash Payments, had been immediately seized
with strong misgivings on the subject, and had
taken every opportunity since of notifying his
early repentance. But he (Lord L.) could well
understand why the Hon. Member for Shrews-
bury took a different view of the question from
himself. He (Lord,L.) had thought, that as
there had been no opportunity before the holi-
days of considering the Report, it would have
been better to defer the discussions on that sub-
ject until some benefit could arise from those dis-

cussions. But the lion. Member for Shrews-

bury had adopted a course against which he
(Lord L.) begged to protest ; for if he had
rightly understood him, the Hon. Member had
endeavoured to sound the public mind through
the channel of its distress, and to ascertain whe-
ther it would listen to the adoption of a line of

policy which would relieve no individual, but
would be attended with disadvantage to all ; for

✓
he had sought to discover, by touching its
weakest feelings, whether the public would be
base enough and dishonest enough to listen to a
plan of national bankruptcy, in case no relief was
afforded by the diminution of taxation. Every

one knew that the removal of the agricultural

taxes would operate on the distress of the farmer
but as a drop of water taken from the sea. The
country could not feel in any great degree the re-
duction of those taxes; nay, he would venture to
say, that if the whole system of taxation were to
be swept away, it would not afford any consider-
able relief to their distress. This was not the
first time that the Hon. Member had informed

the public, that it was the Government that stood
between them and their prosperity. With that

. .
view the lion. Member had made the Govern

ment answerable for all the changes of time and
seasons, for all the calamities and consequences
of war, and for all those unavoidable circum-
stances which were incidental to every country,

under whatever system of Government. The
Hon. Member might have taken a better lesson
from the Hon. Gentleman who sat near him (Mr.

ltrcanno), and who had so ably explained how
small a portion of the existing distress could be
fairly attributed to the pressure of taxation. It
was not now his intention to go into detail, but

he would say that any man, who had taken a ra-
tional view of the cause of that distress, would
mislead the country if he held out the supposi-
tion that any diminution of taxes would effec-
tually relieve them. He took this opportunity
of stating, that he did believe that one class of
the community was suffering ; but he never could
believe that they would, under any circum-
stances, concur in the views which the Hon.
Member had expressed. The security which
the Hon. Member proposed would, in fact, be
no relief at all ; for the experiment would only
have the effect of delay. But the House would
allow him to say, that the agricultural class was
the only class of the community which was now
suffering. Our manufactures were in a state of
activity and exertion, and our commerce was
flourishing in every point of view; the only
class which was suffering was the agricultural ;
that distress was not owing to Government, but

to the circumstances of the seasons. One Hon
Gentleman had asked how the country could
suffer from agricultural abundance ? It appeared
to him (Lord L.) sufficiently obvious, that an
abundance carried beyond a certain point had a
tendency to reduce the value of an article thus
increased ; and if the great staple commodity of
the country were reduced in value, every other
production of the soil would be reduced in pro-
portion. But if the Hon. Member looked around,
he would see that it was not this country alone
which was now suffering from agricultural dis-
tress. The same distress prevailed in different
parts of the Continent, and even in America, a
country where the Hon. Member would not ac-
cuse the Government of causing the distresses of
the people. Under these circumstances he hoped
that the House would adjourn for the recess
without adopting those doctrines which the Hon.
Member for Shrewsbury had so boldly and so
imprudently taken the opportunity of pronoun-
cing. The idea of a national bankruptcy was
one which common honesty and common justice
forbade them for a moment to entertain ; and he
thought that the individual holding it out held a
principle of ruin instead of consolation."—The
Noble Marquis, as one of the leading Members
of Administration, cannot be justly censured for
abjuring, in strong terms, every idea of national
bankruptcy, or of meditated ill faith to our cre-
ditors; yet, at the same time, it must be allowed
that, if taxes are not paid, the security of the
fundholders must necessarily be done away, and
if the landholders of the country are totally
ruined, as really and truly seems now in no
very distant prospect, taxes cannot be long
productive, and those consequences necessarily
follow. The question is not, whether we wish
to be honest, and to pay every one his dues, but
whether we have the means of doing so ; and al-
though the Revenue, from very obvious causes,
is now in a flourishing state, it is utterly impos-
sible it should long continue so, without a total
change of system ; the paper currency must be
restored, or the predicted consequences of ne-
cessity follow. The manufacturer, at this mo-
ment enabled to purchase his provisions at a
moiety of the prices he formerly could, has so
much more to expend in exciseable commodities,
which alone satisfactorily explains the causes of
our increased revenue. When he can no longer do
so, - that revenue becomes deficient of course.
Every reasonable and thinking man should con-
sider how long the agriculturist can supply the
markets at the present rates, and draw his in-
ferences accordingly. In the writer's humble
opinion, high taxes and low prices are totally in-
compatible, nor can both be possibly maintained
for any lengthened period of time. The writer,
however, perfectly joins with the Noble Mar.
quis when he says that all discussion was at that
moment premature, and that the proper considera•
tion of all such matters would be on some specific
motion, which it is understood is promised by Mr.
WESTERN.
" Mr. Secretary PEEL felt called upon to
make some observations upon what had been
said respecting the operation of the Bill for
the resumption of Cash Payments, although he
thought this was not a fit time to enter into any

discussion on that subject. He was prepared to
shew, when an opportunity arrived for that pur-
pose, that the agricultural distress could not have
arisen from the cause to which the Honourable
Member for Essex had attributed it. It was im-
possible to deny either the existence of- dis-
tress, or the great extent to which it had
reached ; but if, upon looking at other countries,
they found the same distress existing, it was but
fair to infer that the distress in this country might
be owing to causes different from that to which
it was attributed, especially when that/ particu-
lar cause was allowed to have no operation in
those countries which were subject to similar dis-
tress. He would ask if the agricultural distress
in Switzerland was not as great, if not greater, than
it was in this country ? In Switzerland, he had
been told it had arisen to such a pitch, that the
landholder was not able to purchase the custom-
ary tools used in the tillage of land. He might
urge also that if the Bill for the resumption of
cash payments had had the operation ascribed to
it, that operation would have been equally visi-
ble on every other branch of national prosperity.
The Bill had been opposed at one time on the
ground that, if enforced, it would be impossible
to raise the same amount of taxation. Yet that
objection had been falsified by the event, for the
same revenue had been raised as when the cur-
rency had been at the lowest point of deprecia-
tion. He only asked that the Bill might not be
tried by one particular class; let them look at
the state of manufactures at the comforts of ma-
nufacturers, and at the peace and tranquillity en-
joyed in the manufacturing districts; let them look
at the state of commerce in general, and then say if
unfair disguise had not been thrown upon the Bill?
These yet-narks he had been led to make from
what had fallen from different Members, and all
that he asked was that the house would suspend

its judgment till the subject had been fully- dis-
cussed."—The worthy Secretary dwelt consider-
ably on the existence of the same distress in other
countries, which, as he very properly observes,
cannot arise front the same cause—a change of
currency. But that would appear foreign to the
question. First, it should be proved that such simi-
lar distresses are actually felt, and next, the causes
should be investigated. The fact, in the writer's
opinion, would turn out, that by the occasional
opening of our ports to foreign grain, where prices
were so much higher than in other countries less
burthened with taxes, encouragement has been
given, by the chance of our markets being opened
to them, to a much more extended cultivation
than heretofore, and that now, when our ports
are shut against them, the over production of
that cultivation has fallen upon their own mar.,
kets, and necessarily caused the same depression
as is complained of here. That is, perhaps, more
especially the case with Russia and Poland, b.nd
possibly even with France. They cultivated for
our markets, and, unable to obtain them, their
over production fell back upon their own, and
occasioned the depression complained of: With
regard to the continuance, or rather increase, of
revenue, it seems wholly attributable to the causes
above assigned, and cannot be maintained, if the
agriculturists are ruined, for any length of time.
What the worthy Secretary says of the flourish-
ing state Of manufacture, has been adverted to
and answered before. If the manufacturer can
have his provisions at half price, and find mar-
kets for his commodities, he will certainly con-
tinue in what may be termed a thriving state; ,
but the continuance of that state is at' best doubt-
ful, and, indeed, in the writer's opinion, impos-
sible, for provisions cannot be afforded him at
their present prices, and cultivation wholly at
a stand ; the cultivator must be fed solely
by importation, to the utter and permanent des-
truction of the whole landed interest of this once
great and flourishing country. The writer has
many further observations to make on this ma- .
mentous subject, but feels that he has already but
too much trespassed on the time and patience of his
readers, and must therefore either reserve what he
may have further to say to a future opportunity, or
leave the whole subject as it stands to the feel-
ing and good sense of a candid and discerning
public. J. S.