The Sun.
London, England, 1822-07-17 00:00:00

PARLIAMENT,

HOUSE OF LORDS, TUESDAY, JULY 16.
To-day their Lordships did not meet till twenty
minutes to five o'clock when the Bishop of EXETER
read prayers.
Lord ERSKINE presented a Petition from certain of the In-
habitants of the cities of London and Westminster, praying
their Lordships to further the 111-Treatment of Cattle Preven-
tion Bill.—Ordered to lie upon the table.
The Fees of Courts Bill was read a third time, passed, and a
message sent to the other Muse ; and the London Bridge
Waterworks, and Scotch Spirits Drawbacks Bills, were read a
second time.
MESSAGE FROM THE COMMONS.
Mr. WEbTERN and others, brought up the Marriage Act
Amendment Bill, and added, that the amendments made by
their Lordships were agreed to by the other House.
CRUELTY TO ANIMALS.
The Order of the Day having been read for the second read-
ing of the Bill respecting the-111-treatment of Cattle,
Lord ERSKINE rose to support the Bill. He began by re-
ferring to the preamble of a former Bill, which had unfortu-
nately not experienced the concurrence of the House, but was
objected to generally on account of its reciting, that whereas
God Almighty had subdued the animal creation to the use and
enjoyment of mankind, the latter were bound, in consequence,
not to oppress but protect the animals so subjugated 'to their
use. Whatever some persons might be persuaded to think
and do, he had no hesitation in assuring their Lordships
that his sentiments on this subject were unaltered and unal-
terable. He felt indeed the difficulties which were started
in the way of the preamble of the fonner Bill, but it con-
tained an important truth, and, at any rate, its language was
agreeable not only to the humanity, but also to the religion of
an enlightened age. Granting this, he felt no difficulty on
another score; all their LordshipA knew the principle of the
present Bill, and, what was more important, he believed that
all the world agreed in it. Difficulties, if there existed any,
might be removed by permitting the measure to go into a Com-
mittee. He held the protection of animals to be an essential
part of the chity of civilised man ; it was by every good man
esteemed to be so ; but it was better, in the present state of so-
ciety, to pin this opinion, though undisputed in moral theory,
on the records of Parliament, which, in effect, was the great ob-
ject of the present Bill. It involved no such preamble as had
been opposed in the former Bill ; it contained nothing like it ;
and their Lordships were not, by the present Bill, included in
the protection of the whole animal world.._ (A laugh.;—There
was already a precedent for the Bill; another Bill had passed.
for regulating the parish of St. Marylebone, which prohibited
the pastimes (such pastimes I) both of bulfbaiting and cock-
fighting, and this very Bill was supported in the House of
.Commons by the desire of all persons of property and respecta-
bility in that parish. It was an abject of the Bill to prevent
the infliction of wanton cruelty on the animal 'creation, as sub-
. tried to man ; and if he were asked for a definition of that
epithet,, his interpretation would be--cruelty inflicted on =l-
imas for cruelty sake; not aceiiental hardship, not even a
cruelty per necessitate, but that very intemperate or malignant
cruelty, which, imitating the old enemy of mankind, went about
with a ferocious thurst for revenge, and in that appetite was
prepared to devour or immolate the most unoffending of the
Creator's works. Never had he himself found a case wherein the
owner of an animal was guilty of cruelty to that animal ; it was
always the person or persons who were employed by the owner.
some years ago, when it happened that, he was generally
known, he thought it necessary to interfere with a man dis-
covered in kicking a horse ; when the defence set up was, that
he (the offender) might do what he pleased with his own pro-
perty. He was answered, that he might legally do so, but that
morally he was entitled to no such right. His observation was,
that he had done the laWyer. But it was shortly found that
this monster was not the owner of the horse; and he (Lord E.)
had afterwards the satisfaction of receiving the thanks of the
owner of the horse. He trusted that their Lordships would
suffer the Bill to go into a Conainittee. •
The LORD CHANCELLOR objected to the principle of
the Bill, which he did not-consider a proper principle to legis-
late upon, but he should not object to the second reading,
meaning to oppose the Bill on the commitment.
The Earl of LAUDERDALE also intimated his intention
Of opposing the Bill on the commitment, being of opinion that
it was not fitting foi Parliament to legislate for the purpose of
teaching men their moral duties.
After a few words from Lord ERSKINE, the Bill was read
&second time, and committed for to-morrow.
SMALL NOTE BILL.
The Earl of CARNARVON, on the Order of the Day for
the third reading of this Bill, rose to give the measure his sup-
port, If the passing of this Act tended to throw an increased
quantity of money into circulation, if it caused the amount to
approximate more nearly tn that which 'circulated when agri:-
culture was more prosperous, in so far its effects would be be-
neficial. As, however, the notes of the country bankers were
to be payable in gold, the bill could have this effect only in a
very slight degree. The bankers 'would not venture to issue
more notes than they would be able to find specie for on any
sudden emergency. Ile did not think; therefore, that the pre-
sent measure would have any material effect in counteracting
Mr. Peel's As, however, he could anticipate no evil
'from it, and as, in as far as it would operate at all; it was
likely to do good, he should give it his support. Ile could not,
however, refrain from reminding their Lordships that this was
the only measure which had been brought forward for the re.
liefof agriculture. He should be told that that distress was
caused by superabundance of produce, but he could prove that
there was no superabundance. He could 'show that the dis-
tress followed the alterations in the currency, in the strict rela-
tion of cause and effect. It was, indeed, curious, that the
country should be supposed to become more productive pre-
cisely in the inverse ratio of the issues of the Bank of Eng-
land. A large issue of Bank-notes and Exchequer Bills de-
stroyed, it would seem, the genial character of the climate of
England ; but as soon as they were withdrawn, then there was
everywhere a superabundance. As men grew older they were
said to grow wiser, but it was very odd that the belief of all
ages that seasons of abundance were blessings to a country
should now be discovered to be erroneous. In the other
House of Parliament he had concurred in passing many laws
which had for' their object to encourage agriculture ; but now
it appeared he ought to regret his labours, for he was told
that abundance of produce was a great evil. The Chancellor
of the Exchequer, he believed, was no conjuror ; yet his
operations in concert with the Bank had such a magical effect
on the country, that agricultural distress, like a vegetable/Irani-
pire, spread its terrors in every direction. The Noble Lord
then proceeded to quote from tables of prices current, the re-
turns of cattle sold in Smithfield, the wheat in Mark-lane, and
other documents, statements to show that the state of the cur-
rency had alone influenced the rise and fall of produce. When
the circulation diminished, the prices were low ; when it in-
creased, they were high ; and agricultural prosperity had fluc-
tuated with the currency. The Noble Lord next quoted the
prices of the contracts of provisions for the supply of Greenwich
Hospital from the year 1744 to the present time, to show that
transitions from war to peace had never before had any extra-
ordima effect, and that there was no such thing as high war
prides and low peace prices. In fact, his quotations shewed
that the prices, in so far as there was a difference; were lower
in., war than in peace. He then adverted to the increase in the
price of wheat, which was
.principally governed by the quan-
tity of circulating medium in the country. This was clear from
a reference to the prices of 1814, and down to 1819, since which
they had been declining, owing entirely, as he contended, to
the financial operations of the country, particularly to those of
the Bank during that period. Early in the year 1816, the Go-
vernment, owing to the then alarming depression of agriculture,
and the failure of several of the country banks, increased the
circulating medium of the country by a large issue of many
millions of Exchequer-hills, which at once relieved agriculture. Unfortunately, however, in1819,-came Mr. Peel's Bill, which,
,by the immediate contraction of the circulating medium, at
once affected and depressed the agricultural interests. If they
examined the question, they would find that this successive al-
teration and fluctuation of the currency not only operated on
the agriculture of this country, but on the general transactions
of other countries, by the effect which the purchase of the gold
for the-Bank had upon their particular commercial arrange-
ments, and so far altered their ordinary standard of value
as generally to affect commercial operations. He then
turned his attention to the state of Ireland, which before the
famine affected that country was exposed to a state of calami-
tous insubordination—hence came the suspension of the Habeas
Corpus Act, and the Insurrection Act. With small farmers
spread over that country, it was impossible for such people to
withstand a bad season ; but there were other evils, and not the