The Sun.
London, England, 1833-04-23 00:00:00

Igeared that the wages of labour to agricultural labourers
was le. 3.1. per day, or 7s. 61. per week, in the dire-
years endine 1770 ; but that the price of labour, waen
depreciation was at It, atone, was ahoit 13s. 6.1. per
week hu• what in the mean time had be n the increase
, in the prier of the necessaries of life? Some of them
h d increased to 200 some to 300. and some to 400
per cent. Thus while wages bad risen only eb tut
100 per c-nt., the must common necessaries• of lit.
had increased from 300 to 400 tier cent. The poor
rates, which, in 1783, 1784, ofd 1785, hail 'wen li,t!•
more than 2,000,0001. had, in 1815 increased 5,724.600/.
being an incerase of 150 per cent. He now came to a periost
of the erearest appreciation, which was so much eorwleinned
by the Honourable Member for Whitehaven. On this
they-had the most conclusive evidence. They bad the
tables of the prices of provisions and the rate of wages to
mechanic,: in Greenwich Hospital, and they had the admi-
rable statistical tallies of Dr. Foreland, of GI ,SZOw. Dr.
Freeland sated that in Glasgow, bet ween'lBl3 and 1815,
the wages of mechanics were frein 2s. 6-1. to 3s. 9a. per
flay, that of weavers from Is. 6d. to Is. 91. per day. In
1830 the wages of m,-chanics had not fallen, hut that of
weavers had fallen (and this could be traced to other causes)
to 11d, In the latter there was a fall of from 15 to 20
per cent. ; in the former no reduction ; but what had
been the price of flesh and A tut.? There had been from
1813 to 1830 a fall of 77 and of 133 per cent. Brick-
layers in 1790 were paid 2s. 4d. per day ; in 1812, ss.
sd. ; aria in 1830, 4s. 2.1. Thus since 1812 these had
been a fail of only 10 per cent. on wages, while in tee
setne tune there hail been a fall of 33 per cent. on provi-
sion,. These facts tame important to show that the wages
of labour never rose in proportion to the money price of
commodities, and more—what was most important to the
working classes to know—that they at least would not gain
by this plan of depreciation of the currency_ny the sa s-
tein of confiscation and public robtiery These were the
words applied by the lion. Member (Mr. M. Attwood)
to the Act of 1819, words which he (Mr. P. Tuarnson)
would not admit to. apply to that Act, but which, if the
Hon. Member did admit, he must also admit to result
from his own proposition. He must admit, that who-
ever might have the shame of the measure, the working
people, so far from deriving any benefit from it,
would have incalculable misery entailed upon them.
The doctrine now maintained by the Hon. Member
was, that if once an inconvertible paper currency were
established, we should never return to cash payments.
That, be was sure, was a doctrine which would not find
in my advocates in that House. He was glad, however,
that it had been brought before Parliament, that it might
be set at rest. It was said that the landed proprietors
must suffer if this plan were not adopted, and that, of
course, they must benefit by it ; but how ? Could lie be-
lieve that any man of honour would seek relief by paying
olf all his fixed- engagemen's in a depreciated currency ?
Would their rents be better paid in that currencey than in
any other? But supposing their rents were raised, end
that all other things were raised in proportion, could they
purchase more of the enjoyments of life, than they could
command at present? They could receive relief in no way
but that which he believed every man of honour would
spurn. Then, as to the manufacturers and shopkeepers
how would it benefit them ? It would benefit them to the
extent of their stock oe hand, and no more. That might
ae to the extent of 5, or 10, or 20 per cent., or
whatever might be the amount of the depreciation. Toat
would be the work of a single day. When the next day
be came to purchase, he would find that his condition
wouol not be improved. Then, was there any other party
who could derive a benefit from it but the deotor ; and
why should the debtor be more an object of symp.kthy
than the creditor ? The creditor it was generally who
had amassed capital, and who had contributed to the
increase of the notional wealth, while the debtor might
have spent the money which he did not make. Why should
a duff-rent measure be held out to on? more than toe
other ? Who would accumulate property in the country,
if he thought that, at the end of 50 years, when he inieht
calculate on .enjoying the fruits of his industry, the Levis-
-I.ture might step in and reduce the value of his accumula-
tions one-half, anti that of a morbid sympathy for the poor
debtor. There was much capital in the country which
would always be applicable in it, but there was much :also
that might be •ransferted : let the experiment Now pro-
posed In- once tried, and away would go a large mass of
the capital which had tended so much to invigorate the
industry and add to the resources of the country. Tnis
was, in his opinion, the fair long-sigeted view of the ques-
tion. The quewion was one of depreciation or no depre-
ciation. The committee which the Han. Member called
for once granted, that must follow (he would not say that
it must necess oily follow as the result of that committee's
act-). but in the minds of the public it must follow, and
the effect mus be worse, trona the iact of the Hon. Mem-
ber leaving the extent of the oepreciation undefined. If
he had sam that it would be 5, or 10, or 15 per cent.,
men would he prepared for the result ; but leaving it
indefinite, be left them no ping to guide them. Every-
creditor in London would know it to-morrow, and
what would be the coos.vence ? An Hun. Member
had stated some time ago, that sucla was, the distress of
the country, that every second or third house from Coar-
ing-cross to the Exchange coutained an insolvent. Suppose
that to be the tact, what would the creditors ray when
they found a proposition et this sant entertained and a: reed
to by toe House? The creditor w,ulll go to his debtor
and say, " Pay me at mince, or I shall sell all you p -saes.;
and, though it 'nay be at a loss, that may be better than
the Ind-finite loss which I may sustain by waiting to ob-
tain payment in a depreciated currency.—(Hear, hear.)
I shall realm- what I can, and transfer it to a country
where the principle of depreciation may not be so much
in fashion."—(Hear, hear.) Wnat would be the situation
of the B ink, if this Committee. were appointed? Was
there a man who bad a Bank-note who would nut at once
endeavour to turn it into cash, that he might as much as
postible guard against the impending depreciation ?
(Hear, bear.) Why, the ink would not be dried on tae
papers which would give the report of their proceedings to
the public, before the ceuntly would present a scene of
general confusion.—(Hear, hear.) And for whom were
all this confusion, and loss, and misery to be enacted ?
Not for the benefit of the landed proprietors, for he had
shown that it could be of benefit to them only in one way,
of which no moan of honour would wish to t eke advantage:
—not for the sake of the manufacturers and shopkeepers,
for that the only advantage it would be to them would
be in the sale of their stock in hand, which would soon
be counterbalanced when t ey became purchasers—not for
the advantage of the mechanics and I.buurers, for he had
shown that so far from being a benefit, it would be to
them a decided loss ;—not for the fundholder, fur lie
would be plundered by it. The only party to whom it
could be of any benefit was the debtor, for whom he con-
ceived that it would he absurd and grossly unjust to make
such a change.—(Hear. hear.) There was only one point
more on whick be would touch. It was said that this
plan would cause a diminution of time pubic burdens ; but
was there no other and no more legitimate way of dimi-
nishing those burdens? Would nut a reduction of taxation
be a more direct and a more honest mode of relieving those
burdens ? Arid had nothing been recently done in that
way ? Upwards of 6,000,000/. had been reduced within
the last four years, and relief had thus bean afforded to the
people in a more upright and equitable manner than in the
way suggested by the present motion, because the public
creditor had not been deprived of that to which lie was
fairly entitled. The Hon. Gentleman had given utterance
to the oft- repeated fallacy that the creditor had gained
enormously by die appreciation of money. He very
much doubted the correctness of this assertion. Mr
Musket had shown, as clearly as could be done by
figures, that the public coeditor, instead of gaining by
the appreciation of money, was, taking into consideration
the loss he suffered during the depreciation, a loser to the
extent of somewhere about 44,000/. a year. He, objected
to the propositions of the 800. alamber, because he saw in
them the complete derangement of the whole commercial
and even social system of the country.—(Hear.) He be-
lieved that nothing but ruin and bankruptcy could follow
their adoption, and the hiss o' that high name for honour
and integrity which they at present possessed among
the nations of Europe.—(Hear, hear.) If they could
no longer bear the public burdens, or pay that which
was due to the public creditor, he should say, " com-
pound with him, exhibit the state of your affairs, say
that you are not able to pay the 28,000,000/. which
he at present receives; but do not adopt that which
was only a clumsy means of arriving at the same and,
—which carried with it a complete disruption of all
money contracts, and rendered insecure private and
puolic credit—(Hear, hear)—which would reduce to
beggary not only a few rich fundholders, as they were
termed, but no less than 275,000 public creditors, who
received dividends under 4001., and which would take
the means of livelihood from the widox and the orphan."
—(Hear, hear ) Let them avoid doing an act of that
kina, not only because it would inflict on the country all
the misery he had pointed out, but because in his con-
science he believed it would cause them to forfeit that which
ought to be as dear to a nation as to an individual, a good
name for honour and integrity.—(Hear, and cries of
" Adjourn.")

Oa the motion of Sir IL WILLOUGHBY, the debate
was then adjourned tlll to-morrow.

On the motion of Lord AIi4ORP, the House resolved
into a Cointnitte,, when the resolutions relative to the re-
ductiuu of trixation moved by the Noble Lord on Friday
last were reconsidered and agreed to.