The Sun.
London, England, 1833-03-23 00:00:00

AGRICULTURAL EMPLOYMENT

INSTITUTION.

PUBLIC MEETING.—(THIS DAY.)
A public meeting was held to. lay at the Freemasons'
Tavern, f the purpose of considering the objects of the
above Institution.
Various print-d documents were given out, from which
it appeared, that the object of the society was to obtain
waste land by gift, lease, or purchase, and allot it among
the poor, who are to he furnished with implements to cul-
tivate it, the cost being gradually repaid. From Parlia-
mentary returns it appeared, that there were in the
United Kingdom above fifteen millions of acres of
waste and uncultivated land ; since the establishment
of the S wiety the experiment had been tried in many
parts of the kingdom on a small scale, and the results
were found to be highly beneficial to the labouring po.
potation. In stating the causes which have led to so
[ouch distress among the labouring population, one
great cause was assigned, viz. that from the year 1690
to 1801, no l•ss than 30,034 cottages, each cottage pos.
s. ssing a portion of I mod, had been destroyed in eight
counties—B•dford, Ctrnbridge, Essex, Huntingdon, Lin-
coln, Norfolk, Rutland, and Suffolc—while the po-
pulation of those counties had nearly doub'ed. The
labouring population, therefore, had become most
wretched, and a great portion compelled to seek parish
relief. Lord Burletgh, in the time of Queen E izabeth, in-
traduced a Bid to prevent the taking away of the land from
cottages then existing, and enacting that not less than
four acres of land should be laid to all cottages i❑ future
built, in order, as the statute expressed, that the dweller
therein should be a yeoman, and not a beggar. During
the continuance of that act, the labouring classes were in
a more prosperous condition ; but it was revealed in the
midd'e of last century, and since then the same miserable
results had occurred as before the act was introduced.
The plan proposed by the Society is similar to that
adopted by the Dutch at Frederick's Oord, where it has
been successfully practised for some time past.
About 1 o'clock the Committee arrived, and Lord Ro-
BERT GROSVENOR was voted into the Chair. . .

The Noble Lord opened the business of the tneetiner by
stating that this was the first public meeting of the friends
of a Society which, he trusted, and indeed felt confident,
would from year to year inere.ise in public estimation and
public utility.—(Cheers.) Toe purport of the resolutions
which would be submitted to them, was first setting
forth the distress which all persons allowed prevailed
a neng tl.e labouring agricultural population, then showing
what, in the opinion of the Directors, had led to that
distress, and lastly, to show that the objects of the
institution were the most effectual in remedying the

grievance. He entreated a fair and patient hearing for
every gentleman who felt disposed to address them, whe-
ther for or against the plan proposed ; and he trusted that
no gentleman would introduce any party or political
topic, in order that it might not go forth that
the institution was founded from party principles, but
solely from that desire which all persons ought to have of
endeavouring as far as he could to alleviate the distresses
of their more distressed fellow suhjects.--Cheers.)
Mr. STURGEON then proceeded to read the report of the
proceedings of the institution up to the present period, and
had not finished when our reporter left.