The Sun.
London, England, 1821-12-20 00:00:00

FOR THE SUN.

MINISTERS AND FARMERS.
Eni'ron----Whoever wishes well to his.
country must, I conceive, feel regret that mis-
representation and misapprehension enter so. much
into IGRICU,LTUIiAL atscussi,os, whether oral,
or of the Press.

The clamourers upon this subject seem to
think that the very highest state to which Agri-
culture, or I ought rather to say, the Agricultu-
rist, has been elevated by social, extraneous, or
artificial causes, was but the " natural level," as,
it is called ; whilst any retrocession from that ele-
vation, whatever the cause, is instantly attributed
to MI NI,TERS—" who have b, ought us into this.
situation!" But what is really the situation
into which Ministers have brought us ? One of
Peace, it will not be denied, for which Opposi-
tion were al ways so clamourous—one of Security, if
not of perfect tranquillity—and one of Plenty,
which, strange to relate, is absolutely the cause
of great part of what goes generally by the name
44 of Agricultural Distress." If Ministers, by
doing this, have realty reduced the nation to dis-
tress, why then, Sir, all that I can say is, that the
Opposition are free from blame, since the line of
politics which they have for so many years advo-
cated would never have placed us in this situa-
tion !

It is said, indeed, that the return to Metallic
Currency is a cause strongly operative. Well
Sir ! I cannot deny that Ministers must bear the
blame- of that ; for in my humble opinion Whig
Politics could never have brought it about ; yet
it is precisely that for which the Whigs were
most clamorous, and that too at a period when
the thing was absolutely impracticable, owing to
the demand for Gold in France, to the constant
importation of French produce, to the refusal of
NAPOLEON to admit English manufactures, and
to the consequent impossibility of paying the
balance of trade against us in one place, by Bills
for the balance due to us at another!
But is this return to Coin Circulation so very
injurious? I hope not; for The Morning Chro-
nicle, of last week, positively states that al-
though " the nominal value of Agricultural Stock
has fallen one-half "—yet " it is true the price
at which that stock would sell, would now pur-
chase nearly as many commodities as could have
been purchased by the former at high nominal
value !!!" What then becomes of that evil?
Why Sir, it must be as nothing ; for The Chroni-
cle adds, that " all this would he very well if
the Farmers were always free from debt "—aye,
there's the rub—but did Messrs. PITT, PERCIVAL,
or VANSITTA RT encourage them to get into debt,
to keep gigs, hunters, hounds, and carriagesoo
drink wine, and attend the races ? I fancy the
assessed taxes and the additional duty on Port
were no very great encouragers of that system !
Then comes the cry of taxation—but on that
subject I shall merely give one line and a little
bit from The Chronicle of the same day, which ex-
pressly states, urging it as a reason in discussion,
that " direct taxes on the- farmers are neither
many nor heavy"—but perhaps that may be
owing to MlNlsTEas—if so, I am afraid they
must again plead guilty !
Then, Sir, for the grand subject of complaint,
so lotidly brought forward at the SussEx MEET-
ING—Li mean POORS' RATES ! On that subject,
however, I shall be content to take one admis-
sion by one of the greatest complainers. Ile
told the meeting that he occupied the greatest
part of the parish in which he resides, and that his
rates are so heavy, he is obliged to employ the
poor, paying them whole wages for half
work ! But where is the generosity of that ?
Who does he relieve from pressure ?—Him-
self ! What else, indeed, but heavy poors'
rates can be expected, if an overgrown capital-
ist takes a whole parish into his own hands;
breaking up perhaps fifteen, twenty, or more
farming families, with all their attendant cot-
tagers, &c.; sending the old folks to the work-
house ; obliging nearly half the male working
population to seek work somewhere else, or to
go for soldiers, from which they are now sent
back by disbanding the army ; whilst the poor
girls had no resource left, but to come to town
to seek places, and, I am sorry to say, to fill our
streets !

Yet these men complain of Poors' Rates !
Sir, the answer to all this is short and simple.—
High prices produce high rents, concentration of
small farms into large ones, the cultivation of
poor land under wheat, by means of manure and
other expensive processes, and the application of
large sums of money to farming capital, making
that which had principally been the Master
LABOURER become the Servant. But High
Prices and an extra demand for Wheat, in pre-
ference to all other cultivation, no longer exist—
then their results must cease, and we must return
to a system more analogous to existing circum-
stances. How that is to be done shall be the
subject of another letter from—Your's,
IGNOTUS.

MEETING OF PARLIAMENT.—As the KING will
open the Parliament in person, the most exten-
sive arrangements are making by the Lord Great
Chamberlain, Lord GWYDYR, for the Royal re-
ception, on his MAJESTY'S first appearance before
the Parliament after the Coronation ; and, con-
trary to what has taken place for some years
past, they will be under his Lordship's sole con-
troul. The Lord Great Chamberlain, by virtue
of his office, has the government of the whole
Palace of Westminster, the Gentleman Usher of
the Black Rod, the Yeoman Usher, and Door
Keepers, being under his Lordship's command.
From this controul not having been heretofore
strictly enforced, considerable confusion has, at
times, arisen in the admission of visitors to the
old House of Lords, the Painted Chamber, and
other places through which his MAJESTY has to
pass. Various individuals had issued tickets, or
had been instrumental in procuring the admission
of spectators ; but at the approaching opening of
Parliament, none but the Lord Great Chamber.
Main's tickets si ill be suffered to gain an entrance
for visitors. A ticket and seal are preparing for
the express purpose ; and the issue of tickets will
be on the most liberal scale, as far as the same
shall be consistent with the dignity and comfort
of the proceedings on that day.

We have given in our preceding columns am-
ple extracts from the French Papers of Monday,
which arrived last night; and we regret to state
that they present a deplorable picture of the pre-
sent condition of Spain.—The probability of an
immediate rupture between the Porte and Russia
is again mentioned in the accounts from Germany,
strengthened by advices from Poland.

Advtces from Mexico to the 13th of October)
and from Vera Cruz to the 29th, have been re-.
ceived from Havannah, by his Majesty's ship
Raleigh. They leave no doubt that the inde-
pendence of Mexico is fully established, in the
form prescribed by the treaty of Cordova. On
the 27th of September a Regency was appointed,
consisting of his Excellency Senor D. AUdUSTI:4
DE ITurtuine, President, (Generalissmo by sea
and land of the Empire of Mexico), and of Senor
D. JUAN O'DoNo.ru, Senor D. AIANULL ItLIZ
DE LA BARLINA, Senor D. IsiDno YANEY, and
Senor D. MANUEL VELASQUEZ DE LION. A Pro-
visional Supreme Junta of the Government was
also installed with the greatest splendour and so-
lemnity, and took the oath to keep and cause to be
kept the treaties of the 24th of August. The
Bishop of PuEBLA was declared President'of the
Junta. The establishment of the Government
was followed by the nomination of the different
Ministers and Authorities, who were also sworn
to adhere to the stipulations of the treaty of Cor-
dova. The enthusiasm of the people on these im-
portant and interesting proceedings is described as
having been excessive, and several days were dis;
tinguished by public rejoicings and illuminations.
The castle of St. Juan de Ulloa, with a garrison
of.three hundred men,was the only place which still
adhered to the mother country; but it was expected
to surrender when called upon to do so by the Go-
vernment established at Mexico. A Commission
had been formed in Mexico on the affairs of Com-
merce, and was employed in arranging the terms of
intercourse with foreign countries. Few restric-
tions, it is understood, were to be imposed, the
design being to come as near as possible to free
commerce, with certain clauses in favour of Old
Spain.

The letters from Ilavannah state, that the
Spanish ship .of war the Asia had arrived at Ha-
vannah from Vera Cruz, with 2,000,000 of dui-.