The Sun.
London, England, 1844-03-06 00:00:00

TENANT FARMERS AND TAX-.

PAYERS.

TO TIIE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

am a farmer's son, and I do not think there
see many farmers' sons in the country who hive exerted
themselves more than I have to place Sir Robert Peel
and the Conservatives in power, but if I ever do so
again, may God forgive me.
Sir, we have been deceived, sacrificed, plundered,
robbed. - -

I have had a little leisure lately to investigate political
manoeuvres to the bottom, and, perhaps, you will afford
me space to show how this has been done.
Suppose a farmer has taken a farts of 200 acres, at a
rental of 30s. per acre, and with a reliance that his land-
lord and Members of Parliament would suppoit a corn-
law that shall maintain for his corn the average price of
Bs. per bushel.
The average annual produce of an acre of such land in
22 bushels, which, with corn at Bs. per bushel, is 8/. 16s.
per acre. Suppose that his landlord and M.P.'s (having
thus let the farm and made promises) " turn round,
jump " Janies," (aye, and jump " Robert,") and support
a Minister and measures that shall reduce (and have
reduced) the value of his corn to 6s. 6d. per bushel—and
this, mark, without passing any measure declaring that
the rents agreed to be paid should.fall in proportion to
the fall in corn, as tested by the averages ;—this differ-
ence of ls. 6d. per bushel is 335. per acre for the 22
bushels, or 3301. per year! being 30/. more than all the
rent agreed to be paid
Now, all this has, on the average, been filched from
the pockets and capital of the tenant farmers of this
country, and no wonder is it that the Bank of England is
full of gold, and that the farmers of Ireland and Wales
have become seditious, and that those of England are
fast becoming Liberals, at being thus hocus-pocused out
of it. This gold in the Bank is nothing more nor less than
the draws, and gains, and savings of the great moneyed
capitalists, sinecurists, and even landlords, by the last
notable introduction of the " Conservative" Premier's
" prinetple of cheapness." I will show how this is
effectect-for, even the latter (the landlords), and there
can be no doubt upon that of the former. (The gains
and savings of the moneyed man and sinecurist, from
buying things so much cheaper, are without any draw-
back whatever, if the matter of the income-tax be ex-
cepted ; and even in this case the farmer or other pro-
ducer is called upon to pay it as well as he.)
With corn at Bs. per bushel, it took from the farmer
750 bushels to pay his rent of 3001. With corn at 6s. 6d.
per bushel, the landlord extracts from him 923 bushels.
Suppose that, in imitation of the crafty rremier, the
landlord makes for one year a return of 10 per cent., he
still obtains 831 bushels, or a gain of 81 bushels, whilst
all the difference between the 750 or 923 bushels—
namely, 173 bushels, or about 20 per cent —becomes in
all subsequent years a permanent actual increase of his
rent. _ _ _ _

Thus the landlord pockets a considerable portion of
the farmer's total loss of 3301. per year each. He then
mocks him by telling 'him to " buy guano" (when his
money's gone), to improve his (the landlord's) land, and
to produce more.
Sir, the work has now been done, and I know suffi-
cient (having studied the laws that regulate the currency
as well as those that regulate corn) of what must inevi-
tably be the low price of corn under the present Corn
Bill, taken in conjunction with the spoliating Currency
Bill of 1819—a measure which made a difference of at
least 2s. per bushel, or 440/. a year to the tenant farmer
of 200 acres—that I would recommend every tenant
farmer in the country to join the Anti-Corn-law League,
provided the League will join them in forming an Anti-
Currency-law League, for the purpose of repealing
Peel's Currency Bill of 1819. By an equitable, and
sound, and enlightened Currency Bill, leaving gold to
find its actual level in value, like all other things, and as
they do in all other countries, in place of maintaining
for it a fixed or monopoly price of 3/. 17s. 10id. per
ounce, corn may be ensured on the average of seasons,
even with an entire free trade in it, at 7s. 6d. per bushel.'
Under the present monopoly given to gold, and the mere
abortion of protection to corn, and actual discourage-
ment to trade and consumption, it will not average 6s.
per bushel.
Sir, I see by an announcement in the papers, that
what is termed the Anti-League, is about to have " ri
great national meeting" at the Freemasons' Tavern, on
Monday next.
My advice to the tenant farmers is, be cautious and
yet awake—firm and resolute, and, if needs be, even
savage, or this " Great National" League of yours (?)
will prove to you " a great national" humbug. (What
are words put into the Dictionary for if they are not to
be used ?) If your landloids can succeed in putting you
against the League, in throwing you off the right scent,
in setting you to hunt and fight your fellow-producer and
fellow-sufferer, they will pocket the last gain of 17$
bushels or 20 per cent., without being seen, and comp
the same trick over you again in the course of a fe*
more years, when you shall, in obedience to the advicP
of your "friend," the Premier, have sunk the relics of
your capital in " guano" and produce more for them'!
At present they say they won't alter the currency lavis
in order to restore, or relieve, or do justice to both you
and the manufacturers, because, forsooth, the spoliating
law of 1819 was the handy-work of the man whose
slave they were, and are, and whose slaves they sti I
wish to be. For the same, and, in addition to this, t e
still more unworthy reason of direct pecuniary intere
they tell you to fight their battle for certain high ren s
for them, and uncertain prices, or rather certain lo'
prices for you. Tell them that you have been flew
once too often. Tell them that this won't do. T 1
them that they possess the power to see that justice s
done to the country, and that if they do not do it no ,
whilst they may save their estates, you will join tEe
League and they may lose them. Tell them that k y
maintaining Peel's law of a fixed or monopoly price for
gold, your produce has fallen from 10s. 6d. to 6s. per
bushel ; the manufacturers calico from 10d. to 4d. Or
yard ; and the labour of the silk, calico, and stocking-
weaver from U. 7s. to almost 7s. per week. Tell them
that by this hocus-pocus and "sliding down" in the money
value of almost everything, it now takes about double
the number of bushels of corn, and pieces of calico, and
L•,puirs, of stockings, and days of labour, and everythipg
;'else tkprovide for the taxation under Peel in time of
peace that it did under Pitt in time of war ! ! Tell them
this " great fact." Tell them that this has doubled the
value of Sir Robert Peel's funded property, of the Duke
of Wellington's property and income, and of Lord
Broun ham's and all other pensions and that you now
see through it. Tell them that you are thus made; to
pay nine per cent. interest for all the corn and labor,
&c., that were lent from 1797 to 1815, amounting to
600,000,0001. in declared value, and this whilst money/ is
at three per cent. ! Tell them that under the present
monstrous monopoly for gold, and no monopoly for
either corn, or manufacturers, or labour that is worth a
rush, you are being only cajoled, hoodwinked, eud
robbed. Tell them that that monstrous monopoly—the
Bank Charter—shall be broken up, now the opportunlty
offers, and that paper-money shall be advanced to, itnd
be owed to be issued by, all persons who deposit amjle
real security, and pay an interest of two-and-a-I)pH*
per cent. thereupon to Government for the privilege ;
and that the amount of the said notes shall be such' as
shall give the labourers and farmers, and operatives, and
manufacturers, an advance of 20 per cent. upon the
present unremunerating prices, and gold and silver' be
left to find their natural level in value.

Mr. Editor, by such a course the farmers and ma
facturers will force both the gold monopolists, with I
at their head, and the landlord monopolists, with Ri
mond at their head, to do justice. The farmer will
placed in the position he was prior to his last fleec
in 1842—the manufacturers will insure freedom of MI

in money as well as in corn.
Farmers ! demand that your League shall be an Anti-
Currency-law League, and Anti-Corn-law Leaguers rill
join it. Manufacturers ! assist the farmers, in an
Anti-Currency-law League, and they will join ur
Anti-Corn-law League. Both the gold lords an the
1,
landlords will then be forced—if shame itself do not the
work—to abandon both the spoliating Currency Bi of
1819, and the Corn-law Bill of 1815, as patched and i re-
patched until 1842. At present they are making the
tenants', and manufacturers', and shopkeepers' capital.
and the labour of the poor, at starvation wages, pay, for
the double taxes, &c., in peace as in war, and for their
rents, &c., being raised 50 per cent. in 1819, and again
20 per cent. in 1842, without the victims perceiving, the
hocus-pocus juggle by which it has been effected. I
You shall hear from me again.
March 1, 1844. A FARMER'S SO*.
P.S.—As there is nothing like being " up and doik,"
if those of the hundred thousand readers of The Sun,
who are either members of the League, Anti-League,
farmers, or advocates of a sound paper currency, secured
upon the property of the country, and approve of these
views, will address a letter to that effect through; the
columns of The Sun, a compact may be quickly formed
that will ensure justice being at length done to the
country. At present the sinecure and annuitant Class
of this country are getting 30,000,000/. per year more
than their just rights, and allowing foreigners to gain
a further 20,000,00/. by maintaining gold at the present
fixed price. • i
____

CHARGE OF MANSLAUGHTER.—On Monday a Jong
nquiry took place before Mr. Payne, the coroner, at the
workhouse, Mint-street, Southwark, relative to the death of
Elizabeth Hobbs, aged thirty, who, it was alleged, had' died
from a blow received from a man named Carroll, the landlord
of the house in which she resided, the particulars of which
appeared in The'Sun of yesterday. After the examination
of several witnesses, Mr. 'William Rendle, the parish surgeon,
said that he had made a post mortem examination of the
body, and he found several bruises about the head and face,
the most serious of which was behind the ear. He was of
opinion that concussion of the brain, the result of the blows,
and a simultaneous flow of blood to the brain, probably
arising from excitement or passion, was the cause of death.
She would not have died but for the blows. The Coroner
said, that as the jury might return a verdict of manslaughter,
it would be advisable to have Carroll apprehended before the
conclusion of the inquest, in order to bind over the witnesses
to appear at the next sessions to give evidence against him!
The inquiry was then adjourned until Friday next.