The Sun.
London, England, 1827-06-07 00:00:00

which, under the name of trade and commerce,
does more mischief than any other. This sort
of gambling is usually carried on by means of
confederacies of persons called speculators;whose
plan it is, like certain ingenious persons at races
and fairs, to occupy people's attention with some
absurd and ridiculous story, while some of those
in the secret turn the pockets of the credulous
public inside out. At present, this game is pretty
briskly carried on in the hop trade by persons
who spread the most extravagant and unfounded
reports of the failure of the present crop, by
means of the fly and other calamities. In this
way they expect to raise the price of the article
so high as to enable them to realize enormouspro-
fits by the dispOsal of their stock on hand, and as
we have been accessary to the exposure of so gross
a delusion,we have, in consequence,fallen under the
especial indigation of the speculators. At the
sale to which we have alluded, it was thought
proper, as a precautionary measure, before going
into the business of the day, to examine whe-
ther any Reporter connected with the Morning
Herald was in the room—and on the fact being
' ascertained that no such person was present, the
discreet and honest speculators felt themselves
more comfortable, and ventured to talk big.
Even the auctioneer indulged in a tirade against
Ithe " unfounded paragraphs," which he said
" carried their own antidote along with•them."
Now this Cicero of the rostrum ought to have
known that it is quite a superfluous task to set
about refuting statements which refute: them-
selves, but at the close of his speech he showed
how closely folly and cunning tread on each
others heels, for he let out the whole secret
which it was his intention to conceal. After
declaring that our paragraphs with respect to the.
speculations now going on in the hop trade
were unfounded, he exclaimed that " the dealers
in hops had as much right to speculate as other
persons." In order to show that he would avail
himself of this privilege, he went on to state that
" all the accounts from Kent were most unfavour-
able, notwithstanding the assertions of the Editor of
the Herald, and a gentleman just arrived from Kent,
now in the room, told him the fly was extending its
ravages in a very dreadful manner." Now, admit-
ting that all the dealers in hops have a right to spe-
culate in the article, surely they can with no show
of reason deny that we have a right to expose their
speculations, if we please. If they, in aid of their
speculations, tell the public that the fly is ravag-
ing the hop-bins in every direction, we have a
right to tell the public not to believe them. If they
will tell extravagant fictions to delude people and
to raise the market, we have a right to tell sober
truths, which may put unsuspecting people on their
guard. We observe that on this occasion, there was a
person of the name of Philip Wood (stated to be a
brother of the Alderman), who having, with great
prudence and foresight, ascertained that no person
belonging to the Morning Herald was in the room,
took occasion indirectly to compliment us by the
bitterness of his censure. Whether he is himself a
speculator in hops, we cannot say; or whether he
acts for another—but this we know, that until Mr.
Philip Wood can conjure over a flight of *locusts
from the Desart, to feed upon the hop plantations of
Kent, he had better not ,calculate upon the exorbi.;.
tant profit of the fly apcnlation. We do not believe
Mr. Philip Wood to' be a conjuror, any more than
Mr. Humble, who said that if the speculation in
hops were prevented, 'the." Stock-Exchange might
as well be shut up t " 'lf these sapient gentlemen
hold shares in any of the -Water Companies, we
fear that after consuming every "green thing" in
Kent,_ they may,. 4.)Y7 -watof speculation, set the
Thames on • .
What is tolre doite for Ireland ? For a solu-
tion to this queAion, Which has been put until
it grates on the ear of patience, the greater part
of the public look with somewhat--of the • same
degree of hope, that they (19 Idt The discovery of
the longitude, or the squaring of the circle. The
introduction of a few of her Barons, and a few
more of her Commoners, who profess the popu-
lar faith, to seats in high places,: i'nay soothe the
irritated feelings of her arisoeritcymay lull the
noise of her orators-y. break .up her Ca-
tholic Boards, and distilWitS r{.6-4 ; but will
her ignorance—her lawless "fiabits--,-her naked-
ness—and her misery—belessened by the pro-
cess ? To Protestantise her children—to win
the ragged tenants of the Bog
.of Allen from the
Pope to the Parson—to banish the Priests, the
Mass, the Crucifixes, and the Confession—may
afford much matter of thankfulness to the Mis-
sionaries and Methodists; but will conversion
give capital or confidence to her merchants, or
food and clothing to her labourers ? And, in
the constant warfare of poverty. against wealth,
and hunger against abundance, will the struggle be
less violent beeause of any change in the abstrac-
tions of a creed ? What, then, is to be. done for
Ireland ? We fear that the best measures that
can be proposed must be alterative rather than
remedial ; and that it is not by one act, nor in
one season, that causes, which have been cen-
turies in operation, are to be subdued. In
reasoning on the mode of bettering the condition
of a kingdom—a task which demands no small
prudence, and no small wisdom—too much care
cannot possibly be used in the exclusion of
every thing hypothetical. The subject is of too
vast importance, the interests at stake too great,
and the consequences of rashly theorising too
grave. Experience, the teacher of the wise, is,
in such a case, more especially to be consulted.
If there be any nation whose history may be ac-
curately traced, which, at one period of that
history, presented a picture similar to that pre-
sented by Ireland now, and which at this present
moment exhibits a picture of tranquillity and
order nearly unexampled—such a nation will
furnish us with precisely that species of expe-
rience that the concoction of measures for the
relief of Ireland demands. Now, it so happens
that there is such a kingdom, and that it is nei-
ther distant in place, nor foreign in manners, but
forms a part, and no small part, of ourselves—
we allude to Scotland. Let usgo back some cen-
tury and a half, and what was the condition of
that country ? Her feuds were as numerous and as
deadly as those of Ireland—her religious dissen-
sions burnt with even fiercer zeal—thefts, rob-
beries, murders, acts of open violence, and
of secret wrong, were ripe in every corner
of the land—capital she had none, commerce
none, agriculture of the lowest and most wretched
description. According to a statement made by
a writer of most unimpeachable honesty, there
were not less than 200,000 of her inhabitants
who gained their living by beggary and plunder ;
and, to complete the parallel, such, with a few
far-distant and brief intervals, had been her con-
dition for several centues. So desperate, in-
deed, did the condition of Scotland appear, that
Fletcher, of Saltoun, the steadiest and sternest
of patriots, in giving the above-mentioned state-
ment of the number of sturdy beggars, so indi-
cative of the poverty and lawlessness of his coun-
trymen, to whom, notwithstanding, no man was
ever so enthusiastically attached, could think of
no remedy for the evils that prevailed among
them, but a recurrence to the ancient system of
" villeinage, the conversion of all labourers into
adscripli glebae ! This is one picture of Scot-
land. Is that of Ireland worse ? With all its
aggravations we think it is immensely better,