The Sun.
London, England, 1820-05-31 00:00:00

FOR THE SUN.

Mr. ErnToa,—Your general attention to the
interests of the Connii:i, iit alt its branches,
irt-
duces me to hope that you. will give insertion to
the following Letter, which appeared in The
Maidstone Journal of Tuesday.

A FRIEND TO AGRICULTCRE.

[From The _Maids:one Journal.]

" Mr. Editor-Having been in the habit for
these last twenty years. of perusing your
intelli-
gent and widely cif-ciliated Paper, 1 ant induced to
request .your insertion of tire following letter:---
In consr-quence of a Petitiow to Government, sign-
ed by many of the principal Landholders in this
County, stating the difficulty they should find in
paying the Hop Doty at the present depressed state
of the Agricultural interest, Government were in-
duced to accommodate their wishes, by Order-
ing the payment of the Duty at three different
instalments. The Hop Planters felt grateful to
Government for the indulgence ; but to their
great surprise, they heard tinst on payment of
the first instalment a Ilond would be required, as a
security for the remainder. The hardship of this
measure was represented to Government, and
they felt little-doubt of being relieved trom the
expence of the bond, H. 3s. ; the hardship of
this is so apparent, part inularly to the little Pla.n-
ters, the security, in fact, being no better wrath
the bond than without it, that the Planters
still. hope that Government will order the ex-
pence of the bond to be deducted from the
next payment of Duty. In fact, it is well known,
that many of the little Planters, whose whole
.
Doty did not amount to ten pounds, had to pay'
It. 33. for this bond. In truth, it would ap-
pear that the Excise could hardly contemplate
the bond being insisted on, as in many cases they
had no bond for the Planter to sign, thotigh they
insisted on the expence of the bond being paid, nor
would the Excise even allow a certain number of
the very small Planters to' be included in one
bond. Government are, in tact, lending the Plait;
ter money at the rate of twenty -and thirty per
cent.: the expence of the bond, to large PiAnters,
may be of little consequence, but to the smaller
ones it is exceedingly oppressive. Surely Govern-
ment will grant relief in this instance—at present
the bond cuts with the sharp edge of Shylock's
knife.

" A HOP PLAN VER."

Anniversary of the birth of Mr. PITT Was
ce:ebtated'at Noryvkli, oTi Wbriay, by a ,:pletidid
dinner, at which 350 Nobltmen a:1(1 Gel:tit:men
wet e present.

Friday, the annual prizes of ten pounds each,
for young men and tmlidetis, were run for at Old
Wives Lees, and won by.— Beecham and
row, both of Faversham.
SHOCKING ACCIDI3NT.-00 the night of Satur-
day last, Thomas Taylor, a watchman, at a Alill,
in Stanningley, end one James Coates, called at
the house of James Dowgiil, to light a pipe, when
his trile was sat with a child across her knee, and
another at her breast. Taylor had a loaded
plsto! in his pocket, which he took out, and
Coates (who was it► liTior).observing it to be at
ton cock, said it was dangerous, and got it from
Taylor to place at half cock ; when It instantly
went off, mid di charged part of the contents,
consisting of shot, into one of the children., a. boy
Iwo years old, by which It was severely wonnd-
ed, and died on Sunday night. The mother is
also torch injured, but the other infant escaped
harm. The Jury, upon the Inquest, Irving sati,-
fied that the pistol discharged accidentally, le-
turned their verdict accordingly, o,nd Coates wes
set at liberty.—(Leeds Paper,)