Star.
London, England, 1815-01-13 00:00:00

METING OF LANDHOLMRS OP FAR•
1 mkitiOF •vll.m. •

•
Friday last, a Meeting of Land Owners and Occu.
piers of Land, washela at the ToWii Hall, Warmin-
ster, convened by •publit 'advertisement, signed by.
JOHN BERM'S', Esq. of Pyt-house (the Gentleman who
gave such long evidence before the Committees of
both Houses of Parliament in favour of the Corn-
Bill), and several other land owners and farmers of
the county of Wilts, to take into consideration the pro-
priety of presenting petitions to both Houses of Par-
liament, on behalf of the Proprietors and Occupiers of
Land.
THOMAS GROVE, Esq. of Fern, one of the Gentle-
men who called the Meeting, having taken the Chair,
Mr. Bourn' addressed 'them at very considerable'
length in favour of a petitibn, that he submitted for
their adoption, expressive of the serious injury already
sustained by the farmer, and the probable retell likely
to fall upon the landholder, arising from the reduced
and low price of corn. The .petition further stated,
that as the agricultural interest was blended with that
of the tradesman and mechanic, the latter were invited
,to join in its support, and add their signatures there-
to. Mr. Benett insisted, that as the evidence given
'before the Corn Committees had never been contra-
' dieted, the Legislature were bound to afford the agri-
cultural interest their protection ; and, enforcing the
necessity of Parliamentary interposition in favour of
'the landed interest, he said, that unless some measurers
were devised to enable the farmer tovay his present rent
and taxes, the landholderswould be completely ruined;
and be solemnly declared, that, unless this desirable
object was carried into immediate execution, he, for
one, would be under the absolute necessity, before
that day twelve-month, of keying the country with his
family, to reside where provisions and all the neces-
saries of life were to be obtained at a rate within the
reach of his fortune.: The Motion. was briefly se-
conded by Mr. BefiempiOattorney.
Mr. HUNT begithWAating his objections to the
Meeting altogether;isserting, that if the Meeting was
not illegal, it was highly improper for a few indiii-
duals of a particular class to call a Meeting to peti-
tion Parliament in tevour of tradesmen and mecha- '
nics, without giving them an opportunity of attending
to 'decide upon its propriety. This was a close meet-
ing of landholders and farmers ; many respectable
tradesmen, inhabitants of the town, would have atten
ded, but they were told they had no business there,
not being landholders or farmers. This Meeting,
therefore, bore a resemblance to a a'Conlave cif Car-
dinals with closed &Ors." Instead of calling a
Meeting like this, why not call i public County
Meeting, and meet the question manfully and openly ?
One reason against this was, that at an open County
Meeting even Mr. J. Benett would not be so hardy
as to bring forward a petition, the sole Object of which
was the keeping up the price of corn, under the cloak
of its being.* petition in favour of the tradesntan and
the mechanic. In fart, this was a petition especially to
benefit the landholder ; even the -fiirmee was of se-
condary consideration, and it was decidedly hostile
to the interests of every other class of society ; and If
acted upon would prove ,ruinous to the little trades-
man, the mechanic, and the labourer. The landlord
• had met with no reverse since the commencement of

the. war—his rents had progressively increased, in
proportion as the rest of the community had suffered
privations ; the nearer the mechanic and labourer had
approached to starvation and beggary, the higher
were the profits, and the more efficient the means, of
the landholder. This was no theoretical proposition,
'hastily introduced ,• it was a practical truism, the re-
suit of careful and recent enquiry. He would read
to the Meeting an account of the population of the
parish of Enford, a large parish in the centre of the
'county of Wilts, with a comparative statement of the
rise in the price of labour, the price of bread, and the
,price of land, within thelast thirty years. The num-
ber of houses was 143, inhabitants 656 ; of which
number 250 were farmers, tradesmen, and their fa-
Milies, 2011abourers and 205 labourers not paupers.
About 30 years back, the labourers in this parish re,
ceived 6s. per week ; at this time they received 81:
per week-30 years back, the quartern loaf averaged
abort sd. ; at this time it is 10td.-30 years back,l
the labourer could purchase with his week's pay, €l.
fourteen quartern loaves ; now be can only purchase
with his 'week's pay, Bs. nine quartern loaves—about
30 years back the principal farm in this parish, then
belonging to the late Mr. Benett, of Pyt•house, in this
connty,'was let for £4OO a year ;, at the present time,
this farm, the property of Mr. J. Benett, of Pyt-hoose,
is let for ,Mega year. Thus h 'clearly appears in
this parish irithip the last SO years, labour has risen
, from • 6s. to k per week, SS, per cent ; the quartern
loaf from 45d, •to loid, 105 per cent. ; the rent of
land from £4OO to £1260, 21Sper cent. This 'fovea
that bread has risen within, this period more than three
times as much 'as labour, and land she the, twice
as much as bread, and more than six tunes is much
as labour. At the present price of laid; coral bread,
and labour, the landlord is benefited three times as,
much as the firmer, and six times as much as the la.',
bourer.—[Mr, *Blain'? here sai', that he had, since
the period mentioned by Mr. litfpro purchased
tithes, and added them to the farm, which was in; 1!.•
ded in the relent reit.]—Mr. HUNT' replied, that. '
was perfectly aware of this circumstance, as well
of another thictunst.lnce equally impatant, wlii
was, that Mr. Benett had taken a considerable pot:,
tin of the best land from this farm, and added si to
another, whict, produced a greater rent than the Value
of the kobes, therefore the balance was more in favour
of the landlord than he bad stated.. He had men:*
boned this particular farm, as it. belonged to Mr.
Benett, the proposer of the present measure ; but
from his own knowledge (having an estate himself inl
the same parish) he could state, that the land had'
risen in the same, and in some instances is a hi* se
proportion. He, therefore, puticulasly•eajoinathe'
farmers to pause before they gave • their sanction toss
measure, which only had for its object the benefit and
aggrandisement of a few rapacious lapdhulders; whilst
it was calculated to &ft the odium. a a dear loaf off,
their own. shoulders, and &it upon-tbe back of the
Fanner. i
• Mr. Bury; followed on the same side, exposing
the fallacy of atte.mptior to Wm. upot! then ail%
a • petlon, protesting to have for its object the wee.
fare ia the tradesman and the mechanic, whilst the
operation of it would tend to perpetuate the misery
' • ' they bad so long endured.
Me.,?Ata kixTunfor, ipi le of the Representatives

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