Star.
London, England, 1822-06-12 00:00:00

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price
. had be
greater than in the present year; anctbad relied upon
that as a confirmation othis doctrine.• But the case
was, that 1812 was a year of uncommon scarcity,
and corn had been imported from all parts of Europe
into the port of London, but that corn was not con-
sumed by the inhabitants of London, but had been
conveyed to all parts of the kingdom. During the
whole period of the depreciation, the possessor of a
fixed income contributed equally with the landed pro-
prietor to the exigencies of the State—though in the
one case the landholder bad doubled his income,
and in-the other, if the property had been vested in
the Funds, the value had been reduced to a halt The
situation of the tenantry was more affected by the re-
sumption of cash payments, than that of the landlord,
as they probably bad borrowed the money in a &pre.
ciated standard, and must repay it in an improved one.
.The want of a fixed standard led to all kinds of ruin-
ous speculation's; and to tamper. with the standard
necessarily led to the insecurity of.property of eve' y
description. The Hon; Gentleman continued, there
could be no other measure of the depreciation while
it took place, than the difference between the Mint
and the market price. Should corn be adopted as a
standard of value, whenever any change took place
in the value of corn, the standard must likewise be
altered. The present was not that novel case that
had been represented by the Hon. Gentleman. At
the coinage in 1695, in the time of King William,
similar difficulties had occurred as at the present
day. The Right Hon. Gentleman here read an ex-
tract from the Shrewsbury Papers, in confirmation
of his opinion, which stated that the paper currency
had been greatly reduced, that the guineas bad risen
to thirty shillings, and that the steps taken to re-
medy the evil had, for a short time, a contrary effect.
In a letter from the Duke of Shrewsbury to the King,
in 1696, he stated the public distress from the unset-
tled state of the currency, and that only one person
had suggested, .as a remedy, that the Parliament
should sit in June—(A laugh)—and to let the clipped
money go out again ; and yet," the Duke added,
4, to do this will be to undo all that has been done."
That was exactly the course that the Member for
Essex proposed to adopt. At that time Petitions
posted in from all parts of the kingdom in favour of
the restoration of the clipped money, and-for an ad-
vance in the value of money. But the King, in his
Speech to Parliament avowed his firm determination
to maintain the restored currency, and the Commons
.subsequently voted that the standard ought not
to be altered. The depreciation of the money, at the
period he alluded to, was 50 per cent. at leasr. When
Gentlemen talked of England being ruined now, by
a return to a proper currency, was she alined by
the adoption of that wholesome measure in 1696?
On the contrary, though the change was more vio-
lent than any now proposed, the country not only
survived, but flourished beyond what it had done at
any former perio.l. But such a proposition as that
recommended by the Honourable Gentleman could
not be adopted without a certainty of serious con-
vulsion. Did not the Honourable Gentleman see
that till his measure could be adopted all dealings
would be suspended ; the guinea would be raised to
thirty shillings, and the silver coin raised in value in
the same proportion; the p2per would be depreciated,
and if the Committee was thii night appointed, the
whole country would to-morrow be thrown into con-
fusion, and all business be suspended? Looking to
the importance of this subject, and to the serious
consequences which would result from tampering
with the currency, he should feel that he did not do
bis duty by merely proposing a negative to the Ho-
nourable Gentleman's motion; but he should think it
his duty to move, as an amendment, that the House
should adopt the Resolution of 1696, namely, " that
this House will not alter the standard of gold or sil-
Ter in fineness, value, or denomination."
Lord A. HAMILTON *said, at that hour of the•
nighl—(A cry of ,c Adjourn !")—it was not his in-
tention to detain the House long. If it were true,
that the country was in a state of prosperity, the
speech of the Right Hon. Gentleman might apply,
but unfortunately the country was not in that state.
He was disposed to think inquiry would lead to a
justification of the measure proposed by his Hon.,
Friend. It was too obvious that .the payers of the'
National Debt were paying more than they ought to'
pay. The tenantry were unable to make the landl
pay for labour, and in supporting the proposition he,
was desirous to do something for that class. He
was not so absurd as to suppose the proposition
would produce the ruin or confusion of the country.
They had heard in that House that the lands were
mortgaged to thepublic creditor. That meant that
lands might be seized io, payment of public debt.
They had heard of public faith, but was public faith
due to none but the fundholder ? He was persuaded
there were others who had claims upon public faith.
He had always felt that theGovernmentcould only
come to wisdom by stultifying themselves, with re.
ference to former acts and proceedings. A great part
of the suffering of :he farmers was occasioned by a
departure from the best principles. The state of the
country was such that matters were growihg worse,
and they never could remedy the distress of the agri-
culturists by telling them they must bear with pa-
tience all the miseries which oppressed them. He was
not disposed to reduce the standard, but helv?shed
to support the motion of his Hon. Friend, in the hope
Aat inquiry might be the means of throwing the
'burden of (listless on the whole bulk of the People,
tither than on one class.
Ac the conclusion of the Hoe. Bilombar's speech, several Hem-
s exclaimed, " Adjonrn! Adjourn!"
The' Marquis of LONDONDERRY said, if it was the fee-
l.' of the House that the question ought to be adjouined, it
would be advisable to adjourn forthwith. At the same time he
felt that considerable inconvenience would arise if the country
WAS. kept in suspense upon the subject. The Noble Marquis did
not feel that any consideration ought to induce the. House to
adoptthe inquiry recommended, and he should therefore wish
to mac ib s deelsioa, damask tist debate shot* last tu hut.

;
et.;

ere.
ddh!lledbeeNtlinar ruin' reed
baniulap4 Of .ylihreaten e clam fettle:tors, who*their fah
Iniusitlige the very of Empire.
“. Drip* alLetodWiditlese calaMitiee, year Pesiiesidts eau.
not view, withers! had lion, the..gsomisdsapplication of the
natienel resources semoloyeff , to estioldish a forylipt. hilineace- in
your tionnorable Wale, which has been openly avowed: and is!
blushingly ',defended ; by which their itepresentativ* are' se-
duced from their duty, the spirit of ;he Constitution is alolatt.d,
ant ever attempt at efficient rewenclunentssimmifidly daded.
" leer Pedidpiers call upon year lioneutplsie Hobsettridsake
off this beneful Inffnence which has hitherto paralysed sli;yeur
prOceedines, and to *give them, in Rath still in truth, &it )4.--
trenehment and inform wWch the critical situation of thecae's.'
. • sod• the theses h,-year fienobrabie House imperbass!,
Maid, which aims tankesitotilor gauntry from coalmines glen
stability, to the Throne, And perpetuate the Constitution.-
Mr..RIDER suppected the Petition. The main
causes of the calarnisiel finder which the country la-'
bowed, he said, might be traced to an imprudent
alteration of the earrenoy, an overwhelming taxa--
tion, and, though last not least, a total disregard of
the'prayers and petitions of the people. What had
been the fate of the prayers and complaints of the.
people recently preferred to Parliament? Why,
their petitions had been read, had been laid on the
table,„or perhaps under the table-`(Applause).—But
what else ha.: been done? Had any attention been
paid to them—had any redress been granted? None,
none whatever. The people, however ignorant of the
proceedings of Parliament, at least knew this, that
their petitions were not attended to—that they prof
duced no beneficial change in their favour---(4t-
p/asrse).—There was, however, a remedy, which, if'
tried, would prove beneficial—be meant Parliamena
tart' Reform. Without this, as had been ably stated
in the Petition, the country must necessarily be ruined.
The Requisition by which the Meeting was convened
had been signed by upwards of 450 of the most re-
spectable4anded proprietors of the county; and yet
it was urged that the cause of Reform had never
been* advocated by persons of respectability. If there
were no other contradiction„ that Meeting would give
the lie to such an assertion- (Loti'd applause).—There
were attached to the late Requisition, independently
of the Noblemen already mentioned, the names of
169 Gentlemen, who possessed 50,000 acres of land
in the county.
The Earl of DARNLEY felt it incumbent upon him
to offer a few observations upon the present Petition.
He did not mean to say that Parliament was perfect,
or that he could place any confidence in its virtue, any
more than those persons did who stood around him;
but even if he did entertain such an opinion, still he
must say, that no relief could be afforded to the
public distress, except by a diminution of taxation—
(Applause).--It was out of the power of the Parlia-
ment to afford any relief to the public distresses by
any other means. This arose, not so much out of the
defects of the present, as of former Houses of Parlia-'
meat. It arose, in fact, from those former Parlia-
ments not ,having .exercised a vigilant and proper
controul aver .the expenditure of Ministers. This
carelessness it was that had brought upon the coun-
try the accumulated burden of debt under which it
now laboured. The great cause of the distresses of
the country was taxation, and of that they must get
rid in a great degree, or else they must sink under it.
,die regretted much having beard in a House of which
he was a Meinber, a Noble Duke, for whom he must
of course have the highest respect (as he was the only
person, with the exception of the brave Wellington,
who had within the last sixty years received the
'highest honours of the Peerage); he regretted, he
said, having heard. that Noble Duke declare, that
taxation fell but lightly on the farmer. This was
a doctrine which every practical man must repro.
bate. The farmer was .pressed down; not only by
direct, but by indirect taxation—(Loud applause).—
He paid taxes, not only on his hops, salt, leather, etc.
but he was met at every turn by indirect taxation—
(flear,Aear).—While be was obliged to sell cheap, he
was compelled to.purchase everything at a dear rate.
Not only the farmer, but the labourer, was thus met
by the taxes, and the farmer must make up this charge
upon the labourer, either in wages or in poors' rate;
and in:this way a difference, net of five, but of fifty
per cent. was made in his property. Having touched
so far on the grievances, he now came to the remedy.
Be differed in some minor points, though he concur-
red generally in the prayer of the Petition. He could
mot, however, as an honest Englishman, support any
prayer for relief at the expense of other classes of the
community—(Cheers). There were also persons who
thought that relief ought to be given by defrauding
the public creditor. This he should most decidedly
'sex his face against. The time might possibly come
when a national bankruptcy would take place ; but,
while able, they were bound to pay their honest debts.

• • • 100-.4e-o•-friei-p.
KEW' VOusrrwsiTlNG.
AGRICULTURAL DTSTRIPaII AM, PARLIAMEN'-1
TART- astimpa. ,
In consequence of a Requisition
.directed to the
High Sheriff of the County of Kent,* most tainnerout
Meeting of the Freeholders of that wealthy had re-
spectable county was convened yesterday, in the
Market-place, Maidstone, far the purpose of cousit
dering of the best means of alleviating the distrait,
which at present affects the agricultural interest, an*
of discussing the necessity of Parliamentary Reform_
w
as the only true mode by which that distress could
be relieved.
Soon after 12 o'clock the 'High Sheriff appeared
on the temporary hustings which were erected on a
waggon for his reception; nod in a short time, the'
Earl of friIANET, the Earl of DARNLEY, 1,014 Cur:-
TON, Sir E. KNATCHBULL, Mr. HoNYwoop, the. Hon.
C. None, aid many other gentlemen of respectability,
appeared on the scene of action.
The DartrrT SHBRITI having read the Requisition,'
The HIGH &ISHII, briefly expatiated en thegreat
respectability of those by whom the Requisitions was
signed. Such a list clearly indicated the import* Ice
of the subjects which the assembly were met to (is-
cuss; and he would be happy to hear the sentiments
of every individual, on the subjects noticed in the
Requisition. To all, he trusted, an impartial bear-
ing would be given—(Cheering).
The Earl of DARNLKY Moved, " That the High
Sheriff do take the Chair," which proposition was
carried una voce.
The HIGH SHKRIIIIP then stated, that he had re-
ceived a letter from Lord' Sondes, apologizing for
his absence. The letter concluded with the follow-.
ing expression:—" I am persuaded that the present
system cannot last much longer; nor the country
prosper without a thorough change of measures and of
men." The letter was received with much applause.
Mr. FOOTE then came forward to propose a Peti-
tion to Parliament. He felt that it was necessary to
speak out when theycame to consider the distresses and
grievances under which the country laboured. (Hear).
In such a case it would be culpable to flatter, and
treacherous to deceive. The present condition of the
British farmer was alarming and perilous in the ex-
treme—his sufferings were greater than could easily
be imagined. He was reduced to the last state Of
depreciation and decay. In no former period had
be been worn down to such a state of destitution—'
(Hear, hear).—lt was true that a few taxes had been
recently remitted, but, in reality, no relief had been
afforded to the agriculturist.. What was the actual
state of things as it respected the farmers? They
found low prices in the market, while the Poors' Rate
and the other charges accumulated upon them in. a
most alarming degree—(flear, hear).—lt was an hi-
controvertible fact that there were, in every p*
the empire, numerous families anxious to obtain work,
and able to do it, who were obliged to resort tb their
parishes for relief in the absence of employment. It
was the caseof thousands; and what were they 'to
expect in such a state of things? It was known that
industry was the main spring of the poor man's life ;
with industry he was equal to his landlord in
little comforts and in his independence; without it,
it was impossible that he could avoid starvation, or
the most abject state of dependence—(Hear, hear).
He was aware that there were some persons who ob-
jected to giving relief to the Agriculturists; and, in-
deed, the only -effec.ual relief was in a Reform in the
Representation of the People in Parliament. It was
new an undenied fact; that almost all persons, not
only in towns, but in every part of the country, were
not only anxious but clamorous for Reform—(Dear,
hear).—ln preferring their prayer for Reform, they
asked for nothing new ; they proposed no wild or
H
visionary doctrine; they advocated no experimental
project, no theoretical scheme—(Applause). If asked
what he meant by his plan of Reform ? he should
answer, that he wished to circumscribe the influence
of the Crown, to shorten the duration of Parliaments,
to extend the right of voting from freehold to copy-
hold property, and to increase the number of 'gem-
hers for populous towns in proportion to the present
number of Borough Members-{Applause). He wished
to have a House of Commons that would watch over
and support the fabric of the Constitution, and see
the laws of the country administered in their spirit
arid letter. He congratulated the Meeting on its
numbers and respectability, and concluded by pro-
posing the following Petition :
" The humble Petition, ica sheweth—That your Petitioners
have waited, with the utmost anxiety, to see what measures of
relief would be proposed by your Honourable House, in conse-
quence of the representations of distress which have been from
time to time urged by your Petitioners, in common with other
' Counties ; and though by the pro&edinp of your -Honourable
House they observe the distress is folly admitted, the measures
that have been founded thereon are futile, and inadequate to the
want* and wishes of your Petitioners, and aggravate by disap-
pointment the severe sufferings under which they labour. .
"The evils and grievances of which your Petitioners have
complained, have now risen to a height that imperiously calls for
great and efficient remedies; and they earnestly demand of your
Honourable House that redress which it has the power, and
ought to have the Inclination to afford.
" Your Pet:Monet have seen every abuse defended, and every
proposal for efficient retrenchment rejected, or so modified as to
become Insignificant; and they once more implore your Honour-
able House to tonslder what relief magi be obtained by a real and
efficient economy, a reduction of useless plants, and a further di-
minutionef the weight of tmation, which so grievously oppresses
all clases of the People. They have particularly noticed the ap-
plication of no toss a suns than five minims to the establishment of
fa Sinking Fund, at a moment• when the harthen of taxation is so
severely felt ; and they submit to your consideration whether, at
such a moment, such a sum should be exacted, for the establish-
ment of a Fend, the benefit of which must be remote, if not, as
it ha. hitherto proved, completely delusive? The distress which
now so heavily presses upon your Petitieners, and which is daily
inssatasing, Irises evidently, in a great degree. out of the extra-
vagant waste of public money, sanctioned by your Hommeable
House : and your Petitioners are thoroughly perimaded, that
such a aussepticaison of the public money never could have
taken place, or, having taken place. the obvious remedy to be
found, iirstnnoniy and retrenchment, ivould not have been so
47

-,,,,,.%,

It mattered not how our burdens were incurred, or, if
it did, it was for those Members who bad supported
Ministers in their long and unjustifiable career of ex-
travagant expenditure to answer for and defend their
conduct. But while they were able they were bound
to pay the public creditor, unless indeed that period
arrived which would compel them to call their cre-
ditors together, and pay so much in the pound.—
The only way to avoid this desperate alternative sets
to reduce taxation—to adopt economy in our public
expenditure, by reducing our establishments at home
and abroad, both civil and military—(Applause).—
He next came to Parliamentary Reform, a subject
alwdys difficult and delicate to be touched upon. He
had not hitherto expressed any decided opinion upon
it; but knowing, as he did, the wishes, not only of
the County, but of the country at large, he felt it ne-
cessary to come to the conclusion that some sort of
Reform was necessary. Then•came the questioikhow
was this Reform to be obtained without revolastitin
and or else !,y the act of the Home:or
Commons itself? It• was true that the House might
reform itself, yet the operation would be a tardy one.
They ought; however, to recollect that the next eke=
don was not very flu distant. The Freeholders of
the County would then have an opportunity of giving
their votes in fuvour of independent men. if th,-;

-,-~

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. ' ~; . . •••,•, ,of the French onanciet,. Mr. Law, bar* a war rest Mi. •4 . • QUAY SA the ' . , •to a filsolgatillillima mid a* wed ;WI iber
seiollieleo td etch other, einfi diet -thefiiii ' :* ' . • ' --
r 'al-
' . add
chi Pieibee for Win piateedet an • a-thore,...noodew •a. - ":711..a0t :- -.-.. cm iii"rrtgAttgVirrn" awil"."Pre Petitig!"1:1:731141:1
rats 0ttak...137 depreciating she curreney, Mr. Law lairi.air., -'7....'"," ', . - mitiog'-• -- . :
~.. c
.0;,.. ...717.*: '-',,:i.;:ibh,f Itir tEi =hat' afttbe "Ifteuess. Ilitiii;
atlid.ifantitw easilmcirttlin "OM
had made money uncommonly plsatiful ; bt4...fAte - • ..'.- "how dirwiliSeod; thde . ~... &Mikan dim 4aiss... Alviiiimatedadik* !leer -*draftee. reireo.44
ultimate effects •weie. general misery and r0i5i,....... Our be ' ,
The Hon. Member had also seemed to recommend • mare.,,„if7.:, ~... ,„,.......„,v,....u0mz,„.,,,,,,trir0g,„,,rar:::::41it,:,:m
corn as a standard of value„ frail the statement re- 'toady:v*7;4a osma4 bmrer kr Illeasifeidaiilialsalta .
e.: Wthilnftrabillbitfifired . • di* conlideiste a lb!
revenue by the at atearavoltheitibi/SW
lathe to it at an early period.. Upilit the ssithe prin.; Till=lt 017 OL4DONDEftitY bad sasilielitheddte: sited, and sastikootbrAildeheerabirMativat. 1.„., k . . „
ciple he should make • potatoes e•StatichoWfor' the 11";,...L._ grams h. saw is limPlaieridrogia EN *Pa 10 4' B 1 the,,,, logs, ii.„-
~,,,, 4 ti".....Affairal 9L'l'''` sister kingdom, and what` sort of a 'standard would a 'zi.7r7 Ininrt,tbittleu...... ......,,- -- ~ -.- -Pt.-% "" "41 r the
1.71." te'rtnr..6.ll -
-tie: . of
that have.been io the present ear?y The Hoe. Gen- centpllgnee aothis,l7,4;ll7Er' IrtgfiteVair ittir. stitholnemre. . 413 t
,terl;Csrarlsoott4 hi' -n. ..
. fil'; nearly etj
ti
Iliman had stated that in 11312, when the price of pored telelleateariglaptirytyakilk tiodsub.-litte kit. *as lauded 4 sad numbers af• shwa itho suldvala ketplar ands arc
corn was 1255. the consumption of London had been Om 1411111,L • '.= '.' :'!` - iLI. 4 '').-1:4 6 ' . . -' k donfreduald to billtsrr addosteerilmi ?lOU, reirisadaesetat
hattkraata,threaten every dial ht fu It 'vat on . Aivlvii lit etteir fal!
greater than in the otesent year:and-had relied uhtin .