Star.
London, England, 1822-02-19 00:00:00

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It had been said, that the landlord, if he had high
rents during the war, had also a high rate of ex-
rosse" but the stockholder had suffered a great
by the alteration of the currency.
Mr. MANNING said, that the Bank Directors bad
anxiously anticipated the wishes of the Legislature, by
issuing a great quantity of gold coin before the time
required. In July, 1819, the amount of Bank notes in
circulation was twenty-nine millions and a half; and
in January last, there was but eighteen millions.
Mr. SY KES wished to bring back the House to the
true question, namelyZwirether the Agricultural Com-
mittee was to be revived? For his own part, he had
no hopes in the revival of that Committee, and there-
fore he should vote against it. If twenty Gentlemen
spent the summer of 1821, in bringing forward a de-
lusive and contradictory report, what hopes could he
have that they would not again mystify the ques-
tion ? He was surprised that any man could feel sa-
tisfaction in Ministers having said they had a sur-
plus of five millions over the expenditure. Was not
that the case in 1818 ? and by this time it was to
have been eight mullions; but the Chancellor of the
Exchequer could not realize that, and he feared the
Noble Marquis's plan would have like success. Such
was the distress of tire country that no feeling man
would entertain any party prejudices on this ques-
tion ; and he thought it absolutely necessary for the
saving of the country, that there should be a surplus
of revenue over the expenditure, let them call it Sink-
ing Fund, or what they would. His opinion was,
that the agricultural distresses were founded on a su-
perabundance of production, for which a few years he
was convinced would work a remedy: Meanwhile it
was absolutely necessary that this suffering class should
have immediate relief. His hopes, however, were
damped, when he learned that it was only proposed to
take off a tax to the amount of Is. per bushel on malt.
N 1 hat good were they to operate by an issue of four
millions of paper ? It seemed to be the most absurd
scheme that ever entered the head of any man, more
especially of one who called himself a statesman !
If the money could not be repaid, the land must be
burdened with it. Besides, it would expose every
Country Gentleman in England under the Law of Ex-
tents in Aid. That would be to seize on his person and
property. These were the remedies which the Noble
Marquis had proposed for the sufferings of the coun-
try. This was the miserable plan of the Noble Mar-
quis, instead of a repeal of the Soap, Candles, Leather,
and Salt Taxes, to the amount of five or six millions.
It had been fully shewn, that the Ministers might
have reduced the expenditure of the country very
greatly, instead of their keeping it up to more than
three times the amount of that of 1793. He could
not tell how the N.,ble Marquis was so fond of the
Army, until he heard that Minister say, that a stand-
ing army was necessary in time of peace, to maintain
oar internal civil liberty. He had heard that our li-
berties were to be maintained by the freedom of the
press and the purity of the administration of justice;
but never till now had lie heard a Briton of any kind
make so monstrous a proposition. He hoped they
would, before the end of the Session, come down with
estimates greatly reduced from what they now were.
Mr. PEEL defended the Act that passed by his
name, though it was more popular when it was en-
acted than it now was. At that time there was no
other alternative, and, as they then stood, the real
interests of the country were well considered by
it. The House was not to judge of its operation by
Ehe effect which it had had upon the agricultural in-
terests (though he confessed they were most im-
portant), but to look at its effects on the general com-
munity. He asked them to look at the effect it had
on the manufacturing interest, the population of
which, from the low rate of wages, was then in a
state of agitation and ferment. The Committee itself
had attributed the distress of the manufacturing po-
pulation at that time to the low rate of wages. Out
of the forty counties of England, twenty-three paid
more Poor-rates than ever they had dune before.
Th is was the year before the adoption of that measure.
The revenue, the manufactures, and agriculture, were
tc be affected by it, and be ruined; but when he found
that the first two flourished since its adoption, he had
no right to assume that the agricultural distress was
occasioned by it. He found that all the counties in
England, except Northumberland, had experienced
a reduction in the Poor-rates ; and when he knew
that that county was least of all under the pressure
of agricultural distress, he had a right to say,
that the measure in question had not produced that
distress. It was well known that a small excess
in the production of corn would have a much
greater effect in the corn-market than in any other.
This was not the case with luxuries, for an excess of
them only placed them more at the command of the
generality of persons. The effect was, that the in.
creased demand made up for diminution of the price ;
but the consumption of the necessaries of life, such as
corn, could not be greatly extended; it was more fixed.
Neither could he shut his eyes to the consequences
resulting from such an enormous importation of Irish
corn into England. Still this was of advantage to
Efgland, for Ireland carried back her manufactures
in return. He was convinced that the proposed relief
in time would become complete and perfect. It was
impossible that the distress was occasioned by a pro-
spect of returning to metallic currency. In his opi-
nion it arose from the failure of the Country Banks.
It therefore became at that time the question, whether
they ought to allow such an opportunity to escape, to
return to a metallic currency ? If they had let it slip,
his opinion was, that such an opportunity could not
have been expected to return so perfectly again. He
therefore remained completely satisfied with the suc-
cess of that measure. Still he preferred Mr. Ricardo's
plan, rather than the hasty return to a general metal-
lic currency, as the Bank did. Still it was adopted
by the consent of Parliament, to diminish the forgery
of Bank-notes. If, however, they should find it inju-
rious, they might relieve it ; but on the whole he was
satisfied that the plan was the most productive of ad-
vantage of any that could have been devised.
Mr. ELLICE thought-that there was no necessity
for another Corn Committee, because if the restric-
tion on its importation, intended to be proposed by
the Noble Lord, did not bear too hard on the con-
sumer, it should have his consent. He contended,
that the depreciation of the currency had ceased since
the restoration of cash payments. The Hon. Gentle-
man contended, that the operation of the resumption
of cash payments had an effect on the country gene-
sally by reducing the quantity of she circulating me.