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

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not be estimated, by a mere reference to:pounds,
bogs, and pence. The relative depreciation in thel
value of money could only be estimated by the price • '
of commodities. In order,-therefore, to shew the ex-
tent of depreciation, he hid converted the amount
of the taxes into commodity ; and he • had taken '
the three commodities of corn, gold, and labour.-1'
InlSl3 the taxes amounted to 74,674,7981. and wheat
waS \roll]) 108 s. per quarter ; so that 11,732,296
quarter, would be sufficient to pay the taxes. In
15.21 the taxes being 60,000,000, and the *aim of a
quarter of wheat 555. 4d. it would then require
93,563,7‘.14 quarters, or nearly one half more than in
the year 1813, to pay the taxes of the country, they
being so much higher than at that period: But sup-
oir, the price of wheat to be 455. this year, .it
sup-
Po`
in,
take 27,000,000 of quarters to pay the taxes,
quantity that would have been enough to pay
double their amount at the prices of 1813. -In the
value of gold the difference did not appear so great.
In 1813 the price of gold was 110 s. per ounce, and
13,577,236 ounces would have been sufficient to pay
the taxes, amounting to above 74,000,0001. At the
present time the price of gold was 775. 7d. so that
15,600,000 ounces would be necessary, to discharge
the taxes, being 60,000,0001. In 1813 the price of
labour as 16s. per week ; and the labour of five mil-
lions of person's for eighteen weeks and four days,
would have paid the taxes of the year, being 74 mil-
lions and upwards. The average price of labour was
now 9s. per eek ; and it would take the labour of
the same number of persons for twenty-six weeks and •
sit days to pay the taxes cf sixty millions; and, sup-'‘
posing the price of labour to have fallen to Bs. it would
!Noire thirty weeks, being almost double the quan-
tity required in 1813. The Hon. Member then pro-
ceeded to shew the operation of the measure upon
the other markets of Europe. It appeared by the
rrices current of Bourdeaux, Amsterdam, and Lon-
don, that the various articles of produce in those
markets had fallen in the proportion of 15 per cent.
at Bordeaux; at Amsterdam prices had fallen 35i
per cent. and at London 44 per cent. between `the
years 1814 and 1821. He then read from some docu-
ments a calculation of the fall in the prices of various
articles of produce, which appeared to be generally
front 30 to 40 and 50 per cent. It was impossible to
ascribe this to any other cause than to the mea-
st:re which the House had adopted. Its pernicious
consequences, he felt convinced, were felt as se-
verely by the commercial and manufacturing world
as they were by the agricultural interests. Commer-
cial men were carrying on commerce without profit,and
the manufacturer was manufacturing without profit.
The Hon. Member then went into an intricate calcu-
latioa to shew that the fundbolder stood in the situa-
tion now of receiving 49 quarters of corn for his
la. stock, instead of 25i quarters in the year 1793.
Ile contended, that the public faith would be in no
way injured by adhering to the standard, from which
they had so recently departed. In regard to the
Poor Rates; it was said,ahat they had decreased since
1813--(Hear). He said they had increased—(Hear,
hear). If calculated by she 'value of commodity, as
they ought to be, it would be found that they had in-
creased nearly double since that period—(Hear, hear).
Could any Gentleman then think of inflicting such a
fallacy upon the farmers of the country, as to tell
them that their poor rates were diminished, when, in
fact, they were paying nearly double the quanrity of
the stock of their barns. He contended that the num-
ber of criminals, which had so increased within the
last few year s, was to be attributed to the progress of
a system which threw so large a portion of the poor
out of employment. This was the real cause of the
distress in Ireland at the present Moment—(fiectr).—
The lion. Member concluded by moving

0 The appointment of a Committee to consider the effects of
•Le Act of the 59th of George I 1 T. chapter 14, upon the Agri-
culture, Maiutactures, and Commerce of the country, and alio
as effect on the condition of the different classes of society."

Mr. BUSKISSON had listened attentively to the
speech of the Hon. Gentleman, with surprise and iv-
p,:et. He had a seat in the House at the time of the
suspension of cash payments. From the speech of ;he
Hon. Gentleman he should have been ready to have
inferred that he was ignorant of the real effects of the
suspension of cash payments. When the depreciation
had been at the highest he would have been apt to
have interred that a measure had been before the
house to regulate all payments in a currency of di-
minished value. From the depreciation of the cur-
rency, the value of land had doubled, and all who
lived on fixed incomes had suffered in proportion.—
The state of things during this suspension was diffe-
rent from the statement of the Hon. Gentleman. Pe-
cuniary claims had never been adjusted by a reference
to the depreciated state of the currency, whether with
reference to arrangements made before or after the
suspension of cash payments. Were there to be two
rules of right, one for the debtor, and the other for
the creditor? In the case of a mortgage made before
1797, and one made after that period, both creditor
and debtor would be put on the same footing, upon
the principles of the Hon. Gentleman. Upon the same
principle also, the different creditors of the Public, at
the different periods of depreciation, must receive a
different rate of remuneration, according to the rate
of depreciation when the loans were contracted. That
would also be the case of all existing contracts what-
ever, either public or private. The plan of the Hon.
(;entlemarf would involve the country in inextricable
canfusion, and must be fatal to the rights of pro-
perty, and consequently to the safety of the State.—
he lion. Gentleman had advanced a number of
most extraordinary theories ; one of which was, that
prosperity of the country was to be measured by
I.le dearness of the necessaries of life. By the theory
the 'tight Hon. Gentleman, the year 1812 ought
to hive been a most happy year; when the price of
-Alreat was 1255. a quarter, and the taxes of the
c,:untry could be paid by eleven million quarters of
....heat. But the misery and crimes of that year were
:.nown to all. In 1817, the quarter of wheat was
sold at 935. but the history of that year would not
:end to confirm the theory of the Hon. Gentleman.
A nother doctrine of the Hon. Gentleman's was, that

price of the articles of life should be raised' by a
t!f:pt eciation of the standard of value. But sitch. an
opinion rendered all p: operty insecure, as it had been
the object of all wise Governments to create an inva-
riable standard of value. The lion. Member had sitter
:a that House during the whole period of the suspen-
von of cash payments, and during the whole of that
cline had been a strenuous advocate for cash pay-
ments. The doctrine of the 11911. Member, and that