The Statesman.
London, England, 1815-02-24 00:00:00

prie.ers; yet he trusted -the great proportion of the
community would not quietly suffer their interests
to be aim/Weed at a certain mit, by the one-laws-
liras pert of the people.—[Hear! and' loud op.
plauses.)—Jlavistg thus stated on this, as well as on
a former °Cession, the objects for which he had
thought it his duty to convene the Corporation .sad
his fellow - chi:tens together, upon constitutional
grounds, he had only to recommend to the assembly
'Ovalness in their proceedings, and temper in discus-
sion.—E Loud applause, which continued for several
nannies.]
Mr. IVAITIIMANI said, it was already known he
had brought forward motions and petitions upon
this subject last year. lie now repeated his firm
conviction, not only of the impolicy of the measure,
but of its ruinous consequences, if passed into a law.
The land-owners and the Parliamentary interest
were, he contended, the same : and it appeared to
him, that a system of conspiracy had beets adopted
by Parliament-men, land-owners, and farmers,
against the people, to uphold the price of corn.—
[Hear, hear !]-1t was said, that the farmer would
not be enabled to pay his rent, on account of the
high price of land, if he had not value for his corn.—
This principle he would not hesitate to admit, in
proportion as trade, and the price of necessary ar-
ticles, would continue as they had been. But if
these, and other expences, are decreased or lessened,
why olould not laud and corn fall In proportion ?
[Bear, hear!]—Let us look, therefore, to the cause
of land being raised, and of corn being ~•ihanced.
We were told, during the late war in which we were
engaged, that if we but contributed for a short
time to the necessities of that contest, all our
clamours should be silenced—that we were merely
called upon to sacrifice a part, in fighting for
the remainder. And were traders, labourers,
and the poor thus to suffer, and bear all the
bertha', white the land-owner came safe through
the trial and out of the fire unhurt ? This was but
common justice to expect, and it was unpardon-
able to sutler land-owners and others, by artifice,
to keep up the price of corn coeval with the war sys-
tem ; and thus entail upon the country the dregs of
its horrors, when we should expect to enjoy the bless.
ings of peace. It was rather a strange proceeding
this, for the Legislature to sot about raising the price
of land and corn, or at least to uphold them in value,
open the footing they were during a disastrous war.
f•t was evident that the evil was meditated by the I
land-owners, not one of whom, he observed, came
forward to resist the adoption of the measure now
proposed.—[//ear, hear;,]—The people, however,
must by all possible means resist it. A reduction
was about to take place of the property tax, which
at present affected the land-owner to the amount of
171 per cent. A reduction would also take place in ;
the poor rates. Ile concluded by recommending to
the people perseverance and firmness against the per-
nicious measure they were met to discuss, and trusted
their exertions would prevail over monopoly, artifice,
and injustice. lie (Mr. W.) then moved a series of
Resolutions expressive of the objects of the meeting,
( for which see the Advertisement in another part of
this paper). . . .

Mr: Alderman Wool) seconded the Resolutions.
lie-contended, that the land-owner had been a gainer
during the war, while rein had been brought upon al-
pest every other description of persons. It was true
that those who bad chosen to become speculators
in
land, trusting to a continuance, or even to an in.
crease of the present enormous rate of rents, must be
losers; but like every ether description of specula-
Worn, they deserved so to be.
the
nvEY, in a long and able speech, supported
the Resolutions. Re made some ingenious remarks
',pan die principles respecting population and sup-
ply, es laid down by Mr. Malthus, who professed
himself the enemy of population. This worthy Gen-
tleman, he said, was very likely to be gratified in his
views and wishes, provided the measure in question
was carried into a law. For as that measure would
inevitably produce scarcity, so scarcity would
very naturally lead to starvation, and an abridgment
of the human race !—[ Hear and laughter:]—
lie was sure that the proposed measure was the
offspring of speculators and land-owners ; and it
was a melancholy consideration, that, after suffer-
ing the privations of a protracted war, the country
should be made to groan beneath a most intolerable
taxation; and their very existence threatened, in the
proposed plan of uplittling the price of Corn. He 1
ridiculed the Committee. in the ifouse-of ComwtOrPri

appointed to examine into the proposed Bill, four of
whom were land-owners. Ile would to God, that
the ancient yeomen of the country were once more
in possession of their 100 acres, and the monopolis-
ing laud-owner turned adrift. "Then might the
blessitvrs of returning peace smile upon the cottager,
and the community at large enjoy the favours of a
gracious Providence." [Hear, hear !]
Mr. HUNT (of Bristol) called on the meeting to go
to the ground-work of the evil, and to give in their
Petitions something which was tangible, so that the
House of Commons shoild not have it.in their power
to tell them that they had formerly petitioned, but
had flower proved their allegations. For this purpose
be entered into the evidence of Mr. Bennet, of Wilt•
'bile, before the Committee, which he would While,.
take to prove was in error, and grossly partial.—
This Gentleman, when asked what had been the in-
crease of rents- in that county, during 20 yea's
stated it to he, as he conceived, about 50 per cent.-
- lie was then. faked, had the price of labour doubled
within the last 20 years, and answered that it hail
doubled within that time. Now he (Mr. Hunt)
could prove by his own oath, and by the oaths of
many other persons, that land had doubled, and in
many instances trebled in value, in the county in
question, within the period specified ; and on the
other hand that labour within the same period bad
.only risen from 6s. to Bs. per week, being at the
rate of 30 per cent. The satnegentlemau under the
article of expellees, stated it to be necessary for a
farmer occupying lands of 8001. a year, to have 10
hogsheads of beer, at 61. each, whereas, he (Mr.
Hunt) could prose that the price would not be more
than 335. per hogshead i and all Mr. Bennet's other'
items of expence were in the same proportion. He
wis anxious, therefore, that the Parliament should
knew that this was not the best evidence that could
he got on the subject, and that it should be contra-
He therefore begged to propose some addi-
:iotta to the Resolutions ,which had been read, or