The Statesman.
London, England, 1821-12-05 00:00:00

jov.pretectipo ; begOdsei if all indirect to:
moved,' and it were possible to impose a ill
duction of every quartir.of eorn (the same .
equal to the indirect taxation now paid. the 'pt
which the British Farmer could afford to sell his pro-
duce would remain unaltered. ,
" That this Meeting are of opinion that 401. per quar-
ter on wheat, 10 per cwt. on weal, and the amount of.
duties as enumerated, are the lowest which can afford
protection to the British Farmer; there being at least
that difference between the cost of production here, sod
the cost of production there, together with the mye
of conveying it from abroad, and therefore. accords
to the admission of the Report, at page 16, they are
only asking what they are fairly entitled to.
- " That it is clear. that although the ruin in tire fast
place must fall on the tenautrv, still it it not less so,
that as rent is merely the surplus left after allowing the
tenant a fair return for his capital and industry, it will
soon reach the landlords, and through them every class
of society."
After some pause, Lord EGRUIONT rose., and ob•
serving, that as no one appeared disposed to speak
upon this proposition, he wonid take leave to suggest
*hat, in his opinion, ought to be done; be was not
able, he was ready to say. to form any judgment upon
'so long a paper, merely from hearing it once read, and
'he presumed, that the same inability must attach to
others. In his opinion, too, tt would be more expe-
dient to postpone any decision upon the subject of
this meeting until the spring, the meeting pledging it-
self, that if,at any time, any probability should appear
of opening the porta, it should immediately re-assem-
ble, in order to deprecate snch a proceeding, while
the assemblage of every other district iu the county
. should also be recommended for the same purpose; for
he was himself fully persuaded that the opening of
the ports for the import of foreign corn would be pro-
shictive of the ruin of the country. In the mean time
he recommended that the paper which had been just
read by Mr. Ellinan, and wioich, so far as he could uu-
derstand it, appeared very good, should be printed and
published in the Newspapers, in order that all parties
' interested should have due time to consider and judge
of its merits.
Mr. ELLMAN, jun., stated, that be had this morning
received a communication 'from a gentleman, who
stated that it was the intention of Government, earlv
in the ensuing Session, to propose the abrogation of
thy present Corn Laws, in order to substitute the im-
position of adety upon the import of foreign corn.
This gentleman was Mr. Webb Hall, who stated that
he had received his intelligence from Mr. Iluskisson ;
(and here Mr. E. read art extract from the letter of Mr.
Hall.) The intention of Ministers was perhaps of the
same nature as that proposed by Lord Londonderry in
the late Agricultural Committee, namely, to reduce
the importing price to ;Os. a quarter, and to impose
a duty of 15s. on every quarter of foreign wheat,
which should afterwards be imported. But with re-
spect to the Noble Chairman's recommendation of
waiting until the Spring before any measure was
taken to guard against the evil of opening the ports,
he could not by any means acquiesce in that recom-
mendation. Besides, he had reason to believe, that
early ih the next Session a Motion would be made for
the revival of the Agricultural Committee, and there-
fore
it behoved the agricnitatists to pra4lllllll`
opinions, in order to give support and eetentenasice
to such a motion.
After some discussion in which a number of gentle-
men took part, it was moved that it be recommended
to the several district meetings to consider the distress
of Agriculture as well as the general state of the
country.
Mr. Ihsatstsx moved an Amendment, which con-
tained an allegation in the Report of the Agricultural
Committee, namely, " to consider of the injustice and
injury cast upon all classes of the people by an unset-
tled currency." The gentlemen from whom this meet-
ing emanated, seemed to have altogether lost sight of the
object which they ought to have kept in view and not at all
to have reached the end, or conceived the extent of
the evil which they deplored, for they had not even ad-
verted to Ireland, where that evil was at present ope-
rating with peculiar severity. He was astonished to
hear Mr. Ellman ascribe all our distress to the love
price of wheat, while he entirely overlooked the low
price of Meat. Was he not aware that bacon was s !l-
ing at 3d. a pound, and that the peasantry of Li-
merick were in open warfare, as The Courier stated,
against rent, tithes, and taxes? Did not the Worthy
Gentleman feel that the principle of that warfare wan
the same as that to which the complaints of this meet-
ing referred ? The meeting had heard a great deal',
about the high and low prices of grain, but be had I
uniformly told the farmers that they entertained very
mistaken views upon this subject ; they were, indeed,
always misled. They were told that their condition
could not be improved, unless what was called the ea-,
tural prices of corn were restored, and Mr. W. Hall de-
scribed this natual price as that of 1813. But who
could truly say what the natural price was, or who could
properly separate that subject from the great money
question. He bad told the farmers in that room, at the
time the resumption of cash payments by the Bank'
was determined upon, to wait for two or three years,
and they would see how much, independently of any
reference to the import of foreign corn, their
produce would be affected by • that measure. After
. skewing how unfounded and unwarrantable the opi-
nions of Mr. W. Hall upon that subject were, Mr.
Blackman. reverted to the motion with which he pro-
posed to connect his amendment. He was quite ready,
he said, to vote for District Meetings, and for a County
Meeting after such Distriet Meetings had declared
their sentiments, which Meeting would, he hoped, he
determined upon. particularly with a view to consider
the conduct of Ministers ; for how strange was it that
the Chancellor of the Exchequer should be allowed to
remain in office after a Committee of the Douse of
Commons, comprehending four of his own colleagues,
had published a Report, containing a direct contra-
diCtion of the resolution which that gentleman pro-
posed as to the currency upon the discussion of the
Bulliou question is 1811. But every part of the
conduct of them Ministers hid some extraordinary
aspect, or some mischievous result..
The Amendment having been read. •
Lord itaalalONT declared his entire ellatiftellef 4
with Mr. Blackman, that as savettkl itiiiieniy, vitas'
the great source of the evils which Atari- air
tore. But as to the resumption of cash pa • 'Oa '
measure was now decided upon ; aial as 1147 woe
dune, its thought it was impossible to . li. - 1
mite
Mr. Rumex. sea., felt bine* blood
this umendlnent. lest 11 its adspipp elk *Ai be

.

liimagfft

A wig alharecter he
Jnsidered it meilre drivelling add
nonsense to say that a Meeting was not political
Which involved The interest, as its authors alleged, or
,every class of the people. Ihe money question was
indeed the key-stone of the arch of such a Meetiog.
and therefore the consideration of that question could
not be consistently excluded any' more than the con-
duct of Ministers, wino, upon that question attempted
to make Mr. Ricardo their scape goat, because they
adopted his plan in onier to release themselves .of
their own motion. Yet thus the farmers were imposed
upon and led away from any consideration of the con-
duct of Anniston!. But the farmers must, in order to
under.tand their case, follow different leaders from
those to whom they had heretofore attended. They
must plough deep and contrive to rennet their brains
clear. o-11.1 fallow, fur the reception a better seed.—
.
(A pp (at] se.) ' t '
Lord EGREMONT said, that he could not consider
the Amendment of Mr. Blackman as a political or party
proposition', whatever he might think of that gentle-
man's speech ; fdr it was the fact, that all parties, in
Parliament and out of it, supported the resumption of
Cash Payments. Lords Grey and Lansdown did so as
well as the Ministers. Nay, Mr. i'obbett himself did
se. and " what the devil more," said the Noble Lord,
would yon:rerinire I."—(A laugh and applause.)
After a few more observations from Mr. BLACKMAN,
Mr. Et.t.staN withdrew his opposition and the Amend-
ment was adopted.
Thanks were voted to Lord FORIBMONT for his con-
duct in the Chair,and the meeting broke up about four
o'clock.

f eeting, wh

MER7'ING O.Y. THS STATE OF;IHELtiND.

Yesterday a meeting took place at the Thatched
House, St. Janses's.street, in pursuance of an Advertise-
ment inviting the attendance of Noblemen and Gentle-
men connected by birth, property, or commercial rela-
tions, with I reland, to consi ler the propriety of present-
ing a Petition to his 31sjesty, that he might be gracious-
ly pleased to submit to the consideration of Parliament
with the least passible delay, the present alarming and
distressed state of Ireland. At one o'clock, there being
about fifty persons in the min.—.
Major Tiouc came forward and addressed the Meet-
ing. He observed that the Meeting had been called
with a conviction that it would be numerously and re-
spectably attended, and be was happy to see that the
expectation had been realised. This was the more
gratifying, since it happened at a period when it was
impossible that all the great Irish absentees should be
in town. Ile would call upon a Nobleman whom he
observed in the room (Lord Darnley) to take the
Chair. He was one who had always shown himself
ready to sustain his Irish peasantry in their distress,
and to support their interests in the Senate. He un-
derstood that he was pressod for time, and he wets sure
that no length of time could be required to dispose of
a business where all party prejudices should be laid
aside, in order to unite in the consideration of the
calamities of their country.
Lord DaiineLev said, that he was only present in
consequence of an advertisemeni 'whicb be IMO seen'
in the public prints, and being at a convenient dis-
tance from town, he considered it a point of ditty to
attend the meeting. He had an objection to taking
the Chair, as, from doing so, be might be required to
remain a much longer time is that place than it would
be convenient for him to stop. He understood the
object of calling the Meeting was to agree to Peti-
tion the King, to request his Majesty to call together
Parliament sooner than it was intended, in order to
take into consideration the present disastrous state of
Ireland. Thinking, however, that no time should be
lust in resorting to the (heat Council of the Nation,
he was convinced that nothing could be done for that
unfortunate country, which now laboured under the
accumulated weight of evil amassed from centuries of
ruisgoverument. Human wisdom could not put an end
to its calamities. It was easy to send a military force
in addition to that already there, but he was sure they
would all agree with him, that unless something per-
manent was done in the form of amelioration, it would
not avail. The attempt ought to begin with Parlia-
ment, and therefore be thought there could be no ob-
jection to adopting the course about to be proposed.
He should notpositively oppose himself to the will of
the Meeting, should they determine upon his taking
the chair, lint he would 010 it with the condition' an•
flexed, that he should receive their indulgence in point
of time.
The Noble Lord then took the Chair. •
Major Thum, after adverting to the lamentable ac-
counts relative to the state of Ireland, drew the atten-
tion of the Meeting to the necessity which existed that
an application should be made to Parliament to take
the case into consideration, and apply such remedies
to it, as, whilst they should be the means of supporting
the laws, protecting the peaceable. and punishing the
guilty, should admiabter relief to the suffering pops-
talon. One good effect of the present Meeting would
be to fix public attention on the subject. The causes
of the present slats of Ireland were variously consider-
ed. One thought it was owing to mis-governnient..+
another that it was the naturally rebellious dispositio,
of the people—a third that it was the existence of the
Orange Party in the Government—and others thought
that it was all to be attributed to the exactions of high
rents from an oppressed people. Hut lie (Major Tighe)
did not attribute the distress of his countryntea to any
of these causes, which implicated all persons of con-
sideration in that country. from the Government down-
wards. He knew thapreient lord Lieutenant of Ire-
land had come forward upon every occasion to do his
utmost to heal all dissentious of party. and to relieve
the dismissed. Although also from peculiar chew-
stances, it might appear from the nominal rental of
Ireland that the tenant there was subjected to inordi-
nate exaction, he knew that it fell short of the rate oil
rent in this country. Time tithe system had. also!
been alluded to. He had _no doubt bat that as
Established Church in Ireland might be sustained,
by saute appropriate means; but he knew that the
Clergy of the Established Chard' in. Ireland trees awe
moderate *ban in this esmeittry. as he had paid tithes in
both. The Magistracy;heknew were platerdin a situation
of insuperable dilkilty. *hi& might have been least.,
.ted by the intneductiOn of Petty Seisions. But the
Were .always slispeimed'to de their duly. Having thM
tared. as far as be toes able. Ibis opiates of the canes
stuibsiei by Public ismer for 'the tlietressed stak of
she cmsemtry, .1t alight be especial that he shoed point

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