The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-02-11 00:00:00

'KLEMM; Ofr"I'FIE COUN'I'Y OF SURKEt.

PARLIAMENTARY REFORM.
A Meeting of the Freeholders of the County of Surety
took.place yesterday at Epsom, pursuant to a requisitiOn,
signed by several of the Nobility, Gentry, and Frees
boldest of the County, and presented to the High She
riff (Palmer, Esq.) praying him to convene the Free-
holders of the County, for the purpose of %skim into
rouslderation the great and increasing distresses of the
..rottotiy.. intl. the necessity of petitioning the House of
cowmen,. for relief from the great and insupportable
Aurden of Taxation, by which the nation was oppressed;
and also for a speedy and effectual Reform of the Corn-
well. House of Parliament.
Though the day was throughout very rain ~yet the
freeholders and inhabitants began to assemble in the
square in front of the Spread Eagle, soon after eleven
o'clock. Large waitrons were drawn np in the form of
a semi-circle for the accommodation of those gentlemen
who were expected to take an active part in the proceed-
ings of the day.
At 12 o'clock the principal Gentlemen of the county
took their station in the waggons.
Among the Noblemen and Gentlemen present, we
observed Lord King, Lord Ellenborough, Mr. Denison,
1%/.P., Mr. H. G. Bennet, M.P., Mr. H. Somner, M.P.,
Islr. Maberlv. M.P., Captain Maberly, M.P., Mr. C.
piked. M.P., Ms. Leech, &c. Mr. Cubbett was also
prelent.
, The Elton SHERIFF, in coming forward to open the
Meeting, said be had invited the freeholders to assemble
on that occasion in consequence of an application made
to bins by a most numerous and respectable body of the
Noblemen, Gentlemen, and Freeholders of the county.
On receiving that application he felt it bits duty not to
lose a moment in complying with the request it con-
tained. He should feel it further his duty to do every
thing in his power to certify by his authority any reso-
lutions to which the Meeting might come: but having
come to preside at the Meeting and not to deliberate or
vote upon their proceedings, he hoped they would excuse
him if lie declined putting himself in any situation which
would render him either positively or constructively a
petitioner.' Having brought his mind to this condo-
ms:ow, he felt himself bound in fairness and candour to
state it publicly to the Meeting. Whether he was right
or wrong he would not pretend to determine; but he
assured the Meeting, that he had no political motive in
*making such a decision—it was the result of the honest
exercise of his judgmeot. He had done only that which
the Meeting had an undonbted right to do, he had
exercised a free opinion, the right to which be conceived
to be a vital principle of the Constitution (hear, hear,)
It was usual on such occasions to request the Meeting to
preserve order ; this be would not do; lie felt persuaded
that every man present would conduct himself in a
manner becoming a freeholder of the county of Surrey.
The Requisition was here read. It contained the
81W signatures, among which were those of several
Noblemen and other leading Gentlemen of the county.
Lard KIND said, that if in the distressed state to
;0•Ieli the country was reduced, any thin could give
him satisfaction, he should feel it at perceiving the num-
ber and respectability of the signatures attached to the
R ; because it was the best omen of the ulti-
mate success of that cense, the advocacy of which they
hall undertaken. In the last Petition which they pre-
tented to the House of Commons, they stated that they
would never cease to use all lawful means of calling for
o Parliamentary Reform ;—he coasidered that the
. appearance of the Meeting then before him proved that
they were acting up to their declaration (applause). In
their last Petition they stated that the Farmer was
unable to cootiosseemploying the labourers necessary to
the cultivation of his land ; —that the labourers had
become paupers • —that taxation had swept away the
whole produce of'the soil (cries of" it is too true"). He
asked theta whether from the last year's experience they
felt convinced that that statement was well founded ("it
}s")? If w,. then the argument was still stronger than
it was last year. They bad been told that meatiest was
not the cause of the dist which they all felt; what
else was the cause.of that distress ? They had now the
same soil that they possessed before the war,they had the
same prices, and yet they bad four times the taxation
(hear, hear !). The taxes, including the expences of col-
lection, note amounted to 60,000,000/. There was not
a single word more than this necessary to con-
vince them that taxation was the cause of the distress ;
so much so, indeed, that the Landholders would have a
eery excellent bargain if Government would give them
the t fixes raised from time, will, and take its produce to
themselves (bear'. and a. laugh). He knew not what
was to be the doctrine of. the Treasury this year, but if
they adhered to the doctrines uf last year, be could only
say that a scheme more beneficial to the knaves who
profited, or the fools who suffered, never had been
attempted (hear. hear!). It was difficult in what man,
ter to account for the insensibility shewn by Govern-
ment to the distress of the agricultural community.—
Nothing could excuse it but an entire ignorance of the
actual state of the country. Indeed there was more
truth in this last supposition than was generally
ima-
yined ; for if they looked to the lives and habits of the
present Minister*, they must perceive that no one of
them could know any thing of the actual state of the
country unless what lie picked up from some of the
clerks in his office.—(Laughter.) Phey required to be
taught, to use the words of an eloquent writer, that
" in every country the first creditor was the plough, that
this WA, an original and indefeasible claim which super-
seded every other demand." This was the language of
the celebrated air. Burke, in speaking of India, at a
time when oar Government hill made themeelves mas-
ters of almost the whole of the produce of its soil.—
They were told not only that taxation was nut the cause
' of distress, hut that the redaction of taxation about to
ie made, would afford so relief.—(A person in the crowd
—" Mr. Peel said so.") He really believed that this
was true, for he looked not to the quality, but to the
quantity of taxation about to be taken off. Suppose he
were ill, and that a physician were to come to him with
a grave face and say, " I shall give you some bark, but
know it will do you no good." This wool(' depend
upon the natureof the case. If a pound of bark were
the proper remedy, but that instead of giving that quan-
tity the physician gave only an ounce, it would of
rourse afford no relief. So lie feared it would be
with Ministers ; they would give 'the ounce instead
• • of the pound, and then say, " take it, but it will be of
no use to you." But he contended Ministers hail not
last year treated the country with Common honesty.—
. They made no reduction, they thought of no reduction,
trail they were actually compelled to it by the public
juice ; even then before any thing was done, they felt
their way, they calculated what would satisfy their sup-
porters: that Milflll4Bl7ll they gave ; and that minimum
they would now give, when they found themselves com-
p -lied to it. Could any reduction be in tele tl.is year,
when we had at least seine prospect of a war before us?
'lf so, then he asked why ass riot that reduction, made
last year. ? Why was it not made during the lest six
. years? It was dishonest dealing with the country to
'refuse doing so and proved that Ministers never would
surrender one penny, unless compelled 'to do so by the
voice of the country. They must all have remarked a
tircomstance which took piece in the House of Commons
last year. Ministers bad resisted the repeated calls of
the country fur reflection ; they had resisted the per-
severing exertions of Mr. lame; they found it was an
assault %won that paeronage, which, by a silent compact
along themselves, they had determined to preserve ;
the damped was a silent one, but by some strange
.blunder, some unaccountable improdepee,the thins slipt

oat :—a Minister of the Ctown openly declared, thM it
was necessary to maks, a stand in defence of that patro-
nage, as it was necessary to carry on the Goverament.
The House of Commons was certainly the only asserts.
Illy in which such a declaration could have been madet
but there it was received with satisfactioe. He would now
pnintont the influence which this patronage gave to
Ministers. Lit them-look to the army—they would there
find a large portion of effective men, a portion certainly
larger than necessary at a period like the present, bit
they would find that there were general slicers, staff
ofbLersk and other appointments msch.beyond the regular
proportion of such an army in this or any other country,
and why? Became those things were looked upon as
prizes to Members of Parliament. The collection of the
Revenue, the Civil List, Foreign Appointments—those
several departments were prices to Members of Parlia-
ment for themselves or their dependents.—(Shame.
shame!) Let them look to the Colonies—there were
Islands, and Peninsulas, and Promontories, and whole
coasts to he governed, and officered, and commanded in
various ways, civil and military, affording a rich harvest
to the prise speculators of the House of Commons and
their friends and dependants. They bad heard of the
Fortunate Islands, and they had heard too that Don
Quixote bestowed the Government of the Island of Ba-
ratarir, upon his faithful 'Squire Sancho. That, how-
ever, was an ideal appointment, but however ideal our
appointments might be, it was found that there were
real salaries attached to them.--(Hear, hear, and a
laugh.) Those were the abuses which they ought to
pull down and abate, bat which could be only abated by
an effectual Reform in Parliament. These abuses were
the main cause of the present distresses—they arose out
of our funding system during a long war, *ad with a
depreciated currency. Our funding system was cer•
tainly bad enough—other countries, it was true, bad paid
the expences of their wars by depreciating their currency,
but it was not to be found in the history of the world, that
any country besides ourselves had brought into action
those two destructive operations, a funding system and a
depreciated currency. By this means we found It easy to
enter into and support a war, but we now felt thteffects of
the facility so afforded to us. He now came to a part of
the subject which had much engaged public attention,
and upon which he wished to say a few words—he
meant the Public Debt. It was perfec ly true that ne-
cessity had no law, but even in the extremity of the
country's distress, they would wish to do justice to
every man—to do as they would wish to be done by.
H. felt, too, that ender all the existing circumstances
of the country, it would be neither wise nor polite to
give Ministers too much encouragement. by recommend-
ing a reduction of the National Debt. He feared if they
did so, Ministers would be glad to take them at their
word: they already knew how anxious Ministers
were to stretch forth their long arms, in order to fill
their coffers, and therefore be feared they would be
anxious to avail themselves of any pretext to relieve
themselves from their engagements ;—indeed, be very
much feared that if the Kentish Petition bad been put
to a vote by ballot in the House of Commons, it would
have gone hard with the public creditor (hear ! and a
laugh].—Nor did the character oldish Ministers were in
the habit of vaunting tend to dispel this fear. He re-
membered having heard of a man who, in speaking of
himself, said, " 1 feel my honour and character stand so
high, that I icould never be guilty of a mean or dirty
action,—unless it were damnably to my advantage
Danghing]."—lle feared, too, that if the proposed re-
auction were to take place, Ministers would apply the
money to any thing but to the public benefit [hear
hear].—Before they touched the property of the public
cred.tor, they were bound to reduce all offices, to abolish
all useless places, in a word, to inquire into and economise
in every tie parturent of the public service, without sparing
a penuy to any man upon any pretence. The Irish Church
Establishment, for instance, was enormous, it was beyond
all idea, and certainly not necessary to be supported, at
its prevent rate, for any goof purpose. In speaking
thus, be wished to draw a diatinction between the ex-
emplary working clergy and the rectors, the
.golden
prebends and the wealthy bishops, with livings is com-
mend/rm. There was no Church on the Continent, the
Esteblislituent of which had not been reduced. The
English Church was the only Church in Europe which
had escaped—He always considered the Church as a
part of the Establishment of the country, and as such
the Government bad a right to pay its functionaries in
land or in pensions as it pleased. So strongly was this
felt that Mr. Pitt intended to bring in la bill affecting
Church property, but lie was frightened out of it.—
When all the resources of the country were necessary
to its safety, the Church ought certainly to contribute
its share. He would now state two or three facts. ex-
tracted from a book lately published, called (as we un-
derstood) " A Description of the House of Commons."
He found that in the last Session. out of 40 Counties, 25
Members voted for Ministers, and 37 against them, in 69
cities and places where Elections were open 57 voted
for Ministers, and 107 against. Io 99 cities and places
where the election was resolved into individuals, 151
voted for Ministers, and twelve against them. From
this it was clear, that io all places where elections were
open, there was to be found a preponderance of hien'.
bets who sympathised with, and voted in sapport of the
interests of the people. A motion was made last year
for a reduction of the Salt Tax—(hear. hear, hear,)—
The Ministers at first resisted, and the question was
then negatived.—[hear]—They afterwards gave it up
of themselves. Upon the motion for the redaction of
the Tax, the majority against the reduction was 169
of these. there were 14 County Members and 61 place-
men. In the Minority of 165 there were 42 County
Members, so that the 14 County Members for Ministers
preponderated against the 42 County Members who op-
posed them. In the saute pamphlet, it appeared, that 80
Members of the House of Commons received IEIO,OOOI. a
year of the public money between them. After this
statement it must be confessed that economy was not
among the public virtues of the present Ministry. The
people sent Members to Parliament to watch over their
interests, but the Members once in, thought it better to
look round and attend to their own. The only remedy
for these complicated evils was a Reform of the House
of Commons. The Noble Lord, after thanking the
Meeting for the attention with which he had been beard,
proposed that the following Petition (which he read)
should be adopted by the Meeting :
" TO THE HONOURABLE THE MOUSE OR VOIENONI:
" The bumble Petition of the suffering Freeholders,
Landowners, and Occupiers of Land ia the County of
Surrey.
" Snswava—Thst your Petitioners, after ebduring all
the aggravated distresses which from day to day have
pressed upon tbem with increasing weight since they last ex-
posed the state of their affairs before your Honourable
House, in the month of February last, now again with all
humility, approach your Honourable House, and pray for
that relief which your Honourable House is alone able to
afford.

" Your Petitioners most humbly ventnre to remind your
Honourable House, that experience has unfortunately con•
firmed all the opinions contained in their former Petition;
that the Farmers are at this time still less able to afford the
labour necessary to due cultivation ; that the labourers in
far greater numbers are compelled to become paupers ; that
the further fall in the price of produce, which your Peti-
tioners anticipated, has actually taken place • and that the
whole, or nearly the whole, of the gross produce is absorbed
in taxes, tithes, wages. rates, and expenses attending the
cultivation of the led.
" That the relief which your Honourable lions, was
p'eased to afford last year, is most inadequate to the press-
ing necessities of your Petitioners, who 'are again
compelled, most humbly to implore your Ilenourable