The Statesman.
London, England, 1823-01-20 00:00:00

source of the distress of the country was the Act 'of lila:
that Art onsbled Government to borrow without limits. If
there bad been all along a metallic currency, the debt w m'
not be half its amount. Was it ir4ustice, he would ask, to
pay the landholder in the same sort of money that he lent lit
Ute country ? There was no greater political economist in
England than Mr. Cobbett—no man studied it so well ; tun
yet he did not hesitate to say before him, that it would be
Impossible for.the Government to go on paying the interest
of the debt in gold. If he were right, was it not clear
that the evil would work its owu ruin? lie could have wise.
ad that a proposition had come from somebody connected
with the county. He thought that the county would he di,_
graced it some one could nett be found intelligible enough to
state its grievances. (Applause !) Mr. Cobbett soente I
himself aware that it was rather extraordinary for a ntLit
not connected with the county, having no interest is it. to
come forward with an important propositiontecollrctiog
the adage,t" Cry fool first to prevent others from crying it at
you," he came forward with an apology for the apparent im-
pudence of his proceeding ; be had not an acre of land In ti.e
County.
Mr. PALMER—I deny it, Mr. Cobbett has as inlePen e t
freehold.

Mr. SmrritrEs—Well, he has just as much as entitles him
to come here ; he hoped a proposition would be brought for-
ward by some one of the county, if not he would bring for-
ward one himself. Having said so much in reply to the great
political hero, he would now submit a Petition as an Amend-
ment. Mr. Smythies then proceeded to read his Petitiur ,
which is as follows :
" The Petition of the Nnitiliti, Clergy, Gentry, and plea'. of Cu. Con^t
of kfetaturd, In Cuuuty Meeting &metaled, this Mil day of Januar.,

" N maid y Showell,.--That your Petitioners can no longerbear the ore 7.-
wheludtm Pressrire of the times; that in consequence of the heavy to‘s.
lion upon landed property, together with the e ttrentelow price of produce,
the bent land will .carrels reluthurot the cultivator his expense; and tin.
footr.ffths of the land in this country. are at present yielding no rent at al:.
And your Petitioners Minty believe, that the principal can •e of their di..-
trefe urines from the facility of horniveing which wan ',Corded to the
vernoiest liv the Art ..1 1797.eonsmouly culled the Bank itentrietise, AT,
which Poittle.l them to accuimilatb a mass of debt which never would Iva-.e
been inlurred In metallic rtimnsey, and the Interest of whirls, debt we arc
now milted upon to pay in specie, which, (min raising the value of re
rrane y, has in fret doubted the burden airezdy too grievous to be torn..
This. together with the enormous importations of foreign earn, on ti,e e e
f a very productivc har :est of our own, and the large 15,04 aunnal._
drained from the titles nod !andel revenue of this kineilleat to be spe,
abroad by sheenteee, are consider ei by your Petitioner. to he autumn the
!radio, canoes of tint distresua. They therefore prey that your sty_
nourabie House, at the earnest moment after your assembling, to adopt
such Measures as shelf allord them not only speedy, but perm:mein, reUel.
• Among the measures most 'likely to effect this desirable end, vont Peti-
tionem nowt humbly low to recommend that yen shoold again restrain the
Bank from paying its notes in cash, till the National Debt shall he reduced
by the operation of the Sinking Fund to its extent previous to the year
1797; Ind in order to &reek' ate the arrival of that w;ntital.fut perW,
vonrPetitioners Peg humbly to recommend that you would lay a tole mom
fowled property equivalent,to those now borne sokety by the landed pea.
twiriegioncli as tithe, poor-rates, ehorels•roten, highway-rateNand
rite. and that you would also lay a tat upon the property of alsoutetn:
the dome raised lor tinsttrrse means world enable the Hoeernment to tate
off all the imeeneed taxes, and such other taxes as press more twentieth,
in on the landed and working classes; your Petitioner,. log leave forth. r
to roc...mown& that eomuterrial treaties be entered into with other 'tate.,
on the principle of admitting alt soeh pm lan a, cannot he grown sauna;
these kingdoms dots fee, on modifies that thoseotates reseire our pri•
du, e and inanuf.ictures oa the same terms; and that prohibitory duties t •
laid on all such prance RA the soil amid elimete of thee resdrus is
latent to rain... It throw measures ate adopted, your Petitioners wit—Jain
on doubt that prosperity and comfort will again revisit them, ate' GP,:
Britain will minion' that rank rumong the nations of Europe, which tor
deeds have so well entitled her to claim."
Mr. 8111/THIZS then proceeded to observe, that unless bite
freeholders laid aside their party feelings they could not ex-
pect that the Parliament would lay aside theirs. It could not
be denied, that in a very great measure the distress of the
country grew oat of the mistakes of Mr. Ricard O's politics;
economy, and out of the cold-blooded, policy of Mr. 'f .
Couttenay. If the fatal measure of the currency were acted
on every acre attend would slide out of the Intr.& of the pre-
sent possessers into those of Jews, Stock-jobbers and Mo-
oey-leeders. What was at present the situalioo of the Cout,
try ? he." Would ask ; did they any longer exercise the hospi-
tality for which their ancestors were famed—or if any of them
did, so, were they able to discharge the tradesmen's bills who
fyruishedthe chtet? (cries of no, from scum very di-ci.ntented
looting persons in the crowd)? Mr. Courtenay, indeed, de-
clared that it was no 'ruler whether the estates were taken
from their present owners--breaase, if MIN they would get
into the heads of money leaders or other persons, nod tbos,
in poSsessiou would be forced to pay the taxes. But it was
a matter of some consequence to the Gentlemen now alines,
him, whether they should maintain the situation which their
ancestors maintained, or be reduced to pauperism [cheers..
lie hoped the Country Gentlemen would speak out, and that
with force and firmness. Ile di I not object to the proposi-
tion of Mr. Cobbett on principle, but if the Meeting adopted
a Measure brodght forward by h'm, it would tot hare th,d
weight and interest In Parliament which were necessary fur
its success. Seeing about him Gentlemen of great weight
and interest in the County, he hoped they would d-liver tiv:r
sentimeats and opinions, as doubtless they could, in amen
better language than he could nor [applause].
Mr. Davis next stood forward.—The Meeting, he said,
would disgrace itself, and tie County at large, if they adopt-
ed the proposition of Mr. Ceibhett. lie knew it was a fear-
fill thing to oppose the liononrable Gentleman, het still h,
would say that he could not admire his taste in travelling from
town to town, the apostle of discontent and straulion.
Mr. (!onerrr—lio, no!
Mr. D.,o,„—The itonoti,etsie Gentleman knew as well as
any man that his plan, if acted on, would inrr -ace the dis-
tress ten-fold. Ile would at once break faith with the public
creditor.
- • " - •

... .
Mr. Connerr—Oh ! hear this from a man who proposes to
' re la e the debt.
Mr. Davit said h' contended that if the plan of Mr. Cob-
bett were acted on, every Landlord would he ruined. With-
out meaning any personal disrespect, he would say that the
Honourable tientleirin. with all his tilents, had veered to
every point of the political compass.
Mr. Connerr—Yon'll veer any where but to the subject
[a laugh.]
Mr. Davis—ln 1502 he was the friend oft r.Pitt and Lord
Grenville. Ile had since repeatedly insulted the memory of
the one, and attacked and opposed the other. Ile was the
friend of Sir F. Burdett, and he afterwards attacked him in a
manner the iubst virulent. The farmers, too, he treated with
every species of insult. I have, (said Mr. 9.) one afhis books
in my band ; a pretty little book [a laugh] in which he calk
you all rascals [laughter,' and cries of read ! cries of answer
his arguments !J. lie called the farmers the basest race of
men—that they were supporting the rich ruffians, and shooting
at the poor by their command.
Mr. Count:Tr—No, no ; hand over the book to me.
Mr. Davis—lle called you the base dogs who were slirlinz
off; he called you fat jowled fellows [laughter] in order to ill
the climax [a laugh]. Such a man, lie contended, 'ought to
shrink out of the room would the execrations of the people [lead
hisses, and applause]. That the distress was great, no one
denied—it had its source in the tills-government of 2.5 year-.
During[that time live hundred millions of debt were contracted.
Taxation rose train sixteen to fifty :Minim.; ; in the three last
years of the war, no less than four hundred millions of money
were expended, end as much of that sum as was spent out of
the country was as completely lust to it as kit had been buried
in the sea. No branch suffered so much from taxation ES
agriculture. It appeared from Parliamentary papers, not
three weeks published, that ten Willow; add sixty-six thousat.il
pounds had been raised in the shape of taxes from the WO tta
preceding year [murmurs]. If these taxes were got rid ef,
would it not relieve the farmer; would not a market be opened
for that produce which Lord Liverpool declared to be the cal:.
cause of distress? Ministers might take off five millions of
taxes, and reduce the establishimmts to the s andard of 1792.
They might suspend the Sinsing Fund, hut if they did that they
would disoblige their friends, the Jews and jobbers; and if
they rednerd the establishments to the standard of I:01, they
would cat tip that influence which a Member of the Cabinet
had declared last Session, was necessary, in order to carry on
the Government. He agreed with Mr. Stnythiess that the
Act of 1797 was the first cause of the present distress ; from
that time to about three years since the currency was demi -
elated. All contracts entered into in the mean Save, and all
rents, were made and assumed, with reference to a depreciated
currency—thing• went on well, but the moment the measure
of Cash Payments was passed, iinini'lgated distress commenced
and proceeded. The Ministers deserved the heaviest censure
for passing Peel's Bill. He read over the evidence before tla
Committee, and it appeared to him that none of them knew
any thing of thesubject, save an honest Quaker, whotold them
that if they did not reduce the debt, that they weld not with
safety revert to Cash Payments. There was soothes point hi
the Parliamentary Reform—he wished to see the People (mei),
represented in Porliament—be would wish to see the Ineaeocc
of the Crown diminished, and the dunning of Parlianseats
oborteued—he wookl wish to rise the right of Election Winded

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