The Statesman.
London, England, 1822-03-08 00:00:00

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?nu R I'.!•.RVight PENCE.
county of Oxford on the subject of agricultural distress.
On looking at the signatures to this petition, be found
that all elutes concurred in the representations here put
forth. The case they made out wire quite slurping, and
if the mischief were to be ascribed, as he believed it
had been by his Majesty's principal Minister to super-
abundant produce, he thought the farmer ought at a
events to be protected against foreign competitors, end
the evils resulting ruder particular circumstances from
the importation of grain. lie wished such measure,
adopted as would give the farmer • market, and the la-
bourer employment. The present distreu threatened to
lead to the most serionucoosequences. de bad bees in-
formed on authority which he could not question, that
it had produced some distnrhanhes in the county of Nor-
folk, and that riots had broken out in the e Muty of Suf-
folk, which made it necessary to call out Um yeomanry.
The Hon. Member for Suffolk would, perhaps, be able to
state whether or not this was true.
•
Mr. GOOCH was sorry to say that that part of the HOP.
Gentleman's statement which related to the comities of
Norfolk and Suffolk was too true. Circumstance* of a
disagreeable emcee had occurred on the borders of the
county of Norfolk, and in the county of Suffolk disturb-
ancet had taken place, which bad made it necessary to
Ca out a pert of the yeomanry. He was the last man in
the house who would conetessarily endeavenr to excite
alarm; but he was bound to admit thet these facts were
true. He, however, begged to oorrect a statement which
1 bad been made by the Hon. Metal or for the city of 01-
ford (Mr. Lockhart), on a former night, respecting the • ti
gaol at Bury, which was one of the best regulated ea-
, tablishments of the Lind in the kingdom; sad which was
tin,"er the care of a most respee'ab'e, humane, and intel-
ligent person. Ti 15 Hon. Gent s man Is; d stated, treat in
a goal which was built to contain 1110 person, at present
200 is ere confined, that of these 200 prisoners 80 were
poachers. It bad also been said, that of the 80 poach-
ers many had gone out poaching in order that they
might get taken up, and be thus saved from starving.—
Ile had bad • letter from that respectable gaoler to whom
he bad already 'Buried, which stated, that instead of
there being 200 print:men in h ', here were at pre-
sent but 150. For the 80 poachers mentioned, but 40
were in confinement, and inquiries but been made to as.
certain whether any of them had gone out to poach to
•
escape starving, by getting themselves taken, and it had
been found that among them all there was not a single
solitary instance of that nature.
Mr. LOCKHART was glad to hear that the number
of the prisoners was not so great as lie had understood
it to be, but sorry it was not smaller than it was accord-
ing to the statement of the Hon. Gentletuan.
Mr. if. SUMNER mentioned a case in which the
poachers confined in a Penitentiary had been employed •
1,
in a mill. The effect was in .st Iseneficiai, for it had been
stated, after a considerable time had erapsed, that not
one of those had been so employed erer returned to colt-
finement.—The petition was ordered to lie on the table.
Mr. HOOCH rose to present a Petition from certain
owners and occnpirrs of laud on the subject of Agricul-
tural Distress. He was no: disposed to carry his poli- •
tics so far as to be willing to present a Petition from any
class of persons because they happened to differ from
him. He bad therefore to state that this Petition was
respectfully drawn up, and he hoped it would receive .
from the House the attention it deserved. Haring said
this there were some circumstances connected with the
Petition which lie wished te advert to, and some part of •
his own conduct which be desired to explain. This Pe. a
tition was voted at-a large Meeting called by a requi-
sition, very respectably signed, but it bad been so ma- •
naged, that he believed not ten Freeholders, from Ira.
wich to Yarmouth, knew that such a requisition was
about to be forwarded. There was nothing in it hut
what all the Freeholders, whatever their political senti-
ments, might have subscribed to, he therefore did not
see why it should have been kept from persons who dif-
fered in some respects from those by whom it had been
drawn up, but such was the course pursued. When the
day of meeting arrived, he attended at Stow-market, as
did several friends of his, who lived within a morning's
ride of the place. Ten of these agreed there with ten
of the party opposed to them to draw up a string of re- ,
solutions, which should be so framed, that they might
pats unanimously, as it was admitted that it would he
wise to keep politics out of the way altogether, The
resolutions were drawn up, and he thought they were
going off unriittioasly, when an individual there, of
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whom he bad no right to complain, as be was not a
party to the agreement which had been entered into,
broke in upon the arrangement by moving a reeoloticu !s
which went to call for a Parliamentary reform. Those Gen-
tlemen who had cowe to an arrangement with his fried' s,
seconded and supported this proposition, and they thee
entered upon • wide field of discussion. The Sherdt t:':
would not put the resolution, as to do so would be to
take the county by surprise, the meeting not having
been summoned to consider of the propriety of petition-
ing for a Reform in Parliament. and he therefore be-
lieved that the best thing he could do was to diesel :it
the meeting. He (Mr.Dooch) and the few friends with •-
him retired, and afterwards the Sheriff was persuaded t
to call on the instant a new meeting, io the waggon.— t
He was surprised at this, as acting curb a part was
taking the county completely by surprise. At this new
meeting the reform proposition was carried. His worthy
"col'esgue, whose absence from the House he much re-
grette.l, would have supported it had be been in his
place, because he, from the conviction of his honest
mind, was as mach in favour of Parliamentary Reform,
at;
as he (Mr. Gooch) was opposed to it. He Mimed',
however. wished for Reform where this could be. ffecte I •
with safety. lie (Mr. Hooch) wished to guard against
a lavi'h miendifure; he wished oe punish and repress
corn, ion wherever it might be detected, but he conld
not go the length of calling fur that alteration in the
Icoustitution which some thought necessary. He had
mentioned the indisposition of his Hon. Colleague to ac-
count for his not being there to support the petition,
which had hien carried about six weeks for signatures,
to the prayer, of which, as it now stood, he was sorry to
say that he could not subscribe.
Mr. COKE said, constituted as that Henn was, he
' bad no hope that the Petition now presented, or any
other., would be attended to. The Hon. Gentleman bad
told them the meeting was very nuoieroos, and so be
(Mr. Coke) understood it to have been ; and he could
not therefore understand how the county mulct be so
touch taken by surprise as the Hon. tieutlem in sup-
posed. From the conduct pursued by that House, in
rejecting these Petitions, it nag cle tr th If no relief was
to be expected without a reform in Parliament. The
plan lately brought forward by Ministers would not re.
heye the landed interest. A proof tf this wig' t be found
in the price of barley, having gone down from 4s. I Id.
to 4s. 6.1. the bushel. The Noble Marquees treate.l these a 111
subjects with a degree of good humour, which, itl
..onsegneoce of • certain understandiNg among thew, it
passed off very well there; hut for the statement In
isk I
ad lately made, it ryes to biro perfec:ly inernoprehep-
iible, and he could not make either head or tail of it.
•
.1 speech Odell hail preceded it hr a few evenings,
chewing the necessity of • rerhiction of taxation war
111