The Statesman.
London, England, 1815-02-23 00:00:00

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much unanimity and good humour as the House had
received the information he had just given them. 111.
fore he discussed the Subject, he wished to adreit to
, what had been said of the great profits of brewerir.
The price of a barrel of beer was, 15s. more at pre:.
Sent than it was in 1761, and bf those 15t. Govern.
meat-took eleven ; while the real increase of profit
span every pot of. beer to the, brewer, comparing the
present period with that. of 1764 vat only shout the
feerfifth of one hilfpett'uy.--[ lieut., hear Ada
not, if the Itight Honourable Gentlgmln A{Onitl takit
away the axes, the bresters ,Would he 'mast happy
to sell their beer still lower. Having thus vindicated.
them, he would now vindicate the land-tewArrs and
fanners. It had been-said, and most tesjattly;' that
the present measure was a combination edge* the
great landed proprietors to keep' np the-ienta bf the
Country at a most exorbitant rate. It scan oif *et
thin [Hear, hear!] ; or if it were, indeed, a tote:
bination, it was a combination to prevent the (Terre:
ciation of rent beyond its just value, and with lt the de::
preciation of all other property. Thechimoof that had
been raised against high renti was a most unfounded
and a most uuwise clamour, and had always excited
his Indignation. Taking the country through, the
rents had not been raised beyond what they ought,
according to existing circumstantesi and it should
never be forgotten, that the landed interests Weis in-
separable from our commercial prokper. ity. With re.
gard to the witnesses that had been examined, icesei
difficult to draw any fixed conclusions from their
evi-
dance, as they were alt called to inSwer a puff.)
miler purpose. He felt at every step the difficult*,
of legislating upon the subject; and the mere he eon:
sidered it the more he was convinced that no plans
of legislation could accomplish what was anticipated:
When the pries, of bread was high, the popelar
ings blinded the judgment ; and he could remember
when it was the fashion of the times,rountenanced too
by the then Lord Chef Justice of England, to attri-
bute it all to the acts and piactices of forestatteeii
regraters, and middlemen. It was now, however,
a time when the people might be told that the fore-
staller, the regrater, and the middleman were
dein; more goad in their private dealings than could
be dune by all the plans for public granaries and.
warehouses. The middleman Was always the friend
of the people. lie colietted corn daring a time of
cheapness to sell it oat during a time of 'dearness ;
and if in his speculations he sometimes went beyond
the mark, he required no other punishment than what
his avarice received from being disappointed in its
oileulatiorts. It was the farmers who had their landi
at the old rents, Whose pints had not been raised,
because their landlords Intl not laid out any capital
On their estates, who were the gteateit sufferers.--'
What ought to be the object of the House? To do
the greatest good to the whole community. They
had no right to insist on wheat's being grown at a
lower.price than that at which it would afford a fair
profit to the grower. On the subject of wages, he
had soma years agodelivered an opinion, to which,
however unpopular it might be, he still adhered;'
namely, that more human misery was produced' by
overpayment thee by underpayment. Large ivagerf
led to idleness, extravagance, and dlssipallots. There
was one class of the labouring community tsho had
not SO. fully the means in their own hands of remedy.
ing an increase in the price of corn, greater than that
to which those wages were adequate—the agricultural
class. A rise in the wages of agricultural labour
did not rapidly follow a rise in the price of corn ;
bat then a fall did not rapidly follow a fall its
the price of corn. The wages of the agricul-
tural labourer had lately risen—the price of
corn had fallen—he was, therefore, left in a
better situation than that which he had until re-
cently enjoyed. He by no means thought these '
wages too high at present ; on the contrary, he'
thought that when corn became higher they would
be ton low. He was not one of those, who approved
of the exercise of what was called Old English hose

Oitality towards the labouring classes in the country—
of the eutti4 up of barons of beef, lnil the swiping
of barrels of ale. Nothing contributid so much to
prodigality, profligacy, and dissoluteness, as this
' misnamed boapitilitY; .but he was fully sensible of
i the adventager.which those labouring classes des ived
1 from the residence of their landlords amongst them.
In this respect England had a great superiority over
other countries. In England there were massy land-
lords who constantly resided among their tenantry;
and those larger owners of estates who durintg iv-
riottof the yetir attended their duties in ParMtnefit,
as soon as those were over returned to Hie est/HA,'
to perform their not less important duties in the-
country. In other nations the pfinCipal lan&
owner, wire'drawei to end retained about the iii s:
to add to Whit wiii tin* its splendOur, by the dis-
' play at red Oa' blue' ritibet;s Una crissel• of one'
Iddll'aid,artothet, Which as' sobn as thOY received '
they buttenetl theft coats to bide—fooleries' which '
now,
.appeared -to 4e the object of imitation else.'
where. There was no place in which the landlords
wire so'nuich attachea to the soil as in England.—
' Ili iiemild neve cofisider the Oth6l side of the ques.
tion, on whlcl; alsn'ditrefit exaggration had taken
place. The phiWtophers did not quite satisfy
him. They were occasionally ins/insistent in their
arguments. It was, however, evident that any
superabundant production of corn in the court-.
tr,y wu'uld ' produce an increased. population.--.
Mi. Malthus' had proved' the.elaiticity of the.prio-
cipit of population, end that let. people pionkh; '
sow, reap, and work their hearts out, there would
always he found some tittle brat or other to consume
the superabundant corn which this activity mi*ht
produqr. • Nor wait want of habitations a cheek to .
pOpirlde on. ffii rftembered a young woman having
called . on hini, andNolcl hint that she had lately mar.
Heel, and wanted a house on his estate. He told her
that he had no house to give her, and asked her why
she had not thought of that before she. married ?
46 Lord blest; you, Sir," was the reply p;" I was
&lulu% of something else !"-14 lauglq: 4: • '..e pa.
pitlatiett of the courier), was working up i yiosiy..
—now much would it be increased by tit' to to •
(bele' homes- of the disbanded soldiers and paid-btf
sailors, %abate wives would be much more prolific
'lgen% their keeping than they had been in the keep.
ing Of the [tight Honourable Gentlemen opposite.....
LA loud lauo.l—Much apprehension had bees es.
pfaildlleet l!e'should be inundated with foreign
corn; In the fist place, % w-ence 'was the corn to
woe Some said, from France. Ottur, contended

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