accuracy of the statements it contained, nor the manufacturer could realize that

he thought it was entitled to the greatest attention; but there were some observations in it which called upon him to say a few words. It was stated by the petitioners, that since the complaints which had been made of the prevalence of national distress, no measure of relief had been undertaken by parliament, except the appointment of a committee on foreign trade. Now their lordships would recollect, that when he, in the course of the last session,moved the appointment of a committee to consider of the state of foreign trade, he stated, that he did not confine his motion to that object, because, he conceived it the only one that ought to be inquired into, but, because he conceived that remedies could best be applied to the existing distress, if their lordships' attention were directed to one branch of the subject at a time. When the noble earl opposite, suggested the expediency of referring the application of the petitioners to a committee similar to that of last year, he was bound to say, that the petitioners did not appear to pray particularly for any thing that fell within the inquiries of such a committee. They did not expect relief so much from the extension of foreign trade as from an improvement in the home market; as they thought, that the circumstances which formed the foundation of their sufferings and calamities were to be found rather in the reduction of home consumption than in the diminution of our external commerce. The noble earl had stated, and stated truly, that the distresses under which the country laboured, were not spread equally over all the branches of its industry, and that a partial alleviation of them had lately been experienced where their pressure had previously been greatest. This he was willing to allow. The town of Birmingham, with which the petitioners were connected, had experienced no relief, but in other places there had been an improve-nity to the use of lower articles of conment in trade. The cotton trade in Manchester and Liverpool had materially improved. He had certain information, that there had, in Liverpool, taken place of late, a great revival of the export trade, and, that the cotton trade in particular had been restored to something like comparative prosperity. When he admitted this fact, he begged, however, to connect it with some explanation. Though the trade had been revived, and capital was again brought into activity, neither the merchant

profit from their capital which they did in better times. Their capital was again employed, but not to so much advantage as formerly. A beneficial effect was produced by the activity which was excited, but that effect was not so great as when the profits of the capital employed were greater. If capitalists could realize three, two or one per cent on their capital, it was an amelioration of a state of things when no capital at all could be beneficially employed; but, profits so small could not indicate a flourishing state of trade. The noble earl had ascribed the fall in the prices of agricultural produce, not so much to diminished consumption, as to increased production; and he had referred, for proof of the truth of his doctrine, to the extended cultivation of the country, under the stimulus of war prices and the want of importation during the last two years. But, if this were the case, was it not surprising, that that effect was not felt earlier, and was felt all at once? Was it not inexplicable, ou his hypothesis, that when the prices were high, the production of the country should be inadequate to its consumption; and that when they had fallen for yearswhen the stimulating cause had ceased to operate-there should immediately commence an excess of production over the powers of consumption? When their lordships considered this and other circumstances connected with the state of the country-when they looked to the statement of distresses on their table, and calculated the amount and pressure of taxation-they would see other causes for the complaints of the agricultural interest than excess of production: they would see grounds for believing in a diminished consumption; but, the consumption of the people was not only diminishedthe quality of their food was deteriorated. The taxes had driven the labouring and poorer classes of the commu

sumption than they were formerly accustomed to enjoy. Where they formerly lived on corn, a great portion of them now lived on potatoes. Thus the aggregate consumption of grain over the whole country was, by the pressure of taxation, materially diminished. If their lordships were to follow an hypothesis, in accounting for the distresses of the agricultural interests, they should form one that was consistent with fact, and that explained the appearances for which it was brought

Lord Calthorpe could state, from his personal knowledge, that the individuals who had signed the present petition were incapable of putting their names to any facts of which they did not know the

to account. Nothing could be more unit to be desired, that those great sovesatisfactory than the one which assumed, reigns of the world, assembled at Tropthat the country, which did not grow pau or Laybach, instead of devising enough for its own consumption when plans to violate the independence of prices were high, should all at once grow nations, and establish a system of arbitoo much when they had fallen.-Now trary despotism on the continent, should with regard to the propriety of referring only meet to remove the impolitic restricthe petition to a committee. He did not tions still fastened on European comthink with the petitioners, that much be- merce, and thus do more to effect that nefit would result from the appointment of which they professed to be their object, such a committee. He had said, that the the tranquillization of the world, which state of the home trade was more import- rested on the prosperity of trade, than by ant to the petitioners than that of our fo- any military menace which they might reign trade; and it might be supposed, adopt. Much towards the attainment of that as an inquiry had last year been di- that great object might be accomplished rected into the means of ameliorating the by the government of this country, by latter, so now a wise policy would require the removal of the restrictions existing on more strongly an investigation into the foreign trade; and he trusted more to former. But there was this difference their efforts and to the suggestions of inbetween the two cases-that whereas our dividuals to promote trade at home and foreign trade might be benefitted and ex- abroad, than to the labours of a comtended by an inquiry into the policy of mittee. Should, however, the present certain restrictions on it, and the removal petition be referred to the Committee on of them, the difficulties that pressed upon Foreign Trade, far from opposing the inour home consumption, however easily quiry, though he might not be able to they might be ascertained by a committee, take an active part in it, he should give it could not be removed. A committee in his most sincere support. the latter case might discover the cause, but could not apply the remedy. He attributed our present pressure to the circumstance of our living so long on the capital of the country, and our being obliged now to confine ourselves to its re-reality. He could not help hoping, as venue. This cause, which applied more or less to all other countries that had made similar exertions, was aggravated in this by the great amount of taxation, and this again was aggravated by the necessary and too long deferred return to cash payments. A measure which could only be effected by principles and means which, adding to a taxation already existing to an amount greater than in any other country in the world, clogged and hampered all the means which the country possessed of adapting itself to the new state of things. If he was right in his opinion, it was not to a committee that the country should look for a remedy, but to a determination on the part of its government to reduce the public expenditure by every means at its disposal; and, above all, by a determination on the part of parliament not to allow any partial interests, however powerful, to interfere with those broad principles of trade, by which alone new commerce could be created, new capital called into action, and those impediments removed, which in this, as in other countries, put a check to commercial prosperity. Much were

far as the foreign trade was concerned, that the committee which sat last year, and which was about to be revived, would secure to the country all attainable advantages. He was therefore glad that the noble earl who had presented the petition had not moved for a new committee, which might have the effect of distracting the labours of the old. Yet he felt desirous, that some committee of the nature proposed by the petitioners should be appointed in that or the other House. He hoped, that the public wish, expressed by numberless petitions, would induce ministers to sanction the appointment of such a committee to investigate the causes of the existing distress, or at least to afford an opportunity of ascertaining what were the circumstances which affected agriculture. Ordered to lie on the table.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.

Monday, February 5, AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.] Mr. Gooch begged to ask the noble lord opposite, whether it was intended to bring for

whether the calculations of the advocates of parliamentary reform were fallacious, or THE PROCEEDINGS AGAINST THE whether their opinions were grounded on QUEEN.] The Marquis of Tavistock facts. He would not go so far back into said, he rose in pursuance of his notice the subject as to advert to the best days and of the wishes of many of his friends, of our now unfortunate Queen, when to move a resolution expressive of the sense she was secure from persecution, or if of that House, on the measures which had persecuted, when she was secure of a lately emanated from his majesty's govern- defender. He would not contrast the ment. Never had he felt so much the want present conduct of her majesty's perof powers to embody his sentiments in lan-secutors with their conduct in the days guage, and his perfect incapacity to do common justice to the subject which he had presumed to bring under the consideration of the Honse. It was, however, fortunate for him, that the discussions which that subject had already undergone in the House and throughout the country,

the Liturgy, as that subject had already been discussed and decided upon by the House, would he say any thing that might weaken the effect of the arguments urged by those with whom he coincided in opinion on the question, and more especially of the powerful and unanswerable speech of the hon. and learned gentleman (Mr. Wetherell) on the other side of the House. He would just observe, however, that as he had always understood the golden rule of justice to be, that when a doubt existed in any case, it was the right of the accused individual to have the benefit of that doubt, he should always consider the omission of her majesty's name in the Liturgy as a pre-judgment, which was not only unjustifiably cruel towards her majesty herself, but pregnant, as it had since proved to be, with the most unqualified mischiefs to the country. It was a measure no less rash and impolitic than it was unjust and illegal; and, with respect to the decision to which the House had come upon the motion of his noble friend, he hailed it as the first bright omen of that reform which he had long been convinced must sooner or later take place. He sincerely hoped, that he should see their table covered with petitions for reform from every parish in the kingdom, and that the result would be, such a change in the representation as might make the House of Commons no longer the obedient instrument of the servants of the Crown, but render it the legitimate and invariable organ of public opinion.

of conduct having been pursued by you; but, if you will do as we wish you-if you will consult our convenience, by staying abroad-we will give you 50,000l. a-year of the money of the people of England, to squander in a manner which we know will be dishonourable to the British Crown, and disgraceful to the British nation." In the course of the proceedings which had taken place in the other House of Parliament, the country had seen most extraor dinary and disgusting things. It had seen the public accusers of the Queen of England sitting in judgment upon her; it had seen those, who had already stigmatised her as a criminal, sitting as judges and jurors in her cause; it had seen those who were deeply interested in her conviction, exerting themselves to obtain it. Was that becoming? Was that a tribunal before which any individual, under similar circumstances, would wish to be brought.

Without going over the whole of the anomalous proceedings which took place on that occasion-without adverting to all the means of indirect policy which were continually resorted to, it was impossible for him to refrain from expressing the disgust which the details, that day after day were elicited, excited, and his conviction of the irreparable injury to the morals of the country, which the circulation of those details must inevitably inflict. When, however, the bill of Pains and Penalties was withdrawn from the other House of Parliament, the country undoubtedly expected, that with the abanHe would pass on to the next manifesta- donment of the bill, which the prime tion of the hostility of his majesty's go- minister felt himself compelled to move, vernment to the Queen. He meant the the question, as one of hostility towards production of the green bags. He would her majesty was set at rest for ever. But, ask the noble lord opposite and his col- now they were told, that her majesty was leagues, whether, when they laid before not to be restored to all those rights and the two houses of parliament those green privileges to which she was justly and lebags, filled with the most degrading and gally entitled. The noble lord opposite obscene charges against her majesty, they talked of a "technical acquittal!" His did or did not believe, that the evidence majesty's ministers, having been comwas sufficient to substantiate the accusa-pelled, by the strong expression of pubtion? If they did not believe, that the evi-lic sentiment, to withdraw the bill of dence was sufficient, they were guilty of little less than treason to the king, to the Queen, and to the country. If they did believe, that the evidence was sufficient, they were, if possible, still more guilty: they had disregarded the honour of the Crown and the interests of the public; for they said in effect to the Queen," We have in our possession, proof strong as holy writ, of a degrading intercourse having subsisted, and of a most licentious course

Pains and Penalties, now presumed to act against her majesty, as if that bill had passed both Houses of Parliament, and had become a law. Of all the pernicious doctrines he had ever heard, that which justified the practice of attempting to whisper away the character of any one who had been tried and acquitted, appeared to him to be the most obnoxious and monstrous. What security could any individual in the country possess, if such