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At every stage of a rise of) prices of food, the employer gains

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upon the labourer, till, at last, the
former becomes a fox hunter and
yeomanry cavalry man, and the
latter a rack of skin and bones."
Pride seizes hold of the upstart,
and insolence intolerable. He
soon finds, that it is inconvenient,
in fact not attended with so much
gain, to have men and boys and
maids in his house; for there he
cannot starve them. He, there-
fore, banishes them from beneath

his roof, and brings them to a
regimen of the parish book. Thus

"Ye friends to truth, ye statesmen who survey

The rich man's joys increase, the

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If our state be not here truly described, never was description true. Dr. GOLDSMITH, if he used a little of poetical licence, only anticipated the literal and melancholy truth; except that we should in vain look for "statesmen," to whom to address with propriety these beautiful lines.

Now, Sir, I think I have shown, that the labourer in husbandry; and it will hold good with respect to Smiths, Wheelwrights, Collar

while he prospers, the labourer is ruined; while he rises the labourer sinks, and exactly in the same proportion. All, in the eyes of such men as you, Sir, appears to makers, and Country-Shoemabe "prosperity." All is flourish-kers, Taylors, and almost every ing and shining. The Big far- other kind of handicraft-men, who mer is decked out in gay attire, are, in effect, labourers in hushorses, carriages, footmen come bandry; I think I have proved where they never were before. that they were injured, that they The farm houses resound with the were oppressed; because I have notes of the piano, and the de- shown, that they must have been canter and glasses sparkle upon injured and oppressed; and that, the table. But, in the midst of too, while their employers were all this, and of all the "improve- benefitted from the very same "ments in husbandry," the la- cause; an unnatural, a forced, bourer, the real husbandman, is rise of prices. I might, therefore, pining and starving: without more ado, go to the other

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And, while he sinks, without one arm side, and show how the labourer

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pleased to say, that this is an

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Aye,

"interests flourished." important question;" that it is aye! That is another man's of the greatest moment to ascer-matter! What you may think tain, whether it can be true, that" great interests," I may think "the depreciation of money and great curses. You may call bank "the consequent rise of prices ing and loan-jobbing and cotton “are injurious to the labourer." and anvil aristocracy and.) . yeoI will, therefore, though I have, I manry cavalry "great interests;" think, proved the affirmative of and they certainly were prospethe proposition, add some facts, rous; but, the increase of the which, of themselves, without any poor-rates from 24 to 8 millións, reasoning at all, would have an- during the rise of prices is what swered the purpose. you can never get over. It is complete and conclusive as to

You have said, and you wish to have it taken for granted (but, the point, that a depreciation of mind, without any proof), that money and high prices, while the labourer prospered during they benefit the higher classes high prices. How, then, did it destroy the labourer, by enabling happen, that, during the rise of them to throw all the public burdens upon his back.

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prices, the poor-rates rose in amount from two millions and a Dr. Copplestone has, you state, quarter to eight millions? This referred to ancient authorities, is not drawn from one of Dr. and such as are suspicious from Copplestone's authorities, though their origin having been a desire the Doctor's may be good too, to establish an arg u ent. Now, for any thing that you have I will appeal to one clear of all proved to the contrary. This suspicion of every kind; and fact is drawn from the archives one that is conclusive and comof that renowned assembly, to plete in all its parts. TULL, in which you now belong. In short, his "horse-hoing husbandry," the fact is certain; and will you Chapter xix. pages 122 and 123 tell me, that it is possible that of the folio edition, states the the labourer could be in a prospe price of seed-wheat at three shilrous state, during the time, that lings a bushel; wages of the plowthis augmentation of poor-rates man at one shilling a day, and of was taking place? "The country the plowboy at sixpence. This "was prosperous; all the great was in the year 1743, mind. And

TULL was, when he wrote his a the time when TULL wrote, book and was practising his drill-nine gallons to the bushel was the husbandry, living at Shalborne, only measure in use all through in Berkshire, which is just close Surrey, Berks, Hants, and all the counties to the West. Howupon the borders of Wiltshire.

This authority is unquestion- ever, to take the thing with the able. TULL'S husbandry was least possible advantage to me, making a great noise at the time. here is the common plowman reSome accounts of his practice, ceiving two bushels of wheat a which he had published before he week, and the common plowboy published his book, had been one bushel a week.

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roughly handled by the critics of Here, taking the bushel at

the day. He was a lawyer by eight gallons, and not at nine as profession. A person likely to I fairly might, the man had (the .be very accurate in his statements. offal paying for grinding) ninety And, besides, he had no end to pounds of flour a week; that is, answer by mistatement as to pri- a quantity of flour sufficient to ces. He was not writing about make twenty-six quartern loaves! prices, but about the mode of til- I say, twenty-six quartern, or ling land; and the statement of half-gallon loaves; and the boy prices comes out incidentally. It enough to make thirteen halfis that sort of circumstantial evi-gallon loaves. Now, Sir, compare dence, which is always, and al-this with what they received in ways must be, regarded as better the times of your “prosperity.” than positive records and oaths. In your flourishing times. What have we here, then?-your times when "all the great Why the fact, that the English" interests" were in a state of labourer in husbandry was, in the" prosperity. 39. What did the time of this fine writer and great plowman get then? Did he get

In

one bushel of wheat? And did
the boy get two gallons? Is it
not notorious, that they did not?
No," say you,
"it is not no-

enlarger of science, living a happy life, having an abundance to eat, let his family be as large as it might. You will observe, that “ Tull speaks of seed-wheat, which "torious." Well, then, I will is always about a tenth in price give you an authority, that you above the average of wheat for will not venture to call in quesgrinding. Observe also, that, tion. In 1814, Mr. BENNETT

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of Wiltshire, and now a member bandry, out of the house, as well of your famously Honourable as in, beer as regularly as the day House, came as a witness before came. It made, within even my a Committee of that most re- memory, a part of their daily nowned Corps, and, to that Com-wages; and that has now been mittee, he gave the following wholly discontinued. Besides, evidence. though I have stated the wages "We (the magistrates) calcu-in bread, English labourers, in late, that every person, in a la- former times (before these times "bourer's family, should have per of "blasphemy" came on) be"week, the price of a gallon loaf, lieved, that man was not to live and three-pence over,for feeding" on bread alone; but, on every -and clothing,exclusive of house-"good thing that the earth prorent, sickness, and casual ex-"duced ;" and that it was the pences." This Report was Devil only that wished to condemn ordered, by the House of Com-man to dry bread. They thought mons, to be printed, on the 26th it, too, no sin to use untaxed salt, of July, 1814.

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soap, candles and shoes. The tax, then, on the malt and beer was a mere trifle. And, if you deduct for what the labourer now pays out of his week's wages in taxes upon these things, more than he paid then, you will find, that he does not actually receive (or did not till prices came down)

Here we have it! Here is the result of the progress from low prices to high! Here we have, at last, the lowest figure on the scale of human misery and degradation. Here are the effects of the Pitt prosperity." Here lie the wretched crowds, prostrated by the hellish system of banking, more than one third of what he funding and paper-money! And received in the time of TULL! yet, Sir, now that you see a And yet, you call this " prospeglimpse of hope for the labourer,"rity!" And yet, you would you would pass on him the sen- save the nation" by making it tence of despair! impossible for the most numerous class ever to taste of happiness again! I thank God, Sir, that

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But, we have not all the parts of the contrast here. In TULL's time, and long and long after, it you and all the bankers in the was the custom, the universal cus-world put together have not the tom, to give all labourers in hus- power, even if you had the go

vernment and the yeomanry ca- | standard of wheat; yes, but no valry at your back, to accomplish in the proportion of the fall. For, so cruel and so nefarious a pur- now the plowman is upon the pose! gain, he gets a little bolder;

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I leave out much. I might mind that; and the employer mention numerous other things gets, by degrees, to cast off his which demonstrate what the la-insolence. It is as difficult to bring down the price of labour by direct means as it is easy to do it by indirect means. It is, indeed, done by indirect means without the labourer perceiving it. He is cheated by the name of the sum being the same after the sum is, in reality, altered. But, talk to

bourer has lost by high prices. However, I have said and brought forward more than enough to establish the point. And, Sir, surely (especially after my two letters to GAFFER GOOCH) I need not say much to prove, that they have gained, do gain, and must continue to gain, by a fall of him about taking so much less, prices? and you may as well talk to a Their engagements, as I ob-post. As to turning them off, it served before, are for the whole is nonsense. You will find them, year so much; or so much a week as the employers were before, all for the year through, except the of a mind. And, in the end, you harvest month, and so much for must let them by degrees, gain that month. Now, need I say. that, which by degrees, they that they must gain by any fall have lost. of prices that shall take place during the year? Especially" thrown out of cultivation." after I have shown how they You say, you hear of this in all must lose by a rise of prices during a similar period? Then, you will say, but this can be only for one year." I beg your pardon it must go on year after

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You talk, Sir, of the "lands

directions. This is an assertion, and nothing more; and it is one that I do not believe. Have the witnesees before the Committee said this? Come, come, Sir, I know that they have said the contrary! Gaffer Gooch's Committee

year, at any rate, as long as the falling keeps on. But, you will say, that this must come to an have indeed kept their proceedend, and that the employer willings from the public eye; but a bring them finally down to the little bird has whistled in my ear,

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