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brave minister of finance this does not perceive, that the farwould make! He was for time, mers have been ruined by Peel's too, as well as your lordship and Bili? I ask if this be possible; the Pitt-Club. "Time," said for really the little blackguard he, "will do a great deal, and boys in the streets seem to know "the agricultural interests will the fact. "soon be relieved, if tenants are

"allowed to cultivate the sail to

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Upon this occasion Mr. LockART repelled the insinuation that advantage." Certainly! There any hoourable members had sugneeds no witch to tell us that. gested a breach of faith, and That is all the farmers want. said, that the Agriculturists had They know they shall be relieved, not touched upon the subject of if they can cultivate the soil to the Debt; and only expressed a advantage. But what is to enable wish to be enabled to pay the taxes them to do that? You shall imposed on them. This is very

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hear: "a reduction of the price true. The Agricultureasses have, of labour and a reduction of all through, been for taxes and "taxation." God bless the man! for the Debt. Many of them are What can he mean? Has not fundholders; and, besides, they labour been low enough in price? know that the taxes never touched And is not the cry against the a hair of their heads. They poor-rates partly founded on the have prayed for high prices. fact, that they enable the farmer They have said, that they want to bring down wages? What! are Mr. Wiltshire BENNET'S gallon loaf and three-pence a week too much! And, as to the taxes, how are they to be lowered if national faith" be to be kept? At the utmost Mr. Maberly does not ask for the reduction of taxes to the amount of more than two or three millions. What is this? Why, it is not more than ten made as clear as the sun at noon pound to each of the farmers, day. Oh, no! They do not even if the farmers paid the whole petition against the funds and of it. Is it possible that this man against taxes! They, in the

high prices to enable them to pay the taxes; and this, like the Jesuits' creed is true in words and a lie in intent and meaning. What they mean is to enable them to pay the taxes out of the wages of their labourers, while they go. tax-free themselves; for, that, this is what they have been at for many years past is now a fact

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fullness of that magnanimity, [been paying both rent and taxes which Mr. LOCKART ascribes to and purchasing into the funds them, petition against nothing with the money that they have and nobody but their labourers, deducted from the wages of laon whose unrequited sweat they bour! No wonder that poorhave thriven; and they know rates should augment, when they they have thriven by the means were used for the purpose of of high prices. The Agricul- screwing down wages, and no tureasses do not ask, indeed, for wonder, that, at last, schemers high prices, in the very words. should step forward to put an They ask for "remunerating end to the "evil" of poor-rates, "prices;" but, being asked to which existed nearly three hunname a sum; being brought to dred years the glory of English the point, they say, ten shillings Legislation, an honour to the a bushel for wheat. Now, as the country and an honour to human labourer used to receive two nine nature. gallon bushels of wheat as the A law is, indeed, necessary price of a week's work, will they upon the subject, if the false give him twenty two and six pence money be put out again; for, to a week, when they get the ten stand by, with the power of preshillings a bushel? They will vention in hand, and see the see him a skeleton and hung up labourer plundered as he has to dry first. What did they give been, would be an abomination. him when wheat was 15s. a Lawyer SCARLETT, however, apbushel? Read Mr. Wiltshire pears to have no idea of a law of Bennet's answer to the Agricul- this kind. He says, indeed, that tural Committee of 1814. "We his bill would have the effect of "allow a gallon loaf and 3d. a causing the labourer to receive "week to every person in a labour-a sufficiency in the shape of "er's family!" He did not say, wages. But, where are the prothat they gave the common visions to effect this? One of ploughman thirty-three shillings a the effects of his bill would be to week, which ought to have been induce the farmers to employ all his wages. They were, during those whom the law would leave several years of the war, deducting with a right to demand relief, and twenty shillings a week from the to turn the rest into banditti. wages of many of the labourers; AGUR prays, that he may have and flinging back to some three neither poverty nor riches; not or four shillings a week in the poverty lest he steal; not riches shape of poor-rates. Well enough lest he forget God. And I am they may care nothing about not aware of any law; human taxes as long as they can get or divine, that forbids men to high prices; well may they mag-ake food to save their lives, find nanimously decline to say any it where they will. The disciples, thing against taxes and against with their great Master at their the Debt, when they themselves head, took the "ears of corn," are, many of them, fundholders, that is the maise, or Indian Corn, and when they have, for years, to eat, on the Sabbath day, be

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cause "they were an hungeréd." | sation. This being the cause, the And when Christ was reproved thing to do was to remove the for this by the Pharisees, he cause, and not to propose meaanswered: "Have you not read sures to add to the injustice. " what DAVID did when he was The celibacy clause of this will "an hungered: how he entered never be forgotten. It will re"into the house of God, and did main a monument of that which "eat the shewbred, which was it is wholly unnecessary for me to "not lawful for him to eat, describe, seeing that the public "neither for them that were have so decidedly expressed their "with him, but only for the feelings on the subject. To be "priests?" So that what would sure, to propose to enact any have been house breaking, theft, thing with a view of preventing and sacrilege, under other cir-young people from marrying, let cumstances become no crime at the object be what it may, does all, when dictated by the impe-appear something too monstrous rious calls of hunger.

to have entered into the mind of Lawyer SCARLETT knows, or man. This act would be looked ought to know, that according to upon as a censure on marriage, the Civil Law, it was held to be and it would not be the more conno theft or robbery to take food to sistent and decent for their being satisfy the cravings of hunger; in full force and activity a law to and, if this was departed from induce men to marry by imposing under our laws, it was only be- on them a bachelor's tax! If the cause those laws provided relief Lawyer's check-population bill for the distressed and especially for every one unable (no matter from what cause) to obtain a sufficiency of food. And, would he now enact a prohibition to relieve the starving, and, at the same time, to leave them exposed to the pains of felony for endeavour-them for being married would ing to save their lives by taking make the very walls of the House that food, which the rich will not cry out shame. give them in the way of relief?

were to be passed; if such a thing as that were possible, the bachelor's tax, this premium for marriage must certainly be repealed; for to have a law to fine men for being bachelors, and another to withhold relief from

And, does Lawyer SCARLETT } If the poor hadbecome so through think, that he would really check their own misconduct, it would population by such a law? Does be a different thing. If the peo-he imagine, that one single child ple of England had become lazy less would be begotten? If he and profligate; but, this is not do, very little has he ever seen or the case. We find it clear as day- heard of the labouring classes. light, that the labourers have There would, in all probability, been made poor by a vicious sys-be two bastards more for one letem; by a false-money, which gitimate child less. The parties has, in the course of seventy would interpret the law according years, deprived wages of more to their own passions: and they than the half of its just compen-would take it for a sanction to

dispense with the parson. That If this law were to pass, it

people to a state closely bordering on that of slavery; one more step, and they come to that of brutes; but, that step will not, I trust, be taken.

is all that the law would do in this must be followed up by a law to way. But, what a pack of bas-punish breeding; or else bastard tards would every parish have to children would swarm in every keep! The country would soon parish. And, the making amends become a scene of promiscuous by marrying would, of course be intercourse; every village and at an end; for, it would be a hamlet would have its brothel; pretty thing indeed to punish and all sense of even common de-people for marrying and to comcency would speedily disappear. pel them to marry at the same And, a bill like this is, too, time. In short, breeding must be brought forward at the very mo- prevented, and that, too, by the ment, when the other great Law-only means by which it can be yer, BROUGHAM, has a bill in hand prevented; and then I think, that to mend our morals by the means the Pitt system will have attained of stipendiary parish-school mas-its last stage of perfection! The ters. I hope, at least, that this “infinite wisdom" of this system "Education Digest" will contain has reduced a majority of the a chapter to explain the nature and obligations of celibacy; and to teach the pupils how to carry on their amours in conformity with Lawyer SCARLETT's Bill: for, amours there will be in spite of all that Lawyers can invent and that parliaments can enact. When laws are about to be passed, the feelings of the parties to be affected by them, especially if those parties be numerous, ought to be considered. This law, dress it out as the Lawyer will, will pass for a law to prevent marriage. "Whereas it appears that the Nothing in the world can be better "poor-rates have been perverted calculated to shock and to offend. "from their proper, benevolent, It is so directly in the teeth of the" and lawful purpose; and have 'divine law; so hostile to all the "been made conducive to the miprecepts of the Christian religion; "sery and degradation instead of such a slap in the face to the Li-" comfort and consolation of the turgy of the Church of England; "unfortunate part of our fellow and, above all, so abhorrent to Işubjects: and whereas it has the feelings of the whole of the" been found, upon examination, female sex, that it must be odious." that this perversion has arisen The refusal of relief on account out of the uttering of a paof marriage will be regarded as a "per money, constantly deprepunishment for marrying, and ciating and constantly dewill operate as a general license priving the labouring classes for promiscuous indulgence. of a greater and greater por

If the great amount of the poor-rates is an evil, any sensible man, wishing to remove the evil, would look well into the cause of it; and, having found the cause, would endeavour to remove that. Therefore Lawyer SCARLETT'S Bill should have run in somewhat this manner:

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❝tion of the remuneration for bandry that a country contains "their labour, until, at last, All the mouths must want food, "the hale and able and in-and the labour of no community "dustrious workman has been will raise more food than that "reduced to the state of a pau- community can dispense with per: for remedy of so great either in the way of consumpan evil be it enacted, that from tion, or in that of barter for and after the passing of this other necessaries. Is it not, "act no paper-money be cur- then, something monstrous to rent in this kingdom nor any suppose, that there is an overmoney whatsoever except the stock of food in a country where gold and silver coins, of full a large part of the people noto"weight and fineness, of our riously have not a sufficiency? A "Sovereign Lord the King." want of employment will arise That would have been enough! from an unfair distribution of the But, short of this, nothing was crop; from the denying of a due better than any thing. However, share to the most numerous class. at the very moment that the bill Consumption will, in this way, was brought in there was a mea-be diminished, as it has been by sure in operation tending to this the raising of prices and lowerpoint. Peel's Bill was going on, ing the wages by paper-moand the Bank was beginning to ney. Want of employment will pay in gold. Prices were com- also arise from making men ing down in a way that promised perform more labour for the us wheat at four shillings a bushel same quantity of provisions. If in ordinary years. The gallou I have 10 slaves, and make 8, loaf was coming down towards do the work that 10 used to do 8d. And this being the case, I want, in future only eight. why not let these measures pro- Sometimes want of employment duce their natural effects? Why will arise out of the distress of push forward such a bill at all? the employers; if this distress But, at any rate, why push it be general, or extensive; and forward at such a moment? this is our present case. There is an opinion afloat, that, farmers, or, at least, great numthough provisions will be cheap, bers of them, are in distress. there will be a want of employ- The money that they would, it ment; and, therefore, the la- they could, expend on labour, bourers will still be no gainers, they owe. They have previously and the poor-rates will not be engaged its application. They lightened. Now, my lord, as have diverted it to uses foreign this is a point of importance, and to their affairs in husbandry. as you are a Minister, I wish They have plenty of employment, you to pay particular attention but they have no money to pay for it.

to this matter.

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It is a supposition perfectly But this is not, and cannot be, monstrous, that a state of things, a permanent state of things. a permanent state of things can These farmers must give way exist, which will not create a de-Others will arise unencumbered mand for all the labour in hus-with the same embarrassments;

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