and it might be worth while to consider whether there was not a possibility of diminishing, in some degree, the amount of payments required from united agricultural parishes, on account of the building of workhouses under the poorlaw amendment bill. He thought the interest payable for the advances was greater than in other cases where public money was advanced. As to an inquiry into the causes of the depression of the price of agricultural produce, it could not be attended with any benefit or produce any practical result. They found a depression of prices admitted, and if the committee thought it necessary to go into the cause of it, he hoped they would not confine themselves merely to the alteration in the currency, but would also consider the effect of a cessation of war, of a return to peaceful habits and pursuits, and of improved and increased means of production, Cases ought not to be selected from particular portions of the country. If the committee were going to ascertain the real causes and condition of agricultural distress, they must not take the case of a heavy soil, where the production of wheat was necessarily expensive: but they must look at the subject as a whole, and not merely look at the condition of agriculture, but at the other interests involved in, and connected with it. One thing appeared self-evident-it was clearly as much for the interest of agriculture as for that of commerce and manufactures, that we should adhere to the present standard of value

Mr. Attwood having withdrawn his motion, the committee was appointed. The great majority of

its members consisted of the representatives of English counties, à composition which was not agreeable to those who thought that such topics as the currency and the cornlaws would not be treated with the attention which they deserved. Mr. Hume accordingly moved, that the committee should be an open one. Ministers resisted the motion, and it was rejected by a majority of only seven, 142 having voted for it, and 149 against it. On the 18th of February, a similar committee was appointed by the House of Lords on the motion of lord Wynford, with the concurrence of lord Melbourne, who stated the willingness of ministers to lend its inquiries every assistance in their power, but their determination likewise to resist any project for tampering with the currency. The committees, however, as sir Robert Peel had predicted, ended in nothing. On the 21st of July, the chairman of the committee stated to the House of Commons, that they had resolved merely to report the evidence without any opinion or observation. A draft of a report had been drawn up by the chairman; but so much of it was objected to by those members who stood most prominently forward as the advocates of the agricultural interest, that no report was made. Sir James Graham laid the blame upon the government; because, although they had proposed the committee, and were bound by their situations to have taken the lead in its proceedings, they had gone on with imperfect and undecided views, ready to catch at any thing which might turn up, and were found, at the conclusion of the inquiry, totally unprepared with any plan or recommendation. In these cir

cumstances, the friends of the agriculturists could do nothing but prefer the absence of any report whatever.

Lord John Russell denied, that because ministers had proposed the committee, they were bound to be provided with any specific plan. As the marquess of Chandos had given notice of a motion for the appointment of such a committee, they had thought it right to take up the question; and they thought, likewise, that it would not be desirable to propose such a proceeding, unless it could be expected that the committee would state in its report some prominent measure of relief; like those, for example, which had been already granted to the agricultural interest; namely, relief from the burden of county rates and poor-rates. At the close of their labours, the chairman had framed a report, which was communicated to all the members, and, according to established usage, a meeting was called for the special purpose of taking that draft of a report into consideration. On that occasion twentyfive members attended, eighteen of whom represented agricultural counties. He had expected that the proposed report would have been strictly canvassed; and he had been prepared to give his opinion on every point to which it referred; but sir James Graham had objected to the report altogether, contending that the committee ought merely to report the evidence, without any observations. He himself had considered this proposal objectionable, especially considering the quarter from which it came. He had expected that the opponents of the proposed report would submit to the committee some other expedient for

aiding the agriculturist; and he certainly had felt no small surprise that all idea of making such a report should be abandoned without the least hint being given of any plan for relief of agricultural distress; that those, who had been calling out for months and for years about the distress of the agricultural classes, should now have nothing to submit to the consideration of parliament-no definite proposition to make, or remedy to suggest. When this proposition, however, was likewise supported by the marquess of Chandos, he had acceded to it; but he had done so with reluctance, for it could not prove otherwise than a disappointment to the country, and especially to the great body of the farmers, who had long been looking to parliament for relief. The committee might certainly have disapproved of the proposed report; but

surely they ought to have known that the public would expect them not to separate without coming to some decided opinion, and recommending to the House some definite plan. The marquess of

Chandos said, that the report which had been prepared would have inflicted greater injury on the agricultural interest than any other conceivable measure. He would much rather have the evidence stand alone, than accompanied by any opinions likely to emanate from a committee constituted as this had been; for he considered that evidence as having fully established the case which the interests of the farmer required. Mr. Hume, on the other hand asserted, that the evidence utterly destroyed that case, as it made out that the working man was in a much better condition now than he had been for many years past.

Sir Robert Peel, too, had acquiesced in the proposal that there should be no report, but he stated more particularly why it had become necessary to arrive at that conclusion. It was quite true, that lord John Russell had been prepared to discuss every point of the proposed report in the committee. He had gone through the draught, reading it, like a magician, back wards, and as he went on, he struck all the brains out of it, stating, when he objected to parts of it, that he would give most satisfactory reasons why they should not be retained. Against any observation on the subject of the currency, there was this objection, that the House itself had already adopted a distinct resolution, declaring any alteration of the monetary system to be highly inexpedient and dangerous. Then they had come to the questions of the malt tax, and an increased duty on foreign corn; but these, like wise, he had treated as questions of too much importance to be reported on by a select committee, and he wished the paragraphs which referred to them, to be omitted. He had acted in the same manner with regard to one or two other points; and when the committee came to look at the report, they found that his sickle had so completely gathered up every important resolution of the committee, that there was nothing left to report upon. His lordship had, indeed, proposed a panegyric on the reduction which had been effected in the countyrates, amounting altogether to 70,000l.; and which was attained by the expenses of criminal prosecutions being partly borne by the government. He believed, that the farmers were quite aware of the fact, and that in consequence their rates were reduced a farthing VOL. LXXVIII,

in the pound; the proposed resolution was at any rate a proof that he thought either that they were not informed of the fact, or that they were not sufficiently alive to its importance. The noble lord had also recommended that the report should specify the tithe bill as a measure of great importance, and likely to give great relief to the agricultural interest; but he had suggested to his lordship, that the tithe bill had not yet passed into a law, that it was then before the House of Lords, and although he sincerely hoped that it would receive their assent and concurrence, he thought it would be rather premature to dwell upon a measure as a great boon to the agricultural interest, which had not yet become law. The noble lord had then adverted to the progress which had been made under the new poor-law in diminishing the burdens upon agriculture : but he (Sir R. Peel) did not think that it was exactly the province of the committee to enter upon the consideration of the poor-law; for very little evidence had been taken upon the subject, and although that question would doubtless have formed an useful head of inquiry, yet, as the committee did not enter upon it, if they had ventured to say too much, and to predict great benefits from the measure, the consequence would be, that the report, although future events might confirm the conjecture, would not be founded on any evidence that had been received. There was, however, a paragraph in the report relating to stiff lands which had been left undrained, and recommending the Scotch method of applying the plough and draining the sub-soil; but they had all felt that

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if they omitted in their report every thing relating to the corn laws, every thing about the malt tax, andthe duty on foreign corn, the plough would stand in rather too bold relief. He was, at first, certainly disposed in favour of presenting a report; but when he considered all the circumstances to which he had referred, and the expectations which had been formed, he most willingly acquiesced in the propriety of making no report at all; and he was very sure that the disappointment which would be felt would not be so great, as if they had presented a report in which all the remedies, that had been proposed for the relief of agriculture, had been discussed. But as ministers had proposed the committee, and were therefore responsible for what it had done, it was too late for them, if they agreed in reporting only the evidence, to endeavour to throw upon others whatever responsibility there might be for the committee having made no report.

The distresses of the agriculturists were brought forward, in another shape, on the 27th of April, by the marquess of Chandos, who wished the House to express its opinion that, in any reduction of taxation which might take place, the interests of agriculture ought to be particularly kept in view. It was not his meaning, he said, that any peculiar favour should be shown to the agricultural interest at the expense of other classes; what he wanted was, not a partial, but an equal distribution of taxation. The amount of taxation reduced or repealed during the last five years was upwards of eight millions, of which not more than half a million bore directly on the landed interest; the overwhelming mass of it had been

given to the manufacturing interests. On the other hand, the agriculturist suffered from imposts which did not press upon others. He was oppressed by the malt tax, which every government seemed equally determined to retain. Then he had to bear the burden of county-rates and highway rates, which were considerable. Last year, it was true, the government allowed a grant for defraying the expenses of prosecuting felons in agricultural districts, which ought to have produced a diminution in the countyrates; but it had not. The expense of prosecuting felons ought generally to be at the national charge. In this respect the farmers of Scotland were better off than the English farmers; for though they had King's taxes to pay, they were free from local taxation. In 1834 a committee of the House of Lords reported, in reference to the manner in which the county-rates and the highway-rates affected the farmer, that it was clearly established ine vidence, that, so far from his returns compensating him for his outgoings, they were diminished considerably below them; and it was recommended that inland communication, being a general benefit, the expense of maintaining it ought to be defrayed out of the national purse. The charge for highway-rates, &c. was 621,5047., of which 388,440l. was levied on the landed interest, and 233,0647. on other parties. He thought it impossible but that the House would admit that a most unjust portion of taxation was thrown upon the landed interest. The consequence was, that, as appeared from evidence already before the House, in many instances the entire capital of the farmer had been lost; from year to year, tenants

had been removed; a great part of the land had gone out of cultivation; and what was worse, less wheat had been sown this year than usual, in consequence of its low price, and much land had been devoted to other speculations. In such a state of things, the landed interest was only claiming justice, when it asked that it should have an equal participation in any relief which might be given from the pressure of public burdens. He moved a resolution, "That, in the application of any surplus revenue towards the relief of the burdens of the country, either by the remission of taxation or otherwise, due regard should be had to the necessity of a portion thereof being applied to the relief of the agricultural interest."

Lord John Russell objected to the motion, both on its merits, and because he thought it premature to entertain such a question, before the agricultural committee, which was then sitting, should have made its report. It was premature likewise, because it did not yet appear whether there would be any surplus to justify a reduction of taxation; and it was when reductions were actually to be made, that members, who charged themselves with the care of particular interests, ought to raise the question, whether the reduction would not be more useful if applied in one direction than in another. It was at least to have been expected, that the maker of such a motion would have pointed out some tax, or taxes, as peculiarly pressing on the agriculturists; but instead of this, there was only a general declaration that the agricultural interest was one to which, above all others, relief ought to be applied. It was a

mistake to imagine that this interest had not derived its full share of advantage from the reductions of taxation, which had already taken place. The beer tax was one which materially affected the agriculturists. At the time it was taken off, it had been a question, whether it would be more beneficial to the landed interest that the tax upon beer, or that upon malt should be reduced. It was considered preferable to apply the reduction to the former, and the consequence was, that three millions, the taxes upon beer, were taken off a circumstance highly beneficial to the agriculturist, for by that reduction the consumption of malt was very materially increased. There, no doubt, were particular taxes which applied to certain particular interests; but it would be a great mistake to say, that overlooking the interests of the rest of the community, and confining themselves to those of a particular town or district, they should consider its especial benefit alone, when a general reduction of duties should take place. There had taken place a considerable diminution of the taxes on candles and soap, and would it be maintained that the diminution had not contributed to the benefit of the agriculturist? Looking, then, at what had been done with reference to articles of consumption in general, and considering the present state of the country, he was not prepared to say, that there was any other article, with respect to which any such reduction could be made as would tend to the advantage of the landed interest in particular, excepting the malt tax, a topic which was not now pressed, probably from a conviction that the mind of the House was made up