CHAP. 1821. more I hear the subject discussed, the more am I confirmed in the opinion I now express. Let it not be supposed, however, that I am an enemy to toleration. I should wish that every sect should have the free exercise of its religion, so long as it does not affect the security of the established, and as long as its members remained loyal subjects. But there is a great difference between allowing the free exercise of religion and the granting of political power. My opposition to this bill arises from principles which I have embraced ever since I have been able to judge for myself, and which I hope I shall cherish to the last hour of my life." This decisive declaration on April 17, the part of the heir-apparent of the throne, whose early accession seemed likely from the health of the reigning Sovereign, produced a very great impression, and carried the popularity of his Royal Highness to the highest point. He became the object of enthusiastic applause at all the political meetings of persons attached to the Established Church, at which the singular coincidence in number of the thirty-nine peers who threw out the bill and the 1 Parl. Deb. thirty-nine articles of the Church of England, never failed v. 282, 356. to be observed on, and elicit unbounded applause.1 1821. Russell's Parliament ary Reform. Lord John Russell, about the same time, brought for- 98. ward a bill for a gradual and safe system of Parliamen- Lord John tary Reform. It was founded on resolutions, that there motion for were great complaints on the subject of the representation of the people in Parliament; that it was expedient to give such places as had greatly increased in wealth and population, and at present were unrepresented, the right of sending members to serve in Parliament; and that it should be referred to a committee to consider how this could be done, without an inconvenient addition to the number of the House of Commons; and that all charges of bribery should be effectually inquired into, and, if proved, such boroughs should be disfranchised. The motion was rejected by a majority of 31, the numbers being 156 to 125; but the increasing strength of the X. 1821. CHAP. minority, as well as weight of the names of which it was composed, indicated the change of general opinion on the subject, and might have warned the supporters of the existing system of the necessity of consenting to a safe and prudent reform, if anything could convince men who v. 622, 623. are mainly actuated by the desire to retain, or the thirst to obtain, political power.1 1 Parl. Deb. 99. ment of a into agricul tural dis tress. March 7. The various branches of manufactures, during this year, Appoint- exhibited a marked and gratifying improvement; but in committee agriculture the prevailing distress was not only unabated, to inquire but had become greater than ever, and, in truth, had now risen to such a height that it could no longer be passed over in silence. On 7th March, Mr Gooch brought forward a motion for the appointment of a committee to inquire into agricultural distress; and in the course of the debate, Mr Curwen observed, "In the flourishing days of the empire, the income of the nation was £400,000,000, and the taxation was £80,000,000 annually. At present the income is only £300,000,000, yet the taxation was nearly the same. In what situation was the farmer? The average of wheat, if properly taken, was not more than 62s. a quarter; the consequence of which was, that the farmer lost 3s. by every quarter of wheat which he grew. On the article of wheat alone, the agricultural interest had lost £15,000,000, and on barley and oats £15,000,000 more. In addition to this, the value of farming stock had been diminished by £10,000,000 ; so that in England alone there was a diminution of £40,000,000 a-year. The diminution on the value of agricultural produce in Scotland and Ireland cannot be less than £15,000,000; so that the total loss to the agriculturists of the two islands cannot be taken at less than £55,000,000. This is probably a quarter of the whole value of their productions; and as their taxation Parl. Deb. remains the same, it has, practically speaking, been increased twenty-six per cent also."2 The truth of these statements, how startling soever, was so generally known, that iv. 1147, 1151. X. Government yielded; and a committee was appointed to in- CHAP. quire into the causes of agricultural distress, which made a most valuable report in the next session of parliament. 1821. Payment Great light was thrown upon the causes of this distress 100. in a debate which took place, shortly after, on a bill of Bank Cash little importance, introduced by Government, authorising Bill. the Bank, if they chose, to resume cash payments on 1st May 1821, instead of May 1822, as had been provided by the bill of 1819. The reason assigned by the Chancellor of the Exchequer for giving the Bank this option. was, that they had, at a very heavy expense to themselves, accumulated a large treasure, and that the paper circulation of the country had been so much contracted that cash payments might be resumed with safety. He stated that, "in June 1819, the issues of the Bank amounted to £25,600,000; and they had been progressively diminished, till now they were only £24,000,000. The country bankers had drawn in their notes in a still greater proportion. Above four millions had been withdrawn from the circulation in less than two years-a state of things which amply justifies the present proposal Parl. Deb. to give the Bank the option of issuing gold coin, if they 1316. thought fit, a year sooner than by law provided."1 The effects of the contraction of the currency, thus 101. made the subject of boast by the Chancellor of the Ex- Mr Baring's chequer, were thus stated by Mr Baring in the same de- the subject. bate: "In looking at this question, it is very material to consider what is the state of the country in this the sixth year of peace. Petitions are coming in from all quarters, remonstrating against the state of suffering in which so many classes are unhappily involved, and none more than the agricultural class. When such is the state of the country in the sixth year of peace, and when all the idle stories about over-production and under-consumption, and suchlike trash, have been swept away, it is natural to inquire into the state of a country placed in a situation without a parallel in any other nation or time. No country 1 iv. 1315. speech on X. 1821. CHAP. before ever presented the continuance of so extraordinary a spectacle as that of living under a progressive increase in the value of money, and decrease in the value of the productions of the people. It appears clear that, from the operations of the altered currency, we have loaded ourselves, not only with an immense public debt, but also with an increased debt between individual and individual, the weight of which continues to press upon the country, and to the continuance of which pressure no end can be seen. 102. "The real difficulty is to meet the increased amount of Continued. debts of every sort, public and private, produced by the late change in the currency. It is an observation than which nothing can be more true, than an alteration in the value of the currency is what nobody, not even the wisest, generally perceive. They talk of alteration in the price of bread and provisions, never reflecting that the alteration is not in the value of these articles, but in that of the currency in which they are paid. To talk of the alteration of the value of money being three, five, or six per cent, is mere trifling. What we now are witnessing is the exact converse of what occurred during the war, from the enlarged issue of paper, and over the whole world from the discovery of the mines of Mexico and Peru. The misfortune is, in reference to agriculture, that what is a remunerating price at one time becomes quite the reverse at another. Formerly it was thought that 56s. a quarter was a remunerating price, but that is not the case now. What is the reason of that? It is occasioned by the altered currency, and by the produce of this country coming into contact with the commodities from all parts of the world, at a time when the taxes, debts, and charges which the farmer has to meet have undergone no alteration. His products did not bring their former price, while his private debts remained at their original amount. Besides this, there is the great mortgage of the National Debt, which sweeps over the whole country, and renders it impossible for the farmer to live on prices which formerly The difficulties of CHAP. X. 1821. were considered a fair remuneration. the country, then, arise from this, that you have brought back your currency to its former value, so far as regards your income; but it remains at its former value, so far as regards your expenditure." Weighty, indeed, are these remarks, which subsequent events have so fully confirmed, and which came then from the first merchant in the world, ! Parl. Deb. who afterwards conferred honour on, instead of receiving 1323. it from, the title of Ashburton.1 1 iv. 1318, 103. demand for of taxation. The increased weight of debts and taxes, coinciding with the diminished incomes arising from the contracted cur- Vehement rency, produced its natural and usual effect in inducing a reduction an additional pressure on Government for the reduction of taxation. Mr Hume brought this subject before the House of Commons, and the whole finances of the country underwent a more thorough investigation than they had ever previously done. His labours embraced chiefly the expenses of the offices connected with the army, navy, and ordnance departments; and there can be no * The returns obtained by Mr Hume presented the following comparative statement of the British army, exclusive of the troops in India, in 1792 and 1821 respectively, viz. :- |