Page images
PDF
EPUB

of the Debt. But, what does he deem such impossibility to consist in? Mr. BROUGHAM talked in this same way; but neither did he say, or attempt to say, what were to be considered as proofs of the existence of the impossibility. If the landlord getting no rent, and the parson no tithe, and if the labourer being able to obtain no more than enough, just to enable him to work, if these be not regarded as proofs of the existence of the impossibility to pay, such impossibility can never arise! For, as I have shown before, the Government can become the trustee for the fundholders; and, all the difference will be, that those who are landlords now, will be beggars, paupers, or pensioners.

fore, the only choice which the landlords have is, reduction of interest of Debt, or loss of estates; or, rather, loss of estates or Reform of Parlia ment.

your

Thus have I replied to your Lordship's very elaborate answer to my rustic harangues. Your Lordship spoke of the necessity of counteracting the opinions circulated out of doors with so much industry and promptitude;" and I am happy to assure your Lordship, that, Six-Acts notwithstanding, the "industry and promptitude" of the last four months have imprinted on the public mind that, which you will never efface. I remember your Lordship's remark in the House of Lords, just after SIDMOUTH'S power-of-imprisonment Bill LORD LANSDOWNE hopes he shall had been passed. I remember not be so unhappy as to live to see the exulting in the rise of the funds in day, when the " suggestion" (for consequence of the passing of that reducing the interest of the Debt) Bill. I remember your famous pro"shall be entertained." Why, he mise to pursue "the stern path of has lived to see it! I have, for 19 duty"; and I trust that you will puryears, been suggesting it; I have, sue it now when you have "noble" over and over again, proved the game before you! In the darkest of justice and the necessity of it; and the days, during the last twelve years, the suggestion is, at this very mo- whether in prison or out of prison; ment (and that your Lordship and at sea or on shore; at home or Lord Lansdowne well know) enter- abroad; the DEBT, the all-powerful tained by ninety-nine out of every Debt, has been my constant consolahundred landlords in the kingdom; tion. Such when the above-menand you know also, that you have tioned Bill was preparing, I described - been compelled to resort to all the her in words, which, for the amusemeans in your power to prevent a ment of your Lordship and the landdistinct proposition to that effect lords, I will now repeat. "The rebeing brought before Parliament; "formers have many and powerful and that you are by no means cer"foes. We have to contend against tain, that you shall succeed in keep- a host, such as never before existed ing the thing off, even now, to the" in the world. Nine-tenths of the end of the month of May! "press; all the channels of speedy Shuffle the cards, my Lord, as you communication of sentiment; all please. Do what you like. Put off" the pulpits; all the associations of the (to you) evil hour with what craft" rich people; all the taxing people; and perseverance you may, to this" all the military and naval establish reduction of the interest of the Debt" ments; all the yeomanry cavalry. the nation must come: or, the land-" The allies of our foes are endless. lords must lose their estates; or, there" in number and mighty in influwill be a convulsion. Raise prices"ence. But, we have one ally, worth you cannot (without a repeal of Peel's" the whole of them put together; Bill); lower taxes so as to save the" namely the DEBT! This is an. estates you cannot without reducing "ally, whom no honours or rewards the interest of the debt; and, there-" can seduce from us. She is a

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

6

Oh, shame! Oh, stupid landlords, if you cannot see in this fact, which stares you so full in the face, the best possible proof, that the fundholders,' that the Jews and loan-jobbers and stock-jobbers, are building these houses with the taxes that they draw from the land and the labour! and these are proofs of national wealth, are they? Such, however, they were stated to be by Mr. MABERLY. This shows what notions have been at work.

"steady, unrelaxing, persevering, | proofs of increasing national wealth! "incorruptible ally: proof against "all blandishments, all intrigues, all "temptations, all attacks, whether "of force or of fraud. She sets at "defiance all military,' all yeo"manry: cares no more for bayonets "than Milton's angels did for the "swords of Satan's myrmidons. Not <6 a straw does she care about spies "and informers, while she laughs at "the employment of secret service "money. She is never to be taken "by surprise. Ever awake, ever "watchful, ever active and ener"getic; erect day and night, she is "always firmly moving on in our cause, in spite of all the terrors of gaols, dungeons, halters and axes. "She is one and indivisible. She is "as stanch as she is strong. She "is to be attacked only by sap and "mine. She is to be beaten only by "blowing up; and the explosion is "sure to bury her assailants and our "foes in her ruins."

[ocr errors]
[ocr errors]

Against such an ally of the reformers, what is the use of "sternpath-of-duty" men! They may still talk, for a while; but the DEBT is for us, and we must triumph.

I am, my Lord,
Your Lordship's most obedient,
And most humble servant,
WM. COBBETT

[ocr errors]

It is a well-known fact, that, under the despotisms of the East, where the land is all the property of the Nabob, or government, the capital cities are enormous in extent and population.

The principality of OUDE which contains a population of only about six millions of souls, has a wen, called LUCKNOW, which exceeds in number of inhabitants London and Westminster together! The Nabob is the sole landowner; then come the Aumils who take, at so much a year, the taxes of counties, or large districts; then come the Zemindars, who take the taxes of parishes, or smaller districts, under the Aumils; and the Ryots, or Husbandmen, give to the Zemindars all that is not absolutely necessary to sustain life in themselves and the labouring slaves! So that it is easy to account for the "prosperity" of LUCKNOW. To this will it come, pass because to this pass it must come, in EngI forgot one proof of "in-land, if you can force along Peel's creasing national wealth and comfort,' Bill without a repeal of more than and so did your Lordship. You half of the taxes. To swell up this mentioned the increased consump- London has required the destruction tion of candles, soap, tea, and bricks; of two hundred thousand small farmI wonder you should have omitted houses, and the reducing of four milthe increase of houses round this me-lions of labourers to beggary. In the tropolis! More than two thousand of which are now actually building! This Wen has swelled, for many years, at the rate of about four market towns a year; and, now, just in the proportion that the country is beggared, it swells daily and hourly! Is this, too, amongst your Lordship's

POSTSCRIPT.

[ocr errors]

East, the Zemindars frequently make use of soldiers in the collection of the taxes, as is the case, in fact, in every country where a standing army is kept in time of peace. The soldiers who are employed about the stills in Ireland, and the soldiers and sailors employed in the revenue service in

hard to show, that over-production produces distress; and the only hope that you have to hold out to the farmers and landlords, is, that prices will rise! Was there ever before seen such a mass of inconsistency, absur

England, are neither more nor less than armed taxgatherers. We have not yet seen soldiers stationed in the farm-houses to watch the gathering of the crop, as is the case in the East Indies; but, if the thing could go on, with Peel's Bill, and without a re-dity and downright nonsense? And, duction of taxes, this is what we should see; for nothing short of this could possibly cause the taxes to be collected.

There was another proof of "increased national wealth, comfort," and ability to pay taxes, which I marvel that your Lordship omitted to cite, especially as it is so very obvious and so very striking; namely, the surprising increase in the extent as well as the population of the GAOLS! Passing through GUILDFORD the other day, and seeing one of its beautiful hills (which I had many times gone up and down when a boy) covered with immense walls and buildings, 1 stopped the postboy and asked him what it was: It was the new county guol!-Thus it is all over the kingdom. Gaols and Barracks are the monuments that mark the reign of George the Third! These are the proofs of the "prosperity" that his people enjoyed during his reign, and especially during the part of it when Pitt and his disciples bore the sway.

is it to men like your Lordship that we are to look for deliverance from this state of agitation and anxiety? However, it is the landlords who raise and who have upheld you; and it is right that they should endure the consequences, be those consequences what they may.

WM. COBBETT.

SHOCKING
INCONSISTENCY!

To enumerate all the instances

of "inconsistency" that we now behold would fill ten volumes

much larger than the Register; but, I cannot refrain from menThere is yet to notice your observation on the advantages, to the la- tioning a few. We have seen my bouring classes, of the cheapness of friend "GLORY," after laughing provisions. Agreed; but if this be a

proof of prosperity, what misery have at the nobility and gentry, even we endured for the last thirty years! at palace-yard meetings, for wastWhat misery were we enduring, at

the time when you assert agriculture ing their time at cattle-shows and to have been in a state of prosperity! sheep-shearings, himself a speechIt would seen, then, that prosperity maker at the Holkham sheepin agriculture produces the reverse to the rest of the nation. The fact shearing. We have, after having, is that cheapness is a benefit to the labouring classes, but, with present for 26 years, railed incessantly taxes, it is ruinous to the farmer and against the Whigs, called them the landlord. But, here again is ano- the worst of the two factions, and ther glaring inconsistency. You

vaunt, you, Mr. Peel, and Mr. Hus- describing Mr. Fox as "one of kisson, labour hard to show, that the heads of the regiment ;" after cheapness is a good to the labouring

classes; and yet, you labour equally all this, we having seen him send

The readers of the Register know, that, in SURREY, we set the example of rejecting a petition altogether, because the Sheriff would not allow us to include in it a prayer for reform of parliament. The county of CAMBRIDGE did the same thing on the 28th of Febru

ing a letter, expressing his deep regret at not being able to attend a Fox dinner! After all the scorn, which, on many occasions, we have heard him express towards "LORD ERSKINE and trial by jury," we have seen him speak in applause of that foolish, battered old toast, that none but aary. The Rev. G. A. BROWN could half-ideot ever gave, and none but see no use of a petition unless it a sot ever drank. After all his wellknown efforts to bring the Marquis of Wellesley to trial and into disgrace for his conduct in India, we have heard him eager to put Ireland into his hands under martial law! A score of these instances might be added in the conduct of this one man.

included a prayer for reform. Mr. EAGLE proposed a resolution to that effect, which was seconded by Mr. WELLS. Mr. BEALES produced a letter from the Duke of BEDFORD to the same effect. And, finally, the Meeting broke up, after adopting Mr. Eagle's resolution, and rejecting the petition. But, away with all insignifi- Like the county of Surrey, that of cance! Away with the defunct; Cambridge came to a resolution, and let us come to the living; let that it was worse than useless to us come to my "inconsistencies;" petition the House of Commons, not of the past, but of the pre-unless in the petition was included sent; for, I am now about to praise a prayer for Reform! Devonthe Yeomanry and Lord Milton.shire, Worcestershire, and Suffolk "Oh! wretch!" I think I hear have petitioned for reform. Let scolding Peter Scarlett and sad every county do this, and the thing and sin-no-more Denman exclaim. is done; the estates are saved, and "What! praise those whom you the nation is, once more, safe and have so often censured!" Yes! sound. I censured them, because they were enemies; and I now praise them because they are, or are becoming, friends. "Shockingly us. They hold out the hand to us. inconsistent" as this may be, I And, shall we not take them by shall do it. the hand? And, now for my

Thus far for the yeomanry, whom I formerly censured, and whom I now praise. They are coming to

Now, are we to turn sulky; and, like "Glory," become cold as a stone, upon hearing this from one who really has some power to give, effect to his declarations, and whose sincerity, in such a case at any rate, nobody can suspect? His Lordship is certainly right. Reform is absolutely "necessary

LORD MILTON, long time one of our most decided opponents. What did he say, at the meeting at THORNEY in Lincolnshire, on the same day, 28th of February Why this: "Lord MILTON then "stepped forward to propose that "the members of the county be "requested to present the petition "to the House of Commons, and to the welfare and safety of the "if absent, that the Marquis of" country." For, without it, there "Tavistock be requested to pre-must be a complete revolution in' "sent the same. His Lordship all real property. The possessors "then with much eloquence en- of the land must be changed; and, "tered into a review of the con- even that will not suffice. It is "stitution of the House of Com-worse than childish gabble to talk mons, and complained of its of relief without a reduction of the "abuse. He conceived that gen-interest of the Debt; and, I defy "tlemen would now be rendering the parliament to make such re66 more essential service to their "country, by attending to the in"terest of the people out of the "House, than in it; but that he "certainly should be in his place "to support his Hon. and Noble But, what will waspish Scarlett "Friend the member for Hun- and sad Sin-no-more say to the ""tingdonshire, (Lord John Rus-" shocking inconsistency" of all' "sell) upon his motion for reform. these coUNTIES and of my LORD "Reform was a question he had

66

[ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small]

duction to an extent that shall save the estates, without a reform first being made; or, at any rate, unless the measures go hand in hand.

MILTON? I should not wonder (what a lie I am about to tell!) if Peter Scarlett were to fling up his seat for Peterborough, upon seeing a person who has a good deal to say in putting him into it, come round to the doctrines of the man with a "singular name." Oh, no! Peter, with all his petulence,

« PreviousContinue »