law; and they are much more and are by no means to be confounded with classes who have been guilty of political offences, whether of commission or of omission. You, the farmers, have not

proper objects of attack than thieves and pick-pockets are, because these latter, though they violate the law, do not carry on

the violation openly, confessed-only been deficient in point of ly and boastingly.

public spirit; you have not only To complain of the miscon- shewn a willingness to support duct of whole classes of men, is a system, which has at last not to proscribe such classes. brought even yourselves to the In surveying the different classes; verge of destruction; but you in making a comparative esti- have voluntarily aided and mate of their public conduct; in abetted those by whom the systaking a view of the effects of tem has been carried on; and, that conduct: those who do this, what is still worse, you have apand who choose to put the result peared to take pleasure in the of their observations upon paper, persecution of every man, whose have surely a right to give the zeal has urged him forward to preference to one class before oppose that system. You are, another; to praise those deemed therefore, not proper objects of worthy of praise, and to censure compassion: all of us suffer, but those deemed worthy of cen- you mérit your sufferings.

sure.

I speak here with numerous Proceeding upon these princi- very honourable exceptions; ples, and taking a fair view of and if I did not, in the most the conduct of the persons of marked manner make these exdifferent classes in this kingdom, ceptions, I should be guilty of I have often said, and I still say, crying injustice; for, I know that the Farmers form the class many farmers, who are amongst who have conducted themselves the most ardent friends of freein the worst manner. In talk-dom and of justice, and who ing of classes, however, I am are also amongst the most ennot to be supposed to include lightened men with whom I the traffickers in seats and the jobbers in stocks; because these are really proscribed by the law; they are two sets of criminals;

have ever had the honour to be acquainted. If I personally know many such, the whole number of such farmers must be

great. My: natural partialities, | ruin, act from a hope or even a my liking for your calling and desire to relieve you, or render state of life, the pleasure I de- you assistance in any way what rive from participating, though ever. You and your affairs are it were only by books, in your a subject of pure speculation pursuits; all these naturally dis- with me. I write about you pose me to see in every farmer with as little feeling as a chea man of public spirit, of ardour mist writes about the things that in the cause of freedom, as well pass through his crucible. But, as to find in him, what are very you form a curious subject for seldom wanting, a clear under- the political philosopher; and standing, and soundness of to develope the nature of your judgment. But (always speak ing with numerous exceptions) I am constrained to confess, that, as to public matters, I have always found you miserably selfish and destitute of feeling; the causes of which it would not be

very difficult to point out; but

.

concerns may be of use to the nation at large,, not only at the present time, but in times yet to come.

100

ΤΟ

dies979ui ased sved It is now about six years since you began to feel the pinchings of distress. This feeling filled you with the desire of seeking the effects are manifest in the a remedy through the assistance continuation of a system, which of a legislative measure, For has been productive of a greater nobody did you feel as long as mass of human suffering than, you were thriving; but, the moas I believe, was ever before ex- ment you ceased t to thrive, you perienced, in a like space of flew to the government for that time, in any country in the assistance and protection, which world. And, I am really of you had never called for in beopinion, that this system will half of any other human being. continue until you shall feel very Your prices fell; and the nonearly what your miserable la- tion got into your minds, that bourers now feel. the sole remedy was to make Considering your past conduct, the prices rise again. The I can deem nothing due to you means of accomplishing this ob in the way either of instruction ject, was, as you thought, to or advice. I do not, in address-prevent the importation of farm ing you upon the cause of your produce from other countries.

Hence the Corn Bill, which not I should suppose, that, within

the last five years, you must have expended amongst you, on writers, printers, publishers, se

only with your approbation, but agreeably to your pressing intreaties, was passed with troops apawn up round the Houses of cretaries, club-rooms, agents, Parliament! After this there and one thing and the other, a was nothing that ever could quarter of a million of money, at Arise that would leave you just least, in order to effect a rise in ground of complaint: for in this the price of corn. All this one thing, we see you deprived money has been wholly thrown of all claim to the compassion of away. It has answered no purany part of your countrymen. pose but that of keeping up the From that day to this day, deception in your own minds, Four affairs have been upon the and of giving offence to the rest Techhe; your embarrassments of the community. If you had have been increasing; your final followed the advice which I film has become, daily, more gave you in the years 1814, manifestly unavoidable. Still 1815, and 1816, how different you cry on for Corn Bills and at this time would be your situaWool Bills; still you call out tion! for what you call protection; and during the last two years,

or

In explaining to you the causes of your ruin, first let me

endeavour to get out of your minds the erroneous notion that

of thereabouts, you have been Torming yourselves into combinations, (far less clearly lawful high price is, in itself consithan the clubs and societies of dered, a good thing. If wheat Reformers,) in order to produce were sold for a shilling a bushel, an extension of the effect of the the farmer might be better off Corn Bills. At last, however, than if it were sold at twenty the Government and the Parlia- shillings a bushel. If a man ment have told you, that they give a hundred shillings' an acre do nothing for your relief; rent for his land, and sell his that the healing hand of wheat for twenty shillings a "time" can alone effect your bushel, he is not so well off as 'cure'; while time, your true and the farmer who gave three faithful councillor, tells you that shillings an acre for his land,

and

.

who sold his wheat at

a shilling a bushel. If one shil-it is not an augmentation of ling would buy a yard of broad your receipts that you ought to cloth, the farmer who got that have been seeking for; but a shilling for a bushel of wheat, reduction of your expences. The would be a richer man in that first thing that strikes you is a respect than the farmer who falling off in the prices of your had to give thirty shillings for a produce; and, therefore, the yard of broad cloth, and who first thing which an unreflecting must sell his wheat for twenty man does, under such circumshillings the bushel. It is not, stances, is to seek for a rise in therefore, you see, mere high the price. To seek for a lessenprice that can be any good to ing of the out-goings does not you. You should make a distinc-occur to him so quickly. It aption between positive amount pears to be a matter of greater and relative amount. By posi- difficulty, and much slower in tive amount I mean the amount the accomplishment. Besides in itself considered. And then, he does not perceive any hope as mere amount twenty shillings of success in this way; especiis better than one. But when ally when he reflects that his the amount is relative; that is out-goings consist, for the greatto say, when it is to be consi-er part, of rents, tithes and taxes. dered relatively to, or in com-The first he is generally bound parison with, other sums, then to pay by lease; the second he one shilling in this case may be better than the twenty in the

is also bound to pay by lease, except in the few cases where other. For, ifl can buy a greater tithes are taken in kind, to avoid quantity of useful things with which mode of payment, he will one shilling, than I can with make almost, any sacrifice, and twenty shillings, it is clear that from the fourth he sees no more the one shilling is better than possibility of fleeing than from the twenty. Therefore, it is death itself. He looks upon the not at the sum received that tax-gatherer as inflexible, irreyou are alone to look; but also at the sum which it is required that you should expend.

Keep these things, in mind, and you will soon discover that

sistible and immortal. To cope with such a power he has no hope. He, therefore, looks to the remedy of an act of parliament, the effect of which shall

'be to raise his prices, and to community, provided, mind, that keep them up. He sues for a there be no fluctuation in the compromise with his landlord, quantity. But, if there be fluchis parson, and the tax-gatherer,tuations in the quantity; if there and he says, "secure me high be a change from a small quanprices, and I will pay you your tity to a great quantity; or, "rent, your tithes and your from a great one to a small one; "taxes." then all the affairs of the com

*

This has been the line of con-munity experience disturbance: duct pursued by the farmers. instead of a fair chance of gain Acts of parliament have accord-or of loss, distributed promiscuingly been passed; the objects ously amongst the several memof those acts were to raise the bers of the community; and price of farm produce, and to leaving to ingenuity, industry, keep it up, and still the ruin of skill, economy, and providential the farmers has proceeded stea- foresight, all the advantages dily on. They have not per-which they naturally secure to ceived the real cause of their their possessors; instead of this, ruin; and, therefore, I will now, a circulating medium, fluctuatfor about the hundredth time, ing in its quantity, divides the explain to them that cause. community into classes; and binWhen, in any community, the of these classes it ruins some

quantity of money, or of circu-and enriches others; or it dilating medium, is great in pro- minishes the wealth of some, >portion to the number and mag-and betters the condition of nitude of the dealings in that community, then prices are high. When the quantity of money or circulating medium in such com~munity is small, then prices are low. The reasons of these are very clear, and need not now gold. be stated. It is of no conse-munity quence to a community, or to any amount part of it, whether there be pounds. much or whether there be little wheat sells for five shillings a money in circulation within such bushel, while this quantity of

others. Let us suppose a community with a money, or circulating medium; and, it will be best to call it money at once, it being all the same in this respect whether it be paper or Let us suppose a comwith money to the of ten millions of

Let us suppose that