Robson knew an instance of a farmer who owed a large arrear of rent, but who would neither pay it nor take his corn to market. Being pressed on the subject by his landlord, he went to the next town, to one of those banks, of which there were several in most towns, borrowed the money on his note at two months, paid his rent, and and hay. But Mr. Robson was not at a loss to account for the increased price of every thing, nor for the evils under which the people laboured. It was to be ascribed to the accumulation of taxes, and to the enormous increase of fictitious property. The farmer was compell ed, to a certain degree, to raise the price of every thing that his farm produces. He could not help him-withheld his corn from market. To self. The plain truth was, that the weight of taxes had absolutely subdued the pride, not only of the farmer, but of all the independent part of the country. He repeated to the chancellor of the exchequer, and would repeat it at all times, that, in his administration, the middling part of the people ceased to exist. Much had been said concerning the poor. He was at a loss to know what the poor meant. The denomination of the poor now extended half up the ranks of life. Persons possessing from 200l. to 700l. a year, must now be classed among the poor. Another cause, which contributed considerably to the dearness of every thing, was the immense quantity of fictitious paper circulated by country banks. Mr. such a height did country banks, of which there were from four to five hundred in the kingdom, extend their fictitious currency, that he had in his possession one of their notes, promising to pay a guinea in BANK-PAPER *. On the whole, Mr. Robson was of opinion, that relief to the public, not only in bread, but all the necessaries of life, was to be expected from nothing but peace. The permanent taxes, the vast increase of fictitious property, the determination of ministers not to make peace, and their inability to manage the affairs of the nation, were the causes of our calamities. Mr. Hardinge said that he had paid every attention to the observations both of the honourable baronet By one other morement, in the progress of artificial money, a note might be given, payable in a note of one or other country bank, and so on, possibly, through other stages. Money, which was wont to be a physical, has now absolutely become, for the most part, and indeed almost wholly, a metaphysical thing: and the Act of Faith, in which it consists, is expressed with great propriety on the thinnest paper, the exility of which seems to hold a middle place between the spiritual world and the solidity of matter. According to certain theorists in political economy, the facility of multiplying the signs of wealth is of no consequence, because money will always find its level. True, it will do so.. But when? The poor labourer does not find it so easy a matter to raise his wages, as government, and other bodies, or great capitalists do, to pour down upon him a fresh inundation of paper money. It is a noted observation, corruptio optimi pessima. This engine of paper money, a novelty in Europe though not in India and China, it was that established, in the form of assignats, the French revolution. The same engine, indeed, enabled Britaiu to resist it: a happy effect, if its contagion could not otherwise be evaded; but a dangerous facility of going to war in general. This facility of creating money, may, in its farther progression, be pushed into consequences that shall bring at last a thing good, if used with moderation, into utter discredit, and and the gentleman who had supported him but that they had mistaken the object of the motion, which related merely to the propriety of an address to his majesty, thanking him for his paternal care in calling his parliament together, to consider the state of the country, and provide the means of relieving the people from the effects of the present scarcity. Many of their observations were of weight, but they would be brought forward with more propriety when the subjects to which they referred came regularly under discussion. The propriety of keeping close to the question in hand, was also shown at great, and indeed superfluous length, by Mr. Pitt, who, with equal perspicuity, pointed out the two great and leading topics which the speech from the throne comprehended: the difficulties under which the public now laboured from the scarcity and high price of provisions; and the recent communications that had taken place with the enemy, which brought under review, in regular progress, the important question of peace or war. For the relief of the public he proposed two modes, which, he thought, were simple, practical, and safe. One was, an increase of importation: the other, a combination of economy with the use of substitutes for wheaten bread. From these methods, a much better effect was to be expected than from any experiments, which, on pretence of correcting the evil of monopoly, might strike at the freedom of trade, and circumscribe the application of industry and capital. Their agreeing to these preliminary steps by no means precluded farther inquiry or more deliberate determination. But, at present, no procrastination, no inquiry could be necessary to authorize the expedients proposed. With regard to the causes by which the present high price was occasioned, there were many opinions. Some, whose motives were unquestionable, and the humanity of whose views was conspicuous, might have been led, with the purest intentions, to give encouragement to the errors, and a sanction to the clamours, which had prevailed on the subject. Others, whose motives were more doubtful, had endeavoured to combine two distinct grounds of prejudice, and to connect the scarcity with the war. But the causes of the scarcity, and the policy and necessity of the war, were distinct subjects of consideration: and none would blend the discussion of the latter with that of the former, who wished only to communicate information, and suggest remedies. But, since the question had been started, he begged leave to suggest a few general observations, which seemed completely to overthrow the argument of those, if there were any, who seriously imputed the dearness of provisions to the war. Here Mr. Pitt, from a comparison of the prices of grain, at different periods of the present war (though the argument would be strengthened by a review of former wars), endeavoured to show that war, of itself, had no evident or necessary connexion with the dearness of provisions, and that there could be no reason for combining the scarcity with the distinct inquiry respecting the policy of the war. The reasoning of Mr. Pitt, on this subject, was the same with that of lord Hobart, in the house of peers, already stated. As to the extent of the deficiency of the late harvest, sa harvest, Mr. Pitt thought that it would be no less rash than unnecessary to give any opinion. For the practical purposes proposed, a knowledge of the precise deficit was not necessary. Last year the crops failed almost generally, in all the articles of provision. This year wheat was short: but several other kinds of grain, particularly barley, plentifu!, both at home and abroad. By a due application of the resources of economy, and other substitutes, joined to importation, he was tisfied that the supplies of the year would be made to answer the consumption. He trusted, therefore, that one of their first measures would be to go into a committee of the whole house, to fix the quantum of bounty to be allowed on importation; that a select committee should be appointed to investigate the subject of the scarcity, to which committee should be referred the part of the king's speech which referred to that point; and that the committee should, from time to time, propose such measures as, from the result of their inquiries, should seem fit to be adopted. On the question of peace or war, Mr. Pitt only observed, that, as the papers on which the merits of the case must be decided, were not yet before the house, it would be pre mature. Mr. Sheridan did not object to the address; nor yet would his honourable friend, the honourable baronet near him(sir F.Burdett,) had he given close attention to it: for it contained nothing respecting the since rity of ministers in their efforts to restore peace, but merely an approbation of that sentiment of the speech which expressed his majesty's determination to use all means that might be in his power to restore such a peace to the country, as would be consistent with its peace and security. The suggestion respecting importation, seemed to be well-timed and politic. And the language of the speech and of the minister this night, respecting an examination of the laws against forestallers and regrators, was wise and manly. But from the minister he differed widely in his opinion, that the high price of provisions was neither caused by the war nor the taxes. He allowed that, at a moment like the present, it was incumbent on the house simply to look at the question of the high price of provisions, and to inquire how the evils which the country suffered could be most effectually cured. Yet they ought not to skin over matters: it was indeed the duty of the house to find the people bread; but it was also their duty to find them the truth. If war was not alone the cause of the present high price of provisions, it was certainly an aggravation of the solerings of the people. The war then ought to be discontinued. Would it be denied, that while there were 300,000 men employed in the navy and army, there was not, of necessity, a considerable waste of provisions? Every. man employed in such service, caused, perhaps, a consumption of five times as much provisions as was used by the same number of individuals in time of peace. But, supposing it to be only four, or three times greater, and that they added the probable waste in the navy,the transport service, the victualling office, in barracks for the cavalry, regulars, and volunteers, and in general throughout the domestic departments of our warlike system, there was was no man, any thing in the shape of a minister, who would deny that war was a cause of scarcity and dearness. "God forbid," said Mr. Sheridan," that the war should not be the cause! for, if it be not, the situation of the country is deplorable indeed. But, believing that the war is the great cause of our sufferings, I hope that the house, finding it to be so, will seriously be inclined to seek relief in peace. The great argument made use of to show that there was no necessary connexion between war and the scarcity and dearness of provisions was combated, and, it would appear, with not a little success, by Mr. Nichols. It appeared, he said, that, in 1793 and 1794, the agents of government had introduced too little corn from abroad: from whence arose a scarcity in the spring of the year 1795. The scarcity that took place in May, in that year, was not the consequence of a bad harvest in the preceding year, but of an insufficient introduction of corn in the years 1793 and 1794. The agents redoubled their activity in the subsequent part of 1795. But the introduction was still unequal to the demand. And the consequence was, that the minister signified to the corn-dealers that he would abandon the trade, if they would resume it. The dealers did resume it, and they imported, in the year 1796, a greater quantity than the most sanguine imagination expected; the importation amounted to 1,086,000 quarters. What was then the conduct of the minister? The corn-dealers say, he broke his faith with them: for, with 70,000, which his own agents had bought, and 80,000 more, which he had on band, he sunk the price of corn 27. 16s. a quarter. This gave birth to the second famine. This second famine, which took place in 1799, was early enough foreseen. Why was not corn sent for? The dealers would not trust the minister. They did not send while the Baltic was open. If they had, the famine would not have broken out so early. But the minister had said that, in 1797 and 1798, corn was cheap. True, but we had, in 1796, an importation of 1,086,000 quarters. With respect to the frugality recommended in the consumption of corn, Mr. Nichols observed, that we had to pay from 3 to 400,000 soldiers and sailors, who certainly consumed more than they did in those employments from which they had been taken by the war. The men under sir Ralph Abercromby were fed with animal food, and with wheaten bread. In the cottages which they inhabited before the war, their usual fare was, perhaps, neither animal food nor wheaten bread. If they were Irishmen, their food consisted of potatoes and butter-milk. If Scotchmen, they had lived, probably, on oatmeal, barley bread, and herrings. If, therefore, they meant to adopt a real system of frugality, they must reduce the number of their soldiers and sailors. Mr. Grey agreed with his honourable friend, sir Francis Burdett, that there was no effectual remedy but a peace. Mr. Pitt had concluded that war could have no peculiar effect to enhance the price of provisions, because wheat was cheap in 1797. But it appeared, he said, from the most authentic documents, that all kind of corn was dearer during the course of the seven years' of war, than during the seven years that preceded it; and that, exclusively of the theyears of particular scarcity, which we had lately experienced, wheat had been eight shillings per quarter higher during the five cheapest years of the present war, than it was between 1788 and 1793. War must necessarily tend, in various ways, to produce symptoms of scarcity. Thousands were taken from laborious and productive occupations to run idle, and consume what was produced by the labour of others. If each of them did not exactly eat five times as much as he did before, yet certainly the effect which his change of life produced, in bring ing on a scarcity, was as great as if he did for, instead of living on vegetable diet, he must now be fed with beef and mutton; and it was well known that it required five times as much land to maintain one who lives on animal food, as another who tastes nothing but vegetables. Steadily adhering to the principles of Dr. Adam Smith, he maintained that, in general, all apprehension from unfair dealing was chimerical. In time of peace, he said, the demand is constant and regular; and speculation never will be extended beyond the wants of the community; but, in time of war, fleets are to be victualled, armies suddenly called together are to be fed, and expeditions are frequently fitted out: thus a spirit of adventure is generated, and enterprising men may take advantage of the facility of raising money to speculate to an unexceptionable degree. After a philippic on ministry, through whose misconduct, he asserted, the war had been unsuccessful, and every enterprise failed, while the country, through their continued attempts, groaned under a heavy load of misery, he concluded with moving, as an amendment, "That the last sentence in the address should be left out." That sentence was as follows: "Concurring with your majesty in the anxiety which your ma jesty entertains for the speedy restoration of peace, we shall see, with the utmost satisfaction, the adoption of all such measures as may best tend to promote and accelerate that desirable end, consistently with the honour of this country, and the true interests of your people; but if the disposition of our enemies should continue to render it unattainable, without the sacri fice of these essential considerations, we shall feel it our indispensable duty to persevere in affording your majesty the most zealous and effectual support, and to omit no exertion on our part, which can enable your majesty, under the blessing of Providence, to conduct this important contest to a prosperous conclusion, and to maintain, unimpaired, the security and honour of these kingdoms." Mr. Grey, in the course of his speech, had "called particularly on that right honourable gentleman, who had the more immediate direction of military affairs, to inform them, in what manner he had used the trust confided in him? He had the uncontrolled command of a mighty army, and he professedhis sense of the necessity for execut ing some great enterprise; yet, in no one instance, had he gained an object which could, in any degree, contribute to the success of the war." In reference to this, Mr. secretary Dundas said, that he had come down to the house with the persuasion that he should not have any occasion to speak. He found it, however, impossible to resist the peremptory call upon him by |