money is afloat. If this money | tithes, which he takes on lease, be (by any means whatever) and also with regard to taxes. augmented in quantity to twenty On the other hand, all the millions instead of ten, wheat time a diminution of the quanwill necessarily sell for ten shil- tity of money is going on, prices lings the bushel. It will sell will go on falling; and the indeed for more; because the farmer will go on suffering from latter ten millions will cause such fall. His rent which, at the whole mass to move quicker first, demanded four hundred from hand to hand, and any bushels of wheat, would go on given price of money of the every year demanding more and twenty millions, will have much more, till, at last, when the greater power than any price of quantity of money has been lesthe ten millions (the prices sened by one half, his rent will being of the same nominal demand eight hundred bushels amount) has ever had.

of wheat per annum. His tythes, if he has them on lease, will oppress him in the same way; as

will also his taxes.

It is very clear, that, all the time that the augmentation of the money is going on, prices will go on rising; and the If you keep this clearly in farmer will go on reaping ad- your mirds, you will soon pervantage from such rise. Suppose he has a lease for seven

ceive that it is not Corn Bills that can relieve you; and,

years when the augmentation though I, by no means, wish to of the quantity of money is be- prevent the presenting of those ginning; and suppose his rent petitions which you are again, to be a hundred pounds a year. I understand, preparing for the It will then require 400 bushels parliament; and which, while of wheat to pay his rent; but they cannot possibly do the when the quantity of money has mass of the people any harm, been augmented to twenty mil- may serve to amuse you, and lions, it will then require, to to produce long botheration pay his rent only 200 bushels speeches, which are a great diversion to me. I by no means of wheat at the most, The wish to prevent you from readsame cause will produce the ing these petitions. They will same effects with regard to give employment to clerks,

printers

and paper-makers. pay in gold and silver, instead of These are rather unproductive promising to promise to pay, for labourers, to be sure; but their so many years, and paying, in employment is as beneficial, at fact, in bits of oblong material, any rate, as the digging of holes consisting of oil, lamp-black, one day and filling them up the and ground rags. The cause of next, a mode of employment this endeavour to return to cash suggested by the profound Cas- payments is of a mixed nature; tlereagh, to whom you have partly moral and partly political. given your cordial support; and The men in the ministry, and in defence of the system of which in parliament, who conduct the he is one of the conductors, you affairs of this happy nation, beso gallantly drew your swords gan to be ashamed of not reon St. Peter's-field at Manches- turning to cash payments, agreeter. I by no means wish to ably to their declarations and prevent you from presenting enactments. They began to be these petitions to a parliament ashamed to look one another in which you so much approve of; the face; and there were not but, that I myself may not, from wanting persons to taunt them my silence, pass for a fool, too, with the failure of their proI think it right to tell you, as I mises. But, besides this, they #told you in 1814 and 1815, that saw (for even an ideot must Corn Bills can do you no good; have seen), that, until the counthat all they can do for you, is try returned to cash payments, to assist in adding to your ruin, it never would dare to go to while they expose you, at the war; and this for two reasons, very same time, to the ha- first, because the expences of a tred of the rest of the com- new war would compel them to

make new and enormous issues of paper money; and, second,

The cause; that is to say, the immediate cause, of your because, in a state of war, no ruin is, fall in prices. The man could answer for the credit cause of that is, a diminution of of the paper money for one sinthe money in the country. The gle day, seeing that any foreign -cause of that diminution is, an nation might, according to our endeavour, on the part of the par- own example, in our conduct liament, to compel the Bank to towards France and America

render our circulating paper as of paper money; the Country -worthless as so many pieces of Bankers did the same. Prices those rags, which you fling over fell in consequence of this. your land for the purpose of Wheat came down from twelve shillings a bnshel to eight or

manure.

Here, then, brother Jobber- seven. You had still the same noles; here brother Chew-nominal sum of rent to pay, bacons; here brother clod- of tythes, in many cases, and thumpers; here are the causes, of taxes in all cases. Your corn immediate and remote, of your having fallen in price nearly ruin; of your removal from farm one half, you have now to give houses to work-houses; of your nearly twice the quantity of it change from big plump cheeks to the landlord, the parson, and and swelled-out bellies to lant- the tax-gatherer, that you gave Chorn jaws and herring paunches. before. So that, your ruin must Take a good look at these causes. be inevitable. Your labourers, Think a little about your bankers indeed, and servants in busand your banker's book. Re-bandry, you have compelled collect how easy you used to get to lower their wages in promoney from your banker; and portion to the fall in your pray mark well that your stock prices; but, in pinching them now belongs to him much more to the utmost of your power than to yourselves. you have been unable to keep employed the same number of

It is the diminution of the quantity of money circulating hands as before. Still the poor in the country, which has been creatures must continue to exist. the cause of your ruin. The They cannot be knocked on ministry, and that parliament, the head. It would not be which you like so well; these safe to suffer a million or two good gentlemen did, for the of persons in one country to reasons above stated, wish a be without food. They would return to cash payments. In break out, and, thinking that -order to return to cash pay- they were not born to starve in ments, Dit was necessary that a land of plenty, would take the Bank should reduce the the food; therefore, they must quantity of its paper money. be fed, in a way sufficient to The Bank reduced its quantity keep them alive. Hence comes a dreadful augmentation of the barley, oats and wheat togepoor rates; and that, too, just ther, at less than half the aveat the very time, when, even rage price, which it brought without this new charge, you for many years previous to are upon the point of becoming 1814. We have seen, then, paupers. that the landlord in such a

Do you understand this? Can case, gets twice as much as you misunderstand it? Indeed, he got before. But, so also to suppose you capable of does the fund-holder, the misunderstanding what I have place-man, the pensioner, the here written, would be to sup- sinecurist, the army, the navy, pose you less rational than the the tax-gatherer himself, and horses or the oxen that drag every other creature who lives your ploughs and waggons. upon the produce of the taxes. Nevertheless, I will place the Now, suppose you were to matter in another point of view; agree at Michaelmas to give for, the salvation of the country your servant men twenty-four depends, and it wholly de- pounds a year a piece, and your pends, upon this matter being servant women twelve pounds a clearly understood. year a piece. Suppose they were to board themselves, and were to receive their wages monthly. Suppose that, just after you had

You will observe, that, while the regular diminution in the quantity of money in the country ruins you, it does great made the bargain, a law were good to some other classes of to be passed to compel you to the community. We have seen pay them these wages, and how it must benefit a landlord an addition to them, regularly who let his farm some time increased, from month to month, back. We have seen that it in such proportion as would gives him four hundred bushels make the last month for every of wheat in place of two hun- man four pounds, and the last dred. We have seen that this month for every woman two is the case when corn has been pounds. I am supposing the inbrought down to half the price crease to have been gradual from at which it was when the farm the first month to the last; and, in was taken. And, by the by, that case, you would, at the end cornis, at this hour, taking of the year, have paid each man

thirty-six pounds, and each you not only give your money woman eighteen pounds, in- freely; but, upon all occasions, stead of the twenty-four pounds you come boastingly forward and the twelve pounds that you with offers of your services and had agreed for. your lives.

There are some of you who have borrowed money, by mortgage, bond, annuity, or under

Now, how should you relish a law like this? How should you relish such a law, and how should you act while Dick and some other shape. If you did Bess were pocketting your this five years ago, you must now money and laughing in your pay twice as much interest as faces? Would you not swear you did the first year after the loan and stamp, and kick the dogs was made; just in the same about the house, as you do in a way that you, if a renter, must, rainy harvest? Would you not as above proved, pay a double bellow like your calves and roar rent to the landlord. You must like your bulls? Yet, this is pre- sell twice as many bushels of cisely what has been done by corn to get the money to that parliament which you so pay your interest as you much love, with regard to the had to sell to pay your interest wages of placemen, and the during the first year of the loan. pay and income of all others, Now, let us take a simple case: whose income and pay come suppose a farmer has borrowed out of the taxes. You can see on mortgage a thousand pounds, clearly enough that you pay the and suppose his farm to have landlord and the parson more been worth two thousand pounds than you ought to pay. You when he borrowed the money. Suppose the loan to have been made to him six years ago. The interest of the thousand pounds then required about seventy bushels of wheat. This was

grumble, and pretty loudly, too, with regard to them; and you vent your ill-humour most copiously upon the poor; but the fundholders, the placemen, the sinecure gentlemen and ladies: what he, in fact, bargained to these you take special care pay. Now, suppose a law never to offend by your u- be passed, or a series of laws mannerly complaints and re- to be passed, to compel him proaches. To support these, to pay more than he had bar、

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