the years of particular fcarcity, which we had lately experienced, wheat had been eight fhillings per quarter higher during the five cheapest years of the prefent war, than it was between 1788 and 1793. War muft necellarily tend, in various ways, to produce fymptoms of fcarcity. Thoufands were taken from laborious and productive occupations to run idle, and confume what was prodaced 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 fcarcity, was as great as if he did: for, inftead 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 taftes nothing but vegetables. Steadily adhering to the principles of Dr. Adam Smith, he maintained that, in general, all apprehenfion from unfair dealing was chimerical. In time of peace, he faid, the demand is conftant and regular; and fpeculation never will be extended beyond the wants of the community; but, in time of war, fleets are to be victualled, armies fuddenly called together are to be fed, and expeditions are frequently fitted out: thus a spirit of adventure is generated, and enterprifing men may take advantage of the facility of raifing money to fpeculate to an unexceptionable degree. After a philippic on miniftry, through whole mifconduct, he afferted, the war had been unsuccessful, and every enter prife failed, while the country, through their continued attempts, groaned under a heavy load of mifery, he concluded with moving, as an amendment, "That the laft . fentence in the addrefs fhould be left out." That fentence was as follows: "Concurring with your majefty in the anxiety which your majefty entertains for the fpeedy refloration of peace, we fhall fee, with the utmoft fatisfaction, the adoption of all fuch measures as may beft tend to promote and accelerate that defirable end, confiftently with the honour of this country, and the true interefts of your people; but if the difpofition of our enemies fhould continue to render it unattainable, without the facrifice of thefe eflential confiderations, we fall feel it our indifpenfable duty to perfevere in affording your majefty the moft zealous and effectual fupport, and to omit no exertion on our part, which can enable your majefty, under the blefling of Providence, to conduct this important conteft to a profperous conclufion, and to maintain, unimpaired, the fecurity and honour of thefe kingdoms." Mr. Grey, in the course of his fpeech, 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 ufed the truft confided in him? He had the uncontrolled command of a mighty army, and he profeffed his fenfe of the neceffity for executing fome great enterprize; yet, in no one inftance, had he gained an object which could, in any degree, contribute to the fuccefs of the war." In reference to this, " by the honourable gentleman, who had thought proper to challenge him to rife, at a time when he not only had not intended to mention, but expected that no other perfon in that houfe would have mentioned any other matter than that which was mentioned in the fpeech from the throne. Mr. Dundas then fet about fhewing, by an enumeration of various circumftances, that the war was successful, that we had made many and great conquefts, fully co-operated with our allies, and prevented an addition to the naval force of our enemies. Mr. T. Jones, among various obfervations, characterized by an air. of naïveté or fimplicity, made one, which appeared to make a very general impreffion on the houfe. After wifhing, in the moft folemn manner, that his majesty's minifters had as fincere a regard to the welfare of the people, as our good and gracious, humane, benevolent, and religious fovereign, he faid, "The fact is, his majefty's minifters now ride on the popularity of the king; and, I fear, they will rifk that popularity." He owned, that it had been his practice, however difagreeing with them, to look up with refpect to the political talents of the chancellor of the exchequer, the right honourable secretary, and others of his majesty's minifters; "but they are not," faid Mr. Jones, "the men that we imagined them to be: I begin to think they are not above the common level of men; I think many of the gentlemen I occafionally act with equally fit for the truft they enjoy; and I do not think I overrate myself in faying, that, for my country's caufe, I would enter into office, on a conviction that I might do as well; I could not well do worfe, God knows." On the whole, as to the former part of the addrefs concerning the poor, and his majefty's paternal regard for their welfare and comfort, Mr. Jones voted for it fincerely. As to the latter, breathing war, he totally deprecated it. The amendment being negatived without a divifion, the original addrefs, with very few diffenting voices, was carried. No time was loft by the legiflature in its endeavours to provide remedies for the public diftrefs. The commons, on the following day, voted bounties on the importation of various kinds of grain. Three feveral bills were brought forward: the firft, to prohibit the ufe of grain in the diftillation of fpirits, and the manufacture of starch; the fecond, to prohibit the exportation of rice; and the third, to enable his majefty to prohibit, for a limited time, the exportation of provitions. A felect committee was appointed to inquire into the caufes of the high price and best remedies for the fcarcity of provifions: the reports of which might, from time to time, fuggeft hints for falutary laws, or ufeful regulations. A lelect committee, for taking into confideration and making their reports, on fo much of his majefty's fpeech as related to the dearth of provisions, was alfo appointed by the house of lords. Befides the three bills juft mentioned, a bill was introduced into the house of commons, granting a bounty on the importation of all forts of grain: a bill for permitting herrings or other fifth, the produce of the fishery carried on in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, Newfoundland, and on the coaft of Labrador, to be imported in any Britifh fhip, without payment of duty, for for a time to be limited: a bill for taking a better provifion for the fubfiftence of the poor, and for enabling the overfeers to employ a certain portion of fubftitutes in the diftribution of parochial relief: a bill for permitting the importation of Swedith herrings duty free. The motive affigned for the introduction of this bill, was, the fcanty fupply and high price of the produce of the Scotch fisheries in the prefent year, in the article of herrings. In former years, when this fpecies of fifh was cheap, and not unfrequently fo low as 4s. 6d. per barrel, upwards of 150,000 barrels were annually exported to the colonies in the West Indies: but now, when the fish was not fo plentiful, the neceffities of the country requiring the whole produce of the home fithery as fupplementary provifion for the poor; and the price fo high as 15s. per barrel, the country could not afford the neceffary fupply of this article, at an eligible price, to our Weft India colonies. It therefore became neceffary to permit the importation of Swedish herrings, duty free, for that purpofe. This could not at all operate to the difcouragement of our home fisheries in this article, as the price of their produce was now fo extremely high, as to hold out the moft ample encouragement for the most extenfive exertions of thofe employed in the fishery. A bill was alfo introduced, allowing the ufe of falt, duty free,, for the purpose of preferving herrings and other fish, in bulk, for a time limited, extending the allowance on pilchards cured and exported, to all pilchards now cured, whether exported or fold for home confumption; and for the protection, for a time limited, of perfons enVOL. XLIII. gaged in the herring fishery, or in going to,or returning from, the fishery, from being impreffed into his majefty's fervice: a bill for granting to his majefty the fum of 50,000%. for the purchafe of ftores of herrings, and diftributing them for the ufe of the different parts of the kingdom: a bill, prohibiting the manufacture of flour or meal from wheat, or any other grain, finer than a specified ftandard, commonly called the brown-bread bill: and another bill, for continuing an act made in the laft feffion of parliament, entituled, " An act to prohibit, until the expiration of fix weeks, after the commencement of the next feffion of parliament, any perfon or perfons from felling any bread which fhould not have been baked a certain time, namely, fourand-twenty hours." All these bills having paffed through the ufual ftages in both houfes, were, in the courfe of December, by the royal fanétion, paffed into laws. A refolution was allo agreed to by the house of commons," That, for the purpofe of affording temporary relief to fuch parishes within the bills of mortality, and the parishes adjacent thereto, as were unable to fupport their own poor, it was neceflary that a local fund fhould be raised by a general tax or rate on fuch parishes, under certain regulations and exceptions, as might be thought expedient; and an humble addrefs was prefented to the king, defiring that his majesty would be gracioufly pleafed to advance, out of the civil litt, fuch fum as his majefty might think neceffary for the immediate relief of the poor in the parishes of St. Matthew, Bethnal-green; Mile-end New-town; and Chrift-church, Spi[C] tal tal-fields: with affurance to his majefty that the commons would make good the fame." The diftrefs to which the poor, of the three parishes juft mentioned, who were obliged to make application for parochial relief, were reduced, through the inadequacy of the funds provided for them, was very great. By the ftatements given in, by the parish officers, to the committee appointed to confider of the high price of provifions, it appeared that they were not able to grant pecuniary aid to fo much as one-tenth part of thofe perfons, who would be likely now to receive it, if they refided in their own parifhes; and alfo that, to the few whom they relieved, on account of their being entirely out of work, they gave only about one-fifth or onefixth part of the fum commonly granted in London to perfons in like circunftances. It was alfo stated, that the workhoufes were, at that time, exceedingly crowded. In Mile-end New-town, out of 860 houfes which were affeffed to the poor rates, no lefs than 529 were fuppofed to pay a yearly rent of only 117. and under; and, among thefe houfes, many which paid a rent of lefs than 37. per annum. The proportion of fmall houfes, or of houfes divided into fmall lodgings, in the two other parishes, was alfo very great. The rental of all thefe parishes charged to the poor rates, was out 60,0002. The rental of the metropolis, including the parishes of St. Pancras and Mary-le-bonne, was eftimated at about fifty times that fum, or about three millions. The number of perfons in the three parithes, who were of the poorer clafs, and were not now relieved, were computed at between 16 and 17,000, forming, unquef tionably, a large portion of the poorer labourers and manufacturers of various kinds, who wrought both for the city, and for other parts of the country. The legiflature, in providing a remedy for this evil, were not under the neceffity of having recourse to any new law. By a claufe in a law of the 43d year of the reign of queen Elizabeth, entituled, " An act for the relief of the poor," it was enacted, that, if the juftices, charged with the execution of that act, fhould perceive that the inhabitants of any parifh were not able to levy among themfelves fufficient fums for the purposes of the act, "then two juftices might tax, vote, and affefs, any other of other parifles, or out of any parifh within the hundred where the faid parish was fituated, to pay fuch fum and fums of money to the churchwardens and overfeers of the poor parifh, as the faid juftices fhould think fit." This claufe, which had, in feveral inftances, heen acted on, afforded a clear proof, that it was not the intention of the laws, that parifhes burdened in a particular manner with poor, fhould be so far infolated from all others, as never to call on them for relief; and that even whole counties are considered as liable, if neceffary, to be charged with contributions, in order to cafe contiguous parishes. Thus the paternal care of the legiflature was feen to extend to all claffes of men in all fituations; and thus the people of England were emphatically taught to confider the welfare of their neighbours as their own. The fum that might be wanted for the relief of the three poor and populous parifles above men tioned, tioned, until the feafon of next harveft, was estimated at 20 or 30,0001. At the fame time that the parliament laboured with great diligence, by all means, to provide, or point oat means by which the deficiency in the crops of the prefent, and the laft year too, might be fupplied, they judged it to be very expedient that all claffes fhould be called on by the authority of him, whofe benignant character and exemplary conduct well entitled him to be confidered and called the father of his people, to obferve the greatest conomy in the ufe of all kinds of grain. A proclamation for this end was iffued by his majefty, on the 3d of December, 1800, in confequence of a joint address from both houfes of parliament. In the courfe of the parliamentary inquiries into the causes and best means for the remedy of the scarcity, or the dearth of provisions, the idea that firft occurs to the people of all countries, of reftraining the very high exactions of the venders of grain, by compulfion, was adopted by a fenator certainly not deficient in intelligence, any more than in an active zeal for the profperity of his country, and the well being of his countrymen: though, on the prefent occafion, our praise must be limited to the purity of his benevolent intentions. It was to be expected, that in times of great diftrefs, fentiments of tender fympathy would be eminently difplayed among that order of men, whose hereditary rank and poffeffions, by a thoufand recollecfions and anticipations, connected them more clofely with the whole family of Englishmen, than thofe whofe wealth is new, and acquired by means of a general commerce with all nations, and, in too many inftances, at the expence of the great body of the people. There was, accordingly, in the concern that was fhewn for the fufferings of the poor, in this calamitous year, by the nobility and old gentry, fomething peculiarly anxious and parental; and which was difplayed both in their public appearances and private facrifices. The very found of a maximum is naturally and juftly an object of fufpicion and alarm. Yet, in propofing a kind of modified maximum, the earl of Warwick clearly preferred the relief of the people to his own private intereft. In the houfe of lords, November 14, on the fubject of the ftate of the laft crop, The earl of Warwick faid, that from the ftricteft obfervation, he could pofitively declare, that on his own lands, not only thofe which he occupied, but throughout the whole of his neighbourhood, the late harveft was remarkably abundant. He could alfo affure the house, that the farmers were making two hundred per cent. profit! He was aware of the right which every man had in the difpofal of his property, as well as the protection in that property to which he was entitled from parlia ment. Yet it would be admitted by all their lordships, that men employed as labourers, and particularly labourers in agriculture, had a right to receive as much wages as would maintain themfelves and families: but fo far from this being the cafe in his neighbourhood, he had known labourers to receive eight or nine fhillings a week from farmers: a fum fo infufficient for their fupport, that their families were actually flarving. And yet these farmers were gaining twice more than they were, by their own acknowledgment, entitled to, [C 2] Thofe |