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we have got it at last: prices will ac- case; and, after hearing the different commodate themselves to the quantity statements, they discharged the men, of money in the country: the people" considering that both parties were to are in the depth of misery: commotion "blame. They further conciliated the is staring us in the face, owing to the" poor, by assuring them that justice hunger of the people; and all the world" should be done in attending to their knows that this arises from the over- complaints, and advised them to return burden of the taxes. What, therefore," peaceably to their homes, which advice has the Parliament to do but to reduce 66 was instantly complied with. This those taxes, and to let the King's coin" prudent step taken by the worthy ma→ remain that which it was for so many"gistrates, it is believed, was the means "of preventing much evil, as, from the As a specimen of the state of the excited state of feeling which precountry, I take the following article "vailed among the assembled poor, from the Windsor Express, copied into" had a different line of conduct been one of the London papers. "On Wed-" pursued towards them, it is more than nesday last the village of North Mars-" probable that consequences of the 'ton was thrown into a state of great 66 most serious nature would have ensued. agitation, in consequence of a disturb-" At Aylesbury, Lord Nugent has sug"ance amongst the labouring poor, gested the propriety, as a temporary arising, it is said, out of the follow-"expedient of farmers paying a portion ing circumstance :--One of the over- "of their rates in corn, and of paying, seers was paying the poor at his" with the consent of the receiver, a house, when a young lad called for " part of his allowance in produce inhis allowance, amounting to three "stead of inoney; the poor may thus shillings. The overseer refused to "get a third more, and the farmer finds pay him more than two shillings and "a customer at home; which would be three-pence. The pauper, however," easier to the latter than paying in "refused to leave the house unless he" money."

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was paid the remainder. An attempt This is the fearful object to contemwas then made to turn him out, when plate! and this is precisely what I warnsome of the men interfered, and the con-ed the DUKE of WELLINGTON of on the stable, being present, eventually took 1st of March, 1828, soon after he came four of them into custody. This pro- into office. My words were these, “My ceeding aroused the indignation of the Lord Duke, the history of the two "poor of the village, who, being joined by "nations furnishes sufficient proof that a number of the poor from the adjoin-" the English are not to be expected to ing parish of Oving, declared that the starve quietly; merely because the men in custody should not be taken" House of Commons has obtained "to prison unless they were all taken" proof that the Irish so starve. There there. Such was the threatening as- may be, and there are, some instances pect of affairs, that the other overseer, "in which innocent and industrious "Mr. Kingham, fled for safety, under" individuals who have, of late years, the apprehension of his life being in" been starved to death in England; "danger. Fifty of them, armed with" but these instances are partial; they sticks, proceeded to the house of a are very few in number compared with magistrate in the neighbourhood, the" the whole number of the people. Rev. Mr.Archer, of Whitchurch. Lord" Never will you see a whole parish "Nugent (who is highly respected by" of the people of England quietly yield 44 the poor of the neighbourhood) being up their breath under the pangs of at his seat at Lilies, about two miles" hunger. They will have food, by one distant, proceeded to Whitchurch, ac- means or another; and if the bill, companied by his brother-in-law, Cap-" which the newspapers ascribed to Mr. "tain Poulett, who, in conjunction" SLANEY, and which was described as "with Mr. Archer, investigated the "taking relief away from all persons

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TO THE READERS.

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" able to work; if this bill were passed son bid them look for sustenance to the "to-morrow, that which is now, that land which they till. They see nobody scanty portion which assistant-over- but the farmer interposing between seers and select vestries and contrac-them and what they deem their fair "tors for the keeping of poor-houses; share of the food: on the farmer, there"if this scanty portion of relief which fore, they fall as their enemy. The "is now extracted from these, were farmer looks to his landlord in vain; "withheld; the next day, double the and thus these parties are left to carry "amount of it would be taken by acts on the deadly strife with each other. "which are denominated thefts. And, "where are the means of suppressing the farmers to pay the poor-rates in LORD NUGENT's scheme for enabling "these thefts? We are not here talk- kind, while it shows the inexpressible ing of robbers and thieves, who rob poverty of the latter, is well calculated "and thieve for gain or idleness: we to keep up in the people a correct idea are not talking of the exception, but of their right to a share of the produce; "of the rule; we are not talking of the and to produce, in their minds, a series "few, but of the many: not of the hun-of calculations with regard to the ex"dreds, but of the millions. It is not tent of that share. "here a factious party, or an insurrec- this one fact to prove to every man of There needed only "tion to be suppressed: it is the great any reason, the wretched situation of "mass of the people; and, my Lord the country, the immediate cause of "Duke, we are manifestly approaching which wretchedness is the arbitrary 66 very fast towards that state of things change which has been made in the "which is a great deal more perilous value of money. This last change was "than a civil war, though that is peril-made by the bill of 1826; and how 66 ous enough. The above account is from Bucking- ble words of my petition, presented to often have I had to repeat the memorahamshire, which is only a strong in- the House while that bill was lying bestance of what is going on all over the fore it and not yet passed, namely, country. Almost every where the "Your petitioner knows as well as he farmers are unable to pay the rates" knows that fire burns, that if your in sufficient amount to feed the poverty." honourable House shall pass that stricken labourers; but these latter will" bill without reducing the taxes to the be fed. They regard a supply of food" amount at which they were before the as their right, and they justly so regard" small paper-money was put out, you it. The poor receive only six millions" will reduce the people of this country of taxes in relief; and while sixty mil-" to a state of distress absolutely insuplions of taxes are collected by the Go-" vernment, surely a part of this might be words of this petition verified? Is not portable." Now, then, are not the deducted in order to add to the relief of the state of distress absolutely insupthe poor. It is a fact, enough to astound portable? Upon turning to the petition the world, that the money paid for col-since I wrote the last sentence, I find lecting and managing the taxes; money swallowed up by the tax-gathe the exact words to have been these: therers themselves, amounts to as much" That, in the above-mentioned bill, as is expended in the relief of all the" to cause gold and silver to be the ciryour humble petitioner sees a design poor! This is the matter for the House of" knows, as well as he knows that fire "culating money of England; that he Commons to take hold of: to meddle" burns, that if gold and silver be the with this matter is their proper province:" circulating money of England, more yet, not a word do we ever hear upon the subject from the lips of any one of" cannot be levied, without producing “than half the present amount of taxes the members. As to the working the working" ruin and wretchedness absolutely inpeople themselves, they see not the real " cause of their misery. Nature and rea-" most humbly, but most earnestly, supportable; and that, therefore, he

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"nions of projects, of interests, and of "passions, will go to pieces like a ship upon the rocks."

prays your honourable House to re-
duce the taxes to an amount not ex-
ceeding that which was their amount"
"before the small paper-money sup-
"planted the coin of his Majesty.

Before the publication of the next Register, we may be able to discover Such was my prayer when this bill the designs, and the probable powers of was passed. The ruin and the wretch- the parties engaged in this struggle. At edness are come, and they are abso- any rate, there can be no harm in getting lutely insupportable. Insolvencies, bank-gold. I observed, in the last Register, that ruptcies, suicides, battles in villages if the base paper-money were again rebetween overseers and paupers; insub- sorted to, the banks must all be proordination every where; such a state of tected against demands for gold; and things never witnessed before in any that, therefore, the thing must be done country upon earth; all produced by by order in Council, and must come acts of the Parliament; and the Parlia- upon us like a thief in the night; for ment fully warned beforehand of the that, if done by act of Parliament, the danger of passing every one of those forms of the House would give so much acts. There is no remedy but in the time for runs, that there would not be a taking off of the taxes; and it is my single sovereign left in any bank, and decided opinion that this remedy, to any that all would be confusion even before thing like an efficient extent, will not the bill were passed. Now, it is very be adopted by the Parliament. material to observe, that if the Parliament beat the Minister, and carry this measure in despite of him, the Parliament must proceed by bill, and not by

People of property, farmers, traders, every body, that have pecuniary engagements or dealings, are full of anxiety as to what will be done. In my last Re-order in Council; let every one observe gister, I took particular pains to point this well. Mr. GOULBOURN seems to have out all the consequences of a return to hit upon this nail very neatly. In his the base paper-money. A great ma- answer to Mr. ArTWOOD, he said that the jority of the people of property engaged delays which the form of Parliament in trade, abhor the thought of such re- would interpose, would create such a turn nobody but insolvents, or hair- mass of confusion, that it would be imbrained speculators; nobody but men possible for Parliament to carry the mortgaged up to their eyes, or sharing measure of alteration into effect. This, largely in the emoluments of the system, without irony, was sensible, GOULBOURN. wish for a return to that gambling and So that, before such a measure can be swindling system. GOULBOURN, taking adopted, the DUKE must be turned out; directly from the last Register, is right a new Ministry must be formed; and for once; and the DUKE is as strong as they may proceed with their order in Hercules if he stand on the basis of the Council; but, even this would be very King's coin. Indeed, it is impossible difficult work; for, if the DUKE were for him to retract without covering ousted, the intention for ousting him himself with everlasting shame. If the would be known; and the vote which Parliament, on the contrary, abandon would compel him to retire, would be the silly project of a return to the base a signal for a general run upon the paper-money, and insist on a reduction banks. The DUKE, therefore, is strong of the taxes, they will have all the coun- upon this ground still; and he is weak try with them; but this I think they only in case of an attack upon the taxes. will not do. The chances are, there- He is happily bound to the King's coin: fore, that nothing efficient will be done; bound, it is fair to believe, from a sense that we shall go drawling on from bad of duty; but he is bound and doubly to worse, till, at last, my old and thou-bound by his own safety; by his own sand-times repeated prophecy will be verified, and that the whole of the paper-system," amidst the war of opi

tenure of place; for, observe, if he be turned out by a vote of Parliament, he sinks for ever in the estimation of Eng

That you, my friends, will rejoice with me upon this occasion, I am certain. We can remember the time when this insolent thing shook the halter in our faces, and rattled in our ears the keys of the dungeon. One of my objects in my tour to the North, was, to see, and to ex

land and of Europe too: he has to make | barefaced issue of assignats. The things a stand for his fame: make a stand he could not circulate while the Bank was certainly will; and, if he make it on the open for payment in gold. It would be ground of the currency, he ought to be a bare-faced governrnent paper-money, triumphant. and would very soon blow the whole If I were in the DUKE's place now, system up. The very proposition proves if I had been in his place in the month that there is no rational hope of saving of January 1828, if the King had ac- this system: a man could not have cepted of my offer at that time, there thought of such a thing until every ra would, at this day, have been no distress tional means had been viewed with de in England. I would, long ago, have spair. Ah! the THING is driven up into put in force the equitable adjustment as a corner at last: after all its shuffles and prayed for in the Norfolk Petition. All all its tricks, I have it now safe in the would have been tranquillity and har-corner: it has been trying to push by mony at home; the French would have me several times; but, at last, I have been out of Cadiz, and the Russians it safe; it has only just room to turn its would not have been in Turkey: LORD body about; and, in a very few months, NUGENT would not have had to propose I shall have it safe by the head, and the payment of poor-rates in kind, and shall lead it to my shop and dose it as the workmen of Huddersfield would not easily as a nurse doses a child. be living upon two-pence halfpenny a day. The tax-eaters would, indeed, have ceased to revel while the labourers were starving, but WILMOT HORTON, would have been spared the trouble of projecting a mortgage on the poorrates, in order to thin the population of the country. But if I were in the situa-ult in company with, those who had so tion in which the Duke is now, this is what I would do: I would stick to the coin of the King; I would give no countenance to paper-money of any description, not even to the ingenious WM. MABERLY; I would countenance the Parliament in the reducing of taxes; but if they got the small paper-money, they should get it by bill; and, if by that bill they blew the system up, it should be their own work. I would object to no reduction of taxes; I would pay the dividends as far as I could with the taxes that were left me; I would propose Parliamentary reform, I would follow with my equitable adjustment, holding the Norfolk Petition in my hand, I would keep my place, and would have, as I should deserve, the blessings of the country. I must not dismiss this address to you, my friends, without a word or two more on the project of Mr. Maberly; namely, putting out exchequer bills to the amount of four or five millions, so low as for one pound, making these bills a legal tender in all respects whatsoever. This would be a

long been suffering in common with me. Let us now wait: let us see the next move that the THING will make, and be you assured, in the meanwhile, that it can make no move which will not be to its own discomfiture and to our honour.

I remain, my friends, your faithful and obedient Servant, WM. COBBETT.

NORTHERN TOUR.

ON Monday, the 1st of February, I delivered the third lecture at Sheffield; and, on Tuesday morning, or rather, noon, set off for Nottingham through Chesterfield and Mansfield, carrying with me the most grateful recollection of the very kind treatment which I received at Sheffield; and my son and daughter not forgetting the beautiful sight which they had beheld in those exhibitions, called the show-rooms, in that place of wonderful ingenuity and

industry. The weather was very severe when we left Sheffield, and we saw the poor partridges in the fields very hard pushed for any thing to support life. I saw one covey amongst a flock of sheep, I observed that the mere getting upon living upon the seeds of the hay which the table was enough; that they, the had been given to the latter. The sheep company, were too well instructed to themselves do not mind cold and snow need instruction from me; that my busiif they have food, but, in many places, ness there was to show them the man they were scraping the snow in order to that had so long fought, and at last get at the grass. They are of the Lei- overcome, the hydra of stupidity and cester breed, and, in spite of the wea-oppression; and that their business ther, seem to look very well.