.

as pretty a trick as ever was played" they have behaved themselves off; and it is very well worthy of "with prudence and propriety, the ingenuity of the Jolterheads." and borne their privations with It is a happy illustration of that "fortitude. They have suffered low cunning, and of that selfish-" as much as human nature can ness for which they are so famous. " endure." At the county meeting of Dum- This is pretty impudent; but barton, which was called by Sir this impudent fellow will learn, Archibald Campbell, the Duke of before it is over, that he is not to Montrose, and some others, and talk in this manner with impunity. the report of which meeting I find It was by no means wise in him in the Glasgow Chronicle, this Sir to revive the recollections, the Archibald Campbell is reported bloody recollections, of the yearto have said, that" He was against 1820. He would have done well “assessments, such as prevailed to avoid every thing of that sort; "in the neighbouring kingdom; and that he will know one of these they had been complained of days. In the mean while, he has there, and for that reason he a dislike to "assessments such as was against their introduction" prevail in the neighbouring "into the county of Dumbarton." kingdom." I dare say he has, "They would recollect that great "distress existed about six years

that

I will engage that he has, a very great dislike to such assessments; age, and the conduct of the suf- and the Irish landlords have just "ferers was very different from the same sort of dislike; and all "what it is now. They all recol- people have a dislike, to be sure, "lected of what was called the to pay what they owe; or rather, "radical war. At that time they to give up that which they ought "wanted, by menace, parade, not to keep. But these Scotch "and a show of force, to compel Landlords seem to be aware, "the gentlemen to assist them, it is quite impossible that they " and their conduct was such, that should keep their lands and "it was impossible to relieve them houses and property, unless the "and entertain a proper respect "for the constitution. Their con"duct is very different on the pre"sent occasion. Being no longer "misled by designing persons, there is the law of nature; and

people get food in some way or another. There is no law like that in England, which is efficient for the relief of the poor; but,

the Scotch are not made of stuff|“ have hitherto been silent on that

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"

to lie down in silence. Nobody subject. And that the statewill persuade them, that it is their "ments in the petition should be duty, either as subjects or as "confined entirely to their preChristians, to lie down and die "sent miserable condition, and with hunger, while there is plenty "the inadequaey of the relief of food in the land: and, how they at present receive, for the dare these landlords of Scotland" support of human beings; likelook the world in the face, while "wise, that the prayer should be they declare, that "the people" for nothing but a grant from "have suffered as much as hu-" government, to enable them to "man nature can endure; " and "meet the inclemency of the while they, the landlords, have a "coming winter. On a show of law in force to prevent the impor-"hands being taken, the meeting tation of food! How can these "agreed unanimously that the landlords look the world in the "above propositions should form face, while such are their declara-" the basis of their petition; and tions and such their deeds.

"that they should meet in the

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In the same Glasgow paper, is" same place on the evening of the following most curious ac- Monday next, for the purpose count of a meeting of the "Ope- "of forwarding the measure, when ratives." The account is in the" the proceedings at the county following words: "A meeting of" meeting on Thursday, would "operatives was held in the Uni-"give them a better idea how to "tarian meeting-house, Paisley," act."

" on Monday evening, to take into

Here is a pretty story! These poor fellows have, you see, been thrusted forward by the landSome discus- lords! The landlords hold them

"consideration the propriety of petitioning the King on their present distress.

"sion took place on the purport up as a terror to the Government. "of the petition, when the greater The poor fellows are not to say "part of the speakers were of any thing about the CAUSE of "opinion, that it should by no

distress; nor are they to point out any REMEDY; but are to leave those to their betters. Their pe tition is "to be confined entirely "to their present miserable con

"dition," and they are to "pray imagine that the distress, as it is "for a GRANT OF MONEY called, is confined to the district in "FROM THE GOVERN- which he himself lives. The stu"MENT," and are to pray for pid creature does not appear to NOTHING ELSE! One cannot see that the distress is as general help laughing at this! What a as the air we breathe; that it is set of brazen vagabonds it must in every part of the kingdom, in have been that invented such a every branch of business, amongst scheme as this, and that had the persons of every description, the audacity to suppose that it would well-gorged tax-eaters excepted. extort money from the Govern- The printers are in distress; the ment! What fools these "opera-builders, the carpenters, the tives "must have been to have been bricklayers, the painters; of played off in this manner by a set which there are now more than of insolent vagabonds, who want- fifteen thousand out of employed to plunder the whole kingdom ment in the Wen, though to this for the sake of sparing their own Wen comes a very large part of purses. It is clear as day-light, the incomes and the earnings of that nothing could be got by the the whole kingdom. Amongst people by any measure of this the merchants and ship-owners sort. If any money could have the distress rages in every seabeen got from the Government, port, and that to a degree perit would have been got for the fectly terrific. The Customlandlords, out of whose estates the House, is a scene that gives you a maintenance of the poor must good idea of a declining country. come in one shape or other, unless As to manufacturers and their in cases where the poor, like those work-people, the distress prevails in Ireland in 1822, can be com- throughout every branch, from the pelled to lie down and die by northermost manufacturing town whole parishes under the extreme in Scotland to Frome in Somerunction. setshire in one direction, and to

When this foolish fellow, Tay- Norwich in another direction. lor, and others like him, are talk-Though the last quarter of a ing about grants from the Govern-year (between Easter and Midment, they seem to be wholly igno- summer), is naturally one of the rant of the situation of the coun- least pressure upon the poor, the try. Every one of them seems to Poor-rates in the city of Norwich

rose one-fifth in amount during out of work; and he ought to

that quarter. The Scotch land- have known, too, and the Scotch lords, and sappy-headed Taylor, landlords ought to have known it, of the Manchester Guardian, do that the landlords in the West not seem to know-the one of have not had the impudence, and, them that there are manufactures at the same time, the folly, to enany where but in Scotland, and deavour to extort money from the the other that there are any ex- Government, in order to maintain cept in and round Manchester. their poor. No, faith! there is noThey may, indeed, have heard of body that has impudence to this those in Nottinghamshire and extent, except the domineering Leicestershire; but Somerset- vagabonds of Lancashire and shire is so far off! Yet fellows Scotland. There is no doubt that so sapient as the man-of-honour the landlords in Gloucestershire, Editor at Manchester, ought to Somersetshire, and Wiltshire, know that, within a circumfer- would shift the burthen off their ence of about ninety miles, em-own shoulders to the shoulders of bracing parts of Somersetshire, the whole nation if they could. I Wiltshire, and Gloucestershire, must confess, however, that I there are, at the very least, a hun- merely suppose this, and that I do dred thousand men employed in not know the fact; but, however making the cloth which is worn disposed they may be to do it, they by almost all the gentlemen and have, at any rate, not had the imricher classes in England. This pretender to gentlemanship ought to have known, that these cloth manufacturers have been ruined, even to a greater extent than the cotton manufacturers, though, observe, the articles of their manufacture are comparatively scarcely an object of export. This Mentor of the Preston Sir Andrew Aguecheek ought to have known that more than one-half of the workpeople of the clothiers in the West have actually been thrown

pudence openly to propose it. The landowners in manufacturing districts derive great benefit from the existence of the manufactures. The more the manufactures increase, the more the adjoining lands increase in value. I have seen land in Lancashire, letting for six, eight, or ten pounds the statute acre; which same land, if situated in divers parts of Sussex or Hampshire, would not let for more than thirty shillings an acre, at the most. All this great addi

tional value is given by the neigh-any power arising from the will bouring factories; and is not this of man. It cannot do this thing; land to bear an additional charge it cannot relieve the distresses by of Poor-rates when these facto- grants of money. It ought not if ries happen to fail? "Oh, no, it could, but it could not if it "(says this gentleman' Taylor,) would; and so the "gentleman" "a contribution from the public Taylor and the Scotch landlords "funds is less objectionable," than may spare all their tricks and cona system of assessments in aid, as trivances upon that subject. Why he calls it; that is to say, that for not grant some money to the poor the Lancashire landlords to make creatures that are now half-starv the rest of the nation pay their ing in London? There are, as I Poor-rates, is less objectionable, said before, upwards of fifteen than for they themselves to pay thousand journeymen now wholly their Poor-rates. But, again I ask, out of employment. Probably where is the Government to stop, there will be fifty thousand out of if it once begin making grants of employment, within the bills of money for the feeding of the poor? mortality, before the next month Where is it to stop? The land- of March. In all human probalords of Lancashire and of Scot- bility this will be the case; and, if land will hardly say, that those of grants of money are to be made Norfolk and of Somersetshire and out of the taxes, surely such a Gloucestershire ought not to have grant will be made for the Wen a bit of a grant as well as they. as well as for any other place. They will hardly say this; The folly of supposing it posthat the whole nation must be re-sible to relieve the distresses of lieved, there must be grants for the country by grants from the every part of the nation, and taxes, is surpassed by only one money must be raised upon every other folly; namely, that of supcreature to relieve every crea-posing that these distresses can be relieved, or even mitigated,

ture.

so

This, therefore, is manifest on a general scale, by SUBnonsense. It is what cannot be SCRIPTIONS or other contridone, even by this government, butions of that sort; and, if the uncontrolled as its power is, un- Ministers find it inconvenient to checked as it is by any known be pestered with these applicapower upon earth; that is to say, tions for grants of money out of