the Church had yielded up a very for beer, which, if there were no considerable part of its property taxes, we might have for threeand income; and particularly halfpence. We give six shillings until it had paid back the one for a parcel of tea, that would, if million and six hundred thousand, there were no taxes, cost us, perwhich had been given to it out of haps, half-a-crown. Now, then, the loans until all these things we want to pay less taxes; but, had taken place, not a single the interest of the debt is so great, farthing, according to my propo- that it must have great parcels of sition, was to be taken from the taxes. Therefore, say you, Come, Fundholder. good people all, and join the landlords, in reducing the interest of the debt. Come, my good folks, come and join the landlords, those merciful people that let you have bread so cheap; come and join them in reducing the interest of the national debt!

Such is not the nature of your proposition. You mean to deduct from the interest of the debt; you mean to take a large part of their property away from the middle class of the community, and you mean to leave the Aristocracy and the Church in possession of all Softly, "Sir James Graham, that they have; in possession, not of Netherby;" softly, son of only of their own original estates, "John with the bright sword"; not only of the estates which they softly, say the people of England. have bought with the fruit of their The debt does cost taxes, to be sinecures and pensions; but, you sure; but, is there any thing pecumean still to leave them in pos- liar in the nature of those taxes session of the sinecures and pen-which the debt requires? Are sions themselves! Nothing but taxes less heavy, less galling, do aristocratic impudence and inso- they impoverish or provoke us lence, and ignorance, into the bar-more, when they go to a widow or gain, and all possessed in the her children when they have mohighest possible degree, could ney in the funds, than when they have emboldened a man to put go to pay the sinecure-salary of such a proposition into print. CANNING or the pension of his What is the pretence that any mother and his sister? Are they man can find for lowering the in-less provoking to us, when we pay terest of the debt? Why does them to a troop of orphans, than any man think of such a thing? when we pay them to a troop of Oh! it is because the debt is so the dead-weight fellows, many of burdensome; it is because it is a whom are Hanoverians? Look "mill-stone" round the neck of at that old man there: does it the nation. But, this is figurative irritate me more to pay him a hunlanguage. It is what is called dred a-year in dividends, than it fine talk. Let us have it plainer. does to pay that parson there a We want, then, to reduce the in- hundred pounds a-year in tithes, terest of the national debt, because while, at the same time, I am this interest is now so great as to compelled to pay taxes, in order make us pay more than one-half that he may receive half-pay as of our income and our earnings, a military or naval officer! in taxes. We pay sixpence a-pot

Oh! "Sir James Graham, of

Netherby," are you vain enough ter to him, published in the sumto suppose, that we are such sols, mer of 1818, a remarkable pecuthat we are such infatuated crea-liarity belonging to this subject is tures, that we are such despicable this: that it is perfectly well unwretches, that we are so eaten up derstood by the working classes, with, or over-awed by, the names while it was not, at the time when of Lord and of Parson, as to was writing, at all understood think nothing of taxes given to by those who had the making of the latter, while we feel so se- the laws. You seem to have verely taxes which we give to per- been totally unaware of this. You sons in our own rank of life seem, with the presumption and Oh! Son of the "bright sword"; insolence habitual to the generason-in-law of "the seventh Earl lity of your order, to look upon of Galloway, K. T." Oh! thou the people as being ignorant as reader of Virgil! Doest thou brutes. I will engage, that out think, that I, WILLIAM COBBETT, of every five hundred weavers for instance, am such a despicable and spinners in the North, includsimpleton as to be eager to dock ing Scotland, four hundred and off the money that I pay every ninety-nine understand this subyear to my neighbours, my ac- ject better than you; that they quaintances, and, in some cases, understand all the causes, and all my PERSONAL FRIENDS, the effects, better than you; that who are Fundholders; that I am they have more accurate opinions, eager, above all things, to deduct with regard to the consequences from them, what I have to pay yet to come; that they know a them annually; and that I have great deal better than you, not no desire whatsoever to deduct only what is likely to happen, but what I pay to the Lord Charleses, what will be best for the country, the Lady Wilhelminas, the Bishops in the times that are coming. and the Parsons? Doest thou really think this, Sir James? Doest thou think that I do not even yet feel the Aristocratical and Clerical foot heavy enough upon my neck; doest thou think that I relish the weight of that foot? Faith thou knowest better, and I will prove that thou knowest better, before I have done!

Do you imagine, then, that you can persuade such people to join the Land-owners in a scheme which would crush three hundred thousand families in the middle class of life, which would take not one farthing of the income of the aristocracy and the church; which would leave these two latter, infinitely more powerful, relatively Oh no, Sir James, we all considered, than they now are; understand this matter too well to and which would render their be imposed upon by any schem- arrogance intolerable? There are ers like you; and the circum- few men, amongst even the workstance of your having put forward ing classes, who do not see this the proposition, shews clearly matter in its true light; and though that you are totally ignorant of it is extremely desirable to get rid the general way of thinking of of the debt altogether, there is no people upon this subject. As I man, who has any regard for the observed to TIERNEY, in my let-liberties of the country, who would

You have discovered, that PITT foretold, in 1797, that, if the country were once overcharged with paper-money, a diminution of that paper-money would be ruinous to the country. You call this a "sound prediction" of PITT. You omit, you mean creature, you poor wretched old aristocrat, you omit to observe that PAINE not only foretold this years before; but that he also foretold that the Bank would stop payment.

not run the risk of a civil war this, you are a pretty fellow to rather than give his assent to a write about paper-money; and if robbery that must end in putting the you do know it, what do you mean people under a military tyranny by the above stupid sentence? that would keep all the rest of the community in absolute subjection to the aristocracy and the clergy. I have now described the tendency of your project: I shall, by-and-by, come to a description of the MEANS which you propose to make use of; but, before do that, I must notice a little of what you say, as to the causes of the present danger to the Landowners: You are quite ORIGINAL in this your discovery and definition of causes. You have discovered, that, "it is a CURI"OUS FACT, that the opera"tions of the Bank of England "commenced with the first crea"tion of a paper currency, and "with the existence of a national "debt." Now, are you a real fool, or do you only sham it? If were one of your four sons, I should begin to look pretty sharp after you. Now, suppose I were to say, it is a curious fact that George the Fourth began to squall as soon as he was born; or, that he began to be a husband as soon as he was married; or, apter still, that he began his operations of reigning from the time he got upon his throne. What the devil, I say, do you think the people would say to me? Would they not, chucking up their chins, and shrugging their shoulders, say, "Ah! poor Cobbett!"

You have discovered that the lessening of the quantity of the papermoney causes prices to fall; that augmenting the quantity of it causes prices to rise; you have discovered that the "lamented" Mr. RICARDO was in error, relative to the effect of PEEL'S Bill; you have discovered that he, and the rest of them, ought to have taken wheat, and not gold, as the standard. You have discovered that Mr. PEEL did not foresee the effects of his own Bill. You have discovered that there is a difference, when we are talking about changing the value of money, between a country which has a debt, and a country which has none. You have discovered that France and America acted wisely, with regard to their debt; but that our Government undertook that which no Government ever undertook before. You have discovered Why is it possible that you do that the prices have gone on popnot know that Bank of England ping up and down, according as and paper currency and national the Ministers have changed the debt were all ACTUALLY quantity and value of the money. CREATED BY ONE AND You have discovered that the THE SAME ACT OF PAR- Small Note Bill, of 1822, was a LIAMENT! If you do not know part repeal of PEEL'S Bill, but

You have discovered, that the depreciation during the war was calculated by some, at one fourth; but, by others, on the best grounds, at nearly one half. You have disco

How new all your

thoughts are! You have disco vered that the salaries of the Judges, and of other officers of the Government, and that the pay of the soldiers were augmented, during the war, upon the ground that money had depreciated in value; but that these salaries and this pay have not been lowered since money has risen in value! Oh! what an original thinker you are!

that it gave the system only a respite. You have discovered, and this is another striking novelty in your pamphlet, that gold "can"not now sell at more than *3l. 17s. 10 d. per ounce, be-vered, that though a great many "cause the Bank is compelled to taxes had been taken off after the "give it at that price!" The devil Peace, the, taxes, in fing it cannot! Do you say so, Sir came heavier after the Peace James! What a discovery is than before, on account of the here! It was well you quoted augmentation in the value of the Mr. Tooke on this occasion, and money. What an original man gave us the assertion in his own you are! words. "Goramity!" as the negroes say, to be able to find out that gold cannot exceed 31. 17s. 103d. an ounce, as long as the Bank is compelled to give an ounce for 31. 178. 10d.! Besides these discoveries, which are so astounding, you have discovered that the paper-money increased vastly between 1822 and 1825; that this increase of paper caused prices to rise; that, in spite of good You have discovered that crops, wheat rose in price; that, Mr. PEEL'S Bill had not got into at last, however, gold began to full force by nine months, when leave the country, the Bank drew the Small Note Bill was passed! in its paper, the bankers began to There's a discovery, in July 1826! break, six London banks stopped You have discovered that Mr. payment, credit was at an end, HANNING, late Sheriff of Somer and the currency, which had been setshire, told the Corn Bill Comincreasing for two years, now de-mittee that the labourers in that creased as much in a few weeks. county used to eat bacon and These are wonderful discoveries, cheese; but that now they have to be sent to us all the way from potatoes, and nothing but pota Netherby, in the month of July, toes; which they carry even to 1826! the field to eat cold. Oh! ORIBesides these discoveries, how-GINAL man! You have discoever, you have discovered, that if vered, that Mr. PEEL'S Bill ought the Small Note Bill had not been not to have been passed, unaccom passed in 1822, the landlords panied with an adjustment of would have been ground to pow-contracts. You have discovered der; that that Bill was passed that Mr. HUSKISSON has been avowedly, in order to obtain a re- greatly inconsistent, he having, spite for the landlords. You have in 1815, defended the Corn Bill, discovered, that this changing of and asserted that corn must be the value of money, unjustly gives dear, as long as the country had the property of one man to the other. to pay the existing taxes; and,

he now having been an advocate until we come to discuss the for lowering the price of Corn, means, which you propose to emwhile he assists in measures to ploy for diminishing the burden raise the value of money, and of the Debt. This discussion while he demands and obtains, an must be the subject of another augmentation of his own nominal letter, which shall be published Sq You have discovered in my next; and, in the meanFna, dying and leaving his while, I leave you to chew the estate to his son with settlements cud, upon what I have here said to be paid out of the estate, may, to you, begging you to be asin consequence of a change in the sured, that we will have a famous value of money, not leave enough fight with you, before you shall to pay the legacies, and send his accomplish the plunder contemson to a Workhouse. You have plated in your book. Is it possidiscovered even this; never, ble that you can be such a wretchdare say, in your whole life did ed driveller as to expect to take you read the letter to TIERNEY of us in, by your plan of cajolery, 1818! Oh! no, you are no pla- laid down in page 64? You will giarist, I'll warrant you! This not find ten labouring men, in all is all your own discovery; and it England, that you can impose was you, brilliant descer. lant of upon by such miserable cajolery. "John with the bright sword; " Oh! yes, I dare say we are going it was you, who discovered, the to be persuaded that you want to terms," TAX-EATERS" and rob the Fundholders for OUR "BLOOD-SUCKERS," which GOOD! This might have passyou use, in page 36: it was you ed before the passing of Ellenwho discovered "STERN-borough's Bill, and the TransporPATH OF DUTY - MAN," tation Poacher's Bill; before the which you have, in page 37: it hanging of so many men, for rewas you who discovered, in page sisting game-keepers; before the 68, the term "FUND-LORD:" invention of the Tread-mill; beit was you, who are the Discoverer fore the three women sent to the of all these things; and, in addi- Treadmill for five Pheasants' tion to these, you have discovered, eggs; before the Sunday Turnthat the present Ministers are pike Toll Laws: before the more connected with Annuities Highway Act, which shuts roadthan with the Land. These are surveyors out of the Park, and all your own discoveries; or else lets them into the field, if it be you are the lowest, the meanest, but of a quarter of an acre; bethe basest plagiarist that ever put fore the New Trespass Law, pen to paper. However, the which sends the poor person to truth is, you are like the rest of Jail, for a trespass amounting to your order, in general, in whom, a penny, and which does not touch ninety-nine times out of a hun- the trespasser who commits dadred, we find met, character just mage to the amount of five as low, as their pretensions to pounds. Before these things, and birth are high. many others, that might be mentioned, never forgetting the Select Vestry Bill, the mass of the

What your character is, we do not, however, so clearly see,