there is any truth in official documents, it was long, since any thing but the produce of our own soil had been sold in our markets. The reduction of taxes-of those, more especially, which affected agriculture directly was every where pronounced to be an infallible panacea; though there is certainly no small difficulty in perceiving, how the removal of taxes on agriculture can raise the price of agricultural produce. These measures, however, were paltry and insignificant, when compared with three topics, which formed the darling themes of the meetings which arrogantly presumed to speak the sense of the people of England. These three topics were, parliamentary reform -the abolition of tithes and a forcible reduction of the interest of the national debt. The last of these was spoken of with a complacency, and listened to with a toleration, which a few years ago would have been incredible. Country gentlemen of moderate politics and of consequence in their own districts, were not ashamed to allude to this wild and wicked dream of rapine, as a measure which might soon turn out to be most necessary and most prudent, and to hear with approving silence, or at the most with faint and hesitating dissent, the virulent rhapsodies of political bigots or incendiaries, who recommended its immediate adoption. It was a melancholy thing, to see how effectual pecuniary embarrassments had been, to delude many of that class, in whose soundness of principle and understanding England had long reposed confidence, into a forgetfulness of justice and policy. Beginning to feel the temporary pressure of distress, they dared to raise or foster "Plunder all, in order

the cry,

that we may live more at our ease.” If they were insensible to the iniquity of such a project, they ought not to have been blind to its danger; for if unfortunately the different classes of society were to be arrayed against each other, the triumph of the land-owners was surely far from being a certainty. Was it to be supposed, that the monied interest, so numerous, so active, so accustomed to act in concert, so conversant with the affairs of the world, would tamely submit to be plundered? If, on the one side, the appeal to the people was to be" deprive the fundholder of his property, and you will be freed from more than half your taxes;" was there no danger that the language on the other side might be strip the landholders of the estates which they have in truth mortgaged to us; and you shall have, not only fewer taxes to pay, but farms of your own to live upon." Then, on which side would the bribe have been most effectual? On which would the greatest mass of force have been assembled ?

Justice, essentially and in the abstract adverse to both, would have been relatively with those, who, being originally the assailed and not the assailants, were driven to violate her rules only as a defence against aggression.

It was most fortunate for the country, and most creditable to our nobility, that, although many of our country gentlemen (more especially of the secondary class) were seduced by circumstances into notions quite irreconcileable with justice, our high aristocracy remained true to old English maxims. The representatives of all our great families, whether ministerial or anti-ministerial, with scarcely a single exception, opposed