^^ i(^^^ o '^*>. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 ^^ m ill 1.1 Itt Btt 12.2 Sf |£o 12.0 ^ iiiigiy4U4 6" ► Fholographic ^Sdmoes Carporatian 23 Wfck. ^.%M STRHT «mSTM,N.Y. Msao (7U)S73-4S03 A -^ '■ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVl/ICIVIH Collection de ■ mm m m Canadian Instituta for Hiatoricai Microraproductiona / Inatitut Canadian da microraproductlona hiatoriquaa k Technical and Biblioflraphic Notaa/Notat tachniquaa at bibliographiquaa Tha Inatituta haa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy availabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibllographically uniqua. which may altar any of tha imagaa in tha raproduction, or which may aignificantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chacliad baiow. 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Whenever poaaible, theae have been omitted from filming/ II aa paut que certainea pagea blanchea aJoutAaa lore d'une raatauratlon appareiaaent dana la taxte, mala, loraque ceia Atait poaaible, cea pagea n'ont paa «t* fiimtea. ^ Additional commanta:/ Commentalrea auppMmantairea: L'Inatitut a microfilm* la meilieur exemplaira qu'il lui a At4 poaaible de aa procurer. Lea d^taiia de cet exemplaira qui aont paut-Atre uniquea du point da vue bibliographique, qui peuvent modifier une image reproduite, ou qui peuvent exiger une modification dana la m*thode normale de fiimaga aont indiquAa ci-daaaoua. D D D D n D D D Coloured pagee/ Pagea da couleur Pagea damaged/ Pagea endommagtea Pagea raatorad and/or laminated/ Pagee reataurtea at/ou peiiiculAea Pagea diacoioured, atainad or foxed/ Pagee dAcolorAea, tachattea ou piquAea Pagee detached/ Pagea dAtachtea Showthrough/ Tranaparance Quality of print variea/ Qualit* InAgala de I'lmpreaaion Includaa auppiemantary material/ Comprand du material aupplimentaira Only edition ayallable/ Seule Mitlon dieponible Pagee wholly or partially obacurad by errata aiipa, tiaauea, etc., have been ref limed to enaure the beat poaaible Image/ Lea pagea totalement ou partiallement obacurcies par un feuillet d'errata, una pelure, etc., ont At* filmAea i nouveau da fapon A obtanir la mellleure Image poeaibie. T s T M N d ei b< ril ra m Thia item la filmed at tha reduction ratio chaciced below/ Ce document eat fiimi au taux de rMuction indiqu* ci-daaaoua. 10X 14X 18X 22X 26X 30X . X 12X 1CX 2DX 2«X 28X 32X Tti« copy filmed here hM b««n raproduoad thanks to th« ganaroaity of: Ubnry of tha Public Archivaa of Canada L'axamplaira film* fut raprodult orica a la O^nAroaltA da: La bibliothAqua das Archivas publiquas du Canada Tha Imagaa appaaring hara ara tha baat quality poaalbia conaMaring tha condition and lagiblllty of tha original copy and In kaaping with tha filming contract spaclficatlons. Original coplas in printad iMpar covara ara fllmad baglnning with tha front oovar and anding on tha last paga with a printad or llluatratad Impraa- sion, or tha back covar whan appropriate. All othar original coplaa ara fllmad baglnning on tha first paga with a printad or lilustratad impras- sion, and anding on tha laat paga with a printad or lilustratad Impraaalon. Tha last racordad frama on aach microflcha shall contain tha symbol -^ (maaning "CON- TINUED '), or tha symbol y (moaning "END"), whichavar appllas. Las Imagas sulvantas ont 4t4 raproduitas avac la plus grand soin, compta tanu da la condition at da la nattatA da l'axamplaira film*, at a. conformity avac las conditions du contrat da fllmaga. Las axamplairas originaux dont la couvartura an papiar aat ImprimAa sont filmte an commandant par la pramiar plat at an tarminant soit par la darnlAra piga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaalon ou d'lllustration, soit par la sacond plat, salon la cas. Tous laa autras axamplairas originaux aont filmte an commandant par la pramlAra paga qui comporta una amprainta d'impraaalon ou d'lllustration at an tarminant par la darnlAra paga qui comporta una taiia amprainta. Un das symbolas suivants apparaftra sur ia darnlAra Imaga da chaqua microfiche, salon ie cas: la symbols — »> signlfia "A SUiVRE ", ia symbols ▼ signlfia "FIN". IMapa, plataa, charts, ate, may ba filmed at different reduction ratios. Thoae too lerge to be entirely Included In one exposure are filmed beginning in the upper left hand corner, left to right and top to bottom, aa many frames aa required. The following diagrams illustrate the method: Les cartea, planches, tabieeux, etc., peuvent Atre filmte A dea taux da rMuctlon dIffArants. Lorsque ie document est trop grand pour Atra raprodult en un seul ciichA, il est film* A partir da i'angle aupArlaur gauche, de gauche A droits, et de haut en bes, en prenant ie nombre d'Imagas nicessalre. Les diagrammes suivants iliustrent la mithoda. 1 2 3 1 2 3 4 5 6 32X ENGLAND, HER COLONIES AND HER ENEMIES: HOW K'^, SHE MAY MAKE THE FORMER PROTECT HER AGAINST THE LATTER; AND HOW MAKE THEM SOURCES m BOtNDLESS WEALTH AND POWER. ^'.■#; LONDON: JAMES RIDGWAY, 169, PICCADILLY 1840. LONDON : BLATCH AND LAMPERT, PRINTERS, GROVE PLACE, BROMPTON r. ^ y '^. -'X ;;V" i\ 4 I .jtiiniH! Though the following letter is addressed to the Currency -ruined Landowners and shews how the cruel injuries they have received may be repaired ; yet containing matter of deep importance to the nation at large — to her honor and her interests, her welfare and her security ; — and pointing out a safe and effectual remedy for the distress — the fruitful source of irreligion and vice, discontent and disaffec- tion, disunion and weakness ; — it may be considered as addressed to each and every person in the kingdom. TO THE CURRENCY-RUINED LANDOWNERS. Gentlemen, That you have been most grievously injured and most unjustly treated, is vv^hat no one denies ; and that you have a right to Parliamentary compensation for the injuries you have received, is what every man vv^ith the slightest sense of justice readily admits. The West India slave-holders received compensation, why should not you ? — Your right to it clearly rests upon a much stronger ground than theirs did : — in short, your case comes fully within the principle on which Parliamentary compensation is always made. Call, therefore, upon Parliament to make you compensation. It has it in its power to do so; and, fortunately for you, without putting the nation to one farthing of expense. Unite, therefore, in one common effort to obtain compensation; and your claim, resting as it clearly does upon the immutable principles of justice will no doubt be attended to. Ji II J ll '] 1 luivo said that Purliameiit has it in its pt)\vor to make you compensation without puttimj the nation to one farthing of expevRc. I will pi:ove this ; hi fact I will prove much more, for I will i)rove that by making you compensation in the way I am about to mention, the nation, instead of being put to expense, would positively be a gainer^ and a very great one ; inasmuch as its resources its wealth and its power would be all greatly augmented. Every one knows that we possess immense colonies, colonies abounding in sources of individual and na- tional wealth : do not suppose that I am going to pro- pose that you should emigrate to the colonies ; nothing of the kind ; but something vastly better both for yourselves and the mother-country. Our North Ame- rican colonies ilone contain, as is well known, millions and tens of millions of acres of waste but fine and fertile land ; land capable of producing in great abundance every necessary, convenience and comfort of life ; land equal to any either in Great Britain or Ireland ; land that may be rendered at a triflmg ex- pense quite as valuable as the estates you have been deprived of. In the Canadas there are immense tracts of waste but fine and fertile land lying along the shores of the great lakes and the banks of navigable rivers ; con- sequently land admirably situated for the exportation of its produce. Let Parliament cause a sufficient quan- tity of these fine lands to be " cleared " and then make grants of them to you, in proportion to your respective losses, with the privilege of importing the corn and 3 other produce into Great Britain and Ireland duty-free j or subject only to a very small one. As, however, you would pay taxes and contribute to the revenue just the same as if your estates were situate in England I can see no reason why you should pay even the smallest import-duty. The expense of " clearing " the proposed compensation estates would be but trifling ; — twenty millions sterling — just the sum given to the West India slave-holders — would be quite sufficient ;* and as the Currency-measures have had the effect of transferring unjustly estates worth many times that sum from yourselves to mortgagees and fundholders, nothing could be more reasonable than to make them rather than the nation defray the expense. Were there, however, any serious difficulties in the way, in that case your compensation estates might be charged with the repayment, by easy instalments, of the money laid out in " clearing " them. In order to do you full and complete justice your compensation-estates ought to be of greater value than the estates you have been deprived of j justice clearly requiring that you should have compensation for the back-rents of these estates as well as for the estates * By making the land that was first " cleared " and brought into cultivation, " a nucleus," if I may so express myself, for clearing and bringing more inio cultivation, immense quantities of wasteland might be cleared and brought into cultivation without any very heavy outlay of money ; and should wood-pavement get into general use, a great deal of land might be cleared at the expense of paving- companies ; who, there is little doubt, would readily clear it for the wood growing upon it. B 2 tlioinsolNcs. So an addition of about ono-fil'th ought to be made to your compensation-estates in respect of the expense you must be at in bringing their produce to the British market. Lest the Landowners who have sustained no injury from the Currency-measures should fear that tliey would be injured by that which I have proposed for your benefit, I will prove that it would do them no injury whatever; in fact, I will prove that they, in common with the whole nation, would be positively benefited. To the mercantile, manufacturing, trading and working classes the benefits, as I shall shew presently, would he immense; and truly they all stand in need of " be- nefits ;" for amongst every one of them embarrassments and distress prevail to a fearful extent ; but which the measure I have proposed for your benefit would go far towards removing; inasmuch as it would go far towards removing the cause of them ; as will be fully apparent when we once clearly see what the cause is ; — a cause no one seems to know anything about; indeed scarcely any one appears to be aware of its existence notwithstanding it has for years been pro- ducing the most calamitous effects : — the cause, is a DEFICIENCY, AND A VERY LARGE ONE, IN OUR NA- TIONAL SUPPLIES OF HUMAN FOOD. Let US take that most important article of food bread, and see what a large deficiency there is in that. According to Mr. M'^Culloch and all the best statistical authorities, the average quai tity of wheat annually produced in Great Britain and Ireland amounts to about thirteen millions t I ought ect of oduce injury would your injury tiinion efited. arking nld he " be- jments ch the go far ro far e fully ise is ; ibout ; of its n pro- ;, is A R NA- ce that vhat a to Mr. es, the Great lillions of quarters:; of rye, to about six hundred tliousand quarters ; of oats, to about twenty-six millions of quarters; and of barley, to about five millions of quarters. Of the wheat, it . is considered that nearly three and a half millions of quarters are used as seed, in distillation, (licenced and illicit,) and in making pastry, starch, size, &c. ; leaving but little more than nine and a half millions of quarters for bread ; being a quantity sufficient for about twelve millions of people. Of the rye, the whole, except what is required for seed, is used as bread-corn, and is sufficient for rather more than half a million of people. Of the oats, sixteen millions of quarters at the least are either used as seed and in distdlation, or consumed by horses, fatting cattle, pigs, &c. ; leaving at the utmost only ten mil- lions of quarters for bread ; being a quantity sufficient, though of a bad and unwholesome kind, for about six and a half millions of people. Except what is re- quired for seed nearly the whole of the barley is used in making beer and spirits, very little being used as bread-corn; probably not as much as is required by half a million of people. From the above statement it appears that our home- grown supplies of bread-corn do not exceed the quan- tity required by nineteen millions of people;* whereas * It is agreed by all who have given their attention to the subject that each person, infant and adult, sick and in health, one with ano- ther requires, annually, three-fourths of a quarter of wheat of an average quality to supply him with bread ; of rye, rather more tlian that quantity; of barley, one quarter and one-fourth of another quarter; and of oats one quarter and a half. I our population is close upon seven-and-tvventy mil- lions;* consequenlly a large deficiency exists in our home-grown supplies of bread-corn. In our national supplies of meat, or animal food, the deficiency is even greater than in our supplies of bread- corn. According to the best authorities the total num- ber of horned cattle in Great Britain and Ireland is about seven millions ; great numbers of them being of a small and ordinary/ description, Of these seven mil- lions, one million seven hundred thousand, or rather more, are annually slaughtered ; and supposing them to average one hundred and fifty pounds a quarter, or six hundred pounds the entire carcass (and which is a high average) they afford a sufficient quantity of meat for rather more than five millions of people; being at the rate of three-quarters of a pound a-day (bone in- cluded) to each person ; infant and adult, sick and in health, one with another ; an allowance, as every one knows who has bestowed any attention upon the sub- ject, by no means extravagant. The number of sheep in Great Britain and Ireland amounts to about thirty- one millions; of which nearly nine millions, including lambs, are annually slaughtered. Supposing our sheep and lambs to average fifteen pounds a quarter (and con- sidering the small size of our mountain bred sheep it is certainly a full average) in that case our sheep and lambs afford an annual supply of meat for rather more * According to a recent number of the London Statistical Society's Journal, the Population of Great Britain and Lek.ad amounts to 26,750,475. T iiiil- n our )d, the bread- [ num- md is ing of in mil- rather ; them ter, or 3h is a f meat jing at ne in- and in ry one le sub- sheep thirty- eluding r sheep id con- ep it is ep and 3r more Society's lounts to than two millions of people. The number of calves annually slaughtered in Great Britain and Ireland is nearly one million and a half, and supposing them to average thirty-five pounds a quarter, and they do not average more, they afford a supply of meat for about seven hundred thousand people. With respect to the number of pigs annually slaughtered I have met with no satisfactory information ; but considering that large quantities of hams, bacon and pork are exported, the probability is that pigs do not afford us a supply of animal food for more at the utmost than two millions of people. In addition to the above supplies of meat; probably, game, poultry and fish, and the heads, hearts, &c. of oxen, sheep, calves and lambs may afford sup- plies for a million or a million and a half; thus making our total supplies of meat sufficient for about twelve- and-a-half millions of people; being less than one half of our population. Not only is there a deficiency and a very large one in our national supplies of bread and meat, even in favourable yeai's, but there is a deficiency, equally large, in every other article of wholesome human food. Upon this point, however, I shall go into no proof, having done quite enough in having shewn that a large deficiency exists in those most important articles bread and meat. And here I may observe, that to the deficiency which exists in our national supplies of food, want of employment, distress and crime amongst the working classes (if that can be called crime which is caused by involuntary poverty and distress), embar- ■pi KHi rassments amongst the trading classes ; and, in short, almost every evil, social, moral and political with which the country is afflicted, may be all clearly traced; as will be sufficiently apparent when I have shewn, as I presently shall, that every one of them would disap- pear was such deficiency " made good." But is thereflt may be asked, any certainty that this large deficiency in our national supplies of food really exists? No positive certainty that it exists to the precise extent I have men- tioned ; but certainty enough that there is a deficiency, and that a very large one. To prove that there is a defi- ciency abundance of evidence may be brought forward in addition to that already adduced. The British Islands only contain, as is well known, seventy-five millions of acres; including lakes, rivers, canals, roads, sites of towns and buildings, woods, plantations, parks, plea- sure grounds, moors, mountains, heaths* and bogs; which together amount to a full third of the entire quantity; and of the other two-thirds no small portion is of a poor quality. Of the seventy-five millions of acres which constitute the British islands, it requires at least eighteen millions (taking land of a good, bad and indifferent quality in rateable proportions) for the sup- port of horses and the growth of seed corn, and corn grown for the exclusive benefit of gin-drinkers and beer-drinkers, leaving only fifty-seven millions of acres to produce food for the people; aid of these fifty-seven millions of acres it may be confidently asserted (for I have given much practical attention to the subject) that it requires, under our present systems of agricul- i) ture, at least three acres (taking one acre witli/ another throughout the kingdom) to produce a sufficient quan- tity of wholesome food for each person ; infant and adult, sick and in health, one with another : — I defy any man to shew the contrary;* and also defy him to shew that the soils of GreatBritain and Ireland, under our pre- sent sytems of agriculture, and with our present number of horses and gin and beer drinkers are capable of pro- ducing supplies of wholesome food for more at the ut- most than nineteen millions of people. With respect to the "productive powers " of our soils, — or their " ca- pabilides in the way of supporting population," — the grossest errors prevail ; most people believing them to be vastly greater than they really are. It is high time to correct such erroneous notions, and no longer suffer millions of human beings to be victims to them. The * Few persons I believe have the least idea that it requires full four acres of land, taking one acre with another throughout the British islands, to rear and fat for the butcher, either a moderate sized bullock or eight moderate sized sheep ; or that such bullock or eight sheep only afford a year's consumption of meat for a healthy man. And it is known I believe but to few, that it requires at least an acre of such land to supply a healthy man witK a year's consump- tion of wheaten bread; for although the actual produce of half an acre is as much as he can consume, yet it must be recollected that a wheat-crop is generally two years produce of the land on which it is grown; by reason that the greatest part of our land requires fal- lowing for a wheat crop. To suppose that the soils of Great Bri- tain and Ireland are capable of supporting twenty seven millions of people and two and a half milHons of horses besides growing large quantities of com for the distillers and brewers, is what no man with the slightest knowledge of the productive powers of those soils and our systems of agriculture can possibly do. 10 govemrnent it in to be feared is often misled on such subjects by ill-informed persons. A gentleman of the name of M'^Queen, in a Letter lately addressed to Lord Melbourne, has given publicity to some most grossly erroneous statements respecting the annual value of our agricultural produce; setting it down at upwards of six hundred millions sterling. On what data Mr. M'^Queen made his calculations did not appear; but estimating the value of our agricultural produce in the state in which it comes from the soil — from the hand of God — and which is the proper way, I am thoroughly convinced that two hundred millions sterling is quite the outside of its value; being at the rate of near three pounds an acre for every acre in the British islands ; in- cluding lakes, roads, sites of towns, &c. And if, in estimating the value of our agricultural produce, we exclude, as I think we ought, such part of it as is not used as human food, in that case one hundred and fifty millions sterling will be about the mark. Mr. M^'Queen has also made a most egregious mistake in setting down the late advance in the price of wheat (caused as is well known by the shortness of iast year's crop) as so much gain to the agriculturist; as if the farmer, who from the badness of his crop had only one quarter of wheat to sell but sold it for forty shillings put more money into his pocket than he would have done had he had two quarters to sell and had sold them for twenty shillings each. Mr. McQueen may be assured that the farmer never finds himself benefited by the high price of his wheat when caused by the scan- 11 tiness of liis crop. Whether Mr. M^'Queen's commer- cial calculations are equally erroneous with his agricul- tural ones is more than I can say ; but I think it may be safely asserted that he is an authority neither the Prime Minister nor any other man ought to rely upon. If the fact of there being a large deficiency in our national supplies of food has not been already suffici- ently proved, the wretched condition for many years past of a large portion of the people may be adduced as a further proof of it. For the last ten or fifteen years many millions of the working classes have been most wretchedly fed. If our soils during that period really produced a sufficiency of wholesome food for the whole of the people, what, let me ask, has become of all the food that these ill-fed millions would have consumed had they been well fed? If this question cannot be answered ; if it cannot be shown what has become of all the food that these ill-fed millions could have consumed but did not consume, the fair inference is that it was not produced ; and if not produced, then it follows that there has been a deficiency, and a very large one, in our national supplies of food : — in short, in whatever way we look at the subject we see ample prr -^f of that melancholy fact. Nor can we feel much surprise at the existence of a deficiency in our home- grown supplies of food when we consider how wonder- fully the population has of late years increased. Forty years ago the population of Great Britain and Ireland did not much exceed one-half its present amount, yet by far the largest portion of our land that was worth 12 cultivating was then cultivated ; and generally speak- ing pretty nearly as well as it is now. No doubt some additions have been made to our supplies of food since that time; partly by improvements in agricul- ture and partly by the enclosure and cultivation of. waste lands. These additions, however, are by no means so considerable as many people suppose. They forget that large quantities of land used forty years ago in raising human food are now used in raising barley for gin-drinkers and beer-drinkers, whose present numbers must be at least double what they were forty years ago, and their intemperance much greater than it was then. They also forget that large quantities of land used forty years ago in raising human food are now used for the support of horses ; which are said to have increased during the last forty years (principally from the disuse of oxen in agricul- tural labour) even in a greater ratio than our popula- tion, besides being vastly better fed than they were forty years ago. They forget too, that considerable quantities of land used forty years ago in raising hu- man food have been converted into building ground and pleasure grounds; parks and plantations; roads and canals. Looking at all these drawbacks I am well convinced that our present home-grown supplies of food do not amount to one-third more than they did when our population was only one-half of its present amount; and yet our supplied then by no means exceeded the wants of the people. Here, therefore, we have further evidence of a deficiency, 13 in and a large one, in our national supplies of food. Indeed it is hardly possible to conceive how such deep and wide-spread distress as that which has existed for several years past "jould proceed from any other cause than a national deficiency in our means of subsistence. To suppose that millions of human beings could, year after year, be scantily supplied with food and yet the country all the time be producing sufficient for a//, is to suppose that which is impossible — such a state of things would be contrary to the laws of nature, and of " Nature's God." , The mass of evidence I have adduced to prove that there is a deficiency, and a very large one, in our na- tional supplies of food, must, I should think, be quite sufficient to convince every reasonable man of the fact. The exact amount of the deficiency I do not take upon me to determine ; nor can it be determined except by an accurately conducted inquiry throughout every part of Great Britain and Ireland. The government should cause such inquiry to be made and the sooner the better; and at the same time take a census of the people.* Many men indeed seem to think that we may always judge whether there is a sufficiency or a deficiency, a scarcity or plenty of food, by its price. They consider a fall in its price to be a proof of * After tiaking a census, perhaps a pretty correct estimate might he formed as to the amount of the deficiency by managing, with an average degree of skill, a small farm consisting of land of an average quality and seeing what number of people its produce would sup- port in comfort. I I u u plenty, and a rise a proof of scarcity. No notion can be more erroneous ; falls and rises in the price of food being just as much caused by contractions and expan- sions of the currency as by increased and diminished supplies of food. So was a scarcity of food to be' caused by an increase of population — as in our own -the price of food might nevertheless remain case- unchanged ; and clearly would do so were both food and money to remain at their previous amount. How such a notion as that which I am combating — one of the many erroneous notions of the " economists" — ever came to prevail in this "paper-money-age," is liot a little surprising. Perhaps the best evi- dence of either a sufficiency or deficiency of food, is the state or condition of the people. When every one obtains a sufficiency, no doubt the country produces a sufficiency. On the other hand if any considerable number be ill-fed and in distress, it may be regarded as certain that there is a deficiency. In our own case, we have this evidence of a deficiency ; and was there no other (though there is plenty) it might be deemed sufficient. The exact amount, however, of the defici- ency ought to be ascertained and steps taken with as little delay as possible to "make it good;" for "making it good " is the way and the only way to put an end to the distress and the many evils that spring out of it. They who expect to see an end put to the distress by " starving down " the population so as to bring it within the means of subsistence, will find their expectations sadly disappointed : — could an end be put to the dis- 15 Ircss by starvation, Irish distress would iiave ceased long ago. We may rest assured that there is but one way to get rid of either Irish distress or English dis- tress, and that is by raising our means of subsistence to the level of our population. How to do this, in other words how to " make good " the deficiency in our national supplies of food, remains to be considered. To make it good from our home-soils may be regarded as IMPOSSIBLE ; for though they are no doubt capable of affording us some additional supplies, yet they will never be obtained except by a process so slow that the increase of population will fully keep pace with them ; consequently they would do nothing towards putting an end to the distress. To make good the deficiency by means of supplies from foreign countries would clearly be most impolitic. Infatuated would be the man who to free us from present evils would expose us to the danger of much more serious ones ; and yet to much more serious ones we should be exposed were we to be placed in a state of dependence upon foreign nations for so large a portion of our supplies of food as that which we stand in need of. At the very time our wants were the most pressing — as after an unusually bad harvest — how easy for the nations that furnished us with such supplies to cut them off; on some pretext or other to force us into a war ; and pressed as we should be by famine or something ap- proaching it compel us to submit to such tenns of peace as they might think fit to dictate. And all this is the more probable, seeing that there is scarcely a n 10 nation that does not either wish to see us " brought down in the world " or lias not a " longing desire " for some or other of our possessions. The President of the United States was riglit when he said, that "no- thing can compensate a people who rely upon others for the bread they eat." But the folly of relying upon foreign nations for any considerable portion of our "daily bread," is a subject upon which there is the less necessity to dwell, seeing that were foreign nations, at least those of Europe, to feed their own people as they ought to be fed not one of them would have any food to spare us.* Besides, it may be regarded as certain, that all the continental nations of Europe will soon become manufacturing countries, to the extent at least of their own consumption ; and to suppose that they would then supply us with bread-corn or any other article of food is out of the question. In order therefore to make good the deficiency in our home- grown supplies of food we must turn our eyes to other quarters ; and to what quarters can we so properly turn them as to our colonies ? On " Political Grounds," there are the strongest reasons, as we shall see presently, in favour of obtaining supplies from our colonies; whilst on all other grounds it would be vastly more beneficial to us to obtain them from our colonies than foreign countries. In return for supplies 'I * It would appear from a recent number of the London Statisti- cal Society's Journal, that whenever any considerable quantity of bread-corn is exported from Prussia it causes great distress amongst her working classes. ! 17 )Ugllt " for lilt of " no- others ; upon jf our is the ations, >ple as ve any ded as pe will extent luppose I or any n order home- to other )Toperly Political we shall Tom our ould be rom our supplies m Statisti- ciuantity of at distress m from foreign countries wo must part with large (]uan- tities of silks, cottons, linens, woollens, hardware, sugars, &c. j all of which would be consumed by foreign landowners their families and dependants. But let the deficiency in our home-grown supplies of food be " made good " from our colonies, through the medium of a body of colonial landowners resident in Great Britain and Ireland, and in that case, they, their families and dependants would be the consumers of such silks, cottons, &c. ; in other words, English, Scotch and Irish people would be the consumers ; and every Englishman, Scotchman and Irishman will no doubt allow that English, Scotch and Irish people ought to be the consumers rather than foreigners. Another weighty reason may be given for preferring supplies from our colonies to supplies from foreign countries. Were we to obtain them from foreign countries (though for the reasons just given it is not at all likely we should be able to do so) the foreign landowners would only give employment to the work- ing classes of England in ways that are alike un- pleasant and unhealthy ; — at the forge and the loom. But let us obtain them from our colonies, and the colonial landowners — who it will be recollected would reside in England and Ireland — would give employ- ment to vast numbers of the working classes in various ways that are neither unhealthy nor unpleasant ; as domestic servants, gardeners, upholsterers, carpenters, &c. Under every point of view we must see that it is much more desirable that the deficiency in our home- c 18 i' 'II ir grown supplies oi' food be made good from our colonies than foreign countries. Jt thus fortunately hapi)ens, — fortunately for you the Currency-ruined Landowners — that a great national object, that of making good the deficiency in our national sup[)lies of food, may be best attained by the very means by which you nmy be compensated for the losses you have sustained ; thus making the performance of an act of justice to you and the attainment of a most important national object go hand in hand. Probably, however, the corn and other produce of your compen- sation-estates might not go to the full extent of " making good " the deficiency in our home-grown supplies of food. Should such be the case, the govern- ment could not do better than make grants of colonial estates to the poorer nobility and baronets (to be in- separably annexed to their titles) to meritorious mili- tary and naval officers, and to any others who ** de- served well of their country ;" but all such grants to be made upon condition that the grantees imported the corn and other produce of their colonial estates into Great Britain or Ireland. Numbers of English noble- men and gentlemen have valuable sugar-estates in our West-India colonies ; why not allow English noblemen and gentlemen to have corn-estates equally valuable in our North American, African or Australian colonies ? To the casfe of Ireland the proposed " colonial mea- sure" is peculiarly applicable. In that unfortunate country over-population and the exportation to Eng- land of large quantities of the corn and other produce 19 n our nately ruined hat of )lie8 of iiis by es you nee of a most Dbably, ompen- tent of i-grovvn govern- colonial be iu- 18 mili- lO ** de- rants to »rtecl the ites into h noble- 3 in our oblemen uable in lonies ? lial mea- fortunate to Eng- • produce of her soil ouuso a sad (leticieucy of human food and an unparalleled degree of human suffering, in order to make good such deficiency the government could not do a wiser or more politic thing than make liberal grants of colonial estates to the O'Conors, O'Briens, Kavanalis, O'Niels, O'Donnels, M'Cartys, O'Connels, O'Donovans and other descendants of the ancient possessors of the soil of Ireland ; even though found in the humblest ranks of life. Estates, however, that were granted to Irish gentlemen should be granted upon condition that they imported the corn and other produce of such estates into Ireland, and there resided and spent their incomes. That the proposed Colonial measure would l)e pro- ductive of great benefits to you the Currency-ruinei , * The " Economists" assert, that the working classes are never benefitted by a fall in the price of food, because, as they allege, if food falls in price w&ges fall also, and in the same proportion. Where a fall in the price of food is caused by a contraction of the Currency t there, it is true, wages do fall ; for when the Currency is lessened in amount the employers of the working classes have not got as much money to lay out in the purchase of either labour or any other thing as they previously had ; and the consequence is that labour, and food, and every thino; else comes down in price. But wher« there is no contraction of the Currency, and a fall in the price of food is caused solely by an increased quantity of food ' 'ng in the market, (in the country,) there no fall whatever takes place in wages ; for the currency remaining at its previous amount the em- ployers of the working classes have got just as much money to lay out in the purchase of labour and all other things as they previously had, and are therefore enabled to give and consequently do give the working classes, as a body, ju!«t as large a sum in wages as they previously gave them. The working classes, therefore, receiving as large a sum in return for their labour as they did before the price of food fell, they are of course able to procure a larger quantity of food than they could before such fall took place. — One thing may be regarded as certain; namely, that increasing the quantity of food in any country does good to all, and to all classes. 21 facture would be nearly double what it is at present, and that our commercial and manufacturing prosperity would be carried to a height far beyond what it has ever yet reached. No nation can enjoy any thing that deserves the name of " commercial prosperity" unless her working classes — " the masses," *' the millions" — be " consumers" of merchandise and manufactures ; but which they cannot possibly be, in any proper sense of the word, unless food he plentiful. In order to create a large home-demand for our manufactures, the manufacturers must see how deeply they are interested in promoting every measure that might tend to make food plentiful ; indeed doubly interested in doing so, seeing that it may be regarded as certain that the foreign demand for our manufactures will never again be what it has been : — the probability is that it will grow less and less, and in time entirely cease ; or nearly so. No measure is half so well calculated to make food plentiful as that which I have suggested j and con- sequently none so well calculated to make our manu- factures flourishing and in a healthy state ; which they cannot possibly be so long as food continues scarce. One word an to the benefits which retail-dealers, or tradesmen, would derive from the proposed colonial- measure. Being, as they would be, the "distributors" of those greatly increased quantities of merchandise and manufactures which would be the result of that measure, their business would be prodigiously increased in amount. Of every article they dealt in they would sell nearly double the quantity they now sell ; and as >- 25 a general increase of business always lessens competi- tion, they would not only do a much larger amount of business than at present but have much higher profits than they now have : — every tradesman's gains would, I have no doubt, be nearly double what they are now; as would also be the case with merchants, manufac- turers and professional men. Another benefit, and that a most important oi.^ to the trading as well as to every other part of the com- munity, would also result from the adoption of the measure I have suggested. Obtaining, as we should, regular supplies of corn from our Colonies in quantities sufficient to make good the deficiency in our supplies of home-growth, we should hear no more of those " pressures on our monetary system ;" no more of those " derangements of the money-market" which we now so often hear of; which give such severe shocks to our commerce, affect in no slight degree the interests of agriculture, and do more or less injury to every individual of the community: — I repeat, we should hear no more of these "pressures" and ** derangements ;" for being chiefly caused by sending gold abroad in payment for foreign-grown corn, all we have to do, in order to prevent them, is to obtain corn from our own colonies instead of foreign countries; for then the gold will be sure to remain at home : — the Bank might lock it up in its coffers ; for the colonial landowners (who it will be recollected would be resi- dent in England) would no doubt readily take Bank of England notes in payment for their corn. And not 26 only would they do that, but they would also take our manufactures, and in large quantities too ; whereas the foreign landowners it would appear will not take them ; or rather their governments will not permit them to do 60. — How much better, therefore, to obtain the corn we stand in need of from a body of colonial landowners, resident in England, than from foreign landowners. I will now consider the important question, whether the measure I have suggested would be productive of any injury to the British landowners; I of coarse mean to such of them as have received no injury from the Currency measures ; for as to you to whom I address myself and who have received the most cruel injuries from them, the measure I have suggested is expressly intended for your benefit, and doubtless you will see that it would "benefit" you and that very greatly. By landowners " who have received no injury from the Currency measures," I am to be understood to mean landowners whose estates were free from incumbrances at the time those measures went into operation ; and of such estates there were no doubt a considerable number ; though most likely some of them have been encumbered since. The landowners contend that the admission of foreign or colonial-grown agricultural produce would cause both their rents to fall and a part at least of their lands to be thrown out of cii' nation, by reason that there would be no demai ^or its produce. In no other way that I am aware of do they pretend to say that the admission of foreign or colonial-grown agricultural produce would 37 be prejudicial to their interests; and it maybe regarded as certain that there can be no other. Were their objections well-founded, then no doubt they would have strong grounds on which to oppose the measure I have suggested. It is clear, however, that neither the one nor the other of their objections is well-founded. I consider it to be quite certain that our British and Irish soils do not produce bread-corn and other kinds of food for more than about two-thirds of our popula- tion. Let the proposed supplies from our colonies be confined to the quantities necessary to " make good" the deficiency in our home-grown supplies, and the British landowners would still have a demand for every bushel of corn and every pound of meat and other thing their lands produced : — they would have about nineteen millions of " consumers" of th(; corn and other produce of their estates (a much greater number than they had forty years ago) and the colonial land- owners would have about eight millions of " con- sumers" of the coin and other produce of theirs. All therefore that is necessary in order to prevent any falling off in the demand for British and Irish agricul- tural produce is to ascertain, with accuracy, the extent of the deficiency in our home-grown supplies of food and to confine supplies from our colonies to the quan- tities necessary to " make good" such deficiency. Let this be done (and nothing can be more easy) and it must be apparent to every one that the British and Irish landowners would still have a demand for the whole of the corn and other produce of theii 28 estates ; consequently not an acre of their lands would be thrown out of cultivation ; neither an agricultural laborer out of employment. Let them therefore at once and for ever dismiss all fear of it from their minds. So far would the proposed colonial measure be from throwing any of our home-soils out of cultivation, the effect, I am convinced, would be just the reverse. For years past numbers of landowners have been and still are so " crippled in their means" by the Currency measures, that it has been quite out of their power to make improvements on their estates. But increase their " means" by giving them estates in the colonies, and most of them would then make improvements on their English and Irish estates; and as fast as they increased the produce of them, an increased population would cause a demand for it: — there is not even the shadow of a reason to fear that the proposed colonial measure would throw any of our home-soils out of cultivation, nor any of our agricultural laborers out of employment. Whether the admission of colonial-grown agricultural produce to the proposed extent, would or would not cause a fall in the rents of English estates, depends altogether upon this; namely, whether the admission of such colonial-grown produce was or was not accompanied by a proportional increase in the amount of the currency. If it was, in that case there would be no fall whatever in the prices of our home-grown agricultural produce, consequently no fall in the rents of English and Irish estates. This is too clear to admit of doubt or denial. The question .. 129 therefore is, would the importation of such colo- nial-grown agricultural produce be accompanied by a proportional increase in the amount of the currency? I think it may be regarded as certain, as quite certain, that it would. The importation of large quantities of colonial-grown corn, beef, pork, hides, wool, tallow, and other valuable produce would clearly cause a very large addition to our national wealth ; — to the real wealth of the nation ; for if the things just mentioned do not constitute national wealth I should like to know what things do? The real wealth therefore of the nation being thus increased, it may be regarded as certain that the representative of wealth, money, would be also increased, and in at least an equal proportion ; for it is well known that as the real wealth of a nation increases so does its repre- sentative — money ; and that whether it be metallic or paper or both. That there would be a large expansion of the currency will be the more apparent if we con- sider how prodigiously the importation of large quan- tities of colonial-grown agricultural, produce would in- crease every branch of our commerce, manufactures and trade^ In order to enable them to carry on their increased amount of business, numbers of merchants, manufacturers and traders would increase their capi- tals, and to do so would borrow large sums from ban- kers, which being put into circulation would neces- sarily cause a large expansion of the Currency; so that my firm conviction is that the colonial-measure I have suggested, instead of causing the prices of our f 30 .♦ home-grown agricultural produce to fall, would posi- tively cause them to rise; and, as a matter of course, cause rents to rise also. Nor need the British Land- owners be under any apprehension that the colonial Landowners would undersell them; for being allowed to bring only a limited quantity of agricultural pro- duce into the market, they would be sure to sell it for the best price they could obtain; and consequently would not take a smaller price than the English Land- owners got for theirs. ■ -i Even were foreign-grown agricultural produce to be imported, t!ie importers would not sell it for less than the price that was going in the British market — never mind how much less they bought it for — provided such im- portations were confined to the quantities necessary to make good the deficiency in our supplies of home-* growth; and to carry them further would not be to the interest of any class of the community. ' Though I feel the strongest conviction that there would be, if I may so express myself, a spontaneous expansion of the currency, and to an extent quite in proportion to the proposed supplies of colonial-grown agricultural produce, yet was there to be any doubt about it nothing could be more easy than to resort to measures for the express purpose of causing such ex- pansion. Were the government to have, as it clearly ought, the whole of the Currency under its own ma- nagement (subject to the control of parliament) an ex- pansion to the necessary extent might be effected with the greatest ease ; and rather than allow the distress to A 31 continue and the people to be goaded into rebellion* every one must see the propriety of making such ex- pansion, even if it involved the total repeal of Peel's Currency Laws; laws that have done good to none except himself and other fundholders and mortgagees, whilst hundreds of Landowners have been utterly ruined by them. Nor could there be a more favourable opportunity for getting rid of those noxious laws and making a salutary change in our monetary system than that which the proposed colonial-measure would afford. All seem to admit that a change of some kind or other in our monetary system, is absolutely necessary : all admit that it is high time to put an end to the conflict which has been so long going on between paper and gold — a conflict which does the most serious injury to agriculture and commerce, and also to the re\ enue ; and which will continue to go on so long as paper is by law convertible into gold; unless, indeed, the amount of the latter in actual circulation was considerably to ex- ceed that of the former; being just the reverse of what is the case at present. Were the government, under parliamentary control, to make and issue all the paper money, in that case paper money might be made a better circulating medium than metallic money can possibly be; and consequently might be safely made a legal tender. In that case too paper 'money might be rendered a much better " standard of value " than gold money can possibly be. No doubt, all that is said about " standards of value " is extremely absurd ; inas- much as there neither is, nor ever was, nor ever will be If ', 32 any such thing. " SteiulincHs of price " — a most im- portant (lesiderutum — or something pretty closely ap- proaching it, may I believe be attained ; and in no way perhaps so effectually as by means of a wt'l- regulated paper currency. I feel a firm conviction that were the government, under the control of parliament, to have the entire management of the Currency, every evil that springs out of our present monetary system might be effectually got rid of, and "steadiness of price" and many other most important benefits be made to result therefrom : — having the entire manage- ment of the Currency the government might carry the proposed colonial-measure into execution with money of its own ma^cing, and consequently need not resort to any other means of raising what might be required for that purpose. Should, however, the government be unwilling to take the management of the currency into its own hands, in that case merchants, manufacturers and persons in trade should, if necessary, establish a National Joint-Stock Bank with branches in every considerable town of Great Britain and Ireland, and in that way cause the currency to be expanded to the requisite extent ; for they must see how desirable it is that the Landowners be kept from all fear of a fall in their rents by reason of the adoption of the colonial- scheme I have suggested. Against its adoption, it must be utterly impossible for the Landowners, or Mr. M^'Queen, or any other man in existence to urge any one objection, provided care be taken to confine the ad- mission of colonial-grown agricultural produce to the aa <(uantity necessary to " make good *' the defieieiiey in our home-grown supplies, and also provided care be taken to cause such an expansion of the Currency as will effectually guard against any fall in rents ; though my own opinion is that it would spontaneously expand itself to the requisite extent. So far in ' 41 purpose. Gentlemen who now hold lands in our colo- nies and reside in them should be invited to settle in England with the privilege of importing the produce of their colonial estates into England free of duty ; and should any of the Canadian landowners implicated in the late disturbances decline the invitation, they would have but little cause of complaint were they compelled to accept it. Where the produce of a colony, or all but what is used for the support of a mere agrarian population, is brought into the mother country, the population, wealth and power of the mother country are all neces- sarily augmented ; whilst those of the colony are kept within narrow limits ; but to which no possible ob- jection can be made, seeing that it would not be at- tended with the slightest injury or injustice to the colony ; as it no doubt would be were the colony a full-peopled one :* — with a wise and good govern- ment at home, the inhabitants of the colony, inconsi- derable as they might be in point of numbers, would no doubt be duly protected and properly treated ; and ^ ' * What would be the effects to a fully-peopled colony may be ,^ judged of by the case of Ireland, a country not only fully-peopled but over-peopled ; and yet year after year, a large portion of the corn and other produce of her soil is taken from her and brought into England; the necessary consequence of which is an unparalleled state of poverty and misery. Let, however, a sufficiently numerous and opulent body of colonial landowners be plaiited in Ireland and she will soon get rid of her poverty and every other evil with which she is afflicted. . . 12 without the cumbrous machinery of " legislative coun- cils " and *■ colonial assemblies." By means of the colonial system I have suggested, a nation possessing colonies as we do in various parts of the world, would concentrate her population, wealth and power ; and thus render them all much more available for all national purposes. Under any circum- stances to fill our unpeopled colonies with emigrants would be any thing but politic ; — circumstanced as we are it would be downright madness : clearly, our true policy is to use them in the way that will cause the largest addition to our mercantile marine ; and that un- doubtedly is by cultivating their waste lands and im- porting the corn and other produce into the mother country. Besides making grants of estates in the colonies to you to whom I address myself, to the poorer nobility and baronets, to meritorious military and naval officers, and to the descendants of the ancient possessors of the soil of Ireland, the government would act wisely were it to bring some millions of acres of colonial waste lands into cultivation, put them under the management of commissioners, import their produce into the mo- ther-country, and employ the money arising from the sale of it, either in defraying a part of the expenses of our civil and military establishments,* or in making * Were the government to do this, it might cease to derive any portion of its revenue from so impure a source as the " gin-shop." It is a melancholy consideration that the government of any country calling itself a " Christian country," should, for the sake of revenue. 43 nutional improvements ; such as pulling down and re- building in a handsome manner, all the bad and con- fined parts of London and other towns; supplying them with pure water; making and improving harbours ; erecting breakwaters; cutting ship-canals; building and endowing hospitals, schools and places of Divine worship ; — for as soon as the social condition of the people is rendered what it ought to be (and the colo- nial-measure I have suggested would render it so) then, BUT NOT TILL THEN, mcasurcs might be successfully taken for improving their moral condition and giving them religious instruction — and in other similar ways ; and especially in ways conducive to the welfare and happiness 'of the working classes; for I cannot see how any government can be better employed than in attending to and promoting their welfare ; thus making sure of their respect and attachment. — By calling our encourage drunkenness and all the vices, crimes and evils that spring out of it. Let us hope that the British government will soon put a total stop to distillation; making, however, compensation to those who may be injured by its doing so. The Landowners need be under no apprehension on that account; for they are not " in- terested," (though many of them think they are) in encouraging gin-drinking in order that they may have a demand for their barley. As if their barley could not be turned into bread as easily as intu gin; or as if they could not feed sheep, or grow wheat on their land, even if a " barley soil," just as easily as barley. Let the Land- owners be assured that they are much more interested in making their lands produce things that support life than things that destroy it. The Landowner who makes his land produce a pernicious or even useless thing, does an injury to himself and all others ; even to other Landowneis; as may be shewn in a way too clear to admit of doubt or denial. 44 " waste lands " and "waste hands'* into action, nume- rous most important national undertakings might be accomplished, and benefits of great magnitude conferred upon the country. Seeing how greatly the wealth of the nation would l)e increased by the adoption of the colonial-measure I have suggested, it might be proper to make a liberal addition to the revenue of the sovereign, and thus bet- ter enable her to perfonn those generous and benevolent acts which according to all accounts she is ever ready to perform. The royal revenue has of late years been much reduced in amount ; therefore no one, it is pre- sumed, could object to a liberal addition to it, seeing that such addition would come from our colonies and not out of the pockets of the people. It is to be hoped the colonial-measure I have sug- gested will be calmly and fairly considered. Let it be so, and it will be found to be free from every possible objection; — for what possible objection can there be to compensating the Currency-ruined landowners by giving them estates in the colonies ? — or to putting an end to the distress of the working classes by means of the colonies? — or to improving by means of them the* social, moral and religious condition of the people ? — or to encreasing by means of them the number and wealth of our Landowners ; or the commerce, manu- factures and trade of the nation; or her wealth, re- sources, revenue and power? — or to enlarging by means of them, the fundholder's security for the pay- ment of his dividends? — or by means of them to free- V I v 45 ing the British Landowners from poor's-rates and u large portion of their taxes!* — in short, what possible objection can there be to treating our colonies in all respects as if they laid contiguous to the British islands and fonned integral i)arts of theniP Used as I have suggested, the very remoteness of their situations would prove a positive advantage; inasnmch as it would cause a much larger addition to our mercantile marine and consequently add much more considerably toour strength as a naval power than they could possibly have done had they laid close to our own shores. Though I have said so much about increasing our strength as a naval power, yet let it not be supposed that I do not hold war and its authors and its evils all in due abhorrence : — I certainly do; but a nation desirous of peace will ever find the best security for its maintenance to con- sist in being well prepared for war : — let us draw freely upon the boundless resources of our boundless Colonies, and we shall be always well prepared for it ; though never, I trust, actually engaged in it. I may observe that in considering the proposed colonial scheme it ought to be considered with reference to the present state of the country ; particularly with reference to the large amount of her population ; to the distressed and discontented state of her working classes ; to the heavy amount of her debt, and to the grievous injury hun- dreds of her ancient Landowners have received from the Currency measures. Viewed with reference to each and every of these things, we cannot fail to see that it is a scheme from which much good would result ; 40 and every one must admit that all the good our Colo- nies can be made to do us they ought to be made to do us. If, indeed, they are so barren and worthless as to be incapable of doing us any good ; if, in " the hour of our need," they are incapable of rendering us any assistance; if, containing as they do, many hundreds of millions of acres of waste land they are incapable of affording supplies of food for seven or eight millions of people, they cannot be worth keeping, and the sooner we abandon them the better: — I repeat, they cannot be worth keeping, and the mother country ought no longer to be put to one farthing of expense about them. It is however well-known that they are far from being worthless : all the accounts I have ever heard or read (and amongst them accouiits published by the government or with its sanction) agree in stat- ing that they contain large quantities of fine and fer- tile land ; land capable of producing bread-corn and every other article of human sustenance in great abun- dance. Being, therefore, capable of produc-ng these valuable things, every one must admit that they ought to be made to produce them, and millions of human beings no longer suffered to experience the severest distress from a want of the very things our Colonies can supply them with. Having clearly shewn that supplies of food from our Colonies, if confined to the quantities necessary to " make good" the deficiency in our home-grown supplies, would cause no injury to the British landholders, but, on the contrary, do them much good — having clearly shewn this, it must be impossible to suppose that they can make the slightest 4t oppoMitiuii to the adinisHion of such supplies. To - at pny rate so modified that the people may, as far as th y can, supply their v/ants from fo eign countries. One wed more and I have done. Every one must see that our colonies demand the most serious attention of the government, and must admit that in bestowing its attention "pon them it ought to consider, first, in what way they may be made to confer the most exten- sive benefits upon the Mothei -Country ; and next, in what way their dependence upon her may be best secured. Hoping that justice will be done both to you to whom I have addressed myself, and to all others who have cause to complain of injustice ; I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, Your very obedient Servant. (t P.S. Since writing the abov^, Mr. Sym.ons's book — Arts and Artizans at Home and Abroad," has beei^ ^X lt» published ; a work the more vahiable, being the resuU, it wci Id seem, of inquiries made by the direction of the government. From Mr. Symons's statements the working classes of most of the continental nations of Europe would appear to be worse fed than those of England ; which agrees with what I have always un- derstood was the fact. Mr. 8ymons's book therefore goes to coni..m me in the doubt I have expressed as to the ability of the continental nations to supply us either with bread-corn or any other kind of food 7vere their own people to be fed as they ough' to he. The bare wisli to obtain supplies of food from people worse fed than ourseit^es would be extremely shameful, not to say wicked i indeed doubly so, seeing that scarcely one of the continental nations is possessed of a single colony from which to obtain the smallest addition to her supplies of food ; whereas we possess several, from each of which we have it in our power to obtain sup- plies to a much greater amount than our necessities require — instead of our obtaining supplies of food from any of the continental nations we ought rather to furnish them with supplies. If Mr. Symons is correct, in that case I have consi- derably over-stated cur supplies of meat, or animal food : — instead of setting them down as suffici*»nt lor for nearly one-half of oar population, I should have been nearer the mark, it v.ould appear, had I said one-third. Indeed I felt at the time a strong persuasion that I had " gone beyond the mark ;" but I wished to' avoid a\l risk of exposing myself to the charge of E 50 n H under stating our supplies of either meat or bread- corn. With such a mass of evidence all going to prove the existence of a large deficiency in our national supplies of human sustenance, the government it is to be hoped will see the propriety of ascertaining without delay the amount of the deficiency, and causing it as speedily as possible to be " made good :" — that it has it in its power to do both the one and the other, and with perfect ease, is what no one can doubt. I cannot, I think, conclude this postscript better than by noticing an article I lately read in " Bell's Weekly Messenger ;" a paper which devotes the largest portion of its columns to matters concerning agriculture. The article alluded to related to the crops of the United States of America ; and stated that this year's wheat crop (that of 1839) was estimated at upwards of thirty- five millions of quarters: — I doubt whether ours amounts to one-third of that quantity, and yet our population exceeds that of America by nearly one- fourth— how scantily are our people provided with bread in comparison with those of America ! The amount of the deficiency in our supplies of food must be ascertained. It is a thing the Landowners cannot possibly object to ; neither can they object to the defi- ciency being made good by supplies ^rom our colonies. As soon as the deficiency is " made good," the people will be " well off;" and they will be so, whether the price of food be high or low ; the " price " of food being to the " people " a matter of no importance. m To Landowners, at least to Landowners with encum- bered estates, it may be of iniportance; but to the people it clearly is of none ^— it is a thing that in no wise concerns them. What concerns them, is quantity of food, not the price of it. The more food there is in the country the better off they will be. The great object therefore of the people should be, to have our national supplies of food increased as much as pos- sible. THE END. LONLON BI,ATCH AND LAMPERT, PRINTERS, GllOVE I'LACE, BKOMPTON.