labourers out of the poor's rates?--Yes, it has; the weekly income of
every family is made up to the gallon loaf and three-pence per head.
Supposing the father to earn 9_s_. one of the children 3_s_. another
2_s_. and another 1_s. od_. the magistrate conceiving they are able to
earn that, or the overseer being willing to give them the money for
their labour, whatever the deficiency is, is made up to the amount I
have stated. I must explain, that I give this evidence as a magistrate
more than as a farmer; for I act for a very large district, and am in
the habit of making this order. The gallon loaf per head per week is
what we suppose sufficient for the maintenance of every person in the
family for the week; and the 3_d_. is for clothes; and if the parish
think proper to find clothes, the 3_d_. is deducted. This practice goes
through all the western parts of Wiltshire, and I believe throughout the
county.
Have you, from your situation as a Magistrate, any connexion and
knowledge of the condition of the lower class of manufacturers?--I have;
I live within nine miles of a great number of them, and act for several
manufacturing parishes as a Magistrate.
Can you state the average consumption of a family?--The manufacturers
live better than the farming labourers, but they need not live better;
when they come to the parishes they have only the same allowance from us
as paupers of every class.
Do you expect the labouring manufacturers will consume a greater
proportion of farm produce than they have hitherto done?--I conceive
greater waste will be made of farm produce when it is at a low price
than when it is at a high price, and, in fact, they must consume
more: _they live upon wheat instead of barley; they lived upon barley
formerly, and now they live upon wheat, and eat fewer potatoes
probably_.
Do you think it would be possible for landlords to reduce their rents so
as to enable the tenant to make a fair profit, according to the present
price of corn?--No; I do not think it is in the power of landlords, it
must depend upon the riches of the landlord; but if he reduces the whole
rent upon some farms, it would not be sufficient according to the
present price of corn; taking the present price of wheat at eight
shillings a bushel, and all other grain following the same scale.
The price is high abroad at present?--It is.
The case of a peace with America, and of our receiving corn from
thence, do not you conceive, in case of a great influx of corn from the
continent, the price must fall considerably?--Certainly, as the price
falls upon the continent, it will fall here, if free importation is
permitted; but I would wish to be understood here as to the price of
corn, it must very much depend upon the crop of the year, because I do
not believe it possible to import sufficient to feed the people of Great
Britain, and very much must depend upon the quantity of corn grown; and
my own belief is, that the price of corn will be very high indeed in
three years, higher than it has probably been known for the last ten
years. I think the importation is an uncertain sort of supply; there may
be a bad crop upon the continent, or a thousand interruptions may stop
the importation.
On what is your opinion founded, that it will be at a high
price?--_Because a great deal less wheat will be sown in consequence of
the low prices; I believe the defalcation in the number of acres sown
will be very great indeed_.
Do you think that the present rents are the cause of the tenants not
being able to obtain a fair profit, corn being at eight shillings a
bushel; or does it arise from the price of labour, the amount of poors'
rates, taxes, and other expenses?--_I do not myself think the rents are
too high, taking them at a general average; in fact, I do not think the
gentlemen of landed property can now live at the present rents with the
same comforts their forefathers have done on the same estates; that if
the rents are to be lowered, the gentlemen of landed property must be
sunk in their scale in society_.
Do you conceive that the existing rents bear a greater proportion to the
produce than formerly?--No; not so great by a great deal; I conceive
that rents have not risen in the same proportion that all the articles
of life, which we are compelled to have as country gentlemen, have
risen.
The following requisition was published in the Salisbury and Winchester
Journal, on the 2d of January, 1815, calling a public meeting of
the landholders and farmers of the county of Wilts, to be held at
Warminster, on the 6th day of January following:--
WE, the undersigned Land-Owners and Occupiers of Land, in the county of
Wilts, conceiving it to be impossible that the British farmers should
ever contend on fair or equal terms with foreign growers of corn, even
in British markets, as long as the former shall have to bear such heavy
charges of rates, taxes, assessments, and other expenses attendant
on their cultivation, of which the latter know nothing: Being also
convinced that the farmers of this kingdom have already suffered
severely, even to the ruin of many of those who have had small capitals;
and also that the evil is fast approaching to the land-owners; and must
(if no relief be given to the agriculturists) evidently fall on the
country at large: Feeling it also to be a duty incumbent on as many
of us as are landlords, to exert ourselves for the protection of our
tenants, and on us all jointly to exert ourselves, for our mutual
protection:--Do hereby give Notice, That we intend to meet at the Lord's
Arms Inn, at Warminster, in the county of Wilts, on Friday the 6th day
of January next, at 12 o'clock at noon, for the purpose of considering
of the propriety of preparing Petitions to the two Houses of Parliament,
on behalf of ourselves and others; and we invite all Land-Owners, and
Occupiers of Land, in the county of Wilts, who may wish to unite with us
in forwarding this our object, to meet us on that day, and to co-operate
with us, in adopting such measures as may then and there be thought
necessary, for our mutual relief and preservation.
_Dated this 30th of December, 1814._ (Signed.)
Thomas Grove. John Benett. James Everard Arundel.
George South. J.H. Penruddocke. Alexander Powell.
H. Linton. T. Davis, Jun. S. Card.
John Davis. J.E. Strickland. G.J. Kneller.
John Gordon. H. Biggs. J. Slade.
William Smith. Robert Smith. Richard Rickword.
Henry Hubbard. Robert Candy. John Neat.
John Pearce. George Young. James Burges.
Richard Pocock. James Pearce. William Glass.
Robert Payne. J. Howel. John Folliott.
William Marsh. Thomas Chandler. Thomas Burfitt.
John Barter. John Phillips. Henry Phillips.
Thomas Burge. John Mitchell. J.C. Burbidge.
John Willis. Robert Rumsey. James Chaiman.
E.F. Seagram. James Goddard. John Goddard.
This was short notice, as many people of the county of Wilts did not get
the Salisbury paper till the 3d or 4th of January. In fact, I myself, who
was living in Hampshire, did not get it till the 4th in the evening, nor
should I have seen it at all, if a friend had not sent it to me. As
I had a small freehold in the county of Wilts, and also occupied a
considerable farm at Upavon, in that county, I made up my mind, within
five minutes after I saw the above advertisement, that, although I was
living at a distance of nearly forty miles from the scene of action, I
would make one at this intended snug meeting. I mounted my gig the next
day (the 5th), and drove as far as Deptford Inn. I had heard of a
Mr. Gourley, who lived at Deptford, upon an estate of the Duke of
Somerset's; and, as he had acquired the character of being at least an
eccentric, if not an independent man, I called at his house with the
intent to have some conversation with him upon the proposed meeting.
Fortunately, however, he was from home, or I might have been hampered
with a very troublesome and a very disagreeable companion; for I
afterwards found that Mr. Gourley, though perhaps a very well-meaning
person, was so flighty, so confused, and so opinionated in his wild and
visionary notions, that he was a very dangerous man to have any thing to
do with; at any rate, he was a person that it was impossible to go hand
in hand with. I slept at Deptford Inn, and proceeded through Heytesbury
to Warminster in the morning, calling upon my old friend Cousens in my
way thither; I knew that he was staunch to the back-bone, and that,
in case he was at home, I should be sure of his support to second any
amendment that I might find it necessary to propose. When I drove up to
his door at Heytesbury, I was surprised to find all the window-shutters
closed, although it was nearly ten o'clock. Upon hailing him, he popped
his head out of the chamber window with a night-cap on, in one of the
severest hoar frosty mornings I ever beheld. I told him where I was
going, and he promised to follow me instantly, without fail; and he kept
his word, for he overtook me upon his grey poney before I reached the
town.
When I drove into Warminster, the town was as still and as quiet as
possible, without any of those bustling indications which I had been
accustomed to witness at a public meeting. While I was taking my
breakfast at the Lord's Arms Inn, some of the requisitionists made
their appearance, and they were soon followed by the remainder, and a
considerable number of the landholders of the county, amongst whom, as I
sat at an up-stair window, I recognised Mr. Wyndham, of Dinton, the High
Sheriff; Paul Methuen, Esq. one of the Members for the county; and the
said John Benett, surrounded by a few of the requisitionists. I sat
very quiet while my friend Cousens reconnoitred their forces, and
communicated their arrival. At length we saw them all proceed to the
Town-hall, perhaps twenty-five or thirty of them at the outside--as
pretty a little snug cabal as ever was mustered upon any occasion. They
passed my window and went smirking along, little dreaming that they
should meet with the slightest interruption or opposition to their
measures, which were all ready cut and dry, and safely deposited in the
pocket of the celebrated attorney, Mr. Charles Bowles, of Shaftesbury.
As the train passed up the street, the town's-people took little other
notice of them than by now and then _eyeing them askance_ with a jealous
look. I had remained the whole time snug in my room, without one soul of
them knowing or suspecting that I was in Warminster; but, as soon as I
saw them all safely housed, out I bolted into the street, and made my
way after them. As we walked up the street, my friend Cousens intimated
to two or three of the shopkeepers who I was, and the news flew like
wildfire round the town, that Mr. Hunt was arrived, and gone up to the
Hall. As, therefore, something like fair discussion was likely to take
place, the said meeting, which, ten minutes before, excited no interest
whatever amongst the town's-people, was, in a very short space of time,
crowded by the shopkeepers, and attended by almost every respectable man
in the town. When I entered the Hall it was very evident that I was not
a very welcome guest, and that I had not been expected by any one. As,
however, I was a landholder of the county, and one of those who were
invited, it was impossible to make any objection, as I was as much
entitled to be present as any man in the room. Mr. Grove, whose name
stood at the head of the requisition, was called to the chair. This
gentleman, who is descended from one of the most ancient families in
the county, having shortly stated the object of the meeting, Mr. Benett
arose, and, after some wriggling and twisting, addressed them. As the
following report, which was published in Keene's Bath Journal, on the
Sunday following, contains a brief outline and an impartial account of
the proceedings, I will insert it verbatim, as it was afterwards copied
into almost every newspaper in the kingdom:
On the 6th of January a Meeting of "Landholders and
Occupiers of Land," was held at the Town-Hall, Warminster,
convened by public advertisement, signed by
John Benett, Esq. of Pyt-House, (the gentleman who
gave such long and strong evidence before the Committees
of both Houses of Parliament in favour of the Corn Bill),
and several other respectable land-owners and farmers of
the county of Wilts, to take into consideration the propriety
of presenting Petitions to both Houses of Parliament,
on behalf of the proprietors and occupiers of land.
Thomas Grove, Esq. of Fern, one of the gentlemen who
called the meeting, having taken the chair, Mr. Benett addressed
them at a very considerable length in favour of a
petition that he submitted for their adoption, expressive of
the serious injury already sustained by the farmer, and the
probable result likely to fall on the landholder, arising
from the reduced and low price of corn, owing particularly
to the importations from France, &c. The Petition further
stated, that as the agricultural interest was blended
with that of the tradesman and mechanic, the latter were invited
to join in its support, and add their signatures thereto.
Mr. Benett insisted that, as the evidence given before the
Corn Committees had never been contradicted, the legislature
were bound to afford the agricultural interest their
protection; and, enforcing the necessity of Parliamentary
interposition in favour of the landed interest, he said, that
unless some measure were devised to enable the farmer
to pay his present rent and taxes, the landholders would
be completely ruined; and he solemnly declared, that,
unless this desirable object was carried into immediate
execution, he for one would be under the absolute necessity,
before that day twelvemonth, of _leaving the country_
with his family, to reside where provisions and all the necessaries
of life were to be obtained at a rate within the
reach of his fortune.
[Footnote: Quere.--If this solemn asseveration of Mr. Benett's be
correct, (who, by the bye, is a Land-owner to the amount of 10,000_l_.
a year,) what will be the fate of those who are left behind, without
the means of flying from the evil?]
The motion was briefly seconded by Mr. BOWLES.--Mr. HUNT began by
stating his objection to the meeting altogether, asserting, that if
the meeting was not illegal, it was highly improper for a few
individuals of a particular class to call a meeting to petition
Parliament in favour of _tradesmen and mechanics_, without giving them
an opportunity of attending to decide upon its propriety. This was a
close meeting of landholders and farmers; many respectable tradesmen,
inhabitants of the town, would have attended, but they were told they
had no business there, not being landholders or farmers. This
meeting, therefore, bore a resemblance to a "Conclave of Cardinals
with closed doors."--Instead of calling a meeting like this, why not
call a public county meeting, and meet the question manfully and
openly? One reason against this was, that at an open county meeting,
even Mr. John Benett would not be so hardy as to bring forward a
petition, the sole object of which was the keeping up the price of
corn, under the cloak of its being a petition in favour of the
tradesman and the mechanic.--
In fact, this was a petition especially to benefit the landholder;
even the farmer was of secondary consideration,
and it was decidedly hostile to the interest of every other
class of society; and if acted upon would prove ruinous to
the little tradesman, the mechanic, and the labourer. The
landlord had met with no reverse since the commencement
of the war; his rents had progressively increased,
in proportion as the rest of the community had suffered
privations; the nearer the mechanic and the labourer
had approached to starvation and beggary, the higher
were the profits and the more efficient the means of the
landholder. This was no theoretical proposition, hastily
introduced, it was a practical truism, the result of careful
and recent inquiry. He would read to the meeting an
account of the population of the parish of Enford, a large
parish in the centre of the county of Wilts, with the comparative
statement of the rise in the price of labour, the
price of bread, and the price of land, within the last 30
years. The number of houses were 143, population 656,
farmers, &c. 250, labourers 406, labourers (not paupers)
201, labourers (paupers) 205. About 30 years back, the
labourers in this parish received 6_s_. per week; at this time
they received 8_s_. per week--30 years back, the quartern
loaf averaged about 5_d_. at this time it is 10-1/2_d_.--30 years
back, the labourer could purchase with his week's pay, 6_s_.
fourteen quartern loaves; now he can only purchase with
his week's pay, 8_s_. nine quartern loaves--about 30 years
back, the principal farm in this parish, then belonging to
the late Mr. Benett, of Pyt-house, in this county, was let
for 400_l_. a-year; at the present time this farm, the property
of Mr. John Benett, of Pyt-house, is let for 1,260_l_. a-year.
Thus it clearly appears in this parish, within the last 30
years, labour has risen from 6_s_. to 8_s_. per week, 33 per
cent., the quartern loaf from 5_d_. to 10-1/2_d_., 105 per cent.,
the rent of land from 400_l_. to 1,260_l_., 212 per cent. This
proves that bread has risen within this period more
than three times as much as labour, and land more than
twice as much as bread, and more than six times as much
as labour. At the present price of land, corn, bread, and
labour, the landlord is benefited three times as much as
the farmer, and six times as much as the labourer.
Mr. Benett said, that he had, since the period mentioned
by Mr. Hunt, purchased the tithes, and added
them to the farm, which was included in the present
rent. Mr. Hunt replied, that he was perfectly aware of
this circumstance, as well as of another circumstance
equally important, which was this, that Mr. Benett bad
taken a considerable portion of the best land from his
farm, and added it to another, which produced a greater
rent than the value of the tithes, therefore the balance
was more in favour of the landlord than be had
stated. He had mentioned this particular farm, as it belonged
to Mr. Benett, the proposer of the present measure;
but from his own knowledge (having an estate
himself in the same parish) he could state, that the land
had risen in the same, and, in some instances, in a higher
proportion. He, therefore, particularly enjoined the
farmers to pause before they gave their sanction to a measure,
which had only for its object the benefit and aggrandizement
of a few rapacious landholders, whilst it
was calculated to shift the odium of a dear loaf off their
own shoulders, and fix it upon the back of the farmer.
Let the odium rest where it was due, upon those who
were the supporters of the war, upon those who have fattened
upon the miseries of the people.--Mr. Bleeck followed
on the same side with Mr. Hunt, exposing the fallacy
of attempting to palm upon the meeting a petition,
professing to have for its object the welfare of the tradesman
and the mechanic, whilst the operation of it would
tend to perpetuate the misery they had so long endured;
he called to the recollection of many of the meeting, the
scenes which they had been in the habit of witnessing in
that hall, the walls of which had so often resounded with
the professions of those gentlemen who were now complaining
of the present times, the effect of that war, to
support which, they had so often solemnly pledged, not
only their last guinea, but their last drop of blood. He
called upon the Chairman not to blink the question, because
the majority of the meeting appeared against the
petition, but let it fairly meet its fate.--Paul Methuen,
Esq., one of the representatives for the county, said, that
seeing a meeting called, signed by a number of respectable
individuals, he felt it his duty to attend it; but if he
had known that it was to have been a close meeting with
closed doors, he certainly would not have come near the
place. If the meeting decided upon petitioning the
House of Commons, whatever that petition may be, he
should feel it his duty to present it; although he would
not pledge himself to support the landed interest, to the
injury of the tradesman and the mechanic. The Chairman
having hinted that it was going a little too far, to say
that this petition was in favour of the tradesman and mechanic,
and as they would not have an opportunity of
voting upon the subject, he thought they had better be
left out of the petition. The whole meeting appeared to
concur in this, and Mr. Benett proposed to draw the pen
through the words "tradesman and mechanic;" which
being done the Chairman desired all those who were for
the petition to hold up their hats. The Chairman declared
a decided majority kept their hats on; which was followed
by a symptom of approbation, whereupon the Chairman
asserted, that the meeting was so _tumultuous_, he would
not take the sense of it against the petition. Upon this,
the Chairman, with Mr. Benett and a few of his friends,
retired to a private room at the inn, but whether to sign
this petition in secret, which they could not carry in
public, or to abandon it altogether, we do not know.--
A statement of the fate of the petition was announced to
the inhabitants of the town by the bellman, amidst the
becoming cheers of the populace.
I have no hesitation to say, that the publication of this report in
_all_ the London newspapers, and in almost every country newspaper in
the three kingdoms, first roused a general feeling aginst the proposed
Corn Bill. Meetings were afterwards called in London and in Westminster,
and petitions were presented against the measure from almost every town
and district throughout the country. Sir Francis Burdett attended the
meeting of his constituents in Palace-yard, where they passed strong
resolutions, and sent a petition to the House against the measure; but
Sir Francis took a different view of the question, and appeared to think
it was necessary that the English farmer should be protected, and I
believe he said that he cared not whether the Bill was passed or not,
and that it would make no difference to him personally whichever way
it was decided. This certainly was not viewing the question with that
liberality and sound judgment with which the Baronet was accustomed
to act. For the moment, his speech threw a considerable damp upon the
ardour of a great many persons, who had before been very sanguine
against the adoption of the said Corn Bill, and so completely were the
affections of the people riveted to the opinions of Sir Francis Burdett,
that his constituents cheered him, and drew him home in his carriage
afterwards, amidst the acclamations of the populace.