^^^■^ ■:.■■*■ 
 
 THE UNIVERSITY 
 
 OF ILLINOIS 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 :> 
 
 M,15

 
 A LETTER 
 
 THE CABINET MINISTERS, 
 
 SUGGESTING A MODE TO RELIEVE 
 
 (in part) 
 
 €{jc ^i^ttt^^c^ of tljc oEmpirc, 
 
 AND TO MAKE ITS 
 
 INCOME AND EXPENDITURE BALANCE: 
 
 BEING A SUPPLEMENT 
 (By the same Author) 
 
 TO 
 
 " England nitij/ be Extricated from her DiJ/icuUics, 
 
 Consistently with the Strictest Principles of 
 
 POLICY, HONOUR, AND JUSTICE." 
 
 EDWYN ANDREW BURNABY, Esquire. 
 
 Eonlion : 
 
 PRINTED FOR J. HATCHARD, 
 
 BOOKSELLER TO TIIF. <2lIF.EIf, 
 
 NO. 190, OPPOSITE ALBANY, PICCADILLY ; 
 
 By T. Combe, Leicester. 
 
 1817.
 
 A LETTER 
 
 TO 
 
 •Ci)e Cabinet iHimsters, 
 
 &c. 
 
 Mv LoRDSj 
 
 In offering to the consideration of your Lord- 
 ships a plan to alleviate, in partj the distresses 
 of the people, and to provide an effectual fund 
 to meet the current yearly expenses of this 
 still most powerful and most enviable empire — 
 while I lament, sincerely, the temporary pri- 
 vations which every class of his Majesty's 
 subjects have for some time sustained, I feel 
 the highest gratification in anticipating that 
 the difficulties of this country have at length 
 attained their height, and that brighter days, 
 under a judicious system, may, speedily, be 
 expected. And allow me, my Lords, to say 
 that should the plans which I shall have the 
 honor lo propose contribute, as I confidently
 
 4 
 
 believe they will, if adopted, to this end, I shall 
 feel a satisfaction beyond all description. Happy 
 indeed, should I now be, could 1 expect that so 
 glorious a change could be effected, without 
 some sacrifices on the part of my countrymen ; 
 but while I know that to hold out such a hope 
 would be the basest delusion, I feel a genuine 
 British confidence in this bosom, which tells 
 me that the great mass of my countrymen will 
 continue to evince so patriotic an example of 
 patient submission to the necessities of the times 
 — and ought not I to say to the will of God — 
 that at the same time as it will reflect the highest 
 honour on themselves, it will tend also to make 
 easy the now rugged path over which Ministers 
 have to pass, and enable them with comparative 
 facility to repair the road, and with such du- 
 rable materials that the people themselves will 
 hereafter, in their remaining journey through 
 life, confess that by being patient they con- 
 sulted their truest interests, and that there can 
 be no difficulties too great for Englishmen, 
 under the protection of Providence, to surmount. 
 As I do not wish unnecessarily to occupy too 
 large a portion of your Lordship's time, I shall 
 not enter into a diffuse discussion on the origin 
 of the evil we all lament, further than to express 
 my astonishment any should attempt to deny 
 that such evils must necessarily in part result
 
 5 
 
 from the change to a peace from a war demand ; 
 for when it is recollected what larj^e supplies 
 of clothiiii:; and provisions were required for our 
 troops and prisoners of war — what i^reat quan- 
 tities of iron, cordajje, sails, &c. for our navy, 
 which demands have now nearly ceased — I do 
 say, my Lords, that he who can assert that the 
 same briskness in these articles of trade can 
 continue now as before, must be the veriest fool, 
 or the most obstinate man in Europe. Pros- 
 perity in trade can only result from the demand 
 for the article to be disposed of. If this in- 
 creases, the prosperity of the trader increases 
 also — if this diminishes, his prosperity must 
 diminish too: and it is just as absurd to deny 
 that a change to peace from war, which has 
 necessarily lessened these demands has had an 
 etfect, as to deny that a linen-draper in Cheap- 
 side, whose existence depended upon his busi- 
 ness, but whose customers had deserted him, had 
 become a bankrupt in consequence thereof. 
 
 The change from peace to war has therefore 
 had an elTcct, though this elfect might probably 
 have been materially lessened had a judicious 
 policy in other respects, and particularly in our 
 agricultural system, been adopted. Hut, my 
 Lords, 1 can by no means allow that any degree 
 of blame can attach to Ministers, because some 
 errors have crept into our system, Av.d I believe
 
 6 
 
 the reasonable part, even of the sufferers them- 
 selves, entertain the same opinion. For men 
 of candour and liberality can never censure 
 Ministers, when they recollect the tumultuous 
 opposition which was made to those measures 
 of relief which Government, from a due sense 
 of duty, had proposed to Parliament. It was 
 infinitely better to give time to the people to 
 see their own error, than to have involved the 
 country in riot and disorder. The people now 
 begin to discover that with a neglected agricul- 
 ture they themselves must become paupers"^ — 
 that even with cheap provisions they may starve 
 — and that it is much better for them to live 
 where industry is requisite to procure food, 
 than in a country where, though provisions are 
 plentiful, the want of employment presents a 
 bar to their obtaining them. And may we not 
 hope, now that the people must be convinced of 
 their error in opposing the good intentions of 
 Government, they will for once allow it a little 
 credit, and av/ait the result, before they condemn 
 the measures that may be proposed for their 
 benefit untried. 
 
 This country, during a long and protracted 
 war, attained to a height of prosperity, infi- 
 nitely superior to what any ancient or modern 
 
 * As was the case during the whole of last year, when corn was cheap.
 
 7 
 state ever enjoyed. While provisions increased 
 in price, the labourer and mechanic found less 
 and less difficulty in procuring them. Im- 
 provements in banking", draining-, and enclosing", 
 gave constant employment to the poor. The 
 farmer not only required more labourers, but 
 he was even enabled to have his domestic men- 
 servants. He rode a hunter where before a 
 cart-mare carried him, thereby encouraging* the 
 breed of horses. A new saddle and bridle 
 became requisite^ and of consequence sadlers 
 sprung up in our country towns where before 
 whit-tawers scarcely existed."' His wife and 
 daughters, instead of wearing homespun aprons 
 and gowns, dressed in British muslins, and 
 Manchester felt the benelit of the change. 
 In lieu of burning wood on hubs, an elegant 
 new grate became requisite for coal, and Bir- 
 mingham participated in the fanner's pros- 
 perity, in common with the china manufacturer 
 who supplied his table, and the cabinet-maker 
 and upholsterer who furnished his house. 
 What signified it, then, to the mechanic and 
 
 ^ It is a wrll-knnwii furt, (hat rrtail <ihops of all dr^criptiuns havp 
 increased above five-fold within the l.ist twenty-five years in our 
 provincial towns. To what can (his be attributed, but to ngricultural 
 prosperity. Landlords and farmers have been almost their exclusive 
 customers. Since the depression of agriculture, these !«hops are de- 
 serted, and many of their occupiers have already been jpizetted as 
 bankrupts.
 
 8 
 labourer how much either of them gave for his 
 loaf, if by honest industry it could be procured. 
 What signified it to them, what nominal value 
 the current coin of the kingdom bore, or 
 whether the circulating medium was gold or 
 silver. This circulating medium, be it what 
 it might, was the representative of their labour, 
 and enabled them, more conveniently only, to 
 get what that fairly entitled them to. It was 
 the additional demand on the farmer to produce 
 63/ his labour an extra quantity of food, to 
 make up the deficiency arising from a foreign 
 non-importation, which called their manufac- 
 turing labour into activity also to pay for it, 
 and induced the mechanic to exert his ingenuity 
 to the utmost to invent new articles of use, of 
 elegance, and of luxury, to exchange by the aid 
 of the circulating medium with the farmer for 
 his produce. Without this mutual demand for 
 an exchange of food and newly-invented luxuries, 
 each party would have been starving under the 
 existing circumstances of the country. For 
 after all, those who fairly consider the subject, 
 must be convinced that a general internal pros- 
 perity can arise only from a generally-diffused 
 internal labour, or in other words from the 
 facility of mutually obtaining necessaries, com- 
 forts, and luxuries of life, by an interchange 
 of labour.
 
 9 
 
 A brisk internal demand for provisions must, 
 therefore, necessarily act as a stimulus both to 
 agricultural and mechanical labour. If the me- 
 chanic can procure his daily bread from abroad 
 by making- articles only for foreign consump- 
 tion, he may ilourish ; but the farmer, the 
 agricultural labourer, and the landlord, must 
 pine. Should it, however, happen, that the 
 mechanic, being unable to procure foreign corn, 
 must exchange his oaken table for it with the 
 English farmer, the former obtains his bread, 
 and the latter becomes, in exchange for it, pos- 
 sessed of this article of utility. Suppose, how- 
 ever, there are so many oaken tables made, that 
 they become so common and so cheap as not 
 easily to be exchanged for food ; a mahogany 
 table is made, and the change is effected. By 
 degrees the farmer produces so much corn, that 
 he has more than sufficient to procure neces- 
 saries only. He finds now comforts within his 
 reach, and the carpet-manufacturer receives his 
 order. Shortly his increasing produce enables 
 him to aspire after luxuries, and half a dozen 
 trades are employed to make him a handsome gig. 
 
 For let mc ask on what account does the 
 farmer till the soil? Not to hoard up his pro- 
 perty, but to be enabled by it to enjoy life. 
 It is for this reason that he not only labours 
 himself, bnt he calls into activity all the labour
 
 10 
 
 within his reach and his means. He produces 
 to a great extent by his labour, and in pro- 
 portion as what he produces is beyond his wantS;, 
 he exchanges the extra produce of his labour 
 for the produce of Manchester, Birmingham, 
 Nottingham, Leicester, Liverpool, and London. 
 All are now mutually benefitted ; but if instead 
 of this, in consequence of the markets being- 
 glutted with foreign corn, he cannot exchange 
 the produce of his labour at such a rate as to 
 enable him to procure the produce of these 
 places in return for it, or to compete with the 
 foreign agriculturist, he will necessarily ex- 
 change his labour for idleness. And then comes 
 the discovery that notwithstanding the foreigner 
 should even exchange his own labour for the 
 same proportion of labour from the above 
 places, as the English farmer formerly did, 
 still as there is a deficit in the general or ag- 
 gregate internal labour, in consequence of the 
 inactivity of the farmer and his labourers, the 
 country is no longer in the same prosperous 
 situation as before, and that a consequence 
 of this grievous alteration is, that the farmer 
 has become a bankrupt, and he and his labourers 
 are now supported by poor rates. But the 
 real truth is, that foreign labour is so cheap, 
 and so large a proportion of corn can be pro- 
 duced from it, at a given price to what can
 
 11 
 
 be procured from a similar ratio of labour in 
 England, that it can be sent to this kingdom 
 in exchange for an infinitely less proportional 
 quantity of manufacturing labour than would 
 be required from the mechanic to balance an 
 equal produce from English agricultural labour; 
 and that therefore as a much less proportion of 
 articles will of necessity be manufactured to 
 procure it, fewer hands in English manufactures 
 will consequently be required. As this is rather 
 a complicated position, I will state an example 
 to make it clear. 
 
 Suppose, then, twenty English farmers were 
 individually to require a gig, and that the cost 
 of these to each in the country would be £40 ; 
 now in order to pay for these, each farmer must 
 produce and sell ten quarters of wheat at £4: 
 per quarter. But suppose twenty foreigners 
 were to step into the places of these English 
 farmers, and having driven them out of the 
 market, were to supply the country with the 
 same quantity of corn at £2 per quarter. Now 
 unless the foreigner in return can take the 
 same quantity of gigs, the coach-maker njust 
 sutler, but this he cannot clearly do, unless the 
 coach-njaker reduces his price one half At 
 first sigiit there appears no difllculty in doing 
 so, because the mechanic secures the same quan- 
 tity of corn for the same number of gigs, as
 
 12 
 
 usual; but at length it is unfortunately dis- 
 covered that though provisions have fallen one 
 half, £'20 will not now go as far as £40 did 
 before^ and for this reason — because food alone 
 is not requisite in these days. Exclusive of this, 
 there is a large demand for taxes, and owing 
 to the depreciation of the English farmer's pro- 
 duce, and the consequent ruin of himself and 
 labourers for poor rates also, so that at length 
 the coach-maker finds out that though he can 
 procure his corn at half price, yet as he can 
 get only half the price for his own labour, he 
 is not, after paying all demands against him, 
 so rich as formerly. But even this is not the 
 whole view of the question, for the fact is, that 
 the foreign farmer is so poor and so miserable — 
 and he is besides so devoid not merely of all 
 ideas of luxury, but also of every idea of com- 
 fort, that he has no demand for the gig, and 
 therefore he cannot take sufficient British ma- 
 nufacturing labour in exchange for his own 
 labour, but must be paid a large proportion in 
 specie. Hence the English mechanic and manu- 
 facturer have, or ultimately will find that by 
 an exchange of their corn for British labour, 
 though through a circulating medium nominally 
 or even really higher than with foreigners, such 
 an interchange of British labour can procure 
 to the exchangers more mutual benefits than
 
 13 
 
 by a foreign exchange, and that the advantages 
 arising from an internal trade, are infinitely 
 greater than those which result from a fo- 
 reign one. 
 
 This then, my Lords, is the true state of 
 the question. It is not so much whether 
 corn can be procured cheaper from abroad, 
 as whether by restricting the supply of it to 
 British soil more mutual comforts are not pro- 
 cured. The riches of a country can only 
 result from labour and produce ; and in pro- 
 portion as you can employ the former upon 
 the latter is a country opulent. Unless in our 
 investig-ations into the origin of the present 
 distress we keep this truism steadily in view, 
 we can never understand where the root of the 
 evil lies. If we permit an importation of foreign 
 corn, except in extreme cases, we paralise British 
 labour — we then substitute idleness for industry. 
 In proportion as the foreigner can take our 
 manufactures, those engaged in them may be 
 prosperous ; but as it would be impossible for 
 foreign nations to have so large a demand on 
 us as to employ all our labouring hands, those 
 who continued idle (and a large proportion of 
 the people must be so) would be a positive loss 
 to the community. ^Ve may talk, indeed, about 
 rents falling, and that the I'arnier will then be 
 able to employ his accuistomed number of l.i-
 
 14 
 
 bourers. The idea is fallacious. If rents fell 
 to nothing, the farmer could not compete with 
 the foreigner — while the nobleman and coontry 
 srentleman must reduce their establishments^ or 
 if they continued them, it must be at such an 
 alteration in wages, education, purchases, &c. &c. 
 that the labourer, the schoolmaster, and the 
 shop-keeper will in the end be the greatest 
 sufferers. But rents cannot fall and taxes be 
 paid : if one falls the other must also, and then 
 what will become of the fundholder. I fear he 
 will not be found among the customers of the 
 shop-keeper. But where, my Lords, is the ne- 
 cessity for all this, when by encouraging our 
 own instead of foreign agriculture, every evil 
 may be obviated. 
 
 Far be it, however, from my wish to depre- 
 ciate foreign commerce. I value it highly, and 
 would be the last to throw any unnecessary 
 impediment in its way, but still truth compels 
 me to say, it is only really useful when it takes 
 off the superabundance of internal labour, for 
 such produce of foreign labour as cannot be 
 procured at home. If then, my Lords, this 
 view of the question is accurate, and I believe 
 it is, there can be no doubt as to the policy 
 of effectually protecting our agriculture against 
 foreign competition, and these truths cannot 
 be too widely disseminated.
 
 15 
 
 It is a fact too notorious to be denied, that 
 peace has removed a large circulating' medium 
 from the market ; and although it cannot be 
 expected to restore this altogether, I shall 
 nevertheless propose a measure for the con- 
 sideration of your Lordships, which will very 
 materially contribute to this end ; and I have 
 the happiness to know, that while it will very 
 essentially assist the agricultural body, it will 
 tend much to the prosperity of the trading 
 interest also, and prove injurious to none. And, 
 my Lords, allow me to say, that however na- 
 turally anxious I must be to rescue the agri- 
 cultural body from those difficulties under which 
 it so avowedly labours, 1 feel the sincerest 
 happiness in being firmly convinced that in 
 my attempts to do so, I am even in a greater 
 degree contributing to the prosperity of the 
 manufacturing interest also, for the prosperity 
 of the trade of England is so intimately inter- 
 woven with that of the landed proprietors that 
 the former cannot exist with a decayed agri- 
 culture. 
 
 It is allowed by all, that one of the causes 
 of the agricultural distress is to be found in 
 the impossibility to procure pecuniary aid, even 
 on the best mortgage securities ; and it is but 
 too well known that, owing to this difficulty, 
 estates in different i)arts of England have been
 
 16 
 
 sold to answer the mortgage demands, at one 
 half the sum they cost only a year or two before.'^ 
 To remedy this acknowledged inconvenience, 
 my Lords, I propose that a bill should be 
 brought into parliament to enable the com- 
 missioners for the reduction of the national 
 debt to make advances, as the receipt of money 
 appropriated to them enables them to do so, 
 of a sum not exceeding twenty millions, by way 
 of loan, in sums of not less than £1,000, nor 
 exceeding £10,000, to the proprietors of landed 
 estates. And as I should recommend that these 
 sums should be allowed to remain, if required, 
 fifteen or twenty years, the parties borrowing 
 will find economy in paying b^ or perhaps 
 even 6 per cent, which will be necessary to 
 defray the extra expenses which Government 
 must unavoidably incur by this measure. Some 
 difficulty may be anticipated from fixing the 
 preference to applicants, but this may easily 
 be obviated, and as a preliminary to this, the 
 aggregate sum to be lent should be divided 
 among the different counties of England, in 
 the relative proportions which those counties 
 
 " A farmer having saved ^8,000, bought an estate for ^20,000, 
 =612,000 of the purchase money remaining on mortgage. Last year 
 the money was called in, and being unable to procure it, the estate 
 was again sold for ^12,000, the mortgage was paid, and the farmer 
 was ruined.
 
 17 
 
 contributed respectively during the last year 
 of war to the property tax from land only. 
 This measure Avill necessarily suspend the ope- 
 ration of the sinking fund on the public stocks 
 for a time, but it must contribute rather to 
 strengthen than lessen their security, because 
 the money advanced will be upon the real pro- 
 perty of the kingdom, and the funded propri- 
 etors will, I am convinced, in the end obtain 
 greater advantages than disadvantages from the 
 proposed measure. 
 
 I anticipate an objection which will be started 
 by would-be-reputed patriots, arising from the 
 increased patronage the appointment of the 
 extra commissioners requisite to carry this plan 
 into eftect, would give Government; and there- 
 fore I declare on my honor that while I shall 
 not be a candidate for one farthing of the 
 twenty millions, 1 will graluitoualjj and most 
 willingly act as one of these commissioners for 
 the county of Leicester, and I feel a pride in 
 saying, that in executing an act so likely to 
 benefit hundreds, I believe 1 could name twenty 
 gentlemen in this county, of large property, 
 independent conduct, upright and honourable 
 minds, who would devote their time cheerfully 
 to the same good work, without expectation 
 of fee or reward ; and I have no doubt other
 
 18 
 
 counties would imitate our example.*^ 
 
 It may, perhaps, be objected that this mode 
 of rehef must be fallacious^ because it can only 
 be effected by inducing persons to borrow 
 money : to this then I answer, that no one 
 borrows for amusement, but that many a man 
 is ruined because he cannot borrow money 
 at all ; a small sum borrowed on an exigency 
 will often avert ruin, and therefore I fondly 
 anticipate that many a one who would other- 
 wise be ruined, will be saved by the expedient 
 recommended here. 
 
 Ask nine out of ten whom you meet, what 
 is the cause of our present distress, and they 
 will answer that it does not so much arise from 
 an actually decreased demand^ as from a want 
 of money. Put twenty millions into circulation, 
 and distress will soon disappear. 
 
 ■* The best mode of carrying these loans into effect would be 
 as under: — 
 
 There should be a general body of commissioners, with adequate 
 salaries, in London, together with an appointment of counsel to 
 examine the respective titles of the applicants. Each county should 
 also have a set of commissioners appointed in the same manner as 
 those under the property tax act; and to these, one or more so- 
 licitors should be attached. A person wanting to borrow money 
 should, on application to these commissioners, have his title stated 
 by their solicitors, and transmitted in the usual manner to some of 
 these counsel in London, to be examined ; and on its being approved 
 of, the provincial commissioners should report to that effect to the 
 commissioners in London, under whose direction the deeds should be 
 drawn and the money paid.
 
 19 
 
 It may, however, possibly be said tliat the 
 measure is unnecessary, and that things will of 
 themselves find their proper level without it. 
 This is certainly in part true ; things will in 
 due time find their own level, but not till at 
 least one half the country is first ruined. 
 
 In a natural state, things may be allowed 
 to find their own level without danger, but this 
 cannot be done in an artificial state of affairs. 
 England has for many years been, and so long 
 as her debt continues will be, in an artificial 
 state. This artificial state originated chiefly 
 at first from the immense issues of paper during 
 a long war. Had it been possible to have with- 
 drawn these issues gradually, and in proportion 
 as her debt and taxes decreased, things would 
 in the same ratio have found their own level 
 almost imperceptibly, and without artificial aid. 
 But in the present state of England this is im- 
 possible. By withdrawing the issues of paper 
 money immediately on the peace, and pernntting 
 the unlimited im[)ortation of foreign corn, the 
 prices of agricultural produce were nearly re- 
 duced to what they were twenty-five years ago. 
 Now this present ruinous state of things cannot 
 continue, and the interest of the debt con- 
 tracted since that period be paid also.- And 
 yet this alarming state of things must most 
 inevitably continue, and the nation will speedily
 
 20 
 be on the verge, if not actually in a state of 
 bankruptcy, without some extraneous, some 
 artificial assistance, till such time at least as 
 the returning prosperity of Europe, which will 
 ultimately result from peace, shall have in some 
 degree remedied the defect. The plan, there- 
 fore, which I recommend to your Lordships 
 will give this artificial assistance, and in a 
 manner injurious to none. Neither the state, 
 nor any individual in it, will be at all the poorer 
 for it.'' 
 
 But should it be objected that by withdrawing 
 so large a sum as twenty millions from pur- 
 chases into the funds, a depression will be felt 
 by them, I reply that such depression can be 
 but momentary. When Government were an- 
 nually funding large sums during the war, the 
 funds did not, after they had recovered from 
 the first shock of the French revolution, mate- 
 rially fall, on a new loan being made, and it 
 may possibly, and indeed in all probability will, 
 happen, that from so large a sum as twenty 
 millions being brought into the mortgage market 
 nearly at once, it will so completely stock it, 
 
 " Just as I was about to send these sheets to the press, I saw by the 
 papers that a similar plan to the one here recommended was to be 
 adopted by the Bank. I found, therefore, my plan in part had been 
 anticipated. But the more money brought into the mortgage market 
 the better, and therefore neither plan need interfere with the other. 
 It is impossible for the bank issues alone to be adequate to the demand.
 
 21 
 
 that it either will not all be wanted, or that 
 private individuals will, of necessity, be obliged 
 to purchase into the funds, from their inability 
 to procure mortgage securities. At present 
 persons are afraid to lend on mortgage, from 
 not knowing to what land is to fall. This 
 measure will recover and perhaps fix the price 
 of land on a steady basis, and will save thousands 
 from ruin, who under the faith and expectation 
 of the continued prosperity of the country, 
 have purchased land at a high price, and twenty 
 millions being thus so diffuscdli/ added to the 
 circulating medium of the country, will act like 
 Electricity in restoring confidence, and con- 
 sequently prosperity. Agricultural failures will 
 no longer take place, or rents be in arrear : 
 the labourer will again have work, the mechanic 
 employment, and the country shop-keeper cus- 
 tom. Nor need the manufacturer or the mer- 
 chant fear that by thus keeping up the price 
 of provisions to a fair price, the external trade 
 will be injured. Government has it in its 
 power, by prudently lessening the duties on 
 exported manufactures, to remedy every incon- 
 venience here, while there is scarcely any tax 
 which the landed interest, provided it is fairly 
 upheld, cannot pay in lieu of these duties. 
 
 There is another class of persons who expe- 
 rience considerable difiiculty in these times.
 
 22 
 and from wliicli they are the least able to ex- 
 tricate themselves. Such are those who in 
 consequence of being unable^ from entailed es- 
 tates, to borrow money on mortgage^ are obliged 
 to raise it by annuities. As beyond the fair 
 interest, a further sum for life insurance is paid 
 by them, on which a large duty is also charged, 
 the most practicable way to relieve their diffi- 
 culties, would be to exonerate them from the 
 duty now paid to Government, and to give them 
 a positive right, by law, to deduct such duty 
 from the annuities with which they now stand 
 charged. This will afford them great relief, 
 and be injurious to none. And as all annuities 
 are enrolled, and the value of every person's 
 life at the time of granting the annuity can 
 always, according to his then age, be ascer- 
 tained, even should the party advancing the 
 money not have insured it, but run the risk 
 himself, the borrower's claim to deduction would 
 easily and fairly be ascertained. 
 
 Accompanied, then, by these measures of 
 pecuniary relief, and by a bill fairly, impartially^ 
 and properly digested, to protect agricultural 
 produce, I beg leave to suggest to your Lord- 
 ships the propriety of appealing to the landed 
 interest, for their support and assistance to carry 
 into effect a plan to meet the necessary ex- 
 penses, by raising the supplies within the year.
 
 23 
 
 And as one means of accomplishing this most 
 desirable plan, I propose, with the fullest con- 
 fidence in the true wisdom of the measure, a 
 property tax on land, not. exceeding- 10 per 
 cent, of which 't~ per cent, s'.iould be paid by 
 the landlord, and 2j by the tenant, and in all 
 respects exactly on the principle of the old 
 property tax, as to deductions, &c. And in order 
 to quiet any alarm on this subject among that 
 description of persons upon whom this tax 
 will, in the first instance, be levied, I only re- 
 quest of them, before they clamour, fairly to 
 consider the efiect it will really have, and I am 
 persuaded they will then be convinced that 
 though the nominal, they will not ultimately 
 be the actual payers of it. Let the people also 
 for once be satisfied patiently to try the expe- 
 riment, and I am certain they will soon find 
 themselves richer and happier with these mea- 
 sures and taxes, than they now are without 
 them. 1 can assure them this opinion springs 
 from the conviction of a heart which feels for 
 their distresses, and which is incessantly em- 
 ployed in devising scheme.'^ to relieve them. 
 
 Nothing can be so fallacious or so radically 
 ruinous, as not to make our expendilure nnd 
 income meet. '^I'o raise the su|)plies wanted 
 by increasing our funding systenj, though per- 
 haps it may not be so much felt at the firsf.
 
 24 
 
 will in the end, and at no very distant date, 
 be destructive to us, and paralise our future 
 exertions. Whereas, my Lords, by a proper, 
 not a parsimonious economy, and a little ju- 
 dicious manag'ement, this grand plan so neces- 
 sary for the salvation of England, may be 
 etfected, and in a manner, if accompanied by 
 prudential measures, so as not to be felt at all. 
 1 despise, my Lords, the idea of bending to 
 difficulties — " ne cede malis, sed contra au- 
 dentior ito" is my motto ; and Hercules and 
 the Carter my favourite fable. 
 
 Great as the difficulties of this country con- 
 fessedly are, they are still surmountable ; and 
 let Ministers act with prudence and firmness — 
 let Parliament be guided by patriotism and 
 independence, and the people by patience and 
 confidence in their rulers, and all will yet 
 end well. 
 
 Nor let the landed interest think a property 
 tax of 10 per cent, on their estates too great 
 a sacrifice. A little reflection will convince 
 them that though in the first instance it falls 
 upon the owner and occupier, it always ulti- 
 mately operates on the consumer. It has, in 
 fact, all the advantages, without the obnoxious 
 disadvantages, of the excise ; and therefore I 
 can never believe that an intelligent landed man 
 will object to a necessary land tax, particularly
 
 25 
 
 if accompanied by protection to his produce, 
 and the proposed pecuniary assistance. And 1 
 will predict, that should the measure receive 
 the sanction of Parliament, t\vo years will not 
 have passed away before the landed interest 
 will acknowledg;e that it has been beneficial 
 instead of injurious to them. 
 
 Nothing-, my Lords, is, under existing cir- 
 cumstances, more diabolical than to lower the 
 interest of the funds, or to touch the sinking 
 fund beyond that point which in a former pub- 
 lication^ I recommended; and misery would 
 inevitably be the result of so base a measure. 
 Suppose the funds were destroyed, would not 
 the fact be that one half the people would be 
 ruined to enrich the other half. To whom 
 does a large proportion of the sums raised by 
 taxes go ? Not to the Government, as the people 
 are led by the enemies of their country to be- 
 lieve, but to the fundholdcrs ; and are not the 
 majority of the fundholdcrs our own countrymen ? 
 
 ' See — England may be Extricated, Sr. — If we can make our expen- 
 diture and income balance, and allow the sinking fund to go on, in 
 a very few years, should a fresh war break out, this country would be 
 amply prepared for it, and by adding the income of the sinking fund 
 then to such sums as could be raix-d by a just property tax, England 
 would be able to raise a revenue which would enable her to contend 
 against the eflbrts of the whole world. To endeavour to effect this is 
 true wisdom and genuine loyalty ; not to do so is folly and treason, not 
 merely to posterity, but to a large proportion also of those who are 
 now living. 
 
 D
 
 26 
 Destroy this source of their income, and they 
 become paupers, and then instead of ten men 
 in opulent circumstances, there will be one rich 
 man and nine paupers. Those taxes which 
 are appropriated to pay the interest of the debt 
 are the means of equalizing' property. By this 
 equalization, ten times the number of poor find 
 employment to what would otherwise be the 
 case. The funds are, in fact, a source of wealth, 
 not of poverty, to the country : destroy them, 
 and Englishmen will soon see whether those 
 who are benefitted by a reduction of taxes 
 will have equal demands for the manufactures 
 of England, or be able to employ the same 
 number of servants and labourers as now, when 
 by means of the funds, property is more gene- 
 rally diffused. 
 
 The patriotic reformers begin well, indeed, 
 when they commence their political career by 
 recommending a positive robbery ; and they of 
 course cannot fail to obtain a very powerful 
 support from that large and respectable body 
 the fundholders of England, now that they 
 have discovered that one of the first benefits 
 proposed to be derived from a reform in Par- 
 liament is to reduce them to beggary. But 
 this is not all — for the poor, the honest, the 
 industrious poor of England, to whom their 
 ancestors have bequeathed the poor laws as
 
 27 
 their birth-right, are to be deprived of these 
 too, as well as of that source of comfort and 
 employment, which they derive from the funds, 
 and in heu of going when in distress to the 
 magistrate, and demanding that fair and just 
 relief which is never under our present rotten 
 parliamentary system denied them, they are 
 under the renovated order of things to crouch 
 humbly at the feet of these reformers, and im- 
 plore charity of the men whose first act has 
 been to violate God's eighth commandment. 
 But the mask is removed, the views of these 
 reformers stand exposed, and they are be- 
 ginning to be execrated and despised: for it 
 is now discovered that reform is only the pretext 
 to delude, but that pillage and murder are the 
 real objects which actuate them. In making 
 these remarks, my object is to benefit my coun- 
 trymen. To the poor 1 hope 1 have always 
 been a steady friend, and for their benefit 1 
 will never cease to endeavour to remove the 
 delusion attempted to be practised on them. 
 It has always been my maxim, that a poor man 
 ought by his labour to cam a conitortable 
 supply of good warm clothing, white bread, 
 prime meat, and wholesome beer, for his family. 
 For the poor I have more than a respect — I 
 regard them as among the most valuable of my 
 countrymen, as the prido and slrength of
 
 28 
 England. This regard for them will always 
 induce me to guard them against the insiduous 
 attempts of those^ who themselves lurking 
 cowardly behind, make the poor their dupes, 
 and hurl them forward to destruction. No one 
 knows the poor labourer better than I do. 
 As his employer, I have found him industrious, 
 upright, and honest ; and as a magistrate, he 
 has ever appeared to me reasonable in his ex- 
 pectations of relief, when by distress obliged 
 to apply for it. I have found him grateful 
 also for favors, regular in his family, kind to 
 his parents, tender to his children, respectful 
 to his superiors, and loyal to his king. He 
 may, indeed, though I have never witnessed 
 it myself, be subject for a moment to delusion, 
 (for who among us is not subject to occasional 
 aberrations from duty) and be drawn away by 
 the specious arguments of the factious political 
 demagogue, but this person's power over him 
 is for the moment only ; soon as he discovers 
 his error, and such is his innate good sense that 
 he very shortly does so, he abandons and de- 
 spises his seducer, and never again relapses 
 from the path of rectitude, for his conscience 
 has had an indelible lesson imprinted on it. 
 Such, ray Lords, is the labourer of England — 
 and such may he long continue to be. 
 
 To return, however, to the chief object of
 
 29 
 this intrusion upon your Lordships, which from 
 a full conviction that nothing else can save the 
 empire, is to urge the necessity of raising the 
 supplies within the year, and to suggest what 
 appears to me the best and most practicable 
 means of doing so. I beg leave further to 
 suggest the propriety of laying a tax, not to 
 exceed 5 per cent, on the funds, or one half 
 of the proportion laid upon the land. To this 
 impost the fundholder cannot, I flatter myself, 
 with any propriety object ; especially if he con- 
 siders how infinitely counterbalanced this tax 
 will be by the additional security the funds 
 will obtain by making our expenditure and in- 
 come balance. As far as relates to trade, 1 am 
 decidedly of my former opinion that all idea 
 of taxing it ought to be abandoned, because 
 the inconveniences so greatly preponderate over 
 any advantages to be derived from doing so. 
 To trade every possible encouragement ought 
 to be given ; and besides it pays so largely to 
 the state by export and import duties, that 
 we ought to be amply satisfied with what it 
 now contributes ; and I verily believe that by 
 not taxing it directly, our revenue will rather 
 be encreascd than diminished. 
 
 Thus then, my Lords, I have developed my 
 plan, and 1 flatter myself a fairer one cannot 
 be devised. The lanil is recommended to be
 
 so 
 
 taxed 10 per cent, which considering the large 
 parochial assessments it bears^ will fairly entitle 
 it to demand 5 per cent, from the funded pro- 
 perty of the empire ; while nothing additional 
 is directly laid upon trade, because it indirectly 
 contributes so much to the finances of the 
 empire ; and I propose a loan to the landed 
 interest from the public money, which as I hope 
 I have proved will be the means of gradually 
 diffusing fresh life and vigour into the whole 
 body politic. Nothing then remains but for 
 Parliament to carry the plan into effect,^ and 
 now is the time, my Lords, for the independent 
 gentlemen of England to act. The standard 
 of their country is unfurled — let them rally 
 around it — let all paltry party distinctions be 
 done away — let the real whigs remember the 
 examples of a Burke and a Windham, and 
 imitate these illustrious patriots — let them not 
 be led away by clamour, but let reason be their 
 
 ^ I am very anxious to see the Regent's speech on the opening 
 of Parliament, which, I am persuaded, if judiciously worded and 
 with a view to practicable economy only, is capable of creating so 
 general a feeling of loyalty and public spirit, as will enable Govern- 
 ment to raise, even within the year, the supplies requisite to keep up 
 whatever force may be wanted to support the dignity of the Empire, 
 and the peace of Europe. A very little management indeed will 
 put down treason and sedition, and induce the people to exclaim 
 from one part of the country to the other, from a firm and well 
 founded conviction, that thi ir interests are inseparably united— 
 " the Prince and old Enirlaud for ever."
 
 31 
 
 ^uidc. Wliile they enforce every practicable 
 economy, let them not permit economy to dc- 
 i^eneratc into meanness, or sanction any un- 
 necessary diminution of that commanding force 
 so essential to our retaining the proud and pre- 
 eminent situation we now liold among the 
 nations of the earth, and which is so necessary 
 besides to secure the repose of Europe. And, 
 my Lords, allow me to hope — allow me con- 
 fidently to expect — that the Regent's Ministers, 
 conscious of the integrity of their conduct, will 
 fearlessly and undauntedly do their duty, never 
 forgetting, if owing to the base arts of the 
 degenerate, they should subject themselves to 
 popular odium that " ?nngna est Veritas et 
 pr^valebit "-^a-nd that the delusion under which 
 the people suffer will last but for the moment, 
 while ere long this self-same people will hail 
 them as their deliverers. Let iNIinisters, I say, 
 reflect that while these would-be-reputed patriots 
 will speedily sink in(o oblivion, they will them- 
 selves have g-ained unfading laurels, and (hat 
 their names will hereafter be recorded on the 
 historic page among England's worthies — among 
 the greatest and most illustrious of her statesmen. 
 And, my Lords, permit me further to say, 
 that looking around me, and observing (lie civil 
 and religious liberty whicii this country ex- 
 clusively enjoys ; seeing also the advances almost
 
 32 
 
 daily made in developing the mysteries of the 
 Christian religion, and witnessing besides the 
 fruits of that religion in innumerable acts of 
 public and private beneficence — I do most verily 
 believe^ nay I feel an unbounded confidence^ 
 that England is under the peculiar protection 
 of Providence, and that she is, and will con- 
 tinue to be^ the agent by whose means God 
 will ultimately accomplish what all must be 
 persuaded is His object — The universal hap- 
 piness OF MANKIND. 
 
 England then must flourish, notwithstanding 
 the present unfavourable appearances. 
 
 I have the honor to be. 
 With the highest consideration and respect. 
 My Lords, 
 Your Lordships' most obedient and 
 very humble servant, 
 
 EDWYN ANDREW BURNABY. 
 
 Leicestershire^ Jan. ], 1817.
 
 33 
 
 postscript. 
 
 These pages are published for the use of 
 those who, unbiassed by ])arty, can, by re- 
 llecting' on what they read, draw just con- 
 clusions. To those whose minds are warped 
 by party prejudice, they will I fear be per- 
 fectly unavailing. Still, however, I cannot 
 resist the opportunity afforded me, earnestly 
 to recommend to these persons to enquire, 
 before they allow their passions finally to tri- 
 umph over them, whether they have so fairly 
 and impartially considered circumstances, as to 
 be certain that should their inflammatory lan- 
 guage lead their ignorant fellow-creatures to 
 riot and disorder, their consciences may not 
 be hoarding- up for tliemselves future pangs of 
 remorse, and wlu'ther it is not possible ih?ii when 
 the curtain is about to drop upon the last scene 
 of this life, they may not expect the judgment 
 on the drama with all the agonizing feelings 
 of despair. lAjr whatever some persons may 
 think to the contrary, 1, for one, have never 
 
 E
 
 34 
 
 doubted, and I have heard it inculcated by 
 men of acknowledged learning and religion, 
 for whom even these individuals would, with all 
 their new political lights, have felt both awe 
 and veneration, that those who either by their 
 actions, words, or writings, instigate others to 
 commit crimes, are themselves guilty of such 
 crimes upon every principle of justice universally 
 recognised by the wise in all ages ; and that 
 though in some cases they may not be ac- 
 countable to an earthly tribunal, they are most 
 indisputably amenable to the bar of Heaven. 
 With the most anxious solicitude, therefore, for 
 the welfare of all, I recommend to those who 
 have knowledge, to make a proper use of it; 
 and I hope those who have it not, will at least 
 allow that there is nothing inimical to liberty 
 in requesting them with the most friendly feel- 
 ings, to be cautious in following the advice of 
 others, should their own consciences suggest 
 merely a doubt, which before the commission 
 of a bad action they generally do, of the pro- 
 priety of such advice. The Government of 
 England is too powerful to be shaken. The 
 people infuriated by wicked and designing men 
 may riot, but the arm of justice will speedily 
 arrest their progress; and while the higher 
 instigators to such excesses will, like cowards 
 and traitors to those whom they have deluded.
 
 35 
 have taken especial care to be within the law, 
 the people will be at once their dupes and the 
 victims to it. To suspect and shun these men — 
 to respect the laws, and to remember that 
 honesty is the best policy, then, is the advice 
 of the people's friend ; and the time will come 
 when those who do not follow it, will wish 
 that they had. 
 
 E. A. BURNABY. 
 
 FINIS. 
 
 teictjrttr: 
 
 FRIITTED BT THOMAS COMBE.
 
 LATELY PUBLISHED, BY THE SAME AUTHOR, 
 
 ENGLAND 
 
 MAY BE 
 
 EXTRICATED FROM HER DIFFICULTIES, 
 
 Consistently with 
 
 %\)t <^tnctm PcincipIejS 
 
 OF 
 
 POLICY, HONOUR, AND JUSTICE. 
 
 London: Printed for J. Hatch abd, No. 190, opposite Albany; 
 end Sold by Combe, Leicester.
 
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