1830.] at the Opening of the New Parliament. 551 



whole world not one ! The land-owner, the farmer, the lead-owner, 

 the shop-keeper, the mechanic, the weaver, the lace-trade, the glove 

 trade, the silk trade these compose the far greater proportion of the 

 people of England, and these are all in a state of suffering and pro- 

 gressive decay. The great body of the manufacturers for whose sole 

 aggrandizement all these have been sacrificed, have themselves been, 

 and are still, suffering. Yet the measures by which this mass of evil 

 has been produced, are said, to " work well \" Our military premier 

 has declared, in his usual dictatorial manner, that they will not be 

 interfered with ; and has assured us that our distress is not in 

 any degree owing to their operation. He has further even condes- 

 cended to inform us of the nature of the actual bugbear, which has 

 frighted away our prosperity. What will our readers suppose this 

 mysterious thing to be ? " An earthquake ?" no " a plague of rats, 

 and locusts, as in the days of Pharaoh ?" Not precisely. His grace, 

 after a world of study, has discovered that all this overwhelming 

 distress is owing to " the deficiency of the late harvest !" Alas ! 

 poor England ! Well might Lord Wilton lament that the stream 

 of opinion had turned against the Aristocracy. But need he wonder ? 

 When one of the proudest names in English history is degraded by the 

 imputation of such miserable drivelling as would infallibly sink any 

 other man to the level of a fool, we may well inquire, need he wonder ? 

 We do not mean to depreciate his grace's understanding or his judg- 

 ment ; but we affirm that they are eclipsed, they are blinded by one 

 all-absorbing passion not ambition, (for " by that sin fell the angels/') 

 but a meaner passion, 4f a thing without a name." 



We shall leave this pitiable absurdity to the contempt it so justly 

 merits, and proceed to a more solemn and serious view of the question, 

 viz. the operation of our present policy upon the morals and social 

 interests of the nation. We see, at the present crisis, Revolution mark- 

 ing his track in blood amongst the nations of Europe ; we see Republi- 

 canism scowling hatred upon the throne and the altar, trampling upon 

 the fixed ordinances of society, and waiting but for a pretext to sweep 

 away all distinctions but those of brute strength and lawless daring. 

 Are the present measures of government those which are best calculated 

 to drive away the evil from our shores, or are the people placed in the 

 best condition to profit by such changes as may be occasioned by the 

 course of events ? This inquiry is one of most urgent moment, in the 

 consideration of which the prejudices of all men ought to be laid aside. 

 We have viewed it anxiously and earnestly ; and in placing our opinion 

 upon record, we are aware of the solemn weight of responsibility which 

 we incur. It will be necessary to press upon the attention of our reader 

 a few more facts, to enable him to estimate the justice of our views, and 

 in doing this, we shall be as concise as possible. 



It has alw r ays been considered a sound axiom in politics, that the real 

 strength of a state depends upon the internal comfort and happiness of 

 the people. So far as the increase of wealth conduces to the promotion 

 of this end, it is desirable, and so far the increase of wealth in a state is 

 also the increase of its strength. Allowing these premises, and we do 

 not see how they can be disputed, it is evident that the aim of all legis- 

 lation ought to be, to direct the channels of wealth, not into the hands 

 of a few individuals or classes, but to spread them over the whole face 

 of the community. A country may accumulate capital ; but unless that 



