THE AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE. 319 



The Spanish Cortes in the mean time fearlessly, boldly, and delibe- 

 rately are to work out the regeneration of their distracted country, 

 and by annihilating the temporal power of the priests and monks, 

 by promoting useful knowledge and civilization amongst the lower 

 classes, by encouraging industry and commerce, and, above all, by 

 introducing order and economy in all the branches of the civil 

 and military administration, and especially in the civil list, Spain 

 may soon recover from its present embarrassments, and will in time 

 do honour to all its foreign and domestic engagements, because the 

 Spanish soil being the richest in Europe may work wonders in favour 

 of its industrious and free inhabitants. 



Since writing the above, the happy news has arrived that a glorious 

 bloodless revolution has taken place in Lisbon, and that the troops 

 having sided with the liberal party Donna Maria has been also com- 

 pelled to proclaim the constitution of 1820. This popular crisis of 

 Portugal is of the greatest advantage to Spain, as it will increase 

 the difficulties of the despots of Europe, and must destroy the super- 

 stitious partisans of Don Carlos. Let us hope that all may soon be 

 settled in the peninsula in favour of liberty, civilization, and inde- 

 pendence. 



THE AGRICULTURAL COMMITTEE OF 1836. 



No subject has given rise to more discussion or has been less wisely 

 treated by the legislature since the peace of 1815 than the landed 

 interest of Great Britain. Until the passing of the Reform bill, a 

 large majority of the House of Commons consisted of the landed 

 gentry country gentlemen biassed by their own and merely local 

 interests in favour of measures injurious to the general body of far- 

 mers, and ruinous to every other part of the community ; and thus, 

 the ministers of the day were induced, nay compelled, by their 

 supporters as the price of their ministerial votes to bring forward 

 or promote measures resorted to as a nostrum for the remedy of their 

 own embarrassments. Different remedies for the evil have been sug- 

 gested : one proposes that the currency should be depreciated or a 

 paper currency be substituted for cash payments; another would 

 have ministers force up the price of corn to sixty shillings the quarter, 

 that is, fourteen shillings higher than the average of the last four 

 years, a third party seek a panacea of every evil in the abolition of 

 the malt-tax ; a fourth set would impose a tax on every class except 

 their own. While the country gentlemen could secure:majorities in 

 the Commons, such measures would do to cajole the farmers into the 

 notion that however others might be injured, they were really bene- 

 fited ; and the wise advice of more skilful economists that they should 



