404 Letters on Affairs in general. [APRIL, 



such an advance. Why, then, the Earl of Lauderdale's speculation could 

 scarcely, by any probability, be a secret. The getting of a million quarters 

 of foreign wheat in bond the outlay of a million and a half of money 

 in the home market for, to talk of raising the average by a purchase to the 

 amount of 300,000, I repeat, is almost ridiculous. It would be impos- 

 sible for all this work to be done, without exciting the attention of the 

 persons interested in the home trade and the very moment this happened, 

 a reaction would take place. The agriculturists seeing what it was that 

 was occasioning the rise in price instead of availing themselves of it, 

 would immediately oppose it with the fact before their eyes, that they 

 must be ruined for the next four years, if once they let the home average 

 get up to seventy shillings a quarter. The throwing two millions of money 

 into the market (instead of 300,000) would hardly insure inducing them to 

 raise it to such a price. The great probability is, that any project like this 

 pursued with what cunning or means it might would only end in saddling 

 the speculators with a large quantity of foreign corn in bond, for which 

 they would have no market; and with a good deal of English corn, 

 bought at a shilling or two advance upon the regular market, which they 

 would have to re-sell at the market price. And even if they succeeded . 

 how would it be? Only by purchasing, through thick and thin, to raise 

 the average in the home market. Or, in other words, becoming themselves 

 holders, to a very large amount, of British corn, purchased at advanced 

 prices ; which corn they would have in their turn to sell, subject to the 

 same depreciation to which their foreign importation might reduce the 

 British agriculturists in general. Either my Lord Lauderdale's agricultural 

 prejudices, I think, have misled him, on this occasion; or his sight into 

 matters of trade and economy is not so clear and cunning as it used 

 to be. 



Upon the two other subjects that I named above, a very few words will 

 be sufficient. The Catholic Emancipation question, after the usual quan- 

 tity of speaking, was negatived by a majority of seventy-seven, in the 

 House of Commons. This is really what every body (except the catho- 

 lics themselves) expected ; and it would be scarcely less than miraculous, 

 if their conduct had led to any other result. Portugal remains just in the 

 same state as at the date of my last letter. The apostolic party has no 

 power against even the presence of England to pursue the rebellion; 

 and the constitutional government has as little power (of its own resources) 

 to repress or prevent it. In the mean time, the country is getting more 

 and more overrun with the bands of irregular troops, who (in the absence 

 of a struggle) act openly as marauders; and as soon as the British troops 

 are re-embarked, the contest if it deserves to be called a contest will 

 begin again. 



The following -paragraph appears amongst the deaths in the Ttines 

 newspaper, of the llth instant. " On Thursday last, Mrs. Harriet 

 Harris, of Goulston Square, Whitechapel ; who was as her physician 

 once emphatically said ' an excellent woman !' " Now, " Good name," 

 lago very truly observes, " in man or woman, is the immediate jewel of 

 their souls ;" and it is no wonder, therefore, that persons, both for them- 

 selves and their friends, should be anxious to preserve as much, in the way 

 of testimony to it, as possible. But the medical attendant, in this case, 

 is not what a court of law would call the (t best evidence." Mi's. Harris's 

 virtues would have been more completely set up, if their affirmation had 

 come instead of the "physician" from the parson of the parish. 



