1822,] 
improyed by the showers which succeeded 
the long drought. Oats particularly have 
suffered from the smut in many parts. No 
crop has received greater benefit from the 
rains and subsequent warm weather than 
the hops, which will nearly double our 
former expectations. Swedish turnips are 
a failing crop, destroyed almost entirely 
by the draught and fly,—mere convertible 
terms. Much of the corn abroad during 
the rains has sprouted, and they talk of a 
double crop of the hops, ripe and unripe. 
The fallows are backward in tilth, and in 
too many parts choked with couch and 
root-weeds; yet, on a general view, the 
good condition of the lands is wonderful, 
considering the unprecedented distress of 
the country. What is to be done with 
the stock of ordinary wheats of the last 
year no man knows, for there is yet a con- 
siderable stock on hand of superior sample. 
There is a great call for wool, but the 
quantity in the market is such as to pre- 
clude any considerable advance of price. 
The above may also serve as a report for 
the greater part of Germany, France, and 
Treiand ; subject to the stated casualties, 
plenty is universal. It is mere repetition 
to say any thing of live stock; both corn 
and fiesh markets, amid temporary fluc- 
tuations and revivals, are gradually de- 
Political Affairs in August. 
171 
scending to their lowest mark. The keep- 
ing up of rents is a left-handed policy, 
consin-german with that of attempting to 
raise prices to the level of taxation. The 
state of our agricultural labourers is most 
deplorable ; and such of our political eco- 
nomists, who desire to institute a compa- 
rison between the condition of those and 
that of the enslaved boors of Germany, 
may be referred to M. Breymann’s disser- 
tation published in the Monthly Magazine 
for the present month. Horses are a fa- 
vourable exception to the general depress- 
ed state of the markets; good stock of 
that description fairly remunerates the 
breeder. A great weekly supply from 
the breeding counties comes to the Grand 
Horse Bazaar, near Portman-square, an 
immense and splendid establishment, une- 
qualled in any other part of the world. 
Smithfield :—Beef, 2s. 6d. to 3s. 6d.— 
Mutton, 2s. to 3s.—Lamb, 2s. 8d. to 4s. 
—Veal, 2s. 4d, to 4s.—Pork, 2s. to 4s. 
—Bacon, ——. —Raw fat, 2s. 1d, 
Corn Exchange:—Wheat, 23s. to 50s. 
—Barley, 16s. to 25s.—Oats, 14s. to 26s. 
—The quartern loaf in London, 9d.— 
Hay, 50s. to 84s,—Clover, 70s. to 953.— 
Straw, 24s. to 40s. 
Coals in the pool, 33s. to 41s, 6d. 
, Middlesex ; Aug. 26. 
POLITICAL AFFAIRS IN AUGUST. 
— 
GREAT BRITAIN. 
N the 8th, Parliament was pro- 
rogued by the following brief 
speech :— 
~My Lords and Gentlemcn, 
I cannot release you from your attend- 
ance in Parliament, without assuring you 
how sensible I am of the attention you 
have paid to the many important objects 
which have been brought before you in 
the course of this long and laborious Ses- 
sion. I continue to receive from foreign 
powers the strongest assurances of their 
friendly disposition towards this country ; 
and I have the satisfaction of believing, 
that the differences which had unfortu- 
nately arisen between the Court of St. 
Petersburgh and the Ottoman Porte are 
in such a train of adjustment, as to afford a 
fair prospect that the peace of Europe 
will not be disturbed. 
Gentlemen of the House of Commons, 
1 thank you for the supplies which you 
have granted me for the service of the 
present year, and for the wisdom you have 
manifested in availing yonrselves of the 
first opportunity to reduce the interest of 
a part of the National Debt, without the 
dJeast infringement of Parliamentary faith. 
It is most gratifying to me that you should 
have been enabled, in consequence of this, 
and of other measures, to relieve my peo- 
ple from some of their burdens, 
My Lords and Gentlemen, 
The distress which has for some months 
past pervaded a considerable portion of 
Ireland, arising principally from the failure 
of that crop on which the great body of 
the population depends for their subsis- 
tencé, has deeply affected me. The mea- 
sures which you have adopted for the relief 
of the sufferers meet with my warmest ap- 
probation; and, seconded as they have 
been by the spontaneous and generous 
efforts of my people, they have most mate- 
rially contributed to alleviate the pressure 
of this severe calamity. I have the satis- 
faction of knowing that these exertions 
have been justly appreciated in Ireland, 
and I entertain a sincere belief that the 
benevolence and sympathy £0 conspicu- 
ously manifested upon the present occasion 
will essentially promote the object which 
Lhave ever had at heart,—that of cement- 
ing the connexion between every part of 
the empire, and of uniting in brotherly love 
and affection all classes and descriptions 
of my subjects.” 
On the 10th the King embarked at 
Greenwich for Edinburgh. So unu- 
sual a circumstance as a royal visit to 
that part of the island has created a 
considerable sensation among the na- 
tives. For a few days, sycophancy, 
headed by Sir Walter Scott and Sir 
William 
