STATE PAPERS. 



461 



that tliis applies only to the letters 

 whicli specify the amount of the 

 reduction : many otlieis spetik of 

 the same fact, without giving pre- 

 'cisely the proportion. 



The land rents of tiie kingdom, 

 according to tiic returns of tlie 

 I)roperty-tax, have been stated at 

 34,000,000 ; if the real fact should 

 exceed this by only two millions, 

 the total will be 3(> millions, and 

 the loss of 25 per cent, will give 

 a totai of 9,000,000 to landlords 

 alone ; but this will by no means, 

 accoiding to the letters received 

 by the Board, be the wliole of one 

 year's loss, as tiie amount of un- 

 paid arrears is stated in many of 

 the letters to be very great in- 

 deed, and property not only dis- 

 tiained for rent, but also for 

 taxes. 



The distress of the present pe- 

 riod will scarcely peiniit of a 

 doubt, were it pro\ ed by no other 

 ciicumstance than the curious 

 fact which occurs moie tlian once 

 in the correspondence, that the 

 mere occupation of farms, free of 

 all rent, is considered as a benefit, 

 with the Norfolk asseition, that 

 the year's rent of the county will 

 be lost : such asse tions may not 

 be accunte, but tiu-y could not be 

 ventured, if tiie (hstress was not 

 • very great : prove.) also by twenty 

 advei tiseuients of sales for disti ess 

 of rent, in that one county. 



Fourth Qiery. — Geiunil Stale of 

 Hushanarij in the present Period. 



By far the greater niunber of 

 the letters enter into considerable 

 details on the circumstances which 

 denote the present de|)lo; able state 

 of H»e National Agriculture. — 

 Bankruptcies, seizuics, execu- 

 tions, impi isonuients, and farmers 



become parish paupers, are par- 

 ticulai'ly mentioned by many of 

 the coirespondcnts ; with great 

 arrears of rent, and in many cases, 

 tithes and poor-rates impair! ; im- 

 provements of every kind gene- 

 rally discontiniied ; live-stock 

 greatly lessened; tradesmen's bills 

 \mpaid ; and alarming gangs of 

 ])oachers and other depredators. 

 These circumstances are generally 

 expressed in languige denoting 

 extreme distress, and absolute 

 ruin in a variety of instances. 



Fifth and Sixth Queries. — Arable 

 and Grass Land, and Flock 

 Farms, compared. 



The replies to the fifth query, 

 very generally assert the distress 

 to be nmch greater on arable than 

 on gra^s land ; but many of them 

 observe, that of late the prices of 

 grass-land produce have so much 

 declined, that the difference pro- 

 mises .-oon to be but small. In 

 general, it is asserted, that flock 

 farms have suli'ei'ed much less 

 than others ; but they have begun 

 to f-rel it hea\ily, yet not equally 

 witli aiable land. 



Seventh Query. — Circulation of 

 Paper. 



There is in the replies sorife 

 ditierence of opinion upon this 

 jjoint : nmch mischief is noted 

 from tlie failure of coiuitry banks : 

 many of the corre-pondents are 

 of opini(m, that agriculture sntfers 

 much for want of a larger and 

 satVr circulation ; and not a few 

 complain heavily of the deficiency 

 of paper being so extreme, that 

 they are fi)rce;l to sell ti)eir pro- 

 ducts under a great dipreciation 

 of price, merely from the want of 

 notes to pay foi- tiieni. 'J'he great- 

 ness 



