27 



The national wealth and power are weakened 

 and repressed in these principal sources ; 



By Jiscal institutions which exceed in their pur- 

 pose the current annual expenses of the State. 



By i?istitutio?is or laws which prevent the dii^ect 

 conveyance of these agricultural and spontaneous 

 productions, from the country of production, to 

 the country of consumption. 



The Jiscal institutions of the United Kingdom 

 very considerably exceed in their character and 

 extent, the provision necessary for the current an- 

 nual expenses of the State ; and, by the great 

 amount required to sustain the system of public 

 annuities, particularly by the action and re-ac- 

 tion of price upon price, or the excessive costs 

 of production incident to the system of public an- 

 nuities, bear down and baffle the utmost efforts of 

 industry, ingenuity and skill, in the cultivation of 

 the British Isles ; — sufficient price cannot be re- 

 covered at market to compensate labor, and to 

 maintain the condition of the landlord and tenant. 

 The excessive costs of production have actually 

 cast the United Kingdom, in respect of its agri- 

 culture, into a state of severe depression, uneasi- 

 ness, and distress. 



The same cause affects the agricultural interests 

 of the British dependencies, — which may be con- 

 sidered under four divisions ; — namely, 



The Western Tropical dcpendencicb — the West- 

 India Islands and Settlements. 



