§ Mr. William Duncombepresented a petition from Richmond, Yorkshire, very numerously and respectably signed, by landed proprietors and landholders connected with the Agricultural Society of the North Riding of Yorkshire. The petitioners expressed their discontent at the House not having taken into its consideration the distress under which the agricultural classes laboured. He gave his cordial concurrence to the prayer of the petition and, joined with the petitioners in expressing regret that their distressed state had not been taken into consideration. Year after year the agricultural classes had come forward with statements of their distress, with the view of obtaining some measures of relief. He had felt it his duty to give his vote in favour of the Motions that had been brought forward upon this subject during the present Session of Parliament. He had given his votes without any reference to party feeling. He had supported 587 the Motion of the noble Marqess the Member for Buckinghamshire for the Repeal of the Malt-tax, because he believed that it would have been a boon not only to the agricultural classes, but also to those other classes that had been alluded to as partaking of that distress, namely, the labouring classes. He regretted that Members had been influenced by the fear of a Property-tax being imposed from voting for the Repeal of the Malt-tax, which would, in his mind, have essentially relieved the productive and industrious classes. He had also supported the Motion of the noble Lord for the revision of local and general taxation, and, lastly, he had supported the Motion of his hon. Colleague (Mr. Cayley) to inquire into the distress affecting the agricultural classes as connected with the present monetary system. He regretted that the Chancellor of the Exchequer was not in his place, but he trusted that when the right hon. Gentleman brought forward his budget, he would not follow the example of the noble Lord his predecessor, who, on coming clown to that House with his financial statement, and in communicating his proposed measures of relief, had thought it consistent with his duty to pass over the agricultural interest, and relieve other classes which were represented to be in an unexampled state of prosperity. He did not grudge these other classes the relief that had been afforded them, but he thought it contrary to the principles of sound justice and fair dealing to pass over the agricultural interests and refuse to relieve them. He hoped hon. Members would not shut their eyes to the deplorable state of the agricultural classes, knowing how much the welfare of all the other classes depended upon them, and that the House would not refuse to lend its assistance in affording them that relief to which on every ground of fairness, sound policy, and justice, they were entitled.