§ The Duke of Richmondpresented Petitions from Barnes, and two other places in Surrey, praying for the repeal of the Malt Tax; from three hundreds of Newport, Bucks, complaining: of Distress, and praying for relief; and from Spilsby, Lincolnshire, complaining of Agricultural Distress, and particularly of the Wool Laws.
The Marquis of Lansdownpresented a Petition from Dursley, Gloucestershire, complaining of Distress, and praying for relief. Also a similar Petition from Frome, Somersetshire, pointing out the opening of the trade with India as one of the means of relief.
The Earl of Caernarvonpresented a Petition to the same effect from the merchants and manufacturers of Manchester, assembled at a public meeting. This Petition was signed by 10,000 persons; and the reason the number of signatures was so limited was, that the petitioners were anxious to send it up in time to be presented before the Noble Duke (Richmond) made the Motion, the notice of which stood on their Lordships' Table for discussion this night. It was placed in his hands the day before the first notice of this Motion was given. The petitioners set forth what they conceived to be the causes of the present distresses of the country, and also suggested what appeared to them to be the most appropriate remedies. Two remedies had been suggested—one was the opening of the trade to China, and another was the reduction of taxation to that state in which it stood in the year 1791. They complained of the keeping up an enormous standing army, which swallowed up so much of the revenue of the country, and prayed for a reduction of the taxes in that respect, and also for a reduction in the salaries and allowances of public officers, and generally in the amount of expenditure of every description. The great, enormous, and unnecessary load of taxation they represented as the main cause of their grievances, and they contended, that after all the reductions which had been made, there were many articles in which a great reduction of duties might still be made, and great relief given; and they instanced particularly those cases in which the 476 amount of the duties exceeded the price of the commodities. The duties on tobacco and sugar, for instance, might be reduced, and that, too, without much, if any loss to the revenue; for the increased consumption would probably keep the revenue as high as before. There was one circumstance connected with this Petition to which he was desirous particularly to call the attention of the House, and that was, that it did not contain a word of angry complaint and invective, nor did it recommend unions of men for purposes which had a tendency to produce revolutions and the subversion of the laws. This was a remarkable feature in the petition, considering that it came from such a populous place and at a time of such general distress; and it certainly recommended the case of the petitioners to the favourable attention of the House.—Petition read.