THE BREAD BASKET. No. 8.] PUBLISHED WEEKLY. [ PRICE ONE PENNY. • PROPOSED DESIGN FOR A MONUMENT TO CELEBRATE THE TRIUMPH OF THE MONOPOLISTS. A general meeting of the noblemen and geutlemen, the owners of land, was held at the Shades, Coffee- house, foot of Constitution- hill, on the day pre- ceding the opening of Parliament, in order to devise the best means of defeat- ing the objects of the Anti- Corn- law League, and of perpetuating the Corn- laws. Among the distinguished persons who honoured the meeting with their presence, we noticed the Earls of Carnarvon, Haddington, Orkney, Winchilaea, Mountcaihel, audCaledon; Lords Abinger, Bexley, and Ivenyon; the Marquis of Londonderry; the Dukes of Buckingham, Newcastle, and Richmond; Viscount Clive, T. D. Acland, George Bankes, H. C. Sturt, W. B. Ferrand, J. Bradshaw, Sir C. Burrell, E. S. Cayley, R. A. Christopher, Captain Rous, and several other M. P. s. The countenances of many of them wore a pale and waxy hue, and upou inquiring as to the cause of this re- markable circumstance, our reporter was informed that they had been dosed with a popular medicine called " Cobden's purge." Our reporter also re- marked that Lord Mountcashel, Mr. Cayley, and some others, were shabbily attired, and that the latter, upon presenting a card to the Duke of Buckingham, displayed a much- worn, ill- looking shred, which the wags at the west- end have christened " a signal of distress." Mr. G. Bankes proposed that the Duke of Buckingham, whose long and able services in the cause for which they had met, were so highly appreciated, should take the chair. Mr. T. D. Acland was sorry to say or do anything that should look like an unnecessary violation of unanimity, but he thought there were reasons of prudence against the noble Duke taking the chair. No man esteemed his Grace more than he did, but these were times when they must be wary, and not exactly let their enemies see what they were about. He hoped his lion, friend and the noble Duke would consent to the withdrawal of the proposition in favour of one he would move— namely, that the Duke of Richmond do take the chair, as, with his Grace in the chair, it would be impossible for any body to say what they intended to do. This proposition gave rise to a most extraordinary scene. Shouts of " No surrender!" " Our rents and rights!" " Crush them at once !" with sundry unintelligible and most discordant noises, rent the air; and for some time it seemed more than probable that the affair would end in blows. Order having at length been somewhat restored, in consequence of the utter exhaus- tion of the obstreperous party, the Earl of Winchelsea proposed that the meet- ing should unite in a prayer to the throne above for a blessing on their deli- ! beratious. The proposal raised shouts of laughter, in the midst of which 2 THE B R E A D BASKET. the Earl of Orkney remarked, with rather a bitter smile, that the prayer would be addressed with greater propriety to the throne below. Ttie Duke of Richmond haying at length taken the chair, addressed the meeting at some length. He said he had, with much reluctance, taken upon himself the duties of president, not only because the noble duke on liis right had been first proposed, but because he had himself some doubts as to the poliev of the meeting ( murmurs). They had met together to take counsel, in order to avert, if possible—( shouts of '' We will! we will!")— the calamities by which they were threatened. There was not one of them present who did not know that he did not fear to express his opinion, insignificant as that opinion might be, to any body of his fellow- countrymen, still less should he be afraid to express his opinion to them. (" Bravo !") For his own part, he did not think their danger was very imminent, if they only put on a bold front. Sir Robert Peel—( long continued groans)— had not, perhaps, acted so inju- diciously as some of them had thought, in consenting to alter the Corn- laws and the Tariff as he had done. ( Groans.) They all knew how easy it was to gull the public; and the measures of last session, which were put forward as great boons to the public would in no way injure the agriculturists; and if they would only get over the panic some men's folly had occasioned, he thought they might do very well. ( Hear, hear.) He was sure the present low prices had nothing to do with those changes in the laws ; and he hoped that the cloud which ap- peared at the present moment to be hanging over the agricultural interest, might be quickly dispelled, and that before long the sunshine of prosperity might come over them with double lustre. He could not say less, but he ought not to say more. The noble duke concluded by reading the following notes, which had been received while he was speaking:— " Great Stanhope- street, Feb. 1, 1843. " DEAR DUKE— I must decline attending the meeting at the Shades, to which you did me the honour of inviting me, because I have chalked out different path for my political conduct from that which your illustrious friends purpose to pursue. I intend to throw down the gauntlet to the Ministry, by proposing an amendment to the address, pledging the house to an inquiry into the cause of the distress. By this means I shall keep well with the people— at least the greater part of them— without, in any de- gree, injuring our cause, seeing that my amendment is sure to be rejected.— With the highest consideration, & c., I have the honour to be, your very obedient servant, " STANHOPE." " Upper Brook- street, Feb. 1, 1843. " MY DEAR LORD— Although I quite agree with you and those with whom I have the pleasure of politically acting, in entertaining a firm conviction that the Corn- laws are amongst the most important and socially beneficient laws upon the Statute Book, I see with much regret the opposite opinion gaining ground ; and as it might damage tmy reputation with the working classes, if I were to take any open part in attempting to maintain what they are beginning to think injurious to their interests, I must beg lo be excused from attending your meeting to day.— I have the honour to be, my dear ord, your very obedient servant, " ASHLEY." It was evident that the reading of these letters did not at all tend to put the meeting into better humour than it was previously in. Long faces, and loud whisperings not very complimentary to the noble writers, nor very creditable to those who indulged in them, were seen and heard throughout the room. The Earl of Orkney said this was no time for humbugging. ( Cheers.) Their enemies were working hard against them, night and day, and he thought it was not very difficult to perceive that those who ought to be their friends, were not much indisposed to surrender. ( Hear, hear.) There had been cer- tain talk in high places, about the propriety of buying in the cheapest market, and selling in the dearest. Such doctrines were only fit to obtain currency amongst the wool- headed manufacturers of Lancashire and Yorkshire ( cheers), who now threatened to introduce free trade measures into Parliament. Why, such measures, if carried, would cut the landowners up, root and branch— Yes, said the noble lord, much excited— they would cut us all up as freely as the knife of the surgeon cuts up the carrion of humanity, which is spread before him on the anatomical table. ( Cheers.) But we will not give up our rights—( bravo!)— our power— our pounds—( tremendous cheering)— aye, our good sterling gold— without a resolute and determined struggle ( renewed cheers). One third of the agricultural property of Scotland has already gone to the winds, and if free trade comes, it will all go to the devil ( long continued applause). The noble lord concluded by proposing that no further conces- sions should be made to either the country or the Ministry, the measures of the last session being all that was compatible with the maintenance of the landed interest. Mr. George Bankes begged, in all humility, to second the resolution. He was, and always had been, for " no surrender," and although he did not blame those who voted for the measures of last session, in the conviction that they were the settlement of a great question, he should blame and denounce any who went further, upon any such plea. If they wished to succeed, they must take a leaf out of the book of the Anti- Gorn- law League, for although he detested the men, and abhorred their object, he must confess that they had laid their plans well ( hear, and murmurs). The motion was then put from the chair, and carried. Lords Kenyon and Clive, and Messrs. Acland and Start, and some others, refusing to vote one way or the other. The noble Chairman inquired whether there was any other proposition to be made to the meeting. The one just adopted was the only one that had been placed before him. The Duke of Buckingham said, before thanks were given to the noble chairman, for the able manner in which hejhad presided over them, he wished to introduce a subject, not properly, perhaps, but as it related to themselves they would not object ( hear, hear). He thanked them, and would not detain them long. The fact was, he regarded their triumph as certain ( cheers). The Ministers had certainly made a great blunder last Session, but they would now stand steady where they were, to maintain the ground on which the landed interest was placed, and not give way one jot further ( great cheering). In the full assurance that such would be the case, he had to pro- pose to them the propriety of opening a subscription for raising a monument to celebrate their triumph ( cheers). He had, in fact, already directed the attention of an eminent artist to the subject, and he had the pleasure of holding in his hand the design for such a monument ( long continued cheer- ing). He was no great judge of the fine arts himself, but he thought the design a most splendid thing, and he had no doubt it would be liberally sub- scribed for. [ Lord Mountcashel here left the room, and the design was handed up to the noble chairman, who exhibited it to the audience. Our artist, by some means unknown to ourselves as well as to those present, had obtained admission, and he has furnished us with the elaborate sketch of the design, which appears upon our first page.] Mr. J. W. Croker, who had entered the room during the discussion, re- quested permission to ask whether there did not seem to be a little partiality shown by the artist for his Buckinghamshire friends ? He did not say that that was a very strong objection to his design, but he, nevertheless, thought it would be preferable in any personification of the great interest which that monument was intended to do honour to, if the artist took as wide and general a view as possible. Undoubtedly the landowners of Buckinghamshire stood very high in public estimation, but they were not all in all. At all events, be thought that if they consented that a Buckinghamshire landlord, and the scions of his house, should sit for the portraiture of the glorious system they supported, they might take a horse from some other county. Let them have a horse that would step out, as a model, and the thing would become more animated and effective ( cheers). The Duke of Buckingham said he had no doubt that Mr. Croker was cor- rect in the view he had taken of the subject. That gentleman must be quite a judge of articles of virtu, from the great variety he was in the habit of meeting with, in the mansions of their departed and ever- to- be- lamented friend, the Marquis of Hertford ( sensation). He would not object to any- necessary alteration ( cheers). Mr. Ferrand begged permission to give his support to the motion of the noble Duke—( Cries of " Question! question!") What did they mean by " question!" It was true he was, not a lord, but—(" Question !" and uproar)— Why had he been invited, if he was to be a dumb dog there ? The noble Chairman explained that the hon. gentleman was a little out of order; the fact was, that there was no motion before the chair. The noble duke on his right hand had merely called attention to the subject of the pro- posed movement, it formed no part of the business of the day. Mr. Ferraatl thought he had not been fairly dealt with. The fact was, every body seemed disposed to interrupt himwhenhegotup to speak ( laughter). What were tbey laughing at ? It was no laughing matter. The eyes of the country were upon them. ( Cries of No, no! this is a private meeting.) Well, it might be so; but, as Mr. Shakspere said, walls had ears [" And so have donkeys," said Croker to Orkney] ; and they should be unanimous, or those scoundrels, the Leaguers, would be down upon them. He would stake his reputation— [ Here the meeting became convulsed with laughter, and all attempts on the part of the hon. gentleman to obtain a further hearing was utterly abortive. He sat down, making strange and violent gesticulations, and after the lapse of a few moments, left the room.] The Marquis of Londonderry regretted the uproar that had occurred. He thought it a great pity that gentlemen could not preserve their tempers, espe- cially on public questions. ( Laughter, and cries of hear.) He didu't under- stand that laugh ; he would not be bullied. ( Cries of Oh! oh!) He could not understand ( hear, and laughter)— he said, he could not understand—( exces- sive laughter). He repeated he—( hear! hear!)— He was not to be put down by clamour. By G— The noble Chairman begged that the noble marquis would be cool: great interests were at stake, and any indiscretion might do them irreparable mis- chief. He trusted that the meeting would listen with patience and forbearance to the noble marquis, who, he had no doubt, would subscribe liberally towards the intended monument. The Marquis of Londonderry said he had been grossly insulted, and he should do no such thing ; and thereupon he precipitately withdrew. The noble chairman was endeavouring, with all his might, to obtain a hearing for Mr. J. W. Croker, when the landlord rushed almost breathlessly into the room, and begged the gentlemen present to make off as fast as they could, for he had just received information that the police were on their way thither, to clear the place of the disorderlies. This intimation produced " a great consternation in the meeting, and in five minutes afterwards not a single was to be seen there. THE LANDLORDS IN A STEW. " DIVIDE AND CONQUER." Two great questions are now concurrently agitating the public mind— Free Trade and Parliamentary Reform. In the pursuit of these objects, an unfor- tunate misunderstanding has arisen between commercial and political re- formers, in which much bad temper and very little judgment have been dis- played. The oligarchy, well aware that a cordial co- operation between these parties would be fatal to their usurped authority, have assiduously fanned the flames of jealousy between them, and, to a certain extent, succeeded in their policy by retarding the triumph of both the principles sought to be estab- lished. But truth is now gaining the ascendancy over error, and the two sections of Reformers begin to see the wisdom of modifying their exclusive tactics, and combining their strength against the common enemy.—[ From the Sentinel, a new and well- conducted paper.] 3 T H E B R E A D BASKET. THE LANDOWNERS AND TIIE CORN- LAWS. We have received the following communication from a correspondent. We shall first give it, and then offer a few brief remarks upon it. " You are uncandid and unjust in stigmatising the proprietors of ' land' as ' cruel and oppressive monopolists ' monsters' who starve the ' poor' for their own per- sonal aggrandisement: this is not true. An investment in ' land' yields about four per cent, per annum, which is, according to my notions, a very moderate interest. " The principle of the ' Corn- laws' may be bad and impolitic ( I pronounce no opinion upon the subject), but the proprietors of ' land' certainly realise no larger interest upon the capital than the proprietors of ' bank stock,' or of cotton- mills. You may be justified in condemning the ' law,' but nothing can excuse your bitter and unfounded aspersions against the ' landed proprietors,' who are certairily quite as philanthropic and humane as the ' millocrats,' whose cause you so zealously ad- vocate. " I should like to know, upon good authority, at what price the best American wheat could be landed at Liverpool ? and what quantity we are likely to import, if a total repeal takes place ? If we imported 6,000,000 quarters, and gave manu- factured goods in exchange, to how many extra hands may it be presumed it would give employment, and for how long ? " What would be the effect of so large an importation upon our agricultural population ? Would they become more or less numerous ? Would our lands be more or less extensively cultivated! Can you give some practical illustration ? Would an increase of machine or manual labour confer the greatest boon upon the millions ? " Suppose 6,000,000 of quarters of wheat be represented in value by1 British manu- factures,' what proportion would the manual labour and wages bear in their two several productions ? If you will tolerate me, I have much to say upon the present uproar about the ' odious' and ' iniquitous Corn- laws,' as you are pleased to call them. A READER." We have not space to devote to anything like a detailed answer to our cor- respondent's letter. A brief running commentary is all we can afford by way of a reply :— 1. Our correspondent assigns the fact of " an investment in land yielding only about four per cent, per annum," as a prsof that " the proprietors of land are not cruel, and oppressive monopolists." But who does not see through his fallacy? A, possessed land, worth, say 10s. per acre, under natural prices; but his " order,'' having the legislative power in their hands, pass a law to double prices, and through that operation the market value of the land be- comes 20s. an acre. Having thus raised its market price, A sells his land to B, who pays for it accordingly, and makes, in all probability, no more than four percent, upon his purchase- money. A, represents the great body of landowners; B, one of those who have, unintentionally perhaps, aided them in those cruelly oppressive acts by which they have " starved the poor for their own aggrandisement," and if he is made to share in the odium and ulti- mate punishment of the great delinquents, he will only become subject to what every man should expect, who becomes a participator, in how small so- ever a degree, of the profits arising from oppression. It is no answer, either in law or morals, for the receiver of stolen goods to plead that he makes four per cent, only by his transaction with the thief. 2. " The proprietors of land realize no larger interest upon their capital than the proprietors of Bank- stock, or cotton- mills." This has been partly an- swered already. We may add ( 1) that the high profits realized during the latter part of the war by agriculturists, raised the rental of land from 20,000,000(. to 45,000,0000. As a necessary consequence, when the war ceased, and profits of all descriptions fell, the rental of the land would have fallen, in like manner as it had been raised by the converse operation. This was prevented, however, by the Corn- law of 1815, which enacted that the produce of the land should sell for double its natural price. " The proprietors of Bank- stock and of cotton- mills" were thus unjustly compelled to pay 25,000,000/. a year to the proprietors of land, beyond what they would have paid, but for the law which the proprietors of land themselves made. ( 2.) Whatever may be the profits or interest made by the proprietors of Bank- stock or of cotton- mills, they are only the profits or interest made by fair competition. These classes have no laws to limit their numbers, and thus secure to themselves monopoly interest or profits. 3. It is not necessary to determine the relative amount of humanity pos- sessed by the proprietors of land on the one hand, and of " millocrats" on the other. " Nor do we zealously advocate the cause" of the millocrats, as our correspondent alleges. We advocate no class interests, but, to the best of our power, oppose them. The interest we " zealously advocate," is the interest of the productive classes universally. 4. It was calculated, in the course of the debate on the Corn- laws, last session, that wheat imported from the five great agricultural States of Michigan, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio, could not be sold here at less than 43s. a quarter; hut if " A READER" will turn to our second number, in which we have given the prices- current of British, colonial, and foreign produce, at that time, i. e. the latter end of December, he will find that the prices of the best foreign wheat ranged from 29s. to 34s. per quarter, in bond. The prices of the best British wheat, at the same time, ranged from 48s. to 52s.; the differ- ence being from 53 to 65J per cent. 5. It is more difficult to speculate upon the quantity of American wheat that would be imported if a repeal of the Corn- laws took placc. Let us men- tion one fact. In the five states of Michigan, Mississippi, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio— states in which the people, from their position, habits, and circum- stauees, are much more inclined to agricultural than to manufacturing pur- suits, and will continue to be so, if they can find European markets for their pro- duce— the population was nearly 4,000,000 some time since, and, according to the past rate of increase, will be 6,000,000 iu 1850. Now, these 6,000,000 peo- ple would constitute a market for the sale of British manufactured goods, if we could but take their natural commodities, or some of them, in exchange. This i3 at present prevented by the Corn- laws. But why will our correspondent confine his views to America ? Is there not abundant official evidence of the fact, that the effect of the Corn- laws is to force many other countries, whose most natural and profitable pursuit is agriculture, into the adoption of manu- facturing processes, alike injurious to themselves and us ? It is not by the mere quantity of wheat that would probably be imported for home con- sumption, either from America or from the north of Europe, if the Corn- laws were repealed, that the evil of those laws is to be measured, but by the quan- tity that would probably be imported for home consumption and for exportation, conjointly. England would, in all probability, have a large and important carrying trade in grain, by which many thousands of her now starving popu- lation would be employed. 6. The agricultural population, as may be seen in their present condition, must, in the long run, prosper or decline with the manufacturing population. I f this prospers, so will that; if this is depressed and poor, so also must that become. When a people are prosperous, or " well to do," they consume a large amount of perishable commodities, that cannot be imported from distant countries; and if some lands now growing wheat ceased to grow wheat, because the cost would be too much, they would, at least in many cases, become more profitable than now by being converted into garden grounds. A READER wishes for " a practical illustration." He may find it, so far as it relates to an increased value being given to land by ceasing to use it for the growing of food, and the appropriation of it to other purposes, for which it was more naturally adapted, in the case of the Genoese territory. We will refer more particularly to this in a future number. 7. We do not clearly understand our correspondent's last question. If, as we conjecture, he wishes us to say which would absorb most labour, the produc- tion of six millions of quarters of wheat, or the production of such a quantity of British manufactures as would equal them in value; we answer, the manu- factures. But what if it were otherwise? Mere labour is not a thing to be desired for the working classes, but an adequate reward for labour; and all other things being as they ought to be, the working classes must par- ticipate in all the advantages to be derived from the most productive employ- ment of capital. 8. In conclusion, we beg to say, that as our object is to elicit facts and truths, we shall never object to hear what can be said on either side of a question. Our space is very limited, and we cannot, therefore, devote much of it to controversy with correspondents; but if A READER will be as brief and as pertinent to the question in future communications as in the one we have now placed before our readers, we cannot object to " tolerate" him, whenever he may feel disposed to give us a " Jobation." PARLIAMENTARY OPENINGS. Colonel Sibtliorpe said he could not understand— Mr. Ferrand said he was a simple member of that house— Sir James Graham said he felt some embarrassment— Mr. T. D. A eland said he would do anything— Mr. Bankes said, who'd drive fat oxen, should himself be fat. Mr. Borthwick said, that, to fortify himself against an attack, he would bor- row something from the hon. gentleman's— Sir Edward Knatchbull said he was unable to conceive— Mr. J. Fielden said he felt himself to be very much out of his place— Mr. Dickinson said he was quite ready to go over— Mr. Liddell said he did not think that he should prove himself a true re- presentative of the people— Sir Robert Peel said he would undertake the part of— \ THE MONEY TEST, To the unutterable confusion of the false prophets who declared their con- viction that the 50,000/. demanded of the country by the League, never could or would be collected, it was announced at the great Manchester meeting, the other day, that forty- two thousand pounds had been already received. More, much more, may, and we believe will, be contributed, but that sum is collected. There is no speculation about the matter; the money has been subscribed. It. turns out, therefore, that the money- test, by which the pretensions of the League were to be overthrown, has only established them the more firmly. Nobody knows better what is to be done by money than the monopolists. Often has its power been tried in upholding a bad cause, and from long expe- rience the power of the pocket has, in Conservative estimation, come to be regarded as the most potent of all. The monopolists have already had some experience of its effects, when skilfully applied against them, and sanguine as their expectations might have been that the funds would fail, and that the League was playing a losing game on the all- important point of finances, even this miserable consolation is now wanting. Truly mortifying, certainly, it must be to the lovers of monopoly to find that the League has so much money at command, and knows, too, how to use it so well. They, of all men, can well understand that the money employed in demonstrating the iniquity of the corn- laws is not thrown away. The state of the country is the best of all commen- taries on the Corn- laws. The strongholds of the enemy cannot always resist the battery directed against them, especially as the advocates of the starvation- law have not even a monopoly of money- power. As regards both currency and Corn- laws, their prospects are as dismal as can well be imagined. LANDLORDS AND TRADERS. What strange infatuation in some minds arise ! Why should the farmer manufacturers despise ? Why should not each pursue his course in peace ? Because it would infringe the landlords' lease, Destroy his bad privilege the poor to fleece. PEKL'S CORN- PLASTER. The next patent medicine we would draw our readers' attention to is the celebrated Corn- plaster, which, without being constructed on exactly the same principle as the former, is equally ingenious and satisfactory, and proposes to set the whole nation on its legs, to restore a vigour to its understanding, and to awaken its crippled energies to a lively state of unrestricted freedom. But this turns out to be, like the latter— an extracter, and both are admirably cal- culated to raise funds and hopes in the same ratio; the public, however, ob- taining only the benefit of the latter.— From the What- Not.. 4 THE B R E A D BASKET. HOW THE CORN- LAWS AFFECT THE WORKING CLASSES. Mr. M'Culloch has shewn that the wages of the working people employed in the cotton manufacture amount to 62 per cent, of the entire cost of the articles produced. Earl Fitzwilliam, in his admirable " Address to the Land- owners of England on the Corn- laws," calculates that— " la the manufacture of fine woollen cloth, the wages paid by the manufacturer amount to about ( JO per cent, upon the total expenditure incurred between the purchase of wool in the foreign port and the period when the cloth is in a state fit for sale ; in the manufacture of linen yarn the corresponding expenditure in wages is about 48 per cent.; in the manufacture of earthenware the wages amount to about 40 per cent.; in the manufacture of pig iron the expense of the labour upon the various ingredients employed amounts to no less than 81 per cent., and in its subsequent conversion into bar iron to 84 per cent. In the working of col- lieriesi the expenses are almost entirely resolvable into labour; and iu cases within my OWD knowledge, the wages actually paid exceed 90 per cent, upon the current expenditure. In the different branches of the steel manufacture, the following may be stated as the proportions per cent, which materials and wages bear'Jo each other:— In Files ( coarse) .... Material 50 Wages 50 per cent. „ 7b „ .. 65 » „ 90 „ „ 35 „ „ 96 „ Ditto ( finer) 25 Table Knives and Forks . . „ 35 Razors ,, 10 Scissors ( coarse) .... ,, 15 Ditto ( fine) „ 4 " Great as is the proportion which wages bear to the direct cost of manufactur- ing these articles, it must never be forgotten that by far the greater part of the price of the materials itself consists of wages, and, consequently, that almosc the entire value of our steel goods may be said to consist of the wages of labour." Earl Fitzwilliam then shows, by a train of logic as accurate as it is close and striking, how perniciously dear bread must operate on manufacturers so situated:— " High wages, when they are the result of dear provisions, not of a growing demand for labour, must ultimately tell upon commercial prosperity. Dear pro- visions must indeed produce one of the following effects— they must either lower the condition of the labourer, or raise the rate of wages. Nobody can wish the former result— you must, therefore, wish high wages to be the result of dear corn — but if wages are high, the price of goods must be high— but if the price of goods be high our manufacturers cannot compete with foreigners— but if they cannot com- pete with foreigners, our export trade is diminished— if our export trade is dimi- nished, the prosperity of our manufacturing population is undermined— if their pros- perity is undermined, they will consume fewer provisions. The demand for agri- cultural produce in the manufacturing counties will be restricted— the surplus produce will remain in the hands of the farmer, and the ultimate result will be a fall of rents, occasioned, be it remembered, by an attempt to raise them. Let this sink deep into your minds." Here is the whole argument within the smallest compass. Let it sink deep into your minds, manufacturers ! POLITICS AND CRIBBAGE. The political campaign, as it is called, is just opened. Parliament met last week, and its proceedings will be watched with more than the usual . amount of interest. Whether anything to alleviate the distress that pervades all classes of society ( the privileged few alone excepted) will be attempted, or whether it will pass its time in the weaving and unweaving of platitudes ( like Penelope's web), remains to be seen. War has often been compared to the game of chess. Politics, as they are managed in this country, resemble that of cribbage; the antagonist parties being Whig and Tory, and the stakes the loaves and fishes. A third party ( the Radicals) are sometimes invited to joiri in, but then the other two invariably coalesce, and these last are compelled to stand out, to watch the game and prevent cheating. The shuffling done, they cut for deal ( or the choice of Speaker), and the Outs are allowed to advance three holes, which are Patriotism, Virtue, and Economy, to counterbalance the loss of Place, Power, and Patronage. The first show at cribbage is often, like the first blow in a pugilistic encounter, decisive of the contest. They then pro- ceed to peg away ( the pegs being Money- Bills and Taxes); and by the anxiety of both parties to stick it in as much as possible, it is evident that the board is an apt type of John Bull. A foreign conquest may be termed a flush, and a series of thein, with a good stroke of diplomacy, a lung flush and sequence. On tripping up a Minister they always take two for his heeh, and on ousting him from office, never fail in SCORING ONE FOR HIS NOB. POLITICAL ARITHMETIC. IIow far is the Repeal of the Corn- laws from its consummation ? Deduct Buckingham from Peel, then add one half of the Conservatives to Lord John Russell, multiply the whole by Cobden, and the answer will be— a League.' Note. In this rule two Parliamentary Sessions are equal to three miles, and three miles are a league, long measure. THE NEW AMERICAN TARIFF. The new American tariff came into operation on the 30th of August last. On the 30th of September, when the returns of the Treasury department were made up, its operation on commerce is shown to have been most un- favourable ; the revenue for the quarter ending that date, compared with that preceding of the same year, or with the corresponding quarters of previous years, exhibits a considerable falling off. By a letter from Philadelphia we learn that several cotton mills have lowered their wages 20 percent. A num- ber of the girls employed at Lowell have left in consequence. What a com- mentary on the high ' tariff! To pass that, everything was promised to the operatives, who now complain that their wages are being lowered all over the country, as both operatives and agricultural labourers do here. Thus it is, that any attempt to force capital and labour out of their natural channels, whether those channels be agriculture, as in America, or manufactures, as in England, is sure to produce the most mischievous consequences. A DIALOGUE. AMERICAN— Well, Bull, what have you got for dinner to- day ? ENGLISHMAN— That's a difficult question to answer. I've the choicest lot of home made saucepans possible— Sheffield cutlery and Staffordshire crockery in abundance— in fact, I want nothing in the world but the corn and the flesh- meat. But yon seem pretty well off in those respects— eh ? AMERICAN— Oh, yes; I've more than is necessary for myself; w . at do you say to an exchange? I'm short of the utensils, and I'll barter with you, having plenty of the victuals. ENGLISHMAN— Ah, I would, with all my heart; but don't you see this infernal gulf which separates us ? AMERICAN— That's a poser ! Well, I must see whether I cannot make saucepans and knives for myself. I shall find myself awkward at it, and would rather take them of you ; but if you cannot supply me— why, I must do the best I can. THE LORD OF THE SOIL AND HIS FAMINE LAW. The lord of the soil, in his coat of red, Hunts the hare o'er field and moor ; He laughs at a nation's cry for bread. And mocks the misery of the poor : He feeds his dogs on a better fare Than falls to the lot of the lowly born ; He is cruel— unjust— for his only care Is to keep up the cursed tax on corn. He treats with contempt his country's fate, Is blind to its wailings— deaf to its doom; He looks with scorn, or unnatural hate, On the famishing millions that ply at the loom. The opponent of Commerce, old England's pride, That sends forth its produce afar o'er the sea, His selfishness prompts him with scorn to deride The prayer of the people that trade may be free; He exults in his power, as lord of the soil, While he revels in luxury, ease, and repose, And the honest, industrious, poor sons of toil Are made by his actions his bitterest foes. Oh, madness in man, be he king, duke, or lord, To refuse the demands of age, manhood, and youth— To put his trust only in cannon and sword, Renouncing all reason, and justice, and truth ! None can honour the man who a law would defend That engenders gaunt Famine, Starvation, and Strife, That brings many poor to an untimely end- That robs the industrious of bread and of life— That rests like a blight and a curse on the land, And mars all the efforts of commerce and trade ; That forbids, with a haughty, unholy command, The exchange of the produce of shuttle and spade. ' Tis the worst of monopolies, grievous, and great, Cruel, unnatural, foul, and unwise, Debasing the people, destroying the state, And sinfully stopping fair Nature's supplies. But Britons will never abate in their zeal Till the law and the landowner suffer defeat; Their banner is Justice, their watchword REPEAL— Repeal of the tax on the bread that they eat. JAMES SALISBURY. Manchester. PEEL'S PILL. This elegant, speedy, and efficacious medicine— the greatest panacea of this great age— is well worthy the attention of the public. It is composed on the true principles of political Homoeopathy, and professes to cure the last stage of consumption into which the body politic has fallen, by a tax of 3 per cent, upon all available property. THE GREAT QUESTION PUT INTO A NUT SHELL. TO CORRESPONDENTS. The Second Part of the BREAD BASKET is now ready. T. S.— We did not omit to do what T. S. suggests we should have done. Mr. George Cmikshank's letterwuspublished in theTimesand the Chronicle; and we immediately addressed a short note to the editor of each paper, stating that, although Mr. Cmikshank was justified in saying he was in no way connected with the BBKAD- BASKF. T, we also were justified in announcing that the B. B. con- tained illustrations by his hand, inasmuch as six of them, which have already appeared, were executed by Mr. ( i. Crttikshank, although intended for another work, hut though the Times and the. Chronicle published the artist's repudiation, they refused to publish our justification. Yet they are just now standing up for the high honour and dignity of journalists ! A Repealer.— The idea is a good one. Our correspondent says, " 1 think much good might be done if some of our poets would try their hands at some spirit- stirring songs, in favour of a repeal of the Corn- laws, liemembering their power in times when physical force has been used to decide • momentous questions, may it. not be fairly argued that they would have greater power where moral force is called into action, as in the struggle now going on ? If nothing quite original can be attained, I think, at least, it will require no very great effort to imitate some of our national songs." B. S. ( Manchester.)— The lines do not come up to our standard. J. O.— It does not fall within our province to review books. We are glad to meet with so pleasant a coadjutor in the war upon monopoly as The What- Not. To adopt part of its own motto—" Much that is great and excellent will we perform together yet," In consequence of the length of most of our articles this week, we are compelled to omit A Word with the Working Classes London: Printed and Published by GEORGK PEIRCE, at the Office, 310, Strand, in the pariah of Clement Danes.— Saturday, February 11th, 1843,