CHAP. 1829. 17. riots in many places. This lamentable fall in the wages of labour was soon attended by its usual consequence-a variety of outbreaks and disturbances in the districts which were more imme Serious diately affected. Constrained by the general fall in the price of their produce to lessen the cost of production, the masters everywhere lowered the wages of their workmen, and this immediately gave rise to strikes and disturbances. A general strike took place at Macclesfield, and the delegates from Spitalfields openly recommended the destruction of looms by cutting out the silk. Ignorant of the real cause of their suffering, the whole vengeance of the workmen was directed against the enginelooms, the visible rival of their labour and the supposed source of their distress. The delegates assured them "the destroying angel was the best ally they had;" nor were they long of acting upon the advice. At Coventry, Nuneaton, and Bedworth, serious riots took place; and such was the terror produced by the violence of the workmen, that the masters generally gave in for a time to their demands. They soon found it impossible, however, at existing prices, to go on with such wages, and a reduction again took place. Upon this riots again ensued; and they were particularly violent at Barnsley in Yorkshire, where the combined workmen attacked the dwelling houses of the obnoxious manufacturers, and deliberately piled their furniture in great heaps, to which they set fire. The workmen who had taken in work at the reduced prices were next assailed; and such was the alarm produced by this " reign of terror," as it was 1 Ann. Reg. called, that they were compelled to return the materials 133; Mar they had received from their masters and join the strike. 539, 540. Nor were the disorders terminated but by the introduction of a large body of military.1 1829, 132, tineau, i. Ireland, being a purely agricultural country, in which it was impossible by the introduction of machinery to counterbalance the reduction in the price of produceand the people being already at the starving point XXII. 1829. 18. land, where commenced. shared to a still greater degree in these causes of suffer- CHAP. ing, and the agitators were not slow in turning it to the best account. It soon appeared that emancipation had done nothing to conciliate the Catholics or heal the divi- And in Iresions of the country; it had only given the leaders a the agitavantage-ground from whence to make fresh attacks on tion for the the constitution, and the people an example of the success the Union which might be attained by well-organised agitation. Mr O'Connell had often declared, before the Relief Bill passed, that "Catholic emancipation would convert the great agitator into a mere nisi prius lawyer;" but when it was obtained, instead of keeping his word he immediately commenced a fresh agitation for the repeal of the Union. In this crusade he constantly referred to the carrying of the Relief Bill, not as a reason for pacification or a motive to gratitude, but as an incentive to renewed efforts and still more vital changes. "We have now," said he, at Youghal, "a brighter era opened to us, and I trust that all classes of my countrymen will unite together, and, by forming one firm general phalanx, achieve what is still wanting to make Ireland what it ought to be. Ireland had her 1782-she shall have another 1782. Let no man tell me it is useless to look for a repeal of the odious Union, that blot upon our national character. It is for the repeal of that measure that we must now use all the constitutional means in our power. That Union engenders absenteeism and all the thousand evils which naturally flow in its train. I want no disseveration; but I want, and must have, a repeal of that cursed measure which deprived Ireland of her senate, and thereby rendered her a dependant upon British aristocracy, British intrigue, and British interests. I pity the man who pronounces the attainment of such a consummation to be Utopian. Look at the Catholic question: do I not remember when it was difficult to obtain a meeting of five Catholics to look for a restoration of our then withheld rights? I recollect when we agitators CHAP. 1829. were almost as much execrated by our fellow-slaves as we were by our oppressors. The contentions of religion are over, freedom has been obtained, but the people shall no longer be misrepresented; what has been done in one country shall be done in another; and all the Orangemen of the north, the Methodists of the south, shall join in one common cause, the restoration of Ireland's parliament. The new Society 1782' shall be formed, nor cease to spread its influence over Ireland till her parliament be restored, her sons be of one 1829, 127. creed, all joined in the common cause of seeing old Ireland great and glorious among the nations of Europe." 1 The Catholics were not slow in acting upon these reSerious riots commendations, nor were the Protestants less eager in Protestants meeting the shouts of triumph by the notes of defiance. and Catho- Then was seen how deadly was the animosity of the two 1 Ann. Reg. 19. between lics in Ire land. creeds, and how vain the hope that a measure of equal XXII. 1830. killed, and seven wounded. Catholics to the number of CHAP. some thousands formed an encampment on Benauglen mountain, to which reinforcements speedily poured in from the adjoining counties of Leitrim, Cavan, and Monaghan, in which the presence of a large body of military alone prevented civil war from openly breaking out; while in Tipperary the disturbances came to such a pass, that at a numerous meeting of the magistracy, held in the middle of September, it was unanimously resolved to memorialise the Government to renew the Insurrection Act, to pass an Arms Act, rendering the possession of them a trans-Ann. Reg. portable offence, and to multiply the number of military 131; Marposts through the country, as the only means of averting 540. open rebellion.1 1829, 129, tineau, i. 20. Parliament. It was amidst these scenes of distress and disorder that Parliament met in the beginning of February, and the Meeting of speech from the throne bore testimony to the general Feb. 4, suffering which prevailed. His Majesty stated" that 1830. the exports in the last year of British produce and manufactures had exceeded that of any former year. He laments that, notwithstanding this indication of an active commerce, distress should prevail among the agricultural and manufacturing classes in some parts of the United Kingdom. It would be most gratifying to the paternal feelings of his Majesty to be enabled to propose for your consideration measures calculated to remove the difficulties of any portion of his subjects, and at the same time compatible with the general interests of his people. Though the national income in the last year has not attained the full amount at which it had been estimated, the diminution is not such as to cause any doubt as to the future prosperity of the revenue. The estimates have been framed with the utmost regard to economy, and his Majesty hopes to be able to make a considerable reduction in the amount of the public expenditure, without impairing the efficiency of our naval and military establishments." These words are very remarkable, for they at once indi XXII. 1830. CHAP. cate the cause of past suffering, and the necessities which were to prescribe future policy. An augmentation beyond all former precedent of exports was attended with financial embarrassment and general distress, which compelled the most rigid economy! Inconsistent as these things may appear, they are not so in reality, and subsequent experience has proved that they are often cause and effect. Pecuniary embarrassment, arising from a general fall of prices, often leads for a time to an increase of production, in the hope of compensating by quantity what has become awanting in price; and a great increase in the amount of produce arises from the very difficulties of those engaged in the work of production.1 1 Parl. Deb. xxii. 2, 3; Ann. Reg. 1830, 5, 6. 21. debate on the public distress in of Lords. The debate which ensued on the Address was still more Interesting characteristic of the state of the country, and the lamentable consequences of the contraction of the currency, and the House consequent prostration of industry, which was destined, ere long, to produce such great and lasting effects on its future destinies. No one attempted to deny the existence of great and severe distress; the only question was, whether it was partial or universal. Earl Stanhope, who moved the amendment in the House of Lords, maintained the latter. "The speech from the throne," said he, spoke of distress in some parts of the country; but what part of the country was it in which Ministers had not found distress prevailing, and that, too, general, not partial? The kingdom is in a state of universal distress-one likely to be unequalled in its duration, as it is intolerable in its pressure, unless Parliament thinks fit to inquire for a remedy. It is not confined to agriculture, it has extended to manufactures, to trade, and to commerce. All these great interests had never before, at one time, been at so low an ebb, nor in a condition which demanded more loudly the prompt and energetic interference of Parliament. The speech ascribed the distress which was so universal to a bad harvest; but did a bad harvest make corn cheap? and yet it is the excessive reduction of prices |