ferred the greatest benefit on his country. He was the only man
in England who could have accomplished what he had done; and his
praise should be in proportion. It should, however, be at the same
time remembered, that if his service was great, his recompense had
been commensurate: they had repaid him in returns of confidence and
approbation; but the time was come when it would be necessary to do
much more. On a division the Marquis of Blandford's motion was lost by a
majority of ninety-six against eleven.

MOTION FOR A COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE HOUSE ON THE STATE OF THE NATION.

In the debate on the address Lord Stanhope gave notice that he should
on an early day bring the state of the country under their lordships'
notice, by a special motion. He did so on the 25th of February, by
moving that their lordships should resolve themselves into a committee
of the whole house on the state of the nation. The proposition on which
his lordship founded his motion was, that all the great productive
interests of the country were suffering under the pressure of
a distress the tendency of which was to go on increasing. Complaints and
applications for relief by the agriculturists, he said, had come up from
every county, and they had been disregarded, probably because they were
couched in respectful language. He said this, because recent experience
had shown that if they had formed illegal associations, collected funds,
and spoken to government in the language of intimidation, they would
have received attention. Of the reasonableness of their complaints
no man could doubt who knew their situation. Rents were paid from the
capital of the farmer; and numbers of tenants had already been driven
from their farms in bankruptcy and beggary. The capital of others, also,
was daily extorted from them to meet their current expenses; and when
that capital was exhausted they, too, must go forth ruined men. It had
been said, "Reduce your rents, and you will remove the mischief," But
this expedient had been tried, and had failed: rents had been reduced
fifty per cent.; but there were cases in which no rent could be paid. He
knew of one parish, for instance, in Sussex, where all the proceeds
of the land were not sufficient to maintain the poor; and neighbouring
parishes had been applied to to give them relief. If the existing state
of things was not speedily remedied, they must end in ruin and anarchy.
Nor, he continued, was the state of the manufa