STATE OF THE . COUNTRY.—thiS is a topic which has figured
at greater length in the House of Lords this• week, than in either Kent or Sussex. What is denominated an "official" notioe—that is, we suppose, a notice from the Hue and Cry—has-appeared, in which a man is de- scribed as having beet' seen on Tuesday last :week in the act of setting fire to a stack near Cambridge. We regret very much that this ruffian was not caught, as Well as seen, flagrante deuce°. He is described as about 5 feet 10 inches high, prominent nose, large sandy features, and fifty or sixty years of age. A gig was waiting for him, when discovered, into which he got, and drove off. There have been fires in various parts Of the conntry, *some wanton, some accidental. At Leek—by one of the latter description, as is charitably supposed—the extensive silk- manufactory of John Wreford, Esq. Aldermanbury, was burned to the ground, on Tuesday last. At Stratford, in Essex' a publie.house called the Three Pigeons was burned to the ground, on Wednesday : this fire also is supposed to have been accidental. At Maidenhead. in Berks, on Wednesday afternoon, and at Denton, near Oxford, on Friday last week, . two stack-yards have been fired—there is every reason to believe, pnr- ;.pOsely. Similar atrocities have been perpetrated at Deddington in the ,same county, where the farm-yard and buildings of Mr. Lovedren,.at ;Iieinalar, were consumed last week; andi,,at•;,i1o.ong Eaton, Derbyshire; where the basis yard wasp destrayieff.' ilfatlyieat OLuey, Bneks, so well .knOwn'to all England through the 'lead*, efoCotaper's verse, a 'cow-house and two cottages have been burned dows-4thisxanks ainongthe doubt- .fut cases. We lament these crimes WirEe,-we record thern.;. but we re. Joice that they are not more mimerotis than-they are. - In addition to the operations of the arrow that flies unseen, there have been some (not many) instances of the plague that walks by noon-day. There were 'sixteen persons lodged- in Gloucester gaol on Saturday, charged with a riot at Tetbury. The-origin of .the• riot was the hiring of a thrashing-machine by an individual in that town. The mob Seized the machine while On its journey, near Newton, broke it to pieces and - burnt it ; they destroyed a number of, thrashing-machilies at different places during the course of the day. At length the night, in which people cannot even work the work of destruction, put an end to the riot ; the party retired to a public-house on Tetbury Common, most appropri- ately named , Trouble House, and there they were surrounded, and twenty-three of them taken prisoners,—sixteen 9f. whom„ is we have stated, have been lodged in Gloucester gaol. Simultaneously. with these proceedings near Tetbury, a number of persons assembled in the neighboiirhood of Fairfield ; where, in the course of Friday and Saturday, not less than twenty machines were destroyed. The Bailie system was attempted' to be followed on Monday; but on that day the mob was attacked by the Honourable Mr. Moreton, and routed, and twenty-one captured and committed.- The Inquest Jury which sat.on the man who was shot at.Pyt House on the 27th ult., have very properly returned a verdict of "justifiable homicide." The Government have 'issued a very proper and judicious circular, with which We shall 'close our summary. Nothing can be more ridieu- lous and unjustifiable than the conduct it condemns; .nothing more Mo- derate and sound than the terms of the condemnation.
"Whitehall, 8th Dec. 183d.
" Sir—I am commanded by his Majesty-to lose no time in adquaintiog you, that it has been observed, with great regret, that the JnsticeS, of Peace and others have in many instances, under the influence of threats and-intimidation, and the apprehension.of violence and- outrage, advised the establishment of an uniform rate of wages to be paid for labour in their respective neighbourhoods, and have also, front the same mtitives,•• in many-instances recommended the diseentinuance of the employment of machines used for thrashing out corn, and for other purposes; "Reason and experience concur-in proving that a compliance with demands so unreasonable in themselves, and urged in such a manner, can . only lead, and probably within a very short period of time, to the most disastrous 'results; and that the tranquillity which is obtained by c.oncet- Shins grounded upon principles so errotieona, is likely to' be of very tran- sient duration. . • "The Justices of Peace must be aware; that they are invested with no - general legal authority to settle the amount of the wages of labont ; and - any interference . in such a metteV can only have the effect of exciting expectations which must be disappointed; and of Ultimately producing, in an aggravated degree, a renewed spirit of discontent and insubordi- nation- . `:,17pOn the second point, it ip only neeeatary observe...tlist these- alicbibes are asinach emitted to-the protection of the 1a:teasel;an,2ther description of property ; and that the course *Ma- lies 'bcen'ISkflS,"cif
••• peescribinror recommendingthesdiscontinnance ef them, is, in fact, to connive at, or rather to assist in the esteblislinient of a tiratiriy.'of 'the most oppressive character. - L" His Majesty's Government are fully sensible that allowance is to be made for the new and difficult 'circumstances in Which Magistrates have been placed by the recent disturbances which have occurred in various parts of the kingdom; but Under no difficulty, nor in any extremity, ought principles so contrary to the general interests of the community, and-so injurious more especially to the welfare of those who have been deluded into the commission of these offences, to be recognized, still less to he -sanctioned by persons in authority, whose duty it is at all hazards to maintain the authority of the law, and to secure the liberty of the subject. "His Majesty's Government feel deeply for the sufferings and priva- tions which have of late years pressed, and still continue to press se- verely, upon the labouring classes of the community. They are anxious to adopt, as speedily as possible, every practicable and reasonable measure for their alleviation; but they are also entirely convinced that these sufferings will only be increased and protracted by a course of con- cession to violence and tumult. "It is my duty, therefore, to recommend, in the strongest manner, that for the future all Justices of Peace, and other Magistrates, will oppose a firm resistance to all demands of the nature above described, more espe- cially when accompanied with violence and menace.; and that they will deem it their duty to maintain and uphold the rights of property, of every description, against violence and aggression. "I havethe honour to be, Sir, your obedient servant,
"MELBOURNE."
It is a curious and instructive fact, that several persons in Kent, who a few weeks ago refused to net as special constables, have since the change of Ministers, come voluntarily forward to proffer their services as such: They are most .Willitig, they say, to aid in preserving the peace, for they feel assured that Ministers will do all they can to re- move the causes of the disturbances.
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