Zbe pobinces.

The members of the Netherby Agricultural Association assembled On the 1; th instant, and were edified by an elaborate speech, chiefly on the Corn-laws and the harvest, by Sir James Graham-

" We have met together (he said) under various circumstances, and on many trying occasions. Sometimes you have partaken of my exultation on success, and on other occasions you have met me to console line under defeat ; but whether we have met under circumstances of prosperity or adversity, this com- mon tic has always united its—your prosperity is my prosperity, and your ad- versity is my adversity. At thc. present nunnent, there is a most abundant crop upon the ground, but there Is a erent difficulty in securing it. I do not wish to moralize, but I should not be doing, justice to my own feelings if I Wed to draw your attention for a. few moments to the awful circumetences in which we may possibly be placed. It is always my wish to exclude polities front this meeting, because I think they are the hone of associations of this nature ; and I trust that the tone of the rem-sack:1 I ant mibout to offer will not subject me to the charge of in!'ringingt lie rule vhiclm I profess a desire to have observed. I must declare that 1 Lave Inset. witli the deepest regret sentiments: of extreme violence tittered lately i mm many parts of the country. A. declara- tion was made of an intention to hold what was called a sacred month,' during which all labour was to be suspended. The thin: chosen far the execu- tion of this project was the commencement or hervest, for the avowed purrs,. of defeating the henry of Providence. Let me, my friends, call your attentiou to this remarkable circumstance. Never, perhaps, was there a year of greater promise than the present. I have travelled through the greater part of Eng- lamhand the South of Scotland, and never did. I see wore abundant crops on the ground. The declaration against working has been rescinded; the cultivator of the soil no loneer fears that his crops will spoil for want of reapers; the foolkh and wicked tlecree of man has prevailed not. But mark the stern de- cree of' Providence. The crops arc plenteous; the sickle is 1,repared, ;old the =pets are willing to work ; but the elements Kermit them from gathering in the ripened harvest. This is a striking, an awful warning I" Still, he hoped that irreparable injury lead not been done to the crops.—

" I hope that the hand which can destroy as well as give increase may yet be stayed; but I bare felt it roc duty to avail myselt oh' this opportunity of direct ingyour attention to considerations which have weighed heavily with me. I look upon the present state of the harvest as a striking warning, which I hope will not he thrown away upon the people of this country."

There was another circumstance connected with this topic, which he could not overlook-

" It is frequently urged that the maintenance of our domestic agriculture is a landlord's and not a tenant's question. 1. have always eiolearoured, itt the face of those who are the most powerful advocates of that opinion, to combat it. It is a mistake to suppose that a tenant would take land with the iuten- tion of being a permanent occupier of it, without expending, on time faith of his confidence tu the landlord, a large amount of private capital. It is in vain to say that the farmers might withdraw their capital from the land and embark it in other kinds of business. 'rime capital sunk iti agriculture cannot he with- drawn from it, more partieularly at a moment wfien the vet'y exi,tenee of domestic agriculture was threatened. What farmer would lay out his capital on allot% if he believed his landlord would eject him from it at the end of two or three years? And in like manner, who will be found to give a fair equivalent for the capital invested in land, if the Legislature should pass an act which would diminish the value of' the land's produce one-halt', If, by a rash and. sudden act of the Legislature, all protection should be withdrawn from the cultivators of the soil, and this great community rendered depengot on a Supply of foreign grain certain rum would await ihe great body of landlords; but their ruin would 1.:e insignificant in point of numbers and wealth, com- pared with that which would -fall upon the mass of the occupiers of the soil, and not upon them alone but upon the agricultural labourers. You all know by practical experience, flow small a proportion rent bears to the outgoings necesistry in the cultivation of land. The larger portion of those outgoings is expended in labour. Think what would become of those immediately dependent ou the cultivators of the soil, it' by a rash and sudden altera- tion of the law you should be compelled to cease employing them. A convulsion of' the whole social system would ensue, if an immense num- ber of agricultural labourers should be thrown into the market for ma- Ituflietering labour, thereby reducing the wages of those workmen now exelmisi voly occupied in that 'description of labour. Those who desired to try the experiment of depending upon a supply of foreign grain, have, to a certain extent, had their WW1 gratified. Last year there has been a great demand for foreign grain, owing to the deficiency of home produce. The people of this country have, by immense exertions, been able to import in the course of the last year, a larger quantity of foreign corn than has ever been imparted in any previous year. I fear that in the present veer a deficiency of the home produce will occur, and attain occasion a great demand for foreigo corn. Under these circumeances therefore, those who like the experiment to which I have just alluded—will Lee seen it tried on a large scale. I fear that it will be thund to be by 110 means consistent with nationa prosperity. But it may he s,tid this IS tt stulmlen &tumid, and that a different effect would follon if the deemed were constant and perpetual. We cannot command a series of seasons of abundance in this country. We know by fatal experience, that we have constantly two or tltree seasons together of an adverse character. Suppose that, foreign corn being. athnitted, a much smaller quantity was grown in. this country, (as would certainly be the case,)aud that a succession of bad seasons should render its whollj .entient on foreign supply, what woolt1 be the situation of our im- mense population of twenty-four millions crowded into the space of two nar- row islands, and looking for the supply of their daily bread, not only to Europe, but to all parts of the world? I believe that the whele civilized world would be inadequate to meet the extraonlinury demand which would arise under such

a..e..o ..le SCCIIC of dis- circumstances ; and that history could afferl. no var 11 I t

tress—to the strife of angry passions, which won): be calltal into play whea twenty-four millions of people, confined within our narrow limits, should be

reduceul to the extremity of want and actual falai:le. 1:, st roof; impression therefore is, that to domestic agriculture we nem,m, t•tati. for ,ecurity against hor-

rors which I cannot depict, but wi ich. must o .1.- , -r.v one as the neces- sary result of a real famine being experienced !., t!..es,• islands. f4";,•11 being my

opinions, I have always, since 1 entered into ! 'ic ' of l Ii 'a and duty, done mmmv ttit,,st to favour domest'e Imi every possible

manner, and to defend it from ell assaults. Th.•-., g.ateral opinions,

and I hays been aided by yeti in giving ti,ent. I have hami other objects of tuabil ion which at times call :• Lota on ; but to my

native estate—to icy own home—I always rettit.:1 with the ,n,t,t heartfelt joy. .11y chief pleasure is to improve the estate 1 Lulu's immbit'l'itri mmmii 1)1 doing so, I am certainly materially as,,isted by the most in ;last riott,t, the most trne-spiritetl,

and most homiest body of:cultivators of the it :ems ever been toy happiness to be acquaiuted with."

At a dinner following an agricultural emeiing at St. Albans, on Tues- day, Lord Verulam spoke despondingly iii tIme harvest— tie s'emeerely regretted that he could nut aongr:itut,le thCln, our the country

generally, upon the produce of the present eesen, which he feared would be a

Inuet um:propitious one : the harrist in /u !!1-'---he most districts of the oat s (1

stimaleee them to use their wiliest exertio:,s. • ilu p;:i shoulders actively to the mulleel, for by these means alone ,, . .•en hima to lemmetly time evil whiell time lementalmle deficiency imm thus year's Crop would otherwise produce.

The Duke of Buckingham met a party ef landowners and farmers of North iliteltinehanishire, at Brill, on 'e hursalay, end :miler dinner, deli-

mm speech on the state of politleal and. the necessity- of maintaining the Corn-laws. He dise;.to red strone"y of Mr. Clay's

appointment to the Secretaryship of the of Control; considering it a proof that Government iiitends to etioeff time Corn-laws- 1Ie condi not hut express his itedonisiitm.eit. Cid a ieenleman holding the

opiniees of 3Ir. Clay should he s,•leeted fbr slat i• t:t —It gentleman who

was the avowed it of the Core-lutes, and who, lied leen thrust conspicu-

ously forweed to endeavour to acct their rcocal. Soy!: ,•-a appointment ren- dered perfectly clett: the co/use which the ei;e: .1 -u etee ,1 te pursue towards the farmer. If there couldirtve beim any. ti ,.t -mc cm -I inut the subject

previewdy, none what: vet. ceuld exist 110`.r. upon those as- sei.O.:1;a1 ti stand by the s, which. , • t, ■,..!1 props of the

'e ioa ; for wit Irtut them no jtt,tioo e t•t ti,e labourers—they (-mid not be paid a proper amount of wake, :c ...odd. the farmer himself re- e...ive iitamineritiog pi.ice for his outlay of eapit..1 eel exertion.

.Mr. Dupre', warned the agrieulturists tityl the " humbug of a fixed duty." Ile was satisfied that ductuatieg •I‘l'iVS NV,...re best suited to the uncertain 5:2,1S0116 la this climate.