it, and as wheat and other corn is not allowed to come into England from abroad without paying a very high duty to protect, as it is said, the English Landowner from the competition of the Landowners of Poland, Prussia, and America, it is no more than right that the Landowner should bear a great proportion of taxation; yet we see that upon looking at tables, that wheat has varied very much in price notwithstanding they have a fluctuating duty, in 1792 a quarter of eight bushels of wheat sold for 438., in 1800 for 1138., in 1801 for 118s., in 1803 for 56s., in 1810 for 1068., in 1812 for 1258., in 1822 for 438., in 1827 for 568., in 1840 for 80s., and this variation in the price of wheat, has no doubt been produced by the fluctuating duty to be paid for all wheat imported into England, which is as follows;

Whenever wheat is 628. per quarter of eight bushels and under 63s. in the markets as declared by an average of the prices of all sold at all the markets in England

Whenever 638. and under 64s. per qr.

وو

وو

دو

دو

وو

The duty to be paid for every quarter shall be

£. s.

d.

1

4 8

10

And whenever above 73s. per quarter

Now as by this mode of paying duty great inducements were held out to persons to speculate largely, and by selling from one to another on each market day large quantities of wheat at a nominal high price, to be purchased back again on the next market day, at a much higher nominal price, the wheat in fact never being really sold at all, the average prices which govern the duty are got up to above 73s. per quarter, and then hundreds of thousands of quarters of foreign wheat are liberated from bond at only one shilling per quarter duty. The revenue of the country is not materially benefited, and the growers of corn are seriously injured, as the holders of foreign corn, their speculation having been carried out, sell their corn which is very fine, and prevent the English grower from selling his, until prices have fallen by so much corn being in the market.

If therefore it is necessary to protect the English wheat grower by any duty, it should be a permanent fixed duty of a few shillings per quarter; and then it will not be worth while for the rich capitalists to speculate in buying up corn, and the prices would be more equal at all times.

CHAPTER VI.

WAX WORK-MADAME TUSSAUD.

Soon after our arrival in England we went to pay a visit to an exhibition of Wax-work Figures, in what was formerly a great horse and carriage bazaar in Baker Street, Portman Square, where there are a great many figures as large as life, dressed exactly in the costume that they are, or were, in the daily habit of wearing, and in all respects so exactly resembling living men, that when the room is crowded with visitors it is very difficult, at a very small distance, to distinguish the living real man from his waxen representative. Queen Victoria had been crowned as queen of England on the 28th of June, 1838, and in the centre of the room there was an exact representation of the group that actually surrounded her Majesty at the time. We have, since that time, had the honor and pleasure of seeing her Majesty, and we can bear testimony to the very strong likeness. A very venerable and good-looking old man, the Archbishop of Canterbury, who is the head of the English Church, is just about to place the

crown upon the head of the Queen. We are told his grace is a most correct likeness; and if we are any judges of human countenances he is and must be a very good man. He looks so placid, so humble, that if he is not one of the greatest of hypocrites, he is a man who, by example as well as precept, would teach people to live properly that they may die happily, and after death go to that place where good men, whether Parsees, Christians, Hindoos or Mahometans, will all be in a state of happiness superior to anything which we can have upon earth. Surrounding the Queen are-her good mother the Duchess of Kent; and if ever any individual ought to feel proud of a mother, Queen Victoria has reason to love, venerate and respect her mother. Although there did not appear much chance of her ever being sovereign, her prudent mother would not allow her to be made the stalking horse of any faction. She kept her aloof from every interference with public affairs, gave her a sound good practical education, directed her attention to a proper course of reading, and through her care and her sound discretion she was enabled, at eighteen years of age, to assume the sovereignty of England with a well informed and vigorous mind, and bids fair to prove the most popular individual that ever sat upon the British throne. How much, then, do the subjects of Queen Victoria owe to the Duchess of Kent for her wisdom

in thus rearing, thus fitting her daughter to assume with dignity, with discretion, and, better than all, with good sound common sense, the attributes and duties of a queen. Bearing the sword of state, near her Majesty's right hand, was her prime minister, Lord Melbourne; an exact representation of a good humouredlooking, kind English gentleman, possessing, perhaps, a countenance more representing frankness and candour than dignity. In the group is the Duke of Devonshire, one of the richest and most benevolent of the English nobility. The Queen's uncle, the Duke of Sussex, is also near her. He is very popular, mixing much in society, and presiding over meetings calculated to diffuse happiness and to encourage science. He was for many years President of the Royal Society, and is always happy when he can promote benevolent objects. The Duke of Wellington is also there; there is no mistaking his likeness; it is the very man himself. Yes, there stands the hero-the general-the commander, who, with his master mind and high courage, marched triumphantly even to the very capital of his renowned enemy, Napoleon Buonaparte; and who, in the quiet times of peace, has immortalized himself by removing from the people of Ireland that mark of degradation, which had previously been imprinted upon every man who chose to worship his God as a Roman Ca