Star. — London, England, 1804-07-17 00:00:00

fie would fay a word or two on the real remedy of ' &he evil this Bill wog)d heal ; he world (hew, as he promifed, that the farmer might always have a liberal profit for his sawn, and that we need not go 'to foreign countries with millions of money, to pare chafe grain in years of reareity.' The fmall'flate of Geneva,"before'it belonged to the french, had gra varies with corn fur 4 - even or eight years confornp tjon. The apparatus by which it was preferved found, was ample. It was nothing more than four walls with the:ving chambers for the corn, and char coal in the centre. Corn thus dried, to a certain de gree, has been kept too years. He had got Come, kept that time, to make a trial of it, and never ate hater bread in' his life. Let Governno:nt buy the, corn when it is cheap, and lay up in granaries fuffi.. cleat for years of fcarcity. Farmers will thus have a motive to grow for the average confumption of corn, becaufe they will always have a fair profit and a file; many millions fent con of thi country for corn' will be kept at home, and the price of labour will be prevented from riling to that excels, which drives our manofaatwes from foreign markets. Without adopt iogthis policy. we may be (larva in a time of fear city, with fuch a man as Bonaparte to oppofe us.— Ile has only to buy up all the corn in foreign mar kets ; and this he may do, for price is nothing to him. Let us learn policy of other Bates. But if we will not, let us learn it of the bees and ants, whom inffina has taught to provide for a time of want, when they can retort only to their own times for fond. But go- vernment will rut only decline building granaries theinfeives. but they prevent others from noting corn. They would not permit the waxehoufing of it when it was demanded, not for Cale at home, but for (pecu lation to be fold abroad ; yet always forming a (tore that, in cafe of (catchy, might be permitted to be fold here. The people are taxed for the light, for their (hoes, for every neceffary, and to do what t To provide corn for a time of fcarcity t No ! To pay a premium for fending it out of the country, for in creafing its price, and incurring the hazard of fcar city. Ile j abfurdities of the Bill in its drawing up were enders. Whether the Committee did not chute tatell all they knew. when they talked of 30 millions being paid for corn imported in thirteen years, or it was their ignorance. he could not tell. Byt it was 54 millions that the importation of corn in 53 years had co& The Bill, in one part, refers to the schedule, as to a 'regulation about Barley, and the word Bar fey is not mentioned in the part referred to. The Monk bad beard of giants refrefhed—they who drew up this Bill mull have been refrefhed with Barley when they did fo. tt reran had been made legally to mean bifcults. They bad taken into their heads to fettle the relative value of Englifh and Irilh currency. They Ara declare that to be as :a to 13, and then they find that is to 53 is as 9 to 9; afterwards as 10 to aO. and then as ra to 16. and lathy as t 6 to 18. The Learned Lord on the Woolf's& could do teething with - this heap of abfurdities, with aphis irt gawky ; and if he could amend it, it would be kick ed out of the oilier Houle; and he would rather their Lordfhips had the honcur of kicking it oast. He would not compliment the Bill by the delicacy of poaponing . it till this day three months. He would Movethat st be immediately rejected. He implored their Lordthips not to purfue this meafure. Two ob . kiltions had been railed againft granaries for corn. They might be burned, it was laid, but he had invent * means that rendered that impoffibk, and it was oplnt to all the public. The expence of building gra- Itarips was another objeaion. He did not want Go. nernment to fell at alas, but at a (mall profit, which /knight be a re venue, and yet corn on the average be cheaper. Bcfides, let Government turn the barracks )tito granaries. There was no longerany tire for them. The fyftem of oixour be-yeard the law, and of making the pear& Aral, and the Miter deaf, was done with. The piople mild not be made dumb on the fubjeft of corn. The father, when he feel his wife dying for want, and his children crying for bread, cannot be dumb. And the Wier cannot now be made deaf, for, thank Goo, the people themfelves are now fol.' dims. His Lordthip concluded with moving, that all the words after o be " Iboald be left out, and the word " rejefted " inferred. Lord HAW KESIII.I KY would not take up much of their Lordlbips' time, hut he trolled that they would jodulge him in making a few obfervations on what fell from the Noble Earl. Much Cf what he bad ad dreffed to their Lordfhips' was wholly irrelevant to the Bill bel' re them, and it would neither be proper in Min, or reffieelful to their Lordffiips, to follow the Noble Earl through many of the topics that he bad fo unnecelfarily introduced, and the mention of Which he was convinced was not calculated to afford great fatisfaathit to many Noble Lords who heard him. The Noble Earl had appeared diffirofed to hear Iris fentiments on the Bill, before he had commenced the very extraordinary fpeech which he had kilt concluded. Had the meafure now before the Houfe been originally introduced or recommended by the Government, he would have thought it his duty, or that of thine of the Noble Lords around him, his colleagues in office. to explain the principles and rounds upon which they propofed it. bat when it was a meafure growing out of a common and ge neral intereff, which many per bal. of gr i a t re ep e na• bility in another Moire telt upon the fulrjea, he did not think that it could with decency be required of . him to give any futther fupport to it, than what was due from him as an individual in the Legiflature, to the principles of a meafure that he approved. His I.nrdfhip would not then go into any examination of wham be knew come of the molt refpeftable and en o g litened men in the country maintained, namely, tit it would be wirer in the Legiflature to abflain • from all legillation upon the article of corn, and to leave the trade refpeaing it as free as it was in any other commodity. He Kith knew many intelligent men who maintained the contrary politics's, and in filled upon the necellity of the principle of regulation. He would not venture to give, at that moment, any opinion upon Cu difficult and important a queflion, but content hinifelf with briefly awing the objects of the MI as they appeared to him. The great object of the Bill was bra to render the pi ices of corn Beady. and to counterall, as far as Icgiflaiion could Oka it, the dangers and inconveniences of frequent flunuation ; that was one objelt of the Bill. The next was to encourage agricolture, by adopting filch TileafereS as may afford the farmer an opportunity of niat aining a fair rftifit tar his lah•mr and his capi tal. Then LereUlops, from recent experience, mutt he deeply im pre ffed 'with the great difathrarinsges atf ling from ellaUlitloll3S, which, in the courfe of a few years, revaikod to the estorm , ois difpropottiOn orbs" Cween 4 3 , and Y . 56 .the pricei of the quarter of corn at two periods. The belt fecurity that the tvontry i could hus akainfl 'famine, l a ying . out 'or ionadera tion the accidents of feafons, againft which hOMmt precaution was or no avail. , was to entourage, the farmer to cultitlate as much of the foil as be cpald. Hite had ad opport'utilty of difpokg of that fuselsta produce which he drew from bis farm in ,a mug' abundanie, the cortfettucncesroulintltat lisrll4 not cultivate to tile came extent the easi-psiv. yrtd thus out of plenty wobld: l atifetbw . coo, or fcaticEty.,. 'TR presets' the pollibliiectirreeese eta*: e'ilimities was the real ohjea of the pill, and not, as the liable Earl hati Iteted, tivaile the price of tern by creating an iniinihnal and artificial fcmcity. As ' to the Noble Earl's idea of eflabliqtfng wmehonfes. as he bad not gone diffidently intosheiletaili of Isis plan, it was idrofrible o for him either to difagree or coincide with him. bly furl a - fyßem aright have been advantageotiffi employed in Geneva, in Swit zerland, in Holland, tar in other fmall Hates, but he was apprehersfive it would not anfwer in a country potTeffing the wealth and population of England. It was propofed by the Bill, that, a bounty thould be granted on the exportation of coro i when t h e a verage price of it fhould be unreafonably low ; that the ex portation of it (honk] be permitted, when the average price even became higher ; but that whenever it Ihould attain a certain pt ice, which was confidered as tending to fcarcity ' then exportation fhould be ab folutely prohibited. Again, whenever it lhould get up to that price, importation fhould be permitted. By thole regulations, it was to be hoped that the prices would be kept tolerably Ready; that great fluelua tions would be' preMstted ; that the farmer would have a reafonable chance for a fair profit upon his in. dullry ; and that agriculture would be encouragedt which experience had (hewn to be the belt fecurity againft fcarcity. The prefent was not the time to' chiliad, our whole internal fyftem, and to make in novations upon the corn laws; which, whether wifely or not he would not then debate, had grown up within the lag hundred years. and were confidercd by many as the immediate caufe of the.national prof perky. His Lordfhip then combated fuccefsfully the argument of the Noble Earl, that fcarcity had been produced by the wars in which the country bad been engaged, and proved, by a reference to the re port of, the Committee,, that the average prices of corn, for the lag thirty. years. were not greater in time of war than in the eorrcfponding years of peace. His LordOsip concluded, 'by "voting for the fecond reading of the Bill. which he regarded as a molt im portant improvement upon the fyllem of laws for the regulation of the corn trade. Marl STANHOPE (aid, he would not by the roisficl-abont way move as 'an amendment that this Bißbe read a (mind time this day three months, but fuels was his abhorrence of it, that he would move Writ be related. rie.i.olU) CHANCELLOR faid, he did not fee how thia - qualion could be put without moving that the Other words be left out. Earl STANHOPE (aid, there were two ways of making an amendment, which he could (hog, from the Journals of the Houfe, he hadantecedently proved. The one was by leaving out words for the purpole of inferting others; the other by inferting words in or-1 der that others might be left nut. He moved there fore, that the word " related" be inferted after the word " be." The LORD CHANCELLOR Paid he now no-- 1 1 derllood the meaning of the Noble Lord, and read ' the quellion as moved. The Bithop of ST. ASAPH then rote, and (poke to the following purport :—" My Lords, I am one' of thofe who think we have been induced to legiflate further in the cafe of corn than is conßßent with true policy, or calculated to promote the real interefts of the community. I think that the legiflature would in this cafe, as in all others which concern matters of trade, sat mitt wifely by leaving corn, like all other articles, to find its own level. The only difference lies between the two extremes of very low and very high prices. In the latter cafe, the lower claire' a the people (offer extremely ; in the former, the far mers or growers of the corn are the (offerers. I ad mit it is extremely defirahle both there extremes fhould, if poffible, be avoided ; but I think that nei. ther of them can be fairly deduced to be of a permit nent nature. In fume years, we have certainly feen infiances where the price of corn was fir very low, that it was fcarcely worth the labour and ezpence at tending it, Rode% such the farmer had on inducement to cultivate it. In other years, we have again feen corn (particularly wheat) at fo very high a price, that the farmers mutt have derived very contiderable pro. fits from it, and taking theft, one againit the other, I conceive that the average will be found to be fuch as not to difcourage the firmer from his accoltomed purfuit of cultivating the growth of corn. My Lords, where there are a great many mouths that have been accuttomed to eat - bread, there mutt be a correfpon. dent demand for corn ; and therefore the Legiflature ought to be particularly careful, that in any awls they' pars on this fubjea, they do not take any Pep which may tend to drive the corn out of the country. In my opinion, my Lords, they (hould rather endeavour to &vile means of preferving the foperabundance of a plentiful year, in order to anfwer the failure which may take place in rite cafe of a year of comparative fcarcity. And here, my Lords, I cannot but notice that the obfervations of the Noble Earl refpating public granaries have not, in my opinion, been fuffi ciently anfwered by the Noble Secretary of State.— The Noble Secretary of State has Paid, that the ex ample of fuch a Rate as that of the (mall republic of Geneva could not be adopted to the intereas of a grCat nation, like the united kingdoms of Great Bri tain and Ireland. In this rape& I mull, my Lords, incline to the opinion of the Nob le Earl, for we have no occafion to confine ourfelves to the modern ex ample of Switzerland. If we look to the praaice of the ancients, and retort to the authority of the moll eminent writers on the re reica of the Egyptians, we (hall find that they made ore of the fame praOiee of Poring and preferving their corn in granaries. We Mall find that great care was taken in lids refpea, that the corn vas ciepoftted in a Rate of perfea dry. net - 4 in the ear and in the granaries, the walls of which were very thick, and the roofs proportionately &cure from the ctrdlt of had weather ; and, thus defended, the corn was kept fur fifty and evens buodred pane he as perfeS a Rate as when it was era put there for the purpofe of prefervation. I will, however, allow that this argument, applied to this country, is an entire new fyflem, and fo tar I agree with the Noble Secre tary of State, that it is not flatly applicable to the Prefent Bill. I am, however, of opinion, that we Ihould be extremely cautious how we attempt to in terfere in making Parliamentary regulations as to stmte price of, cam and, from that, adopting a fy of exportation and importation. lam afraid, as I Paid before, that we have gone too far on that fubjed, and nave therefore thought it necelTary to trouble your Lordfhips with thefe obfervations." His Royal Highnefs the Duke of CLARENCE would not detain their Lordfhips one moment. He had liftened with particular attention and fatisfac 'emit to the Noble Secretary of State, while he de. tailed thofe obfervations which, he may recoiled, became the fubjea of his converfation more than once with the Noble Lord and a Noble Earl, a near relative of his (the Earl of Liverpool), whom he now regretted he did not fee in his place. He was proud to hear the Noble Secretary convey to their Lordfhips, in fo clear and imprellive a manner, fen timents in which he concurred refpeding one of the moil important interefts of the co'mtry. Every fyllable the Noble Lord uttered he fully coincided in, and he was perfuaded that it was only by ailing upon thofe principles that the fubfifience of the peo ple of the United Kingdom could be fecured beyond all rifques, but thofe that may be produced by the vicilEtudes of bad feafons. His Royal Highnefs would fupport the Bill. . The queftion was then put on the Amendment, when the Contents were, t (Earl Stanhope) ; Not Contents, at: to. The original quetlion was then put and carried, and the Bill was ordered to be committed to morrow. Adjourned till to-morrow. HOUSE OF COMMONS. • A petition was prdented by Lord MARSH/ill from C Willed, who had been committed by the Committee on the dicks Eleftion, for prevarication. This petition was received ; and, on the motion of Lord MAMAS, the Paid Cyprian Wil lock was ordered to be brotight to the Bu of the Houfe ou iFed nefday next, to be reprimanded and difcharged. Tbe Houle refolved MeV into a Committee on Tighes Divorce BilL In the Committee Connie, was called in, and foam witneas tumbled relative to the delivery of notice to the party complain ed of, concerning the proceedings that were then depending againft ber. It appeared that notice MA been given at Chatter only on Saterday Eft. The SPEAKER therefore rote, and fug plied the propriety of fume delay, in order tbss tune might be afforded of making form defence to the prefent profecurkro, in cafe any defence was intended and fet op. The CHAIRMAN accordingly reported progrefs, he Committee was ordered to fit again so-marrow. The Woolwich Ordnance Bill was read • third time and paired. The Aecomptant General's Bill was read a third time, and paged. The Vote of Credit 818 was read a third time, and peed. Mr. Monifoa, from the Mint, prcfented an Account of the Money coined from the year 1797 to the year dos, fpecifying the different dates at which the Union was received. The Coofalidated Fend Bill, and the Sak Exportation Bill, were reported. and ordered to be read a third time to-morrow. Mr HUSKISSON prefented to the Houk an Account of the Balances In the hands of the Commifflaners of the A ffeffed Tarns for Otvat Britain, on the sth of February, dos.—Ordered to Se on the 'I able. The London Defence Bill was read a third time, and paired. The Report of the Stamp Duties Bill was brought up. The Amendments were agreed to after • Ihoct converfatice ; and the Bill was ordered to be read a third time to-morrow. The London Dock Bill was read a third time, and piled. The I,llk Treafury Bills Bill was reed a third time, and paired. The kith Revenue Bill was committed.—Report to-morrow. Toe Eighth Report was profaned from the CommiSoners of Naval Inquiry.—Ordcred to be printed, end to lie on the Table. itLONS' AP tRiNtNSIOII BILL., The Lords Amendmentsin the Felons' Apprebenfion Sio were order d to be taken into conftderation. The SPEAKER Rated to the Honfe that the Lords bad made an Amendment In that claufe which went to reguhte the ca rmen of conveying criminals hunt one county to another. But this Amendment appeared to go &gaily to farther the Latin dons of the lioufe, and therefore the Houfe would probably be of*. nion that it ought to pals. The Amendment was then paffcd, and at the fuggeltion of the SPEAKER, on entry was ordered to be made of tie partico• lar rrafun why the Houk had agreed to it. The Amendments were then aU agreed to. - - - lIISN EXCISE SECIYILITY .- - The Report of the Irlth Excite Security Bill was brought ups-- On the queftion that the Amendments mould be read a [Mood time, Mr. HUTCHINSON obfereed, that it was fume difadvantage to Ireland that they were not allowed to fend fpirits to England In rtff I, under too tons burden, whereas from Scotland it was permitted to (tad fpirits In veffels from To to sco tees burden. The fame prtvikge was alto allowed to the Colonies ; and there fore he • thought that It might to be extended to Ireland. He thought alto, that a longer time ought to be allowed for ware houring the fpirits. Mr.• ORMSBY replied, that this was a fulled upon which Govemaactst could not come to a cif:clam till at had confulted the Enallila Traders. Something would. however, be does catty now Scffion with rcfped to the Tads allowed for the importation of fpirits front Ireland. The Amendments were then agreed to, and the Bill was order ed to be read a third time to morrow. INDIA MIDGET. On the Motion of Lord CASTLEREAGH, the farther tend d 'on of the Report of the India Budget was poltpooed till Tlaurfday. His Lordihip Rated that fume differences had arifen between lahnfelf and an Hooourable Gent emao whom he did not fee is his place, upon certain faits. It was of importance that thefe faits mould be clearly afeertained, and therefore on •I'burf day he would move for fume Accounts relative to the facts in queltion •DDITION•L FOICI •MINDMINT BILL. On the motion that this Bill be read a third time, Colonel CRAUFURD role, he laid, in order to at a quettion of the Right Hon. Gentleman oppofite to him. This Bill had been introduced in order to remove all doubts exilling in a former As relative to purchafing lands for the purpofe of ereaing fortifica tions ; he waited, therefore, to know if, by the in trochation of fuch a Bill at this late period of the Seffion, it was intended to proceed to the ereltion of any particular fortifications or military works, againfl the next Sefflon of Parliament ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER raid, that the Legiflature had already thought pro. per to grant powers for that purpofe ; but there not being fufficiently explicit, the pretest Aa was intend ed to amend and render Ibis more effeaive. Thefe improvements were therefore introduced upon ge neral grounds, and had no reference to any particu lar procedure. Colonel CRAUFURD then Paid, that if his Ma jay's Minifters had any objet in contemplation, he Ibould certainly think it his duty to move, that an account of the expences thereof thould be laid before Parliament. It was certainly the ditty of Minillers to inform the Houle of their intentions, in order that the neceffary expence might be provided, and the public money not voted away without the confent of Parliament, upon a proper sairnate, fo far as the fame could be made up. He furpeCled that fowl* works of that nature bad already been ere&ed during the prefent war, without any fuels eftimates being put in. Sir WILLIAM PULTENEY 'laid, that as hie Majelly's Chancellor of the Exchequer had jolt now told the Houfe, that the prefeut Bill was brought in only upon general grounds, he was led to imagine, that no particular exertion was to be looked for before the meeting of Parliament next Seffion. He thought, that from the condo& of Minifters themfelves, the general opinion of the country had been of late greatly relaxed, as to the apprebenfion of location. His Majefty's Minifters, unlefs they had really good reafons for thinking the dangers not fo preffing, ought, on the contrary, to have endeavoured to have kept up the zeal, public fpirit, and energy of the country. We certainly had already been making great prepartions, but he might At, had not the enemy alto been making raft preparations, fo as to keep pace with us in every particular ? On the whole, he was led to imagine that the country was not at this prefent moment properly awake to a juft fenfe of its dangers. It was a fall in his opinion that the country is at prefect in very imminent danger, and he was -glad that the Honourable Gentleman had pot fuch a queftion to the 'Vest Hon. Gentleman, as he (Sir W. Pulteney) had thereby an opportunity afforded him of expreffing thefe his fentiments, but he confeffed himfelf at the fame time fomewhat lorry at hearing the anfwer that had been made. Dr. LAURENCE Laid, that be underftood tome months ago that fortifications were to be made, and he thought them very neeeflary for the defence of the country. He would with to know why fuch plans as had been formerly approved of by the Right lion. Gentleman himfelf, had not been carried into The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER Paid, be had never meant to alert (as the Honourable Baronet infinuated be had done) that all danger of location was over. He certainly thought, that con fiderable progrefs had been made to bring forward our force to a Rate of as great perfeetion as panble; and he trotted, that our means of doing fo were yet increafing. He fbould be lorry to find any perfon imagine that our prefent &nation did not Oil' require our utmoft energy and exertion. Upon the very left application for a Vote of Credit, the country had been reprefented as in very great danger. He could adore the Honourable Gentleman oppofite to him, that he had not changed his mind as to the necelEty of tiling every means ht had formerly approved of for the defence of the country, and that every thing that could polfibly be fuggelied by the molt &ilful military men would be attended to. Sir WILLIAM PULTENEY in explanation laid , that he never intended to alert that the expreffion of the Right Hon. Gentleman went the length of lay ing, that the country was in no danger. What he really meant to fay was, that when the prefent mea lure was Rated to proceed only on general grounds, cnough was not held forth to aroule the country to a proper degree of vigilance and energy. The ATTORNEY-G.VERAL brought up two additional claufes, which lire added to the Bill by way of rider. The Bill was then read a third time and paled. IRISH SPIRITS. Sir EVAN NEPEAN moved the order of the day, for a Committee of the whole Houfe on the Irith Spirit Warehoufing Bill. The Houfe havingiefolved into a Committee, Mr. AI f FRANDIR in the Chair, Mr. HUTCHINSON Laid, fence this fuhjea was difcnffcd before, he had received communications from Diftillers in Ireland, Rating that they were lie. ble to be aggrieved by the meafure. Many had, finoe the Union, (peculated on thole advantages which ware now about to be taken away; and one houfe had vetted the fum of 30001. in fuch a (peculation ; perhaps it might hereatter be fit to confider how far thefe parties were entitled to a compenfation ? The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER (aid, if perfuns had thought proper to (peculate in tutus of money, on the llrength of what they might gain in confequence of the Aa of Union, that was no ground why any unreafonable advantages which they might have enjdyed, fbould be continued any longer. Colonel LONGFIELD, in addition to what had been fo ably argued by his Honourable Colleague, Rated, that the very high price of coals in Ireland would operate to the great injury of the frith Dif tiller, if he fhould be placed by the operation of this Bill on terms of equality, in other rcfpefhs, with the Engin Dilliller. The Houfe then reiblved itfelf into a Committee on the Bill. • Colonel HUTCHINSON then propofed to have the commencement of the operation of the Bill ex tended fix week. alter the reth of July, the term now propofed. Mr. Ollnfbyarguedagainft this propontion, that the warehoufing of fpirits, duty free, for expor tation, was a boon to the Irith diltiller, which ought not to be deferred. This was oppofed by Mr.ORMSBY, who obterved, that the advantage to the &tiller, of warehoufing his fpirits, was one which ought not to be delayed a day longer than could be avoided. Mr. KINNAI RI) and Mr. W. SMITH fipported the Bill, which paled through the Committee, and the Report was ordered to be received to-morrow. Sir E. NEPEAN poftponed the committal of the BEI for ap pointing COMMURCHICII to enquire Into the lea of Public in Ireland till to-morrow. The farther coax:Wake Bill, was poltpuned till t, of the Stepan on t►e Layalty Loco oorTow.—Adjoarned. LONDON. TUESDAY. JULY t 7. PRICE OF STOCKS THIS DAY AT ONE, O'CLOCR: Cont. 3711—Reduced 56-1--Ontnnalmf St rim* Matta, Jett tt —Gov. Deb.s pet Cent. 194 Entsan;e--Dublln ea Loadoa Our letters from the coaß mention a heavy firing having been heard on the oppofite (bore on Sunday. Some infer. that there has been a flcirmilh of tome kind with the blockading fquadron. But the opinion expreffed in our letter from Deal Roads is Ante pro bable ; fur the enemy do not teem much inclined to hazard an action. Accounts from Dover, however. Rate, that in the courfe of Sunday. three dour beige were becalmed newly within reach of the French bAttei thi oc oot c five , uftia grey of J T*' Bo inr V. is 1