Star. — London, England, 1801-01-06 00:00:00

SCARcirr. SIXTH MORT TIMM THE COMMITTEE Artemirrsp TO CONSIDER 01 THE PRESENT HItH ELKS OF IPROVISIONS. The Committee ap pointed to confider of the prefent High Price e Provifions ; and to whom fo much of his MAJE melt gracious Speech from the Throne to both Houfes of Parliament, as re lates thereto; and alfo the feveral Petitions pre fen Led to the Houfe, complaining of the High Price of Provilions ; were referred Have proceeded further in the matters to them referred; and have agreed upon the following Report: Your Committee having Rated, in their Firß Report, the rearms which induced them to direa their attention, in the firft inftanee, to fuch mea lures as appeared bell caftulated to alleviate the prefent preflure, and as were capable of being car ried into execution during the estiflenee of this Par liament, have fubmitted to the wifdom of the Houk, in that and in their fubfequent Reports, fuch foggeftions as have appeared to them to fall within that defcription. They have been anxious to discharge with diligence the talk which was lm pofcd upon them, andhave continued their Sittings without intermiftion, from day to day, from the period of their appointment to the prefent moment, when their proceedings are interrupted by the ne teary termination of this Sellion, in confequence ofthe Union with Ireland.—Notwithllanding their bell exertions, fo mnch time has been unavoidably occupied by the contlderation and difentfion of matters conneded with the different meafirres above alluded t., which appeared to your Com mittee, in every point Of view, the moll important as well as the moll urgent, that they have found it impoffible to enter, as fully as they could with, mon other parts of the exceptive and complicated fubjed which the Houk has thought proper to refer to them. The manner in which the Commerce of Grain is carried on, has, however, engaged no fmall proportion of their attention ; but even upon this branch of the fubjed, the information which they have hitherto obtained, is far from being fufficient to enable your Committee to lay before the Houfe any correa flatement of fads, much lefs any well confidered opinion refulting from them. To form filch an opinion, requires the attentive confidera tion of a great body of exifting Laws, and a mi. nute acquaintance with an extenfive fyilem of Trade, together with all the variations which have taken place, either by the authority of the Legit lature, or by changes of pratlice arifing from an alteration in the habits of the people, or from the growth of Commerce, and the incre a fe of wealth. The fubjeB alto is of nature which requires pe culiar caution, from the danger which might at tend an erroneous judgment, milled, on the one hand by popular prejudice, or, on the other hand, by plaufible theories, formed without fufficient examination of fads. Your Committee have alto confidered, that the interval will be very fhort between the conclufion of the prefent Seftion and the Meeting of the Par liament of the United Kingdom, wen the inquiry into this, and other parts of the fubjea, may, and (as they humbly conceive) ought to be immedi ately returned. They think it, therefore, more conlitlent with their duty, to leave whatever in formation they have colleded, as the groundwork of future and more complete inveftigation, rather than to hazard any hefty fuggeftions or Ratements, upon a matter of fo much delicacy and difficulty; and they are perfuaded that the delay which may be thus occafioned, will be amply compenfated by more mature ditcuffion, and a more deliberate de ciflon. Your Committee, upon reviewing the different ;matures which have been adopted during the pre fent &Rion, have thought it might be fatisfadory to the Houle, if, before they conclude, they were to take fume general view of the probable amount . of the fupply or faving which may be obtained from the various fources which they have pointed out, compared with the deft: icy of the crop of Wheat. It is unnecelTary to obferve, that fuch a flaternent mull be in many refpeds conjedural, and deficient in prccifion ; but it may, perhaps, furnifh a general ellimate, capable in fume degree, of guiding the expcttations, and of relieving the asxiety of the public. The quantity of Wheat confumed in an ordi nary year, cannot be afcertained with any accu racy ; but your Committee conceive, that, after allowing for the proportion of the population coin monly fubfifting upon other grain, the nfual con fumption of Wheat cannot be ilippofed to exceed 7,000,000 quarters per annum. Upon an average at ten years, including the very deficient harvests . of vole and 1799, about 3te,000 quarters of this quantity have been furnilhed by importation from foreign parts. The produce of an average crop may therefore have amounted to about 6,700,000 quarters; and the produce of the late harveft would, upor) this ruppofition, have been about 5,000,000 quarters. The deficiency to be cover ed, in order to enture the fupply of the country for twelve months, from the 111 of Odober, 1800, to the t II of Oftober r 8o r, may be about 2,000,000 quarters ; of which, according to the average im portation above Rated, about 300,000 quarters might be expeded to he drawn from abroad. It is a lfo to be übfcrved, that in this mode of Rating the account, whatever part of the lall harveti may have been confumed before the beginning of Oc tober, is fuppered to be compenfated by the pro portion of the next harveft which may•cozne into safe before the correfponding period of the enfuing year, and that • the eftimate is formed upon the confumption of twelve months only. A contiderable proportion of the grain imported fame time previous to the oft of ()Etcher, mull, undoubtedly, have contributed to the fubfiftencc pf the country fine that period : but in the point of view in which your Committee have confidered the fabjeft, credit is taken only for the fubfequent tm poroition. The accounts are compkat to the aotl ; of December ; but adding thereto what has beer. farce received in London and Hull, up to the ;tit •ot beeemiser "matifires 'Ate amount of Wheat int ported, exchilive of Floor, is near 170,000 quar ters, befides 60,000 quarters of Barley, and I 26, c00 quarters of Oats, 4400 cwt. of Rice, and between 14 and 15,000 quarters of other grain and pulse. Setting alitle, for the prefent, the confideration of the f urther fupply of grain which may be re .ceived from Europe. the firft objeft to which your Committee will advert, is the importation from the United States of America. There is a peculiar ad vantage attending the Ripply from this quarter, that fome part of it may be expeaed to arrive , during the next month, and will continue during that period of the year when the importation from Europe is ufnally interrupted by die frog. Ac cording to the Ludt information, the crop m the United States has been uncommonly produCtive, and has been nearly free from the ravages occa tioned in former years by the Hefhan fly. The greaten quantity ever exported from that country (except in 179 a, when it is faidto have amounted' to near 1,500,000 barrels) is Rated to be between t,soo,cioci and 1,3000000 barrels of Flours each weighing to6lbs. and confidered as equal to about five buniels of Wheat. This exportation took place during the time when that idea continued to do confiderable mifehief : it may therefore reafonably be expeaed that the furplus of American produce may now be greater than itovas at that period; and that the high price of Flour in England, toge ther with the encouragement held out by Parlia ment, may bring to this country much the greaten proportion of that furplus. Suppofiug, however, the furplus to be no greater than the quantity be fore Rated, and that only three-fourths ofit fhould be fent to the Bririfh Market, the fupply derived from this quarter would be about 940,000 barrels, which, according to the ufual Eftimate, is equal to about 580,600 quarters. The harvell in Canada is Rated to have been abundant, and an importation may be expeaed from that country, amounting at 'call to 30,000 quarters. In addition to this fupply of Wheat and Flour, a confiderable quantity of Rice maybe drawn from different parts of the world. From the fouthern States of North America, your Committee arc informed that a fupply may be obtained of 70,000 barrels (each weighing , cwt.) of which a part will probably arrive is January, and the remainder facceEvely in the en- Cuing months. From India a much larger quantity may ulti mately be expeded ; but, as little, if any, of what may be obtained from thence by the means of !hips which have failed from this country, can ar rive before the beginning of Odober, 1801, your Committee have confined their eftimate, in this view of the fubjea, to that part which may be fent from India in country or neutral !hips, in confe quence of orders difpatched from hence in Sep tember laR. This has been Rated at from 7000 to to,ooo tons, (equal to from aB,OOO to 40,0ta0 barrels of 5 cwt. each). The latter quantity is reprefented as the moil probable of the two ; and if fufficient fltipping fhould be difengaged in India, it may rife to a much greater amount. It (gams therefore not unreafonable to exped from that quarter, in the months of Auguß and September, about 35,000 barrels, which, added to the impor. Cation from America, will amount to 105,000 bar rels. Each barrel may be confidered as more than equal, in point of weight, to the Flour of all defcriptions extraded from twelve bufhels of Wheat, but in point of nutriment to a much larger quantity. On this fubjea your Committee have alreadyfubmitted to the Honfe the refult of various experiments. From the experience of 5 years at the Foundling Hofpital, itappears, that when applied to the food of children in the manner in which it has been there prepared, one pound of rice will go as' far as eight pounds of Sour. Many other inflances have been Rated to your Committee, where this article Las been extenfively ufed. and where the increafe has been in nearly as large a proportion : and even when mixed with flour in making bread, the produce of rice appears to be more than three times the produce of an equal quantity of flour. Your Committee therefore think themfelves fully juftified in Rating, that the quantity of rice above. mentioned will, by adopting proper modes of pre paration, which are now very generally known and pradifed, afford more food, efpecially for children of all ages, than four times the fame quantity of wheat; and may therefore be confi dered as fully equivalent to a fupply of 63 0 , 000 quarters of wheat. The Importation of Indian corn has alfo been encouraged by the profped of a liberal bounty. The excellence of that grain, as the food of man, cannot be doubted, as it forms the chief fubfillence of the Southern parts of the United States of Ame rica. The ufe of it here has, hnwevet, been hitherto fo little known, that it is difficult to ani mate either what quantity may be expefted, or in what proportion it may be introduced into the confumption of this country ; but as it is alfo ap plicable with the greaten advantage to the food of i rattle, hogs, and poultry, it cannot fail to oper ate, either directly or indireftly, as a valuable ad dition to the gent •Al Rock of grain. The quantity of wheat which will be Paved for food by the prohibition of the manufacture of (larch from that grain will be about 40,000 quarters. In confequence of the floppage of the diftillerics, at lean 500,000 quarters of barley, which would have been confumed in that mann/allure, will re main applicable to the fithfiftence of the people • but as tt may be fuppoled that eleven bufhcls of barley are not more than equivalent to one quarter of wheat, thiseat only be stated at about 360,000 quarters. Having Rated to the Houle the bell ellimate they have been able to form, of the direct fupply which may be derived from the fource to which they have here averted (of which the fupply from pan importation, and from the llorpage of the manufaftures of fpiiits and (larch, may be con fidered as asetually realif:d). your Committee will proceed to take fume view of that important and extcnfive refource which may be furnilhed by the non ceconomical nfe and application of the pro duce of the country. The teeing to be deriicd from the introduBo • _ f of a larger proportion of the pto;ltate of grain into bread, than is alt prefent tiled, was Rated, by your Committee in a former Report, as eiptal to an addition of aeoasco quarters This Was calculat ed upon the confamption of nine Months in that .part of the- country, which at protein confames tither bread made of the fine flour, or °idle re maining produce of the grain after the fine flour has been extraacd. As thil meafurc will not take full effect till the beginning of February, the Caving mutt now be calculated upon eight months only. Your Committee have not thought the ex- 1 yeriments, which it was poffible in Co Ikon a time to make upon that Cubic& futficiently exalt to juf tify an alteration in the table of Alice, and were defirous, for obvious reafons, to afford, in the firft inflance, an eneoaragement to the Bakers, at lei& equal, if not fupenor, to the profit they could make in manufaauring Bread from fine Fleur, yet they fee no reafon for departing from their former opinion, that a larger quantity of bread will be pro duced from coarfe meal than from five flour ; and they have therefore continued to eftimate the far ing upon that principl>. By this mode of drelling, a - larger quantity of materials for bread will be produced from all other fpecies of grain as well as wheat ; and it is alfo probable that, in many parts of the country where the wheat has been of good quality and well barrelled, thewhole meal, includ ing the bran, will be madeinto Bread. Your Com mittee will not, however, attempt to animate the additional faring which may be produced by thee circumftances ' and will only hate the increafed fup ply of food which may be derived from the adop tion of the meafure above referred to, as equal to about 4.00,0c0 quarters. It is ail! more difficult toellimate the advantages to be expeaed from the economy introduced into the confumption of private families, in confe quence of the high price of grain, and of his Ma jetty's Proclamation. Your Committee have fern with fatisfaftion, the zeal and aaivity with which the extcution of the falutary fyftem therein re commended, appears to have been undertaken by various claffes of the community. Evert if the ope ration of this meafure fliould extend only to per fons in force degree of of the diminifhed con fumption of their families could not fail to produce a conliderable effea. Suppofing this reduaion to take place only in sso,ooo families containing ten perfons in each family, and fuppofing that each per fon confirmed in ordinary times the large allow ance of a quarter of wheat annually, the Etving,.by the reduaion of one third of their confunaption (which - has been praaifed with the greateft facility by fan:tics where other food is mid) would, in nine months, amount to 140,000 quarters. The prohibition of the ufe of new bread, which Parliament has thought proper teenforce by addi tional regulations, mutt alfo be produaive of force further alconomy. Although it cannot be oepe&ed to make any difference in the confumption of theft families, whole means of obtaining other food may' . enable them to flint their allowance of Bread; yet, among thole numerous dares of the community, whole principal fubfiftence is derived from this ar ticle, and who can therefore make no dire& re trenchment, its effeas mull (till be contideraltle. The faring to be expetted in the confnmption of pats, is equally conjeaural ; but it may reafonably be hoped, that the fame motives which will induce his Majefty's fubjetts to rellrit the confumption of wheat in their families, will operate Rill more forcibly in reducing the expenditure of oats for the fubfittence of horfes ; and that no (mall quan tity of this fpecies of grain will, in confequence, be applicable to more ufeful purp3fes. It has been further Rated to your Committee, that, by bruifing oats, a great quantity of food for harks, in the proportion of at kali four to three, may be pro duced from a given quantity of grain. By this, and by other economical expedients, fuch as mix• ing oats with chaff and bran, beans, or chopped ftraw, the confumption of that article may be much diminithed. It fhonld be further obferved, that the crop of barley this year has been, upon the whole, good, and that more of it than ufual may, from the ex cellence of its quality, be applicable to bread ; fome proportion of that grain may therefore pro- bably be transferred to the ufe of thole parts of the kingdom which ufually fubfifted upon wheat alone, but which have of late returned to the con fumption of barley. Your Committee have no means of ellimating the extent to which this re fource may be carried ; but it mull evidently afford, in addition to the quantity above Rated, fome further Alliance towards fupplying the defi ciency of Wheat. Your Committee have, in their former Reports, diretted the attention of the Houk to the great fupply of excellent food which may be derived from the Fifheries, and may render praCticable a Bill further facing in the confumption of grain, as well as of other articles of fubliitenee : every encouragement which has been fuggefted by thole belt acquainted with the fubjed, has been granted by the liberality of Parliament, and the moll be neficial effe&s may be expeCted from the exertions which that encouragement is likely to excite.— From the eagerneii with which the (mall fupply of Herrings which has hitherto reached the metro polis has been fought after, and from the number of ordcrs which have been received from different parts of the country, your Committee entertain no doubt, that, as loon as that fupply can be increaf ed in quantity, and more widely diffufcd, this fpecics of food will be rapidly introduced into ge neral eonfurnption. In order to accelerate and facilitate this fitpAy, advances have been made by Government to per font at the different ports of depot, fuch as Liver pool, Brillol, Hull, Lynn, Southampton, and Exeter, in addition to the amount of private fnb fcriptions at theft places : and dirations have been given to the relpeCtive Colleffors of the Cullom, to attend to fuch applications as they may receive from other places, which may be defirous of pro curing confignments of flub. The extent and importance of the herring 6th ery has been already fully detailed to the houfe ; and there kerns no realm to doubt that it will an fwer, in a very confiderable degree, tb: expsea ties: which wets formed slat. • • • The 6tharies of raackarcl and' pikitiutil, v,! l : c h follow in fucceifion, appear capa hie cf equal extegion ; and the cod and haddock ries, which continue during_ the greatefl p 'the year, may alto furnith an additional fupp!. food, to an extent which cannot be calru:.;;;J, and Once the ufe of (alt duty. free has b een , mitted) at a price not exceeding, even fit.LonA,n, ;for fome articles one penny, and for others tw o . !pence per pound. The price of ilich fills is not only f 9 much Imr e: . than that of meat, as to recommend it as an t:.• fill fubltitute for that anklet but, as three, or even five, pounds of this wholefome and nutritiou s ;food can he afforded at a led; rate than one p onn d lof bread at its prefent price, it can hardly f a il to meet with an campfire demand, wherever i t "„ be obtained in fufficientlnantitys and it will litl• cheapen and improve the fubfift4ce of thole claffe: of the community, who, fram finding the whole of their earnings not more than adequate to pro. cure the necerary (apply of bread, have been re. duced to fubfitt upon that article alone. Your Committee are fenfible that, even if any calculation could be formed of the amount of thisrefource, it would not be eafy to afcertain th e proportion which it might be fuppofed to beano any given quantity of grain. But, whether it is introduccd into confnmption as a fubititu:c for vegetable or animal food, it is equally an addi- tion of the utmost importance to the means of rub fiftence. Your Committee have omitted to take notice& the A& paired foe diminifhing the confumption of bread, and for masking better provifion for the poor ; becaufe, whatever benefits may refult from that meafure, the diminution which it may °era lion in the ufe of bread, chiefly depends upon the . introduaion (as fubftitutes) of other articleq, fer molt of which credit has been already taken. The amount of thole refources to which your Committee have adverted, which appeared it :Inv d:gree capable of eftimate (fubje& to the obferra tion with which they were at firs introduced as being in many points conjedural, and neceffirili deficient in precifion) would (land as follows: importation of Wheat ilnce the beginning of . Quarter% Oetobcr above - - f7exso Importation of Flour from the United States, equalbp 580,c00 Importation of Wheat from Canada - . 3 0 , 0 * Rice, equivalent to a • , b 6;o i cto S:oppage of Starch Manufatiory • - • 40,c00 t ppagc of Diftilleries - - • • 3 60 ,008 U•:. of Co3rfe Meal - . . 4;cpaa Retrenchments - • . 3oc:4oX, soocto In this enumeration, no credit is taken for any quantity of Barley which may be imported, a cceding the ufual importation of so,ooo quarters (although more than 60,000 quarters are already arrived) for fuch proportion of the crop of Barley, as may be transferred to the ufe of the confumers of Wheat ; for any importation of Indian Corn ; for any retrenchment in the article of Oats; for the redudion of confumption by the ufe of Stale Bread ; nor for the great Supplies to be expetled from the Fitheries. It will alto be obferved, that your Committee have taken no credit in the preceding Statement for any further importation of Wheat from the Continent of Europe. Theyfee, however, no ground for departing from the opinion expelled in their firft Report, that as far as depends upon the ex ertions of individual Merchants, both Britifh and Foreign, the fupply of Wheat to be drawn from thence may equal that of laft year; and that the crops of Barley and Oats may furnifh more than they did during that period; and the quantity already imported affords a ftrong confirmation of this opinion. What circumftances of a different nature may interfere with the effed of thole exer tions, it is not within the province of your Com mittee to confider. But fuppofing the fupply from thole quarters to be, from any caufes, dimi niihed or fufpendrd, or even (which teems, under any circumilances, impoffible), completely flop ped, yet your Committee have the fatisfadion of being perfuaded that the refources enumerated in the preceding ftatement are adequate, upon a mo derate calculation, to furnifh a fufficient fupplyfor that period, to which your Committee has confi dered them as applicable, and to relieve, by their gradual operation, the prefent exigency. What ever may be drawn from the Comment of Europe is an addition to thole refources certainly impor tant, but by no means of abfolute neceffity and, together with the great quantity of rice which may be expeuled from the Eaft Indies fubfequent to the next harveft, may be confidered as fupply in g not our immediate wants, but that diminution of - the ordinary flock of the country which took place previous to the harvell of tBOO, in confe quence of the great deficiency of the preceding year—a diminution, which is one of the main miles of the iaefent infufficient fupply and high prices, and which mull retard, in its confequences, (whatever may be the abundance in the next bar veft) the return of cheapnefs and of plenty. Your Committee think it, however, highly im portant to obferve, that although the refources above-mentioned, if fully brought forward, appear adequate to produce the effc!ls which they look to with hope and expedation ; yet a large proportion of them depends upon the voluntary exertions of the people, and they can be rendered effectual for general relief only by uninterrupted circulation and unchecked adivity of Commerce, and by the zeal and energy which may be employed by dif ferent elaffes of the community in promoting, ac cording to their refiselitive means, an °bled of fuel' general concern. DILD. On Saturday laft after a that Mn. CoderiheU, of the Grange, Stwthwark, much iamental by ter family and friend% On Sunday night, at his Coat at Wilton, in Wiltihire, Lieute nant-General Philip Ooldfworthy, Colonel of the IR Regiment of Dragoons, Equerry and Clerk Martial to his Majelty, and Member of Parliament fur Wilton. At liuffur.th, Mr. J. Skinner, Aotlng Lieutenant in the C. fluty'+ Mar. LONDON . Printed for the Proprietors, by JOHN DAME)., (n( Carnabv-ltreet) at the STA it PRI Nrixo-Or nee, No. t. Carty-ftrect ; and publ'fbed by LEVEL KENT, Of Can; mbery-pines, Lantlxtb), at Nc t, Carey-ftreet, and at tbit IVAII-0///tt, Temple-Dar ; to trhlcb Once all ensaninnir odor toe* IiDITOR stn roluttiod to bi