Star. — London, England, 1827-03-09 00:00:00

what different shape front: i s lthe rhich k now wore. At all events, he trusted' ill day of discussion should arrive, he shouldbbe able to satisfy the House that both the piairt4its'principle were consonant to the wisdom of our ancestors, and producing more practicable security- and protection to agricultufe dm% any 'ahem The :notion was then agreed to and the Committee appointed.--Adjourned at EIGHT O'CLcCIC. HOUSE OF COMMONS. The Howe met at throe o'clock, and was occupied till past ire de liallotting,foe Committees to ti 7 the merits of the Poobefract ereal -Dover neatens. Me. ABERCROMBIE brought In a Bill to regulate the Mad •stipal Government of Leith, which was read a first time, anll or dered to be committed. Mr. MUM presented the reduced list on the Pontefract Election Committee, when the following Members were sworn at the table: The Right Mon. W. Freernantlea: Fa+ SirR.W. Vaughan, Lord X. P. Luttrell, Esq. H. Willoughby, Kit H. bleynell, Eau Sir S. Moriand. A. R. Stewart, Esq. D. Degdate, Esq. Sir I. Palk. Lord C. 8. Manners, J. Lansaw% Req. Sir J. Graham, and W. Hniarres. Esq. Mr.. BREWIN presented a Palsies from the Roman Catholic inhabitants of the town and county of Carlow, praying for the removal of Catholic disabilities. Sr J. NEWPORT rammed his motion for referring the Irish Itsidenates to a Committee, midi Monday neat; and at the same elm presented a bellies from the Catholic inhabitants of St. Nor,. Drogheda, for . Emancipation ; and a Petition from the same rot the Repent of the Act of Geo. 11. cap. 10.— Laid on table. Mr. Alderman THOMPSON pretested a Petition from Mr. William Cobbett, in the prayer of which be begged to observe hel did not concur—it was for the restoration of their rights to the Kaman Catholics, and for the maintenance of the poor out of the raven's, of the Cburels.—Ordered to be minted. • • Mr. Deems breaglat up the following list os the Dover Illecdon The Hoe. A. C. Urge, Sir J. Pollen, W. A. Roberts. Eta. N. Hay, Esq. Lord Grote*, N. Bradshaw, Ea+ H. 0. R. Trevet, J. H. 'Lowther, Ea* Hoe. Sir A. Hope, lib It Powell, Sr C. Cole, Lord Clive, and the Hon. 0. Lamb. Petitions against any alteration of the Corn Laws wort pelesested by air W. Hoisarwooo. tram various places la the county of test; Lord Eunisnons, from the Mahatma and others interested in the Four Trade. In the toasty of • Cock ; by Sr R. Vetter,, front se veral places in dm county of farewell; by Mr. Si. Wosanossa, from the hillier* of the county of Norfolk; by Sr J. fisou.sv; from a place In Surrey, and from Ashford, la the county of tent, by Lord Srorroso,from the Millen of the county of Watford; by hi,. tol•Qoase, from the Owners and Occupiers of Land in the several Hundred* of the county of Redford ; and by Mr. Coss, frots the Omen and Occupier. of Lead in the Hundred of Northarlingtoo, in the county of Norfolk. Petitions were likewise presented in favour of an alteration of ' the Corn Laws, by Mr. Hoaeousa. from the Ladies' Shoemakers of the City and Liberties of Westminster; by General Gaarevers,, from the Mayor, Corporation. and 1,700 Freemen of Liverpool; from an individual of the same of Alarniaduke Martin, and from the Cordwainers of Liverpool; and by Lad G. CAVIIIIINSM. from Wellborn, ia the county of Derby. Mr. LYTTLETON, in presenting a Petition for a free trade is Corn from a place in the County of Hertford, begged to express bis.bope that a report he bad heard was unfounded. He had been given to understand that ensue of the landed Gentlemen in that House intended to oppose the Speaker leaving the Chair apes the important subject to be dismissed that night. He thought such a yours* would be meet invidious, and could sot fail todtaw epee 'lbsen the severe animadversion of the country. Sir THOMAS LETHBRIDGE thought the Hun. Masher 'desk rather hardly with the landed interest. It was, In his *- bias, the duty of those Gentlemen who disapproved of the premised systessi to resist it in the first instance. He was of tbe • number of Ahem *be thought, the principle of the measure vicious, and it woad be an abandonment of Midas , if he did not wpm it. • The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER hoped that at, be alum periods( dee evening they would be called en reg./arty Oa Mesa theebbjest, sad be thought they would tawny waste their time id tiny Mewed wpm the draconian in this inemitar mummer. If that asuollembod wm to be pursued, it was evidwt that the busisein of the Abase must stand still. Sir Si. KNATCHBULL thought it eery invidious to stigmatise •the landed Lamb by anticipation. Akhough bead set estertaio .prezasty the same opinions upon the queiles as the SM. HJIMOSt. ,be meat annelid that as it was a question deeply allkodnulse agricultural laturest, those connected with that interest had the fullest right to tale any opportunity of expressing their sentiments upon it. . his. LYTTLETON explained, after which the Petilion was • read and sabred to lie upon the table. Mr. DAWSON presented a Return et persona committed tv, 'prbon in different comities of Ireland diking the year 1826. Mr. HLI tI E exprested a wish that an abstract of these Returns should be made and laid before the House annually. Mr. DAWSON said, t►at t►is was in contemplation, and so tar as It was practicable world he effected. Mr J. MARTIN presented a Petition from the Artisans and Lammers of t►e Borough of Tewkesbury, for Retrenchment and Reform In Parliament. Mr. D. W. HARVEY gave notice of his intention to move en Tuesday nett for certain Papers relating to the Courts of Law. Sir ROBERT WILSON moved for an account of the sums raised as Comity Rates lo the County of Surrey during the last year, distinguishing the assessments upon each pant& Petitions against any alteration hi the Corn Laws were presented by Lord BICTIT; from the county of Meath; by Sir idowamo Kratcuees.L, from Dartmouth, NW three or four other places in Rest • by the same Hen. M e mber , from the county of Cam. • bruis, from Rochester and its neighbourhood, praying that the • Resolutions proposed by Government on the subject might Dot be adopted; by General 011.06•131011, from the Owners of Corn; mid the Flour Manufacturers of Chesser against the imposts/Arm of Fo- reign Flour; by Sir F. ACELASID, from Sudbury, la the county of Devon, praying that a duty of e6s. per quarter should be imposed so Foreign Corm—Ordered to be printed. • Mr. caoKsft presented Remms of rejected Flour and Recuir, which were ordered to be printed. • CORN LAWS. • The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER named the • Order of the Day fur the House going into a Committee ea the Corn Laws. The question haying been put, that the Smtatas do kit=e the Chair, _ _ _ Lord CIAVIg said, that from a sense of public duty, and a conviction of the irjurious tendency of the mea sure proposed by Government, he felt himself called spun to oppose it. Before proceeding further, .he would tate the liberty of reading to the House a Resolution he had drawn up, which tully expressed his own feel ings and sentiments. The Noble Lord then read the Resolution, which went to declare generally that, under existing circumstances, it was necessary to give the grower of British Corn protection against the producer 'of corn not cultivated by tree subjects, and not liable to taxes in the country of its production, upon the same principles as the law of 1822, taking care at the same time to secure to Ireland and Canada, that preference to which they were entitled. He should espies. no • opinion as to the amount of duty which ought to be cun stdered a protection, being confident that both the price and the scale of daty applicable to it would be much better arranged by Government. He felt, how ever, quite satisfied that in the propositions sub mitted to the House by his Majesty's Government, no adequate protection could be found; and if they • should become the law that the agriculturists here could not support themselves against foreign compe titton ; the result of the measure proposed would be • to amble the capitalist to invest his money in fo. reign corn, and when the price rose here, to pour it into the market to therein of the British Grower. Sup pose, under the proposed regulations, the corn rose here to 60s. the capita.ist who bad invested his money now m the article of foreign growth, might import it,,price, heigbtage, and all expenses considered, at 455. Thus the Beituit farmer could never come into competition with biro, for the latter must take his corn to market at stated pertodst lie could not, like the capi talht, wait until such time as prices becamet r i e g a h t . The consequence must necessarily be to diminish the growth Ns. • 40 • *Sr\ let British grain, wad thereby= distress and sof klieg over the sioutstry. Th e . would be the 01411*rm Alod first most 11 , 491Pa11y prove injurious to the consoion biosself, whostould thus lose a great part of the home market for' his produce. With the per saission.of the Rouse, he would state shortly what their situation was in 1827, with teference to this subject. In 1815 the first measure on the Corn Laws was pro posed. In 1822 another alteration took place, and some change in the system had been made subsequently ro the latter period. It must be taken into consideration, that when the Corn Law now in force was introduced, Lord Londonderry distinctly stated that the currency of the country would retsina in the same state as it was then, up to the year 1853, when the Bank Charter was to cease. This was an important fact. In plate of the currency having remained in the same state, a very great and material alteration had been made in it last year, which necessarily had a considerable effect on prices. There was another circumstance which must not be over looked. The harvest last year was one of a most extraordi nary kind. The produce of all grain was one-third, if not fully one half, less than usual. The fodder for cattle was short in a proportionate degree. The result was, that the farmer had not the same amount of corn to brine>, the market ; and that he was placed under the necessity of keeping his stock at a much greater expense of fod der, or of selling it at a loss.—ln treating this question, therefi - re, there were two things to be considered—the alteration in the currency, and the short crops of last year, and he had no hesitation in saying, that the English grower, having to contend with both these, disadvantages, would not be sufficieutly pos. tented by the scale of the cfuti?s now proposed. k must, hesi!es, be taken into the account - that asiother alteration was to be made in the course of tirentrtwo or twenty-three months in the currency. It issust not be forgotten that the Regulations now proposed would press very unequally on Farmers in different parts of the Country. In those Counties more in the neighbour hood of the Metropolis, farms were devoted to the production of grass and grain pretty nearly in equal proportion, while in the more distant Counties, on a firm of four or five hundred acres, there was often not more than forty or fifty acres of grass. It was very clear, therefore, how differently these two classes of farmers would be affected by the present measure. There was another circumstance to which fie must call the attention of the House. There was, in consequence of the deficient harvest, probably a greater quantity of Corn sown last Autumn than for some years.previously ; so that, if there should be a good harvest, the produce this year would be much greater than it had been for a long time. There were seen or eight hun. dred thousand quarters now lying in the warehouses. Probably between this and next harvest there might be an addition to it of three or four hundred thousand quarters mote. Should there be a good harvest, and should the price rise between this and July, foreign corn must be introduced, and what chance would the home grower then have of remunerating himself for the losses of last year, and for the expense of ex tended cultivation List autumn. Should the farmer fail, through greatly reduced prices, he had not, like persons in other branches of business, an opportunity of recovering himself. In other occupations there was a chance of recovering from the effects of one or two bad years. The farmer had n.i such chance. At the best of times, the most he could posses was sufficient capital to enable him to go on, and two or three bad year' were inevitable ruin to him. Taking all these things into consideration, the conviction on his mind was, that penury and difficulty must, tis the British agriculturist, be the result of this measure if it should be carried into effect. No doubt it would put one million a year into the.pockets of Government. In fairness, therefore, to the agricultural interest, as so 'much t tear benefir would arise in the way of revenue', some one of those taxes affecting agriculture should be removed, to give something like an equivalent. Any boon of this kind would be mod welcomely received. To enable him to sustain comped• tion with the foreign grower,sorne such thing ought to be done, coupled with a bounty of exportation when seasons were good. lithe produce should be too great for the home market, it would be impossible for him under this system to obtain a market either at home or abroad. At all events he should wish to press on Government the policy and justice of waiting at least until such time as the currency was placed on something likes permanent footing. The mischief arising from the late aheration was very great. An alteration in the existing Corn Laws could be more sAfely introduced, and with much less mischief when the currency was put on a perma. nent footing. In conclusion he should read a passage from a letter which had fallen into his hands, purport. ing to be from the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Hos kissoa) at the bead of the Board of Trade. He should feel proud of being able to express his sentiments so well and so forcibly, but that not being the case he was willing to adopt the language of the Right Honout able Gentleman as his own: " If I were not fully convinced that the consumer in general, but more especially that elksa of consumers whose subsistence depends on their own Industry, would be benefitted by the proposed antra non, it would nor hue had my support. My sole object is to pro. vent (as far as human mesas can prevent) bread-corn from ever again reaching the late extravagant prtces. Can any man have witnessed the scarcities and consequent privations of the people, during six or seven different seasons during the last twenty years,. without feeling anxious to guard the country against the return 05 such severe distress? But if we wish to cure an evil of this alarm. int magnitude, we must first trace It to its sourer. What is that source? Obviously this—that, until now, we did not, even in good years, grow corn enough (or our own consumption. • tisbknally depending on foreign supply, that supply was interrupted by war, or by bad seasons abroad. The present war, it is true, is now at an end ; but peace is, at all times, too precarious not to induce us to guard against the repetition of similar calamities, whenever hostilities may be renewed. But even In peace the habitual de pendence on foreign supply is dangerous. We place the subsistence of oar own population not only at the mercy of foreign Powers, but also on their being able to spare as much corn as we may want to bay. Suppose, as it frequently happens, the harvest in the same year to be a short one, not only in this country bat in the foreign countries from which we are fed—what follows? The habitually exporting country, France for Instance, stops the exports of its corn, and feeds its people without any great pressure. The habitually importing country, England, which, even In a good season, has hitherto depended on the aid of foreign corn, deprived of that aid, in a year of scarcity, Is driven to distress hordes ins spas further.— There is, therefore, sto effectual semis ity, either in peace or war, against the frequent return of scarcity approaching to starvation, such as of laic years we have so frequently experienced, but in oar maintaining ourselves habitually Independent of foreign supply.— Jot the bread we at be the produce of corn grows among ourselves, and, for one, I care neekow cheap It is—the cheaper the better.— It la cheap sow, and I rejoice at it, becamee it is altogether owing toe suilkiency otcorn of ()crown growth. But In order to ensure a continuance Oast cheapness and that suMelency, we must ensure to oar own growers that protection against &nip inspect which has produced these Messina, and by which algae they can be per. manently maintained." Sir E. YNATCHBULL said be must throw himself on the indulgence of the House, while he endeavoured as clearly as he could to state the reasons which ia dined him to concur in the proposition of his Noble Friend (Lord Clive). As there was no person whO, upon all occasicos, placed greater reliance on his Um l kisty f e Misters than himself; as inn ft his Friend, be Mt himself called upon novrto doalasnt it was with no small degree of pain he diffintt them. If any circumstance could aggravate AM it was the declaration with which the present IMINIINf had been introduced by the Right Honourable Godes man (Mr. Canning), who informed the House diet they were to attribute it to the Noble Lord (Liverpool) at the bead of his Majesty's Government. It might baj die\neil presumption in him to say so, but be 'coerces that, were it not for the assurance of the Right, Haw Gentleman he should doubt the fact. That doubt, 1 however, being removed, he must receive this as the fan adopted by the Noble Lord, after mature coo sideration. It would be a dereliction of duty were be not to take this opportunity of paying to that Noble Lord the tribute of admiration he so well merited—(Cheers) —having witnessed for many years the able manner in which he performed his public duties and his distinguished services to his country, which must feel deeply, and lament his temporal) , loss. But however great might be hi; admiration, and however sincere his respect, yet i.e must not on that account concur in a proposition which he cons sidered etot conducive to the interests of the country.... He believed the Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Canning) was not in the House when the circumstance occurred, and for that reason he would beg leave again to referl to an observation which had fallen from the Member' for Staffordshire (Mr. Liuleten), that Hon. Member said most unadvisedly, that such er untry Gentlemen as' should oppose this' measoret would act disgracefully, having previously supported the doctrines of free trade, and the measures founded on them. Notwithstanding this, he was ready to express his disapprobation, and, with the permission of the House, to state the reasons why he thought the proposition of Ministers should not be acquiesced in. Government had put off this inquiry for the last two years, and he wished they had acted in the same way now. He saw no circumstances 'that rendered it more necessary or advisable now than' last Session or the Session before. He knew, indeed, that an understanding existed that some alteration was to take place, founded on Resolutions proposed by the Right Hon. Gentleman at the head of the Board of Trade in 1822. From that period a variety of mea- 1 sures, founded on those Resolutions, had been proposed by him, Government having found it necessary to re deem the pledge then given. Before proceeding further, it should have been ,sell considered whether the sys-, tern of new measures, this introduced, worked well. But whatever might be the effect, he felt himself called, upon to say a word in behalf of the landed interest. It had been admitted by the Right Hon. Geotlernen (Mr. Canning) and by every person whom he had beard speak on the subject, that some protection was doe to the British grower, and he must say that it was rendered the more necessary from some recent altera tions in their commercial system. -No persm could pretend that the British agricultuii.t had not been greatly affected by the measures passed with respect to foreign wool and timber—(Hear, hear)—and had he not now a tight to complain of the change proposed with respect to corn—that article of produce upon which alone, he might say, the English agriculturist de pended. It became now their duty to discuss both the principle of the proposed measure and the details con nected wi.h it. The thing to be considered was,whetlser the reetflations were to be founded on a principle of prohibition or of duty. Both one and the other should be adopted with great caution, and he should have much hesitation in giving his opinion, was it not for his kerne, ledge of what had been maintained by those who went before him, and who no doubt had given the subject ail the consideration in their power. The conviction on bit mind was, that protection to the native produce of the 'soil was the only true principle. He must say one word in reference to the letter from which his Noble Friend had read an extract. That letter had produced a very considei able sensation. and was attributed to the Prm sident of the Board of Trade. It was published in 1814. The Right Honourable Gentleman (Mr. Hods kisson) had then proposed to the Heise certain Ream lotions, and it was in justification of them he put forth this letter. If the principle laid down in it was correct, he did not see how the Right Hon. Gentleman could, in consistency, support the regulations now propoods He might refer also to the authority of Lord Liverpool in support of his own view of the subject.—CHere the Hon. Member read an extract from a speech of the Noble Lord in the year 1815.]—A similar opinion was expressed by the Right Hon.tientleman the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who was reported to have said, that he did not believe any import duty preferable to a pro hibitory price. Such was, then, the Right Hon. Gen tleman's opinion, and such, too, was his (Sir Edward Knatchbull's) opinion now. If any alteration bad taken place in his sentiments, he knew the Right Hon. Gen tleman would have no objection to state it. For a simis lar doctrine he might refer to the authority of the, President of the Board of Trade, who. on the 17th el February, 1815,ebserved that they were not then nos' going the principles of prohibition, a principle which could not be departed (torn, as they must not depend on foreigners for a supply of corn, which would nem. sarily have the effect of diminishing their own prelate*. The same Right Hon. Gent. observed, that Ireland woe not to be considered in the same light as other am growing countries, for that Ireland took their maw tactures in return for their corn. These principles he retained in 1820. On the sth of April, five years aft.; of the Right Hon. Gent. observed, that the introduction foreign wool and iron having been allowed, the effect was to produce a very large import of prohibited arti cles, and as some difficulty might wise from too lar an importation, they ou g ht to pau s e a li tt l e . I n t h e l ass guage of th e Ri g ht Hon. Gentleman upon that occa sion, he would now call upon the House to pause a lit tle. By adopting these propositions, without waiting to see the effects of similar measures applied to other arti cles, they would be making an experiment and groping in the dark. A t a ll events some security should be given against the app re h en d e d ev il s . He a pplied the r c u a li t y ho d it er tuest ined ion to — L laug h ). As alteration G tio o n rer in n th mr p t res w en u t word security, as it was applied the other night on the A ak l e au stm law, it was not necessary for him now to state anything like a distinct approval of the existi • • ng system in all its parts. For, speaking of what passed in 1822, be did not mean to say that the price then fixed was the pro- per one. Now it-seemed that they were to have probi bition by duties and not prohibition itself. He should be glad to know on what principle these duties were to be calculated. Did they know the ' exactly price of corn at any one Continental port, or on what • prin ciple, was it proposed to calculate the expense o f freightage? W as it to be cal cu l a ted on f ore i gn or on British shipping ? If it should hereafter ba famtihteoesaary to glee further protection to B e i t (4 ablpping, would it trot be groping is the dark, if t he y awe now to legislate upon the present r a t e of y ee; „y it ' ow? He understood no alteration wa s to b e m a c ; the warehousing system. The principle on which it was proposed now to act, was o to pet th e E n% grower, in every respect, on a footing with th e grower, that was to protect the farmer at home to th e extent of his burthens. Such be believed was th e principle at the bottom of all these regulation % A duty might easily be imposed equal to the taxes directly paid by the farmer hem, but it would not b e so easy to protect him against the other taxes which were sin e w over the whole surface of society. Great chan ges had of late been made in the Commercial policy of t h e Country, and he mast confess that he was son se ,,b ia apprehensive of the result. Great changes had al, o been made in the Criminal Law ; but the Right 11, 44 Gentleman (Mr. Peel) before he proposed these chang es , bad very prudently and wisely taken care that dilige n t enquiry should be made into the subject. E wen , 4 , milting that some alteration in the existing cm ts Laws was necessary, still it would have been prudent to institute some inquiry before they proceeded to legi s . lotion. This country had arrived at a state of things in the highest degree artificial, and any change should be reflected on very seriously before it was attempted. If therevil consequences which he apprehended fron t this measure should follow, they would sacrifice the agricultural interest without producing any equivale n t advantage to any other. Such being his s e nt i ments, he should support the proposition of his Noble Frie l vd, The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER oid s that if he manifested an undue anxiety in addressing himself thus early to the House, he trusted the perdu situation in which he stood, and the direct application made to him by the Honourable Gentleman *ha L ast addressed them would be his excuse. As it had been his lot to originate that plan for regulating the trade in Coin, which plan was, in effect, teas deemed by the regulations now proposed, he owed it to the House, he owed it to his own character to state tho se grounds on which he bow did unequivocally vappen the proposed resolutions.—(Cheers). He was not ashamed to admit that his opinion on this subject had altered.—(Hear, hearl)—and no man who recollected what he had stated at the time the former plan was proposed, could charge him with unreasonable mem. sistency.—(Hear, hest !) It was his lot to propose that plan, but he stood then in a different situation. Heels am then a responsible adviser of the Crown. He brongiat in the measure it was true, bet at the time he proposed it, he distinctly stated that he considered it not mealy a change of difficulties, but a change of evils. One plan he proposed without experience, and he now proposed this after experience of the effects of the other. He protested against the charge of inconsistency brought by the Honourable Gentleman. No man was in to serve the public in the capacity of a Minister, if, seeing good reasons to alter his opinion, snag that he had acted upon erroneous principles, he could hesitate a moment to avow that change, and to purses the coarse be thought most conducive to the genets! good. Such being his sentiments, he felt pet Italy indifferent to any imputation that might be cast upon him—(Hear, bear). He said this, the rather, became these imputations were unworthy those from whom they proceeded, and because the Hon. Bardnet had poised out his Right Hon. Friend the President of the Board of Trade as the person who bad originated the MUNI!. He should be ashamed of himself and of his Eight Ha. Colleagues, if they were base enough to su ff er his Bight Hon. Friend to be held up as a sacrifice for acts in which he was only a :barer with them—(Cheers). He invited it of the country that all the odium...-if odium it were, though be believed it to be quite the reverse—. (Cheers)—should fall upon their beads in common. But when the Hon. Baronet, and those who entertained similar notions; touched upon the subject of free trade, it immediately conjured up in his mind some phantom of terror, some greater bugbear than the Pope himself. But in these imputations upon. his Right Hon. Friend, the Hon. Baronet had stated his case most inaccurately. He,himself, held the office asViess.Piesident oldie Board of Trade before his Right Hon. Friend; and as sox as the war ended, and at the first moment when the war system was wound op, be applied himself to the object of placing oar commercial laws upon a footing more consistent with such a change as had taken place. From that time he continoed to enforce his principles in all the measures which, at different periods, it became his duty to introduce. And when the Hon. Baronet spoke in such high and such just terms of the prudence and caution with which his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Peel) had proceeded in the reformation of the Criminal Laws, he Mid no right to Occlude them from the merit of having exercised the nese prudence in the istrodoc don of their measures which went to the reformatiat of our system of trade. When the Hon. Bootie s taking his opinions from others out of doors, Came down to attack the se measures as b e i ng hostile to the well being of the country, he ought to be pre pared to substantiate the i n f orma ti on upon which be proceeded. Now he (the Chancellor of theExclie. quer) would undertake t o prove, whenever his Hon.. Friend chose to meet him upon that ground , that is what they had done, and what bad terrified his out of his senses—(a laugh)—they had only bees bringing bask the commercial policy of the country to the same ov ation hr which it stood previous to that wondrous reow lotion which, for a quarter of a century, seemed to have turned the world and its affairs topsy-turvy. His Hoc. Friend had said that he would give a history of th e . present Law ; but, as their judgment s led them to dd . : ferent views upon that subject, be would give his him . tory of it. The present Law pas s ed i n 1815, the prim of corn then being low. He at that time contended that the Law would not raise the price, and it was is the conviction that it could not do so, that be supported it. It happened, however, that in the year 1816 and 1817 the harvests proved bad, and the Law of 1815 was brought into operation and introduced a consider able portion of Foreign Corn into the country. In 1816 the harvest was good, the prices descended rapidly, and the farmers came frightened to that House for protec tion, and relief.—lt was right to remark that, at that time, the reduction of rents had not been carried i nto •ttifect as now. The agricultural body thought it pro ipar to have an Agricultural Parliament then established, and a Gentleman was appointed to preside over it, of ',whom he should now say nothing,because he was now no more. This Parliament issued divers Manifestoes, the 'object of which was—what? Not to make any alters.. tions in the Law of 1815. O n t h e contrary, bes ides these hostile manifestoes, in the course of the year 1819, 1820, and 1821, no less than 500 Petitions hors the agriculturists of England, Scotland, and W' were laid on the t a bl e o f the House, against that : which was now declared to be their only salvation. • gil l r yid!' • r at Sipa t tigin go& t IMO e frisa es r vied Antal I was Oaf CO I aid ▪ Z i t e a •01 l• agar I a Ilia h o was again ra elide i. d o mitts e so) c deal 1 1. 1 a lbs ol} t IpaC • Win ▪ 'semi a ben II d .leby able M sew A sad I se dist rt ' of on th Id bad I d line as SI el a. lab ▪ Mtn c ea -dew a Nob aa .inset ad .11011 He in OR ;Lit ANS In • iris et, old— iog wool old it WA sae lot d cal wild tly been no Haft sue boas had be lard DM, - da igDt", ha sin • k He t w um if e— torn os. take sed the, Kir, still on that elf. 180 ad, the Ay. boo and the ooc of the kat the Into ins did tbit Ilea col we tit on the ace de Kr. Fri ad or !tit so • ow inn ea telt ha se eh to lar a.. as be 6 Iw. be oa ee is el of • fa ask Ito- 11 so• fa eve 1i km. • as the dif. Tin el did to tl led and 815 • e der- -818 • ; and >tee , • 1 that into pro. ,bed , tog . wo o ,t ten- • , idea les" from rake, t law