Star. — London, England, 1822-04-03 00:00:00

--- AGRICULTURAL REPORT. PARLIAMENTARY PAPER. The Select Committee appointed to Inquire into the allegations of the several Petitions which have been presented to the Mouse in the lan and present Sessions of Parliament, com plaining of the Ditreseed State of the Apiculture of the - United Kingdom, and to.Repoet their Observations thereupon to the House, Considered that among all the important objects referred to them, none could be more deserving of their earliest attention than an inquiry into any mea sure that could be suggested for affording some tem • porary relief to the distresses of which the numerous Petitioners with so much reason complain, and which appear, from the returns of the average prices of corn during the late weeks a, to be progressively increas ing rather than diminishing. Your Committee do not venture to determine, whether the present state of the corn-market be owing to an excess of production, or to what.extent that ex cess may reach, beyond the usual and requisite sup ply ; or whether the necessities of the occupiers of land cause an unprecedented eagerness to dispose of their produce at almost any price: b ut it appears from an official retarn, that the quantity of British wheat and oats (but not of bailey) sold in hlark•lane, between the Ist of NoVember and the Ist of March' litt, has very considerably exceeded the quantity sold in the corresponding months of the twenty preceding years. Stich an excess of supply beyond demand can have no other effect than to continue the depression of price, and increase the accumulation of the stock upon hand ; while •it is evident, from the present very low rate of price on the continent of Europe, as compared with prices in this country, that there is no chance of resorting to the natural expedient of relieving the mar ket by exporting any portion of our own corn, even with the aid of any bounty which would notbe excessive. Two other modes have therefore been under the consideration of your Committee ; by the first of which it was proposed, that one million of Exchequ e r Bills should be applied to purchasing, through the agency of Government, and laying up in store, a certain por tion of. wheat grown in the United Kingdom • and by the second, th at facility and encouragement s hould be afforded to individuals to deposit a part of their stock in warehouses, so that they might not be forced to come into the market simultaneously, and under the disadvantage of excessive competition , but might be enabled to wait until the supply, having ap proached nearer to the wants of the consumers, might afford, if not a remunerating, at least a price some what less ruinous for their produce. With regard to the first of these proposals, the ge neral objections against making the Public, through the Executive Government, a dealer and speculator in corn, the suspicions to which it might give rise, and the uneasiness in the public feeling which it might eventually excite, the danger of its being drawn into precedent, the claims which it might be supposed to give to other important articles - of iiomestic produce, whenever they might be exposed to similar depression, and the universal rule of allowing all articles, as much as possible, to find their own natural level, by leaving the supply to adjust itself to the demind, discourage j your Committee from recommen ling it, even under this extraordinary emergency, and with all the guards and qualifications of a temporary expedient. But with regard to the second, although much less effica• cious in its operation, the objection of Government becoming a purchaser does not apply, as individuals would in this case act for themselves, and according to their own discretion, the Government interfering an otherwise than by making advances upon the commodity deposited, which would be repaid, with a low rate of interest, as soon as the article should be brought to market. For effecting this object, two different modes have been suggested ; by one of which it was proposed, that when the weekly average price is under 58s. (the import scale remaining as at present) wheat should be stored, subject to a monthly allowance of 6d. per quarter, until the average price should reach 6.55. The whole quantity not to exceed 600,000 quarters, and the time for which the allowance should be pay able not to exceed 12 or 18 months. Not more that a certain number of quarters, nor less than another specified number of quarters, to be stored on the part of any individual or firm. - The owner of the corn so deposited to be at liberty to withdraw it at any time, waving his claim to al lowance, or refunding it. ,The other proposition was, that for the purpose of Alieving the glut which at present presses upon the grain market, the Government, whenever the average price of wheat shall be under 60s. should grant ad vances of money upon such corn of the growth of the United Kingdom, as should be deposited in fit and proper warehouses upon the river Thames, and in the ports to be hereafter specified, to an extent not ex ceeding two-thirds of the market value of such corn ; the quality of the corn and the fitness of the ware houses to be approved of by officers to be appointed by the Government. The loan to be at the rate of three per cent. and the period of deposit not to exceed twelve months. The cern to be withdrawn at the will of the depo sitor, upon payment of the interest, warehouse-rent, and other charges. The sum of one million so applied, would proba bly be 'fully adequate to give a temporary check to the excess which is continually poured into the al ready overstocked market. if the House should be inclined to agree with your Committee in countenancing the latter of these pro positions, it is evident that it ought to lead to some immediate proceeding ; and although no very great effect can be contemplated from adopting it, its ope ration, as far as it .may extend, can hardly fail to afford some temporary relief. There is another measure also to which it is fit to call the early attention of the House. The foreign grain and flour of all sorts in different warehouses under the King's lock, appears to have amounted, on the sth of January last, to !x97,136 quarters ; with regard to which, although there is ` , "ttle probability that it can soon come into competi. with our home produce, yet it still hangs over ""ket in a formidable mass,.ready to be poured once, creating no small degree of panic as to `ees, loth March, 4.5. 11. fkk - - 46. io. The highest price of any one YJ - 46. 11. week iu 11122, was 50s. 7d. Lid Feb. - 47. 7. . its future (which is out ffee from under the shall be imoosed of that law, from foreign parts. To relieve the' market from bath thewigahe i : proper to permit the' nienees, it may be such corn now in warehouses, under meta telliedillt regulations and restrictions, to have the aaniegronad into flour for the purpose of exportation ; and also an provide, by legislative enactment, that in future MN foreign corn warehoused in this kingdom shall bit considered as corn coming from Illbto/14 and subject to all such duties and regulations as are or may finds time to time be imposed upon corn coining (Weedy from a foreign port. A proposition, which was submitted to your Com mittee, for advancing loans to Parishes on the credit of the Rates, • appeared to be attended with so many l difficulties, and to be so little applicable to the pur pose of alleviating the distresses which are complained of, that they do not deem it necessary to enter into any examination of it, nor to lay it before the House. Much aryour Committee lament that so little pro spect of immediate relief can be held out to the urgent distresses which have been submitted to their anxious consideration, they think it material to obviate and counteract any unfounded alarm which may have been, either casually or industriously, circulated, that there was ever the least intention entertained by your Committee, of rendering the present condition of the British cultivators worse than it is under the existing law ; and they therefore submit,with great confidence to the House, that the Act of the 55th of the late King, c. 26, which regulates the importation of foreign corn, ought to continue in force until the average price for wheat shall be 80s. per quarter, and other kinds of grain in proportion. It is impossible to carry protection further than monopoly; and it cannot be denied that this monopoly the British grower has possessed for more than three years, that is, ever since February,lBl9, with the ex ception of the ill-timed and unnecessary importation of somewhat more than 700s000 quarters of oats, which took place during the summer of 1820. It must be considered further, that this protection, in consequence of the increased value of our currency, and the present state of the supply of corn combined with the prospect of an early harvest , may , in all probability, remain uninterrupted for a very consi derable time to come. But for the purpose of obviating the dangers in which this law can hardly fail, sooner or later, to in volve the cultivators of the soil, and in conformity to the reasoning contained in the Report of the Com mittee of the last Session upon the same subject, some material change must be contemplated: your Com mittee, therefore, cannot avoid suggesting, whether, under a full view of all the circumstances, it may not be the duty of Parliament to turn its immediate at tention to the ruinous consequences which must follow an unlimited importation and free sale of the surplus produce of the 'whole agricultural world, which is known at this time to be in a state of glut, at least equal to what prevails wit Lin this kingdom, no less impatient for, and unprovided with a market, with a commodity raised at much less charge than our own, which the proprietors would be ready to sell even at a considerable loss, rather than not dispose of it at all. The excessive inconvenience and impolicy of our present system have been so fully treated, and so sa tisfactorily exposed in the Report already alluded to (p. 10 and 12), that it is unnecessary to do more than refer to it; adding only, that everything which has happened subsequent to the presentation of that Re port, as well as all our experience since 1815, has more and more tended/to .remonstrate how little re-' liance can be placed upon a regulation which con tains an absolute prohibition up to a certain price,, and an unlimited competition beyond that price; which, so far from affording steadiness to our market, may at one time reduce prices already too low still lower than they might have been even under a free trade, and, at another, unnecessarily enhance prices already too high ; which tends to aggravate the evils of scarcity, and render more severe the depression of prices from abundance. The mode in which these excessive inconveniences may receive some modification (laying for the pre sent out of the question what permanent basis may be ultimately the fittest for our corn trade) appears to consist in the imposition of a duty upon all foreign corn, whenever upon opening our ports it should be admissible for home consumption. The occupier of the land would thus obtain, in proportion to the amount of such duty, a protection which is withheld from him under the existing law ; but in return for such protection, it is no more than reasonable to wards the consumer, that the import price should be fixed at a rate somewhat lower than 80s. because the new duty would otherwise not only check the sudden and overwhelming amount of import, .but also en hance the price beyond that which it might reach un der the present system ; nor must it'be lost sight of in any future regulation, that owing to the great al teration in our currency, 80s. may and do now repre sent a different and much higher value than in 1815, as measured by the price of all articles of consumption. Should Parliament decide to legislate durink the present Session, your Committee would recommend, that, after our wheat shall have reached 80s. when ever circumstances, not now to be foreseen, may have effected so great a change, a lower price may be as sumed for the future import, subject to a duty. When the importers know that their grain can in no case come into the market without paying a cer tain sum as duty, besides the charges of importation, warehousing, and other incidental expenses, they will be less red 4 to adventure rashly. than under an en-' tirely free trade; they will also withdraw their corn which may be lodged in warehouses gradually, and with more circumspection, than they do at present, and will naturally endeavour to feed the' market rather than inundate it. It is now their interest to take their whole stock, immense as it may be, at once from under the King's lock; but when they must pay duty for every quarter which is removed, they will pru dently calculate the time that any large stock may ' remain on hand before they can dispose of it to ad vantage. The foundation of any future Bill should be the principle of so far modifying the operadas Of the existing law, as to obviate, as far as may be , by the imposition of reasonable d utiesi upon the admie sion of foreign grain for home consumption, the sad- ~. .s-.,.. preserve the import somewhat lower tha - n the existin g unport price and your Committee are of opinion that 70s. • , not be an improper limit to amp to that prim.. • That a duty from lits. to 15;. should . beiropeur upon foreign wheat for home consump tion,'lWl do price is from 70s. to 90s. Also, that a duty of ss. should be imposed upon 'such wheat, when the price is from 80s. to 852. after which the duty should be reduced to Is. 1 And that a further additional duty 01 52. should be Imposed upon wheat imported or taken out of wares house for home consumption, for the first three months after the ports open, and when the price is from 7 . 05. to 8.55. And for the purpose of rectifying the scale which governs the import, the general proportion which the price of oats bears to the price of wheat, appearing to exceed the proportion which was assumed to exist, I when 275. was fixed as the import price of oats, your 'Committee suggest, that it would be expedient to in crease that price, so as to bear a more accurate pro portion to the price of wheat. The scale at which barley is estimated appearing . to be more correct than that of oats, the same proportion which it now beats to wheat, appears fit to continue, under any future alteration of the import prices. The 6th, 70,8 th, and 9th clauses of the Act which regulates the importation of corn, make provision for admitting corn, meal, or flour, being the growth, produce, or manufacture of any British colony or plantation in North America, for home consumption ; when British wheat is at a lower price than 80s. with regard to which colonies, it will be consistent with good faith and sound policy to preserve the same re lative preference above foreign corn, in the event of any future alteration being applied to the scale of prices or of duties. In compliance with an application made to them by several of the owners of the foreign grain now stored in warehouses, your Committee have already recommended, that permission may be granted, under sufficient and adequate regulations, to convert it into flour, and export it in that shape, by which means some pcktiott of this large stock will be carried out of the kingdom, and remove all apprehension that the quantities so ground down can ever enter into competition with our home produce ; but in the event of a large portion not being thus disposed of, and still remaining in :tote, it appears practicable to adopt a method which may render this remainder also advan tageous, rather than detrimental, in its effect upon the value of British corn, whenever the average price of our wheat shall have risen to 70s. and fluctuate between 70s. and 80s. for if it be then allowed to be taken out for home consumption, subject to a duty 401 . 172. per quarter, for the first three months, and afterwards to a duty of 12s. the interest of the pro. prietors of this grain will be brought strictly into cannon with that of the British agriculturist, and into Area hostility to that of all other importers of foreign 'stain ; so that every endeavour will be resorted to, es their part, to advance the price to 70s. that they may liberate their own stock ; but to keep it below 010 s. that they may exclude all foreign competitors. The equitable claims which the holders of the grain, already deposited under the Act of the 55th of the late King, appear to possess, will thus be beneficially preserved to them, and the danger of an immense in flux of foreign produce will be mitigated and de ferred, if not wholly prevented. It must of course be left optional to the proprie tors in question, to avail themselves of this permis sion, or to abide by the conditions of the existing law, under which they imported ; but in the first case, the payment of a moderate duty will enable them, at an early period, to enter a market over which they may exercise some controls', conjointly with all the dealers in British corn ; while in the other, they can hardly expect to stem the torrent offoreign produce poured in upon our existing supply, and the immediate depression of value which must unavoidably accompany it. If the circumstances of this country should here after allow the trade in corn to be permanently set. tied upon a footing constantly open to all the world, but subject to such a fixed and uniform duty as might compensate to the British grower the difference of ex pense at which his corn can be raised and brought to market, together with the fair rate of profit upon the capital employed, compared with the expense of pro duction, and other charges attending corn grown and imported from abroad, such a system would in many respects be preferable to any modification of regula tions depending upon average prices, with an ascend ing and descending scale of duties; because it would prevent the effects of combination and speculation, is' endeavouring to raise or depress those averages, and render immaterial those inaccuracies which, from ma- 1 nagement or negligence, have occasionally produced, and may again produce, such mischievous effigies ' upon our market : but your Committee. rather=loeik forward to such a system as fit to be kept in view for the ultimate tendency of our law, than as practicable within any short or definite peri od. A protecting duty which might at this day be hardly sufficient to guard our home market-from the most overwhelming competition, might, when din ememire abundance on the Continent shall have bees absorbed, operate against the real wants of this kingr dom, and subject the . growers, as well as the consu mers, to the greatest inconveniences. Years of dearth may again make it indispensable to have recourse to foreign produce for a part of our supply, although. in seasons of ordinary plenty it raay be hoped that our own agriculture has been so improved and ex tended as to secure this kingdom from a state of de pendence upon other, and eventually hostile, territories for the subsistence of its population. Your Committee lave felt it their duty, for obvious reasons, to lay without further delay before the House the result of their deliberations; but they would con sider that they had omitted a most material of the task imposed upon them, if they negl ected to in quire into the present system upon which foreign 'corn is warehoused Your Committee ate now en gaged incarefully investigating this important subject, ittid they will not fail to report the result to the House as early as the nature of their inquiry will permit. April t, 3122. • • r.:4 ~. • • ASSIZE& • • • KINGSTON (qURREY), Atlttt: t. - praaapikillerit was indicted for usevalthilg Snail iavey, 11 . 1 eldely woman, on 'tkit-kinies highway s puttimber in fear, and stealing from her person two e highielpid sixpence, at Egham, on the 17th of No. vadher" It. The case ezeited cc ntidetalite interest ‘ dielcirministantes of oistrage with which , the alined robbery was attended: It appeared in evidence that the-prosecutrix, a wei. Sion far advanced in years, bad been attending th e - of her brother at *trines, on the day meat ' • in the indictment, and in theevening, between dire and tie o'clock, was returning home to Egharat She was overtaken by a. ruffian, %%hi), with a most tremendous oath, demanded her money. The ever_ ing was dark, and the weather extremely wet. She had a sixpence in her hand, which she intended to lay out on her way home. The rsiffian seized hold of her hand, and in his violence she fell into a deer ditch. He then dragged her through a hedge into an adjoining field, rifled her person, and treated her with the most brutal cruelty, leaving her apparently dead upon the ground. The ruffian left her, and quitted the road, exclaiming to himself, "Lost, lost'." Some persons passing on the road, heard the voice of a person in distress, and called out, " What is the matter?" The prisoner, who was close to the spot, said he had lost his way, and was put into his court by the passengers. Some hours afterwards, a wag goner going the same road, heard the voice of the prosecutrix crying for help ; but the night being dark, be could afford her no assistance; however, on his arrival in Egham, he gave an alarm that there was some unhappy female who had fallen into some peril. Two men set off from Egham forthwith with lanterns, and, after a search of some time, found the prosecu trix at two o'clock in the morning, drenched with wet, and in a most deplorable state from the brutal treatment she had received ; but after proper care she was restored to self-possession. She said, upon recovering, that she could swear to the voice of the man by whom she had been assaulted. The prose cutrix, as to the fact of the robbery, was not distinct in her evidence, and, under all the circumstances of the case, theJnry, though there was sufficient evidence of the prisoner's identity, found bim—Aot On the motion of the Counsel for the prosecution, the prisoner, however, was ordered to be detained for the assault. Jolla Matson Dolton was capitally indicted under the Stat.lBth of Elizabeth, for violating the per-on Matilda Atkinson, an infant under the age of 10 years. Mr. RYLAND conducted the case for the prosecu tion, and in a short but very impressive .speech de tailed the circumstances of the case to the Jury, wllich were of the most atrocious nature. The facts of the case were most fully proved by the unfortunate child herself, and by several other witnesses, who corroborated her in every important point, but they were of a nature unfit to meet the public eye. The COMMON SERJEANT and Mr. PLATT appeared for the prisoner, and called two witnesses, who de posed, that the poor child had, on two several occa sions, asserted that the injury complained of had'been committed not by the prisoner, but by a brother of her own, a lad of IS years old. Mr. Baron WOOD summed up the case to the Jury with great minuteness and impartiality, and they, without hesitation, found the prisoner Guilty. The Learned Judge immediately proceeded to pro nounce upon the prisoner the awful sentence of death, holding out to him not the slightest hope that any alleviation of the sentence would be extended to him. He commented upon the peculiar atrocity of the pri soner's conduct, describing him as a monster unfit to exist in a Chi istian country, and pathetically exhorted him, by sincere repentance and fervent prayer, to labour to make his peace with that justly offended GOD before whom he must shortly appear. The prisoner appeared quite unmoved during the whole of his trial, and even when he quitted the dock. The trial occupied the Court nearly five hours, and excited the most intense interest. BI RTHS. Thursday, at Iruhop'sWaltham, the Lady of Samuel it H . .-cys, Esq of three See tonys,who,with the mother, are doing well. Ftiday, la Whitehall place, Lady James Stuart, of a sti::. 31ABRIRD. Saturday, John Savage, Esq. of the Middle Temple, barristet• at-law, to Eliza, eldest daughter of the late Thomas l'atricklon, Esq. of Bhckhsatb. Saturday, at Flamatead, Frederick Franks, Esq. to Emily, second daughter of Sir John Saunders Sebright, Bart. Match 94 Charles C. Parks, Esq. of the Bengal Civil Service, to Frances Susanna, daughter of W. Archer,Esq. of Lymington. At Craigleith-house, the 48th inst. Andrew Tawse, Esq. writer•to the signet, to Margaret, fourth daughter of the late Alexander Brew, Esq. of Rath*. At the Cathedral of St. Columb, Thomas Kennedy, En. High Sheriff of the City and County of Londonderry, to Itliza. beth Olivia Rosetta, youngest daughter of the late George Cary, Esq. of White Castle, in the County of Donegal. In Kendal, Jiolden Dunbabin, Esq. Lieutenant in the Hon. East India Company's Military Service, Bombay, to Alice, daughter of Mr. Thomas Knowles, Kendal 'T little prof t tion with 1 . I the marls ill at once f • nice', • . . . .. . , . operitielt4l6l l iiiiSea tallatert of claim` diumaargra agiower in w hi c h wa h fTolspihiP lel the utmost imvoratnoi_te _he beought . maylideo s iatoadoteld yeas . lb , . 4 , 1. el l & Mtn distyi viherteetido piiiikiftiniloPirted I pot% dreataitaactatititarixteat with thii i" e existing *kw, emit toppoeittr Oily duty and. ' .of the lair. • . .. mposed by Parliament.. asidettati alteration For tarrying this purpose lota' Wet, it *Mid be C avr, upon all corn hereafter to be imported expedient; silk* the ports shall have opened at 110 s. pi !ign parts. (subject to a scale of duty hereafter to be final) to st -L- ••--1.. , ham .166th th aw . ;m o tive. preserve the principle ofon import price at a rate T 4 . . . • • •-• • ---....4,.: a swit_ ft DIED. March 25, at Milford, near Southampton, Captain Edmund Heywood, R.N. March 22, at Clerkington, nearßdinburgh, Governorlbu steno. March 15, Major David Wilson, Provost of Dunfermline, and senior Agent of the Bank of Scotland. At Highield, Linke Parish of A;latiret, aged 101, Mn. Mary Carr ; she retained her faculties in perfection to her la st moments. March 20, at Gnienock, aged 73, Nathan Wilson, Esq. writer lu Greenock, one of his Majesty. Justices of Peace for the County of Renfrew. At Cranagh, near Athlone, aged 79, Georg* Flood, r! , 41. a Justice Of Peace for the. Counties of Roscommon and Westima:is for many years. Friday se'nnight. at Northallerton, in the 54th year of hi are. Captain Edward Hare. He was Captain and Adjutant of the Catterick Volunteers, and latterly a Captain in the sth Veteran Battalion of tke Royal African Corps, in which Regiment lie served hi the islands of Senegal and Goree four years. March 10, at Sutton on the Forest, in the 20th year of hi. age, much and deservedly- respected and lassented by kis friends and acqmintanoe, George, the youngest son of George . Coaten, of the above place, one of the Society of Friends and. on Mon day, the 25th uk. in the afternoon, Francis Plower. of %heti, grandfather of the above, and father of. Mr. Flower, innkeeper, York, was found dead on Breathes% Moor. and his remains were conveyed to the inn. where a Coroner's In qu est sat upon the body next day, and returned a verdict of 41 lied by the visita don of GOD." lb was a highly respectable member of the So ciety of Friends, and in his 85,1 year, and was on his way to Leeds, to attend the oisarteriv Meeting, of Friends. NIGH-WATSitas.LONDON TO-.40111t tVi • Wm*: - minutes 4fter 11 AttersoNit • • - 40 12 LONDON; Printed and published by Lirezt. Kum, Picks-n -em, Temple-Ustr. 1 ,