The National Register. — London, England, 1822-04-08 00:00:00

109 AGRICULTURAL 1 EPORI'. I' AR I.IAMENTA RY PAPER. The Select vainniittee appointed to inquire into the elle gations of the several petitions, which have been pre sented to the house in the last and piesent Selltioll4 of Parliament, complaining of the distressed state of the agricoltorepf the United Kingdom, and to report their observations thesesspon to the house. Considered that ; ..... nut: all the important objet is refer red to them, noise could be more deserving of their earliest atleautosi aims am inquiry into any measures that could be suggested for affording some tempormy relief to the dis tressee of which the simeerons petitiimer* with so much reasooti complain, and which appear, (runt the returns of the averages prices tit costs dotting, the late weeks*, to be 'imperatively inerea•ing rallies titan Your committee do tiot veldt's e 10 dries 'Mae, whether the ',teem,' stale of the corn 11141 ket is owing to all 1111CCOI of lIIIIIIIIrIIOI I , or IU wlust extent that 1 . 74C' ss may leech, beyond the usual and requisite supply; er whether the necessities of the ocessitlClS 01 . I.lllil rall , C an unprece dented- eagerness to dispose of their produce at almost may price: but it appears from an of f icial stint u, that ate quantity of British wheat and oats (hut not of barley)vold in Mai k•latte, between the Ist of November and the 1.1 of March last, hes %try coneiderably exceeded the (raw tity sold fit the corteepottiliog mouths of the 20 ',acceding yeere. Such an excess of sopply beyond demand ran bare no other effect than to coidi e the depression of price, and islet ease the Accumulation of the stork upon hand r while it is evident, from the present very low rate of 'mice on the continent of Esti ore, as compared with prices in this eminity, that there is nu chance of resorting to the natural espedient of eel - eying the mat ket by repotting any por tion of our owe. core, even wall the sill tit any bounty wildcat would not he excessive. Two other modes have thesefore been under the consi derations of your committee ; by the first of w hick it was prupoeed, that one million of Exchequer Rills should be applied to purchasing, through the agency of (-tavern meet, and laying imp in stole, a certain portion of wheat grown in the United Kingituns ; and by the second, that facility and earunragentent shuouLl be udered to individu als to deposit a part of their mut k in Vial ellollirt, w that they might not he forced to come into the market simul tiattemisly, and fielder the disadvantage of excessive tont petition, but might be enabled to watt until the supply, having approached mean., to the welds of the cons 1111 l ets, alight ittford, if slot a remunerating, et least a price suttee what leas ruinous for their produce. With regard to the dist of these proposals, the general objections against making the public, t lit °ugh the execs'. live government, a dealer and speculator in I'olll, the survisiviosix to which it might give rise, and the uneasiness to the public feeloig which it 'eight eventually excite, the danger of its being drawn into precedent, the claims winch it tonight he essppoeed I 9 give to other important articles of domestic produce, whenever they might be sposed to •iUlilar depieseion, and the universal stile of allowing till artiele*,as as as possible, to find their own natural level, by leaving the supply to adjust itself to the demand, discourage your euntinitta C bum reconmiendine It, even tinder this exit aurtlinaty emergency, and wills all the guards and qualiticatiuns of a tempurery expedient. Lint with regard to the second, although much less rib catious in its operation. the objectiuu of government becoming a put chaser does nut apply, as nobs idnals would in this case act fur themselves. and arcoriling to their owls discretion. the Govetionent inlet tering no otherwise thins by making advances noon the commodity deposited, which would be repaid, wills a low rate of 'li ttlest, as M.lOll as the article should be brought to market. For effecting this object, two diffetent modes have been esiggrattd ; by one of which it was proposed, that when the weekly average price is smiler ohs. (the impost scale tOrnaillillig as at 'ileum') wheat should be stored, subject to a smoothly allowance of sixpence per toaster, until the average price should reach his. The whule qaatitity out to exceed 000,001 quarters, and the time for which the allowance should be payable out to exceed 12 or IS months. Nut mote than a certain moodier of quarters, nor his; than another specified number of quartets, to be shoed on the pet t of any individual or flint. The owner of the cull, so deposited to be at liberty to withdraw it at any time, waving lets claim to aIIOWAUCC,Ur artontlitig it. The miter proposition was, that for the purpose of re liesitig the glut which at present ;nesse& upon the grain fiestkei, Site Gaveinisiesit, whenever the average price of wheat Altai' be outlet ties.eliotild grata ads anees of 'money upon smell corn of the gl - 111N111 or the United hiegtlont, us ',amid he deposited in tit and ',weer warelitmats upon the gives Tuaities, and lo the putts to be lies caller speci tied, to an charm nut exceeding ion thirds of the 111411 ket •aloe of such corn; the quality of the ci,rit and the tittles* tit ihe warehouses to lie elipieved of by tattier+, to be ap ',Anted by the Governmeta. The loan to tie at tile rate of 3 per cent. and the pet hid of deposit not to tlICCI•11 Ili 111,..a1it, the coin to lie wuhdtawit at the will of the depositor, upon pay lurid of the lutes Ist, warehouse sem, told other chat gee. The. MIDI of one million so applied would probably be Cully adequate to give a teutpoi•ie chase k to 1110 excess whielsis centuple:ay posed IlItU the volt eady °vet stocked mat ket. It the bootie should be inclined to epee with your rninnittteeen cuuutenauciug the latter of teese pioposi snow, it is evident Cott iv ought to lead to bOllll . Immediate toureeibug ; rid although no very gee., cit,ct can he contemplated (lout adopting it, its operation, as far as it /bay exteud,talt bardly fail to &Maid 60111 e temporaty welter. another elelalllC also to which it is fit to call Use tatty at rutty') of the Isuese. 'lite toteign glean and dour of all costs in differed vareCeau , es under the. King's lock, tippeat* to have anioulitrit,on the 6118 ut January last, to Mr. Jae qmittess; with segard to which, ultliongli tliate is blue ptuimbitsly teat it C 411.140011 COUIC 1010 COIII,OIOOII CUli our liume prodece,,el it still bangs over tie market in a lumitiable sue**, sea.:y to be petit v , t itt at 011 C t. CI, ailing mu meals de aler or 'cone as to Its suture Opel allt/11, add nicet.le 41 with a s'nt of claim (winch is of the ntinnt , t tin t 01 - tailee) 10 4e out face loom ditty. whenever the put ts • I' rite., It; March ..1.5‘. 9 ..... bigliftt price of any one Id. wcci 10 4 '4: JD 47.. 7d. - "•-'"r• TnE.NATIONAL REGISTER. opened under the emitting how, even supposing any duly shall be imposed by Parliament, under an alteration of that law, upon all corn hereafter to be imported Irons foreign pmts. To ieliere the market from both these inconveniences, it may be proper la permit the holders of such corn now in werehoisiwe, mailer certain adequate regulations and restrieliont, to have the same ground into dour fur the 'oppose ot exportation; and also to provide by legislative enactment, that in future any foreign corn warehoused in leis kingdom shall ha considered as corn coining troth abroad, and subject to all such ditties and regulations as are or may from lime to lime be imposed upon corn cum. ing directly loon a !Melee] putt. A proposition,which, was submitted to your committee, for advancing loans to polishes on the coedit of the appeared to be atieneted will, so meaty difficulties, and to be so little applicable to Elie purpose of alleviating the distresses abide are complained ot,that they do not deem it necessary to meter into any examination of it, our to lay it before the house. itliich as your committee lament that so little prospect of immeiliaie relief can be held out to the urgent distresses which have been embiteitted 10 their anxiusts considee snots, they think it materiel to obviate and connteract ally no founded alarm which may have been, either causally ur Molests iously, circulated, that there was ever the least iiit endues entertained by your committee of rendering the present condition of the Digest) Nettie:rims UlO se then if is ler the exisiing law ; and they thereto' e with gi eat confidence, to the house, that die Act of the of the late King, c. 23, which regulates the impoita time of furt•iget corn, ought to cuntitale iii force tined the average price fur wheat shall be 80s. per tie., and other kinds of grain in proportion. It is impossible to tarry 'protection further than mono poly ; and it cannot be denied, that this monopoly the British grower has possessed for mute than three years, that is, ever biller Fe brutal y, lhl9, wttli the exct•puuu of the ill-timed and unnecessary impel tidos) of somewhat more than 700,00 a (putters of ()ate, which took place doting the summer el Irate. It must be considered fur ther, that this protection, ill consequence of the increased valise of our eisrieacs, and the piesent state of the supply of corn combined with the prospect of hit early harvest, may, in all probability, remain uninterrupted tor ■ very considerable lime to come. But fur the purpose of obviating the dangers in which this law can hardly fail, Rooster or lacer, to involve the entity:goes oldie soil, and ill contest wily to the reasoning contained in the report of the cosmoittee of the last session upon din same subject, some material cheisge must be cositemplated : your committer, thee efore, cautiot asoul sugge-sting, whether, under a full view of all the cite - stances, it may not be the duty of Parliament to turn its immediate net ention to the ruiteons consequences %hick must hallow an unlimited importation and nee sale of the Outplay produce of the whole agricultural world, which is known at this time to be in a state of glut, at least equal to that which prevails within Iles kingdom, no less impa tient for, and unprovidial with a minket, with a dif y raised at h less charge than our own, which the proprietors would be wady to sell even at a considerable ova, rather then not dispose ot it at all. The excessive iticonvenicuce and tinpolicy of our pre sent system have here so telly tt veto!, slid 50 salisrarlo • rily exposed in the report already alluded to (p. 10 and IV), that it is unnecessary to du more than icier to it ; adding only, that every thing which has happened suit• sequent to the preselowtion of that report, as well as all our experience since 11l i, has inure mid more tended to de 'striate how little reliance can be placed upon a regulation which contains nu ab•olnte prohibition up to a eel lain price, and an unlimited competition beyond that price; which, so far from affueding steadiness to Our inai ket, may at one time reduce priers already too low still lower than they might have been under a tree trade, and, at amigo r, unnecessarily enhance pi ices ale eady so high ; which lends to aggravate the evils ot• scarcity, and resider more severe the depression of price groan abundances The mode its whirls these excessive inconveniences may re ceive some (liijing for the present out of the question •that perineneut basis may be ultimately the fittest tur our corn trade) appears to (mutat in the iroposition of a duly upon all foreigii corn, w henever upon opeiring our ports it should be admisinUle for home rOsibUttlilloon. 'flea occupier of the land would thus obtain, in prupoi to the amount of such duty, a protection which is withheld from him under the retrain.; law ; but ill relent for loch protection, it is no inure thou reasonable leeward, the consumer, that the import 'woe should be fixed at a rate somewhat loner thou Mts., because the new duty would utiles wise slot only check the sudden mid over 'echoing annalist of hue also enhance the plate beyond that which it asii,ist reach under the present systrili; nor must at be lost sight of so uny fume regul at ion, out ow to the great alteration 111 our currency, 1300 may and do not represent a deferent aped colooderably higher value thus in Itlls, as sCalleuteal by tie price of all articles 01 rtiiisUololol l . Should rat hanteht decide to legislate during the present session, seer eutinnittee would recuiniuend, that, after our is heat snail have leached SO,. all never cgrentittounces, out note to be foreseen, may have effected sit great u change, a tosser price may be assumed tur the luture import, sulutct to a duty. %Veen lite importers knna• that their grain can in no ruse Come into the ket without pay's% u ieuttilt suin as duly, besides she chargers of importation, warehousina, and ether hicidental expenses, they as ill be less ready to ad venture middy (host under tilt entirely free trade; they will olio withdraw their torn, which may be bodged in warehouses graduall), awl ugh enure crcum•pectuu, than they do at present, and will ingui ally endeavour to tied the Minket rather than inundate it. It is now their interest to take their wholesluck,ieuwruse us it may be, at unce Erma nutlet to, Kies'. lock ; Wu ei hen they most pay duty for every quarter a hick a reinotea, Ih.y wish prudently eaten lute the lime th .t any large boa k may remain on hood [afore they can di-pose of it to advantage. Tar toundation at duly future bill should be the pi ihciple of so far muddy ine Use opeiution of xisieng law a, to obv late, as La as .:a) hi, by the iiiiiiiititioii of reietteintil duties upeo 1.l lareiga g. Kea tar home can sumptere, the suiden amid irrii,i,ular thornier in witch ►aru fOreigal wale May now be iutiodurea tyoll the OpeliWg tor of the ports ried‘ r egret* .stoners iacwbutcul with the spit it eta , ' totem iur.s of toe law. For ciii lying this /WI lits,e in effect, it would he expelling, after the poets shall leave oaceed at bus.) snhje. t lo a scale of duty heieatter to lar lilted) la pi est.' ve tae pi inciple 01 au i e rne prier: at it rate soatsl at lower than the CS i,t.tig I i oft Ante of *.OP., 301 ' , An coanuttie ate of -opinion ~_ that 10a. would not he as Improper limit to amuse te that prier. That a duty front Its. to 13s. should he imposed upon, foreign wheat fur home come:option, when the price is lawn IN. to 80s. Also, that n duty of 6s. sholdil be imposed upon such wheat, when the price is from 80s. to 855.; utter which the duty should be reduced to Is. And that a farther udditi I duly of Si. should be im posed upon wheat imported or taken oat of warehouse for home cuosoinpi ion, for the first three tips after the putts open,ffild when the price is Irum 10, tit 83:. And Its, the purpose of rectifying the scale which governs the import, the general proportion a hich the price of ums bears to the price of wheat, appearing to elated the leo port 111 l aliieli was assumed Is. exist, a lieu Vly. was liseil as the im r ort price of oats, your co 11111 l lace suggest, that it would he expedient to increase that prier, so us to bear a more accurate ',amortises' to the price of wheat. 'Yale scale sit w h ich barley is estimated appearing to be mote Cori eel than that of mils, the same propel lion which it now hears to wheat, appears fit to cuutinue, under any future alteration of the import pace. The 6th, 7 tli, dth, and 9th clauses of the act, which re gulates alw holm, tat 1111 l (atom, make 'Hosts fur admitting coin, meal, or 8 sue t being the grow tli, produce or inanufac. lure of any British colony or plantation in North America, for boom consumption, best British wheat is at a Issuer price than 80s.; wall regard to which colonies, it will lie consist. lit nolo good faith and sound policy to preserve the slime relative lath:truce above foreign runt, in tile event of any future alteratiou being applied to the scale of prices or olduties. In compliance a ith an application made to them by seer ral of the own, rs of the for eig t grain now stored in ware. pauses, your cummittee have a). catty recommended, flint permission may be granted, under sulfir tent and tidequirte regul.isinto, to convert it into doer, and export it ill that shape, by whicii means crone portion of this large stork will be carried out of the kiogd•ms, nod remove all apprehension that the go:mattes so ground donut can ever enter men c - ',cation with our I produce; hut to the event of II large portion not being thus disposal uf, and still remaining tote, it appears practicable to adopt it method which luny render this remainder also advantageous, rather than dicta mental. in its effect 'von the %aloe of Bo ttish cant, whenever the average price of our British wheat shall hove uisrn to 70s. and fluctuate between 70s. nod 84).. ; for if it lie then a•lowell to be taken out far hotue consumption, sultjeci to a duty of ITs. per quarter for the first three mouths, mid after wards to a duty of les., the interest or the proprietors of this grain a ill lie brought whet') into 10116110 With that of the British agriculturist, and other importers of foreign grain; so that every endeavour v.. 11 he resorted to. an their part, to adsalice the pace to 70s. that th-y may libeiscie their own stocks but to keep it below 80. that they may exclude all foreign competitors. The equitable claim %latch the holders of the grain, already deposited under the act of the 55th, of the late Kiug, app. ar to possess, will thus he beneficially preserved to them, mitl the danger of ten immense Minix of foreign produce a ill be mitigated and preferred if not wholly prevented. It taunt of course be left optional to the proprietors in question, to avail I lieruselv es of alias permission, or to abide by the couditions of the existing law, under which they im ported ; but in the first ease, the pastrami of it moderate dot y will enable them, at an Cal lie, period, to eider a market over which they may exercise some coot r uul cot jonoly with all the dealers in Batisti corn : while is, the oilier, tory ClOl hardly expect to stein the torrent of firs eien produce posited in upon our existing supply, and the immediate depeessiois of value a hick must altsvi,ida lily accompany it. If the CiITIIIIOIIIII6CII of 11116 c1.1161111y Should hereafter allow the trade in corn to be permanently settled upon a footing constantly opeo to all the woad, but subject. to such it tiled and uniform duty us might compensate to the Hi.tish grosser the dittereme ut expence at which his roes can be raised and brought to market, together wills the fair rate of prod: 111104 P the capital employed, compared with the exp. nce of production, and other charges attending cora grown and isuported from abroad, such u system would in many respects be preferable to any modificicion of regula tions depending upon average prices, with an ascending and descending scale of duties; because it would prevent the effects of combination and speculation, in endeavouring to raise or depress abuse averages, and to ender inuratateriol these inaccuracies a Inch, from management or ne g ligence, have oecusiemelly produced, and may again produce, such mischievous eff els Bison our market: but your co 11111 l itlee rather look forward to suck it system us lit to be kept in view fur the ultimate teitilency of our law, than us practicable is tams any short or definite period. A protecting dilly %latch Might It this day be hardly sufficient to gonad our home market fan the most meat helining c petition, might, when the excessive abundance nit the coutinent shall have been absoi bed, operate against the real wants or this kingdom, and subj act the groweis , __ us well Its the con s umers. to the greatest incuovemeace. Years of dearth man again make it itidispeitsubie to have recourse to foreign produce for a part of tour supply, although in seasons of ordituary plenty it 111:1y be hoped that our ono agriculture has bees, so im proved aud e11C1011.61, 10 10 secure this kingdom from a stale of dependence upon sillier, and eveutually hostile, territories tot lite sa 616:611CC of its population. Your committee have telt it their duty, for obvious reasons, to lay is about further delay before the (louse, the result of their deliberat ; but thi y a cold consider that they hod omitted a most material p:.rt of the task imposed olio', them, if they neglected to enquire lido tne system upuo %loch foreign coin is warehoused. Your committee one now est gagel 111 filrefUlly investigating this important subject. and they not fail to report the result it, the house us curly as the Wlllllll. of the enquiry will permit. Aped General Alava, the Spanish officer who distin guished himself under the Duke of Wellington, at Waterloo, and who subsequently bad a pension of 8000 dollars granted him by the King of Spain, for his gallant conduct, has generously relinquished the whole, in aid of the exigencies of the Government. General Alava is Deputy to the Cortes for Vittoria. —A unanimous vote of thanks was passed by that Assembly in acknowledgment of the sacrifice. Viscount Chateaubriand, the ambassador from the King of France to the British Court, arrived on Wednesday at Calais from Paris. Th ere was a p rert at 'Calais that his Royal Highness I mince Leopold might be shortly expected there on his re ' turn to England. -