The National Register. — London, England, 1815-03-19 00:00:00

VAT very ul tives. able th to the ons he petitio quiete eng nir • On thi Comm t /lute 1 Such ‘, lunum spite o to disc • of last tion was In 1 best r Inc, w for tho f Berko queue 9 his re) which tire, i the ev were 4 that p and nu which that t point The s j( ct. circal ► from as 1101 be wh onsly than lie %vs range comer train' ing a much they I point color again. quiry Brita Th had part • and r agree tint), • Frien Lo 1 porta tdinl 3 Lo riod I was beat Lo dist ri for tt Lo r hear( corn • quest or till r upon itielit shout equal THE NATIONAL REGISTER. CH 1 unjustly, to have supported the Own Bill from interested taus , At present lie merely demanded sufficient inforsnation to en sile Home to come to a decision satisfactory to themselves and public.—Never had so great a mileber of respectable petitis been presented on any subject. If the people were right. their 'ion out to be granted; if they were wrong, they might to be itened by proper information. Discontent could never be steti by precipitation. It might he asked whether any further iiry was necessary, after the evidence which had been prothiced. as point, lie hoped the House would follow the advice of the Committee, which bad itself declared the cvider re before it was incomplete, and that further examination was necessary. was the opinion of the Co'nimittee, since the delivery of which, 'miserable petitions had been laid before their Lordships. Yet in _ of this opinion and these petitions. the House was to proceed discussion w ithout one title more evidence than it was possessed s ession. By the Bill, 80s. was the price at which importa would be allowed. On this ntost material point the evidence not only not satisfactory, but often contradictory. From the informed persons with whom he had held any communication, was a sufficient price. Even admitting that 80s. was necessary the English grower, how could that price be effected if the I r i s h agriculturist could undersell them ? Either this must be the conse "wore, or the Ii Soh landlord would be enabled greatly to increase !Tilts. The House possessed no information as to the price at 'llcorn could he be imported front foreign countries. Some no indeed, had been taken of the importation from the Baltic in !violence, but by the happy establishment of peace, other ports now opened in France and the Netherlands ; and he hoped peace would be of long duration, nninternpted by a late attempt not cntlangered by an interference on our part in any struggle ich might take place. From all experience, it might be expected the average would be much lower than the real price, and this should not be forgotten in the consideration of this question. state of circulation was also a most important part of the sub- The nominal price could not be the same as if bullion was the dating medium. Since April, 1814, the price of gold had fallen 51.115. to 41. 9s. When the Bank resumed its payments in cash, hopes were held out it would soon do, 80s. would not in real value what it was now. He thought the average and assize both errone managed, and that the price of the loaf ought not to be more ts. when wheat was at SO.. Of the distress of the agricultnrists ,Jas fully aware, but what was the cause of it ? The geiteral de rangement of the country, after a long war. Every branch of the community must suffer before all could subside after so much dis 'dunce. He hoped Government would set an example, by adopt -. system of economy and retrenchment. He urged inquiry, as tell for the sake of agriculturists as of any other body of men, as • had suffered from unfounded prejudice. The noble Earl then sted out the necessity of preserving the dignity of the House; weed the reciprocality of the interelte of all 'classes of the com ity ; sheaved the respectability and, importance of the petitions lust the Corn Bill ; and concluded by • a general motion for en. iry respecting the growth and Consumption of Corn in Great stain and Ireland, and all the laws relating thereto. • lie Earl of DER ov professed liiinself.friendly to a nseasure which been adopted for the relief and p?election . of the agricultural of the community ; but when he contemplated the nuiltitnde respectability of the petitioners trgaittA tt, he could not help agreeing in the propriety of the House receiving farther informa ..-.atui therefore he should agree in the motion of his Noble riend. Lord SPENCER was anxious for enquiry. The nature of the im tation from Fiance and Flanders, still so nuaseertained, was cer .gly a good ground for further examination. Lord ST. JOHN observed, that we had begun the war against nee, by refusing to send her corn. She then and for a long before, was an importing country. England was an exporting The state of things had been %itignhirly chanced, and France now coming to overflow us.—The Noble Lord seemed to against the motion. Lord 8t3.111.3.v wan peculiarly connected with a manufacturing trier, and his knowkdge of its necessities would make him vote the motion. Lord St nmouTis could not discover, from any thing that he had, the least reason for delay. It could not be denied, that the produced in England was inadequate to. her support, and the location wa', whether the deficiency should be supplied by Ireland by France. Hut the supply from France must alway 4 depend upon her own convenience • and even recently the French Govern• it had decreed, that no exportation shonld take place when corn mid be as high as 494. a, quarter, a price in that country fully Ina to our 90a. He therefore opposed the motion. Lords KING and DARNLEY spoke shortly in favour of 4 Coin mittee. Lord GRENVILLE contended, that the evidence upon which the House NU called upon to pass this Bill was of Use most partial na ture ; lie therefore maintained that the House ought to have further evidence before they proceeded in it. He concluded an elaborate speech by observing, that nothing had ao much contributed to the prosperity and reputation of this conntry as the confidence of the mass of the people in the lauded interest, and he conjured their Lordships to pause before they gave existence to measure which siti2ht have the dreadful effect of shaking that hitherto unshaken confidence. The Earl of LIVERPOOL was sure the proposed Bill would be be neficial to all classes—the clamour without doors ought to have no effect on their decision—a speedy determination was absolutely ne ressary ; the landholders, he believed, must lower their rents, but they could not jndge until this question was decided, hOW they were to lower them, or in what proportion.—As to the objections to the present system of averages, he thought it much better to legislate on the existing system of averages, as by that means only we could compare the erect produced by this measure, with the effects of the old system. IVith regard to the erect of this measure upon the assize of bread, there had been a strange and gross misstate ment made in a certain place. It appeared. indeed, pretty plain, that the people of this metropolis could never eat their bread as cheap as in other parts of the kingdom, while the present assize of bre,.d lasted, and while the system of averages lasted, upon which that assize was fonnded. He wished, indeed, that this assize could be done away with altogether. Upon a division the numbers were--For Earl Grey's motion--Con tents present, 13 ; Non-contents present, 81—Proxies, 43-124 Majority against the Motion, 106.—Athourned. TUESDAY, MARCH 14. The House received various petitions against the Corn Bill, and amongst them that from the town of St. Alban's.—Adjourned. WEDNESDAY, MARCH 15. , Lord GRENVILLE presented a petition from the Common Council of Losidoa, praying that before their Lordships proceeded to legi•lato on a subject of such importance as the Corn Laws, they would hear their petitioners against it by their Counsel at the bar. cons LAWS. The Earl of litvcrtroot., in moving for the second reading of tilt Corn Bill. felt it incumbent on hint to request their Lordships' in diligence while he should deliver the reasons by which he was guided in the support to which he thought the Bill entitled from him. The subject itself was one that he had considered and re-considered over and over again for the last three years, He should in entering upon it on the present occasion, first enquire what the situatieli of •the country was. This was a great agrienitural as well as commercial country, and it was the business and the duty Of the Legislature to consult and promote the interests of one as well as the other of those classes of the community. That dirty they were to keep steadily in view, and not be guided by the policy which might prevail in other countries differently circumstanced. They must not depend upon others. They . 1111111 st look to securlty at home, and rely, on them selves ter the means of guarding against the chances and accidents which might deprive them of the chief article of human subsistence. That must, in such a state, be the common object and interest of Iles manufacturer, an well as the agriculturist. It was not the object or the tilends of that Bill to protect or set up the interests of one class o f society against another, but to unite altos a subject interesting to all, and ter the benefit of all, against ftweign interests. As to the doctrine 'that legislative inteiference is injurious to agriculture. he would put the fact abstractedly"; and if the question was then to be entered on for the first time, he should act accordingly. If the maxim were universally or eenerally acted npr to, he should freely subicribe fo it as good and beneficial; it world deed be the euthanasia of policy. But the truth was, not been the practice in this country, nor in any other country sidlWarly circuits. stanced. He should recommend, indeed, if we were to legislate de 310t0, to let capital operate, and corn as well as other articles to find their level ; but then the same system should extendw manu factures also. it . corn was .to be left to itself, so should 41gy eller article the produce of industry and ingenuity. But restrictions a protections had long been given by the Legislature to help the ma. • nufacturer, and bolster up his interests, and they could not at mice : 4 be rejected ; and as long as those protections were yielded to manufacturer, to withhoW the same from the agriculturist, %mill he to injure and discourage him.—The fewer restrictions there were. certainly the better; but to deity to one class of the cotatuailty .1 _,.~..;. .~ ~~ _~; '-:9r -