The National Register. — London, England, 1815-02-26 00:00:00

, 1 • V.; THE N No. 574. THE • No. 574. TO THE EDITOR SIR—As the Con► Parliament, it is a que tain hew far it is wis tare to interfere and fi corn, the necessary at lead only to establish iners , an d whose princ happiness of foksr.fiftt ing weight of the land the great farmers, ar ruptcy and universal humanity or moral jt Legislature to interfer authorise them to ext done during the last t. Now, Mr. Editor, it is meant to add a r is a money bill for thi principle the land•ow by law that this inim statement of Mr. Greg of landed property a William Pitt, in Feb now a well known ahove what it was in Taking the landed i be. found that an in old receipts, has beer and equal to our wai inquiry is, whether money bill into a I the public revenue, owners. These fif drawn from the indut chanic and the labor 1687 1776 178.5 War Our Zing, ATIONAL REGISTER, 'tuna, ants tabs. PURLWLI , D,AT NO. 11, NEWCASTLE-STREET ) STRAND. PRICE. 9d. SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 26, 1 CORN LA WS. —mow. TO THE EDITOR OF THE NATIONAL REGISTER. Ste—As the Corn Laws are slow under consideration oil Parliament, it is a question of national importance, to ascer tain hew far it is wise, prudent, or politic, in the Legisla ture to interfere and frame laws to restrict the importation of corn, the necessary article of subsistence; laws which can lead only to establish a greater monopoly in our great far tners, and whose principles are destructive to the welfare and happiness of four-fifths of the population, who, by the press ing weight of the landlord's tax and the overbearing profits of the great farmers, are : now reduced to the verge of bank ruptcy and universal pauperism. Upon what principle (not humanity or moral justice) de the land-owners call on the Legislature to interfere, except it he to pass a money bill to authorise them to extort fifty millions annually, as they have done during the last twenty years, for their own advantage. Now, Mr. Editor, if I comprehend what a money bill is, it is meant to add a revattwe to the nublic purse : this, Sir, is a money hill for the use of private individuals, and on this principle the land-owners now ail( the Legislature to confirm by law that this stim of fifty millions is insufficient. By a, statement of Mr. Gregory King, in 1760, the yearly produce of landed property was thirteen by ditto of Mr. William Pitt, in February, . !TOG, twenty-eve millions. It , now a well known fact,. tiaktiii load bus-ipso two-thirds ahove what it was in 171514, and in swillstatasits thripo-foarthk- Taking the landed income at seeenty-five millions, it will be. found that an increased tax of tufty millions, above the. old receipts, has been extorted. This, - Sir, is a direct tax, and equal to our war expencei. The came of the present Inquiry is, whether Parliament shall, or shall not, pass this money bill into a law. This new law will not benefit the public revenue, but the private purse of the land owners. These fifty millions, it is evident, have been drawn from the industrious pint of the community, the me chanic and the labourer more than any other class,' by the loss of a part of their wages. The following statement, al though it has been before the public, will prove who have bees the losers, and who have pocketed the gains : Total Labourer's A .; • cif Price Total of Money a '1243 10 * Total of Bread. Loaves Wages 'I nor's Rate. CC for 11. per week Paupers. 6} 6 8• 37 40 6 24 66.5.364 563,964 695,177 818,851 moved the loaves from the table of the labourer,as well as from the confined stock-holders, or fixed annuitants. From 16r, it appears the fixed annuitant lost three parts of his annual income. and the labourer lost abece half. These Gen tlemen have still a Wish to pursue the saine • system of fraud, with this difference, that it should be made legal, although 13,807,136 pounds is the increase of poors' rates caused by their oppression, making a total of 03,807,136; this sum, added to the war expellees and interest of, the national debt, make the burthen tremendous for any reflecting mind to think of. These, Sir, are questions that few people have taken pains to investigate. These observations I recommend to the consideratio - n of thole noble, but little-minded great men, who are strenuous in the cause of oppressing the poor. If we - examine the statement of 1812, when bread was Is. Bd. the loaf, and 155. formed the labourer's wages, we shall find that he only received nine loaves fOr his weekly corn wages, whit h were three less than he received in 1811, causing thereby a week ly loss to the labourer equal to ss. This accounts very plainly . for the .great increase of 831,737 paupers in 13.11. Where-can this difference take its first source of action but from the tax laid on the land by the land-owners, becauSe, it caused the high pi ice of corn, as the labourer's wages Were not regulated by corn value? The difference between corn weger and money wages was a real loss to the labourer and fixed annuitantv, and a gain to that amount to the laad-owners• and 'farmers. if the propositions now under Legislative dissuasion auto be law, that los. per bushel for wheat be the fixed price, the quarters loaf will never be lea thee Is. Id. and, in all probability, it may rise to Is. 6d. ~cor eyed to Is. Bd. Should this take place, we array expect increase of half a million of paupers to add to our dis tresses. Yet, Mr. Editor, Earl Darnley and others, at the late Maidstone . meeting, wished to impress on the multitude, that stopping the free-impartation (whereby the quartern loaf will be advanced), would be for the benefit of the working class. The distress the cultivators of land experience now, rises more from the heavy rents of their landlords, who have enjoyed luxury to-excess, while four-fifths of the nation have been scourged with the horrors of war taxes and land-ownei's taxes. The public have relieved the cultivators for the last twenty years, and supported the land-owners. The redress the cultivators now claitn must originate from such nelsons as Earl Darnley and Sir John Seahright and other supporters of the present system, making a reduction of‘tirir oppressive rents. Probably these men of rank supposed that English men were fools and void of common sense, to hear milt patience a complete lib'l on their understanding, without showing a just reprehension, which they received from their hands. As our manufactories are now in a state of suspended animation. will the present plan relieve the cultivator, benefit the land-owner, and add fresh vigour to our com merce, or will it not totally destroy our commerce as a manufacturing state, by the advance of labour to meet the price of provisions, which must he the result of e intended alteration of the Corn Laws ? Again. by the e of trade, labour will be less wanted, and by 'belie ;.: : . ;• ; A * _ s. 8 15 1,5!3,163 B 16 1,943,649 1792 7 34 9 13 1803 10 24 10 12 1311 12 20 12 12 1812 20 12 ib • 9 Ibls it 20 12 11 By the above statement, we have increased our paupers during this war 1,124,106. and an increase of poors' ra has taken place during that period of 13,807,136/. annu Now, Mr. Editor, it is evident who are the parties Va. VII. No. CCCLXXIV. 2,645 5c.. , 0 953.326 4,113,164 1 08,.716 5,922,9 1 4 1,247.695 16,452,656 2,079,432 ( 414 ex.-;• •- ' I.' ~~