The National Register. — London, England, 1819-04-25 00:00:00

L 00011, • 11UNDY, APRIL' 26,.• 1819. THE CORN -LAWS, 111t3r—ot [ninth • equally honourable; and perhops eq.?aliy eklightened, may yet be.. found to differ very seiiiely In their views ache same subject. This may possibly bevhe ease•upon the present occasion amongst toOSe who may do us the honour to read our pages, but we trust they will also , kind enough to remember that inn: , tigatiou is the best and only way of artiving at synth, and that our columns will be quite-open to any individual wi:o may be disposed to contaevert our doe vines, and especially upon a point so intricate and iitiportant.as that to which our attention is now directed, varttely; the state ofthe Corn Laws, and the Petitions pre to ratiisment on that subject ; a subject which at :wit deserves a patient discussion, from its weight in the stti.e °Pour national interests and welfare, and a cairn and te:hperate enquiry, from its peculiar tendency to agitite e., paki;:c feeling. A large portion of the community, 'we ure quite aware, are ro habituated to connect every Y.:ming with Use simple idea of a ;heap loaf, as to need stimulus to induce them to reject at once every con• loderation of remote consequences, and a still larger por t•in are enabled to contineltend chose circumstances niust, in our apprehension, be its immediate and inseirarable attend:lms, under our present state of a de 'preetatud• currency an , l.a tnost burthensonie system of IVe cannyt, therernre, butcartiestly deprecate !aacation. i;,,Let-ktniti; warmth 0112 point so de: icate and tender, and It'll less Jots it appear to he justifiable when so many of those rho.are most• coin petent to decide such a' question,. bta patriotism cannot , be doubted, :lave maintained •that this country is both able and ought to be encouraged to supply us with the first ne etsaar:ea of life. OF the Petitions themselves referral et►,.. ; rigs have itttithet4conr.not award, nos know.,► way 11'2 MOM LAST SIG 'S GAZEITE. WHITEHALL, Amur. so. The Lord Chant...nor has appointed Alfred Edward Corer : of 7.7arket lletping, Lincoln, Gent.. and Joiiepti Vt ilson, of White haven, Gent. Wbe I.l3ters Extraordinary in the High Coat of Chancery. BANKRUPTCY SUPERSEDED. W. Watkinson. Strand. bout-maker. BANKRUPTS. T. Penfold, Watling Street.. warehouseman. J. Voider, Savage Gardens, Tower Hill. merchant. C. Laing. Carron! Street, Liiiiehouse Hole, chandler. 1 J. 11,-adihaw, C:alise Street, Soho, tailor. h. H. Self. Whitten:no Street, grocer. J. Moon. Acres Bhrn..Mancliester. cotton spinner. T. Wart, Preston, Lancashire, manufaeturei. T. Rubinson, 'P. H. Robinson , and R. Haneock, l‘lanchester, cotton merchants. R. Harris. Wood Street, Spite!fields. stationer. J. Lloyd, Carnarson, shopkeeper. 3. Palmer. Wellingborough, Northampton. wine merchant. ti. llolbmok. Pleet Market. pou'derer. 3,, Nightingale and T. Byrne, Georje Street, Portman Square, vtilnrs. J. Hunter and J. On, Barge Yard, Ducklersbury, et anti.. I'. 'rock, Rn-c S.A.:att. Newgate Market, butcher. Radford, Strand. tailor. w . I.* ooke , Binning:tam, mereltnnt. *C. Tailor. Bristol. toba::o and snuff seller. R. Jordan, and .t. Smiei. Stratford. and J. Liteltfield, Lead rabid' Street, cat::: proprietors. T. Filerby, Poole. Dorset, linen draper. .1. Atherton. Warrington. cabinet maker. Harsiarßradford. Wilt., baker. DIVIDENDS. May IS, R Boyle, Upper Thames Street, merchant-15. W. lhruard. Lloyd's Coffee Milne, underwriter-15. W. Parker, High Street, Whi tec hapel; oilman-15, S. Corrode Padding ton Street. bookbinder-15. it. Friday. Jun. Islewoith, barge inalte--15, T. Dowidy and I. Dowley. Willow Street. corn and Mal rnereha , ta—ts. T. Coburn, Newland, Oxford. wool et3plar—ts. .1. Dubois, .Brixton, Surrey. insurance brokzr— and 13, J. Dowciall. Dartmouth Street, carpenter-15, O. AValf J. Wise. Ntinelieter. cotton dealer-15. T. Roper. Islington, topernaker—ls.. W. Clancy. Adam's Csure; BMA Street, pro violas merchant-15. I.E. Jolinsoa, Hyde Street, Bloomsbury. motet mariner-15, W. Crook. Rlackbarn, Lancaster. former .It' Underhill, Ritmingliatu, merobant-17r rt- Cray. Norwich. household broker. CERTIFICAI'ES to be granted May 15, • 3. 3. Highlield and C. ilighfield, Liverpool, mercharte-1 ' Mayhew, St. Orgill. Essex, miller—C. Hoppe , , Little Trin , ty Lace, lace M' Michael Pernith. mercer—B. this, Salop, saddler —I. Stein. Rutz*: 110 W, East Smith field. tectifier—C. Bishop, High Stroet, 3&thwark, linen d-`per --W. Neste. Swaeting's Combat,. silretsmith.--S. Fors ter, lace dealer. ~puct Book Stuck J per Cent. 11g a Per Coat CA.... 7EI Woor Cem. 4 prr Cele. 9 5 per Cour. Yis v Loris Pao. 121 1144. 3r. 'Mocks. \a • nt Jo Insp. 3 per C:ro. ItAla 11.11.1, 37 Ll 4 Ha Stock' 4theipier Bala 41. 414 . Coin. fssr•Ae. 111 ainttery Ticket. W. 14s. THE NATIONAL ...ILEGISTER., THE NATIONAL REGISTER! thing more than has appeared in the public journals.— But as fir as we can gather front them, their whole scope and prospect has been simply to recommend and pray fur" open ports and protecting ditties." It does not ettis appear to be their object to make so, alteration in the iiiiport4iitt prices already fixed, but that those pro tections and securities, which the Legislature by its late enactments certainly - intended to afford, but which are tinw wove(' to be ineffectual, should be realized and coal:armed. flow it came to be overlooked in the last Corn Bill, that the moment the ports were opened, or likely to be so, speculation would be bu.;ily employed, and that even a stunt interval would be sufficient to set at nought every previous restriction, to fill the cam ntry with foreign grain when no supply was wanted, and to plate the English farmer upon a level with the cheapest countries in Europe, excepting threepence only of im portation, it is now too late to argue. Thaa. such, however. is the fact, arid the present condi' on : of our Crirn Laws. is clear and undisputed, and but two poiwss stew now to, remain worth contending about•. The first is, whether it he adviseable to sweep.away at owe all our legitl'atire restrictions on the foreign , supplies of corn, as being of more disadvantage than good to the i eneral interests of agriculture, and the other, what is the best and 'surest :node of giving them the effect inten.led. With respect to the first of these, no theory could be inure delightful than that which would present' to us the whole world united in the bonds of eternal `peace, henevoirce, and love, each part or region supplying to the other in' free and unfettered commerce n hatever it could spare, and receiving back in return whatcter the produce of other clinics could furnish in the same way ; banishing at once from the code and practice of nations eve ry obstruction to the free admission of every article of barter among.` mankind: but, however, such uavision may delight the philanthropist, it may perhaps be fairly questioned whether it would, as far as respects its com mercial features be productive of any consideraLle‘acces. sion to the-stock of human happiness and positiveenjoy ment, and certainly the vices and imperfestionsuf man kind, the jarring interests of nations. and the peculiar circumstances and interests of particular • couutries must for ever totally exclude all hope ofits being realized. So long as any ono country in die world shall find, or think it conducive to its interests either to confine any part of its productions to iss own !Units, or, what is the, snore usual line af policy, to impose such a duty upon its exportation as may both check the freedom of its egress, and be subservient to the purposes of revenue, other countries will*tuturally be driven to adopt as-a mounter poise similar ineostues with regard to their own commo dities, and thus the general policy of the whole will be as it always has been, in civilized countries, so subject their wade and commerce to fiscal regulations. Nor is this genet al practice without many advantages. Articles of import and export are always the fittest objects of tpx athm, because the simple fact of your being disposed to sell for exportation pre-supposes that your demand at home-is answered, and the fact, on the other hand, of foreigners becoming your customers. pre-supposes that • they both want r and can afford to pay for the-articles so sold ; hes:des this, as a revenue must be raised, and taxes or imports levied, even in the very cheapest go vernments, ,whatever can be collected frontsuch duties as have been just alluded to, is so much saved from the pockets of the subject at home, arid foreign powers are thus to a given extent made tributary to the maintenaace of your own social and political institutions. This prin ciple being 01100 Clll3l.lliSllefil 4113 only question, which can naturally come next, is, what are those pa - nimbi:- obects of production and barter which most demand protection and are most deseri in?, of care. We should think it could hardly.bo deputed that the order would• stand :has; first subsistence, second raiment, thirdly the conveniences, and fourthly the luxuries of life:• Agricul ture, as the means of furni:Jiifig subsistence, has there fore, by every enlightened community been admitted sto he an object of the first and highest concern. The Phi losopher has considered its prosperity as inseparably con nected with public good, the wise Statesman has looked to it us the firmest sinew of national strength, the Patriot has viewed it as the surest proof• of freedom and the guardian of a coontry's indcpendance, and the Moralist has dwelt with satisfaction upon- the universal benevo lence of its tendency, and the peaceful and innocent character of its pitmans. Again, it can as little be itin. 6 1 " IhM : the -1 5 ? , P 5 t 147. iPIO CI O" I da" • ..,yti APRIL et, the same thing, the quantity of its produce, will be en tirely dependent upon the sum of the labour and capital eniplol;e4 in it, and that these again will be not less - accurately proportioned to the stability of the puranit ill which they are employed, and the prospect - they hold out of a fair remuneration. A' country with , millions of acres still waste, and millions dams more of land but miseralsly cultivated, and prodeseing not more•than arse half or rerit fps one third of what might by the employ. mint of additional laboin and capital - 4m raised from them, and yet, both corn plaining of want of employment, and every year, baring recourse to foreign markets for its food,-can never be said to have yet reached that pitch of encouragement which its Agriculture justly demands. The-advocates of free importation argue thus, " if tl:c • soil arrd climate of one country be more favourable fur lie production ornery ittaticular commodity than another, , if it ran ever be produced at a cheaper rate than at home, • why not availlourselves of such ativat.tages - and turn your own itultestry and capital into a better chan nel ; that •is, in plainer words, " send your bus; bautlinen to weave bombazines and muslin', and your farmers to erect cotton mills and steam engines at Man chester, or to manufacture knives and buttons at Bir- wingham and Sheffield." To the first pan of this argument It is surely obvious to reply, that no country in the world is better ealcitla ted for the growth .of corn than our own, nor-on i:s richer and well cultivated soils, yields a more abundant produce. Corn and Wool are as naturally the ,rtayde commodities of Great Brit"••,-as Witte-and pi' are of . Italy, or Sugar and Coffee of our West [ltalia Islands; Upon the very principle then on whieh such reasoners advocate our dependence omforeigners for supply, are we prepared to contend for the encouragement and pro- • tectiou of our own growth and coital -el and with re spect to the prize at which corn may he raised amongst • us, it is true that a competition with foreign markets is, its the present state of things, quite impossible. Mit • then this very impossibility ought to operate in a quits contrary direction-front what it now appears to do, upon the public mind and councils. Instead of inclining us to set as nought the wi.dons and experience of all past ages to abandon Agriculture to its fate, and our fields to desolation, every effort should be employed to remove thrvweigbt which oppresses it, and to restore it to its dog and natural rank. Nor should these efforts cease mail it has reached such a pitch of prosperity as to draw back again into its own channel sonic portion both of the la bour and capital- which are now devoted to tride and merchandise. The plain truth is, we are become too commercial, and though a paper currency and an enor mous taxation are ainongst our greatest evils, yet neither the one nor the other would ever have existed in their present extent, if they hail not been . pushed on by corn meme. Mr. Pitt antlfhis adherents well knew this, and the protection of commerce, to the toteedisregard of the landed interest, was the great fastness of that Minister's financial policy. It was to the merchant he looked for his loans, to the merchant for the circulation of his paper, and he repaid. the obligation both to cominerce andia.his country by a Bank Restriction, of which we have never since beets able to get rid. We may ask the boldest ads Geste of the claims , of commerce whether lie does not think that enough, and more than enough of both capital andslabour are now employed in it t Whe ther every-market in the world is not glutted with British manufactures t Whether if some means could be de vised of lessening the quantity of goods wrought, and di..rinisiting the competition he has now to struggle with, such an issue would not result both in the im provement of his oven condition, and in the additiottal steadiness and prosperity of commerce itself and lastly, whether he must not admit that the fluctuations to which trade, upon its present • scale and footing, is ever liable, do not render it unfavourable to the morals, and ultimately to the liberties of the country ? Even these questions we are persuaded must, if fairly answered, be answered in the affirmative, and if so, then must the real friend of commerce and of his country, be the friend of agriculture likewise, which Call alone furnish the remedy desired. But another orpiment is still ready, "'enough you may pay a considerable stint for com every year to foreign Markets, and though it should be granted that you might grow it at home, yet the moor so laid out again returns in the general stream of c mercy etscressing the circulation of national wt - a. _anti t!leittl ambling : y14144,11irr up curia o''. Li