The Sun. — London, England, 1827-03-02 00:00:00

vibrations will be found to be limited within the small circle of 55a. to 655. The plan will provide against the mischief arising from sudden gluts overwhelming the market at one time, and sudden dearth compelling us to legislate against legislation. It will get rid of another evil of very great magnitude—l allude tp,the abuses of the system of averages. (Hear, hear.) When, as I have already stated, a fraction of sd. one way, and of 2d. the other, shut the ports, when they ought to have been open, and opened when they ought to have been shut, it is impossible not to entertain some suspicion of the soundness of the system of this plan, the average s wou ld b e d ec l are d wee kl y ; averages. By and what room can there be, in the course of a week, for deep specu • lotion In an interval of th ree mont h s , i t - i s poss ibl e f or ') great Capitalists to produce an effect upon prices by unfair means. rut, under the new arrangement, when the average of one Sa turday will be overturned by the average of next Saturday, what ternettlion—what opportunity can there be for the commission of fraud ? The plan will tend to vindicate the respectability of the Ce&n Trade, which will assume, even in the eyes of those by whom it has been most suspected, a characen. more analogous to the regular trade of British Merchants in other branches of com merce. The plan will also get rid entirely of the possibility of such an interference on the pert of the Executive Govern ment, which some Gentlemen refer to with great complacency as a cure, but which I consider an aggravation of the present system. lam perfectly confident, and so are my colleagues, that we did perfectly right some months ago to take upor our selves the responsibility of admitting Corn not admissible by law. But thoegh we were right in taking care of the public good, We were not unconscious at the time, and we have since received pain ful information, that while we did a great public good, we did much private mischief; for the measure which was adopted to sett the country from the suffering which would have followed a scarcity—had the effect of overturning more than one private for tune. Honourable Gentlemen talk glibly of responsibility, and taunt Ministers, as if they would have been incapable of filling their situations, if they had hesitated to exercise an extraordi nary discretion in such an emergency. I do not say that, under a similar emergency, we should not be ready to act with similar decision; but though the emergency justified the exercise of an extraordinary discretion, it is surely incumbent upon Mini sters to endeavour to prevent a recurrence of such an emergency. These are some of the benefits which this plan presents to the House ; and if it should appear upon trial, that interests which are now supposed to be wide as the poles asunder, should by this plan be approximated more nearly than they believe thetneelves to he possible, such a result would be worth all the test. It will tetrd to sweeten the ill blood which has too long subsisted between two classes which now look with jealousy at each other, and to, unite interests which have appeared to be almost irreconcileable. These are the principles on which the plan of his Majesty's Mini sters is founded ; these are the objects which they propose to carry into effect. I have now only to commit the Resolutions which I have to propose to the judgement of the Committee, and I intreat the House, whatever objections they may deem the plan, liable to in matters of detail, to receive it, as it is intended to be, in the light of a peace-offering from his Majesty's Government, and as the best means, my Friend at the head of the Government, could have proposed, of reconciling conflicting interests. In this spirit the plan has been proposed, and in this spirit I trust it will be received.—(Hear, hear.) —The Right Hon. Gentleman con- ,, eluded by moving the following Resolutions : The following resolutions were then put from the Chair : " That it is the opinion of this committee,. that any sort of corn, grain, meal, and flour, which may now, by law, be imported into the United Kingdom, should at all times be admissible for home use, upon payment of the duties following, viz.—if imported from any foreign country : WHEAT, VIZ. " Whenever the average price of wheat made up and published in manner required by law, shall be 60s. and under 61s. the quarter, the duty shall be for X. s. d. • every quarter, And in respect of every integral shilling by which such price shall be above 605., such duty shall he decreased by 25., until such price shall be 70s. " Whenever such price shall be at or above 70e., the duty shall be for every quarter, -" Whenever such price shall be under 603. and not under 595., the duty shall be for every quarter, And in respect of each integral shilling, or any part of each integral shilling, by which such price shall be under 590:, such duty shall be increased by 2s. BARLEY. ( , Whenever th e average pr i ce o f b ar l ey made up and published in manner required•by law, shall beSos. and under 31 s. the quarter, the duty shall be, for 1 0 0 1 1 2 every quarter %. And in respect of every integral shilling by which such price shall be above 30s. such duty shall be decreased by Is. 6d. until such price shall be 371. " Whenever such price shall be at or above 37s the duty shall be, for every quarter " Whenever such price shall be under 305. and not under 293. the duty shall be, for every quarter And in respect of each integral shilling, or any part of each integral shilling, by which such price shall be under 295. such duty shall he increased 18. 6d. OATS. 0 10 0 1 0 11 " Whenever the average priceoi •cats made up and published in manner required by law shall be 21s. and under 225. the quarter, the duty shall be for every quarter 0 7 And - in respect of every integral shilling by which such price shall be above 21s. such duty shall be de creased by ls. un fit such price shall be 2ss. " Whenever such price shall be at or above 28s. the duty shall be for every quarter " Whenever such price shall be under 215., and not under 205., the duty shall be for every quarter 0 8 And in respect of each integral shilling, or any part of each integral shilling, by which such price shall be under 205., such duty shall be increased by ls. RYE, PEAS, AND BEANS. " Whenever the average price of rye, or of peas, or of beans, made up and published in manner required by law, shall be 355. and under 365. the quarter, the duty shall be for every quarter And in respect of every integral shilling by which such price shall be above 355., such duty shall be decreased by ls. 6d. until s uc h pr i ce shall be 455. " Whenever such price shall be at or above 455. the duty shall be for every quarter .................... " Whenever such price shall be under 355. and n o t under 345., the duty shall be for every quarter 0 16 And in respect of each integral shilling, o r any part of each integral shilling, by which such price shall b e under 345., such duty shall be increased by ls. 6d. WHEAT, MEAL, AND FLOUR. 0 I " For every barrel, being 1961b5., a duty equal in amount t o the duty payable on five bushels of wheat. " OATMEAL. —For every quantity of 2521b5., a duty equal in amount to the duty payable on a quarter of oats. . . . MAIZE OR INDIAN CORN, BUCK WHEAT, BEER. OR BIGG. " For ever y quarter, a duty equal in amount to the duty p: gable ou a quarter of barley. " If the produce of and imported from and• British possession in North America or elsewhere, out of Europe : _ WHEAT. " For every quarter Until the price of British Wheat, made up and pub lished in manner required by law, shall be 655. per quarter. " Whenever such price shall be at or above 655. the duty shall be for every quarter BARLEY. s. d. 5 0 " For every quarter Until the price for British Barley, made up and published in manner required by law, shall be 335. per quarter. " Whenever such price shall be at or above 335., the duty shall be, for every quarter OATS. For every quarter Until the price of British oats, made up and pub lished in manner required by law, shall be 21s. per quarter. Whenever such price shall be at or above 245., the duty shall be, for every quarter RYE, BEANS, AND PEAS. 0 " For every quarter 0 0 Until the price of British rye, or of beans, or of peas, made up and published in manner required by law, shall be 40s. " Whenever such price shall be at or above 40s. the duty shall be, for every quarter WHEAT, MEAL, AND FLOUR.. F or e very barrel, being 1961b5., a duty equal in amount to the duty payable on five b ushels of wheat. " OATMIAL.—For every quantity of 25216., a duty equa l i n amount to the duty payable on a quarter of oats. MAIZE OR INDIAN CORN, BUCK-WHEAT, BEER OR BIOG. " For every quarter, a duty equal in amount to the duty paya ble on a quarter ofb4Eley, " That it is the opinion of this committee, that all the said duties shall be regulated and determined, from week to week, by the average prices of corn, made up in manner required by law ; which prices shall, at the several ports of the United Kingdom, determine the several rates of the said duties, for and during the week next after the receipt of the proper certificates of such average prices at such ports respectively." TABLE, SHOWING THE OPERATION OF THE PROPOSED DCTIES ON FOREIGN WHEAT. Duty. If the price per} 708. and upwards .... Is. quarter be 695. and under 70s. 6Ss. 69s * G7s, Bs. 665. 1575. 6.5 g, 1524. 61s. Assumed point? „„ s. of protection " v 595. 58s. 565. Average price of the last Six 535. years. 545. Average price ofi -- 1827 to Fe- 535. bruary 15. 665. 655. 6 Is. ... 635. 625. 61s. , 20S. , 4i.ei. up to 41s. 60s. 595. ... sss. 58s. ... Sts. 571. 3 06. 25s . 325. 22r . . 23a 5le. ANNUAL AVERAGE rRICV; OF WHEAT Ton TWELVE YEARS kaitviOus TO 1815. Per Quarter. Year exided - 180.1 s7s. Id. 1808 6O 5 1505 B7 1 1866 76 9 Average of 6 years 7U. 2d. 1807 l3 1 1808 :e:•• , • _ : 'il3 11 1809 94 5 810 lO3 3 1811 92 5 1512 122 8 Average of 6 years 98s. 6d. 1813 lO6 6 1814 72 1 Average of 12 years Bss, 4e. ANNUAL AVERAGE PRICES OF WHEAT FOE. TW'ELVE YEARS, FROM 1815 TO 1826, EMI INCLUSIVE. Per Quarter. Year . 1815 6.ls. Bd. igl6 76 2 1817 g Average of 6 years 746. 2d. 1916 1919 72 3 1820 65 13 1821 54 5 1822 43 3 51 9 Average of 6 year 6 556. 9d. 1824 62 0 1825 66 6 1816 - • 56 11 • Average of 12 years Average of first six weeks 1827 s3s. Gd. • r% WESTER/Si rose, but the low tone in which e spoke, and the noist'svhich prevaile9fthe House, prevented us from catching a great part of his observations. We under stood the Honourable Gentleman to that he wished to lay agile whatever prejudices he might have enteitained on this sub ject, and to give the fairest as well as the :fullest consideration to the propositions of the Right Honourable Gentleman. He wished to God that the House had never abandoned the principles on which it had acted with so much s uccess up t o 1773. E ven i n 1815, when, owing to the hostility with America, there vas no importation of corn, the country was in a better state than when it was at peace with all the world. In 1812, 100,000 quarters a corn bad been imported ; in 1813 we quarrelled with Ame ,rik,a; and in 1814 an embargo was laid upon their ports; and Although there was a large proportion of foreign wheat and flour, not one grain entered the British ports. At the present moment there were 2,000,000 of quarters in bond. He conceived that the new scale ,of duties proposed by the Right Honourable Gen tleman would, in the end, be more injurious to the landed inte rest, and more obnoxious to the country at large, than the system which was formerly pursued. Even prohibition would, he con ceived, he better for the country than the adoption of the Right Honourable Gentleman's suggestions. In February, 1825, the average price of grain was 68s. ; the average price now was only 535. So that the House was called upon, when the average was from 10s. to 12s. a quarter less than in 1825, and when the ma nufacturing classes were suffering the deepest distress and misery, to accede to the Right Honourable Gentleman's propositions, the effect of which would be to add to the evils that already existed. (Hear, hear.)—Yet the Right Honourable Gentleman had de clared that the effect of his measures would be to reconcile parties. But merchants and manufacturers would not be so easily reconciled, and •no case could be adduced to show that the welfare of those two great bodies were not intimately connected. When one prospered, so did the other; and when one decayed, the other decayed also. Having stated thus much, he begged at the same time to observe, that he wished to give the proposi tion the fullest and fairest consideration.—(Hear, hear. )—He had reason to believe, however, that the effect of this special experi ment of the Right Honourable Gentleman would he directly to injure at least 1,000 farmers; and if, after all, the measures failed in their object, the effect would be ruinous not only to far mers, hut to the labouring classes also, whose distresses would thereby be increased. A MEMBER whose name we could not learn, said, that as the law of 1815 had been tried, and had failed, his Ma jesty's Ministers should be careful how they introduced new mea sures with respect to the importation of corn, and the regulation of its duties. Agreeing, therefore, in the principle of the Right Hon. Gentleman's proposition, as a Scotch Representative, he was bound to declare that the agricultural interest of Scotland would be ruined if the proposed measures should be sanctioned by the House. He hoped that time would be allowed, in order to collect the sentiments of the country on this momentous question, before any definitive measure should be adopted. Scotland, lie hoped, would be heard, for he was perfectly sure that that coun try would feel the greatest depression and ruin—be repeated the word, ruin—if the proposed suggessions were acted on. Sir J. NEWPORT protested against the proposal to admit flour to be imported into Ireland. Mr. BANKES, sen., wished to know if the Right Hon. Gentleman thought an average price of 535. a quarter too high or too low ? At what price, he would ask, did the Right Hon. Gentleman suppose corn could be fairly imported ? Mr. CANNING said, he had already stated, that his Majesty's Ministers were of opinion that 60s. a quarter would be a fair medium price. Sir J. WROTTESLEY concurred in the general view of the subject which the Right Hon. Gentleman had taken, but he was obliged to differ with him as far as regarded part of its details. He deprecated the scale of duties proposed for barley and oats, and said that in this respect the suggestions of the Right Hon. Gentleman were highly questionable. Mr. C. GRANT wished to correct a mistake into which an Hon. Member had fallen. It was stated that his Right Hon. Friend (Mr. Canning) had said that curn at one period had amounted to 113 s. a quarter. His Right Hon. Friend stated, that since 1815 corn had been at 112 s. a quarter. In 1817, on the 28th of June, wheat was 112 s. and on the 22d of October in the same year, corn was 38s. id. With reference to the obser vations of the Right Hon. Baronet opposite (Sir J. Newport) he begged to say, that although the introduction of flour into Ire land had been heretofore prohibited, the proposition which was made to-night would not have the effect of throwing open the ports in Ireland to that article to any injurious extent with regard to the agricultural interest of that country. Sir J. NEWPORT said a few words in explana tion, which were not audible in the gallery. o Mr. W. WHITMORE approved of the measu res proposed by the Right Hon. S with liew the asofOp opinion proposals that the country would not be so wellecret Secretary, but o which were made to-night as it ought to be , conside r ing that the Ri g ht Hon. Geutle those suggestions had proceeded from , Gentle man. The Hon. Member was proceeding to state his objec tions in detail to the scale of duties proposed by the Right Hon. Secretary, when he was interrupted by loud and general cough ing. Having waited until the noise subsided, he observed, that if he had come down to the House for the purpose of proposing a counter resolution, he should not have been so much surprised at the interruption he experienced, but as that was not the case, and as he merely expressed, or was about to express, a very limited opinion, he owned he felt at a loss to account for the in terruption. He conceived that the evils of the present system would not be alleviated by the new measure—(renewed cough ing)-considerable fluctuations in agricultural produce would be one of its results, and he was convinced that in the end it would prove extremely 'detrimental to the country. He would not at present, however, go into any details respecting the pro positions of the Right Hon. Gentleman, b u t h e h ope d , . that when those propositions came to be considered, that the House would not attempt to stifle the opinions of those Members who might consider it their duty to give a free opinion on the subject, how ever that opinion might be opposed to the sentiments of those who thought proper to interrupt.—(Hear, heart) Sir EDWARD KNATCHBULL said, that the question at issue was this--whether the system of prohibition should be extended or not. From the best judgment he could form of the subject, he owned he should rather give his vote in fa vour of protection, than support the plan which was this night proposed. At the same time he must own that it was worthy of consideration. The Right Hon.. Gentleman had made use of an observation in his speech to-night which had filled him with sur prise and disgust. He had said that the balance of price would be in favour of free trade.—(" No, no," from Mr. Canning.)-11.- was certain that the Right Hon. Gentleman said that the balance of principle would be iu favour of free trade, and the balance of price in favour of agriculture. If, however, the principles of the proposed Bill tended to abrogate the Corn Laws—and he was well 'assured that it would be the first step to the attainment of that ob ject—he cautioned the House how it proceeded to legislate on such a dangerous measure.—(Hear, hear.) Mr. CANNING said that the Hon. Baronet had mistaken his meaning. He was partly right and partly wrong. He (Mr. Canning) said, that the balance of principle would be in favour of trade, not free trade.—(Hear.) . • . lArti AurnottPt was of opinion that the propo sitions of the Right Hon. Gentleman, so far from being likely to produce mischievous results, would be the means of causing a great improvement in the country, both with respect to its trade and agriculture. He spoke as the representative of an agricultural county, and he felt that it was his duty to protect the interest of his constituents ; but he could riot perceive that by supporting the resolutions which had just beets proposed, he in any way compro mised their interests.-:-(Hear', hear. )—He repeated his Lelief that the measure proposed by the Right Hon. Secretary would be a very great improvement, and he conceived that the farmers would be eventually benefitted by it. The plan, he conceived, also would have the effect of putting an end to those rash speculations which were so often ruinous to many. The Noble Lord concluded by observint that, perceiving thd unevillifigneti of the liutise to go more fully into the subject at present, he would not enter into any calculations ; but he thought that any man who would refer to the returns of the prices of corn which were now on the table, would at once perceive the necessity of adopting some measure to place the Corn Laws on a more just and liberal footing. Alderman THOMPSON . fully agreed to the pro posed resolutions, althotgh he thought thaZ; the price fixed for wheat was too high.—(Laughter and coughing.) A MEMBER, whose name we could not learn, re- turned thanks to Ministers for the attention which they had be stowed upon this subject, and to the Right Hon. Gentleman, for the luminous manner in which he had brought forward the pro position which they deemed it proper to recommend, He con sidered it to be an improvement upon the present system. Sir T. LETHBRIDGE wished to say three or four words oh the motion before the Committee. Now that he had heard the proposition of the Right Hon. Gentleman, he was tree to say, that though it did not come with the disadvantages, and in the questionable shape in which he had expected it—(a loud laugh), after all the dire anticipations and gloomy reports which bad reached his ears, there was still something of consola tion in it for the agricultural interest , —( Hear, beat. )--die declared himself opposed to the views which had just been disclosed to the Committee by the Hon. Alderman who represented the city of London. The Hon. Alderman thought that the sum in the scale of prices for the importation of wheat was too high; he (Sir T. Lethbridge), on the contrary, thought that it was too low, and for this reason—that the present measure was an experiment made upon the whole corn trade of the country, and it was impossible to foresee what would be the result of it. As he was one who had always stood up in Parliament, not only for the protection, but also for the encouragement of agricul ture, he should like to have seen the prices fixed at a lower rate whilst the experiment was making. As the Committee was not called upon to discuss the proposition at present, he would give his best attention to it, in order that he might fully understand it in all its various bearings :Ind ramifications. At the same time he should consider himself as a deserter from the agricultural cause if he were to say at that moment that he was prepared to agree with the proposition of the Right Hon. Secretary. He believed that he should he obliged to vote against it, but he would not then say that he would. He wished before he sat down to put a question to the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite. Did be under stand the Right Hon. Gentleman correctly when he understood him to say that the averages in future should be made up weekly? If they werB to be so made up, he, for one should be inclined to hail the change as a very advantageous and beneficial measure. Mr. CANNING replied, that the averages at pre sent were published weekly. Instead, however, of taking an average from the average prices of several weeks, he intended that each week's average should regulate the duties for the week ensuing. Sir J. SEBRIGHT said, that he had devoted much of his time for many years to the consideration of the corn laws; and he now gave it as his opinion that the present proposition was better calculated than any which had preceded it for the purposes it was intended to accomplish. He would not discuss at present the details of this measure, but would content himself with giving his hearty concurrence to the principle on which it was founded. Mr. CURWEN asked, whether the improvement in taking the averages was to be extended to Ireland ? Mr. CANNING said that there was no intention to alter the existing mode of taking the averages ; but there was an intention of so regulating the striking of them as to prevent the frauds which, it was well known, were at present practised under them. He bad no intention of getting rid of the system entirely, as it answered the purpose of obtaining an approxima tion to the real price of corn throughout the country. He thought that the evils of the present system would be diminished by shortening the period in which the averages were struck. Mr. Aldernian WOOD observed, that as the Hon. Member for Somersetshire expressed himself almost satisfied with the proposition then before the Committee, it behoved the Mem bers for populous cities to view it with something like a feeling of alarm.—(Hear, 'hear.) Mr. PORTMAN implored the House not to come to a hasty conclusion upon this most important of all important subjects. His object in rising at present was to implore the Mem. bers of the Committee to make up their m in in luvt.eo d hru s ielts,dh t t o ncoo o ittu n l ett!i.then s)ne nt oe point— that protection to agriculture was absolutely necessary to the well being df decide, b the y country . —(Hear, e u n existingt r y whetter (H s protectionei a t r e , m o e r a r bo ) y — hear.)—He that that e opre tendbta obtained proposed to substitute in lieu of it. He would confess that he was one of those who preferred protection to prohibition. But there might be facts connected with corn, which rendered it im possible to concede to the country, that which he would not be -unwilling, individually, to concede to it. He was convinced that unless the Committee granted a protection to agriculture up to 60s. a quarter, no wheat could be grown so as to remunerate the grower in the county which he' had the honour to represent (Dortietshire.) He was afraid that a duty of 20s. would hardly be found sufficient for the protection of the agriculturists. If it were not, the importation of foreign corn would tend to throw the poor lands of the country out of cultivation ; and if they were thrown out of cultivation, the labourers must be thrown upon the poor rates ; and such an occurrence could not fail to lead to a very lamentable catastrophe. He would now beg to ask a question which he considered to be very material, and that was, whether the quarter of wheat was to be reckoned by the Winche-ter or the imperial measure ? Mr. CANNING replied, that the quarter was now reckoned by the Winchester measure, and no r.lteration was in tended in that respect. _ Colonel WOOD said, that as some gentlemen had stated the scale of duties to be too high, whilst others contended that it was too low, it might perchance turn out that Ministers had acted v.'ry wisely in fixing an a medium between the two par ties. He must say, that it appeared to him, that if agriculture was to be supported by protection, and not by prohibitiou, the scale of prices was too low. He implored the Committee to re collect that the farmers were at present in a very critical situation; and that if it now took a wrong step, it might create such a de 'pression in every species of agricultural produce, as would pro duce the g reatest distress. He believed that the safest mode of proceeding was by prohibition, and not by protection. After a few remarks from Mr. Alderman ATKINS, which were inaudible in the Gallery, Lord MILTON rose to express his approbation of the measure which was then under the consideration of the Committee. 'Without saying whether the proposition was per fect in its present shape, or whether it could not be made more perfect by some future modifications, it did appear to him to be an improvement on the present state of the law; and that if there was one class more than another to whom it was likely to be advantageous, it was that class which was engaged in agriculture. The present system of alternation between high and low prices, injurious as it was to the other classes of his Majesty's subjects, was absolut e l y d estruc ti ve to the agricultural i n t eres t. H e could not sit d own w i t h out ex p re ssing a hope th a t, w h atever threats might be thrown out by those who were dissatisfied with the a the Right Honourable Mover of it would persist te support of it, an d w ould not allow himself to be sdily in proposition, diverted from a course of conduct, which, whether it was the wisest, or not, that could be adopted, was still such as to entitle him to the gratitude of his country. Mr. BROUGHAM said, that in rising to address the committee on the present occasion, he had no intention to an ticipate the full debate, which he allowed would come on more appropriately at another season. He trusted, however, that the debate would come on at such a period as would enable those who were obliged to leave town for the assizes to take a part in it. Though the time of holding the assizes was near at hand, yet, as the subject did not conga for the Arst time under the consideration of Pathan:lent, as the minds of men had been drawn to it in al -1 most all possible shapes which it could assume; and as the mea- sure itself, in so far as the principle was concerned, had been known to them all for some time past, he trusted that the delay of a week would not be deemed inadequate to the consideration of the proposition in its details. Though he had undoubtedly formed an opinion upon the point, he would not my at present whether he approved or disapproved of the proposition then before the com mittee. He would, however, throw out on idea at present for the consolation of those gentlemen of the landed intela:,i, who were too prone to take alarm at the proposed innovation. They appeared to thin!! that it proceeded on the principle of protection, which they in their wisdom deemed the safer and more expedient principle. Now he considered the :rreasure to he a prohibition with a protection. It was in vain to say that practically epeaking it did not begin at the lower end of the scale with a prohibition fet if there was a price within which wheat could not be imported at a profit, and it was clear that, coupled with the charges for insurance, freight, port dues in this country, and other incidental expenses, there might be sitc:i a price, there was an absolute prohibition of importation, when wheat was at that price; so that a measure which in form gave a protecting ditty might practically prove a prohibition. If when wheat was at such it price, a man imported it without paying the duty, he rendered himself liable to a Pete in the Exchequer ; and if he imported it, paying - the duty, he would he d l'of.rer by bringing it to' the English market. He would illustrate what he meant by an example. Let the price of Corn in England be 555. per quarter, the duty on corn imported would then be 305., so that the Price of corn bought in the Baltic for 255. per quarter, and subsequently broUghi to England, would be 555., indepen dent of the cost of freight, insurance, &C., *hid/ would be a dead loss to the importer. Would not then the importation of corn from the Baltic be virtually prohibited whenever the ptice of corn was 555. in the market ? He would also give another topic of consolation to the gentlemen of the landed interest; and when he spoke of the landed interest, he did not intend to speak of it invidiously. He had ai*api deprecated as absurd and mischievous, the practice of speaking of the landed and commercial interests as opposed to one another. He held by the doctrine af an able in dividual, who in the last century had commenced his career in trade, and by his successful interest in it, had made himself a great landholder, he ' meant Sir Josiah Child—that " land and trade go together—that they wax and weigh toge ther, so that it never is well with trade while land suffers, nor well with laud while trade suffers." But to return to the point from which he had digressed. The landed gentlemen ad mitted that 555. a quarter in the English market wait a prohibi tion upon importation from foreign countries; but they were not satisfied with it, and wanted more. Now, he would remind them of one fact, which ought to render them satisfied with the present proposition : 255. was the price at which wheat could now be purchased in the Baltic ; but supposing the English mar ket to be opened, and the additional demand of the English mar bet to be thrown into the foreign market, then, instead of pur chasing wheat at 255., and then importing it under a duty of 30s. into the English market, it would be purchased at 30s. and 355. a quarter, and must be imported at that price, under the same duty as before, for the duty was to be imposed not with regard to the price paid for it abroad, but with regard to the price at which it was selling at home. The corn thus imported would diminish the average at borne, and by so doing would increase the protec tion to the home grower, by raising the price at which foreign grain was to be imported. He did not rejoice is the alarm felt by the agricultural classes ; and he had, therefore, risen for the purpose of giving them the means of relieving it. Sir F. BVRDETT said, lie was sorry that this very important question, by which the public mind had been so much agitated, had been so long deferred. He did not, on this occasion, mean to trespass for many minutes on the attention of the House ; but at the same time, he felt that he would not acquit himself to his constituents, and to the public generally, if he did not state his opinion with respect to the principle on which the Resolutions now introduced were founded ; and which would be discussed more at large on a future occasion. His opinion was not completely in unison with that of any Gentleman who had delivered his sentiments on the subject ; because his views extended perhaps farther than theirs. He, however, coincided entirely in ahnost the whole of what had fallen from ..he Noble Lord below him (Lord Althorpe.) He (Sir Francis Burdett) was a decided advocate of free trade, in every respect—(Hear),—although, in making that declaration, he knew that he must encounter those prejudices which the' Ri g ht Hon. Gentleman opposite had described as scarcely susceptible of being rooted out of some minds. He was one -of those persons who did not think that a free Wide in Corn would have the bahe ful effects which were attributed to it. Although the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite doubted whether any writer would be pro duced to sanction such a proposition, he believed that he could quote more than one favourable authority on the subject. The question was not, in his mind, an exclusive one. It concerned the entire interests of the country—the manufacturing as well as the landed or agricultural interest ; and, in his opinion, the whole wisdom of the case was combined in the few words quoted by his Learned Friend below him (Mr. Broughem), from the work of Sir Josiah Child, who had been a great commercial character in this country. He did not mean now to go into the general subject; he mere l y meant to g i ve an id ea o f w h a t hi e in dividual view was; how he would meet the present proposition, and how, when the matter came more tangibly before the House, he would endeavour to discuss it. While he paid due respect to the liberality which bad characterized the plan of the Right Hon. Gentleman opposite, and while he fully admitted the acute intelli gence of mind with which he brought forward his propositions, still it appealed to him that he mutt go to much greater lengths; although, even then he might not go to the extreme point, which he (Sir F. Burdett) was ready to advocate, whenever the proper occasion arrived. He gave great credit to the Right Honourable Gentleman for introducing so liberal a modification of the law, but he did not think it went far enough. He conceived that a more extended system was necessary for the interests of all, and more particularly for the a gricultural and landed interest y really opposed to each other, he would a o f theer great country, con i e n H welfaree concern.--(Hear, r,thattnth.ihtfee o balr f ervteilhslio N :ti Iv—cvfhlhoahi landed h h drnteeehdn h e%(l, e sa,i ban: se m : nneno u eT:tfie s o.s t tsst tt i oLa l anf a nen t etadd u lanii naturally standing oed y uctgmhpo f e e ena)t e rio: l case, boldly and manfully maintain m a i i f wtaaariirt. had done ; but he certainly did con nected. iscfkshatoueheei opinions, wouldirosiui raon like the ratuaeth o i lthsnd f etel iyonstiHinvntsieirnrysigee such iß a ßi not view this question as a struggle between these two interests. He trusted that this discussion would be carried on, as it had begun, without any feeling of acrimony ; convinced as he was, that the two interests were inseparable, and that it was quite impossible for the one to flourish while the other was decaying.—(Hear.)— Of this he was perfectly convinced, that neither commerce nor manufacture could succeed, while the landed interest was in a state of depression.—(Hear, hear.)—Whenever the subject came regularly forward, he should be ready to maintain those doc trines—doctrines, the exposition of. which appeared to him to be of very great importance. It did appear to him that a mis taken feeling had gone abroad on this subject—that a mistake had been made as to the cause of the distress which prevailed — and that therefore, those measures had not been taken which might have been adopted for the benefit of the country. It seemed to him, indeed, to be quite extraordinary, that during the whole course of this discussion, the price of corn had been solely dwelt upon, while that which altered and erected the price of corn_ namely, the state of the currency—had not been adverted to..— (Hear.)—Every gentleman had enlarged on the price of corn as the great source of dissatisfaction ; but no one had touched on the other question. He hoped, however, that on a future occasion they would examine the state of the currency, which was, in fact, the root of all the evils under which the country laboured. (Hear!) The House then resumed, the Chairman reported progress, 'and Orders of the Day were then disposed o f, an d t h e asked i, e leave other to sit again (on Friday week , we believe.) T House adjourned. [The Gallery remained closed till nearly five o'clock, as the House had appointed this evening for ballotting the Committee to try the Election Petition, against the Return for the Burghs of Stirling. When the doors were opened, a tremendous rush took place, by which every part of the Gallery was 'immedi ately filled. The Reporters for the Morning Papers were, in several instances, unable to obtain their places, which were occu pied by strangers, who had gained possession of them, by the in terest they had made with the door-keepers. An application to high authority was necessary, in order to remove the intruders. As the party chiefly offending received a sharp rebuke, we trust that no servant of the House will again presume, in furtherance of his own mercenary purposes, to raise any obstructions of this kind, in the way of those who have so many other difficulties to contend with in the performance of their arduous and important duties. Not only was the body of the House full, but the Mem bers' Galleries also. The noise that continued incessantly after the Speaker had taken the Chair, prevented us from hearing distinctly what was the nature of the business passing in the House, until Mr. Canning, who made his appearance about six o'clock, rose to address it.]—Morning Chronicle. [Considerable difficulty was experienced by the Reporters of the Newspapers generally, in giving an account of the debate upon the Corn Laws, in the House of Commons last night, in conse quence of their having been excluded, by some misarrangemenl on the part of the officers of the House, from those seats in the gallery which custom, if not direct authority, has allotted tethem. An understanding has for several years existed, that the last roli , in the gallery should be devoted to the use of the public press ex clusively, or so far as it may be necessary to their convenience; end, for the accommodation of these seats, with the advantage ol admission to them a few moments earlier than the general crowd of strangers, a considerable Brim is paid every Session by the news papers to the messengers and other officers of Parliament entitled to such fees. On those nights, however, when questions of im portance are expected, large douceurs (over and above the half crown ecintoonly demandable) and frequently offered to the door-keepers, by iodividuals, for early admission; and, owing to the excess to which this sort of temptation (as we should ap prehend) bad been carried last night, when the reporters present. ed thernoelves half an hour before the time at which the gallery opened, they found the inner lobby of the House and the staircase so crowded with persons thus privately admitted, as to fill the gal lery completely before it was possible for them to secure a place. The effect of this proceeding was, that the house remained in a state of great confusion during a considerable part of the night; that the Speaker was repeatedly compelled to send round the Ser geant at Arms to silence persons who were crowded upon each other to such a degree, that it was impossible that they should be silent; and that the Reporters were most seriously interrupted its attempting to give an accurate account of a debate to which the Whole country is looking with the most intense anxiety. it can hardly be suppossd to be any secret at this time of day that reporters are present in the gallery of the House of Commons dating the de bates ; and we have not a doubt that the courtesy and consideration of the Right Hon. Gentleman who fills the situation of Speaker would lea-I him at once, if any application were made, to afford every facility ; although the subject is one which we should be loth to obtro.lc upon such attention, unless every other course of remedy was found unavailing. But it is unjust towards those persons who pay, and are content to pay, amply for.accommoda tion, that they should be defeated at those peculiar moments when (only) that accommodation becomes important to them ; nor can it, we repeat, be endured that the desire of a few door-keepers to obtain half-a-dozen guineas or half-guineas more than they are properly entitled to, should throw an indecent character of confu sion for several hours over the discussions of such an assembly as the House of Commons, or preSent the publication by us o' a debate which half the people in Europe are deeply interested in, and which, except from the newspapers, they have no possible means of obtaining.]—... PARLIAMENTARY PROCEEDINGS. HOUSE OF LORDS. ORDERS OF THE DAY FOR THIS DAY. Earl of Roscommon's Claim to vote for Peers for Ireland—Committee of Privileges thereon. Earl of Connaught's Claim.—Ditto. HOUSE OF COMMONS. ORDERS OF THE DAY FOR THIS DAY.' B tib and D,4 ot . eryat . Elections—Adjourned che en ce Annuity Dela onßteitk ll proposed Resolutiorr. Duke —un4 reading. , Supply—Committee. Ways and Means—ComMittee. • Ways and Means—Report. Mutiny Bill—Report. Marine Mutiny Bill—Report. Public Works (Ireland) Acts—Report.thereuport. NOTICES OF MOTIONS FOR THIS DAT. Sir William Plunkett—To present Petition from the Roman Catholic Prelates of Ireland, on the subject of the Roman Catholic diiilities• NOTICES GIVEN YESTERDAY. Tuesday, March 6. 1. Mr. Sykes—Select Committee to take into consideration the Petition of certain Freemen of the Borough of Leicester, complaining of the conduct of the Corporation of that town at and previous to the late General Election. 2. Mr. Villiers Stuart—Papers connected with the Anpointment of a re sident Stipendiary Magistrate, under the Consta'aulary Act, for the District of Kilmacthomas, in the County of V, aterford ; viz. the Certificate of the Magistrates to apply for, and the Memorial of the County against, that Appointment. Thursday, March 8. Mr. Henry Grattan—Report of Commissioners directed by the Lord Lieutenant of Ireland to inquire into the state of the Richmond Pe nitentiary in Dublin. Tuesday, March 13. Dr. Lushington—Copies of all Dispatches received from Jamaica, re specting an attack on the Wesleyan Missionary meeting and dwell ing-houses in the parish of St. Ann in the mon . .h of December last. IMPORTATION OF CORN. (FROM A CORRESPONDENT.) By the proposed scheme of duty, as stated last night in the House, by Mr. Canning, relative to the Cern Laws, it would run thus—if the average of Corn is 60s. per quarter, the duty will be 20s. ; 615., les. ; 624., 16s. ; 635., 14s. ; 145., 12.. ; 655., 10s.; 665., Bs. ; 675., 68. ; 685., 4s. ; 705., 2s. ; 715., Os. ; 595., 225. ; 585., 245. ; 575., 265. ; 565., 28s. ; 555., 30x. ; 545., 821. ; 53a., 345. ; which is the present average. The British Merchant is at present thus situated ; he has re ceived consignments from the Dantzic Merchant, upon which he has advanced one half, at the rate of 30s. per quarter, say, 155.; insurance and freight, ss. 6d. ; entry, grainery, meetage, turning and factorage about 2s. Cd.-235. 6d.—He sells this at the pre sent average price of 535., on which the duly, accorsling to the proposed scale, 344.—leav es 19s. The amount of Sales to the Dantzic Merchant would then rim thus :—sold 1 quarter at 535. ; deduct duty and charges as above, say 345. duty, and Se. per quarter charges, 425. ; and 2s. per cent. Commission, I le. ; advanced 15s. ; the Dantzic Merchant would consequently have 4s. per quarter loss to make good to the Consignee ; the other alteration is not to sell the wheat, but to leave it in the granary, by which the charges of turning, insurance against fire, and interest would accumulate, and the community at large would not derive any profit of the nominal low price of wheat. STATE OF TRADE, POWER-LOOMS, &c. BLACKBURN, LANCASHIRE. —There is a little more work for the weavers here ; but their average earnings are not more than four shillings per week of eighty hours. Whatever may be said to the contrary, I assure you that the power-looms are the principal cause of the distress here ; for, previous to their invention, the wages were good ; and, by the following remarks,,l will show you the cause why they are excellent for the advantage of some 20 ca pital mais be endured?stermanufacturers, but pre3udicial to th enation at large. Shall • It is calculated that in England and Scotland they have super seded entirely 40,000 hand-looms,or weavers at their own cottage, and they have also partially superseded above 200,000 weavers. I mean, they have reduced their wages from 30s. to 4s. 6d. per week. I have been in many cottages in this neighbourhood, and find the people all starving, a few pot a t oes an d sa lt, an d per haps a red-herring twice a week, is their only food. Where there are families, the parents deny themselves the luxury of the above countenancesfish in order o t f o purchase oaf thelittle populationmilk for their bespeak children. stu r v l and here let me tell you how this mi sery i s, an d has beena,ti°nhe ; in creased by the practices of the masters. They one and all strive to undersell the other. This is carried to such a height, that if one master can grind his poor weavers to a reduction of 6d. each per week, all th e ot h er masters follow h i s b ase examp l e, as serting that they cannot sell their goods in the Manchester Liarket if they do not do so. But even these small wages cannot success fully compete with the steam power-loom, which may he worked 20 per cent. cheaper, and actually make stronger and better goods (calicoes, &c.) I trust you will insert this Letter in your valuable Paper, and I hope that Mr. Peel, or some other equally able Member of Parliament, will pro cure a Committee, or a Travelling Commission, to inquire into these facts, and the remedy for them. If this Committee was granted, the troops here might be rendered unnecessary. You well 'know, Sir, that when 500 or 1000 people are turned out of employ, by the decline of any branch of trade, they may and can get employment in other trades ; but that rule will not do here—for 300,000 weavers, and those dependent on them for their subsistence, it becomes a national concern, and ought to be en quired into. In 1781, we imported 5 ,198,778 lbs. of Cotton, from these per and exported 96,788 lbs. ; in 1824, we imported 136,735,566 lbs.., and exported 10,220,500 lbs., and the value of the latter Cotton exported, was 16,427,1391. See Baines's excellent History, &c. imported pmorutechd, only of the County of Lancaster; which also states there are above 15,000 steam power looms in Lancashire, and a child of 10 years looms,eek atgherse,ocan timeswa attend nd two looms, introductionbette r w o ven cloth, o p t, ve a r s i t o h o e m b s, est vi l z i . a i n n d-i, i v s ea o v 6 7. Previous to the and d ag o t;, o a p t ro t ‘ d v u o co shillings 58,176,283 lbs. of Cotton WOol, and the weaver's wages were from 20s. to 30s. per week ; and we last year had 140,000,000 lbs. of Cotton imported, and the wages average from 7s. to 4 s . 6d. per week. How i s t hi s ? any h ones t ma n will enquir e . I l eave it to your rea d ers to ma k e t h e ca l c ulation of how many this excellent invention of the steam power loom has alre a d y thrown • out of empl o y, an d leave t h em t o consider the dreadful conse quences of the further increase of these engines, upon an increased population. The masters have the art, notwithstanding, to gain money by this trade (talk of West India Slavery, indeed, after this) ; they say that if they do not employ power looms, foreigners will ; but that is denied—the foreigners have neither machinery, nor coal, nor - operatives. I leave it to the wisdom of Parliament to devise measures. Your's, &c. A TRAVELLER. :r s~.