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London, England, 1826-05-02 00:00:00

time given him to consider the policy of the provision which had
been suggested by the Noble Earl. No person could feel more
acutely than he did for the distress which existed in the country.
but whilst he admitted the distress, and lamented that It should_
prevail, he could not admit that It arose from the Corn Laws.—
Much strew had been laid upon the Report which Mr. Jacob had
made of the supply of grain which might be received from fo-
reigners; but his Lordship thought that the Report was in itself a
reason why soy alteration in the Corn Laws should be postponed.
It was ehewn in that Report that the foreign merchant could not ins-
port foreign awn into this country under sixty shillings the
(planer. allowing a duty of only ten shillings. It so hap-
, pened that for the last three years the average price In this
country was considerably under that amount, and his Lordship
was anxious to be corrected if he was wron in the statement
which he advanced. The next point to which wished to advert
was the cause of the present distress; he belie it was owing to a
want of foreign demand for our manufacture'. The people laboured 1
under a great delusion on this point as well as respecting ma-
chinery. In the one case the workmen were endeavouring to injure
their best customers, and in the other, to destroy the property of
their employers. If the landholders were reduced In their means,
they must cease to purchase front the manufacturers, and comma
quently increase the distress. it was, therefore, his opinion that
a decline in prices would be an injury to the manufacturers; by
encouraging the landed interest, the country would always insure •
steady and safe supply of provisions, and he thought the last four
or five years a strong illustration of his argument ; he was quite
certain that without some system of corn laws, the country could
never have a steady and certain supply of food. Ills Lordship
was not prepared to enter upon the full discussion of the suggestions
of the Noble Earl, nor would he then se/ whether the present state
of the country might not be an forepart to the rectal principles
Which he had always supported ; but he was then willing to admit
foreign grain. as he stated at an early period'of the Session.
Earl GROSVENOR thought the report of Mt. Jacob well de.
serving the serious perusal of their Lordships. The present state
of the country was sush, that he would willingly adopt any plan
to relieve the distresses which prevailed throughout the country.
In his opinion the present stste of the country formed an exception
to any general rule which might he laid down for the regulation of
the trade or commerce of the country. He did not understand
whether foreign torn was to be admitted in bond, or imported sub-
ject to a duty on its arrival.
The Earl of LAUDERDALE felt as much as any man for the
suffering of the manufacturing classes ; but the more that was said
upon the subject, the more likely was it that those sufferings would
be aggravated. The course which common sense dictated was that
there should be inquiry. It would be necessary to inquire whether
the distress was owing to the high price of corn. If their Lord-
ships would inquire what was the price of corn for some time past,
they would find that it was not so much to the price of corn as to
the want of foreign demand for our manufactures that the distress
was to be attributed. A want of means to carry on the trade of
the country was another source of the distresses, and that want of
means was greatly increased by the measures which had been adopted
respecting the currency. The No'le Earl opposite might not agree
in that opinion; but he (Lord Lauderdale)was prepared to prove it.
Ile (Lord Lauderdale) could produce evidence to show that manu-
facturers had declared that they could employ their men, but that
they objected to dos') until some measure of relief was afforded. It
was his Majesty's Ministers who had excited alarm, and occasioned
the discontinuing of employment to the manufacturing labourer,
and the present measure was calculated to excite alarm amongst
the agricultural labourers as well. lie had never known a more
rash proceeding than, at the end of a session, fora Minister, within
a fortnight of its termination, to threaten the agricultural interest
with a measure which must excite the highest state of feeling in
the country. What he (Lord Lauderdale) would propose was, that
the two Houses of Parliament should inquire into the cause of
the calamity ; for it was his firm belief that, if the inquiry did not
now take place, they would be forced to call Parliament together
to consider the state of the country. If alarm was excited among
the agriculturists by his Majesty's Ministers. it was dangerous to
give them the power asked for by the Noble Earl (Liverpool)
without the control of Parliament. But as to the measure of ad-
mitting bonded corn, it was a question which, at the present period
of the session, he, for one, could not consent to. _ . .

The Earl of LIVERPOOL wished to say a few words in an-
swer to what had fallen from the Noble Earl (Lauderdale). Ile
(Lord Liverpool) entirely agreed with the Noble Lord that to at-
tribute the present state of distress to the Corn Laws, was to blind
themselves to the whole state of the country, and to the proceed.
ings of the last ten years. 11'hether the Corn Laws were right or
wrong was not now the question ; but he would say, It was a ques-
tion which he had never wished to avoid discussing. His wish was.
that an alteration should be made; but how and when that alteration
was to be made was the subject to be considered. He would repeat
what he had stated before, that, if there existed no other reason, the
very state of distress at that moment, and the special circumstances
attending it, ought to prevent the general consideration of the
question of the torn Laws. The Noble Lord had salt: that the
cause of the evil, for which a temporary remedy was to be afforded,
did not arise from s want of demand fur manufactures; if it did
not, from what other cause did it proceed ? The distress, no
doubt, was very afflicting, but it could not continue. Alen must
have coats and shoes, and though they might put off the purchase
of them from Monday to Friday,still they would artier them 1100110 r
or later. The evil arose from over trading, and could not be from
anything else. If there was a glut under the special circumstances
which, he had stated, then it followed that the manufacturers had
overdone the market, and the consequence was that they were now
at a stand. Such was the cause of the evil, though it might be
aggravated by other circumstances, but which he (Lord Liverpool)
doubted. The Noble Lord might sound an alarm if he pleased,
but he (Lord Liverpool) did not see that Parliament were to allow
a :amine; and therefore it was that, by the importation of foreign
corn, the evil would be provided against. He would revert to the
circumstances of' the country in the year 1815, without, of course,
discussing the principle of that Bill ; but if the state of the taxes
which existed at that time, particularly the Property Tax, was
taken into consideration, the price was nlt better than at present ;
and if the question was to be looked at, it must be in reference to
general principles. The first question was, that Parliament aheuld
not separate without affording relief, by opening the warehouses
and bringing the corn into the market at a duty ; and the second,
the giving the King and Council the power, during the recess, to
admit further importation it necessary.
The Earl of 51A1.31ESBURV said, lie could not conceive a
proposition legit likely to create alarm in any quarter, and he was
assured that it would give confidence in many. In reference to
what had fallen from the Noble Lord (Lauderdale), he must ob-
serve that the Noble Lord himself had been desirous, when the
Corn question was before the (louse, that a clause should be in.
serted for the admission of foreign corn. He did not ask for ge-
neral principles, but was fully prepared to admit the inconvenience
of temporary measures. Ile was not prepared to sax what should
be the protecting duty, but he thought ten shillings would be in-
sufficient.

• The Earl of LIVERPOOL said, it might be taken at twelve
shillings.
The Earl of MALMESRDRY, In continuation, said that a
scarcity price could not take place under the present law. lie saw
no objection to the bonded corn being brought into the market, of
which he believed there were shout 4101,000 quarters, at a duty of
12a., though he did not see the necessity of it. With respect to
the second remote, he must beg leave to take time to deliberate.
itd DACRE said that the question was as to the best mode of
alleviating the lamentable state of distress in which the country was
placed. The present distress arose from the price of provisions,
and the remedy proposed was that of bringing the bonded corn
Into the market, and to admit more when his Majesty's Ministers
should think meet to do so. So that the conclusion come to was,
that the relief to the manufacturers was to be derived from the
landed interest ; but he must say that the Noble Lord (Liverpool)
had said nothing to chew that that was the proper mode of giving
relief. He had heard nothing that convinced him that the want of
demand was the cause of the present distress. His Lordship con-
cluded by expressing his opinion that it was improper to throw the
whole burden of relief upon the agriculture of the country.
Lord C4I.THORPts spoke in favour of the proposition of the
Noble Marquis (Lanadown).
Earl HUEY said that he was particularly desirous to offer a few
observations, indite •Tionetred Asa attention of the !louse. He
would not arrogate to himself any feeling, with respect to the dis-
tress of the country, different or separate from that of others.
Every maw must feel that such distress, under such aggravated
circumstances, made the heart sick. It certainly was a paramount
duty to take every prompt and intoner measure to repress lawless
outrage, but the first duty was tn apply succour to the distressed.
They had been called a deluded population ; it was too true ; they
were so when induced in destroy that property which must conduce
to a greater degree of suffering on their part. Such acts of aggression
must be restrained by the authority and power of the law ; but when
called upon to punish those excesses, there was one other Omit im-
portant duty to perform, which was to afford relief to that distress,
and after that was dime, to inquire into the cause of it. Ile (Lord
Grey) would not attempt to direct the relief to be afforded in the
present state of distress.which could not be done upon any common
rules, but must be taken out of all ordinary principles; and the
only question to be considered was that of immediate relief. He
had to thank his Noble Friend near him (the Marquis of Lans-
down) for his luminous statement, butt more particularly for his
proposition as to the address to the Throne, that it should come
forward to afford by contributions that relief which was so urgently
required ; hut having stated that it became riccesanry to advert to
what had fallen from the Noble Earl (Liverpool), and in respect
to the measure proposed by him, he must say that it could only be
justified by necessity, which was said to know no law. Another
duty was to inquire into the cause of the distress, and it was said,
give temporary relief now, and permanent hereafter. It would be
• dereliction of the duty of his Majesty'a Ministers, and of that
and the other House of Parliament, if they did not bring under the.
notice of the Crown the absolute necessity of continuing the Session
until inquiry had taken place and relief bees provided. He could
not talk of Parliament bring about to be dissolved, a hen the state
of the country required that it should be made !permanent. What
was the situation of the country? Why, that • large portion of its
population was driven by muttering to acts of violence—not by the
act of any set of persona working upon their feelings, hut by *biro-
lute famine--to attack persons and property, the source of their sup-
port. It was that cause which afforded to the King tile
authority to assemble Parliament. %Vete there Lordships, then,
to be told under such circumstances, that it was to be prorogued,
and perhaps dissolved, leaving the King without any persona
to assist him in a time of such a state of Buffering and distress P It
was the Important duty of his Majesty's Ministers, and It was the
important duty of that Howie, that the should not separate with-
out having first afforded immediate relief, and then placed the
affairs of the State upon a permanent system of security. And if
he was of that opinion generally, be confessed that it had been con-
hrmcd by the Noble Lurd opposite (Lord Liverpool); and here he