The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1821-06-23 00:00:00

mind that the general amount and real prepare of
tassAmi have been positively escrowed, is the proportioa of
the improved value of tour turreted,.
Your Committee cannot article& the observation' 'which
they pare round it their duty to aohmit to the House. Alb.
out observing, that most of the Petition* referred to them,
complain of the inadequate and injurious operation of the
present Curs Law, and pray generally for protection, not
for grain only, but fur olifihe productions of our Agrimiliwre,
equal to the protertiou given to the manufactures of this
country.
Within this principle, the Petitioners appear to he &homi-
ly to se open trifle; hut is the application of it, as en-
pounded in some of the Petitions, and illustrated in the rip
snolastion of some of the whinnies, your Comositiveltannot
bat apprehend that the duties which they custemplate,
would be altogether prohibitory.
It cannot be necessary to voter hid, any statements to
show, that, practicslly, this would bilk, result, in all but
seasons of scarcity, of a Axed despot 40.. a ',wirier upon
"'brat- Year Committee will nievelyrepeat what they bare
already slated, that when the trade in etwil With the Continent
wan open, subject to the scale of duties imposed by the Acts
of 1773, 1791, and 1144, sad in force till 1913, there never
was an.insporiatiuti of forties corn to any aintinut during
the Abort intervals when the high duties were demandable ;
and yet those duties at no part of the time it:corded 245. 3d.
per-quarter. To this fact they will only add, that what is
proposed, in addition to the 'annul of the duty, namely.
that it should be permanent. " whatever may be the Prlcl'e
is • proposition which your Committee sritpeoofideoll the Le-
gislator, could never eutrrtaia, nor mar considerable par-
limo of the community ever conoteinnee.
The segeeations with respect 140 duties ',mildly prohibitory
on .very other article tiw produethns ofthe moil of this coun-
try, all come *odor the same prsuciple and are open to the
some objection. The principle would, fis fact, go for to an-
nihilate commercial intercourse altogether; and is moreover
founded, as it appears to your C4norsittee, upon a mistakt•
statement, as well as as erroneous view of what is deemed
protection to our manufactures.
In the first place, they feel the more warranted in affirm-
log, that the argument of the Petitioners ryas in part upon
• iniscooception of facts; as they observe, that one of the
witnesses, in order to illustrate his ideas sod the wishes of
the Petitioners, has furnished a table of the duties payable
on foreign manufactured articles, of which I are sub-
ject to direct heavy duties of excise in this country ; mud
spots with the importation duty, as fur instance upon the
article edgings, is impose-I in a great
the duty upon that article manufactured in this kingdom.

Bat the main grounds upon which your Committee are
disposed to think dial the House will look with some mis-
trust to the soundness of this principle, I.—first, !hat it may
be well doubted whether (wish the exceptitrtt of silk) soy of our
eonsiderahle manufactures derive benefit from this *roomiest
protection in Hie markets of this rooutry; fur how could the
foreign manufect urea of cotton, of woollen*, of hardware, corn.
pets: with one own in this country, when it is notorious that we
cos afford to nndersell them is, the products of those great
beau/Mrs of elir Inomfatturing indurtry, even in their own
inns keta. not wit hstnsulisig I hat cotton earl stool are subject to
a direct duty um imporbstion, not drawn back upon their
(*sport in a manufactured stair, as well as to all the iudirect
tax-ohm, which affects capital in these branches, in common
with that capital which is employed in rands.; the produe-
Ihn",of "ft i".!' Secondly, That there exiats this most east n-
isei slinrrence between the effect of prniection given to the
mannfactorer (even it be did not enjoy from natty at causes a
prat. mace in Ilse home 11131 ket), and the attempt at • similar
prutert ~,,, and isionopoly to tile produce of the soil—that in
all employment of capital, either in trade or manufacture.,
profits are limited fry competition. If, for any lymph of
Sinn or from any eneunistancest, profits are iticreneed, in
any particular branch, ahoy, the accustomed average. whit
tiuunl capital seeks employment is, that branch, end profits
are again speedily reducer, to their former level. This would
equally be the case if the demand for that particular article
were doulikds and it may further frequently happen, as we
have wituessed of late years (in all goods, for bestow',
%fuel/hi of iron and esillise)e that, nwiew to discoveries iM
mechanical soil chemical science, and improvements in the
tworeforture, an 'museum, increase of consumption nt.y he
oteminitaot with, and probably, in a great degree, the result
at, a great fall in price.
The same principle, it is tree, amities to the capital and
bussineoi of she fainter; but with this important disilitte-
Stole, that She price sit coin, takers fur any series of rear*. is
✓eerassrily regeolated by the expense of petelsortion upon the
lairds Oich, at that price, make no return beyond the charge of
raising it, together With she ordinary profit of the capital
employed upon those lands. The cultivator of such lands,
for the time, is upon a footi..g with the merchant and the
manufacturer; but if the demand for corn were doubled it
would force into eullivatiuss poorer Voids, requiring a larger
capital to raise the same qoantity Mf prodnee ; the price of
that produce would determine the price of the whole, of
those* poorer lands could not be maintained iii cultivation;
for there cannot permanently be two rates of profit in the
same occupation It is sufficient for your Committee to
!meat this ground of difference, and to leave it to the josh.,
'newt of the House, in connection with the übservatissits which
they have already submitted in a former part of this Report.
Another wish expresoed by some of the l'elitioners, arid
mime of the • lineages, is for the repeal of Vint clause is, the
last Act, which allows the warehousing is the United King-
dom of fureigq corgi, when it catmint be taken out fur home
collsudeptiols.
The grounds upon which this alteration of the law is sue.
gelded, for the relief of the British grower, are tivmfoirl.
Ist. That the foreign (vim absorbs the capitals of the dealers
which would otherwise be employed is epeculating ia curs.
of British growths marl, mcoadly, that it reables them to
hull, in the warehouses of this country, a large stork of
foreign wheat, the notoriety of which depresses the markets,
from the dread of its tieing 'footed in so autos as it in set fete
by the prices rising above tso shilling..
The firid uhketiun proceeds epos two assumption', both
of which appear to your Cummittee sluubtrul Ist, that
the capitals of the dealers are absorbed in this foreign spe-
culation; and 2,11 y, that, if not so employed, they would
speculate with them in British curs,. Your Committee
conceive that there is no fixed 411141111 a of capi*•l assigned
In this trusty, and that it is gs.serussl by the arsine pesori-
pies which stimulate the application ssf capital in all other
branch. aof foie'rgis or domestic commerce. value of
all the foreign cora now in this circuitry, which castom
be sold for house consumption fill the price 'hail, for some
weeks, have exceeded 811.. a isinitell, w probably less than out
maims sts dime. 11ritssh corn, by the list retells, was shout
Ws. per quarter, Can there be • doubt. if nn impression
prevailed generally, that it wort:il rise to 795. before the next
harvest, that abundant capital would be fornid for specula-
tion; sad is nut the waut of it, at Hiss moment, rather to
be received as evidence of an apprehension that, in the event
of another productive harvest, the present low pikes would
not be improved?
Upon the 'second objection, your Committee have only to
remarkohat it is uuqueationably true, that the present ae.
euniniation of a great quantity of foreign emu, the *vetting
of She two or three het harvests VII the Continent, 11011141
bare a coissiderable itifluence upon the prices herr, in the
event of the purl being opened in consequesice of a deficient
harve.t. Rut the question is, whether that iisfluence would
nu l be nearly, if scut alio:ether, the same, ureter that con-
tingeucy, if that meerimislat sun were altogether at the ship.
ping ports of. Holland, or other pails of the Continent, in.
Ores, of being divided Ir/quirts thesis mot the warehouse,* of
this country? Should the prices here lie fluctuating between
70s. and 80s. smut small difference might pet bops be pro.
tiered by Abe knowledge of the neeumiluiluit in our Mill
warehouses, utimulet,ng the British grower to bring his own
core lo market, to keep down the price when it was sop.
proaching to the impost rate, is order to shut out the fu.
reign supply. But in this respect, accurate informatruai
✓ase be to him an advantage. . The time might .1... be a
little varied at which a part of the foreign curd, npoo the
ports being (wetted, iuight find its way hither.. Rut this dif-
fer...ace would sot lie euneidereble, the ports of Flanders sod
Holland being as cotivessieirt fur the Thames as must of oar
ono ports from which corn is shipped for Loudon.
Haring stated the grenade opus. which your Committee
ate of optima that the expectations which have hoes enter.
Seined of advertiser from the repeal of dila clause, we not
likely-10 be et allied, they conceive that the views in which it
was introdaged of making this country a deposit of tut eigu