The Sun.
London, England, 1839-03-15 00:00:00

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CORN LAWS.

MEETING •OF DELEGATES—( YESTERDAY).
The Delegates reassembled this day at three o'clock.
J. B. SMITH, Esq. in the Chair. There were present
also . Mr. • O'Connell, M. P., Mr. Swart, M. P., Mr.
Scholefield, M. P., Mr. Baines, M. P., and Mr. P. Ains-
worth, M.P.
• Mr. COBDCN was anxious to call the attention of the
Delegates to a subject that was under-consideration yes-
terday—the desirableness of gaining- the co-operation of
the . City .of .London in . this great cause.--(Cheers.)
Looking at the character of the present Lord Mayer—re-
mernbering how active he had been to abolish a monopol:,
which pressed 'heavily on the poor, and remembering that
the" Delegates were engaged not only in breaking down
another affecting the poor, but that they were the declared
enemies of all monopolies, they could not fail to command
the sympathy of the Lord Mayor, and through, him the
sympathy of the City of London,• if they appointed a
deputation to wait upon him at the earliest period,
respectfully to solicit his co-operation, and that of the
Corporation. He therefore moved that Mr. Sturge, Mr.
S:ansficltt, and Mr. Johnston be appointed a Deputation to
wait on the Lord Mayor.---( Heir, hear.)
A DELEGATE- wished the name of the mover to be added.
(Hear, hear.)
Mr. BoraTaan had great pleasure in seconding the Re-
solution, because the sanction of the City of London would
contribute much to the efforts of the Delegates.
A Gentleman, who said ho was not a Delegate, sug-
gested a Nether it might not be proper to press on the
tent ion' of the Lord Mayor the particular situation of the in-
habitants of Loudon and its vicinage. It had been said that
as corn rose, wages rose also. There was no part of England
where it was iless true than in London, because the earnings
of a great porion of the population were -regulated by
Acts of"Parliament_( Hear, bear)—cabmen, watermen,
Sze., for instance. They could only take so much for doing
so inueli.—( Hear, hear)--and it vies most material to press
on the attention of the Lord Mayor that the high price of
provisicns must deprive the inhabitants of London and its
sicinage of many of the comforts of life.--( Hear, hear.)
The resolution was then put and agreed to.
Dr. Bow/trate-begged to call the attention of the Dele-
gates to a document to which an lion. Member had alluded
last alight, in the course of the debate in the House of
Commons. The. lion. Member for Lincoln had quoted
part of a document which had been presented to the House
by the Ministers, and his objact in quoting it was to show
that the introduction of the free trade in corn into Tuscany
had not had the effect of regulating the prices in that
country. He had quoted the table for the purpose of
showing that the free trade in corn bed failed to do this.
Now, what was the operation of this introduction.. The
minimum price of corn had been 28s, and undo the
greatest encouragement of demand the highest pike had
been not more than 463. 101 re; quarter. The fact was,
that since the introduction either free -trade in corn into
Tuscany, the average price he'd been 383. per quarter,
so that under no circumstances had the' price of.
corn heen raised more than Bs. per quarter above the ave-
rage, and it had, not ever fallen more than 10s. 'below that
average. But. the Hon. Gentleman had forgotten:to state
what he would:have found in the previous page of the Re-
port, that, previous to the introduotion of the free-trade
principle into Tuscany, the fluctuations in the price:of corn
was from 1 to 20-that at some periods the value of corn was
scarcely any thing, and at other periods rebellion and revo-
lution grew out of the starvation of the people.--( Hear,
heat.) Dr. Botvrieg then proceeded to read the following
extracts frtnii the report alluded to, for the purpese of
Showing a hat had been the consequence of the introduction
of the the trade principles into Tuscany :
" The first and the most triumphant result on contrasting
the present unlimited liberty of commerce in Tuscany with
the restrictive policy which preceded it may be seen in una
deniable facts. Our population has, increased more than
12 per cent.—our produce in corn 34 percent. Our trade
in agricultural produce is .greatly augmented; our ruined
I cottages have been rebuilt ; epidemics have lessened by the
consuMption of better, corn. We have suffered little from
' rise of-prices, which have soon regulated' themaselves, and
have ,never undergone the enormous fluctuations to which'
they were, formerly subjected. Property has been
—monopoly overthrown,--and litigations completely termi-
nated—while the revenues of the State have greatly in-
, creased by the removal of the trammels on commerce."
The Prime Minister of Tuscany says, " Twenty 'years of
free trade has led to a vast extension of cultivation, a great
increase of buildings and inhabitants, both in town and
country; the establishment of new manufactures; the
enormous development of the growth of silk (which was
threatened with ruin, when foreign silk was introduced
without duty) ; a very considerable augmentation -of the
consumption of both the necessaries and luxuries of lifer
with all the enjoyments attached' to them ; a general rise of
wages, .and a universal sentiment of growing prosperity."
He would now call the attention of the Delegates 'to the
fluttuations in pribe which had taken place in this country,-
in Consequeace of the restrictive' system' a hich had been
adopted., Mr. Potter stated, that ;from I'Bl6 to 1837; the',
average price of corn had been 60s, per quarter. The
highest price during that period bad 'Leen 945. per •
quarter,: and the' lowest price had 'been 395. 4d. per
quarter, thus showing that it bad risen at' one
period 345.: above the average, while it had fallen at
another 213. Bd. below it; in the year 1812; 'rho aVerage
price of cornin this country was 1225. 81. per quarter.
The Report demonstrated the immense superiority of the
free trade 'system over..the restrictive system, and the
Tuscan G6vernment bad appealed to the GOvern„
ment of England on the subject, , expressing their
hope that this Government would at length he induced
to modify their restrictive system ; they were induced to
indulge this hope from the knoWn liberal tendency of the
British Government, and also from the fact that it was
more for the interest of England than of any other'
country in the world that an unrestricted exchange
of commodities should take place. The Honourable
Gentleman had taken care to leave out .of view
all these facts ; had he quoted the decurnent fairly be
could not have • made out his case. The benefits of free
trade were also exemplified by reference to another part of
Italy—Trieste ; -in that country, since the introduction of
free trade, every foot of land had been taken into cultivation, '
and -by the introduction of the'terraca method, the sides of
mountains, which had formerly , been. barmen ; were
now covered With vines. These countries fOrined
a reMarkable , contrast; with the- Papal StateS,' in
which the re`Sltictive system prevailed -; and he (Dr. '11.)
wished that the jlon. Gentleman opposite (Mr. ()Ton-
nen, for whose,opinions he knew the -Pepe entertained the
highest yespect--,(Hear)—yrould'enlig,hten his Holiness's
mind on this: subject. Thirty' thOuSand people in attic of
our manufacturing-towns actually produce more than the
3,000,000 of the inhabitants of the. Papal :States. '
In all countries in which the free trade system had been.
introduced, the revenue of the State had increased. in con-
sequence; while in those ,in which the restrictive system
had- been adopted, the revenues had diminishcd.
thought it would have been only fair and-. just in the Hon.
Gent. to have stated the general principles which that docu-
ment had proved to be true, instead of taking from it one iso-
lated statement as he had done; this would have shown that
wherever the free trade system had been intruslueed it hail
been followed by an increase in the revenue,, and the go-,
.neral-prosperitya while the restrictive system had invariably
been productiveof calamity to the Government; Ruined
operated tsoa
the people.
Mr.
o.aac a cursea aoa t.t., having
once cottv;nced him=
self-that the Corn-laws had produced to good, but done a
great deal of mischief, he would inquire What. in `other
countries had been the effecteof free trade in everything.
He . found that it was benefielal to all classes, and that
what was lost by a few monopolists was. more than 4;100
times repaid to the community at large.,-•(Hear.) With
that conViction on 'his mind, he had been cncounterbd: by
-•persons who-talked of political economists with disdain,
and stated their theories, to be inapplicable to trades. -They
talked of the diatinctions between practical men andtbcorists.
He would Meet them on that ground, and say we were practi-
cal men, because theinstances in Which the principle of free
trade had been applied had in practice answered so well,
that it had increased prosperity everywhere.—( !fear, hear. )
The contrast was :powerful. In the same country—in the
same climate, there were two .Governments, each well-
intentioned towards the other ; but he did norbelieve there
was on the face of the earth a Government which meant
better towards the people than in the Papal territories;
and the proof of it was this, that there was more money
ghien far the purposes of charity and in the exercise of a
benevolence which he thought mistaken, than itt any
other country, its size, on the face of the earth.—( Hear,
hearsheara) By reason of the Corti-laws the consumption
of wholesome food was' taken from Ireland, and disease
ensued. The 'Corn-laws might be traced in letteks of
blood through' that country, and nothing demonstrated it
more clearly than that in 1822, at the time a subscription
was raised of nearly a million of money in England to
supply with. food the starving population of, Irelapd; the
vessels that, went :there freighted with Meat to be given
away there, were met by many coming out, laden ;with.
produce, to this country.--(Hear, hear.) What applied
to mistaken benevolence applied also to miStakea political
economy: 'Rome was the victim of one—lreland was the
victim of the other.—( Hear, hear,) The gentlemen' who'
met the other day in the county of -Roscommon were'very.
angry with those who had voted for the repeal of theCorn-
laws.' They had, presented -a petition to the Hotie of
COHMTIQHS since,, and it contained rather a remarkable
statement, corning from the persons Who supported the ex-
isting,systern. They state ‘. that our rrianufacturea have
beet deatroyed."--( Hear, hear.) That seemed an Fish
reason for supporting the system.---(Latighter.) . And
they add, " and the remittances of great portions of our
produce to absentees increase the capital of England, and
diminish the resources of Ireland, leaving. agriculture the
'., only F,oeree nd naticnal.proiperity."—( Hear, and alaugh.)
The idea of the Lords and country gentleman standing 1.12. k
I for national prosperity, that pro:Tanta, being the destrue.
tion of, their manufactures and camunerce, wt.s rather
laughable. If there was a single'inanufaelory in ReScorn-
mon, thepoople of the neighbourhood would receias wages
—the manufactory would employ mere men, women, and
children than were employed by the agric-elteral interests of
three eounties put together, and,if any thing was sent out
theire would be a return for it. ,It•ivould.not 'operate on
the Corn-laws, sending out corn to the absentee without
any reterin-L(llear, ;hear.) Whereasaif they encouraged
manufactures in-Ireland, the manufactureistvouldges,-samas
„thing back in rcturn for his manufactures L-the inter-
nel prosperity would be quite of a dill2rent kind
tti that which was advocated at' Roseonahlim, which
treased reantneree'and manefaCture, and gave no pt °peer
to that country of recovering from her unb:Tny position.;
( Hear.) In shaft' Wtis cdnviaccal Ca:art, was but one
I hope of proSperity for Ireland, and that was being boom'