The Sun.
London, England, 1838-08-23 00:00:00

A FEW COPIES OF

THE CORONATION SUN

MAY NOW BE HAD PRINTED
ALL OVER WITH GOLD,
AND BEAUTIFULLY POLISHED.
PRICE ra.) SHILLINGS AND SIXPENCE
SUN Office, 112, Strand, Aug. 23, 1838.

The publication of Tin SUN NEWSPAPER commenced this day

at 10 minutes past Three o' Clock,

WITH WHICH
THE id TRUE SUN " IS NOW

INCORPORATED.

LONDON :
THURSDAY EVENING, AUGUST 23, 1838.

The Corn Averages, published in our Journal of this
day, show that the average price of the six weeks ending
August 17, which regulates the duty on wheat, is

70s. 5d., or ls. 3d. lower than the averages of the

week ending August 10th. The duty then was
13s. Bd., it is now 10s. Bd., or 3s. lower than last

week, though the price—and we beg the farmers,
who have now corn to sell, will attend to this—
has this week fallen in the London, Wakefield,

Derby and other markets.

But it will also be see

by the official returns that the average of the week
ending Ang. 17, was 755. 7d., or 3s. 11d. higher than
the average of the week ending Aug. 10 (71s. Bd.)
It is certain, therefore, for the markets are still gene-
rally about 80s., that on the 24th of August the six
weeks average will be above 715., if not above 725. ;

and that the duty will certainly be down to 6,4. 8d

not down to 2s. Bd. In the mean time if the catching
weather do not operate against the haste and anxiety
of the farmers to sell, and keep up the markets, they
will fall rapidly, and our farmers will get declining
prices for their corn, while that from abroad is coming
in at a diminishing and very low duty. This is the
genuine effect of the Corn-laws which, by concentrat-
ing speculation on the one object of reducing the duty
at a favourable moment, and by placing the market
much under the controul of money speculators, place
the farmers completely at their mercy.
As corn has undergone of late very considerable
fluctuations in price, and as it is row in the great
corn markets, with a gold currency, no country bank-

paper in circulation, and not above 22 millions
issued by the Bank of England, upwards of 80s. a
quarter, or tantamount to 120 s. of war prices,

we look on the general question of the Corn-laws as
practically settled. The working agriculturists, we are
sure, after attaining a conviction, which they now
must, that the Corn-laws constitute an excellent in-
strument of speculation, which the money classes
work to the disadvantage of the farmers, will no longer
support them. However much the capitalists and
labourers may delight in the aristocracy and the priest-

hood, the former will not consent to be ruined, a'

the latter to be starved, by wheat at eighty
shillings the quarter, even for the advantage of
preserving magnificent dukes and pompous squires
from insolvency, and the titheowners from the
depredations of the landowners. No statesman will
risk a convulsion in the country, which would certainly
be the consequence of continuing the Corn-laws,
for the sake merely of preserving undiminished the
incomes of the aristocracy and the priesthood.
Though the Corn-laws are not yet wiped out of the
statute-book, we feel as confident that they speedily
will be, as that the sun will next year run his appointed
course. Under such a conviction and with such circum-
stances, there is little call for further observation on
the subject, for who discusses the merits of a ship
while she is sinking, or the comforts of a house a prey
to the flames; and we should not enter into it, but
that we see one or two topics on which we may sooth
the alarms, real or pretended, of our statesmen, and sup-
ply consolation and hope to some of our afflicted and
despairing Contemporaries.
We have already disposed, we think effectually, of
the ridiculous argument, that free-trade in corn will
make us dependent on foreign nations, by demonstrat-
ing that free-trade in cotton, which is chiefly collected
from one spot, while corn may be had from all parts
of the world, brings about no such dependence. In
fact, more of our people are at this moment dependent
on those foreign countries from which we draw the raw
materials of our cotton, silk, and woollen manufactures,
than ever there can be dependent for food with a free
trade in corn.
Suppose that dependence to exist in all the fright-
ful horrors in which it is painted by our pseudo-states-
men—suppose we annually drew large supplies of
wheat from Poland, Russia, and Prussia, and offered
a large and regular market for their agriculture—and
suppose, with the Duke of WELLINGTON, that the
rulers of either or all these countries should lay
a tax on the food, or prevent it being sent out of
their countries at all, we should in that case have
all the persons engaged in growing food for
our market disaffected to their rulers, for their
trade would be ruined, and we should contend
with powerful allies against the mad tyrants who
But if our markets
would endeavour to starve us.
were open to all the world, all the corn-growing coun-
tries in the world desiring our manufactures would
endeavour to send their corn here, and the main con-
sequence therefore, of the prohibition or the. tax sup-
posed, would be to give all other corn-growing coun-
tries an advantage over Russia, Prussia, and Poland,
and enable them to beat these countries out of our mar-
ket. But competition between foreign nations to give
cheap and plenty of food to our people is prohibited by
the-,Corn-laws; and the consequence is that no nation,
initeitil4,4l,the world growing corn for us, will grow
corn expregattikitUr market; and the next consequence
- ,
is that we are ,lea tO our own resources, and in a
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