The Sun.
London, England, 1822-01-18 00:00:00

'WItS.

LORD 'JOHN RUSSELL.

Lord JoHN RUSSELL has addressed a letter,
dated Woburn•abbey, January 14, to the Yeo-
manry And Farmers of Huntingdonshire, on
the subject of a proposed Petition to Parliament
for relief of agricultural distress. Ills Lordship
says--

" It being impossible by means of a Corn Bill to restore the,
war prices, I beg of you seriously to consider whether a new
Corn Bill is likely to do you at present any-good whatever.—
Supposing you were allowed to frame it yourselves, or Putt the
Legislature should enact a prohibition at all times t 6 import ar.
article% the produce of the soil of Great Britain; would your dis-
tress be at all relieved ? I think not. I think also, if you agr.e,
thus far, you must also agree with me that any efforts in this
direction are not likely to be attended with benefit to yourselves.
For the truth of. this, I appeal to. the best* all tests--the
perienee of last year. By active petitioning, you obtained a
Committee 'on the state of Agriculture. And what was the
result ? Evidence proving the distress beyond all doubt, and a
Report suggesting no relief but.time and patience. Time he s
not yet brought you any consolation ; and as-for patience, yua
surely did not require 21 Gentlemen to sit three months for the •
purse of recommending that well-known virtue.
" But the committee have also advised an alteration of the
Corn Bill. That is to say, they recommend a lower importa-
tion price with a duty. Whether such a law as a permanent
system might not be better than the present, I am not -quite
prepared to decide. But it is clear that lowering the importa-
tion price would bring you no relief for present distress. And
• I am inclined to believe, that with many sugared words, the
framer of the report intended to lay the foundation for.subvert-
ing the principle of the Corn Bill altogether, and introducing
foreign corn at all times into the market ; for the principle o f
admitting foreign corn when our own prices. are 'l6w, being
once granted, it would be extremely difficult to counterbalance
the taxes paid by the English farmer. A duty of 40 or 50
shillings a quarter upon foreign corn could hardly be enacted ;
and if enacted, certainly would not be persisted in. But lam
inclined to think, that if foreign \corn were admitted, .even if
you had scarcely any taxes to pay, .it would not be easy for the
farmers of' England, who require to,live in a certain degree of
respectability and comfort, to compete with the lords of Poland
and Russia, whose vassal peasantry .are unacquainted with the
*ants of a civilized State. Corn. is a manufacture (to use cur
new phraseology) cheaply produced in a fertile soil, by. wretch-
ed plctrg,lis; wretched horses, and wretched men.
" There is .a party amongst us, however, distinguiShed in
what is called the science of political economy, who wish, to sub-
stitute the corn of Poland and Russia. for our. own. Their
principle is, that you ought always to buy where 'you:can buy
cheapest. They repeat .with emphasis that the nation pays a
:tax of 25;000,0001. yearly to the. growers of corn. They count
iks nothing the value to tne country of a hardy race of farmers
andllabourers. They care not . for the difference between an
agricultural and•rnanufacturingpopulation,in all that concerns
Morals, order, national strength, and. national tranquillity.
Wealth .is the only object Of their speculation ; nor do they
Much consider the two or three millions, of people who may be
reduced to utter beggary in the course of their 'operations.
This they call diverting capital into another, chpnel. Their
reasonings.lie so much in abstract terms,.their speculations deal
so ;Incipii by the gross, that they.have the same Insensibility
ahout the sufferings of a people, that a Generanias 'respecting
the lois of men wearied by his operations; . • „.
" it is to these, men, I suspect, that. our Ministers sre about
to give up the question of trade in corn : such a change would
bring them nothing new. For several 3ieirithei steadily sot.-
PORTED the Bank ; and the House of •.(16Mnions that day
voted several falsehoods in, support of it, ..,Yet ailast they turn-
ed round on their old frieruls„and, joining. a*p9lltical econo-
mists, passed the • Apt knOwn by the rutxue.' 401,r. Peel's Bill.
21 ,or many years also they opposed a reductio4pf,t4e'arroy ; but
this year (owing in a great measure to thitivil,e.firkable ability
ofNfr. Hume)- they base reduecd arbor-
-niAration was originally found 4, as you ma.y.tv.4eMber, on
the cry of " No Popery !" lantiti a short time, .Ihave,rio doubt,
:we,,ihall see them. emancipate,thc.Catholics..• I,4:the same w;ly
ti,think I perceive that-they are:.' bout to :the farmers,
and their own bill M 130, b4u4k.7 •
• parid;Wit4 the po-
litical economists, .I, vouldoberefore„ advise you to watch
,rartowly any. new measore of degiilatioi revecting ,corn: in
seeking additional • protecuori, you
,n..• ay; .be „.e.k&ited into a law
that will leave you worse off man yOu. are atoreaen.t.. Nor do
I mean to blame the for. any di intOatiOns toward,'
their . country ;..their, moan-Jig- is generally good;. but their
elbinet of 15, a
it beity, too. smellfar erhate„.and.toO large fee exte
:ap*toln cartieil ;.way •any,wiod that cemes p. As
t wit ..Political ear namy iX e‘itt die lase j. and the farmers
of Enijxnd are 1i%4C1Y5 if they doLot 4-ek 4309;1 lock citre to
,„
be the victims." .. ..• . ,