The Sun.
London, England, 1849-07-03 00:00:00

• all silvered or polished glass, of whatever thickness,there wail
retained, in 1848, 99,841 square feet, and in 1849, 74,806
square feet. Of white flint glass goods (except bottles), not
cut or ground, or otherwise ornamented, there was retained-
in 1848, 16,399 lb., and in 1849, 20,366 lb. Of-all flint:cut
glass, flint coloured glass, and fancy ornamental glees,
there was, in 1848, 197,8571 b., and in 1849, 409,8711 b. The
shipping trade was also said to have declined, and he accord
ingly called for a return setting forth the quantityeof British:•
and
foreign shipping that had entered the perte of the
United Kingdom within the last ilve years, and be founli
that, notwithstanding the check which the apprehended!re- e
peal of the navigation laws was said to have given durnig
the last couple of years, that the amount of British.ehippinei •
d
had actually increased.—(llear, hear.) The amounte
shipping belonging to this country, on the 30th of December
in each year, was as follows:--In 1845 it was 31,817 i in
1846, 3.2,499; in 1847, 32,988; and in 1848 it was 33,672:.-- •
(Hear, hear.) Again, taking the entries for the first he's
months of each of these years, he found the total that had
been entered and cleared in British ports was as follows :
British vessels in 1845, 2,268,144 tons; in 18464,240,60
tons; in 1847, 2,531,476 tons; in 1849, 2,627,055 UNA;
and in 1849, 2,954,674) tons. With regard to foreign shy-,.
ping, in 1845 the amount of tonnage was 157,612; in 1846,.
1 020,074 ; in 1847, 1,284,354; in 1849, 970,279; and in
1849, 1,127,667. The total entered and cleared in
1845 was 3,125,756 tons; in 1846, 3,260,717 ;• in 1847,
3,865,830; in 1848, 3,597,334; in 1849, 4,230,337.—(Hear,
hear.) He therefore really did not know in what part of th e
question, so far as manufactures went, so far as the condition
of the manufacturing artisans went, so far as the trade stud
commerce of the country went, so far as the employment of
their shipping went, so far, in fine, as the condition of all
classes in the community, speaking generally, went, be did
not know whet it was that he could have to add to what he
had already stated utterly to negative the argument of the
Honourable Gentleman, and the statement which he had put
forward as to the distress which he had contendeel pervaded
all classes.—(Loud cries of " Hear, hear.") He teed shown
that wages were, generally speaking, higher, that the prices
of articles in general use were lower,lthat employment was
more general than for several years past, that trade and
commerce, both with regard to exportation and to impo-v-
-tation had increased—and what other tests any man could
see or call for in respect to the condition of those branches
of trade lie knew not.—(Hear, ;hear.) Every test that
he could think of he had applied to them, and the result in
each case was, that, so far from their being in that state of
ruin which the Honourable Gentleman wished to make 'ap-
parent, they were in a state of steady and progressive im-
provement—slow to be sure, but more sure because it was
slow.--( Hear, hear.) He now approached that branch of '
the case in which, no doubt, more difference of opinion would - '
exist, and with respect to which, he regretted to say, he
could not, speaking generally, give an equally good account.
He was speaking of the agricultural interest of the country,
becau.e he must admit, as he had done on a former occa-
sion, tliat at any rate, in a portion of the agricultural districts
of the:country, considerable distress unfortunately prevailed.
—(Hear, hear.) lie found that there prevailed among the
farmers considerable complaints and considerable alarm—
more alarm, in fact, than in his opinion, was at all justified
by the circumstances.—(Hear.) Great complaints were made
whichof the low prices of corn and meat. The price of wool,
esa,
admittedconsiderablebe
higherticl eof athgraincuflotru rsaolme ti produce,
mepwa
sate:
he believed, was a considerable article of agricultural produce, was,
he believed
but with regard to the other articles, bow did the facts stand?
First of all, with regard to the price of corn. He need not
state that wheat had risen 3s. a quarter since May; but he
would take the prices as they had stood at that period, as it
was the time when the Hon. Gentleman had given notice of
his motion. Taking the five months before then, he found
the average price per quarter of wheat was 455. 3d. Now,
that was not at all a :price unexampled in this country.--
(Hear.) Even in the most flourishing period of protection,
the price for a whole year and a half of the next year was not
so high. But taking the price of wheat for the last three
years, he found that m 1848 the average price was
545. Bd. ; in 1847 it was 695. 9d.; and in 184,8, 50s. 6d.,
being for the last three years an average of 58s. 3tyd. '
Now, if these high prices had prevailed for three years,
up to November last, the farmer, so far from being
ruined, ought to be in a state of prosperity.— (Hear, hear.)
For it is not alone now in June, but so far back as last Fe-
bruary, that the Hon. Gentleman had told them that the far-
mers were utterly ruined. Now, if they were utterly ruined
at the end of three years of extraordinarily high prices, what
were they to infer from the complaints that were put for-
' ward ? If the state of alarm were untrue, the farmers were
most reprehensible in raising it; but if it were true, let them
see what an unsound state of agriculture it disclosed, when,
after a period of three years of extraordinarily high prices
the whole agricultural community of the country was in a
state of ruin—(Hear, hear.) But taking the average price
for the five months of 1849, and comparing it with the ave-
rage price for the corresponding periods in 1834, 1835, and
1836, he found that for the present year, the average was
455. 3d., while in the former years it was 445. Bd. Again,
he found that in 1845, the lowest price was 445. Id.,
and in the spring of 1846 it was still lower, though
it had not reached near that amount in 1849% With

regard to the reduction in the price of meat, there was no
ground whatever for showing that it was owing to the im-
portation of foreign cattle ; and if Gentlemen took the trouble
of inquiring into the matter, they would find that there bad
been several periods at which the prices were quite as low
as at present. Taking the average prices for the last seven
years, from January to May, in the London market, he found
the results to be as follows ;—llividing the qualities into in-
ferior beasts, prime beasts, inferior sheep, and first-class sheep,
he found that since 1844 there had been at various periods a

sonsiderably lower price under every head than at present.
Now they had never heard during these years of farmers
being ruined in consequence of the low price of meat; and
yet, as the House would perceive, each of the articles were at
times lower than at present. Again, taking the prices of
prime pieces of beef and legs and loins of mutton on each
Lady-day for the same years, he found that there was a
considerably higher price in 1849, than in many of the
former years. Why, meat was actually higher now for mime
pieces than it had been for several years past.—(Hear.)
He could not, therefore, think that this extraordinary
depreciation in agriculture, of which they were told, was
owing to any extraordinary low price of meat at the present
moment, still less could he think that it was owing to any
importation that had taken place of foreign cattle. The whole
quantity of foreign beasts imported in 1847 was 63,000, while
in 1848 the number had fallen off to 47,000, being a diminu-
tion of about 16,000 beasts in last year.—(Hear, hear.) Of
calves there had been an increased importation, ;he numbers
being 12,000 in 1847, and 15,000 in 1848. The importation
of sheep had fallen off from 139,000 in 1547, to 118,000 in
1818. If they took the present year, the importation would
be found to have fallen still more. During the first five
months of last year the importation had been 13,000. while
in the first live months of 1840, the, number was wily 9,900.
—(Hear, hear.) But the Hon. Gentleman had told them
that it was not the importation of foreign cattle, but the im-
portation of salt pork and bacon that caused the reduction
in prices. No doubt a great increase had taken place in the
importation of salt pork and bacon, and it was very fortunate
that it had been so, and he would tell the House shortly why.
In 1846, the quantity of bacon imported was .2,960 cwt
while in 1818 the importation was 11,000. cwt. Again, Of
salt pork the quantity imported had been increased from
72,000 cwt. in 1846, to 252,000 cwt. in 1848. That wee, a
great increase ; but most glad was he that it had taken play*,
and that the poor of the country had had this supply...
(Hear, hear.) For what would they have done withoa
' considering that they had been deprived of the large 0140 'it)
of pigs that annually came to this country from Iraandsixt
and on which the operatives in the northern and manufac*
turing districts had been so long in the habit of relying? lie
would read to the House the falling oil' that had taken place
in the importation of pigs. In the first half of the year 1846
the importation was 152,000 pigs, the same period of 1847 it
was 45,000 ; 1848, 52,000 ; and 1849, 27,000 only. That
was a falling off of upwards of 120,000 pigs in half a year.
The supply had, however, to a certain extent, been made up
by the importation of food from abroad.. The result was,:that
the price of bacon was higher now than it had been for
some time, except last year. The price of bacon in the South-
wark market, which was a large market for the consump-
tion of working men, was, in 1845, GSs. to 625. the cis t. ;
in 1846, 70s. to 635, ; and last year it rose to 88s. to 825.;
while this year it was 81s. to 755., which was higher
than it was in the years 1845 and 1846. Therefore, even in
the supply of bacon, the price was higher now than it
was two or three years ago. Now, Hon. Gentlemen did not
like letters, because they did not seem to like information
(A laugh) —nevertheless he would take the liberty of read-
ing a letter from a large farmer in Cheshire, who was one of
the principal salesmen in the Liverpool market.—(The Right
Hon. Gentleman hers read the letter in question which attri-
buted the fall in the price of stock to excessive supply). Now
he ( the Chancellor of the Exchequer) thought that was com-
plete proof that the low prices of which there was so much
complaint could ire no sense whatever be attributed to the
importation from foreign countries, but that they were to be
attributed partly to the excess of supply and partly to a
de-
ficiency in the demand, at a time of great depression in
the manufacturing districts. As trade was now improving,
and employmont becoming more extensive,
alreadye,hehadstladttelcie
doubt that prices would improve. He hadi
that the price of corn was rising. The experience of last
year bed been no confirmation of the anticipations which
were previously indulged in as to the importation of corn. It
been said that we shuuld be overwhelmed with wheat from
the United :..tates and the Baltic ; and yet it was remarkable
that the supply of last year had come from countries front -
which nobody anticipated a large quantity at all. In the
last eleven months there had come from Prussian Poland
490,000 quarters ; from France, generally speaking an im-
porting country, we received nearly 480,000; while from the •
United States, of wheat and flour together, there only came
513,000 quarters, and that after sufficient warning had been
given to those countries that our ports would be open; so
that there was no reason why they should not, if they could
have done so at the prices, have sent corn to this country. -
No doubt the corn from France had been sent over under
extraordinauy circumstances, and there was no reason to be-
lieve that the importations from that country would be greater
than last year. He found on referring to the last accounts
of the quantity of corn in the United States, that no great
amount had been brought down to the western countries and
in the principal markets of the seaboard; and the price at
trails moment was actually rising, not so much for exportation
to this country as for their own home consumption. While
he mentioned that fact, he was not at all anxious that the
price of corn should rise to an extravagant amount; but
whichta
referred to it to show that the state of extreme I
could not be attributed to the extent to which no doubt prevailed in many parts of tile agriculturalcAfplioarorietcitiwegeduiritishenttohr
tuitihchnuti
ethe harvest in
tries were able to send corn to this country.
they had to consider washowhyfatrh
country had been depressed_ et hs et
everybody
average
acquaintede aogt
knewwl 1611 m of a
harvest in the south
most extraordinary de-
scription.tphaer
part of
ththoef Ecnegelnatnrdy,
in the north
however,
ogmeenveerra: lyrevesrusffeedredlastfroymear, taske
is much earlier than in the north, and the farmers
In
earner
times the ha
wea-
ther. This was,
weather came at theba
the time of the harvest in the south ; and
he was not overstating the fact when he said that nobody in
that part of the country ever remembered so bad a harvest,
and so badly got in. lie had had last year several speci-
mens of sprouted corn sent to him, arid he knew the crop ,
was badly got in, and was altogether of a most inferior
quality. That necessarily depressed the average price of
corn, and must be taken into account when they were con-
sidering the average price of corn. That also had to •be
taken into account in considering the state of distress "
which prevailed in the southern counties, to an extent
unknown elsewhere. He believed he was justified in stating
that the pressure did not exist elsewhere, and he thought
that was sufficiently accounted for by last year's harvest. A
friend of his, who had a large farm in Dorsetshire, and whit
also had mills on his land, had sent him an account of the
yield of an acre of land on his farm in Dorsetshire in the year*
1547 and 1848. The produce in 1847 was seven sacks, 1,50-
clueing 2501b5. of wheat each. The yield in 1848 was five
sacks, producing 2301 b. each. The diminution was two
sacks an acre, and 20 lbs. of wheat in each sack. But when
the wheat was ground the difference was sill more remark-
able, because the first year produced 2121b5. of flour, and 38
lbs. of offal, whereas the second 'rear produced 158Ibs. of
flour and 481bs. of offal. The difference in price was 41e.
and 335. 6d. So that there was a difference of 51. 6s. per
acre between the two years. If the price had not fallen, still
the difference would have been upwards of 4/. in the pro•
duce of the acre. That he thought sufficiently accounted
for the distress in the southern counties. But- what was
the case in respect to the better description of

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