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

• all silvered or polished glass, of whatever thickness, there wades 174,
retained, in 1848, 99,841 square feet, and in 1849, 74,806 —7--re---Ve47:`
square feet. Of white flint glass goods (except, bottles), not 7-‘2.__--Y--a--'-. 4
.chuilipoirngground, or otherwise ornamented, there was retained s -ec-1, ...."
,in 1848, 16,399 lb., and in 1849, 20,366 lb. Of all -flint cut ..1..;,,,“:).1. -..
1
glass, flint coloured glass, and fancy ornamental glas., .'. Vj..414 *
there was, in 1818, 197,8571 b., and in 1849, 409,8711 b. The
trade was also said to have declined, and he accord-
ingly called for a return setting forth the quantity of British
__,...--*" '-
and fore* shipping that had entered the ports of -the , . i , 1%6:-
United Kingdom within the last five years, and he follutio •' ' -
that, notwithstanding the check which the apprehended re-
peal of the navigation laws was said to have given during
the last couple of years, that the amount of British shipping
had actually increased.—(Hear, hear.) The amount of
shipping belonging to this country, on the 30th of December
in each year, was as follows:—In 1845 it was 31,817; in
846, 32,499; in 1847, 32,988; and in 1848 it was 33,672.—
(Hear, hear.) Again, taking the entries for the first 'fire
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 1846, 2,240,643
tons; in 1847, 2,581,476 tons; in 1849, 2,627,055 tons;
and in 1849, 2,954,670 tons. With regard to foreign ship-
ping, in 1845 the amount of tonnage was 157,612; iir 1846,
1.020,074; in 1847, 1,284,354; in 1849, 970,279; and`- in
1849, 1,127,667. The total entered and cleated. in
1845 was 3,125,756 tons; in 1846, 3,280,717; 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 the
question, so far as manufactures went, so far as the condition
of the manufacturing artisans went, so fat as the trade and
commerce of the country went, so far as the employment -a
their shipping went, so far, in fine, as the condition of all '
classes in the community, speaking generally, went, he did
not know what 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 contended pervaded
all classes.—(Loud cries of "Hear, hear.") •He had shown
that wages were, generally speaking, higher, that the prices
of articles in general use were lower,ithat employment. wit '
more general than for several years past, that trade and;
commerce, both with regard to exportation and to impOi-4).
tation had increased—and what other tests any mail could .
see or call for in respect to the conuition of these branches
of trade be 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 prpgressive Ida-
provement—slow to be sure,'but more sure because it was
slow.—( dear, 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, lie
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, that at any rate, in a portion of the agricultural'distriets
of the:country, considerable distress unfortunately pre railett
—(Hear, hear.) He found that there prevailed among the
woftahrtmchheeirs considerable complaints and considerable' alarm—
moreby t h
the
wase alarm,
circumstances.—(Hear)
a,a
mpi
admittednsr
it
prices of
than.
.....
( i 1 ne a
r. his) Great complaints
nwipalsthanttsawlllesmtitiadede
f considerablet co corn rbue
articleiai and
h higher
rf meat.
athgar agricultural
hEuirtstwiatfh
all,re g
witha regard tor
etghaer
d other
to
the
he believed,
articles,
pri e
hoofwucfluodTtrriundhrs.eaot
hlminprerifecoatedci
atmuosec fee:
td,w'pawa:nctcti
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
1 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 in 1846 the average price wai
548. 8d ; in 1847 it was 695. 9d.; and in. 1848,.505. 6d.,
being for the last three years an average of 58s. 834 d.
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 farr
mere 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 had ,
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 :—Dividing 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 -
considerably 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 wawa
considerably higher price in 1849, than in many of the
former years. Why, meat was actually higher now for prime,
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 184/ was 63,000, While
in 1848 thp 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, the numbers
being 12,000 in 1847, and 15,000 in 1848. The importation
of sheep had fallen off from 139,000 in 1847, to 118,060 in
1818. If they took the present year, the importation would
be found to have fallen still more. During the first file
months of last year the importation had been 13,000, while
in the first five months of 1849, the number was only 9,900.
—(Hear, hear.) But the lion. Gentleman had told them
that it was not the importation of foreign cattle, but the im*-
portation of salt park 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 1848 the importation was 11,000. cwt. Again, of
salt pork the quantity imported had been increased from
72,000 cwt. in 1845, to 252,000 cwt. in 184 S. That was a
great increase ; but most glad was he that it had taken place,
and that the'poor of the country had bad this supply.— ,
'(lm., hear.) For what would they. have done without it,
considering that they had been deprived of the large supply ,
Of pigs that annually came to this country from Ireland,
and on which the operatives in the northern and manufac-
turing districts' had been so long in the habit Of relying? He
would read to the House the falling off that had taken place
in the importation of pigs. In the first half of the,year 1846
the importation was 152,003 pigs. the same period of 1847# '
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 . s
by the importation of food from abroad. The result wits,:that
the price of bacon was higher now than it hid been for
Same 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, 68s. to 62a. the cwt.;.
in 1846, 70s. to 635,; and last year it rose to 88s. to 8284,-
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 here 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 is no sense whatever be attributed to the
..
p °ion in '
aimtpriobrutatetidonpafrroomy
tfooretihgenexccoeusnstorifesl,obpupityth,
sant,
pt they
ywr
terea, tope. .
nowhe imhpardovlittntgie, •
ficiency in the demand, at a time, :)f.
vtgeat
~.
and employment
bat price' would improve. He had already stated
the manueicturingbedcigfiincgts.
that ;the
t olnAorse traexdatensrve,
h price of corn was rising. The experience of last
year had been no confirmation of the anticipations which
were previously indu'ged in as to the importation of corn. It
had been said that we should be overwhelmeA with wheat from.
the United states and the Baltic ; and yet it was remarkable
that the supply of last year had come from countries frcim
which 'nobody' anticipated a large quantity at all. In the
last eleven months there hal come from Prussian Poland.
490,000 quarters; from France, generally speaking an im-
porting country, we received nearly 450,000;. while from the . •
United States, of wheat and flour together, there only came ,
513,003 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 •
haveldone 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 IA- •
I ieve that the importations front 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 •
this moment was actually rising, not so much for exportation
to this country as for their own home consumption. While
t amount; but he
Axileat:tin-beg
pricehe m eonfticoonrend that
siiou
should
crti,seh
teooa, ans e not
..s tralaan,otgatorl3l.an
no doubt prevailed in many parts oft
to
which.
the agricultural districts
foreign coon-
tries not be attributed to the extent referred to it to show that the state of extreme alarm which .
tries were able to send corn to this co
'they had to consider was how far the average price in this
which everybody
tsbeerrip. tioln,h.
islliviaso,rdhinoawryevetritti,ersevetrliseed
the south of England, acquainted with that •
country had been depressed by the state of
.the harvest in
part of the country knew was of a most extraordinary, de- ,
harvest in the south • •
is ninch earlier than in "'the north, and the farmers ,:.
in the north generally suffered from . the . wea- •
last year, as the bad
weather came at the time of the harvest in the south; and -
he was not overeating the fact When he said that nobody in
that part of the country ever remembered so bad a harvest,
and so badly got itr. He had had last year several apeci- .
mans of sprouted corn tent to him, and .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 pievailed 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-harveste A •
friend of his, who had a large farm in Dorsetshiree and who
also had mills on his land, had sent him ao account of t et
yield of an acre of land on his farm in Dorsetshire in the years
1847 and 1848. The produce in 1847 was seven sack. pro-
ducing 2501b5. of wheat each. The yield hi.lBB was five •
sacks, producing 2301 b, each. The diminution was two e
sacks an [Lae, and 201bs. of wheat in each sacs. , But when -
the wheat was ground the difference
,was still more remark- •
able, because the first year produced 2121b5. of flour, and 38
lbs. of offal, whereas the second year produced 1581bs. of
flour and and 481bs. of offal. The difference in price was 41s. -
and 335. 6d. So that there was a difference of 5L 6s. per • • .
acre between the two years. If Llie price had not fallen,,atill
the difference would have been Upwards of 41. in the'pl - -
'duce of the acre. That he' Oil:mg-lit sufficiently accounted
for the distress in the southern counties. But what was
the case in respect to the better description of