The Sun.
London, England, 1822-06-04 00:00:00

CORN lIIIPWRTATION BELL.

The Marquis of LONDONDERRY moved the Order of
the Day for the House resolving itself into a Committee on the
Corn Importation Bill: The -NOble Marquis took this occasion
to remark, that if any Member wished to move that.an instruc-
tion should be given to the Committee to limit the operation
of the Bill, this was the time for proposing such instruction.
- Mr. CURWHN considered-that this measure, instead of
proving .a benefi4 would be Mostinurious to the agribultural
interest, and therefore, with a view ofd getting rid of it at once, he
should oppose the Speaker's leaving the Chair. At all events, he
thought .tt:Wciuhl' be desirhble that the ineasure should stand
over 'for a. time:,-; iriorder that the subject 'might receive fuller
consideration. The presentSyseem of averages lie thought very
objectionable.. They were itot,taken on the whole supply but
merely on the prices of English'corn. Now when Ireland con-
tributed, as it had been accustomed to do, a 16th or 17th part
of the supply, not to include her portion-in taking the Average,.
was most unfair. The duty proposed by the Noble Lord on
corn imported was in his opinion inadequate to the protection
of the agriculture of this country. He (Mr. Curwen) .consi-
dered sixty-five shillings to be a fair remunerating price for
the corn-grower; but the present resolutions, which went to
allow thecountry to be inundated with foreign corn. whew-the
price was but, five shillings above that which he mentioned, he
thought highly objectionable. He believed the country felt as
he did, anti. would much rather that the law should remain as
it now was than .that, this Bill should pass, which the Noble-
Lord brought forward AS a boon, but which would prove an-
injury to thoSe if was intended to proteet. He was -for cheilit
corn, but he did not wish its price to be so ruinottsly.low as
throw a large botlyof men out of employment.. If the corn
rose toe high, it;wai an injury to-the manufacturer, and no he...
nefit to the dgrienlinialclass. - If it fell foo-loiy, "it was iuinousto the farmer anti injurious to the manufaettirer, isthe latter
then lost, the .eustqu 914he-corn.growets. He -therefore con-.
tended that the interest's of the corn-growers; and the manufac-.
turers were "Plie-and(the- same. - Sortie- Gentle eh tisScrted
that: 'the absence o that. protection. which had been ealled
for would only have the effect of throwing.
,the , poor lards
out of ctiltivation: " But he would say that,i t was not tie poor
lands alone tharWionid" be throWnput cultivatinn, in. the case
supposed. If the •present 'measure pastied,- he' wAs torivinced
that it would give, ,a severe blow to' the agricilture, of the
country, and lead, to, •the, ,inost ruinous 'consequences he
should 'therefore,' tin! the present occasion; like the sense of
the•lamise on the qattifou that the SpeakerViotild ieaVe the
chair... - • `.; ) .
Mr.,'WESTERN supported the motion of his 'lnn.. Friend,
and declared the rniasure now tinder .eonSilleiition, instead of
inspiring hope,arid confidence, was ,deprecated-and condemned
from one end- of • the country tothe other...-It would be most
- unwise to, press such a measure at this moment, whiqh could
only operate-prospectively. The price 'of corn Would not rise
so as to open the ports.' , The .Bill might-do-06d, or 'it might
do harm :, but,..as they had not sufficient dam: to. justify them
in coming-to the concrusion that it would do good, if ought not
to pass into a law. - : •
Mr. BE NETT (Wiltshire) stated this Bill-to be viewed by
his constituents with abhorrence, and it was:their prayer that
the old' law should continue, rather than that this measure
should pass. - •
Mr. D. BROWN said,"he should Note .for, going into the
Committee, but in the Committee it was his intention to endea-,
your to persuade the Ildtise to alter the duties peptised by,the
Noble Marquis. • •• • • • •
Mr..CANNING wAshed,,to move an instruction to the Com-
,mittee; Throtigh.inativertence on ids part, he had omitted to
:move it at the propertinie,'hut his Noble ' Friend 'would per-
' ..haps flat object to. wrehtlitawv his motion for -the present, to af-
ford him an ,qpnrtunity .9f, proposing ;that. instruction which
he was anxious, in enp.formitk wish the wishes of his Constitu-
ents, toconvey to the -Coininittee;' in the event of the House
resolving itself. into. the CAnnmittee. -That Which he should sug-
gest was not, new, bur_ no relution. havipg been come, to on
the sublet, 'what he 'wished' to supply .had become necessary,
it grew4)tit of It jest aPprehenSion on the part 'of the Agricul-
v tura Interest off the consequences .of a great influx of corn,
when the ports should open. One way of getting rid of the,
possibility of sustaining great injury-from such
.influx was, to
- afford facilities' for'the exportation of that wheat Which was in

. • • ,
;warehouie When the ports were not The instru&iOr I
which he should, move, would proposelhat • this.should be :lone
by permitting corn, now in warehouse, to be ground; sub-;
'ject to such 'restrictions as the House might consider suit,,
able. It was suggested, first :—That for every quarter of
•wheat taken out of warehouse, as large a quantity of
flour, or if the House pleased, a somewhat larger quantity
of flour, should be forthcoming than Was ordinarily produced
from a quarter of wheat. It was then proposed that six weeks
should be allowed for exporting it; and if the parties failed,
that it should then go hack to the warehouse under bond, pro-
per care being taken that it should not be suffered to come into
the niarkerforliorne consumption. Security on this head the
agriculturist had unquestionably a right to demand, but on this
subject he would not now enlarge. He had a clause prepared,
which was drawn out at some length, to submit to the Commit-
tee. This he should not produce at present, unless the in-
•structions were opposed ; but in the Committee, if permitted
to do so, he should say something more in explanation of its
.object. He moved, " That it be an instruction to the Com-
miteee to make provision for taking out 'wheat now in ware-
house, for the purpose of being ground with a view to exporta-
tion."
After a few words from General GASCOYNE,

Mr..CANNING, in explanation, stated his motion to be
hypothetic; and voting for that would not pledge any one to
vote for or against the Bill in Coto.
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY consented to withdraw
:his motion, that the instruction should be moved, to the prin-
ciple of •which he apprehended no objection could be urged, it
being understood that the clause to be introduced would be
open for discussion in the 'Committee. When they came to
the question that: the Speaker should leave the chair, he hoped
it would not be thought necessary to travel over the whole
subject again. lie wished how to state, that he did not pro-
pose the present Bill as tlfe. best Corn Laws which the wisdom
of Parliament could devise ; but as one that would supply an
efficient check to an evil which had been heretofore severely
felt. The Honourable Member for Essex, with a degree of
:intrepidity which he did not exactly understand, had asserted
that the ports would not open. He did not know how he could
venture this, but he was sure that Hon. Gentleman would not
deny, that if such a circumstance should occur, it would lead
to the most ruinous ainsaritences. With respect to the corn-
' plaints made to this measure, he would say, that if they were
to stand still till one should be devised to which no objection
could be urged, they might wait till doomsday. lie only pro-
posed this as an improvement on the existing law, and never
was there a time when-the:experiment could be made with less
risk. 'Withdrawing his motion that the instruction of the
Right lion. Gentleman might be moved, he hoped the details
of this grinding clause would riot be gone into on the question
that the House should resolve itself into the Committee.

. Sir T. LETHBRIDGE stated it to be his intention to op-
pose the clause which the Right Hon. Gentleman had an-
nounced it to be his intention to move, as he was convinced
that nothing would tend so much to facilitate the consumption
of foreign corn in the shape of flour, when the ports were closed,
as such an enactment. The prices of agricultural produce con-
tinued from week to week to decline, and it was therefore ne-
cessary to afford the landed interest efficient protection. He
could state that he had a hundred petitions in his possession to
present to the other House against this Bill passing into a law.
Mr. RICARDO agreed that the clause which was to be
moved ought not to be adopted 'unless security could be given
that the corn ground into flour should not enter witlithe home
consumption ' • but if security on, this head could be given,
nothing would be more unjust to the parties concerned than to
prevent the grinding of flour with-a view to its being exported.
He thought the Noble Lord's Bill would be an improvement
on the present law.
Mr. WESTERN would acquiesce. in the clause to be pro-
posed by the Right lion. (}entleman (the Member for Liver-
pool), if security- could be given, that; the corn reduced to flour
should pot be brought into home-consumption; and he was dis-
posed to think:that such security might be given.
• Sir J. NEWPORT would support the clause, as he conceiv-
ed that to encourage the export of foreign corn would benefit
the agricultural interest of this country.
After a few words from Mr. Dt wis BRowNE and 31r.
BENETT, the House divided, when the numbers were— •
For the Motion . . . 146
Aga; st it . . . . 39
Majority . . . —lO7
On our return to the Gallery, Mt. D. BROWNE was on his
legs, asking whether a Committee on the Bill had power to in-
crease the rate of duties?

The SPEAKER said a Committee had power to lower, not
to raise, the duties. -
The question being put, " That the House resolve itself
into a Committee to consider the Corn-Importation Bill,"
Mr. D. BROWN- moved, that the House go into further
consideration of the-question to-morrow.'
The Marquis of LONDONDERRY opposed the Amend-
ment, which was moved for the purpose of increasing the
duties. The Noble Marquis said he should deprecate carrying
it highez act the. present moment. There would be found a
disposition in the country to concur in the scale of duties, as
they were projected. As the law stood, corn would come•-into
the market without regulation, but he had no doubt the scale
of duties would regulate the supply, and prevent the market
being inundated. After a few observations from Mr. D.
BROW'S and Mr. BENETT (of Wiltshire), the amendment
was negatived without a division.
On the question for the SPEAKER leaving the Chair, Mr.
CuItWEN pressed for the sense of the House, and a division
ensued—

For the SPEAKER leaving the'Chair
Against it

149
- • - - 41
Majority
The House consequently went into
.a Committee on the Bill,
and Mr. WHITMORE' 'moved that the amount of the import
duty be. sixty-four instead of seventy shillings.
Sir JOHN NEWPORT and Mr. D. GILBERT opposed the
Amendment.
Mr. WODE HOUSE con tended. That the Agriculturist could
not be protected by- seventy shillings,, and therefore moved to
insert 75 instead of 70s.
_
After some discussion,. in which Marquis of LONDON*.
DERRY, Mr. RICARDO, and, Mr. CALVERT took part,
the Committee divided on Mr. WobEyouses amendment..
Ayes - 42
Noes . - . 87

-
.
. Majority : - - -45
Mr. BANKES then moved to make the duties payable at
the time of importation, instead of paying after corn is ware-
housed for home consumption.
This was opposed by Mr. F. Robinson, Mr. Marryatt, and
the 31arquis of Londonderry, and after_ some discussion the
Committee divided,
Ayes . - . . 33
Noes - . - - 70
Majority . - -37
The whole of the clauses having been agreed to, Mr. CAlt-
NINO brought up a clause to warehouse corn for the purpose of
being ground into flour, upon giving precautionary bonds.
Sir E. KNATCHBULL expressed a hope that the Right
Hon. Gentleman would allow the clause to he added to the
Bill for the purpose of being printed, and discussed upon the
third reading. . ~
-11 K, Marquis of LONDONDERRY did not object to that
proposition, and the elktisewas added to the Bill.
Vie House then resumed, and the Report was, ordered to be
received this day. . :I . . . .
The other Orders of the' Day Were then disposed of ; and at
HALF-PAST TWO O'CLOCK. the House adjourned.

• • Yesterday being Trinity Monday,'the Cor-
poration of Trinity Mine held their Anniversary 'Meeting,
and proceeded in baigekto their Hall at Deptford, where the-
Right Hon. the Earl of LIVERPOOL was unanimously re-
elected Master for. the 'ensuing year ; and after attending
Divine Service at the Chn.rch of St. Nicholas, where an excel-
lent Sermon was preached by the Very Reverend the Dean of
PETERBOROUGH, they.returned.to dinner at the City of Lon-
don Tavern, where were present many of the Nobility, Admi-
rals, and persons of distinction.

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•

,SCARCITY OF SPECIE:—The high price of spe-
cie' is accounted for -by' h fact disclosed in the
South American documents just presented to
CongreSs, that the coinage of the Mexican mint,
which in 1810 amounted to more than 20,000,000,
would not exceed more than 4,000,000 in 1821.
The deficit in eleven years' being estimated at
70,000,000 of dollars.—(American Paper.)