The Sun.
London, England, 1840-12-29 00:00:00

EVENING EiliTlOlsi"!

sth
MERSTON precisely the same in substance tIS that
which he had rejected. Dates are of 'grgat
consequence here. On the 2d of Deceniher the
gallant Admiral rejected NAPIER'S Convection,
and on the 6th of the same month he forwarded the .
PALMERSTON Convention to Alexandria. The
two Conventions were in the Mediterranean at the
same time, and had Commodore NA PIER'S asr
rived in London before Lord PALMERSTON/4
was despatched, not a line of it ever woo shave
been written.
That Admiral STOPFORD was 101,11CRCed by
any considerations but those of an anxionr: desire
faithfully to discharge the duties of his high trust
is not to be supposed for one instant. Nothing
can be stronger than our conviction that no
private or personal feeling —no touch of
wounded vanity—had the slightest share
71
causing him to reject the Treaty in the mantis,`,r
he did. In showing himself for a moment up;
equal to the discharge of the great duty which de-
volved upon him, he evinced a limitation ocnigh
capacity—nothing else. Did this question merely-
concern the gallant Admiral and the Commodore,
we should not think of adverting to it a second.
time ; but, as it cannot but Meet the:credit of Bri-
tish agents in Egypt and India, and the British
Government everywhere, we could not, in fairness
to the national good faith, and to the successful
negociation of the chivalrous NAPIER, suffer it to
pass out of the immediate tecollection of our readers,
without again alluding to it.

We are ready at. all times to examine and rcfute,
if we can, any semblance of argument in favour of
the Corn-law, or even any assertion, For example,
the Post of Saturday had the following paragraph,
which, though the statement has been refuted over
and over again, we shall re-examine :
"We regard the Corn-laws as of inestimable value
to the working classes, because they secure tneces o our
own population so much of empkyment as is
sary for cultivating the land which p that these
roduces the food
consumed in this country. It is very true
laws are also of inestimable value to the owners of
land, because they secure to them the pr,ofitable em-
no employment at a ; but the princi
ployment of property which otherwise might find
those laws is that of the working people, becatc,e'the
cultivation of the land is the greatest and oatm ce,•tain
source of employment in this country, and dior-
pal inserest in
tion of employment is the grand cvii to be dreaded by
them. It is already too scanty. They are already
slightly rewarded for their labour, because there are,
too many labourers in proportion to the work to be
done. But the greatest work which has to be done by
labourers in this country is the raising of food from the
land, and, if food were procured from foreign coun-
land,
with..
tries, that work would be diminished or done away
If, then, it is true—which we maintain gigs—t the
greatest evil of the working classes in country is
the difficulty of obtaining constant employment, then it
follows that to make a change which would throw much
of their present employment into the bands of foreigners
would be a great evil to them."
Is it a fact or a fiction that the Corn-laws secure
employment for our people ?
meat ? Not one word.
What does the law
Does it profess to sdd to employment ? Not it.
say—anything about employme
The enactment runs in substance thus :—" Whereas
it is expedient to allow grain, flour, &c. to be im-
ported, be it therefore enacted, that grain, flour, &c.
mav be entered for home consumFtion on the pay-
ment of certain duties." Not a vvottl does the law
say about employment. On the contrAry, it ap-
pears to be solicitous that the people be fed, and
therefore it allows the import of food, clogged with
the condition that when they import it they shall
pay to the State certain duties in proport not to
the wants of the State, but the price of corn in the
market. There is not the slightest reason to be-
lieve, from the wording of the Act, that to sacure
employment was in the contemplation of the Legis-
lature, but much reason to believe that the Legis-
lature was penetrated with the conviction that Great
Britain could not grow food enough for its people,
and therefore said, " it is expedient that food be
imported,"—and also much reason to believe that
the Legislature, nevertheless, wished to keep up the
price of grain, for it would not allow the importa-
tion, however expedient, however necessry to save
the people from starving, unless they paid a duty
high in proportion as the price of wheat was low,en
it
being admitted at the duty of ls. a quarter wh
er
the price rises to the enormous sum of 735. p
quarter. In the enactment, then, not a word is said
about employment ; nevertheless the Post affirms
that the law—operating differently from the intention
of the Legislature, which obviously was to secure
a supply of food, and at the same time keep tipits
, 'l7
price—secures employment for tne peope•
The Post does not explain how to permit the
importation of food, and keeping up its price,
augments the employment of its people ; but it
thinks that the law keeps the land in cultivation..
Prior to the present law, there was a positive pro-
hibition to import food till it had reached certain
prices, and experience had proved that the prohibi-
tion could not be sustained—it was impossible ;
and the Executive Government, during its exist-
ence, interfered on more than one occasion to sus-
pend the law. The present law was an amendment
on the old law, and it recognized as expedient that
importation which the more barbarous law of 1815
had prohibited. But before the barbarous prohi
bitory law was passed, importation froe.
During that natural state of things, cultivation, in-
stead of decreasing, extended rapidly. From the ;
beginning of the reign of GEO. HI to 1791,
and no
less than 1,532 Inclosure Acts were passed,
2,804,197 acres of land were added to those under n_
cultivation. " It deserves (says Mr.
Locu, from whose Dictionary we copy the strut?,
ment), particular notice that from 1771 to 1791,.
both inclusive, the period during which the greater
number of these improvements was effected, there
was no rise of prices." There was, however, a fre_
importation of corn, and instead of employ meat.
being diminished by the land going out of cultiva-
tion in consequence of that free importation, it
was increased by the extent of 2,801,197 acre...
taken into cultivation. The supposition, therefore,,
that free importation of food would put our own
land out of cultivation, is a mere far.cy or fiction of
the Post not warranted by the law, and not in the
least warranted by our experience of the effectsthe
of
the free importation of food. In the debate on.
Corn-laws, Sir HENRY PARNELL refuted ,the
supposition of the Post.
The law which allows the importation at certain. s;;]
prices on the payment of certain duties, appears
the price of food in operate in this manner. In the ordinary and ,•
p
aaverage e
other
et aotuenot
countries
thee
is tsnoa
muchcts, lower
than t
he ;e4 tt
toluietrepaLipnrgessly price
a heavy duty, that no corn is grown
fixed by the law at which it can be imported with- G,"(
for our markets. The law puts a
stop, which it probably intended, to employment in veil
agriculture in the foreign countries. It impoverisheurif
the customers of our manufacturers. How does fi'"
that rebound on England ? The foreigners are not in
disposed to stand idle, and they want the clothing 13'
'31(.1'
which they would have if they were allowed to buy
from us. Though not so advantageous for them '4."
corn to ~..,,!;,:toge 1•i ,•f tb"v
their attention to manufactures, and break up stileir Adia'
arable ground into sheep walks. This is evictly:g°l
what occurred, and what is now occurring, in tier-
many. The people who were disposed to tic' 0/.31
corn for our markets now look to improving
and making cloth for themselves. Our people at"'l3ll.
the same time lost, and now lose, the profitahlnern-'-`3. 1".
p!oyment, OA; '; Miltrtd 03)
.
Gills the (~grin-i.V.,', by oti
the natural course of trade, levying duties to keep
lII°

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