The Sun.
London, England, 1841-05-26 00:00:00

EXPORTS.

The Earl of RADNOti seeing the Noble Earl
opposite in his place wished to draw the attention of
their Lordships to the paper respecting the official and
declared value of the exports from which the Noble Lord
had last week quoted, for the purpose of showing that
from 1830 to the present time both the official and the
declared value of the exports had gradually risen ; and
he had indeed stated that during one year there had been
a falling of?, but that he had said was a matter that frequently
occurred, but the Noble Earl had omitted to draw their

Lordships' attention to the last sum in the paper ; and
the impression left upon tlle-i-llouse,was, that the ex-
ports had been gradually increasing. Indeed, upon that
impression the Noble Earl had founded his argument,

when he asked how could the manufacturers be in so dis-
tressed a state as they were represented to be. If the
Noble Earl had quoted the last sum, it would have ap-
peared that there was last year a considerable defalcation
in exports. The Noble Earl had quoted the official value
of the last year, which showed an increase, but he had
omitted to quote the declared value, which showed a
considerable defalcation. The Noble Lord had referred

to the great falling off in the declared value, and had
said that in former years it amounted to nearly eleven
millions, and appealed to him (the Earl Of Radnor) that
so large a falling off was one which required something
more, in the way of explanation, than the mere observa-
tion that such things were of common occurrence in
commercial transactions. The Noble Earl had stated

that the official value was nothing more than a de-
claration of the quantity of the article manufac-
tured, while the declared value demonstrated its
real value ; and if any Noble Lord would look at
the returns, he would find a statement of the difference be-

tween the official and declared value, which would explain
the matter. In the course of the last twelve years, the
official value had gradually risen from 56 to 102 millions,
and on the other hand the real value had increased from
thirty-five to only fifty-one millions. The necessary con-
sequence of that was that the real value of the article had
been continually diminishing, because if it were otherwise
it would have gone on increasing in the same ratio as
the official value. That was to be attributed to the
pressure of the dear corn years ; so that the manu-
facturer had not only to contend with the high
price of corn, but in the falling off in the price of his own
manufactures. He had received a letter film a gentlq.man
in the country a day or two
,since, who stated that
in Manchester, Birmingham, and the other manufacturing
districts, the state of distress was such that pen could not
write, tongue could not tell, nor the heart conceive it.
Being on his legs he could not help alluding to something
that had occurred in the course of the debate last night.
The Noble Lord stated that a great country, densely po-
pu!ated, should provide food for its own inhabitants.
He would ask the Noble Lord to name any great country
which, either in ancient or modern times, had ever pre-
tended to grow corn enough for their own con-
sumption.—(Hear, hear.) The republics of Greece he
believed did not ; Crete and Sicily were the granaries of
Greece. Rome certainly did not; Sicily and Egypt were
the granaries of Home. This country was, also, an
example of the same fact. The Noble Lord had,
the other evening, talked of our ancient Corn-
laws, Now the object of those laws was to do that
which it was the duty of all Governments to do—to take
care that the people should not be starved. Parliament
during the last 150 years had certainly endeavoured to make
the country grow sufficient corn for its own consumption.
That Parliament had been composed of landowners.
It had been said they did not legislate for their own
interests, but it did so happen that the sole
object of their legislation had been to endeavour
to force the country to grow corn sufficient
for their own consumption. I)uring the first half of the
last century they had so far succeeded as to make this
an exporting country, but during the last eighty
years the attempt had failed : 1750 was the
climax—from that time the export of corn gra-
dually diminished until 1770, since which time
this had been an importing country. Now he should like
to know whether the power and greatness of the
country had been greatest when it was an importing or
an exporting country ? Undoubtedly since it had been an
importing country. Every ten years since 1760,
the importation of corn had gone on gradually
increasing, with but one exception under the Act
of 1815, but under the present law importation
had greatly increased. Had our power diminished
in consequence ? Was it not notorious that an export-

ing country was always a poor country ? Look at Ire-
land ; that was an exporting country. The exports of
corn from Ireland had recently diminished, and the pros-
perity .of Ireland was increasing. The same as the
care with regard to Scotland ; while it was a poor coun-
try, it was an exporting country ; since it had become
prosperous, it had been an importing country. There-
fore, to attempt to make a great country grow corn suf-
ficient for its own consumption, was flying in the face
of all experience. The Noble Lord was very angry be-
cause former speeches of his had been quoted against
him. He (the Earl of Radnor) could only say, that if
the Noble Lord had been a person of small note,—if he
had not been always prominently forward in proclaim-
ing the doctrines which he now repudiated,—if the
Noble Lord had not always been looked up to on thosd
subjects, it might, perhaps, have been unfair to have
made those quotations. But the Noble Lord had been
so looked up to, his opinions had been considered
almost as oracular ; and never had they
.been so deser-
vedly looked up to as.in 1815, when, in a speech in
support of those doctrines which he now repudiated,
the Noble Lord had actually foretold almost all
that had since occurred as a consequence of
that law.—(Hear, hear.) The Noble Lord had dis-
tinctly pointed out the manufacturing distress, from
which they were now suffering, and had also clearly
proved that that distress must fall back upon agriculture.
The Noble Lord had very -properly characterized the at-
tempt to feed the people of the country exclusively
from the produce of the country as an attempt
to cut down the population to the consumption,
to cut down the man to the size of the bed, instead of
lengthening the bed to the man. Let them look at
Manchester and Birmingham at the present moment.
Were they not there attempting to cut down the man to
the bed ? But the Noble Lord said that such was the
zeal, and such were the improvements in agriculture,
that now they should be able to grow corn sufficient
for the consumption of the country. Why, the experi-
ment had been tried for the last eighty years, and
had failed.. Agriculture had gone on progressively
improving, and yet the proportion of production to
consumption was smaller now than it had been for pre-
ceding years. Lord Grenville, in 1815, had ridiculed
the idea of this country growing corn sufficient for its
own consumption as something perfectly childish, and
had asked, What population—the present population, or
the population two years hence ? But great things
were to be done by the introduction of new manures.
There were chemical manures ; there were manures
from China, which were to increase the production
vastly. He had !ward of one gentleman who was to.
have two cargoes of birds' dung from South America.
That was to prodice such a quantity of corn that there
would be no deficiency for home consumption. Such
statements appeared to him to be perfectly absurd. if
they raised sufficient one year, what was to be done; in
a year of scarcity ; and in' a year of abundance what
would they do with the' extra produce ? Neither in an-
cient nor modern history could any country be pointed
out which raised student for itself ; unless, indeed, it
were thekingdom of Israel, where the fertility of thesoil
'exceeded that of any other country. The Noble Lord
had told the House tie other night that if it were true
that the country did not grow elln,hoiueghh
was
sr itthsewavvnecroagne-
sumption, he would onsent to an alteration. In alluding
inportation at all. Ever since this
to the importation
,hllast eleven
foreignesltea,t.ee dnyt
years,
rrt
sn,
f,ohrtah
(siei
xbNeyeoenbalres Lthoerrd there
importedlwi
in existence, there had been that
ad
and they were more dependent
deniedeach
au
tyiquantity
rh.fao that
197:I
e 0 in
as
NhaodbletaLkoorndsolnalset
pnamroeoisieuennc
tetslsoaiftwyjnifhopraodaritibaytejeot,
upon foreign countries thoafn
corn
ny hbaydwbielieonhatua,angyesforwmeerer
oa made
eßadnor) by the
that book, and he- then found
night with respect to tie regulahtiaodn offoinvnadgesthbey the price
of corn ; and he had quoted Adam Smith to prove
period. A statement
vasarin
regulated.t
troubleh a
t‘ ,oa s
lie
eho
(thek
intoprice
l
Noble,Lord, no doubt, had referred.
and it.was there stated ;hat a man must always live by
his work, and that
teoxacwlyi;chthethereitrie. He
wages must at least be sufficient to
cuFTE
arl was not
said, the Noble E
maintain him: That wbs :sentiment which the Noble
Lord had quoted, thou.:4.i he had not given the words.
Lord ASHBURTONsaid he had not quoted the work
at all ; he had referred to a pamphlet by Lord John
Russell.
;-DOWNE said that it had been
&no eveiY-hikht.
13
entitled L o Lord
to irieAfe toNo speeches, made on a former night.
The Marquis fL
Lord WHARNCLIFTE admitted that it had been
done, but it was irregular-,—(Hear, hear.)
The Marquis of LA.nDOWNE said that the rule
'had been Systematically violated.—(Hear, hear.)
The Earl of RADNOR said it was not the first time