The Sun.
London, England, 1841-06-15 00:00:00

E sUN, LONDON, TUESDAY, JUNE 15, 1841.

CHEMISTRY CONSIDERED AS A

BRANCH OF GENERAL EDUCATION.
CONCLUSION OF DR. REID'S LECTURES.

On Saturday Dr. Reid gave his concluding Lecture at
Willis's Rooms, when he explained the system adopted
in the ventilation of the present Houses of Parliament,
in the ventilation of the Niger steam ships, the state of
Cie atmosphere generally on board ships, and the means
by which it might be remedied. He then entered upon
the general nature of the action of the air upon organic
products, explaining the movement that had been
traced in the decay and decomposition of animal and
vegetable substances, and the connexion that subsisted
between the human frame and the materials with which
it is surrounded. The action of oxygen next engaged
attention, when it was shown that it tended to de-
compose all animal and vegetable substances, and ulti-
mately to produce carbonic acid and water, which became
the source of nourishment and support to a new genera-
tion. In illustrating these positions, allusion was
made to different processes of art, instituted for prevent-
ing the decomposition of productions of the animal and
vegetable kingdoms ; and numerous specimens were
shown where this tendency had been counteracted by the
addition of chemicals to the materials it was required to
preserve, and in other cases by the entire exclusion of
oxygen. The first series of kpecimens consisted of wood,
canvas, cloth, ropes, yarn, and other materials, one.half
of which had been protected by Sir W. Burnett's patent,
while the other half, which had not been protected, and
had been exposed, under similar circumstances, exhi-
bited extreme indications of decomposition and decay.
The second series were specimens of various articles of
food, in tin cases, prepared by Mr. Goldner, which had
been kept there upwards of a year, and which were per-
fectly fresh and wholesome, exhibiting in a very marked
manner the importance of a complete exclusion of
oxygen. - -

Previous to the lecture a number of young persons,
from different schools and academies, who had received
a few lessons in practical chemistry, performed a series
of experiments according to the system recommended by
1)r. Reid, for the general introduction of chemistry in
all schools and academies. They performed experi-
ments with air and water, with combustibles, and with
various materials which were tested on slips of glass and
on paper. During the short period, •when they were
engaged in these exercises, each of the young pupils
performed sixteen experiments, the great object in Dr.
Reid's system being to combine the study of the theory
and the practice from the very commencement. The
boys who operated appeared to belong to all classes
of society, and we saw at different times, at the
same table, the son of a British Peer, and boys
from the British and Foreign School, among whom
a Chinese boy attracted particular attention, who returns
to his native country in a few months. Twelve boys
from the National Schools also engaged in the experi-
ments. The age of the b:iys was from eight to sixteen.
It will give a snore precise idea of the mode in which the
experimental course has been conducted, if we now ad-
vert to this more particularly than we have hitherto
done. The boys being arranged around a temporary
table, any material is presented to them, and
they are desired to ascertain all they can as to its
sensible properties. They are desired to describe •
its appearance in the first place, and then its
mechanical properties, after which they begin to
experiment, examining the material with heat, water, test
papers, acids, alkalis, carbon, and nitre. It may here be
proper to mention that the nature of the general action
of these forces is taught in the preliminary lessons, and
that the pupils are particularly guided by the following
rules in their general experiments.
1. Heat.—On the application of heat they ascertain if
the matter made the subject of experiment be changed in
its appearance, and more particularly if it be fusible, vo-
latile, or inflammable. The pupils are also instructed
in indications produced by heat, which enable them to
give an opinion as to the matter being animal, vegetable,
or mineral.
2. Water.—With this agent the young experimenter
examines if the matter be soluble or insoluble( and also'
if any other change be produced.
3. Test papers—These are coloured paperiaVith which
all substances are tested by applying them along With a
small portion of water. They indicate by the changes
of colour which they exhibit whether the matter used
be acid, alkaline, or neutral (neither acid nor alkaline).
4 and 5. Acids and Alkalis—These bodies are used to
indicate particular properties in the materials tested,
but they are rarely employed till the pupil is well
grounded in a knowledge of the general properties of
matter. a
6. Nitre—This substance is much employed to indi-
cate the presence of inflammable matters, and more par-
ticularly carbon, communicating oxygen rapidly to it,
and promoting its combustion.
7. Carbon—This substance is equally useful in indi-
cating the presence of oxygen in such bodies as nitre, a
rapid deflagration ensuing when they are heated together.
When the experiments commence each pupil is called
upon to state in a loud and distinct voice every succes-
sive change he observes during their progress, and the
first who succeeds in noticing any change shows it to
his neighbours, who then strive to produce a similar
effect. In this manner the powers of observation are
quickened. Mental activity and manual dexterity go
hand in hand. The knowledge that is acquired is, in
reality, the knowledge of actual experience—and no-
thing being taught that is not thoroughly tatii,ht,
each succeeding demonstration affords convincing evi-
dence of its own truth, andotherefore finds a ready access
to the understanding. But, while general rules are ,
given in the manner described, that the pupils may he
trained to habits of accurate observation, the experi-
ments.performed are selected so as to present a precise
knowledge of the leading phoirenn of nature and of
art, and in these performed during the few practical
lessons that were given, the nature of air and water, the
theory and practice of combustion, and the impurities
communicated by various processes to atmospheric air,
were the great objects of attention. In explaining the
various changes that were shown by the experiments,
Dr. Reid constantly referred to a small instrument,
one of which was presented to all the young persons
attending the course ; it is termed a " chemical abacus,"
and with this representations are made of the principal
combinations and decompositions that engage attention,
.by placing glass beads, representing the elements, or
compounds used in different positions, on the wires upon
which they are strung.
DR. REID'S CONCLUDING ADDRESS.
When various subjects had been discussed that
formed the more specific object of attention in the last
lecture, Dr. Reid addressed the audience as to the im-
portance of introducing, on an extended scale, instsuc-
dons in the elements of science in all schools and aca-
demies. Next to a proper attention to the revealed word
of the Creator, there was nothing that so deeply inte-
rested the progress of society generally, or the welfare
and comfort or each individual man in particular, as a
knowledge of the works of that Creator as manifested in
the materials of which the human frame is com-
posed, and the external agents by which it is sur-
rounded. An endless variety of comfort or discomfort
is produced, according to the extent that he is enabled
to control their action and render them subservient to
his own purposes, or as he becomes the victim of their
violent or insidious influence, whether he perishes sud-
denly in their tempestneus action, or is consumed silently
by a movement so slow and gentle as to be imperceptible
at first, though death itself might be the bitter portion
to which it ultimately leads. There were few, except me-
dical men, who had any idea of the vast amount of mi-
sery, discomfort, and loss of life, even in this country,.
that could be distinctly traced to the neglect of external
agents upon the human frame. In a .work lately pub-
lished—(he alluded to the third edition of Sir James
Clarke's work on the " Sanative Influence of Climate")
—the following passage occurred, referring more particu-
larly to the defective construction of dwelling houses
and the inefficient means usually provided for ventila-
tion :—" The consequence is that the occupants sire
breathing vitiated air during the greater part of the
night, that is, during almost one-half of their lives."
This expressed the opinion universally entertained by
medical men, and he was assured that thoSe who had
such opinions were equally satisfied as to the extreme
importance of providing, a pure atmosphere in every
case for the purposes of respiration, but unless people
generally were informed on this point—unless they not
only entertained clear and distinct views as to the sana-
tive influence of climate, but endeavoured also to make
that climate as agreeable to them as possible, when they
were nut in circumstances to take advantage of another
such as might be more congenial to their constitution,
they would be continually subjected to evils which might
be More or less avoided. Look to the weekly bills of
mortality in this metropolis ; observe the large amount '
of deaths from diseases of the organs of respiration.
How many of these might be avoided were a knowledge
of the relations of external agents to our own frame
more generally understood ; and even where they could
not be averted, still how much might human misery be
at times alleviated were those who are the immediate
attendants upon the sick more conversantwith the nature
of that air which acts incessantly upon the system, and
which from the moment of birth till life becomes extinct
neVer ceases to exert the most powerful influence upon
the health ; and so intimately is our own existence in this
terrestrial globe entwined with its action, that, day
and night, we draw upon it incessantly upwards of a thou-
sand times an hour. Some imagined stall that chemistry
was only intended for medical men, manufacturers,
engineers, and men of science. But who was there
that was not personally and practically interested
in the air that we breathe, in the water that we drink,
or in the nature of the earth anon which we tread. The
study, then, of the nature of these external agents., and
of the production and influence of heat, ought not to
be restricted. There was no situation in which they did
not operate, and whether we look to the rich or to the
poor, to those at home or to those abroad, to those that
labour or to those that look on, still the human frame
was composed of the same materials and subject to the
same laws,.and it was impossible to turn in any direction
without tracing their agency. But many who admitted the
importance of the general Introduction of the study of

sciences differed much as to the proper period when it
ought
,to engage attention. It would be sufficient to
refer to the illustrations given in the practical exercises
performed by the young persons who had operated before
them, as demonstrative of the fact that science might
be taught at a much earlier age than was generally con-
sidered practicable. The boys who had experimented
before the audiences afforded a degree of proof on this
point that rendered all speculation unnecessary. They
had not only comprehended the explanations brought
before them, but had entered upon the various subjects
brought before their attention with an alacrity and zeal
that proved the interest they took in them—no exhorta-
tion was required to urge them on, no rewards were pro-
mised as an artificial stimulus to fix their attention, the
studies to which they devoted themselves were evidently
suited to their capabilities, and he would be at a loss to
know what farther proof could be devised on this point.
It was, indeed, the undoubted experience of all who had
examined practically the details of education, that in
early life the observing faculties are more quick,
more prone to receive impressions, and much more
continuously attracted by external agents than in
inaturer years, and the teaching of the elements
of science in early life was only following out the course
that nature pointed out, and that which in the long ran
told most effectually in future life. Till comparatively
modern times, reading, writing, arithmetic, and the dead
languages, formed the great and staple commodities of
education ; and certainly nothing could be more im-
portant than training the mind to intellectual exertion
and a capacity for action in whatever field it might be
afterwards engaged, but it was rather strange that
throughout se long a course, the things themselveS
that were to form the business and occupation of the great
bulk of mankind were excluded from their view—young
persons were taught to read, to write, to weigh, and to
measure, and to speak in different languages ; but the
things about which they were afterwards, in their seve-
ral occupations, to be engaged in reading, writing,
weighing, and measuring, were forbidden ground ;
they were not to be touched—they were not
to be handled—they were not to be looked at. Though
the hand of Providence had caused the light of day to
shine upon them all that man might see them, study their
nature, and rejoice in the blessings that an all-wise
Creator had thus provided so bountifully for his enjoy-
ment, still he was to be kept in ignorance
of the laws of the material world ; and the
opportunity of entering upon the study of such
subjects was to be withheld till he should be so involved
in the business of life that it was difficult or impossible
to find either the time or the opportunity to give any at-
tention to them. What was the cause of such apparently
anomalous proceedings ? He believed that many causes
contributed to this result. In particular a vast mass of
society had never directed any precise attentjsm to the
means by which science could be taught effectively in
early life, and were therefore equally ignorant of the capa-
bilities which it presented, and of the advantages that would
necessarily attend its general introduction. Again,
many lapsed into the fatal error that it would be time to
begin at sixteen or eighteen, utterly overlooking the fact
that from the multitude of labourers in the field, science
in all its departments has become vast and extended,
and that it is impossible to enable any one to acquire a
proper knowledge of its details who does not embrace
aft early oppoStunity of entering upon the study of its
more important branches.
Again, in the various walks of professional life, holy
numerous are the occasions when a knowledge of the de-
tails of science are of the utmost practical importance.
In such cases the question of the early introduction of
practical science assumes a still more tangible and spe-
cific form, as the demands made upon professional men
daily bring increasing evidence that the wants of scciet
in matters of science are beyond the capabilities for which
a proper educational basis is laid in early life. Dr. Reid
then alluded to a number of facts connected with
the time usually devoted to different branches of science
by professional students, and stated as a general result
that they were hurried through the details to an extent
quite incompatible with efficient progress, and that in
consequence of the general want of previous preparation,
even college and university courses, instead of leading the
student to high attainments in science, frequently did
nothing more than give what could not be consi-
dered more than the mere elements of science. But
what could teachers and professors do when their
pupils had rSceiVed no previous instruction ? What
kind of a scholar or mathematician would be expected at
Oxford and Cambridge, if none were to study classics
nor any branch of mathematics (including arithmetic)
before they went there. The investigations of science
were not less extensive, nor did they require less care
or preparation, but it was notorious that the time devoted
to them was incomparably more limited, and far below
the standard that was required for the ordinary
purposps of life. And if they looked to that branch
.of science which gave a clearer knowledge of the consti-
tution and properties of matter than any other, 'viz. che-
mistry, and might therefrom be considered as the root
and basis of others, it would soon be perceived how inti-
mately it was connected with all the various occupations
of life. To the Medical Man it was indispensable, but
the share he received was miserably deficient in conse-
quence of the want of training in primary schools,
and the urgent claims of other professional studies
when they were commenced. To the architect it
was highly essential ; without a knowledge of air
and water, and their chemical relations to each
other and external matters, and a precise understanding
of the nature of fuel, of the process of combustion, &c.,
great mistakes must necessarily be cernmitted in architec-
tural structures, and buildings would still continue to be
erected with those permanent stains on science and ar-
chitecture, which would still be perpetuated in the mise •
ries of the.chimney-sweep, though these must be greatly
lessened by recent enactments. The engineer could not
proceed without chemistry ; he was called upon at all
times to prove, examine, and test the nature of different
materials which he used; the manufacturer was placed in
a similar
,position, and the merchant also found it ne-
cessary at times to direct chemical analyses to be
made, or to enter-upon them himself. The student of
divinity is not called to attend specifically to such a sub-
ject ; but how often have the ministers of religion, who
have had a knowledge of such subjects, relieved the suf-
ferings of the distressed ; and, even in another point of
view, chemistry has become highly interesting to him,
as missionaries, in some places, have of late years been
instructed in this science on the principle that they
will be assisted in their preliminary communications
with all newly-discovered nations, and, indeed, in
all places where the light of science has never travelled,
showing their power over the material world, and
pointing out, when a fit opportunity occurs, the valuable
applications that may be made of materials which, in a
savage state, man tramples carelessly under foot. But
the minister of religion has not to travel out of his own
country to see the importance of a knowledge of
science. How often does he conduct the sacred duties
of his service in an atmosphere incompatible with
that calm and clear exercise of the intellectual functions
that are proper and becoming in such a place? How
often is lie called upon to address his own congregation
when he can neither account for the oppression under
which he labours personally, nor the apparent apathy of
his auditors? A few.experiments would soon demonstrate
the cause of such effects in particular localities ; lie
would then see distinctly how often he had been addressing
his congregation in an atmosphere loaded with impurities ;
and were he also to attend to those lofty galleries that
are erected in so many churches in London, he would
there perceive the children 'respiring air that was still
worse, and equally injuring their physical constitution,
and preVenting them from sustaining any continuous . at-
tention to the service in Which they are engaged.
But let him look to the schools erected for
the training of youth, and there he would
often trace the same effects, While in particular places
the severity of the poison occasionally attains such
a force that the general character.of the school is affected
by the vitiated atmosphere respired, and cases are pointed
out, where even for successive generations the same cause
has continued to affect the faculties of a whole school.
But let him pass to the chamber of the sick,
the disconsolate, the oppressed, and the dying,
and there he will trace, too frequently, both mental and
bodily suffering sometimes produced, and often aggrava-
ted, by a vitiated atmosphere. In Sir James Clarke's
work, which he had already quoted, a passage occurs in
which, when alluding to persons living in low,
confined, and damp situations, the author states
" without suffering from any formal disease, they are
subject to various complaints which often embitter their life,
and render them much less capable of bodily and mental
exertion than they would be if placed in a situation more
congenial to their constitution." For his part, he (Dr.
Reid) not Only fully concurred in these remarks, but felt
satisfied that even suicide itself might occasionally
be produced by the oppression that so often attends
the undermining influence of a noxious atmosphere.
Dr. Reid then adverted to the advantages that would re-
sult to the military and naval service were all officers to
obtain opportunities of becoming practically acquainted
with the influences of external agents, that might be mo-
dified in their actions on the human frame. In many cases
in distant countries this was no trifling matter; cases might
occur where it might be a matter of life or death to those
under their charge, when no medical officer accompanied
them. But it was unnecessary to 'enter into farther de-
tails. To any who would attentively consider the pre-
sent state of society, and the progress of science, it was
evident that the business of education could not be con- •
tinued longer without associating the study of science along
with it, even in the humblest schools, and some experience
would be required to show the extent to which it ought
to be cultivated. He trusted that the illustrations he
had given, would assist, however humbly, in this great
cause, which he considered one of the noblest that could
engage the attention of mankind, as it was replete on
every side with application that tended to increase the
comfort and to diminish part of the misery to which
mankind is. exposed, while it appeared equally to form
the basis of those means by which the power
of the press, and of the steam-engine, had 'already been
extracted from the materials with which we are sur-
. sounded, and wielded as the most powerful agents in-
vented by man, in affecting all the higher destinies of
his nature. Nor was any limit apparent to the 'forces
which man might yet be permitted to employ is
facilitating the progress of society by the investi-
gations of science, and the application of art. Even
the rays of light had been used of late years as
a mechanical power in that daguerreotypie process that
deservedly occupied so much attention; and while society
had scarcely recovered from the excitement produced by
so interesting a discovery, the electric fluid, had been
applied to a new series of processes which had rendered
the atoms of mat ter as obedient in the hands of the artist
as they were formerly in the laboratory of Davy, when he
devoted his gir antic energies to the study of chemical
philosophy. Dr. Reid then concluded by thanking
the audience for the patient attention which they had
given to his illustrations, stating that he would take an
early opportunity of resuming them again, and ex-
Veess-• ing a hope that the i
tune would not be
lons. delayed when instruction n sciences world
be 'introduced in all elementary schools, where time
Iprogress of science could not fail to advance with
an accelerated pace in proportion to the number who de-

rot .! their attention to it, and perhaps develope new powers
as intercs'ing as tho3c that had marked the introduction of
gas, steam, the daguerreotype, the electrotype, and that
Innumerable host of discoveries that had characterised
the present• times.

ought not, we conceive, to be allowed to discharge him-
self Merely by di3e`osing the name, and furnishmg the
means of convicting an ostensible author of the libel ;
there would be danger of collusion, and a publisher ac-
tuated by malicious motives in propagating the calumny
suggested by another, ought, we think, to be dealt with
as a principal in effecting the injury.
- It will be -observed that the above suggestions are con-
fined to personal libels. To what extent the truth is
material upon a charge of a political libel on the admi-
nistration of the Government, reflecting on the. conduct
or measures of public functionaries, •is a question
of . importance, which properly belongs to the class
of offences • against the State. Such libels con-
sist more usually in intemperate and inflamma-
tory comments than on any false allegation of facts.
Mere assertions as to public measures which are false
in point of fact can seldom be of any real importance ;
all such acts are usually of public notoriety, and false
statements are easily contradicted and confuted by means
of the public press. It appears to us, however, that, in-
dependently of any considerations of this nature proof of
the truth o:•:* any such allegation ought not to be allowed
to operate in bar of any charge of such an offence ; for,
although the fact be true, the publisher may still be guilty
of a malevolent intention to injure society by defaming
the Government. The truth, we think, ought no more
to be allowed to operate as a complete defence in such a
case than when a personal libel is published with intent to
provoke the party reflected on to a breach of the peace.
The question however, whether on a charge for a political
libel evidence of the truth ought to be admitted, with a
view to negative a material fact of the charge—viz.,
the intention to bring the Government into hatred or
contempt, is one of a different nature ; the truth ought,
we think, for that purpose, and that only, to be admitted.
Prosecutions, however, for such libels are, as we have
observed, more usually founded on violent language and
comments than upon • any mistatements of facts. The
question whether such remarks are made in a seditious
and malicious spirit for the purrse of defaming the
Government, or are made bona tide in the exercise of that
right ti discuss, and criticise the conduct and measures of
public functionaries, which is the undoubted privilege o
the subject, does not admit of proof by evidence as Lf
.matter of fact. We may further observe in this place,
that the question whether the truth in such cases shall be
admitted to the limited extent stated in proof of the an:-
hius does not alter or qualify the definition of the offence,
but is more properly a question of evidence to be con-
sidered under the head of " Procedure."*

The subject of proceeding by criminal information will
more properly fall under the head of " Process." We
may here, however,
.observe that this course of proceedL
in;; seems at all events to call for some modification. We
think that if theTrosecutor be allowed to state the falsity
of the imputation as a ground for the application, the de,
fendant ought t. 9. be allowed to give evidence upon the
trial of the truth of the alleged defamation. We think
also, that if this mode of proceeding be productive of
peculiar advantages, it ought to be rendered more gene-
rally available.

_ -
• It is highly probable that by the ancient law of this coun-
try the falsehood of a libel was es,:ential to its criminality. We
should not deem ourselves to be justified in entering, on this
occasion, upon any historical statement in support of this opinion.
t The law of France (as stated by ill. Dupin) distinguishes
between libel on a private person and one on a public function-
ary. In the former case evidence of the truth is excluded ;in
the latter it is always admitted.

FACTSF6R7VARTVIERS, &c
BY OWEN OWEN ROBERTS:
Mr. Roberts has brought together in this little
pamphlet of 50 pages a great deal of useful in-
formation. The main idea is to consider the
farmer as a consumer, while the Corn-law advo-
cates consider him only as a producer, and point
out the effects of the law on him in that charac-
ter. After some-very judicious observations on
keeping accounts carefully, and on the main
points which a farmer should take into consider a.
tion on taking a farm, Mr. Roberts observes:—
The only amount of rent which any land can afford to
pay will be the value of the overplus produce after de-
ducting the cost of cultivation, including taxes, wages,
tithes, the interest of capital, as well as a fair allowance
towards the wear and tear of implements, the deteriora-
tion in value, and the casualties to which every kind of
live stock is liable, together with the injury and the ex-
tra-expense which inauspicious seasons bring upon the
farmer. The agriculturist should also recollect that in
the cost of production, his own labour, and that of his
family, ought to be charged at what they would be fairly
worth in the service of another. •
We presume that the agriculturist considers
all these circumstances, but Mr. Roberts, by the
warning which lie gives, implies that the agricul-
turist very often sacrifices his own interest, and
toils to put into the rent-owner's pocket money
which the tenant ought to keep in his own. We
shall quote, not only because they are curious,'
and place the Corn-law question in a new light,
but because they ought to be studied by firmers,
several passages, principally showing in detail
how the Cora-law injures the farmer. In the
preface there is this general statement :
In average years, with eight returns, out of the
63,000,000 quarters of wheat, barley, and oats produced,
the agriculturists awl their dependents consume directly
45,503,018 quarters, whilst the surplus available for sale
amounts to only 17,496,982 quarters.
Agriculturists may also be said to consume indirectly,
in the shape of manufactured goods of various descrip-
tions, a proportionate share of the bread clnsumed by
those rho were employed in manufacturing those goods.
The agriculturists have therefore to purchase as it were
again from the manufacturer a large portion of what they
ha,l previously sold to him in the mark.et.
EXTRA EXPENSE FOIL SEED CORN,—ACCOrding to the
" Statistics of the British Empire," by James M‘Queen,
Esq., an author considered to be perfectly orthodox by,
the supporters of Corn-laws, there are annually in the
United Kingdom 5,000,000 of acres under wheat, 2,000,000
under barley, and under oats 8,000,000, which, calculat-
ing the returns at eight in ordinary years, will yield of
produce 15,000,000 quarters of wheat, 8,009,000 of bar-
ley, and 40,000,000 of oats; making a total of 63,000,000
quarters, which, enormous as the amount appears, is
barely sufficient to meet the home consumption. A's
advance of ten shillings a quarter, if produced by any
means independent of a deficient supply, would be a di-
rect tax upon the consumers of no less than 31,550,000
pounds sterling ; an amount exceeding by 3,500,003 the
interest of the National Debt, and equivalent to nearly
thirteen shillings per acre, good, bad, and indifferent, of
-all the arable land in the United Kingdom of Great Bri-
tain and Ireland. Out of this amount, the agriculturists
would have to pay, merely as producers, in seed core
alone, within a trifle of 4,090,000 of pounds. To this
amount, even should the succeeding harvest prove abun-
dant, they would be losers, it being an extra item in the
cost of production ; for if the succeeding crops be more
than an average return, the prices would be propor-
tionably reduced. But, supposing that in two succeeding
years, such, for example, as in 1838 and in 1839, the re-
turns should prove to be very much below the average,
what would be the situation of the agriculturist ? Why,
in many districts, his seed corn would amount t. one-
fourth of the whole quantity produced on his land, so
that it would, under any circumstances, render it impos-
sible for him to obtain-in •money value more than four
returns upon-the seed'sown. The harvests of 1838 and
1839, in many localities, did not average four returns,
and even those returns made up of grain of such inferior
quality, as to render it hardly saleable at any price. The
agriculturist would have to put in the ground, in conse-
quence of the scarcity that caused the prices, two pounds'
worth of seed instead of one ; and though the following
harvest might prove, abundant, still the reduction
.of
prices necessarily attendant upon an increased supply,
would leave him, even as a producer, comparatively a
loser of one pound in every eight, or 12-i- per cent. This
would arise from the expense of production having been
increased by the extra cost of his seed corn.
CONSUMPTION OF TILE AGRICULTURAL POPULATION.
—Corn is by far the most important article, and the
heaviest item, in the list of agricultural charges. The
quantity of corn consumed by those employed in agricul-
ture, and directly dependent upon it, is so enormously
great, that one cannot but feel surprised that its gigantic
magnitude should have been so completely overlooked.
Tha edvocates of the Corn-laws seem to have viewed the
agriculturist solely as a producer.
According to M'Queen's " Statistics of the British Ern-,
pire," a w irk deemed perfectly. orthodox by the Corn-
law advocates, the relative numerical proportion borne
by the families of the agricultural population to the fami-
lies of the rest of the community is thus stated (p. 85):
" Agricultural, 1,845,463 ; trade and manufactures,
1,684,232 ; all other families, 1,269,536."
In. page 84 of M'Queen's work, is the following re-
mark relative to the population returns :—" Those selec-
tions relating to the male portion of the population of
the United Kingdom, together with the preceding- quarks
taken from the population returns, will show how the
population has been classed, and how unfairl), too, for
the agricultural interest. The vast proceeds from the
labour of that interest, and the power and the capital-
employed by it, will show the considerate reader that a
proportionate number of every one of the remaining
classes are connected with, work for, and are dependent
upon, that interest alone ; were we to take this at nearly
two-thirds, or, say three-fifths of the whole, we should
not miscalculate greatly either way.
Allowing this estimate to be correct, but without
going to the full extent of .the proposition, and taking
only three-fifths of the families that are not classed in the
table as belonging either to agriculture or to trades and
manufactures to be connected with, working for, or bring
dependent upon, agriculture alone, and giving the re-
maining two-fifths to, trade and manufactures, the rela-
tive number of the population will stand thus :
Agriculture. Trade and Manufactures.
Families... 2,607,184 . 2,192,046
Population 13,349,369 10,922,211
giving a numerical advantage in favour of those " con-
nected with, workhber for, or being dependent upon,
agriculture alone," of 2,427,158 souls, or, in other words,
making those employed in and directly dependent upon
agricultural. pursuits, in round numbers as 11 to 9
of those employed in trade or manufactures, and conse-
quently showing that those "connected with, working
fir, or directly dependent upon, agriculture alone " con-
sume, or ought to consume, 111. worth of bread corn for
every 91. worth consumed by those connected with, work-
ing fur, or dependent upon, trade and manufactures alone.
WHEAT.—Agriculturists, and those dependent upon
tin m alone,
will therefore require for consumption, ex-
c-usively of seed, 7,218,750 out of the 13,195,000 quar-
ters of wheat available as human food, making the con-
sumption of the agriculturists and those dependent upon
sseniapsluoryleAdusinavmaanilaubflue
tfuorretshine idnatrrlaidete,, be used
them alone, including seed corn, 9,093,750 quarters, and
leaving
by those
Quarters, which, at 565., will produce 16,537,4991., whilst
le quantity consumed by farmers and those dependent
upon them alone, will produce, at the same rate,
25,462,499/.
DABLET.—Regarding Only the relative n • • =MC— pro,