The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-27 00:00:00

EDINBURGH REVIEW, No. CL.—TO • buyers and sellers, in every market town (the
ADVERTISERS.—ADVERTISEMENTS intended above excluded) in the kingdom." , He proposes
for insertion in No. CL. in the EDINBURGH REVIEW are
requested to be sent to the Publishers as early as possible. also to take the averages from the sales of the
The latest day ADVERTISEMENTS can be received is growers as well as the buyers. The certain
THURSDAY, January 6; and BILLS (8,500 required), up to
FRIDAY, January 7. effect of his plan would be to exclude from the
London : Longman, Brown, and Co. averages all that corn which has paid the cost of
conveying it from the agricultural districts to
the " head-quarters of large consuming dis•
tricts." It would also exclude the profits of all
middle men concerned in the sale of corn in
those districts, and till it reaches them. It would
extinguish the means of speculating for a rise,
and increase the means by which the agricul-
tural interests, made by this plan the controlling
master of the averages, could keep them down.
In fact, the averages under this scheme will be
mainly determined by the agriculturists, and
will not exceed the price of. wheat on the spot
near to where it is grown. The striking effect, of
course, would be to lower the average prices
to which the liberal Mr. CHRISTOPHER'S new
duties would apply.
On this question, as we stated on Thurs-
day, details are principles; and hence it is
of great importance to ascertain how much Mr.
CHRISTOPHER'S plan would lower the averages.
We cannot state precisely, but he has supplied
us with the means of making an approximative
conjecture. "Looking back," he said, "to the
real state of the averages, and taking one year
with another, since the passing of the present
law, the average price of wheat in this county
has been about 565. per quarter, and in the
country about 68s. per quarter.—(Cheers.)" Mr.
CHRISTOPHER'S plan would substitute the average
of Lincolnshire, 565. per quarter, or the average of
the agricultural districts, for the average of Eng-
land, 68s. per quarter. Accordingly, his pro-
posed scale of duty would come into operation,
on a series of averaie prices, 12s. per quarter, or
about 20 per cent. lower than at present.
Perhaps the difference would be something
greater, for the present general averages include
the low averages of the agricultural districts as
well as the high averages of the 4 centres of
consumption," while the general averages under
his scheme would wholly exclude the latter.
But taking the difference at 12s. in 605., or 20
per cent., let us see what it would amount to.
At present, when the average price of wheat
is 735. per quarter, the duty is nominal. Mr.
CHRISTOPHER proposes that when the price is
655., the duty shall be ss. But 655., raised 20
per cent. by his scheme of taking the averages,
would be equivalent to 78s. by the present mode of
taking them ; and whereas we now import
wheat when the price is 735. at a nominal duty
of Is. Mr. CHRISTOPHER shows his liberality,
by proposing to levy a minimum duty of
ss. when it has reached a price equivalent to 785.,
under the present mode of taking the averages.
By his alteration in the averages, equivalent to
135., conjoined with his minimum fixed duty, 55.,
he would, as compared to the present scheme, en-
hance the price of wheat whenever it reached 655,,
and as long as the starved people had anything to
give for it, 18s. per quarter.
When the price is below 6:55., Mr. CHRIS-
TOPHER proposes an ascending scale of duties,
so that when the average price under his system
shall be 505., equivalent to 625. at present, he
will levy a duty on it of between 20s. and 305.,
whereas the present duty is 11.45. Bd. We quite
agree, therefore, with Mr.CHRISTOPHER, that the
Lincolnshire farmers—and they responded to
his statement by cheers—" taking all matters into
consideration, would, from the settlement of the
question, and the destruction, to a great extent,
of fraud, derive more permanent benefit from a
fixed minimum duty of ss. at. 655., than they now
do with the present scale."
These consequences would ensue, though the
farmers and landowners, who are not supposed
now to have worked the averages to their own
advantage, were never to make any fraudulent
sales with a view of keeping down the averages
and keeping up the duty and the price of good
wheat. But the control of the averages, which
this scheme would place in their hands, would
enable them, by selling parcels of inferior 'Wheat
only, which they would probably keep by them
for that purpose, and by other contrivances, to
regulate the averages as suited their interest, and
instead of being lowered only 20s. per cent., they
would be lowered 30 or 40 per cent.
To increase the benefit to the landowners to
that enormous extent, if possible, is no doubt the
object of the genuine liberality of Mr. CHRIS-
TOPHER and the Tories; but from submitting to
that, may Heaven and our own strong resolution
guard us!
Without taking into consideration the impor-
tant proposed change in the mode of forming
the averages, Mr. CHRISTOPHER'S plan would be
worse for the consumer than the present scheme.
We now, by evading the intention of the law,
import most of our wheat at is duty. His ss.
would be a fixed duty at all prices above 655.
" Within the last four months (says the Morning
Herald, w hich has adopted our views), a million and a
half quarters of wheat have been entered for home con-
sumption under the Is. duty at a cost of only 75,0001.
Mr. Christopher's proposition is that 300,0001. should
have been paid thereon, and that without the smallest
additional benefit to the home grower. Does the landed
interest really think that the adoption of such a scale
would get rid of Anti-Corn-law agitation ? We believe
that such a minimum, and, so far as importation of fo-
reign wheat is concerned, such a fixed duty, as ss. would
increase and strengthen the agitation."
The Herald, therefore, declares against Mr.
CHRISTOPHER'S scheme, though the Times ap-
proved of it, and agrees with us, that a plan
which abolishes the nominal duty, and levies a
fixed duty, is opposed to the principles of the
Cabinet, and cannot receive its assent. The
Tories, therefore, disagree as to the genuine libe-
rality displayed by Mr. CHRISTOPHER. That is,
however, a minor consideration, compared to the
enhancement which will ensue in the present
scale of duties, should Mr. CHRISTOPHER'S scheme
be adopted.
This proposed aggravation of an accursed law
is the Christmas present which the Tories talk of
making to the starving people. At the time when
the whole Christian world celebrates and glory-
fies the mercies of the great CREATOR, the Tories
of England, aided
.by the priests pf England,
who are for ever canting about religion—of which
they have apparently no other conception than
that of a device for giving them wealth and
power—at this Christmas time, when the land,
instead of being immersed in festivity and re-
joicing, is covered with wretchedness, caused
by the avarice of the canting, hypocriti-
cal classes, one of their members, supported by
the journals of his party, has the astounding
impudence and ungodliness, under the [mask
of liberality and generosity, to propose a
scheme for increasing their own wealth, and
for increasing the burdens and the sufferings of
the mass of. the community. Their conduct, in
our estimation, speaking of them not as indivi-
duals but as legislators, deserves but one epi-
thet. It is political villany ; and the public
mind must be blunted to all moral perception
-all right feeling must be extinct amongst us,
if such conduct excite not that kind of indigna-
tion with which we pursue a determined thief
till we have chased him from society, or brought
him to condign punishment.
It must be to the Corn-law repealers an exqui-
site satisfaction to learn from the liberal gentle-
man who proposes this substitute for the present
law, that this latter cannot be continued. The
rhied of.
reckless agitation now so rife," according to Alr
"that
ssys,
Parlia-
tuosto
observe,"
be r
vgote.
pElffLein
policy of Par-
liament is now obliged to entertain thecqeuoerstiont and what-
ever we may think as to thepruden
our
discussion, it is not in
icalltunireenb,utaswemllevnernsodt
powerlain en
at ne longerynt erng
t oi into
resist this
its
merely ywwoeullidacaqsukaiynoteua wasithpargacrieu
detail theo
public feeling, refuse any longer to consider
in general public affairs, can you, in
inthe:present state versed
existing Corn-laws."
The Corn-law repealers, then,
have driven
those who, in 1838, 1839, 1840, 1841, positively
refused to take their case into consideration, now
to admit that it must be considered. They have
gained a great advantage ; let them but perse-
vere—scouting Mr. CHRISTOPHER'S scheme as it
deserves, though something like it has been pa-
tronized by the Globe, and is said to be favoured
by the Whigs, and they will achieve a complete

EDITED AND ILLUSTRATED BY THOMAS HOOD

ESQ.

On the First of January will be Published the First Number,

for 1842; of

COLBURN'S N'E W MONTHLY
MAGAZINE AND HUMORIST,

Edited by THOMAS HOOD, Esq.
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