The Sun.
London, England, 1802-03-16 00:00:00

CIVIL LIST.

Mr. BRAGGE brought up the Report of the
Committee to whom the Paper respeding the Civil
List had been referred. '

The Report was ordered to be read, and the
Clerk having rend the Title,
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER said,
he presumed it could not be the wish of the House
to have it read at length, as he should move to have
it printed.
The Report was then ordered to lie on the Ta.
ble, and on the Motion of the CHANCELLOR of the
EXCHEQUER it was ordered to be printed.
'The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
rose to give notice, that if the Report should
be printed time enough to be delivered to the
Members on Thursday, he should, with the per-
mission of the House, propose to refer it to the
Committee of Supply on Monday next. If, how-
ever, the printed copies of the Report should not be
ready for delivery oh Thorsday next, he should de.
fer his :Motion for referring it to a Committee of
Supply till a future day. He wished to state, that
in consequenee of an Order of the House, two books,
kept in the Treasury, containing accounts of grants
for special service, and of His Majesty's bounty,
had been presented to the House, and referred to
the Committee. He now begged leave to move,
(the purpose for, which these books were produced
being answered) that they should be returned to the
Lords Commissioners of the Treasury. The House
would be aware, that these books would be at all
times forth-coining, if it should be necessary again
to have recourse to them : but as • the immediate
purpose for which they had been produced was an-
.swered, he should move that they be returned.
Mr. TIERNEY said, that no man could feel
greater respect for the Gentlemen who composed
the Committee-than he did, but at the same time he
thought it light, that the House ought to have all
the documents before it, that had been referred to
the Committee. The Committee, he supposed, had
.made extracts from the books, but the House might
wish to peruse the whole, and therefore the House
ought to have every document before them.
Mr. BRAGG E said, that the Hon. Gentleman
was mistaken, in supposing that the Committee had
made partial extracts from those books. Their
contents would be found in the Report, and conse-
quently the books themselves could be of no use ;
besides, if the House should, at any time, want to
inspect them, they would, of course, be again pro-
duced, in consequence of an At of Parliament,
which required that they should be kept in the
Treasury for that purpose. At all events, it would
be better to wait till the Report was printed, and
then the House would be able to judge whether it
would again be necessary to produce them.
Mr. TIERNEY said, it appeared to him that
the Report could only contain extracts ; but, with-
out any impeachment of the Committee, Gentlemen
might wish to examine the books themselves. If
there were no other copies of those books, or if they
were wanted for any particular purpose, that might
be a reason for returning them.
The C.VI ANC ELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said, there were no other copies of these books
kept ; but it must occur to the .House, that in the
course of the proceedings upon this subjed, in an-
other House of Parliament, it would perhaps be ne-
cessary to produce them. He begged to assure the
House, with the greatest sincerity, that he did not
wish to conceal any one article contained in these
books, and if the Report should, upon examination,
appear not to be completely satisfadory upon this
part of the subjed, he would support any Motion
tbr their reprodudion. • At present, he thought it
would he more regulai that the books should be re.
turned.

It

Mr. BR "IGOE slid; (nal` t:t:i Committee
01!
made no arbiti.iry extricis from ;:liese booK' ;.
whole contents were stated. If, up to;) exatni"ati°'a
it should appear that it had been done in ) icwse ,
manner, it would be open to the Hon. Gentled far •
or any other Member, to call for a more partici;
account.
Mr. TIERNEY said, he was still of opinion
the books should be retained. ,111,7:
upon perusing them, formed an opinion, and it
th
right that the, House should have before ttilen%
documents upon which that opinion was,foirie“;e3
Mr. BRAGGE said, the Committee had fora
no opinion or conclusion upon the subjea ; they. rate
analysed the accounts contained in these hooks.'f:dic
examined them in every possible way ; :1 the
explicit, -
Report was not found to be sufficiently
books might be produced again.
Mr. TIERNEY said, that this 'roe
Committee ilwauss
ceeding, and that when the Report came to be t.i
et,
into consideration, the Members of the Con",.”,fictir,
NV;IS new
.lkea
would be in a different situation from the other .I"e,,ye
bets of the House, because the former would 11"
seen the books, and the latter would not.
trn
it ber
BRAGGE contended, that every .I'.`c,-„,
be
sue
in the same situation, unless it coui",
supposed that the Committee had made a Partial`
leftion.
Mr. FANS ITT ART said, that if this %"53i,
a
new proceeding, it should be recolleded tld,,
was the first time these books had been Pr("l—,,o
If the 'Committee had ailed fairly, and of tAa
doubt could be entertained, the produdion of
books cculd throw no further light upon the allot
If any Gentleman entertained a 'jiff:et-reel
ininoo, he might move to have ti,:::;
.fl:cause they were kept for Parliamentary i"4),"„,„,
tion. But unless their contents were more ac-30
rarely explained than any Member could have
lei
opportunity of doing while they lay upon.the ri%Luij
they might lead to improper conclusions ; it ")„.ctt
therefore be better to see their contents atallw
under proper heads in the Report.
The Motion was then agreed to.
VACCINE INOCULATION. to
Admiral BERKELEY said, he had Petit'd-if
present from a Person to whose labours riot
this Country but Europe, and-even the whole °
was indebted for the greatest benefits. Thew,
valuable discovery of the Gentleman in quest*
of
would tend to rid- mankind of one of the 19,,,11
dreadful disorders that ever attacked the hu"--t.c
frame. The House, he was sure, would anticiPil.s,
what he was going to say : he- alluded to the u're
covery of Vaccine Inoculation, by Dr' Jennert',
After the most laborious study, after going to Foot
siderable expence, in order to ascertain
his discovery, the Doctorwith a
had, the alert! 3
generolT
liberality, and modesty inseparable from true n 7
rib;
communicated the result of his inquiries 10" -he
world. If he had pursued a contrary condual
would have realised a princely fortune. Out of big
thousands and thousands who had benefited by
discovery, this Gentleman was the only per
had derived no advantage from it. ALintof
BERKELEY then read an Extract from a
of the Secretary of a Committee appointed toc•ti
a zfl
mine into this subject, in which it Ivo Stt tiVit
be a most invaluable discovery. He was a-r's—
he should fail If he was to attempt to cornraenitniand
all the advantages that
.would result toiti bola
from this discovery, therefore, at present, he fie .
only request leave to present the Petiti°%ceot.
was, however, afraid, that as the time for Pr—p.ces,
ing private Petitions was past, it would be n-tbis
sary to present a Petition for leave to present
Petition. • '• t/
The SPEAKER said, it would be necess3: •
present a Petition for leave to present it.
CORN REGULATION. nyLeN
The CHANCELLOR of the .EXCHEV;veo
said, he rose pursuant to the intimation he hatikrijoe
to the House, to move for a Committee to.lloiP
the state of the Corn Trade between Gret,':suh`
and Ireland. In making regulation's upon be
jeer, it appeared to him that there ought t'r that
free intercourse between the two Countries' J to
they should have the means of adininisrer'!?rin;
each others wants, and that the deficiency ecailet%
in some parts, might be supplied by the ;lb ° oari
which existed in others; and if it were 'flece o,f 3
to impose any restrictions, they ought to bc:,eir.s
general, and not of a partial nature. In regu`";uar '
the concerns of England and Wales, NO° 100
Country was first annexed to England, or at
of Dor
in a very short time after,, the great °Wet
Ancestors was to identify the two Counti(lo,rlei%lie
The same policy was adopted at the Perioo:ast
Union between England and Scotland, arl'r, the
be the wish of every, man who wished well to
Empire at large, that the same polieY,
prevail between Great Britain and
The fad was, that for reasons which It
3,, by
not necessary now to advert to, in the 3,, bv
.of Corn,. there 'was a prodigious differenc-
tween ' the two 'Countries. There were 11110 J
stances in which the price of Grain in Irelailtrt of
been nearly double the price of the same s° iron'
Grain in Great Britain, and this had arisen wise
the operation of Laws which had been thought were
and expedient when they were adopted. Tile7king'
ena&ed at a time when Ireland w:e. a separatt; ttr=
'dom, and when it was of great importance rocrilior
f
Legislature of this Country to give every' '3 vrice,
to cultivation. By these Laws, the exonr:te` ana
of Wheat was fixed at 455. a quarter; of R 3 ea",
Barley, 235. a quarter ; and Oats, :ss. 9(1. avid 0
ter. He stated the price by the quarter ins.rbic,/
the barrel, in order to make it more intellib. roof 3 •
But he contended, that even if Ireland weree -con"
separate kingdom, these prices ought not tnt
tinue. They were fixed under very diff.e(e., were
cumstatlces, and when the prices of Gri°,,,trpforef
much lower than they now were, and c'''siterit'
even if the Union had not taken place, sniinew ,
tion ought to be made iri them. fie- 1.03Ke
difficult it was, upon such a subjed as th's'ton or °.
a great change by the immediate ad"Pl wisdnlts,
new principle, however incontestable the ioies si
of it might be. Upon ail general Prir^c;n36tiQr,'s
would be wise to get rid of all dist" ,iona°
respeding Corn between'Great Britain ana fora'. cline
as had been 'done in the case of Scotland; 2:0 *head
no more distindion ought to subgist bet's/

. ~
''lran between any two counties 'of Great. tritain.!
, There were, however, independent of the pejudices,
which must prevail upon such a subjea, some Cie_
citrnstances peculiar to Ireland, which were entitled
to consideration.. It might be apprehended, that
rthe. event of a pressure from a scarcity, that the
•-apttal of England would draw a great proportion
or the grain from Ireland.. There.was also another
circumstance that deserved to be considered, which
'vast that the means prbvided in this country. for
the relief of the poor, did not subsist io. Ireland,
there beingtno Poor fate there. Therefore, upon
Such asubjea it would be necessaiy to move cau-
tiously, fearfully., and with a degree of .circum-
!Peetion upon a subjea which might be supposed,
in some instance's, to - prevent the Poor of Ireland
from getting. their food at reasonable prices. There
being, no Poor-rate in Ireland, the labourer had no.
thins* to- de-Pend, Upon but his own earning, and •
the 'liberality- and benevolence of his neighbours.
----At the same rime he could not help saying there
most have been a degree of prejudice in entertain.
'lug the idea that the facility of exportation of Corn
from Ireland into this Country, would be injurious
to the P'eople of Ireland, because no consequence of
the aka of Union operated as a
.restraint on the ex-
hortation Of Spirits from Ireland to this Country ;
and therefore, if Corn was brought here in the
shape of. Spirits, to any amount, the effed.was the
%lei at least ai to the quantity-of Grain used in such
aMount; a's if it came in kind. Under this impres_
aiiin of the subjea, what he wished And hoped to be
dolieed at present, Was, that of raising the export
price, so as 'to enable the Owner in Ireland to send,
4nd-this part of the United Kingdom to receive from
thence, Grain (after fixing the :price ac which it
Tijaar be- allowed to be exported), in like manner as
,Irom any part of the Continent of Eur Ope. The
'0 West price at which, at oresent, Corn could be
fectived • into this Coutitry was, Wheat. 545. Bar..
bY 28s. and Oats 28s. per quarter. He should
r Pe that the House would he of opinion, it would
an encouragement to cultivation in Ireland, and,
'Y uch means, an advantage to the People at large
Cher
e, as well as here, to enable one part of the
ail:lll'4e to obtain from the other—that was,- to en,
mean e the Errere" to obtain, of a part of itself, the
Dus "f subsistence With more facility : for this
purl of
he thoualit the better course would be to
port f..."„e!Tiee :It which it shall be
,allowable to, ex-
nationrs.--, iieland IP England Grain of alldenomi-
Varative
ai-,t Present,-for the sake of a paltry em-
body ar: vilntage to the Irish Distillers, a valuable
try,w -len.carrying on the same trade in this Cours-
e
Ing further materially injured. Without, however, lay-
that . 'er stress, on that consideration, he asserted
arti !tie Trade of the West India Merchants, in the
stit,„e4e,_of Rum, called for the adoption of this mea-
A:4.14 °Lit, above all, he would say (for it -was matter
,„ the highest importance), to enable Great Britain
;Yr traffic
with herself in the article, of Corn (for to
I.' 4,,,Te with Ireland now, was to traffic, with her.
i,e,4%-ittstead of -resorting to any market she may
C 4 on the Continent ; for, at present, instead of
:livng our supply from Ireland, and, by such
Ihanss, encouraging cultivation there, .by which
ta.e advantage would be reciprocal ; to Great- Bri-
'n she ad vantilge would l)e considerable, by hay-
-3 her Grain from Ireland—to Ireland the advan-
tZt Would be also considerableeby the encouragementtictwo:ldsive to cultivation whereas the present prac.
...
%n .t importing from the different markets on the-
tititinetit, was a loss- to both--a dead loss to the
eth.dire at large.'—These were the considerations
motion had induced him to think of referring .the .
ile,,t.er for discussiOn, and he had_no doubt it would
if -te from -a conithittee the attention it required ;
.• it sh, , ,
)1110 as he hoped it should, be the pleasure
of-tile 3 t
Pose Houseto appoint
,a Committee. for that pur-
resuitlt was not for him to say what might be the
ticina of -the labour of that Committee.; nor to an-
tionroi,! what
11)4
it the the HOuse,
might
.4fterwards be. the - detertnina_
lie had only, at present, to sub-
th , as a matter worthy of investigation, and,
eretore
tee he ' he should now move, " That a Commit- '
Trade ahPNinted' to consider of the Safe ofiheCdrn
report the Great Britain and, Ireland, and to
to th „e S'autet with their Observations thereupon,
e rtouse."
Mr. Fat, • •
fi 'TR s. said, he . .
• I
rst, of declar. al , lose for the purpose,
now proposed rg his approbation of the. measure
had just spoken'Y the Right Hon. Gentleman who
who had
culty more s*--There was no -man in England.
which lateadiiY steered through every dill'.
between Great 3yin the iaay of the perfel Union
qualified to carryrtihtain a.t.d. Ireland, nor any better
than the D • , C spirit of that Mt into effea,
Th 'igut Hon G .
; e matter • Gentleman who'spoke last.—,
4raPottant now. before the House, was of very
COnsid. •
ought to 1 ,ration ; but it was not all that
there , )e considered, even under this head :
were many
attentio_ 0f.., other topics extremely worthy" the
the Lie the House—it appeared to him to be
the interest of the Empire at large, to bring
thees7so.parts of the kingdom into one, and' make
to t'ulle4T'i they were only two counties in regard
Pleasu lade in Corti, at least.—He,Cid the more .
ti_ re to seconding this Motion, since On Thurs-
dY he intended give notice of a Motion for the
aPpoint,n„,. to
Corn Law-s-ofof a Qotnmittee to inquire into the
-Imports from Ireland, and
this
to take a view of the
Purpose -
Country, for tile
extenlednicne ,
chose to enter 0_
~ g it.
.4-towever, he did not
ttoa of the E• business business until the CHANCEL_
I,i!t that he iOuna".
rQuEtt appeared in the House,
it 'was intended to be taken up
I tilat Right H
bell a I un- Gentleman, he thought that, as
, • s t le reolilat• to the hest hands, and therefore he gave the matter •
entirely of
th.s„ot Hon. Gentleman.—He approved
a;lswer- f IrelandtProceeding, and he thought he could
a,tteret that that it was a general wish..
lm,easlire as this should be adopted•
qe believed itluaas, a sincere wish
0, .
_obstacle to the plan of
every
making the two parts....
4hrtyr,h,e
,ll.,:ingdorn one in respell of this Trade,
we
ruelua
merete re.mcoved; that it should. be made as it
saki this, Co ell;
Trade.—Howerer, while he
should, isii'l
,aenriderwall: he understood that Ireland
et -slip thisbo, 0 . of this opinion, he could not
rtunity of observing, that the Laws
°I Ireian i Pi
fo_rn , upon. this subjea;-had continued uni..
r from the year r784.-7-7By the Bill which then
past,i upon
this subjed, Ireland was bound to allow
the txportation of its Corn from•thence into this

CoUntil, leaving it to ttlisl.lotintry to fix the price
at which that Exportation should take place.—The
British 'Parliament • had the power of fixing the
price, and Ireland was bound to allow the Exporta-
tion accordingly. That Law had been Continued
now for seventeen years inforce, and it had always
been approved of, and, therefore, he believed that
the measure
.now proposed would meet general con-
currence in Ireland.—Having said this, he thought
it might not be improper to submit, further, Whe-
ther, it might not be better. to enlarge the power of
the. Committee,. for the appointment of which th.
Right Hon: Gentleman had just moved, and to in-
strua , it to take-into consideration the Corn Laws
at large ? ,The,corn Laws of Ireland had the ad-
vantage of those of this Country ; and under those
Laws, the Agriculture of -Ireland had greatly
thriven, so Much so, as to hive more Corn than it
could use-, except for the last season or two ; bUt
that was: indeed chiefly owing to the failure of the
growth of potatoes, thescarcity'of which increased
the consumption of Grain ; had it not been for the
failure of the'crop of potatoes, there would have
been no necessity' for importing any Corn into Ire-
land.—He was sorry to say, that, in considering
the case of this Country, the LaWs in this respea,
had been inferior in policy to those of Ire-
land, for ever .*since. the year 1767, and down
almost to the present day, the Laws of- Great
Britain had been almost the reverse of the
Laws of Ireland, and certainly unwise, for it
had been a continued system of Alterations. An
endeavour. sometimes to regulate the trade of the
Corn Factor, at others to regulate, capriciously,
the trade of exportation, at others importation, the
whole of it making up a discouraging uncertainty,.
.and therefore it was no wonder the agriculture of
the Country decline,d under the impression of it.- He
should not, now, expatiate upon all the defetii of
'such a system, nor make a laborious comparis_on
-between
.iti and that which was adopted. in Ireland ;
there was one point, however, which he 'could not
pass over unnoticed: in Ireland, when the regula-
tion was made upon this article, it was made to
operate uniformly on the whok of the' CoUntry.
klere we had sixteen Disttids, and distind regula-
tions to each, so that we might be exporting Corn
at one part of the Kingdom, while we were im-
porting it at another, the evils of which were many ;
one of them was, . that we never could have a true
criterion- to guide us for general purposes, which
ought to be the end ofLegislation. He said, there-
fore, in this case, there should be a free participa-
don between the two Countries ; we should make
one standard for both. Fix the regulation.of im-
port or export by a price taken from an average of
the two parts of the United Kingdom; We should
join the whole together, and regulate the whole as
of one common Kingdom, and one common cause in
one Kingdom : for which purpose it would be ne-
cessary for us to look, at large, into the whole
subjet, and lay down one genera! system for both
parts of the United Kingdom. Ireland should be
taught that she would be safe in opening her trade
to, this Country, and w e should
..be secured here
against 'any apprehension of inconvenience from that,
species of encouragement to Ireland. When this
system was well digested, and put in praelice, this
Country would never want Grain while Ireland had
any to send here. .

The Motion was then put.
Mr, VANDEL4UR said, that this question ap.
peared to him to bc one
,of the most delicate that
could be brought forward in. Parliament, because it
went to make an alteration, in a system of Laws un-
der which Ireland' had gsained great advantages to
her agriculture, and these advantages sip had been
in the enjoyment of for the last sixteen years. Un-
der this Code of Laws the agriculture of Ireland
had flourished.; and considering this, he, as a na-
tive of that Conntry, should have some apprehen-
'sions of danger. to its interests, if he hail not ob-
served the Right -Hon: Gentleman who spoke last
approving of it ; he, from his .talents and. -experi-
ence, was deservedly high in the estimation Of his'
-Countrymen; and partkularly, in kriowledge of
Trade, so that' he was confident the Gentlemen of
Ireland would be satisfied with this measure, since
he approved•of it ; but independent of this confi-
dence which he had in that Right Hon. Gentleman's
abilities and integrity, he had alledged very good.
reasons for his opinion to-night upon this subjeft,
and he was glad to adopt the measure from those
reasons ; and that the more particularly, as he had.
recommended the plan of revising the whole of the
Corn. Laws, and making one general syStem for
both parts of the United Kingdom.—Having ex-
patiated on the advantages- which Ireland, at pre-
sent, enjoys by the Laws as they stand,• by way of
.
sliming the sincerity which she must have in this
measure by assenting to it, he concluded with
approving of every thing which was said to-night
by the Right Hon. Gentleman who spoke last.
The Question was then put.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER
said, he was confident the House would do him the
justice to recollea, that, before the recess, he gave
notice to the House,'Of his intention, (an intention
which was delayed from a cause probably within the.
knowledge of the House) to bring forward a Motion
on this subject, describing it at that, time, to
have for its onjea, " a regulation of the Corti Trade,
of Great Britain and Ireland."—lt was therefOre
not extraordinary, that he should have wished the
Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. Fos•rEß) to abstain
from bringing forward this subjeft; and this was
what he could not help stating. He had- pledged
himself to bring the subjeft forward, and he was
bound to redeem himself- with the House upon that
pledge, not that he was not fully aware Of the'advan-
rages which the subjea would derive from being
brought forward by that Right Hon. Gentleman,-but
when he made the pledge he had spoken of, to the
House, that Right Hon. Gentleman had not a seat
in it. However, what he had/said to-night, was
deseriing of great consideration, although it ap-
peared to. him to be, inexpedient to adopt it at pre-
sent.. The Right Hon. Gentleman is desirous, said.
Mr. ADD INGIO,N, and I am glad he is, that all
distinEtions shotild.be done away in Trade, between
the two branches • of the United Kingdom. That
every thing- that is harsh, or may appear invidious,
or injurious, should be done-away,- as my wish, as
well as that of- the Right Hon. Gentleman, and
must, indeed, be the wish of us All but I think

a
it is not possible ter its to adept the principle laid
down by the Right Roth Oenttetiiiin, to tt3 full:
extent, until we know the opinion of the-Cari.
mittee upon the subject, and whether; after the
Committee shall have concluded its labours, the
House, alter having had the advantage of such
labour, will be of opinion, that the whole of this
trade should be laid open—lt was then, he said, •
the ,observations of. the :Right Hon. Gentleman
would come properly
.uuder the consideration of
the House.—However, if any thing of this. sort
should occur to the Committee as a necessarj
Measure, they would have power to report from
time .to time ; and if it should be necessary, their
power might be enlarged, and according to the in-
formation which the House might receive, and the
impression which ,it might make on the' House,
they might enlarge the' sphere of the inquiry of the
Committee, and if that should appear to be the
wish of the House at any time, it should meet with
no opposition from him ; but, at present, he
could not concur in seeing. the expediency of
carrying the Inquiry to the extent recommended by
the Right Hon. Gentleman.
Mr. FOSTER said, his objet was, that the Ports
of Ireland should be opened so as 'to enable it to
send Corn into this' Country.. As to the power of
the Committee being enlarged, he thought that
'essential, and he' hoped it would take place. The
'Corn Laws of Ireland had satisfied the People of
Ireland. ---The Corn • Laws, Of England had' not
satisfied, the People of England, as was evident
by the Legislature altering them continually. If
the system which we were now to adopt, was a
wise one, the price of the'market in Ireland would
go into the computation with that of England, and
the restraint should be made a joint restraint, operat-
ing alike on both Countries. Without this general
policy, apPlying. equally to both England and Ire.:
land, he did not ;see how the matter could be at all
settled to advantage. lie understood that, the
Committee might call, from time to time, for an en-
largement of power, and the House might grant it;
but whether they did or not, he was persuaded
that nothing short of what he had stated, would
be adequate to the purpose.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER wished,
at present, the subject} to be confined to the Motion.

Sir IV. PULTENEY said, he was very glad that
Gentlemen seemed to feel some doubt whether the
Corn Laws of England were what they ought to
be : that they were not was evident, from the
number of ACts of Parliament made from- time
to time upon that subject, which proved that
the matter had' not .beeri well understood, for if
the subjeft had .been clearly comprehended at first,
the Law might have been so made as to require no
alteration, or at least but little alteration : instead
of that, there had been a continual variation in the
Law on this subjea ; a thing much to be lamented :
for, among many evils, it was a great detriment to
agriculture in England.----We knew, that from the
time of KING WILLIAM, there was no change in.
the Corn Laws until the year 1757—when there
was an alarm of Scarcity, and our Corn Laws were
thrown open.—This had introduced afterwards a
praaice of endeavouring, from time to time, to
make provisions; according. to some temporary exi-
gtiey, which introduced into the Law an uncertainty
that .had -a grievous effect ; for the Farmer never
knew exadty what to do, that is, he knew not what
to look forward to as the 'Law to guide him. He
was very, glad the Country had been called
upon to observe the contrast between the laws of
England and of Ireland in this particular. , The
matter shoUld be looked into; and he hoped it
would not be lost sight of: and he said this, not
for the sake of England only, but for the sake of
Ireland also. Both might benefit by this inquiry ;
and .he was sure it was highly necessary that the
whole .of our Corn Laws should•be reviewed.

Mr. WILBERFORCE observed, that as the
Committee might report from time to time, as stated
by the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, nothing
farther need be done now than to agree to the ap-
pointment of a Committee. And if it should ap.
pear to he necessary, the importation of Corn
from Ireland into this Country, might take place
without delay, and that prior to any general system
being adopted to regulate this Trade between the
two Countries.

, Lord HAWKESBURY observed, that he should
not have offered himself to the notice of the House
upon the present occasion, if it had not been for a
single observation of.a Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr.
,FOSTER), who had taken a part in this debate, and
'which,' if not answered, might leave an 'impression
he should be sorry for. _ There was no difference
of opinion, as he understood, on the Motion. • It
was expedient, in the first instance, to appoint a
Committee to inquire into this Law, and that should
precede the inquiry of how far it would be wise to
open the general Corn Trade between Great Bri-.
lain and Ireland. BUt this, he was ready to admit lie..
forehand, that the general Law of the Empire, upon
this subjett, was such as to require recision. With-
out saying what the remedy should be, he was ready
to admit, that there ought to'be a general plan for
the purpose of preventing occasional Aas of Par-
Hameln, upon some temporary, -or perhaps, local in-
convenience ; for such interferences of the Legisla-
ture had been proved, by experience, to be injurious
to the general interests of the Public. But to say
this, was nor the purpose
,for which he rose ; the
Right Hon. Gentleman (Mr. FOSTER) had observ&l
that under the laws of :Ireland, the Agriculture, of
Ireland had improved. That under the laws of
England, the Agriculture of England had declined.
He was speaking in the hearing of those who knew
this subj muth better than himself, who under_
stood the Agri-culture of England extremely well,
and he appealed to them in particular, as 'well
as to the -Rinse in general, whether, notwith-
standing .the inconveniences, whatever they- might
be, and they, might be numerous ;and great, bLit
whatever, they might be, from the fhauation of*
law upon this subjea, and of prices in this article ;
he would ask, whether" the Agriculture of this
Country was not, so far from declining, that within
the last ten years, it had improved more than it did
in the same length of time, in'the whole coarse of
the history of this Country ? He maintained, that
it was impossible to look at fans," as they-appeared.
before us daily, without coming, to that conclusion..
It might be matter of 'curiosity to inquire, why, it

2- • -
the Ag nett! hire tit lir, Count nad tdiincreastd., t
land had, for tfie Last jo years, been an irripOrting
,Country, With fesued to Corn, when it was kndWil,
that-for the preceding part of the terittity, the was
an exporting Conolty, That might he ascribed to
the influence of population, and Aso of Ivealthi And
its attendant, luxury, by Which Wheat had conic
into common consumption in England over every
part of it, or nearly so; .however that might bey
clear it was, the Agriculture of England had im-
proved greatly within these ten. years: On the
comparison between Great Britain ,and Ireland, it
should be observed that Wheat was not the common
food of man in Ireland ; he understood no species
of Grain except Oats was in general consumption
there— Barley in a great degree certainly, .but not
general ; but this prevented the comparison being
correct by way of forming a judgment of the agricul,
ture of the two Countries. He thought it necessary
to say this, to do away all idea of the Agriculture of
this Country declining. He concluded with observ.
ing, that in his opinion the two countries, England
and,lreland, should be put,,with all speed possible, on
the same footing in Agriculture. He was persuaded,
that until that could be established, the full and en-
tire advantage of the Union could not be enjoyed ;
an object which had become the concern of- the
Gentlemen or both countries, and the Merchants of
both countries. They would, therefore, give up
all personal and local jealousies and prejudices, and
look at one common object---the benefit of the Em-
pire at large. •
The Question was then put and carried.
The Committee was nominated immediately. .rt
is to be an open Committee—,-that is, all have
voices who attend it, five of whom are to. be a
quorum, and to have power to send for persons,
papers, records, &c.