The Sun.
London, England, 1850-05-15 00:00:00

question they would do so in reality, and not leave to an
Hon. Member on the Ministerial bemires the perform-
ance of so important a duty.-(Hear, la as.) .
Mr. MILES said the lion. Baronet who herr just sat
down assumed much to himself, and pleased to thaw a
comparison between lion. Members who advocated pro-
tection and those who supported a repeal of the legisla-
tive union. Now, he wished to know why the Hoe. Ba-
ronet had never attacked the repeal question until after
the originator of that question had been removed fvom
the House of Commons?-(" Hear, hear," frcm the Os,
position benches.) No, the lion. Baronet preferred wait-
ing until the originator of that question had succumbed
to disease and ceased to be a elember of that House;
and then it was that he stepped in and derided lion.
Members for Ireland for not having brought forward
the question.-(Hear, hear.) The question of the
corn-laws was argued in 1846, since when a new Par-
liament had been returned in favour, he would admit,
of free-trade principles.-(" Hear, hear," from the Mi-
nisterial benches.) There was no doubt that the
decision of the country was in favour of free trade-
(Hear, hear)- but they should wait for a re-action, and
it was quickly coming.-(Oh oh, and Hear, hear.)
The llon. Baronet had taunted the opposite side of the
House because no proposition had emulated from it for
a restoration of protection to agriculture; but he could
tell him that whenever a motion should emanate from
that side of the louse it would include a recurrence to
the full and entire system of protective duties, which
he and Hon. Gentlemen on his side believed to be not
alone advantageous, but absolutely necessary to the wel-
fare of the British people.-(Hear, hear.) The time
was not distant when the watchword would be, " Bide
your time, and trust in us"-(Laughter)-and he
doubted not that in the next Parliament they would
come forward with an amended constituency as well its
a large majority in that House to re-adjust the dis-
organised and disrupted interests of the country.
Mr. MITCHELL said the best proof that could be
given of the well working of the corn-law repeal was
the benefit that the operative classes experienced by the
change.-(Hear, hear.) The consumption of bread
stuffs had increased one third; and if wages fell in pro-
portion to the price of food, who consumed the increase?
By the repeal of the corn laws they had enabled the
working people to consume one third more bread than
heretofore, and so far the working classes were per-
manently benefited.-(Hear, hear.) Now he thought
that was the very highest tribute that could be paid t
free trade; and he believed it was one of the cau-es that
kept England tranquil during the late continental out-
breaks.-(Hear, hear.) In the corn trade he had heard
of attempts made to induce the farmers to sacrifice their
property: and in several cases they had subteitted to
low prices, for which they might thank the laneu
employed by their organ (the A:ark-lane Express)
and the harangues and incentives of the leaders of their
party.-(Hear, hear.) He was cert tin that these
gentlemen had induced the farmers to part with their
grain some 3s. or 4s. a quarter less than it would bring
within the last fortnight, in which time he had observed
an increase of some ss. per quarter had taken place. His
own impression was, that instead of a re-action taking
place, the prices, as the weather improved, would ad-
vance to 455. a quarter for wheat, which was an excel-
lent price for farmers to sell at.-(Hear, hear, arid
No, no.) Indeed, he had no doubt that 455. per
quarter were equal to 60s. per quarter in former days,
considering the altered prices in other ar ides of con-
sumption-meat; sugar, and so forth.-(Hear, hear.)
He we's glad to see the lion. Member for Wakefield in
his place, as he wished to allude to a matter that had
reference to him. He understood that Hon. Gentleman
had purchased 1,000 quarters of wheat, which he said
was Stettin, at a certain price which appeared to be ex-
ceedingly low for such an article. Now he (Mr. Mitchell)
understood that it was not Stettin wheat but Pomeranian
or Sicilian, which accounted for the low cost of the arti-
cle, including shipment to this country.-(Laughter.)
Mr. G. SANDARS, who rose amid renewed laughter,
said the Hon. Gentleman opposite had charged him with
having by his statements caused an undue depreciation
in the prices of corn in the agricultural districts of the
country. He said then as he said tormerly, that his only
object was to give information to that House, and to lay
a true statement of the facts before the House and the
country. The Hon. Gentleman had referred to a pur-
chase of Stettin wheat, and alluded to it at though it
were a single and solitary transaction. But if he looked
to the correspondence in the various newspapers of the
period he would find not only was it not a solitary trate-
section, but that several merchants of Mark-lane bought
at the same and even at lower prices than he did.-
(lcer, hear.) The Hon. Gentleman had also referred
to the grain as being of inferior quality. He believed
the Hon. Gentleman did not deal extensively in corn,
or that he could tell the difference between Silesian
and Pomeranian wheat if placed before him.-
(Laughter, and Oh, oh.) The order which he (Mr.
Sanders) sent out, was for the best Stettin wheat,
of 61 to 621bs. to the bushel, and he,would leave it to
Honourable Gentlemen to say if that description should
not be regarded as the very best. The order was ex-
ecuted with great satisfaction, and the prices at Wake-
field marker, about the period of the arrival of that corn,
were from 375. to 38s. But the Hon. Gentleman had
said that in consequence of the policy of free trade being
carried out consumption had increased by one-third.
Never was there a more preposterous statement made.
He should like to ask the Hon. Gentleman from whence
this extra one-third had come? It was tree that in
1849 we imported largely-we imported 5,600,000 quar-
ters of wheat; but the Hon. Gentleman forgot that the
harvest of 1848 was unusually defective, and it would
require two or three millions of quarters at least to
make up the deficiency; and if they took into conside-
ration the large quantity exported to Ireland that year,
instead of our importing from that country as usual,
another million of quarters might be accounted for; and
to this the wheat brought into consumption in conse-
quence of the failure of the potato crop, and the whole
five or six millions was made up.- (Cheers from the
Free-trade party.) We imported this large amount of
wheat not to supply extra consumption, but to make
up the deficiency whica had arisen from these
causes.---(" Hear, hear," from the same party.)
The Hon. Gentleman then proceeded to quote returns of
the price of wheat at the various European and Ameri-
can corn exporting ports, to show that the average price
at which corn could be shipped abroad was much lower
than had been stated by the previous speaker (Mr. Mit-
chell). An authority which was regarded as a text
book by the Free-traders, had stated that 525. 2d. was
the just average price of wheat, and what the farmer
got more than that was so much gain to him, and what
he got less so much loss.-(He Lt., hear.) The Hon.
Gentleman to whom he alluded (Mr. Wilson) also said
that it was quite erroneous to suppose that free trade
would reduce the price of food, but, on the contrary.
would tend rather to increase it by raising the prosperity
of the country and increasing the demand; but there was
no symptom of that prediction being verified. With re-
spect to the motion before the Reuse., be was in some
difficulty what course to take. He could not agree that
it was wise to bring on the question at this time for die
cussion.-(Hear.) He understood the Hon. Mover (Mr.
G. Berkeley) to say that free trade had now been tried
three years, and that that was sufficient to test its suc-
cess or failure. Tho Hon. Gentleman mast, however,
remember that although the Act passed in 1846 it did
not come into operation until 1849.-(Hear.) Up to
that time the law WAS a sliding scale, ranging ferns 10s.
downwards; so that instead of three years, the present
law had only been in operation titteere months. He ad-
mitted that he had promised at the hustings to give
free trade a fair trial, and as he could not consider that
such fair trial had yet been allowed, he did not see how
he could vote for this motion. Much had been said in
the course of the debate of the low prices of 1835; but
there was this great and wide difference between that
year and the present-it was true the price of wheat did
not vary much in the two years, but in all other agri-
cultural produce there was a wide difference in favour of
the }ear 1 35. The average price .:f wheat in 1835 was
395. 4d. The present average-that was the average of
the last six weeks-was 375. Bd.; but of barley the aver-
age in 1835 was 295. l ld. against 225. od. now.-(" Hear"
from the agriculturists.) The price of oats in 1835 was
225. Id.; it was now 15s. In rye, peas, beans, and other
produce, there was a similar falling off in the present
prices as compared with those of 1835.• Again, it must he
recollected that the year preceding 1835 had been one
of general abundance, and the low prices were conse-
quent on that abundance-but now we had low prices
following deficient harvests. With regard to the price of
Stettin wheat, he could tell the lion. Member for Brid-
port that purchases had been made at a lower rate than
that which had been quoted. The Hon. Gentleman then
quoted a letter from a Free-trader, stating that a ss.
fixed duty would be fair to the farmer, and would not
press more heavily on the consumer than the present
nominal duty of ls. He was anxious the House should
consider what might he the result of free trade with a
deficient harvest, when we might have to look to foreign
countries for, perhaps, one-third of our whole supplies.
Four-fifths of all our imports last year came from Euro-
pean ports, and let it once be known that we were wholly
dependent upon them for so large a proportion of the
food of our people, and they would take care that we
paid high enough for it.-(Hear, hear.) He would sug
gest that some alteration should be made in the mude of
taking the averages. The Hon. Gentleman concluded by
quoting a return, showing that under the sth and 6th of
Victoria, we imported in two years 400,000 qeaeters of
wheat wh ch paid 20s. duty. anti that the average price
must then have been about 50s. per quarter.
Mr. WILSON remarked that the Heti. Gentleman
who had just sat down had done him the honour to refer
to the opinion he had express, d in 1840 with respect to
a 525. average as the average price for seven years pre-
ceding. Now, it would net have been fair in 1835 to
have quoted the price of that year as an average. Lt
the year 1835, the price of wheat was under 40e.. for 36
weeks, and the average price of wheat under 40s ire
1849, was but for 16 weeks. The present dine must,
however, be considered an exceptional period, and the
price of corn for the last few months could not be, there-
fore, taken as the probable average price for any length-
ened space. The Hon. Gentleman had quoted from
several letters to prove that the price of corn ranged
lower now than at any period pro ceding; hut he (Mr.
Wilson) had also letters in hie possession which show. d
that in every great market on the continent of Europe
the price of wheat had risen within the lest tertnight from
ls. to 2s. 6d. It was, however, a remarkeble cireum-
stance that the Honourable Gentlemen had quoted prin-
cipally f. om letters dated the 9th of April-trom none
later than the 15,.h. Then, with respect to home
prices, the authorities and quotations of the lien.
Gentleman were at least three weeks old. lie (Mr.
Wilson) held in his hand a return received that day
from some of the largest markets in the kingdom for
the last four weeks, and tiey showed a different result.
At Canterbury, for instance, four wi eke since wheat ivies
38e. 7d.: last week, heweter, it was 40s the quarter.
At Lincoln, four weeks ago, it was 375., while last week
it was 39a. Bd.; and he had in his possession a letter from
a large grower in Berkshire, in which it was siat al that
a fortnight previously the writer could get no more than,
400. for his best wheat, whereas last week he easily oh-