The Sun.
London, England, 1826-05-11 00:00:00

. _
[Continued from our paper of Thursday.)
My efforts to make computations of the cost price of wheat
were as little satisfactory to iuyseif in Poland as In Pruagia. The
same difficulties, presented themselves, and the same doubtait-
tach to every attempt at accuracy. As may be seen by'the estate
at Pulaway, in the province of Lublin, the book-keeping on the
large estates is well conducted, but not in such a manner as to
distinguish, the cost of one kind of corn from that of another, or
even to distinguish the cost of all the corn from that of the ge-
neral mass of productions. Any calculation in Poland, as in
other countries, can be but at approximation to accuracy, and
lutist be received with hesitation, however high may be the au-
thority, or.however abundant the means of information, of the
'persons malting it. In a conversation with Count Mostaski, the
enlightened Minister of Finance, whilst viewing his farm near
Warsaw, he stated, as the result of his calculations, that the cost
price in that neighbourhood wa.s double as much as it was selling
for at that time, which Iv-as indeed ateousiderably list than le:If
of the average price it hatrtkrne-in past periods for a series of
years ; that during those periods the benefit on its cultivation had
been somewhat, less than the profit on the other brandies of in-
' dustry ; or that, in the double capacity of landlord and farmer,
the annual'gain to the cultivator had, not been equal to that
derived from the same amount of capital employed
in any other
way.
On referring to the prices of Warsaw (see. Appendix, No. 21
and 22), it will be seen, that fora period of 24 years, from June,
1798, to June, 1820, the average of the period was 88s. per
quarter; and that in the ten years. from 1815 to 1824, it was
Sla. The price, at the time of my visit to this gentleman, was
14s. 9d. The tables will chow that the fluctuations in the price
of wheat during the longest period have had much narrower
limits than have been experienced in the other markets'neiirer the
sea shore.

It is highly improbable, that if the cost price of wheat had not
been tolerably near to the welling price, efforts would not have
been strenuously directed to augment the growth of it,,aod that
the quantity raised would not have been regularly increasing,: but
this iv so far front having been the case, that only so long as the
,price was SO,. or upwards, was the production kept up to the re-
gular standard; and that when it fell but a few shillingc below
that price, the quantity sent to market diminished, anti remarkably
so, since the declension has gone on increasing till it has reached
the present very ruinous limits.
The view taken by Count Itlostoski was confirmed also by
Prince Lubetski, another of the Mittistenli• who is a cultivator of
hie own estates, and has officially paid attention to a subject,
which Juts become of the highest importance to every public officer
and every landed proprietor.
It is worthy of remark, that the present burdens on the land
are quite as great as existed during any period of the 24 years'
whose prices are quoted ; and that the heaviest of these burdens,
the tenth Groshen tax, was not collected is the earlier years of
the series. It was originally a war tax,, but (as before stated)
has been continued through the ten years that have passed since
the peace was concluded. The expenses of cultivation have been,
undoubtedly somewhat reduced with the reducticn of the selling
prices of the produce ; thus the cost of seed, and of the food of
working cattle, if valued by money, would appear to be less, but
they can scarcely affect the cultivator, who raises them and con-
sumes them, as he only can derive a profit or incur a loss accord-
ing to the high or low .price of that surplus quantity which he
'sells at .market.

I am disposed, under all circumstances of the cave, to pay much
attention to the estimations I have related, Which were also cor-
roborated by the opinions of most of the cultivators with whom I
conversed. With as much confidence as win be felt on a subject
which no investigation could have made very clear, I should sup-
pose thecost of wheatin the province or Alastiovii to have been
nearly between 275. and 295. the quarter fin- the last SO years.
Assuming that the cost price of wheat was at the medium, be-
tween the points to which In its fluctuationN it had approached,
we may calculate the cost in England thus :

Cost of.the quarter of wheat at 'Warsaw
Conveyance to the boats, Anil charges fur Jostling
and atowiug, and security, by mats Li 6
Freight to Dantzie - 0
Loss on the passage, by pilfering, and by rain
causing it to grow - - - -
Expellees at Dantsio, in turning, drying, screen-
ing, and warehousing, and loss of measure -
Profit or commission, /lathe case nif.y,*, to the
merchant at Dantzic - - - -
Freight, primage, insurance, and ,shipping
charges, at Dsnttle and in London

U. a.
MO 0

8 0

2 0

1 6

8 0

48 0
In ascending the Vistula beyond Warsaw, as the quality of the
grain improves, the expenses on the conveyance of it to the
mouths of that river increase also.
I could have wished at Cracow to have obtained the prices for a
longer aeries of years, than are to he found in the Appendix, No. 28.
Before the times with which that,pccount begins,
that part of Po-
land had used as the medium of exchange the depreciated paper-
nioney of Austria; and I.had no Beale by which to measure the
variations at different periods between that currency and thesilver
money,. which leas been_sinee the sole medium for the exchange of
connitodities. An account, therefore, for an earlier series of years
would have produced only perplexity and uncertainty; the verbal
information I obtained was, in general terms, that there had been
no fluctuations in the price of corn before the return of peace,
nearly approaching to those which have been experianced since
that event. I was told by one merchant that the price for many
years of the war had generallY been between 245. and 26* per
quarter, if the paper-money had been valued according to the.pro-
portion which it bore to silver money at the several periods of its
depreciation.

The account obtained at Cracow (see Appendix, No. 22.)
shows that for ten years, and two half years, the average price of
wheat was 255. Id., though between the first and list part of that
period the difference is .enormous ; the first part showing an ave-
rage of 88a., and the last of Only 17s. sd. If the mean of those
two parts be taken, it will show 255., which neailY co""Pmulg
with the information of the merchant before referred to.
If, in the absence ofbetter data it be assumed that the selling
price of wheat near Cracow has been for a Series of years at 255.,
and that the grower's profit has been ten per cent., and the cost
price thus taken at 225. 6d., the rate at which it would reach
this country may be thus estimated:—

0. a.

Cost of wheat at Cracow
Conveyance to boats, loading, &c.
Freight to Dantsid - -
Loss by pilfering, and damage from wet
&peaces at Dantzic, as in the fencer estimate
Profit or commission, as before - -
Freight, &c. to Londun - - -

z. 22 6
0 6
7 6
8 6
2 0
1 6
8 0

45 6
Some allowance should be made for risk beyond insurance, as
corn is covered by the underwriters only in the stranding of the
ship, and in the loss which may be to be paid when there is a
general average. In both the statements of the expences of con-
veyance, the rate of freight on the river Vistula to Dantzic, as
well as that by sea from!Datitzic to London, is stated at the pre-
sent price, when there are scarcely any operations of that kind
carrying on. During the demand of 1802, 1808, and 1804, and
in 1817, I have been told the freight from beyond Warsaw was
10i. per quarter, and that froth Dantzic to Lcouton was, includ-
ing primage and insurance, from Ils. Bd. to 12s.
If from any circumstances a demand should be created for 'as !
Much Wheat as is consumed in England in six days, it would
raise the price of freightage on the river probably SO or 40 per
cent., and half of that 'proportion in the sea freight from Dant-
zic to this country. If that demand should extend to 12 days'
supply; it would exhaust the whole stock of wheat fit for our
market, and cause it to advance in a much greater degree than
the shipping of such a limited quantity in any former period has
witnessed.

In stating the several expenc incurred in the conveyance of
wheat from Warsaw to Dautzie at 1011. 6d. per quarter, and
from Cracow to Dantzic at ISs. 6d. per quarter, it seems that