The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-20 00:00:00

Aeration for the abolition of the corn-laws. To do this
evil that good may come of it seems to us as little
corismzit with prudence as with sound morality. The
mischief Nfohid 1)e certain, but not so sure the expected
remedy.
And what right has a legislator to take from the poor
operatives a sixth of their little incomes, and from the mill--
owners the same portion of their profits, that through their
sufferings a certain reform may be brought about ? Other
supporters of Lord Ashley's proposal believe, or pretend, that
the work-people would not be the losers by it, that wages
would not be reduced ; but Mr. Ilawes does not countenance
the delusion which induces the operatives to pray for re-
strictions, and he would find few indeed of the youngest and
least reflecting among them to consent to his scheme for
bringing about the abolition of the corn-laws by cutting off
a sixth of their wages.
Lord Howick, who is always consistent, as he proposes to
diminish the production of our cotton mills, endeavours to
reconcile us to such a result by showing that it would not
materially affect our foreign trade. The rise in the price
of the article his Lordship thinks of little consequence, as
" Any practical merchant would tell them that, if a cargo
of cotton goods was sent to Ric, it was not the price which,
determined whether the speculation would be a profitable
or a losing one. if he was forced to pay a heavy premium
for a bill of exchange, the consignment might be a losing
business ; whereas, if he paid a lees premium, and received
only the same price for his goods, the speculation might be a
profitable one."
It would.be well for Lord Howick to bring this doctrine to
the test of experiment. Let him, for example, send a cargo
of British brandy to Bordeaux, or a consignment of velvet to
Lyons, and upon such ventures he will ascertain whether the
premium of exchange is the main element or a very secondary
one in the profits of foreign trade. If we send a dearer article
to a foreign mai.% it is the same thing as sending one not
in demand, and our coti.xt, raised in price, would be as much
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Lord Howick instructs us to look to imports only as the
essential of foreign trade.
In Swift's advice to servants the same economy is taught,
all the servants being admonished to swell the bills in their
respective departments for their master's honour, the butler
to order in as much wine as possible, the cook as much meat,
the coachman the greatest possible quantity of hay and corn,
without troubling their heads about the payment.
A spendthrift, who must have had a glimpse of the same
principles, used to say that he reckoned his yearly. income by
casting up his bills. These were the imports, in his view,
payment for them the export, which he thought quite im-
material.

Carrying out the doctrine of Lord Howick to its extreme
conclusion, if, instead of reducing manufacturing production
a sixth, it were destroyed altogether, the foreign trade would
be nearly as prosperous as ever, or, to use his own word, the
inconvenience would be small.
We confess that we rather incline to the opinion of Sir R.
Peel, that importation and exportation are of equal import-
ance, and that we cannot receive commodities in our ports
without sending out something in payment of them, unless,
indeed, we adopt the economy of Swift's servants or the
spendthrift.