The Sun.
London, England, 1828-04-01 00:00:00

the louse would not grant any indemnity or protHiott to
those who retailed wines on their premises without a

TEST AND CORPORATION ACTS.

Lora JOHN HAY presented a petition from Edinburgh
against the Test end Corporation Acts.
Mr. INGLEBY promoted a petition to the saws abet
from the inhabitants of Pinuiduy.
TITHE COMMUTATION BILL.
Lord PALMERSTON prmentod a petition from the
Chancellor, &c. of lite University of Cambridge, on the
subject of the Tithe Commutation BilL
COMMITTEE OF SUPPLY.
The CHANCELLOR of the 11/aCHEQUER moved the
Osier of the Day Cr the Hones going into a Committee of
Supply, and mid that he should not do so on an evening when
an :mportant debars sou expected, but that the sum- of
100,0001. was immediately required for civil contingencies.
The House then resolved itself into a Committee, and
after a few words from Mr. Mums, the vote was agreed
to, and the House returned.
THE CORN LAWS.

Oa the motion of Mr. C. GRAN the order of the
jay for the House resolving itself into a Committee of
the Whole House, to take into consideration the subject
of the Corn Laws, was read and agreed to, and the
House hiring accordingly resolved itself binto the said
Committee,
Mr. C. GRANT rose, and spoke to the following effect :
Sir, in rising now, in discharge of my duty, to move the
resolutions respecting the Corn Laws, of which I gave no-
tice on a former day, I feel it necessary, in the first place,
to return my grateful thanks to the House for the indul-
gence it so kindly extended, in consenting to the post-
ponement to this day of those Resolutions, in consequence
of my indisposition; and, at the same time, I assure the
,House that the sense of it can never be erased from my re-
4ollection. In now rising to address the House, I feel I
ishrdl have need again to solicit their indulgence while I
enter upon a subject of such great importance—a question
surrounded with fears partly just and partly exaggerated—
a question surrounded, too, with errors and prejudices,
founded upon fallacious and mistaken views of a practi-
cal measure. If called upon as lam to enter upon the
_ _

great qiestion of the Corn Laws, I feel it to be still more
incumbent on me to solicit the indulgence of the House ;
Fortunately for me, however, and fortunately for the
"House, I feel relieved in a great measure from the
neeeasity for going into a long and minute detail ;
for I cannot forget that but a very few months have
elapsed since this subject was under the con Aeration of the
House, introduced by Mr. Canning, whe r it underwent
esoleinu and repeated discussion, and that the House had
expreeseal upon it a grave and da,liberate pinion—at least
upon the great and leading principle on le hiththey deemed
it necessary forthwith to legislate upon .he Corn Laws--
that principle, which the House so adopted—that principle,
which this House then sanctioned—that principle, which
went to declare that the regulations respecting the trade is
corn should no longer remain undefined and uncertain, but
reduced to at defined, an ascertained, and a limited system
of law. Towards the close of the last Session of Parlia-
ment, it was proposed by his Majesty's Government, in a
Bill then introduced, to modify the Acts of 1815, and
1022, which was resister, upon the ground that the House
ought not to lend its sanction to a measure amounting to
completeprohibition of foreign importation. In consequence
of that resistance that Bill was withdrawn. Nearer to the
close of that Session, Mr. Canning declared it to be his in,
tention to introduee this year a Bill, founded en the same
principle as that of the Bill which had just been thrown
o it, but with such Modifications as altered circumstances
srid other considerations were, in his mind, necessary to
ensure its adoption by Parliament. What those modifica-
tions were to have been, it is impossible now to ascertain—
but doubtless they related to some additional protection to
be given to the home producer, while tkey at the same time
bore steadily in view the interest of the consumer. I feel cow-
pelted to believe that such would have been the principle of
those modifications, not because, abstractedly thinking, Mr.
Canning would have felt that they were required in strict
stashes, but that, as a practical Statesman, he was bound
so look—and I tun sure he did look—at the practical re-
sult. He was bound to consider—and he did lam sure
consider—that he was in fact arbitrating between two par-
ties—and that his principal object, us it was also his
greatest difficulty—was to diacover and adopt that prin-
ciple beat calculated to satisfy both parties. I call upon
the House to concur in that principle of Mr. Canning—l
call upon every Hon. Gentleman who supported that priti-
iiiple on former oemaions—l call upon every friend of Mr.
Calming, in this House; to consent to and concur in those
podifieetiona, which, in the same spirit, lam about to
hove the honour of submitting- to the House. In this
state the queetion now stands. We are obout to take up
that which was left by Mr. Canning—we arg about to
open tr.,: volume at the page which was doubled down by
Mr. Canni:f. lam about to propose, and I trust this
House to adopt., Mr. Canning's modifications of the existing
Corn Laws, with sti..ch additions as the pireumstances which
ilave since arisen demand.—(Hear, hear.)—We find that
the existing system of Corn Laws, founded on the Acts of
1815 and 1822, has failed, and failed too because of the va-
rious fluctuations to which it necessarily gave rise. We find
the country agitated and harassed from one end to the other
at the present moment upon that very account. Every year has
seen some temporising ect introduced into this House. At
one time the Warehoused Corn Bill was brought in—at
another an Act was passed which armed Government
with power to admit into home consumption 400,000 qrs.
of foreign grain—another gave pertnissusa to grind the
foreign corn theta in bond—and various other isicamelu-
ssive,measures were passed ; measures, the only effects of
which were renewed discussions and agitation on this
great question—the consequesuses of which were, to keep
the gent interests of the country in a state of fever
and alarm.--(Hear, hear.) All the ,treaties for sale and
purchase of lands-aoall the transfers—all the eontracts be-
tween landlord and teennt, were, by these means, kept in a
state of agitation and sapetnie.—(Hear.) I hope the
House is prepared to terminaio this injurious state of
things. It is, in my mind, the i..!,tY of this House,
for that purpose, and with that view, to ,lcclare either
that the two Acts of 1815 and 1822, are to be orbeld
and to constitute the future system for regulating the
trade in corn, or agree to a measure for finally adjusting
the question, and so terminate those uncertainties which
agitate the country. s Influenced by these considerations, I
feel it to be any duty to submit to this House the resolu-
tions, with the proposing of which I mean to conclude. If
Moen could have formed an adequate excuse for still further
poetponing the performance of that duty, I could have
very truly pleaded, and availed myself of it, to avoid, at
the present moment, occupying the attention of the House ;
bet the irnportatusse of the subject—the state of the country
--the welfare and the interests of the parties more
isliately to be affected by it—all pressed upon me with so
much force that I could no loner defer, even at some per-
sorial iticonoeszience, the perfot mance of that which became
an imperative duty. lii forming my determination to
bring the subject immediately before this Hosase, I was sup-
ported by one consideration—l thought that if Mr. Canning,
at the close of last Seseioo of Parliament, felt that boxy
modification in the Bill of that year was necessary, be
would, had he heard and witneseol all that has since oc-
curs-ed bearing upon the question, have at once concurred
in my proposed Resolutions. On this suNaet o partial
Bill was introduced into the other House of Parliament,
a certain scale of duties. During the
contemplating
debates on that mature, it was predicted by those who
opposed the Bill, that it would be productive of extensive
injury to British aviculture, if Foreign Corn should be
p
admitted into home ,ronsumtion even at heavy duties ;
and by others, that the proposed scale of dutiea was so
high, that under it no force' grain whatever could find its
way into our market. The Basle predictions are now re-
peated, but I, for one, am disposed to place as little faith
in the predictions of the present day
.as I was in those of
last year. I think that the ilepression which has taken
Place in the price of British Corn since that peried, 'night
be explained by other circumstances than those relied ott
by one class of opponents of the measure. The
quality, as well es the quantity, of our last year's
harvest—the quality mad the quantity of that of foreto
growth—ought to be tassidered. But what it becomes
the duty of the Howie more particularly to see and consider
is, the effect of those two facts inkroducing that result.—
It cannot be denied (mid an insporteut f4ct it is) that a
very considerable quantity of foreign grins?, at Wah duties,
was admitted into home consumption, n ,
otwitustanding the
predictions
to which I have referred. It is a fact, under
duties of 225. Bd. per quarter, and
ott per quarter,
in the months of July and August htst, no less a [quantity
than ,500,000 quarters of foreign wheat
issued
into the
market ;at 'a period when it had been said that no foreign
corn could Le entered. What use do I make
of that fact
Merely to tell those who speculate, and who predict, that
this has occurred in opposition to the calculations which
they had made, founded upon the operations of the law
that they then opposed. On this subject I retain my oni_
nions of last year. On the tote grounds that I aPProi:ed
of the measure of last Session, 1 tsetst come forward to ad-
vocate its principle. It would be itodonbtedly very de-
lightful to carry at all times just principles ipo effect; but
it is impossible to carry unbending maxims into eteeution
'without reference to demands of a oniplex anti artificial
system when it shall be found to exist. The principles
which I last year entertained on this question, and to the
expression of which I then gave utterance, I atilt retain ;