The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-30 00:00:00

have connexions who are dependent upon land, and
no doubt they will hesitate and doubt, and say if we
are injured in our owe property, if our connexions
are to be ruined, and the interests of the agricultural
labourer to be set aside and passed over, we don't
think that a repeal of the corn-laws would be so great
a boon as we have supposed. Now it is ix the
hope of dispelling such doubts, and inducing
you all to use every exertion to obtain a repeal of
the corn-laws, that I now take the liberty of address-
ing a few words to you.-(Cheers.) NOw were I to
go into the whole subject of agriculture, I fear it
would take up a great deal more of your time than I
have any right to expect from you; and therefore I
will only go into a very limited portion of the subject.
I will endeavour to show you what is the expense of
growing ik bushel of wheat; and I will from that prove
to you that it is impossible that any land can be
thrown out of cultivation. I have been for the last
eighteen years actively employed in agriculture in the
county of Gloucester, and I have held six different
farms within that period, in three different localities
of the county ; and thu instances which I intend to
adduce will be from that county. Now I will remind
you that this county contains large tracts of land of
allight`character, which our prophetic opponents say
will be-thrown out of cultivation if the corn-laws are
repealed. I recollect, in one of the debates upon the
proposition for a fixed duty on corn, brought forward
by Lord Melbourne's Government, Lord Winchilsea
saying, " if this proposition be passed, and a fixed duty
on corn established, all the Lincoln Heath will beithrown
out of cultivation." Now it is not necessary for me to
tell you that the Lincoln Heath and the Cotswold
Hills are almost identical in their nature, and are of
the same geographical formation. The Lincoln
Heath, however, is rather better cultivated than the
Cotswold Hills in Gloucestershire. Now, I propose
to read to you a few statements which I have received
from different farmers-most of them eminent
farmers-in that county. I asked them to send me
these statements of the growth of wheat, but I did not
tell them for what purpose I wanted them; and,
therefore, I do not think that I am at liberty to men-
tion their names without writing to them on the
subject.-(Hear, hear.) But I wished to have my
r statements above suspicion, and I did not, therefore,
tell these farmers why I wanted them to furnish me
with them. I propose, first, to read to you the ex-
penses of growing a bushel of wheat on my own
farm-for this reason-that I am not afraid
of having my own books looked into in order that the
cost of every thing may be seen, and because I can
undertake to prove that everything therein is per-
fectly correct.-(Cheers.) Having shown you this,
you will be then able to judge how far the statements
of the fartiaers tally with mine. If there should be no
very great discrepancy, I think we may assume that
there will be no very great error in my statements.
But it might perhaps be objected to these statements
that I ought to have taken the Whole of " the rota-
tion" into calculation, and have charged a share of the
" ameliorating" crops to the wheat crop. I have not
done s because if I had done so I should have had to
have altered the statements which were sent to me,
and I was very anxious that they should not be
touched with the slightest stroke of the pen,
but that they should ail appear before you as
they came from the farmers, fresh and unadulterated.
-(Loud Cheers.) In considering the question
I think we may fairly assume that the other crops,
such as barley and oats, can he grown at a profit with-
out wheat. If they cannot, then it proves that our
system of agriculture is extremely faulty, and that
the arrangements between landlord and tenant cannot
be quite as they ought to be. It is perfectly absurd to
suppose th it the profit of the wheat crop ought to go
to make up the loss in the other crops in rotation.
That would, if possibly, render the existing corn-laws
more absurd than they are at present.-(Cheers.)
Rut I will take an authority, not a had one, on
this subject -a.man, whom our opponents must allow
to be a very shrewd judge of this question. I mean
my friend, Mr. Gis'oJrne.-(Clieers,) I think you
had the pleasure of Ir:aring him the ether night.-
(Cheers.) There are few clearer-headed men in Eng-
land than he is.-(Cheers.) I remember hearing
him some years ago make a speech in Manchester
against the corn-laws, and amongst other reasons
which he adduced to prove that these laws are an in-
fliction on the country. he said it was very hard
upon him, for he had cultivate.' a quantity of hill-side
in Derbyshire, but he could not grow wheat upon it,
and he said " what a horrible shame it is that my
food should be taxed to benefit those who grow on
their land what I cannot grow on mine." I conclude,
therefore, that Mr. Gisborne could grow oats and
barley at a profit. I an afraid that I shall have to
read a few figures to you, but I will give only the re-
sults,, and hand the calculations to my friends of the
League to be properly printed. You have only to
show im?atience and I will stop.-(Cheers and
laughter.) I propos then, to read first, the cost of
growing 120 acres of shoat. The calculations are
reduced into bush As. I obtained these returns in
February last, never thinkinA of turning them to the
use lam now turning them to, how the expense of
cultivating, harvesting, and working 120 acres of
wheat on the Whitfield example farm-we had the
impudence to call it the example farm on account of
the system we employed upon it-the expenses of cul-
tivatingthese 120 acres were as follow :-186/- days of
a man and two horses working with " a cultivator,"
threshing, and winnowing comes to 931. 23. 6d. The
amount for ploughing and preparing the ground for
the seed and sowing 13 15s. 61. an acre; so that 173}
bushels would be 61. 145. 6d. Hoeing, 2s. 6d. an
acre ; cutting, stacking, &c:, the 120 acres, which
' was all done by task work, was Bs. an acre, being
altogether 481. Horse and cart to bring home the
produce, 45.6 d. per day ; all this would be 14s. 10d.
an acre. That is for the simple cultivation. In these
calculations we have put down 33 bushels as the pro-
duce of an acre, but the usual produce is 40 bushels.
We thought, however, that we would put it so low,
supposing that bad harvests might come. This sum,
then, amounts to 545. 6d. an acre, or is. 'lid. a bushel.
Half the manure of last ear's crops will be 50s. an
acre, or Is. 6d. per btishel. The land, in-
cluding tithes and other taxes, 50s. an acre, or ls.
6d. per bushel, being a total of 4s. 7id.
per bushel. But the wheat crop having bought its
manure, has a right also to sell its straw, and we have
given some credit for that.--(Hear, hear.) We have
calculated that we should grow a ton and a half of
straw, which would sell at 30s. a ton ; in fact
I have just valued to an incoming tenant
the straw at 30s. a ton.
.But, however,
we have put the ton and a half of straw down at 355.,
and that will reduce the amount, in the thirty-three
bushels to 3s. 6d. The capital invested in the farm
is 151. an acre, and therefore you will see that if the
price of a bushel of wheat should exceed by one
shilling the sum of 3s. 6d., it will give 10 1-7ths per
cent. on the capital invested.-(Cheers.) But if the
price be ss. 6d. per bushel, or 445. per quarter, which
as. 3s. less than in the Channel Islands, that would
give 20 2-7ths per cent. on the capital invested.
Not a bad profit, that.- (Cheers.) But now lot us
go on a little further, and see what the per centage is
at the present price of corn, and we will suppose the
price of corn to be 565. the quarter-the last corn I
sold was 595.-but suppose it to be 565. a quarter,
that gives a return of 35 per cent. on the capital in-
vested.-(Cheers.) This farm gives a return of 171
per cent. on the capital expended on the whole farm
for wheat crops. I will now take the expense of an
acre of wheat on a farm on the Cotswold Hills, on
two-years old seeds :-
Two years' rent at 259. per acre
Rates for two years 5 9

2 15 9
Ploughing, harrowing, and drilling 1 0 0
Seed, two and a half bushels at 7s. 8d lB 9
Bird keeping and hoeing 5 0
Reaping and harvesting
Threshing, winnowing, staking out at Bd. per
bushel, allowing thirty bushels per acre on
the average
Wear and tear

1 0 0
3 0

6 17 6

Deduct value of straw at 80s. per acre, the
value to consume ou the premises

£5 7 6

Whieli amounts to 3s. 6d., per bushel.
The capital invested in such land is about

101. per acre.
Every sixpence in price per bushel above the sum
of 3s. 6d. is. 7- per cent. upon the capital of 101. in-
vested. Suppose the price of wheat to be ss. 6d. per
bushel (note, that is 3s. per quarter less than the
price in the Channel Islands on the average of the
last seven years), or 445. per quarter ; that amounts
to 30s. per cent. on the invested capital, or take the
present price of wheat at 7s. per bushel, or 565. per
quarter, there is a return of 52/ per cwt. Suppose
this land to be cultivated upon the five course
system, it gives 10/ per cent. on the whole capital
employed on the whole farm. I will now
take the return of another person, which
gives the outlay on an acre of wheat, on two year old
seeds; rent of land in fil.t neighbourhood of Stu& and
Northleach, from 15s. to, 205. per acre ; average
17s. 6d. :

Two years' rent • £1 15 0
Two years poor, church, and road rates . 0 6 0

Ploughing, harrowing, and drilling - 2 1 9
2i bushels of sea.l wheat, nt is 1 0 0
0 .7 6
Bard-keeping
rd-keeping and hoeing 0 5 0
Reaping and harvesting, including carting,
•0 15 0
at:eking, thatching, & .
Threshing, winnowing, fetching into barn, and
delivering, at Si. per bushel, 20 bushels per
acreon average .................
Wearand tear. .................

0 13 4
0 3 a

5 14 10

Deduct value of straw, at 255., or 4s. 6d per
bushel

1 5 0

£4 9 10