The Sun.
London, England, 1845-06-11 00:00:00

T

the remarks which had just been made. In 1815 they had
refused to admit American corn into this country, but at that
time there were no manufactures in America, and now those
manufactures formed a great staple produce of that country.
He need not, however, dilate on that point, for his Hon. Friend
had gone so fully and completely into that part of the subject,
that it was unnecessary for him to say anything, for he had fur-
nished a complete set of data to the Government. The Hon.
Member for Wolverhampton had said that since the introduction
of the poor-law no person in this country had been starved. But
in Scotland there were many places in the agricultural districts
among the Highlands, especially where there were many per-
sons who, chiefly from their inability to get work, were unable
to employ their natural energies, and never earned more than
25. or 3s. a week in the course of a year, hut were supported
almost entirely by their neighbours, and were, in fact,
neither more nor less than actual paupers. This he
believed was to be chiefly ascribed to the operation of
the corn-laws. In Scotland the greatest portion of the land
was let upon lease, and the farmer had therefore some oppor-
tunity of reaping the reward of his exertions. The conse-
quence was that land was nowhere more improved than it
was in that country ; indeed, the improvement had been
carried to a much greater extent than it was in England. In
his opinion this was not a farmer's question at all, for it was
simply a matter of consideration as to how the improvement
could be effected. All that was wanted was increase in the
quantity supplied to the public. This improvement, whether
speaking commercially or agriculturally, was sure to be a slow
matter. Land had been let at its highest value, and when crops
fell 6s. or Bs. a load, all the farmers had to do was to pay as
long as they could, and when they ceased paying the evil would
quickly rectify itself. The landlords were the parties chiefly
interested, and he believed that they desired an alteration, and
the sooner that alteration was made, in his opinion, the better.
The Right Hon. Baronet at the head of the Government
was evidently a free trader in the proper sense of the word.
He rejoiced at it ; and he only wished that he would come out
to the fullest extent, and urant the country all it had a right to
expect from him. The Noble Lord the Member for London
(Lord J: Russell) was an out-and-out free-trader in language
and expression, but when he came to acts all his free-
trading seemed to evaporate. But he would tell the Noble
Lord that when he expressed his opinion, and said that protec-
tion was the bane of agriculture, the country would expect
something more than mere words of him, if he desired to con-
tinue the leader of the Liberal party. With these few words,
he should, with great pleasure, second the motion of his Hon.
Friend.

Mr. CHRISTOPHER, in rising to oppose the motion of '
the Hon. Member opposite, was glad to observe that it was
brought forward with better taste and with less of vituperation
than it was last year or in former years. The tone, he sup-
posed, had been modified in the hope that be was more likely to
succeed with that side of the House, but he trusted that the
House would not accede to the proposal. When the system of
import duties was first introduced into this country, the same
restriction had been put on corn as on all other articles, and
no other. In the present state of prosperity, and after the
abundant harvests which we had lately enjoyed, all the articles
of food could be supplied to the consumer on reasonable terms.
Ihe profits of the masters in the manufacturing districts had
for some time pest been exceedingly good, and he hoped to
hear from some of the Gentlemen who professed, like the Hon.
Member who introduced this motion, to be great friends of the
working population, he hoped to hear them say that the wages
of the workmen had been equally improved, and they would
'lot then, he was sure, ever think of complaining of the corn-
law. The House had not had numerous petitions, com-
plaining of the high price of food, and he be- '
lieved that if the industrial classes were deliberately asked
their opinions they would say, that they would rather that '
things remained as they were. One of the objects of the Right
Hon. Baronet at the Head of the Government, in introducing
the Corn Bill, had been to provide that when, in consequence
of good harvests, there was abundance of food in the country,
the producer should obtain a reasonable remuneration for his
exertions and capital; and when, from other causes, there
was a scarcity, to permit corn to come into the country at
such a price as would enable the lower classes to obtain a suffi-
ciency at a moderate rate. Another object had been to pre-
vent fluctuations in price ; and certainly the fluctuations had
never been so little under any other Corn Bill. The present
corn-law was passed in 1842, but it could scarcely be said to
come into operation in the following year, for so great had
been the alarm about it, that it had entirely failed of its influ-
ence. But in the following year it did come into operation,
and on the 17th of August, 1843, which was the time when
the field operations were actively followed, and which was
always a dear time for agricultural produce, the price of wheat
was 61s. 2d. a quarter, while in the week ending on the
15th of April in the same year, it was 455. 2d. In 1844, corn
was at the highest in March, and was 565. 3d., and at the
lowest in December, when it was 455. Id. The highest price
during tl.e present year was 48s. 3d., and the lowest 455., so
that the fluctuation had been most moderate. The Honour-
able Member for Wolverhampton (Mr. Villiers) had ex-
pressed an opinion that the abrogation of the corn-laws would
not affect wages. But when he ( Mr. Christopher) saw that
there were something like 20,000,000 of quarters required for
this country,and reflected that halt that quantity might be intro-
duced from foreign countries, he could not but believe that it
would displace half the labour of this country, and as the demand
for labour was, in most cases, the rule of its payment, the
price of it must evidently he reduced. Great complaint had
been made that in Wilts, and other parts of the country, the
wages of the agricultural labourer were no more than is. or Bs.
a week, but the wages in the great corn countries was only
from 2s. 6d. to 3s a week. He had travelled through those
countries, in order to make himself personally acquainted
with them, and he could testify to the fact ; and he
could not therefore but believe that either the wages of the
English labourer would be reduced to 2s. or 3s. a week. or
as was more probable he would be displaced altogether. The
labourer would be broil s,ht into competition with the labourer
of another country, and he must suffer for it. He had heard a
great deal of free trade as an abstract principle, and he believed
that, if it could be established, free trade would be a very
rood thing—if there could be a perfect reciprocity between the
different countries—it would be most desirable, and the tariff
had been made out in order, so far as it could be met, to meet
the case of the manufacturers, but it had proved a failure, as all
such attempts would prove, for it had invariably happened that
no sooner was any relaxation made in the duties on goods im-
ported into this country than it was met by some restriction on
the introduction of our manefactures into foreign ports. The
Hon. Gentleman who had introduced the question stated that
under any circumstances a corn-law could be introduced
which would at once settle the country. But the House
would remember that the price of corn would depend upon the
supply of that article.—( Hear.) When they had abundant
harvests, then prices were low, and it was in fact the same
way with everything else. It was admitted by the Members
of the Legislature, and indeed by the greater proportion of the
manufacturers (although it was true enough that the Hon.
Members for Durham and Stockport thought otherwise) of the
country, that considering their relations with foreign countries
it was but reasonable that the agriculturists should have some
protection given them, which they (the manufacturers) had
not, or at least that the protection given them should be placed
on a higher footing than that accorded to the inannfacturers.
The latter had the remedy in their own hands, for if they found
" a glut" in the market they had nothing to do but to shut up
their cotton-mills, and at once to throw their unemployed hands,
upon the agriculturists.—( Hear, hear, and ironical chee"..ine
from the Opposition.) Under those circumstances hes ton"-
tended that protection to these two classes must e,jffp.r very
widely, if not in character, at least in degree. -11, ( Mr.
Christopher) could promise, on the part of deo landlords of
England, that whenever they or the agricultrerea labourers were
convinced that the words of the Heoo'arable Gentleman
who introduced the subject were eeserect, and that this
was really what he stated it, a lar,:xie.,rdis question—whenever
he could convince them of th,„e„, then he could assure that
Hon. Member no further oerinsition would be offered on their
part to this measure. Psiet ne would ask the Hon. Gentleman,
if there had been any, indications that the people of this country
were not as anxi
the landlords t ',us that agriculture should be protected, as
terenselves ? Certainly no such indications had
been exhib,:ea Much stress had been laid on the feet, that
earts of England were unleased, and therefore badly
eulli.eated. Now, he resided in a part of the country where
..o leases was the rule, and leases were the exception ; and he
could assure the House, that as much, and in many instances
more, had been taken from those lands, than from those which
had the benefit of leases. But the Hon. Gentleman had also I
said that the present corn-laws were apt to m Ike the farmers
careless and idle. It was true, that the industry of the manu-
facturers in England had been in most instances blessed with a
competence. But let the House conceive a yeoman of Lan-
cashire giving each of his family 4,0001., and one of them in-
vesting his portion in some of the speculations of Lanca-
shire, and it turning out a fortunate investment,
eould it be denied that as much industry might
be evinced by other members of that family, who
had applied themselves solely to agriculture without ar-
' riving at the same result? He thought they coulsl not come to
the conclusion that the present corn-laws gave a monopoly into
the hands of the landowners ; on the contrary, he thought that
it was but fair that they should enjoy such a degree of pro-
tection as would place them in an equally advantageous
position as the manufacturing classes. On these grounds he
felt himself called on to reject the motion of the Hon. Member.
Gentlemen opposite spoke of class legislation. He did not see
that the present corn-law deserved the name, and he could not
help thinking that it was the duty of the Government and of
the House to apply their minds to this subject for the benefit
of all classes ; and he trusted that they would not entertain
this motion, for he could not h 1p believing that if they altered
the present law they would inflict an injury upon all classes of
the community which it might not be in their power afterwards
to remedy.
Mr. MITCHELL said that he conceived the alarm ex-
pressed by the Hon. Member who had spoken last altogether
uncalled for. He himself represented a manufacturing bo-
rough (Bridport) in the midst of an agricultural county, and
he could assure the Hon. Member that labour in that borough
was better paid than in any other part of that county. There
could be no question that some alteration in the state of the
law as regarded the importation of corn was required, for it
was a well-known and sufficiently-proved fact that, according
to the present population of the country, the country could not
grow half the quantity of wheat required for its consumption.
There were other reasons why wheat should be imported from
foreign countries —reasons which, in his opinion, had not been
sufficiently attended to. He meant the fact that the crops
had been deteriorated, and they all knew the miseries which
arose from whatl were called backward crops.—( Hear, hear)
Then they had to consider that even where the crop did, at the
beginning of a season, promise well, it was liable to be blighted
by many unforeseen circumstances. He could remember well
that in the year 1841 the crops had, after promising extremely
well, been almost wholly destroyed by heavy rains, and the
price, in consequence of the quantity, rose at least 14i. per
quarter. He did not think that protection was an advantage
to any interest, for the flax trade of Ireland furnished a proof
to the contrary; and if they could cope with Russia in flax, why
not in corn? They could not bring wheat into that country from
foreign countries under a cost of 143. or 15s. per quarter (he
meant that sum as including all contingent expenses), and
that, he thought, was a sufficient protection to the agricul-
turists of England. Corn was but a manufacture, like every-
thing else, and the sole reason why the
agriculturists had
hitherto required protection was, that they had not known
i;ow to grow it. And how was this ? Simply because they
did not apply to business.—( Laughter.) He (Mr. Mitchell)
had attended his counting-house for some seven or eight hours
a day since he had been eighteen years of age, and he had
done so because he tried to make himself master of his busi-
ness, for he knew that, if he neglected it, his business would
very soon neglect him.—( Great laughter.) Now, what was
the
case withwte sixteen;helandlords
th?en Theythey sent a
itnhee(iir
asto nos
xtfoordEttoi
till
until they were
twenty-one ; then (he was glad to say it was more fre-
quent in former times than at the present day) they
made the grand tour, and returned to London at
' twenty-five, when some time was necessarily consumed
accomplishlnents.—(Continuegd tier )—and other such necessary
ghter). He had made his
in learnine the Polka
duty the business of his life,and haeuthought that the landed in-
terest should do so also. But he would now put it to Hon.
and acknowledge to
Members opposite, and those on the benchesabedhind them, whe-
yixeosaerlit
ther they did not at that moment feel,
themselves that this was a measure which
other be passed, but that the best course they coulsr aet day or
pursue, was to oppose it as long as they could, and to
when they saw that opposition would no longer be of any use.
—( Hear and laughter). He could tell them that if they did
not now yield this measure with a good grace, the time would
come when they would be compelled to do so, as they had been
compelled to yield the Refo-m Bill and the Maynooth Bill_
(Laughter)—the latter of which was introduced by the Right
Honourable Baronet opposite in the shape of a threat
about a war in the West, which be conceived had nothing