The Sun.
London, England, 1842-12-23 00:00:00

ra—c the landlords to unite with them, in giving graphs refer to subjects which we think are proper
at once that freedom to trade which must ulti- for the consideration of the LegiAature, and it
inately be given, because it is essential to the ought to attend to them.
prosperity and the peace of society. I The fourth head treats of a subject with which
As to the second question, our own opinion is legislation should not meddle. Whether a man I
clear, decided, and has been frequently expressed. i lets his land to-tenants-at-will, or by leases, is
We are for an immediate and total repeal, and no business of the law-maker. The owner of the
we are glad to see that converts to that opinion land is to have it in full property ; and, in ac-
are multiplying every day. We will quote, for cordance with the principle we have just laid
example, a part of a letter which has been ad- down, he may lease it in any manner he pleases.
dressed to the Scotsman by a Sussex farmer, sheep, The same observations apply to the fifth head.
and cattle dealer, the signature to which we be- Whether the rent be paid in money or grain,
lieve to be genuine, and the sentiments of which no more concerns the law-maker than whether
we know are entertained by the farmers of the the tailor pays the shoemaker with coats or with
South:— bank-notes. For the sake of clearness, and for
lam an English agriculturist who would have the sake of science, we are sorry that Mr. GREG
stuck like a rivet to any Corn-law that might have has not made the distinction we have pointed
worn the appearance of finality; but who, seeing that out, and has left it to be inferred by his remarks
no political party can maintain a law of protection as
that each and all of these defects may be, and
a final measure—seeing that sooner or later the Corn- ought to be, remedied by the act of the Legisla-
laws will be totally abolished—,l seek with the ut
most anxiety their total and immediate repeal. ture. We demur to such an inference, and have
And I ask for this after well considering the whole thought it necessary to draw attention to the dis-
-subject ; after hearing the opinions of many of our tinction, that we may not be thought wholly re-
leading farmers in the midland, southern, and western gardless of the rights of landowners.
counties of England, who agree with me in saying, At the same time, we must observe that their
" Either let us be protected, or let us know on what
claim to tax the public in order to keep up rent,
ground we are to stand and protect ourselves." Each
gives the public acomplete right to pry into their
week I meet two or three score of first-rate graziers
and cattle-dealers ; each quarter of the year I meet mode of managing their land. What should
several hundreds of leading graziers and corn-growers we care that the landowners chose to employ
from eight or ten of our agricultural counties; and half their estates in feeding partridges and hares,
during each of these periods I see many hundreds of and allowed the other half to be only half-tilled,
the smaller farmers of the same districts, all of whom that theymight have in the tenant-at- willa political
demand eithea to be protected by a permanent law, or
slave,
if we were not called upon to pay him for
to be at once freed from the destructive effects of end-
keeping his game and neglecting tillage ? It' we
less changes and insecurity. could buy our bread where we pleased, how he
The question of gradual abolition, I assure you, Mr.
Editor, and your north country readers, is never employed his land would be nothing to us. The
mooted in the south and west of England. We are, tax on bread, in order to raise rent, makes the
many of us, Conservatives in general politics. We landowner responsible to the public for the
opposed the Whigs and the eight shillings duty, be- manner in which he employs his land, and,
cause we knew they could not keep to it as a:final mea-
rightly
understood, reduces him, while he thinks
sure. We supported the Conservatives, and looked
he shows his power, to a state of slavery. Mr.
forward to Sir Robert Peel in the hope of permanent
maintenance of protection; but we now see that, as GREG says—
conflicting interests stand, Sir Robert Peel neither I have at this moment lying before me particulars
will nor can fulfil these former expectations. I meet of a large estate advertised for sale. The first farm
few men who are not convinced of this. Ask any hun- on the list consists of 244 acres, rent 2101. per annum;
dred of our south country farmers what, in the matter and the second, 239 acres, rent 2201. Both farms are
of the Corn-laws, they would like best, and ninety- within twenty-five miles of London, tithe free, and let
nine will answer—" A Corn-law not to be altered:' to yearly tenants ; and a note is attached to the de-
Ask, after this, what they prefer, when they see such scription of both, "an exceedingly low rent, in conse-
a Corn-law cannot be obtained; they will hold their quence of damage arising to the crops from the game
tongues. Ask if their total and immediate repeal is and rabbits.
not the best alternative ; you will find yourself landed The landlords must not attempt to " eat their cake
perchance, in' an argument on the supposed results of and have their cake," as the saying is. They must
total and immediate repeal: and, perhaps, you will not deny to a tenant the security of a lease, claim his
hear some doleful suppositions, likelihoods, doubts, vote at elections, keep a quarter of their estates in
and fears. But ask if the gradual abolition would be cover, permit their game to destroy his wheat and
preferable • and at once, from all, you hear a burst of turnips, and yet expect him to pay a full rent; nei-
" No, no; 'let us be protected in reality, or take away ther must they tax the community, by the creation of
that protection. If we are to die, let us die; but do a monopoly, to enable him to pay a full rent. They
not torture us with a slow death !" must choose between diminished income and dimi-
That comes from the same county where the nished privileges, and not attempt to keep up both at
Messrs. GORINGS have lately told the farmers the expense of the nation, by maintaining the
Corn-laws.
they must no longer rely on protection, which
The pamphlet, like all Mr. R. H. GREG'S pro-
is a strong presumption in favour of its accuracy.
ductions, is sensible and worth reading.
At the same time, it is a delightful proof of the
general spreading of enlightened opinions in
that part of the empire. The Duke of
Rlcu-
MOND, though he somewhat sulkily sticks to
protection, and tells his tenants not to alarm
themselves, but "wait and see if men proposed"
great changes, has not been able to stop the
march of opinion in Sussex, where a short crop
and low prices have made the mass of the agri-
culturists extremely uneasy, and anxious to be
no longer plagued with laws which mock them
by a promise of protection that is never realised.
Agreeing in many of the opinions of his Corres-
pondent, the Scotsman is now an advocate for as
total and immediate repeal. The Editor says—
Every farmer who expects to occupy his land for a
term of years, with or without a lease, must long for
protection against perpetual uncertainty. This he
can only receive from a final measure; and the
agriculturists themselves are now fast arriving at a
conviction, that no measure short of free trade can be
final. Every country gentleman who intends to buy
or sell an estate, must feel his situation as full of per-
plexity as that of the farmer who rents it. Let it be
kept in mind, that what is called " free trade" still
leaves the British corn-grower a protection equal to
the cost of importation, which averages ten shillings
per quarter, or more than twenty per cent. on the
present price of wheat. To this advantage many
others are added. His capital, skill, and machinery,
are vastly superior to those of the foreigner he has
better and cheaper means of transport, and he must
always have virtually a monopoly in the supply of
animal food.
When we thus find the opinion that the laws
should be totally and immediately repealed ra-
pidly gaining ground in the country, we only
feel the more confirmed in our views. If a law
were to be passed partially and gradually to re-
peal the existing law, there could be no guarantee
that the repeal law would not be itself repealed.
Nay, it is highly probable that the agriculturists,
who would suffer by the check given to enter-
prise till the end of the gradual change was
reached, would be the first and the most strenu-
ous to demand that repeal. We believe, too,
that they much over-rate the effects on prices of
a total and immediate repeal. If it be true, as
experience has proved, that the law has not kept
up the price to the expectations of the agricultu-
rists, it is also probable that abolishing the law
will not reduce the price as much as they fear.
They formed their opinion of the law, as Mr.
GREG has remarked, from what was intended by
the law-maker, 'not from the actual effect of the
law. Their present apprehension of the effects
of total repeal are more derived from their old
faith in the promises of the law, than from their
present conviction as to its performances. Theii
comparisons are all based on their habitual be-
lief that the law would give them 60s. or 655. a
quarter, not on the fact that it has only given
them 565. or less, and at present does not give
them above 475. We believe, therefore; that they
may dismiss all their fears of a great reduction
of prices from the abolition of the Corn-law, and
it' prices were to fall 5 or 10 percent., they would
be speedily compensated by the steadiness of the
price and the brisk demand.

A CONSERVATIVE FESTIVAL took place at Devon-
port on Tuesday. There were 540 gentlemen present,
including two Conservative Members for Devonshire,
in a Hall which the Chairman said he " defied the
world to equal." There was much self laudation
about the growth of Conservative principles, and the
increase of Conservatives, meaning, we presume, the
increase of those who now, as a principle, look to Sir
Robert Peel's Administration for admission to the
snug places which abound in the neighbouring Dock,
Ordnance, and Victualling yards. Amongst the
company there was a fair sprinkling of those who
are dependent on the Government, and without im-
peaching either the consistency or the principles of
the convives, we are afraid, contrary to the
opinion of the Chairman, who unfortunately alluded
to the subject, that the change of Ministry
has had considerable influence in causing the
increase of Conservatives in the borough of Devon-
port. The Chairman says it is so great, that the pre-
sent Members must look on the gathering as a notice
to quit and demean themselves accordingly. They,
however, will wisely wait and see which party is in
the ascendant at the next general election. They will
not assume that the boasting of their opponents is the
index to the number of their own friends, and they
will not retire because their enemies are tired of them.
INCOME-TAX.—The Town Council of Edinburgh
passed, on the 20th instant, a series of strong resolu-
tions against the Income-tax, by twenty votes to four.

Mr. It. H. GREG,
vitilsiequaio-tericinudlteufraetigoafbElengin
his exertions to improve -
land, has just sent forth a second pamphlet, pub-
lished The onfollowing"isScotch
InFarming
he England."
he gives of his views:—
The principal difficulties, then, in the way of the
of
general establishment an improved system of agri- I
culture in England, I conceive to be—.
1. The low state of intelligence amongst the Eng-
lish farmers and labourers, and the general ignorance
of landowners themselves on the science of agriculture,
and proper management of their estates.
2. The uncertain and divided ownership of land,
arising out of common and manorial rights.
3. The law of entail, by which no man owns his own
estate.
4. The prevalence of tenantepat-will, and unwil-
lingness of landowners to grant leases, and to resign
the incidental privileges of landed property.
5. The rents being paid in a fixed amount of money,
instead of a given quantity of produce.
Some of these points scarcely concern the
Legislature or the public, except as matters of
curiosity and information. They do not, we
think, fall within the scope of legislation. The
Legislature, for example, is itself much too igno-
rant to undertake the education of the farmers,
and that can only be improved by making them
aware of their deficiencies. It is ofno use setting
the blind to lead the blind. School education,
on which Mr. R. H. GREG relies very much, pre-
vails most extensively in Germany, without
making the people good agriculturists, or active,
energetic men. We listen, therefore, with some
repugnance to eulogiums on a State-given edu-
cation as a means of improving agriculture.
It is the business of the Legislature to take
care that the ownership of land shall be so regu-
lated that the land may be turned to the greatest
possible public advantage. It is bound, therefore,
to put an end to conflicting and uncertain rights,
and bound to guarantee to the present generation
as full a power over the soil as any of its pre-
decessors possessed ; or it is bound not to
give effect to entails,
tying up land by the
will of men long since

Every man should own his property fully and
completely, subiect to all public charges. No-
blemen and gentlemen !should be at liberty to
provide for their younger children, and at liberty
to improve their estates by selling any portion
of them. Every acre of the land of this country

has been bought over and over again; and it is
now a merchandise, the representative of money,
and it ought to be as freely bought and sold as

-*I, The second and third na