The Sun.
London, England, 1842-02-15 00:00:00

Dr. BOWRING said he hoped he might be allowed to
. say a few words, as the Right Honourable Baronet opposite, in
bringing forward his Corn-law scheme, _ thought fit to
make use of some statements of his (sDr. Bowring's).
He could not agree, however, with the deductions drawn by
the Right Hon. Baronet from those documents of which he
made use, for though it should have proved that the people of
this country were in a better condition than those of a foreign
land, he (Dr. Bowring) did not see why the people 'of Eng-
land should continue in a state of wretched destitution ; for
after all, this and every law should be subject to one great
test, should, be constituted so as to produce happiness to the
' multitude—( Hear, he ar)—and if he could prove that this
law was pernicious to many, he thought he had
made out a
_great cause for a change.-Hear, hear.)
But the Right lion. Baronet omitted to quote many portions
of the Report which he had done him (Dr. Bowring) the ho-
nour to refer to. He (the Right Hon. Baronet) did not say that
there was a great improvement latterly in the condition of the
people of Prussia; and while the people here daily got worse
. and worse, and became more unfortunate, the situation of the
• Hople of Prussia was every day getting better. The Right
on. Baronet found a passage in which he gave some account,
furnished no doubt by the Prussian Government, of the con-
' sumption in Prussia of various articles of food, but there was
an enormous difforence in the eonsumption of different places,
as there was here in the consumption of different classes.
The average consumption of this country was greater than the
consumption on the Continent, but that of the working classes
here was less than elsewhere. The consumption of sugar and
other articles had doubled on the Continent since 1832 ; and
in many other articles there was a constant increase of con-
sumption in Prussia. The consumption of spirits was twice or
three times as great in Prussia as it. was in England, and the
consumption of vegetables was very much greater. There was
also much more money spent in Prussia than in this country in
books, and for purposes of instruction. Throughout Prussia,
he was bound to say, that the working classes seemed most
willing to lay aside portions of their earnings for their mental
improvement. The stock-framers of Saxony, he had rea-
son to know, from a communication he had received,
were a frugal and thrifty people, who were in general the
owners of the houses in which they lived. And he believed
that there were very few of the most industrious artisans in
this country of whom the same thing could be said. The
returns from different parts of the country were very varying
as to the amount of corn consumed. In London the con-
sumption of animal food was stated to be 107 lbs. per head,
and Lord Ashburton placed the average comsumption at more
than one 100 lbs., while he (Dr. Bowring) placed the average
of the entire country at no more than 501bs. An Hon. Part.
who had long been a member of that House, and who had
taken a great deal of pains to ascertain the consumption of
animal food in Coinwall, estimated it at 451bs. per head.
But in many of our workhouses the consumption was
greater than that. In the Hulks the consumption
of animal food was 31bs. Boz. per week ; and in one of our colo-
nies, Hobart Town, servants were allowed 101bs. 3oz. per
week.' Taking the whole population of this country to •be
26,000,000, and the average consumption to be 501bs. per annum,
4,000,000 might be supposed to be consumed by the opulent
and middle classes, thus leaving only 8,000,0001b5. for the
22,000,000 of the working class, or 241bs. per head, which was
undoubtedly less than the average consumption in the other
states of Europe. It appeared from documents he bad received
from tlje French Government that thd average consumption in
that country amounted to 20 killogrames, or 441bs. English,
while, in the city Gf Paris, the average consumption
amounted to 46 killogrames, or 1021bs. English. He had
reason to believe, from returns he had received from Belgium,
that the average consumption in that country amounted to
961b5., which was nearly double what he had ventured to state
as the average consumption here. In Belgium the army was
allowed 14 killogrames per week, or 2001bs. per year ; and the
navy, 2 killogrames per week, or 2`,281b5. per year. In voting
for the motion of the Noble Lord, he should be very much
grieved if it were supposed that he concurred in any argument
tavourable to a fixed duty upon corn.—( Hear, hear, hear.)
He believed that the time was when the fixed duty which the
Noble Lord had proposed would have been welcomed by the
public, who, he believed now repudiated it ; and he thought
the Hon. Member who had just spoken was perfectly right in
the lesson he had given the Noble Lord in respect to finality.
He believed that no settlement but a total repeal of the duty
upon food—(Lout cries of Hear, hear, from the Ministerial
benches)—would satisfy public opinion, or ensure the public
tranquillity. Some reference had been made to the effect of
of the sliding scale upon our relations with foreign countries ;
and the Right Hon. the Vice-President of the Board of Trade
stated that the United States were adjacent, and that the
Corn-laws did not operate on our relations with that country in
an unfriendly or pernicious way. But that could not certainly
be said in relation to more distant parts, such as Egypt or
Odessa. He held in his hand a letter from a merchant in Leg-
horn, which stated that speculations in corn Ns ith England were
so desperate or uncei min, that though wheat were 90s. a quarter
here, no prudent man would venture to embark corn for England.
Some eargoes had lately been embarked from Egypt, but the
speculation proved most disastrous to the adventurers. Egypt
might, however, be made the granary of the world if her trade
were properly encouraged. It appeared to him that the new
measure of the Right Hon. Baronet would be in effect more
stringent and despotic than the present ; and although
there were frauds under the existing aystem, these frauds
were in reality for the benefit of the consumer.—(Hear. )
Combination was easy; those who made the returns were not
under any very heavy responsibility, and public sympathy was
with them.—( Hear, hear.) Now, the returns were intended
to be accurate ; the duty of making them was entrusted to a
branch of the executive which was looked upon with dislike,
and which would perform the duty in a most stringent man-
ner. The addition of 150 towns must also tend to lower the
averages, and by so doing to increase the duty. The only
question the public asked was on what condition could the)
receive corn at a low duty ; and he would affirm, that undei
the proposed system, they could no; actually get corn imported
at so low a rate of duty as they would under the existing sys-
tem. Under the present law corn was actually admitted when
the real price was from 655. .to 665.: but under the proposed ,
plan it could not be admitted at the low duty until the price
had actually reached 735. He would refer to the documentr
before their House to show the amount of corn returned,. from
which the averages had been calculated, in order to show bon
small was the quantity returned from which the duty was calcula-
ted. In 1836, the year in which the largest quantity had been re-
turned for the calculation of the averages, the amount returned
was only 4,333,000 quarters, and in the year 107325, in
{which the least quantity had been returned, it amounted to
2,500,000 quarters. The average annual quatity 'by which
the amount of duty was regulated, did not exceed three and a
half million quarters. Under these circumstances he felt but
little anxiety respecting the amendment of the Honourable
Member for Linconhishire, and as far as he (Dr. Bowring)
was concerned, and there were many who thought
with him, the Right Honourable Baronet might make,
the Hon. Gentleman a present of the difference between the
20s. and the 255. The Right Hon. Baronet had stated that
that he thought 565. about the pivot price, but he was of
opinion that from 545. to 585., would be a proper remunera-
tion to the agriculturist. Now if that was the case, win.'
legitimate grounds could there be for making the price per-
manently 735. ?—( Hear, hear.) ( The Hon. Member her(
referred to some documents which he held in his hand, whet
some Hon. Member on the Ministerial side called out in
feigned voice, " aye, read," for which the Speake,
called the Honourable Member to order. This interruptiot
created some laughter on the Ministerial side of the House,
but was met by indignant cheers from the Opposition.) He
understood certainly, that in addressing the House, Member,
had a right to refer to documents.—(Cheers.) He was aware
that the House was disinclined to listen to statistical details, but in
treating of such a subject a reference to them was absolutel)
necessary. Mr. Meek had estimated that the whole of lb.
corn which could be exported from the corn-growing count, ies
of Europe to England would only amount to two and a hall
million quarters of wheat; and his (Dr. Bowring's) opinion,
was,, hat the whole world would scarcely furnish more
than double the quantity, and his perfect persuasion was, that
if trade was prosperous, and a free trade in corn permitted.
the whole of the additional quantity would be consumed, and
no less a quantity produced at home. Looking to the dimi-
nished importations of the different corn-growing countries of
Europe, and to the increase in our population, he feared rathet
that the time was not far distant when they might find it diffi-
cult to produce food for the people, than that we should b.
deluged with an over-supply. In many places there was a
growing indisposition to export corn. Many countrie,
had endeavoured to procure the partial opening cat
our ports to their corn, offering in return to receivt
our manufactures. They had been met with a refusal,
.not from any unwillsngness on the Fart of her Majesty':
late Government to promote the trade of the country, but be
cause they knew that such improvement could only be ob-
tained by asking the agricultural ifiterests to make sacrifices for
the benefit of the country, and that those sacrifices the aericul-
tural interest was not willing to make. With regard to the United
States, British manufacturers might supply the greater portion'
of the' United States. But he stated, on the authority of an
American gentleman, that the emigrants beyond the Alhe-
ganiiy mountains were becoming manufacturers. The United
States would have furnished a boundless field for the importa
tion of our manufactures, if we would have consented to an in-
terchange of commodities ; but by our Corn-laws we had forced
them to become our manufacturing rivils instead of our cus-
tomers. At the present moment the cotton manufacture of the
United States was one-fourth in extent compared with '
that of Great Britain. Emigration was reducing the
value of labour there, by adding to the population,
and the consequence was that, instead of increasing our com.
merce, we had forced those people to become our rivals, and
they were now driving us out of the markets. The Right Hon.
Baronet would excuse him for reading a passage from one of the
reports which the Right Hon. Gentleman, had done him the
honour to quote for the purpose of showing the operation of the
English Corn-laws on the agricultural interests of foreign
states.—( The Hon. Gentleman here read an extract from one
of his reports, for the purpose of showing all the
fluctuations ~iu the English Corn market were felt
with increased effect in the foreign Corn market,
producing a depreciation of price in the early part of the sea-
son, when the small cultivator was forced to bring his proc:uct•
to the market, while it added immensely both to the price ob-
tained by the wealthy proprietor or the speculative merchant,
who could afford to wait to take advantage of the inordinate
profits of an uncertain demand. That the English Corn-law also
deranged the whole monetary system of Europe in consequence
of the sudden:manner in which it interfered with:the exchanges. )
If they look to the history of past times they would find that
the increase of our manufactures had increased immensely the
value of land and the amount of rent. From 1697 to 1786
England was a corn exporting country. Then came a transi-
tion in which manufactures began to be introduced. In 1817

the importation had began, and had continued varying from
its lowest annual amount, 424,000 quarters in the year 1823
to its highest annual amount of 3,100,000 quarters in 1839,
making an average annual importation of 2,500,000 quarters.
At the period when corn was exported from this country, the
cost must have been on the average at least 6s. a quarter in this
country more than in the places to which it was exported. Now,
no one would estimate the difference since, at less than 6s. higher
in this" country than in those of the continent, which showed
an advantage in favour of the corn growers here, of -12 s. a
qua:ter at the least—(Hear, hear). No one would estimate
the quantity of corn grown yearly at less than 45,000,000
quarters. 1 his increased the value of the rental by 27,000,000/.
which gave to the owners of the fee simple, a gain of
810,000,0001., in the thirty years. But the land-
lord talked of the burdens the land had to
bear, as a reason of covering it with a protection which
was possessed no where else. lie hoped that the House would
have returns to illustrate that part of the question before the
conclusion of the debate. In Belgium the Budget last year was
3,500,060/., of which the land paid 1,363,0001., which is nearly
as much as the whole amount of the land tax in this countr—
( Hear.) In Prussia the direct taxes amounted to 6,700,001.,
of which the land contributed directly as was understood
nearly4,ooo,ooo/. In Austria thetaxes amounted t 016,000,000/.
of which 8,000,000/., fell upon the land. In France there were
40,000,000/., andthe taxes upon land amounted to 14,000,000/.
—an impost so heavy that it was divided into twelve
collections, and was received by collectors every month.
Now, in this country, the land-tax was not one-fortieth part of
the revenue.—(Hear, hear.) He hoped that in this debate
they would receive some information as to how the landlords
had managed this, while the burdens of the people went on in-
creasing in the meantime in an enormous progression.—( Hear,
hear.) Take the rental of sixty parishes in the poorest part
Scotland, which was, in 1660, no more than 17,838/. From
1791 to 1796, it was augmented to 227,824/. In the years
1832 and 18-11, it had risen to 744,273/.—( Hear, hear.) But
in all that time from 1660 to the present period, the land-tax
had been augmented in the meanwhile.--(Hear, had remained ;Ile same, vastly as the burdHenesarof
htheear
oa pt
11
de
some laughter from the Tory benches.) He thollgat