The Sun.
London, England, 1820-05-31 00:00:00

lions of taxation Annually, besides loans, was one
of considerable importance.. He was surprised
that an Hon. Member, whose talents on snhjects
of political economy were so well known- (Mr.
Ricardo) should have advanced an opinion that
the Agriceitorists were not peculiat ty burdened,
and were consequently not retitled to any
peculiar relief. Was it not obvious that the whole
weight of the Church Establishment lay upon the
land-owners and cultivators ? eight•tenths ot
poors' rates they also bore the charge. The
coe»ty rates fell epon them, and the expense of
the highways (exclusive of the turnpikes). He
wondered the Hon. Gentleman could entertain a
doubt on this matter ; still, however, they would
be ablean stand their ground if not borne down
by the laws professedly enacted for their protec-
tion. They only required to be protected against
foreigners whom the burden of taxation preveeted
them meeting fairly.—(Hear !)—Gentlemen may
cry hear, het he would not fiiech trout that debt
which bad:been contracted in rescuing them trete
the worst tear could befal a people. It had been
concerted on all bands that wheat could not be
grown at less than 80e. But it could be imported
from most parts ot Europe at 365. or 375• and
might he obtained at one half the cost at which it
could be produced at home. Then it was argued,
get it where you can get it cheapest. Was any
Gentleman prepared to look at the -consequence
of this doctrine if acted upon ? That consequence
would be, that ell 'he capital ens toyed in agri-
culture must be thrown into other channels, we
would become totally dependant on foreigners for
the support ot our existence, and the country, a
g3tilet), would be converted into a desert. %Vas
this a state to which any party of men would say
we ought to be driven ? It had been stated that
the average price of wheat had been 78s. since the
-adoption of the measure of 1815, but he Main..
taitied that these averages were founded on iraed
atsd deceptioti front beginning to end. Eve, y
person engaged in agriculture knew that when
they were made to appear at 78s. they weir
obtaining no mote !leoi 725. in the market.—
The peoitioners had not prayed for any si,ecttic
remedy. They lead only stated a gen,ral gt
iee-
ance, and pledged themselves, it admitted to
the bar of the House, or before a Committee, I,g
show that the provisions of the Act of 1815
were totally inefficient ; and that they had
not beets more relieved by that measure than
Hit hail not passed. He should not presume
to point out what means :night alleviete the suf-
ferings of the agricelturists, wmild lease the
important task of devising them to the Hotise.
He then contended, • that the pe', it ion lately pre-
sented by the Member for Taunton (Mr. Baring)
contained many truisms and principles not appli-
cable to the subject. He could not nite.h praise
the way in which it had been introduced to the
House, for he considered that its sole object was
to prejudice its opinion, and to serve as an auti-
doie to the petitions presented by the agricultural
interest. It the Hou. Gentlemen by whom that
petition had been presented wished to disguise his
object, he had badly succeeded ; tor, whenever
he had made any allusion to the subject of agri-
culture, lie had so far lost his discretion and tem-
per—(Hear, hear, from the Opposition !)—that
it had been impossible for hint to treat thine to-
pics with civility. The distresses of the egricul-
twists should have screened then) from such treat-
ment. He was sorry be had trespassed so long
on the time of the House, and feared be must
have oppeared to have lost the connection of what
was inure perfectly arranged in 114 mind when he
had entered e but he should now at once come to
his motion, which was, That the.scveral petitions
presented to the. House on the subject of agri-
cultural distress he referred to a Select Commit.'
tee to consider the matter thereof, and report
thereon,

Mr. Good; having the honour to represent a
great agricultural comity, thought it doe to his
constituents to state the grounds on which he
should second this motion. He conceived that
nothing could be more mischievous than an at-
tempt to separaue the interests of agriculturists

front thole of other classes. lie did not deny that
circumstances might have impressed upon his mind
a bias in favour of agriculture, but he should be the
last mall to injure one class of individuals tp nut
money into the pockets of another. The Bill
passed in 1815 had fixed the importation price at
80 shillings, but it was so imperative, that, in-
stead of producing an average of 80 shillings, the
average did not rise beyond 72 shilling's. This
was occasioned by the average being taken from
the merchants who bought corn, and not from the
. _ _

farmers who sold it ; by the admission of certain
districts where little corn was grown, and by the
addition of the freight to the price of corn. All
be should demand was, that the Bill of 1815
should be made complete to the purposes fur
which it was passed. Agriculture was now en-
titled to the same attention paid to it by our an-
cestors. But how was it possible for British
farmers, labouring under the weight of taxation.
(Hear, bear, from the Opposition.)---to compete
with the foreign farmer who paid no such taxes ?
He did not pretend to decide on the propriety of
heavy taxes, though in his opinion they were ne-
cessary, and the country could not do without
them ; but be was certain that they could not be
paid utiles. some protectiiin should be given to
farmers, or the rents should be lowered.—(Hear,
hear, bear o—Without some remedy the agricul-
twists would be unable to afford any share of
support to the revenue.

Mr. T. Itosmisox regretted that it should he-
come his duty to address the House under a degree
of indisposition which must prevent him trom
doing to the subject that justice which its import-
ance merited. He therefore threw himself on the

indulgence of the House. Amongst the multifa-
rious questions which arose in these times, there
was none which he conceived ought to be treated
with more caution and less frequency than
that which his Honourable Friend had brought
this night before the House.—(Hear !)—ln
all questions connected with the subsistence of
the people, there was so much of interest, so
much of prejudice and apprehension, that it in-
volved a most important consideration whether
such a topic should be entertained. He con-

fe9seci that he felt great regret that his Hon.
Friend should have introduced the subject to the
House. it was not yet two years since be bad

felt it his duty, and his colleagues in the Govern-
ment had been of the sante opinion, to state that
he did nor drink it necessary to alter the Corn
Laws. He had said so, because so unequivocal a
declaration on the part of Government would, be
thought, prevent any interference with the stib-
ject. Such, indeed, had been the result obtained
last year ; but a different course had since been
adopted. It was known that great i►aius had )reel)
taken in all parts of the country to impress far-
niers with the opinion that the Corn Bill had not
been operative. Associations had been formed to
collect, as it were, the whole Agricultural mind
into one focus, and to infloce it to send a mass of
petitions to that House. But in the manitestoes,
for be could not call them otherwise, issued by an
indi'vidual whose name was so conspicuous in
those transactions, the case was stated in a most
aggravated manner.—(Hear, hear !)—He did nut
say, that great distress might not exist, but he
might be allowed to express a doubt as to the imi-
vetsality of its operation. He had lately heard
with pleasure a Noble Lord (Lord Laserlles) de-
clare, that in his county such distress did not
exist. Round h►mself he did not see it. He
did not see tenants leaving their farms, rents its
arrear, or Poor Rates increasing.--(Hear, hear,
hear t)-13,,t because he did not see all this around
bill), he did not deny its existence in other places.
That would be as absurd as it was for those who
witnessed the spectacle of distress in their neigh-
bourhood to assume that it was universal. Not
droymv, the existence of distress, it became ne-

cessai y to erisidet, its manse and the remedy which
might he applied Its immediate cause was cer-
tainly to be tumid in the reduction Of price, and
the dimitintion of demand i but the House would
err in the applicatintt of a remedy, if it did not
look narrowly a; the cause which had produced
that reduction of price. It could not have been
cleated tty any de ect inthe Corn Laws, and there-
fore mould Hot he remedied. by 'heir aherrtian.
The extent and the nature at the eyei:ts of the late
war ',ere, he conceited, the first cause of the pre--
set reduction or price The constmenees of [hat
war bad in some conn7ries (lest iled capital
this, they luau produced au a cumulation
of i; which created a fict iti ,us increase of
trade, maitufac,ures, and arrirulture, beyoud
"11 natural proportions. Capital had thus
been applied to the cultivation of the soil in
a manuer which would never have been done ou-
tlet other circumstances. The result wtts, that
land had been enltivatrd, the bad quality of vv biii
would not,have paid in other times. There was
no land, however inferior it might be, which
could not be made to produce corn, if sufficient
expense infmanure was incurred. But would any
one say that legislative enactments should be
passed to retain such land in cultivation ? His
Honourable Friend had charged the law of 1815
with Haying proved ineffective, because it had no:
producea a price of 80s. to farmers ; but this
view of the law was very different from that which
he (tvlr. It) entertained when be proposed the
Bill. The opponents of the measure then urged
that 80s. would be the minimum, whilst he con-
tended that it would form the maximum. If the
law had therefore failed to produce a price of 801.
to the farmers, if bad failed in that which it was
never intended to produce.—(Hear !)—The
chief effect which he bad expected from the Bill
was, that by removing from farmers all apprehen-
sion of a boutoitess importation of foreign corn,
it would lead to a wise application of capital to
agricultural objects, and would have a tendency
to lower rather than to raise the price. That the
law did not produce 80 shillings was therefore no
ground for altering its provisions. He held a
statement of the quantity of foreign corn import-
ed during the last five years, by which it appeared
that the wheat inmorted during that period
amounted to 3,483.675 quarters. From this were
to be deducted 324,546 quarters now in ware-
houses, and 770,437 quarters which had been re.
exported, so that the quantity added to the con.
sumotion of the country was 2,358,692 quarters,
or 477.000 per annum. Yet notwithstanding this
importation, the average price of corn during
those very five years, and mulct the operation of a
Bill which was represented as having ruined agri-
culture, was' 78s. 10d. In 1817 and 1818, im-
mediately after the unproductive harvest of 1816,
2,600,000 quarters of foreign corn had been im-
ported, and yet the average price of British corn
had remained as high as 89s. 6d. Thii was,. lei
it be remembered, during two years when im-
portation had risen to its greatest height. lie
held also an account of the imports from 1792 to
1812, and found that the average was as neatly
as possible, during seventeen of those years,
500,000 quarters annually, with an average price
of 78s. 6(1. If that price was then sufficient to
place farmers in that situation in which all must
wish them to stand,' to enable them to cultivate

the land with spirit, and with advantage to the
landlord and to themselves, he saw no reason to

suppose Ow it might not have the same effect

now. The House were told of the universality
of agricultural distress ; bur how could it be

ascribed to the Corn Laws ? No foreign corn
whatever had been introduced since February
1819, about fifteen months ago; and at that
period there was scarcely one quarter of fo-
reign corn in private warehouses. Whatever
might be the p►esent price of corn, it was
therefore clear that it could not be charg-
ed to the ineffiCiency of the law. Was it a
trifle that such applications should be constantly
made to the House ?—(Hear, hear, hear !)—He
thought it was a misfortune. He had never sup-
ported the Corn Bill as a positive good, but as a
choice of evils. His Honourable Friend said,
that the petitioners did not ask for any specific re-
medies. He thought that bad been intended ; but
he felt much satisfaction at finding that the speci-
fic remedies recommended in the manifestoes to
which he had alluded, had not been touched here.
He meant that most unwise and extravagant pro-
posal of *a perman'ent duty of 40s. a quarter upon
wheat.—(Hear, hear, hear !)—Such a duty might
be tolerated in good years, but in bad seasons it
could not. It would then be impossible for Go-
vernment to be carried on with it. And suppos-
ing a less sum to be taken, it would not answer

the purpose of the agriculturists. Let twenty
shillings, tor instance, be adopted, (and a duty
to that amount might, perhaps, he tolerated), yet
tvit4 this additifm, the price ot foreign corn would

not exceed three pounds. Would this yield 410
protection to the farmers ? It would not. 110
plan was therefore of all others most calcukted
produce the greatest possible mischief.—(Hear'
hear !)—Aluch stress had been laid on the ques.
lion of averages. On this subject he thought
corisidereble delusion prevailed. It was preterlde
11144 a mode of average different from that e9te*
hlisced by the law were adopted, the price of 05'
would be produced. With a view to sec the
effect of such an alteration, he bad procuted 4.3
avetage of the 12 maritime counties for the 91
week,t ending on the 15th of May 1820; tin
a similar average for the same period, -embrlea i
ing every maritime towo, and district. ihf
average p, ice stated in the Gazette for the wee'
ending on the 81h of April, and for the (we"
maritime counties, was 70s. 3d. By the other
mode it would have been 71e. The price of rye
was 425. 7d. ; it would have been 445. That of
barley was 355. 4d. ; it would have been 355-Id'
That of oats was 24s.fld. ; ,it would have. beer
245. The same result was found in five week.,
our of the six. Did not this prove that the A4ll"'
culturists would derive no advantage bum the
proposed alteration ? Wlrat object could theY
have therefore in ativocatiog what could do flora
DO good, and would only serve to put the whole
country in a state of agitation I—(Hear !)—1 1E
it tVa. said, leave out the IVelch counties. N°4
what would be the effect of this omission ?
Welch counties were comprised in the Bth
Dth maritime counties, and Monmooth,bire
ed part of the lath. The Agricolturists w"re
taught to believe that the insertion of the Welch
counties were enlarged, and that their omis!.i01:1
would lower the average. The fact was ihe re'
sere. 1f those counties were °miffed, Y
vroold find that the average price wool 1)e toeh,f. •
The grounds on which they called for an alter,"
trot) areas therefore one of the rteateS d 1.16'1'5
by which millious of men had ever bleu theeivra•
He did not mean to say that the present
of raking the averages was pettect. It ye k vet.'
haps a choice of evils ; bop groiesq sum. _teat
and decided advantage sh,rult be pro.ed )1'
at,ainable, was it worth while to agitate t'e
whole coon ry by the introduction .mich roes'
lions ? Admitting the mode of t,ikiug the average
to be imperfect, and even irr involve co-ne or"
!loft of fraud, might nor
commi!ted in fivour of th., ifusi,st
It had been proved at a late trial at
that the object of the person accused was not to
raise, hut to lower the price. Yet rite agr'cola
twists seemed to fancy that all hands must be
directed against !hem. The Honourable Mem"
her who bad introduced the Motion Soppo.ed oat
a great deal of foreign corn had been smagJel
into the country. He (Mr. Robinson) did nut
know bow that could have happened, for Le had
received no information to that effect at the ofiice

to which be helonged.--(Hear knew that
much alarm had been excited lest great iguana"
ties of foreign corn should have been imported'
'from the Isle of Man, jersey, and Guernsey,
the produce of those islands ; but he had lookea
into the subject and h...d found that the stll7`
position was totally unfounded. There had al'
ways been some Importation of corn from those'
islands, to the amount of a few hundred quarters
per annum, and it was just now the same as
in former times.—(Hear, hear, hear.)—He had
always been of opinion that none of the alters** .
tions proposed could be useful to the agricul'
wrists, or agreeable to the country. At tilt
same time, he did not mean to say that fliers-
might not be sonie grounds for examining certaiet
inferior points. It might be proper, though tie'
was not aware of any necessity. to see whether
the law which regulated the appointment of In'
spectori might not be improved. That wroth;
appointments bad been made he -was aware. Its
one of the Welch .counties, the Inspector was a'
Lady.—(Laughter.)—Rut this could not be [am"
to the charge of the law. The law gave Oil'
right of appointing Inspectors to Magistrates
why then did not the latter select proper persons?'
It was said that the salary was so small that ba
few individuals would accept of such an office.---*
But the law not only ordered that the
should have five shillings for each report
he stionlii make to the Comity, but einuoxere4
the Magistrates, if that were not sufficient,. "P
increase his allowance by a county rate. This'
had not
_yet been done, and the law had there'

fore not had a fair trial. As to Warehousing fn"
reign corn in this coon:ry, that hail, been lepre.°
sewed as a.great evil, which kept the farmers ins'
constant state of alarm, lest they should. be so► ..
denly crushed by an oveipowerin4 inundaiion UE
grain. But suppose the practice should not be 01'
lowed,, what would be the effect ? It would be
to transfer that tremendous storm from one sid.e

of the Channel to the other,—(llear, heart
hear !)—abd as ships flew, it would be conveyea

es rapidly frOrn the coast of aolland or France: a

it would Irons that of Essex, to the port of 1.0"
don.—(Hear, l►ear, hear !)—The only result
would be to prevent the.employment of Britisb
capital in the erection of warehouses. Had hi'

Health allowed him, he should have entered more

at length into the causes of the present distress'
But he trusted that he had said enough to shoot
that he conceived its first cause to be the units"
titral state to which the country had been raise
r
by the events of the last 25 years. Until the
fects of that state should have ceased to be felt, 1
would be quite in vain to suppose that any legi"
latiye measure could raise the price of corn t°
what it hail been. He lamented that persons %%41°'
like the petitioners, were entitled to so much at'
tention and respect, should have been so Or
misled as to believe, that something should b°
done, when nothing could be done. If, however,
his Honourable Friend would confine his inquiry
to such secondary points as he had mentioned,
which the law might be deficient, he should I'o
no objection to go into a Committee. But 116
telt that he should not do his duty to himself, t,
the Government with whom he acted, and to.tb.fo
country which he endeavoured vainly to serve,
he did not oppose any alteration in the preset'
system of the Corn Laws.--(Loud cheering.) 4.
WBSTERN had the honour of representinr"
a county which felt distress as little as any vet,
and had more power of resisting ir, and yet ev rs
there agriculture was declining. The Petitioner
expected some measure of a more prucecting "