The Sun.
London, England, 1818-12-24 00:00:00

FOR THE, SUN.

CORN QUESTION.

MR. EDITOR,—The sUrreptitions mode now
practising of obtaining signatutes to a CORN PRTI-
vroNT seems a pretty certain manifestation of some
set ious intention to bring in a New Corn Bill at
the Meeting of Parliament.

A Pleasure so it:judicious must be opposed by
every le;:al means that Real Patriute can devise.

'lf the Landed Interest of both Parties unite, no
111inistry can venture to oppose ; it becomes there-
fore the duty of the nation at larue to support the'
cause of the twion, not by faction; clamour nr
tint, but by a calm and steady support of such
treasures as the Government may find necessary to
oppose and to avert the e'il.

!tot, before that evil can he averted or reme.

Iliesl know it colse ; and, in point
of view, it is Fl VPi-V (.013ordiwiry lief. !In 'the

numer.,us and judicious writers on the subject, in
t-he Daily Papers, have hitherto been unable to
trace it to its origin. The truth is, they go to
ADAM SMITH for abstract principles, when they
ought to investigate FAcTs passing before thoir
cyt.—Pacts which ADAM SMITH 'ever contem-
plated! When, some years ago, the demand tot
Finur exceeded both in quantity, and in propor-
tion to other produce, what it had formerly been,
every acre, naturally fitted for Intent, was laid
down fukr that crop. The deman(l increased ;
more land was wanted for Wheat ; the small far-
mer, i b little capital beyond his labour, found

hilly:elf at a stand ; the interruptions ot commerce
thrrw capital into the market ; Capitalists found
that roving wheat was a acti, speculation, so did
leodholders ; con,rgoently great rents were Of-
fered by men who became, not farnzars, but agri-
culturists, and a new system pervaded the land.
But what were the consequences ? Simply thus ;
that ten farms of 100 acres were thrown into one
of 1000 ; that one farm-house became a villa, with
the dung-heap and straw-yard exchanged for a
lawn and shrubbtry, the churn and the spinning-
wheel for the sofa and pianoforte ! Nor would
this have been a serious evil, bad it not been for
the concomitants of nine farming families being
removed by the agricultural Leviathan, ot the
aged yeomanry and their wives being sent to the

vork-house, a part only of their sous retained for
f Id la ho r, whilst the daughters came up to Lou-

don to seek for service, but found only vice and
ruin ; and of the pulling down farm-houses and
homesteds, nay the obliteration of whole villages, to
sore taxes and repairs-!!! ,
For in Ow, Mr. Editor, is to be found the true

cause of the present attempt to raise the Markets
above the maximum of tl►e existing Corn-bill.
When Peace Prices carne into the market, the

capitalist could no longer afford to raise wheat On
land naturally unfit, nor to pay War Rents; of
course farms, nay whole parishes, were thrown
up, and nothing was left for the landholder but
to lower his rents and reduce his farms to their
original size. It was easy, indeed, to divide 1000
acres into ten parts : but where find a farming
tenantry, when the yeomanry were swept away
Besides, where are the farm-houses and barns, &c.
for each small farm Of course, all gone ! But
till these are rebuilt, no small farms can be oc-
cupied. The landholders are linable to build
them ; and hence the plan of raising the markets,
in hopes of once more tempting capitalists to oc-
cupy /urge tmes.

Here, Sir, is the evil ; but where, it may be
Asked, is the remedy ? Certainly not in a Corn
Bill ; but in the rebuilding of farm-houses, barns,
&c. To effect this, the landholders must be as-
sisted. They have been imprudent and improvi-
dent ; but in seeking to punish them, we must
slot ruin the nation.

To enter upon this part of the suhieet would
trespass too much on your limits ; but means
miOlt he found, by flie advance of a million or

two, in necessary proportions, upon good secu-
rity, to assist the landholders, and at the same
time to give a powerful stimulus to industry, both
mechanical and 2gricul:oral, all over the kingdom.

In hoprs that some person better tptalifie.4l will
take up the subject, I shall, for the present, remain,

Your's,

IGNOTUS.

Yesterday a Court of Directors t‘as held. at the
East India House, when-Lieut.-General the Hon.
Sir CHARLES COLVILLE, G. C. B. was sworn iu as
Commauder-iu-Chief of the Company's Forces,
Find Alt.,mher of-Council at Bombay. Ilie‘Gene-
rat afterwards dined with the Directors at the
I.,oudon Tsvern.--,-The sindermenzioned Com.

I olders took leave of the Court previous to de-
parting for their_respective destioatiors, viz.--
. Captain T. Larkios,•Margnis Caniticn ; Captain it Scott,
Charles Grant ; C. Mortloth, Lowther Castle; T. T.',w•ra:kile,
lntifis; R. 'Nisbet, Essex; R. S. Dalrymple, Vansitt..rt—for
Eombay
The Cross which the Duke of IVELLINGTON
itas received from the *king of FRANCE ftirpaSS,.'S
in spiendorir every one of the ;same kiud iu Eu-
rop!-. It is caul to be worth full twenty-five
thousand pounds sterling.