The Sun.
London, England, 1827-06-19 00:00:00

present state of the law, as he thought it 'impossible to re-
tain in actual operation a law which prohibited the impor-
tation of foreign corn until the produce of our own country
had risen as high as 80s. He could easily conceive that
the Honourable Gentleman who brought forward the pre-
sent proposition could do so with perfect consistency, al-
though he had opposed it in 1822, because the circum-
stances of these two periods differed much from each other.
Had no other proposition been made to the House, he
should have voted for that of the Honourable Gentleman,
because he conceived some change in the present system
absolutely necessary ; but as the Amendment of his Right
Honourable Friend was founded on the Bill which had
passed that House, he preferred it to the partial proposi-
tion of the Honourable Gentleman ; and, therefore, rift
only on the ground of consistency, but because he pre-
ferred his Right Hon. Friend's Amendment, lie shoutd
vote for it, and decidedly resist the proposition of tide
Honourable Gentleman. He should follow the example of
his Right Honourable Friend, in not mixing up with thss
discussion matter which was really foreign to it. At keit
such had been the rule which his Right Honourable Frielid
had laid down at the commencement of his speech,
but which, no doubt unintentionally, lie had, in some p4s
of it, violated. It was his (Mr. Peel's) opinion, that no
more unwise course could be pursued by any party, than to
connect political questions of any sort with the question bf
the Corn Laws, which ought to be discussed independently
of any other matter. " lf," continued the Right Hof.
Gentleman---" if any Gentleman should think that the
Amendment proposed by my Noble Friend, in the Houle
of Lords, was connected with any purpose of a political na-
ture, or still less with any purposes of party faction, I di-
dare, upon my honour, that I believe such an impression o
be totally erroneous. I believe that my Noble Friend, the
Duke of Wellington, having supported his Majesty's Gq-
vernment in the early stages of the Bill, and having voted
for its second reading, when its principle was discussed,
proposed his Amendment with a sincere desire to promote
that which he understood to be the real object of the Bill,
and to remedy a defect which he thought he perceived iu
it. I believe that he made his proposition on a miscon-
struction of what had passed between my Right lion.
Friend and myself: and that when he made his suggestion,
he really thought the suggestion was not dissented from by
that Right Hon. Gentleman. I say I believe this, because
if he had intended to have made that Amendment the
means of an opposition to the Government, I do think that
I should have heard of it previously—(hear, hear ;)—and
that the first intimation I obtained of his intention would
not have been delayed till the morning of the day after that
on which he had proposed and carried his Amendment. —7
(Hear, hear.")—The Right Hon. Gentleman then proceed-
ed to comment on the claim which the Chancellor of the
Exchequer had set up for the privileges of the House of
Commons; and observed, that while his Right Hon;
Friend claiMed for that House the full and free exercise of
their privileges, they ought to give equal freedom to others;
However, so anxious was he to avoid saying any thing that
might produce acrimonious feelings, that he should abstain
from making any further observations. upon that part of
the subject, and should confine himself entirely to the
discussion of the question immediately before them.—
On that question, the course lie should adopt was
taken up with no other consideration than what he be-
lieved to be for the permanent interest of the people of
this country. He. must, however, remind the House, when
they objected to the opinions of others upon this Bill, that
they themselves had deemed it necessary to make altera-
tions in the Bill since its first introduction. He was sorry
to hear that what was to be done now was to be only a
temporary meausure. He wished that it had been thought
possible to have introduced at this time a Corn Bill in such
a form as would enable them to render it permanent, and
that the Right Hon. Gentleman had not taken that Amend-
ment to have been so important as to destroy the Bill.
The Amendment might have been important enough to
prevent the Government from carrying the Bill, so
amended, through the House of Lords; but he would ask
whether it was so much so as to prevent the Right Hon.
Gentleman from doing that which might have amounted
to an honourable compromise between the two Houses?
He thought that such was the importance of the discussion
that was to decide the price of corn, and to settle the
question between landlord and tenant, that even if the Ses-
sion should be protracted to the end of July, be should
think the time well consumed in finally disposing of the
subject. He thought it would be infinitely better, both
for the agriculturist and manufacturer, if between those
two, as between the two Houses of Parliament, an ho-
nourable compromise could be effected. 111 was not the
advocate of one or the other; and he thought those parties
showed the greatest wisdom who manifested no particular
or exclusive partiality for either, especially as he believed
each of those classes would best promote its own interest,
by showing respect to the wishes snit interest of the other.
On the ground of his own consistency, but, beyond that,
on the ground of the preference he really entertained for
the Amendment, lie should give it his decided support.
Mr. W. WHITMORE was understood to say, that in
rejecting the Bill lately presented to them, the Members of
die House of Lords had manifested greater ignorance than
he ever before witnessed in any body of legislators. He
concurred, though with some reluctance, in the Resolution
of the Right Hon. Gentleman ; and he begged to guard
himself most distinctly against being supposed, by that
concurrence, to convey an approbation of the temporary
measures by wilier it was attempted to palliate the evils
inherent in the existing system of Corn Laws. It was too
much that the people should be obliged tb look to the Go-
vernment, year after year, for the supply of food. This
was the third temporary measure of this kind that had
been adopted ; and lie now felt it right to state, that if a
similar measure should be proposed on any future occa-
sion, upon whatever alleged grounds of expediency, he
should consider it his duty to give to such a proposition
his decided opposition. With regard to the Bill that had
met its fate in the other House of Parliament, lie certainly
concurred in the propriety of not proceeding with it, after
the wound which the measure had received. He could
not agree, however, that the principle of the Bill differed
essentially from that which it professed to amend ; in his
opinion, there was no practical difference between a high
protecting duty and a prohibition. Whenever he and
others addressed the House on this subject, the greatest in-
attention and apathy prevailed.
Colonel WOOD observed, that if there should he a wet
season and a bad harvest this year, similar to that of 1616,
the letting in of 600,000 quarters would not prevent the
price of corn from rising above 70s. ; and he thought that
in common fairness the law of 1822 ought to be allowed
to come into operation, so that corn might be admissible,
subject to a duty, when the average price reached 70s.
Late as the Session was, he thought a permanent measure
ought still to be brought forward. For his part, he could
not help thinking that prohibition, and not regulation, was
essentially necessary to the best interests of the country.
Mr. BENETT had not himself any apprehension of a
wet harvest, and he did not think, under all the circum-
stances, that the measure now proposed by the Right Hon.
Gentleman was called for. He rejoiced that the Bill had
been thrown out in the other House of Parliament; for he
was persuaded, that had that Bill passed, it would have had
the effect of throwing a great portion of the poorer land in
this country out of cultivation. The only fair principle
that could be adopted, in legislating on the Corn Laws,
was the principle of a fixed duty. He saw no reason why
the motion of the Hon. Member for Essex (Mr. Western)
should not be adopted.
Sir JOHN NEWPORT—The House could not now
consistently legislate on the Act of 1822 ; since it was
part of a system which, as far as this House was concerned,
had been repealed ; and, unless this House chose to abandon
all pretension to character, it could not send to the other
House such a proposition. The principle of prohibition
ought never to be entertained with respect to corn. Such
a principle ought never to be allowed to exist with refer-
ence to any article of food. He was glad that the Act of
1822 had never come into operation, since he was satisfied
that, if it ever should come into operation, the agriculturists
of this country would be overwhelmed with foreign corn.
The difficulty in which we were now placed arose out of
the Amendment made in the other House—an Amendment
which originated with certain late Ministers, who at-
tempted by that means to subvert the principle and destroy
the effect of a measure which they themselves had sanc-
tioned while in Administration.—(Hear, hear. )—The pur-
pose of that Amendment—but he would not designate the
purpose. Its effect, however, would be to exasperate the
population of this country, already irritated upon other
grounds ; for no man of any reflection could possibly
believe that such an amendment did not proceed on
party principles.—(Some cries of " No ! No !")
Well, some
persons might, perhaps, take a different
view of the matter; but, to him, it appeared perfectly,
clear that the Amendment proceeded from party prin-
ciples. if this House were to act upon their privileges,
and imitate the conduct of another House, the con-
sequence would be that the people would be ground between
the two Houses, and that a famine price of Corn would be
produced, unless the necessity of the case should compel the'
Executive Government, upon its own responsibility, to
relieve the people from the neglect of the Legislature. In
legislating with respect to Corn, it was incumbent on him
to look particularly to the interests of Ireland, which was:
country; and the measure of 1806 was!
by the people of that kingdom.:
generallyaookLooking
g t o agriculturalhighlytie ininterest
est approved
heland,-which was agricultural ;I
and to that of this countryi which
was
partly!agrieulturall
-he-thought the Bill which had and partly manufacturing,