The Sun.
London, England, 1842-02-16 00:00:00

r,,iy on any evidence taken from their side of the House; but
he should rely on the evidence produced by the Noble Lord
the Member for Tiverton—namely, the Consular returns. If
they would take the column of prices in that return, and strike
out of it only the two items which he should name, the price of
corn at Rotterdam and at Antwerp, which were almost nomi-
eal prices, inasmuch as they were not ports from whence any
great supply for England was drawn. if any gentleman would
strike out these two items, which were both 555. a quarter, then
he believed that the average price, according to those returns,
would be found to be 365. ; he therefore assumed that to be
the price of foreign corn. Then he took the column of the
rates of freight, and if, in the same manner they struck out the
freights from ports at a great distance, such as Palermo and
Odessa, from whence no great supply was drawn, they would
find that, instead of there being an average of 4s. 6d. per
quarter, it would be reduced to between 3s. 6d. and
4s. a quarter. On this evidence, therefore, he as-
sumed the price of -cern brought to England to
be somewhere about 40s. Now, he would just show what would
be the effect of the measure proposed by her Majesty's Mi-
nisters. He should show conclusively that the practical effect
of the measure would be to protect the English farmer up to
the price of 665. a qUarter, because below that price the im-
porter could not, if the duty is added, import corn without in.
curring a loss. Bearing in mind the fact he had stated, that
the price of wheat in common years would be 40s. in bond, he
would at once show the Hen. Gentleman that between 51s.
aid 575. foreign wheat will come into competition with the
home market. At 58s.- the duty proposed is 145.,
and adding • 14s. to 405., it would be found that
skis was the point at which foreign wheat would
come into competition with that of the home pro •
decor. This he conceived to be a great concession
made to the consumers, and one to which they were entitled.
(Hear, hear.) Notwithstanding what had been said against
the present system of the Corn-aws, he did consider that
under the shelter of the protection afforded by them, the grower
of home cora had, by the increase of his skill, the
improvements in manure, and various other appliances, so im-
proved the productive power of the soil, that a lower price
would be more remunerative than it would be when the present
law had passed, and he thought it a concession due to the con-
sumer to lower the duty, while it would not, at the same time,
in the slightest degree endanger the home-grower.--(Hear.)
He thought the Right Hon. Gentleman who had just sat down
wade a concession, showing that he feat such would be the case.
He said that the reduction in the scale would have the result of
affording a larger revenue to the State, and if that were so, it
ould bring snore foreign corn to the market—(No)—it
would bring it, when it was most wanted ; and also
whereas, by the present law, a temptation was held out to re-
duce the duty, and to throw it upon the market at the nominal
duty, the present proposition would give a larger revenue ; and
not only that, but by it foreign corn would be introduced gra-
dually, and not suddenly, as by the present system —(Hear,
hear.) That system had been much condemned lately, but it
should be recollected that the harvests were extremely deficient
during the two or three last seasons. But so far from its being
true that the production of the country was not equal to its
consumption, from the year 1832 to 1837, the country,
year by year, produced a larger quantity of corn than it was
able to consume. The evidence of the last four years, he was
aware, went to prove that a considerable quantity of
foreign corn was wanted. That it had been obtained, and
thrown upon the market at a high price, he admitted ; but that
price lasted only for a short time, it had a very sudden fail iw
mediately consequent upon its introduction ; and for the last
three years nearly two millions of quarters were imported into
theceuntry.—( Hear, hear.) Some reference had been made
to the Report drawn up by Mr. Huskisson in 1822, in advo-
cacy of the system of bonding corn, and he (Sir J. Graham)
could perceive no greater advantage, than having a large
quantity of corn in bond to meet the necessities'of the country.
—( Hear, hear.—The Right Hon. Gentleman here quoted
from the Report a passage, showing the great advantage of
having a supply of corn always ready to meet their necessities,
which would place them beyond the reach of foreign States, even
if they wished to aggravate the pressure from any want of corn
that might be felt at home.) The present system had that prac-
tical effect, and without creating any expense or loss to indi-
viduals, it combined all the advantages.—( Hear, hear.) A
great deal had been said of the speculating nature of the corn
trade. If it turned out to be unfortunate, it was called
gambling; but if otherwise, it was considered a sign of pru-
dence and of foresight—yet the speculation was the same,
whether it was successful or unsuccessful. Neither did he see
any unwillingness on the part of individuals to engage in the
corn trade. The trade in opium was also one which
encouraged speculation, and yet he did not recollect to
have heard any condemnation of that trade.--( Hear, hear,
hear.) Large profits had been made, and large lasses
had also followed the trade in opium ; and, in his opinion,
something worse than losses had also been consequent upon it;
while no opposition had been given to that. trade by Hon.
Gentlemen opposite. But against such a system he thought
die present system would be a check, and that the foreign
importer would bring his supply into the market rather than
run the risk of holding over. On the other hand, it would
have the effect of inducing him to import corn largely for the
British market.—( Hear, hear.) Before he should conclude,
he would glance at the evils of a fixed duty. In years of abund-
auce.such a duty would be inoperative, and there would be
no need of protection ; and in years of scarcity, if the Govern-
ment levied the duty, what became of their cheap bread, what
became of their protection?—( Cheers.) A high duty must be
prohibitory in cheap seasons, and' then the steadiness of their
trade was destroyed. When the price was low, and when the
necessity of protection to the home-grower was greatest, their
protection failed, and the greatest confusion in their social
arrangements must ensue.—(Hear, hear.) His Right Hon.
Friend the Paymaster of the Forces, was taunted
as if he drew some distinction between the agricultural
classes and the rest of the community. He (Sir J.
Graham) would ask them if the advantage of the
whole community was not involved in the culture of the soil ?
—( Hear, hear.) He believed that a considerable majority
of the inhabitants of the United Kingdom were directly or in-
directly interested in the culture of the soiL—( Cheers.) But
if it were not so, he still contended that no greater evil could
take place than not taking care of the interests of agriculture,
which, if they were not protected, would be fatal to the home
market, and to manufactures. The Hen. Member for Kendal,
when he discussed this subject applied to it the export test.
He assumed the afeets of the Corn-law from the deficiency of
our exports. He remembered, in the year 1833, when prices
were low, he discussed the question, and Hon. Gentlemen
opposite said that all apprehensions with respect to the exports
ere absurd, because if they only consented to repeal the
Corn-laws the price of corn would be lowered, and the effect
would be to raise the general level of prices. But this was not
the only consideration. The statistical returns proved
that the exports of that country had increased. The defi-
ciency in the trade was to be attributed to the deficiency
in de.nand in the home market. A quotation had been made
from Adam Smith ; if the Noble Lord would just recolle t,
the'doctrine laid down by Adam Smith was, that the most
valuable trade which could be carried on, was the trade carried
on between town and country. He laid down the doctrine that

the home market was, after all, worth all the foreign
markets put to'ether.i He ( Sir James Graham) therefore
hoped that the Legislature would use the utmost caution in
taking any steps whatever in changing so important
a branch as the agriculture of this country. When a deficiency
took place in the home market, it would aggravate that de-
ficiency by ruining the large branches of our productive
,ndustry. He was almost ashamed at that hour to trouble
the House with information in detail, yet he thought it was
his duty very shortly to touch upon the point to which the
Hon. Member for Knaresborourgh, with much pain, had ad-
verted to, viz., the effect of machinery in displacing labour,
as one of the causes which led to the present distress of the
working classes.—( Hear, hear. He held in his hand a re-
port, which came from unquestionable authority, and which
he had laid on the table of the House in the course of that
day. It was the report of Mr. Horne, inspector of mills and
silk and woollen manufactures in the county of Lancaster,
' and the West Riding of Yorkshire. He (Sir James Graham)
begged to call the attention of the House to certain facts con •
tamed in it. In the first place, there were under his inspec-
tion 1,541 mills employed in the four branches of manufactures,
to which he ( Sir James Graham) had referred. Of these
1,541 mills, 87 per cent. were worked, 72 per cent. were
worked full time, and 16 per cent. had a various amount of
time for work; and of the whole number 1,541 in the four
branches of trade, there were only 13 not at work. Now this
quantity would show the enormous increase which the
power of machinery had given to the power of
production. He referred them only to the article of
cotton-hose made for home consumption. In 1837
it amounted to thirty-six, million pounds weight; in
1838 it was forty-one millions ; in 1839 it was thirty -eight
millions; in 1840 it was forty-five millions ; and in 1841 it
was forty-three millions of pounds. The consumption of 1841
was thus greater than that of 1837 by seven millions of pounds,
and it appeared that the total consumption of Great Britain in
1814 at the close of the war was only seven millions ; there-
fore, the quantity of manufactured cotton wool by mills in 1841
was greater than that which was produced even as lately as
1837, by an amount exceeding the whole produce of all the cot-
ton mills of Great Britain at the close of the war—that was,
it had so increased within the last few years, exceeding
the whole produce of the cotton mills at the close of the
French war. He (Sir James Graham) would sot then go
into the cause and effect, but in the last four years, under these
Corn-laws, which were said to be so fatal to the manufacturing
interest, and to have taken place during four years of great
trial, because those four years were four years of deficient har-
vests, and they well knew that no human power
could avoid or prevent a bad havest—(Cries of " Hear,
hear")—he (Sir James Graham) had only looked
at the increase in manufactures, but they (the Opposition)
would say these were the old mills, and it was impossible that
the improvements should not-increase labour. But what would
the Hon Gentlemen say when he (Sir James Graham) told
them that since the year 1839, when there wrs a large impor.
tation upon the principle which was so objectionable, the gra-
duated scale, that within the last two
)ears the new cotton mills
were no less than ninety-one ? Those mills worked
3,350 horse-power, and calculating five persons to each
horse-power it would give 16,751 persons. Had anything been
done to increase the old mills, he would ask ? He had no
means of knowing the power of the old mills, but he knew
that in one of the mills, in 1841, one person produced 2,700
pounds in a mill, while in the old mills it took six persons to make
900 pounds. Thus had manual labour been superseded in every
department of cotton manufacture by machinery. He would
next refer to a large mill in Manchester. ( The Right Hon.
Gentleman then read an extract from the report he held in his
hand, but in so low a tone of voice as to be qu te inaudible in
the Gallery.) He could read several more extracts, but he
would content himself with reading to the House, one which was
an extract taken from the:wages book of a large mill. On the
12th Jan., 1837, in that mill there were four hundred and
.ne3te3oikn iti; •
eolvdna
tgt
ohe
es
b,
eal
4n
tdthhethey
n property
uwa
rry ought,
eighty.seven persons employed, who received in the
same
shetmooi of the
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individuals, there were, instead of 487 persons, 354 persons
employed there, and instead of 330/. paid in wages, there were
only 227/., and instead of 2,313 lbs. weight of cloth, there
were .2,359 lbs. weight wrought in 1841, Thus there
were 133 fewer persons employed in that mill, and 1131. less
paid in wages, while the produce of the mill was
much larger. He (Sir James Graham), was not
one of those who considered that improvement did not
confer benefit upon the working classes, but he did contend
that the effect of great improvement in machinery was a dis-
rbragement to manual labour, particularly to that of adult
aourers, and that that disparagement inflicted a great hard-
,hip upon the working classes of this country.
Mr. BBOTHE RTON wished to ask the Right. Honourable
Baronet (Sir James Graham) what were the usual number
of hands employed foi merly—Mr. Home had stated, in his
{lad
gortivethnatth9elfumllilnlsehmadhebreoefnhands employed.
erected, and in his statement he
Sir JAMES GRAHAM said he did not know, but he had
already read Mr. Horne's account to the House. The Right
ft
theha t
Hon. Baronet then stated that he had given his support to the
proposed measure because, in the first place, it gave a high
scaleit
wouldof
diminish protection, f
frauds
inin thethe
next
agricultural
place,
he conceived
productions
country by the only mode by which it could be diminished.
o
He thought that the measure proposed by her Majesty's Minis-
ters was consonant to the wants and wishes of those persons
who are opposed to the existing 1 we, and at the same time
he was convinced that the proposed measure would give such
a protection to the home-grower, as would be not only conducive
to his interest, but to the interest and advantage of the nation at
lArgP• He was convinced that that measure would have the effect
of securing tile most permanent advantages, and it would secure
an increased supply of home-grown corn at a cheaper rate than
it could be procured from other countries; he therefore preferred