Star.
London, England, 1822-01-05 00:00:00

AGRICULTURAL DISTRESS.

.Thursday a very numerous and respectable Meet-
ing of the Gentlemen concerned in Agriculture took
place at Battle, in Sussex, and, upon the proposition
of Mr. jona Fatten, of Rosehill, the Earl of Ass-
nunanam 'was unanimously called to the Chair.
Upoo the Noble Earl's taking the Choir, he read
the advertisement for convening the Meeting, and
stated shortly the object for which they were assem-
bled. He. assured them of his disposition to do all
in his power to discharge the duties of the situation.
Mr. CURTEIS, M.P. for the County, said the coun-
try appeared to him to be placed in a more perilous
situation than ever before in the whole stream of its
history. We were. upon the brink of a dreadful pre-
cipice : for pauperism, penury, ruin, and beggary,
seemed with rapid strides to be pervading the wlore
land. The first and leading cause of our distresses
was the want of a sufficient protection of British
Agricultural produce against that of foreigners: thus
the Agriculturist had much to complain of, for the
relief was always possible and easily practicable, but
it had been always refused. If that which is now
asked for, and which it is likely will be granted in
some insufficient degree, had been conceded at an
earlier period, when first asked for by our petitions,
many a farmer would have been saved from destruc-
tion. The concession is to little purpose after the
death-wound has been inflicted; and this fatal blow
has fallen on many an Agriculturist, and it a-ill await
more, unless our petitions are better attended to than
they have hitherto been. These petitions had been
too moderate—not too respectful towards Parliament
(for GOD forbid such language should be held in this
room). For what do our petitions ask? We had
asked to be placed on a level and equality with the
foreign Agriculturist on the opening of our ports, in
our own markets. He (Mr. Curteis) thought we
ought to have a superiority. In what foreign corn
country are,we on an equality in their markets? Is
it in Russia, Poland,.os Germany? We have incurred
our debt and enormous taxation in fighting for the
independence of alt the nations of Europe; that in-
dependence Its boa„ established, and our reward is,
to be inundated, overwlselined, and ruined, by their
cheap and untaxed corn. If they had only taxed
themselves in fighting their own battles, as we had
taxed ourselves in a cause where we had•ouly a
secondary interest, we should•not have incurred this
danger.—" I appeal," said Mr. Curteis, " to every
' person in room, whether we are not in more peril
from their cheap and untaxed corn, than we ever a ere
from their arms and hostility ? These we could have
defied; but in the wretched state of our Corn Laws
on the opening of our ports, we arc delivered up.as
victims, bound hand and foot, incapable of resist-
ance, for the benefit of their Agriculture, and to the
ruin of our own. The protection we should ask for
is a duty of forty shillings per quarter on wheat, and
so in proportion for other produce, whenever the
averages indicate the price to be at £2O a load. But
I abominate the system of averages, which are a ma-
chinery of trick and delusion : for it is within mf
own knowledge and that of other Gentlemen in the
room, that averages have been made to rise and fall,
so as to suit the purposes of individuals, on many
occasions, and this by trick, and contrivance. I could
wish to see the system of averages and warehousing
entirely abolished; and would give to the Kinc; in
Council, having previously obtained the protectfig
tax of 40s. per quarter, a power by his Royal Procla-
mation to open the ports, on the approach of scarcity
and famine. Ministers would then be acting under
a deep responsibility, and it is not 'likely that this
power would be convened to any bad purposes. I
would much sooner place my confidence in the Privy
Council than is the Inspector of the Corn Averages.
In that most fallacious of all compositions, the late
Agricultural Report of a Committee of the House of
Commons—which was got up by a Right Hon. Gen-
tleman, who well knows how to use the blandish-
ments of language, to suit a purpose, and who well
knows how to tickle the hopes of the firmer, without
giving any solid comfMt to his heart—it is said that
protection cannot go beyond monopoly, but, intruths
we have had no monopoly—for, When the ports
finally closed in the year 1819, our warehouses and
magazines were full of unbonded foreign corn, of
which we are feeling the effects to this day. There-
fore, the correct statement would be, that we have
had a monopoly, short by the many thousands of
quarters which were then in the warehouses. The
same fallacious document asks, to what purpose
would be a duty on corn, when there is no impoi ra-
tion? I answer, it would give confidence; for,*under
present circumstances, the merchant can only ven-
ture to speculate when tl.e prices arc so low as to be
ruinous maim farmer ; at high prices he cannot pur-
chase, through fear of the opening of the ports. The
general drift of this fallacious document (the Agri-
cultural Report) is to piepaie us fur a free trade in
corn ; for low duties, on a reduction of the averages,
as is proposed by it, can lead to no other result. A flee
trade in corn, or anythiog like it, would be our utter
ruin, for we cannot compete with the fireigner, the
prices of the best wheat at Hamherah, at this time,—
not exceeding oae pound per quarter. Somcdfing
we shell obtain of Ministers, but they wil! be afraid
of conceding all which they know they ought togrant
andtis. el s; l
don Ile
z>loLir;a iadncdif
ttihne cry of
iswdlt;eChyceoatir iriareadnue
to
sacrifice Agriculture at the shrine of Comarerce and