Star.
London, England, 1825-04-29 00:00:00


would seek for it in America. To give it a fair remu-
neration, the price ofiabour mesa be kept down ; for if
it were not kept down, the distreis it would occasion to
the inarnufsiatbret would scion revert strishcsienfirldiatc*
upon the agriculturist. An Hon. Meothiv'bed
and almost as if it had Keit reproach to theirs, r,)Sat
the wot lama of. London had roast beef and plods.
pudding on Saturday, Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday.
He did.not mean to assert that they had it rtes :mid be
had little doubt that they were .accostorneetoWsth
such dainties down by large-dranghti of the ancient atia
constitutional beverage of the nation, beer. Now he
would wish the Hon.Member,the next time that he pre-
sided at the Farmers' Club', to ask the Members of it,
whence. came the roast beef, the plum-pludding, and
the beer, on which the. workmen banquetted ? The
answer mast 'be; that they were all' the, production
of the country ; and alit being the case, he would ask,
what would be the condition of those who produced
these articles, if the workmen could not prome money
to purchase. them? Agriculture could not flourish,
unless all other classes in the country were in prisspei ity.
We had done a great deal already to promote the free-
dom of trade ; but everything could not be done at once.
We had allowed the importation of wool, of iron, and
of various articles which had formerly been prohibited ;
and the effect of that measure had been to produce a
large importation of the prohibited articles. Some diffi-
culty might arise, if we proceeded too far in such a sys-
tem ; and it was therefore prudent to wait awhile where
%now were, to see whether such difficulty would arise ;
and if it did arise, how was it to be obviated ? There
were other considerations which de,erved the notice of
Government. We knew that several foreign countries
were in some distress owing to our exclusion of their
corn, and that they had, in revenge, shut out our ma-
nufactures. It might be worth while to consider, whe-
t ther we did not hold in our hands at present the
keys of unsulving atis difficulty—whether, to those
who excluded our colonial product and our manu-
factures, we had not a right to say, " We will not ad-
mit you to the benefit of a free trade in cern, unless
you will at the same time admit the free introduction of
our manufactures?' This was one of the principal
reasons why he thought that this question might be
permitted CO stand over to a mote convenient period.
He was judging from all the circumstances of the case
when he said that at precept he thought it right to
postpone the discussion on the Corn Laws to another
Session. He complained of the excessive speculation
which was now going forward, not only in Shares and
Companies, but also in foreign merchandise. Such
speculation was the offspring of unnatural excitement ;
and in the body mercantile, as well as in the body phy-
sical, such excitement was generally followed by de-
pression and exhaustion. He called upon those who,
to a certain degree, were the controtilers of the cur•
rency, to watch with care and diligence over the fo-
reign exchanges; and implored the country banks not
to lend their money to the encouragement of crude and
hasty speculations. One of his great reasons fir not
letting the Corn Laws loose at present war, the exces-
sive speculation which was now so prevalent. It had
already deranged the foreign exchanges, and he wished
not to derange them further by opening the door to
similar speculation, in foreign corn. The Right Hon.
Gentleman, after shaky recapitulating his former arguments, sat
down amid considerable cheering.

Mr. BARING said, if the country suffered by the
present state of the Corn Laws, the Right Hon. Gentle-
man ought to take some blame. The Hon. Gentle-
man's thunder this night was new. After that which
had been said it'was proper that Parliament should at
least let the country know whet they intended to do.
Certainly the argument of the Right Honourable Gen-
tleman had furnished ground for immediate inquiry.
In the present state of calm and quiet interest, they
could discuss the subject better than at any other time.
If they left the question undetermined, they would
leave the Agriculturist in a state of doubt and hesita-
tion. When Gentlemen who presented Petitions were
asked by their Constituents, what was the intention of
his Majesty's Government with respect to the Corn
Laws ? not one could say what was going to happen.
There was a strong feeling to avert from the Landed'
Interest the losses they might sustain. He thought they
were entitled to protection, but it must be limited. If
the time should come that the manufacturer could not
bear the protection given to the landed interest, the loss
.would fall on the agriculturist. From the moment ar-
tificial industry is stopped, it falls fatal on the landed
proprietor. No one had shewn more indepeadence of
mind than the Right Honourable Gentleman, but libe-
rality sbcula not carry him too far. Treating the ques-
tion fairly, he could not see how the views of the Right
Honourable Gentleman would be supported without a
reduction in the price of the produce of the land. The
argument why the inquiry should not be put off to
another year appeared to rest on this. In the ports of
the Continent there was a great accuninlation of grain,
and there was a necessity to see what became of it.
What reason was there to suppose the accumulation of
Corn might not continue next year ? The Hon. Member
saw no reason for putting off the subject to next year.
The Right Hon. Gentleman had proposed to let in the
corn in bond. He could see no reason why such corn
should not pay like all other corn. When they fixed
their duty, they did no injury to those who possessed
the corn. They were not obliged to sell it. There
were 200,000 quarters of Corn. At Dantzic it would
be worth 28s. and 80s. here. If it were sold and re-
placed
by Corn from Dantzic, the tain would be enor-
mous. He would give a temptation to bring it into
the market, but certainly not at a bounty of eight or
ten shillings. The corn could at any time be re-
placed by importations from Dantzic. If the
Right Honourable Gentleman gave eight or ten shil-
lings he would find he had given too much. With re-
spect to the protection to be given to the Agriculturists,
he should recommend sixty shillings. It had been said
that the notice of a Member of that House respecting
the Corn Laws, bad set the whole country ire a flame;
but what was the notice of any Member, to the declara-
tion of a Cabinet Minister? What was to be done? No
one could tell. If a new Parliament was to be chosen
next summer, the state of the land-owner and farmer
with respect to this question would be still more doubt-
ful. He thought something more explicit ought to be stated by
the Right Hon. Gentleman.
Mr. HUSKISSON in explanation said, the whet in hood was
privileged, and wheat imported from Dantsic would be liable to 'a
duty of 17s.
Mr. PHILLIPS thought the reason of the Right
Hon. Gentleman for doing nothing this Session would
equAly apply to next Session. The policy of the Right
Hon. Gentleman had hitherto been to improve the caps-
tat of the country. Now, the 'flight Hon. Gentleman
said hit object was not to increase the riches of the country, but 0h
industry of its manufacturers. • . .
Colonel 'WOOD said, the spurn intJereibiek Gem
e; a..t....,ava