Star.
London, England, 1826-05-12 00:00:00

bonded corn to be taken nut of the warehouses,duty free,
• by the Local Committee for relieving the distresses of
tie manottactor-rs, without deciding upon the utility
of mAlci• g A gni of money' inisid of the object of those
Cantinittees ; he wits sAtisfied that if a proposition of
such a n dote would be entertained by the House, it
b- tAr.mnre ad? intageous to grant the money
than to Ohm the corn to be extracted from the %cwt.-

house. free •.1 duty. What would be the effect of that
. course? It would afford too great a benefit to the places
in I.e immediate neighbourhood of the warehouses,whi le
the internal parts of the country would be thereby sub.
ject-d to more distress. Another disadvantage to'which,
this course would be liable, was, that it would serve as
a premium to those Committees to purchase the bonded
corn, and by that means give it ao undue preponderance
over the corn grown in this kingdom—a preponderance,
of the impropriety of which any unbiassed man would
immediately see the danger. If the Bill now heroic the
House should be rejected, the Executive Government
• would be thrown hereafter on its own resources, and in
case of making use of the power of the prerogative; the
Members of it would hare to defend their conduct if
called into discussion, which they would do as we:l as
they could. What was to be done in order to obviote
the necessity, in cases. of emergency, (tom using the
powers of the prerogative? There were three courses
which could be followed—first, to take the general
question of the Corn Laws in delibeiatinn, and to decide
upon them fully. Of this course the House has already
expressed its opinion twice this Sesaion—on the 18th of
April, on the motion of the Hon. Member for Bridge-
north, and on last Friday, when, by a majority of nearly
three to one, it had decided upon the propriety of not
entering at large into the Corn Question. The second
and third courses were either to leave the Corn Laws
exactly as they were, or to pass the present Bill. It was
easy to prove, that in this alternative the passing of the
Bill would be the better mode. If this Bill were pas.ed,
what would be its effect, in case the corn did not rise?
None, for then it could not come into operation. In
case corn did rise, it would provide against an emer-
gency, calculated to cause much evil in the country.—
. Taking the average price of corn, during the last 25
years, it was evident that the chances were not SO few
as to make it certain that such a contingency would not
arise. Looking upon the situation of the country, it
WAS evident that some preparation ought to be made,
for a new Parliament was, of necessity, to assemble
soon, as the present Parliament would expire in Match
next ; a dissolution of Parliament must therefore take
place. In case the emergency arose dining the disso-
lution, how was the Executive Government to proceed,
if a state of distress like the present a; ose ? The distress
of the present moment was owing to the glut of the
gnat ket, caused by the over speculation of last year, and
that a state of distress might again arise, none could
attempt to deny. The probability of it was evident
front the average prices of corn during the last
twenty-five. year:, in sixteen years of which it had
exceeded 7(h. per quarter, and in eight of which it had
been mote than 90.. Was not this contingency to be
guarded against? The remedy for the evil was not to
• be plocursd at the moment—it ought to be provided
before hand. As to the amount of corn imported during
that period of time, be found, by consulting the retorns,
• th t during nine years of those twenty-five, the average
amount of the quantity imported had been more than
9 8 )0,000 quarter., making an annual amount of about
1.109,000 quarters, which left for each quartet of the
year about 290.000 quarters. Now the amount of fo-
re gn corn and flour in the warehouses did not exceed
2'X),000 (par tens, and the whole contingency of impor-
tation, ot. hich so much apprehension had been ex-
cited. did not amount to more-than 800,000, a quantity
of trailing amount compared with the annualamount of
its consumption. As to the observations.of the HIM.
—ltlembet, under the vilely, who had depicted his Ma
jetty's Ministers as acting under the influerce,of ter rot
and agitation, the strong conviction which he enteAalOid of the
omnipotence of Parliament enabled him to assure his Majesty that
lie was sati.fied there was yet moral force enough in the country to
cause Its 4.ICCitiOOS to be adopted. An lion. Member had com-
mented upon the solemn mockery, as that Hon. Member had been
pka.ed to call it, ikf a moral influence; but was it a solemn mockery
• ss WO enabled the manufacturers of Paisley, Glasgow, Notting.
hanishile, Leicestershire, and of parts of Yorkshire, to bear the
almost overwhelming distress which now oppressed them? In.
Maimed by those consideration', and, above all, by the conviction,
that the present course was of all best cakulated to support the wel-
fare •of agrieuhure, be hoped that the House would, by its de-
cision that night, prove its concurrence with the views of the pro-
moters of the ptesenr nieusure—(llear, hear).
MI. 11. SUMNER said, that if the letting out 300,000 quarters
of bonded torn last ) ear bad the effect of reducing the prier of corn
from Os. to 611. what would be the effect of the corn which wa•l
now to be thrown on the country? The elf, ct of this meaturr.
, would he to throw all the poor lands out of cultivation; and as li-
mas well known that the poor lands employed by far the greaten
nu:siber of labourers, a very large pottion of the agricultural la-
booms would be cast upon the poor rates.
Mr. ERN F.. 1 T said, that he was not one of those individuals
who felt at all influenced by the extern al pressure alluded to.by
the Right lion. Gentleman. The Right Hon. Gentleman had said,
that the Corn Laws had nothing to Jo with producing the present
distress; and then be (Mr. lienett) asked, why meddle with
them ? For his own part, he attributed much of the present
shores' to the change in our currency, the consequence was di,-
ustrou4; then again c •me a flood of paper cireulation—suble
Trendy came it, withdrawal—thence arse fresh distress; and
Vet distress which the re-issue only of p iper currency could re-
lieve.—(llear.) lie denied that the issue of bonded corn could in
any material degree srrve the people; if the price were reduced,
the agriculturists must suffer without relieving the manufacturers;
aid the ultimate effect of the proposed measure must be to injure
the smaller tradesmen, and all those who depended upon them. He
!loped something more would be done fur the distressed manufac-
turers than had been done—for he confessed that he wished to see
all interest prosper, fur the good of one was intimately connected
with the good of all.
Mr. •V HA lITON said, that as he had opposed the principle of
this measure at its beginning, its progress, and through every stage
which it had gone through, he should be innocent of the comes
quences, whatever they might be.—(Hear.)
Mr. WHITMORE spoke, amid loud and incessant cries .1
" Question." It was impossible to collect the particulars of whet
he said.
Mr. IRVING also attempted to address the House; but owing
to the continued cries of " Question" was quite inaudible in the
Gallery.—Strangers were then ordered to withdraw.
At our return into the Gallery we found the numbers to have been
For the Second Reading . . 189
Agahsat it • • • 65

Majority • • 124
The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of, and the
House adjourned at a QUARTER-I%ST TWaLira.

Letters from Madrid of the 27th ult state. that the
Gentleman who went out as agent for the settlement of British
claims on Spain, has quitted that capital on his return to England,
without having accomplished his object. It is said that the nego-
tiation going on at Madrid for procuring a recognition by Spain of
the independence of her late trans-Atlantic possessions, has recently
increased in activity, though the prospect of bringing it to any de-
halts conclusion continued to be very remote. The proposition is
understood to be entertained by the Kiss, but is opposed by his
!undies' Don Cantos and his party. The main difficulty, however,
the want of any pecuniary offers on the part of the new States.
The Cotton-spinners in the Basro field Mills, Glas-
saw.hav% seceded to the tetras of their employers.