Star.
London, England, 1828-04-01 00:00:00

FRENCH PAPERS.

1%0)4 1111 DIESSACIER DES CHAIIIIIRS, MARCH 29.
PARIS, MARCH CL _ _ _

According to letters trent Constantinople of.the 17th
of February, insetted in !he (;ozetle of Florence, tht
principal inhabitants of that capital have been convoked
at the Mufti's, In consider of the means of turnish:ng the
Government with a loan of 2,000,000 of talat is, which
it requires for its preparations,

About 80.000 Asiatic troops have hitherto been sent
towards Adrianople. They lay waste every thing upon
their road, And commit unheard of cruelties and every
kind of excess. No woman dares go out at any hour of
the day.—Letters from the frontiers of Russia say—
it The regiments of cavalry of the guard,which alore
remained at St. Petersburgh arid in the environs, haie
left it to march to the srsuth. Nothing is yet said of the
departure of his Imperial Majesty to the army ; besides,
the reports which have been circulated for this week past,'
of hostilities commencing upon the Ps wit and upon the
Danube, have not yet received any kind of confirmation."

VIENNA, MARCH
20.
The ordinary post from Constantinople of the 25th
rf February arrived to-slay ; but the letters are not yet
distributed. We know already that the Purte has re-
turned to more moderate dispositions. and that she has
tranted the Greeks an Pimistice ot three mouths.assur-
ing them of an amnesty, it they will make their aub-
ia•»ion Ciazeite.

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS, MARCH 31.

The Press *as not admitted until $ ve minutes before Bee o'clock-
Seurat strangers were allowed to enter before the Gentlemen who
had to report the proceedings, and take poisession of their places at
the Bar. „
The Dute 'irsairociott made his appearance at five,o'clock.
He wore a Blue ltiband, Star, and Darter. Hr was soon followed
by Lesd Gotocarc*, the Duke of CatoUcasraa, Lord ELDON. and a
number of others, there being an uncommon number of Peer, pre.
sent. The space. too, helrw the Throne Via, crowded with Mem-
bees from the House of Comfoons. Indeed, to have seen the
assemblage of Commoners, one wonid have auppostd that nothi
-10 interest was going on in their own Hem.

Lord TEyFacim presented a Petition from the broad silk
%Vedette of Spitalfirlds, praying for an increase of their wages.
Ike Duke of GLOUCESTER presented a Petition from cer-
tain Pl✓otrstant Dissenters of Gloucester, Fri-Iring for the Repeal of
the Corporation and Test Acts.
The Drake of AIONTROSE presented a Petition from the Pro-
vost and Corporation of Glasgow, against the Corporation and
Test Acts.

The Duke of NEWCASTLE presented a Petition from Wood.
borough, against the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts. Tb.
Noble Duke also presented a Petition from certain Wool-growers
residing near Sherwood Forest, in Nottingham, against the Im-
portation of Foreign Wool.—The Petition was laid on the tAble.

CORN LAWS.

The Duke of WELLINGTON said—ln rising to
move your Lordships for certain papers, which will
tend to show the operation of the Act passed in the
course of the last Session of Parliament, relative to the
protection of the home consumption of corn, from the
Ist of July in that year, I avail myself of this oppors
tunity of st ding to the House the nature of the measure
Government intend to propose to Parliament for reform
of the Corn Laws, and the principles upon which that
measure is founded. My Lords, your Lordships are
well aware that there are a variety of opinions on this
subject throughout the country. Some of those opinions
reach both the extremes. I have considered it my duty,
and my colleagues have considered it theirs, in the
mea, are we are about to propose, to endeavour to steer
a course between those two extremes, and to bring for.
ward a measure that will conciliate, if possible, all par.
ties, and be favourable to the public at large. You,
Lordships will recollect, that notwithstanding the ex-
tremes of these.opinions, all patties agree generally that
corn might to be in some measure protected—(llear.)
I believe that in Parliament few, if any, have expressed
en opinion that corn should be imported into this coun.
try entirely free of duty. Some, indeed, have expressed
an opinion that the duty unfit to be very small ; but
all have agreed that some protection ought to be
afforded to the agriculturists of this country. This opi-
nion, however, is founded on the great burden of taxa-
tion on this country generally, and the peculiar burdens
falling upon the land. Those who favour the opinion
that the duty ought to be but small, hold out a docttinc
that goes to establish a system, under which the per.rer
lands of di: country, which have been brought into cal-
Amnion by the industry and capital of the country, are
again to be put out of cultivation, and the richer lands
are to be in some degree neglected, in order to meet with
those views. My Lords, this country has been brought
into its present high state of cultivation by the protection
Parliament has afforded to agriculturists, and which has
induced Gentlemen to lay out their capital in the cultiva-
tion of estates, and in bringing in lands formerly waste.
The effect of the system of those who are to; this low
rate of duty would be to throw those poor lands again
cut of cultivation—to di-courage cultivation generally
—and to diminish the productive powers of this country.
F.nally, it would leave the country dependent on the
agriculturists of foreign parts—(Hear, hear.) My Lords,
I shall not exaggerate the consequence of such a system
as this, but I beg your Lordships to recollect the con
sequences that might result, if the powers of the domi-
nions from which our supplies were to be derived, were'
to think proper to lay a heavy tax upon their exports--
upon their transits to this country. I entreat your Lord
ships to consider what e mild be the consequences or
soch a measure, and sh.ch, 1 would say, patties might
be highly justified in adopting. But, supposing these
to act in ntodrtationo and not to adopt such a measure

as the oue proposed, this country would still find itself,
as it has previously found itself in years of famine, both
in the last and the present century. Thus it would
be exposed to the heaviest expense ; the costs in Hol•
land and elsewhere would not be increased! the
prices here would regulate, not the prices there,
but the profits of all those who would be concerned
in bringing the produce to this country. Under these
circumstances, I am of opinion that the reduction
of the duty would not produce in Eogland a reduc-
tion of price, but that on the contrary it would pro-
duce an enormously increasing price. Putting the ques-
tion aside as, in this sense, it regards foreign importation,
I would beg your Lordships w look to Ireland, and see
the consequences of the want of encouragement to agri-
culturists there. That country now supplies us with
about two mill'ons of quarters of grain of different de-
scriptions, of which, in the course of last year, the supply
of wheat was not less than four bundle.' thousand
quarters. My Lords, I beg your Lordships to look to
that which 1 might almost say is the only—at least one
of the two only—manufactures of Ireland. If you were
to reduce the duty to this low degree, it would be to
deprive you of that plenty hitherto enjoyed. I have
stated that the GeniTsmen of this country have, by the
expense of their capital and the labour employed, raised
the agricultoral state to that high condition in which it
stanJs—(hear!)—and nothing would be :mire unjust
than to take from them the protection which enabled
them to bring the country a state so desirable,
and deptive them of those rents which are their due
from the capital they have la:d cut—(Hear, hear !)
My Lords, 1 say the .merchants, the manufecturer-,
the poor, and the whole public, are interested in
the maintenance of this independent condition of the
country. The Nobility, the Gentry, nay, I *try the Go-
vernment itself, are interested in supporting it, from the
advantages derived from its condition. I say. then,
th..t even if I could believe that I could make grain
cheaper by withdrawing from it the protection it now
receives, I would not do it at such an expense to the
interests of the country at large, and therefore hope
that system will be thrown from our consideration alto-
gether. The other system differs from this, in being
the contrary extreme—it is one of entire prohibition,
which, I must say, is greatly to be complainer.: of, and
scarcely less objectionable than that to which I have
adverted. The truth, my Lord,. i-, it cannot be carried
strictly into execution wither .t exposing the Country to
the greatest inconvenience—first froin want ; next
from a superabundance of grain in the country, at
a time when we fright want to be relieved from it, and
it at by a c epression of prices, both as affecting the corn
-I this country, and that brought from abroad. Such
incouveutences the country could only be relieved from
by the interference of Government, or by the Ministers
of the Crown comink to Parliament to get it to enact
laws for the purpose. The Noble Duke wished their
Lordships to recollect an Act, which was passed to
enable the holders of cr rn in bond. previ•ms to the Ist
of July, 1827, to introduce that corn into consump-
tion r paying the duties laid .on by the Act. By
the papers kit which he should move, the House
would be able to see the result t f that.measute. When
the Bill wits brought in, his Grace said he considered,
it only an experiment. It certainly had not entirely
failed ; but the truth was, it had not answered exp. c-
cation. By one of the clauses, those who had corn in
bond were obliged to take it out between May and July,
therefore they were pressed by time. The corn in bond
on the 19th of July amounted to 137,969 quarters. The
quantity taken out of bond amounted only to 119 434
quarters. There remained In bond a large quantity an
the period alluded to, a:.d the inference was, that the
home supply was not such as to render foreign supply
necessary. The corn taken out of bond did not exceed
one-fifth of all the coin in bond. The Noble Duke then
stated his intended scale of duties. The difference be-
tween the duties of the present Bill and the intended
measure would be this—

5116 to 52s a Quarter 28s ad Duty
59s to 604 271 ad
60s to 61s 26. ad
61. to 621 25s ad
62s to 63s 24$ ad
63. to 64s 23. ad
64. to 65s 22. sd
65s to 66, 21s sd
66s to 67s 20. 8d
67s to bas las sd
68. to 69s 16. 8d
69s to 70$ 15$ lid
70s to 7111 tos sd
711 to 72s 66 84
72. to 73. 23 sd
736 to 74s Is Gd
The Noble Duke adverted to another point. In the course
of the discussion, last year, upon the subject of corn, he
moved a resolution, the object of which aas to prevtnt
fraud in taking the averages. Since last year a great
deal had been done to iemedy frauds on the part of the
officers taking the averages. In the first place, Irish
and Scotch cum, in the markets of Great Britain, had
I been included in the averages, and the returns differed
from those made formerly. His Grace concluded his
observations by moving there be laid before the House
an account of the average price of wheat from the Ist
of July last to the latest petiod ; also the quantity of
foseign corn entered for home consumption to the same
period, and the i ate of duty paid for the same.
The motion was agreed to.
The Duke of WELLINGTON then moved that the intended
scale of duties be read by the Clerk. It was accordingly read.
Lord FALMOU TH said, that he expected that the
statement of the Noble Duke would have been so clear
and satisfactory as not to call for any remarks or
observations from him. He certainly regretted much
that this expectation, which was raised by the open-
ing observations of the Noble Duke, had been en-
tirely disappointed by the character of the measure
which it now appeased that he intended to introduce.
Although be entertained the highest possible respect
for every thing emanating from the Noble Duke, yet
he did not :chain from expressing his disappointment
at the inadequate protection about to be afforded to
that most important class—the agricultural interest of
this country. Without entering into a consideration at
the present stage, of all the details of what fell from
his Noble Friend at the head of his Majesty's Go•
vernment, he was still anxious to submit a few ge-
neral observations on the subject t because if he, hum-
ble as he was, could suggest any thing to then
Lordships likely to influence them in their ultimate
determination, he thought that the present would
undoubtedly be, the best opportunity. He, however,
begged to remind their Lordships that circumstances had
most materially changed since the Bill, similar to the one
now proposed, Wail discussed in the last Sessi3u—(Heart