Star.
London, England, 1820-05-31 00:00:00

COll.l- that protecdod width they. had ea-
.
' ire to deli* (turn. it,'and in fa.et-Ooly proveci tbs.
haposiibiritr of frOls.tering up the 'vices of ii4ciesiaf
'necessary consumption by, means of legislation. SO
serongly did he feel this, that if he thought it possible
that a Committle could again come to.niselutions of
' that sort, he did not know. but Bektor one,,shoul4 be
disposed.. to 'go into the Cbmitilffee now Mcived for.
The lion. Member toe Essex, with that Manly can-
dour which belonged to his character, ha stated his
f!
object to be a higher protecting.. price: ' . without
saying to what extent he wished to pin ta ! 4 respect.
He imputed all the existing, distress to the low price
of corn ; but what. he (Mr. Baring). 'could wish to
know, would be the iituation of the lower classes,: if
the plan of the Hon. Memberl'or Essex were carried
into effect, and the price of bread advanced SO. 40s
or 50 per cent.? The extent to which the Honour-
able Member (Mr. Western) would proceed, be did
not know. We already paid for bread double the
price paid by the rest of the world, brit that would
not satisfy him. Would he, then, have the people of
England pay three times the price that was paid by
the inhabitants of other countries? Bat how, in that
ease, would it be possible for our manufacturing
classes to Tarry on their 'labour ? But some might
say, " Let us have a high price for corn, and never
mind theinanufacturing classes—let them shift for
themselves as they can !" It was, however. certain
'that that which enabled this country to pay a high
price for its bread, was the circumstance of our having
these manufacturing classes among us; and setting
aside the consideration, that having these interests, it
was impossible to shake them off—without them the
present prices could nof be kept up in a country merely'
agricultural. It was hence clear, that all attempts to
separate the two classes must prove useless : their in-
terests were hound up _together, and one could nut
flourish when the other was severely distressed.—
He then, from a comparison of the prices of corn,
spewed that no alteration in the Corn L4WS was ne-
' cessary from the present depressed state of the agri-
cultural interest. It was admitted that no foreign
corn had been brought into this country for the last,
eighteen months, and therefore if the protecting
price had been 100 s. the corn-grower would only
have been where he at present was. The price of
corn could not be forced up, in the manner that the,
Gentlemen connected with the landed interest sup-
posed to be practicable by the interference of Par-
liament—it must depend on the relative circum-
stances of the country. The farmer suffered from
the distress of the manufacturer, and the manufac-
turer suffeted from the ,distress of the farmer. But
the Hon. hlembet for Essex made it appear that it
was all on one side—that, because the farmer could
not consume, the' manufacturer suffered ; but he,
(Mr. Baring) would maintain, that because the ma-
nufacturer could not consume, the farmer suffered.
—lt had been proved, that in one manufacturing
district, the number of beasts slaughtered in one
year had been reduced from .58,000 to 46,000.
This proved that the people there (as in Ireland) were
too poor to purchase the higher classes of agricul.;
tural produce. The present protecting price, he was
of opinion, ought not to be augmented. Every clasi
had seen its profits diminished, and the present effort
on the part of the landed proprietors seemed to him
but an effort to exempt themselves from the com-
mon. lot of every other class in society. They would
find tiremselves mistaken. If Parliament were to give
them a hundred shillings as a Frroteeting price, the
landlords would not be able to keep up their rents
as they teem during the war. The only effect of an
effort to accomplish this would be, to bring down
the rents lower than they would otherways fall.
Much stress had been laid, and in discussions like the
present always had been laid, on the great burdens
imposed by taxation on the landed interest. It would
be found, by referring to the evidence given before
the Committee on the Corn Laws, that the burdens
imposed by Government on Agriculture were of
little moment. With the exception of the tax on
agricultural horses (which was very small), the bur-
dens which they had to sustain were trifling—(Hear).
But when it was asset ted that they could not enter
'into competition with countries which were not so
oppressed by taxation, they forgot that in every other
country in &trope the land itself was heavily taxed.
This must be the case in poor and in agricultural
countries, where the whole of the revenue must be
derived from land. The Petitions which covered the
table he did not think entitled to much attention.
'They resembled those which had been presented some
years ago on the subject of Universal Suffrage, and
they had been got up in the same way. He thought
the Agricultural classes suffered less than others. He
did not mean to say that they did not suffer conside-
rably, but he conscientiously believed that they had
less cause for complaintthan most of the other classes
of the community. For the.evils of which they com-
plained they must seek a remedy" which could not be
afforded to them by legislation and new laws—they.
must-seek it in a recloction.of their rents. The depres-
sion be did not think was so great as had been gene-
rally supposed. At least he should be led to this con-
clusion from his own small experience in that way. He
bad recently let considerable farms for the same rents,
as formerly, without even a claim being made on
the part of the farmers for a diminution of rent.—
The table, it was true, was now loaded with Petitions.
from :he Agricultural Interest, but when these were
removed, it would immediately be covered with Pe-
titions of an opposite character, if there were any pro-
ability of the grayer of,those now before.them•being
attended to. kor these, however, he trusted there
would be no occasion, as he doubted not the manner
in which the present Petitions were received, would'
satisfy the country that there existed no serious.in-.
tension of altering the Corn Laws. With respect to•
the. averages, if there had-been any abuse, they
:abuse ought certainly •to be done away. Thd
parties complaining of this had the remedy lit
their own hands, and a remonstrance to the Magis-
trates would probably do away mith the nikessity et
.1,
'calling for the interference offarliament. He.cobt
eluded by. repeating his declaration that be had no iii-,
teption of roopting any question connected with ti*
Corn Laws, a rid expressing the iimportance he attathest
to steady perseverance in any system once adopted.
Mr, I-% 1.11, 'IS .said, the
.far mers; under 'the pre-
seat system, were so agitated by rumours of the open-
ing and shutting of ports, and by statements:that the
overagestiwbeir all-kisese.iuseas.no-easy triskito takq
properly', were -iitnitiOpertt .tatea4 that • he' di'd • tint'
think they could bc tranquillised without some in-