The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1840-01-14 00:00:00

Tli ANTI.CORN LAW AGITATORS,

(From the, tafordshire Gazette.)
We think it right to warn our readers of the efforts which
are now tieing made for the repeal of the corn laws. I ti, urant
lecturers arc proCeeding from town to town, on the whining
,pretences of patriotism and benevolence, denouncing these
laws as oppressive to ahe.labouring classes, and even injuri-
ous to the farmers, for whose immediate protection they
were .enacted. But let us not be deceived by the artful
speeches and false reasoning of these wily orators, who, be
it known, are i,ot impelled by their sympathy with hungry
multitudes, to tickle their ears _with their high-seasoned elo-
quence, but by the pAY of certain master-mountebanks, who
pull the wires by which these puppets are made to dance.
We are not disposed to be very severe upon these lecturers
for the performance of their duties to their employers; still,
when an audience is thus called together, surely something
like truth and reason is due to them, unless they attend for
the purpose of being deceived, abused, and insulted. But
this is an age in which clever men are driven to seek employ-
ment in a great variety of ways, as well as an age of unions
and, joint-stock companies. A project being conceived, au
association is formed, and talented persons are employed, as
agents and speech-makers, to carry out their plans, as the
phrase is—one of which plans invariably is, to make honest
John Bull pay-the-piper, either in proprietary shares, admis-
sion to the lecture room, penny subscriptions, or in some
more indirect and less apparent way. Some-months ago, in
the busy town of Manchester, a dozen or two of patriotic'
cotton-spinners, groaning and struggling under what they
call n'nmense loads of'oppression—thereby meaning large ac-
cumulatious of capital, which they could not employ so as
to produce them quite 20 per cent.—and ready as Pat would
say, to spend their last shilling to save *the remainder—.
met and formed one of these unions, called " The Anti-
Corn-Law Association ;" the avowed purpose of -which was.
to effect a repeal of the corn-laws, but its ulterior and main
object being to bring about a signal and general reduction of •
the wages of labour, by means of which the conspirators cal-
culated on making princely fortunes; to further whichlauda-
hle . objects, most of these patriots, out of their extreme
penury and distress, contrived to subscribe the pretty little
sum of ONE Tit crusaN D POUNDS each ! They have their spa-
cious office, with their clerks and itinerant orators, all of
whom are, of course, well paid ; and the work assigned to the
latter is to collect audiences as they best can, and by flatter-
ing their worst passions, to delude them into a conviction
that a free trade in corn would operate as a remedy for all
they complain of. Now, as we said before, it is some apology
for these travelling impostors, that they are only the hired
advocates of a bad cause—just as a clever lawyer is engaged
in the defence of a murderer ; his peculiar duty on such an
occasion is, not to tell the truth, but to try to conceal it : lie
is retained and paid for the express purpose of saving the
murderer's lite, if he can ; and this he attempts by all means
in his power, at the expense of truth and justice, and the
public good. • Now, as this is the acknowledged rule of the
profession, we do not quarrel with the individual for following
it. But-if we were on the jury, it would be our business to
attend to the evidence, and to form our opinion on the facts
elicited, and to tal.:e special care not to be led away by the
sophisms of the learned advocate.
It is thus, then, that we would estimate the weight of these
anti-corn-law lectures, the false arguments and distorted
facts in which we must not suffer to deceive us. But.we
should look at the facts as they are. Is it not evident that
this country, taxed as it is, cannot compete with foreign
countries, comparatively untaxed, in the production of either
corn or manufactures, without our having secured to us, by
means of protecting duties, a preference in our own markets?
Are not all our manufactures fostered and protected in this
way? And why, then, is the landed interest alone—that on
which our very existence depends—to be left unprotected ?
when every sound statesman knows, that if our domestic
agriculture were destroyed, no possible amount of importa-
tion could, in years of general scarcity, secure us against
famine. No one doubts that, in years of plenty, foreign corn
could be brought here at a less price than we can grow it for,
any more than that foreign silks could be imported for less
than they can be manufactured in this country. But what
then ? Are our millions of labourers employed in these pro-
ducts to be deprived of their daily bread on this account ?
A nation ought to be regarded as one great family, whose
interest it is to buy as little from foreigners, and sell as much
to them as possible. Other countries are not so blind in
their policy as to buy from -us more than they want, and
what they really want they will take at all events. limier
this view, then, if we purchase foreign corn and pay our
money.foritawc, as a nation, become so much the poorer ;
but if -we grow our own corn, it costs us nothing but our
labour, which could not be otherwise employed to the same
advantage, nor perhaps to any real benefit whatever., Con-
sider the fact of the five or six millions of our gold' which
have been recently paid' for foreign grain, and the grent stag-
natioo of - trade which this drain of our wealth has produced
amongst us. Why was not this grain paid for in woollens,
and cottons, and hardware, and 'o rockery ? Simply because
those who supplied it did not want such gOods and there.'
.fore would not take them. What they want, and what the
continental nations in, general -want, is cur gold, to enable,
them to manuthcture for themselves, They have already
our machinery and our workmen ; and give them a portion of
our capital in payment for their corn, and they will soon rival
our manufacturers in our own markets. Behold, then, the
precious fruits of free trade=—must we shut our eyes while
these political quacks delude Our ears? Undoubtedly, one
effect of a repeal of the cornalawg Weida be a great reduc-
tion-of wages ; because a large proportion of the agricultural.
labourers, being deprived of their accustomed work, would
necessarily -enter into competition with the 'manufacturing
labourers ; and this redtmdancy of hands would cause a cor-
responding scarcity of employment.- This would answer the•
purpose of the great manufacturers, by enabling them to fill,
up the measure of their proposed wealth iu double-quick
time;' but it would be ruin..to the' tabotWing 'classes.
what is the national benefit -ottliese already opulent manu-
facturers becoming so enormously;rich ?'" Have we •not ex-.
ainples enough of them ? They are gradually supplanting the
old race of land proprietors; and do we not usually find
them harder task-masters than the hereditary aristocracy ?
But who ever heard of a farmer thriving at this ratea or in-
deed of his raising himself, even -in the course of a long life;
above mediocrity ? And can- any moral reason be offered
why a farmer, with a certain amount of capital; should nothave an equal chance of enriching himself with a manufac-
turer of the like capital? But farmers have not their thou-
sands to subscribe for purposes of agitation ; nor is it their
practice to conspire to enrich themselves at the expense of
other people. They are plain matter of fact men, who would
scorn to hire ranting speech-makers to travel the country, on
their behalf, to-persuade the ignorant and unwafy that black
is white; as is the ease with the " Anti-corn-law ASaoCia
Lion." B -,
ut the trick is out, itul we would, earnestly guard
.all honest men against being gulled by the maieuvring-of
these combined manufacturers to procure-'a repeal :of the
corn-laws, merely to enable themselve:4 to draw enormous
profits out of the reduction of wages, which' they foresee
would be the eonsewittfie: '
-One of the einissaaikiiii thisrworshipful association,
ing himself Mr. Sydney Smith, lies lately been lecturing in
this county; not the Sir Sydney Smith, of whom we have
formerly heard, whose name is immortalized by his'brave-de-
fence of an Acre; but, as we suspect, a very opposite charac-
ter, - who under the guise of a distinguished name; comes to
declare perpetual war against all Mir acres. • kis- one of the
known habits-of all parasites to attach themselves to diseased
subjects ; end we, accordingly, find this slimy gentleman•fx-
ing his fangs on the morbid heads of radicalism and political
dissentpolitical dissent, we say, for we would not inshivate‘
aught against conscientious religious dissent; however we
may lament its existence. It would be only a waste of time
and words to ex pose and refute all the mis-statements and ex-
aggeration of this- long-winded lecturer; but to show how-
little his.statements are to be trusted, it may be necessary to
treat our readers who do not see the " North Staffordshire
Mercury," with a sample or two of his accuracy and consis-
tency. After a large measure of low abuse and calling of
names of the landowners, he states that Peel's famous cur-
rency bill destroyed, at one blow, half the property of the
merchant and labourer, whilst the value of landed property
was doubled. Had he said the value of funded property was
doubled -by it, he would have been nearer the truth ; but this
would not have suited his purpose. Ile then states the average
wages-of farm labourers in several counties, at ss. or 6s. per
week only-; and in another part of his lecture he hints, what a
good exchange they would make by going into the large town
to receive 30s. per week ; here we see his real object veep
but—namely, to allure country labourers into the towns, in
order to reduce the factory wages.' Even in Manchester, he'
-'says, they might earn 245. But amongst the people he was
then addressing, and whom he dignifies with the title of the
" Aristocracy of labour," a girl of nineteen or twenty could'
earn 19s. Or 20s. per week.- The odour of this, however, was
whale too strong to he between the wind and their nobility :
murmurs' of disapprobation arose ; and a gentleman present
—not one of the aristocrats—was so good as to set the lec-
turer aright in this trifling mistake, by informing him that the
average earnings of such-young women did not exceed 12s.
per week. But, suppose -we were to admit the truth of all
this man's statements, in•whatlight would they show the dis-
tress of the manufacturers? 'Would they not make out a very
strong case in favour of greater protection being given to the
agricultural interest, and less to the manufacturing ? - So
much* for the lecturer's accuracy, and now for his consistency,
a single• example of which may suffice. He repeatedly states
the present price of wheat at 80s. per quarter ; and the pre-
sent rate of duty on wheat' imported, he says, exceeds 10s.
per quarter. Now, he knew, or ought to have knovin, that
when the average price of wheat rises to 735. per quarter, the
import duty can only be ls. per quarter. In short, his whole
lecture is a tissue of false and garbled statements, only cal-
culated to mislead those who know nothing of the facts; And
it is for-this impudent attempt to deceive, and for the quack-
, cry of prating about what he does not' understand; that we
are induced to Show him up. On the horns of this dilemma,
then, we leave him, and let him take shame to himself, either
for having undertaken to lecture on a subject of which he
was grossly and culpably ignorant, or for having asserted as
facts what he knew to be absolutely and mischievously false.

ABOOT CORN-LAW HUMBUGGIN.

To th' Edditor of th' Manchester' Courrier, from a Chap e

Chestier.

Sbn,—Seeing neebur clodhopper last papper but one, we
his better laming, had a spel at yore corn-law brawlers, pre-
tendiri to'kno all aboot their own intrest; an non ahoot ourn,
of which they care no moor than the wisp o' a cat's tail. It
strikes me, that being born we so niich gab in their heed,
they mun-at ther burths'a saved ther muther's au th' gruntin,
by givin mouth thersels. Rare chaps these fellies! It seems
to ha cam at furest quite natrul, 'an to ha•groun up we em—
an religion an respect for providence they tack no heed for;
an if bad corn times cum, they, set it au doon to us clods, that
ha a fou life to geet a lifin among em-an tauk as if price
wur to be at th' lowest when we ha the worst crops. If yo
notis, Mr. Edditor, ' they allus float at top, like cream, at
such times, an are as bossy as bees when swarmin--ay, an
they'd sting as hard if yo'd let 'em. They's whissy chaps,
ba'nt 'em? If we fellies in Chesher cau'nt turn up ten thoo-
san clods a minuet, and mack furros we plughs as fast as
wildfire ruitS----tinack grass gro, an mack itself into hay with-
oot help—feed cows we a whirligig—mack 'em milk oneanu-
ther, an grO corn under umbrellas, an ripen it we stem, they
think nowt On us, but sets a taukin aboot forrin parts, when
they get th' extinguisher of failin seesons on our heeds as
they'thinks—an grumbles if we put on Saxon stockins. Ye
see Mr. Edditor, they wants to feed up thee own guts, and to
mask fiddle strings o ours, if we'd let 'ern ; but doe what yo
con for us, if yo pleeasen, Mr. Edditor, for it's plain they'd
bike to see au th' land in th' queen's dominyuns growin
rushes, that they moight donee to 'em, while ther green.
God help 'em, they allus macks t'moost stur when wee's t'
wurst off ; and when ther e' th' same case abrooad, an we're
lucky we plenty, ther gabs are as close as shutters at midneet;
vgootroidts dinnerklike o
a're're i
ptt,un anp b ;
e
as if turn aboot, under th' blessin o' th' Almighty, wur not
as fair for one as another. But leave 'em to msels, they'll
thhaey a
an si et
whenhen othey'a
lls;i
thesdusmt
stuff
toll
off ther storufnaks, they'll be th' better for 't ; for yo sees,
rtilniey;nlr-titsr,alposik7gccootffchwyeeedthdiearrf:co-f
Mr. Edditor, t' biles bin eunimin on a lung tonne this bout,
etollitif°o.;
oiul, .an WelPget•rid o':th' windy whiffiers ; or let some o'
ta4swileOnn they BAs
reiri WIT lond e Chesher, and cum we titer whirligigs to work
it, 'an they'll foind us no so weel off as they'd thinks for. If
they dos cum, they'll lam summut moor thun they knose,
I'll warrant 'etn7pra t 1
s to moind ther owd bissness, and to
work
' it better, if they havant' got to a stan still areddy,
Good by, Mr. Edditor, till yo meets agin we .
WILLY WEASLE,
If a poor chap bike as me bees worth yore notis in yor papper.

• One of the trawl boats belonging to this port saw, one day
this week, just outside the Lizard, a fine whale, blowing up
the water to a tremendous height. This is the second whale
w
which has been seen by the crew of the same vessel during
the last fortnight.—Falmouth Packet.