The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-07-31 00:00:00

BENEFITS OF FREE TRADE.

(From the Brighton Gazette of Thursday.)
We understand that Messrs. Peckham and Co., who
have lately supplied our workhouse with French flour,
have imported into this country, from their establishment
at Eu, no less than between 17,000 and 18,000 bags of
flour, (about four bushels to the bag), within the last nine
months. Will it be said that these large importations do
not affect the farmers of England ? The cry of the Free
Traders is, what would have been the consequence in
England, if flour had not been allowed to come into this
country duty-free, arguing on the assumption that we
must necessarily have had harvests ? Free-trade is eating
into the very vitals of the farming interest ; and the time
must shortly come, if free-trade principles continue to be
acted upon, when the farmers will be completely ruined.
It is impossible to disguise the fact that, even now, the
farmers are suffering immense losses. Go into any mar-
ket room ; nay, ask any free-trader who knows something
of farming, what sort of position the farmers of this
country occupy at present, and he will tell you that it is
impossible for him to live with such prices. But then,
he adds, the way to obviate this is for the landlord to lower
his rent. What reply, however, does the farmer give to
this ? Why, that even if he paid no rent at all, he could
not cultivate his land with the present burthens upon it,
and compete with the growers of foreign corn.
There is one fact, not generally known to farmers them-
selves, which presses exceedingly hard upon them. We
allude to the duty on oil-cake imported into this country.
About four years ago the French Government finding that
the cake went out of their country at a very rapid rate,
the greater portion of it to England, to the injury of their
own farmers, put on an export duty of 26 francs per ton,
so that the oilcake exported from France into England
has been ever since raised in price to the farmers in this
country. The French farmers fatten their cattle on oil
cake free of duty, whilst the English farmer has to pay
the heavy duty, or if not the duty, he still pays an in-
creased price to the person who imports the cake from
France. How, then, is it possible for the English farmer
to compete with the French breeder of cattle under such
circumstances ? It is well Known that the manure from
cattle fed on oil cake is much more valuable than manure
from cattle fed on other food. Here, again the French-
man has the advantage. His land is greatly improved by
it ; and he farms under easier and better circumstances.
All this is independent of the low amount of Poor-rates,
the absence of tithes, and all other things which the
land in this country is subject to. It is well to get a cheap
loaf; but, if a labourer had no employment, his cheap
loaf would, we apprehend, be a sorry one. Shouldthings
go on as they have done lately,—and there appears little
prospect of change,—the amount of agricultural labour
must inevitably be reduced; and, if we get a cheaper
loaf by the admission of foreign corn duty free, we shall
pay dearly for it in the end by increasing taxation.