The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1846-03-17 00:00:00

necessarily, in its t

is to our mind fa
two), the col,
ceased to benefit the mother country in any w

worse (and could
)mes become a drag G n

d only last a year 'r

empire, bavi

ley hive threw

legi,late for their trade, and commenced free trade w
all the we '
But we

as for the retention of the colonies only,
e interest of England.

We hold that it were better for England to lose her
colonies, magnificent though these be, than to forbear

seed population in this country

Though we before pointed out that the adoption of free
trade would necessarily lose the colonies (whose markets
there is no reason for us going to the expense of defend-

not pretend to argue that, to save the colnaies, for their
own sake alone, should prever.t us adopting free trade in
England, if the greater and more immedidte interests of
the mother country would be advanced thereby.
Far, however, from this being the case, we view free
trade as tending to reduce the extent of our own manu-
factures, to degrade the condition of our manufacturers,
4 t 7 for tl• bye a

-lIUS .0 secure -tie aristocracy by-and-,
monopoly of political power in England, as rendering it
in character more an agricultural country than at present!
T t .

iaeL, we view tnat tree trade is suicide on the part of
Mr. Cobden and the weavers. We cannot suppose any
way by which Sir Rcbert Peel has secured the support of
those independent members of the aristoc:acy, who are
favourable to his measure, in the face of the scorn of their
friends and the inward contempt of their former political
adversaries, but by their seeing it to be the ultimate
interest of THEIR CLASS.

Sir Robert Peel may have shown them that, as they
individually are now able to submit to a loss, they should
do so, as this would be the only means of rolling back the
tide of popular feeling in politics, and securing the re-
duction of every interest in the country into the narrow
limit that formerly enabled them to control the govern-
ment of the country.

Sir Robert Peel's measure, in fact, as he well knows,
while he puts all interests down, puts down the manu-
facturing interest more than any other, and will eventually
make it a secondary interest in England.
Sir Robert Peel's measure may deprive the landlord of
luxuries, or even comforts, which an artificial state of so-
ciety has named necessaries, but the weaver will be de-
prived of ACTUAL EMPLOYMENT (as a weaver): thus,
Ist. The landlords who are not driver, to become absen-
tees will not be able to pay for seventy-five per cent. (or
three•fourths) the amount of goods they now take, and a
large part of that diminished quantity • will be foreign
manufactures.

2nd. The tenants and agricultural labourers, even if
they take as many goods, (a thing impossible,) will, like
the other classes of the community, prefer some (less or
more) foreign articles, and thus a falling off in the manu-
facture of the British article will accrue ; but as the
British agriculturists and weavers will both have to com-
pete with foreigners of less expensive habits or modes of
life, who are, in fact, content with coarser food than the
English get in workhouses, and not require the same
amount of fuel or clothing—their views in these respects
must no doubt come down to prevent them starving amid
so cruel a competition (foreigners having the run of British
markets, but not the British in foreign markets.)
3d. The colonies will, in the same wuy, take fewer
British goods, under free trade between each colony and
all the world even if their means of buying were not
reduced. It is self-evident, however, that, to the extent
that their wheat, or their sugar, or their timber produces
less money, they must take fewer goods.
4th. The manufacturer will not have all these deficien-
cies in demand from British and hitherto favoured chan-
nels made up to him by a similar or greater amount of in-
crease in the foreign demand. On the contrary, instead
of increasing, the foreign demand will gradually fall off;
governments abroad will, by their duties, prohibit British
goods the more they see that they can in British gold for
their products find for a few years that impulse for their
domestic manufactures which hitherto they have wanted,
but which in a few years would not only create in an in-
creased manufacturing population a great enduring home
market for their produce (enduring if they don't take up
free trade theories), but enable them to compete with
England in other foreign markets, if not in England itself.
So that the independent aristocracy see, that, though
the ordeal will be a fiery one to their neighbours whose
lands are in debt, and a more fiery one still to the manu-
facturers, or rather weavers, the final result will assuredly
be, that the landowners will be the permanently predo-
minant and popular or powerful interest, the weavers
having been one-half driven back again to the fields by
want of manufacturing employment. The effect, in fact,
of Sir Robert Peel's measure will be to prevent all pro-
gress in manufacturing, and reduce the whole of the in-
terests of the country into a narrower compass, in which,
in the way we have pointed out, agriculture will loom the
largest, not because large, but because all other interests
have been made smaller in proportion by Sir Robert
Peel's liberal measure.

Without imputing improper, or rather dishonourable
motives to Sir R. Peel, we ass.lrt beyond the fear of con-
tradiction, that at present he is the means of misleading
the public mind. Towards the end of his great speech on
the evening of the 16th ult. he says—
And suppose the tenant said, " But this is a labourer's ques-
tion ?" I should answer, " Then,my good fellow if we make this
land which now produces three quarters, produce five quarters,
we shall employ more labourers. There will be a greater de-
mand for labour, and all parties will be benefited. The estate
will be benefited ; the guarantee for the rent will be improved;
your comfort will be increased; there will be more labour em-
ployed ; and all this by the application of a little of that saving
. .

which the hon. gentleman says the rich are to derive from the
tariff 1 inuoduceu (loud cheers).

Those business men who cheered Sir Robert Peel knew
full well, if he did not, that his remark if true of any land,
is only true of the very best land, and that showing that
some lands could grow two-thirds more wheat, is just
showing that the price of wheat would be so reduced with
`ree Utile as ti' - necessary to t' - lands

num, , _nrow tne poorer h.
(such as would yield rao more than the present crops) into
woods or grass, as being worth no rent at all for purposes
of cultivation.

If the poorer lands are thrown out of cultivation, it will
be impossible to make up the loss out of an increase of
ven two-thirds on the better lands, and there will be
nothing like the means in the country to buy manufac-
tures.

Mr. Hudson, in his speech, states—
That the probable average price of corn under the new bill
would be from 355. to 40s. a quarter.
The hon. member's calculation will prove quite correct.
Let us suppose a farm now let let thus—
co acres at ..€3 per acre

Produces 300 quarters at a clear profit of r. 66,. Bd., equal to 406

Remaining to

. ...
.=-luu
We assume that neither tenant nor agricultural la-
bourer will, till absolute necessity compels it, work for
less than-at present; and that the first brunt of this free
trade in corn ail! name nn tl,',. tw.....--.. it

and weaver. •
We think that foreign competition will lead to the fol-
lowing result in the case of the best lands:--
The 10,/ acres will now be let for one-half
The produce will be raised 50 per cent., o that fis-Scl. will
do instead of 5i s. 10d. (stated Icy Sir It. Pee! to be the pre-
-250
sent average), 450 quarters, at I Is. Id. clear profit