The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-10-08 00:00:00

THE CORN LAWS

The Hon. and Rev. Baptist Noel's " Plea for the Poor,"
while it has been profitable to himself, has been far from un-
profitable to the cause of truth. It has brought forth " Fifty
Searching Questions," addressed to the Rev. Chaplain of
Royalty, and "intended as an Antidote to his recent dange-
rous and exciting Pamphlet," from " A Clergyman of the
United Church of England and Ireland."
These questions are eminently qualified to disabuse the
unthinking of many popular anti-corn law fallacies ; and to
render the antidote still more efficacious they are published
in a form rivalling Mr. Noel's " Plea" in cheapness. Their
extensive circulation would, we think, be serviceable to re-
move error. The following are specimens of these searching
interrogatories:—

1 DOES THE LANDLORD'S SHARE OF THE FOUR-POUND
LOAF EXCEED ONE FARTHING AND A HALF?
2 If the landlords were thrown into the sea, and the land
to be enjoyed rent free, conld the four-pound loaf be reduced
by more than that amount?

3. Is not the material—the raw material (as it were—viz.,
the threshed wheat)—produced when wheat is at the high
price of 655, at 6d a loaf?

4. Do not the miller, the baker, and the speculator, divide
the remainder amongst them ?

o. Then what becomes of your charge against the land-
lords, implied in the inflammatory use you have made (in p.
14) of the text, " He shall judge the poor of the people ;
He shall save the children of the needy, and shall break in
pieces the oppressor ! i"

6. Do not you advocate the repeal of the corn laws on the
ground that it will cheapen bread ?

7. Does not Mr. M`C:ulloch, your own advocate, as stated
in your pamphlet, aver that it will not cheapen bread, for
that foreign wheat cannot be sold under 50s. to 5-Is. a
quarter ?

8. Does not the quarter of wheat produce one hundred
and thirty 4-lb loaves; and is not that, at 505., within the
smallest fraction, fourpence three farthings a loaf?
9. Then, at a very high price of British wheat (655.,) and
the lowest price, according to Mr. M'Culloch, of foreign
wheat, would the difference in a 4-lb loaf to the poor man be
more than one penny farthing I
10. Do you think that the poor man would accept this re-
duction (even if it were a certainty, which it by no means is,
for British wheat, under the present system, is sometimes as
low as 405.) at the risk of having his wages materially lowered,
by the influx of six millions of agriculturists, or a great pro-
portion thereof, thrown out of employment by the non-
cultivation of British land?

11. What, then, becomes of your cry for cheap bread ? Is
not a delusion ?

12. What top, becomes of the manufacturer's cry,
" Cheapen fog* you will thereby cheapen labour, and en-
able us to conete with the foreigner in manufactures?" is
it not moonshine?

We may had, that to the second issue of this brochure, an
appendix is added, containing a candid and spirited reply to
a private letter addressed by Mr. Noel to the writer.

THE WESLEYAN CONFERENCE

The following resolutions appear in the " Minutes of Con-
ference" for the present year :

LAW OF MARRIAGE

" Q. 28. What is the judgment of the Conference as to
duty of members of our societies in reference to the present
law of marriage?

" A. 1. That, in unison with the general stream of autho-
rities, in both the Jewish and Christian churches, the eccle-
siastical law of this country, ever since the epoch of the
reformation, has affirmed the degrees of consanguinity and
affinity, within the limits of which the Divine Lawgiver has
prohibited marriage, to be such as are expressed or implied
in the 18th chapter of Leviticus ; and that, therefore, such
marriages alone are Godly and agreeable to the laws' which
are contracted between persons not included in those prohi-
bitions.

" 2. That, from the same auspicious period to the year
1835, the civil or political law of England has adopted the
ecclesiastical view which is before stated concerning marriage,
by regarding all marriages within such prohibited degrees as
voidable by the ecclesiastical courts on proper process, com-
menced during the lives of the contracting parties ; and
since the year 1835, by pronouncing all such marriages actu-
ally void, without the interposition of any legal process
v hatsoe ver.

" 3. That, on the great New Testament principle of sub-
mission to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake, the
Conference is solemnly of opinion that the members of our
societies are bound by the law of Christ to conform them-
selves in all arrangements concerning marriage to the insti-
tutions of their country ; and especially because, in the very
form of their enactment, there is a national recognition of
the authority of the Divine will, as made known to mankind
in the Holy Scriptures.
" 4. The Conference, moreover, deemed itself now called
upon to declare, that by no means comely, nor of good re-
port, for members of our societies to repair to certain parts
of the United Kingdom, or to foreign countries, in the hope
of there finding facilities for contracting marriages within
the prohibited degrees, and without any intention of fixing
their permanent residence in those countries."

FRIENDSHIP.—Thou may'st be sure that he that will in

private tell thee thy faults is thy friend, for he adventures thy
dislike, and doth hazard thy hatred ; for there are few men
that can endure it; every man, for the most part, delighting
in self-praise, which is one of the most universal follies that
bewitcheth mankind.—Sir Walter Raleigh.
" THE MAN OF THE PEOPLE."-At Manchester, on
Monday last, Feargus O'Connor addressed large groups in a
temperate speech. He was dressed in a fustian jacket and
trousers, in order that he might appear as much as possible
to be a " man of the people."
Our manufacturers of late years have become positively

nsatiable ; their avarice is unbounded—their powers of pro-

luction have increased two hundred fold—their means of
xansit facilitated to an extent that has almost annihilated

time and space • three-fourths. of the property that has
changed hands during the last ten years, has got into their
possession ; where they formerly lived prosperously on one
thousand per annum derived from their business, they now
drain ten ; they have west-end houses, and country houses,
and villas at the sea-side, and yet they are still unsatisfied ;
we firmly believe Mammon has so completely blinded them,
that to expect them to pause in their unholy crusade against
every other class, would be to expect a miracle. Trade is
now carried on, not on principles of fair and honourable
competition, but with a view to the destruction or utter ruin
of all opponents. Live and let live, has long since been
banished from their vocabulary, and speculation, wild, reek-
that
158!3, gambling speculation is now the prevailing system of
globe—lA
ctexoltoe! business. Over-production, and that to an enormous
Indies
Ila, is the evil of our manufacturing system ; it is that
deprived us of markets. Go into any quarter of the
, emanearp. North or South India, Australia, the West
find cargo a—or into any town in Europe, and you will
in twelvnteoomwonths'
ea of British manufactured goods glutting every
market; and if
and you continuedev import duty now levied was repealed, 1
you now do, manufacture at the same rate that
markets for
the same state you time you would be in exactril
_ are, proclaiming the greatest dis-
your production,.
tress, for want of ma

Dear Jenkins,—'Tis long since I wrote you a letter,
For which there are reasons—some bad and some better ;
But I feel myself forced to unbosom my cares,
By the present position of public affairs.
The ministry, Jenkins, were not worth a thought,
But the measures that lately before us were brought
Demand on some points this familiar address,
Independent of what I may write for the press ;
For a pamphlet would pay, whether lumb'ring or limber,
With the title of " Tomkins on treacle and timber."
The event of the day is our great convocation,
To express the dissenting desires of the nation ;
And ne'er since the ark, if the truth be confess'd,
Entertain'd every species of beast in her breast,
Have there met such distinctions of horn and of hoof,
Such a motley menagerie, under one roof.
We had Presbyter, Papist, Socinian, and Quaker,
Quite unable to join in a prayer to their NIAKER,
Yet as Christian divines here assembled together,
To inflame discontent, and to wish for bad weather.
What an atmosphere hover'd all over the place,
Showing equal abundance of grease and of grace !
What an odour of sanctity rose on the breeze,
Intermix'd here and there with that strong smell of cheese,
Which we friends of free trade often strangely exhale,
From our last night's debate over Cheshire and ale !
The whole thing was imposing—at least HEAVEN knows
There were plenty among us who tried to impose.
By-the-by our friend Stiggins was found every day
At the Temperance Tavern well moistening his clay ;
And few wonder'd to see how he stagger'd along,
When the flesh was so weak and the spirit so strong.

I had almost omitted the chartist dispute,
Which had very near pluck'd all our plans by the root.
But 'tis now quite arranged for our next celebration,
That we throw the door open and waive revelation ;
So that Socialist, Southcotist, Gipsey, and Jew,
With each sect and division of Turk and Hindoo,
Indeed all who believe in a god—or a goddess,
Be it mere naked REASON, all neck and no boddice—
Shall be suffer'd to spout, and invited to vote,
Without any distinction of creed or of coat.
It is thought that as yet it would scarcely be civil
To have such as confess to adoring the devil,
Though some hundreds were here, who, without any gammon,
Make scarcely a secret of worshipping Mammon.
The harangues of our speakers were well worth attending,
And the pictures they painted were truly heart-rending.
Stiggins told us of many a family board,
Where of old he was oft entertain'd like a lord,
But, though one of the few whom they still kept a place for,
He now found the dinners not worth saying grace for.
Rich church-going folks might be pleased with their fate,
But dissenters were all in a pitiful state.
It would really have melted the ribs of a rock,
Thus to hear the good shepherd bemoaning his flock ;
Never hinting (to construe his words by the letter)
That he wish d the sheep fatten'd to fleece them the better.
In the course of discussion one point was made clear :
That if corn became cheaper 'twould not be so dear.
Perhaps nothing else was conclusively proved,
But from that proposition we cannot be moved.
Yet stay ! we demonstrated also, I'm sure,
That in this cursed country some persons are poor ;
And that, if both your cash and your credit are fled,
There are few who will sell you beans, bacon, or bread.

Here perhaps you exclaim, " Why we knew this before,
And your friends have done nothing unless they do more !"
But Jenkins, my jewel, just mark what will follow,
Though here we'll tread soft, for our ground's getting
hollow :

Suppose that A. B. has a shilling a-day,
Which in bread and in beer goes a very short way :
Now, if bread become cheap, then his profit is plain,
Assuming, of course, that his shilling remain ;
For no doubt if his shilling to sixpence should fall,
Why his gain on the bread might be nothing at all.
But assume, first of all, that these infamous laws,
Of a high price of corn arc entirely the cause ;
Then assume, too, our wages and work still the same,
And I'll bet ten to one on our winning the game.
But to this, though quite right, I have one small objection ;
It don't go far enough in the proper direction.
My plan, my dear Jenkins, cuts many niA%deeper :
Pass an act to make EVERY THING:M.4i Onehaff cheaper.
Then you'll see, when the new golden age is begun,
That the poor man at once has his two loaves for one ;
While, instead of the gig that has long been my care,
I shall trundle along in my phaeton and pair,
And, Ten-Tumbler TOMKINS my nickname no more,
I shall shine as the hero that swallows his score.
Here again I assume, amid changes so pleasant,
My commission, and credere, still as at present ;
Yet the question comes back, our ideas to jumble,
Will our pay be as high when all other things tumble ?
In our corn-law discussions, a strange sort of puzzle
Has lately been meeting us right in the muzzle.
" You may injure the landowner, farmer, and reaper,
" But your bread will be never a halfpenny cheaper !"
These opponents admit all our rules of free trade,
Nay, they summon Ricardo and Smith to their aid.
" But at present," they say, " with so slight a demand,
" Foreign wheat only grows on the best of the land:
" Take away the high duties, and then in a trice
" Poorer soils come in play, and that raises the price."
I reply—that supposing the prices to rise,
We'll export manufactures to meet our supplies ;
Thus at home and abroad we shall deal the same way,
Giving cotton for corn—with one difference you'll say,
That our farmers must buy from us—foreigners may.
How the balance may stand when we square our accounts,
Of our losses and gains the respective amounts—
If, in search of a market, 'tis prudent to roam
After poor Polish serfs, when we've yeomen at home—
Whether, beating about at Odessa for barter,
We shall ever catch any thing else than a Tartar—
What would happen some day if on every wheat cargo
The Czar or the Sultan should lay an embargo—
Are points which at present I leave undiscuss'd,
But which every free trader will take upon trust.
- • •

•
Thus, Jenkins, you see, we've the best of it still,
Let logicians and landholders say what they will.
Then how shall we speak of the government scheme,
This hoax, this imposture, delusion and dream !
Which has done near as much as M`Culloch himself
To assign us a place on obscurity's shelf.
With their eight shilliilauty paid year after year,
It is plain that our bread would be shockingly dear.
Then the change was mixed up with a plan of finance,
Where its fraud and its folly were seen at a glance.
But the thing that has fatally clench'd it and closed it,
Is the damaging name of the men that proposed it.
I for one never hoped to come speed in a trip,
Wtth such Jonahs on board fit to sink the best ship.
No description can tell the sad mess that they've made,
They have ruin'd reform—they have ruin'd free trade—
They have ruin'd the business of Rag, Tag, and Co.,
And in search of new principals Tomkins must go !
Such a hatred and rage at the wretches I feel,
That to-morrow I send my adhesion to Peel ;
Though I grudge that rank tories, and rude country bump

kins,
Should gain such a supporter as,
Yours,
ISAAC TOMKINS

Manchester, 10th Sept., 1841

The Leicester Chronicle, in noticing the effects of railway
facilities, states that not only are immense quantities of prime
butcher's meat regularly sent to London on Saturdays, from
that town, but potatoes, apples, pears, plums, &c., are now
also sent weekly from Leicestershire to Hull, Sheffield, and
other large towns, in great abundance, to supply the wants
of the market gardeners of those places. "We last week
beard (says our contemporary) of one gardener only who had
a contract to supply upwards of two thousand otrikes of
apples, plums, &c.