The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1841-12-24 00:00:00

ENGLISH WHEAT IS
52s
538
54s
555

375 ll5.
*sBs *los.

60s
618
62s
638

The average price and duty are thus respectively 58s.
and los., instead of 565. and Bs.; and when it is borne
in mind that the real average of the last ten years,
which have been far from remunerating years to the
farmer, has heed 565. ltd., the additional protection
cannot be deemed. unreasonable, and we are not quite

certain as to its being sufficient

We are the more induced to hold this opinion, be-
cause we are satisfied that the present prices of foreign
wheat are not at all those which ought to guide us in
framing a permanent scale of import duty for this
country. There can be no question that, by the en-
couragement afforded to the foreign grower, by the
price and duties which we have laid down, and by the
regularity of the scale, the cultivation of wheat for the
British market would be materially stimulated, and the
price in foreign ports reduced to such an extent, as to
enable it to be introduced into consumption, with a
profit to the importer, when the average of the market
in Great Britain was 535. or 60s. We have besides,
however, another motive for insisting upon the eleva-
tion which we have proposed ; and which, it may be
urged, is uncalled for, when we take into consideration
the progressive improvement which is taking place in
the science of agriculture in Great Britain. We are
not admirers of that ultra liberality which would con-
cede all to the foreigner and ask for nothing in return.
One great object, contended for by the free traders, is
the promotion of the consumption of British products
by the foreign corn grower. The reduction of our
import duties must, to accomplish this object, he met
on the part of other governments by a modification of
their tariffs in favour of British manufactures ; and to
enable us to insist upon this quid pro quo we must re-
tain power in our hands, by the imposition, in general
caees, of a somewhat higher scale of duties than might be
otherwise required, in order to be in a position to offer
special advantages to the governments of those coun-
tries which may be willing to meet our concessions in
a reciprocal spirit. It may also be deemed desirable,
looking forward to the increasing productiveness of
British corn lands, and the effect which must result
from our improvements in culture, and with a view as
well to discourage continual agitation of tha question
of agricultural protection, to engraft upon any perma-
nent measure which may be adopted, a provision for a
gradual decrease of the duties imposed—upon the prin-
ciple by which the gradual modification of the Ame-
rican tariff was provided for in 1832 ;—and in such a
case it is important that the scale fixed upon in the
first instance should not he one calculated to check,
rather than to encourage, that very developement of
the capabilities of the soil, upon which we ground our
expectations of being able, in time, to dispense with a
great portion of the amount of protection afforded to
the agriculturist under our existing system.
Upon the concluding portion of our correspondent's
letter, (with respect to the mode of taking the
averages) we have no remarks to offer. The plan
pointed out—the appointment of an authorised official
in every large market, or in districts throughout the
kingdom, to make a weekly return to government o
the ruling price of " sound merchantable wheat"

we think, pcifectly feasible, and would involve no
greater expense than that incurred under the present
law. As to the number of weekly returns, upon
which the average for duty should be founded, a

mature consideration only satisfies us that it ought not
to be materially decreased; for although the proposed
graduated scale offers little inducement, as compared
with that under the existing law, for speculative opera-
tions upon the averages, yet it is indispensable that the
revenue, and the farmer as well, should he adequately
protected from the effect of any sudden panic, arising
from the state of the weather, or induced by interested
agency, which, were the averages regulated by only
one or two weeks' prices, might deluge the market
with foreign grain at a low duty when, unfounded
fears and speculation apart, no such supply was re-
quired by the country.

Since the above remarks were in type, we have re-
ceived the report of an able speech, addressed by Mr.
Christopher, the Conservative M.P. for Lincolnshire,
to a meeting of his constituents at Lincoln, which not
only from the high talent and reputation of the speaker
himself, but, as well, from the character of the con-
stituency by whom it was received with enthusiastic
approbation, is entitled to be viewed as containing the
demands of the great bulk of British agriculturists
upon this important question. From a careful perusal
of Mr. Christopher's address, we are enabled to arrive
at the following gratifying conclusions, which convince
us that no difficulty need be apprehended by Govern-
ment from the agricultural body, in the settlement of
the corn-laws ; and that, from the close similarity of
that gentleman's views to those put forward in our
publication of this day,—and which, we are confident,
will not be viewed with distaste by the commercial
body,—such settlement will be received with satisfac-
tion by the great majority of the entire community.
Mr. Christopher expresses himself, in the first in-
stance, as favourable to an entire remodelling of the
mode of taking the average, which he contends—and
proves also—leads to great frauds, to the prejudice
alike of the agriculturist and the consumer. He is not
prepared, however, to give an unqualified approval of
any definite plan, although he suggests, as the most
simple, one which is to exclude altogether the returns
from the large corn-markets, such as Wakefield, Lon-
don, Hull, &c., and to form the average for duty from
the returns from purely agricultural districts. He
mentions also, with approbation, a plan which has been
suggested to him, by which the returns (to prevent
fraud) are to be made both by producers and consu-
mers,—the average, however, to be calculated from the
former, and the latter to serve only as a check. We
must confess that we` prefer the simple plan of our re-
spected townsman, Mr. Jackson, to either of those
mentioned by Mr. Christopher.
The most important part of the address, however, is
the admission of the principle of the sliding scale as
preferable to that of the jumping scale, as it is termed
by Mr. Christopher himself; the reduction of the
" pivot" of that scale, and the proposal to fix a mini-
mum point of duty for the purpose of deriving revenue.
He expresses himself willing to accept of 655. as the
point at which the minimum duty of ss. is to operate;
we have proposed, above, 645. as the price and 4s. the
duty, and Mr. Jackson 60s. and 4s. ; and when it is
borne in mind that the returns by Mr. Jackson's pro-
position will be made from the price of " good, mer-
chantable" samples only, the difference is not percep-
tible. Mr. Christopher, however, is unwilling, until
further informed as to the prices at which foreign
wheat can be purchased in average years, to fix the maxi-
mum to which the duty shall rise. On this point,
however, we do not anticipate that any material difli-

culty can arise.
Regarding, as we think we are entitled to do, the
address of Mr. Christopher as the MANIFESTO of the
class which he represents; viewing also his past inti-
mate connexion with the Duke of Buckingham
in the discussions and movements which have taken
place with respect to the corn question, and pre-.
suming that, although he disclaims any knowledge
of the present opinions of that nobleman since his
accession to office, he must be perfectly acquainted
with the opinions with which he became a colleague of
Sir Robert Peel, we are compelled to conclude that he
has laid down the basis of the measure which is in the
contemplation of Government; and we cannot, there-
fore, but congratulate our readers upon the temperate
views by which it is characterised, and which afford
ample evidence of the approaching ' settlement, upon
satisfactory terms, of this most important and difficult
question. In this light it is viewed by our contempo-
rary of the London Times, whose remarks we here
subjoin :

" Mr. Christopher considers that the law should aitn at
fixing the price of wheat as nearly as possible between 565.

To obviate so seriJus a discouragement as this would
prove to the growth and prosperity of British agricul-
ture, we would propose to raise the scale of prices and
duties by an additional 45., the effect of which would
he to produce a scale as follows, viz.:--
WHEN THE MARKET PRICE OF THE DUTY