The Statesman.
London, England, 1820-04-15 00:00:00

COAX LAWS.

That the Corn Laws have failed, at least in one
respect, that of maintaining corn at a maximum of
eighty shillings, or near it. is unquestionably tree.
The average priee; by the last statement. was only
seventy shillings and nine-pence. This average is
taken, the reader will recollect. from the twelve
maritime counties of England and Wales. We ap-
prehend, however, if a general average was struck,
calculating, m the officer should, from every county
of England, Ireland, and Scotland, the average
would be found far below this result. That there
are great difficulties in the way of such an arrange-
ment, particularly from the difference in weights
and measures, Is certain. It is, indeed, disgrareful,ll
that in a country which values itself so highly on
its progress in political economy, no system has yet
been devised to equalize dry, wet. nail long mea-
sure, in .every part of the empire. Nlost of our
readers know, that a single geometrical principle
might be made to govern the entire s:.stern. In
France, it consists of portions of a degree of the
meridian. An effort was made in En!-land to ar-
rive at similar results by another plan, which, as it
has failed, we shall not trouble our Reauers by de-
tailing. Until, however, some common principle
of measurement is adopted, there must, necessarily,
exist great difficulty in arriving at any precise con-
clusion.

But though this is not at present officially pos-
sible, it is certain that seventy shillings and nine-
pence is considerably above the avert-e of the
United Kingdom. The maritime districts, from
their very facilities in transporting their ern to the
London market, must necessarily command a better
price than the remote and inland counties. In
Dublin, as nearly as the difference of measures
will enable us to calculate a quarter of wheat, con-
sisting of eight Winchester bushels, brought. when
the last average was taken, about sixty shillings.
Therefore the average of London and Dublin is
about sixty-five shillings. But it is manifest, that
this is not the true average of the corn market all
over the kingdom. From obvious reasons, the
markets of the two capitals must always be the
best. In Hereford, Kilkenny, or Perthshire, corn
must be much cheaper than in places bordering
upon great markets.
But let us take for granted that the average all
over the kingdom is n3s. per quarter—and we be-
lieve we are considerably over the mark: vet from
the various complaints we have heard—from the
notorious distress that prevails in the agricultural
interest of Great Britain and Ireland—from the diffi-
culty of obtaining rents—from the repeated failures
of the farmers--from the dismay which we know is
felt even in the highest quarters, it is quite mani-1
test that this return is deemed totally insufficient
to remunerate the farmer, or to enable him to
goon.
The landed interest, of course, is entering into li
resolutions, and preparing petitions for the new
Parliament foe farther relief. These resolutions are
an echo to others that are passing in every part of
England, and which, no doubt, will become gene-
ral through every part of Ireland. There can be
little question, therefore, that an effort will be made
in the next Session to introduce the complaints of
the petitioners into Parliament. From an accurate
calculation, it appears, that the people of the
United Kingdom already pay a tax to the landed
interest of Twenty-four Millions Sterling—a tax
equivalent to capitation or Poll Tax of one guinea
per person for every individual in these islands.—
For if the Corn Laws were repealed, we should have
wheat at forty shillings or at forty-five shillings the
quarter. This tax, for it is idle to call it by any
other name, they will recollect is totally new in
the financial annals of England. It is a tax that
no other country in the world pays—it is, in a
word, the most grievous impost ever levied on a
people, and has been the remote cause of most of
the disturbances which have occurred in the king-
dom.

We are quite aware that if the Corn Laws were
not passed the revenue would not be paid, because
there must, from the bankruptcy of the landed in-
terest, be a total dislocation of our economical sys-
tem. It is these laws which have contributed to
support that system for the last five years; but,
daring that time, there has been no permanent re-
lief to the farmer, though there never was a na-
tion which made such generous sacrifices to his in-
terest as the British nation.—( Dublin Evening
Poet)

LAW IN rELLIGE,VCR.

COURT OF CHANCERY, Aram 14.

LTON V. ILAICLIT.

IN this taw whisk we folly reported • miendderable
time ago, a father applied to the Court for a writ of
Habeas Corpus, for the purpose of having his children
pat under his own care, instead of being placed, as they
at present were, under the superintendence of their ma-
term.' aunt. The grandmother of the children bad be-
queathed a considerable fortune to each of them, on con-
dition of their remaining under the tuition of her daugh-
ter, ins;.ad of their father, as that gentleman had
formed a second marriage, the mother of the children
being dead. This application was strongly resisted, on
the grounds that the father was a Dissenting Clergy-
man, with a very small income; that he had no suitable
accommodation for young ladies of their rank in so-
ciety ; that their being placed under his tare would be
contrary to the condition on which their fortunes were
given, and their education would be neglected. The
pleadings occupied nearly two days. and the Loan
CHA xreLLoa, considering the question to be of no com-
mon importance, took home the papers before giving
his judgment.
On coming this morning into Court, his Lordship ob-
served, that he had looked into all the cases which had
any bearing on the one now before him, and his present
impression was, that he might not to grant this applica-
tion. At the same time there might be some propriety
in referring the whole to the Master, for him to make
some inquiries, and to be at liberty to receive certain pro-
posals on the subject. With this view be bad drawn up
an order on the subject, which did not, however, quite
satisfy him ; but he would certainly look it over, and
without fail hand it down to the parties to-morrow morn-
ing. At the same time, on seining into Court in the
morning, lie would state the reasons on which he founded
his judgment.