The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1842-02-11 00:00:00

ne Ziberpool (ttanbarb.

FRIDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 11, 1842

The admirable address of Sir Robert Peel, in
bringing before the House of Commons his proposed
measure for the settlement of the Corn LaWs, will be
found reported verbatim in our columns this day; and
we entreat for it the careful and attentive perusal of
our readers. A more luminous and convincing expo-
sition of the real bearings of this momentous question
upon the present condition of the country we have
never met with ; and to the factious outcry which
attributes every evil, under which the commerce and
the industry of the country languish, to the operation
of the Corn Laws alone, it furnishes a complete and
satisfactory refutation. It deals in no vague gene-
ralities ; it contains no appeal to the passions or the
prejudices of any party; but is throughout a clear and
intelligible developement of the views of the minister
and the cabinet, illustrated and fortified with statistical
details, and worthy of the best days of British states-
manship.

To enable our readers the more easily to arrive at
the principal features of Sir Robert Peel's proposition,
we shall endeavour to place it before them in a form
which will render it more intelligible, in itself, than as
delivered by the Right Honourable Baronet, and more
easy or comparison with the existing system. The
proposition of Sir Robert is to fix the maximum duty
upon wheat at 20s. when the average price in Great
Britain is under 51s. per quarter. Above 51s. and
under 525. the duty is 198. Above 525, and up to 555.
the duty is 18s. From this point the duty diminishes
is. for every increase of Is. in the average up to 668.,
when "a rest" occurs, the duty being 6s. from that
price up to 695. From 6s. it diminishes ls. with
every increase of 18. in price to 745., after which the
duty ceases entirely. The following tables, however,
which have been drawn up with the assistance of an
intelligent Liverpool corn merchant, will better enable
our readers to judge of the operation of the proposed
system :

WHEAT AND FLOUR.

WHEAT

FLOUR.

When average is I Existing I I
Proposed Existing 1 Proposed
under duty, 1 duty. duty. 1 duty.

-
8. S. E. d. S. 5. (1. s. d.
• 51 .... 36 8 .... 20 .... 21 10 ...... 12 0
51 and under 52 ... 35 8 ... 19 .... 21 5...... 11 8
52 „53 34 8.. 20 10.... 1
~53 54 .... 33 8.. 118 .... 20 3.... 10 10
54 ~ 55 .... 32 8.. 19 8 ....
55 ~ 56 .... 31 8 .... 17 .... 19 1
56 „ 57 .... 30 8 .... 1G .... 18 5 9 8
57 ~ 58 .... 29 8.... 15 .... 17 10 9 0
58 „ 59 ....28 8 .... 14 .... 17 3 8 5
59 ~ 60 ....27 8.-13 .... 16 8 7 8
GO ~ 61 ....26 8 .... 12 .... 16 1
61 62 ....25 8 .... 11 .... 15 6 6 8
62 ~ 63 .....24 8 .... 10 .... 14 10 6 0
63 „ 64 .... 23 8.... 9 .... 14 3 5 5
64 „ 65 .... 22 8 .... 8 .... 13 84 10
65 „ 66 ....21 8.... 7 .... 13 1 . 4 3
66 „ 67 .... 20 8.. 12 5.....
67 „ 68 ....18 8... 1 6.... 11 3.... 1 3 7
68 „ 69 ....16 8. 10 0 ....
69 ~ 70 .... 13 8.... 5 .... 8 3 3 0
70 „ 71 ....10 8.... 4 .... 6 5
71 „ 72.... 6 8 .... 3 .... 4 0 ...... 110
72 ~ 73....28....2 .... 1 7
73 „ 74.... 10.... 1.... 0 7...... 0 7
74 and upwards.... 1 0.... 0.... 0 7

BARLEY

I Existing duty. I Propsd. duty.

258. aril
26
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34

under 26s
27
28
29
30
31
32
33
34
35

21s. 10d
20 4
18 10
17 4
16 10
15 4
13 10
12 4
10 10
9 4
7 10
6 4
4 10
3 4
1 10
1 0

. 8
. 7
: 6

35 „ 36
36 „ 37
37 „ 38
38 „ 39
39 40
41 and upwards

OATS

When Average is

I Existing Duty. I Propsd. Duty.

I9s. and under 20s
20 „ 21
21 „ 22
22 ~ 23
23 „ 24
24 If 25
25 „ 26
26 „ 27
27 „ 28
28 „ 29
29 If 30
30 ~ 31
31 and upwards

7 9
6 3
4 0
3 3
1 0
1 0

COLONIA

WHEAT AND FLOUR,

FLOOR,

Existing
duty.

'roposed
duty.

Existing
duty.

Proposed
duty.

54 1124 e s
55 " cji d 4 s
6
56 7- 3s
57 c•-2, .0" 2s
58 **: g:

k tai..CA
CL,D
tn GI" cr
O» -40
•••• .

3s Od

2s 5d
Is 10d
Is 3d
Os 74d

The duties 4pon Barley, Oats, and other grain, are
reduced in a ratio similar to that upon which the ex-
isting duties are regulated—for instance,

If Wheat is valued at loos,
Barley would be valued at s3s
Oats 4os,

Rye, Beans and Peas sBs.
and the reduction of duties operate accordingly.

From the above tables it will easily be seen—and
must be admitted by the most virulent of the oppo-
nents of agricultural protection—that the proposition
of Sir Robert Peel is, at all events, a large and liberal
modification of the existing law. Adhering, as we
always have done, to the principle of a sliding scale, we
have never concealed our dislike to the abrupt changes
in the scale at present in operation. From that source,
we think, has arisen a great portion of the frauds con-
nected with its working ; and by the substitution of
the present graduated scale, we feel confident that the
two great objects to be desired—viz., an adequate pro-