The Statesman.
London, England, 1822-03-05 00:00:00

TWO LETTERS
TO Tug

EARL OF LIVERPOOL.
t\ itErLt TO HIS SPEECH or TUESDAY, tar Ilers
OF FEB. INS.
...-40.--..

• • Br MR. CORBETT.

;,-

Lwrrsa 11.
hewing:Da, March 2, 1922.
MT Logo—the nails object, as I have said before,
of your Lordship's speech, is to persiade the lendlords,
that the tam do not cant the distress, and, of coarse,
that, to take them off would afford them no refill: Why,
then. is the other great broach of your speech so evi-
dently intended to eau's it to bilbeliared,that relief will
come by a fin of prices? If my pekes by their rise
give me 1001. additional receipt at market, and, if I be
thereby evabled to pay my rent ; why a redaction of out-
goings to the same amount should not have precisely the
same effect, remains for your lordship to explain. Bat,
bent upon retaining the taxes.you hold out the hope of a
iise in write. You cannot pat forth the hope of an atNr-
Meat:aloe of the circulating money. Therefore you in-
sist upon aver-productioa ; and, finding that prices are
tow in all other countries, you persevere in asserting,
that over production has taken place in those countries
also! So that it would appear, that the whole world is
*offering adder the scourge of superabundant food.
Our grandchildren will never, without the best pos-
sible evidence, believe that this came from the lips of
a prime Minister of England: nay, is two years time,
we shall hardly believe it ourselves: and, therefore, 1
will insert the passage here, when it may stand e chance
of Ming read after its author that hare been forgotten.
,He bed stated that the cause of the distress in this
" country was, in a great measure, to be accounted for ,
" by the same reasons which had produced similar, and
" in some instances greeter, distress throughout the rest
" of Europe; and he believed that the great excitement
" created by the war which this country and all Europe
" bad maintained for their exieteece was chiefly instru-
" mental in producing those evils, by leading to over-
" prodeetion. The high prices resulting from the war
" hadforeed a great portion of talc poor lands into cal-
" Magee, and hence the produce became too greatibr
ad. Why. he would ask, should not over-
on take place in this, as well as in all other
? They saw it was se in the case of sager, of
ire*, and af other articles, end there was na pretence
for supposing that agriculture might not exhibit the
same tacit. under the influence of the same causes.
" It was corsistent with our experience that it should.—
" Did not every man know that during the last war a
" great portion of the poor lands were forced into cut-
" tivatiea f Did not every man know that the situ-
" tion of Ireland had a reuksay to aggravate the coo.
" miaowi efover-prothelion? lie had stated his opl-
" nion before, when the Corn Bill was introduced into
" Parliament,that that measure could not afford so mach
" relief to this country as to !rated. The result had
" proved his assertion. Since the Union, and parties-
•' larly during tie last three or fouryears, the imports
" frond reload were greater then they used to be from all
" Europe some years ago. It was impossible to conceal
" this fast from ourselves—that the same causes must
" operate on the agriculture of Great Britain and Ire-
" laud, as had operated on our colonies; that the rich
" laode of En ised and Ireland must press on the poor
loads of bosh countries, as the more fruitful colonies
" pressed on these which were less productive. Abu*-
" awe ad bad to digress, OTHERWISE there mild
" be no thing es over-production."
Nor is there, my Loyd. war can there ever be, each a
thing as overlsroduction, in your nes: of the weed.
Before yea cornets: this curiae* coadassie• other-
wise," your Lordship should hero with the
washenvoines of Coonas, and they Would hats Lindh-
od so eneastrouly at the idea of an elienpredatitims el
food, that they ewes have frightened it oat of your
Lordship% bead. Since the world wes created mats if
thistle ,weeei was before beard of; and that fact slims
ought to have made you think well, before you attempt-
ed to found measures on such a suppositiea. What has
tiie case of " sugar. iron, and other articles," by which
articles yea mean, of course, Other thaw/hod/ what has
such a case to do with this question? These are things,
not of indispensable and adrenal necessity like the
food of man; and the bare fact of your resorting to
them in the way of illustration shows a conscious week-
Less in your argument, or a most shocking deficiency its
powers of miad.
The over-prodactiott that you want to make out ap-
plies to • thing as necessary as the air or the tight ;
and, after what we have beard, need we wonder to bear
you complain of ea over-production of these? You are
compelled to assert, that this over-production has taken
place all over Europe ; for. without that you would be
answered at once by being asked why we did not (sport
corn. You are also compelled to assert, that the over-
production has bees going on for some years succes-
sively; for, without that the answer to you would be,
that the fanners would keep back their present stock for
a time of less abundance. So, here, then, we have the
assertion, that there have been, for a series of years. a
superaimsdaet production of AMISS* food, and that too.
in all the countries of Europe! Never before was there
heard of any thing so monstrous as this!
The thing is impossible; for, as the food is produced
by the labour of man, the necessary consequence of as
over-produce one year, is, that the superabundance will
be kdpt, in part, for the next year, and, in case of a se-
coed and third extraordinarily large crop, less Weer
will be perfiirmed ; man will work less; will enjoy more
ease; aid thus the thing will right itself. Besides,
ou always appear to forget, that ibefaniser can never
Jose from this cause. If his land were, by some sadden
revelation in nature, to produce iliac bushels of wheat
instead of three, and were to be sold for two *billings a
basket instead of sir, his receipt would be the moo,
while his warm world be less; for the wages would be
regulated by the price of the labourer's food. So that,
the consequence of an addition made by nature to his
produce would be a benefit to him and the landlord. In
time the labourer would share in the benefit; for he
would have higher wages, or would work less. But. at
any rate, this gift of caters must be a benefit to the far-
mer and landlord. And yet, you would make is oat to
be a cause or their distress.
But, este the eat. How long have we bees cursed
with this affliction of superabundant Toodi In 1817,
there was a matteity of food. The Partiamept were
then busily engaged ; they were at work like bees is
tar-barrels to And oat the means of lessening the num-
ber of mouths; five hundred times over was it asserted,
that our population had outstripped the capacity of the
land to produce food; MALTHUS'S insolent and tabu
man scheme was all the vogue ; and entireties was the
only remedy, until the increase of population could be
checked! Now. tall harvest was a bad one. Short crop
and bad harvest. So that there were may the three
years, 1818, 1819, and 1820, in which the over-peodae-
tion coaldpouibty have arisen; and, even is the middle
year of these three, importation took place on wood
of wheat being higher than tea shillings a bushel, /us
that all this nitschievous,tbis calamitous over-prohnelion
must have taken place in the two years. ISIS and lUDs
and, the whole body of farmers tell the Connigleew,
that those years did sot yield more than as avows
crop. Bat, if they had, the sapwabaadaace most lam
age have bees exhausted. Attu, indeed, what owe de
we wain to show the weakness. the fay. the pose mid
amoeba abeerdity of you deettlass, than these two