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

and between 66s

and 738. the
rise in price, and ; be

Between 70s

nd 735. the difference was 3s, in price, and 9s.
n point of duty, being an inducement to keep the price of

,i;n at 70s. of 12

s injurious not only to the consumer of corn, but to the pro-
lueer and also to the revenue. It is said to be injurious to

the consumer, because, when the price of corn was varying
between G6s. and 70s. the great object of those who specu=
lated in corn was to keep the price at the highest posgible

point, in order that. they mig,ht, when necessary, pour 'in a
quantity of foreign corn for-their own advantage. ([-Tear.)
it is said to be injurious to the agricultural classes, because
it induced them to keek back their corn until a period when,
by the very operation to which I have already adverted,
foreign corn could be admitted, and thus the protection which
these classes had was taken away from them. (Hear, hear.)
It is injurious to the revenue, because it enabled- parties to
hold back corn until the shilling duty only was payable, and
thus the revenue was defrauded of the amount which it was
entitled to, between the ls. duty and that which would be the
duty on foreign corn if it had been brought in when home-
grown corn was at the' lower amount to which I have ad-
verted. (Hear, hear.)• It is also said to be injurious to the
speculator in corn, who, calculating upon corn remaining at
a particular price, enters into a speculation, but finds upon
returning to this country that the purpose of his speculation
has been defeated by the altered amount of duty. (Hear.)
These are the objections to the present scale of duty

arising from its rapid fluctuations. Our object in applying
a remedy to this system is to propose one that will diminish
the temptations to fraud which at present exist. In the
year 1838, the total amount of wheat taken for home
consumption was 1,728,000 quarters in the course of the
year, and of that amount 1,2G1,000 quarters were entered to
come in at Is. duty. In the year 1840, the total amount of
wheat entered for home consumption was 2,020,000 quarters,
and of these 1,217,000 quarters were taken out at a duty of
2s. Bd. Now, the house will observe, that the rate of duty
at NO- •►it in is not t' lv _„tp.

..aich this corn was broug,i.. .tie only importan,
feature which attaches to these circumstances, but the period
of ,the year at which it was released from bond is also a mat-
ter for very great consideration in dealing with this subject.
In 1838 the corn taken out at a duty of Is. was so taken out
in the week following the 13th of September, and in 1840 the
corn taken out at a duty of 2s. Bd. was released after the 3d
of September. Now, in each of those two years by far the
greater part of the wheat taken out was taken out at a duty
of ls. and 2s. Bd. ; but at the same time it must be borne in
mind. that it was taken out at a most critical period—at a
period when the farmers were thrashing their corn and pre-
paring it for consumption. At this time, therefore,. there
was a great depression in the corn markets of this country.
But the circumstances which I have just alluded to will tell
with peculiar and unfavourable effect on the farmers of the
north, whose harvest is generally late; inasmuch as they had

to contend against a sudden influx of cern into our markets
at the lowest rate of duty. (Hear, hear.) Now, this ought,
and I am sure will, prevail with those who approve of protec•
tion to agriculture, to listen with favour to a plan for the
modification of the. existing system. (Hear, hear.) Si]
with the permission of the house I will proceed, in the court
of a few minutes, to read to the house the scale of dutie
which we
.propose to app

1 this respect,—(" Oh, oh !'
—and, sir, t!,e scale of duties

from the oitpoiition ben

s devised with.tin
igricultural intere

e to of

every protec

,c 1 fcn the purr

when foreign corn is required

of facilitating, as far as p-ossi

ble, commercial intercourse with respect to corn. Sir, nothing
can be more difficult than to attempt to determine what is the
amount of protection which is required for home consumption?
A thousand circumstances should be taken into considera-
tion by any person who would undertake to determine what
amount of duty should be imposed on foreign corn, so as-to

establish sor
-ere the two

like a settled scale of

MI persons T

ng to protept darn

Coniprehetisive view of the subject, tvii

Igeient encouragement to the grower of

ration was the pric

a corn could I

'ought into this country

int to gain any accurate conclusion re

!cting a matter

that depended on so many varying circumstances would be
indeed fruitless. Respecting, however, the price of wheat
in this Country there were. some- means of judging what its
fair average-might he. If, for instance, I take the average of
wheat accorditg to the commutation of tithes, the average of
which that commutation depended, is about

Feveil years (
565. 10d.

gain I take the average of corn for the last 10

$ the urn]

erstooc

But for-the last dire

had been higher thtin I am convinced it v