Richmond enquirer. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1815-1867, 1829-01-27

will nat fail to observe upon the payment q: cuel
shilling duty only 10 the Government But it may
be said that the consumer Will benefit by the re-
duccd price Of grain occasioned by the foreign i'm
poraton OF wheat That lie will benefit for time,
we make no doubt but whether the advantage
will be permanent, or not, is the only important
consideration.
Whatever teaches rs 10 depend too much upon
foreign supplies a5ridges the spirit OF agricultural
I improvem and contracts the outlay Of capital
! upon land; and though manufacturers may obtain
. some assistance from sudden demand for THEN
confy. cdes in n foreign market, the reduction Of
! tho home consumption, which inevitably follows
upon the low price Of ccTn affords but poor com
pensaton for short season OF active trade abroad
But We are not disposed 70 enter into the question
Of the Corn Laws, or TO discussthe policy of the
existing system. We have often given opinion
upon it, and have considered il reasonable COM
promise between tho two contendiDg interests Of
society, the landed and the trading interests. Our
object In the present remark is 10 call attention
the manifest injury which arises from the average
and warehousDg system.
Government has found this system 20 react
upon itself. and instead OF gaining revenue,
expected, it has been def, suded in the very mo-
Inent OF promise, by the natui al tendency of the
: late law. The truth is. the average aud ware.
. housing system, which sorry 70 condemn,
. as We scarcely know what to substitute. has
manifest tendency to encourage, what is already
great evil, speculation in corn. The markets
in the hands of professional corn dealers. They
can in many places raise lover the averages at
their pleasure, and play with them according TO
their own Interests, in a nonner most mischiev-
: Gus to the public, and particularly Injurious 10
, the corn growers OF this country They able,
under the present system, 90 withhold their corn
: from the market. until. by deficiency ofsupply.
: they have raised the prices 60 those rates when
/ they can enter their imported corn at low du-
I ty-though they may still withhold that corn from
| the market. or bring il into consumption may
best suit their interest. Now, II is scarcely posi-
BILE to imagine more active temptation 10 fraud
and extravagant speculation. We will repeat "a
gain-that, during the last six weeks, the traffic
amongst stock jobbers in the Alley, during the
most sordid and scandalous periods Of low gaming.
! has been innocent in comparison with some of the
: late events on the corn Exchange. Two inter
ests, however. have been the sufferers; one, for
which sympathy, was yet felt, the far
mer; tie other, for which as little sympathy is as
ordinarily excited. the public revenue.
But tie economists hold, that speculation is the
life OF tradethat the gain of all traders, excep,
corn growers, cannot be too great, whatever con
suiners may suffer. Ills the maxim of this class
that the only trade whose profit ought to be brought
as low possible is that Of The landlord and farm
Ell, whilst the dealer in foreign corn. the merchant
The obber. the factor, and all the inongrei tribe
which intervene between the cUrn grower and the
consumer--(we except the miller. whose profits
a manufacturer are always kept 10 the just level
are left 10 enhance the price on the Consumer
by every art and contiiyance.
We do not mean TO express any regre, That the
ports have been opened. The hayest was def
Gent, and supplies must be had from some quar-
Ter. We would rather have wished that the ex-
tended produce Of our country had supplied the
deficiency, as we are most certain II would have
done, If due encouragement had been given 10 do
mestc agric ulture. But the opening of the ports
must teach an important lesson TO Government. Il.
shows in strong light, the necessary frauds of the
average and warehousiDg system. The averages
purpcs TO be struck upon actual saies the law does
not compel, and cannot compel, actual bona .fde
. delivery upon those sales, particularly Of ware
housed corn. The sale is often nominal transfer
without any real delivery; sale for the purposes
Of speculation. and not for actual consumption. IL
may uot even ba sale speculation, but
mere conrtvance 10 raise the average;and this may
be contrived EVENT. actual delivery should appa-
.ently take place. Ia the great markets the corn
may be- and often has been, sold, and thus entered
into the average ten times, under different names
before II passes to the consumer. No regulations
can prevent this. Requiring actual delivery by
the strongest provisions would not prevent it, IL
might be actually delivered by one Spectator 10
another several times over, ~ith or without bona
'fde sale, before it might 10 tho hands of the
consumer. This nov takes place u "a great extent
III home grown corn. in ts passage from the grow
! 10 the market
qhus.ior the supply OF any of our great manuiac-
turing towus,a corn dealer purchases of the farmer
credit b. bills; & then Sells at the first stage
oi ms transit TO the destined market lat advanced
price, to another dealer, on similar credit
The travelling another stage towards the
place where II is to be consumed, is sold at the Sc
! cond stage, at an advanced price, TO third corn
dealer, all on credit; and it may pass in the same
| way to a third stage, and be sold in like manner
and sent by the last purchaser to the market where
it may be finally sold TO the consumer or even then
1t may be sold two or three times before it comes
TO the consumer. The difference between the
price paid to the farmer, and the price for which
it is sold 70 the supposed consumer at the place of
final destination. has been calculated, upon an
average, TO be at least five shillings upon quarter
of wheat The actual consumer, indeed, pays still
Ioore for he pays also what is called the millers
profit, but which is, in reality, the corn dealers
profit, in great degree for the greater part Of the
mills in those districts which are districts of con-
siderable consumption, in the hands of corn
Dealers and the price Of bread is not regulated by
the real price Of corn in any market, but by the
mannuvres of corn dealers in all.
Now, under such system which we have
shortly sketched. vino is likely TO profit by the
opening Of the ports' The consumer, we believe
very little; Government, as the recent event shows,
not at all, whilst the factor and the jobber gain
every thing.
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