[640 monopolists, that the trade of that Com- | Act for the relief of his Majesty's Popish pany actually increased three-fold within or Roman Catholic subjects of Ireland,' twenty years, while the general trade of hold, exercise, or enjoy any civil or mithe Spanish provinces, which received a litary offices or places of trust or profit, or stimulus from the abolition of the mono- any other office whatsoever, of which his poly, was considerably extended. A simi- Majesty's said subjects are by the said lar consequence would, he had no doubt, act of parliament of Ireland rendered cafollow in this case. The India Company pable. would be benefited by pursuing only that description of trade which was profitable, and instead of overstraining its efforts to exclude private traders, it would proceed with those advantages of established connection, and superior capital, against which no private competition could injuriously operate, while private enterprize would be allowed a free scope for action. If such scope for action had existed, he appealed to the House whether it was probable that Great Britain would have derived such limited benefit from the island of Java, to which the Company had only sent two ships since it came into our possession; whereas, if it had been fully open to private traders, it would most probably have been visited by above 100 vessels. This, however, he cited, but as one instance, in which the Company, by eagerly endeavouring to grasp at every branch of trade in our Indian territories, had excluded others, without adequately, if at all, benefiting themselves. The House then divided on Mr. Can The Earl of Liverpool said, he had fully given his approbation of the Bill; and the amendments he was about to propose, were only to supply an omission in one part, and in another, to make the intention of the measure as clearly expressed as it was intended to be by the noble duke himself. It had been observed, that if any Irish Catholic, enjoying a military office, such as that of ensign, in Ireland, and of which he was made capable by the Act of 1793, should afterwards come to England and be appointed a captain, or other officer, he might be required to take the oaths of the Test and Corporation Acts; and for this purpose he should propose the addition of a clause, stating, that if any Irish officer or private, being a Roman Catholic, should come to England, and while in this country should be appointed to any office of which he was capable by the Act of 1793, he should be freed from all the penalties which would attach by the Act of 25 Car. 2. From the meaning of the Act of 1793, and the arti ning's motion to limit the monopoly of cles of the Union, he thought this should the China trade to 10 years. For the Amendment Against it 57 130 73 The second Resolution was then carried. The further consideration of the Report was postponed until to-morrow. HOUSE OF LORDS. Tuesday, June 15. IRISH ROMAN CATHOLIC OFFICERS' RELIEF BILL.] On the motion of the duke of Norfolk, the House resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill to declare exempt from all pains, penalties, forfeitures, and disabilities whatsoever, enacted by the statute of the 25th Charles 2nd, intituled, 'An Act for preventing dangers which may happen from Popish recusants,' all such of his Majesty's Popish or Roman Catholic subjects of Ireland as by virtue of the act of parliament of Ireland, of the 33d of his Majesty's reign, intituled, An be expressed so clearly, that no doubt could be entertained on the subject. The Duke of Norfolk did not rise to suggest any objection to the amendments proposed by the noble earl, but to express the satisfaction which he felt at so much readiness and attention which were given to this measure from that quarter of the House. Lord Holland did not rise for the purpose of making any observations at length upon the principle of the Bill, or the subjects with which it was so nearly connected. Indeed, at all times, it was with pleasure he beheld the smallest invasion of what he must term a system of persecution. But, although he was glad to perceive the smallest advance towards a different order of things, yet the amendment proposed by the noble earl pourtrayed to his mind a measure of the greatest inconsistency. How would this Bill, amended as proposed, apply to the Irish Catholic, the English Catholic, and the Irish Presbyterian and Dissenter? He should wish to ask the noble earl, upon the principle of the measure itself, why I the English Catholic should not be admitted to the same privileges as the Irish? But as the clause proposed by the noble earl now stood, an English Catholic could not arrive at these privileges, unless he passed St. George's Channel, and then being appointed to an office in Ireland, and afterwards returning to this country, he would have a right to claim the exemptions of the present Bill. If, however, another English Catholic had not breathed the air of Ireland, he must still remain debarred from the benefit of the law. If it was good to be granted to an English Catholic in Ireland, for what reason or on what principle of justice ought he to be refused the same immunities, because he had never left this country? The anomaly of the former law was absurd, but this would make it more absurd and more incoherent, for in respect to the Irish Dissenters, they were not so hardly dealt with in Ireland, as they were upon coming to England, where provisions had been made for Popish recusants. Indeed, he was not altogether sorry for the absurdity, as it might more and more render the system of intolerance and persecution ridiculous; but, at the same time, he was ready to give his vote for the Bill, and for the additional clause, and he was glad that so small an advance was made for the purpose of lessening the penalties of the Test Act. The Earl of Liverpool said, he always understood the Bill proposed by the noble duke, was in its principle confined to one object, that of extending to the Catholics of Ireland, while in England, the same privileges which were meant to be extended to them by the Act of 1793. This Bill was rather of a declaratory nature, and was in principle confined to the Act of 1793, and he wished it to be considered, without any reference to those general subjects to which the noble lord had alluded. Besides, in respect to the Dissenters in Ireland, they were not to be affected by any explanation to be given to the Act of 1793. Lord Holland thought the noble earl possessed a curious kind of faculty in debate. He seemed to possess a peculiar system of political geography, which he could apply in different ways for his own purposes. Last night he had contended, that the subject was not to be considered as insular, but on the present occasion he was for having it insular altogether, and was determined that no other subject (VOL. XXVI.) should be blended in the discussion. He (lord H.) was of a different opinion; he thought that the great anomaly in the law, as it affected Catholics and Dissenters, whether in England or in Ireland, ought to be removed. The consequence of the present Bill, though he approved of it, would be to render this anomaly still greater; and yet, for reasons he could state, he did not know but he should rather wish to see the Bill pass in its present state, without the alteration he should recommend, as one good effect would certainly ensue, that the incoherence and absurdity of these laws of intolerance and persecution would be made s'il more flagrant and ridiculous, and might in this way perform the good work of their own destruction. The Duke of Norfolk observed, when he brought forward this Bill, it was for one object only. He agreed with many of the observations of the noble lord, and the subjects to which he had alluded were well deserving the attention of the legislature, and might very properly form the matter of another Bill to be presented to that House. He could not, however, admit that it would have been right to have incorporated them in the present, for the Act of 1793 wholly referred to the Irish Roman Catholics, and did not apply to any immunities of the Irish Dissenters. The amendments and the clause proposed by the earl of Liverpool were then agreed to, and the Bill was ordered to be reported. HOUSE OF COMMONS. Tuesday, June 15. NEW STREET BILL.] Mr. Wharton brought up the Report of the Bill for a New Street from Mary bone Park to PallMall. Mr. Calcraft adverted to the very considerable expence which must be incurred by pulling down from 7 to 900 houses, according to the plan. His first objection was to the clearing away so much valuable property as would be necessary to be removed in order to form the intended square opposite Carlton-house. There were many houses in Charles-street which might be well spared, but he understood that the plan included the demolition of the house of lord Galloway, which was worth (as he supposed) 16 or 17,000l. His next objection was to the circusses, which were to be made where this street was to (2 T) Sir Henry Parnell said, it was his duty, as chairman of the Corn Committee, to call the attention of the House to the Report which had been laid on the table.* He was not so presumptuous as to think that an alteration in the Corn Laws was a sub cross Piccadilly and Oxford-street. These circusses would not only entirely spoil the view down those two fine streets, but would oblige the passengers to go out of their way. He thought those circusses would be nuisances in the day-time; but he could not say what they would be inject free from great difficulty, but he the night. The reason which the surveyor, Mr. Nash, had given for this circus in Oxford-street, was, "that it would avoid the sensation of passing Oxford-street, and insensibly unite the two divisions of the city." Now he must stand up for Oxford-street, even against the opinion of Mr. Nash, and say, that he did not think so fine a street ought to be spoiled, merely to avoid the sensation of crossing it. The estimate of the expence of this street was 500,000l.; but he understood that it would cost a great deal more. He understood that the Globe Insurance Company were to lend 300,000l. of this money, at 5 per cent. on the condition of having the whole of the crown property insured at their office. He did not know that this was an improper bargain, but he hoped that as much economy as possible would be used in so large an expenditure. Mr. Wharton said, that he thought the calculations, which he laid before the House, were most accurately made. He was disposed to rely as much on the estimates of Mr. Nash, as the hon. gentleman was upon those which he bad received. His own estimate was 330,000l. and an amendment which he meant to propose for some improvements in Swallow-street would make it 40,000l. more. Mr. P. Moore said, as they differed so much about estimates, that he wished to see that word changed for contracts. He also wished to have this whole plan executed by contract, and not, as was sometimes usual, by giving a commission of 5 per cent. to the architect. If example were necessary to recommend this, he would mention that of Mr. Pitt, relative to the commissioners of the Sinking Fund. After a desultory conversation, during which Mr. W. Smith, Mr. Bankes, Mr. Bennet, Mr. Baring, sir J. Newport, Mr. Preston, and sir Robert Heron, spoke against some parts of the plan of the New Street, and in favour of economy, the amendments were read a second time; after which the Bill was engrossed, and ordered to be read a third time to-morrow. CORN LAWS.] On the order of the day being read, was satisfied that every pains had been taken by those who were the most capable of judging correctly upon it, to overcome that difficulty. Since the Committee had made their Report, frequent consultations had been held between those members of the Committee who were the most diligent in their attendance and the government, concerning the resolutions which were recommended by the Committee; the several interests that were implicated in them had been minutely considered, and such alterations made in them as would enable him to propose them to the House with a very sanguine expectation that they would be found in every respect well calculated to attain the object of sufficient supply of corn of our growth, at steady and moderate prices. As there was no subject on which the passions of men are so violent and their judgment so weak, and on which there always exists a multitude of ill founded prejudices, it was very essential in the first instance distinctly to declare, and forcibly to impress upon the House, and through it on the public at large, what was the intention of the proposed alteration of the Corn Laws. But before stating what it was, it would be proper to say what it was not. It was not the object of the Report of the Committee to increase the profits of any particular set of dealers, either of farmers or of landlords. Their situation required no such aid. Their affairs had long been and still were in a very prosperous condition. They were no parties to this proceeding, no petitions had been presented to the House by them, nor was any complaint made by them of the existing regulations which governed the Corn Trade. The Committee, so far from adopting those views, which have usually influenced the leading advocates of the landed interest, of high prices for agricultural produce, have proposed to abolish the system of giving bounties on the exportation of corn, which has at all times been considered by them as of essential importance to farming profits. They have been influenced by * A copy of the Report will be found in the Appendix to vol. 25. no other motive than that of a strong sense of the danger of continuing to depend upon our enemies for a sufficient supply of food, and of the impolicy of sending our money to improve other countries, while we have so much of our own lands that stand in need of the same kind of improvement. The whole object of their Report is merely to prove the evils which belong to this system as it now exists, and to obtain such an alteration in the law as shall draw forth our own means into operation of growing more corn, by increasing the capital that is now vested in agriculture. If they succeed in this they will secure a greater production of grain, at the same time with diminished expences in producing it, and at reduced prices to the consumer. For if the agricultural capital is considerably increased, its effects on the quantity produced, and the expence of production, and also in lowering prices, will be just the same as when employed in manufactures. Every one knows how it operates in increasing the quantity of manufactures; and that those who employ it in manufactures can afford to sell them at very reduced prices, in consequence of the reduced expences at which with its help they can make them. In the same way the farmer by being able to render his land more productive in proportion as he improves it, and at a small expence according as he makes use of good implements, will be able to afford to sell his corn at reduced prices; and in this manner the increase of agricultural capital will secure us a sufficiency of food independant of foreign supply, and at the same time at a reduced price to the consumer. That great evils belong to the present system it is scarcely to be imagined that any one can deny. The average price of wheat for the last year was 125s.; for an average of the four last years 105s. A very considerable proportion of this rise of price is owing, no doubt, to the depreciation of money. But no small part of it to the system of importing corn from foreign countries; for no greater error can be fallen into, than that of supposing the prices of corn are kept down by foreign importation. If the prices of a single year or only of any short period of time are taken into our calculation, a supply of foreign corn will no doubt diminish them, and for that period make them lower than they otherwise would be. But, let the question be examined on a more general view of it, and the way to look at it, is to examine what effect this lowering of price will have on the production of corn of home growth in the following years. If the effect of it is to diminish the profit of the British farmer, as it no doubt is, it operates two ways in diminishing the production of British corn, first by diminishing his capital, which depends on his profits, and secondly by making him apprehensive of disappointment if he continues to keep the whole of his capital vested in land. But this diminution in the production of British corn, it will be said, may be made good by an increased supply of imported corn. So it certainly may, but in what way does this system of successively increased importation operate on prices? It is clearly the interest of the merchant importers to have the price as high as possible; they will, therefore, so manage the supplying of the market as to let it be as high as circumstances can make it before they come into it. These merchants, knowing the home growth is inadequate to the demand, will naturally allow the deficiency to run up the price exceedingly high before they come forward to provide for it; and in this way the price of corn is at all times regulated by the deficiency, and not at all lowered by importation until the established merchant importers become afraid of competitions being set on foot with them by excessive high prices encouraging new dealers to embark in their trade. And then, when they do bring their foreign corn into market, they give it out in such quantities as shall not much lower the prices ; and always very carefully prevent any thing like a competition of foreign corn against foreign corn, but, on the contrary, being very well aware that a very high price on a small quantity, will pay them much better and with infinitely less trou ble and risk, than a moderate price on a larger quantity, they feed the market by little and little, and thus render the deficiency deficiency of our home growth a perpe tual source of great profit to themselves, and of high prices to the consumer. long, therefore, as we are in any degree deficient in supplying ourselves with corn of our own growth, there must be a degree of advanced price of corn which would otherwise never exist; foreign importation in fact denotes the existence of such an advanced price; that capital is by some means or other diverted from So agriculture; and that the consumers of corn are more or less at the mercy of the merchant importers, and giving them a profit through an advanced price that ought to go to increase the capital of the farmer; and enable him to grow more and more corn in proportion as the wants of the people increase. The accuracy of this reasoning is in a great degree sustained by the notoriety of the immense fortunes which have been made of late years by those who are concerned in the trade of importing corn. But the great practical evil which belongs to our present system is the degree of dependance in which we exist on our enemies for a sup ply of corn. In the last 21 years we have paid them 58,634,135. In 1810, we imported from France 334,887 quarters of wheat, and 202,922 cwt. of flour. This importation from France enabled the French Emperor to quell a very serious insurrection that had commenced in consequence of the low price of corn in the south of France; and to collect a very large revenue from us by a high duty on the corn he allowed us to bring away. But if there had not been a plentiful harvest that year in France, if, in addition to this circumstance, the continental system had excluded us from drawing a supply from Germany and Poland; and if we had then been at war with America, and the government of that country had combined with the Emperor of France to take advantage of our want of corn, what extreme misery must have been the consequence to the lower orders of the community? But though we escaped this misery in that year, we are and shall be continually exposed to it, so long as we remain indifferent to the danger that threatens us, and make no effort to secure a sufficiency of corn of our own growth for our consumption. This consideration is surely of the very first importance, for if we look into the history of mankind we shall find there never has been an instance of a large nation continuing with undiminished vigour to support four or five millions of its people on imported corn. It is also a great evil that we should so largely contribute to the improvement of the lands of foreign countries, and to their national wealth and prosperity, while so much of our lands stand in need of im. provement, and we have so large a portion of our people, as the lower orders of the people of Ireland, in a state of the greatest poverty and misery. If the mil lions which have been spent in buying foreign corn had been circulated among the small farmers of Ireland, the face of that country and the condition of the people would have been very different from what they now are. It should also be observed that the system of importing foreign corn goes directly to increase the naval strength of our enemies, as the trade is entirely carried on in foreign ships, navigated by foreign seamen. Such then being the evils belonging to this system, in looking for a proper remedy, the first thing to be ascertained is, whether the united kingdom possesses the means of growing a sufficiency of corn for its own consumption. The means which Eng land, Scotland and Wales possess of increasing the production of corn are so well known, that the Committee did not consider it necessary to examine any evidence on that bead. Every one who bas ever turned his attention to this subject, must allow that the average acreable produce of the land now in tillage might be greatly increased by the general introduction of the improved system of busbandry. This system is now confined to a very few English counties, and the eastern counties of Scotland; if it were extended over the whole island this circumstance alone would render us independant of foreign supply. Every one also knows what resources of additional production the waste lands afford. But it is in Ire land where an additional growth of corn may be obtained in the greatest abundance. As the state of the tillage and the capacity of extending it of that coun try is not much known here, the Com mittee felt it to be their duty to give to the House all the information it was in their power to collect. This fully proves that the means of Ireland to grow more corn, are not only adequate to supply the deficiency of this country, but to provide for a great exportation to our colonies and foreign countries. Such being the state of the case, in regard to the powers we possess of growing even more than we want, it next comes to be considered in what way we can best draw those powers into action, and we are thus led to examine the several political institutions which in any way interfere with agriculture. The laws that relate to the importation of foreign corn are those which are of the most effect and importance, and as some of them restrain it, others encourage it, we are called upon to examine by re |