mitted into that class, ought to be the ambition of every man who, by his industry and his talents, had acquired a fortune for his family. He was quite willing, seeing that the rents had already adjusted themselves to the alteration in the currency, and to the improved condition of the country, to say, that he was ready to give any protection to the agricultural interest, which would obviate the necessity of any reduction in the relative situation which it now held, with regard to the rest of the community. Still, it was quite evident, that there must be some limit at which foreign corn must be admitted into the country. The difficultyand it was a difficulty which required all the vigour and attention of Government-was to see at what point the price of labour was likely to produce such a diminution of profit and of capital to the manufacturer, as to compel him to seek protection in a foreign state. Capital and skill could not be compelled to remain in this country: they were certain to emigrate, if they were impeded by burthens which they were unable to bear. It was therefore the duty of the House to watch the effect of the price of labour on the advantages we at present possessed; and, if gentlemen reflected, that it was to the capital and skill which our manufacturers possessed, that the agricultural interest owed its present prosperity, they would see, that if their capital and skill was removed from us, the agriculturists, in the long run, must be the greatest sufferers. At this moment, America, which procured the raw material more easily than we did, was manufacturing cottons so cheaply as to be driving ours out of the market. At this moment, American cotton goods were on their passage to different ports in the Mediterranean, and were selling there at a price at which we could not afford to furnish them to the consumer. If capi

tal had not a fair remuneration here, it would seek for it in America. To give it a fair remuneration, the price

of labour must be kept down; for if it were not kept down, the distress it would occasion to the manufacturer would soon revert with tenfold force upon the agriculturist. He had told the agriculturist in 1822-he repeated it now —that the improved condition of the manufacturing classes, and their augmented powers of consumption, were a sure harbinger of improvement to the agricultural classes.

The honourable member for Suffolk had stated, the other night, and almost as if it had been a reproach to them, that the workmen of London had roast beef and plum-pudding on Saturday, Sunday, Monday and Tuesday. He did not mean to assert, that they had it not; and he had little doubt that they were accustomed to wash such dainties down by large draughts of the ancient and constitutional beverage of the nation, beer. Now, he would wish the honourable member, the next time he presided at the Farmer's Club, to ask the members of it, whence came the roast beef, the plum-pudding, and the beer, on which the workmen banquetted? The answer must be, that they were all the production of the country; and that being the case, he would ask, what would be the condition of those who produced these articles, if the workmen could not procure money to purchase them? Agriculture could not flourish, unless all other classes in the country were in a state of prosperity. Commerce and manufactures could not sustain themselves here, if they met with greater advantages in other countries. The profits now derived from them were smaller than they had been at any former period; and any thing which tended to increase them would be productive of great benefit. He mentioned this circumstance to prove, that it would be necessary to enter, at a future time, upon the revision of the Corn laws; though he maintained, as he had before done, that the present was not the moment for commencing

it. We had done a great deal already to promote the freedom of trade; but every thing could not be done at once. We had allowed the importation of wool, of iron, and of various articles which had formerly been prohibited; and the effect of that measure had been to produce a large importation of the prohibited articles. Some difficulty might arise, if we proceeded too far in such a system; and it was therefore prudent to wait awhile where we now were, to see whether such difficulty would arise; and if it did arise, how it was to be obviated.

There were other considerations which deserved the notice of Government. We knew that several foreign countries were in some distress, owing to our exclusion of their corn, and that they had, in revenge, shut out our manufactures. It might be worth while to consider, whether we did not hold in our hands at present the key for solving this difficulty,-whether, to those who excluded our colonial produce and our manufactures, we had not a right to say, "We will not admit you to the benefit of a free trade in corn, unless you will at the same time admit the free introduction of our manufactures ?" This was one of the principal reasons why he thought that this question might be permitted to stand over to a more convenient period.

In conclusion, he had no difficulty in stating, that he felt most seriously all the weight of responsibility which attached to his Majesty's ministers, and to himself in particular, in recommending to the House not to enter upon this great question in the present session of Parliament. Circumstances might occur over which they had no controul, but the effect of which might possibly be to make them wish hereafter, that they had adopted a different course. The ports might open on the 15th of August; the state of the harvest might be such as to render such an opening either

highly prejudicial, or absolutely necessary for the country. He was not blind to the evils that might accrue, or to the risks to which they were exposed, by the present state of our system. But judging from things as they were, ministers had come to that conclusion, which they trusted was least likely to affect the great interests of the country. In deliberating upon such great and serious interests, they could not lose sight of other considerations not immediately connected with the trade in corn, but which bore greatly upon it; for instance, the present state of the foreign exchanges, and the spirit of extravagant speculation and over-trading, which, he was afraid, had now for some months too much prevailed in this country. He was afraid of it, because after such excitement, it was impossible not to apprehend the risk of some re-action, which might be attended with an interval of stagnation and difficulty. He hoped this might not be the case: he was unwilling to anticipate such a result; but he did not scruple to say that, for the best interests of the country, it behoved the Bank, as the guardians of the public circulation and credits, to be watchful of the state of the foreign exchanges, and that it behoved the country banks, as they valued their own stability and security, not too readily and eagerly to lend themselves and their credit to bolster up crude and ill-founded speculations. The right honourable gentleman sat down amid considerable cheering.

After the original motion had been supported by Mr. Baring, Lord Althorp, Mr. Stuart Wortley, and Mr. Calcraft, and objected to by the Chancellor of the Exchequer and Mr. Peel, the House divided For the motion, 47. For the previous question, 187.

:

WAREHOUSED CORN BILL.

May 2.

The House having resolved itself into a committee, to consider of the Corn Importation Acts,

Mr. HUSKISSON said, that after the discussion which this subject had undergone in the course of the last week, it would not, he thought, be necessary for him to enter into any long discussion upon it. He wished only to bring before the consideration of the House, the law relating to foreign corn as it now stood, and the facts which were connected with that law, in order that they might both be distinctly understood. They were, then, simply these:In the year 1815, an act was passed, by which all foreign corn was prohibited from being admitted into the ports of Great Britain, whenever the average price should be under 808. per quarter. A subsequent act of 1822 left the last act unaltered; but it provided that foreign corn should be admitted when English corn had reached 70s. per quarter, upon payment of 178. per quarter. This was the state of the law at the present moment, with regard to this description of corn. Now, it had occurred to him, and also to others who had paid attention to the subject, that under the present circumstances, looking to the high price which corn had reached, and to the deterioration which the corn now in the warehouses and under bond was likely to suffer, it was desirable that some facility should be afforded to the admission of that corn for home consumption, until the supply which the next harvest would afford should be available. This view was taken, not for the benefit of the individual holders, but for that of the public. Indeed, no other consideration could have induced Government to recommend a departure from the present regulations,