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purpose of moving the following Amend- | at all upon the scale of 1842. After hearing

ment :

"To move the omission of all words in the Resolution respecting the importation of Corn, referring to the cessation or alteration of duties to be paid in 1849."

the two right hon. Gentlemen (Sir R. Peel and Sir James Graham) speak of that scheme, one would imagine that some satanic agency had brought it about rather than those two right hon. Gentlemen themselves. It was difficult to imagine how, with their means of information and power of observation, they should in 1842 have considered it the best scale, and that they should now treat it with such bitter vituperation. Therefore he was perfectly consistent in acting up to the principle in commercial matters which he had ever hitherto observed in approving of a considerable reduction of the scale of 1842. He would appeal to the right hon. Baronet whether he ought not gravely to consider whether, by some compromise, such as reducing the duty to a low amount, and then fixing it indefinitely, he would not be able to reconcile his opponents, who now formed a determined and talented protective party. All the arguments of the right hon. Baronet went to relaxation,, not abolition, of the corn duties. It was most untenable to attempt to draw analogy between the cases of wool and of corn.

He assured the House that nothing but a strong sense of public duty could have induced him to come so prominently before them; but having a powerful excuse in the present state of parties-presenting as it did a disruption of all its usual ties-and looking to the suspension of confidence in public men which prevailed throughout the country, and the necessity imposed on every Member of Parliament who had not pledged himself to his constituents to judge the question before the House by the light of his own knowledge and reflection, he ventured to recommend the adoption of the course suggested in his Amendment. He might be told that the character of mediator between two great parties - one flushed with victory, and the other unsubdued by defeat-was ungrateful and unnecessary; and indeed the issue of his hon. Friend's Amendment did not encourage him to believe that he would receive much It would be scarcely less absupport in that capacity from either side of surd than to expect credit for 100,000l. on the House. But he would, nevertheless, account of the previous punctual repayment perform what he conceived to be his duty of a loan of 501. Total repeal involved to his constituents and his country. The results pregnant with difficulties and danobject of his Amendment was to continue gers to which a statesman surely could not for an indefinite period; but he should be or should not be insensible. It was a matsorry to say for a permanency-the re-ter of no small importance, to throw away duced scale of duties which would come entirely and absolutely the means of raisinto operation on the Bill before the Housing a revenue from corn-especially with a becoming the law of the land. That scale view to probably increased taxation, while was extremely moderate-ranging over very few figures, and affording a strong contrast to the measure of the right hon. Baronet in 1842. When that measure, which the House was now called on to abolish, was brought before them, he (Mr. Milnes) stated his opinion that the scale was too high, and its details too complex. He was then informed that a lower protection to the farmer could not then be given. He opposed the scale of 1842, because he thought the country could not go up and down the ladder, with two great gaps in it, without sometimes falling through it. He objected to that scale, because he thought, considering the increase of population, and the great advance of agriculture, a lower scale would have been sufficient to enable the farmers to do all that they were asked to do-namely, to compete successfully with foreign farmers in average seasons. It was unnecessary for him to say anything

clouds were hovering in every quarter of the
horizon. Was it a wise thing, under such
circumstances, was it a cautious thing for a
cautious man to do, to cast away the power
of raising revenue from this source? The
effect of such a duty, it was obvious, would
be very inconsiderable in its effects on the
consumer; while the effect of a removal of
the duties would simply be, to throw a
large bonus into the hands of the foreign
exporter. A natural feeling was aroused
in the minds of the agriculturists that they
were entitled, in the event of such a mea-
sure passing, to call for the abolition of all
protective duties; and the inevitable effect
would be to awaken, among a large and
influential class of the community, a dan-
gerous and hostile spirit, which had been
characterized as a
"strong, though igno-
rant impatience of taxation." It appeared
unreasonable to lay it down that in three
years-whatever might be the misfortunes

which agriculture meanwhile might meet | supply of wheat at the command of Engwith; whatever the intermediate difficulties land, was not a matter of choice, but a and the intervening embarrassments of the matter of necessity. If they looked to the country-free trade should be absolutely history of the last twenty years, they established. Hethought that they had heard would find that the supply of corn was not enough on both sides of the House on this in any way whatever limited by the Corn subject to convince the right hon. Baronet Law passed at the time of the peace. Let that if he thought that the next three years the right hon. Baronet then proceed in the would be years of contentment and happi-course he had hitherto pursued, and carry ness among the agricultural classes, he was out his own precedent. Let him only act sadly mistaken. He did not believe that with the same prudence and caution as he the agricultural interests would even think had acted in other matters, and he was themselves conquered by the carrying of sure that the right hon. Baronet would this Bill; and he did not think that the reap an abundant reward. He knew well Anti-Corn-Law League would be less se- that it was a matter of great difficulty for rious in prosecuting their own intentions any statesman in these days, especially and their own objects. But so the right after the passing of the Reform Act, to hon. Baronet had declared of his previous accomplish an harmonious action between Corn Law, which he now deemed a failure. a powerful monarchy, a proud aristocracy, And what prospect was there that his de- and a free people. He would ask the right ductions or his expectations as to the next hon. Baronet, however, if he did not think three years, would prove more correct than that this measure would have the effect of they had turned out as to the preceding causing a greater conflict between the midperiod? Let it be supposed that in 1849 dle classes and the aristocracy; and whethe harvest should be as abundant, and the ther he did not think that he was really price of wheat as low, as in 1835, did the doing a great injury to the social state by right hon. Baronet really mean to say, that presenting to the world the want of harif wheat were at the end of his three years' mony between the English middle classes interval, at 37s., the carrying into effect and the English aristocracy? It was not of this proposed law was to be persisted in? true that the right hon. Baronet had been If so, the result would certainly be one of swayed by the threats of the Anti-Cornthe most terrible panics ever experienced. Law League; but still that accusation would And it was inexplicable to him how the be brought against him. He prayed him right hon. Baronet could have so signally not to persist in carrying out this measure been betrayed into a departure from his in its integrity; for he would not in any usual cautious and prudent course, and have degree compromise his own character or entered on one rash, uncertain, and danger- dignity by submitting to the strong opinous. No person could deny, that if this ion, or to the prejudices, if he would, of measure passed, all parties would regard it the higher classes of the community. Let as a most triumphant victory of one class him only give this question a fair chance of over another. He might be permitted to arrangement, either in this House or the say to hon. Friends of his of the protective other, and let him remember that he was not party-and he hoped that they would un- the Minister of one party, but of the whole derstand him to make the observation in a community. Let him so modify this meakind spirit—that he did not think that they sure, and so adapt it as he could well adapt acted wisely in refusing all compromise on it to the ultimate common sense of the this subject. He did not think that they whole community, and thereby establish did right in laying down the principle, the reputation of having brought about the that, whatever be the increase of the popu- settlement of this great question. Having lation, whatever be the increase of the ne-settled this great question as he had other cessities of this country, they would not ad- great questions, let him add the decision mit any reduction of the law of 1842. Any on the Corn Laws to the question of deciman regarding the large increase of popu- sion on Catholic claims, and the great lation, must consider the Corn Law as a question of currency, and by this means let temporary means of keeping in good and him show to the world that he had proved active cultivation the soil of this country. the Minister of no class and of no party, When he considered that England was the but the Minister of the entire community. only wheat-eating country on the surface of The hon. Gentleman concluded by moving the globe, he was not able to resist the con- his Amendment. clusion, that to have a full and abundant

MR. AGLIONBY wished to call the at

of this, and ask itself how the tenant could be expected to lay out capital for the improvement of his occupation? He did not refer to this as an objection to the measures of the Government; he only wished, that in the passing of those measures, justice should be done to the large class of persons who were subjected to those fines. Let them be enabled to lay out their capital without imposing upon them such fines-in short, do what the Committee of this House recommended in their Report of the 13th of August, 1838, in which they said

"Your Committee have come to the conclusion

that the abolition of the copyhold tenure would not
only be a great public benefit, but that it should
be made, if possible, a national object."
The importance of the question was as
great now as then; and it would be very
much increased when the measures of the
Government had become law. He consi-
dered that every facility should be given
for enfranchising such copyholds on a com-
pulsory principle. At present he would
content himself with drawing the right hon.
Baronet's attention to the subject; and if
he could do it without embarrassing Her
Majesty's Government, he would like to
bring forward a measure in some subse-
quent stage of the present discussion. If
such a Bill could be passed simultaneously
with the measures now before the House,
he thought it would have the effect of in-
ducing a considerable body of agriculturists
to give their adhesion to the repeal of the
Corn Laws.

tention of the right hon. Baronet opposite | lord of the manor, a two years' fine was to a subject that was intimately connected laid upon every acre of land within the with the Corn Law. He did not think manor. Let the House consider the effect that any person had yet ventured positively to predicate what must be the result of the great measure now before them. He did not know whether the right hon. Gentleman expected that there would be a diminution in the price of corn and of the money wages of the country, or that, thinking so, whether the labourer would not be greatly benefited. For himself, he looked to great advantages from the repeal of the Corn Law. Another result to be expected-and in this he was sure he expressed a sentiment which he had heard from the right hon. Baronet and others-namely, that whatever might be the results as to the price of corn sold by the farmer, that the produce of the country might be greatly increased by the application of capital and skill, and this for the general interest. It appeared to him that hon. Gentlemen in that House treated the general subject before them according to the experience which they had acquired in their immediate neighbourhood. They treated the question as it affected landlords, and not as it affected or might affect tenants. The way in which he wished to look at this question was the manner in which it would affect tenants in his part of the country-in Cumberland and Westmoreland. In these parts of the country, property was divided into very small parcels the holders of these small parcels of land were designated "statesmen," analogous to yeomen in this part of the country. This class was composed, as the right hon. Baronet the Secretary for the Home Department could testify, of very honest and very industrious persons. These were persons without much capital; and he wished now to show the right hon. Baronet the First Lord of the Treasury how these men might be assisted in case this measure turned into a law. These persons had very little capital; they gave to the land their own industry and that of their families; their holdings varied from 150 to 200 acres, and were in their own occupation, tilled by their families and a few labourers. Now, though they had not capital, something might be done to relieve them from wanting it. Here was a very large class of Her Majesty's subjects holding under our ancient feudal settlement. They were copyholders. But there was another matter which was still worse. In the north of England they had a tenure of this description that upon the death of the

SIR R. PEEL hoped the hon. Member for Pontefract would not think he was guilty of any disrespect-a feeling which he entirely disclaimed-if he abstained on the present occasion from entering into a consideration of the arguments which the hon. Member had urged with very great ability. Such a course would have the effect of reviving the whole of the debate which had taken place on the Amendment moved by the hon. Member for Somerset. In the course of that debate, he stated the reasons which induced him to think that it was for the permanent benefit of all classes of the community, that a foundation should be laid for the complete adjustment of the Corn Laws. To that sentiment he deliberately, and on the fullest consideration, adhered; but he could not enter on the explanation of it without opening up the

whole question again. He apprehended | had always regarded the expense and dethere would be opportunities on future lay of transferring property as a great stages of the Bill of again discussing the evil; if they looked to the state of the general subject; and he did not think it law in other countries, he believed they would be for the advantage of any party to would find that in all there were greater go into it at present. He must, therefore, facilities for the transfer of property than state very generally his entire dissent from existed in this country. Such was the the opinion of the hon. Gentleman, that he expense as well as delay now, from professhould conciliate the support of any party sional arrangements, unavoidably incident by adopting the course proposed. He did to the transfer, that he believed any one not think that the agriculturists would be who had purchased a small property would at all satisfied by the adoption of that be much inclined to come to the conclusion course, but the contrary; nor would those that he would never buy another. To diwho supported the measure of Her Majes- minish the impediments now existing to ty's Government, because it provided for the transfer, was a point well meriting conthe total repeal of the Corn Laws within a sideration; but he thought it would be certain period, be willing to accept such a very unwise to mix up this question with proposal as the present. As to the argu- that of corn-a subject of great difficulty, ment which constituted the chief ground of and sufficient of itself to occupy the attenthe hon. Member's recommendation, that tion of the House. he was the Minister of all classes, he was very much afraid that he should not fulfil their expectations by consenting to this Amendment. The question to which the hon. Member for Cockermouth had adverted was a very important one, and he very much desired it should not be connected with the present measure. It might be expedient; but it had obviously no particular reference to the proposal he had made on the subject of the Corn Laws. The hon. Gentleman said it would be a great advantage to a particular class, and so it might, to relieve them of their obligations; but there was another class who might not take exactly the same view, and might object to fines certain in lieu of improved value fines. At present the law gave certain facilities to those who wished to effect the conversion of their tenures; but if you could make some arrangement with the goodwill of both parties-the payer of the fines and the lord of the manor -quite irrespectively of the question of the Corn Laws, he believed it would be attended with very great advantages. A Committee was now sitting in another place to consider the subject of peculiar burdens on agriculture, which would enjoy the best assistance on legal questions; and he was of opinion that it was very desirable that their consideration should be given to this question, and a special report made by them. The hon. Gentleman must recolleet that there were two parties: it would be easy to sacrifice the rights of one by simple legislation; but the proposal to effect a settlement not by voluntary arrangement, but by some sort of compulsion, required very great consideration. He

MR. W. MILES agreed that they should throw no kind of delay in the way of passing this measure, after having fully considered and come to a decision on its principle. Amongst the different Amendments on the Paper, he could not see any in which he could concur; and a discussion on any of them would, of course, have the effect of opening the whole question of the Corn Laws. He thought, therefore, the disposition of the House would be best consulted by abstaining from unnecessary discussion. The intention of the party to which he belonged was, having discussed the subject fully and fairly, and placed their opinions before the country, to leave the country to speak for itself, when it should come to that election which they hoped was not far distant, and decide whether their view, or that of the right hon. Baronet, was the most advantageous for the country. With respect to this Amendment, he completely dissented from it, consider.. ing the principle of the existing Corn Laws as the best that had been proposed up to the present time. He wished to retain the law of 1842; and to all the Amendments he should give his decided opposition. Hitherto the varying systems of Corn Laws had entered comparatively little into the discussion; but there would be subsequent opportunities of showing that there would be such a declension of prices as would render it impossible for the present holders of the soil to maintain their position. He wished, before he sat down, to correct a misapprehension of the right hon. Baronet, with reference to a speech he had delivered on the Motion for going into Committee. The right hon. Baronet conceived that he had

stated, that, of the two propositions before made, he preferred immediate to deferred the House-that of the right hon. Baronet repeal. That he understood to be the and that of the noble Lord the Member opinion of the hon. Gentleman; and, on for London, for total and immediate repeal referring to the usual records, he found his --he should prefer acceding to the noble recollection confirmed in every particular. Lord's proposition. He had meant to He had not in the slightest degree meant state what was the opinion of the farmers to impute that the hon. Gentleman derogenerally throughout the country. He gated from his principles; but when he had said, that to both the proposals he said, that if the noble Lord opposite would should give his most decided opposition; only stand to his guns he would be ready but he added, at the same time, that, as to support him, his conviction was, that he far as the farmers were concerned, he was preferred immediate repeal; and the explabound to say that, in his opinion, they nation now made did not interfere with would infinitely prefer the proposition of the that impression. The hon. Gentleman noble Lord, and he then went on to show said, he would not enter into the question: why. He had wished to defend his own neither should he; but he wished to diconsistency by stating his opinions, and minish the authority of the hon. Gentleman did not mean in any way to derogate from as a prophet; and let him, therefore, rehis principles. He regarded the Resolu- mind the hon. Gentleman that, in 1842, tions as merely pro formá; and he wished when he proposed the diminution of the it to be distinctly understood in the coun- duty on the import of cattle, the hon. try, that in allowing them to pass, they Gentleman predicted an enormous downfall were decidedly opposed to each and all of in the price of food. The hon. Gentleman them. approved of the Corn Law, but objected to that part of the Tariff of 1842, which provided for the removal of prohibition on the import of cattle, saying, there would be an enormous use of barley in the fattening of cattle on the coast of Holland; and, therefore, on that ground he proposed that the duty should be taken on the weight of the cattle, in order that we might be enabled to compete with those formidable rivals. He could not help reminding the hon. Gentleman that he had prophesied, in 1842, an enormous depression in the price of stock and meat, and that up to this period his prediction had not been realized.

SIR R. PEEL: It would be most unjust to contend that, because the Resolutions were permitted to pass without a division, or the expression of much dissent, any compromise was entered into. They were necessary as the foundation of the Bill, which the hon. Gentleman said was to be contested in its future stages; and it would be impossible justly to assert that those who acquiesced in the Resolutions, had abandoned their opposition in the slightest degree. But he could not compliment the hon. Gentleman on the clearness of his explanation. The hon. Gentleman hoped he had satisfied him (Sir R. Peel) that he had not derogated from his principles, most completely; he (Sir R. Peel) had never thought so nothing was further from his intention than to impute to the hon. Gentleman any opinion that he wished the present amount of protection to be in the slightest degree abated. On the contrary, he thought the hon. Gentleman differed from the hon. Members for Huntingdonshire and Nottinghamshire, in being unfavourable to any modification of the Corn Laws. He thought the hon. Gentleman said, if we must incur the inevitable evil of a change in the Corn Laws, then he should decidedly prefer the proposition for an immediate repeal to that proposition brought forward by the Government. The hon. Gentleman decidedly preferred the maintenance of the existing Corn Law; but, he said, on the hypothesis that something must be done, and an extensive change

MR. W. MILES said, he had meant to state that the farmers would prefer the proposal of the noble Lord for immediate repeal. But he had not intended to say anything contrary to what he had always proposed; he merely gave the out-of-doors opinion. With respect to the statement of the right hon. Baronet as to the opposition he had given to the Tariff in 1842, he attributed the rise in the price of meat to the immensely increased consumption of labourers employed on railroads, as well as to the disease among the cattle. Though he might be supposed to be a false prophet, he would still tell the House, that whether they took the duty off cattle or not, they might expect an annual increase from the Continent, which would work exceedingly well, not injuring any one, so long as the demand for labour continued. But when the demand ceased, that instant the

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