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    T ndasa most effectual chtpk on the other shop-ISfcHAi mst Land Schemb , occupies tteatteatiiofa considerablenamberof individuals in this S ^ e now and has done so for a considerable time wast and if any of the executive take a turn into Scotland this summer , and give a lecture on the subiect in tills town , we have not the smallest hesitation in savingthat a branch of the association will be formed at once , as a nnmlter appear to be waiting in expectation of such a visit . MniOCRAis and Lawyers . —About fourteen days ago a weaver in the employ of the Messrs . Laidlows took a piece into the warehouse , which was pronounced faulty , and his .. hole wanes were stopped . The man offered to refer the piece to two . men jnntaallr chosen , but every compromise was maig Jantly rejected by the masters ; they f f ^ g * Km iferfhinff for workmjr the piece , but msium „ j leave tw

    Art him £ tfto would ^ gfefiZfr circumstances , the man arohoj <^ ^ told him trate , who is also a jus tice of thepeace rf he could do nothing for him . J ^ ™ them was adthe lawyers , but theimosthc gof ? £ | heriff SnialI dee to summons his emplojers to iu ^ ouW DeKtCourtforhiswa ^ ^ ^^ 8 consit for aooniseven weeks , some ^ "ftfK a ^ e rthe S refwho w ; ssuppoSednotto be m * r ^ n ^ the influence of the manufactur ers , ^ t ^ hfeasetin s stated to him , furnished T ™™ with an Act of Parliament , and gave them aiSS-t o proceed . Accordingly the mtter ™ s a-Bin brought before our wortfti / chief magis-Sate , who found ithis duty . wu , to interfere The referees appointed under the act decided that the Messrs . Laidlaws should pay the man £ 1 2 s . 6 d . for ¦ sreavin" the piece , and all expenses . This case , among many others , may show the men the . neeessity of uniting for mutual protection .

    LIMEHOUSE . We understand that the men ofLimehouse desire to elect Mr . E . Joxes , " the new Poet , " as their Delegate to the forthcoming Convention , and have convened a public Meeting at Brunswick-hall , Ropemaker ' s-fields , Limehouse , on Monday , May 25 th , at 8 o ' clock . Mr . Jones is invited to be present .

    LEICESTER , At our usual weekly meeting on Sunday last , after the usual business had been transacted , the conver sation turned upon the recent conduct of Bairstow , andaeeneral feeling of satisfaction was expressed that cfrcumsfanees bai at last induced tamtopjn off the mask , which he had so long worn , and ^ exhibit to the world the horns and cloven foot and that we iad obtained a fair chance of being rid of Jam a « £ sether The mischief which he has perpetrated here is indescribable ; besides the divisions "isnmler stindwgs , pnU ;

    upon Chartism , we have not yet extent of monetary defalcation m which we are tne snferers . At the conclusion of the conversation , It was moved by Mr . S . White and seconded by Mr . Tv"hitdn < 4 on , " That the beat thanks of this meeting are due , and are hereby given to our gallant youths , Messrs . Hargraves . Nixon , and Nuttall , fer their bold and patriotic conduct at the Manchester humbug meeting in defence of our immortal Charter , to the utter discomfi'ure . confusion , and thorough rout of the venal , unprincipled , bribe-purchased Knot of iraiiM-s , who have Ion

    magazine ( the price to be about threepence ) , containing practical information on agriculture ; the proceedings of the society , ana the monthly and quarterly accounts , and that ire particularly request our brother shareholders in all Other districts , to take this resolution iuto their consideration , and forward tlieir decisions to the directors . The meeting then adjourned until Sanday evening nest , when a fresh committee will have to be chosen , and other important business transacted : it is hoped that all sharehoUeis belonging to this district will attend . The committee will meet at half-past five o ' clock precisely .

    KENSINGTON . The Ls > t > . — The Royal Kent Theatre , Kensington , was filled to overflowing on Monday evening , May IS , for the purpose of hearing the principles of the Cbartist Co-operative Land Society explained by the directors of that society . Mr . Ilenrv" Ross was unanimously called to the chair , who said the meeting had been convened by the Chartist body , who had come to the conclusion that the only means of relieving the now surfeited manufacturing labour market was by giving the operatives an opportunity of employing themselves beneficially On tfie land . ( Hear , hcar . J ^ Everyth ing sprung friin the land , tbe luxuries enjoyed by the rich , and the coarser sort of food , " necessaries consumed by the working classes . He would now call on Mr . Stallwood to move the first resolution .

    Mr . Stallwood in a neat , brief speech , moved the resolution , as follows" That this meeting is of opinion , that it is highly desirable that a district of the Chartist Co-operative Land Society should be established for Kensington and its vicinity , and this meeting hereby pledges Itself individually aDd collectively to support the same ¦ wheu established . " Mr . Doyle , in seconding the motion , said he hoped none hid " come there prejudiced agaiast their principles but that all would listen calmly , hear each speaker , and judge for themselves . At the present time , ingenuity and industry was exercised by , but not for the advantage of the -working classes . ( Hear , hear ) Lord John Manners had declared in the

    House of Commons the other night , " that the industrious millions did not enjoy a fair share of that wealth which their ingenuity and labour produced " ( hear , hear ) ; whilst at the same I tiine he declared " that the manufacturers had become merchant princes , at the exnence of the irksome toil of women and children , who they ( the masters ) demanded should continue their twelve hours a day labour in the heated atmosphere of a factory to increase those mountains of wealth possessed by the merchant princes . " Yes , and those masters had just formed themselves into an unholy alliance , for ; tbe purpose of destroying the trades unions of the workmen , and still further reducing the miserable pittance doled out to them as wages ; the best preventive he saw for

    this was the obtaining of the land . The lands of England were not sterile , but capable of producing more than enough for all , and what we require is , that the peopleshouldbeputin possession of their righttul inheritance—the soil . ( Loud cheers . ) Sure lie was , that no nian desired to become an inmate of the poor Uw bastile , to be separated from his wife and tamily , but they , did desire and were determined to have the means of labouring , and also of enjoying the froits of their labour . ( Loud cheering . ) Mr . P . JH ^ Givitb said , it was the duty of the working classes , individually nnd collectively , to aid and assist in working out their own redemption . ( Hear , hear . ) And if they did uot move in their own behalf , what right had thev to expect others to move

    for them . ( Hear , hear . ) The Land was the ruain stay « f the working man ' s hope ; it was the gift of Giid to his creatures ; and its blessings sh <> u ! d be enjoyed by all , as that great authority , "holy writ , " declared " The earth is the Lord's , and the fulness thereof ; " and we are the Lord's people . ( Loud cheer ? . ) lie was liapjy to know that a great movement wa 3 at this moment going on in America , in favour of this great question , and which the " landless men" had taken up with a spirit g £ intelligence and zeal which must cause it to eventuate in success . ( Much cheering . ) And he fervently hoped that the American cry would be taken ap and reiterated from one end of the globe to the other , until . such time as a "landless" man was unknown . We find that

    the ingenuity of working men constructs railways , invents machines , prvyeets new modes of transit , and brings distant countries mjarer . to each « thee ; yet , alas ! their own condition deteriorates , { llear , hear . ) We find that land is monopolised ; that the fruits of your labour are monopolised : that capital is monopolised ; that the fish of the sea * the beast of the fields , and the birds of the air are monopolised ; aye , and that evea you , also , possess . & monopoly oi the woes , toils , miseries , and wretchedness of this life . ( Great applause . ) Trade , weare told , has improved ; yet , paradoxical as it may appear , your condition has become worse . { Hear , hear . ) Assured of this , the directors of the Chartist Co-operative Land Society put forth their plan , as the only safe and effective remedy for alleriating the social

    condition of the masses- ^ hear , hear )—the principles of which I now proceed to explain . Mr . M'Grath then entered most lucidly into the matter , and was listened to with breathless attention . lie nest proceeded with his wonted clearness and eloquence to demonstrate how easy was the attainment of the land , aud what a slight effort and small sacrifice -would produce the requisite capital , to purchase an estate . He did not see wlicn otlier parties co-operated for their advantage why the working classes should not take a leaf out of their book , and also cooperate for the advantage and benefit of their order ( Loud cheers . ) And their plan possessed a double advantage ; for not only would it confer social benefits but also political power ; and lie trusted the elective franchise would never be undervalued by tfic working millions . ( Loud cheers . ) Their society

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    would ^**^ & ffi £ *^ to go on the land , andat tnosaiu . t ^ trntt w am , » K P 5 K ? . aST&S *» fiM -fetossssa tt fiSS&ttd ^ SS * Sin ? Mr . JP Grath resumed his seat amid the ^ Mr ^ Cw ^ SSo ' Governmentof this country at present represented Land and Money , he hoped shortly to see it represent talent and honesty . ( Loud cheers . ) We found , at the present time , that a certain fat animal was struggling and obtaining a tenth of all , ( laughter ) , whilst we were desirous of having

    a much larger share of pigs for ourselves , ( Hear , hear ) , by turning a certain portion ' of Tinkers and Tailors into Small Farmers . ( Laughter . ) He had recently had an opportunity of seeing what the Land would do , he had been in Worcestershire , where the people had pieces of Land allotted to them , and he found that in a parish where this was the case not a single pauper was to be found who was able and willing to work—nay , there was but one , a man who was upwards ofeightyyeara of age , and very decrepid . ( Loud cheers . ) At the present moment their appeared to be a surplus of labour in every species oj handicraft , in this " Great Metropolis £ ' and whilst this was the case labour would be cheap : ( llear , hear ) : Iience it was tne duty of all to become then

    own employers , and then would labour enhance its value , and every man enjoy the fruits of his own industry . ( Great cheering . ) Those clever fellows the editors of newspapers , at the time our Society started , asked , who will sell those noisy Chartists Land ; but when George Robins put up Landed Estates he cared not who he knocked them down to . He did not ask who the bidders were , it might be Richard Cobden , Sir Robert Peel , or Feargus O'Connor , for aught he cared . Mr . Clark nest ably described the factory system , and all its attendant horrors , and described the Capitalists as the Molochs who not only swallowed up men , but their wives and children also ; and said , we frequently hear of Missionaries going over to convert the blacks , but what a blessing would it be if they could convert the Factory Masters into the meek and mild practices ascribed to Jesus Christ . ( Great cheering . )

    When he was in the agricultural districts he tound persons who objected to their plan , because ^ Kud they , "it will make men too independent ,. ' and turiher , " that men who had allotments of Land , when they { the employers ) asked them to go out and cultivate their land , or to get in their harvest , _ said , do it yourselves , we have our own crops to cultivate , or our own harvest to get in . " ( Loud laughter , and great applause . ) In order to show what the Land would produce , Mr . C . quoted from the "Small Farms" of Mr . O'Connor , and the works of the late William Cobbett ; and concluded his speech with a thrilling peroration , calling on the Working Millions , to emancipate themselves from misery and degreds ,-tion , and workout their own salvation t hrough the means of the Chartist Co-operative Land Society ; and resumed his seat amidst ; the loudest cheering .

    The resolution was then put and carried unanimously . Several shares were taken up ; a vote of thanks , OH the motion of Mr . M'Grath , was given by acclamation to the Chairman , and the meeting dissolved .

    WESTMINSTER . A numerous and highly respectable meeting assembled in the theatre of the Teatotal Hall , York Street , on Tuesday evening , May the 19 th , to hear the principle of the Chartist Co-operative Land Society expounded . Mr . C . Doyle was unanimously called to the chair , and said he had just returned from the Ckartist Estate at Herringsgatc , and was happy to announce that tbe trees were being felled , and preparation made for the erection of the cottages . In a house at which he dined , he was informed by the landlord , that a gentleman who lived in the vicinity of their estate had said , had he been aware that Peargus O'Connor had intended to buy the estate with the view of locatingworking men thereon , he would have paid a £ 1 , 000 extra , rather than it should have been done . ( Hear , hear . ) He ( the

    chairman ) regretted to inform them , that it was utterly impossible that Mr . O Connor could be present that evening , as he was practically superintending affairs at Herringsgate Farm—and so imperative did Mr . O'Connor consider that duty to be , that to use his own words , " a forty horse power should » ot draw him hence ; " however , Mr . O'Connor had desired him to state , that at an early day he would attend the hall , and endeavour to make up for the disappointment that higher duties , at the present time , compelled him to make . ( Hear , hear . ) Mr . Doyle then made an excellent speech , and illustrated the working of the Land Society , by the operation of the " Workman's own shop , " bo recently opened at 151 , Drury Lane , and said , that if a « y man did not go to that shop for his shoes , he was neither a good trades unionist , or a good Chartist . ( Greatcheering . ) He m 11 p < 1 nn Mr . filark to address them .

    Mr . Clark said this was the first anniversary of their society , this day twelve months it was ushered into existence , and through it they had become a part aud parcel of the landed aristocracy . ( Laughter and cheers . ) Yes , indeed they were brother landowners with Lord John Russell and Sir Robert Peel —( renewed laughter and applause)—and if this principle only extended itself , as it was doing , depend on it , the WeeMtf Dispatch would cease to issue diatribes against the trades unions of the country , and he really thought that trades unionist who read the leading article in the Dhpau 7 t of Sunday last , would disgrace himself by longer supporting that paper , or

    indeed any house that would take it in . ( Great cheering . ) It appeared to him to be aiding and abetting the capitalists in their attempt to suppress trades unions , and reduce the workman's wages , ( Hear , hear ) , and when he was at Birmingham recently , he was informed that Mr . Muntz , M . P ., Mr . Brotherton , M . P ., and one of the members for Hull , had formed a deputation to Sir James Graham , and asked him to procure the passing of a law for the abolition of trades unions . ( Hear . hear . ) But , my friends , -when our land plan gets into full swing no masters will think it worth their while to undertake such dirty missions , as the men will then have something to fall back upon .

    Mr . M'Grath ably addressed the meeting , after which A Gextleiiax , in the body of the meeting , suggested the propriety of displacing that opponent of Trade Unions and Working Men , " The Weekly Dis-2 > ateh , " and putting in its place that supporter of Trades "Unions and Working Men , " The Northern Star . " The Chairman said , the suggestion just made was a very excellent one , and he hoped it would fc 3 attended to . ( Cheers . ) A Working Man , from the body of the meeting , said that there was a difficulty in getting the Star . and thought , if men were sent about with vans it would facilitate the matter .

    Mr . Stallwood said , if working men would only call loud enough for " The Northern Star , " and give their orders , the newsmen would supply it , as there was as much profit on the Star as on other journals , as much as there was on sixpenny papers . ( Hear , hear . ) A vote of thanks was given , by acclamation , to the Chairman , and the meeting dissolved .

    DUMFRIES . Mr , A , Wardrop , our able aud indefatigable lecturer , has , for want of nobler game , been flying at the local authorities ef late , in great sty m ie . Once a week , at least , he mounts the Chartist platform in Queensberry-squarc ; and , to monster audiences , for the size of the burgh , exposes the misdoings of the dirty little shopoeratic vermin , who manage or rather mismanage our principal affairs . Nor is this all , the addresses so delivered , with suitable introductions , are in course of being published in pamphlet fashion . In this way the evils resulting from the dishonest silence of the local press on ihese disclosures , are in a great measure obviated , and their moraletisct mightily increased . No . 1 , of "Peeps

    behind the Curtain" has already appeared ; and No . 2 , is expected speedily to follow . Yesternight , Mr . W . addressed a very large gathering in the Square . Subjects : " The Corn Bill ; the Irish Coercion Bill ; and the Short Time Measure" now before the Commons , followed by two petitions , botli addressed to the Commissioner of police , on requesting them to dissolve , as an illegal body , and threatening every resistance to the rate ; and the other demanding the instant dismissal of superintendant Jones , of the county rurals , from all connection of the Burgh force . Both petitions were passed by acclamation ; but the topics being of a strietly local nature , the details will hardly interest the readers of a national newsnaoer . such as the Star . Suffice it to say , that

    Mr . Wardrop and the workies acting with him , have brought the ignorant " educated and intelligent" blockheads in the council to their wits end , into a complete fix . Through superior talent and information , coupled with an eight or nine years ' training in the Chartist camp , our friend , Wardrop , is fairly in for the office of tribunus pleh ' s , and no mistake . Nor does he go unrewarded . This evening a committee meet iu the Temperance Hotel to decide upon the time , place , and manner of presenting him with a splendid Watch and appendages , the gift of hundreds of his townsmen , in testimony of the feelings with which they regard his successful

    exertions in protecting their pockets from the rapacity of a crew who fleece instead of protecting the public . Should the committee , as in all likelihood it will , fix upon a soiree , such a course will be tlio means of bringing the movement partly among the working and the healthy part of the middle class into contact ; 3 K < J milih good may result from an interchange of sentiment between them . Were it not for this sparring we would not know well what to do with ourselves ; and the public , general as well as democratic , talk as contemptuously of the battle going on in " the house on the corn question" as they would of an altercation between a couple of "tinklers ; " only they would bo &pt to regard the latter with more interest .

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    laugh . ) . YeB , fiophlatrias j but these called , arguments aw » the things that have agitated nation * and converted a Ministry . ( Hear , haar . ) It la aU very well to soy , that after six or seven years ef discussion , we have found them to be faUacies ; still they are the ageneies by which a certain amount of public opinion has bse » brought ; to bear on a great economical question . That public opinion has changed the policy of government , and , according to our belief , is perilling the destiny of a great kingdom . ( Cheers . ) I must freely acknowledge tnat one Of these fallacies is resuscitated by myself . Notwithstanding the high authority of tne Seeretajy-at-War , and notwithstanding the inferential adhesion to nis op inion , and the still hhjherauthority of the hen . memP « for Stockport , I must rise on this occasion and ory y anKli . lJ . Te » r- fl 0 PM 8 tt » s . r *™ - t" *» , e --.-P *« w- ' - "™" -r ;^ -

    out cheap bread . I do believe tbat the effect of the preitnt Cora laws is to raise the price of the nBCOBsaries of life upon the community ( hear ); but I believe I can shotv that they increase in an infinitely greater ratio the purchasing powers of that community . ( Cheers . ) How shall I prove this proposition J The first witness I call in court is a great authority , it is a work circulated under the influenee of that grent commercial confederation , the power of which is knowledge , written by a goutieman whe was once a member of this house , and I believe would have been so now , if t had not had the pleasure of beating him at the first election I won—I m « an Celonel Thompson . ( Hear , hear . ) It is proved in Ids Catechism that the corn law is a tax on the community because it acts artificially , on an average raising the price

    of wheat 10 s . a quarter , and thus is equal to a tax O f 20 , 000 ) 000 . Another economist , equally celebrated , and more successful , afree trader , haB fallen foul of the authority of this work , and has shown the gallant calculator that lie has omitted the numbev of qua * ten that go to sea and those consumed by the agricultural body and their horses , be , all which may be looked upon as deducting from the amount to which the people are taxed , and that , therefore , the burden is only 9 , 000 , 000 ; . or 10 , 000 , 0002 . but I will adhere to the first calculation ! Now , what is the conclusion to which this school of economists , who have exercised a great influential opinion in the country , have come , and which they have avowed ? They say it is better for England not to raise a single quarter of grain , and then this tax will be saved . This is , I admit , an extreme caBe ; but that is the only true way of testing the

    truth of a thing . Suppose England imports 50 , 000 , 000 quarters , and that that sares 10 , 000 , 000 or 20 , 000 . 000 of taxation , —you cannot deny that England in such a case has also lost the amount of the wages of labour that would have produced thiB quantity , ( hear ) : that she would also hare lost the profits of the capital that would have been invested in producing It , and likewise ft e rent that would accrue , after payisg the wage of labour and other items of necessary expenditure . ( Hear . ) I know you will say I am quoting a case in an extreme point of view , but you cannot test a princip le without taking an extreme point of view . The hon . member for Stockport did wot , in his address , press the views laid down in the Corn Law Catechism . He is a practical man , and he knows very well that there is no chance of changing any law in En gland if you were to come forward with those

    extreme applications . He sayB " I do not admit your conclusions—no land shall be thrown out of cultivation ; but what we say is this , you are creating an artificial price for the benefit of a class . " Now I see no difference between a territorial class and the handioom ( weavers . If you say there is a corn law kept up to give revenue to any class in this country , and that by putting an end to that law the people will be better fed and better employed then that law cannot be maintained . But there is an element of calculation which we call in here ; and that is that there will in such a c « se be a great displacement of labour . We can show that then the { price of corn must necessarily be such as to render it impossible in the greater part of this country to cultivate wheat , or other grains , with a profit . ( Hear , hear , ) You must acknowledge that such a result will cause a great displacement of

    labour . ( Hear . ) We will meet you with feet . I protest against your answering us with assumption . ( Hear , hear . ) I am not going to trouble the house irith visiting all those parts we are familiar with , and all those countries from which we may belikely to draw corn . The hon . member for Somersetshire said there would be , in Russia , an annual surplus of 28 , 000 , 000 , and the information was received with a sympathetic cheer from the other side ^ of the hsuse , while the right hon . gentleman ( Sir J . Cfraham ) heard it with a doubt . New the only authority for that calculation is UH officer employed by government to analyse and draw up the tariffs . I believe the right hon . gentleman himself laid these tariffs on the table of the house . ( Hear . ) The information in this case is supplied by your own blue-books , and from these and other sources much waB to be learned

    on this important question . ( Hear . ) I will not direct the attention of the house to the great resources of the area of the Volga , nor to the valley of the Mississippi , though I have evidence to show that it is calculated to produce an indefinite quantity of grain—all this has been already repeatedly Btated ; but what I want to bring before the houseare the markets that are never mentioned , but which are markets that I believe would greatly influence prices in this country . There is one market that has never been mentioned in these debates , and that is Hungary . ( Hear . ) I shall be excused , perhaps , forentering here upon matters known to the house , but whioh it is of importance to have clearly before us . Hungary is a plain that consists of 36 , 000 square miles of the richest soil in tue world—the soil of a garden which you may go over for hundreds of miles and not find a stone in it from one

    foot to seven in depth . There are considerable morasses , no doubt , and you may , perhaps , take off oue-third for the area of thoae morasses ; this would leave 24 , 000 square miles of the most fertile soil in the world , under the influence of a climate most admirably adapted to the growth Of corn . I have had returns sent me of the quantity of grain grown in Bmgarj the year before lask j and I tnay mention that in Croatia there were raised a million and a half of quarters . Then , it may be said , how are we to get corn from Hungary 3 Why , Sir , I received a letter , not long ago , from one of the greatest corn merchants at Sissok , the first corn market in Hungary , and he says , that on an average of the last five years , the price of the finest Hungarian corn , which I must remind you is the finest in the world , which in the Dantzic market ranks with the finest Dantzic wheat , was 18 s . Gd ., and that you

    may send it from this town of Sissek to Carlstadt , by the river Save , at a cost of 4 d . the English quarter , and from Carlstadt to the port of Piume for Is . 8 d . a quarter . The person who gives me this information is a practical man at Sissek , and he is ready to prove the accuracy of his opinions by acting upon them . He says , " Only give me a regular trade with England , and I will send you , from Sissek , 500 , 000 quarters the first year . " That is the report of » merchant of Hungary . But do you mean to say that tbat would not exercise the greatest influence on your market ? When the demand is steady the market is steady ; but I can show you what the effect would be with an increased demand and an increased supply . Now , I would take the markets of Hungary . The oorn might be sent from the two chief ports of the Danube , and here I might observe that it ig a very

    curious circumstance that m the year 1842 , as appears by a return I hold in my hand , there were 1 , 350 vessels laden in those two ports with the produce of the Danubiau provinces , but only eight of them were English . It is a remarkable fact that while commerce was thriving and free trade was advocated , this , the greatest commercial country in the world , had only eight vessels laden at those ports . But a gentleman writiug to a house in England , —I wiD give his name to the right hon . gentleman , and I think it will astound him , for it is Mr . Sanders , of Liverpool ( hear ) , says , — " I will undertake , by my correspondents , to secure wheat from Hungary at the price of 18 s . a-quarter , free on board ; and I will lay down this year , in an English port , 200 , 000 quarters , at 28 s . to 30 s . ; and if you will secure me a eartiun , a sure market , I will double that quautity next year . " That same

    gentleman , that same Mr . Sanders , who has given in Ins ad-Jitsion to the right hon . baronet , to-night , in the manusuript letter which I have read—but which I trust the right hon . baronet has notrciidjbecause , immediately after he gives in his adhesion to the policy of the right holi . baronet , 1 find he says that the banking bill of last year must ruin the country —( hear , hear)—that same Mr . Sanders then offers to enter into a contract to supply 1 , 000 , 000 quarters of wheat at 28 s , a-quarter , and if the measures of the Government puss , he will undertake at tuecndofttiisyddi-that ( bat 1 , 000 , 000 of quarters shall be doubled and sent to England at reduced prices . ( Hear . ) Now , under the head of " unenumerated markets , 'I that do not form a subject of discussion in this house , I will mention Spain , which I am sure would act greatly on this country—I will mention Egypt , and I

    will mention Sicily . My opinion is , that in exact proportion us your dumaiul for wheat and the various kinds oi grain increases , in the same proportion prices will di . niinisli . This is tbe opinion I eiitertiiiu . Ibolievo it may be laid down as a principle of commerce that where an article can be progressively produced to an indefinite extent , precisely as tho demand increases tlie price diminishes . ( Hear . ) t am perfectly aware that that is exactly contrary to tho opinions professed by lion , gentlemen opposite , and to the opinions taken up . by her Atajesty ' s ministers as the basis of tlieir present policy . We had it announced from the hustings , that exactly as you import 1 , 000 , 000 quarters from the continental markets trices abroad will raise 10 s . a-quarter . That was au-HOUllCed hy a great authority—it waS the echo of

    members of her Majesty ' s government ; and then the hon . member for Montrose very frankly stated the other night , that the result of all theso changes was to equalize prices ; that we should equalize prices by our demand ; that we should not lower prices , but by equalizing them wo should put tho people of the continental countries on the same footing as ourselves . Certainly tho principal ( . -round upon which this measure was recommended to the great bedy of the people entirely depended upon this question , whether England would maintain its character as an agricultural country—u'HGtliur- tlio population aniployud in agriculture would still bo employed ; tho question whether there would be a great displacement of labour entirely depended upon that circumstance . ( Hear , hear . )

    I mentioned incidentally on a former occasion the article of tea . Every one knows that there lms been a great increase in the demand ; and every one knows that there has been a great decrease in the price . But tea is produced in only one country—there is no competition . However that suggestion was received in rather an incre tlulous manner ; and , although it was not met by any decisive argument or fact , it was subsequently contradicted in a manner very unsatisfactory . I will do it very shortly , but I wu ' . l show the house how far 1 was justified in the statement I / nado . I thought it best to refor to a mercantile house \ vh . * ch , 1 believe , has the greatest transactions with China of nay liousu in tiiis country , I fairly expressed to them tho assertion I made , and the sort of

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    contradiction which I received . Now , what was the answer I received ? J " i " hand you enclosed the prices Of » 0 UUu congou tea , the kind most consumed in this country , from which you will observe there has been a great fall in price since 1831 . " What has been the fall I Why , in 1831 , H was 2 s . 2 d . a pound , and in 1846 it is 9 d . ( Hear , hear . ) But I know very wall that it maj be 8 aid the price of 1831 was , to a certain degree , artificial . The mercantile power of the East India Company kept the supp ly limited ; but I find that the declension of price was from 1831 to 1832 and 1833 , and then it was influenced by the new system . In 1831 it wa s 2 s . sd-pwib . ; m i 832 itwas 2 s . ljd . j in 1833 , 18 . 11 ^ . ; in 183 i , Is . 9 d ; and In the following year it was Is . 4 d . Then it came down to Is . Id . Is . 10 d . and 1 . 2 £ d . Then came the disordered IiiT-i TIT ' " - ¦ - *" - «""¦ " - """' » — .-J . a ' t ¦ : i . ii liL ^ _ " : * U * ik «» a tho hrif . ua of sound

    , , state of China , which is interesting , because it shows the artificial prices it produced : —First , it was 2 s . 5 d ., then 2 s , 6 d ., then 2 s . Id , That was in 1839 and 1840 ; and , in the following rear , it waB Is . 9 jd ., then Is . 3 ld ., then 10 d ., aid ., and , in 18 i 6 , it is 9 d . ; and , during that time , the importation of tea has increased by millions upon millions of pounds . ( Hear , hear . ) The next instanee I shall take is one which would be favourable to our cause , - a most leg itimateone ,-a production which bears more analogy to that of corn than any otner-and that is cotton I must remind the house that the right hon . baronet ought to know something of the subject . He contradicted my statement respecting tea , and said upon a ' fiUbse quent nig ht that , by the accounts received from CauShe priJ was rising , as if that had anything to bean undulation of

    do with the argument . There must prices . Buthereisthe articleofeotton The puceof cotton per 1 b . was , in 1836 , lOjd . ; in 1837 , 8 | d . ; in 1838 , Sid . ; in 1839 , 6 Jd . ; in 1840 , 6 jd . ; in 1841 , 5 jd . j in 1842 , 5 id in 181 3 5 fd . J in MM , * Jd . ; in 18 * 5 4 Jd . ( Hear , hear . ) But let me remind the house , that during those 10 years , in which I have traced this progressive fall of prices the importation of cotton into England has risen from 350 , 000 , 0001 b . to 597 , 000 , 0001 b . —( loudcheers ) -while during the same time all other manufacturing countries , including the United Stat . s , have increased their cousumption from 282 , 000 , 0001 b . to 432 , 000 , 0001 b . Well , now , Sir , it appears to me a perfect demonstration as regards the principle that while there is no natural or artificial course to check the production of an article , that exactly in proportion to the demand will the price or . the article diminish . I know very well that the article I am

    now going to call attention to is one extremely difficult to deal with , and I might have evaded the difficulty because there is such irregularity , such an anomaly with regard to sugar , that I might fairly have omitted it , and have said that sugar does not prove the case , and may fairly be left out of the catalogue . But it occurred to me to see what has been the price of sugar sinco the East Indian trade was put on an equality with the other , and the demand has increased for that article . Now , this is the price Of Ben s-al sugar at the end of the year 1811 : —brown Bengal sugar was 47 s . to 52 s , ; in 1842 it was 45 s . to 57 s . , in 1843 , 47 s . to 55 s . ; in 1844 , 39 s . to 499 . ; in 1845 , 38 s . to 42 s and in 1846 , 37 s . to 42 s . It commenced , in 1841 , to be 49 s . to 52 s ., and at the end , in 1846 , it had fallen to 37 s to 42 s . ( Hear , hear . ) Again , in 1841 , there were im .

    ported into England 24 , 000 tons of this sugar , and that has increased to 62 , 000 tons . ( Hear . ) I might observe that the case would have been much better if I had taken the best kind , for in the first year the price was from 69 s . to 74 s ., and it has progressively fallen in the last year of importatation to 52 s . and 56 s . ( Hear , hear . ) Therefore the case of sugar is in perfect harmony with the ruling principle I have mentioned . What is the ease with coffee 1 I must apply my * u ! e again . I will take the East India coffee . The state of our relations with our West India colonies is of so anomalous a character as to commerce that it is perfectly impossibly to form an opinion upou that part of our trade . Now let us take Ceylon coffee , the importation of which has immensely increased . I will only take the first and last year . In 1840 Ceylon coffee , per bag ,

    was 90 s . to 91 s . In 1816 it is 44 s . to 47 s . ( Hear , hear . ) In the first year there were imported 33 , 000 bags , Last year the numfeer imported was 133 , 000 . ( Hear , hear . ) Then , take the case ef Mysore coffee , not grown in our own possessions . In the first year the price was 77 s . to 82 s . per cask ; last year it was 36 s . to 48 s . Whilst in the first year there were imported only 48 . 000 casks , and in the last year it has increased to 63 , 350 casks . I am sorry to trouble the house with these details . I refer to them that hon . gentlemen may have the opportunity of investigating this important principle . Look to the case of indigo , of salt , Of iron , of coals , and even to the case of fruits , since the alteration of the law , and this principle may be clearly observed and invariably demonstrated in every one of them . Is it thea unreasonable to ask what

    there is in corn to make it an exception to the general rule ? ( Hear , hear . ) I want that question to be answered . ( Hear , hear . ) I think it as fail' a question to ask in debate as cam be conceived . Why is com an exception to this principle ? Is it because corn is produced in every country and under every climate of the world ? What is the country which cannot produce corn ? In Persia , as has been found very recently , corn is produced at present at 5 s . a quarle * . Then with rospect to the price at which it could be sold here , the question is merely one of locomotion ; but , taking the best opinions , I consider that from 10 s . to 20 s . is the price per quarter at which it could be sold here . At any rate , the cost of the carriage hither is the only barrier that we have as to the price at which it could be sold for when the corn laws are repealed .

    Before , however , I venture to enter upon an estimate of the consequences of abelishing the present Bystem , I will say that I know it has been urged that with respect to the importation of foreign cattle the agriculturists had aU this fear of being overwhelmed with the increased supply from the continent , and their fears have not been realized ; and why , therefore , should they fear an enormous importation of corn from the continent ? But , I should say , there is as slight an analogy between the cases as can . easily be conceited , In the first place , the continent of Europe is a corn-growing country , and was a corngrowing country long before England was a corn-growing country . In the next place , the continent of Europe never was a cattle-raising country . The very circumstance of the prevalence in those countries of the Roman Catholic

    religion , which interferes so much with the consumption of meat , has operated to discourage the rearing of cattle . No person pretends that there is any part of the continent where the pastures are equal to those of England . The expense of transporting articles so heavy as cattle is another point of distinction ; and altogether I think the analogy is as imperfect as it can be . The conclusion , then , to which I arrive is , that by this measure you are displacing the labour of England that producos corn only in order to admit into the consumption of this country , on a large scale , foreign corn , the produce of foreign labour . What will be the consequence 1 As I balieve the prices after the change will i-ange from 30 s to 35 s . a quarter , haviug always , as bow , a tendency to fall , I believe that the consequence will be what I snail proceed to

    explain . I believe that an imaginary line may be drawn , as was d » ne by the right hon . baronet at the head of the Government , but that it will apply not merely to England . Then the light hou . Home Secretary gets up and says that England is not an agricultural country , but has become a manufacturing and commercial country ; and when the right hon . gentleman is reminded of his words , he replies , "I said not exclusively . " But surely the commerce of England is not of yesterday . The commerce of England is much more ancient than that of any other country in Europe . It is perfectly new to tell us that England has been a strictly agricultural country hitherto , but that now there is to be a change , and she is to be a manufacturing country . I believe that England is not as great a commercial country at present as she has

    been at a previous period of our history . ( Hear , hear , and a laugh . ) I do not of course mean that England does not conduct at present a greater amount of commercial transactions than at any former period , but my meaning is , that in proportion to her population and capital , and in proportion to the population of the world , her commerce is not so important as it was at former periods ; thoso periods , I mean , when we had all the commerce of the Levant and the Turkey trade , and wiien we had the commerce of the Spanish Main . I believe that at those periods the profits of commerce were greater ; and with reference to the existing capital of the country , that the capital employed in commerce bore a larger proportion than at present . But England is henceforth to be > manufacturing country , we are told . Let hs test this as .

    BQi ' tlon . It is said that we have been every day becoming more and more of atnanufacting country ; but if you look to the general arrangement of labour in England , you will find that England is less of a manufacturing country than it lias becu . ( Alaugh . ) Isay that , without doubt , the manufacturing industry of this country was more scattered ( a laugh)—over the country 100 years ago than at present . The hon . gentleman takes up a word ; one cannot always select one ' s words ; I mean to pay that the manufacturing industry of the country was more dispersed ; that there Were more counties in which manufactures flourished 100 years ago than at this moment , for instance , throughout the West of England we had manufactures , and very flourishing manufactures , and I say that the woollen manufactures of this country bore then agreator proportion

    to the manufacturing industry of tlie rest ot Jburope than it doesnow . aiid that it bore a greater importance inEurope than it does now . Why you had many manufactures 100 years ago , which are now obsolete in many counties , or only most partially pursued . But you have hud , unquestionably , a gigantic developcmeut of manufacturing skill in a i particular county . It is unprecedented , ana I shall always speak of it , as a thing which confers the greatest honour on this country , which has been the greatest source of its wealth , and of which every Englishman should be most proud ; but generally speakiug that derelopuiniiilt of industry has been confined to one county ; but then the Minister comes and tells us that England is to be a manufacturingard commercial country in future ;' tbat is to say , " I would change tlie whole system of t ? ie ' country for one couuty . " ( Hear , hear . ) I hear of a repeal of the union , but I think it not wholly impossible I

    WCinay hilve a revival of the heptarcliy —( a laugh )—if we « re ta tell tho counties that are purely agricultural that they are to have a starving population , because iu one county there has been a peculiar developemcnt in one kind of industry ; for that is the argument of tho Minister . Uut then what are tho resources to support tbe people which this branch of industry can afford ? Supposing this depreciation of agricultural produce eftBcted , Supposing this great revolution , as you admit it is , carried , and that we cease to be an agricultural population , and that we become tlle workshop of the world—that it to snj-, sup . posing we try to maintain our people , and support our present financial arrangements , on the cotton trude , what will be the effect . Why , the first result of the change will be found to bo this , that it affects directly or indirectly three or four millions of our people . But what will be the efiect on the cotton trade , which is met by hostile tariffs iu every part of tho world ? Suppose you double

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    it , what will be the result 1 That you will find eaploj went for some 300 , 000 persona fey so " doing . But if machinery improves at the rate it has done , the change will probably employ only 150 , 000 additional hands . The tendency of thus measure , therefore , is inevitable , and the . result will be tbat an extensive displacement of labour will tak « place , and that misery , and ultimatel y , political disaster will take place . lam told that immense thiogg may be done by the agriculturist , by the empiOyiilg ut 0 { capital and skill ; and that the progress of events ought , aot to dispirit him , because he has capital to support him ,, and skill to enrich him . Now let us test that . When a man lends capital to anotker he naturally , I believe , look ^ to the return he is likely to obtainfer it . The mortgagee looks to the margin beyond the rent ef the estate on which he lends his money . Well then , now I suppose it will be » -. i . o *~ : ill ,. tl ,., Mnm Thaf ., »„ - » i „ : , ^ y ment for some 300 , 000 persona ^ fcj so ' doinor wl .

    said men will be more ready to lend their money to the landowners of this country than they wer « before this measure . But observe , you are not only by this measure diminishing the probabtihy ol tbe landowners effecting loans on their estates , but you are giving the capitalist the means of making secure investment of his capital in other countries . Look at the relation which will subsist under this measure , between him and his foreign correspondent at Hamburgh . Hb has no longer to fear the operation of the sliding scale ; he goes at oBce to his London banker , and he gets his capital to lend to the foreigner . In fact , you will at the same time , by this law £ be diminishing the security which the landowner has tooffer the capitalist : and offering to the English capitalist a better inTestmentfor his moaey abroad . So mach for thecapital : then we are teld about skill ; but that is so

    indefinite a thing that it is almost impossible to enter on a discussion upon it . But the agriculturist , I thiuk I can , show , far from being backward in this respect , is more advanced than the manufacturer ; that he producesmore , wastes less , and that he is more industrious than , any manufacturer . Generally speaking , I think I can show , that there is every reason for considering the . English agriculturist to be more intelligent and more , effective than the English manufacturer , and I mean toprove that by the evidence of a member of the Anti-Corn Law League . What is the evidence of Mr . Greg—that , evidence which most hon . members are aware of , and which all have heard of ? He says , speaking of the manufacturers , " Competition is so severe that I almost doubt the possibility of the English manufacturer maintaining his ground against the foreign manufacturer . " But no one

    can say that of the English agriculturist . ( " Hear , hear , and a laugh . ) He produces in some cases double , and in others treble , the amount that any foreign agriculturist , produces from the same breadth of land . Therefore ,, with respect to the English farmer , as compared with the Englush manufacturer , 1 can absolutely prove that he wastes less and produces with more tffect , ( Hear , hear . ) Well , I know there is an argument , or rather an appeal , which tells much in these discussions , and which influences opinions both out of this house and in this house , when you bring forward the condition of tbe English labourer in particular localities . My hon > friend the member for Shaftesbury ( Mr , Sheridan ) , who has done himself great credit for tlie energy which he has devoted to this subject , has introduced the state of the Dorsetshire labeurep into this debate : now .

    the condition of the Dorsetshire labourer is one of the reasons why I give iny support to these laws . ( Hear » hear . ) It is very easy to say , "Here is a man who , cempared with the generality of the civilized world , is in a depressed and miserable condition , and protection has produced this condition . " But if I am not able to show that protection has had nothing to do with that condition , I shall be ready this night to go into the same lobby with her Majesty ' s government . I have asked the house before , and I repeat , if protection has produced the Dorsetshire labourer with his 7 s . a week , how is it that pi'OtGC tion has not alsoprodueed the Lincolnshire labourer with double the wages ? I do not say that this is an argument , but it is a suggestive question , which I will follow up , and will explain . Mr . Huskisson forcibly illustrated it . When ifr . Huskisson first settled in Sussex his

    attention was necessarily drawn to the extreme pauperism of that county ; and , after giving to the subject the greatest possible consideration , Mr . Huskisson said that he traced this pauperism to the fact , that Sussex was formerly the seat of the great iron manufacture , and that the agricultural population had never absorbed the manufacturing . This appears to have been the case with the western counties of England , and do nst therefore accuse protection of being tho cause . The western counties have been the seats of manufactures , and the manufacturing population has never been absorbed in the agricultural . But go at once into Lincolnshire , a protected county ; Lincolnshire is to agriculture what Lancashire is to manufactures—( cheers )—and I will rest our case on tho state of Lincolnshire . Lincolnshire is a new county ; there were no ancient manufactures there : thepopula .

    tion of Lincolnshire has been produced and is supported by the land , as the population of Lancashire has been produced and is supported by manufactures . ( Hear . ) I have often thought of that celebrated tower which looks over Lincolnshire , that if my gallant friend , whose family have represented the city of Lincoln almost since tha days of the ^ Stuarts , would take the arch-fiend of political economy and put him in that celebrated niche , he would see , looking towards the north , those interminable wolds , stretching- almost to the Humber , which within the memory of man was the domain of the rabbit , and which is now producing exuberant crops ; or , looking over Lincoln-heath , he would see land where , within the memory of living man , there was a lighthouse to guide the traveller on hia path—( cheers)—and which—my gallant friend will bear witness to the truth of what I am

    saying —( "hear , hear , " from Colonel Sibthorp)—was let to a warrener , at 2 s ,

    Lancashire or to Yorkshire . See , then , what Lincolnshire has produced under protection—protection tested under the most auspicious circumstances , as in Lancashire manufactures are under the most auspicious circumstances . And when you fiud that the inhabitants of the western counties are in a state of misery and depression , ilo not say that their misery is owing to protection , which is , perhaps , the only reason why they exist at all , Nothing astounded me more than a speech of the noblu lord the member for Falkirk ( Lord Lincoln ) , which he recently made at Newark-market , where he asked , " What has protection done for you ? " Why , the market of Newark is supplied with the corn of Lincoln-heath , which cau only be raised by the annual application of artificial manures , though it is the finest cora ia the woiM , aud is sent from Newark into the markets of all s !? e » reat

    towns . ( Hear , hear . ) What , then , has protection done ? If your protection had nerer esisted , you -iroul'l have yet left to you those wild wolds , those heathy fens , and tliose plashy marshes . ( Cheers . ) You cannot , however , decide this question without looking at the colonies , It is idle to talk of Canada , and to speak with levity and with indifference whether it is annexed to the American States , or remains as a possession of England . CaBa . ia lias aU the elements of a great country and of a gvuat trade . She is calculated to be the Russia of the North American continent if she be not annexed to states the ties of which are far from indissoluble . The hon . gentleman last night , answering my noble friend ( Lord G , Buutinck ) , talked of the commerce of Canada as nothing but the means of smuggling into the United States . My argument is that we ought to keep Canada ; not that 1 want

    to encourage a smuggling trade even if we coniil ;; et no other ; but I want to know what will be the condition of England if all the transatlantic continent shall belong to ono power ? ( 1 will not , however , dwell upon the case of the colonies ; neither will I touch upon the case of Ireland : it is too terrible a subject , even upon the showing of the noble lord whose conversion has been so much a matter of triumph to the Ministerial benches ; he has announced this measure as fatal to the small farmers —( hear , hear)—and , when we know that Ireland is a nation of small farmers —( hear , hua- )— we may iiiirly anticipate the ru .-ult . Hut , there is ciif reason with respect to Ireland given by the hon . m .-mbt-r for Stockport ( Mr . Cobden ; inn speech recentlym ; uk- in this house , and in other places , with considerable clluct , which I cannot help noticing , as it comes from a quarter so

    influential . He s : iys that "in any argument in favour of the corn laws , of all tbe countries I should never have thought that Ireland would have been brought forward iu support of protection . " Why , Sir , this is a saucy and gallant sally , but is it any Hrgument ? Does it cany ' with it any proof ? Does the lion , member mean to say , ' Here is a population driven to the last resource of human subsistence , and living on potatoes ? " Then how me they to get even the potatoes without cultivating the land ana producing the wheat and the oats which Ua-v send to England ? ( "Hear , hear , " and some interrupti .-n . ) I want to know what will be the state of Ireland if this measure have the effect on the markets wliieli t anticipate ? If I am wrong in my supposition as to riinr . tffect —there are a thousand arguments you may use ^ ainst me—there are a thousand assumptions you can make , and you may indulge in all the vagaries of political economy ; but if I am ri ght in my idea of the ctVv « c these measures will have on labour in the united kii . jfJom of England ana Ireland , I mint to know in what sratu Ire .

    land win bo when you have prevented her pe-u-le from manufacturing the wheat and the oats ? Vou toll us that capital will enter Ireland , and that manufacture » M ba established there . How long will it be firsi t ( Loua cheers . ) How long a time will pass before tliose nianufiictures arc established ? Perhaps in tho inu-rval the iron manufacture may be revived in Sussex , or t ! u > drooping energies of the Dorsetshire labourers may Viu raised by tlie high wages g iven by the hon . members ' f .. r Stockist aud for Euchdale . ( Cheers . ) I cannot help saying that this measure will change the character of the country so far as it relates to agriculture ; and , believing that its tendency is to sap the elements and springs of hkuiufacturing- industry « nd commercial prosperit . .-. j . nd believing , also , from its effects on the precious metlils , U'llicll I will not now notice further , that it ' will injure nil interests , and bring about a domestic and social convulsion , I am oblkred to ask myself , if indeed the measure be so perilous , why is it produced ? ( Cheers . ) I need not ask What BO llliiny ask , aHd What so many ask in vain—I need not ask what is the state of the circuuistuuces of

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    SPEECH OF B . D ' lSRAELI , Esq . M . P ., AGAINST TiJE THIRD READING OF THE ' CORN IMPORTATION BILL . Mr . D'Isbaem . — Sir , the Secretary of State , in his speech on the first night of the discussion , reminded gentlemen sitting on these benches and professing opinions favourable to tho protection of native industry , that in the varied and prolonged discussions of this question which have taken place of late years , we had abandoned many of the opinions we formerly professed , and given up many of the dogmas by which we were formerly actuated . I acknowledge that fact . I believe that to be the necessary result of all discussion . Nor can I understand what is the use of public discussion if , whatever tbe termination ofit—whatever the changes in public opinion upon , the matter discussed—both parlies take refuge in the pride nnnb'nn nv r TVISR AEI . T "Rao . IW . P ..

    that they have not changed their opinion with reference to any single topic that had been under debate . ( Hear , hear . ) I do not claim for myself , nor I believe need I claim for tliose around me , such a power of argument , such a force of conviction , that wo have not felt it our dutvtolisten with attention to the arguments addressed to the house ; and , if we have found thatarguments have beed introduced that we could not satisfy ourselves we could answer , and of which we felt the force , we have not attempted to maintain the opinions that we could not preserve . But if this rule applies to us—if it applies to one party in the discussion—I think I can show the Secretary of State that it is not peculiar to us . I fancy that some opinions have been held by leading advocates of this measure and have be « n maintained by hon . gentlemen opposite—Ispeaknoivofhon gentlemen opposite

    because I wish that we may all remember who are the originators of these ideas—I think that opinions have been at different times ably maintained by gentlemen opposite which are no longer insisted on , and which are in that category of adandonment to which the'Secretary of State referred . I might begin with the cry of cheap bread . ( Cheers from the Protectionists ) . We had a Minister of the Crown—a member of the Cabinet—even in this important session , when we might expect that the opinions of Ministers would be well matured and considered , seeing that we have atloast four cabinets a week —a Cabinet minister told us that the clap-trap of cheap bread was universally abandoned by all parties . It seemed to be " the fugitive cry of a dying taction . " The hon . member for Stockport has alsp announced tbat that cry of" cheap bread" was nover one 8 f his . That ,

    then , has been given up ; and I believe , also , other points with it . It is no longer maintained tbat tbe > present Corn Law has been the cause of producing great fluctuations in price . ( Cheers . ) Yet that opinion had once great authority in the country—has been brous ht into the discussion in this house , and if it bad been alluded to as tbe existing opinion twelve months ago , it would have been admitted , and would certainly have been cheered . Yet it is now admitted that neither the present nor the late Corn Law , which is a stronger instance , has been productive of any great alteration in price . Well , then , we have been told that these Corn Laws are the bane of agrienltnre . ( A voice on the Opposition benches , given up 1 " ) Well , that is given up also , it seems . We have the evidence of the best valuers of tithes under the Tithe Communication Act—the evidence of the most skilful

    land agents in the country—thatan acre of land produces twenty-eight bushels of wheat . We have also reports on the table of the housufrom official sources that in Russia the average produce of wheat per acre is sixteen bushels , and in France fifteen bushels per acre . ( Hear , hear . ) I have here , and it is at the service of any gentleman who may wish to peruse it , the statistical report of the Agricultural Society of New York , in which returns are prices of the produce of sixty-nine counties in the year 1845 , from which I find that the average produce is fourteen bushels of wheat per acre in that important Btato . It does not appear , therefore , that these laws have been "the bane of agriculture —( cheers)—since England has produced more per acre than any other country . ( Cheers . ) Then that is the third opinion which has been Riven up . Another opinion has also prevailed , that

    our population has been increasing in a greater ratio than our producti » n . That too has been given up . You came down and told up that our population was increasing at the rate of 1 , 000 per day , or 365 , 000 pel- year , and you immediately assumed tbat it was impossible with our present means ef production to feed us . We have shown you that the price of wheat has been regularly declining . The population has been increasing , and yet the price of food has gone on gradually becoming less . If you take the forty-five years previous to the current year , and divide them into three portions of fifteen years each , you will find the price much less in each than in the precediogreturn . ( Hear , hear . ) So that while your population has been increasing , your means of production have gone on increasing in a greater ratio . ( Cheers . ) Another point I noticed which struck me also—and these

    opinions go to form the public sentiment—is , that our existing agricultural policy has been the occasion of the hostile tariffs of other nations . I believe that has been given up , because it is now totally clear that whatever policy we pursue , the great ag ricultural countries will not be influenced by it . ( Hear , hear . ) I don't say that is very important , because the new reciprocity is independent of all considerations of tariff . ( Cheers and laughter from the Protectionists . ) Another opinion that at public meetings and in debates of the house has acted a great part was , that freight itself is a protection to the land of England . That opinion was prevalent for a long time , and the hon . member for stockport , whose speeches I always read with great pleasure , when addressing on influential assembly out of doors , said , " Why should the farmers be afraid of competition ? Why , they are

    protected by an average freight of 10 s . Gd . " That sentiment was repeated in this house , and that also , if it had been repeated a year ago , everybody would have believed , and it would certainly have been cheered in this house . Sir , I doubt whether freight would be any protection whatever , even from Odessa . Why it is just as expensive to ship corn from one port in England to another , as from those foreign ports , the most contiguous to us , from which we shall recive our chief supplies . ( Cheers . ) Now as to the opinion I have expressed , that the present corn law has not caused the price to fluctuate . It is a happy way that , of clearing the course before we enter on the merits of the question . With regard to fluctuations of price , we maintain in answer to you , that the present , and even the late Cora Law did not occasion any fluctuation in price . On the contrary , we have proved that the fluctuation in

    England has been less than in any country in the world . ( Cheers . ) I wish to speak on this point with brevity , but the fact is incontrovertible . In no country in Europe or America , in the richest or the poorest , have the principal necessaries of life been subject to less fluctuation than in England . Now , Mr . Secretary Gladstone moved for returns which were important from their character , and still more from that of Hie person who introduced them to our notice . One of these is a return from the year 183 * to 1810 inclusive , of the weekly prices of Wheat in the principal capitals of the United States . Now I take the one of those capitals which would tell most against us—Philadelphia . This is a capital which is one of the most opulent in the Atlantic states . I take it because that stat » seldom grows sufficient for its own use , and cannot therefore be affected as a general rule by the

    English market . It is a great mercantile and maritime state , and the trade in corn is free , being subject merely to an import duty of 8 s . 8 d . per quarter . In the first five years , from 1834 to 1810 , we had no importation of corn at aU from America . We had a gaeat importation in 1839 and 1840 , and though we had not much from Philadelphia , we had some , and that importation tended to diminish the limits of the fluctuation of prices . In those years , from 1831 to 1840 , the average annual difference bet . veen the highest and the lowest prices of wheat in Philadelphia was 47 per cent ., while , during the corresponding period iu England , it was only 33 per cent . During the septennial period the extreme difference between the highest and the lowest prices of wheat was 270 per cent , in Philadelphia , and 227 pur cent , in England . This return gives the weekly prices , and aa it might be

    considered that local and particular circumstances might affect the weekly averages , we will apply the same comparison to the average annual prices . Prom 1830 to 1838 the difference between tbe highest and lowest annual price of wheat at Philadelphia amounted to 121 per cent ., whilst in England the difference was only 03 per cent . ( Hear , hear . ) There are analogous returns of every corn port and corn market , and the result is siuiiJar to that of Philadelphia , which , as I have said , is the least favourable to our views of all the American cites . I am perfectly aware it may bo said that these markets are disturbed by our Corn Laws , but this cannot be alleged of the article of rye . My noble friend the member for Lynn , has shown that in the instance of rye , which is the ordidary food oi the continent , and which is seldom imported into this country , similar fluctuations occur . I

    have a return of the prices of rye at Warsaw and DaKtzic . At Dantzic , the people , we are told , are all in favour of the fluctuating scale , but at Warsaw , they are noted as bting the advocates of free trade ; the price of rye , in these two markets , from 1831 to 1839 , is now before me , and I find that the difference in the annual price in Warsaw sometimes amounted to 140 per cent ., this was in the city devoted to free trade ; whereas in Dantzic , aited upon by all the agencies of commerce , the difference was only 05 per cent . ( Hear . ) Iu all the great Prussian corn markets the difference between the annual price of rye for tho same period is 100 per cent . ; therefore we may fairly consider that what has been said against the Corn Law , as producing fluctuation in price , is no longer an argument for this house . ( Hear . ) But tho inferences I have deduced are inferences drawn from what took place under the influence of the late law—a law much more tending to fluctuation than the present , for the scale of Mr . Canning , which was an excellent system , was alUrod by the right hon . gentleman , the first

    Minister of the Crown ; and it was a scale which tended much more to fluctuation than the one we now live under . If , therefore , I had taken the experience of Hie present 6 cale the result would have been still more favourable ; but the result Joeing quite favourable enough nnd as satisfactory as I could well desire , I shall just rest upon it . I have shown the bouse that a great many arguments havo been abandoned l > y gentlemen opposite , as well as by us . It is possible we m . iy have abandoned many , and yet the leading principles we maintain still remain intact ; but I defy gentlemen opposite , with such free ivnrren of sarcasm upon Conservatives , to bring forward a category of abandoned opinions that can nt nil compare with those I have to-night laid before the house . ( Cheevs . ) Now , what are we tedo with these opinions , those exhausted arguments thoso " exploded fallacies ? " Our great national poet conceived the existence of a limbo for exploded systems , I think we should invent a limbo for political economists , where we should bind up all those arguments that have turned out to be sophis tries . ( A

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• Citation
  • Northern Star (1837-1852), May 23, 1846, page 6, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/ns/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1367/page/6/