* Exclusive of Army, Navy, Marines, and Seamen navigating registered vessels. See Observations in Journals, vol. 67, p. 857.

XXX

(IN PARLIAMENT.) In the Matter of the Agricultural Petitions, before a Select Com. mittee of the House of Commons.

THE petitioners chiefly set forth in. their petition this session, That in the last session of Parliament, upwards of 280 petitions, signed by upwards of 100,000 petitioners, occupying not less than four millions of acres of land, were presented to the Honourable the House of Commons, setting forth, that the soil of the United Kingdom was competent and fully adequate to the supply of its population, even if it were much more numerous than it is, with all the productions of the soil of the United Kingdom, that is to say, with all corn, meal, flour, rye, oats, peas, beans, barley, beer or bigg, wool, flax, hemp, hides, tallow, seeds, butter, cheese, poultry, vegetables of all kinds natural to the climate, apples and pears: That such petitions with all humility submitted to the considera

tion and wisdom of the House, that as the soil of the United Kingdom, and its productions, are the prime source of national industry, and of revenue, it is impolitic, if this allegation be true, to admit any productions, similar to those of our own soil and climate, into this country duty-free, until the cultivation of our own soil should have extended itself to its utmost limits; but that, whether such allegation be correct in all its parts, or not, it is unjust to the occupiers of the soil to admit such productions duty free, inasmuch as every such admission tends to disable the occupiers of the soil from payment of their rent, tithes, taxes, or wages, while it leaves them subject to all the pains and penalties incurred by the omission to make good any of these payments: That the said several petitions were referred to a Select Committee to consider the matter thereof, and report their opinion thereon to the House; but that it was afterwards moved, and carried by a majority, "That it be an instruction to the said

Committee to confine their inquiry to the mode of ascertaining, returning, and calculating the average prices of corn in the twelve maritime districts, under the provisions of the existing Corn Laws, and to any frauds that may be committed in violation of any of the provisions of the said laws:" That such reference and report of such Select Committee have not produced, and, in the opinion and experience of the petitioners, can never effect the slightest alleviation to any of the grievances of which the petitioners complain, as the continued degradation of every species of produce, and the continued and accumulating stagnation for the demand of every description of labour, agricultural, commercial, and manufacturing, will amply testify: Wherefore the petitioners most humbly pray, That as the agriculture of the United Kingdom is the fountain from which every other source of industry receives its supplies, and by which every other branch of national industry is principally encouraged, maintained, and supported, it may be referred to a Committee of the House to examine, contrast, and report to the House the several protecting and prohibitory duties by which, according to the laws now in force, the three great branches of national industry, and of revenue, viz. Agriculture, Commerce, and Manufactures, are severally protected, or omitted to be protected; that such alterations and amendments may be made in such laws and regulations, and such additional duties imposed on the import of all the productions of our own soil, as to the wisdom of the House may seem meet for restoring that equilibrium to the whole, without which neither of the said branches of industry can duly prosper.

OBSERVATIONS.

In support of these allegations the petitioners contend, that during a war of twenty years of unequalled expenditure, it will be found the value of all agricultural produce constantly advanced in exact ratio with taxation, and by this means, and no other, were the exigencies of the state from time to time supplied; and they contend, that all the embarrassments of the country may be traced to the prema ture and vain attempt to restore the former prices of agricultural produce, before the taxes which occasioned and

and on a comparison of the probable net proceeds from all these sources of national wealth, the payments actually made from each to the property-tax, it will be found that this estimate is sufficiently correct to sustain the argument intended to be founded upon it.

From these sources then, and as long as agricultural produce maintained the prices of 1813, on which the above estimate was founded, experience has shewn us the taxes were paid with facility, and every industrious man could find a livelihood, and a demand for his labour: but, in 1814, indeed, from the moment agricultural produce could be imported into this country, either altogether duty free, or at inadequate duties, the productions of our own soil, coming into competition in our own markets with foreign productions not liable to the taxation and charges paid by our cultivators, graduated below a remunerating price for their productions: indeed, it may be fairly estimated, that they immediately fell onethird below the prices of 1813, and with very little variation until this year, when they have sunk to about half the prices of 1813: and have so continued ever since, and then the gross produce of agriculture will stand thus:

2

£. .3)216,000,000

72,000,000

7

504,000,000

1813.-Agricultural productions (in even numbers).......... 1814.-Agricultural productions one-third less, and, with very little variation, have continued so ever since.... Defalcation in Agricultural produce in seven years In the same period rents have degraded £25 per cent., or per annum about £10,000,000, which estimated at 25 years purchase, produces a further degradation of property, to sustain our debt and taxes, of.. Or a total degradation in land and produce, in seven years, of....... 754,000,000

250,000,000

The collection of £60,000,000 per annum, or whatever may be the exact sum necessary to pay the interest of our debt, and the expences of government, upon this degraded value of our land, and the productions of our soil, it is humbly submitted to his Majesty's Government and the Legislature, is the original cause of all the embarrassments, and consequent distresses of the country.

The contraction of our circulating medium is naturally and necessarily one of the first effects of this cause, and does not arise, as many persons who have taken only a superficial view of the subject suppose, from any determination of Government to take off the Bank restrictions; but from an actual, positive, and bonâ fide declension in the gross returns of our agricultural produce, of upwards of £70,000,000 per annum: for whether our circulating medium consist of metal or paper, corn and cattle, or in other words, agricultural produce, must first purchase the greatest portion of such medium, before it can be put in circulation; and if the above annual degradation in the value of our agricultural productions has taken place, then has £72,000,000 less of circulating medium, of whatever it may consist, metal or paper, been annually purchased and circulated in this kingdom, for the last seven years, than was created, purchased, or circu lated, before such degradation in our agricultural produce took place.

That such degradation in our annual creation of produce has been effected by the import of foreign productions duty free, or at inadequate duties, may be inferred, for the following

reasons:

Internal taxes or charges are to the productions of the soil what duties are to foreign imports, and were paid, during the whole of the war, by an advance in value commensurate with the increased taxation, and must, (as was justly argued in the debate in the House of Commons, on the Birmingham petition,) be paid by the consumers in the price, or the commodity will cease to be grown; and it is contended by the petitioners, that it is the attempt to collect the charges and impositions to which the cultivators are liable in this country, on such reduced value of their productions, which has caused all the distress now so universally felt by every branch of industry in this kingdom.

High taxes, with inadequate prices for produce, can last only until the capitals of the cultivators shall be exhausted: and, for the last seven years, the growers of produce have been carrying weight which the prices they obtained for their commodities would not balance; and although the taxes, gene rally speaking, have been hitherto paid, they have been paid by a sacrifice of many of the comforts and conveniences to which the petitioners have been accustomed in their scale of living. But this has produced that diminished consumption of every article of life, which has occasioned the stagnation of every branch of trade and industry, of which the merchants and manufacturers, in their turn, so heavily complain.

Now, if these premises are founded in fact, and the scale of degradation here set forth bears any resemblance to the truth, it seems to follow, that nothing but duties on the import of agricultural productions, equivalent to the difference of expence between this country and poorer ones, where labour is so much cheaper, can ever restore our agriculture, and by that means revive our commerce and manufactures. Retrenchment of any sort, or abatement of rent, can never reach the evil, nor relieve the country; for the degradation in the value of our agricultural productions is more than either the taxes or the rental of the kingdom ever amounted to.