Lowe on the State of England. 
’ => Phis doubling of price:in the course of 
thirty years, has:not alittle embarrassed 
political arithmeticians: it is commonly 
attributed: tothe influx of metallic) cur- 
rency from the American mines before an 
outlet was found forit inJndia and China, 
but. from our experience of the limited 
effect’ of such a cause in» subsequent 
times, particularly since the late ‘peace, 
‘we are inclined to lay no little stress on 
‘the general:prevalence of war throughout 
Europe, frorethe middle of the sixteenth 
to that: of the seventeenth century.» Be 
this as itsmay, the enhancement ‘con- 
tinued: progressive; for in 1623 the ex- 
port) limit was:raised to 32s. the quarter 
for wheat,and 16s. for barley and malt. 
-Inthe succeeding age, particularly under 
-Cromwell,. our’ markets were consider- 
ably higher, but the rise was in some de- 
ree nominal, our coin, though no longer 
_debased by government, being deterior- 
ated by clipping and filing, and brought 
at times, no less than twenty per cent. 
below its legal value, an abuse not com- 
pletely remedied till 1717, 
» In the reign of Charles II. the prices 
of corn declined, and though several 
acts were passed (in 1660, 1663, 1670), 
‘imposing a duty on foreign corn, their 
effect in our market was inconsiderable, 
because our growth equalled, or more 
than equalled our consumption. Prices 
accordingly did not rise, the agricul- 
turists complained, and the epoch of the 
revolution was marked by a new refine- 
ment of legislation in their favour. The 
necessity of providing supplies. for the 
‘formidable contest with Louis XIV. led 
government to contemplate a land-tax, 
and to offer as a douceur to the landed 
interest, a premium on export, which, ac- 
companied by a prohibition of the im- 
port of foreign corn, implied a certainty 
of increase of price, and consequently of 
rent.’ The chief provisions of the act 
were the payment of a bounty of 5s. for 
every quarter of wheat exported, so long 
as our ‘price continued at or below 48s., 
‘and Qs. 6d.'for every quarter of barley or 
malt,'so long as our home currency for 
that grain didnot exceed 24s. 
‘A deficiency of documents in regard to 
the extent of ‘our tillage, prevents our 
tracing the effects of the bounty act:’ it 
doubtless ‘stimulated production, and, 
under ‘ordinary ‘political ‘circumstances, 
would, after creating a temporary supe+ 
riovity of demand to supply, have in 
some degree lowered prices; but the 
market was, during many years, kept up 
by. causes not unlike those which fol- 
lowed in our day the French revolution, 
£. 8: d. 
For ten years ending with 1725 1 15 5 
Ditto - ending with 1735 115 2 
Ditto - ending with 1745 112 1 
Ditto - ending with 1755 113 8 
‘Ditto - ending with 1765 119 3 
621 
—war, and a more than usual prevalence 
of bad seasons. The proportion of the 
latter in the twenty years ‘between 1692 
and 1712, was not inferior to that be- 
tween 1792 and 1812; and as our drain 
of men and capital for the war in these 
days, made no slight approximation to 
that of our late contest, there were want- 
ing to complete the analogy of high 
price only two of the characteristics of 
our age,—a depreciated currency and an 
annual insufficiency of growth. 
After the peace of Utrecht, the causes 
of fluctuation in’ our corn-market were 
much simplified, and the half centur 
that succeeded presented the following 
results : 
Average Price of Wheat computed by 
the Winchester quarter. 
During the whole of this period, we 
were exporters of corn; the quantity 
varied, of course, from year to year, but 
was almost always sufficient to establish 
the fact, that the market price in England 
was little higher than throughout the 
maritime part of the west of Europe; 
we mean the Netherlands, Denmark, the 
-North of France, and the North-west of 
Germany. The cheapness was materially 
greater only in inland districts of the con- 
tinent, where, as at present in Lorraine, 
the south of Poland, or: south-west of 
Russia, the want of water conveyance 
kept down the market. 
During this half century of stationary 
price, and of scanty agricultural profits, 
—this period when inclosure bills were so 
rare, and lease after lease was ‘signed’ in 
long succession, without any idea of in- 
crease of rent, it must not be inferred 
that our tillage was on the decrease: it 
evidently received an extension, but 
somewhat more slowly, as appears by the 
ultimate result, than the increase of our 
population. 
After 1764, began a new era; our 
consumption equalled, and somewhat 
surpassed our growth, so that our import 
predominated over export.’ This change, . 
80 unsuitable to a) season’ of peace, so 
contrary to calculation, at a time when 
additional labour and capital were appli- 
cable to agriculture, was owing to several 
reasons,—an unusual proportion’ of bad 
seasons; the increase of consumers from 
the extension of our manufactures, par- 
ticularly cotton; and in part, doubtless, 
to 
