GENERAL HISTORY. 



1.127 



statements, that instead of attempt- 

 ing to give a statement of what was 

 said, we must be contented with a 

 succinct account of what was pro- 

 posed and done. 



The State Papers of 1813 will 

 be found to contain a " Report on 

 the Corn Trade," framed by a 

 select Committee of the House of 

 Commons, in which were consider- 

 ed the two different systems on 

 which the Corn Laws of the 

 country had been hitherto founded. 

 The first, commencing in 1670, dis- 

 couraged the importation of grain 

 by high duties, whilst it encou- 

 raged the exportation by bounties. 

 The second, commencing in 1765, 

 proceeded on the directly opposite 

 principle. The effect of these 

 systems is stated by the committee 

 to be such, that they recommend a 

 recurrence to the former policy, by 

 fixing very high the regulating 

 price for allowing the importation 

 of corn, with the permission of 

 free exportation till it had nearly 

 reached that standard. The re- 

 spective prices specified were, 

 exportation upto90«. per quarter, 

 and importation when at 103*. 

 At that time, in consequence of 

 two successive scanty harvests and 

 other circumstances, the price of 

 grain was extremely high, and 

 much distress was incurred by the 

 dearness of bread and the other 

 necessaries of life. When, there- 

 fore, an intention was declared of 

 bringing in a bill to parliament 

 upon the principles supported by 

 the committee, a great alarm was 

 excited, especially in the commer- 

 cial towns and manufacturing 

 ■ districts ; and the suspicion was 

 generally entertained of a design of 

 sacrificingthe trading to the landed 



interest, and enabling the country 

 gentlemen to keep up the greatly 

 increased rents of their estates. — 

 The cultivation of corn having of 

 late years been so much extended 

 in Ireland, that a considerable part 

 of the deficiency of England was 

 supplied from thence, it was na- 

 tural that the members of that part 

 of the united kingdom should take 

 the lead in the attempt to discou- 

 age foreign importation ; and Sir 

 H. Parnell, member for Queen's 

 County, who had been chairman 

 of tlie committee, was the person 

 who brought the matter under 

 discussion after the Christmas re- 

 cess. Petitions had in the mean 

 time been pouring in from diff'tr- 

 ent places against any alteration in 

 the corn laws. 



On May 5, " Sir Henry Parnell 

 moved that the debate on the corn 

 laws, adjourned from the last 

 session, should now be resumed ; 

 which was put and carried. He 

 then moved that the first of a set 

 of resolutions which he had pre- 

 pared, and which were essentially 

 different from those which he had 

 proposedinthelastyear, be referred 

 to a committee of the whole house. 

 It was in the following words : — 

 " That it is expedient that the ex- 

 portation of corn, grain, meal, malt, 

 and flour, from any part of the 

 united kingdom, should be per- 

 mitted at all times, without the 

 payment of any duty, and without 

 receiving any bounty whatever." 



Mr. Rose opposed the motion in 

 a speech full of information con- 

 cerning all previous laws relative 

 to the corn trade, and supported 

 by tables, of whicli no abridgment 

 can be given; and he concluded 

 with earnestly intreating the house 



