AGRICULTURE UNDER FREE TRADE, 1846-96. 23 



granted on exports in British ships. There were corre- 

 sponding duties and bounties for other corn. 



I digress for a moment to notice a branch of the Corn 

 Laws which, though somewhat outside our immediate 

 object, is not without interest, and to do so I quote from 

 McCulloch's " Commercial Dictionary." 



Besides attempting to lower prices by prohibiting exporta- 

 tion, our ancestors attempted to lower them by proscribing the 

 trade carried on by corn dealers. This most useful class of 

 persons were looked upon with suspicion by everyone. The 

 agriculturists concluded that they would be able to sell their 

 produce at higher prices to the consumers were the corn dealers 

 out of the way, while the consumers concluded that the profits 

 of the dealers were made at their expense ; and ascribed the 

 dearths, that were then very prevalent, entirely to the practices 

 of the dealers, or to their buying up corn and withholding it from 

 market. These notions, which have still a considerable degree 

 of influence, led to various enactments, particularly in the 

 reign of Edward VI., by which the freedom of the internal corn 

 trade was entirely suppressed. The " engrossing " of corn, or 

 the buying of it in one market with intent to sell it again in 

 another, was made an offence punishable by imprisonment and 

 the pillory ; and no one was allowed to carry corn from one 

 part to another without a licence, the privilege of granting 

 which was confided by a statute of Elizabeth to the quarter 

 sessions. 



These laws were considerably modified in 1624, and in 

 1663 the " engrossing " of corn was declared to be legal as 

 long as the price did not exceed 48s. per quarter. In 1773 

 the last remnant of the statutory enactments restraining 

 the freedom of corn dealers was repealed, but notwith- 

 standing this the " engrossing " of corn was subsequently 

 held to be an offence at common law, and as late as 1800 

 a corn dealer was convicted of it though he was not 

 brought up for judgment. 



To return to the laws affecting the importation and 

 exportation of corn, the next important Act was passed in 

 1791. The price when importation of wheat at the duty 

 of 6d. per quarter was permitted was raised from 48s. to 

 54s. ; under 54s. and above 50s. a duty of 2s. 6d. per quarter 

 was imposed, and under 50s. there was a prohibitive duty 



