252 



APPENDIX IV. 



THE CORN LAWS. 



The English corn laws at different times aimed at three prin- 

 cipal objects : — (1) Abundance and low profits, (2) Revenue. 

 (3) Encouragement of tillage and agriculture by raising prices 

 to an artificial height. 



(1) The first object was secured by absolute prohibition of 

 exportation, which was the policy of the Legislature from the 

 Norman Conquest to 1329, or l)y compulsory sales of produce 

 for what it would fetch at the nearest market, and laws 

 directed against engrossers or corn-dealers. 



The first object was gradually exchanged for the third, 

 and the necessity of maintaining the rural population ^ or 

 strengthening the navy forms the transition stage between 

 the prohibition of exports and protection. The laws against 

 engrossing, &c., were modified in 1663, when internal corn- 

 dealing was permitted, and repealed in 1773. 



(2) The second object governed the legislation of 1660, but 

 was speedily abandoned. 



(3) Encouragement of tillage and agriculture was the object 

 of the Legislature, with certain exceptions, from the fourteenth 

 to the nineteenth century. 



The following are the principal Acts relating to corn : — 



' Compare Appendix II. (a) and (J). 



