270 THE ENGLISH CORN LAWS 



Thus, in 1800, it was not merely the prospect or subsequent certainty 

 of an unproductive harvest which raised prices, for the actual 

 deficiency had been greater in 1794-5. It was the further dread of 

 being cut off from foreign supplies. It was the hostility of Russia 

 and Denmark, the consequent fear that the Baltic would be closed 

 against our grain-ships, and the almost simultaneous news that 

 Prussia had imposed a heavy duty on all grain exports, which com- 

 bined to send wheat to 130s. a quarter. At a later stage in the 

 struggle, the deficiency in our home supply was less in 1811-12 than 

 it had been in 1794-5 or in 1799-1800. But it was the threat of a 

 complete stoppage of all foreign supplies by the Berlin and Milan 

 decrees, which turned the dread of scarcity into a panic-stricken 

 competition and carried the price of wheat in 1812 to 155s. a quarter. 

 Even if the war never actually effected a commercial blockade, its 

 risks, together with the restrictions on exports enforced by foreign 

 Powers and the licences for navigation required by the British 

 Government, forced up the rates of freight and insurance to a 

 prodigious height. During the period 1810-12, this increase in 

 the costs of conveyance culminated, and the charges for the trans- 

 port of foreign corn rose to as much as 50s. a quarter. Thus, even 

 if it was possible to obtain additional supplies from abroad, they 

 could only be brought into the country at an unprecedented expense. 



The history of the Corn Laws, thus briefly outlined, confirms the 

 impression that, down to 1815, they exercised little or no influence 

 on prices. If that is so, they were not the cause of the great rise of 

 rents which the last quarter of a century had witnessed. Hitherto 

 the only practical effect of the restrictions on imports had been to 

 prevent corn from being brought into the country for the purpose 

 of gaining the bounty on exportation. In ordinary years, no foreign 

 corn could have been imported, even duty free, at prices which 

 could reduce, or compete with, home-grown produce. In years 

 of scarcity, the deficiency generally extended over Europe, and 

 foreign supplies were either not obtainable, or obtainable only at 

 prices at least as high as our own. During the frequent periods of 

 war, these conditions were aggravated by the prodigious cost of 

 transport. Great Britain had in the main fed her own population, 

 and her prices had depended on the seasons. Consumers had not 

 suffered from the Corn Laws, because no alternative cheaper supply 

 was available from abroad. 



After 1815 these conditions were to a great extent altered. The 



