44 



only matter of importance. The abundance 

 of the people depends on the quantity of hu- 

 man subsistence ; and it is idle to talk of the 

 people suffering from the want of oats and 

 barley, when wheat is plenty. The distillers 

 have, it is said, in some places, tried to intro- 

 duce wheat into their manufacture, yet even 

 this has not sensibly affected the price of that 

 article. 



But further, the present relative scarcity and 

 high prices of oats and barley, have arisen from 

 temporary causes; partly from both being com- 

 paratively an under crop last season, particu- 

 larly in Scotland ; partly from the general 

 failure of the pulse crop ; and partly from the 

 sudden demand from the distilleries, which the 

 prospect of the present measure has occasioned. 

 None of these causes can be reckoned upon for 

 another season *. 



That there is no call for stopping the dis- 

 tillation from any present want of subsistence 

 in the country, is therefore apparent. The 

 people are at present eating bread as cheap as 

 they have done for some years past, indeed ra- 

 ther cheaper ; and no ground now exists for 



* Notwithstanding these causes, (as to which all the agricul- 

 tural gentlemen agree), the price of barley, though certainly high, 

 does not seem to be very extrayagant. See Statement of PriceSj 

 Note (E.) : and Mr Mackenzie's Evidence, App. to Rep. p, 125. 



