i UCSB BRITISH CORN-LAWS BY J. C. PLATT. FROM THE FIRST LONDON EDITION, WITH ADDITIONS BY THE AMERICAN EDITOR. NEW YORK : HUNT'S MERCHANTS' MAGAZINE, 142 FULTON-STREET. 1845. CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION. Importance of the subject The population of Great Britain Progress of agricultural industry and manufactures Manufacturing counties Agri- cultural sections Increase of immigration Waste lands of England Divisions of the subject Periods of the importation and exportation of corn in England, &c 127 CHAPTER II. FIRST PERIOD. FROM EARLY TIMES TO 1688. Early municipal regulations and enactments Early discouragements to importations Progress of agriculture in 1436, and surplus of grain Prices at which it was then allowed to be exported Complaints against its restric- tions Subsequent legal enactments for the protection of the corn- grower High prices of wheat in England Preamble of the first corn- law Restrictive statute of 1463 Subsequent complaints resulting there- from Allusions to this in Pastor's letters Motives of the state policy, ficc. Subsequent acts of 1533, and regulation of prices Opposition to the laws on this point Enactments respecting farms, &c. Singular regu- lations respecting the supply of articles of food, d. the quarter, and if the four years ending 1691 be taken, the average price was only 27*. Id., being lower than at any period during the whole of the century. There was no com- petition in the English market with the foreign grower during the above-mentioned years of low prices ; exportation was freely permitted on payment of a nominal duty ; but scarcely ever had the agriculturists been in so depressed a state. The means which they took to relieve themselves will be noticed in the next period. Before closing this section we may notice the alteration which took place in 1670 in the mode of striking the average prices of corn and grain. The old system established in 1570 (13 Eliz. c. 13) was acted upon until 1685, the Corn Act of 1670 having neglected the necessary directions for an altera- tion. These were made by a statute which enacted that justices of the peace, in counties wherein foreign corn might be imported, may, at quarter-sessions, by the oaths of two persons duly qualified, that is, possessed of freehold estates of the annual value of 20Z., or leasehold estates of 507., and not being corn-dealers, and by such other means as they shall see fit, determine the market price of middling English corn, which is to be certified on oath, hung up in some public place, and sent to the chief officer at the custom-house in each district. 142 HISTORY OF THE CHAPTER III. SECOND PERIOD. FROM 1689 TO 1773. High prices of the seven years ending 1679 Their effects, &c. Bounties on exportation of corn Preamble of the act authorizing this Term of its suspension New act of 1700, abolishing all existing duties on expor- tation of corn, &c. Excess of exports from 1697 to 1773 Further sta- tistics References to Smith, Ilallam, and Malthus, on this subject The cycle of good seasons from 1730 to 1755 Prices of the quartern loaf in London in 1766 Importation allowed in 1773 Excess of exports from 1742 to 1751 Suspensions of bounty on exportation Dissatisfaction of the agriculturists Increase of population after the peace New mode of ascer- taining the average prices of corn, &c. The movements of 1732 Weekly returns of prices established in 1770 The important act of 1772, &c. IN 1689, immediately after the Revolution, the landowners succeeded in carrying a very important measure. The high prices of the seven years ending 1679 had doubtless encour- aged tillage, and a succession of favorable seasons had under these circumstances led to a great depreciation in the value of agricultural produce. Exportation of corn therefore was not only to be permitted as heretofore, but actually encour- aged by bounties. The statute for granting bounties is enti- tled "An Act for Encouraging the Exportation of Corn."* The preamble stated that it had been " found by experience that the exportation of corn and grain into foreign countries, when the price thereof is at a low rate in this kingdom, hath been a great advantage, not only to the owners of land, but to the traders of this kingdom in general;" and clauses were enacted granting 5s. the quarter on the exportation of wheat, so long as the home price did not exceed 48*. ; with other bounties of smaller amount upon the exportation of barley, malt, and rye. It was supposed that the farmers and land- * 1 Wm. and Mary, c. 12. BRITISH CORN-LAWS. 143 holders would thus be relieved from the distress arising from low prices. They were in possession of a market the sole supply of which they had secured to themselves by the act of 1670, and by the Bounty Act they endeavored to prevent that market being overstocked by their own commodity. The seven years immediately succeeding 1693 were re- markable for a succession of unfavorable seasons. In the four years ending 1691 the price of wheat averaged 27s. Id. the quarter, but in the four years preceding and including 1699 it reached 56*. Gd. The bounty was inoperative during this period, and was suspended by an act of Parliament from the 9th of February. 1699, to the 29th of September, 1700. Nevertheless, in order that no fears might be excited by this temporary suspension, the preamble contained an acknow- ledgment that the statute granting the bounty "was grounded upon the highest wisdom and prudence, and has succeeded, to the greatest benefit and advantage to the nation by the greatest encouragement of tillage."* Before this temporary act had expired, another act was passed,f in J.700, by which the encouragement of the home corn-grower was carried still further by the abolition of all the then existing duties on the export of corn. " From 1697 to 1773 the total excess of exports was 30,968,366 quarters, upon which export bounties, amounting to 6,237,176?., were paid out of the public reve- nue.":}: In 1750 the sum of 324,176/. was paid in bounties on corn. The exports of 1748-9-50 (during which, more- over, the price of wheat fell from 32s. Wd. to 285. lOfrf. the quarter) amounted to 2,120,000 quarters of whe.at, and of all kinds of corn and grain to 3,825,000 quarters. This was the result of a cycle of abundant years. In the twenty- three years from 1692 to 1715, says Mr. Tooke, in his elabo- rate ' History of Prices,' there were eleven bad seasons, during which the average price of wheat was 45s. 8d. the * 12 Wm. III. c. 1. 1 11 and 12 Wm. III. c. 20. 4 Report of Commonb on Agric. Distress, 1821. 144 HISTORY OF THE quarter; in the fifty years ending 1765 there were only five deficient harvests, and the average price for the whole half- century, ranged at 34s. lid. ; or, taking the ten years ending 1751, during which the crops were above an average, the price of wheat was only 29s. 2id., being the measure of the cost and risk of conveyance from Lemberg to Dantzic. The following account, taken from Mr. Jacob's First Re- port on the Corn Trade, succinctly describes the operations attending the transport of wheat from the interior to Dantzic. " There are," says Mr. Jacob, "two modes of conveying BRITISH CORN-LAWS. 197 wheat to Dantzic by the Vistula. That which grows near the lower parts of the river, comprehending Polish Russia, and part of the province of Plock, and of Masovia, in the kingdom of Poland, which is generally of an inferior quality, is conveyed in covered boats, with shifting boards that protect the cargo from the rain, but not from pilfering. These vessels are long, and draw about fifteen inches water, and bring about 150 quarters of wheat. They are not, however, so well calculated for the upper parts of the river. From Cra- cow, where the Vistula first becomes navigable, to below the junction of the Bug with that stream, the wheat is mostly conveyed to Dantzic in open flats. These are constructed on the banks, in seasons of leisure, on spots far from the ordinary reach of the water, but which, when the rains of autumn, or the melted snow of the Carpathian mountains in the spring, fill and overflow the river, are easily floated. Barges of this description are about 75 feet long and 20 broad, with a depth of 2 feet. They are made of fir, rudely put together, fastened with wooden treenails, the corners dovetail- ed and secured with slight iron clamps the only iron em- ployed in their construction. A large tree, the length of the vessel, runs along the bottom, to which the timbers are secured. This roughly-cut keelson rises nine or ten inches from the floor, and hurdles are laid on it which extend to the sides. They are covered with mats made of rye straw, and serve the purpose of drainage, leaving below a space in which the water that leaks through the sides and bottom is received. The bulk is kept from the sides and ends of the barge by a similar plan. The water which these ill con- structed and .imperfectly-caulked vessels receive is dipped out at the end and sides of the bulk of wheat. Vessels of this description draw from ten to twelve inches water, and yet they frequently get aground in descending the river. The cargoes usually consist of from 180 to 200 quarters of wheat. The wheat is thrown on the mats, piled as high aa 17* 198 HISTORY OF THE the gunwale, and left uncovered, exposed to all the incle- mencies of the weather and to the pilfering of the crew. During the passage the barge is carried along hy the force of the stream, oars being merely used at the head and stern to steer clear of the sand-banks, which are numerous and shifting, and to direct the vessel in passing under the several bridges. These vessels are conducted by six or seven men. A small boat precedes, with a man in it, who is employed sounding, in order to avoid the shifting shoals. This mode of navigation is necessarily very slow ; and during the pro- gress of it, which lasts several weeks, and even months, the rain, if any fall, soon causes the wheat to grow, and the ves- sel assumes the appearance of a floating meadow. The shooting of the fibres soon forms a thick mat, and prevents the rain from penetrating more than an inch or two. The bulk is protected by this kind of covering, and when that is thrown aside is found in tolerable condition. The vessels are broken up at Dantzic, and usually sell for about two thirds of their original cost. The men who conduct them return on foot. " When the cargo arrives at Dantzic or Elbing, all but the grown surface is thrown on the land, exposed to the sun, and frequently turned over, till any slight moisture it may have imbibed is dried. If a shower of rain falls, as well as during the night, the heaps of wheat on shore are thrown to- gether in the form of a steep roof of a house, that the rain may run ofT, and are covered with a linen cloth. It is thus frequently a long time after the wheat has reached Dantzic before it is fit to be placed in the warehouses." The corn-growing districts in the south-east of Europe, and in the countries bordering the Black Sea, export their produce by the Don, the Dniepr, the Dniestr, and the Danube, or by land-carriage to Odessa for shipment to foreign coun- tries, and that port stands in the same relation to the south of Europe as Dantzic does to the northern part. The prin- BRITISH CORN-LAWS. 199 cipal supply is however brought to the town in carts drawn by oxen, from distances varying from 100 to 400 miles. On an average of the seven years ending 1840 the quantity brought to Odessa amounted to only 17,760 quarters annual- ly. During 1838-9-40 the average price of the best Odessa wheat was 34s. 6d. The voyage to England is long, and there is great risk of the grain heating ; the expenses of im- portation amount to 15s. or 16s. and even 205. a quarter ; and it could not be sold so low as Dantzic wheat, which is far superior to the former in quality. The corn-grower of Wallachia, Bulgaria, or Bessarabia, though he sells his wheat, at 14s. or 15s. the quarter, cannot compete with the English grower who charges upwards of 50s. Mr. Jacob's account of the manner in which corn is transported to Odessa shows the physical impossibility of this competition becoming a mat- ter of anxiety to the most timid agriculturist. He says : " The small wagons with wheat begin to arrive at Odessa in the month of May, but the greater portion of them do not reach that place till June or July. Some days in the two latter months present the curious spectacle of five or six hundred, and occasionally of even a thousand, of these vehicles entering the city. Each of the wagons, drawn by two oxen, carries about four quar- ters ;* so that in the year 1817, when the trade was the most extensive, there must have arrived, supposing three fourths of the corn to have been brought by land-carriage, about 160,000 of these vehicles in the six months from May to October. In a country where the labor of man and of cattle, and the prices of the bare necessaries of life, are very cheap, this land-carriage maintains its due proportion of low rate. * It has been recently ascertained that each of the wagons conveys eight sacks of wheat, the sack containing a Polish horsec, equal to three bushels and one peck, Winchester measure. The load of two oxen is thus three quarters and two bushels, instead of four quarters, as here cal- culated. The cost of conveyance, therefore, will amount to about one fifth more than appears by the extract. 200 HISTORY OF THE Two oxen cannot travel over such rugged hills and deep sands as are to be found between the corn-growing districts and Odessa, when drawing a ton weight, at a greater rate than ten English miles per day. Each hundred miles will thus require ten days' work for two oxen and one man to proceed to the port, and about seven days to discharge the loading and to return with the empty carriage. The rate of hire for a man and two oxen is, at least in Podolia, 6d. per day. Where pasture is abundant the oxen may be fed for a mere trifle ; but in the journey of near 100 miles across the steppes, in the months when the greater number of carriages pass over it, the vegetation is wholly burnt up, which, with the scarcity of water, must cause some expense in the main- tenance of the cattle. If for their food and water an allow. ance be made of Is. 6d. for the seventeen days, and it be added to the hire of the man and the oxen, it will make the cost of conveyance for the four quarters of wheat amount to 2s. Gd. per quarter for each hundred miles." The labor of many years, and the outlay of capital which has yet to be created, will be required before these difficulties will be over- come, and the cost of transport diminished by good roads and other facilities. The following table shows the countries which are ca- pable of furnishing us with wheat, and the quantities which they supplied us during three successive years of high prices. BRITISH CORX-LAWS. 201 AN ACCOTJNT of the Quantities of Foreign and Colonial Wheat and Wheat-Flour brought into Consumption in the United Kingdom ; stating the Quantities Imported from each Country during each Year from 1837 to 1839. COUNTRIES FROM WHICH IMPORTED. 1837. 1838. 1839. Qrs. 3,903 Qrs. 141,656 Qrs. 356,164 Sweden and Norway 252 358 567 Denmark 7,444 147,728 202,927 Prussia . . . 148,077 839,513 704,992 Germany : 36,498 147,383 104,777 Hanover 125 24,359 19,185 15,201 16,698 Hanse Towns 10,637 204,563 267,183 Holland 2,222 82,737 117,677 Belgium. 153 18,284 24,516 France 202 65,012 309,897 Portugal, Madeira, and the Azores Spain and the Canaries " 2 1,279 28,800 9,010 Gibraltar ... . ... 4,753 Italy 1,011 55,735 333,313 Malta 14,956 17,211 Ionian Islands 5,391 13,583 Turkey and Egypt 258 5,515 45,483 Morocco 3,358 Cape of Good Hope 520 3 East India Company's Territories N. S. Wales & Van Diemen's Land... British North American Colonies 7,516 117 25,745 112 9,649 4 19,597 27047 5,015 7,764 87,528 Isles of Guernsey, Jersey, Alderney, ) and Man (Foreign Produce) All other parts 1 21,906 84 30,383 929 Total 244,275 1,848,477 2,711,725 It will be seen from this table that the importations from the United States, British North America, and other distant corn-growing countries, are quite insignificant, under the uncertainties of a fluctuating duty. The risks of the trade are so great as to present few inducements to the merchant; and when purchases of corn are made to supply our wants, it is not the surplus stock raised for the English market that 202 HISTORY OF THE BRITISH CORN-LAWS. we obtain, but we enter into competition with the foreign con- sumer, and our necessities compel us to out-bid him in his own market. If the trade were always open, England would become, as Holland was in the seventeenth century, the great entrepot of the corn-producing countries throughout the world : large purchases would be made in abundant years, and ourselves as well as other European countries would be supplied by our merchants in years of scarcity. Sir Walter Raleigh remarked that " a dearth of only one year in any part of Europe enriches Holland for seven years ;" and there can be no doubt that a new and very important branch of commerce would spring up if England attracted to its ports the surplus produce of grain in the different parts of the world. THE CORN TRADE. 203 CHAPTER XI. THE CORN TRADE FROM 1838 TO 1841.* THE admission of foreign corn and grain for home con- sumption takes place under a scale of duties which fluctuates with the aggregate prices taken in one hundred and fifty market towns, situated in different parts of the country. When the price of wheat in these towns is 66*. on an aver- age of six weeks, the duty is 20.?. 8d. per quarter, and for every shilling which the price falls, the duty advances one shilling ; but when the average price is higher than 65s., a different application of the sliding scale takes place, and the duty moves more rapidly to a lower point. At 67s. the duty falls 2s., that is, to 18s. 8d. ; at 68s. it is 16s. 3d. ; at 69s. it is 13s. 3d. and at 70s. it again descends 3s., to 10s. 3d. ; at 71s. it is 6s. 8d. ; at 72s. another fall of 4s. takes place, and the duty is 2s. 8d. ; and at 73s. it sinks to the lowest point, being only Is. per quarter. Thus, while prices advance from 66s. to 73s., being a rise of 7s., the duty falls from 20s. 8d. to Is., being a decline of 19s. 3d. The one hundred and fifty towns in which the average prices are taken for regulating the admission of foreign corn are intended as a fair medium for representing the general average wants of the country, and may be divided into sev- eral classes : 1 . Towns in which large transactions of a * This chapter is derived chiefly from the Companion to the British Almanac for 1842- 204 TIIE CORN TRADE. speculative nature take place, as London, Liverpool, Hull, Newcastle, and other ports in which foreign corn is bond- ed. 2. Seats of manufacturing industry, which draw their supplies from a considerable distance, as Manchester, Leeds, Sheffield, &c. 3. Towns of interchange, such as Wake- field, which serve as an emporium for the agricultural and manufacturing parts of the adjacent districts. 4. Market towns situated in a purely agricultural district, where the sales are made in eveiy instance by the producer, and not, as in three other classes of towns, chiefly by factors. The produce of each district sells eventually for the same price in the last market which it reaches before consumption, but the greater cost of bringing it there necessarily reduces the price to a lower point in those markets which are distant than in those which are close at hand. In the centre of Lin- colnshire, for example, prices will necessarily be lower than in the agricultural parts of the West Riding of Yorkshire, which adjoin the clothing districts, for whose consumption their respective produce is ultimately destined. The agri- cultural market towns may therefore be subdivided into two or three classes, as those which are more or less near a mass of non-agricultural consumers, also into those which are situated in a rich and fertile district, or one in which the production of grain is limited. It is evident that by altering the proportions of these different classes of towns the stringency of the scale of duties may either be increased or diminished, that is, the advance of prices to the point when the lowest duty is chargeable may be either accelerated or retarded. If some of the largest grain markets in Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambridge, and Lincolnshire were struck out of the list, the preponder- ating influence of London, Liverpool, Hull, Wakefield, and other markets where the supplies of grain are brought from a distance and pass through several hands, would raise the THE COIIN TEADH. 205 averages and lower the duty ; and if these latter places were struck out, the effect would be exactly reversed. As the average prices are determined by adding together the total quantities of each sort of corn sold in the one hundred and fifty towns, next the total prices, and then dividing the total amount of such prices by the total quantity of corn sold, it follows that those markets in which the largest quan- tities are sold have the greatest effect upon the general averages of the kingdom. In the week ending 10t.h Sep- tember, 1811, when the duty was brought down to Is., the quantity sold in the London market was 12,301 quarters, at an average of 76*. 9d., or more than one-sixth of the whole quantity returned. Above one half (36,849 quarters) of the total number of quarters sold were returned from the following places : Quarters. s. d. London 12,301 76 9 8,662 74 2 Wakefield Leeds Hull Liverpool Newcastle Derby 6,741 73 3,604 75 6 2,196 71 5 1,889 76 2 1,456 74 11 The average prices of the above seven places were 755. OifZ. the quarter, the remaining 36,066 quarters sold at the one hundred and forty-three other towns averaged 67s. 8| K Lowest. -C Ml Lowest. 9 *. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. s. d. .S. (/. 1831 48 11 60 9 31 4 49 3 19 10 33 1835 26 31 6 19 426 016 2 23 In 1838, after we had for several years nearly ceased resorting to the continental markets, we again became ex- tensive purchasers. Before this necessity was fully apparent, the price of wheat at Danzig was as low as 24s. Id. the quarter, but in the course of the year prices advanced to 61s. 2d., being a rise of 154 per cent., occasioned by the demand from England. At Amsterdam, in the same year, prices rose 131 per cent., namely, from 27s. 2d. the quar- ter to 63s. ; at Hamburg prices advanced 114 per cent., from 27s. 3d. to 58s. 6d. the quarter. It seems impossible to avoid the following conclusions as to the effect of the present regulations on the foreign corn- trade : 1. That, though nominally importation may take THE CORN TRADE. 217 place at any time, the manner in which the scale of duties is arranged acts as a bonus on the withholding of foreign corn until prices reach the highest rate, and the duty sinks to the lowest point ; and wheat, instead of being sold at an average mercantile profit, becomes an article of competition and speculation, in order to realize large profits by the fall of the duty. 2. That, when the duty falls to the lowest point, and not until then, a large supply of bonded corn is suddenly brought into the market, and unsteadiness and violent fluctuations of price are the consequence. 3. That the radius of supply is limited ; and competition being con- fined to the nearest ports, purchases are made at extravagant rates. 4. That the exchange of manufactured goods for agricultural produce is not encouraged, and, extensive pay- ments being made in gold, the currency is injuriously af- fected. 5. That under a fixed duty most of these evils would be either diminished or altogether avoided ; the whole world would be opened to purchasers of foreign corn ; and the present bonus on withholding supplies being withdrawn, prices would not reach an excessive height, and a fixed duty of several shillings might, under these circumstances, be collected with less injury to the consumer than a duty of one shilling under the present system. A document was presented to both houses of parliament in the first session of 1841, containing communications from our Consuls residing at St. Petersburg, Riga, Liebau, Odessa, Warsaw, Stockholm, Danzig, Konigsberg, Stettin, Memel, Elsinore, Hamburg, Rotterdam, Antwerp, and Palermo, re- specting the production of corn and grain and the trade in these articles in their respective districts. They are in re- ply to queries addressed to each Consul in June, 1840, by direction of the Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs. 19 218 THE CORN TRADE. 1. " What quantity of grain, of each kind, could be ex- ported to England, from the country or district in which you reside, if the trade in corn in England were made constantly open, at a moderate duty ?" The following table is a summary of the answers receiv- ed, but it is necessary to remark that the Consuls at St. Petersburg, Liebau, and Hamburg, state the gross amount that could be exported to all countries, and not the quantity which might be shipped to England. The mean quantity is generally given throughout the table : Wheat. Rye. * Barley. Oats. Qrs. Qrs. Qrs. Qrs. St. Petersburg 192,500 122,500 47,000 245,000 Riga .... Quan tity n ot sta ted. Liebau . . . 30,000 170,000 200,000 60,000 Odessa . . . 150,000 Quantity not stated. Warsaw . . 300,000 230,000 17,400 17,490 Stockholm . . 1,000 2,000 10,000 12,000 Danzig . . . 315,000 105,000 42,000 10,500 Konigsberg 65,000 100,000 20,000 40,000 Stettin . . . 250,000 40,000 30,000 20,000 Memel . . . 5,964 45,759 15,466$ 20,024$ Elsinore . . 175,000 275,000 225.000 Hamburg . . 538,000 97,000 195,700 158,700 Rotterdam . . Quan tity n ot sta ted. Antwerp Quan tity n ot sta ted. Palermo 200,000 Total . . . 2,222,464 912,259 852,566$ 808,714$ We subjoin a few notes to render the table more intel- ligible : STOCKHOLM. The whole of Sweden could export 125,000 quarters of all sorts of grain in average years, but the crops vary in quantity and quality more than in any part of Europe, and there are, on an average, two abundant, three ordinary, and one deficient harvest in every six years. The exports are chiefly to Norway. THE CORN TRADE. 219 ST. PETERSBURG. In the five years ending 1839, the quantities of corn and grain exported, averaged annsally 21,000 quarters of wheat, 18,000 quarters of rye, 260 quar- ters of barley, and 12,100 quarters of oats. The Consul states, that in years of abundance the quantity which could be exported would be three times as great as is stated in the table. There is an extraordinary (typographical) blunder in the statement of grain produced in the government of Tambojf, which is said in 1835 to have amounted to thirty- eight million quarters. The population of this province is about 1,600,000, so that each family raises nearly 120 quar- ters, or food sufficient for twenty-four families, or in the ag- gregate sufficient for the whole population of England for about two years and a half! Probably about 1,800,000 quarters of grain may be raised in the province, which would still leave some for export. RIGA. The largest quantities shipped from this port since 1783 have been as follows : Wheat, 166,000 quarters in 1829 ; barley, 108,700 quarters in 1818 ; oats, 316,400 quarters in 1827; rye, 704,800 quarters in 1807. The supplies for Riga are principally from Courland, Lithuania, and White Russia. The soil of Livonio, of which Riga is the capital, is not well adapted for the growth of wheat, and rye is the chief production. When the foreign demand is very urgent, the distant provinces of Smolensk, Kaluga, and Orel send supplies to Riga. LIEBATJ. The quantities in the table are those which could be exported in a favorable year. The Consul states, that " the greater part of our former supplies was shipped off to Holland and the interior of Russia." The farmers bring their produce to Liebau as well as to Windau in sledges in the winter season only, consequently exports can- " not be made until the opening of the navigation. MEMEL. We now come to the ports of Prussia. The 220 THE CORN TRADE. quantity stated in the table is the actual export of 1839, when the demand was general in many parts of Europe, and shipments were made even to Russia. KONIGSBERG. The returns include shipments from the port of Pillau, as well as from Kb'nigsberg. From 1825 to 1839, the exports of all kinds of grain averaged 221,476 quarters per annum, and if the trade were constantly open, the Consul is of opinion that from 250,000 to 260,000 quar- ters could be shipped, the proportion of each kind being as stated in the table. DANZIG. As the demand from Great Britain had been considerable during the three preceding years, the shipments for that period afford a fair average of the exports of Dan- zig if the trade were constantly open at a moderate duty ; but from circumstances occasioned by the fluctuation of the duty in England, " there is a greater chance of less than of a larger quantity being shipped." The quantities in the table are the average of the years 1837-8-9. WARSAW. We introduce Warsaw in this place, as the exports from Poland are shipped at Danzig. The state- ments of the Consul, given in the table, as to the quantity exported, are not accompanied by any remarks. STETTIN. The crops in this part of Prussia and in Silesia were very favorable in quantity and quality when the return was made, and under these circumstances the export would be as stated in the table, that is, under the prospect of a low duty. ELSINORE. Taking an annual average of the twenty years from 1820 to 1839 inclusive, the exports of Denmark and Sleswick-Holstein were wheat, 106,736 quarters ; rye, 135,851 quarters ; barley, 302,752 quarters ; and oats, 172,170 quarters. There is a permanent demand for bar- ley from Norway, and this grain is particularly adapted to the soil and climate of Denmark and the Duchy. The THE CORN TRADE. 221 quantities in the table are such as might be expected to be exported to England in the event of the trade being constant- ly open at a moderate duty. HAMBURG. The return from this Consulate includes Lii- beck, Bremen, Rostock, Wismar, Kiel, and Oldenburg. The quantities are taken on the average of years in which the largest export has taken place under the most favorable circumstances. In 1839, 496,000 quarters of grain of all kinds were shipped at Hamburg, being the largest quantity ever exported. From 1820 to 1839 about 240,000 quar- ters were exported annually. In 1821 only 85,000 quarters were exported, and in 1835 about 100,000 quarters. ROTTERDAM AND ANTWERP. The reasons why the Con- suls at these places were unable to render their returns complete by filling up the parts left vacant in the table will be stated in- noticing the fifth queiy. ODESSA. The annual exportation of wheat from Odessa, from 1830 to 1839 inclusive, averaged 581,340 quarters. From the Azoph the exportation averages about 450,000 quarters annually. Neither rye, barley, nor oats have ever been exported from these quarters. The Consul states, that " more than 100,000 quarters could not be diverted to a new source of demand without materially disturbing the market of Odessa, and more positively so if that quantity is to be subtracted from the supply of the finer qualities." The ex- tra supply from the Azoph, " where the demand from old customers is more special and peremptory on account of quality, would, on the same conditions, probably not exceed 50,000 quarters." These are the quantities given in the summary. PALERMO. About 200,000 quarters could be exported when the harvest has proved abundant. Sicily, once the granary of Rome, ceased to be a corn-exporting country in 1826, in consequence of the heavy land tax, which amounts 19* 222 THE COIIN TRADE. to 25 per cent, on the rental. The wheat chiefly cultivated is of the hard kind, and could not be ground by English millstones. The soft wheat is liable to spoil if kept more than a twelvemonth in granary. 2. " Average prices per imperial quarter free on board ;" and 3. " Probable freight per quarter to England." The following table gives a summary of the answers received to these two queries : Average prices per quarter free on "board ; and probable freight per quarter to England. Wheat. Rye. Barley. Oats. Freight per Uuar. St. Petersburg Rjcra s. d. s. d. 39 1 49 7 43 7 26 6 36 30 Oto35 40 40 45 40 35 30 36 35 46 55 56 5 38 s. d. s. d. 19 4 26 4 25 9 22 Oto24 20 18 20 22 Z~ 22 25 23 30 32 1 >. d. s. d. 17 11 21 10 18 7 15 to*18 18 14 018 20 15 16 24 20 025 28 9*' s. d. s. d - 12 5 18 11 4 n o to 12 o 12 10 14 14 10 012 12 0i:> 11 016 15 22 22 1 s. d. s. d. 4 5 to 5 4 9 46 50 10 36 60 36 40 40 60 40 50 40 50 3 f) 5 2 6 5 20 26 20 26 8 3 Licbau .. . Odessa . . . Warsaw Stockholm Danzig . . Konigsberg Stettin.... Memel . . Elsinore .. Hamburg Rotterdam Antwerp Palermo . . A verage 40.9. 6rf. 24s. OJd. 19*. Mil. 14.9. IJrf. 4.*. 9:V. STOCKHOLM. There is no duty on exportation. ST. PETERSBURG. Under ordinary circumstances the pri- ces would be for hard wheat 395. Id. per quarter, and for soft 335. 6d. The prices for other grain in average years would be those inserted in the table. The prices of differ- ent sorts of grain in 1835 in the government of Tamboff were wheat, 13s. 6d. to 14s. Id. ; rye, Is. Id. to 7s. 7d. ; oats, 4s. 9d. to 5s. 5d. per quarter. The expenses to St. Petersburg were about 50 per cent, on wheat, and above 100 per cent, on rye and oats. RIGA. No statements are given beyond those which the table supplies, excepting that it is said freights would have THE CORN TRADE. 223 been higher had there been more corn for exportation to England this year. LIEBAXJ. The prices apply to corn and grain of first-rate qualities. There would besides be charges for lighterage, as vessels cannot take in their whole cargo in the harbors of Liebau and Windau. These amount to 3d. or 4d. per quarter, and there is also to be added the cost of warehouse rent, mats for dunnage, fire insurance, sound dues, and ma- rine insurance. The freight of oats to England is from 3s. Qd. to 4s. per quarter. MEMEL. The freights are chiefly regulated by timber freights. KONIGSBERG. The freights to the east coast of England are from 4s. to 5s. the quarter for wheat, and to the west coast from 5s. to 6s. DANZIG. The treaty of Vienna stipulates that the duties levied by the governments of Austria, Russia, and Prussia conjointly, on the produce of the soil of the ancient Polish provinces, shall not exceed 10 per cent, on the prime cost, so that a heavy export duty could not be charged without the infraction of this treaty. The transit dues are included in the prices in the table. WARSAW. The remunerating price of wheat at War- saw is 24s. per quarter. The expenses of water carriage from thence to Danzig may be taken at 12s. the quarter. STETTIN. The expenses of screening, loading, and com- mission are included in the prices free on board. ELSINORE. The freight of wheat from Danish ports varies from 3s. to 3s. 6d. per quarter in summer, and from 4s. 6d. to 5s. in winter. To the western coasts of England it is usually from 3d. to 6d. higher. The exportation is duty free, but the expenses of insurance and commission are to be added to the prices in the table. HAMBURG. " It is not to be expected," says the Consul, 224 THE CORN TRADE. " that prices would be lower than the average, unless an over-abundant production in Great Britain should cause a cessation in the demand from that quarter ; and on the other hand, they would be higher if the demand became greater." He states that in extraordinary cases the freight to England might be from 8s. to 10s. per quarter ; but the usual freights are those given in the table : there is no export duty. ROTTERDAM. Add 10 per cent, primage to the freights : the rates of insurance vary from three-quarters to one and a half per cent., according to the season. ANTWERP. The freights in the table are to London and Hull ; to Liverpool the freight is 3s. to 3s. 6d. The freight for barley is 20 per cent., and for oats 30 per cent, less than for wheat. ODESSA. The average price of wheat of fine quality, free on board, was 26s. 6d. per quarter from 1830 to 1839. " At present (September, 1840) the price of good wheat on board is 325. 6d., though without a visible demand from abroad." Freights vary excessively, having fluctuated from 6s. 2d. to 21s. 6d. per quarter in the two preceding years. A good freight is supposed to be 10*. per quarter. PALERMO. In abundant harvests the price of wheat is 32s., and an average harvest 38s. per quarter. The fourth query was for the purpose of ascertaining what "other" charges would be incurred besides freight ; if, for example, export duties were imposed. Where any such additional charges are made, the fact has been mentioned in the above notes. 5. " Whether, if there were a regular and steady demand in England for foreign corn, the quantity of corn produced in the said country or district would, without much difficulty and in a short space of time, be materially increased ?" STOCKHOLM. Foreign capital would be requisite to ensure an increased production. THE CORN TRADE. 225 ST. PETERSBURG. " There are extensive tracts of land in the provinces that now supply St. Petersburg, which would, no doubt, be brought into cultivation, were a steady and cer- tain market for corn opened at this place." RIGA. Rye is cultivated in preference to wheat, as it is the bread-corn of the country, is used in the distilleries, and shipped extensively to Holland. The principal corn districts are too remote from the ports to enable the farmers to get their crops to market sufficiently early for exportation in the same year, and therefore they cannot profit so decidedly by the occurrence of a bad harvest in England as those in the neighborhood of some other of the Baltic ports. The rapid in- crease of manufactures has withdrawn many hands from the cultivation of the soil in this part of Russia. The cultivation of beet- root for the sugar refineries, and the constant demand for flax, which always obtains remunerating prices in the Ri- ga market, also tend to counteract any great increase in the production of corn. LIEBAU. The query is answered in the negative. MEMEL. " In four or five years about a fourth more grain would be cultivated. This depends however entirely upon how high the fixed duty is. Ten shillings per quarter for wheat would be worse for the landholders here than the present system : for instance s. Prime cost 35 per quarter. Freight, insurance, landing charges, &c. 10 " Duty 10 Total .... 55 whereby many years would come wherein the merchants here could not export at all." KONIGSBERG. The farmers find it more profitable to de- vote their attention to the breeding of sheep, horses, and cat- tle, which, particularly wool, answer better than growing corn. 226 THE CORN TRADE. DANZIG . The chief quantity of grain shipped here is the produce of Poland ; but the districts of Prussia adjoining Danzig are in such a state of advanced cultivation, that " a larger supply for shipment could not be expected (at least not to any extent) than the last three years have supplied." WARSAW." The quantity of wheat grown in Poland has considerably increased in the last six years, and the pro- duction might no doubt be further gradually increased if there were a steady demand for foreign corn in England ; but the deficiency of manure, the scarcity of hands, and the want of skill in the cultivation of the land, would operate against any large immediate increase." The Consul at Stet- tin reports that " the production of all kinds of grain has these two or three years been extended to a considerable de- gree ; it is therefore not expected the landowners can much augment the same, the cultivating of additional soil not be- ing in their system of agriculture, particularly as the pro- duction of oil-seed, of potatoes for spirit, and pasture and food for sheep and cattle, has been too advantageous for them to curtail the same to any considerable degree." ELSINORE. In case of a regular and steady demand in England for foreign corn, the quantity produced in Denmark and Sleswick-Holstein " would, without difficulty, and in a short space of time, be materially increased, as has already been the case of late years, in consequence of the improve- ments made in husbandry, and of large tracts of waste lands having been brought under cultivation by an increasing pop- ulation, chiefly agricultural." The quantities likely to be produced under this encouragement are stated in the table under the first query. HAMBURG. The answer to the query respecting the like- lihood of an increased quantity of grain being produced is " Probably not." Mr. Consul-General Canning gives the following reasons for this opinion : " because as much land THE CORN TRADE. 227 is already appropriated in this district to the growth of corn as the system of husbandry established in these duchies will admit of. Wool, butter, and potatoes for distillation having for many years been profitable produce to the farmer, he will not easily be induced to give up the cultivation of the latter, or to sell offhis sheep and cattle, which, moreover, af- ford manure positively necessary for the cultivation of grain. But although the quantity of grain may not be increased in a short space of time, the kind of corn may be changed, and more wheat, but less of other grain, under such a change of circumstances, may' be grown than at present. Still, however, this will occur only to a limited extent, and at times when high prices in other countries may encourage the export of wheat, for the habits of the people in this dis- trict causing a demand for rye for home use, the demand for it in other countries, and the nature of the soil being gener- ally fitter for the cultivation of rye, will always have a ten- dency to prevent any great extension of the growth of wheat in these countries." ROTTERDAM. Large quantities of the produce of northern Europe and the countries on the Rhine are warehoused in Holland and re-exported to other parts. Confining the ques- tion to Holland, the Consul states that more wheat is grown in that country than is required for its consumption, but it "is not of a quality adapted to the English market." The effect of opening the corn trade in England would not " materially" increase the production of wheat in Holland. Rye grown in Holland is seldom or never exported ; and the barley is "quite unsuitable" to the English market. Dutch oats are much esteemed in England, but the quantity grown (about 800.000 quarters) is not at present more than adequate to the home demand. Still, if the demand from England were regular and constant at remunerating prices, " it may safely be assumed that an increased cultivation (of oats) 228 THE CORN TRADE. would speedily ensue." It is added that " beans and peas are both likely to be grown in greater quantity," but to what extent it is impossible to state. ANTWERP. Belgium produces neither corn nor grain for export ; and the Consul states that it is not probable, " under any circumstances," that the production could be influenced by the demand for England. Writing in August, 1841, he says : " The exportation of wheat and rye is at present prohibited, and with an augmented population, the quantity of land cultivated for flax, beet-root, and chicory, which is increasing throughout Brabant, Limburg, and Liege, has so diminished the growth of corn, that there is a deficiency of produce." ODESSA. The quantity which could be spared for England from the districts adjacent to Odessa and the countries border- ing the sea of Azoph is at present not more than 150,000 quarters of wheat, as already stated. In reply to the present query, the Consul states that " there would be no material increase, and certainly not in a short space of time." The grounds for this opinion are very succinctly detailed, and several of them apply to a large portion of northern, cen- tral, and eastern Europe, as well as the countries bordering on the Black Sea. They are as follows : " 1. Because in Podolia and Kievy, whence Odessa derives its principal supplies, the greatest quantity possible of grain is at all times produced without regard to price and demand, in consequence of capital being vested in slave-labor, which is not otherwise to be employed. 2. Because the plains, called steppes, ad- jacent to the Black Sea and Azoph, are thinly peopled, so that in years when crops are abundant they remain neglect- ed on the ground for want of reapers. 3. Because on these steppes crops are exceedingly precarious, by reason of drought, the common calamity of this climate; of the high winds, which carry off" the seed from the dusty soil ; of the THE CORN TRADE. 229 early thaws and subsequent frosts without snow. 4. Because tillage is defective, and improvement difficult under the present circumstances of the country. 5. Because distances are great and communications unaided by art, there being no roads, and the rivers being unnavigable. 6. Because the landlords are impoverished, and most of them indebted to the crown, and the working classes are degraded by their condition of slavery. 7. Because no progressive improve- ments are to be expected in Russia until great organic changes are brought about, or so long as the real interests are sacrificed to an anti-commercial policy. Very high prices may indeed cause at times a greater exportation, not by in- crease of production, but by extending the circle of supply." PALERMO. If the farmer could continually obtain 35s. per quarter free on board, the production of hard wheat could be increased in three or four years. 20 230 THE CORN TRADE. APPENDIX. THE SLIDING SCALE. t" .: o '-" P M? P \-> o >~ ~ K- ~ "? o rt p >n o "-0 p i W _ i> '^r =C a ^ * fj S ,-T ^*< "2 o b o o c o o b o 6 6 b b is o b b o o b ~A .g-^^orot-- -^r- i-i ci O - - -, t- t>-o> oo oo OD oo Q>~o> 0> ei e> 0) o> o o o ;" ^ o> * Q ?" CT og rji o 5 * "" S -g g -g^ c ?_; '3&'*J I -^<-} < MCOCO(M(MC'!C- s. S c .\.-i. $ c. ''#. d. $ c. *" .. rl. $ r. .*. d. c. 3 55or 1320:5 or 1 20 "= !!4 4', or 8 25 :i I.', or 75 55 or 13 20 56orl344J4or SIR '34 4i or 8 25 = 35 " or 8 40 2 6" or 60 56 or 13 44 -c 57 or J3 68 3 or 72 35 "or 8 41^ 357.! or 8 55 1 10'.. or 45 57 or 13 68 g 58 or 13 92 2 or <8 '357i. or 8 55 5 363" or 8 70 1 3" or 31! 58 or 13 92 and over 1 or 24 36 3 or 8 70 and over 7 ! or lf> In these tables the pound sterling is computed at the legal value. 80, which is CORN LAWS OF GREAT BRITAIN. Wheat If imported from any foreign country ; Whenever the average price of wheat, made up and published in a man- ner required by law, shall be for every quar- ter : per Under quar. 8. S. 51 the duty shall be 1 00 51 and under 52s. 19 BARLEY. per Under quar. s. . 26 the duty shall be 11 26 and under 27s. 19 27 " 30s. 9 30 -' 31s. 8 31 ' 32s. 7 32 ' 33s. 6 33 ' 34s. 5 34 < 35s. 4 35 ' 36s. 3 36 ' 37s. 2 37 and upwards 1 52 55s. 18 55 56s. 17 56 57s. 16 57 58s. 15 58 59s. 14 59 60s. 13 The duty on MAIZE, or INDIAN CORN, BUCKWHEAT and BEAR or BIGG, shall be for every quarter, a duty equal to the duty payable on a quarter of Barley. 60 61s. 12 61 62s. 11 62 63s. 10 63 64s. 9 64 65s. 8 65 66s. 7 66 69s. 6 69 70s. 5 70 71s. 4 71 72s. 3 72 73s. 2 73 and upward 1 WHEAT. If imported from Canada or other British posses- sions : per Under quar. s. s. 55 the duty shall be 5 55 and under 56s. 4 56 and under 57s. 3 57 " 58s. 2 58 and upwards 1 UCSB LIBRARY X' 36\ ST-