to be brought in. This was done by the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the 16th of May, when it was read a first time. The same day Mr. Huskisson moved the farther consideration. of the resolutions of the Corn Committee. On the 5th of May he had proposed the adoption of a graduating scale, between 24s. per quarter, when wheat should be at or under 63s. per quarter, and 1s. when the price should rise to 86s. and upwards. The second resolution now proposed contained the terms of that graduating scale; the third resolution proposed that foreign corn should at all times be imported and warehoused free of all duty, until taken out for home consumption, and should at all times be reëxported free of all duty.]

Mr. HORNER On this occasion said: — He was anxious to show his reasons for the vote he should give that night, begging this only to be kept in view, that if the principle of preventing the importation of grain was to be adopted, the most effectual mode in which it could be adopted was the best. The right honourable gentleman on the other side had failed in convincing him, that there was any occasion for departing from that system, in regard to the corn laws, which had hitherto prevailed. He was far from thinking that freedom in any trade was bad in itself, or that such a system was impracticable in regard to corn; but he thought it best that the system now in practice as to the corn trade should be kept in view, unless reasons were made out for the departure from it. He was aware that commerce should always give way to higher reasons of state; but it appeared to him that there was here no such reason; and, in addition, it also appeared to him that the present was the very worst season for proposing any change in this system. He could not help particularly remarking the great difference of opinion that prevailed on this second resolution, as to which no two members who approved of it concurred in the reasons on which that concurrence was founded. He was unwilling, therefore, to go into a detail of his reasons why he wished this resolution to be postponed. He did so, taking into consideration the state of the manufactures of this country, and the persons in foreign markets whom we were to meet with. He thought that this resolution ought to

be postponed, not because there was not time enough to consider it; but because of the change of circumstances which might be expected to take place with regard to our foreign relations; and because there was not now time for us to see in what posture the trade of this country as to our foreign relations was likely to stand. If the House were to postpone this part of the subject, he should have the satisfaction of thinking, from reflecting on the Bill which had been brought in this day, and to which there was likely to be little or no opposition in any quarter, that the House had done enough in the present session on this important subject, in the recognition of the principle of a free trade in so essential a point. If that Bill was to be maintained and carried through, as he trusted it would, it would eventually, he hoped, improve one principal part of the trade of this country, particularly of that part of the kingdom in which he was satisfied every member of that House felt a deep interest-Ireland. That there was no danger that supplies of corn could at any time be withheld from us when we required them: he argued from this consideration, that at the very period when our enemy had vowed our destruction when our crops had failed, and when the continental system was in full vigour, we were, in spite of that system, in full supply of corn. If so, what reason had we to be afraid of our agricultural interests on account of the cheapness at home? It was impossible that importation could ever be carried to such a pitch, as to drive out our homegrown corn. The expense of the carriage of so bulky an article alone must always render that next to impossible, added to which, there was the expense of double shipping from the one country to the other. As to the agriculturist, he would gain just nothing at all from the proposition of the right honourable gentleman; and as to poor-rates, there would, at no great distance of time, be occasion for a revision of them, for at present they could be regarded in no other light than as an inefficacious and circuitous way of paying the wages of labour. The extension of home demand and home market was the true stimulus of all agricultural improvement. He should conclude with stating, that this was not a merely agri

cultural country, but that we depended principally on our commerce and manufactures .for that distinguished rank and preeminence which we held in the scale of nations; and he therefore thought it impolitic to adopt any measure, the tendency of which might be ultimately to throw discouragements on the commercial prosperity and resources of the country, from an exclusive and unwise preference of our agricultural interests.

[The amendment, that the consideration of the resolutions be postponed to that day three months, was lost by a division of 144 against 27. The resolutions were ordered to be recommitted next day, when the second, containing the graduating scale, was agreed to.]

III. SLAVE TRADE.

28th June, 1814.

(Vol. II. p. 160.)

MR. HORNER moved, "That the several entries in the votes of this House on the 3d day of May last, and the 3d day of this instant June, and of the Address agreed to by this House, to be presented to his Royal Highness the Prince Regent, relative to the abolition of the slave trade, and of his Royal Highness's Answer thereto, that it would be the earnest endeavour of his Royal Highness to accomplish the object of it, might be read:" and the same having been read,

Mr. HORNER said, That the motion which he had to submit to the House, though it related to the same subject as the motion which had been last night discussed, differed essentially from it, for instead of calling on the House to come to any conclusion, it merely contained a call for the information necessary to a correct judgment on the question which would be submitted to the House to-morrow. In the Address of the last night, he, for one, had concurred most cordially, nor was he disposed to under-rate the good effect which that Address would produce; for he did not doubt that, if there was further opportunity of exertion on the subject of the abolition of the slave trade, those who directed his Majesty's councils would go to the discussion with additional power, from the reiterated expression of the wish of parliament.

But there was another business to be done; they had to express their opinions, not prospectively, but on the treaty which had put an end to the misery of that protracted war, with which Europe had been so long desolated. This treaty was to be discussed in all its bearings; but if there was one point more interesting than another, it was the stipulation with relation to African slavery, and to inquire how far ministers had acted up to the wishes of the parliament and the country. As

to what had been done by the noble lord opposite to him, he was wholly uninformed, and the object of his motion was to require this information in which he was deficient - to know how far the noble lord, acting under the direction of the House, and the sense of his own duty, had wisely taken those measures which were calculated to give effect to the benevolent disposition of the whole nation on this subject.

He wished distinctly to be understood as to a point which had been mentioned in the discussion of last night; it had then been said by the noble lord, that it was the argument of those who disapproved of the stipulation, that the abolition of the slave trade should be a sine quâ non of a treaty of peace. He did not know that such an alternative had been suggested as proper, nor should he have supported such an alternative. If he were informed the peace would have been impracticable, without such a stipulation as had been adopted, it would, without doubt, be wise to postpone what was the object of all our wishes: but it was necessary that he should have much more information on the subject before him than he already had, before he could believe that such an alternative was at any time necessary. That such an argument might have been adduced by the negotiators, any one who had ever had curiosity enough to look into diplomatical transactions, could well believe; but propositions were often laid down in the commencement of a negotiation, which were departed from at the conclusion without difficulty. There was another point in the discussion of last night, which he thought it necessary to allude to. It had been said by the noble lord opposite, that the question of the abolition could not have been mixed in the negotiation with the stipulation for the cession of the colonies in our possession. The reason of this he could not comprehend. The criterion of the policy of a proposition was the effect of that measure on the power with whom we had to negotiate. Now, so far as it appeared from the statement of the noble lord, he had voluntarily thrown away the only benefit which we could throw into the scale against the abolition of the slave trade on the part of France. Though the House could not decide in the actual state of their knowledge, that