f a prohibition; that it was unjust
to expose the home-grown, oppressed with taxes, and obliged to purchase
costly labour, to a competition with the farmers of foreign countries,
where taxation was light and labour cheap; that the plan was only
experimental in its nature, in a matter where all experiment was
mischief; that its effect would be to reduce prices much below what
could be considered a fair remunerating price to the grower; and
that, while it thus deprived the agriculturist even of the imperfect
protection which he at present enjoyed, it would ultimately prove
injurious to the public welfare, by throwing poor lands out of
cultivation, thus leaving the country at every moment dependent for
its food on foreigners. The chancellor of the exchequer and Mr. Peel
replied, and the opposition to the speaker's leaving the chair was not
pressed to a division. In the committee, however, an amendment was moved
to the effect of raising the medium price by taking 64s. instead of 60s.
as the point at which what might be considered the prohibitory duty of
20s. should attach, on which the house divided. But this was lost; and
an amendment, proposed by Mr. Whitmore, for an exactly opposite purpose,
namely, to reduce the medium price at which the duty of 20s. should
attach, shared the same fate. During the progress of the bill through
the committee other alterations were likewise proposed, almost all
tending to the benefit of the home grower. Thus it was proposed to raise
the medium price of rye, peas, and beans, from 35s. to 40s.; to lower
the quantity of oatmeal, on which, as being equivalent to a quarter of
oats, a given duty should be paid from one hundred and ninety lbs. to
one hundred and seventy-six lbs.; and a similar attempt was made to
raise the duty on wheat-flour. All these amendments were lost; but
ministers themselves, from the representations of county meetings both
in.'England and Scotland, raised the medium price of barley to 32s., and
the duty to 12s.; and the medium price of oats from 21s. to 25s., and
the duty to 8s. This concession to the agriculturists gave great offence
to those who advocated free trade. Mr. Wood told ministers that they
had allowed themselves to be bullied by them; to which Mr. Peel calmly
answered, that he did not see how a proper and justifiable addition of
2s. to the price of barley could require such an extravagant expenditure
of indignation and abuse. The report was brought up on the 2