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in those markets; but that. from the high price of freight and infurance from thofe ports, and from the difficulty of procuring thipping to go thither in ballaft, a larger bounty would be required to encourage private fpeculation in that quarter than in any other; they were therefore of opinion, that a bounty of twenty fhillings per quarter, and a proportional bounty per barrel, fhould be given on any number of quarters of wheat, weighing not less than 440 pounds avoirdupois, or on any number of barrels of flour, weighing not lefs than 196 pounds avoirdupois, which fhall be imported into Great Britain from any port of Europe fouth of Cape Finifterre, or from any port in the Mediterranean, or in África, before the 31ft day of Auguft, 1796; until the quantity of fuch wheat and flour, taken together, thall equal 300,000 quarters.

They were further fatisfied, upon the best information they could collect, that from the other parts of Europe, and from America, a bounty of 158. per quarter upon a certain quantity of wheat, and of 10s. per quarter upon all exceeding it, would be fufficient to give a fair chance of procuring for the British markets a large proportion of whatever fupply those countries might be expected to furnith beyond their own confumption: and they were therefore of opinion, that a bounty of fifteen fillings per quarter, and a proportional bounty per barrel, fhould be given on any number of quarters of wheat, weighing not lels than 44clb. avoirdupois, or ou any number of barrels of flour, weighing not lefs than 196lb avoirdupois, which thall be imported from all other parts of Europe, be

fore the 31ft day of Auguft 1796; until the quantity of fuch wheat and flour, taken together, thall equal 500,000 quarters. Your committee were allo of opinion, that a bounty of fifteen shillings per quarter, and a proportional bounty per barrel, fhould be given on any number of quarters of wheat weighing not lefs than 440lb. avoirdupois, or on any number of barrels of flour, weighing not lefs than 195lb. avoirdupois, which fhall be imported from any of his majesty's colonies in America, or from the United States, before the 31st of Auguft 1795; until the quantity of fuch wheat and flour, taken together, fhall equal 500,000 qrs. Your committee were also of opinion, that a bounty of ten thillings per quarter, and a proportional bounty per barrel, fhould be given

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any number of quarters of wheat, weighing not lefs than 44clb. avoirdupois, or on any num. ber of barrels of flour, weighing not less than 195lb avoirdupois, which thall be imported into Great Britain before the 31ft day of August 1796, and on which none of the before-mentioned bounties fhall have been paid.

Your committee being convinced, that if a confiderable quantity of Indian corn could be obtained (which from the abundance of that crop appears not improbable) it would afford a material relief, were alfo of opinion, that a bounty of five thillings per quarter, and a proportional bounty per barrel, fhould be given on any number of quarters of Indian corn, or on any number of barrels of Indian meal, which fhall be imported into Great Britain before the 31ft day of Augui 1796; until the quantity of fuch Indian

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corn and meal, taken together, fhall equal 500,000 quarters. Your committee were also of opinion, that a bounty of three fhillings per quarter, and a proportional bounty per barrel, fhould be given on any number of quarters of Indian corn, or on any number of barrels of Indian meal, which fhall be imported into Great Britain before the 31ft day of Auguft, 1796; and on which the before mentioned bounty thall not have been paid.

Your committee have fome reafon to believe, that there may appear fuch a deficiency in the crop of rye, as may lead to the application of fimilar meafures for the encouragement of the importation of that fpecies of grain, as have been recommended refpecting wheat; but they do not yet confider their information upon that point as fufficient to authorize them, at the prefent moment, to report any opinion to that effect.

Your committee have thought it incumbent upon them, humbly to fuggeft fuch measures as have hitherto appeared, in their judgment, the most likely to facilitate the procuring, without lofs of time, in the leaft exceptionable manner, and on the leaft unreasonable terms, the largeft fupply of grain from foreign parts, which, in the prefent relative ftate of the markets, they can be expected to afford. It was particularly with a view to expedition that they have fuggefted the propofed plan of arranging the bounty. But they feel it, at the fame time, their indifpenfable duty exprefsly to ftate, that they are far from entertaining any opinion that any fupply, by importation, can be depended upon to fuch an amount as to remove the neceflity of

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recurring to every other practicable and reasonable mode, by which the prefent fcarcity may be relieved; and particularly of attending to ftrict economy in the confumption of wheat and flour, and of promot ing the fubftitution, to a certain extent, of other articles of food.

ately to the confideration of these They intend to proceed immediand other parts of this extenfive and important fubject; and will, report, from time to time, fuch owith the permiffion of the house, pinions as they may be enabled to form thereupon.

Second report from the felett Committee appointed to take into confideration the prefent high price of Corn.

to take into confideration the preTHE felect committee appointed fent high price of corn, and to collet evidence relative thereto, and to report the fame from time to the house, with their obfervations time, as it fhall appear to them, to thereupon,-have received, fince their laft report, further information refpecting the deficiency in the crop of rye, and the great want of that article in those parts of the country where it forms the principal fubfiftence of the people; and they are thereby induced to think that fimilar measures ought to be adopted for the encouragement of the importation of that species of grain, as have been recommended refpecting wheat. They beg leave therefore to fubmit their opinion to the houfe, that a bounty of ten fhillings per quarter fhould be giing not lefs than fifty pounds per ven for every quarter of rye, weighbufhel, which thall be imported into Great Britain before the 30th day of September, 1795, until the quantity

ceived a fuggeftion from merchants trading to the fouthern parts of Europe and to Africa, that it would be advifeable to enlarge the quantity to which the higheft bounty upon corn, brought from thofe quarters, was propofed to be limit

quantity of fuch rye thall exceed 100,000 quarters; and alfo that a bounty of fix thillings per quarter fhould be given for every quarter of rye which thall be imported into Great Britain before the 30th day of September, 1796, exceeding the quantity to which the before-ed: they do not fate an expectamentioned bounty is limited.

tion that the whole of that quantity can be procured; but they are apprehensive that the original limitation may tend to check ípeculation, by the fear of exceeding the quantity specified - and they propofe, therefore, that the higheft bounty thould be extended to 400,000 quarters.

Your committee have alfo examined feveral merchants refpe&ting the proportion which the bounty upon flour ought to bear to that upon wheat; they have been fatisfied by this examination that, in confideration of the various fizes and weight of the barrels ufed in different countries, it would le more advifeable to grant a bounty on the hundred-weight of flour than on the barrel, as had been at firft fuggefted; that it is expedi

Your committee are alfo inclined to recommend an extenfion of the period for which the feveral bounties on grain and flour are propofed to be granted. They obferve, from the weekly returns of the price of wheat in the whole kingdoin, and of the price and quantity in the London market, fince January last, that the highest price and the greateft fcarcity took place during the months of July and Auguft, and particularly in the latter. Thefe, therefore, are the months for which it is moft important to provide; and they are led to fear, that if the bounty is confined to fuch coin as may arrive before the 31st of Auguft, merchants my be difcouraged from fending fupplies to this coun ry during that month, by the appre-ent to adopt, on the importation of henfion that they may not arrive in time to be entitled to the bounty. They beg leave therefore to fuggeft an extenfion of the time to the 30th of September; and they fubmit, whether it might not alfo be expedient to place, in proper hands, a difer tionary power of allowing the bounties to fuch fhips as may arrive before the 15th of October, upon proof of their having actually fet fail from Great Britain, from their respective ports, at fuch time that they might, in the ordinary courfe of their voyage, have arrived before the 30th of September.

Your committee have alfo re-
VOL. XXXVII.

wheat and wheat flour, the fame proportion of bounties which has been already eftabithed by the legiflature on the exportation of the fame (i. e) is 6d. per hundred weight of wheat flour, as equiva lent to 55. per quar.er of wheat; and that the fame rule ought to be applied to Indian corn and meal.

In fuggefting, in their former report, that the bounty given on wheat ought to be limited to fuch as weighed not lefs than at the rate of 55 pounds per buthel, your committee proceeded on information then received, that wheat of a lower weight was ufually of fo Ee inferior

inferior a quality, as to be unfit for the use of man; and under a full perfuafion of the neceffity of fixing fome limit, in order to prevent the object, for which the bounty is given, from being defeated by the importation of corn inapplicable to the fubfiftence of the people. They have fince received further information, which has fatisfied them, that wheat, naturally of fomewhat a lower weight, may produce wholefome food; and that cargoes, not frequently, arrive out of condition, in confequence of which the weight is for the time diminished, though it foon recovers; and that it might prove an inconvenient reftraint on fpeculation, if the merchant were expofed to lofe the whole of the bounty, by a flight inattention of his agents abroad, or by a temporary and accidental deterioration of the article imported: they are therefore of opinion, that a bounty, equal to four-fifths of the propofed bounty, thould be given on all wheat weighing not lefs than at the rate of fifty-three pounds per bufhel.

Your committee having flated fuch further obfervations as they have thought neceffary, refpecting the amount of the bounties, and the limitations as to weight, and quantity, and time, beg leave to recommend, for the prevention of fraud, that all corn and flour imported for bounty thould be fubject, in addition to the infpection of the proper officers of the cuftoms, to the examination of perfons qualified to judge thereof; that with out the certificate of fuch perfons, ftating that the article is merchantable and fit for making bread, no bounty fhould be paid; and that

the importation of corn and flour fuch ports in which it is probable for bounty fhould be confined to that perfons fo qualified may be found.

Your committee have alfo receiv now in the ports of this country ed information that there are ships laden with corn, which are intend ed to be reported for exportation, and that other fhips may arrive, the confignees of which may fend their cargoes to foreign ports, unlefs tempted by the bounty to unload them here; and they beg leave, therefore, to fubmit the expediency of extending the bounty to the cargoes of all fhips which may now be in the ports of this ous to the paffing of the act by country, or may arrive here previwhich it is to be granted.

Third Report from the Sele Committee appointed to take into confideration the prefent High Price of Corn. THE felect committee appointprefent high price of corn, and ed to take into confideration the to collect evidence relative thereto, time, as it fhall appear to them, to and to report the fame from time to the houfe, with their obfervations thereupon, have received, fince their firft report, a confiderable number of returns, made by the cuftodes rotulorum of the different counties, refpecting the state of the laft crop, together with much additional intelligence upon that of their members.. They find it fubject communicated by many however impoffible as yet to draw, either from thefe returns or from any other quarter, a precife conclufion. The returns are fo incomplete in their number, and are founded upon fo many different

principles, fome ftating the whole quantities of grain produced, others the number of acres fown, and others again the average produce of each acre; and drawing, in fome inftances, a comparifon with the crop of last year, in others with that of certain preceding years, and in others with what is generally called a fair crop, that it is extremely difficult to combine and compare them, fo as to flate accurately the refult of the whole.

Your committee would have endeavoured to render this inveftigation more complete, if they had not felt the great importance of fuggefting, without further delay, fuch meatures as have occurred to them for alleviating an evil which evidently exifts to fuch an extent as to call for the most effectual remedy.

From the beft confideration of fuch information as they have hitherto obtained, they should not feel themfelves authorized in affuming, as the ground of any opinion they may offer, that the deficiency of the crop of wheat is lefs than from one fifth to one fixth, compared with the crop of laft year, and from one fourth to one fifth, compared with an average crop. The crop of rye, of which no great quantity is ufually grown, may probably be confidered as equally deficient; but the crops of barley and oats are reprefented to be nearly double thofe of 1794, and at least one fifth better than an average crop.

It appears alfo, from the concurrent teftimony of intelligent perfons, that the ftock of wheat in hand at the commencement of the laft harvest was much less than at the fame period of the preceding

year, and there is alfo reafon to believe that a larger quantity has been ufed for feed in the present feed time than in the laft.-One of the caufes of the extreme high price which prevailed antecedent to the laft harveft, was generally fuppofed to be the very exhaufted ftate to which the ftock of the country had then been reduced. In order to avoid a repetition of this evil, to the fame or to a much greater extent (if the fucceeding crop fhould, from unfavourable feafons, be later or lefs productive than ufual) it is certainly extremely defirable that the ftock remaining in the country at the commencement of the next harveft fhould be more adequate to demand than what remained this year at a fimilar period. Whatever is neceffary for this purpofe, ought therefore to be added to the amount of the deficiency.

Your committee have ftated thefe circumftances to the house, in order to explain more fully the grounds of their opinion, that there will be no fecurity againft very confiderable diftrefs in the courfe of the enfuing year, unlefs the deficiency of wheat and rye can be fupplied by importation, or unles other means can be found, by which, out of the flock of different forts of grain in the country, a comfortable and whole fome fubfiftence can be furnished to the people during the whole of that period.

Upon the first part of this alternative, your committee have already humbly fubmitted their opinion; and though they flatter themselves, that from the adoption of the measures now in contemplation for the encouragement

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