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of the importation of wheat, of Indian corn, and of rye, fome confiderable fupplies may be procured from foreign parts, yet they should think it unwife to reft in any great degree upon the hope that fuch fupplies can cover a large proportion of the deficiency. Your committee would feel great regret in ftating this to the houfe, if they were not alfo of opinion, upon the fulleft confideration, that the country poffelles other refources, both more extenfive and more fecure, in an economical ufe of the flock of wheat in the kingdom, and in the abundant crops of barley, of oats, and of potatoes.

It is obvious, that there must be a very numerous clafs of families where, in times of ordinary plenty, the confumption of wheaten bread and of flour is by no means an object of firict regulation and attention; and i can be as little doubted, that, under fuch a preffure as the prefent, an important reduction might be effected in this refpect, without diminithing, in any degree, the quantity neceflary for fubfiftence. It is alfo to be remarked, that the confumption of this clafs of perfons and their families, together with another clafs, far more extenfive, contitis in a large proportion of ether articles than bread; and that the fituation of thofe claties may enable them, as circumftances require, to augment in fome degree that proportion, and thereby to leave a larger thare of the flock of wheat to thofe for whofe fubfiftence it is more immediately effential.

The reduction of the confumption of wheat may be confiderably aided amongst this defeription of perfons, and, in a great degree, ex

tended to all claffes of the people, if they can be induced to employ the other refource to which your committee have referred, and to avail themselves of the abundance of other crops to fupply the deficiency of wheat.

For the purpofe of afcertaining in what proportion the articles before enumerated, and others, could be mixed with wheat, fo as to produce a bread likely to answer the purposes of general confumption, your committee have examined the refult of a variety of experiments, made by the victualling office, onder the direction of the privy council, and ordered to be communicated to them; and of further experiments, fince made by the fame office, under the direction of your committee; and have been alfo aflifted by the Board of Agriculture, who have communicated to them an account of trials made with a fill greater variety of nixtures. Your committee tee no reafon to doubt that good bread may be made from any of these mixtures, with no greater proportion then three-fifths or two thirds of wheaten flour; and there is the best reafon for concluding that fuch bread would be wholesome and nutritive, because in many parts of of this country, where labour and industry are carried to as great an extent as in any other, the people are wholly fed by bread made of fome one or more of the component parts of thefe mixtures. Your committee are further encouraged in this opinion, by finding, that in the courfe of the latt feafon, the ufe of mixed bread of various kinds has been introduced into general confumption in many places whofe confumption was before confined

to wheaten bread; that the confequence has been a confiderable rcduction of price to the labouring poor in fuch places; and that the ufe of it has not been found to be attended with any inconvenience. The variety of different fpecies of mixed bread is fuch, as to offer a confiderable number of alternatives to different parts of the country and they will be naturally led to felect thofe which are leat foreign to their habits and prejudices, and of which, from local circomitances, they can moft conveni-hibit the making of all other forts ently procure a fupply.

There are indeed many prece dents in the flatutes of this country, of the interpofition of the legitlature for this purpofe, at times when, from the lefs advanced tate of cultivation and commerce, diftreffes of this kind occurred much more frequently and feverely than at later periods; and even in more recent times, au act puffed* which authorizes magifirates, whenever they think the cafe requires, to fut the affize upon ftandard wheaten bread alone, and thereby to pro- i

That the facrifice of fome degree of indulgence, or of prejudice, is one, which, under the prefent circumftauces, can be made, and ought to be made, and that without fuch a facrifice, to a confiderable extent, the country will be expofed to fill greater difficulties than thofe with which it has fo lately contended, is an opinion with which your committee are fo ftrougly impreted, that they cannot too carneftly recommend it to the ferious attention of this houfe, and of the nation at large.

Deeply, however, as they feel this impreffion, they are far from propofing any legiflative meature to enforce a compliance with this fuggeftion. They well know that the people of this, and of every other country, are attached by habit to their accustomed fpecies of food; and that however they may, by recommendation and example, he induced to make a partial change, yet any fudden and compulfory alteration might, perhaps, be more fenfibly felt than the very grievance it was intended to remedy.

of bread. Your committee, however, entertain great hopes, that without applying this principle to the prefent cafe, the general imprettion produced by the late diftrefs, and continued by the prefent featcity, will incline men of all, deferiptions to unite voluntarily in the only meafure which can give effectual and immediate relief; and they conceive, that if this houfe fhould give to fuch a measure the fan&tion of its example and recommendation, there could be little doubt of its being adopted by a proportion of the community fufficiently numerous to fecure the attainment of the object in view.

Your committee beg leave to fubmit this fuggeftion to the wif dom of the houfe; and they hope it will not be thought beyond the line of their duty, if, upon an occafion fo urgent in point of time, they prefume alfo to fuggeft the principal points which fuch an engagement ought, in their humble opinion, to embrace.

To reduce the confumption of wheat in the families of the perfons fubfcribing fuch engagement, Ee3

13 Geo. III.

by

by at least one third of the ufl quantity confumed in ordin y

times.

In order to effect this purpofe, either to limit to that ext he quantity of fine wheaten bread confumed by each indivil a in fuch families;

Or, to confume only mixed bread, of which not more than two thirds fhall be made of wheat ;

Or, only a proportional quantity of mixed bread, of which more than two thirds is made of wheat;

Or, a proportional quantity of bread made of wheat alone, from which no more than five pounds of bran is excluded;

If it fhould be neceffary, in order to effect the purpose of this engagement, to prohibit the use of wheaten flour in paftry, and to diminish, as much as poffible, the ufe thereof in other articles than bread;

By one or more of thefe meafures, or by any other which may be found equally effectual, and more expedient and practicable, in the refpective fituations of perfons fubfcribing, to infure to the utmoft of their power the reduction above mentioned.

This engagement to continue in force until fourteen days after the next feflion of parliament, unless the average price of wheat thall, before that time, be reduced to an amount to be specified.

Appendix to the Third Report from the

Select Committee appointed to take

into confideration the prefent High Price of Corn.

THE committee beg leave to lay before the houfe, as an appendix to their last report, an account of the experiments made by the victualling office upon different kinds of mixed bread, under the directions of the privy council, and of this committee; they have not thought it neceflary to add to the account of the experiments made by the Board of Agriculture, as they understand that it is the intention of that board to communicate that account to the public, together with their obfervations thereupon.

The committee have proceeded to take into further confideration different branches of this extenfive fubject. Being aware, however, that fome of them contain matter which ought not to be made the object of regulation, except upon mature deliberation, and a clear conviction of neceflity, they have thought it moft confiftent with their duty, to defer making any further report till after the recefs; but they beg leave to add to this appendix, a few papers which have been communicated to them; not as intimating any opinion whatfoever, as to the different obfervations and fuggeftions contained in thefe papers, but with a view of drawing attention to the principal points of which it may be neceffary for the committee to relume the confideration.

Ax

An account, fhewing the produce of one quarter of wheat, barley, oats, and rye, respectively,
dreffed through a thirteen fhilling cloth, and of the denomination of ftandard, or the
whole of the flour of the grain, from which the loaves, prefented to a committee of
the honourable Houfe of Commons on the 9th infiant, were manufactured as Specified
in the accompanying fehedule.

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An account, fhewing the produce of one quarter of wheat, barley, oats, and rye, respectively, drejed through a twenty-one fhilling cloth, and of the denomination of household flour, from which the loaves, prefented to a committee of the honourable Houfe of Commons on the 9th infiant, were manufactured, as specified in the accompanying schedule.

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117 13

5

175 118 1

2

Rye

N. B. The feveral fpecies of grain in thefe tables were British, and of the growth of the present year; and ditto, 1cs. per quarter of 1 coft, on the 26th of October, 1795, viz - Wheat, 968. per quarter-oats 29s. 6d. -barley, 38s.-rye, 5cs. Ed. At bushels of 16 lb each. which time the middlings from wheat were worth 99s. per quarter of 10 bushels of 56 lb each; and the bran from other fpecies of grain, the Victualling Board are not of themfelves competent to speak to. But the value of the middlings and bran produce from the Victualling Office, Nov. 11, 1795.

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