For two or three years after 1795 the harvests were more favourable, until the disastrous season of 1799. The average price of wheat at the commencement of 1799 was 49s. 6d. the quarter, but in De cember it had risen to 94s. 2d.; and soon after the commencement of the following year the prospects of scarcity had alarm ingly increased. Recourse was again had to a bounty ; and an act was passed, offering to the importer the difference between the average price of English wheat in the second week after importa tion and 90s. on wheat from the south of Europe, Africa, and America; 85s. from the Baltic and Germany ; and 90s. from Archangel, if imported before the 1st of October, 1800. Lord Hawkesbury also 'nought in a bill, which was passed through its various stages on the follow ing day, prohibiting the sale of bread until twenty-four hours after it had been baked. Prices, however, continued to advance, and in June, 1800, wheat was 134s. 5d. the quarter. Considerable im portations brought down the price to 96s. 2d. in August; but in December it had again advanced to 133s., in consequence of the deficiency of the harvest of 1800. Parliament in consequence met in Novem ber, 1800, earlier than had been intended. The speech from the throne alluded to the supposition of combination and fraudulent practices for the purpose of raising the price of grain, but this a committee of the House of Lords denied. A select committee of the Commons was again appointed to take into consideration the existing high prices, and by the end of December this committee had presented six reports to the house, in the first of which the deficiency of the crops was stated to be one-fourth, and that the old supplies were exhausted before harvest. The committee suggested a variety of remedies to meet the emergency. Among other things they recommended the en couragement of the fisheries, the stop page of the distilleries, a bounty on im portation; also a recommendation from persons in authority, pointing out the necessity of the general practice of eco nomy and frugality in all articles of food ; and it was proposed to call upon the other house of parliament to join in an address to the throne, requesting his Majesty to issue a proclamation in favour of this suggestion. A royal proclama tion was issued accordingly, and was widely circulated by the clergy and ma gistrates throughout the kingdom. An act was also passed, guaranteeing the difference between the average price of foreign wheat in the third week after importation and 100s. to the importer of all wheat weighing 53 lbs. per bushel, if imported within the time limited by the act. The advance of prices continued unchecked in spite of these various plans; and in March, 1801, wheat averaged 156s. 2d. the quarter, or, taking the imperial measure now in use, 20s. the bushel ; barley averaged 90s. 7d. the quarter, and oats 47s. 2d. The importations of the year were, wheat, 1,424,766 quarters ; barley, 113,966; oats, 583.043. For four weeks the quartern loaf in London was as high as Is. 104d. The agricultural districts were again disturbed by riots. The money wages of the agricultural la bourer, in order to have been equal to those which he received in the reign of George II., should have risen to about 30s. per week. An advance of wages to a trifling extent was obtained in some trades. The salaries of persons holding official situations under the government were also increased. The misery of the bulk of the people during the years of scarcity is shown by the diminished num ber of marriages, which, from 79,477 in 1798, were reduced to 67,288 in 1801. The fallacy that wages advance with the price of food was never more glaringly displayed than at this period. This me.
morable dearth was a season of prosperity, as Mr. Tooke states, " to the landlords, who were raising, or had the prospect of soon raising, their rents ; and to the far mers, who were realizing enormous gains pending the currency of their leases." Comparative abundance was restored by a tolerably good harvest in 1801. In
the two following years the harvests, though not very abundant, were favour able, and a further depression of prices took place. At the close of 1802 the average price of wheat was 57s. Id. the quarter ; early in 1803, 52s. 3d. ; and at a corresponding period in 1804 the ave rage price was as low as 49s. 6d. Meet ings were now held by the agriculturists for the purpose of petitioning parlia ment for additional protection to agri culture, the act of 1790-1, which bad raised the free import price (there was merely a nominal duty of 6d.) from 48s. to 54s., not having satisfied them. This brings us to the termination of the fourth period.
The Corn Act of 1790-1 consolidated, amended, and repealed a number of old statutes relating to the corn - trade ; amongst the latter, the 15 Charles II. c. 7, which prohibited buying corn to sell again and laying up corn in warehouses. It also permitted foreign corn and grain to be bonded in the king's warehouses, the duty to be payable only when taken out for home consumption. The object of this beneficial clause is stated as fol lows:—" To promote and extend the commerce of the merchants of this king dom in foreign corn, and to provide stores which may always be ready for the relief of his Majesty's subjects in times of dearth." Many of the provisions of the act, however, interfered with trade to a vexatious and injurious extent. When foreign exportation was not allowed at any particular port, not even home pro duce could be carried thence coastwise, even to a port at which exportation was at the time taking place. Foreign vessels might. however, change their destination to any port where importation was per mitted, if, on their arrival at that for which their cargo had been shipped, im portation had ceased to be allowed. The country was still divided into so many independent sections, and this regulation was introduced into Scotland, which was divided into four districts. For the pur poses of exportation, the weekly averages of each district were cited, and, for im portation, the average of the six weeks preceding the 15th of February, May, August. and November. Thus the one varied from week to week, and the latter could only be changed four times a-year V.—From 1804 to 1815.
On the 13th of April, 1804, the Chan cellor of the Exchequer moved for the appointment of a select committee to in quire into the principle and operation of the Corn Regulation Act of 1791, and to determine whether the scale which it fixed for the regulation of imports and exports was now applicable. On the 14th of May the committee reported that the act alluded to required " very material alteration." On the 14th of June they stated in a second report " that the price of corn from 1791 to the harvest of 1803 has been very irregular ; but, upon an average, increased in a great degree by the years of scarcity, has in general yielded a fair profit to the grower. The casual high prices, however, have bad the effect of stimulating industry, and bringing into culture large tracts of waste land, which, combined with the two last productive seasons, has occasioned such a depression in the value of grain as it is feared will greatly tend to the discouragement of agriculture, unless maintained by the sup port of parliament." A new Corn Act was therefore passed which established the following scale for the admission of foreign corn :—Wheat under 63s. per quarter, the "high duty" of 24s. 3d. payable; at 63s. and under 66s., the " fast low duty ;" and at or above 66s., the "second low duty," which amounted only to 6d. The free import or nominal duty price was thus raised from 548., at which it stood in the act of 1790-1, to 66s.—an increase of 12s. The bounty of 5s. on exportation was to be paid when the average price of wheat was at or under 48s.; and when the average rose to 54s. exportation was to be pro hibited : these two provisions of the act proved inoperative.