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at their respective mills for the purpofe of being ground

2. To grind all grain feparately, maflin excepted.

3. To keep a regular account of the produce of the said grain, fubject to infpection of the magiftrates of the county or diftrict where the mills are fituated, when they fhall find occafion for fetting an affize on flour or bread.

4. Perfons who have had corn made into flour at any mill, to have the option of paying the miller's toll either in money or in kind (meal) as they choofe.

5. That nothing in this fhall affect the customs of foke mills, as far as relates to their ancient tenures, but that the magiftrates shall have a power of examining

their books as above.

When I propofe these refolutions to the committee, it is for the purpofe of drawing their attention to the fubject, and to request of them to converse with their intelligent neighbours in the country, who are either farmers, flour dealers, or bakers. I have received feveral letters on this fubject, containing opinions of perfons of experience and practice. They all agree in the juftice of the plan I propofe; fome dread the diflike which attends every thing that is new; but almoft all allow that the improvement would be of confiderable benefit to

the country. I am particularly fatif fied by the decided opinions (in favour of weight being the regulator of meature) of Mr. Strutt, of Terling, of Mr. Davies, of Longleat, and Mr. Melliter, of Wincanton (in their letters to Mr. Morton Pitt) and of Mr. Billingfley, of Athurft Grove in Somerfetihire: gentlemen who are fo fit to judge, from

I

their ability, experience, and judg. ment in these matters. Mr. Bil. lingsley is defirous that the weight of the grain thould be put higher than it is directed by the 31ft Geo, III. I have fubjoined his letter to this, that the weight he recommends may be confidered.

I have only to add, that should the committee, on their return to parliament, approve of the propofal I have now made, and it is thought of too great importance to be contained in a part of the act for regulating the objects which now engage the attention of the corn committee, I will (unless fome gentlemen of more confideration will undertake it) move for leave to bring in a bill for the purpoles ftated in this letter." To ufe weight as the regulator of meafure, in buying and felling of corn;" not intending to carry the bill through the houfes of parliament in this feflion, but that it thould be printed and diftributed in the country, and brought forward hereafter, if it fhould be generally approved.

I have the honour to be,
With much refpect,

Your obedient fervant,

CHARLES DUNDAS.

Barton-court, near Newbury, 7th Dec. 1795.

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the wheat into, the weight of

63 per Winch. bufh. the grain would be much fooner proved than the quantity by meafure.

Barley 52 or 53 ditto
Oats 38 or 40 ditto

It is not only my own opinion, but alfo that of the mott intelligent

farmers and corn dealers in our part of the kingdom, that fuch an alteration would be highly conducive to the general weal of the kingdom.

I am, dear Sir,

your most humble fervant, J. BILLINGSLEY. Afburf-grove, Dec. 6, 1796.

10th Dec. 1795.

Cory of a Letter from Mr. Billingsley to Charles Dundas, Ejq.

SECONDLY, as to the prefent practice of weight being ufed, I am well acquainted with this circumftance, and it is a very obvious reafon for endeavouring to make the mode general, as by this public regulation, fraud would be prevented, and the labourers or manufacturers purchafing corn would be put on an equality with the most artful feller.I have introduced the pitching of a buthel in the public markets, to meet the withes of many refpectable members of the houfe of commons, in confequence of applications from their conftituents, who have found great difficulty in procuring wheat to purchase. But as pitching a bufhel may be attended with inconvenience to the farmer, and also

P.S. Since I had the honour of fubmitting the above letter to the committee, I have received feveral letters from gentlemen of experience and judgment in the country, on the propofal of fubftituting weight as the regulator of meafures in the fales of corn; all of whom (except two very refpectable men) approve of the plan. The two gentlemen I allude to fay, there will be an alteration without an improvement: their reafons have,raife the price of that fmall quanhowever, relieved my doubts, as they reft their opinions on two grounds:

aft, That weighing will occafion trouble.

2d, That it is already practiced by all skilful purchafers.

In answer to the first. When a load of wheat is delivered, if the facks fhould be fufpected to be fmail, they are fooner weighed than measured; and if the corn is not as clean as the fample was, the weight will prove this, which cannot be done by meature.

In loading and unloading of fhips, after having afcertained the weight of a box or machine to run

tity to the poor; and as compulfive regulations are confidered by many as unjuft and impolitic, in the fale of an article the growth of which is optional, I beg to fuggeft to the committee the propriety of empowering the magiftrates of towns, the clerks of the markets, or the overfeers of the poor in their parithes, to open or authorize hops (under the regulation of their juftices of the peace) to fupply the labourers, manufacturers, poor, &c. of their parith, with any quantity, from one peck to one quarter of corn, at the market price, with fach addition as would be neceff ry to pay the attendance of a perion

to retail it. This increase of price would be very inconfiderable, and would be much less than the vai e of the time, which would be thrown away by the purchafer waiting in the market, or his lofs by his ignorance of the quality of the commodity.

What I have faid refpecting millers, appears to me to be moft neceffary to do away the prefent opinion, that the high price of flour is in fome degree owing to the millers or mealmen; but as a refpectable baronet has brought forward a bill on this fubject, the refolutions contained in my letter respecting millers may be rendered unneceflary, except in drawing the attention of the country to the confideration of thefe fubjects, which I hope will be the confequence of the attention which has been paid by the committee to enquire into the caufes of the high price of corn.

A table. like the following, might regulate the prices of a market, as far as related to the quantity and weight: per bujhe.

per load.

d.

6

lb.

lb.

1.

S.

60 or 59

12 O O

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II

12

6

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II 10 O

II 7 6

Thus 17. 10s. per load difference would be made in the price, where 281b. per fack was the difference in weight, which would be five half hundreds in a load of wheat, which is the exact weight of a fack of flour, and which the beft wheat would produce more than the lighteft.-I have added

this as a rule to fettle any difpute, in cafe the wheat delivered under a particular fample, thould prove lighter than the bufhel or fack, regittered with the clerk of the market.

I will only add, that from every converfation which I have had with farmers, mealmen and millers, fince this fubject was brought forward, I am convinced that the ufe of weight, as the regulator of meafure, will prevent fraud in dealings in corn, and will enable the magiftrates or others, to regu late the price of bread by the ave rage price of wheat or flour, instead of being fixed by the higheft price of wheat, as it is at prefent.

C. D. Extract of a Letter from Mr. Davies to William Morton Pitt, Esq.

Longivat, Nov. 22, 1795

YOUR quetion-" Whether it be poflible or proper that farmers, who fell their corn by fample, fhould be obliged to bring the whole or a certain quantity of it to market?"-involves fo many objects of confideration, that I muft beg your leave not only to give my opinion but to ftate my realous at fome length; the fubje&t is a ferious one, and I truft you will not think me more prolix than it requires.

The difficulties in reducing this plan to practice feems to be thefe:

ift. The infrequency of market towns in many parts of the kingdom, and the distance from thole towns to the places where corn is confumed.

zd. The increased expence of carrying corn to markets; and then, in many inftances, bringing it back again to be confumed near the fpot where it grew.

3. The

3. The impolicy, if not injuftice, of reftraining, by compulfive means, the fale of an article, which, how ever indifpenfable in itself, has as fair a claim as any other article of trade to a free and voluntary mode of fale; efpecially an article of which the growth is optional on the part of the feller.

4. The abfolute impoffibility of fecuring a conftant uniform fupply on every market day, fufficient for the confumption of the district dependant on that market, till the next market day.

The above are my doubts as to the practicability or even the poflibility of carrying a plan of this kind into effect. My opinion is, that it can do but little good, and may do a great deal of harm; and I take the liberty of fupporting that opinion by the following reafons.

The prefent, and indeed every fcarcity of corn, arifes chiefly from a failure of crops.

That failure must be compenfated to the grower (who is obliged to pay the fame rent in all feafons) by an increafed price.-That price is always regulated by the demand. -The great defideratum is to keep the demand and the fupply as nearly regular as poffible. The propofal now made to the committee has that end for its object. I have, with all deference, to prove that it is inadequate.

I live in a fituation moft likely to furnish me with the means of in

formation; viz. at the junction of the country which produces corn, with the country which confumes it, within five miles of the great corn market of Warminster.

From Warmintter, for near forty miles eastward, through Wilts and Hants, is a country which does not confume one fourth part of the corn it grows -From Warminster, for near forty miles weftward, through a great part of Somersethire, and including Bath and Briftol, is a country which does not produce one fourth part of the corn it confumes.

The other three-fourths of corn confumed in the latter diftrict is brought chiefly from the former (for the increafed population of the north has deprived Bristol of the refource it once had down the Severn). Warminster and Devizes are the principal markets by which this quantity is fupplied. From thefe towns, to Bristol and Bridge. water, there is not a market where corn is expofed for sale in bulk. But would it be politic to compel the growers of this one-fourth part of the confumption of Somersetfhire to bring it to Warminster or Devizes, or to Bridgewater or Bristol, to fell it, to be carried back again to be confumed by the manufacturing towns of Frome or Shepton Mallett, poffibly within a few miles of the place of its growth, at an advanced price, occafioned by this ufelefs carriage.* I may be

The propofal made in the committee, of obliging farmers to bring at least a fack of corn to market as a fample, or even a bufhel Is objectionable; the latter quantity, fmall as it is, cannot be brought ten miles under an expence of two fhillings, and nobody could buy it at that additional expence, unless they alfo contracted to take a greater quantity with it to cover that expence: the poor, for whom it is intended, could never buy it. Befides, in all manufacturing countries the poor feldom buy wheat at market, or would if they could; the labourers in agriculture in the villages buy it of the farmers for whom they work the manufacturers live from hand to mouth, and buy bread ready baked. Befides, it is feldom reckoned how much, a poor man lofes in time and expences in going to market to buy corn, even if he could buy it. Ff

VOL. XXXVIII.

afked,

to retail it. This increase of price would be very inconfiderable, and would be much less than the value of the time, which would be thrown away by the purchafer waiting in the market, or his iofs by his ignorance of the quality of the commodity.

What I have faid refpecting millers, appears to me to be mott neceffary to do away the prefent opinion, that the high price of flour is in fome degree owing to the millers or mealmen; but as a respectable baronet has brought forward a bill on this fubject, the refolutions contained in my letter refpecting millers may be rendered unneceflary, except in drawing the attention of the country to the confideration of thefe fubjects, which I hope will be the confequence of the attention which has been paid by the committee to enquire into the caufes of the high price of corn.

A table. like the following, might regulate the prices of a market, as far as related to the quantity and weight: per bujhel.

per load.

s. d.

O

6

lb.

lb.

1.

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6

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6

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this as a rule to fettle any difpute, in cafe the wheat delivered under a particular fample, thould prove lighter than the buthel or fack, regitiered with the clerk of the market.

I will only add, that from every converfation which I have had with farmers, mealmen and millers, fince this fubject was brought forward, I am convinced that the ufe of weight, as the regulator of measure, will prevent fraud in dealings in corn, and will enable the magiftrates or others, to regulate the price of bread by the ave rage price of wheat or flour, instead of being fixed by the higheft price of wheat, as it is at prefent.

C. D. Extract of a Letter from Mr. Damas to William Morton Pitt, Efq.

Longleat, Nov. 22, 195

YOUR queftion-" Whether it be poflible or proper that farmers, who fell their corn by fample, fhould be obliged to bring the whole or a certain quantity of it to market?"-involves fo many objects of confideration, that I'muft beg your leave not only to give my opinion but to ftate my realons at fome length; the fubje&t is a ferious one, and I truft you will not think me more prolix than it requires.

The difficulties in reducing this plan to practice feems to be thefe:

ift. The infrequency of market towns in many parts of the kingdom, and the diftance from thofe towns to the places where corn is consumed.

2d. The increased expence of carrying corn to markets; and then, in many inftances, bringing it back again to be confumed near the fpot where it grew.

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