298 Ch. 8. 1766 State of Ire land. Exportation of corn restricted. IRISH AFFAIRS. the restriction of the Company to their proper province of mercantile monopoly. He had also turned his attention to the state of Ireland, that country so rich in natural resources, and so closely connected by geographical position with this island, though as much neglected as if it had been a distant and worthless province. Misrule and corruption in the capital; agrarian outrage amounting to servile war, complicated with a savage animosity of religion and race,—such, for more than a century, had been the condition of this, the fairest part of the empire. A nobler field for the genius of a master-statesman could hardly be provided; and Chatham, in the vigour of his intellect and will, might have accomplished what has baffled the ingenuity of all his successors. He had already intended, by way of beginning, to assimilate the Irish, in duration at least, to the British Parliament; and to bring the local administration into closer correspondence with the Home Government. Thus we see, that even out of office, the authority of Pitt had saved the colonial empire; that in office, he had proposed a scheme to secure the safety of Great Britain, and the peace of Europe; that he had intended to provide for the government of India; and that he would have attempted at least to remove that grievous blot upon English policy, the misrule of Ireland. But all these great designs were to be disappointed; and the principal, if not the only, measure EXPORTATION OF CORN. adopted by the administration which bore the name of Chatham, was one of an occasional character. The failure of the harvest, in consequence of the extreme wetness of the season, having caused a great rise in the price of corn, the sufferings of the people, as usual under such circumstances, were made known by riots and disturbances. Until a very recent period the country had exported grain to a considerable extent; but the great discoveries in manufactures within the past few years had given such an impulse to the population that England had latterly rather inclined to import than to export corn; and, as the same causes which had caused a scarcity in these islands, also prevailed on the continent of Europe, apprehensions of famine were entertained, if the foreign trade in corn were allowed to proceed. But the price of wheat in the home market not having reached the limit (538. 4d.) at which exportation would cease by law, it was for the executive government to consider, in the recess of Parliament, whether an emergency existed sufficient to warrant the interposition of that power beyond the law, which, as an immediate resource, must exist in every polity. The ministry, with the approval, if not at the suggestion, of their chief, determined to exercise the power; and, after issuing a proclamation to enforce the old obsolete laws against forestalling and regrating, or the prohibition of the internal trade in corn 299 Ch. 8. 1766 a M'Culloch's Comm. Dict. Art. Corn Laws. 300 Ch. 8. 1766 The question in the Lords. ORDER IN COUNCIL AS TO by means of dealers and factors, they took the more effectual measure of an Order in Council laying an embargo on exportation. This was done on the twenty-fourth of September, and in strict propriety Parliament should have been assembled as soon afterwards as the law would permit; but, as Parliament stood prorogued until the eleventh of November, it was not thought worth while to alter the arrangement, by anticipating the session a few days, for the sake of a constitutional punctilio. This proceeding, of itself, would hardly have afforded any ground for opposition. A legislature cannot provide against every accident; and the safety of the people, which is the supreme law, may occasionally render it the duty of the executive to dispense, for the moment, with the municipal law. No candid disputant would think of comparing such an act as this with the assertion of a dispensing power; nor could Parliament, if promptly appealed to, hesitate to grant indemnity, even though they might be of opinion that the government had been precipitate, or had failed to exercise a wise discretion in the particular instance. Chatham brought the matter forward in the House of Lords with the moderation and diffidence which became a first appearance in that august assembly, and the nature of the topic which it was his fortune to introduce. He made no pretence of defending the embargo on any other ground than that of necessity; and endeavoured only to show that an adequate case of necessity existed. But his supporters, both THE EXPORTATION OF CORN. in this and in the other House of Parliament, were not so discreet. The two law lords, Northington and Camden, went out of their way to exhibit ignorance of constitutional principle. The former, with a coarse sneer at popular doctrines, maintained that the Order in Council was not only justifiable, but legal; and Camden, with that violence of assertion which he had displayed the year before, so little to the advancement of his reputation for good sense, on the question of colonial taxation, now hurried into the opposite extreme, and asserted that the necessity of a measure was sufficient to render it legal; and he made use of a pointed expression, which was remembered to his disadvantage long after the occasion which gave rise to it was forgotten. He said that, 'the Crown was entitled to do whatever the safety of the nation may require during the recess of Parliament, which is at most but a forty days' tyranny!' So guarded should statesmen be in the use of epigrams! Lord Mansfield rebuked these extravagant doctrines, so entirely contrary to the principles of the Revolution, with his usual felicity; and, as he had formerly upheld the authority of Parliament against the too forward advocate of liberty; so he now denied a claim no less derogatory, preferred by the same inconsiderate zeal, on behalf of prerogative. 301 Ch. 8. 1766 in the Com In the Commons, the same doctrines were urged The question to absurdity by Alderman Beckford, whose opin- mons. ions derived importance from his connection with 302 Ch. 8. 1766 East India INQUIRY INTO THE STATE Chatham. The idle language of this headstrong citizen was taken down on the motion of Grenville,b who compelled him ultimately to retract it. The necessity of the embargo being admitted, it is probable that Parliament would have taken no further notice of the matter; but, in consequence of the strange unconstitutional doctrines which had been advanced by the great legal authorities of the government, it was considered right to mark the exceptional character of the proceeding by an act of Indemnity, in which those who advised, as well as those who had enforced, the Order in Council were included. The first business of importance brought before Parliament, after the question relative to the Order in Council had been disposed of, was the affairs of the East Indian Company. The great idea which occupied the mind of Chatham, was to place the territorial revenues arising from the British conquests in India on a different footing from the mercantile profits of the Company; and probably to provide for the entire separation of functions so essentially distinct as those of government and commerce. But before any definite measure could be proposed, it was necessary to obtain that authentic information which the Company alone could supply. Within a month after his assumption of office, Chatham had advertised the Court of Directors of his intention in the ensuing session to b See Addenda X, p. 333. |