will be rapidly introduced into general confumption.

In order to accelerate and facilitate this fupply, advances have been made by government to perfons at the different ports of depot, fuch as Liverpool, Bristol, Hull, Lynn, Southampton, and Exeter, in addition to the amount of private fubfcriptions at thefe places; and directions have been given to the respective collectors of the customs to attend to fuch applications as they may receive from other places, which may be defirous of procuring confignments of fish.

The extent and importance of the herring fishery has been already fully detailed to the houfe; and there feems no reason to doubt that it will anfwer, in a very confiderable degree, the expectations which were formed of it.

The fisheries of mackerel and pilchards, which follow in fucceffion, appear capable of almoft equal extenfion; and the cod and haddock fisheries, which continue during the greatest part of the year, may alfo furnish an additional fupply of food, to an extent, which cannot be calculated, and (fince the ufe of falt duty free has been permitted) at a price not exceeding even in London for fome articles one penny, and for others two-pence per pound.

The price of fuch fifh is not only fo much lower than that of meat, as to recommend it as an useful fubftitute for that article; but as three or even five pounds of this wholefome and nutritious food can be afforded at a less rate than one pound of bread at its prefent price, it can hardly fail to meet with an extenfive demand, wherever it can be obtained in fufficient quantity; and

12

it will both cheapen and improve the fubfiftence of those claffes of the community, who, from finding the whole of their earnings not more than adequate to procure the ne ceffary fupply of bread, have been reduced to fubfift upon that article alone.

Your committee are fenfible, that even if any calculation could be formed of the amount of this refource, it would not be ealy to af certain the proportion which it might be fuppofed to bear to any given quantity of grain. But whe ther it is introduced into confumption as a fubftitute for vegetable or animal food, it is equally an addition of the utmost importance to the means of fubfiftence.

Your committee have omitted to take notice of the act pafled for diminishing the confumption of bread, and for making better provifion for the poor: because, whatever benefits may refult from that measure, the diminution which it may occafion in the use of bread, chiefly depends upon the introduc tion (as fubftitutes) of other articles, for moft of which credit has been already taken.

The amount of those resources to which your committee have adverted, which appeared in any degree capable of eftimate, (fubject to the observation with which they were at first introduced as being in many points conjectural, and ne ceffarily deficient in precifion,) would stand as follows:

1

Quarters.

170,000

580,000

Impor

for general relief, only by the uninter rupted circulation and unchecked activity of commerce, and by the zeal and energy which may be em ployed, by different claffes of the community, in promoting, according to their refpective means, an object of fuch general concern.

First Report from the Lords' Committees on the prefent Scarcity of Corn.

The lords' committees to whom it was referred to confider fo much of his majefty's fpeech, at the opening of the prefent feffion, as relates to the high price of provifions, and to whom has fince been referred the confideration of a meffage from the house of commons, relative to the fame fubject:

Have agreed to report to the houfe, that fince their appointment they have proceeded with all poflible diligence to inquire into fuch particulars as they judged might be moft worthy of the attention and confideration of the houfe, with refpect to the matter referred to them. They have more particularly applied themfelves to afcertain the actual state of the kingdom in refpect to the productivenefs of the late harveft, and to the flock of grain which may be fuppofed to be now in hand; which inquiry they have purfued by the examination of perfons beft acquainted with the fituation of different parts of the country in this refpect; being satisfied that any attentpt at more minute inveftigation, or actual furvey, would be inconvenient in practice, and probably in its refult very little fatiffactory.

As this courfe of inquiry is as yet

by no means completed, the lords' committees do not think it right for them to offer to the houfe any precife opinions as to the probable amount of the deficiency, grounded on fuch information as they have hitherto received.

But the lords' committees do by no means think it advilable to delay any measures of immediate relief for the purpofe of previously completing the inquiry in which they are en gaged.

Whatever judgement may altimately be formed refpecting the amount of the deficiency of the last harveft, it is certain that the flock of old grain was almoft entirely exhaufted at the beginning of the autumn, and that the produce of the prefent year was therefore begun to be confumed almost as foon as it was harvested, and at least two or three months earlier than is ufpal.

This view of the subject has therefore already fufficiently convinced the committee of the preffing ne ceflity both of giving due encouragement to early importation, and of adopting all practicable economy in the conlumption of grain during the prefent year; and they have unanimously agreed to recommend to this houfe, that, in addition to the bills which have already paffled, or are now in the courfe of palling through the house, for reftraining the export, and encouraging the import of the different forts of grain, and for preventing their being ap plied to other purposes than thole of food, this house thould also concur with the other house in their propofed addrefs to his majefty.

The lords' committees truft that the proclamation which his majesty is there requested to iffue, may probably engage the ferious attention

of

of the various claffes of their fellow fubjects to this most important object, and may induce them to adopt fuch detailed regulations refpecting the confumption of their families in the different forts of grain and other articles of provifions as may not merely produce a general refolution to economize as much as poffible in thofe articles, but may also ensure the full execution of this laudable

difpofition, by fuch particular meafures as may be most practicable for that purpofe in the different diftricts of the kingdom.

With this view the lords' commit

tees think it right here to add, that as the ufe of pure wheaten bread, and of other articles made of pure wheaten flour, ought in their judgement to be wholly difcontinued by all perfons whofe means and circumftances enable them to have re

courfe to other articles of fubfiftence, it appears to them extremely defirable, that every practicable encouragement fhould be given by parliament, if neceffary, and by the magiftrates in the different diftris of the county, under the now-exifting laws, to the grinding wheaten flour (mixed in fuch proportions as may be found most advantageous) with barley, oats, peafe, or rye; and although it is the intention of the committee to pursue a more detailed inquiry into the whole of this part of the fubject, they are induced to mention this point more particularly in the prefent inftance, from their having been informed that mif apprehenfion has prevailed in fome parts of the kingdom refpecting the prefent ftate of the laws on this fubject, and that it has not been univerfally underflood by the millers and other perfons engaged in thofe concerns that the grinding mixed VOL. XLII.

They have thought, in an inquiry fo interefting and important as that which was referred to them,

that it became them to endeavour

to inform themselves upon the fubjects connected with it, both extenfively and in detail; and, although they have hitherto principally con ftate of the harveft of this year, the fined their inquiries to the actual ftate of the harveft of this bability of importation, and the ftock of old corn in hand, the promeans of procuring fubftitutes, as well as of introducing them into more general ufe, they have alfo endeavoured to inform themfelves upon other matters connected with a ftill more extenfive view of this important fubject.

The report of the committee of the houfe of commons, referred to them by this houfe, and the various papers and documents which have been laid before them, contained much important information on this part of the fubject; but the lords' committees were farther defirous of afcertaining fill more particularly the correctnefs of thofe ftatements. They have, therefore, endeavoured to procure, from refpectable and well informed perfons in different counties of this kingdom, (where it was poflible for them, within a reasonable time to attend the committee) the moft exact reports upon the fubjects above alluded to; and where it has been impoffible to obtain this information by perfonal attendance (particularly in the cafe of fome parts both of Scotland and Wales, and the more remote diftricts of Eng land), they have received from thofe beft capable of affording it, the most detailed and precife communications in writing; which deviation from the ufual practice of this house and its committees, they truft your lordships (under the particular circumftances of the cafe) will not dilapprove.

The lords committees endeavoured, firft, to inform themfelves of the amount of an average crop in ordinary years, throughout the kingdom, in the different forts of grain; they then proceeded to inquire refpecting the actual crop of the last harveft, as compared with an average crop, and allo refpecting the flock of old corn in hand at the beginning of harvest, as compared with the ufual ftock; and likewife as to the refult of fuch experiments as have been made with respect to the yield of flour from

grain, and of grain from ftraw, fince the laft harvest. The refult for. each county of the actual information fo received has been, under their direction, reduced into tables, and is fubjoined to this report in the, appendix thereto. It may be material to obferve, that the variations, which will frequently be found in the accounts from the fame county, are to be explained by the following circumftance: that the perfons from whom the information is derived often fpeak to different difirias of the fame county, which differ much from each other, both in foil and produce.

The reports which have been laid before your committee from the receivers' general of the land-tax, from officers employed under the boards of taxes, ftamps, and excife, together with the returns which have been received in confequence of the circular letters of the bishops of the different diocefes to their cl gy, appear fully to juftify the conclution flated in the report of the committee of the house of commons, that the crop of wheat of the last year was deficient by one-fourth of the ave rage produce.

It is difficult to state with precifion any average deficiency for the whole kingdom, as collected from thofe local informations, as to particular difiricts, which have been furnifhed by the persons who have been fummoned to attend. Your lordhips' committees, on the fulleft confideration of the fubject, are confident that the deficiency of the wheat of the laft harveft amounted to at leaft one-fourth and the committee are inclined to believe, that it may have been greater, as it has been almoft univerfally ftated to them, that although the yield of the flour

from