the corn laws

• Corn Laws - diverse issue

  • the laws were valued by the landed aristocracy as they ensured that farming remained profitable
  • disliked by the poor as they led to high bread prices
  • unpopular with the industrialists
• When was the Anti Corn Law League created?

  1839
• Anti Corn Law League 1839:

  • created and led by the radical businessmen -> Richard Cobden and John Bright
  • they were textile manufacturers
  • originated in Manchester -> worse than the south
  • devoted to free trade ideas
  • wanted to repeal the corn laws
  • believed the aristocratic government did not care about industry + industrial workers who suffered from the continuance protectionist law
• How were the corn laws operating:

  • initially introduced in 1815 -> foreign wheat allowed after British wheat reached 80s per quarter
  • amended in 1828 -> sliding scale -> tax on imports went down to 1s
  • Whig Charles Villiers made attempts to abolish the law every year from 1837-1845
• 1842: Peel set the import taxes down at 20s when the British grain fetched up to 51s ---> imports cheaper than previously
• Arguments used by the Anti Corn Law League:

  • corn laws went against free trade
  • workers needed cheaper bread
  • wages were pushed up for people to afford bread -> dismay of the manufacturers
  • restricting imports meant other countries didn't buy British Goods
  • benefited the aristocratic elite -> didn't reflect the new economic realities
• CONTEXT:

  • 1845 -> Irish Potato Famine
  • widespread hardship -> famine in Britain
  • called the "hungry forties"
  • freer importation of food was called for
• Was the ACLL's stance justified:

  • aristocracy had shown they were willing to change the law
  • unlikely there was foreign corn available --> similar climates to Britain --> experienced famine too
  • expensive to import food
  • suspected wage cuts if the law is repealed -> Chartists didn't like the ACLL
  • make British agriculture unprofitable which was still the largest sector of the economy
• ACLL strategies:

  • raised money from the middle-class supporters
  • mass meetings
  • petitions
  • publicity and pamphlets
• Was the league successful:

  • corn laws repealed

  But

  • limited impact in getting representation in Parliament
  • other factors such as the Irish famine, declining importance in agriculture and Peel's inclination towards free trade
• Why did Peel repeal the Corn Laws:

  • ACLL pressure
  • irish famine
  • commitment to free trade
  • cabinet support (apart from Lord Stanley)
  • support of wellington in the lords
  • outcome of the royal commission into the issue in 1842
• What were the corn laws:

  • protect British agricultural industries as during the Napoleonic Wars, landowners borrowed money to turn wasteland into farms to stop being relient on France
  • agriculture was still the biggest employer
  • 1816-1817 -> price of bread increased by 40%
• Formation of the ACLL:

  • banned the import of foreign corn, until British corn reached 80s
  • Huskisson introduced a sliding scale
  • 1830-1835 -> harvests were fairly low
  • 1839 -> increased as unemployment increased
  • strongest in manchester -where the group started-
  • the aristocracy and landowners benefitted, the manufacturers and working class suffered
• 1835 -> 7d

  1839 -> between 10d and 13.5d

  Prices of bread
• Industrialists had to pay higher wages and lose profits so their workers could afford food
• Arguments for abolishing the corn law:

  • un christian to restrict the trade
  • stimulus to the economy -> once bread prices fell, workers real wages would increase
  • encouraged British farmers to become more competitive -> european nations would buy British goods
• Arguments against abolishing the corn law:

  • influx of cheap foreign corn would lead to mass unemployment within the agriculture sector
  • lead to overcrowding the in the urban areas
  • dependent on foreign corn
  • charists saw the abolishment as a Capitalist plot
• Methods of the League:

  • leaflets targeted the middle class as they could vite
  • 12 mps -> 1845
  • strong leadership
  • Chartists disliked the league as they thought wages for the working class would decrease
  • co-operation with Daniel O'Connell
  • raised £100 000 in 1844
• Stages of repeal: pt1

  • first two years, very little progress as there was violent opposition from the league
  • 1841 election -> abolitionist mps made some impacts -> Peel reduced the sliding scale. Lull in campaign till 1845.
  • 1842 - 1845 (before Irish Potato Famine), Peel decided that the corn laws were no longer effective, and Farmers had to be able to maintain their profits
  • Cobden delivered a speech in the Commons in March 1845 -> Peel could't argue saying to an MP "You must answer this for I cannot"
  • Summer of 1845 -> Irish Potato plant was ruined by a blight and this was their main meal
• Stages of Repeal: pt2

  • Peel arranged for the USA to sell £160 000 worth of grain at 1d per pound to the Irish -> wasn't enough
  • English and Scottish crops failed
  • Peel used the Irish Potato Famine as an excuse to force repeal -> Failed and Peel resigned in December 1844
  • Russell failed to form a Whig Government, Peel recalled who won over most the cabinet but not the party
  • Repeal Bill would phase the Corn Laws out over 3 years.
  • Five Month debate -> 2/3s revolted against Peel accusing him of Breaking promises
  • The Repeal Bill passed the Commons May 1846 only with Whig support
• Stages of Repeal: pt3

  • went through the Lords and became law in June
  • Peel resigned after Disraeli combined with the Whigs and Irish MPs
• Effects:

  • no dramatic fall in the Wheat prices, no vast inflow of European wheat or North America so British wheat were kept steady
  • farmers didn't suffer immediate ruin, ensured reasonable profits
  • didn't help the Irish -> famine continued to 1848 with millions dying, and cholera epidemic breaking out in 1846 -> emigration to the USA
  • reduce duties on goods from Britain and encouraged trade
  • split the tories
• Torys Splits 1846:

  • Peelites => Peel, Gladstone and Herbert and other leading conservatives broke away formed their own Parliamentary group, more reform minded and intellectual -> very small
  • Rump Conservatives => Stanley and Disraeli, real talent left and Disraeli became PM twice
• The corn laws were needed after the napoleonic wars but were outdated