*- '^ >>%. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) 1.0 HIM 11.25 It i^" 2.0 1.8 LA. Ill 1.6 PhofejgKphic Sciences Corporation 23 WEST MAIN STREET WEBSTER, N.Y. 14580 (716) 8;2-4S03 /. .«. rA 4. iV ^' :1>^ :\ \ % 6^ « 9 * r ' A t ( [ 5 ] tides, the proximity of the country producing them, the course «f the waters, and the force of gravity, render this inevitable. If natural causes which human agency cannot control give the carrying trade to British vessels on fhe homeward voyage, natural t^auses will also give the return trade to American ve'ssels ; for the St. Lawrence being closed by ice until May, must of neces- sity send all the Spring importations to New York and Boston in March and April, from whence they will be transmitted by rail- road and steamboat to the far west, and reach their destination before any vessel can penetrate to Quebec. The importance of this trade is not sufficiently estimated by the American merchant; nor do we believe that it is sufficiently understood at Washington. If the American exports to the pro- vinces amount to six million dollars annually, now that the trade IS m Its infancy, what will it be when it has ripened or advanced further to maturity ? Without undertaking to say whether Ameri- can wheat, which passes over the lines, goes to England under the denomination of Canada wheat, or whether it be eaten on the spot, and the Canada article exported-it is sufficient to know that the American farmer finds a sale for his produce, to the amount stated. The population of Canada is about one million of souls making the imports of American bread stuffs equal to four dollars each per annum. It is the policy of the Mother Country to augment the population of those provinces by emigra- tion ; and we should not be surprised to see the number of in- habitants Joubled in a hw years, and creating a demand of twelve million dollars worth of American produce. Can any merchant or politician look upon such a prospect unmoved ? And ought It not to convince him of the urgent necessity of pre- serving peace between the two countries ? Let us look at the subject in another point of view. Of what do the croakers of American prosperity chiefly complain ? Why that the balance of trade with England is against this country;' and hence the high rate of exchange. « We have nothing » say they, " but cotton, tobacco, and the other staples of the South to pay our enormous annual debt to England ; the North has nothing she can export, to pay her bills in Manchester, Bir- mmgham, &c." Admitting this to have been true heretofore the complaint no longer exists, for the wheat of the lake countries does now actually constitute a staple export of the North amount- ing to SIX millions of dollars annually, and will, ere long, double, and perhaps treble that amount [ 6 ] Nor do Bread Stuffs constitute the only article of export to these Colonies. Horses, Horned Cattle, Pork, &c, form other and additional exports to a very great extent. Besides these, a new class of exports, consisting of agncultu- ral implements, churns, buckets, &c., and in short, all articles of which wood forms a principal constituent part, are sent largely into Canada, as will appear from the following table ;— The Port of Rochester. ^Bxxt few of our citizens we apprehend, arc aware of the extent and importance of the trade carried on between this cUy and Ca- nada We have reverted to it occasionally during the past season ; and since the close of navigation have been at .ome pains to ascertain as n«"»y " POf"" ble, the amount of business done. We have compiled from the Custom Houe records, the following table of exports. We state merely the value of the dif- ferent articles, without giving the quantity : Flo„r .1-da. »«.«J» 5,800 10,200 3,000 7,000 Pork Stoves.-.. Tallow .. Live Stock Machinery Macninery •-•: aoo 000 Sundries and articles not enumerated ^ ' Total '^eS^'^OO The "sundries and articles not enumerated," consist of such a quantity and varietv of products that it is almost impossible to make a correct estimate. ThTvconsfst tobacco, cigars, cheese, cider, candles, iron, hollow-ware, farm- bgu'tensi pol and peLrlLhes, cabinet ware, threshing --h.nes grocenes an^d many 'kinds of raw produce. The estimates ""^^.J "P°" ^^f^^^f^ ^J above, vve are assured by a person most conversant with the trade, are very ^'^ Thus it will be seen that the trade direct from this port to Canada, amount to more than six hundred thousand dollars yearly. The importance and extent of this trade is beginning to be seen by the American frontier press generally; and J will, for your Lordship's information, add one or two other extracts confirmatory of my own statements : — Canada Trade.-Important Facts.-h^st year Port ^'^"l^y'i^^f^^^j,^^;'^^ and two other shipping places a few miles from it, ^^P^'t^^'i^^/'^JJo— l\ wheat, 2000 barrels of Flour, and 1400 of Pork, and ^Pf^^'^tal ^rarcelv 500 Salt, and 3000 tons Merchandize. Twenty years ago, there was scarcely 500 'T'at yTELt^t'at^JSed through the Welland Canal, from U S. to U. S K 946 142 bushels ^of Wheat an'd l^.f Vr'^V//o7 orio"rk an"d United States to Canadian ports, 88.964 bbls. Flour, 22^^307 of Pork, an^^^ 367,261 bushels of Wheat-also from Canadian PO'^s «« L«^^^"*/"lf;'|f4 ra District to Canadian ports on Leke Ontario, 120,893 barrels of Flour, 514 is estimaTed by a writer in the Toronto Patriot at 18,000 h^rreh.-Rochester Evn. Post. The Detroit Daily Advertiser offers the following observations. They show not only a vast increase in the Grain Trade wUh. Ca> nada, but in the Provision Trade also : — 11 h '2 '^ » I V K t» /■ f [ 7 ] ^^'^ir.^rlZf::!^^^^^ ..riou, other .tate., h.* all kind» enter^nto if rargl^"^''^e cammt o?""'"''^ to grain-provision . of mate of its present amount, but in IsVo t^o tot.f v"!"' ^^u ""^ """"'« "»'- da, from the United States was *4 2Qfi a^\ } '^''"*' °^'*'° "'PO"^'" »<> ^ana- 1,066,604 bu8hel«_flou , 432 356 S; ■ r^'"^"^' '*>« ""'•^'^^ «"« ^heat, 38^63 barrels-hams, 138 6lf K "los yTl'ir' '''',?'^l^*;r P"'**' IS directly interested. The amnnnf / . T^ '^'' ' '" «" which. Michigan been thr^e times as n,J;^ .^^^ 'k^/;;^ hfve be an immt-n.e increase the present vrarVr '^'"^'«'*"' «^ '«"'. t^ore will loaded down with meat and flou? stored for .h« P T^ ''""f « '" '^'« "^^'y "« we understand to be true at all X nrm ^ .^ chases have been making a! w iter o^n r?'',^''''" ?«'"'« '" '^e state. Pur- the coming crop has bc"e^, clTiden ir.n J'".'';"". ""*'""'' ''"'^ '^is outlet for one of the main inducerients to an exfJn "^ "? ^^ ""' ^''^'''S'^" '""''»"«. «« two, wc saw a communSion in «n if. ' cultivation. Within a week or ♦0 revive the spirits of he wheaJ /roZX T^ n'- '" "^''^^ '^' ^"'" -"KI^^ i- vno wneat growers by dwelling upon this new market ^e'^Zu^I^r^; "'"' ?'"^" ''''''''' '' ^""^'- P-ofs do we require of the vast benefits to be derived from this «eat and growing intercourse ? It is a tv.rU th. ^ Quir*. hmTi ,i„t; 1 . ^i' IS a trade that does not re- quTe et, .h f" - u"", •■" "' P'ot«c.ion-it does no. re- .0 be leT" t% IT' ^""^ "' "-"""--"'-it "nly requires Am.-i„ ■ ' ^^ inconceivable advantage of the ent^e lake frontier for a thousand miles will teem with the golden fields of harvest, the produce of which, the hungry bu" M„s .t"ira:fLir"';rr„r/"^''^ food fmrn r.„ 1 , T^- 'f England can be supplied with can Un?o„ : t ,^'"' "^ ^""^ -Western States of the Ameri- can Union at a cheap rate, to an indefinite extent and can pay for It m the products of her labour-her increasing populate™ s no logger formidable, for additional millions may y^tTe ^n" frlm , /"?" "'"""" ""^ """"""^ "■^' have beeVapprehetded from a redundant and surcharged population. ^ eno^^tf oraiir^ fitioiif ^ ^ oir'::^ c^ca;ar^:h!Lotnfar.:° -^^ -'^ "-" Ist. Because the St. Lawrence is the natural outlet for all bu ky anic es fro. that partof the North American Conll:. 2nd. Because from the rates of duty on the frontier and ia fr:ty\t:r:d^ir "^"-' -- ^^-— 3rd. Because when the Welland Canal becomes enlarged, an* VI [ 8 ] the impediments in the St. Lawrence removed, the navigation from the upper lakes to Montreal and Quebec — the ports of ship- ment — will be 80 easy, that flour and grain may be transmitted thither, and shipped at a lower rate than at any other port on this Continent. 4th. Because by this operation, Great Britain can give admis- sion to the American products on terms more favourable and ex- clusive than if her ports wore opened generally to all nations. And it is advantageous to ofl'er this favour to America, because America will take British goods in exchange. It is often said that Great Britain should at once throw open her ports to Foreign Grain at low or nominal duties ; and the advocates of the tarifl" in this country urge the imposition of high duties here, in retaliation for high duties in England. In some respects it might be advantageous to Great Britain to do so, but we are by no means sure that it would be so to the United States ; for the moment a repeal of the duties on Foreign Grain generally, took place, British capital and British Agricultural skill, would be transferred to diflerent parts of Europe, to pul waste lands into cultivation ior'the supply of the English Market. There is no want of spare land on the Continent, and that, too, of the best quality for Wheat ; and labour, that great item in a farmer's expenditure, is cheap and abundant. Prolific and abun- dant as are the Wheat lands of Genessee, Michigan, &,c., they could not, from the high price of human labor, compete with the Continent of Europe, where the hire of a daily labourer is per- haps not over sixpence sterling a day, and the voyage from thence to England not one third of the length of the voyage from Ame- rica. These two very superior advantages of cheap labour and short voyages must, inevitably, give the preponderance to the Continental produce in the English Market, over the American, whenever the capabilities of the two are brought fairly in- to competition. Even as it is, when the foreign demand is so comparatively small and uncertain — when ihe system of Agriculture is so imperfect and unscientific — and when there is so little inducement for the Continental husbandman to produce more than suflicient to supply the home demand — we find the prices of wheat in many parts of Europe to be lower than they are at New York. And how much more would this be the case if the stimulus of demand and the invigorating influence of British skill and capital, were brought to bear upon such adv£.ntageous ele- ments of production ? The following tables will throw light on this point. " r* [ « ] PRICES OF WHEAT ON THF OONTINKNT OF EUROPE !,,■ „ „ Freight per bushol Pctoraburu » "^« P^ Muartcr. Prr bushel. to England, rctcrsburg "I^* i.'^ #1,17 I5ct«. 1,49 St. P.'«"' 49 7 *-'ebau 43 y ,_ Odessa, (Uluck Sea) ^6 6 si Daiitzic, 3g Stockholm, 30 Konigsberg .'.' 40 otcftin, 40 {?«'"''' .'..".'.'.'.'.".*.' 36 blsinore, 30 {Jaoiburg .'.■;.".'; 35 Kotterdam, 55 ^"'werp ;;; 56 Palermo, (Sicily,) 39 80 1,08 90 1,20 1,80 1,05 90 1,05 1,65 1,69 1,14 , , 14 . 16 30 12 13 15 13 13 12 12 07 07 25 top"::: eL*i'o2,tt;p^:?:rsL:° otrr^^ averago tor a stT'oa of vb.„ Tth. """''' °', ''"' T""' given above are tha av.,.fo of ,1"^: ° ,s ■; 4tTd7„ '':j:r'„;r',7r'"*''. r,- ■""? the average frcieht to FnalanH i.ni\,l '1"''"*"^ °^ ¥ ,3H per bushel, and the actuaf averTo^'^st^detv red m Endand'45?7.'"^''- '^'" """'1 '"^'^« per bushel without duties It aDoear, S^^ ''"'";^"' °' ^^''^^i other part of Europe. The priest Jsa^T/E '''""''" '" R"^^';!!"'" »"/ were for Wheat, 13s 6d to Klld "»-! " he govornmcnt of Tamboff, Rye 78 Id to 7s' Vlrl'Tnr ''^: '"■.i'.?'' I""""" (40i- to 42 cents per bushel,) 5id. per quarter Mi to^ir '^"'f"' ^^? "u"!" ^^ '•"«'^^'') ^'"^^s. 9id. to si hnr.!L"J":Kl!:!:'i/,*!° ^^•^^"'lll':' bushel.) The expenses to sf. Peters- burg were about 50 per cent cents per bushel,) Oa/« 48. 9id. to Ss on \vu . \^ , '^''^ expenses to St. Peters- Oats. " '' " ^^i^c^i, and above 100 per cent on Rye and termor TlU^'i'li't °[ l^'^'f '? ^''""^^ '» ^^e vear 1836 was 398. per quar- s.rd.';;;^;;a:;er"t'';i: 0^ :r\\rsSf:f?yT %v''' '° ''''^^ England m 1836 was 48s Odp^ Quarter 1 Si 5;ii '^''^f P"^*' '" 64s. 6d. or «1,93J per bushel 'J""'"' ^^ «1,44^ per bushel; m 1841 v^^:^'£:::i,''^.s^^^^ -^^ f^'--nthe ^M V . . , "^heat per bushel. /'New York, Aprd 26, 1842. ,fi,25 Philadelphia, " ~~ United States. \ Baltimore, " ^ Fredericksburg, Richmond, " Detroit, Canada ( ( Montreal, \ Toronto, 23, 23, 18, 18, 19, 29, 23, 1,20 1,18 1,10 1,10 ,87} 1,30 1,00 Flour per bbl., 1961bs. $6,00 6,75 6,62^ 5,60 5,76 4,37^ 7,00 5,00 Flour. P "'''^' '^"^ ^''««'' «»'i 60 to 75 cents per barrel for I am fully aware that these statements will take many persons by surprise, but their truth, I aver, will stand the test of any in- vestigation. ^ But these objections melt away if the British duties remain as in.y are, and we avail ourselves of the Canada route for transmit- ting the article to England. [ 10 ] What I have said on Wheat and Flour is equally applicable,, for the most part, to other Provisions. It was to be apprehended that in the course of the Corn Law revision, this trade through Canada would be either interrupted or trammelled with heavy duties ; but it is satisfactory to observe thai the new tariff, as brought before Parliament by Sir Robert Peel, imposes a duty of only three shillings a quarter on wheat so introduced — a duty too small to check its transit to England, but at the same time affording a moderate protection to the poor Canadian emigrant farmer, who is struggling against all the diffi- culties of a new country and a cold climate. The imposition of this small duty, in fact, legalizes a trade that was previously of a questionable character. That this duty cannot be any check to trade, as some have imagined, even when the duty on wheat from Canada is superadded, is shown from the following table of the ne y scale of duties. The duty on Canada wheat, when enter- ing British ports it may be premised will be five shillings, until the averages rise to 58 shillings, when it will fall to one shilling per quarter. American wheat passing the frontier will pay three shil- lings, making a total duty on that article of eight shillings in one case, ard four in the other : — TABLE OF NEW DUTIES ON FOREIGN AND COLONIAL WHEAT »l On Foreign, ry qr. 5 under 52s. 19s under 53s.. , c under 64s < I8s under 55s v under 56s 17s, under 67s 16s. under 58s. 15s. under 59s. I4s. under 60s 13s. under Bis. ,..12s.O under 82s 1 Is. under 63s 10s. under 64s 9s. under 658 8s. vinder 6Gs 78. under 67s. \ under 68s. > ., 6s under 69s. ) under 70s 5s. under 71s 48.0 under 72s..., 3s. under TSs. 2s. upwards . Is. When the averages are under 51s. < r ^ ' 51s. and 52s. and 53s and 54t. and 55s. and 56s. and 57s. and 58s. and 59s. and 60s. and 61s. and 62s. and 63s. and S4s. and 65s. and 66s. and 67s. ajiu 68s. and 69s. and 70s. and 7l8. and 72s. and 73s. and ,.„! Old Duty On Colonial on Foreign 6s. 36s 8d. 6 35 8 5 34 8 5 33 8 6 32 8 4 31 8 3 30 8 29 8 28 8 27 8 26 8 25 8 24 8 23 8 22 8 21 8 20 8 18 8 16 8 13 8 10 8 6 8 2 8 1 Lpril last , was 59 The price of wheat in England on the 18th Apr shillings, corsequently Canada wheat would be admissable at the lowest rate ol duly, or one shilling per quarter, while foreign wheat X [ 11 ] shol th^' superiority of the route by the St. Lawrence; and Should the new act not require any certificate of colonial origin trad! ml'^TTl^ '' '' '^'^ '' ^^^^^^^ ^^^ ^-^«»«-- *his deepest importance to all the northwestern states-for these and C nada must hereafter be the granaries of England for her fo- reign supply of bread. Now, my Lord, this shows no insignificant trade ; and it is the cZi7"'T"'''' United States, because it is constantly in- creasing ; and because it constitutes what the Northern States have Zl TTl'. "7- "^""'' '^ Northern productions; and if not in- Sdvantf T '\""^ '""' '' ^^^ ^''^' ««"^^-« staples. The advantage of such a trade ought to be fully understood by the Statesmen of both countries, and I have therefore ventured to call your Lordship's attention to it. ^^J now my Lord proceed to the second branch of the subject, cltnT'''^'' '" *' ^^m..//..;n introducing the MAIZE into classed ''' "" '^'""^ ''''''^' r the Poor and Working A relaxation of the British Corn Laws, now happily in pro- gress, promises a large addition to the trade of the two countries ; fw ^7'^"^ been of opinion that it was a desideratum to tZfZ ^"^"" ^ ckea.^r article of food than .heatjr any of th grains nou, ^n use. For I do not see how a man, earn- ing eight or ten shillings a week, can feed a family of as many children with wheaten bread at the price it must necessarily be, evenatthe new and reduced scale of duties. Such anarticle is to be found m this country, and its introduction would be an im- portant auxiliary to trade, and would prove a blessing to the poor and the labouring classes of the three Kingdoms The article to which I allude is the Maiae or Indian Corn. ;<^hich grows so abundantly in this country. As you well know It IS cheap, palatable, wholesome, and nutritious in an eminent !r^7 ' ^"5^''" ^^'° ^"^^ ^"^ ^^^^ profusion it could be sup- plied from this country if there were a steady demand for it, and how easy it would be for England to pay for it, as all its groUra Here are lovers and consumers of British manufactures. Cobbett attempted to introduce it into Fn^lnn^ K,r «ui*:..~f:«- . but .hec,i,„a.e of Grea. Britain is too cold t^^brin iut "erf::: uon, and therefore his experiments failed. It requires the dnr [ 12 ] atmosphere and ardent sun of America and other warm climates to ripen it fully. Maize, or Indian Corn, is the farinaceous food in g. iieral use in the rural districts of the United States. Upon it, children thrive and adults labour, without the assistance of wheat. It is prepared in an infinite variety of ways — in cakes, in puddings, in the form of bread, &,c. &c., and possesses a superiority to barley in powers of sustenance, in flavour, and in expansibility during the process of cooking. It can be sold at the port of shipment at half a dollar per bushel ; its freight across the Atlantic would be about 18 cts. per bushel, and, if admitted into England duty free, it could be ground into meal or flour at a cost of 6| cts. more, making in all 75 cts., or three quarters of a dollar. Allow- ing, in addition to this, 25 cts. for retail profits, the article could be sold at one dollar a bushel in the manufacturing towns, or about four shillings and fourpence sterling. Now the bushel weighs at least fifty-eight pounds, which, at four and fourpence, is less than one penny sterling per pound ; and as there would be a gain to the shipper of the diflTerence of exchange, there can be no hazard in saying that the article would be always on sale at that price. Admitting then, that Maize, ground into meal and fitted for family use, can be sold at one penny per pound in the manufac- turing districts, let us see the extent of the benefits to be derived from it. As an article of general domestic use it has no equal, where economy is an object to be kept in viev/. It is easily converted into puddings, cakes, rolls, and bread ; but the cheapest mode of using it — that is to say, the way in which it will go the farthest — is, in the form of hasty pudding ; and in this manner, when pro- perly cooked, its advantages as a cheap food are surprising. To establish this fact, I made the following experiment: — I carefully weighed out one pound of the meal and gave it to a person who understood the mode of cooking it. In the course of boiling, it absorbed ahout five pints of water, which was added at intervals until the process was complete. The bulk wfis again weighed and gave as a result four pounds and a hacf. Such are the powers of expansion possessed by this kind of grain. On di- viding the mass into portions, it was found to fill four soup plates of the ordinary size, and with the addition of a little milk and sugar, gave a plentiful breakfast to four servants and children. According to this experiment, one pound of Maize flour, which cost one penny, would give a breakfast to four persons, at one far' i- [ 13 ] thing each ; and if we add to this another farthing for milk, sugar, or butter, the breakfast would cost one halfpenny each, and would be an ample meal for females and children. Thousands of work- ing men, indeed, have gone to their daily labour during the past ■winter with a much more scanty breakfast. But it is not for breakfast alone that this preparation is useful ; it is equally adapted for the other meals, particularly that -^ sup- per ; and li is found from daily experience in all the rural districts of this country, that persons, instead of becoming tired of the article become daily more attached to it— thus giving a physical illustration of Shakspeare's remark, that " increase of appetite grows by what it feeds on." When, during the last war with the United States, I was intrust- ed with charge of the Prison Hospital at Melville Island, near Halifax, the Depot was crowded with American soldiers who had been captured in Canada, and sent round to Nova Scotia for safe custody. Many of these poor men were afflicted with fevers and other diseases — and being mostly from the northern parts of Ohio and Pennsylvania, where they had been accustomed to Indian Corn from their childhood— their cry for " mush and miW was incessant. As no such article was issued in the Prison Hos- pital allowance, their lamentations took the tone of despair. At length, moved by their complaints, I applied to the contractor to send a supply of Indian corn meal, and, employing one of the healthy prisoners to prepare the article properly, I soon placed before the poor sufferers the object of their longings. I mention this fact to show how fond people become of this article of food by constant use. The palatable auxiliaries of this preparation of the Maize — I mean the ?iastf/ pudding, or mush, as it is termed in the United States — are sugar, molasses or treacle, and butter ; but the best and most healthful by far is milk, a small quantity of which gives it a most agreeable flavour, and renders it highly digestible and nutricious. The other preparations, such as hominy, cakes, puddings, and bread, are constantly resorted to by all ecdnomists in the country; ■wheaten bread, indeed, with an addition of one third corn meal is decidedly improved by it, and obtains the preference at the tables of almost all American families. It acquires by this addition a sweetness in flavour, and a freshness that we in vain look for in bread made entirely of wheat. Having said thus much as to the qualities, use, and cost of this article, 1 shall conclude by making the following deductions and observations. \ f li; V i. [ H ] Ist. That the labouring classes and the poor of Great Britain require a cheaper article of food than wheaten bread. 2nd. That although wheat contains a larger portion of gluten, or the nutritive ingredient, bulk is necessary, not only to satisfy the craving of hunger, but to promote digestion by the " stimulus of distension," which bulk alone can give. 3rd. That the craving of hunger being removed or alleviated by the quantity taken, the mind is more at ease ; the mental irri- tability consequent upon hunger is assuaged, and man goes to his labour with cheerfulness and vivacity, becoming a more peaceful citizen and perhaps a better man. 4th. That Maize possesses a great superiority over rye, barley, oatmeal, or potatoes— not that it contains a greater quantity of gluten, but that its constituent parts are better proportioned, and consequently make a better article of food. 5th. That, admitted into England duty free, it would be a cheap- er article of food than any of those above named, besides being vastly superior to them in nutritive and healthful properties. 6th. That it can be obtained in any quantities from all parts of the United States, and particularly from the middle and Southern States, on the Atlantic seaboard— as New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, and North Carolina, whose' proximity to the sea and ports of shipment give them great ad- vantages by saving inland conveyance. The whole valley of the Mississippi also yields it in abundance. 7th. That the people of all parts of the United States are con- sumers of British manufactures ; for in spite of national asperi- ties, they adopt the habits, tastes, fashions, and dress of their English ancestors. This, I think, is a natural feeling in the human breast, for I never yet knew a son who was oflended by being told that he resembled his parent. The imported grain then would be paid for in the products of British industry. 8th. That the rapidly increasing population and limited super- ficial surface of the British isles, will speedily render a foreign supply of grain necessary even in the most productive sea- sons—and consequently a reduction of duties must ensue ; it is therefore advantageous to the agricultural interests, as land is be- coming so valuable, to reserve as much of the soil of England as possible for the cultivation of wheat and more valuable products ; and nothing will tend to promote this object more than the intro- duction of a copious supply of cheaper farinaceous food for the poor and labouring classes. 9th. That by a process of this sort Great Britain will be able T { \ T t * V IS [ 15 J ^ ^ to feed a much larger population upon her surface than at any former period. 10th. That by reason of an unusually long peace, France and other European countries have vastly augmented in population, which, added to their love of military glory, makes them formida-^ ^ ^ ble neighbours to England, and will enable them in the event of"^ fresh hostilities to bring very large armies into the field— to place larger navies upon the Ocean, and to increase all their aggressive powers— rendering it imperative on her to retain as large - por- ^ , ^ tion of her people at home a;i can be fed, leaving emigration to I pursue its natural and steady course without being forced by arti- ficial means, or rendered unavoidable from the scarcity of food, i Whoever looks at the position of Great Britain at this time, and I surveys the formidable nations that lie contiguous to her, and I their vast means of annoyance, can hardly pronounce her safe ^ i ^ with much less than a constant resident populaiion of thirty mil- j lions of souls. 11th. That a new article of export from the United States will put forth another ligament for uniting the two countries — will enlist a large mass of the agricultural people of this country in favour of a continuance of peace, and tend to dissipate the clouds that now overshadow the pacific relations of England and Ame- rica. There might be some difficulty, perhaps, in the first instance, in inducing the people of England to adopt the use of the Maize ; but this could be got over with some assistance from the press, especially if benevolent and patriotic individuals would set the example to the masses by explaining its value and using it them- selves. Its own intrinsic merits would do the rest, and Cobbett's publications would furnish instructions for using and cooking the article in the many forms of which it is susceptible. Perhaps the estimate of one farthing for sweetening the plate of pudding may be deemed too small when the article is prepared on a small scale ; it may be so, but it will be found sufficient when made by the quantity. Prepared in large quantities and sold as soup is sold at soup houses, is the plan I have in view to meet the lowest point >: economy, viz. the halfpenny a plateful, which will, according to the experiment described at page 12, contain one pound and two ounces of wholesome and nutritious food. What a blessing would such an article at such a price have proved to the starving multitudes in the manufacturing towns dur- ing the last winter ! How many poor children would have been spared the pangs of hunger by it ; and with what effect could [ 16 J appeals have been made to the benevolent if they could have been told that a donation of five shillings would arrest the crav- ings of one hundred and twenty persons — that one shilling would do the same for twenty-four human beings, and sixpence for twelve ! I have fixed the first cost of the Maize at half a dollar per bushoJ; but if the monetary system of the United States should collapse to the standard of 1820, the article would be even lowers indeed it is questionable if the progress of Temperance Societies does not materially reduce its price, by throwing out of use those great consumers of Maize— the thousands of stills now in opera- tion for the distillation of Whiskey and New England Rum ; in which case it might perhaps bear a small duty at the British Cus- tom Houses. If by the gradual and progressive introduction of this cheaper article of food, the surface of the British Isles can be made to sustain a larger population — wheat and other products of the soil will not be diminished in consumption, and consequently the farmer and landholder will not be injured, seeing that England has already her maximum of mouths for the acres that can be tilled to fill them. An augmented population causes an augment- ed consumption of excisable and dutiable articles, thereby replen- ishing the treasury and adding to the aggregate power of national strength. In this way only can England bear on her surface the necessary population, and raise an adequate revenue to enable her to keep pace with the daily increasing power and resources of ' the potent and perhaps hostile nations that surround her. As the process of grinding, cooling, and drying the Maize is best understood in this country, it would be advisable in the first instance to use the meal prepared at the American Mills, espe- cially as the expense of milling is here always covered by the tollage, or one tenth of the quantity ground. Trusting that your Lordship may coincide with the views and opinions here expressed, and if so that your Lordship will use your high and justly acquired influence with her Majesty's Go- vernment, and the Legislature of Great Britain, to impress them with the same sentiments ; and earnestly hoping that these hio-h authorities may see the wisdom of repealing all duty upon the article of food hero mentioned, and thus confer happiness on millions of their (ellow-creatures, i« the fervent prayer of Your Lordship's Obedient vServant, New Yo.k, May 1, 1842. * # * ' %.. 'f