The War Court and Lap Pillow, Austria's Mandate of Heaven

Chapter 763 repeal of the Corn Laws

July 1846, 9, London, England.

"Dear Members, I stand here today for an important and urgent matter - the repeal of the Corn Laws!"

As soon as Robert Peel started to speak, people in the audience began to disrupt the stage.

"We don't care about the paupers in Ireland! If they die, we can still get the land there, and save the cost of the police and army!"

Another voice shouted, "I don't agree with you, you can't kill all the cockroaches!"

"Ha ha!"

The atmosphere suddenly became lively, and Robert Peel slammed on the table.

"Shut up! It's not just for the Irish, it's about everyone! We in the UK are a country that cares about people's well-being and social justice!
The Corn Laws were a ridiculous error!It goes against the principles of free trade!This is a betrayal of "The Wealth of Nations" and of Mr. Adam Smith! "

"You fart! Mr. Prime Minister! That's not what you said when you asked us to buy the land in Ireland! Britain said it would protect our interests!

If it weren't for those of us who dig up food from the ground, Britain would not be able to win against Spain, and you would not have a good day today! "

"Yes, we are the cornerstone of this country! If foreigners are allowed to sell food in, then we will be choked by someone!
You will know how amazing it is when the whole of Britain can't afford bread! "

"No, free trade only makes bread cheaper! I am sure of that! And it was our great navy that defeated the Spaniards! It was our great Guards that defeated Napoleon!
It is the merchants who ride the wind and waves, the colonists who overcome obstacles, the factory owners who are exhausted, and the bankers who give generously to make the British Empire prosperous!

What are you?Country moth!Bones lying on the ground waiting to die!

If you are still men, and you still bleed the blood of the British, you should go for it!Go fight!To create more wealth instead of preventing me from doing the right thing! "

After Robert Peel finished speaking, there was immediate applause in the venue. Members of both the Whig Party and the Tory Party stood up and applauded.

There were more Whigs than Tories represented by Robert Peel, which seemed to prove that something transcended party.

However, in fact, the abolition of the "Corn Law" mainly hurt the traditional land aristocracy, because agricultural products from foreign countries and colonies would lower the price of domestic agricultural products.

The former "Corn Law" not only imposed high tariffs on imported grains, but also imposed high tariffs on imported wool, timber, raw silk, coal and 60 other commodities, and prohibited the export of machines and patterns.

The previous ban on the export of machines and patterns has been lifted.

Because tariff barriers can allow landlords to lie down and make money, they naturally won the support of these people.

However, the reality is that the "Corn Law" led to rising grain and coal prices, which on the one hand caused social turmoil, and on the other hand also damaged the interests of the emerging industrial bourgeoisie.

At the same time, the rise of the Austrian Empire also exacerbated the crisis, because there were more commodities, but the market remained the same or even smaller.

As for the quality of the competition, the British suffered a crushing defeat. The technologies of the two sides are completely different in some aspects, and the design concepts are even 200 years behind.

than publicity?Can the British win the Habsburg family with dozens of generations?The signboard of the royal family can't be matched by the money that businessmen spend.

If it weren't for the slow dissemination of information in this era, the British market might be taken away by Austria.

However, Franz has been restraining himself. Although money is a good thing, it is not a good thing to arouse the hostility of the British too early.

Closer to home, the Tories are mostly traditional aristocrats, so most of them oppose Robert Peel, while the Whigs are mostly upstarts. They will naturally support this policy, which is determined by their interests.

However, Robert Peel's abolition of the "Corn Law" was not entirely out of selfishness. After all, he was a member of the Tory Party and his family still had a lot of land.

In fact, some British nobles at that time really did not know how to make progress. They just wanted to lie on the land to make money, just like the medieval manor owners.

Especially the wool industry and the grain industry, because they also started to use fertilizers, but the increase in agricultural production in the UK was only half of that in the German region.

Is it because guano is not as good as German soil?
Soil refers to phosphate. In fact, Britain is the first country in the world to produce superphosphate fertilizer.

With the voices of the landed nobles silenced, Robert Peel continued his speech.

"Laws shouldn't restrict people from buying and selling freely, let alone the government!

Practices that violate the principles of free trade will definitely be punished, and we don't want another economic crisis! "

In fact, there were signs of an economic crisis in Britain at this time, which is why Robert Peel so radically abolished the "Corn Laws".

In fact, there was another historical condition at that time, that is, the British mainland suffered from disasters for two consecutive years, first with drought and then with floods. After the flood receded, the cholera epidemic broke out again, and the whole of Britain was in chaos.

The word economic crisis is still very deterrent. In fact, unlike many people's imagination, the loan rate of landlords is actually very high.

Especially after disasters and famine years, the risk resistance of agriculture is actually worse than that of industry. The former has to bear not only market risks, but also natural risks.

In the middle of the nineteenth century, people's ability to transform nature was still insufficient, so the economic crisis was equally terrible for the landlords.

"Repeal the Corn Laws and make new trade agreements with those Continental countries so that we can use our strong industries to open up markets.

As for the farmers, you don't need to worry, because when the industry makes money, the state will subsidize you in another form! "

As soon as they heard the subsidy, the group of land nobles was completely shaken.After all, they opposed the abolition of the "Corn Laws" in order to make more money. Now that the abolition of the "Corn Laws" can also make money, it doesn't matter whether they oppose it or not.

The audience burst into applause again, and Robert Peel bowed deeply.

"Dear Members! The repeal of the Corn Laws is urgent and necessary! We cannot allow this unfair law to exist any longer!
We must unite and insist on free trade, only in this way can we get rid of the shadow of economic crisis!

Let's do our best together!Create a free and fair trade environment for our country!Let every gentleman earn a lot of money!
thank you all! "

Unprecedented applause erupted throughout the venue, and some congressmen even threw their hats into the air.

"Long live!"

"Repeal the Corn Laws, long live!"

"Long live free trade!"

"Long live the British Empire!"

On September 1846, 9, the British government officially passed the resolution to abolish the "Corn Law". Almost at the same time, a large amount of grain from the colonies of the Austrian Empire poured into Ireland.

(End of this chapter)