The act of 1822 admitted corn of the British possessions in North America under a favoured scale of duties, and in 1825 a temporary act was passed, allowing the import of wheat from these provinces at a fixed duty of 5s. per quarter, irrespective of the home price, which, if maintained, would have given some stability to the trade with Canada. The idea of a fixed duty on all foreign grain, however, appears to have grown in favour from about this period. It was included in the programme of import duty reforms of the Whig government in 1841, and fell with its propounders in the general election of that year. Sir Robert Peel, on succeeding to office, and commencing his remarkable career as a free-trade statesman, introduced and carried in 1842 a new sliding scale of duties somewhat better adjusted to the current values. But public opinion by this time was changing, and the prime minister, convinced, as he confessed, by the arguments of Cobden and the Anti-Corn-Law League, and stimulated into action by the failure of the potato crop in Ireland, put an effectual end to the history of the corn laws by the famous act of 1846. It was provided under this measure that the maximum duty on foreign wheat was to be immediately reduced to 10s. per quarter when the price was under 48s., to 5s. on barley when the price was under 26s., and to 4s. on oats when the price was under 18s., with lower duties as prices rose above these figures; but the conclusive part of the enactment was that in three years—on the 1st of February 1849—these duties were to cease, and all foreign corn to be admitted at a duty of 1s. per quarter, and all foreign meal and flour at a duty of 4½d. per cwt.—the same nominal imposts which were conceded to grain and flour of British possessions abroad from the date of the act. In 1869 even these nominal duties were abolished by Robert Lowe in a Customs Duties Act. In 1902 a registration duty of 3d. per cwt. was imposed on imported corn, and 5d. per cwt. on imported flour, in the expectation that such a duty would broaden the basis of taxation. The duty was, however, repealed the following year. But a low duty on imported foreign corn was made an essential part of the tariff reform scheme advocated by Mr. J. Chamberlain (q.v.) from 1903 onwards.
Foreign Corn Laws.—Freedom of export of corn from customs duties has become the general rule of nearly all foreign countries. It is somewhat curious that Spain saw the advantage to her wheat-producing Spain. provinces of freedom of export of wheat as early as 1820, and three years afterwards extended this freedom to all “fruits of the soil” in Spain. The import duty on wheat, as on other grain, has varied from time to time. The tariff of 1882 fixed the duty at 2s. 3¼d. per cwt.; a law of February 1895 raised the duty to 4s. 3¼d. per cwt., at which rate it remained till 1898, when it was reduced to 2s. 5¼d., though in this same year, that of the war with the United States, it was for some three months suspended, owing to distress in the country. In 1899 it was raised to 3s. 3d., and by a law of March 1904 fixed at 6.00 pesetas per 100 kilos (2s. 5¼d. per cwt.) as long as the average price of wheat in the markets of Castile does not fall below 27.00 pesetas per 100 kilos (11s. per cwt.). The duty on rye, oats, barley and maize is 1s. 9½d. per cwt. The duty on flour varied from 3s. 4½d. per cwt. in 1882 to 7s. 0½d. in 1895; by the law of March 1904 it was fixed at 4s. 0¾d. per cwt. The duty on rice is 2s. 1¾d. per cwt. in the husk and 4s. 3¾d. not in the husk. Portugal. In Portugal the import duty on wheat was fixed by a law of May 1888 at 20 reis per kilo (4s. 7d. per cwt.). By a law of July 1889, as amended by laws of August 1891 and July 1899, importation is prohibited except in the event of the home-grown crop being insufficient, and even then permission is confined to millers. The duty, in the event of permission to import being accorded, is to be charged on a sliding scale intended to keep the cost of wheat to the millers, including the duty, at 60 reis (3¼d.) per kilo (2.2 ℔s.). Maize is subject to a duty of 4s. 1½d. per cwt., and rye, oats and barley to one of 3s. 8d. per cwt. By laws of July 1889 and August 1891 the importation of flour was prohibited except in the event of a strike of the mill-hands, and the duty was fixed at 6s. 2d. per cwt. Export and import of France. grain in France were prohibited down to the period of the repeal of the British corn laws, save when prices were below certain limits in the one case and above certain other limits in the other. But export of grain and flour from France has long been free of duty. On the other hand, import duties have varied considerably. By a law of 1881, the duty on wheat was fixed at 3d. per cwt.; this duty was raised in 1885 to 1s. 2¾d. per cwt. and again in 1887 to 2s. 0½d. By a law of 1894 the duty was fixed at 2s. 10¼d. per cwt. In 1898, owing to the sudden rise in the price of corn occasioned by the war between Spain and the United States, the duty was temporarily (the 4th of May to the 30th of June) suspended. By a law of 1873 free importation of rye, barley, maize and oats was permitted, but by a law of 1885 a duty was fixed at 7¼d. per cwt., and this was subsequently (1887) increased to 1s. 2¾d. In 1881 the duty on imported flour was as low as 5¾d. per cwt., but this was increased successively by laws of 1885, 1887, 1891 and 1892, and in 1894 was fixed at 4s. 5¾d. per cwt. at the rate of extraction of 70% and over; 5s. 5¾d. at 70 to 60%; and 6s. 6d. at 60% and under. In Belgium both the Belgium. export and import of wheat, rye, barley and maize are free of duty; so also were oats and flour. Since 1895, however, there has been a duty of 1s. 2½d. on oats, and of 9¾d. on flour. The policy of the Netherlands was, owing to the advantages Netherlands. possessed by its ports, long favourable to the import and export of grain. But for some years prior to 1845 there was a moderate sliding scale of import duties, and this gave place, on the ravages of the potato disease, to a low fixed duty; since 1877, however, the importation of cereals and Italy. flour has been free. In Italy there are no duties on the export of grain. The import duties show a progressive increase. In 1878 the import duty on wheat was 6¾d. per cwt.; this was increased to 1s. 2¾d. in 1888, and in 1894 to 3s. 0½d. As in Spain and France, there was a temporary reduction and suspension during 1898, on the Spanish-American war. The duty on rye, barley, oats and maize was fixed by the tariff of 1878 at 5½d. per cwt. By a decree of 1894 the duty on rye was raised to 1s. 10d.; that on barley, by a decree of 1896, to 1s. 7½d.; that on oats, by a decree of 1888, to 1s. 7½d.; and that on maize, by a decree of 1896, to 3s. 0½d. The duty on flour, fixed at 1s. 1½d., by the tariff of 1878, was raised to 2s. 5¼d. in 1888, to 3s. 6½d. in 1888, and to 5s. in 1894. In Germany, the duty on wheat and rye, as fixed by the tariff of 1879, was 6d. per cwt. In 1885 this Germany. was raised to 1s. 6¼d., and in 1888 to 2s. 6½d. By treaty in 1892 this was decreased to 1s. 9¼d. On oats the duty in 1879 was 6d. per cwt., increased to 9¼d. in 1885, and again, in 1888, to 2s. 0½d., but reduced to 1s. 5d. in 1892. On barley the duty in 1879 was 3d., in 1885 9¼d., in 1888 1s. 1¾d., and in 1892 1s. 0¼d. On maize, 3d. in 1879, 6d. in 1885, 1s. 0¼d. in 1888, and 9¾d. in 1892. On flour, 1s. 0¼d. in 1879, 3s. 9¾d. in 1885, 5s. 4d. in 1888, and 3s. 8½d. in 1892. The new German tariff of 1906 which formed the basis for the new German commercial treaties with Russia, Italy, Austria-Hungary, &c., and which was passed when the influence of the agrarian party was predominant, increased still more the import duties on cereals. Under this tariff there are two rates of duties: (1). Those of the new “general” tariff as applied to imports from all countries entitled to most favoured-nation treatment. (2). “Conventional” tariff rates, conceded to other states as the result of treaties. Under this tariff the “general” and “conventional” duties, respectively, on wheat are 3s. 9½d. and 2s. 9d.; on oats Austria-Hungary. and rye, 3s. 6½d. and 2s. 6¼d.; on “common baker’s produce,” 8s. 3d. and 5s. 2d. In Austria-Hungary the import duty on wheat and rye is, under the tariff of 1887, 1s. 6¼d. per cwt.; on barley and oats, 9¼d.; on maize, 6d., and on flour, 3s. 9¾d.
The great countries, famous for a production of raw materials much beyond their own means of consumption, are favourable, of course, to the utmost freedom of export. The empire United States. of China itself was never unwilling to sell to foreigners tea for which there was no domestic use. The United States promotes transit and export of grain, internally and externally, with all the intelligence and resources of a civilized people. Although the import duty on “breadstuffs” imposed by the United States tariff is very high, and is, possibly, a useful protection against the importation of “baker’s products,” yet it is to a certain extent unnecessary for a country which must dispose of its surplus by exportation. The same remark applies Russia. to Russia, whose exportation and importation are alike free, though there is an import duty on wheat flour of 2s. 11½d. per cwt. In the British colonies probably the only example of an export duty is that on rice in British India; India. it amounts to 3 annas per maund (4d. per cwt.). The import of grain into India is free. In Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and all mainly agricultural countries, there is no export duty. In each of these countries, however, there is an Australia, New Zealand, Canada. import duty; in the cases of Australia and New Zealand, designed, to a certain extent, as a precaution against possible rivalry on the part of the other. The Australian import duty is 1s. 6d. per cental (100 ℔ av.), and the New Zealand 9d. per cental. The Canadian import duties on grain are important only in the light of being a species of retaliation against similar duties imposed by the United States with the design of restricting inter-frontier exchange. The Canadian import duty is, on barley, 30% ad valorem; on buckwheat, rye and oats, 4.93d. per bushel, and on wheat, South Africa. 5.92d. per bushel. The South African production of cereal is still insufficient to meet the demand for home consumption, and there is a considerable grain importation. The import duty, which undoubtedly acts as an encouragement to home agriculture, is 1s. per cental. (See also [Grain Trade].)
(R. So.; T. A. I.)
[1] M‘Culloch found from a comparison of the prices of corn and wages of labour in the reign of Henry VII. and the latter part of the reign of Elizabeth, that in the former period a labourer could earn a quarter of wheat in 20, a quarter of rye in 12, and a quarter of barley in 9 days; whereas, in the latter period, to earn a quarter of wheat required 48, a quarter of rye 32, and a quarter of barley 29 days’ labour.
CORN-SALAD, or Lamb’s Lettuce, Valerianella olitoria (natural order Valerianaceae), a weedy annual, native of southern Europe, but naturalized in cornfields in central Europe, and not infrequent in Britain. In France it is used in salads during winter and spring as a substitute for lettuces, but it is less esteemed in England. The plant is raised from seed sown on a bed or border of light rich earth, and should be weeded and watered, as occasion requires, till winter, when it should be protected with long litter during severe frost. The largest plants should be drawn for use in succession. Sowing may be made every two or three weeks from the beginning of August till October, and again in March, if required in the latter part of the spring. The sorts principally grown are the Round-leaved and the Italian; the last is a distinct species, Valerianella eriocarpa.
CORNU, MARIE ALFRED (1841-1902), French physicist, was born at Orleans on the 6th of March 1841, and after being educated at the École Polytechnique and the École des Mines, became in 1867 professor of experimental physics in the former institution, where he remained throughout his life. Although he made various excursions into other branches of physical science, undertaking, for example, with J. B. A. Bailie about 1870 a repetition of Cavendish’s experiment for determining the mean density of the earth, his original work was mainly concerned with optics and spectroscopy. In particular he carried out a classical redetermination of the velocity of light by A. H. L. Fizeau’s method, introducing various improvements in the apparatus, which added greatly to the accuracy of the results. This achievement won for him, in 1878, the prix Lacaze and membership of the Academy of Sciences in France, and the Rumford medal of the Royal Society in England. In 1899, at the jubilee commemoration of Sir George Stokes, he was Rede lecturer at Cambridge, his subject being the undulatory theory of light and its influence on modern physics; and on that occasion the honorary degree of D.Sc. was conferred on him by the university. He died at Paris on the 11th of April 1902.