TOPICS 'OF THE
LORD STANLEY FREE AG Ailisi S M :4 10 YEANS have -passed since Lord Stanley has penformed a public act so useful and meritorious as the delivery of his speech at the meet- ing of the 'Bury Agricultural Society. Its object was, as a start- ing-point, to reconcile the retrospective theory of Protection with the prospective practice of improvement ; but the practical much preponderated. And the counsel is triply valuable-for its coming from a public leader of so much .authority, for its intrinsic worth, and for the example of frankness and good sturdy common sense which it holds up to other Protectionists in facing the inevitable.
Lord Stanley regretted the Free-trade measures, because he thought that 'under them prices could not rise from their present level; and that with prices so low, lands which have been re- claimed, at an expenditure of capital perhaps injudiciously lavish, must be abandoned, while others must be converted from'wheat- growing to some other purpose. But in Lancashire, farming has by no means reached the limit of natural fertility ; the county is peculiarly endowed with great supplies of manure and with im- mediate markets.: so he advised them to drain and manure lustily, and make other improvements, that might quadruple or sextuple
the produce of their lands. lie further exhorted the farmers not to depend solely on imported manure, but to see that nothing on the farm itself be lost; rte save useleas labour by convenient lay- ing out of _fenees, Ste.
In other words, Lord Stanley's .argument amounts to this. Land- owners and farmers may regret Protection, because.it secured them higher prices and -enabled them tomake a profit out of sterile lauds, where costly farming hail touched the extreme capacitT of the soil ; but hero in Lancashire you have by no means touched that x- treme ; there is still plenty of margin, Which gives room for pro- fitable improvement ; you luive some 'special facilities : so, exert yourselves to counterbalance tower prices by larger production. As aiProteotionist, Lord Stanley may regret .the former bounties
on wheat-growing; but as a public man he sees that Protection is off the cards ; and when 'he' tells the Lancashire 'farmer to abandon general controversy and to Lot& athome and do his best, he goes direotat the great practical truth 'of the matter. In many other counties, too, :fiumers may adopt the full' spirit of this:salvia°, with advantage to themselves and 'to theireountry. It should now be their business to relinquish•the ocuisideration of general measures for the general average meeds of agriculture throughout England, and to look .at home, an their own• districts, to see what each dis- trict can best do. lit is Clearly incumbent .upon every agriculturist to seek his redemption by making each district .do its best, what- ever that best may be. .11,.after all, honest hearty exertion: should fail to reap an adequate :reward, or should 'fairly test the impracti- cability of farming, -then the agriculturist will some before the Legislature with a now ease, which will no 'doubt be fairly con- sidered. But.the wery. effort, even if it were not wholly sueeess-
couht:notiail to mitigate the evil both to:agrioulturists.mul to the :country. Farmers and landowners will not :forget another incident of active ,exertion cantrasted -with passive supineness. Activity
implies not only. that more capital•must be put won the land, but more labour also : .111319 the increase of labour on the land involves increase of profitable occupation for'the labouring class, and dimi- nution of pauperism with .all its concomitant evils
It has been said 'in 'a tone of exultation, 'that Lord Struiley's speech is .nfinal. abandonment of Protection. The fiat, however invidiously noted, is true.; and we may. coitgratulate both Perlis- mentand country on the shelving of .a topic wino:a operated to the great hinderanoe of any business meant to have practical fruits. But if we are to -exult, it is not at the triumph over a doctrine--
not at the -victory. over a distinguished'. tient; but at 'fin •
even among. opponents this example afster public worth,w prefers a frank avowal of altered policy to the obstinate pursuit 'ef party dogmas out of season.
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