The

[Added by Marjie Bloy, Ph.D. with the full consent and kind permission of Dr Boyd Hilton. The information is taken from his book, Corn Cash, Commerce: the economic policies of the Tory Governments 1815-30 (Oxford, Oxford University Press, 1977, p. 6).]

The Corn Laws that have been held responsible for the economic downturn in the British economy after 1815 had a long history. This table traces the changes and proposed changes to the legislation between 1773 and 1815. Information on the currency used may be found by following this link.

| | | Foreign wheat per quarter | North American colonial wheat per quarter | | | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------ | | 1773 Corn Law | Export | prohibited at or above 44/- 5/- bounty under 44/- | | | | Import | 6d duty at or above 48/- 22/- duty at and under 44/- | | | | 1804 Corn Law | Export | prohibited about 54/- free at 49/- to 54/- | | | | Import | 7½d. duty at or above 66/- 3/1½ d. duty at 63/- to 65/- 30/3¾d. duty under 63/- | 7½d. duty at or above 56/- 3/1½d. duty at 53/- to 55/-. 30/3¾d. duty under 53/- | | | This Act rarely operated until after the bumper harvest of 1813 | | | | | | | | | | | 1806 | Anglo-Irish corn trade made free | | | | | | | | | | 1813 Parliamentary select committee (Parnell's proposals) | Export | prohibited above 90/2d free at or below 90/2d | | | | Import | 6d duty above 135/2d 2/6d duty at 105/2d to 135/2d 24/3 duty below 105/2d | The preference on colonial grain to cease and the same duties to apply. | | | Price levels at which these duties would operate were to be reviewed annually, with reference to averages over the previous twenty years | | | | | | | | | | | May 1814 (Parnell's proposal) | Import | 6d duty above 87s. 2/6d duty at 84/- to 87/- 24/3d duty below 84/- | 6d duty above 77/- 2/6d duty at 74/- to 77/- 24/3d duty below 74/- | | May 1814 Corn Bill (based on Huskisson's proposal | Import | 1/- duty at or above 87/- | 6d duty at or above 86/- | | | Duty to fall by 1/- for every 1/- rise in price | | | | | | | 24/- duty at or below 64/- | 12/- duty at or below 64/- | | | All corn to be admitted freely to warehouses | | | | | | | | | | | 1814 | all bounties and restrictions on export were repealed. | | | | | | | | | | January 1815 | Vansittart (the Chancellor of the Exchequer) proposed a fixed 8/- duty on imports | | | | | | | | | | 1815 Corn Laws | Import | free at or above 80/- prohibited below 80/- | free at or above 67/- prohibited below 67/- | | All corn to be admitted freely to warehouses | | | | | (Appropriate duties were fixed for rye, barley and oats for each of the above proposals) | | | |

Last modified 12 March 2002