Parliamentary Committee on the high price of provisions—Bounty on
imported corn, and on rice from India and America—The “Brown Bread
Bill”—Prosecution of bakers for light weight—Punishment of a butcher
for having bad meat—Price of beef, mutton, and poultry—Cattle
shows—Supply of food from France—Great fall in prices here—Hotels,
&c.—A clerical dessert.
PARLIAMENT bestirred itself in the matter of food supply, not only in
appointing “a Committee to consider the high price of provisions,” who
made their first report on the 24th of November, 1800; but Mr. Dudley
Ryder (afterwards Earl of Harrowby) moved, on the 12th of November, in
the same year, the following resolutions, which were agreed to:—
“1. That the average price at which foreign corn shall be sold in
London, should be ascertained, and published, in the _London Gazette_.
“2. That there be given on every quarter of wheat, weighing 424 lbs.,
which shall be imported into the port of London, or into any of the
principal ports of each district of Great Britain, before the 1st of
October, 1801, a bounty equal to the sum by which the said average
price in London, published in the _Gazette_, in the third week after
the importation of such wheat, shall be less than 100s. per quarter.
“3. That there shall be given on every quarter of barley, weighing
352 lbs., which shall be imported into the port of London, or any of
the principal ports of each district of Great Britain before the 1st
of October, 1801, a bounty equal to the sum by which the said average
price in London, published in the _Gazette_ in the third week after the
importation of such barley, shall be less than 45s. per quarter.
“4. That there be given on every quarter of rye, weighing 408 lbs.,
which shall be imported into the port of London, or into any of the
principal ports of each district of Great Britain, before the 1st of
October, 1801, a bounty equal to the sum by which the said average
price in London, published in the _Gazette_ of the third week after the
importation of such rye, shall be less than 65s. per quarter.
“5. That there be given on every quarter of oats, weighing 280 lbs.,
which shall be imported into the port of London, or into any of the
principal ports of each district of Great Britain, before the 1st of
October, 1801, a bounty equal to the sum by which the average price
in London, published in the _Gazette_ in the third week after the
importation of such oats, shall be less than 30s. per quarter.
“6. That there be given on every barrel of superfine wheaten flour, of
196 lbs. weight, which shall be imported into such ports before the 1st
of October, 1801, and sold by public sale by auction, within two months
after importation, a bounty equal to the sum by which the actual price
of each barrel of such flour so sold, shall be less than 70s.
“7. That there be given on every barrel of fine wheaten flour, of 196
lbs. weight, which shall be imported into such ports before the 1st of
October, 1801, and sold by public sale, by auction, within two months
after importation, a bounty equal to the sum by which the actual price
of each barrel of such flour so sold shall be less than 68s.
“8. That there be given on every cwt. of rice which shall be imported
into such ports in any ship which shall have cleared out from any port
in the East Indies before the 1st of September, 1801, and which shall
be sold by public sale, a bounty equal to the sum by which the actual
price of each cwt. of rice so sold shall be less than 32s.
“9. That there be given on every cwt. of rice, from America, which
shall be imported into such ports, before the 1st of October, 1801, and
sold by public sale by auction, within two months after importation, a
bounty equal to the sum by which the actual price of each cwt. of such
rice so sold, shall be less than 35s.”
Thus we see that the paternal government of that day did all they could
to find food for the hungry; and it is somewhat curious to note the
commencement of a trade for food, with two countries like India and
the United States of America. Still more did the Government attempt
to alleviate the distress by passing an Act (41 Geo. III. c. 16),
forbidding the manufacture of fine bread, and enacting that all bread
should contain the whole meal—_i.e._, all the bran, &c.—and be what
we term “brown bread.” Indeed the Act was called, popularly, “The Brown
Bread Bill.” It came into force on the 16th of January, 1801, a date
which was afterwards extended to the 31st of January, but did not last
long; its repeal receiving the Royal Assent on the 26th of February of
the same year.
So also the authorities did good service in prosecuting bakers for
light weight; and the law punished them heavily. I will only make
one quotation—_Morning Post_, February 5, 1801. “PUBLIC OFFICE, BOW
STREET. LIGHT BREAD. Several complaints having been made against a
baker in the neighbourhood of Bloomsbury, for selling bread short of
weight, he was, yesterday, summoned on two informations; the one for
selling a quartern loaf deficient of its proper weight eight ounces,
and the other for a quartern loaf wanting four ounces. A warrant was
also issued to weigh all the bread in his shop, when 29 quartern loaves
were seized, which wanted, together, 58 ounces, of their proper weight;
the light bread was brought to the office, and the defendant appeared
to answer the charges. The parties were sworn as to the purchase of
the first two loaves, which being proved, and the loaves being weighed
in the presence of the Magistrates, the defendant was convicted in the
full penalty of five shillings per ounce for the twelve ounces they
were deficient; and, Mr. Ford observing that as the parties complaining
were entitled to one moiety of the penalty, he could not with justice
remit any part of it.
“Respecting the other 29 loaves, as it was the report of the officers
who executed the warrant, that there were a considerable number more
found in his shop that were of full weight, it was the opinion of
him, and the other Magistrates then present, that the fine should be
mitigated to 2s. per ounce, amounting to £5 16s., which the defendant
was, accordingly, obliged to pay, and the 29 loaves, which, of course,
were forfeited, Mr. Ford ordered to be distributed to the poor.
“A search warrant was also executed at the shop of a baker near Drury
Lane, against whom an information had also been laid for selling light
bread; but, it being near three o’clock in the afternoon when the
officers went to the shop, very little bread remained, out of which,
however, they found eight quarterns, three half quarterns, and four
twopenny loaves, short of weight 28 ounces, and on which the baker was
adjudged to pay 2s. per ounce, and the bread was disposed of in the
same manner as the other.”
As we have seen, the price of bread in London was regulated by
the civic authorities, according to the price of flour—and it is
gratifying to find that they fearlessly exercised their functions.
September 1, 1801: “A number of Bakers were summoned to produce their
bills of parcels of flour purchased by them during the last two weeks,
according to the returns. Many of them were very irregular which they
said was owing to the mealmen not giving in their bills of parcels with
the price at the time of delivering the flour. They were ordered to
attend on a future day, when the mealmen will be summoned to answer
that complaint.”
Nor were the bakers, alone, subject to this vigilance, the butchers
were well looked after, and, if evil doers, were punished in a way
worthy of the times of the “Liber Albus.” _Vide_ the _Morning Post_,
April 16, 1800: “Yesterday, the carcase of a calf which was condemned
by the Lord Mayor, as being unwholesome, was burnt before the butcher’s
door, in Whitechapel. His Lordship commended the Inquest of Portsoken
Ward very much for their exertions in this business, and hoped it would
be an example to others, that when warm weather comes on they may have
an eye to stalls covered with meat almost putrified, and very injurious
to the health of their fellow citizens.”
Just at that time meat was extraordinarily high in price—in May, only
a few weeks after the above quotation, beef was 1s. 6d. and mutton 1s.
3d. per lb., whilst fowls were 6s. 6d. each, and every other article
of food at proportionally high rates. Yet, as was only natural, every
means were taken to increase the food supply. Cattle shows were
inaugurated, and great interest was taken in them by the neighbouring
gentry. As an example we will take one held in September, 1801, where
Mr. Tatton Sykes was judge, and there were such well-known county
gentlemen present as Mr. Denison, Major Osbaldeston, Major Topham,
&c., &c. The prizes were not high; but, then, as now, in agricultural
contests, honour went before the money value of the prize.
£ _s._ _d._
Best shearling tup from any part of England 10 10 0
Best do bred in the East Riding 10 10 0
Best year old bull do 8 8 0
Second best do do 6 6 0
Third best do do 5 5 0
Fourth best do do 4 4 0
Fifth best do do 2 2 0
Best two year old heifer bred in the East Riding 3 3 0
Second best do do 3 3 0
Third best do do 2 2 0
Best boar do 3 3 0
But, with the treaty of peace with France came comparative plenty. The
French were keen enough to, at once, take advantage of the resumption
of friendly relations; and, knowing that an era of cheaper food was
to be inaugurated, prices fell rapidly here. For instance, no sooner
did the news of peace reach Ireland, than the price of pork fell, in
some markets from 63s. to 30s. per cwt.; and beef dropped to 33s. 6d.
or 30s. 6d. per cwt. Butter, and other farm produce had proportionable
reductions. In London, one shopkeeper somewhat whimsically notified
the change. At the time of illumination for the peace, he displayed a
transparency, on one side of which was a quartern loaf, under which
were the words, “_I am coming down_,” and by its side appeared a pot of
porter, which rejoined, “_So am I_.”
When the pioneer boat, loaded with provisions from France, arrived at
Portsmouth, the authorities were at a loss as to what to do with her;
so she was detained until an order could be received permitting her to
trade and depart within 24 hours. Her cargo was sold out at once, and
no wonder, for she sold pigs at 16s. each, turkeys 2s. 6d. each, and
fowls 2s. a couple, whilst eggs were going at 1s. 6d. a score.
Whilst on this subject, mention may be made of the kind of provision
made for the men’s feeding, otherwise than at home. The Hotel proper,
as we know it, was but in its infancy; and, as far as I can gather,
there were but some fifteen hotels in London. This does not, of course,
include the large coaching inns, which made up beds, because they
catered for a fleeting population; nor does it take cognizance of the
coffee houses, many of which made up beds, especially for visitors from
various counties, where they might possibly meet with friends, or hear
the last news about them, and see the county newspaper; whilst all,
without exception, and most of the taverns, supplied their customers
with dinners, and other food—in fact, they acted as _victuallers_, and
not as the keepers of _drinkeries_, as now. There were, besides, many
of the cheaper class of eating houses, called _cook shops_, scattered
over every part of the town, at which a plentiful dinner might be
obtained at, from a shilling, to eighteenpence. In addition, there were
very many _à la mode_ beef houses, and soup shops, so that every taste,
and purse, was consulted.
Before closing these notes on feeding, early in the century, I must
chronicle a “little dinner.” _Morning Post_, July 26, 1800: “At a
village in Cheshire, last year, three clergymen, after dinner, ate
fourteen quarts of nuts, and, during their sitting, drank six bottles
of port wine, and NO other liquor!”
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