What is "corn laws"

Corn \Corn\, n. [AS. corn; akin to OS. korn, D. koren, G., Dan., Sw., & Icel. korn, Goth. ka['u]rn, L. granum, Russ. zerno. Cf. Grain, Kernel.]

1. A single seed of certain plants, as wheat, rye, barley, and maize; a grain.

2. The various farinaceous grains of the cereal grasses used for food, as wheat, rye, barley, maize, oats.

   Note: In Scotland, corn is generally restricted to oats, in the United States, to maize, or Indian corn (see sense 3), and in England to wheat.

3. a tall cereal plant ( Zea mays) bearing its seeds as large kernels in multiple rows on the surface of a hard cylindrical ear, the core of which (the cob) is not edible; -- also called Indian corn and, in technical literature, maize. There are several kinds; as, yellow corn, which grows chiefly in the Northern States, and is yellow when ripe; white corn or southern corn, which grows to a great height, and has long white kernels; sweet corn, comprising a number of sweet and tender varieties, grown chiefly at the North, some of which have kernels that wrinkle when ripe and dry; pop corn, any small variety, used for popping. Corn seeds may be cooked while on the ear and eaten directly, or may be stripped from the ear and cooked subsequently. The term Indian corn is often used to refer to a primitive type of corn having kernels of varied color borne on the same cob; it is used for decoration, especially in the fall.

4. The plants which produce corn, when growing in the field; the stalks and ears, or the stalks, ears, and seeds, after reaping and before thrashing.

   In one night, ere glimpse of morn, His shadowy flail had thrashed the corn.
   --Milton.

5. A small, hard particle; a grain. ``Corn of sand.'' --Bp. Hall. ``A corn of powder.'' --Beau. & Fl. Corn ball, a ball of popped corn stuck together with soft candy from molasses or sugar. Corn bread, bread made of Indian meal. Corn cake, a kind of corn bread; johnny cake; hoecake. Corn cockle (Bot.), a weed ( Agrostemma Githago syn. Lychnis Githago), having bright flowers, common in grain fields. Corn flag (Bot.), a plant of the genus Gladiolus; -- called also sword lily. Corn fly. (Zo["o]l.)

   1. A small fly which, in the larval state, is injurious to grain, living in the stalk, and causing the disease called ``gout,'' on account of the swelled joints. The common European species is Chlorops t[ae]niopus.

   2. A small fly ( Anthomyia ze) whose larva or maggot destroys seed corn after it has been planted. Corn fritter, a fritter having green Indian corn mixed through its batter. [U. S.] Corn laws, laws regulating trade in corn, especially those in force in Great Britain till 1846, prohibiting the importation of foreign grain for home consumption, except when the price rose above a certain rate. Corn marigold. (Bot.) See under Marigold. Corn oyster, a fritter containing grated green Indian corn and butter, the combined taste resembling that of oysters. Corn parsley (Bot.), a plant of the parsley genus ( Petroselinum segetum), a weed in parts of Europe and Asia. Corn popper, a utensil used in popping corn. Corn poppy (Bot.), the red poppy ( Papaver Rh[oe]as), common in European cornfields; -- also called corn rose. Corn rent, rent paid in corn. Corn rose. See Corn poppy. Corn salad (Bot.), a name given to several species of Valerianella, annual herbs sometimes used for salad. Valerianella olitoria is also called lamb's lettuce. Corn stone, red limestone. [Prov. Eng.] Corn violet (Bot.), a species of Campanula. Corn weevil. (Zo["o]l.)

      1. A small weevil which causes great injury to grain.

      2. In America, a weevil ( Sphenophorus ze[ae]) which attacks the stalk of maize near the root, often doing great damage. See Grain weevil, under Weevil.

The Corn Laws were measures enforced in the United Kingdom between 1815 and 1846, which imposed restrictions and tariffs on imported grain. They were designed to keep grain prices high to favour domestic producers. The laws did indeed raise food prices and became the focus of opposition from urban groups who had far less political power than rural Britain. The Corn Laws imposed steep import duties, making it too expensive to import grain from abroad, even when food supplies were short. The laws were supported by Conservative landowners and opposed by Whig industrialists and workers. The Anti-Corn Law League was responsible for turning public and elite opinion against the laws. It was a large, nationwide middle-class moral crusade with a Utopian vision, according to historian Asa Briggs; its leading advocate Richard Cobden promised that repeal would settle four great problems simultaneously:

First, it would guarantee the prosperity of the manufacturer by affording him outlets for his products. Second, it would relieve the Condition of England question by cheapening the price of food and ensuring more regular employment. Third, it would make English agriculture more efficient by stimulating demand for its products in urban and industrial areas. Fourth, it would introduce through mutually advantageous international trade a new era of international fellowship and peace. The only barrier to these four beneficent solutions was the ignorant self-interest of the landlords, the "bread-taxing oligarchy, unprincipled, unfeeling, rapacious and plundering."

The first two years of the Irish famine of 1845–1852 forced a resolution because of the urgent need for new food supplies. Prime Minister Sir Robert Peel, a Conservative, achieved repeal with the support of the Whigs in Parliament, overcoming the opposition of most of his own party.

" Corn" included any grain that requires grinding, especially wheat. The laws were introduced by the Importation Act 1815 (55 Geo. 3 c. 26) and repealed by the Importation Act 1846 (9 & 10 Vict. c. 22). The laws are often considered examples of British mercantilism.

The economic issue was food prices. The price of grain was central to the price of the most important staple food, bread, and the working man spent much of his wages on bread.

The political issue was a dispute between landowners (a long-established class, who were heavily over-represented in Parliament) and the new class of manufacturers and industrial workers (who were under-represented). The former desired to maximise their profits from agriculture by keeping the price at which they could sell their grain high. The latter wished to maximise their profits from manufacture by reducing the wages they paid to their factory workers—the difficulty being that men could not work in the factories if a factory wage was not enough to feed them and their families; hence, in practice, high grain prices kept factory wages high also.

The Corn Laws enhanced the profits and political power associated with land ownership. Their abolition saw a significant increase of free trade.