"They were not now in the situation of arguing, for the first time, whether they should act on the principle of restriction or not. For not only on the subject of corn, but on all great branches of trade in this country, they had, from time immemorial, proceeded on a system of restriction. And therefore, he contended, they were not now placed in a situation of discussing first principles. They were not now, for the first time, to inquire, whether they were to act on this principle or not. The system had been acted on for a long period, and we could not depart from it without encountering a frightful revulsion, which it would be dreadful to combat. It was not, therefore, a question between restriction and non-restriction—but how they were to apply principles, that had been long called into action, to the existing circumstances of the country. This was the only ground on which he would now recommend the measure he was about to submit to their consideration."
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Prime Ministers of the United KingdomFellows of the Royal SocietyChancellors of the ExchequerDefence ministers of England, Great Britain, and the United KingdomSecretaries of State for the Colonies (United Kingdom)
Original Language: English
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Speech in the House of Commons on the Corn Bill (17 February 1815), quoted in The Parliamentary Debates from the Year 1803 to the Present Time, Vol. XXIX. Comprising the Period from the Eighth Day of November, 1814, to the Third Day of 'March, 1815 (1815), columns 800-801
https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Frederick_John_Robinson%2C_1st_Viscount_Goderich
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Frederick John Robinson, 1st Viscount Goderich
Frederick John Robinson, 1st Earl of Ripon PC FRC (1 November 1782 – 28 January 1859), styled The Honourable F. J. Robinson until 1827 and known between 1827 and 1833 as The Viscount Goderich, the name by which he is best known to history, was a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 31 August 1827 until 8 January 1828.
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