Chapter 526 Food = Labor

In London, affected by the slump in domestic food prices, the capitalists who had signed contracts with the Russians were not ready to perform their contracts.

Obviously, breach of contract is definitely not acceptable. It not only violates British law, but also involves diplomatic issues.

Moreover, these grain purchases were used to repay the debts of the Russians in domestic banks. The previous loans were all released, and if they defaulted, the Russians could legally default on their debts, and the bankers would certainly not agree.

Take rye as an example. Now the price of rye in the UK market is about 6 to 7.5 pounds per ton. The contract price signed with the Russians at the beginning was as high as 9.1 pounds per ton.

This means that in this transaction, not only can they not make money, but they have to lose money in it.

Of course, even at £9.10 a ton, these capitalists would not lose money. The added value of the processed products is still enough to offset these price differences.

However, qualified capitalists are definitely not willing to suffer this loss, which means that they will earn 1.5 to 3 pounds less per ton of rye.

It seems that this number is inconspicuous. If it is enlarged to tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of tons, it is an astronomical figure.

It is impossible to directly default on the debt, which will not be difficult for the capitalists. That's what members of Congress do, and it's a good way to guide public opinion. In short, there must be a reasonable and legal reason for default.

The anti-Russian wave is rising, which is not a good thing for the Galston cabinet who has just taken office.

The "pound-gold system" has established monetary hegemony. If the Russians are forced out at this time, they will be beaten back to their original shape immediately.

Relying on this achievement, the previous government almost turned around in the general election. If they hadn't dug out the old accounts in time and encouraged the families of soldiers who died in the Anglo-Boers War to make trouble, maybe Gerston wouldn't be able to live in Downing Street.

He threw away the newspaper in his hand, and Prime Minister Gerston complained incessantly: "Fuck off, I can't live without leaving, and left us such a bomb!"

This kind of thing is very common during the transition. Everyone is a member of the Conservative Party and the Liberal Party. They are inherently opposed to each other in politics, and their identity determines their position.

How can you let your party win in the next general election without taking a chance on Gerston? Had it been relocated, Gerston would have made the same choice.

Anyway, it's all within the rules of the game. The mess left by Benjamin's cabinet is completely in line with the law. There's nothing that Gerston can do except complain in private, and he can't even blame his predecessor for this issue.

"Prime Minister, the biggest problem now is not those people outside, nor the group of MPs, but the group of capitalists who don't want to fulfill their contracts.

At current grain prices, under the treaty with the Russians, they may lose millions of pounds a year, not a small sum even if they spread it out.

More importantly, this is not one year, but five consecutive years. After such a long time, if there is another accident in the middle, they will be replaced by others. "

While speaking, Chancellor of the Exchequer Lalouch Lloyd picked up the newspaper on the ground, folded it twice, and shredded it and threw it into the trash.

Obviously, he is not as easy as he seems. In the face of interests, it is too difficult to get the capitalists to give in.

Even if the government wants to take measures, there is no excuse. From beginning to end, these people were hiding behind the scenes, and the people charging outside were all agitated peasants.

Everyone attributed the collapse of grain prices to the UK-Russia grain loan agreement, believing that it was a sequelae of government intervention in the market.

Obviously it is the achievements of the predecessors, but now they need them to clean up the mess. It's still the kind of thing that doesn't get credit for doing well, and gets scolded if you don't do well.

After calming down, Prime Minister Gerston sat back in his seat and asked, "What do they want? Default is impossible, and now we need the Russians."

The pound hegemony system has just been established, and the reform of the Russian gold standard system has just kicked off. Before the Russians are completely bound, they cannot turn their backs.

This will take at least five or six years, so the British-Russian loan will also last for five years. The London government binds the Russians through the loan. It cannot be said that it is a loan, it is more appropriate to describe it as a food transaction contract.

Compared with the huge benefits brought by currency hegemony, the losses of these food capitalists are not worth mentioning. Although most of this achievement was taken away by the previous term, Gerston still wants to continue.

Otherwise, the bankers in the country will send him to see God. Don't think that just as the US has the habit of assassinating the president, the British capitalists are equally brave.

It's just that the British aristocracy still has a certain amount of power. The capitalists have not been able to fully control the government. Otherwise, these grain capitalists will not do the roundabout work.

The era of big monopoly is approaching, and it is not far from the time when the capitalists will explode.

Relatively speaking, the British Prime Minister of this era is still happy. In the era of oligarchy, politics has become a game of capital, and that is the real tragedy.

"They want the government to pay for this batch of grain and follow the example of Austria to establish a strategic grain reserve. In theory, there is no problem. Britain is only an island country, and its own grain production is limited, so it is not a big problem to reserve a batch of grain."

Britain in this era is at its peak, and being rich and powerful is the best way to describe them.

Even though the London government was already heavily in debt because of the war, they were not panic at all.

The huge wealth brought by the colonies was enough to make

They coped with it easily, and even had the spare energy to come up with a sum of money to establish a strategic reserve system.

Gerston did not object. Although he did not think that Britain had the need to establish a strategic grain reserve, he was not prepared to prevent everyone from making a fortune.

Britain's most prosperous era was also the most corrupt era. Once such a big project is promoted, it will bring a lot of money.

Gerston smiled indifferently, and put his hands on the table, palms up: "If they can convince Congress to appropriate money, I have no opinion."

Obviously, this is impossible. If you can persuade Congress to allocate funds, the capitalists have already done it, and they will not do so many things.

To put it bluntly, the grain capitalists involved have limited right to speak in the British capital market, and they cannot even represent the grain processing industry.

It is true that there are people in Congress, but it is still very difficult to influence the decisions of Congress. If nothing else, competitors won't let them get their way.

The current momentum is able to be achieved, all with the help of the current social environment. Had it not been for the collapse of domestic food prices, so many farmers would not have been able to organize to participate in the parade.

Chancellor Lalouch Lloyd shook his head: "If they can convince Parliament they won't come to us. They have made a promise to sponsor our £200,000 campaign as long as the plan is passed in Parliament. expenses.

Apart from that, there are other benefits. The specific details are inconvenient to explain and need to be communicated privately. "

Politics also requires money, and behind every election there are many behind-the-scenes deals. If there is only investment and no return, who will sponsor it for free?

How can political parties survive without revenue? If there is no money to support the campaign team, no money to brush the public's favorability, how can we win the election?

In the face of reality, the integrity of politicians is usually relatively low. Prime Minister Gerston is no exception, the party needs the backing of capital, and the two sides have been intertwined from the start.

...

Under the impetus of the Liberal Party, on October 21, 1872, the British Parliament passed the proposal for "Establishing Strategic Grain Reserves" by a narrow margin.

On October 24, the London government stopped the British-Russian grain loan transaction in order to stabilize the domestic grain market demand.

After some symbolic negotiation, a week later the London government, reluctantly, bought food within the scope of the treaty at above market prices.

There is no doubt that this is done for the public to see. The real reason is to take over the loss for the food capitalists.

The Anglo-Russian deal went smoothly, and Franz was not disappointed. The benefits brought by currency hegemony are greater, and the London government naturally knows how to choose.

The only surprise is that he did not expect the British to build strategic grain reserves. You must know that the Royal Navy is all over the world, and there is no country in the world that can match it, and there is no enemy who can block Britain.

This change is a small problem, anyway, the ultimate goal has been achieved. Although it failed to disrupt the Anglo-Russian trade, the collapse of the international grain market still greatly damaged the agricultural vitality of European countries.

There is no such thing as a grain subsidy in this era, and even various taxes are indispensable. If the government is willing to reduce or exempt agricultural taxes, it is all about people's livelihood.

For big farmers, the agricultural crisis is a good time for mergers, so why should agricultural taxes be reduced or exempted? Without these taxes, how can farmers go bankrupt as soon as possible? If farmers are not bankrupt, how can they carry out land mergers?

Tax cuts are inevitable, but we have to wait for everyone to complete the land acquisition, or else they will cut off their fortunes.

The mass bankruptcy of European farmers is also what Franz wants to see, and the Austrian colonies are short of people.

He does not want immigrants from Britain and France, nor does he expect immigrants from Portugal, Spain, or the Netherlands. The remaining countries can always make up their minds.

Today is different from the past. Now Austria's rule in the colonies has stabilized, and it can completely absorb some foreign immigrants.

Unlike at the beginning, in addition to native immigrants and German immigrants, Franz did not dare to accept immigrants from other countries.

I'm afraid that people will turn against the guests. On the issue of ethnic assimilation, it is usually the case that more people assimilate with fewer people. It is not easy to do the reverse.

This can also be regarded as replacing people with grain, which is equivalent to selling a batch of grain in Austria in exchange for a batch of labor.