The Sun. — London, England, 1848-01-03 00:00:00

MP THE ZOLLVEREIN - PROTEC TION VERSUS FREE TRADE. (Continued from The Sun of Saturday.) Now, to consider the second question—" Will the means lead to the desired end ? will differential duties increase the direct trade ?" It cannot be in tended to force matters to the highest point, and to require, for instance, that Bremen instead of being content with the former 92 per cent. of her direct imports of tobacco, or Hamburgh, instead of resting satisfied with the former 92 per cent., of her direct sugar imports, Mould in future fetch the remaining 8 per cent. also from trans-Atlantic countries. It can not be the intention entirely to exclude all indirect trade, for then it would be much more simple to prohibit it at once. It is therefore simply a question as to the greater or less probability that differential duties would ;cause a con. siderable increase in the direct importation of some one or other commodity. In order to judge of , such probabilities, it is necessary to enter into many details, which may however again he limited to the principal:trans-Atlantic productions, not only because, according to the declared views of most of the advo cates of tkie system, it is on these articles only that the additional duties ought to be imposed, but because they in fact preponderate so much over all other arti cles, that what is applicable to them must be consi dered as the measure of the whole question. We have further to consider with regard hereto, how, accord ing to what has been said above, differential duties are to be made to operate against the importation of non- European produce from England ah Netherlands, from France and Belgium, from Spain and Portugal. Such importations from the Peninsula and from France, with the exception of the cotton imports from Havre, are so insignificant at present, that they may be left entirely out of the question ; there remains, therefore, only Great Britain, Holland, and Belgium. It is, above all, the Netherlands whose commercial policy gives the Germans cause for complaint, and against whom differential duties are to be particularly directed. It is indeed not to be denied that the amount of German goods carried by Holland* across the Ocean, stand in no proportion to the mass of colonial produce which Germany imports indirectly from the Netherlands. Of the 9,500,0001 b. of coffee which were in 1845 imported into Hamburgh from European ports, nearly 6,000,0001b5. came from the Netherlands. This was all, no doubt, Java coffee. Thirteen per cent. also of the coffee imports into Bremen from European ports, was most likely Java coffee, imported from the Netherlands. Of the 45,000 cwt. of coffee brought to Stettin from European ports, not German, 43,000 came from the Netherlands, independent of the importa tions by means o f Rhine and by land. That Java coffee so seldom comes direct from Java to German ports, is to be ascribed to the commercial laws of the Netherlands, which impose an export duty of five florins per pecul on all exports of coffee from Java to foreign ports, w hilst Dutch ships, which must give security that they will really take their cargoes to Holland, only have to pay two florins. Here again we must start from the supposition (which shall be snore fully explained in the sequel) that Germany will not be able to produce any change in the co lonial policy of the Netherlands, so that in every , case to impose a differential duty on the indirect im portation of coffee from the Netherlands into Ger many will be the same as imposing a differential duty on Java coffee in general; and the question is, there fore, whether the imposition of such duty would materially increase the direct importation of other kinds of Coffee. If we consider how indispensable Java coffee is for Germany, the question is at once answered in the negative. The reason why it must be considered in dispensable is to be sought partly in its peculiar qualities, partly in the immense quantity of it which is already required for the consumption of the states of the Zollverein. Experience teaches us that wherever this coffee, which in delicacy of flavour surpasses most American and particularly Brazilian coffee, is known, it soon supplants even the cheaper sorts of the latter. The small number of American colonies which pro duce coffee equal to the Java, and even superior to it, will nevertheless not be able to furnish a substitute for it, as their production is so very limited. The proposed differential duties would, therefore, in all probability, serve to increase the price, but not to dimi nish the consumption of Java coffee, which is even now considerably on the increase, notwithstanding the high price at which it is held. We must also remem ber that a difference of two Prussian dollars in duty, is, for instance, not equal to a difference of two Prus sian dollars in price, for the increased freight of the favoured national ships, the rise in price which would take place in the producing American countries, owing to the artificial measures resorted to by us, and per haps also the cost of transport from those more distant countries, would considerably reduce the former two Prussian dollars. Besides, it is a question whether, independent of quality, a satisfactory substitute as to quality could he found. Regarding the consump tion of Java coffee in Germany, we have indeed no exact returns; according to the notices in Table XI., it may, however, be calculated to amount to between 50,000,000 and 60,000,000 F ounds, which are pertly imported through Belgiu m and Holland, partly through the ports of the North Sl.a and the Baltic. If this immense quantity should et once he excluded from Germany, we car., in truth, not conceive whence a substitute could be derived, as the production of the American countries has never yet exceeded the yearly consumption. Table XI. gives further particulars as to the proportions between the production and the consumption of coffee. Brazil supplies 160,000,000, Java 130,000,000, all other producing countries together only 135,000,000 lbs.; the colonial product of Holland thus also, in regard to quantity, exercises a most decisive influence as to price. The unprecedentedly low coffee prices are entirely owing to the enormous supplies furnished by the Dutch East India colonies, and the year 1846 furnishes us with an example, that merely the tem porary reserve of the abundance of Java coffee, by the Handelsmaatchappy, sufficed to raise the price of every kind of coffee from fifteen to twenty per cent. If we further consider that in general, out more particularly in the Zollverein countries, the consumption of coffee increases considerably every year, and in a far greater proportion than the produc tion out of Java, and that such an increase of produc tion in the American countries as would be required to satisfy the demand created in Germany by the ex clusion of Java coffee, could not be expected to take place, particularly as it is dependent on so many con ditions, such as the productive powers of the soil, and also that it is restrained by the circumstance that coffee plantations do not yield a full crop before the fourth or fifth year, we must allow that with regard to quantity, Java coffee is indispensable • unless, indeed, we would run the risk of allowing the prices ofcoffee in general to rise to such a height in Germany as would considerably reduce the consumption, and thus equally injure the public and the trade. To the Netherlands the result of this measure might indeed be an increased sale, if, for instance, in conse quence of the increased consumption of American aoffee, in the German countries on the Rhine, the supplies of these sorts of coffee in the north German man ports should be diminished and enhanced in price, and the Scandinavian countries and Russia, which have hitherto not consumed great quantities of Java coffee, should thereby be induced to adopt this more delicately flavoured coffee ; or if, which is of still treater importance, the consumption of Java coffee in north America should be increased. In addition to this the very excess of the additional duty might be the means of rendering it ineffectual ; for (supposing that the produce of countries out of Europe are only to be subject to the differential duty when imported from European ports) to avoid the duty it would only be necessary to bring the coffee to Germany by the circuitous route via North America.t From all that we have said concerning coffee, it does, indeed, result that the: differential duties, if jaw, would prove inefficient, and if high, would operate injuriously ; yet with regard to the first ob ject proposed and directed against the Netherlands, they might, nevertheless, succeed in diminishing the i m ports of this article from English ports, and in bringing a few more cargoes-di rect l y i nto our por t s . Th e imports from England are, however, as it is, I t and are yearly decreasing in vory ant and the introduction of so stringent a mea imposition of differential duties could btehjeustified on the plea of so insignificant a hardly s a i 1 1 : I r ° e a s result . s ugar the case is revers e d. Thi s A s regards raw commodity we receive in greater quantities from rwsglish than from Dutch ports, and the indirect im ports, which are at present proportionately not very considerable, will probably i ncrease in fut ure , should the new facilities lately granted to this trade in England (namely, the unimpeded ad mission of slave-grown sugar into that country), occasion an unusual supply of sugar, and a consequent g lutting of the English markets. Should it, however, then, as it is now, in many cases, still be more advan tageous for the German sugar-refiners to purchase their supplies of the raw materials in those markets, instead of supplying themselves with that which is imported direct, it cannot certainly be intended -to introduce artificial measures to deprive the refiners of this advantage, and to raise the price of the raw ma- That Holland herself, with her wealthy population, zeo u s tomed to every luxury, and having no considerable manufactures of her own, consumes a great amount of German manufactures, is ,generally, though improperly, overlooked. An additional duty, for instance, of only two Prus sian dollars per 1001bs. would amount to 80 marks batten. OD one ton of 2,0001b5., whilst the freight from Holland tt. North America, and back to Hamburgb, would amount to 42 marks banco, the insurance (at three per aims ,t0,,,15 marks banco, and the loss of interest for six 641 marks banco, making together 69 marks hus by taking the coffee by this circuitous • •• , •K`.... -• '1 route a profit of 11 marks banco might be 17 , ' l Oll, •• ~~~ ~i IIIE SUN, LONDON, MONDAY EVENING, terial, without giving them some prospect of compen sation ; for it cannot be supposed that the increase of direct trade with the trans-Atlantic countries will effect an increased sale of their manufacture. This, is how ever, exclusively a question of the interests of the sugar refiners, for raw sugar is, in the Zollverein countries, not, like coffee, an article of general trade, but is almost exclusively in the hands of the refiners, who are favoured by a remission on the duty. These remarks, which do indeed afford an im mediate answer to the question as to w hether the new system would increase the direct trade, yet are not misplaced here, in as far as they justify the assumption that, in case the new project were really to be put into execution, raw materials in general, and thus also raw sugar, would be likely to be exempted from additional duties. This seems in deed to be the most judicious plan, because the in direct importations of these articles in general take place only under some particularly favourable con junctures, promising unusual profits; as a general rule, the supplies, and particularly those for the most extensive sugar manufactories, are drawn from the direct imports. With regird to sugar, therefore, the differential duties would either be superfluous, or would operate injuriously. As to cotton, another no less important raw mate rial, the great quantities have hitherto reached Ger many indirectly, the importations to Bremen excepted, which have hitherto been almost exclusively from North America, and have been brought direct. But in the German cotton mills Surat cotton is used in great quantities; and should the differential duties not amount to prohibitve duties, the greater part of this would still be drawn from England, at least for some years to come. Altogether it will be some time before the German manufacturer will be able to dis pense with the great English market, as the differen tial duties will hardly be able at once to create a sub stitute for it in the north sea ports of Germany. We must not suppose that the effect of these duties will be immediately to bring such large supplies from North America (which country is by no means at a loss to dispose of her cotton) as would bring down the price in the German ports so low as they perhaps are in Liverpool, and even in Havre. Years must pass ere such a market can be created as the Liverpool cotton market. Table XII. will show how far the Bremen market is from being equal to it, notwith standing the comparatively great amount of direct importations into that port. This table shows that the total amount of cotton imported into Bremen last year was 12,000 bales ; into Hamburgh, 60,000 bales; and into Liverpool, 1,139,000 bales. There fore, should even the German demand for raw cotton continue for a long time to increase in the same gra tifying manner as it has hitherto done, it will always be of subordinate importance when compared to the immense mass of the material required for English industry; and for this reason alone the supplies will in future, as well as now, be concentrated there. How injurious it would be to our manufacturing industry should this market of the world be closed against it, will be more fully dwelt upon hereafter : here we mean merely to make the remark, that the Govern ments of Germany which have made so many just efforts to promote the interests of our native manu factories, would most probably prefer to exempt cotton, which is already exempt from duty, from the differential duties also ; wherefore the proposed system would not occasion an increase of direct imports. Moreover, we must here observe, that not only does the consumption of raw cotton in general regularly increase in Germany (vide Table VIII. for Hamburgh), but that the direct importation of this article also regularly progresses, it having gradually risen in Hamburgh, from 1832 till 1845,# from 38 to 55 per cent. of the total importation ; that, further the cotton importations of Hamburgh, and particu larly of twist, may even now be called pretty consi derable, when compared with the importations into most of the English ports (excepting Liverpool); and, finally, that American cotton is mostly imported direct into Hamburgh as well as Bremen, whilst the importations of the same article from European countries are mostly the produce of the colonies of those countries (vide Table XII.) In indigo the proportion borne by the direct trade is the least favourable. There came upon the whole 6,400 chests of this article to Hamburgh in 1846 ; and of these only 200 came direct from the producing country. Here, perhaps, the differential duties might increase the direct imports; but even putting aside the consideration, that owing to the comparatively small bulk of this article, a considerable increase in the number of vessels trading direct would not be effected, it is still a question whether German indus try would not be more injured by the meaure than the two foreign countries, as the most and the best indigo comes from India • and we should hardly find the inferior product of India; and Caraccas a satisfactory substitute for the indigo of the Dutch and English colonies, which would be excluded by the duties. The new system would thus probably uselessly raise the price of this raw material, so in dispensable to our manufactures, unless it were de termined that this article also should be withdrawn from its influence. Aeain, dye-is oods and hides are raw materials to be used in our manufactures, and therefore all at tempts at interfering with their direct importation would act mischievously, and would besides be super fluous, as these articles are also (vide Table VIII.), for the most part, already imported direct. That this is still more the case with regard to tobacco hie been sho vn above. Rice is, therefore, the only one of the more important colonial products that remains to be mentioned. There are two sorts only that ate of im portance—Java rice and Carolina rice, and these two differ much as to quality. The latter is more an article of luxury, and is consumed by the rich ; while the former is with the less wealthy classes an article of common food. An attempt to supplant the Dutch colonial rice by American rice would, therefore, be useless, on account of the difference of pric e, which is so great that it would exceed the difference of duty ; and, besides, experience has shown us that rice, when driven up in price beyond a certain point, as was the case during the recent scarcity, owing to the failures of the corn and potato crops in Europe, finds no sa tisfactory market in the interior of Germany. Here also the question intrudes itself upon us, whether it would be wise, by additional duties, to raise the price of an article which may at least serve as a substitute for the daily food of the population of Germany. It has been, we hope, satisfactorily proved by this inquiry as to the several articles of commerce, that with regard to some differential`duties would be su perfluous, and that with regard to others they would be inapplicable, or, if applied, would prove useless, inas mu sh as they would not produce any considerable in crease in the direct importations from non-European countries. But the statistical materials of which we have availed ourselves fur this purpose also offer the means of drawing some comparisons with regard to Belgium, where differential duties were introduced some years ago, in order to favour direct importation. In adopting these measures, the Belgian Government particularly held in view the trade with the Brazils ; yet it is shown by table IX. that in the year 1845 there was imported direct from the Brazils to Ant werp 79,553 bags of coffee, and in the last year only 58,047 bags ; whilst the direct importations from the Brazils into Hamburgh, and particularly into Trieste, have increased from year to year. Table XIII. shows the proportion in which the direct im portations of Belgium stand generally to,those of the Haute Towns ; but in looking at the numbers, as in general, in comparing the statistical accounts of the commerce of one country with those of another, the manner of taking the estimates must be taken into account. Whilst, for instance, in Hamburgh (Bre men, &c.), the value is given according to the market prices, in Belgium, France, and Holland it is based on a customary official valuation, which leads to many errors, and particularly causes the value' of the ex ports and imports to appear too high. Table XIIIa. proves this with regard to Belgium. From the circumstances which we have just exa mined, it results that the second question, whether differential duties are likely to effect any considerable increase in the direct import trade, may without hesi tation be negatived like the first, as to whether such means are required in Germany to attain such an end. There thus remains only the third question, whether the means proposed are not more dangerous than the end to be obtained could be useful. The benefits to be derived from an increase of direct importations from countries out of Europe (leaving the shipping interest out of view), are sup posed to consist in an increased sale of German pro ductions (of which more will be said hereafter), and in what is usually denominated our being made inde pendent of other European markets. Now the ad vantage of such independence is in itself not quite clear. The question might easily be raised as regards two commercial countries, whether, in many instances, the sellers the country producing or selling should not be more dependent on the country consuming and purchasing, than the reverse. raer As is a more e s m rule easily differencein found cases groundedt h o n f a extensive x t rin buyers;s t i h v e e aal t events, commerce nature of the goods which cannot be mistaken. Ger many is, for instance, certainly not more unfavourably situated with regard to her dependence on the English cotton and indigo markets, than England is with regard to her dependence on the German corn and cattle exports —namely, in as far as we are treating of extreme cases, such as war and famine, and the prohi bition of exports caused thereby. In the usual course of things, however, this so-called dependence is of very little importance; the self-interest of the other party protects the dependent party from wrong, and the real bond which unites them is their mutual ad vantage. A trade by which neither party gains is soon brought to a conclusion, withou t the aid of any fiscal regulations; but if it bring profits to both, why disturb it by customs laws? Here we must request that we may not be * The year 1831, in which particular conjectures reigned, is not here taken into amount. derstood. We do not, because we vindicate the rights of the merchants and the manufacturers of the coun try to purchase in foreign markets, deny the import ance of great home markets for Germany. Ou the contrary, the desire to extend the home markets is a reason the more for maintaining free trade. The re strictions placed upon indirect importations, by the introduction of differential duties, would not promote, but, on the contrary, greatly injure, this object; and herein we find a principal argument against the pro posed Navigation Act. Germany possesses emporiums (Weltmarkte) of greater or lesser extent, Ind cannot be indifferent to the importance of possessing them. Of the impor tance of the Hamburgh market some idea is given in Table XIV.,t in as far as this can be done by stating the number of exports and imports. But perfect freedom of trade with all countries, full liberty of withdrawing their goods from whatever place they like, be it distant or be it near, are the conditions under which the Hanse Towns have grown into such important markets. Stettin, if declared a free port, would most assuredly extend its commercial relations far beyond their present circle, like the free port of Trieste, which has already become one of the marts of the world. Hamburgh, deprived of free trade, would still remain, it is true, an important place for the imports, and more particularly for the exports of the Zollverein, but it would cease to be one of the great markets of the world. London and Liverpool cannot be cited as examples of the contrary, for the circumstances existing in England are of a peculiar nature; whatever mischief her navigation laws have occasioned has been compensated for by her great colonial possessions, her former relations with North America, and the immense developement of her industry. The restrictions imposed by those laws on the importation of colonial produce from Europe, is, with regard to the staple article, as of little advantage to the markets of England as restrictions imposed upon the introduc tion of corn, tallow, and other such things from Eng land would be to North Germany : on the contrary, the most destructive effects of the navigation laws in England is their interference with the importation of the chief productions of Europe, as the most injurious effects of the differential duties in Germany would be their restricting the importation of colonial produce ? , It would hardly be justifiable, in Germany, to impose' such duties, at the very moment when England is on the point of relinquishing the former. That we treat of the restrictions imposed upon indirect importations, as equally touching all impor tations in general, will, we trust, be found fault with only by those who unconditionally believe the propo sition so often propounded in commercial rnanuels, that the price of goods is enhanced by their being drawn from indirect sources. Were this proposition correct, indirect importation would soon be sup planted by direct importation. No merchant gives orders for goods, without calculating upon some pro fit to be derived from them; should they, therefore, by coming through indirect channels, rise to a price above that which he can obtain for them, he will certainly rather leave them where they are ; should he, on the contrary, be able to dispose of them at a higher price than he has given for them, this cir cumstance will prove, that in this case the indirect importation of the goods has not raised their price, but has, on the contrary, lowered it. The above proposition is only correct when the price of an article on its way from the hands of the first producer into those of the last consumer continues to be re gulated by its first cost, in which case the goods cer tainly become dearer in proportion to the number of hands they pass through, and to the distance whence they come. Such cases, however, in fact only occur in the transfer of goods from the retail dealer into the hands of the actual consumer. To the smaller markets of a particular country or of a panicular dis trict, goods are brought only to supply the wants of the place, and the retail dealer determines their price according to the expenses which he has himself in curred in procuring them. To the great world emporiums, on the other hand, goods are brought for many other purposes, not immediately con nected with the wants of the consumers ; and the wholesale trade, which holds possession of the goods on their long passage from production to con sumption, differs essentially from the retail trade. The wholesale trade is, as we all know, affected by manifold conjunctures, such as the abundance or scan tiness of the supplies, the state of the money market, and of the rates of exchange, &c.; and it often hap pens in the European markets that an importer, in stead of waiting for a more favourable moment, parts with his goods at a lower price than he has given for them, perhaps with a view to new undertakings, or, perhaps from the necessity of obtaining money to cover the outlay incurred by former undertakings. Occasions such as these are to be seised upon by the merchants of other towns, and it would assuredly be most injurious to the principal commercial cities of Germany, were they to be prevented, by differential duties, from availing themselves of such facilities, and to be forced to obtain from more distant countries, and by direct importation, that which they may ob tain in a shorter time and at less cost in the Euro pean markets. The proofs stated above, and founded on numbers, that at present the German ports, and more particu • larly the Hanse Towns, obtain the greater part of their supplies of colonial produce direct, and they draw only a small relative proportion from the inter mediate markets of Europe, is a weighty argument against the necessity of differential duties, but it cannot be reversed to prove, on the other side, that such duties would not be injurious. The very cir cumstance that though the direct imports of an article comprehend 80 or 90 per cent. of the whole amount imported, there is nevertheless an amount of 10 or 20 per cent. imported indirectly, proves that this small quantity was required to complete the supplies of the market, be it because of their lower price, or because they could be obtained with more dispatch, or because of the variety of quality. In addition to this there is another important con sideration which must be taken into account — namely, the peculiar circumstances in which the commercial men of the Hanse Towns, and of the German ports in general, are placed. These men are not generally great capitalists : around the great commercial houses, which extend their connexions to all parts of the world, is congregated a far superior number of less wealthy merchants, who avail them selves of their connexions with some one particular and less distant locality, in the first place, indeed, as a means of livelihood, but also as a means of extend ing the home markets, and who would be suddenly crippled in their undertakings, should their particular line of business be obstructed by increased duties. Great undertakings, entered with a view to distant contingencies, and requiring large capital or long credit, or numerous connexions, only come within the reach of a comparatively small number of individuals; to oppress the weak and to favour the strong would however, be a commercial policy in no wise justifi able; and the system above alluded to, according to which all classes enjoy an equal degree of protection from the laws, and every one can contribute accord ing to his abilities to the prosperity of the whole, is not only the most natural but also the most desirable. The system of differential duties would completely disturb it. With this question of the creation, or rather the maintenance of our German emporiums (Weltmarkte), is connected that of the transit trade (Z wischen- Handel) of Germany, Hitherto we have only treated of the import trade, without any reference to whether the goods imported were meant for the consumption of the country, or whether they were intended to be forwarded thence to foreign countries. The amount destined for the latter purpose forms the elements of the transit trade of Germany, whether this be carried on for its own account, or on commission, or by agency. Now by its situation in the heart of Europe, Germany is marked out for such transit trade, which, in consequence, if left unfettered, must be very consi derable. Unfortunately we want the necessary sta tistical materials for forming a correct estimate of what it is at present, and we are consequently obliged to forbear giving any account of it in as far as con cerns the German markets in general, and as it is carried on along all the routes leading out of Germany by land or sea, but we shall be able to give some in formation concerning the transit trade of Hamburgh. The direction of this trade, owing to the geogra phical position of the city, is towards the north-east of Europe. In 1845 the amount of the exports from Hamburgh by sea were— Marks Banco To Russia in declared value) . Sweden and Norway ••• Denmark and the Duchies ... ... 1,173,250 .. 2,058,560 ... 471,990 3,703,800 Add the exports to Altona 13,262,580 16,966,380 The last sum is here added, because in reality it represents the amount of exports made by way of Altona to the previously named countries, and par ticularly to Norway. That goods having this desti nation are frequently shipped in Altona instead of Hamburgh, is solely owing to the accidental circum stance that the Ndrwegian vessels generally prefer the former port. But in this respect, as well as in many others, Hamburgh and Altona must be considered as one and the same port, and there will therefore be a further addition to be made of all that has been ex ported from Altona to Norway, without touching the port of Hamburgh. t This table, which is taken from the well-known work of Gulich, is only introduced here for the purpose of allowing of a comparison with the most important markets, among which Hamburgh holds the third rank. The estimates on which the table is founded are not given. Should they be stated too low for the other Ger man commercial towns also, as certainly is the case with regard to Hamburgh, this will nevertheless not prevent the possibility of making the comparison. The second comparative table, which is added to this, is drawn from official source*. Table XVI. affords the means of judging of the importance of this trade, between Hamburgh and Altona on the one side, and Norway on the other, which during the last year employed 371 vessels of 11,674 commercial lasts (at 6,000113 s.) burden, and also shows the great variety of the articles exported. To give an idea of the quantities we shall only here state, as an example, that from Hamburgh-Altona there was exported to Norway alone 54 millions of lbs. of coffee. The importance of this amount will be shown by a glance at Table XI. As regards the value of the export trade to the Baltic countries accurate details are wanting, partly because in those countries—namely, in Sweden, Fin land, and Russia—owing to the burdensome system of customs regulations the declarations at the custom house cannot be depended upon, and partly because this trade is in a great measure carried on, not di rectly, bat through Lubeck and Kiel. With regard to the latter it may be stated that last year there were forwarded from Hamburi s h (exclusive of Altona) : Marks Banco. By the Kiel railway, goods to the amount of . . ............. 8,572,000 By waggon to Lubeck 21,334,000 And in addition to this, goods to the value of 2,000,000 marks banco were transported to Lubeck on the Stecknitz Caual. Thus the whole amount of goods sent from Hamburgh alone to Kiel and Lubeck, may be estimated at 23,000,000 marks banco. By far the greater part of these goods went on to Russia, Finland, Sweden, and Denmark. The vessels which convey these goods from Ham burgh and Altona, and Lubeck :and Kiel, to Norway and the Baltic countries, bring back from these coun tries cargoes of the so-called northern products, which are only destined in part for the consumption of Ger many ; the rest, having exchanged owners in the Hamburgh market, is sent by sea to Western Europe and to the Mediterranean. This exchange of commodities with the north of Europe, effected by means of Hamburgh and the neighbouring German sea ports, only forms part of the transit trade carried on by these ports. Another very considerable transit of goods passes by way of Prussia, and through the hands of the merchants in the great inland markets to Cracow and Warsaw. Another portion goes by way of Breslau to Brody, and through Vienna into Hungary ; a third passes up. the Elbe to Bohemia; and a fourth through the Zoll , verein states to Switzerland and Italy. It sometimes even happens, that colonial produce is exported from Hamburgh in a westerly direction by sea, to Holland, France, Italy, and Spain, and even to places seemingly the most unlikely, as for instance to Gibraltar, from whence they probably find their way into Spain by secret channels. Sugar, first refined here, it is true, goes hence through the Mediterranean and the Black Sea to Trebizond and Persia ; and coffee brought here from the Brazils, is shipped hence to Smyrna. Now the whole of this transit trade depends upon conditions to which the system of differential duties is directly opposed. A great market can only main tain its importance by means of a considerable transit trade, as also a considerable transit trade can only be carried on where there are great markets, where at all times buyers and sellers of all kinds of goods are to be found. But it requires not only an extensive market, but also a cheap market; because, just as the German merchant only purchases this or the other article in England because he can get it cheaper there than elsewhere, so will the Norwe gian not supply his wants in the German markets, when he has to pay more for them there than elsewhere. That the introduction of the differential system would in many respects raise the prices of the German markets, has however been proved above. But further, the market must not only be cheap, but it must also bear a high character as to the qualities of the goods on sale s and above all it must be well supplied ; in other words there must always be a complete assortment of goods of every description, of every quality, and at every price. Nothing can therefore he more injurious to such a market than a system of customs, which, hemming all liberty of action, prescribed a hundred rules to those who supply the market, in compliance with which they are obliged to procure their goods from one country instead of from another, and to import them in one ship instead of in another. To this must be added, that this system will probably render necessary the eatahlishment of complete entrepots, under the lock and key of the Custom-house (entrepots reels), in all the most considerable ports of Germany, which are free ports, and which are meant to remain such, as far as this is consistent with the new system proposed. Such arrangements are, however, just of the kind that would interfere the most with the mode in which business has hitherto been transacted in these ports, and which has essentially contributed to maintain the market. In the Hanse Towns, at present, the merchant can sort his goods as the market requires it, in his own warehouse, and at very little cost. Here the lot of coffee imported from across the ocean is carefully examined, a sample is taken from every bag, that which is of equal quality is put together, and thus the large assortments of different kinds are formed. Should any part be damaged, this part is separated from the first, the sound goods are placed in readiness to be disposed of wholesale, and the damaged goods are disposed of on the spot, or in the neigh bourhood, for instance, to retail dealers, who then again sort the coffee berry so as to separate the good from the bad. The same takes place with regard to sugar, every chest is opened, the least damaged parts are taken away ; the chests most damaged are set aside, each kind is sorted, the damaged sugar sold is to the refiners on the spot, the rest is dispatched to different places ; each kind of goods goes to the place where it is particularly required ; the dark-coloured Brazil coffee to the north, the paler but more purely fla voured kinds to Germany ; the best Havannah sugar to Petersburgh, &c. The thorough sorting of the goods and the consequent certainty of being able to satisfy the purchaser, is the more necessary in Ham burgh, as almost all the purchasers of transatlantic produce in this market require credit. In England these matters are not so closely attended to. Who ever purchases cotton there must be satisfied with having only one bale out of every ten of a large lot examined, and he is in general obliged to accept and to pay bills for the amount, and to be prepared to find after wards the quality of the goods very unequal. In Hamburgh every bale is examined and sorted ac cording to quality; and to these circumstances it is in a great measure owing that the German markets have been able to maintain their footing, in spite of the overwhelming commercial power of England. With the sorting of the goods in private ware houses is connected another circumstance, which is also of importance, namely, the facility of dividing the lots into larger or smaller parcels, to meet the wishes of the purchaser ; if this dividing of the goods be rendered more difficult the difference in the price for the person buying 100 sacks of coffee, and for another buying only one sack, or for the person buying one sack, and for another only buying 10Ibs , would be very considerable; whereas under the existing system in Hamburgh, the difference is, very trifling. This working, sorting, and dividing of the large parcels of goods can only bt done easily and conveniently in private warehouses; in the great entrepots under the lock and key of the Custom-house authorities, it is either not at all practicable, or it is combined with considerable expense. While upon the topic of the transit trade, we must add an observation, which will serve at the same time to complete what has been said in another place, We there remarked tlat higher duties on indirect im portations would, in fact, only be of importance with regard to the imports from Great Bri tain and the Netherlands, because the impor tations from other European countries were very trifling. Notwithsnnding this, it is, as we have before 1 remarked, not at ell improbable that in case the ad ditional duty shotid be very high, recourse may , be had to those counties in order to evade the duty. For instance, should tie importation of sugar from Eng land into Hamburgh be burdened with an additional duty, whilst that tom Denmark and Norway should be exempt, it is net at all impossible that sugar might be sent to a Danith or Norwegian port, and thence be brought to Ilaitburgh. To prevent such evasion, it will, therefore, le necessary to impose the additional duty on the indirtct importation of colonial produce from all Europeanports without exception, and even on all such goods crossing the land frontiers—a mea sure which has inceed been recommended by influen tial person. Now lothing is more probable than that, should this take plLce, all the states of Europe would likewise impose ar additional duty on these goods, when imported ff)m German ports ; and thus the transit trade of Hamburgh and Altana, of which we have just given so favourable an account, would be entirely destroyed while that of Germany in general would be materialy injured. The importance of the transit trade of a place is not to be measure' by its extent alone, but also, and more especially, ly its intimate connection with the whole course of ;usiness as carried on there. The transit trade mot not be supposed to be a business apart, the destriction of which would only affect those particularl: engaged in it, or as a branch of commerce which nay be lopped off without injuring the stem. On tln contrary, there are numerous kinds of business connoted with the transit trade, for which tables of imports and exports furnish no criterion. Not even the while amount of the business in goods is there noted. here are, for instance, large quan tities of corn soldrn the Hamburgh Exchange which never enter the Ele. The Englishman buys it from the Hamburgh meehant, who buys it in St. Peters burgh, and thence it is shipped direct to London. The insurance is isually effected in Hamburgh, the payment made inHamburgh bills. The business of the insurance °tiles and the commerce with bills of exchange, which cave, as we all know, grown into great importance (in 1845 the insurance against risks at sea amoufed to 330,000,000 marks banco), owe their prospeity, in the first instance, to the transit trade. All are connected and linked together — imports, transit trade, exports, insurances, brokerage, mutually support each other, and re-act upon each other ; if the whole is to prosper, not a part can be dispensed with. But it is to the country in general that commercial cities comprising all these branches of trade are of most importance; and though the ex amples illustrative of our subject have been borrowed from Hamburgh, we have by no means examined the matter from an exclusively Hamhurgh point of view. While dilating upon the importance of the transit trade of Hamburgh and Altona, we left out of consi deration an objection which would be likely to arise —namely, that among the exports to Norway, Den. mark, Sweden, Finland, and Russia, or to the western countries of urope, there must be a great amount not connected with the transit trade, as it cannot be supposed that all the goods thus exported have pre viously been drawn from foreign sources. This can not be denied, but the deficiency of statistical mate rials prevents our coming to a conclusion as to the exact proportions. Be this as it may, that which is exported without being previously imported from foreign countries, must at all events be native Ger man produce, and this leads us to the third point of importance in this investigation—namely, as to the probable effect of the system of differential duties on the German export trade and on German industry. (To be continued.) POLICE INTELLIGENCE. MANSION-HOUSE. Andrew Scherer, a German, was brought before the Lord Mayor, charged with having been concerned in stealing a cash-box containing about 351. or 361., the property of the General Screw Steam Company. The prisoner was recognised as an old offender the moment he was put to the bar. Mr. Frederick James Dickenson, clerk in the office of the General Screw Steam Company, 35, Mark-lane, said—About five o'clock yesterday after noon, after I had balanced my cash-book, a person whom I firmly believe to be the prisoner, came to the office, and spoke, in the Dutch language, some thing about the port of Corunna. I, understanding that he wanted to go to Corunna, directed him to No. 10, in the same lane. Two minutes afterwards he returned, and said he wanted to go to Rotterdam. As I did not perfectly understand him, I took him to the office opposite mine, and he said he wanted to go with his wife and two children to Rotterdam. We then told him to go to the Rotterdam broker. In stead of going out at the door, he turned the bolt of the door. As soon as we opened the door which he had thus closed, I found that the door of my office, which I had closed when I brought him to the other office to get his business transacted, was wide open. The prisoner had two or three minutes before left the house. I looked round to see whether anything had disappeared, and I immediately missed the cash-box. I dare say the prisoner, upon first coming into the office, heard the jingle of the sove reigns in the cash-box. [ln this place the evidence of the witness was obscure, but it appeared from what he stated that his impression was, that some accom plice must have followed at the heels of the prisoner and carried away the cash-box the moment the pri soner bolted the door.] The LORD MAYOR—How soon after the prisoner went away did you miss the cash-box? Witness— About three minutes. The Prisoner—All I know about the business is, that this gentleman (the policeman) came up to me, and said 1 must go along with him; so I went with him. 1 have been here before. Richard Dedy (City police) said the prisoner had been at the Mansion-house on the Ist of last December, in the name of Anthony Sheppard, upon the charge of having . stolen some pieces of gingham, and upon that occasion he stated that he had come from Bou logne, and contrived to get a living by cleaning shoes near the Royal Exchange. Mr. Dickenson said the prisoner, when he called at the office of the company, was dressed in a cap and smockfrock, and spoke English much better than he had spoken it on the present occasion. The prisoner was remanded for some days. It was stated that London is at this moment inun dated with foreign swindlers of every degree. . Joseph Aaronson, Jacob Friedburg, Raphael Kauff man, and Soloman Muscovitz, were brought up in the custody of John and Daniel Forrester, for final ex amination, upon the charge of having forged a number of pieces of paper, purporting to be notes of the issue of the Government .of Russia. John and Daniel Forrester having been employed to detect some foreigners who were suspected of being concerned in the fabrication of notes, purporting to be of the issue of the Bank of Russia, went to a house in Queen. street, Soho, to which they had tracked the prisoners, broke open the door, and found the three first-named in a room in which they also found bundles of forged notes. They also fund the press with which the notes had been struck off, and brought forward evidence in the most complete manner, show ing that all the prisoners were engaged in the plan of forging instruments which were no doubt intended to do extensive mischief amongst the agricultural hordes in Russia. The ease had been frequently before the late Lord Mayor, who remanded the prisoners in consequence of the absence of an essential witness, who was re quired to prove that the notes were forgeries. Mr. Ballantine appeared as counsel for the Russian Government, together with Mr. Peachy, of the offices of Messrs. Oliverson, Lavie, and Co., solicitors to that Government. All the prisoners, with the ex ception of Kauffman, were assisted by solicitors. Mr. Carl J. Piper was then called and examined by Mr. Ballantine (through an interpreter). He said, 1 hold the office of director of the office of credit notes it the Bank of Russia. I have seen some of the notes produced by the Forresters. They have not been printed by the authority of the Russian Govern ment, and are not genuine notes. The Russian Bank is a Government establishment, not a corporation. Kauffman, being told the notes were proved to be forgeries, said, "I understand nothing about the notes. Let those who do speak of them." Daniel Forrester, in edition to the evidence given by him upon a former examination, said—ln conse quence of an application made by the prisoner Kauff man to me, I looked over a parcel which had not been previously examined, and I -found a prayer-book, which was claimed by Kauffman, which contained in its leaves a genuine Russian bank-note. When Mrs. Elsey, at whose house the prisoner had been apprehended, was called upon to sign her depositions, Kauffman requested to be informed by her whether a man had got into her house with a false key and been seen by her ? The witness replied, that a man, who was a stranger to her had opened the door, as she believed, with Kauffman's key, and she observed upon the occasion that she would not allow the key of her door to be transferred from Kauffman, who lodged there, to any other person. Kauffman—What sort of a man was he ? The witness—l do not recollect. I never saw him before or since. I never saw a man use a false key at my door. Kauffman—Well, I wish it to be known that I have been innocently brought into all this mischief by certain parties, who brought me from Paris and in volved me in trouble. The LORD MAYOR then told the prisoners they stood committed for trial at the Central Criminal Court, and on Monday the day of trial would, in all probability, be appointed by the judges. GUILDHALL. William Jackson, a discharged soldier, was charged with obtaining money by false pretences from the Bishop of Llandaff. The case stood over for further inquiry, the pri soner persisting that his statement was true. The result of the inquiry confirmed the opinion entertained respecting him. He had not lived at the address he gave; he was not known as belonging to the regiment he named, but he was known to the Mendicity Society as 'a regular begging-letter imposter, by the name of Maclean. He had been committed from Marlborough-street office, :and_ had been detected in going about with a certificate of good character which belonged to another person, from whom he had stolen it. He was prosecuted as an imposter by the name of William Jackson, in 1843, and a certificate of good character from the chymical works at Deptford he was in the habit of showing, was a forgery. His wife and family were found to be very des tute. Mr. Alderman GIBBS said that his family were to be pitied, but they would be relieved if they applied to the workhouse ; and he should commit the pri soner to hard labour for three months. This would qualify him, on any future conviction, to be whipped. The prisoner said that he had really belonged to the 84th ; and he was known as Andrew Maclean, No. 824.—He was committed. BOW•STREET. Mr. Ballantine, the barrister, with whom was Mr. Wontner, attended the court and addressed Mr. Henry, saying he appeared in a case in which a person named Henry Gompertz was charged. Mr. HENRY said he did not know of any charge against a person of that name, he had issued no sum mons, and he saw no person in custody. Mr. Ballantine was aware no person was in custody. He did not know what was the necessary proceeding in such a case. Mr. HENRY observed, that either a summons or a warrant must be issued, or the person must be given into custody, and the charge entered on the police sheet, when the case would be brought forward. Mr. Ballantine said, then he would apply for a summons. Mr. Lewis, who attended for Mr. Gompertz, ob jected to this. Mr. Gompertz was present and could be given into custody. Mr. HENRY said for this purpose the parties must go to the station-house. Mr. Haddon (the prosecutor) here rose, and said JANUARY 3, he would take the responsibility upon himself of giving him into custody. Mr. Gompertz, who was sitting at the attorney' table, then rose and accompanied Mr. Haddon to the staticn-houss., and in about ten minutes Mr. Gom- pertz, who is a tall well-dressed man, middle-aged, and of very gentlemanly appearance was placed at the bar, charged with obtaining six bills of exchang e for 3531. 6s. Bd. from Mr. Haddon by means of false pretences. Mr. Ballantine stated the circumstances at great length. They were very complicated, but will be better understood from the evidence. The first wit ness was then called. _ _ . Mr. John Cooke Haddon, civil- engineer, 14, Lin coln's Inn-fields, said, the prisoner was introduced to him about July last, it being stated at the time that he was the Mr. Gompertz who had been negotiat ing for the purchase of some gems belonging to a Mr. Tyrrell. Prisoner said, "Mr. Haddon, lam in some difficulty, as a loan o f 30,0001., which I was to have received from - the United Kingdom Life-office, has gone off." He added, th e reason was that although the sureties had been approved of, the office had in a most extraordinary manner placed warrants of attorney before the sureties for their signature, which took them so by surprise that ,they declined to execute them, and so the matter went off, and consequently he was unable to continue the negotiation about the gems he wished to purchase. He then said he had contracts for iron, and inquired whether witness could borrow money on them. He observed the contracts were for 100,000 tons of iron rails ; that they were not in his own name, as his schedule was still on the file of the Insolvent Court and he could not hold property ; and that they were in the name of a Mr. Lane Fox, who had married the sister of the Duke of Leeds, Mr. Fox being his (prisoner's) trustee in the matter. That upon the contracts 21. per ton had been paid off the purchase money of 81. 7s. 6d. per ton, and that, therefore, if iron was at that time 81. 7s. 6d. per ton those contracts were worth 200,000/. He assured witness on several occasions that the contracts were his own. From his plausible manner witness believed his representations, and took means to obtain him money on the security of the con tracts. On the 28th of July a bill for 1101. was given by witness to Mr. Gompertz. Previous to this being delivered, however, the prisoner had added to his for mer statements that he had made 370,0001. by pur chasing up the Birmingham, Boston, and Stamford Railway shares, and selling the railway to the Great Northern Railway Company. He said that, owing to his unfortunate position with the Insolvent Court, , that sum was in the hands of trustees for his benefit; and that when he had arranged with his creffitors the balance would be paid to him. During their conver sation as to obtaining the money, prisoner told wit ness he had been negotiating with a Mr. Brett to purchase some pictures, but that was also at a stand still through the failure of the 30,0001. from the assurance company ; he could, however, get time from him if he had something on account, and• that he had no doubt Brett would take witness's bill for 500/. This was before any bills had been given, and this led to all of them being. given. They had an interview with Brett, after which Gompertz told him he was still in some difficulty, as he could not get the contract for iron from,his brother, Mr. Mote, without paying some money which had been advanced upon it, viz., 10s. per share, and re quested witness to give him a bill for 500/. He de clined, but agreed to accept for such amount as a friend, a Mr. Ranyard, would go halves in. Finally he ag reed to accept for 3001., provided a contract was' placed in his hands for 500 tons as security. Upon this a verbal agreement was come to. Witness gave the bill produced for 1101. to Mr. Gompertz, or to Mr. Tyrrell in his presence. Mr. HENRY here interrupted the proceedings, and said, he thought it would be very difficult to make out a case of false pretence upon this evidence, as the contract was the cause of the money being advanced, and not any of the representations made by Mr. Gom pertz. Mr. Ballantine said, that if he proved that the con tract was not a boil t fide, but an entirely false con tract, this would be a false pretence. Mr. HENRY said, the fact would enable the prose cutor to bring an action for deceit, but it would not establish a criminal charge. A prosecutor must part with his money upon a false pretence alone, and not upon any contract whether good or bad. Mr. Haddon had, after hearing all the representations of the pri soner, distinctly refused to advance the bills upon those representations alone, and he himself proposed to take the contract as a security. Mr. Ballantine argued at some length against this opinion of Mr. Henry, and stated several cases which Le thought bore upon the case. Mr. HENRY, however, said his opinion was quite against him in this case. He did not, he repeated, think that he had established the fact that the money had been obtained under a false pretence. Of course it was at the option of the parties to prefer a bill of indictment at the sessions. He, however, ordered Mr. Gompertz to be discharged. Tne accused then left the bar, declaring that he was quite able to pay all legal demands against him, and that Mr. Haddon had preferred this charge in oraer to extort money. Mr. HENRY received a donation of 51. for the poor box from " Sir Richard Sutton," who requested its acknowledgment in the daily papers. NAVAL INTELLIGENCE. PORTMOUTLI, SUNDAY.—In the official Nary List, published yesterday, the name of Lord William Paget, a Captain of 1826, is struck out throughout the work by order of the Lords of the Admiralty. The Terrible steam-frigate, Captain Ramsay, re ceived her gun carriages yesterday. She is ordered to sail for Lisbon on the morning of the Bth inst. The gallantry of her First Lieutenant on Sunday last, in rendering timely succour to the drowning steward, had not escaped our knowledge. We hare expressed our opinion of Lieutenant Need upwards of twelve months ago, when an unworthy attempt was made to transfer him to another ship, and put an " honourable" brother officer in his place. llis hon. rival has, however, been since promoted. We regret to say that the effects of the late acci dent met with on board the Victory by Commander H. Go3ld will prevent that gallant and respected ve teran returning to the duties of the Ordinary, of which he was the commander, his medical advisers considering it probable, should any other accident or irritation arise from his return to active duty, that it might terminate fatally. Lieutenant P. Ambrose (1810) died yesterday morning at this port, aged 68. This officer served in this expedition to Holland ; in the Phosbe at Trafal gar; and in the Endymion at the passage of the Dar danelles ; was Acting-Lieutenant of the Port d'Espagne at the siege of Martinique, and in the gun- boat service at Gibraltar. He was a Genoese by birth. The Columbia, steam surveying-vessel;Lieutenant Commander Peter F. Shortland, which arrived on Friday evening at Spithead from Plymouth, sailed yesterday afternoon for Woolwich, to be paid off, taking s upernumeraries for the eastern ports. The Acheron, steam surveying• vessel, Captain J. L. Stokes, sailed yesterday morning for New Zealand. The Cygnet, 6, Commander G. Kenyon, sailed yes terday afternoon for the west coast of Africa, taking dispatches for Commander Sir C. Hotham, K.C.8., letters, parcels, and supernumeraries for the squadron, and specie for public purposes. Wind S.S.E., light breezes and cloudy. The following are the promotions and appoint ments of the past week : rItOSIOTION. Commander—Robert Tryon, to be Captain (seni• ority October 27 last). APPOINTMENTS. Captain—J. Nott, to the Ocean. Commanders—E. Collier, to the Ocean ; Arthur Grant, to the Coast Guard ; James G. Gordon, from the Ocean to the Ganges, for service in Sheerness Ordinary. Lieutenants —W. 11. Stewart to be Flag--Lieute nant to Sir E. King; Richard Purvis to be Flag- Lieutenant to Sir C. llotham ; J. 0. Freeland, A. It. Dunlop, and P. C. Herber, to the Ocean; E. W. Vansittart, to the Victoria and Albert ; J. C. Bailey, to the Sealark; Samuel H. Derriman, to study steam at the factory at Woolwich ; J. F. Arnold, Charles B. Stockdale, T. Tribe, W. G. Hemsworth, and Francis Collins, to the Ganges ; It. Madge and T. S. Striven, commanding steam-packets on the Dover station, to be borne on the books of the Ganges. Masters—George Stratton, to the Prince Regent ; Joshua Taylor, to the Ganges ; Luke Smithett (acting), and Robert Sherlock, commanding steam packets, to be borne on the books of the said ship. Surgeons—T. W. M'Donald, to the Victoria and Albert ; Dr. Alexander S. Allen, to be Surgeon and Medical Storekeeper at Plymouth Hospital ; Benja min Bynoc, to the Ganges. Paymasters and Pursers—W. 11. Breay, to tl:e Ocean ; James Huggins, to the Ganges. Second Master—NV. B. Calver, to the Royalist. Clerk—lt. M. Munday, to the Ocean ; Alfred Wood and E. W. Gordon, to the Ganges. Midshipman—Hon. H. Moreton, to the Victory. Naval Cadets—ll. T. Burgoyne, to the Inconstant; W. H. Sanctuary and A. Butler, to the Prince Re gent ; 11. Corbett, to the Vengeance. Acting Second Masters—John Warman, it. L. Canney, Henry Cullen, Edward Hare, E. C. Rutter, J. Hammond, and Charles Anstey, to the Ganges. Master's Assistant —Stephen Court, to the Cale donia. CHATUAM, JAN. I.—The Bonetta, 4-gun brigan tine, Lieutenant and Commander Forbes, was towed away this day to Sheerness by the Charon steam vessel. The destination of the Bonetta is for the Pacific. In the Meander, 44 guns, Captain the llon. 11. Keppel, for the accommodation of Mr. Brooke and suite, cabins are being built which will prevent her completion before the middle of next week. The Sealark, 10 guns, Commander Moneypenny, , NN ill sail for the coast of Africa as soon as her rigging is complete. The hands employed on the Vivid steam-packet, building, to insure her being launced this month, work by task-work and extra hours. The Rochester, Sudweeks, Master, sailed this day with stores for Plymouth and Pembroke yards. Mr. Flynn master-rigger of this yard, is appointed boatswain at Sheerness Dockyard. The Princess Royal steam-vessel embarked at the Sun pier a company of the Royal Artillery from Brompton barracks for duty at Sheerness. Woormicu, JAN. I.—The Banshee steam-vessel, built by Mr. Thompson, Rotherhithe, for one of the Holyhead mail packets, went down the river yester day on an experimental trial, and proceeded beyond the Nore to near the Mouse light. Her speed was ascertained to be 161 knots, or 18i miles per hour, and the vessel is described as starting very easily, and without any sudden jerks in any of her motions. On her return up the river she ran into the Lightning steam-vessel in Dagenham Reach, near Erith, and ' destroyed a part of the paddle-box and bulwarks. A court of inquiry, by order of Commander Sir Gordon Bremer, K.C.8., and K.C.H. is to take place, when all the circumstances connected with the collision will be made known before Captain 11. T. Austin, C. 8., and Commander Wolfe. Mr. Atherton, chief engineer at Woolwich Dockyard, and Mr. Lang, junior assistant to the master shipwright at Chatham Dock yard, who designed the Banshee, were on board that vessel during the,trial of her speed. The Columbia steam surveying -vessel, 190 horse power, commanded by Lieutenant Shortland, is hourly expected at Woolwich, with Rear-Admiral Owen on hoard, on his return from North America. The Charon steam-vessel, arrived from Chatham on Thursday to have repairs effected here. The Acheron steam-vessel, Captain Lort Stokes, lost an anchor below Gravesend by the chain break ing, and another was supplied at Woolwich previous to her leaving the river. The Monkey steam-vessel want down the river yesterday and found the lost anchor, and brought it to Woolwich. THE WEST INDIA MAIL. SOUTHAMPTON, SUNDAY' NIGHT. - The Severn steam-ship, Captain Vincent, arrived this evening from the Gulf of Mexico, bringing also the usual West India Mail. She was not expected for two or three days, but having been favoured with fine wea ther, she has made an extremely rapid passage from Bermuda, her last island of departure. Her latest dates are—Tampico, November 23 ; Chagres, No vember 26 ; Carthagena, November 28 ; Vera Cru z , December 1 ; Trinidad, December 7 ; Jamaica, December 8 ; Granada, December 9 ; Demerara, December 5 ; Havannah, December 10; St. Thomas, December 13 ; and Bermuda, December 20. The Severn has brought a goodly freight, consisting of 693,418 dollars, on merchants' account ; 9,400 ounces of gold dust, nearly 9,0001. in British coin, four bales of silk, 326 balls of pimento, 12 serons of cochineal, 228 bales of tobacco, 57 cases of cigars, 23 cases of barilla, nine packages of indio, &c. MOVEMENTS OF HER MAJESTY S SLUM—The Daring was at Sagrificios and the Endymion at Bar badoes ; the Vixen arrived at Vera Cruz on the 30th of November and left on the following day for Ja maica; the Persian and Vindictive at Bermuda; the Imaum and Pantaloon at Jamaica ; the Alarm had left that port; The Severn brings advices from Mexico down to the Ist of December, but nothing of any particular moment had occurred since the receipt of the last intelligence from that quarter. It was, however, as serted, on the departure of the packet, that the Governor of the city had given orders for the suppression of the press, in consequence of soma of the newspapers, established there since the city had fallen into the hands of the Americans, having pub lished certain articles inimical to the views of the Go vernment. This was the report, but I cannot vouch for its correctness. A large party of volunteers from America, to the number of 3,000, had arrived, and had committed great excesses in the city. It was reported that an American war or troop steamer had been wrecked off the island of Lobos. The Severn brings 28 passengers. THE QUARTER'S REVENUE. The accounts of the quarter's revenue will not be made up before Wednesday evening next, nor given to the public before Thursday morning. It is impos sible, therefore, to give any accurate detailed state ment beyond the fact which is anticipated pretty generally, that a considerable falling off may be ex pected both on the quarter and on the year, as com pared with the corresponding periods of 1846. This decrease, we regret to add, may be expected to be exhibited in the leading and important items which constitute the largest sources of income, and which indicate the condition of our foreign trade, and the prosperity of our domestic condition.' The loss on the Excise in the quarter just ended was fully antici pated, account of the same pated, and la to b. E tacoa causes which marked the decline in the last quarter. The falling off in the Customs may be attributed to the unusual dulness and depression of the last three months, rather than to any causes at all likely to exert a permanent influence on this important item of our national resources. It should be borne in mind that the depression nuw brought before the public view is entirely comparative. The receipts of this quarter even, though somewhat behind the corresponding quarter of 1846, are still of a fair average amount. The receipts of the former year were unusually large, from a coinbi nation of various causes. It is satisfactory to be able to state that, notwithstanding these unfavourable appearances for the moment, the Chancellor of the Exchequer will not be under the necessity of asking any assistance whatever from the Bank in this quarter, no more than in the last. 'I his fact will in itself be calculated to allay any anxiety that might otherwise be felt in quarters not sufficiently informed, and will also enable the Bank to continue and extend the accommo lation to the commercial classes, which the increased means at their disposal have already enabled them to confer. The bullion continues to arrive in large quantities. Although the importations of grain still continue to come in to an extent which the present deman i might not seem to countenance, still the arrivals are not to any hazardous extent, and may be easily accounted for by a desire to keep up stocks, which can be done free of all duty up to March, when the new sliding scale will recommence its operations fur eleven months from that date. Everythin; bids fair for a steady and safe revival of trade and commerce with the opening of the new year. Money is again abundant tor every legitimate purpose, and the accounts from the manufacturing districts are of the most satisfactory description.— Observer. [ADVERTISEMENT.] D ROPSY• ANOTHER VERY SEVERE CASE CURED BY HOLLOWAY'S PILLS.—Mrs. Martha James, of Newport, between forty and fifty years of age, was in a most awful dropsical state, the lower extremities being dreadfully swollen, arising in a great measure from inattention to herself at this par ticular period of life, when, almost too late, she applied to different medical men, and also became an inmate of two hospitals, but at the several places where she sought relief :he was pronounced incurable; fortunately, on her return home, she was persuaded to try Holloway's Pills, and by their use, with strict attention to diet, in a few we •ks she was restored to perfect health. Sold by all Druggists, and at Professor Holloway's Establish ment, 244, Strand, London. THE WEST-END REFUGE FOR THE DESTITUTE Pools.—On Saturday evening the above refuge, for the nightly shelter and relief of the houseless poor, situate in Market-street, Edgeware-r ad, was opened for tho winter months. It is capable of receiving 200 indivi duals nightly. The number of distressed applicants were much greater than the asylum could cousin. Etch individual admitted is relieved with a supper of bred and a pint and a half of beef soup, a comfortable bed, and next morning a breakfast of bread and milk. Soap and hot water are plentifully supp ied to cleanse their per sons and clothing. The estaLlitnment has been nine years in existence, during which period more than 200,000 poor have been relieved. THE WESTMINSTER MUEDEB...4IIStruCtiOns hare b9en received by Mr. Cope, the governor of Newgate, from the Secretary of State, that in the case of M'Coy and Sale, convicted of the murder of Mr. l3ellchambers, the extreme penalty of the law is to be carried into effect on !Monday, the 10th inst. The sheriffs, on being in formed by Mr. Cope of the fact, lost no time in com municating to the wretched men that all hope of a com mutation of their sentenca was at an end.—Observer. BIRTHS. On the 2cl ult., at La Chine, Montreal, the wife of Captain Wetherall, late 13th Light Dragoons, of her 18th child. On the 31st ult., at the Terrace, York-town, the lady of Captain E. Wetherall, Royal Regiment, of a son. On the 27th ult., at the school-house, Ruthin, Denbigh• shire, the wife of the Rev. E. L. Barnwell, of a son. On the 27th ult., at St. Peter's, St. Alban's, Herts, the lady of the Rev. Thomas G. Smith, of a daughter. On the 28th ult., at Edinburgh, the Hon. Mrs. C. Gran tham Scott, of a son. MAILRIED. Oa the 29th ult., at Brixton Church, F. c 3 Hills ' Esq., of North -terrace, CamUerwell, to Ann Ellen , second daugter of the late Mr. James Rawlings, of Camberw ell-grove. )lED. On the Ist. inst., at his residence, Gloucester-road, Re rent's-park, Lieutenant-Colonel J. Babington, late of the 14th Light Dragoons. On the 7th ult., at Funchal, Madeira, aged 22, R. A. Darwin. Esq., of Elston Hall, Nottingham. At Madeira, on the 13th ult., H. F. Wilde, fourth son of E. A. Wilde, Esq., of Duke-street, St. James's• park. On the 27th ult., at Newcastle-place, Clerkenwell, Mrs. A. Davies, of Tollington-park. London: Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG, at No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county o Middlesex, Monday, January 3,181 . I; I .1