The Sun. — London, England, 1828-07-21 00:00:00

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. (THE TIMES.) Mr. Huskisson's speech on Friday night on the American tariff deserves great attention. Some men would hardly have thought that our trans. Atlantic brethren could have been so blinded by commercial cupidity as to mistake the path of plain honesty, and even that of their own interest substan tially considered. They bind themselves by treaty to admit our manufactured goods upon the terms of the most favoured nations : we submit to a recipro cal condition with respect to their produce. No stipulation can be fairer, or even more advantageous to them ; for they will observe, that their raw pro duce in cotton makes the essential part of the goods which they afterwards receive in cloths ; so that their export of the article in its natural state will be re lured by their prohibitory duty on the import of it when manufactured, But they envy us the work ing of it up. This rule may not apply to hardware, because we do not know that we get the raw mate rial from Alrerica ; but still we received abundance of their productions, as tobacco, turpentine, and rice ; and, at all events, the treaty of 1818 ought to have been observed. In CO,ll - of the violation of this treaty by their luiposing duties of thirty and forty per cent. upon cotton and hardware goods, in lieu of 15, we were obliged to adopt the tardy vengeance of prohibiting their intercourse with our West India colonies. This the Americans felt; and came to us with an offer to retrace their steps. Our colonists must have felt it too, and it is therefore probable that both parties may be brought back to their original position. But. the Americans being the aggressors, it is clear that w e can place no reliance upon their permanent dis position to receive our manufactures on equal terms. We ought, therefore, by all means, to encourage the growth of cotton and rice in our own East India States, by which we may not only relieve ourselves h-eni a dependence upon them for the raw article, Nit shall speedily find employment for a greater quantity of shipping, the carriage of such cotton and rice belonging to ourselves exclusively, by the old navigation kw of Europe. It is worth the while to note down from the speech of Mr. Huskis sue who is, no doubt, accurate upon these sub ject; the proportion which the commerce of England and America with each other bears to the whole commerce of each country. Our trade wit 'a America equals aboat a sixth . of our trade with all the rest of the world ; whilst America's trade with us equals more than half of all the rest of her trade. Surely, in prudence, (though she would have a right to do it, if she liked, unless otherwise bound by treaty)--but surely, in prudence, America ought not t , )Pnt. this great relative proportion of her trade to r.sk for what is a very doubtful advantage—the im provement and extension of her manufactures. Why, we find that the admission of French silks occasions not only the amelioration, but the increase also, of our own manufacture of the same article. And we have no doubt that the liberal admission of British hardware into the United States will add to the ac tivity of the native manufacturersfirst, through competition —next, by imposition, for goods of Ame rican manufacture may with more appearance of truth be represented as British--and lastly, by in creasing the want of the articles in a greater pro. portion than the supply can come from England. The want of any article, except that of the first necessaries of life, perishes as the supply de clines. And this mention of " the necessaries of life" brings us round to the detested Corn Laws—the source of all English misery--the obstruction of all improvements. •We have no doubt that had it not been for the Corn Laws, British manufactures, trade, and commerce, would have taken such a ipring and diffusion at the end of the last Nvar, that instead of the 27 millions a-year which the Finance Committee says have been relaxed in taxation, 37 millions might have been re leased, the revenue would have been much more productive than it is at present, and the landed in terest in a much better condition, by the increased demand for their productions. Indeed, it has been clearly established, that we might have been an ex porting country for the last three years of home grown corn to the south of Europe ; and not only an exporting country, but a depository also for corn from the north, and the great carriers of it -to the south. We have no doubt, though the fact did not come out in the debate,• that the Americans will justify their prohibitory duties upon our manufac tures by our refusal of their flour: and a justilica tioa it would have been, on the principle of retalia tion, if there had been no treaty, though it is not the less foolish and injurious to America herself.— We perfectly agree with Mr. Huskisson as to the unproved condition of the country ; no one can look around without seeing the fact. It improves in spite of bad legislation. The improvement might have been of a much more decisive character. (THE "MORNING CHRONICLE..) In the sitting of the Chamber of Deputies on Wednesday last, the Minister of Commerce, in pro posing the Budget of Commerce, went over the ground which has so often of late been gone . over in this country, namely, the principles which ought to govern the noion in its commercial policy. The System of France is one of restriction ; and, as un der every system of medicine, however opposite the treatments under them for the same diseases, physi cians have never hesitated for a moment to take cre dit for keeping their patients above ground, so, we can hardly be surprised, that each state doctor should deem the safety of the state bound up in the commercial system which he patronizes. Mr. Hus kisson and Mr. Charles Grant have insisted on the benefits of unrestricted commerce, as calculated to prOcure to a nation, considered as a whole, a greater amount of means of enjoyment, at the expence of labour, than could be procured under the close sys tem. The object of foreign commerce is to enable countries to exchange what one can produce with less labour than another, for that which another can produce with less labour than what it receives in return. Our advocates of free trade have boasted of the benefit derived from it by consumers in general, and not of the high prices obtained by the venders of particular commodities. The French Minister, on the other hand, considers, exclusively, the venders : " Many," he says, " complain of want of market, or of selling at tbo low a price. It is an evil, without doubt; but does the remedy depend on us ? Yes, if the glut or the low price has for its cause the sharing of our market with foreigners; for it depends on us to reserve it for ourselves. Yes, if in rendering our market more accessible to the pro ductions of other countries, we could find for our own, in foreign markets, a vent which should exceed in profit the abandonment which we shall have made at home. 'These two propositions are deserving of .!examination. I inquire into the state of our customs, and I find only a very small number of articles — for example, wool, hemp, coa l, h orses , cattle, cotton, and linen, with respect to which it can be pretended that importation prevents the sale of indigenous productions. Hence we do - not. fail to receive de mands for these different productions of a more effi cacious protection. It would be due to them, perhaps, if we had not to fear, in com pl e ti ng a pro tection which already is not without force, the throwing some trouble in relations which interests, not less precious, call on us to spare. Our tariffs, then, are not guilty of the depreciation, of our h ome productions,.or rather, it is to our tariff and this market of thirty-two millions of consumers that they reserve to them, that our producers, of all sorts, suc ceed in obtaining for their commodities and their merchandises a price much superior to .hat is ob tained for analogous commodities and merchandise, in all Europe. But if, thanks to our laws, our market remains, as much as we can reasonably de sire it should, for our own labour, is it true, that iii opening it more widely to foreigners, we shall find among them an ample indemnification for our concessions ? How can we believe this, Gentle men, when, as I have said, the price of our produc tions every where exceeds the price of theirs ? What country (be pleased to observe, Gentlemen, I am speaking of Europe) will purchase our grain in , presence of those of Poland and the Crimea—our hemps, in presence of those of Russia—our wools, in presence of those of Spain, Prussia f and Moravia— our cattle, in presence of those of Germany and the Netherlands—our cloths, in presence of those of England,the Netherlands, and Germany—our linens, in presence of those of Ireland and the Netherlands —our cotton goods, in presence of those of England and Switzerland ? Two of our rich productions, it is true, fear no foreign competition in any market of the world—our silks and our wines." Here, then, we have a Minister boasting of an advantage, that with the exception of two commodities, silk and wine, all commodities are produced in France at a greater expellee of labour than elsewhere--that is, that labour yields a smaller return, and consequently supplies less abundantly means for augmenting the national resources than in any other country ! This system, of course, nearly annihilates foreign com merce, because the Frenchman who exports can receive nothing in return. The only argument which can be urged in favour of a system like this, is that a nation, cut off from foreign com merce, is secured against the caprices of foreign Governments, which, by prohibitions and protecting duties, may suddenly throw large classes of men idle. It may be said, perhaps, that it is bette► to be poor than to be subject to commercial vicissitudes. But this is always supposing that a nation can obtain the most important of al! commodities within itself— namely, food. How often has France, for instance, suffered severely from scarcities amounting almost to famine; and how is a nation producing exclusively for itself to obtain the mewls of purchasing food elsewhere ? If we are' to believe the Minister of Commerce, France cannot extend the sale of her wines and her silks, and she has nothing else to give. What a confusion, under such circumstances, must be produced by a scarcity. Every commodity being higher than elsewhere, the loss by a forced ex portation would be enormous. Something must be given for the food. If gold and silver, then gold silver will become scarce, and rise with regard to commodities—in other words, commodities will fall, so that it is immaterial whether other goods be ex ported in the first instance, or the rise in gold and silver force sales to replace the gold and silver sent away. If nations were always secure of food, in ternal tranquillity might be some compensation for poverty ; but experience teaches us that in even the most extensive countries scarcities frequently compel an importation of food. We confess, when we con sider how much more England abounds with horses, cattle, sheep, grain, potatoes, and fuel, to say nothing of the conveniences of life, than France, how much we have within ourselves the means of supplying our necessary wants, we see rio cause for envying the French theory of commerce. We only wish that Sir Thomas Lethbridge, the Duke of Richmond, Lord Redesdale, and the other advocates of restric tion were French proprielaires with the benefit of French protection. We recommend the speech of the French Minister to Mr. P. Courtenay, cisnceiv ing it may be useful to him, when he begins to fill up the blank of his capacious mind. Mr. Goulburn, who did not know that the French prohibited the importation of woollens (in this country a Minister can, in general, do nothing, till he is crammed by the Clerks under him, who are really the Ministers), may, if he have not been convinced by the witnesses before the Wool Committee, be. satisfied on this point, by the speech of the French Minister of,Com merce. (THE MORNING HERALD.) Long. speeches were uttered the other night re specting the moderation of the Emperor of Russia, who, at the head of a large army, is posting on to Constantinople. But who can doubt that it is his intention to make that city, if he can, his third ca pital ? We long since said that the Russians were bent on this; we also said that the Greek Treaty was entered into by us, in order, if possible, to keep back the Russians; but the latter laugh at us and tho .Treaty; and they must also laugh at us for destroy ing the Turkish fleet at Navarin, which fleet, if it had not been destroyed, would probably have been more than a match for any fleet -the Russians could have brought against them. But debt has brought us to this. We look on while Russia does us she likes. To enter into any war that should keep the Russians from seizing the peninsula, would cost us from 50 to 100 millions a-year beyond what we now spend ; and how could that be raised, except on the old principle of borrowing 501., and stipulating to pay back 1001. ? And then the people would be taxed to pay back the interest. We can neither go to war with Russia or Portugal ; our debt prevents us. We are in a si milar state to that in Alich the petty Italian Stares were some 200 or 300 years ago. Instead of fight ing, we are engaged in negociating. SUNDAY PAPERS. (THE NEWS. PROJECTED PLAN OF PACIFYING THE IRISH PEOPLE. The landholders will find the necessity of peopling their estates with Protestants. This will take time, it is true; but what great or bmeficial work was ever effected without time? We believe the Clare election has dune more for the reformation of Ireland, than any event since the battle of Aghrim.—Standard. COUNSEL—NOW, Pat tell us hew this mighty affair ended. PAT—Why it all ended in botheration. CouNsKr.--" Botheration" again ! we have had you a long while Pat under examination ; and you have used this Irish term fifty times. NoW tell us Pat what you mean by botheration ? PAT-IVIly it is exactly what is taking place between you anti me, Sir, at this indintical time.—. Report of an Irish If ever there was an Administration that was com pletely bothered by the state of Ireland, it is the present one. They cannot make an Irish Peer out of a commoner that is an M.P.; because if they did, Mr. Shell would follow Mr. O'Connell into the House ; they dare not dissolve the Parliament, if the King and his Military Cabinet were to be outvoted; they cannot reward any Member of the Sister Isle with a good place, without endangering his seat; and they are, by recent circumstances, picketted on the torturing necessity of meeting one of the first Irish Orators and Lawyers (who is the virtual Re presentative of five millions qf people) without an Orator or a Lawyer to confront. him ; and whether right or whether wrong, to dispose of the most odious and invidious case that ever came before the prac tical deliberations of Parliament. If they cannot ef fect en ouster without an ab origins disqualification of the candidate,—the same candidate might be re turned for the hundredth time; and this guerilla Warfare of the public mind in Ireland would pro bably be continued until there was a virtual disfran chisement of Protestants as Members for the whole of that part of the kingdom. " Think of that, Master Brook!" The Tory Press is quite in a quandary; and It now appears no longer a desirable affair to wait the process of th e N ew Reformation; by the progress of which,in the existing ratio of conversion —perad ven ture no unforeseen obstructions occurred—the king dom of Ireland might be redeemed, by the Reformed Faith, about the year of our Lord, sixteen thousand and twenty-0;0E. " The Standard," that has anathe matised one of the Orange prints for its injudicious violence, mildly suggests the ousting of the whole Irish population from the estates of the Prot es t ants , on the expiration of their takes. This is rea ll y one of the most profound statistical discoveries of our times; and banishes to an immeasurable distance the example of the sagacious 7112 CC who met in Council ; and carried, unanimously , the proposition, for hanging a bell round the cat's neck, in order th at they might hear when she war coming. The c ulty that occurred in forming the executive power —or in other words, in appointing the patriotic parties that would undertake to carry the measure into effect, --threw . a fatal stumbling block the way of this strait-forward policy of the pigmy Cabinet. There are, however difficulties in the way of the measure proposed for displacing the wh ole people of a large empire, on account of their religion, —which did not attach to the legislation of the mice. The question would arise of, —not only what was. to be done with the people, but what could be done without them. The Lord Lieutenant of Ireland would have to issue a proclamation to the following purport : " Ireland to -Wit. Wanted immediately, Two Millions of Protestant Tenants, to people the estates of ------, ! None need ap ply who are not well versed in the Protestant Epis copalian Catechism ; who have not been duly con s tinned; and who are not sincere members of the Reformed Church," &c. All this is deemed perfectly unobjectionalle by the Tory print s—the Catholics ha v ing had legal notice to quit. It were absurd to suppose that a »zillion of Fathers being peaceably ordered to leave the country of their ancestors, with their starvin* . and perishing offspring, could ever dream of offering any obstruction to the course of Law—because Law is the " petfectien of justice." In other triffi ng affairs, they might be desperate; shooting people on their own hearths, or firing their houses over their heads, might be common sport in the lower skies of discontent; but when a lease is expired, neither gunpowder nor steel can renew "the bond." May there not however possibly be a dearth of Pro testants, to people this new found land of the Re formation,—even when munured with the bodies of the refuse Catholic population ! (for not having the means of emigrating, the people must benefit the soil in one way or another). One of the Tory print s has observed how gradually the substitutionofa Protestant population wou ld take place, on account of the different periods of the expiry of the tenures; the writer does not add, "and how quietly likewise!" A few days ago, that Reverend print, the St. Jawes's chronicle, charged sonic Catholic in disguise with writing the leading articles of one of the Irish Orange Journals ; but we have seen nothing produced in Ireland equal to this cold-blooded project for the literal extermination of a whole people ! We scarcely can believe it to be anything more than a ruse of some Catholic wag, who was seeking to keep up the spirit of the time ; and who was afraid that the ani mus which the Tory Cabinet had excited should subside. If we must take it as a part and parcel of any deliberate views which the present Ministers or their creatures have entertained, then should we say that the sooner the notable plan is made intelligible to the Irish people, the better. Merciful God ! that it should ever be in the heart of a bigotry, engendered in the name (J . the Christian Religion, to project the ex tirpation of some millions of a Christian people, .be cause they differed in opinion from their fellow chris fiat's ; and that the propounders of this deed were the pretended advocates of a Reformed Faith ! A project for " warning of" the soil a whole Nation ! Admirable ! A process of legal ejectment against a million of tenants! A pretty good job for the laws yers ! flow comfortably the stew Protestants (if you could find the necessary number) would feel in their beds ! Time was, that a single change in the tenant of a district brought the sword, the fowling-piece, or the fire-brand to a man's bedside at midnight; and if a single and solitary instance of oppression roused a poor man's neighbours from their natural rest to revenge the wrongs of an individual—what must we picture to ourselves in the event of thousands on thousands being abandoned to want and desperation in the same district! Where is the Protestant peasant that were either weak enough or wicked enough to succeed to the hearths of a people whose blood were an eternal curse on the soil—if dead; and whose spirits, if living, were fitted only to carry universal death and desolation through the land ! No ! if the Irish people must be either banished or starved off; in detail—or converted to the true faith, let proclamation be made of the same—as a part and plan of the " decisive measures" of the new Mi litary Cabinet of which so much is bruited abroad. Let the horrible candour of such a policy boldly speak its intentions. Some of the latest accounts from Ireland continue to name the proceedings and views of the land-owners, whose forty shilling free holders exercised their undoubted right of voting for the man of their choice; it is stated that the land will be let in large farms to Protestants; and that the present population will be gradually displaced. We are loth to give credence to these statements; because there can be but one result, from the mo ment that such a system is sought to be acted upon , • and that result will cover the land with mourning. England, though at peace with other na tions, is not prepared to brave such a condition of things; nor can a British Parliament ever ultimately sanction a Ministry that had the imcromprehensible hardihood to proceed to the consummation of such an infamous project. There is danger in the very naming of such an intention, to the mind of every man who regards rebellion and revolution with the horror which they should always excite. Mr. Sheil related this plan of the back-bone Tory Cabinet, a few days ago, to a meb of Munster men, whose sense of wrong most greedily devoured his discourse, and with an intelligence that showed how entirely they comprehended the orator, whose soul-inflaming words they applauded "to the echo," that did applaud again. Yet the besotted system goes on ; and if the tools of the party are to be credited, with a firmness, facility, and success, unknown since the days of Pitt Let the Duke of Wellington, before he commits himself to any " straight-forwardness" and " decision" against his countrymen, pause for a moment over their afflictions; and the prospects that are break ing on him and on them ! In that moment may " consideration like an angel come," and save from fierce destruction both the ruler and the ruled! — The military road to peace, in Ireland, lies through " the valley of the shadow of death." Over whose mutilated bodies the Premier may stumble, in that perilous hour of action, if it be destined to come, none shall say. Ages of reproach and of bitter :or row can never redeem the errors of one false step, in this extremity of fortune. But " Foals rush on, where angels fear to tread." There is always all Ajax to be found in the elite of nations ; men who are great " cutters of the Gor dian knot;" placing all consequences to the account of the physique of military force. That England could and would conquer Ireland, in the event of another rebellion, were as certain as that such a con quest would be the ruin of her. The perishing Sister Isle would drag her unnatural conqueror into the same grave. (BELL'S LIFE IN LeoNnoN.) We hope the public will excuse us for adverting only for one moment to a subject personally affect ing Guiselves. In our Court of King's Bench in telligence will be found a report of an action brought by an attorney of the name of Fisher against this Journal, for what hc vatted a libel upon his charac ter. Were this one of the ordinary cases to which newspapers are exposed, from error and inadver tence, we should not trespass upon the public with a single remark; but when we are charged with libelling the character of a private individual, it is incumbent upon us to repel the imputation ; and we do so " more in sorrow than in auger," more in that folly so or t'ar from cupidity. It v pity than in indignation against the " unfortunate w i g lit" who has so expensively exposed himself to theil l b consequences s s e e e n en b c y e s o the f report,s i mean ing to vilify any private individual, we meant to hold up to execration and scorn the profligate indi viduals who had pandered to the depraved appetite of a certain portion of the public; we wish we could add, that that portion was not to he found in what is called fashionable life. This Fisher (a capital name for a greedy attorney), who is represented by his Counsel as a tall old man of sixty, and described in derision, we presume, by Harriette Wilson, as " a lady-killer," thought proper to take to himself (why, he best knew) a line in a dialogue, which we gave to Stockdale and his authoress; and to luring an action against us, after first tryiag the experiment of a pecuniary compromise, for libelling what he called his character. We were of course obliged, which is, perhaps, one of the unavoidable inflictions of the law, to go to the expellee of defending our selves from this Fisher's attack ; not that we cared a farthing about his wrath, or his habits, or his cha racter, for to us he was an obscure stranger; but because we did care, to stand before the public, free from the stain, which a portion of the weekly Prees, we fear, so justly deserves, of dealing in private . slander. Our success has been obtained by manly means. We thought the public would support a Journal conducted up©n fearless and independent. principles, and we are grateful for the realization of our well-founded anticipation. It will be seen from the Report, that the action of this attorney was ri diculous, and that he is (loomed, if he have the means, to pay the whole expences himself. Mr. Scarlett complimented us upon bei fig superior to the vulgar arts by which a spurious publicity is some times obtained, and gave us the benefit of his elo quence, and, what is of equal value, his personal tes timony to shield us from any possibility of being mixed •up with the vile herd of libellers who occasionally infest the Public Press. Lord Ten terden, who presided, with that dignity which is so embodied in his character, left the case fitirly to the JHry, upon the purity of our motives, and the Jury sustaining the sense and character of one of our most glorious institutions, and justly feel ing the public value of an independent press, pro nounced our triumphant refutation of the real libel, which this Fisher sought to affix upon us. The time was when Juries were prone to be inflamed from the Bench, and administer to the base arts of those who sought a living by quartering themselves for " damages" upon the public press : recent ver dicts, as The Sun (one of the ablest conducted of our Evening Journals) has well observed, have re ?loved this imputation from the administration of justice, and shielded, not crushed, with the panoply of law those who have deserved well of their coun try. A lesson has been read in this recent trial of ?ur's, of which the low-minded will profit, for there is a species of cunning, which is absorbed entirely i❑ self, that will not fail to catch the hint, that it is cheaper to dwell in idle obscurity, than poke them selves forwird at a dangerous risk, to eat the bread which other and better men have earned. We are always ready to relieve distress when a fair claim is made upon our bounty, but we shall be found to the last hour of our existence to resist exaction. (THE srilywx.) It is very generally reported that the Session now drawing to a close, will terminate at the same time the allotted days of the present Parliament. Our Military Premier is not quite satisfied, it seems with the sort of victories he has of late been achiev ing in the new field to which he has transferred his soldiership, and has resolved, accordingly, upon re modelling his .legions. This must be a pleasant piece of intelligence for those Hon. Members who have been working so hard for sonic time past to keep the Duke in good humour by their votes. It is really not a little cruel in his Grace to send them thus to face their Constituents, after having reduced them to the state he has done. They -have merited, from him at least, another reward. Have they not given themselves up, soul and body, to his service, ever since he became Commander-in-Chief of the State, to the utter neglect of every other authority which it was either their interest or their duty to have attended to—running like lackeys to swell his majorities, whether the division-bell was heard at " witching time of night," or during the drearier watches of the morning, and systematically shutting their ears and their understandings to every other appeal, save the " consummate eloquence" of Mr. Goulburn, and the crack of Mr. Holmes's whip, whenever they had to exercise their functions as le gislators ? And what was the mighty boon they asked for all this generous surrender of their time and their case, their reason and their conscience ? Nothing more than that they should be permitted to go on for a few years longer in the same course, and that this hateful disturber, a dissolution, should not be sent rudely to break in upon their career of com pliance and subservency. Yet, after having thus been seduced to disregard the claims, and betray the interests of their Constituents, to their Con stituents, it seems, are they to be sent back—and that by the very man for whose sake they have ex posed themselves to all the odium and contempt which their conduct has brought upon them. It is thus, however, that pusillanimity and selfishness de serve to be, and fortunately, often are, rewarded. THE JOHN BULL.) The observations of the Duke of Wellington on the subject of the West Indies, in the House of Lords, on Friday, will afford the highest consola tion and satisfaction to those who have heretofore been treated as monsters of iniquity, and persons proscribed, for the crime of being slave proprietors, His Grace, in disclaiming any intention of reflecting upon those who were anxious to improve the state of the slave population, wished it to be understood that the Colonial Legislatures were independent,that Government were aware, when they proposed mea sures to the Colonial Legislatures, that the Colonial Legislatures were fully competent to adopt those measures, to modify those measures, or reject them altogether ! Having that power, Government could not force them, and if the Noble ,Lord (Calthorpe) wished the government at home to force the Legis latures, his Grace would tell him, that the Govern ment at home could not do it—we have no more the power of Governing the Colonies by force than we have that of governing the mother country by force; they could only be governed as England was go verned, by laws enacted with the sanction of their own Legislature. The Duke declared that he had no intention to irritate the Colonists by strong mea sures or harsh language, he would prefer encourag ing them to do that, which would be alike beneficial to themselves and agreeable to the country. This tone is so different from that which the Colonists have been in the habit of hearing, that (added to. the pledge given by his Grace, of Enquiry before Legis lation) they will no doubt read the Duke's speech with satisfaction and gratitude. By the Suffolk Paper we see that Major Moody is re-instated in his official functions—if this be true, it will afford a new proof of the triumph of justice over cant and quackery, • (THE SFECTATOR.) INSURANCE SoutETlEs.—The interest excited by Savings • Banks and Benefit Societies has caused an inquiry into the constitution of Insurance Societies, which cannot be very agreeable to some of them. Of the grounds on which these societies form their calculations, and how they derive their own gain and cover the losses of others, the public has always been content to remain ignorant : it is sufficient for individuals to know that, by paying a certain sum annually, another certain sum will accrue to them -or their families in case of death, or of conflagration. The relation between these sums has always been a mystery .to the vulgar. The investigations of a late Committee of the House of Commons has thrown light upon the proceedings of some of these institu tions. It appear i s either that the tables upon which the oldest and most approved offices calculate their chances are very much below the real value of lives at different ages, or that sickness and mortality have very much decreased in the world since the tables were formed. The first of these considerations, if true , is consolatory to our pockets ; the other, to ou r hopes of continued existence. The tables which are most generally adopted, as the groundwork of cslculation, are the Northampton tables, as they are called : they were formed by Dr. Price, from bills of mortality kept in the parish of All Saints, North am during the y ears f rom 1735 t o 1780. Ac cording to these tables, the probable duration of a life already at twenty, is 3343 years. But, accord ing to tables formed from reports of the number who have been assured at the Equitable, the true pro bable duration is 41.05. A life at thirty, according to these tables and the practice of the Equitable, is 2 23 8: 8 7 : ye a a c r e s o i r n dil i g ra to tio t t h i e ; results from its reports, it, is 33.97. A life of forty, according to Dr. Price, is by Mr. Morgan, prove it to i-h e be fac w ts e ' r worth four years pub lishedu years and a fraction more. It is very clear that com panies whose theory and the results of whose prac tice differ so widely, must rapidly accumulate an im s ' mense capital. Just as Societies formed on this principle, who are the receivers of annuities, gain, so much must the Government, who is the granter of annuities, lose:- for the tables which are profit-: able to the one, must of t course be just the contrary' to the other. Mr. Finlayson has calculated that, by selling life annuities, " the Sinking Fund will incu a most enormous loss, which has been for many years increasing, is even advancing at the rate of 8,0001. every week, and that, during the last three months, it has exceeded 95,0001." It seems we are indebted to the Finance Committee for a steppage.of this drain. Whether sickness and mortality have in this country generally diminished, admits of some doubt : that the chances of life in infancy are much increased by superior methods of treatment, and the introduction of vaccination, is however certain. The entire subject is a most interesting one, but in every step the inquirer is met by a deficiency of data. We would earnestly - recommend to all superintendents and managers of large establishments, such as dock yards and prisons, to keep accurate registers of the ages, sickness, and deaths of the individuals and their families under their care. For general infor mation on this most important subject, we recom mend the perusal of the articles in the Quarterly Review, a number or two back, and another in the last Westminster, taken in conjunction with Dr. Mitchell's work on Benefit Societies. LAW INTELLIGENCE. COURT OF COMMON PLEAS, JUIN 19. CRIM CON. MARSH V. HARRIS. This was an action for Crim. Con., and Mi. Sergeant WILDE stated the plaintiff's ease to the Jury. The Learned Sergeant said, that in this case his client was a Lieutenant in his Majesty's Navy, and the defendant was a clerk in an attorney's office. The plaintiff in 1826 had gone out in the Asia, and subsequently transferred his services to the Ariadne, during which time his wife with her four children, resided in Margate. Soon after the plain tiff went to sea, it 'was obserVed that the defendant was very frequent in his visits to Mrs. Marsh, and both he and the lady were warned on the subject by those who felt interested in her behaviour. The defendant, however, had. persisted in his attentions, and the plaintiff had therefore come into Court to receive a verdict at the hands of the Jury. The defendant appeared in person, and cross examined all the witnesses himself. The following witnesses were called : - Martha Young—l was present at the marriage of the plaintiff, which took place about nine years ago ; Mrs. Marsh's maiden name was Mary Allll Young; they have four children, and they were married at Margate: The witness was then cross-examined by the de fendant, and said, I riever saw Mrs. Marsh in your company; I never saw any thing in her conduct improper; Mrs. Marsh has been living about 12 or 14 months in her present house ; Mr. Marsh went away some time before that; she was . then living somewhere on Dane-hill, in another pact of the town, before that they had been living in the barracks at Deal; plaintiff then was a Captain's clerk in the Admiralty Offiee; he held that situation before be was married; they lived at Deal about six years; he left Deal in consequence of kis ill-treatment of his wife; never saw him ill-treat her, but I know that she has received bruises from him of a very serious nature ; I have heard her complain from the very first of her marriage that he had treated her ill ; she was obliged to threaten to leave him, but I do twelve years old; I lived in not j a lc n m e l s v A t that she l en—l so.d a i t d n the house of Mrs. Marsh. Mr. Marsh was at sea then. I know defendant, and used to see him at the house. He sometimes came twice a day. I have seen Mrs. Marsh and Mr. Maris sometimes in the same chair together. I once saw him kiss her. Sometimes I was sent away when they were toge ther. I have seen the defendant in Mrs. Marsh's bed-room, and she was then with him. • Cross-examined—l do not remember when it was that I saw you in the bed-room ; it was some time before I went away from the house ; perhaps two or three months. I saw your hands on the back part of Mrs. Marsh's neck twice, I think. You had been in the drawing-room about an hour before you went into the bed-room. She went in first, and you went in afterwards, and remained there about half an hour. About a month after this I saw you kiss her. Thomas Foster--I am fourteen years old. In Sep tember last I lived at Mrs. Marsh's house. I used to see defendant there frequently. Thomas Marsh's birth-day occurred in October, and there was a little party on the occasion. Defendant was there. I first saw him in the parlour with Mrs. Marsh. After that they went into the drawing-room, which was up stairs. About half an hour after that defendant and Mrs. Marsh went into the bed-room. They re mained there for about a quarter of an hour. On coming out, Mrs. Marsh said, " You have spoiled my band ;" he said, " Never mind, I'll buy you a new one ." (A laugh.) /Mrs. Foster—l am the mother of the last wit ness. I went to lodge, in September last, at Mrs. Marsh's house. Defendant came there frequently. I have seen him there at nine at night. The children used to be in the room with them. I left in November, because I did not approve of their conduct towards each other. Cross-examined—l have known Marsh and his wife upwards of seven years.., I first became ac quainted with them at Deal. I think they left Deal in December, 1826. Plaintiff was superseded, but I do not know for what cause ;• Mrs. Marsh used to coniplain of the treatment of her husband ; I was once sent for to go to her • they had h a d s ome words, and I believe they had been fighting; she had marks of violence on her, her face was disco loured, and she was confined to her bed; she had a swelling under her throat ; her life was not des paired of, for she recovered in three or four days; the plaintiff was put under arrest; When we were altogether was I not equally fami liar with you as with Mrs. Marsh ?-:-.(A thatlaugh.)— Net oudo i: Mrs. Foster ' "knotv of—(A a ugh)—you t aid, how do 1 1 : id a n r : e b l y said " h l : i t r had taken thank you, Mr. Harris." pul A po l s e e t o t f er ex ; , as lain h in e g re th p e ut a ( P retty s er :e int WILDE, from Mrs. Marsh to her husband, for the place between them. She in that letter attributed their quarrel to the love of drink, and promised faith fully that if he would not separate from her, she would never give way to that passion again. Lieutenant Kitchen—l have known plaintiff since 1819. From 1822 to 1825, 1 had an opportunity of witnessing his conduct towards his wife, and it was always kind and attentive. My acquaintance with him ceased in January, 1825. Mr. Marsh, senior—Theplaintiff joined the Asia in December, 1827, and did not come back till a month ago. Cross-examined—My son never behaved ill to his wife, but she did to him ; he was discharged from Deal because he came home a little in !jquor one night, and gut into a quarrel with his wife, and, in consequence of that they took advantage of the opportunity of turning him out, because his wife was a general nuisance in the barracks, and had in sulted every body there. The CHIEF JUSTICE then summed up, and the Jury found for the plaintiff , --Damages, One Shilling. The Court, on its rising, adjourned till Monday the 27th October. A gentleman who has just arrived from Lis bon visited the prison previously to his departure, when one of the prisoners informed him that be bud not been able to get any sleep for three nights, on a ccount of the dreadful screams heard at different periods of the night, supposed to proceed from prisoners under torture, in ord er to induce them to confess. • APOLEON'S letter to SAVARY, 011 sendi ng him to Russia, is a good specimen, of the acutene ss o f hi s mind :—" In your conversation, ' Says sa}s lit, " care f u ll y from succeeding' in any preventaty rendering you ob ir avoid any thing that 'nay be offensive. For insta nce , never speak of war. Do not con demn an y custo m , or comment upon any absurdity. Every nation has its peculiarities ; and it is too much the hab it of the French to compare all customs with their own, and to set th emse l ves up as mu rnleehiothu'isng. This i c s ie a ty b p bad co wi u ll rs ) course, nd MIDDLESEX SESSIONS. On Saturday, James and John King, and two well-known Battle-bridgers, were indicted for as saulting John Forbes, a street-keeper, of St. Se pulchre's, under the following atrocious eireutn4 stances : On the evening of Friday, the 9th of May, Forbes saw the two defendants driving a miserably-jaded horse from Smithfield towards Cow-cross, and dread fully beating it with cudgels, the flesh in many places being cut in strips from the bones, and the animal bleeding profusely. He interfered, and was thre*• tened with similar treatment if he did not " cut his - stick." Oa his further interference, this threat was put into execution, and Forbes was knocked down and kicked by the prisoner James King, the other prisoner belabouring him with hiS stick while on the ground. Two individuals who ran to his assistance were similarly treated, and one of them was bit through the thick of the arm by James, who swore the most dreadful oaths that he would murder any one that attempted to take him into custody. After the' most determined resistance, they were both locked up in the watch-house. James King was sentenced to six months' impri sonment in the House of Correction and hard labour, and John to four months. C;OUN TRY CORN MARKETS DURING LAST WEEK. Wheat. I Barley, Oats. Beans. Per Quarter. s. to s. s. to a. a. to s. .a. to a. Carlisle . 51) 62 32 36 22 24 52 56 Carmarthen,.,..,.,,.,, 48 3t 16 harn... . 511 60 127 33 18 25 50 52 Morpeth .50 55 27 30 17 23 32 3S Penrith 61 I 2S •23 33 Sheffield 5t ti 4 130 35 20 27 44 50 Winche,ter 52 64 127 30 20 93 50 CO Per Bi s. d. F. tl. 6. d. e. tl. s. d. a. 6. s. d. s. tl. Coventry 63 70 33 42 34 40 49 56 Newcastle (Staff) 8 0 8 4 0 0 0 0 3 6 3 9 7. 0 7 6 Northallerton.— 6 0 7 0 4 0 4 3 2 3 2 6 5 0 5 6 Stafford --....... 8 4 8 6 0 0 0 0 4 0 4 2 0 0 8 0 Swansea 66 7 0 40 46 99 96 00 0 Warwick 6 3 7 0 3 3 4 2 3 0 3 9 5 0 60' Per 8011. Barnarticastle 13 6 15 6 9 0 0 0 5 0 7 0 0 0 12 0 Darlington 11 0 IS 0 9 0 10 6 5 9 8 0 9 6 10 6 Durham . 126 16 0 89 00 50 70 10 0 1 . 26 Violsingitant 113 0 15 6 8 6 9 0 6 0 7 6 0 0 0 0 WAKEFIELD, July 18. • Flaying had much rain during the week, and a short supply of Wheat at market to-day, good fresh samples have gone off slowly, at an advance of 2a. to 3s. per quar ter, and ot!ler descriptions obtain about Is, per quarter more. Oats are much the same. Beans are rather dearer, but the demand is only trifling. • Wheat, Bed, Nerfol4C and Suitt)lk ....... 495. to 525. tine 563. Lincolnshire 50s. to 525. tine 545. Yorkshire, &c. ' ' 48s. to 523. tine 535. .........--- White -- Foreign, Red Barley, Norfolk and Suffolk —s. to —s. fine —s. I , iiicoltishire —s. to —s. fine --4. Yorkshire Wold —s. to —s. fine —s. Beans, Tick 3tis. to 395. fine 40a. Small 3ss. to 395. fine 40s. Oats, Poland and Potato 2ls. to 255. fine 2L. Friezland and Sinai! l7s. to 22s.•tine 23a. Melding RM. to 12d.. per Stone. Shelling !is. to 29a. —a. to —s. per Load. 51 alt Stis. 40s. line 425: per Load. .. _ ... .. .... .„ Rapeseed ' 4 Ol. Os. 221. 0.. 21/. 100. s per Last. SCOTCH MARKETS. 11ADDINGTON CORN 111 A RKET.—july 18. The markets continue to be very thinly supplied. There were only 5 quarters of Barley offered, which sold at 38 5 • Of Oats, 126 quarters were sold, and HI - unsold ; top 6d and average 3d. down, Wheat went off readily ; tor down Is., but the average is Is. Sd. above last week's. Wheat. Barley. Oats. Pease. ECSIIIS. First Cis Od 38s Od 27a 6d 33a Od 365 Od Second :i3s Od —a Od 2.5 s Cd 32s Od 34s Od Third There were 241 qrs. of Wheat in market, 210 whereof were sold• U 11601,1.-20 Grey. .....21. 12s. id. 9-12 the Avera DALKEITIi CORN MARKET.—JuIy 17. ' The supply of all kinds of Grain at this day's market was small, and sold heavily at former prices. Wheat, best 585., current :As., inferior 50s. Barley, best 365., cur rent 345., inferior 325. ; Oats, best 26a., current 24s•' inferior 20s. Pease and Beans from 30s. t 0 .365. per qr• Wheat. Barley. Oats. lease. Beans. 5Ss $d 3O Ott ',Nis Ott 36. s Ott 30s Od Second... Ms Od 3ds (XI 24s'Od 34s Od 31s Od Third..... SO3 Od 30s tkl at Jos Od 30s Od CORNWALL MARKETS. Tau ao.—Wheat (average) 29. J. 10g.—Oats, 83. %I. HEL.TON—Wheat, 21s. Cd.—Barley, 10s. Od. AusTELL--Witeet, 19s. to 23.. s le. to 118.-..0fit 61 9s. to los. Od. Boomm—Wheat (average) 235. Od. —flarley, 10s. 6(l.—Oats, Os. LA UNC ESTON—AV h eat (average) 21a. Od.-ISarley, 10s. o,l.—Oat So 7s. 01—Beef, 6d.—Mutton, 61. LisimAtto—Wheat, 21s. t 235. Od.—Barley, :Ds. 6d.... Oats, 9 ' l ' to Os. Od. and Mutton, 4d to :i d.—Veal and Lamb, of to 6d. Sr. COLITSIB—Wheat , 20 3. to 22s.—Parley, Os. to' los. —Neel ., PENZANCE—Wheat, 20s. to 22s.—Barley, —s. to 95.--Oat! , Ss. to 9s. Oct.-13eel and I%lutton, 4d. to 6d.—Pork, M. to 3d --. Butter, Sid. per lb. MINING INTELLIGENCE. Tons. Ce' Quantity of Copper Ore sold at Redruth last Thursday 1,112 0 Average Produce . 7)4 11 Quantity of fine Copper l5B ~„6 Amountof Sale. 11,1t)1. ls. o.l.—Average Standard, 1061. 12s. v.' THE WEATHER AND TILE CROPS.—The early season of gathering in the northern counties w' s favourable in the extreme, and a great quantity of bay ea t of the abundant crops was secured in capital condition . In the immediate neighbourhood of most of the principa l towns • of Yorkshire, about two-thirds of the crop Wa s gathered before the rain of last week came on ; but ie country situations that proportion of the grass was the' either uncut .or ungathered. About the middle of the lot week the barometer sunk rapidly, and torrents of rain fell day after day, till the rivers became swollen, and on Sunday and Mondly last, vast tracts of land, particularly in the south-east part of this county, extending from Doncaster to Hull, w e re inu n d a t e d ; even i n th e neighbourhood 0( . Wakefield the hay was seen floating in the fields ; and nest Barnsley, a great deal was either washed away'or i.endere a useless, except for litter. The corn crops have also be Much beaten down by the heavy rains, spd•potatoes i n lots situations have suffered from the floods. About mid-dsY on Tuesday (St. Swithin's), a happy change took places and the weather has since been more favourable. .We are happy to add, that the injury sustained by the crops, though considerable, is in general not irretrievable, and that, Dot, withstanding this unusual watery visitation at Midsummer' the prospucts of the country, as far as the produceof the sell is concerned, are still very favourable.—Leeds Mercury. BIRTHS. On the 18th instant, in Upper • Gower-street, the lady 01 Thomas Methold Waters, Esq., of a son. On the 19th instant, at Lavender-sweep, Clapharn-eom mon, Mrs. John K. Gilliat, of a daughter. On the 13th instant, in Eldon-square, Newcastle-upon' Tyne, the wife of C. B. Allhusen, Esq., of a daughter. On the 18th instant, in Upper Wimpole-street, the wife of the .Rev. Robert Fitzherbert Fuller, pia son. On the 19tiOnstant, -the wife of the Rev. Snmuel Wk. ter Burgess, A.M., of a son and heir. MARRIED. On. the 17th instant, at Cheltenham, by the Ra e ' Fletcher Fleming, of ,Rydal, Weitmoreland, Grace Trevor . Charlotte Boscawen, the eldest daughter of the late Boseawen, Esq. to William Fleming, Esq., second on of the Rev. John Fleming, of Rayrigg, Westmoreland. On the 19th instant, at St. Pancras church, by the Ref' Dr. 11.11, Master of Pemb roke College , Oxford, James B ut cliell, Esq., of Red Lion-square, to Amy Ann Holditrlo widow of the late Joseph Patience, Esq., of Tottenham. On the 19th instant, at St. Luke's, Norwood, by tl' e Rev. Arthur Gibson, John Tregoning,E4q., citYork-pla ct ' Kennington, to Miss . Leaf, of Norwood. On the 19th instant, at Christ Church, Marylebone. l / the Rev. William 'Wilder, William Fortune, Esq., Leweston, Pembrokeshire, to Newtonia, daughter of tr" late Rev. Joseph Fortune, Rector 'of New Moat, in the same county. • On the 19th instant, at St. Ann's, Soho, Thomas Clet e ; Esq., of V aulan-place, St. Alban's, to Marriott, young°, daughter of th e l ate G eorge C o tt on , • E sq . ; o f Ronda' Essex. the Tithe DIED. • , :.; 4 0 o t n li . i o n. e t o a r li g t e , ai io i r ) ( i i s i h t w iv u e s r e st i i n n his age. ite‘ On the 17th instant, at his residence in Walwortiha Gthiens7v;nth";Peallr'oef a lingering illness, John Idle, Esq., in his both year. s , On the 18th instant , Charlotte,• wife of• Bruno SO Esq. of Hunter-street, Brunswick.square. On the 19th instant, the infant on of Mr. 1110311 Fitch, of L e adenhall-street. pr. On the 14th instant, at his house, at Plymouth , William Bremner, late of the island of Dominica, i 0 1 "" West Indies. On the sth March, on his passage from India, Kel L ie r Edward •Kelly, only son of Lientesiant , Colonel late of the Life Guards, and now Aid-de-Camp to dia Le'r.:l Coinherinere. Helen a victim to the climate of In his 22d year. Pstrr•••••••••••••••••••• dild noustnn) by M..YOUNG, at tiit.SUN OV` I No. 112, Strand, London. Jac be 1 1 : and the hit giv mo ani