The Sun. — London, England, 1825-01-27 00:00:00

FRENCH PAPERS. ( From Ms Xtaik, dated Tuesday. ) NAPLIS, JAN. 6. ,nevitliee de Medici, 1101inister of State, 1 the honour to present to the King an _ph testament (i.e. a will, all written in the tegator's own hand) of his august father Ferdi mand.l., This paper-is dated Feb. 43, I 822; a codicil l 'slated Nov. 4, 1824, was annexed to it. These • papers have been read in the Council of State. We • hope -we shall be able to communi cate their contents, confining ourselves at present to that they breathe throughout the piety 2ha" snitsificence •.which characterized •his .late Majesty. By a n express order of the King, - all-the-pa fers of be late King, .of -every description, and all the doors of his private cabinet, are put under seal The King, desiroutto give himself up entirely to his grief, has retired with the Queen and all the Royal Family to the Palace of Capo di Monte. The Duchess of Florida, widow of Fer dinand 1., has been invited by the King to come and mingle her tears with those of the Royal Family. When the body of the late Ring• bad been watched for 32 hours by all the great Officers of the Crown, it was opened and embalmed. All the viscera were found to be in a perfectly healthy state, but a great quantity of blood upon the brain showed that his Majesty died of an apo plectic fit. -The guns of ait-the forts and f batteries, and of the ships of war, fire.every half hour as a sign of mourning. 'PARIS, JAN. 42. After the obseqUies of his Majesty, Ferdinand, King of Naples, which will take place on the all the Court, the diplomatic body, the great officers, the foreigners who have been pre sented, and in general all persons received at Court, will repair to Capo di Monte, to be pre sent at the kissiug of hands, and the returning of tke—Staff to the Captain of the Guards, who is to present it to his Majesty on his knees. • His'iVlajesty is to return to Naples incognito the same evening, and the next day all the thea tres will be opened again. The most perfect tranquillity reigns at Naples. Baron Hyde de Neuville arrived at Paris yes terday evening. To-day he has paid a visit to his Excellency Baron de Damas, Minister for Foreign Affairs. We learn that it is Prince Nicholas Esterhazy 3..h0 is to be present at the coronation of his Majesty Charles X. at Rheims, in the name of the Emperor of Austria. VIENNA, JAN. 15. Count A ppony, who was preparing to set out for London, where he is to fill the post of Am bassador, has just been commissioned to proceed immediately to Naples, to compliment King "Francis I. on his accession to the throne. (From the Journal des Debats.) PARIS, JAN. 24. The following paragraph is found iu the Echo 'da Midi, a Ministerial Journal of Toulouse : " We are informed by a letter from Paris, that the question of terminating the affairs of Greece, is more than ever agitated in the Cabinets of Europe : reciprocal overtures have been made 11 the Great Powers. It is demanded, we are assured, that the Morea, and a portion of the islands of the Archipelago, should be acknowledged independent. The Grand Seignor Is to give his full assent to this politic measure, which 'would terminate the misfortunes which at present desolate those countries, and would leave no chance for the ambition of certain Cabinets. May this news be realized, for the interests of religion and hkunanity." ( Front the Constitutionnel of Monday.) PARIS, J.ts. 24. A fact is reported in all the commercial circles, by which one may judge of the inconceivable -policy of our Ministry. Four individuals of Co lombia having arrived in Europe, first went. to 4:ttgland, where they were charged to observe the mechanism and fabrication of the .steam machinery, for the purpose of introducing it .into their country. They had, moreover, a •credit for two millions five hundred thousand francs on France, to buy there silks, wines, and ,brandies ; but having demanded passports to -come here, it is reported that they received . for answer from our Legation, that being sub jects of the King of Spain, they ought to ad dress themselves to the Ambassador of that .Power. What has been the result ? Why that these traders have exhausted their credit in -London, and that they have made in England .those purchases which they ought to have made in France. Such is for our neighbours the re sult of the low policy of the French Ministry, ,aud such is for our country the result of its trait scendant or sentimental policy. A little while ago the Curate of the Assumption refused to allow a noble Protestant Peer to sign the deed of the-religions celebration of his niece's marriage. The curate of Chaillot being informed. that an honourable Calvinist was to assist at the : nuptials of two of his parishioners, prevented his being allowed to subscribe the register. This measure, which appears to be prescribed by the superior authorities, will probably be carried on to baptism, and they will reject a god-father if - be be not a Catholic. The ecclesiastical registers having no character either for authenticity ,or for legal accuracy, this exclusion of course matters but little, so long as the pre e lent la\v subsists upon the civil state ; but if the din state should be transferred to the Clergy, surely they will -not be permitted to reject arbitrarily, on account of their -.religious creed, witnesses otherwise .-worthpof credit. JAN. 13. I t has been reported here that there has been great agitation in Lisbon. Our letters, however, . are quite silent on any such business. This, how ever, may arise from prudence, for letters from • Spanish towns, on the frontiers of Portugal, an - bounce that there has been so Inuch disturbance both in Oporto and in •Lishon, that the Govern— ment had thought it nec e ssary to disembark the knglish troops. FRENCH FUNDS. PAUIC JAN. 24—Five per Cents. opened at 1.02 f. 25e., and clo4ed at 103 f.; Bank Stock, 1,970 f.; Neapolitan Five per 'Cents. (Falcnnnet's Certificates), Si lf. 35c. ; Royal Spanish Loan, 1823, EXCHANGE ON taNDow.---One Month, 24f. 95e; Three "Months, 24f. Nc.--( Cour: Atuthentique.) I MR. SECRETARY CANNING. ON THE RECOGNITICrN OF THE SOUTH AME- RICAN - REPUBLICS. (From. the Journal dss Debuts.) Fhere is so much - ignorance in the articles of the 31iniste -64 Journals, that we blush to employ ourselves in refuting them ; but, as ignorance is the lowest stage from which men caa start to ascend to knowledge, the Ministerial Journals offer the most certain point which could be chosen to start from in search of truth. In this respect they are useful. They ask—" what has Mr. CANNING done to merit the praises which are lavished on him ? He is proclaimed the greatest Statesman that ever existed, for having seeured to his coun try the gain of some millions." Men who occupy themselves seriously with political studies have never formed their jtidgment, from a single fact, of the power and talent of those who are placed - in a situation to in fluence the destiny of a nation ; for, in so doing, they do not 'comprehend even the value of the fact on which they would ground their judgment. Nothing is insulated" in politics. The following is the way in which such studies are pur sued Ten years ago, Mr. Canning offered himself ass candi date at the Liverpool election ; England was then led astray from her true policy by the "dazzling effects of the prodigious s uccess which she had obtained, in common with those viho - have since been called the Rory Alliance ; and the English Ariato , cracy, for the first time since - the establishment of liberty in that country, seemed disposed toforget those principles, which, ' in justifying its pre-eminence, have always constituted its glory and its safety. In England a candidate must speak to the electors whose suffrages he solicits. If this usage be attended with some in conveniencies, it has also its advantages, since it compels a de claration of principles which cannot be violated, and it furnishes a pledge that the mediocrity of the candidates shall not extend to the most complete nullity. In the then state of England, what speech did Mr: Canning address to the electors of Liverpool ? " I know", said the Honourable Gentleman, " that the Opposition Members who wish to concentrate the Ministry in certain great families, and who, while mocking legiti macy with respect to thrones, :pretend to hereditary poli tical talents, treat me as an adventurer. I do not under. stand what such a reproach can mean tit a country where all the highest offices of the State are open to every one, but I ac cept this denomination, if it designate a man, who, as a repre sentative, wishes but to depend upon the nation, and who, to serve his country, conceives that he has no occasion for the sup port of a hundred generations of illustrious ancestors." Never was a declaration conceived in dearer terms; yet, it was but a simple candidate who dared thus to express his thoughts and his sentiments. The man who, in his silence, gives himself up closely to political studies, transcribes this avowal into his collection of public statements, which he deems it necessary to refer to, and puts as a note, under it, the following :—" This speech is either mere rhodomontade, or an act of the most splendid justice which a man, conscious of his own powers, can render to himself. In any case, there is prodigious greatness of mind in thus declaring war against the loftiest pretensions, before even being secure of entering the lists." Mr. Canning was chosen by the electors of Liverpool. Through difficulties, insurmountable in • t conittry where talent was not the greatest power known, he rt2-dies the Ministry, not ignorant that England is entangled in flit' az,,,intels of the Holy Alliance; he withdraws her, places her on ono side, and finally, in opposition, giving always - to his continct that appearance of frankness which enables him coolly to say_to.:hose whom itilis concerts—" I forewarned you of it." And this b oces so directly to the object, that the French Ministry, who cried out that war would be rekindled in Europe, if England recognized the In dependence of South America, says, two days after the public declaration of that independence—" Nothing new has hap pened—we were forewarned of it !" It is not, therefore, for having secured the gain of several millions to his country, that Mr. Canning takes his place in the first rank of Statesmen, but because, having a system, he at once avowed it in the face of those who could counteract it, and before he was himself in a position which enabled him to put that system in operation ; because, having publicly pro fessed certain principles, he has never swerved from them : and, above all, because there were formidable obstacles to overcome before he could accomplish what he now has acconi plished; and that he surmounted those obstacles, without, for a moment, balancing between the resignation of the seals of office and the dishonour of acting contrary to his own prin ciples. His strength did not consist in his ministerial posi tion, but in his personal character and in the wisdom of his opinions. His antagonists, England, and the Opposition al ways so respectful towart:s him, are equally convinced of this truth. The weakest Ministers in point of talent, always know and believe some things. •If , they are conscientiously misled, the public feel it, and attribute the mischief they do, not so much to the men themselves, as to the institutions of the coun try, which prohibit the application of general knowledge, and the:force of ptiblic opinion, in opposition to individual inca pacity. But the Minister who belies his conscience, who acts. against his conviction, who. giving way constantly to a party whom he neither respects nor esteems, and the dupe of his own artifices, more and more involves himself in a false policy, with the frivolous hope of regaining by subter fuge the ground which he yields without honour : such a Minister would be judged by the public as he deserved, and more severely than a Minister who errs with good intentions. They would say of the latter, " be has been deceived ;" of the former, " he has not eveniknown how to deceive, and yet that was all he aimed at:" In thus contrasting the end now attained by Mr. Can. ning with-the point from which ha set out ten years ago, we have been anxious to demonstrate that it ix not upon insulated facts that enlightened men form their judgments. The Ses sion of the English Parliament being about to open, the sim plicity a-Lich Mr. Canning will adopt in his language will form a fresh subject of political study. The bold and uncompro mising candidate for Liverpool will be foand very unassuming ; hut he has nothing now to brave, though he kno ws ver y well that there may he a great deal with which he may have to contend. Hence, it was not, without -a reason, that he preced ed the opening of Parliament with the recognition of the-inde pendence of South - America. As soon as it shall be well un derstood that this measure has the approbation of a country which thoroughly comprehends its own interests, all the Cabi nets of Europe may send Notes and Counter-notes, without any other result than that of opposing phrases to facts. In the way of a political study, Frenehmen may remark, that the most important affairs are decided in England, while the London Journals regularly announce, •that the Ministers are gone into the country, to the watering-places, or to parties of pleasure of long duration. In considering our system of Administration, we might be led to suppose-that Ministers are like artificers—that they work only with their arms, and on the spot where they are placed. It is not.thusln England there they work with the profound knowledge which prevails, -with the mind and with reflection ; and these can be trans ported any where. Therels nothing more calculated to ener vate the moral facilities, than the supposed necessity of con stantly affixing signatures, —of distracting attention by giving trivial audiences, which are incessantly repented,_of passing continually from the details of one affair to those of ano ther wholly different. It would he impossible to find an able man in England who could and would discharge the office of-a Minister in the way it is discharged in France. M edio crity may easily. conce a l it se lf b e hi nd that mass o f papers -- created by the concentration of affairs, but talent would find in them its tomb; -and the - custom of England having proved that talent is more necessary to the prosperity of States than sign ing machines, the Government and the -general Administration take especial charge of those matters oily which the citizens cannot execute for themselves. It is t that the nation hus bands a strength which it imparts, when ere is occasion, - to 'those who govern it-well, and which it wit , lds from others. -But in justifying the impartiality of th who consider -Mr. Canning as one of the greatest Ministers of England, our principal object has been to show to those who iio not seem to be aware of the fact, that the France of 11.125 has no resem blance to the France of 1738. At the latter period we could not have reckoned as many Frenchmen who merely knew the names of the Ministers at Versailles, as we could now reckon those who understand perfectly well the men, the ,public in terests, the policy, and the administration of the States of the Old and the New World. INDI1: We have re c eived files of the Calcutta John' Bull, but of an earlier date than the recent ac counts from that. quarter. They consequently contain nothing new 'from the Burmese frontiers. The following are extracts :—.. MR. 310ORCROFT'S JOURNEY. [From 11w John._ Bull of Aug. 4, 1824.1 We - arentnch indebted to a friend for the perusal of a -letter dciteali'eshOur, April 15, 1824, giving some interesting par ticulars of Mr. 31 oorcroft. This enterprising traveller, it is known, had been detained long at Rashmeer, in consequence of the manteuvres of Runjeet Singh ; but in August last he was' ..enabled to prosecute the venturous journey. In passing through the country of the Kuttaks, 3lr. 3loorcroft met with very considerable di ffi culty, and not a littl e d a nger ; enough, indeed, to have appalled almost any other traveller. The chief of this tribe is an ally of Runjeet Singh, and made an attempt.to cut off 31r. Moorcroft and hi 4 party, by inter cepting their progress at the head of a river which was almost dry. In this, however, they failed, owing to the determined conduct displayed by 31r. 3loorcroft. Although the Affghauns were 700 in number, and our traveller could only muster a party of 30, he boldly offered them battle, and prepared to force his way through them, when these brave fellows--this " hardy and in' id race,"—these " bold mountaineers," as it is the fashion ,o call them, took to their heels, and scampered off.- 31r. 3loorcroft and his party were all well in April at Peshour. He had made ieveral excursions into the neighbouring country, and gained a stock of useful information with regard to a species of horse, which, it is thought, might with great advantage be introduced into the Company's stud establishment. The letter speaks big* of theltind treatment experienced by the party at kii Peshour, alitientions that preparations were making to pro ceed in a fit weeks to Cabdol. A correspondent of the raktrtta Scotsman, who writes from. Pooree, under date the 11th of J illy, gives an account of another Suttee which took place there on the 2d of that month. The un fortunate victim of the barbarous rites of the Ilindoo religion was the widow of allrahmin,whodied,aged about 40,while the widow was from.3o to 35. There was nothing different in this horrible de tail from the numerous accounts of similar atrocities which we re ceive from India by every fresh arrival front our territories in the East. Persuasions„promises of support and protection during the remainder of her lite, were abundantly used to induce the woman from the horrid crime of self-immolation. These, as is almost always the case, -were unavailing, and the revolting ceremony proceeded. It seems that in this instance the fire was not power ful enough, nor the smoke dense enough to put a speedy period to her existence. She was seen for several minutes .kneeling amidst the fire by the side of her husband's corpse, her body erect, and the only indication of pain being a motion of her head backwards and forwards. At last she flung herself forward amongst the flames, and was consumed. THE ARMY. GENERAL ORDER. Horse Guard:, Jan. 14. It having been represented to the Commander-in-Chief that very serious inconvenience, as well as great irregularity, have arisen in consequence of the wine and spirits '(stopped as a punishment from the soldier, by the officers commanding troops when embarked in transports), being re-issued in gross to the men, his Royal highness has been pleased to direct that this practice shall be entirely discontinued. Whenever circumstances render it necessary to abate the ration of wine or spirits to the soldier, his Royal Highness de sires that the value in money shall be laid out for his benefit at the period of disembarkation ; but his Royal Highness strictly forbids that it shall on any account be re-issued in any kind during the time the troops continue on board ship. By command of his Royal - Highness the Commandsr.in- Chief, HENRY TORRENS, Adjutant-General. ARMY—(INDIA.) A COURT-3lanTrAr. was held at Nagpore, on the 23d June, 1824, at which Captain Alexander Brown, of the lst European Regiment, was arraigned for addressing an improper letter to his Commanding Officer, and writing divers other let ters and papers, thereby evincing a pertinacious adherence to a spit it of litigiousness and insubordination. Eleven different charges were preferred, and the Court found.. him Guilty on nine of the allegations. Sentence.—" 'file Court having found the prisoner guilty of so many and so_ much of the charges exhibited against him, sentence Mtn to be suspended from sank and pay fur the, period of one calendar month. " Confirmed, (Signed) " EDWARD PAGET, " General Commander-in-Chief in India.' FOR THE SUN. CORN LA WS Zf(gra est veritos el pravalebit. A revision of the Corn Laws is now generally wished for, and in the course of the ensuing Session of Parlia ment, we should hope, will certainly take place.. The average system upon which they are founded is confessedly liable to the greatest abuse. The ports are kept open, or shut, just as suits the interests of a party, while the interests of the public are totally disregarded. To the great body of English far mers the laws have been highly prejudicial, as they have operated to keep in cultivation lands which ought never to have been broken up, and thus to establish a most injurious competition at home. They inspire in the minds of our far mers a perpetual dread of the ports opening, and drive them to send precipitately to market the last bushel of their pro duce. They have so far exhausted the country of corn, that, in case of a greatly fading harvest, all Europe would be inca pable of supplying the deficiency. They take away all in ducement to hold corn after the price approaches the impor tation limit, and the: consequence is, that the price, from that moment, ceases tot be any indication of the stock of corn remaining in the country ; a state of things which might ex pose the people to an absolute famine. In August last, when by means of some fictitious returns the ports wese opened for the importation of Oats, no person apprehended that the stock of Oats then in the country was nt& below what we were ac customed to hold at that period of the year. It was afterwards, however, clearly discovered that, at the time in question, the country had been almost destitute of Oats.—Between August and November 700,000 quarters of foreign Oats were entered for home consumption, and the whole of this immense supply disappeared almost immediately. It consists with our own knowledge that several cargoes of foreign Oats were re-shipped from this port to Lincolnshire and Norfolk, and there sold to the fanners as being the only Oats fit for immediate use ! Something similar had happened just before in Barley. In the month of May the average price of Barley rose to 355. 3d., and admitted to entry about 30,000 qrs, of foreign Barley, which had been in warehouse, under the King's Lock. It was then discovered that no - English Barley whatever remained on hand. The whole had been brought to market and sold under an ap prehension of the ports opening. The same thing, we confidently predict, will happen with regard to Wheat, and then the conse quences must be dreadfuL An average price of 70s. per qr. ad mitting to entry the foreign Wheat in bond, will be a certain sign of want, and how any great want of Wheat in this country can be supplied, we are utterly at a loss to conceive._ h e case is so palpable, and the risk it involves so alarming, that mea sures mutt be taken to guard against the consequences. IVe think it most fortunate for the country that between 3 and 400;000 quarters of wheat remain still in bond, for though in the event of any real scarcity such a quantity would be almost instantly absorbed, it forms, nevertheless, a supply which no other country at present could afford us ; for having ceased to be animporting country, foreign states have ceased to raise corn for our consumption. That our Corn Laws have been most injurious to every branch of our manufactures, is a position that no man for a moment will dispute. They first deprived us of the conti nental markets, and afterwards of the greater 'part of our long established American demand. The United States are rapidly becoming a manufacturing country ; instead of im porting, as formerly, our worsted and woollen goods, they now are importing our long wool, and rivalling us in the va rious manufactures of it. The last tariff, which has gone far to destroy all the commerce with the United States, that was of any value, was avowedly a measure of retaliation. — Because we refused to admit into our markets the raw pro duce of America, they - very naturally :rufused to admit into their markets, except upon their own, srms, the manufac tures of this country. With th e por t s the Baltic trade is almost entirely destroyed. Commercially speaking, Poland and Prussia may he said to be blotted out from the map of Europe. From Russia we do, indeed, import still pretty largely ; but, then, be it observed, it is only from absolute necessity. Of hemp, flex, ash e s, a nd tallow, we cannot pos sibly obtain a sufficiency at h ome ; an d such articles, there fore, we must import, o r d o w i t h out th e m. Of our manu factured goods, in -return for such importations, Russia takes few or none. The whole of our commercial policy is found-, ed upon measures of restriction, which have been over and over again proved to be utterly inconsistent with the interests of the community. But that which more than all the rest' tends to paralyze the industry of the country—to make the people wretched and discontented—and to drive capital into ihe ,most speculative employment*, is the abominable corn bill.' Igo man possessed of three grains of sense more than the law 1 'Webb Hall has ever been found to advocate the bill. The ' farmers.are MOW, and with..goodreason..calling out for a repeal of the law. It has been in eilsonce . for ten years, 'MO has brought upon them nothing but beggary. The high pri. - fts to' which it has occasionally given rise,-have served only to perpe tuate high rentel told thus, in the long run, to do them more injury than good. Is it not deplorable to read, regularly twice a year, in the newspapers, that, on Mr. such-a-one's rent day, Mr. such-a-one was " generously pleased" to return to the whole of his tenants 10, 15, or 20 per cent.? No reason can be assigned for any such abatements, except the absolute inabi lity. of the tenants to make up the whole of their rents. The farmer has really nothing to call his own. He has at all times claims hanging over him which he has not the power of dis charging. Can it, then, be wondered at that, in order to get rid of a law which is the fertile source of so much misery and degradation, our farmers should feel the most lively solicitude? Even the landlords must wish for an alteration of the law, for it never can be their interest to take from the tenants that ca pital which ought to be employed in the cultivation and im provement of their farms. They must also be anxious to keep down the amount of poor-rates, which, if manufacturing employment cannot be found for the increasing numbers of the people, threaten, in the course of time, to swallow up the. entire rental of the country. Let them reflect on the state of Ireland, where scarcely any manufacturing esta blishments exist, and then say what would be the value of land in that unhappy country under a system of poor laws simi lar to our own ? However favourably we may think of the principle of a free trade in corn, we see objections enough to its application at this time, to render any observations on its policy, in an article like the present, unnecessary. %V C shall, therefore, limit our selves to the consideration, of what permanent dutl it might be expedient to impose upon the importation of foreign grain ! Upon this point we find great diversity of opinion. In a very able article on the corn laws, inserted in the last number of the Edinburgh Review, a duty is proposed of fis. per qr. which the writer observes, " would undoubtedly be very favourable to the landlords, by securing them against all risk of foreign wheat ever being disposed of for less than 605." Mr. Ricardo (in his pamphlet on protection to agriculture) proposed a duty of 101., which, he said, he was sure was " rather too high as a coutervailing duty for the peculiar taxes which are imposed on she corn grower, over and above those imposed on the other classes of producers in this country; but he would rather err on the side of a liberal allowance than a scanty one."—The agri culturists, in order to get rid of the fraud and trickery inse parable from the average system, it is understood would he con tent with a duty of 20s. We may expect, then, that any per manent duty which may be fixed upon, will come within the two extremes of 6 and 20s. per qr.—The Landowners have never pretended that they were entitled to a monopoly of the home market, and if they did so pretend, thei: right to a mono poly never could be admitted. \Vhat they ask for is, such a duty upon the importation of foreign corn, as will serve to countervail the heavy taxation to which the production of corn in this country is subject.—They have not shewn us what por tion of the price, in ordinary seasons, may be ascribed to taxa tion. The writer of the article in the Edinburgh Review, to which we have already alluded, says, " it m a y b e doubted whether manufactured, goods be-not really as heavily taxed as :raw produce ; but to put to-rest all cavilling upon the subject, he would not object to an ad valorem duty of 10 per cent. being laid.on all foreign corn imported." For the sake of argument we shall go much further, and assume that 334 4 per cent., or one-third of the price may be the result of taxation, and surely .the wildest advocate of the agriculturists never ,thought of ascribing to taxation a greater proportion of the price. Let us see, then, what the price of wheat has been in this .country for the last five years, a period in which no fo reign wheat whatever has been admitted to entry for home consumption. The average price in 1820, according :to the Gazette returns, was 655. 101; in 1821, 545. 10d. ; in 1822, 445. ; in 1823, 50s. 4d. ; and in 1824, 61s. Bd., making, upon en average of the five years, 555. 41 per quarter. One.third of this is 18s. 5d., and deducting from it 10s. per quarter for the expences of shipping foreign corn, freight, insurance, land ing and selling it, there would remain Bs. sd. per quarter as a duty, to place the foreign growers on an equal footing with the cultivators of wheat in this country. Beyond a duty of this amount, the land-owners have not the shadow of a claim. Grant them, however, a duty of 10s. per quarter, and more than justice is done to them. Under such a duty it would be quite impossible, in ordinary seasons, to import to any great extent. It is seldom that the prices of good wheat in the Baltic is below 40s. par quarter, and when it is, a very slight demand for ex portatuiD will raise it to that price or higher. When the ports were lately open for oats, though Vast stocks had been accu mulated on the other side, it was found that a duty of 6s. per quarter was sufficient to prevent almost any importation of them from Dantzig, Elbing, Konisberg, or Riga, which are the great corn ports of the Baltic. We consider it, then, as quite certain, that a duty on wheat of 10s. per quarter, and a proportionate duty on other grain, would afford a degree of protection to our growers amply sufficient for any reasonable purpose. Upon the same principle that a duty upon importation is levied, ought a duty upon exportation to be allowed ? and though Mr. Ricardo proposed to limit the bounty to is. per qr., we can see no reason why it should not be made equal to the duty, or 10s, per qr. Had such a bounty been allow ed in 1822 we should not have witnessed, as we then did, the finest White wheat selling at 40s. per. qr. ; for though it might have been impossible to find a foreign market, to which, at that time, it could have been exported with ad vantage, yet the chance of its being afterwards exportable with a profit must have operated to keep the price of such wheat much above ,that we have mentioned. A bounty upon exportation, is the only efficient remedy for a state of prices ruinously low, and constitutes alone that which can ever induce our capitalists to embark their money freely in the purchase of British corn. Some persons are weak enough to imagine, that if-foreign corn were not permitted to be ware . housed, so much additional capital would be appropriated to the purchasing of British corn. The best answer we can give them is, that notwithstanding the permission to lay up foreign corn in this country under the King's lock, large quantities of corn are at all times held upon the continent for English ac count, and that the only effect of doing away that permission would be to increase the stock of corn for English account ware housed upon the continent. Whether these gentlemen would think it a public advantage that we should rent granaries upon the continent, and employ foreign labourers in keeping the corn, rather than fill our own warehouses and employ our own labourers, is a point we scruple not to leave to their own enligh tened minds ,to determine. We say nothing of the advan tages which the importation, and occasional exportation of foreign corn, afford to our own shipping, for independently of any such consideration, the point must be sufficiently clear to every person capable of forming the slightest judgment on such question. It may be expected of us, before we conclude, that we should say a word or two in respect to a graduated scale of duties, commencing, for instance, with 20s. per qr. on the average price reaching 605., and diminishing is. per qr. for every shilling advance in the price up to 80s., at which point duty to cease entirely. We see no great objection to such a scheme of duties, but still we cannot help thinking that a permanent duty, such as we have suggested, would - be pre ferable. After all the tricks and frauds in making up re_ turns that hare lately come to light, we can have no depend_ ence on the just operation. of any law resting on so equivo cal a basis as that of the averages. The great dsideratum is the establishment of moderate and steady prices, and with a view to that object, nothing would so effectually contribute as the imposition of a moderate and permanent duty. Minis ters," to use the words of the Edinburgh Reviewer, " are most justly entitled to the public thanks; for the measures they have already introduced for freeing industry and commerce from the shackles imposed in a less enlightened age ; and we trust they will not throw away the opportunity now affbrded of complet ing the system so happily begun; but that they will earn for themselves a, new and more powerful claim on the grati titude of the country, by ridding it at once, and for ever, of the monsteous and intolerable nuisance of our present Corn Laws." N ewcastle-upon-Tyne, 22d Jan. A. W. MECHANICS' INSTITUTION. Last night Mr. COOPER, who recently deli vered a Course of Lectures on Chemistry to the members of this Irstitution, commenced his promised examination on the different branches of that beautiful and useful science, expla natory of the combinations of different bodies, and their adapta tion to the useful purposes of manufacture. His questions were very judiciously answered, and particu larly so by a youth apparently not more than 15 y ears o f age . At the close of the examination the President (Dr. Birk beck) read a list of the donations which the Committee had received in the course of the week, in furtherance of the Insti tution, viz.:— J. C. Hobhouse, Esq. M.P., second donation - £lOO Jeremy Bentham, Esq. - - - - 100 .The Rev. Geo. Attwick - .. . - 50 Dr. Gilchrist, one of the Vice-Presidents of the Institu tion, his second donation . - - - 10 H. Bickersteth, Esq., Barrister - - - 10 G. Green, Esq., Regent's Park - - - 10 The announcement was met by suitable marks of respect. * ,),* MASONIC NOTICES FOR NEXT WEEK. ENGLAND. Monday, Jan. 81, Lownow. No. 458. COUNTRY. Nos. 97, 227, 238, 246, 425, 437, 455, 524, 541, 552, 553, 558, 643, 680, 707, 710. Tuesday, Feb. 1, Lownow. Nos. 9, 122, 287, 316, 381, 399. COUNTRY• Nos. 21, 127, 167, 170, 180, 184, 196, 204, 285, 385, 387, 471, 476, 477, 4 1 )7, 501, 507, 512, 520, 532, 544, 551, 557, 597 , 592, 639, 649. Wednesday, -2, LONDON. Nos. 35, 75, 220. Grand Chapter. COUNTRY. Nos. 54, 84, 95, 121, 124, 126, 129, 139, 146, 164, 207, 229, 291, 339, 400, 465, 468, 472, 487, 491, 505, 513, 526, 529, 537, 563, .581, 585, 477, 606, 656, 690, 705, 711, 713, 725. Thursday, -3, Lownox. Nos. 61, 277, 325, 409. Coczt TRY. Nos. 45, 48, 51, 57, 70,- 113, 171, 182, 234, 304, 416, 420, 451, 453, 461, 466, 469, 483, 506, 51g, 545, 555, 556, 560, 561, 586, 587, 599, 627, 670, 679, 717. -4, LONDON. No. 210. COUNTRY. Nos. 13, 28, 30, 55, 58, 470, 533, 538. -5, LONDON. No. 173. COUNTRY. No. 358. Friday, Saturday, The following remarkable occurrence, which our readers may fully rely on to be authentic, is well worthy of observation, anti may be read by many with peculiar interest and pleasure, as it plainly shews the advantages arising from this truly excel lent institution. During the late dreadful tempest, a Swedish vessel, the Carl Joahan, Capt. Peter Walrouth master, a Swede, was driven on shore on the coast of Hampshire, and totally wrecked. The Captain and crew were with consider-, able difficulty saved ; but immediately on their setting foot on shore, a Gentlemen, who was a Freemason, by a peculiar sign recognised in the Captain a brother mason ; the latter imme diately flew to the Gentleman as to an old and confidential friend, and firmly grasped his hand, to the no small surprise of the crew and the other persons assembled. It appeared a consolation to the Captain, who in broken English, expressed his thankfulness to the All-wise Disposer of events, that in a foreign land, and amidst the horrors of shipwreck, he had met with a friend and a brother, in whom he could implicitly confide. It is needless to add that the Captain and crew, dur ing their stay, experienced every hospitality and comfort; but we must not omit to state, that since Captain Walrouth's arri val in Sweden, he has written to express his gratitude for the humanity and friendship shewn him on the above occasion.— ( Dorset County Chronicle.) *.• The CORRXSPONDENCE between qv BOMBAY Go- VERNMENT and Mr. FAIR, Editor of Th'e _lontbay Gazette, shall appear to-morrow. PRICE OF STOCKS TillS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK. Baulk Stock 2321 2311 3 per Cent. Reed. 94ii 3 per Cent. Cons. 9 3211 3A per Cent Ditto Rect.... 1001 1011 1001 4 per Cent. ( Dissd. 1 New 1051 fl 4a Bank Long Ann. ... 23 1-16th imp. 3 per Cents. India Stock Ditto Bonds ... 995. 100 pm. south Sea Stocl• — PKICES OP FOREIGN Ft A anrian Ms, 5 per ct. 981 Brazilian Bds B7i 84 Scrip 15i4i pm. Buenos Ayres lids Claim, lids, t per ct.... 88 A l:olumbian 13(1s.1; per ct. Do. do. 1824 90 89i Danish, 5 per cent. Greek Bds 47 I 581 Mexican lids BOA 80 8011 Neapolitan, 4 per colt. Old Annuities — New Ditto Ex. Bills 10001. 2d. 6O Ditto 1 id. Ditto 5001.2 d. Ditto lid. 63 64 Ditto Small 2d. — Ditto 10. 63 66 Ditto Commercial Bank for Act. India for Acct. Cons. fur Feb. 26. Si3i NI)S, AT ONN O'CLOOK. Neapolitan Scrip — Peruvian Bonds — Portuguese Bonds B9A Prussian, 5 per ct. Ditto New Russian, New, 5 per ct.96iM Spalimit 1821, 5 per ; ct.... 2141 1823, ditto — French Rentes Exchange ... —f. —s. --- Scrip PRICES OF SHAUES AT ONE O'CLOCK. Anglo-Mexican Mining Company Aniglo-Chilian Mining Company Brazilian Mining s. Company Colombian Alining Company .32 General Mining Association Hibernian Mining Company Pasco Peruvian Mining Company l2 14 10 11 pm. Rio de la Plata Mining Company Tlalpuzahua Mining Company 220 210 pm. United Mexican Mining Company Continental Gas Company Provincial Portable Gas Company London and Birmingham Railway Company London and Bristol Railway Company London and Northern Railway Company Canada Company General Steam Navigation Company Great Westminster Dairy Company 2A/ Pearl Fishery Company, Yellow Receipt Hibernian Joint Stock Company Irish Provincial Bank Company Metropolitan Alderney Dairy Company • 2i FOREIGN MAILS. Annivsu. Guernsey and Jersey Gottenburgh II amburgh • France Dum. 1 1 0 0 111011 WATER A T LONDON BRIDGE TO-MORROW. Morning, 50 minutes after 7. I Evening, 21 minutes after 8. rrnE SUN. SOL - E3l QUIS DICP:RE F.4LSUM A UDIiAT LONDON, THURSDAY EVENING, JAN. 27, NU. From the Paris Papers of Monday, and the &ode dated Tuesday, we have made selections, which will be found in another column. We have received Hamhurgh Papers to the 22d instant, from which we have taken the last accounts from the Russian capital:— ST. PETERSBURGH, JAW. 5. The Directors of the general post-office hare published a post almanack for this year, which contains a list of all the high roads, all the towns, &c., in the empire, and all the ordinances relative to the post-office. JAIL B. NVe hare heard it stated as certain, that there is an intention of giving to the Neva a new and straight course, for the purpose of preserving the bridges on the breaking up of the ice, and preventing the interruption of the communication between the different parts of the city,—perhaps, too, the dan. ger that threatens the lower parts of the city from inundations would be lessened by the execution of this project. The ablest engineeers are already employed in surveying the ground, and a corps of soldiers will be employed in this vast undertaking. The day before yesterday Te Deum was performed with great solemnity in the Cathedral Church, called " Of the Mother of i ,e f.