The Sun. — London, England, 1863-09-11 00:00:00

The Cotton Famine and the Health of the Operatives. In the autumn of last year apprehensions were entertained lest the distress in the manufacturing districts should lead to the outbreak of some epide mic disease. In the month of October the attention of the Medical Department of the Privy Council was aroused, and Dr. Buchanan, one of the physi cians to the London Fever Hospital, was commis- sioned to inquire into the sanitary condition of the cotton districts. His investigations occupied about two months, and at the end of December he made a report which has been published as an appendix to that of Mr. Simon, the Medical officer of the Privy Council. That report is not confined to a were statement of the nature and extent of the disease met with, but also contains much valuable informa. tion as to the sufficiency of relief afforded, and the effect which prolonged distress has had upon the habits of the operatives. In spite of the vast efforts which were made to assist the unemployed one of the most lamentable consequences of extreme destitution appeared last winter. Lancashire had been wholly exempt from typhus fever, of what is called by Dr. Buchanan the " true Irish type," since 1847-8; out lest year it again appeared, and in Preston and 'Manchester assumed an epidemic form. At Preston 227 cases were ascertained to have occurred between midsum mer and the end of November, and those attacked died at the rate of about 23 per cent. At Manchester there were probably at least 100 attacks, and 20 deaths in the same period. The existence of typhus fever was itself sufficient to suggest doubts as to the success of the measures adopted for the relief of the distress, and inquiry detected the existence of other morbid conditions confirming thoie apprehensions. Some of these conditions consisted of a simple de cline from the normal standard of health and strength, while others constituted positive disease. The towns visited were Ashton, Blackburn, Bol ton, Bury, Cherley, Darwen, Manchester, Oldham, Preston, Salford, Stockport, and Wipn. In all of these, with the exception of Bolton and Bury, it was found that the cotton workers, as a body, had sustained a loss of strength, colour, and flesh. Uni versal emaciation and pallor did not indeed at first sight strike the visitor, but these who penetrated to the homes of the poor observed a wan and hag gard look about the people which is not habitual. The parents had lost their health, and more gene rally than the children, and the paleness and ex haustion of the mothers, who almost starved them selves, were particularly noticeable. At Ashton women had become weaker in childbirth, and fainted readily from any excess of hccoaorrhage at that time. Many mothers unduly prolonged the sueuling of their children, pleading in excuse that they could not afford to purchase the food appropriate to an infant which was being or had just been weaned. Children had suffered less in their strength and apparent robustness. Indeed the substitutian of maternal care for the inattention and injudicious treatment of hired nursery keepers had operated favourably upon their health; and apart from special epidemics the ordinary m a l a di es of childhood were very slightly felt. In Preston, through the summer and autumn diarrhoea was much more prevalent than in ordinary years, and the disease was peculiarly untractable. In no other town was there such an excess, and in Ashton, Blackburn, Bolton, Bury, and Stockport there was tees autumnal diarrt eel. than usual. Ce.aes of dysentery, in no great number, but still of exceptional frequency, occurred at Cliorley, Oldham, Salford, and Wigan. At Ashton and Chorley diarrbcel had been a constant con comitant of measles, but except in those towns no prevalent disease had been complicated by it. A tendency to Lm morrhage was witnessed in several towns, and actual scurvy occurred among cotton workers at Stockport, Preston, Blackburn, and Sal ford. In almost all cases the sufferers were women. A disposition to ulcerate or slough, apparently in consequence of altered habits and diet, was exhibited in ono er two cases in Blackburn ; and one district surgeon in Manchester found that all bruises and alight wounds were singularly difficult to heal. Rheumatism was said to be particularly common among other places at Ashton and "Wigan. An un paralleled quantity of itch was obanrved in Black burn, Manchester, Stockport, anti Salford. Epi demic diseases, fostered as they are by bad diet, bad air, and want of cleanliness, furnish a good index to an exceptional prevalence of these agencies. Put ting aside sporadic cases the following complaints were met with in an epidemic form :—chickenpox in a part of Manchester; measles in Ashton, B leck burn, Bury, Chorley, Manchester, and to a less extent in Salford, Preston, and Wigan; whooping-cough in Charley, Manchester, Salford, and Stockport; scar- latina in Ashton, Darwen, Manchester, Oldham, And about_ October and-November in "Stockport; ttphoid rather frequent in Bolton, Bury, Chorley, Darwen, and Stockport ; true typhus cases were seen in Preston, Manchester, and Chorley. At Caorley measles had frequently been complicated with ophthalmia. Scarlatina, whever it occurred, VP4B distinguished by the extreme degiec to which it affected the mucous membranes. Very bad throats, with nasal discharges, and glands in the neck greatly swonen, had been commonly observed, and in some places, as at Oldham, had given a highly fatal cha racter to the epidemic. In that town, the popula tion of which is 72,233, there were 169 deaths from scarlatina between midsummer and th© Ist of December. Drunkenness with the diseases and accidents produced by it were unequivocally less prevalent than usual. Only in Ma nc h ester , S a i f o rd, and Wigan, where a large portion of the inha bitants are not engaged in the cotton trade, had in temperance prevailed to its ordinary extent. The inquiry of Dr. Buchanan was, as we have hinted, not confined to the diseases which had been produced or aggravated by distress, but extended to the more general sukject of the income, expendi ture, and the state and habits of the operatives. As the result of the investigations into the financial branch of the subject it was found that low health and actual disease had resulted and would result from the income of the unemployed being below the standard that would procure them adequate food. Actual observation showed that health cannot be 4uPported on an amount of food less than is repro leuted by is. 6d. p er h ea d p er wee k w h o l esa l e , or s • 9 1d. retail va l ue . I n th e mont h o f D ecem b er , oat all E `ue average income of the cotton workers from °llrees was nearly 28per headperweek, but as t • about that payments for rent, amounting to and sor4 l ..eer week per family, for candles, and t i ty or l',,,toltliaeifor soap, had to be made, the quan such as cool P r oeurable was on the aver age only ls. hot obtained at contract prices for From the con, at retail shops would cost Is. 70. vember scarcely more of the distress until No : than three quarters of that amount of food N ee , which entturable. There is one small outgoing indicates the clin g i ng i : ° h tt? be overlooked, as it ht : v tat? the severest distress. part of those who are tuff :. °l te of prudence on the e their child): en in burial Many of the operative % clubs, and religiously discher wee kly payments. of a p en , Rek the ordinary snid best pleasedy °l 2'ed. The poor are, it ' ... o Pnt their in money or in ticket s th ".4 assistance e "._ either which is not confined to . a partienlar ietc: L'eney o f choice in this respect . n e . is hardly n between the prices "vs- -re m a comparison au . those paid article s s tail shops and id for uppliered that 10c1. given i n kind by contract it appears is equal to a shilling given in money. Nor i s the kind confin e d advantage of the system of relief in to the question of value. supplied fro m The artre.es the stores of ~u ardiars and reltef committees are, a s a rule, better and more pure than those obtainable at the shops ; an d un d er suc h a eYs' -ein the poor escape the temptation to unprofitable Expenditure to which when re li e f i s g i ven i n mon ey they are too often disposed to yield. The nature of the diet of the operatives and its preparation have, of course, a bearing u p o n their nutrition sca rce l y l ees i mportant than its amoun t. In. these re s p ec t s th e poor of Lancashire suffer not a little in consequence of their previous habits and their want of knowledge as to how to make the most of the food which is now procurable. They have : been used to live upon a genrjo-as diet, and scffer more from the lack of animal food than if they had i not beeu accustomed to its liberal use. In prosper- 1 ons times they pay litte attention to careful domes tic economy, and now that it is needed they have no knowledge how to turn their scanty incomes to the best advantage. If the money which they spend in food was laid out to the best account, and they were able to cook the materials so procured in the most useful manner and without waste, their moneys would go much further than they now do. An ex treme instance of ignorance in these respects was exhibited by a poor girl at Preston who paid half her earnings in rent and tried to keep herself alive upon the remaining 15d. a week. This would have been difficult with the best management, " but her notions of economy were comprised in bread and tea, and death by scurvy was the result of them." The ordinary diet of the unemployed, as witnessed by Dr. Buchanan, was almost exclusively vegetable ; occasionally only they afforded a bit of bacon, cheese, or butter, a herring, or, more rarely still, a morsel of cheap meat. " Bread constitutes the greatest part of their daily food. Oatmeal or meal of Indian corn less commonly is the next most usual food; made into porridge or into various sorts of bread. To these a little butter or treacle is added general], for the children when they cau afford it. Potatoes stand next, being happily good, cheap, and generally popular. Partly from want of utensils, partly from inexpertness, their cooking gives no variety to these materials. Tea with sugar, but usually without milk, is now the common drink. In very few families can a proper amount of milk, even if any at all, be bought for the children; they are put on the same food as the adults at much too early an age." After such a picture as this, it is satisfactory to learn that, although animal food was so scantily consumed in a solid form, the poorest usually buy. ing none, yet, "in almost all towns there are soup kitchens, where a quart of good meat soup is given for a penny ;" that "in some few towns potato.hash" behadata (locally called " bob sconce") " may penny a pint," and that in Manchester and ea l Salford public dining kitchens base been lately established, where not only and potatoes can be had for a nsepx,trbeumtenals of l meat fect that—" In email pay ment." The advantage of such establishments is strikingly illustrated by the ani mai food can be got for the same money that in the ways a dinner containing about two ounces of homes of the poor would only procure a dish of po tatoes or a basin of porridge." As far as the better class of cotton workers were concerned, there was at the time of this report but little alteration as regarded the houses which they c They were, as a rule, i n h a bi t i ng the a i c ea otiages of three or four ro oms th at they occu pied p i n more prosperous times. There was among them but little disposition to crowd together, though often a married son or daughter came back to live with their parents, in order to save rant. Among the poorer classes, however, things were worse. Many who formerly rented a two or three-roomed cottage were obliged to content them selves with a single room, while others took a stranger to lodge with the family. In the very poorest class two families frequently occupied a single room, one bed sufficing for the whole of each family. The amount paid for rent varied consider ably in different towns, and even in the same town according to the means and disposition of landlords. The owners of single cottages, often poor persons, to whose support the rent was a material contribution, were obliged to bear rather hardly upon the tenants, bat larger owners could afford to wait for their tents, and as a rule they showed considerable libe rality. Distraint was rare, and not many cottages were to be seen empty. The average of rent paid was probably much less than half the usual amount. Only in one town, Oldham, did the Relief Com mittees make a separate provision for the rent of the people whom they were assisting, but as a rule the committees regarded a portion of their grant as applicable to this purpose, and arranged their allow ance with reference to that circumstance. Over crowding was distinctly on the increase, and had in December reached a pitch fatal to cleanliness and purity of air, and equal;y so to sexual delicacy. In the very poorest cottages there was a further reason for overcrowding, besides the desire to save rent. The ticket-seller, the luggage master, all the railway cffi dials, harbour towards you the same feelings an your cabman d or porter. They a ll e y e y ou sore l y, answer you leisurely curtlyand tartly. tartly. Nay, before th e y answer t h ey stare at you as if revolving i n th e i r m i n d w h at r i g h t you have to put a a question, or what business it is of theirs to attend to it. They have not the sharp, snappish, pedantic, dictatorial tone of your French Jack-in-office, but neither have they the rough-and-ready but good• humoured obliging English way ot going to work. The faro is not down on your ticket; you pay as you are bidden ; your luggage is not weighed ; the charge is made at discretion. It may be all right, no doubt. I was bidden to pay twice as much for say trunks from Washington to Baltimore as I had paid between New York and Washington —twice as much for the same weight over hardly one third of the distance. I asked for explana tion, and was answered by a vacant supercilious look. Very clearly inside the station the horse has the whip-hand of his master. Your choice lies between travelling on such conditions or travelling not at all. Enter : you have been kept en queue at the ticket office; ycu have been penned up at the waiting-room as in France, or at Smithfield ; but the bell rings, and this is the way to the "cars." The cars, or railway carriages, are long vans on railway wheels, * constructed to carry any number of passengers from 60 to 100, disposed in seats, two by two, with a gangway running the whole length between. Theao cars are ail for one and the same class. Americans travel on the footing of perfect equality. The crowd was immense, as it always is at every hour, on every road, by every conveyance in this marvelously stirring community. I read in the pages of a recent good-natured English traveller that "this promiscuous coming together of persons of every description gave rise to no inconvenience; for the same thing, happened here as on board the penny boats on the Thames, where the shabby passengers, altogether en titled to equal rights, instinctively shrink from contract with the better dressed, and huddle together as if knowing their places." I did not find my fellow-travellers so modestly accommodating, the other evening, nor have I since found many instances of this amiable disposition among these people. There was a rush and a scrambling and jolting; the cars were taken by storm, the places were secured, and with stranger " car -fellows " poverty could scarcely have made me acquainted. It is true some ot the cars were not equally thrown open to the multitude. Before them stood soldiers, grizzly guardians with muskets, bar ring the doors. These were reserved we know not for whom; perhaps for the micitary. One or two were set apart for " ladies," for in America the sex is your true aristocracy. Like the Emperor Nicholas, it confers distinction on those its countenance shines upon, and so long only as it does so shine upon. The sex enjoys privileges which it can easily ex tend to any man or set of men in its company. It is, however i a distinction without a difference, for the " gents' " car (the word gentleman is never written at full in these places) the gents' cars are only open to the world. The " ladies " cars are accessible to "the world and his wife." A. very fishwoman is as freely admitted into the privileged com partment as a duchess; and she can bring with her a whole squad of fishmongers, as much entitled to rank among the "ladies' men" as she among the ladies. Luckily or unluckily I was owned by no lady, and had to put up with the gents' limbo. I got in. The whole of Broadway was squeezed in that close narrow apace. There they all were, the loafer, the rowdy, the coatless, the hatless, the washed and the unwashed, the sharp-featured sour-visaged Yankee, the wild shaggy-headed Irishman, the heavy -lipped beery Ger man; all the heads of the people, with the exception of the negro head. All Broadway is on its travels, incessantly on its travels. You would say that broadcloth shuns the high way, or that gentility drops its trappings, and affects the look, the costume, and the manners of rascality to propi tiate it on the highway. The air of the place choked me, the sight sickened me, lam an old stager, be it borne in mind, broken into all manners of hardahips, roughing it with the hardiest of men. But I draw a line between the washed and the unwashed when I can ; and I do not con ceive why, so long as one class lives apart from another in houses, so long as Americans shun contact with each other as they do by pews in churches and boxes in the theatres, why, I say, they should not allow money equally to pur chase separation in public conveyances, why men of all ranks should be "made" to "pig together" on omnibuses, boats, and railways. Talk of the tyranny that chains toge ther the patriot and the felon in the galleys I Why, here is republican equality dooming the clean to spend a whole night, or any number of nights, aide by side with the un clean in the cars. I walked up and down the gangway twice and three times, like a luckless dog fidgeting lound and round far a proper spot to lay himself clown. Alas 1 no spot was loft. I took my seat near one of the sovereign citizens, edging away from him, without looking at him. Smoking is not allowed, I believe, even in beastth eg gents' himself tscars, but with. the The Yankee quid was need in s no everycigar t o make atwo s t Piro o t w h a e s d k o u e p b t l e u r p o from n t t h h e e double row on the narrow ope n w i n d ows, re out of left. The missiles flew right-hand seats gar black ashes from d with the dust of the road and mouths out of t th h r e e r e i . g An . ht spray, mixe • But why should I dwell on the loathsome the engine. pandemonium; and a night spent in an •dless of the wind which flung them back in minut e steno? It was is not certainly sympathies in behalf of calculated to awaken his kindest American car, even if it brings a man down to a proper sense of his own unworthiness as one of the r ace , the race itself. I am an old stager, as I said, and if compelled to travel five or six nights in succession I can make myself at home in a carriage seat as in the most luxurious of beds. I smothered down my indignation, overcame my disgust, crouched down in my narrow and by no means soft bench, and soon dozed. Dozing, indeed I Behind me was the door opening every two minutes, fiercely jarring as it opened, Cruelly banging as it is closed. The gangway was a tho t"Afttro for vendors of orange pop, eatables and aria- "In the bitter frosts of November the most destitute began to huddle together as closely as possible for warmth, and, being sadly deficient in bedding, their day clothes often serving for their only covering by night, they care fully excluded from their crowded beorooQs every breath of sir, If they rented two bedrooms, they brought the beds together into one. Six or eight people would came at night into a room 12 feet square, with the window and door closed and pac'dcd, and the fireplace (as is almost universal with them) thoroughly papered up, and lie as closely as they could for the heat of each others' bodies. They got their warmth indeed, but in a fashion that was monstrously hurtful to their health." Even when Dr. Buchanan visited the manufac turing districts a check had been given to the over crowding which resulted from mere cold by the distribution of bedding, and it is to be hoped that in the ensuing winter the poor will never be driven to such unwholesome shifts to keep up the animal heat. In the article of dress the cotton operatives had suffered as much as in those of food or lodging. First their Sunday clothes, then their changes of linen, were sold or pawned, and their single suit, if not diminished in the same way, was worn to shreds. Tho poorest people were constantly with out underclothing, and a single petticoat and bodice often formed the entire wardrobe of a woman or child. In such a state, and with deficient bedding they were found by the early frosts of No vember. Had we had a very wet or cold winter, the rate of mortality would have been frightful. As it was, bromhitis was exceedingly prevalent, even among the women and children, and the men who were employed at out-door labour seem to have suffered with especial severity from diseases pro duced by the cold. They would have suffered more had not the Guardians in the worst weather dis pensed with the test of out-door labour. Dr. Bu chanan found nothing to observe upon in the exter nal condition of the houses and streets as affected by the distress, but as to the inside of the houses in habited by the poorer classes he states that there was a general want of cleanliness, in part connected with their having more inhabitants, and in part due to the cost of cleaning materials. Landlords,whose weekly visit for rent was made in vain, appeared to have become careless about the wholesomeness of their houses, and few of the local authorities had acted on their powers of compelling attention to these matters. Domestic cleanliness had been often preserved under many incentives to its neglect, a result which was probably greatly promoted by the gratuitous distribution of soap by many of the relief committees. If the old standard of personal tidi ness had not been maintained, there had been less slovenliness and dirt than might have been ex pected. In the Preston Union, when a dirty person applied for relief, the Guardians, before considering his case, sent him off with a ticket to the nearest bath. One of the most interesting and effectual means which benevolence created to contend with distress last winter was the sewing schools, and it is satis factory to learn from Dr. Buchanan that " from a medical point of view it would hardly be possible to give too much praise" to them. " Thousands of persons," he says," but especially of young women, are provided in them with shelter and warmth throughout the day, are set to useful work, fur nished with clothes and money and kept from the mental harm of idleness." Excellent as these insti tutions are, at the time of the doctor's visit one serious fault pervaded them; they exhibited a la mentable deficiency of ventilation. Held, as they generally were, in the large, low room of an empty f . actory, or in a schoolroom intended for a less num ,"iar:tverheillid,ren, the original construction oineither roatt.ti:e: ::: : ec e r d ai : l o y r a:ufficient change of air, ~ venti- Thelizisilliseuat draught being scarcely possible." ting a n tho wi u t 0 00fw t t h ses ; sto h ia o tell t datto mills ti he , ae : au n t s m i t s oh t s e ap d tht o eh n : s l h wa udayts ssutapnecreink superintendents ose, and under such circutn f eft off work with the intense headaches„t that th e the girls themselves were seen unhealthily4ficeass:t one of them had filleted ove e r d h , and that more than Pa at Preston, The only schools whi ch wer: r e sew i i i n o. ,g' T yPrc those established by th e g u s ; r 2 d e - . 4 3' min:lined slcthiclottide lhaatdelybeseenemgeedtttihnagt outthe y of cu hill , :en in those I'c:quest of the managers Dr Buchanan u:culeditee't!,l:•tht' investig^: , ion into the nature, extent, and ccufies of their sufferings. Of 35 girls examined eight had ail- ; - A IMeki meats that had either existed before the cessation of I their factory work or appeared to be independent of their altered circumstances; four had experienced some loss of health, but not during their attendance at the school, one or two having indeed enjoyed better health since they attended the classes—five said that they werein better health than when they were at mill work-12 stated that they were as well as when so employed—and in the case of the six others more or less deterioration of health had occurred. Minute inquiries into the amount of in come received by these girls, and the mode of its appropriation, led to the conclusion that health was being maintained on so much food as could be bought with 2s. 11,d;per week, but that where, from any cause, the amount of income available for food fell materially below that point loss of health was very generally t ebe of e occulrrsis moment thancharacterng.Thea sffiei eofthneefy ofood q of fresh uantity,but m s e ti a l t wlitass assisting eeme seemed probable theable depriva tiontehhastervedloss of health. To meet this last evil it recommended that the sewing girls should get their dinner at the schools twice a week, by which means a meal, such as potato-hash, containing fresh vegetables and about two ounces of meat, might be supplied at the same cost to the girls themselves as their innutri tious and monotonous dinner of bread and tea. The ventilation of the room naturally attracted a good deal of attention as exercising an important influence upon the health of the scholars. The average at tendance of girls in the schools examined at Preston was such that in those buildings each scholar had at least 120 cubic feet of air, and the means of heating and ventilation were such that the air could be maintained sufficiently pure and warm. At times, however, an unusual influx of scholars reduced the breathing space to 70 or 80 cubic feet, or more fre quently the love of the girls for hot rooms led them to close the windows and ventilators, and then the atmosphere became oppressive and unwholesome. So great an aversion have the girls accustomed to the warm close rooms of the factories to anything like a draught or a free current of air that even where the breathing space available for each girl does not exceed 60 cubic feet they take every oppor tunity of closing the windows or other apertures intended for the admission of external air. Under such circumstances it is not surprising that the at mosphere of many of these rooms is to a visitor intolerably hot and close, and that, if the girls themselves do not suffer, the injurious Effc cts of a protracted attendance are frequently experienced by the superintendents. Dr. Buchanan closes his report with a recommendation that " 120 cubicfeet at least should be secured to each girl in the sew ing school, when necessary by a limitation of the number of scholars in a room. In all cases due ven tilation of the rooms should be resolutely insisted on, and with such ventilation the temperature that would be the best to adopt for a mean is probably 65 deg. Fahrenheit. AMERICAN TRAVELLING. -.•- (From a Correspondent of the Times.) Anon e the ui n s s o si n at nightinetcaheiyeme unavoidable; rwofptef official ables, books, Yankee notions. The voice was not sufficient to solicit custom; the basket was thrust in your ribs for your patronage. The hawkers of New York papers bawled the titles of their ware in our ears till midnight. Presently came the turn for the Philadelphia, then for the Baltimore early press. The evening trash was followed by the morn ing rubbish, with first, second, and third editions, and the " sensation" headings dinned at full length into our ears. guard squalling for tickets. He came past like a turnkey making the round of his gaol birds. He dug his sharp nailed thumb between the shoulders and chest of the unlucky sleepers. He spoke to us, handled us as no London police man would deal with a thief. Eight or ten times at least in it es nothingtf for oaffaurk ene t at i cucatkgtiwheowhtnaatsi wanton 11 r t ; e oake n nltt tolh e 1 lap w mawvl t e eei d ainnL sr . ceueaend: T meedo tehieesnreqt ag gravatingnnuh theeoaa ttl the w ;s h su to r l mtNy h w t h o v e eier f tau l no n : :u t o ha n tga k aihnhn h ea u gd i .Mauled, pounded, and with all my poor blood boiling dci matterani carmen, aod insolent ti and starei nee course , indignities, ha l ea a :c t fk l ln as t hehy t ea reached dcootffiaaeeghe a: utpnlsthctaeleh, nana:bbenrwoyeddotihehrfaate l h itrbo aheaeon:teffgoatpvar: eeos l a l :ea h tdaane nu e rdtsr se swindler,ea after your ri hasng ticket the the ht righti e c k h e a t a . t a o right treat keeper, and the laziness and untidiness of the waiters at the hotel. I have since been moving about, without ceasing, by day no less than by night, by steamboats no less than on ra ilways. I found nowhere a change for the better. Every where the same crowds and mobs, the same filth, the same utter disregard for other people's comfort, the same reek less irresponsible extortion, the same cool quiet insolence, the same want of all order, punctuality, civility. I spoke to well. to •do Americans, who agreed with me that travelling in their country exposes them to all the harsh unmannerly treatment I complained of, who confirmed my opinion that matters on that score have become infinitely worse than they used to be in my old experience of Yankeeland a quar ter of a century since, when they were in all conscience already as bad as they ought to be. My friends shrug their . shoulders, and think the evil admits of no cure. Secession you may have in America, and martial law, and the sus pension of the habeas corpus; but democracy must . needs . hold its tyrannical away on the high road ; and a division of railway carriages into classes, a separation of first and twesechsiaethsahslasadyrettdorohvognuedieediseoos sharpu odious smotbhfauenyatthoh twanging voice second cabin passengers in steamboats, are no more to be thought of th an the remova l o f t h e nas t y quid from the jaws of an i ndependent citizen, or the a b o li t i on o f t h e pri vilege every m an h as of turn i ng t h e car p e t eve n of a l a dy' s drawing-room into "don't," and How should, then, a poor wight travel in this country ? The answer of my estimable friends ex a c n u d rsi t o h n e s in h they illustrate jour neys of dir e necess i ty, and hastening to Europe whenever they can afford l e i sure and money for genia l locomotion. Travelli ng i n A mer i ca i 3 like p o lit i cs—a dirty work, from t e States precept ta by practice by limitin g th e i r which clean-minded men shrink, leaving it to those who have no better way to get on in the world; and who know how to turn it to the best account. SPIRIT OP THE PUBLIC JOURNALS. PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 13. I left New York for Washington a few days ago. The thermometer was at 95 deg, in the shade. I chose the even ing mail in the vain hope of shunning the killing heat of the day. From my hotel to the ferry, and from this again to the Jersey shore, I and my baggage were, of course, at the mercy of hackney coachmen, carmen, and porters. Like everything else, extortion is free in America ; it is sullen, insolent, overbearing besides; it bows to no tariff, stoops to no fixed charges; it takes its own time, chooses its own way, deaf to your remonstrances, unmoved by your hurry ; bully or blackguard it does not, for it has a quiet consciousness of its power, and does not condescend to Niggle or argue. It bumps your "plunder" on the ground, shatters your trunks wilfully, as if visiting on each luckless box that so cial sin that made some men owners, and some others mere carriers of trunk. THE SON, LONDON, PRIDAY , EVENING, SEPTEMBER 11, 1863 leave much mark in the great national account. That account goes on with the steadiness and uni formity of mechanism, and happy it is for us that its purport is prosperity. On another point, too, connected with this subject the sr‘ine conditions of the question may be remarked. It has been asserted that among the middle class of the population, or at any rate among a particular section of that class, marriages have become of late less frequent than they wore and than they ought to be. But this de cline, if it has anywhere occurred, is lost in the gross totals of the reckoning. Whatever may be done by war or famine, we may be pretty certain that a mere predilection for bachelorship has never yet affected the marriage rate struck by the Regis trar-General. We sincerely trust it never may do so, for the symptom would be a bad one for the country, but at present the whole assertion must remain without proof. We cannot test it. We can only say that if it is founded on fact the result is inappreciable in the statistics of the population, and that it requires causes far more powerful than social selfishness to influence the marriage rate of a great nation. DAILY NEWS.—The establishment of People's Parks in our large manufacturing and commercial towns is a felicity quite peculiar to our own day, a striotly modern fact, and it is at the same time one of the most gratifying signs of our social and poli tical progress as a nation. Until quite a recent period, excepting in the single instance of the Me tropolis, Parks belonged only to the privileged classes, being wholly identified with the royal or noble owners for whose use and pleasure they were in the main sacredly reserved. Close to many of the large towns were magnificent parks and plea sure grounds, within whose dividing pale, from year's end to year's end, only a single household or a select circle ever entered, while the pent-up dwel lers in those towns had no means whatever of open air recreation except at too great a distance for any but vagabonds habitually to enjoy. The rapid de velopment of our manufacturing, mining, and com mercial industry has no doubt tended, as Lord Rue sell points out, to increase these evils. The rapid multiplication of mills and workshops will soon, even in the most rural districts, absorb the Tillage green, turn the way-side stream into inky slush, and cover the adjacent fields with a mass of densely populated, squalid tenements. In a few years al most the only available recreation for a working man in such a district after his day's toil is a pipe on the door-step, a wrangle with his wife, or a pot with his companions at the beershop at the corner. But this serious incitiforal evil of our prospeeoue industry is being rapidly corrected. In our day the vanished village green is restored on a scale answer ing to the enlarged requirethents of a manufacturing town over those of a country town or a rural ham let. Within the last few years many of our large towns, such as Sdford anand have been sup plied with magnifici- Pi.ople;a Parks, and the boon has in most cases et sit the - result of local muni ficence, the parks having been given in whole or p-rt by merchants and manufacturers. Those whose capital has most iv profi:ed by the modern eencentration of ! '‘w;: thiN bEcri atnopgst the: ti rat to 2TeicAni- , , f!tf, (t;. 1 , of tto indubtril elf::sses, by making ie t pisvilon ge"eryl scale fur tinir comiurt mud I,creatior, and eijoyment. I%.lrough the munificerxe of Sir 1). B?..xtr, Dundee now add: d to the number or town.: thus favoured. The beautiful park which this public-spirited mer chant has presented to his fellow-townsmen was opened on Tuesdays Lord Russell gracing the occasion with his presence, and appropriately summing up the feeling which such an act naturally inspires : " Happy is he who can give to those in populous city pent' a rest from exhausting toil amid scenes which invigorate the body,'and turn the mind to the contemplation of the wonderful works of God." The political allusions of Lord Russell's address, if deficient in the charm of novelty, were nevertheless pecnliarly fitted to such an occasion. We have no doUbt heard before of the noble lord's share in the repeal of the Corporation and Test Acts, as well as in the great Municipal and Parliamentary Reform. But for this very reason, because a reference to these measures is so familiar and commonplace, we are too much disposed to overlook the great social and political revolution they represent, and while enjoying the beneficent results of this revolution it is well that we should be reminded now and then of the struggles through which it was achieved, and learn to connect our superior advantages with their true cause. There is a far closer connec tion between the Parliamentary Reform of thirty years since and the People's Parks of today than careless observers might be disposed perhaps to imagine. It was substantially the battle of popular rights and political justice against the combined forces of class, privilege, and accumulated wrongs ; and its success gained for the people the position out of which People's Parks, popular education, and numberless other schemes of industrial elevation and social reform arose. That great instalment of public justice, with the measures in favour of political and religious liberty it produced. did much to remove the bitter alienation that had grown up between the governing classes and the people, established an understanding between them, and laid for the first time a solid basis of future action for the elm mon good. It is enough to glance at the history of this country during the years which preceded the passing of the Reform Bill to be convinced of this. We can hardly now even conceive of the terribie social and political condition of Eugland during the fifteen years that intervened between the peace and the era of successful reform. The Government of the day was not only destitute of popular sympathy S and support, but waged an active and determined warfare against the people. Jr was the era of the Hampden Clubs, the march of the Blanketeers, the so-called Derby insurrection, and the political trials for alleged blasphemy and sedition. At the time when Lord Russell first entered public I ife the govern ment of the clay demanded and obtained from a subservient Parliament a suspension of the Habeas Corpus Act, on the plea that the existence of clubs and societies in favour of Parliamentery Reform was a public danger, demandicg this extreme men-- sure. Then, as now, Lord .itusiell woe the cham pion of public justice and popular rights, against the encroachment of arbitrary power ant.' the sT.lfisti violence of a privileged' class. One of his first speeches, it will be remembered, was against this unconstitutional measure, and referring to the much more serious dangers of the country when the Act was passed, he said, "We talk much—l think a great deal too much—of the wisdom of our an cestors. I wish we would imitate the courage of our ancestors. They were not ready to lay every their liberties at the foot of the Crown upon ee v een er n y e vain or imaginary alarm." In th . e same earnestly warned the House agarnstlosingp else re spect of the people by refusing to listen to their grievances. ." Let n o t the Reformers say—When we ask for redress you re f u se all innovation ; when the Crown asks for protectionnyo to go an inch-- sanction a new code. For us y ou are n f or Ministers you go a t willing mile. Whn we ask for our rights, you ought not to touch the little finger of the Constitution —but when those in authority de mand more power, you plunge your knife into its heart." When Lord Russell used this bold and patriotic language, all the world of fashion, in fluence,and power were against him, but he steadily fought the battle of popular rights, giving the best years of his life to the struggle, and eventually he triumphed. And amidst such welcome and striking illustrations of the beneficent effects of the victory, a re ference to the cause is not only pardonable, but in a high degree encouraging and instructive. Another political murder has just been committed at Warsaw on a man named Richter, the head of the pass port-Oleo, who had recently been engaged in organizing none police. He was stabbed to the heart in the street close to his own door. SEIOCIONG GUN ACCIDENT AT WARRINGTON.— An accident, attended with fatal consequences, oc currod on Monday. Two young men, named Peter Ken virl3ht and Wm. Durkin, went to the house of John Me tic street, and borrowed a gun, Meo w as not at ihnorinlea,Ybdu-t-kh-iei wife, on being asked by Kenwright if the gun Was loaded, salu she did not know. The young men th e n event together to the shop of Thomas Lowe, butcher, - v 04, 1 ik-street. Kenwright went into Lowe's house for purpose of rt °curing a powder flask and shot bag, low the Nvho held the gun, at the shop door, Durkin j a g Durolill stood with the gun resting on his foot, but, by some means, he let it fall, and, the hammer coming in contact with the ground, a n explosion was the result. The greater part of the conte•uto were lodged in the head of a boy of Lowe's, four years of age, who was playing about in the shop. The boy was killcu instantly. :Durkin, in a state of great and gave himself into custody. alarm, went to th e p o ii : A . The chief constable, howeVi.:"' finding there was no blame -ifacbed to him, did not dot- 4ll E AD VEnTrSEmENT:I—CoII6RnIptIOII, Y?*, liver, and stomach complaints, I , : ,•tea gravate and acceler tied by di ugs of every di-*.eitpilO'iri portcc ly chrable by Po berry's health restoring Itevalentil ArabiCa real, as proVed by cloiikolits of cases which nail been considered hopeless. We quote a few -Cure No. 62,014. l i i fs,Lylie; 18 years curekl alter the medical men had . dtuoneu ail hope of lt r recovery from tee last stage of pulmonary consumpt:on, with f arlui co gh, expectoration, exhaustion, spitting of bloo i, perspir itions, hollow cheeks. emaciated to a ek.luton. is thank God, a perfectly healthy, bloorulit;,e, fleshy girl.--.'. Commisaire de Police. Cure, No. 4 ,1 ,270. .31r. lames Roberts, of Frimley Surrey, of flirty years' dficasei lungs, spittingof blood, livGr derangement. and partial deafness.—Cure, No. 47,121. Miss Elizabeth Jacobs, of extreme nervousness, indigestion., gatherings, low spirits, and nervousfancies. — Cure, No. 54,816. the Rev. James Campbell, Fakenham, Norfolk, of i ndigestion and torpidity of the liver, which had resisted nil medical ',;reatment. in fine, ill , , 2s 9d; 21b, 4s Gd; 51b, ifs; 121 h, 2i's; ?Alb, 405. Barry du Barry and Cu., No. 77, liegent-stre4 it, London ; also Fortnum and Mason; and all arocers p) , t vi-=mite in every town Qt thci--TUitetlli,ittgdOta, —ous, bilious ^nly ag . TIMM---M lrr i age is an impor ! ant is we ll a - i riorati on . holy thing. N ot hi ng can b e aoun d er • e 4,, ~ d trine that a n at i on i s i n a be d way w s ' r '" riages among its pepulation decline hi title er i l' i fact is p roo f e i t h er of publ i c distress or c It is b e y on d statistics, bu t i t i s .very d es i ra bl e that mete lain meaning sh ou ld not be tn i ste k en. J ust now , the SW-I, there must be fluetuetiee - ,11 ~ u:-/1 returns on thi s h ea d are rat h er remar k a bl e , but we doubt_ whether we h ave b een correct l y a pprehended. question that the marriages in the whole kingdom were below the average for the whole year 1861 —the last annual reckoning published by the Registrar-General. It is also certain that the decline was distinctly marked in the manufacturing diatricts, but we are by no means sure that the in fluence of the Cotton Famine is the matter has not been materially overrated. When wo read in the marriages i n report that i n a certain quarter of the year 1861 the a similar p er i o d i n the year preced i ng, d ec li ne d from 1,285 to 1,150 ; in Ashton, from 312 t o 271 ; in Blackburn, f rom Manche 412 to 288 ; in Preston , from 355 to 254 ; and i n Stockport, from 332 t o 218, i t is impossible t o d eny that the i nc i p i en t paralysis o f the cotton i n d ustry might rea lly have been then affecting the returns of the year. Yet this influence could not have been so powerful as was supposed. The Quarter which we have quoted was the fourth Quarter, and, i n d eed, we could hardly have looked for much effect of the blockade before that time. Bat the report s h ows that t h e whole year was more or less unfavo ura bl e to marr i a ges, and especially the first quart er o f it, when the cotto n s u pp l y had experienced no i nterrupt i on , and the Civil War in America had n ot b roken out . In poiet of fact, it was the weath er w hi ch at t hi s period was the ob structive agent. M ost rea d ers will retain a lively recollection of th e C hr i stmas o f 1860, its intense frosts and its sn ow . T he ex t r eme severity of the season and the dearness of provisions rendered the period " eminently unpropitious," and contributed much to that decline whieti is Year. The second and third quarters, again, succes sively visible upon the whole average, but still the prospective . cotton famine could not have been especially in fault, for .. the same phe nomenon failed to bring the marriage rate up to the in divisions of the kingdom. It is evident , short, upon an attentive inspection of these statistics,. that was observable in the majority of the great 61 was due to the operation of distin guishes the year 18 causes rather than to the in fluencegeneral and ord o i n n e a the decline in the number of marriages which .e ry xtraordinary agency. We can of any also go one step fther. decline, such as it tnen was, exhibited no alarmin g . ur . . We can show that this or uncommon proportions. Nobody examining the be induced by the figures for 1831 to suspect that dented misfortune had • befallen the any unprecedented tables of these statistics for the last 20 years would no doubt , Mince ing off in the marriages, _ . the total whereas, according to 63,706 for all countryin t h a tyea fr r o:m T l h 7 e ols i 6 s aveiry distinct fall numbers dropped Wales have risen little 28 the pope- together, a - Taut such fluctuationg Englandtul a o nt u r io u snu le:, they li.n e a r Tne increased. shouldsned .years ago, are not ;or .octunck,,—that is to say, in the year 1853, — amounted themarriagee, thDrtgh ois the returns f or 1861. among a smaller population , to 164,510, being actually i n excess f But two years later—that to say, in 1855—they had fallen to 152,113. Again, in 1858 the figure dropped from 150,027, the number for 1857, to 156,070. The years 1840 and 1842 also fell off from the returns of their predecessors, though not materially; but in 1817 the marriages, which had been upwards of 145,000 in 1846, declined at a sweep to 135,845. There is nothing, therefore, in the figures now before us to create any astonish ment. No doubt, 1861 wee rather a bad year for marriages, but the falling off in the numbers was not so large as we have seen on former occasions, and it was not due in any great degree to the Cot ton Famine. But the last quarterly return of the Registrar-General, just issued, announces an unex pected revival. The reader is probably aware that in these Reports the marriage return is always three months in arrear of the others, so that, whereas we get the births and deaths up to June 30, we get the marriages only up to March 31, Yet in that quar ter—the first of the current yeare-they were de cidedly increasing in some of the chief districts affected by the Cotton Famine. In Manchester the figures rose from 951 in 1861, and 830 in 1862, to 1,006 last spring. In Chortton, also, there was a considerable increase, and in Salford too. In other districts the tide was still setting the other way, and possibly, as the Registrar-General observes, there have been movements of population affecting these results. Nevertheless, in spite of the destruction of our greatest industry arid the impoverishment of our richest communities, the national marriage rate for the first q uar t er o f the present year is re ported above the average. So broad, in fact, is the area of these surveys, and so numerous are the ele ments at work upon the results, that we may per haps find lighter traces of the Cotton Famine than we expect even in the complete reports of 1862 and 1863. The Cotton districts, after all, are but a frac tion of England, and if any eases should combine to stimulate trade and encourage industry in other great centres of population as they seem to have done in the metropolis, the decline to be anticipated in the marriages of Lancashire may be compensated by increase elsewhere. We have already learnt that cotton is not such a King as was supposed, and that the destinies of England are not under his rule. The cotton trade has been struck out from the in dustries of the country for a whole year with less effect upon the business of the nation than anybody could have imagined. Some analogous result we may possibly discover in the Registrar-General's future returns. We see, in feat, in the tables now before us that the progresa,of the nation is but im perceptibly affected by any of th e v i c i ss i tu d es w hi c h are successively chronicled. The great body moves on like one of those migratory glaciers described by geologists, with a slow but irresistible course, grinding out for itself an onward - through peesege every obstacle in its way, The Registrar-General tells us that we may take the last quarter of a cen tury, and consider that the growth of our population throughout the whole period proceeded as unintct-. ruptedly and as uniformly gigantic pine. " Each quinquennial • period rid& a million urn lim o ,d snore to the account. In 1836 40 the population was rising through t 1 its mixteerit' million; in 184 1-15 throiigh its seventeenth; in' 1846-50 thro ug h i ts eighteenth; in 1851-55 throw;} itsnineteenth; and i n 1856-60 t h rough its twentieti l t million." In the middle of 1861 our num b ers arcomputed to ha ve b een 20,119,496 for England anti Wales only, an d this in spite of wars, mutinies, co mmercia l Panics, deficient harvests, and i nc l eme seasons. Calamiti es which startle us at the rit moment, toad Which rattY produce deep Joni cl wa " f ves, fttil to UPS AND DOWNS OF AN ACTOR'S LIFE. On Manday, a case most painfully illustrative of the vicissitudes of an actor's life came before the bench at Hull. A middle-aged man, named James Clifford, of wretched and half-starved appearance, and whose only covering consisted of shirt, trousers, and boots, was placed at the bar charged with having attempted to commit suicide by jumping into the Humber Dock on Saturday evening.' A young man, named Thomas Beautyman, a licensed porter, stated that on that evening he was going along the Humber Dock side, when he observed the prisoner jump from the quay into the water. The witness at once raised an alarm, and also got into a boat with a view of saving the life of the unfor tunate man. After considerable difficulty and the lapse of about five minutes he was successful in his endeavours. The would-be suicide was hauled on to the quay and handed over to the custody of the police. The prisoner on being asked by the magi strate what he had to say for himself made the fol lowing statement : He said that for about 40 years he had been a travelling performer with portable theatres, and had performed at Winn's Theatre, at Drypool Feast. He had once been in very com fortable circumstances, and had plenty of friends, but latterly he had become very much reduced. He had been compelled to part with all his clothes ex cept those few rags which now covered his body. He soon found that when his clothes were gozie his friends had also flown, and those who had once ap peared to be the firmest of friends had now become almost his greatest enemies. When he was left in an almost naked state, he found it absolutely im possible to obtain' an engagement, and having nothing wherewith to procure food his existence became miserable in the extreme. Daring the latter part of last week he had wandered about houseless, homeless, and friendless, and on Friday and Satur day had nothing to eat. On the evening of the last named day the rain was falling very fast, and on meeting a policeman he asked if he would be allowed to go into the look-up for the night. He was informed by the officer that unless he bad com mitted some crime he could not be locked up. Being wet, cold, and hungry—in taw, just o❑ the verge of etarvation—he sought refuge under the dock sheds, and whilst he was so sheltering he began to con sider which would be the let st way to pursue in his then lone and desolate circumstances. He con sidered that he had neither clothes, food, shelter, or friends, and was at a toss how to proceed. If he had had bid clothes he would have known how to proceed, but in his then state b-.fore any respecta b,e manager he would have been naturally told that " worse th:la a s,hot,black." Therefore at the FALKIRK TRYST. The Tryst on Tuesday was favoured with a little better weather in the early part of the day ; but towards the after noon rein again came on, which quickly put an end to business. The stock was all placed by eight o'clock, and consisted of North and West Highland beasts of all ages, and almost every quality—this class forming at least half of the stock on the ground, although it was certainly de ficient in regard to numbers when compared with previous September fairs. There were also short-horns and Irish cattle, country beasts, and Ayrshire milch cows, and polled cattle from Dumfries and Galloway ; but none of these stocks showed anything like the numbers of previous years, except perhaps the milch cows, which were a capital show. The supply, however, in every department, was quite equal, in deed, superior to the demand, the fact being that there was a considerable margin on each stock left at the conclusion of the market unsold. The Highland cattle in really good condition met a fair sale; but those not so met a rather meagre demand. The best conditioned lots of small beasts from the North High lands met a fair demand. It may be said that the Highland cows were an excellent show, and attracted very cousiderablo notice, and many of them were sold at rather high prices. It must also be added that there was a considerable number of inferior looking Highland beasts on the ground, but this may have arisen from the jaded state in which the beasts were, after having been driven in many instances between 200 and 300 miles. The three-year-olds of the High land class were few comparatively, this kind of stock being ge nerally brought out in October; but those which wore in the market met with a ready sale. The North Highland beasts, from two to six years, also met similar good encouragement- The kyloes, which were in anything like - condition, wer e very smartly looked after by the English jobbers, in conse quence of the turnips and other green crops having so muc h improved from the recent rains. The best class o f both heifers and stots were in demand, but in some instances prices were rather low, but the better kinds supported the prices of last year. The £9 or £lO beasts weir) down +5 ll . head, but the condition being better than this time last year, the reduction must be considered rather more. 11e same may be said regarding the two and three-year -el " bullocks and kyloes ; in fact, the Highland cattle :av ere on the average from 10 to 15 per cent. below that of last ye ar ' although there was no discernible difference between th is and last month's market. The polled cattl e f ro m Gallows , ' and Dumfries were in a fair state. and met a ready sale. Th e short-homed stock was a large supply, and was in famous condition, especially the 3-yr-olds, which were readily picke d up, more particularly those fit for fleshing purposes. The r-olds that were not in the same state also met a similar sale. The milk cows were a shorter supply than usual, but the market was -stiff, and the sales effected were slightly lower than last year, and sa, 10s, to 20s less than the last Rutherglen market. The Irish cattle were a large show , comprising 3 and 2-yr-olds and six-quarter beasts. Those of the first class that-were in condition sold equally well as last year; the second class were ill to sell and £1 down, and the inferior kinds were unsaleable. The Yorkshire calves were a large show, for which there was a good demand. The highest prices obtained for Highland cattle were For 3-yr-old bullocks, £l6 10s; 3-yr-old heifers, £lO 10a; 3-yr-old queya, £ll 5s ; cows, £9 10s; 2-yr-old stots, £ 3 15s; 2-yt-old heifers, £7 7e; yearling store, £3 103 6d; 6-quarter-old stots, £3 10s; 6-quarter-heifers, i 5 53; ol d stirks, £4los. The Ayrshire milch cows fetched as much as £l3, a nd the lowest price accepted was £lO. The Irish cattle ran-3-yr-olds, £l4 to £l6 les; 2.yr-oldst £lO to £l4 lOs; and stirks, lOs to XlO 10s. The short-horns, 3-yr-olds, fetched as high as £l6; and 2-yr-olds, £ll to £l4; stirks, 10s to £lO 10s; and York" shire calves, £5 to £7. The show of horses was rather large, more particular l y those of the draught stamp, which ran from £2O to 0 6 * For this kind there was a fair demand for what wa r ! really good, but the inferior kinds were ill to sell, an it may be added the trade was very dull. The lighter description of animals were a tolerably fair show, but did not meet that encouragement that might ha ve , been expected, in consequence o f th e b ro k en state o f the weather, which causes this class of beasts to be at a th s ' count, the jaunting season being all but over. COUNTRY MARKETS. "`I BRISTOL—MunsDAT.7 At this day's market the supply of English wheat! short, which met a fair sale at prices is to 28 higher WO last week. • In foreign more doing. and quite as dear: Some fine samples of new maliin.s; barley changed hairdo °" 2s advance. Grinding sorts scarce, and 6d clearer. O aw in fair request. Beans more active. MANCHESTER—TnunsDAY. At our market this morning there waa a fair attendance of buyers. The demand for new English wheat was slow. at the prices of this day se'nnight. Foreign wheat also in active, at an advance of 2d to 3d per 1001 h. Flour at week's rates. Oats and oatmeal were limited in sale. A Indian corn an improved demand. Beans steady. i.( , fterr , only one w,.-v for him, and he determined to take it. He t iier:4ore got up from* the piece where he was shetn.i lug, walked to the edge of the quay, and jumped into the water. This was all that he (prisoner) bad to scly. Such a thing had never before passed in the drama of his life, and he hoped that it would be a caution for the future, for if he lived he would long remember it. During the time the prisoner was making the above statement the most breathless silence prevailed in the oourt. Mr. Winn, the proprietor of the portable theatre which has been exhibiting near theDrypool Church since the Drypool Feast, was in the court. He came forward and said that he had known the prisoner for upwards of twentyyears, during which period the prisoner had been under his management in several portable theatres. In the whole of this time ho had never known him commit an offence similar to the one with which ho was now charged. He had always been a steady and inoffensive man. The witness also further stated that about a fort night ago the prisoner and his wife quarreled. In consequence of this he took to drinking. His wife left him and took away with her his wardrobe, thus depriving him of the means of going on the stage. The witness had several times sent for the prisoner to return to his theatre, directing the messengers to tell him that ho was quite agreeable to take him on. The witness supposed that through shame the prisoner declined an offer. Whatever might be the cause, however, he did not accept Mr. Wine's offer, and he (witness) was very much astonished when on the previous night he heard that the prisoner had attempted to commit suicide. Ho could come to no other conclusion than that he had been induced to commit the rash act through want of food and through intoxicating drink. Even at that moment he (witness) was quite willing to take the prisoner back into his em ployment. His worship pointed out to the pri soner the folly of the course of conduct which he had puroied. As the witness, however, had so kindly (tome forward to speak for hi m , an d h a d even promised fee take him into his service, he should discharge him. .A subscription was got up amongst the attorneys and several gentlemen in court, his worship also contribuOng, and upwards or lbs. were placed in the hands of the prisoner, and he left the court a happier and nu doubt a :Wiser man. His worship also pr seated ss. to Beautyma.n, for the promptitude and presence of mind which he had shown in rescuing the prisoner from a shocking and untimely end. WATERSPOUT IN THE MORAY FIRTH. -w m a ariny's storm (says the Ban fshire Journal ) was accompanied in this itima-diate neighbouinood by one of those splendid but no less terrific pheno mena rarely witnessed in these latitudes, namely, a waterspout. This tarrible phenomenon was seen in the Bai of Banff about 4 o'clock in the after noon, and presented a very magnificent and impos ing spectacle to those who had an opportunity of witnessing it in all its furious grandeur. Iu noting its progress, the phenomenon, as first it presented itself to the eye of the beholders, would more pro perly be described as a whirlwind than a water • spout. In the former shape it had its rise, in the latter it had its fall. The wind was from the north west, and strangely enough, though it blew a perfect hurricane inshore, the sea was calm as a lake. In the offing away to the right, in the as yet unruffled portion of the bay, was a little boat, from Macduff, with three men on board, quietly, to all appearance, fishing for mackerel. Away to the left, or to the 'windward, fitful squalls were sweep ing round the little promontory at Blackpots towards the breakwater at the harbour, eddying about in the intermediate bay, throwing up a wave here ant: there, and lashing it into foam. In this way the curious inshore hurricane continued with less or more violence for nearly an hour, and the coast guardsmen were watching the squalls with consi derable anxiety, fearing lest at any moment they should extend its playground a little further to sea, and mayhap upset the mackerel boat. While they were thus eagerly watching the peculiar conduct of the warring elements, their atten tion was suddenly arrested by an object of a still more peculiar nature away further to windward. A violent whirlwind, scattering the waves in its course, came sweeping along almost in a direct line to the point of view, gathering up its strength as it came. As the whirlwind approached, it seemed to pause for a moment eff the station, as if to concentrate all its energies in a last effort. At that moment the water, gathered up by the whirl wind somewhat in the form of a cone, and lifted higher and higher in the air, was borne straight up wards to the height of more tha n 50 feet above the surface. Pursuing its easterly course, the huge ap parition swept forward tor a considerable distance, till, just a little to the north-east of the bralrwater, it burst. As if caught on " the Wings of the wind," the huge mass was borne aloft for some distance, and then precipitated with great violence into the v,sty fleep," whence ir, enle. Th e ,ff,et of the . phenomenon is kiscri4t'il by blest: who wino - it as something very gra a d „„ai lately terrible ; for, had th e ; iit i c ,f wh!riw;nd - -ded it elf in a Jcss en - l ive /l ien; p! , o - A', fit :lava hueu (tilt? lyivoc ic,oecn. bath qu,itcrs n bb _ sight .bas LOt "WTI and Pills. [ADvEnmsEmENT.]-I.l..Aloway's Oiryinmt temp_ ila, , .viuess round !no tie.taii.—With the sore trials, 'n tatams, and accidents daily endangering health au(' life -. large citi es , it i s mos t important to have at hand sonic means of stopping the breeding evil, for the longer it i s neglected the more wide spread is the degeneration. Holloway's medicaments supply this great want; they are inexpensive, purchaseaVe everywhere, can be readily are safe even in invy-perienced hands and perfectly reliable as healers and purifiers. Holloway's Ointment - and Pills cure inflammations, abscess es, and, ulcerations with a facility hitherto unknown. Ho llowa y's noble remedies will give relief to sullerers from skin diseases of thi most re voldag characters, for which in bygone days dangerous mineral wag often administered with fatal emsequen,,,,es, • BIRMINGIIAM—THURSDAT. of wheat, At to-day's market there was a short supply pies which found buyers at is advance on last we e k's eUrrenl A o: —English wheat was sold at 46s to 608 fo r w hite, an" - to 46s per 36 rAone for red, Barley, now malting, 360 to 4.2 s per qr ; grinding, 26s to 30s Oats, old, 24s to 30 8 per 30 stone; Irish, 21s to 255. Beans, 400 . ,te 448,per qr. Peas, 36s to 44s per 36 stone. COILK-SEPT. 8. The following were the quotations this morning :—I 16(1 wheat, 8s Od to —s 01; white, lOs :3d to — s Od , brirlPV, ~ Od to Os Od ; oats, 7s Gd to Os Od. ;black do., 5s 9d to 83 21. EDINBURGH GRAIN-SEPT. 9. A fair supply of farmers' wheat to-day, which met : fair sale ut fully the prices of last w ee k. B ar ley met '- ready sale, and prices is up. : Oats dull, and is dearer. Beans were scarce. , • . Wheat on the top 2s Od up. average 2s 4d up. Barley on the top Os 6d down average is 10d uP• f )ats,n the top 2s Od up. ljans on the top O s 3d up ..average s Total Supply an . d .. sa Wheat ... 660 qrs S o ld 311 qrs . laera ,average re 0 1 s s 1 9 0 d d d down'o Nv 3 1 e 8ar1ey........ 98 qrs Sold 98 qrs Oats Beans 32 qrs Sold 21 qrs Flour sells ns follows :—Whites, 403 Od ; extras, 38s Od; up...ifin. , 36s Od ; fine, 34s Cd. DERBY SMITHFIELD-SErr. 8. There was a short supply Of fat beasts to-day, and the quality of many of the animals was inferior. The num' ber of sheep was also short, but lambs were in good shoo' Fat calves were dearer. The show of fat pigs was 13° large, but they were better sold. Beet 6d to 7d Veal. 6)d to 7 3 Mutton ... 7d to.7id Pork Lamb .. 8d to —d Rough fat, 3s 9d per ston e ' Hides, 3d to 41c1; calf skins. 6d. to 6d. Foreign Mail Packet List. MAILS DUE. Australia and Mauritius, via Southampton. Sept. V a via Marseilles ... Sept., l4 " Brazil and Cape Verds , by British packet. Oct. t Cape of Good H o p e , Ascension, and St. Helena Sept. ; 8. China, Penang, a nd Si nga p ore , via Southampton Sept. Ig ' via Marseilles Sept. 14' Falkland Islands Gibraltar, via Southampton .. Sep t. 10. India (Calcutta), and Ceylon, via Southampton.. Sept. 18, via Marseilles.... Sept' 12. India (Bombay), via Southampton Sept. 10, via Marseilles sep • t 20. Portugal.... Oct. 6. Malta, Egypt, and Aden, v i a S outhampton Sept. 1,,,., . via Marseilles Sept. 12. Newfoundland Oporto and Vigo .. U. S. and British N. America, by Brit. packet.... Sept. 11 , by U.S. packet.... by Canadian packet. Sept. 1 1 . W.C. of Africa, Madeira, and Teneriffe .. .. S ep t. 10. Bahamas, via New York Mexico.. All parts of West Indies, including Chili, Peru, t l4. California. and. British Columbia.. j Sept, ' Full benefit of reduced duty obtained by pur chasing Iforniman's pure Tea; very choice at 3s. 4d. and 4s. "High Standard "at 4s. 4d. (formerly 4a. Bd.), is the strongest and most delicious imported. Agents in every town supply it in packets. Births. BAIZROW.—On the 27th July, at Madras, the wife. of Lieu tenant-Colonel Barrow, of the Royal Artillery, of 6 daughter. Connam.--On the 7th inst., at Morden, the wife of Geo . Strode Cobham, Esq., of a son. HANnunx.—On the 7th inst., at Ballysix,_eo. Kildare , the wife of Captain Gurney Hanb ury , 10 t h Hussars, of tl daughter. Marriages. EAGLE—WITHERS.—On the 10th inst., at St. Bartholo' mew's, Sydenham, W. P. Eagle, Esq., of Cannon-stree t, W., to B at•riett, only daughter of Henry Withers, Esq'' of 3, Wellington-street, London. bridge. PutLy — i < Altltl7.—O n th e 10 t h inst , at St. James's, Fie : Bey eatittly, Batten Philp, Esq , of The Elms, lia r 11 . 1 iddlutex, to Mrs. Barry, ut Greenwich. Deaths. BICKIIAIII.—On the Bth inst., Thomas Bickham, EET , °f Wh., 1 v Ran g‘ , ., Manchester. CORNEWALL.—Ou th, Bth inst., at Bruges, from the of a ,ever. fall, Herbert Cornewall; Esq., of Daba r i Hall, S,lop. DAviEs..---Ou the 13th July, at Shanghai, of cholera, HWY r icti, Esq., Commissioner of Chinese Cu6toP-16 at that port. IIAWKINS.—On the 10th inst., at Brighton, Wm. Il enrl I.l.awkins, Esq., J.P., aged 68. HoLL.—On the 9th. inst., at Encombe-terrace, • wr,rth-road, Joseph Roll, Esq., aged 78. 'N.—On the 7th inst,, George Hobson, Esq., HopSu- Rerts. CottereO , 'th inst. , at Chem"' House, Surrey. Geo , WILDE,— kin the Wilde, Esq.. aged T London : Printed and Pul,i.islied byNv ILLIAAI ANDRE - SS of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at Tut JUN Office No. 11 .1, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, CowatY Fri.laY, tiepte.mber 11, 18t4 o - , ' ;jr ,1 a.,. __.. _ -. -..---------,'-,-----.--.."Allr' I I