The Sun. — London, England, 1857-12-29 00:00:00

lATBRESTING LETTER FROM CHINA (From ae Cyri•espondent.) SHANGHAI, OCT. 17. SALANCE Cr TRADE. The reader who may haply have followed me through my discussion of the opium trade will probably have long since forgotten that it came under our consideration only as one article of import. If we have to pay 15,000,000/. for tea and silk, and deliver only 7,000,0001. in opium and 1,500,000/. in India cotton, and 2,000,0001. in British manufactures, we have 4,500,0001. still to makeup. Of course, we try to do this as much as possible without putting our hands into our pockets. We buy rice at Siam, and, tryina,, to . lo place some of our goods there in return for it, wetcr n t ship it to Canton or to any other hungry an d ut infested province, whereof China always has several. We go into the Straits and buy or barter sharks' fins and birds' nests, putchuck and catch, buffalo horns and mother-of-pearl shells), and all such lik.e Chinese delights, and we proffer them in part payment.. But there is still a large margin to fill up. No wonder, then, that in the first three months of this year, 1857, we were obliged to export 7,639,000 dolt in silver, or diet the drain has since been going on with undiminished'. strength. Moreover, we must remember that of the 8,500,0°01. which we take in opium and cotton from India, we can not pay for it all even by the thriving export trade to Calcutta, nor absorb quite all the balance in rent and in dividends upon East India stuck. Some silver or gold must go there also. Bus another serious inconvenience arises from this payment for tea and silk in silver bullion. Silver is not an article which, like birds' nests, the Chinese can make soup of, nor is it their custom to expend it greatly for articles of luxury. Their women - wear bracelets and anklets of it, but the men prefer to gloat over it in the form of ingots. Now, according to laws from which even China cannot emancipate herself, it happens that as the rarity of an article of barter ceases so its commercial value di minishes. This is already taking place in China. Nut only are the exchanges against ore, but people who are paid their salaries here in silver find that the dollar, so dear tobuy from England, is becoming daily leglvaluable inChina. Somoyears ago a Carolus dollar could& bought at 4s. 2d. English money, and when. you had thus bought it you could change it for 2,000 of tho copper cash of the nountry. At the present day, partly by action of the exchanges, and partly because the people of the interior once had a superstitions confidence in the-weight and purity of the Carolne dollar, and preferred it to any other medium of commerce as the only foreign coin they knew—just as some of our country people prefer the notes of a neighbouring bank to Bank of Eng land notes or sovereigns—a Carats dollar coats us here 7s. English money. Wheu you have suffered this less by the exchange, another less comes upon you when . you ccehungo it into the Gerdy currency of the country. Instead of getting 2,000 cash fer it you have great difficulty in getting 1,200. This second leas arises partly from the country people having got over their inordinate love of Cerolus dollar; chiefly from the dirni niehed value of silver, and in a small degree from the increased scarcity of copper crib. This scarcity of cash also arises from the diminished value of silver. Imme diately the re:ative value of silver and copper was diC turbed the Parsees found it profitable, notwithstanding the Chinese prohibition, to export the cash as metal. They are now working the same operations is gold.— buying up all they can get and exporting it to India. Thus it happens that a man who leas a fixed income from, England, instead of getting, 2,000 cash for every 4s. 2d., only gets 1,200 cash for awry 73., a differeoco so enormous that it would be incredible it every tatle of official figures did not prove the fact. Strange to eat , that merchants here-draw no conclu sions from these premises. Fortunately - for himself, however, the merchant's optics are those of the lynx rather than those. of the eagle. Au extremely far. sighted commercial man must always tun risk of bank ruptcy, for the most absulut , cly curtain sequences are often the most uncertain in point of time. But as time is the essence of cornunrce, your farsighted merchant /A wild be ruined while his certain sequence was still in sight. They see prices going up enormously, and, with occa sional vibrations, still maintaining their advance. They look upon that as an unnatural state of things in the face of abundant silk seasons, and they refuse to bi Un doubtedly they may thus temporarily reduce prices, for accumulated stoops must by sold ; but in the long run pr icy will continue to advance in spite of them, until theY reach a point at which competition will stop the pride, oe rather the sale of China silk, and price will chick the consumption of China tea, This may not he so Vii;ey far distant, for, if my reasoning is correct, silver will beco me d earer in Europe just in proportion as it beeesetee cheaper in China. This tall of silver was for inerly,worth 2,000 copper cash, and is now only worth 1,100.; but the Caineee producer reckons his expendi ture and hie returns wily in copper cash. As silver becomes more plentiful its value in relation to copper cash goes on diminishing —it takes more silver every year to give to the peasant who grows silk or tea his remu narating amount of tho only currency he knows. If I am right in this position, then, our Britkh mere chants in China. must admix, what at present soine of them are most unwilling and most careless to perceive, that it is vital to their wellbeing to attempt to push our manufactures into China. We may find a silver Cali fornia, but, putting miracle aside, I can see no other remedy for the present unsatifactory state of things—no other means whereby the export of tea and silk can go on—except the sending of cottons and broadcloths and hardware and lace to Chins. instead of bullion. Rit.mtoisa XLLE,614.0 von T 1,114 P.S.I.IUIT Olt 113TBI .P.:zrowts. The reasons u .ually a leged are-1, that the Chinese are not easily induced to adopt foreign fashions; 2, that the Chinese are a manufacturing people; 3, the dis turbances caused by the rebellion ; 4, the exactions of thre Chinese Custom-houses. Al! these difficulties exist, but they aro individually much over-estimated, and they are in the aggregate quite insufficient to account for the phenomenon. Ist, That the Chinese are not easily induced to adopt foreign fashions. This is true only to a very partial extent. You can't snake a China woman wear a Cram bourne-street bonnet, ger a Coolio wear a pair of Stuart plaid trousers ; they are even so bigote I as to consider khat:their narrow cottons, 10 inches bread, are more conveniently made into their garments t::au your wide longclottis. Tway do co; like your flimsy cottons ; have seen them take them between their fists, and rub the dressing out. At Ningpo the Chinese can buy the belt gray rhirttngs at SJ. a-yard, and they yet prefer to pay 6d. a-yard for house-roe's cotton cloth not quite tso width. But this is not because they are insensible to the superior fluent s 3 of the English texture ; it is because they cannot afford to buy the British material. The home-made cloth is of thrice the sa'ostauce, and will la ,t a Chinaman for at Last two years. The Bilitish caliep washed in Chinese fath'on, by heating be`-seen stones, would wear out is six week?. Depend upon it that a Chinaman is'of all human creatures the most shrewd in ' all matters of economy ; provide him with a cheaper and! better thing than he can make at home and he will buy it. But you must give him what he wants. If Yung A'Lung, the tailor of Caxton, were to send'a circu'ar to th. Deputy-Lieutenants of England, telling them that 'he had sent to Euglaed rich mandarin dresses much' handsomer than the stiff clothes which they _wear on ; grand occasions, and inviting them to go to Court a lai Chinoise, we should searody think that Yung A'Lung' had made a wise or profitable consignment. Yung A'Lung is not such a fool. Be sends us cheav gold lace of the proper width and quality. Surely Manchester can produce a piece of strong ticck cotton cloth 10 or 12 inches wide and put it (flown •at Shanghai at less than: td. a said? At this moment narrow thick ca'ic.ies, which one of -tee flung Kong Louses had tire wit to order from Bog- . land, aro selling at very reecnArrativo p ices. There -is also 8. 3 / 1 10 trade doing in cotton bnicaiei. , ; made in ruination of the Chinese l brn.:ade , , of the -eause - p4ttain, and dyed to tn) same iiculoure. Tbeie aro WA down Siian . ;tiai at 3! 4 ; they there readtlf fetch 5 tachi,;. and I told ti' at toe Chinese nicrel , atits. and a r 3,Adynruk, - . ( t,Letn up in tiic tea country at 13 ;lel-. (!on!'a litho to.aralacini ad this our, there will be. a tr..ment;us Fciaai.Z.:i upon ti.; pr,..11 , .. of 8 tad: sr:mewl:ere: But it mists': supt)o,; that the Ciinese are not fondn: Wcdtera fashion... In going through the house of -t -e richerit merchant in Ningpo i :vas ;jurpristd to notice EN,:ert in the -ervau , .e' r,o:_no , , there was not a bit - furniture in the hou,e. Tile tnimitur) :van ail 61Chintse tuara•rfeeture, but it of s;1-111.1 fa•Li I,*itliont a nranfl,riur a, or a pica of inlaid . itoty about A. Au English i 6 ai,4st acuel,tat,le . present to a Chinaman, and a tae.;copo ,ig a trent.uro to eavet through a tixe., loVee cherry 'bra -14 and de lights in charnpagric, and maLy a Shantung wan comes out innarton Newl4ear's-day in a caMiet coat (of Chinese fashion) ar:a bras hut:ens from Biritirngtarr;. But why • in,ist ripen a Chinaman changin4 his habit:i to become your customer ? Every merging throughout the Chincie empire there are 300,000,000 of blue cotton broaches drawn over human leg-. Men, wcmon, and children alike wear them. Thoy are loose and shapeless. There are not five different patterns and five different sizes all through the eiapire. My Coolie says that his cost him 200 cash, k"" that he is obliged to have a thick quilted pair iu the winter, which tort hint 1,000 cash, Here is scope for lianeeester energy ! . 2. The Chinese aro a manufacturing people—This is Act trite in the :;Crist in which it i s u se d. Of cour s e , th e y obtaint proauco by h an d T a b our, and so di I Attain when salved and 84613‘ e the c , Eve whe n s h e spun. B ut i n a compet i t i ve have no manufactures.' -Their hand. fro at .a.4,,ter_nilerable thing. Their shuttles pass to and g y ,g n gulls with zituid pace. They can produce small .who imitztea wi. :;!_lZ w enuity. There is a working weaver Zu,,i,:ie4ritil art 1,11 our Eaglish rtbands and fringe; and zi, ett t u i cou,:tant employ 'oy Er. ropean ladies to match who wear out their fa1. , ,w 41 ,,,,1atA1c5. English ladies patience ol pliteshopmen azid the c"ra Inv , f r dear country friends e we ""Penny rihavus a.tmole But he could nut produce 20 yards of silt,: rea • sonatile ,price.. f China is not a jpanu fact of aag i on ti%, ever bhe become when . ' her intercourse with this Weet tret, and her enormous coalti,l!s opt ri3d. Silo has at. liappiei destiny than the factory raid the forge. " Della gerent alii, sed to felix Aus tria nube. ' To m anu f acture is cur nec:ssity, to produce is Greiaa'. Be it our humble task to work up her produce into fabling; to supply local deficiencies its her favourite food, and to clothe with blue integ umen ts the nether. portio ns o f her teeming peopl e . This is ti'e true interest of the two i count 4 ie4, and any little gentle nninpu‘sion tending thith erwards will b 3 to theultinsate good of both: e. The disturbance 4 caned tv the rebeltion.—This is a rer-l'y important difficulty, and must be in some way removed. I hope our commercial men do not propose to themselves to postpone active business in China until the roads shall be macadamised, gaslights established in TUESDAY EVENING, f l SUN, LoNDorcl every city, and rural police walk up and down the Lanka of every canal. China always has been and always rnust be a country of frequent revolutions, secret sooieties, and powerful robbers. In all for - ner times, whenever some great event lights up for a moment the iliatcric gloom in which the common people live and suer, we find all these influences strongly working. Chinese so ciety then comas out like that of a drop of Stagnant water seen through a microscope. Water lions are de vouring the smaller ugly things, which in their turn are feeding upon the still smaller fry, and thus downwards to infinity. In 1224 years China, so famed in the West for the gelidity of her institutions, has undergone 15 changes of dynasty. So ancient is this curse of turmoil that the oldest known vase, attributed by Chi nese writers to a period long liefore the birth of Christ, bears upon it as an inscription an aspiration for "Ten thousand years' rest from violence and troubles." The founder of the Ming dynasty in 1368 was a servant at a Buddhist monastery, who joined a vagrant band of ma rauders. Whenever anything occurs of histOrie import ance we always find that some bandit had a hand in it. The land was always full of them. When the Tartars possessed themselves of China one of these bandit chiefs had just possessed himself of Pekio, and the last of the Ming race had just hung himself. In 1635 the interior contained eight separate rebel armies, eash wide its leader, its set of grievances, and its appetite for plunder. It was a pirate who drove the Dutch out of Fermosa ; the son of a "celebrated pirate" who helped the Can tonese to defend their city against the Tartars ; and it is a pirate who the other day destroyed the Portuguese piratical fleet at Ningpo. In all ages and at all times China has been coasted by pirates and traversed by bands of robbers. When I was at Ningpo I used to watch these house less vagabonds. There was a large colony of them always located in a huge ruinous square tower over the Salt Gate. In early morning I used to sit upon one of the two guns of Ningpo and look through the broken walls upon the filthy scenes within that tower. There was always a store of stolen dogs tied up, and one of these . was killed for the morning meal. Then they sepa rated. for the day, to return at what hour of night I kno w not, fur I took care not to make one of that party after dark. There was no police to keep them in order ; but, probably, if their depredations had become quite insuf ferable the Taontai would have called out a certain num ber of soldiers and exterminated them, or the tradesmen would have banded together and destroyed them, In such a country the merchant must make up his mind to ran some risk ; but still this rebellion is some thing more than a normal element of Chinese society. It is not a general insecurity, It is a positive stoppage, It is an aneurism in the great artery of China. It is a stoppage of the Yang-tse-kiang. If the rebels had taken Pekin and changed the dy nasty it had been a matter of no importance to us. If they had taken Kwangtung we might have treated with them. But they have located themselves in a position where they can do us nothing but positive mischief. Th 7 do not move. They neither grow into a power, nor sink into a rabble. So far as appearances show, the siege of Nankin may last for 10 years longer. The rumour of to-day is contradicted by the not more certain intelli gence of to-morrow. Nothing is certain, except that so long as the people inside can get food, and so long as the army outside get their pay, nothing will be done. But something must be done in the interest of com merce. All the British Navy could rideiu that deep wide river which rolls by Nankin. There are two convenient islands there—the Gold and Silver Islands—which naighi be garrisoned by the treaty Powers for the protection of neutral vessels nutil these troubles are over, and the pre sence of a couple of steamers, such as the Inflexible and the Fury, with a gunbsat or two, to act as runners higher up, would not be to*O'great a price to pay for se curity upon the great trunk road of China. I don't think there would be any objection urged at Pekiu agaiint this course, and as to the rebels; Mr. Medhurst, who ie, now in Pngland, and who made some reports to the Govern ment on the subject, can t-ll you if he , pleases, what manner of man they are, and what title they have to our syinpathies, / 4. The fourth and most emphatic reason given for the vary gradual increase in the sale of British produce is the largo protective duties levied at the Custom-houses. .:I came out to China strongly imbued with the convic t]. n,-so universal in England, that the inland Custom h uses shut in our British produce within a narrow area coast country. I found the same belief prevalent in o i on; Kong and Shared by our English official , . Mr. Rutherford Alcock, who in 1848 made some inquiries in reference to these inland or transit duties AS they bear upon the commerce of Shanghai, could only discover that they. were censtantly alleged as a canes of delay and difficulty - in bringing the produce to t6at port, and that they had been found a serious impe diment to the ready circulation of our goods beyond Soochow, so much so that the tea merchant would at once get rid of the longeloths he had taken in exchange, and incur a loss of 20 or 30 per cent., rather than incur tile delay, trouble, and risk of endeavouring to carry "tem with him into the interior. "In truth," he re arks, " the port of Shanghai is only open to trade so filr as the inner cordon of Custom-houses are permeable and allow ingress - to ourgOods." ; No doubt the Custom-houses of Hangchow, known as Cie Tehein Kwan, and of Soochow, two of the largest trading cities in the empire, are so placed as to be Capable of intercepting nearly the whole of the, impperte and exports of Shanghai, with the exception of silk, ppon which are accumulated on it 3 arrival at that port tee triple duties of the Tehsie, the Taeping, and the '.an Custora-hOuies. This is the chain it would have bad to pass had its destination been Canton ; and the triple duties are consolidated at Shanghai in order that I,he barbarians may gain nothing by having a new Oaip ping port nearer to the raw produce. This arrangement was in accordance with the edict published in the Pekin Gazette in September, 1844 : "The amount of fixed duties to be sent to the capital by the Canton maritime Custom-house was 899,064 ltaels ; and besides a surplus of about 1,000 to 40,000 I /lad& However, since now the trade will be carried on t the other four ports, the receipts at Canton will fall short of that sum, and therefere Foochow and the other ports must, after having realized their respective quotas, make up the deficit at Canton. Bat inasmuch as the trade of Shanghai was for the last six months 14,990,0001., and as Shanghai alone now returns to the Chinese treasury more than• two millions of taels, all difficulty on this score has ceased.., Again, the edict of 1844 provides tha`— . "The duty on raw silk, now fixed at ten taels per picul, is less than it was formerly, and the five ports being-now open merchants will go with this article to the nearest market. But they must make up the lose of the transit duties, which otherwise would have been paid if they had pro:eeded to Canton in whatsoever'port they sell their cargo." I have now examined the four reasons usually given in England for the uneatisfactory condition of our export trade to China. They whose interest in the subject or whose great patience has enabled them to accompany me in this investigation, will, I hope, agree in my conclu sion that these causes are insufficient to account fey the effect is the macriiitade in which we see them. I now proceed to peint * out some other causes which, I think, exercise a more important influence. I must divide these reasons also into four classes. 1. That we are beaten by fair competition in the Chinese markets. 2. Ignorance of British manufacturers as to the requirements of China. 2. That British exports are an uapoptlar branch of commerce with British. mer chants. 4. That the country is not open to our merchan dise. Three of these reasons will, I fear, not be popular either in England or in Chinn. I must defend them as shortly as I can in the order in which I have propounded them. lit. You are btaten by fair compLtion in the Chi- Ile e markets. Tee Arne:icans beat you in drills and *heetirigs. At Shanghai, in 1556, the imports were 221,716 pieces of American drills, aga;nq 8,745 English . ; and 14,420 of 4..inericau sheetings, against 1,240 English. Toe reason given for this is, that in these heavy goods the labour is in sina.'l - propertion'to the cast of the raw material, and ti e producer of the - raw material must have the wive,- tage. L Thie may be to; I only chronicle the fact that we are beaten by fair competition. In woollen goods you sustain a close rivalr: with the Gerienne and Itus‘iarly. At Elong,kong itself 1 found the table.-;Jovere were almost. universally of German manufac ture; At Niegpo examined a great znaoy pieces of cloth of different oranulecturee. There Was a low quality cloth of Leeds manufacture, which W 33 1 437 cash, or about So., a-yard ; a 814soliy supe. fir.e. also of low cpality are! Also of le,eils manufacture, 1,767 cash, cr about 10?.6 ~ e.-yerer: - These were a ,sera and a h ilf wide. There - was a leirrewer E7gaill cloth ef - better quality arid substance (-etre raperfine) which was 2,965. cash, or about 135., iteyar: 4 . Bet there was also a strong tirek Russian cloth, which was two yards Wide (.aeting two inehio), and which :was sold for 2,210 cash, or 13.. 60. u-yard. The Itussiau, there f ere, taking the width into consideratiane.wan about 33. a-yard dearer than the worst of the English, .about the same as the Eoglish second best, and not much mere than one-half the price of the best English quality. The Chinaman prefers the best English, but he cannot afford it, and buys it in small quantities. Neat that he prefers the Elessian, for it is stout and serviceable, anti he says in his native idiom, although it " hairs " roughens - , easier than the best English, it does not do so so soon as the interior English articles. The great balk of the cloth sold to the Chinese, therefore, is liras; sian. If we are undersold it is of no use t 3 cry out ; there i an end of.the matter. If Leeds cannot ucnd thick E..er viceahle cbth to Caina cheaper than Rtissia can, and if Ua.uchester cannot make cotton cfc , th of &given quality cheaper than the old woman at the door of a Cainee cottage can, we may as Well shut up shop. Manchtster and Leeds ought not to he beaten in any of these a at!ers and that they are is I htlteye simply the rtivit of !gm.... mance at home of Chinese waLts and habits. 2. This brings me to my second heading, whicli I think, after the itIitrITICEM given in thiS paper, I,nn d oi.,t now labour. No -doubt there are men in Chiva. who have a I,n )wledge of th© Ma' cheater tr.tde, and tv , h ) can calculate f r you how touch theexpLrimen'; would cost of setring up a few: looms to spit, narrow widttss. 3. Intima'ely c , ;,r,nected with the . FAA i. 3 my third' prupositlon, that British export 3 are ao .unripular ipir:i6c`lerts 1111,11nc.1,,:n:e, ,ti.. branch of et. , tuineica.with Biitish "merchattsio China. ~!vlr.Contil Thoth, in a report addressed to SinJolir t - , „ .: 4 in 1346, explains the working of the barter. trade " China. Ile says • be necessary to remind your Ex.eellency that ahs4cthms at Shsughst there are two . The Briti4h ra - --1: „. z. the cash price and the barter pride: - woo ll ens gots a ii ta l i , lt ou bartering his cottills acd his would get -wers43 4 ,kr_ nominal. price for.them than he day. Oo the other C.onel'‘hrtne , adds an egaivaL.nt accretio t a elm t a 4 n ° t i. a, ; ll s i P I k . i in e a -e ri f just' the n to the price of his silk Cr tea. 'and to the account is balanced. t o chip a part; of Bri -1 6 ‘ Thus, if a manufacturer werehip tieb goods to Shangha), with auctions that his re tris:Da le made in bills, the' , ...moat that ho can expect is tl7 .at his agent shah "" . ills good s at the cash price. Put B.'s account of sales of goods so:d for cash would be very different from his neighbour C D.'s, which h td been srtered. The particulars I am now oetniling are net via ell understood in England, and when such a-circum sti ince happens it generally causes an unpleasant correa pe ndence between the constituent at home and the agent Dint here." 1 - am perfectly aware that the British manufacturers, when the four ports were first opened, established houses in Mina for the solo purpose of extendinc , the sale of their produce, and that these houses did not b pay, Tee profits come from tea, silk, and opium. The houses that have this business in their hands have also, greatly, the B.sitish exports in their hands. The British export trade tsrill not maintain mercantile houses. But it would pay for travelling agents acting in immediate connexion with the home manufacturers, who should keep their principals" at home well informed, and who should work their operations through the established houses here. After la rhat I have said, you roust not wonder to hear some of the wealthiest men of China say that we are going on very well as we are—that the demands for free intercourse are unjust and impolitic—and that the ut most we want ii one or two more parts and an embassy at Pekin. Such is not the opinion of the great body of the mercantile community. But it is the opinion of men who will be much listened to in England. 4. Bat the chief and all-sufficient reason why we are not doing what we ought to do in China is, that China is not open to our merchandise. _ _ Of course there is a Spitalfields hall sort of feeling in China, as elsewhere ; and official persons, being all in China of the good old Tory school, set their faces against foreign_goodr. We have bean told of C'ainamen stating they were ready to take shiploads of Manchester goods if they could only be protected from the interference of their own mandarins. But this is a very minor consideration. The authori ties in China are strong against an individual, but utterly powerless against a popular feeling. China in this respect is the most democratic country in the world ; witness the growth of the poppy, the difficulty of raising new taxes, the immediate downfall of an unpopular officer, and the utter failure of the Emperor and all his powers at Pekin to force into circulation his debased 10-cash piece. The evil is, that British goods are not brought under the eyes of the Chinamen of the interior cities. A Chinaman is the incarnation of what some people in England would call common sense. He has no preju dices of any kind, patriotic, religious, or sentimental. He has a strong clannish family selfishness, and that is all. You have nothing, therefore, tee do bat to convince him that you have that to sell which it'would suit him to have, and that you can sell it at a lower price than he can get it at elsewhere. Convince the people of this, and all the. mandarins in China will not stop your sales. • 'At present, however, you are only upon the outer fringe of the great Chinese Empire. • You might have made more of your sphere of action than you have made, but you are not trading with, China. All our ports, except Shanghai, are separated from the inland waters of _China by a chain of mountains. A continuation of the Himalayas, at a much lower tracks the whole coast line of Caine at some distance: from theses, and passes out at the Archipelago of Chtsan. Inside those mountains lies the bulk ofthe Empire of China—outside lie our trading ports. The seaboard provinces extending southwards from Ningpo to Canton are thus isolated from the interior, and from the great inland routes of traffic by this barrier ot mountains. Over these mountains goods transmitted from the interior to any of these ports must be carried. Even in passing from Ningpo to Hangchow there must be two transshipments of goods. 'Amoy and Foochow have the same position. Canton labonra under the same disadvantages. Every piece of merchandise brought down from or carried up to the interior, must ho carried for 20 miles over a chain of mountains, and carried on men's backs. But, then, Canton has been fostered by its mono.. poly of intercourse, a race of carrying coolies has grown into exiatence, and the difficulties are reduced to their minimum. Ilsome strong and unreasoning power were to declare that Southend should' be the only port in the British Islands where commerce should be carried on, no doubt Southend woeld have a still longer pier, and docks would be dug, and a harbour Would be made, and Southend would cease to be the uninteresting spot it now is. Canton bribeen a Southend with its suggested monopoly. Amoy, Foochow, and Ningpo are Southends . without any monopoly. There is a way of getting behind these hills and into the central districts of the empire —a way wherein the merchant may travel without toil or danger.; where no robbers can assail him at a vantage ; where secret imposts cannot spoil his markets—a way which extends up to the furthest limits of the empire, and whence convenient and innumerable ways branch forth, reaching to every hamlet of this great central region. The gate at which we must enter China is the mouth of the Yang-tse-Kiang. Give us entrance there, in our own ships, in our own steamers, and we can deposit our goods in every great city of the interior of China. Let us start from Shanghai, and make an imaginary voyage up this river. With the exception of M. Hue, no European has ever yet sailed upon its higher waters, or has, indeed, been much above Nankin. M. Iliac has added nothing to our knowledge for commercial pin: poses ; but I 'have obtained access to some reports of Chinese, who traverse the whole distance frequently with commercial objects, and I may be able to tell something more of this river than is known to Eaglishmon. Having threaded err way through the sh%do we at the mouth, we are in the largeet, the deepest, the meet 0.13,50c1e.0t ever in the world.- We pp.,* for 200 miles through the rich province of Kiang3u, passing towns and anchorages lass well known to ships c;1 war. We will not now linger at Chekiang, or even at INTankn for those great cities are now nothing more than the seared and wasted strongholds of a piratical power. All that was beautiful in the southerncapital of China—even the famous porcelain pagoda—has been wantonly de stroyed. Shut in from the land by the Imperialist be sieger?, the rebels maintain themselves by plucderingthe rich country up and down the banks of the river, and the Imperialists are scarcely less burdensome to the country behind their camp. Commerce has flsd from these parts. All we can ask of these plunderers is to let us pass in peace. Hitherto w; have been in a tidal river. Hencefor ward, although we must still reckon its widtL by ralles and its depth by tens of fathoms, our merchandise-IzOen steamer !Lust be content to labour against an unchang ing stream. We traverse Vie rich and thicklyspeopie:l province of Anhui, and in cur voyage of two hugdied mile; through that province we find, besides a cliasLant succession of towns, tiro first-class cities, at which we may tarry awhile to display our merchandise and lighten our cargo. NOW we reach the provinces of Hupeh and Henan, the former on the north, the latter on the south bank. This is the country of the finest tea cs It is here that the Oopak teas are grown, which, by an unnatural route; a,:e forced down to Canton, being borne on men's lxi.cks across the mountains instead of sent deftly down the stream of the great river whose banks produce them. Here are I:kes, and broad streams running int) them, and networks of canals connecting, them.. But,, more than this, here, just at this spot, is the confluence of the Yang-tso with the great river Han, which is itself banked with large cities and heavy with commerce.. At this confluence we have a congrega ion of enor mous - cities—Wuchung on the one -bank, and Hannan opposite, with immense suburbs titandiLg far away. The population of these cities is cliffs repay estimated at 3,000,000 and . 5,000,000 souls ; but, what is of still greater importance, these two citie, are andonbtAly the first great emporia of Chinese com merce. hers is a usarkct which may- set all Manch—ster spianing, all Leeds weaving, all S:Afliell grindiug, And al Nottingham throwing, if we only-have on board samples of what these Celestials desiderate. It might te worth while, if they are shy (I our new goods, to anchor a depot ship in the broad deep waters,—ftr we are told there are five miles of river from shore to shore —and accustom them tu the sight of la:curies and ne cessaries which they may exchange for their cheap and iihurhiant first class tea, , . .Surely it wooll be better thus to gat ri.l of them than to send them down the Yuen river to the Tungting lake, than by the capital city of Ccangteh, up the Siang river to the Ching dis trict, across the mountain on men's backs to Loh-Chang, and then down the northern river to Fatshan and Canton, for such is the present route. What charges Must accumulate upon English goods that should try to come up the long devious route by which these teal de tend, • • We are only half way yet along our voyage. The river fends na through the whole province of ; and wily sh,ailti we not do a little business At the grea: cities. of Kingchow and Tshang,, the walls of which we must pass I To this city of Tchang j.iuks of 300 tons burden ascend in great numbers, and the water is stilt4deep, though the bottom is rocky iyid dangerous. A little higher up than-Tchang we arrive at the town of Kwei. We are now 900 miles from the mouth of the Yang-tse, and here for the present our steamer must. b.e content to atop, for here for the first time we meet with rapids. When the summer sun has melted the snows of Central Asia the trading junks shoot down the falls, and, empty of cargo, they can be forced up them. But if' ever we are to pursue an unbroken voyage, be; yond this point John Chinaman must add one other . to his present innumerable canals, and English engineers Enlist teach him the secret of constructing locks. It will not do, however, to be et -pped by these rapids. The 'whole basin of the Yang-tse is one vat coal: fit Id.. From-Nankin to 82chnon we have no difficulty in obtaining the means of locomotion. There are markets higher up, and thither, in a-steamer to be put together above the fails, we must go. Let us suppuse this 7 -no greatlibour for us An2lo-Sasens—to have been aceoni-, plisSed.- The stream is - still deep and navigable. It is crowded •rnith junks, as M. and will tee just linen the boundary line between Sz'elluen and ' • if upein and Sz'cbuen is the last province Of-China. , B__•: yond that are the snows of 'Tibet and the swamp) of Sz'ebuen is the finest pravince in all-Cuioa e i " You never see an ill-dressed man from Sh'ehnee," Says the Chinese proverb. "It _grows more graineiff : one year than it can consume in ten," says anu.h:rr nat've authority, addicted, I fear, to ex-tggelatien. This pro vinco appears to produce everything ; 1110:e side any other province, inure and better wax and to bacce, grass-cloth of the finest quality, tea of the coals et, grain in such quantities that the supplies act upon the distant market of liangchow. Moreover, the c iiriate is variable, oxtreme!.y :hot aed ,just suited for our woollens. My Chinese authority asserts 'that •they penetrate there now oven thrieughthe ditt culties pf the transit: from Canton ; and he says (1 , -uspect w:tb some exaggeration), that one-haled the. long ells and ohirtings ls_nded at Cat:tan find tediorti Way over the hills and up the la vpre . ,te S7.7chueV.' W 0 niu.,t go up, therefore, above the Kwei fails; and must pursue our voyage till we reach tke confluence of the Yang -tee with the Kialing, a river which cam, s down from the north. At this confluence stands, the ; great city Chung-king, the second great commercial emporium of China. My authority states' that under the walla of this pity of Chung-king the lusty young., Yangtze 'already as broad as the Canton river in front f the dear departed factories, and very deep and very rapid. You may go further if you pleats, for there is the Western Soochow aid all the land of poppy-bearing Yunnan higher up. But the stream grows rocky, and, savages from Thibet and Burinah make the way dangereus. We are getting to the weattra boundary of China Proper. We have done our work. We have "opened up the country." So here we will tarn our steamer's head—shall we call her the Yang-tse ?---and pats swiftly back, towing our junk loads of tea and silk and wax, nod satisfied, I hope, with our speculative voyage.. I have said nothing of consuls or consular establishments. The merchants appear to incline to the opinion that they do. not want them, and are better without them. They say that Swatow and Woochow are growing into ire portance without consular protection, and that the want is not felt. I differ a little here. If you do not want consuls to protect, you want them to restrain. We must not allow a vagabond European population to run riot in the internal cities of China, or we shall change the ptaceful character of the people. Wucbang and Chung-king might, however, well maintain each a consul or consular agent with extended jurisdiction, and this would be ample for a commencement. A consul may be a great nuisance. A fussy consul, not now in China, drove the carrying trade at one of our ports out of our hands. He made so many petty difficulties that the Chinamen wrote up and down the ooast not to charter British ships. We must have no 'deem of the Circumlocution-office in the Yang-tae. As I have brought our voyage so I must bring this paper to a close, for the subject is so vast that fresh fit Us open upon me more rapidly than the past hive been tra versed. Surely you can work oat for yourselves the tri butaries of the Yang-tse and the Grand-Canal-pierced provinces of the north and the canals of the interior. Bradshaw's railway map is a blank sheet compared with these. I have spoken already of the advantages of the northern coast when Pekin may be reached from the sea. Give us free access to China ; protect us in the exercise of our privileges until the Chinese are become accus tomed to us and understand us, and fix our duty pay ments firmly and explicitly, and everything else will follow. The great piracy difficut y on the coast will find its own solution, for the coalfields will be opened, and some screw steam company will get possession of the coasting trade. The Custom-house bugbear will disappear, for the goods will be put down at the door of the cus tomer. Teas and silks will be bought cheaper, fur differ ent districts will be made to compete when we buy direct from the producer ; and British manufacture, with moderate energy and enterprise, will take a fair start. I ought to say something of the trade with Thant from India, but it is a long matter, and I have not cou rage to ask attention to it. Dr. Campbell, the superin tendent of Darjeeling, who I hope has escaped these recant dangers, understands this subject thoroughly, and should be heard upon it before our treaty terms are settled. Such are the facts and opinions I have been able to gather upon the British import trade into China. The subject is too vast to be fully treated in these columns. If I have wearied !he public by saying so much, I am dissatlsEed ravel at having left so much unsaid. Many topics press upon me as 'resolutely close the paper. bet me only add that all dealing with the interior ofChina is impossible unless your agents speak the language of the people, as I have done. L:Lr's)ING OP TIE FILIBUSTBR3 IN 'NICARAGUA. We learn by the arrival at New York of the mail steamer Star of the West, that on the 25h of Nov. " General" Walker landed with 200 men on the coast of Nicaragua, in defiance of the United States sloop of war Saratoga, which was at hand, but tha commander of which, Captain Chatard, did. Lot think proper to interfere. The filibusters were conveyed:from Mobile in the small st-amer Fashion which Walker had hired ,for that purpose. On nearing Greytown a thick mist hid the land for some time, upon which the Fashion slowed a little, whe n Walker wished the captain to quicken his spee:l, but suddenly the fog lifted, and the place was in full view, the Saratoga lying at anchor in the har bour. . Walker exhibited considerable nervousness at the sight, and requested Captain Chatard to run in towards the mouth of the Colorado river, about 12 miles to the eastward of Punta Arenas, in order to land a portion of the men. The boats which 'were biought out for the purpose were hunehed, and some 45 men getting into them, under the cum mand of Col. Frank Anderson, one of the original 56 of the first Nicaragua invasion, they shoved off and made their way up the river, into San Juan. The Fashion then lan up, and landed the main part of the force,. about 140 men, on Pants Arenas. They took possession of some half-dozen fishing huts, as also' the houses of Mr. Craig and Mr. Bar • . den, a pilot, in which they were quaitcrod. Tee stores were landed and put under cover on Captain Scott's premises. There were lour small boats about Scott's shipyard, which Walker had takers possession of. The day the Fashion had left for Aspinwall, Walker had sent one of these boats up the river Sen Juan, to endeavour to intercept the Costa Rican mail boat, said to have on board 5,000 dots. in money. Walker planted two of his " lone star" flags over the buildings he occupied in Punta Arenas on landing. He landed six field pieces, and the men were daily drilling, each one with his rifle. When Leckridge abandoned the river last March, he delivered over to the coin- ; mender of the British frigate Cossack about three hundred stand of arms, which were deposited with Captain Scott, on Punta Arenas, for safe keeping. These arms were still there when Walker lands I, so that if he wanted them he undoubtedly appro priated them. - As soon as it was ascertained that the filibusters were coming into port, the people of Greytown sent a boat up the river to Costa Rica, and Ws.° to warn the steamers and forts, but as the first detachment of Walker's party was already on its way into the river, by the Colorado, when he landed at - Punta Arenas, it is not unlikely that these despatches were intercepted. In C3SO they were not the - news must have reached San Jose de . Costa Rica, by way of the Serapiqui River, about the 30th of Nov. The inhabitants of Greytown were greatly alarmed for the safety of their pioPerty, and on the first opportunity many removed their goods to Aspin wall. .At that port the Fashion, eta her arrival, was overhauled by Commodore Paulding, but her papers - were found to be coritct. The Aspinwall correspondent of the Neve ' York Times says:—"l am assured by an officer of the British steamship Dee - that the Fashion was seen - by the officers of the Saratega the day .before ofr tenharbour; that there was ample time while she was coming in for the Saratoga to have hove her to with a - swivel-from-one of her boats, and to have _bearded her. before she got in. Besid s, 'Walker Wes two whole days . landing men, e rov i s i ons; an d munitions of war by the boats,of th e steamer,w he e lying-directly under the guns of the sloop-of-war. .When the.-Dee came, into the harbour, Capt. Cha- - - ard requested her master to anchor inside of the Saratoga, so. that she might nut be between hie guns and the Fashion, but he took no steps against the lauding of either men or sto es. Capt. Minot r, of the Dee, knowing that there was c aesid.erable p te r i u n t p e t r.-,t . British property in Greytown, `on the other-side of Punta. Arenas, - asked Capt. Chat-Ara if he would if lie should at- . tothe town against .layitunderc Walker, if to which he repl:ed that he could give no assurances to. that eff-ct—that his order s were very general in their nature—that what lie did he must do on his own personal responsibility, and as ho was dependent .upoe his profession for the support of a large family, he was not disposed tither to run the riek of incurring the displeasure of his guverainent by his'interference with matters on shore, or to lay himself liable, personally, to suits on the part of the filibusters or the merchants of Greyt styli. S., 4 got, and. there was no Bs n rit o ish g m ua a ra n n -o t f e - e wa c r o i a n ld b por e t, some of the -merchants shipped the more valuable portion of their goods to this place. The Dee brought away about 120 liege • packages, which she landed bore tu=-day." On the afternoon of the 3d, the United States' frigate .Wabash, beating the broad pennant of Com modore Paulding, s - sited from Aspinwall ,for San Juan, followed - on the aeterneon of the 4th fey H. B. M. ship-of-the-line Brunswick, and steamer L op - Ird. - They will probably blockade the har bour of San Juan e and at the same time:statien 'a force to prevent Walker's passing up the river. The United States steanysr Fulton was at B .ca del , Tore on 'the 2d, but veouldbe - ordered ta Sea Jua4. Advices had-been received from the forts on tile San Juan to the 28th ult. San :Carlos: was still blockal:d by Gen: Cavity; in- the steauvr Sa.n Carlos, evitheo ellen. It was held by 250 Ni6era onaos one--calf of whoin were sick. Aboht 4'30 all, a'''tiviad l s hol-i the Rapids, about one-half fit for duty. Provisi,obs were very servee. . ' The Pcutama 2tar, of the 3d bf Dwembcr, gives . o ,e eee„, v i ee despach from Captain Walc3r;t; of 1113 West India Mail steam: r Doe -:—" Gonero Valli:tn.; ha's:lauded at Greytown; On the 2•4ih Nov. a small steetier, calledth e F as hi on , appeare d down offt te.i e ptt ;- it did' not' attempt t o en t er, b u t ra n ie Celorado River, where Walker tended 50 men. On the following day she came into Grtiy ,town, at full speed,. with only 10 men on deck, ran alongside a Ilulk, and before the boats of the U.S. sloop Saratoga could board her Walker and his par y; aniountiug to 150 men, o tt pt. Cinstard, of the Saratoga, ord.ered theist away bolongibg ;aided at MriScett's. from the premises, and has taken iGreytewn and the prOpertii. to the Transit Comp Any under his protection. Re also • informed-- Walker that he will not allow any depredations to be com mitted in either place." POLICE INTELLIGENCE.—Dec. 23, MANSION-HOT,TE..—John Green was charged with drunkennes3: A policeman—On Saturday, evening,' at half-past 7 o'clock, in King William , street - , defendant was driving two horses in a van, and there was a cry to atop him, and I did so, and ho struck me violently. He was the worse for liquor, and when we pulled him from the van, which we were obliged to do, he struck me again, and tried to escape between the horses. The street-keeper said—l saw defendant driving violently, and I called on the policeman to stop him, and lie was stopped, and acted with great roughness. hie was in such a condition as to be al together unfit to drive, and the safety of the public was much endangered by him. The driver of an omnibus proved that defendant bad knocked down_ both his horses with the van, and the damage done amounted to 2/. 10s. The defendant bad been galloping and no mistake. The defendant said be had been drinking in the course of the day, but not to intoxication, and that the galloping was entirely upon the part of the omnibus servants. A boy, who had been with the defendant in the van, said that the driver of the omnibus was to blame, as be tried to rush along before the van and got entangled in the wheels; which occasioned the accident. The van had been going at the rate of no more than six miles an hour. The Lord Mayor fine I defendant 10s. for the as sault upon the policeman, and said that as to the damage it must be decided in the county court. GUILDHALL.—Thos. Emerson, a builder, at 48, Milton-street, was charged with stealing gas, thelproperty of the Great Central Gas Consumers' Company, The Prisoner had been supplied with gas till Feb. last, when the supply was cut off and the meter taken down, inconsequence of non-payment. On the premises being examined it was found that the cap which stopped the supply had beau re moved, and a fresh conexion pipe attached. There were two burners in the drawing-room, one in the kitchen, one in the bedroom, one in the yard, one in the stable, and two in the workshop, all of which were fully supplied with the company's gas. The prisoner, who pleaded guilty, was committed to prison for one month with hard labour. WORSHIP-STREET.—James Alfred Harman, a trimming manufacturer in Anchor-street, Beth nal-green, who stood charred with having feloni ously set fire to his house, and caused the death of three of his lodgers, mined John, Ann, and Julia Metcalfe, was brought up forifinal examination. Mr. Lewis, jun., attended as before on thQ pare of the prosecution ; and Mr. Sleigh conducted the defence. The case attracted an extraordinary amount of interest, and the following additional evidence was proceeded with : _ _ - Sarah Harvey, a widow, residing at 33, Anchor street, immediately opposite the prisoner's house, said—Between 2 and 3 o'clock in the morning of the 19th inst., I was suddenly awakened by my grand-daughter, who raised an alarm of "Fire," and on going to' the window I saw the prisoner's house in flames. At the second floor window I obseved the deceased Mrs. Metcalfe dreadfully ex cited, who, addressing .the prisoner standing in the street without his cat, exclaimed, "Oh, yob. wretch —you villian—you have been the cause of this : you have done it all, and you know it well." Pi i smer at once replied, - "Get out at the top," which remark he repeated : several times, and deceased an swered that she was unable to do so. Sarah Griffith, granddaughter of last witness, was al , o examined, and fully corroborated the evidence of her relative. • • Inspector Weakford, Of the H division—M the time the fire was raging I saw the prisoner,in the street, and from a communication previously made to me by the constable Andrews, I asked him if he had not been robbed. He replied •' No, I've not." I said, "Did you not report to a police-constable that you had ?" which he also denied. I then asked him if he had seen a policeman in the court, which he admitted having done, but that no par ticular conversation had taken place between them. ' Ann Finlayson, housemaid to Mrs. Brown (the prisoner's mother-in-law), residing next door,, was then examined, and repeated the evidence given before the coroner, -to the effect that at half-past ten o'clock on the night in question she went to his house, at which time there was not any fire in the kitchen grate, and in cross-examination she stated that the' premises were small—a wooden partition lining the shop, which was furnipihed with numerous card b)xes - for fringe manufacture, and supplied with two gas burners. George Cole foreman attached to the London Brigade, said thatl on reaching the spot and ascer taining the alarming nature of the fire, he made .his way to the second floor window, on entering which he found the bodies of three persons in a lifeless state from suffocation. He was afterwards elgaged in minutely examining the lower part of the premises and. discovered that the'eutbreak had been at the rear .of the shop. Mr. Henry Atkins, clerk of the London and Liverpool Insurance Company, 21, Poultry, proved that in the mouth of March last, prisoner effected a policy of insurance - at that office on his personal goods, to the amount of 3001. Cross-examined by Mr. Sleigh—Am not aware that insurance was traniferred from another office. Believe there was a.pgevious insurance which was cancelled by this one. We do not instruct this prosecution. • ' - It`lia,ving been intimated that there was no fur ther evidence on the pert of the prosecution, •Mr. Hammill said, although he considered that the entire conduct of the prisoner, who. had been clearly proved to be intoxicated, was replete with suspicion, there was•not sufficient evidence to sub mit to ajury, and he 'should therefore 'order him to be dischar,,,ed. WESTMINSTER.—Georte Allen, a mechanic, was bt ought up on - a warrant, charged with neglect ing to pay a cab fare. Henry Flock,. a candrver,.said that on the Ist of Nov. last he agreed t):talco the defendant.and three oth-r men froth Francis-street, Tottenham-court road, to New street, Brompton, for 6d. each. On arriving there they all refused to pay, and' abused him. Defendaut,....the only one of the fonr whose name and addr4ss-tLe cabman could a-4certain,. was summoned earl.k in- November at this court, and fallingl2ap_pAar, a, warrant was issued against him. He was out of the way until Saturday night - , when a policemin succeeded in apprehending him. Defendant caid he was out of. work at the time he had the ride.- • • Mr. Punter said that, under those circumstances he should have walked, and adjudged him to pay the fare, 2s. ' and lls.. costs, or in default be com mitted fur 21 days t ) hard labour. SOI7TLIWAtK.-11ichard Jallrich, a man of dissipated appearance, was charged with cruelly beating one of :his children, a little girl six years of age. Tee child, whole eyes were blackened and facie very much bruised, said that on Satu , day evening her father came home intoxicated, and commenced beating her first with his fists and then with a cane iu a very violent manner. She had not done any thing to deserve correction, and she begged of him to save her life. _IF:4. mother called in a police constable, when he-left off beating her. -- A neighbour said he heard cries of murder before the constable entereil tile house, when he went in and saw the prisoner ill-using his little girl. He hdd her by the neck till her face was quite black, and witness was compelled.to-strike the prisoner several blows• on the head to make him relinquish his hold, or he really believedthe child would have been murdered. Mr. Burchain iiskecl the prisoner what he had to say in;ahswer to the charge. He replied that he knew nothing at all about it as he was drunk at the time. He denied being in the habit of beating his children. Mr. Burcham told him that it was one of the most cruel cases he had ever before him, and his being drunk was an aggravation to the offence. He skfuld sentence him to six months' hard labour in the House Of-Correction. He also ordered the pri soner's wife, a decent-Lioking female, to receive a sovereign from the poor-box, as She was mainly dependiag on him for support. Oa Saturday morning an order from the Horse Guards wai read - to the regiment of Louth Rifles at Aldershot, reque Ling General Knollys to acquaint Lieutenant-CO:a : Lel Sir J. S. Robinson, Bar , ., in commaud of the.reg,fiment, that the Commander-in Chief bad li en much gratified at receiving from the General Cominandino• in Ireland an account of ti:e very order y and soldierliko embarkation of that I ) regiment f r .. ngland when it left Dundalk. Au:- cording to tip te.rms,of the order in qUestion, " the cleanliness and sobi lay of the men, as well as their soldierlike: appearince, reflect credit on the coin-. mantling .officer, - the officers, and the regiment in general."' . Two SAILORS SUFFOCATED.—INQUEST. —An inquest Was 11,-1d ya . .t4rday on the bodies of Itobt. Hunt, 18, and Robt. Duchan'an, 19. The deceased were part' of the crew of the' Duke; of Queensberry brig, of Hull, lying in the Pool COL / Poplar.. On TueSday night they slept in the " rounaillonse" on boird the brig, a place about 16 feet long, 14 feet: wide, and 6 feet high. They were build deadlintheir berths by the olptainthe next wail i-,g. The siliight_ wks slut down, and there was a pap, in which coals h a d - b een . burnt, ose by them. The cap tain said he had no doubt that they had been suffocated by the coal vapour. Verdict accordingly. D EXT• BER 29, 18.7. IN&" RETURNS. An Account, pursuant to the .Act: seventh and eighth Victoria, cap. 32, of the Average Amount of Bank Notes of the several Banks of Issue in England and Wales, in Circulation during the Week ending Satur day, the 12th day of Deo., 1857: A PRIVATE BANKS. Amoverage unt. Andover Bank, Andover—Heath and Co. Ashford Bank, Ashford—Jeramitt Tomfret,and Co. Aylesbury Old Bank, Aylesbury—Z. D Hunt 20,949 Baldock Bank and Baldock and Biggleswado Bank, Baldock—Wells, Hogge, and Co 26,724 Barnstaple Bank, Barnstaple—Marshall and Co 8,550 Basingstoke and Odiham Bank, Basingstoke— Seymour, Lamb, and Co. Bedford Bank. Bedford—Barnard and Co. ... 28,501 Bewdley Bank, Bewdley Nichols, Baker, and Co Bicester and Oordshire Bank and Oxford Bank, Bicester—H. M. and G. Tubb 14,801 Birmingham Bank, Birmingham —Attwoods, Spooner, and Co = Birmingham and Warwickshire Bank, Bir mingham—J. L. Moilliet and Sons 5,656 Blandford Bank, Blandford—Oak and Co. 5 573 Boston Bank, Boston—Clavpons . and Co. Boston Bank, Boston—T. Gee and Co. - Bridgwater Bank, Bridgwater—J. and J. L. Sea.ley Bristol Bank, Bristol—Miles, Miles, and Co 28,572 Broseley and Bridgnorth and Bridgnorth and Broseley Bank, Broseley—Pritchards, Boy cott, and Co. Buckingham Bank, Buckingham—Bartlett, Par rott, and Co. Bury and Suffolk Bank, Sudbury Bank, and Stowinarket Bank, Bury St. Edmunds— Oakes, Bevan, and Co. Banbury Bank, Banbury —J. C. and A Gillett Banbury Old Bank, Banbury—Cobb and Son 25,297 Bedfordshire Leighton Buzzard Bank, Leighton Buzzard—Bassett, Son, and Co. Birmingham Bank, Birmingham—Lloyds &Co 18,427 Bradford Old Bank, Bradford, Yorkshire—H A. and W. M. Harris and Co. 10,015 Brecon Old Bank, Brecon—Wilkins and Co 43,904 Brighton Union Bank, Brighton—Hall, West, and Co. Burlington and Driffield Bank Burlington— Harding, Smith, and Co .., 10,018 Bury St. Rdmunds Bank, Bury St. Edmunds- Worlledge and Co 1,939 Cambridge Bank, Cambridge-Mortlock &Co 13,779 Cambridge and Cambridgeshire Bank, Cam bridge -MeSsrs . Fosters 42,043 Canterbury Bank, Canterbury -Hammond and Co 29.492 Carmarthen Bank, Carmarthen-David Morris and Sons 18,749 Chertsey Bank, Chertsey-La Coste and Son 2,229 Colchester Bank, Colchester-Round, Green, and Co. Colchester and Essex Bank, and Witham and Essex Bank, and Hadleigh, Suffolk, Bank, Colchester-Mills, Bavvtree, and Co 31,150 Cornish Bank, Truro-Tweedy and Co 39,548 Coventry Bank, Coventry-Little & Woodcock 5,232 City Bank, Exeter-Milford and Co 16,418 Craven Bank, Settle--Alcocks, Birkbecks, and Co 54,486 Chepstow Old Bank, Chepstow Bank, Mon mouth Old Bank, Monmouth Bank, Brecon Bank, and Ross and Heiefordshire Bank, • Chepstow-Bromage, Snead, and Co 7,350 Derby Bank, Derby-W. and . S. Evans & Co. 8,887 Derby Bank, Derby-Aamuel Smith and Co 31,195 Derby Old Bank and Scarsdale and High Peak Bank, Derby-Crompton, Newton, and Co Devizes and Wiltshire Bank, .Devizes-Locke and Co ' 6,905 Diss Bank, Diss-Fincham, and Co 10,154 Doncaster Bank and Retford Bank, Doncaster -Cooke and Co 55,603 Darlington Bank, Durham Bank, and Stockton on-Tees Bank, Darlington=Backhouse &Co 64,784 Bevonport Bank. Devonport- Hodge and Co 7.150 Dorchester Old Bank and Dorsetshire Bank, Dorchestei.---=-R. and H. Williams 41,210 Fast Cornwall Bank, Liskeard-Robins, Fos ter, and Co 87,118 East Riding Bank, Beverley-Bower and Co 47,633 Essex Bank and, Bishqp's Stortford Bank Chelmsford-Sparrow, Round, and Co 85,418 Exeter Bank, Exeter-'-Sanders and Co 22,604 Farringdon Bank and Bank of Wantage, Far ringdon-Barnes, Medley, and Co 5,652 Farnham Bank, Farnham-Messrs Knight 10,737 Faversham Bank, Faversham-Hilton and Co. 5,393 Godalming Bank, Godalming-Mellersh and Keen Guildford Bank, Guildford-Messrs. Hayden.. 11,433 Grantham Bank, Grantham Hardy and C 0... 24,372 Hereford City and County Bank, Hereford- Matthews and Co. Hull Bank and' Kingston-upon-Hull Bank, Hull, Smith, Brothers, and Co. Huntingdon Town and County Bank, Hunting don-Veasey and Co Harwich Bank, Harwich-Cox, Cobbold, and Co. Hertfordshire, Hitchin .Bank, Hitchin - Sharples, and Co. Hereford, Ross and Arehenfield Bank, and Ross and Archenfield Bank, Ross - Morgan and Co Ipswich Bank, Ipswich-Bacon and Co. Ipswich and Needham Market Bank, Suffolk, Hadleigh Bank, Manningtree and Mistley Bank, and Woodbridge Bank, Ipswich- Alexanders and Co. Kentish Bank, Maidstone-Mercer, Randall, and Co. 9,584 Kington and Radnorshire Rank, Kington- Davies and Co. Knaresborough Old Bank and Ripon Old Bank, Knaresborough-Harrison and Co 5.0,134 Kendal Bank, Kendal-Wakefield, Crewdson and Co. 35,804 Lane End Staffordshire Bank, Lane End-C Harvey and Son 4,854 Leeds Bank, Leeds--Beckett and Co. Leeds Union Bank, Leeds-W. Williams, Brown and Co. Leicester Bank, Leicester-T. &T. T Paget 26,235 Lewes Old Bank, Lewes-Whitfield and Co 16,853 Lincoln E.,,nk, Lincoln-Smith, Ellison, and Co 79,506 Llandovery Bank, Lampeter Bank, and Llan dilo Bank, Llandovery- 7 D. Jones and Co l9, 473 Loughborough Bank, Loughborough-Middle ton and Cradock - , 5,773 Lymington Bank, Lymington-S. and G. F., St. Barbe Lynn Regis and Lincolnshire Bank, Lynn Regis-Gurneys and Co. Lynn Regis and. Norfolk Bank, Lynn Regis- Jarvis and Co Macclesfield Bank, Macclesfield-Brocklehurst and Co. - 11,037 Manningtree Bank, Manningtree-Nunn and 25,3G3 Co. - 860 Marlborough Bank, Marlborough and Wilts Old Bank, Marlborough Old Bank, Marl borough Old Bank and Hungerford Bank, - and - Hunff . wford Bank, Marlborough—Tan ner and CO Merionethshire Bank, Dolgelly—Williams and Son 8,141 Miners' Bank, Truro—Willyams and Co 14,315 Monmouthshire Agricultural and Commercial Bank, Abergavenny—Bailey and Co 26, 317 Monmouth Cld Bank, Monmouth Bank, Bre con Bank, Chepstow Bank, Chepstow Old Bank, and Ross and Herefordshire Bank, Monmouth—Bromage, Snead, and Co 12,486 Newark Bank, Newark —Godfrey and Riddell 20,020 Newark and Sleaford Bank, and Sleaford and Newark Bank, Sleaford—Handley, Peacock, and Co 43,909 Newbury Bank, Newbury—Bunny & Slocock 15,316 Newmarket Bank, Newmarket—Eaton, Ham mond, and Co .., 16,77 8 Norwich Crown Bank and Norfolk and Suffolk Bank, Norwich—llarveys and Hudsons... ' 48,200 Norwich and Norfolk Bank, Norwich—Gur neys and Birkbecka Nottingham and Nottinghamshire Bank, Not tingham, Hart, Fellows, and Co 7, 709 Nuneaton Bank, Nuneaton—Craddock and Co 3,060 Naval Bank, Plymouth, Plymouth—Harria and Co. New Sarum Bank, Sarum—Everett and Co 8,579 Nottingham Bank, Nottingham—Samuei Snaith and Co. Oswestry Bank and Oswestry Old Bank, Os westry—Croxon and Co Oxford Old Bank, Oxford —Parsons and Co. OH Bank, Tonbridge, Tonbridge and Ton bridge Wells Old Bank, Tonbridge and Ton bridge Wells . and vSevenoaks Bank, Ton -6,605 Oxfborirddgshe—ireT.wHit.naenyd BS.ankße,echwinigtney_ Clinch and Sous Pease's Old Bank, Hull, the Hull Old Bank and Beverley Bank, Hull—Pease and Co__ 88,677. Penzance Bank, Penzance—Batten and Co. 10,392 Peterborough Bank and Oundle Bank, Peter borough—D. Yorke and Co. Pembrokeshire Bank, Haverfordwest--J. and W. Walters Reading Bank, Reading—Simonds and Co 23,838 Reading Bank, Reading—Stephens, Blandy, and Co. ................ . .... . Richmond Bank, Richmond—Roper and Co 5,676 Rochdale Bank, Rochdale—Clement, Royds, and Co. 2,450 Rochester, Chatham, and Strood Bank, Roches ter-4-Pay and Nicholson 6,285 Royston Bank, Royston—Fordham and Sons 11,103 Rugby Bank, Rugby—A. Butlin and Son 8,508 Rye Bank, Rye—R. C. Pomfret, & Co 10,034 Roar Old Bank; Heredfordshire, Ross 41.11a,way and •Macdougal ..... 2,701 Saffron Walden and Noah Essex Bank, Sat . - tr4, , fron Walden—Gibsans and CO. 4`ll 20,467 Salop Bank Shremsbury—Burton, Lloyd, and Co. Scarborough Old Bank, Scarborough—Wood all and Co 2,650 Shrewsbury Old Bank and Shrewsbury and Ludlqw, Bank, Shrewsbury— Rocke, By - 31,025 tons, and C 0.... ..................... . • ... , Soutwell Bank , Southwell—Wylde and C 0... 10 630 Southampton andllampsbire Ban k ,Southarnp -2,815 ton—Atlierley, Felt;•ana Co. Stone Bank, Stone --W. Moore - SPORTIN& INTELLIGENCE. e TATTERSALL'S—MONDAY. The business transacted was unimportant. The quo tations on the Reading Steeplechase are merely nominal, and the few investments on the Two Thousand and Derby were not large enough to require comment. The following were the only bets laid : READIN* STEEPLECHASE. 7 to 1 agst B.indloy (taken) 8 to 1 agst Althorp (taken) 8 to 1 agst Maid of the Glen (taker.) 10 to 1 agst Old Dog Tray (taken) )0 to 1 agst Hymeley (taken) 10 to 1 agst A.13-del-Kader (taken) TWO THOUSAND GUINEAS STAKES. 4 to 1 agst Clydesdale (offered) 10 to 1 agst Lord of Lor❑ (taken) DEBBY. • 20 to 1 agst Ditto (taken to 851.) 20 to 1 agst Sedbnry (taken) 25 to 1 apt The Happy Land (taken) 33 to 1 agst Sermon (taken and offered) Country Markets. CHELMSFORD—Dec. 24. A little less animation in the wheat trade to-day, and prices barely sustaining last week's rates. Spring corn of all descriptions unaltered, with the exception of beans, which were is to 2s cheaper. Wheat, white, old, per s. s. 0. s. qr.so 54 Oats, per qr. 24 29 new.... 43 54 Peas, Partridge 40 43 red, old 42 48 White .. . ... 38 42 new.... 42 47 Boiling ...... 3 , 9 4 4 t Barley 33 39 Dun 9 y Chevalier 34 41 Beans, Tiek 38 42 Grinding 29 32 , Harrow ticks 38 4 2 Lialt 70 731 M aza gan 35 38 Chevalier 72 73 Ditto, new... 35 31 Official Statement of the Quai in the port of London, froi Dec. 20 to Deo. 2d, both in ,ntities of Corn, Ste, .m the following p• nolusive. recaived )rte, from ti t- -; , Colchester ll O, 123' 795 ( Ilarwich 2O 1 13921 Leigh Sialdon llB9B 362 1 I 6. 7 ' , a. I 4 ( 429 COLCHESTER-DEO. 26. 29 / 700 - 1336 ! 9SO. The wheat trade was firm, a moderate supply, and prices same as last week. Malting barley is dearer. Beans and peas a slow sale, at prices in favour of the buyer. Prices to-day were as follow :—Wheat, white, 50s to 56.; red, 41s to 50s; barley, 36s to 448 ; oats, 23s to 30s ; beanF, Mazagan, 36s to ais ; middle and small, 40s to 425; Pear's white, 44s to 46s ; grey, 40s to 44k. KIRKCALDY—DEC. 26. To-day we had fair supplies of all sorts of grain, and the sales ready, and all extra qualities higher than last week. Wheat. Barley. Oats. i Beans._ First sos Od I 3's Od c 26s Od I Os 04 Second 46s 6d I I I 27s Od 23s Od Os 0 1 Third 32s Od 20s Od 18s Od •Os Od IT.-DEO. 28. the close of the market COAL MARK: Prices of Coals per ton at s. d. Bebside's Hartley 14 3 Longridge's Wst Hartley 14 3 Tanlield Moor Butes 13 0 West Hartley Grey's 13 Davison's West Hartley 14 3 Howard's West Hartley Netherton 14 3 Haswell Gas l4 0 Walker Primrose l3 0 Bell's Primrose l3 0 Bates's West Hartley 13 9 Morpeth West Hartley 13 t; Wylam Ward's West Hartley l3 t Wallsend, &o. s ( 1, Nixon's Duffryn. 21 6 Russoll's Hotton 18 6 Gosforth . 16 3 Braddyll lB 6 Flatten - l9 6 ; IFlarton .. 'South Hetton ; 9 .6 Tees l9 6 Keno° 18 9 ,Cosrpen Hartley ... l4 6 3 . ionth Hartlepool . lB . ieaham lB, 3 t Newton M ain ..... ........ l3 0 Eden Main lB 3 W-harneliffe 16 6 . 'Northumberland l4 6 Hatton Lyons Main IA 6 liiaswell 19 . 9 , , • Lambton, l9 0 Ships at market, 257 ; sold, 215. • Wsllsond, &c Stowart's • l9 t: Riddell l6 3 Kelper Grainge - lB North Hartlepool 18 t LOCAL SHA.KB M-ARKB2A. LIVERPOOL, DM 28. STOOK EXOIIANGE.—The Liverpool Stock Exchange bat no noticeable feature . to 'report in tone or price.. South Easterns, 21—Midlands. 89g—Great Westerns, 546-7 — London and North Westerns, 97 Sheffields, 40 Grand Trunk of Canada, 11a— Chester and- Holyhead, 411 —Lancashire and Yorkshixe, 9/. new shares, 3-16 pm—Great Western of Canada, 18 2-16 — Birkenhead, 69. • . , MANCHESTER, DEO. 28. STOCK EKOHANGE—The market was firmer, with a good business, and prices of all the leading stooks a shad) better. East Lancashire, Oli—Sheffields, Oil ß —DiLco, Pref. p South Eastern, 21 13 - 16 —North Stafford ,s 3i d—Eastern Counties, 11 o—Midlands, 89A—North Union A, 2204 Londons, 96—Grand Trunk, of Canada, 114--Cale. donian, 41—Union Bank, par—Dutch Rhenish, CI die. Leeds, 934—Ditto, new, 4 d. BIRMINGHAM, DEC. 28. STOOK EXCHANGE.--Business in the market generally active to-day, with an upward tendency in the prices. Birmingham and Stdur Valley, 8 si—Great Western, Bir4 mingham Pref., 94 —Worcester, and Birmingham Canals, 174 —Birmingham Waterworks, 30. SOUTH KENSINGTON MUSEUM.—During the week ending Dec. 26 the visitors have been as follows ;-012 Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday (free days), 6,156 ; ea - Monday, Tuesday, and Saturday (free evenings), 3,244;, on the thrcestudents'days (admission to the public, 61), 378 ; one student's evening (Wednesday), 70 ; total, 9,848. [ADVERTISEMENT.]--- . C4ratii—Double Map of Asia—On Sim. day next, a truly beautifully-coloured double Map of Asia will be given .with each copy of the DISPATCH, and a coloured Map will be issued every weea Gratis, to form the most perfect and useful Atlas ever published. The Back Numbers of the Atlas are kept constantly on sale, so that the work may be made complete from - the •commencement at any time, and at the perfect convenience of the purchaser. Any Map of the Series may be had with the Newspaper of the, cur rout week, or with any copy not out of print: The Pr ee ce of the DISPATOTI is—unstamped, sd. ; stamped (to go -r d. by post), 6d. The Friday Evening Edition may be received in the most distant parts •of the kingdom on Saturday morning. eortfolios, with spring-clipped backs, are now ready, price 3s. Oa., 45., and upwards. Orders received .' by all News Agents, and at the Office, 139, Fleet-street, London. [AnyeaTisesauer.]—lt is over a pleasing duty of a journalist to introduce to his readers some new discovery calculated to benefit that vast portion of our fellew-creatures which has the strongest claims upon our sympathies. It is with this feeling that we call the attention of invalids to the following extracts from Du Barry's interesting report of cures without medicine of Indigestion (Dyspepsia), Flatulency, Constipation, Nervous, Bilious, and Liver Complaints, Cough, Asthma, Consumption, • and Debility, by I?u Barry's Revalenta Arabica Food :— , Care No. 52,422.--Bridgehouse, Frimley, 3d April, 1854.-1 have suffered these 33 years continually from diseased lungs, spit ting of Wood, liver derangement, deafness, singing in the ears, constipation, debility, shortness of breath and cough, and during that period taken so much medicine that I can safely say I have Lid out upwards of a thousand pounds at tho chemists and doctors. Indeed I was in utter despair I and ac ver expected to get over it , when was fortunate enough to b e come acquainted with your Reval enta Arabica, which heaven , be praised, restored me to a state of health I long since despair. ed of attaining. My lungs, liver, stomach, head, and ears aro all right, my hearing perfect, and my recovery is a marvel to all my acquaintances.—JAmss ROBERTS, Wood Merchant. — Supported by testimonials from the celebrated ProMisors of Chemistry, Dr. Andrew Ure ; Dr. Shorland ; Dr. Harvey ; Dr. Campbell; Dr. Gattiker ; Dr. Wurzer; Dr. Ingram Lord Stuart de Deck's; the Dowager Countess of Cast e stuart; Major-Gen. Thomas King,. and many other respectable persons, whose health has been restored by it, after all .other means of cure had failed. Suitably packed with full in structions. In canisters, llb, 2s. 9d. ; 21b, 4s. Gd. ; bib, lis ; 121 b, 225. The 121 b canisters are sent carriage fr ee, on receipt of Post-Office order.—Barry Da Barry, dr Co., 77, Regent-street, London. IRPORTANT CAUTION against the fearful dangers of spurious imitations '--The vic e-Chancel' for , Sir William Page Wood, granted an Injunction on the 10th March, 1854, against Alfred Hooper Nevill, for imitating 4 Da Barry's Revalenta Arabica Food." BIRTHS. CLARABON—On the 28th inst., at 74, Glocester-terrace, As de-park, the wife of Frederick S. Clarkson, Esq., Of a son. DIANSERGEI— On the 27th inst., at 17, Russell -place, the lady of John Craven Mansergh, Esq., of 1 ock Savage' in the county of Cork, of a son. Pont —On the 28th inst., at. Harewoods, Bletchin,glY, burrey, the wife of Thos. Pope, Esq., of the Coal E change, of a son. WErtraoci—On Christmaa-day, at 29, Berkeley-square, Lady Wenlock, of a son. MARRIAGES, got. FORSTER—DELL - Ou the 24th inst , at St. Peter's, Not ting-hill, Forster, Esq., barrister-at-l Oct, e Mary Anne,..third davghtor of tho late W. Da vid Esq., solicitor, of Bourne, Lincolnshire. HAYTON—BRENT —On the 24th inst , at St. Matthew% a Denmark-hill, Amos llayton, to Fanny,. third dughter of the late P. C. J. Brent, Esq. DEATH S. GOOD • -Oa the 23d inst., at Ilehestor,Williarn Good, Esq.' aged 97. HAWARDEN—Cn the 25th inst., at St. Leonard's-on-Seal the Hon. Augusta Maude, youngest daughter of the late Lord Hawardeu, aged 27. MOORE—On the 27th inst., at Norwood, Surrey, li st! Hann di Moore, aged B. s pEN , ER _ou the 27th inst.,atA 7 11, 7 11 . 0rp, Earl Spence r. S TA CEY- 0 a the 25 th inst , at tho Priory, High - Wyco mbe, B o u o e ke ks : Eaq Stacey, y a , ge E d sq 4 . 7 , aged Toortic—On the 2 1330 :.sth inst., at 31, Spring-gardens, Th o T TUDOR—On the 24th inst., at the Pavilion Hot el, Folke• stone, George. Tudor, sq ,of Portman-square, and East Cowes Castle, I.W. LONDON: hinted and Published by MIIRDO YOUPO of No t 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, l'i°i 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the 3avoY, in the county of Middlesex, Tuesday, December . 29, 18'4' .4 ,~,_~~