The Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1861-01-17 00:00:00

THE WEATHER & THE LONDON PARKS.

ANOTHER GRAND DEMONSTRATION ON
THE SERPENTINE.

On Tuesday night another grand demonstration took
place upon the Serpentine. From the time the gates
were opened in the morning persons of all grades in
society, including ladies, members of the aristocracy, and
mechanics entered the park, until the numbers on the
Serpentine, with those on the Regent's Park, the Long
Water in Kensington Gardens, the Round Pond, and
St. James's Parks, amounted to 15,000. Various
evolutions were gone through. The ladies' quadrille
performance, carried out during the daytime, was greatly
admired, and so were the skating matches. Unfortu-
nately, several serious accidents occurred during the
daylight evolutions. .
The amusement lasted from eight o'clock to nearly
midnight, and the scene.that then took place surpassed
in brilliancy,tbe performance of the previous night. The
proceedings commenced with a man bearing on his hat
a large red lamp. Upon each shoulder was attached a
similar lamp; there were also lamps tied upon each knee,
and on the ankles, just above the skates. There was
an extraordinary procession of skaters. Several had
printed papers stuck on their hats, announcing
that " Cambridge and Oxford Terms" had com-
menced that day. The scene was altogether of
a most exciting character. An immense number of.
serpents were ignited and thrown upon the bank
among the public, and as they exploded and the sparks
flew about, especially among the women, the scene
became fearful, and upwards of twenty women were
more or less burnt. The sham fight was carried on, one
party firing from the north shore, another from the
south ; but, eventually, both parties commenced the
medley attack, and fireworks were thrown indiscri-
minately about, and many persons were injured. A
woman named Pheebe Hope had her clothes set on fire,
and she was so badly injured that she was taken to her
residence in Carlton-street, Vauxhall.

The tents were again brilliantly lighted up on Tuesday
night, and many quadrilles were performed. There were
also skittle matches, games of quoits, &c.

BIRKENHEAD POLICE COURT.-At this court, yester-
day, before Messrs. liarbyshire and Jackson, Mary
Ann Evans was charged with stealing a petticoat and
other articles of wearing apparel. The prisoner appears
to he a notcrious thief, and she was sent for trial.

SEASONABLE CHARITY.—The Committee of the Royal
Liver Burial Society have determined to supply soup to
the poor during the continuance of the cold weather.
The Secretary, Mr. John Lawrence, commendably does
all he can to relieve the distress around him. Such
seasonable charity is worthy of all praise.
NEW WESLEYAN DAY SCHOOLS. A tea-party in
furtherance of the object of the erection of these schools,
which are to accommodate 1,300 children, was held last
night in the school-room under the chapel in Moss-
street. After tea, a meeting was held in the chapel,
when addresses were delivered by the Revs. Brailsford,
George Scott, P. C. Horton, F. J. Sharr, and other
gentlemen.
THE STONEWORK OF THE HOUSES OF PARLIAMENT.
The decay or efflorescence of the stonework of the Houses
of Parliament is not, it would appear, confined to the
exterior of the building, but is showing itself in the roof
and stonework ornamentation of St. Stephen's Hall,
arising, it is believed, from the destructive influence of
the gas.
RETURN OF IGARIBALDIAN VOLUNTEERS.—On Tues-
day morning, 240 Garibaldian volunteers arrived in
London, rid slarseilles, by the French steam-packet
Seine-et-Loire. The fine appearance of the men, and
their cheerful and cordial demeanour on taking leave of
their comrades previously to separating to return to
their homes, attracted the notice and sympathy of a
large number of spectators assembled to witness their
landing.
STEAMER SUNK.—The screw-steamer James Watt,
belonging to the Glasgow and Greenock Shipping Com-
pany, sunk at her moorings nigh to the Suspension
Bridge, Glasgow, at an early hour on Monday morning.
She had conic up from Greenock the previous tide, and
it is supposed that she must have lain aground on a
large sharp-pointed piece of ice, that penetrated through
her frame. Her cargo was all transhipped into another
vessel in a short time. The master and crew were
sleeping below, unconscious of their danger, when the
police roused them, and they had scarcely reached the
deck when the vessel settled under water.

AN UNSEASONAULE VISITOR.—A few days since, as
Str. R. Woodland and others were in a wood at Mr.
Duke's, Monk's Horton Priory, Sellinge, they heard a
rustling among some old wood near them. On looking
amongst the wood they found that the noise proceeded
from the movements of a large adder or British viper.
Although surrounded by snow and ice the reptile
appeared to have lost none of its energy, and was not
easily dispatched. Ultimately the adder was decapitated ;
but, what is very remarkable, though the headless trunk
lay exposed to the cold during the whole of the day, in
the evening it was observed to move about.—Maidstone
ournal.

FIRE AT OLDHAM.—About two o'clock on Tuesday
morning the warehouse attached to Dirtchr Cotton-
mills, Oldham, the property of Messrs. James Graves
and Sons, was discovered to be on fire. Fortunately,
the high east winds then blowing kept the flames from
the mill, and a number of fire-engines being brought to
the spot, the fire was reduced without spreading beyond
the warehouse and a few rooms over it. The stock of
cotton goods in the warehouse, and a waggon-load
adjoining, ready for the Manchester market yesterday,
were destroyed, and some accounts say the damage will
reach £B,OOO or £lO,OOO, but this is only a rough
estimate. The loss is said to be covered by insurances.
ANOTHER ESCAPE FROM THE A GAPEMONE.—One day.
last week Gays the Bridgewater Times) Mr.' Mayber,
jun., aged about ler, an inmate of the Agapemone, and
son of Brother Mayber, succeeded in making his escape
from the Abode of Love. Mrs. Mayber and two or
three of the Agapemonites started in pursuit of the
fugitives, and scoured the surrounding neighbourhood in
search of the truant disciple of, My Lord. Iu the course
of their journey they visited the lodgings of the Rev.
L. Price, at 6lastonbury, where, however, they met
with an exceedingly cold reception, for, after demanding
permission to search the premises, one of the party (we
believe, Mrs. Mayber) received the contents of a bucket
of cold water, which was thrown over her, thereby
being subjected to a gratuitous shower-bath of not the
most agreeable kind this cold weather.
REPRESENTATION or LEICESTER. Mr. Heygate
issued his address and commenced a personal canvass of
the borough on Monday. The results of the first two
days are highly satisfactory. A meeting was called on
Monday night at the Three Crowns Hotel to enable Mr.
Heygate to address his friends and supporters. The
Meeting was very large, and included numerous members
of the Whig, and Radical parties, as well as many non-
electors. Mr. W. Miles was called to the chair and
briefly introduced Mr. Heygate, who delivered a leng-
thened address on political topics. He avowed himself
in favour of moderate reform in parliament, and earnestly
hoped that the churchrate question might yet be settled
upon some such basis of compromise as that suggested by
Mr. Stuart, the member for Cambridge. Not withstanding
the miscellaneous character of the meeting, Mr. Heygate's
remarks were received with the most uninterrupted atten-
tion, and frequently applauded with much warmth. A
resolution expressive of satisfaction with his exposition
of his views, and pledging the meeting to support him
at the wp. parried with great enthusiasm. Sir J.
Walmaley-biis; not 'yet isaua any address, but his sup-
porters announce:that heiWillteettainly fortbegoming.

AItiCH MONEY THERE IS IN THE

COUNTRY.

(Prom the ilechanime ifaga:ige)

As so much interest exists at present in regard to the
coinage of the British Empire, we have been at some
pains in obtaining reliable data as to the quantity of
gold, silver, copper, and 17ronze coin at present in circu-
lation throughout Great Rritain• and Ireland. The facts
and f'gcres resulting from our incoairits it is our purpose
now to give to our readers. In 18103-17, a complete re-
coinage of the silver currency of the United Xingdom
took place, and as retest of the gold coins of a date
anterior to that period havt become of light weight, and
found their way back to the crucibles of the Royal Mint,
it will be well to ccmmence our gerrPral statement from

18)6. It appears, then, from official awe -ants, that there
hart" been issued from the British Mint since that year,
and up' the present moment—
D oni,fB-Tol ereigns
Sovereigns . ~ 136,071,897
Half-sovereigns . „ 26,092,903

By far the larger proportion 451 the two last-named
denominations of money—double-soverei3rs having long
since become obsolete—were coined durink the. reign of
I her present Majesty. The years 1853 and 15.55, indeed,
were pre=eminently prolific. In the first, no less than
eleven mIItOPT nine lanndred and fifty-two thousand
three hundred and iiinclty,one pounds sterling of sove-
reigns and half-sovereigns Were ressed into being ; and
in the second year-1855—nearly. f.^rr millions sterling
came forth from the Mint, in the shape of gold coins.
The united productions of these two years thus give a
total Oda/ to rather more than one-seventh of the entire
gold coinages of the whole forty years in question !
Taking into acecte, tbe continual influx of light gold
coin to the Bank, and its snlrseument transference for re-
coinage to the sister establishment on Tower-hill, and
allowing for the efflux from the ILA of gold coin on
its way to the Continent and other parts of the world,
it may be inferred that the number of pieces of gold
bearhig the "image and superscription" of royalty, and
circulating in this the second week of 1861 among her
Majesty's liege§ in Great Britain and Ireland, amounts
to at least one hundred millions Taking the popula-
tion of the islands to be thirty minions, it is clear that,
equally distributed, the gold coinage would be of suffi-
cient magnitude to supply every inhabitant, young or
old, with the sum of S 3 6s. Bd.
Of the silver coinage of the realm, it results from the
testimony of official documents, and from evidence
adduced by Dr. Graham, F.R.S., Master of the Mint,
before the Decimal Coinage Commission, that there are
also in circulation among the subjects of the Queen, of—
Crowns , . .. .. 2,320,027
Half-crowns , . .. 37,516,343
Florins .. . , 10,000,000
Shillings .. ~ 112,55006
Sixpences .. . 76,13257 S
Fourpences .. 20,142034
Threepences .. 7,572,437
forming a total of 266,237,525 pieces of silver
money. The eoifrage of crowns, half-crowns, and four-
ponces has beett stspended for many years, and it is more
than doubtful whether coy more of either denomination
of coin will ever again be struck at the Royal Mint.
Coming now to the inferior metallic currency, that of
copper, and drawing upon the same unimpeachable sources
of information, we find that there are no less than five
hundred millions of pence, half-pence, and farthings doing
active duty amongst us. Their total current value reaches
to a million and a quarter sterling, and their weight
avoirdupois is six thousand tons !
Of the new bronze money there have been issued
several hundred tons, or perhaps twenty millions of coins,
and in time the entire copper coinage, battered, worn,
unsightly, and heavy, as it is, will be superseded by its
more graceful and convenient rival. If six thousand
tons of the "mixed metal" be converted into pence,
half-pence, and farthings, of 48, 80, and 160 to the pound
weight, the proportions of the new money—instead of
coins weighing 24, 48, and 96, to the 11b., the proportions
of the old, why, it is evident that the public will get
nearly double the number of coins, or a current value
from the same weight of metal of two and a half millions
of pounds sterling, instead of one million and a quarter
sterling.
From these statistics we deduce the fact, that the
grand total number of coins of gold, silver, copper, and
bronze, now in circulation throughout the British Isles,
leaving the colonies out of the question, is undoubtedly
not much less than nine hundred millions—or almost
one coin to each inhabitant of the globe !

THE COTTON STATES OF THE IjNION
NOT THE ONLY COTTON-GROWING
DISTRICTS.

(From, the Times.)

Nobody can tell what may be the effect of political
disorganisation upon the Cotton States of the Union;
and in what condition should we find ourselves if the
six-sevenths of our supply which these countries now
furnish should be suddenly cut off ? Suppose the im-
ports reduced even by a half, or a third, what arc we to
do ? The distress at Coventry gives but a faint idea of
the misery and ruin which would overwhelm us if our
staple manufacture were abruptly stopped.
It behoves us, then, without an hour's delay, to take
this work in hand. Except for the single difficulty we
have described, it is a perfectly easy work. Three quar-
ters of the globe are actually competing for the favour
of our orders. Asia gives us India, and India, as
is invariably found, offers anything we want. Tea,
flax, silk, linseed, cotton—whatever crop fails else-
where is sure to be producible in India. As it
is, the Indian Cotton Supply comes next to the
American in point of magnitude, though with a long
interval between, and it is already calculated that
these imports will he materially increased during the
current year. Then there is Australia bidding for
notice. 'We are assured upon the evidence of excellent
authorities that nothing would be easier than to make
Australia as good a cotton-field as America is now. In-
vest the capital, organise the trade, invite Chinese
labourers, and the desired results will follow with the
most infallible certainty. hardly have we opened our
eyes to these agreeable visions, when the advocates of
African civilisation interpose their claims. Africa is the
very land of cotton. In those regions the plant is not
an exotic. It requires no naturalisation. It grows
there already, and is even cultivated, as far as the igno-
rance of the natives will permit the process. Then, why
not extend a helping hand to the struggling Negro, and
benefit an oppressed race by the same policy which would
provide our manufacturers with inexhaustible supplies ?
Such are the views which have been pressed upon our
notice by rival correspondents. It is not our province to
discriminate between the offers before us. 'Whether
India, or Australia, or Africa would be the best field for
our energies we shall not at present attempt to decide.
Perhaps it would be advisable to lay them all under
contribution together, for such a distribution would
lessen the chances of a general failure, and the extension
of our manufactures may absorb all the supplies which
these combined sources could furnish. It we are to
clothe the population of China, we shall want large
additional imports of cotton. All, however, that we
can gather from the American example is encouraging.
That wonderful trade, which now yields the United
States a revenue of fully £40,000,000 a-year, is as
purely artificial as a trade can be. The plant was
imported, and the labour was imported. Everything
was accomplished by industry and enterprise, and what
has been done once can be done again. Take a soil
favourable to the growth of cotton, and the cotton
trade can be created to a certainty. It is not even
a work of time. Seven short years sufficed to raise the
produce of cotton in America from 5001 b. to 18,000,001 b.
—from a single bale to 36,000 hales. It must be re-
membered, however, that this feat was only accom-
plished by untiring energy and abundant capital. The
enterprise was amply remunerative, but no negligence
was admitted in the work. The Southern States fairly
gave themselves up to cotton-planting. They made
cotton their sole staple, at the cost of all earlier products.
Never were greater energies imported into any branch
of industry, and never was the organisation of a trade
more complete. The results are what we now see. The
largest manufacturing system ever known in the world
derives its supplies of raw material from a single farm,
and has derived them hitherto with almost as much cer-
tainty as could be desired. Unfortunately, the labour
employed was of so exceptional a character that organic
derangement was always to be apprehended, and the
event so long dreaded now threatens to take, not only
us, but the Americans themselves, by surprise.
Twelve months ago it might have been plausibly
argued that the actual disunion of the American States
on the slave question, and the consequent danger to the
planting interests, were contingencies which might,
indeed, be contemplated, but which were by no means
probable. We now see that such events may easily
happen. The peril has been brought home to our
very doors. It is certainly pot impossible that the
Southern States may form a confederacy of their own,
and maintain, or even extend, their commerce with this
country. The American Cotton Supply may possibly
be larger than ever. Such a result is doubtless within
the hounds of probability ; but enough has been seen to
convince us of the reality of the danger. Whether
disunion would be followed by industrial disorganisation
it may be hard to say ; but, at any rate, we have now
learnt that the political convulsion may occur at any
moment, and we know hut too well, from the examples
of history, how likely it is that such convulsions should
be attended by financial and commercial ruin.

STEAMER Asuona.—The steamer Prince Alfred,
which left Leith for London on Saturday, ran ashore
near Flamborough Head on Sunday during the fog. The
passengers and crew were saved ; the amount of damage
to the ship and cargo is not reported. The Prince
Alfred was an iron screw steamer of 696 tons, built last
year expressly for the Leith and London trade. She
was under the command of Captain Craig, and was, to
a considerable extent at least, insured. Her value is
estimated at nearly /220,000.

AMERICA.

THE SECESSION MOVEMENT.

The Canard steamer Jura, from New York on
the 3rd instant, arrived here yesterday.
President Buchanan was about to send to
Congress his answer to South Carolina. He
refuses the demands of the Commission, and
informs them that he not only intends to collect
revenue and execute law, but also to defend the
property of the United States with all the force
at his command. Two war steamers were to be
dispatched to Charleston.
It was rumoured that all the important posts
in the South would be immediately reinforced.
The militia of the district of Columbia was to
be re-organised. A commander had been recom-
mended by General Scott.

• Mr. M'lntyre, of New York, had been nomi-
nated collector at the port of Charleston. The
revenue would be collected by a cutter.

it was reported that Government fortifications
and arsenals had been seized in North Carolina

and Georgia.

The warlike preparations continued in South
Carolina.

In the New York State Legislature a resolution
had been proposed authorising the Government
to tender to the National Administration 10,000
militia to put down the insurrection in the South.

Advices from Havanna arc to December 30th.
The late issue of treasury notes had failed to
afford relief, and had not been generally received
by the merchant.