The Express.
London, England, 1848-07-11 00:00:00

RIO JANEIRO.

Accounts from Rio Janeiro, to the 24th May, report
business at that date to have been extreme:), dull, occasioned
principally by the effects of the French revolution. Another
mercantile house had suspended payment, its French con-
nexions having involved it to a considerable extent. The
latest quoted rate of exchange is about 231 to r England;
Paris and Hamburg, quotations remained purely nominal.
The merchants at Rio had held a meeting for the purpose of
adopting measures for limiting the present terms of credit,
and also for urging on the notice of the Brazilian legislature
the necessity of framing a code of bankruptcy laws, which,
"while they shield the unfortunate, shall afford ample pro•
tection to commerce against nefarious and fraudulent
debtors." The resolutions passed on the oces,ion are sub-
joined;
• I. That the monthly bills of parcels be made out Ps duplicate, the
' one of which, after having been exarniued by the buyer and found
correct, shall be by him signed and returned to the seller.
2. That, bearing in mind the ruinous effects of credits extended to
la and 24 months, the longest credit upon open account from and
after the tlrst of July nest be 12 months; and that, from and after
the expiration of the credit agreed upon, interest Lobe charged at and
after the rate of I per cent. per month.
3. That any p arty hereunto proved to have vioLated this agreement
he fined 1,000 dole, • and, on proof of a second infringement, 2,00.1
dohs.; the amount than n ceived to be deposited in the hands of
H. M. B. Consul, to be applied in such manner an may be determined
at a future meeting.
4. That • committee of three be named for the purpose of com-
municating, with all no-bible delicacy, to the buyers the nature and
objects of these resolutions, and that this committee consist of Mr. J.
E. De Souza, of Meyers Carruthers and Co.; Mr. J. ailiinnol, of
Messrs. W. Moon and ; and Mr. W. Finale, of Messrs. Fannie,
Brothers, and Co.
5. That a committee of three merchants be annually elected, to
whom all cases of infringement or crimson on the part of either
the sellers or porch:leers be submitted, for the purpose of being
presented to the mom, trial body, with the objects of exacting the
stipulated fines, and that the commit[, e Mend, named be charged
with this duty for the space of one year.
6. That the foregoing resolutions he in force during the space
of twelve months, at the expiration of which period tee expediency of
adopting rent iin measures, with the view of curtailing the extreme
credit determined upon in article 2, shall be considered at a general
meeting for that purpose to be convened.

MADRID, Jute 4.
Intelligence of mournful importance has been re-
ceived by telegraph from the Basque provinces. The young
and distinguished Cerlist general, Alma, has been taken pri-
soner and allot. lie was captured at Zaldivia, a village near
Tolosa, by the commandant of the civic guard of Uuipuzeoa,
and put to death at 8 o'clock yesterday morning. No more
is known. From his instant execution, we may gather the
nature of the orders which the commanders of the govern-
ment forces have received in those provinces. All Cellist
efficen caught in arms against the Queen will be shot; and
of course bloody reprisals will be used by the insurgents, so
that en internecine war, no longer between tho govern-
ment and hordes of banditti, as during the past year in Cata-
lonia, hut with the great authentic body of the Carina party,
may be said alrewly to have commenced.
The ministerial papers do not cease to ascribe the Monte-
molinist rebellion which has opened so tragically to the
machinations of Lord Palmerston and the intrigues of the
English. Under these circumstances, if the war should
take an unfortunate tura for the government, I suspect that
Madrid will not prove 411 agreeable residence for our
countrymen.
Cabrera had penetrated within four leagues of Barcelona,
passing between La Oarriga and Cardeden. When the
intelligence of his movement was received in the Catalonian
capital two-thirds of the garrison sallied out, under the com-
mand of Gen. Boiguez, so that the troops remaining in
Barcelona were insufficient to do the duty required. Two
companies had to come down from Monjuich, and the mule
artillery had to turn cut as guard a' many poets, si that if
any revolutionary elements remain in that city the moment
favours their explosion. Other letters in thesam^ paper speak
of the board of conspirators at Perpignan under the presi-
deacy of Amettler.
The bank continues to he the uppermost subject here. A
statement is now being drawn out of the reasons which have
led to the dismissal of the c ashier and bookkeeper. It was
said yesterday that these persona had been arrested, but this
I understand is not the case. No doubt one of the main
causes, next to the dishonesty and bad management of the
leading official= which have brought about the desperate
ebb at which the credit of this establishment lies, was the
I French revolution of February. The immense deprecia-
tion of French securities which immediately followed
affected greatly the fortunes of all the leading capitalists
here, and has rendered it utterly impossible foe a great
number of them to meet their engagements.
The discredit of the Bank of San Ft mend°, however,
dates chiefly from the hour of its union with that of
Debella 11. The extreme eagerness with which the go-
vernment insisted upon this union, and the threats which it
held out against the managing. comrnits e of the Bank of St.
Ferdinand, who opposed the junction, countenance the sus-
picion that both banks were in a had way. In fact, St.
Ferdinand had a large debt owing to it from the treasury,
and Isabella 11. brought three-quarters of its capital in
paper. Nearly a million and a half sterling of its effects
consisted in bills. What was the metallic reserve of both
banks when united, or to what amount their paper values
were realisable, is a complete mystery, the responsibility of
which rests upon the government, under whose guidance
both these banks remained both before and after their union,
and whose sanction was given to the system of withholding
from the public all statements of accounts.

NEWCASTLE FARMERS' CLUB.—Mr. Glover, the se-
cretary•, read at the last meeting a paper, by a farmer's wife,
on the importance and profitableness of poultry. Ilitherto it
had been said that poultry "do not pay," but if a systematic
plan of rearing and feeding be adopted. by proper houses and
yards being provided, poultry may Le made a valuable part
of the produce of a farm. After eulogi•iag the beauties of
the differ, at species of poultry in common use, she observed
that they not only rep., y for their keep, but also leave a large
profit in the hands of the producer and dealer ; yet, notwith-
standing, a sufficient au Qty for the consumption of our
market is not raised in this country. This fact can only be
accounted for by the prevalence of ignorance cs to their pro.
friableness, and thus we aro indebted to France, Holland,
and Ireland, for snore than half of the poultry and eggs con-
sumed. The value of the fowls consumed is London alone
is estimated to be about 100,0001. annually. The value of
fowls I sported from Ireland in 1826 amounted to half a mil-
lion ; and of the eggs in 1847 was nearly one million sterling.
In one year they exported 50,0001. worth of feathers. Some
years ago the number of eggs exported from Berwick to Lon-
don was estimated at 30,000/. annually; and the small market
town of Selby, in York,hire, exported yearly 5,0001, worth
of poultry and eggs. At the present time the trade in eggs
forms a great branch of our trade with France, and affords
employment to a number of small vessels. The authoress
then gave two or three practical statements ri 'alive to the
profitableness. of poultry as a kind of farm produce, and con-
cluded by urging upon all the necessity of giving more at-
tention to the subject.
THE OPENING OF THE SOUTH WESTERN RAILWAY.
—The extension of the South Western Railway from the
Nine Elms station to the Waterloo road, was opened at
half-past four o'clock this morning, by the arrival of the first
train from Southampton. Although a small train, its
arrival imiatad, to the vicinity, a good deal of interest,