The Express.
London, England, 1851-09-02 00:00:00

THE COLT AND FLOUR TRADE.

" The millers have not, as yet, lowered the top price of
town manufactured flour."—Times, Aug. 25, 13;51.
TO THE EDITOR UP THE EXPRESS.
Silt,—l have taken the few words above from the
Times of bat Monday fur a text, and it is a subject I could
preach a long sermon upon; but I shall only make a few
brief remarks, which, if you think worthy public observa-
tion, you will please to give insertion in the columns of your
favoured journal.
We are blessed with a bountiful harvest, and I hope God
in his mercy will continue to us, a little while longer, fine
weather to house and complete it. We are at all times
bound to submit to Ills good providence, but it often be-
comes grievous and disgusting to submit to the grinding
impositions of man towards man; and although the com-
munity have for some time enjoyed the comfort and satis-
faction of cheap bread, or a big loaf, still, from my own ob-
servation, there has been of late just grounds of complaint
against the miller and baker. I believe London is accounted
the most honourable and just in relation to trade and com-
merce of any town in the kingdom, perhaps too of the world,
in all respects and every bearing, and it may be fair to ex-
pect that the metropolis of England takes a pride in setting
a just and bright example for all the empire. But I do con-
fess myself angered and surprised when I read this week
that ' the millers bare not, as yet, lowered the top
price of town-manufactured flour." Surely something
is wrong, unjust, and grievous towards the vast
population of London, for I have often heard it
spoken that trade and business affairs there do
always move with the market.; that is, rise and fall to-
gether, go hand-in-hand honestly ; as wheat rises or falls
to Mark-lane, so does the price of flour the same day ac-
cordingly. This I may say is the ordy true rule, the golden
' rule " Do as you would be done by ;-'' and by this rule the
fair trader and man of judgment deals, makes his bargains,
and in the end reaps occasionally an advantage upon stock
in hand, and that with credit to himself. But in the country
the meal and corn trade we commonly find csrricd on in this
way : the moment it becomes known that a rise of wheat
has taken place in Mark-lane, the miller mounts his horse
to inform the bakers that the flour is so much higher, and
this is done on the strength of the rise at Mark-lane, before
ever he goes to a market ; when the baker clam, on imme-
diately as much as he can upon his bread and flour, takes a
beneht upon all his stock in hand.
After a rise, Mr. Editor, as you very well know, there
comes a fall, and what is the result ? The thing is so com-
mon in the observation of the consumer, and the people are
taught to submit in most cases of injustice and imposition
quickly, that it may be absurd to name or touch upon the
subject. The facts are dew upon which lam referring at
the present time :—Up to June 9th last, wheat was stationary
I believe in all markets for many months; when, in Mark-
lane (a criterion for all others in the United Kingdom), we
found a rise of Is. to 2s. per quarter took place, the next
week,June 19. another rise of la. per quarter was established,
and the following. week, June 23, again it went up Is. per
' quarter, so that it may appear, that in the fortnight from
9th to 23rd of June, wheat ruse Is. to 4s. per quarter; and
simultaneously, with us, flour rose to the baker (as a baker
told me) Gs. per sack of 20 stone ; and the baker raised the
price of a 71b. or 711 b. loaf from 10d. to Is. So far so good,
if the advance throughout is consistent. But when we look
on the reverse, or the contrary turn of the scale, when
honest John Bull looks for,snd expects, that every man will
do his duty, I do affirm that sauce which is good for the
goose ought reasonably to be good for the gander; or, if
John is compelled to pay an advance of one penny for his
loaf on the day wheat rises in Mark lane, who will not con-
tend that, by the same rule of honesty and fair dealing,
John should get a reduction on the self-same day that
wheat drops in price at Mark-lane ? But it is worthy of
remark that when a drop after drop in the price of wheat
takes place at Mark-lane, the country millers and bakers
are not alive to it; and if they are told they say, "Oh, it is
no use taking any notice of the London papers, for wheat
wu fel higher at Warwick last market day. '
Sir, I do maintain that a gospel minister of Christ might
very well spin a long sermon on the text that I have taken ;
but in order that I may not weary your readers, I will con-
clude my epistle by remarking the facts as they lately
appeared in print, via. :
In Loudon, at Mark-lane, on June 30, the market took
a tura, and wheat was Is. to 2s. per quarter lower; and
next market day, July 7 (Monday, I mean), another drop
of Is. to 2s. took place, thus bringing the price as near as
possible to the steady standard so long maintained previously
to June 9. Now, by fair play, bread ought to be lowered
from 12,1. to 10d. ; but on Monday, Aug. 1, in Mark-lase,
wheat again dropped in price lc to 2s. the quarter; and
11th, Is. to 2s. more; and 18th, Is. more; and 25th, Ia
more—thus giving a continuous drop from week to week
amounting to Ss. per quarter ; and yet the dealers in flour,
even by the Mark-lane Express, don't seem to know any
thing about it. Therefore there is wine excuse for us poor
ignorant country traders. Our bakers have only lately
become awake to these matters, and they have really gone
back from 12d. to 11d. Whereas, if John Bull pays any
heed to the actual rise and fall, 1 think it would be right in
attending justly to it, to advance from 10d. to I2d the
household loaf of 71b. odd, and as directly to decline from
12d. to 10d., and ultimately from 10d. to Bd.—still we
pay lid.
sir, I submit these things, candidly, to the consideration
of an enlightened and liberal public, whether these things
ought so to be. Fur my own part it matters little, and I
have through a long life, always thought that the labourer
' is worthy of his hire, and every fair trader entitled to a
liberal profit; but I have never thought that John Bull
should be saddled with the speculations of dealers in the
" staff of life, and wait for a drop until the last sack is gone,
bought in the face of rainy weather, or a famine, an error
of judgment.
dgsment.remarks I feel are of no avail, will amount to no-
thing. Yet I still am of opinion that it would be wise to
legislate upon them. But, who is to do it? We are bound
by the law of religion to do good to our neighbours, and
love our enemies. I think the French bakers will be the
men to reform some of these injustices: I have expected to
bear of hot rolls for breakfast in London and other places
before this baked in France.
Believe me, Sir, a sincere well-wisher to trade,
Leamington, Aug. 28. LEICESTEItENSIS.

REMARKABLE PIIENOMENON. SIIIPBTON - oN-
Srona.—lt is not a little remarkable that a second crop of
wheat, which is now in flower, has sprung up in those fields
that were either much injured, or entirely destroyed, by the
late terrible hailstorm. And even iu those fields which
were mown after the storm, a second crop has sprung up,
and appears likely to be ready for the sickle by the latter
end of September. In those cases where the first crop was
left standing it is considerable, and the farmers are much
puss.ed in deciding whether the first crop should be sacri-
ficed to secure the second, or the second to secure the first,
as both cannot be secured. It unfortunately happens, in
several cases, after the wheat was mown, either the ground
was ploughed, or cattle were turnvd upon it to eat the
springing blade. This was dune, of course, in ignorance of
the extraordinary- compensatiog power of nature, in the
tvegetable world, in the case of injury, or apparent destruc-
tiou.—Ozford Chronicle.