Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-11-24 00:00:00

DISTRESS IN DERBY.

We regret to have to announce that nearly the whole of
thesiik manufacturers in Derby have closed their mills,
in consequence of their being unable to get orders to
execute. What few are open are working short time.
Several thousand hands, chiefly f !males, are consequently
thrown out, of employment, arid the time his come when
the purse-string; of the wealthy will have to be loosed to
alleviate their safferings. On S iturday m arainc,,, Mr.
Senders, chairman of the beard of guordiaas, met the
borough magistrate on the subject, when it was su,gg!'sled
to call a puble meeting. Eventually it was agreed to
peed soup kitchen; at once, aail also that the town sh otal d
be immediately canvassed for subscriptions in aid of the
suffering poor. Oa Satarday aftern Ma, the following
handbill was posted : •
NOTICE,—BOROCIGH of DfIRIIT. —ln consequenc of the
distress now prevailing among some of the -operatives of
this town, arising from the partial s ispension of employ-
ment la different branches of trade, it is in contmnplation
to open several soup kitchens, as early as possible, for the
reli4 of those who, thouirh wiling to work, are unab'e to
obtain it. In furtherance cf this object the committee
appointed to superinten I the distribation of soup in this
borough will take immediate st-eps for c fleeting suhscri p-
ticns to promote the zcdomplishment of this lomevel,nt
purpoF.e. JOHN• GILBERT CEOMPTJN, Mayor.

" TIM CHAIN GANG."— Jaqt before the Persia left New
Ytyk, a young. woman had given herself up to the police
and volunteered a statement—" That she was one of the
girls calling themselves 'the Chain Gang.' She stated
that the object of the gang was to throw vitriol on
obnoxious persons, occasionally stab a person by way of
amusement, and commit other outrages. She told the
officer that a short time since she killed a child of hers by
stuffing cotton in its nostrils. 'The Chain Gang' held
nightly meetings, and were commlted by various persons
who desired them to act for them."
THE SEASON AT CIIELTENIIA%f.—The Cheltenha Ex-
a niner says :--s, Mond y (Yesterday) was inaugurated the
series of winter balls and card assemblies for the coming
season. The former will oeour fortnightly, and the latter
weekly ; and notwithstanding the depressing influence of
the time, will, we tilts', be largely resorted to by our
resident aristocracy. Some judicious resolutions have
been agreed to by the committee, so as to obviate a
recurrence of last season's events, and will doubtless
receive general acquiescence. The name of Sir Maerice
Berkeley has been addei to the committee in the room of
the late Earl Fitzhardinge. The stewards for the lint
tall are C.tp%ain Ir. Berkeley, Oregon Comer,,, lisq ,
and G. Schonswar, jun., Esq., Lieutenant-Colonel ii‘r war.,

Mn. :gam ox A GR'CULTURE.-At a meeting of the
Coggeshall Agricultural Society on ThurA ty last iklr
Mechi in the course c f the evening rose and said an allu-
sion had been made to this year of office and his return
among them, They' had all g eat duties to perform, but
he assured them his heart came back with delight to the
pursuits of agriculture and the varied objects of interest
which it presented to the observer. He could not help
comparing his position 14 or 15 years Ig t with what it
was now. He then was considered little less than an
impostor —or promoter of some wild and visionary
schemes, but he knew that he had str;ng prejudices to
encounter, and that the truth would prevail. For instance,
when he put up a seam engine, it was thought the most
absurd act which he could perform ; and now he had the
gratification of seeing his neignbours possessed each of his
steam-engine, and he heard of one gentleman in Chelms-
ford having as many as 13, which he let out upon hire. The
farmer had now found it to his interest to cast away the
flail, which cost Is , as an instrument for thrashing his
corn, and to use a machine which cost £3OO, as notwith-
standing the enotmous disparity in expense, the steam
engine would produce a cheaper result. The other day
he went down to Wandsworth, with Mr. Ceird and Mr.
Morton, to see a scheme of railway athpte 1 for agricul-
tural purposes, patented by Mr. Halkett, by which he
promised to plough land at a cost of Is. 7d per acre, hoe it
at Is. 3d., and get in the harvest at Is. per acre, carrying
the manure, &0., of the farm at Id per ton per mile,
leaving a margin for the interest of the cost of railway,
which could be adapted to the farm at a cost of £24 per
acre By this scheme he might plough his land by night as
well as by day if he pleased, and if it were necwsary for the
production of a good c op thatthe land should be brought in
contact with the air they would see how important it was
to have a long fallow. Mr. Mechi further described the
nature of this implement, and expressed his opinion in
favour of its practicability. With reference to the appro-
priation of sewage manure to the soil he said that Pro-
fessor Way had been sent to Milan for the purpose of
examining the drainage, so as to adopt some scheme for
saving the sewage of Lcndon, which was of immense value,
but which now ran into the Thames and was entirely lost.
He believed the difficulty presented was merely a test of
scientific skill, and that it only required some mechanical
contrivance to accomplish the object. There were yet
many things which might be done by aviculturists to
great advantage, but he could not forget how much some
had done, and that there wee one gentleman present who
every year burnt at least 1,000 tons of earth into ashes,
which, laid upon heavy clay land, greatly increased its
fertili►y. Big experience of French agriculturists con-
vinced him that they were not behind themselves in point
of intelligence, but he was also convinced cf 1119 vast
superiority of Englishmen in point of capital and means,
the cry of France being, " Where is the money to come
from ?" Upon the question of thin sowing he was glad to
find a great change of public opinion in favour of the
adoption of such a plan ; one bushel per acre was enough
seed upon his land, and, though he would not lay that down
as a principle, he would recommend them to try it, and he
was certain of the result. He begged again to thank
them, and he hoped that his friends would, as far as
practicable to them, carry out any suggestion which he
might have thrown ent.—Erscr and West Suffolk Gazette.