The Sun.
London, England, 1852-10-21 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE IN FRANCE.

Paris letters state that the greatest activity prevails in
every branch of trade. The orders received from the
provinces and from foreign countries are so numerous
that the manufacturers have great difficulty in executing
them. This activity extends also to the departments.
At Lyons and St. Etienne the demand has improved so
rapidly that the stocks of goods in the warehouses are
unprecedentedly low, and quite inadequate to meet the
requirements of numerous buyers now in the market
from America and other countries. Several new manu-
factories have recently been established in the Lyons
district, and also in Alsace. The prices of cotton, silk,
and other raw materials, have advanced, and will be fol-
lowed by a corresponding increase in the ♦alue of the
manufactured articles. This increased activity has
already been felt in the discount department cf the
Bank of France, where during the last fortnight the
amount of the bills discounted exceeds that of the last
month by 25,000,000 f. The retail trade of Paris has
also greatly improved. Country buyers have made large
purchases of winter goods, and the sales made by the
principal houses already very largely exceed those of the
same period last year.

?NARROW ESCAPE OF SLR JAMES
BROOKE.

This gallant knight (well known from his connection
with Borneo, Labuan, &c.) had a narrow escape at
Menton, near Worsley, on Saturday afternoon last.
Sir James left London on Saturday morning, on his way
to spend a short time with the Earl of Ellesmere ; and
on arriving at the London-road station he got into a cab,
to proceed to Worsley New Hall, the seat of the noble
earl. At Mouton there is a road through some of the
earl's private grounds (affording a short cut into the
main road near Worsley) at each end of which is erected
a cottage ora‘?, with stout stone gate-posts, stiles, &c.
Adjoining the gateway, at the end nearest Patricroft, is
Nlonton-bri3ge, steep and skew, over the Bridgewater
Canal, the fencing to which closely adjoins the parapet
of the bridge to the left. It appeared that the cab, in
which Sir James was, proceeded rapidly until it reached
the point where the driver quitted the Eccles Old Road
to cross towards Menton ; and shortly after this the
horse (a very powerful and spirited grey) increased his
pace so desperately, that the united efforts of the driver
and a servant lad of Sir James's wholly fulled to check
him. In the midst of his endeavours, the driver got
pitched from his seat, and was very nearly run over,
and the lad at the same time loosing his hold of the
reins, the horse went en at a fearful speed. He ap-
proached Mouton at little less than 18 or 20 miles an
hour, and most fortunately turned slightly to the right,
towards the gateway we have mentioned. The gate
had been removed for repairs, and a stout bar had been
put up in its place. and against this the horse dished
without checking his speed in the least. The off-
wheel struck and knocked down the stone gate-posts,
tied from the force of the blow the cab was whirled
roued to the right. The horse seemed to have cleared
himself fia,m all the harness at the same instant as he
struck the bar, and he galloped off along the private
road, leaving the cab with its shafts splintered, and
buried nearly a foot deep in the bank on the right side
of the road ; the splash-board was fractured, but the
body of the carriage was uninjured. Sir James Brooke,
although severely shaken when the cab was brought to
so sudden a stand, received no more than a few bruises;
and the servant lad wAii enabled to keep his seat, escap-
ing without the slightest injury. The driver came up
shortly after the accident, and the horse was caught at
the gateway, at the further end of the private road, and
brought back by a labouring man. The animal seemed
terribly excited, but not much injured by his contact
with the bar. After satisfying the lodgekeeper that the
smashing of the gate-post would be satisfactorily arranged
with his lordship, Sir James walked on to Worsley
New Hall. The escape altogether was a most providen-
tial one. Had the gate not been removed, or had the
horse taken the bridge, the cab would in all probability
have been completely smashed, and Sir James and his
servant must have been injured to some extent ; while,
had
ifee
being
broken
saved by
the horse dashed against the canal fence, and
bkwater,
'entite
it sufficiently to take the cab after him into the
would have been
those very
w
campchane
upe
after the accident although soon
after James'; l
the box of the cab, the servant, from being on
might have escaped if pitched into
the canal.—Manchester Guardian.

THE WINE TRADE
the docks is below thear:a
Sall stir has
;The stock of port wine in
enrage by about 2,000 pipes ;
and
tha brlaasntd
up to the mark.
swheirthryin
the port wine trade, and yfew da bosh
ha well
taken place in
for-
merly held from 221. to 281, in valuevvines which were
to 31. per pipe. The reduction of the have
advanced 21.
acted barometrically on the market, London stock has
month there have been but few arrivals, During the last
by the expected reduction of imports levied 'chiefly
tion to Europe—these are 17 ships lying in on exports-
waiting for cargoes, some of teem since the 31st Douro,
During this year four cargoes have bee, sent direct
MaY.
from Oporto to our Australian colonies (the _oze.direct
entered outwards for Porto and Sydney,‘j and the
hits
Randolph i,-; there loading for Port Philip). Thinsucte
merce )iolds no source of revenue to the Portuguese
treasury, or emolument to the wine company. Freights
here from Oporto are down to 25e. and to Australia 5/.
per ton.
CHAMPAGNE.—The average quantity of genuine
champagne annually produced is said to exceed fifty
millions cf bottles, a quantity, however, quite insufficient
to meet the public demand, as the great numbers of es-
tablishments for the production of spurious champagne
attest. I have heard it *tilted, on good authority, that
in one establishment alone upwards of 500,000 betties of
so-called champagne, made principally from the stalks
of the rhubarb, are annually sold. Some idea may et'
formed of the relative conaumption of real champagne
by different countries from the following return of the
sales in 1843 of the department of the Marne. The
total quantity amounted to 2,689,000 bottles, which were
distributed : England end British India, 467,000 ;
lio:; :
~
• and Poland, 502,000; Germany, including Prus-
sia and the Austrian dominions, 439,000 ; United
Stitsr of
. America and the West F dies, 400,000 ; Italy
600,000; I.3rl;!iti,k, 56 000. Holland, 8+ .0(r) , -.. • - , •

and .I).•licriatii, 30,000 ; Ziwitzaiand, 30,0U0 ; bouwi
America, 30,000 ; Spain and Portugal, 20,000 ; Turkey,
5,000 ; and irtwee, 620,000 bottles.