The Sun.
London, England, 1839-12-19 00:00:00

STATE OF TRADE.

(From the Manchester Guardian.)
MANCHESTER.—There were some symptoms of im-
provement in the yarn market yesterday,—the demand
for India and the Mediterranean continuing to be good ;
and a considerable extent of business was done at the
full prices of the preceding week. Although the prices
of yarn are still unrernunerating to the spinners, it is
gratifying to observe, as an indication of improvement,
that, whilst every former decline in the price of cotton
at Liverpool was attended by an immediate reduction
here, the recent progressive decline in the cotton mar-
ket has produced no effect on the prices of yarn,
which have continued perfectly steady, so that the con-
dition of the spinners has been sensibly improving ; and,
as stocks of yarn are generally light, a further and
more decided improvement is pretty generally antici-
pated. In the goods market there was not much de-
mand, and some description of manufactures, especially
domestics and 27-inch printing cloths, continue much
depressed. There was, however, no decline in prices ;
and the absence of inquiry may be in some measure
ascribed to the near approach of Christmas, when bu-
siness is usually very limited. On the whole, we may
say, that the feeling in the market was more cheerful
and encouraging than for several weeks past.
ROCHDALE FLANNEL MARKET, DEC. 16. —We
have had a dull market to-day ; the quantity of goods
sold has been very limited, and the prices extremely
low. The wool market has been heavy, and prices the
same as last Monday.
HUDDERSFIELD MARKET, DEC. 17.—We are not
able to give a more favourable report of this market,
if it deserve the name ; for a more discouraging state
of trade never existed. Goods certainly are sold ; and,
in the worst of times, this always was the case ; but
the object of trade is profit, which is nearly extinct.
Nothing is heard of but complaint and distress, failures,
and evil forebodings. Every day adds to the number
of the unemployed, and every post brings tidings of
failures and losses.

SUICIDE THROUGH AFFLICTION.—Tuesday
an inquest was held before Mr. Higgs, at the Coach and
Horses, York-street, Westminster, on the body of John
Parsons, aged 47, who terminated his existence by
cutting his throat from ear to car. It appeared from
the evidence that the deceased, who was formerly a
private in the Ist Regiment of Grenadier Guards,lodged
at No. 5, King's-head-buildings, Wesminster. He had
served under the Duke of Wellington in the battle of
Waterloo, and had been in many other engagements. In
July, 1838, in consequence of being disabled, he was dis-
charged from the regiment with a pension of Is. .1-d. a
day. With his pension and the assistance of his friends,
who were very respectable, he was in comfortable cir-
cumstances. He was a married man and his wife was in
the service of a clergyman. For the last few months
he had been labouring under :a consumptive disease,
and latterly his cough became so troublesome that for
ease he had been obliged to sit up in an arm-chair for
nights together. He had in consequence of his bodily
ailments become very desponding. Not making his
appearance on Sunday last, towards evening a female
lodging in the house knocked at his door, but receiving
no answer she thought something had happened to him,
and accordingly called in a policeman, when, the lock
being forced, deceased was discovered on the floor, his
head in a pool of blood, which had flowed from a fright-
ful wound in his throat. He was quite dead and cold.
A razor with which the suicidal act had been committed
was lying by his right hand. The jury, being of
opinion that the deceased committed the fatal deed
while labouring under an aberration of mind, brought on
by long and painful suffering, returned a verdict of
" Temporary Insanity."
FEMALE MISERS.—In the course of an in-
quest held within the last day or two before M. Wak-
ley, M.P., on the body of an elderly lady of property,
whose death it was proved had been accelerated by her
own wilful privations, and in which a verdict to that
effect was recorded, the Coroner said that the case re-
minded him of one which occurred a few years ago,
and the facts of which he believed had never gained
publicity. A. miserly old lady, residing in the parish
of St. Clement, dying suddenly, an inquest was held
upon the body, and in the course of evidence it appeared
that she used to live in the most miserable manner pos-
sible, her fare consisting principally of tainted meat,
mouldy bread, rotten eggs, &c. She occupied a house,
and had a female with her as companion and housekeeper.
Her appearance at the Bank, where she used to go re-
gularly to receive her dividend, exciting the curiosity
of one of the clerks, he watched her home, and seeing
that the house adjoining was to let, engaged it, and im-
mediately removed there. He soon managed to ingra.
tiate himself into the old lady's favour, and with his
brother paid her a visit every evening. After her death
the housekeeper gave information to the sexton of the
parish that she had died worth a vast deal of money
and that the gentleman who lived next door had, with
his brother, shook her to death, they being in the nightly
habit of shaking her by the shoulders till she was quite
out of breath. It further appeared that the house-
keeper bad been induced to state what she did in
consequence of her request to be presented with a new
gown-piece, and have a hundred a year settled upon her
being refused by th 3 gentlemen. By the exertions of
the sexton it was at length discovered that the old lady
had died worth 40,0001., which her neighbour had got
possession of, but all of which he was obliged to disgorge
to the Crown (she having no relative), and then leave
the country.
A N HONEST MAN.—Last week a man of the
name of Ransey, a farmer from the United States of
America, arrived at Perth, on his way to Aberdeen-
shire, to pay a visit to some of his friends there. His
reason for coming this way was, that about four years
ago he received ten sovereigns from a neighbouring
farmer, when on his death bed, to give to a brother of
his Of ever he came to Scotland), to whom he had sent
many a letter, but never received any answer ; but the
last word he had of him was, that he had removed from
Edinburgh and gone to live in Perth. After a long and
anxious search he found the man living in a garret in
High-street, in very embarrassed circumstances, and
gave him the ten sovereigns ; a welcome supply, no
doubt, to one in his condition.--Scotch Paper.
cc COLONEL THOMAS."—By the way, we have
heard a statement on pretty good authority, which may
serve to explain a slight appearance of insincerity in the
correspondence of Colonel Thomas with the Adjutant-
General. When asked respecting the actual expres-
sions used by Mr. Roby, the Gallant Colonel certainly
does not appear to have answered the question with the
prompt and soldierly frankness which one would expect
from his character and profession. We understand the
truth to be, that, at the time when Mr. Roby Was
speaking, the Gallant Colonel, whose turn came the
next, was very busy conning his own speech, and na-
turally paid much more attention to his own eloquence
than to Mr. Roby's ; so that, when questioned on the
subject by Sir John Macdonald, he seems to have been
equally unable to justify the words quoted to him---to say
that they were not used—or, if used, to say why he did
is
not protest against them ; all which sufficiently ex-
plained by the statement which we have given.—Man-
eliester Guardian.