The Sun.
London, England, 1839-01-19 00:00:00

own :--.

The effect of the opening of the trade has been such as to
justify all the anticipations which the advocates of the mea-
sure had formed of its success. We do not exaggerate ; wo
only state the plain matter of fact, when we affirm that the
silk manufacture has made a more rapid progress during the
last five years, or since the abolition of the prohibitive system,
in 1826, than it did during the preceding century. So unpre-
cedented has been its advance, that the once- existing dispa-
rity in quality between goods of French and English make
has, with some very unimportant exceptions, not merely dis-
appeared, but actually ranged itself on the side of the British
artisan.

In point of substantial excellence the Wain silk goods ma-
nufactured in England are superior to those of France, and
the difference in favour of the latter in point of finish is every
day becoming less perceptible, while in all mixed manufac-
tures of silk and wool, silk and cotton, silk and linen, &c.,
our ascendancy is admitted• by the French themselves. On
the other hand, the ribands, figured gauzes, and light fancy
goods manufactured in France, are superior to these of this
country. Even in this department, we have made a very great
progress, and fancy goods are now produced at Spitalfieles,
Coventry, and other places, contrasting most advantageously
in point of taste and beauty with those produced previously to
the introduction of the new system.
We are aware that this manufacture which has
made this astonishing progress, has still a protecting
duty of 30 per cent.; but we believe that wanting it
—for that does not enable our manufactures to com-
pete with foreigners in their own market—the pro-
gress of the manufacture would have been still more
extraordinary. Obviously the effect of allowing
the competition of foreigners in an article in
which they have many advantages, was to im-
prove the ingenuity and add to the resources of
our own manufacturers. Why should not this be
the case with the produce of the agriculturists
in which the foreigner has no advantages ? The pro-
tected farmers of England, are in fact, at this time some
of the least economical corn growers, and worst agri-
culturists of the day, and need to be brightened up by
competition. But if the silk trade has a protecting
duty as it is called, of thirty per cent., it must be re-
membered, that the manufacturers have at the same
time continually had to struggle against the Corn-laws,
which, probably, enhance the price of their productions
50 or sometimes 100 per cent. Notwithstanding this
prodigious disadvantage, the silk manufacture released
from the incubus of prohibition, and stimulated by
generous rivalry, has actually grown into an exporting
trade to a considerable amount :
The increase (says - Mr. M'Culloch) in the export o
wrought silks affords, if possible, a still more decisive proof o
the extraordinary improvement and extension of the manufac-
ture. Instead of having any thing to fear from the competi-
tion of the French at home, we are actually underselling them
in the heavier and more important species of goods in every-
foreign market equally accessible to both parties. The ex-
ports of silks from France have been declining, while those of
England have been increasing beyond all precedent. The
official value of our exports of silk goods in 1823, amounted to
140,3201, whereas in 1830 it amounted to 437,8801., being an
advance of more than three hundred per cent. I Not only
therefore are the statements as to the ruin of the silk menu.
facture proved to be wholly without the shadow of a fountain,
but the expectation of those who contended that the repeal of
the restrictive system would be the commencement of a new
era of invention and improvement, have been realized to the
atmost extent.

We have before us the returns to 1836, and though
there can be no doubt that the increase would have
been still greater were there no Corn-laws, it has
continued to grow. The export of manufactured
silk was as follows in the years subsequent to Mr.
M'CuLLocH's statement :-1832, 529,6911.; 1833,
737,404/. ; 1834, 637,198/. ; 1835, 973,786/. ; and
1836, 917,8221. The returns in our posses-
sion do not come down to a later period, but
it would appear as if the trade had in 1835
reached its acme. Mr. M'CuLLocH does not, we
believe, say anything about the wages of the silk ma-
nufacturers ; but it is a matter of public notoriety that
the people of Spitalfields, Macclesfield, and Co-
ventry, have been far less distressed, and far
more generally and fully employed since 1826,
than they were prior to that period. If such have
been the undoubted results of allowing foreign compe-
tition in silk—and had trade been wholly free they
would have been still more delightful—what reason is
there for supposing that in the bulky article of corn the
advantages to the growers, the increased demand for their
production and its actual increase, would not follow the
same rule as silk ? The production of silk gowns

has no tendency to multiply wearers of silk and in-
crease the demand for gowns, but the production of
food has a tendency to multiply mouths and increase
the demand for food, causing for the farmer that con-

timid tendency of demand to keep ahead of supply,
which is the blissful state for all productive labourers.
We hope our agricultural readers will be assured by
the example of the silk trade, that the best hopes for
the permanent prosperity of agriculture are to be found
in making the corn trade perfectly free, which will
lower the price of the farmers' produce, promote con-
sumption, increase population, and continually extend
the demand for food.

We are now so pressed on by reports of Corn-law
meetings and notices, that we cannot insert them ail,
and must briefly dispose of them here. The Edin-
burgh Chamber of Commerce agreed on Thursday
to petition Parliament for the repeal of all the
taxes on food, and an amendment to recom-
mend a fixed duty on corn was rejected by 23 to 4.
We agree with the nines that a corn tax is a viola-
tion of principle, and ought not, on any pretext, or
to the smallest extent, to be tolerated. On account of
the tendency of population to increase rapidly, no im-
pediment laid in the way of the acquisition of food by
any Government, under any pretence,
At Greenwich there is to be a meeting on next
Thursday, for the purpose of petitioning the Legisla-
ture to repeal the Corn-laws. can be borne.
On Monday the Town
Council of Derby is to meet, for the same object. On
Wednesday a public meeting was held at Stroud, wli:ch
was most numerously attended, which we shall notice
further on Monday. In fact Corn-law meetings are
now everywhere taking place, and we defy the land-