The Sun.
London, England, 1862-12-17 00:00:00

STA7E OF 7RADE.

MANCHESTER, Dec. 16.—1 n yarns there has been a good
deal of business for all markets, and in many cases id per
lb advance has been obtained on the rates of Friday last.
Shippers, as well as home trade buyers, have operated to a
very fair extent. Much more business would undoubtedly

have been done had spinners been less exacting in their de-
mands for an advance in prices. In cloths we have had a
very excited market, owing to the higher prices ruling for
cotton at Liverpool, and reports of a very large business
there. It was repotted by telegram in the morning that
the sales in the Liverpool market would reach 30,000 to
40,000 bales, and hence the excited feeling among both
buyers and sellers which prevailed here. The result was
that manufacturers put up their prices 6d to 18d per piece
for shirtings, and for other cloths in proportion, while some
withdrew their goods altogether and would not offer. Buyers
would not listen to the great advance, but where a moderate
course was taken there was a fair business done—say at 6d
higher than the rates of last week. The goods taken have
been mostly for the home trade, the Levant, and such as are
suitable to India, though it is hardly probable that the
latter are for shipment, inasmuch as we hear of exceed-

ingly large purchases in India of Manchester goods for re-
shipment to this country. Any further advance to-day
than 6d per piece seems to have stopped business. The
actual sales of cotton at Liverpool only reached 20,000 bales.
Messrs. John Sian and Co. report of the cloth-market :
" 0 wing to the large business doing in cotton, and the con-
tinuous rise in prices, we have had a very excited and irre-

gular market for goods to-day. Manufacturers are asking
an advance of 6d. to Is. per piece on 40-inch shirtings, arid
on other goods in proportion. At 'the former advance a
moderate amount has been done in shirtings, but anything
beyond that stops business. The demand cehtinues for
printing cloths, but, owing to the extreme prices generally
asked, there has been very little done in them."
LEEDS, 16th.—To-day's markets in the coloured and
white cloth halls will bear favourable comparison with
those of this day se'nnight, and, considering tee period of
the year, a fair amount of business was done. The demand
for heavy goods is nearly over for the season, though a little
more may probably be done if severe weather should ensue.
At present the weather is ()nen and comp.r.ttrply warm,
and a check is thereby put to the sale of winter clothing at
the hands of both wholesale and retail dealers. Some medium
qualities of ordinary cloths have been bought to-day, but
the chief demand has been for meltons in light colours, and
of fancy patterns. These kinds of fabrics, the most of which
have cotton warps, are in good request for, among other
articles of dress, men's shirts, and large quantities of them
are being sent out to our Australian colonies. There is a
fair demand for the like kind of goods for France. As both
wool and cotton keep up in price, the tendency of the quo-
tations for meltons is upward. The flax trade keeps active,
and prices are firm.
NEWPORT (MONMOUTHSHIRE), 15th.—The iron works
are kept going pretty steadily, although trade is not so
active as was the case a few weeks ago. It is expected that
the Varteg blast furnaces will shortly be lighted by Messrs.
Partridge and Jones. The iron works generally are fairly
supplied with orders, taking into consideration that the
quarter is about to close. There is no change to report in
prices. Merchant bars are firm at current rates, and rails
are quoted £5 12s. 6d. The colleries are well employed,
and an advance is looked for in prices. The following are
the average quotations :—Steam coal, 7s. 6d. to Bs. f. o. b. ;
house, Bs. to 9s.
ROCHDALE, Dec. 15.—The flannel market has been of a
satisfactory character to-day. There was a good attendance
of buyers, and they operated freely both in ordinary and
fancy goods. Stocks are not large and prices are firm.
There continues to be a good sale for Yorkshire linseys and
other like fabrics, a good bulk being purchased for the dis-
tressed operatives, and taken to the sewing schools to be
made up. There was rather more done in wools than last
week, and late prices were more freely given.

M. Dupre proposed the health of the King, to which his
Majesty responded by proposing the health of the Emperor
Napoleon and Queen Victoria ; the third toast was the
Queen's health, proposed by the English general. At 6
o'clock we rose from table, and the day was concluded by a
ball, which was opened by the King and a lady of the court,
and M. Dupre with the Queen. As to the vasas, they chose
their partners among the ladies of the court, who are fami-
liar with the French dances. Later in the evening there
was another dance, followed by a display of fireworks, to
which the vasas were invited.

PROFESSOR BLACKIE ON DEMOCRACY

Professor Blackie lately delivered a lecture under the
auspices of the Dunfermline Literary Society in the Music
Hall there. Mr. James Morris occupied the chair, and

briefly introduced the lecturer.

Professor BLACKIE began by saying that while the politi-
cal student in examining the constitution of this country

eighty or an hundred years ago, must have arrived at the
conclusion that it was governed more by monarchy and
aristocracy than by democracy, he would be compelled to
admit that since the passing of the Reform Bill, our con-

stitution had been and now was, democracy, strongly modi-
fied by aristocracy, and slightly affected by monarchy.
Our monarchy was now a mere sham, but a very useful
sham, nevertheless, as many shams were. Further, he
would see that during the last thirty years there had been
no reforms in an aristocratic direction, but all in a
democratic direction, showing that the tendency of our
politics was democratic. It therefore became them, as prac-
tical and thinking men, to examine what democracy really

was. He meant to examine it as a practical man, and as a
thinking man, as ho hoped they would admit him to be, and
not as a party man, or as a one-idea man as Cobden and
Bright were ; and he should prove, first by deduction, that

. _
no democracy had ever stood for 100 years without going
mad, or, rather, it did not need to go mad, for it was mad
at starting. (Laughter.) His definition of democracy, and

which he challenged any democrat to dissent from, was--

"Democracy is that form of government in which the
supreme directing and controlling authority lies with the
whole body of the social organism ; or, in other words►
where the community, acting by its accumulative integers
or units, and not by any transmitted representative inde-
pendent personalty, is its own master." On analysing this,

he found it contained three ideas—freedom, equality, and-
self-govdrnment. The idea of freedom he took to be
this, that every man shall have as much scope as pos-
sible to develop himself, and especially this is the idea
that no law—in the sense of restriction—shall be made
by one class of men, to give enlargement to their
own sphere of action, by the compulsory circum-
scription of the liberties of another class. Equality
he took to be not that all men were essentially equal, but

that all men were equal for the purpose of a social organism
—as bank directors, for instance, were equal. The idea
contained in the notion of self-government was, that all the,
healthy, independent, self-supporting units of a society
shall at all time 3 exercise such a control or pressure over
the persons who do the governing work, that these persons
shall not be looked upon as independent, but merely as the
tools, or trustees, to use a more acceptable term, of the
majority of the great class of people who appoint them. ll°
should proceed to inquire how far these squared with na.
ture. They found that nature was full of apparent con-
tradictions—as the Bible was full of contradictions, and
moral science was full of contradictory maxims. What
they had done to learn was, how to apply these maxims so,
as to reconcile the contradictions, and arrive at the whel6
truth. This was what he proposed to do in his reasoning*
First, then, the idea of pure freedom was opposed by the
idea of limitation of freedom, or a governing power. Ora
badies, madmen, and tigers had the idea of absolute free-
dom—that was a low idea in itself. Civilised and reason'
ing men sought limitation of freedom by authoritl.;
Steam, when free, went puff, puff, and did nothing, or dal
only evil; but when cribbed, cabined, and confined," and
put under authority; it was the greatest slave man had
doing his work while his slave--smashing him iat°
eternity in a moment when passing beyond his contr°l'
Equality was opposed by the law of superiority
" Young men," Aristotle said, " are not capable of morals'
How, then, could they be capable of politics, which wall
more difficult than morals? How could they govern Die
tions when they could not govern themselves ? All 001
were not equal naturally. The weak must be guided lof
the powerful, the foolish by the wise, the young by tart
experienced. Aristocracy—not in its present accel),t6l:
tion, but correctly speaking— ,
meant government by u,
best. There was a natural aristocracy ; and in all goal'
government means must be provided to get the best roe°
to the top. The wise men must be at the helm. Whti
thought of equality on board a ship in a storm. The wisea_
must rule, Professor Blackie here referred to the ScottisDr '
Church, and observed it was the fault of that Church that
it was too democratic, as it was the fault of the Exigliel(
Church that it was too aristocratic. All were alike; al°
did their work nobly and well; but none were higher thsl
another, and the result was, that for sound learning An
deep thought the works of German and English thecae
glans were read in preference to the productions of Scotch
thinkers. Ho admired the Presbyterian form of goversi;
mont. He believed it to be the best that existed ; but if
she wished to be perfect, she must be a little more aristo"
cratic in her government. With regard to the idea of self-
government, he argued that as all men are not equal there'
could not be self-government. Thus, the idea of freedosl
was contradicted in nature by limitation. Equality
met by superiority; and self-government was met by
tar
idea of governing by the wisest. In Great Britain We else'
joyed more genuine freedom—more perfect equality ail,
fair play, and more of the blessings of self-governraea:
than in any other country, just because these ideas
modified and tempered in our constitution by the worlot
of the contradictory principles in nature he had naree,„,
This was what made Britain the wonder of all other orie
tions, and this was the foundation of her strengtk.
v. it
now proceeded to teat democracy by history.
had failed in Athens ; it had failed in Rome ; and )"°,,, see
waiting—or perhaps he did not need to wait longer Q,
0,
whether it would fail in America. He did not speak
rantly ; he had the authority of all philosoPliers' 0
Solon, who founded a mixed government, doled,
Aristotle and Polybius, and Cicero ; and, in_aiteit
every ancient writer had given his verdict
democracy, and in favour of a mixed 1°1;93 het
government. Athens reached the height of
glory when her Government was a democracy, stroeroa
or
fluenced by an aristocracy, but ere 30 years after 00. So
adopted a puce democracy, her power was no 000
with Rome with a mixed government; for Rome, t'uwisei
nominally a republic, was not so in reality. BY der
government of aristocracy and democracy she cold- bot
and Romanised, and civilised the whole known wer_.' ber
when democracy obfainea the upper hand, the Roteewotea
,
came the slaves they were almost to this day. Ile Pseit'
them to the history of the Argentine Republics—to_ de
zerland, which stood not on its own legs, but like
litltoia
wedged in a crowd by the pressure of those Burr° me
him—to Holland—to the Spanish Republics of Sout.e;
rice, and see what they could make of them ;;auci_ wer3
United States of North America, and see what the do'
making of themselves, (Laughter.) The tendency
mocracy was to make the people boastful, full of
conceit, envious and jealous of superior worth. Demoof:
was indeed the very devil, as Johnson had said tea
Whig was. Professor Blackie then concluded lle7ooo
he hoped he would not be mistaken for a Tory. ilrgilta;
man of the people, and an advocate of the peoPO, 07,
but different people had different notions as 0 w.u.:80000
best, and he did not think democracy was best. ger
his seat amid loud applause.
ceeAdinvgs.
vote of thanks to the lecturer concluded the 1/

SPORYING INTELLIGENCE.

MANCHESTER STEEPLECHASE, FLA'

HURDLE RACES.
A Handicap Hurdle Race.
THURSDAY, JAN. 1. 1863: „Ages. 11)
AP 9 vo
Age st lb' tt 9 10
Sinking Fund all 9 The Ikliller ........ 5 10
Nosegay a 11 0 Dorninie Sampson• • a g,
Everlasting . . 6lO 7 peeping Tom ••"4 ~ I
Oliver Twist-- . a 10 6 Jack in the Box • • 6 v 4
.• 9 4
Mousetrap Kingston ...... _
Weasel
Pot-pourri About two ~....
~
ot
.A
410 0 The Poney. ...... " a 4
David Ann
Joe Maley 6 10 0 Physician ..... ,_
Mary Stuart 69 12 Shan Van Vocht• •4 v
~
. • ' 40
Alchymist
Rhoabus
Sherwood ... 59 12 Miss Taft ..... •" 4 °
Diadem Q 9 10 Cygnet .........
Clontarf 4 9 10
The Trial Handicap.
Age at lb
Lady Peel a 9 7
Mousetrap 5 9 4
Nosegay .. a 9 0
Weasel
David Ann
Pupil
Sherwood
Rossmore
Floxmore
Diadem
Peeping Tom
Clontarf 4 8 0
Everlasting
Physician
The City Steeple Chase. A
Age st lb
Sinking Fund
Maiitana
Light of other Days a 11 0
Tumbler
Oliver Twist a 10 10
Nosegay
Corkscrew
Sepoy
Mytton .
The Flat ...
Victresq
Joe Miley 6 10 0
Lady Betsy

t
About one rag lo t)0
g I
e 0
A
I 0
Donne Canna •• •• a pi 0
RockscorPioa •". 4 If 10
Gaiety ...... •• •
'
Mary Stuart.. •• • 4
Jack in the 130 • 4 I°.
. Puss ........ • • lf D
Shan Van ....... 4 4
Jenny Jones filly.. 4 '
Miss Taft ...... • • 6
Cygnet ........ • ' 3 6,. 6
Golden Drop •••'' • 3
Flap-doodle ••• • • • 3 F, 0
Loretta . ........ • 3 e
Rose de Clare •• • • Itiglf,
lan d t
out thrae miles a n.a 0 0
Av 1 0
Miss Maria ........ 19., 0
"Diadem ......... a 1.).
19
Fanny .......... • a
Leopold ..........
a 9
Sunflower ........ 6 9 9 9
Kington ........ • 6 9
9
A.lchymist ...... •• a 1
T
Dick urnin ..... • 6 0
9
Long Was ...... • • a
Homburg• .•• •• • 6 9, 4
I he Foney ...... • • 4
Lincoln ..........
chastisetnent .....

According to the last police returns, the
uPI( —lt/10°1101
number of criminals at large amounted to 11/
123,000, having for their haunts 24,000 house