The Sun.
London, England, 1862-08-26 00:00:00

THE HOP 7RADE.

A public meeting of the hop growers of Kent and
Sussex was held yesterday afternoon at the Bridge-
house Hotel, for the pu pose of conferring with
the trade in the borough f Southwark respecting
the present method of w ighing hops,
with a view
to coming to some arrang ment as to the principle
to be adopted in future, and also for the purpose of
considering the question of the validity of the pre-
sent system of contract notes which pass between
_the factors and the merchants. Mr. J. H. Hod-
sell occupied the chair.

Mr. G. TURNER moved a resolution declaring
that it was the opinion of the meeting that the pre-
sent method of weighing hops, as practised in the
Borough, is most unsatisfactory, and that it was
advisable that a customary allowance should be
agreed uprn and established as a fair allowance to
be made by the seller to the buyer upon the sale of
hops for the cloth in which they are packed ; that
hops in fixture should be weighed close, and a de-
duction of 31bs. made upon each pocket.
Mr. BURY, in seconding the motion, said he con-
sidered the proposition a most fair one, and hoped
it would be cordially adopted.
The CHAIRMAN, in reply to a question, observed
that the resolution was not intended to apply to
hops weighed after Christmas.
After some discussion, it was agreed, on the
suggestion of Mr. WOOLSTON, that on all future
occasions the new clear hops ought to be weighed
close, and words to that effect were added to the
resolution.

Mr. HEWETT was of opinion that the proposition
would not meet the assent of the trade, though he
did not state that on any specific authority. If the
system of tare was to be meddled with at all it
should be placed on the full principle of free trade,
just as in the case of foreign hops.
Mr. PUNNETT denied that the case of foreign
hops afforded any analogy in the case. There
could be no doubt that the present system inflicted
a very great grievance upon the trade.
The resolution was then put and agreed to, there
being only five dissentients.

On the motion of Mr. Elvy, seconded by Mr. T.
Hayes, it was resolved that the planters assembled
at the meeting, believing that the resolution just
passed contains a fair and equitable promise, will,
as far as in them lies, carry the same into effect, and
endeavour to induce all the other planters to do the
same.

Mr. PUNNETT then addressed the meeting on the
subject of the validity of the contracts between the
merchants and growers, and moved a resolution
to the effect that it was desirable that in all future
cases the contract note should be received by both
parties, the seller being enabled to demand of the
buyer the names on the contract note, and the terms
on which the hops were sold, so that in case of any
dispute arising it might be settled by an appeal to
the courts of law.

Mr. WOOSTON thought that such a resolution
was wholly unnecessary—that the trade, like the
great produce market trade in Mincing-lane, was
conducted on honourable principles ; and they bad
in Southwark a body of men whose word was their
bond. If the resolution was good at all it
could be good only against the miserable trick-
sters, who could be better dealt with in other ways.
Mr. PUNNETT replied that in Mincing-lane
transactions the broker's book could be produced
in evidence, which was not the case in respect to
the contract notes of hop factors.

After some discussion the resolution was adopted,
and a committee of planters was appointed to con-
er with the hop merchants in order to early out
he proposed alterations.

INTERNATIONAL EgiIIBITION.

The number of visitors t the Exhibition yester-

day was:—

3,948

Season tickets ..........
Ditto shilling . .
Payment ....
.........

787
54,171

_.---~ -

Total

58,906

DESTRUCTION OF THE NEW WORKS AT PLY-
ItorTn.—PLYMOUTII, Monday..--The works erected here,
inside the breakwater, fc,r constructing the new fort were
entirely carried away to-cloy. They consisted of a circle of
seventy feet piles with five feet iron shoes sunk in the rock
round the foundation, to form the framework for the travel-
ling cranes by which the blocks of concrete were to be
lowered into their places. The works had occupied six
months in erection, and were approaching completion.
The accident occurred at low water, when about 40 feet of
the piles were exposed and a strong easterly Wind was pre-
vailing. The eastern guys and piles first gave way fol-
lowed by the whole of the rest, all breaking off at the
shoes. Eight men were on the piles, but escaped with a
ducking.

EXECUTION GE THE WARWICKSHIRE MURDERER,.
—The condemned criminal George Gardner, a rloughnian,
affered the last penalty of the law, at 10 o'clock yesterday
morning, before the coun'y gaol at Warwick, The execu-
tion was performed by f3mith, of Dudley.