The Sun.
London, England, 1853-04-26 00:00:00

£lOl 15 0

BIRTH EXTRAORDINARY.--Yesterday morning one of
the giraffes which his Highness Ibrahim Pasha pre-
sented to the Zoological Society gave birth to a beauti-
ful female. fawn at their gardens in the Regent's-park.
This interesting addition to the great collection there is
the seventh animal of this species which has been bred
by the society since the importation of their original herd
from Khordessau in 1836. In the adjoining house a
young Leucoryx Antelope was born about.lo days since,
and young Elands are expected at no very distant period.
GERMAN POLICE IN LONDON.—The Debats publishes
the following note :—" Berlin, April 21. Ileriisrsoeevrneari
an officer of the Crown, has left for London with t
shu
several
agents agents of our police to collect evidence of the
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in
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nbse
ot wf
the
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a return was
'NUMBERED ESTATES. Y
lodged for the sale of encumbered estates in
petitions
made public, from which it. appears that the number of
Ireland is 2,692, of which 2,668 were granted, and
406 dismissed. The total produce of the sales is
, 8,790,97.71.17 e. Bd.

THE

FRENCH

EMPIRE.

The municipal council of St. Alalo has authorised
the mayor, in case the Emperor should visit that
town in the course of his tour in Britany, to take
proper measures to receive him in a distinguished
manner.
We read in the Patrie :
" A new company is about being founded at Havre
for carrying on the whale fishey under the title of the
Whaling Company." Prospectuses have been pub-
lished, in which the name of Prince Napoleon is men-
tioned as honouring the undertaking with his patron-
age. This announcement, which is published by the Incle-
pendance of Brussels, among other journals, can only be
the result of an error. We are authorised to deilare
that Prince Napoleon is, and intends to be, completely
unconnected with this company, as well as all other in-
dustrial undertakings which have not solely great pa-
triotic interests as their object."

The Indefatigable corvette has just arrived at
Brest from the Isle de la Reunion, touching at the
Cape and Gore°. She left the French colony in a
very satisfactory state.
The Journal des Debats gave some time ago a
notice of a work by M. Dollitts, in favour of a re-
duction of the duties on foreign cotton-thread,
contending that whilst a reduction would have the
effect of enabling the public to purchase cotton
goods at a cheaper rate, it would not operate inju-
riously on the interests of the manufacturers.
Several of the cotton-spinners in different parts of
France, among whose names we notice those of
MM. Kcechlin, Cox, Barbet, and Odin, have put
forth an answer to M. Dollfus, denying the correct-
ness of the calculations on which he founds his ar-
guments and assertions that the reduction of the
duties demanded by him would not be ruinous to
them and to their workmen. The Constitutionnel
of yesterday devotes nearly the whole of its first
page to anotice of this answer, .to which it gives its
cordial adhesion. We extract as follows the con-
cluding portion of the article :
" How is it, says M. Dollfus, that, in the countries
which surround us, particularly in Switzerland and Ger-
many, spinning establishments prosper with duties of
from 6to 7 per cent. only ? The spinning trade, what-
ever M. Dollfus may say, is far from being very flourish-
ing. Facts prove this. If the Zollverein and Austria
produce 43 millions of kilogrammes of cotton thread,
they import 40 millions, that is to say, nearly the half of
what they consume. The Zollverein of itself receives
.26 millions of kilogrammes, or nearly one kilogramme
per inhabitant. It is besides known that very energetic
complaints have arisen from all parts in the Zollverein
against the insufficiency of the protection afforded to the
spinning trade, and there is also reason to believe that
they will soon be attended to. At the time of the esta-
blishment of the Zollverein, foreign cotton thread was
admitted on payment of a duty of 2 kreutzers a p•und ;
10 years ago the duty was raised to 3 kreutzers. All the
spinners now demand that it should be increased to 4
kreutzers at least, and M. Dollfus himself publishes
a letter from a manufacturer, in which he declares
that he cannot stand against foreign competition,
except on that condition. It remains to be seen
whether, if this second increase of duty be once
granted, it will not soon lead to a third. Light
duties were at, first imposed on foreign cotton thread at
the same time that woven goods were subjected to heavy
protective duties, because the native spinning trade was
not in a position to supply the wants of the weaving
trade which existed on a large scale. As, however, the
Zollverein increased in industrial power, it aspired to
appropriate to itself the spinning as well as the weaving
trade, and far from diminishing the duties on foreign
thread, it on the contrary increased them in order by de-
grees to get possession of the whole trade in cotton. It
is necessary for us to state what it is that supports the
existence of the spinning trade in Switzerland and Ger-
many. It is the absence of local charges, and more par-
ticularly the low price of labour. Incontestable docu-
ments prove that thu wages paid to the workmen em-
ployed in spinning mills in Switzerland and in Germany
are not more than half or three-fifths of what it is in
France. Is it wished that our spinners should bring
down wages to the same rate as in those countries, or
reduce their workmen, with the charges which weigh on
them, to the same condition as the Swiss and German
workmen ? The tariff proposed by M. Dollfus would,
in fact, place them in this alternative ; either to reduce
the wages by one half, or to close their establishments
and throw their workmen into the streets."

There is nothing else of interest in the original
columns of the Paris journals of yesterday.
In Government Securities there was not much
business transacted at the Bourse yesterday, and
the prices of stock varied but little from Satur-
day's quotations. The Three per Cents., for cash,
improved 30c., and the Four-and-a- Half per Cents.
had declined oc. at the conclusion of business. An'
advance of of. took place in Bank Shares. The
final quotations, for cash, were:—Three per Cents.,
80f. 35c.; Four-and-a-Half per Cents., ditto, 103 f.
40c. Bank Stock, 2735 f. Business in the Railway
Share Market was again more active than was the
case with Rentes, with a general firmness in prices,
shares in some of the principal lines having ad-
vanced from 2f. to 2f. 50c. each at the close of
business.