The Sun.
London, England, 1853-08-03 00:00:00

MARKET NEWS-(THIS DAY.)

CORN EXCHANGE.
The show of English wheat in to-day's market was very
limited; yet, owing to the large influx of wheat and flour
from abroad, the demand for all kinds was in a sluggish
state, at barely Monday's prices.
Upwards of 17,000 quarters of wheat having arrived
from abroad, the supply of that grain was on the increase.
Most descriptions met a dull inquiry, but we have no
actual change to notice in value. Floating cargoes were
steady.
Barley moved off slowly, on former terms. The malt
trade was steady, at late rates.
Oats moved off freely, on former terms.
Beans, peas, and flour were less active, at last week's
prices.

ARRIVALS THIS WREN.
Wheat. Barley. I Malt. Oats. Flour.
880 1,850 1,410 1,340
360 3,490
17,030 1,520 13,750 1,110 ski
4,130 brl

English ..
Irish .• • •
Foreign ..

WHITECHAPEL.

The general demand ruled heavy at this market to-day,
at our quotations. Beef, 2s 14d to 3s 10d ; mutton,
3s 4d to 4s 10d ; lamb, 5s Od to 6s Od ; veal, 3s 6d to
4s 6d ; pork, 3s Od to 4s 2d per Sibs by the carcase.

130 ROUGH HOP.
The sale for all kinds of hops is very inactive, at last
week's prices. Duty, 140,0001.

LLOYD'S SHIPPING.-(TRIS DAY.)

LONDON, Aug. 3.—Wind this day at Noon,• E. ; light
airs and fine, though cloudy at times.
COWES, ug. 2.—Wind, W. Arrived Laverinto, Ha-
vannah. .
DEAL, Aug. 2.—Wind, S.S.E. The Royale Supreme,
of St. Valery, was abandoned in the North Sea, and soon
afterwards sunk ; crew saved by the brig Alert, Robinson,
from Middlesborough, for Kingsdown, and landed hero.
Aug. 3 (9.29 a.m.) Wind, S.E. ; fine and clear.
Margaret
Passed—Royalist, from London, for St. John's.
OFF BONCHURCH (Isle of Wight), Aug. 2.—Nelson,
Philadelphia.
PLYMOUTH, Aug. 2.—Wind,N.N.W. Arrived—Pizarro,
Mauritius. FALMOUTH,
jAd( so°llN:va:Emlinwm: jpv(
a'sourjhensoitrii •tLi.
Wolf,ila 'Ao rrrStei London,
LIVERPOOL, Aug. 3 (10.30 a.m.)—Wind, W.N.W., mo.
moderate and one.
CHoaaysatnonfaAh .f r i c
aS a; i le d
Rose, MQe lupeobme
ce n; e
Q,
ure
eonr
Victoria h i li ;d
o, Hope,
:netsdane,—Recovery, Quebec ; Breadalbane,
derate, and fine. Arrived—Pacific (s), Now York ; Triton,
from Barba-
Surinam ; Hermann Theodore, New York; Swallow,
Newfoundland ; Olivia, St. John's, N. 8.; Eliza Rae,
; Bellon
Dantzic • James Watt, Bombay ; Caroline, Bayonne ,-
dAern;twCerrpesc.entoffoßo.eortort.!
Oecr,l"folirs.Cork ; Exile,
Gloucester, for Quebec • River's Pride, do,, for do. ; }Lao!
QUEENSTOWN, Aug. I.—Wind, W. ;
rAi zr
Arrived—Canada,
inv,
edLondon,_ c a n a df
so r New Orleans.
does. Sailed—Colchester, for Gloucester.
YARMOUTH, N.S., July 7.—The wreck of
about 90 or 100 tons, is on shore on Bic,
Mud avessel of
dismasted and stripped. The name has been Island,
with tar, but the word " Mary" is distinguishable. disfigured
hull is very little injured. The

COMET.—Captain J. H. Baillie, of the Queen of Eng-
land, arrived from. Port Philip, reports that on the even-
ing of Friday, 29th April last, in lat. 57 S., long. 101
W., saw a comet in a straight line from Procyon,
through Orion's belt, and about 35 degrees from the
latter. The nucleus equal to a star of second magnitude,
and tail about 5 degrees long, pointing to E.N.E. Next
evening, it had moved in a N.N.E. direction, and was
then, about 8 S. of Rigel, a star of (say) fourth magni-
tude showing through the tail. May 1, evidently tra-
velling to N.E. being now 6 E.S.E. of Rigel, but less
clearly defined. May 2, 10 E.N.E. of Rigel, nucleus
now equal in lustre to a star of fourth magnitude. May
3, ship in lat. 57 S., long. 60 W. It was one-third of
distance from Sirius, in a direct line to Rigel. May
.4:
indiat sianinnt, e lainned,
notab seen afterwards.oisiet4 deeesfrom Sirius, and very In

~ ~~_~

IMPERIAL PARLIAMENT.

HOUSE OF LORDS—(YESTERDAY.)
STAMP DUTIES (No. 2.) BILL.
This bill was read a third time and passed.
The Resident Magistrates, Ireland ; Turnpike Trusts
Arrangements ; Sheep Contagious Diseases Prevention
Bills, were severally read a third time and passed.
The Sheriffs Court (Scotland) Bill was reported, with
amendments, as were also the Elections Bill, and the
Burgh Harbours Bill.

CHICORY.
Lord TORRINGTON, in rising to present a petition
from the merchants and planters of Ceylon, complaining
of the treasury minute which permitted the mixture of
chicory with coffee, said that the petitioners complained
of the great injury done to their trade by the rescind-
ing of the minute of the late Government, known as the
Derby minute, and prayed that if the present minute
were not rescinded, the duty on chicory and coffee
might be equalised, and thus a fair c )mpetition be
established in open market. The difference between the
minutes of the late and present Government was this.
The Derby minute permitted the sale of chicory by
grocers, but provided that it should be made up in
separate parcels and labelled. The minute of the pre-
sent Government permitted its being kept loose, and
and permitted its mixture with coffee provided it
was called a mixture. When the present Government
came into power, it was reported that this alteration
was about to be made, and he (Lord Torrington) did all
in his power to prevent the alteration. The Chancellor
of the Exchequer listened to his representations with
much courtesy, but evidently had made his mind up on
ex-parte statements. He thought, then, that he was
not overstepping his duty in appealing to the noble earl
at the head of the Government to give their lordships
some information as to what was the state of the law
with regard to chicory. People all over England were
unable to get pure coffee, and he wished to learn from
the Government whether it was their intention to carry
out their own minute vigorously and effectually, and
also whether, at some future day, perhaps in the next
session of Parliament, they would grant a committee of
inquiry.
The Earl of ABERDEEN—I should be happy to see
an end of the great chicory question—(laughter)--which
has occupied the attention of Parliament for so long,
and upon which there has been a great difference of opi-
nion. I must say that the noble lord in the statement
which he has made has been guilty of very great inac-
curacy in many respects. My lords, in the first place,
the alteration made by the Treasury minute to which he
has referred was rendered necessary by the inconvenience,
the hardship, and the difficulties to which the common'
people of this country were exposed by the sale of coffee
as directed by the minute of the late Government. The
noble lord says—this is the first time that I have heard
such an assertion—that chicory is an injurious substance.
Why, my lords, half the coffee in Europe is chicory
(laughter)—especially in the South of France. .I will
venture to say that in the South of France the quantity
of chicory that is used is twice as great as the quantity
of coffee. At all events, it is certainly anything but a
deleterious substitute ; and it is preferred, rightly pre-
ferred, by the mass of coffee-drinkers. Your lordships
probably prefer pure coffee—(laughter)—but the great
mass of consumers prefer the mixture. Now, how can
you enable dealers to mix the two substances ? Not
as was attempted by the minute of the late Go-
vernment, which made separate packets necessary.
Coffee when ground remained as a sort ofpoWder, while
chicory became in the packet a sort of solid cake ; and
as it was impossible for parties to mix them themselves,
it became necessary that they should be ground in order
that the mixture might exist. Another reason was the
expense. If a poor man came for an ounce of coffee
and an ounce of chicory, the making a packet of each
added greatly to the expense, trouble, and difficulty of
furnishing him with what he required ; and therefore the
great mass of the common people infinitely preferred
having the mixture made for them. The noble lord says
that the matter has been neglected. The regulation un-
der which chicory is permitted to be sold is, that a label
shall be distinctly placed on the packet stating that it is
a mixture of coffee and chicory. He pretends to doubt
that the penalty is incurred if coffee is sold without
that label. No such doubt can possibly exist. If the
label be not distinctly affixed the seller is undoubtedly
liable to the penalty. But the noble lord has gone fur-
ther ; he has, I must say, in the most unwarrantable
manner, insinuated that officers of the highest respecta-
bility have neglected their duty and been guilty of a sort
of complicity in fraud. (Hear, hear.) To show how
truly the existing minute has been carried out, I will
read to your lordships a return of the prosecutions under
that very provision which the noble lord contends is of
so little efficacy. " There are upwards of 130,000 per-
sons licensed to deal in coffee in this country, and each
of them has been served with a copy of the enclosed
general orders. The officers of the board have made 2,527
special visits for examination, buying samples, which have
been analysed at the laboratory, and on which 470 prose-
cutions have been instituted, not a single prosecution
without a conviction." Now I think your lordships will
admit that that at least shows that there has been activity
and honesty in carrying out the provisions of this Trea-
sury minute. (Hear.) I can only say that the accu-
sation or insinuation against the proper conduct of these
officers is utterly calumnious, and has no sort of foun-
dation. The noble lord mentioned a particular dealer
whose name I forget.
Viscount TORRINGTON—John Cassell.
The Earl of ABERDEEN--Exactly—whom the
noble lord supposed to have been specially favoured by
the authorities, and to have had a license from them to
sell coffee without the prescribed label. Now, I learn
from the best authority, namely the head of the depart-
ment, that the coffee of that man has been repeatedly
analysed and has been found to be pure. Therefore he
sold that which he professed ;to sell. The noble lord
made a statement as to the amount to which consump-
tion has been diminished. Now I have here a return
of the quantity of coffee taken out for home consump-
tion in the three months ending the sth of July, 1853,
as compared with the same preceding year. The quan-
tity in 1852 was 8,000,0001b5. ; the quantity in 1853
was 8,977,0001b5.- an increase of nearly 1,000,0001b5.
Viscount TORRINGTON said the returns to which
he had referred extended up to the sth of June ; he had
none later.
The Earl of ABERDEEN—But I have ; and an in-
crease of 1,000,0001b5. shows that under the present
minute there has been no diminution. Now, the fact
is, that chicory is a substance which, up to last year--
up to the passing of the minute of the late Government
—was, I believe, used without any restriction whatever.
From the year 1840, up to the year before last, it was
left to dealers and the public to please themselves with
regard to the use of this mixture. There seems to
have been no restriction, and chicory was not consi-
dered in the nature of adulteration. The matter which
has been mixed with coffee is not, as the noble lord
has stated, a spurious substance, but one which, if I
were obliged to characterise it, I should say was rather
salutary than otherwise—(laughter) ; —and for this
reason it was left open for the public and the dealers to
do as they pleased. The restriction made last year was
found practically impossible, or at least practically in-
convenient, to execute, in consequence of its increasing
the trouble and expense, and also preventing the possi-
bility of the mixture taking place, from the different
description of the substance when ground and packed in
the manner that was necessary. The Chancellor of the
Exchequer inquired most deliberately and extensively
before he issued the present minute, and was governed
solely by a desire to meet the public demand, and to
suit the public convenience, particularly of the lower
classes ; and, notwithstanding the expression of a con-
trary opinion, I am convinced that the great body of
consumers in this country of the lower orders have
every reason to be satisfied with the minute at present
existing. (Hear.)
The Earl of MALMESBURY said that since the
minute of the late was superseded by that of the present
Government he had heard no sufficient reason assigned
for the change. As to his noble friend's remark that
unless the two substances were mixed by the sellers,
they could not be mixed at all, he must say he could
only attribute such a defence to his noble friend's well-
known partiality for coalition and confusion. (Laughter.)
The extent to which adulteration was now carried, not
in coffee only, but in many other articles, was really
fearful. If the noble earl could find leisure to consult
two or three of the best London chemists, he would
find that adulteration was being practised to a frightful
extent with regard to almost every substance sold in
the market. Although his noble friend bad been so
hard on the minute of the late Government, he was
convinced that the majority of the public considered it
greatly preferable to the existing minute.
Lord WHARNCLIFFE said he had often felt asto-
nished at the tone adopted on this subject, not only by
the present Government but by previous Governments a
tone which would naturallyi lead to the inference that
though they were vested with powers for checking adul-
teration, they would ratherw e
intheir functions than
exercise them, and that they desired fact, to encourage
such practices. He entirely concurreda in the noble vis-
count's object and hoped th tin the next session the
whole matter would form the subject of inquiry.
Lord BEAUMONT said, having listened with great
attention to the statement of the noble viscount, hemust
say that he had subsequently heard nothing from the
noble earl to upset it. (Hear, hear.) It was surely the
interest of the consumer to know that when he went
into a shop he would obtain the article which he wanted.
If the label showed the exact proportions in which coffee
and chicory were mixed, he would know exactly what
he was purchasing ; but the effect of the present minute
was that he could not tell the value of the article which
he paid for. The only reason which he had heard in
favour of the existing minute was that, if the two sub-
stances were sold separately, it would be difficult to mix
them. In the memorial referred to by the noble viscount
it was well observed that boiling water would do all that
was necessary in that respect. He understood that of
the mixture sold about 75 per cent. was chicory and
only 25 per cent. coffee, whilst the price charged was the
reverse of these proportions. He did not know whether
this was true or not, but it was possible and
was
dis-
advantageous even probable
under the last Treasury minute. That minute
to the revenue and to the consumer, and
was advantageous only to the dealer, and, in this in-
stance, be must say the fraudulent dealer. He, trusted
ld b ' anted next year, and
that an inquiry
that an opportunitiwyou uldebeinsgiven(Rofeahrring all the
parties interested riNtViloee:StiOn.
ho rose not for the pur-
pose The Duke of ARGYLL-said
of entering into the question of the Treasury mi.
u
n te but to observe, in respect to the chemical action of
boning water, that its operation was very different as
the substance was finely or grossly disintegrated. It
might be a great convenience and saving of trouble to
the poor man to have the coffee and chicory mixed for
him.
The Earl of WICKLOW thought that there must be