The Sun.
London, England, 1838-10-04 00:00:00

. -
Now, as to giving any information to our " Country
Friends" as to prices, it is utterly impossible ; that is, such
information as would be really useful. We can state the
lowest price of each sort of Tea. Black Tea, " called
Congou"—the lowest price of this stuff (not fit for use)
is 3s. 2id., duty paid. The lowest price in Green Tea,
" called Twankay," or Hyson Skin, is --. Now, this
is just as much information as can be given ; and
were we to publish a " List of Prices" of every chest of tea
sold at this sale, it would be " perfectly useless." Nay, it
would be a gross deception upon " the country dealers" for
us to publish a " List of Prices," in which List it is abso-
lutely impossible to furnish any information that would be of a
single particle of use to any dealer.
In fact, to publish a " List of Prices," under the present
system, is to do nothing more than " to make a handle" to be
used by the travellers for the purpose of dipping their bands
into the pockets of the dealers ; and the wonder is that there
should be found in the whole kingdom a man or woman so
profoundly ignorant of business, and so blind to their own in-
terest, as to purchase Tea from a printed List. •
Is there, for example, a single dealer in the kingdom who
is guided in his purchases of Sugar, Coffee, Fruit, or Corn,
by the prices which those articles sell for at public sale? The
value and price of Tea change every day in the market ; and
there is nos a vast quantity of Tea on hand which the holders
would be glad to sell, and not charge a farthing commission
upon
Tliz truth is, that to purchase Tea on- Commission, should
be done in the same way as is done in Sugar or other things,
and bought at the lowest market prices ; or, those who pur-
chase on the same terms as they do other articles, should pay
a price according to its value, and to pay a halfpenny or even
a farthing commission, may be 3d., 6d., or Is. per
lb. dearer, on what is called cost price. The curious part of
these " Farthing Commissioners" is, that they can afford to
keep a " Host of Travellers." We bear they are now called
" Halfpenny Travellers;" why not call them " Farthing
Travellers?"

On the 26th of June, in No. 111. of the Commercial
Gazette and Australian Telegraph, we gave an account of
the tea trade, and a brief history of the system adopted by the
merchants in selling their tea.
Previeus to that period there was a general complaint,
that is, the merchants, the brokers, and the trade, one and
all, complained that "the system" was bad. The gist of this
complaint was, that the merchants put up about three or four
times more tea than the trade could purchase, even if offered
at one half the price of the first cost in China.
The Merchants, the Brokers, and the Trade cceidemned
this system.
The Merchant, because be could not obtain a fair price for
his Tea ; the Broker, because of the immense labour and ex-
pense in examining and putting a value on the Tea, and then
only to pass through the ceremony of a " mock auction ;" and
the Trade, because of the immense quantity brought forward,
which frightened all the country dealers from purchasing,
except for a week or a fortnight's supply, and thus depreciating
the value of their st .ck on hand.

The system, we say, is complained of by all ; but instead
of a single step having yet been taken to alter it, the evil has
increased in its mischievous extent up to this very hour.
It now, then, becomes a question, whether such a system
shall go on to another sale, or whether this sale shall be the
last of the sort ?
Mind, we give no opinion, because we know, " That if we
could submit a plan that would be as beneficial to all, as the
present system is ruinous to all," it would not be adopted :
for this reason : " The old system is carried on by the old
machinery;" and therefore it would, perhaps, be just as ra-
tional to expect the advocates of the "system" would fall into
the plan, as that the owners of waggons would introduce and
patronize railroads, or that the proprietors of barges, hays, or
old rotten coasting vessels, would use their influence in favour
of steam-boats. We know that such people wish all such
modern projects at the bottom of the sea; and we happen to
live where we hear such exclamations uttered every day in the
week. But there is an old saying, " That'when things are at
the worst they will mend." -
We now take a sentence or two from our Postscript pub-
lished in the Commercial Gazette on the 26th of June last.
every word of which applies to the " system" now carried on;
and we again repeat the offer we then made in the following
words, namely

" We have not the p;esumption to submit any plan to the
brokers, the merchants, or the dealers, because we know that
if it were possible for us to lay down a plan that would be
really beneficial to all, they would not adopt it ; and therefore
we must be content, and bear with an ugly custom, and draw
philosophy from an old adage, that what cannot be cured
must be endured.'

" We close this by humbly suggesting to the brokers to call
a Council to devise and concoct some plan by which the sale
might be brought to a termination in about a fortnight or three
weeks, which would be about Friday, the 20th of July. If,
however, such a Council should not, after full deliberation, be
able to hit upon any practicable plan, we hereby undertake to
find a man, who has had some experience in railroads,' who
will submit a feasible scheme at a few hours' notice."
We are now in the fifth year of free trade with China, and
a most ruinous trade to British merchants and to shipowners
it has proved, and still continues up to this very hour; it is
also deeply injurious to the interests of the people of this
kingdom.
First—Because an immense quantity of British manufac-
tures has been sent to China, and sold at ruinous prices, and
this to the total destruction of very many of our manufacturers
in various parts of the kingdom.
Secondly—lt may be asked, how can this have been injuri-
ous to the public ? There is an old saying, " That one man's
loss is another man's gain." As regards the British merchant
or the British consumer, in this business, however, it has not
been so ; " the wise, skilful, and cunning Chinese," have been,
and still are, the great gainers ; and if a different system be not
adopted, the present course will be permanently ruinous to
British merchants.

The Chinese have sold to the British merchants, since the
free trade commenced, in some years, nearly double the quan-
tity required for the consumption of his country, and that too,
at from 30 to 40 per cent. higher prices than were paid by the
East India Company.
These cunning men have not only sent us an excess in quan-
tity, tut they have also sent us millions and millions of pounds
of stuff that is not Tea, and " the united wisdom of ' the Col-
lege' " has not yet discovered what the stuff is ; and thus the
people of this kingdom are compelled to use an article a great
deal worse in quality than the produce of our own fields, hedges,
and gardens.

Well, there is another thing more injurious to the British
merchant than anything we have before stated.
The Hongs, or no Hongs, sell the English merchants good
Tea; but in cases without end, they substitute and ship bad
Tea, or stuff, the properties of which " Doctors" have not yet
discovered, the extent of their investigation being, that it is
" not Tea."

Well, now comes the secret,—First the Hong sells all
" the good and fine Tea," and substitutes and ships the " bad
Tea." This, no doubt, is a clever operation, and what " Lord
Stanley" would call thimble riyg-ing. . We know some of our
" respected friends" who perfectly understand something about
this matter.
Well, now we come to the Hong, or /longs, and here they
sacrifice the British merchant.

The Hong first gets rid of his bad Tea, or, as " the college
would say," not Tea. He (the Hong) then consigns a great
part of the good and really fine Tea to some agent in America,
Holland, or London, where it is sold at public sale in Mincing-
lane, or by private contract; and he (the Hong) can afford to
sell this fine Tea at a less price than that which the British
merchant has paid for his rubbish.
Now this is the system in operation; and if some measures
be not adopted by our English merchants, the Chinese will,
within two years, monopolize the whole of the Tea trade. We
have said enough to rouse the attention of the London mer-
chants ; but if they still sleep over the matter, the Liverpool
men will assuredly take it up.

JOHN NICHOLSONand CO.

On Tuesday the mortal remains of Mr. Ernest
Peters, a native of Switzerland, were deposited in a vault in
the church of St. Dunstan-in-the-East. The deceased had
for half a century been the confidential clerk of Messrs.
Hankey, the well-known merchants, by whom his fidelity and
talents were duly appreciated and rewarded. About ten years
ago symptoms of mental imbecility in their hitherto inde-
fatigable and trustworthy servant induced Messrs. Hankey to
.
propose his retiring from active pursuits, and they generously
settled upon him 2001. per annum for the remainder of his. life,
to which the Misses Hankey .tdded 501. per annum
but,
rhae
old man soon after returned to his native land, his last in
short sojourn there, returned to London to breathe
hich he said was
the country which had adopted him, and 'ovw„. Taking up
more dear to him on that account than
under proper care,
his residence in Trafalgar-square, Sttehpeneins,
fields)' and streets 1 a was allowed every day to walk
con-
tiguous. His battlesoye,is,niiiiiistahbeiliiiteiiegshhaonurd hhoisodg,reaantd.
He usually carried his
nbeisssiexawgii,;lernaottediaocoenoutwaist with the
oist
tbaegn .
r,aelni,f.:hrigeli were his weapons of defence
but he was never known to huit
very loquacious, and would stop any
apwnohyeeknoeftstheinfull. attackedo fblyisetcohnwi children,
princes; and would enter into a most
person in the street. and boast of being 250 years of age; of
being descended
his (alleged) .
of alleged) ancestry to prove it. He was
harmless, but his mental and bodily infirmities in.
perfectly
lst minutecreased s
~
e I slolrays t Monday week, on which day he died, in his
leaving the produce of his industry and savings,
B,ooot, to 'his wife. A most respectable funeral equipage
accompanied his remains to the grave, the carriage of Mr.
Hankey closing the procession.

„ ..., •
The sailor named Robertson (not Robson, as before
given), was again examined yesterday at the Thames Police
Office, charged with stabbing a man named Taylor. He was
remanded for a week, till the fate of Taylor, who lies in tile
London Hospital, is ascertained.