The Sun.
London, England, 1849-02-15 00:00:00

THE IRON TRADE.

The first month of the quarter has passed away very
satisfactorily, and no improvident attempt to force an
alteration of prices has been ventured. In the Welsh
and Scotch market it is stated that a considerable im•
provement has taken place, and higher latices are readily
obtained. Here many of our mills and forges have hi•
therto been F mplop d upon the desponding engage-
ments entered into before the close of the last year;
but these are now being rapidly worked off, and the
generality of produce is being sent out at the better
figures of the late quarterly meetings, while orders are
plentiful, and in many instances necessarily deferred,
since makers are not inclined to accept for future de-
livery unless at some inducement beyond the nominal
rates, and this it is hardly considered prudent to offer
at present. The dealers and merchants are, however,
busy, not only for everyday consumption, but they are
endeavouring stealthily to replenish their empty ware-
houses in anticipation of a considerable impulse from
the spring trade, particularly from the United States,
under which it is not improbable that a general advance
in the prices of iron would be declared. At present
it would be premature to offer any opinion upon
the course likely to be taken next quarter. The
position of mercantile and political affairs among our
Continental customers is too unsettled to allow of a si!t's•
factory calculation as regards our probable transactions
with them for the next six or twelve months; but the
alvices from America are of a stirring description, and,
in spite of the vast share of attention absorbed by
the Californian mania, there is little doubt that
considerably enlarged quantities, both of manu-
factured and pig iron, as also ef hardware goo is,
will be shipped for that country. Large orders, we
are told, have arrived in Liverpool by the last packet,
and have been disposed of principally among the
Welsh houses, while iu London extensive transactions

are daily. concluded. The railroad interest •is also
recoveriegr eraduaily from the late dedresien,and the
improvement hitherto effected is well maintain, d,
with an upward tendenCy. The abundance and eheap-.
ness of money will cauic a more early resumption of
operations in these 'undert7Aings than might other-
wi.io have been looked fir ; but it is scarcely to be ex-
pected Viet they will afford much assistance in the
consumption of iron during the present yt ar, while
the enormous increase in the make of that article
both in Wales and Scotland has called forth an ex•
pression of some apprehension on the pact of many
conversant with the -trade. The stock of Li* iron
in the latter country at the beginning of the pre-
sent year was supposed to be about 110,000 tons, and
the probable make is calculated at 650,000 more, while
the whole quantity disposed of during the year 1848 was
only 550,000 tens, and that much exceeded the con
sumption of 1847; so that a large increase of stock
is feared during the present year. The same
prospects offer in Wales, and, it is thought,
may prove a check upon any advantage that might
otherwise have been taken in obt,tining inure remunera-
tive prices. Pig iron in Staffordshire is in considerable
equk st, and the brst•qualitit s command rather higher
figures. Coals are bcoiniag more plentiful, the open-
ness of the weather having slackened the dt [nand for
household purposes. Iren•stone still maintains its im•
proved quotations; stocks are very;mall, and holders
show no disposition to make sales --Aria's Birmingham
Gazette.

SHIP SYMMETRY.—BAPTISM EXTRAORDINARY.—
Extract from the log of the third officer—" Saturday,
21st of October, at six Rae, Mrs. Shaw, a❑ emigrant,
gave birth to a son. 29th October. midnight, strong
breezes and clear; passed the ceremony of baptism o:
the child, and named it Symmetry Thompson, after the
ship and her captain—he and the third officer, Mr. Stan-
way Grocott (who officiated as chaplain), standing god-
father. 12.80, A.M.. Symmetry departed this life; 10
A.M., committed the holy of Symmetry to the eh ep."—
Lieezpool Courier. -
A THIRSTY " INFANT."—Ina case heard at the
Stamford County Court, last week, the plaintiff, a tailor
and publican, sued the defendant for 93. 11 id. for beer
and spirits supplied. The Judge having learned that the
defendant was only 18 years of age, said he might have
appeared and pleaded " infancy," but as he had not done
so he would hear the case. His Honour then told the
plaintiff to read the items, which he did, giving the follow-
ing as the amount of one day's chalking up:—" Five half
pints of ale, three glasses of gin and water, and three
glasses of brandy." Jcdge: "And you supplied this in one
day to this infant?" Plaintiff (astounded)—" Infant! why
they say he is 18 yeats old. Infant !"—Judge: "Go
on."—Plaintiff: " September 20, ale 31, ditto 3d.,
gin 3d., a loaf of bread for his man wher. he
went out shooting," &c.—Judge: " What ?"—Plain-
tiff: "He has a dog and a gun, a game certificate,
and he keeps a horse to go out a-hunting; and he
sometimes treats his friends."—Judge: " What is he
then ?"—Plaintiff: " The son of a pawnbroker."—
Judge : " Well, he is but an infant' in the eye of the
law. I shall disallow from the account the charge for.
spirits, and I shall make an order that the balance be
paid when the infant' comes of age—in three years'
time. plaintiff seemed puzzled with the size anti
capacity for drink of the law's "infants."—Lincoln paper.
SCOTCH LAW OF ENTAIL.-011 Saturday last the
Court of Session approved of the first disentail under
the recent statute. This is a great fact in the history of
Scotland. The evils of a system introduced in the worst
days of Scottish history by the worst of our Lord Ad-
roc Acts are now checked, and the soil of the c.,untry is
no longer to be tied by the artificial fetters of a bar-
barous system. Regard for existing vested interests will
no doubt prevent the full operation of this great improve-
ment until many of the present generation are gone; but
at the same time, there is no man who has any love of
2ountry who will rot rejoice at ,he beginning of so im
poortant a change.—Scotsman.

EXTRAORDINARY INCIDENT.—A very extraordinary
adventure occurred on the Barton road, i:i the neigh-
bourhood of this town, on Thursday last. On the right
hand side of the road, going to Barton, there is a ditch,
which is generally, at this season of the year, filled with
water. A man named Smith, residing at Barnwell, was
walking by this ditch, when he saw a rat swimming
along the side of it Happening to have a stick in his
hand, armed with a spike at the point, he launched it at
the rat, and succeeded, by a fortunate aim, in transfixing
the animal to the bank. This was rare sport; but the
best of it is to come. On withdrawing the stick, the
body of the rat was turned over, and Smith was sur-
prised to see something glittering among its entrails,
which, on taking it out, proved to be a Queen Anne's
sixpence.—Cambridge Advertiser.
TREATY BETWEEN ENGLAND AND BORNEO.—A copy
of the treaty of " friendship and commerc3" concluded be-
tween Her Majesty the Queen of England and the Sultan
of Borneo (signed in the English and Malay languages, on
the 27th May, 1847), has just been laid before both Houses
of Parliament. It consists of 12 articles. They provide-
1. That peace, friendship, and good understanding shall for
ever subsist between the two Powers of Britain and
Borneo. 2. That the subjects of her Majesty shall
have full liberty to enti,r into, reside in, and trade
with all parts of the dominions of the Sultan
Omar Ali Sailadeen, and enjoy the privileges and
advantages of the most favoured nation ; the sub-
jects of the Sultan to enjoy the same privileges in this
country. 3. That British subjects may purchase and ac-
quire all kiwis of property within the dominions of the
bultan, his Highness engaging that such British subjects
shall, as far as lies in his power, enjoy full and complete
protection and security. 4. That the trade between
the two countries shall be perfectly free, subject only
to the Customs' duties which may be hereafter en-
forced. 5. That no duty exceeding one dollar per ton
shall be levied on British vessels entering the ports of
Borneo, British goods and British trade to be exempt
from all internal duties, &c. 6. That no export duty
shall be levied by the Sultan on any article the
growth or produce of his own dominions. 7.
That the ships of war of England and the India Com-
pany shall be permitted to enter the ports, rivers, and
creeks of his dominions, and to provide themselves with
such supplies, stores, and provisions as they may re-
quire. 8. That assistauco shall be rendered to vessels
wrecked on the coast of Borneo. 9 That ever)
means shall be taken by both the high contracting
parties for the suppression of piracy within the
seas, straits, and rivers subject to their respective
control or influence, &c. Article 10 confirms the
cession of the island of Labuan, situate on the north-
west coast of Borneo, together with the adjacent islets 01
Kuraman, Little Rusakan, Great Rusakan, Dasat, and
Malankasan, and all the straits, islets, and seas situate
halfway between the afore-mentioned islets and the main-
land of Borneo ; likewise, the distance of 10 geographical
miles from the island of Labuan,• to the westward
and northward, and from the nearest point half
way between the islet of Malankasan and the mainland
of Borneo, in a line running north till it intersects a line
extended from west to east, from a point 10 miles north-
ward at the northern extremity of the island of Labuan
to be possessed in perpetuity and full sovereignty by her
Majesty and her successors; and, to avoid disputes, the
Sultan engages not to make any similar cession of terri-
tory to any other nation without the consent of her
Britannic Majesty. Every measure is to be taken by
both parties for the suppression of the abominable
traffic in slaves. The treaty, which was to be ratified on
or before the the 27th of May, 1848, is signed by James
Brooke, on the one part, and attested by the great seal
of the Sultan of Borneo, on the other.

TIMOTHY SEED.—An importation having recently
taken place at one of the ports in the West of England,
from one of the Prussian ports, of a parcel of Timothy
seed, a question arose as to the rate of duty az
which it should bo entered, the revenue offi-
cers considering the article to be liable to duty as
grass seed, not enumerated, or to the rate of ss. per
cwt., and the importers considering that as the seed
was only occasionally used for agricultural purposes for
the purpose of improving new meadows and was also
used for feeding birds, that the proper rate of duty
thereon would be as seed not enumerated at ss. per cwt.,
ad valorem. It appeared, on inquiry, that the article
was well known as Timothy grass send, and appropri-
ated to agriculture] purposes, and that the proper rate
of duty due thereon was as grass seed, of ss. per cwt.
BURGLARY AND MURDEROUS ATTACK ON AN OLD
MAN AGED EIGHTY.—On Wednesday night, or early on
Thursday morning, a lone cottage at Bethersden, occupied,
with a little laud, by an old man named Laws, who 80
years of age, and lives by himself, was broken into, and
ransacked. The poor old man was struck, in a most
brutal manner, by an iron instrument, two or three
times, on the head, while in bed. Weltering in his
blood, he crawled, after the thieves left the house,
across to a neighbour's, living at a little distance, who
rendered him every assistance. Two young men, named
Millen and Sheepwash, belonging to Bethersden, were
apprehended on Thursday evening, and taken to Messrs.
Purley: and Mercers' office, at Ashford, yesterday, on
suspicion of having committed the offence, and were re-
manded by the Rev. N. Toke. The blows were
inflicted with a piece of iron, which, with the
old man's breeches, have been found in a neighbouring
pond. The thieves were evidently annoyed at not find-
ing his watch, which he had sold a short time before
while in distress. The poor man was alive last night,
but it is feared he cannot recover.—Canterbury Journal.
THE DUKE OF ARGYLL AND BISHOF TROWER
A strange paragraph is going the round of the press,
which reports that Dr. Trower, Bishop of the Epis-
copal Communion in the districts of Glasgow
and Galloway, has actually excommunicated the
Duke of Argyll on account of that nobleman
attending the ministration of a clergyman ordained
in England, but officiating in Scotland, without
being under subjection to the local Bishop. We do not
perceive what Dr. Trower had to do with the Duke of
Argyll. His grace is a Member of the Established
Church of Scotland, and altogether beyond the juris-
diction of that Rev. Gentleman. Lord Blantyre,
the Duke's brother-in-law, is also mentioned as hav-
ing been visited with the same sentence. If we are
not mistaken his Lordship is also a member of the
Scottish establishment. It belongs, we think, to Dr.
Trower, through the medium of the press, to put the
public right as to the true state of the C.I4P, for the ru-
mour, however ridiculous, will be believed by thousands.
Wero the Duke of Argyll really an Episcopalian, and
attending the chapel of an English clergyman, we cannot
see in what way he would be affected by the sentence of
excommunication fulminated by the rastor of a body to
which neither the clergyman or the lay Christian be-
longed.--Edinburgh Post._

‘V To WHAT BASE USES," &c —Our readers' at
ten tion may have been drawn to a large granite kerb-
stone at the east corner of Mr. Pyc's house, Gandy-
street, which appears to have b; en part of an ancient
cross, and subsequently used as the key-stone of Exeter-
bridge, erected by Welter Jervis, in the middle of the
thirteenth century. When the bridge was tali, n down,
in 1770, this key-stone was purchased by the late Mr.
Nation for a guinea, and he placed it in the situation it
now occupies,—Ereter Chronicle.