The Sun.
London, England, 1836-11-16 00:00:00

FORCED LOANS IN MEXICO.

The following; correspondence has taken place between
the President of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce
and his Majesty's Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs :

" Chamber of Commerce, Manchester, Oct. 27,1836.
"My Lord—l am desired by the Board of Directors of
this Chamber to transmit to your Lordship a memorial just
received f.tom a considerable number of merchants of this
town, of the highest respectability, who are engaged in trade
with Mexico, complaining strongly of the injustice and
oppression lately practised on their agents in that country by
the Mexican Government, by subjecting them to forced
loans of large amount, contrary, it is alleged, to the existing
treaty between the two countries.
" It is unnecessary to say any thing to satisfy your Lord.
ship of the great importance of protecting British merchants
and their property from such arbitrary proceedings in all
countries with which we are on terms of amity, and with
which we hold diplomatic relations ; and it is therefore the
confident belief of the directors of this Chamber that you
will feel it right to take the promptest means of putting a
stop to these proceedings, and that your Lordship will
further require full indemnity for what has occurred.
" It has been stated that the Mexican Government jus-
tifies its proceeding on the plea that the Spanish version of
the treaty contains words which do not exist in the English
version, and that those words authorise the enforcement of
loans of this character. Of the truth of this allegation
the directors of this board can know nothing ; they could
with difficulty believe that a circumstance so disgraceful to
British diplomacy can have any existence , but, should the
fact be so, they trust that measures may be taken without
loss of time to remove so strange an anomaly, and they
venture respectfully to request that your Lordship will deal
with the whole case in that manner which the rights of
the individuals in question, and the interests of the country
require.
" I have the honour to be, my Lord,
" Your Lordship'ssmost obedient servant,
" GEORGE W. WOOD, President.
" To the Right Hon. the Lord Viscount
Palmerston, M. P., &c.

" Foreign-office, Nov. 7, 1836.
" SIR,--I am directed by Viscount Palmerston to ac-
knowledge the receipt of your letter of the 25th ult., in
which you enclose a memorial from the merchants of Man-
chester, complaining of the exaction of forced loans from
British subjects in Mexico, and requesting the interference
of his Majesty's Government to protect them from similar
exactions in future.

" With reference to the observations contained in your
letter, and in the memorial enclosed therein, respecting the
English and Spanish versions of the 10th article of the treaty
between Great Britain and Mexico, I am to state to you,
that after a careful consideration of the subject, Lord Pal-
merston is compelled to come to the decision that his Ma-
jesty's Government would not be justified in disputing the
right of the Mexican Government to take their stand upon
the Spanish version'; and, therefore, it is only by further
negociation, and as a new concession, that an exemption
from forced loans could be obtained ; and Lord Palmerston
is sorry to say, that the overtures which have hitherto been
made by the British Minister to the Mexican Government,
with this view, have not been attended with any success.
But his Lordship directs me to add, that the Chamber of
Commerce of Manchester may be assured that he will avail
himself of any favourable opportunity which may occur
again to make the attempt.
I am, Sir, your most obedient humble servant,
"J. BACKHOUSE.
" George Wood, Esq., President of the Chamber
of Commerce at Manchester."

We regret to learn from the Scotch papers that the
humble inhabitants of the Western Isles of Scotland, whose
destitution before the months of harvest obtained a share of
the sympathy of the beneficent, are now even in a worse
and more pitiable condition than then. Their crops have
not ripened, and if now cut down are fit only for cattle.
Their prospect, therefore, with all the chances of a rigorous
winter, is dismal in the extreme. Subscriptions for their
relief are now making in Glasgow and other places in
Scotland. '

GRATITUDE.—A son of the late Major Watson
(who unhappily lost his life during the fire in the citadel of
Plymouth, and for whose family a large subscription was
most liberally made), who has recently received an ap-
pointment to a small situation under Government at Ha-
Mx, Nova Scotia, having observed by the papers that a
poor family in Plymouth has recently been rendered desti-
tute by their cottage and property being destroyed by fire,
has generously forwarded to the mayor of that town a dona-
tion to be applied to their use.

We regret to hear from the agricultural districts
that the prospect of the crops is very unfavourable, and that
much suffering to the poor is anticipated as the result.

We understand arrangements have been made to
pay 17 per cent. to the creditors of the Spanish Govern-
ment on account of debts due for supplies from this coun-
try, for which acceptances have been given.—Morning Post.
Thursday morning the tenants of a back land in
Argyll-street felt the smell of burning proceeding from
the house of an elderly widow who resided in the low flat,
and on obtaining entrance into the house they found the
poor old woman burned to death, having, it is thought,
gone too near the fire last night when under the influence
of liquor.—Glasgow Paper.
We have had a week of most disastrous weather for
grain, some yet uncut, and some standing in the shock.
The mountain-tops were in the early part of the week
thickly clad with snow, but in the lower grounds we have
not bad so much frost as in the preceding week, and conse-
quently more favourable to the potatoes yet in ground.—
Westmoreland Gazette.

A meeting for the re-formation of a Meteorological
Society was held yesterday evening at the Mechanics'
In-
stitution, Holborn. Dr. Birkbeck, F.G.S., Presio..ent, in
the Chair. Several scientific papers were rea!,3, and, after
an interesting conversation, the meeting aAjourned till the
second Tuesday in December. •
Such is the depression in the, market for the sale of
printing cloths, that several of the large manufacturers of
calico in Stockport have commenced working four days a
week, rather than resort to the other alternative of reducing
the wages of their weavers.—Macclesfield courier.
Mr. Graham made a second ascent from the Gaol-
yard, Gloucester, on Thursday last. On this occasion he
was accompanied by Mr. R. Spinney, of the Gas Works.
They descended safely at Kineton-hill, aboat 23 miles from
Gloucester, having effected the journey in forty minutes.—
Gloucester journal.
The lion. W. C. Jarvis, late speaker of the Mas-
sachusetts Assembly, committed suicide on the 3d instant,
by shooting himself through the heart with a pistol while
in a state of mental alienation.
LINT LIIPOOL COTTON-MA RK ET, Nov. 14.—The
business to-day consists of 2,500 bags of the following de-
' scriptions Pernams, 1 lid. and 12d. ; 30 Maran-
hams, 1 lid. ; 30 Egyptian, 12d. ; 80 Laguayra, 100. ;
100 Bengal, 4d. ; 300 Surats, 4id. a ; and the re-
mainder American, 71rd. to 111 d. ; New Bowcds, 12d.
The better qualities of American are more steady, but in-
ferior kinds are quite aA depressed as previously.
Extract of tE lctWr of the 2d inst., from Bona
T 4 wind and the rain have been for several days tre-
meAdous„ The ships in the roadstead have been rolling
about like barrels, The Sufren, Dragon, Egerie, and
D44rtiEke, have laboured dreadfully in the storm. If the
expedition is not immediately commenced, it will become too
late to undertake it. We want about one-fourth more than
the troops we have to make up the necessary number.
Contrary to custom, the administration of the expedition
alone is ready. This is owing to the zeal and activity of
the Intendant-General. A trading vessel hired by the Go-
vernor to transport some of the horses was driven on shore
on Saturday, and the following day not two planks remained
together. The violence of the breakers was irresistible."