The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-05 00:00:00

COMMERCIAL INTELLIGENCE, MARCH 9.

There is but little doing to-day in any article.
Cotton-400 bales sold, prices firm.
Flour—No sales, prices steady. Corn quiet.
Ashes—S4 81c. and $6 25c., quiet. Whisky, 29c.
Pork-900 barrels prime sold at $l2 38c. ; 300 barrels
at $l2, and more offered at that ; there are buyers of
mess at $l4.
Sterling-3 3-4 to 4 1-2 premium ; francs, 542 1-2 to
3 3-4 ; freights easier.
P.S. Evening.—Cotton is very firm. 1,000 bushels
Jersey yellow corn sold at 95c. ; 5,000 bushels extra
Southern white at 95c. ; 2,500 bushels Jersey white at
90c. ; common Southern' white at 90c. ; 200 quintals
dry cod fish at $3 62 1-2 c. A ship was taken up for
Cork and a market in Ireland at Bs. and 26d. ; one for
London at Bs. for flour ; another to be here, in all June,
at ss. per barrel, and 16d. per bushel for Liverpool.

REPORTED LOSS OF THE ROYAL

MAIL STEAM-PACKET SHIP TWEED.

By the arrival of the Calpe, South-Western Company's
steamer, at Southampton yesterday, we have received
the melancholy intelligence of the loss of the Tweed, and
sixty lives, as we gather from the following particulars,
extracted from the New Yorh Picayune of March I,
which, with files of other American papers down to the
10th ult., had arrived at Havre by the Baltimore, Cap-
tain Johnstone:—
" The Yucatan schooner, Atrevida, Captain Zanchez,
arrived at this port this morning from Campeachy, hav-
ing sailed on the 19th of February.
" A letter has been received by her from a commercial
house at Campeachy announcing that news reached that
city on the evening of the 17th of the loss of the British
Royal Mail-steamer Tweed. She was lost on the 12th of
February, on the north-east end of the Alacranes, and
sixty persons were drowned. The Tweed left Ilavannah
on the 9th ult., for Vera Cruz and Tampico. Expe-
ditions were sent from Campeachy to her assistance.
The Alacranes lie about seventy miles from the coast of
Yucatan, directly north of Merida."
The Tweed was the packet now due; possibly the Tay
or some other vessel may bring the West India mails
home in her stead, and shortly furnish additional parti-
culars. The Tweed was commanded by Mr. George
Persona, R.N., a very skilful officer.

ENGLISH AND IRISH RAILWAYS.
The Projects for new lines of railway in England and
in Ireland rest on quite different grounds ; in the former
they adapt themselves to existing traffic, connect the
richest and most productive markets, and grow out of
the exuberance of existing wealth. Ireland may be
considered for such purposes as a " tabula rasa," a clear
field, on which the engineer may lay out his lines, by
abstract reference to the interests and wants of the
country, in such a manner as to suit the natural features
of the ground, and develop in the most effectual manner
its latent resources. Such seem to have been the views
of the original Railway Commissioners ; they proposed
to traverse Ireland by a system of main trunks, termi-
nating at the points most favourable to foreign inter-
course, and affording branches to suit existing internal
intercourse. They felt the importance of turning a tide
of foreign transit through Ireland, which requires such
aids to sustain its railways. In the present session it
will be incumbent on the Government and the Parlia-
ment to view all projects in this light, whether they are
likely to attract foreign support ; several claim such ad-
vantages, and considerable competition has arisen be-
tween the claims of different localities. These respective
claims are espoused with much enthusiasm and
it is right that they should be all dealt with in a
spirit of perfect impartiality. We own that one of
them strikes us as carrying with it a weight of ex-
traneous and independent authority which it is
impossible to resist, we mean the line of railway
having its terminus at Valencia harbour. We cannot
shut our eyes to the fact, that the Americans, who must
be quite indifferent as to local interests, have, after care-
ful inquiry, given a preference to Valencia, as a point of
departure for their continent. This has been announced
in American publications, and adopted by various men
of science on the continent of Europe. In fact,
geographically speaking, the case of Valencia cannot be
doubted. It would be preposterous, in such a case, to
raise the question of existing traffic; there may be little
or no traffic, but it does not follow that if vent be given,
and a facility for foreign intercourse afforded, great
sources of commercial wealth may not speedily arise—
new channels of trade be opened—and industry be
spread through a population hitherto placed in the back
settlements of the world. Such, at least, seem to be the
well-founded lucubrations of the best statistical philo-
sopher of France respecting the harbour in question.
Nothing can be grander than the contemplation of com-
bining at one point the vast tides of intercoure be-
tweea Europe and America. The Americans desire
eagerly to multiply and confirm their relations with
Ireland ; they are much more conscious than
we are at this side of the ocean, how near the
western coast of Ireland is to New York, and how much
the increasing facilities of ocean intercourse approxi-
mate those poi,nts. If the Government will not avail
itself of what nature points out as the rational policy in
this respect, it will stultify itself in the eyes of Europe.
Continental nations look on the point of western depar-
ture nearest to America, as interesting with respect to
personal safety, rapidity of transit, and security of pro-
perty. This is not a period in which to struggle against
nature, to disregard obvious sources of national security
and prosperity, or to leave to casual accomplishment, by
secondary means, those great objects of imperial interest
which ought to command the patriotic attention of our
own Government. The late Administration very. wisely
adopted Holyhead, though a barren
point, as a link fur
connexion with Dublin. The railway system is about
to extend its rapidity of action to the extreme west of
Ireland; and a sort of locomotive miracle will be ob-
tained in the transfer of a traveller to a distance of It)i
degrees west of London in eighteen hours, and embark-
ing him free from all the delays and dangers of our
Channel navigation.—Railivuy Register for April.
Is

DISTRESS Is IRELAND.TA._ meeting of the officials
connected
with hrr Maj,esty s Customs. in London will be
held to-morrow in the owniet mai Sale-rooms, Mincing
lane, tit half- f,.!ir o clock, to ttilopt Some measures in
aid of the subscription
for the relief of distress in Ireland.
Arrangements it is stated are in progress for similar
meetings by all the Government offices,