The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-05 00:00:00

PORTUGAL.

LISBON, SEPT. 27.—A very serious failure, and one
by which most of the English cotton firms here will be
large sufferers, has been announced this week. The great
Spanish house of Corpas, Garcia. and Co., has stopped
payment. It had become the subject of conversation be-
fore the departure of the last packet, this day week, that
a large amount of their bills had been returned unpaid
from London, and had not been taken up ; but it was
thought at first, from the great number of respectable
firms interested in supporting the house, that an arrange-
ment would be made to allow them to go on. A meeting
of their creditors took place on Saturday (the 25th) when
a statement of their debts and assets was produced,
by which it appears that their engagements amount to
upwards of 480 contos of reis (120,0001.), while their as-
sets are stated at 504 contos ; but of the latter only 280
contos are set down as goods on hand, and good debts.
Their " bad debts " are stated at 125 contos, and
" doubtful" ones at 98 contos. They offered to pay
50 per cent.' in four years (viz. nothing in the first,
25 per cent. in the second, and 121 per cent. in each of
the third and fourth), which the creditors refused ;
and another meeting is called for to-morrow. I hear
that they have since offered the following proposal—
to pay 15 per cent. on the 31st of January, 1842; 10 per
cent., June 30 ; and 10 per cent., December 31, 1842 ;
5 per cent., June 30, and 5 per cent., December 31,
1843 ; and 5 per cent., June 30, 1844 ; total 50 per
cent. These terms are much better ; but there is no
guarantee that they would be executed. The house of
Corpas and Company formed the chief medium between
the English houses and the Spanish smugglers ; buying
upon credit from the former, and selling on credit also to
the latter; who were accustomed to take an assortment
of cottons, &c., over the Spanish frontier, and when dis •
posed of, returned to pay fur them, and get another cargo.
The rigorous and unprecedented measures adopted by
the Spanish authorities against the trade have contri-
buted very much to bring on the present catastrophe, of
which, however, the immediate cause is said to be the
failure of some firms at Manchester and London. The
Portuguese firm of Ribeiro da Silva and Co. hold, it is
said, 80 conies worth of Messrs. Corpas and Co.'s bills ;
the great bulk of the remaining obligations are due to
English cotton firms. This failure has caused great
consternation here, and will be matter of serious incon-
venience to many. Some of the older firms had looked
shy at their bills for these twelve months past ; but they
continued to get goods on credit up to the last.
Mr. Knowles has also stopped payment, and called his
creditors together, both in his own name, and also as
procurator for the Brazilian house of Vicente Ferreira
da Silva. Mr. Knowles had been largely concerned in
bill transactions with Corpas and Co., and was a creditor
on that firm for some 20 contos of reis.

The Senate has voted the Bill which went up last
week from the Deputies to enable the Government to
receive and apply according to law the revenues due up
to the end of June next. By this vote the Govern-
ment will be able, according to SenhOr Avila, to meet
all its expenses without aloan, to which lie is op-
posed. 'He intends raising small sums from time to
time on the Decima, as it falls due. There was a sum
of 200 contos 00,00010, which was to be paid in London
on the Ist October, about which much anxiety prevails ;
I believe the bank has agreed to furnish it, but am
in doubt whether it will have reached England in due
time. Senhor Avila is indefatigable, and really deserves
great credit for the resources he has raised since he came
in, which is owing, in a great measure, to the personal
confidence felt in him. It is reported also that some of
the Receivers-General, who have long been in arrear,
have been forced to cash up. Certainly, by some means,
money has been found, and all classes have received
something; the Court, I believe, least of all.
A band of forty guerillas (mounted), that had had the
boldness to traverse the Alentejo, and having crossed the
Tagus to penetrate into the province of Bera, were fortu-
nately met at a village called Amarillas by a detachment of
cavalry, and completely routed, on the 14th instant, nine
being killed and several made prisoners ; while the others
jumped off their horses, in order to escape and conceal
themselves ; twenty-six horses were captured by the
troops at the time, and eight guerillas, as well as thir-
teen more horses, have since been taken by the inha-
bitants of Sarzedas. The people of the neighbouring
districts were all up in arms in pursuit of them, so that
it is to be hoped few of them will escape. The 28th
Cacadores, 400 in number, have arrived at Qlhao, Al-
garve, from Oporto, by the Vesuvio steamer, so that the
course of the southern banditti will be arrested at length.
Marquis Saldanha is expected to leave for Madrid
in a
day or two. General Macdonnell leaves to:•day by the
Brgansa steamer for England.

The reimbursements exceeded the deposits, last
wogro f u the DNA of Clermont by 2,600 f.