The Sun.
London, England, 1847-02-22 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON,

advanced to railroads, he did not think it would b©
possible to have secured one farthing of this
10,000.0001, and therefore he was rejoiced to see the
majority by which that measure had been rejected
Under these circumstances, it was manifest he must
go into the market to borrow. The question was,
whether he should borrow the whole or only a part ;
by following the latter course, he would considerably
reduce the balance in the Exchequer, from which source
the advances have hitherto been made. This was a course
he:was for many reasons unwilling to adopt, and he there-
fore thought it more adviseable to borrow the whole
rather than put any further pressure on the Bank of
England, or incapacitate the Government from making
advances to the landed proprietors of England and
Scotland. Besides, the prospects of the next har-
vest were uncertain. Hitherto we had been living
mainly upon the produce in other countries of the har.
vest of 1845. There had been entered for home con-
sumption 5,388,000 quarters of foreign corn; and he
was confident that up to the harvest of 1847
we should have an abundance ; but by that

time the produce of 1845 and 1846 would be
exhausted, and we should be dependent upo❑ the pro-
duce of the harvest of 1847. The large surplus in the
Exchequer had alone hitherto enabled them to make
the necessary advances, and he felt that it
would be most imprudent to lessen that surplus
more than was absolutely necessary. Therefore
the wiser course was to borrow the money. It would
not be a permanent debt, because a considerable portion
was to be repaid out of the property of Ireland.—(A
laugh.) The next question was, whether the loan ought
to be accompanied by increased taxation. He was unwilling
to add this amount to the debt without taking means for it
extinction, but he thought that during the present year
it would be uefortunate to attempt any change in taxa-
tion. The present year was an exception to all others.
If we had a good harvest there would be no necessity for
further advances, if it should be bad it would be
necessary to make a further demand on the
country for the assistance of Ireland, and there-
fore he thought it better to postpone the question
of the imposition of additional taxation. Besides, next
year it would be necessary to deal with the Income-tax,
and it would be unwise to attempt to prejudge in what
manner Parliament—a new Parliament perhaps—might
chose to deal with the Income-tax, he therefore thought it
best to leave the whole question open till next session. He
calculated on a surplus of 489,0004 of ordinary revenue
over expenditure. He calculated be could borrow
the 8,000,000/, at three and half per cent.,
the interest of which would be 280,0001; but
then, he calculated he should have to raise the
interest of Exchequer-bills. The interest at present
was lid. a day, and he proposed to raise it to 2d.,
which would amount to 142,000/. ; giving an in-
crease of interest of 422,000/. ; making the total
ordinary expenditure 51,998,000/. ; leaving a surplus
of 67,000/. From Chinese money the next year
he should receive 450,0001., but against this he must
place an extending expenditure of 185,000/. to cover the
excess of naval expenditure of the year ending sth April
las

t. The total of income, therefore, would be
52,515,0001. ; the total of expenditure 52,183,0001.,
leaving a surplus of 332,0001.
[LEFT SPEAKING.]

it r

.

THE PROSPECTS of the POTATO

CROP.—GOVERNMENT INQUIRY.
At t e beginning of last month the Poor-law Com-
missi) ers announced to the Assistant Commissioners and
others, that Government was anxious to receive infor-
mation from leading gentlemen of practical experience,
on the following point connected with the failure of the
potato crop during the last and present year, viz.,
" whether any sorts of that root have not been more or
less than others injuriously affected ?" It was also
stated that the object of Government in directing an in-
quiry into this branch of the subject appears to be to
collect such information as may serve as a guide to
farmers who are making choice of sorts for planting ;
and looking to the probability of future failures, it is a
question of paramount importance, and to which atten-
tion does not hitherto appear to have been sufficiently
directed.
In accordance with the wish above expressed, Mr.
Hawley, the Assistant Poor-law Commissioner, ad-
dressed a letter fram Durham to Mr. Milburn, of Thorp-
field, Thirsk, to which he received the following reply :
" Thorpfield, Thirsk, Jan. 26, 1847.
" Sir,—l beg to inclose replies to your queries in re-
ference to potatoes. I have paid a great deal of attention
to the matter, and am quite convinced that no causes,
such as I infer are thought of by the tone of queries, are
so far in operation as to account for the disease. Both
the old and the new kinds were equally affected, and
those which escaped most in 1845 suffered most in 1846.
" I am aware how very little value opinions are of in
the matter ; but I think the following statements are
justified by facts :
" Ist. That in 1845 the white varieties and late va-
rieties suffered most by the disease. 2d. That it mani-
fested itself most about the 12th of October, and pro-
gressed after they were removed from the ground most
severely. 3rd. That all kinds were most free from dis-
ease which were taken up early, say, before the Ist of
October. 4th. That the disease was most in wet and
clay districts, and least felt in dry and sand districts, as
at Thirsk and Doncaster. sth. That very diseased sets
still had vitality, and would produce plants, in some
cases less tainted by disease than the sets free from dis-
ease would do.

" While, 6th, in 1846, the red varieties were the worst
diseased. 7th. That the disease manifested itself in one
night, say, about the 23rd of August, all the tops being
blackened as if by frost, though the night was thick
and oppressively hot ; but no progress was made by the
disease after the plants were removed from the soil.
Bth. That the early kinds were the worst, and those the
earliest removed from the ground suffered the most. I
think it probable that this year they improved by laying
in the soil. 9th. The districts most free from the disease
in 1845 were the most affected in 1846, to wit, Thirak
and Doncaster, and sand districts.
" My opinion on the whole is, that it is owing to that
mysterious law of nature, that bounds shall be set to the
great increase of any species of animals or plants, and
thus the balance of creation shall be duly kept.
" My impression is, also, that the disease will be less
severe in this year than last, and by and by it will wear
out as the "curl" in potatoes. and 'the dry rot have done
before, but not before there is much misery and suf•
fering. . _ _

" I trust her Majesty's Government, in carrying out
their present judicious and merciful measures for Ire-
land, will provide seed corn, especially rye, which will
grow on the poor soils of that country, and be a tran-
sition from a delicate exotic vegetable to a hardy one,
less accustomed to suffer by variable influences. Better
to pay the Irish for growing and tilling their own soil
and find them seed, than have a nation of paupers.—l
have the honour to be, sir, your most obedient servant,
" MATTHEW MARMADUKE MILBURN.
" To W. H. T. Hawley, Esq."— Leeds Mercury.