The Sun.
London, England, 1847-01-06 00:00:00

A meeting was held on Monday night at the National
Hall, Holborn, for the purpose of expressing the opinion
of those assembled as inimical to the maintenance of
capital punishment in the British empire, Mr. Charles
Gilpin in the chair.
The CHAIRMAN commenced by expressing his belief
that the punishment of death was altogether opposed
to the teachings of Christianity, which directed forgive-
ness rather than such a sanguinary punishment. Ile
next alluded to other practical evils connected with the
existence of such an infliction, amongst which was its
irremediable character where the punishment was wrong-
fully inflicted, and instanced, amongt other cases, one of
the conviction of a young man at Ipswich, a few years
since, who suffered death upon the false supposition of
being concerned in a murder, with which it subsequently
appeared he had not even had a remote connexion. This,
the chairman said, was in itself a striking instance of
the fallibility of human judgment—(llear, hear)—a
fallibility which was the more important for considera-
tion when it was reflected that it often resulted in the
awful and sinful infliction of the punishment of death.
Mr. F. ROWTON proposed the first resolution, which
was to the effect that the punishment of death was totally
indefensible on grounds of policy, morality, and religion,
and that in the opinion of the meeting it ought to be im-
mediately and totally abolished. He altogether dis-
avowed such a ground as expediency for defending the
continuance of capital punishment, for it ought to be
opposed on principle, and altogether without relation to
expediency. But if it were necessary to discuss the
question on such grounds, he could easily prove that
sanguinary and atrocious crimes prevailed in the ratio
of the maintenance of sanguinary punishments.— (Hear.)
The fear of death was, in fact, the lowest and worst
motive which could be given to a man to prevent him
from the commission of crime, and the carrying out of
the sentence only tended to brutalise men, and render
them callous and ferocious.—{Hear.) But, apart from
.the objections he had alluded to, he would ask where was
the right of Christian men to put their fellow-men to
death ? We did not put madmen to death, although
many of them were more dangerous than some of those
who suffered death ; and why then should we assume a
right to put others to death because we did not Seem
them mad ? The punishment of death was one that
was altogether opposed to the Divine clemency, and was
a disgrace to the statute-book of a Christian country.—
(Cheers.) The opponents of capital punishment had
with them all great and enlightened intellects. They
had with them Cobden, Bright, Fox, O'Connell, and all
the other great advocates of human liberty and of the
general good of mankind; and he had no doubt that
before long the cause which they advocated would be
found perfectly triumphant.—(Cheers.)
The resolution was seconded by
i Mr. ALFRED STE-
PHENS, who said that he concurred n the fullest manner
with the opinion expressed in the resolution. The effect
of capital punishment had often been to defeat the very
purpose for which it was intended, and to permit many
criminals to go unpunished, from an unwillingness in
persons to be accessory to their death by prosecuting
them. He would ask who were those that attended
executions ? Were they the pure, or innocent, or well-
disposed ? No, but in most cases the hardened and
guilty, and depraved, who indulged low and base pro-
pensities in witnessing the dying agonies of a fellow-
creature.—(Hear, hear.) He would call upon the meet-
ing to join with their fellow-countrymen who were ap-
pealing to public opinion on this subject, for if they
succeeded in bringing public opinion to bear against it,
no Government, whoever might be at its head, could long
maintain it.—(Cheering.) lie hoped they would there-
fore, in the strongest and most emphatic manner, protest
against the continuance of the foul, barbarous, un-
christian, and detestable hanging law.
The resolution was unanimously agreed to.
Mr. H. VINCENT proposed a resolution pledging the
meeting to petition Parliament against the punishment of
death. He directed the attention of the meeting to the
importance which was attached to the object for which
they had assembled, namely, the rendering human life
more sacred. How could peace and good will prevail
over war and all its evils, if it were not laid down as an
unalterable principle, that man's life was sacred, and that
none but God might take it.--t Hear, hear.) If it were
a part of Christianity to forgive those who injure us,and
net to return evil for evil, then the gallows could not be a
part of Christianity. The truth was, the punishment of
death rested entirely on a principle antagonistic to the
spirit of Christ, for it rested on the principle of revenge
instead of forgiveness.—(Hear, hear.) Experience had
shown that property was more secure now than when
men were put to death by downs for the most trivial
offences ; and there was no doubt that the sanctity of
human life would be held more strictly when the punish-
ment of death was altogether abolished. lle was the
advocate of the amelioration of the human race, and it
was because he saw in this question so much of advan-
tage to mankind embraced, that he would appeal to that
audience to ratify their opinion by a firm resolve to in-
variably express their opposition to this unchristian
punishment.--(Cheers.) All the enlightenment and
genius of the country were against this punishment—
public opinion was being brought to bear on it, and
nothing could resist the force of public opinion when ii
was opposed to the maintenance of such an injustice as
the public sacrifice of man's life.—(Cheers.)
The resolution was seconded by Mr. Hors.tie, and was
carried unanimously, after which the meeting separated.

FIN SBURY MUTUAL INSTRUC-
TIONSOCIETY.
of Suicides") de-
Mr. T. Cooper (author of
Purgatory
livered a lecture on Monday evening,
in the Finsbury Hall,
Bunhill-row, St. Luke's, the onConquest of Difficulties
in Learning and Science," as examples to the working
classes. As may be supposed, a subject full of such in-
terest to those whose lot it is to toil for their daily
bread, and who have hitherto, from some cause or
other, been debarred the acquisition of knowledge, com-
manded a crowded audience, and the lecturer was lis-
tened to throughout with great and deserved attention.
Mr. Cooper acquitted himself of his task with ability
and credit to himself. Independently of his know.
ledge of ancient and modern literature, as well as
science, he is possessed of considerable oratorical
powers, and was, therefore, enabled to impress upon
his hearers, not only his own estimate of the im-
portance of attaining knowledge by the working man,
but the great and permanent value which such acqui-
sition must give to that class in their position
in society. Knowledge is power, said the philo-
sopher, and therefore the attainment of such know-
ledge must give its possessors an advantage calculated to
raise their position in the great social scale of human ex-
istence. Mr. Cooper having adverted generally to the
acquisition of mental acquirements, he proceeded to show
how futile was the idea that a working man could not if
he pleased—and even at what was called an advanced
age—obtain a thorough acquaintance with at least the
elements of the Greek and Latin languages. By that
means the treasures of ancient classic lore would be
opened to them, and what was of equal importance, it
would enable them to trace the derivation of words from
their original source. He then enumerated many in-
stances of great and learned men—aye, and of the hum-
ble or working classes too—who had attained the ages of
forty and fifty before they commenced the study of the
dead languages, and yet, by perseverance and resolution,
not only obtained a perfect acquaintance with them, but
translated the writings of the must celebrated facts of an-
tiquity igio the English tongue. The possibility of
acquiring a thorough knowledge of mathematics
followed, and was, we shall take leave to say,
the most practical part of the lecture, as ad-
dressed to his audience. We are not going to
deny but that a knowledge of the anciert languages has
been acquired by men in the humbler walks of life, many
of whom have adorned the countries which gave them
birth; nor do we say that such an acquisition is not an
advantage, but with the generality of artisans and work-
ing men it may be a question whether the time and
labour lost in the pursuit would be eventually repaid.
It is not so with science. There an artisan has an op-
portunity of testing his knowledge by the very employ-
ment in which he is engaged, of advancing, by his in-
genuity and skill, that great mechanical power which has
made this country what she is in arts and manufactures,
and of acquiring daily a practical knowledge which he
may apply to the great business of life, and
in the fulfilment of those duties and objects in
which all men are individually engaged. It is in
this that the study of mathematics affords the greatest
benefits to the working man and to society at large,
and which no pursuit after mere ancient or modern
literature can ever bestow. And, talking of modern
literature, it did occur to us that the lecturer was rather
" hard" upon works of fiction as forming a portion of
the working men's library. It may be quite true that
those employed at manual labour have little or no time
for reading novels, or works of a similar nature ; and it
may be quite true also that that time might be better
devoted to the attainment of mechanical knowledge ;
but surely, at some period or another, there can be no
error in making themselves acquainted with the beauties
of their own language, with the works of men, though
novelists, whose genius will ever shed a lustre on the
land which gave them birth. The reading of such works,
tc the exclusion of all others, may indeed be an evil of
t magnitude, but as a part of a course of literary
great
instruction it must confer vast benefits on those who do
so judiciously.
The room where the lecture was given is very small,
and, we regret to add, could not contain many who
sought admission, but the interest created by the lecture
absorbed all other considerations. At the conclusion
Mr. Cooper was loudly cheered.

THE ENGLISH MATRON.—By the Authoress of "The
English Gentleman." The value of such a work as this
is incalculable. Every chapter points the way to do-
mestic comfort, peace, and happiness ; every page is
redolent of family and social blessing. Our country-
women have to thank the authoress for such a guide. She
is a monitress for all the relations of female life, most
worthy of attentive reflection, and an adviser whose
every counsel deserves to be weighed and reconsidered
with the calmness due to questions on which destiny for
good or evil depends. The work treats of every ma-
tronly duty, from the days of courtship to the end of
all. To sum up, this is a volume to form correct and
virtuous wives, and good and affectionate mothers, We
1 can give no higher enconitun.—Literary Gazette.

CHURCHYARD FEVER AT MINCHINHAMPTON.
At a meeting of the Health of Towns Association, on
Wednesday, 23d December, Dr. Southwood Smith laid
before the committee some correspondence, developing
the cause of an epidemic fever which had broken out and
ravaged the small town of Minchinharapton. He con-
ceived it most important that this correspondence should
be laid before the proper authorities and the public, as
it could scarcely fail to establish the conclusion, that
those provisions which it was at present contemplatt d to
confine to the larger towns, should be extended to the
smaller town, and that to new churches, whaltur erected
in towns, or in rural districts, common grave} ards should
no longer be attached. The facts contained in the cor-
respondence to which he wished attention to be given
were most important in relation to the physical question
as to the grave-yard emanations. In his report on the
practice of interments, Mr. Chadwick had adduced evi-
dence demonstrative of the conclusion that the emana-
tions from human remains, in a- state of decomposition,
were noxious in their effects on human life. He regarded
this correspondence as a striking illustra.ion of titis fact.
and he thought it important to give it publicity, because
the public are often more impressed by a single case than
by a volume of evidence. The first letter he had received
was as follows—from Mr. Daniel Smith, dated Minchin-
hampton, November Bth.
" Sir,—l beg to apologise for the great liberty lam
taking in addressing you; but knowing the interest you
take in the sanatory improvement of our towns, I am
anxious to obtain your valuable opinion, for which I
shall feel much honoured and obliged. Our town is
situated on a considerable elevation; each shower of
rain produces ite little torrent, which passes through the
streets with considerable p er; our streets are wide,
and the inhabitants ti ieahly 4. no offensive
business being carried on, and the place has been pro-
verbial for health. I have practised as a surgeon here
for 16 years, and until the last two years I have no recol-
lection of having had a single case of typhus fever. In
the latter end of the year 1844 I had many cases, uni-
form in their symptom's, with a disposition to assume
the typhoid type. Last year very few occur r eil.
Within the last two months we have had upwards of
150, so as to induce a general meeting of the respectable
portion of the inhabitants. The fever is identical with
crowded; the parishyaer years
r st is
ha some
since,
that of the former year, but more severe. Cold
rigours, congestion of the brain great prostration of the
vital powers, blood dark, with delirium on the second or
third day, are the early symptoms. In the year 1843
our church was rebuilt; a °Teat portion of the church-
yard was sunk and removed'; many bodies reinterred; an
immense guantity of this earth was used on pasture land
close to the town. A large bank, more than one hun-
dred loads, now remains within fifty yards of the town.
si
xfb o thelvoiekr thousand;eeelsayierrytetehounmvaesffrtyoanrdcdarkeg aowl
hr
iieal,lbeing gravesstoo oaksdet
place
lsase removed.ye.
Our church was five hundred years old; population of
n
e
tPrayhree
ctoouandtdftohrasto
tmheucshtrdeiesteaasuedat
the
eis
rteimeteo?ry,compelledadjoining,
Iboatmh
were the first and most severely visited (that is, this
year). In our rector's family of four, the wife and
daughter died, also the gardener. I regret to say that
many cart loads of the dark earth was put in trenches
by the side of the walks on the premises, the gardener
frequently digging up bones. As the heap of earth
now remaining is the important subject of inquiry,
would you recommend its removal?"
Dr. SOUTHWOOD SMITH replied as follows:—" Sir, it
is very surprising how such a plan could have been con.
ceived, much less actually adopted, as that which you
describe; namely, covering pasture land and bordering
gardens with decayed and decaying human bodies, in the
shape of earth very dark,' conveyed directly from a
churchyard five hundred years old, and taken from
graves densely crowded.' This dark earth' must be
highly charged with animal matter, for such matter has
been constantly infiltrating into it for ages. The wea-
ther during the latter part of the summer, and the begin-
ning of the autumnal quarters, has been peculiarly fa-
vourable to its decomposition. In accounting for the
general spread of epidemics during the last two quarters
of the present year, the Registrar-General, in his report
for the summer quarter, ending the 30th of September,
says:—' The rapidity of decomposition, the facility with
which all kinds of animal matter run into putrefaction,
enable us to understand how, in a summer like the past,
in which the temperature was unusually high, the dis-
eases referable to an impure atmosphere should have been
so prevalent and fatal.' No one can doubt that a large
mass of earth, highly impregnated with animal matter,
is capable of contaminating the atmosphere, and there-
fore that the bank of this earth, consisting of more
than 100 loads, which now remain within fifty yards of
the town,' ought to be instantly removed."
(The letter goes on to advise the authorities of the
town to look to their drains, gutters, and cesspools, and
the supply of water).
In his reply, dated Nov. 16th, Mr. Daniel Smith says,
after thanking the learned doctor, " I find, however, that
this heap is not exclusively composed of churchyard
earth, but contains some rubbish ; and instead of being
100 loads, as I stated in my former letter, it amounts to
400 or 500 loads. It was carefully hand picked, that is,
the large bones were coll:oted and buried. Small bones
are now and then seen, which point out the nature of the
stuff. Near this heap, and somewhat parallel to it, is a
long path or ridge of exclusively churchyard earth,
which was intended to fill up some inequality of the
ground. This extends nearly 70 yards', and amounts to
400 or 500 loads also, and is about a yard in thickness ;
there is, of course, much surface exposed to the atmos-
phere ; 103 loads were spread about as manure, as before
stated. The newly-erected part of our church was sunk
to be in unison with the architectural proportion of the
older, or remaining portion, and consequently, to make
a suitable and new approach, much lowering of the
ground was requisite ; thus a considerable partoo
or two of the remains. In fact, some were ex-
posed and re-interred, and others ocally
this
the churchyard was sliced down, to within a f t
quired to be covered to keep them from
part is densely crowded with graves. The churchyardhe
was enlarged, and the new ground coated with t
view,and
churchyard earth from its fertilising effects, so as to
hasten the rapid growth of grass. These additions I con-
sider so serious that I am induced to submit them
to your consideration. Our parish consists of hamlets
principally. The town itself contains only about 800
inhabitants, and is formed by
four streets crossing at
right angles, and has a considerable descent, which pro-
duces, after a shower, a current of water of much power,
passing into the under drains with a velocity which tho-
roughly and effectually cleanses them. Much, also, is
carried off by surface draining, the lower part of the
town terminating with an ascent. We have no ditches,
our soil is shallow, and rock exists everywhere. Our
church was completed in the autumn of 1843; previous
to which I have no recollection of having had a single
case of idiopathic fever in the town during the fourteen
years I had resided in it, although I
see nearly 1,000
patients annually in my private and public capacity as
surgeon to the dispensary, and during the laemic tw
or
e id
months I have attended 100 cases of the p ,
more, in the town, which, from their uniform symptoms,
must, I conclude, arise from some
Dr. Southwood Smith answers, in a letter of consider-
able length, dated Nov. 27, in which, after recapitulating_
the statements made by his correspondent? he sayds—
indepen ently
" From the account, it is obvious that, .
the garde
of what has been used on pasture
land,d fultheechurchn.
of the rectory, and in the new groan
yard, one thousand loads of earth, hig
ssve
specific
h caacnhuds-aert.gheed with
animal matter, being, in fact, the progrea mu-
s
n
videninceosegil.vvheno
forp
atmosphere
earth centuries,
n .c ahavenow
Towns Commis-
lbaerei
no naoeftutahlelybeoxdpieosseodf
tothethdeeaattos
n is whether it is probable that
ib,yivemorff. emanationsj .Dean _
before capable
the
Health
producingit
h of
d which will help us to answer
isrilohna,lesothmeemlacditsseaasree
stated which
In theT
exposed to the atmosphere,
in a sanitary point of view,
con-
sideration of the difference
as well as in the productive value of manure, diluted
this question. This witness. enters
.into a detailed s
liquid, and of the same
with water, and used as
manure applied in the solid form. as top dressing,.
The thought is revolting, but it is not the less
the fact, that practically the whole
. of the churchyard
that
h a
in the trenches
of the rectory garden, on the new ground added to the
churchyard, or that which still remains in heaps close to
the town, must be regarded as top-dressing, According
earthwhether
phplaised been
n the pasture land,
to the evidence of Mr. Dean, the proper dilution of
manure with water, and the application of it toland i
liquid form, while it increases the prod n a
productive value of
the manure five or six fold, absolutely prevents the es-
cape of emanations, or at all events renders the produc-
tion of miasmata only occasional, and of very short
duration, but this same manure, when applied in a solid
form, as top-dressing, decomposes slowly, and gives off
for an indefinite period emanations injurious to whoever
is exposed to them."
After describing a disease caused on the Rent
the poisonous gases given out by
,) vast coast by
t
quantities of
the animal called " five fingers, or " Asterias "
found abundantly in the oyster beds, and which which. is
is used
for manure, he says—
" But in churchyard earth five centuries old, still
densely crowded with graves, poisonous matte
contained in a high degree of concentration. We
rmay be
from experience that the air may become so chargedknow
animal and vegetable poison, as to cause death
by with
spiration of it for a few moments. This is the the in-
climates where there is much moisture, and where
large quantities of dead and decayed
time,
vegetable and
animal substances are exposed for a
considerable
perhaps in stagnant pools and marshes, to
heat. It is the same in vaults in which bodies are
this moist
enclosed In leaden coffins, the opening
sometimes proved suddenly fatal th() of which
who have
which has
breathed the stench and vapour that have issued from
them. Cases are on record in which thieves
who
have
broken into tombs and forced open such coffins.
with a
view of plunder, instead of finding jewels, have met with
death, and have been found dead in the vaults. These
facts show the highly concentrated state in which an
animal poison may exist. Your five centuries old dark
churchyard earth must, I repeat, contain this poison in a
state of concentration. The state of the atmosphere, for
a considerable time past, has been favourable to decom-
position, from the nature of your soil, which you state to
he sandy, with rock abounding everywhere, the poisonous
products cannot percolate through the earth, but must be
exhaled into the atmosphere. If the weather should be

calm, and the wind move sluggishly in the direction. of
your town, your present epidemic will continue ; with
the change of tho atmospheric conditions, the intensity of
the emanations given off from your decomposing heaps,
may diminish, and, consequently, your fever may
decline, and even subside, but it will again recur as
long as those heaps are allowed to remain, and, in-
deed, as long as this extraordinary amount of poisonous
matter is allowed to contaminate a soil naturally salu-
brious. The arrangement by which dead organic matter
is capable of receiving the principle of life, of assuming
now vital ("orals, and of developing into new bodies, is
beautiful and beneficent, but when such matter is taken
from new graves and applied directly to fertilise our
fields, the transition is too immediate, and cannot but
shock the natural prejudices of the hnman mind. Mr.
Chiola ick has shown the imperative necessity of an en-
tire revision of our whole system of interment—at least
as far as regards large towns and populous districts ;but
the case of Minchinhatnpton proves that such a revision
is equally necessary for our villages and hamlets. The
necessity of such a revision appears to have been felt by
the great architect of St. Paul's—' For I could wish,'
says Sir Christopher Wren, ' that all burial in churches
might be disallowed, which is not only unwholesome,
but the pavement can never bo kept even, nor pews up-
right, and if the churchyard be close about the church,
this is also inconvenient, because the ground, being con-
tinually raised by the graves, occasions in time a descent
by steps into the church, which renders it damp and the
walls green, as appears evidently in all old churches.'
Whem shall we see every parish in England with its
God's Acre,' those secluded places of sepulture, of
which the German Protestants have set us the example;
beautified with perennial flowers, with flowering shrubs,
with the cypress and the willow, and with groups of other
trees, the favourites of our familiar fields, gardens, and
woods ; in which peaceful retreats it may be possible
to cherish those reverential and tender associations natu-
rally called up by the sight, or even the thought of the
hallowed spot in which our beloved dead repose • and
full of those types of renovation and decay, which the
fields and the woods offer to the notice of the serious
and contemplative mind, suggestions which are espe-
cially so precious because so soothing to the mourner,
and so calculated to revive is his heart resignation and
hope."
Mr. Smith, in his next letter, stated the course which
he had adopted, and the opposition he had met with in
the parish—
" The patron of the living, who is also the lord of the
manor, together with the rector, were, I believe, the
principal cause of the unfortunate churchyard arrange-
ment. The former, who was present, appeared to re-
ceive my opinion with some pique and discourtesy.
Many, if not most, of the individuals present considered
that there was something in my views. I further stated
that I recognised the same uniform symptoms in the fever
of the present year, indicating that both arose from the
same cause. The rector, who was abser.t, soon sent a
protest against my theory; hence we have a parochial
division, and I am sorry to eay that there is no immediate
prospect of the removal of the source of the malady.
Since I first addressed you I have had important addi-
tional confirmation of the views we both entertain.
Wherever this earth has been taken fever has followed.
The patron had some taken to his garden, and the only
son of the gardener near was attacked. The result at
the rectory you are already aware of, and there are two
or three more instances."

Dr. Southwood Smith, in his last letter, remarks that
any person of ordinary intelligence and common sense
would have surely thought it prudent, as a mere matter
of precaution, to remove these thousand loads of earth,
upon such representations. He quotes Dr. Mead, who
wrote more than a century and a half ago, about the
cause of the plague prevalent in Grand Cairo—

" A great carial Passes through the midst of the city,
which, at the overflow of the Nile, is filled with water.
On the decrease of the river this canal is gradually dried
up, and the people throw into it all manner of filth, car-
rion, offal, and so on; the stench which arises from this
and the mud together is intolerably offensive, and from
this source, the plague constantly springing up every
year, preys upon the inhabitants, and is stopped only by
the return of the Nile, the overflowing of which washes
away the load of filth."
And he concludes the correspondence thus:—
" There is a growing dislike in the people of this
country to have their places of burial desecrated by
common and daily traffic, and by rude and low sports,
and those who can afford it now seek to bury their dead
in public cemeteries, wretchedly poor and inappropriate
as those cemeteries are, compared with what national
places of sepulture might and ought to be made. In
the meantime the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, in-
cluding the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the Bishops
of London, Lincoln, Durham, St. Asaph, and Bangor,
have reported against the practice of burial in the church
and Chancel, ' a practice,' they say, which appears to
us to be in many respects injurious, in some cases by
weakening or deteriorating the fabric of the church, and

in others by its tendency to affect the lives and health of
the inhabitants. We are of opinion that in future the
practice should be discontinued." One distinguished
member of the bench, indeed, is of opinion that there is
no evil in this practice, provided it is not carried to ex-
cess ; that poison in itself is not hurtful, but only an
extreme dose of it. It is earnestly to be wished that the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners had reported against the
practice of burial near the church as well as within it,
were it only for the reason assigned by Sir Christopher
Wren, already quoted, that ' if the churchyard be close
about the church, the ground being continually raised
by the graves, occasions in time a descent by steps into
the church, which renders it damp, and the walls green,
as appears, evidently, in old churches.'"

REVIEW OF THE IRON TRADE
IN 1846, AND PROSPECTS FOR 1847.
An unusual steadiness in the price of iron has been
maintained throughout the year. There has been com-
paratively little speculation, the demand having been
chiefly for consumption. This bona fide demand has
prevented any depression in price, which would other-
wise have been created by the re-action of the railway
mania in the early part of the year, followed by a
change in the Government, an apprehension of our
amicable relations with foreign countries being
interrupted, and a great advance in the price
of food, accompanied by forebodings of scarcity
and predictions of famine. During this time, however;
the make of iron has been considerably less than the
osot huff
stocki
1121sp8pi country. oiisnou.
ironi
Iv,:
nay
and
d Itthe
e Scotland
supply required; and at no former peried did the stock
on hand bear so small a proportion to the total make of
d etrsh stocketro
there
d hasareth adti
seekingmt
hien diminished
i stocke da
ailsesn oatl
also
oirsevetrhya than
low. equal
Tthoea
ofrodr fortnight's hone shcaonnd-,
nearly one-half, being 100,000 tons less than at the end
Staffordshire,
iron it
istheumastersn
portion of their supply from Wales and Scotland. The
especially for rails and chairs, are unusually large; and
it is doubtful, if, at any former period, the order books
of the iron masters exhibited anything like the same
amount of unexecuted orders. There seems little pro-
bability of much increase in the make of iron during the
year 1347 ; nor should it surprise us were it even les-
sened. Workmen are scarce ; wages are high ; there
is a great disposition to shorten the hours of labour ;
and much difficulty is felt in many situations in
keeping up the stock of raw materials. Compara-
tively few of the railway companies have yet given
their orders for iron. Out of the 7,500 miles passed in
the sessions of 1845 and 1846, we believe that not 500
miles of rails are yet delivered. There is every reason
to expect that from 2,000 to 3,000 miles of railway will
be passed iu the session of 1847 ; and by far the greater
part of these will be branches of existing lines, or of others
in the course of construction ; consequently, there can
be little doubt of these being executed. There does
not appear to be any exaggeration in the statement, that
four million tons of finished iron will be required for
the British and Irish railways already passed, or
to be passed in the ensuing session. This would
absorb the whole of the present make of the country
for three years. The alteration of the American tariff
will occasion a considerable export of iron to that
country; and, in spite of the influence and efforts to the
contrary, a modification of the French duty is in-
evitable. The action recently commenced by the Great
Northern Railway Company of France against the French
iron masters, for non-delivery of rails, shows pretty
plainly the impossibility of that country sup-
plying itself. Germany, Russia, Prussia, Austria,
Spain, and Italy, are already looking to this country
for iron; and the long lines of railway . contem-
plated in India, and so essential to its well being, must
either be abandoned, or be constructed with British
iron. The progress of railways cannot be impeded, if
the material can be furnished. The enormous increase
in the number of third-class passengers, especially on
the northern lines, is swelling the incomes, and improv-
ing the dividends beyond the most sanguine expectations.
The poor man is beginning to discover that on many lines
railway travelling is cheaper than walking ; popular
opinion will compel the railway companies to make it so, on
every line ; and their own interest will induce them to
attract the multitude by comfortable accommodation, in-
stead of repelling them by almost systematic inconve-
nience. It is the penny per mile paid by the million
which will ensure the extension and the success of rail-
ways. In reviewing these remarks, we appear to have
written as though railways were the only purpose to
which iron is in future to be applied. Three years
ago, when the make of iron was nearly the same as
is now,
it not more than one-tenth of that make
was applied to railway. The ordinary demand for
miscellaneous uses is more likely to increase than to
fall off. It is difficult to answer the inquiry which is
now becoming very frequent—how
can both the ordi-
nary demand and the extraordinary
demand be met,
supply ?
each_ of thesi being about equal to the total
Yet the demand and the supply must adjust them-
selves ; and prices will be the medium of adjustment.
It is impossible that the supply can, for years
to come, be rendered equivalent to the present
demand ; there is, therefore, the greatest con-
fidence in the opinion that prices will advance sufficiently
to bring down the demand to the supply. It would be
rash to predict, and difficult to conjecture, what rate of
advance will produce this result ; every man must form
his own opinion. The prudent course is, to be supplied
before the price becomes exorbitant ; and when it is so,
to compel a reduction by limiting orders as much as pos-
sible, if they cannot be entirely withheld.—London New
Price Current of Jan. 5.