The Sun.
London, England, 1841-06-30 00:00:00

AN APPEAL TO TRADESMEN IN

TOWN AND COUNTRY.

A person who calls himself a Landon Tradesman,
has published an Appeal to the Tradesmen in Town and
Country, on the Corn-laws, in which he assumes as
the basis of his fallacious arguments that every
quarter of wheat imported from abroad would drive a
quarter of English-grown wheat out of the market. He
supposes that if a million of quarters of wheat be im-
ported for the use of the manufacturers, that would de-
prive the English farmers of their custom to the extent
of 3,000,0001. Our home-trade, he positively asserts,
would be at once reduced to that amount. This is al-
together a false assumption, and only proves the
thorough ignorance, or the bad faith, of the man who
makes it.

The fact is, that the manufacturers can consume a
grertt dial more than the farmers can supply them
with. They do not prefer to deal with either
a Pole or a Prussian, to dealing with an
English farmer ; but after they have purchased of the
English farmer everything he has to sell at a reasonable
and just price, they would also buy of the Pole and the
Prussian. They would not deal with them instead of
dealing with the English farmer, but they would deal with
both. The consequence, therefore, of importing foreign
wheat would be that the manufacturers would have
more bread and would sell more cloth, but our farmers
would not sell a sheaf of corn less. _ _

The farmer really exchanges his corn for cloth, and
there would be plenq- of it to give for his corn, for our
cloth-making power is nearly illimitable, though the
manufacturers were also allowed to exchange that
cloth which the English farmer cannot buy, for
Polish or American wheat. A decisive proof of this
assertion is to be found in the fact that we have imported
during the last three years more than four millions of
quarters of wheat, and no farmer complains that this im-
portation has compelled him to keep his corn on hand.
The Tradesman assumes that the home trade would be
reduced by the extent of corn imported. Is that con-
sonant to experience ? The more corn, wine, oil, cloth
there is in the land the more there is to exchange, and
the greater must be the amount of traffic, as well as the
opulence of all. The assertion that an addition to our
stock of food would lessen trade seems to us one
of those wilful mistatements which deserve no notice
or answer, and we are only surprised to learn that some
men should believe it.
The tradesmen of London need not fear any falling
off in their trade by the abolition of the Corn-laws.
They know very well that the principal medium of ex-
change is paper, which is neither eatable nor drinkable,
and is only valuable because with it they can buy food,
clothing, furniture, books, &c. Supposing there is an in-
crease of commodities by allowing corn to be imported,
there will be more to exchange ; and the tradesmen of
London will get more for their share, whether it be by
landlords' cheeks, or any other paper money. They
know very well that many of their best customers
are opulent manufacturers, and persons from the manu-
facturing districts, and they must be aware that what-
ever adds to the opulence of those districts increases the
trade of London. It has grown to such a height, not in
consequence of the increased rent of land, but in conse-
quence of the °Teat increase of useful commodities, and
of wealth caused by the extension of our manufactures
and commerce.
We have for some time had this pamphlet in our
possession, but its statements appear to us so puerile,
that they are not worthy of notice. Nor should we now
have wasted a word on them, were we not informed that
there are some electors in Marylebone who have adopted
the notion that to add to the wealth of the country by
importing an abundance of commodities to trade with,
will lessen the home trade.

SUPPLY OF WATER IN LONDON.—It was
not until 1582 that any great mechanical power or skill
was applied in providing London with water ; but in that
year Peter Morris, a Dutchman, made " a most artificial
forcier," by which water was conveyed into the houses.
On the Lord Mayor and Aldermen,going. to view the
works in operation, Morris, to show the efficiency of
his machine, caused the water to be thrown over
St. Magnus' church. The City granted him a lease
for the use of the Thames water and one of the arches
of London bridge for five hundred, years ; and two years
afterwards he obtained the use of another arch for a
similar period. These were the water-works famous .for
so long a period as one of the sights of London. The
original works supplied -the neighbourhood " as far as
Gracechurch-street," no great distance, and the fact does
not. speak much for their efficiency. In 1594 water-
works of a similar kind were erected near Broken-wharf,
which supplied the houses in West Cheap, and around
St. Paul's, as far as Fleet-street. And this was all that
was done in the way of supplying the populous " and
still increasing London" up to the time of the appear-
ance of Hugh Middleton, citizen and goldsmith. It ap-
pears that power had been granted by Elizabeth for cut-
ting and conveying a river from any part of Middlesex
or Hertfordshire to the city of London, with a limita-
tion of ten years' time for the accomplishment of the
work. The man, however, was more difficult to ob-
tain. Elizabeth died without having witnessed the.
slightest progress made in the matter. King
James confirmed the grant ; and then it was that, after
all else had refused to undertake so vast an affair, the
" citizen acid goldsmith" came forward with the offer of
his wealth, skill, and energy. The arrangements were
soon concluded, and _Middleton' set off into the neigh-
bouring counties to find a fitting stream. After long
search and deliberation he fixed upon two springs rising
in Hertfordshire—one at Chadwell, near Ware, the other
at Amwell. The first positive commencement of the work
took place on the 20th of February, 1608. On the 2d of
May, 1612, James covenanted with Middleton to bear an
equal share of the expense, past and future, in considera-
tion of being entitled to half the property. In a twelve-
month from that time the New River was in existence.
The cistern by Islington was built to receive its waters;
and splendid was the ceremony attending their first ad-
mission into it.—Knight's London'
DREADFUL ACCIDENT AT HUDSON.--A cor-
respondent writes us yesterday as follows :—" Hudson, Junes,
1841.—1 hasten to give you,a_Naccount of a most dreadful ac-
..eident which has taken place M ouricity to-day. It has been
the custom of the chief superintendbirtlatterly to let the cars
go down the descent from the head of Warren-street, without
the engine or horse-power, and always thinking that a man
ulsced at the break of each car was sufficient for safety.
But en the run down this morning the breaks did not
perform as well as usual, and the consequence was that six
large freight cars ran off the dock, and one lost. The amount
of property lost cannot be ascertained exactly, but as near as
can be found out, will not be less than 20,000 dollars ; but that
i
is not anything, where the loss of life s taken in consideration
—for five persons who were known to be in the cars were lost
—and how many more cannot be told. Two were taken out,
one mashed to a complete jelly. And on the other all means
were tried, but in vain, to resuscitate him."