The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-06 00:00:00

THE KNIGHT OF GWYNNE. No. XVII:

By Carlo Lever.
The brilliant, sketchy pen 5f Mr. Lever revels in these
chapters over the expedition of Abercrombie to Egypt.
That expedition was undoubtedly conducted with a
valour and alacrity most creditable to the British army,
and it was particularly creditable at a moment when the
various powers of the known world were being con-
quered by the indomitable prowess of the French
soldiers and the wonderful military genius of the l'reLeh
commanders. With Kleber in Africa, and DesaisLasbis
assistant, and Moreau in Germany, and Hoche in La
Vent-6 and Bernadotte in the interior, and Bonaparte
now in Italy, now upon the eastern shores of the' British
Channel, and now again in the deserts of Syria, France
offered defiance to all the hosts of Europe and Africa,
and marched through a succession of victories and
through leagues of vanquished territories. The tri-
umphant expedition undertaken by the veteran Aber-
crombie, and opened by his heroic dissolution, was the
first discomfiture of the French battalions since the
Revolution had merged into the Republic One and In-
divisible. Harry Lorrequer is so elated* by the recollec-
tion of these successes that he degenerates into the
flattenr of our insular vanity and the traducer of the
valorous children of liberated France. To him the
English military service is of course the very beau ideiil
of chivalric perfection: its leaders are to him, of course,
sans pear et sans rapproche: the regiments are to him, of
course, congregations of heroes. To him, moreover, the
French military service is, of course, the most damnable
of modern institutions: its generals are to him, of course,
ignorant parvenus and rascally marauders : its privates
are to him, of course, mere assemblies of convicted
felons and profligate ruffians—ragged, insubordinate,
sometimes even mean and pusillanimous. We protest
against these egregious John-Bullisms, they are un-
becoming a generous and fine-spirited race. Apart from
these little contemptible nationalities,we are gratifie I with
the progress made in the fiction, although we are sorely
distressed at the protracted absence of our old favourite
Bagenal Daly. In this seventeenth number, Dr. Hick-
man is discomfited in his treacherous designs
upon Lady Eleanor, the Knight himself is cap-
tured by the French troops on their flight
from Aboukir to Alexandria, and Forester, who
had enlisted in " Darcy's Volunteers," and been
seriously wounded in endeavouring to rescue the gallant
old Colonel, is exchanged among the ordinary pri-
soners, and discovered to have succeeded to an earldom,
in consequence of the death of his elder brother. We
may consequently anticipate the speedy celebration of
his marriage with Helen Darcy, and the close of the
narrative. The incidental portraiture of Menou—the
most incompetent of all the French Generals—is clever
and faithful.

FERGUSON AND TAYLOR'S

MONTHLY TRADE CIRCULAR.

Messrs. Ferguson and Taylor, pfManchester,have

;sued the following Monthly Trade Circular, of Prices

Current, which deserves careful attention:—
When it had been ascertained that the failure in
the potato crop, and the deficiency of yield of certain
cereals last harvest, amounted in money value to a loss
by the nation of more than twenty millions sterling in
one year, it became evident to all who reasoned on tile
matter, that such a calamity must inevitably derange
our monetary affairs, and lead to a temporary pros-
tration, at least, of our manufacturing industry, and
some embarrassment to our ordinary commercial enter-
prise. It was clear that this deficiency in the native
supply of the food of the people, would have, to a
large extent, to be met by importations from foreign
' sources, and whether such supplies were paid for by
commodities or money, the nation would be impover-
ished in its resources to the extent of the deficiency in the
returns of her own fields ; since those importations
would not be, as in the case of an abundant harvest, an
increment to previously existent wealth, but, on the con-
trary, would have to be balanced by a draft on past
savings. and the future products of our industry. With
this fact before us, we anticipated a depression in the
home demand for manufac'ures, as a consequence of the
advanced cost of food, and foresaw that a stringency
oeld be experienced in monetary affairs as soon as the
exchanges turned in favour of those countries whence
supplies of_hresd-stuffs were being imported. '1 he
crisis foretold by some of the ablest leaders of public
.ipiniin has at length arrived, and, we apprehend, too
suddenly to many parties who are largely engaged in
the re,,ulation of banking facilities, to be calmly con-
si lered. The evils against which provision is to be made
we conceive has been too much magnified, and ward of
confidence has grown out of excitment, and added
to the embarrassments of the time. The extent
of demand for specie for foreign remittance and
the duration of unfavourable exchanges have, we think,
been over-estimated ; whilst, on the other hand, the re-
sources of the country, and the healthful and legitimate
basis on which its trade has been conducted for some
time past, have not been allowed their due weight.
Although a high rate of interest appears to be inevitable,
as well as desirable, in order to correct the adverse
balance of trade, still we believe there exists no reason,
in the present condition of affairs, or in the probabilities
of the future, for that extraordinary stringency in dis-
counts, and almost (as we have heard) capricious rejec-
don of first class securities, which have taken place
during the past week in London. The effect of the
tightness in the Money-market has completely paralyzed
the trade of this district during the past week.
Buyers are unwilling to extend their liabilities,
and, therefore contract their operations within
the most limited compass, confining their investments
principally to mere parcels for assorting stocks. Spin-
ners and manufacturers, on the other hand, viewing no
probability of an immediate revival of demand, are re-
ducing production as much as possible; by working
short time, or closing their mills.. It is a benevolent
feeling which induces many to continue their work-
,
, people in employment, during three or four days per
week, at a loss, rather than add to the privations
these poor people already unavoidably endure, by
closing their factories altogether. In the meantime
stocks are kept from accumulating, and so far a wiser
policy prevails now than obtained during the depression
ef the years of 1838 and 1841. No heavy stocks
hang over the market to depress prices much below
their natural level, nor are foreign markets being
glutted by shipments made by needy manufacturers
under advances. We hear of no manufacturers
endeavouring to force sales in an overdone market
by cheapening production at the cost of the
operative;—the rate of wages for labour is maintained,
but the market is not over supplied by its products. We
bbuelsiienveessntroanfosrameteiornspoerfibodothof depressionmarketsand ha found
s the
manufacturers
paltaicoe4oorleaxwsonusniodneroffoutnraddaitng to
ion;thebree
cisorrnoecutedndue7
asnpdecaus-
stocks are comparatively moderate both abroad and at
home, the inference is fairly deducible, that as soon as
the present straitness in money matters is withdrawn, a
lucrative trade will follow. With respect to the future
rule of prices, we are inclined to believe they must be
considerably higher than at present as soon as the pre-
sent monetary pressure shall have passed away. At the
present rates of cotton, it is an undoubted fact, spinners
and manufacturers cannot continue production, and it
does not appear likely that the prices of that staple will
speedily decline. Although we doubt the accuracy of
the conclusion drawn from the falling off in the arrivals
of cotton at the ports of the United States, (which may
he occasioned by the accumulation of stock at the sea-
board, scarcity of storage, high rents and rates of insur-
ance, advanced freights, scarcity of shipping. &c.,—all
we
cannot
favour of retaining supplies an the interior,)
still
back, and
cannot doubt that so long as supplies are kept
eld of last year's
uncertainty exists as to the ultimate yihead
here will be
crop, that the value of the material
of cotton, and equalise
To correct the advanced rates
in Manchester, out
firmly supported on the least improvementof demand.l.
41,000
ands 52 naills,-employ-
oprofda7ctraioinnst,od
employinge a d, we have
in.igi.,l2e,n3sopolnyilinagnd7s:sooworhkainndgs, sehnotirtreltiymset,opapneld ; 2i4a
nAnshton-under-Lyne, Stalybridge, Dukinfteld, Mossley,
Fairfield, &c., out of 211 mills, of 6,479 horse power,
employing 27,500 hands, there are 4,301 horse power,
neencingdottailrfhreoseaulny4rdosdays per week ;
with 18 ,
o 0
w32elr47,sne,di
employing
hands,
sg,we
in Stockport, out of 55 mills of 3,648 horse power, and
aokt hr;
are
ar
employinghorsep
,mthilalst,
aorfe3o,ln6lys
power,w or working g
and thr ele,6d9a2y
shrtandlNs'e, mill,
stopped () f 4;23in horseoi.
Bol-
ton, out of 53 mills, of 1,425 horse power, employing
7,070 hands, there are 33 mills, of 842 horse power. and
employing 4,250 hands, working, on an average, ‘q days
per week ; in Oldham, Crompton, R ton, Chadderten,
Lees, and neighbourhood, out of 182 mills, above
100 employing about 17,000 hands, are working only s;x
and eight hours per day, and about 12 mills, employing
about 2,000 hands, are stopped altogether; in Rochdale,
Royton, Todmorden, Whitworth, and neighbourrheolo9
out of 205 mills, employing 10,064 hands, there a
mills, with 13,011 hands, working short time, and 21
mills, with 3,141 hands, entirely s,topped. In Blackburn,
and stoppages are ex-
Preston, and Wigan, " short time'
contemplated by many who are now run-
tending. It is for a short term •
at Whit-
Ding full time to stop entirely, f
.1
suntide. 'This course cannot ai to influence prices
eventually, as production must now be greatly below con-
sumption; and as stocks are being cleared off, both abroad
and at home, as soon as ever a revival of demand sets in,
the value of manufactures must advance. Good harvest
prospects, as the season progresses, would speedily give
azirpafion to business, stud all impulse to prices,