The Sun.
London, England, 1841-09-16 00:00:00

TEE CORN-LAWS AND THE IRON-

TRADE,

The following letter is from Sir J. J. Goes, Bart.,
onP of the wettest iron misters in Wales :
Sir—l am sorry that I have been prever.ted, by ab-
sence from this place from giving as earlier answer to
your letter of the 4th iast. Wit respect to the action
of the present Core-hws upon the iron trade, there can
be no doubt of their injurious effect. A very large por-
tion of the iron manufactured in this country is exported
to the United States of America, and the present very
distressed state of the trade is mainly caused by the
diminished export to that country, not only of the raw
material, but of the articles of hardware and cutlery—
and this state of depression would have been very much
obviated if we could have taken from the United
States the corn and flour, of which they have much to
spare, in return for our iron and hardware. The pro-
hibition of their corn in this country has also hid, and
will have, the effect of causing the establishment of iron
works and other manufactories in their own country,
and protecting them by a hither duty on the importa-
tion of those articles which we hate been accustomed
to supply them with, and which we refuse to exchange
for the corn of which they have a superabundance. I
should think that the iron trade of this district (of Gla•
[Dorgan and Monmouth) employs at least 50,000 per-
sons, and gives subsistence to 100,000 in addition to
that nurul er of operativ. s. Their wages range from 12s.
per w eck (for hbourcrs) to 18s. and to 255. for colliers
and miters, and for persons employed in the processes
of iron making from 20s. to 30s. per we, k. Boys and
women proportionitily less. I should think that the
amount paid in the iron trade of the districts foils little
short of from onc-and-.-half mdlion to two millions
sterling per annum. lam sorry I have not been able
to go more fully into the question, and sincerely hope
that your muting at Manchester may he of sertice to
the cause of humanity, and remain, yours, faithful'y,
Rev. C. Thompson. J. JOHN GUEST.
I am sorry to say, that at this moment, we have a
practical example of the fallacy of the argument of
high core giving high wages, and the reverse. The
wages of the neighbourhood have, within the last three
months, been reduced 20 per cent., whilst flour has ad-
vanced from 4s. 8,1. per 281bs, to 6s. 6d.
Dowlais, Aug. 14,11341.

MR. DAWSON.
(From the Devonpurt Independent.)
As soon as the list of
,Sir K. Peel's Ministry was
published, the eye's of all Mr. George llobert Dawson's
supporters anxiously turned to the (dice they fondly
hoped he was to fill. They could hardly believe ibex
senses when they found his came not there. This was
rather curious they thought, but the first 'draft of a
Ministry is never to be dependel or,. A week's exer-
cise of the virtue of patience was therefore necessary,
and on the appearance of the atitheatic list, a second
scrutiny took place ; alas ! with n 3 better success than
the first. The obtuse faculties of the Tories are slowly
end painfully awakened to the fact that the Right Hon.
G. R. Dawson is not a Member of his brother-in-law's
Ministry !. This, as tl:e organ of the party stated on
Wednesday, " has very naturally excitvd some sur-
prise in the • borough." If the party posse:sed the
smallest amount of perception, they would have fel:
no surprise at tha circumstance. We stated some
mouths ago our firm persuasion that should Sir R.
Peel obtain power, Mr. Dawson would form no part of
his Ministry. Sir George Grey st ited the same thing
during the last ileotion, and the event has confirmed it.
Tne Tories of D,vonpolt are vexed anti disipp&ntad ;
for them Mr. Dawson might as well not exist at all
as not ha in office ; the " crowning rote" is absent
from the Ministerial wreath, and the official list ex-
hibits, as we hint above, in the sO of quotation the
R;ght Gentleman is so fond of—
" A gap and vacancy most sorely wept."

THE EGYPTIAN KITCHEN FOtJIt

THOUSAND YI4:AIIS AGO.
(From the Westminsler Review.)

From the various kitchen utensils and dinner ser—
vices (some of which ate of elaborate. structure) in the
new Egyptian-room at the British Museum, it may be
readily surmised that the culinary tat among the Egyp-
tians under the e ghteenth Theban dynasty had arrived
at a considered:), degree of perfee,ion. In Effect, by a
comparisou instituted between these extant rd cs of
the Egyptian kitchen in the above room and the illus-
trations referring to the same subject, which arc placed
before us in the works of Chimpollien and Rossellni,
we shall be able to arrive at very precise conclusions as
to the entire organization of the culinary department at
the remote epoch (1800 B C.) both as to the mode of
" mounting," as the French professionally call it, an
Egyptian dinner-table under the ,Pharaohs, and as to
the gcneral cultivation of the g.tstronomic art. From
these illustrations it appears, that, to the kitchens of the
Royal and aristocretic class were attache] shambles for
slaughtering and joint ng the n.eat, and poultry.yards,
with cages for fattening the poultry. Butchers aro
represented slaughtering oxen in the manner usual
now, viz., by knocking them on tee head with an axe,
and by bleeding the jugular vein. Assistants are em-
ployed in cutting the meat into joint,e while others I
are occupied in cal vying the joists so d N'ide.l to ti e
kitchen. In sense cases, nee are reeresei ted selecting '
the fattest poultry from the poultry-cages, and convey-
ing them to tt a same department. Butchers appear
again to be employed in the kitchen for the purpose of
further dissecting the me under the superintendence
of the "chief balree" Iu R .sshails Citii Monuments
of Eppt (pl tte 83), our) of these assistant butchers is
sharpening his knife upon a steel suspended from his
waist, and which is ere by similar to the steels (tem-
ple} ed at tie preseit time. We bel:eve there is an in.
strum eat of this kind among the numerous and curious
examples of cutlery preserved in the new Egyptian room.
Dwarfs and rinliculousle deformc'd persons are often seen
employed in the lower departments of the kitchen, as.
they were in the time of Roman imperial luxury. In the
same plate to which we have referred, a large stce.o is
exhibited, near which a cook is putting a bullock's
heart into a cauldron (sinehr in form to the bronze
cauldrons with a swing handle in the Egyptian room),
while another is adding a joint of ribs of beef. In an
adjeieice plate cooks are trussing the geese which are
brougte. t, them front the fattening cages. Two of
these assista..ts are in the act of boiling geese in a caul-
dron, et:ether is boiling a trussed goose over a grate
a id blowing the fire of the stove bete th with a helloes,
while a third appears to be salting or spicing some deli.
cagy. The preparations fur a great dint er on a sump.
tuous and extensive scale arc evident from v,e tomb of
Mcnoptha at Saccarth. Rossellini (page 4, plate 83)
represents two cooks occupied, the one in moulding,
and the other in baking delicacies of a round and flit
form, which, beyOnd a doubt, represents tartlets or
[Attics, delicacies velitch seat to hate been much in
use among the Egyp fans, and for which the modern
pastry cooks of Cairo (see " Arabian N elits").ere also
heinous. They appear after on tables laid out for din-
ner, intermixed with roast and boiled meats and vege-
tab'es of all descriptions. A pastrycook appears with
a tray of these patties on his head, to whieh the
symbol implying the arithmetical number one thousand I
(orientally, the man of a thousand tarts) is appended,
no doubt, with n vine Of signifying tee large consurnp-
trot; el hist trade. In one instance cooks are empleeed
in forming dishes, apparently meet pies, with raised
crusts, in the shape of animals, rains, bulls, and gren,
Ste. Two bikers, also atteelied to the kitchen depart-
ment, and totter the eeperictendence of a chief baker
(see pesis, chap. xl., verses 16 and 17), are working
the dough with their feet, and goieg through the variO4A
operat.ons of bread-making. L )(tees of " fence bvi
subsequently appear in various neaseeental shapes, tri-
angles, squares, circles, c. l'h.e hieroglyphics near
them intleiete that they are made of barley, wheat,
4e„ like the cakes still preserved in the Egyptian
aeons, lley are often seen piled in profusion amidst
the various dainties of the banquet table, It does net
appear, from the numerous reprege(ttetletas of dinner
tables, that the Egyptiansi.at ass era above stated, used
dinner cloths ter the ".fiestlve board." Slaves, however,
tepreenied'bringing napkins. and water in vases to
the guests. Ewers and basins for hulling water, of
ekgant construction, appear sometimes on the telaies.
In one instance supplied by Rnisseliejae g'aeeful youth,
ornamented with seeeleele, end in a tasteful dress of
green elesseeter epoesibly, therefore, a Greek slave), is
bringing water to the guests in a golden and highly are
namented basin. He has an elegant ewer sag spOtteni
green 'porcelain' stung by a cord In Lis arm. Knives
and spoons riled, cepecireens of both of which are
in tit. Museum, but no utensils approaching to the
form of a fo' k. The dishes appear usually to have
been pi ed confusedly on the table ;
gad veget shlesi
roast ducks, fruit; gsh, mew., and broad are placed to-
gether with lisle qrreegerneat. There_are instances,
botvevei., cif more segu!ar distribution. In plate 88
(Civ,l -Monuments ot Rossellini)
a table appears letti
out systematically with tureens of soup or boiled.
meat, fi,h, roasted' ducks, vegetables, and fruit ;
vases for wine, euetet eeel goblets are intermixed,
and the reidas is an epergne (an ornamented
is'asitot of precious metals) with flowers in the ferik4e
of. modern banquet tahlts. Plates and etisAwe were.,
certainly used by
the Egyptians, ioarsoeueli as ltme!‘
.ini exhibits a sideboard with dishes and plates appa-
rerlly o
and of an elegant fashion (like some
of the arranged upon it. In the
tree r(g
Egyptianlltete`Ar°eY.:,°:dra ware)svil
l be found a profuse variety of
Ntv'el
all the dishes used upon the ordinary E4YPtiIUA ‘4llO A
andplace
ea among the
smnai arell sto
scour
rifociurs h fri aet
cliOVee, with a
sea er beneath for
dishes in that room (which are in pairs) are of
exceedingly tasteful form. They arc t•-••
pottery or of porcelain. But the —.atm of
iLeseeltrineid the
viands hot. Some of the tureens and
banquet serytees i)..,hagroa
den and jewelled
of the' ohs are indeed 11.*'
m „ereet in materials, form, and decora-
tion- The st .te of the culinary department of an
Egyptian private residence may be gathered from case
Ti which is filled with!ironze vases used for the various
purpoeee of cookery. Some of these resemble stempans,
some the common saucepan, and some large boilers.
Bowls, knives, spoons, and cups appear in eases K, U, and
W. Specimens of the earthenware plates and dishes
of this ancient people are to be found in case R.