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

THE CALCUTTA MARKETS.

(From the Bengal Hurkarn of March 20.)
Our budget of commercial intelligence is of rather more
than usual interest. The news brought by the last mail
from home of an increased demand for rice, and the in-
tention of Government to permit and encourage the use
of sugar in brewing and distilling, caused considerable
activity in the market for those very staples, which was
checked only by the very scanty supply of tonnage and
consequently high rates of freight. The Government has
announced its intention to extend its advances on the hy-
pothecation of goods from 800,000/. to 1,255,000!., during
the current official year and the next, with an additional
um of 600,0001. for the supply of the ensuing year, as far as
its requirements are at present known. The advances are,
until further orders, to be made as before at 2s. per rupee.
Exchange has still, however, had an upward tendency, and
may be quoted at 2a. lid. to 2s. lid.
The money market has again become exceedingly tight,
and the banks have raised their rates of interest on private
bills to 12 per cent., the legal maximum, and on Govern-
ment acceptances to 8 per cent. per annum. This state of
things has, of course, a depressing effect on company's paper
of all kinds; and even the paper of the New Five per Cent.
Loan is to be had in the bazaar at a discount of about
1 per cent.
Freights are still rising, and there being little likelihood of
a large or early accession to the amount of available ton-
nage, will probably yet go up. As much as 8/ 103 to 8/. 15s.
have been given for sugar and rice to England.

CAPT. WARNER'S LONG RANGE.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.
SlR,—Finding that much comment is made on an
alleged admission of mine, that the recent experiment to
exhibit the powers of Captain Warner's long range was
a failure, I beg leave to enclose you the copy of a letter
I wrote to Lord John Russell, shortly after that experi-
ment, which will show that my deliberate opinion is of a
very different character,
This will perhaps be sufficient for me to say, until an
opportunity is afforded me of delivering my opinion in
Parliament.

Your obedient servant,
INGESTRE.

May 4, 1847.

" Curraghmore, Carrick-on-Suir, Dec. 12, 1846.
"My Lord,—l am in receipt, by post this morning,
through Lord Anglesey,of the report of the officers appointed
to examine into Captain Warner's inventions, and avail
myself of the permission given me to offer a few remarks
upon it.
"In the first place I am bound to say that the course
adopted by the Government in this matter has been open and
straightforward, and every reasonable facility for arriving at
a proper decisiost has been afforded.
" Not having the journal by me kept by the committee, I
can offer no observations upon it; but there can be no doubt
that it is a correct history of facts as they occurred.
"As regards the conclusion arrived at by the committee,
that the trial proved a failure, I must say I cannot concur.
It is perfectly true that Captain Warner had the choice of
the place of operation, and that a certain direction was
pointed out as the one most desirable, as affording the fur-
thest scope; but that he ever pretended he could send the
missile in that direction, unless the wind proved favourable, I
must entirely deny.

" The secresy necessary to be observed, the vast amount
of personal labour, the immense weights to be moved, the
lateness of the- season for continued out-of-doors operations,
all concurred in making the task one of considerable difli
culty, which was not diminished by having little more than
two points of the compass in which the desired range of five
miles could be obtained. None of these difficulties would
occur in real service, where you would operate from a
steamer, and choose your time and your position, and, more-
over, would have all the necessary ingredients always at
command, instead of having, as in this case, to erect a large
and heavy battery, from which to make the necessary gas.
" In the late experiment tie day was nearly a calm—once
or twice in the course of it pilots had been sent up, and indi-
cated that the current of air was in the desired direction
Captain Warner had the day before received a communi-
cation from the committee, urging him to go on with the
experiment, or to move everything (an obvious impossi-
bility) to some other place, ►•here he would have a scup.:
with all winds. This made him most anxious to operate,
and he summoned the committee, and said that if a pilot,
which he would send up immediately before the main
machine, went in a proper direction with sufficient
range, he should start the machine, and asked if he could not
get the entire range, if that would be considered sufficient.
It is capable of proof that the pilot was so started; that the
wind proved to be north-west instead of north, as was wished ;
that Captain Warner, at the time, asked what range there
was in that direction ; was answered that there were four
miles, and accordingly let the machine go, having first
arranged the fuse for that distance.
" I regret very much that the Committee did not stay to
satisfy themselves that the number of shells—namely, 30 of
10Ib. weight each—had been sent, and that they had been '
sent at the proper intervals in a direct line, which was all
Captain Warner ever pretended to do.
"Seeing, then, the terrible power of these missiles, I would
humbly suggest to your Lordship that proof be called for of the
facts I have alluded to, that Capt. Warner should be directed
to show that he cPn send these machines one after another
in a steady unifolin line, and that he can move one of con-
siderable size about in any direction, so as to ensure having
a favourable wind, and that he can bold it over the place to
be attacked, till it has discharged its missiles, and also that
he can measure the force of the wind, and set his fusees cor-
rectly, so as to drop the shells at the right moment. All
this can be done without further expense, and almost at any
place that might be selected, and with very little loss of time.
Without trespassing further upon your Lordship's time, I
may add that Captain Warner would, I am sure, readily give
the required proofs or attend any summons you might wish
to make, it a personal interview is thought expedient, and
that I shall return to Ingestre by the end of this month,
where I shall be most ready to attend to any directions you
may think proper to give me.
Your most obedient humble servant,
INGESTRE.
P.S.—I have sent this to Captain Warner, for transmission,
and that he may subjoin any comments of his own.
The Lord John Russell, &c., Downing-street.

DECIMAL COINAGE.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Stu,—Permit me, through your pages, and in answer to
many communications with which I have baen favoured, to
state the outlines of the plan which I submitted to the
House of Commons for the introduction of a decimal system
•f currency and account.
It was my object to interfere as little as possible with
the names or values of the existing coinage, and to show
that, by dividing the pound sterling into 1,000 farthings,
and issuing two silver coins, one representing the 1-10th
of the pound sterling-100 farthings—the other the
1-100th-10 farthings—a perfect gold and silver de-
cimal coinage would be ready at our bands. The only
alteration of value would be to the extent of four per cent.
in the copper coinage, by making the farthing the 1-I,oooth,
instead of (as now) the 1-960th part of the pound sterling. '
As the new coin, which I propose to call a Queen, is about
to be issued, representing 25.-24d.-1-10th of the pound
sterling, the only additional coin required is thel-10th of the
25.-2 4-10 d.—to complete the decimal currency, which will
stand as follows : In
Present value. Farthings. account.
Gold Sovereign £1 0 0 representing 1,000 1,000
Half ditto 0 10 0 500 500
Silver Crown ... 0 5 0 ..• 250 250

Half ditto. 0 2 6 ••• 125 125
Queen,new 0 2 0 004 100 100
Shilling... 0 1 0 000 60 050
Sixpence.. 0 0 6 ••• 25 025
Victorian. 0 0 2 4-10 ... 10 010
Copper... Penny ... 0 0 1 ••• 4 004
Half ditto 0 0 0% ... 2 002
Farthing.. 00 04 ... 1 001
The penny would probably be hereafter superseded by a
coin of five-farthings.
The issue of the Queen will lay the foundation of a sound
decimal system.—l am, Sir, your obedient
Athenaeum, May 3,1847. JOHN BOWRING.

MONETARY SYSTEM.--A meeting
mittee-room ta '
held in the corn
con-
vened by Mr. 'l'. C. Salt, was
W. Sc
chair, Esq., in the
merchants, manufacturers and tradesmen of this town, con- '
the Town llall, on Friday last, . of bankers,
ment of our monetary system, and on ,
ariably been the con-
chair, for the purpose of "advisingd oonntht
which have ins .
the
presentthe l drneeraannsgeOf
averting the calamities
Goddard, J. Harlow, G. Edmonds,
Messrs. D. Ledsam, S. A. sequence of such a state of affairs." There Isere also present
•t.tt, E. Taunton, T. C. Salt, F.
Blyth, _
E. Blyth, W. Middleton, Captain Hopkins, R.N., G. v.
Blunt
EJ. Webster, F. Match
M. Martin, W. Harris, T. Barker, 11. Knight, and
several other gentlemen. The meeting was addressed by
the Chairman, Messrs. I'. C. Salt, S. A. Goddard, and 3.
Barlow; and resolutions were passed condemning the pre-
sent monetary system, and advocating the necessity of form-
ing a society to be called "the Birmingham Currency Re-
form Association." A committee was then appointed, and
the meeting was dissolved.--Birmingham Gazette.
Among the many discoveries that characterise the
present age, nothing has contributed so much to the comfort
and ease of the community, nor conferred such a boon upon
suffering humanity, as that important discovery and never-
failing remedy for gout and rheumatism, Blair's Gout and
Rheumatic Pills. Thousands would join in the observation
of an elderly female, as made to Mr. Fogget, the agent at
Thirsk—" that she would rather be without butter to her
bread and sugar to her tea, than Blair's Pills." This_iip-
portant medicine is sold by all medicine venders. Price,,„,
2s. 9d. per box. Observe the name of "Thomas Front, 2u
Strand, London," on the Government stamp.