The Sun.
London, England, 1847-10-28 00:00:00

Wolin k

LONDON, THITRSDAY, OCTOBER 28, 1847,

On Monday we presented a remarkable document
to our readers. It was an appeal to the Members of
both Houses of Parliament from an aged gentleman,
who, during a life of honourable industry and great
utility, had amassed a fortune that enabled him to
rank amongst the magnates of the land, and placed
a junior member of his family in a position to assume
a high and influential place in the national councils.
That upright and independent gentleman hesitated
not to uplift his warning voice, to pour forth the
wisdom acquired by the experience of a long and
prosperous life, to the Members of that assembly in
whose deliberations he had participated for a period
of thirty years, although in so doing he was opposing
the favourite theory of his own son—of the future
successor to his title and estates—whose name was
identified with the measures that his father was
deprecating. The convictions must, indeed,
have been deeply and conscientiously entertained
that would lead to such a course. On "a
former oc-
casion, when the Bill of 1819 was before the House,
the then Sir ROBERT PEEL was selected fir the
honourable duty of presenting the petition of the
bankers, merchants, and traders of London against
the adoption of a measure which they submitted
" would tend to a forced, precipitate, and highly in-
jurious contraction of the circulating medium of the
country." In performing this trust he expressed
his regret " that he should have to oppose a very
mar and dear relation," but stated that "he was
well satisfied that the head and heart of that relation
were in their right places, and that although he had
deviated a little from the path of propriety in this in-
stance, he would soon be restored to it." This predic-
tion may yet be verified ; that relation on two re-
markable occasions has proved that, when
thoroughly convinced that he has been
in error, he is prepared to acknowledge
his fault, and to atone therefor, by
lending all the aid in his power to the establishment
of a sounder system. Let us hope that a third time
he will be prepared to act in a similar manner, and
that he will establish for himself a reputation as a
currency reformer" not inferior to that which he
obtained as the conceder of Catholic Emancipation,
and the aboli Sher of all protective imposts. He has
seen the utter failure of his Bill. He has, as we
believe, himseAf assented to its suspension, and thus ,

confessed that it was wholly inadequate to secure the
objects contemplated; and, having made this admis-
sion, we do not believe that he will ever attempt its
re-establishment. On the contrary, we should rather
hope that, being satisfied of the injurious effects of
the law, he will be prepared to advocate a great and
comprehensive measure of reform, untrammelled by
any attempt still to retain any portion of the er-
roneous and exploded principle.
In 1826, after a trial of the system which was es-
tablished in 1819, and after the country had been in-
volved in the most serious difficulties, the most pain-
ful distress, in consequence of its operation, the first
Sir ROBERT PEEL, who, in consequence of his ad-
vanced years, had retired from public life, again came
before the country to remonstrate against a continu-
ance of the law that had for three years—from 1819
to 1822—occasioned such misery and general
suffering, that so greatly impaired the national credit
and resources, which was then partially relaxed for a
few years, during which there was a return of pros-
perity, until the desire to maintain " the integrity of
the standard" again led to a contraction of the
Bank issues, and, as a natural consequence, to
a general panic, want of confidence, depreciation
of property, failure of a great many of those embarked
in a trade and commerce, and a general cessation of
productive employment, which was only relieved by
an increased circulation of Bank of England notes to
the amount of nearly 5,000,0001. sterling. He
pointed out, in plain but forcible language, the im-
possibility of retaining the gold standard ; and the
injurious consequences which the mere attempt to do
so had previously, and necessarily would on future
occasions, entail on the nation. He said—
" Having been long and extensively engaged in
commercial dealings, I often witnessed a national em-
barrassment arising from a defective and impure cur-
rency, which resembled the present stagnation in
trade, and I lament to observe that suffering and ex-
perience have failed in this instance of producing their
usual good effects. In the enlarged scale of business
carried on by this country, embracing a great variety
of pursuits, a reliance on a metallic circulation ever
did, and ever will, fail us. Gold, though in itself
massy, often disappears tin consequence of war or
speculation—nay, the breath of rumour itself is suffi-
cient to disperse it. Our domestic concerns are inter-
rupted and confidence lost for want of an ample and
approved medium of traffic."
Surely the opinions of such a man, more especially
when confirmed by experience, should have had
some effect upon the Legislature. But a species of
insanity appears to have seized upon our lawgivers.
In place of inquiring what system was best fitted for
the wants and exigencies of the nation, which would
afford the greatest degree of comfort to the people,
and provide adequate employment for every man able
and willing to work, the only object appeared to be
to make gold the circulating medium of the country ;
to restrict credit by every possible means. One-
pound notes had preserved the national credit, and
averted a state of barter—therefore one-pound notes
should be altogether prohibited. The Bank directors,
by a bold and judicious exercise of their discretion,
had saved us from a national bankruptcy— ergo
they were to be deprived of every particle of discre-
tion, and bound down by the most stringent regulations,
which were not to be relaxed, even though the Minis-
ters should unanimously approve of such a relaxation,
and recognise the absolute necessity therefor. A vast
extension of the currency by an increased circulation
of the bank-notes had restored prosperity, and saved
thousands of our countrymen from absolute ruin—
therefore such an extension should never again be
tolerated under any circumstances. This appeared to
be the reasoning acted on by the representatives of
the people. A question of the most vital importance,
one affecting the welfare of the people, perhaps more
deeply than any other that could have been brought
forward, was almost wholly neglected ; few took the
pains of making themselves in any degree acquainted
with its details ; few addressed the House when the
topic was under discussion ; enactments were carried
almost sub silentio, and every suggestion of the late
Premier was adopted by those who generally opposed
him on other matters.
The evils which undoubtedly existed when there was
an unrestrained issue of paper money were triumph-
antly pointed out, andocommented on as if they were
inseparable from an inBonveytiblesurrency. True it is
that many persons who had no adequ'ate capital esta-
blished banks, and that very many who took the
notes of ;these ,banks suffered severely from
their failure, but notwithstanding there was
general prosperity throughout the country, and a
remedy could easily have been provided for the
grievance ; the best course would undoubtedly be that
none but national paper, such as we have repeatedly
alluded to, should be issued, and that should be pro-
vided in sufficient quantities and distributed to all
the bankers throughout the country, upon good and
ample security, at an easy rate of interest sufficient
to allow a fair and reasonable profit to the parties
embarked in the business. The making money that
would pass current has ever been regarded as one
of the most undoubted prerogatives of the Sovereign.
No person would dare to coin even the purest gold
or silver, although it was possessed of intrinsic value ;
it should have the royal stamp to make it pass cur-
rent in the country. Why should not the same
course be adopted with respect to every repre-
sentative of value ? By permitting notes solely to
be issued from a public office under the control
of an officer responsible to Parliament, there
would be no danger either of superabundant or
deficient issues, and the recognised bankers would
receive these notes (on ample security, as we have
already said,) in proportion to the amount they are
now authorised to issue, or in such other manner as
the Legislature might approve of : this would at once
take away the chief ground of a panic—there could
be no possibility of the undue depreciation of such
paper. We may, in the words of the late Sir RI
PEEL, say, " if such an improvement in the banking
system could be made available, gold would become
less requisite, and the country would be supplied
with a stationary medium of exchange originating
with ourselves."

Asylums have been, at different periods, and in dif.
ferent localities, established for the shelter and pre-
servation of those among our fellow-creatures whom
PROVIDENCE has afflicted with mental or physical
afflictions. Christianity has inspired this benevolence.
Civilization has developed this generosity. Reason
has declared the policy, both in a moral and econo-
mical sense, of such charitable institutions ; and
Religion has enforced the necessity by the promul-
gation of the principles of beneficence. The blind
have been harboured ; they have been tutored to a pro-
ficiency in such manual exercise as did not require
the guidance of sight; they were thus preserved from
the miseries of idleness, and enabled to earn their liveli-
hood by industrious occupations. Nor was basket-
weaving alone reduced to their comprehension ;
the ingenuity of philanthropists has brought
the delights of literature as a solace to
these unfortunates. The deaf have been rendered
independent of the sense of hearing ; the dumb have
been enabled to communicate their ideas with facility
without the employment of articulate language; the
insane have been prevented from committing depre-
dations and outrages upon their fellow-creatures—
have- been preserved from the brutalities inflicted upon
them by an obsolete and exploded system—have been
tended with gentleness, and extricated from the
sloughs of a preternatural despondency by the seduc-
tions of a novel mode of tuition. Dancing, music,
the fine arts, and theatrical representations have been
adopted as the ordinary entertainments of
those hitherto regarded as incurable lu-
natics, as demanding perpetual incarceration,
periodical scourging, nakedness upon a litter
of straw, chains, and solitude, and a systematic
anddianbsbrutalizingthose
wretched
eutaelho
er
d.
beings
sitwy has
hoarp derhoevlipled essgufraorm-
the decrepitude produced by age, or
from the prema-
ture infirmities resulting from disease. Veterans
maimed in the military or maritime service of their
country have received compensation for
their mis-
fortunes by obtaining admission to those magnificent
structures which may be termed, •
without the
slightest approach to exaggeration, the Palaces
' of Patriotism, raised by a grateful and con-
siderate nation for all who have evinced
their loyalty by their bravery, or by
their prolonged exertions as seamen and sol-
diers. The widowed, the orphan, the bastard, the
destitute—every grade and species of calamity has
acquired a retreat and a consolation. But hitherto
the most forlorn and miserable of human creatures,
1 that wretched being whose condition most impera-

tively demands assistance, has been altogether neg-
lected—hitherto the Idiot has not received practical
commiseration in England.
Considering the deplorable affliction of those who
are cursed with imbecility of intellect from their in-
fancy, it is marvellous that until yesterday no
movement whatever had been made in their be-
half by the citizens of this metropolis. The
preliminary step has, however, been at last
taken, and the meeting convened yesterday
for the purpose of preparing the way for the
establishment of an asylum for the Reception and
Education of Idiots may be regarded as the
inauguration of a resolute society, animated
with a profound solicitude for the conference of such
a splendid benefaction on the multitude. Those who
are unacquainted with the exertions recently made in
'France, Germany, and Switzerland, will be disposed
to deride the notion of introducing anything like a
feasible system of education among the idiotic occu-
pants of such an association. That such is not a
merely miraculous possibility, but an actual and de-
monstrated fact, has been proved beyond all
denial by the plans of instruction success-
fully adopted on the Continent. It is this
consideration, doubtless, that has aroused the
present enterprise, and elicited the sympathetic enthu-
siasm of the promoters of the proposed association.
If their aspirations be only responded to with a
fractional portion of their own earnestness, the de-
plorable victims of idiotcy will no longer remain the
eyesores of our market-places, and the laughing-stocks
of their ignorant frequenters. These distorted spe-
cimens of humanity-7beings afflicted with moral
blindness, deafness, dumbness, and decrepitude—
will at length be enabled to acquire habits of in.
dustry and cleanliness, and to emerge in
some measure from their lamentable state
of isolation. Besides numbering several Members of
the newly-elected Parliament, and various influential
clergymen and physicians, the meeting to which we
have already alluded was enhanced in importance by
the chair being occupied by the Right Hon, the
Lord Mayor of the City of London. The resolu-
tions proposed, seconded, and accepted at this assem •
blage, the addresses delivered by the Chairman and
Mr. Under-Sheriff WIRE, and the prospectus ex-
planatory of the object and character of the intended
asylum, separately and collectively attest that the
project suggested by benevolence has been conceived
in no crude or impracticable spirit of innovation.
May the structure destined for the reception of Idiots
very speedily adorn the streets of the metropolis, and
constitute another evidence of the advancement of
civilization.

Intelligence has been received from Lisbon of the
22d instant, by the steamer Iberia. Her Majesty the
QUEEN DOWAGER arrived there that day, on board
the Howe.

The municipal elections, which took place on the
15th, have terminated in favour of the Costa Cabral
party. On the day previous the Progressista Electoral
Commission presented to the Minister a final protest
against the illegalities employed to secure the majority
for the Cabral party. The Septembrists were appa-
rently not disheartened, but greatly exasperated at the
result. The Revoluvo still urges the people to pre-
pare for the approaching election of deputies. It
considers that it is the duty and interest of their party
to show that redress for them is impossible by legal
means, and it openly declares that another defeat at
the urn will be followed by an appeal to arms.
The Duke of IDALmELLx and his family have ar-
rived in Lisbon. The Duke was to proceed to
Madeira on the 23d.

The members of the University of Coimbra, to
the number of 262, have signed a remonstrance to
the Government, in which they demand justice and
protection from the brutal soldiery, as a student of
the University had been wantonly sabred by a cavalry
soldier.

The Government has contracted a loan, to be re-
paid through the Custom House in a month, at the
rate of 15 per cent. for the month.
The interest on the internal debt has not been paid
since the accession of SALDANHA to power in October
last.

There were rumours of a modification in the
Ministry by the accession of Count DE LAVRADIO
and Senhor RODRIGO DA FONSECA MAGELHAES to
office.

Madrid papers of the 21st have arrived.
The octroi duties, which were abolished by SALA-
MANCA, have been re-established, and the retrograde
policy of the Afrancesadoes is, as might be expected,
in full operation. General Plum has been appointed
Governor of Porto Rico, to get him out of the way.
The Eco del Comercio says, that it was reported
that dissensions existed in the Cabinet, and that there
was a talk of a modification of it which should com-
prise the Duke DE RIANZARES, as Minister of War;
MoN, as Minister of Finance ; PIDAL, as Minister
of the Interior; and GONZALEZ BRAVO, as Secretary
of Foreign Affairs; General NARVAEZ remaining
President of the Council without a portfolio. The
same journal states that it was also reported that for
some days Queen ISABELLA had not transacted busi-
ness with the Ministers. Another rumour, said by
the Eco to be current, was that the Duke DE MONT-
PENSIER was to arrive at Madrid at the end of the
present montb.
It is said that on his arrival in Spain the Due DE
MONTPENSIER will be appointed Commander-in-
Chief of the Catalonian army, in which case it is
not improbable that he may make the personal ac-
quaintance of some of the Carlist chiefs in a manner
any way but pleasing to himself.
The Heraldo announces that the office of Secretary
to the Council of Ministers was to be revived and
bestowed on M. ZARAGOZA, a Deputy. Several dis-
missals are about to be made among the members of
the QUEEN'S household, and the Eco del Comercio
says, that those who are to be dismissed have hitherto
possessed the QUEEN'S fullest confidence.
There has been a great deal of underhand work in
the recent capitalization in the Three per Cents. of the
arrears of the royal household. The Espanol insinu-
ates that some of the parties concerned have mis-
appropriated the funds. Both NARVAEZ and SALA-
MANCA are implicated in the job, the object of which
is to reimburse CHRISTINA and Louis P_ nuirrE, for
the sums expended in bribing SERRANO, and corrupt-

ing the army. •
MADRID BOLSA, OCT. 21.—Three per Cents., 2
at 50 days; Five per Cents., 162 at 50 days; Debt
without interest, si, Si paper; Coupons, 13 paper.

We have received the Paris papers of Tuesday.
The National has a long article on the rumour
attributing to the Bank of France an intention of
subscribing to the new loan. If the Bank has means
sufficient to take part in loan speculations, argues the
National, it has been guilty of gross injustice to the
public in having so long kept up the rate of discount
beyond the usual rate. The National also contends
that it would be illegal for the Bank to subscribe to
that loan, inasmuch as by its statutes it is expressly
forbidden to employ any portion of its capital for
other than banking purposes.
The following admirable reply to the observations
put forth in the Debats on the English commercial
crisis appears in Galignanis Messenger:—
" The Debats has a long article on the commercial
crisis in England, consisting rather of quotations
from the articles of London journals on this subject
than of original remarks, but being on the whole so
framed as to convey a very gloomy impression of the
state of things in England, and to make people in this
country better satisfied with their own condition,
when they see what calamities an over-trading in
credit is producing among their neighbours. It is
very natural and perfectly fair in the Debuts to take
this course, but we cannot help thinking that
in many of its articles on the subject it has
assigned the mischief to wrong causes, and
taken credit for the comparative commercial pros-
perity in France in facts which, as a general rule, are
not susceptible of eulogium. If in England the
system of credit has been carried to such an extent as
to give birth to reckless speculation, and induce men
to plunge themselves more and more deeply into debt
in the endeavour to recover lost ground, rather than
come at once honestly before their creditors whilst
ldw the
may deplore
they have something left for division, it is not the less
true that
bounds,h e
. the system of credit, kept within reasonable
Ifsa se the
psroiud re c
whiche o f national
roo
dt
ugcer greatness, andreckless
ttrading
dgreatlyin
as
in
the want of commercial probity
n
England, it is impossible notp
exist-
ing pressure in that country ismoredtie to admit that the
legis-
lation in financial matters than to any bad
other cause.
Nor is it just to attribute the comparative security
here in commercial affairs to good legislation or a

higher degree of probity in commercial men. There-
are various causes which prevent all analogy in the
two countries. The system of credit is imperfectly
understood in France, and therefore it is very limited.
Dealers have less faith in each. other than the same
class of men :have in England, and the spirit of
trading is not the national character of Frenchmen.
They like to accumulate, but they do this with a
prudence which, although individually commendable,
is, nevertheless, fatal to national enterprise; they
know when to stop, and when they have attained the
highly-prised position of rentiers or proprietaires
there is an end of all speculation, and their accumu-
lations remain dormant. This is not a national good,
as some of our contemporaries suppose; it is an ex-
treme, like the over-trading of the English. In our
country there is not sufficient confidence to lead to
national enterprise, and although commercial crises
must be of comparatively rare occurrence, there is
evidently an absence of national energy, and conse-
quently a want of national greatness. In England
when commercial shocks• happen, they are terrific
whilst they last; but credit, though it may have been
terribly shaken, revives again with the first diminu-
tion of the causes which checked it. It certainly
would be well if traders in England had a little of
the timidity of those in this country, but we doubt
whether it would be a blessing for England if the
want of confidence, which produces comparative secu-
rity here for individuals, were to take the place of
the opposite evil—excessive confidence."
The Presse publishes the two following statements,
which it says have been communicated to it by an
officer of the navy :

" On the night of the 20th of June last, an English
brig fired, without any previous notice, two guns
loaded with ball on the French brig the Abeille, one
of the squadron off the western coast of Africa. The
commandant of the Abeille, a M. Legras, immediately
replied shot for shot. The English vessel was so
astonished that it made signals to entreat that the
firing should cease; whereupon the French brig ap-
proached it, and the commandant exacted that the
English captain should make an apology that very
instant. The Englishman accordingly went on board
the Abeille, and made an apology in presence of the
officers and crew, and afterwards entered the cabin of
the captain and repeated his excuses. Notwithstanding
this adventure, the English and French on the
African station are the best frieuds in the world."

The other story of the Presse is as follows :
" The Abeille was anchored off Quito, a Danish
possession in the Gulf of Benin, on the western coast
of Africa, when the Danish governor demanded
assistance, he being besieged in his fort by 6,000
blacks, and having only a stock of two days' provi-
sions. The Abeille immediately sent out its men,
who, by firing grape-shot and musketry, succeeded
in conveying provisions to the besieged ; and this so
frightened the blacks that within forty-eight hours
after they had all decamped. The Governor of the
Danish possessions then went on board the Abeille,
and thanked the commandant. He next requested

that he might be conveyed to Affrie, another banish
possession, and his customary place of residence ; and
with this request the commandant of the Abeille im-
mediately complied."

That the Presse received these statements from a
French naval officer we believe ; their fanfarronade
sufficiently betrays their origin, but that there is any
truth in them we do not believe. They must be classed
in the same category with the imaginary naval vic-
tories of which M. Tames speaks in his " Con-
sulate and Empire."
The Courrier Francais says—
" The agent of the Sonderbund, who has been for
some days in Paris, where he has had frequent inter-
views with the highest diplomatic personages, left
yesterday for Vienna."
COURS AUTHENTIQUE.—PARIS, OCT. 26.—French
Five per Cents., 1151. 11151. 10c. Four per Cents., 100 f.
Three per Cents., 75f. 65c. 70c. 75c. 80c. 85c. 80c.
Treasury Bonds, 44 Bank of France, 3,300 f. Obli-
gations of the City, 1,340. Neapolitan Rothschild's,
100. Roman, 100. Belgian Five per Cents., 1840, 984.
Exchange on London—One month, money, 25f. 62ic. ;
three months, money, 25f. 17ic.
BUSINESS DONE IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, OcrosEa 27.

Boulogne and Amiens, 13%—Central of France (Orleans
and Visrzon), 1434—Namur and Liege, s—Orleans and Bor-
deaux, 41/4—Paris and Lyons, s—Paris and Strasbourg, 31/2
—Rouen and Havre, 20—Sambre and Meuse, 53/4—West
Flanders, 134.

DREADFUL FIRES AND LOSS OF
LIFE.—(THIS DAY.)
This morning, shortly before three o'clock, Drum-
mond-street, Euston-square, was visited by the out•
break of a serious fire, which was the house numbered
97, in the before-named street, occupied by Mr. F.
Lawson, stationer and bookbinder. The police dis-
covered a dense mass of black smoke pouring forth
from the basement; an instant alarm was given, and
the inmates were aroused, who with one exception
effected a safe retreat. In less than ten minutes from
the first discovery, the building became wrapped in
one immense sheet of flame. The excitement at that
period was most intense, the inmates who had escaped
having informed the crowd that Mrs. Mackie, who
was sleeping in the back attic, was in the midst of the
fire. A general shout of " save her" was raised, but
the fire had obtained too great a head for any one to
enter the premises. The engines of the London
Brigade, Parish, Birmingham Railway Com-
pany, and the county establishments, arrived
in rapid succession, and after some time the firemen
succeeded in getting the flames extinguished, but not
.until the premises were nearly destroyed. At a sub-
sequent period the firemen, whilst searching the
ruins, discovered the body of an unfortunate female
most shockingly burnt. The parochial officers took
possession of the same, and sent information to Mr.
Wo
M.P., who has appointed to-morrow for
h
Before the firemen had left, their attention was
holding an an inquest.
directed to the south of London, by perceiving a
light in the air, which convinced them that a confla-
gration was raging in that quarter. Thither the
Brigade, West of England, and County engines
started, guided only by the reflection in the sky.
After some trouble the exact scene was reached, when
it was found that the extensive premises in the occu-
pation of Messrs. Pinchin and Co., tanners, of the
Grange-road, Bermondsey, were in a general blaze.
The engine .house, drying rooms, and other parts of
the establishment—in all, upwards of a hundred and
fifty feet in length—were burning furiously. The
firemen, under the direction of Mr. Braidwood, Mr.
Henderson, and Messrs. Connorton and Garwood, set
to work, but they were unable to get the mastery
over the destructive element until the premises before
spoken of, together with the steam-engines enema-
chinery, were destroyed. The total loss must be
very considerable. The origin of both fires is un-
known.

SUICIDE OF ♦ GENTLEMAN AT ST. PAUL'S, ny
THROWING HIMSELF FROM THE WHISPERING GAL •
LERY.-At about one o'clock P.M., a gentleman respect-
ably dressed, threw himself from the Whispering Gallery
into the body of the St. Paul's Cathedral. He is about
fifty years of age; in his possession was found one 101.
note. The body now lies at St. Bartholemew's Hospital
to be identified.—l`'unTnErt PARTICULARS.-3 o'clock.—

It has just been ascertained that the above unfortunate
gentleman is Mr. William Davison, solicitor, 21, Blooms-
bury-square.
THE SANITARY STATE OF WESTMINSTER.—Last
night at nine o'clock a meeting was held at the Carpen-
ters' Arms Tavern, Pimlico, for the purpose of consider-
ing the frightful state of the streets adjacent to Bucking-
ham Palace, in consequence of the want of every sort of
sewerage or draining. Charles Lushington, Esq., M.P.,
took the chair amidst great cheering. The secretary,
Mr. Portwine, said the memorial which had been sent
to the Commissioners of Sewers as to the frightful
state of disease to which the inhabitants of the districts
of William. street, Buckingham-street, Catherine-street,
and part of Palace-street, were exposed by the putrid
matter either lying in or passing through those locali-
ties, calling the attention of the commissioners to the as-
tounding fact that no sewer existed within two hundred
yards of the place. The memorial further called the
respectful notice of the court to the fact, and praying for
their interference. To this the commissioners sent an
answer by their clerk, that their memorial should have
their earliest attention, an announcement that was re-
ceived with cheers. Mr. Lushington, M.P., then ad-
dressed the meeting. The delay that night had not
been his, for he was there punctually at eight o'clock,
but they had been waiting in hopes of the attendance of
Alderman Johnson, whose advice, from his experience
and great local knowledge, would have been invaluable.
For himself, be could only say that all he had to offer in
the cause they had met to promote, to provide for the
wants of the poor in their infected dwellings, was but
good-will in place of substantial information. On the
motion of Captain lloughton, a memorial was agreed to
be sent to the Commissioners of Woods and Forests as
ground landlords. A committee was appointed to carry
out the objects of the meeting, and after a vote of thanks
to the chairman. the assembly broke up.
ALARMING FLOOD.--Two LIVES LOST.—DOH.
CHESTER, TUESDAY.—A serious flood, arising from an
influx of water in the River Parrett, by the late heavy
rains and high wind, took place on Saturday evening,
when the lowlands in the neighbourhood of Thoreford
and Bradford were inundated to an alarming extent.
Very considerable damage was occasioned, and unfortu-
nately two persons lost their lives by being swept away
in their waggon by the stream.
OPENING OF THE BIRMINGHAM CORN EXCHANGE.
—Yesterday evening the formal opening of this splendid
edifice, at the back of High street, was celebrated by a
public dinner upon a magnificent scale. Mr. W. Lucy,
the eminent corn-dealer, presided on the occasion, and
was supported by about two hundred agriculturists and
others engaged in the corn trade. The party
a social one, none but the provincial press having invi-
tations to report the proceedings. The building will be
a great convenience to the brokers, corn-dealers, and
farmers attending the Birmingham market.
NEW YORK PACKET.—The Westminster, New
York packet, embarked passengers and sailed for that
port from Spithead, on Tuesday evening. was purely

MONEY and COMMERCIAL NEWS.

CITY, QUARTER TO THREE.
The Cotton Market at Liverpool yesterday was
steady, but there was a disposition to sell. The quan-
tity disposed of was 4,500 bales, including 3,500 bales
American at sd. tc 61d. per lb., or id. to .d. per lb.
higher than on Friday last.—Railway Shares were not
quite so good.
The failure of Mr. J. P. Howard, colonial broker, for
about 100,0601., revives the question of the soundness
of the present plan, whereby the merchant draws upon
the broker to a heavy amount, instead of awaiting the
sale of his produce. The losses incurred now will,
doubtless, operate as a check hereafter to the pursuance
of the system.
Accounts from Manchester state the stoppage of Mr.
Gardener, and of Messrs. Fairbridge, was likely to in-
convenience other firms, and injurious rumours were
already in circulation on that account.
From the continent there is nothing important, except
the mention of a stoppage at St. Petersburgh.
There is an injurious report concerning another pro-
vincial bank.

It is stated in the circular of Messrs. Witherby and
Hanson, dried fruit brokers, as follows :
CUBRANTS.—In our last report of the 25th ult. we
announced the arrival of the first cargo of the new crop,
and the sale of it at 455. Ten cargoes have since been
reported, all from Patras, making the total importation
of new Fruit to this day to be 1,271 butts, 1,433 car-
roteels, and 1,793 barrels, or about 1,500 tons, against
2,000 tons received to 27th October, 1846, 750 tons and
1,100 tons to the like period of 1145 and 1844.
Only three cargoes have as yet arrived at Liverpool.
The clearances for home consumption from 20th ult. to
21st instant, have been 1,030 tons, against 1,100 tons and
1,000 tons in the like period in 1846 and 1845. Whilst
the metropolitan clearances have thus been about the
same as those of last year at this period, those for the
manufacturing districts, exhibit a considerable diminu-
tion, the Liverpool Clearances for the five weeks, end-
ing 19th instant, having been only 370 tons, against
500 tons and 600 tons in the like period of 1846

and 1845.
" The price of new Fruit remains much the same as at
the opening of the season. The trade, from the same
prudential motives which have influenced their purchases
in other articles, have bought with caution. Some
parcels of old Fruit have been offered by auction, but
have not met with purchasers ; there are orders on hand
from the continent, but the late monetary pressure has
contracted the operations of foreign as well as home
purchasers."
The Stock Market has been quieter to-day, and the
speculators appear undecided how to act. In the mean-
time the operations for money, whether sales or pur-
chases, have not been to an extent that would stimulate
business. Consols have realised 82i to 821 for present
transfer, and 824 to 834 for November. Exchequer-
bills have been quoted 15s. to 21s. discount. The New
Three-and-a-Quarter per Cents. have been 82k to 83,
I and the Three per Cents. 811 to 81/; Bank Stock is
184 to 186 i.

In the Foreign House the dealings are also limited.
Spanish Three per Cents. have been 274; Portuguese
Four per Cents., 21i ; Brazilian, 754; and Mexican,
164 Russian Stock has been 104 k to 105, and Dutch
Two-and-a-Balf per Cents. 53 to 534.
For Railway Shares the demand is restricted, and
prices are heavy again in most instances.

ONE CLOSING
PRICES OF BRITISH FUNDS. O'CLOCK. PRICES.
Bank Stock
3 per Cent. Reduced Anns 81A% Bll%
3 per Cent. Consols Annuities 82318 %% 821/s
New 31% per Cent. Anns ...... 8234 83 82% 82%
Long Anns. to expire J an. 1860 ... 8 5-16 7-16 8 7-16
Ditto, Oct. 10, 1859 ..... ...... 8 3-16 8 3-16
Ditto 30 years, Jan. 5, 1860.... 8 9-16 8 11-16
India Stock 226 225% 228 228
India Bonds, 1,0001.
Ditto under 1,0001... . . 20 dis 30 dis
Consols for Accpunt... 83% 82% 831 823% 83 8214

Exchequer Bills.
3d.
1,000/.
5001
Small

ONE CLOSING
RICES OF FOREIGN FUNDS. O'CLOCK PRICES
Brazilian Bonds 75% 75%
Ditto, Small 77 78
Mexican, 5 per Cent. 1846 16%1/2 16%
Peruvian Bonds, 6 per Cents — 25
Portuguese 5 per Cents. —
Ditto, 4 per Cent 21% 21%
Russian Bonds ........... 104% 105 105
Spanish 5 per Cent. 1840.
Ditto, Passive
Ditto. 3 per Cent 27% 27%
Dividends on the above payable in London.

114 f. 50c.
25f. 85c.
88
53
82

French Rentes, 5 per Cent.
Exchange —f. —c.
Belgian 4% per Cent ...... 88
Dutch, 2% per Cent., 12 Guild.... 53% 53
Ditto. 4 per Cent. Certificates 813/4% 82
PRICES or BUS/NESS DONE CLOSING
RAILWAY SHARES
PAID. AT ONE O'CLOCK. PRICES
Aberdeen
Amber.. Nott., Boston,
and Eastern Junction 2%.....
Ayrshire and Galloway.. 2% - •• • "..m
Belfast & County Down 10
Birmingham and Ox-
ford Junction
Birmingham, Wolver-
hampton, and,Dudley 10 .....
Binning., Wolverlepton,

. ,
and Stour Va11ey..... 8 ...... -
Birkenhead, Lancashire,
and Cheshire June.... 73/4,
Boston, Stamfd, & Birm. 5
Bristol and Exeter 75
Ditto, Thirds
Buckinghamshire B/. 4s. •23/4 di5.......... 2% dis
Caledonian
Ditto, Half Shares..... 3% 1
Ditto, Clydesdale June 40
Chester and Holyhead... 37% ••• •• ...... •••
Ditto, Preference
Cheltenham and Oxford 2 -

Clarence 784
Do. Ist Class, 6 per Ct. 10

Do. 2d Class, 5 per Ct. 10
Do: Government Loan,
4 per Cent.
Dublin and BelfastJunc. 20
Dundalk & Enniskillen 15
East Anglia, 251., L.
E. and L. and D. ...... 25 .....
Do., 18/., E. & H.... 18
Do., 31.103., E. &H. 1
Eastern Counties 20 16 107:153i..176 16
Ditto, Perpetual, 5 per
Cent, No. 1. 6/. 13s. 4d... .....••.......•
.-14.......
Ditto ditto, No. 2... 61. 13s. 4d... % dis ............
Do., York Extension 19 ...... 8 7%:h .........
Do., North. & Eastern 50
Do~ Quarters
Do., New
Eastern Union 5O .. •••"'•""

Ditto, Quarter Shares 121/Q — ***************
Ditto, Thirds ... l3s. 4d
East Lancashire
Ditto, New
Do., do., Exten. Scrip 11,4
East Lincolnshire
Edinburgh and Glasgow 50 ...••• 49
Ditto Half Shares ... 15 ......
Ditto, Quarter Shares 121,E ....••
Edinburgh & Northern.. 20
Ditto, New
Ditto, Newport ..... ... 7 .....•
Ditto, ditto, New ....• 1 % —
Edinburgh and Perth... 2
Ditto, Extension ..... 10s.,
.....

Exeter, Yeovil, & Doreh. 2% —
Ditto, New .
Glasgow, Dumfries, arid
Carlisle Bl. 6s. 8d
Glasgow, Kilmar.,& Ayr 50 .„„...
Ditto, New
Do. Preference Consol. 121/

Great Northern 8 -
1/42 %Al."
Do., London and York 2 4.....
Great South. and West
(Ireland)
Great North of England-100
Ditto, New 401 5
Ditto, New 30/.
Ditto, New 15/ ll/'2 ••••••
reat Western.
Ditto, 1/2 5hare5.....,., 50 57 56%
Ditto, 14 Shares ...... 15
Ditto, Fifths 2O
Ditto, New 17/ ...... -.. 7
Huddersfield & blanches. 22 ......
Ditto, Thirds ... 7
Hull and Selby 5O .. . 93 .
Ditto, halt Shares.... 25
Ditto, 14 Shares....... 12,A
Ipswich& Bury St. Edm. 15 .
Do., do., and Norwich 15
Do., do., Extens.Scrip
(late Canab. & Ely)... 21/2 I%IA
Lancaster and Carlisle... 50
Ditto, Thirds lO
Laneashir+, & Yorkshire 82
Ditto % Shares . ... 38
Do. Quarter Shares..., 14% l2
Do. Fifths 6l/2. ... 6
_6 Do. Sixteenths

Do. Thirds (Reg.)....101.45. ... 51/2 dis 5l/2 dis.
Do. Liverp. and Bury 34
Ditto 1, (late Hud-
dersfield and Slieff.) 33
Do.(Wakefield,Ponte-
fract. & Goole
Do. (W. Ridinglinion) 4/.2e 2:4 di5.......... VA dis.
Do. (Preston & Wyre) 25
Do. 14 Shares (A) 9
Ditto ditto (B) ... 11/4
Leeds and Bradford 6O ...... 851/2
Leicester and Bedford... 165..,••••
Leeds, Dewsbury, &c.... 371/2 ...... •••""•• ••••
Do., Branch 1,4 Shares 121/2.. •••
Do. New Branch( blue) 21/2 .... •••
Do. Extension (green) 21.....
Do. NewExten. (pink) 21/2 ...... .... .......
Leeds and Thirsk ......... 31 ...... . ••• ......
1/2
Ditto, New ............ 17
, 6 per Ct. 31/2.
.. ....

Do., Prefer., - I),
Liverpool, Crosby and 2
Southport .... .... ....
Liverp., blncbstr& New y
castle Junction 2 2 ......
London ,nd Biackwall..l6/. 13s. 4d. ... .......
Do. New, No. 1
Do. New, No. 2 .. 3/ l3s. 4d....
Do. Extension l5
London, Brighton, and
South Coast
Do. Consol. Eighths.. 20
••
Do. Guarant. 5 per ct. 9
Do. Pref. Con. 5 per ct. 50 ...
London and Greenwich 12115 s 4d — .. .
Ditto,Preterence ...18/I;s2d.
London and N. Westera 100 l5O 151 149 l5l
Do., Quarters L.& B. 17

• 393/