The Sun.
London, England, 1824-03-05 00:00:00

[MORNING HERALD.]

We yesterday inserted an Advertisement of
the Ribbon Manufacturers. It was accompanied
with a request that we should notice the subject
to which the Resolutions refer. That branch of
our manufacture seems to be much alarmed.—
They express their fears of the consequences
likely to result from the contemplated measure,
on the part of Mr. Robinson, of doing away with
the prohibitory systsm, as applied to silk goods,
and instead thereof to admit silk goods for
home consumption, subject to a duty of
thirty per cent. The latter, to the best of
our memory, is the Duty named in the last
Budget. Nov we should have supposed
that thirty per cent. was a tolerably protecting
Duty. We remember in the case of Spain, soon
after Lord Wellington had driven the French out'
of that country, and the Constitutional Govern-
ment of Spain was settling itself down and was
beginning to make laws to regulate the Revenue,

manufactures, &c. of Spain, that one of the first
things it did was to make a law to the effect that
all British cotton and woollen goods should pay a
duty of, we believe, 30 percent. We remember the
outcry at the time, on the part of the manufacturers
of this country, at this measure. The fact is, they
were disappointed, for they supposed that the
moment Spain was freed from the French, the
Spaniards would, from gratitude, open their
ports freely to the importation of our goods. Our
manufacturers were indignant that their goods
would not be admitted into Spanish ports at little
or no duty. This, to the best of our remem-
brance, was the expectation of our manufac-
turers generally; and it was probably this expec-
tation, in regard of their own particular interests,
that reconciled them to the numerous expences
we had incurred for driving the French out of
Spain. Our manufacturers forget to take into
consideration the fact that the Spaniards, if they
had had any regard for their own interests,
could not do otherwise than they did ; for at
that time when the Canstitutional Cortes were
only laying a duty of 30 per cent. on our goods,
we had been levying for a long period of time
100 per cent. on their products—for instance, on
a quantity of Sherry wine that shall cost 501. in
Spain, another 501. in the shape of duty has
to be paid in London before a man can have
it out of the King's vaults. Our manufac-
turers forgot this, or they would not have been
so senseless as to have railed at the Consti-
tutional Spaniards. This is a slight digres-
sion, for which we beg the excuse of our readers.
with respect to France,
Now here we are going,
to do precisely what the Constitutional Spaniards
did with respect to us at the period we have
named. We are going to import French silk
goods at 30 per cent. duty. Hitherto they have
been prohibited ; but, in order to keep them, as
%yell as other F rench goods, out of the country,
we have every year incurred an expence, in the
shape of what is called a Coast Blockade and the
Preventive Service, of nearly:a million a year,
besides the expellee of law in prosecuting smug-
glers when they are caught, and the expence of
prisons for keeping such smugglers after the
law finds them guilty ; but the expence has not
stopped here, for the country has had to main-
tain, by means of its Poor Laws, the wives and
the children, the aged fathers and mothers of
the smugglers, while they remained in prison.—
Now, if direct we spent one million a year
in our endeavours to keep French silk and
other goods out of the country, we think
we might safely put down another million
for law, prisons, and poor houses. Here have
been two millions a year taxation on the coun-
try generally, for the purpose of protecting the
inofmanufacturers.
fair, as it regarded
thour present object
tehe
ercetoiltenrtortfyh
igasescnyeesrrttaealmil certain nai
tsu nfibi
n)eeonrt
to inquire. But what has been strange is, that
thewi lo
t h theto
s expence
o f two
millions a year, besides
revenue, we do not find that
there is in. England a want of these French silk
and other goods. Let any one go to a ball,
and he will find that every Lady has more or less
-upon her, in the shape of dress, of these French
goods. Also, should any one go into a shop, and
tell the shopkeeper that he wishes for French
goods, he will be able to get as many of them as
he can pay for ; for the idea on the part of peo
ple, that such and such good are prohibited
causes them to wish for those goods.

FIRE-RAISING AT GIRVAN.--On Thursday
morning last, before day-light, a tradesman going to the coun-
try to work, observed a byre which is attached to a row of houses
in Girvan, to be on fire ; he immediately gave the alarm, and the
flames were soon extinguished. Thelame evening about 9 o'clock
a hay-stack, of 7 or 800 stone, belonging to Mr. Anderson in
Girvan, was observed to be in flames, and in spite of every
exertion was burned to the ground. Within a hundred yards
of the hay stack, and about the same time it was burning,
a stack of corn also observed to be on fire, which was fortunately
mastered without much loss. From a variety of circumstances
which it would not be prudent at present to promulgate, there
can be little doubt that these fires and some others, which not
long ago occurred at the same place, were wilfully kindled.
—On Friday morning a precognition was taken on the
spot, by the Sheriff Substitute, attended by Sir H. D. Hamil-
ton, Sir James Ferguson, andl the Magistrates of Girvan,
at the close of which it was thought proper, to take William
Goldie, an Irishman, residing in Girvan, into custody, and he
is now in jail for further examination. Goldie was the first
person who gave information of the burning of the hay-stack,
but notwithstanding, there arc strong circumstances of suspi-
cion against him as the perpetrator. —( Edinbuigh Observer.)

Vaughan the notorious resurrection-man, whose
escape from our town prison we noticed in a former Paper,
has, we are happy to state, been again apprehended, through
the instrumentality of Jones, the vigilant beadle and special
constable of this place, and re-lodged in his old quarters.—
On the first intimation of his escape from gaol, Jones pro-
ceeded to Vaughan's usual haunts in the Borough, where,
having been on the look-out several days, he at length got
private information that this trafficker in human flesh was
practising his horrible employment at Manchester. Thither
Jones immediately ;repaired, and with the assistance of La-
vender, the head police-officer of that place, succeeded with
considerable difficulty in apprehending him. When taken
he was in the act of leaping from a garret window. The
officers immediately conveyed him to the New Bailey Prison,
and the intelligence of his apprehension having quickly
spread, he was followed through the streets by many hun-
dreds of the inhabitants, who were loud in their execra-
tions of his vile practices. The circumstance -occasioned a
great sensation throughout Manchester, and the several
depositories of the dead in that place having been examin-
ed, it was discovered that upwards of Two Hundred Bodies
had been rudely torn from their last resting place.—Jones ar-
rived here with his prisoner on Saturday evening, and precau-
tionary measures are taken-to prevent his again escaping. The
greatest praise is due to Jones for his unwearied exertions in
apprehending this notorious offender.—(Maidstone Jonrual,
March 2.)