The Sun.
London, England, 1846-12-18 00:00:00

DETENTION of the EDINBL RG

MAIL-GREAT SNOW STORM;

In the absence of authentic information, mush specu-
lation exists as to the fate of the two Saturrth-y.mails
from London, one of which was due at nine o'aPiet*
-fin
Sunday morning, and the other at eight o'cloek-aulYriie
veiling of the same day. hut neither of which up to a
late hour last night had arrived. The two ~:revious
mails from London were, detained several hours tie-yund
their usual time in consequence of a heavy- fall iL,f
on the road between NeweaAle and .lierwick. On
Sunday -the snow had increased to such a de;,th
the mail from Newcastle -that -day did not arri‘e in
EdinbUrgh till yesterday morning, having occupied
eighteen hours in coming from that town to Ber-
wick, instead of the usual spate of eight hours; notwith-
standing it had the aid of two additional horses. No
certain information has been received to account for the
detention of the mails from the south of Newcastle. It
is reported, however; that a mail train was blocked up
in snow on the line about forty or fifty miles to the north
of York, and that it was so thoroughly embedded that
the power of several additional engines sent to render
assMance had been- unable to extiicate it. OF course,
if this be the stlte of matters that line will be rendered
completely impassable, and all the subsequent mails may
be accumulated at nearly the same place. Whatever be
the cause, this is the longest detention of the London
mail that has taken place for a great many yearn. We
observe from our Glasgow contemporaries of yesterday,
that their communication from the south had nut sus-
tained any interruption, so it seems evident that the
storm has been confined to the east coast. The Inver-
ness mails, due on Saturday and Sunday, were both
behind their usual time from a similar cause, the latter
by seven hours, and the one which was due yesterday
morning had not arrived at twelve o'clock last night.
We learn that the snow storm prevails generally in
several of the north-eastern counties, and that at

Montrose and Brechin on Saturday the snow was nearly
six feet deep. This severe snow storm appears to have
passed over us for there has been no snow in the Lo-
thians since the thin coating which fell about ten days
ago. A frost of great keenress has prevailed here since
Thursday, and continues with unabated severity. The
lochs and ponds are all frozen, and curlers and skaters
are enjoying their healthy exercise under most favour-
able circumstances. We may add, that on Saturday
night a great number of falling stars were observed, and
that vivid fleshes of lightning illuminated the sky fur a
considerable time.—Edinburgh Advertiser.

STATE OF TRADE 1N PAISLEY
AND THE UNEMPLOYED.
A meeting of manufacturers was held on Monday
week, with the magistrates regarding the prospects of
trade and the probable continuation of the depression.-
At that conference a great many subjects were talked
over, relating to the cause- of the depression and its
prof able issue. It was stated by a manufacturer, that
one cause of the depression•was, that plain cloth, which
is at.present brought into town. for shawl printing in
large quantities from Caine in England, can be got
woven there for about the half that is paid in Paisley—
the rate being, for n piece of cloth sixty-six inches
wide and thirty yards long, with twenty-four to
twenty-six shots on the glass,. 6s. 6d. per piece in
Caine, while for the same piece, 125.• would have to
be paid' to the weaver in, Paisley, and with this ad-
ditional advantage in favour of the English manufac-
turer, that his cloth was woven from coops, while the
Paisley maker would have to pay 4s. additional for pirn
• winding, making his total payment for labour 165.,
against 6s. 6d. by his rival. It was stated by the repre-
sentatives of 'two other manufacturing-houses on the
other hand, that they Make their cloth in Paisley
entirely, and that they can do s). with a handsome
profit on their outlay, and 'have their r goods cheaper
than any English maker can pro.duce them. The
result of the meeting was the calling of a
more extended one of ,the business classes on Fri•
day, to enter into a sUbsCriptien for affording temporary
relief in the, mean time. That meeting accordingly
took place in the County Hall ; and,' alter a' very feeling
statement of the destilute condition.of a great many,
Which was given by the Proiost, who presided, and sup-
ported by Bailie Hutcheson, it was moved, and unani-
mously agreed, to open a Subscription, which was com-
menced On the spot, and a handsonie sum put down.
The general
_impression amongst the gentlemen in trade
at the meeting of Monday seemed to be, that the greater
part out of work will be taken, up 'by the end of this
month or the beginning of next,- and, so far as we can
learn, this has been so much confirnied,Tthat a number
of webs have been given out "during the week to those
who were out of employment.-Glasgow Post.

SALTED SALMON.—The revenue authorities having
had under their consideration an application from cer-
tain parties, owners of a first-class sufferance wharf on
the river side, requesting that salted salmon may be
allowed to be landed at their wharf, and also the reports
of the principal officers of the department thereon, re-
commending that salted salmon, as British taking, im-
ported from Newfoundland, may be added to the list of
articles allowed to be landed at the particular premises
alluded to, and that a similar privilege may be extended
to all the first•class sufferance wharves ; orders have
been issued for the same to be permitted in future ac-
cordingly.
T REAI BUNT OF PIGS.—A farmer made the follow-
ing experiment in the treatment of pigs. He put six
pigs together for seven weeks. Three of them he left
to shift for themselves, and he had three of them curry-
combed and well cared- for. At the expiration of the
seven weeks the latter consumed five bushels of peas less
than the former, and weighed two stone four pounds
more than they did.
Ilion PRICE OF HORSES.—The contir.ual increase.
of the means of railway transit does not appear to affect
the value of horses, if we may judge frian the prices
which have been obtained in the neighbourhood of Salis-
bury for useful cattle. In the market place, last week,
the eart•horses taken off the Salisbury and Bishopstoke
railway works were sold by auction at from 304 to
421. each.
FALLACY OF THE RIM:OACR OP •S C
is vain for the arrogance of learning to condemn the
people to ignorance by reprobating superficial know-
ledge. The people cannot .be profound, but the truths
which regulate the moral and political relations of man,
are at no great distance from the surface. The great
works in which discoveries are contained cannot be read
by the people ; but their substance passes through a
variet3 of minute and circuitous channels to the shop
and the hamlet. The, converson of these works of un-
productive splendour into latent and unobserved activity,
resembles the process of nature in the external world.
The expanse of a noble lake—the course of a majestic
river, imposes on the imagination,.by every impression
of dignity and sublimity ; but it is the moisture that in-
sensibly arises from them which, gradually mingling
with the soil, nourishes all the luxuriancy of vegetation,
and adorns the.surface of the earth..—Sir. James Mackin-
tosh.

A ITArry VALLEY.—In a deep and retired valley
of the Pyrenees exists the small indep,nd* nt state of
Andorre under the joint protection of France and
Spin. It has Laws by prescripth n, which are tdmi-
nistered b) two judges, one Fr, neh, the other Spanish.
This little republic comprises fift) -four villages, with a
population of about 12,000 inhabitants, living on the
produce of the flocks and herds, their chief wealth.
When Napoleon crossed the Pyrenees, on his way into
Spain, he stopped at Andorre, the capital, and pro-
mised to confer on the republic a written code of laws.
But this promise concurrent political events prevented
him from performing. The inhabitants have at length
framed a code for themselves, and it was promulgated
last month at the chief town. It is of the greatest sim-
plicity, comprising all its er actments, civil and criminal,
in 100 articles only. Murder is a crime extremely rare
in this little state, and, when sentence of death is pro-
nounced, it cannot be executed until it is confirmed by a
general assembly of representatives of the villages con-
voked at Andorre. The mode of execution is consistent
with the nature of the people. At a short distance from
the road into Catalonia is a tremendous precipice, the
bottom of which no eye of man can discover. The cri-
minal, with his eyes bound, is led to the edge, and, in
the presence of all who wish to attend, is thrown over by
the executioner.—Paris paper.
WHY MANUFACTURERS SUCCEED ILL IN IRELAND..
—Excessive indolence and excessive fondness of money
together, with a gregarious timidity, and you have na-
turally accounted for the never ending combinations to
enforce the very highest price for the minimum amount
of labour and of service. The truth of this fact every
speculator and every director of any enterprise in Ireland,
sooner or later finds out to his cost. He finds, notvvith-
standing the tempting appearance of low wages and
cheap living, that as soon as there is a demand for
labour or food, he has to pay the very highest price
for the very smallest return—and this not of his own.
option. He is forced to pay it by combinations ; and
his concern is consequently often ruined. The labourer
who never in his life earned a shilling a day, or indeed
knew how, or was able to do it, will, on the first oppor-
tunity, show his natural gregariousness and his greedi-
ness, and his native indolence at the same time ; he will
combine to compel the payment of ss. a day and never
dream of doing more than a shilling's worth of work.
We know that this is not flattering ; neither does it dip
deeply into the loved mystification of " past centuries
of oppression," but it is nevertheless an existing fact
to
which operates most injuriouslythe country, ruins
many fair enterprises, and deters the investment ofcapital.
—The Topic.
TRICKS" or MILKSELLERS.—It happened upon a
day at the close of last week, that a " gue housewife
was busily engaged preparing dinner, whidch was to in-
clude, amongst other things, a rice pudding. The
morning's milk was duly mixed with the remains of the
previous nights supply, and she was in the act of adding
the rice, when, to her astonishment, the milk became
very much disturbed, and symptoms that some living
thing was the cause of the unusual phenomenon were
clearly manifested. Whilst she was wondering what
strange creature had taken a fancy to such an element,
the cause of her apprehension became apparent, by a fish
obtruding its head above the surface, and betraying evi-
dence of great uneasiness. Whether it had got there by
being accidentally ladled with the water into the milk
can, and was warned by a kind of instinct of the fate that
awaited it, or whether, from motives of pure love to the
human species. it had sprung into the milk unseen by the
person who was diluting it, and ventured on a dangerous
whod
iffi
are difficulty. Thosetome d. accexpedition to expose the practices of the milk-seller, we
are of course unable to say; but the parties for whose
are
r solution
such)of the
benefit this fact is related, can probably give a natural,
if not
very
(if
accustomed
milk-sellers
satisfactorytherese lity i
oo
to dip their cans into the fitst brook or ditch
they come
to, should endeavour to do so before the darkness of the
winter evening has come on, and rendered it impossible
for them to see what kind of animals- or filth the watt
may contain, or else after the dull mist of the moraii
has vanished—or many such ambassadors as the /Jule
visitant we have referred to, will be sent to the elAvniestie
hearth, to disclose the doings of the nianuraciu:rers Of
" half-and-1114f "—Derby Veporter.
,-, • •.