The Sun.
London, England, 1870-03-09 00:00:00

THE MALT TAX,

It was proposed by Mr. THOMAS DUCKHASI that a depu-
tation be appointed to wait on the Chancellor of the
Exchequer with reference to the Excise duty on malt.
The motion was agreed to, and several gentlemen were
nominated to address the Chancellor of the Exchequer on
the subject. The secretary (Mr. Algernon Clarke) read a
long instruction respecting the points which should be
brought before the right hon. gentleman. It
stated that the deputation represented seventy-two
Chambers of Agriculture in forty counties of
England and ' Wales,_ with a total constituency
of 17,000 members. The malt tax is prejudicial to the
agricultural interest because it interferes with the most
remunerative rotation of crops, and limits the growth of
barley. It also acted as a fine upon high farming. By
the excise restrictions farmers are deprived of a source
of profit on their . business from the use of malt and
gram as food for animals. The English farmer is placed
at a disadvantage as compared with the foreign farmer
who is free to use germinated grain without payment of
duty, and to compete in our meat markets against home
produce. Mr. Gladstone's Malt for Cattle Act is inopera-
tive because of the expense.
Professor LEONE LEVI laid a resolution before CA
Chamber to the effect that the International Decimal
Association advised a parliamentary inquiry into the
monetary system. The Professor suggested that the
Chamber should appoint a sub-committee to consider the
question, with a view to gettinc, a committee of the House
of Conilnons to inquire into the matter.
On the motion of Mr. PELL, M.P., the meeting thanked
the Professor, and referred the question to the Executive
Business Committee, in order that the matter might be
brought before the Council in April.
The best mode of providing for the extension and main-
tenance of the education of the industrial classes
next engaged the attention of the Council. It was
brought forward by the Bev. E. LACON WILLES, M.A.
(of the Leicestershire Chamber), who moved a resolution
approving the Education Bill, inasmuch as it sought to
give school accommodation ; but objecting. to the length
of time a child is required to be kept at school, up' to ten
years being late enough to compel such attendance.
The motion was seconded by Mr. Willis Bond, of the
Worcestershire Chamber. One or two of the speakers
attempted to raise the religious question, but objection
was taken to it, and the meeting decided that it should
not be introduced. The resolution was carried unani-
mously.
Mr. A. STAISTIN, of the 'Warwickshire Chamber,
moved a resolution objecting to the rating principle of the
bill.

Mn. GEOnGE ANDREWS (Devon), seconded the proposi-
tion, and upon a division it was carried by a large
majority.
Captain CRAGIE proposed, and it was agreed that the
further discussion of the subject be adjourned until the
April meeting.
The meeting shortly after adjourned, to enable the
deputation to wait upon the Chancellor of the Exchequer.

MISSI.SSIPPI DISASTER.— Accounts from
Cincinnati, February 23rd, state that the captain of the
Emma has telegraphed from Cairo that %eventy lives were
lost by the burning of the steamer. The pilot has fur-
nished the names of many of the missing persons. The
first clerk made an attempt to save a lady, but unfortu-
nately perished with the others.

TUE RED RIVED.—A letter to the St. Paul Press
dated Pembina brings intelligence from Winnipeg that the
Governor of the Hudson Bay Company and one of its
prominent officers had been arrested by the orders of Gen.
llidle. Their cause of offence is thas they were tampering
with the members of the Provisional Government, in
order to defeat the bill of Rights. The letter adds that a
leading Canadian had taken his oath of allegiance to)
Provisional Governmeiat.

TIIE COLD IN AMERICA.—TIIO snow-storm °Nilo
21st of February blocked up the railroads in every direc-
tion in Montreal, and the trains were all stopped. The
Portland train, with the English mails, was also snowed
in. 'Twelve inches of snow fell during the last storm on
the hills from Danburg and Holderness. On the 21st
of February, the thermometer at St. Paul was 30 de,grees
below zero, in Chicago eight degrees below, and at, Jack-
sonville ten degrees below. A letter from Fort Abercrombie
states that on Friday, the 11th, there was the most tem-
pestuous storm on the Plains experienced this winter. It
is supposed that a party of six soldiers were frozen to
death on the Plains. Great damage has been done by a
huge freshet on the Upper Connecticut Valley. Great
alarm prevails among the people in the valley, and many
families had left the place.

Tirr MONTENEGItO QtrzsTioN.—The Journal des
.Wats reproduces an article on the Montenegro question
from the Turquie, a semi-official journal of the Turkish
Government, and comments on the haughty tone it has
asssumed on taking part in the discussion. It speaks with
little respect of those Powers without whose interposition
Turkey would long since have disappeared from the map
of Europe. The Journal des Debats thinks that the
Turquie writes history after a very convenient fashion
when it declares that the time has passed for the Govern-
ment of the Porte to make concessions to any other country.
THE THORNCLIFFE STUlKE.—Messrs. Newton,
Chambers and Co. have been favoured with another
threatening letter. This time Mr. George Dawson is the
recipient, and the epistleruns as follows :—" Mr. Dawson
you may think are a gentleman but I think you
are a bad devil and people talks how bad it is
to shoote anybody but I would sooner shoote you
thiss morning than shoote a pigeon and thcr would be no
more sin nor any harm in shooting you for starving so
many poore children and men and women thou deserves
hell fire and if you dont go to hell no body will for sin and
crime you have caused men to run themselves into be a man
and act fair man to man and dont be such a fien do good
on earth for you will do-non in the grave and show people
you act like 3 lA3II and shows reason."

An aurora wab seen in Ireland and at liulyliead
last night.