The Sun.
London, England, 1848-11-07 00:00:00

-
7 N OVEMBER 7, 1848.

may result from its unregulated laxity. These are
the principles by which the Act of 1844 ought to be
judged, and they require for their application a some-
what wide survey, and an enlarged judgment. The
history of former crises, the conduct of the Bank
Direction at those periods, as well as since the passing
of the Act, and the peculiar and very distinct cha-
racter of the two periods of April and October, 1847,
must be carefully weighed and balanced before a just
sentence 9 can be pronounced upon the merits of tl a
law. It must be judged, too, not only by what it
effected, but by what it prevented ; the security
which. it gave to public credit must be allowed for,
as a large set-off against any pressure which it may
nave occasioned to individuals; and it must never
be forgotten how much even of the relief procured
by its relaxation was due to the beneficial operation
of the Act itself. Those who argue, as we find both
many of the witnesses and some on the Committee
arguing, that the pressure of the mercantile world
in the October crisis was, gratuitously cruel because
the convertibility of the note was at that very time
beyond the reach of danger, forget that it was owing
to the operation of the law which they arraign that
the credit of the Bank paper throughout that most
trying juncture was never for one moment impaired.
With eight millions of specie in the issue department
at the period in question, in addition to the banking
reserve, the Government were enabled, without any
compromise of convertibility, to offer a latitude which,
if the bullion had been allowed to run down, as in
1799, to 1,200,000/. ; as in 1825, to 1,027,000/. ; and
as in 1839, to 2,400,0001., could not have been ven-
tured on without the fearful risk of superadding, to
the commercial embarrassment of 1847, the scandal
and disaster of a currency discredit. It is no question
of alternative or of a comparison between the two
exile .A;- With .A2r. Cotton; Mr. 'Norman, and Mr.
Jones Loyd, we are compelled, by a careful retrospect
of all the circumstances, to conclude, that had the
principles of the law of 1844 not been acted upon,
we should, in all human probability, have had both.
Now, we cannot help remarking, that of the ex-
tensive range of facts which ought to form the ele-
ments for a sound decision on this matter, Mr. Glyn
has comprehended but a small section in his view.
The " experience" upon which he so emphatically
condemns the law, is a narrow and microscopic one.
He bends his eye sharply upon a single point of time,
and, without allowing it to take in a wider field of
vision, fastens upon the restrictive enactment of the
law as the cause of all the mischief. He admits, in-
deed, in the most distinct terms (1,648), that the
pressure in April (which was manifestly produced by
the sudden and precipitate contraction of the Bank's
advances) was beneficial, and that it was not carried
beyond the extent required. Though he was not
asked the question, we are sure that he is too can-
did to deny that the rapid rate at which the Bank
had been reducing its Reserve from January to
April, when it came down to two millions and
a half, was brought to a check at that time by
the positive provisions of the Act, and that, but
for the existence of this barrier, the drain would, in
all probability, have gone on. The " bene-
ficial pressure," therefore, which in April rectified
the exchanges, is a circumstance most material
to be included in any estimate of the Act ; and the
train of consequences which, as we may reasonably
presume, must have followed from a contrary pro
ceeding—viz., from not contracting at all, or from
contracting too late—ought to enter largely into the
conclusion which an impartial mind is called upon to
pronounce. It is neither philosophical nor just to
say—" It is impossible for any human being to
imagine what might or might not have happened had
the discretion of the Bank in 1847 been perfectly
unfettered. I see what did take place in fact—l can
count up the number of firms that failed—l know
the rate of interest at which money was screwed up—
I heard what fears were expressed about the confined
position of the Bank—l witnessed the relief which
the relaxation afforded and the satisfaction which it
gave, and therefore I gave it as my opinion, founded
upon these facts, that the Act decidedly failed."
Such appears to us to be the drift of the argument
on which Mr. Glyn grounds his opinion ; but this is
surely not exactly the sort of "experience" by which
measures of wise legislation ought either to be origi-
nated or to be judged of. Mr. Glyn himself has, in
one part of his evidence (1,744), correctly discrimi-
nated the crisis of 1847 from that of 1825, by cha
racterising the former as a banking panic, and the
latter as a commercial one. He has enlarged more
fully in other passages upon the character of the
mercantile failures and the causes by which they
were produced. In his enumeration of these he dif-
fers little, if at all, except that he gives rather less
weight to the operation of railway calls, from Mr.
Morris, Mr. Cotton, Mr. Horsley Palmer, and the
other principal witnesses. Like Mr. Cotton, he
ascribes a great part of the ruin of commercial
establishments, at that period, to a speculative
extension of trade wholly disproportioned to the
capital of the parties. " With some few excep-
tions," says Mr. Glyn, speaking of the failures
in the corn trade, and the East India and Mau-
ritius trade, " (and there are exceptions), I am
not prepared to say that those houses ought not
to have failed. As far as I am connected with
any of them, there is not one that ought not to have
failed. It turns out now that in 1846 the East
India trade had been carried on upon a system of
credit to a very great extent." The consequence of
this system, and a very natural one certainly, the
same witness describes to have been "a great degree
of discredit and want of confidence throughout the
country, which was very mnch increased by the
failure of banks in Liverpool and in other parts of the
country, and, during the week ending the 23d of Oc-
tober, by a general distrust that seemed to operate
amongst nearly all mercantile classes." This picture
is a very true one, and the fact is equally notorious
which Mr. Glyn goes on to allege, that the operation
of this distrust, during which no man thought himself
safe, and every one doubted the credit of his neigh-
bour, was to induce the hoarding of the circulation
to a very considerable extent. Bankers strength-
ened their reserves, and merchants and traders
were anxious to supply themselves with notes
much exceeding their wants, in order
to be provided against a possible emergency. Then
it was, when the extent of accommodation given by
the Bank, and the quantity of their notes issued to
the public, exceeded, by many millions, both the 1
average amount of the circulation and the actual
requirements of trade, that attention was drawn to
the diminished amount of the banking Reserve, re-
duced by about the middle of October to little more
than 2f millions, and an apprehension arose that
" the reserve would soon be driven down so very low
that, in point of fact, persons who were possessed of
property would not be able to convert it into Back of
England notes." This is, we believe, a faithful epi-
tome of Mr. Glyn's evidence respecting the October
panic; and when the several parts of his evidence
are thus brought into connexion and harmonised, it
is curious to observe how closely they coincide with
the exposition given of the same events by Mr.
Jones Loyd, in which that gentleman accurately
distinguishes the mercantile from the monetary dis-
order, the latter being the effect and not the cause of
the former. " Persons attribute the inconvenience,"
says, Mr. Loyd, viz., commercial embarrassment, "to
monetary derangement, but the monetary derange-
ment was one of the inevitable effects of these circum-
stances, and not one of the causes." The panic, so
far as it was monetary, which grew out of this revul-
sion and distrust, was cured by the interposition of
the Government relaxing the Act. The conclusion
which Mr. Glyn appears toe ready to adopt is, that
wherever there is panic there must necessarily
be erroneous legislation. There is no law that
ever existed which such a test would not con-
demn. For a panic it is impossible to legislate ;
the infinite diversity of shapes which it may as-
sume can never be met by any enactment founded
on principle. It defies both foresight and regulation.
The Act of 1844, in permitting 14,000,0001. to be
issued unrepresented by bullion, and yet convertible,
practically repudiates the possibility of guarding
against panic. At the same time it tikes the only
securities against panic which are practicable, though
none are absolutely safe, by adopting the sound prin-
ciple of conforming the variations of the paper
medium to the bullion which it represents, and it
thereby secures the currency of the country against
reasonable alarm. Unreasonable alarm, which is
panic, can only be met by discretionary measures ;
and the question to be decided is, whether this dis-
cretion should be perpetually left open, to be ready
against such an emergency, or whether it should be
exercised exceptionally, and impromptu when the
crisis has occurred. We shall state on another occa-
sion, our reasons for differing upon this point from
Mr. Glyn.
HERALD.— The Times considers that the
proposed amalgamation of the London and
North-Western, Great Western, and
South-
Western Railway Companies present an ex-
cellent opportunity for the Legislature to
make further encroachments on the rights and
value of railway property. Our contempt iary ven-
tures on the assumption, that large profits are synony-
mous with maximum rates of fares and minimum
numbers of trains, and discovers is the operation of
the penny postage, an argument why the state would,
if the proposed amalgamation were granted, "be
new branches
bound to claim a power of dictating

[PRICE SD.

new trains, new accommodations, and lower fares."
Our contemporary, whose assumption is as original
and bold as it is groundless, says, " A monopoly
commanding the traffie'of at 'least half the island,"
alluding to the desired amalgamation of the three
great companies, " is a property of indefinite and
ahnost optional value ; for it is; in fact, as much as
the fortunate owners may choose to extract out of
it." Happy, indeed, would be the condition of
the " fbri ulnae owners," .+ ho )o have had their property
arbitrarily and injuriously interien.d with by Legis-
lative enactments, if what is termed monopoly would
enable them to render their traffic " of indefinite
and almost optional value." So far from the " for-
tunate holders " being able to make as much as they
" may choose to extract out" of a " monopoly" of
railway traffic, the fact is, patent to all who give
the slightest attention to railway management, that
profits are almost entirely dependent, not so Much
upon the rates of fares and number of trains, as
upon the character of the traffic 'which has to be
dealt with. There are but few lines upon which high
fares and a small number of trains would yield the
largest possible amount of net profit, while mode-
rately low, fares and an ample number of trains
will . be found the true policy of the majority of
our railway companies. We. believe Parliamentary
returns will show that a reduction of high rates
has increased the gross receipts of a raikvay com-
pany more frequently than' it has decreased them,
though we doubt whether in some of the cases,
the increase of the working
,expenses has not more
than balanced the augmentation of the • net income.
Railway statistics prove that the productiveness of
low fares depends in a great measure, not only upon
the amount of population that can be accommodated,
but upon the distance to be travelled, and that while
very low fares, in conjunction with- frequent trains,
will develope a very large increase of paying traffic
over short portions of the lines running from the
metropolis, a similar reduction in the fares between
London and Liverpool, or London and Exeter, would
not realise anything like a comparative increase of net
profits. The reason is evident. The persons who can
be induced to travel, for instance, between the metro-
polis and Greenwich, and Richmond, by the adoption
of low fares and frequent trains, are to be counted by
thousands or tens of thousands, but those who
would be able to take advantage of low fares
and frequent trains between London and Exeter,
and London and Liverpool, are to be counted by
hundreds only. People will not travel 300 or
400 miles simply because the fares have been
reduced from 375. or 40s. to 344. or 365. It is but
a comparatively limited few who can find time or
money to make such a journey, and a reduction
beyond a certain amount, which experience seems to
have pretty clearly fixed, results in a loss upon what
may be termed the remunerative customers of railway
companies, without a commensurate increase of traffic
being developed. For example, it is doubted whether
any material reduction in the present rate of fares of
the London and North-Western Company would
much increase the through traffic, and those best able
to judge are of opinion that the fares could not be
further reduced without decreasing the net revenue of
the company. The amount and character of the Lon-
don and IN orth- Western traffic will always oblige the
company to run at least six or seven trains daily to
Liverpool, a number amply sufficient for the present
requirements of the public. The ordinary trains run
the distance in eight or nine hours, and the fares are,
first class, 37si, and second class, 275., which are
the maximum fares by Act of Parliament. We
cannot see how, with these facts before us, the
London and North-Western Company would, by its
amalgamation with the Great Western and South-
Western, be able to get as " much as they chose to
extract out of" the passengers travelling by their
railways. " But," says our contemporary, " the tri-
umvirs who have partitioned so large a portion of
this island, and who are now about to ask Govern-
ment to consolidate their rule, may spare themselves
all further trouble in the affair, unless Oey are pre-
pared to submit to a regular national control. With-
out this condition their demand is extravagant in-
deed. The carriage of passengers is a traffic not very
different from the carriage of letters. The difference
is more in a few practical difficulties than in principle,
and these practical difficulties have been vastly re-
duced by the invention of the railroad. A monopoly
of letters in the hands of Government, and a monopoly
of passengers in the hands of a private company, would
inevitably suggest that either the one or the other
must be wrong. Railways are now the highways
of England, and therefore of public right. If we
are consigned to one vast management, we must at
least be assured that the convenience of all shall not
be sacrificed to the profit of some. The management
of the Post-office itself will suggest a model. Its net
revenue to the State might have been made three or
four times what it is now, but advantage has been
taken of its wealth to cheapen postage, to multiply
communications and deliveries, and in every way to
consult tbe general convenience. By the same rule
the state will be bound to claim a power of dictating
new branches new trains, new accommodations, and
lower fares. It is not likely that much dictation will
be necessary, but the State must reserve to itself the
right before it constitutes so vast a monopoly." The
Times altogether mis-states the case. The " trium-
virs" are not, as far as we can understand the matter,
seeking a monopoly, but to put an end to a
ruinous system of competition which has been
encouraged and promoted by the Legislature. Our
contemporary thinks this system has not sufficiently
deteriorated the value of railway property, and the
" State" is now called upon " to claim a power of
dictating new branches, new trains, new accommo-
dations, and lower fares." The three companies in
question do not seek, by their proposed amalgamation
Bill, to do anything which 'sthey cannot now indivi.
dually carry out at their pleasure ; all they desire is,
to live in peace with each other for the benefit of
their shareholders, and for the purpose of neutralising
as far as possible the effects of restrictive and aggres-
sive Acts of Parliament. The Times, however, sug-
gests that Parliament should refuse this reasonable
request unless those corporations will consent to
expend fresh capital in the construction of the most
unproductive portion of railways—viz., branch lines;
add to the already unnecessarily large number of
trains, and decrease fares, already, it is believed, too
low to yield a remunerative return to the share-
holders. In what way " the management of the
Post-office itself would suggest a model" of "a
regular national control" over the three companies,
should they be amalgamated, we cannot. conceive.
If railway passengers could be induced to travel,
and could be carried like 'letters in " indefinite"
numbers, and if such numbers did not materially
interfere with the cost of transit and rate of speed,
profits would indeed be " optional," and the " fortu-
nate owners" of railways might get as " much as they
chose to extract out of" their passengers ; but we
humbly submit that such is not exactly the case. The
Post-office has not •a capital of some fifty or sixty
millions to pay a dividend on, and we cannot under-
stand upon what principle it is the Times claims the
right, on the part of the State, further to interfere
with this enormous amount of private property for
the purpose of benefiting the public, irrespective of
the undoubted rights of the shareholders. It is
very true that the " net revenue" of the Post-
office " to the State might have been made three
or four times what it is now," but it is monstrous
from such a proposition to lay down a principle
that the State will "by the same rule be .bound
to claim a power of dictating new branches, new
accommodations, and lower fares," for how the'paral-
lel is to be borne out unlesi the suggested supervision
of the State is to reduce the present revenues of the
three companies to a third or fourth of what they now
are it would puzzle the Times to explain. If " the
same rule" by which the efficiency of the Post-office
has been increased by a loss of four-fifths of what
might have been realised, is to be applied to the ma-
nagement of railway companies seeking powers to
prevent further deterioration in the value of their
property, it follows that the present net profits are
considered to be three or four times the amount of
what they will hereafter realise. To expect that by
reducing railway fares in the same proportion, or in
anything like the proportion, that the rate of postage
has been decreased, one-half of the present dividends
of the London and North-Western, the Great Western,
and South-Western Companies could be realised,
would be speculating upon an impossibility. If the
shareholders of the London and North-Western,
Great 'Western, and South-Western are to have a
permissive Act granted them on such conditions as
are suggested by the Times, we are quite certain the
discussion upon the propriety of making use of it
will be as short as, the decision against its adoption
will be decided and unanimous. We have had too
much legislative interference with raw property
already.

CHEAP FOOD.—At a meeting of the .A„ottdOmie 'des
Sciences, on the 16th ultimo, a paper was. read by M.
Payne, on the part of the author, SI. Plandin, who ex-
hibited some specimens of horse chestnuts fecula, en.
tirely deprived of bitterness, and other specimens of
bread and biscuits prepared with one part of this fecula
and three parts of wheat flour, The .author declares
that a horse chestnut is worth as much as a potato, and
that two trees bearing this fruit at the-door of every
cottage in the country are equivalent to several acres
of potato fields, the more sot as the horse chestnut
almost always yields a good crop and requires hardy ;ay
aare_ -

The initiatory proceeciingq, upon the writ. of error
in the case of Mr. Smith -O'Brien will be raised be-
fore the Judges on Wednesday, the 15th instant. It
is calculated that the argument will not occupy the
Court beyond the second day. The decision of their
Lordships, whatever it may be, will apply equally to
all. the prisoners capitally convicted at the Special
Commission in Cloninell. Alluding to a report that
the 13th had been the day fixed for hearing the argu-
ments, the Freeman's Journal says,—
" This is far from bvihg correct. Oar reasons for
believing this opinion me !Minded on. the practice of
the. Queen's Bench relative :to urits of error, which
ni;y render an argument doling the -pre: eat term not
altogether probable. It is true the 13th li.s (ten fixed,
nut for arguing the main questions, but for 1.-...stsi4ning
errors on the writ. The Attorney. G. nera/ real' move
the Court to quash the writ to .e r sou fr.int oot
by the statute ; and, should he :.u..eced in till.; -p;
tin ry step, ttio judgment b low stands
he does not pursue this course, tor we apprehend the
proceedings are perfectly regular, then, on the day al-
ready named, the plaintiff in error assigns errors,
The Clown will then pursue one of three courses—either

to join in error, plead specially, or demur. The first
being the most probable, after the joinchr it. error is
filsd the cause will b. entered in due coure f argu-
ment, and the practice in such case we eru?erstand to be
that the cause should be entered by the Clerk of Etrora
ten clear days befOre argument. Paper bucks, contain-
ing an'abstract of the entire proceedings from the at-
raignMeni of Smith O'Brien down to the errors assigned,
must be 'made out for, the information and guidance of
the judges, and these helps to judicial knowledge must,
by the rules of the Queen's 'lnch, be delivered to their
Lordships four clear days at least before the hearing of
the cause. So our readers will perceive that a consder-
able interval must take place before the writ can he ar-
gued, and, a fortiori, before it can be finally c!eter-
mined. The' law's acl.y' will interfere several stages
before these complicated preliminary proceedings can
end in solemn argument. In e4lculating the number of
days which the practice of the Court interposes before
the last stage is reached, we are inclined to believe that
the matter must stand over until the Hilary Term.
When the argument takes place, we have good reason
to believe that the case on the part of Smith O'Brien
will be argued by Mr. Napier, q.c., and Mr. Francis
Fitzgerald."

-LIBERATION OF STATE PRISONERS.
The Lords Justices held a meeting of the Privy
Council last Saturday, when leave was granted to
take bail for the appearance of the following political
prisoners, who are confined in Dublin and elsewhere
for treasonable practices, viz.:— Eugene O'Reilly, J:imcs Mlienna, John De Courcy
Young, John Russell, James Russell, Patrick Corvan,
James O'Donnell, Lasrence Gahaghan, Patrick Conway,
George Whelan, Nicholas Nagle, Michael Doherty,
Robert Cave, Richard Dalton, Edward Egan, John
Hickey, Patrick Dunne, Thomas Hennessey, Anthony
O'Ryan, Thomas Parker O'Flanagan, and Robert
Lambkin.
On Saturday morning an order was received at the
county gaol (Limerick) for the discharge of Mr. Richard
Dalton, of Tipperary, one of the political offender; on
finding bail, himself in 100/., and two sureties in 50Z
each. An order is also expected to admit to bail Mr.
Thomas M'Namara, soiicitor, of Rathkeale, and Mr.
William Hartnett, of Newcastle. The other political
offenders remaining in custody are Mr. Richard
O'Shaughnessy, of Rathkeale, grocer, and Michael
O'Neil, stonemason.
ATTEMPT TO MURDER.
___

The Limerick Chronicle bas the following:—
" On Wednesday evening, between seven and eight
o'clock, the inhabitants of St. Mary's parish were
alarmed by a cry that a man named Purcell had been
murdered in the public streets, close to the Castle bar-
racks. On inquiry it was ascertained that the rumour
was not far from the truth, for on arrival at the scene a
man was found lying in the centre of the road weltering
in blood. The police from George's-quay station soon
arrived, and were informed that the injured victim had
been attacked by three men from Coonab, named Hayes,
who waylaid him on his return home, knocked the un-
offending man down, stabbed him with a knife in the
chtst, kicked him in the body, and almost severed the
nose from his face! In this deplorable state the sufferer,
James Purcell, aged 56, was conveyed to Barrington's
Hospital, where he received prompt medical aid at the
hands of Dr. Gelston, who entertailis but little hope of
his recovery. The perpetrators of the brUtal deed, John,
Pat, and Michael flayes,:w ere soon after arrested by the
police, and, having been brought before the magistrates
at the Town-hall on Thursday, were committed to the
city gaol."
THE FUGITIVE LEADERS.
The following incidents in connexion with the
escape of Messrs Stephens and Do'neny are furnished
by the Limerick Examiner:—

" When Mr. Stephens had taken his exit from the col-
lies, he directed his wandering footsteps to Tipperary,
suffering from a wound he had received in his side. He
reached Tipperary early in the night, and, having dis-
guised himself, walked up and down the streets, think-
ing to meet with some kind friend who might assist him
in his misfortunes. He met with some. He called at
the house of a respectable family in Tipperary, but they,
of course, received him coldly, aware of the penalty of
the law. Poor Stephens, however, made the best of his
way out of town, accompanied by friends, who shared
his dangers and misfortunes for the night. They slept
with him in a stack of bay. Next morning he disguised
himself as a poor scholar, and made for the
Commeragh mountain, where, peradventure, he
met his old friend Mr. Doheny, who had assumed
the character of a schoolmaster. Both ' school-
masters' lived in the Commeragh mountains for
some weeks, baffling the police. It is stated that, a
policeman once gave Mr. Stephens a few pence, such was his forlorn appearance, being, of course, quite igno-
rant of his identity. The track of the fugitives was at
last, however, found, and immediate separation was
deemed the only alternative to secure the safety of both.
They parted, Mr. Doheny for Cork, and Mr. Stephens
for Waterford. The history of Mr. Doheny's escape to
Paris has already been told—that of Mr. Stephens re-
mains to be narrated. It is said that he disguised him-
self in the costume of a woman (he had a feminine ap-
pearance), and, having lingered away some days in
Waterford, was met at last by some friend, who gave
him- money to travel to England or to France. With
great courage and cleverness he crossed the Channel,
leaving his enemies behind ; and having travelled by
railway to Dover took a passage. ticket for Boulogne.
There he was detained a prisoner
.by the English au-
thorities in France, and was subsequently liberated by
order of the Republic. It is said that he instituted an
action against the English authorities for false imprison-
ment, and received 504 to compromise the proceedings.
The end of all poor Stephens 's misfortunes and dangers
was his arrival in Paris, where he is now in the National
Guards, in the rank of an officer."

•
GEMS FROM THE "HUE AND CRY."
Maria Boyle, who stole 13s. from Louisa Byrne, of
Bride-street, is described as wearing a gown "all blue
with a white stripe."
Bessy Brennan stole a quantity of money and
, clothing from the house, 49, Clarendon-street, but in-
stead of her description we have the description of the
house as follows:-24 years of age, middle size, red hair,
which has the appearance of fdling off, brown eyes, pale
face, fair complexion, has a mark on the forehead, and
walks with lameness!" (The above piece of confusion
arises—No, we won't tell the reason.)
"In a description or Anthony Lawler (who stands
charged with a murderous assault on James Lennon,
near Rathvilley, county Carlow), we have his whiskers
set down as " small, smart, and of active appearance!"
Two heifers which were stolen from Catherine
M'Carrey, of Starlogford, county Donegal, are described
—lst, "four years old, all black except some brown on
the back;" 2d, "all yellow colour, with white on her
back!"
Biddy Conroy absconded from her uncle, Thomas
Murphy, Pathacurry,
,county Galway, taking 7L with
her. The Rue and Cry says the dress of the girl can-
not be described, as
,she had three dresses, " one a blue
spotted, one a brown ditto, and one a brown stuff ditto,
and a blue flannel cloak, and it is supposed she will be
dressed in some of them I"
The following is a mark whereby Honors Keenan,
who stole 201 from her uncle, John Delany, of Broc-
kerry, Queen's County, may be known--" right leg
much swelled, but it has no appearance I"
Instead of describing a horse which was stolen from
hn Haire, of Dromure, county Sligo, the description
is given of the robber, who is "5 years old, 11 bands
high, and light gray colour, with a long switch teil !"
Myles Magee, of Dernaholier, county LeitriM, lost a
cow, which is said to be "giving milk with two short
cocked horns !"

THE MEETING OF LIBERAL ELECTORS AT WAKE..
FIELD.—A meeting was held on Friday last. The fol-
lowing is a summary of what occurred:—The first
resolution, moved by the Mayor of Bradford, se-
conded by Mr. Solly, of Sheffield, was adopted by the
meeting. The other two resolutions were also adopted,
the second being moved by the Mayor of Wakefield, and
seconded by Mr. T. Todd, of Dewsbury. The third
resolution was moved by Mr. E. Baines, of Leeds,
and seconded by Mr. F. Crossley, of Halifax. Some
gentlemen present who were favourable to Mr. Fitz-
william's claims then attempted a compromise, but all
their proposals to that end were negatived, and a reso-
lution was passed expressing the dissatisfaction of
the meeting with the address which Mr. Fitzwilliam
had issued. Finally a resolution waspassed, constant-. ing the delegates present a committee, in order to take
the opinions of the Liberal voters for the riding, in their
respective districts, as to the propriety of bringing out
another candidate in opposition to Mr. Fitzwilliam.
The meeting broke up about five o'clock, having lasted
nearly four hours and a half,
HERRING TRADE;--WICK, OCT. 26.—Our local
market exhibit; no symptoms of reanimation, as there
are no inquiries making on the part of purchasers, ir,r
are shipments being made on the same extensive scale as
some weeks ago. Four vessels are loading for various
Irish ports and one for the Baltic. Advices have this
week been received from Stettin. They are written in
rather. a desponding tone, from the prospects of the
country. Cholera is spreading rapidly, and is fatal, and
civil war is not less injurious to the interests of commerce.
Account sales are pretty favourable, but a decline it
prices is looked for. From Irish ports we learn that.,
partial fall in prices has taken place. TlyhheolgeseLaroito:
pke
ouor
our coopers are now out of work. This remark,.
Wth-
e are
sorry to say, refers to a large proportion of I.
tant ill-remunerated class OR OA
cout.....invernes4 auricr,