The Sun.
London, England, 1846-10-21 00:00:00

COURT OF ALDEIIMEN.

Yesterday a Court was held for the dispatch of busi-
ness.

CITY PRISON'S CONTRACT.
Sir CHAPMAN MARSHALL presented a petition from
le baker who is now serving the con tract to supply the

City prisons with bread. It stated " that in consequence
of the failure of the potato crop, which caused so un-
looked for an advance in the price of flour (nearly
11. per sack, and a further advance expected), the price
to tbo petitioner now having amounted to little more
than half the price now charged for bread at many
baker's shops in London, in consequence of which he
daily lost to a considerable amount, and he prayed that
the Court would take the matter into consideration, and
allow him an advanced price, so that he might be 'able
to supply bread of the quality he would wish to keep up,
and at the same time to lessen the great loss he was
sustaining." He thought the application was a very rea-
sonable one, under the well-known. existing circum-
stances of the high price of the com modify, and the
fact that the petitioner, as well as his father, had per-
formed every contract they had talsen perfectly to the
satisfaction of the City authorities.
Alderman FAREBROTHER said he was anxious to do
-all in his power to remove the impression which had
been very generally made, that a failure to a very fear-
ful extent had taken place in the potato crop and in the
corn crop. He knew from the best authority that the
grossest exaggerations had been m ide in the condition
of these two articles of food, by, no doubt, parties in-
terested in raising the prices for the purpose of deriving
an unreasonable profit from the pu'ohic, which the ap-
prehension of famine could alone ex cite.—(Hear, hear.)
It was cruel to excite alarm of the kincl. The corn would
prove to be, according to informeetion procured from
those well qualified to judge, an undoubted average
crop, and the growth of potatoes, which was spoken of
with such despair, would turn out to be very different
from the public expectation. The fact was that immense
quantities of potatoes were kept bitch. from the market
last year until they were completely spoiled, in conse-
quence of the calculations of the monopolists. His ob-
ject in rising to speak was not to diminish any claim
which the petitioner might have upon the consideration
of the Court, but to prevent it from going forth to the
world that scarcity was expected, without accompanying
the statement with his denial.—(Hear, hear.) He felt
confident that Providence would continue those► favours
which had been so graciously dispensed to this nation
on all occasions.
Alderman LUCAS said he thot'ght it was reasonable
in people, when they found the pribe of grain and other
necessaries of life had risen all over Europe, to feel
some alarm for themselves.—(Pear, hear.) For his
Part, he hoped there would be e•aough for all, bat cer-
tainly his opinion was that the cultivation of the soil
did not bear a fair proportion to the increase of the po-
hear.) He betlieved that the price of
in Paris or )antzie as it was in this
po-
pulation.—(Hear,
country.
Ha(sFiehehiagorilped there would be sufficient to carry
all countries through, but he could not help expressing
his fears, and he could not blame 'others for entertaining
apprehensions, although they ',vete called upon to wLit
might calculate upon the result. It
patiently nr
atltyh,eranhd they a
rdto
expect people to wait until they
should have nothing to eat.—(A laugh, and " Hear.")
Sir P. LAURIE said, that AWrman Farebrother and
he had been lately visiting the Corporation estates in
Yorkshire, and they had ascertained that one farm had
not one bad potato upon it.—(Hear, hear.) The croi,s
were very large. It would be found, upon the authority
of the Edinburgh Review, that double the ordinary
,quantity of corn had resulted from the agricultural cul•
tivation.
Alderman CHALLIS said, it appeared to him that the
present question was not famine to the community, but
famine to the contractor and his family.—(A laugh.)
Sir CHAP3IIN MARSHALL paid he did not apprehend
a famine, but he thought that the unexpected dearness
of food gave a claim to the petitioner.—(Hear, hear.)
The petition was then refer red to the Gaol Committee.
THE EXPENSES OF THE SURVEY OF THE WESTERN
DISTRICT OF THE THAMES.

When the Court were passing the several accounts,
Alderman MUSGROVE said he observed that one of
those accounts was the Water Baliff's, and one of the
items was 690/. for the expenses of the survey, by the
Lord Mayor, of the Western. District of the Thames.
He expressed a wish to be in:formed by whom, that item
had been paid.
The WATER-BAILIFF-1 paid it.
Alderman MUSGROVE—Upon whose authority ?
The WATER-BAILIFF—By order of the Lord Mayor
himself.
The Court was then cleared for the consideration of
the communication from tile Special Committee of the
City Common Council, in relation to the erection of a
new City Gaol.

FOREIGN POTATOES.—A. vessel, arrived from Lima
(South America), has brought, in addition to 1,412
packages of copper ore, and other productions, 23 bar-.
refs of potatoes, the produce of that distant quarter of
the globe. This esteemed description of article has
before been imported from the Bermudas and other of
the West Indian Islands, but we are not aware of a
similar importation having taken place from the conti-
nent of South America, and therefore the one under
notice is remarkable, and requires particular menft:n.
Some other arrivals of potatoes have taken place during
the past week from the continental parts of Europe, and
as there were none for a considerable period, and this
article is at present the subject of universal cotnin, nt,
the mention of them wilt, ba of interest. The
Watt steamer, from Havre, brought 100 sacks, the pro-
duction of France ; the Giraffe seven baskets, the Bata-
vier 20 baskets, and the Ocean three baAtlts, from Rot-
terdam, the produce of Holland. •