The Sun.
London, England, 1860-09-04 00:00:00

BERTVI:)K ELECTION COMMISSION.

BERWICK-UPON-TWEED, SEPT. 1.
The Commissionersmet this morning at 10 o'clock,
and William M‘Glall was brought up by the gaoler
under a Secretary of State's warrant to be examined.
He, however, again refused to be sworn, upon which
the Chief Commissioner told him that, as he might
possibly alter his mind before the 30th of October,
the day to which the Commissioners intended to ad-
journ, and it might appear hard to keep him in
prison should he be willing to be sworn, it had been
determined by the Commissioners that he should be
a
discharged from custody at present, but that he
would have to attend before them in London, and
if he then refused to be sworn would have to take
the consequences of his contumacious conduct. The
secretary then handed a warrant for his discharge
to the gaoler and servol a summons on M'Gall him-
self, requiring him to attend at the Chief Commis-
sioner's chambers in the Temple on October 30.
The Chief Commissioner then thanked the Mayor
for his attention, and adjourned the further inquiry
until October 30, in London.

THE ROAD CHILD MURDER.—The memorial to
the Home Secretary from the Mayor and other influential
inhabitants of Bath, praying fora special commission to
investigate this mysterious tragedy, has been forwarded
through Mr Tite, one of the members for the city. Mr.
Tito has communicated with the Mayor of Bath, stating
that he has had an inter view with Sir G. C. Lewis, who,
looking to the grave importance of the subject. and the in-
fluential names attached to the memorial, has promised to
give the matter his most anxious and patient consideration.
In addition to the memorial above referred to there is ano-
ther now lying for signature at Promo, Trowbride, War.
minster, Westbury, and the adjacent villages, also addressed
to the Home Secretary, praying that "however unusual
such a course may be, a special commission may at once be
appointed further to investigate this mystery, to endeavour
to discover the criminal, an afford opportunity for state-
ment on oath to be made by all concerned. The first per-
son to whom this memorial was presented for signature Was
Mr. Kent himself, and ho at once expressed his great will-
ingness to do so, and added that his whole household Would
be glad to do so also. His solicitor, Mr. Dunn, however,
advised that, considering his position as a Government
officer, it would be inexpedient for him to do so, especially
as it is Mr. Kent's intention to proceed to London to-day,
in company with his solicitor, to obtain an interview with
Mr. Waddington, Under Secretary of State for the Home
Department, personally to urge its prayer. Meanwhile the
proposed magisterial examination of Mrs, Kent rePeals in
abeyance.
CAN THIS ))E TRUE P—J0))...,"
e the
convicted Irish rebel patri-. . Mitchell, ohnti,:nfd, his
adopted country. - of '4B, has left Ricof
the Fm
1)°
or France, at the invitation
N.:}lo. icon, who has conferred upon him
i aeprpor . , , Government
appointment,—Limerick Chronicle.

_•
ON SAVING CROPS OP CORN IN TVBT

WEATHER.

Mr.Wakley, in a letter to a contemporary, says :
Allow me to suggest a new application of mechani,'
cal power with a view to the saving and preserving
of ripe crops of corn and other vegetable products.
At the commencement of last week the accounts
from all parts of the kingdom with regard to the
harvest were dreary and alarming. Having long
been of opinion that mechanical means, which have
been so liberally and skilfully employed by our
agriculturists for producing crops, had not been
adequately used for saving them when produced, I
determined, if it were possible, to get a drying-ma-
chine manufactured for the purpose of experiment.
Accordingly, on Wednesday last I consulted Mr.
Savage, engineer, of Eastcheap. I explained to
him tat my object was to cut and dry sound ripe
corn, whatever might be the fall of rain. To attain
that object I proposed that after being cut the corn
should be received under cover, and where the pre-
mises were sufficiently capacious, the sheaves should
be subjected to the action of a drying-machine,
worked either by hand, horses, or steam ; or that
the ears only, separated from the stalks by being
drawn through inverted metallic combs or hackles,
might be so treated. Mr. Savage is a" coffee-roast-
ing machine" manufacturer, on a large scale. He
considered that the plan I proposed was quite prac-
ticable, and, on seeing him again the following
day, he stated that the more he reflected on the
subject the more fully he was convinced that the
proposal could be carried into effect. By this gen-
tleman I was kindly referred to the manufactory of
Mr. Lloyd, engineer, of No. 79, Guildford-street,
Southwark, and also to the office of Mr. Davison,
No. 8,: London-street, Fenchurch-street. Having
explained to these gentlemen the object I had in
view, they both expressed an opinion that the plan
into
effect easy of adoption and might be carried
effect with perfect facility. At Mr. Davison's the
operation of drying different substances had been
already carried into effect to an extent of which I
was entirely ignorant. At. Mr. Lloyd's manufactory
I found that, by a simple contrivance, air had been
driven through a machine, under the influence of a
six-horse power, to the extent of 10,000 cubic feet
a minute. Here was a corn-drying machine already
made. But at Mr. Davison's, in London-street, L
saw the model of a dessicating machine manufac-
tured and used by that gentleman. I found that
he employed such machines for roasting coffee,
cocoa, and chicory, and drying flax, cloth, feathers,
malt, wood, and even bricks; but not one of them,
strange to say, had ever been used fur drying corn,
either in the sheaf or in he ear. The drying powers
of these machines appear to be almost fabulous, and
Mr. Davison stated that he could evaporate from
wet substances as much as four tons of water in
eight hours. Mr. Davison does not entertain a
doubt that these machines may be used wit)' extra-
ordinary results for the drying of ripe corn, wet
from the field. In his machines artificial heat may
or may not be used. Mr. Lloyd, or, Guildford-
street, Southwark, is a fan-blowing machine manu-
facturer. The machine that I saw at his premises,
through which, by a six-horse power, he could pro-
pel 10,000 cubic feet of air per minute, occupies a
space of only five feet square, and its cost would be
about £4O. Having advanced thus far into my in-
quiries, I determined on consulting Mr. Alderman.
Mechi, to whose ability, energy, and enterprise the
public are so deeply indebted for a vast number of
improvements in agriculture. I saw that gentle-
man on Friday last, and in less than five minutes
he pronounced the proposed plan not only practic-
able, but highly useful and important. The Alder-
man remarked that wind is an excellent dryer,
and added, " At my farm yesterday we had one of
your machines on a grand scale; we had a brisk
breeze, and consequently carried a stack of wheat."
On leaving Mr. Mechi he stated that he should at
once go and see the instruments I had mentioned.
That drying machines may be used beneficially
for other purposes than saving crops of corn is quite
obvious. During the last winter thousands of tons
of mangold-wurtzel and turnips ratted after they
had been stacked, housed, or caved. A similar de-.
struction may be prevented in future by subjecting
these valuable productions autumn to the drying
process. Possibly the decay of potatoes may be
prevented in the same manner. Within a few years
it is, I think, probable that the application of me-
chanical skill_ with a view to the saving of ripe
crops of corn in wet weather will be generally
adopted when necessary throughout the kingdom..

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.
Sir,—Great fears are expressed for the harvest
of this year. As I have lived in one of the most
fertile corn-growing districts of the midland coun-
ties for 30 years, and as I have from habit and in-
clination watched the phases of every harvest during
that period, I venture to give an opinion as to the
present agricultural prospect.
First as to hay and root crops. The cold and
backward spring reduced the stock of hay to a
minimum. The heavy rains of May and June forced
an unusual crop of upland, meadow, and artificial
grasses, which were, as a general rule, remarkably
well got in in the unusually fine July • the wet
August forced a second crop, and established the
root crop where the activity of the farmer enabled
him to take advantage of the alternations of the
weather. To what extent the meat market would
have gone up in the ensuing winter hut for this
timely supply of food for cattle it would be hard.
to imagine. It is true that much hay was destroyed.
in the valley of the Thames and its tributaries ;
suffice it to say, that the state of the Thames as a
main outfall and carrier for the drainage of a large
part of Midland England is a disgrace to a civilised
country. The farmers in the valley of the Thames
tried to beat out the sediment of the floods by pass-
ing their hay through a thrashing machine, and
they may have to repeat the experiment if the
landowners will not combine to improve the water-
way of the father of English rivers. Now as to the
corn harvest. My own observation, and such in-
formation as I can gain from others, lead to the
conclusion that there is no deficiency in any grain
crop. The wheat was thin in the spring ; a piece
which I condemned to be ploughed up will yield.
nearly, if not quite, four quarters per acre. The
barley and oats were sown under very favourable
circumstances ; the time was favourable for the
wheat blossam. The ears are full, and all that was
wanted was fair weather. If the weather had been
hot, as far as we can judge, the corn would have
ripened short of its maturity ; as it is, though slow,
the maturity is satisfactory. As yet, hereabouts
nothing has been spoilt. Last year early in
August the wheat and the barley had sprouted, the
latter especially ; up to the present time nothing of
the sort has been seen ; and, comparing the two
years on my own small farm, composed of soils vary-
ing from light gravel to clay, the value of the corn
crop is at least 10 per cent. in favour of 1860. Here,
at least, we have neither cause for fear nor com-
plaint. The quantity of rain has been, month by
month, about equal to
1852, the wettest year I ever
remember. Heavy rains just now would give us an
excess not to be expected. Wheat, barley, and oat
ricks are springing up to-day in this parish, and,
with the blessing of a fortnight's fine weather, the
harvest of 1860 will be abundant and well secured,
—I am your obedient servant,
Abingdon, Sept. 1.

J. C. C.

MR. LINDSAY'S MISSION TO AMERICA.—The
following letter has been addressed to the editor of the
Times.—Sir,—l am sorry you did not ascertain the facts
connected with my visit to the United States before calling
attention to it in your leading article of Saturday last.
But, as so much has been said about it, I think it right to
state that I do not visit that country in any official capa-
city whatever, and that the Government will not be re-
sponsible for anything I may say or do. If I wished office,
which I do not, I should certainly not aspire to that of
" special envoy." —I am, sir, your obedient servant, w.
S. LiNnse.Y. 8, Austinfriars, City, Sept. 3.—[* Mr. Cob-
den might have written as much on this date last year.]—
Times.
It is stated for the information of our iron and
and the
teal merchants and manufacturers that there is to be an ex-
an opportunity is
ex-
hibition at St. Dizier, in the Marne, the head-quarters of
also to include a
these goods in France, which will last from the 6tb instant
on this
eolcdc,a:icof.:
till the Ist October. As it is known that then,
founders and others from the Marne, the Ardennes,
to the Moselle are resolved to endeavour to show
ark, and thatFirtainsce.
that they are equal to Us in every respect,
yuCts of France and
presented for our makers from Birmingll7ing
It appears that the exhibition.
it
so tporobvveae
hrtheir i
nosf uat phl eae rr i
products
rer
oi
park
greatfetes. Particulars may be obtained
Sec-
retary of the Exposition, St. Dizier,
The trade reports for the past week refer to the
.suspension of Mr. B. J. Eyre of Sheffi LI
—e-,-,, cutler, with
liabilities for about £20,000 and assets X 15,000 and of Mr.
William Banks, of Bilston, ir,nul,ater, also with liabilities
of L 20,000, and assets eslino_ltea to exceed that amount.
To-day a small failure iiit,
finer_bef announced in the wine
trade, the house t-e being that el '
oh,,,u_t_ teen
s. Pereira and Grant,
of Tower-street • Mr. acted,ua Yis the accountant. About
10s. in the pound is exl)
FOR RIFLE VOLUNTEERS manufacturers,
PRIZE MEDALS t.
n followed by contests in many of
competition of rifle sahs"beleng which took place at Wimbledon
a short time sinee
country. In several instances
the corps through_
trials otskill tol's "een instituted between different bodies,
and the result
beenhann-
to cause increased attention to be
Paid to rifle shofar tbb: For the purpose of providing some
worthy r°c%rst be e most successful shots, a very neat
medal 12' ant in .. en produced by Messrs. Pinches and Co.,
the sari tidal
edallists, of Oxendon-street. On the reverse
of
th'o i
,18 the figure of a rifleman, kneeling, in the act
of firing', anct on the obverse a laurel wreath. The centre
affords space for engraving the name of the winner, the
reginlent or corps to which he belongs, and the locality or
occasion on which the competition took place. The medal,
which may be cast in gold, silver, or bronze, is attached to
a plain green ribbon, with a metal bend bearing the royal
initials. The three medals in gold, silver, and bronze, con-
stitute a set of first, second, and third prizes, and the honour
of winnip'g one or other of these medals is well worthy of
being eagerly contested, and we should be glad to find that
every Volunteer corps it the country had among them
three men entitled, tA wear these graceful recognitions of
..J
their skill, ..

MONEY MARKET AND CITY NEWS.

CITY, Two o'CLocK.

The Foreign and Colonial Produce Markets dur-
ing the last few days have been exceedingly firm.
Tea, however, has continued inactive, owing to the
large quantity to be offered at public sale to-day.
Sugar has fully sustained the late advance, par-
ticularly the finer descriptions of West Indian, and
in the refined market an active business has been
done at enhanced rates. For coffee the demand
has been steady without any material variation in
prices. Rice, rum, and cocoa have been in mode-
rate request at former rates. Saltpetre has been
inactive, and quotations are quite nominal. Tal-
low has continued in steady request, but owing to
a pressure of sales on the part of importers, quota-
tions have shown less steadiness.
The Liverpool Cotton Market yesterday closed
with a firm appearance, but no immediate advance
was reported. The sales were estimated at 10,000
bales. The R ailway Share Market presented a
buoyant aspect, and a further slight improvement
took place in values.
About £200,000 in gold was taken into the
Bank yesterday, aid a considerable portion of the
recent arrival by the Leaping Water has been pur-
chased for the continent..
_ .

-----_
The Discount Market has not been influenced to
any perceptible extent by the preparations for the
4th of the month, the mercantile classes having
quietly provided for the event, without stimulating
the demand, or adding to the firmness of quotations.
The lowest charge for superior qualities of commer-
cial bills is 31 per cent., and the inquiries at the
Bank,where 4 per cent. is the minimum, have fallen
off in consequence. The tendency of the market is
decidedly favourable, and if the harvest should
prove satisfactory lower rates of discount may be
shortly experienced.
There has been very little business 'to-day in
the Market for Public Securities, but sales having
preponderated, a slight decline has occurred, Con-
sols being 931 H for money, and 931 for the 10th
October. Some of the speculators have no doubt
sold stock in order to realise profits. The New
Threes are 931 I; the Reduced 931 ; the New 21
per Cents. 771 ; Long Annuities 161 ; Exchequer
Bills ls. prem. ; India New Loan is 103; ; the 5
per Cent. Enfaced Paper 961 ; ditto 51 per Cent.
1021 ; and the Bonds are Bs. dis. ; Bank Stock is
231 233; and India ditto, 2171.
Continued activity is apparent in the Foreign
Stock Market, and prices are firm. Turkish 6
per Cents. are 731 a ; ditto New Loan, 571 to 571 ;
ditto 4 per Cents. 101; Venezuela, 221 23 ; Dutch
4 per Cents., 1011; Buenos Ayres Deferred, 30 ;
Greek Bonds, 81 ; Mexican, 211 ; Peruvian 3 per
Cents., 741; Russian 4 per Cents., 64; Spanish
Deferred, 401; ditto Passive, 221 ; and ditto Certi-
ficates,

The Ocean Marine Insurance Company's shares
are 2g a pm. ; the Universal, pm. ; and the
Thames and Mersey, ,4 4 pm.
The dealings in the Railway Share Market have
been to a fair extent ; less firmness, however, has
prevailed, a reaction, of about to per cent. hav-
ing taken place in values. Eastern Counties, Great
Northern, Great Western, North Western, Mid,
land, and South Eastern have receded ss. ; Edin-
burgh, Perth, and Dundee, 10s. ; Lancashire and
Yorkshire, 15s. ; and North British and North
Eastern (Berwick), £l.
The Foreign and Colonial Markets have shown
little variation of importance. Sambre and Meuse,
Bahia and San Francisco, and Pernambuco brought
former rates ; East Indian have receded 10s., and
Great Indian Peninsula 10s.
Joint Stock Bank and Miscellaneous Shares
continue at barely previous quotations.

BRITISH FUNDS—ONE O'CLOCK.
Bank Stock
3 per Cent. Reduced Annuities 931 I
3 per Cent. Consols Annuities
New 3 per Cent. Annuities
New 24 per Cent. Annuities
Annuities, 30 yrs, expire sth Jan., 1880 —
Ditto for 30 yre, expire sth April, 1885 164
India Stock
Ditto 6 per Cent
Ditto Enfaced Paper, 4 per Cent —
Ditto 5 per Cent. -96 -
- 4.

_•,u o per
Ditto 61 per Cent.
Ditts) Bonds £l,OOO 8 d
Costsols for Account, 6th Sept 931 i
Exchequer Bills, £l,OOO, lid -
D tto £5OO 1 pm
Ditto Small
FOREIGN FUNDS—ONE O'CLOCK.
Buenos Ayres, 6 per Cent •• •
Ditto Deferred 3O
Milian 6 per Cent. —
Ditto 41 per Cent
Greek
Mexican 3 per Cent
Ditto Account
Peruvian 41 per Cent
Ditto 3 per Cont.
Ditto Account
Russian 5 per Cent. 1822, £ St —
Ditto 41 per Cent. Scrip, 1860
Ditto 3 per Cent., 1859
Spanish 3 per Cent
Ditto New Deferred .. 40
Ditto Account

Ditto Passive
Spanish Com. Cert. of Coup. not funded.. 5/
Turkish 6 per Cent ..
Ditto Account
Ditto New Loan
Ditto Account
Ditto Guaranteed, 4 per Cent.
Ditto Account
Venezuelan 3 per Cent
Ditto Account
Dividends on the above payable in London.
Dutch Exchange, 12 Guil. 21 per Cent
Ditto Certificates, 4 per Cent.
TWO O'CLOCK.
Consols, Money
Ditto Account
Ditto October 933/4 931

Lord and Lady Wodehonse have left town for
Kimberley Park, their seat in Norfolk.
CAUTION TO THE LEATHER TRADE.—BURGLARY.
•--Information has been given to the metropolitan police of
an extensive burglary, which was committed on Saturday
last on the premises of Messrs. Fisher and Co., leather
factors, &c., Leadenhall-place, Lime -street, a large quantity
of valuable skins being removed from the warehouse. A
reward has been offered for any information that may lead
to the detection of the offenders.

THE TRANSATLANTIC TELEGRAPH.—It is some-
what curious that the earliest news conveyed by telegraph
to the press of America was the launch of a sloop of war
at the Brooklyn Yard, and that the first regular organisa-
tion for the purpose of telegraph reporting was formed for
obtaining news of the progress of the war in Mexico. A
daily horse-express was run between Mobile and Montgo-
mery, a distance of 200 miles, in order to anticipate the
arrival of the mail, and forward the news by telegraph to
New York and other places. In 1847 the complete and
efficient organisation of what is termed the " Associated
Press of New York" was established, with "telegraph re-
Wrters" and agents in every important city or port in the
united States, as well as in Canada, England, and other
countries. The charge for sending messages by telegraph
was at first much higher than is at present the case, and
the great object of the associated reporters was to devise
some means of
getting as much as possible for their money
from the
telegraph companies. As the result of much
anxious der illeration and forethought, they at length pre-
pared a complete system of short-hand or cipher, which,
while it
hwavrs
Dsrfectly unintelligible to the clerks' of the
telegraP 'd tas' wh--en translated by those possessing the
key, fan ° Possess remarkab elastic roperties. A
message of ten cipher
S WoT d would ly
expand to fifty or sixty,
or even one hundred
~., When translated. Some of the words
sent were of enor—.oua i
hicfr
_ngth, and made up of syllables,
each of which had a
e meaning, and when in combi-
nation defied all the dictionaries of the civilised world.
There came, however, a limit
to human
part of the managers of the telegraphs and they ordered
that no word sent by the A
"°ciated Press should contain
more than five letters, that tile
the vii. letters in every message
should be counted, and ale divided by five for the
number of words, and charligeitahO,.,4,
eer---ingly. The new so-
ciety did not rest content
s',,
,_ PnLtating against the ty-
ranny Fog Smith," a tu,e7 but the manager
of the New York and Boston nne, ut they ransacked the
dictionaries for the purpose of finding a sufficient number
of words of five letters to serve the
tug": of a new cipher
system, and some thousands of s
the lin—a were very
speedily selected, and were sent over e, po,"„ed of
even greater expanding powers than those under the
former
Ifriterll.—Once a Week.
I'4IEXICAN BONDHOLDERS.—The annexed Com_
munication is from the Committee of Bondholders:MexicanMr..b
---" The committee have received advice from.te-
head, dated Mexico, the 3d ult., of a condueta being, " after
all, on the point of then leaving for Vera Cruz, but that
Mr. Matthews's opinion was so decidedly unfavourable as
e to
to the security it offered thai. Mr. Whitehead was u-nabl Great
avail himself of it for the funds uf the bondholders.
v alish
ae the accumulation of funds now is tii the hands of l -,.-..?a• e
houses in the capital, only two are venturing to send some
trifling amounts with it. So far as was known in the city
of Mexico, General Miramon was still at Lagos. Vlore
were daily reports of his defeats and success, on which no
reliance was placed."
GARIBALDI AFTER MELAZZO.—Here an incident
occurred which deserves to be mentioned, as showing the
singular character of Garibaldi. Finding his shirt dirty
and soiled from his personal struggles, he took it off, washed
it in the brook hard by, and hung it up on the bushes, ate
his lunch of bread, fruit, and water, smoked his cigar I;are-
b acked, and wrapt in thought, sat apparently contemplating
the drying of his garment; thus in the field and bivouac,
X `raring danger and hardship with the humblest of his fol-
lowers. Directly his shirt was dry, he went on board the
T akeri' formerly Veloce, lying in the bay on the western
side of the peninsula, and personally directed her fire on the
fortress and retiring masses,—Blackwood's Magazine for
September.