The Sun.
London, England, 1858-03-09 00:00:00

THOMAS TOOKE, F. 8.8.

We have the painful to k of recording the death of
Mr. Tooke, the venerable author gf the "History of
Prices," and in many respects for a long period the ohief

of living economists. Mr. Tooke died at his residence,
31. Spring-gardens, early on the moroing of Friday, the

- -
26th ult,, and hid remains were interred at Kensal-green

Cemetery on Thursday last, in a vault which already
contains one or two members of his family. Mr Tooke's
age was within a few days of the completion of his 85 h
year, but it was not until wit;,in the last sew months that
he manfested very sensibly the decay of powers to be
naturally expected at so advanced a period of life. The
death of his second son, Mr. Thos Tooke, jun. (one of
the directors of the Bank of England), after a very short
illness, at the close of December, may be rega,cled as the
mere immediate catie3 of the ead event we now record.
The euddennese and weight of the shock occasioned by
se severe a bereavement as he 10-s of his eon, exhau.ted
a str-ngth already impaired and failing, and her the las..
tee, months Mr. Tooke hat. been gradually sinking. But
there has been no interval, even up to the latest moment,
during which the clearness and serenity of mind for .
which Mr. Tooke was so remarkable was interrupted.
The long career of Mr. Tooke has been one which in.
viiee and will repay scrutiny He has united in an emi-
nent degree the sagacity and penetration of mini which
enabled him to be a guide and discoverer in new paths,
and the practical wesdoro and soundness of judgment
which qualified biro to occupy a conspicueus place in
the active business of life. In Mr. Tonke's case the com-
bination of the speculative wiih the practical facul y was
exceedingly remarkable. Few men could be foun I more
ardent in their pursuit of new truth,, or more ready to
ainpt and maintren them when he had once rati-fied
eimself that the discovery was a real one ; but at the
sarne time he may be classed among that small num-
ber of persons whose jedgment is so clear and unbiassed,
that the cases are exceedingly rare in which their deli-
berate advice is not fully justified by the event.
For a long period, in toe early pirt of his life, Mr.
T. oke was the leading partner in one of the largest
houses engaged in the Ru,,sian trade; and it was while
BO occupied that be acquired that remarkable command
of facts which enables' him to raise upon so wide and
solid a basis the economical doctrines and discoveries
which will ever bear his came.
Tim work which preceded the " History of Prices"
was entitled "Tt,oughtm and Deiaile on High and Low
Prices," and appeared in 1823. A second edition was
published in the following year. The first two volumes
,e the "History of Prices"—tire work upon which Mr.
T eike's fame principally rests— appeared is 1838.
Two further volumes appeared in 1840 and 1847; and it
was or ly in the spring of last year that the sth and 6th
vo erahrac the impereant period fr •ni 1848 to
1857, and extending, in many respects, the scope of the
carder v published In these two volumes,
es is well known, Mr. Tooke relied to a great extent upon
Lis coadjutor, and friend, ant pupil, Mr. Newmarch,
a coadjutor who may be ju-tly said to be, in some iui-
portant degree, the representative of the school of which
Mr. Tooke is the fooeder.
But the active sphere filled by Mr. Tooke was of scarcely
less interest than his pursuits as a philosopher. He was
governor, by re-election, for several su cessive terms of
the Royal Exchange Corporation—he was chairman
under similar circumstances of the St. Katharine's Dock
Comps .y—and he was one of the earliest promoters of
the London and Birmingham Railway. He contributed
largely to the establishment of the Statistical Society,
and to the latest period of his life he never lost an op-
portunity of forwarding the objects of that association.
He was a Factory Commissioner in the early days of the
great and difficult controversy out of which that elm-
mission arose, and he was the chairman of the subsequent
commission relative to the employment of children.
Among the last honour., he received was the distinction
of being elected a corresponding member of the French
Academy.
It is well known that Mr. Tooke was the author if the
Merchants' Petition of 1820 in favour of free trade, and
that, in point of fact, the free-trade movement then com-
menced was in a large measure originated by him. The
petition itself is a noble document, and every principle
it, sets forth has since made the ground-work of legis-
lation.
He has now passed away full of years and honours ;
and so long as patience and intrepidity in the support of
truth—a rare sagacity in separating real from spurious
science—and the promotion, by his own active example,
of every useful work, can constitute a claim to gratitude
and respect, so long will the name of Thomas Tooke fill
a distinguished place in the history of the time in which
he lived.—Economist. March 6

tJuuntrj blarlEect.

CHELMSFORD—MARL n 5.

The wheat trade to-day was in a rather dull state,
and the rates of last week baraly maintained. Spring
corn also dull, and unchanged in value.
Wheat, white, old, per s. s.
qr. 45 51 I Oats,
new 45 51 Peas,
red, old. 42 46
new 40 46
Barley 34 40
Chevalier 38 44
Grinding 23 32
Halt 70 73
Chevalier 72 73

8. 8.
per qr .....24 29
Partridge 40 43
White 38 42
Boiling 39 44
Dun 3B 40
Beans, Tick
Harrow ticks 36 40
Mazagan 32 35
Ditto, new 32 34

COLCHESTER— AS —ARCM 6.
A. fair supply of wheat, and readily taken off at a slight
advance on last week's rates. Fine malting barleys at full
prices. Beans rather dearer, and peas at about the same
as last week.

Prices to-day were as follow ;—Wheat, white, 464 to 52,;
red, 42s to 48s; barley, 36s to 44s ; oats, 24s to 28s ; beauB'
Mazagan, 31s to 36s ; middle and small, 36s to 40s ; peas,
white, 40s to 42s ; grey, 40s to 425.

Official Statement of the Quantities of Corn, &c., race:
in the port of London, from the following ports. f
March 1 to March 8, both inclusive.

yi
cm 0 ' a
ta' a A P.,
g
Colchester 1 63 16
2:;
___3` _
Harwich
Leigh 1 389 7 30 23
Haldon 1 545 10 ,20 (11(1 24

,1 vea
CI ova

.....
1 200

1, 480