The Sun.
London, England, 1858-12-02 00:00:00

UNIFORM WEIGHT FOR THE SALE
OF GRAIN.

A meeting of persons connected with the corn
trade was held at the Liverpool Corn Exchange,
yeste ay, "to consider the adoption of one uniform
weig of .1001bs. for the sale of grain, flour, meal ;
and to make arrangements for carrying the same
into effect."

Mr. HUBBACK, of Liverpool, presided. He first
alluded to a meeting which was held at the Liver-
pool Corn Exchange in September last, at which a
report of the sub-committee of the Liverpool Corn
Association was agreed to, pointing out the incon-
veniences of the present corn standards, and a re-
solution adopted in favour of a uniform standard. of
1001bs. in weight. The report and resolution were
circulated with a view to obtain the opinion and
sanction of the trade generally, and the presgillt
meeting was order to decide what future
tiould be pursued. For many years past
the diversity of the modes of selling corn and flour
had attracted general attention, and many efforts
had been made to bring about uniformity. The
necessity for a change was admitted by all, and the
present system was a disgrace to the age. (Cheers.)
It was most puzzling even for an initiated person
like himself, looking over the newspaper reports of
the country markets, to calculate which was the
dearest and which was the cheapest. Having de-
scribed the three different modes by which corn
was sold in this count:y—first by measure alone,
second by weight alone,, and third by measure
which must contain, or be made up to, a specified
weight--the chairman said that these three modes
varied considerably in different markets. Thus,
the sales at London and many other places were
per qr. of 8 imperial bushels; at Sheffield and Don-
caster, per load of 3 imperial bushels ; Ulverstone
per load of 144 qrs. ; and at Newcastle, Plymouth,
Berwick, Carlisle, and other places, per boll, vary-
ing from 2 to 6 imperial bushels. The sales by
weight also varied from the bushel of 621bs. at Bir-
mingham, and 70 at Liverpool and Manchester to the
windle of 2201bs at Preston, and the hobbett,l6Blbs.
at Denbigh. The standard of measure had certain
advantages—for instance, the statistics of imports,
averages, commutation of tithes, and many corn
rates and freights were calculated by measure—but
there were very great objections against the system,
the most important of these being the uncertainty,
so much depending upon the skill and integrity of
the meter. (Hear.) The farmers were the greatest
sufferers by the measure standard. There were also
frequent disputes under the present system between
merchants and shipowners, and with the Custom-
house. With regard to the statistics of imports,
and the other mattrs he had mentioned, the chair-
man suggested that in the event of a standard of
weight being adopted, all that would be required
would be by act of Parliament to state the weight
per imperial bushel, and all the difficulty disap-
peared. It was not absolutely necessary (the chair-
man contended) to retain measure for the purpose
of maintaining a proper test of quality. He further
stated, that though many members of the corn trade
disapproved of the 1001bs. standard, the members
of the Liverpool Corn Association had become
unanimously in favour it. It was an approximation
to the decimal system, a system whose general
adption was but a question of time. Having argued
that half a loaf, in regard to reform, was better
than none, Mr. Hubback said that there never was
a better time than the present to introduce the
particular reform which he advocated. It was not
necessary to carry it out by act of Parliament, and
if a few large towns, such as Liverpool, Manchester,
and Glasgow, adopted it, others would follow.
The SECRETARY (Mr. H. W. Banner) then read
communications from Mr. W. Jackson, AI.P., apolo-
gising for absence ; from the Leith Chamber of
Commerce, from a meeting of corn merchants at
Londonderry, and from others at Belfast and
Tralee, approving of the 1001bs. standard.
Mr. BROWN, M.P., read a communication which
he had just received, describing the interview which
a deputatipn of the Decimal Association held the
other day with Mr. Disraeli, who most cordially
'entertained their proposals, and particularly pro-
posed a standard of 1001bs.
Mr. H. SEGAR, of Liverpool, then moved a reso-
lution to the effect that the existing variety in the
weights and measures for the sale of corn, &c.,
formed a serious obstruction to business, and were
wholly inconsistent with the spirit of the times.
Mr. BROCHNER, of Hull, seconded the resolution.
Mr. TORR, of the Liverpool Chamber of Com_
merce, supported the resolution, weich was carried
unanimously.
Mr. BLAIR, of Liverpool, moved the second reso-
lution, to the effect that the substitution of an uni-
form weight of 100 lbs. was approved by the meeting.
Mr. Low E, of Glasgow, seconded the resolution.
Mr. OSBORNE, of Cork, moved an amendment that
a deputation be appointed to wait upon the Board
of Trade to explain the practical difficulties of the
corn trade arising from the variety of weights and
measures, and endeavour to obtain an assimilation
of the imperial bushel to the actual weight.
Mr. Brown, M.P., Mr. Gladstone, and Mr. Gian-
nacopulo, Greek Consul at Liverpool, supported the
resolution, and Mr. B. Woodward the amendment.
Upon a division the original motion was came
almost unanimously.
Mr. REID moved, and Mr. EWING, of Glasgow,
seconded, a third resolution, recommendingtimtafter
the to the
t
trade in Liverpool and elsewhere,
of February next the weight of 1001bs. avoirdupois
be adopted in all sales of flour, grain, and meal.

)pteu
Mr. H. C. CJIAPMAN,
of Liverpool, drew atten
_ _

tion to the fact that 100 lbs..had been already
adopted in Canada, where also the decimal system
of coinage had been recently introduced.
Mr. Citauriap, of Cilogow. moved, and Air;

FRANGIIIADI seconded, a fourth resolution, to the
effect that the new weight be termed the cental.
After a vote of thanks to the chair, the proceed-
ings closed.
Amongst those present at the above,wrr+'-- ---
Mr. Ewing (Angus and Co.) ; Mr. LiA)orne,
Cork ; Mr. J. M'Cann, M.P. ; IVlr. J. Cranford (C.
Loan and Co.), of Glasgow ; G. Lowe (J. M'Call);
of Glasgow ; C. Brochner, of Hull ; J. Bald, Swe-
dish Consul at Liverpool ; Giannacopulo,
Greek Consul at Liverpool ; Mr. G. Wright
(Wright Brothers), of Hull ; Mr. W. Brown,M.P. ;
Mr. B. Moore, M.P. ; Messrs. Bushel, Gladstone,
Makin, Wilson, Segar, Dawson, and Groves of
Liverpool; and Mr. J. Pim, of Liverpool.

FRANCE AS IT IS.:

(From the .Daily Yews.)
This day seven years life in Paris wits held up to
the observation of the world in that broad revolu-
tionary light which illustrates the social condition
of the hour to all future generations. The anniver-
sary reminds us of the ominous sights and sounds
which smote or chilled the hearts of French citizens
some years since, making men ask whether it was
not a troubled dream, and how long it would be
before the waking. The seven years 'are gone, and
the troubled dream drags on, like the nightmare
oppression, which seems to stretch out a pang of a
' thousand years' duration. In the President's Mes-
sage, of the 4th Nov. 1851, the usual topics were
found—Socialism, the stifling of it, poverty, embar-
rassment, a state of siege here and there, and pro-
posals for great public works, which should yield
profits that would create yet greater works; and so
-on; but accompanied by the significant,dema: I for
the institution of universafsuffrige, whieli meant a
coalition between the ruler and the classes unquali-
fied for political;action against the French nation, as
recognised in the world and in history. Dark as
were the forebodings excited by this message.
and by the change of Ministry, and by the courting
of the soldiery, even the experienced people of
Paris were taken by surprise when, at dawn, this
day seven years, the walls of Paris were seen to be
placarded with the revolutionary decree of a Dicta-
tor who presently called himself Emperor.
We need not dwell on the incidents of that day
and the two which succeeded it. The relatives of
the innocent persons slain by hundreds will write
the story hereafter and the memory of it will not
die meantime. The smoke, the blood, and even the
broken laws of the day might have been forgiven,
in consideration of the promise of order, stability,
and security, but for two circumstances—the indig-
nities cast upon the legislators of the Republic, and
the acts and demeanour of the soldiery. These for
bade hope to many ; but a multitude of gay-hearted
Frenchmen were disposed to hope that the promised
results would arrive
.; and when they had once ob-
tained order and security for a basis, they could
erect upon them any structure of political institu-
tions that might seem good to the nation. If they
had been asked whether they were willing to wait
seven years before beginning the construction of
their liberties, would it have damped their spiritt ?
If told that in seven years they would be living
under a despotism without- parallel in modern his-
tory, would they have used their last moments of
possible concert in modifying the experiment ? or
would they have let it proceed on the responsibility
of one man ? Glad as we all are to dismiss ques-
tions of this kind when they carry pain in them,
ready as we all are to comfort ourselves with the
truism that what is done cannot be helped—there
must be multitudes of Frenchmen who cannot, as
the years go round, see the 2d of December dawn
without some self.questioning as this. It may be
useless to harp upon such questions now, but it 'Rust
be right and advantageous, as each anniversary of
the coup d'etat comes round, to compare French life
as it is with what it was promised to be ; and there
can be no doubt that this kind of comparison is
going oR in every house in Paris, and in every
provincial town where anybody but the Court
and its followers are living. It is true . there
will be no sign. Men must now understand
one another without it. The police will pry and
listen in vain : such political comparisons are not
drawn in the streets, nor placarded on the houses,
like the Emperor's avowals of usurpation. But this
is the business on which the intellect and heart of
France are busy to-day.
What is it, in fact, that the coup d'etat has ~inven
to Frenchmen, in the place of that once proud and
gay existence which we all remember, not so many
years ago ? The non-political inhabitants feel the
pressure of politics in a way which seems to them
very hard. The old smoothness, regularity, and
ease of trade and daily life seem to be
.gone. Trade
is bad ; credit is impaired ; and there is an amount
of hopeless destitution in by-places which weighs
upon all social transactions. Bread and meat do
not bear their natural price, for decrees have med-
dled with the cutting up of ox, and the bakers'
stocks of flour. House rent is worse than food for
dearness; and it is owing to the great public works
which are the resorce of despots when they have
as unmanageable poor on their hands. The children
of the household have to be taught not to ask ques-
tions, bccouse the servants are not to Pe trusted.
Everything of interest is reserved to be told when
children and servants are in bed • and then only
after looking into the ante-chamber, to see that
nobody is listening. It is imprudent to make re-
marksin the street, and absurd to make sure of
answers to letters.

Such are the inconveniences of insignificant
people, seven years after the coup d'etat. As for
the sort of people that the ruler spends more
thoughts on,—they have the same experience, with
some additions. There are few families in France
who could not tell of more or fewer exiles, within
their circle of acquaintance; and the nobler the
hearts of those left in their homes, the more they
suffer on account of the deported. No one will ven-
ture to saw how largely images of Cayenne swamps,
and Algerian deserts, and fever and fetters, hunger
and the hulks, have entered into the scenery of
Frenchmen's minds since the coup d'etat. Be-
sides the victims carried away, without notice,
without trial, without" even a knowledge
of their imputed offence, their are their
families at home—families hunger-struck, despair-
ing for the most part, but now and then tempted to
hope for a moment when the brooding thunder-cloud
has discharged a peal, and before it lowers again
blacker than ever. Frenchmen cannot in these days
open the liberal hand to all. They are appealed to
on behalf of the poor, but the poor whom they may
help are those who have no deported relatives.
There are always some who will find means to an-
swer every known need; and it is well known in
Paris that more or less relief does reach the gaunt
children of fathers whohave disappeared from the
shop or the office, or their walk homewards in the
evening ; but it is not by the hands of neighbours
and fellow-citizens that the aid may arrive. Be-
sides the expense, the restraint, and the embarrass-
ment of life in the new Paris of our time, there is
the dismal novelty of its nothingness. Under the
first Empire there was interest an activity of some
sort, by which the mind was exercised and the
heart kept alive. Breezes or blasts came from all
points of the compass in turn to keep men's lungs
going, but the new doctrine of stagnation creates a
new position. Not only is the atmosphere to be
made stagnant, it is even to be exhausted, and in the
seven years the process has gone, so far that the
whole world is asking how much further the ope-
rator means to carry it. Nobodytbelieves that the
catastrophe will be national extinction, and the
commonest supposition is that Frenchmen can
learn to live in a very thin air. Time will show
this. But, however strong the vitality may, be,d
health is another matter; and health was promised
with the coup d'etat. The symptoms are not pro-
mising. It is of no use telling men that they
_ought
to be happy with the toys of life when its substan-
tial concerns are obliterated. Literature is expunged
when liberty is deposed ; science cannot travel
without a passport ; art degenerates.
What is there in the whole round of amusements
that can compensate for privations like these?
Msreover, material prosperity is hindered by what-
ever enfeebles society, and intellectual andspiritnal
elevation is impaired by whatever insults, disturbs,
and disheartens the mind and soul of man. Where
truth cannot bo spoken, and falsehood thrives ;
where literature is dogged by the police, and
philosophy is dispersed by ill names ; where saints
and sages turn hermits, from being apostles, and
buffoons and showmen fill the stage of life with
their hobby-horses, it seems scarcely the time to
look for the uprising of new structures of political
welfare from the basis of order and security pro-
fessedly laid this day seven wears. While looking
for what is promised the dupes or victims of the
coup d'etat see many a sad sight among the way.
farers--many a funereal republican train—many a
conclave of able men who meet and part in silence
—many a group of young people who from being
the grace of their time are just becoming its fops,
if not its blacklegs ; but amidst the varying crowd
their compassion rests, not only on waiting Legiti:
mists, or on indignant Orleanists, but on the inno-
cent child who is nursed in a regime which must,
in one way or another, bo totally changed before
".1415-PtoB29CtaiiiNao *WO. To see the Prince