The Sun.
London, England, 1861-12-31 00:00:00

AGRICULTURAL PRODUCE FROII
_HUNGARY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE TIMES.

The average cereal production of Hungary may be placed
at 262,200,000 imperial quarters, as—

Wheat .. ..
General crops ..
Rye • • • •
Barley .. ..
Indian corn ..
Oats .. ..

Imperial Qrs,
.. .. 58,500,000
.. .. 35,700,000
.. .. 22,500,000
.. .. 30,900,000

•• .. .. 60,300,000
.. .. .. 54,300,000

202,200,000
If we subtract from this amount the quantity required
for the consumption of a population of 14,000,000, we find
that 66,000,000 imperial quarters of grain remain to be
exported, of which 36,000,000 are wheat, Considering that
of these 25,324,500 English acres on which the crops speci-
fied above grow 30 per cent, remain every year fallow, it
maybe easily seen that the quantity of corn to be exported
could be raised to a larger figure by increasing the number
of cattle and by a higher cultivation of the soil,
The extent of the productive soil of Hungary is about
66,234,500 Engdsh acres, as :

Under crops ..
Wood .. ..

English acres,
25,324,500
• 15,587,500
• .. 16,650,000

Pasturage
Vineyards
Meadow land

.. .. 1,085,000
.. .. 7,087,500
.. .. 600,000

Gardena..

66,234,500
Germany has hitherto been almost the sole purchaser of
Hungarian grain. By the Elbe, and,,through Hamburg or
Stettin, i has been transported to England, but such in-
stances were merely exceptional, involving no regular
trade, Since, however, the new lines of railway to the Adria-
tic were completed the large grain towns of Hungary (as
Pesth, Szor, Mosony, Kanizsa, Sziryck) have been open to
Southern France, Belgium, and virtually to England.
These countries will become theregular emporia for Hunga-
rian grain, and Trieste or Fiume, or some other available
port, may become the seat of export. The question to be
resolved is this—whether Hungarian corn can compete in
cheapness with Russian and American, and whether it can
be delivered at foreign ports at prices that would secure it
regular foreign buyers. With regard to England, her
prices may reglilate those of Hungarian grain, for the
yearly coneumpticn in Britain by far exceeds that of all
other corn-buying nations.
But the articles of export from Hungary would not con..
sist only of grain. She produces also—

1. Wool, amounting to 200,000 cwt. per annum, of
which the smallest quantity has hitherto been bought
directly for the English market, consequently at an in-
creased expense.
2. Wino ; yearly production, 25,000,000 octaves. An
octave contains 78 bottles.
3. Timber, in the largest quantity.
4. Salt and smoked meat.
1 will not speak of salt, sugar, silk, tobacco, cobalt,
metals, and other articles of export, being desirous slot to
exhaust the patience of my readers.
We are well aware that it should have been our par to
take the initiative, but the blame should fall, not on us,
but on our melancholy and almost desperate position. It
was part of the iniquitous policy of Austria to impoverish
us (which has in a great measure succeeded), in the belief
that misfortune would compel us to give our aid to the ful-
filment of her own unrighteous designs. But, thank God,
she failed. It was Austria that paralysed our strength and
enterprise in every direction, and that would never suffer
an extension of trade between Hungary and other countries,
dreading the light that would thus be thrown on her dark
and crooked policy, and the conviction that would then be
forced on every thinking mind—that Hungary is the
wealth and power of Austria, and that Pesth, from its
position alone, has the means of forming the centre of a
great and free country. We are deeply persuaded that had
an English consulate been esiablished there the English
merchant, great in practical knowledge, clearheadedness,
and steadfastness of purpose, would have found a guaran-
tee for embarking in enterprise, and we Hungarians would
soon have learnt what we are still ignorant of—how to "do
a good business."

C3mpanies would have been formed because the profits
would have been evident. While one, by building steam
mills on the largest scale, could have sent in great quanti-
ties the flour of the excellent Hungarian wheat to England;
another, establishing central wine cellars at resth, would
have proceeded to make brandy from ordinary wines, or to
prepare good wines according to the English taste. In this
way the credit of the Hungarian wines, impaired as it is
day after day by the adulterations practised by wine mer-
chants, would soon have been restored. Sawmills also
would pay, and profits could be made by the formation of
a new steamboat company. Tugs are wanted; those now
on the Danube pay 12 per cent. Endless fields of enter-
prise could be pointed out, not alone for the benefit of those
actively concerned in them, but for that of mankind in ge-
neral, From entering into anything of this nature, how-
ever, without English capital, we are incapacitated by our
present unhappy condition.
I submit these details to the English public, earnestly
desiring to enlist its interest in the subject on which they
treat, and, in so doing, to servo my country, England, and
the cause of civilisation itself.—l am, sir, your obedient

servant,
Pesth, Dec. 24.

A HUNGARIAN.

THE WEATHER IN THE SOUTH OF SCOTLAND.--
A correspondent of the Scotsman writes from Kelso :
" The rivers are nearly all ice-bound. The smaller waters
are all frozen over, and on long reaches of the Tweed, both
above and below Kelso, sliding or skating may be indulged
in. At present one can walk on the frozen Tweed from
Kelso to Sprouston, three miles further down the river;
and at Kelso-bridge the water is almost entirely frozen over.
Large numbers of persons daily enjoy themselves on the
glassy surface of the Tweed in skating, curling, sliding,
aad foot-ball, The atmosphere since Wednesday last has
been very clear, the sun has shone out all day, and both
during the day and at night the frost has been intense.
Farmers are complaining loudly of the frost, and there can-
not be a doubt that turnips will be very considerably in-
jured by exposure. A coating of snow would have had a
good effect in preserving this valuable root, but none has
yet fallen, except on the Lammermoors and Cheviot ranges
of hills. On the high-lying districts the weather has been
very severe, and in the Border sheep-walks the keen frost
is being severely felt. The severe weather has put a atop
to agricultural operations, and any farm work that is ac-
complished is done in-doors. Potatoes are turning out
badly, and in many districts there will be a great scarcity
of this esculent,"

was proved on the trial that the letter had been
written by the prisoner himself, but in a feigned
hand to resemble his wife's writing, and the paper
itself was found to be a leaf from a pocketbook
belonging to the prisoner. With the view of show-
ing a possible motive on the part of the prisoner to
desire his wife's death, evidence was given on the
trial to the effect that the prisoner and Statham
were frequently together. He had been seen with
his arm round her waist, kissing her, on several
occasions ; and, as some of the witness remarked,
they seemed to be courting. One person actually
swore that on Vie day of the wife's death Beamish
and Statham were together, and that the prisoner
was kissing the young woman. The prisoner was
found guilty, and at the conclusion of the trial,
which lasted nearly 12 hours, the learned judge in.
timated to the prisoner that the evidence had pro-
duced the same conviction upon his mind as the
jury had pronounced by their verdict against him.
Thompson's crime was of a less premeditated and
complicated character. He was a wire drawer, aged
42,
and had been living with his victim in Birming-
ham for about three months prior to the murder.
On the 29th September they were at a Birmingham
fair, and at night went to a brothel to sleep. Next
morning they had breakfast together, and went out
about 11 o'clock. The woman, evidently the worse
for liquor, returned by herself about 3 o'clock. SLe
went up stairs and laid on the bed, and soon after
Thompson came in and went up stairs to her.
He had not been long up stairs before quarrel-
ling was heard, and prisoner was heard to usk the
female whether she would go home. She replied
that she would not. The quarrelling continued,
and at length a young woman below, named Green,
hearing a stifled scream, ran up stairs, and was
horrified by seeing Thompson, who was then lean-
ing over Mrs. Walker on the bed, stab the unfor-
tunate woman in the neck with an open pocket-
knife, and then drag her off the bed. Green rushed
down stairs and gave an alarm, and Mrs. Beres-
ford, the landlady of the house, went up, and she
saw the prisoner, who seemed quite cool, delibe-
rately cutting the throat of his miserable mistress,
as she lay on the floor. •

The eiecutioner—who on this occasion was John
Smith, of Dudley—entered the condemned cell,
and proceeded to pinion the prisoners, who sub-
mitted to the process without resistance. The pro-
cession was then formed, and Thompson was the
first to ascend the scaffold. He was immediately
followed by Beamish, and the ropes were quickly
placed round their necks and adjusted to the fatal
beam. The rev. gentleman proceeded to read the
ordinary funeral service, and at the usual signal
the drop fell and the wretched criminals struggled
violently ; Thomps )n particularly so, and both
seemed to die unusually hard.

Sir,—Like a thunderbolt from a cloudless sky has arisen
the complication between England and America. But the
mis fortune lies, not only in the American nation being proved
unequal to the noble mission that might have been hers, c,f
spreading the light of civilisation over the regions of the
West, but in the great blow to our cause in the diversion of
the public interest from the Hungarian question. We must,
then, be prepared for new sufferings ; but the English com-
mercial world may in the meantime accept with some in-
terest a few statistical details of the productions of Hungary
and of the possibilities of establishing a trade between that
country and England.