The Sun.
London, England, 1821-05-23 00:00:00

HOLLAND AND FLANDERS.

In these countries, as with us, the leaf, bud,
and blossom of Spring did not appear till the last week of
April, when all burst out witknattch healthiness and vigour.._.
Abundance of the produce of the soil, and cheapness, are the
conditions of the opposite shores of the Low Countrie. Hol-
land is crammed with the grain brought down by the Rhine, and
from the Baltic ; the granaries or lofts in the sea-ports and vil-
lages round are not sufficient to give it shelter. Bread is sold
at Gibs. for 93d. or 10d. ; eggs, 7 for the same money ; apples,
a great surplus, and of excellent potatoes also ; at this time a
sack, of more than two cwt. sells, in the markets of the towns,
for 35., 3s. Gd. or 4s. only, all picked, clean and perfect ; at
this season they have been used to bring 9s. 10s. and 12s. a sack.
illeatovithout boneor waste fat--veal, pork, beef, and mutton,
alike at 41;d. to 3d. per lb. in the markets. The country people
sell some cheaper; and all these articles pay a heavy duty to
the Corporations of the cities and towns, on entering the gates!
These duties, and the low prices, are to be considered rather as
oppressions on the people, and a general injury to the whole of
the country and the state, than an advantage at this time,
whatever may have been the necessity or the policy of the
former at their first institution. The point to consider is, their
degree—for the whole of the people must contribute to the ge-
neral wants, of the community ; and it is not easy to tax poor
and simple people, but in a portion of the products of their la-
bour, and of the soil. Their poverty and small consumption
of exotics exempt them from all taxes but a capitation or an im-
post on the fruits of the earth.—The contraction of trade, and
the want of employment are much felt. The population of
the great towns is much reduced, which they attribute to the
invasions, spoliations, recruitments, and conscriptions of the
French, for so many years. Bruges now reckons only
30,000 inhabitants, instead of 60,000, and one half of these
in a state of indigence ; other towns in similar proportions.--
Gold is not seen in the currency of Holland ; silver coins, base
metal, and copper small tokens, are in abundance. Flanders
will not use Dutch coin ; only French money and French lan-
guage are current there, except among the poor and the farm-
ing people. Gold coin bears an agio against silver of 3-Bths to
per cent. The Hague and Antsuirdam evidence still the for-
mer wealth and consequence of those cities, with Which Brus-
sels cannot compare. In these countries every thing is inferior
to the like in Britain, but the building of their houses, and
bells, their iron and their paint. The Dutch have a proverb
that paint costs nothing, and they attend well to this useful sug-'
gestion—their paint is good, or their painters skilful or ho-
nest. There is some great defect in one of these three circum-
stances in England-Lour paint or painting is miserably insuffi-
cient and unsuitable to its purpose of protection from sun and
rain. Their gin and brandy are much better than their wine
and beer, in common, and they are in the distress of a defect of
good spring water ; with low wages, an oppressive low price for
the products of the soil, and a miserable economy of spare uses,
they inflict much of unnecessary poverty and artificial misery
on the greater part of their population ; degrading alike the
country and the towns, and retarding, or hindering altogether,
the advance to the easy and decent conditions, which it is in
their own power to reach and secure for the whole of the popu-
lation, whose labour is half wasted, their energies cramped, and
their faculties benumbed.

THE LATE MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY.----The

foll Owing anecdote of this truly good and amiable
Nobleman may be relied upon as authentic :
" On certain parts of the Marquis's estates he
had, until the late dreadful shock came, a con-
tented and thriving tenantry; but the ,majority
of them were not, of late, able to pay their rents.
He sent for his Agent, inquired the cause—the
Agent told him. He desired his tenantry to be
assembled—demanded from them what they were
able to,pay—they made their estimate: he or-
dered the old leases to be cancelled, gave them
all receipts in full, and desired new ones to be
made out according to the fair value of corn;
and under the new leases his tenantry at present
derive the utmost comfort. But his Lordship
did not stop here. Some of the tenants had paid
above the fair value of the land in accordance
with the terms of their agreement. " These te-
nants must," said the venerable Nobleman,
" have deprived themselves of the comforts and
even the necessaries of life. We must refund
them a proportion of the rents." A great part
was accordingly refunded. One widow Lady
received two hundred and odd pounds back, and,
with the rest, has her land at present on easy
terms. This is doing the thing like a Nobleman,
like a man of humanity. It was almost the last
act of the late Lord LoNnoiinEany's life. He
will surely receive his reward."

MUNIFICENT CIIARITY.-Few instances have
occurred, even in the history of this benevolent
country, of such numerous and princely dona-
tions to charitable uses as appears in the will of
the late John Watkins, Esq., of Dittos, in this
neighbourhood. He has bequeathed to the Liver-
pool Infirmary 10001., to the Blue Coat Hospi-
tal 1000/., and to the Blind Asylum 900/. He
has also left no less than 25,0001. for the further
endowment and additional support of the Blue
Coat Hospital of Warrington, a sum which will
be sufficient to raise that excellent charity to a
high degree of usefulness, and to ensure its fu-
ture stability. He has likewise bequeathed
10001. to the infirmary at Chester, besides many
other smaller benefactions.---(Liverpool Paper.)