The Sun.
London, England, 1817-01-16 00:00:00

CO.UPLNINTS OF DISTRESS.

Such of our Readers as have perused the Ankle
in a late Edinburgh Review, on the Distresses of
the'Country, must have been struck with the gross
fallacy of some of the statements, particularly
those which relate to the effect 'df BUONAPARTE'S
Continental System, and of our retaliatory Orders
in. Opined. These mistatements, as well as some
in. Mr. I OUGHASt'S ad capiandam speech on the.
subject, are well enough exposed in the course
-of a Letter in The CorrespondMt, which report'
attributes to Dr. STODDART. " The Letter is ad-
dressed to the Duke De L-, a French Noble-
man, who has written with great liberality on
the ..CoMparisoo of the French and English
Finances.

' " Commercial distress may arise from causes of a peculiar
and less comprehensive nature. Your Grace has well de-
scribed them. You seem,indeed, to have anticipated the very
particulars of our pre.sent =harassments, here you ob-
serve, that ' whenever Fortune opens the gates of her tem-
, ple, the crowd rush in, with an.eagerness that approaches
4 to frenzy : they press against, they overturn each other.
Without a possibility of preventing these fatal accidents.
' Thus it is, that cupidity becomes inflamed,' at the sight of
' extraordinary success: speculations are multiplied, without
; markets are glutted the first conterv.bad made
enormous gains; those who follow become bankrupt. The
• rebound is felt in the manufactories, with the rapidity of
' lightning : m an instant, the demand ceases, orders arc re-
, yoked, the forge is silent, the loom is still, and the work-
' wan is reduced to idleness and want,'
" A few mouths sufficed to realise, in many parts of En;-
land, these anticipations of your Grace's judgment. During
the war, our naval victories had given us almost a monopoly
of colonial produce; and that senseless project, called the
Continental System, backed, as it was, by the equally weak,
and treacherous policy of the American Government, drove
us, in self defence, to monopolise the supply of both C'onti-
nents with manufactures, which no prohibitions Ives e strong
enough to exclude. It is pretended that the Continental Sys-
tem was favourable to continental manufactures; the best
answer to that suggestion is, that in 180(3 (the data of the
vain-glorious Berlin Decree, which, without a flag un the
sea, pretended to blockade the whole British dominions), our
exports were officially (1) valued at 34,954,1451. ; and that
from that time they have gone on regularly increasing till,
last year, when they were, by the same standard, 60,983,8941,
Inconsequent reasoner. will tell you, almost in the same
breath, that the completion (4) of our commercial monopoly
'tended powerfully to augment the cultivation of this island ;*
and that the complete execution of the enemy's project of
excluding us from the Continent, in 1814, increased our
distresses.' Now, as it happens that these, two pretended
completions were exactly coincident, in 'point of time, it is
needless to observe, that the miter must be wrong on one
side or the other of his dilemma Unhappily toe his last re-
mita, it turns out, that the very year, In which he says we
were excluded from the Continent, we exported more by
1.0,833,5011. (official value) than we had done in the year pre-
ceediog, and mete of Oritiftt pr•doep and sisaaskiaetoree than
in 'the first year of The war, by 17,8411,4361. The. same Wri-
ter, with the lame degree of accuracy, tells us, that ' the
American war, which followed, added to the mischief.' The
truth is, that our dangers were of the very opposite kind,
In 1812, the Continental System, so far from being come
pleted, was actually broken up. It was its October of that
year, that Buonaparte began his disastrous flight from Mos-
cow; at the news of which, port after port lea's successively
opened to our commerce. It is curious enough, that a great
orator should talk, in the House •of Comm Ons, of the
events of the, Spring of 1814, having sUddeoly opened the
Continent.' (3) That operation had hen almost wholly ef-
fected In the course of the preceding year.. Neither was it
upon our expost trade, that speculation'fltst exerted its de.
%trochee influence. The purchase of the Baltic
ports, for for importation-,into Fogland, 11!11i* Onforttl-
'nate transaction--unfortunate, not merely 'to the parties
who embarked in it (many of whom were ruined), nor in-
deed sn much from time magnitude of the undertaking it-
self, as from the altain which it instantly spread among
the English farmers. ' I do not allude,' says a witness
before the House of Commons, in 1814, to any particu-
lar quantity of, corn lately imported ; hut the farmers are
very much alarmed, and of course bring every bushel
to market.' The suceeeding harvest in England was abun-
dant, and the home market was consequently glutted. It
became a question, whether the Legislature should protect
the farmer, by Prohibiting importation beloW a certain price.
This matter was warmly di pitted between the manufacturing
and agricultural interests. At length the Corn Bill passed,
Wldch satisfied neither party. By raising the import price
front Os. a quarter to ans. a quarter, it tended to load manu-
factures with art augmentation in the Wages of the workmen t
whilst-on the other hand, by nut having been passed at an
jailtem eiod, it had givers time for the :dam to .sink agri-
cultorel prices far below their jitst level. SRO watsthe first
cause Of our present, entharrassinents. It fell primarily on
agriculture, mod of course, by impoverishing the, agricul-
Wrist, injured, in a very serious degree,.the home market
fur Manufactures.

"The sews 'evil related to our exporti,and it was derived
from x similar source with the (mner, vita the Opening of
the continental ports. It ie not, however, to be explained
(as Mr. Brougham thinkt it is) ' by the previous restrictions
we had been labouring under;' because, iu point of fact,
our commerce had, for some lime previously, been lass :re-
strictedthan any other in the world. it might, perhaps, he
more reasonable to say, that the intinufiu;tprers bad been
misled 14the absurd declamations, which were se liberally
pourej forth against these fancied restrictions; lout however
Unit may be, they did certainly export in 103, 1814, and 5815,
ininrense quantities of goods upon mere speculation; a spa.
ciliation rather prompted by their own wishes or necessities,
than by thOse of their expected purchasers. This, however
•

(t) " 1 take the official mode of estimation, because it re-
mains the same at both period.; whereas the market prier,
to declared value, though always far above the official value,
is liable to fluctuations, which derange comparison. In 1846
the official value was about 'five-eighths of the value computed
at the average market prices.
(a) " fire an article on the distresses of the cousttry in the
rilinhurgb Review, No. 62, pp. 261-941.

(3) " Speech of Mr. Brough*m, pth ism

was rto novelty in uur commercial history. The Same thins g
had happened libel) the Duenos Apes 'trade
,was ripened,
and the saute has since taken place, on the renewal of peace
with the United States. Thu simple fact is this aas :Mott as
Ship can go direct to a 1)(111, Mid deliver her ctrgo freely,
her freight and iftilttilliCe are of course lowered, and, come-
guently, the articles which she brings, may be sold so touch
the cheaper. ' This, perhaps, in some small degree, angmeol
the number of purchasers; Ina where we have been in the
habit of supplying a country indirectly by a contraband trade,
the mere, circumstance of a direct communication cannot very
materially affect the vent of our commoditiet. I believe our
merchants and manufacturers were well enough a 43111. of
this. I believe, they knew, that a the enemy's project of ex,
eluding us from the Continent,' far from having been !cow.
pletlly executed,' had never obtained the slightest success;
and that ;i.e great majority of those, who might be expected
to income our custonters in peace, bad in fact been se
thioughout the war. What suede our Merchants so eagerly
rush toward the newly opened ports, was, first., the loaded
stateruf their,own warehooses; and secondly, the desire of
Rilt;Sirlikt!tAbeir competitors in the market. The conse.
luenees were such as your Grace anticipated. Fortune lied
opent4 Ike Oaks of her temple, and the crowd eagerly rush-
ed in.' The sales became dull, and the prices fell below
prime cast ;lama it was not worth while to reship the ar7
ticks to the place.of their prodnee, Add to this, that the
foreign manufacturers took the alarm. They petitioned their
respective governments to impose prohibitory duties, which
of course diministed the consumptidn; and thus we had, in
the foreign markets, the two elements of depressed price,
namely, excessive supply, Kul lusdeqUato druntud."

BRIGUTON, lot. 15.

This afternoon has been all bustle and gaiety
with the preparations for the number of
Illus-
trious Guests who have arrived to dine with the
Pat /cm Etwatir.—H is Royal. Highness expressed
a desire iliAt the usual military' honours 51101114
compliment the arrival of his Imperial Highness
the,Urand Duke Nicholas, as is generally observed
to the Royal Family on cwirt days. Accordingly
the whole regiments of the, lOth Hussars and the
51st Light Infantry, with their bands, were dis-
posed in opposite lines, along Mariburtingh-row,
to receive the Grand Duke. At five o'clock the
carriage passed at a slow pace through the lines.
in order to give his Imperial • Highness a view of
these flue reginients t,hey presented arms, and
the music struck up God save the King."
At six o'clock his Royal Highness the Duke of
York arrived at the Pavilion. The carriage of
the Royal Duke broke down near Crawley, but
we rejoice to say the accident was annecompanied
with any serious injury to his Royal Highness.
In the course of the afternoon, Prince P. Ester-
hazy, the Austrian Ambassador, the Marines*
de Osmond, the French Ambassador, the Doke ile'
Montebello, the Spanish Ambassador, Count
Lieven, the Russian Ambassador, Monsieur tie,
Fagel, the Mitch Ambassador, General Ktansoff,
Vounttle Nichalai, Moos. do Saveroil, Mons. de
Glinka, Lord J. and Lady E. Murray, Sir Wm.
Keppel, Sir Wm. Cougreve, the Countess Lieven,- •
Earl Abergavenny, Loud Clive, Lord Kirkwell,
arrived its Brightonp
At Must o'clock the Royal and Noble Guests
wereluined•liy a numerous assemblage of the
Nobility, at ihe Concert, Card, and Converse-
' tints 'parties.
The, Prince Regent' most cordially welco•ne4
the Grind Duke 'Nicholas, after his rapid tour
through England and Scotland.
To-morrow night the Ball at the Pavilion will
he most distinguished for rank and fa=
shian ever.,given at the provincial residence of
Royalty.