The Sun.
London, England, 1817-01-14 00:00:00

A B. LM jar the f, an BAD II A. RV ZST
•
Under this title a small Publication has made
its appearance, from which we extract a few pas-
sages which we think Calculated to be'eminently
Useful at the present era.
The Writer takes rather a desponding view of
the state of, the Country, and lays tlie4 foun-
dation for his advice in, we hope and he;
lieve, an exaggerated view of the deficiency
and "badness, of the late harvest, not .only in
the British Empire, but throughout the World.
This, however, if an error, is an error on the
safe side, and should the economy lie recom-
mends not rest on the basis of necessity, it will
still be a wise and good course to pursue on the
basis of expediency.

After enlarging on the failure of the crops and
the wetness of the season, the author says the
only remedy is " a system of rigid economy in
the use of bread."—He then proceeds :
•" To promote the general adoption of such a
system, a few practical hints sh here be offered
to the considelw on of the reflecting purt of the
public. it may not be amiss, however, to pie-
mise„ that On the supposition shut the eanse
alarm is here over-statetl, a system of economy
in the use of bread, is calculated to produce a be-
neficial effect on the market, by lessening the de-
mand for Bread-Coro, and thereby keeping down
Abe price of that most important article of con-
sumption; whilst, on the other hand, if the cause
for alarm really exists to the extent here sup-
posed, such a system affords the only means of
averting one of the greatest evils which can,hefal
us--the failure, for a time, and how long it is im-
possible to say, of the umst important of the ne-,
cessaries of life. • _

" In considering this important subject it can
scarcely fail to occur, that much of the con.tonp-
tion of Bread .n the counts y ire owing to the
habit, so prevalent among all classes of society,
of eating only the finest Wheaten Bread, made of
the pure flonr, without any mixture of bran. If,
iwthis time of scarcity, even the seCOlld sort of
Bread (commonly called. Household), could be
bronght Tutee general use, so great a saving wottld
be thereby made, tkat all cause for alarm would
cease to exist.. But, unhappily, . this salutary
change is too strougly opposed by prejudice, espe-
cially among the lower classes, to admit of any
hope of its adoption, unless in a case of such
urgency as to require the exercise of. Legislative
authority.. Still, however, its adoption by the
higher orders would be productive of.. a consider-
able saving ; and the salutary example, especi-
ally. when aided by the persuasive fotce of reason.
log, might not be without its effect among the
in-
ferior ranks."

A few pages are next devoted to enforce the
advantages of abstaining from pastry and , fresh
baked bread ; and of taking care to avoid waste
fn families. There is much practical utility in the
,following remarks :
" It can scarcely fail to occur to those who are
Sensible of the necessity,of %trio economy, at this
time, in the use of bread, that nothing would
tend more to defeat that object than the prac-
tice to which, in times of smutty, benevolence is
too apt to result—that of enabling the poor to
purchase bread at a reduced price. Nothing can
be more evident than the tendency of such a prac-
tice to augment the existing scarcity, by prevent-
ing that decrease of consumption which affords
the only effectual means of alle% ieting the evil.
The momentary relief which the poor thus re-
ceive, fs, in reality, an injoryi aa it exposes them.
to the danger of future want. The high price of
bread,- at a time of scarcity, operates as a protec-
tion of the commodity, by checking, an improvi•
dent consumption ; and all consumption most be
improvident, which would prevent the stock from
lasting the tune it is Wanted. The dearness of
the article is thus a Security 'against its totul
failure; and it it of the utmost importance that
this safeguard libould not be removed, by enabling
the most numerous part of the community to pur-
chase under the actual price. Every pound of
bread they so purchase is an anticipation of their
future supplies, und a source of future distress ;
while every saving which is now made is, its ef-
feet, an addition to the stock-on which they have
to depend for subsistence, for many months to
conic. Upon the same principle, 'Whatever relict
is now afforded to the poor should he furnished,'
as much as 'possible, in miter articles—rather
than in bread. 'The only effectual way of reliev-
ing. them in this article is f y means of a reduced
consumption, aided by.every effort of care and
economy, in order to bring the stock of wheat up-
on a par with the time it has to last.",

The Pamphlet COIILIMILS as fOIIMVS

'' Of-all substitutes for Bread, potatoes are,
perhaps, at: once the moat commodious and the.
most nouriahing. They are, Aso, the most ge-
nerally agreeable to the lower classes '; because,
of all such substitutes' they most nearly resemble
Bread. They form almost. the sole diet of the
Irish peasants; who are a r6tirkably strong alid
robust race of people. It is, as has been already
observed, the misfortune of the present year that
the crop Of potatoes is scanty. It is necessary,
therefore, to txtoul our system of econdtny to
the use of this article, Making rice the chief sub»
stitnte for Bread, it least in affluent families, in
order that potatoes may be more within the reach
of the poorer classes.
"But it has pleased Providence, in the present
year, to alleviate the calamity of a bad harvest by
an abundance of animal fond, which (except
when made wastefully flit) is now unusually cheap.
,Here, then, a substitute may be found, of the
most.nutritious kind, to enable the poor to re-
duce their consumption of Bread ; and it behoves
the higher classes to assist them in availing them-
selves of this substitute, in the cheapest and Mon
commodious tOrm. Experience has • abundantly
shewu, that the form in which animal food can
be turned to the best account is that of soup ;
and it redounds to the honour of this country,