The Sun.
London, England, 1845-09-20 00:00:00

of a more recent period. This, then, places the question to
be considered under the following arrangements

are not to lay down any pipes for the supply of water
within certain districts already supplied by water com-
panies. They are empowered to construct water-works;
to lay down main, pipes; and to afford a supply of water,
by public cisterns and pumps, and for the baths and
wash-house for the poor. Penalties are to be imposed
for a failure of a supply of water ; and water-mains are
to be kept full under pressure. At the request of the
town council, the Secretary of State may order the
inspector to report on applications to Parliament for
local Acts. A sewer rate, paving rate, and general rate
are to be-made and levied on the occupiers of houses and
other property. The nett annual value is to be deter-
mined according to the provisions of the Parochial As-
sessment Act. The owners of unoccupied premises may
be rated to the sewer rate ; and appeals against the rates,
may be made.
Commissioners are to be liable to indictment at com-
mon law, for neglect of duty.

THE -jII.ON

TRADE OF FRANCE.

PROSPECTS of THE WlNh TRADE
WITH FRANCE.
(From the League.)
We lately received the following letter from M.
Bastiat, 'whose work on Cobden and the League has
been recently reviewed in this paper. Although, as he
has himself seen, the subject is one which does not alto-
gather come within the scope of the League, we know
that it is one in which a deep interest is felt by the Free
Traders of France. The agriculturists and wine-growers
of the south sensibly feel that they have been sacrificed
to the selfishness of the northern manufacturers, and
eagerly seek for a removal of those restrictions which,
by preventing exchange, set a limit to their productions.
In their own country, where the most influential part of
the press is under the influence of the monopolists, they
find it difficult to obtain a hearing ; and we are, there-
fore, glad to have an opportunity of giving to their com-
plaints the advantage of the publicity of our columns.
TRANSLATION.
To the Members of the League, to the Officers of the
Board of Trade, and the Ministers of the British
Government.
The League demands the principles of commercial
reform, the Board of Trade elaborates them, and the
Minister converts them into laws. It is to these three
degrees of jurisdiction that I address the following
reflections :
As England does not produce wines, the duties which
affect them cannot be regarded as, protective. On this
account they come-not within the scope of the condem-
nation of the League. Further, it is seen that wines
stand in the list of the eight articles, on which it ap-
pears that the action of the English tariff is to be
relaxed.
Nevertheless, a duty, though fiscal, is opposed to free-
dom
of. commerce, if by its excess it prevent internationl
exchanges ; if it preclude the people from enjoying those
gratifications which in themselve involve nothing that
is immoral ; if it in any way restrict them in the choice
of their habits, although the pretext of the public re-
venue (in reality, however, it is a sacrifice of revenue)
may serve as an act of reprisal against hostile tariffs, or
be held in reserve to operate.
It is because the English Government have decided to
prefer justice before the vain considerations of a false
and narrow policy that she proposes, as I am informed,
to substitute for the present fixed duty of ss. 6d. the
gallon a tax of Is. the gallon, with an additional duty of
20 per cent

Height of Area .of
Ships. Guns. Port. Sail • Constructed by
Rodney
Canopus BO 5 11i feet The
Vanguard
Superb BO 6 2 Sir W. Symonds.

NOTES BY A TRAVELLER, ON THE PRO-
DUCTION AND MANUFACTURE OF IRON
IN FRANCE.
(From the Birmingham Journal)
It is, unfortunately, too notorious that the " protec-
tion" conceded to agricultural produce in England has
induced the continental nations to adopt a similar system
with regard to manufactures, and that in France, what
are called the protected interests," hold the same .pre-
ponderance in the Legislature that the landed gentle-
men possess in England—we should rather say . that '
they are at this moment in possession of the allele le-
gislative power, being supported by the prevailing pub-
lic opinion of the most influential persons throughout
France. It is strange to find in almost every part
of the Continent a general delusion respecting the colonial
trade of England ; even statesmen are found to declare
that it is because of the large profits obtained by
the English in the colonial markets, that they are
enabled to undersell their. European competitors in
neutral markets. The Belgian manufacturers, no longer
protected by discriminating duties, have abandoned the
Banda and Java markets, but instead of attributing their
inability to sustain English competition to our supe-
riority of production, they are persuaded that it arises
from our having large profits on the India trade, which
enable us to do without profit in the Java market.
We may well be astonished that so palpable a delusion
should be so generally prevalent, but we must re-
member that men may be brought to believe any
absurdity which is constantly reiterated, and of which
they are never permitted to .see the refutation. The
entire press of France, whatever may be the dif-
ferences on questions of political party, is entirely
under the control of the monopolist manufacturers,
' and is therefore, interested in suppressing any fact
that may tend to show the injustice, the irepolicy,
or the absurdity •of the protective system. To a very
large party in France, the chief recommendation of ma-
nufacturing monopoly is, that it is anti-English ; this
party,.though large, does not possess a majority, either
in numbers, intelligence, or wealth, but it more than
atones for this deficiency by its energy arid activity. In
declaiming against foreign competition, and exciting
national prejudice, there are none more active than the
persons who are engaged in the production and manufac-
ture of iron in France, and we shall, therefore, take a
glance at the past. state and present condition of that
hianch of French industry. But, before doing so, we
deem it advisable to give a sketch of a collateral subject,
the production of coal in France, because this has not
hitherto been noticed by any English statisticians. Our
materials for this sketch are derived from the reports
made annually to the French Chambers, and from pri-
vate sources of information, which a concurrence of
favourable circumstances opened to our research.
Every one who has seen London from the top of St.
Paul's or the Monument, and Paris from the towers of
Notre Dame or the heights of Montmartre, must have
been struck by the peculiar aspect which the absence of
smoke gives to the latter city. The buildings stand out
in bold and prominent relief, without anything to soften
their stiff outlines ; and, on the other hand, without any
fog or mist to obscure the definition of their form.
Frenchmen, no doubt, will laugh at the prejudice which
leads us to lenient the total absence of smoke as injurious
to the effect of the. panoramic view, but it is fair to con-
fess that Many Englishmen find the prospeet of the
French capital harsh and startling, from the glaring
-distinctness of its spires and pinnacles. It is, of
course, an article of faith with all Parisians that this
absence of smoke contributes equally to the beauty
of the city and the health of its inhabitants. So early as
1520 complaints were made of the introduction of Eng-
lish coals for domestic purposes into Paris, and the sub"-
jeet was referred to the consideration of the Faculty of
Medicine. A committee of inquiry was appointed, and,
after some delay, an elaborate report was presented,
stating that with certain precautions mi .eral coal might
be consumed without involving any injury to public
health. When prejudices were removed, the new com-
bustible began to be regarded with favour. • Henry IV.,
to .encouragr, mining operations, remitted the tithe on
coal, to which mitpirals were subjected, as being what
the fedual laws called "royalties: Louis XIV., one of
the great patrons of the system of protection, imposed
a duty on foreign coals to encourage -home-production.
This, at least, is the reason assigned in the royal edict •,
but many writers have ascribed the tax to a more selfish
motive—the monarch's dread that the consumption of
coal would interfere with the consumption of fire-wood
from tile royal fonsts, which formed an important item
of the public revenue.
From the best statistical materials at ourdispottl, we
find that the:consumption of mineral coal in France did
not exceed four millious and a half of metric quißtals ;
each quintal being shout an English hundred weight.
The present consumption averages about fifty millions of
quintals, and the fellowing table will give the rate of
nerease "

Now, the published statements all agree that in the late
trials with these ships the superiority of the Rodney and
Canopus over the modern ships has been manifest; in fact,
the Vanguard and ,Superb were invariably. beaten, even by
the three-deckers. If we take the Albion into the account,
however, the statements go to show that she has had upon
the whole the advaitage, though in some instances very '
slight, over the others ; but then it is to be remembered, that
she is a vessel of much greater power, both in capacity and in
proportionate area of sail, and therefore the experiment with
this ship is not comparative.
Now, of the three-deckers, we have the same source of
discrepancy to contend with. It is admitted that the Queen
had out-sailed not only.the other three-deckers, but the
whole fleet ; but then it is to be recollected that she has
nearly 3,000 square feet of canvass in her working sails
more than the other three-deckers, whilst her displacement
is nearly the same. We must look also the changes which
have been made in this ship since her last trials, in which she
was decidedly beaten by the St. Vincent. Now, here it is to
be observed, that no sooner did the Queen fail to realise all
the superfine reports set afloat about her from the Navy-
office, than she was taken into dock at Chatham for extensive
and expensive alterations ; the plain inference from which
was, that if she was so eplendid a ship as the Navy-office
writers described her to be, these alterations were unneces-
sary. If she was, on the contrary, as proves to have been
the case, a very indifferent ship before, such alterations would
be likely to improve her. Now the- alterations were these :
The stern-post was thrown aft at least two feet, and a new
rudder fitted ; the bow was filled in and lengthened very
considerably by means of a false bow ; she had four feet ad-
ditional gripe, and a false keel nine inches deep; the position
of the masts was changed,- and the internal fittings and ar-
ian;-;errients greatly altered ; in fact, she came out of the doc-
tors' hands altogether 'another kind pf thing; and hence
could no lenger be eonsidered as the same ship for any pur-
pose in iSraetical seience before experimented with. The
friends of Mr: White.,-the .talented yacht-builder, at Cowes,
and who isnow constructing some ships for the Admiralty, in-
sist upon the fact„ that the present superiority of the Queen in
sailing arises from carrying out Mr. White's principles of
lengthening the bow, as applied by him to some of our fri-
gates. Be this, however, as it may, there can be no doubt,
according to the late reports, that the Queen, thus altered,
has even succeeded in beating the Albion in general sailing
qualities. The experiments, however, must be considered
still in a state of progress; and we, therefore, feel unwilling
to enter upon any very lengthy discussion of them. It may
be that when a more severe winter's cruize shall have tested
further the qualities of theee- vessels, the question will assume
another character. In the present case, as appears by all the
accounts hitherto published: by far the greater number 'of
trials haVe taken place in very moderate weather; whilst the
differenees in the sailing have been commonly very small.
In the meantime we shall keepa vigilant eye upon the
further trials of these ships, and any changes or alterations
which may be made in them ; so that the merits of the great
question between, the Surveyor's office and the country—viz.,
a profuse expenditure of the public money upon an exclusive
and empirical system of ship-building in the Government
service be fairly and fearlessly laid open. And we tell the
interested Nayy-office writers this, that no obloquy they may
endeavour to cast on u:, no :abusive or hard names with
which they may assail us, will in any degree tend to turn us
aside from the:duty which, as public journalists, in a great
naval port,. we owe not only to-ourselves hut to the navy. It
is now upwards of fifteen years since a great political party
came into power, under the flag of reform, with a view to
correetino- abuses in different departments of the state. The
Board of Admiralty and the Navy Board especially fell under
the cognisance of the Reform Parliament, and the conse-
quence was, that most extensive changes took place in that,
department of the Admiralty. Now, we have no hesitation
in saving, that whatever abuses may have existed in the old
regime of the Navy Beard, they have been far exceeded by
the reiime which succeeded it ; there has been a far less sys-
tematic and fair state of things in our dockyards, a much
greater lavish of the public money, the general ability
and naval seienc.. 'of the service has been much
more confined and muzzled to suit the views of indi-
viduals. The iron hand of power tins been exercised
with unscrupulous severity throughout the dockyard
service, and has been backed by a subserviency in
those whose interests were at stake quite unparalleled.

INTERESTING DISCOVERIES AT
WESTHAM ABBEY, ESSEX.
A few days since thetworkmen employed in exca-
vating for the new branch railway which is intended to
run from the Stratford station of the Eastern Counties
line to the mouth of the River Lea, near Blackwall,
lighted upon some curious and interesting remains con-
nected with that monastic edifice, the only portion of
which previously remaining was the low heavy Gothic
entrance adjoining the Adam and Eve public-house.
Just where the line crosses at the rise of the Adam and
Eve gardens, and not more than about two feet below
the grassy surface, a sort of chamber was discovered,
which, however, was nearly half destroyed before
the men began to clear away with any caution, but"
what remained was sufficiently perfect on Sunday last
to show its size and form. It is of an oblong shape,
rounded at one end and square -at the other, about
twelve feet long, eight feet wide, and five feet in depth.
The outer wall, which is of strong masonry, is about
six inches thick. Within that is a layer of cement,
which is again lined with thin red tiles of peculiarly
close texture ; and over these, on a thinner stratum
of . cement, the sides are (or rather-were, for the
greater part has been already taken away by
curiosity) neatly lined throughout with Dutch
tiles finely glazed, similar to those seen on old-fashioned
fire-places, but without the designs, being all of a pure.
white. It is clear that this chamber, which; when whole,
must have been a very handsome one, was intended as a
lavatory, for which purpose a well, which was discovered
within two or three feet of it, furnished an abundant
supply of water ; but there was no trace of any
besting apparatus. Had only common precaution been
used, this curious relic of other days might have
been preserved and removed entire. It would be very
desirable, when so much excavation is going on through-
out the country, if workmen had instructions, espe-
cially near the old sites of ancient edifices and historic
places, to pause on any unusual appearances until an
examination by qualified persons takes place. At a
short distance was found a number of human bones,
amongst which was one skeleton, nearly perfect,
the last 'remains, perhaps, of one of the fair recluses
for whlse usee-the bath had been constructed. These
relics of mortality, it is said, were instantly dese-
crated by some sacrilegious wretch, who took and dis-
posed of them to a bone purchaser for a few pence.
A few yards lower down towards the Thames the work-
men broke into an archway very strongly built, some-
what alter the Danish manner, which has given rise to
much conjecture;• The passage, into which an entrance
is effected-through the opening, runs east and west; and
' some supposed that it formed a subterraneons mode of
' escape to the inmates of the abbey as far. as Barking, in
' the event of any impending danger. If so;the journey
would be a very tedious one, for if the pmsage does not
open as it proceeds, the traveller would have to crawl
on his hands and kneeS the entire way. The mare
tasgeneralotnrteti
htqieguat strength. The
river.pig irruiaholleei
fiiipsesod
ctithetoai that
is
very lanas
well 6twoewil
iedinenntadhqcebuouenvidfili aqueduct leading
uot lhgfe a.,;;:olr;emnnage.t
• u~ side
elusions.

However, in permitting even a fixed duty of ls. to re-
main, are you really doing justice to the British people
on the one hand? And on the other, are you acting
upon a large and wholesome policy with regard to the
French people? To these two points I beg to be per-
mitted to call your attention.
But what right has a stranger to meddle in such a
question? The right which I derive from your own
principle:—freedom of trade--does it not imply a com-
munity of interests amongst nations? In employing
myself about your country, I work for my own; or, if
you prefer the expression, whilst I occupy myself about
my own, I labour for yours.
That a uniform duty applied to different values is un-
just. is a proposition which requires no demonstration. I
shall confine myself on this point simply to showing in
figures the results of the three systems, calculating that
the maximum and minimum prices of the wines capable
of furnishing a trade of any importance would be 28s.
and 3s. the gallon:--
Wine of the Rich. Wino of the Poor.
System as at present fixed duty, Ss. 6d.
Cost of the ar- Cost of the ar-
ticle ... •• . 2Rs. tide .. . • 35.
Duty..

335. Gd. 1
System proposed mixed duty.
Cost of the ar- 1 Cost of the ar-
ticle .. .... 28s. title • • .... 3s.
Fixed duty.. Is. I Fixed duty.. Is. 1
Gradual duty - or 23 pO. 1 Gradual duty ,‘• 50 per cent
at 20 pr. ct. 55. 6d. lat 20 pr. et, Os. Gd. 3

85. 6d.

345. 6d.
System as it ought to Iw, ad valorem

4s. 6d

Cost of the ar-
ticle .. • 280. •
Duty, at 20 p.
• • 53. fid. or 20 p. ct

COst of the ar-
ticle
Duty at 20 pr.
cent. 03. CA. or 20 pr. ct

FEROCIOUS.BAND OF ROBBERS.
A trial, which has highly interested the inhabitants of
the Pyrkees Orienteles, commenced on the 2d instant,
before the Court of Assizes at Montpellier, and con-
tinued to engage its attention without iuterrcission until
the 9th. For a long time the fronVer of Catalonia was
infested with a ferocious band of - robbers, known under
the name of" Treboucayres," front their being generally
armed with a species of carbine, or rather a:blunderbuss,
called a tralesac. Towards the end of last year the
special commissary of police stationed at Perthue ob-
:eined information which convinced him that the
small village of Las Irks, .on the French side of
tie iscundary, had long been made by these barelits
their place of retreat from out of the reach of
the authoritieS of Spain.' Hereupon a strict watch
was kept' over the houses in the place, and more
particularly that of a farmer_ named Vincent qustalre
'They were frequently-surroundeif aria seelrefied, but the
counter-vigilance of the tnalefactors was such that the
police, though in great force, was always defeated in
finding them, although traces of their having been pre-
sent immediately before were apparent from the frag-
ments of a larger repast than could be required for the
family being found on their tables, from there being
also scattered about cards that had been played with,
and even pieces of money, part of what had been staked
on the game ; and, lastly,- by expressions used by mem-
bers of Justafre's family, which had been overheard.
Indeed, it was afterwards proved that during more
than one one of these searches the brigands were in
the house of Justafri. concealed in a secret space be-
tween the ceiling of the stable and the floor of the hay
and corn-loft. Detachments of soldiers were posted at
every essential point along the French side of the frontier,
when about one in the afternoon of DeCember 6, that
stationed at the mill on the river Mouga, within the
territory of Custiyas, received notice from the Alcalde
of Ribeilles, on the Spanish side/ that some men of sus-
picious character had been seen in the forest near
Faytons, in France. The sergeant went out immediately
With four of his men, to explore the country. Coming
to the top of a rock which commanded the woods, he
observed, a few yards below Mtn, a movement in the
brushwood that convinced him some persons were there
endeavouring to hide themselves, and cried " Who goes
there?" "-Spain," was the reply. "What regiment?"
" Traboucayres."' Lay *down your arms and stir •
render," was the word of the sergeant ; but it was
scarcely out of his mouth era a volley went over the
heads of him and his party. He immediately returned
the fire, and . with his own musket killed one man,
while another was brought down by one of his men.
It was then found that he had to contend with fourteen
brigands, all armed with their traboucs, while he
bad only with him four soldiers and a guide. Somewhat
dispirited by the. loss -of their own men, and perhaps
thinking the force 'opposed to them was greater than it
really was, the Traboucayres retreated towards the
Spanish frontier.- Here, however, they found the bank
of the Mouga well guarded by a party under the Alcalde
of Rebeilles. Upon this the brigands took up a-po-
sition under some oaks, and recommenced their fire upon
the French, but finding that they were likely to be placed
between the two fires they retreated along the river, and
the French, from their inadequate number, and the
nature of the ground, found that all farther pursuit
Would be useless. The French and Spanish soldiers
both remained on the alert till the next day, when
the commandant of the company came from Saint
Laurent with a reinforcement of gendarmery, and
the woods of Fay tons were again entered and searched.
The body of one of the bandits killed the day before was
found, and in a hollow of a reek close by were perceived
the feet of another man endeavouring to conceal himself.
On being challenged he begged not to be fired upon, as
he was unarmed and would surrender. He admitted
that he belonged to the band, and received pay at the
rate of 2f. 50c. a day. He 'protested that he had not
fired, but this was Contradicted by the appearance of two
carabines on the spot, both of which had evidently been
discharged. This man, whose name. was Cercos, after-
wards acknowledged that he was one of those who had
assailed the sergeant's body, and had come back into the
wood to endeavour to carry off the body of his slain
they
y Las
were
I l la sm, whereaidng
tahf er
ere tmh
oe rde eoffe a t
themma dwe
etheirr r
eways
comrade, and have it buried. The rest of the band
tedbteask
their way from the house of Justafri to a public-house
called " Classe Haute." Among these was a
man
named Farris, believed to be the captain of the Trabou-
cayres. While these prisoners were under examination
another search was made at the farm of Vincent Jus-
tafrCe and during the time the authorities were search-
ing the house, two gendarmes, placed as guards at the
outbuilding, were rushed upon and killed by fourteen
Traboucayres, all of whom escaped for the time, but
some of them have since been taken, and will be
brought to trial separately. The men arraigned on the
present prosecution were Vincent JustafrCe the farmer,
Jacques Justafr6, his brother, and Jacques Laporte, the
keeper of a house of public entertainment, all of Las
This, Jacques Pontounet, of Massenet, in Spain, son-in-
law of Laporte, all accused as harbourers of the bri-
gands, and resisters of the authorised force of France,
and the four brigands who had been taken in the con-
flict. The witnesses were numerous, and as some of
them were Spaniards, their examination prolonged the
trial to the length we have mentioned. Their evidence
consisted chiefly in details of the conflicts between
the armed force and the brigands, and the circume
stances establishing the connexion between the Trabon.:
etsyres and the two Justafres, Laporte, and Pontounet,
and produced nothing of interest beyond the proof of
the facts, with their circumstances. On the 9th, the
President having summed up with great care and im.
partiality, the fate of the prisoners was submitted to I
the jury, who, at eleven in the evening, retired, and
remained in deliberation till four in the morping. The
Court being then resumed, and the prisoners being
called in, the foreman of the jury delivered in the
verdict. It declared Farr& Rolland, Renard, and
Pontounet, not guilty ; whereupon the President
immediately ordered them to be discharged. Cercose
was found guilty of having made himself party of
an association of malefactors, of being an accomplice
the crime of armed rebellion against the lawful authorie'
ties, and of complicity in an attempt to kill agents of the
public force in the exercise of their functions. Vincent
Justafr6 was' found guilty of all the above offences, ex--
cept the attempt to kill ; and Jacques Justafre and La-.
porte of haebouring known malefactors. The jury found
extenuating circumstances in favour of the three lasts,
Consequently, the President sentenced Cercos to the pai,
cif death, and cmidemnecl Vincent Justaft6 to close con
ment with hard labour for eight years. Laporte to.
simple imprisoniaent for five
. years, and Jacques ,Tus-
tisto6 to the like
_ punishment for one year.—Galignani.

Above million mid. a half of money have been expended
noon thebuilflinr=ofstilp= designed upon the empirical views
of a single individual, and many of which are now knovn to
be deficient in very essential- qualities. Besides this. we
have an enormous amount expended on our steam nev:-.
which, so far 1.,3 the science of naval construction is concerned.
is left, notwithstanding, in a most unsatisfactory state. It
is in vain that flattering and specious reports are up to
blind.,the public upon all these points., Truth still ,•• •.• ;,
t.) tl:,pel the vapours which are made by interet‘. :1
c • ••;.‘3 it. A very illiterate writer in • • • • , y-
,•i;:e, through the eolueut,,: a Lon loci
~,•, : -,!i- •
ei:ough inquires, "yhence came the . •.,,;!1
hrigs?" and how do ,vs it happen "that so many tr,
front three-deckers to steamer,, are now beinr,•huitt- L, ,tic-
ferent constructors ?" 1. e will tell him. They hare pro-
ceeded from the succession to office of a firm, upright and in-
telligent Conservative Government, backed. by the. public
press,-which has opened the eyes of -the eountry,to the real
state of naval architecture in the Government service. That
is the immediate source of these new proceedings ; but for this
we should have known nothing of such measures. Would
the late First Lord of the Admiralty or the present Surveyor
of the Navy have ever tolerated the building of ships for the
service by the School cf Naval Architecture?—Never:
Would the late Admiralty have ever sent such ships to sea in
competition with those designed by the Navy-office?--
Never. Warecommend those gentlemen who appear to .be
catching at straws with a view to save themselves from sink-

335. 6d. I
These figures require no comments.
At present, in an equal expenditure, the poor pay
eight times more of tax than the rich.
In the proposed system they would pay double. The
ad valorem system is alone equitable. I have had-the
honour of verbally submilting this, to some of our most
celebrated economists, to Members of Parliament, and
to statesmen ; they by no means question its justness .;
but say they, an ad valorem duty is costly and difficult in
its application. •
But is the difficulty of application sufficient to justify
the perpetration of an injustice ? In France the admi-
nistration would have found it very convenient to charge
each heodail e of land with a uniform impost without re-
ference to its relative capabilities, but it was never dreamt
of ; the Government, however, has not found the corn-
piked ns of the rate-book (ea &tare) insuperable. The
reason is very simple : when a nation in mass meets with
some obstacle, the nation in mass should face and over-
come it. To cast the burden on one class cannot be done
without iniquity, more especially if that class be the one
the least able to bear it.

3s. Cd

Coals of waive Imported coals,
productiou, m. q. w. q.

Coals actually
consunted
minus those

-
1815
1820 :..... 10,936,000 " 2,809.,000
1825
1830
1835
1840
1845
The last return is partially based on calculation, but it
is certainly under the amount that the completed return
will present. 'We have first to remark, that while the
amount of native coal has increased in the ratio of 1 to
4, that of imported coal has increased in the ratio of 1
to 7 ; but notwithstanding this increase, the consump-
tion of wood and charcoal is equal to three times the
consumption of mineral coal, amounting to forty-five
millions of steres, weighing one hundred and fifty mil-
lions of metric quintals.
In England the production of coal is to a great extent
identified with that of iron, because our coals
the
iron
are interstratified ; while, on the contrary, the iron
mines of France are for the most part situated at con-
siderable distances from the coal measures. Hence
charcoal
ismore extensively used than mineral coal in
production of iron, and the proportionate amounts
the
are thus stated in the report of the Administration of
Mines for 1835, since which time there has been little
if any change in the relative proportions :
Metric Quintals. Value.
Charcoal ...... - 6,090,000
Mineral coal 2,068,000
Coke
Wood
Turf

Besides, the defenders of the mixed system cannot
urge this objection. For the mixed system itself implies
the possibility of levying the graduated duty. They
urge, it is true, that without the fixed duty it would be
necessary, lest the revenue should suffer, to increase the
ad valorem duty, which in that case would present too
great a temptation to fraud.

ing, to I;aste no more time in manufacturing excuses—no more
money in purchasing the privilege of abusing their opponents
in one or two solitary London journals, which find it con-
venient to print their paltry productions—their time is nearly
cline. The whole of the Surveyor's department must be re-.
modelled, curl something like an intelliwent, -and thinking set
of men employed to conduct the department of our dock-
yards ; so that we may escape that randoin course of pro-
ceeding which is at once discreditable to the national science
and ruinous to her Majesty's Treasury.
The amount of the late trials with the ships on the Sur-
veyor's models and these of former times appears to
be simply this, viz.. that all other things being equal,
those with a fuller midship section below the water line
have the best sailing qualities, since they have beaten the
Suporb and Vanguard, two of the ships on the modern con-
struction, said to he the hest ever produced. 'With respect
to the Queen, she is really anybody's ship, and there can
be little doubt but that she owes her success to a similar
quality,
.aided by recent alterations in her extremities.
When the Queen was first commenced, it is well known that
the Surveyor of the Navy was, by the late Admiralty, or-
dered to • improve upon a ship then already in frame, and
which, had a full midship section under water, after the old..
school, It was upon this fact that the friends of the " in-
tuitive" system, directly the Queen had failed in her compe-
tition with the St. Vincent, began to disclaim her as not
being a vessel of their own immediate construction ; and we
remember-well hearing thelate Sir Thomas Hardy condemned
for having interfered with the full development of the form
chosen by the Surveyor of the Navy. But now, however,
that the queen, having a lengthened bow, after the plan re-
commended by Mr. White, is said to have succeeded, these
same persons are all alive to her merits. But the fact is, that
if the success of the Queen proves anything, it evidently
shows that with a midship section essentially different from
any other of the intuitive productions, she is a better ship,
since she has beaten another of their large class ships, viz.,
the Albion, an enormous ship on two decks, spreading a
much larger area of sail, from which we draw this important
fact, that with a fuller and more buoyant midship section
under water, the Albion would have been a better ship, and
would then probably have carried the armament intended
for her, which now she does not.

But those to whom I address myself, are they the Re-
formers, who would plead the cause of excessive fiFcal
duties ? When you wish to increase your revenue,
what is the secret you have now for some time dis-
covered ? It is simply to moderate your taxes. This
policy has never failed you, and at this very moment
the results of-lowering the duties on sugar furnish
a brilliant illustration. I believe it may be considered
as certain,
,that with a moderate duty of 20 per
cent.; England would effect an immense and continually
progressivekcommerce in wines. France consumes forty
millions of 'hectolitres, notwithstanding the taxes and
trammels (as though the object were to destroy it) with
which this branch of industry is burdened ; is there any
exaggeration in supposing that Great Britain with its
immense powers of consumption would purchase a tenth
of the quantity purchased in France, say four millions
hectolitres, 7-Sths of which we may calculate would be
ordinary wines (vies ordinaire) at 35., and 1-Bth of fine
wines at 28s. as a medium ? Now in this hypothesis,
the Exchequer would secure between three and four
m
illions sterling. At present two millions only are re-
ceived.

T0ta1......

I have said, in the second place, that a uniform duty
appears to me impolitic.
England being fully convinced that the prosperity of
a nation is measured better by its imports than its ex•
ports, has undertaken to open its ports to the produc-
tions of other nations without waiting for reciprocity,
or without even demanding it. Her principal object is
to make commercial legislation harmonise with sound
political economy ; but secondarily she expects to influ-
ence other nations by her example ; for, until commerce
be universally free, she can only- reap one half of its
fruits.

This statement is of great importance in explaining
the Parliamentary strength of the iron monopoly in
France ; it shows that all the proprietors of forests are,
or believe that they are, deeply interested in its main-
tenance, and as the House of Orleans holds a vast pro-
perty in forests, the weight of the Government is se-
cured to the support of monopoly.
France possesses forty-six coal measures of varied ex-
tent. In 1841 concessions had been made of 392 mines,
256 of which were in actual work ; 670 pits were sunk,
and 365 galleries formed. The greatest depth was 479
metres (about 490 yards), in the mines of Auzin. The
service of the mines employed about 146 machines moved
by horses, and 388 steam-engines, having a force of
9,667 horses. The mining population was estimated at
30,000 in actual work. One-third of all the coal raised
in France came from the coal measures of the Loire, and
nearly another third from those of Valenciennes. A
glance at the map will show that the coal measures of
France are most inconveniently situated for traffic ;
means of transport are sadly wanting, and the selfish
interests of the forest proprietors are a great impedi-
ment to their being provided. We have been assured
by a person largely engaged in the trede, that coal
which could be bought for fifty or sixty centimes at the
mouth of the pit, • would cost from three to four francs
at any of the great centres of consumption. There is a
growing jealousy, not to say hostility, between the pro-
prietors of mines and the proprietors of forests, to which
the increasing use of coal for domestic purposes has not
a little contributed. As yet the culinary arrangements
in French kitchens are chiefly contrived for burning
charcoal, but we observed in the ironware shops a great
number of kitchen ranges suited to mineral coal, and on
inquiry, we found that, since the opening of the railroad
to Saint Etienne, mineral coal was fast superseding wood
in Lyons and its neighbourhood.
We have dwelt at some length on this subject, because
the relations between the coal and iron trade of France
have been generally passed over by statistical writers ;
and in consequence, the secret of the Parliamentary in-
fluence possessed by the. French monopolists Qf the iron
trade has to a great extent escaped de.leetion. That
strength, as we have already noticed, is chiefly derived
from the proprietors of forests, who dread nothing so
much as a decline in the cousuresption of wood and
charcoal.

Now, as respects the influence which this initiative of
a mighty commercial reform may exercise on other
nations, how, immense the distance between the fixed
and the ad valorem duties!

THE GOVERNMENT DRAINAGE

B ILL.

With the uniform duty, you will continue to receive
some of the wines of Xeres and of the fine vintage of
Champagne and Bordelais. The topmost boughs, the
aristocratic branches of England and France may re-
main in friendly contact, your rich lords will give the
hard across the tariffs to our great proprietors; but do
you wish that your population and ours should be placed
at all points in mutual contact ?—that an active and
regular trade between the two people should penetrate
into every district, into every commune, and into every
family? Do you expect to see the agitation cross the
straits and strike its roots firmly into our soil?
Then renounce this fixed duty, and let the infinite
variety of our productions be admitted so as to
satisfy the infinite variety of your tastes and fortunes.
Then the free traders in France will have a large
basis for their operations; for knowledge, amity, the
desire for free exchange will descend into our very cot-
ters, and every fireside will have some defender of the
principles of eternal justice. And have I need to state
to you the consequences? The power of consumption
will extend itself in France as in England; there will
be openings for your manufactures as for our produc-
tions, for our fields as for yours; and the tint% will come,
I trust, when you will be able to transform your ships of
war into merchant vessels, and when we shall be able to
turn our young soldiers to occupations of peaceful in-
dustry.
Peace without, justice within, prosperity everywhere
—can a mere difficulty of application weigh in your es••'
timation with results like these? a difficulty which you
have overcome in the article of tea, and which you can-
not evade in the mixed system which is proposed.
BASTIAT.

The Government Bill (prepared by Sir James Gra-
ham) for the improvement of the sewerage and drainage
of towns and populous districts, and for making provi-
sion for an ample supply of water, and for otherwise
promoting the health and convenience of the inhabitants,
is now printed, and avowedly for the purpose of consi-
deration during the recess. It occupies 110 pages, and
the heads of the clauses alone fill seven folio pages,
closely printed. It is intended that the Act shall extend
to the whole of England and Wales, except London, and
come into operation in such places as her Majesty, by the
advice of her Privy Council, and after inquiry by an
inspector, shall order. The Secretary of State is to
appoint the inspectors, the salaries of whom are to be
paid
put of the consolidated fund. A certain number
of commissioners aro to be elected by owners and occu-
piers, and the number of commissionersbt are to bflersint
epireoc-.
portion to the number of inha itan s.
tion, owners anti.. occupiers of property rated to the poor
to the amount of WI. are to have a right to vote ; and
one-third of the commissioners are to go out of office
ttoowbnes
selected
acertain number
from the
townoe fT e tr every
e third
11
lc
council.or md myei sa sr ic. o
on
mel rnn2s corporateis aresio ae!rs
so
are also to be selected
from borough justices and from local boards of trustees,
and their property qualification is to vary according to
the population.
Commissioners to appoint a civil engineer to be a sur-
veyor.
Lands and buildings to be provided for the deposit of
refuse, materials for highways (of which the Commis-
sioners are to be the surveyors), carts, implements, &c.
Commissioners to pave and flag, not only the public
streets, but, if necessary, others also, and charge the
expenses in the latter case, to the owners of adjoining
property ; after which, streets before private, to be main•
tained by the public.
The surveyor to fix the levels of new streets.
carriage road—to be not less than
A new street—if a narria
thirty feet wide •, if a footway only, twenty feet. If, in
either case, the building be higher than thirty or twenty
feet, the street or footway to be so much wider. Foot-
ways to be opened at the entrance, from the ground up-
wards, the fall width of the roads.
A medical officer is proposed to be appointed, subject
to the approval of the Secretary of State, to inquire into
and report upon the sanitary condition of any town or
di•trict, and such medical officer is to perform post
vilortem examinations when required by the Coroner.
bThee
cleansed
medicallee i
officer,Siao :oder rdSwe
order
may.flitiewh filthy
andh further,d u noawnn repenthdol
aesno unwholesome
i neosfphotohouteos saidhouses
ito
3f
nuisances is to be appointedae for superintending the
gfoernrereaceliveixnegcuctioomn of. the provisions of this Act • and
CommissionersPtioamrtees and laying
laying
cessary.
or to make drains, that levelselv
due provision made for d
Gully-holes to be trapped.l'age'
be regularly inspected.
• Streets to be scavenged, stagnant
l'rains
Inspectors of nuisances to be appointed,
accumulations of filth prevented.
seloansugnihotherl.ohdoguisn!-th,o) übseersegistered
information, if ne-
notice to build or re-build,
to be inspeeete' a
Vaults and cellars under streets are
mayiepPoroteolepsiac.srrpelomyo:fislx:eeezddc,,.a:llTt,dod
without the consent of alp Commissiaontiden'rvosi.t.si visited,
be
made
The inspector is, to make a report on the sufficiency of
/
the supply of water, 'and, it nel:rwiy,
,to state th,elest
mean, of increasing it. The commissioners'May con-
tract with water companies for a supply, or may lease
any p ,wers vested in them. They have power to pur
chase ,prings of water, &c., by vgreement ; but they

Before quitting this part Of the subject, it may not be
amiss to notice that peat or turf is in some parts of
France as important an article of consumption for fuel
as it is in Ireland - ti', annual amount cut and raised is
more than five millions of quintals. The chief herbaries
are in the departmen'es of the Lower Loire, Isere, Doubs,
Pfts-cle-Calais, La r4+o' mme, and L'Aisne.

CHOLZRA MORBUS.—This fatal disease has made its
appearance in Senhouse-street, where a large dunghill, which,
in spite of every kind of remonstrance, is allowed to remain,
pollutes the atmosphere, and endangers the lives of her Ma-
jesty's subjects. No less than six persons, all of one family,
have this week been attacked, and we regret to add that
shortly afterwards two of them were numbered with the dead,
and one is now in such an alarming state as to be past re-
cov?ry.— Whiteltaven Herald.

Monday las,'4
SINGULAR,
and he wrA - ' CHARGE OF HOUSEBREAKING.—On
respectable
Wright . at the Borough Police-court, a young man of
aPpearanee and connexions, named Robert
stanc,g :.... ItF '
- N. 4.113 placked in the dock under the following circum-
- Al% Sadler, superintendent of police, said the pri-
soue.rwas the son of Mrs. Wright, grocer, of Heaton-lane,
, . Sunday evening,
charged on suspicion of having forcibly, and with
i tomous. intent, entered the house where he himself resided;
with hia. mother and his brother, William Wright, and with
stealing. 4 considerable sum of money therefrom. At six
as he stated, o'clock, 0-,
brothez, went out to go to 'Tiviotdile Chapel, all the doors
and Windo-Ts being left secured at home. The prisoner went
the prisoner, with his mother and
with them, as far as the chapel gates, and then left the and,
a young woman with whoni he is acquainted. The information
WI, went up to the Ash public-house, and also to see
obtained was' that afterwards, or at twenty minutes before
seven -o'clock, he was seen to return, and go up the entry
,
:which is next to the shop, and leads to the back door of the
premises in which the parties reside. He remained in the
house a short time, and then came down the entry again-,
and it is stated by. a Young
woman who sat at the entry end
during the whole of this time that no other person went near
the back of the house that night. When the prisoner's
mother and brother returned from chapel, they immediately
discovered that the house had been entered by means of a
false key, and upon searching, the brother discovered that
the casfi-box, which for safety had been placed under the
bed and mattress in which he and his brother slept,.had been.
taken away, broken open, 211. in gold and silver abstracted,
and the box afterwards thrown on the fire. - Upen"furilier
inquiry made the next morning, and on examination of the
premises together with tte account given by the brother;
thheatn theo
Mr. Sadler felt it necessary to apprehend the prisoner, and
acpapski,i e,lfor
againsth i,uemnalnigdhtubnetilprle%;aeqrlendes. di-we ilnsworititce_r
cordingly remanded.-3.limehester Guardian.

A SHARK AT GREENOCIL—On Saturday afternoon,
while a number of boys were bathing near the Red Lump, at
the foot of Margaret-street, a fish joined the company. Se-,
veral of the more timid ran ashore, but others more courage-
ous attacked the fish, and with some difficulty got it landed
on the shore. It was found to be a shark of the shorel-nosed
species. It measured four feet nine inches in length, and was
nineteen liches in girth.--.Seotrman. •
eixf.es LIFE IN LONDON, PRICE SIXPENCE--
SUNDAY, SEPT. 21.—Doncaster Meeting—Portrait of the
Winner of the St. Leger—The late Disgraceful Conteit for
the Championship of England. Bell's Life, Sept. 14, price
Sixpence, containing the battle between Bendigo and Caunt,
to the extent of live fblio columns, has been reprinted,
and will be kept on sale all this month of September. A
Sixpence inclosed to Mr. Clement, jun., No. 170, Strand,
will enure a copy by return of post. The enlargement of
-Fix-74 Life will take place Oct. 12. No extra charge. Only
6d. when considerably enlarged.
[ADVERTISEMENT.] —l3l.orcri as ON THE SKIN.—
AN EXTRAORDINARY GORE BY HOLLOWAY'S PILLS AND
OINTMR NT. —A young woman, named Martha Kelly, residing
with her friends at the corner of Silver-street; Stepney, had
been from her youth covered with blotches, which much im-
paired her health. She was always in a low, nervous, and
irritable state. This poor girl had been to almost every hos.
pital and medical institution in London, without obtaining the
least relief ; but, notwithstanding the failure of all the In,edicat
men who treated her case, she has been completely cured by
the use alone of these wonderful medicines, which will cure
any skin disease, of however long standing, or inveterate the
case may be. SoM at Professor Holloway's establishment,
244, Strand, and by almost all respectable venders of medicine
throughout the civilised world.

. -
The system of smugglin* .hy means of dogs, is
_.....
presented by this Valenciennes journals to be still-cariicA CM With. um,
abated activity. A. few days ago ten dogs,-laden with tobacco, and'.
two men, who had the direction of them, were caught by the officers..
of the etiTstoms at _lieseou. The journal adds, that a man on horse-,
hack has ahso been taken at Attbigny-au-Ilac, with 2001bs. of these.
mat ~
sable
ltot the horse., tobacco.
./1. the man attempted to escape the officers flred,i

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