The Sun.
London, England, 1826-08-15 00:00:00

COUNTRY DIARY.

W. and R. Burbidge, Birmingham—Mr. Parker's, Birming-
ham

II

J. Dixon, Walsall—Woo!pack, Birtningham
E. J. Glynn, Bodmin—Hotel Bodmin
J. Goodeve, sen. Devonport--Hotel, Devonport
J. Gregory, Manchester—George, Liverpool
J. Liveaey, Farnworth—Stlr, Manchester 1

DISTRESS OP THE SHOPKEEPERS.—No class of
persons in the country have suffered more by the stagnation of
trade than the grocers and hucksters and smaller draperain the
manufacturing towns. Their sole dependence is on the pro-
sperity of the working daises, who are their only customers.
During the few years of commercial prosperity, many of them
were doing well, and apparently making money, but they now
find themselves beset with difficulties on all hands. Their gene-
ral mode of doing " business, is to give credit to persons aid
families employed in cotton-mills and other public woiks
from one week to another, and numbers of their cus-
tomers, by leaving a small balance at one settlement and
a small balance at another, have, in the course of a few'Yeari,l'un
themselves considerably into their debt. While confulenee. and
credit and hank discounts were to he had for the asking, this Mr-
cumstance occasioned little inconvenience, but since the re-action
it has been severely felt. The want of employknent and 'elec.
tion of wages is so general among the tnanufacturingpopulatinn,that
even the most prudent and economical among them find they bare•
enough to do to make their reduced incomes meet their mtpen"4
without being able to pay any part of what they, were formerly owing,
and besides there are many persons who take advantage of s time
like the present as an excuse for not paying their just debts.--
In the greater number of cases, therefore, the grocers find it in 3:,
possible to collect any part of their outstanding debts, and so great
us the want of credit and confidence in every branch and dig's"-
mint of business, that they find it very difficult to obtain their
supplies of goods without ready money. Some of them who
built houses and shops during more prosperous times, must LW
doubt regret that they have not the money eo laid out now It
command. Indeed it is painful to see among this clue solorY
industrious and respectable individuals, who only a short time she
were in comparatively easy and affluent circumstances, • now I"'
duced almost to the verge of bankruptcy and ruin...—Jfancheder
Gazette.

AWFUL CATASTROPHE.-011 Monday
afternoon
last, a sensation of horror pervaded the whole town of Congleton,
when it wax known that an ancient Couple, Joseph Dales and his
wife, who resided in a yard behind Lawton-street, in that town,
had been literally burnt to cinders—be was 69, his wife wa
Soon after 4 o'clock in the afternoon, the cottage of Joseph NS
was discovered to be on fire, when John Staton, a man in Sher'.
ploy of Mr. Hutton, ironmonger, went to the scene of conflatra-
tion ; he called to the unfortunate inmates but received on an•
ewer—his father had previously heard Mrs. Dales ejaculate, 0'
Lord ! Vora! Staton forced his way into the house, wilt'
the first object which presented to his view was the *nu& sufferer'on the staircase, he immediately laid hold of her hind and al
drag her out of the house, when, lo! the flesh parted from t"-
bona and she was a corpse. His father then threw stater
her, whilst he went into the High-street and rang: thi firs red
Before the engines arrived, he had returned and having prom'.
a ladder, had ascended to a cockloft over the house. The e,";
gins arrived and played, whereby the fire was entitew"l
abated, and he was thus enabled to discover the mutilated C'
main, of the old man. The skeleton was quite doubled nr,
and no trace of the human features was discoverable. .All that
could be collected of the remains of the defunct was placed in
sheet, and with the corpse of his wife, conveyed to the son's boo'
' adjacent. - The fire, it is supposed, was occasioned by the Ad man
going into the coekloft with a lighted candle, and as thee* "la;
quantity of dried rushes there, they ignited, and thus ocetkaione
the calamity which we now deplore. At twelve o'clock on l'
day, en inquest was held at the house 'of Mr. Hargreaves, 1"e
Antroinis Anus, betUre Johu .Hollins, Eeq. Coroner, and Yer.
:i
respectable Jury, when a verdict was returned of Accident'
Death.—Macclesfield Herald.