The Sun.
London, England, 1842-04-29 00:00:00

THE WINE TRADE.

A letter has been received from an eminent mer-
cantile firm connected with the Oporto wine trade,
containing some explanations as to the existing quan-
tity of port wine, described as so large in the Lisbon
correspondence, published in the Times of the 4th
inst., as well as much general information relative to
the subject. The following is a statement of the ex-
portation of wines from Oporto during the last eight
years :

To the United Kingdom. To all other parts. Total.
Pipes. Pipes. Pipes.
1834 ... 28,208 ... 3,150 ... 31,358
1835 ... 32,535 ... 5,933 ... 38,468

1836 ... ... 30,206 ... 3,079 33,285
1837 ... ... 21,110 ... 4,672 ... 25,782

1838 ... 26,057 ... 11,918 ... 37,975
1839 ' ... 26,159 ... 7,046 ... 33,205

1840 ... ... 25,678 ... 7,512 ... 33,190

1841 ... ... 21,011 . . 5,344 ... 26,355

Totals... 210,964

48,654 259,618

Average of 8 years 26,370 6,081 32,452
The high amount of the shipments during the first
three years of the above list is accounted for by the
fact that the siege of Oporto had continued during
the greater part of the:two previous years, which, by
interrupting the shipments, and consequently re-
ducing, the stock in this country, caused an increase
in the years immediately following. The small
amount set opposite to 1841 is accounted for by
the general depression of trade, and the expected
reduction of the duty. It is calculated that a
vintage in the Upper Douro produces about 70,000
pipes upon an average, of which above 32,000 are
usually shipped to this country, while 30,000 of an
inferior sort are consumed in the neighbourhood of
Oporto, and the remainder, which is still inferior to
the second description, is generally distilled for
brandy. It is this inferior sort, which could not pos-
sibly be drunk in this country, which the writers of
the letter say is so abundant ; but while they admit
this abundance, they affirm the good wines to be as
scarce as ever, and wish to remove the impression
that any fall in the price of these is at hand. The
vintage of last year, according to their statement,
produced wine of a very bad quality, which is a dead
weight on the market, and could be had for a very
low price ; while the vintage of 1840 has, it seems,
produced wine of a superior quality, and which is in
such general estimation that its value since that vint-
age has been nearly doubled. The Portuguese are said
to be so tenacious as to the quality of their wines, and,
withal, such very indifferent judges, the quality
being always really tested in the British market,
that they cannot comprehend the depression in the
prices of the vintage of 1841, and are therefore
hoping to force a price, by petitioning the Cortes to
restrict the exportation. So convinced are they
that the English must have their wine, that they
think they have only to cause a fictitious scarcity and
that the desired price will be paid. The dealers in
this country, who are aware of these petitions, con-
sider that the English Government should be careful
to introduce a clause in the treaty with Portugal,, by
which such restrictions, which would probably con-
sist in obliging shippers to take a certain quantity of
brandy, might be prevented ; and they hope also that
if 2s. per gallon be taken off the import duty on port
wine here, and a similar privilege be extended to
brandy, an allowance may be made to those dealers
who are encumbered with the stock already on their
hands. It does not seem that 1841 was a bad year
for the Portuguese wines alone, but a similar com-
plaint is made of the wines of Bordeaux, much of
which produced by recent vintages is said to be un-
saleable, while the best growths of 1834 are stated to
he in demand.—Times.

FRENCH RAILWAYS.
FRENCH CHAAIBER OF DEPUTIES.

M. DUFAURE presented the Report of the Railroad
Committee, which contained the following articles :
CHAPTER I.—GENERAL ENACTMENTS.-Art. 1. A
system of railroads shall be established, running,—
first, from Paris to the Belgian frontier, by Lille
and Valenciennes ; to England, by a point on the shore
of the Mancht hereafter to be fixed on ; to the Ger-
man frontier, by Nancy and Strasburg ; to the Medi-
terranean, by Lyons, Marseilles, and Cette ; to the
Spanish frontier, by Tours, Poitiers, Angouleme,
Bordeaux, and Bayonne; to the Atlantic, by Tours
and Nantes ; to the central ports of France, by Bour-
ges, Nevers, and Clermont ; and, secondly, from the
Mediterranean to the Rhine, by Lyons, Dijon, and
Mulhouse.

Art. 2. The construction of the great lines mentioned
in the foregoing article shall be executed with the aid
of funds advanced by the State, by the departments
through which they run, and by the communes in-
terested in the question, and by private industry, in
the following proportions
Art. 3. The indemnities due for ground and build-
ings required for the railroads shall be advanced
by the State, and shall be repaid by the depart-
ments and communes to the amount of two-thirds.
In each department through which a line runs
the Council-General shall fix the share to be paid from
theslepartmental funds, and for the payment of which
extraordinary means shall be provided. The Council-
General shall designate the communes called on to pay
the remainder of the two-thirds, and will assign the
contingent which each of them shall have to pay ac-
cording to its financial resources, and the interest it
has in the undertaking. No indemnity shall be de-
manded for buildings or ground belonging to the
State.

Art. 4. The other third for indemnities, ground,
buildings, embankments, station-houses, and other
such works, shall be paid by the State.
Art. 5. Rails, sand, materials, expenses of carry
ing on the railroads, and repairs of all descriptions,
shall be at the charge of the Companies leasing the
railroads. The lease shall regulate the conditions of
carrying on the railroad business, as well as the prices
to be charged.
Art. 6. At the expiration of the lease, the rails and
materials shall he valued, and the amount paid by the
Company which takes another lease, or by the State.
Art. 7. Royal ordonnamtes shall fix the steps to be
taken for according the railroad business with Custom-
house duties and regulations.

Art. 8. The police, safety, and arrangements of the
railroads shall be fixed by the regulations of the
public administrations.
CHAPTER 2.—PARTICULAR ENACTMENT.--Art. 9.
A sum of 43 millions shall be appropriated for the es-
tablishment of a railroad from Paris to Lille and Va-
lenciennes, by Amiens, Arras, and Douay.
Art. 10. A sum of 11,500,000 f. shall be appropri-
ated for the part of the railroad from Paris to the
German frontier, between Hommarting dnd Strasburg.
Art. 11. A sum of 11 millions shall be appropri-
ated for the common portion of the railroads from
Paris to the Mediterranean, and from the Mediter-
ranean and the Rhine, between Dijon and Chalon.
Art. 12. A sum of 30 millions shall be appropri-
ated for the part of the railroad from Paris and the
Mediterranean, between Avignon and Marseilles, by
Tarascon and Arles.

Art. 13. A sum of 17 millions shall he appropri-
ated for the common portion of the railroads from
Paris to the Spanish frontier, and from Paris to the
Atlantic, between Orleans and Tours.
Art. 14. A sum of 12 millions shall be appropri-
ated for the part of the railroad between Paris and
the centre of France, between Orleans and Vierzon,

Art. 15. A sum of 1,500,000 f. shall be appropriated
to the continuation of the survey of the railroads spe-
cified in Art. 1.

Art. 16. For the lines already mentioned a sum of
126 millions shall be granted to the Minister of Public
Works, on the estimates of 1842 and 1843, in the fol-
lowing proportions :—On those of 1842: For the part
of the Paris and Belgian railroad, between Paris and
Amiens, 4,000,000 f. For the part of the Paris and
German frontier railway, between Strasburg andllom-
marting, 1,500,000 f. For the common portion of the
Paris and Mediterranean line, and of the Mediterranean
and Rhine line, between Dijon and Chalons, 1,000,000 f.
For the part of the Paris and Mediterranean Rail-
road, between Avignon and Marseilles, 2,000,000 f.