The Sun.
London, England, 1827-10-10 00:00:00

ABUSES IN TRADE.

The general apathy to be, observed amongst
the people when the dishonest practices of afflu-
ent tradesmen, who contrive to evade the pursuits
of justice, are exposed, tends very much to show
that we are looking at the wrong end for im-
provement. An outcry is raised against the
poor if they commit acts which subject them to
legal condemnation. The state of public morals
then becomes the theme of discussion and regret
while the example from which the great vices are
caught passes without comment. But it is as
ridiculous to expect a pure stream to issue from
.1, polluted source, as to expect that the lower
orders of society can improve while the higher
encourage the system by which all society is de-
evaded.
The encouragement given to the frau-
dulent 'tradesman, to which an- article in this
paper some days ago alluded, has in several in-
stances been withdrawn, we hope not more from ,
shame than any higher virtue, and a correspon- ,
ding degree of caution will, no doubt, be adopted
by the flash tradesmen' in the purchase of goods.
In many instances the fair trader has been corn-
Belled to pay five per cent. to the principal ser-
vants of the families at the west-end of the town,
in order to prevent the total loss of custom k but
what has often b;:en the consequence ? He is im-
mediately outbid by a rival shopkeeper, who doubles
the remuneration, and of course carries away the
trade. The buyer is also the victim of this arrange-
ment, for the tradesman is obliged to raise his char-
a ir a submitlr s
nature
oa
the
riven
i)fra‘.evere
thsnaoonintlscioes,
..
char-
ges, in ordertobe enabled to return the compliment
to -the influential domestic. It is constantly
complained of by the great families, who lay them-
selves at the mercy of their servants, that their
tradespeople are exorbitant in their charges. Is
it any wonder that enormous bills are sent in,•
when custom is paid for at so high a rate, and
i‘nvhaielangtelmieemntasotfertehoefir
fadoteiestsic
who, from long impunity, consider those extort-
edtTil
he
e.dupesre e nth contributionsavebeae ninformationperquisite
ignorant
which ?ohf
a silt thete
et
extent of the depredations committed upon them.
them has opened their eyes, and it is well known
that instructions have been given to several;
tradesmen not to hold any communication with
the servants who have been in the -habit it giv-
ing, or rather selling, orders. In utany ine
Stances, too, the mistresses of families hay-.
suddenly taken upon themselvc's the examina-
tion of their tradesmen's acmints. 'This is the
only mode of correcting the evil. How often is
the sleek butler able to purchase a public-house
or tavern for 3,000/. or 4,0001., the produce
•-,f his understanding with the shopkeeper,
who • has been assisted in stripping his cus-
tomer of 20 per cent. at least above reasonable
expectation ! The injury which arises from the
abuse is so considerable to tliose who have
blindly suffered it to continue, and the mischief .
of permitting a fellow who brushes one's coat to
run from tradesman to tradesinan,• not for a an-
perior article, but for a superior fee, so totally
paralyzes the efforts of the fai.; trader, that we
i
have no doubt of a general adot%ion of the prin-
ciple by which this hideous evil can be counter-
acted.* A great deal of terror .tias been struck'
into the largehouses who have been in the habit . ,
of encouraging men of straw ta obtain goods . .
from Manchester, by the frequent discussions
which take place, even in the rresenee of their
agents, on the subject of this spe..zi es of depreda-
tion.
The feeling has not 1'.^.0 abated by a
visit which has, been, paid by •I\ir. Spring Rica
to some of the principal mercantile houses in the
city, on the subject of a change in the general
plan of security against plunder of all sorts, par-
ticularly that of forgery. We have proof before
us, that so common is the dreadful abuse of
'which some well .known extensive tradesmen are
guilty, in giving encouragement to dealers of
the description alluded to, that packages of goods
.the moment they arrive from Manchester are
'handed over unexamined to the former, who
at once make advances upon them at a re-
duction of 20 or SO per cent. off the invoices
from the original cost from the manufacturer. •
There are several houses in the neighbourhood
of Cheapside who are in the habit of transmit-
ting goods in the manner described. Some
time . back one of the numerous fraternity of •
pennyless impostors was called upon to give an
account .of his losses before the Commissioners
of Bankrupt at Gullelhall, and he admitted that
there were deficiencies amounting to upwards of
12,000)., which had been occasioned by losses
sustained up.on goods purchased of the manu-
facturer, and instantly sold to a house in the
vicinity of Cheapside, at a reduction from the
original invoices. This worthy sample of a very
large, body of citizens failed for upwards of
60,0001., and not only plundered his creditors,
but left his private friends in the lurch for va-
rious sums which he borrowed in , the hurry of
business. Bankrupts' effects, too, find ready
purchasers amongst the crew
of bargainers, who
have been known. to give •no more than 50 per •
cent: under the prime cost for that description
of t c swag." In all cases where the property
of creditors is offered for sale by the fraudulent
debtor, the purchaser or receiver takes care to
obliterate the marks. /a fact, all the qualities
•of identity are removed from goods purchased
under suspicious circumstances, as completely as
if they had been sent to Ikey Solomons,- or any
other nefarious fence. But still the system will
find supporters. The very belief that goods
'have been stolen, recommends many customers. We know the particulars of a case where a lady
of rank, in speaking to an
acquaintance about
the silks for sale at a certain house, concluded
her recommendation by saing, " G to tha
warehouse of all places
____ ; they have ano immense
variety there, and (whispering) they get in all
their goods at night ."--_ mss,
* Not long ago, a Noble Deka, who is rvaaavkable for
his punctuality in paying his tradesmen, deteesed an error
in his butcher's bill, in which he had been charged 31 per
pound' more than ought to have been demanded. Hit
Grace immediately ordered that no wore meat shoUld be '
taken for his establishment from this tradesmen. The
butcher soon rectified the matter by proving that he was
obliged to nay .IA
.--.. per cent. to his Grace's domestic% for the
cottom ; but the arrangement was veryproperly considered
a robbery, and there has
been no more dealing in that
quarter. This detection led to others. In fact, his Grace
found it necessary to dismise every tradesman he had,- for
holding init premiums to his servants to plunder him. still
greater advantages were derived from the discovery. The
Duke's s-Espicions made him use his own eyes and judgment
in making purchases. On one occasion he went to a house
in the neighbourhood of the Haymarket to purchase some
china, but he took ears to leave his carriage about 40 yards
from Alm door, and he found, upon the most moderate
estimate, that he had to pay 20 guineas lees than he would,
have been charged if the coronet had been . • geen by the
tradesman. As soon ai the bargain was concluded his.
Grace beckoned to . his coachman, who drove up to the 'll p s ops, the owner of which started back
aghast at the deception, wi.,l;:h he considered a mast unfair one.

Div IDRNDs.---The Dividends due this day
on the undermentioned Stock will be in course of payment
to the Bankers to-morrow and the following days, and will
comm:
&due ence to the Public generally on Satard&y, viz.-3 per
Cent&
Lei AnuitY. per coat., 5 per foels., Loyalty anti,
g