The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-28 00:00:00

THE WINE CROPS OF FRANCE.

The following account of the state of the wine crops of
France this year is taken from the Indicateur de Begiers.
Yarns.—Crop moderate in quantity, bad in quality. The
first wines which have arrived needed to be strengthened
with brandy; it is supposed that this will be generally the
case with the white wines of lower Burgundy and the banks
of the Loire, which are detestable. This circumstance, which
we anticipated in one of our preceding numbers, will absorb
an incalculable quantity •f 3s. 6d. brandy, which was not
reckoned upon.
CHAMPAGNE.—Crop very mean in quantity, quality
pitiable.
ALSACE AND LonnADlE.—Crop nearly nought ; the little
made detestable. A total failure of prune brandy, a pro-
duct usually very considerable, and which was important

last year. - -
BURGUNDY.—Excepting mine spots in which the quan-
tity is palpable, the result bad ; general quantity very mid-
dling less than last year; quality generally bad, some crus
only passable.
ORLEANS AND THE BANKS OF THE LOIRE TO NANTES.—
General quantity less by a third than last year; quality
very middling, especially of the white wines, which are, as
in Burgundy, acid, flat, and green. They cannot be used,
nor can the red wines, unless fortified by other wine or
brandy.
SAINTONGE AND DEng-CHARENTES.—Very bad crop in
every respect ; quantity upwards of two- thirds less than the
last, which was very middling ; quality pitiable ; ten
casks of wine necessary to produce one of brandy twenty-

three proof. ✓
GIRONDE.—Bad crop in general ; quantity a quarter or a
third less than last year's modicum ; indifferent qualities in
the good exposures ; detestable in the less good, which will
require as an indispensable necessity the wines of the south
to be potable. The pretensions of proprietors so exorbitant,
that all buyers have been scared away.
LE PAYS and LE MARMAUDAIS usually produce 20,000
pipes of brandy. They will only turn out 4,000 to 5,000

this year.
EST.—Le Beaujolais only has succeeded, and has conse-
quently attracted many buyers. Wines are on the rise, and
proprietors will not sell.
GEES.—Crop next to nothing in quantity, quality not
potable.
TOULOUSE AND VlClNlTY.—Quantity middling and tole-
rably successful in some quarters. Some wine has already
been sent to Bordeaux; price 17 to 18 francs per hectolitre,
which is enormous for wine of such little alcoholic value.
This circumstance will impose on the south (Provence) the
onus of supplying the enormous consumption of this depart-
ment.

PROVENCE.—Crop tolerably satisfactory in quantity and
quality. Great demand ; excessively high pretensions of
proprietors, who are aware of the necessities of the Algerian
market, as well as those of the foreign markets and colonies,
deprived, as they are this year, of Portuguese wines, which
have almost totally failed.
ROUSSILLON.—Crop passible as to quantity; quality sa-
tisfactory. The country has been crowded both before and
since the vintage by an innumerable number of buyers from
all parts. Extraordinary prices are paid, which still do not
satisfy proprietors.
We have gone through all the wine countries of France.
It will be seen that for the most part the crops are miserable,
averaging far less in quantity than last year. The quality,
which is generally bad, will cause an enormous use of the
southern wines and brandy. These are facts, and very serious
they are.

MEETING of MIDDLESEX MAGIS-

TRATES.
Yesterday a meeting of justices of Middlesex was held at
the Sessions-house, Clerkenwell-green, for the transaction of
county business. Mr. Pownall took the chair.
The minutes of the last Court were read and confirmed.

The monthly reports of the visiting justices of the re-
spective county gaols were read. The ordinary information
was communicated. The number of prisoners In the House
of Correction was 909, of which number 605 were males, 286
females, and 18 children.
The ASSISTANT JUDGE laid before the Court a correspond-
ence between himself and Secretary Sir James Graham, re-
lating to recommendations to Parkhurst prison.
In reference to this subject, and to the existing criminal
jurisprudence as respects juvenile offenders generally, an in-
teresting discussion took place.
Mr. TITLE opened the subject, and stated that he had re-
ceived an urgent remonstrance upon the insufficiency of the
means for the reclamation of juvenile convicts, from a lady
well known to them, namely, Miss Neave, who had established
an asylum for the reception of discharged juvenile criminals,
in order to their reformation.

Mr. Sergeant ADAMS expressed regret at the restricted
sphere of operation which was allowed to the Parkhurst es-
tablishment, the instructions being that no cases should be
sent there except such as would be entitled to transportation.
He oonsidered this a departure from the original intention in
forming this establishment, and the consequence was that not
one case in five hundred of common larcenies could now be
sent there. The extent of the evil resulting from this regu-
lation might be judged from the fact that about one-third of
those committed for larceny to that Court were children.
Mr. LAURIE paid a warm tribute to the unostentatious
benevolence of the lady who hail devoted herself for so many
}ears to further the best interests of humanity. In France,
Holland. and generally on the Continent, establishments were
provided expressly for that destitute class of juvenile offenders
to which their attention had been drawn. The importance of
the matter would be apparent when he stated that, out of
26,000 criminal committals in England and Wales last year,
nearly one-half, or 47 per cent. of the whole, were between
the ages of fifteen and twenty-five, and if they took in the
ages under fifteen it would amount to 75 per cent.—(Hear.)
On a comparison of the two last five years the increase was
very considerable. The feeling which existed against these
unfortunate children on their discharge, after serving their
term of imprisonment, rendered them more than ordinarily
destitute, and the difficulty of working reformation was a
common observation of society. He insisted that something
should be done to supply the deficiency complained of.
A very full bench of justices concurred generally in the
importance of the subject, but no active measures were
adopted. •
The other business was not of general interest.

SPORTING- I-NTELLIGENCE.
TATTERSALL'S—YESTERDAY.
The only bets laid were 45 to 1 apt The Duke of Rich-
mond's Tug Net and 45 to 1 agst Mr. Worthington's Manilla
colt for the Derby; 10 to 1, in ponies, agst Mr. Forth's lot and
15 to 1, in ponies, agst Sir C. Monck's Varnish for the
Oaks; and 500 to 8 agst Mr. Hutchinson's Ratan for the
Chester Cup.

A PROFITABLE ANIMAL.—The celebrated heifer,
Myrtle, belonging to the Duke of Devonshire, at Chatsworth,
which was purchased by his Grace at the meeting of the
Royal Agricultural Society at Derby, where she won the
first prize of 10/. as the best yearling short-horned heifer,
won the first prize of 10/. at the I orkshire Agricultural
Meeting at Doncaster, 1843, for the best yearling heifer,
and also the first prize of 15F. at the Royal Agricultural
Meeting at Southampton, 1844, for the best two-year old
heifer. This beautiful animal was never beaten at any meet-
ing, is now only three years and nine months old, has pro-
duced two calves at separate births, for which, together
with the dam, 300 guineas have been offered and refused.—
Derby Mercury.
MUNIFICENT GIFT TO GREENOCK.--It is with very
great pleasure that we have to intimate the presentation of
the most valuable donation ever given to Greenock by any
individual. The late Sir Gabriel Wood, whose demise took
place in London a few days ago, has given in charge of ap-
pointed executors the princely sum of 80,000/., to be ex-
pended iu the erection and maintenance of an hospital in
Greenock, for the reception of the aged, infirm, and disabled
seamen of that port. This well-designed legacy to his fel-
low-townsmen must convey the most gratifying news to
many an old tar, whose shattered timbers will now be safely
moored in a harbour more cheerful and commodious than
they ever dreamed of, and cause the name of Sir Gabriel
Wood to be enrolled among the kindest, the best, and the
bravest of Greenock's sons. Let us hope that those whom
the kind-hearted donor has appointed to carry out his bene-
volent purpose will exercise all their caution, energies, and
prudence in the erection and other preliminaries of the work.
—Glasgow National.
RAILWAYS AND TUE PRESS.--THE CHARGE OF
BRIBERY.—it is with more pain than we can well express
that we again allude to this subject. Our inquires have led i
us to believe that the charge itself is true. We do not hesi-
tate to say, imperfect as our information at present is, that
we have converted with parties who positively shrink from
calling on the Times to state whether or not the paper with
which they are connected is one infected with the leprosy so
justly, soproperly, but not so clearly denounced by the
Times. We beg it may be understood that in no case within
our knowledge are the editors of any newspaper involved in
the disrepute of the practices alluded to ; the charge, certainly
yet unproved, seems to affect the reporters, or sub-editors,
of certain newspapers, who, if the suspicion is well-
founded, have been false, not only to themselves, but to
their employers, whose property and public reputation are
jeopardised by the malpractices of which their subordinates
have apparently been guilty. In regard to the letter in the
Times of Friday, signed by " One behind the Scenes," it
must be apparent to all that editors do not collect accounts,
and that the general manager or cashier must be the person
meant. The picture of manner and language in that letter
plainly indicates one person in particular, which idea is
strengthened by the title given to the letter, viz., " How to
Conduct a Bubble Newspaper," We can only say, did we
know anything of our own knowledge, we should not hesitate
frankly to state it; but we must be excused at present from
giving currency to rumours, slanderous in themselves, which
we cannot prove.—Bradshaw's Railway Gazette.
FREE IMPORTATION OF FOOD.—A requisition to
the Lord Mayor is going round for signature for a meeting
of the Common Council, and a meeting of the merchants and
bankers is also about to take place, upon the subject of peti •
tinning the Queen to open the ports. The following is the
copy of the requisition to the Lord Mayor To the Right
Honourable the Lord Mayor.—We, the undersigned mem-
bers of the Corporation, respectfully request your Lordship
will call a Special Court at your earliest convenience, to
consider the propriety of petitioning her Majesty to take all
such means as she may constitutionally possess for throwing
open the ports of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and
Ireland for the free importation of food."