The Sun.
London, England, 1816-08-16 00:00:00

PUBLaC DISTREs.S.

The followit4 Observations from the second
volume of Dr. ADAM SMITH on The Wealth rf
Nations (written in 1783 and 1754) seem so, ap-
plible to the present complaints of mercantile•
men, that it may be worth while 'to quote

The profits of foreign trade, indeed, were greater than
usual during the whole war, but especially towards the end of
it; thisoceasioned what it always occasions, a general over-
trading in all'ports of Great Britain, and this again occasion-
ed the usual ;complaint of the scarcity of money which always
•followis)vefitrading. Many +cowls wanted it, who bad nei-
ther wherewithal totruy it, nor credit to burrow it; and be-
cause the debtoil's found it difficult to borrow, the creditors
-found it difficult to get payment. The enormous expences of
the late war, therefore, must have keen :ohietly defrayed, not
by the exportation of gold and silver, bat by that of British
'commodities of some kind or other. When the Government,
•or those who acted under them, contracted with a merchant
for a remittance to some foreign country, he would naturally
endeavour to pay his foreign correspondent, upon whouche
had granted u bill, by sending atioultd rather commodities
than gold and silver." po.
" The manufacturers, during the emir, will haVe s dotible
demand open them, and be ealloittpon first to work top gocils
to be sent abroad, 'for-paying the bills draaii upon foreign
countries for the pay and provisions of the army ; se-
condly, to work '4l) swill as are necessary for purchasing she
common returns that bad visually been consumed in the coun-
try. In the midst of the must destructivelote:gn war, there-
fore, the greater part of manufactures may frequently flourish
greatly; and on the contrary, they May decline on the reltha
of peace. They may flourish amidst the ruin of their. imui,
try, and begin to decay upon the return of its prosperity.
The different 'state of nony:different branches of tbe,Braish
luanutactures, during the late war (i. e. American war pre-
viotn to 1783), Orid lot souse time after the peitce,'nony serve
as an illustration 'of what has been nuitesaid. —p,
" With tuen of information, the attempts to
associate 'the present distress with tire conduct of
Goverment can produce no effect .but a con-.
temptoons ridicule ; but with those Who are vx-
cited by starerings, and ready to listen to every
thing which may be assigned as the cause of their
distress, in hope that the discovery of the cause
may lead to it remedy, they will be more success-
' fill, mid just so in proportion as ignOrtinee conies
in aid of excited passions. The only remedy pro-
posed by Lord Cochrane himself, is the extinc-
tion of the whole army and navy, or the annihi-
lation of one-ha:IC& the Public Debt. Even he
is wiser than some of hiS partY, who 'think that
the petty amount of Sinecures would relieve the
ease:: a miserable imposition, which none can
ttt-
tetn to practise upon the public but with a know-
ledge of its falsehood, and Coosequently with the
worst desigas.. But does Lord Cochrane, or any
of his friends, propose either the utter destrue.
.tion,of the military establishmeirts of the country,
or of a Moiety of the national debt -? If they do,
'let us know, and then we shall know their true
characters as politicians ; if they do not, then
there is no remedy bat-for alt ranks to take-their
shale in making or sustaining sacrifices; until the
natural operation4sf induitry and .peace shall pro-
duce the revival of commerce, and by giving etn-
ployment to the diligent, enable every man to
Van his own bread by honourable labour."•;--(Li-
verpool Courier.)
si It would be somewhat inconvenient far our
orators gravely to stand up and lament that :Nit•
poleon has been conquered but what is alMost •
its good, they can lament that he was not con-
Tiered cheaply, By this mental reservation, they
at once display the patriot and shroud the mal-
content. l'o regret the price of success sounds
most economically in Palace-yardi. while they
who are in the secret, and understand its slang„
know, that to lament the dearness of whit cannot
be purchased cheaply, is to lament the purchase
itself. It is not the cost,bat the acguilition,which
galls these economists; whose ostensible frugu,
Pity is covert disaffection, and iwhoseonlv genuine
grievance is the exclusion of themselves from place:
and rower.--- :.'to perpct tat ?"....;f4Verilin a rot.)

Potatoes "being the best "substitute for breast
hitherto known, the growth of a sufficient (pan-
city to alleviate the distresses of the pour in time
of scarcity is an object worthy attention :
Cher that quantity is to be insured to the kingdom
by a bounty.to those who cultivate potatoes, or
by a compulsory Act to oblige every person to
cultivate five acres in potatoes for every hundred
acres of arable land; so that a poor man who hits
five acreis must cultivate a quarter 'of an acre in
potatoes. This, in years when the 'harvest fails,
will afford sufficient food, without theimportation
of foreign grain, Which in is year after the act -is
passed might be prohibited Irani being imported
except l'or the purpose Of re..exportation.—it is
about five years ago that ten millions sterling in
specie was sent out of the kingdom for the par-
chase of foreign corn; and supposiug,the balance
of trade to be One Million * in . our favour,
it will require ten years- to bring that money
back into circulation ; so that immense sums.
would have been 'saved to the kiugdo,a, if
act act• of this sort had been passed before, the
yearl793, and the labouring Poor considerably
benefited : for in time of scarcity, potatoes were
.at the exorbitant price of four shillinks a bushel,
•and the ptirchase of wheat was then beyond the
means of many. • Potatoes hre often boiled with
steam, and the quantity of steam which escapes
by the valve of the boiler would boil two tons or
more of potatoes as. mil as a'third of a bushel.
Deer and cattle might be fed with them in winter
at a cheaper rate than with oats and hay. 'Pigs
will thrive on raw potatoes ; but what is singular,
if the water in which potatoes are boiled is given
to pigs, it will poison and kill •thein (no doubt
partaking of the qualityotthealeadly night shade),
-though not injurious to a human being. The
poor usually/oasttheir potatoes in hot embers,
which renders them more faring:it:ions, and A better
substitute for bread, If potatoes are boiled in
their potage, they will absorb the juices of the
meat, 'and the potage will eat dry. it is there-
fore 'better to boil the potatoes separatelY,'and
add them afterwards to the potagt,witen dressed..
August, I 816.
1, In the most flotirishing state of our commerce, it was but
Fifteen liondreil Thousand Sterling before the -War of "the
French Itevotution.