The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1847-11-23 00:00:00

Grain of all kinds
Flour am

During the entire of the nine months e
the comparison shows the following results

Grain of all kinds.. .. 2,635,218 qr 5..... 7,905,419 qrs
Flour and Meal .... 2,631,341 cwt 7 9Q0,880 cwt
If we convert the flour and meal into their equivalents
in grain, the imports during the last nine months will be
found to amount to the enormous quantity of 10,162,813
quarters, or to the food for one year of more than tea
millions of people. The increase in the imports of bread..
stuffs, in 1847, over 1846, amounts to upwards of 300 per

cent.
In articles of luxury, the comparative accounts of tha
respective periods of nine months show similar results :
the consumption of foreign spirits has increased upwards
of a million of gallons since 1845. The figures stand
thus :
Spirits duty paid, January 5, to October 10:-
1845. 1846. 1847.
Gals. Gals. Gals.
Rum 1,786,048 1,815,538 2,428,512
Brandy 788,968 1,095,068 1,152,765
Geneva 12,072 30,713 23,091

2,587,088

2,941,319

3,604,368

It would thus appear that we have been good customers
to the world during the last few months, buying freely
and living well. Let us now turn to the provision we have
been making of means to keep up this great expenditure :
unfortunately we have not been so active in that direction-
There are only two sources from which an individual or a
nation can derive the means of purchasing foreign com-
modities, viz., 1. Accumulated capital ; and 2, the cur-
rent produce of industry. The accounts before us shew,
in a very convincing manner, that we have not drawn the
means of increasing our outlay, from the latter source-
There has been an enormous decrease in the import of
raw materials for the use of our principal branches of
manufacture and trade. The following figures show to
what an extent this has taken place in some of the chief

articles

Imported January 5 to October 10
Flax, cwt
Hemp
Wool, Cotton ...5,495,799 3,866,089

732,034
465,220
423,061

Sheep,'s lbs .. 57,308,477 51,058,209 43,348,336
Indigo, cwts .... 79.324 60,321 58,386
Madder R00t.... 111,184 118,532 72,768
Guano, tons 236,775 75,045 69,260
This evidence, showing that we have been paying for
our foreign corn, beef, and rum, in gold drawn from our
stores of accumulated capital, and not by a barter of the
current produce of our industry, is surely sufficient to ac-
count for existing monetary difficulties, without the ne-
cessity for a recurrence to any of the theories of the cur-
rency doctors. If a tailor or shoemaker in Dame-street,
or Grafton-gtreet, were notoriously to spend his ro teed
in buying Westphalia hams and Cogniac brandy, ins,
of cloth or leather. we should find no difficulty in account-
ing for this shop being closed some fine morning, and his
body committed to the safe keeping of the Sheriff. been The
entire nation, during the last two or three years, has
but a collection of a number of individuals similarly im-
provident.
We have not yet done with these accounts, which,
while they thus prove the absurdity of one-sided recipro-
city, inflict a heavy blow upon another branch of Peel
policy. There are facts which render it manifest that this
over outlay and under production—this spending half-a-
crown out of sixpence a-day, was the effect directly of the
stimulus given to the railway mania by the ex-Premier.
As long as the navvies were kept at work, and as money
could be drawn from the regular branches of trade for
their use, the work of consumption went on brisklyi
coffee, sugar, tea and spirits were at a premium. rtruid"
of these articles the consumption of the entire nine months
shows a considerable increase—but in almost all, that of
the last month (since the Railway works have been
brought to a stand still), a considerable reduction has
taken place. It is also obvious that the large imports of
the year have not been caused by any increased expendi-
ture among the upper classes—while the consumption of
spirits rose a million of gallons, that of wine fell, from
5,298,042 gallons in 1845, to 4,694,791 gallons in 1847.

It will be readily admitted that these are curious facts;
but whatever else he can do, Sir Robert Peel is, at all
events, a master-hand at the jumbling of figures, and, no
doubt, he will make all appear straight, if the matter
should happen to excite the attention of the House of
Commons. The "public, nevertheless, will think of the
matter—when their capital, current and accumulated.
shall have finally floated off.