The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1849-12-11 00:00:00

3irtljs, Iflarriages, anb Deatbs.

BIRTHS.
On the 25th October, on board H.M.S. Eurydice, off St. He-
lena, CAROLINEtwife of Capt. Anson, of a daughter.
On the 4th ultimo, the wife of JOHN BLAYDS MOLY
NEUX, Esq., of Cavendish-terrace, Prince's-Dark, of a daugh
ter.

On the 14th ultimo, in Claremont-grog Everton, the lady
of Mr. E. G. STRACHAN, of a daughter
On the 28th ultimo, at Benefield, Wr the iv ife of
EDWARD BATES, Esq., of a daughter.
On the Ist instant, in Carter-street, I'rince's-park-road, Mrs,
WM. INKSTER, of a son.
On the 2d instant, Mrs. SANGSTER, of Winsford-lodge,
Cheshire, of a son.
Same day, the lady of Mr. JOHN MORGAN, formerly of
Coventry, of a daughter.
On the 3d instant, in St. Mt, -
the lady of JOHN MATHER, Esq.,
On the 4th instant, in Raven-street,
THRELFALL, of a son.
On the Bth instant, the lady of the Rf

!st Derby, the IN ire of

ry's-terrace, New,
of a daught

stle-on-Tyne,

is, Mrs. W. T

J. CONOR, of a son

s Church, by the Rev. C.
:..her, Mechanics Ingtitu-
ghter of Mrs. E. JONES.

Wgstmoreland, WM.
luse, Cumberland, to

of the late lie;

tation would undoubtedly have taken place at this
The length of our assize reports, together with an unusual mass very crisis. What the free traders and Sir Robert
of other important news, has compelled us to postpone Peel are chargeable with is their having, in antici-
several reviews and other articles until next week. nation of such large importations, not only during, We are desired to state that the Patrick Magee, whose name •
has been mentioned in connection wit the abstraction of periods of scarcity, but in ordinary years, esta-
cotton from Me") es: Alutrii and Co.'s w house, is not re.
fii
Wished a system of everency which must, during
tecl te.,-,aor in.ntry vay 'connected with, rr. Patrick Magee, ,
.the ISem of 3,Gte and Corcoran, ;few Quay.
.Y. asks ris Why the price of bread is not reduced. in pro-
I
rtion to the reduction ill that of flour; and adds, that he
an discern no alteration in the size of the threepenny or ' process of impor ion, and
the ' ta. the consequent
temporary export of gold in payment, lead to a
contraction of the paper currency of the country,
Sixpenny loaf since the low prices. We presume that in most and to monetary suffering amongst all classes of
respectable shops the price has been reauced; and it is the the community. It is this tendency of the basis
purchaser's fault if he submits to pal more than the article of our circulatinz medium to leave the country as worth. The finest bread at present, we are assured, ought
to be sold at lid. per lb., and good household bread at lid. which at this moment at the root of the disincli-
As to the threepenny and sixpenny loaves, the law does not nation of bankers and capitalists to extend facilities
recognise any such things. Every loaf ought to be weighed
in the presence of the buyer, and sold by weight. to the trading world : •

TO CORRESPONDENTS,

Eiberpooi &tanZiarb.

They see," remarks tile writer in Blackwood, " the
importations of food going on without intermission, in
the face of exceedingly low prices, at the rate of fifteen
millions of quarters a year, being nearly quadruple that
of 1839, which was four million quarters. They know
that the grain countries will take our gold to any amount,
THE present month's number of Blackwood but not ourt manufactures,v because thceiythdo notk want
them, p are
lotot 0 poor
paid
theminw; a
contains an article, a long extract from which we
is all this hat is all Lsato 'endw)
have given elsewhere, entitled, " Free Trade at its How are the bills drawn to pay for these exports to be
Zenith," which, together with the work, " Sophisms met ?So general is this feeling of dread, from the effects
of Free Trade," from which we have previously of a drain on our metallic resources to pay for the vast
quoted largely, deserves the attentive study of all importations of grain going forward, that. when the
autumn, said to the chief
classes of politicians. We say all classes, for we author,e 0 notnhee
of
beginninge o a
t bfaniksitn establishments in Bri-
scarcely know whether the truths which it enforces tain, that " three weeks' rain in August would render
are better calculated to enlighten the protectionists half the merchants in England bankrupt," he replied,—
with respect to the causes of the present condi- Sir, three weeks' rain in August will make half the mer-
tion of the national industry, or to point out to chants in Europe bankrupt."
the free traders the real error of their policy, and The sum expended upon the importations re-
the reason why it has thus far falsified every pre- quired to fill up the vacuum in the supply of food,
diction put forth in its behalf. The views of the caused by the loss of the potato crop, has been
writer, that the present condition of the nation is estimated at about £15,000,000 sterling—a mere
not so much to be attributed to the operation of trifle compared with the amount of the accumu-
free trade as to the attempt to carry it out under a lated property of the nation. Call it even twenty
restricted currency, are not altogether novel. We millions, and it is then only a fifteenth part of the
have ourselves all along insisted upon the fact that value of the agricultural produce of the kingdom,
our existing monetary laws are totally inconsistent which is estimated at £300,000,000 sterling per
with a great permanent enlargement of the imports annum. Such a loss might be felt accurately by
of the country, to be paid for, as they must conti- those—the growers—upon whom it immediately
nually be, by the abstraction of the basis of our fell ; but it could never bring about a general
currency. The excellence of Blackwood's article is monetary crisis were it not for the drain created
the searching manner in which the writer anato- through it upon a restricted currency. The writer
raises the whole subject, leaving no loophole for before us justly remarks—" There is no more rea-
cavil at, his conclusions, and the array of facts son, had it not been for the currency laws, why the
which he brings forward to prove them. We pur- failure of the potato crop in Ireland should have
pose here to give a sketch of the views embodied produced a monetary crisis in Great Britain than a
in the article. failure of the potato crop in Norway."
The first position taken up is based upon the Equally futile is the plea of the free traders that
fact that we did not experience any great amount the continental revolutions of 1848 caused the
of industrial or commercial suffering from the first monetary sufferings of that year. Our total exports
steps made in 1842 in the direction of free trade, to the countries in Europe affected by revolution-
great as they were. This very fact was remarked ary movements only amount to about thirteen
upon, rather complacently,' by Sir Robert Peel, in millions sterling per annum, or a fourth of our
his apology for the recent policy of the legislature, entire exports. Half of this sum of thirteen mil-
delivered in the House of Commons last session, lions was probably the utmost falling off ; and
in which he pointed with infinite satisfaction to the this is certainly a mere fraction of the total yearly
_ .
-th the amount of our manufactures, which are estimated
--
...cutler it was fair that at aheut 200 millions sterling. It is preposterous
...Nance made to complete free trade in that this trifling deficit can have had any great
i should be made to bear the blame of the share in bringing about the disastrous events of
by adventitious causes, such 1848 and 1849. On the contrary, it is not impro-
Ireland, in 1846, and the bable that the flow of specie to Great Britain
But Sir Robert during the troubles of Europe, estimated to amount
,n the acts of 1842 and to about nine millions sterling, contributed very
fiction bills were passed. materially to restore our currency, and to shorten
a semi free trade, with- the period during which we should have been
sof 1844-5, and coexist- plunged in the difficulties resulting from monetary
speculation, and inflation scarcity.
terce and industry. It The conclusion, then, to which the writer brings
had any experience of us, and which is an obvious one, is that, whilst a
trade, along with a portion of the sufferings which we have recently
listincfion between the had to endure—for example, those of the agricul-
considers most impor- tural community—are the direct result of importa-
:-* narty, " who, tions of food, marketable bet hat
'

TUESDAY MORNING, DEC. 11, 1849

tariff of 1
the fu

as the po

lurof

From 1

y of the th

, and asked

ion cause

;c:i fail

0 1845 we h

ie new monetary law

h enormous railwa

every branch c

the operation of

two epo
tant. ear

with a

the mo

ngth of t

that we

1, or t

to be allevia

ous exception,
on in its true light,

ee trade ; and,—by-

,h voluntarily relinquished

_
ierewitti to shake the
and failed in instruct-

the real causes of

ans by which they are

od harvests in 18

y to cause the great
prosperity of those years. We had also an extended
foreign trade, ample employment for our labouring
classes, and a good home market. The effect of
the monetary change of the latter year hurried on
the community to a pitch of speculative madness.
The writer remarks upon this point :

• It is now perfectly apparent, and_ is generally under-
siooa, that tha fatal bank ohartow aof wax' tiva main amen
of the ruinous railway mania which has since spread dis-
'ough the country. The reason
ancipated the bank directors
-cept that of making the most,
• capital ; and subjected them
, the vast quantity of specie
I to keep in their vaults, as rendered a
their business in every direction
effect of these concurring
.ent. Interest was lowered,
.12 of the bank charter act, to
is bills, or still lower, as
urnished by Messrs. Gurney and
it bill brokers in the world." The
;ounts increased beyond all prece-
le banks. Those of the Bank of
►OO,OOO ; and of all country bankers
i. The total notes in circulation, in
~.aed X 28,000,900 ; in Great Britain
exceeded X 39,000,000. It was this
of notes which gave, for the time at least,
---nlodation for the immense under-
on foot ; which, beyond all doubt,
.nd nurtured the infancy of that vast
which so soon overspread the coup-
, while it was in course of formation, diffused such
general prosperity over the land."

It at once em

from every cons

they were of

bankers, of ti

a Matter of necessity-. 'I

y after t

wo per cent. for first-cli

nd rose LO

Jar propor
alone, re

)us issue

ly sufficient acco

But here, in 1846, another feature of this law
came into operation, crushing all the enterprise
which had been called into existence, and strewing
the face of society with wreck and disaster. The
construction of railways was an undoubted good
They employed the people during their
; and, when finished, promised to
open up vast facilities for the development of the
power and the wealth of the country. The nation's
was sufficient for the purpose, as is proved

in itself

construction

by the fact

_
iat two-thirds of the railways for
which acts were obtained during this period, are
now com_ pleted, and the remaining third is in
_
" But," our writer remarks :

at, a price below tip.
which the home-grower can sell at and live by his
industry, the cause of the violent disturbance of the
_.zial and commercial fabric, and of the
astounding depreciation in the value of every de-
scription of property, which has attended these
importations, scattering havoc and insolvency over
the land, is to be found in a system of currency
which is violently contracted when it ought to ex-
pand ; which arrests the industry of the country,
when it ought to be increasedly active in producing
the means of payment for that food of which a
dispensation of providence has deprived us ; and
which, independently of any such dispensation of
providence, or of any misfortune of our own, ope-
rates to plunge this great and industrious people in
all the evils of monetary scarcity whenever, by the
necessities of foreign nations, or our own, its basis—
gold—may be withdrawn from us. The vital ques-
tion, then, for otatcornen to grapple with, mid for
the people of all classes to press upon their atten-
tion, is not composed of such comparatively trifling
matters as financial reform, equalisation of the bur-
thens which press upon the various sections of the
community, and other similar specifics which are
being put forward at the present moment—some of
them well enough in their place—but the establish-
ment of a sound monetary system, capable of
adapting itself to the increased wants of the com-
munity, and enabling us to realise, in practice, the
axiom laid down by the sound portion of the
political economists, that " production creates de-

course of

ormation

—apital alone is not sufficient for carrying on under-
takings. Currency also is requisite ; and if that be defi-
cient, the most boundless overflow of capital will not
avert a monetary crash, or save the nation from the most
dreadful calamities. Here, too, the event has thrown a
broad and decisive light on this vital question, and the
cause of our calamities. Interest was fixed by govern-
ment, after the crash, for advances by the Bank of Eng-
land, in October, 1847, at eight per cent. ; it rose, in
,e transactions, to twelve and fifteen per cent. Why
was that ? Not because capital was awanting, but be-
cause the bankers, from the drain of specie to buy foreign
grain, and the operation of the bank charter acts of 1844
and 1845, could not venture to issue notes to their cus-
tomers. The nation resembled a great army, in which
vast stores of provisions existed in the magazines at its
disposal, but a series of absurd regulations affecting the
-,issariat prevented the grain they contained being
Accordingly, when the absurd
restrictions were removed, things soon began to amend.
When the bank charter act was pro tempore repealed, by
Lord John Russell's famous letter of October, 1847, the
effect was instantaneous in allaying the panic, and inte-
rest gradually fell, until now money has become over-
flowing, and it is to be had at two per cent., although the
years since that time have been the most disastrous to
capital ever known in the British annals, so that no sub-
sequent increase has been possible."
Such a state of things could never have occurred
had government, alter the example of Wm. Pitt,
,aneously with the extension of the
on's engagements, an expansive domestic cur-
that which enabled us to bear up,
and to progress in every branch of industry and
commerce, under the burthens of a war extending
over upwards of twenty years, during which we
expended from 8,000 to 120 millions yearly, a large
portion of it in subsidising foreign nations. But
the legislature of the present day pursued a com-
pletely opposite course. It not only did not pro-
vide an expansive system of currency, to meet the
extended undertakings of the nation, which itself
had encouraged, but took the most effectual mea-
sures to contract the circulation both in gold and
paper, directly in proportion to the necessity for
its expansion. As the result, the community were
brought to the verge of despair ; the Bank of
England itself was, in October, 1847, possessed of
only £564,000 sterling in its banking department,
which, if allowed to have been drawn out, must,
by the admission of its governor, have led to sus-
pension of payments ; and yet, this same bank, in
consequence of the requirements of the currency
restriction act of 1844, had at the time £8,500,000
in gold in the cellars of the issue department
But it is contended that this state of things was
the result of the vast importation of grain which
took place in 1847. In part, of course, it was ;
and if the object of the repeal of the corn laws was
not to facilitate such large importations in periods
of unusual scarcity we don't know what was its
object. Under the old corn law the name impor-

issued to the • sold

entire induct

inand."

WE have often remarked that our financial re-
formers would, when a convenient time arrived,
make an attack on the rights of the church, and
we have frequently advised our friends to be pre-
pared for such an assault. Let churchmen read
the following extract from a speech delivered at a
financial reform meeting at Norwich, on Thursday,
by a Mr. Tillett, and observe the " app!ause " and
" immense cheering " with which the sentiments of
the speaker were received, and then say if it is not
time to put a stop to what is at present mere sense-
less raving, but what will shortly—if not checked—
prove something more formidable :

simult

such as

" He considered that they were perfectly justified in
asking themselves on what authority this question rested,
and what good reason there was that, whilst they were at
liberty to choose their own lawyer, and surgeon, and
tradesman, and professional man, and adviser, they were
not at liberty to choose their own parson.—(Tumultuous
applause.) Now several burdens had arisen out of this
state of things, and it was for them to consider the ques-
tion and to:see whether they could not possibly be re-
moved, without injury to any living individual. He would
suggest that when gentlemen talked to them about "vested
rights," they should ask whether these tithes were not
intended for the repairs of the churches and support of
the poor, and whether for centuries the clergy had not
been putting the entire amount into their own pockets.
Talk of " vested rights,"—for his part he considered that
there was no " statute of limitation,' against conscientious
right, and that the longer the wrong had been perpetrated
the quicker the parsons ought to be in making restoration.
(Great cheering.) He was walking up a street in Nor-
wich the other day, when he was met by a farmer, who
told him that he had just had a good brush with one of
the M.P.'s of the county. He said to me,' repeated
the farmer, ' what do you think of free trade ?" We
hav'n't got it" said I. Hav'n't got it ! Why you have
free trade in corn now ; there can be no doubt of that.'
Ah, but we hav'n't got free trade,' said I, we hav'n't got
it.' Why, what do you mean ?' said he, ' what do you
mean ?" Why,' replied I, ' we an't got free trade in par-
sons yet.'—(lmmense cheering.)"

WE trust that our agricultural friends will not
allow themselves to be gulled with the recipe for
their present distress, which is being put forth in
some quarters, viz., the conclusion of an agree-
ment by the farmer with his landlord to pay a
corn rent, or in other words, an annual amount
in money, determined by the price which he
receives for his grain crops. The proposal seems
a reasonable one. If grain is low, it is argued,
the rent will be also low : if high prices are realized,
the farmer can afford to pay an increased amount.
He has, in fact, to set aside merely a certain num-
ber of quarters for his landlord; and it is urged
that it is immaterial to him what money amount
this quantity of grain produces. Let us, however,
test, by an example or two, the fairness of such
an argument. The Liverpool Times, we observe,
speaks strongly in favour of a corn rent; and we
shall take the liberty, first, of trying the experi-
ment upon himself. Our contemporary now pub-
lishes his paper at sd. per copy. Suppose, then,
that he were to make an arrangement with his
landlord to pay, as the rent of his premises, one.
fifth of this, or a penny for each paper sold. Com-
petition, however, arises; and the Times is com-
pelled by it to reduce his price to threepence.
Three-fifths of a penny from every paper printed
becomes, therefore, his rent; and, according to
his principle, it ought to be as easily paid as before
the reduction in the price of the article. Our,
contemporary, however, has tried the threepenny
experiment ; and knows that, with that price, rent
could not be paid at all. Threepence barely covers
the labour and materials employed in the produc-
tion: of the article to be sold ; and these have
undergone no diminution in cost.

Take, as the second principle, the case of an
individual farmer, with, say 100 acres of arable
land in cultivation, for which he pays £l5O a year
rent. His farm produces, in average years, say
200 quarters; and having agreed to the principle

of corn rent, when prices were at 60s. a quarter,
he has annually to set aside for his landlord 50
quarters. Assume, then, the following to be his
position :

Produce, 200 quarters, at 60s. ..
Seed, manure, horse kqep, &c £250
Corn rent, 50 quarters, at 6os.
Farmer's income .. 200

. £6OO

• £6OO £6OO
Examine the position of the same farmer with
grain at 40s. a quarter as at present, assuming his
produce to be the same in quantity as heretofore:—
Produce, 200 quarters, at 405.. ,
Seed, manure, wages, &c
Corn rent, 50 quarters, at 40s
Farmer's income,

£4OQ £4OO
In this case, as the man's family must live, the
landlord's reserved corn rent would most probably
be infringed upon. _ _ _

But, in—ark what would be the effect of a defi-
cient yield, say by a fourth, under the tenure!
Estimating the advance in price which would take
place at 10s. per quarter, which, with the foreign
supply always ready to be poured in upon us, is
beyond the mark, the following wou!d be the
result :

Produce, 150 quarters. at 50s
Rent, 50 quarters, at 50s.
Seed, manure, wages, &c.
Subsistence of farmer's family, nihi/,

£375
£125
250

The rent, if paid at all, must, of course, be paid
out of capital, for the fanner, we repeat, must live.
But it may be said the same result would occur,
in the event of a bad harvest, under a fixed rent
and protected agriculture. It would not, however,
for the farmer would then be able to secure a price
for his crop, enhanced by more than ten shillings
per quarter. We are within bounds when we fix
that price at 70s. This, then, would be his posi-

tion :
Produce, 150 quarters, at 70s
Seed, manure, wages, &c. ..
Rent (fixed)
Farmer's income

£250
150
125

It is in its effect upon the farmer in years of fail-
ing harvests that the operation of free trade in corn
is the most injurious. With the agriculture of
Europe and America stimulated by the opening of
our markets to the foreign grower, the loss of a
portion of the home crop will be so much swept
from the pocket of the farmer, with no sensible
compensation afforded him by any advance in the
price of his deficient produce. Such devices as that
which we have been remarking upon, viz., the con-
version of his fixed payments to the landlord into a
corn rent, are mere gags, invented to lead the agri-
cultural community away from the contemplation
of their true position ; and we are sorry to say that
in effect, though not in design, some of the specifics
recommended by a section of the protectionist party
- - little better. The real question is, not in what
ent can be paid ; not as to the comparative

advantages of high farming or low farming, liquid
manures or other manures, deep draining and sub-
soil ploughing—all these are interesting subjects
in their way, and furnish excellent topics for the
after dinner talk of a farmers' ordinary;—but the
real and vital question, which is rapidly coming to
every man's lips, is the broad and direct one—can
the soil of Great Britain be cultivated, and the
agriculturist and labourer be fed with grain at free

? The ans%

given by nine-tenths of
the practical farmers of the country, we feel con-
vinced, will be—No !

ALARMING INCREASE OF PAUPERISM UNDE R
FREE TRADE AND A FETTERED CURRENCY.

We have said emphatically that practical farmers
will say that they cannot grow at, these prices,
because we are aware that there is a section of the
agricultural community who still maintain the con-
trary. These are principally either your experimen-
talists—gentlemen who are not farmers by profes-
sion, but cultivate the soil for amusement—or land-
owners, who can afford a large expenditure upon
their hobby, and when they dilate to us upon the
success which has attended their new processes,
have probably not been at any great pains to balance
their profit and loss accounts. We have not the
slightest wish to undervalue the labours or the skill
of these parties, or to quarrel with the direction
which they have given to their enterprise. On the
contrary, we regard them as a most useful class,
acting as pioneers in the path to agricultural im-
provement, dissipating old prejudices, and often
teaching by their example most valuable lessons.
But we much doubt the alleged fact of the success-
ful result of their experiments. A considerable
acquaintance with purely agricultural districts has
left upon our mind the impression that the class,
called " gentlemen farmers," have not heretofore
been remarkable for the large profits which they
have earned. If the saying is true that the man
who conducts his own law case has a fool for his
client, it is equally so that the man who farms his
own land has a diminished rent roll. But, assum-
ing it to be the case that high farming can achieve
all that is said of it, where are we to find our high
farmers ? Where are we to find the men possessed
of the requisite means to deep-drain, to use subsoil
ploughs and artificial or liquid manures, to build
model farm houses, model shippons, model farm
yards, and model threshing machines, with steam-
engines to economise the labour of horses and
human beings ? Where are we to find men ready
to run the risk of making the large outlay, necessary
to convert the bumble farmstead, with its alleged
clumsy and ineffective implements, into the more
modern and improved patterns ? We are at a loss
to find out these men, unless they are to be found
amongst our manufacturing savans, the Cobdens
and Brights of the day, who so glibly discourse
about had farming, and the ignorance, or obstinate
stupidity of our existing race of farmers. Yet we
do not see as yet any sign of the factory being
abandoned for thefields ; of John Bright being seated
in his best drab at the head of a table full of happy
rustics, teaching their young ideas how to sing
" Harvest Home," or " Jockey and Jenny;" of
friend Edmund Ashworth, of Bolton, essaying to
fatten his own swine upon the economic principle;
or of Richard Cobden taking his stand upon the
flags in Brunswick-street or Hanging ditch, sample
in hand after the orthodox agricultural fashion.
None of these gentry are to be seen rushing in
pursuit of the mines of wealth which they have
told us are to be reaped from the soil, under a free
trade system? and why ? They know better. They
prefer sticking to cotton as the safer side of the
hedge. The agriculture of England is doomed to
rapid decay, unless some prompt relief is afforded;
and these gentlemen are perfectly cognizant of the
fact.

St. ANNE'S DISPENSARY.—We are glad to hear that
a Tea-party, in aid of this excellent institution, will take
place on the 3rd January next, at which the Mayor and
several influential gentlemen are expected to be present.
The Rev. J. C. Richmond, of Rhode Island, U.S.,
delivered an eloquent and impressive discourse in St.
Jude's Church, on Sunday last.. This evening he is to
lecture at the Collegiate Institution, on the North Ame-
rican Indians, and on Friday on the Anglo-Saxons in
England and America. He will also preach in St. John
the Evangelists Church, on Sunday evening next, in aid
of the Female Orphan Asylum.
PROPOSED REDUCTION OF THE DUTY ON TEA.--
We perceive by recent articles in the organ of Sir Robert
Peel (The Morning Chronicle), that it is the intention of
the Ex-premier to propose a considerable reduction of the
duty on tea. The duty is at present about 300 per cent.,
and if with so heavy an impost upon that article, we have
such advertising competition as our columns to-day
present, what may we not expect if two-thirds of the
duty be taken off?

Int England, according to a recent report on pauperism,
by Mr. Commissiour Symms, the popr rate had in 1848,
become heavier than it IV as trefoto tBB5, when the nett
poor law was introduced. It was in 1834 £7,373,807; and
in 1848 £7,817,459. *Wry ninth person in England is,
now a pauper ! In Ireland 2,000,000 persons are paupers'
and the poor rate since 1846 has risen from £260,000 a
year to £1,900,000. In Scotland the poor rate has nearly
tripled in the last three years, having risen from £185,000
a year to £560,000. In Glasgow, previously to 1846 the
rates were under £30,000 a year for the city and suburbs.
In 1849 they amounted to £200,000; and for 1849-50
they are stated at £138,000. Yet Glasgow is one of the
great commercial emporiums, which were to have been
benefitted by cheap bread and free trade ! The growth
of pauperism in this Scottish manufacturing metropolis,
since the establishment of our boasted new commercial
system, has been astounding. The following is the in-
crease in the city of Glasgow parish, being about half of
the city and suburbs, during the last three years :-
1845-6, total paupers .... 7,451
1846-7, 7f .. 15,911
1847-8, .... 51,852
The total number relieve'd in the city and suburbs in
1848-9 was 122,000; being exactly a third of the popula-
lion receiving parochial relief.

LOW PRICES CAUSED BY ABUNDANT HAR-
VESTS, AND LOW PRICES CAUSED BY FREE
TRADE.

FINANCIAL REFORM MEETING, LAST NIGIIT.—This
affair, which has been profusely placarded for many days
past, and at which William Ewart, Esq., was to have at-
tended, took place last night at the Concert-hall, and
went off miserably. Mr. Ewart was not there, owing to
illness; and the greatest (!) of the speakers on the occa-
sion were Mr. J. Boult and Mr. Tindal Atkinson, the
former of whom tired the audience so much, that he was
at length stopped by cries of " rime," whilst the latter
flashed out with his usual brilliancy. Mr. J. Mather
was in the chair; and the only parties we noticed on the
platform were Messrs. John Finch and R. V. Yates. The
room was thinly attended, and the speeches were not
worth the trouble of reporting. This financial reform
humbug seems to have worn itself out.
GovErixEssEs' INSTITUTION.—We are gratified to
find that this useful benevolent institution is progressing
very satisfactorily towards maturity, and we believe the
committee have wisely made arrangements for the occu-
pancy of a large house in Rodney-street, with a view
fully to carry out effectually their beneficent objects.
They will here afford in reality a home to many a wearied
and anxious heart, and will, in addition, remove a burden
from the minds of others among a class in society who
exercise inconceivable influence over the rising generation.
Whilst upon the subject we cannot refrain from suggest-
ing, whether, as this institution embraces among its
designs ail the objects contemplated by a somewhat kindred
society previously in existence, it would not be desirable
for the latter to become merged in the wider operations of
the younger institution. This we presume could be easily
done, and thus the objects aimed at by both would be
effectually and permanently Hound.

It is not at all unusual to hear superficial persons re-
mark, in reply to the complaints of the f

ers of the

ruinous results to him of the present low prices of grain,
that prices have been lower, and yet the farmer made a
living. The low price, however, does not tell so much

upon the farmers as the circumstai
caused. Thus from 1842 to 1846, the average prices of
wheat in London were-1842, 495. per quarter ; 1843,
475. 4d. per quarter; 1844, 465. Bd. per quarter; and in
1845, 50s. 10d. per quarter. These prices were caused by
the return of fine seasons after five successive bad har-
vests ; and as the result, we had agricultural prosperity,
and an excellent home demand for the manufacturer. In
1846 and 1847 we had a serious loss of the potato crop,
accompanied with deficient yield of grain ; in 1848 the
potato again partially failed, and grain was below an ave-
rage yield. This year both crops have been good ; but
the new element of free trade has been introduced, to
prevent the farmer from recovering in an abundant year

ces by which it is

his losses in previous bad seasons: Wheat is now little
above 40s. per quarter, although the average of the three
years since 1846 would be much more ; yet the farmer is

fast progressing to ruin, and his condithin'recoils upon the
manufacturer and every other interest, for he has lost his
ability to consume. Wherefore this result ? Obviously
it does not arise from the mere fact of farm produce being
low in price, hut because that low price is the result of
foreign importation, not abundant harvests. And this
fact tells strongly against those who assert that the farmer
can still enable himself to live by the resort to high farm-
ing and similar specifics. Probably he might advantage
himself by such a course provided he were assured of reap-
ing the full benefit of his increased growth in years of
plenty, and was afforded a moderately increased price in
years of failing crops. But free trade and increasing fo-
reign importations allow him neither of these conditions.
His increased yield would drive down prices much below
those of the present period, under which it is certain that
he cannot produce with profit, for the foreigner would
still meet him in every market, and in years of deficient
crop, no sufficiently remunerating elasticity in prices could
be realized. The foreigner would fill up the vacuum in
the supply, and rule the market as he pleased.

GENERAL TRADE REPORT.

Monday Night.
The daily improvements taking place in the position
of the commercial affairs of this country, overtopping all
the previous altitudes attained by British entt.,
must be vastly encouraging in those circles more imme-
diately interested in the progress of these events. The
returns of the Board of Trade, the latest intelligence
from India, the still further advance in the price of Con-
sols—all tending one way, and steadily strengthening the
confidence of all parties—banishes every misgiving, and
the universal feeling expressed
_on 'Change to-dav

that of congratulation. Consols have reached the -maxi-
mum since their re-ascension in the scale, and although,
owing to the statement that differences between Russia
and Turkey still remain to be be adjusted, they opened on
Saturday at a reaction from the high prices of Friday,
some large purchases both of Consols and Reduced
throughout the day tended to a restoration. The first
quotation of Consols for money was 964- toe, whence they
speedily advanced to 96i, closing, after a few slight fluc-
tuations, at 961 to 1. For the opening, January 16, they
left off at 96 ; but after: the regular hours of busi-
ness, transactions took place at 961 for money and 961 for
the opening. Bank Stock closed 201 to 203.
Holders of grain throughout England displayed an
anxious desire at the close of last week to steady the mar-
kets in their respective localities; and although they pretty
generally succeeded in effecting this object, very little in-
clination was evinced by purchasers to reciprocate the
feeling, and transactions generally have been limited in
extent. Up to the time of our advices leaving Ireland,
the markets in that country, still feeling the pressure of
previous intelligence from England, had given way a
little, without producing anything like an active trade.
We have no change to notice in Liverpool, to-day, in
the general currency of Friday, and very little business
passing in any article of the Corn trade beyond a few
retail sales, except as regards Oats, of which several par-
cels of Irish have been taken by country buyers.

The Cotton market took a slightly reactionary course on
Saturday, and the decline of the week not only received a
check, but prices were rather better than on the previous
day. The sales amounted to 5000 bales (including 1000
on speculation.) To-day also a very healthy feeling pre-
vailed, and a large number of purchasers for consumption
being present, prices of American advanced fully id. per
lb. on the currency of Friday. The amount of business
transacted, although good, was not excessive, as, with a
decidedly active demand, no one buyer ventured very
largely ; the sales, however, reached about 8000 hales,
2000 of which were taken by speculators.

The arrivals of timber from the Ist instant from British
America consist of nine vessels, 4,474 tons, the greater
portion of which are being yarded. Importers are standing
out for higher prices than the dealers are inclined to give.
This applies more particularly to St. John's timber. Of
Quebec the prices for pine are 13d. to 131 d. per foot ;
elm and red pine, 16d. ; oak, 21d. ; standard staves (with
cargo) £4O; puncheon, in like manner, £l5; apart, £47
to £5O, and £l7 to £l9 respectively. Lathwood meets
with ready sale at good prices.—Mahogany and otherfur-
niture woods : Baywood of good dimensions meets with
ready sale, and the transactions have been considerable,
by private bargain ; the same applies also to rosewood.

LONDON CORN MARKET.-YESTERDAY

The arrivals of Wheat from the adjacent counties were mode-
rate, and there being a fair attendance of purchasers, a steady
business resulted at last Monday's prices. Previous rates
were also obtained for Flour and Malt. Although a large quan-
tity of Barley was again brought to market, h was met by a
fair demand; prices, however, of all but the best English, de-
clined Is. per qr. Beans and Pease sold freely at a reduction
of Is. per qr. Oats supported former quotations, with a mode-
rate inquiry. In Indian Corn little transpired.
English Red Wheat 38s. to 445. ; White, 425. to 495.

MONSTER IRON WAREHOUSE

We had yesterday the pleasure of inspecting a most
commodious iron warehouse, now in the course of con-
struction by Messrs. Cato, Miller, and Co., Brunswick
Dock. It is intended for exportation to California, and
has been built for Messrs. J. and J. Starkie. To look
upon a work so gigantic, would lead to the conclusion
that it would almost be impossible that it could be built
in so short a period as has been occupied in its erection—
three weeks. The whole building, which is sixty feet in
length, by forty feet in width, is constructed on a
framework of wood and iron, and entirely sheeted,
side as well as roof, with Moorewood and Roger's
patent corrugated galvanized iron. The extreme height of
the warehouse, by internal measurement is 36 feet at the
gables, and about 26 feet 4 inches at the eaves, and is divided
into three stories; the first of which is 11 feet in height,
the second nine feet, and the third eight feet. Two rows
of columns of iron are run down the first and second
floors, to support the weight that may be stored on the
several floors. Round the bottom of the building there is
a wainscoatiug (on which the corrugated iron rests) of cast
metal, and the whole is lighted with about 60 windows,
all of which have iron mullions. Though every due atten-
tion has been paid to strength, itijs somewhat remarkable
that the weight of the whole will little exceed 30 tons
—and while from general idea, we :should not expect a
warehouse to present anything pleasing in appearance ;
this not only looks light, but presents the prospect of
splendid dwellings. In point of workmanship or expe-
dition, nothing has been wanting on the part of the
builders—for, within one month of the time of ordering,
it will be disjointed, and shipped to its destination—Cali-
fornia.

THEATRE ROYAL. ITALIAN OPERA.—The excellent
company of Italian Vocalists who have been playing at
this theatre during the last fortnight, have succeeded in
securing a firm hold of the admiration of the lovers of
music in our town. Madame Montenegro especially, has
won golden opinions, whilst amongst us, and is certainly
a very first-class artiste. Our readers will be glad to
observe that they have been re-engaged this week for three
nights, the first of which was yesterday, after which they
proceed to fill other engagements.
ALL SAINTS' PARISH CHURCH, GREAT NELSON-
STREET NORTH.—Two excellent sermons were preached
in this Church, on Sunday last, by the Rev. James
Currie, M.A., incumbent of Trinity Church, Rush-
holme, Manchester ; after which, collections were made,
amounting to £l6 2s. 6d. towards defraying the expenses
of lighting, heating, &c. We are rejoiced to see the Rev.
James Currie once more in his native town,—his name
must call up many pleasing associations connected with
Liverpool. His brother, our readers will remember, was
the first mayor under the reformed corporation act, and
his father, of whom Liverpool has always been proud, was
the admired author of " The Life of Burns."