The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-06-11 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD

rulers, and calling for the interference of the ma-
gistracy ; and such representation, if in existence,
ought to be made public, as the only evidence
which can tend to convince the Watch Committee
that their functions were not on this occasion un-
warrantably interfered with. Such a document can
alone heal the unhappy jealousies now existing be-
tween that body and the magistracy.

THE FUNDS: SATURDAY NIGHT.—The English secu-
rities remain steady at previous quotations, the business
of the day having been exceedingly limited. Consols for
the account leave off 984 to 1 ; Bank Stock, 199 to 200 ;
Exchequer-bills, 683. to 70s. pm. and 71s. to 735. pm. ;
Three per Cents. Reduced, 984 to 99 ; Three-and-as Half
per Cents. Reduced, 1014 to 102; Long Annuities, 123;
and India Bonds, 925. to 945. pm. Spanish stock conti-
nues heavy under the influence of sales, the result of ope-
rations by the speculators, who have of late rather exten-
sively changed their accounts for the fall, the news from
Madrid being favourable to such business. The Five
per Cents. this afternoon closed 224 to 4 ; and the Three
per Cents., 334 to I. The other securities showed little
or no alteration. Quotations were—Portuguese Con-
verted, 464 to 471 ; Peruvian, 27 to 28 ; Mexican, 354 to
; the Deferred, 154 to 4 ; Dutch Two-and-a-Half per
Cents., 611 to 4 ; the Five per Cents., 1004 to 4 ; Da-
nish, 88 to 89 ; Colombian, 134 to 4 ; Chilian, 102 to 104;
Buenos Ayres, 33 to 35 ; Brazilian, 801 to 811; and Bel-
gian, 1034 to 1044.
RICHARD HARBORD, ESQ.—At a meeting of the com-
mittee of the Toxteth-park Protestant Operative Associa-
tion, last month, the following resolution was unani-
mously adopted :—" That the thanks of this committee,
on behalf of the association, be given to Richard Har-
bord, Esq., for his manly and uncompromising defence
(in the Council Chamber of this borough on the Ist May)
against the attacks which were attempted to be disdain-
fully heaped upon a body of the most loyal and consititu-
tional men in her Majesty's dominions." It must be
extremely gratifying to Mr. Harbord to receive such
frequent testimonials of approbation of his conduct. He
well deserves them all, and we should be glad to see some
of his colleagues in the council follow his example for
consistency and unflinching Protestantism.
MR. FERRAND AND SIR JAMES GRAHAM.—The fol-
lowing complimentary notice of the remarks made in our
last week's paper ou Mr. Ferrand's pamphlet, entitled
" The Great Mott Question," appeared as a leading arti-
cle in the London Times of Thursday last. "The country
is really more obliged to the provincial papers fur the part
which they take, and the spread into general notice and
consideration which they effect, of all objects of public
interest and national utility, than is generally observed.
The conduct of the Home Secretary, and the system un-
happily adopted by his means, of forcing the cruel enact-
ments of the poor-law upon the country, have been stren-
uously—and we hope we may add, without the charge of
vanity for our participation, most happily—exposed by the
metropolitan press ; but still, conviction could not have
been carried into the more remote parts of the realm with-
out the intelligent and able co-operation of the provincial
press. Our columns this day afford a proof of the truth
of the preceding remark. The Liverpool Standard and
the Tyne Mercury, both papers conducted upon really
patriotic principles, and with appropriate ability, have
brought forward and presented to their readers the affair
of Sir James Graham and Mr. Ferrand in the most useful
manner ; and from the tone thus taken up throughout the
country, it is obvious that the matter cannot rest in its
present state, but that there must be a revival of it. This
is the brief summing up with which the spirited writer of
the Liverpool Standard concludes :—" Few men would
like to be placed in the same position in which Mr. Fer-
rand's pamphlet leaves Her Majesty's Home Secretary,
Sir James Graham."
MERCURIAL PUFFING AND UNFAIRNESS.—When
the conductor of a newspaper descends to the arts of a
quack, and obtrusively propounds to the world his own
opinions of his own vast importance, we are inclined to
suspect that he has some notion that his position is not
quite so secure, or so high in public estimation, as it is
wished to be. We are not, therefore, very much con-
cerned to observe, that our contemporary the Mercury
has been driven, by the rapid progress in circulation and
advertising which is now being made by ourselves and a
contemporary, to resort to self-glorification, inasmuch as
it shews that the world is beginning to entertain a proper
appreciation of the rabid and feeble trash which distils
from his pen, and is an admission of waning influence
and prosperity. The Mercury might have puffed himself,
however, without inflicting a deliberate injury upon the
competitors whom it fears. He might have been honest,
and, whilst giving a statement of his own eminent merits
and amount of public support, have abstained from the
meanness of fabricating data for the purpose of depreci-
ating that of others. The fabrication to which we refer
is that of a tabular statement of the circulation, &c., of
his contemporaries, purporting to be " corrected from the
latest parliamentary returns, for six months ending Dec.
1843," in which two of our contemporaries who figured
very low in those returns—at the bottom, in fact—have a
number of stamps credited to them which never came
into those returns, and which places one of them above
ourselves in apparent circulation. It would have been
more honest if the Mercury, when supplying data pro-
fessedly from parliamentary returns, had given those re-
turns as made, adding any explanation he chose, and not
have given as an authentic statement a mere piece of
patchwork. If the returns of parliament are worth any-
thing, as proving a paper's circulation, they ought to be
given in an ungarbied form, in which alone they are honest
and faithful witnesses.

THE WEATHER AND THE CROPS.—We have derived
from an agricultural friend of much experience, who is a
large cultivator in this neighbourhood, and who has re-
cently visited Kent, Sussex, Northampton, and most of
the southern and midland counties, the following infor-
mation, on the accuracy of which our readers may rely :
He states the hay crop is almost universally very light—
generally, indeed not above one-fourth the usual yield;
and that all spring-sown crops were suffering severely
during the long continuance of dry weather. The rain
that has since fallen has, however, done much good, but
considerably more than what has yet fallen is required to
redeem those that are retrievable. The wheat, in well
cultivated land, is still looking well, and will, in all pro-
bability, be afar average crop. The straw will, however,
be light, though the grain will be of good quality. Oats,
barley, beans and other spring .sown crops will, it is
apprehended, be light, and under an average. The hay
now being cut, though light, is rather better than that of
1826, which was also stinted by a long drought,—when
the price (now advanced to is. ld. per stone here) rose
to is. 6d. No doubt the rains we have had have greatly
improved it; and farmers who have mowed what little
hay-grass they had, (which they were obliged to do as it
had run to seed) are top-dressing with guano, or artificial
manures, so that they may force on the grass for a second
and more abundant production in good time, of which
they have little doubt with anything like fine weather in
harvest time—the beginning and middle of August. Very
luckily for parties preparing in this way, there have been
large arrivals of guano within the last few days, at this and
other ports.—The crop of fruit may be considered the
same in this neighbourhood. The common sorts—pears,
apples, gooseberries, and currants—have not suffered from
the frosty air which was experienced last month, and this is
attributed to their having set their fruit well before the
frost set in—the early part of the spring having been ex-
ceedingly favourable. The gardens, and, indeed, the
whole face of the country have been much refreshened and
beautified by the late rains, and a succession of showers
and sunshine, such as we have been favoured with for the
last few days, for a fortnight, will do much, if not all that
is requisite, to redeem the general crops that have suffered
from the long drought.
GUANO SALE: PROBABLE SUPPLY OF GUANO.—A
sale of three large cargoes of this fertilising article, just
imported from Ichaboe, South Africa, having been adver-
tised to take place at the General Sale-room, No. 1, Old-
hall-street, yesterday, at twelve o'clock, the attendance,
at the appointed time, of dealers and country purchasers
was very numerous, the large room being completely
crowded. The respective cargoes were—first, that of the
" Henry Bell," (Messrs. J. T. and T. B. Bourne, bro-
kers,) 300 tons ; second, the " John Jardine," (Mr. I.
O. Bold, merchant and owner,) 1,000 tons ; and third,
the " Queen," (Mr. Duncan Gibb, owner,) 900 tons ;
or, in all, about 2,200 tons. The first cargo was cata-
logued in lots of 5 and 10 tons alternately, and the bid-
dings for the first lot started at £B, and ended at £9 10s.
The reserved bid, however, was £lO, and no sale took
place. Of the second cargo, two lots were knocked down
to Mr. Bold, and the rest was withdrawn ; reserve also
£lO. The third, after a few biddings, was also with-
drawn, the reserve being stated at £lO 10s. ; so that no
virtual sale took place of any of the quantities offered.
It was thought by some of those interested in the future
sales of the article, that this sale would to a certain extent
determine the price throughout the present season, more
particularly as it is really in great demand, and the quan-
tity yet in the market is comparatively small in propor-
tion. We are advised, however, by some well-informed
individuals, that the price demanded on this occasion is
not an absolute criterion from which to judge on this
point; that owners are naturally adverse to moderate
prices at auctions, as tending to the general lowering of
the market ; and that, as many vessels are yet expected,
—some of them shortly at this and other ports,—the
probability is, that ere long less than the reserve in this
instance may be submitted to by private contract. It is
stated, on the authority of a ship captain who was recently
there, that, in his calculation, there were not more than
about 200,000 tons of guano at Ichaboe ; and a sarnmour
is general that from 400 to 500 large vessels have already
gone, or will proceed, from various ports of this kingdom
in search of the article, the whole (in that quarter at least)
may soon be exhausted. We notice this only as affecting
immediate prices ; for we have before us a list of nume-
rous places, (published by Messrs. Carson and Kilgour,
of this town,? ".where, if looked for, guano is most likely
to be found.' No fewer than 106 places (coasts, islands,
&c.), chiefly within, or nearly within the tropics, in east
and in west longitude, are noted, with remarks as to the
certainty or probability of the article being obtainable in
each in more or less quantity. Some of these are, how-
ever, very distant, and the freight might consequently be
so great as to amount almost to a preclusion. Even
rocks and islands in Australia are mentioned, and many
are so questionably marked as to be considered as but
merely conjectural depOts. But about a dozen places are
remarked upon as positively abounding in it ; and if this
be the fact, there will be no want of guano for an age or
two to come, even should there be no new deposits. The
following note is appended to the list :—" Guano will be
found probably on all islands of a volcanic nature, of good
quality, within 28 degrees to the north and 28 degrees to
the south of the equator ; beyond those limits its proper-
ties are likely to be less valuable." We shall recur to
the subject next week, including some notice of most
successful results from the use of guano in this country.
Only one cargo of Peruvian has latterly arrived, but se-
veral are due. A contract has been made for some (Afri-
can we believe) deliverable next spring, at £6 per ton.