Weekly national intelligencer. [volume] (Washington [D.C.]) 1841-1869, 1847-10-23
FROM OUR EUROPEAN coRRESPoND
LoNpoN, OoroRER l, Is47.

cotton IN Australia. Ii has since then been brough
more directly under the public attention by the Rev
DIR. John Dunmore Laing, who has addressed the
Manchester Chamber of Commerce upon the sub
ject The Doctor has also published book emit
lied "Cooksioad IN Northeastern australia, HE
future Coftonfed Of Great Britain" This trac
OF country lies between the Goth and 30th degrees
OF south latitude, and is DR.. l.. staes " of the
most splendid fields for colonization that Great
Britain has ever operated upon, well adapted to
the constitution of Europeans and admirably cal
cuated for the raising both of cotton and sugar.
The two points in controversy appear to be whether
the country is really calculated for European labor
and, il il be, whether Malay or Chinese labor could
not pc employed more adUGnfageously? The sub
Ject Is taking hold OF the public mind. The pre-
sent miserable state of commercial affairs here will
of course, keep it in the back ground along with all
other projects for time and, when it comes 10
be attended to, il may perhaps be rejected as i'm
practicable on account OF the great distance of Aus
tralla, so long as the United States will yield sup
ply 10 our looms large enough in quantity and cheap
enough in price. give you il one Of the sub
ects OF conversation and discussion of the day. par
dcularly it relates to an article of great CONNER
cial Importance to the United States.
The more we hear of the statistics of our London
Post Office the more does the extent of business done
by that colossal establishment strike with surprise
IL appears from a late statement made by Mr. Row.
land Hill that the Money Order Office (part of the
Post Office establishment is at present losing
concern, It's annual expenditure being g64 ,449 and
Its mcome from commissions, &C., only P59550.
No fewer than two hundred and twenty clerks, be-
sides messengers, are employed in this department,
and average thousand letters of advice, &c.
are received every morning. Every order drawn
has to be entered and checked ten times. 1t is in
IN DIOR
gl0 it has hitherto been limited to amounts under
g5. There has also been report respecting the
found in letters returned to the Dead Let
ter Office 1t is stated that there have accumulated
IN that office, i'll about two years and nine months,
4,20l letters, containing enclosures of con bank
notes, and bills of exchange-the coin amounting to
R3l0 9s. I'd. the bank notes to e O. O. and the bills
of exchange to 940,4l0. II is to be supposed,
however, that the greater part of this latter large
amount consists Of duplicates of bills of exchange,
of which some one other bill of the same set has
been paid. The amount so unclaimed at the end
of three years is paid into the Exchequer, and
all other articles, of which many valuable ones ac-
cumuate, sold, and the produce similarly dis
posed of. The Post Office has just issued letter
stamp for foreign postage, costing one shilling,
which IS the postage by the Liverpool and Halifax
steamers TO the United States, and will be the means
of saving trouble and preventing mistakes.
The price of grain of all Kinds keeps falling.
American flour is offered at 27s. 1857 per barrel
without finding purchasers, and the value of cattle
and sheep in Smhfield has proporlionally diminish
ed. The commercial world is more and more con.
vulsed with extensive failures. A banking house at
the West End ,Messrs. Cockburn q Co. has stop
ped as has also an old and very respectable firm on
the Stock Exchange, Messrs. John Shewell IL Co.
The suspension of the highly-credited house of
ri kr has al
much attention in London. But to give even an
outline Of the state of the commercial world, for the
present crisis is not confined to Great Britain would
exceed both my limits and yours. And the worst
is yet to come: what that worst will be no one
tell.
There has been good deal of speech-making at
the Free-Trade Congress at Brussels, and some
strong resolutions passed; but | do not think that
much light has been thrown upon the subject; and
am further OF opinion that the true question of free
trade was scarcely touched upon. DO It's advocates
contend for unlimited free trade, or for free trade
only TO certain eEtent? If for the former, why
do not its British advocates recommend the aboli-
ton of the English protective duties in favor of
Manchester cotton goods and Birmingham and Shelf
field hardware and cutlery Mr. Brown the men,
Der of Parliament for Lancashire, says, " England
: does not owe her commercial prosperity and SUI
premacy protection, but TO her climate and ma
Rhine position" Does he include manufacturing
as part Of commercial prosperity II so, let him
and Mr.. VnLIERs and Mr.. CoBDEN advocate the
repeal Of all duties upon the importation Of foreign
manufactures into England, and take the risk of
the future support of their constituents
European free-traders appear to limit their exer-
tons to the repeal of duties upon ra,c materials
they have never, in single instance spoke about
lowering the protection upon manufactures Of
their respective countries, although they have not
been sparing of their comments upon the United
States, because the silks and the wines of the CONT
nent, and the cotton and woolen goods and hard
ware and cutlery Of England, are not admitted into
New York and New Orleans duiy free 1t is time
that these free-trade advocates took more correct
title, for they are now acting under taise colors
The ani-corn-law league was a very useful move
ment il produced incalculable good; but TO call
Sir Robert Peel or even Lord John Russell free
trdier because he advocated that salutary reforma-
ton would be most decidedly absurd, seeing that
neither has ever relaxed for an instant in his profec
tian Of British manufactures. Let yo,r politicians
do the same in respect TO american manufactures
and each will be laboring properly in his vocation.
There has also been what is called "a Penite,i-
Hary Congress" sitting at Brussels. It's object
was the reform of prison discipline. The meeting
was not 50 well attended as might have been expect.
ed or wished. Many important facts were, how
ever, stated by delegates from France, Great Br-
tain, Belgium, Holland, Germany, Spain, Prussia