The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1864-12-25

sors' Committee Of that remote age, at have
got, in exchange Of . hundred and fifty SOL
diers three hundred and odd pounds sterliug;;"
these hundred and fifty men being the same
from whom be subsequently drew q double
profit by allowing them to "buy out their
timeu
But the parallel does not end here. In fact,
there is no branch of the bounty swindling"
system Of to-day which will not find in the
operations Of Sir John Falstaff, of his
Britannia Majesty's Volunteers, precise archie
type and master-sample. We know that
much Of the recruiting now carried on is
through the agency of our police officers and
justices, who place before all arrested crimi-
nails in our city-save those arrested for crimes
too heinous and notorious to be suppressed
the alternative either Of enlistiag and allow
ing their bounties to 70 somewhere, or of GO
ing themselves to the penitentiary or State
prison. Now, in this mode of "flling up the
ranks of the gallant defenders of our country"
and filling their own pockets at the same time,
these gentlemen may think themselves original;
but let them now hear the great master of
!" bounty swindling as ono OF the fine arts" on
this subject
We have seen that Sir John Falstaff first
allowed the good and decent men drafted to
"buy out their time" himself pocketing the
brides. We have seen, also, that he pecketed
the whole Of their County hountlss, for the
use of himself and his associate sub -bsskers,
Messrs. Pistol, Bardolph and Company. How
then did he induce the "scarecrows" to enlist
under him without money and without price
Why, obviously, by just the same means that
are employed to-day by our policemen and po-
lice justices: he gave them the alternative of
remaining in jail or "marching to the music OF
the Union" If you doubt it just consult his
words:-"Nay, and the villains march wide be-
twixt the legs, as if they had gives on; for, in
deed, had the most Of them out of prison."
That he knew them to be all thieves, or most
of them at least, is further evidenced by the
fact, that he consoles himself for their having
"but shirt and half" in the whole brigade
by the reflection: "But that's all one; they'll
find linen enough on every hedge" How they
appeared to the eye of an experienced COM
mander may be judged from the exclamation
Of Prince Henry who passed them on the road
Is he hurried forward to battle: / never did
see such pitiful rascals;" to which Sir John
Falstaf promptly replied: "Tush, tush They
are good enough to toss; food for powder, food
for powder; they will I'LL pit as well as bet
teri" thus illustrating precisely the value
which certain Of our modern knights, who
only entered the service to make money, are
apt to place, both on the lives of their men and
the true service Of their government
The Cotton Question In England-The
Fears OF the Ma manufacturers. p
The last arrivals from England bring us in
telligence Of the existence Of much anxiety in
its commercial circles in relation to the cotton
question. 1t is known that the price of the ar
ticle had declined of late, under the idea that
the rebels could not be defeated, that their in
dependence would shortly be recognized, aud
that the foreign markets would then receive a
large supply from the Southern States. 1t ia
believed that the aggregate depreciation in
consequence of this view Of the subject was all
of $50, 00O,0 0O and it is so stated in we'll in
formed journals. But now, since the reelection
Of President Lincoln, the cotton spectators
have formed the opinion that tho war is to be
protracted for several years, and that Southern
cotton will not be obtainable except through
the blockade runners. They therefore have
advanced the price fully thirty per cent; and
more than this, they have entered into
new contracts in Egypt and India for
further supplies on large scale. And
this Notwithstanding heavy failures in the
cotton trade have recently occurred in England,
and that there is q large stock Of the raw mate
rial on hand in excess Of tho demand. The
weekly deliveries and consumption for 1864
are estimated at thrty-one thousand seven hum
dred and sixty bales while the arrivals are at
the rate of forty thousand bales per week. The
stock in first hands is three hundred and sixty
thousand bales, and at sea, already purchased,
are three hundred and fifty thousand more.
The imports have, therefore. been about two
| millions of bales the past year. of which FIVE
hundred thousand have been shipped to other
countries.
This would show the manufactured and I'M
nearly million Of bales. Calling this quantity,
however, nine hundred thousand bales, accord.
ing to the estimate in . late English circular,
each bale three hundred pounds, and the price
two shillngs sterling per pound, and the whole
value is tweuty-seven millions Of pounds, or
one hundred and thirty five millions Of dollars.
Now, fall Of fifty per cent would njurs these
holders to the extent Of sixty seven millions FIVE
hundred thousand dollars, or . less sum in pro-
portion. Yet, Notwithstanding this danger, it
appears there il large and active shipment from
England Of gold and silver to the East to buy
more cotton at extravayant prices, and the fact
excites considerable attention and alarm. Well
it may. Fer the contingency which the obsti.
nate English merchants supposed not likely to