The Economist Part 6

MATRIMONIAL ADVERTIs.e.m.e.nTS.--An unlucky man, who, in order to get a family by a deceased wife taken care of, had been induced to marry a worthless drunken woman, through the medium of a matrimonial advertis.e.m.e.nt, applied at Union Hall for advice, but, of course, nothing could be done for him.

AWKWARD PREDICAMENT.--A man advanced in years, named _David Simms_, who was claimed by two wives, and nearly torn in pieces by them, was committed from Union Hall, on a charge of bigamy.

SINGULAR DETECTION OF AN EXTENSIVE SWINDLER.--A man named _William Cairnes_, alias _Thomas Sissons_, with a host of other _aliases_, was placed before the magistrates at the Borough Court, Manchester, charged with one of the most singular attempts at fraud we ever remember to have heard. The prisoner, who was a respectable-looking old man, gave his name _William Carnes_. Under the pretence of giving employment to a labouring man, on getting specimens of his handwriting, he got him to write his name across two blank bills, in the form of acceptance. He has been remanded for further inquiry.

EMBEZZLEMENT.--_Theodore Grumbrecht_, a confidential clerk in the extensive India house of Messrs Huth and Co., was arrested on board the _Bucephalus_, bound for New Zealand, whither he was going. The charge against him is extensive embezzlement.

ACCIDENTS, OCCURRENCES, AND OFFENCES.

SINGULAR ACCIDENT.--An accident occurred at Outwell on the 29th ult. A child, three years old, went to play in a donkey cart, in which a rope coiled and knotted had been placed to dry. The rope was doubled the greater part of the way; and, being knotted, was full of steps or meshes; in one of these the child got his head and unfortunately falling at the same time from the cart, which was propped up as if the donkey were between the shafts, the rope caught on the hook in front of the cart, and held the child suspended a short distance from the ground. He was found quite dead. An inquest was held on the body of the child, and the jury returned a verdict of accidental death.--_Bury Post._

AFFRAY WITH SOLDIERS.--On Tuesday the greatest excitement prevailed throughout Westminster in consequence of repeated outbreaks between the military and the lower, or perhaps we might with propriety say the lowest order of inhabitants of this populous district. The tumult having continued during the whole of the day it was antic.i.p.ated, and justly, that when night came on, it would increase rather than diminish, although during the whole of the afternoon various parties of the military were seen searching for and escorting to the barracks, the delinquent and disorderly soldiers engaged in the affray.

FIRES IN THE METROPOLIS.--On Sat.u.r.day night the greater portion of the extensive premises of Messrs Cleaseley, floor-cloth manufacturers, Grove street, Walworth common, were destroyed by fire.--On Monday morning the shop of Mr Crawcour, a tobacconist, Surrey place, Old Kent road, was burnt to the ground.--On Tuesday morning, about a quarter to four o'clock, a city police constable discovered fire in the lower part of the extensive premises, nearly rebuilt, of the Religious Tract Society, Paternoster row, through some unslacked lime having been left by the workmen among some timber the previous night. To the vigilance of the officer may justly be attributed the saving of much valuable property from destruction.

FIRE AT BRISTOL.--The old Castle Tavern, Bristol, was burned on Thursday, the 7th inst., and the landlord, who was an invalid, perished in the flames. The fire was caused by the carelessness of a niece, in attendance on the invalid, who set fire to the bed furniture accidentally with a candle. The little girl Lydia Groves, who so courageously attempted to extinguish the bed curtains, has sunk under the shock she then experienced.

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.

DONCASTER MEETING.--This much-talked-of meeting commenced on Monday, Sept. 11, at two o'clock precisely. The regulations, in every minor detail, answered the purposes for which they were respectively intended; particularly the one affecting those persons who have proved themselves "defaulters," as such were refused admission to the stands, the ring, the betting-rooms, and every other place under the jurisdiction of of the stewards. Many improvements and alterations have been made, and no expense spared towards securing the comfort of all. The different stands have undergone a complete renovation, and present a very striking and handsome appearance, very unlike their neglected condition in former years. On Sunday evening a tremendous storm came on, accompanied with hail and extraordinarily vivid lightning; in fact, it was truly awful to witness--the rain literally pouring down in torrents, and the flashes of lightning following each other in rapid succession. Happily the storm was not of very long continuance, commencing about half-past six, and terminating about seven o'clock; but, during that short period, it was sufficient nearly to drown the "unfortunates," who were travelling outside per coach from Sheffield, York, Leeds, &c., and who, on alighting, presented a most wretched appearance. The morning of Monday was dark and lowering, but towards eleven or twelve o'clock the weather cleared up and remained very fine. The course, notwithstanding the rain, was in the very best possible order, the attendance large, beyond any former example on the first day, punctuality as to the time of starting was very strictly observed, and the sport was first rate. The great event of these races is the St Leger stakes, which on this occasion were run for in three minutes and twenty seconds. Mr Bowes's "Cotherstone,"

the winner of the Derby, was the favourite, and was confidently expected to gain the St Leger. But it only came in second, being beaten by Mr Wrather's Nutwith, and only gained by a neck on Lord Chesterfield's Prizefighter, which was third.

WOOLWICH GARRISON RACES.--The officers of the garrison at Woolwich having resolved on testing the value and quality of their horses by races, the first day's sport came off on Wednesday; and owing to the great number of spectators, of whom there were upwards of 10,000, on the ground, and the fineness of the weather, the scene was more animated than on any former occasion. A s.p.a.cious booth was erected on the ground and was well filled throughout the day. Upwards of 100 carriages, containing families, were drawn up along both sides of the course, and hundreds of gentlemen on horseback occupied various parts of the Common where the races took place; presenting altogether an enlivening and interesting spectacle. The band of the Royal Artillery attended in front of the booth, and played, with very little intermission, some of the finest airs from one o'clock to seven o'clock, p.m.

On Thursday, the second day, a slight shower of rain, about one o'clock, p.m. prevented the races from being so well attended by spectators as they were yesterdy, yet the attendance was numerous in the afternoon, and great interest existed amongst the officers of the garrison, and many sporting gentlemen, to witness the result.

AGRICULTURAL VARIETIES.

THE BEST HOME MARKET.--The _Norwich Mercury_ of last Sat.u.r.day contains no less than seventy advertis.e.m.e.nts relating to the sale of farming stock; and a majority of these are cases in which the tenant of the farm on which a sale is announced is described as one "quitting the occupation," or "retiring from business." We should like to know how many of those parties have managed to ama.s.s a fortune, or even to acquire a moderate competency, under that protective system which, as they have always been taught to believe, was devised for their especial benefit. From the ominous newspaper paragraphs, announcing the liberality of landlords to their tenants, which have lately become so numerous, we rather suspect that most of those farmers who are retiring from business do so to avoid greater evils. It is worthy of remark, however, that, amidst all this agricultural depression, which has now lasted some twelve months at least, the "home trade"--which the advocates of the corn law always describe as entirely dependent on the farmers obtaining high prices for their grain--is in a healthier state than it has been for several years past. The _Standard_ lately stated, on the authority of a Mr s.p.a.ckman, that the United Kingdom contained 20,500,000 individuals dependent on agriculture, and only 6,500,000 individuals dependent on manufactures; and, as we have frequently seen the same absurd statement brought forward at farmers' clubs as "agricultural statistics," it is possible enough that many persons may have been led to believe it. Those who do so, however, would find it rather difficult to explain, under such a division of the population, the fact, that during four or five years of high prices, which the Duke of Buckingham designated "agricultural prosperity," the 20,500,000 souls should have been unable to create a brisk demand for manufactures; while a single year of cheap provisions has done so much to improve trade, and relieve the pressure from the shoulders of the labouring cla.s.ses. Who that looks at these two facts can have the slightest doubt in his mind as to what it is that makes the best home market?--_Manchester Guardian._

CURIOUS AGRICULTURAL EXPERIMENT.--The following novel and interesting experiment has lately been successfully made by Mr A. Palmer, of Cheam, Surrey:--In July, 1842, he put one grain of wheat in a common garden-pot. In August the same was divided into four plants, which in three weeks were again divided into twelve plants. In September these twelve plants were divided into thirty-two, which in November were divided into fifty plants, and then placed in open ground. In July, 1843, twelve of the plants failed, but the remaining thirty-eight were healthy. On the 19th August they were cut down, and counted 1,972 stems, with an average of fifty grains to a stem, giving an increase of 98,600.

Now, if this be a practicable measure of planting wheat, it follows that most of the grain now used for seed may be saved, and will infinitely more than cover the extra expense of sowing, as the wheat plants can be raised by the labourer in his garden, his wife and children being employed in dividing and transplanting them. One of the stems was rather more than six feet long, and stout in proportion.

CULTIVATION OF WASTE LANDS.--EMPLOYMENT OF LABOURERS.--A paper was recently laid before the Council of the Royal Agricultural Society of England, by Lord Portman, which we think deserves a much greater degree of attention than we believe it has yet received, in that it shows to what a considerable extent waste lands may, without any very heavy expenditure of money, be brought into profitable cultivation, and at the same time, under a well-regulated system of spade husbandry, yield abundant employment to agricultural labourers and their families. The following is the substance of the doc.u.ment referred to:--His lords.h.i.+p, who has large estates in Dorsets.h.i.+re, found that a tract of land, called Shepherd's Corner, about 200 acres in extent, was wholly unproductive, yielding a nominal rent of 2s. 6d. per acre. About fifteen years ago his lords.h.i.+p resolved to make an experiment with this land. He accordingly gave directions to his steward that it should be laid out in six divisions, representing so many small farms, in the cultivation of which such of the labourers as could not obtain full work from the neighbouring farmers were occasionally employed. For the three first years there were no returns, the ground having been merely broken up with the spade, and the surface soil exposed. In subsequent years this land was sown chiefly with turnips, fed off by sheep, until it was found in sufficient heart for the reception of gra.s.s and corn seeds, the crops from which were at first scanty and indifferent, but sufficient, however, to pay for cultivation. At the expiration of fifteen years the expenditure upon the whole, inclusive of allowance for rent, at the original rate of 2s. 6d. per acre, together with all charges on account of t.i.thes and taxes, amounted to a little more than 10,000_l._; the returns by crops sold and sheep fed exceeding that sum by 88_l._, independent of the crops now in the ground, which will come to the landlord in September. This may appear to be an inadequate return for the fifteen years' experiment; but, as Lord Portman justly observes, "as a farmer he has lost nothing, whilst as landlord he is a considerable gainer, the land being now fully equal to any of the neighbouring farms." Two objects, both of great importance, have thus been obtained.

These 200 acres have been fertilized, which would otherwise have been of no present or prospective value; and in the process of cultivation employment has, during that long period, been provided for several hundreds of labourers who, but for that resource, must, at some seasons at least, have become a burden to the parish.

OUR LIBRARY TABLE.

FREE TRADE, RECIPROCITY, AND COLONIZATION.

_The Budget; a Series of Letters, published at intervals, addressed to Lord John Russell, Sir Robert Peel, Lord Stanley, and Lord Eliot, on Import Duties, Commercial Reform, Colonization, and the Condition of England._ By R. Torrens, Esq., F.R.S.

_The Edinburgh Review._ No. CLVII. Article, Free Trade and Retaliation.

_The Westminster Review._ No. LXXVIII. Article, Colonel Torrens on Free Trade.

Our readers are not, in general, unacquainted with the public character and literary reputation of Colonel Torrens. He is, we believe, a self-taught political economist; and, like Colonel Thompson, early achieved distinction in a branch of moral science not considered particularly akin to military pursuits. But in his recent labours, he has very seriously damaged his reputation, by attempting to bolster up a policy whose influence on the welfare of the nation has been of the most deadly and pernicious kind; and we therefore advert to the letters called the _Budget_, more with the view of showing that they have been a.n.a.lysed, and their mischievous principles thoroughly refuted, than with any intention of entering at large into the discussion.

It was, we believe, in the autumn of 1841, immediately following the accession of the present Government to office, that Colonel Torrens commenced the publication of his letters called the _Budget_. The two first were addressed to Lord John Russell, and professed to show that the commercial propositions of the late Whig Government would, if adopted, have altered the value of money, increased the pressure of taxation, and aggravated the distress of the people. The third letter was on commercial reform, addressed to Sir Robert Peel. The remainder of the series were on colonization and taxation, on the expediency of adopting differential duties, &c.; concluding with one on the condition of England, and on the means of removing the causes of distress; which was afterwards followed by a _Postscript_, in which the author, addressing Sir Robert Peel, said--

"I would beg to submit to your consideration what appears to me to amount to a mathematical demonstration, that a reduction of the duties upon foreign production, unaccompanied by a corresponding mitigation of the duties imposed by foreign countries upon British goods, would cause a further decline of prices, of profits, and of wages, and would render it doubtful whether the taxes could be collected, and faith with the public credit or maintained."

Opinions like these, coming from a man considered to be of some little authority in economical science, were certainly important. The time was serious--the crisis really alarming. A new Government had come into power, and it was thought and expected were about to effect great changes. Even the _Quarterly Review_, alarmed by the aspect of affairs, came round, in the winter of 1841, to advocate commercial reform. At this critical period Colonel Torrens stepped forward. What his motives were we do not know; though we know that men neither harsh nor uncharitable, and with some opportunities of judging, considered that Colonel Torrens, soured by political disappointments and personal feeling, had permitted himself to be bia.s.sed by hopes of patronage from the new Government. The pamphlets composing the _Budget_ only appeared at intervals: but so far as they were then published, did attract considerable attention; the mere supporters of pure monopoly did not, of course, understand them: but that body who may be appropriately enough termed _middle men_, were not unaware of the value of such support as that afforded by Colonel Torrens, in staring off changes which seemed inevitable. Sir Robert Peel, too, was then in the very midst of his lesson-taking; and as he deeply studied Mr Hume's Import Duties Report, before he brought out his new Tariff, we need not consider it to be very discreditable to him, that he read the pamphlets of Colonel Torrens before he tried his diplomatic commercial policy.

At all events, one of the chief arguments with which Sir Robert Peel and Mr Gladstone justified the great omissions of the new Tariff, was the fact that the Government was engaged in negotiations with other countries in order to obtain treaties of reciprocity. The utter failure of these efforts Sir Robert Peel has repeatedly confessed, accompanied with a sigh over the inutility of the attempt; and the last time that he adverted, in the House of Commons, to the authority of Colonel Torrens (he was citing the _Postscript_ to the _Letter_ addressed to himself) it was with the kind of manner which indicated want of confidence in the guide who had misled him. Whether or no, however, he had relied on that authority in his negotiations with other countries during his futile attempts to obtain commercial treaties, this much is certain enough, that Colonel Torrens did what he could to strengthen the old notion, that it was of no use for us to enlarge our markets unless other countries did so also at the same time and in the same way; and in condemning all reduction of import duties that was not based on "reciprocity," he certainly added all the weight of his authority to prop up a system whose injurious influence has affected the very vitality of our social state, and whose overthrow will yet require no small amount of moral force to effect.

We are far indeed, from undervaluing treaties of reciprocity; but to make them a _sine qua non_ in the policy of a country whose condition is that of an overflowing population, a deficient supply of the first necessaries of life, and a contracted market for its artificial productions, is an error of the first magnitude. Therefore, though not attaching primary importance to the _Budget_ of Colonel Torrens, or believing that it could ultimately have any great effect in r.e.t.a.r.ding the effectual settlement of the great question, it was not without some feeling of satisfaction that we perused the able article in the last _Edinburgh Review_, in which his delusions are completely set at rest.

We quite agree with the writer (Mr Senior, it is said) that "if the _Budget_ were to remain unanswered, it would be proclaimed in all the strongholds of monopoly to which British literature penetrates--in Parliament, in Congress, in the _Algemeine Zeitung_, and in the councils of the Zollverein--that Adam Smith and the modern economists had been refuted by Colonel Torrens; that free trade is good only where reciprocity is perfect; that a nation can augment its wealth by restraining a trade that was previously free; can protect itself against such conduct on the part of its neighbours only by retaliation: and if it neglect this retaliatory policy, that it will be punished for its liberality by a progressive decrease of prices, of wages, and of profits, and an increase of taxation."

The ident.i.ty of Colonel Torrens's propositions with the exploded "Mercantile Theory" is very satisfactorily established by the Edinburgh reviewer; and it is certainly humbling to see a man of his ability coming forward to revive doctrines which had well nigh gone down to oblivion. On the subject where Colonel Torrens conceives himself strongest, the distribution of the precious metals, the reviewer has given a very able reply, though some points are left for future amplification and discussion; and, as a whole, if there be any young political economist whose head the _Budget_ has puzzled, the article in the _Edinburgh Review_ will be found a very sufficient antidote. With this, and another able article on the same subject in the last _Westminster Review_ (in fact, two articles of the _Westminster_ relate to the subject--one is on Colonel Torrens, the other on Free Trade and Colonization), we may very safely leave the _Budget_ to the oblivion into which it has sunk; and, meantime, the novice will not go far astray who adheres to the "golden rule" of political economy, propounded by the London merchants in 1820, and re-echoed by Sir Robert Peel in 1842: "The maxim of buying in the cheapest market, and selling in the dearest, which regulates every merchant in his individual dealings, is strictly applicable as the best rule for every nation. As a matter of mere diplomacy, it may sometimes answer to hold out the removal of particular prohibitions or high duties as depending on corresponding concessions; but it does not follow that we should maintain our restrictions where the desired concessions cannot be obtained; for our restrictions would not be the less prejudicial to our capital and industry, because other governments persisted in preserving impolitic regulations."

MISCELLANEA.

CAPTAIN JAMES CLARKE ROSS AND THE ANTARCTIC EXPEDITION.

All the newspapers have quoted an account from the _Literary Gazette_ of the Antarctic Expedition, under the command of Captain James Ross. It was composed of two vessels, the _Erebus_, Captain Ross, and the _Terror_, Captain Crozier, and left England on the 29th of September, 1839. During the outward voyage to Australia, scientific observation was daily and sedulously attended to; experiments were made on the temperature and specific gravity of the sea; geological and geographical investigations were made at all available points, especially at Kerguelen's Land; and both here, as well as during the expedition, magnetic observation and experiment formed a specific subject of attention. This was a main object during 1840, the expedition remaining at the Auckland Islands for this purpose; and it was not till the 1st of January, 1841, that it entered the antarctic circle. Their subsequent adventures, deeply interesting as they are from the perils which they encountered, and the spirit and perseverance with which they were met, come hardly within our sphere to report. After an absence of four years, the expedition, as mentioned in last week's ECONOMIST, has returned to England, and the acquisitions to natural history, geology, geography, but above all towards the elucidation of the grand mystery of terrestrial magnetism, raise this voyage to a pre-eminent rank among the greatest achievements of British courage, intelligence, and enterprise.

RELIGIOUS WORs.h.i.+P.--CHURCH PROPERTY.--The following Parliamentary Return has just been printed, ent.i.tled, "A Return of the amount applied by Parliament during each year since 1800, in aid of the religious wors.h.i.+p of the Church of England, of the Church of Scotland, of the Church of Rome, and of the Protestant Dissenters in England, Scotland, and Ireland, respectively, whether by way of augmentation of the income of the ministers of each religious persuasion, or for the erection and endowment of churches and chapels, or for any other purposes connected with the religious instruction of each such section of the population of the United Kingdom, with a summary of the whole amount applied during the above period in aid of the religions wors.h.i.+p of each of the above cla.s.ses." The abstract of sums paid to the Established Church shows that the total was 5,207,546_l._ which is divided in the following manner:--Church of England, 2,935,646_l._; Church of Scotland, 522,082_l._; Church of Ireland, 1,749,818_l._ Church of Rome.--The total sum paid to the Church of Rome is set forth at 365,607_l._ 1s. 2d.

comprised in the following two items;--Augmentation of incomes (including Maynooth College), 362,893_l._ 8s. 1d.; erection and repairs of chapels, 2,113_l._ 13s. 1d. Protestant Dissenters.--The total sum is 1,019,647_l._ 13s. 11d. in England and Ireland. The recapitulation shows the following three sums:--Established Church, 5,207,546_l._; Church of Rome, 365,607_l._; and Protestant Dissenters, 1,019,647_l._ The sums were advanced from 1800 to 1842.

IMPERISHABLE BREAD.--On Wednesday, in the mayor's private room, at the Town hall, Liverpool, a box of bread was opened which was packed at Rio Janeiro nearly two years ago, and proved as sound, sweet, and in all respects as good, as on the day when it was enclosed. This bread is manufactured of a mixture in certain proportions of rice, meal, and wheat flour.

ST GEORGE'S CHAPEL, WINDSOR.--The extensive alterations and embellishments which have been in progress since the early part of May last (from which period the chapel has been closed), at an outlay of several thousands of pounds, throughout the interior of this sacred edifice, having been brought to a close, it was reopened for Divine service on Thursday.

FATHER MATHEW.--Father Mathew, after finis.h.i.+ng his labours in the metropolis, went to Norwich, where he met the Bishop, who, in an earnest and eloquent speech, in St Andrew's hall, on Thursday week, introduced the reverend gentleman to that locality, and very warmly eulogized his conduct. Mr Gurney, the well-known Norwich banker, occupied the chair on this occasion, and seconded the Bishop in his patronage and approbation of the great temperance movement. After remaining at Norwich two or three days, Father Mathew started for Ireland, taking Birmingham and Liverpool in his way.

IMPORTATION OF FRUIT FROM ANTWERP.--On Thursday, the steam-packet _Antwerpen_, Captain Jackson, arrived at the St Katherine's Steam Packet Wharf, after an expeditious pa.s.sage, from Antwerp. The continental orchards continue to supply our fruit markets with large supplies, the _Antwerpen_ having brought 4,000 packages, or nearly 2,800 bushels of pears, apples, plums, and filberts. Advices were received by the _Antwerpen_ that another extensive importation of fruit from Antwerp may be expected at the St Katherine's Steam Packet Wharf this day (Sat.u.r.day), by the steam-packet _Princess Victoria_, Capt. Pierce.