Page images
PDF
EPUB

ton, and places in their neighbourhood. The value of the copper ufed annually in Birmingham alone, is estimated, when wrought, at from 300,000l. to 400,000l.: the number of hands employed thereby is fuppofed to be from 5 to 6000, exclufive of those employed in raifing coals, making tools and machinery for their ufe, &c. The quantity of brafs manufactured at Woolverhampton fome years ago, was at least 300 tons per annum, but was not more than half that quantity in the year 1798. Until very lately this country had the bulk of the trade of Europe in articles of copper and brafs; but at present many of these articles, particularly buttons, buckles, thimbles, brafs locks, brafs door furniture, and copper tobacco boxes, are made at Nuremberg, Iferlone, Elberfeldt, Altena, Solingen, Leige, Suabish, Gemund, and other parts of Europe, cheaper than in this country: this arifes partly from the prefent high price of copper, and partly from labour being cheaper in thofe countries

than in Great Britain.

The recent unfortunate fituation of Ireland, and the demand for exportation, have caufed a great alteration in the price of Irish linen; coarfe linens are very fcarce, and fine ones are advanced full a fhilling a yard, and are expected to be ftill higher, as it must be some time before the deficiency occafioned by the interruption of the manufactories can be fupplied.

The prefent exorbitant prices of every article ufed in dyeing, has compelled the filk-dyers of London to raise the prices charged to the manufacturer very confiderably. This measure has been fome time in contemplation; and the following are the prices to be charged in future on blacks, with a proportionate advance on browns and other dark colours:

Double black foft

[merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small]

-2s. 6d. per lb. | Heavy and bright heavy dons 2s. 6d. per Ib.

- 2 3 Bright dons from 20 oz. to 210Z. 2 O

Hards

MONTHLY AGRICULTURAL REPORT.

I 6

THE late feasonable rains have confiderably improved the appearance of the different grain crops, and in many places even the pea crops alfo. It is probable, however, that though the various forts of corn crops may now in general be tolerably good, yet from the long continuance of dry weather they cannot be abundant. Our correfpondents from Scotland remark, that the crops, in common, though pretty full in the ear, are thin and fhort in the ftraw; and that thofe on the dry warm foils on the coaft of the German ocean, had suffered fo much for want of moisture before the late rains fell, that the ftraw will not only be short, but the produce in respect to quantity of grain probably under par.

In the Northern parts of the island, the turnips have not, by any means, a promising aspect; in a great number of places, the firft fowing did not vegetate with a degree of vigour fufficient to enable the young plants to withstand the ravages of the little black fly, by pushing rapidly into rough leaf. This valuable root will, therefore, in these fituations, not only be late, but of courfe fmall. In the more Southern diftricts, we believe the appearances are in general more favourable.

We are affured too, that in the North the crops of every fort of grain are more backward than in any of the other parts. The average of wheat throughout England and Wales, is 65s. 8d.; of barley, 36s. 7d.; and last three years of oats, 315. 3d.

We find likewife that the curle is frequently met with in the potatoe crops of thefe parts. Although many of the earlier fort of apples fuffered confiderably from blights; there will be upon the whole a rather plentiful crop of fuch as are calculated for the purpofes of the cyder maker; more, probably, than have been grown for several years past.

The hay crops in most of the Northern parts, both of the meadow and the artificial kinds, prove light, and befides the late droppy weather has been unfavourable for making and fecuring them. In St. James's Market, hay averages 41. 1s. ftraw 21. 12s, 6d.

Cattle, Sheep, Lambs.-Fat ftock of almost every kind, feem to keep up in price. Lambs, however, fell fomething at St. Bofwell's fair, notwithstanding the prodigious lofs and confequent fcarcity in the fpring. It is probable, however, that the loffes in this fort of young ftock will be more particularly felt two or three years hence, when it is wanted to supply the ald breeding and feeding stocks, than at prefent.

At Warwick Fair too, there was a good fhew of fat cattle, fheep and lambs; great part of which were driven home for want of purchasers, the butchers being determined not to buy at the high prices demanded.-Springing heifers and lean ftock alfo met but little demand, though both were offered at low prices. And alfo at Monmouth, a large quantity of wool was brought to market on the 19th ult. and the whole found purchasers at very fuperior prices to thofe of last year. Owing to the fcarcity of Spanish wool, prime forts fold readily at 33s. and one grower had 34s. per stone; but the average price was about 32s. which was an advance of 8s. per ftone on last year's prices. The judicious plan adopted by the clothiers in not buying till after dinner, (which enables farmers to make a fhew of their goods) seems much approved of; and from the full attendance of them at Monmouth, the day closed greatly to the fatisfaction of all parties.

Butchers meat, as well as grain, is, however, ftill high in price. In Smithfield market, beef averages from 3s. 6d. to 4s. 4d.; mutton from 3s. 8d. to 4s. 4d.; and veal from 4s. to 5s. per ftone of 81b. finking the offal.

Hors. Kentish bags fell from 81. 8s. to gl. 158.-Ditto pockets from 10l. to 111. 45.

[blocks in formation]

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

SIR,

It's is quite aftonishing, and beyond all renowned bell-man and crier of all the confpiracies and wicked defigns, plotted many years ago by the free-mafons and illuminates of Germany, was enabled to difcover all thefe deep-laid fchemes, and to unfold a tale

whofe lighteft word

Muft harrow up our foul, and freeze our blood.

There are men, indeed, who are impudent enough to make a laugh of the whole, calling it a goffip's ftory, invented only to affright children, or those who refemble them in credulity. But let thofe people be aware of the ill confequences of fuch impudence. amiss, and raise a hue and cry after them. They will be ranked amongst the pro; moters of thofe detefted affociations, and branded with infamy. But I fall not trifle now with a matter which demands the most serious exertions of all thofe who shudder at that fyftem of defamation fet up by Barruel and all his abettors, in order to delude the unguarded feelings of your generous countrymen, and roule in

Mr. Barruel will take it

dignation and hatred against all the literary characters of Germany.

To give you only one inftance of his deep knowledge of the matter, and how ingenioufly he deals with his poor deluded reader, he dares call me (tom. iv. P. 245,) very famous amongst the Illuminates of Germany. Now, let me inform you, Sir, that in the walk of a fequeftered life, wholly dedicated to the purfuits of antient literature, I never enlifted in that order, nor wrote a fingle line in defence of it. Nay, I never had any knowledge of that order, before I fettled at Weimar; and when that took place, the order had been extinguished already, never to revive again. All the knowledge I have now, I derived from Mr. Bode, a gentleman generally esteemed and beloved by men of every defcription, a true downright plain dealer, who has been cruelly abufed in Mr. Barruel's libelling MeMONTHLY MAG. No. XLIX.

moirs, and whofe honour, in fpite of all thefe afperfions, ftands unblemished in the eyes of many of our fovereign princes, the Dukes of Weimar and Gotha, and the

Landgrave of Hefle Darmstadt*. During familiar intercourfe with that venerable the last three years of his life, I had a old man, and heard many a tale of former times. For he spoke always of his mafonic tranfactions with the intereft of an old lover, but confeffed openly and repeatedly that all was over, and no connection at all did fubfift now; which I I was engaged with fome other gentlemen found perfectly true, when after his death of the higheft reputation, who are still living, to revife and pack up all his papers, nefs the Duke of Gotha, and which, being now in the poffeffion of his Serene Highthen in the beft prefervation, can be infpected, with the Duke's permiffion, by relation. When I compofed feveral years every one who fhall feel any doubt of my ago the literary life of my deceafed friend, fixth and laft volume of his excellent TranfMr. Bode, to be found at the head of the lation of Montaigne's Eflays, I did not chufe to touch upon his dealing with freemafons and fecret orders, not for fear of ftamping a difgrace upon the memory of my friend by revealing all that I knew of

his mafonic concerns for all that I knew but becaufe I did not think it worth would have reflected great honour on him the while to tell over and over again a dull infipid tale, which, but for fome croaking of the deceafed, would have been buried ravens, always hovering over the tombs already in oblivion. Accordingly I give the fecret-hunting Barruel, a folemn defiance to prove that I have been a member, which needs must be an eafy task indeed or a promoter of the order of Illuminates,

[blocks in formation]

for him, who, by his inquifitionary proceedings, with the help of his emiffaries, may follow every fcent, and hunt down the reputation of any literary character in our parts of Germany, at the diftance of four

hundred miles from Great Britain.

It would be an easy task, indeed, to add many inftances of fimilar affertions in a book full of the groffeft misrepresentations and palpable falfehoods. But that will be done otherwife. There is one inftance more, which I cannot pafs over in filence, as it is very injurious to my honour and veracity. I stated in a fhort notice, inferted in your valuable Magazine (January 1798), that Mr. Bode was author himself of a pamphlet ftyled "More Notes than Text, in which he laid open the scheme of the famous Mr. Barth's German Union. You can easily imagine, Sir, whether I was to be credited, being an intimate acquaintance of the author, and entrusted with the original papers, which I offered to fhew to any body. But the much better in

formed Mr. Barruel treats me with the

utmost scorn, (tom. iv. p. 310), and, in order to cloak his falfehood, he tells us, that Mr.Göschen, the bookfeller, at Leipfic, has declared himself author of that performance. Now, for all this, I beg leave, Sir, to tranfmit Mr. Göfchen's declaration, which he fent me in order to be communicated to you.

"The late Mr. Bode, Privy Counsellor at Weimar, is author of the work called More Notes than Text,' by which the Union of Mr. Barth has been detected and blown up. I have not the leaft fhare in the whole performance, except fome few lines I added after the Preface.

"GEORGE JOACHIM GÖSCHEN." Leipfic, July 16.

And what can the honeft Mr. Barruel

do, in order to make good his affertion? Will he face it out, and deny the truth of this declaration alfo? I dare fay, he will. It will only ferve to fwell the bulk of his Memoirs, and afford him fresh matter for

abuse and defamation. And fuch a man can be fully relied upon, and even mentioned with the higheft encomiums, in the venerable fenate of the most generous nation in Europe, which hates falfehood, and abhors calumny!

Sir, you may make use of this letter for your interefting Magazine, and of my name, by which I have the honour to fign myself, Your most obedient servant,

AUGUSTUS BÖTTIGER, Counsellor of the Upper-Confiftory. Weimar, in Saxony, July 21, 1799.

I

To the Editor of the Monthly Magazine.

SIR,

AM concerned to obferve that a very material mistake has crept into the laft fentence of the Memoirs of Filangieri, communicated by me, and inferted in page 548 of your last number. The epithet corrupt has been omitted before the words "ftate of human mind, especially in Italy, fifteen years ago." The omiffion of this epithet renders the fenfe equivocal, and gives room for a misconstruction of my meaning-Befides, if the word corrupt is omitted, the conclufion of the fentence will not be of a piece with the line I quote from Virgil-Omnia fert tempus, animum quoque.

London, Aug. 10.

F. DAMIANI.

[blocks in formation]

HE requeft you make, that the THE friends of nifh you with facts relative to the state of your Mifcellany will furour trade, manufactures and commerce, induces me to fend you the inclosed state of the import of coals into this great metropolis, and a few remarks on the fame.

Chaldrs.

485,141

658,842

That this metropolis is increafing in population, is an old and received opinion which is manifested in some degree by the increafed confumption of the neceffaries of life, and among thefe of coals. The import for five years, from 1728 to 1732, on an Whereas only forty years afaverage amounted to terwards, viz. from 1768 to 1772, it averages And it has progreffively gone on till, from 1793 to 1797, it averaged founded on experience, that war reduces It is an opinion amongst the coal trade, the confumption; the prefent war forms these two caufes, the great number of an exception, and arises, I believe, from fteam-engines now ufed in this great capital, which have come into ufe fince the tion to foreign parts. laft war, and from an increafed exporta

[ocr errors]

786,200

fhould export many coals; but it is cerIt would not be expected, that London fhipping in fmall quantities, and to places tain that the frequent opportunities of where cargoes could not be difpenfed with, forms a total of fome thoufands of chaldrons. The Cape of Good Hope is totally fupplied from hence, and the West India iflands are every year increafing their orders, from the quantity of wood-land cut

down

[merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][merged small][ocr errors][merged small][merged small][merged small]

This average is taken exclufive of coals fold by weight, which may amount to 2000 ton per annum, and of cinders, which may amount to 5000 chaldron per annum. August 12, 1799. T. G.

For the Monthly Magazine.

counties that I happened to vifit them.Some convictions had taken place, and the criminals were executed during my stay. -On former occafions of this kind an execution would have fet the town and its vicinity in motion, and have excited the lamentations and the curiofity of the

EFFECTS OF THE LATE REBELLION IN peafantry for three miles round. Now

IRELAND ON THE CHARACTER AND
FEELINGS OF THE IRISH.

MONG the many calamities which

A refult from rebellion and civil war,

there is none perhaps more to be deprecated than that ferocious and unfeeling difpofition which frequent scenes of blood neceflarily create even in the best minds. Nor is it merely the conflict which takes place in the field, and which extinguishes in blood the caufe of civil diffention, that tends most effectually to barbarife the mind. It is rather thofe events which follow the fuccefs of one party and the defeat of the other it is the work of the executioner-thofe fpectacles which it is thought neceffary to hold up to public view, in order to deter disaffection from new attempts to disturb the tranquillity of the state, or to mark the power of the government to put down and take vengeance of its enemies,

Sir, Thefe reflections were fuggefted by a fhort excurfion which I am just returned from making through the counties of Dublin, Kildare, and Carlow; and in which, I am forry to fay, I found the vef tiges of the late rebellion, not more vifible in the demolition and burning of houfes and villages, than in the converfation, fentiments, and character of the inhabitants. I had known those counties, and the difpofition and manner of their people, long before the commencement of the rebellion; I had known them to be gentle, humane, and poffeffed, perhaps, of more of the milk of human kindnefs than the lower order of people in moft countries poffefs. I found them, if it be fair to give a general character of a people from the experience of an individual, with quite a new fet of feelings; they had become familiar with cruelty; they could talk of torture and of death not the death of an individual, but the flaughter of thoufands; with the fame apathy and lialeffiefs as they would have spoken of any every-day incident. Death and fuffering, indeed, feemed for them to have loft all their horror; and I have heard them relate the fall of hundreds of their townfmen with a degree of circumftantial and cool accuracy, which proved that they felt in the relation the moft perfect ind'fference. It was at a time when the affizes were holden in thefe

the most dreadful fentence which human laws can inflict was executed by the sheriff and his officers with as little bustle and intereft as would have attended his giving poffeffion of a farm-house under an ejectment. The unfortunate victim of offended juftice was drawn to his place of fuffering through a county-town, and fcarcely attracted in his progrefs the attention of a fingle paffenger; or excited in one instance thote expreflions of pity or of fympathy which are so natural and fo common on fuch folemn occafions, in countries where the feelings of humanity have not been blunted by the frequency of fcenes of ftill greater horror.

It has been the cuftom of thefe counties fince the rebellion to exhibit to public view the heads of fuch as have tuffered capital punishment for the part they took in thofe difturbances, by fixing them up in fome confpicuous fituation. On the goal of Athy are fixed two of thofe headsbut they are placed at fuch a height as not to flock the paffenger by too near a view of humanity in this fate of degra dation and corruption. In Carlow, the front gate of the new prifon which they have erected there is not more than fifteen feet high, and at that short distance from the travellers' eye a few heads are exhibited, forcing on him a view of death in its mot hideous form, familiarifing the mind of the paffing peafant to the most horrid of all fpectacles: and blunting in him thofe feelings of commiferation for human fuffering, on which must always depend in a great meafure the virtues of the populace.

How far they tend to produce this effect may be learned by the following anecdote: While I was contemplating with horror this groupe of dreadful objects, in all of which except one you might diftin&tly trace the features and mark the expreffion of the agonies of death; I asked a townfboy, who was paffing, whether thefe heads had been all put up at the fame time; and on being told they were, I observed it was ftrange that one of them was nearly ftrip. ped of flesh, while the others appeared yet perfect. He answered, "Sir, that head is the head of Mr. Keefe of Ballyva.He was lying in a putrid fever when he was taken away by the military, and after a fhort trial by a Court Martial was exe

cuted.

« PreviousContinue »