FOOTNOTES:
[1] A Financial, Monetary, and Statistical History of England, from the Revolution of 1688 to the present time. By Thomas Doubleday, Esq. London: 1847.
Chronicles and Characters of the Stock Exchange. By John Francis, Esq. London: 1849.
[2] The Cities and Wilds of Andalusia. By the Honourable R. Dundas Murray. London: 1849.
[3] The Island of Cuba: its Resources, Progress, and Prospects. By R. R. Madden, M.R.I.A. London: 1849.
[4] Marliani, ii. 472.
[5] Hughes' Revelations of Spain, ii. 383.
[6] The Island of Cuba, pp. 55-6.
[7] Ford's Gatherings from Spain.
[8] Histoire Politique de l'Espagne Moderne, ii. 424.
[9] City article of the Times, September 14, 1849.
[10] Marliani, ii., 430 and 471.
[11] Revelations of Spain, 365-6.
[12] Revue des Deux Mondes, 1er Août 1849.
[13] At the first hint of a project of reform in the tariff, the cry in Spain, and especially in Catalonia, has invariably been,—"Protection for our manufactures!" So loud was the clamour, that it might have been imagined millions of mouths were dependent for bread on the fabrication of Spanish calicoes. Now, the Revue des Deux Mondes estimates the total number of hands employed in these much-vaunted cotton manufactures at thirty-one thousand; and even this number we are induced to believe considerably over-estimated, from minute and interesting information on the subject we have recently obtained from an intelligent Spaniard, long resident in Catalonia. And amongst the manufacturers are a number of Frenchmen, and other foreigners; for, in fact, Spaniards have little taste for mechanical occupations, and have too fine a climate not to love the open air. So the "protection," so violently insisted upon, is for this handful of operatives, who make bad calicoes at exorbitant prices; or rather, if the truth be told, it is for the master-manufacturers, most of whom are also master-smugglers.
[14] Ford, p. 26.
[15] "Sigh-born:" I owe the suggestion of this word to an obscure remembrance of a beautiful phrase in Giraldus Cambrensis, viz., suspiriosæ cogitationes.
[16] "Quartering"—this is the technical word and, I presume, derived from the French cartayer, to evade a rut or any obstacle.
[17] "Averted signs."—I read the course and changes of the lady's agony in the succession of her involuntary gestures; but let it be remembered that I read all this from the rear, never once catching the lady's full face, and even her profile imperfectly.
[18] Campo Santo.—It is probable that most of my readers will be acquainted with the history of the Campo Santo at Pisa—composed of earth brought from Jerusalem for a bed of sanctity, as the highest prize which the noble piety of crusaders could ask or imagine. There is another Campo Santo at Naples, formed, however, (I presume,) on the example given by Pisa. Possibly the idea may have been more extensively copied. To readers who are unacquainted with England, or who (being English) are yet unacquainted with the cathedral cities of England, it may be right to mention that the graves within-side the cathedrals often form a flat pavement over which carriages and horses might roll; and perhaps a boyish remembrance of one particular cathedral, across which I had seen passengers walk and burdens carried, may have assisted my dream.
[19] Average price of wheat in London in—
| s. | d. | |
|---|---|---|
| 1838, | 57 | 11 |
| 1839, | 68 | 7 |
| 1840, | 65 | 8 |
| 1841, | 54 | 6 |
| 1842, | 49 | 0 |
| 1843, | 47 | 4 |
| 1844, | 46 | 8 |
| 1845, | 50 | 10 |
[20] Rate of discount of first-class bills at the undermentioned periods:—
| Jan. | Feb. | March. | April. | May. | June. | July. | Aug. | Sept. | Oct. | Nov. | Dec. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1844 | 2-1/4 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 1-3/4 | 2 | 2 | 1-3/4 | 2 | 1-3/4 | 1-3/4 | 1-3/4 |
| Years. | Bank Notes in Circulation Total. | Exports. Official Value. | Imports. Declared Value. | Revenue. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1797 | £10,542,365 | £28,917,010 | £21,013,956 | £19,852,646 |
| 1798 | 13,695,830 | 27,317,087 | 25,122,203 | 30,492,995 |
| 1799 | 12,959,800 | 29,556,637 | 24,066,700 | 35,311,018 |
| 1813 | 23,120,930 | Records destroyed by fire. | 68,302,861 | |
| 1814 | 24,801,000 | 51,358,398 | 32,622,771 | 70,240,313 |
| 1815 | 27,261,651 | 57,420,437 | 31,822,053 | 72,203,142 |
| —Alison's Europe, C. 41, §69. | ||||
[22] In reference to this state of things, the following important evidence was given by the governor and deputy-governor of the Bank of England:—
"You had only £1,600,000 in the banking department for the payment of your liabilities?—Yes.
If anybody had called upon you for anything beyond that million and a half, you must have stopped payment?—Yes, we must.
At the same time, if there had been no separation between the two departments, and the Bank of England had been conducted on its old principle, instead of being within one million and a half of stopping, there would have been very nearly £8,500,000 of treasure in your vaults?—We should have had £8,500,000 in our vaults."—Lords' Report, 1848.
| Imported, month ending— | All kinds of Grain. Qrs. | Flour. Cwt. | Total. | Authority. | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| April 5, 1849, | 1,110,306 | 320,764 | 1,213,888 | London Gazette, | April 20, 1849. |
| Aug. 5, 1849, | 990,270 | 295,667 | 1,088,776 | Ditto, | Aug. 20, 1849. |
| Sept. 5, 1849, | 928,258 | 332,434 | 1,039,269 | Ditto, | Sept. 20, 1849. |
| Oct. 10, 1849, | 1,123,434 | 290,713 | 1,213,640 | Ditto, | Oct. 30, 1849. |
| Viz.— | 19,135,000 arable acres, at £7 each, | £133,945,000 |
| 27,000,000 acres of grass, at £6 each, | 162,000,000 | |
| 15,000,000 do. wastes, | 5,000,000 | |
| £300,945,000 |
—Porter's Progress of the Nation, 158; 2d edition.
[25] In the eight months up to the 5th of September 1849, the quantities of foreign food taken out for home consumption have been—
| Foreign wheat, | 3,387,596 | qrs. |
| Foreign flour, | 2,956,878 | cwt. |
| Foreign barley, | 1,018,858 | qrs. |
| Foreign oats, | 869,077 | " |
| Foreign rye, | 219,810 | " |
| Maize, | 1,735,778 | qrs. |
| Foreign bacon, | 349,727 | cwt. |
| Salted beef, | 119,867 | " |
| Salted pork, | 306,400 | " |
| Eggs, (number) | 73,605,759 |
All these amounts are largely, and the most important of them very largely, in advance of the imports of the first eight months of 1848.
Abstract of grain imported in quarters in seven months of free trade—
| Wheat, | 3,387,596 | qrs. |
| Flour, (2,956,878 cwt.,) | 985,293 | " |
| Barley, | 1,018,858 | " |
| Oats, | 869,077 | " |
| Rye, | 219,810 | qrs. |
| Maize, | 1,735,778 | " |
| In eight months, seven of free trade, | 8,216,412 | qrs. |
[26] Quarters of wheat and wheat-flour imported into Britain from 1807 to 1836, both inclusive:—
| Quarters. | ||
| 1807, | 379,833 | |
| 1808, | — | |
| 1809, | 424,709 | |
| 1810, | 1,491,341 | * |
| 1811, | 238,366 | |
| 1812, | 244,385 | |
| 1813, | 125,559 | |
| 1814, | 681,333 | |
| 1815, | — | |
| 1816, | 227,263 | |
| 1817, | 1,020,949 | * |
| 1818, | 1,593,518 | * |
| 1819, | 1,122,133 | |
| 1820, | 34,274 | |
| 1821, | 2 | |
| 1822, | — | |
| 1823, | 12,137 | |
| 1824, | 15,777 | |
| 1825, | 525,231 | |
| 1826, | 315,892 | |
| 1827, | 772,133 | |
| 1828, | 842,050 | |
| 1829, | 1,364,220 | * |
| 1830, | 1,701,889 | * |
| 1831, | 1,491,631 | |
| 1832, | 325,425 | |
| 1833, | 82,346 | |
| 1834, | 64,653 | |
| 1835, | 28,483 | |
| 1836, | 24,826 | |
| 1837, | 244,087 | |
| 1838, | 1,834,452 | * |
| 1839, | 2,590,734 | * |
| 1840, | 2,389,732 | * |
| *Bad seasons. | ||
| AVERAGE QUARTERS. | ||
|---|---|---|
| 1801 to 1810, | 600,946 | |
| 1811 — 1820, | 458,578 | |
| 1821 — 1830, | 534,292 | |
| 1831 — 1835, | 398,509 | |
| 1836 — 1840, | 1,992,548 | ** |
| **Five bad years in succession. | ||
—Porter's Progress of the Nation, 137, 138, second edition.
[27] Porter's Progress of the Nation, second edition, p. 139.
[28] Take as an example the importation into London, from 24th to 29th September 1849: prices being—wheat, 41s. 9d.; barley. 27s.; oats, 17s. 10d.
| Foreign. Qrs. | British. Qrs. | |
|---|---|---|
| Wheat | 18,023 | All kinds of |
| Barley, | 8,319 | grain. |
| Oats, | 23,408 | 7,129 |
| Beans, | 2,620 | |
| 52,375 | ||
| —Week from Oct. 29 to Nov. 3. | ||
[29] The mortgages of England alone are estimated, by the best authorities, at £400,000,000. Those of Ireland and Scotland are certainly at least half as much more, or £200,000,000. Indeed, out of the rental of £14,000,000 a-year, now in part become nominal in the former country, it is usually reckoned that £10,000,000 go to the holders of mortgages.
[30] Edinburgh Review, October 1848, p. 524.
| British tonnage. | Foreign. | |
|---|---|---|
| British tonnage to British North American colonies, 1846, | 1,076,162 | |
| To United States of America, | 205,123 | 435,399 |
| Total tonnage in British trade to all countries, | 4,294,733 | 1,806,282 |
| Deduct Canadian tonnage, | 1,076,162 | |
| British tonnage after losing Canada, | 3,228,571 | |
| Foreign tonnage after gaining Canada, | 1,076,162 | |
| —Porter's Parliamentary Tables, 1846, p. 52. | 2,882,444 |
The repeal of the Navigation Laws in 1847 gave such an impulse to foreign shipping, that, in the first year after the loss of Canada, the foreign shipping employed in our trade would exceed the British, even supposing we only lost two-thirds of Canadian trade by its independence.