[4] Viz:—
| Agricultural Produce. | Manufactures and Mines. | ||
| 1846. | |||
| 19,135,000 arable acres at £7 each, | £133,945,000 | ||
| 27,000,000 grass and meadow, at £6 each, | 162,000,000 | Exports, | 51,000,000 |
| 15,000,000 waste, | 5,000,000 | Home market, | 133,000,000 |
| Total, | £300,945,000 | £184,000,000 |
—Porter's Progress of the Nation, i. 177.
[5] One of the oldest and wealthiest houses in Glasgow in the West India trade has just failed for £400,000, and in their circular announcing the suspension of their payments they observe:—
"For upwards of half a century we have steadily followed our business of West India merchants, never engaging in speculations of any kind. Our assets chiefly consist of sugar estates in Trinidad and Demerara. These estates are in excellent condition, capable of making large crops; but they have been rendered worse than unprofitable and of no value by acts of Parliament—the worst of which being the Sugar-duty Act of 1846—whereby slave-made sugar was admitted to consumption in this country, on terms which the British colonies are altogether unprepared to compete with. We are, Sir, your most obedient Servants. Eccles, Burnley, & Co."
This is the truth, and nothing but the truth, honestly and manfully spoken. These gentlemen have been as completely spoliated by Act of Parliament as were the estates of the French emigrants by the Convention.
[6] The inquest set on foot by the magistrates of Glasgow in support of their deputation, showed that six railway companies alone connected with that city could, if aided by government, employ for a year workmen as follows:—
| Caledonian Railway Company could employ | 14,000 | men |
| North British do. do. | 8,500 | " |
| Scottish Central, and Scottish Midland Junction do. do. | 3,500 | " |
| Edinburgh and Glasgow do. do. | 2,500 | " |
| Barrhead and Neilston Direct do. do. | 500 | " |
| Glasgow and Ayr, and Dumfries and Carlisle, do. do. | 10,000 | " |
| _______ | ||
| Total labourers | 39,000 |
Embracing, with their dependants, at least 120,000 persons, besides mechanics and others indirectly benefited.
[7] Gil Blas, lib. 2, c. 5.