POLAND.

Correspondence with Prince Talleyrand respecting Poland, 1831.

ON the 20th July, 1831, Viscount Palmerston received from Prince Talleyrand a note communicating a despatch from General Count Sebastiani, relative to the state of Poland, asking England's co-operation on behalf of Poland. But on the 22nd, Viscount Palmerston answered that, if there was any probability that the Emperor of Russia would avail himself of the good offices of the two Courts, and that their intervention would lead to an accommodation, his Majesty would willingly co-operate in a friendly endeavour to restore peace between Russia and Poland. But there were too many reasons for fearing that a simple offer of mediation, so far from being desired by his Imperial Majesty, would, at that moment, certainly be refused; that such a proceeding, however conciliatory in form, could not fail to alarm an independent Power naturally jealous of its rights, and sensibly alive to everything which might appear to affect its national honour: and that for these reasons his Majesty felt himself under the necessity of declining the proposal which the Prince de Talleyrand had been instructed

to convey.

FORAGE.

A detailed Explanation of the Estimates for Forage, Fuel, and Light in the United Kingdom. (Mr. Alderman Copeland.) 9th April, 1861. (135.) THE forage for 15,714 horses cost altogether 436,7081., the average cost of ration in Great Britain being 19d. in Great Britain, and 16'4d. in Ireland. The fuel and light was estimated at 172,390l.: viz. 86,240l. for barracks in Great Britain, 21,5821. for barracks in Aldershot, and 34,4681. for barracks in Ireland; besides 1,600l. for occasional camps, 23,500l. for gas, and 5,000l. for firewood.

MOROCCO LOAN.

Convention between her Majesty and the Emperor of Morocco relative to a Loan to be raised in London, by the Emperor, signed on October 24, 1861. ART. I.-His Majesty the Emperor of Morocco engages that from and after the ratification of the present convention there shall be paid over to a commissioner named by her Britannic Majesty 50 per cent. of the custom duties at all the ports of the empire of Morocco. Her Britannic Majesty, on her part, engages that six weeks before the period at which the halfyearly charges on the loan of 426,000l. sterling, which the Emperor of Morocco is about to raise, shall become due, she will transfer to the agent or agents of the contractors for that loan the sums so to be received by the commissioner of her Majesty, or so much thereof as may be sufficient to pay the interest and sinking fund on the said loan, the amount of such sums not exceeding in the aggregate 15 per cent. on the above-mentioned sum of 426,000l. sterling. But her Britannic Majesty shall not be liable for the payment of more than she receives. In case the sums received should be more

than sufficient for such half-yearly payments, the surplus shall be repaid by the British commissioner to the officers of the Emperor of Morocco, duly authorized to receive the same.

Art. II.-When, by means of the payments provided for in the preceding Article, the whole of the loan of 426,000l. sterling shall have been repaid, together with the interest due thereon, the commissioner of her Britannic Majesty shall cease to receive the 50 per cent. of the custom duties at the ports above-mentioned, and shall repay to the said officers of the Emperor of Morocco any balance that may be remaining in his hands.

FORTIFICATIONS.

Account of the Moneys raised and issued and the Amounts remaining to be raised and issued on Account of the Expenses of Fortifications, and the Amount of Annuities created in respect of the Moneys so raised to the 31st July, 1861. (48.)

THE amount raised up to the 31st July, 1861, was 360,000%, and the value of annuities raised 22,8201. The money issued and applied for fortifications was 150,000l.; the amount remaining to be raised of the sum of 2,000,000l. authorized was 1,640,000l., and the amount remaining to be issued or applied of the said sum 1,850,000l.

ARMY AND MILITIA.

Returns of the Average Number of Effectives on the British Establishment from 1st April, 1860, to 31st March, 1861. (General Peel.) 16th April, 1861. (166.)

THE average number of effectives, including the staff and embodied militia, from the 1st April, 1860, to the 31st March, 1861, was 149,082; the average number of effectives on the Indian establishment was 86,732. On the 1st April, 1861, the number of effectives on the British establishment was 145,862, and on the Indian establishment 82,200; of embodied militia, none.

NAVY STEAM AND SAILING SHIPS.

Return of her Majesty's Steam and Sailing Ships afloat, building, and converting, on the 1st of February, 1861. (Lord Clarence Paget.) 19th February, 1861. (45.)

ON the 1st of February, 1861, there were of ships of the line, 53 afloat, and 14 building or converting. Total, steam, 67; sailing, 10: total, 77. Frigates, 40 afloat, 12 building; total, 52 steam and 17 sailing: total 69. Block ships, 9 iron-cased ships; 1 afloat, and 6 building. Corvettes, 19 afloat and 4 building. Sloops, steam, 93 afloat and 14 building, and sailing, 18; total, 125; small vessels, 25; gun vessels, 195; floating batteries, 8; transports, 66; mortar ships, 4; mortar vessels and floats, 83: total steam vessels afloat, 505; building, 57: total, 562; sailing, 129: total, 688.

COPPER.

A Return of all Exports and Imports of Copper and Copper Ore and Regulus, Tin and Tin Ore, Lead and Lead Ore, and Spelter for twelve months to the 31st December, 1860. (Mr. Davey.) 10th May, 1861. (235.)

THE quantity of copper imported into the United Kingdom in 1860 was 76,285 tons of ore, 21,032 tons of regulus, 4,070 tons of unwrought copper in bricks and pigs, rose copper, and all cast copper; 896 tons of old copper fit only for re-manufacturing; 7,683 tons of part wrought copper, viz., bars, rods, and ingots hammered or raised; 447 tons of plates and coin, and 915 tons of copper manufactures and copper plates engraved. The greater part of the copper ore and regulus came from Chili and Cuba. The British copper exported was 26,116 tons, of which 8,909 tons were sent to British India, 5,080 tons to France, 1,688 tons to Holland. From the Port of London alone there were exported 13,999 tons, from the Port of Liverpool 7,825 tons, and from the Port of Swansea 3,114 tons. The quantity of tin imported was 2,911 tons of tin and 674 tons of tin ore, the tin principally from British India, Singapore, and Holland, and the ore principally from Peru, Victoria, Australia, and France. The tin exported was 2,740 tons British, and 508 tons of foreign, principally to France, Russia, Turkey, United States, Italy, and Spain. There were imported 23,481 tons of zinc, or spelter, 4,386 tons of lapis calaminaris, and 935 tons of oxide of zinc; and exported 5,271 tons of British, and 4,211 tons of foreign zinc or spelter, and 79 tons of oxide of zinc, foreign. Of lead and lead ore there were imported 22,171 tons of lead, pig and sheet, 811 tons of lead ore, 2 tons of read lead, 163 tons of white lead, and 5 tons of chromate of lead. The lead was principally imported from Spain. In 1860 there were exported 123 tons of lead ore, 21,986 tons of pig and rolled lead, 1,811 tons of shot, 543 tons of litharge, 2,455 tons of red lead, and 2,813 tons of white lead. The British lead and lead ore were principally sent to China, Russia, and the United States of America.

EXCHEQUER.

An Account of all Monies during the year ended 31st March, 1861, to the Account of her Majesty's Exchequer at the Bank of England and of Ireland under the respective Heads of Public Revenue; the Amount of all Royal Orders and Treasury Warrants received, and of the Credits and Transfers made by the Comptroller of the Exchequer; the Payments by the Bank of England and the balance remaining to the Account of the Exchequer at each Bank on the 3rd March, 1861. (88.)

THE receipts were as follows:-Exchequer balances, on the 31st March, 1860, 7,983,360l. 128. 10d.; consolidated funds, &c., 80,994,765l. 12s. 9d.: total, 88,978,126l. 58. 7d. The Exchequer credits at the Bank of England, and transfers at the Bank of Ireland, amounted to 84,302,8067. 78. 4d. The balance of credit at the Bank of England on the 31st March, 1860, was 1,501,420l. 188. 2d. The payments by the Bank of England,

76,574,3271. 138. 5d. The balance of credit at the Bank of England on the 31st March, 1861, 756,3277. 138. The balance of income at the Bank of England on 31st March, 1861, 5,326,346l. Os. 11d., and at the Bank of Ireland on the same date, 1,348,973. 178. 4d. The balance at the Bank of England on the 30th March, 1861, was-balance of income, 5,326,346l. 08. 11d.; balance of credit 756,327. 138.: total, 6,082,673l. 138. 11d.

LACE MANUFACTURE.

Report upon the Expedience of subjecting the Lace Manufacture to the Regulations of the Factory Acts.

The

ACCORDING to the most recent available returns there were in 1851, 3,200 machines at work in the English lace trade, employing 2,965,45l. of capital and 135,015 hands, and in 1856, there were 3,500 machines, upon which the total returns amount to 4,040,000l., composed of raw material 980,000l.; wages, interest, wear and tear, and profits, 3,060,000l. number of hands employed was about the same as in 1851. The inspector reported that the work was often kept going up to the hours of nine, ten, eleven and twelve, at night, and that youths from 15 to 18 were employed in the machines working the usual "shifts" with the men, the shifts beginning at 5 A.M. and ending at 10 P.M. and ofter 12 at night. After describing the opinions of both the advocates and the opponents of legislation, the inspector recommended as follows:

That from and after the 1st of August, 1862, the Factory Acts should be applied to the lace manufacture, subject to the following exceptions:

I. That youths above the age of 16 should be permitted to work between the hours of 4 A.M. and 10 P.M., but not more than nine hours within those hours.

II. That the provisions of the Factory Acts in regard to requiring machinery to be fenced off should not extend to the lace manufacture.

The reasons for the first recommendation are the following:

1. Unless some concession is made by which any threading that may be required to be done after factory hours can be done without a violation of the Act, the Act will be extensively evaded.

2. The above mode of meeting that difficulty is simpler than any of the others that have been suggested, and more easy to be enforced by inspection. 3. It avoids the necessity of imposing so heavy a burden upon the whole trade as that of providing extra sets of bobbins and carriages, which would involve an estimated outlay of from 130,000l. to 175,000l. in order to a compliance with the strict requirements of the Factory Act.

4. It would only require that an extra set of bobbins should be provided for those machines which have not an extra set already, which would necessitate an outlay of probably not more than one-third of the above sums Of the 4,000 machines in the trade, it has been seen that it is admitted that nearly all those in the fancy trade, about one-half of the whole, have already double sets of bobbins; and that a very large proportion of those in the plain net trade have them also, the machines in Derbyshire and West of England being principally plain net machines; and many of the same kind

It is

in Nottingham and its neighbourhood having double sets also. acknowledged that the plain net trade is the one which could best afford any additional outlay, the trade in that branch being generally most regular, and the machines belonging, as a general rule, to persons of capital. Whenever a machine has two sets of bobbins, one set could, with exceptions too slight to be taken into account, always be wound within factory hours. There would remain, therefore, the process of threading for any machines whose pieces "came off," after factory hours. Among the staff of threaders there could be no difficulty in the way of having a few above 16 years of age; that being the age between which and 17 or 18 there are now many youths still at work as threaders, waiting in expectation of being promoted to learn the work of managing a machine as soon as an opportunity offers. If the machines are going 18 hours a day (the most common average) there would be a far greater probability of the pieces coming off the machines in the 12 hours before 6 P.M. than in the four hours between 6 P.M. and 10 P.M., and it would seldom happen that any inconvenience would arise it one or more youths above 16 were on the spot between 6 and 10 P.M. to be ready as threaders, when their services were expected to be required within those hours. The process of taking the empty bobbins from the carriages and putting the full ones in, and the subsequent process of threading, would be a comparatively short one, and the machine would then be "got on " again with but little delay.

5. No hardship would result to the youths themselves from this liability to be employed for nine hours a day, between the hours of 4 A.M. and 10 P.M. According to the custom of the trade the threaders, even without any legislative regulations, very seldom attend at the factory before 5 or 6 A.M.; they come most commonly at 6, and very often are not required before 7; and are very seldom actually at work more than seven or eight hours during the whole four and twenty; also their work is performed sitting, and is of the lightest kind. But to prevent, by legislation, the employment of youths of that age within the hours specified (i.e. between 4 A.M. and 10 P.M.) would, at times of brisk trade, or when there were large orders for work from particular machines, often so impede the work of the machines as to supply a strong temptation to the owner to evade the act altogether, which he would be able to do with very great facility.

6. It is argued that the strict application of the Factory Acts would be desirable in the interest of the lace manufacture itself, if it could be made to produce the effect of reducing the working hours of the machines; as it is contended that over-production and consequent losses result from the general habit of keeping the machines going, when there are orders, 18, 20, and in some instances the whole 24 hours. But the answer to this argument is that this is a matter, not for legislation, but for the judgment of those engaged in the trade (334); and that even if it were, the facilities of evading an act, which upon this point would be felt to be burdensome to the trade, are so great, that no measure that did not meet as far as possible the requirements of employers would be successful.

7. The power of employing youths above 16 between the hours specified is not open to the objections on the grounds of morality, which are now urged against their liability to be employed at all hours of the night. In consequence of their present practice, no parent can, without personal inquiries at the factory, know whether the excuse for being absent from home at any hour of the day or night is real or not. Practically, therefore,