of the effect of lowering the duties after
the many decisive proofs which already
exist of the utility of such a measure.
In 1745 the tea-duties were reduced from
4s. per lb. to 1s., and 25 per cent ad va-
lorem, and the result was a great increase
in the r venue. In 1745 the duty was
L.145,630: in 1746 it rose to L.243,309,
and in 1748 to L.303,545. In 1787 Mr.
Pitt reduced the duty on wine and spirits
fifty per cent, and the revenue was, not-
withstanding, considerably augmented.
The history of the duties on Coffee is also
of great value. In 1805 they were raised
a third. Their produce fell off an eighth.
In 1808 the duty was reduced from 2s. to
7d. a lb., to the great benefit of the re-
venue. The average annual produce of
the high duties previous to 1808, when
they were lowered, was L.166,000; the
average annual produce of the reduced
duties L.195,000. We say nothing of the
comfort ensured to the people by the re-
duction; but it will be found that the
consumption of coffee increased fourfold.
The glass duties also shew the bad effects
of high taxation. But to return to the
quarter's revenue, the subjoined table,
though short, will ender the subject very
intelligible.

but on Saturday the 5th of January, they rose as high as 887, 89. In the course of a day or two they, however, sunk to 874. This rise is to be attributed to the result of the elections, which have turned out so favourably for Ministers, that they will be stronger in all probability than any Ministry we have ever had. The effect of the taking of the Citadel of Antwerp, and of the retiring of the French troops into their own territory, whereby the chances of the long anticipated European war are much lessened, must also have been considerable. Within the last 18 months, upwards of five millions of 3 per cent reduced, 3 per cent consols, and other securities, have been extinguished by investments in annuities, which operation has tended to make stock scarce, while the favourable aspect of affairs at home and abroad has induced capitalists to invest their money in the stocks; and thus the price has been raised by the additional demand. It is deserving of remark, that the great rise took place when it was generally believed that the deficiency on the quarter's revenue would be from L.300,000 to L.500,000. The foreign stocks also experienced a rise at the same time with

our own.

On the 8th of January, the purchases at the Stock Exchange, on account of the Sinking Fund, recommenced. The sum purchased was very trifling, being L.250 sterling; but as the commencement of a good system, it will likely have a considerable influence on the future price of stocks, for it is not a mere juggle like the Tory Sinking Fund. The surplus revenue of Great Britain and Ireland over the expenditure, for the year ending 10th October 1832, has been certified to be L.467,391, 98. 7d., one-fourth of which will be applied, within the present quarter, to the reduction of the national debt.

IRELAND. The state of Ireland will command the early attention of Parliament. The Repeal of the Union is now loudly demanded by the great majority of her population, in the vain expectation that it will secure prosperity to the country, and relieve it from the taxation by which it is now oppressed. The strength of the feeling in favour of Repeal was never generally known in Britain till the General Election; but the result of it is unequivocal. Seventy-two of the Mem. bers are Protestants, and thirty-three Catholics; fifty-three are new Members, and fifty-two re-elected; forty-two are considered Repealers, thirty-four Whigs, twenty-five Conservatives, and four are designated as doubtful. No expectation can be entertained that the Repeal of the Union will ever be carried in the British Legislature, and therefore Mr. O'Connell

seems desirous of effecting the measure by force. He has formed the project of reviving the Volunteers of 1782, but without arms; for the law does not permit the people to form themselves into military bodies without the sanction of Government. Volunteers without arms are a most anomalous description of force; but when properly organized, and in due time, we doubt not, that arms will not be wanting. Whatever may be the project at present, we have no doubt that a Repeal of the Union would shortly lead to the separation of Britain and Ireland, to the increase of misery in Ireland, and to the degradation of both couatries. degradation and ruin of both countries. As far as we understand, the proposed scheme, the Irish Legislature is to be entirely independent of the British. What is wanted is not a mere local Legislature, to attend to the wants and interests of Ireland, while the affairs which affect the whole nation are to be transacted by the British Parliament, like the General and particular Legislatures of the United States; but a Parliament free and independent, and having no other link to connect it with Britain than the Crown. A single year would not elapse before the most serious dissensions would arise between the British and Irish Parliaments. The question of the proportion of the national debt, would of itself be enough to produce this result. When the British and Irish Exchequers were consolidated, in 1816, the proportion of the debt due by Ireland, was 145 millions; but according to Mr. O'Connell's statement, Ireland is not, at present, in any view liable for more than fifty-seven millions; and he attempts to show that the greater part of that sum has been already paid. Here, therefore, is a grand subject for dispute, for quarrelling, and ultimately for warfare.

Before so loudly agitating the Repeal of the Union, the Irish should consider whether they could provide for the expenses of their Government; for their revenue has hitherto seldom exceeded one half of the expenditure. In 1800, the year before the Union, the net revenue was L.2,895,536, the expenditure L.7,201,231. In 1816, the net revenue was L.5,111,088. the separate expenditure, L.10,871,241, besides four millions more of joint expenditure with Great Britain. But such facts appear to be overlooked by the Repealers. Instead of reducing taxation, the Repeal of the Union must lead to its increase; and Ireland will no longer be able to bestow the large sums she has hitherto done on her charities and hospitals. Were a separation of the countries to take place, which we believe to be the real object of many of the Repealers, we ask the Irish where

they will find a market for their five or six millions worth of agricultural produce, which they annually send to Britain, and what will be the effect on Ireland of the loss of so extensive a market? Britain could obtain agricultural produce cheaper from the Continent than from Ireland; and it is the Union alone which opens to her the British market, while foreigners are excluded.

But when so im.

We deplore much the distracted state of Ireland, and the policy towards her which has been so long followed, and is still persevered in. portant a change has been made in the constitution of parliament, and when the people of Britain sympathize so cordially with the Irish, it should surely be seen whether her wrongs may not be redressed in a constitutional manner, before extreme measures are resorted to. If tithes be not speedily abolished in Ireland, with every degrading regulation to which the Irish nation is at present subjected, it will be impossible to answer the Repeal. ers.

Ire

Nothing is so remarkable as the increasing power of Mr. O'Connell land. Upwards of twenty Irish members owe their seats in the New Parlia ment to his influence; eight or nine of whom are either members of his own family, or closely connected with it. Nor is Ireland ungrateful for his exertions. He has already received in subcriptions about £50,000; and in the year ending 11th March 1832, the sum subscribed to him amounted to £12,242, 4s. 5d.

The reduction of the overgrown Irish Church Establishment will soon occupy the attention of parliament. It is said, the Ministerial plan of Church Reform contemplates the abolition of two Irish Archbishoprics, and the reduction of the revenues of the remaining two to L.6000 a-year each; and that it is intended to abolish eight Irish Bishoprics, and to li mit the revenues of the remaining bishops to £4000 a-year each. In consequence of the resistance to the payment of tithes, the distress of the Irish clergy is extreme. Subscriptions have been raised in England for their support, to which the English clergy and his Majesty's Ministers have contributed liberally.

CONTINENT.

FRANCE. On the 5th of January an important debate took place in the Chamber of Deputies, relative to the Duchess de Berri. It was occasioned by the presenting of the report of the Commission on the petitions which had been presented in favour of her Royal Highness. The opposition insisted that the Duchess should be brought to trial before the Chamber of

Peers; but the Ministers resisted her be-
ing brought to trial at all, on the pretence
that it might occasion disturbances, and
even because there might be difficulty in
procuring evidence to convict her. The
real ground of opposition was probably,
that her conviction might place Louis Phi-
lippe in an awkward situation, whether
he pardoned her Royal Highness, or al-
lowed the sentence to be executed. The
French Ministers have therefore deter-
mined on holding the Duchess de Berri in
custody, and taken on themselves the
whole responsibility of her future dispos-
al. It appeared from what was said by
the Minister for Foreign Affairs, that the
intention of the Government is to confine
the Duchess in a fortress for as long a
period as the public safety may require.

HOLLAND AND BELGIUM.-The Cita-
del of Antwerp capitulated on Sunday the
23d of December, and next day the Dutch
garrison marched out of the Fortress. The
French commenced battering in breach on
the night of the 20th; and the fire having
been vigorously kept up on the 21st and
22d, the breach was practicable on the
morning of the 23d. Chasse therefore
sent a flag of truce to Marshal Gerard,
and after a lengthened negociation, it was
agreed that Chasse and his garrison should
surrender as prisoners of war, be marched
to the rear of the French army, and re-
main there until Forts Lillo and Liefken-
shoek, situated on the Scheldt, some miles
below Antwerp, should be delivered up.
The King of Holland having refused to
deliver
up these forts, Chasse and his gar-
rison, amounting in all to about 5000 men,
were marched to St Omer, Dunkirk, and
other places on the French frontier, and
are there detained as prisoners of war.
The Citadel of Antwerp was taken posses-
sion of by the Belgians. It was found to
have suffered most severely from the fire
of the besiegers; the ground was completely
ploughed up with the shot and shells, the
houses destroyed, and even the casemates
and other bomb proof places were in ruins.
A general order of Marshal Gerard states,
that the number of metres of trenches was
14,000, upwards of eight miles. The loss
on the part of the besiegers was 108 killed,
and 695 wounded; the rounds of ammu-
nition fired by the artillery 63,000, of
which 16,000 were howitzer shells, 15,000
ten inch mortar shells, and the remaining
32,000 round shot, 24 and 16 pounders.
The materiel found in the citadel and forts
amount to 130 pieces, with a large supply
of ammunition and projectiles of every de-
scription. Immediately after the surren-
der of the citadel, the French retired with-
in their own territories; thus rigidly adher-
ing to the terms of the convention with Great
Britain, and affording an evidence of their

good faith, which cannot fail to strengthen the friendly feelings of the two countries, on which the welfare and peace of Europe so much depend. A convention was signed on the 31st December, by Lord Palmerston and Prince Talleyrand, which is now before the King of Holland. The propositions made to his Dutch Majesty are nine

"1. The forts of Lillo and Liefkenshoek to be surrendered to the Belgian troops, within ten days after ratification.

"2. The navigation of the Meuse to be subjected to the same regulations as those recently established for the Rhine.

"3. The navigation of the Scheldt to be entirely free, till the conclusion of a final treaty between Belgium and Holland.

"4. The transit of Belgian merchandize to Germany to be free, with the exception of moderate tolls for support of roads, &c.

5. Impunity for all political offences in Venloo and Luxembourg.

6. Evacuation of Venloo, and the Dutch portion of Luxembourg, by the Belgian troops.

7. Reduction of Dutch army to peace establishment.

"8. Reduction of Belgian army to peace establishment.

"9. Restitution to legal owners of Dutch property confiscated by English and French Governments."

The passage of the Sheldt has, by a decree of the King of Holland, been closed against English and French vessels.

SPAIN. The King still continues in a very infirm state of health, and the Queen acts as regent. On the 31st December, a number of personages of high rank were summoned by the Queen to the palace, when Don Francisco Fernandez del Pino, the Minister of Justice, read a certificate and attestation that the King had in his Chamber that day, in the presence of the Ministers and other personages of distinction, signed a decree, revoking and declaring null and of no effect the decree extorted from him during his illness, derogating from the Pragmatic Sanction of the 29th of March, 1830, relative to the succession to the Throne. The effect of this measure is to abolish the Salic law, and to restore the old Visigothic Law of Spain, whereby females succeeded to the Crown. It will therefore exclude the king's brother, Don Carlos, who is at the head of the apostolical party, and open the succession to the King's daughter, who, being under the influence of the Queen, may be expected to be liberal. M. Zea Bermudez has resigned office. Although a liberal-minded man, he is disliked by the Apostolicals and the Liberals: he is too liberal for one, and not liberal enough for the other.

PORTUGAL. On the 17th December the Constitutionalists made a sortie from Oporto, having crossed the Douro to Villa Nova. The party destroyed the Convent of St. Antonio, which had afforded shelter to the Miguelites, and been a point of great annoyance to the army of Don Pedro. They also succeeded in withdrawing sixty pipes of wine, and a quantity of flour and other provisions. While they were proceeding with these operations, the enemy attacked them with a force of 6000 men, and the Pedroites were forced to retreat with the loss of fifty men, in killed, wounded, and missing. The French General, Solignac, arrived on the 1st ult., and a change in the mode of conducting operations may be expected.

WEST INDIES.

In the report from the Select Committee of the House of Lords on the state of the West India Colonies, there is "An account of the value of the exports and imports of each of the said colonies, estimated in sterling money, together with the number of ships, the tonnage, and total number of men employed, according to the latest return furnished by the Colonial Department (13th April last;") from which it appears "the whole trade of them may be stated, for one year, as follows:

EXPORTS.

IMPORTS.

Value........£8,394,484 Value........ £4,530,908
5,449 Ships.........
562,751 Tons.......

Ships......

Tons.......

Men......... 39,879 Men........

4,458 531,758 39,301

The estimated annual value of the productions of our West India Colonies is thus stated in the report from the Select Committee of the House of Lords in August last, viz. :—

BRITISH COLONIES. Jamaica ..£11,169,661

CEDED COLONIES.
Demerara and

Berbice

629,461

3,980,132 935,782 British Colon. 18,516,510

St Lucia

Nevis...

375,182

Tobago

Virgin Isls.

201,122

Grenada ..

UNITED STATES.

A serious dispute has arisen between the Northern and Southern States, regarding the Tariff. The Legislature of South Carolina determined, on the 24th November, by a large majority, no longer to submit to the authority of the general government; and have declared the tariff, by which the whole foreign commerce of the country is regulated, null; and measures have been taken to support their resistance by force. Rice and cotton are the staple articles of South Carolina, and the country is wholly agricultural, and without manufactures. Most of their articles of clothing are imported, princi pally from England, as well as many of their agricultural implements. By the tariff these articles are charged with a duty of 30 or 40 per cent ad valorem on importation, in order to encourage the manufactures of the Northern States. It was earnestly hoped, from the moderate tone of the President's Message to Congress, when speaking of this unhappy dissention, that it would be accommodated by mutual concessions; but the last accounts are not so favourable. proclamation was issued by the President on the 10th December, which leaves no doubt that force will be resorted to by the General Government of the States, if South Carolina persists in its resistance. It is undoubtedly a great hardship for the Southern States to pay, at an exorbitant rate, for the necessaries of life to support manufactures of the Northern States; an injurious system, for encouraging the but nothing could be so pernicious and deplorable to the cause of liberty throughout the world, as warfare among the United States of America.

We willingly turn from this unfortuEssequibo..£2,238,529 nate dispute, to the able and statesman595,610 like Message of General Jackson to Con516,532 gress. It presents a clear and luminous exposition of the state of the country in all its relations, and forms a striking contrast to the meagre documents called King's Speeches. The Message proves the affairs of the United States to be in the most flourishing condition. The shipping, in the course of the last twelve months, has increased 80,000 tons, and the aggregate of the imports and exports forty millions of dollars. The debt is only seven millions of dollars, while the revenue exceeds thirty; and, in the course of the present year, the debt will probably be wholly discharged. The whole expenditure of the United States, comprising a population of thirteen millions, dispersed over an immense tract of country, is only sixteen and a half mil lions of dollars, a considerably smaller sum than the mere collection of our Revenue annually costs. Such is the differ

THE year has opened under favourable
auspices for commerce and manufactures.
The restrictive system by which the com-
mercial intercourse of nations has been
so much trammelled, is on the wane, and
we everywhere see the dawn of a more
liberal policy. On the 3d January, M.
d'Argout, the French Minister of Trade
and Public Works, in introducing a bill
into the Chamber of Deputies, for a modi-
fication of the duties of customs, expressed
the desire of the French Government to
give the greatest possible freedom to fo-
reign trade, and to relieve it from all
injurious restrictions, by substituting in
some cases duties for prohibitions; and in
other cases, where too high duties existed,
by reducing and modifying them. He pro-
posed specifically to do away at once with
the existing prohibitions against the im-
portation of fine cotton twist, of Cache-
mere shawls, of Russia leather, (cuirs
odorans,) of certain embroideries, and of
watches and watch-works; and also the
prohibition against the import of raw and
thrown silk, and to substitute moderate
duties. He proposed to reduce the bounty
on refined sugar exported, to nearly the
proportionate rate paid on the import of
the Raw Sugars lately the bounty has
been so high as to be the occasion of the
loss of a million sterling to the French
finances, and in consequence has seriously
affected the English refineries, France
having supplied nearly all the ports of the
Mediterranean with refined goods. By
the new arrangement this trade is likely
to be resumed by England. He further
proposes to reduce the present duties on
the importation of live cattle "for the
cheaper nourishment of the people;" and,
adverting to other proposed alleviations,
he concluded by justifying and recom-
mending the reduction of tonnage dues,
which has lately taken place upon British
ships in French ports; and he particu-
larly stated, that this was only the begin-
ning of a series of measures of a similar
nature, which the Government will have
to propose. Combined with the petition
of the Lyons Chamber of Commerce to the
Legislature, in favour of free trade, we
may consider the publication of M. D'Ar-

gout's principles as a great stride in the progress of commercial knowledge and true liberality among our neighbours.

We also learn, from the message of the President of the United States to Congress, that the evils of the restrictive system, by which nations are forced to manufacture inferior articles at a great expense, instead of purchasing articles of superior quality from foreigners, at a cheap rate, are beginning to be clearly perceived in America. The unhappy dispute which has arisen between South Carolina and the General Government of the States, will probably lead to a revision of the tariff, and to a great reduction of the duties on importation.

COTTON MANUFACTURES.-The accounts from the West of England mark a decided improvement in the Cotton Trade. Printing cottons have risen from 7s. 7d. to 8s. 3d.; and as the stocks in the hands of the consumers are low, the demand is brisk. The factories in general are in full employment. At Paisley the weavers, during the whole winter, have been kept in constant employment; and since the preparations for the Spring Trade have commenced, the demand for workmen has increased. India Imitation Trimmings are very brisk, and the prices given to the weavers have advanced above the table. A number of weavers have been engaged for 1600 India Imitation Trimmings, 2 sets, at 1s. 11d. per cover, which is 7d. per cover above the Table price. A respectable manufacturing house have advanced the wages of their sewers 3d. per shawl on the finer qualities. The demand for Quaker shawls has increased. Blue dresses are very flat, but there is a demand for cross borders, and 1400 cotton trimmings. At Perth, although no rise in the price has yet taken place, hands for harnesses are in request by the manufacturers, and by agents for Paisley houses. In the other branches no alteration has taken place, but all hands are employed. The cotton manufacture continues to increase. The reduction of the profits has sharpened the wits of the manufacturers; and men, women, and children, as well as machines, throw off an increasing quan