"The distress of the mercantile interests is become truly alarming, and unless something can speedily be done to relieve them, we fear the evil will go on increasing. One of the most remarkable proofs of the extent of commercial embarrassment is the fact, that at the Stamp Office in London, the weekly receipts for stamps (exclusive of Newspaper stamps) have been 12,000l. less than they were two months ago. A more conclusive illustration than this cannot be offered. The fact has been communicated to us from an authority which we consider to be unquestionable." Macclesfield Herald.*

had less to bear, but because these generally considered that 6s. will be. have been less able to bear it."-the extent-of course, a great deal Free Press. of this calculation must be founded "That most classes of the com- on surmise. We have been informmunity should be, in some degree, ed, from very good authority, that the affected by the unprecedented embar-debts owing by the firm (amount to rassments now experienced must be about $30,000l."-Dev. Freeholder. expected, but it is melancholy to observe the effect it produces on the working classes at this season of the year. The demand for manufactures decreases, and the manufacturers are obliged to turn off a number of their men who cannot elsewhere meet with employment. These effects, occasioned by the general state of the country, and the system of overtrading, are in some cases ascribed to the approaching admission of foreign manufactures; but the manufacturers, by raising this outcry against the competition of foreign goods, show great want of tact in depreciating their own commodities, and would be uncommonly annoyed if they were to be really believed. That the proposed measures have produced some stagnation in particular branches of trade must be ad-respected, and hitherto considered mitted; though the particular de- an opulent man; but the late enorpression of those manufactures has mous depreciation in mercantile probeen caused by the alarms of the perty has beer beyond what he could manufacturers themselves. We trust sustain. His debts in this town, that the present general distress will where he has wealthy and highly be but temporary, and that in the respectable relatives, are considercourse of two or three months, be-able, but not very heavy.”—Manch. fore which time the extent of the Guar. late commotion will be known, the opening Spring will be attended with brighter prospects."-- Birmingham Journal.

"We regret to notice that an im portant failure is stated to have taken place in Liverpool. The individual referred to has always been highly

"A gentleman noticed two children in Heckmondwicke, last week, actually eating from a pig's trough, and carrying away what they could not eat, to relieve the cravings of nature when hunger returned. Many fami lies in that place were said to be starving for want of food."—Leeds Patriot.

"The partners of the late firm, Messrs. Sir W. Elford, Tingcombe, and John Were Clark, must, we hear, surrender and make their appearance before the Commissioners, at the third meeting of the Creditors, to be holden at the Royal Hotel, on the The last paragraph is worthy 4th February next. Many rumours of your particular attention. are in circulation as to the probable Oh! the roast beef of Old amount (which will be paid in the pound; it was, in an early stage of the bankruptcy, imagined that upwards of 10s. would be realised from the assets of the estate, but it is now

England!" will occur to you, as you read it. It is no bad specimen of the scale of living of a large part of the English people;

and this is going on, observe, at (advantage; of getting things for the same time that there are half their worth, and of devouring twenty or thirty thousand elegant all around them. This sect, in new houses building for the use of England, never WORK. Only the Jews and Jobbers, in the think of there being a “religion," environs of this enormous and de- or rather, a thing called a relivouring wen; a country so splen-gion, serving as the bond of union did in appearance, with a people so of a whole sect, not one of whom truly miserable, was never before ever does any work! You always seen in the world. Nothing short see them as clean as a new pin, of universal famine and death and their backs as straight as a amongst the labouring classes can gun stick. They are worse than exceed that which they now have the Jews; for these devils do work to endure. sometimes. They carry oranges about the streets; and their reli

Such are the effects of loans, of funds and of paper-money.gion, or rather their particular How should there be other effects species of blasphemy, requires arise from a system, which in its them to slaughter their own meat, very nature takes the dinner from and to cook it; but the Quakers the poor man and gives it to the do not do even these things. The rich; takes away his clothing, his people of other religions are their bedding, his fuel, makes him a menials and their slaves, and they slave ten thousand times more have been, for a long time, living miserable than the slaves in Ja-upon the sweat and blood of the maica. This system has enabled rest of the community. While that sly, sleek, meek, money-get- their "religion" forbids them to ting tribe, the Quakers, to suck wield a sword or to pull a trigger, up no small part of the earnings though the country in which they of the people. Nothing can be fatten be invaded by a foreign more striking than the effects of enemy. this system with regard to the Quakers. Its tendency is to draw money into great masses; to create middle men, who hand the produce of the earth about from one to the other; in such a way as to give a profit upon a bushel of wheat to seven or eight of them, before that bushel of wheat gets from the farmer to the consumer. This cunning sect form a large portion of these middle men. In addition to this, they form a considerable portion of the money-head. Such a reflection upon the makers; by which they not only church; such a scandalous proget double interest for any real position, never could have been money that they may have, but the offspring of his own mind. they also obtain the means of dealing to the greatest possible

Would you believe, that Mr. BROUGHAM, as if this cunning sect were not already sufficiently indulged, proposed, some time ago, to pass a law to make their affirmations, as they call them, equal to other men's oaths, even in cases of life and death! Was there ever impudence equal to this heard of in this world before? Some of the sect must have moved him to do this, he never would have volunteered it of his own

This is the cunningest crew that ever existed. All their pro

that economy, that order, that simplicity of manners, which are so excellent, when applied to good purposes, become so many sources of extraordinary mischief when applied to bad purposes. A sober thief; a regular living thief, is a great deal more dangerous than a

fessions of meekness; their dress; | men wholly different from those their yea and nay phraseology; that belonged to agriculture. their abhorrence of bloodshed; The truth is, that that sobriety, their scrupulousness about paying tithes; these are all bottomed in the most profound, the most studied and deep dissimulation. All men of sense know this very well; and the Government knows it, as well as other men. The Government cannot like a sect because it objects to tithes; and drunken and disorderly thief. because it will not fight, even in case of invasion. This the sly sect knows very well, too. But, the sect has something that makes up for all demerits, namely, its principle of passive obedience and non-resistance. The sect will obey any thing that has power. It cares not what it is, nor who it is. It has no regard for country. It will be a slave if you like; but it will be a fat slave, à favourite slave. This is what makes the sect a favourite with governments; and it has been indulged here, till it has, at last, been one of the great agents of producing the present unparalleled distress and misery. It shuns all office; it will have no responsibility; it seeks never to be named in public except in works of cant; its desire is, and it has succeeded thus far, in working along silently, living in ease and plenty, and accumulating masses of property, at the expense of the rest of the community.

However, in England, the sect, taken as a whole, is a very different thing to what it is in America. There, it takes its share of the various labours of the country, along with other men. Here it performs no labour at all. It seems to have taken its “affirmation" never to work; and, in all deep contrivances for the making of money, for the taking of advantage of the unwary, it surpasses even the Jews. It well knows all the mischiefs of papermoney; but it well knows all the gains attending it; and amongst those who have been turned up in the "late panic," this sly sect make a most conspicuous figure. "Late panic was what even they did not foresee; and I verily believe, that the destruction of the paper-money system will go very far towards the breaking up of this sect, at which I shall rejoice exceedingly.

"Come, come!" you will say, "is not ISAAC WRIGHT at the I may be told, that I formerly bottom of all this?" Not at the had very different notions with bottom of all of it, my friend. regard to this sect. In the first But, suppose I say yes? Have I place, my acquaintance amongst not a right to judge in that way? them began amongst such as were Have I not a right to conclude farmers and labourers; and you that the whole sect is bad, upon know very well, that the mercan- that very ground, and no other? tile Quakers in America were If a serpent sting me, and I lose always looked upon as a class of my arm, am I not justified in de

testing all serpents? No, no! told me that he answered him This does not apply to other sects, (and I am sure he did), that, if as it applies to this. Recollect, that were a justification of his this sect possesses the power of conduct, no breach of faith would expelling its members. It exer- ever stand in need of a justificacises a supervising power, as to tion. The villain would give no the conduct of every one of its answer, either verbal or written, members, mark that I beseech to my remonstrances on the subyou; for, it is the existence and ject; but his son, in answer to exercise of that very power, the representations of my son, which has done more than any who pleaded the cruel disappointthing else, to give the sect a cha- ment to his mother and sisters; racter for purity. It owes its in answer to this pleading, the character for integrity and purity sleek and sly young caitiff coolly to the none existence of this very observed: "Father is very sorry; power. "Oh!" say people, "if" but, thou seest, friend COBBETT, a Quaker do any thing wrong he" that father would have lost two "is disowned, he is read out of or three passengers, if he had "meeting; therefore, we have let friend COBBETT go in the "security for the good behaviour "ship." "of the Quaker." Now, then, This is the case. Every part how stands my case with ISAAC of this case was notorious at New WRIGHT? He had a packet- York. Every Quaker knew it, and ship, in which people took places several did reprobate WRIGHT'S to come to England. I took my conduct. But, there the sly, slateplace of him, in person, and faced reptile still is, not disowned, agreed for the sum; he found the not read out, for this infamous act. next day, that the English Consul Every fact relating to the case was would not give him a letter of stated at the time, and in print. health, and that he should lose There were witnesses in abun some other passengers, if he took dance at New York; but the hypome; therefore, when I tendered critical banditti which disown a him the money, which I did before poor man for a mere trifle; for witnesses, he would not take it, marrying anybody but a Quaand refused to let me come in his keress; for uttering a swearing ship, though the season was get-expression; that banditti, who ting late, and though he well have no remorse when they blast knew that my wife and family ex- a young woman's character for pected me by that ship. And, ever, for faults, which, though what was his defence of his con- they be faults, ought always to be duct? Why, he told Doctor chastised in mercy; this cunning TAYLOR, who is at New York now, banditti has held, since that time, and to whom I appeal for the five annual meetings in New York, truth of what I say; he told Doc- and this slate-faced vagabond is tor TAYLOR that he broke his still a member of their society. agreement with me, because if he That society is, as is well known, a had not broken it, he would have branch of the one general society, lost more than he would have got the trunk of which is in England. by my passage. Doctor TAYLOR It is well known, that annual re

ports go from all the branches to alone, renders you of any more the trunk, and therefore the whole consequence in our eyes than the of this affiliated gang is responsible to me.

straggling tribes of Africa. We, here, are a very compact body. Now, then, have I not a clear The paper-money may produce right to assail the whole of this tremendous shocks: it may procombination? How are evils of duce (though I trust it will not be this sort to be corrected, if you suffered to produce) a revolution deny me this right? But, after all, in the State; but, with you, it will what has this to do with the work-destroy the State. It will split ings of the sect in England? Can you up, it will produce a parcel any man say that I have over- of wrangling republics, formidcharged the picture which I have able to nobody but to one another. given of that sect? My having formerly entertained a different

Most sincerely wishing all of

opinion of Quakers in general, you health and happiness,

may be ascribed to my want of judgment, and a want of reflection, want of experience; it may even be ascribed to fickleness, to caprice, nay, to interested mo

I remain,

Your faithful friend and
Most obedient servant,
WM. COBBETT.

tives, if you please; but it can, in SIR THOS. BEEVOR, BART.

no way, tend to lessen the weight of the observations which I have now made, with regard to the operations of that cunning sect in England, which sect, I repeat, has contributed very largely to wards the present distresses and misery of this country.

So much for the Quakers; and now, I conclude with expressing to you my opinion, that, if your Country persevere in its papermoney system, many years will not pass over your heads without your tasting of its bitter fruits. The English Ministers are not, I suppose, quite mad enough to see you building such parcels of ships of war, without feeling some degree of uneasiness; and, as if for the purpose of comforting Englishmen, you seem to be irretrievably involved in a system of paper-money, which, if it be persevered in for some few years longer, will, to a certainty, break to pieces that union, which, and which

London, 12th Jan. 1826.

TO THE PUBLIC.

HAVING addressed the public, some days ago, on the subject of a subscription for the purpose of raising a sum of money, necessary to defray the expenses of an endeavour to place Mr. Cobbett in Parliament; and having, at the same time, intimated my intention of appointing a day for the friends of the undertaking to meet me in London, for the purpose of agreeing on the mode of proceeding in conducting the subscription, and in the execution of the object of it; I have now the honour to invite those gentlemen, who are disposed to seeond my views, to meet me, at the FREEMASON'S TAVERN, Great Queen-street, Lincoln's Inn Fields, at one o'clock in the day, of Wednesday, the eighth of February.

I have received letters of en