BLACKWOOD AND COPYRIGHT IN AMERICA.

In connexion with an article in this Number from our able American contributor, it may be interesting to the readers of Maga to be informed of her precise position at present on the other side of the Atlantic, where she is figuring as the champion of the rights of authors, and the leader of an important revolution in literature.

Whether we consider the claims of literary men to the property of their works as founded on inherent right, to be controlled only by the superior good of the community,—or as supported by a mixture of moral and equitable considerations, having reference to the reward and encouragement of learning and talent, it is undeniable that, without some protection of this kind, the fairer and better productions of literature will fail, and their place be occupied by a rank and unwholesome growth, offensive to the senses and noxious to social life. Even the selfish and short-sighted policy of our American brethren, which, in extending the privilege of copyright to their own countrymen, has denied it to foreigners, is found to operate in the most prejudicial manner upon their native literature; as no American publisher is likely to pay its due price for any composition of domestic genius, when he can please his customers and fill his pocket by reprinting, without any remuneration to the author, the most successful productions of the British press. The repression of such a system of piracy in America, would benefit alike the foreigner, whose copyright is thus pilfered, and the American man of letters whose talent is borne down by so disadvantageous a competition.

The publishers of the Magazine had for many years been aware that a cheap American reprint of the work was in regular circulation to a very large extent and they were naturally desirous to put an end to such an injustice.[56]While they were turning their attention tothe subject, they received in the early part of the past year, a communication from an American gentleman, suggesting as an effectual means of redress, the insertion in the Magazine, from time to time, of an article from a native or naturalised citizen of the United States, who should establish a copyright in his own person, or that of an assignee, and thus either protect the whole work or compel the publishers of the pirated edition to reprint it in an imperfect form, such as would materially check their success, and, in either way, break up the system.

The tone and talent of this communication seemed to the publishers to recommend their correspondent as himself well qualified to lead the way in this most righteous enterprise, and the result was, the appearance in the October number of the article "Maga in America," which has been highly relished on both sides of the Atlantic. Of this article a proof was despatched to Mr Jay, a solicitor of eminence in New York, who, with the utmost promptitude, registered the copyright in his own name, and, presenting himself to Messrs Scott, the reprinters, inquired if they were about to publish the Magazine, as usual, that month, as he thought it right to inform them that, by so doing, they would be placed in a delicate position. On hearing an explanation, Messrs Scott were considerably taken aback, and, although unwilling to acknowledge that the game was up, they seemed to have a painful consciousness that such was the case. The negotiation terminated in the meantime, in their agreeing, after various letters, and not a little conversation, to pay a sum as copyright, before they issued the October number, and a like amount for each succeeding number, until a further arrangement were made. It would have been very easy for the proprietors to have brought the reprinters under heavy responsibilities, by giving them no hint of their movements, and allowing the October number to be published as usual, when Messrs Scott would have become liable to a severe penalty for every copy sold. This was not done, as no blame is attached personally to Messrs Scott, who have merely acted under a bad system, in which any one publisher might think himself free to seize all advantage which was open to all.

This movement has been most cordially welcomed by the American press, and it will be a source of great pleasure and pride to the Messrs Blackwood, if the step they have taken should in any degree, however humble, assist in establishing, an international copyright, which alone can effectually check a system of reprinting which is ruinous to American authors, and only very moderately profitable to American publishers, who are compelled, by the fear of rival reprints, to sell at a price which leaves a narrow margin of profit, even with no expense but paper and print. They are also in their turn afflicted with a host of smaller weekly pirates, who select the best, or at least the most attractive articles from all the periodicals, and serve them up in a cheap form, not without seasoning sometimes of a very questionable character both in taste and in morals.

The more operose contemporaries of Maga will learn with some surprise—whether pleasant or painful, it would be presumptuous to say—that the buoyancy of her contents seems to be used to float off a few hundred copies of their ponderous productions, which might otherwise be stranded without help or hope. It appears that subscribers are obtained to no less than four quarterly publications, by the inducement that, on such condition, they will receiveBlackwoodat two-thirds of the price.

Edinburgh, January 1, 1848.

Printed by William Blackwood and Sons, Edinburgh.

FOOTNOTES:[1]Wealth of Nations, vol. ii. b. iv. c. ii. p. 195.[2]Table showing the British and Foreign tonnage with Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Prussia since the Reciprocity treaties with these powers in 1821.Sweden.Norway.Denmark.Prussia.BritishTonnageForeignTonnageBritishTonnageForeignTonnageBritishTonnageForeignTonnageBritishTonnageForeignTonnage182123,0058,50813,85561,3425,3123,96979,59037,720182220,79913,69213,37787,9747,0963,910102,84758,270182320,98622,52913,122117,0154,4134,79581,20256,013182417,07440,09211,419135,2726,73823,68994,664151,621182515,90653,14114,825157,91015,15850,943189,214182,752182611,82916,93915,60390,72622,00056,544119,060120,58918377,60842,6021,03588,0045,35755,96167,566145,742183810,42538,9911,364110,8173,46657,55486,734175,64318398,35949,2702,582109,2285,535106,960111,470229,208184011,93353,3373,166114,2416,327103,067112,709237,984184113,17046,795977113,0253,36883,00988,198210,254184215,29637,2181,38598,9795,49959,83787,202145,499—Porter'sParl. Tables, vols. i. to xii., p. 50 each vol.[3]Dumas, viii. 112; Mackenzie'sSt Domingo, i. 312.[4]"Of the progressive decline in the powers of production of the West India possessions generally, some idea may be formed from what has been observed in Jamaica; for though that island labours under some peculiar disadvantages, that fact merely increases the force of the argument which is derived from its past experience:—Average of the five years ending 1807—last of the slave trade,£3,852,624Average of the five years ending 1815—date of the Registry Act,3,588,903Average of the five years ending 1823—date of Canning's Resolution,3,192,637Average of the five years ending 1833—last five of slavery,2,791,478Average of the five years ending 1843—first five of freedom,1,213,284"The House of Assembly, from whose memorial to the government (June 1847) we borrow these facts, makes the following remarks on this instructive table:—"'Up to 1807 the exports of Jamaica progressively rose as cultivation was extended. From that date they have been gradually sinking; but we more especially entreat attention to the evidence here adduced of the effects of emancipation, which, in ten years, reduced the annual value of the three principal staples from £2,791,478 to £1,213,284, being in the proportion of seven to sixteen, or equal, at five per cent., to an investment of about thirty-two millions of property annihilated. We believe the history of the world would be in vain searched for any parallel case of oppression perpetrated by a civilised government upon any section of its own subjects.'"[5]Exports To British West India Colonies:—1827,£3,583,2221840,3,574,9701828,3,289,7041841,2,504,0041829,3,612,0851842,2,591,425—Porter'sParl. Tables, xii, 114.[6]Buxtonon the Slave Trade, 172.[7]For a few days during the panic consequent on the Mutiny at the Nore, the 3 per cents were at 45, but they soon rose and ranged from 55 to 58. The interest of money never exceeded 5per cent., and indeed it could not, as the usury laws were then in operation. The issue of one pound notes in sufficient numbers by the Bank of England, after February 1797, soon relieved the distress, extinguished the panic, and brought us triumphantly through the war. The following are the rates of interest and amount of bullion in the Bank of England for thirty years past, which shows how little low interest has to do with the plentiful stores of the precious metals:—Bullion.Rate of Discount.1815.—28thFebruary£2,037,000Five per cent.1816.—29thFebruary4,641,000Five per cent.1820.—29thFebruary4,911,000Five per cent.1826.—28thFebruary2,460,000Five per cent.1832.—29thFebruary5,293,000Four per cent.1837.—28thFebruary4,077,000Five per cent.1839.—October2,522,000Six per cent.1840.—25thFebruary4,311,000Five per cent.1847.—13thNovember9,258,520Eight per cent.min.The rate of eight per cent. has not been charged by the Bank of England before for upwards of a century and a quarter.[8]Report of the Glasgow Poor Inspector, 28th November, 1847.[9]Mr Newdegate's Speech in Parliament, December 2, 1847.[10]To October 10 in each Year.1845.1846.1847.Machinery,£644,839£897,442£942,533Iron and steel,2,854,0483,374,3354,096,367£3,498,887£4,271,777£5,038,900[11]Agricultural Produce imported from January 5 to October 10.1845.1846.1847.Live animals,19,59385,542172,355Provisions, beef, pork, &c. cwts.,109,550206,455403,877Butter, cwts.,189,056177,165243,140Cheese, do.,183,891216,191243,601Grain in quarters,1,336,7392,635,2187,905,419Grain in flour and meal, cwts.,394,9082,631,3417,900,880The grain imported in nine months measured in quarters will stand thus:—In quarters,7,905,419In flour and meal, cwts.,2,650,263In nine months, quarters,10,555,682The greatest import in any one year before was in 1841, when it was 4,772,641 quarters.[12]The sum invested in railways from 1841 to 1845, was £154,716,937; of which £114,513,035 was subscribed capital, and £46,203,902 authorised to be borrowed. SeeParl. Returns, Nos. 159, 1844; and 637, 1845. Since that time it has at least risen to £200,000,000, of whichhalfmay be considered productive.[13]SeeParl. Debates, xxviii. 66, 67.[14]Viz.England,£85,000,000Scotland, about5,000,000Ireland,16,000,000£105,000,000[15]Lords' Report on Real Property, pp. 8, 9. In our last Number we stated the amount of heritable property at £63,000,000, from a desire to be within rather than beyond the truth. But the latter figure was taken from the Poors' Rate return, which, as the Lords' Report justly states, is always below the truth; and their own report of £85,000,000 is taken from the rating for the property tax, founded on the returns by the occupants.—SeeLords' Report on Real Property, p. ix.[16]Rate of Discount of First-Class Bills at the undermentioned periods.Jan.Feb.March.April.May.June.July.Aug.Sept.Oct.Nov.Dec.1824—3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½1825—3½3½3½3½3½444444½4½1826—555554½4½444441827—43½3½3½3¼33333331828—333333333333½1829—43½3½43½3½3½333331830—332¾2¾2½2½2½2½2½2¾341831—3¼33½3½4443½3½4441832—43½3¼3¼3¼3¼3332¾2¾2¾1833—2¾2½2¼2¼2½2½2½2½333½3½1834—3½32¾33¼3¼3¼3¼43¾3¾3¾1835—3¾3¼3½3¾3¾443½3¾3¾3¾3¾1836—3¾3¾3½3¼3¼444½555½5½1837—5½5½5½5½4½4½4½43½3½3¼3½1838—3½332¾2½2¾32¾333¼3½1839—3¾3¾3¾3¾455½66½6½6½6½1840—64¾4¾4¾4¼4¾4½4½4¾565¾1841—5½554½4½54½4½4¾55½51842—4¾4½3¾3¾3¼3½3¼32½2¾2½2½1843—2½2¼2222¼2¼222¼22½1844—2¼2221¾221¾2———[17]The following is the statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the sums authorised by government to be expended, and actually expended, in each of the undermentioned years:—Authorised Expenditure.Year.1840£4,000,00018413,500,00018426,000,00018434,500,000184418,000,000184559,000,0001846124,500,000184738,300,000These are the sums authorised to be expended by the acts passed in each of these years. The following table shows, as nearly as can be estimated, the sums actually expended:—Actual Expenditure.Year.1841£1,470,00018422,980,00018434,435,00018446,105,0001845, first six months3,510,0001845, second six months10,625,0001846, first six months9,815,0001846, second six months26,670,0001847, first six mouths25,770,000Supposing the actual expenditure, under existing railway acts, to have proceeded at the same ratio for the next three years the following would have been the results:—Estimated Expenditure.Year.1847£64,000,000184870,000,000184947,000,000185010,000,000[18]That this statement is not exaggerated will appear evident from the following returns:—1845.1847.Corn, flour, meal, live animals, &c., imported to October 10,£4,410,091£31,241,766This of itself, coupled with the simultaneous contraction of the currency and fall of the exports, will explain the whole catastrophe.[19]The following table of the prodigious advance in the importation of two articles alone, tea and sugar, will show how rapidly they have increased in the three last years, at the very time that our exports were diminishing:—1845.1846.1847.Sugar, cwt.4,413,9694,469,7726,510,693Tea, lb.36,825,46141,432,79444,912,8801846 to 1845.1847 to 1845.Sugar, cwt.55.803 incr.2,096,724 incr.£4,193,448Tea, lb.4,607,278 incr.8,087,419 incr.803,741£4,997,189[20]—Mr Newdegate's Speech,Morning Post, December 2, 1847.[21]Parliamentary Paper, 30th July, 1843.[22]Viz. in round numbers:—England,£14,000,000Country Banks,8,000,000Ireland,6,400,000Scotland,3,300,000£31,700,000[23]Mémoires de Fléchier sur les Grands-Jours tenus à Clermont, en 1665-66: publiés par B. Gonod, Bibliothécaire de la Ville de Clermont. Paris 1844.[24]These letters were addressed to a young Norman Lady, Mademoiselle Anne de Lavigne, who wrote sonnets in the Scudéry style, and with whom Fléchier kept up a gallant and high-flown correspondence in mingled prose and verse. As far as can be ascertained theliaisonwas an innocent one; it is quite certain that it caused no scandal at the time. Most of the letters bear date three or four years subsequently to theGrands-Jours.[25]Voyage en Auvergne, andResumé de l'Histoire d'Auvergne.[26]From the end of the fifteenth century there were no serfs in Auvergne, as is shown by the municipal law of 1510; "Toutes personnes estans et demeurans au dict pays sont francs et de franche condition." All persons being and dwelling in the said country are free and of free condition. Nevertheless, there were still "héritaiges tenus à condition de mainmorte."—(Coutume, titrexxvii.art.1.) But on the confines of Auvergne, in the Pays de Combrailles, there were persons "de serve condition, de mainmorte et de suyte;"ibid. art.2, which means that the servitude of those persons was attached to their flesh and bone; that it followed them every where, even when they abandoned their inheritance and fled the country. One is glad to hear Fléchier and Talon stigmatising, in the names of religion and humanity, those iniquitous rights, which subsisted more than a century after them.Personalservitude was abolished only by an edict of August 1779; for which Louis XVI. and his minister Necker are to be thanked. It took ten more years and the revolution of 1789 to do away withrealservitude, which was general in France.—Mémoires, p. 112.[27]This included Upper and Lower Auvergne, the Bourbonnais, the Nivernais, the Forez, the Beaujolais, the Lyonnais, the Pays de Combrailles, Berry and the Upper and Lower Marche.—VideMémoires, Introduction, xvi.[28]In plain good French,Each gentlemanFrom morn till nightDoth swell his rents,And multiply his gain.Observes no faith,Takes field and hay,The farmer's grass and grain;Then plays the stewardWith his pease and pork,And cudgels all at leisure;And like a king, with crown on head,Proclaims it his good pleasure.[29]An anecdote told of Louis XIII. and Mademoiselle d'Hutefort.[30]A species of thread lace, in which there was formerly a great trade in Upper Auvergne. It is now scarcely used except by peasant women, and its manufacture is almost abandoned.[31]Ranke,Fürsten und Völker, vol. i. p. 170.[32]Uchali was a famous renegade, a Calabrian by birth, who, from being a slave of the Grand Seignior's, became King of Argel.—See Brantôme,Hommes Illustres, vol. i. p. 286.[33]Documentos ineditos para la Historia de España, vol. iii. p. 224.[34]Memorial de Antonio Perez del Hecho de su Caso, p. 300.[35]Documentos ineditos para la Historia de España, vol. iii. p. 178.[36]Brantôme,Hommes Illustres.[37]Documentos ineditos para la Historia de España, vol. iii. p. 182.[38]Ranke,Fürsten und Völker von Sud Europa, vol. i. p. 178.[39]Memorial de Antonio Perez del Hecho de su Caso, pp. 304-308.[40]Ibid.[41]Ibid.[42]Antonio Perez et Philipe II., par Mons. Mignet, 1 vol. 3d ed.[43]Documentos ineditos para la Historia de España, vol. vii. p. 247-257.[44]Documentos ineditos para la Historia de España, vol. vii. p. 265.[45]"Look there, look at the big gentleman on the little horse."[46]"Gone, gone."[47]One of the superficial peculiarities of American magazines is that the names ofallthe contributors are generally paraded conspicuously on the cover, very few seeking even the disguise of a pseudonym. The number of "most remarkable" men and women who thus display themselves in print is surprising.[48]This periodical is particularly unfortunate in its predictions. Last year one of them was absolutely falsifiedbeforeits appearance. TheDemocraticintroduced a biographical sketch of an eminent politician, with the announcement that "before another number was issued, the people of his State would have re-elected him to the highest office in their gift." Accident delayed the publication of this prophecy for a short time, and it appeared the very day after Mr —— had beendefeatedby a large majority. Thereupon some editors on the other side stated that theDemocratic Reviewwas to be discontinued, "as we learn from its own columns," which may have been a good joke or not, according to tastes. Certainly the editor of theDemocraticdidhisbest to make it so, by publishing a serious and angry contradiction of the report.[49]We have heard thisargumentagain and again in America, generally in reference to the seediest of verses; and there could not be a greater proof of the vagueness and erroneousness of American public opinion as to the nature and object of criticism, and the qualifications for exercising it.[50]As a general rule, that is: we in America have lately met with some striking exceptions.[51]Even then, the price is what in Great Britain would be considered small. TheAmerican Reviewpays two dollars (8s. 8d.) a page, and some of the other periodicals from a dollar to a dollar and a half.[52]It is hardly necessary to expatiate on the absurdity of this fallacy. Every man who reads any thing better than newspapers, finds frequent use for his classics in the way of explaining quotations, allusions &c., while nothing can be imagined more utterly useless in every-day life than Conic Sections and Differential Calculus, to any man not professionally scientific. But because arithmetic is the introductory branch of mathematics, and also the foundation of book-keeping, it is thought that working a boy at mathematics will make him a good man of business.[53]On one occasion, when a converted priest was lecturing against Romanism, theCourierandEnquirerrecommended the intervention of that notorious popular potentateJudge Lynch, who intervened accordingly.[54]These attempts at undue influence and direct intimidation are not confined to the natives; foreigners are very quick at catching them. This very winter an Italian musician endeavoured to expel one of the editors of theCourier and Enquirerfrom his concert-room, because that paper had not seen fit to praise him so much as others did, or as he himself wished and expected.[55]"The Mary Ann Greens."[56]It may be worth while to insert here a copy of the American advertisement of the April Number, in which a denunciation of American piracy, which had been inserted in an article on the "Model Republic," is actually put forward as apuffof the reprint.Blackwood's MagazineFOR APRIL, will be published TO-MORROW MORNING.CONTENTS.I.Cromwell.II.Lays and Legends of the Thames—Part III.III.Letters on the Truths contained in Popular Superstitions, No. 2—Vampyrism. No. 3—Spirits, Goblins, Ghosts.IV.A New Sentimental Journey.V.The Fighting Eighty-Eighth.VI.Lord Sidmouth's Life and Time.VII.How they manage Matters in the Model Republic.VIII.Horæ Catalinæ—No. 2.IX.Lessons from the Famine.Extract from the article on the "Model Republic":—"When these malignant pages arrive in New York, every inhabitant of that good city will abuse us heartily, except our publisher. But great will be the joy of that furacious individual, as he speculates in secret on the increased demand of his agonized public. Immediately he will put forth an advertisement, notifying the men of 'Gotham' that he has on board a fresh sample of British Insolence, and hinting that, although he knows they care nothing about such things, the forthcoming piracy of Maga will be on the most extensive scale."Price ofBlackwood, 3 dol. a-year. Single numbers 25 cents.L. SCOTT & CO. Publishers,112 Fulton Street.

FOOTNOTES:

[1]Wealth of Nations, vol. ii. b. iv. c. ii. p. 195.

[2]Table showing the British and Foreign tonnage with Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Prussia since the Reciprocity treaties with these powers in 1821.Sweden.Norway.Denmark.Prussia.BritishTonnageForeignTonnageBritishTonnageForeignTonnageBritishTonnageForeignTonnageBritishTonnageForeignTonnage182123,0058,50813,85561,3425,3123,96979,59037,720182220,79913,69213,37787,9747,0963,910102,84758,270182320,98622,52913,122117,0154,4134,79581,20256,013182417,07440,09211,419135,2726,73823,68994,664151,621182515,90653,14114,825157,91015,15850,943189,214182,752182611,82916,93915,60390,72622,00056,544119,060120,58918377,60842,6021,03588,0045,35755,96167,566145,742183810,42538,9911,364110,8173,46657,55486,734175,64318398,35949,2702,582109,2285,535106,960111,470229,208184011,93353,3373,166114,2416,327103,067112,709237,984184113,17046,795977113,0253,36883,00988,198210,254184215,29637,2181,38598,9795,49959,83787,202145,499—Porter'sParl. Tables, vols. i. to xii., p. 50 each vol.

[2]Table showing the British and Foreign tonnage with Sweden, Norway, Denmark and Prussia since the Reciprocity treaties with these powers in 1821.

Sweden.Norway.Denmark.Prussia.BritishTonnageForeignTonnageBritishTonnageForeignTonnageBritishTonnageForeignTonnageBritishTonnageForeignTonnage182123,0058,50813,85561,3425,3123,96979,59037,720182220,79913,69213,37787,9747,0963,910102,84758,270182320,98622,52913,122117,0154,4134,79581,20256,013182417,07440,09211,419135,2726,73823,68994,664151,621182515,90653,14114,825157,91015,15850,943189,214182,752182611,82916,93915,60390,72622,00056,544119,060120,58918377,60842,6021,03588,0045,35755,96167,566145,742183810,42538,9911,364110,8173,46657,55486,734175,64318398,35949,2702,582109,2285,535106,960111,470229,208184011,93353,3373,166114,2416,327103,067112,709237,984184113,17046,795977113,0253,36883,00988,198210,254184215,29637,2181,38598,9795,49959,83787,202145,499

—Porter'sParl. Tables, vols. i. to xii., p. 50 each vol.

[3]Dumas, viii. 112; Mackenzie'sSt Domingo, i. 312.

[4]"Of the progressive decline in the powers of production of the West India possessions generally, some idea may be formed from what has been observed in Jamaica; for though that island labours under some peculiar disadvantages, that fact merely increases the force of the argument which is derived from its past experience:—Average of the five years ending 1807—last of the slave trade,£3,852,624Average of the five years ending 1815—date of the Registry Act,3,588,903Average of the five years ending 1823—date of Canning's Resolution,3,192,637Average of the five years ending 1833—last five of slavery,2,791,478Average of the five years ending 1843—first five of freedom,1,213,284"The House of Assembly, from whose memorial to the government (June 1847) we borrow these facts, makes the following remarks on this instructive table:—"'Up to 1807 the exports of Jamaica progressively rose as cultivation was extended. From that date they have been gradually sinking; but we more especially entreat attention to the evidence here adduced of the effects of emancipation, which, in ten years, reduced the annual value of the three principal staples from £2,791,478 to £1,213,284, being in the proportion of seven to sixteen, or equal, at five per cent., to an investment of about thirty-two millions of property annihilated. We believe the history of the world would be in vain searched for any parallel case of oppression perpetrated by a civilised government upon any section of its own subjects.'"

Average of the five years ending 1807—last of the slave trade,£3,852,624Average of the five years ending 1815—date of the Registry Act,3,588,903Average of the five years ending 1823—date of Canning's Resolution,3,192,637Average of the five years ending 1833—last five of slavery,2,791,478Average of the five years ending 1843—first five of freedom,1,213,284

"The House of Assembly, from whose memorial to the government (June 1847) we borrow these facts, makes the following remarks on this instructive table:—

"'Up to 1807 the exports of Jamaica progressively rose as cultivation was extended. From that date they have been gradually sinking; but we more especially entreat attention to the evidence here adduced of the effects of emancipation, which, in ten years, reduced the annual value of the three principal staples from £2,791,478 to £1,213,284, being in the proportion of seven to sixteen, or equal, at five per cent., to an investment of about thirty-two millions of property annihilated. We believe the history of the world would be in vain searched for any parallel case of oppression perpetrated by a civilised government upon any section of its own subjects.'"

[5]Exports To British West India Colonies:—1827,£3,583,2221840,3,574,9701828,3,289,7041841,2,504,0041829,3,612,0851842,2,591,425—Porter'sParl. Tables, xii, 114.

[5]Exports To British West India Colonies:—

1827,£3,583,2221840,3,574,9701828,3,289,7041841,2,504,0041829,3,612,0851842,2,591,425

—Porter'sParl. Tables, xii, 114.

[6]Buxtonon the Slave Trade, 172.

[7]For a few days during the panic consequent on the Mutiny at the Nore, the 3 per cents were at 45, but they soon rose and ranged from 55 to 58. The interest of money never exceeded 5per cent., and indeed it could not, as the usury laws were then in operation. The issue of one pound notes in sufficient numbers by the Bank of England, after February 1797, soon relieved the distress, extinguished the panic, and brought us triumphantly through the war. The following are the rates of interest and amount of bullion in the Bank of England for thirty years past, which shows how little low interest has to do with the plentiful stores of the precious metals:—Bullion.Rate of Discount.1815.—28thFebruary£2,037,000Five per cent.1816.—29thFebruary4,641,000Five per cent.1820.—29thFebruary4,911,000Five per cent.1826.—28thFebruary2,460,000Five per cent.1832.—29thFebruary5,293,000Four per cent.1837.—28thFebruary4,077,000Five per cent.1839.—October2,522,000Six per cent.1840.—25thFebruary4,311,000Five per cent.1847.—13thNovember9,258,520Eight per cent.min.The rate of eight per cent. has not been charged by the Bank of England before for upwards of a century and a quarter.

Bullion.Rate of Discount.1815.—28thFebruary£2,037,000Five per cent.1816.—29thFebruary4,641,000Five per cent.1820.—29thFebruary4,911,000Five per cent.1826.—28thFebruary2,460,000Five per cent.1832.—29thFebruary5,293,000Four per cent.1837.—28thFebruary4,077,000Five per cent.1839.—October2,522,000Six per cent.1840.—25thFebruary4,311,000Five per cent.1847.—13thNovember9,258,520Eight per cent.min.

The rate of eight per cent. has not been charged by the Bank of England before for upwards of a century and a quarter.

[8]Report of the Glasgow Poor Inspector, 28th November, 1847.

[9]Mr Newdegate's Speech in Parliament, December 2, 1847.

[10]To October 10 in each Year.1845.1846.1847.Machinery,£644,839£897,442£942,533Iron and steel,2,854,0483,374,3354,096,367£3,498,887£4,271,777£5,038,900

[10]

To October 10 in each Year.1845.1846.1847.Machinery,£644,839£897,442£942,533Iron and steel,2,854,0483,374,3354,096,367£3,498,887£4,271,777£5,038,900

[11]Agricultural Produce imported from January 5 to October 10.1845.1846.1847.Live animals,19,59385,542172,355Provisions, beef, pork, &c. cwts.,109,550206,455403,877Butter, cwts.,189,056177,165243,140Cheese, do.,183,891216,191243,601Grain in quarters,1,336,7392,635,2187,905,419Grain in flour and meal, cwts.,394,9082,631,3417,900,880The grain imported in nine months measured in quarters will stand thus:—In quarters,7,905,419In flour and meal, cwts.,2,650,263In nine months, quarters,10,555,682The greatest import in any one year before was in 1841, when it was 4,772,641 quarters.

[11]Agricultural Produce imported from January 5 to October 10.

1845.1846.1847.Live animals,19,59385,542172,355Provisions, beef, pork, &c. cwts.,109,550206,455403,877Butter, cwts.,189,056177,165243,140Cheese, do.,183,891216,191243,601Grain in quarters,1,336,7392,635,2187,905,419Grain in flour and meal, cwts.,394,9082,631,3417,900,880

The grain imported in nine months measured in quarters will stand thus:—

In quarters,7,905,419In flour and meal, cwts.,2,650,263In nine months, quarters,10,555,682

The greatest import in any one year before was in 1841, when it was 4,772,641 quarters.

[12]The sum invested in railways from 1841 to 1845, was £154,716,937; of which £114,513,035 was subscribed capital, and £46,203,902 authorised to be borrowed. SeeParl. Returns, Nos. 159, 1844; and 637, 1845. Since that time it has at least risen to £200,000,000, of whichhalfmay be considered productive.

[13]SeeParl. Debates, xxviii. 66, 67.

[14]Viz.England,£85,000,000Scotland, about5,000,000Ireland,16,000,000£105,000,000

[14]

Viz.England,£85,000,000Scotland, about5,000,000Ireland,16,000,000£105,000,000

[15]Lords' Report on Real Property, pp. 8, 9. In our last Number we stated the amount of heritable property at £63,000,000, from a desire to be within rather than beyond the truth. But the latter figure was taken from the Poors' Rate return, which, as the Lords' Report justly states, is always below the truth; and their own report of £85,000,000 is taken from the rating for the property tax, founded on the returns by the occupants.—SeeLords' Report on Real Property, p. ix.

[16]Rate of Discount of First-Class Bills at the undermentioned periods.Jan.Feb.March.April.May.June.July.Aug.Sept.Oct.Nov.Dec.1824—3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½1825—3½3½3½3½3½444444½4½1826—555554½4½444441827—43½3½3½3¼33333331828—333333333333½1829—43½3½43½3½3½333331830—332¾2¾2½2½2½2½2½2¾341831—3¼33½3½4443½3½4441832—43½3¼3¼3¼3¼3332¾2¾2¾1833—2¾2½2¼2¼2½2½2½2½333½3½1834—3½32¾33¼3¼3¼3¼43¾3¾3¾1835—3¾3¼3½3¾3¾443½3¾3¾3¾3¾1836—3¾3¾3½3¼3¼444½555½5½1837—5½5½5½5½4½4½4½43½3½3¼3½1838—3½332¾2½2¾32¾333¼3½1839—3¾3¾3¾3¾455½66½6½6½6½1840—64¾4¾4¾4¼4¾4½4½4¾565¾1841—5½554½4½54½4½4¾55½51842—4¾4½3¾3¾3¼3½3¼32½2¾2½2½1843—2½2¼2222¼2¼222¼22½1844—2¼2221¾221¾2———

[16]Rate of Discount of First-Class Bills at the undermentioned periods.

Jan.Feb.March.April.May.June.July.Aug.Sept.Oct.Nov.Dec.1824—3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½3½1825—3½3½3½3½3½444444½4½1826—555554½4½444441827—43½3½3½3¼33333331828—333333333333½1829—43½3½43½3½3½333331830—332¾2¾2½2½2½2½2½2¾341831—3¼33½3½4443½3½4441832—43½3¼3¼3¼3¼3332¾2¾2¾1833—2¾2½2¼2¼2½2½2½2½333½3½1834—3½32¾33¼3¼3¼3¼43¾3¾3¾1835—3¾3¼3½3¾3¾443½3¾3¾3¾3¾1836—3¾3¾3½3¼3¼444½555½5½1837—5½5½5½5½4½4½4½43½3½3¼3½1838—3½332¾2½2¾32¾333¼3½1839—3¾3¾3¾3¾455½66½6½6½6½1840—64¾4¾4¾4¼4¾4½4½4¾565¾1841—5½554½4½54½4½4¾55½51842—4¾4½3¾3¾3¼3½3¼32½2¾2½2½1843—2½2¼2222¼2¼222¼22½1844—2¼2221¾221¾2———

[17]The following is the statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the sums authorised by government to be expended, and actually expended, in each of the undermentioned years:—Authorised Expenditure.Year.1840£4,000,00018413,500,00018426,000,00018434,500,000184418,000,000184559,000,0001846124,500,000184738,300,000These are the sums authorised to be expended by the acts passed in each of these years. The following table shows, as nearly as can be estimated, the sums actually expended:—Actual Expenditure.Year.1841£1,470,00018422,980,00018434,435,00018446,105,0001845, first six months3,510,0001845, second six months10,625,0001846, first six months9,815,0001846, second six months26,670,0001847, first six mouths25,770,000Supposing the actual expenditure, under existing railway acts, to have proceeded at the same ratio for the next three years the following would have been the results:—Estimated Expenditure.Year.1847£64,000,000184870,000,000184947,000,000185010,000,000

[17]The following is the statement of the Chancellor of the Exchequer on the sums authorised by government to be expended, and actually expended, in each of the undermentioned years:—

Authorised Expenditure.Year.1840£4,000,00018413,500,00018426,000,00018434,500,000184418,000,000184559,000,0001846124,500,000184738,300,000

These are the sums authorised to be expended by the acts passed in each of these years. The following table shows, as nearly as can be estimated, the sums actually expended:—

Actual Expenditure.Year.1841£1,470,00018422,980,00018434,435,00018446,105,0001845, first six months3,510,0001845, second six months10,625,0001846, first six months9,815,0001846, second six months26,670,0001847, first six mouths25,770,000

Supposing the actual expenditure, under existing railway acts, to have proceeded at the same ratio for the next three years the following would have been the results:—

Estimated Expenditure.Year.1847£64,000,000184870,000,000184947,000,000185010,000,000

[18]That this statement is not exaggerated will appear evident from the following returns:—1845.1847.Corn, flour, meal, live animals, &c., imported to October 10,£4,410,091£31,241,766This of itself, coupled with the simultaneous contraction of the currency and fall of the exports, will explain the whole catastrophe.

[18]That this statement is not exaggerated will appear evident from the following returns:—

1845.1847.Corn, flour, meal, live animals, &c., imported to October 10,£4,410,091£31,241,766

This of itself, coupled with the simultaneous contraction of the currency and fall of the exports, will explain the whole catastrophe.

[19]The following table of the prodigious advance in the importation of two articles alone, tea and sugar, will show how rapidly they have increased in the three last years, at the very time that our exports were diminishing:—1845.1846.1847.Sugar, cwt.4,413,9694,469,7726,510,693Tea, lb.36,825,46141,432,79444,912,8801846 to 1845.1847 to 1845.Sugar, cwt.55.803 incr.2,096,724 incr.£4,193,448Tea, lb.4,607,278 incr.8,087,419 incr.803,741£4,997,189

1845.1846.1847.Sugar, cwt.4,413,9694,469,7726,510,693Tea, lb.36,825,46141,432,79444,912,8801846 to 1845.1847 to 1845.Sugar, cwt.55.803 incr.2,096,724 incr.£4,193,448Tea, lb.4,607,278 incr.8,087,419 incr.803,741£4,997,189

[20]—Mr Newdegate's Speech,Morning Post, December 2, 1847.

[21]Parliamentary Paper, 30th July, 1843.

[22]Viz. in round numbers:—England,£14,000,000Country Banks,8,000,000Ireland,6,400,000Scotland,3,300,000£31,700,000

[22]Viz. in round numbers:—

England,£14,000,000Country Banks,8,000,000Ireland,6,400,000Scotland,3,300,000£31,700,000

[23]Mémoires de Fléchier sur les Grands-Jours tenus à Clermont, en 1665-66: publiés par B. Gonod, Bibliothécaire de la Ville de Clermont. Paris 1844.

[24]These letters were addressed to a young Norman Lady, Mademoiselle Anne de Lavigne, who wrote sonnets in the Scudéry style, and with whom Fléchier kept up a gallant and high-flown correspondence in mingled prose and verse. As far as can be ascertained theliaisonwas an innocent one; it is quite certain that it caused no scandal at the time. Most of the letters bear date three or four years subsequently to theGrands-Jours.

[25]Voyage en Auvergne, andResumé de l'Histoire d'Auvergne.

[26]From the end of the fifteenth century there were no serfs in Auvergne, as is shown by the municipal law of 1510; "Toutes personnes estans et demeurans au dict pays sont francs et de franche condition." All persons being and dwelling in the said country are free and of free condition. Nevertheless, there were still "héritaiges tenus à condition de mainmorte."—(Coutume, titrexxvii.art.1.) But on the confines of Auvergne, in the Pays de Combrailles, there were persons "de serve condition, de mainmorte et de suyte;"ibid. art.2, which means that the servitude of those persons was attached to their flesh and bone; that it followed them every where, even when they abandoned their inheritance and fled the country. One is glad to hear Fléchier and Talon stigmatising, in the names of religion and humanity, those iniquitous rights, which subsisted more than a century after them.Personalservitude was abolished only by an edict of August 1779; for which Louis XVI. and his minister Necker are to be thanked. It took ten more years and the revolution of 1789 to do away withrealservitude, which was general in France.—Mémoires, p. 112.

[27]This included Upper and Lower Auvergne, the Bourbonnais, the Nivernais, the Forez, the Beaujolais, the Lyonnais, the Pays de Combrailles, Berry and the Upper and Lower Marche.—VideMémoires, Introduction, xvi.

[28]In plain good French,Each gentlemanFrom morn till nightDoth swell his rents,And multiply his gain.Observes no faith,Takes field and hay,The farmer's grass and grain;Then plays the stewardWith his pease and pork,And cudgels all at leisure;And like a king, with crown on head,Proclaims it his good pleasure.

[28]

In plain good French,Each gentlemanFrom morn till nightDoth swell his rents,And multiply his gain.Observes no faith,Takes field and hay,The farmer's grass and grain;Then plays the stewardWith his pease and pork,And cudgels all at leisure;And like a king, with crown on head,Proclaims it his good pleasure.

[29]An anecdote told of Louis XIII. and Mademoiselle d'Hutefort.

[30]A species of thread lace, in which there was formerly a great trade in Upper Auvergne. It is now scarcely used except by peasant women, and its manufacture is almost abandoned.

[31]Ranke,Fürsten und Völker, vol. i. p. 170.

[32]Uchali was a famous renegade, a Calabrian by birth, who, from being a slave of the Grand Seignior's, became King of Argel.—See Brantôme,Hommes Illustres, vol. i. p. 286.

[33]Documentos ineditos para la Historia de España, vol. iii. p. 224.

[34]Memorial de Antonio Perez del Hecho de su Caso, p. 300.

[35]Documentos ineditos para la Historia de España, vol. iii. p. 178.

[36]Brantôme,Hommes Illustres.

[37]Documentos ineditos para la Historia de España, vol. iii. p. 182.

[38]Ranke,Fürsten und Völker von Sud Europa, vol. i. p. 178.

[39]Memorial de Antonio Perez del Hecho de su Caso, pp. 304-308.

[40]Ibid.

[41]Ibid.

[42]Antonio Perez et Philipe II., par Mons. Mignet, 1 vol. 3d ed.

[43]Documentos ineditos para la Historia de España, vol. vii. p. 247-257.

[44]Documentos ineditos para la Historia de España, vol. vii. p. 265.

[45]"Look there, look at the big gentleman on the little horse."

[46]"Gone, gone."

[47]One of the superficial peculiarities of American magazines is that the names ofallthe contributors are generally paraded conspicuously on the cover, very few seeking even the disguise of a pseudonym. The number of "most remarkable" men and women who thus display themselves in print is surprising.

[48]This periodical is particularly unfortunate in its predictions. Last year one of them was absolutely falsifiedbeforeits appearance. TheDemocraticintroduced a biographical sketch of an eminent politician, with the announcement that "before another number was issued, the people of his State would have re-elected him to the highest office in their gift." Accident delayed the publication of this prophecy for a short time, and it appeared the very day after Mr —— had beendefeatedby a large majority. Thereupon some editors on the other side stated that theDemocratic Reviewwas to be discontinued, "as we learn from its own columns," which may have been a good joke or not, according to tastes. Certainly the editor of theDemocraticdidhisbest to make it so, by publishing a serious and angry contradiction of the report.

[49]We have heard thisargumentagain and again in America, generally in reference to the seediest of verses; and there could not be a greater proof of the vagueness and erroneousness of American public opinion as to the nature and object of criticism, and the qualifications for exercising it.

[50]As a general rule, that is: we in America have lately met with some striking exceptions.

[51]Even then, the price is what in Great Britain would be considered small. TheAmerican Reviewpays two dollars (8s. 8d.) a page, and some of the other periodicals from a dollar to a dollar and a half.

[52]It is hardly necessary to expatiate on the absurdity of this fallacy. Every man who reads any thing better than newspapers, finds frequent use for his classics in the way of explaining quotations, allusions &c., while nothing can be imagined more utterly useless in every-day life than Conic Sections and Differential Calculus, to any man not professionally scientific. But because arithmetic is the introductory branch of mathematics, and also the foundation of book-keeping, it is thought that working a boy at mathematics will make him a good man of business.

[53]On one occasion, when a converted priest was lecturing against Romanism, theCourierandEnquirerrecommended the intervention of that notorious popular potentateJudge Lynch, who intervened accordingly.

[54]These attempts at undue influence and direct intimidation are not confined to the natives; foreigners are very quick at catching them. This very winter an Italian musician endeavoured to expel one of the editors of theCourier and Enquirerfrom his concert-room, because that paper had not seen fit to praise him so much as others did, or as he himself wished and expected.

[55]"The Mary Ann Greens."

[56]It may be worth while to insert here a copy of the American advertisement of the April Number, in which a denunciation of American piracy, which had been inserted in an article on the "Model Republic," is actually put forward as apuffof the reprint.Blackwood's MagazineFOR APRIL, will be published TO-MORROW MORNING.CONTENTS.I.Cromwell.II.Lays and Legends of the Thames—Part III.III.Letters on the Truths contained in Popular Superstitions, No. 2—Vampyrism. No. 3—Spirits, Goblins, Ghosts.IV.A New Sentimental Journey.V.The Fighting Eighty-Eighth.VI.Lord Sidmouth's Life and Time.VII.How they manage Matters in the Model Republic.VIII.Horæ Catalinæ—No. 2.IX.Lessons from the Famine.Extract from the article on the "Model Republic":—"When these malignant pages arrive in New York, every inhabitant of that good city will abuse us heartily, except our publisher. But great will be the joy of that furacious individual, as he speculates in secret on the increased demand of his agonized public. Immediately he will put forth an advertisement, notifying the men of 'Gotham' that he has on board a fresh sample of British Insolence, and hinting that, although he knows they care nothing about such things, the forthcoming piracy of Maga will be on the most extensive scale."Price ofBlackwood, 3 dol. a-year. Single numbers 25 cents.L. SCOTT & CO. Publishers,112 Fulton Street.

Blackwood's MagazineFOR APRIL, will be published TO-MORROW MORNING.CONTENTS.

I.Cromwell.II.Lays and Legends of the Thames—Part III.III.Letters on the Truths contained in Popular Superstitions, No. 2—Vampyrism. No. 3—Spirits, Goblins, Ghosts.IV.A New Sentimental Journey.V.The Fighting Eighty-Eighth.VI.Lord Sidmouth's Life and Time.VII.How they manage Matters in the Model Republic.VIII.Horæ Catalinæ—No. 2.IX.Lessons from the Famine.

Extract from the article on the "Model Republic":—

"When these malignant pages arrive in New York, every inhabitant of that good city will abuse us heartily, except our publisher. But great will be the joy of that furacious individual, as he speculates in secret on the increased demand of his agonized public. Immediately he will put forth an advertisement, notifying the men of 'Gotham' that he has on board a fresh sample of British Insolence, and hinting that, although he knows they care nothing about such things, the forthcoming piracy of Maga will be on the most extensive scale."

Price ofBlackwood, 3 dol. a-year. Single numbers 25 cents.

L. SCOTT & CO. Publishers,

112 Fulton Street.

Back to Index Next