Abe Vrobinces.

The cotton-spinning business in Manchester and its neighbourhood con- tinues very depressed, and exhibits no visible signs of immediate amend- ment. The numbers either thrown entirely out of employment or put on short time is always increasing. The operatives entirely unemployed may be stated at 7,000, and those on short time at 5,000, in round numbers.

Many of the large employers are seriously entertaining the question, whether it would not be better at once to close their mills with a view to a few weeks total cessation from spinning. Others again (perhaps the ma- jority) are rather in favour of a general and systematic plan of short-time working, by which stocks would be reduced and the balance of trade re- stored, in which view the majority of the workers are underst000d to coin- cide. There is a decided disinclination on the part of the operatives to any reduction in wages, and they would rather cease working altogether than submit to diminished rates of remuneration. Some of the large houses, it is fully expected, will diminish their production from a half to a third. As a proof of the deficency of employment, it may be stated that the number of unlet houses in Hulme, a large district of the town, has increased from between 800 and 900 to above 1,500.—Morning Post.

Mr. Mark Philips, the late Member for Manchester, has addresed a letter to the Secretary of the Delegates of the Operative Cotton-spinners of Lan- cashire, stating his views in reference to the proposed suspension of factory labour.

" I have long," says Mr. Philips, "been of opinion myself that nothing short of a discontinuance of work in the cotton-spinning factories, until the raw material could accumulate to such an extent as to form a stock equal to the average quan- tity left on hand, until the result of the crop of 1817 could be ascertained and began to come forward, could place the trade in a safe position prospectively. " The Delegates appear to take the same view as I have done, but cannot any more than myself be blind to the great difficulty of accomplishing such an object. " The first great consideration with me has been the suffering which the entire stoppage of the mills would instantly occasion to the unfortunate operatives them- selves; suffering aggravated so intensely by the recent enormous price of bread. This consideration has doubtless been foremost, likewise, in the minds of the mill- owners; and I rejoice to find that the operatives have appretiated their motives, and tender them their thanks for having reduced the period of work, instead of reducing wages merely. I know instances myself where the losses of millowners this year have exceeded 5001. per week by continuing their operations. Ruin would be the result of such operations in a short time, and capital sunk is only the destruction of the means of future employment.

" The employer and the employed have each of late been placed in a .position of great suffering and mental anxiety; a position which I can only too painfully un- derstand, having myself, at no very remote period, been taught it by experience. " Another great difficulty which presented itself, some months ago, to the adop- tion of the course now recommended by the operatives, was that many millowners had been enabled to secure a stock of cotton at so early a period as to place them in a position still to secure some advantage from their operations, or, at all events, to protect themselves from positive loss. They could not be expected to consent to stop their mills, and throw their operatives out of work, to save others from loss, who had not, like themselves, secured a stock of cotton beforehand. Again, con- tracts had been entered into, and no doubt contracts exist, too, at the moment we are discussing this subject, which must be fulfilled before the millowner could close his mill.

"Neither can I shut my eyes to the fact that the cessation of the operations of the cotton-mill must instantly affect a large body of labour beyond the mere fac- tory hands. The weaver, the dyer, the printer, the bleacher, &c., must partake more or less in the suspension of labour. The experiment is so bold that it re- quires more sue sideration than I can give it here without the advantage of per- sonalcommani cation with employers and employed, before I would venture to affirm that the remedy would be less formidable than the disease.

" I would observe, that the millowners have now waited many months in the expectation of an increase, which has failed to manifest itself; and these stocks of cotton, bought at an early period, have now probably very greatly diminished, or, in the case of many, may now be entirely consumed, which places all millow- ners much more on an equality, and leaves them more nearly in that relative posi- tion towards each other, both as regard cotton and machinery, which they main- tain under ordinary circumstances.

"Providence has blessed us with an abundant harvest; the price of provisions is falling, or certainly ought to fall rapidly, to rates at which men can live in com- fort upon honest industry. Reckless speculation in grain has met with its reward. The operative is, therefore, in a position undoubtedly to take his share in the ex- periment with less intensity of suffering than when provisions were at a famine price."

At the annual meeting of the East Suffolk Agricultural Society, held last week at Framlingham, the show of stock was far superior both in num- ber and quality to any former exhibition. It was attended by many emi- nent agriculturists from Italy and Germany, who purchased stock for ex- portation. Between three and four hundred gentlemen sat down to dinner in the great room of the Castle; the Earl of Stradbroke presiding. In the principal speech of the evening, Lord Stradbroke addressed himself par- ticularly to the landlords- " When we take into account the altered state of the law as affecting the whole agricultural community, you must admit that this is a matter of very great im- portance to all parties. It is, indeed, a subject of paramount interest to both land- lord and tenant. We can never think of dissociating those interests, for they must stand or fall together. It therefore becomes us to consider in what way both may be most fully sustained. If we have much to contend against, it is only by in- creased efforts that we can hope to triumph. Whoever has travelled through this country cannot fail to have observed the different modes of agriculture which are practised in various districts. I admit that this dissimilarity of operation is in instances fairly attributable to peculiarities of soil, together with other local cir- cumstances. In some districts we see farms in the highest state of cultivation: this is, no doubt, ascribable to the aids of science applicable to husbandry opera- tions; in such places there must have been a considerable outlay of money, with a proportionate amount of labour. This state of things is most gratifying to the spectator; it not only reflects credit on the occupier of the soil, but is attended by inestimable advantage to the poor. But we cannot deny that a less cheering prospect meets the eye in other districts: we see vast tracts of land imperfectly cultivated, the farm-buildings dilapidated, the tenantry in an obviously im- poverished condition, in short, all betokening neglect. In such places, it is painful

to reflect upon the amount of suffering to which the poor are unhappily subjected. Are we not bound to ask what is the cause of all this? Now, then, I maintain that these evils spring from the bad system of farming pursued. If the land does not yield more than half the crop that it is capable of producing, the system of cultivation must be wrong? The question naturally arises, who is to blame?

This is delicate ground; but, however unpopular, I shrink not from stating my

opinion fearlessly—I trust not offensively. I say, then, that the landlords are the chief culprits; it is the landlords' fault if farms be not better cul- tivated. (Great cheering.) We may call upon the occupier to improve the

land, but can we expect men of sense to expend their capital without some guarantee—without the certainty of such continued occupation as may secure

both principal and interest to the full extent of the sum expended ? (Renewed cheers.) The next question that arises is as to the mode in which that object may be best attained. My answer is, by granting leases to deserving tenants,: i that is the only way in which the land can be extensively Improved. Indeed, the question in future should not be whether the tenant be desirous of a lease, but rather whether he should be permitted to enter upon the occupation of a farm without one. For my own part, I conceive that leases are essential to the wellbeing both of the landlord and of the tenant. I mean such form of lease as may render it imperative on the occupier to adhere to a prescribed rotation of cropsand which should likewise provide for the employment of such an amount of labour as would in the end prove advantageous to the tenant, secure the rights of the landlord, and be beneficial to the labourers."

There was another" Berkeley demonstration " at Gloucester, on Tuesday; and in returning thanks, Mr. Grantley Berkeley brought forward more 'charges against his brother, Earl Fitzhardinge-

' Firet, then, they found the Lord-Lieutenant coercing his tenants to desert his (Mr. Grantley Berkeley's) regiment of Yeomanry, simply to cast a shadow of undue unpopularity over him. Next, when he found that this fact was discovered, by his order his agent sent for one of his commissioned officers, and ordered him to assemble the men of his district together. They were summoned, and a letter was laid before them by Mr. Joyner Ellis, which they were told to sign, as the Lord-Lieutenant had ordered that they should. That letter charged him (Mr. Grantley Berkeley) with falsehood, in having stated that the Lord-Lieutenant bad coerced parties to leave the regiment. Their spokesman, however, declared that sooner than sign such an infamous document they would have their arms lopped from their bodies. The Lord-Lieutenant next sent for his brother Angus- tura who had never set foot within the Castle for sixteen years, made up the quarrel, and coerced that brother to vote against him. A letter from his brother showed him where his affection was; "and I," said Mr. Berkeley, "wrote back to say I was glad to see he knew where his interest lay." By his advice, his brother the Member for Bristol remained neutral; but he had been told that the Member for Bristol received an offer of a sum of money to vote against him. He did not know positively that it was true, but he believed it. His brother, however, remained neutral; and what was the result? Why, he had received a legal notice to quit the house of his father, in which he had always resided.

Doncaster Races commenced on Tuesday. The weather was favourable, and the company tolerably numerous, though exhibiting some falling off in caste. The sport was not on the whole very brilliant, three out of the five races being tame affairs. The races for the Fitzwilliam and the Cham- pagne Stakes were pronounced to be "very exciting"; Mr. Mostyn's Wilderness winning the former, and Mr. B. Green's Assault the latter.

On Wednesday, the " Leger Day," vast numbers assembled on the course. Excepting for the race of the day, the running was indifferent. At three o'clock a select field of eight horses started for the St. Leger Stakes. The race was a very animated one: Lord Eglinton's Van Tromp beat the fa- vourite, Mr. Pedley's Cossack, by a couple of lengths.

The chief race on Thursday was the Great Yorkshire Handicap, which was won by Lord Warwick's Yardley.

The result of yesterday's sport has been communicated by the electric telegraph. The principal races were those for the Park Hill Stakes, won by Captain O. V. Harcourt's Ellerdale ; for the Cup, won by Mr. Bouverie's War Eagle; the Two-year Old Stakes, won by Mr. B. Green's Assault; and for the Three-year Old Stakes, won by Mr. Payne's Clementine.

Ann Barnes, an elderly woman, recently residing with her married son at Purl's Bridge, a village near Ely, is suspected of a wholesale poisoning of children. Barnes had been in the habit of nursing infants while their parents were engaged in field-labour. A number of these children were taken ill while in the woman's -charge, and four died after great suffering. Suspicion was aroused, and an inquest was begun on the body of the last infant that died. This was Mary .Ann Youngs, the daughter of Barnes's son. Mr. Deane, a surgeon of Charteris, -stated that the outward appearance of the corpse denoted death from poison. He was directed to examine the organs of the body; and on Monday aennight he stated the result. The appearance of the viscera denoted that arsenic had been swallowed; and chemical tests put the matter beyond all doubt. Anna Youngs, the mother, described the illness of the deceased. When she said to Barnes " What is the matter with my child ?" the woman answered, " Go along with yon! it ails nothing." When a child of another labourer was taken ill, and witness told Barnes of it, she laughed, and said, " Yes, I mean to fettle them all off in time." Youngs did not know what her mother-in-law meant by " fettle." [" Fettle" is a word current in some parts of England, as in Lancashire: it means to repair, set to rights, arrange, or settle.] The infant was ill after taking food prepared by Barnes. The woman made ten shillings a week by nursing the children. Youngs, the father, stated that he had had no arsenic in the house to destroy vermin fur months past. The inquest was adjourned, that the other bodies might be ex- humed and examined.

The Jury reassembled on Wednesday. Two surgeons stated the results of their examination of two more bodies. Whitwell Audrey and Eliza Hartley, two in- fants, had been nursed by Barnes; they died suddenly. The bodies had been buried many days, yet on opening them they were found in a good state of pre- servation; which denotes the presence of an antiseptic. The coats of the intes- tines had a yellow colour; and faint traces of arsenic were obtained by chemical tests: the vomiting and purging of the little sufferers had probably removed most of the poison before death. The medical gentlemen ascribed death to arsenic. The inquiry was again adjourned.

A number of forged notes of the Sheffield and Rotherham Bank have been passed on tradesmen at Nottingham, by a gang of rogues. A young man is in custody for attempting to pass a counterfeit note at a shop where one had already been taken.

A distressing accident occurred on Saturday last at Nottingham. Thomas Tiers, while engaged in cutting hay. with a machine driven by a horse, allowed his left band to become entangled in the engine. The hand was immediately severed from the arm, which was also amputated in two other places. His cries brought to his assistance two men who were at work in the yard, by whose aid he was rescued; but before they could get to him, three fingers had been cut from his right band in his attempts to extricate himself. He was immediately taken to the General Hospital, and being very restless, was subjected to the influence of ether. His arm was then amputated a fourth time, the operation being performed just below the elbow. The fingers also required an app) cation of the scalpel. The poor fellow, who is thus rendered incapable of labour, has a wife and seven children dependant upon him for subsistence.

A very extensive fire has devastated the village of Cottenham, in Cambridge- shire. It broke out at midnight, at a cooper's; next spread to a basket-makers; !kilned by a stiff breeze, the flames travelled rapidly; and a third of the village was consumed. Twelve substantial farm-houses, twenty-six barns, nearly fitly stacks of corn, hay, and other produce, and more than a dozen cottages, were destroyed. The loss is estimated at 15,0001. or 20,0001.; most of which is sup- posed to be covered by insurances.