[9] The Author is in possession of M. de Bouillé's memoir to Louis XVI., on this subject, in 1782, which is identically the same as Napoleon afterwards put in execution. He owes this valuable historical document to the kindness of his esteemed friend, Admiral Sir George Seymour, who got it in the West Indies, whither a copy of it had been sent. [10] PORTER'S _Progress of the Nation_, p. 138, 2d. edition. [11] "The official returns of the importations of grain, &c., into the United Kingdom have not yet been completed; but for the eleven months ending 5th of December 1850, the quantities were-- Wheat, 3,453,876 qrs. Barley, 994,754 ... Oats, 1,145,705 ... Rye, 94,078 ... Beans, 418,258 ... Pease, 167,633 ... Maize, 1,240,075 ... Flour, 3,286,749 cwts. --------- In 11 months 8,610,295 Which is at the rate, with prices at 39s. 9d., of 9,500,000 quarters a-year."--_Morning Post_, Jan. 7, 1851. [12] LONDON, WEEK ENDING JULY 12, 1850. ARRIVALS. Wheat. Barley. Oats. Malt. English, 1,990 50 580 ... Irish, ... ... ... ... Foreign, 14,810 10,040 18,110 ... Flour, English, 3,140 sacks. --_Times_, July 17. [13] Captain Larcom's Report. We quote from memory; but the above figures are near the truth. [14] _Quarterly Review_, Jan. 1851, p. 399, note. [15] 1849. 1850. Emigrants from Liverpool, 152,860 174,427 [16] £100,000,000 in quarters of wheat at 80s., 25,000,000 quarters; £50,000,000 in quarters of wheat at 40s., 25,000,000. So that, after all our boasted reductions, our taxes are now _thirty per cent_ heavier than they were in the heaviest year of the war, when they were only £72,000,000. [17] See a most admirable pamphlet by Mr Stanley, the worthy inheritor of his father's genius and patriotic spirit. The slaves imported into Cuba have increased since 1847 from 23,000 to 50,000. CURRAN AND HIS CONTEMPORARIES.[18] A noble land lies in desolation. Years pass over it, leaving its aspect only more desolate; the barbarian takes possession of the soil, or the outcast makes it his place of refuge. Its palaces are in ruins, its chieftains are in the dust; its past triumphs are regarded as the exaggerations of romance, or the fond fantasies of fable. At length a man of intelligence and vigour comes, delves into the heart of the soil, breaks up the mound, throws aside the wrecks of neglect and time, opens to us the foundations of palaces, the treasure-chambers of kings, the trophies of warriors, and gives the world the memorials of a great people in the grave.