To The Editor Of The Time...
Sir -Van much sarprised to read Eh yowr pafer of yesterday. a PPemcn plirorting to have been delivered by the rtd Mayor iii lth Colirrox Oemmon Coincliddelaleto the p eent higb prce of coa1ls Having had an intimate hnowlerdge ef his Lodenip for manr ears, I aua astonishdthat he should have been so hastyin. lbtA g statement to the public as facts, which is falue from the outset w t2ae cloe, and o contrarv to lis Lordship's us-al investigatios. -Hemyst have been directed 210ne by the reports of others, and hil inrenrtion (1 will hope) to benefit the public has got te better tof i anal a- information before hedecides upon aquestion. Webvewnsby stat ng, tbat " there bad been not a iong time bsck an incaeaselthe number of coal.neters, and .that there bad likewiss been axeduction ia the coal-duty, and yet It wa foad that the supply of coads was much less, and the price bigher. than betfre." I w ld apLpei1 = any irentleinan who is conversnt ih the business of the Col. mearker, whether the incjase of meters has not eaved the pulsfrom Ss. to lOs. per chaldion thraugbott the year. The price atwbicli all. providentepersons havelidn thelistock wiU yrsoe fils; : con- trary to my Lord Mayor's statent, where be conteds thcaupply is less the otlicial stateient of the Icred imotion up t the en o~ last month was uttprecedenred....iz.52,732j ehairins Xor h alfa mEonth's excessof Ltseas Q823,. the Iages imp ratonec'ev cnown. Thts increaseil lnpntrraSton would have tended to hv raised, rather than have lessened, the price, had not the number of meters increased in proportion. Formerly, when fleet arrived, the .erchants bought it up fteely, and the number ofmeters bcing lmited, wvere sufcientonly to work thatfleet- on the following hEY, n second, and perhaps a third fleet arrived, and each shii waiter for its turn, The consequence was, the merchants' interst betug an in.S creased commissioni upoD the first, the zcarcity of mneters gnabled them to purchase fleet after fleet. as it was frevently frora tiac- month o Jnne to Deqvrnber, three weeks and a monthvtaerheaale- of a snip betore she becasme in rurn; the advance in price and,specut- lations were enormovs, and the sole cause thit operated li3;t autumn. The case is now altercL So soon aS the fleets amive the mercharts! canl buy no more than they can wvork; and after satisf2ing their dc. mands with caution, the remainder of the ships stiad for the near day, or become a dreg, and are reduced to the lowest value. Thle Lord Mayor next oserves, that there were onlvtw& -hlps atrbarket lat day; and, sncredible as it nmy appear, his Lordsbip paya no s.. specttothedreadful devaststion of the light ships gaing down to Newcastle and Sunderland, as detailedia The 7'ivn , and at Uloya's ast week. He gives little weight to theresl cuse_ the-destruc. tion and damaege of upw.irds of 100 sil, and a fleet loaAda compeled to put back with damage, which disaste! -ill, I fear, have an t fftcg. for the remainder of the year. In preference to these fahta, Vis LIa. ship teasct his mind writh an ignorant reporL Tbe Lord Mlayor next attributes "the scarcity of supply fmm Sundeiland as anaged by a few who reap the benefit by the hfgh prices" His Lordsbip on thtis subject is alan wrong informel. There ts no llfeitatlcrx 'whatever to the workin of cozls at the preent moment at Sunder.. land or (at its rival) Newcastle; a natural preference only Is givea to particular ships-suich at the ;hipls belonging to the vespecdvemol.. lieries, or the parties having the greate interest with the coaL owners: there is always too greatan anxiety to workc the collinuiesoix the part of the owners, to induce then to wait until th ind shall favpur particular haips. The fears of the Lord Xluyreia caxdiy of supply in severe weatber, in consequence of the rcgalar-sale, ant quite groundless. Frorn the increased importation, as bes^re stated the coals must now be in possession of the merchant and the publc5 instead of the ship-owners. In conclusion, with apologies fbr filling up so much of your rV. luable columns, these statemeats wil pravc that the regularity with which coals are sold at market is owing to the increased number ao Meters alone. BY it the business is facilitated, pnce lowerze, anl all classes benefitted; nnad if our market could ie finisbed at a partj. cular hour, punctual to the moment, no business could be arranged more open, or more advantazeous for the benefit of the public. I ram. Sir. von,e m D ..7 A:cOk.f7 NJct. z. iblkk ks - TO? O1P7S TTJMES.