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Lyttelton Times, Volume XIII, Issue 750, 14 January 1860, Page 5

Old Fashioned Days of the National Debt.— (•Times')—lt is a striking reflection that the whole of this colossal debt, from which all financial prophets would have predicted before hand nothing but national ruin, was actually contracted before the manufactures of this country had attained at all their present development, and in a comparatively rudimental and primative state of the national resources. It is true Arkwright had introduced his machinery, and was working his mills at Cromford in the latter part of the last century, and that "Watt's steam-engines had gained an entrance into some of our manufactories about the same time. But upon what a small scale was machinery working then, compared with its-scale-at present, and how scanty were its fruits, compared with the astonishing harvest which it yields now! What an enormous growth has taken place in the productive power of the nation, enough to throw almost an early primordial aspect over the achievements and results of that day! Take the date of 1815, at which our national debt stood at its greatest height, representing the exhausting efforts of a twenty years' war. One would have thought beforehand that the incredible and incomprehensible sum of £860,000,000 would, at any rate, have represented the very acme of a nation's strength and resources ; that it would have been a triumphant display of self-sacrificing energy and power when she had reached her very best; and that the final sacrifice would have exhausted her. But many of us can draw from memory a picture of England in 1815,—its comparatively antiquated features—its long, tedious coach journeys its rustic sedentary population, to whom the emigration was as strange as that of a journey to the moon—its habit of collecting itself round local centres. How many of us remember a country town at that time, with qnaint social circles, snug card parties—its quarter devoted to the collateral of shoots of the aristocracy, cousins and sisters, and widows of squires ; its three or four old churches ; its narrow old streets, terminating almost immediately in fields and hedge rows : and can hardly recognise that town when we see it now, spreading over a large surface, and erecting its tall chimneys and extending its red brick rows on all sides, which convert the old town into the mere old-fashioned nucleus or boss of the vast dusty, smoking circumference which compasses it, panting with labour and exhibiting its crowds issuing out of or entering the mill gates. All this metamorphose has been going on since the climax of our national debt; and England hardly knows herself, so different is she from what she was in those stationary days of her greatest taxation and greatest warlike effort and expenditure We look upon them as old-fashioned days, which had advanced upon their predecessors, but were still only the introduction to a coming age. Such a retrospect is not discouraging to us as a nation that still aspires, in spite of its internal cares and interests, to exercise an influence in the world.

A Persian Stobt.— Among the most amusing, and if read aright sometimes not the least instruct

tive, literary productions are foreigners* opinions of the miuniors and customs of our noble solves.' Whilo in them wo frequently find plenty to gratify our self-love, our foibles and weaknesses are often laid bare before us with vigour and truth. A.curious fragment of this nature now li|s before me, which has all the appearance of genuineness, and would seem to be the production of a true believer, who, I take it, was about to proceed U Persia in the train of Sir George Ousely, who had been appointed ambassador to the Persian Court in March, 1840. I am, however, unable to give mj)re of the history of this M.S. than that it was picJed up in some street by a member of our family, "he orthography and punctuation are copied exactly — ".-... Coat, Every tiling Very good—Sir Gore he tells me King Charted'and King James, I say Sir Gore they not Muzzle lien but I think God Loves them Very much, I thiik God lie loves the King Very well for keeping v* that Charity there I see one small Regiment of Children go to Dinner, one small boy he says thankslto God for Eat for Drink for Clothes, other Little Boys they all say Amen; then I cry a Little, jny heart to much Pleased, this all Very good foritwo things Soldiers fite much better, because see tleir good King take Care of old wounded fathers and. Little Children.Then I go to Greenwich that ttao Very good place Such a fine Sight make me a Little Sick for Joy all old men so happy, Eat Dinners so well fine House fine Beds, all Very good, This Very good Country English Ladies Very Handsome Very beautiful I Travel great Deal Igo Arabia;1;I go to Calcutta— Hiderabad, Ponah, Bombay, Georgia Aremenia, Constantinople Gibraltar, I see [best Georgian Circassian Turkisk; Grick ladies, Tbut Nothing not so Beautiful as English Ladies all Very Clever Speak French Speak English Speak Italian, play Music very well, sing very good, very gjad for me if Persian Ladies Like them, but English Ladies Speak such sweet Words, I think tell a Little Story, that not very good, one thing more I sfee but I not understand that thing good or bad, Last Thursday I see some fine carriages fine horses thousand people's go to look that carriage I ask why for, they say me Gentlemen on Boxes they drive their own carriages, I say why for, take so much trouble, they say me he Drive Very well, that Very good thing, it Rain'd very hard, some Lord some Gentlemen, he got Very Wet, I say why he not go inside, they tell me, good coachmen not mind get very wet Every Day, will be much ashamed if go inside, that I not understand—

" Sir my Lord good night " Abbo A L Hassan " 9 Mansfield Street, "May 19th" 1859." Tee-Bee.