Jan.] 



CHRONICLE. 



13 



grasp. At length the huntsmen 

 finding all attempts to frighten 

 him from his retreat fruitless, 

 blew the rocks over the hole, and 

 came within about sixteen feet of 

 the bear. These continued opera- 

 tions made him fierce and terrible. 

 After the hole blown through the 

 rock was sufficiently large to 

 admit the body of a man, John 

 Ward, jun. crept into it, placed 

 hghted candles fixed upon the 

 end of a pole towards the bear, 

 and with a musket shot at him, 

 but without effect. He descended 

 the second time, and shot him in 

 the foi"e legs ; the bear at each 

 fire advanced towards the mouth 

 of the hole, but Ward was not to 

 be intimidated; he descended 

 again, and shot the ferocious 

 beast in one eye. Ward was now 

 drawn out the bear fiercely fol- 

 lowing him ; he instantly seized 

 a rifle from the hands of another 

 huntsman, and discharged its con- 

 tents into the head of the animal, 

 Avliich proved fatal. He measured 

 6 feet from the nose to the end 

 of the tail, and weighed 313 lb. 

 Extracts from the Report of the 

 Director-General of Customs, 

 in Holland: dehvered to the 

 Second Chamber, 29th Jan. 

 " Although the regulations 

 respecting goods in transit, as 

 fixed by Art. 162, have been 

 found sufficient, experience, 

 liowever, has proved that the law 

 was too lenient with regard to 

 some articles of trade; above all, 

 in respect to those of which 

 manufactories and trades are es- 

 tablished in this kingdom. Those 

 interested therein have not 

 omitted to make representations 

 against them, and it is for those 

 reasons that his Majesty has 



judged fit that the transit duties 

 on refined sugar, cottons, threads, 

 and calicoes, wool/ens, and other 

 mamifactitres, should be increased. 



" With regard to the list or 

 scale of duties affixed to the law 

 of 3rd Oct. 1816, it has given rise 

 to many objections, observations, 

 and representations, all of v/hich 

 have experienced due attention 

 and consideration. 



" Your High Mightinesses will, 

 I trust, allov/ me to enter into 

 some particulars with regard to 

 some of the principal articles, and 

 to state, shortly, the reasons 

 which have given birth to the 

 alterations alluded to. 



" Tin-plates. — The import duty 

 was fixed at 30 stivers per 100 : 

 this regulation has created many- 

 objections, particularly since this 

 article is manufactured to a con- 

 siderable extent, and excellent 

 quality, in some of our provinces. 

 The inquiries made on that sub- 

 ject have confirmed that fact, and 

 the interest of these manufacturers 

 has not made us hesitate to in- 

 crease the import duty on this 

 article, and to place the manu- 

 factured and lackered tin-plate 

 work also on an equality with 

 such increase. 



" The article of thread is one 

 which, at all times, makes a junc- 

 tion of the agricultural with the 

 manufacturinginterestsnecessary, 

 in order that the cultivation of 

 flax may not be neglected to 

 the great injury of the manufac- 

 turers. These circumstances and 

 alleged interests have made it 

 necessary to diminish the export 

 duty on raw thread and twist, and 

 to increase the import duty on 

 coloured sewing-thread, as our 

 dyers are aleo interested therein. 



" The 



