Short crops in England.
--In the British Parliament, on the 28th ult., Mr. Caird called attention to the serious deficiency of last harvest, and the consequent necessity for increased economy in the public expenditure.--He described the failure as having extended to potatoes as well as the cereal crops, and the prospects of the future harvest as not much better; with the best weather, not more than an average crop could be expected. He says:‘ "He found that whilst last year, in the six months ending February, we imported from the United States 140,000 quarters of corn, amounting to £318,000, in the corresponding months last season we imported 2,195,000 quarters, at a cost of £6,250,000, or nearly twenty times as much. From Russia and Prussia we had also imported much greater quantities, and from France we had imported nearly six times as much grain. The total increase of imported grain might be estimated at upwards of £12,000, as compared with the six months ending February, 1860. This would plainly show the cause of the pressure which was at present felt in mercantile circles; but, at any rate, there was the satisfaction of knowing that there would be no general deficiency, and there was also reason to hope that this season of difficulty would soon pass over."
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