The Press. — London, England, 1855-11-03 00:00:00

140 comment here, though we may possibly have to examine it at a future time, for immense importance in "City" quarters attaches to the strict interpretation of the Bankers' Act. We prefer rather to examine the justice of the artful pleas so plausibly talked in certain com mercial quarters. Strange sophistry, indeed, has been had recourse to for the purpose of palliating the enormous frauds perpetrated at " 217, Strand." We shall expose the dangerous sophistry, which we are sorry to hear whis pered, and mattered, though scarcely openly avowed. For example, it is furtively asked:—" But " were PAUL and STRAHAN SO very—so shock " ingly bad, after all ? Of course," cry Messrs. Gammon and Quirk—" we do not defend their " conduct; but look at it calmly, and what they " did was not much worse, H' at all so, than " what is done by the consignees, who under "take to pay 'at sight' for cargoes, delude " captains of ships, sell the goods of the " foreign merchant, and fail before the week is " over, leaving a dividend of five shillings in " the pound. Or, look at the number of frau " dulent bankrupts, who are let off with only " a couple of years' imprisonment fellows " who might have paid thirty shillings in the " pound. Or, look at the numerous cases of " executors, who have used in their own busi ness the capital of their wards, though specially left to their guardianship under the •' wills of deceased friends. Does the criminal "law deal so severely with them ? This glib sophistry runs too fast. To prove that a man is not morally bad because his conduct may bear colourable precedent in the 'vitiated Mercantile morality of the age is utterly beside the purpoie. It is too true that the morality of the commercial world is becoming very low, and that is a reason why the criminal law, for the sake of society, should be called into active operation. If men cannot be restrained from evil deeds by considerations of honour, then severe statutes must be tried. Hence the Bankers' Act was passed by the Legislature. But, then, how can the case of the bankers be morally discriminated from those of other bankrupts, or from the executors who escape the criminal law? It can, we answer, ne plainly distinguished. Bankers advertise themselves to the whole world as men whose special business is to take care of the money of other people. They are trustees, and are paid for being so. They can realise a large income by their lucrative agency to their cus tomers. They are admitted into the secrets of important families. Rank from the West-end, Capital from the " City," throng their offices and solicit their intervention. They exist for the most confidential service ; their banking houses ate, as it were, the confessionals of commerce, and to violate the engagements so secretly contracted is the worst kind of breach of trust. The Legislature has thought so ad visedly. The Bankers' Act was passed in 1828, when a galaxy of first-rate juridical talent was in Parliament. Lord LYNDHURST was then Chancellor, and Lords Er.DON and TENTERDEN were in the Upper House, 'While BROUGHAM, SUODEN, SCARLETT, and WETHERALL Were in the Commons. The Act taking statutory cognisance of such dark deeds as STRAHAN, PAUL, and BATES committed was passed after full consideration, and we trust that it will continue to be upheld by the Legis lature of the country. The Old-Bailey logic which would try to ex• eulpate the convicts by classifying their acts with those of consignees cheating their foreign correspondents, and knavish executors, proves too much. If the criminal law could effec tually be made to reach the dishonest con signees and executors, it ought to do so ; but there are difficulties in the way obvious to every jurist. But fortunately the law can touch tie acts of bankers ; and it is lucky for the commercial credit of the country that it can be made to do so. A great part of the indignation felt against these convicts arises from the connection of the house with the religious world. " Tartqffe's " bank has broke," is a ery which stirs many feelings. As to what degree the " Tarttyleieni was carried to, people must,judge for them selves. We have all heard of " Sir John's Private Chapel," " White Cravats," "Exeter-hall," &e. THE PRESS. It is no wonder that such things should ex ceedingly stimulate the indignation, and people recollecting them are not in any mood to appreciate any dexterous fallacies used on behalf of a company which considered " tam " to the extent of 130,0001. as its "vecum." These, and many other reasons, may be enough to teach the whispering tribe of Cr'ennnon and Quirk that acts of fraud are worse in proportion to their gigantic extent; and We cannot help saying that the most dan g►erous of all mental habits is that which sports with the casuistry of crime, after the fashion of soigne apologists for things done at " 217, Strand." THE " one or two splenetic and puzzle-brained po liticians" who, according to the leading journal every now and then ask the question, " What are we fight ing for?" were promised some sort of satisfaction by the commencement of an article in that paper of yesterday. Now, as we of Tut: PRESS are among the "one or two," and are willing to be instructed, we began to read with diligent attention. Of course nothing was to be expected from the first half column or so, for a writer who has to submit his ideas to exact superficial measure ment of length and breadth—a column for• every subject, just so much and no more—is very apt to fall into the practice of word-spinning. Still, we expected to find some kind of answer to the ques tion, " What ar•e we fighting for," as the whole article was expressly on that subject. Nothing more satisfactory could we find, however, than that the war is for "liberty and independence." But for what liberty, and whose independence? Nctt a Word of reply. The oracle is exhausted with its momentary inspiration. We are referred, however, to the speech of Mr. Cor.IJER, at Plymouth, where the whole sub ject is treated in a style fit for prince or peasant, the cottage and the palace, and so forth. Immediately we conceive a respect for Mr. COLLIER we never felt before, and turned to his speech, but without adding much to our knowledge. All Mr. COLLIER is able to tell us we are fighting for is, " to erect a rampart against " a power aspiring to universal dominion, and exact " material guarantees for the future repose of the " world." But of what quality is the rampart to be, and of what nature the guarantees? Is the peasant to divine by intuition ? And is the future repose of the world assured, when this rampart of some kind is erected, and these material guarantees are in pos session? Mr. COLLIER should have spoken plain sense, or have held his peace. We are puzzled still. The "rampart and material guarantees" of Mr. COLLIER remain as obscure as they were, not withstanding the explanation given by his com• mentator that they moan liberty and independence. AT the meeting of the DORKING Agricultural Society, held on Friday week, Mr. EVELYN, in acknowledging the toast of "The County Mem bers," adverted to the current topic of the day, the war. Having introduced the subject by an allu• sicm to the attacks—which ke condemned—of the press upon the officers of the army, Mr. Evelyn proceeded to state a few of the statistics relative to the number of men consumed in the English army and the great cost of the war : Refering to the statistics he held in his Mini, he found that the number of troops sent out at the first stage of the war had been 58.000, and it was not quite easy to ascertain the numbers which had been sent out since, but he had reason to think that 1" per month had been drafted out since January. This would give them a total of about 70,000 men who had been sent to the East. He saw by a paper that there were 37,000 men remaining, and deduct 36,000 men not accounted for, either from being perm. nently invalided, or dying in battle, or having returned home. or being prisoners of war, and what men were these ? The tower of England—men whose places could hardly be supplied—for the troops that had supplied their place were very young men, and not such good soldiers at present as they would become in future years, when their bodily strength was such as to enable them to bear up with the hardships of a campaign. As to the cost of the war, Mr. Evelyn, in a few concise sentences, put the exact cost before his audience : Taking into consideration the total cost of that war, combined with the expenses of the Civil establishment, he found it to be forty-nine millions in two years, but they would be forming too low an estimate of their expenses if they took an average from the expenses of the last two years, for the first was less expensive than fhe second ; in the first their expenses were not more than ten millions, but in the second they were nearly forty millions, and therefore if they went on as they had done in the past year the expenses would average about thirty-eight millions per annum. Besides the taxes they had paid, they had increased the National Debt sixteen million's and the Unfunded Debt fonrteen millions, thus adding thirty mil k.= to the permanent debt of the country. Why had he Situlirwr, adverted to these facts? For the simple reason that in the papers these facts had not been put before the public as they ought to have been. Briefly glancing at the proceedings of the last session, and at the failure of the negotiations at Vienna, which be asserted were broken off against the opinion of Austria and France, Mr. Evelyn stated his opinion as to the objects of the war, and frankly averred that he should not wish to 'gee France and England the only two great powers in Europe There were two parties in the country—one who thought that the war ought to be carried on until they had utterly destroyed the puwer of Russia, 'he other that the proper object should be the security of Turkey, and that it was not the wish of England to push the foe to extremities, or to injure her materially. Now, he thought that if they ob. Mined fair guarantees, which this country required, th ey should have accomplished their object; and when th ey talked of the balance of power, he thought, if they over threw Russia as a nation, that the balance of power would be destroyed. He would not like to see England and Prance the two greatest nations m the world, but that there should be some counterbalancing power. No one more than himself rejoiced at their alliance with the latter country, and he hoped that alliance would by permanent. (Hear.) He hoped that the Government would he csplipit with regard to the conduct of the war, and They and each of the members of the house should endeavour to idlorm their constituents of the true state of the ease, and make them acquainted with their opinion on the same. The following General Order appears in last night's Gazette : Horse Guards, Nor. 1. The Field• Marshal Com'manding•in•Chief has received the Queen's most gracious commands that Brevet• Colonel William Fenwick Williams, C. 8., of the Ruyal Artillery, be promoted to the rank of Ma}jor•General in the Army for his distinguished conduct in the defence of Kars, and of the position in front of the town, when attacked on the 29th September last by a large Russian army, which on that occasion sustained a signal defeat by the Turkish troops. Brigadier-General W. F. Williams, ivho has played so distinguished a part in the defence of Kars, has been nominated a K.C.E.; and Lieutenant-Colonel Lake, Major Teesdale, and Captain Thompson, of the Indian army, who were under his orders on the occasion of the recent victory, will, we believe, re ceive a step of army rank in recognition of their gallant services. An additional clasp is to be given for the reduc tion of Sebastopol to both officers and men engaged. The precise terms will be made public in a few days. Mr. Easton, surgeon in the navy, who was taken prisoner at Mingo, has arrived in Edinburgh on his exchange. The Admiralty have, agreeably to the desires of the inhabitants of Cork, promised that part of the Baltic fleet shall winter at Cove. Lord Hardinge, according to Club report, is about to resign the Horse Guards. The Duke of Cam bridge and Lord Seaton are mentioned as his lord ship's probable successor. Lieutenant-Colonel Ginsberg, of Zurich, has been appointed to the command of a battalion of the Anglo-Swiss Legion. The first regiment of that Legion is ordered to the Crimea.directly. The following arrangements have been issued from the War-office for the conveyance of private parcels to the army serving in the East :—Parcels are re• oeived in London by Messrs. Hayter and Howell, of Mark-lane, and by the Admiralty transport agents at Deptford, Portsmouth, Plymouth, and Cork, where regular entries are made in the cargo-books, and whence invoices will be sent to the Commissariat officers at Balaklava and other stations. Single parcels are taken np'to half a ton, and forwarded free of expense. Colonel Read, President of the Committee, has succeeded to the command of the Anglo-Italian Legion, by the resignation of Brigadier-General Percy, -Who is about to return to his regiment in the Crimea. Several ohanges have already been made in the dispositions for enlisting. Reinforcements to the amount of 1,013 men and twenty-nine officers, embarked on board the Orineco on Monday for the Crimea. Artillorymen have been engaged during the week at Woolwich in proving a quantity of ammunition returned from the Crimea under a protest of torn plaint, as constantly missing fire. It was discovered that this was occasioned by the caps laving become damp. It is in contemplation to adopt the use .of waterproof caps, which have undergone a trial for that purpose at the Royal Arsenal. The War Department are making every effort to develop fully the powers of the rocket, and, with a view to achieve this great object, have engaged the valuable services of a gentleman eminently skilled in the science and construction of war lockets. Some rotary rockets of enormous dimensions, with out sticks or tails, are now being prepared at Wool wich, and a trial is very shortly to be made with a monster projectile, consisting of seven of these rockets banded together and fired in a group. This fearfully destructive mass will weigh little short of half a ton ; and will carry seven immense shells.