The Press. — London, England, 1856-02-16 00:00:00

FEBRU'ARY 16, 1856. poration, that is to say by more individuals than one, then Government bas the power to deal with them as i t m ay think proper. It will require all the ingenuity which Mr. Lowe possesses, I think, and a little more, to make good this point, which is contrary to every thing like justice r.r common sense. his statement regarding vessels turning back on account of the heavy dues charged in Liverpool, and going to Chester instead, is simply ludicrous, and displays an igno rance with respect to the town and trade of Liverpool which it is lamentable to meet with in a member of her Majesty's Government at the present day, and more particularly in one who pretends to have taken so much trouble in making himself master of the subject. There are so many mistakes made by Mr. Lowe, when speaking of the Liverpool town dues, that it would require as much space as that allotted to the report of his own speech in the Times to ex pose the whole of them. But, if the truth was known, we suspect Mr. Lowe has been merely a tool in the hands of the Manchester men, whom he is only too glad to conciliate, and who, it is well known, have always looked with an envious eye on the wealth of the Liverpool corporation, and have been long agitat ing to have those dues abolished. It is a pity that Mr. Lowe should have trusted entirely to Manchester wen for his information (for it is pretty evident they s have been his only " crammers"), for by a little more discretion he might have avoided many of the mistakes he has fallen into. As the matter now stands, we are really at a loss to know which is the more laughable, the ignorance displayed by his " crammers," or the " gullability" of the crammed. I remain, yours, &c., A LIVERPOOLLIN. Liverpool, 14th February, 1856.1 THE FIRST DIVISION IN THE CRIMEA. TO THE EDITOR OF " THE FRESS." Sir,—l am sure you will take in good part my sending to you the following quotations from the letter of a near relative of mine ; for, although be expresses censure on a letter which appeared in your columns on the sth Jan., the general tenor of what he says cannot be otherwise than gratifying to you. Before proceeding to quote from the letter, I should inform you that the writer of it belongs to one of the regiments in the first division of the army of the East. He has however been, for some months, and is still, employed on the staff of the army. He is a person of most independent opinions, and in his private correspondence has never spared those who appeared to neglect their duties, or to be inefficient for the posts they occupied. For these reasons I feel confident of the merits of any one of whom he writes to me in praise. dy tile of THE PRESS is in London, so that I can not refer to the letter to which he alludes; but my impression is that it spoke in very disparaging terms of the first division, and of its commander, Lord Jiokeby. My correspondent, writing on the 25th Jan., from before Sebastopol, says : My attention has been /drawn to a letter contained in THE PnEss of the sth instant, in which certain unfounded statements referring to the first division occur. I have always had a degree of respect for THE PRESS newspaper, as I had never noticed in it that desire to publish calumny against the army to the world so unfortunately the habit and custom of most English patriotic (?) join-mit). The letter I refer to has undeceived me, and l am most sorry to find that even THE Priess newspaper allows its columns to be made the circulating medium of foolish falsehoods from some ignorant and silly junior officers in this army. No one knows better than yourself how prejudicial to all good discipline it is to allow the names of generals of brigades and divisions to be alluded to disrespectfully in public prints; and I know you will agree with me that all sensible men will condemn the conduct of any and every paper which permits itself to publish the insolent criticisms of juniors upon the character of their seniors. He then begs me to assure you that:— It is just as easy to find correspondents who will write the truth if the object of the newspaper is to convey nu thing but the truth to its readers. But enough about this subject, which T should not have troubled you with had I not always found pleasure in read ing THE PRESS, and acquired a degree of interest in its success. lam proud to inform you that the first division is superior to the remaining divisions of the army in every respect. This truth is forced upon me every other day at the office of the adjutant•general. We have fewer pri- soners than other divisions, fewer courts-martial. The men are more soldierlike, and the whole system is supe rior. I should not say this if I did not know it to be the case, for I regard most things as they are. Lord Rokeby is the most amiable of men. He has a high sense of duty, which is so rare in the English army, and is daily becoming rarer, that it is sufficient to make him appear singular. If he catches an officer not doing its duty—if, for instance, he finds an officer stealing a horse, or a bag of Government barley, he tells him plainly that he considers him a thief—and quite right too. You must know that in this army. where fifty [lashes and a few months' imprisonment are given, death would be too small a punishment. The officers require pulling up most sharply. I am afraid there is too much truth in the last THE PRESS. assertion ; certainly many of our naval officers have expressed their surprise at the laxity of discipline in the army.—Your obedient servant, Feb. 11th, 1850. UNIVERSITY ELECTIONS. TO THE EDITOR OF "THE PRESS." .• - • - Sir,—lt is time some practical suggestion was put forth in an influential quarter with respect to univer sity elections. By far the greater part of the consti• tuency is scattered about the country, and cannot take part in the contest without a great sacrifice of time and money. My suggestion is simply that a voting-card be sent to each elector,t which he may fill up in the presence of the nearest magistrate, having first affixed thereto a ten-shilling or even a twenty-shilling "election stamp," and then inclose it in an envelope to the Vice-Chancellor. I think it is quite in accordance with our Constitution, which regards property as the basis of the franchise, that a man should be put to a little expense in exercising that privilege. Moreover, many would still have the excuse, which they would be sorry to part with, for an occasional visit to Cambridge, the expense of the journey in their case being less than the cost of the " election stamp." But really when a man's journey costs him about ten pounds, and it is known that a most excellent candidate may be forced to a poll on the mere hypothesis that his country sup porters may not appear at Cambridge in the propor tion of two to one (what is called a good minority being all the time the sole object aimed at by his opponents), it does seem that some reform is wanted. —I remain, sir, your constant reader and subscriber, A MEMBER OF THE SENATE. Cambridge, Feb. 12. 41nnel alarket anb tit FRIDAY EVENING. THE return of the Bank of England for the week ending Feb. 9, shows the following changes com pared with that for the previous week : Decrease in Circulation X 135,109 Increase in Public Deposits Decrease in Other Deposits Decrease in Government Securities 669,940 Decrease in Other Securities Increase in Rest Decrease in Bullion Increase in Reserve Bullion in Both Departments Circulation, including Bk. Post Bills 19,801,406 This comparison does not show any very material changes, though some of them involve considerable amounts. The Government are repaying the ad vances made by the Bank, but, on the other hand, their floating balances are reduced nearly 100,0001. The Private Deposits show a large diminution. It is probable that a portion of the amount has been applied in liquidation of loans on private securities, and it is also probable that another cause of the reduction is the transfer of a portion of the balances of the Turkish Loan. The decrease in the amount of Private Securities suggests an inference that the demands for money upon the Bank were small last week. They were certainly less than in the previous week; but it must be remembered that this account includes the commercial bills which run off on the 4th, so that the decrease is not inconsistent with a simultaneous demand for loans and discounts, such as is known to have existed. The Bullion is still under 11,000.0001., and the reduction in the week approaches 100,0001. The position of the Bank, in respect to its ability to grant accommodation, is im proved, for the Reserve is 423,103/. better than last week ; while the addition to the Rest is unusually large. The Bank is evidently deriving great profits from its loan and discount ope; ations. Owing to the continued belief in the favorable result of the approaching conferences in Pans, the proba bility of a satisfactory termination in a short time to our misunderstanding with the Government of the United States on the Central American and the en listment questions, and to increased activity in the most important branches of general commerce, the prices of almost all descriptions of Securities have advanced since this day week, and the markets have been supported with great firmness. A slight reac tion occurred yesterday in consequence of an extreme pressure for money, and of a rumour that an exten sive funding of Exchequer Bills is contemplated in order to prevent those Securities from further depre ciation after the liquidation of those about falling due. But the reaction was not considerable ; it was too sudden to be lasting; and whilst it was in pro gress there were occasional symptoms of a speedy recovery. But, now that a rumour of this kind is abroad, and it is absolutely certain that the Govern ment must do something to maintain the credit of their bills, either by raising the interest, or with drawing a large portion, or by a combination of these expedients, we may naturally expect a considerable degree of sensitiveness in the financial world, which 163 neither improving commerce nor prospective peace can wholly neutralise, seeing that the necessity occurs at a period when the demand for money is greater than the actual supply. At the same time there is much elasticity in the market, and a disposi tion on the part of the publ;c to invest in tha Govern ment funds or in the best descriptions of railway stock ; so that it is not at present probable that any permanent reaction will set in; whatever may be the temporary embarrassment felt by the Government in making provision for the payment or renewal of the March bills. We had written the above this morning when the following announcement reached the Stock Ex change : Downing street, Thursday Evening, Feb. 14, 1856. Gentlemen,—l request that you will make it known in the usual manner that, on Monday next, the lath inst., at one o'clock, Lord Palmerston and I will be ready to see any gentlemen who may be willing to contract for a loan for the public service, in order that we may afford them information as to the amount of the loan, and the time and manner of the bidding. Lord Palmerston and I will at the same time communi cate to the gentlemen present the conditions upon which we shall be prepared to receive offers for funding a portion of the Exchequer Bills now outstanding. I hope it will be convenient to you to meet those gen tlemen at the Treasury at the hour named. I mu, Gentlemen, Your obedient servant, (Signed) G. C. ',swig. To the Governor and Deputy Governor of the Bank of England. This letter took everybody by surprise, and the effect of it, as described below, was very great. Various rumours are abroad as to the extent to which these operations will be carried; and the general opinion is that the loan will be for 15,000,000/., and that bills to the value of 5,000,0001. will be funded. Money has been exceedingly tight all the week. The demands upon the Bank have been to a large amount daily, and the discount houses have found profitable employment for all their funds. In the Stock Exchange, owing in some degree to the railway settlement which was completed to-day, and to pre vious loans upon Stock having to be repaid, the demand assumed extraordinary proportions yesterday, and the average rate for short advances was as high as eight per cent. The number of country bills sent up for discount is greatly upon the increase; and this branch of business has for a long time been so pro fitable, that a new undertaking, with large capital and an influential directorate, is in course of estab lishment, with a view to extend the joint-stock prin ciple exchu,ively to discount transactions. The import of gold during the week has not ex ceeded 18,0001. The continental demand is still rather active. Consols, which closed last Saturday at 911 to 1, opened yesterday (Thursday) at 92 to for money, and for the Account at 921 to 4. They advanced to 921 to 1 for money, and 921 to f for the Account, which were the highest prices that have been reached for many months past. But the reaction referred to above, which was in some degree accelerated by un favorable anticipations of the nature of the monthly balance-sheet of the Bank of France, set in, and the price at the close was 924 to for the Account, and 92 for money. To day, however, a most complete revulsion took place, in consequence of the Govero ment letter. Consols opened at 911 to 92 for the Account. and they immediately fell to 914 to i. But it was noticed that before official hours, a jobber, who is supposed to know the limits within which the Government broker will deal, was selling a large amount of Stock at rates below the then market price. For example, when the official quotations were 911 to 92, be was selling at 914. These operations caused a decline to 914 to 1 ; that was about the price when the Government broker made his appear ance and read the Chancellor of the Exchequer's letter. Prices immediately fell to 904 to 91, with a marked tendency to go lower, and strong feelings of dissatis faction were expressed, both at the delay in making the announcement, and at the operations which had been effected previous to it. At length, a leading member directly ' accused the Government broker of having made a previous communication of the im portant fact to the party whose operations have been described, and the committee were called upon to investigate the charge, and to hear the defence. The inquiry was forthwith opened ; and, after having occupied two hours, it terminated in an acquittal of the Bank broker from the serious charge imputed to him. The resolution was to the effect that the committee had unanimously come to the conclusion that Messrs. Mullens and Marshall were not aware of the communication from the Treasury to the Bank, and that consequently they could not have acquired the information which it was alleged they had communicated. The affair occasioned great ex citement while it lasted, and it temporarily put a stop to business. Consols finally closed at 94 to 1, making a fall since yesterday of two per cent. Railways have not shown much movement during the week, but the advance which took place simul: r