The Press. — London, England, 1857-11-28 00:00:00

THE PRESS, NOVEMBER 28, 1857. occasional deficits in time of peace, it had been wholly unequal to provide for the expenditure whenever war broke out. Solicitation by high officials to the wealthier natives was, there fore, freely resorted to at such periods ; and mingled solicitation and pressure were brought to bear upon our native allies. In this manner were obtained the large subscrip tions to the Company's loans at various times by successive Kings of Oude. At last, with the spread of commerce, more extended inter course with England, and the establishment at the several Presidencies of banks of issue, a new class of purchasers of the Indian Go vernment securities sprang up. These were the wealthy native capitalists, who pur chased them, not as a permanent investment, but as a more convenient, portable, and profit able form of keeping their capital than specie ; while at the same time they could always either realise or raise money on them at times of temporary pressure, in the shape of loans on the security of them at the several banks. As long as the public funds of India were subject to no greater variation than is inherent in the nature of such security, the object of these capitalists in making the investment was attained. They answered the same pur- pose that Consols do here, being largely held and made use of for temporary purposes by the moneyed class. But Lord DAutoustE's con version of five per cents. into fours, followed as it was almost immediately by a five-per. I cent. loan, at once deprived these securities of the only value that in the eyes of this class they had possessed. They found that havin g purchased four per cents. they were unable to sell again except at the sacrifice of a fifth of their capital so employed; for the measure sent down the whole public funds of India from 97, at which they stood at the time, to SO at a stroke. Every existing fundholder was, therefore, irretrievably compromised ; and no one was thereafter able to realise except at a sacrifice of from seventeen to twenty per cent. It was not, be it observed, the conversion of the five per cents. into fours that the fundholders complained of ; for that, by raising the value of the four per cents. to par, was a benefit to the old holders, while those who accepted the conversion had no reason to complain, as they might, if they liked, have taken cash. To the moneyed class in particular the conversion itself was a thing almost immaterial ; for as mere temporary holders they cared comparatively little about the rate of interest except in so far as it affected the market price of their stock. It was because the conversion—followed almost immediately by the opening of a new five•per cent. loan at par—made this stock absolutely unsaleable, that they with cause complained. It made it unsaleable, at least, except at a rate of discount that was ruin to them ; and the consequence has been to close the pocket of the Indian capitalist to the Government ever since. The remedy which the Indian Government has endeavoured to apply—namely, that of raising the amount of interest without pro viding for the redemption of the stock that is thus depreciated—only aggravates the evil which it. is meant to cure. Because, although the rate now offered be sufficient in itself, it but the more assures the lender of the fact that his capital, if so invested, will be in vested beyond recall ; for if the Company can see no way to relief but by constantly raising its interest, a five-per-cent. loan must very soon be followed by a six-per-cent., and a six per-cent. by a seven-per cent., as its wants in crease. And with each rise in the rate of in terest the stock of the old holders will fall in market value, and be utterly unsaleable except at a price far below the sum which the owner lent. No rate of interest will compensate a capitalist for such drawbacks as an investment of this kind presents ; and no rate of interest, we may be sure, will tempt any but the small annuitant class to be lenders to the Company as long as the system lasts. This class, how ever, is soon used up; and their funds are pretty well absorbed as it is by the Indian and English joint-stock banks. The proper basis for high colonial credit is a stock so well secured as to induee men to lend money on it at a fair and moderate rate—so readily negotiable as to make it as easily got rid of as it was bought ; and which at the same time held out such prospect of eventual redemption as to insure its never falling in value to any great extent. This would afford all the advantages to the capitalist, the trustee, and the annuitant that Consols possess, with the additional security against protracted depreciation which Exchequer Bills confer A stock of this kind would be the very thing to restore the credit of the Indian Treasury, and a stock of this kind they have it in their power to create. they have, indeed, long been urged to do so, as must be known to the habitual readers of THE PRESS. This stock is a stock secured as a primary charge on the lands of India, and rendered perfectly nego tiable and incapable of considerable deprecia tion by being made repayable, at the option of the lender, out of the first proceeds of the redemption of the land tax, or, what is the same thing, receivable by the India Government everywhere at par in redemption of it when tendered by the tenant holding directly from the Company in liquidation of all future claims. Such redemption would not only be an enor mous gain to the Government, but it would be an enormous gain to the Indian landholderas well, by enabling him to convert his holding, when tenant-in-chief under the Company, into an estate in fee. It would further give a vast impetus to industry and improvement, and consequently increase the productiveness of other kinds of taxes, such as Customs, Excise, &c., to an immense extent. If then the Government will only adopt the principle of allowing the land tax or head rent of India to be thus redeemed, the finances of India may be at once restored to a condition the most flourishing, and that country made in a short time independent of pecuniary aid from home. For as the Company's net rental or land revenue touches upon sixteen millions sterling annually, there could not be the slightest difficitlty in raising any amount of money on stock secured as a primary charge upon it, which was receivable in India always by the Government in redemption of the land tax or rental at par, and of which the interest in the interim was made payable either at Calcutta or in England as the holder might desire. Such stock would readily be pur chased for investment, whether temporary or otherwise ; and its security against deprecia tion guaranteed by its eventual acceptance at par in the redemption of the Indian land tax, would soon send any amount of it into native hands that might be taken up in the first instance by people here. Perhaps not in the very height of the present crisis, but certainly as soon as order had begun to be restored. The precise rate of interest at which such stock should he issued at the present moment could be better determined by the great City capitalists than by ourselves ; but it certainly need not exceed five, and might perhaps not he more than four and a half per cent. The allowing half the subscription to be made in the present four-per-cent. paper to this and all succeeding loans would be a proper mode of remedying a past act of gross injustice and bad faith, and place the whole public funds of India on that footing cf stability and general confidence which is the most essential element of prosperity in every State. 1149 was contrary to the rights of the Sublime Porte, in so many words it absolutely acknowledges the prin ciple. Let all those who oppose the union on the ground of supporting the sovereignty of the Sultan, read attentively this article. It is astonishing what trouble some of your journals take to prove that they are badly informed as to what really passes in Paris. I do not for a moment believe that the writers are actuated from malicious motives, but the great desire for early and exclusive information causes them to accept mere on ditg as facts, and the rumours of ante chambers as official news. It was thus with one of your Journals, in giving to M. Fould a diplomatic mission. Another of your papers, the editor of which is a pious man, delights in any little piece of scandal telling against the French authorities. Some few days since this journal gravely published, in order to show the disaffection of the people, that several persons had been arrested on the Place de la Bastile for having sung the Marseillaise. Now, all this is pure invention—from the singing of the patriotic song to the arrest! This Place de la Bastile has for the last sixty years always been put forward as the spot for political arbitrary arrests. It is, in fact, to the Government, the ghost of Banquo. Another London journal, which wishes to be considered as an authority on all foreign matters, informs its readers that the Minister of the Interior had sent a confi dential note to all the Prefets, requesting a detailed account of the state of commerce in each depart ment. All this is "fudge," and for this simple reason, that such reports are monthly made by each Prefet ; and I am enabled to state that no confidential note has been sent on the present occasion. But mark the effect of this communication. The pious man above, in order to prove that he is better informed than his colleagues, adds to the information that this circular was sent in conse quence of the misery and disaffection which existed throughout the departments ! So much for early and authentic information. The financial crisis is nearly over. The cellars of the Bank are well stocked with gold, and the directors have lowered the discount on bills of thirty days to seven per cent. Trade throughout the country is gradually improving, and provisions abun dant and unusually cheap. lam induced to think that republican principles are at a discount in some parts of France, for I find that at the election for La Sarthe, just finished, the Government candidate polled 18,000 votes, whilst that enfant cheri of the demagogues, Jules Fevre, was only honoured with about 4,000. The stringent measures which Government deter mined to take against all those convicted with traflicing in the coins of the realm has already produced an excellent effect, and both gold and silver can now be easily obtained, and that without paying a premium to the money-changers. The Plenipotentiaries to the Paris Congress met this morning, in the cabinet of Count Walewskl, to exchange the ratifications of the treaty relative to the limitation of the Bessarabian frontiers. It appears to be certain that Ferouk-Khan, the Persian Ambassador, will leave Europe in the month of January next. The Emperor has taken up his winter residence at the Tuilieries. The season is expected to be very gay, several of the vieux noblesse whose salons have been closed since 1830, having determined now to throw them open. The winter at Nice has every appearance of being most brilliant. A great number of families have already arrived. The Duchess of Hamilton, who is expected from Italy, has taken apartments in the Hotel Vittoria. The Duchess of Baden and the Duchess of Sagari have already opened their salons. The long-pending question as to the reduction of the Austrian army seems now decided. All the in fantry, engineer, and artillery companies are to be reduced by twenty-five men, the heavy cavalry by thirty men, and the light cavalry by forty men. It is expected that a saving by this reduction will be made to the extent of 10,000 florins. The Austrian Regiment Minsky have quitted Bo logna, and have recrossed the Po. It has been re placed by the Regiment Giulay (33rd). The garri- I son of Bologna is now composed of 4,300 men. The garrison of Ancona has 3,000 Austrian troops. The railroad from Bologna to Ancona is far ad vanced; it will be opened about the 20th of Jul, next. _ _ M. Ferdinand de Lesseps, the projector of the SneK Canal, left Ancona on the 18th, for, it is said, Egypt. Sutton (turrtspottlienct. PARIS, Nov. 26. I RAVE very little political new 3 to send you to day. The Danubian question has not advanced a step since my last. Many notes have passed between the Western Courts, but no decision come to; indeed, no decision can be obtained, the question resting en tirely with the Congress of Paris. In the meantime, the Austrian Government is labouring hard in raising reports, to be widely spread, accusing the Divans with being animated with a turbulent, revolutionary spirit. The Turkish Government issues diplomatic notes without number, in which it endeavours to prove that the union of the provinces would annul its sove reignty. lam afraid that Redschid Pacha wilfully forgets Article 425 of the organic regulations of the Principalities, which, if my memory is correct, so far from showing that the union of the provinces .'".""'mnlON