The Sun. — London, England, 1844-01-10 00:00:00

POLICE INTELL COURT OF SEWERS hat the contractors, Messrs. Bennett and Bird, received tabout 21,000/. of the public money yearly, or about 75 per cent. of the whole expenditure of the Commission, and were on some occasions (as we understood) paid before their accounts were laid before the Board. Mr. HEairsLErr, the clerk, on being questioned, said that the contractors had applied for the money before the accounts came before the Board, but it had not been paid to them. Mr. LESLIE proceeded to argue that it would save labour, and prevent error, to have the accounts made up daily, and that there was no possible objection to the plan. Mr. LAURIE strenuously supported the proposition, which, after a long and uninteresting conversation, was negatived, by a majority of 17 to 10, and Mr. Donald son's amendment was agreed to. .The fourth, fifth, and sixth resolutions, which were intended to carry the third into effect, were also lost. But the seventh, which only affirmed the advantage of the plan proposed in the third, was, strangely enough, carried by a majority of 8 to 7, upon which Mr. Leslie remarked, "They wanted the fugleman this time !" The eighth resolution, which proposed an improve ment in the mode of recording petitions was agreed to, with a slight amendment. The ninth, which was to the effect th a t th e surve y or ' s reports should be laid before the Board, written in a book, to be kept in the office, was lest by a majority of fourteen to ten ; and an amendment. proposed by Mr. Ponaldson, that the reports should be bound up afterwards, was adopted. Mr. LESLIE said that the next four resolutions related to one subject of great importance, and he would, with the leave of the Board, submit them together. The first stated that the present arrangement for making a sewers' rate entailed an enormous amount of labour, which could be most safely and materially diminished ; and he went into a series of minute details in support of this statement. The others were to the effect— " That it would be of great public advantage and it is de sirable, that maps be prepared and engraved of etch district, showing the mode by which every tenement is drained and that such district maps be on such a scale as ultimately,' and with all convenient speed, to show every street and tenement in the district, and its private drainage into the public sewers. . And that every addition, alteration, or diversion of the sewage be added thereto. That as occasion may require for the purpose of a rate, the portion of each parish in the district be separated from the map, and with an order in writing be sent to the various vestry clerks, requesting them to supply the names, residences, and rentals of all persons rated to the poor within the limits of such map. That the vestry clerks' returns to the preceding order of Court, under the authority of the 52d George 111., cap. 48, sec. 7, being a true copy of the rate-book of the persons assessed to the poor-rate, with the designation and rental of the property they occupy, together with the map of the drainage of the district, are the best documentary evi dence the Court of Sewers can supply to the jury tou c hi ng two important questio ns l e ft f or their decision and presentment, viz. :—The property that receives benefit or avoids damage by the sewage of the district, and the persons who are legally and judicially recognised as the occupiers of that property." lie was convinced that if they went on in the present very imperfect manner, allowing their o ffi c e rs t o tampe r with the list furnished by the vestry-clerks, and dis pensing with such accurate information as the maps pro posed would afford, they would inevitably find themselves in difficulties. Lists made out from the parish rate-books by their own clerks, were not legal evidence under the Act, which required that the lists should be made by the vestry.clerks. He had always opposed the issuing of warrants against the hospitals, the c h urc h es, and the prison, and although the majority of the Board had been against him, the result proved that he was right. In the trial in the Queen's Bench against the Governor of Bridewell they were defeated, and had to pay the costs of the other party as well as their own. The plan which he now submitted would prevent the recurrence of such mistakes, and render them much more secure in their ps. ot a h s ui e tr r i e l rlong e and to ‘t re n . r d ig)o d e nne gentleman a sn d ud i p s cp c , t u oh s r e s t i , in er o sd n pi Tv r eh of icif e ht: e c:a d Nr i pi n arr g .no ro. nouneed it expensive and useless, the resolutions were negatived Mr. LESLIE said that although he expected his next proposition would also be negatived, lie would request the serious attention of the Board to its object. He would not say that there were no defalcations under other Boards. But it could not be denied that under no other Commission had there been so many defalcations as under this. The system of employing collectors with a per tentage, had the effect of placing the men themselves in very great temptation, and not only was the business done inefficiently, but the most distressing consequences had occured to innocent parties—the unfortunate securi ties. In one case of a defaulter, who had been aefraud ing the Commission for twelve years, two respectable families were completely ruined by the proceedings taken by the Board against them, as his securities. Not only would all this be avoided by giving the collectors fixed salaries, and employing them as the servants of the Com missioners, so that they would be amenable to the crimi nal law for any embezzlement; but by the system which he proposed in the following resolutions, the greatest possible dispatch in the collection of the rates would -be insured, and the possibility of fraud almost prevented, The resolutions were to the effect—. g. That the expense of collecting the sewers' rate is very great, and that the system of such collection is most d e f ec ti ve - the exclusive occupation of the collectors sh ou ld b e as —that clerks to the Commission, and their whole time devcted to the business thereof,—that the remuneration should be by fixed salaries,' and not by a per centage, which most unequally pays the col lectors, varying as it does under the e x i s ti ng system from 101 d, per house to 41d. ; yet in the aggregate entails, taking the average of the last 51 years, an annual charge upon the rate payers of three pounds sixteen shillings and eightpence per hun dred pounds collected, or a gross annual sum of one thousand pounds :—and that the present system of allowing the col lectors to take away from the office the rate-books , and per mitting them to have blank notice papers and blank receipts to be filled up by themselves, is a very improper mode of col lecting public taxation. That the rate-books do always remain in tho office, and be so prepared that every party charged in such rate may, immediately on payment, be therecn discharged. That the collecting clerks take with them, on proceeding to collect, hooks of receipts prepared in the office, and aho a form of daily return, showing the name of the person, the tt l locality, aet each ac t t y h , clerka c l ose o h bs e ce amountohfe g t heu (,d da received, agya,isnts.ot 1 t he he t eeotibsotenu stumps thel esdoa of the i o ne n n at bt tenderedhs e e nu spot; t saragcecdouonntedthfeor and for, re ceipts, such stumps to be stamped with a stamp prepared for dailyshowingthe returnstlay e ac h te p s a u r m ty the tha that from purpose , t s w a s book be discharged." [The remaining resolutions related to 'the details of the account-keeping.] Mr. DONALDSON opposed the resolutions. He said that in the last twenty-five years rates to the amount of 600,0001. had been collected, upon which the defalcations had been only 3,000/., and of this the public lost no more than 2001., the securities having made go o d the re mainder. He denied that the employment of clerks as collectors would be more efficient, and appealed to the meeting if they were prepared to dismiss front their ser vice, for the sake of a very doubtful experiment, men who had served them faithfully and without fault, some of them for more than thirty years. Mr. MAYHEW moved, and Mr. LAURIE seconded an amendment, to the effect that the plan of Mr. Leslie should be acted upon, by the employment of collecting clerks, according as vacancies occurred amongst the present collectors. The amendment, after much dismssion, was negatived, and the further consideration of the resolutions %%as postponed to the next open day. The Court then adjourned, at half-past five o'clock, till Friday. TILE SITN, LONDON', VirtDN'ESIYAY EN ENING, JANTIAR sr 10, if 444. THE CURRENCY. It is commonly supposed that a currency of paper cannot be depreciated, so long as it is convertible into the precious metals, but this is a palpable mistake. As soon as a paper currency, though convertible into the precious metals, becomes extended, so that the whole currency, paper and gold, passes the limit of these metals, deprecia tion of the whole mass immediately commences, and continues until the gold be expelled from the country, and the mass of currency of paper and gold be thereby sufficiently reduced, that the limit of the precious metals , is again restored. The gold leaving the country is merely the consequence of the previous depreciation, and it is only after the gold is gone, and a reaction takes place, that the depreciation, which has been in existence all the while, is discovered ; and, in proportion as the limit of the precious metals is more or less exceeded through the addition of paper money, will the deprecia tion be greater or less, and will these metals more or less rapidly leave the country. It appears from the returns in No. 1 of the Appendix, that the average issues of the paper money of the Bank, from the 18th November, 1834, when those returns were first made quarterly, to the 10th November, 1840, when they came to be made public monthly, were, on an average of the whole of these returns, 17,990,0001; but, as the Bank, at one period during that time, that is, to wards the end of 1939, actually ran shOrt of gold to meet the demands on them from over-issues, which could only proceed from depreciation of the whole mass of currency, both paper and gold, and the Bank Directors were obliged to go, like beggars, to the Bank of France to borrow a larg e amount of the pre cious metals there to supply th e demand for them at home, it is perfectly clear, that that sum, in addition to the gold that will circulate along with it is above the limit of the precious metals required for this coun try ; and, therefore, an issue of convertible paper money to that extent cannot be permanently supported in circu lation by the Bank ; a fact of which the Directors of the Bank, from their previous experience, could not by pos sibility be ignorant. It is probable that not more than 17,500,0001. of Bank paper, convertible into gold, can be permanently put into and maintained by the Bank in circulation. Here, it must be observed, that it is not the moment the notes leave the Bank that their influence on the mass of the currency, in reducing its value and in raising prices, is felt. They must, first, get into general cir culation, it is evident, before their influence on the cur rency can be felt ; and it appears from the annexed re turns that from six to nine months are necessary for this purpose. Keeping this in view let us analyse those re turns, and the conduct and motives of the Bank of Eng land's Directors, in their management of the currency, will be more clearly understood. For three months, ending with 13th December, 1836, the average issues of the Bank were 17,361,0001., and their stock of gold, three months afterwards, was 4,048,000/. Their stock of gold continued to increase, the Bank making purchases of it, and accumulating it improperly, in the meantime, until the Ist of May, 1838, when it amounted to 10,002,000/. No rational cause can be assigned for this accumulation consistent with common honesty. The expense of maintaining to large an amount of idle unproductive stock in the shape of the precious metals being great, it was not to be expected that the Bank would so far sacrifice their own interest as to retain it, and it became both their interest and duty to diminish it. Their straighforward honest course, in that case, was simply to coin so much of it, and to pay it away, keeping their issues of paper money as they were at 17,361,0001. But this did not suit the views of the Directors. Their self-interest forbade it. Instead of reducing their immense stock of gold by such honest means, they increase their issues of paper money until they depreciate the whole circulating medium of the country, and increase the money value of every man's property, and their own among the rest, and then commences a demand on them for gold for the conversion of their notes, the in evitable effect of their over issues; and of that effect they could not, by possibility, be ignorant; and, in this way, they chose to relieve themselves of their extra stock of gold. They give vent to their gold until it be comes imperatively necessary for them to lay on the screw, as it is termed, by calling in their notes to pro tect themselves from insolvency ; and then down go prices, to th e wa ll go their industrious fellow-subjects, to the dogs go the labouring classes, and up goes the value of money, paper money and all. It appears from these returns, that the Bank continued increasing their issues of paper money until they reached 19,350,0001., and then the gold, which had by this time been leaving the country, continued to go away until their stock en tirely. disappeared, and they were compelled, as before mentioned, to go to the Bank of France, and to borrow from that establishment no less than two millions and a half of the precious metals of France, to preserve their own establishment from insolvency. In the meantime the screw was applied, and applied so vigorously, that in little more than twelve months the average amount of the Bank's issues were reduced to 16,112,0001., as before mentioned (they could not have been reduced to that extent earlier without creating a convulsion in the coun try, such as would have made the Bank Directors them selves tremble), and the contraction was continued at little more than that amount for eighteen months afterwards ; until the greater portion of the la bouring classes i n the manufacturing districts were thrown altogether out of employment and rendered utterly d es tit u t e , an d h a d to be maintained by public charity. The deplorable destitution which then prevailed, notwithstanding Sir Robert Peel's false asser tion to the contrary, that the currency had nothing to do with the distress, was notoriously the effect produced by the operations in the Bank parlour, for as soon as the screw was in some degree relaxed, the labouring classes began again to find employment. The Bank of England Directors endeavour to palliate their misconduct, in thus so unjustly contracting their issues, by alleging that it was absolutely necessary for them to do so to protect themselves and their establish ment from ruin. No doubt it was. The averment of the Bank Directors is correctly true. But who created the necessity ? The Bank Directors themselves created the necessity, by previous over issues of paptr money, which they knew were to depreciate the whole circu lating medium of the country. They knew and could not possibly be ignorant of the fact. Their own past ex perience must have taught them, long before, the fact that those over issues would be followed by a reaction sufficient to create that necessity, with as much certainty as the sun sets im'a e firmament. Under these etrunstances is there a man in the whole country, wnoe• attention is once called to these facts, so simple as to believe that the Bank Directors and their friends, to whom they communicate the secrets of the Bank parlour, do not take advantage of these changes ? Is it possible to conceive that a Bank Director, or the friend in his secrets, exten sively engaged in trade, will continue to hold his 'stock of goods on hand, after a contraction of the cur rency is determined on, and he is in the full knowledge that in six or eight months hence his stock will be re duced, in money value, perhaps 30 per cent. ? Is there a man in the whole country so simple as to believe that, when an expansion of the currency is determined on, the Bank Director, or his friends will then get out of stock, or rather will not largely increase his stock of goods on hand, when he knows full well that in six or eight months afterwards he will clear by it perhaps 30 per cent. of additional profits ? If so, that individual must not only be a man of mighty great simplicity, but em hued with more than Bcebtian stupidity. NO demand, it is very evident, will ever arise on the Bank for gold, if the Bank keep down sufficiently the amount of their issues of paper money, so that the total amount of the whole circulating medium shall not exceed the limit of the precious metals ; for it is the excess beyond that limit only, which operates in deprechlting our present domestic currency,' confined, as it is by law, to these metals. A stock of gold, therefore, though it be quite necessary to support, for a season, a dis honest2tthi:eeyireproper ar s f e ll ow v is e l r o s it s t . u n e of Bank of England notes, and to enable the Bank subjects eo D e nei necessary sn e a c f rtyot millionhr fseoirraon means,fd got enablinghl d e their lhfriends in tsehueß ffi w ay to plunder described, and as they have hitherto done fo ne a r k y fo t already r h t o a s meet ing port its issues of paper money, if they are confined within demands on the Bank, if the Bank do not over-issue, as well as the twelve millions which they now hold. Where was the necessity for a stock of gold when their issues amounted only to 16,112,0001. ? They required no stock of gold then whatever ; simply because their issues were then kept so low, that the whole circulating medium was within the limit of the precious metals, and, consequently, their notes were of equal value with gold. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Sui,—ln your paper of the 20th instant the following questions are put by " A Cambist," and answers re quired— " Ist. If the Bank of England has twelve millions of gold in its coffers, why does it not contract its notes, coin the gold, and put it into circulation ? • "2d. If the Bank of England cannot get rid of its gold, except by depreciating its paper, or by permitting it to be depreciated by other banks of issue, or by coining and putting it i n t o.cir culation, how is the Bank to rid 6 itself of the present enormous accumulation of this metal, and for what object does the Bank keep so large an amount of gold in its coffers ?" Perniit me to offer the following answers to these questions : To the Bank of England is given the power to regu late, as it is termed, the citrency ; which they pretend to do according to the wants of commerce, this being a commercial country—that is to say, to enlarge the cur. rency when supposed, or rather assumed by them, to be too small for the wants of commerce ; and to reduce its ainonnt when assumed by them to be too great, or de preciated. In support of the power given to the Bank to regulate the currency there are two assumptions taken for granted, which have no . foundation in truth. It is assumed, in the first place, that the currency has no fixed standard, but must always necessarily be in a state of fluctuation in regard to its value ; and, in the next place, it is equally erroneously assumed, that the cur rency of commerce and the domestic currency of a State are one and the same thing, and that there is no differ ence between them. But there is implied in the very nature of every mea sure—and the currency is, merely, the measure of value— a standard, that is, a fixed quantity, which neither admits of in nor over ; and, that there is such standard of the currency, independent of any regulation of the Bank of England, as well as of every other 'measure, can not possibly admit of doubt. The wants of commerce, as to a medium of exchange, are supplied by bills of exchange, Exchequer bills, ban kers' cheques, and the large notes of banks, which arc, properly, the currency of commerce ; and these being all payable in the domestic currency of the country, are ruled in regard to their value by the value of that io rnestic currency ; from which, in the nature of things, they cannot depart ; without regard to their own extent, however great their extent may be. But the domestic currency of a country is that which is declared legal tender by the State, and which enables the working man to exchange his labour for food ; the command over the labour of matt being the very essence of wealth : and the domestic curren.3y of a State is, obviously, necessarily ruled in regard to its value, simply ,by the limitation of its amount. In this country the precious metals form the limit of our domestic currency, the coins alone being legal tender. And although bankers issue paper money to a great amount, yet being payable in the precious metals, that paper money is thereby effectually tied down to the limit of those metals, and does not increase that limit, nor add to our domestic currency one single pound sterling ; a truth that can easily be as clearly. estab lished as any truth in Euclid ? It is in virtue of its limit alone that any domestic currency can ever operate. All the banks in the country, therefore, with the sin gle exception of the Bank of England, never ean.disturb our legal domestic currency. But that Bank, with its extraordinary means:and powers, can, and actually does, disturb it, but, for a limited period only at. a time ; a period suffi c i en tly l ong , h owever , t o enable the Directors of that establishment to plunder their fellow-subjects of'l their means, in the manner to be immediately ex plained. E very expansion of our domestiecurrency beyond the limit of the standard, which, as already described, is the limit of the precious metals, is, of course, the undue in crease of the money value of every man's property throughout the country • and every co n t rac ti on o f t h e currency, on the other Land, within the limits of that standard, is the depreciation in money value of that pro perty, and the undue increase of the valu e o f mone y cap i ta l i change, therefore, on t h e average amount tef gland's pap er mone y, f rom sl aonfd the every Bank of E the great extent of their issues, forms an altera tion of the standard • and, consequently an alteration in the value of the whole of our domestic medium of ex 'change, as well as of the currency of commerce, which depends on it, as already described. The average issues of the. Bank of England, for the three months ending with Jan. 7, 1841, were reduced, according to the published returns of the Bank, as ap pearing in the Gazette, (See Appendix, No. 2), to 16,112,000/. ; and, again, the average of those issues for the three months, ending Feb. 4, 1843, was 21,108,0001., (See Appendix, No. 3). Between these quantities there is no less a difference, in round numbers, than 5,000,0001. sterling. This expansion of the currency, it is clear, raised the money prices of all commodities at least 33 per cent. above those at which they stood for the. three months ending with Jan. 7, 1841, as every one may satisfy himself by making the calculation. The reduction in the amount of the Bank's issues during the nineteen months in No. 2 of the Appendix, ending with May last year, sufficiently accounts for the sufferings and distress of the labouring classes during that period ; and the expansion of these issues since, sufficiently accounts for the very small ephemeral pros perity we have since had, and which can only last until the Bank again put on the screw. Thus, under the pretence of regulating the currency, which in the very nature of things admits of no such regulation—for every alteration in the amount of the Bank's issues of paper money, as already observed, creates an alteration in the previously existing value of the whole circulating medium of the country—the most enormous power, that ever was given to mortal man over his fellow creatures, has been given to one class of the community over the lives and fortunes of their fellow-Subjects. And to what class has that power been given ? To the very class who were sure to abuse it—the class of the money-owners —the class who had the most powerful inducement to do so, that of self-in terest. flow many thousands of innocent victims in the middle ranks of life has not this power, within these few years, sent from affluence and comfort into the Gazette ? How many hundreds of thousands of innocent victims among the lower ranks has not this tremendous power sent to untimely graves, d ur i ng the same per i o d ? With out sufficiency of currency there cannot be sufficiency of price, and without sufficiency of price there cannot be sufficiency of wages ; and the insufficiency of wages which existed during the last few years, from the ex treme contractions of the currency by the Bank of England, first emaciated and attenuated the bodies of its innocent victims, the labouring poor, rendering them easily susceptible of every passing disease, of typhus and other fevers—the never -failing concomitants of insuffi cient nourishment—and then swept them away into un timely graves. To compere great things with small, let us suppose that the Legislature gave a power to the publicans of London, t o regu l ate t h e liquid measure of the pint, by extending it, artimes, as far as a pint and a half when trade w as , i n t h e i r est i mation; brisk, an d re d uc i ng i t at oth er times, when they tho ug ht trade dull, as far as half a pint only. Can there . be the leas; doubt in the mind of any sane person, th a t these publicans would not immediately take a d vantage o f the power thus com mitted to t h em, and turn it to their own no. count ? They would, no doubt, affecting, or pretending liberality, and a hypocritical regard for the public interest, sometimes raise the mea sure to a pint and a half, and it would be always their interest, and they would never fail to do so, when they were themselves out of stock and going to purchase, and they would take very good care to be out of stock before they made such change, for they would then pur chase in stock such enormous advantage to themselves ; but they would much more generally, as they had anythi ng to sell, that is to say, so long keep down the mea sure to a half-pint only. With re gard to their brethren throughout the country, wh o might not know when these changes were about to take place, those brethren could reap no advantage from them, for as they would buy, not knowing the movements at head quarters, they would sometimes find themselves, without any fault of their own, ruined and undone and, at other times, un expectedly and unduly enriched. Yet this is the very power, on a grand scale, given to the Bank of England over the whole country, under the false pretence of regulating the currency. They some times raise prices and give a slight ephemeral prosperity to the industry of the country, so as to blind the public as to the real nature aid extent of their power ; but the profits they much more frequently, to suit their own greedy and il selfish ends, crush that industry to atoms, and sweep o b f o both their re employers, labour into th theirwor k own po classes, cket s. That the Directors of the Bank of E ng l an d a b use the and power over the currency thus entrusted to them, and turn it premeditatedly to their own individual ad vantage, is beyond all pcksibility of doubt, for it is capable of demonstration, and that, too, uh G listedtte Gazettes 18340 the to from their own published returns of th e averages issuesof t e hetihreywere s first as the present time. The same charge, h owever , cannot b e brought against the partners, or Prop r i e t ors , as t h ey are called, of the Bank ; for, unless th e y h a d access orderedppo a ring to in be thep to the movements in the Bank parlour, which they have no right to claim, and others may obtain that knowledge, through the favour of the Directors, as well as they, they are in no better situation than the other victims of this extraordinary establishment. The limit of the precious metals being the standard, and not the material substance of which they are com posed, otherways than as they form that limit,, as soon as the limit is exceeded by the paper money of the Bank of England, the currency becomes of lower value, and, consequently, the metalli c p ar t o f i t , be ing thereby depreciated as well as the paper part of it, in reference to the value of the metals in other parts of the world as the universal standard, leaves the country, until the currency being thereby suffi ciently contracted, the limit a the precious metals be again restored. ..• But the Bank of England, andsthe Bank of England alone, have it in their power, froni the extraordinary command they possess over the currency of this coun try, from Ih9 enormous masses, almost the 'whole, of the public money constantly passing through their hands, and their notes being declared legal tender everywhere except at the Bank, to put into circulation, and to maintain in circulation, for a limited 'time, an extent of paper money sufficient to cause the whole domestic currency of the country to ex ceed the limit of the precious metals. They ac complish this by storing up in their vaults a large quan tity of the precious metals, as they have done at present ; they then put out their paper Money to such an extent, as to cause the whole currency, consisting of gold and paper, to exceed that limit; and instantly the whole mass becomes depreciated, in reference to the standard, and continues so as long as their stock of gold lasts, by which they keep their paper in circulation, but no longer. When their stock of gold becomes exhausted they must put on the screw, by calling iu their notes. - It is evident that when our domestic currency exceeds the limit of the precious metals, it is necessary for the Bank to hare an extra supply of those metals, which can only last while the depriciation is continued and the metals are being drawn away. It has been already stated that not more than 17,500,0001 of the Bank of England's paper money can be put into, anti perma nently maintained in circulation by the Bank on the strength of gold money—that is, the gold that will re. main in circulation in the country, without causing an excess in the whole currency, beyond the limit of the precious metals. But the returns annexed (No. 3) show that the issues of the Bank of England have been greatly increased beyond 17,500,000/., not for the last six or eight months only, but for the last eighteen months and upwards ; and yet the gold in the coffers of the Bank has not been drained away as formerly, but has been going on increasing notwithstanding this apparent over-issue of paper money. , How, it will naturally be asked, if the above theory be true, is this phenomenon to be accounted for? It is capable of a very clear and satisfactory solution. It will be fresh in the memory of every one, that about twelve months ago, or better, a proclamation was issued prohibiting the circulation of light gold, and a very great portion of the gold in circulation was found to be light. Great dissatisfaction with this measure was ex. pressed, at the time, by th e p u bli c, as cruel and umjust, especially coming, as it did, imm e di a t e l y a f ter the great depression and distress: of 1841 and 1842. Some lost 3d., some 6d., and some no less than 9d., on the sove reign, although the lightest of them was far above the value of a tax-included priced commodity of equal amount, The proclamation has been since repeatedly renewed ; and the Bank have 'acted with a degree of keenness in stepping the circulation of light gold never before witnessed. By thus crying down light gold great loss has been thrown on the public, and the public have become, fur the present, disgusted with gold money , and they take th e notes o f the Bank in preference to gold. A greater number of notes are, in consequence, thus maintained in circulation than formerly, and the gold is thrown in upon the Bank ; and thus is this phe nomenon explained. Accordingly we find that, as the notes must be changed before being put to their proper use, enabling the labouring classes to exchange their labour for food, an uncommon demand for silver has arisen instead of gold ; but the Bank, alleging that they arc not bound, refuse to pay; in silver ; and, thus their notes, to a greater extent than ever known before, arc kept in circulation without expelling the gold front the country. The fact, therefvre, of nineteen or twenty niillions 9f the Bank's paper money being permanently kept in cir culation fur the present, does not prove that the limit of the precious metals is thereby exceeded by the whole mass of the circulation ; because, that limit may be made up of paper alone, as well as of paper and gold combined. It merely proves, that that limit is constituted by paper at present to a greater amount than usual. But, perhaps, it proves something more. It proves, that the Bank of England Directors are not ignorant of the true theory of the currency. There cannot be a doubt that the movement against light gold had its origin in the Bank parlour, and the object of it truly appears to be to divert public attention from the effect of the issues of paper money on the circulation, as exhibited in the returns of the Bank, and to lull suspicion as to the Bank's conduct in the management of the currency ; and admirably has it been calculated for that purpose. It proves beyond doubt the superior knowledge which the Bank Directors possess of the working of the pre sent currency system, and that instead of being ignorant of this question of the currency, they in reality under stand it but too well. The answers to the questions put may now be antici pated The Bank of England can, but will not, contract its notes, coin the gold, and put it into circulation at present; because, that would defeat their object in col lecting so large a sum of these metals, that object being, to support for a season, when the time suitable for them selves arrives, an over issue of their paper money, and to enable the Directors and their friends to commit those frauds on the unsuspecting public already spoken of. 2d. The Bank can easily get rid of their present stock of gold by coining it and passing it away, keeping their issuesof paper money steadily at the same:fixed amount, the whole circulating medium not exceeding the limit of the precious metals, as ascertained by their own ex perience ; in which case, gold will flow into them as fast as it flows out. But the Bank will prefer to rid them selves of their present dead stock of twelve millions and upwards of these metals, as they have always hitherto done, by depreciating, by over issues of their paper money, the whole mass of the currency, both paper and gold, and supporting the depreciation as long as their stock of gold lasts, and the Directors individually, and the friends in their confidence have any thing to sell. But they will be more cautious this time, how they rid themselves of their present stock of the precious metals for very good reasons. In the first place, they have become suspected ; and, in the next place, they are about, when Parliament assembles, to apply for a renewal of. their charter, with increased powers over the currency, by the shutting up of all other, the minor banks of issue, under the pretence that these banks interfere wi►h their proper regulation of the currency, although it is as clear as the sun at noonday, that in regard to their interfer ence with, or control over the currency, they are utterly powerless either for good or for evil. But in whatever way the Bank of England get rid of their present stock of the precious metals, it cannot escape observation that they have been accumulated for some purpose which the Bank do not choose to avow ; for it is well known that the profits of the establishment do not warrant the expense of keeping up such an enor mous amount of unproductive capital even for the time it has now been kept up. Early in 1840, a complaint was brought before Par- Lament by the merchants and manufacturers of Man chester that they had been stript of their moans, from time to time, by some invisible power, and that they had lost within a few years no less than forty millions of money, and that many of them were, in consequence, ruined. Suspecting the cause to spring from the manage ment of the currency, they petitioned the House of Com mons fur an inquiry into the conduct of the Bank of England in regard to their administration of the cur rency. An inquiry could not be refused, and a Com mittee of Inquiry was appointed "On Currency and Banks of Issue." But the inquiry was quashed by the Committee, and the reputation of the Bank on that occasion, was saved. The Committee was ap pointed under the auspices of the late Whig Ministry, with the acquiescence of the Tory party, and at its appointment (Istate the fact from my own personal knonledge) it was neither understood nor intended, nor expected, that the Committee should report anything. The appointment of that Committee was a hoax played off on the public, and particularly on the petitioners, by the lat e Whi g Government, for although it was com posed of men of all parties—Tories, Whigs, and Radicals —the Members were all on ono side : on the side of the money power, and against the people. They consisted either of great money capitalists, or of their agents and tools ; and, true to the confidence reposed in them, they quashed the inquiry and reported nothing—that is, nothing to the purpose for whi c h t h e i nqu i ry was osten sibly instituted. They were appointed merely, for the purpose of talking a n d amus i ng the public, until the storm, " the pressure on the money market," as it was then called, should blow over of its own accord. The storm was allowed to blow over without control, in the mannor already seen ; and it sent many thousands of the middle classes into the Gazette, and consigned hundreds of thousands of the labouring poor to untimely graves. Whether gold and silver money, composed as they entirely are of intrinsic value, be a sound or just cur rency or medium of exchange, in a country where the prices of commodities are artificially increased about 125 per cent. above their natural or intrinsic amount, as prices were in this country at the date of the Bullion Commit tee's Report, in 1811, forms no part of the questions put, as above quoted, and therefore I will not trespass on your indulgence in discussing that branch of the subject ; but I may here shortly state, that although gold and silver were evidently ordained by nature to be the medium of exchange, and univers:.l standard of value among all civilised nations, and have been accordingly recognised as such in all ages, yet they obviously cease to be so, wherever the prices of commodities are artificially in creased by taxes above their natural amount, because, being a fixed quantity, limited by nature in their amount, the precious metals arc adapted, as the medium of ex change, to the natural prices of commodities only, or prices without the taxes ; and they are evidently inca pable, therefore, of measuring those prices at their tax included amount. MES Edinburgh, Old B roug ht on , D ec. 30, 1 843. PEDIE. A PPEND IX. An Account of the Aggregate Amount of Promissory Notes pay,.ble to bearer on demand in circulation in the United Kingdom, and of the precious lletals in the Bank of England as appearing from the Gazette quarterly : No. I. From the commencement of the Returns to the 10th Nov., 1640. TM PERIOD FROM 'NOTES BULLION, 18 Nov. 34 to lUth Feb. 1835... A:18,099,000 X 6693,000 10 Feb. to 5 May, 1635... 18,542,000 6,197,000 5 May to 28 July 1'135... 18,322,000 0,283,000 28 July to 26 Oct 1835... 17,930,000 6,188,000 96 Oct. to 111111 1896•„ 17,281,000 7,076,000 12 Jan. to 5 April 1836... 18,063,000 7,601,000 5 April to 28 June 1886— 17,899,000 7,362,000 28 June to 20 Sept 1836 1 8,147,009 1,719.000 20 Sept. to 13 Dcc 16313... 17,361,000 4,545,000 13 Dec. to 7 March _1837_ 18,178,000 4,049,000 7 March to 30 May... 1837.., 18,419,000 4,423,000 30 May to 18 Aug. 1837.., 18,461,000 1,754,000 16 Aug. to 14 Nov _1837... 18,344,00(1 7,432,000 14 Nov. to 6 Feb. 1838... 18,206,000 9,543,000 6 Feb. to 1 May ... 1838... 19,084,000 10,002,000 1 May to 24 July .. 19,226,000 9,749,000 24 July to 16 Oct 1833. 19,35(1,000 9,437,000 16 Oct. to 8 Jan. 1839... 18,201,000 9,336,000 8 Jan, to 1 April 1839... 18,371,000 7,073,000 2 April to 21 June 1839... 18,101,000 4,344,000 25 June to 17 Sept 1539... 17,960,000 2,816,000 17 Sept. to 10 Dec 1839... 16,731,000 2,887,000 10 Dec. to 3 March 1840... 16,678,000 4,271,000 3 March to 26 May _1840... 16,817,000 4,386,000 26 May to 18 Aug 1840... 17,128,000 4,560,000 18 Aug. to 10 Nov 1840.,. 16,798,000 3,729,000 1 -.- , *377,495,000 --- General Average for the whole periods 17,990,000 . , No. 11. Monthly returns for the Quarter, including the four weeks from 10 Dec. ending 7Jan. 1841.,. X 16,112,000 #;3,557,000 4 Feb• ••• 16,230,000 3,814.000 4 March 1 April 1C:37,000 4,339,000 29 April 16,587,000 4,633,000 27 May ... 24 June ... 22 July ...... ... 16,821,000 5,170,000 19 Aug• 17,228,000 5,106,000 17 Sept. 14 Oct. 13 Nov 17,272,000 4,491,000 9 Dec. 6 Jan. 1842 4 Feb.._ 16,630,000 5,237,000 4 March 31 March 29 April 17,235,000 6,500,000 27 May ...... 19-X320,205,000 General Average of the whole period L 10,852,894 No. 111. Monthly returns for the quarter, including the four weeks ending NOTES. BULLION. 24 June, 1842 £17,795,000 £7,320,000 22 July 19 Aug. , 15 Sept. •14 S e pt 20,004,600 9,633,000 10 Nov 19,903,000 9,789,000 8 Dee 7 Jan., 1843 4 Feb 21,108,000 10,933,000 4 March 20,340,0(X) 10,984,000 1 April 29 April 27 May 24 June 22 July 19,809,000 11,872,000 • 19 Aug. 16 Sept. 14 Oct 11 Nov. 9 Dec ... 18,791,000 12,996,000 20-1:386,218,000 General average of the whole period 19,410,900 Deduct first general average No. I. „. 17,990,000 General average amount of issues beyond the first period... 1,420,900 OuTLAwar.—During the morning service on Mon day a proclamation of outlawry was posted on the doors of the parish church at Brighton, declaring Mr. Thomas Reed Kemp, thrinerly M.P. for Lewes, and projector of Kemp Town, Brighton, an outlaw, he having neglected to render in an action brought against him by Sir W. Pilkington, Batt., and Dame Mary Milbourne Swinnerton, his wife. Accounts have been received at llolderness House which state that Lady Alexandrina Vane, daughter of the Marquis and Marchioness of Londonderry, and sister of the Marchioness of Blandford, is seriously ill of the scarlet fever, at rails, and it is feared the other members Qf the family way also t4ke the infection. IGEN CE. ferd, BOW-STREET.—(THIS DAY.) FORGED:Ir.—Chant:We Scott was brought before M r . Twy charged with forging the name of an old woman of the name of Anne Lee. Mr. . 1 id Gre Thomas Lee, of the rov lon, St. t George r in s- ane g , stated that on the 6th i P nst. the ent prisoner nstituti came to the office with a depositor's book, which had been granted to Anne Lee. The prisoner presented the book for payment. It contained the sum of 601. 14s. 3d. Witness filled up a receipt for the amount and handed it to the prisoner to sign, and she Si gned the n ame o f A nne L ee. The witness then referred to the siguature-book, and found that the signature i n the b oo k and that on the receipt did not correspond. In consequence 4) , f _ t his he questioned the prison e r, a n d th en s h e a d m i tte d t h at she was ne t Anne Lee, but she said that Anne Lee was dead, lind before her death she had given her (the prisoner) her de- Posit-book, and told her to draw the money herself. The wit nessM then s en t t h e pr i soner i nto the managers ' room. r. Broodle, the Secretary to the Provident Institution, Stated that the prisoner told him that Anne Lee had died about three weeks before, that she had been for some time ill, and that daring her illness she upset a kettle of boiling water over the Prisoner's child. The old woman, shortly before her death, !aye h,:r the depo s it-b oo k i n quest i on, an d requested her to raw the money to remunerate her for the trouble she had had *lib the deceased, as she had no relations in the world wi,o % 1 d claim the money. The prisoner, when questioned at wit ness's office said she did not think she was doing wrong in sign ing the old woman's name. Two witnesses were then called for the defence, who swore t hat the y were present when the old woman gave the pri s o ner e de posit.book.—The prisoner was remanded. IVI Alt YLEBONE.-(THIS DAY.) tGeorg e S tanley, a well-dressed young man, was placed a!ore Mr. Rawlinson, charged with the following assault upon rAltvard Dand otlflle complainant stated that he was returning home about -past eleven, when he was overtaken by the prisoner and two I Pl* who said to him, " Oh, how drunk you are !" Corn alnant said, Mind your own business," when the prisoner 4ttaeked him in the most savage manner, felled him to the I t r°ll nd and knocked some teeth out. Complainant was 8 e t Vefied for a few minutes, and then called for the assistance „lame police, when the prisoner took to his heels, and cam ' ',taut after him. He was eventually taken into cu,tody by the olice. (a „Te pri soner denied the assault in lobo, but Mr. Rawlinson the rersortCo lined . CL RKENWELL-(THIS DAY.) ° R ich ard Joh n L angre y was c h arge d w i t h em b ezz li ng var i ous b of money b e l ong i ng t o hi s master , M r. O stoc k , a respect- T ile g ent residing in Hart-street, Bloom s b ur y. letw_ Prisoner was employed in collecti ng money f or t h e pro to,„,tari who, from to missed several sums of 54% It appearedtime from the time evidence that bills were forged 10,..Prtsented to th e customers. Th e name of Mr. Ostock was AV on these bills, and the money was paid in consequence. -10 system of embezzlement had been going on for a eon- C,able time, and when Mr. Ostock became pressing for any stti,sums, he contrived to make up as much money as u u ed his employer's present demand. hZ 4 r• Ostock stated that the prisoner's father and mother had - 74 at his house, entreating of him not to prosecute, and he 1,14 (11 . „„ it to be dealt with summarily. eonTr• Comae said he certainly would not consent to Apromise. It was a very bad case, and should go for trial. any it, " Seward, residing at the Green Man public-house, New 4ThleLetivent-garden, proved to having paid the prisoner the 11 of a bill for newspapers delivered. 4: e.Prosecutor deposed that he had not received the amount. e Want Lest er state d t h at, if t h e pr i soner were remanded, hi r t° r ." eau's would be brought against him. to b e ` - "rax ordered depositions to r t r i a l i n th e presen t case taken down, and remanded the prisoner. IvuuUNION HALL.--(THIS DAY.) aft than Newm an was c h arge d with forging a bill of ex ge tor 20/ theMr..Markwick stated that he had money transactions with for 9ro ri "eri in the course of which the latter gave him a bill wh'., purporting to have been accepted by William Pain. utzliwtlie bill be c aus e due it was ascertained that the accept i,.l,?ts a forgery, and the prisoner was given into custody.. ne w; :„am Pain who was summoned to give evidence, being q ue - s 7, l org to attend unless compelled, was shown the bill in n a „,'an, and on examining it, he proved that the acceptor's was not in his handwriting. fo r e , Prisoner having asserted that he bad Pain's authority tin e /ding his signature to the bill, the latter diselalinet . the ni t ; "a i o, and added that, although he had money trtinsactioas aUtb ority t t le Prisoner, yet that he had never given him s uc h ai r that alleged.—Retuanded. NEWS.-(THIS DAY.) 11`)RN EXCHANGE—WEDNESDAY. 0 ,,;1 e k very limited quantity of English Wheat was on r here. Prime quality sold readily, at fully Monday's pricesv„. ; but, in other kinds, only a moderate business 4:r,,,te,ansacted. Holders of Foreign Wheat were the i de much hi g h er rates, w hi ch. somewhat checked Afttilemand ; yet, th e quotat i ons were firmly supported. tiii i _ Li ng Barley wov(d off s t ea dily, b ut gr i n d ing and The illehlt trade w as rather inactive, at late rates. In Oats, ails, Peas, and Flour, we have no variation to report. ARRIVALS. 'Wheat. Barley. Oats. Fl our .... .......... ' 1,740 qrs. 7,710 qrs. 1,530 .Ira. 2.450 ack s. 093 ......... ". ......... 1,270 20,990 Malt, 3,010 qrs. theon] demand ruled heavy, on the 'following t e rms f „ e from 2s 4d to 3s 6d ; Mutton, 38 to 4s 4tl ; Veal, 4 3 Gd to 4s 8d ; and Pork, 3s to 4s 4d per Sibs, by the carcase. We learn. hour Duke of R from the Brz:ghton Guardian that the sH ° llleaUx and his suite, after dining at an e arly His arrival in don b on -- nnas, at the Bedford Hotel, proceede d to . or . l ton d oya the last train in the e s v e e c n r i e n t g . . We un derstan d ti . „ appears to be kept very 4 " -Duke is expected to leave Belgrave-square soon on a ionr through Wales. ~, MANSLAUGHTER AT A CARD TADLE.--GLOUCES '", JAN. B.—ln one of the houses in this locality (a ' .l er-shop, called the Plasterers' Arms), a young man, muted Richard Cole, was, on Saturday evening, playing oat cards with some boon companions. Another man, a nted G eorge F r i cker, joined the party about seven 4l ook but did not play. Ito was intoxicated, and Ye i IT quarrelsome ; and as the game proceeded he b , -(4.1 ',,ed over the cards of one of the players, and , - t s •qe, a' signal to his partner, for the purpose , s ho e what cards were out. This aggra t:httted Cole, who said he would play no more, and - : e w aphis hand. Fricker then challenged Cole to i '', ' 4 , , and Cole rose from his seat and struck him a blow t ,i' l tne mouth. A proposition was made to adjourn to ~,e Yard, but Fricker would not agree to this, and taking ''"antage of ano pportunity , hit Cole a violent blow 14 nd er the jaw wi th his fist, which knocked him down. e rieker then fell on him, seized the hair of his head, and ( I „ 4 , t , i ntted to beat him for some time, until he lay nl°- I' 6 -11 ° 4 3 on the floor, and upon being lifted up, it was Q) 1 -1 , 14 „d that he was quite dead. Fricker then laid in of the landlord, threw him backwards, and pr n tt ,,, t hinl about the head. Mr. Ilickes, a medical man, d e ,,, - ; PtlY attended, and pronounced Colo to be quite held In fact his neck was broken. An inquest was teri `• on the body this day, before Mr. Bailey, the Co hir-Qr, and after a lengthened investigation, the Ju ry ~ re d - IN i ., -11 ,_ed a verdict of " Manslaughter" agains t . hichF y on ew er, who was fully committed for trial. Pricker is a tr ,,',.g man of turbulent disposition, and evinced no re pa`,,L for his crime. The deceased is the son of respectable ei; t e ats, and a generally well-conducted man. He was e rv a atly related to the eccentric Jemmy Wood, of Glou tie 'ft, whose will has been the subject of so much litiga -4' Ha d the - thkr k w red M the distribution among the next of kin. The 14 411.°1101Y occurrence has caused considerable excite nt in the town. 4, Th e ~,,AIR -TAX APPEALS IN THE CITY OP LONDON.— the ,‘.4)lllllssioners acting under the new income-tax Act for hit , .ai. („, ~ , 1 London are rapidly getting through the 'appeals, kosit i l it i! expected will all be disposed of by the end of the ia t, 1. , ro prevent ;any unnecessary trouble to parties attend -4,3, "e hoard has appointed Tuesdays. Wednesdays, Thurs ,4L .find Fridays only as appeal days, and Mondays and Satur w7l they do not sit. Yesterday morning, at eleven o'clock, nit c o . . 45 Illinissione rs met at their o ffi ce, 36, Basinghall-street, to ti,„_ a ppeals under schedule I), on profits arising from proles- Cue. tr ades, &c., f rom t h e inhabitants of the ward of Farring -1,1°21 Within, which being a very extensive one, will be eon 11,quett to-inerrow morni ng at the same hour. On Thursday, me 11th , from the p ar i s h of St. Andrew, Holborn , and on Fri liY, the 1 2th, from th e assessed of the parish of St. Dun s t an ' s " th e W es t, Fl eet-street, &c. The number of appellants, on ave rage, has not exceeded 15 to 20 a day. . 04 L ac evening an inquest was held before Mr. Higgs, h. ll) L,n body of Ann Bourne, aged 30, a married woman, but co -4.1..i1eg ,with a man named Webb, at Haevey's-buildings, ha;ri_ Iletlford-street, Strand. She poisoned herself in bed, k4i n e g taken a quantity of laudanum which she seemed to have silk ',red palatable by orange juice. Around her neck was a Wu "chief, which she had drawn tight by a slip-knot. She hi,: diss olute woman an d a ddi cted to liquor. The jury re -44,:cd). , e 'd a verdict of " T emporary Insanity. " It appeared that eased had been told that her paramour (an engineer) X ''''l Op with another woman holie''TIONAL GALLERY.—The boys of the Mii.ryle the i\pOrkliouse, about 200 in number, pa id r a visit to ko nt at kwal Gallery yesterday morning. The arrange filii s, to prevent confusion, were complete, each boy his(i)ing close upon the other's heels, having secured a'hi e l i i : e of march by encircling with his left arm the rail my., pre:vents a too near approach to the pictures. Any 4 wieement in a taste for the fine arts cannot fairly t e , adduced from this visit, the boys having been told .00l i ~ li ts ,„ , over their left" at the pictures, which we sup - t h ey (I'd ; lio AT j: 1 1 • `lit f ir-- ,-.EO GRAPIIICAL SOCIETY.—The first meet- It.J., ° ", t he Present year was held on Monday evening, iv ht„ 4furehison, Esq , F.It.S., President, in the Chair, 11/411e Marqiiis of ' Northampton was elected, and R. 4 urto n , E sq.. Au) , was admitted a member. 1 :N?3 415e ,„ r ,Was read from Mr. Johnson, .on the ' l 'd : ;i; - "q u 'red British ' settlement of Hong-Kong, of ~70 0 town of Victoria. The physical aspects th e , ...`a island are , not very remarkable, and the su p auto of the country i s ster il e, except in hno4,lllatimn?r months from May to July. The only indi -4 fe te animal s are a species of deer, the armadillo, and tile- "no, though altiya,.nakos, and there is nothing remarkable in the many European seeds have been N,,:.'B,sfully introduced by the agent of the Horticultural _ -00.sar‘e..incny th,pY• Victoria, is theonly town in the island, though . . villages and hamlets distributed through it. 1 444 vv. dnesday evening a meetino . of the Sunder tt l'ti-Corn-law oto , ,„ Association ' was held b at the Bridge Ivas 'hcfluas Thompson, Esq , in the chair. It 7ecit l r t i e ,, s° , l l v,Pd, on the motion of Mr. George Hardcastle, five 6' °Y. Mr. Joshua Wilson, " That the Execu tyk . otninittee of tl ' A • • usAssociation be requested to Iltaediat kni'enents for e step s for completing all requisite ar essrs. r , the reception of Colonel Thompson, lae steo %-:ohden, Bright, &c., and that they also be re .issoei„`.',.° report the same to the next meeting of the li Q a b'Ll° l3 , to be held on Wednesday,loth instant." uttbuv,named gentlernen are expected to visit Sun . °I.I the 24th just.—Tyne Mercury of Tuesday. A special meeting of the Court of Sewers for the City and Liberty of Westminster, and part of the County of Middlesex, was held yesterday, at the Sewers-office, Greek-street, Soho, for the purpose of considering the resolutions to be proposed by Mr. Leslie, with respect to the duties of the officers of the Court, and the 'whole system of the collection of sewers'-rates. There was. more that the usual number of Commissioners present, and the subject matter of the resolutions appeared to create considerable interest. Among the number of Commissioners we noticed Mr. Tufnell, M.P., and T. L. Donaldson, Esq., the late Chairman. Mr. WILLOUGHBY, who presided during part of the sitting of the last Court, was unanimously called to the Chair, upon taking which, at eleven o'clock, he stated that the Court had been especially called for the purpose of considering a series of resoluti ons ( a l rea d y f orwar d e d ) to be proposed by Mr. Leslie, embracing the duties of the office clerks, and the whole system of collection of the sewers' rates, together with some resolutions, re specting the duties of the clerks of the works. It therefore became his duty to call upon Mr. Leslie to proceed with his resolutions, after the clerk had read the orders of the Court on the subject. Mr. FfErtsmorT, the clerk, having read the previous orders of the Court s Mr LESLIE said it was now his duty to bring forward his twenty-seven resolutions for the consideration of the Court, and in doing so Ile had been particularly careful to arm himself with the authority of the Court, fly the pur pose of enabling him to make the proposition he was now about to bring forward. Under the orders of the Court of the 11th of August, 1843, upon a previous notice of motion made by him, he had been requested to draw up a series of resolutions embracing the duties of the office clerks and the whole system of the collection of the sewers' rate, and by a subseqUent order of the Court on the Ist of Sept., 1843, liberty had been given to him to include the duties of the clerks of the works in the reso lutions he was now about to propose. He would not waste the time of the Court by any preliminary observations, but would content himslf with stating that his object in bringing forward these resolutions was to raise in public estimation the whole character of the ex ecutive departments under the Commissioners of Sewers for Westminster and part of the county of Middlesex ; to make the office more attractive and inviting to the public, thereby to facilitate great public and private im provements in the drainage of the various districts strider the Commission. his next object was to abolish much unnecessary labour, and apply the time gained to the more efficient and vigilant superintendence, by the two surveyors :and clerks of the works, of all public and private works in progress. His next object was to effect an immediate daily se a r c hi ug i nvest i gat i on into each item of charge against the sewers' rate, instead of a protracted laborious quarterly one. To cause the accounts to be entered daily into the books of the Commission, instead of delaying such important works to a month or six weeks after the expiration of every quarter. To cause one uniform system of daily entry of receipts and payments in books of the Commission, whereby, at one view, in an intelligible manner, might be shown the daily receipts and payments from and on account of each district, To cause the treasurer's account to be so kept as to correspond therewith, thereby to render unnecessary the present system of " 14 private pass-books" between the collectors and the bankers, to explain the 15th of the series now called the banker's book. To place under the entire control and exclusive employment of the Com mission every officer holding an appointment under it.; thereby to economise and appropriate labour as the pres sure of business may require, and with which advantages to reduce the present charge to the public of collecting the sewers' rates at least sixty per cent. To effect im mediate payments to the contractors and tradesmen em ployed by the Commission, whereby the public will gain all the advantages arising from cash payments. And to cause all moneys received daily by the col lecting clerks, and at the office to be entered in the books, and paid into the bankers' daily. His twenty-seven resolutions were intended to carry out that plan, and all that he was anxious at that moment to know was, whether he should be expejted to 'cove each resolution separately, or to classify them under separate heads. The first and second resolutions would be of no use unless a considerable number of the other resolutions he proposed were carried. Ire was of opinion that they ought to combine the efforts of all these officers, at the same time leaving each officer responsible for his own acts. Acting upon this principle he trusted the Court would postpone the consideration of his two first resolu tions and proceed to the consideration of the third, which was intended to give the Court a greater check and con trol over the surveyors' departments. If the Court would allow him to adopt his own course he thought he should best consult their convenience by bringing under their consideration, first, his 3d, 4th, sth, 6th, 7th, and 25th resolutions. The CHAIRMAN had hoped that the worthy Commis- sioner would have consolidated his resolutions. Mr. LESLIE said he had been most anxious to do so, but he could not, according to the, regulations of the Court. He was willing, however, now to do so, if it met with the approbation of the Courts Mr.. LAURIE thought the consolidation of the resolu tions was the best course that could be pursued. The CHAIRMAN was afraid that the Court could not consolidate them now, because the object of them was materially to alter the bye-laws by which the Court was governed. Mr. ALLASON thought that the utmost license ought to be given to the worthy Commissioner (Mr. Leslie) in bringing forward these resolutions. 110 thought he should be allowed to pursue his own course. Mr. BEECH thought the first resolution ought to be withdrawn altogether, considering it a slur upon all the officers of the Court. Mr. LAURIE moved that Mr. Leslie should have leave to postpone his first and second resolutions, and proceed with the others. Mr. ALLASON seconded the motion. Mr. I)ONALDSON, the late Chairman, had no objection to the postponement of the resolutions ; but he' trusted the lion. Commissioner, in adopting such a course, would not wish to establish a precedent. Mr. LESLIE had no such wish ; and if it was to be put on that ground, he would repudiate it altogether. Ile stood upon his right as a Commissioner of that Court. After some further discussion. Mr. LESLIE rose to propose his resolutions. The two first having been postponed by the Court to a future oc casion, he would now proceed with those which he thought bore upon the same point—those were the 3d, the 4th, the sth, the Gth, the 7th, and the 25th. The Honourable Commissioner then proceeded, at consider able length, to show the necessity for adopting a very different system of keeping the accounts of the Commis sioners, for the purpose of showing that the present system was not calculated to give to the Commissioners an impartial view of their affairs, and that unless some ciifferent system was adopted, the public could not be benefited. The present system of keeping the accounts of the Commission was confused and unintelligible, and caused an immensity of labour without any public benefit. The Hon. Commissioner said that the Court prided itself upon the accuracy of its system of book keeping; being by double entry, like all the Government offices. But, continued he, is it a double -entry system ? What did the Court do at its last sitting? Why, it paid all the officers' salaries to Chaisttnas ! Each one having presented an account for his salary, a stamped receipt would be annexed thereto, in exchange for the cheque on the treasurer. What would be the next step ? IVhy, after the individual had received his salary, and the clerk had his stamped receipt as the voucher, the doable -entry system commenced, and the whole salaries would be entered on the cash-book ; a verbatim copy thereof would be entered on the waste or bill-book, another verbatim copy would then be made in the journal ; after which seventeen ledger accounts would be opened debtor and creditor for each person's salary. But all this labour and trouble by the Court's order, was taken after the bills of each man's salary was paid I Now, that was an illus tration of the double -entry system of that Court—im mense labour, of 110 benefit as &check upon error, because this system of double-entry only commenced after the accounts had actually been paid. The contractor's ac counts also followed the same plan us the salaries of double entry, the whole having been paid before the entry of them commenced in the double-entry system of the Court. The lion. Commissioner then proposed the fol lowing resolutions : " That it is of the utmost importance to continue the present system of daily returns, mutually exchanged by the officers of the Court o( Sewers and the contractors, a ith the additions of a return for each district, and of a column in the contractors' daily return, in which must be specified the charge to the Commission of each item, and the total. These daily returns to be immediately examined, signed by the officers (clerks of the works and surveyor or assistant surveyor), and forthwith entered in the books and accounts of the Commission. That the surveyors and the clerks of the works be relieved from any further writing connected with the preceding daily returns, such as the weekly abstracts, first aipstract, second ab stract, and examination of quarterly accounts. That the contractors' daily returns, as amended, be the only accounts between the Court and the contractors. That the contractors' daily returns, verified by the surveyor and clerks of the works, shall be so entered daily in books for each district as to show what works are done, the particular locality and the cost, thereby rendering unnecessary the present system of weekly and quarterly abstracts rod accounts. That the surveyors a.nd clerks of the works being thus relieved from a great amount of labour, the advantage to the public will be pgerersaotn, aalsatnhdeyviwgiilianlbt eenabled to devot e muc h more ti me t o th e superintendence of the works in progress, than they can possibly do under the present system—and their hours of labour notwithstanding be materially diminished. A long examination then took place of Mr. Doull, the assistant surveyor, which ended in an expression of opinion that the propositions of Mr. Leslie could be carried out. Mr. Doom. distinctly stated that there would be no daily mo Nt ;r: sr , a so o c n N o e ,uens, while ma eo d l e hu out eti oan ps o p, f r t fo h evl e et d a b . 0 00 r fu k n s s difficulty in c arry i ng out Mr. Leslie's proposition of having a domm toe progress. oopfp othsee Ho M n 1 ...C 1 0 ) many of them. Mr. LESLIE then proposed, for the adoption of the Court, his 3d, 4th, sth, 6th, 7th, and 25th resolutions. Some discussion took place upon them, in which Mr. DONALDSON joined, and moved, as an amendment— " That it was of the utmost importance to continue the present system of daily returns, mutually exchang e d b y the officers of the Court and the contractors, separate returns being made out for each district, the measured quantities squared and abstracted." Mr. HanetsoN seconded the amendment. Mr. LESLIE urged emphatically upon the Court to examine with the greatest care the amendment to his third resolution which the late chairman had just pro posed; it was neither more nor less than striking out the very essence of the whole, and making the Court, if ho carried his amendment, declare that it would not re quire the contractor to deliver in the cost of each days' works, which their chief surveyor had just stated could bo done without difficulty. Mr. LESLIE, who obtained a hearing after a long and irregular discussion upon the right to speak to the amendment, said that their surveyor, Mr. Dowley, had told them that his plan of daily accounts could be carried into effect without difficulty; and it should ho recollected COURT CIRCULAR. WiNnson, TURSDAY.—The Queen and Prince Albert took their accustomed early walk this morning in the precincts of the Castle. The Earl of Liverpool and Sir Henry Wheatley took leave, and left the Castle in the forenoon. Her Majesty and Prince Albert left the Castle this afternoon for Claremont. Her Majesty and her Illustrious Consort oc cupied the first Royal carriage and four, and were accompanied by her Royal Highness the Princess Royal. His Royal highness the Prince of Wales, the Lady in Wait. ing, the Lo'd in Waiting on the Queen, Colonel A r b u th no t, the Equerry in Waiting o n hi s Royal Hig hness Prince Albert, Major General Sir Edward Bowater, and other members of the Royal suite, followed in the remaining carriages and four. The Royal party took their departure from the Castle at twenty-five minutes past two o'clock, the cavalry escort being commanded by Lieutenant Lowther. The Hon. C. A. Murray, and Mr. G. E. and the Hon. Mrs. Anson, left with the Royal party for Claremont. The lion. and Rev. C. Leslie Courtenay took his departure from the Castle to-day, on a visit. Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, attended by Lady Fanny Howard, paid a visit to the Queen previous to her Ma jesty leaving the Castle. Her Royal Highness afterwards re turned to Frogmore Lodge. A Cabinet Council was held yesterday afternoon at the Foreign-office.. It was attended by Sir Robert Peel, the Lord Chancellor, the Duke of Wellington, the Earl of Aberdeen, Lord Stanley, Sir James Graham, the Chancellor of the Ex chequer, Earl of Haddington, Earl of Ripon, Sir Henry liar dinge, and Sir Edward Knatchbull. Lord Uharncliffe arrived in town in the afternoon from his scat Wortley Hall, Yorkshire, and joined his colleagues shortly before four o'clock. The Duke of Rime Tench 2nd the Right Hon. W. E. Glad stone had not arrived in town. The Council sat two hours and a half. The Ecclesiastical Commissioners for England had a meet ing yesterday at the Office in Whitehall-place. The Commis sioners present were the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Bishop of London, the Bishop of Llan'lalT, the Earl of Chichester, and the Dean of Westminster. The Attorney-General had an interview with Sir Robert Peel yesterday. Sir James Graham and other Ministers visited. the Right lion. Baronet yesterday. The Archbishop of Canterbury had an interview with Lord Stanley yesterday, at the Colonial-office. Sir John Rae Reid had an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official residence in-Downing street. THE ROYAL Bucx HOUNDS.—Her Majesty's stag hounds had one of the most severe and lengthened runs this season on Monday last, the fixture being at Maidenhead, at which upwards of 200 were present. The little deer Sweep was uncarted at Maidenhead Thicket, and was taken within a mile of Stokmichureb, in Oxfordshire, after a three hours' run, over upwards of thirty miles of a hilly and extremely heavy line of country. The deer swam across the Thames, nearly opposite to Henley, and upon the hounds being laid on, upon the opposite shore, the pace up to the fi nish was tremendous. Only twelve out of the numerous field at the meet were up at the take, including Mr. Davis (the huntsman, who had two fresh horses during the run), and a sprinkling of the right so r t, who were well mounted. The field was pretty well weeded before the deer crossed the water at Henley. The distance from Stokenchurch to the kennol ( where the hounds arrived the same evening), is between 20 and 30 miles. • FATAL ACCIDENT ON THE RIYEE.---OD Monday evening the Venezuela steam-ship, belonging to the General Steam Navigation Company, was bringing up alongside the John Bull steamer at Horselydown, after her arrival from Ham burgh, when th e boatswain, an active fellow, took a rope—the spring —in his hand, for the purpose of making fast to the John Bull, and in stepping from one vessel to the other he slipped and fell into the water between the two. The tide carried the man under the next tier of vessels, and he was drowned. The deceased, who has left a wife and three children, has been in the Company's service many years, and was one of the best seamen in their employ. rAL Ns 0 "5 r 0 TYRO' ;erday vias firm,o on s peculauo Stock were to ;ome appeara o . , ; Edinboro: 3 ; Great %I r e:, ), Quarters, 2uti Manchester so, 30-1 ; Paris anu aris and 14415' ters and paPe l* „ . rday afternoo7l ;factory. S h % Much regr eC annah had COl; perpot4l9o red from 5 011t11 iniug ComP aPl .: on of thO se ons of J 311 1"., eyend the 11 ` 41 o f ders of a few le Governo le ot Fund were 1!$1 with the e cl 4 It is assur,, will be to disposal o f t io the Petit , la ; A flat nor t o f he pay T en 0 1 Le questloo.ro the sovert i g inted " 7 0 7 d 'rem thoßen: o , :hat the e w o l soon wear 0 w ell • as to il niences in 12, en are 01° 4 ,,,t Dr in t acit: o rivate bee' roe-and-a if oolfn. i banitiflg by spectilt ) , , for thellv lalf per C dm e e n o 'hree per I ' l 0 as include' f o r n amount, 01 No peri l it ed Debt. L 0 On place firer Diver than L,O . Reduced ji c u itock has be om 69 to , ou r At 000 S. ,) ty that a g , iv e mail Oa e d e not adv ell t hef Indeed, 'O4 • SPa nisi a lst sd are at 3-vo :h Stocks' ;ian Bea ,s 'oB place ii s and $1,041 T fl milr, ifiland ' l- 0 6 Norther°. 61 tnge take" M O'CL OCS' . 187 PO '96 O4 0 31 91' . in2iii . 12 94" , 272 87 97 960 273 lid. 7 pal -7 pro. rE O P I2 'CL OCS. 320. 21kJ 5i 501 b' 100 ii Bare. ..... tov`" i." to 0 t . 2 , 1 1 to to bo a 9. llre ric ° #ea tly r ; a , ro s oi hes °. step' lc t vo t ,uth P 541 ' !Lester , )1. s opel lea trlboritv olio ( 1 ', l rat b Moe . TO aro. e PI • • oti e , 0 0 coroy,/ ii 3/ . lo3k THE.• F • •-- THE RENCH LEGISLATIffig, CHAMBER OF PEERS, Jig. a At two o'clock Baron Pasquier, the Chancellor, took the chair. Shortly afterwards the Duke de Broglie read to the Chamber the foliowing draught of the address in reply to the King's speech : " Sire,—The words which your Majesty has pronounced from the Throne have filled our hearts with joy. la receiving them with respect we thank the King for the prosperity of the country. Our loyal support will never be wanting to him. May France display with confidence her fruitful activity, and follow her peaceable la hours. May she acquire additiona 1 power and wealth among all nations; her future destinies are secured ; tie empire o( the laws is established ; factions have been overcome, and the power of the State, disdaining their vain demonstrations, will keep a watchful eye over their machinations. " Order in the finances constitutes the strength and security of Governments. The Chamber of Peers had more than once demanded the re-establishment of a balance between the re ceipts and expenditure; and it applauds the success of the efforts made to attain that end. " Peace reigns abroad, and there is every prospect of its duration. The relations between France and the foreign Powers are on a benevolent footing; we congratulate sour Majesty on that result. A sincere friendship unites you to the Queen of Great Britain. A happy understanding has been established between your Government and hers ; its presence of the events now passing in Spain anti Greece that harmony was desirable. Our policy with regard to those two countries has ever been generous and disinterested ; it must not be altered. We entertain for them a real affection; may they, after so many convulsions, enjoy tranquillity and order ; may Royalty find irs those friendly nations and its alliance with pub. lie liberties a new principle of power and stability. " The treaties concluded with the King of Sardinia, with the republics of Venezuela and the Ecuador, and the negotia tions which your Majesty follows with other Powers, have for their object to extend our commercial relations, to provide mar kets for the productions of our national industry, by preserving to existing interests an equitable protection; it is a task wor thy of your enlightened solicitude. In order to appreciate their results, we will wait. the communications which your Government may be pleased to make to us. " We shall attentively study the laws relative to works of public utility. The law on secondary instruction shall be the object of our meditations. The freedom of education is one of the consequences of the charter; the tutelar intervention of the State in public instruction is indispensable for society. " Sire,—Your family is ours. France deems herself hippy to count, like you, an additional child in that young Princess whose presence adds to the consolations which God has se served to you. France views with pride, in the ranks of our brave army of Algeria, one of your sons, giving and receiving in turn the example of that undaunted ciurage S and patience which surmount the resistance of men and the obstables of nature ; so many efforts will yield their fruit, and our domi nion in Algeria shall soon be general and tranquil. God has blessed you, Sire, by giving to you children wor th y o f t h e i r father and of th e nat i on of which they are the noblest sup. porters. Thus dynasties are consolidated and bonds of affec tion are formed between Royal races and nations. Plest'ed faith and a mutual attachweent render the tie indissoluble ; the King, on ascending the throne, promised to devote to us his entire existence, to do everything to promote the glory and welfare of France ' • France promised t o b e f a i thful to him. The King has obser ve d his oath—where is the Frenchman who could forget or betray his allegiance?" The Duke de Richelieu then entered into some explanations respecting his late visit to the Duke de Bordeaux. He was, he said, a Peer in MO; he took the oath at that time to the new Government, and had never violated it. If he had gone to London to pay his respects to an unfortunate Prince, he merely considered that he was accomplishing a duty of honour, and rejected with indignation all idea of having been influenced by any criminal intention. M. de Boissy next ascended the tribune, and read a manu script speech, in which he reviewed and condemned the do mestic and foreign policy of the Cabinet, but without being able to captivate the attention of the Chamber. He spoke of the right of search, and asked M. Guizot if he bad obtained satis faction for the violence offered to French fishermen by English cruizers, who had fired upon them, and killed one of them, without giving them any previous notice ? This sally excited the merriment of the assembly. M. Guizot replied, that a French fisherman had been ac tually killed at Newfoundland by a shot fired by an English officer ; that this unfortunate occurrence had given rise to a long negotiation, and that the English Government, on inquiring into the circumstances which had occasioned that deplorable event, had found that the officer was to blame, and had granted a pension to the family of the deceased. M. de Veyrac presented the vindication of the 2,000 or 3,000 Frenchmen who had visited the Duke de Bordeaux, amidst the murmurs of the assembly. M. Guizot stated that the Government hadlor several years kept a watchful eye over the move:nents of the Duke de Bor deaux ; that when theiyoung Prince had repaired to Vienna, Dresden, and Berlin, where Fran ce h a d ambassadors, re monstrances had been made against his presence there, which were immediately attended to by the Governments of Austria, Saxony, and Prussia. When the Duke pro ceeded to England, M. Guizot was aware that in a country enjoying liberty and publicity to such an extent the Government had not the same means of repression ns elsewhere. Ile, nevertheless, had addressed a note to the English Government, by whom it was received in a manner that responded to his expectation. The Queen of England refused to receive the Duke, and thus gave him a signal mark of her disapprobation of his visit and sojourn in her dominions. Encouraged, however, by the toleration, they experienced in that free country, the Legitimatists had in dulged in scandalous scenes, which excited the attention .f the French Government. It again applied to the British Cabinet, who protested its regret at not being armed with sufficient legal means of repression, but at the same time it manifested its dis pleasure in unequivocal terms to the authors of those scenes, and left nothing undone to convince them of its dissatisfaction at their criminal proceedings. The speech of M. Guizot was most favourably received by the assembly. 81 . . de Boissy, who spoke next, compared the emigration of M. Guizot to Ghent, in 1815, with the recent visit of the Le. getimitists to 13elgrave-square, and pronounced the former to be far more criminal, inasmuch as it had; taken place in time of war, and on the eve of a battle that had proved so fatal to his country. When he had concluded, the President announced that the general discussion was closed, anti read the first para graph of the address, which was adopted without opposition. The second paragraph was likewi se vo t e d, a f ter a few words from the Minister of Pittance, who assured the Chamber that it was not a mere promise which the King's speeds held out, but a positive assurance, that the receipts and expenditure would he balanced in the budget of 11345. • M. Segur Lamoignon having asked M. Guizot if he had °Felled z negotiation with England for the revision of the right of search ? M. Guizot replied, that when lie deemed the moment op. poi tune, he had directed the attention of the British Govern. ment to that subject, and, after much difficulty, had succeedel in inducing it to consent to a re-examination of the treaties of 1831 and 1833. The negotiations were still pending, but he had every hope of bringing the matter to a satisfactory con. elusion. M Dubouchage asked M. Guizot if it was true that the English had taken possession of the harbour of Diego Suarez, on the coast of Madagascar? M. Guizot replied, that no information on the subject had reached his department or that of the Marine. After a taw words of M. de Boissy, on the affair of the Marabout sl ave - s hi p , t h e t hi r d paragraph was carried, with an amendment in favour of Polish nationality. The Chamber finally voted the address, by a majority of 115 votes against 14. MURDER. OF LORD GRANTLEY'S KEEPER. CORONER'S INQUEST.—Yesterday an inquest (adjourned from Monday) was held at the Jolly Farmer, Brumley, near Guildford, before Mr. C. J. Woods, Coroner for Wust Surrey, on view of the body of James Edwards, aged 48 years, prin cipal keeper to the Right lion. Lord Grantley. On Monday the jury proceeded with the Coroner to the club. room to view the body, which presented a frightful spectacle, there Lein.- upwards of a dozen wounds on each side of the head, evidently inflicted by some blunt instrument, in all pro bability the butt-end of a gun. After evidence had been adduced of the prisoner having beer, missed on Saturday morning, and the finding of the body in a heist called Lyne Ersh, belonging to Lord Grantley, Charles Ilollington was sworn, and stated—l am inspector of police at Guildford. On Saturday evening lad, between 9 and 10 o'clock, the prisoner James Elsley was brought to the station-house at Guildford by Joseph Jenkins. On Sunday afternoon the prisoner expressed a wish to see me. I went to the station-house, and he appeared very uneasy in his mind, and said he wished to speak to me. I cautioned him that whatever he might say I should take down, and that it might afterwards be used against him. On the following night, about 7 o'clock, I understdod that the prisoner wished to see me again. 1 accordingly went to him, and he made the fol lowing statement : " On Friday evening I went home and took supper, but on entering the door I saw my son eating some victuals. I said to him, Where are you going Bill ?' He said, lam going to the raffle; and, father, will you come down to take part of a pint of beer James Sherlock is going to give me ?' I ate my supper and took a pint of half-and-half. My son and me went home together, and when we got indoors he asked my wife for some victuals; she said, What do you mean by th a t ? You had your victuals b e f o r e y ou went out.' She cut bins a piece, and gave it him, and as soon as he had undone his shoes he went to bed. When he was gone, I said, How hard it is for us to be in such distress, we have neither butter nor cheese, er sugar ;' and whetber she had even tea I am uncertain, for when we had our supper ,we had but a piece of bread each with a little tea, without sugar and milk, and I had spent the last 2d. we had , so we were destitute, and it hurt my feeling*; so I said to my wife, ' I will go and get a bird or two, if I possibly can, for I can't bear to see us in such distress.' I went and shot a brace of birds, and I thought if I could get a sale for them it would get a little tea and sugar. I was coming to the river when I met the keeper, and he said, D—n you, I have got you now.' He then put up a stiA and said, I)—n your eyes, I'll kill you,' and he was going to strike me, but I pushed and threw him down, and I said, 'We will fight, life for life.' I struck him with the butt-end of a gun several times; the last time he fell into the river. I then went away, and left him. On going , home my wife said, Have you got anything ?' I said, ' Yes. She then replied, I hope nothing will happen from this.' I said something had already taken place." A great number of other witnesses were examined, but their testimony was merely a corroboration of the previous witnesses. The CORONER. then summed up with great minuteness, and the jury without the least hesitation returned a verdict of " Wilful murder" against James Elsley. 'HE BOSCAWEN, 70 GuNs.—This fine vessel, after being a considerable period on the stocks at Woolwich Dock. yard, has been ordered to be completed, and is now nearly ready for launching. A number of caulkers are employed upon her, to complete that part of her works, as it is expected she wit be launched in March next. The Boscawen is a handsome three-decker, and, although not re such large dimen sions as the Trafalgar, is well worthy of being seen, as she is the largest ship of war in an advanced state at Woolwich or Deptford Dockyards at the present time. - The principal deck is supported by 18 turned pillars of the best African teak, which add greatly to the appearance of her stability The Royal Albert of 120 guns will be the principal object of attrac. tion at the Woolwich Dockyard after the launch of the Boa eawen. The greater part of the timbers of that magnificent first-rate ship being now nearly converted into their proper shape, will enable the workmen to proceed with her construe• tion with the utmost dispatch, and she now begins to assume a fine form and very beautiful outline; her side timbers are erected. The " jornings" and the strength and stability of the workmanship of this vessel, in the opinion of competent judges, have never been excelled, if equalled, in the British navy ; and her excellent proportions app t Jr.ar to be the admira tion of all, and re fl ect great credit on Oliver Laag, b master shipwright who designed her, and under wh ose imme • diate superintendence she is in progress of construc tion. man fully possessed of his subject, and _ effect, HOW TO WRITE CLEARLY AN write with vigour and t of hie cause, may almost always AND FORC I BLY. e F on D fi lt d c e l if he can get over the temptation of writing finely, really con fi ne himself to forward. II l the clear and strong expositio n of the ma tter affectation and oftensive pretension we meet with in authors arises from a want of matter, and the other half from a paltry ambition of being eloquent told ingenious out of place.—Lord Jeffrey, ii