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

AL NE AV S '0 T , rday was firm on sPectilatios. Stock were to; ome apprar anc r b 'oa • Edi abg e rb 4 G reat 1‘ os; Quarters , 4auchester and ;01 ; Paris el: iris and LY°ll, er s and e rs : pP rday aftere!ovrt factory. 511 riach regret tnnah had eel perpetuate 1' - - ed from S °utll nine* Com P a g e );, mi of tho se 196 on s of 13 r, 1 ,, ti 0 e 3yend the P"'d ders of a fa rn re Govern- 4i Fund were C pl with the olu'ej r, it is asse t ,' ll e , will be to disposal 01 10 the De bt ' pi A flat rear - n eP E o'cl,'"- 186 k 970 0 4 ( 96i 97 1021 11 . 10600 , 12 kI: A 129'1" • 272 • 187 . 97_910' st 67 pro , 57 p w ' fI LOC T iE o' . 1131 103 k 3 - 20 . 2i . 2iii • ▪ 301; 4 ▪ 54b , 1001 1 • Orl y ' hare. • is to 120 " to • to ....▪ .. t 0..... •*". to to •"" to . . to .... to , .. .. . to "I 01 ..... to ""‘I ..... to__ .... to b of cly es 00, steady, L and 1 oP ° ,nchest er s ter fb , ,outh 541' 'chested fl ed ° as ()Pe' , arthotoolooso one A bee, f hat ha' A!' y Has©' 111:1 laP? r " e ~ fr uo3 tit coyly! wpsof 65 eY 001 old er iP Cl° ll 011 o 11 Cat; t „ 0' ( jar ow tie ros ker . rider. 33 p a 01 19 jet i,mstpe• 0 .00 d erred POLICE hat the contractors, Messrs. Bennett and Bird, received tabout 21,0001. of the public money yearly, or about 75 per cent. of the whole expenditure of the Commission, and were en some occasions (as we understood) paid before their accounts were laid before the Board. Mr. lIERTSLETT, the clerk, on being questioned, said that the contractors had applied for the money before the accounts came before the Board, but it bad not been paid to them. Mr. LESLIE proceeded to argue that it would save labour, and prevent errar, 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 fuglernan this time I" 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 that the surveyor's reports should b e l a id b e f ore t h e B oar d , written in a book, to be kept in the office, was lost by a majority of fourteen to ten ; and an amendment, proposed by Mr. Donaldson, that the rcports 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 such 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 precedir. g order of Court, under the authority of the 52d George 111., cap. 48, sec. 7, being a true copy 01 the rate-book of the persons assessed to the poor-rate, with the designation and rental cf 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 questi ons left for their decision and presentment, viz.:—The property that receives benefit or avoids damage by the sewage of the district, and the persons who aro legally and judicially recognised as the occupiers of that property." He was convinced that .if they went on in the present very imperfect manner, allowing their officers to t am p er 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 churches, and the prison, and although the majority of the Board had been against him, the result proved th a t h e was r i ght. In the trial in he 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 proceedings. After another very long and desultory discussion, in which Mr. Laurie and another gentleman supported Mr. Leslie's proposition, whilst Mr. Donaldson and others pro nounced it expensive and useless, the resolutions were negatived Mr. LESLIE said that although he expected his next proposition would also be negatived, he 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 defraud 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— "That the expense of collecting the sewers' rate is very great, and that the system of such collection is most defective ;—that the exclusive occupation of the collectors should be as clerks to the Commission, and their whole time devoted to the business thereof,—that the remuneration should be by fixed salaries, and not by a per centege, which most unequally pays the col lectors, varying as it does under the existing system from 10A-d. per house to 41d. ; yet in the aggregate entails, taking the average of the last bi years, an annual charge upon the rate payers of three rounds 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-beoks, 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 the office, and be so prepared that every party charged in such rat e may, i mmediately on payment, be thereon discharged. That the collecting clerks take with them, on proceeding to collect, books of receipts prepared in the office, and alto a p t p e r e a p b a s r e e n d t re stumps for form of d a il y return, showing the name of the person, the locality, an d the amount received, to be filled up on the spot; that at th e c l ose of the day's collection the amount tendered cbeyipetase,hsueehrkbe che t y o u b e e d a s g ta a m in p s e t d th s, e ,itha stumps sia o m f the the purpose, s h ow i ng the day each sum was accounted for, and that from thes e d a il y returns the party charged on the rate book be discharged." [The remaining resolutions related to the details of the account keeping.] Mr. DONALDSON opposed the resolutions. He said t hat in the last twenty-five years rates to the amount of 600,0001. had been collected, upon which the defalcations had been only 5,000/., and of this the public lost no more than 2001, the securities having made good the re mainder. He denied that the employment of clerics as collectors would be more efficient, and appealed to the meeting if they were prepared to dismiss from their ser vice, for the sake of a very doubtful experiment, m en 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 SUN, LONDON, WEDNESDAY EN ENING, JANUAR 10, 1R44, 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, depreeia tion of the whole mass immediately commenees, and continues until the gold be expelled from the country, and the mass of currency of paper and gold b.e thereby sufficiently reduced, that the limit of the precious metals is again restored. The gold leaving the country i s merely the con sequence o f 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 1839, 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 burrow a large amount of the pre cious metals there to supply the 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 17,361,0004 and their stock of gold, three months afterward; 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 the wall 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 19,350,000/., and then the gold, which bad 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 in the manufacturing districts were thrown altogether out of employment and rendered utterly destitute, and had 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 paper 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 inA is firmament. Under these: .: easmstances is there a man in the whole country, wnoee 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 dtermined 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 su 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 lie 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 bued with more than Bosotian 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 depreciating our present domestic currency,' confined, as it is by law, to these me t a l s . A stock of gold, therefore, though it be quite necessary to support, for a season, a dis 2dthi4elosen3ci, e rer s ai fb t reesi ie a r nn : sdo i u s t s ba u ni se e :et:l is o s e f soyafr ß yth a haf n eov k irer of England notes, and to enable the Bank Directors and their friends to plunder enabling e r s ,t hitherto ntdhot Banke f i% o •a r y already ttho e s luaps port its issues of paper money, if they are confined within the proper limit. One million of gold will suffice for meet ing 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. Ssn,—ln your paper of the 20th instant the following questions are put by " A Cumbist," and answers re quired— " Ist. If the Bank of England has twelve millions of gold in its co ff ers, w h y does it not contract its notes, coin the gold, and put it into circulation ? 2d. If the Bank of Eneland 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 into circulation, how is the Bank to rid 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 ?" Permit 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 currency ; 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 fur the wants of commerce ; and to reduce its amount 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 :he 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 are, 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 do mestic 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 man being the very essence of Wealth : and the domestic currenqy 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 can 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 sufficiently long, however, to enable the Directors of that establishment to plunder their fellow-subjects of their means, in the manner to be immediately ex plained. E very expansion of our domestic:currency 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 contraction of the currency, on the other hand, within the limits of th at standard, is the depreciation in money value of that pro perty, and the undue increase of the value of money capital itself ; and every change, therefore, on the average amount of the Bank of England's paper money, from 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 16,112,0001 ; and, again, the average of those issues for the three months, ending Feb. 4, 1843, was 2 1,108,0001., (See Appendix, No. 3). Between these quantities there is no less a difference, in round numbers, than 5,000,0002 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 circulati ng me di um o f th e country—the most enormous pow er , t h at ever was g i ven to mortal man over his fellow creatures, has b een given to o ne 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. How 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, during the same period ? With out sufficiency of currency there cannot be sufficiency of price, and without suf f iciency of price there cannot be sufficiency of w ages ; and the insu ffi c i enc y o f wages which exist e d d ur i ng the last few years , f rom t h e ex treme contractions o f t h e currency by the Bank o f England, first emaciated and attenuated the bodies of its innocent victims, the labouring poor, rendering them easily sus ce ptibl e o f every passing disease , o f typh us an d other fevers —th e never - failing concom itants of insufli cient nour i s h ment—and then swept them away into un timely graves . To compare g rea t t hi ngs w i t h sin that the Legislatur e gave a powertaoll' let us suppose the publicans of Lond on , to regulate the liquid measure of the pint , by extending it, at t i mes, as far as a pint and a half when trade was, in th e i r estimation, brisk, an d re d uc i ng i t at other ti mes, when they thought trade dull, as ' far as half a pint on l y. Can there be the least d ou b t i n the mind of any sane person, that these publicans would not immediat e ly ta k e advantage of the power t h us com mitted to th em, and turn it to t h e i r own ae count ? They would, no donbt, a ff ect i ng , or pretending lib era li ty, and a hypocr i t i ca l regar d f or the public interest, sometimes raise the mea sure to a pint a n d a h alf, and it wou ld b e a l wa y s t h e i r interest, and th e y would never fail to d o so , w h en t h ey were themselves out of stock and going to purchase, and they would t a k e very good care to be out of s t oc k before they made such change, for they would then pur chase in stock such enormous advantage to themselves ; but they would much more generally, that is to say, so long as they had anything to sell, keep down the mea sure to a half-pint only. Wi t h r egard to their brethren throughout the country, who might not know when these changes were about to take place, those brethren ld could reap no advantage fr om th e m, for as they would buy, not knowing the movements at head quarters, they would sometimes find themselves, without any fault of their own, r u i ne d an d u n d one ; 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 indtistry of the country, so as to blind the public as to the real nature sad extent of their power ; but they much more frequently, to suit their own greedy and selfish ends, crush that industry to atoms, and sweep both the labour of the working classes, and the profits of their employers, into their own pockets. That the Directors of the Bank of England abuse the power over the currency thus entrusted to them, and turn it premeditatedly to their o wn i n di v i dual ad vantage, is beyond all possibility o f d oubt, for i demonstration, se d and th a t, too, of the averages f i r t am is th c e a ir pab o l i e vn o p f ubl of their issues as appearing in the Gazette, from the time they were first ordered to be published in 1834 to the present time. The same charge, however, cannot be brought against the partners, or Proprietors, as they are called, of the Bank ; for, unless they had access 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 metallic part of it, 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 of the precious metals be again restored. But the Bank of England, and the Bank of England alone, have it in their power, from t h e extraordinary command they possess over the currency of this coun try, from the 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 eountry 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 theri 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 paitst put oh the screw, by calling in their notes. It is evident that when our domestic currency exceeds the limit of the precious metals, it is necessary for the Bank to have an extra supply of those metals, which can only last while the d e p reciation i s 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, and 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 t, 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 b een 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 the public, as cruel and urjust, especially coming, as it did, immediately after the great depression and distress: of 1841 and 1842. Some lest 3d., some Gd., and son') no less than 9d., on the sove reign, although the li g ht es t o f t h em 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 the notes of 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 are not bound, refuse to pay; in silver ; and, thus their notes, to a greater extent than ever known before, are kept in circulation without expelling the gold from the country. The fact, therefore, of nineteen or twenty millions of ' the Bank's paper money being permanently kept in cir culation for the present, does not prove dint 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 its origin that th e movement aga i nst li g h t go ld had 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, ns 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 qu est i on o f t h e currency, they in reality under stand it but too well. The answers to the questions put may now be antici pated Ist. 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 se ason , w h en the time suitable for them selves arrivee, 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 issues of 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 Fell. 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 with 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 emir. mous amount of unproductive capital even for the time it has now been kept up. Early in 1840, a complaint was brought before Par liament by the merchants and manufacturers of Man chester that they bad been stript of their means, 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 for 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 knowledge) 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 late IVhig Government, for although it was com posed of men of all parties—Tories, Whigs, and Radicals —the Members were all on one able : 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 which the inquiry was osten sibly instituted. They were appointed merely fur the purpose of talking and amusing 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 manner 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 151 1, forms no part of the questions put, as above quoted, and therefore I will not trespass can 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 universal standard of %able 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 taxis above their natural amount, because, being a fixed quantity, limited by nature in their amount, the precious metals are 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. JAM Edinburgh, Old Br oug ht on , D ec. 30, 1843. ES PEDIE. APPENDIX. 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 Metals in the Bank of England as appearing (tom • the Gazette quarterly . No. I. From the commencement of the Returns to the 10th Nov., 1840, FOR TILE PERIOD FROM NOTES BULLION. 18 Nov. 34 to 10th Fcb.1835... £18,099,000 £6693,000 10 Feb. to 5 May, 1835... 19,542,000 6,197,000 5 May to 28 July 1835.., 18,322,000 6,283,000 28 July to 26 Oct 1805_ 17,930,000 6,186,000 26 Oct. to 12 Jan 1836... 17,282,000 7,076,000 12 Jan. to 5 April 1836... 18,063,000 7,801,000 5 April to 28 June 1836... 17,890,000 7,362,000 28 June to 20 Sept 1836 .. 18,147,000 5,719,000 20 Sept. to 13 I)cc 1836... 17,361,000 4,545,000 13 Dec. to 7 March 1837... 18,178,000 4,048,000 7 March to 30 May... 1837.., 18,419,000 4,420;000 30 May to 26 Aug. 1837... 18,462 000 5,754,000 26 Aug. to 14 Nov. —1837... 18,844,000 7,432,000 14 Now. 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 . 183 8... 19,256,000 9,74)1.000 24 July to 16 Oct 1833... 19,350,000 9,437,000 16 Oct. to 8 Jan. 1839... 18,201,000 9,336,000 8 Jan. to 2 April 1839... 18,371,009 7,073,000 2 April to 21 June 1839... 18,101,000 4,344,000 25 June to 17 Sept 1839... 17,960,000 2,810,000 17 Sept. to 10 Dec 1839... 16,732,000 2,887,090 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 19 Nov 1810... 16,798,000 3,729,000 21 -4377,485,000 General Average for the whole periodf, 17,990,000 No. 11. Monthly returns for the Quarter, including the fuur Weeks from 10 Dec. ending7Jan. 1841 £16,112,000 £3,557,000 4 Feb. ...... 16,230,000 3,8111,000 4 March .....• 16,372,000 4,076,000 1 April 16,537,000 4,339,000 29 April 16,587,000 4,638,000 27 May ...... 16,615,000 4,921,000 24 June ........ 16,632,000 5,098,000 22 July 16,821,000 5,170,000 19 Aug. 17,228,000 5,106,000 17 Sept 17,481,000 4,975,000 15 Oct. 13 Nov 17,272,090 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 £16,852,894 No. 111. Monthly returns for the quarter, int 1 uding the four weeks ending NOTES. BULLION. 24 June, 1842 Z17,795,000 £7,320,000 22 July 19 Aug 18,952,000 8,496,000 15 Sept. 14 Oc• 20,004,000 9,633,000 10 Nov . 19,903,000 9,789,000 8 Dec 7 Jan., 1843 4 Feb 4 March 20,340,000 10,984,000 1 April 29 April ..... .. ................. ... 20,329,000 11,316,000 27 Slay 19,422,000 11,325,000 24 June 22 July 19,809,000 11,872,0(X) 19 Aug. 16 Sept. 14 0ct..19,240,000 12,086,000 11 Nov. 9 Dec 18,791,000 12,990,000 20 —£388,218,000 General average of the whole period 19,410,900 Deduct first general average No. I. 17,990,C00 General average amount of issues --- beyond the first peri0d............ 1,420,900 OUTLAWIM—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 Heed Kemp, formerly M P. for Lewes, and projector of Kemp Town, Brighton, an outlaw, he haring neglected to render in an action brought against him by Sir W. Pilkington, Bart., and Dame Mary Milbourne Swinnerton, his wife. Accounts have been received at Holderness 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 Paris, and it is feared the other members of the family may also take the infection. LIGENCE 130 W-STREE'I%—(THIS DAY.) Fo rtGERY.--Charlotte Scott was brought before Mr. Thy ford, charged with forging the name of an old woman of the name of Anne Lee. maltrltnri George Th omas Lee, of the Provident I ns tit ut i on , S t. . 8 - lane, stated that on the 6th inst. the prisoner 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. I4s. 3d. Witness filled up a receipt for the amount and handed it to the prisoner to sign, and she Signed the name of Anne Lee. The witness then referred to the signature-book, and found that the signature in the book and that on the receipt did not correspond. In consequence of this he questioned the prisoner, and then she admitted that the was net Anne Lee, but she said that Anne Lee was dead, and before her death she had given her (the prisoner) her de posit-book, and told her to draw the money herself. The wit ness then sent the prisoner into the managers' room. Mr. Broodle, the Secret ar y t o th e P rov id ent I nst i tut i on, stated th at the prisoner told him that Anne Lee had died about tbrce wee k s before, that she had been for some time ill, and that during her illness she upset a kettle of boiling water over the prisoner's child. The old worran, shortly before her death, dgave 11:.r the deposit-book in question, and requested her t o raw the money to remunerate her for the ' trouble she had h a d co it h the dece ase d , as she had no relations in the world who could claim the money. The prisoner, when questioned at wit efflee, said she did not think she was doing wrong in sign '4g. the old woina s name. Two witnesses were then called for the defence, who swore teat th thethey were present v‘ hen the old woman gave the prisoner de P o sit!book.—Th e prisoner was remanded. m.A- RYLEBONE.—(THIS DAY.) fore Air. George Stunk a well-dressed young man, was placed Rawlin Y so ' n, c arg h ed with the following assault upon Edward band :-- , The complainant stated that he was returning home about usif-past eleven, when he was overtaken by the prisoner and two others, who said to him, " Oh, how drunk you are !" C-.m -plainant said, "Mind your own business," when the prisoner a ttacked hi m in the most savage manner, felled him to the ground .. eam knocked some teeth out. Complainant was it uPcfied for a few minutes, and then called for the assistance of the polic ii._ e, when the prisoner took to his heels, and corn vonant after him. He was eventually taken into cu tody by 'ell Police. The priso ner denied the assault in toto, but Mr. Rawlinson (af ter te he Persols com tined hi ainant's reiterating his conviction that he was ) m 40s. Richard John LangreY CLEI IXENWELL—(THIS DAY.) was charged with embezzling various I st n e s „ ° ! zn eac'y belonging to his master, Mr. Ostock, a respect th-`ws-agent, residing in Hart-street, Bloomsbury. 4t,Ce prisoner was employed in collecting money for the pro ttiebi4„ , ho, from time to time, missed several sums of mid ,I• It appeared from the evidence that bills were forged torg i rt lented to the customers. The name of Mr. Ostock was Tlif;" ea these bills, and the money was r aid in consequence. s i d j s Ystera of embezzlement had bean going on for a con pariNsle time, and when Mr. Ostock became pressing for any Biti k ular sums he contrived to make up as much money as s6 ed h' ' A ir his employer's present demand. b epn • Ostock stated that the prisoner's father and mother had wi,h i t his house, e n t reat i ng o f hi m not to prosecute, and he i .ed r it to be dealt with summarily. to : • Costar said he certainly would not consent to any at ro Mise. I t was a very bad case, and should go for t r i a l. itre:t,csrard, re s idi ng at the Green Man public-house, New _ 1 11 , 9 !'n ‘'avent-garden proved to havi ng p a id th e pr i soner t h e , r of a bill for newspapers delivered. B:e.prosecutor deposed that he had not received the amount. ua rne r r u ent Lester stated that, if the prisoner were remanded, m r. a r. s cases would be brought against him. to 6 "53,111 z ordered depositions tor trial in the present case taken down, and remanded the prisoner. , - 11 ,11NI OIA HALL. (THIS DAY.) _du, th an 74 Amman was charged with forging a bill of ex ge for Pu . ir. Ai " th e bri‘ arkwick stated that he had money transactions with for 2 1 " 0/. '"er, in the course of which the latter gave him a bill Whe n tjt,lrPorting to have been accepted by illiam Pain. anwillin I nce wa .. s e brill became due it was ascertained that * the accept- Willi a a °r ?ery, and the prisoner was given into custody : questio! t° ra Pain, who was summoned to give evidence, hems attend unless compelled, was shown the bill in No ne , e ,"' end on examining it, he proved that the acceptor's The as . not in hi s h andwriting. for puttin g "3" ! i• having asserte d t h at he had P a i n ' s authority f or his si gnature to the bill, the latter disclaimed the With t r l t e ' and added that, although he had money transactions authorit y as prr that allioner, yeeged.t—h t he h t aa Remanded.d never given him such IVI ARKET NEWS.-(THIS DAY.) CORN 0 f r A . very limited tXCHANGE—WEDNESDAY. er here. in):itmede a q , u ,a a l n i t t i y tyof English Wheat was on sold readily, at fully Monday's prices ; but, in other kinds, only a moderate business Was transacted. Holders of Foreign Wheat were des the th d g much higher rates, which somewhat checked e emand • ' Malti ng , 3 et, the quotations were firmly . supported.. , tillin g .u arley moved off steadily, but grinding and dh gait•,,,, sorts hung on hand, though not cheaper. The trade was rather inactive, at late rates. In Oats, ealls ' P ea.% and Flour, we have no variation to report. ARRIVALS. English .. 1 Wheat , Barley. Oats. l lour •I ' 0 qrs 2 450 sacks. !n th .• .. ..... ' 1,740 qrs. 7.710 qrs. 103 . Pot • . 1,270 2t,330 ..,_. eln ........ G 9 O .._. Malt, 3,010 qrs. We had WiIITECULAVEL. „ eonly a mod erate supply of Meat on sale, yet .net, demand ruled heavy, on the following terms : -11 s 6d f from 2s 4 d to 3s 6d ; Mutton , 3s to 4s 4d ; Veal, ;i carcase. to 4 s 8d ; and Pork, 3s to 4s 4d per 81bs, by the IV-_f_-7,—.... e learn _ __ IDouukreonofß from the ordeau x and his suite, Brighton Guardian that the hotel, proceeded to Lon *- after dining at an early , Sunday, at the Bedford . don o y the last We understand London train in the evenig. His arrival in appears to be kept very secret. the Duke a is expected to leave Belgrave-square soon on a tour through Wales. ATANsLAUGHTER AT A CARD TABLE.—GLoU CEs tttrt J AN . B.—l n one o f the houses in this locality (a aeer.sh op, ca ll e d the Plasterers' Arms), a young in!in, tkatn e d Ri c h ar d C ole, was, on Saturday evening, playing at cards with some boon companions. Another man, l 'amed k George P r i c k er, j o i ned the party about seven O'cer loc but did not play. He was int ox i ca t e d , an d l e y' quarrelsome ; and as the game proceeded he ,Toidted over t h e cards of one of the players, and - "e a signal to his partner, for the purpose °f showing what cards were out. This aggra ithartati Cole, who said he would play no more, and &P.' up his hand. Pricker then challenged Cole to h i ' 3 ",t k , and Cole rose from his seat and struck him a blow the Yard mouth. A Proposition was made to adjourn to - "e Yard, but Fric would not agree to this, and taking ed Pricker • Bader of an opportunity, hit Cole a violent blow I,liiict`ekt__thnjaw with his fist,. which . . knocked him down. coati er then fell on him, seized the hair of his head, and tio l d , nued to beat him for some time, until he lay mo -11"11esa on the floor, and upon being lifted up, it was .d 4, 1 that he was quite dead. Pricker then laid b eat t ot' the landlord, threw him backwards, and pr om a hn about the head. Mr. Ilickes, a medical man, it t p - u, PUY attended, and pronounced Cole to be quite h e lti. In fact his neck was broken. An inquest was r , "on the body this day, before Mr. Bailey, the Co trer, and after a lengthened investigation, the Jury re -1'1,11" a verdict of "Manslaughter" against Richard young leiter who was fully committed for trial. Pricker is a trtlLs.4 °f turbulent disposition,. and evinced no re- Pare ins crime. The deceased is the son of respectable (li r n ts, and a generally well-conducted man. He was cesttantly related to the eccentric Jemmy Wood, of Glou tio er, whose will has been the subject of so much litiga ql e • Had the will been set aside his family would have rtired in the distribution among the next of kiii. The keriaileholy occurrence has caused considerable excite , t in the town. 4 / 1e „ Th e , uNtE-TAX APPEALS IN THE CITY OF LONDON.-- the c`,()nrtissioners acting under the new Income-ta x Act for IvI l i o :?; 91 Londo n arc rapidly getting through the appeals, ko bth, la expected will all be disposed of by the end . of the in ate. , t To prevent any unnecessary trouble to parties at tend 44da,s,"le board has appointed Tuesdays. Wednesdajs, Thurs. 11,11 d Friday s only as apical days, and Mondays and tiatur the ~BeY do not sit. Yesterday morning, at eleven o clock, hear,,onnissioners met at their office; 36, Basinghall-street, to kj, appeals under schedule D, on profits arisin g fro Earn.fesdouk trades, &c., from the inhabitant s of the ward ofing ti: Within, which being a very extensive one, wi3 be con- H i 4 tl to-marrow mornin g at the same hour. On Thursday, d e lltb, f rom the parish of St. Andrew, Holborn, and on Fri irieY, the 12th, from the assessed of the parish of St. Dunstan's I.sthe West, Fleet-street, &c. The number of appellants, on ,'erage, has not exceeded 15 to 20 a day. n4l.tha% evening an inquest was held hofore Mr. Higgs, llabi,oody of Ann Bourne, aged 30, a married woman, but co eeitt`lag with a man named Webb, at Harveyuildings, )1,,. tedford-street, Strand. She poisoned herself in bed, Riktentil'a taken a quantity of laudanum which she seemed to have ik kereed palatable by orange juice. Around her neck was a a 1911ef, which she had draw n tight by a slip-knot. She tar IPbaelute woman and addicted to liquor. The jury m il), de ' a verdict of " Temporary Insanity." It appeared that 11 4 d t 'eased had been ak tld woman. that her par amour (an engineer) e n n h o r ._ p with anot e t boneIONAL GALLERY. —The boys of the Maryle tli"Two.rkhouse, about 200 in number, paid a visit to niel,...attanal Gallery yesterday morning. The arrange roc!. to prevent cenfusion. were complete, each buy his7lng close upon the other's heels, having secured Whi ei r :e of march by encircling with his left arm the rail N vae o Preve ' 4 B a too near approach to the pictures. Any b e ~,,,aluent in a taste for the fine arts cannot fairly t o 17,au,e,ed from this visit, the boys having been told po,eu over their left" at the pictures, which we sup he t haY did. 3 / 4 ° tAL Geo G ,),' f or t ,.. - RAPDicAL SOCIETY. —The first meet- It. J . ...He present year was held on Monday evening, We"ull,_ Aturchison, Es P It•S President in the Chair, the Mar • 9. ' . •'' A 41'1) 44 qUIS of Northampton was elected, and R. '''. pa - toil, '4scl., M.P., was admitted a member. Ilawly, , w ail read from Mr. Johnson, on the am peer t British settlement of Hong-Kong, °I th 0 tew n of Victoria. The physical aspects 0 1 . a island ti:, 4Pearance of are not very remarkable, and sto on , the country is sterile, except in tt, er months armfo May to July. The only indi -4 f e w Sh er are iof deer the armadillo, and ailltei, .snakes, and there is nothing' remarkable in . the ttle anon, thou gh ,:, es,fully introduce- t many European seeds have been ei et „ ~,,,,cd by the agent of the Horticultural il ler e i' r _ vl toria is the only town in the island, though 0 _!_many villages an 1 4, a W e d nes , d hamlets distributed through it. 11 41 Ariti. c 'La.Y evening, a meeting of the Sunder- NO, rp, °"l.laW Association was held at the Bridge v. 14 re 'n°rnas Thum a E in the chair. It lae oer eiv ed, on the I) "' sq ' kke Corninitte •• ti v ed h y mr motion .o . f Mr. George Hard , cast e, Joshua. Wilson " That the Execu te: ilen'adiatee of this Association be requested to Iv, ReMents f steps for completing all requisite ar laast'srs ,_ , 01 ' the reception of Colonel 'Thompson, eri f Ujitien ' 13 tight &c., and that they also . be re <4B .-- repo rt r , T ,I ociatie„, _ t) , same to the next meeting of the oei.e ith eve " ,... t be held on Wednesday the lath instant." littud 0,., event gentlemen are expected to visit Sun -4 t1•1 ° 24111 inst.---Tyuc Mercury Qf Tewsday. COCRT OF SEWERS. A special meeting of the Court of Sewers for the City and Liberty of Westminster, and part of the County of Middlesex, was hold yesterday, at the Sewer-office, Greek -street, Soho, for the purpose of considering the reselutiOns 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. Wieeoconnv, 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 resolutions (already forwarded) 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. HERSTLETT, the clerk, having read the previous orders of the Court, 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 he had been particularly careful to arm himself %%WI the authority of the Court, for the pur pose of enabling him to make the proposition lie was now about to bring emward. 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. lie 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 under 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 searching investigation 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 expected to move 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. He 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, Gth, 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 Cour 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 giv en t o th e wort h y C omm i ssioner (Mr. Leslie) in bringing forward these resolutions. He thought he should be allowed to pursue his own course. Mr. BEECU thought the first resolution ought to be withdrawn altogether, considering it a slur upon all th e officers of the C ourt . Mr. LAURIE moved that Mr. Leslie should have leave to postpone his fir s t an d second resolutions, and proceed with the others. Mr. ALLASON seconded the motion. Mr. DONALDSON, the late Chairman, hail no objection to the postponement of the resolutions ; but he - trusted the Hon. 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. He 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 6th, 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 different 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 Chaistmas ! 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 ? Why, after the individual had received his salary, and the clerk had his stamped receipt as the voucher, the domble-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 ! Now, that was an illus tration of the. double -entry system of that Court—im mense labour, of no benefit as a 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 as 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, Hon. Commissioner then proposed the fol lowing resolutions : .‘ That it is of the utmost importance to continue the resent system of daily returns, mutually exchanged by the officers of the Court lit Sewers and the contractors, with the additions of a return for each district, and of a column in the contractors' daily return, in whi c h must b e 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 abstract, second ab stract, and examination of quarterly accounts. That the contraetors' daily returns, as amended, be the only accounts between the Court and the contractors. That the contractors' daily returns, verified by the surveyor end clerks of the works, shall be so entered daily in books for each district as to s h ow w h at works are done, the particular locality and the cost, thereby rendering unnecessary the present system of weekly and quarterly abstracts and accounts. That the surveyors and clerks of the works being thus relieved from a great amount of labour, the advantage to the public will be great, as they will be enabled to devote much more time to the personal and vigilant 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. Dowse distinctly stated that there would be no difficulty in carrying out Mr. Leslie's proposition of having a daily account made out of the works in progress. Mr. DostaensoN, while he approved of some of the Hon. Commissioner's resolutions, felt bound to oppose 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 pl ace upon them, in which Mr. DONALDSON joined, and moved, as an amendment— " That it was of the utmost import ance t o cont i nue the present system of daily returns, mutually exchanged by the officers of the Court and the contractors, separate returns being made out for each district, the measured quantities squared and abstracted." Mr. Ileaereos 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 he 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 be done without difficulty. Mr. LEsesE, 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 diiEculty; audit should be recollected - The amendment, after much disc::ssion, was negatived, and the further consideration of the resolutions was postponed to the next open day. The Court then adjourned, at half-past five o'clock, till Friday. COURT CIRCULAR. WINDSOR, TUESDAY. —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 Arbuthnot, the Equerry in Waiting on his Royal Highness Prince Albert, Major General Sir Edward Row►ter, 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 lion. C. A. Murray, and Mr. G. E. and the Hon. Mrs. Anson, left with the Royal party for Claremont. The Hon. 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 Har dinge, and Sir Edward Knatchbull. Lord \V harncliffe arrived in town in the afternoon from his seat Wortley Hall, Yorkshire, and joined his colleagues shortly before four o'clock. The Duke of Duccleuch and 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, thy: Bishop of Llandaff, 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 Hon. 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 Exchcquer yesterday, at his official residence in Downing_ street. TILE ROYAL BUCK lIOUNDS.—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 unearted at Maidenhead Thicket, and was taken within a mile of Stokenehurch, 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 finish was tremendous. Only twelve out of the numerous field at the meet mere up at the take, including Mr. Davis (the huntsman, who had two fresh horses during the run), and a sprinkling of the right sort, who were well mounted. The field was pretty well weeded before the deer crossed the water at Henley. The distance from Stokenchurch to the kennel (where the hounds arrived the same evening), is between 20 and 30 miles. FATAL ACCIDENT ON TILE RivEn.— , -On Monday evening the Venezuela steam-ship, belonging to the General Steam Navigation Company, was bringing up alo ngs id e t h e John Bull s t eamer at Horselydown, after her arrival from Ham burgh, when the 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 lie 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 iu their employ. 273 lid. 51 t ?! THE FRENCI-i': LEGISLATURE. CHAMBER OF' PEERS, .Law. 8. At two o'clock Baron Pas euier, tha Chancellor, took the chair. Shortly afterwards the s Duke de Broglie read to the Chamber the following draug'et of the address in reply to the King's speech : " Sire,—The words which your Majesty has eronounced from the Throne hare filled out hearts with joy. In receiving them with respect we thank the ,Ming ter the prosperity el the country. Our loyal support. will never he vsantinhe to him. May F rance di sp l ay with cons lent e her fruitful activity, and follow her peaceable labours. A: ey she acquire additions 1 power and wealth among all nateons ; her future destinies are secured ; tic empire tf the law.; is established; factions have been overcome, and the tower of the State, disdaining their vain demonstrations, veil; 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-establishmert of a balance between the re ceipts ansl 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 Franco and the foreign Powers are on a benevolent footing ; we congratulate your 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 ; in 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. W entertain for them a real affection; may they, after so many convulsions, enjoy tranquillity and order ; may Royalty find in those friendly nations and its alliance with pub lic 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 Gtheir results, we will wait the communications which your overnment 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 tne 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 re served to you. France views wish pride, in the ranks of our brave army of Algeria, one of your sons, giving and receiving in turn the example of that undaunted courage 'sand 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 worthy of their father and of the nation of which they are the noblest sup. porters. Thus dynasties are consolidated and bonds of affec tion are formed between Royal races and nations. Pledged faith and a mutual attach:tient render the tie indissoluble; the King, on ascending the throne, promised to devote to us his entire existence, to do everythin g to promote the glory and welfare of France ; France promised to be faithful to him. The King has observed 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 ;aid. a Peer in 1630; 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 Al. de Boissy next ascended the tribune, and read a manu script speech, in which he reviewed and condemned the do mestic and foreign polity 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 hit had obtained satis faction for the violence offered to French fishermen by English eruizees, who had fired upon them, and killed one of !loin, without giving them any previous notice ? This sally excited the merriment of the assembly. AI. Guizot replied, that a French fisherman bad 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. Al. 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 had for several years kept a watchful eye over the movements of the Duke de Bor deaux; that when the young Prince had repaired to Vienna, Dresden, and Berlin, where France had ambassadors, re monstrances had been made against his presence there, which were immediately attended to by the Governments of Austria, Sixony, and Prussia. When the Duke pro ceeded to England, Al. Guizot was aware that in a • country enjoying liberty and publicity to such an extent the Government had not the same means of repression t_g elsewhere. He, nevertheless, had addressed a note to time English Government, by whom it was received in a manlier 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 Illitish Cabinet, who protested its regret at. not being armed with suffisient legal means of repression, but at the same time it manifested its dis pleasure in unequivocal terms to the authors of those scenes, and lett nothing undone to convince them of its dissatisfaction at their criminal proceedings. The speech of M. Guizot was most favourably received by the assembly. Al. de Boissy, who spoke next, compared the emigration of AI. Guizot to Ghent, in 1815, with the recent visit of the Le getimitists to Belgrave-squaee, 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, and read the fiat para graph of the address, which was adopted without opposifon. The secoed paragraph was likewise voted, after a few words erom tie Minister of Finance, who assured the Clamber that it was not a mere promise whisk the King's speech held out, but a positive assurance, that the receipts aid expenditure would be balanced in the budget of 1545. Al. Segue Lamoignon having asked AI. Guizot if he bad orened a negotiation with England for the revision of the right of search ? M. Cuiz-t replied, that when he deemed the moment op_ poi tune, he had directed the attentien of the British Govern ment to that subject, and, after much difficulty, had suceitedel in inducing it to consent to a re-examination of the treaties of 1331 and 1833. The negotiations were still pending, but he hail every hope of bringing the matter to a satisfactory con clusion. 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 infoimation on the subject had reached his department or that of the Marine. After a few words of M. de Boissy, on the affair of the Marabout slave-ship, the third paragraph uas carried, with an amendment in favour of Polish nationality. The Chamber finally voted the address, by a majority of 115 votos against 14. MURDER OF LORD GRANTLEYS KEEPER. CORONER'S INQUEST —Yesterday an inquest (adjourned from Monday) was held at the Jolly Farmer, Brainier, near Guildford, before Mr. C J. Woods, Coroner for West - Surrey, on view of the body of James Ed.vards, aged 4S years, prin cipal keeper to the Right lion. Lord Graritley. On Monday the jury proceeded with the Coroner to the club. room t , ) view the body, which presented a frightful spectacle, there being upwards of a dcz n wounds on eaeh side of the head, evid , ntly inflicted by some blunt in.trument, in all Pro bability the but t•cnd of a gun. After evidence had been adduced of the prisoner having been missed on-Saturday morning, and the finding of the body in a field called Lyne Ersh, belonging to Lord Gratilley, Chcrles Hollington was sworn, and stated—l am inspector of police at Guildford. On Saturday evening 12,4, between 9 and 10 o'clock, the prisoner James Eisley 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 tale down, and that it might afterwards be used against him. O n th e f o ll ow i ng n i g h t , about 7 o' c l oc k, I understood that the prisoner wished to see me again. I 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 BPI?' 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 wile for some victuals; she said, What do you mean by that ? You had your victuals befo re y ou went out.' She cut him 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, or sugar ;' and whether she had even tea 1 am uncertain, for when we had our supper we bad 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 feelings; 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, ll—n you, I have got you now.' He then put up a stick and said, ll—n your eyes, I'll kilt 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 tell into the river. I then went away, and left. him. On going . home say wife sa id, Hare you got anything ?' I sa id , ' Y es. ' She then replied, I hope nothing wit] 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. NIIIIIMINO THE BOSCAIVEN, 70 (-; uNs.—This fine vessel, after brill , " ' a considerable p er i o d on t h e 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 comp!ete that part of her works, as it is expected she wll be launched in March next. The Bose:teen ic a handsome three-decker, and, althisugh not of such large dimen sinns 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 Ro)al Albert of 120 guns still be the principal object of attrac tion at the Woolwich Dockyard after the launch of the .11os tawen. 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 construc tion with the utmost dispatch, and she now begins to assume a „ v j e o r l y nin h g es e u , ti a fu n l d outlinethe strength; he r side and erected. The T a h n e d o f competent judges, have never been excelled, if equalle d , ta in t the workmanship of this ves.el, in the epinien the tarnish be the admira tionnavy ; and her excellent propo-tio . ns appea r tisirtabbeifiatyanfre d u nder . whose inime. master shipwright who designed her a o n f construction. . • diate superintendence she is in progr ess ___ of all, and reflect great credit on 111 r. Oliver Lang. the of h . Isis sutoect, and confident his man fully possessed of h . with . and almost always write vigour effect, cause, may How TO WRITE CLEARLY AND FORCIBLY.---A if h e can get over the temptation of writing finely, and realry confine himself to the clear and strong expo:mon of the matter he has to bring forward. Half of the affectation and cflensive pretension we m ee t w i t h s i n authors arises from a want of matter, and the other half from a paltry ambition of being eloquent and ingenitm out of place.—Lord Jeffrey.