The Sun. — London, England, 1844-01-11 00:00:00

----• E WS I lvann s t il t: 'ire r e re° P e i . 36z IlVerWw g bac ° %ai r 51# Ls, Ne w ' , 115 1 r e? • ghs° on, liscouP: ' ex o f A!' al vas 66* rniuiti oe , re "a pesi liab° 4 era P - a •ste 01) 410 1 DP' n erif I Ph„ vo terSh%" CO :egre t IS 4 10 UNte 0 Sc n util e f !oteP, a t osf. to b 7 Do the .0( rso' , Ti oof two re 0 Wer e c ol 3 01 &, ' 00 1 se e p,.... t ° a 1 of 1 . petit' 100 it rag tiO s —170," P" rr o o s heste r t oo th t er e. , e 13••• 611 11d. 617_, • " • 6 1r ...... .. . los •••• 9196 i ce nt. / ....... / •••' / t...... , ....... - • e' e ' I°4ooj COURT CIRCULAR. Ms Royal Highness Prince Albert went out shooting ).esterday in the grounds and preserves in the vicinity of Claremont. Ilis Royal Highness was attended by Major- General Sir Edward Bowater and Mr. George Edward Anson. The Royal party retumed to lunch. The unfavourable state of the weather yesterday morn ing prevented her Majesty taking her accustomed early Walk. Major-General Sir Robert and Lady Gardiner had the honour of dining With her Majesty yesterday evening at 'Claremont. A deputation on the subject of the Chester and Holy 'tend Railway, consisting of Mr. R. H. Collett, Mr. W. IL Thomas, and Mr. Duff, had an interview yesterday 'with Sir Robert Peel, Sir James Graham, and the Chan cellor of the Exchequer, at the official residence of the First Lord of the Treasury, in Downing street. The drputation were accompanied Mr. George Carr Glyn, Chairman of the London and Birmingham Railway, Mr. W. H. Moss, Director of the Grand Junction Railway, Mr, Creed, and Mr. Tynne. Mr. J. Walker also attended the conference. The Right Hon. W. E. Gladstone arrived in town yes eeday afternoon from Hawarden Castle, Flintshire, the seat of Sir Stephen Wynne. Colonel Malcolm transacted business at the Foreign e ce on Tuesday. Mr. Wickham, Chairman, and Mr. John Thornton, De puty -chairman of the Stamps and Taxes, had inter /Ims with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday, at his official residence, in Downing-street. Sir Henry Hardinge, Secretary at War, visited Sir James Graham yesterday, at the Home-office. • The Hon. Robert Clive transacted business yesterday - st the Treasury. Sir J. Graham and Sir Thomas Fremantle had inter views yesterday with Sir Robert Peel. Several of the Cabinet Ministers dined with the Earl 4 0 . Aberde en yester d ay even i ng , a t hi s L or d s hip's resi "n", in Argyle. street. The Earl and Countess of Dude and Lord Moreton trtired at Farrance's Hotel, Belgrave-square, on Tues day evening, from Rufford Hall. HAYMARKET THEATRE. The Comedy of The Merry Wives of Windsor ? t as reviv e d as t hi s t h eatre l as t e v en i n g, Strick landaearin as Sir John Falstaff the first `i n le pp - The cha g racter of Falstaff is th f e or most per fectly comic character that ever was drawn ; but I t is also the most difficult character to embody 14 ' t he whole range of the drama. A wit, a hu- Inourtlist, a sensual i st, a man of expens i ve ha bi ts, , ; tof slender means, mixing on familiar terms .411 men of all ranks, from the prince to the ' a Pster, and yet, while associating with tapsters, 'lever forgetting that he might be the companion °fPrinces ; a gentleman by birth (his grandfather cou ld write himself armiger,or what right had h to a seal ring?), by education (he had been Page to Th omas M ou b ray , D u k e o f Norfiilk), Z, by station (he was a knight in days when 9 1 glithood could only be won by military ser vice)' --Falstaff was yet , at t i mes , compe ll e d by 1 ,;1 3 necessities, " to leave the fear of God on the t hand;' and to live by his wits. To the world ? ...: 1113 wever much he might indulge his rolicking, ; ei al hum our, among hi s more i mme di ate asso r,-I,,tes—to th e wor ld h e a l wa y s k e pt u p hi s dig -IV---"Jack t o m y f am ili a rs—Sir John to th e of Europe." This latter part of the sentence I, k 'n general too much disregarded by our actors. cc e y make him Jack to everybody ; there is no • r est of E urope " to w h om h e i s Si r John. Th i s L s a , s ll(4 What Sh a k s p eare i n t en d e d, an d we are PPS' to say that i t i s a f au lt i n t o w hi c h M r . i t 1: rickland did not fall. Mr. Strickland has added ST,T t en selY to his already high reputation as a T o act or by hi s F a l s t a ff o f l as t even i ng . n o say that his is the best Falstaff on the stage is s a b i d° ing justice to the mer it s o f his ve ry admi- Fl,to e delineati on —it i s t h e on l y tru l y Sh a k s p er i an alstaff that we ha ve ever seen . The humours of th ' enaracter are brought out in strong relief -4: wit overflows from the heart; he is witty, i 8 i, i b eeause he i s anx i ous t o shine, but because it ,nature—h e cannot help it—and throughout thole character it is evident that he is a man lo t . ° n as been used to good society. His very g . e .e-has sensual and absurd as it is, is yet euntleconaly withal, and we cannot but feel that, av il ki lie have knocked some twenty years off his g e '.., 411 d some ten stone off his weight, Master (. 4 ; rte jealousy might not have been altogether v1; - „ se rs . s. His air throughout was that of one ' l aving been in his youth a man, a bonnes fortunes,but could not bring himself to believe t h e there must have been some error in , 4 ate of his birth as recorded in the L ai . i . s n register, and that, as in him grey neitherwee not the signs of wisdom, so ill 11 Were they th e s i gns o f age . It, is usnal s lev ., t)t leing the fi rst appearance of an actor i n a rtia l cha racter to mention the various points he ' s e. 13e it Strickland's great praise that he rcale_er fruoniTbmetg' Mad e n _ beginning so called. The cha t° end was so admirably and , e O . ll , all )sustained that it would be impossible to Without iy one part fbr particular commendation, eth er b eing guilty of injustice towards every land b P ti n r which was left unmentioned. Strick of Sh;tks wig stood unrivalled as the delineator s een • sPeare's humorists—who that has ever It e ar , I. : 18111 L T h forget his Sir Toby Belch),—and his far his greatest and his best eharac- L e ; Nva 3 s called for at the fall of the cur -I)) and announced the play for repetition every e vening, amidst the rapturous applause of one of the most crowded audiences ever assembled Within the walls of the Haymarket. The comedy 18 , in other respects, very strongly cast. We had Madame Vestris and Mrs. Nisbett as the wives, Charles Mathews as Slender, Mrs. Glover as I rs• Quickly, and James Bland as Doctor Caius. ,Webster, as Sir Hugh Evans, was irresistibly : I nk% He is the only Sir Hugh who gives us like the dialect of the Welsh parson. 0411 e duelling scene was admirable. Stuart made to ne of M.r. Ford than we have before seen 84 ,7 e of that victim of the green-eyed mon ; In Stuart's hands Ford becomes really a character, and we feel an in - ht hi s his fate, although we laugh I\,l4,:ipsruenttfjoit3mded fears. The interspersed music given, and Madame Vestris and Miss Were encored' in the duet " I know a kill • Th e G am b o l s o f Ob eron an d Puck so o uw ed, introducing Professor Risley and his eie The au di ence were delighted with the truly tle g , 4 „„s and classi ca l per f ormances o f t hi s won t° s -Y graceful boy. We scarcely know how poetrsignate these unique pertbrinances. " The te ost 3 ' of motion," which would be perhaps the asy ed P r oPer term to give them, is too hack so on .to be a p p li ed to that which is so unique, f B , t, g n ial, and so i n i m i ta bl e. M aster Risley, in th e hPereorms an aerial ballet, for, supported on 4 11 t h lt e n ds or feet of his father, he accomplishes l ieee ln . 111 °st perfect of ballet dancers could t, s wish on the stage—graceful poses—sta touclruse de ttitu des—intricite and elaborate pas el Arce, astonishing equally by their ease ‘' s ith th e e enee—toitr d'adresse, accomplished tith are most ex qu i s i te neatness an d precision— erueet. tile performances of this wonderfully N o u , l child. The applause was rapturous son ,: n ntit, and at the conclusion the father and co rdial e again called forward to receive the greetings of the audience. The Fair i e ioith hs the Golden Lochs concluded the even er„7l,lnrmances. The house was crowded to ee ry sin g . b ong before the rising of the 1148.4 n i o n t eve rY Place was occupied, so that there e ven standing room. • ____ . ---- fr();:lIdt; 14 TRADB.—The commer la c s i bei. -`"5 a nd China, received by the last l overland intelligence m ail, e loc e g i f manufacturers generally considered unfavourable, had a prejudi of&h. alo e rally upon the market yesterday, and . pri4lvall irtings were willing to accept prices which thteloylgveerniee 'efused last week. Printing cloth, though little business vet s 4 used less inquired after, and but lat. A f or in it. Stout domestics, however, whie . h h ha t r e e Te r 1 . Ne uf 4 °rig time greatly depressed, and of which , b ette r a d et ure has been somewhat diminished, last - "elnand, at prices somewhat higher than those of k e e k . ~:re much .4irle,s,, an the yarn market there was not mu ver 3 , f one. The accounts from Germany not .le being 1. R been havi n avoltrable, and the demand for tt fur Ned "PPlied, there was little inquiry east tivtio Yarn, except from the Greek merchants, who are at.etsiderable purchasers of low numbers ofwater e onle i'he Liverpool cotton market having also be eer . 11 little easier, prices of shipping qualities of 3 . a e r . u . For the how cases from *d. to id. lower than last we k . i, *" trade, there was no material difference in ifiae!tey Guardian. Af o -e6 ,; but the amount of business done was limited.— fr 44/14asoNkr.--The young man, who may not the:lstnt church or chapel, if he be a brother, obeynius . t e tli,,"Pinnns to attend his duties in Lodge, and. . l i , . e will Ch 73tI!eltr sermon from the Chair, which, if ec f. 0 ,a . sh►p. la nt"111 tolitsuta.tion in life most likely lead him to his place o . wo of it'' ~he will equally be taught the duties ,of the worship of his Creator, and the hl s a ' aid We owe to one another, as brethren of one tattir.ac,inddto%t--e e lto re b d e p p re i o ti e f p ul tz to be courteous." He l i the improvement of his ektty'Vkfaeulties in all the liberal arts and sciences, as a bi ) d• I "vise inculcated from the chair—the necessity of 141 A !enee to the laws of the country in which he lives, iln:rilnve adverse ,toe the glory of Ged, the goodwill of naticit,l4,Peace n arth, are the actions of faction, fa tipi_e ---fcr,o‘uwigiottry, and intolerance. These are the Prni dtkesd°4 olasonry, • these are the conclusions I have de as an intellectual science. Its text-book (31iPveteston--its history and philosophy the works of PreThaits, periodical of intelligence and literature the ask, (l, ''.014 Quarterly Review. But it . has been , tild earn Christianity accomplish all this ? Aye . th e ko e I But while Christians are contending about of 0 _ de and the form best suited to execute the mission 'l7, iluitir elder brother, his followers, as Masons, are trying 44°,, 4eliorate the hard lot of human nature, and mitigate, ,:,.universal bond of union, the asperities, political fr„,,,f ngious, which at present separate and dissever man ~,, bp... ~ kes on ' 4 " in the social sphere.—Rev. Dr. Slade.—Free -8 Quart er ly Review for January. LONDON JOINT-STOCK BANKING COMPANY. The half-yearly meeting of this Company took place in the Board-room of the bank, in Prince's street, yesterday. The chair was taken at twelve o'clock by W. Taylor, Esq. The CHAIRMAN having briefly opened the meeting, The SECRETARY first read the notice which had been sent to the Shareholders, and afterwards the Roport of the Directors. In the latter it was stated, that although the value of money during the last half year had been lower than ordi dary, there was satisfactory evidence of the sound and prosperous condition of this bank. After making all deductions, there remained a net sum of 16,4701. 16s. Bd., arising out of the profits of the half year, ending the 31st of Dec., 1843, to be applied as a dividend, which was at the rate of 6 per cent. per annum. The dividend would be paid on and after the 17th instant. He then read the statement of ac count, by which it appeared that the current ex penses, comprising building expenses, income-tax, exc., were 10,0801. 9s. ; the amount oarried to profit and 1035, new account for rebate of interest on bill; discounted and not yet due, 4,805/. 12s. 61; dividend account towards payment of half a year's dividend, at 6 per cent., 16,4701. 16s. Bd., making a balance of 31,3.56/. 18s. 2d. It having been moved that the Report 1 .:!,e received and printed, for the use of the Shareholders, Mr. Alderman HUGHES rose to address the meet ing. He complained of the sum usually paid to the customers of the Bank on their current account, as being much too large, and diminishing to a consider able extent the profits of the Shareholders. He thought that this was a fundamental error in their system ; and that but for this impedi ment they might be receiving eight or nine per cent. The amount was paid to about 2,500 depositors, and although the sum which each received must be exceedingly small, yet this aggregate told most injuriously on the interests of the Shareholders. He would be glad if the Directors would inform the meeting what amount had been paid to the depositors as interest during the two last half years. The CHAIRMAN had no objection to answer the question. During the half year, ending the 30th of June, 1843, the amount paid to customers was 9,8351. upon their minimum balances ; dividing that ending the 31st of December, the amount was 10,739/. Mr. Alderman HUGHES thought that this state ment showed the desirableness of an alteration. As regarded the general affairs of the bank he had no complaint to make. A more satisfactory statement than that which they had heard, as respected the re uurces and available means of the bank could not possibly have been made—(Hear, hear) — but this did not diminish his objection to the evil of which he complained. They had already taken one retrograde step, by deciding that the system should not be adopted at the West-end branch ; and the reason which led them to form that resolution, ap plied equally in the City. He concluded by proposing the following resolution :—" That, considering the very low value of money, at the present time, it is, in the opinion of this meeting, expedient that the Directors should take into their consideration the propriety of reducing the amount of interest on the current accounts of customers, and that this meeting be adjourned until Wednesday, the 7th day of February next, to revise the Report of the Directors cal the subject." Mr. MOORE seconded the resolution. The CHAIRMAN said the subject had been for a long time under the consideration of the Directors ; it would shortly be discussed with a view to coming to some final decision • and he hoped the Shareholders would continue ;hat confidence which they had hitherto reposed in the Direction until that period. Mr. KNIGHT was opposed to making any alteration. They should let well alone. He did not believe that there were half a dozen private bankers who had made as large a profit as had been made by the London Joint Stock Banking Company during the past year, and he believed that their prosperity resulted in a great measure from the system which it was now sought to alter. He thought it was a question to be left tothe dis cretion of the Directors, as it was a plan carried out by them, and forming no part of their deed of settlement. Ile thought it also unadvisable, after having obtained customers by giving this interest, to withdraw it. He did not think the Shareholders were qualified to de cide whether the time had arrived for a change to be made ; but if it had, it ought to be left en tirely to the discretion of the Directors. Still he believed it unwise that more than 20,0001. should be given to their customers, who incurred no risk, and only 36,000/. to the Shareholders. He should support the resolution. _ _ _ Mr. HODGSON was glad that the question had been brought forward, as it would set at rest a good deal of uncertainty out of doors. It appeared to him un wise to vary from the course with which they had commenced. Mr. Gas;Goirr spoke in favour of continuing the plan under which the Bank had commenced and flourished. The plan of giving interest had another ad vantage, it made the balances certain ; the bank was a bank of deposit. He thought a change in the plan would be impolitic and unjust. He hoped there would be a great majority in favour of letting the subject alone. kr. JOSIAH WI sox thought if the Directors would give them their opinion on the question at the next general half-yearly meeting, it would be early enough. He urged the meeting to leave the matter entirely in the hands of the Directors; though the amount might be excessive, yet they were bound by a kind of understanding with their customers. All that they wished would have been accomplished by this conversation, without passing the resolution in the affirmative. He hoped the motion would be with drawn, rather than extinguished. Mr. HARRISON fully agreed with the argument that they were under a pledge to their customers, and it must be recollected that it was from their customers that they obtained their dividend, not from the profit on their capital of 600,0001. If the resolution should be put, he should move, as an amendment, that it was inexpedient to make such a recommendation to the Directors. A SHAREHOLDER said if Mr. Harrison would pro pose that as an amendment he would second it.— (Loud cries of " IVithdraw, withdraw.") Mr. CORNET said the discussion of the question at all was injurious. It was analogous to changing the amount of import duties by Government; no man, under such an uncertainty, would engage in a specu lation. He hoped Mr. Hughes would withdraw his resolution. _ _ _ Mr. PEGLER said there were no men so deeply in- terested in the question as the Directors themselves ; this was another reason for leaving the matter in their hands. The allowing two per cent. on the minimum balances tended greatly to !preserve the respectability of the accounts with the bank. Mr. MORE hoped the worthy Alderman would not withdraw his motion ; he wished to have an expres sion of opinion. It was no part of the fundamental principle of the bank, to pay interest on the current accounts. They were paying too high a sum for procuring business. Mr. Alderman HUGHES replied—lf his motion had produced nothing else, it had elicited the information that they paid more than 20,0001. a year to cus tomers, and that was a point of great importance. Very few supposed that the amount was so great. lle had unlimited confidence in the Directors ; and he hoped that confidence would be exhibited at the end of the year by the Shareholders. But if they were found in all times, and in every state of the money market, to pay two per cent. to all their customers, the sooner they put an end to the system the better. 'Wishing to preserve unanimity at all their meetings, he should withdraw his motion.—(Hear, hearj Mr. Mona said he could not withdraw the motion without the permission of the seconder, and he should press it to a division. Mr. CORNET then begged to move the previous question. This was seconded, but after some further conversation, Mr. Hughes' motion was withdrawn, and the subject dropped. The following gentlemen were then duly elected to act as Directors, there being no other candidates : Sir Geo. Carroll, Alderman, John Peter Darthez, jun., Esq., John Christopher Lochner, Esq., Sir John M'Taggart, Bart., M.P., and George Scholefield, Esq. Votes of thanks were then passed to the Board of Directors, to Mr. Pollard, the Manager, and to the Chairman, and the meeting separated. 'We learn from the Brighton Guardian that the Duke of Bordeaux and his suite, after dining at an early hour on Sunday, at the Bedford Hotel, proceeded to Lon don by the last train in the evening. His arrival in London appears to be kept very secret. We understand the Duke is expected to leave Belgrave-square soon on a tour through Wales. THE PRESS IN PRUSSIA.—The Universal Prussian Gazette of the 4th inst. in its official part publishes the following reply to the petition of the Provincial Diet re lative to the freedom of the press :—" It is impossible to realise the wishes of our faithful States, having for their object the establishment of the liberty of the press, inasmuch as such a liberty would be incompatible with the federal legislation, and that, moreover, it would not be fitting to make a special legislation for such of the provinces of the monarchy which do r.ot belong to the Germanic Confederation. Neither can we modify the existing laws respecting the press, as they have been recently settled en fixed principles, and we have suppressed various enactments, of which the application was attended with inconvenience. The law of censorship has been prepared in such a manner as to conciliate the interest of morals and of the public good, with the publication of opinions in writing. We have anticipated the wish expressed by our States that the office of censor should only be entrusted to enlightened and conscientious men. It is according to this law that censors are ap pointed. We cannot consent to the establishment of an authority appointed to inspect the press in each province of the monarchy, because this would be an arbitrary in terpretation of the law." PUBLIC BUILDIT TGS IN LONDON. There is an evil destiny impending over the fate of all public buildings and works of art in London. Vexatious as this fact is to all who take an interest in the embellishment and grandemiof the finest metropolis in Europe, it is no less cer tainly true. There is no want of high intellec tual perception and classical taste, of vigorous conception and beautiful adaptation in the de signs contributed by our leading artists for edi fices, statues, pillars, bridges—(whatever be the species of public work to be undertaken)—when the execution of the affair is opened ostensibly to public competition. There is, notoriously, where the expense of the work is to be provided for by u. municipal tax, a parochial or a district rate, or a vote of the House of Commons, no lack of money and means for its construction in the first style and with the best materials of work manship. Let those who affect, with some of our Continental neighbours, or on the authority of the dogmatic WINCKELMANN, to question the genius and 'rapacity of the English for the higher and more imaginative efforts of art, candidly view the late exhibition of the Cartoons in West minster Hall for a complete refutation of this superficial and arrogant notion. For, with re gard to these designs for fresco paintings, it may be truly said that British genius, in a school entirely new to its efforts, has leaped, at a single bound, into the maturity of power and expres sion. But, with all these elements of excellence existing among us in abundance, it does happen that, in nine cases out of ten, their effect is marred or missed, diminished or obscured in combina tion. The most beautiful and best adapted ele vations and designs for an exchange, or a church, are brought under public notice, and stamped with the approbation of the highest authority, which that public will recogniSe but, in tl►e course of a few months, the actual structure, as it begins to rise above the surrounding horde, very plainly indicates to the interested spectator that some other plan had been selected, and is being carried mit under some other . influence more potential th'an the principle of honest election, or the marked t.,anCtion of the public. Favouritism no toriously prey, ails in the mock councils of municipal and other cortmnittees to whom the administration of these mailer's is generally remitted, on the assumption that they will be impartially and indifferently dealt with. But it is more difficult to account for the persevering incompetency with which the chances of exhibiting a pre-emi nent advance in.what we shall call national art, are, year after year, either disregarded or thrown away, Carelessly tittheeded; or more scandalously rejected when :offered. Of all the branches of national art, there is none in which it more con cerns the splendour of the capital, the scientific reputation of the country, and the improving taste of the people, that the most attainable approval to excellence should be secured, than in the architectural productions and the sculp ture we speak of:. Of all the departments of ,mblic duty there is none which is so grossly neg ected by that section of the Executive to which t is more immediately confided. Westminster-bridge requires few remarks. No party seems to know what is doing, or what is to be d one. The Government, or the Bridge Commissioners, have come to no decision hitherto, but prefer leaving the carts, omnibuses, coaches, waggons, and foot passengers to join issue with the de nounced arches, on a sort of " benefit of sur vivorship" principle ; or, perhaps, it is intended that, if the traffic and passengers continue to pass and re pass, without tumbling through, the bridge, by its Commissioners, may bring an action of damages for defamation against Mr. BAnnr ; and, on the other hand, if casualties of the kind apprehended 'shall ..some fine morning happen, Mr. BARRY shall be at liberty to remove the ruins of the old, and throw over a new bridge; the latter to be of pointed arches and inferior span, "as prayed." There might be a sort of objection to this future " give-and-take" arrangement, barring the jeopardy, and perhaps sacrifice, of some score of biped and two score of quadruped lives, which it may possibly entail, in the interval," we re it not that there is already much too general a disposition in certain quarters to act upon it. It appeals oiat_the neW frontage i n th e B r i t i s h Museum, , which is..to replace Me old French quadrangle, next Russell-street, is very rapidly proceeding with. Have any guarantees been taken for our having an elevation worthy of the design, the contents, and the character of the mag nificent collection and library contained within the walls of the main building'! Was the design opened to public competition ? Has there been any such encouraging excitement attempted with the almost dormant genius of our modern school of architectural design as has been recently practised with sn,Ch happy, results in respect. of our'-yotrhgest schoor-9f historical art? We fear that the sort or freehold or fee-simple which SMIRKE has acquired —some how or other—in all the past reparations, addi tions, and erections in the general building of the Museum, have extended to this new façade. Really, to judge from the club-houses, and theatres, and other edifices, with the Greek quoderisms of which Sir ROBERT has long made us so familiar, we feel great despondency about the effect of any new " works" of his. The finest efforts of a genius, which do not exceed the servile appropriation of a Doric portico, how ever good the antique example, and the most timid and monotonous • adaptation of thermal fronts and basilican walls to the purposes of modern public buildings, whatever their own uses and objects, are altogether below the cha racter, the energy, and the grandeur of the people upon whom—for some reason or other— their efforts are year after year inflicted. It has been shown, by a Report to therHouse of Commons, how it was gravely debated and re commended in Select Committees that the ma jestic preparation of the " Nelson Pillar" should be reduced to so modest and inoffensive a scale as not to crush into a merited, but absolute im perceptibility, the 'wretched perpetration mis called the " National" Gallery. The absurdi ties consequent on the irreconcilable pretensions of a façade which is at once protected and hidden, broken and devoured by its own vaunted portico—(a major absorbed by a minor)—and of a column whose faultless proportions of shaft and capital, as they appeared on the original elevation, would render but more evident and ridiculous the already dwarfed outlines of WILKINS'S fatally accomplished design (its tawdry ugliness was even then, alas! permanent in monumental masonry), these things might have taught parties entrusted with the manage. ment of such matters the wisdom of well con sidering their plans, and the aspect and effects of the works, before proceeding to the final business of setting and building them up. But what has been the result? After a world of preparation, and many flourishes of trumpets,— and statistics carefully collected of the number of sailors who could, at this day, be brought toge ther, survivors of the fight of Trafalgar,— coquet tings with the Governor of Greenwich Hospital, about giving leave to these veteran tars to assist at the raising of NELSON'S statue, and at a dinner to be given at its summit, at the feet of the Admiral,—the statue is raised one afternoon impromptu; the veterans, after beihg numbered, are never called for. But the colossal image of the great hero has been placed on its pedestal, an effect of mechanical power, achieved with consummate skill and promptitude. By slow degrees, the hoarding has descended, first from around the cocked hat, afterwards from around the limbs, finally from the feet and surface .of the figure : when, lo ! some seven or eight weeks having helped them to the cbncltision, the managers discover that the coil of cable on which one side of the figure is supported has too massed and rock-like an appearance. Up go the boards again, to favour the secresy of the statuary's mystic chiselling, for remedying of this defect; and the inauguration, which was to have taken place on the anniversary of the Trafalgar fight in October last, bids fair to be postponed to Octo- 2 1 0 Pe: THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY MORNING, JANUARI 11, 1844. ber next. But, as Trafalgar-square begins to get up its terraces and walks, new permanent tenants —in bronze and marble—take possession of the reserved pedestals! GEORGE IV., mounted on a horse of a much more interesting, and becoming, and distingue air than his rider, is already lo cated at one angle of the raised terrace—GEOßGE IV. by no means bears him like the " finest gentleman in Europe," but resembles one of CnA NTREY'S most indifferent sitters, prac tising in a quadrille of equitation at D 1. 17 CROWS. GEORGE 111. is to be removed bodily, with his two portentous tails, to a pedestal at the corresponding angle. These positions are so well chosen, that the figures look neither at each other, nor up to NELSON, but with a sort of military drill - expression of " eyes straight." It is understood that King CHARLES 1., from dharing-cross, and King JAMES 11., from the back of Whitehall Banquetting-house, are to be the next importations into the square. We are curious to know whether they; too, are to look at DRUMMOND'S bank and FARRANCE'S pastry, like an advanced guard to the two GEORGES? Or, is King JAMES 11. to be brought with his thee opposite to GEORGE 111., as if to read a posthu mous lecture on political as well as religious bigotry; whilst the " martyred CHARLES" is to contemplate, pensively, the wondrous fortune and ,quiet .end, of the,yoluptuarian successor to his sceptre, .and discoverer of his remains at Wind sor?- These rumours we give as they have reached us. To us it seems that the general effect of such an arrangement as this—of four such statues—will be at once false in principle, and incongruous in effect. Who, are responsible for these locations? LITERATURE. MAXWELL'S HISTORY OF THE REBEL • LION IN IRELAND IN 1798. Nothing can be more opportune than the sea son selected for bringing - . out a work like this, which treats of the most exciting, and (if: that which is tragical be so) most intcresting.portion of the history of that section of the empire, which now engrosses the most anxious attention of, not merely the subjects of the British Throne of all classes and denominations, but also that of European and 'Trans-atlantic nations. The work,. which is to be published periodically in parts, is likely, if we may augur from) the first number, to prove very interesting; and by no means the least attractive portion of it will be the Illustra tions, by George Cruikshank, two of which are given m the present Number. The subject is one rich in romantic incident, and in Maxwell's hands ought to illustrate well the trite old saw, that " truth is stranger than fiction." We can not, however, but regret-that the chapter on the " Leaders of the United Irishmen" .is so short. It was quite impossible in so brief a space to give anything like a satisfactory notice of the life of each of those misguided, but. chivalrous high-minded men. We quote the following at random : " A curious anecdote, related by Dr. Madden in his biographical notice of Addis Emmet, is cha racteristic of the extent to which political and pro-, fessional enthusiasm will hurry individuals. Emmet was retained for some persons charged with the ad ministration of unlawful oaths —at the time a capital offence—and was addressing the Court in arrest of judgment. " He took up the pleadings in which the words of the oath were recited, and read them in a very de liberate manner, and with all the gravity of a man who felt thut he was binding his soul by the obliga tions of a solemn oath. The words were to the fol lowing effect I, A. 8., in the presence of God, do pledge myself to my country, that I will use all my abilities and influence in the attainment of an im partial and adequate representation of the Irish nation in Parliament; and, as a means of absolute and imme diate necessity in the establishment of this chief good of Ireland, I will endeavour, as much as lies in my ability, to forward a brotherhood of affection, an identity of interests, a communion of rights, and an union of power among Irishmen of all religious per suasions, without which every reform in Parliament must be partial,not national, inadequate to the wants, delusive to the wishesiand insufficient to the freedom and happiness of this country." " Having read the test—defended its obligations with a power of reasoning and a display of legal knowledge, in reference to the subject of the dis tinction between legal and illegal oaths, which the counsel for the prosecution described as producing an extraordinary impression —he addressed the Court in the following terms : " My Lords,—Here, in the presence of this legal Court, this crowded auditory—in the presence of the Being that sees and witnesses, and directs this judicial tribunal—here, my Lords, I, myself, in the presence of God, declare, 1 take the oath.' t,lle then toolt„-the book, that was on the table, kissed it, and sakdown. No-steps were taken by the: Court against the newly-sworn United -Irishman : the amazement of its functionaries left them in no fit state of mind either for remonstrance or approval. The prisoners received a very lenient sentence.' " BOOK OF BRITISH BALLADS. Part XII. How, London, 1844. being ex c e o c t u n te n d en ir d i a a tio v t e ls r , y t s l: l e pe m rio aj r o s r t i y ty le ooff art, the and dis playing the m The illustrati ons o f this Part are its p r i nc i pa l re playing powers of fancy of no ordinary character. As for the Ballads, they are merely republica tions from Percy, Ritson, Scott, ,Motherwell, and other.. well-known cqlleefor.of these plus. Othiiipula COURT OF COMMISSIONERS' OE SEWERS, GUILDHALL. THE FILTHY STATE OF THE STREETS OF TFIE CITY. In consequence of the representation made by the Lord Mayor in the Chair at the Mansion-house, upon the subject of the condition of the streets, lanes, and alleys of the City, and his Lordship's declared intention to exercise all the authority he possessed as , C , Chief -I‘l4- gistrate t o compel the scavenging contractor to do his d p u ro t) l :, em th e e n s t u s b oug subject has been at length, introduced in such a form in thi s C ourt as will be likely to lead to the im sought for without effect, and even without notice, from those who ought to have accom plished it long ago. The Commissioners having assembled on Tuesday, at their Chamber in Guildhall a great number of complaints were made against the contractor, who attended by de puty to answer them. The result will be seen from the following resolutions, to which the attention of the citizens has been most par ticularly called by the authorities At a public meeting of the Commissioners of Sewers for the City of London and the liberties therecf, in the Guildhall of the said city, Tuesday, January 9, 1844, John Gore, contractor for rakers' work, having been summoned to answer different complaints for neglect of duty, in not duly cleansing the streets and removing the dust, &c., from the houses of the inhabitants within this city, being called, his foreman attends on his behalf, and lays a letter from the said John Gore, and a sur igoelovn's theCourt. certificate of his inability to leave his house, be - The various parties complaining attend, and are heard at length. Ordered—That the clerk do carefully set forth the streets, lanes, and places severally complained of in the summonses, and that a fine be laid on the contractor for one week's neglect of duty therein. Ordered—That the clerk do inform the contractor of the fines so laid, and that if he (the contractor) does not perform the duties required from him, according to his contract, this Court will, at the next meeting, serve him with notice to annul the contract. Ordered—That the inspectors of pavements bo di rected to make a weekly return, in writing, to this Court of any neglect of duty in the contractor, either to sweep the streets or to remove the dust, &c., from the houses of the inhabitants, as required by the terms of his contract. Ordered—That the clerk do transmit a copy of these resolutions to the Right lion. the Lord Mayor. JOSEPH D s w The foreman to the contractor pleaded, in excuse for the almost unpassable state of some of the streets, and the filthy state of all of them. that Mr. Gore in vain attempted to get the scavengers employed by hi m to Sewers'-office. ~ Principal Clerk, work at Christmas, not one of them would consent to shovel, a spoonful out of the kennel. In fact, it was quite a weakness to expeet that they devote a single hour of that holiday period to work of the kind. The Commissioners said that the contractor, of course, paid these men nothing during the time they refused to work, and Might hare procured persons in abundance to do the business, his neglect of w hi c h d eserve d to b e punished by immediate dismissal from the employment altogether. It is believed that the fines inflicted will amount alto gether to between 2001. and 300/, n ----- THE NEW AMERICAN omit. PRINCE ALBERT.— TAhlbeesrzlen whichdid new arri packet ship, Prince Americaned inthe I i s ! I t e . - Thursday last, has, since Sunday , line-of Dock on been a source of very great attraction to persons wno feel an interest in matters connected with improvements in ship building. The Prince Albert is the companion ship to the Victoria that was launched last year, and, although of the same rate of tonnage (1,000) she is considerably larger in every respect, and in all her appointments superior. NATIONAL GALLERY.--'The boys of the Maryle bone workhouse, about 200 in number ; paid a visit to the National Gallery on Tuesday. The arrange ments, to prevent confusion, were complete, each boy following close upon the other's heels, having secured his line of march by encircling with his left arm the rail which prevents a too near approach to the pictures. Any advancement in a taste for the fine arts cannot fairly be adduced from this visit, the boys having been told to look " over their left" at the pictures, which we sup pose they did. THE CURRENCY. TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. Sin,—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, cGin the gold, and put it into circulation ? "2d. If the Bank of England ca n no t ge t r id o f it s 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'circtilaion, 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 qurstions To the Bank of'England is given the power to regu law, 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 f6r the Wants of - commerce ; and to reduce its amount When:ri4stlined by them to be too great, or de• preciated. In siipport of the - power 'given to"the Bank to regulate the currency there are two asStimptiOns taken for granted, which hare Pb - "foundation' in truth. It assumed, in the 'first piece, that the currency has no fixed standard,' but must always.necessarily be in a s:ate 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, is, a fixed 'qUantity, which neither -admits df in nor over'; • and; that there is such -standard !'of the cirrincy, 'independent of any regulation of the Bank of England; as well as of evCrYother'ineasure, can not possibly admit of doubt. • ' The wants Of commerce, as to a Medium of exchange, are supplied by bills of exchange, Exchequer bills, bau •kers' 'cheques, and the large notes of banks, which are, properly, the currency of commerce'; and these being all-payable in the dothestie 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 (thse command over the labour of man being the very essence of wealth : and the domestic curcen•ey Of a State is, obviously, necessarily ruled i❑ regard to its valtie, 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' t.) 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 one 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. Every expansion of our domestic 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 that 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. 'rho 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 21,108,0001., (See Appendix, No. 3). Between these quantities there is no less a difference, in round numbers, than 5,000,000/. 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 niar - satitfy hiniself 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 fur 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 ag ain 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' tit the amount of the Batik's issues of paper money, as already Observed,. - creates - an alteration iii the previouily 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 - coiiiitiunity - Over the liveS and fortunes of -their f..110w-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, seat 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 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 s; - Mtgitifiti; first eine-data and att66(niteir,the Vodiett of fifi7itinocent victims, the labouring)soor,rendefing them teasily suSceptible of every.pa'ssing disease, of typhus and tither fsvers—the never-failing concomitants of insuffi cient nourishment—and then swept them away into un timely graves. To compare great things with small, let us suppose that the Legislature gave a power to the publicans of London, to regulate tie liquid measure of the pint, by extending it, at times, as far as a pint and a half when trade was, in their estimation, brisk, and reducing it at other times, when they thought trade dull, as far as half a pint only. Can there be the least doubt in the mind of any sane person, that these publicans would not immediately take advantage of the power thus com mitted to them, and turn it to their own ac 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, that is to say, so long as they had anything to sell, keep down the mea sure to a half-pint only. With regard to their brethren throughout the country, who might not know when thesechanges 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, r u i ne d an d un d one ; an, 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 and 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 own individual ad vantage, is beyond . all possibility of doubt, for it is eapabla l of 'demonstration, and that, too, from their own published •• returns of the averages of their istues 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 thelimit is exceeded by the paper money of the Bank of England,. the currency becomes of lower value, stud, ..conSequeritly,.. the metallic part of it, be ing thereby depreciated as' well as the paper part of it, •in reference to the value r 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 the extraordinary command they possess over the currency of this coun try, from the enormous masses; almoit 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 theYhavedone at present ; they then - . pat out their paper moneytniuch an extent, as to cause the whole currency, consisting of gold and L 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 l 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 in their notes. f _ It!_is cornmeny opposed. that a currency of paper . cannot ti . ni p . depreciated, so long as it i s convert ibl e i n t o . t h e precious etals - ,• hut this is a palpable mistake. As soon as a paper cnitency,•tliough 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 geld be expelled from the country, and - the - mass of currency of paper and gold be thereby sufficiently reduced, that the limit of the'preciou . s . metals • •. is again restored.i The gold ' leavine• - the • country is Merely the cOnsepience 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 of the precious metals •is more or .le:3s..exceeded through the addition' of paper money, will the deprecia tien be greater or less, and' will these metals' more or less , rapidly leave the country. = - • It appears rrom the returns in No. 1 of the Appendix, that the- average issues tho paper money of the Bank, 'from the 18th November, 1834, when those returns' were first made qUarterlV,' to the 10th November, 1840, when they came •to be 'made 'public - monthly, ivere, on an average of the whole of these returns, 17,990,00 e / .; but, as the Bank, at one period during that time, that is, to wards the end - of 1 , 339,' actually ran short of gold to meet the deMondi . ott - then) from over-issuer,'which Could 'only. proceed.- froni. depreciation- -of , the _whole mass of en rtencyt both paper and. gold, and. the' Bank ;D:rectors were obliged to go, like. • beggars, - flank of France to borrow a large amount of the pre- . cionO metals there to supply the demand f,,r 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 bc . perinanently supported in eirett lation'hy ifie Batik - n fact of which the-Directors Of the Bank, from their previous experience,' could not by.pos ailnlity be ignorant. It.is probable -that not more than 17,500,0001. of Bank•paper, convertible:into gold, can he permanently put into and maintained by the Bank in circtilation. • • „ , 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 valueand in raising, prices; prices; is felt. They - must, first, get into general cir ciliation, 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, u 111 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, , 1 when it amounted to 10,002,0001. 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 1 361;000!. 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 19,350,0001., 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 16,112,000/, 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 I'4 el's tal-e 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, fur as soon as the screw was in some degree relaxed, the labiuring 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 ace absolutely necessary for ,thenrstO do- so to- protect themselves and th-eir 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 neeeesity, by previous over issues of pap , r 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 fitet. 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 ite, he firmament. Under these: tnemstances is there a man in the whole country, waase 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 .ther:7.,Bsitit -parloar, - •de take: - adantsge these changes 3 Is it possibly to conceive that Director, or • the fiicbd •in • his —Searets,,:-'exten sively engaged in trade, wiil 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 bued with more than Boeotian 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 metals. A stock of gold, therefore, though it be quite necessary to support, for a season, a dis honest over-issue of Bank of England notes, and to enable the Bank Directors and their friends to plunder their fellow-subjects of their means, in the way already described, and as they have hitherto done for the last 24 years, is not necessary for enabling the Bank to sup 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 ♦alue with gold. It is evident that when our domestic currency exceeds the limit of the precious metals, it is necesatry for the Bank to have 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 rated 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 17,500,0001., 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. now, 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 unjust, especially coming, as it did, immediately after 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 keen since repeatedly renewed ; and the Bank have 'acted with a degree of keenness in stopping 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, for 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 hank'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:ti - e - Whole mass of the circulation ; .because, that limit be made up of paper abyne, as well as of paper and gold combined. It merely proves, that amt. lima is constituted by paper at present - to, a greater amount than usual. But., perhrps, it proves Something more. It proves, that the Bank of England Directors are 11 , 4 • ignorant of the true theory of the currency. There cannot be a doubt that - the m•Orement against light gord • had, its origin in the Bank parlour, and the obiset of it truly appears to be to divert public attention from the Get of the issues of paper money on the circulation, as e:xliibited in the returns of the Bank, and to ,lull.suspiciOp as to the Bank's conduct in the management of the currtary.; and.a,uhnirably has it been calculated for that,purpose. It proves.beyond doubt the.. Forwrior. i<nowlpOgn which the 13ank Directors possess _el the workirnr ot- the,-pre sent currency system. and th.ti instead of being ignorant of this ques;ion of the currency, they in reality undcr Stand it but too well. The answers to the questions put may now he ant'ci , pated : •- • , iat. The Batik of England can, but , s ill not, cent& act its notes, coin the gild, and put. it into circulation at present; beente.;e„ that • isl 4 &feet their object in cid, !tatting lam” a stun .of these,inctals, that obji et belng, to support•for a season, wht n the time suitat.le fur thcm selves- 7r. ice, an over issue •of the 4 paper money. an* to enable the Directors and their friends to commit those ?rands (Ii the nnsuspecting. public Oreatly spoken U. 2d. The Bank cat easily get rid ti‘f their present stock of gold'by citing it and passing it away,,kt - rping their issues'or pap T money steadily at the sanin fixed amount, tae whole -circulating medium not exceeding the limit of the,precions metals, as ascertained. by.,their Own ex perience ; in which case, gold will flow into-them ns' last as.it flows out. But the Bank will prefer to rid them 4olves of their present dead stock of twelve Millions anii upwards of these metals, as they have Always hitherto done, .by depreciath-tg, by over issues of their ji:kper Money; - the' a hole 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 frienfls• in their confidence have any thing to eel!. Bulthey will be more cautious thislictio, 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, tt) apply for a renewal of their 'charter, with ' increased powers over the currency, by the ihiitting tip of 'all othor,,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 fur good or for (evil. But in whatever way the Dank of England get rid of their present stock of the precious metals, it cannot escape observation that they haVe been accumulated, fur some purpose which the Bank do not. choose to avow ; fOr it l 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 liament by the merchants and manufacturers of Man chester that they had been stript of their means, from time to time, by some invisible power, and that they had lost within a tow 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 mets 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 tfnat occision, 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 (I state the fact from my own personal knowledge) it was neither understood nor intended, nor expected, the:. 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 Whig Government, for although it was com posed of men of all parties—Tories, Whigs, and Radicals —the Members were all on one 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 which the inquiry was osten sibly instituted. They were appointed merely for the purpose of talking and amusing the public, until the storm, " the pressure on the money market," as it was then called, Fh o tad 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 1811, forms no part of the questions put, as above quoted, and there fore I will not trespass in 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 univerid. standard of inlite among all civilised nations, and have been accordingly recognised as such in al! nges, yet they obviously cease to fin; so, wherever the prices of commodities are artificially in -creased by taxi-s above their natural amount, heeatve, being a fixed quantity, limited by nature in their amount, . the precious meta:s 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 them, prices at their tax included amount. JAMES PEDIE. Edinburgh, 01,1 Broughton, Dec. 30, 1843. APPENDIX, An Aecount of the Aggregate Amount of Promissory Notes pay..ble to bearer on demand in circulation in the United Kingdom, and c.f the precious Metals in the Bank of England as appearing flora the Gazette quarterly . No. 1. From the commencement of the Returns to the 10th Nov., 1840. FOR THE PERIOD FROM NOTES BULLION. 18 Nov. 34 to 10th Feb. 1835... £18,099,000 £8,693,C00 10 Feb. to 5 M 1835... 18,342,000 6,197,000 5 May 'to 28 July 1835... 18,322,000 6.283,000 28 July to 26 Oct 1835... 17,930,000 6,186,000 26 Oct. to 12 Jan 1886... 17,262,000 7,076,000 12 Jan. to 5 April 1836... 18,063,000 7,801,000 5 April to 28 June 1836... 17,899,000 7,362,000 28 June to 20 Sept 1636 .. 18.147.009 5,719.000 20 Sept. to 13 Dec 1836... 17,361,000 4,545,000 13 Dec. to 7 March 1837... 18,178,000 4,043,000 7 March to 30 May 1837... 18,419,000 4,423,000 30 May to 26 Aug. 1837... 18,462 000 5,754,000 26 Aug. 1014 Nov. —lE37 18,344,000 7,432,000 14 Nov. to 6 Feb. 1838... 18,206,000 9,543,1100 6 Feb. to 1 May —lB3B 19,084,000 10,002,000 1 May to 24 July .. 19,266,000 9,749,000 24 July to 16 Oct 1833... 19,350,000 9,437,000 16 Oct. to 8 Jan. 1839... 18,201,000 9,336,0E10 8 Jan. to 2 April 1839... 18,371,000 7,073,000 2 April to 25 June 1839... 18,101,000 4,344,000 25 June to 17 Sept ...1E39... 17.960,000 2,816,000 17 Sept. to 10 Dec 1839... 16,732,000 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 21-.E577,1.8.5,000 General Average for the whole periodE, 17,990,000 , No. 11. Monthly returns for the Quarter, including the Lur weeks from 10 Dec. ending 7Jan. 1841... £16,112,000 £3,557.000 4 Feb. 4 March ...... 16,372,000 4,076,000 1 Apri1......... 16,537,000 4,339,000 29 April 16,587,000 4,638,000 27 May 24 June ... 22 July ...... 16,821,000 3,170,000 19 Aug 17 Sept. 15 Oct. 13 Nov 17,272,000 4,491,000 9 Dec. 6 Jan. 1842 4 Feb.... 16,630,000 5,237,000 4 Match 31 March 29 April 17,235,000 6,500,000 27 May 19-X320,205,000 General Average of the whole period X 16,852,894 . . No. 111. Monthly returns for the quarter, including the four weeks ending NOTES. BU WON. 24 June, 1842 £17,795,000 £7,320,000 22 July 19 Aug. 15 Sept. 14 Oct 20,004,00 - 9,653,000 I() Nov 19,903,000 9, 769,000 8 Dec 19,56'2,000 9;984,000 . , 7 Jan., 1843 -,- - -, - - 18,283,000 11,054,000 4 Feb 21,108,009 10,9.33,000 4 March 20,340,000 10,984,000 1 April 29 April 27 May 24 June 22 July 19,809,000 11,672,000 19 Aug 16 Sept. 14 Oct. . 11 Nor. 9 Dec 18,791,000 12:996,000 20—E388,218,000 •. General average of the vrhole period Deduct tint general average No. I. General average amount of issues beyond the first period 1,420,900 OUTLAWRY.—Dur:ng the morning service on Mon das proclamation of outlawry was posted on the doors of the parish church at Brighton, declaring Mr. Thomas Reed Kemp, formerly 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, Bart., and Dame Mary Milbourne Svrinnerton, bis wife. Accounts have been received at Holderness_House which state that Lady Alexandrine 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.