The Northern Daily Times. — Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-11-25 00:00:00

T HE CURRENCY QUESTION A PARENTHETICAL LETTER. To THE EDIT O R OP THE NORTHERN TIMES , Sir my. former communications I have althost ta, 4 4 ed Piyself to the elements of this subject in answer questions put in my opening letter of-the 17th of ,i,oloer, v i z. " What is Currency ?",&c. hasp Homethis continuous "thvelling on fi rs t p r i nc ipl es doubtit ~f - v been tedious, nevertheless,, it has been si av u 'toinee there are but few who thoroughly under s these -; in- apolo4y, ' therefore, to th e u nits o f s l 6 4t3t I beg .to say that I have not been wr iting so' for them hitherto, as for the millions who require liv e set right herein, before there can be an intelligent - SLindinz of the merits of any jaropoSition for b :,,"e 6 l.ent on our present system ; and I trust it will t ai 'lloeded to me : that there can be no. offence in this Inv I Y , for certainly there is none felt or intended on 14,P a rhow should there be ? Indeed, there is no 1, 1k . e reaso n for offence than there would be in my ate offence at a medical man's kindly explaining to th e wilB re lies the seit of a f a tal disease, and what are ie`er vi a which.have produced it, and continue to admin cin„ „to its v i ru l ence; f or , as I know nothing of medi -44' ShOtlld gladly lay. .myself open to his ins ruction Probably, b ecome c l ear s i g ht e d enoug h , fe et r . 4 ot before, and should, at any rate, certainly no. s~i e 111sulted by his treating m e as _ un i ns t ruc t e d i n the l h o . of hi s p r o f es Si o n— an d so, i n li ke manner, as we ye:,"onieally been styled " currency doctors," I trust os - '„, a ,Y be made useful in thes e ma tt ers t o th e u ni n itiated, - ' 44 11 it would be unkind to cast ,the slightest however ce lpioc, fo r t : le rl't tak e upon m y se lf t o fi n d f au l t w i t h suc h as as k ho r - w t ' i, ninerliate exposition of o ur proposed rem e die s , tin t tt li such as have hurried forthwith into. an exposi sr l ' e rtile'r remedial ideas ; but, having adopted a course in °W n, I claim th e pri v il ege o f p ursui ng that course N ee s way way I think most lik e ly t o l e ad the man y t o a hh apprehension of the subject; and, in so d o in g , thth"e 4°lle on the principle. that, see , * an evil is one !,I!ut that to understand-it tis quite another; tile, to i4o7tster to a di sease , the seat of which we do not lli i e is like putting one's hand into a drug g i s t' s sh o p i n *hijark, and drawing therefrom, haphazard, a drug. ill a .1 is one thousand. to o n e agains t us th a t i t wou ld en d ° y measure alleviate the p a ti en t. N ow , as to t h e iii ro m ercial world, it is patent to all that there is a disease Whi' r , ie kind, deeply seated in the heart of commerce, it 9 A c e '' , like . a secret gangrene, is growing more virulent in ets fro m day to day, but of 'which very few have ,e.,-ar apprehension. toe 4 'olsr this view of the commercial world, I have 'itier" • - i e. erect it important, mold To ascertain, if possible, the seat of the disease, ke tie "i),' it demonstrable to all ; and, `", To get to know the cause thereof, after which safelv—and not till then—begin to propose. ur eiee ies R e ' • he t_ to turn from this digression,. let me briefly revert 11 4 7 former letters, by way of recapitulation, that we ttia,',"eertain what deductions may be drawn therefrom, tei ve s'ilneate in a condensed form the position we con ey. t° have arrived at. bee: have shown that currency is a medium of exchange Oq reh ee n the b u y er an d the seller, enabling the on e t o t o % e as e, and the other to sell, without having recourse tete r Primiti ve mo d e o f ta ki ng cum b rous goods in eot141; All the civili s ed world h as adopted a metallic l'itl ti e""Y; but, .as we have seen, in consequence of the riteC e "f the metals employed, being themselves of !itt,„',. 4 t . ing value, and necessarily limited i n th eir 11 1 'I; t his description of currency is grievously fanity— tut%°rt; it i s ne i t h er m ore nor l ess th an t h e ar b itrary 61 1, 4 :ftlent of a universal one-sided, left handed mode t he ; P e te r; and if you were to exhaust all the wit of all op ~.."e c i, l l pleaders, at all the courts of law and equity, ueli,""td .never make it what some would have us le ;l i e it to be, for, call it what you will, it is, 1 14; 4 , Intents and purposes, barter by compulsion, 13 lie r - , ll .'eal in principle, treacherous and unjust in its t o it ;it is withal insufficient for the duties assigned e fe a erid, indeed, to be plain, tile acceptanee which Pr, a sell now takes for his goods is probably the best ier,L:' now of what a medium of exchange should 44 ? e 4B integrity—intrinsically worthless, and . yet all -4t1'4111-4ii for the object to be attained—(this we say t e kti eg such bill to be beyond the possibility of defal 'oe k ° „ - i 't and we apprehend that this gives us the key to eon - lotion of our problem, which, on some future occa klekwe Purpose entering upon more fullywe_ are *iih - ns not to anticipate our details, as we have not done l et our outlines yet. We conceive that we have ill deco what is the disease, the effects of which 1 4/ r e aware of, for all are more or less affected by it— the e Profitably —the many unprofitably—negatively it is t''ce.elbsence of an ample medium of exchan g e, an d o f f re e o e : 4 , gold; positively, it is th e a d op ti on o f a mediume4 sel m - ' 4 ot:ige of intrinsic value, of a metallic medium of 4, 4 •?) and, furthermore, of a me t a lli c medians of by t Oge aggravated by a fixed price on gold, which is day Pe etbeemaing relatively less valu a bl e , an d w hi c h even ki.,;, l „ is flinch of th a t re l a ti ve va l ue i n consequence of its t liej: l ' e plication and senseless employment as our chief kje;.% of exchanee. e ' e '! is the disease—here i s t h e seat of it—here the ` lll l l :Z e rits which have produced it; and, at the same ward h i c k continues to increase its baneful effects. Oa .° g°es in its inflicting career, like an overwhelming ;""ti e "uat may be stayed and quieted for a while in some ' b ie ,•:, t lley, but soon breaks forth again with the same 7":1„ - ?le destructive force—its waters may glisten with 'l4,`"flent beauty under the powerful rays of a mid ktl43e-4,llsliine ; but at evening time, at the fall of the 4 11 C, the sun goes • d own b e hi n d y ou stupen d uous "44 1 blackness in th e h or i zon — o h ! h ow i ts p i t il ess 4teke harmonise with every whispering of evil, and I lta e ,terroe into the hearts of. men who now no longer ; 4 1‘e e ' o be able to brave the threatening storm, for they qte s ' a " on the deep waters, where there are no sound- Sn' all : (1 no havens of refuge, without compass, rudder, naih a ' °l ' anchor. Such a picture, like a moving pano tN, g the scene presented to us by our preeeflt el ' u °k - o `,, i 'Y and currency system. Such a picture I always 4 4 D - " in what are called good times when money is i ; 8 . a . nd I look on the same when money i s d ear ; f or , I .' to moving scene, I know, for certain, as hat are oscillating movements, and that flowers and ,! 8 e o' l blue sky will soon pass away and give place to i t h wilderness or tempestuous blackness.- It seems to ' 1 11 1 , 4 we, traders in general, are like a set of indus- Pees" i n melianies fully employed and working- at a , 1) . trade, ' but having, every now and then, to P r r eat portion of our_har . d earnings to fetch home, eauent unfavourable circumstances, what is due LN)iC e i n doing which we lose our time and waste our ioehm i ndividually, while the cunning Carriers who i ' ' l , l l)o r - t ee n rejoicing in our improvidence, and waiting their „ - "iiY in the certainty of rich harvest, step into ',mes e ' t- bought rescue, and fleece us of our wealth ',l,4teelooney dealers and banking pawnbrokers, who noon see free trade in gold, and a legiti e4 as a e rnPle currency, as they would a race of merchants put t never operating beyond their means. Let LIA an ent of you, all you men of independent spirits, se - „ 11 , 4 low, not to allow yourselves to be influenced (111,t`ii interested opinions as may emanate from those t i , s l)ej t i s ; and let me put you on your British metal, you ,Itl ee ' a llY who are my countrymen (though this subject ',N;l e ' ti rt 'S all nations), and do not allow yourselves to be Pai n ' coat of your common sense, judgment, and per atil. 'llB, by the introduction into this subject of all the 14 ea t . li he. t rills of interest, per centages, cheap and dear a bi t' 4410011 Stores and bullion deficits, with bank j;k, l es and the periodical bulletins f the gold ve p Pt For although the exposition of these things ' well i n its way , an d may serve critically. to ' l l, l the practical evil of the pr esen t system to t h e d l l4, ,er sed in such matters, yet it is more ca l cu l ate d to a 7 the subject, and to cocfuse the generality of us, i i ee s „ tt any wa t enlighten us ; In short, there is no n tY whatever o to go into any difficult and prohlema ritleit'estions—it is all-sufficient to keep to the simple d ° oder consideration, which are, free trade i n go i l l.4 l)r t i l "Pie medium of exchange. Every one can see th . e f. 4tE is et Y of these being granted and provided, and eiaj, e 4 rY for the well being of the nation and for the ," ` t nents of trade, it is monstrous to allow ourselves ti: 'ti qe l3llt °EI, because it is said by some that the adjudie 4 4e, ii ef the subject is beset with so many intrigues and c, -11 1 , 1 si, ti es--it is an insult to the intellect, intelligence, ile" e e rience of the nation to say that we cannot, from b a ne Procure a council of competent men to devise whereby—the thing wanted—the necessary t h a ;aY b e obi a lcd, The writer of these Letters may 4 t 11 114, Perfeet scheme to Le he he would 061. nimselfwellrewarded ht WI I li 4 4 °f `'= ' Principles on which the great. commercial gigantic trading community shouL4 be br pipe ere it not so with him he would, long ere this, 4ll 'ih cia elled that part of' the subject.. What I am c‘:: l ,ts 1 t a,tiS, to get the nation to understand their P,-tie 111 matter, and then to have the remedies (of Bii,:rig t e j, l !s discussed dispassionately by a competent n h eat; ii gent and independent men, and who would . rtir ng to all, not excepting even the suggestions obe• ep ho tent servant, CORNELIUS. °I, Nov. 19, 1856. fir 711,, I . THE EDITOR OF THE NORTH/La,. 41it114ajt?'V ProCeod to deal with another class of objectors, Alm)ly for t4 at a n at i ona l paper currency would answer ad iil4(l the fissi on b purples of internal commerce, but qualify 114 th.: 4 y Pavirm ;11 , 11 a enrrerev wn ahnnld LETTER NO. XL c o i A~i~~p.a ?, i‘ele a , °l )a i "N our tra tki:!vt. 0,11 :tuverte wtiance 7'eVer valuable for domes purposes , v r3' ea In reply „ 1, tiand tar-sighted gentlemen, I won. . t g, v, k , t he l e first place that, so far as money ls concerned, tie r e q thing 14 4 tpti at ho we want--a circulating medium that shall teain g we, and, by its uniform action, enable our ( "Per atio `"rehant s to increase their wealth by the legiti -48 of commerce without the risks to which the • 4 THE NORTHERN TIMES: - =LIVERPOOL, TUESDAY: present system constantly exposes them. I would next remind them that if our imports of perishable commodities should, on an average of years, exceed the value of our exports, we should soon have to bewail our national poverty. That is to say, if- we - import more than we can pay for with our exports, we must be impoverished, and not enriched, by our trade. With gold demoraltiied; and treated always as an exchangeable commodity, if we-could buy it cheap in one - country, and sell it dear in another country, of course we should be gainers by the operation , and tlie laws of commoree-Would never leave us Without as much gold as we required for domestic purposes ; because if there was a great foreign .demand, for it, it would rise in price at home, so as to render the• foreign orders to purchase it inoperative. In short, it would find its level like everything else ; and as cotton is an article far more indisPerisi. blo to our national welfare than gold, we should ,be far more anxious, under a really improved system of currency, to obtain an abundant supply of theformer than of ,the latter, And as"the ealicoes'of Manchester, and the woollen cloths of Leeds, are far more useful to the great bulk of mankinkthan the 'trinkets of the 'jeweller, don't tell me teat unless gold could• be bought in England, proportionately cheaper than c Ake or ' broadcloth, that foreigners' would be such fools as to send us ,their orders for, the former rathe; that the - latter. Peter Simple can understand, that if gol,l only £3_l7s 9d per ounce in gngland,''and calico'cannA bi )der pet he same time tli abroad is £4 103 per ounce, and ealic6 only saleable at 41 per yard,—l say, in such a state of things, evert Peter Simple himself can. understand that the foreign merchant will send here'for his gold,.n.nd buy hii calieo elsewhere ; for foreigners understand the advantage of buying .in the cheapest, and selling in the dearest market as well as the Times newspaper, Richard Cobden; or the la's Sir Rob3tt Peel. But setting aside these very obvious facts, if any one really thinkti that there is very great force in the objection that, with a national paper currency, gold could not be obtained for the payment of our foreign creditors—if, unfortunately, their claims exceeded ours upon our foreign debtors—l would just ask hint —How did we obtain it before the present 'currency laws were dreamt of? How did we obtain it before it was-first used as money iu England—that is, before the reign of Heury thr Fourth ? We were not without gold then, though we neither begged it, nor borrowed, nor stole it. flow, then, did we. :obttiin it? In the same way that we intuit always obtain it— by the sweat of our brow, by the labour of our hands, and b) the exercise of our mental faculties. The gold that we p,,sses, is Vie. result, and not the cause, of our wealth. Probably should have been quite as wealthy, perhaps wealthier 'if Nature had never produced a grain of gold Be that as it may, we bought our gold and paid for it with tin surp'us labour of our toiling millions, ,with the produce of our fields, or the products of our looms. We purchased it from nations which were poor, in that wherein we were lich. And ,they are most egregiously mistaken, who . fancy that it ever was, or ever can he, the source of our wealth. No, it is not gold, but the ground beneath our feet, and the skill and labour we have expended ou its . ctiltivition that constitute the terra firma of our wealth. Strictly speaking, the landowner is the only really wealthy man, for land, in a proper state of cultivation, is the only realised wealth. It was not by the currency legislation of •1819 or 1844, but by (lint of that industry for which we are proverbial as a nation; that our little island home has become the magnet which attracts from the most • distant regions their treasures of diamonds, of gold, of silver, and of all Precious thiuzs. Yes, it is our. persevering industry, and not gold, that is the secret of our wealth ; and so long as we con tinue to work as we have done, with heart,-and head, and hand, we shall always be able to discharge the claims of our foreign creditors. We shall get plenty of gold in exchange for our calicoes, and if we can again dispose of the gold, or, more strictly speaking, exchange it again for more valuable commodities, being a nation of shopkeepers, we shall only be too' glad to part with it as fast as we receive it. And if we could not dispose of it profitably, either at home or abroad, our merchants would soon cease to import it. The gold producer would be obliged to send it here on consignment, and take his chance of the market. Under the operation of a law that would give us legal paper money proportioned to our wants, the occasional .exportation of one or two hundred tons of gold could not possibly . lead to any disastrous commercial results, because our currency would no longer depend upon the amount of gold retained at home. But, perhaps; having replied to almost every imaginable olikiction, I may be told that we have achieved our commercial greatness, and made our country the mart of the nations, and its metropolis the centre of the monetary operations of the world, under the influence of the very laws against which we currency reformers .are always railing. Why, this was the argument that was wont to be used against the repeal of the corn laws. If your- readers will refer to thty parliamentary debates of 1839, they will find the late Sir Robert Peel urging this very consideration as a reason for the preservation of the laws which were at that time regarded as the great buttresses of the agricultural interest. "We should view"— said that great statesman —" we should view with regret cultivation receding from the hill top, which it has climbed and from which it surveys under the of protection, with joy the progress of successful toil " If you convince us t your most sanguine hopes would iced, ' and that this cou try Would become tb workshop of the world, through the .el id for foreign corn, we should not forget, amid all these ms of .Complete happiness, that it has been under the influence of protection to ag iculture, coutinu,d fo' of a while people improved, and their life prolonged, 1119, 110 the expanse of manufacturing prosperit with its wonderful advancement." ly conc►usive argument, the .tre repealed —wli , Alier rightly or wrongly, it is no iness to enquire—and' it - was Sir Robert Pee .ree, under :ountry had 839, it has lost all its force, as applied to the currency law once for all, the theory of buying in the cheapest and selling in - tlio dearest markets, as the basis of our comm erc i a l And where is the political Don Quixotte, who would dream of reconstructing the sliding scale, and reversing the legislation which effected its destruction ? Seeing, then, that the great staple of our own country is no longer protected—seeing that we are irrevocably committed to an untrammelled trade in corn—why should the exploded protective system be embalmed in our currency laws ? Why should we continuo to protect the rich capitalist, when we leave the poor farmer to take care of himself? We have decreed that there shall be no monopoly in corn ; in coffee, in sugar, or in tea—that the trade iu all these articles shall be as free as the air we breathe. • Let us at least be consistent, let us apply the same principle to the precious metals which wo have applied to everything Give - us in these also, a fair field and no favaur. Let us buy them sin the cheapest,.aud s e ll th em i n th e dea re st mai k o t, Why are we to hive a restricted trade in gold, but an un restricted trade in corn ? Having invited the whole world to compete with us in the latter, why should we fear their compe - tition in the former ? Having destroyed all other monopolies, why should the monoply of the Bank of England be continued ? Having thrown open the trade with India and China— having abandone.l the system of differential duties in favour of the.produce of our co'onies, and so far remodelled our tariff as to open our ports to the products and manufactories of all nations—why should gold alone be the subject of our excep tional legislation ? To me it appears as clear as day-light, that free trade in gold is the natural sequence of free trade in corn. But somehow or other, an unaccountable "vis inertia" has taken possession of our free traders with regard to the currency. The law that was passed for the protection of the cultivators of the soil has been totally repealed, but no league has been formed to make a vigorous assault on the Act of Parliament, which hedges in the powerful capitalist from danger, and gives him a monopoly of the trade in money. But, to return to the objection, that our commercial great ness had its origin in the currency legislation of the last half century. The assertion is simply untrue. No one can seriously entertain so strange a notion. Our national industry, - and not that legislation—is, and always was, and ever shall be, the foundation of our commer cial greatness, It was this that gave us the empire of the sea—girdled the earth with the jewelled zone of our commerce, and 'filled " the Wide, wide world" with the renown of our merchant princes—long before the present currency laws had a p!ace in our statute book; aye, and when they shall be blotted out for ever, similar, and not less glorious results, will be accom plished by the same plodding industry and untiring energy, which have made this happy country the envy and admiration of surrounding nations. I observe that the Times attempts to overwhelm Mr. Muntz with an avalanche of ridi cule, but it won't do, friend Times. Every one feels that if Mr. Muntz's letter was worthy of a place in your columns, and furnished you with matter for one of your smartest leaders, his arguments ought to have been met by argument, and not by tomfoolery. I see you repeat your old challenge about the , 4 philosophic formula" of :the bank note. You ask Mr. Muntz to produce his, as it ought to be. Then, you say, you will take the two notes—his and the one you got yesterday at th e bs.nkees, and when you h ave compared them, you will tell him frankly Which you like best. I accept your challenge, and I shall answer your question in my nett.' I shall produt,, sample of the note you have so often asked the anti-bullionists to produce; and I shall ask, not you, but the commercial world, which they like best—theformof a really national note, or the form of the present Bank of England note. . Liverpool, Nov. 20, 1856. TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN TIMES . - Sir,—Yeur very talented correspondent 4 , J. W.-" s eems somewhat over sensitive to the.romars I sometimes make noon the dvoc* saying a word that.. .ay be in a ny degree offensively per sonal, I yet possess as unquestionable a right to. expose the errors and fallacies of the scheme he advocates, as he himself has to support Neither "J. NV your correspondent s , i s the author of the principle or system he recommends ; but, even if he were, my argument would be the same—that whatever is published is fairly orposed to public criticism. The plan I advocate, and the principles upon which it is based, are before the pub. lie, and are, therefore, equally open to examination, praise, or censure, by any one who may read it. This' being my v ieW Of the case, I must contintie to expose the Mischievous tendency of a system not built upon an absolute and wiquestionable security. I thank "J. W." for having given us his definition of the word money. lam aware it is the definition of the school to which he belongs--but I differ from it ; - and whilst I admit that all currency is in the popular and common acceptation of 'the word money, yet, in thestrict sense of the word, nothing deserves the name'bot that which the world at large recognises as full and fitting equivalents for any and every.other description of property." 'These aniversal . equivalentt' are—silver and gold. Me verdict of the public will .decide which of these two definitions is right. I contend that ag Op than the mono I have described cannot clainart) b security fdr Money; or money's worth bette - than' a Thus, whilst I Ivocate a large, extension 'of -our .eurren amount at.present in use—and believe that such a currency hould consistnf paperyet I would have would-not only t value, but also give fal, lute, ecuritr'y for the value it represented. Such a circulatin medium 'can be readily created to any adViiable exten and , be brought into use, not only without disturbance c 'jury to any of our commerciall institutions, but very roatly to the advantage and permanent prosperity of all If; then, the plan I advocate, which is founded on uni ver'sally recognised prineipleS, and is in accordance with the feelingS and opinions of mankind at large, can. he readily carried into effect—would it not be something very like political insanity to adopt a theory of unsecured " signs of value ?"—a' theory in which there is neither value nor security for value 1 ! _ _ " J. W." thinks we cannot both be " currency refor;• mers." Perhaps he is right. At all events, I feel assured that the system he is so anxiously advocating will not entitle him, or any other advocate, to the title. fear that his plan would make:fnuch worse money, and, consequently, a worse currency than we have at present—this can hardly be galled REFORM. One more word , to " J W." am obliged by his occasional " lectures," which afford ine real amusement ; at the same time I beg to assure him that, if I did not 'mow that all hii arctum nts rested on _it mere paper foundation, I should fear to encounter so able an antagonist. As it is, I feel that I stand upon a rock, athilst my , opponent sinks at Every step. . „ . Your no security correspondents point with much exul tation to that period in, the long FrenCh war, when the Bank of England having disbursed nearly all its gold, a just apprehension existed that it must shortly stop pay- Tho Prime Minister, Pitt, aceOrdingly got .a bill rapidly passed through Parliament, prohibiting the Bank from paying specie for their notes : the Bank was also au thorised to issue and £2 notes. This was in truth a suspension of payment, and time granted by general consent for its resumption. The B Ink was Able to demonstrate its perfect solvency, if it coul I obtain payment of its debts. In this state of things it was evident that if Matters were not arranged 'in some way, both debtors and creditois_would be ruined _together. It was, therefore, mutually agreed (the ultimate ability of the Bank to pay being evident) to establish and maintain a systerw of accommodation paper until times mended. After a number of-years, the expectations of creditors were realised, and. the Bank resumed cash payments. The m asure did, beyond all doubt, so relieve the finan- cial difficulties of the Country, tliat we were enabled to continue the war until it terminated triumphantly. Yfmr correspondents, therefore, argue that, because an issue of not immediately redeemable paper did good service on that occasion, a PERPETIME ISSUE of irredeemable paper would i cure monetary disorders: It seems to me that the simple statement of the ease shows the fallacy of such an assumption. But let us glance at some of the, effects -Of Pitt's celebrated measure.' Previous to the Bank Restriction Act, a £5 note and five shillings ex changed readily for five gold guineas; but, after the sus pension of cash payment by the Bank, the credit of its (legal tender-) notes were so much dimaged that a & I note and four shillings were given for the guinea; and as the suspension continued, so did the discount on paper continue to Increase ; until, toward the close of the war, a L'l note and NINE shillings were given for the guinea. At that period, our silver money was exceedingly worn and debased, yet tradesmen frequently gave a Rl note for NINETEEN of these smooth bits of silver (called shillings), which were so worn that it was seldom that any trace of an impression remained upon them. This was one effect of a currency defective in convertability. Another effect of the measure in question will show the immense priee paid, and sill payable, for the accommodation paper so much lauded. I refer to the ruinous terms upon which the Government were obliged to borrow money, by which some hundreds of millionk Were added- to our National Debt 1 A large portion of the public debt 'was contracted at prices vary ing from 63 to 68. Since the resumption of cash payments the same stock has usually vibrated between 88 and 94! The nation loses the difference, as the price paid for accom modation ! Had the system of currency I advocate been in operation, none of these results would have accrued, nor would the cause of them have existed. I could point to other results from the measures to which I refer, not less, disastrous than. those have. named; but it is, per haps,unnecessary. I will antitpa'e "J. W.'s "reply, and show....its fallacy. This gentleman and his friends will probably tell us that the notes did tot sink in value, BUT Trice. A short answer will settle that Lion. If gold rose in price, the advance Would have ch, however, wa The relativevalu'e of gold to property enerally varied but li from what is now usual, 3ut the.rela value of bullion to paper varied to the ex tont.l have stated. 'lichee, the deduction is clear. It was not the doLD that advanced„but the PAPER that receded ntended noticing P, Fourteen Million me but as I do not w ions to be obtro it must be iverteil to ers will stilt consid rne'entitled to stylpmysel Liverpool, Nov SLAVERY H A TO TIFF, EDITOR OF TUE readers with at soda and moral evil, as well as being so blic health, and I am satisfied that I shall meet with encouragement in the great work with which I n demanding the rights of the 'a , e sap. there are who am at preset may rebuke me for continually harping upon the wrongs pf the indigent. Be this as it may, I shall only be t-o well reviarded, if the fruits of my exertions prove successful in sweeping away , the great enormity of this evil, being solely influenced, as I am , by no other motive than the amelioration of their condition. There is a most energetic - and laudable effort at the present - time being made through the columns of one of your cotemporaries to put down many other.grievances, such as those sinks of iniquity, and vice—the betting.bouses," and other vile places of resort, and I am opinion that a great benefit to society will ultimately arise from it. Illy untiring efforts shall be to put down slavery in all its hideous workings and forms, and to raise up, as far as I am able, the public indignation against it. Now, sir, if you will allow me, I will adduce one argu ment in order to strengthen whit I wish to make known— what I wish to impress upon the min I. There are many evils, as you are aware, which reqiiire pulifying, as well as those alluded to ; for instance, it is acknowledged by every well-regulated mind that too much drink does harm, and not only acts with baneful eff , cts up,m the health of the many who indulge in the prate ice, more particularly with that class generally termed " the lower orders," who revel and slave to excess in it. Many philanthropists, no doubt, bewail this fact, and.regard - it - not maw as 'formerly was their wont, as being one of the common ills that flesh is heir to, and which, at one _period; they were called upon to submit to with resignation. Not so in these times, to the lame exte it, while we have our benches of magistrates acting at their own discretion, continually cutting off or refusing licenses where they fin I the law has been so far infringed, causing immorality, dissipation, theft, and fear ful crimes of the very worst description. A power has been invested in their hands to lessen, in a great degree, that human prostration of the, body, akin only to the brute crea tion ; and, moreover, to restrict the hours during which public houses shill be open, more especially on the Sabbath day ; and, viewing the expediency of the case, there is no denying that this is a wise course of procedure to check, although perhaps not to the extent they might desire that indiscreet an - 1 sinful habit which is so alarmingly practised by a very large portion of the community. It is undoubtedly the lifort or society, so far as it is practicable, to reduce evils of every description with which it is afflicted, and'frequently well-directed efforts will tend to good, and if as sometimes will be the case, the endeavour to remove them may prove a failure, yet we ought not to be discouraged ; and exertion must be made to the very utmost in order to act for the best. It will not be pre sumed, I trust, that I am diverging from my subject, whilst making these preparatory remarks. I am only desirous of drawing .an analogy between the one case I have depicted and the other, involving as it does so much misery to mankind, and the moral depravity created thereby. In the first place I would desire to show that the toleration of this crushing system—slavery —so wontonly carried on by endless numbers of tradesmen for the accumulation of wealth, is doing, in a great degree. most alarming and serious mischief. And, secondly. I want to show that it is possible to raise the labourer to the level of his call ng—to make him as respectable as is the work of his hands—and, moreover, to lift him from the slough of ignorance, misery, and crime. It is, I must admit, a gigantic straggle to'accomplish, but, as civilised human beings, .I argue it is a duly eucumbent upon us— imperative duty--whether we act in the capacity trytea good—whether we.be judges whether we are magistrates who' vhether . belonging to any —whether possessing uthority or no authority, it ougnt to be our constant and earnest study, one and all, as Christians, to eradicate, as far lators for our cot of our criminal 'courts-- preside over Our polio; courts : — sphere or elation Of life wbßteyer7 It 'will oft repeated question (lowed by many, a of your TO THE EDITOR Or THE NORTHERN TIMES. Sir From the manner of the wording in your report of the proceedings of the Dock Trustees, in your paper of last Friday, the public might be impressed with the idea that we had given up all our business premises at the above address. Such is not the case, as we transferred. to Messrs. Evans and Co. the smaller ship building yard only, of the two in our pos session, retaining the larger and most convenient one for the continuance of ~u r business.—We remain, yours respect fully, CATO, MILLER, AND CO , Shipbuilders. November 24, 1856. MANTLES and JACKETS are so very Generally worn this Season, J. MAC LENNAN, 36, CHURCH-STREET, (OPPOSITE PARKER-STREET), Has made arra gemen t s t o hav e a C a s e o f Fa r is MANTLES and JACKETS, in Velvets, Reversible Cl,ths, and all the other Fashionable Materials, delivered Every Week for the next TWo Months therefore, those Ladles desirous of having the Fashions as soon as they make their appearance I, Pavia, combined with moderation lu prices, are respect fully solicited to inspect the Steck. JUST RECEIVED, from London, Two Cases contain ing about 700 AIANTLES, commencing at the eitraortiln arilf Low.Pr lee of 4s. 11d. each. SHAWL :ANI) MANTLE WARETIOUSE, • - OPPOSITE PARKER - STREET. 0 D I M I D of our fellow creature; and in which dependent bumai natt I have no heMtation in asserting that this mind --slavery--cuts off, prematurely, an incredible number of those inhabiting our country, arising from consumption, le - str4E consequent upon being over-worked, starvation, or other wise; yes,.it. is the truth—this thraldom has more or less to do, with it, and let those who doubt it look well into the matter .andjmlge for themselves. The whole thing may be presented in this light. Say that we number 20,000,000 Of huinan beings—although, in reality, England and Wales are below tl.is number; but England and Wales, with Scotland—that is Great Britain—above it. How many persona, let me ask, are required to supply this number with clothing —how many with toed, and other necessaries of life ? Perhaps some may oherve,wbe c4iauswer such aluestion, to make an approach towards solving it ranee how many tailors and shoemakers, b - an ev Who can batebbrt•arrd bab be ? But yet, penance; sho [erg, or trades of arty kind Owe ought to nevertbelss, this. question - is of vast im- mt: (leat to do with m As of every dose t their 011 Inn and th Agin, 1 ape, very twi ITb ad nay arkiitn'ent working aemselves with , clothing sufficient her, educl- tends to crime of the it is allowed to .be overlooked, and treated by ..most people as an evert-day,• • Matter-of-course •occurrence.' The more we.: investigate, the more do •we find a relationship hotiveen.different kindi of abweS, .and the. more do they appedr . to come under one and the same system of cause and effect: • En:mine, - for instance; - the reports of our daily I:olice't)adriess, and hoW freq , intly dOve reed of such poor ill-remunerated creatures, as these I have pictured, dragged before_ rt - in igistrate,.charged with pledging the property of emplNyoiS, which has l-eanintrustedin their hands to fibrict4e, and oth , r charges consequent upon poverty and slavery too mini; rous to mention. All this I maintain, to a fearful degree, is caused by this grinding system, bringing with it poverty, hunter, and want ; demoralising and de basing the minds of its victims, and intuitively impelling them on, step by step, in the course of crime, which so often fills to oveifl )wing our reformatories and prison walls. Let us at once strike at_the root, and, instead of spreading our phil,nthropy so ouch abroad, let us turn our efforts to the improvenYcnt of those sufferers so immediately under our eye, to the utmost of our power, try to rescue them from e iron-grasp of slairery-4hat slavery which is so often 4t us, I say again, each and every he root, .for crime, as we well God nerno fuit ,e hot-Led of crint oue of us. ka( w, is a gradu2lpr repente turpissimus uld be chec Sfeondly,l wish to make it appear how it is in the power of every employer to elevate the labourer to the level of his calling, and to raise him from the dust in which he is at present grovelling, Before entering upon this I may oh serve, as your readers are well aware, that in all trades there are many inefficient workpeople, and, from natural inapti tude, and various other causes,. always will be se. Many of them, on the contrary, are perfectly conscious of their ability, and would be only too glad t :et such rly remunerate their lab;iu r, must admitted by trios liberal thinkers, to a great ext€ been denied a ~ena, hence, to a most alarmink degree, all the tearfulmischief,, crime, and dissipation I have depicted is created. Let us not, however, draw the comparison at proi.ent, hut deal with the matter collectively. We all know—at least ought to know—that the workpeople are the re al, gigantic, creative force which practically carries on evervtton , - is ifig that is accomplished, and tin, being the case, surely Itifluential rulers of trade who haVe so much in their power--for their own sakes at leE.st—and furthermore to wards assisting •in improving the public merality of the Million., should see the necessity of paying them higher wages according to their work; and the num lan- of hours they are employed—in • a word, to take an interest. in their w e lf are —t o v i s it them, to converse with them, and instruct them how to manage their worldly affairs—to encourage, by their presence occasionally, a desire to- take pride in their labour, to take a delight in keeping themselve cleanly and attending to the Order and regulation of their households—in making them to feel it a duty to educate both themselves and their children—to try and bring them up in the faith and fear of the Lord, and to transform, in a manner, their present dark wilderness into a true enjoyment of light. But if no attempt of this kind is made, it is quite clear so long as those who are engaged in various branches of trade, and who are determined to persevere in making the money God all powerful, then, I say, moral consideration will be sacrificed in the eager and insatiable way to procure it. Look well into these matters, my friends, in their full bearing and proper light, and let us learn to loathe slavery in all its hideous shapes and aspects, multitudinous as they are ; for; undoubtedly, it is an injurious and iniquitous '—and if what I have said is acknowledged to be an ~e ~ofla~ ial part of se;ety exert 1, Nov TO THE EDITOR OF TE VkRIT 603 columns of your invaluable and widely circulated lOttrnal, my attention has been arrested of _late by...several very poli , :e and elaborate epistles, which havt!appeared in it from time to time, subscribed NO ETII FtIV TIMES, —ln perus " Verit as," iii which the writer attempts, as' well as he can, to present the public wi!li an exposition of the What is slave?y ?" and to show to what a fear ,rge a por; ion of the community, h I cannot for a moment refuse ant to the truth of the statements contained in tent 'it exists in so Is [d us. Now, althoug those letters—as I admit that there nie many crying evils prevailing in society, evils which come under our daily observation, which ought , not to be tolerated in a Christian country like Britain, and which it is desirable should be removed in some way or other ; still I think that your correspondent would have acted more prudently, had he allowed them to pass unnoticed, seeing that little or no good is likely to accrue from the - agitation which he, has commenced, and which, he vainly Hitters himself, will bring about the result which he professes so ardently, to desire, viz., the emancipation of servants from the authority of their masters. For my own part, I think that " Veritas," pathetic and - eloquent as he strives to be, has meddled with a subject for which he is quite unquali '. totes""- - 't —and "-- 'd —o, .wtrich he is .ally ignoram—u, with the difficulties of which greater and far more penetrating minds have been unable, to cope. Surely your very • acute correspondent does not mean to tell us that a con tract entered into betwixt an employer and an employe is slavery, ;if so, according to the present cons itution of our social life, we never shall have this species of servitude abolished, as the most careless and unthinking observer cfm hardly fail to perceive. I say again, the most care less and unthinking observer, for everybody knows (unless "Tesitas " is an exception) that the price of labour it regulated in a great measure by supply and demand, and that when the former is greatly in excess of the requirements of trade, very low, and, in some cases, almost unremunera.ting wages are accepted by those whose services are open to au engagement. The reason of this is evident, one man refuses to accept the terms offered for certain services ,required of him, another is glad to comply with those terms, and give his labours in exchange for them, hence the drudgery of which " Veritas " so loudly complains. " This being the ease, I am at a loss to comprehend how this state of things is to be altered, how this slavery to which the working "classes voluntarily submit themselves, is to be extirpated. Per, haps !, Yeritas " will enlighten me on this point in Lis next and suggest some means whereby the amelioration of the labouring or slaving portion of our fellow-creatures may be effected, their arduous and incessant toil lightened, and their miseries mitigated and removed, for I can assure him it is all very well to make touching and powerful appealS to the tenderest and • rest feelings of our nature, to those sympathies which the very thought of the distresses and sufferings of humanity never fail to excite. I say that this is all very well; but, unless we have something more practical and more productive of res ults, it will be folly to look for a redress of those grievances so vividly pourtrayed by the humane • " Veri tas." I always rejoice when I see or hear of any project brought forward which has for its object the improvement of the poorer classes, who have the strongest claims of our sympathy ; but I fear very much that your corres pondent is not actuated by any question of philanthropy, but merely by the empty desire of parading before the public his would-be inimitable productions—productions which savour strongly of the midnight lamp, and the object of which 'is evidently to attract the admiration of the illiterate multitude.—l am, yours, &c., ALPHA. LIVERPOOL BRUNSWICK GRAVING DOCKS A CURRENCY REFORMER, C IS SLAVERY ? - NORTHERN TIM'S, I have, as w;11 shown in the full A ON A 'CAL ASTRONOMY, U, PRACTICALLY GHTAN, ACA n E LIVERPOOL MASTER 'MARINERS' AssoriAnows ROOMS 24, GREAT GEORGE-SQUARE, LIVERPOOL. Intptirefor fuU copy of prospectll4 at any of the Opticians. LITERATURE Liverpool Life : Its Pleasures, Practices; and , Pastimes Reprinted from the Liverpool Mercury : EGERTON SMITH k CO., Mercury office, -Lord•street. This is the first part, published in a collected form, of a series ~of sketches, which have from time to time appeared In the Liverpool Mercury, professing to describe the leading features of that fife, which, we may say, begin, to, exist at Alight in the, streets and -nocturnal haunts of this as of every other great community. literary production it Might . aec9ssary to - notice this serial at any . length merely considered Scarcely t hands have so often executed similar sketches with ability o whieh.this writer makes ❑otice or such a pl termed " moral r no iiietensions, that d -tail, on now would it Wp.ll ty nquiro mo han a -general expression of com.nE which (1, must do some good, and merits could obtain ractea in Liv(vpo oelaims, ,nd many oth riter frequently him proclaim fOr him, that the ,etchei contain special and peculiar features which of morality and Migion among our community. This view has r been taken up anti repeated with' all the authority which their position confers, by several clergymen whose voices must always, hi LiverpOof, conniiid re3peclftil attention. Thee importance, therefore, which h‘is been claimed for this , series :fairly warrants us in devoting some space to an examination of its merits, with a view to satisfy Outselves how far , the object which the writer professes-to have in view is, likely to be- attained by his Declaring publicity to be the only cure for what we may call the vices of nigh*, the writer takes us through a number ()isnot] scenes as low theatresi immoral dancing houses, gambling dens, and similar haunts of idleness and profligacy. Of the company who frequent these places he gives very minute, and, ,we doubt not, very faithful descriptions, with their talk, their 'doings, their slang, and curses. Many contrasting scenes of harmless and improving amusement are also given as a set-off. The whole is executed With considerable ability, and might, no doubt, to many who have not read similar 'sketches by otherbands, be made interesting and profit able. To all this, at first sight,' it vrouYd.appear that there could be no possible objection. But as we are told that the sketches differ from' all others, in the fact that they go more deeply . and boldly into the'causes of crinie, arid that in this lies their great moral importance, we must examine a little cloier the peculiar manner in which it is declared the benefit which arises to ►ufrality from the exposure of vice has in this instance been soueht. Few persons will be disposed to question the assertion that publicity is at least one important agency in promot , ing the cure of social evils. • Indeed, at a time when publicity, to a certain degree, can no longer be prevented, this question may be well considered as wholly settled, and requiring neither assertion nor vindication. 'But there are, unquestionably, degrees within which publicity must be confined, even as regards the causes of human error and suffering. Pub licity must not be confounded with exposure. The same advancing age which has given liberty to the press; 'has abolished the pillory. A writer must not be encouraged in outraging decency on the ground that he is giving due publicity to vice. A man cannot be sanctioned in exhibiting to the public the lives and the errors of private individuals around him, and thus holding up to public' stigma any one, whom, rightly or wrongly, he may con sider a sinner, under the plea that vice, wherever -it is seen, must be exposed and denounced. These sketches do unfortunately differ in some remarkable features from those of more gifted writers. It is not alone in the absence of equal qualities of intellect that they differ from such life paintings as those which will render eternally associated with English literature and humanity, the name of cn.tatiS DICKENS. It is the points of novelty on which the author of Liverpool Life mainly claims' support, that we think have rendered a work, which might otherwise have merited general commendation, open in many places' to very severe censure. There can be no doubt that such a task as this writer proposes might be executed in such a manner as to produce considerable beneficial results. It is true that in-Liver pool life, there is very little, so far as the peculiar phases of which these sketches treat .are concerned, differing from that of most other great towns and cities. We have had such scenes of London life described over and over again, and in many instances by writers qualified for tl task by the attributes of genius, discretion, 'good tast deep feeling, and hum an sympathy. -- book _ before us which may not :be Not a cha which led and. nay on the Wappin .reets around the Tat too famous es of this country such scenes, y nign the Tower—perhaps in t _______ Haymarket and Dairy Lane—perht cluster possible any longer for the reading clan to plead ignorance of the existence wo leave altogether out of consideration the polio column ofeyery day's newspapers. Still, it is very possib!e that there may be a large class in this community whom the writings ywy.m. never react), ann police reports are scarcely intelligible, and convey no moral lesson, unaccompanied by some explanation or illustration. It is undoubtedly well that these classes should come to know something .of the life which tempts and destroyd so many fel'ow-beings around them. But to produce a beneficial result without a nrenotulpe.t;nr, to whom r who under - u~aubV V LI, .akes such a duty must have other uesise t,u ura,g up "frightful ex , am pies!' before the eyes of the public. In one special respect it is very obvious that very great discretion must be used. Those vices which spring from the relations between man and woman must be exposed with more caution than other errors of human nature or misfortunes of social existence. Without entering into this topic, it can only be. necessary to say that coarsely-drawn and highly - coloured details of scenes such as this vice engenders are more likely than the details of any other social evil to create and per petuate the offences at the removal of which they profess to aim. In this respect the writer of these sketches has erred to a degree which not even the most praiseworthy intentions should be allowed to save from censure. No design of deterring men from vice by the exposure of what others are seduced into can possibly excuse some of the pages of this little book. It is surely not necessary for the purpose of exposing profligacy that all the details of vice, nay, even precise descriptions of the indecent gestures and actions of libertines and prostitutes should be painted to every eye. It is not necessary, in order to discourage profanity, that every oath and blasphemy which ring through our streets at night . should be faithfully recorded and printed. If, as the writer urges, the open and unveiled publication of such things must excite such horror as to deter every one who reads from any ,tampering with the causes which lead to such results, tvhy not take the effects of horrifying example a little further ? If one would'have a bey impressed with a horror of profanity, the best course to pursue, according to this writer's views, must undbubtedly be to take him to scenes where nothing hut the oaths and the blasphemies of ruffianism would din into his ears. The best lesson in purity of heart would be, to exhibit to the youthful eyes the wanton allurements, the obscene gestures of the harlot! It seems an idle waste of time and space to argue out the obvious truth, that virtue is not , served by indecency ; that the listening to blasphemy does not exalt the religious feelings. lint, extravagant as it may seem, this is precisely the view which this, writer adoPts, and which clergymen and others entitled to equal respect have openly endorsed. in his preface the writer declares that, had he confined himself to general description and omitted the indecent details, his labour would have been thrown away I Precisely the same arguments are continually urged io his own behalf by a writer whose works are best described in the coarse but, unhappily, very appropriate expression once applied to them by one of our ablest British journalists—" the dunghill or Mr. G. W. M. Reynolds." But these sketches possess another feature, which is, if possible, even more reprehensible than their indecency. The writer professes to teach by examples of what we are not to imitate. He does not think it sufficient to accompany his moral lessons 'with deScriptions, and specimens of conversations, which it is impossible any mind can receive with advantage. He selects from the community around us living persons as examples, and paints their lives, their professions, their associations, their very features, in such minute style as to make them easily recognisable by those generally acquainted with Liverpool, and unmistakeable to any who may come even into, eha.nee intercourse with them. He takes upon him self to decide who, among those around him, are suffi ciently vicious to be held up as examples of vice, and these ho stigmatises and brands in a public newspaper and in a pamphlet periodical. He tells us himself, that his portraits are the portraits of originals. Over and over again have persons been pointed out in the streets to the writer of these remarks, with the observation— " There's —, who is shown up in Liverpool Life That such things should be done in some coarse and malignant lampoon would not be surprising—but that a writer ptofessing high moral and religious feelings, should be found in the very name of religion and morality to adopt such a eourse--that a newspaper of establlshed position and reputation should be found to sanction it by publication, are, indeed, facts which might well seem incredible to' those who have not the writer's own state ment, and the corroboration of many others, to make them certain. We express no surprise at the fact of lergymen countenancing such a course, because we can. not believe that the clergymen who approve of these sketches are at all aware that they possess this novel and peculiar feature. The question :does not n ee d to bf arg• I. That an anonymous writer - in a new.- guec. shOnld select living men around him to be gtiglatised p examples of vice,' where_ the men , assailed can tneitl , know their accuser nor dcfend themselves sation, is surely a course" which the most tak‘a tltic ... approve or excuse. How are we to Isnaw that this man is qualified—supposing that the thing °call ever, under any circumstances, be justittable—te decide as to.the prepon derance of good or evil in the fellow-men he happens to meet. ? How are we to know whether he does not judge with extravagant and audacious rashness ? How are we to know that he is not influenced by personal malignity ? At the very best, it is but a system of decimation. Even this self-elected judge of morality and searcher of the hotrt cannot p oss ib ly expose to our eyes all those in trom t Liverpool who follow viciDus :courses of life—and is it to bo left to one man to decide on those, who are to become anathema for the rest ?. 'There. are many great vices which have nothing whatever . to do with - gambling, or drinking, or prefilgaby. May we look for a series of porq.tits selected by the same judgment and drawn by the same ha n d, o f i n di v id ua l s exemp lifying all the . many bins .of which huManity .is ~cajaable?. There are smilers who never sit in public houses, who have.never seen a dog tight--even who have never smoked .a pipe,although the liaritable mind of the writer seems invariably to hold 's latter pereorruanco - as an overt'act of wickedness. poor' creatureOw-hein,evil.association from 'lineation or refining siOn and less of strength Aunged into a life of down `o have his fall precipitated -, o coarse as, in many .olormity the sobject of Aiming a reformation in usually produce such a -, iii individual ? Is it der . may deter ,han a culprit; scarcely warrants, .pelf. the _unse en judge _aoreover, do the boasted .tep ? . When a woman. falls nest invariably . exposed among `he ordinary u 'result.? And are the clurses - villich led to and her shad:o ? Our Why is the artiest yea rs, whom want' Of ons, or a little more of p liatt his reliciws may sraitd and ruinous tend a a hand 3, to inake even e ig it v lt'?. DOCE aged offen wasting any time in arguAg such a .ques a found who acts oh cr hai le, and a newspaper exists which aids him lion- at all is, that a such a princ Chinge 'places says Lear- 4, and which is the justice, whien the . thief? ' are sometimes at a loss to discover iere which is the, Christian 'moralist and which the offender. Indeed, morality and religion, which the writer tells us are the moving figures in his work, are themselves strangely disguised. Morality comes along, shrieking curses and mimicking the obscene gestures of the prosti tute. Religion drags out at random erring individuals from among a whole erring community, and holds up their physical defects for our ridicule, and their moral weak nesses for our denunciation. It is not necessary to dwell , upon the remedies which thi4 v:rriter sn , sts for tht vice _ _as coarsely paints. A constant perusal of his own writin g s is the remedial agent he roost freqaently urges. We have expressed our )pinion upon that point. Ocher means ho does, indeed, often indicate, on which we need not argue. With a writer who thinks that the remedy for gambling and all the vice to which it leads, and the diseased coadition of which it is symptom, perfectly simple, and merely consists in authorising policemen "to enter a public house, and interrupt the pastiineS of youths playing cards for half gallons of ale," argument is obviously out of the question. fo a mind so constituted, as - to be perfectly unable to " - " -- tuish causes from consequences, and to conceive -- abrasion of a symptom is the only way to deal isease--..0 a mind a hich conceives that social can be crushed up by any outward process, and that legislative enactments can force morality as a hammer irives a nail, it would be: idle to appeal by any of the argumenta which might have some force in ordiaary that we do not agree with ;estions he offers, and that, his: motives, . he has •disfigured the wEh a d instance' the writ( howeV€ work We can only admiral —..ertook, and proved himself not qualified forits execution; even - ott - rn?)ee serious grounds than the absence of such-intellectual qualities as have guided towards the same end, but with happier success, the pens of other THE NEW SCHEMES FOR THE SESSION • OF 1857. In the month of November capitalists and shareholders of railways have .a foreshadowing of the various demands likely to be made on their pockets. The Gazette assumes bulky dimensions, as in its columns all the different pro jects must be advertised previous to going to Parliament. In 1844.5 the Gazettes of the month of November were large volumes, so numerous were the different schemes afl Most of these, however, after the expenditure of enormous sums in preliminary and Parliamentary expenses, proved abortive, and entailed ruin and suffering upon thousands. The lesson then taught fc,r the time had its effect. In 18.51 and 1652, however, there was an appearance of a recur rence to the same mad system ; but, fortunately for the shareholders, the dividends on the principal lines so dwindled down that it was resolved, if possible, to compel the different boards of directors to close their capital accounts. In a great measure they have succeeded ; but, nevertheless, in the present year there are still a large number of fresh projects advertised, although, from the state of the Money Market, there is net much chance of many of them being proceeded with. Some of the projects have reference to the metropolis, and would doubt less be great improvements if they could be carried out. For instance, the Hungerford Beidgis Company are seeking for powers to convert the preseut foot bridge into one for with now approaches. Hungerford-street, is proposed to be widened to the Hungerford Hall would have '”na.cl to the .sera: iraf eading:to the mac Nh a uew wide of the bridge street, which ;d new street eat improvement, and would be ( ..• This is manifestly rnmense advantage .....4urturu Driage, however, has only once or twice paid a four per cent dividend, and it is very dOubtfill, therefore, considering the proximity of Waterloo ;r •., ,--- surooleot return to wake the In addition to t nil! yield a .peculition a profitable one. s,_ notices have been given for a new 9 v at the same point, and to turn new West. End terminus. The rough Vino-street, over ?stern Railway, minster Bridge.. finth by _the Crysta ?alaca by a curve t , ct is p tympany, and will have the support of the South Western railway company, who have long been desirous to have a terminus on the north side of-the river. It is very doubtful, however, whether Parliament will sanction eat railway terminus at this point, as the traffic in the Strand is already Car too great for general convenience, neither could sanction be given to it until the comprehensive plazas of the Government with reference to Westminster Bridge and the new public Offices have been decided upon. With respect to other contemplated improvements in the metro poles, the Metropolitan railway company have expressed their determination to break ground next year, and to commence their great underground railway, by which the lines on the north side will be connected. In the lines run ning directly from the metropolis the principal design of importance, is that projected by Sir 'Samuel Morton Peto, who, having obtained an act to make a short line from, Barking to Stepney, by which the London and Tilbury line will be rendered entirely independent of the Eastern Counties Railway, now proposes ad eifenSion of the line from Southend to Norfolk, and will,.should he succeed, take almost the whole of the traffic of this part of the country . Irma • the Bastern Counties. It was upon this point that Mr. 'Waddington resigned his situation as chair man. He truly foresaw what would be the result if the company did not take measures to protectithernselves ; but now, unless their opposition is successful, which is very doubtful, the company will, too late, rue• their •sui - .ldi' L l policy. The same may be said of the South Eastern Company. They have permitted a rival‘ ompany to get P: a footing in their territory, and now Mid-Kent Co- Pally are seeking tor pewors_ trf, extend their line, and, ;oath Eastern Company will to buy up - .new opponents' line, or else be subject to fS Compe!itiOn. In defence, they have this year given notice of two or three branch lines, which they hope will materially interfere :with the projects of the new company. But as the line' of the latter will be more direct and will be constructed at a much less cost than the old line, the public wil.he sure to patronise that which -best suits their own convenience and pockets. Prom first to last this South Eastern Railway has been one of the worst managed in the kingdom. After the North Kent line was constructed they thought that the public living in the country through which they passed were entirety at their mercy; they chargA high fares, were regardlesa of the comfort axd convenience of the passengers, and treated their remonstrances with indifference; hence the competing line—the London and Tilbury met with such support that they now have lost almost the whole of their extensive produce traffic, which in the summer was the best paying portion of the line, as well as the greatest Portion of the Margate and Ramsgate traffic also—the rival company beating them in-time and in price. Again, the new line from Strood to Canterbury and so on to Dover, will draw off another large portion of their foreign passenger and goods traffic. It is astonishing that oom patties cannot use a little of the common sense which e n v e r characterises the directors and sh a reholders in the is m thisa age c m on e s n o t l o a f ti t o l n iei i r n o a w l i l l private affairs. projects,affairs. However, that,ow er how the promoters and shareholders suffer, the imbu e o m , a there t matter will be the gainers. should they succeed, the s. a r a:not expressng great anxiety f or the Mn. W. 11. Russ - sta.—We lately ins er t e d a paragraph safety of Mr. Russell, who was believed to be ill at Sim from .a cotemporary i pheropol. We are glad to learn th at a letter was received lately by one of his friends, dated Baktchi-Serai Nov. in which he states that he is on hi s way home. 4, The Journal du Caucase gives a 1 , niz a-- ceremonies with which the inst consulate at' Erzerounf was attend was hoisted to th' accom oar military band, authorities o waited tkpon t tions. iesenptiont bf the 'rrrl of y s t l '...e R.lssian '"' Russian flag ne music of the 3 of cannon; while the E INcomE Tax. —On Friday evening, Li held at the Assembly Rooms, Dean.: _la, to take into consideration the best adopted for the repeal of the income tax. George, the chairman, opened the proceedings, Dine length denounced the income tax as unjust, unfair, and improperly levied. The , proposition for fixing the amount at so s u e n v d eT v m e c y o m in uo t i h . e lik ru a n:l, agitating for, 'permanent sen e were con - litivance of the tax, and he for. oue could not recognise suc h a proposition for a moment. Mr. Jefferys, the churchwarden of the parish, moved—" That this meeting is of opinion that the present income tax is unjust and inquisitorial, and oug,ht to be abolished on the first 1:150 of every person's income." lie did not object to a fairly imposed income tax, but he certainly was not satisfied with thc.ivay the existing tax was levied. Mr. Underwood seconded the resolution which was unanimously adopt e d ; and a committee having been appointed to carry out measures in opposition to the tax, the proeeedings:ter, urinated, the other foreign consuls ~11 consul to offer their congratula, a publt