The Express.
London, England, 1847-10-05 00:00:00

which government banks never fail to lead, when
strong temptations are thrown in the way of their
=:The depreciation of the currency followed
.. immediately after the Turkish and Polish ware had
exhausted the exchequer, and driven the government
to contract loan abroad. Advantage was taken of
the low rate at which the assigned notes then stood
in the market to effect a cowp de finance, by which
new rouble notes at their original value were lined,
that were legally to exchange at the rate of 1 for 31
of the depreciated currency. Thus in the midst
of profound peace RLIIII3II resorted to the ex-
pedient which in Austria and France was only
deemed justifiable in a period of unsuccessful wars
and a revolutionary panic. Bat it is the sequel of the
story which contains the moral, that we are desirous of
holding up to view at the present moment.
These proceedings destroyed Russian credit abroad.
Bat help arose in the interior of the country that was
perhaps little expected, although nothing could be
more natural than the way in which it originated. A
statement published in 1843 by the Minister of Fi-
nance declared that of the nine hundred millions of
depreciated roubles which circulated ten years before,
seven hundred and fifty-five millions had been paid
off, leaving but 157,268,093 roubles in circulation, of
the value of nearly 50,000,000 of the new or (so called)
silver currency.
The effect first perceived as a result of then mea-
sures wee, that they 'mounted to a contraction of the
airoldatzw medium. In the capital the value of the
could not be raised because the treasury
Err ideersed that they should be exchanged for the
new notes bearing value at the silver standard. But
that they were kept in the country for the purpose of
eking eat the circuladag medium is clear, frogs a
decree issued sauce, which to withdraw them free&
trade, obligee all dbs to the mown to be paid in the
silver currency. The contraction was, at t e thee
this deems issued, so severe, that the order operatid
like an affective increase of duties, and was own-
plainsd of as such.
By this substitution of 220,000,000 of roubles for a
currency of 900,000,000, that had only momentarily
lost worth, the demand for notes became so urgent,
that another scheme had to be carried into effect, the
success of which is demonstrated in the ukase of
March 31. A treasury fund was created, which
bought bullion against state paper. The convenience
of pep& money, the security it allows in transporting,
and is keeping accounts, in short, all the acknow-
ledged advantages it possesses over bullion when
honestly dealt witlf, secured the absorption of a large
sum, under the circumstances of growing trade and
a contracted currency.
In 1843 it was announced that the treasury vaults
contained one hundred millions of roubles, or sixteen
millions sterling, against which one hundred and
twenty-seven millions of notes had been emitted.
The ukase of March 31 declares the hoard to
have by that time accumulated to 114 millions, or
more than 18,000,0001. sterling. Under the sup-
position that the growth of trade will continue to
absorb the present paper circulation of between
200 millions and 250 millions of paper currency
(32,000,0001. to 40,000,000/.), especially if one-third
of the amount be retained in the treasury for the
emergency of a demand for conversion, the minister,
shut his eyes to his responsibilities. Upon this
foundation, which seems to the Russian minister to
leave hint six millions sterling to speculate with, has
the project of obtaining a useful ascendancy over the
financial affairs of France and Great Britain been I
founded.
We have gone into this detailed exposure from a
sense of the importance of the circumstances for
this country, as its financial system is now organised.
Under a sound system the Russian project would be
ludicrous; under an unsound one its results, although
availing little for Russia, might be disastrous to us.
The Times, in one of its articles last week, sated
the traders and bankers of London, who have
been plunged in ruin mainly by the agency which
that paper has from the first applauded, why they did
not attend to the warning long since held up
them
in the weekly returns of the Bank of land ?
It is the substitution of those returns as a standard of
calculation for the trader in the place of his know-
ledge of his own business that this empire universally
deplores. It is on that substitution that the Russian
court alone can found the project, if it really have the
intention, of throwing our commercial any political
credit into irreparable confusion, by a sudden demand
for six millions in bullion in the markets of Paris and
London. We could find, if we were to hunt
for it, no more striking exposure of our vul-
nerable position, than that a government, stand-
ing on so weak a foundation as we have
shown that of Ramie to hold, should with any
apparent probability of snores menace a great trading
country like this with danger from the skilful mani-
pulation of so email a sum. It is like mounting a
popgun to silence the fire of a fleet. But no man
who has passed through our recent, or rather our
present, crisis, will deny, that both France and Eng-
land, while they adhere to their present systems, are
effectually held in check by the mancerivre.

MADRID, Serer. 27.
Salamanca has put forth in the Ma:cites of yester-
day and to-day four decrees, two of which are of such im-
portance that they throw all other topics into the shade. I
shall state these measures in the order which they occupy in
the official paper.
1. Reduction of the price of tobacco.
2. Establishment of fresh securities for paying the interest
of the public debt.
3. Sale of that portion of the property of the secular clergy
which yet Tomei= in the hands of government.
4. Sale of municipal property.
The tobacco decree deserves notice for the intention indi-
cated in the preamble of getting rid of this monopoly
altogether at no distant period. Meantime the cheapened
cigar will put to rout whole regiments of contrabanclistas,
and reclaim hoes of lawless arms to peaceful husbandry.
The decree for assuring punctual payment to the public
creditor is as follow, :—Art. 1: For payment of the interest
of the native and foreign 3 per cent. stock the following
sources of revenue are applied to the Direction-General of ,
the Public Debt, in conformity with the provisions of the
61st article of the Royal Decree of June 11. The proceeds
of all the national property. The proceeds of the quick-
Miser mines of Almaden and Almadenigoe, and others.
The surplus of all the oolonial revenues—Art. 2. The
Directive Junta of the Public Debt will proceed to stipulate
a plan of contract with the Bank of San Fernando, by which
that establishment will ag during the period of 10 years,
to place at the disposal of the Direction of the Public
Debt, on the 30th of June and 31st of December of each
year, the amount of the six months' interest, with due
regard to the budget approved by the Corter.—Art. 3. The
surplus, if any, shall be applied to the liquidation of the
debt. The deficit shall be made good punctually by the
Public Treenry. Art. 4. The plan of compact agreed on
between the Directs Junta and the bank shall be sub-
mitted to the royal egoeshation; and, this obtained, a so-
lemn contract sheli be *awn up and published for the
"owl*, of the sY,s creditors.—Art. 6. Of the dispo-
sitions Resin wileheed an mount will be given to the
Cortes as area am they weezable.
In the leatenbis to this decree the minister expresses a
sass lope that ere long he will be able to pose a plan
foommal settlement of the public debt, smiths cacao-
lidatiou of all legitimate claims upon the TreaFld Mean-
while the Mate creditor will have before him a of tan
years, desks which the punctual payment o his interest
will be mowed to him by a combination of all the securities
he cm expect. The article of the public debt
Neenah in the to 92,000,000 of reale.
tie mitt decree, it must be premised that by
the°leLtltialy 28,1844, tha sale of the property of the
map elegy was stopped, and a law was passed in 184.5 re-
mark( • 'nation of the property to its former owners. But
there still remained in the bands of government the eatates
West:to hermitages, sanctuaries, confraternitice,
jemeral of the public debt charged with
the *ld swerrer this property have presented a report
to the governmene eating forth its ruinous condition, which
biomes every ley mare dilapidated. Besides, a great por-
tion a the foie eseeist in incumbrances, which give rise
to endless litigaden, in which the government is cast, from
the want of downents to identify the mortgages. The only
course is, tlansellere, to realise as soon as possible the sale of
these treeblemies possessions. The decree,. as follows :—Art.
1. The onspendos, ordered by royal decree on July 26,1844,
of the sae cif property which belonged to fraternitiee, her-
miteges,eametataries, &c., is hereby removed.—Art. 2. In eoli-
e' ths government will proceed to the alienation of
wehpeeperty after the teamster determined by the law of Sept.
2, 1841.—Art. 3. The sale et the incumbrances will not take
place till Jan. 1, 1848, and hens the interval the owners of
estates charged with ma iseumbrancee may avail them-
selves of the right of teisegotion, paying a sum equal le the
capital in three per emit bends.
But Saleacesses greed psehraance is the nut dame,
for the sale at amisNmi property. All the
of such properly, however, which are Nod rtire
inhabitant_ iron amnion, such es postures, weeds,
watering-phew, ellen" fountains, thusliam-11=dsiesra
mono, and wish weablishasente es phone,
bows, lorpheb, Ile., are of owes Am oh. The
rod of the posperly Ikea whale ere dunked
isolated to be puollybeefy
brides that the
el these erepadisweel",e the ID 'allow inhignee end
The Mobs as, going to wresk, nobody
"11111:1=0 Whops le everybody; andeboutllB,ooo
Mem mated with the town council
nonopeerwil et lir ems we pending in the eke of
essence. Pswedbe he proceedings upon such and the like
thopournment sets out with the principle of