The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-03-26 00:00:00

WEDNESDAY, MARCH 26, 1856

" Savz me from myself " must be the last cry of
the suicide, and it is a desire which must be often
felt by those who direct the machinery of State. In
matters of Government the slightest misconception
the most trifling adventure, or least anomaly, may
throw the whole into disorder, or bring all to a
stand still.. Here, there, is an amount of responsi-
bility which no man would take upon himself
unless he was moved by an unconquerable desire
to do good to his country, or an almost super-
natural ambition to rank above the greatest mortals
of his times. But whether the incentive to the
attainment of dominant power be the virtue
patriotism, or the more sordid love of distinction, the
same dangers have to be encountered, and the
same obstacles overcome. Thrones cannot be
ascended without incurring all the risks which
have attended the footsteps of kings. Passing
from the great affairs of State, which require
incessant vigilance to the minor matters of detail,
there is a labyrinth of complexities to be regarded
which few can understand. What a superhuman
burden must, therefore, be resting on an absolute
ruler ! We have an illustration of this in the
France of to-day. A great and costly war has, in
reality, been to the French little more than an
" episode." No nation has ever made such
enormous sacrifices with so small a share of
suffering. Their triumphs in the field are only to
be equalled by the successes which are promised to
their diplomacy in adjusting the terms of peace.
They have spent millions, and are to gain billions.
The world's repose is not only to be secured to the
present generation, but a degree of universal
tranquillity guaranteed, which bids fair to remove
that excitement which appears essential to the
increase of the human family, and nip posterity in
the shell.

Such mighty things cannot possibly be thwarted
by passing incidents and every-day trifles. And
yet we hear from Paris that " the state •of the
" Bourse greatly alarms the Government, and
it has this day ordered that, iu the
" hope of checking the continued fall,
" shares of companies not legally author-
ised, shall not be allowed to be quoted."
To this our intelligence of Saturday added:
—" The Berlin Moniteur, contains an order
" addressed to the Committee of the Stock
" Exchange, by the Minister of Commerce,
" forbidding brokers to buy or sell shares in
" foreign undertakings, where the same are not
"fully paid up, Brokers disregarding this injunc-
" tion will forfeit their privileges." What influence
these measures will have on the monied
classes of France and Prussia, it would be
difficult to divine. They show us, however,
that the Joint Stock system, to which
England is so deeply indebted for her extraordi-
nary growth in wealth and greatness within the
last thirty years, is not understood, or is utterly
despised by those who attempt to check or discard
it. Politically, a direct attack on the civil rights

THE

and social interests of thd French and Prussian
stock exchange brokers and dealers may be of no
importance. But these men are only the agents of
the public who are the holders of the proscribed
securities.

Where buying and selling has been allowed, any
sudden interdiction of a common custom must fall
heavily on the whole community, and on the few
who live by a commission on the amount bought
and sold. France and Prussia will, therefore,
suffer, and not the stock and share brokers on the
Paris Bourse, or the Berli❑ Stock Exchange. Pro-
hibiting the quoting of shares in public companies,
which are " not legally uthorised," or which are " not
" fully paid up," is simply saying that the millions
which have been invested in undertakings which
have no legal authorisation, and those who have
not, from prudential motives, or from the depressed
state of the money market in their respective
countries, called up the last shilling of their capi-
tal, shall be abandoned, or left to be dealt in, con-
trary to law. This might serve as a precedent
to England in monetary operations of a
political or an anti-national character. It
may also tend to greater caution in embarking
capital in foreign securities of any kind. But
how are Continental States to advance and keep
pace with England and other countries if they
have not the same licence that is allowed to
others, to develope their natural and general
resources ? The most trifling retrograde move-
ment in civilisation must destroy our competitors,
while it shows us at the same time the
extraordinary import of those littlest matters of
State policy to which we have already alluded to
in this article. We see, in fact, in this resolve of
the French Government more embarrassment
to the future of her Imperial ruler, than in
all the other probable events which are looming
in the distance.

The course which has been pursued was sug-
gested, it is to be presumed, to meet a crying
emergency—probably the continued absorption
of gold, which large importations of that metal
cannot satisfy, or adverse rates of Exchange
which leave no profit on its import, cannot check.
This appears to be the only phenomena which
can account_for the " continued fall " in the value
of the public securities of France. But this must
arise, as we pointed out some days ago, from the
growing desire of the French people to hoard
specie. This may be indicative of a decline of
public confidence in the present regime, popular
discontent at the sudden abandonment of the war,
and the ambiguous nature of the proposals which
were to form the of bases peace. But Stock
Exchange restrictions, such as those adopted by
the Government, remove the evil so much dreaded ?
We say, emphatically, no ! The Austrian propo-
sals, and the secret conference, have disgusted all
classes of Frenchmen and Englishmen; and
French stocks of every description have fallen,
and will continue to fall, owing to the increased
desire of the public generally to sell out and
hoard specie, in order to be prepared for a crisis
which they apprehend is close at hand. Yet this
is not a financial crisis. It is political in its
essence, and can only be averted by a change
of policy, and the adoption of measures far
different to that of resorting to prohibitive laws,
whicb, if they are to have any effect at all, must
reduce thousands to beggary. A less practical
result could scarcely be thought of where a
national calamity is to be stayed.

The pressure on the Money Market in England,
and throughout Europe, caused by arbitrary
monetary legislation, may have brought upon
France the difficulty which produced the state of
alarm in which the EMPEROR and his Government
are said to be. And as that pressure is not likely
to become less until confidence in the policy of
rulers is restored, we cannot see what is to be the
final upshot of the growing complexity. Of this,
however, we are quite satisfied, that the more
governments interfere hastily with public stock, and
other markets, the greater their embarrassments
will become—the more anxious English, and other
foreign holders of securities will be to sell out,
until that which was unavoidable, and would have
cured itself, is fanned into a flame, or an intoler-
able panic. France, with an estimated income
for the current year of 71,250,0001.. and with an
estimated expenditure of 70,625,0001., leaving a
surplus of 625,0001. at the conclusion of peace, is
financially sound, and unprecedently rich in fiscal
resources; and if any crisis should overtake her
on the Bourse, it will be because her Government
is too anxious for that welfare which is not to be
attained out of the natural course. The French
will sell their beds and the clothes off their backs,
and hoard the proceeds, when they lose confidence
in the wisdom or patriotism of their Government;
and it is well now to know that the policy which
will relieve the people of their alarm, will be found
equally efficacious in allaying the distressing
perturbations of the Emperor and his advisers.