The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-02-14 00:00:00

1 .

Bank paper entirely, and to carry on our commerce with
a metallic currency, would be utterly impossible. Mr.
THORNTON, in his "Inquiry into the nature and effects of
the ealsreredit of Great Britain"—a work published in 1802,
but gikich has since become scarce—remarks very justly that
" If ills and bank notes were extinguished, other sub-
stitutes than gold would unquestionably be found. Re-
entirse would be had to devices of various kinds by which
men would save theniselves the trouble of counting, weigh-
1.- 7. and transporting guineas; in all the larger operations
of commerce, so that the amount of guineas brought into
use would not at all correspond with the amount of the
Las and notes suppressed. Banks would be instituted,
net of the description which vow exist, but of that kind
.oal number which should serve best so spare both the
trvable of gold, and the expense incurred by the loss of
interest upon the quantity of it in possession. Merely by
16. transfer of the debts of one merchant to another, in the
Woks of the banker, a large portion of what are termed
cish payments is effieted at this time without the use of
arty bank paper, and a much larger, sum would be thus
transferred, if guineas were the only circulating metliutn of
tile, country. Credit would still exist ; credit in books;
cretin depending on the testimony of witnesses, or on the
mitre verbal promise of parties. It might not be paper
credit ; but still it might be such credit as would spare,
more or less, the use of' guineas. It might be credit of -a
worse kind, less accurately dealt out in proportion to the
desert of different persons, and therefore, in some instances,
at least, still more extended ; it might be credit less
contributing to punctuality of payments, and to the
due fulfilment of engagements; less conducive to the
intcre.ts of trade, and to the cheapening of articles;
and it would, perhaps,
,also be credit quite as
liable to interruption on the occasion of any suddet
alarm or material change in the commercial pro-
spects and circumstances of the country." These are
the observations of a writer who was perfectly and practi-
cally conversant with the whole detail of his subject, and
they lead to a train of useful reflection upon which the
;ournalist would do well to meditate.

CITY, 31o,rodor ETEgtNCI.

. Although no fresh failures have been announced to-day
the deriine ir. priccs.of every description of Security con-
tinued until a late hour in the day, when a re-action took
place. Consols for Account, which left off on Sattwday at
7'GL-opened at ;6 ; fell to TS:, advanced to 761, and again
feceiledro 74. The only rumours of any consequence
were a declaration of war against Turkey, the commence-
ment of hostilities on the Pruth, the unparralleled distress
..i the country, and failures in London.
These gloomy announcements, however, were succeeded
Ly a notification that hail a tendency to restore confidence,
at least if we may judge of its effect by the improvement
that was occasioned in Consols towards the conclusion of
business, the last quotation for the Account being 761.
The communication to which we allude was, that Gortrn-
merit had agreed to lend to the merchants five millions of
Exchequer Bills. This intelligence seemed to haves most
cheering effect, and Consols left off with some firmness at
the above quotation. Exchequer Bills were 45., 75., 95.,
discsomt; Bank Stock! 1964. 1951, and India Bonds,
919.

The Foreign Market was in a state •of great agitation
lit:ing the day, and the prices were more than ever dc-
p• eased. Colombian Bonds were as low u 501; Mexican
§:c per Cents., SO ; Spanish Bonds, 94 ; Russian ditto,
7:41 ei ; and. Greek Bonds, Indeed, this Stock
seemed the only one amongst the Foreign Securities that
had any buoyancy in it.

O'J Saturay ev,ming a Russian courier was sent off
with despatches tor St. Peteesburgh, from the Russian
Ambassador.
Mr. Latchford, the King's Messenger, arrived in town
yoterday with despatches from Paris.
A file of the Part-au-Prince Official Journal to the 27th
November, inclusive, has arrived; but the political in-
islligencc these papers contain is unimportant. Some re-
flections upon the late treaty with France demonstrate the
ineignant4eelings with which the Ilaytians have received
the ofpressions of a French semi-official journal on this
subject. The Tele,trraph (the official journal), in an article
is from a correspondent, but which evidently emanates
-flinu a high source, remarks upon the different passages of
tire Eto?!e with much severity.
A National Bank is about to be established at Port-au-
Prince, under achartcr from the Government, the support

of which it will receive. The paper to be issued by the
Hank will be received in payment for duties. In order to
ptve this establishment every chance of success, the law
has been abolished which prevented foreigners from bring-
ing to eale.the real property of the native citizens, and the
law established to prevent foreigners from catabliahiug
themselves with natives, it is expeett4l will be repealed.
It will ba recollected that the Itiatquis de Mout/tier,
tieing rather as a missionary of the Jesuits than the Am-
bassador of a Constitutional Monarchy., has denounced to
the Spanish Government the introduction of French books
into Spain. Among these ia, rlO doubt, Ourika, a work full
of game and delicacy, written by one of the most witty of
the ladies at court, which has been put in the index, by
the Spanish Inquisitors. The result of this prohibition
has been the forbiddance of all sorts of foreign books, even
of the Gospels. This was nut enough. All the reading-
rooms have been shut up. No doubt, the book►ellers will
hasten to send votes of thanks to the Marquis de Moustier,
whose denunciations have had such beneficial effects.

It will have been observed, that to the question of Lord
Archibald Hamilton, whether Nlinisters intended to extend
the prohibition of issuing one pound notes to Scotland, no
satisfactory answer has been given. We find it is currently
believed that such intention does certainly prevail. We

. .
caw conceive nothing so entirely uncalled for, or more
likely to do infinite injury to a country where the public
Lave hitherto never known what it was to be injured by
the same calamity which has so often overwhelmed
bind, by the failure of batiks in that country, against which
tl:at measure is intended to guard them.
The five Negro slaves on board the French ship Pearl,
lately forced into St. Ives, Cornwall, by stress of weather
were brought by habeas corpus before Chief Justice Best
rt his private house, on Saturday, and ordered to be
liberated—every human being touching the soil of England
.messing the indefeasible right of liberty. l'hey.were
govett to the care of Mr. Stephen, of Hampstead, till his
• jgajeaty's pleasure shall be known.
At a meeting on Wednesday of the 12th ward of police
-the conduct of the Magistracy of Edinburgh, in relation
tb die eels they exact from the community was discussed.
Mr. D. Maefsrlane, advocate, stated that the matter hail
coma under the notice of the Sociery of Writers to tip; S.:;-
net, and two reports of conitnittees hail been made to that
body, which amounted to this—that from the year Watt to
.113%4 amount of land tax paid to government, for Edin-
burgh, win 14,1359 f. 13a. $10.; that the sums warranted,
111 acts of counal, to be imposed as the costs of coffee-
aim. was 90,748/. 1.55. 2d. but that a further sum, above
what was so warranted, bad been levied by the collectors, of
• Ss. So tbat it appeared that the emu of MAW
• fib. was charged as the expense of collecting KOMI.
• lajd. h hod proved the most expeasis,c tax ever oek
lamed Is it; as it appeared that 40 per cent. was chase:
. fug, its collection above what was necessary. He the
eed that awes be taken to relieve the citirena frees
4
fsyment of this tax ; but as it appearedillall
inallFts stake a report on the subject is Mayo '
*geed to. defer farther ulcerates in the ineantinieow.
"trio Chronicle.