Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-12-28 00:00:00

THE LIVERPOOL FINANCIAL REFORM

ASSOCIATION.

At the weekly meating, en Monday, several letters,
approving the address to the constitnerces, air] exhorting
the Council to perseverance, were read. The following is
an extract from one of them :—" I was delighted with the
address ; and I think your Association must be gratified at
the improved prospects of success which every day evinces.
There is no hope of completing so vast a !dorm in the
present century ; but nothing is to be done without
perseverance, and in this you stand alone."
A. review e f Tract xxii, en Government Bookkeeping,
which appeared in the Banker's Circular, of the 19,h inst.,
was also read. The editor endorses the three recommen-
dations of the tract, viz.,, honest, and, titerefore, intelligible
accounts; the coincidence of tie financial with the
natural year, so that accounts may be rendered before new
supplies are voted ; and a standing. Finance Committee of
the House of Commons ; and, he says—" We have no
doubt that the indefatigable labours of the Association will
be ultimately crowned with success ; and, as the evidence
before the Select Committee, cn Public Money's, proves,
incontestably, that nothing can be more disgraceful or
dargereue than the system in which the Natienal Accounts
are, at present, kept, there will, probably, be some
attempt to place before the House of Commons and the
public an improved form of balance sheet."
It was surmised that the non•insertion of the address to
the constitnences in the Times, was attributable, either to
its not having been sent exclusively to that journal. or to
the unceremonious mode in which it deals with London
monopolies, which the Times has taken under its active,
or tacit, protection.

THE HUDSON'S BAY COMPANY.
There was some conversation as to the necessity of a
further attempt to arouse public attention to the vital
importance of abolishing the monstrous privileges of this
company, and throwing open the vast territories, which it
has either usurped, under colour of a charter, void front the
beginning, or had conferred upon it through favour at the
Colonial Office; and the blind indifference of Parliament
to national interests. It was observed, that there had been
a terrible 'mon in India, as to the consequences of
giving exclusive privileges, in foreign lands, to trading
companies, which had a direct interest in perpetuating the
original condition of the barbarous natives. If India had
been free, open to colonisation, the children of the settlers
would, by this time, have formed a cordon of military
power sufficient to restrain the natives; but, instead of
that, attempts at colonisation had been jealously prohibited,
and all possible difficultties had been thrown in the way
of procuring land, although it is stated, on indisputable
authority, that less than a fourth part, not of all the land,
but of the very best land, is now under cultivation. We
had, in fact, been training and arming a power to fight
against ourselves. The experiment had, lamentably,
failed in India; yet, the same policy was pursued in the
Hudson's Bay territories ; and, we might, by-and-bye, have
to fight the natives there, also.
Anlarticle in the Toronto Globe, of the sth of November,
was referred to, as containing same curious particulars
respecting a second Charter granted by King Charles 11.
to the Hudson's Bay Company, which Mr. Isbister, the
gentleman who has taken so active a part in bringing this
iniquitous monopoly before Government and the public,
has ferreted out from the musty parchments deposited in
the vaults of the Rolls Chapel. This document is dated
the 13th of May. 1674, that is four years after the date of
the original Charter to Prince Rupert, and the other
" merchant adventurers." By it the King gives and
grants " unto the Governor and Company" of adven-
turers of England all the island called the Bose Island,
lying between 57 and 59 degrees of northern latitude, or
thereabouts, and the sole trade and commerce of all the
seas, bays, inlets, mere, creeks, and sounds whatsoever,
lying within, near, or about the said Island. with the
fishery of all sorts of fish, as well whales, sturgeons, and
ali royal fishes as other sorts of fishes, in the seas, bays,
and inlets aforesaid ; together with the royalty of the sea,
and all lakes, ',reeks, and bays, upon, about, or within
the island aforesaid,—and the mince royal, as well dis-
covered as not discovered within the island aforesaid,"—
as absolute lords and proprietors thereof, saving only their
allegience. No consideration is mentioned : but a more
important question is—where and what is this alleged
" Island of Busse ?" It is not mentioned in any English
map or geographical work of the period; but in Martiniero's
Dictimnaire Geographigue, published at Paris in 1705,
" L'lale au terre de Bus," latinized into "lasnld Baia,"
is described as a newly discovered country lying between
Greenland and Newfoundland. This position corresponded
with the peninsular district now known as East Maine
and Labrador, which the navigators of that period assumed
to be an island. There was, in fact, no "Island of Busse,"
to give away : but it is clear from the document that the
_company did not at that time construe the first Charter as
including the 67th or 59th parrellel of north latttnde,
otherwise there would have been no °edition for a second
charter to give them possession of the imaginary island,
supposed to be there situated. This second charter seems
never to have been confirmed or acted upon its any way,
or even to have been mentioned during the discusion of
later days. In thus sinking Busse Island with all its mine',
gems, and royal fishes, the company seems to have acted
with sound discretion, for the very circumstance of the
granting of the second charter shows that in the first even
King Charles did not intend to convey to the company
half the Continent of Ni rtb America.

G3ViIIiNMEN r ACCOUNTS.
A letter from Mr. H. L. Morgan, of London, called the
attention of the Council to two errors in the Return of
Public Income and Expenditure for the year ended the
31st of March last, furnished on the motion of Mr. W.
Williams, and just published. At page 2 customs and
excise add np £36,018,396 instead of X 36,017,796 The
total given corresponds with that in the Finance
Accounts, but the items differ in several places. It is
stated in a note at page 2 that the Return does not
agree with the Finance Accounts because the cx-
penditure in the collection of the revenue is
founded on uctual payments, whilst that in the Financs
Accounts is founded on Exchequer Credits. The fact
seems to he that both are concoctions, and neither of them
to be relied on. "It is ridiculous " says Mr. Morgan,
" to suppose that if they were real accounts there would
be the slightest difficulty in preparing them within three
months, and the juggle should not be suff,red to continue.
You will observe" he acne " that in consequence, no
doubt, of the remarks in your last T. act, No. xxii., p. 8 ,
there is a memorandum attached to the total charges of
the collection of the revenue; but, that this observation is
carefully omitted in the thiid page of the Return, wh-re
alone it could be really useful in preventing mis-
apprehension.

In reference to the apparent discrepancy of £5,336,509
in the amount of naval and military expenditure, for the
year ending March 31st, 1856, as set down in the Finance
Accounts for that year, and in the Return No. 380, of
last session, the Secretary was directed to call the
attention of Sir H. P. Willoughby, M.P. for Evesham,
(and author of a valukble pamphlet, on the absence of any
real parliamentary control over the public money) to the
subj. ct, to suggest the propriety of demandi g an
explanation in the House of Commons.

THE n INK MONOPOLY.
In the course of conversation on the present state of
commercial and monetary affairs, it was observed, that no
mercantile man could approve of an inconvertible paper
money. The banking law of the State of New York was
referred to, as affording adequate security for a paper cur-
rency. There any banker may issue as many noes as he
likes, but always subject to pay cash for them ou demand.
Before issuing notes, ho has to take stock of the United
States to the full amount, at the market price of the day,
and such stock is deposited with the exchequer, as collateral
security for the holder of the notes. It the bolder cannot
get cash on demand, he goes to the comptroller, who is
o'aliged to sell stock sufficient to cash the notes, within
forty-eight hours. The banks of New York had given
ample security, and they had stopped most absurdly. The
member who made this statement was asked how the fact
of the stoppage was to be reconciled with it ? and he said
he supposed it was because the stock deposited could not
be sold, owing to the panic. Another member salt!, the
plan described was somewhat similar to that suggested by
Mr. Reddish—viz., that government should issua mint
notes, on the deposit of Consols, to the amount of three-
fourths of the stock so deposited. The monopoly of the
Bank of England was denounced ; and the obligation to
sell geld to it at the rate of £3 17s 9d per ounce—however
much the market value might exceed that rate—was cle•
scribed as a gross injustice, sometimes involving enormous
sacrifices on the public. The opposite policy of the Bulk
of France was commented on, and it was observed that
that bank had no difficulty in procuring gold, and had
never been in danger of failure, whilst on one occasion
it had lent two millions of gold to the Bank of Eng-
land, to avert such danger. It was remarked that
it was all very fine for upholders of the Act of 1844 to
attribute the crisis entirely to reckless ever-trading, encou-
raged by injudicious advances from Liverpool, Glasgow,
and other banks; but the effect of that eat was to aggravate
the mischief, and to occasion depreciation of property,
sometimes to the amount of fifty per cent. If a man bought
cotton at three months for lid per lb, and before the
three months were over, the pries fell to nd, was that man
to be held up before the community as a reckless trader ?
It was again suggested that persona receiving money on
deposit, at interest, should be entitled, by law, to certain
notice before the money could be called in.

GOVERNMENT ECONOMY AND GOVERNMENT EXTRAVAGANCE.
Some amusement was occasioned by a recent correspon-
dence betweec the magistrates of the Dudley division and
the Home Offiee. The former had applied for .two extra

I copies or the Police Gazette for ibonse of the corstabulary
1 The following was the reply

- Whitehall, Nov. 21, 1857.
Gentlemen,—l am directed by Secretary Sir George
Grey to acknowledge the receipt of your letter of the 6th
mat:, to inform you that your application for two additional
espies of the Police Gazette does not come within the
rules prescribed for the gr_tuitous distribution of that
publicat'on. I am to add that the Gazette can be pur-
chased at the rate of Id per copy.—l am, gentlemen, your
obedient servant, W. Masse Y.
Here was a notable instance of economy on the pirt of
one department of the Government, by which there was a
palpable saving of 21. per week, and not loss than 89. 81.
per annum ; but the satisfaction derivable from it was
materially diminished byelensideration of the way in which
other departments deal with thousands and millions of
pounds. It may be considered valuable as the acknow-
ledeement of a principle, but it may also only tend to show
that Government has adopted, as the rule of its conduct,
the questionable axiom, "Take care of the pennieT, and the
pounds will take care of themselves." On a strictly literal
interpretation of Ibis proverb, it must be that Government
acts in selling for pence stores that have coat the nation
pounds, of which mode of dealing a very flagrant instance
has just occurred. Towards the close of the late war,
Government obtained from France a large supply of " com-
pressed vegetable," for the use of the troops in the Crimea,
at the rate of 11d. per lb or £4 7s. per case of 951bs. Of
this there is a large quantity still on hand ; but, of course,
it never occurred to the authorities that, though not wanted
in the Crimea, such feed woald be very available in some
of the many home establishments for troops, prisoners. See .
or in the navy ; and, accordingly, on the 26th of November
last, they sold 1,000 of these cases at 4s. 3d. each, thus
losing exactly £4 2s. 94. per case, the fortunate purchasers
of which, professing to sell again at one-third of the
original cost, realise the nice little profit of 500 per teat.
A further Government sale of these cases was advertised for
Tuesday, the 22nd inst.