The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1826-01-26 00:00:00

till they reached Oalley.street that their retreat was cat off, and
;r0I:of them taken prisoners. Other, saved ibemseltes by ,tossing
the frozen Neva."

The Report then proceeds to enumerate and describe the portion
of thi different bodies of troops which bivouacked in the town
during the night of the 2ffih, with twenty-eight pieces of cannon.
Two squadrons of hussars and hulans have been sent different
1 roads to pursue those rebels that have fled.
The multitude who joined the rebel troops shouted " The Grand
I Duke Nicholas for ever, but Constantine our Emperor :"
It is believed that the conspirators reckoned upon the
bad disposition of the Russian people and military, which
had Already been manifested before the death of Alexander.
The army was tired of inactivity, and the people complained
of the ruinous system of military coionies. It is demonstrated
and evolved in the last report of General Araktscheief,
that the colonized regiments cost much more than the or-
dinary provision for them t and that a military life, instead of
spreading industry and information, tenders, the mass of the pea-
santry idle, and spreads misary in the districts of the colonies; also
that the masury is exhausted by the expencss of the establishment,
whilst the nobility and peasantry unanimously curse the inneva.
tion. The penury of the Russian Government is extreme, and
commerce is every where in a state of stagnstion. This last cir-
cumstance is officially avowed. with resp.:ct to tile south of Russia,
in a recent ordinance of the council of ministers.

Far act' wns-.-P•nts. J•x. 23.—li•e per Cents. 08f. 95c.
Three per Cents.€4l4. bc. ; Bank Stock ; Hence de Naples,
Certif k'alconnet 78f. lioe. ; Haytian 1, an LOC Exchange on
Landon, one month 23f. 11.1 c. ; tbrec months 24t. 93c.—Coars Au.
Pleat/yet%

Whatever may have been the causes which in the com-
mercial world have led such numbers to trade on a scale
far beyond the limit of their actual means, our great con-
cern is to guard against their recurrence, and for this pur-
pose every investigation conducted with candour is interest-
ing and useful, and every precaution suggested in the same
spirit deserves to be received with favour and considered
with attention. It is in this view that we recommend to
general perusal a letter just published, addressed to the
Right lion. Itonewi Nee, " Upon the necessity of adopt-
ing some Antsliumentary measure to control the issues of the
Country Bankers, Sc." If we differ in some points from
the writer, there are many more in which we fully concur
with him ; lie displays throughout the whole of his dis-
cussion a knowledge of his subject which entitles his sug-
gestions to considerable weight. The following are " The
heads of a Bill," which form the basis of the measure he
recommends to the adoption of Parliament, taking the
Small Note Bill of Lord lic r.Ly as his basis :

" I would propose the following modifica:ions of the Bill Tatra
, duced by Lord Bexley.
I. I would confine the security to notes under the amount of
live pounds. Fur these notes, I certainly should not require exclu-
sively the deposit of stock or Exchequer bills ; nor should I think
it necessary that the notes should have the character of being stock
notes. I neither recommend land notes nor stock notes. lam
afraid of the precedent. 1 would have the notes in question issued
indeed upon the collateral guarantee of a fund, but I would nut
wish them to be the representative of such fund. I Would, there-
fore, propose this qualification: That a banker, desirous to issue
one or two pound notes, should give a security of the following
kind. Supposing he wished to Issue note. of this description to the
amount of 20,01.101., I would permit him to give, indifferently, a
real security ; a chattel security, in the nature of realty ; or a se-
curity by his own bond and sureties., and rot excluding (but leav-
ing him u choice to make a deposit of) Exchequer bills, and stock.
I would not limit him to any particular security, but permit him to
otter any which would satisfy the Commissioners appointed to
fudge of it.
2. instead of the Commissioners of the Sinking Fund, as pro-
posed in Lord Bexley's bill, I would transfer the management of
the detail of this business, such as determining upon the securities
to be taken ; upon their value and sufficiency ; the giving of the
certificate to the Stamp.office ; and the putting the securities in
torte, in case of default, to another body of commissioners, who, as
I humbly think, are better adapted, both by experience and their
particular composition as a board, to execute the urposes of the
proposed act; I mean, Sir, to the Commissioners for issuing Ex-
chtquer bills in loan, as aids for public works, &c.
It is well known, that this board is permitted by several Acts
of Parliament to make loans upon real securities, chattel securities,
or the bond of the principal with sureties, and even, in some cases,
on the mere personal obligation of the bortower.
" 3. Supposing this charge committed to the board above named,
I would propose that they should proceed upon the following Km-
' ciples. It' a real security were offered of the due amount, I should
consider it sufficient without any thing else. It might be assigned
to the Commissioners, by way of security, in the manner in which
heritable estates in Scotland were directed to be assigned under the
Act of the 51 (ico. 111. which was an Act passed during the corn-
, inertial distresses of 1811, toe enabling Commissioners appointed
by the crown to advance 4,000,0001. to the merchants and meiotic-
turers of the United Kingdom, upon deposits, pledges of goods,
public securities, bills of exchange, &c.
" 4. If long leasehold securities were proposed of an adequate
value, 1 should deem these also sufficient.
"5. If the banker had no real estate, either sufficient, or such as to
to be made legally available for such pledge, from the circumstance
of family settlements, prior mortgage, &c. I would empower the
Commissioners to take a personal security by bond, and sureties in
double the amount.
_. _

6. ti And lastly. I would permit, as above said, the deposit of
stock, Exchequer bills, India bonds, or other available securities of
a public nature..—And where such securities were of a fluctuating
value, I would leave it to the Commissioners to make what they
deemed an average reduction of the amount for which they should
be considered to be pledged:—tor example, deducting from the
price of stock at the day of the deposit, 10 or 13 per cent., and em-
powering the Commissioners, in the case of a further depre.„..ion, to
call upon the banker for a renewal and enlargement of his security."

•
•
We confess it does appear to us that this plan would en-
counter more difficulties in carrying it practically into ef-
fect than appear to have occurred to the mind of the writer;
but as there is, perhaps, no measure that could offer itself
for the like purpose which would not be opposed by similar
impediments, we do not consider this as creating any strong
ground of objection to it. With reference to the interests
of trade generally, we consider all legislative interference as
productive of evil ; but country banks do not come within
this objection ; the afflictive consequences which have
more than once been produced by an improvident issue of •
their paper, require that some pledge should be given that
commercial credit shall not be again exposed to the same
derangement. IVhat the nature of that pledge shall be,
and in what manner it can be rendered effectual, arc points
of very difficult adjustment. Whether the GUI experience
of the past will operate as a sufficient lesson fur the future
is what, beforehand, we cannot undertake to pronounce ;
but we should not be inclined to call in parliamentary aid
until the country system of banking was itself put upon a
more secure basis, as iu Scotland, and the issue of small
sales prohibited, which this writer seems willing, under
certain conditions, to allow. 'We consider the diminution
of the coin to be exposed to more danger from this latter
cause than from any other, because it has a perpetual ten-
dency to displace it. The repeal of the Small Note Act
seems to be a measure most imperiously called for. The
restriction on cash payments rendered the issue of small
notes indispensable, but tlteit issue should have ceased he
instant cash payments were returned.

The following are the writer's opinions on tlte subject of
free trade :

"With respect to the new system of Free Trade. I have no
doubt. as I have before stated, that the facilities afforded by it
have been pushed beyond what prudence win justify. But the
abuse of a system a nn argument against its proper and natural
character. A System is good or had, according to its natural fruits,
under a wise and discreet exercise, did is not to brae the faults of
that mesa and abuse which belong only to the errors of those who
pervert it. But in what branch of our trade shall we look for that
degree of abuse from excessive and extravagant speculation, which
can properly be charged upon the new system of free trade ? I
readily admit that there have been aortic most absurd and enormous
ventures in articles of foreign and colonial commerce. I merely
assert, that the aubjects of such speculations have little or any con-
nexion with the new system which has been principally ascribed to
111 r. Huakissim. What had this free trade system to do with
the excessive imports of cotton in the early part of the last year?
" The free trade system during the last year has operated prin-
cipally upon silkr and wine. In silk. there has certainly been some
excess, but not to that extent which could have any material
operation in producing the late events. It is perhaps to be regretted,
that our manufacturers have born induced, under any eircumstat. (Ts,
to embark in a fabric, in which the natural and almost moral cir.
ettrustances of our country render us unequal competitors with
foreigners. But the distress in the ripe rosatAdure has not been
occasioned by any natural consequence tit the late measures of the