The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1825-02-19 00:00:00

le lged. The interference of Parliament cannot be better
exercised, than on a subject in which the temPtatrientl tti
fraud arc so numerous, and the practice of it so etsiSy
screened from public detection.

The appearance of the Lopo CiiAN:El.r.clk's Bill; on the
subject of Jot r SrocK Ce'streNses, is dally looked fore
ward to with considerable enxiety. While the isitere and
extent of its enactments hang in,doubt, it natdrally tend!,
not only to embarrass the parties concerned, but to tic up
the investment and transfer of capital, and to produee aft
that hesitation and perplexity, which, it was easy to baYe
foreseen, must follow the premature and very iteluditioull
proclamation which his Lordahip was pleased to send abroad
on ,the first day of the Session. We are, hairnet, able to
put the public in possession of what, upon very good
authority, we believe to be the leading and most operative
provisions which it is intended to contain. . .
In the first place, the principle contained in the hesolge
tion of the House of Lords, passed at the close of last
Session, that three-fourths of the capital shall be pail up;
is to be retained.
It is, secondly, intend&, that all Joint Stock compaeies,
esstablished subsequently to the first day of the present
Session of Parliament, shall be required to pay up a large
proportion of their capital (the amount to be Specified in
the Act) before the sale or transfer of any shale in tee!
Joint Stock Company shall be deemed legal.
And. thirdly, an enattmcnt is to be introduced, relieving
the parties from the necessity of paying uP such specife
portion of their eapitil, in all ewes where such Joint
Stock Company is regarded ,as a partnership, tett that no
charm therein shall be legally tranifernible tettaout Me con-
sent of all tie parties, :a in other. pirtnerahip concerns.
We deem it quite impossible that a Bill of this deserii.s
Lion can pats. The Resolution of the Houle of Lords,
which it is meant to incorporate with the ebove additional
provisions, is so arbitrary in itself, and to destructive in
its operation, that the sagacity of
.the House of Commons
would seize upon it instantly, and expose its absurdity
and injustice as a legislative regulation. As well might
the Loan CHANCELLOR bring in.a till for the bAefit of
agriculturists, which should direct that a certain quantity
of manure shall be ,applied annually by every farmer on
each acre of Pis land, and that every such farmer shall
keep by him, for such purpose, a ilemg.heip, containing
a quantity of soil in fermentation, equal to three-fourth!'
of the quantity required by the said Act to be spread over
the surface, for the snore effectually enriching the slid
land, and prOducisfe therefrom more plentifal and abun-
dant crops. Such an Ac as'euf.V.'tAL ReattaTtote BILL
might be introduced with just as much wisdoM, and with
about as much necessity, for the protection of ltaitandev,
as the proposed ..'OINT STOCK Cont•e'a BILL for the
protection of monied capital. We may safely leave it to
the farmer to adapt his manure t 3 his crop, std to MO
his dung-heap when it wants it; and we may just as safely
leave the capitalist to pursue Els can end his
turn his murey as be pleaset. A law Lord, however high
in authority, can know notlling of these subject! in theii`
detail: in their more comprehensive policy, indeed, id
the *4 of improvenient, he might be truly useful.
The 1.01:12 CH•NCELLOR, for example, might men.-
tially aid the interests of agriculture, not by frivolcri
and petty regelations, which interfere with itl cultivae
Lion, but by suggesting de supporting any meature which
tended to bring its produce lees expensively to market;
by procuring an effective revision of the Poor LawS, Sehich,
in their operation, are so oppressive to the landholders ; by
assisting tc procure the repeal of the Gathe Laws, the mee
dificAtion of Tithes, and the removal of such other evils as
are known to weigh heavily on the agtieultural interest.
Here is a fine field fur an enlightened policy to work in.
But to neglect all three meant of essentially serving tbe
public—to discountenance and put down every effort to
forward these and similar objects of practical benefit—anti
to Chet such mighty tenderness for that clam of monied
men who may clumsy to speculate in projects of commercial
adventure, or of national improvement, is quite prepcsie-
rout. The sages of the law are not the class of men that
we would call into council upon any deliberations cere
fleeted with the science Of political economy ! their dote
trines have nothing in cominon. It may be, indeed, that
the decisions of the Courts of Law, and the Euctuationi of
the Money Market, may both partake of that "glerieue
uncertainty'. for which the former has been eroverbially
praised ; but, on questions relative to the prudent employe
ment of capital, or eonnected with the rite and fall of
profits, we should infinitely prefer to Lathe the law from
Rottisestan, ItICARDO, or Beittect, than from Lei. tete
Toe, COKE, or /it ACE.9IONI : so, likewise, if we wished
to solve a problem in political ecohotny, we Should consult
Mr. Mitt in preference to Lord ELD3N. Such subjeett
are *holly out of the birele of law authority. The ma-
nagement of surplus capital—it cannot be too often re.
peated—is not a subject upon which a Chancellor should
presume to legislate. It is totally inconsistent with the
furictiont of 'Government, to attempt, by compulsory enact-
ments, to regulate those concerns whose essence is freedom,
and whirls, by their very nature, reject all regulation.
We shall reserve our remarks on the principles of the
proposed Bill till it is brought in ; when, it., densest being
then dietinetly before us. we may proceed *ith more cone
fidence to develop its mischievous tendency.

There was not a great deal doing In the money markets
yesterday. Consols fur money and the account were pre.
cisely the nine, viz. 93i to j. which shows there is no
opinion as to the future prices. The foreign market was
tolerably steady, Spanish Bonds Were at Vial, and N'tsr
ditto at 1N f. New Brazilian Scrip was fitin at 4J. Co-
lombian Bonds 90i. New Mexican Scrip Si ; and the New
Greek Some of the Mines were a good deal better, Ind
all appeared rather on the advance. The Pasco, Peruvian,
and Brazilian, had particularly improved.
There are letters in town, from Mexwo. under date of
the 18th December. They contain nothing new.
The House of Representative's of the United Provirwea
of Buenos Ayres has passed a law in accordance. with the
principles which have guided the British Parliament em.
the Subject of the Slave Trade, declaring that the tradiig
in negroes on the coast of Africa shall be considered an act
of piracy, and shall be punished as such.
Mr. O'Connell, Mr. Shiel, Sir Thomas Esmontie, Bart.
Mr. Hugh O'Connor, and about fifteen other members of
the Catholic Deputation, were under the Gallery of th,:
House of Couleur:it, last evening, during the diAcussion
the question of admittimi Advocates to be bietd at the
Bar against Mr. Coulburn s Bill.