The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-19 00:00:00

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRI rIG
_ _

Tins DAY ,r,"Y:I.•-ft,3- 3 g 47 min a't.
To-liosißcw—'4lornin; 21 4 1 Er,qiug smin.a t.

THE C 77i :71, April. 19.
TaXI3MOASETZR, 13 Tag SRAM'.
58-highest since neon; yestkr,:ay.
39 —lowest this morning and during the night.
57—this day, at nooll.
_ _ _

11 kßourrEß, 30-25.
WIND, N.N.E.—Light breeze, with glorious Imperial
weather.

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LONDON, THURSDAY, APRIL 19, 1355.

This day Messrs. ROTHSCHILD'S list, the only
one in course of formation, will be closed, and
early to-morrow the terms which the great capi-
talist thinks proper to dictate will be published to
the community. The Chancellor of the Exchequer
having by his most unwise refusal to accept any
bidding for less than the entire amount practically
excluded competition, and must either accept the
proposition of the firm on which he conferred a
virtual monopoly, or acknowledge a very humi,
listing failure, injurious not merely to his own
reputation as a financier, but very prejudicial to
public credit, and to the best interests of the
nation. Should Messrs. ROTHSCHILD act liberally
and offer a reasonable bidding, it will not
be for want of every opportunity to do
otherwise. They are certainly exposed to
strong. temptation, which few, indeed, could
resist.- It will not be through the prudence of
Sir G. C. Lewis if there will be not a loss to the
national treasury, scarcely inferior to that occa-
sioned by the GLADSTONE abortion. He has done
all in his power to produce the mischief, and if it
be avoided it will be owing to the magnanimity
of the friend with whom he is dealing, and not
through hie. own judgment or efficiency.
We have pointed out the confusion arising
from the jumble of Consols and Terminable Annui-
ties. It would have been far better bad he adopted
either course separately, or better than either
had he borrowed in a 3i per Cent. Stock, with a
guarantee against its reduction for a certain
fixed period. Just objections have been taken
against the creation of stock of far greater
nominal value than the amount to be realised.
It was owing to that very mischievous practice
that the public debt was swelled to such enormous
dimensions, not merely millions, but tens of mil-
lions, aye, hundreds of millions being inscribed,
for which there was no corresponding equivalent
paid into the Exchequer. Such a course was the
very converse of the creation of Terminable An
nuities, which provided for the cessation-of the
charge at a fixed time. It, on the contrary, got
some trivial temporary advantage at the expense
of a large addition to the burdens on posterity.
How different would the present condition of the
debt have been if Mr. PITT had borrowed in a
5, or si, or even 6 per cent. stock. The interest
at the time would scarcely have been greater, and
it would long since have been reduced to 3±, or
possibly 3 per cent., while the amount of our
liabilities would be some two hundred•miilions
less than it is. We are, however, paying dearly
for the red-tapism of that period, and our chil-
dren -may be equal sufferers from the vagaries of
Sir G. C. LEWIS.
It is the merest charlatanism to draw a distinc-
tion between the capital amount and the exnense.of
obtai • it. It signifies little when the money
t° be paid, whether the liability was incurred
for Tallie_xeceived or for contingent liabilities. If
it was decided to issue part Consols and part Ter-
minanave l4Anut.
es, it would have been far better to
the seeu,i ,e/...„""bielders to choose for themselves
Inat veoidd best snit their financial posi-
• -tons, WA
although theire l
rumen must:take something of both,
of the fund,,at:Z..ll.° Precluded from the nature
`annuities; Thin .4,1! di. silosal from touching the
greatly ,r4a:te mistake, which must
nurahe, r
the 'middle man .° applicants through
'Of
by.the Government
scheme. On the other band, there
onnuitiee on
persons and corporations wilt, „ould are many
their entire investments in these-veryga. 1Y make
terms highly beneficial to the natin •
They,
however, cannot obtain that which they require
separately, and, consequently, the result must be
very prejudicial to the Exchequer. But for one
circumstance the Terminable Annuities would be a
very favourite investment. The gross dishonesty
of Parliament in submitting to the dictation of
Mr- GLADSTONA and charging Terminable
Annuities, even those having but a few
_
3r-ears to rnn,-.: at as high a rate as perpe-
tual charges, now, however, imposes great
additional difficulty on the Financial Minister.
Honesty is, indeed, the best policy for nations as
well as for individuals. At present no specula-
tor can tell, that the Property and Income Tax
may not be increased at any time to ten or even
twenty per cent. Before bidding for any portits