The Sun.
London, England, 1855-03-22 00:00:00

that Mr. GLADSTONE was an assenting party :

" I fully recognise your wisdom in sacrificing consi-
derations of present convenience, and in providing for
the exigencies of the war, without an addition being
made to the permanent debt of the country."
Those very terms had teen discussed. in the
presence of the Right Hon. Gentleman, and, con-
sidering the opinions he had previously given ex-
pression to, it was scarcely justifiable to permit
his Royal Mistress to make an incerrect and
erroneous statement to the House.
Mr. WILSON spoke plausibly of the " misrepre-
sentations"- of those by whom the subject was
introduced, and. endeavoured to show a bold
attempt, as he himself admitted it to be,
that " the expenses of last year had been defrayed
by the growing produce of the country,, without
one shilling being added to the national debt." The
House *as, however, manifestly dissatisfied with
the system of Exchequer " thimble-rigging" so
long iu operation. Mr. GLADSTONE had himself
explained some of the delusions habitually prac-
tised, and the secret once revealed, the trick be-
comes- "stale and unprofitable."
Nor will the "blowing het and toll" by diffs-

rent members of the sacs Government be longer
tolerated. Mr. GLADSTONF, in March, 1854,
clearly and distinctly proved that the Unfunded
Debt is to all intents and purposes a permanent
liability, although "the obligation is renewable

from year to year." Mr. J. WiLeox, as a subor-
dinate Member of the Administration, yielded a
tacit assent to the principle, and he cannot now
argue that these Exchequer Bills or Bonds (for he
places both in the same category) are raised simply
in anticipation of supplies. The time has gone
by when such a system could prove successful.
Mr.- GLADSTONE attempted, with considerable
ingenuity, to shirk the real question, and to ride
off on a collateral issue. Speaking of an acknow-
ledged excess of expeudituva over the sum to be
raiSed by taxes, he says—" Surely, in tine of war,
an excess of 2,000,000/. is not a discreditable ac-
count to present I" POssibly not ; but that was
not the point in dispute. The substantial issue
was, whether the eng?gemcnt entered into by the
right honourable gentleman with the House, in
reference to the sum of 1,1'50,000/., had been
faithfully observed or not ; and on that there
could be no dispute. Lord MONTEAGLI had, in
his correspondence with Mr. GLADSTONE, set that
matter completely at rest, convicting him, not on
the evidence of hostile or prejudiced witnesses,
but convicting him out of his- own mouth. In his
speech of the 6th of March, Mr. GLADSTONE care-
fully explained the distinction between the
Exchequer Bills usually in circulation and
the 1,750,0001. worth which ho then asked
the authority to is3ne. He said—" These bills
"for 1,750,0001. are what other bills falsely pur-
port to be. They are Supply Exchequer-bills.
The mass of Unfunded Debt still passes by the
name of Supply Exchequer-bills, though they have
c3ased to have any reference to supply at all, and,
in fact, constitutes a debt which is permanent in
itself, but the obligation of which is renewable
from year to year. When you confer, under the
regular Sessional Act, authority to raise so many
millions by Exchequer-bills, you do it with a view
of replacing them as they become due by other
Exchequer-bills. But these are Exchequer-bills
quite of a different class. These are to be raised
simply in anticipation of supplies, for which you
will have given authority; and when the supplies
come in, these Exchequer-bills will be paid of out
of these supplies, and no more will be heard of

them."
Now, they have again been heard of They
are to be replaced as they come due by other
Exchequer-bills. They have 919 t been paid out
of the growing produce of the revenue.
The fund that was specifically hypothecated for
their redemption, viz., the first half year's amount
of the augmented Income Tax has been received,
but it has been otherwise applied, and they are
still outstanding, an addition to the " permanent
floating debt of the country."
This course, so destructive of confidence in
public men, has been justly complained of, and it
is for the representatives of a commercial nation
.to give expression to such opinions thereon as
• may prevent the possibility of any recurrence of
similar transactions. It has been adopted, too,
to bolster up and sustain an untenable policy.
Mr. GLADSTONE attempted to make the present
generation bear the entire expenses of the War.
It was literally impossible that it could be so.
But rather than candidly acknowledge his error,

rather than admit his mistake, ho suffered him-
self to be betrayed into a course by no means
calculated to enhance the reputation of the Fi-
nancial Minister of a commercial nation—a nation
that especially prides itself on the good faith
which it observes towards all person: having
claims cn its resources.

COURT CIRCULAR.

OSBORNE, MARCH 21..

Her Majesty and his Royal Highness Prince Albert,
accompanied by the Prince of Wales, Prince Alfred,
Prince Arthur, the Princess Royal, Princess Alice, and
the Prince of Leiningen, and attended by the adies
and Gentlemen in 'Waiting, embarked in the royal yacht
Fairy yesterday afternoon at half-past 2 o'clock, and
went to Spithead to witness the departure of the ad-
vanced squadron of the Baltic fleet tinder Captain Wat-
son, C. 8., which was appointed to take place at about
3 o'clock p.m.
On the Fairy approaching the fleet, which fired a
royal salute, signal was made for Captain Watson and
the captains commanding to come on board the royal
yacht, where they bad the honour of being presented to
her Majesty to take leave. As socn as the captains had
returned on board their respective ships the order was
given to weigh, and the squadron immediately proceeded
to the eastward under steam, preceded by the Fairy.
About half-past four o'clock the Royal yacht turned,
and pmsed each ship in succession, the crews of which
manned the yards, and cheered her Majesty in passing.
The Queen. returned to o,,borne at half-past 5 o'clock.
dilulianpgtawm it, the lion. J. Denman had the honour of
Ibis 11,Gur.ii.ner I\liesty.
gn b
n`
being the day appointed for the General
Fast, the
Quet Prince, with the Prince of Wales,
Prince Alfred, tl,,
attended Divine Service at Princessßoyal, and Princess Alice,
hippingham parish church,
where the Rev. G. Protbero performed the service and
preached.

rres, of Commerce at
t unsatisfactory
Cbaruber of Co?),
of goads had
A deputation from tbe Liverpool
Com-
merce and from the American Che.rnler
Liverpool, upon the sulject of the
state of ti)o law relating to bills of lading
aTs interview with Lerd Stanley of
the deputation consisted of Messrs. MaxY,,,VtdaY ;
Francis Hamilton, George Maxwell, Wylie, and .1
Duncan, accompanied by Mr. W. .Brown, -,\l p J.
' ' • ~ aul
Mr. Horsfall, M.P. .

TUE EASTER RECES9.—Cra Friday, the 30th inst.,
Viscount Palmerston will more that the House, at its
rising, adjourn till Monday, the 16th April,

AN ALARM OF TREACHERY AMONG
THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY•

We understand that much excitement prevails among
members of the Conservative party, in conseauence of
articles in the last two numbers of a weekly Conserva
tive journal, in which the Emperor of the French is de-
signated as "the Emperor Louis," and in which language
and sentiments of a Very different character from that
previously employed in speaking of the Sovereign of the
French, are most strikingly introduced. We have reason
to know that these articles have excited no small alarm,
and have tended to confirm the suspicion that the journal
named has become an organ of the Russian interest. It
is believed that some members of the Conservative party,
traitors alike to their party and to the country, have
abandoned themselves to work out the designs of the
Northern t3rant, and with this view are now engtged
in intrigues with the Mountain party and the Prince
Napoleon. This, we aro assured, is not an idle rumour.
It causes uneasiness to the Government, and late last
night one of its leading members expressed apprehen-
sions as to the consequeneas of these intrigues upon the
existing relations of the two countries.—Merning
Arl-
v ertiser.