The Sun.
London, England, 1855-04-17 00:00:00

LONDON, TUESDAY, APRIL 17, 1855.

Sir CORNEWILL LEWIS won't do. He has
broken down at the earliest trial, failed at the
very first step in his progress. Yesterday he ap-
peared thickly covered with streamers of red tape.

Every mischievous precedent was adopted so far
as the objectionable portions were concerned,
while the good that was to be found in every
schenae was, by a species of perverted ingenuity,

completely dissipated. There might have been
something to be asserted in favour of an unmixed
issue of 3 per Cent. Consols, or of Terminable
Annuities, but ho has contrived so to dovetail the
two as to retain all the obnoxious features, with-
out any of the incidental advantages. It is said
that the proposition has been received favourably
in the City. It may be so, mid simply because it
is in the highest degree unfavourable to the EL-
chequer, affording prospects of exorbitant gains
to those who have the prospect of participating
in the exorbitant profits that may be realised on
the transaction.
-

---
The leading particulars of the projected Loan
appeared in our impression of yesterday ; we may,
therefore, comment upon the salient points, with-
out rendering ourselves liable to the imputation
of seeking to control the discretion of the Finan-
ciAl Minister, or wishing to drive him into a
corner from whence he could not readilythe loan
escape.
Ist it appears that the total amount of
) . ounds sterling—that
is to be sixteen millions of p
law say, it is sixteen millions to be paid into the
Exchequer, not a fixed amount to be issued, and
might prove to be,
the Proceeds, whatever they ,
de-
rendered available. The above sum has been de-
t4rn'illecia'rdinato the present estimates of what
Vin be required for the
It is scarcely u wants of the current year.
and by
no
means to refer to the numerous
of which would 17 improbable
la.tiona already contingencies, any
rnareient to derange the calcu-
DEf March) of last 3,.:;.; lu the first Budget '(that
demancw,
Wc TI
sitid'equer guarde'l Lithe, then
u that the additionalni eir against
Tyree
Chancellor of the
be then the suppo-
thous which
to meet the extra exvill • be
more than •
MaY, just two tec,„„nptdttlure fur the sufficient
sary to quadruple his preavt.er, he found it :be In
even that amended estimate proves recillicitli°4 ; 1:;-,
cent. beneath the actual outlayP:ove(l -‘I.IY "I per
It would, therefore, have been. a
wise
dent precaution if Sir G. C. Lewis Idalui Pru.
himself some reasonable margin, whichallowe4
have rendered a further appeal to would
specu-
lative capitalists unnecessary. Had he asked
for Twenty Millions, which he could have
obtained just as easily and on as favourable terms
as Sixteen, he would, although not pledging him-
self against a future loan, have rendered such a
such
so very improbable that it would scarcely be
tiken as an eleinent in the calculations by which
the biddings will be regulated. fie might even
have got rid of tile anticipated vote of credit to be
-raised bylEschequer-bills, whiehthere is no pre-
*

sent
-expectation will exceed 3,000,0001. We need
not expatiate on the benefits of a well-filled Trea-
sury in time of war-- The Right Hon. Gentleman
has, however, taken no step to retrieve the grave
mistake of his predecessor in denuding the Ex-
chequer of its balances by unnecessarily paying off
more ,than eight millions--a valuable financial
demonstration, as we were then told by
g, a leading journal" —so valuable, indeed,
that it was one of the chief causes that
induced NICHOLAS to suppose that he had nothing
to fear from England, for that she could not be
in earnest in her opposition when taking a step
so incompatible with impending hostilities. In
fixing the amount at only sixteen millions, it
seems to us that the Chancellor of the Exchequer
has committed the first of a series of blunders in
reference to the Loan.

The second.and' chief condition is, that "for
every 1001. subscribed in money the contractors
are to have 1001. 3 per. Cent. Consolidated An-
nuities, and a Terminable Annuity for 30 years,
ending on the sth April, 1855 ;" the interest on
the Consols. to commence on the sth January
last, and the annuity from the sth instant ; and
" the biddiugs to be made in the terminable an-
-7)
n ui.4. y. Here, then, it will be seen that
the terminable annuity is the unknown quan-
tity. To ascert9in it there must first
be determined the exact value in money
of a perpetual annuity of 3 per cent. ; having
thus found the money-value of the difference be-
tween 1001. cash and the value of 1001. Consols,
a new estimate must be framed of the amount of
Terminable Annuity worth that difference. A
complicated calculation that would effectually de-
ter any private individual from , competing, and
throw the' whole matter into the hands of a
favoured few who could fix their own terms in the
absence of all emulation. As if, however, there
was enot a sufficiently decided advantage, the
Financial Minister has announced "that the bid-
' dings must be made for the whole Loan of
16,000,0001.," as none for a smaller amount will
be received. A virtual monopoly is thus granted
to the very few members of the Moneyocracy,
who viill find it far more to their advantage
to combine than to compete. It is scarcely
pro'oable that more than one tender
will. barnacle. ' Under any circumstances the
! competition must be restricted within very nar-
-IroT limits. - The TreasUry is thus placed, bound
1 ha Dd. and foot, at the 'mercy of some half-dozm
Pbato-ctots, who have only their own consciences
to consult. Their customer wants the money.
Ho has voluntarily cut off all other sources of
isupply. He has-eschewed anything like popular
support ; and "as he has sown so must he reap."
How different is this from the French Financier,
4
1 whose successful operations during last year and
Ithis year might have taught a valuable lesson to
iSir G. C. LEWIS. But " red-tapery " is once
i more predominant. That which all but sadrificed
our noble army in the Crimea is again permitted
largely to enhance the burdens of the people.
1
TlteßightHon. Gentleman has already sufficiently
proved that he is totally incompetent to discharge
the duties of the important office into which he
has been pitchforked. It is scarcely necessary to
advert to the development of his financial scheme
to prove the total absence of all the qualifications
necessary for the head of the Financial Depart-
ment of the British nation.

The spectacle presented yesterday in the me-
tropolis was at once unique, imposing, and. satis-
fActory. The intelligent and. orderly masses that
for so long a period. patiently lined the miles of
s'xcets through which the Imperial cortcge was
to pass ; the balconies gay with youth and
beauty ; the bands of music catching
up the distant strains ; the banners float-
ing proudly from the windows in the light of a
sunny day constituted a sight of no ordinary
occurrence. But when the Imperial guests
made their appearance the waving of hats
and handkerchiefs, and the general agitation
of the enthusiastic spectators as they cheered
loUdly along the line, lent to it an effect
that wellnigh beggars description. The'
EMPEROR, in short, from the moment of his
leaving the South-Eastern station to that of his
arrival at the Great Western, or, for an hour and
a half, was the subject of a grand triumphal
ovation. And this, it must be added, was only
in keeping with the reception he had experienced
from the moment of his landing on the British
shores.

How different this entry into England from his
departure thence, to go back no further, some five
years ago, when elected President of the French
Republic. Then he embarked at Southampton,
and • sailed for Havre, with only one attendant,
comparatively speaking unnoticed and unknown.
How are we to account for the marvellous cliano.e
—for the reception of yesterday ? Under ordi-
nary circumstances, doubtless, an Emperor would
attract crowds of spectators, and 'an Emperor of
FRANCE, accompanied by his EMPRESS, was cer-
tain enough to do so in an' unusual de-
gree. But this is not enough to account
1 for the cordiality of the reception which the
Emperor met with yesterday. Thera was a
depth and earnestness about it which distinguished
it from ordinary receptions. It was the welcome
of a great people to a great man, holding man-
fully a great trust—a welcome of faith and re-
spect. The Emperor had destroyed the Republic,
it was true, but the practical English people
had learned to value the Republic at its
worth, and had long ceased to deplore its
fate. He had brought back again the
glories of the Empire—but to England he had
held out the right hand of peace. He had
expelled political opponents honest and otherwise
from France, but he had put down anarchy, and
established enlightened rule. Ho had made
himself the absolute ruler of France, but he had
also restored her prosperity and elevated her in
the rank of nations. His aim had been
noble and his success had been great. A
d
pron y
practical, constitution-loving people
could honourably
.
fseltfh-eraisehdear
Eti lenst-
t.
and
for respect.
g o d
feel
peror wtitmanifersetcaetiivoens th i
os
The credit for noble
ing towards this
aspirations and
satisfaction
• h The 537/' gave him from the first
country which
he Bd
r peope from
he had openly earned, and t
• te hish l
good wishes
their heart of hearts reciproca
magnanimous
and paid him their
full debt. The
lover, with his Empress
ruler the high-spirited
bride—the head Fof the French people and our
noble Au ' cl3—ha, their claims
honourably recog-
nised; but the self-raised man, the artificer of his
("n fortunes, and the saviour of his country from
nalarell
Y--the peaceful NAPOLEON—that
Stood u„,
- proud islanders that we are, respected
and trusted u.he it was whom tEe people hc-
ino
enured st in, Yesterday's
what may, ,c„ei, a
was worth a life. o•fatiou from such a people

Vienna and Sebastol a
between which the national re the two localities intereAt appears to be
just now eqqably arul pendulously vibr
might othemise, perhaps, be more accuratel sting, y
thus expressed, that the popular atteutiou is
at this

moment darting to and fro between the Siege and

the Conference, like a monstrous shuttle-cock be-
tween two great political battledores. The Go-
vernment all the while receiving very nearly the
same amount of comparatively valueless informa-
tion from either direction alternately. Despatches
from Lord JOHN, informing Ministers bow hopes
and fears in regard'to the shadowy day-dream of a
pacific settlement, circle perpetually r..bout the
Four Points of the discussion. Despatches from
Lord RAGLAN, on the other hand, acquainting
them with the various fluctuations of the winds of
heaven abcut the four points—of the compass.
Whence it so happens, to employ a favourite ex-
pression of the Master of Netherby, that diplo-
matic pottering and military pottering, each, drags
its slow length along, like a wounded snake or a
superfluous alexandrine. Season, all the while,
inexorably following season—the horrors of a
Crimean summer approaching rapidly upon the
scarcely-terminated miseries of a Crimean winter
—a second campaign abortively frittering aViay
week by week, and month by month, after the
melancholy fashion of its disastrous predecessor.

The Commander-in-Chief of our army at
the Seat of War would really seem to be
impressed with the fulness of a deep-rooted
conviction that somebody was right in speak-
ing of History as au Old Almanack. Satisfied
upon which head his Excellency appears to be
seriously bent upon contributing his store of facts
to the future annalist, in the shape of an elaborate
table of chronology—with particular allusion to
the changes of temperature, and especial regard
to the variable movements of the barometer.
What the late Lord HOLLAND wrote, once upon a
time—in a fugitive couplet, or familiar jeu
d'esprit anybody might echo nowadays, not
altogether inaptly in reference to Field-Marshal
the Lord RAGLAN and his official- weather-
aim anack

" Ttiat he's like a palm tree, it well may be said,
Having always a cluster.of dates in his head."

Then as to the other Noble Lord engaged
in these gigantic operations for the welfare of
England and the happier fortunes of Europe,
not the military aristocrat this time, ,observe !
but the diplomatic aristocrat-Las to the Noble
Lord at Vienna, are not his labours,-we may ask,
almost to a T, as incongruous, as frivolous,' alto-
gether as. preposterous? One (as our London
Chariva? i lately reminded us) at a pleasant little
partie carree. A delightful diplomatic diversion
over a sort of board of green , cloth iu a
snug saloon at Vienna. The cards duly
shuffled—the partners chosen—may we not
boldly hint , at the . opposing players thus—
England and France pitted against Austria and
Russia? The object of their trial of skill, being,
of course, the acquisition of all the honours,
and of—the Four Points. In this agreeable
pastime,. we all know, are now engaged, very delight-
fully for themselves that charminglittle assemblage
grouping togethet the names of GORTSCHAKOFF,
and Bum, and RUSSELL, and DROUYN DE L'Huirs.
Gentlemen who have already made their game,
and are now only waiting the issue of the play at
the hands of the fickle goddess. When the up-
:shot of all this becomes known, whether there be
no decision at all, or whether the decision arrived
at be for the indefinite continuance of the War or
for the re-establishment of a dubious tranquillity,
we shall have her MAJESTY'S Envoy to the
Austrian capital coming back to the Trea-
sury Bench—in what plight, and under -what
particular appearance ? Wily, precisely as
ho was Sketched off to the very life
some few -years ago by the Honourable Baronet
the Member for Hertfordshire. How runs the
couplet ? • .

" Serene, and all-unconscious of retroach,
Comes the cairn Johnny who upset the coach !"

For, surely has he not been " at it again" this
imperturbable, delightful, incorrigible, opportune
Marplot 'of Administrations—opportune, incorri-
gible, delightful, imperturbable in all his manifold
official capacities, not this once as lithotomist, to
be sure, or, indeed, for that matter as Lord
High Admiral iu command of the Channel' Fleet,
but at any rate as ex-Premier, ex-President of
the Council, ex-Leder of the House of Com-
mons, ex-Foreign Secretary, ex-Home Secretary,
ex-this, ex-that, and ex-the•other, still, moreover,
Member for the City of London, and at the present
juncture, we all of us very well remember, at one
and the same time Chief of the Colonial Depart-
ment, and her Britannic MAJESTY'S Envoy Extra-
ordinary and, Minister Plenipotentiary to the
Austrian Court, and the little partie earl* of the
Vienna Conference. Everybody bears in recollec-
tion, of course, how very recently the Noble Pro-
tons has been, as we have before expressed it
colloquially, "at it again," at his old tricks, at
his wonted political mischief, extracting the linah
pin, or unscrewing the tiro of an odd wheel, or by
softie other ingenious contrivance, upsetting the state
coach—a proceeding, by the way, not so particu-
larly difficult at the period of the last casualty,
when the vehicle was top .heavy with coronets,
and the team pulled very ill together, and one of
the many loaders every now and then evinced a
tendency to become more than usually restive.
. Wherefore, under all circumstances, remember-
ing these things, we cannot but deem it in
some measure consolatory to reflect, in the
midst of such, diplomatic twaddlings and military
potterings as those by which the patience of the
land is becoming at once exhausted and nauseat-
ed, we cannot but regard it as in some degree
consolatory in . the thick of this delay, muddle,
and confusion worse confounded, to rememberthat
sooner or later there will, from the courtly gaieties
of Vier.na—

" Serene, and all-uncongcions of reproach,
Come the calm ‘Tohnr-y who upset the coach !"

That sooner or later , the noble Lord—that
" calna return to his seat on the
Treasury Bench in the House of Commons, and
then and these may, perchance, in spite•of all
diplomatic secrecy, of all considerations of political
etiquette and of
_party precedent, exploiter,
Heaven knows what, mysterious Ministerial tran-
sactions. Tant mieux, so far as the uninitiated
vulgar are concerned—meaning thereby, of course,
the People of England. The fustier corners and
crannies of the State machine, in truth, are all the
better for being thus occasionally ventilated by
the wise rashness and sagacious audacity of some
affected vaurien, some assumed ne'er-do-weel, in
the astuter wiles of the craft of statesmanship.