The Sun.
London, England, 1852-08-26 00:00:00

PRUSSIA.

From Posen the returns of the cholera are to the
20th ; on that date there were 68 new cases, of which
58 were fatal. On account of the prevalence of the
cholera, it had been ordered that none but the wit-
nesses and parties in the causes to he tried should be
admitted to the District Criminal Court. From the
frontier district the last accounts are still unsatisfac-
tory, though an abatement of the number of cases in
one or two localities is reported; the proportion of
deaths to the number attacked continued alarmingly
high, and would alone account for the panic de-
scribed as general. In Ostrowa, from the 16th to the
20th, 21 persons had been attacked by the disease,
of whom 16 died ; in all, up to the latter date, there
bad been 378 cases, of whom 178 were fatal. The
reports still give hopes that the pest is really abating,
89 the cases for the last two days had diminished in
number, though in those seized it appeared in a very
malignant form. It is especially severe in the vil-
lages, where the proportion of deaths is still greater
than in the towns. In Przygodz'.e. 70 persona, or
full one. eighth of the inhabitants, had been carried off.
The last return from Landsberg, in Silesia, is to
the 19'h. The total number of cases to that date had
been 267, of which 117 were fatal ; 84 were cured.

THE CURRENCY.
The possible effect of the gold discoveries on
the comparative values of the precious metals is an
interesting subject of inquiry ; and it is not sur-
prising that M. Leon Faucher should have de-
voted the principal part of the essay on which we
commented yesterday to a question bearing so di-
rectly on the monetary changes which have been
frequently recommended for tt2e adoption of the
French Government. The great mechanical con-
venience of a gold currency, as compared with the
bulky and troublesome silver coinage of the Conti-
nent, seems to excite little interest in the minds of
financial theorists, who are busied with more compli•
cated considerations of value and exchange. A slight
relative depreciation of the more portable metal may
lead to the adoption of a coinage for common use,
which will be, in many respects, more advantageous
the c
to ome, lio.
fr —ll i y e .han the old-fashioned piles of five-
axle pieces which encumber the traveller in France.
The question, however, of maintaing a concurrent
gold standard, will naturally be decided on different
gurnodU.enrdtsh. A 0
Presidencysufficientat of 1.1. Fould, reported that no
that time existed for any
change in the standard. M. Faucher is anxious to
prove that the same coinclusion is still valid, not-
withstanding the new d
nrti
seems certain that, at nre:severies in Australia. It
at least, the relative
advance in the value "
s too small to justify
any legislative of silver
interference With
thertheeisstandard ; but,
as we have already suggested,
; e fienr etnhilen
oto.;t l tendencyspecial
other r e lo -f
son for the existing equilibrium
an influx of gold to cheapen, in
place
commodities, the silver which it slid,
further alteration of v alum may probabi v alts. Some
when the Australian importations shall'huee
nued for three or four years. In England there
no question as to the material of our currvenceee
The value of our debased silver coinage is only mainy:
tained by the lave which confines the use of it to small
retail transactions. There is no difficulty in selling
any number of sltillings at their nominal value, bee
cause the issue of silver is carefully adapted to the
convenience of the community. Except in a few
neighbouring ports of the continent, or in some of the
colonies, Et,gliela silver is never seen abroad, while
French, Spanish, and Neapolitan dollars circulate in
all parts of the world. The only change in the value
of gold which can much affect us would be an altera-
tion in its general value in comparison with other
commodities. Nor is the prospect of such a change
either alarming or greatly encouraging to 0)34 class,
so far as it may operate on future contracts and trans-
actions. If the abundance of gold should raise the
quarter of wheat from t2i. to 41., the purchaser will
not 1
instance
aggrieved, nor will the producer be, in the
ra
onstance, benefited. It is only in relation to ex-
debg Detracts—or,n in other words, to credit and
tare e—Thstanatd any depreciation in the value of the mone-
If the xittaird can materiaily affect the community.
the natiou°Zal Debt were due to foreign creditors
to the fall ortlit be enriched in exact proportion
loans were „n the . standard according to which the
are bound to p,yetl'ed• The taxpayers of England
sum of nearly twonhu fundholders either the capital
annual intereedred millions of ounces of gold,
or the
same medium. If g()Ioaf the debt calculated in the
value one-half, the liabilitwere to be diminished in
actly the same ratio. ,Azould be reduced in ex-
such a result, but there Would Islnight be hardship in
Parties intended to adopt "e no injustice. Both
a stand
minimum amount of variation ; but •ard) subject to a
understood that any possible ch,lL,weas undoubtedly
would be at the risk of the creditor or diil the price
tively, as the value might fall or rise. debtor reapeo.
bore the burden of the return to Cash pametauxPaYer
the war, and it is perfectly reasonable that hetss.afted
r
receive the benefit of any fall in the value of n
eoV
th
culating medium. It happens that, so far se the En::
bah Funds are concerned, the creditor and debtor a$
with few exceptions, members of the same cone.
InunitY• The nation wculd, therefore, be neither
enriched nor impoverished by the change, except
so far as productive capital might be relieved at
the expense of the
consumer and the annuitant.
The same remark will a ply to private liabilities
of a permanent character.l'-Ydebts are dis-
charged at terms tooh Ordinaryf
an
great in-
termediate change in the
eort to allow 0
any great
In-
value of the currency..
cumbrancers, mortgagees te , and. holders of private
an-
nuities would suffer, like fund oldere, though, gene-
rally speaking, not to the same n ' any fall
in the value of gold. In
all extent—from . .
entitled to a certain number :eases they are simply
sovereigns for princi-
pal or for interest. The currency at the time of payment
is the measure of their chinas • •
and their loss, in the
event of a gr dual depreciation, will be less than that

of the public creditor only because private obligations
are seldom or never perpetual. A mortgage can
always be called in after a limited period, and the cre-
ditor can, if he thinks proper, terminate his relation to
the borrower before the possible influx of gold can have
had time to produce its full effect. Even jointures and
life annuities may probably expire before the change
of prices, consequent on the variation of the metallic
standard, can have received its full development.
It is scarcely probable that any attempt will be
made to interfere, by legislative measures, with the
natural results of the increased production of gold.
Yet it is an undoubted evil that the standard of price
should vary to the relative advantage or detriment of
any class of the community; and it is highly inte-
resting to inquire, with M. Faucher and many other
economists, how far the threatened consequences of the
recent discoveries are likely to be actually realized.
No question of equal importance has ever been de-
cided by high authorities in ways more various, and
even contradictory. From absolute inoperativeness
to total revolution, there is no conceivable result of
the discoveries in Australia and California which
cannot boast its prophets and its partisans. As to the
future supply
matter. Geo!' gists and miners can only guess at
of gold, it is useless to speculate on the
conclusions which, four or five years hence, will be
familiar to ell the world. Mr. Wyld's pamphlet on
the gold regions,
with its useful map,
spotted with
'
symbolic yellow, contains, perhaps, all the facts which
at present are positively known with respect to the
gold-fields. The influence of a given importation of gold
most complicated and
on the market is, on the other band, a purely scientific
problem—involving, however,
iscomparatively
easy considerations. 1
easy to calculate the per-tentage o'f. the new supplies,
as compared with the gold already in circulation; but
economists have not yet determined the nature of the
mass which is to be affected by increased production.
Some writers confine the operation of the latter to
the gold market alone; whilst others correctly in-
clude the precious metals in those countries where
a silver currency will be superseded. M. Faucher
and many other theorists take into consideration, not
only the vast mass of paper money, public and pri-
vate, but the demands of art and luxury, and the
wants of countries which at present scarcely use the
gilfl
beli liability precious metals at all. So far as paper money is con-
cerned, there appears to be a fallacy in regarding
fboyrmtihneg
price pail
omfetrhee acaukrarae nwcl y lyme d
b ieenht s o
of gold. A bank bill ffiteycted
as
note or a of exchange is sim-
ply a promise to pay a certain amount iof gold.
If sovereigns become •
cheaper while the document
is outstanding, the liability
lightened: but,
as we have already said, the onl3
real effect of the
change in prices would be produced
in the relation between permanent debtors and their
creditors. It is wholly immaterial to the annuitant
or to the mortgagee whether bank notes retain their
former value in comparison with other commodities.
It is clear that the increased demand for gold, either
for circulation or for use in manufactures, cannot
arise till the price has already fallen. Gold has al
ways been an object of desire, which cheapness would
transform into a demand. The extended use of the
metal cannot prevent the change of price ; but it will
undoubtedly break the fall. Ic is impossible to fare-
see what amount of reduction in value would bring
gold into general circulation through the East of Eu-
rape. If such a revolution takes place, the increased
demand which it will occasion may probably cause a
halt in the progress of depreciation. At present, all
that can be certainly known on the subject is that, in
a few years, our knowledge of the laws which regu-
late currency will be greatly extended by experience.
—Morning Chronicle.

THE CLEOPATRA SCREW. STEAMER
FOR AUSTRALIA.
The sailing on Saturday last of the great "screw,"
the Great Britain, from Liverpool, with emigrants
for Australia, has been regarded in that town as
commercial event; and there is every evidence that
a new epoch in the history of screw steamers has thus
been commenced. The Great Britain will he fol-
lowed by rrany screws within a few months; and,
first, by the Cleopatra, now lying in the East India
Docks, and which sails for Port Philip and Sydnei
on the Ist of September. This magnificent vessel
(iron) is inferior in size and nominal horse power tt
toe Great Britain, but being about the newest screw
steamer afloat, she is, probably, in virtue of being the
last, the best in the world in point of model, speed,
and availability for the purposes of an emigrant ship.
She is Clyde-built, by the Messrs. Denny (her
engines by Tulloch and Denny, who are also of
Dumbarton), and was intended for the Braziliar,
trade, recent tempting circumstances explaining
her sudden diversion to the line she has now beer,
placed on. The "speculation" is entirely a Liver-
pool one, and is the result of individual enterprise,
unconnected with any " company"—a single Mersey
firm, Messrs. M'Kean and M‘Lerty, in conjunction
with Mr. Lamont, an eminent name among the
steam-ship owners of Liverpool, having bought the
vessel, fitted her, and started her; and her captain
(H. R. Cumming) is a very distinguished corn
mender of ocean steamers sailing from the Mersey.
She is of 1,500 tons, and 300 horse power, and wil
carry out about 320 passengers, in three classes,
first, second, and third, in these proportions ;—viz ,
130 cabin, 120 second, and from fifty to seventy
third class passengers. As a matter of news, the
"fares" may be mentioned, these including bedding
' linen, and all sorts of stores and provisions, bit
not wines or spirits. The fare for the after saloon.
80 guineas ; for the fore saloon, 55 guineas ;
the second cabin, 40 guineas ; third cabin, 25
guineas (bedding to be provided by the third
cabin passengers). The saloons are superbly
fitted up ; and the other cabins, though destitute
of all ornaments, are thoroughly comfortable, spa-
cious, and convenient. The Cleopatra presents, of
course, all late improvements in steam-ship construe.
tion, and is a model for an emigrant ship. The yip.
tilation, in the first place, is perfect; and all the re-
quirements of a long voyage have been folly met
There are six water-tight compartments, and crowd:
of boats to provide against the chances of wreck; and
there are "annihilators " to guard against the more
terrible disaster of fire. There is a wonderful " Refri-
gerator," on a vast scale, in the fore peak, to preserve
fresh meat, &c , most of the way ; and there is amid-
ships a more marvellous machine, a condensing appa-
ratus, which may be called a still, its purpose being
to convert salt water into fresh. This holds 1,000
gallons ; and there is a novelty in the great extent of
this application of the principle. Her engines
are pronounced by the great marine engine
builders as the most perfect yet produced ;
and it is noticeable thet they differ from those of
the Great Britain, which are on the oscillating prin-
ciple, in being on the lever principle, with multiply-
ing powers. Without sails the Cleopatra made a
wonderfully rapid passage into the Thames from the
Clyde; but with sails (she is full frigate- ship-rigged)
she will go at the average easy rate of thirteen knots
an hour. She calls at the Cape for coals, and leaves
passengers at Adelaide. She is fillibg fast with pas
sengere, is fully engaged for goods, and, like the
Great Britain, will probably go out to the " dig.
Rings" heavy with specie. If these two screws are
tailtlaz
sufeeessful in their voyages and returns, losing none
?_atheir crews by the gold fever (the Cleopatra is
manned with eighty seamen and engine-men), we
costlydoubt seethegreat Liverpool-like enterprises
the sailin intervention
generally by private merchants, without the
such circ of companies; and in that view
Lest:tuch a vessel as the Cleopatra, under
unit einOsotnimthpeorltoanngt longest of
be regarded voyages, is to
fa

The--- heavy tunnel litußnznveglsiain "r.131-lEnE FORD RAILWAY.
sented such a torrnidablems},--hill, whit has hitherto pre-
line, is now rapidly adv °-stacle to
through some few weeks,aaucinfi• The
1111 e? arging and
end. The workmen are bnudsil
yards
ght is viaagltwaY has been
securing the bore, which is ?legaged i e frlom end to
Wilmot has undertaken to aa°2
the arching of this tunnel and other. raa;°°°l ,Oatningrprtoihesi:ss.'‘fforr.
young man was killed in this tunnel a fa-w4Y
immediate death
falling of a large mass of stone and eart7hdansr3.nBini,',° by theA
was engaged in driving the waggons in theua-n„7"ll,iis he
pears that he accidentally struck dovin one of '171:- it nip_
which caused the mass of earth to fall, crubcnreautryorts,
de-
Operations have been commenced near Hereford, at ileath.
ceased so muzli in the fall as to cause
are,
court, and all along the line the works are rapidly ad'
vancing. It is said that there will be a close contest between-
the Shrewsbury and Hereford and the Newport and Aber.
gavenny lines, as to which shall first open rail communica-
tion with the city of Hereford, the inhabitants being az;
tremely desirous that the lines proceeding to it should be
completed. They wish to secure a large joint station for all
the termini to centre in.
CusToms.—Messrs. W. J. Ready and W. Hamp-
ton, principal gaugers of Customs, have been appointed to
the office of inspectors of the guaging department.
GIGANTIC OATS —From a field of oats, belonging
to Mr. James Wright, farmer, Kilnford, parish of Dundo-
nald, two stalks were found to measure in height. the one
sic r feet ten inches, the other seven feet. The grains of one
a
G/ were actually counted, and found to amount to 448
Glasgow Mail.!

ECONOMY • IN ROYAL SALUTES.-
-" Scientific
Punch,—Great objection is made to the waste of gunpowder
and
which is made in firing salutes. To save this expense,
the
at the same time preserve for illustrious personages
honour of being stunned, let me recommend to the notice of
the Lords of the Admiralty the substance called Quad-
-1
roehloride of _Nitrogen, which is one of the most explosive
compounds known. You make it by simply setting a jar of
goes, of with chlorine to stand inverted in a solution of sal-ammoniac:
materials cheap enough. A drop of it no bigger than a pea
a loud bang, and a very small quantity of it
w" make' a greater noise than a forty-pounder; besides
which, 't has the advantage of being extremely dangerous,
and much more likely than gunpowder to blow hands off;
moreover, of smelling perhaps worse. Of the truth of these
statements I smelling punch take m _D - —The Laboratory,
y .11, Y.,
August, 18512."
IMPROVEMENTS
few days a large number of workmen have been busily en-
IN IITI)E- pARK.—Dur in g the last
ii by the Commissioners of Woods and Forests in
gage- •
g Y which runs by the side of the
widening the carria e-wa •
Serpentine, and making other i
-11,ProYeruenta and alterations.