The Sun.
London, England, 1837-12-16 00:00:00

merit ? He asked this question in consequence of the sale by
her Majesty's Ministers of the splendid stud belonging to his
late Majesty at Hampton Court, a proceeding which, in hit-
mind, inflicted the greatest disgrace on the country.—(Cheers
from the Ooposition.)
The CHANCELLOR cf the EXCHEQUERbsgged to
inform the Hon. Member that the solo of the RQ.al itud was
not the act of her Majesty's Ministem but was do-'e by the
executors of the late Sovereign, the Stud being the private
property of his Majesty.—(Cheers.)
The clause was then agreed to, as was clause 4.
On clause 5 (slating to pensions on the Chit List)
being put,
Mr. GROTE objected to discuss this clause to-night.,
(Cries of " Hear I" and "Go on !"). lis would move that
the Chairman report progress.—(No no!)
Lord JOHN RUSSELL said if :he Hon. Gentleman per-
sisted in his motion he must admit this; it _would not be in his
power to proceec' with the discussicn; at the k.sm, time he
wished to represent to him that it was very det.irable that they
should proceed with the Committee, its order ti,c..t they might
take the third reading of the Bill on "Alemdar, and thus be.
enabled to settle the Civil List before Chrhaines.—( Hear.)
With regard to this clause, be proposed th t it should go
through the Committee to-night, and he would give the Hon.
Gentleman the opportunity of moving the alteration he wished
on the bringing up of the Report on Monday.
Mr. G ROTE would withdraw his motion, that the Chair-
man should report progress, on • the understanding that he
should base the opportunity of ra3si.A.g the question he was
desirous of bringing on on Monflay -next. He must have a
clear understanding, however, that Ye she uld be then ter-
mitted to discuss the subject quite As fully and freely as he
could now.—( Hear. )
The CHANCELLOR of the .b..-XCTIEQUEIt vteuld
bring up the report of the Bill the ft.'s,. thing on Monday ;
therefore the lion. Gentleman would!, be able to raise the
question he wished without any other b witless intervening.
Mr. KE.ABLE asked, with respect In per.sions of 1,2001.
a-year, whether they terminated with th e life of the Crown ?
The CHANCELLOR of the EX CHEQUER replied
certainly. The whole Bill terminated with the demise of
the Crown.
The clause was then agreed to, as w; iv! clauses 6,7, 8,9,
and 10.
The retraining clauses and schedules wero then agreed to ;
the House resumed, and the report was orc'e red to be received

this day.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEUER intimated
thAt the third reading would be taken on Mo nday, to vt hich
day also the nomination of the Pensions Committee was
deferred.
In answer to Colonel SIBTHORP,
Lord J. RUSSELL said that the Duchess of Kent's An-
nuity Bill would be taken into consideration this day. -
PONTEFRACT ELECTION.
Oa the motion of Mr. GOULBURII thn petition of Mr.
Gompertz—praying, as we understood, that ti,e description of
Mr. Procter, one of the sureties to this election petition,
who was described ss " gentleman, of South-bank, Regent's
Park," he being also a shoemaker, in Essex-street, Strand,
might be amended—was taken into consideration.
Mr. Moss, the Parliamentary agent to the petitioner, was
called to the bar and examined touching- the description of
Mr. Procter and the parties by whom he was employed, but
declined giving the name of the party .rho had given him the
name of Mr. Procter as one of the eureti,--s-
After a desultory consultation, the witness was recalled, and
stated that the person who gave him the nan te of the surety
was Mr. Benhoe, of Mecklenburgh-square.
Mr. GOULBRN moved that Mr. Proctc- be allowed to
alter his description by stating his business.
The SOLICITOR-GENERAL, opposed the. proposition,
on the ground that it was not warranted by Act oi Parliament,
or by the usage o the courts of law.
After a few observations from Sir E. SUGDEN,
Mr. GOULBURN amended the motion accordingly.
The CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER observed,
thafthis was the original proposition of his Hon. and Learned
Friend the Solicitor-General.
After a few words from the SOLICITOR-GENERAL
and others, it was agreed to enlarge the tern, until Tuesday,
the 26th instant ; and the House adjourned at half-past Two
o'Clock this morning until this day.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

The subject of the currency is one or the utmost import-
ance to the country—infinitely beyond any mere party
question. It comes home "to every man's business and
bosom ;" it is, in fact, a hand of darkness and power push-
ing one individual from his stool, and putting another upon
it, by a mysterious agency, which all can feel and but few
understand. Nearly every commercial convulsion. that has
taken place in this country, shaking like an carthquak-e the
social system to its centre, owns in most cases its origin,
and in all its operation to the currency. If over-trading, if
unwise speculation, if foreign investment, or whatever other
cause, have occasioned some temporary derangement at any
particular period, in comes the currency to heighten the evil
to a most fearful extent ; to prolong, widen, and deepen the
gulf in which all are in danger of being precipitated ; to
make the merchant a beggar--.--the banker a bankrupt ; to ar-
rest the hand of labour and stop the springs of industry,tiil the
cries of millions for bread complete the terrific climax which
an unwise currency has chiefly occasioned, if not entirely
created. Now, let us look at a few facts. In 1825, a
country at one side of a small river had bank. tumbling
down by wholesale—property in the market at a most
fearful depreciation—workmen thrown out of employment
by tens of thousands ; at the other side of that river not a
bank failed—property was but slightly affected—labour wet+
nearly as much in demand as at an ordinary season. Why
was this? People over-traded in that country—people
engaged in unwise speculations in that country—people
made foreign investments from that country ; what, there-
fore, was the cause that England should experience the
shock of an earthquake, and Scotland only feel the pat-
tering of distant rain ? The answer is obvious—Scotland
had a sound currency, England had not. In Scotland
the banks were formed upon the jointeetock principle; in
England, except in one vast monopoly, that system was not
allowed to exist. ranks were unsafe by Act of Parliament,
and the currency unsound by the wisdom of the Legisla-
ture. One immense joint-stock bank, the Bank of Eng-
land, determined that " none but itself should be its
parallel"—there should be no more of the breed. It had
all the successive corrupt Governments in its power, be-
cause they owed it money which they could not pay, and
required more, which it, a'one could give them. Hence
—for the sake of pandering to this monopoly—no bank
of issue was allowed to have more than six partners within
a certain distance of London. None were to be so safe
as to draw from it the best, or any large portion, of its
customers. None should be so strong as ever to be able
to protect themselves against its giant power, when it
choose to crush them. No marvel they fell, though sol-
vent, when the property which ccnstitutcd their solvency
was compelled to be thrust upon the market at any price
that could be got for it. The public knew the legal and
necessary weakness of those private banks, and had little
faith during any ctisis ;—hence the " runs," hence the
"stoppages," hence the bankruptcies, hence the ruin, and
hence the wretchedness, of millions of human beings. Nnt
so in Scotland—there was no law there to prevent banks
being safe—no huge monster there affecting to have the
eyes of Argus, and the hands of Briareus, to be able to see
and to relieve the wants of the community in all parts of the
country at once. No, no ; the sterile soil of Scot land was
covered with riches, and its cautious and even suspicious inha-
bitants had faith, and did trust their b:nks. But why ?
Simply because they knew the difference between banks of
six partners and b.,ilks of 600—banks which, like the
banana tree of the East, round routs in their own branches,
iastead of being merely a single trunk, liable to fall back
before every adverse blast of popular opinion. Notwith-
stand'ng the Egyptian darkness in which subject connected
with the currency were involved, people could not forbear
seeing the superiority of the Scotch sound system over
the English unsound system, and hence a demencl for
joint-stock banks. It was believed, and with truth, that
fie Bank of Englend could not, if it would, and would
not, if it could, supply a sound and sufficient currency from
its own resources, and it was but too palpable tlaat the
private hank system was dangerous, and not to be relied
upon. The late Lord .Liverpool fat', this, an .I wrote one
of the best letters on the subject, thoueli couched in very
cautious terms, that we have seen. Ire saw the evil, but
his was not the arm that could gr. pp'e w:th it. We
wanted a premier with the nerve of a Napoleon and the
d. termination of a. W olii.)gton. to put down the odious,
mischievous, and ruinous monopoly of the Bank of Eng-
land, and open the currency to all the voluntary resources
of the country. The joint-stock system. however, was
attempted in the teeth and under all the disadvantages of
the law, and in spite of these disadvantages it has suc-
ceeded to an extent which has surpa-zsed the hop. s of its
friends; and carried conviction to the minde; of its enemies.
We have only now to point to the cheering Report
of the London Joint Stock Bank, which we gave on
Thursslay. It appears that 6i per cent. on the paid-up
capital has been realised under all Les° disadvantages,
and under the special and critical circumstances which have
recently talon place, besid s allowing 2 per cent. on ba-
lances, and issuing .no notes of its own. It appears that,
instead of six, there are in this Company 657 partners,
holding more than 30,000 shares of 100/. each. This is.
the system which ought to be adopted, and ought to spread.
Should it be permitted to 'do so, we confidently predict
that a sound currency having public faith will soon exist—
that crises will become more rare and less ruinous—that
employment will be more certain, and labour better paid—
and that the gre.tt object of Bacon the immortal will be at-
tained when he said—" Money is like muck (manure) good
for nothin2 uilless.it be spread."-1110:.ning Advertiser.

Yesterday the death of Thomas Hawe, the unfor-
tunate young man W h o was stabbed in the ab2omen by George
Clutterbuck, while the letter was excited by joalousy, was re-
ported to Mr. Iltudwiek, at -Lambeth-street police of on.
his taking his seat on the bench. It appeared that the poor
fellow, after writhing in the utmost torture and agony, and to
be relieved from which be kept continually praying, died at a
quarter to ten o'clock on Wednesday night, and an inquest will
be held on his remains this evening.