The Sun.
London, England, 1837-05-19 00:00:00

" MAY I....—THE MONEY-MARKET.—The packet sails
to-day, but will not convey to Europe any more favourable
accounts of the state of the money-market than were sent
out by the packet of the 24th. The arrival of the George
Washington inspired a better feeling for two days, but we
are sorry to say that on Saturday, although stocks ad-
vanced a trifle, the general despondency which previously
prevailed has not been removed. But very little was done
in foreign exchange, such is the general derangement at
prices varying from 10 to 13 per cent. The demand for
money has unquestionably lessened, but the difficulty of
obtaining it is as great, and the rate of interest as high, as
at any previous period.
" In the meantime the number of mechanics and labourers
daily thrown out of employment is increasing, and the dis-
tress reaching those who are at least able to meet it. The
people aro gradually, but surely, awakening to the convic-
tion that they have madly been sustaining a party which
now derides their sufferings and laughs at their complaints ;
and when we do get through the embarrassments which
on every side environ us, there can be but little doubt that
the authors of all these evils will be made to feel that they
hare lost the power of doing further mischief. They will
be serpents still, but public opinion and the representatives
of the people leaning to that opinion will deprive them
of their fangs.
" The arrival of the packet of the Ist of April is looked
for with anxiety. She has been due some days, and our
friends in England may judge somewhat of the complexion
of the next news from this country by their knowledge of
the nature of the accounts which she will bring us. If she
does not bring hack any large amount of protested bills, and
if she confirms the information that the great American
houses in London have all been carried safely through,
then are we safe in saying that they have beard the worst
from this side of the Atlantic. But if, on the contrary,
any large amount of bills should be returned, and the Ame-
rican houses. still be in danger, time alone can develope
the consequences.
" CITY NEWS. .

" SUNDAY NlGHT.—Saturday went off without any
failures of importance, so far as we have heard, or any ex-
traordinary alarm, and there were no movements in the
streets which demand publication.
" If the merchants, and ethers cominr, from the west, to
purchase goods, or to make other use of funds in this city
were to bring with them specie instead of draughts, or un•
current money, they would counteract the unnatural ope-
rations of the Treasury circular, and thus save, themselves
from insecurity and expense, and in the end do much to-
wards relieving the embarrassments of the whole country.
" The news from the South and South-West is no more
cheering. A public meeting in Mobile has been called for
the assembly of the Alabama Legislature to deliberate
upon the timer. There is, it is clear, about to be much alarm
upon money matters in Tennessee. The pressure is reach-
icg St. Louis (Mobile), but the people arc anticipating re-
lief from the new 5,000,000 bank !
" Much anxiety is expressed in various parts of the
country about the crops. The present warm weather will
soon dispel the anxiety that seems to be felt.
" The New York call for public meetings in the cities
of the Union meets with favour so far on all sides, and has
already been responded to in Philadelphia and Newark
(New Jersey.)
" To-morrow, being May-day, is the great moving day
of the city, when a large portion of the population changes
places of residence. The rain falling in torrents the hour
we write this, the prospect is rather a sad one for such as
have this work to do.

We are glad to find, from a conversation that took
place in the House of Commons left night, that the
state of the business, which has been universally fele
to be a grievance, is likely to meet wiJi the consequence
with which grievances felt by those who can cure them
are usually attended—an effort to find a remedy. Mr.
Roebuck, on the part of the Radicals—upon whom,
he alleged, imputations bad been cast of delaying the
business of the House—asked Lord John Russell
whether, if the Radicals abstained from moving any
questions, the Government would proceed de (lie in diem
with their measures ? Thus, supposing the Irish
Tithe Bill were introduced to-morrow, would the Go-
vernment, day after day, take that measure, until it had
passed through all its stages, and then proceed in like
manner with others ? Lord John Russell expressed
his great willingness to adopt the plan of the Ho-
nourable Member for Bath, if the House would
acquiesce in it ; but we must take leave to say that,
however desirable it is to proceed after a more re-
gular and efficient fashion, this is not exactly the
way to attain the object. There are some very
good reasons for marking the progress of a law by
stages ; of which we have been in the habit of consi-
dering the opportunity which they afford to the. coun-
try of rising against an oppressive and absurd mea-
sure, or of assisting the House by the more practical
suggestions of men conversant with the questions, as
not the least valuable. We think it pardonable on the
part either of a member of the Government, or of an
independent Member, that he has, notwithstanding
the most pains-taking investigations, been unable to
discover all the objections that may occur to the thou-
sands of persons engaged in sundry ways in the sub-
ject of his measure. It is not until a law assumes a
definite shape, and has some chance of beili,o, carried,
that people arouse themselves to obviate an unfavour-
able effect on their own interests. If Mr. Roebuck's
plan were adopted, a skilful Government, with a ma-
jority on its side for a moment, might pass laws
of the most oppressive character ; and what, per-
haps, is scarcely of less importance, since it af-
fects matters of daily recurrence, measures might
he passed without provisions of the most obvious
necessity to the well working of them, and as " the
steam" must be again created, years elapse before au
attempt at amendment could be made. The rapid
passing of measures is a secondary purpose ; a good
law, complete in essential provisions as well as sound
in principle, is the first object, and this would not be
obtained by Mr. Roebuck's plan ; on the contrary, it
would deprive us of a principal protection against the
passing of a most inefficient one. The plan that ap-
pears to us to be necessary is something between that
in use and Mr. Roebuck's. We are aware that he al-
leges that the delay arises from the repetition of debate
on questions which have been discussed before. We
think that, on recurring to the proceedings of the pre-
sent session, he will find _but a small portion of the de-
lay and confusion of the business of the House attri-
butable to this cause. It is, however, a grievance
which can be subdued by the good sense of the House
alone. An obvious reform, such as might be adopted
without any extensive change, appears to us to be at
hand, in the plan that has been suggested recently in this
paper, of fixing certain determinate periods for the differ-
ent stages of each measure, so that every body mightknow,
with some degree of certainty, that it would be brought
forward at the appointed time. If such a scheme as
this were coupled with another plan, that of taking
measures in the latest stage before measures in the
earlier ones, on each order night, and if the House
were more careful in permitting the introduction of
Bills, we believe that as much would be effected as
could be reasonably hoped for, so long as the House
undertakes all measures, large and small, special and
ordinary, in principles and in detail, and will not
delegate any portion of its labours to select and re-
sponsible bodies, according to the practice which is
adopted both in France and America. In those
countries we believe that this practice is followed by
this excellent consequence, that, let any party talk as
much as he will, the bread and butter measures are
not thereby put in jeopardy, and those of other kinds,
which the House has resolved upon, are realized. We
would caution the House against a too hasty adop-
tion of any plan to weigh well the reasons of
the rules of practice that have ,obtained. hitherto
(and which we feel assured are not wholly
valueless, seeing that they have enabled worthy
oppositions to make head against unworthy Go-
vernments), and, haring caught the spirit of
of the advantage embodied in the existing rules, to en-
deavour to multiply the forces of the House by multi-
plying—not diminishing—that advantage. The plan
of Committees is the most prominent scheme ; it is
that, too, which all large bodies of persons select as by
instinct. Why not, then, adopt that plan, subjecting
the Committees to the same method, and order of pro-
ceeding through the same number of stages, as the
House has been bound to ? If Committees are ap-
pointed this will be necessary, that the House may
have full opportunity of observing what passes in
them ; but looking at the difficulty of engaging the
attention of six hundred persons on a single matter,
that that alone is a work of time, we should loudly
protest against the practice of proceeding de die in
diem, as involving this certain consequence, that the
laws would be more crude and imperfect than they are
now, and that measures would be smuggled through
at moments when the attention of Parliament had not
been awakened to their true character.—Morn.Chron.
The Times and the more honest Tory journals
continue to cite the Bridgewater election as a proof of
" rapid and decided re-action." The return of Mr.
Broadwood, by the corrupt constituency of that noto-
rious borough, is as much an evidence of " re-action,"
and no further, as .vas the sadden change in 1834 of
the Times from the advocacy of Reform to Toryism.
When honest electors achieve a genuine rc-action, as
in Rochdale and Warwick, returning Liberals as sub-
stitutes for Conservatives, the confident predictions of
the Times preceding the contests are succeeded by dis-
creet silence. In such cases as Huddersfield, after fo-
menting every popular prejudice in vain, our re-acting
Contemporary misrepresents the causes of the success,
and insists that Conservatism has experienced no loss.
A foul contest in Westminster, where an apostate, with-
out parallel in political history, by paralysing many
old idolators, ;and by the gross mismanagement of his
opponents, temporarily succeeds, affords, on the other
hand, ample means of taunt and triumph. We think,
however, the selection of Bridgewater peculiarly un-
fortunate for the cuckoo note of " re-action." This
notorious little borough, created by King John, hes
for centuries wallowed in political corruption. One
of its former patrons was the famous Bubb Dod-
dington ; and, previous to the Reform Act of 1832, a
self-elect and abandoned corporate body bartered the
representation for the patronage of the East India
Company. The local character of the old consti-
tuency in 1816—a profligate body of 16or hundred
voters—is thus given in Oldfield :—" The contests in
this borough have been productive of the grossest bri-
bery. We have heard one elector boast of selling his
pig for a hundred guineas, and being allowed to eat it
himself ; another that he has sold his parrot for the
same sum, but the candidate never claimed his pur-
chase. Sums of three, four, and five hundred guineas
have been given for single votes." Bribery, therefore,
is indigenous in this degraded borough, the habit of
election has always been that of barefaced venality. In
1832, for the first time, the Liberals succeeded in re-
turning two representatives, Mr. Tynte and Mr. Tay-
leure, without a contest, we believe on a coostituency
of 484. On Ole Peel dissolution of 1831, the poll
was as follows :
Trete ...................................... 234
Leader
Broadwood
Martin • 162
At this contest the constituencey was 429, The re-
cent poll was—
Broadwood
Sheridan
The electoral body is now about 558, it being noto-
rious in Somersetshire, that, since the contest of 1834,
a hundred individuals have qualified, on the attraction
of the bribes distributed at the preceding election, for
the avowed purpose of selling their franchise. Under
these circumstances Mr. Sheridan became a candidate ;
and declining to resort to corrupt practices, he was de-
feated, notwithstanding that he polled more honest
votes than any former candidate. The Times asks,