The Sun.
London, England, 1854-06-17 00:00:00

effectually put down in all directions—in Epi-
rus, in Thessal;-, an,l M•lcalonitt.
marvellously gratifying, to be sure, to observe
that the cards played so long with such consum-
mate skill by Mr. WYSE, her Britannic MAJESTY'S
Representative, and by his faithful colleague,
Baron ROUEN, are at length, in consequence of
their skilful playing, entirely in the hands of those
eminent masters of diplomacy—insomuch that the
old Ministry has been replaced by a new one, in-
cluding amongst its members KALERGr, one of
the more distinguished generals of the Revo-
lution, and ARGYROPOULOS, the learned and liberal
Rector of the University, and having at its head
the able and excellent MAVRACORDATO, renowned
as the MAVRACORDATO of Missolonghi ! But —O
these " buts"—can it be seriously expected
that Sing OTno will be faithful, longer
than he can help, to his avowed submission
to the interference authorised by the Western
Governments ? Let the French troops recently
landed at the Piraeus be withdrawn—and how
long, think you, would OTHo and AVELIA
remain faithful to their new engagements ?
There is treason still at the heart of that Court at
Athens—faithlessness under that mask of affected
submission. Treason and faithlessness that only
wait for their opportunity.

A respected correspondent, who well merits the
designation "Common Sense," under which he
writes, alluded in a very able letter which ap-
peared in our impression of yesterday to " the
immense sums of unclaimed money" remaining in
the hands of the old banking companies in the
United Kingdom. It is well known that lost
or destroyed bank notes constitute a very impor-
tant item in the profits of the Bank of England.
We shall, for the present, limit our observations
on this point to the leviathan, but they are in
some respects applicable to every establishment
issuing its own notes. The full amount of gain
derived from this source is, however, known only
to the initiated, to those thoroughly acquainted
with " the secrets of the prison-house"—and
capable of examining the books and accounts relat-
ing to the paper issue of the establishment. We
may, however, safely assume that it must be very
considerable. If any person look merely to his
own experience, and call to mind the various
casualties that have occurred within his own know-
ledge, he may form some estimate as to the
amount of what may fairly be termed " the wear
and tear" of bank notes. The wear and tear of
the gold currency of the country is generally cal-
culated by the best judges at nearly 3 per cent.
on the entire circulation. Gold is, however,
liable to a reduction iu value through a loss of
weight, a danger from which notes aro exempted;
but, on the other hand, paper is far more easily
destroyed by fire, water, moth, or many other
matters, than a metallic currency. So that,
taking all the elements into consideration, the
loss on the one may be assumed to be
about equivalent to that on the other.
If that be so, the annual loss on the
bank-notes in the hands of the public,
assuming the amount in round terms at twenty
millions sterling, would be about SIX HUNDRED
THOUSAND POUNDS sterling per annum. If, how-
ever, as the data are vague and uncertain, we only
take it at half the amount, we find that there is
at least THREE HUNDRED THOUSAND POUNDS a-year
which is diverted from the Exchequer by the un-
'wise delegation of the power of issuing bank-notes,
and which, under a sounder system, in place of
enhancing the overgrown profits of a private Cor-
poration, would become available for the main-
tenance of the National Establishment and the
liquidation of the national liabilities.
But there is another point of view in which
the matter must be regarded—one no less relating
to the welfare and prosperity of the industrial com-
munity than the direct and positive loss of a
handsome source of revenue is to the overburdened
tax-payers. It is known that on the ease or
tightness of the money market, or, in other words,
on the amount of the circulating medium in ge-
neral use, depends the well-being of the working-
classes ; indeed, that circulating medium has been
happily termed the " very life-blood of industry."
One of the great and best-founded grounds of
complaint against the operation of the Act of
1844 was, that it limited, by an arbitrary rule,
the amount of paper that could by any possibility
come to the aid of trade, commerce, or manufac-
ture. Every bank note issued beyond some
twenty-two millions sterling—fourteen millions
for the Bank of England, and something
rsore than eight millions for other Joint
Stock and Private banks—must have a cor-
responding amount of bullion deposited in the
Bank coffers. No matter how great may
be the increase of population, or of business, or
of taxation, no expansion was allowed in the re-
presentative measures of value. Should that po-
pulation be doubled or even quadrupled—should
our trade and commerce increase in a still greater
ratio—there could be no addition to the circula-
tion ; which, although ample in 1844, might be
totally inadequate to the wants of the people in
1854, and still more so in 1864. This palpable
deficiency has been frequently exposed, but it by
no means goes to the full extent of the grievance.
There are other matters of still greater import-
ance remaining behind.

It is not merely that the Act of 1844 forbids
any expansion of the currency to supply the in-
creasing wants of the community; but it goes fur-
ther—it provides for its gradual but steady dimi-
nution. We are enabled to know positively that
there has been a diminution of 700,0001. owing
to the failure of private banks, or to the agree-
ments entered into with the Bank of England by
the proprietors to withdraw their own notes, and
substitute those of the Old Lady. This grievance
was admitted by the Times, even before its
quarrel with the Directors, and when it was the
most enthusiastic advocate of the Bank Charter.
But nothing has ever been said of the withdrawal
of a much larger amount, namely, that repre-
sented by the lost or destroyed bank notes, which
during the ten years since the passing of the Act—
to say nothing of the 150 years which had pre-
viously elapsed since the establishment of the
Corporation in 1692—must amount to several
millions sterling ! "This," as the Times might
say, "This amount has created a vacany which has
been filled up with gold, that might otherwise have
been employed for foreign, paymea3." And it was
unquestionably " a circumstance which was not
intended, and which should be remedied forthwith !"
It may be said that we have exaggerated the
amount. We believe, on the contrary, that we
have underrated it. It is easy, however, for the
Bank to show the error, if there be one. From
what we know on unquestionable evidence of the
very illiberal conduct of the Bank, in reference to
lost notes—from the stringent nature of the evi-
dence demanded, and the vexatious delays in-
sisted on—no less than five years after notice of
loss, in the great majority of instances, and then
only with an unquestionable indemnity, we
are convinced that the amount—against which
gold must still' be deposited, although it never
can by any possibility be required—has a very
perceptible influence on the national currency.
Some step should be taken before the prorogation
of Parliament to remedy these crying evils, and
ttpohaeypi
nreg
millionsv ce on
mt
expensesm the heavy burden entailed on the tax-
paying
of
the unity,
the y,by being called on to meet all
war, after paying off no less
eight
dered more intolerableebli from d
public debt, fefiroeina e
nbeeyi nogf rteini e-
la
annualt ing m e
c w
dci 1
' r and tear" We
of b
believe thatank
the
noteseffectson
the
I ocfi
circulating
the
operation of the Bank Charter Act are well
worthy the attention of currency reformers, and
of every independent member who does not wish
to sacrifice the creators and producers of national
wealth to the cupidity of the moneyocracy.

The Duchess of Inverness has issued invitations for a
grand soiree dansante, to meet their Royal Highnesses
the Duchess of Cambridge and the Princess Mary.
The Earl of Ellesmere entertained a distinguished
circle of friends to dinner yesterday evening, at Bridge-
water House. The noble lord will hold a grand literary
soirée at Bridgewater House on Wednesday nest,