The Sun.
London, England, 1825-01-11 00:00:00

[NEW TIMES.]_

The private advices received yesterday from
Paris are not of much interest. The Rentes had
experienced some slight variations, and finally
closed on Saturday at 103 f. 10c. to 15c. for the
Accou►►t. Consols continued during the whole
of yesterday at 95i8, with little variation. The
mania for speculating in foreign and other new
schemes appears to be rather increasing than
diminishing ; the spirit for embarking in these
projects was yesterday carried to a greater length
than ever; and the fluctuations exceeded in ex-
tent any thing before witnessed. In some of
these shares a rise of more than 50 per Cent.
took place ! It is a fact, perhaps, worthy of re-
mark, that the chief alteration has taken place in
the shares of those Companies whose scene of in-
tended operations is far remote ; whilst plans of
domestic utility continue comparatively neglected.
The following will shew the extent of the
variations yesterday :—Anglo Mexican Mining
Shares 110 to 160, a►►d closed at 135—United
Mining Shares from 100 to 135—Colombian
Mines from 64 to 85, and closed at 76—Rio de
la Plata Shares to nearly the same extent—Con-
tinental Gas Shares 12 premium.—The success
attending these Companies has naturally give❑
rise to numerous new projects ; so that those who
feel disposed will find little difficulty in supply-
ing their wants. Amongst them all, the Real del
Monte Shares take the lead in point of amount ;
4001. Shares, on which only 701. has been paid,
are said to have been purchased at 1,300 guineas.

LMORNING HERALD.]
We have recently seen a French translation
of the " Correspondence of Lord Byron"
(against the publication of which in this country
an injunction was granted by the Lord Chancel-
lor), with several letters of the late Mr. Dallas,
who had originally prepared this Correspondence
for the press. As to the letters of Lord Byron,
they convey resistless proofs of his being a per-
son of kind feelings ; much and very excusable
pride in the consciousness of his talents, and a
consideraWe share of misanthropy, perfectly un-
affected, arid easily accounted for. There is in
them tenderness to his mother, affection for his
friends, and k `illness to his servants. As to their
literary merit the style is light and easy, and
the general tot; 'of observation,such as might be
written by a pi son who never produced any
thing above the " Hours of Idleness." With
respect to Mr. B Has, his own letters,—and the
very act of publit lion—prove what, indeed, his
novels had prove& already—that he was in every
sense a mere author. But to come to the sup-
pression by the Chancellor—his injunction is
nugatory whilst we have peace with France, not
only in this case, but in the case of all prose or
easily translateable works. The facility of in-
tercouse and the literary communion between
both countries, materially affects literary property
in France as well as England—and perhaps more
—for but few French read English, whilst every
body in England reads French. There are two
curiously similar examples :—in this country, that
of the Letters of Lord Byron, which on their
suppression here, are instantly turned into French,
brought out at Paris, and then admitted in their
gallic dress ; in Path, the sons of Fondle de-
manded the suppressiost of Memoirs of Himself,
real or pretended, by their father, and the tribu-
nals have acceded. What is the consequence :

They are or will be published in London, and
thus as effectually circulated—for they cannot
be kept even out of France. One thing is ob-
vious, that the suppression of Lord Byron's Letters
was a matter of pounds, shillings, and pence—
like the publication—for they tend most de-
cidedly to set his character in a favourable light,
and vindicate him from much prejudice and
calumny.

[Bumf' ',fuss.]
Yesterday was a day memorable on the Stock
Exchange. In the experience of its oldest mem-
ber, there was never such a rage for speculation,
as there was yesterday in the American Mining
Shares. To draw any proper comparison it would
be necessary to go back to the history of the
South Sea bubble. Though no one of the mining
projects may be as wild and extravagant as tbat
celebrated, and we hope not altogether forgotten,
instance of public delusion ; yet, contrasting the
whole amount of the present excitement of
the public mind with the grounds on which
expectation has been raised, we really can-
not see much difference between what is
now passing before our eyes and what occurred
a century ago. It is notorious that mining,
generally, is the most uncertain pursuit in which
capital can be invested. It is a ruinous lottery,
in which the occasional magnitude of the prizes
does not compensate for the losses sustaiued by
those who draw blanks. In gold and silver
mines the uncertainty is still greater. Nature
yields the superior ores with a niggardly and re-
luctant hand ; and therefore, indeed, it is that
they are precious. Could they be obtained as
easily and abundantly as the speculators of the
present day seem to suppose, they would no
longer possess the value which now belongs to
them. But, there is a charm in the name of the
precious metals which has always infatuated man-
kind. Every one laughs freely at the fable of El
Dorado,while the sanity of a purchaser of theßeal
delMonteShares at 1,1251. the price actually given
yesterday for a 4001. share, on which only7o/. have
yet been paid, is never suspected. The most
extraordinary fact connected with these mining
speculations is, that very little, if any thing, is
known respecting the probable success of any of
them. All is its that happy state of " glorious
uncertainty" in which the attornies on each side
delight to see a well-balanced case, at the moment
it goes before the Court for trial. It seems to
be agreed that all these mining projects shall be
follunate. If the ordinary exercise of our reason
were not enough to convince us of the absurdity of
this expectation, we happen to know some facts
which at least will prevent us from sustaining the
future mortification of repenting at leisure over
our losses, the folly of having suffered ourselves to
be carried away by the current of popular delu-
sion. About ten or twelve years ago a respect-
able house in the City sent out machinery, and
expended altogether about 100,000/. in working,
some of these mines supposed to abound in inex-
haustible riches, easy of obtainment. After ac-
quiring some experience in this pursuit, they
judged it wise to abandon it, their returns
being only just as much as their expendi-
ture, and the machinery has been left on th
spot to perish. Yet, in spite of all the pre-
cautions common sense would dictate, in contempt
of every former result of similar speculations,
and in utter indifference even to the knowledge
that may be acquired by a little patience, we
see thousands of individuals pressing forward to
embark in these doubtful and distant enterprises.
Four new Mining Companies were yesterday an-
nounced to be forming, two more for Mexico, one
for Peru, and one for Chili. We have little hope
that the Press can, to any considerable extent,
restrain the enthusiasm which seems, and we
trust is, at its height. But there are some to
whom the voice of reason is never addressed in
vain. They will benefit by the admonition, and
they may save the friends who confide in them
from the fascinating danger to which they are
exposed. Looking at the usual fluctuations
in Public Stocks, it must sound incredible
in the ears of some of our readers, that
the Shares of the American Mining Compa-
nies yesterday varied 30 per cent. and upwards in
the course of the day, there being no known rea-
son why any change should have taken place.
The Real del Monte Shares, for example, closed
on Saturday at 1,0001., and yesterday the sum
commonly asked for them was 1,500/. ! Was there
any advance greater than this in the progress of
the South Sea or Mississipi scheme ? It is im-
possible that all these projects can succeed to
the extent requisite to make the investment of
capital in them profitable at the present prices
of shares. Some of them will fail completely,
and the unfortunate speculators will be awaked
from their dream of boundless wealth, only to
weep over the wreck of their fortunes.