The Sun.
London, England, 1849-12-26 00:00:00

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present object, we must be permitted; tot ' , Cs
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appeal to the complete restoration of offrlnorietary :. 'tstel-,,”' 5..)
stability as a signal example of that d'spid •i;:eeV r -:? t:',•'(;;,14"
of accumulation which can reteive, eit lintioKSleAt :"e;."::(
a time, the losses and disest-ers of a cril-. --&4\'ejsesel 1 :
....__l' .;' I
kr\4
by a very competent •ereihority a 3 ha .r:,1;-141.4-1'^-- \----•
‘• no parallel in our menetary history." 111r.4,114,Ei sietrOeT
call to mind the utter prostration and paralysis which,
only two brief years ago, seemed to have fallen upon
our commerce—at a time when all confidence was
lust, and daily failures kept the public in an agony of
suspense and terror—when the rate of interest on the
best private securities rose to 8 and 10 per cent., and
Exchequer-bills sunk to 375. discount—and when,
finally, under the pressure of this Epdalling conjunc-
ture, the reserve which the Bank of England held in
London dwindled down to 719,5231 e and public credit
was only saved from the extremity of peril by an
interposition of Executive power beyond the law—
when, we say, we reflect on these occurrences almost
of yesterday, and contrast them with the present re-
dundancy of capital, we may well ma: vel at the fecun-
dity and vitality of the resources of a country which
neither speculation nor famine, neither our caleinities
nor our follies, can, except for a short interval, repress.
So vast indeed is the poWer of the acccmulstieg
principle, and so rapid is that downward tendency
of profits which results from its operation,
that were it not for those commercial revulsions
which periodically sweep away large portions of the
surplus capital of the nation into the vortex of specu-
lation, it is the opinion of some eminent economists
that the rate of profit would, in no long time, actu-
ally attain its minimum, that all further augmenta-
tion of capital would then cease, and that the indus-
trial enterprise of the country would find itself
becalmed in that dead sea which is denominated "the
stationary state." But, however gratifying may he
the evidences, which the present state of the Money
Market affords, of the vigour and buoyancy of our
productive powers, it is impossible for those who heed
the lessons of past experience, to regard the climax of
monetary abundance which we have now reached
without some feelings of anxiety. Where is this pro-
digious influx of capital to end? and what are the
consequences to which it will lead us ? Have
we, indeed, nearly reached the end of our tether, and
are we heaping together wealth in order that it may
choke up every channel of profitable employment,
aid destroy us at last by a plethoric immobility ?
Or will the hoarded opulence of the country dis-
charge itself, as on former occasions, by some pre-
cipitate and rapid outlet, under the impulse of a
speculative mania and the temptation of profits no
longer to be realized in the sober pursuits of estab-
lished commerce ? It must be acknowledged that
those who would anticipate this latter issue from our
present predicament might adduce cogent historical
data for their conclusions. As a matter of fact, an
unusually low rate of interest has invariably been
the precursor of a season of wild speculative ex
citement, and, as a matter of reasoning, the pro-
cess by which this effect takes place is perfectly
natural and intelligible. No capitalist will con-
tentedly see his money lie inert and profitless ; and
in proportion as the tendency to such a state of things
becomes more decided, the m :re inclined does he feel
to lend a ready ear to projects which hold out, though
at the risk of loss, the hope of a higher rate of remu-
neration. The temptation increases as the scale if
cafe profits falls, until it becomes at length irresistible,
end speculation ensues. It is true that cur com-
mercial history abounds with warnings which might
be supposed sufficient to guard all sane-minded
persons against the dangers of these epidemical
delusions; but such is the power of cupidity to dis-
tort the human vision, that precelents, however apt
and striking, are trsetted with perfect disregard.
Distinctions are easily drawn to show that the lessons
of the past are not strictly in point, and, besides, those
lessons have probably not affected the same individuals ;
old experience, in such cases, makes little or no im-
preseion, except it be personal. And thus it hap-
pens that one mania closely follows the pattern
it another—whether it be fur mines, hanks, lotterif s,
railways, or foreign stocks, there is little difference—
ind a new race of schemers and victims follows

closely in the steps of those who only a few years
before walked before them in the same road to ruin.
The regularity of these disastrous epochs, and the
uniformity of the phenomena which precede and
follow them, have enabled a very sagacious observer
to reduce their alternations to a general law. "The
eistory of what we are in the habit of calling the
state of trade," says Mr. S. Jones Loyd, " is an ie
structive lesson. We find it subject to various con-
ditions which are periodically recurring. It revolves
apparently in an established cycle. First, we find it
in a state of quiescence, next improvement, growing
confidence, prosperity, excitement, over-trading, con•
vulsion, pressure, stagnation, distress, ending again in
quiescence." Exactly in accordance with the view
here taken, Sir R. Peel, in the great debate on the.
commercial crisis in November, 1847, proved histo-
rically, that at every period during the last sixty
years (upon whatever basis the currency might
happen to be placed), as often as the market rate of
interest declined below a :certain point, it was inva-
riably followed by inordinate speculation, succeeded
as a necessary consequence, by a commercial revul-
sion. He illustrated his position by the instances of
1784 and 1793, of 1810, 1826, 1836, and 1839—the
history of which periods, if re-written, ntutatis
mx-
tanths, might have served not inaptly for 1845.6.
Are we to conclude, then, that similar causes will
continue to produce similar effects ; or shall we con-
sole ourselves with the belief, that the punishment of
the last and still recent crisis was so much more
severe than those which have preceded it, that the
public will not, within a very short period, at least,
be carried away by a similar infatuation ? We would
fain indulge, if we may, the more favourable presump-
tion, and hope that if some vent must be found for
that surplus capital which is now pent up for want of
a profitable field, it may be directed, under sober
guidance, into sound and well explored channels, and
may be made to redound to the ultimate and sub-
stantial advantage of the community, and ao the
development of those latent sources of wealth Which
we have no need to seek for beyond the limits
of our country or its possessions. In the im-
provement and reclamation of our soil, in the
redemption of our agriculture, both here and in
Ireland, from the feeble and dispirited position
which it now occupies, pining after the protection
which has bighted it—in satisfying the demands and
realizing the capabilities of our immense colonial
deminiors—in these and similar undertakings, wemay
find both a secure and fertile outlet for our surplus
millions. Only against stock-jobbing projectors and
bubble companies—against South-American republics
and Pennsylvanian repudiators—against Utopian
mines and impossible railways—against charlatans
and swindlers—against 1 ludsens and Dousterswivels,
may we be wise enough to close both our ears and
our pockets, if we would not see an titter collapse,
and a new commercial reign of terror in 1851, succee
the monetary prosperity and redundant accumulations
of 1849.50.

THERE'S NO SUCH THING AS DEATH.'
(Frvm Eliza cook's Journal.)
" There's no such thing as death"
To those who think aright,
'Tis but the rlcer casting off
What most impedes his flight;
'Tis but ene lilac act,
Lift's drama must contain;
One struggle keener than the rest,
And then, an end of pain.
" There's no such thing as death"—
That which is thus miscalled,
Is lire escaping fr,m the chains
That have so long enthrslled;
'Tis a once hidden star,
Piercing the clouds of night,
To shine in gentle radiance forth,
Amidst its kindred light.
" There's no such thing as death"—
In nature, nothing dies;
From each sad remnant of decay
Some forms of life arise.
The fadvd leaf that falls
Ali sere and brown to earth,
Ere long will mingle with the shapes
Tht.t give the floweret birth.
" There's no such thing as death ;"
'Tis but the blossom-spray,
Sinking before the coming fruit,
That seeks the summer ray;
'Tis but the bud displaced,
As comes the perfect flower;
'Tis faith exchanged for sight,
And weariness for pow, r.

CHARLOTTE YOUNG.

CURISTMAS DAY AT THE MANSION-HOUSE.—TIIB
Lord Mayor provided, in true baronial style, a handsome)
dinner of Old English fare, together with turkeys, geese,
and all the luxuries of this festive season, for his
numerous domestics, their wives, families, and friends.
Upwards of 70 partook of his Lordship's hospitality in
one of the splendid banqueting halls, where there was
an unlimited supply of ale and wine. We believe that,
however justly the Mansion-house may be celebrated for
its feasting, such a display of good cheer has rare ly, if
ever, been witnessed within its ancient walls, and we
cannot but think Lis Lordship a thorough specimen of
the true Old English gentleman, who,
" While he feasted all the great,
Re ne'er forgot the small."
The festivities of the evening were kept up with great
spirit, and never was the noble liberality of the Lord -
Mayor more highly appreciated than by his grateful
servants on this happy occasion.
SERIOUS CASE OF ASSAULT.—On Thursday night,
a serious scuffle took place in a house in Stevenson's.
close, West Port, between a man named M‘Pherson and
his brother-in-I.w. It appears that after APPlaersou had
succeeded in throwing his brother-in-law down upon the
ground, he seized a sharp pointed knife, and was just in
the act of stabbing the individual whom he had pros-
trated, when his sister interfered, aad in running for-
ward to save her husband, received a severe wound in
the arm, from the eff,cts of which eho has since beer.
lying in a dangerous state in the Royal Infirmary.
• M`Pherson, who is a labourer, has been taken into cue-
way.—hscutsman.