The Sun.
London, England, 1825-03-19 00:00:00

[fritrnsit PRESS.]

On the presentation of a petition last night
against n. new Milk Company, some observations
were made on• the numerous Joint Stock Asso-
ciations which. are daily soliciting the patronage
of • the public. Mr. Great:-11 called upon Go-
-siernment to- take some effectual steps to restrain
the formation of these Companies.. " The evil,"
he 'said., " was increasing from day to day, and
had reached to such a height as to make some
law with respect to' them necessary." Mr. Hns7
kisson, -however, in a more enlightened and.
SNatesmarilike• view of (he subject, expressed ,
his_ disinclination, to legislate .upon it. We per-1
fettly concur with the Right Honourable- Oen-
tfeman in the proPriety., of the course he re-
goinmends. No one knows better; or can more,
clearly prove, the importance of leaving the 1
trade of the country perfectly free and up--
shackled. • Our ancestors, in their anxiety to
prevent ail evil, attempted to provide against
every possible case of
,fraud or. negligence, and
they thus piled upon our commerce a heap of
restrictions, under which, but -for ' other causes
still more powerful in their operationi
try and prosperity of the island_must.have 'been
(..4usf!eit, and destroyed. Ali these restriction's
are now in a coarse of removal, and it is intended.
gradnalty to•-throw open to unlimited cornPetitiod
every branch of our trade' and 'manufactures.--L
But . while. 'all, parties concur in., praising the
tislOrni of .this policy, as they
.must. admit its
entire.. success as far as it has been 'reduced.
.•
to practice, we hear outcrtqs made against the
forspeculation," which leads individuals
to: combin.e their skill am/ capital. for the prose-
tiart.:4(:4ommerci3l',;,.%ifide r ta too vast for:
the ability or wealthy of any single person.

•
" Some law," we are told; " is necessary with
respect to them." But we have laws enough,
and severe ones too, against fraud, in whatever
shape it may be. applied to .the 'detriment of any
portiom'of the community. What law then can
'be " necessary to restrain these Companies ?"
It is-meaot..,that individuals who- may deal with
them should be saved by " some law"' from the
necessity of exercising any Vigilance to their deal-
ings ? We should in that case be returning into
the old path of legislative restrictions, which
we have, so much to our advantage, _abandoned.
All the statutes for the-regulation of trade repealed
during the last two Sessions, should be re-enact.;
ed : a fresh scale of penalties shiauld be fixed
against all careless butchers who damage their
own hides and skins ; the assize on bread should
-be restored, and the wages of the Spitalfields
weavers decided by magisterial authority. Ac-
cording to this theory of legislation, the. law
and its administrators would relieve all par-
ties from the labour and danger of thinking
-for themselves, and if it could be carried. to
perfection, a sort of Chinese immutability mil -ht
.be- given to all modes of employment and rates
-of remuneration. But if it be. judged .more
advisable to establish our commercial policy
on the basis of free competition, why should
.any limits be imposed on Joint Stock Asso-
ciations, excepting such as the prudence of
the associators themselves may suggest ? Gene-
rally speaking, in all undertakings whiCh can
be managed by a few individuals, Joint Stock
Companies cannot enter into successful compe-
tition with them. How shall the precise limits
be defined within which Joint Stock Companies
should, as matters of profit, be. confined ?—By
experiment only. If they endeavour to do
what individuals can do better, they will fail,
as- ndividuals themselves do who.cannot
stand the competition of other individuals. Much
private loss is occasioned by the excess to which
individual competition is sometimes carried ; but
whoever dreamed,at least oflate, of calling for le-
gislative interference to prevent individuals from
underselling each other ?_ Nothing is more common
than for coach proprietors to contest a line of
road till all the competitors are ruined together.
Ought there then to be " some law " to fix. the
price of seats in stages like the fares of hackney-
coaches ? Nobody could listen gravely to such a
proposal. Not long ago two vendors of ham and
beef thought fit, for some reason best known to
themselves, to open shops in almost every part.
part of London against each other, and sell their
meat cooked for a price considerably lower than
it could be bought for in its undressed state.
The same practice happens every day with
linen-drapers and many other retail trades. 'Why
may it not be permitted to Joint Stock Com-
panies, till like individuals they learn wisdom,
and have recourse to more profitable pursuits ?
The pride or folly of individuals may induce
them to persevere in ruinous competition, but it
JOint Stock Companies, the principle of life is
profit, and as soon as it - becomes probable that.
the project will yield none, it will die without
another effort. We wish. those who talk so
freely of the 44 evil" of . Joint Stock Companies;
would take the trouble to point out in what the
evil" consists. " The public mind is greatly
agitated," SO--; Mr. Grenfeif. This is dreadful,
to be sure, but. till all the sources of hope and
tear are dried np, we believe, though Joint
Stock Companies should, be suppressed, this
evil" will continue while there is any.
ithing to .he desired. or apprehended.—" Some
of the projects are ridiculous and absurd."—
Be- it so ; still we say, leave it to the specu-
lators to discriminate for themselves,. If a Joint
Stock Company should choose to horse the road
from London to Edinburgh, and carry pasSen-
gers gratis, we see no reason why a "law " should
ire enacted to•check the folly. We suspect that
the shares of such an association would. soon de-
cline to a discount sufficient to warn the most
.footish against calculating
,upon the riches of a
-Mexican or Brazilian mine. The true policy of
.the Legislature as to all these speculations, '
reign and domestic, is to leave them to find their.
•Own- level in the market, and not to disturb the
'existing law, which is quite competent to do all
that ought to be done, viz. to repress and punish
fraud. We utterly despair of rendering men
wise by Act of Parliament.

[THE TIMES .1
The Question at the India. House was decided
yesterday, by a majority of nearly two to one—
we fear we may say against the Marquis of
Hastings, but at least against the absurd preten-
sions of his foolish friends. Who" brought the
transactions of the house of Palmer and Co. be-
fore the European public? Answer—The friends,
or pretended friends, of Lord Hastings. Then,
we say, he ought to detest and repel such friend-
ship to the latest moment of his life. The proceed-
ings at Hydrabad were unobsexved and unknown
in Ettgland; and by whom .have-they been dragged
into notice ?—By those who should have in-
verted the prayer of Ajax, and courted obscurity
as the only means of safety. Yet is the resolu-
tion' of the Directors and the majority of the Pro-
prietors humanely and cautiously expressed.
That resolution says, that there is no ground for
imputing corrupt motives to Lord Hastings ; but
at the same time it approves the dispatches by
-Wilich his Lordship was obliged to alter his con-
duct, and to withdraw the permission which,
irpon no pressing emergency, he had incautiously
granted to violate the, standing law of India. His
Lordship, the partners, known and unknown,.of
the house of Palmer an Co., and the members of
the Residency, ought to be most grateful for such
a resolution.

• LTHE PUBLIC LEDGER..]
The Papers are still cautious in their specula-
tions, as to• the object of Prince Metteraich's
Visit ;.atid, perhaps, there is no surer sign of its
importance, than this very circumspection. If it
had no public character, as the correspondent of
an Evening Paper affirms, the circumstance
would be blazoned forth at once ; whereas the
reserve that prevails, is a sure indication of the
intense interest which the subject has already ex-
,cited.- We Are moreover informed, that his ar-
rival was the immediate signal of extraordinary

----•~-" - F ~.-. -

bustle amongst the Members of the Diplomatic'
Body, particularly the Ministers of Russia, Prus-
sia, and Austria. On the very day the Prince
reached Parls,..the three had a long conference
with the French Minister of Foreign Affairs ;
from which it. may be inferred; that the Holy
Hance have made some demands an the French Go-
vernment, connected with the domestic affairs of
that country. This inference, plausible as it is,
still seems to us to be erroneous ; for France,
with her Ultra Cabinet, and with a majority of
that party in her Legislature, cannot be an eye•
sore, surely, to, the _League. In the mean time,
the reason that is given in a Morning Paper for
the journey of the Austrian Minister, is too
absurd to require serious refutation ; as if a de,
wand of a pecuniary nature could not be urged as
well through the ordinary channels of diplomacy,
as by means of an extraordinary mission. Our
own information on this subject, we still believe,
will be found to be accurate; namely, that the
affairs of Greece and Naples have led to animat-
ed discussions, in which the Austrian Court takes
a prominent part. We find, too, that the French
Funds have declined ; from which no argument,
we presume, will be adduced, in order to invali-
date our opinion. , _ .