The Sun.
London, England, 1825-11-28 00:00:00

[TILE TIMES.]

On Saturday last a committee of subscribers to
Mrs. Belzoni's fund assembled at her Exhibition-
rooms in Leicester-square, and the meeting was
respectably attended. In the absence of Laird
Lansdown, who is now on the Continent, an ap-
propriate chairman was found in Major Denham,
who not long since returned in safety, to. his
country from an expedition into the interior of
Africa, analogous in its difficulties, its dangers,
and its objects, to that in which poor Belzosi
perished. Several resolutions were passed- at
this meeting in furtherance of the subscription,
and in explanation of its.twofold purpose—namely,
Mrs. Belzoni's relief from debt, and the no less
desirable one of her future maintenance. It will
give satisfaction to the public to learn, that
from an account produced by Mr. Samuel
Briggs,—a gentleman whose benevolent feelings
and noble munificence, manifested for many years
both to Belzoni and his widow, will be their own
best reward,—no part of Mrs. Belzoni's misfor-
tunes has arisen from wilful extravance or unbe-
coming carelessness as to money. The most sa-
cred duties of her position entailed upon her the
endeavour to guard Belzoni's property, consisting
of his collections, and representations of antiqui-
ties, from the risk of being dispersed, and thus,
the best evidence of his labours and services
obliterated ; nor was it natural for her to fore-
' see the bad success of an experiment upon
the public taste, in its very nature costly, to
which she was impelled by such overruling motives
of tenderness and piety towards her lost hus-
band.—Oue fact relatiug to Mrs. Belzoni's
.situ-
ation requires to be explained. It has been
stated that Mr. Soane was the purchalter of, the
far-famed alabaster sarcophagus, for 2,0064
every 'hailing of which money went to Mr.
Salt's agent. This is really the case, and under
the following circumstances—which prove how
ill-qualified poor Belzoni was to make a profit-
able bargain for himself. When employed-in
some of his Egyptian researches, Belzoni was
furnished with pecuniary means by Mr. Salt,
and agreed in consequence, that there should,
to a certain extent, be established between
them the relation of principal and agent.:—
The sarcophagus, the grand ornament orthat
wonderful tomb, detected with such extraor-
dinary sagacity, and imitated with so much mi-
nuteness by our traveller, and at such enormous
expence, was removed, like the head of Memnon,
by his prsevering diligence and ingenuity ; but
then the funds had been supplied by Mr. Salt,
to whom a most liberal share of the right of own-
ership appears to have been conceded by Bel-
zoni, when he signed all agreement, that if the
sarcophagus should fetch only two thousand
pounds in the British market, the whole of that
sum should belong to Mr. Salt; but that if a
higher price could be procured for it, Belzoni,
without whose aid the tomb could not have
been discovered, nor the sarcophagus (any more
than the Memnon), brought away, might claim
a moiety of the surplus. The sarcophagus,
then, has been sold for just that sum, which ex-
cluded Mrs. Belzoni from all title to a participa-
i tion of the profit,. It seemed to be the sense of
the Committee on Saturday, that the progress:of
the subscription should be encouraged to the
utmost, by the strenuous efforts of the existing
subscribers with their friends and the publiic
generally ; and we add our own cordial and
earnest recommendation, in favour of a memory
so renowned among travellers as Belzoni's, :and
II of a living object so worthy, so destitute, and
interesting as his widow.

[MORNING CIIRO.NICLE.j

We are now paying the penalty of the late ex-
travagant speculations of all sorts into which the
country rushed with so much eagerness. There
is at this time an universal want of confi-
dence, and bankruptcy may be said to be
the order of day. ♦Ve yesterday heard a Com-
missioner of Bankrupt observe, that there had
been more Bankruptcies during the last two
months than during any six months of the period
he had held his situation, which had been eight
or nine years. The Hampshire Telegraph says,
that a list was hung up in the Coach-office•in
Portsmouth of thirteen Banks in Devonshire
which had failed. We see from the Papers
of the Manufacturing Districts of the North of
Ireland, that' all there is alarm and apprehen-
sion. We are not fond of playing th• part or
Job's comforters, but we confess we look
forwards to much greater distress than that

-which has yet been experienced. It is obvious
Ogg the effect of an alarm such as that. which
now prevails, is to put an end nearly -to 'all
credit, so that those who are under engagements
cannot find resources in accommodation to meet
tAtm. The markets become glutted from forced
sales of goods to meet deMands, and the
unwil-
linguess to speculate on the
-part of capitalists till
the struggle is over and things assume a settled
appearance. Itfis verY true, that if individuals
wbo have the means would act with liberality on
nach occasions as the present,, immense mischief
would be prevented; but men think only of them-
lelves in money matters, and in times of com-
mercial difficulty, are but too apt to think with
the monied man in Goldsmith, that those who are
in want of money when they borrow, are likely to
be in want of it when they ought to pay! We calcu-
late, then, on a general want of confidence till
the arduous trial is over, when those who have
been able to stand their ground, will, of course,
haie established themselves in the good opinion
of each other. Over-trading must always be fol-
lowed by depression. The depression in the
public funds and in the securities of foreign go-
vernments, is no doubt attributable to the exces-
Ole Sales, forced on by the general alarm and
want of confidence. It was foreseen by prudent
Persons, that when the charm of the different
Ittlining and other Joint Stock speculations was
'over, and that which had been purchased at a
high value came to be sold at a trifle, and the
.losses came to be made good, a period of dread-
fill embarrassment would occur.

[NEW TIMES.]
The Times has been forced to recant its shame-
ful attacks on the Bank of England. Thus it
expressed itself on Wednesday—
" It is said that a degree of difficulty exits in obtaining earn-
xnercial.discounts -which has not been equalled.for ,several years
Bast—that the immediate cause is the extreme caution of the
ank of England; who, seeing adecline of the Exchanges, are
apprehensive of a fresh exportation of gold; and therefore con-
tract the issue of their Bank notes with more timidity than per-
haps the real urgency of the case demands." .
But on Saturday its tone was wonderfully
changed— .•
" In reducing the amount of discounts of late by the Bank, a
mode of 'proceeding has been adopted which shows a laudable
anxiety to prevent the credit of individuals from being affected
by it. Those houses have principally been selected for reduc-
tion whose character places them beyond the reach of suspicion,
so that the refusal could not possibly cause any stigma to at-
tach, while the general supply of discounts to the commercial
world has been nearly as liberal as ever ! ! !" -
This is vastly like eating one's words. On Wed-
nesday the Bank contract their issues with ex-
treme caution and timidity. On Saturday they
are nearly as liberal as ever ! And' yet after this
there rill be blockheads who will pin their faith
on the Times ! Still the " Leading Journal" has
something more to unsay. We refer to our Sa-
turday's article, and re-assert that the discounts
of the Bank are not merely nearly as liberal, but
quite as liberal as ever.