The Sun.
London, England, 1841-11-20 00:00:00

PRICE 5d

of one of the Masters of Chancery.—(Cries of " Ques-
tion, question.") He was speaking to the question.
The question was, whether Mr. Freshfield had 'been
properly appointed as Solicitor to the Company.—
(Hear, hear, hear.) He had got up to speak on that
question, and when he did he was met by a laugh.—
(Laughter.) It was a true saying, that one fool made
many.—(Great laughter.) He thought Mr. Freshfield,
being the confidential solicitor of Mr. 11. Palmer, one of
the Directors of the Company, was not a proper person
to be the Solicitor of the Company. That was the ob-
jection, and the only one he had, to Mr. Freshfield.
Mr. WrimuNsoN felt glad this objection had been
made by the party by whom it had been, as it showed
most clearly that the shoe pinched in the proper place.
The CHAIRMAN then put the resolution to the meeting,
and upon a show of hands declared it to be negatived.
Major RICHARDSON, in proposing a resolution; to
the effect that the annual allowance to the Directors
should be discontinued, observed, that the strictest eco-
nomy ought to be enforced by the Company, as there
could be no doubt the concern was insolvent. It was
losing money every day, and during the last half year
there had been a loss of no less than 14,0001.
Mr. JONES seconded the resolution.

The CLIAIRMAN, in putting the resolution .to the
meeting, would ask the Proprietors, whether it was right
fir the meeting to permit one of the Proprietors to talk of
the insolvency of the Company ? As for the salaries
to the Directors, he was sure to some of them it was no
consideration, and, for himself, he cared not for it.
He should have resigned his situation in the Direction
ten years ago had it not been for the hope that he might
be able to benefit the concern. With respect, how-
ever, to the Directors, who were obliged to attend daily,
he thought their salaries: ought to be continued.
With respect to those gentlemen he would only say,
that he congratulated the Company in having such
faithful servants. There was another gentleman to
whom he _must. _ whose services ought to be highly
appreciated by the Companyi he* to Mr. Wilson,
who had done -more for' the Cotn ;) y than any- other
person, and that, too, at a most inadequate remunera-
tion.—(bear, hear.) He was sure that no resolution
like the present ought to be entertained with respect to
him and the other gentlemen he had alluded to. As to him-
self, and some of the other Directors, they would gladly
give up their salaries. The worthy Chairman then put
the resolution to the meeting, and upon a show of
hands declared it to be negatived.
Mr. WILKINSON moved that the meeting should ad-
journ, as its time had been occupied in a most useless
manner.

The motion having been seconded, the meeting im.
mediately broke up.

MONEY and COMMERCIAL NEWS,

FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.

POST.—The pressure upon the Money Market
noticed yesterday bas not diminished. At the Stock
Exchange, indeed, it was felt with increased severity,
loans, in very special cases, having been made for
short periods at an inordinate interest on the security
of Consols. The rates generally given were from 6to
8 per cent.

It was again reported that the Bank of England had
come to the determination of raisiag its discounts to
6 per cent., and that a notice to that effect might
ba expected to make its appearance alter the breaking
up of the meeting of the Directors, this being the
weekly board day. As we ventured to anticipate
yesterday, however, the rate payable for some time
past was left unaltered. Goods are just now ex-
traordinarily cheap, and there is so ample a supply
of treasure in the country, that the Bank, in its pre-
sent position, would unnecessarily excite distrust by
running counter to the general wish of the mer-
cantile interest, which seems to be rather in favour
of an extension of the Rote circulation, if any change be
made at all. Business is in a dull state, more so in
fact, than is usual even for the season of the year.
Private credit has been notoriously damaged by the
prifligate Exchequer bill transactions which the last two
or three weeks have served to expose to the public
view. The signatures of all documents representing a
money value are, for the moment, scrutinised with great
suspicion, the ordinary bill of exchange, dock warrants,
and other like transferable instruments seeming to re-
quire verification before any pecuniary dealings can be
safely founded upon them, quite as much as Exchequer
bills. Confidence is expected to be in a great measure
restored when the extent of the late frauds shall come
to be ascertained and the parties concerned in them
placed beyond the reach of doing further mischief, but
not before.

It is thought that the Committee of the Stock Ex-
change were bound, when, a few days since, they for-
bade two leading dealers in spurious Exchequer bills to
do business in the house, to pro..cribe the whole of
the parties together.
More forgeries are said to have been discovered, but
we do not hear of what. If it be true, as was rumoured
during the day, that Smith will be admitted by the law
officers of the Crown as Queen's evidence upon the
ensuing trial, it is to be presumed that an extraordinary
mass of delinquency will be at once brought to light.
It appears to us highly desirable that, now that the
public mind is so much agitated upon the question of
forgeries, every possible effort should be made to pre-
vent a recurrence of the evil arising from the operations
of gamblers and swindlers. This can be done only by
breaking up the whole connection of them, and no in-
crease of the general derangement of the Money Mar-
ket is to be feared from the attempt, whereas every-
thing may be apprehended from a slurring over of the
air& r.
HERALD—The Stock Market was taken aback
to-day by some ehnsiderable money sales of Reduced
Three per Cents. and Consols. The sales were not
understood to be for speculative account, but some con-
siderable portion of them at least in consequence of a
demise, and the realisation of effects to order of lega-
tees. These sales might amount in the whole to some
150,0001. In view of so large a mass of values so sud-
denly thrown on the market, it is surprising perhaps
that the effect on prices should be so inconsiderable as
not to exceed in fact a decline of per cent. from the
closing prices of last evening.
It may be mentioned now with some degree of cer-
tainty that Beaumont Smith, the clerk of the Exche-
quer Bill-office now in prison, is to be admitted as ap-
prover in the Exchequer fraud, and it is confidently
stated that his evidence will implicate various parties,
of high respectability even, not yet named and still at
large, but who, it is asserted, are to be taken into cus-
tody for examination if not committal forthwith. This
extraordinary fraud, as was believed from the first, will
prove therefore to have had much more extensive rami-
fications than superfic;ally there were indications of. It
is not necessary to go into more particulars for the pre-
sent, or to allude to names which are freely spoken of
in connection with the nefarious transactions now
before the public. Another day or two must make
considerable progress in, bringing more of the business
to light.
In the meantime it would be improper to allude
to reports current in certain quarters of the City
touching the discovery of forged bills of exchange
to some extent being in circulation, of which, however,
no particular details were given, or would perhaps
transpire. For it is necessary to state, and it is indeed
a matter of public notoriety, that commercial forgeries
have become of very frequent occurrence, and of almost
daily detection of late years, although the records of
Police Courts or of the Old Bailey might be searched
in vain for evidence of the fact to the extent known to
exist, or of more ;than here and there an isolated and
occasional case. The reason of course is, that the
crime is compounded for between the parties, either by
payment or security in full of the forged bill, or such
proportion as by himself and friends the guilty Patty
may only be able to raise. These facts are stated, leav-
ing to others the investigation of the causes which lead
to such consequences.

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM TIIE DAILY PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
GLOBE.—When, to bolster up a vicious and in-
creasingly injurious system, whether of political economy
or of public morals, it becomes necessary for its advo-
cates to rack invention for new fallacies in its support, it
is not to be wondered at if they occasionally overleap
the bounds of ordinary discretion, and by presum-
ing tco largely on the extent of the credulity
of their dupes, create in them a salutary suspicion of
the system itself, and of the sincerity of those who
have recourse to such means to uphold it in public
opinion. Something like this will, we think, result
from the insidious efforts of the Post, in an article
specially addressed to " the aristocracy and gentry," in
its columns of to-day. The object of the article is
two-fold—the first, to persuade these generally too-
easily convinced persons, that the daily and hourly
increase of deep and devastating distress among the
operative manufacturers and artisans in the various
trades, is attributable to causes perfectly unconnected
with the restrictive commercial system, which isuap upheld
for
that for the interest of the landowners—the second, t
would be con-
sufferers from this system of monopoly
tent to endure the privations and sufferings,
"the com-
prospective, which it inflict:, were it
hnotbf
arpesent and
diabolical
com-
ment on public affairs put forth by those
miscreants,' as the Post pleases
who differ from its views on the
their and who
thus call public attention tom Cto
Corn -laws, Ipracticals' results.
of monopoly in food
Satisfied that the existing
is the source of much obf:Ytlsiteedemoralisation, penury,
thoalain unexampled extent,
and absolute want, which,
proceed in the course
overspreads the country,
of duty which reas.onn, religion, and humanity alike
prescribe and sanction. If perseverance in what we
important public duty, rendered
believe to
be an
by the peculiar circumstances of the
doubly imperative V • reproaches of
times, subject us to the vi ourCon-
temporary,we determine to become viler still.