The Sun.
London, England, 1841-12-23 00:00:00

MONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS. I
FROM THE MORNING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.
CHRONICLE.—The innocent holders of the
spurious Exchequer bills have not received much
consolation from the announcement that a Royal
Commission is to be issued to inquire into so
much of the manner in which the fraud of Smith
and Rapallo was perpetrated as may elicit infor
mation tending to secure the public against simi-
lar frauds in future. The inquiry which the
bona fide holders of the spurious paper call for is
into their own perfect honesty, and into the entire
freedom from suspicion with which they lent their
money on the bills deposited; into the perfect
impossibility also of their being able to distin-
guish genuine from fictitious. The test of the
counterfoils, resorted to by the Exchequer,shows
that the public could not possibly detect the spu.
rious paper, and that the Government adopted a
method ofdeciding on that point totally apart from
the signatures. If, however, the disposal of the
bills impounded at the Exchequer, to wait the
directions of the Lords of the Treasury, is to be
referred by their Lordships for the consideration
of Parliament, and the claims of the holders to
full compensation thus kept open and entire,
they could have no particular objection to an in-
quiry of the special character in course of pre-
paration. That inquiry, indeed, may be a very
proper one with the view of enabling the Govern-
ment to re-model the Exchequer bill depart-
ment, and to decide upon the best plan of issue
and management for the future. In that light
the prospective character of the proposed official
inquiry seems likely to be productive of beneficial
results. But if the inquiry possess not ample
retrospective powers—if its functions shall be
restricted to protection for the future, and
do not go to the very root of that extensive
fraud which has been committed in the past, it
cannot meet the exigences of the case.
It is, indeed, difficult to conceive how the mem-
bers of any court of inquiry that can be issued
to inquire into the means for the future preven-
tion of fraud can avoid directing their attention,
in the first place, into the whole facts and cir-
cumstances connected with the past commission
of it. The very guarded manner, however, in
which the subject is introduced to public notice
has excited suspicion that the plan of future in-
quiry has been resolved upon to act as a blind
against investigation of what has lately taken
place.. If the Commissioners, however, extend
their inquiries into the way in which Smith
passed the bills to Rapallo, and how the latter
conducted his operations in order to make them
the means of raising money, then the channel
would be entered that, if followed out and traced
through all its branches, turnings, and windings,
could not fail of eliciting the truth. Let full
inquiry be instituted, so as to bring the
whole truth to light, and then, but not
until then, the public will be satisfied. Justice
demands inquiry and investigation into thewhole
ramifications of the Smith and Rapallo conspi-
racy. The Government labour under complete
delusion if they imagine that by throwing out a
tub to the whale, in the shape of inquiry into
the means of preventing fraud for the future,
they can draw off public attention from insisting
that the whole mystery of the past shall be
brought to light.
Without entering again into the awkward
manner in which Rapallo was allowed to get
away, his admission as approver, or Queen's
evidence, after the law (eers of the Crown
must have been perfectly well aware that Smith
would plead guilty, and that no evidence would
be required against him, makes it plain to the
dullest capacity that there were reasons for the
blundering line of conduct pursued, which have
beenstudiously concealed. There are three sepa-
rate points involved:-Ist. Compensation to the
innocent holders; 2d. Discovery and punishment
of all the confederates of Smith and Rapallo;
and 3dly. Protection against similar frauds
in future. The Government, by their expected
commission, appear to have be.gurf at the. wrong
end, by taking up the third point before settling
the first and second. We doubt much, however,
whether they can arrive at any satisfactory opi-
nion on the third point, without instituting such
inquiry as must throw great light upon the se-
cond ; and by doing so clearly establish the jus-
tice of the first. No Jury would (Ave a verdict
in favour of the Crown against the holders, on
the plea of forgery, as tested by the counter-
foils. Such a plea, we imagine, is totally un-
known in our law courts as sufficient to establish
forgery. The Government officers declared a
large portion of the unfunded bills to be genuine,
when they compared them with reference to their
whole ex facie appearance. Printing, plate,
numbers, seals, signatures, and all were admitted
to be unexceptionable, and it was only on second
thoughts and after such admissions, that by the
mechanical process of testing by the counterfoils
they came to the conclusion of changing their
opinions and pronouncing those instruments to
be forged which they previously declared to be
genuine.
HERALD.—The article in this morning's He-
rald about the Exchequer-bill business has made
quite a sensation, and the remarks are in every
body's mouth. An Evening paper, however, ob-
serves that thd Herald should now speak out
about " the names" of the parties implicated.
Our Contemporary is too insidious. But in fact,
if speaking out is to be the order of the day,
there is another Morning Paper which should
he the first to.speak out, as it was the first to al-
lude to" two Noble Lords" implicated by report
in the bill transactions, before the rumour,
although known for days before, was noticed un-
this head, and a Marquis and Viscount noticed
by title as the parties pointed at.
It is right to notice that a meeting of the Com-
mittee of the Stock Exchange was held to-day,
and lasted a considerable time. It is understood
that the subject of discussion was this Exche-
quer bill affair, with a view to afford all the in-
formation possible for unravelling its compli-
cated frauds to the commission said to be ap-
pointed for the purpose of investigation by the
Government.
TIMES.—From facts that have recently trans-
pired, it appears that the failure of Mr. Howe, of
the Stock Exchange, which was announced' in
October, was occasioned by an order from a party
in Calais to make operations in Spanish Stock.
The principal it seems did not come forward in
due time, and therefore Mr. Howe was left lia-
ble for ie differences, which were very large.
Seme surprise is expressed at the non-appear-
anee of the annual "finance accounts" usually
laid before Parliament, and which are usually
published a few weeks after the close of the
session. That there must have been some con-
fusion in the department of the late Chancellor
of the Exchequer, through the time at which
the Ministry to which he belonged broke up,
and difficulty in the adoption by his successor
of such accounts as lie had to hand over to him,
may be readily imagined as a cause for some
delay, but cannot account for so long a procras7
tination. The hope, therefore, is that the time
has been spent in refOrming or altering the plan
of those accounts, without which they cannot be
of much use to members of Parliament, or repay
the trouble of investigating such a mass of figures.
The premiurn--ewrgold Paris is 6 per mille,
which, at the EicitliSh Mint price of 31. 17s. 10 d.
per ounce for 'standard gold; gives an exchange
of 2.5.- 30, 'and the exchange at Paris on London
at short being 275...471, it. follows that gold is
0. 70.11-er.cOnt, dearer in London than in Paris.
, -By advicesfrom Hamburgh the price of gold
mark, which, at the English Mint
price of 3/.175. 101 d. per ounce for standard gold,
Bides air
folaltnow bsu tflat gnOti
ell o
exchange of 13. 61, and the exchange at
Ldoinsdoo.nwapterslcleonrtt. bdeeianrwer
Lon-
don than in Hamburgh.
The course of exchange
at New York on Lon-
per cent., and the par of exchange
bdeotnwiesellAi England and America being 109 23-40
per cent., it follows that the exchange is 0. 18
England. But the quoted
epxecrhcaenngt.einatfaNN-oeulrvo f
y
ork, being for hills at 6')
days' sight, the interest must be added to the
above difference.

THE EXPEDITION To CHINA.
the three ships
carry out troops to China sailed ed from Ply-
On Monday morning, at seven o'clock
~nope grant,
appointed to
mouth with a fair wind. The Belleisle conveys
General Lord Saltoun, with his staff ; Capt. s Major-
9th Lancers, as Brigade-Major; and Capt.
3d Buffs, late of the 60th Rifles, as Aide.d.cnaY:gliame,
the 98th regiment, commanded by Colonel CampiTell, and
a detachment of artillery. Detachments of the 49th, atul
some smaller detachments, go by the Apollo and the
Sapphire. The troops on board the Apollo are under the
command of Colonel Bartley, of the 49th, and those in the
Sapphire, of Major Pasley, of the same regiment. The
artillery are under the orders of Capt. Greenwood.
Mr. Rosdew Little, of the Madras Artillery, who has
already been in China, has a passage on board the Bel-
leisle ; and a young son of Mr. F. Grant, the celebrated
painter, goes out in the same ship as a first-class
volunteer.

The Hon. Wm. Fraser, only brother of Lord Sal-
toun, remained at Plymouth with the Noble and Gallant
Lord until the sailing of the expedition, and then re-
turned to town on his way to the Highlands.

THE ST. HELEN'S MURDER.—A reward of
not is offered to any person who will give such infor-
mation as shall lead to the apprehension and conviction
of the murderers of Mr. Grayson, of nainford, who was
recently found dead near Denton-green, St. Helen's; 50/.
by her Majesty's Government, 501. by the personal re-
presentatives of the deceased, and 50/. by the Earl of
Derby. Her Majenty's pardon is also held out to any
one giving the information, not being the person who,
actually-coiturtittectthc murder.