The Sun.
London, England, 1847-11-23 00:00:00

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Ragged Schools or Industrizil Institutions. As yet
the Sanitary Commissioners must continue compara-
tively inactive ; and the Education Committee prove
comparatively a sinecure. These extraordinary mea-
sures of reform are however only in abeyance. The
Administration is pledged to their introduction. The
Prime Minister has more than once promised their
realisation to the citizens of London from the hust-
ings of Guildhall. Upon the passing of Bills for in-
suring to the community the blessings of cleanliness,
knowledge, and security in mercantile transactions,
the very existence of the Government is dependent.
The Cabinet crumbles to pieces with the act
of failure in any one of these particulars. Eng-
land possesses, indeed, the most superb guerdon
which could be tendered to its Reformers—
Power. It retains a security, for the fulfilment
of their engagements, better (than hostages—
the capacity to select its rulers. This double defence
against maladministration arises from the omnipo-
tence of public opinion in Great Britain. It enables
the people to fashion their statesmen to their own
advantage, to incite the tardy, to restrain the over-
zealous, and to confine within the:limits of reason and
prudence those who would outstrip the age by the
diffusion of the precocious liberty resulting from pre-
mature innovations.

Solicitous as we are to obtain the benefits of the
different reforms we have enumerated—together with
others of a more comprehensive character—we are
yet sufficiently impressed with the peril of precipi-
tation in everything relating to the Government of a
great empire, that we are willing to acknowledge
the advisability of procrastinating yet awhile the
settlement of the legislative problems of sanitary
and educational improvement. Not that we do not
conceive them to be of supreme and imminent con-
sequence to the multitude. GOD knows that the
existence and morality of the people are fearfully
jeopardized, as things are at present situated ;
and that disease and iniquity are flourishing
in awful exuberance where the most simple pre-
cautionary movement would lead inevitably to their
eradication. Yet, satisfied that such is unquestion
ably the case, we are yet prepared to reiterate our
assertion that further delays are for certain reasons
justifiable. Those reasons are the alarming condi-
tion of the money market and of Ireland. Occur-
ring as these miseries do, moreover, amidst all the
depressing influences of winter it becomes doubly in-
cumbent upon the Legislature to contrive some
speedy and efficacious means of alleviation. Both these
causes of affliction and embarrassment have been grow-
ing to their present vastness and virulence during a very
protracted period; both, therefore, demand the most
serious investigation, the most patient deliberation,
the most active interference of the State, and the most
cordial co-operation among all classes of politicians
The question of the Currency is not a Whig question,
or a Tory question, or a Free Trade question, or a
Protectionist question, or a Conservative question, or
a Radical question. Or, if it can be designated as
any one of these, it can only be termed such
a free trade question as is comprehensive
even to the Protectionist mind of ARCHIBALD
ALlSON—involving a free trade in gold, such as is
alone compa•.ible with a free trade in articles of con-
sumption. Both Ireland and the Currency are sub-
jects exclusively of so much national consideration as
to render the predilections of party, matters of subordi-
nate moment. Let these reflections carry their due
weight in the judgments of the Legislators, and Eng-
land will be speedily extricated from its sorrows and
involvements.

The Bank of England have at length made a move-
ment. Notice was yesterday given that the minimum
rate of interest would be 7 per cent. until further
notice. Even this reduction, trifling as it is, will ope-
rate as a very considerable boon to the mercantile and
manufacturing interests, if the Bank should be dis-
posed to act liberally, and to discount freely at that
rate, there cannot now be any necessity for that undue
stringency which has hitherto been manifested. The
tide of bullion has been steadily flowing inwards, it
appearing from the returns to the 13th instant, pub-
lished in The Sun of Saturday, that the bullion on
that day amounted to no less than 9,258,520/. ; and,
as considerable amounts have since been received
from various quarters, we may venture to assert that
there cannot be less than 10,000,0001. sterling in
specie now in its coffers. Concurrently with this
addition 'to its resources, we find a considerable
indicate the degree of accommodation afforded to the
commercial interests, a decrease under that head
having taken place within the week of no less than
359,447/, following a still greater reduction of
489,0001., which had taken place during the preceding
week. There is thus, within a fortnight, a falling off
of no less than 848,4471., and that at a period
of the year when the tendency, generally
speaking, is the other way, and also after
the recommendation contained in the memo-
rable letter of the Premier and the 'Chancellor
of the Exchequer, of the 25th of October last, " that
they should advance liberally, in order to the
restoration of public confidence, and the promise
that, in the event of any violation of the law being
thereby occasioned, the Government would bring
in an Act for the purpose of indemnifying the
directors therefrom. If such a violation of the law
has not already taken place, there is now little
prospect thereof; although the Bank should reduce
their terms to the ordinary rate. 'We believe that it
will appear, from the several returns that have been
made since that period, that the limit assigned by the
Act of 1844 has never been transgressed, and that
there will be no necessity for any applica-
tion to the Legislature for an indemnity
to the directors. If this be so, there could be no
reason whatsoever that so exorbitant a rate of interest,
one so injurious, we may say destructive, to our
trade, commerce, and manufactures, should still be
maintained. If the directors felt themselves autho•
rised to abandon the 8 per cent. fixed by the Minis-
terial missive, they were surely equally competent to
name a rate more suited to the requirements of the
country, one which would not operate as a bar to
production, but would enable the mill• owners again
to give employment to the operatives, and to execute
the numerous foreign orders that have hitherto been
suspended from want of the usual facilities.
The reduction has either been sanctioned by the
Government, or been adopted by the directors on
their own responsibility, from feeling that they are
again in a condition to act according to their own
discretion, and without being fettered by the restric-
tion on the rate of interest. We have already shown
that in such a case the reduction should be to 5 or 6
per cent., at the outside; indeed either rate would be
much higher than could permanently be retained, or
than has usually been demanded, when the affairs
of the Bank presented so favourable an appearance as
they do at the present moment. Neither would the
change have been made on the very day preceding
the Quzzres Speech to Parliament. The directors
would naturally have waited until the nature of the
recommendations contained therein, together with
the: feeling of the different parties in the House were
known. They, at least, had an apology for the course
they had adopted and for a persistence therein, until
the Legislature bad been consulted ; more particu-
larly as such changes in the rate of interest are not
usually announced on Mondays, and they might very
properly have waited until the Thursday before
making any alteration. It is, therefore, most pro-
bable that it was in pursuance of some expressed
wish on the part of the Government that the reduction
has been made.

We trust that no arguments may be grounded
on this fact in favour of the sufficiency
of the present system, or in opposition to an imme-
diate revision of our monetary code ; that it may not
be significant of the determination of the Govern-
ment still to support the fatal system that has ocea-
rioned such distress and destitution throughout all
parts of the country.

Colonel RILLIET, the commander of the garrison
of Priburg, has declared that city in a state of siege
in consequence of the murder of two of the Federalist
sentinels during the night
the Federalist soldiers of the 16th. Several of
have been assassinated. Two
of the fanatics engaged in these abom,inable assassc
nations were seized on the 16th and-tried by a martial, and shot the next day. The Federal ourt-
i-
Com-
missioners have arrived, and, having its„mbled the
people, called upon them to elect a new Government
The following are the names of the members elected,