The Sun.
London, England, 1840-08-27 00:00:00

THE SUN, LONDON, THURSDAY, AUGUST 27, 1110.

MONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS.

(WEDNESDAY EVENING.)
CHRONICLE.—We have just seen a copy of the
report of the Finance Minister of Portu,al, presented
to the Cortes. It appears by the estimates of the dif-
ferent departments, that a reduction is effected in the
expenditure of $1,107,013 207r5., as follows :
rs.
Foreign 34,246 000
Marine........
Justice......
Interior... , 265,816 298
War 436,658 120
Finance... 251,000 789

$1,107,913 207
The deficit, after providing for half a dividend of
the foreign debt is reduced to 96 contos, but an ex-
traordinary sum of 540 contos is required to meet
the British claims, as arranged by the mission of
the Marquis Saldanha, leaving a gross deficit of
$1,013,886 137 rs. uncovered, which is about equal
to the remaining half of the dividend of the fo-
reign debt. The Minister of Finance expects that
in course of time the revenues of the country, the col-
lection of arrears, and other resources, will enable the
Government to make up this deficiency. In the mean-
while lie proposes an amicable arrangement with the
foreign creditors, in order to afford time to develops
the resourcis of the country, and to do all the justice
which their demand. The expressions used by
the Minister of Finance in regard to the foreign debt
arc as follow :
" In the class of general charges are mentioned, as
a debt, the dividends and amortizations of tho foreign
loans,amounting to i 15.494,110020, being 1i5.2,153,0-19
256 belonging to the period anterior to the Ist of July,
1838, and R 5.4,041,060 764 to the economical year,
1838-1839. There are due two more half-years, which
will amount to R 5.2,025,016 666, which, added to the
R 5.4,194,110 020 above mentioned, will make the sum
of R 5.6,219,126 686, which constitute to-day the ar-
rears of the foreign debt. It is proper here to observe
that if difficult and unavoidable circumstances rendered
indispensable an interuption in the payment of this
item, which the honour and national pride has never
omitted to attend to and recognise it with grati-
tude, it would be just that the Government, availing
themselves of the first opportunity, should offer to
our foreign creditors a sensible demonstration of how
much they have at heart the satisfaction of the engage-
ments entered into with them. This act of justice and
loyalty will be realized in the present economical year,
in which the Government proposes to effect the pay-
ment of the dividends on the foreign debt to the utmost
It may be enabled, without compromising the internal
service of the country, and in such a way that the pay-
ment shall amount to at least one-half of the said divi-
dend."

This budget of the Portuguese Minister of Finance
contains various matters of importance to the English
creditors of Portugal, and we may perhaps again refer to
its contents.

HERALD.—Private letters, as well as the Papers
from Paris are still much occupied with the scandalous
stock-jobbing which has been carrying on to so large
an extent there, and which, both in letters and papers is
charged with very little.ceremony or chance of misunder-
standing upon M. Thiers and his immediate friends.
The very papers which, without being absolutely the
organs of his Government, were yet favourable to him
and his policy, are among the most fierce in their ani-
madversions. The Gazette des Tribuncutx, among
others, has a long and biting article on stock-jobbing and
circulating false rumours, which it is shown are punish-
able by the law of France as it now stands, and the
penal punishments for which are expressly cited, but
not necessary to be rendered here. Without directly
naming the individual meant, the Gazette remarks
upon the monstrous conduct of the Ministry in
leaving uncontradicted for the whole day the im-
portant news, then asserted to have been received by
telegraph, of the commencement of hostile proceedings
against each other, by the British and French maritime
forces in the Levant, and which with very large sales
had the effect of causing a heavy decline in the prices of
the French funds to the great profit of the speculators
concerned. It was only on the day following that one
of the Ministerial organs was permitted to state that no
news of the nature so confidently reported the day be-
fore by those known to be in confidential communica-
tion generally with one and the leading Member of the
Ministry had in reality been received, or anything in
the least approaching to it in reality. 'The Gazette
emphatically resumes the facts thus :—" We shall not
repeat, what is in everybody's mouth—who are the insti-
gators of these criminal manoeuvres—who those are that
profit by them—to what political or family relationships
they are indebted for these profits—who and what is
lie who, from the hands of one agent de change (stock-
broker) alone, has received in these latter days 1,164,000
francs (more than 46,0001). of differences." This is
tolerably plain speaking. It is known that M. 'riders
stands with one agent de change in the relation of son-
in-law, having married his daughter, and it has always
been understood that heretofore they have been deeply
concerned together is stock speculations, even if not
now. Altogether nothing can be more revolting and
scandalous than this sort of unprincipled dealing on the
part of public men, and the open and scarcely contra-
dicted imputation by those accused would seem to be a
tacit acknowledgment of the shameless profligacy of
public men. As there are in the French Cabinet mem-
bers of characters tts high and unsullied as of talent
worthy to command respect and admiration, it is only
surprising they should consent to remain colicagued with
those so deservedly the objects of public reprobation.
It is not unknown how earnestly desirous the French
Monarch is to get rid of his chief Minister, and that
he has hitherto been deterred only by the popularity
which he has acquired through the support received
Prow the leaders of the popular party and the war
faction. In allusion to this private letters received from
parties in Paris who have until now been warm adhe-
rents of the Minister and his policy unreservedly express
an opinion that be is now rapidly falling into such general
discredit through these reported transactions on the Stock
Exchange that Louis Philippe still
following his inclinations, and that the dismissal of one
ifismilil-rdioesderiffivecdultyin
obnoxious member of his Cabinet would now be hailed
with
11
if approbation,not impracticable, %s hi ch be fe
froms e w
[ins, will wait the fitting moment foru
he wanting in decision when assuredl
popu-
larity. Of course the king, with his customary wari-
ness,
is arrived. It is difficult action,
thi,
01 a
ancat.,:eaaurtnchthedeei evon,epfi
trill
proper
ipnot
-
Odillon Barrot, the leader of tile strongest
who is well-known is called the liberal side, ant
esteemed as a man of honourable and irreproachable
character both in public and private life, can consent
to identify himself and his cause with people so damaged
and denounced in public opinion as those openly ac-
cused of prostituting their official position and facilities
to the vile and mercenary purposes of stockjobbing.

POST.—A morning contemporary complains, on
behalf of the usurers and speculators in Anglo-Spanish
certificates, that they cannot procure payment of the
certificates endorsed over to them by the mutilated sol-
di,r, with all the promptitude they anticipated. It was
announced in the papers that the payment of the first
instalment of the sum squeezed out of the Spanish
Government would commence on the 28th ult. ; but,
according to certain regulations laid down, a priority
was to be given to the original holder of the certifi-
cates granted. The purchasers of such certificates
aarOashnorn they
i theteohyfe2‘tOvi
commencementetth
were not to be attended to till the 19th of the pre-
sent month, but then they made sure of their prizes,
for such they undoubtedly would have been. The
cup has, however, been dashed from their lips just
instant,
arisingaos tna il tt h,ethpeo point
fy otfi
afteri
i st tasting setli
al
theisgs
time
oi its contents.
pcao)rnmt
appointedeenn ttss.,
tt
leer endorsees, and
nther announcement appeared in the papers, in which
tiGeneral. Alava stated that in consequence of an injunc-
tion issued by the Vice-Chancellor to restrain the pay-
ntileAlt of " certain certificates," by reason of legal ques-
ail:ae“ovefenvatrhieouosriagointiacleshoslidgearesdabncyl
persons to whom certificases had been delivered requir-
ingi that the present holders should not be paid, no fur-
Payments, except to the original holders, or their
representatives, would be inede until further notice.
The manner in which the disappointment of the specu-
lators in the hard earnings of the neglected soldier is de-
scribed by our contemporary is not a little ludicrous.
" Their consternation," he says," at such an announce-
ment may be easily imagined. Persons who pur-
chased the documents (declared on the face of
them to be negotiable) were told when the very
money to which they were entitled was lying in
store for them, and they had been already invited
to participate in it, that they were not to touch
a penny " until further notice." Thus they at
once saw their property reduced to a mere cipher at
the moment when they had every reason to expect its
realisation." Their consternation may indeed be easily
imagined ; but we trust, nevertheless, that the law will
character, doue
interpose its authority between the unfortunate soldier
who has been so scandalously fleeced, and those who, in
the prosecution of their merciless vocation, have fleeced
him. Tlse law
tolifoas en onerous
and flagitious
been which have called for the interference of the Vice-
Chancellor, and the objects of the extortioner will, we
s not
recognise
such
a s nt
have no doubt, be in the present case signally defeated.
In the affair of the Treasury bonds issued for the
cvioe traakcets
coupons of November, 1836, the Spanish Government
was at least equally precise in its promise to
pay, and there was, with respect to these,
nothing in the shape of an injunction to pre-
vent it from making good its engagement ; but the
bonds remain unpaid, together with tho interest
accruing upon them, to the present hour. A high
market value was given for these securities, and those
who bought them did so with the most perfect fairness.
There was no usury—no oppression whatever in the
matter. Now, the Stock Exchange people have been
attempting so far to throw the holders of the Treasury
Bonds overboard as to say, that they ought to be put
upon a like footing with the holders of Active Debt