The Sun.
London, England, 1840-04-15 00:00:00

TIME S.—lt appears that the examination of Mr. Smith,
the Chairman of the Manchester Chamber of Commerce,
before the Select Committee of the House of Commons
on Banking Affairs, was concluded on Friday, and if the
gossip current here on the sutject is to be credited, the
evidence be has given is of a very forcible and decided
character against the continuance of the baneful monopoly
by the Bank of England. His ordeal on the occasion is
believed to have been a very severe one, as the greater part
of the Committee seemed not particularly anxious to elicit
such discoveries, if notorious facts may be called so, as he
was prepared to make; and the questions to him were so
irregularly and confusedly put, that it was difficult for him
to determine which to answer first, and the chain of rea-
soning with which he had come prepared was repeatedly
disturbed and broken. That the Committee generally
were far from being conversant with the subket was tole-
rably apparent, which is not perhaps generally to be won-
dered at ; but the public will be surprised to learn that
this remark is not wholly inapplicable to a certain Right
Hon. Baronet, whose proficiency in such matters is every-
thing to the party of which he is the head, and ultimately,
should he succeed to the helm of public affairs, to the
country itself. Yet the events of the last two years have
afforded such an admirable training to men able and dis-
posed to take advantage of them, that not to be prepared
in such a case amounts almost to a dereliction of duty.
Luckily, the practical lesson which such evidence as that
already before the Committee is calculated to ccnvey af-
fords some chance of supplying the omission, and it is to
be hoped that it will not only be turned to advantage, but
that all the future evidence to be brought before the Com-
mittee may be of the same character—manly and inde-
pendent in its tone, and full of sound practical information.

It is understood that Mr. Cobeen of Manchester will be
the next witness examined, and that the Committee will
adjourn for the recess on Wednesday, which delay may
be useful, in affording time to consider carefully the
matter which has been laid before them. Were They to
afford the same advantage to the banking and mercantile
interests of the city, by printing the evidence, so far as it
has proceeded, it would be taken on their part as a very
gracious act, and might ultimately even assist them in that
independent decision at which it is the wish of all that
they may arrive.
By the advices from Hamburg► the price of gold
is 429 per mark, which, at the English Mint price of
3/. 17s. 101 d. the ounce fur standard gold, gives an ex-
change of 13.7, and the exchange at Hamburg on Lon-
don at short being at 13.51, it follows that gold is 0 58
per cent. dearer at Hamburg than in London.
The premium on gold at Paris is 7 per milk, which,
at the English Mint price of 3/. 17s. 10-d. the ounce for
standard gold, gives an exchange of 25 3E4, and the ex-
change at Paris on London at short being 25.30, it follows
that gold is 0.10 per cent. dearer at Paris than in London.

POST.—It is stated in a morning paper, not distin-
guished by is affection for the Bank of England, that the
examination of Mr. Smith (a gentleman connected with
one of the joint-stock banks at Manchester) before tht
Select Committee of the House of Commons, on banking
Affairs, was concluded on Friday., and that, " if the gossip
current here on the subject is to be credited, the evidence
lir, has given is of a very forcible and decided character
against the continuance of the baneful monopoly of the
Bank of England." Our contemporary ought to recollect
that, according to the ancient and excellent adage, "one
story is always good until another is told," and that the
evidence of gentlemen quite rei intelligent and respectable,
and who are much less deeply interested in the result of
the investigation now in progress than the Smiths
and the Cobdens, has yet to be received. If it were
upon the testimony of this class of witnesses alone that the
fate of the Bank of England had to be decided, there
can be no doubt that the labours of the committee would
be very speedily brought to a einse. We suppose it is
tolerably well known by this time that the joint-stock bank
people at Manchester, who have not the obligation imposed
upon them, as the Bark of England have, of supplying
the whole country with bullion, are in great dudgeon with
the directors, because, when they chose to thwart and em-
barrass the Batik, by increasing their local note issues,
though the interests of the country required they should
contract them, they (the Bank Directors) refused to dis-
count their paper. The notes of the Bank of England
being a legal tender everywhere but at the Bank itself,
'are, in reality, the bullion of the joint-stock banks, and it
is, perhaps, but natural that the managers of the latter
should, at times, be as anxious to get a little of it, as they
are provoked when, with all their tricks and manoeuvring,
they find themselves foiled and disappointed.
We arse as curious as our Contemporary to see the evi-
dence of Mr. Smith, of the Chamber of Commerce at
Manchester, the institution that ejected Mr. Wood for un-
guardedly telling the truth in Perliarnent, and set up Mr.
Smith as President in his stead; but, we cantiet, never-
theless, agree with him in the propriety of sendiog such
matter, whatever it may be, forth to the world in an iso-
lated form. The merits of the inquiry will be much
better understood when the whole of the examinations can
be included in the Report of the Committee. if thejoint-
stock banks were the powerful and independent establish.
ments they pretend to be, they would not be always pes-
tering the Bank parlour for accommodation as they are,
nor would their advocates and managers complain of other
monopolies as " baneful," and all that sort of thing.