The Sun.
London, England, 1824-02-04 00:00:00

[NEW TIMES.]

Little business was yesterday done in the
Money Market, the t+hole anxiety of, the fre-
quenters* of that. spot being directed to the ob-
taining accurate information of the King's speech.
So much were many of the speculators absorbed
in the consideration of this object, that they
quitted their ordinary tecupations and proceeded
to, Westminster to pfuotire the earliest informa-
tion. To the circudifance of their absence may
be ascribed the trifilag decline which took place
in the Consols. Air copy of the Speech had
reached the City ti(l lust at the close of business.
The coffee-houses were then all thronged with per-
sons eager for intelligence : and we may truly
sap we never recollect a Royal Speech to have
given such general satisfaction. Amongst the
whole assembled multitude not a voice was raised
in censure ; and the general impression seemed
to be, that had the Speech reached air Stock Ex-
change otity' halfun hour before the termination
of business for the day, it would have produced
a marked rise in the British Funds. As it was,
Caniola closed at 904, with every probability of
a 'Marked rise today—The business done in the
Foreign Market was but trifling:- Thirpremiurn'i

on the French Scrip was Si.--Spanish Bonds
'were at 24i, but nothing doing in them.—Co-
lombian at 658. The chief bustle was in Mexi-
can Scrip. Many people begin to look more cu-
riously than heretofore into the changes and
chances of that part of the world ; the conse-
quence was, that for some part of the day a de-
pression took place ; the Loan, however, rallied,
and left off at 51 premium. The other foreign
securities were steady.

[BRITISH PRESS.]
Sunday's Paris Papers, and the Mode of Mon.
day, reached us last night. The latter Paper
renews the statement of some days back, that the
Portuguese Government was preparing an expe-
dition of 10,000 men for Brazil. With this, of
course, we can have no concern ; if Portugal can
recover her possessions in the New World by
her own proper resources and strength, she has
an unquestionable right to do so. It is more than
probable that any expedition from Europe has al-
ready been notified to the treacherous Don Pedro,
and that he will endeavour to act in concert with
his father's Government. It is another question,
where Portugal will find means or troops for
such an armament, which is much more easily put
on paper than on ship-board. The Greeks are
said to have actually attempted Smyrna, and ef-
fected a landing at Boursa, at the very gates of
that city ; violent alarm prevailed, and the Pacha,
who could only get together 400 men, invited all
the European Consuls to a conference, probably
to procure their interposition for the safety of the
Turkish inhabitants, had the Greeks been suc-
cessful. It is not yet known how the daring at-
tempt ended.

•
[MORNING CHRONICLE.]
We lay before our readers an ample account of
yesterday's proceedings in both Houses of Perna-
' ment.—No amendment was moved, but Mr.
Brougham, in the Commons, and the Marquess
of Lansdown and Lord Holland, in the Lords,
animadverted on those points in the policy of
Ministers which were more peculiarly open to
censure. One of the main points to which
Mr. Brougham objected was, the course pursued
with respect to the invasion of Spain. It would
seem that all parties profess the same opi-
nion with regard to the interference in the
affairs of Spain. Mr. Canning, though he
doubts whether the Constitut:on was adapted for
a Monarchical and Catholic country, yet congra-
tulated himself, that in re-establishing the system
which succeeded it, no British blood had been
shed, no ifritish money expended. There was
no doubt,' then, in the mind of Mr. Canning,
either that the interference was unjustifiable, or
that Ls object was to inflict calamity on Spain.—.
His doubt was respecting " the degree of sup-
port which the Constitutional system should re-
ceive from the affections and habits of the people,
and thi; was the very principle on which
we abstained from interfering in the war."—.
But the questions of our interference in the
war, and our interference to prevent a war,
are perfectly distinct. Mr. Brougham re-
minded him of the circumstance, that 44 many
were of opinion last year that remonstrance
ought to be added to protest, in order to prevent
the invasion of Spain by the combined Despots,
leagued against the liberties of mankind at large,
though then ainung only at the subjugation of a
particular country.” We conscientiously believe
that if Ministers had remonstrated against the
invasion, it never would have taken place ; and
we believe, also, that this is the opinion of
Ministers themselves. Upon what principle,
then, did they not interfere to prevent what they
themselve consider a most unjustifiable aggression
from taking place ? It was not certainly
their duty to plunge the country rashly into a
war ; but it was their duty to act in a manner
befitting the-rank and character of Great Britain,
which, as a Power of the very first order,
is peculiarly called ou to prevent, by every
means short of compromising the national safety,
such a monstrous act as that of the Spanish In-
vasion. 44 Let us keep in harmony with the
Powers of Europe (says Mr. Canning), whether
their internal institutions be more or less per-
fect ; let us move on steadily in our own orbit—
not in obedience to any of those Powers, but
wholly independent of them—and while we form
a part of a great and comprehensive system, let
us not look with too scrutinizing an eve into the
glory or the magnitude of the other Powers by
which we are surrounded. Let it suffice that
other Powers strike not against us, and let us
keep within our own orbit;—let the light
of our example, and not our interference, lead
others to a participation of the blessings which
we already enjoy." This for a Ministry who
profess themselves worshippers of the policy of
the man who embarked the country iii the ruin-
ous war from the effects of which it is now be-
ginning to recover, and took part in the grand
confederacy to restore the Bourbons and the old
Regime—is rather a singular language, to say no-
thing of the precious piece of flummery, of light-
ing by our example to a love of freedom, Go-
vernments confederated together for the purpose
of extinguishing free Institutions in every coun-
try, and who, every year and every month, have
become more eager to carry that purpose into i
execution.

[MORNING HERALD.]
It seems from a letter signed Carbo, which
appeared yesterday in a Morning Paper, that
the Common Council Committee, to whom the
question was referred as to what could be done
for the benefit of the Coal Trade, did nothing.—
The Committee merely recommended the ap-
pointing of twelve more meters. We congratu-
late the Committee for being so wise as to do
nothing. In all matters of trade, we recommend
Committees of all descriptions to do nothing;
or if they must be doing something, we would sug-
gest to them to recommend that every thing that
had been done for the trade under their consider-
tion should be undone. That same letter states
that good had, already been effected by the agi-
tation of this question, for that, in consequence
of such agitation, the price of coals had fallen ;
it is always thus with people who get it into
their heads that 'their own ideas are super-excel-
lent. The fact is, that coalS have fallen its con--.

Sequence of the singular mildness of the weather;
had the weather been what we have been accus-
tomed•to experieuce at this time of the year, we
should, as in most former years, have seen coals
on the rise. The reason why coals so rapidly
rose a month or two since, was in consequence of
all who could afford it laying in their stocks to
supply them for the winter. This laying in, and
consequently increased sudden demand, oc-
curs to a greater or lesser extent every
year, and is always attended with the ef-
fect of a sudden advance in the price ; pre-
cisely on the same principle that poultry rises
or falls in value as the nobility and gentry hap-
pen to be in or out of London. If any one will
but for a moment consider the effect of a consi-
derable proportion of a million and a half of
people taking it more or less into their heads to
order coals to last them the winter, he will
not wonder at the regular rise which takes place
every autumn. We strongly suspect that letters
on the subject of coals are written by people
who wish for the office of meters, or for
some other office by which they may get
a comfortable annual sum for doing little
or nothing. There is a good deal of this
going on in England in order to influence the
public, but of which the latter cannot be aware,
till the bad effects resulting from such letters are
discovered--then the public wonder that they
should have been so deceived. It is clear that
all that has been hitherto done to regulate this
article, either as to the measurement, quality,
or any thing else, had no effect. The coal mer•
chants do just as they please, and will con-
tinue to do so. The reason to be given' for
this is, that the poor and the middling class of
the people cannot afford to lose their time in
seeing to the measurement or ascertaining the
quality of a chaldron or two; and the rich
are too indolent or too proud to give them-
selves any trouble when they order their five
or ten chaldrons ; consequeutly all the regu-
lations pass for nothing, so far as any good
arising from them is to be taken into
consideration ; but the expence attending all
those regulations is charged by the coal-mer-
chant to the comsumer, and not only the amount
of the expence is put on the price of the coals,
but the coal merchant charges a profit on such
expences, to compensate him for the credit he
gives. It is to the interest of people engaged
in trade to be honest ; that principle of self-in-
terest, so far as trade is concerned, is the best
regulation.