The Sun.
London, England, 1847-10-07 00:00:00

1121 L

LONDON, THURSDAY, OCTOBER 7, 1847.
_ _

We yesterday pointed out that the evils now affect-
i:ax the commercial world—the monetary crisis, the
ruir.ous losses that have been entailed on our mer-
chants and manufacturers, by which :our trade and
commerce have been paralysed, our industrious arti-
zans and operatives deprived of employment, and'
every description of property seriously depreciated—
have all been occasioned not by any want of real
capital, bnt in consequence of a deficient circulation
to represent it. It must be manifest to even the most
1113erficial inquirer thafthe vast increase of capital and
of population that has taken place within the last
thirty years wouldrrequi
require a corresponding increase
in the circulation o
currency in order to carry on the
ordinary daily transactions of the country. There has
been an enormous add
ition
nation, and the posse-ssorstla of
fthe fixed wealth of the
thatr wealth consider
themselves warranted in
meaalnrs their outlay by
their improved means. There
tional persons to be fed, the vast also
o-rnany addi-
are obliged to look to their daily liabroity of
their
whom
andgthresuldnili.;
daily food, and consequently a much larger efor
required for the payment of wages,
expenditure, than was formerly the case.
would have been amply sufficient for the general
peposes of the country thirty, or even twenty years
air:. is. now quite inadequate to afford the necessary
inmodation. It should, therefore, have been the
fir,,!, care and duty of the Legislature to have enacted
avise and prudent laws, by which that increased
demand would have been provided for within proper
limits, guarding, at the same time, against an undue
excess, which would have led to over speculation, and
against a deficiency, the fatal result of which has
been so painfully apparent. In doing this they
should also have provided a certain security against
tho possibility of loss by the non-payment of a single
note, or whatsoever other symbol might be used to

represent money under the legislative :sanction. All
tElst•Wiciethatt*ht easily have been effected, but
(la-4'122"-41.01:7-ko, it would seem as if the object
~,ri.b.' rrfiallw.tfiii circulation in the inverse ratio
....4.... j
c-,f, °141.15"•11.*-NAgg I ulation, and to provide for its
,titmiziutietriar
.-t7 K. nto their increase. They ac-
Cnriineypasse. cv.4k.S
.„„.w
_tatute of 1844, which has been

N h

justly described as "An Act to stereotype low
prices," and which might also be designated, " An
Act for the restriction of trade and commerce, and
the total abolition of British manufactures."

This atrocious law, which is utterly worthless in
seasons of prosperity, increases the difficulties of an
adverse and trying period a thousandfold. Its ad-
vocates must have been deeply imbued with the opi-
nion that a drain of gold could only be occasioned by
one fixed and certain cause, and that in every in-
stance it must be dealt with in the same manner and
encountered by the same remedies. There never was
a greater mistake than this, or one that has led
to more lamentable results. The currency doc-
tors were disciples of the Sangrado school; that
every disease was to be cured by bleeding and
hot water, if the: system was steadily pursued, was
the theory of that celebrated physician, so that the
already debilitated and enfeebled patients had their
veins drained, and were as copiously drenched as the
plethoric and apoplectic. It is needless to say that
what might have been useful to the latter class
speedily consigned the former to the tombs of their
forefathers. So, likewise, the meddlers with our cur-
rency compel the directors to put on the screw in
every instance where a drain of gold takes place,
whether that drain be occasioned by an excess of
commercial speculation (in which case it might have
a good effect), or from a temporary exportation of
the precious metals to pay for the articles of food
absolutely required for the support of our people, or
by an internal panic and a general discredit, inducing
the public to hoard their gold and withdraw it from
circulation, which latter cases should be dealt with in
a very different manner, what might in one state of
affairs be but a prudent and proper precaution, being
in either of the others a serious aggravation of the
original evil. _ _ .

A history of the various causes that have led to
drains of gold in past years, and the manner in
which the difficulty was treated by the directors,
and the results that followed, will better illus-
trate the absurdity of the present law, than any
other method that could be adopted. Had the Act
of 1844 been in force in December, 1825, the Bank
must inevitably have stopped payment, and it is diffi-
cult to imagine what would have been the conse-
quences thereof. At that period the gold in their
Icoffers was reduced below 1,300,000/. sterling—we
were within a few hours of a state of barter—when,
happily, a box of one-pound notes was accidentally
discovered, by great good luck (as one of the directors
stated in his evidence before the Committee of 1832);
and without the slightest foresight or preparation.
In fact, it had been totally forgotten by all. These
notes were freely issued, and (still to use the
language of Mr. HARMAN) " they averted a
complete drain and saved the credit of the
country." The panic was speedil y banished, and con •
fidence restored. And yet our sapient law-
givers, forgetful of past experience, speedily pro-
hibited the circulation of one-pound notes, under any
circumstances, and in 1844 passed a still more
stringent enactment, limiting the issue of notes of
any denomination beyond a certain amount, arbitra-
rily fixed, and which does not afford sufficient repre-
sentatives of value to carry on the ordinary affairs of
the nation.

In the present emergency some remedy must
speedily be adopted, without a single day's delay, or
years must elapse before the country can recover
from the misfortunes occasioned by that fatal law.
" A Country Banker" suggests that the Government
should suspend the operation of that Act, and at
once authorise the Bank to issue to the " extent
of three millions on securities beyond its present
limits." Much benefit would undoubtedly follow from
such a course, but we doubt if it would be sufficient.
At a',l events, the Ministry cannot be insensible to
the 'present danger, when from thirty to fifty per
cent. is given on the security of Government Stock,
when the difference of the price of Consols
for Money and the Account is no less than from
to 1/, no argument is necessary to prove that
the time for action has arrived. A Cabinet Council
will be held within a few days, and we hope that
something will then be decided on. The country
requires immediate relief, and it cannot be withheld
without responsibility of the most serious character
being incurred by those to whose hands the na-
tional destinies are intruded. Meanwhile let the
people speak out—let meetings be held on every
side, and remonstrances uttered against the destruc-
tive financial policy that has been adopted, and is
still unhappily adhered to. Unless the public voice
is heard in high places, it cannot be supposed that the
full force of the public feeling will be understood, or
their wishes made known And attended to.

For the time being Austria has desisted from its
endeavours to effect the suppression of liberalizing
sentiments in the Italian peninsula. The town of

Ferrara has been evacuated by the soldiers cf FER.

DINAND : the citadel is alone garrisoned with the
troops of Vienna. Auspicious as this arrangement

may appear to the more sanguine, it is merely a
temporary suspension of the designs of Absolutism.
The " fatal gift" still remains conspicuous over that

fair country whose central city was once the mistress

of the wrlrld—it still holds out an irresistible tempta-
tion to the KAlSAR—that " gift" which Lord BYRON

recognised as the most perillous characteristic of the
peninsula when he apostrophised it as—

" Italia, 0 Italia! Thou who haat
The fatal gift of beauty!"

The withdrawal of the Austrian forces from within
the ramparts of Ferrara is literally nothing better than
the insidious concession of a power resolute in its de-
termination to gratify its infamous ambition by some
more subtle and formidable act of intervention. The
prize is too splendid to be so easily forgotten or
abandoned—the booty is too costly to be altogether
neglected. That Cabinet, moreover, which could
brave the indignation of all civilised Europe by the
spoliation of a petty republic like Cracow, cannot be
expected to resign the domination of three superb
principalities without a murmur or a struggle.
Italy must therefore employ this opportune tran-
quillity in preparations against the dangers which
must supervene. By the organization of its political
institutions, by the combination of popular enthusiasm

throughout Piedmont, Tuscany, and the Papal
States, by the extension and practice of its
National Guard, by the gradual abatement
of the excitement of its populace, by the ripen-
ing of the fruits of liberality in the council chambers
of Pius, of LEOPOLD, and of CHARLES ALBERT, the
most classic of peninsulas may best insure its inde-
pendence, and erect a more insurmountable barrier
against Absolutism than the crags and gorges of the
Alps.

If such a course be adopted, the assaults of the
Imperial armies of Vienna may be deferred, and the
longer those assaults are deferred the less likely are
they to terminate favourably for the assailants. We
cannot think that the refusal of the Sovereign PONTIFF
to allow the passage of an Austrian reinforcement
through his dominions for the purpose of afford-
ing succour to the enemies of civil and re-

ligious liberty in Naples, will, yet awhile,
call down any decided expression of wrath from the
palace of FERDINAND. METTERNICH is not zet
sufficiently prepared for such a movement of audacity.
The pear is not yet ripe. METTERNICH can tarry
for a more favourable opportunity, and METTERNICH
will tarry for that opportunity, unless some blunder
on the part of the newly awakened principalities lure
him on to a premature attestation of his designs. It
consequently becomes a matter of extraordinary
solicitude to all who aspire to behold the perfect and
permanent emancipation of the Italians to recognise
among them a sobriety, a resolution, and a consistent
unanimity
such as may procrastinate the overt oppo-
sitionof the KAISAR,
and
will have
by procrastinating it tend
Prince METTERISIctI
his attention in guarding aganst insurrections in
Venetian Lombardy. The
principles
v enough to ergross
ie
eof
prevented
are contagious. Can that contagionr
In defiance of all experience, in defiance
tions of history, in defiance of their own o
reasons,
the asser-
statesmen of Vienna will believe that such is possible,
and in pursuance of that idea they will strive to keep
the doctrines of GIORERTI from the precincts of
Milan. As well might they attempt to stay the pro-
gress of the Cholera by a rigid system of quarantine ! As
well might they attempt to prevent the sunlight from
shining upon the Lombardo- Venetians 1 Their
recent endeavours to crush the first efforts
of the liberal Sovereigns of the Peninsula, their

incursions upon the states of the Church, and their
insolent bearing to the Cardinal Legate of Ferrara
have rendered the prolonged retention of Northern
Italy impossible. Venetian Lombardy is already
preparing to shake off the yoke of the foreigner, and
to arise from its protracted thraldom. The tocsin
even now sounds in the hearts and imaginations
of its inhabitants. It would indeed be preposterous
to expect that they could continue impassive and un-
affected while their compatriots were elevating
themselves to distinction among the nations of Chris-
tendom, and proclaiming to the whole world the re-
viviscense of their nationality. The light of liberty
has streamed and is streaming upwards from the
south; it has advanced from Rome to Tuscany,
from Tuscany to Piedmont—it will next proceed
from Piedmont to Venetian Lombardy. There is no
staying the current of this sublime tide, and if any
attempt is made to stay it we shall have an
incident in the modern history of Austria,
analogous to one of the most memorable
incidents in the ancient history of England. The
frontiers of Lombardy will be the shore of the great
tide of popular opinionMETTERNICII and his col-
leagues will be the flatterers—FEßDlNAND will be
CANUTE. Happy that man who is destined to be the
historian of this new epoch 1 for he will look back
upon the discomfiture of Austrian cupidity and the
liberation of the Italian people. As yet these things
have to happen, but they are as certain to be the con-
sequence of the occupation and evacuation of Fer-
rara, as though they had already transpired. SiLvio
PELLICO may not be the last of the captives of the
tyrant of Vienna, but he will be the last who will
ever appeal to the patriotism of his fellow-country-
men without a response. The sword is raised at
Schoenbrum, but the arm is paralysed.

The Emperor of AUSTRIA has convoked the Die
of Hungary for the 7th November.

The cholera continues to advance in Russia, and
nearly by the same route by which it arrived in
1831. It has reached the; environs of Toula, distant
40 miles from Moscow.

The Helvelie of the 2d says :
" Before quitting Switzerland for Italy, Lord Minto
had a conference at Lucerne with the representatives
of Switzerland, France, Austria; and Prussia. The
English diplomatist wished to view with his own
eyes men and things, which had been represented to
his Government by M. Morier and by Mr. Peel in
diametrically opposite lights. It is said that he did
not long remain in doubt, and that his judgment is
entirely favourable to the cause of the federal
majority. An official dispatch from the English
Minister for Foreign Affairs has made the Directory
acquainted with the mission of Lord Minto. In this
document Lord Palmerston uses terms expressive
of great goodwill towards the federal authority, and
speaks in a manner most henourable to its president,
M. Ochsenbein. His language bears no resemblance
to that of M. Bois le Comte. We may be assured
that England will oppose every species of foreign in-
tervention in the affairs of Switzerland and Italy."

We learn from the Swiss Federal Gazette of the
2d instant, that the Grand Council of Appensell had
instructed its Deputy in the Diet to vote for the
dissolution of the Sonderbund by pacific means, but
that should the minority of the cantons refuse to
submit, he was to recommend recourse to coercive
measures.

Letters from Rome of the 28th announce the eva-
cuation of Ferrara by the Austrians, on the 25th.
Orders to that effect were, it is said, dispatched from
Vienna, immediately on the receipt of the POPE'S
ultimatum by the Cabinet of Austria.
Addresses arrive from all the provinces of the Ro-
man states, each more strongly than the other, ex-
pressing the devoted love and attachment of the people
for their SOVEREIGN. It has been decided that a mo-
nument shall be erected on the Pincian Hill in honour
of Pius IX., and perpetuating the memory of his
having instituted the civic guard. It will be formed
of the magnificent antique column preserved in the
court of the Palace on Monte Cetorio. On the top
will be placed a statue of Clemency; below will ba
the four cardinal virtues, and on the pedestal bassi
relievi, in allusion to the institution of the civic guard.
The idea was given by Prince PIOMBINO and
CICIRITACHIO, and M. CARNEVALI, the architect, has
made the designs. The cost is to be covered by vo-
luntary subscriptions. The receipts are expected to
exceed the expense, and the surplus is to be applied
in the purchase of artillery for the civic guard.

A letter from Venice announces that the city is
about to send eight remarkably fine pieces of cannon
as a present to his HOLINESS.

The Grand Duke of TUSCANY has again made
changes in his Ministry. The Marquis RIDOLTI
takes the place of M. PAYER as Minister of the In-
terior, and Count SERRISTORI is made Minister of
Foreign Affairs. The new Ministers have signalised
their accession to power by a measure which will
meet with general approbation. The Prefecture of
Police, the arbitrary authority of which had in a
multitude of cases paralysed the action of the laws,
has been deprived of its independence. This is the
first step towards a separation between the judicial
and administrative powers in Tuscany. This Minis-
terial modification has been provoked, it seems, by the
resignation of the Marquis CORSINI, Governor of
Leghorn, who was only a few days ago appointed
Minister of Foreign Affairs. If we are to credit the
reports in circulation at Florence, the retirement of
M. CORBINI was in consequence of a new constitution
which the new Ministry had presented to the consi-
deration of the GRAND DUKE.

The official journal of the Neapolitan Government
of the 27th ult. affirms that tranquillity has been
completely restored in Sicily and Calabria. The
article concludes with the following announcement, the
ridiculous absurdity of which is calculated to throw
a doubt on all the assertions of the official journal.
"We repeat," says this journal, " without any re-
servation, that the brigands of Calabria do not exceed
twelve, eight of whom may be expected to surrender
from one moment to the other."

According to accounts received from the seat of the
insurrection' the] Calabrian: insurgents hadj offered
to lay down their arms, provided the KING would
change his Ministry, and adopt certain reforms.
His MAJESTY, however, rejected the offer, and en-
joined the Generals commanding in Calabria to
pursue the rebels with more vigour and severity
than ever.

The Royalist troops are, however, insufficient for
this purpose, and the insurgents is spreading in
every direction. The troops, it is said, in many in-
stances, refuse to act, and it is by no means impro-
bable that some of them will join the insurgents.
A letter from Naples, of the 27th ult., states
that a letter,
.addressed by Lord PALMERSTON
to the KING, reminding him of the execution
of the convention concluded in 1816 with Eng-
land, by which the King of NAPLES engaged to
convoke the States of Sicily and to submit to
them every plan for increasing the taxation of
the country, had caused his MAJESTY great dis-
pleasure. King FERDINAND, after having consulted
the Austrian Cabinet as to Lord PALMERSTON'S
note, has, it is said, replied to his Lordship, that his
note could now produce no effect, inasmuch as the
States of Sicily bad been dissolved by royal or-
donnance.

Several persons of distinction in Naples have been
arrested.

Madrid papers of the 30th ult. have arrived.

The Gageta of that date publishes a series of de-
crees for carrying into effect Senor Escosuaa's
plan for the civil government of Spain. The king-
dom is divided into eleven districts, called Civil Go-
vernments-General, each of which will be presided
over by a Civil Governor-General, who will have
under him a civil governor in each province within
his jurisdiction, and civil delegates in every town and
district. These changes are calculated greatly to
benefit Spain by diminishing the power of the
military chiefs, and by effecting a saving of 3,000,000
reels per annum. The system comes into operation
on the 15th instant. Senor VENTURA DE LA VEGA,
Private Secretary to the QUEEN, will, it is said, be
shortly appointed Under-Secretary for Foreign
Affairs, and will be succeeded as Private Secretary to
the QUEEN by General GALLEGO. After his inter-
view with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, NARVAEZ
tendered his resignation of the Parisian Embassy. It
was, however, sent back to him, with an intimation
from the Minister that the QUEER declined to
accept it.

MADRID BoLse, SEPT. 30,—The Three per Cents.
were done at 26 for cash; the Four per Cents., at