The Sun.
London, England, 1841-10-30 00:00:00

debt, which has never been less than 20,000,000/ an-
nually, and has been heretofore very much greater.
Thus the melancholy truth Comes out, that sinecures
are made for public men out of responsible duties, which
they always neglect, to the infinite disadvantage and
danger of the whole community. How much better and
more honest it would be to create a pension at once, and
take away the possibility of committing so flagrant a
breach of trust, for it deserves no better name. •
Some people have been amusing themselves by a cal-
culation of the labours which would have devolved upon
Lord Monteagle, supposing his signature to have been
attached to all the issues, and this amounts to about 40
hours, on the following grounds :—Take the average
amount of the bills at 500/. each, and there would be
40,000 of these in number, which requires only the Sig-
nature of 1,000 within the hour, a number which would
be greatly exceeded after a little practice. We have
met with one very good suggestion on this head to-day,
which is, that, besides the signature of the Controller,
there should be the counter-signature of the chief-
issuing clerk, but perhaps the better plan would be to
have an office set apart for this purpose in the Bank of
England, and placed under the general control of the
establishment. _ _ _

Lord Monteagle_ makes so very awkward a figure in
the business, that there was an impression in the city
yesterday, that he had been summoned to attend the
investigation at the Treasury, not in the most courteous
manner, and that he had not been treated with much for-
bearance in the examination to which he was subjected.
The eagerness in the city to have something defi-
nitively settled relative to the Exchequer Bill circu-
lation increases every hour,,anclit is impossible to
collect one tithe of the inconvenience which is ex-
perienced through this delay, which is not the less
certain because those engaged in the investigations
happen not to be elle to say anything of a precise
and satisfactory nature. Exchequer Bills have ever
been the select asset of those city bankers who con-
sent to put up with small returns, in order to keep
all their funds at ready disposal ; and were any alarm to
arise just now, is impossible to say. with what conse-
quences it might be attended. This is a great evil in
itself, but i than that arising from the doubt as to
the extent to which the Government may consent to be-
come liable for the fraudulent issue's. One party who
held 2,0001. in Exchequer. Bills of doubtful character,
was induced ; esterday to sell them for 1,8001., the buyer
consenting to abide the result of the investigation.
Some annoyance has been felt, for which all due al-
lowance will be made, by the officers in the other de-
partments of the Exchequer Bill service, at some ambi-
guity in at first designating that from which the great
fraud originated: It is, therefore, proper to state dis-;
tinctly, that the delinquent department is the " Ex-
chequer-office," in which the bills are prepared, and
which is under the control of Lord Monteagle, and 'not
the " Exchequer Bill-office," which is that through which
the bills are distributed into circulation, and which is
under the coetrol of the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
Great care seems to be used to prevent any public no-
tice being taken of.parties who have become objects of
suspicion at the Treasury, as having a share in these
transactions, but there are several, nevertheless, who
are freely spoken of as under the observation of the
police, though they may not actually have been placed
under arrest. It will be recollected that for some years.
past large speculations in the foreign funds have been
referred to as-,originating with a certain " club" at the
west end of flit town, but to the locality of which no
clue was ever fbund.- There is no doubt now that the
forgers and traffickers in these .false Exchequer Bills
were in this case the real " club." They did not, it
seems, always settle the large differences against them in
money, but met them with a deposit 'of "Exchequer
Bills," which was attended with much less risk, and an-
swered the same purpose. -
What has been said about any interference in this
matter .by the Committee of the Stock Exchange
amounts to very little. They had one interview by a, de-
putation with the Chancellor of the Exchequer, who
could only give them some general assurances on the
subject, and they have since refrained from interference
in a question with which as a body they do not con-
ceive that they have any direct concern. Some of the
members of the Stock Exchange individually are likely,
it is said, to be large-sufferers by the fraudulent issues,
and one instance is mentioned in which the amount is
near 300,0001.
Late in the afternoon it transpired that Mr. Marshall,
the cashier of the Bank of England, had returned from
the Tr'sury, and that he was in possession of some in-
formation likely to allay the ferment in the public mind.
This would seem, however still to be incomplete, but as
far as it goes is rather of a discouraging character, since it
turns out that of the bills sent into the Bank for the fund-

ing in the course of the week, nearly the whole are pro-
to proves clearly enough,
what was hinted at yesterday, that the delinquents have
had the sagacity to make a hit on this vulnerable point.
The best part of the information collected to-day refers
to something like a certainty as to some classes of bills
which aro not forgeries. Thus it is said that not one
forgery has been committed in bills of lower amounts
than 1,000 ; also that no forgery has been committed
with bills numbered below 6,000, the parties having all
selected trio high numbers as well as the large amounts.
This may afford a specie:: of relief to persons who
hold bills described above, but still it is now
established clearly that there are forged bills in cir-
culation to a very large amount, the extent of which
it is as yet impossible to estimate, and which
are forgeries. This remark applies, however, to
the signature only ; the paper on which -they are
printed, and the type used, which are both peculiar in
their kind, are the same as those issued by the Govern-
ment. This is a circumstance which may prove fortu-
nate to the holders, 'in fixing a liability upon the Trea-
sury ; in fact, the opinion rapidly gains ground to-day,
that if resisted, the parties, if shown to be innocent
holders, will have their legal remedy against the Go-
vernment. One artful expedient to which the conspira-
tors, as they unquestionably' are, resorted, was that of
using the imitations of bills which were deposited by
the Government with the Bank of England, which, as
they never get
,into general circulation, were a sort of
protection against discovery. On application being
made to day at the Bank, the numbers held in de-
posit there have been obtained, and also of those bills
which belong to the Bank of Ireland. We present
them for convenience of reference in a tabular form as
folio ws :
RANT OF 11,000,0001., DATED JUNE 16, 1841.
a
HELD BY THE BANK OF IRELAND.
6,919, 7,553-633 of 1,0001. each.
3,102, 3202100 of 5001.
1,015, 1,073-59 of 2001.
5,325, 5,381-157 of 1001.

. .
GRANT or 10,751,5501., DATED MARCH 15, 1841.
8,437, 8,633-197 of 1,0001. each, in the Bank of Ireland,

DANK OF IRELAND.
8,634, 8694-61 of 1,0001.
1,969, 2,125-15 of 5001.
1,001, 1,058-1,058 of 2001.
4,010, '4,214-205 of 1001.

. .
GRANT OF 11,000,0001., DATED MARCH 15, 1841.
HELD BY THE BANK OF IRELAND.
8,403, 4,560-158 of 1,0001.
5,696, 4,704-9 of 100/.
Of the above bills 25,0001. were sold by the Bank of
England on the 16th of October, 1841.
8,437 to 8,461-25 of 1,0001.
It is only necessary to observe as a guide in the use
of the above table, that all numbers duplicate of those set
forih, with the exception of the last 25, must be forgeries.
An official communication has been made to-day from
the Treasury to the Bank, that of 60,000/. Exchequer-
bills sent up to-day as the result of the funding opera-
tion, the whole are spurious, and have been impounded.
Thus the materials upon which the investigation will
have to work, arc daily becoming wider, and no one can
foresee how soon it can be brought to an end.
At a meeting at the Stock Exchange Committee to-
day, a resolution was come to which may be of some
utility in preventing the exclusion of Exchequer Bills
from circulation, which has been threatened by the late
occurrences. This is, that no quotations of them shall
take place in the official list, unless those under guaran-
tee, and thus,if the parties are good and responsible,
something-like a market is established for the article.
This, however, must be limited, and cause much trouble,
which ought not to have arisen.
Those of the shareholders of the United States Bank
who are anxious to avail themselves of Mr. Jaudon's
presence to get up a public meeting, should be aware
that there is no time to lose, as it is generally under-
stood Mr. Jauden will leave this country on the 4th No-
vember, which will fall on next Tharsday.
Our letters from Amsterdam state that the Govern-
ment is resorting to the sale of its landed property, and
it seems to be generally considered that the Treasury
will be a gainer by the proceeding; for, although such
sales generally take place at low prices, still it is con-
ceived that land, particularly in Holland, is more pro-
ductive in the hands of private persons than in those of
the Government. The reason why lands are considered
a peculiarly bad Government property in Holland is, that
the management of them has been a pretext for giving
places, and is therefore excessively expensive. Besides,
loans have been contracted on these lands, with the sti-
pulation that the bonds should be taken in payment of
the lands when sold, and therefore, when they are dis-
posed of, a number of these bonds will be cancelled, with
the additional advantage that some money must find its
way to the Treasury.
POST.—Many reports continue to be circulated relat-
ing to this daring fraud. The amounts given out as
those said to be jeopardised vary from hour to hour, and
we do not believe that there can be any possibility, for
the present, of ascertaining the real sum with even a
tolerable approach to accuracy. A great many persons
moving in a respectable circle in the City are impli-
cated in the affair, but to what extent, and under what
circumstances, must be equally matter of conjecture.
Conversation now turns a good deal upon tke important
question of liability. This, however, is one that we do
not feel called upon to enter into.
The warrants issued for the delivery of merchandise
require attention. They are very easy of imitation ; the
printed form being entirely destitute of art, and the sig-
I nature, in many cases, nothing more than a common
lithographic representation of the autograph. The tea
warrants are documents of this loose description, and
should be immediately looked to.
cfmoNicLEA—Tbe extent to which the frauds of
Mr. Smith have been carried is now-. increased to
350,0001., about 60,0001. of which is in the hands of the
TIOASUry, so that the amount known to be outstanding