The Sun.
London, England, 1840-09-30 00:00:00

EVENING EDITIO'N.

NONE I MARKET and CITY NEW S.

(TUESDAY EVENING.)

CHRONIC A Country Banker' complains
that we do injustice to country banks of issue with less
than six p4rtners, because we expressed an opinion that
they should be put under the operation of the Act 7
Geo. IV., c. 46, which compels hanks of issue with
snore than six partners to register the names of their
partners periodically.
Our Correspondent states " that for 10s. we may have
an official list of the name and residence of every indi-
vidual in a firm issuint, notes, whether the partnership
consists of one or one thousand, taken from the annual
list of licenses which they are bound to furnish." He
is much mistaken. The Stamp-office is not bound to
furnish any such list. There is no law entitling the pub-
lic to ask or directing the Stamp-office to give it in re-
gard to country hanks of issue with less than six partners.
When those banks apply for a license, it is true that they
must lodge a list of their partners with the Stamp-office,
and render it annually, sending also a specimen of the
notes they mean to issue, in terms of the Act 55 Geo.
HI. ; but there is no law requiring the Stamp-office to
make these lists public. Where there arc more than
six partners, however, the public have a legal right to
demand a list a the eo-partnery. It is of that distinc-
tion we complained, on the principle that if the public
interests entitled them t o such a guarantee when there were
more than six partners, the same principle ought to in-
duce the Legislatmre of the country to consider whether
equal protection ought not to be afforded, and the same
publicity given, in cases of a more limited number of
partners. It appeared to us that there was no good
reason why the law should not apply equally to all
houscs that coin money without reference to the number
of partners. We are of the same opinion still, and con-
tinue to believe that the subject will come under the
notice of the Committee on the currency. The law of
banking is defective in many respects, and it is on public
grounds that we have made these and previous remarks
sespeeting it.

HERALD.—The difference in the price of Spanish
Bonds during the month has been 21 per cent., being
on the Ist inst. quoted at 25+ nd to-day 221. The
discovery that the propositions rhade by Count Lara
were without authority may, to a certain extent, ac-
count for the decline ; but what are the circumstances
which will account for the price they at present bear ?
When the bankrupt condition of Spain was fully mani-
fested, the ordinary quotation was at about 10 to
12 p,,r cent. less than at present ; and how is the con-
dition of the bondholders ameliorated since the last
arrangement ? There is now not only no prospect
for the dividends being paid, but even the hope that
such may be the case is quite obliterated. With
a Government totally devoid of faith towards their
forcip creditor, and even, did the disposition to do
them justice exist, without means to satisfy them, can
any one, possessed of the slightest degree of common
sense, purchase any of these documents for the pur-
pose of investment, or with the hope of recovering
any portion of their claim ? But rather, are they not
bought, their utter uselessness being well known, with
no other expectation than that, by raising their nominal
value, they may have the chance of taking in some less
wary ? If such be the case, the question naturally arises
why the bonds of this and some other countries, simi-
larly situated, have still a sterling stamp given to them
by allowing them to be quoted in the official lists of the
Stock Exchange ? Whence the difference between
Poyais, and others of a like kind, which long since
were banished from Bartholomew-lane to the north-
east corner of the Royal Exchange, where the pro-
ceedings were felt by the respectable merchants fre-
quenting that place as disgraceful to them as citizens,
and in the eyes of foreigners, as Englishmen? A large
amount of these bonds are held by persons who pur-
chased them at a fair value, and in full belief in the
faith of the Government, as an investment. These
}lave no intention to sell them at the present price,
and sacrifice the whole sum paid, but prefer taking
their chance of the possibility of obtaining something
from the Spanish Government. To these it cannot be
of the slightest consequence whether the price still con-
tirried to be quoted on the Stock Exchange lists, or
w Nether it be expunged. If the latter course be
adented, it would do more to teach the Spanish Govern-
ment that the chance of taking us in again by attempt-
ing to raise fresh loans is quite gone ; and, if they be
not quite impervious to disgrace, might perhaps induce
them to enter into some arrangement (and keep it), by
which at least some portion of the money lent to them,
might be recovered. The ruinous consequences which
have fallen upon thousands by rash speculations in
these (?) securities form another and stronger reason
for their expu;sion from the Stock Exchange. The re-
spectability of foreign funds, bonds, &c., is, to a certain
extent guaranteed, by being sanctioned by the Committee;
and those who are not well acquainted with the value
a the securities are tempted to invest their property,
ssnder the idea that a body of men who are always so
extremely tenacious of the respectability of the persons
connected with it, would be equally so of the value of
the securities allowed to be dealt in there.

.POST.—The Money Market has been without the
suai/test animation during the present day. Several
eirseemstancos have contributed to the absence of specu•
fative business, particularly the election of a Lord Mayor
for the ensuing year, which has excited universal interest
in the City, and taken away great numbers of members
of the Stock Exchange. An important holiday amongst
the Jews has also caused the absence of the leading
members of that persuasion, and at the same time the
speeitlators have been the more at liberty to attend the
election of the Lord Mayor, as nothing whatever has
transpired respecting the decision of the Cabinet Council
held yesterday afternoon, and which is universally believed
to have had reference to the settlement of the Eastern
question, although nothing has been announced by
any of the Government prints. This suppression has
been greatly condemned in the City, at a time when
the money markets of Europe could so easily be trim-
efeillised by the knowledge of the decision in the new
proposals which no pet son doubts to have been made
by tho Government of France, and to have been the
real business before the Cabinet Council yesterday af-
t,rnoon. 'The eapitalivs of London are, therefore, al-
lower' to learn thretwh the French journals the decision of
the English Cabinet nu the Eastern question, unless thte
itt7 stery be penetrated previously by the'` Distinguished
Correspondent" of the Morning Post.

TIMES.—Some other points besides those adverted
to yesterday may he mentioned in connexion with the
voyage of the Oriental steamer to Maltz!, since it has
become. almost a natienal object at this time to settle
the relative merits of the two modes of conveyance to
;that island, which both resolve themselves into the route
to India, since that is a place at which both touch he-
:fore proceeding to Alexandria, and, in point of fact,
both mails will in this iostatice be carried from Malta to
_Alexandria by the Oriental, as it would be usekss to
taro steamers onward when both had reached
;Malta at the same time. But to describe more parti
i4e respective performances of each on the pre-
,sent occasion. The Oriental started Irom Falmouth
with the mails via Gibraltar (made up in London on
the :30th of August). at 2 p.m., on the 2d of Sep-
t.._.bcr. Pesides the difficulties of the passage,
which l eve already been detailed, there was a de-
it seems, at Falmouth of six hours, and yet
she arrived at Malta at 1 p.m. on the 12th of Sep-
The Prometheus, with the London mail of
tL 4.11 inst., via Marseilles, arrived at Malta cm the
l3th, a da, liner than the Oriental, and had that
vaascl made the pass-„e uue'.er ordinar.ly favourable
ciscumstimees, the Prometheus would have been two
Aiitc4 behind her. This occurs, as it were, in the very
nf:they of this great experiment, and hence it appears,
that oven with the tardy arrangements now in use, of
embarking the mails at Falmouth, there is, in fact,
any two days difference between the Gibraltar and
toe Marseilles route. As the whole is a matter of
ext. -riinent, and as all private interezts must neces-
eariiy give way in such a ease as this, a trial at least
it is eottutived, should he made of Southampton, as
the port of departure. To apply this to the in-
stance of the Oriental ; had the mails been em-
barked at Southampton, instead of Falmouth, the
Ilifference would have been reduced to a mere nothing,
Le,,,;,ese instead of the 42 hours which elapsed between
the desc,ateh of the mails from the General Post-office
and the boa of their embarcation at Falmouth, they
could have lasom placed on hoard the vessel at South-
ampton in three hours from the time of leaving the
Pest-office, and, as the vessel would have been only 12
boor; longer in steaming from Southampton than from
Fe!rnnuth, which nautical men affirm to be the fact, it
follows that 27 hours would have been gained in the
iransit of the mails between London and Malta, reduc-
ing ;he • difference between the two routes to less than
one day, All these apparently little points become of
when the object is net Only to
immense gnPecirtafice
independent of the Continent in the
render E. ng(.4.0
th our richest colonial possessions,
ca:nmunieattoni with
but t, bring our own sea route, in point of time, on an
equality with it.
Tao last iutelligence received from Abyssinia is, that
T,ni was poisoned by
the v nian King of
o()nuebajef' clfet);:rsalle, who had an intrigue with one of
the consequences, committed
Lis ashes, and, fearna of tin,, that he had taken
this crime. The King, sobree, kind of implment
poison, at once called for a mislear , ' ;5 considered
for smoking), and smoked a drug whirls
kept a secr't by
an antidote, and the name of which is .
the Abyssinians. On his recovery,
and too au-
of the crime, who, including the principal a
he foud the, authors
,
cotoplices, were eight in number. Their right arms worp
cut off, and they were banished to a desert mountain.
while to the woman nothing was done. The King's
brother, who had been labouring under sickness,
and was cured by an Armenian
physician, sacked
several villages the very day of his recovery,
and revolted against his brother. He has since
joined the
of Gondar, who is
the avowed enemy of
Oubie, with whom they
were to go to war in the Abyssinian spring, which ,
is in September. Oubie is a Christian, and Ras-Ali a
and
.a Mahometan by turns, who on this oc-
casiun is promsed assistance by the Scherif and the