The Sun.
London, England, 1847-06-28 00:00:00

CLOSING
rRICES.

bushels ditto, 157 barrels Oatmeal, 44,748 bushels Oats,
7,420 bushels Rye, 160 bags ditto, 116 barrels Beans,
S tierces ditto, 219 packages ditto, 124 -barrels Peas,
121 barrels Lard, 120 barrels, 1,171 tubs, 542 firkins,
and 935 packages of Butter, 112 casks and 1,931 boxes
Cheese, 2.204 barrels cured Provisions, 1,686 barrels
Pork, 51 tierces ditto, 644) barrels Beef. 1,004 tierces
ditto, 18 casks Hams. 3 boxes ditto, 5 casks Bacon.

BANK CHARTER.
The following petition relative to the operation of Sir
Robert Peel's Bank Charter Act of 1844, is in the course

of signiture in the City :
" To the Honourable the Commons of the United King-
dom, in Parliament assembled.
" The humble Petition of the undersigned Mer-
chants, Bankers, and Traders of Lond9n,
" Showeth—That there has lately been apparent
throughout the commercial and manufacturing re
ssmre,
nity of this country an extent of monetary preu
such as is without precedent in the Memory of the oldest
living merchant.
" That this pressure has manifested itself in the fact
of the suspension of the ordinary facilities of businessess—
such as the discounting legitimate commercial of
ui,questionable credit and solvency—and the witholding
other ordinary monetary accornmodution.
" That this pressure has come upon the commercial
body at a time when there has been no undue extension
spirit
of the ordinary commerce of the country, nor any
of speculation or overtrading afloat, so far as the trading
interest is concerned.
" That the deficient harvest of last year occasioned
the withdrawal from the Bank of England of a consider-
able portion of its bullion to pay for imports of food from
foreign parts.
"That in rmer periods of the like visitation the
Bank of England has had the power, and has safely
used it, of continuing facilities to commerce during the
temporary pressure arising from a large and n sudde T;
portation of food from foreign countries, until the
balance of trade should be restored by the ordinary course

of commercial pursuits.
" That to suppose that by any monetary regulation
it should be practicable to produce an increased demand
forfer British exports, simultaneously with the necessity
British imports of grain, so that the one may be at
the moment available in payment for the other--is e 4
variance with the course of all mercantile experience.
"That it is in the nature of mercantile dealings, when
duly supported, to rectify, within a reasonable time, all
temporarycause inequality which temporarily disturbing
tthheatt
shemay produce ; on which account it is essential
power of giving temporary aid, if called for bY
mercantile body at such periods of
exist.
"That it has
recently become apparent that the Bank
of England is restrained by legislative enactment from
giving such facility, if called for. the
emergency, should
" That that establishment has been compelled, hY
operation of the existing law, to refuse discounting
commercial bills of the first credit, having not more than
three months to run.
k " That the fact of such refusal, together with the
dosed
of the ground on which it was made, 10°-
ced such a degree of consternation and disturbance
of public confidence throughout the country, that coin-
mercial bills could only be discounted at all to a very
limited extent, and at rates of interest hitherto unknown
in this country.
" That one consequence of this state of things was an
immediate suspension of the execution of orders for
manufactures for distant markets, to the great distress
of the manufacturing districts, at the very, moment when.
there was an obvious policy in facilitating exports 01
British production.
"That this suspension continues to the Rresent ine"
ment to a large extent, and to the great injury of the
manufacturing population.
44 •
That without detailing to your Honourable Souse all,
theh cases of difficulty and perplexity, and paralysation o_4l
usiness, resulting from such a state of things, your ILe
titioners venture broadly to state that the existing eel::
merce of this country cannot be carried on, if the coo;
tinuance of the facility of discounting legitimate CO
mercial bills be practically withdrawn.
"Your petitioners can hardly bring to the no eltice °_f_
ycur Honourable House a more palpable view of
the f,
tent of embarrassment recently existing than in the the
lowing plain statement of facts, both occurring lirl
same week:— v 'fic is
" Remittances of silver arrived from the -.-,,,acik of
payment for British manufactures. The Piln-this
England refused either to buy or to lend moneY eu that
silver to the merchants who received it, steti,l3;gA by
it held the full amount of silver bullion on w''..„-ould
law it was permitted to issue notes, and that I. "their
take no more. Thus merchants, with silver in. ;heir
possession, could not obtain bank notes to meet their
possession, rat
" It further occurred that a banking establisinnento,
sometie distance from the metropolis, having andaordi.
n of silver of the coin of this realm beyon its
„land, to
nary need, tendered the same to the Bank of Fsv
a re-
be exchanged for bank-notes. The Bank refud !? oot
ceive it, stating, as in the former case, that it
did
possess the power to issue bank-notes on a laxger 01'
of silver than it already held.
" Your petitioners submit to your Honourable iletisseet
the unavoidable inference from all the facts they berered
forth, that the present state of the law has not ale-time
the purpose for which it was intended. Front the dee
of its being passed it has been practically inopera dof
until a great public calamity arises, and then, instead
sustaining public confidence—the vital element 0, e A yes
mercial body—it is found to shake to its centre. Atl' the
during the whole period of this remarkable pressure of
Bank of England has had more than nine
bullion in • its possession. rtibl°
" Your petitioners are no advocates of an inconve. .if
paper currency, but they are humbly of opinion Ile,
the Bank Charter Act had contained a relaxing 13°,,, io
lodged in the executive Government, to be useci---010
relief of commercial improvidence or indiscretion
6,_ort
in the case of some great emergency, such as Li.2.,iii
supply of food, or the occurrence of any great pon,“..'en
millions
crisis, the Bank of England would neither have !v. it
compelled to have recourse to the restrictive raeasnr6_B4o
has adopted, nor in all probability would any disturbs,'
of public confidence have taken place. _ ~,,
" Your petitioners believe that handsg ot tr"_,
existence of such a power in the of the Gov e.!...
ment would of itself at all times prevent that disrupttes:
of confidence which is in itself the greatest evil that c 0..
befal a commercial community—away
a fearful dearee whatever mischief may exist, and ee°,
'' ent when the/
tracting all monetary facilities at the mom
s aggravating I_':
are most needed.
con"sYidoeurirnpgetthitairseirlsvearreis furtherthe s
tba
nu
drnabrldy of opiniono
°trio;
nearly every state in Europe, and in most other parts a
the civilised world, and constitutes in itself, tberefe.r ;%.
substantial and convertible security—it is wholly mr 01
pedient to deprive the Bank of England of the 34
issuing. bank notes on the deposit of that metal to
_..si.
extent it may think proper, while it retains its resei
bility to pay its notes in gold.
" Your petitioners are aware that the recent menet* (41/
pressure has been some times attributed to the large 0
lay which has taken place in the construction of
rail
in this country.noi'
"Your petitioners• sire' not called .on to offer an -'
~.0g
nion on this question, the commercial 'community ,--,4
no way responsible for the eitent ef,the outlay. .). ..-er
Would only, as ' a matter -EC feet, 4remaik,,that whate," i,
may have been the amount of outlay on these sversi;
there was no considerableadvance in the rate of intere
nor did any monetary pressure arise, until other 00115e9
camey ienutro operation. out
cannot omit to represent to Yetier,
Honourable House the existence of one additional
forcee'
went
in the recent pressure—of no inconsiderable e
—the demand made by the Queen's Exchequer en lye
Bank of England for assistance to meet the engnerne.ti.
of the Government. It humbly appears to your yeti'
tioners that the power of the Bank to issue notes being op
strictly limited by law, a great hardship is inflict ijed
the commercial community when the Bank is con3l the
by the wants of Government forcibly to dirnirts a to
accommodation it would otherwise be enabled to aver!, is
that body, and this, too, at a time when the 13e,florge
called upon, by causes of peculiar urgency,, shill en,tf,
such accommodation to the utmost extent of its the
Your petitioners humbly, but earnestly, suggest t°,er
consideration of your Honourable House tbat this 11301 c
fully disadvantageous action on the resources of theooll'
ought not to be allowed to continue without coup
ing means being provided to meet it. Y° It
" Your petitioners desire further to represent to...hich
Honourable House, that although the pressure of 71.
they have been spQaking Is now partially relieved, c,,vorp,
dente is not restored, and the rate of interest 00 'O
mercial bills is :still unusually and injuriously hie,
your petitioners feel bound to state that in the evesued
any new cause of alarm arising, there is every gr
,vote,
for believing, while the law remains in its presente;orin
that a pressure equally eras till more severe WY rri tbe
with consequences not ly foreseen, and wb.etheif
House of Parliament may not be sitting to mitigstv
; the °fl
" Your petitioners, with all humility, subm.t 000,
going considerations, affecting as they do, in a pi„poer
sense, very large and extended interests, to your Bono
sense, t°
able House; and they pray se it
" That your Honourable House will be please
.0000
consider the expediency of so amending the
in tl3t,
Charter Act that a relaxing power may be that
130,
hands of the executive Government, and that ttr_itbotli
may be permitted to issue notes on silver bullion
t
restriction. 11 e"
" And your petitioners, as in duty bound, W 1
ell

X - ./ .
•••••..............-- .
THE POPE AND Mg. O'CONNELL.----"7 the ' h
publishes the following letter from Rome °I " to the
inst.:—" Pope Pius IX. gave to-day an andiencecej i',o
son of the Liberator of Ireland, and pronea° life,
eulogy on Daniel O'Connell in terms which 106,,0001'
excited the gratitude and admiration of the i o°.
Member for Dundalk. I have been told that at the
fee;
ment when the vie itor was rising, after kissin `11310',„
of the Holy Father, the Pope said to him, ' SitSracifi"
been denied the happiness, so long desired, of e,'"e coPsf;
the hero of Christendom, let me have at least tli.„00, tl,'
lation of embraci.lo. the son,' and, at the same tcl;osl,';
Holy Father pres se'd him twice to his heart. -` °fee
wished it to be known that it was by his Ores- e'
tiler It
that a solemn service will be celebrated, and that ,eti. be
gyric of the illustrious deceased will be prow al)
'
is on the 25th inst. that these funeral homagl nil,
rendered to the memory of the Liberator of
IreAo;
THE COLLIER3r ACCIDENT AT FELLING. „red ii
HEAD, THURSDAY..—The explosion which occ"o 00-
Felling Colliery his caused the death of four 13i,„ vier'
oh
e"
two two boys, eighteen horses and two ponies. r., ~g 11 , 0
fourteen men end b oys in the pit at the time 0 "'„onle
ry vo r hfP
dent, eight of who. m were got out alive. ,- 4 vt '' or
also escaped. The immediate cause of the aceideo fic,B
not yet been discove red. A coroner's in °fide) 1.:4
as
the bodies was op ened this afternoon, when ev e'
of
their identity was received, and the iiitlt/1
adjourned till Wednesday in next week,
. i