The Sun.
London, England, 1841-01-15 00:00:00

clergy. The names of the Bishops who voted for
the law have been paraded in many popular
journals. Tired, apparently, of the horrid un-,
popularity which- makes their - religious teaching
most unwelcome, the Episcopalians now wish to
have co-partners in this iniquity, and impudently
assert that the Weslevans throw their influence
into Mr. GLADSTONE'S scale. It is impossible.
No man with a spark of religion, no man who
wishes to impress on the world a reverence for the
ALMIGHTY and make it rely on a good and just
GOD, can vote for a law, or contribute in any way
to support a law, which interposes, in the man-
ner the (An-LI-lair: interposes, as above described,
between Irian and his Maker. GOD gives
abtml.anre to our industrious 'people, but the law
ac,:runs starvation and death. The Correspondent
rsif the Morning Post calumniates the Wcsleyans.
Even if they have, in ignorance of the terrible
effects of the Corn-law, promised Mr. GLAD-
STONE, such a promise cannot bind them to be the
murderers of their hapless fellow-countrymen. II
they support him, they will make Wesleyan Me-
thodism a by-word with the-people, who will sepa-
rate from it as from a pestilence.

The subscription which is now opened for widows
and orphans of the seamen lost i❑ the Fairy, of
which an advertisement appears in our columns,
will, we hope, be worthy of the country. On tl►e
seame❑ it must ever rely for protection, and too
much cannot be done to convince them that if their
lives be sacrificed in the public service the public.
will take care of their relatives and friends.

Dr. ADAM SNIITII stated, and we beg that
our readers will remember that he wrote the 111C010-
rabic words before our Bank Restriction Act was
called into existence, before the French Revolu-
tionary Governthent. had issued :its assignats, and

before the several anti-Revolutionary Governments
of Europe, those of Austria, Russia, Denmark,
Prussia, &c., had acted on the same principle's as
the Revolutionary Government of France, and
issued immense quantities of paper in payment of
debts which afterwards became almost valueless,
and destroyed the fortunes of many individuals—
Dr. ADAM SMITH, writinL, somewhere about the

year 1770, and therefore ignorant of the many mai-
versations of Government, in respect to money,
which have since his time so amply confirmed his
memorable words, said that Government, by tam-
pering with the currency, had " sometimes pro-
duced a greater and more universal revolution in
the fortunes of private persons than could have
been occasioned by a great public calamity.'
Since his time the stream of theory has set in
against enlarging the powers of Government in
respect of the currency, while the stream of prac-
tice has set in the opposite direction, and Govern-
ments have been, and are, importuned to meddle
with it. Since his time, however, it has been
found much more easy and convenient for Govern-
ment to practice their scandalous tricks with the
paper money, which is now in general use, than with
coin, and the brief allusions above made show how
oommon has beets the practice all over Europe. In-
deed the almost universal degradation of paper money
in Europe about the commencement of the present
century is a somewhat striking example of the influ•
ence of some general laws on the conduct of princes
and statesmen, while they are entirely ignorant of
the influence under which they arc acting.
Governments arc supposed, particularly when they
are representative Governments, to be responsible
to the people ; and yet, though they have acted
under this responsibility, they have first, with me-
tallic money, and since with papet money, continu-
ally played scandalous tricks whiCh have produced
a greater and more universal revolution in the for-
tunes of private persons than could have been oc-
casioned by a great public (or natural) calamity.
We cannot be surprised, therefore, at the stream
of theory having set in the direction stated—while
we must feel and express great surprise that the
stream of practice should have set in an opposite

direction. ?I

The power has now, indeed, passed in some
measure from the hands of Government into the
hands of merchants ; from those who were, and arc,
responsible to the whole people to those who are
only responsible to a narrow constituency of proprie-
tors ; from Parliament acting lin public to a few
Bank Directors, acting in secret. The Bank of Eng-
land, managed by a few merchants, not always of
the most reputable character or most undoubted
resources, is now ". the regulator of the currency."
So it was yesterday styled by the Morning Chro-
nicle and Times, and so it is frequently styled.
Thus an immense power, which no Government
ever possessed without abusing it, is now, by our
practice, in direct opposition to all sound theory,
placed in the hands of a few irresponsible mer-
chants, who have a strong interest in abusing it,
and who do continually abuse it.
It has, also, been stated by the great authority
above quoted, that Government cannot direct, with
advantage, individuals how to employ their capital,
and the whole of SMITH'S work is directed against
Government meddling with trade. We have the equal
authority of Dr. FRANKLIN, for declaring tha
an assembly of legislators endeavouring to regulate
commerce is the greatest fool on earth. The wisdom
of these two great men on this point, has since
they wrote been amply confirmed by many facts, of
which our own Corn-law, Timber-duties, Sugar-
duties, &c., are examples. There is as little reason,
therefore, to extend the power of responsible go-
vernment over commerce as over the currency.
What, then, shall we say when we find the same
irresponsible body, which has become the regulator
of tire currency, also endowed with the power of
controlling and circumscribing commerce ? The
monied mvn and merchants of the city of London
knew what they were about when they decried the
action of Government on money and commerce,
and when they wormed that power from its
hands, and usurped it for the Bank of England.
This is the language of the writer of the Times'
City article yesterday :

" There is required evidently, in this state of things,
the most careful and judicious conduct on the part of
the Bank of England to give free scope to the new em
terprise which has arisen among the trading interest.,
without encouraging overtrading and speculation. Af-
ter the lessons which the Directors have lately had on
the subject, and the responsibility they arc under at the

present moment to perform their c,vact duty to the com-
merce of the country, it is really to be hoped that they
will give to it all the encouragement that it ought to
receive, and in the manner best calculated to make that
encouragement effective. They have already lost more
than one similar opportunity in taking the alarm when
they ought to have felt and to have inspired confidence,
and have been punished for it by the lowest stock of bul
lion, taking the length of the time it has continued low,
that the Bank has ever experienced."

So the regulator of the currency is also the
encourager, and, of course, the depressor of com-
merce, and the regulator of commerce. Our un-
taught and unlearned ancestors would have shrunk
back with shame and anger at such a statement, and
would at once have resolved that these great
branches of society, necessary for the due nourish-
ment of the whole, should not be dependent on a
selfish narrow Company. Liberal-minded English-
men sometimes mock at the meddling of the King
of PRUSSIA, or at the French Government, under-
taking to watch over and encourage commerce—
but what is their usurpation, foolish though it be, to
the usurpation of a few adventurers, stock-jobbers,
• dillerd"-nt-s of the city of London undertakH:
the same task, and conducting it with a view to
their private advantage ? This is monstrous, more