The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-26 00:00:00

THE CURRENCY.

The following is a copy of a petition to the !rouse of
Commons, from the Chamber of Commerce, Glasgow, on
the snbject of the currency:—
The petition, &c., humbly showeth, "That this Cham-
ber consider convertibility to be an essential element in
a souhd paper currency; and while thoy protest against
the impolicy of legislative interference with the internal
management of banks of issue, they hold it to be indis-
pensable that the notes of such banks should be, by law,
payable in gold on demand.
" That the existing Acts provide no security for the
convertibility of bank-notes, and that convertibility can-
not be secured by any statutory reserve of gold, which
is insufficient to cover the whole obligations of the bank
to pay on demand.
" That deposits in banks of issue, and the notes of these
banks in the hands of the public, are equally payable on
demand; and that gold may be demand, d for the one as
well as the other. _

" That a demand for gold for exportation must always
operate through deposits in the bank, because the notes
in active cireulation, as currency, being only used for
daily expenditure in transactions between dealer and
consumer, and being held in swan Bums, in many hands,
nut employed as transfers of capital, and are never
presented for plinent in except when suspicions
arise nose.f the soli, ncy of the bank.

t•That a run for gold, caused by suspicions !if insol-
vency, must opera e through deposits, as well as by notes
of the rotes circulating in the
(hi.
fat
ntghdos i
det a:
Ta.tdt:forsi
r)oref
laat hr
genet amounts,phue b tc anti deposits beieg in fewer
must exhaust any reserve
country, and at a distAnce from the Bank, can be pi esented
for ps) trent.
" That the large capital and unlimited liability of part-
ners in the Scotch banks are not only a sufficient, but
the only security for the convertibility of their notes,
that this i, perfectly well understood, and relied on by
the people of Scotland. who cannot believe that one
milli.in three hundred thousand pounds of gold, held by
the banks under the existing Act, is any security for the
payment ofthree millions and a half of notes in circu-
lation, and about thirty millions of deposits payable on
demand.
" That the existing Acts for regulating the currency
are inconvenient and expensive in their operation ; and,
while they do nut secure the convertibility of notes,
neither can • they check over-trading, the facilities for
which are improvident advances of capital, and nut ex-
traordieary expansions ot•currency.
" That in the present crisis, when the country is
placed in unusual difficulties, from the dimihution o
floating capital, available tor purposes of commerce ;
from a scarcity of food, at d consequent demand tor golii
to pay for ex:raortlinary imp. nations of corn ; when our
manufactures are suspended in mins* criencc of a scarcity of
disposable capital, and a deficient supply and high talc,
of the raw material, and when thousands are daily aildeti
to the tens tf thousands of our manufacturing popula-
tion elready thrown out of employment, no measure
ought to be lett untried by which (he present distress
may be alleviated, and the still greater calamities
with which the country appears to be threatened
averted.

" i hat the very large amount of gold circulating in
England, and thelessly held in reserve by the Scotch
and Irish banks, may most opportunely and safely be
made available to pay for our importations of foreign
corn, and to give necessary facilitie-s for commerce; and
that for these purposes a very considerable portion of our
gold currency may be withdrawn, and replaced by Bank
of England notes ot one pound, and the existing enact-
ments for regulating the issues of the Bank of England
and joint-stock banks be repealed.
" May it therefore please y ur Honourable House, in
consideration ot ►these premises, to sanction the issue o
one pound notes by the Batik of England, and to repeal
the existing laws ter regulating the issue ot notes by the
Bank ot England and joint-stock banks.
"JAMES CAMPBELL, Chairman.
" JOHN G. KINNEAB, Secretary.
" Signed by order of the dirt cturs, and sealed with
the seal of the chamber.

" Glasgow, 15th May, 1847."
—Glasgow At gu•,.

THE LATE RIOTS IN DEVON-

SHIRE.

The following circular—-7,b,'en issued by the Lord-
Lieutenant co Devon:—
" TO THE DIAGiSTRA.TES OF THE - DIVISION.
" Exet(r, May 21, 1847.
" Gentlemen,—The exaggerated rumours which have
been circulated respecting food riots in Devonshirp
prompt me to address you at this time, not %%ith the:
view of instruCtinc, you in your duty (for on that head
I am sure you needL' no instruction from any one), but
to remove from your minds any unfounded impression
of what has occurr(d in parts of the county at a dis-
tancepom you.

" The reports which I have, received satisfactorily
show that though attempts have been made in some
the ton to disturb the public peace and into rrupt thi.
free traffic of the markets, they have been speedily put
down by the civil power, with the aid of special con•
stables, sworn in tor the occasion, anti without the in-
tervention of any military force. It is &leo most gra,ify-
ing to know that the attempts in question have hardly
in any case originated with those who suffer most trom
the present scarcity.
" On the contrary, the exemplary patience of the
poorer classes under their severe privations reflects the
highest credit upon them, and gives them the stronge,t
chum on the liberal sympathy of their richer neighbours.
"Iu this city s9me tumultuous pruceediucs, com-
menced in the absence of the nriyor, were on his arrival
and through his exertions promptly suppressed by the
t:onstatiulary with the support of a small body of pen
sioners. And whilst effectual measures have been tak,,i,
to enforce order and ensure tranquillity, the citizens o,
Exeter have set a noble example to the rest of the
county, by the munificence of their contributions fur the
aid of the distressed.

" The like I know has been done in various other
places, and the magistrates have been among the fore-
most in promoting the work of charity.
" The people will not be ungrateful for the kindness
*howl' them, but the handle afforded by the pressure of
the sto the &signs of ill.disposed person:, demands
our most vigilant attention. I therefore confidently
rely on your judgment and discretion for frustrating
such :design*, wherever there is cause to apprehend
them, by the early formation of an effirient body of
3peeial constables. In this I trust you will obtain the
co-operation of all the respectable inhabitants of your
district, who will not tail to agree with you and with
me that the supremacy of the law is alWays most satis-
factorily upheld by the civil power, and. that military
force ought never to be called in except in cases of urgent
necessity.
"I have the honour to be, Gentlemen, your most
obedient servant, " FORTESCUE."

WINDSOR, MONDAY EVENING.—HER MAJESTY'S
birthday was celebrated in Wirds'Or to=day by the ring
frig of bells, the firing of cannon, en-1 a more than ordi-
nary consumption of " creature comforts." To write
ny the card, the morning was ushered in by joyous peals
from the bells of St. John's Church, well seconded by
those in the tower on the Castle walls called " JUlius
Caesar's Tower," and between them they continued
ringing nearly the whole day. At noon the corpora ion
ordnance thundered forth a royal salute in the Bache-
lor's-acre, answered by the royal guns on the Belvidere
hatter), in the Great park. At five o'clock, P irs., the
Mayor and Corporation, assisted by one of the borough
Members (Colonel Reid). and a large party of the prin-
cipal inhabitants and neighbouring gentry, (lid ample
justice to a splendid dinnersetbefore them by the artistes
de cuisine ut the White Hart Inn, after which mark
loyal tos.,ts wet e and heartily r.spontled to. There
were many other dinners in tionon- of toe day. As the
~veniti,e set in all the inns and print pal shops were
very brilliantly illuminated. Company still continues to
flock ii to Windsor, notsiihstanding the state apart-
ments have b« en closed. in order to prepare them for the
reception of the illustrious and distinguished persons ex
petted to visit her Majesty and the Prince Consort
pending the races at Ascot; but the public generally,
however they may be disappointed at not seeing the in
telior of the Castle, have had tie unusual gratification of
being allowed free admission to the private parterre and
both terraces for the last three days and the same pri
vilege may also be enjoyed to morrow. On Sunda)
afternoon the parterre was so crowded with well-dressed
comp Any that the band of the Ist Lite Guards were
glad to retreat up the flight of steps leading to the
eastern terrace. To-morrow (Whit-Tuesday) is the natal
day of the infant Princess Helena Augusta Victoria, new
with the Cs•urt at Claremont, and it is possible, there-
tore, that the Court will remain at Claremont until the
following day, instead of returning to Buckingham
Palace, as stated.

THE FOLLY or AVARICE.—A very strong proo
of the folly of farmers holding their corn in the expecta-
tion of realising enormous pi ice's ha, just been comunu.
nicated to us by a gentleman of this t:ivrb, who is well
acquainted with the ciriminstances-heie repri•sented. It
appears :hut recently a farmer, in the neighbourhood of
Beverley',, commenc. d thrashing some wheat, for which,
nine years ago, he refu,ed 70.. per quarter, and after
labouring from seven o'clock till eleven in the morning.
corn, and
he succeeded in obtaining four quarters seven bushels of
the enormous quantity of 3,250 mice!—Hull
Advertiser.
_ .

ELECTION FOR NORTH ESSEX.—A correspondent
writes as follows :—" It was announced in lest Frit,ay's
Chronicle that Captain 1)u Cene of Braxted Lodge, was
w too far advanced in life now to likely to otf,r himself for North Essex, in the room of
Charles Gray Round, Esquire, the present Member, who
has accepted the invitation to stand for Oxford. The
former geetletnan has stated his disinclination to comply,
feeling that he as
com-
mence a public political career. We understand a requi-
sition is to c.mrse of signature to J. G. Rebow, E-q. of
Wivenhoe Park, near Colchester, soliciting him to allow
himself
to be put in nomination at the ensuing election.
—Essex Herald.
A strike for increased wages took place among the
slaters and plasterers of this town last week, owing, we
believe, to the present high prico of provist.ms. Their
wages, when in regular employment, were 17s. per
welt, but from the nature of their o-cupation—their
work being frequently stopped for weeks at a time from
variations of the weather—their earnings did not ave-
rage on the whole year more than 13s. 6d. per week.
A meeting of the masters was held, when it was agreed
to assent to their demand for 20i. weekly, and to charge
the public 4s. per day, instead of 3s. 6d. as formerly.—
Berwick Warder.
use of rice, plain belled, at dinner,
Foop.—On this subject a correspondent says
threepence. would be enough for a pound of which, at
" Bread might be economised greazly in families by the
not in much estimation, nine persons. It is
prepared, but nothing is more simple, via.:—Have a
gallon of water boiling—throw in one pound of whole
salt ; let it boil twenty minutes, turn
rice, one ounce of because it is generally not well
it into a sieve,
let- it- drain . for a few minutes; tact a
r,GIQ ugly of &sip otitti toil it up to auJie it ijzli.."
r: .