The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-14 00:00:00

.CJ e-e-'`z

they must expect to find the lineaments and limbs
of the frescoes distorted and grotesque, and the
sound of the bell occasionallyjarring and discordant.
Returning to the foot of the tower, we found an
adventurous band, headed by Sir B. Hall and Mr.
Denison, about to scale its height, bent on seeing
*here the bell was finally to be hung. To those
who La I mounted Antwerp Tower or scaled the
G,t!tic lacework of Strasburg, 200 feet, especially
up an unworn staircase lighted with gas, is no
very arduous undertaking; still, keeping historic
truth always in view, we are compelled to
say that if any of the " deaf adders" before allud-
ed to were of this climbing party they became
"puff adders" ere they reached the top. Deans
and bishops and ecclesiastical dignitaries ought
never to climb above their thrones or prebendal
stalls. Fancy a dignitary of the Church suddenly
becoming broken-winded 150 feet above the ground,
in a narrow staircase. How is he to get up f How
is he to get down ? Who is to pass him ? There he
stands, a bulwark of Church and State, in hie
proper place, no doubt, but a great obstacle here,
puffing and panting like a Christmas bullock half-
way up a high tower.
Now we are two-thirds up the tower, above the
clock-dial, more than 200 feet above the pavement,
and just where the stonework ends and iron begins.
Here, on a frame of wood not yet erected, " Big
Bin" is to be hung. Mr., Denison confesses a de-
sire that his boll should be hung still higher up, in
the open gallery of iron-work above the stone.
The feasibility of this was discussed, and, after an
extempore debate, which, at anyrate, was not weary-
ing from itslength it seemed to be thegeneral opinion
that the lo eer site is best, due regard being had to
its more extensive area, while the higher position
would tend to check and confuse the vibration,
owing to the too great proximity of the bell to the
iron of which the top of the tower is composed. So
for the present we are advised to prefer the lower
site, and we descend to the grounqighly delighted
with our morning's work.
But before we leave this subject we must make
some remarks on the name now commonly given to
the bell ; and certainly, as we first christened it, no
one can have a better right to stand up for our god-
child. Some delightfully courtly persons on the top
of the tower wore Aleploring-_-the vulgarity of the
term " Big Ben." In a spirit of flattery—from
which we are entirely free, as we do not expect to
become great Government contractors, to farm the
sewers, to be raised to the vacant bishopric which
that Pope, Lord Palmerston, obstinately keeps in
petto, or even to become a simple dean—in*a spirit
of flattery we say, some of these worthy people, of
whose profession and position we are entirely igno-
rant, and none of whom it is therefore requested
will suppose that they are meant, were deploring
that it was a pity the bell was net called "the Royal
Albert," or "The Lady Victoria," or "the Princess
Royal," or "the Crown Princess of Prussia," or any-
thing courtly, or, as the Germans would express it,
" v)rnehnt," instead of this odious " Big Ben," so
willingly adopted by that stupid public. We are
ready at once to admit that these Sampsons of flat-
tery have a happy talent for dragging in the Royal
family on all occasions, but we cannot congratulate
them on their ears. The name of a bell must be short

and glib ; it must run trippingly ; it must repre-
sent a sound ; it must be English. Now, " Vic-
toria" and "Albert " are honoured names, but
they are not short or glib. They are neither of
them particularly English in sound. In a word,
they may be lit for anything else, but they are not
fit for a bell, and if given the public will not accept
them. We are glad to say that Sir Benjamin Hall
when appealed to on the subject, replied in a man-
ner not very encouraging to the objectors ; while

Mr. Danison observed that he was afraid the bell

was already christened, and that it was too late
to change the name. We wonder what the

courtly flatterers of the age of the Planta-
genets thought of all the " Great Toms" which

sprung up out of the blood of a certain low-
born Thomas, sometime Archbishop of Canter-
bury. We daresay they thought them horridly
. .

vulgar, but, though Becket's bones were scattered
to the winds after an idolatry of more than three

centuries. yet his name still survives in our English
" Great Toms." We do not know that " Ben" is

worse in this respect than "Tom ;" both are aw-
fully vrlgar, no doubt, though we know some good
men and true called " Tom,' but both are decent
English, and they certainly agree in this, that no
English King has ever sat on the Throne either as
Thomas or Benjamin.

" En Thoma laude resono bum bom sine frmicle,"
ran the old monkish Leonine on Becket's bells.

Would not

"Vietorim laude resono Big Ben sine fraude"—
where we beg all good Englishmen to excuse the
false quantity for the sake of the loyalty of the een-

timen-t—be as good for our Great Westminster
Bell ; or would our courtly flatterers prefer alegend
which we remeniber to have seen on some tho-

roughly foreign un•English bell, hanging over
P.Jace gate, and containing much more brass in

corni;osition than this of Mr. Denison ?
"lIIENTIOR ET ASSENTIOR."

RISE OF THE RAT& OF DISCOUNT.

The Bank of England yesterday resolvid upon
an advance to a uniform rate of 7 per cent.
It was on the 6th of last month they adopted 6
per cent. for bills not having more than two months
to run, and 7 per cent. for all bills over two and
under three months. There will now be no dis-

tixiction between the two classes of paper. _
At the same time the course adopted on Tuesday
of declining to rediscount bills for the brokers hav-
ing more than 30 days to run will be persevered
in. This, however, is not a matter of importance,
since it isa practice constantly resorted to when-
ever the immediate prospects of the money nr:zket
have been of an uncertain character. Moreover,
the usual monthly loans will be made on all bills
maturing within 9i days.
The announcement of the advance to 7 per cent.
oecaiioned considerable surprise. Last week a
general impression prevailed of the possibility of a
new movement, but the anticipation had since,
without any very clear cause, almost wholly sub-
sided. Nevertheless, there as been every dispo-
sition to recognise in it a continuance of the sound
policy which kept the financial world free from all
shocks during the war, and which has thus far
advertedof our being permanently
(arenriagi theedl, possibilityytliesubsequent break up of the conti-
nental inflation.
In ,the live weeks since the last advance was
notified the Bank bullion has undergone a further
diminution-of more than a million, and the foreign
exchanges have in many quarters become less fa.vour-
able, while the applications for discount havelately
been on a scale again to trench on the reserve of
unemployed notes. The fact is also to be noticed
that those immediate changes are not to be attri-
buted to any unsound action on the part of the
Bank of France. If such were the case a new rise in
the rate of discount would scarcely be of much use.
But that establishment for two or three weeks past
has abstained from its irregular operations, and
the French rate of exchange has consequently again
approached a point at which gold might be sent
away in ordinary course. The question was, there-
fore, whether this condition of circumstances was
to be allowed to go on. It is true the arrival of
the overdue gold from Australia might exercise an
influence on the continent, whither it would be at
once despatched, which would react well on this side,
but it could not do more for the moment than
prevent the money market from becoming worse,
and the thing desired is an action that shall put an
end, if
possible, to the chronic uncertainty that
prevails, and produce, if only in a very gradual
manner, a turn of the tide. What has now been
resolved upon may not even effect that object, and
it is quite certain it will not do more. That it is a
measure in the right direction must, therefore, be
beyond question.
Meanwhile, it cannot be too distinctly repeated
not only that the present advance should e viewed
without the slightest commercial apprehension, but
that the public might still rema,in free
wh from
ais alarm,
whatever rate might be adeßten goingun
art of other
the cart
a final crash in
on is merely a scramble on t
tries for our money, and, as to
their speculations they
unless w
are
do
iffneg
sr a. n y:ihoinner;
e take care to
they will of course succeed,ftb
keep up to the full range. o
I
can-
not complain of this position.in fact, as the
like everything else, We being a commodity,
we are the only people whohave any to spare, and
character of the drain upon ve evidence that
that we are still lenders rather than borrowers, it
is the most satisfactory ground we could occupy.
It would be better for commerce to be free from
such disturbances altogether, but if they are to
happen we could not find ourselves in a state of
greater security than that which now exists. If
our manufacturers are obliged to pay 7 per cent.
for their capital, all other manufacture ri are obliged
to make greater sacrifices, and hence, our power
of competition not being injured, we have only to
make a proportionate increase in the charge for
our productions. indeed, as it is plain 'rom the
extent of our imports, the guarded nature of our
trade, our sufficient harvest, and our abstinencefrom commitments from foreign or home
enter-
prises calculated to absorb our means that we have
ill consequences, not laid the foundation of any es, we
may rest assured that the only duty we now owe to
ourselves is to have faith in our own SOUllell 355, and
not to allow the real bearing of such measures as
the Bank have lately adopted to be misrepresented
Times' City Article.
or made in any quarter the cause of idle panic.-.

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