The Sun.
London, England, 1856-11-27 00:00:00

BATE OF DISCOU.NT.

Although the desirableness of an immediate re-
duction of the rate of discount is generally admitted,
great doubt to prevail as to its being
adopted by the Bank the week. The Bank direc-
tors being the only persons who can judge of the
returns which will appear in next Friday's Gazette,
it is possible they may have reasons for delay
which cannot yet be appreciated ; but, supposing
these returns to present favourable features, their
hesitation to give relief from the exceptional pres-
sure which has lately prevailed will be regarded. by
many with disappointment. There is no brapch
of the industry of the country which can remain
unaffected by the existing state of the money-
market, while with such firms as are unfler heavy
commitments based upon calculations of urn ave-
rage rate of discount it constitutes a daily question
of actual loss to be sustained. To railway com-
panies and other public bodies requiring at regular
periods to raise large sums on debentures it is like-
wise a formidable point. One plea in favour of
hesitation will probably be that it is desirable to
give time to ascertain if the firmer tone of the con-
tinental exchanges will be maintained ; but, not-
withstanding the feeling that if there is any room
for doubt it is always better to err on the side of
caution, the matter is too important for delay to be
justified on merely conjectural grounds. It must
likewise be borne in mind that just in proportion
as the present rate is upheld beyond its natural
and proper term the rebound to a different condi-
tion will be more sharp—a contingency always
to be guarded against as much as possible. With
respect to the continental exchanges, they are now
free from any feature to cause apprehension,
especially as it is not necessary to the satisfac
tory course of trade that they should remain in
favour of this countty,disc whose function it is to
'ergo all the Australian and a great portion of
3
. yments that fall due to fo-
- 13
the Californ,- e itself with the surplus that
.„ 441 the rates of discount
reigners, conteii!lne,
may ieriffiirt. As reg—
• -.tit, they undoubtedly
cent.n e
now in force tips the Gelatin,7 per in
fail to warrant the filAinienance
be g
London. At Ilasis first-clasp paper qterdana
. tiated at 51, at Vienna, Frankfort, andAn,. is
5 per cent. is the general charge, at Hamburg
C atod itx jogi-ura 4 per cent. •Wo are, therefore,
altogether wit' hliirrion7 with the rates of other
commercial cities, and wnilo on the one hand it is
true that the recent approach to a recostery of con-
fidence throughout Europe is yet far from having
made such progress as to remove all doubt as to
its
being permanent, there is on the other enough to
authorise a favourable movementbeing retraced if
for the present,
and nothing to prevent the step
even in a short time such a course should be found
_—
desirahle.—Times.

DOWN WITH THE PERAIII3IILATORS.—Hooping-cOugh
a nronchitis have been largely Ltal to children in the
lasd t ben days. Medical men of experience attribute
much of the prevalence of the complaint to el,ildren
being taken about in perambulators, in which they
Slit
for h ou rs without motion of the limbs or exercise to
keep up the necessary warmth.