The Sun.
London, England, 1860-03-30 00:00:00

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His Royal Highness the Dult:
General-Commanding-in-Chief,
day afternoon, at the Horse Gu • r
fully attended.'
The annexed General Order was itiged Astea
day from the Horse Guards, dated the 26th inst.:—
" His Royal Highness the General Command-
ing-in-Chief has been pleased to appoint Lieut.-
Col. the Hon. Richard Charteris, of the Scots Fu-
silier Guards, to be Aide-de-Camp to his Royal
Highness, vice Brevet Col. the Earl of Westmore-
land, C. 8., Coldstream Guards, who has resigned
that appointment; and Major the Hon. H. F.
Keane, of the• Royal Engineers, to he extra Aide-
de-Camp to his Royal Highness, vice Lieut.-Col.
Maude, C.B.,Royal Artillery, appointed Crown
Equerry to er Majesty.
" These appointments will date from the Ist of
April,lB6o.

" By order of his Royal Highness, the General
Commanding-in-Chief,
" W. F. FORSTER, Dppnty-Adjt.-General."

RISE IN THE RATE OF DISCOUNT.

The measure is too unimportant to give rise to
cmuclidiseussion, but its limited character is an argu-
, merit to show its needlessness. At ordinary periods
the Bank rule should be, and is, to charge the
highest rate they can obtain. But the interval be-
tween `the shutting of the transfer books and the
payment'of the dividends has always been consi-
dered exceptional, unless when prompt measures
have been required from the existence ofa severe
drain of bullion. The reason is, that the Bank, as
banker to the Government, then accumulates in its
hands the revenue payments made by the people at
large, and that it has not been deemed fair to take
advantage of the F carcity thus created by charging
an extra price for letting the commercial world
. have the use of their money back again. On the
present occasion not only is there no drain of bul-
lion going on, but the amount held i 3 nearly half a .„
million in excess of the total on the 3let January,
when 4 per cent. was adopted as a stefficitnt rate,
while the'reserve of unemployed tibtes_is nearly
two millions higher. Even as compared with the
reserve in December, just.before the payment of the
last dividends, and when the rate of discount was
per cent., the falling off is only £1,392,310. It
is impossible not to feel that to make a change
within 12 days of the April dividends, and to dis-
turb the public mind for the sake of a half per
cent., is, under such circumstances, a questionable
proceeding. It cannot be supported, either by
the plea that the Bank have a right to charge
as much as they can get, or on the ground
that it is necessary as an act of prudence, be-
cause, while money is locked up for revenue, they
could as easily get 5 per cent. as 41, and should
therefore demand that sum, if they are to demand
as Much as possible, while as a measure against
commercial inflation, or political danger, a rise of a
half per cent, when the rate is already at 4 per cent.
must be wholly inadequate. If the Bank were to
adopt the sound principle of abstaining from any
formal announcement of a minimum rate, and to
guide themselves solely by the market from day to
day, a slight movement like the present might be
made at a time without creating disturbance, but
their present practice leads to a great stir through-
out the country and to speculative variations in the
prices of all descriptions of securities, and therefore
renders it necessary that a change should never
be adopted unless the grounds for it are perfectly
plain and such as any one Might have traced with-
out difficulty by observing the Gazette returns. It
is believed that, these were the views of a very large
minority in the Court to-day and the debate was
therefore a protracted one. At the same time, it is
satisfactory to understand that although the public,
on the announcement being made, naturally looked
upon the measure as a probable precaution against
political contingencies, especially as there are no
recognisable commercial dangers to guard against,
it: was not in reality prompted by any feeling in
that respect.—Times' City Article.