The Sun.
London, England, 1835-07-27 00:00:00

WEST INDIA LOAN.

The long-expected notice for the West India Loan made
s appearance this morning (Saturday). It is as follows :

" TO THE GOVERNOR AND DEPUTY-GOVERNOR OF THE BANK OF

ENGLAND.

" Gentlemen,—l beg to inform you, and request you will
make it known in the usual manner, that on Wednesday next,
at eleven o'clock, Lord Melbourne and I shall be ready to
see any gentlemen who may be desirous of contracting for a
Loan under the provisions of an Act passed in the 3d and 4th
years of his present Majesty's reign for the abolition of slavery.
"We shall then inform the parties the amount which may
be required, the time and manner of the bidding, and hope
it will be convenient to you, or one of you, to meet those gen-
tlemen here at the appointed hour.
" I have the honor to be, Gentlemen, your most obedient
servant, " T. SPRING RICE."

It will be seen that nothing is disclosed by this notice either
respecting the amount of the Loan or the form of the con-
tract, and ample room has been left, therefore, for conjecture
on both subjects, which has, as usual on such occasions,
been pretty freely exercised. The really interesting part
of the question to the monied interest is, however, whether
the whole of the 20,000,0001. is to be negotiated at once,
or a portion of it now, and the remainder at some future
period. Most people incline to the belief that the former
course will be adopted, which has this obvious recommenda-
tion—that it seems for the country a high price, greatly above
the average one, of the funds, while any violent pressure on
the money-market by the operation may be prevented by
spreading the payments over a very long period of time. It
has been said to-day that the Chancellor of the Exchequer
entertained for some time the intention of making it an open
loan, and meant to have offered it to the public on these terms :
—75/. Consols, 25/. 3 per Cents. Reduced, 14s. Long An-
nuity, for every 100/. in money ; but that he was induced to
abandon that intention, as his present notice proves him to
have done, on consideration of the embarrassing situation in
which the Government would have been placed, had the sub-
scriptions of the public failed in raising the sum required.
The above offer, it may be observed, is calculated at the rate
of 89 per cent. for Consols, giving therefore a bonus of one
per cent. to the subscribers. The Right Hon. Gentleman
has acted very wisely in relinquishing that design, and by
throwing on the leaders of the monied interest, as he will do
in taking tenders for a contract, the onus of judging at
what price the public are likely to become subscribers, for
which they are better qualified than any Chancellor of
the Exchequer that ever held that office. A belief ex-
ists
that the Bank Directors do not regard this financial
measure in a very favourable point of view ; that
they apprehend consequences from it more or less
injurious to themselves, and above all that they are not disposed
to offer the usual facilities of taking in the scrip, and making
good the instalments, at a fixed rate of interest, after a certain
portion has been paid, for the holders. They are not, how-
ever, countenanced in their view of the case by other parties
not less judges of it than themselves. They remark, that if it
leads to a rise in the rate of interest, that is a good thing for
them as dealers in money, and it will have the effect at the
same time of keeping capital at home, instead of risking it in
foreign operations of a doubtful or dangerous character. As
to the making advances on the scrip, though they may refuse in
the first instance, it does not follow that they must persevere
in that refusal, but that they must lend money as other bankers
do on "good and approved security." Their perseverance in
refusing, will not, however, be attended with that danger to the
operation which might at first be apprehended. There is
much more general competition in banking now than in
the old times of loan-making; the joint-stock banks in
the country would find no difficulty in transferring their
capital to London for such purpose, and it is even
said that the London and Westminster bank have it
in contemplation to make further calls on their subscri-
bers for the purpose of engaging in such operations, should
any difficulty be experienced at the fountain-bead. From
these causes it is clear that no great importance need be at-
tached to what has been said on that part of the subject. It
is expected that two, and probably three, lists will be formed
to bid for the loan, and that there will be a coalition, if it is
required, to contract for the whole of the 20,000,000/. at once ;
which will be the case probably if the amount exceeds
12,000,0001. If less than the latter sum, the parties may be
expected to stand separately upon their own resources, and
those of their subscribers. The novelty of an English loan
contract, and this is the largest that has been undertaken
since the war, causes very considerable interest to attach to
it in the money-market.
The immediate effeat of the announcement of this morning
on the English funds was very slight. Consols fell to 89k;
but under the impression, which became very general near to
the close of the market, that the whole of the loan will not
be wanted in the first instance, the price rallied, and left off at
90 to Exchequer-bills closed at 295. to 30s. premium.—
Morning Paper.

On Wednesday, whilst the Albion steamer was
proceeding on her passage to Chatham, a pair of pigeons, of
the blue dragon species, were let off by a passenger on board—
the one a little above, and the other at the Norc Light. Both
birds were at home in their own dove-cot in the metropolis
within an hour of their being turned adrift.
- •

A WKWARD MISTAKE.—During the late festivities
at Cambridge, the Master of one of the Colleges was observed
to be paying a marked attention to a lady of much outward re-
spectability, till a police officer found it necessary to apprise
him of his mistake.

A duel took place a few days ago between the De-
puty Mayor of Castillon, in the Dordogne, and a physician of
the
.same place, the cause of which is not stated. Such was
the animosity of the parties, that they resolved to fire till one
of them should fall. After exchanging several shots, the phy-
sician received a ball in the body, and died shortly after.—
French Paper.

Wednesday morning, three waggons, containing
about 100 packages of goods which had left Manchester, at-
tached to the railway train for Liverpool, on approaching the
Whiston inclined plane, nine miles from Liverpool, were
discovered to be on fire, and before assistance could be given,
they and the goods were destroyed, amounting in value to
2,000/. The accident originated it is supposed from friction,
owing to the great speed at which the train was travelling.
The Railway Company are to make good the
The accounts from the agricultural districts state
the wheat to be everywhere ripening, and that the sickle will
be in full activity in the course of a week or ten days.

HARVEST.—Accomits from Italy state that in that
country the harvest had commenced under favouraMe auspices;
and in some parts of France a considerable breadth of oats
and rye have been cut.