The Sun.
London, England, 1832-09-21 00:00:00

THE FUNDS.-(THIS DAY.)

CITY; T WEL VE O' CL 0 CK.
Not a ship letter has come to hand this morning, nor
are there any other arrivals of consequence. The
estafette, from Paris, brings the rentes lower—Three per
Cents. 68f. 65c. We have received some further
particulars of the revolt which took place at Tripoli.
The Pacha having demanded new contributions to satisfy
the claims of the English Consul, the people hoisted
the standard of revolt, and Sidy Mehemmed, whose father
died in Egypt in 1826, was proclaimed Sovereign by the
rebels, who joined the troops of Sidney Aly Bey. The
gates of the town were closed and barricaded, and the
rebels took possession of the fortress which commanded
the town, and pointed the guns on it. The Pacha
has shut himself up in his chateau, but it is not
supposed that he can hold out, being in want of pro.
visions. Should the English Consul again attempt to go
on shore, it is feared he will be murdered by the people.

SPIRIT OF THE PUBLIC JOURNALS.

Some of our contemporaries have attacked
Mr. Hume for introducing a gentleman, named
Roebuck, to the electors of Bath, and intending
to introduce Dr. Bowring to the constituency of
a town in Lancashire. The chief ground of
objection taken to Mr. Hume's interference is
that it will divide the Reformers, and, by that
means, throw the representation into the hands
of the Tories. That Mr. Hume is not infal-
lible in his calculations is certain--and there-
fore we consider it far from impossible that his
estimate as to the strength of the Reform party
in either or in both of those places may lead him
further than he ought to go, or would be w
fil-
ling to go, in risking a triumph to the Tories, if
he was conscious that, by making such an
attempt, he was incurring such a risk. It is
evident, however, that he thinks the reforming
spirit in Bath, at least, is strong enough to over-
whelm both Whig and Tory in favour of a third
party, which, whether designated by the name of
Radical or not, will be willing to carry Reform
into more extensive operation in regard to re-
duced expenditure, both in Church and State,
than either of the two great, and hitherto sole,
competitors for power in this country. It is
possible, as we stated before, that Mr. Hume
may be mistaken in his calculation ; but that
this is the calculation on which he is acting
there can be no doubt. In fact, the different
parties of which the community is composed,
and which will each have a voice in the Legis-
lature as now constituted, have not yet had time
to arrange themselves under the new state of
things; and the proceeding so much objected
to as playing the game of the Tories is the first
movement of one of those parties to a more ad-
vanced position than it has hitherto occupied in
the political scale. Without professing to adopt
the opinions of Mr. Hume, but, on the con-
trary, disclaiming them—for we follow no party
and no individual—we must say that we can
see no reason why he should not avail himself
of any prospect which the state of any particular
borough or county may seem to hold out for the
advancement of those objects which he believes
to be right. It is not because the brother of Sir
John Cam Hobhouse, who was once a Radical,
and is now a Secretary at War, has declared
himself a candidate, that Mr. Roebuck, or Dr.
Bowring, or any other gentleman, should be
considered intruders for aspiring to the same
honour. It is not because Sir F. Burdett, who
also was once a Radical, and is now almost as
much a Whig Ministerialist as his colleague for
Westminster, has thought proper to recommend
Mr. Hobhouse to the good people of Bath,
that Mr. Hume should be denounced as a rene-
gade from the cause of reform for recommend.
ing another gentleman, with whose views and sen-
timents he is better satisfied. Mr. Hume may
injure the cause of reform by mistake, but it
is plain enough what he is driving at, and it
is scarcely less plain that those who object
to his conduct are as much afraid of his
success as they are of the success of the
Tories. At all events the movement indi-
cates. a split between him and the Whigs.
Whether the result will prove favourable or ad-
verse to his influence as a political leader is a
question of so much importance to himself, that
it is difficult not to give him credit for having
duly calculated the probabilities on both sides. If
his recommendation should succeed against the
recommendation of Sir Francis Burdett (back-
ing the authority of the Government), it is evi-
dent that the Government will have an opposition
to encounter in the new Parliament strongly cal-
culated to embarrass their proceedings, by hold-
ing out more extensive plans
..pf economy and
retrenchment. This is the opposition to be feared,
for an opposition, with even a small portion of
the people at its back, would be much more
formidable to any Ministry than one supported
only by the defeated boroughmongers, who, in
losing their boroughs, have lost the power of
confederating with any chance of success for the
restoration of the old system.—Morn. Herald.
In our paper of yesterday we brought down
the combined operations of foreign commerce
and loans to the years 1819-20, by showing
that in 1817-18 about 30,000,000/. in those
two years, had been raised, in the way of loan,
by the French Government, and 3,600,000/. In
Prussia ; and that about 15,000,0001. value of
English Three per Cent. Stock, held by foreign-
ers, had been largely drawn on in those two
years, to be vested in French and other securi-
ties ; but we omitted to mention that, in addition
to the sums raised by France and Prussia, Rus-
sia also raised in those two years upwards of
4,000,0001; Austria upwards of 4,000,000/. ;
and Holland near 2,000,000/.—the sums raised
by Russia and Austria were on terms equal to a
rate of interest of 7 per cent. per annum. We
stated that the effect of these operations had
been to throw a profusion of bills of exchange
into all the commercial markets of Europe, and
which had produced the same effects on the rates
of exchange and equalization of the excess of
exports, in the same way as the British Govern-
ment bills had done during the war. Of the
exact amount transferred from England, on ac-
count of the several sums above-mentioned, we
have no precise data to guide us; but as the
invoice value of the exports to Continental Eu-
rope in those two years (1817-18), amounted
to 57,000,0001., while the commercial value
of all the articles imported, after allowing
7,500,0001. for the excess of price in grain, did
not exceed 29,500,000/., it left 27,500,0001. to
be equalised, either by the bills in question, or,
as in 1816, by insolvency leading to declension
in price, except so far as bills to the amount of
4,000,000/. to 5,000,000/. drawn by permanent
absentees and transient travellers, might have
augmented the amount of the loan and invest-
ment bills. We have used the term commercial
value, to distinguish the value of the imports,
as far as. they constitute equivalents in payment
for the exports : e. g. brandy, for consumption,
is about 325. per gallon ; 325. may therefore be
termed its consuming price. When taken out
of the bands of the importer and first charged
with duty, it may be rated at about 275. pet
gallon ; this may be termed its trade price : but,
as an equivalent in payment for exports, it must
be taken at its value in the port from whence it
is shipped, which will be 3s. to 4s. per gallon ;
and this is its commercial value. The difference
between the consuming and commercial value of
an article will be seen to depend on its porta.
bility or bulk, and fiscal exaction. Timber, per-
haps, exhibits the greatest extreme ; the con•
suming price of timber may be 51. per load, com-
posed of 50s. duty, 253 freight, 10s. contingent
charges ; leaving only 15s. per load as its com-
mercial value. Hence it is that while the con-

suming price of all the foreign timber imported
equal to about 5,000,0001. per annum, it is only
equal to an export of about 750,0001. in tht
proportion of about 500,0001. to Canada, and
50,0001. to Europe, except so far as thu
amount to Europe may be increased by being

imported iu foreigii ships—the export may then
be increased to the value of the freight as well as
the timber. It will be seen by this that when a
question izaised by the British shipping inte-
rest against the foreign ships, the onus of the
case lies between them and the British manufac-
. turer, rather than with the owners of the foreign
ships ; inasmuch as the legitimate demand for
British Manufactures is augmented in proportion
to The employment of foreign shipping in Eng-
lish ports. It is true that a diminution of means
of internal expenditure ensues on the part of
the BritiSh shipowner, but that is another ques-
tion, deserving, we admit, of all possible consi-
deration. But as far as the question of export is
concerned, if an extension of export is desirable,
the more foreign shipping is employed the better,
inasmuch as the freight augments the means of
payinent. In thus placing the matter fairly before
our readers, we request to be understood as not
admitting the policy of the employment of fo-
reign ships in preference to British, but as hav-
ing introduced the subject for the purpose of
showing its intricacy, and warning the speculatist
on such questions against drawing hasty conclu-
sions. In like manner we have digressed to
explain the distinction between the commercial
and consuming value of the products imported.
It may here not be out of place to offer some
apology to our readers for the extent of detail
into which we have entered for some days past,
more particularly so as we commenced with the
purpose of showing the fallacies which pervade
the evidence taken before the Committee on the
Bank of England Charter, in regard to currency
and banking ; but as those fallacies arise from a
partial ,or too limited a view of the subject, or
rather from those subjects being entertained as
abstract and primary principles, while, in Lc',
► they are only subordinate means of action, in
the great combination and aggregate of social
affairs, we deemed it alike necessary and pro-
per to place fully and fairly before the public
the whole' range and' extent of transactions,
in which currency and banking, although not
unimportant, are r but minor instruments ; by
which it will be seen, as we have before
repeatedly stated, that the contraction of the cur-
rency followed the absence of all confidence in
commercial transactions, as a natural effect of
the diversion of all the surplus money capital of
Europe from the legitimate operations of mutual
and beneficial exchange to the novel and exten-
sive practice of trading in money. In fact, with
regard to the term contraction of the currency,
we may say of it, as Mr. Rothschild said of the
pars of exchange. " There is no par," said he ;
neither is there any contraction of the currency.
It is not a'contraction, in the strict sense of the
term, because it is admitted every day that cur-
rency is abundant ; and the legitimate operations
of commerce and trading are not impeded on ac-
count ot:any destitution or diminution of means,
but oil account of their diversion, or rattier per -
version of application, into channels which tend
to obstruct consumption, by supplying the several
Governments of Europe with revenue in the way of
loans, instead of applying it to increase produc-
tion,.andicave the revenues to be derived by
the legitimate means of an enlarged consump-
tion.—Morning Herald.
After the exhibition which the Bank Direc-
tors lately made of their concerns and manage-
ment before a Committee of the House of Com-
mons, and at the bar of the public, the exhibi-
tion which the Bank Proprietors yesterday made
of themselves will be viewed with some interest.
•The former has been so recent, that we need
scarcely attempt to recal it,—the latter is so ob-
trusive, that it scarcely requires to be pointed
out. From the speeches of the Proprietors who
favoured the Court, and through the Court the
public, with their observations, we gather some
facts which it might have been 'as prudent to
conceal, and learn the existence of some feel-
ings of which Parliament will no doubt take
advantage. One proprietor, who has all his
life been calling for publicity of accounts, now
finds that the public has seen too far into the
internal working of the Bank system. Another
abuses the Bank Committee for putting certain
questions to the Directors, and pronounces
the " infamy" of the Government for let-
ting them be published. The Governor
himself thinks it necessary to protect his cha-
racter from the imputation of agreeing to the
publication of his evidence, and tells us that he
was applied to for his sanction to the publication,
and refused. Thus we find that one and all—
Governor, Directors, and Proprietors—are hos-
tile to publicity when their own gains are likely
to be diminished, or the national interests served,
by an open and unreserved disclosure of their
affairs. Thus we likewise learn, that if the
charter were to be again renewed to-morrow on
its present footing, we should have a recom-
mencement and repetition of that mystery which
lately hung over the concerns of Threadneedle-
street, till another Parliamentary Committee was
appointed_ to inquire into the policy of another
renewal.' A partition-wall would again be raised
between the Bank Parlour and the Court of
Proprietors,—between the manufacturers of our

money and the public who take it on Bank
credit. The motive, expressed perhaps inadver-
tently,—certainly imprudently,—for being dis-
pleased with the disclosures made by the
Directors before the Bank Committee, shows
the vast utility of such a searching inquiry
as was, lately instituted; and of such a public
discussion as the printed evidence has undergone.
"The disclosures," said Mr. Young, " had done
An immense deal of harm, and it would take the
whole vigilance of the Proprietors, as well as the
Legislature, to produce such a Charter as
might have been got without them." Another
Proprietor, with the same motive, declared that
the Directors should have refused the accounts ;
—forgetting, no doubt, that if the Bank refused
to afford evidence as to its condition and manage-
ment, Parliament might refuse a renewal of its
charter; :and that parties who come to ask for
privileges are bound to answer questions which
affect the policy of granting them. But it is
impossible to expect consistency in a body
of men whose only tie or bond of con-
nection is the receipt of a 4 per cent. dividend
twice a year in the Court-room of the Bank, or
from the Bank cashiers. Thus, while one
gentleman thought that the property of the
establishment was injured by indiscreet dis-
closures, another imagined that now, by these
very. disclosures, the Bank had made out a claim
for the renewal of its charter, and suggested to
the Directors the propriety of now presenting
their petition to Parliament, with a full certainty
of success. We would only beg this good Pro-
priTtor not to be so sanguine, on pai❑ of being
,lisappointed. There is no chance that the char-
ter will be renewed with all its existing privileges
onless the Court of Proprietors proceed from
Threadneedle-street to Westminster, and, b,•
riotously surrounding the House of Con►►nun>;,
like Lord George Gordon's mob, compel the
.Vlembers to vote in their favour. We shill take

care that the modest complaint Uf atitnher