The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-04 00:00:00

" PALMERSTON..
" G. C. LE WIS.
"To the Governor and Deputy-Governor of the
Bank of England."

" Bank of England, Nov. 13.
" My Lord and Sir,—Having laid before the Court of
Directors the letter received from you yesterday with
respect to a further issue, if necessary, exceeding the
limits of the circulation prescribed by the Act of 1844,' we
have now the honour to inclose a copy of the resolution of
the Court thereupon.
" We have, &0.,
" SHEFFIELD NEAVE.
" BONAMY DOBREE.
" To the Right Hon. Viscount Palmerston, and the
Right Hon. Sir George Cornewall Lewis, Bart."

"At a Court of Directors at the Bank on Friday, the
13th of November, 1857 :
" Resolved,—That the Governors be requested to in'
form the First Lord of the Treasury and the Chancellor of
the Exchequer that the Court is prepared to act in cortfor•
nay with the letter addressed to them yester,,ay-
" JOHN BENTLEY, Secretary.'"
Downin street, Nov. 27'.
"Gentlemen,—ln our letter to you o g-f
the 12th inst. life
informed you that if, in the state of commercial discredit
and distrust which had arisen, the directors of the Bank of
England should be unable to meet the demands for dos
Counts and advances upon approved securities without ex•
ceeding the limits of their circulation prescribed by the
Act of 1814, the Government would be prepared to propose
to Parliament, upon its meeting, a Bill of Indemnity for
any excess so issued.
" It appears from the return of the Bank of England fort
the week ended Wednesday, the 18th of November, tha
the directors had at that time issued from the issue do'.
pertinent to the banking department 2,000,0 j 0/. of notes
on securities in excess of the limit fixed by law.
" As, therefore, the contingency contemplated
propos.l of a Bill of Indemnity occurred, and as the
session of Parliament is now at hand, we are desirous of
receiving from you such an explanation
with respect the
course which the directors have pursued in regulating their
issues of notes since the 12th inst. as they may be able to
furnish to us for the information of her Majesty's Govern'
meut. "We have, &c. for the
'"
PALMERSTON.
"The Governor and Deputy-Governor of the LEWIS.
Bank of England."

‘" ‘haßvaenkthe honour land, Dec.
of
England,
ledge the receipt of your letter of the 27th inst., ntoack n 2.
0
My Lord and Sir,—Wer.
request-
ing ' such an explanation with respect to the course which
the directors of the Bank of England have pursued in re'
galatiug their issues of notes since the 12th inst. as thef
may be able to furnish for the information of herlifsjesty'il
Government'

" In complying with this wish it may be well to allude
to the position of the Bank of England accounts anterior
to the receipt of the letter of the 12th.
" On the 24th of October the bullion in the issue depart-
ment was 8,777,0001.; the reserve. 4,079,0001.; the notesin
the hands of the public, 19,766,000/. ; the discount and ad-
vances,lo,262,ooo/.; and the deposits, 16,126,0001.; the rate
of discount at the Bank being 8 per cent. for bills having
not more than 95 days to run.
" In the following week a great shock of credit and a con-
sequent demand on the Bank of England for discounts arose
from the failure of the Liverpool Borough Bank, whose re-
discounted bills were largely held by the bill-brokers and
others in London. The effects of this and other failures,
however, up to this time, had not occasioned any alarming
pressure on the resources of the Bank, or great disquietude
in commercial affairs in London.
" On the sth of November the reserve was 2,914,0001.,
the bullion in the issue department 7,919,000 Z., and the
deposits 17,265,030/. The rate of discount was advanced
to 9 per cent., and on the 10th of Nov. to 10 per cent.
"The continental drain for gold had ceased, the Ameri-
can demand had become unimportant, and there was at that
time little apprehension that the Bank issues would be in-
adequate to meet the necessities of commerce within the
legalised sphere of their circulation,
"Upon this state of things, however, supervened the
failure of the Western Bank of Scotland and the City. of
Glasgow Bank, and a renewed discredit in Ireland, causing
an increased action upon the English circulation by the
abstraction abstraction in four weeks of upwards of two millions of
gold to supply the wants of Scotland and Ireland; of
which amounts more than one million was sent to Scot-
land and 280,0001. to Ireland between the sth and 12th of
November.
" This drain was in its nature sudden and irresistiblot
and acted necessarily in diminution of the reserve, which
on the 11th had decreased to 1,462,0001 and the ballioa
to 6,666,0001.
.1
" The public became alarmed, large deposits secumn:
lated in the Bank ;of England, money dealers having ve"
sums lent to them upon call were themselves obliged to re'
sort to the,Bank of England for increased supplies, and for
some days nearly the whole of the requirements of corn'
pierce were thrown on tt • Bank. Thus, on the 12th,
it
discounted and advanced to the amount of 2,373,004'
which still left a reserve at night of 581,00,1.
" Such was the state of the Bank of England accounts on
the 12th, the day of the publication of the letter from tcohne.
Treasury. The demand for discounts and advaneer
tinned to increase till the 21st,; when they reached their
maximum of 21,616,000/.
" The public have also required a much larger quantity
of notes than usual at this season, the amount in their
hands having risen on the 21st to 21,554,00 a
Bankthe"lTethteerfrthe
oni have,
theTreasurysince the i 8 L2dt h
2, under
,0o 000 the
oi.
ofauthority
notes
in
excess of the limits of the circulation preosctrhtbeeid.ssubye
Act of 1841, and have passed securities t
partment to that amount.
actually
aTlhlyatp,ahrtoewdewveitrh,
bisy not
et
9.:8,000/., the remainder of the 2,000,0001. having been
Btahnek7weahrahrebao of
nott h o
exceededamount
ra
tamed as a reserve of notes in the banking department,
kick. at the same time, also held 407,0201. it coin._h
Nov.
We subjoin a statement of accounts from the ant that
to the 28th inclusive, from which it will be app
to remy a
t'Onesl in your letter of
the Bank continued to meet all the demands ford discounts
and advances, on approved securities,
mercial discredit and distress men
in Scotland,
twin joint-stock banks
England SO
mercantile firms chiefly connected with the
the 12th inst., as occasioned by thedrecentfailuargewofelcel
as
of certain large
American trade,' and aggravated
banbkys.the subsequent em.
Dec. '1 amounted in the aggro-
between Nov. 12 and
" In discounts and advances the sums supplied to the
barrassment of large joitstk
publicate to 12,645
SHEFFIELD NEAVE. Governor-.
:
DOBREE, Deputy-Governor.
B 000N0 1A
.
g
" To the Right Hon. the First Lord of the
Treasury and the Right Hon. the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer."

_
JAMES WILSON.
Treasury Chambers, Dec. 3.

INVIaNESS AND AMAMI!' JUNCTION RAILWAY..--•
This line from Nairn to Daivey is expected to be opened
on or about the 9th of December.
ANTI-SLAVERY MEETING AT NEWCASTLE. —On Thurs
day night Mr. W. Craft held a public meeting in the
Lecture-room, Newcastle. The chair was occupied by
the Mayor. After Mr. Craft's lecture, which was lis-
tened to with much sympathy, Mr. John Mawson
moved, and the Rev. Thomas Rowland seconded, the
following resolution : —" That Mr. Craft and the Ameri-
can Anti-slavery Abolitionists deserve our warmeEt
support and sympathy, and that American slaveholding
d wands the condemnation of all men, especially of
those professing to be Christians and lovers of civil and
religious liberty."—Northern Daily Express.

•
BIRTHS.
BARRETT—On the Ist inst., at Court Lodge, Shorne, Kent'
the wife of Tuffuell S. Barrett, Esq., of a son and heir.
BERNET - On the Ist inst., at Croydon, Surrey, the wif° °f
Edward Berney, Esq., of a daughter. ~anteDEVOXBIIIRE—On the 3d inst, at 12, Albert•road, Bee
park, Mrs. T. H. Devonshire, of a son. •
MILLER—On the 2d inst ,at 41,
Vietoria-stroet,We of
stminster,
the wife of John Fisher Miller, Esq., baffister•at JAW
a d aughter.

DOWBIG4IN ZER_MoAn Rthße
2ldAinGstE,Sa.t
St. James's, pieca!
dilly, by the Rev. Spencer R. Dru.mmonci, assisted by the
Rev. A. B. Frazer, Major M. H. Dowbiggin, to Frances
Ann, only daughter of Colonel Frazer.
GREENFIELD —NEW MAN—On the 2d inst., at St. John's Church,
Redhill, Surrey, by the Rev. H. Goose, Georgo Greenfield,
Esq , Harlow, Essex, to Jemima, (laughter of Mr, Thomas
Newman, brewer, of 'runbridge -wells.

DEATHS
BALLY—On the 2d inst., after a short illue‘s' William Ford
Bally, Esq., of 15, Sion-hill, Bath, aged 59.
FORSYTH —On the 2d inst., at Liverpool, Thomas Forsyth,

Esq., aged 6S.
FORSYTII —On the 2d inst., at 1, Little Newport street, Mr•
Wiliam Forsyth, aged 50.
GURNEY—On the 2d inst., at Burlingham, Norfolk, after a
few hours' illness, Mary, relict of the late B. H. Gurneb
Esq., aged 64.

Jens; N the 28th Nov., at Camden-town, John Johnson,
1.1.1., of the Tithe-office, Loudon, aged 54.
LAWS—Ou the 3d inst., after a short illness, at Watford,
Hefts, John Laws, se:., for many years of the Clarendon
Hotel, -go 1 63.
WILSON -On the 3d inst., Mrs. Wilson, relict of Mr. Joni k
Wilson, of Foster-lane, Chearside, aged 64.

LONDON ; Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNU .
of No, 112, Strand, Printor, at Ths Sun Office, No.
112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in the county
of Middlesex, Friday, December 4, 184.

T.HE GOVERNMENT AND THE BANK or
ENGLAND.

The following copies of correspondence between the
First Lord of the Treasury and the Chancellor of the
Exchequer and the Bank of England respecting the
Onlargetnent of their issues beyond the limit fixed by the
Bank Act of 1844 were laid upon the table of the Hoa4•
of Commons last night :

" Gentlemen,—Her Majesty's‘‘l) o wGn
Government Nov.
hay. a
ob'
served with great concern the serious consequences which
have ensued from the recent failure of certain joint-stock
banks in England, as well as of certain large mercantile
firms, chiefly connected with the American trade. The
discredit and distrust which have resulted from these
events, and the withdrawal of a large amount of the paper
circulation authorised by the existing Bank Acts, aPPeer
to her Majesty's Government to render it necessary for
them to inform the directors of the Bank of England, that
if they should be unable in the present emergency to meet
the demands for discounts ad advances upon approved se'
curities without exceeding the limits of their circulation
prescribed by the Act of 1844, the Government will be
prepared to propose to Parliament upon its meeting a Bill
of Indemnity for any excess so issued.
" In order to prevent this temporary relaxation of the
law being extended bsyond the actual necessities of the
occasion, her Majesty's Government are of opinion that
the Bank terms of discount should not be reduced
below
their present rate.
" Her Majesty's Government reserve for future conside-
ration the appropriation of any profits which may arise
upon issues in excess of the statutory amount.
" Her Majesty's Government are fully impressed with
the importance of maintaining the letter of the law, even
in a time of considerable mercantile difficulty; but they
believe that, for the removal of apprehensions which have
clucked thecourse of monetary transactions, such a measure
as is now contemplated has become necessary, and they
rely upon the discretion and prudence of the directors for
confining its operation within the strict limits of the exi-
geucieg of the case.—We have, &c., _