The Sun.
London, England, 1861-11-18 00:00:00

FRENCH FINANCE

It appears that the rise in French Rentes on Fri-
' day, from which there has since been a partial reac-
` tion, was mainly caused by a report that the
amount to be raised by loan in cash will not exceed
' between £12,000,000 and £10,000,000. It is gene-
' rally supposed that the Obligations de l'Etat at 30
years' date, issued this year, will be converted into
Rentes. They were created in opposition to the
advice of M. Fould, and have been heavy and un-
popular. There is again less pressure in the dis-
count market, and first-rate paper can now be ne-
' gotiated at 41 per cent., or 1 per cent. below the
rate of the Bank of France. The stock of bullion
in the Bank has not experienced any further alte-
ration. A great impression has been produced in
all quarters by the letter of M. Fould, and the in-
ference of every one seems to be that the Emperor
must have been seriously alarmed at his straitened
circumstances to consent to receive such a lesson.
Persons conversant with the actual state of the
Treasury had for a long time been aware that the
crash must come. The available balance was nearly
drained, and the payment of debts of all kinds was
being postponed on any pretext that could be de-
vised. Whether the financial sanctity suddenly
adopted at the crisis of th© Treasury sickness will
be maintained when the fit is over, and a new loan
shall have been secured, is now the question. Simi-
lar resolutions have been made on former occa-
sions, but capitalists and traders are always ready
to be flattered, and, in the face of experience,
there are a large number at this moment inclined to
trust again. The argument is that M. Fould would
certainly resign the moment any impediment might
be offered to his programme, and that the Emperor
would not dare to encounter the hopless confusion
that would inevitably result. Accordingly there is
a disposition to assume that not only are the Credits
Supplementaires to b 3 abolished, but that the public
works in Paris and the railway undertakings in the
country will be greatly diminished, and that the
artificial prices of labour and bread must also disap-
pear. Before such a process, however, can inspire
confidence the consideration of its consequences
must be carried a little farther. Is it certain that
the army and navy are prepared to submit to a
system of economy, and to confine their future
views to those pacific aspirations which M. Fould
promises as an inducement to neighbouring Powers
to suspend their defensive preparations ? Are the
politicans who are too strong for M. Fould as long
as there was any money in hand certain not to seek
a resumption of office as soon as the State coffers
shall have been refilled; and will the masses of the
people, accustomed to the enhancement of wages
from a profuse Government outlay, be prepared to
acquiesce cheerfully during the winter, and when
they are chafed by the interruption of the American
trade, in the self-denial which will be necessitated
by a return to sound principles ? " Public opinion,"
it is asserted, "is that whether he will or not the
Emperor must carry out Fould's programme."
Would it not be more correct to say that every one
is prepared to accept the self-delusion that such is
to be the case, and that army and navy, operatives,
uietly rely that
tlyqshall have been
cboyntthraecstporrsin,
gan, dwhsepnectuhleatdorafiswcuill
fully
in got
theh 7Joniteur will find sufficient rea-
sons, changed circumstances of Europe, or
over,c a the
the
necessity of rectifying something that somewhere
threatens French honour, the Catholic faith, or the
civilisation and liberty of the human race, for a
recurrence to that course of expenditure which can
never be permanently abandoned in a country
under military influence, and unpossessed of consti-
tutional rights that are universal and inviolable ?
—Times City Article.