The Sun.
London, England, 1857-11-16 00:00:00

LONDON, MONDAY, NOT. 16, 1357.

If, after the publication of the Bank returns in
Friday evening's Gazette, any doubt could have
been entertained respecting the real motives of
the Government in relaxing the Bank Charter
Act, it would be removed by an article which
.appeared in the Economist of yesterday, and
which may be regarded as of a doubly-official cha-
racter. Mr. JAMES Winsox is justly considered
the financial authority of the Ministry. He un-
questionably understands far more on the subject
than any other Member of the Government, and,
if unencumbered by office, we have no doubt that,
notwithstanding his bullionist tendencies, he
would be found one of the most uncompromising
opponents of the iniquitous act that has created
so much misery and disturbance throughout
the entire kingdom and that he would fearleEsly
expose the ridiculous theories on which it was
founded. It was by his speeches in the currency
debates of 1847-8, and his shrewd and searching
interrogatories in the Select Committee, that he
convinced the Government of the day of the
prudence of disarming so formidable an adversary.

But now,
" Quantal» mutatus ab illo Hectore,"

he is fettered in trammels of red-tape—his genius
is "cribb'd, oabined, and confined," and he must
not only in his place in Parliament, but also in
his weekly journal, support the measures of his
official superiors. We may, then, receive his
acknowledgements—or rather his confessions—
without hesitation ; but treat his arguments in a
y different manner, regarding them rather as
those of the advocate instructed to support an
untenable cause, than as the expression of his
own independent and unbiassed opinions.
Mr. WILSON, however, clearly shoes, not only
that the Government could not possibly help itself,
if it desired to avert a real suspension of cash pay-
ments, but that it persisted too long in its per-
verse course. On Wednesday evening the entire
reserve of notes, not only for the head office in
Threadneedle Street, and the various branches in
town and country, amounted to but 957,7101.
of notes, and 504,4431. of coin, although the depo-
sits, which might be withdrawn at a moment's
notice, were no less than 18,250,0001. An im-
portant item was omitted in that calculation.
The 7 day and other bills amounted to 853,9751.,
and if, in addition to this, we refer to the
14)475)0001. of notes issued against securities for
which there was not a single ounce of gold depo-
sited, w. find the liabilities for which there was
no bullion reaching the gigantic sum of nearly

33,500,0001., against which there were notes
and coin amounting to some 1,460,0001., or
something like 10d. in the 1/. Nor was
this all ; there had been large sales, on
Thursday, of Government Stock, with the
avowed intention of exchanging the proceeds for
gold, in order to transmit it to Scotland and Ire-
land, where the absurd and uncalled-for regulations
of the Acts of 1845 had occasioned difficulties,
where none would otherwise have existed. We
now learn from the Economist, no doubt on authen-
tic grounds, that the paltry reserve had been
reduced on Thursday to little more than a half of
what it stood on Wednesday evening. It is,
therefore, manifest that, but for the Government
letter, the Bank must have closed its doors ere
this, or imitated the conduct of the American
banks in refusing to pay sterling coin in exchange
for its paper issues. And thus the very means
adopted for the purpose of ensuring convertibility
under any circumstances, would have produced
inconvertibility. What, then, can be said on
behalf of the " self-acting regulator of the cur-
rency," for that brilliantly contrived automaton
action that was to supersede the necessity of any dis-
cretion on the part of the Directors assembled in
, solemn conclave in the Bank Parlour ? Why, but
for the tardy interference of the Government, we
doubt if the forced liquidation of the quasi Na-
tional Bank would have been equal to that ten-
dered to the creditors of the Royal British Bank !
The comparison instituted by Mr. JAMES WIL-
SON between the state of affairs on the 23d Oct.,
1847, and the 11th Nov., 1857, shows how
much worse the condition of the Bank was at the
latter than on the former suspension. We had
prepared a similar table, which was easily made
from the returns of both periods, the one having
been referred to and criticised in the report of the
Lords' Committee, and the other appearing by
the !Bank returns. But fas est ab hoste doceri,
and therefore we prefer quoting that compiled by
Mr. WILSON. It is as follows—and we annex
the observations of the financial Secretary of the
Treasury thereon :
" BANK RETURNS FOR 1847 AND 1857.
"Oct. 23, 1847. Nov. 11, 1857.
" Bullion £8,313,000 £7,171,000
" Reserve of notes in
banking depart-

ment
" Reserve of coin 447,000 504,443
"Deposits, private 8,580,000 12,935,000
" Private securities 19,467, 000 26,115,000
" At the close of business on Wednesday night
last the amount advanced by the Bank to the
public was 26,115,000/., as compared with
19,467,0001. at the height of the panic
in 1847. These additional advances were
rendered possible in a great degree by
the enormous amount of private deposits
placed in the Bank, which on Wednesday last
amounted to 12,935,0001. against 8,580,0001. in
1847, being an increase of liabilities under this
head of no less than 4,355,0001. But against
this increase of liabilities how did the reserve of
the Bank stand ? The bullion on Wednesday
nigh t was less by 1,142,0001. ; the reserve of
notes was only 957,000/. against 1,547,0001. in
1847 ; and the entire reserve of notes and coin
together was less by 532,0001. Whatever reasons,
therefore, there were in 1847 for the policy then
adopted, the reasons for taking a similar course
on Thursday were much stronger,—and it will be
impossible for any one who acquiesced in that
course at the former period consistently to object

to it now."
From the above it follows that the suspension
was a matter of inevitable necessity, and that the
Government was not entitled to the slightest
thanks c.r gratitude for what was pompously put
forward as " a concession in favour of the c
mercial interests of the country !" but which was
only adopted for the benefit of the Bank itself,
and the moneyocracy who should have fallen along
with their idol—whose head might have been of
fine ge.cl, but its extremities of vilest clay.
Mr. WILSON tells us, for we treat the article in

the Economist as his own, that the issue
of V. and 2/. notes was well consi-
dere], and there is no doubt that it

would have been adopted, if practicable, but it
was simply impossible. The Bank had no plates
prepared, and therefore could not have issued
these notes for some weeks, while a few days
would have sealed their fate. We all know that
the box of 1/. notes, which saved the " Old
Lady" in 1825, was discovered by mere accident.
Thus the ordinary foresight, that should have
been prepared for any contingency, was wanting.
What would be thought of our Generals if they
exhibited similar imbecility in the hour of trial ?
It is manifest that the Directors should be
classed with HEWITT and LLOYD, the obstructive
Generals in our E►stern difficulties. We again
quote Mr. WILSON on these points. Ho says
" With regard to the other remedy suggested, the
issue of 1/. and 21. notes, which we have reason
to believe was well considered, we are ,entirely
agreed that it would, if it had been practicable,

lave been a more perfect remedy than a further

license to issue notes of 51. and upwards, inas-
much as notes of a lower denomination would
have answered all the purposes of gold coins both
in England and Scotland, and thus have led t.)
the return of large quantities of bullion to the
Bank of England much sooner than it will
otherwise take place. In the first place,
however, that course would have equally been a
suspension of the Act of 1844 ; for that Act
prescribes a limit to the paper circulation of the
Bank, and it would have made no difference in
what denomination of note an ezcess of that limit
took place. But, in the next place, the issue of
1/. and 2G.•notes was simply an impossibility. No
plates were ready, and no preparation had been
made ; and before the mere physical difficulties
could have been removed, the remedy might have
been too late. In principle, however, an issue of
such notes would have been exactly the same as
the measure which has been adopted."
Would we could stop here ; but it is with ine
tense disgust that we have read the concluding
passage, protesting againseithe step being regarded
in the slightest degree as a concession to the views
either of those who believe in the efficacy of a
paper circulation to supply indefinitely the plata.,
of capital, or of those who think it the duty of

the Government to secure to the country what is
called cheap money. As we, in common with a
large proportion of our countrymen, believe in the
efficiency of paper money, and feel that the pro-
duction of cheap money is imperative on the Go-
vernment, we regard these assertions with deep
regret—proving that a very severe " pressure

from without is still necessary to bring
Ministers to their senses." It is obvious

that, although we are told " the panic
is subsiding," the measure now adopted is
not sufficient to restore permanent confidence.
It may check the panic fur a time, but it will
not check the silver drain to India or China,
or that of gold to the Continent or the United
States. These will continue with unabated force,
and as soon as the Seven Millions of Specie are
nearly exhausted, and they cannot last long under
the circumstances, tho panic will revive with ten-

fold intensity ; and a much worse state of affairs

will be produced when an issue of 11. notes, or a
suspension of cash payments, will become indis-
pensable. Nor would we desire it to be otherwise.
It is obvious that nothing but the most stringent
and severe lesson will suffice the moneyocracy or
their Ministerial toadies.

We want a really national note, for a small
amount, by means whereof the Government would
be rendered independent of bank assistance, and
could pay oft' its debt to the Bank. The Bank
issues are based on 31,015,000/. of Government,
and 3,460,0001. of other securities. Why should
not this debt be paid off ? It is not merely the
interest of that large sum, amounting, at merely
3 per cent., to 330,4501. per annum, but the
discredit it entails on the nation. A
man in debt is never a free agent ;
and the Bank with true creditor cupidity,
always takes advantage of its debtors' necessities,
who must humbly beg "with bated breath and
deep humility" for what ought to be commanded.
The Government raised nearly a hundred mil-
lions to squander on the Russian war—producing
no return but disgrace and calamity. Why, then,
should it hesitate for a moment at raising
11,015,0001. to get rid of the incubus by which
the trade and commerce of the country is oppressed,
and many noble fortunes sacrificed, and firms which
it has taken the greater part of a century to build
up, reduced to bankruptcy and ruing Let really
national notes of small denominations receivable in
payment of taxation be issued. The profits and
savings will speedily pay off the Bank debt—or
were it otherwise, there are few true-hearted
Englishmen who would object to a general loan,
or oven to consent to the re-imposition of the
obnoxious War Income Tax for such a purpose.
One year of the extra 9d. would get rid of more
than three-fourths of the Bank debt.

Advices from Calcutta have been received to
the Bth October, and from Madras to the 14th,
since our last publication. They do not add
much respecting the proceedings at Delhi to the
information, via Bombay, which appeared in The
Sun of Saturday. There is, however, the formal
despatch of General WILSON, dated the 15th
September, respecting the proceedings during the
attack on, and the storm of, Delhi on the
14th September, which will be read with
intense interest, confirming fully the more ela-
borate and detailed accounts, that have already
been published. There is also a report from
General CHAMBIRLAIN, the Adjutant-General of
the army at Delhi, to the officer commanding at
Cawnpore, dated the 18th September, which
continues the narrative from the 14th to the
morning of the 18th, and by a postscript to that
of the 19th. It also contains the melancholy
list of officers killed and wounded on the fatal
14th, a list that will be scrutinised with
intense anxiety by many anxious hearts
throughout every district in the United Kingdom
—for where is there a locality in which some of
the inhabitants had not friends or relatives en-
gaged at the scene of deadly strife ?

The intelligence from Lucknow adds slightly
to our information. General OUTRAM, who ac-
companied the force solely in his civil capacity,
rendered efficient service as a volunteer. In this
capacity, we are told that "he charged the
enemy, in a preliminary engagement, with the
Volunteer Cavalry, and with a dash and daring
worthy of his best days." Re first relieved
Baleegund, where advances were steadily made
against the city. Seven guns were captured,
and the right quarter was in our possession. On
the same day, the 25th Sept., the force under the
gallant 11.A.TELOCX., consisting of 2,000 men of all
arms, forced their way into the City under serious
opposition, skirting it to the right to
avoi I the enemy's defences. The way
to the residency was also strongly opposed, but
happily it was forced at a very critical period,
when two mines had been run far under the chief
works, which if sprungmust:have placed the garri-
son and the fugitives at the mercy of the rebels.
We fear that there must have been a considerable
mortality amongst those so long locked up
in the spot so hastily fortified, and so nobly de-
fended. The great body has, however, been
saved, and we have now no fears of the ultimate
result, or of a repetition of the Cawnpore tragedy
at the capital of Oude.

EARLIER DEPARTURE OF INDIAN
MAILS VIA MARSIELLES.

It having been found that, under existing ar-
rangements, the mails for India, &c., despatched
via Southampton, suffer considerable delay, either
at Malta or Alexandria, while waiting for the ar-
rival of the mails forwarded via Marseilles, it is in-
tended, with a view. of obviating this delay, and at
the same time of accelerating the arrival in London
of the homeward mails from India, to despatch
the mails for India via Marseilles one day earlier
than at present.
Commencing, therefore, with the first mail des-
patched in January next, the mails for the Medi-
terranean, India, China, &c., sent by way of Mar-
seilles, will be made up in London on the evenings
of the 9th and 25th of each month, except when
those dates fall on a Sunday, on which occasions
the mails will be made up on the evening of the
following day.
By command of the Postmaster-General.

ROWLAIsTD HILL, Secretary.
'General Post Office, Nov. 13, 1857.

The Duke of Newcastle has returned to Clumbsr
Park, Notts. The noble duke will receive a select circle
at Clamber this week for shooting.
The Earl and Countess of Lucan have been plunged
into deep grief by the demise of their youngest daughter,
the Lady Elizabeth Bingham, who died at Pau, in the
south of France, on the 6th inst. Her ladyship had
been in delicate health for some months past.

The Countess Gondovin has arrived at the Brunswick
Hotel, from the continent.
Lord and Lady Forester leave Wiley Park, Shrop-
shire, to-morrow, for the noble lord's hunting-box, near
Belvair, for the hunting season.
Lori and Lady Olivia Ossulston have returned to
Claridge's Hotel, from visiting the Emperor and Em.
press of the French at Compiegne.
Lady Montagu has been indisposed at Ditton Park,
near Windsor, but, we are happy to add, is now ap-
proaching convalescence.
The Hon. Mr. and Mrs. Sydney Pierrepont have left
Claridge's Hotel for Evenly Hall, near Brackley.
Sir Edward and Lady Kerrison have left Farrance's
Hotel, Belgravia, for their seat, Broom Hall, Suffolk.
Mr. and Lady Louisa Knox have returned to the
Brunswick Hotel from a visiting tour.
CRYSTAL PALACIL—HALF-CROWN DAY, SATURDAY,
Nov. 14.—Admissions on payment, 455 ; do. by season
tickets, 1,517 ; total, 1,972.
Lrvintroora, Nov. 14.—The Royal mail steam-ship
Africa sailed hence to-day for New York, having on
board, besides 86 passengers, 55,000/, in specie on
freight. The screw steam-ship Kangaroo takes her
departure hence for New York on Wednesday next.
DEATH OF Mx. HARRIS, HER MAJESTY'S CONSUL-
GENERAL AT VENIOE.—We regret to hear that this
much-esteemed gentleman expired, in the 41st year of
his age, at -Venice, on the 13th inst. He was grandson
to Lord Malmeebury, the celebrated diplomatist, and
private secretary to the present Earl during his tenure
of the Foreign-office, in 1352. He was remarkable for
his abilities as a scholar and a linguist. He bad secured
by his tact and judgment the respect of both the Aus-
trian and Italian parties in the Lombardo-Venetian
kingdom, as well as the confidence of his own Govern.
went.

THE SOVEREIGN'S OF EUROPE. The Almanac (Zs
Gotha, of 1858, which has just app eared, contains tht
names of 47 emperors, kings, princes, grand dukes, and
dukes reigning in Europe, as well as the Emperor of th,
Brazils. The oldest of the sovereigns is the Grand Duke
of Mecklenburg Strelitz, who wa.s born on the 12th of
Aug., 1779; and next to him the Kieg of Wurtemberg,
born on the 27th of Sept., 1784. The prince who has
had the longest reign is the Prince of Schaumbourg-
Lippe, the date of his accession, when quite a child, be-
ing the 15th of Feb., 1788. The youngest princes are
the Kwg of Portugal, born the 16th of Sept., 1837, and
the Duke of Parma (represented by hie mother as regent)l
on the 9th of July, 1840.