The Sun.
London, England, 1857-12-09 00:00:00

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

Sin,—ln your impression of yesterday evening
a short letter appeared from Lieut.-Colonel Wel-
lington Guernsey, refuting the statement of Dr.
Livingstone, regarding the " moral influence of
Great Britaia over the Government of Brazil with
respect to the slave trade." He says " the impor-
tation of slaves is strictly forbidden in the Brazils,
for reasons unnecessary to state those laws are
worthily upheld by the Emperor and Government,
this, and this only, effectually prevents the impor-
tation of backs into Brazil—not the British squa-
dron, as has often been proved, can prevent them
landing ; or, as the rev. gentleman asserts, the
moral influence of Great Britain, either in England
or through herresident merchants in Brazil, hardly
one of whom are not slaveholders in the strictest
sense of the word—an assertion very easilyproved."
Does the colonel know how long the "importations
of slaves" into the Brazils has been against the
laws of the land ? Has he ever read the corre-
spondence that has passed between the Ministers
of both countries upon this important subject ? If
he will look into the "Blue Books" he will find
that for years past the influence of the Govern-
ment of Great Britain has been well and nobly
exerted in the cause of African freedom. That Lord

Palmerston and other members of her Majesty's
Government of the present and of former times
hive zealously and faithfully laboured to bring
about a similarity of sentiment between themselves
and the most influential advisers of the Brazilian
crown.

That advice, in a spirit of friendship, has been
constantly given by our Minister at Rio de Janeiro
in the name of the British Government, to the
Cabinet of the Emperor ; and that last, though not
least, very serious consequences might have arisen
to the dignity and commerce of the Brazilian
empire if the laws, that the colonel says are so
" worthily upheld by the Emperor and Government
of Brazil, had not been decreed against the con-
tinuation of this abominable traffic. Ido not wish
to deprive theEmpt roror the Government of Sri zil
of any part of the credit they are justly entitled to
for this act of Chri-tian benevolence. On the con-
trary, I think they deserve our warmest thanks
and consideration for their conduct on this most
important occasion. It is probable that, in time,
other motives than those of acting against the
wishes and opinions of the great nations of Europe
might have influenced their proceedings and guided
their counsels. But this Ido affirm, without fear
of contradiction, that Dr. Livingstone is quite
right in his statement that " the present position of
Brazil with regard to the Slave Trade has been ac-
celeratA by the moral influence of Great Britain,
and the enlightened views of the Emperor."
Why, sir, if Great Britain had not stirred in this
matter, what would have been the fate of the Slave
Trade ? Can we suppose that, if this country had
not taken a leading part in the suppression of this
traffic, any other would have cared one straw whe-
ther Spain, Portugal, America, or Brazil were im-
porting slaves into their colonies at the rate of
50,000 a year'? Certainly not, and yet the gallant
colonel denies the influence of Great Britain, and
that any credit is due to her for her exertions.
With respect to another assertion of his, that the
" African squadron is of no use," I beg to differ
with him entirely, and assert that the squadron has
mainly assisted in establishing the " moral influ-
ence" he complains of.
_ _ _

What if the coast of Brazil had been blockaded
by a British squadron, and a right of search esta-
blished over all the shipping that left or approached
its shores ?

Withdraw the squadron from the coast of Africa,
and see how the trade would again be revived in all
parts of the world.
The colonel can have had no experience in these
matters, and he would do well to study the " past
and present of the slave trade" before he gives an
opinion upon the "good or evil" of the African
squadron.

I will not touch upon his accusation that our
merchants at Brazil are " Slaveholders in the
strictest sense of the word."

We aro as much indebted to the " moral influ-
ence of Great Britain" as to the enlightened views
of the Emperor of Brazil, and his Government, fur
the present laws existing in the latter country
against the importation of slaves.
I remain, yours very faithfully,
A. EARDL EY WILMOT, Captain, R.N.
London, Dec. 8, 1857.

The Count Luda, accompanied by Chevalier Luda,
has left the Brunswick Hotel, St. James's, for Paris, en
route for Sardinia.
About 260,000/., chiefly in Californian, French, and
Russian gold; was sold to the Bank yesterday. About
80,000 sovereigns, recently brought from New York,
were also delivered there.
The amount of silver supplied for Hamburg by the
steamer Neptune, to sail to-day, is about 55,0001. only ;
a further sum may therefore be expected to be sent by
the packet on Saturday.
THE LEVIATIIAN.—The dense fog yesterday proved an
obstacle to the progress of the vessel, which no amount
of hydraulic pressure was able to overcome. The men
were set t) work early in the morning, but for some
time laboured i❑ vain. All the pressure and tackle from

the river were pushed and strained to the utmost. The
expedient of suddenly letting the water out of the
hydraulic machine at the aft cradle, which, when ordi-
nary methods have failed, has often started her, was
also tried, but without effect. A general p-use woe
made, therefore, while some screw jacks were be.ng pre-
pared, and then, when she was relieved from all
pressure fore and aft, the capricious monster suddenly
slipped of herself for a distance of nearly two feet. She
was immediately followed up, and two or three more
short slips got out of her with slight difficulty, and all
seemei to premise well for a goad day's progress, when
the fug interv,ned. For a few minutes an attempt was
made to continua work, but the thick murky vapour
swept over irom the river in such dense ITMiSCEI that it
not only beoaina itnpo4sibia to see, but even very diffi-
cult to hear, and at 10 o'clock the efforts were dircan-
tinued entirely. Tue total distance accomplished
yesterday was only 4 feet 9 inches forward, and 4 feet
4 inches aft.

To whom shall we henceforth respectfully ascribe
honours where honours are due ? Who can now be
a Whig, and have within him the advocacy of pro-
gress Are not Whigs now the obstacle to all
progress? It matters not in whatever shape any
measure be brought before the house, that inter-
feres with their line of policy, negation confronts
it all, and progress is by them regarded as the
hydra-headed monster which Hercules could
not slay so long as it touched the earth,
simply because it prevented his entrance
into the garden of bliss. Now their
Elysian fields, therefore, are stagnant waters, and
barren, unproductive lands, symbolic of selfish
aspirations and narrow-minded, sordid loves:
We have but to read the speeches upon the cur-
rency and on the Bill of Indemnity, and we shall
soon discover who are the opponents to the pro-
gress which this day demands. Ino longer wish
to have such friends. Save me from my friends.
I no longer venture to assert my denomina-
tion of any one order of society, for I can
no longer distinguish between Toryism and
Whigism, except that of the two. I believe
we may expect more from the former than
the latter. Having carefully perused the speeches
of both on all occasions, as on the present crisis,
I can prove that it is a compliment to the Whigs
to say they are all six of one and half-a-dozen of
the other.
I am well aware that the party out of office can
make calls for action on Government, which they
themselves, when in office, were not energetic
enough to accomplish, or circumstances might not
have rendered practical at the time. But in Lord
Derby's speech there is an earnest effort to grapple
with the difficulty of the day. After entering
upon the detail of the distreseiof the operatives,
he was the only man in the House of Peers that
seemed to have a right fellow-feeling and estima-
tion of their real position. He said that "if the
operatives had the good sense and judgment to ab-
stain from that which could do them no good, and
would produce nothing but evil—if they maintained
a peaceable, respectful, orderly demeanour under
these circumstances of such pressure—all honour
to the good sense and loyalty of the operatives."
Moreover, he furnished us with some new statis-
tics, and asserted that "while our exports had betn
308 millions, the imports had been 468 millions,
leaving a balance of 160 millions of imports over
exports. How had those imports been paid for ?
The country had had to export 84millions in bullion
in consequence of the disparity between its imports
and exports."
Lord Derby might have gone on io show that if
we had altogether, in gold and goods, exported
76 millions less than we imported, that amount of
76 millions, at least of value, remained in the
country, which was enough in itself to justify an
extended circulation.
Inc I ease of value of property justifies an increase
of issue ; but if it be said that these imports were
not paid for, and the country remained in a state
of indebtedness, the cause of the panic might be
discovered to have had its origin in part to these
excessive purchases and consignments, together
with the decline of the Australian trade. But the
goods were here, and could be offered as securities ;
therefore, with a sufficient issue, no panic need
have arisen from any such cause, but with an in-
sufficient issue danger must ever attend an excess
of imports over exports to the extent of seventy-
six millions.
Now this would, apparently, exculpate the Bank
of England from any charge of having induced this
state of things, but for the known fact that their
emissaries, in the shape of bankers and money-
lenders, are everywhere urging new undertakings,
themselves making largo advances upon the same,
whether speculative or not. It is well known that
the large fast man is encouraged, even without
capital, while the small, hardworking, plodding
man requiring the slightest assistance never gets it.
Now for ouefriends. Lord Overstone backs the
soundness of his 1844 crotchet against the prero-
gative of the Crown. He says, " The quantity of
money in the country was determined by sound
principles, with which the prerogative of the
Crown had ;nothing to do. The Act of 1844 was
founded on two simple principles-Ist that gold
was the money of England, 2d that the quantity of
money in the country should not be under the
control of Government."
In the first place I do not look upon the Crown as
an individualprerogstive, but as a national preroga-
tive, personated by one individual ; " sound prin-
ciples are also best arrived at by the combined
intelligence of the nation, with which the prero-
gative of the Crown has all to do. Again, that
the quantity of money should not be under the
control of Government." This is an assumption of the
touchy old lady of Threadneedle-street that
indicates dotage and incapacity to a serious extent.
At the time when Walpole spent 1,300,0001. upon
the civil list, when the Williams and the Georges
had nolinait to their squanderings and extravagance,
when money was spent with such recklessness as
to subsidize our enemies. Such language as Lord
Overstone's might then have been used, but not
when the most frugal of Sovereigns reigns in the
hearts of her people, leaving her Government to
make laws, to which she subscribe deferentially to
the wisdom of her statesmen.
In this day—in the .year of 1857, the money of
the country should, of all things, be under the con-
trol of the Government, for Lord 0 verstone has made
himself transparent, and has also made himself
identical with the Bank of England. He could
not help feeling chagrined on Friday when he threw
off the mask unguardedly, saying, " What would
be said if the Government-were to go to those who
were suffering from the short supply of provisions,
and say we will undertake to get a larger supply of
provisions and sell them to you at the present
price."
That was what had been done at the present
time by the issue of the Government letter. Herein
is the solution of the Overstone crochet ; he would
have no extension of issue, knowing well, that the
less the issue the higher the rate of interest can be
charged for all discounts, just as goods limited in
supply till they become scarce, become dear—just
as the salmon fisheries throw overboard a lot of
salmon in order to keep tho market barely supplied
so as to keep up the price. Neither Lord Over-
stone nor the Bank of England wish an extension
of issue, because it will interfere with their high
rates arising out of scarcity and their system of
plucking the world.
" Free trade in money" becomes a farce with
Sir R. Peel's bill in force of 1844. The contradic-
tion in Lord Overstone's remarks in the house, are
characteristic of the confusion which his policy I
must give rise to. In one part of his speech he said, I
" the provisions of the bill of 1844 were essential

to the proper control of the monetary system of the
exchanges, and could not be relaxed without Con-
ger." Soon after he said "if they had maintained
the monetary system (1844) for 24 hours longer,
the whole system would have been upset, the irre-
trievable ruin of all those who had built on it (in-
cluding himself of course)."
Altogether he handled his subject so badly, or he
felt his weak points so forcibly, that to allude to
him further would really be a compliment to him
he does not deserve.
The Lord Chancellor's remarks upon " the circu-

lation of 38,000,0001., and the only portion co-
vered by bullion was that in the Bank of Eng-
land, in addition to that issued on security," may
be well noticed ; but bullion is not the only in-
trinsic commodity that should furnish convertibility
to issue. Taxes and duties are as certain to exist
in England as ever gold is—are as internal, real,
and fixed iu the nature of things as ever metal can
be. We can no more get over paying taxes and
duties than we can paying in gold as long as notes
are convertible. Exchequer-notes, then, would have
70 or 80 millions of that which is analagous to bul-
lion to cover an issue of, say 20 millions of Exche-
quer-notes, were the reality of taxation converti-
bility adopted instead of bullion conversion.
Allow, then, the Bank of England to be regulated
by the bill of 1844, for the purposes of all foreign
and mercantile operations, in order that no disar-
rangement might arise from the exchanges ; but
frame a bill that shall legalise a c issue,
that, ti •
that, from its very nature of fixity, canonlysule;e,
applicable to home purposes, such as Exchequer-
notes must necessarily be.

Let any statesman who might fancy any danger
that could arise out of this issue on tax convertibi-
lity put down in figures the enormous amount of
the wealth of Great Britain, he will then see how
small a proportion twenty millions is to that
MIGHTY sum, which would render Exchequer-notes
safer than gold, backed as it must be by the whole
nation's worth.

SPORTING NOTES.

NOTIONS ABOUT THE DERBY.

People are puzzled to select a Derby horse whose
public running is his sole recommendation. They regard
with suspicion the present ruling favourites of the ring
and confidently anticipate that early in the ensuing
season a complete revolution will be effected in the
betting. These expectations lam somewhat inclined
to share, and I shall be fully prepared to see the Pro'
motion" of certain little thought of outsiders.
Clydesdale made his debut at Ascot with a
high reputation, and that reputation he fully
sustained by the clever manner in which he de-
feated the field that was opposed to him. Still, with
perhaps the exception of Happy Land—who was they
not in form—his opponents possessed no great racing
merit. Clydesdale, however, won easily, and were he
a Flying Childers be could do no more. Report states
that he is better than Sedbury, and the betting indicates
that it is founded on truth. For Sedbury I have a great
partiality, for, setting aside the merit of his perfor•
mances, he appears to me likely to train on into a
sound useful horse. He has run twice, and was
each time successful, having, on both occasionet
beaten a large field of not mediocre horses. At
Epsom we found him "showing his tail" to Polly
Peachum and others, and at Ascot, carrying slbs more
than any other horse in the race, he cut down cleverly
Venitia, Lord of Lorn, and Vandyke. These achieve-
ments are sufficient to recommend him to notice, but
like Oulston and others he is thrown into the shade by
the towering popularity of an animal for whom the
" stable" entertains a greater partiality. If Clydesdale
be better than Sedbury, I shall not question his right
to the position which he occupies in the Derby betting.
The favour which is bestowed on Cock-a-doodle-do seems
to me to be as extraordinary as it is inexplicable. Twice
has he run, and twice has he been disgracefully beaten,
yet his position in the betting has scarcely been
shaken by his defeats. He is now as firm in the market
as he was before he " performed" so ingloriously for the
July Stakes. The public faith in John Scott is large, and
people hope all things from the skill which enabled a
Warlock and an Imperieuse to win the St. Leger.
Judging from the money which has been, and is, pit on
Cock-a-doodle-do I am fain to conclude there is more in
him than has yet met the eye. He is a big-boned
lurching horse, and with time the Wizard of the North
may work wonders in his form. Cock-a-doodle-do, bow•
ever, seems for the present to have bad his comb out
by Toxopholites who, seemingly, has his quiver full of
good qualities. Now, without taking violent exception
to Toxopholite, I will simply record my want of faith in
him, and my disbelief in the ability of the Longbows to
stay. His sire, we know, was scarcely a " sailer," and
both Toxopholite and Longrange will shoot their bolt at
that distance.