The Sun.
London, England, 1861-07-03 00:00:00

PROBABLE. RETURN OF MR: LAING

-

10 ENGLAND.

The following letter from an experienced Calcutta
merchant gives the latest impressions current as to
the probability that Mr. Laing may soon find it

necessary to return to England, and offers some
practical suggestions regarding the steps that may
become necessary from that circumstance. It like-
wise describes the effect produced by the break-up

of the recent opium speculation :
" Calcutta, May 19.
" By the mail of the 4th of May you will have re-
ceived the particulars of Mr. Laing sbudget, and have

learnt how much pleased allherewere with its and at

finding our financial difficulties disappearing directly'
they were grapped with determination. The follow-
ing mail took the Government Gazette, containing
the particulars of the native regiments ordered to
be disbanded or reduced in number—a tangible
proof that Government was really doing what it had
promised. The same Gazette contained a notice of

tie immediate reduciion of the import duty on
cotton yarn to 5 per cent., the forerunner, as we
hope, of further reductions in a like direction, and

of a relief to our Manchester trade, now unfairly
weighted with duties of 10 per cent. in the race
with the native manufacturer, who pays nothing.
'•I grieve to say that we seem likely to lose the
man who has done so much for us, and from whom
e hoped for so much more. Mr. Laing has been
suffering severely from that terrible disease—dysen-
tery, and has just left this to cruise about that sea
in the Government steamer Australian, The last
accounts are that he is somewhat better, and I
hope he may recaver his health entirely, and
come back to Calcutta, but it is very generally
said that unless he does so soon he will continue
his voyage and go back to England. He has done
much in a short time, but much more remains
to be done, and I fear we have no one in India to do
it unless it be Sir Bartle Frere, our President of
the Council. He has high character, ability, and
energy—the last an attribute so often wanting in
old Indians,'—and may perform great service,
aided by Mr. Temple, one of our ablest civilians.
Mr. Temple is a member of the Military Finance
Commission, to which we owe so much, and was
designated by Mr. Wilson as First Commissioner
of Currency under his currency scheme. Both of
these gentlemen have, however, abundance of work
to do already, and if Mr. Laing cannot return we
shall again have to look to England, though it may
be doubtful if a third man will readily be found
to come out. You should, however, if possible,
send us a younger ' Chancellor of the Exchequer.'
Both Mr. Wilson and Mr. Laing were somewhat
too old to confront an Indian climate after
long years of hard work in En gland. But very
many younger men and men of middle age come
out here, and have their health well. lam an in-
stance myself, for I came out here seven years ago,
and, with the exception of a short illness at first,
an acclimatizer,' I have been very nearly as well
as in England. Whoever comes should be sure to
come out in the cold weather, and, though he
must lay his account to work hard, let him be de-
termined not to work too hard, and to avoid as
fir as he possibly can working at night. You
may work at night in England, but it won't
do here. Anybody coming out here should, as
far as possible, do what we merchants do—have
some one to help him, some one to whom he can
confide all his plans, and who can supply his place
if illness forces him to leave suddenly. His mind
is then more at ease, and if illness attacks him he
can be off sharp' to the Neilgherries, to Ceylon,
China, or anywhere else where he can recruit, and
then return to his work. Chancellors of the Ex-
chequer may not be able to do this so easily as
partners in a firm, but something of the sort may
be possible. I have given you my ideas on this
matter, because I fear we shall want to import a new
financier, though I trust it may not be se. Happily
Mr. Laing has put matters in geed train, and has
given such an impulse to the machine, that it will
I hope, continue to work though our engineer leave
us. But we shall want him back, or another engi-
neer to supply his place.
"We have nothing new in the financial way
lately, except a report to Government by the 'Civil
Finance Commission' as to the working of the Go-
vernment Stationery-office. They suggest such
alterations as will, they say, cause a saving of
some £30,000 a year, and the Government has
ordered all their recommendations to be carried
out. If these things are done in the green tree,
what shall be done in the dry ?' If £30,000 a year
can be saved in stationery, what can be saved by
proper economy. in the whole administration of
India ? The report is a perfect curiosity, and I feel
tempted to Eend it to Punch. The whole matter
would be laughable were it not too serious to see
Low money has been wasted.
" I have said, when writing before, that the prices
of opium must greatly affect our financial position,
and that if they kept up, they would afford a large
additional supply to Mr. Laing, and be likely to
give him a good surplus by the Ist May, 1862.
We are having a thorough illustration of the
difficulty there must always be in calculating
on this source of revenue, and of Mr. Laing's judi-
cious conduct in taking only the prices of last year
in his calculations for the present. One daring
speculator, a native, who had not a rupee a short
time ago, and who had been very successful in
operating for a rise,' made a great deal of money,
and in the April sale bought up the whole of the
Patna opium. Prices advanced, but, not satisfied, he
bought all the Patna in the May sale likewise, The
value of the two may be taken roughly at some
£600,000. This loss proved too heavy for him. He
has borrowed right and left, at all sorts of rates of in-
terest, has forced sales at a great loss, and has ended
by stopping payments. In the May sale Patna
opium averaged 2,576r5. a chest—an advance of
nearly 10Ors. on the April sale, and he has sold as
low as 2,lsors.—probably lower still, in his despe-
rate efforts to keep himself afloat. What prices
will settle down to remains to be seen, but it is pro-
bable that next sale on the Bth of June will go con-
siderably lower than that of May. As Mr, Laing's
estimate was at the price of 1,748r5., he is still con-
siderably under the reduced value; but when a
' crash' of this kind happens one hardly knows
what the 'effect will be. I have alluded to this
matter, as it will show you the sort of specula-
tions going on here (though this specula-
tion has been on a scale never before known),
because it must affect the Government revenue,
and also because I fear it may to some ex-
tent influence unfavourably our import market.
Too many of our buyers of shirtings, metals,
&c., will speculate in opium ; or, if they don't do
this, they will lend to speculators at usurious in-
terest money which they ought to pay to us for
goods sold. At this moment our bazaar is all wild
and a good deal of mischief may follow. I have no
pity for the opium speculators, who are a perfect
curse to the merchants, and eventually this tempest
will do good and clear the atmosphere. For some
time past our import market has been sadly in-
terfered with by these opium gamblers, and now it
is likely that Manchester will have to be patient
for a time, and not be surprised if sales are few and
remittances not sent on as freely as usual. We
shall hardly know at first whom to make new sales
to, and find it difficult for a time to get money in
for what is already sold."

[ADTERTISEMENTI-11oll0way's Ointment and Pills.
Physical Exhaustion.—At no time in the year are preven-
tives to disease more imperatively demanded than at this
season. The heat causes the decomposition of animal t!ild
vegetable. matters, whence exhalations arise, and mii9ng
with the atmosphere enter the blood through the medium
of the lungs. Holloway's Ointment, well rubbed upon the
chest twice a day, penetrates to those vitai.organs, and
thoroughly cleanses them and the cireula.tion from all
morbid taints, which would thence be disseminated through
the system, and give rise to serious ni!tladies. great
advantage of this external treatmenotfwti4le bebo wapeplsr.eocrmetextbsy.
invalids suffering from irritabiliti
sive weakness, where the slightest aperient medicine can-
not be safely administered.