The Sun.
London, England, 1857-04-30 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 1857.

The New Parliament has this day actually as-
sembled. Even the tardy Leitrim Election hav-
ing now been completed, the six-hundreland-
fifty-four popular representatives recently chos-en
by the constituencies have at length been formally
convened for their first aggregate assemblage on
this 30th of April, 1857, in the legislative pal Ace
at Westminster. The decisive Answer given by
the country to the frank and manly Appeal made
to its judgment by Viscount PALMERSTON is now
visible in the New House of Commons. It will
soon be audible in the discussions. And soon
after that, be clearly and distinctly legible in divi-
sion reiterated upon division. There has long
been no doubt whatever about this : for the new
House of Commons, assembled for the first time
this day at Westminster, is obviously, notoriously
undeniably, to all intents and purposes, Palmer-
stonian. That is to say, If—not otherwise buy
—lf to be A Palmerstonian means to be " A
Reformer." That the words may really, in a
broad sense, be regarded as synonymous is now
very generally understood and recognivd. Thy
fact has been recently foreshadowed
plainly enough, through the Times, and almost
simultaneously through the Edinburgh,. Whether
the meaning attached to the phrase of " A Re,-
former" by the Premier be really and truly iden-
tical with that attached to it by the People, is a
problem to the solution of which we have forth_
nately by this time very nearly indeed approxi-

mated. A very brief interval now must bring us
face to face with the reality. It will then be
manifest whether this most popular of all the

Statesmen of his age is at heart worthy of his
popularity. We are sanguine that it may
eventually prove so. Let us still trust that our
expectations in this matter may not be doomed to
disappointment. Nevertheless, even supposing
that they are after all deplorably falsified—the

remedy of that mellncholy evil will be, upon the
instant, within the grasp of the new Parliament.
An immediate change in the Premiership would
in that contingency become inevitable. A more
vigorous Reformer would have to replace even
the popular PALMERSTON. It is not conceivable,
however, that a statesman so eminently sagacious
can wantonly scatter to the winds the brilliant
hopes and aspirations which have latterly accumu-
lated about his unrivalled reputation. It is not
probable that an administrator of such rare dis-
cretion will wilfully leave this "fair field" of
Reform to " batton on this moor" of ultra-Ccm-
servatism ! It will not be consistent with his own •
hitherto certainly vague, but still, at the same
time unmistakeable promises of Progressive Im-
provement ! It will not be in keeping with the
very recent programme of " Change" put forward
within the last week by the great morning, and
afterwards by the great quarterly, organ of his Go-
vernment. The Times has more than "hinted"
Reform. The Edinburgh has more than " hesi-
tated" Progressive Improvement. Both as the
recognised organs of the Prime Minister.
Both officially. Both authoritatively. The
former notoriously inspired by Lori PALMER..
STON'S—Vice-President of the Board of Trade.
The latter by Lord PALMERSTON'S—ChanceIIor of
the Exchequer. There cannot in reason be any
longer the smallest doubt that Reforms are really
Intended by the PALMERSTON Government. It
now only remains to be seen whether those Re-
forms will be, in themselves, Sufficient.
At any rate—as one positive and indubitable
step towards that long and anxiously looked-for
disclosure—we have now arrived at the actual
day of the first assemblage of Queen VICTORIA'S
Fifth Parliament,—A. day already rendered me-
morable in the annals of the British Legislature
by the election of the Right Hon. ETELYN
DENISON to the distinguished dignity of the
Speakership.

Lord OvEnsToNE, as one of the three corn-
missioners appointed to report on the decimal
currency, has issued an elaborate series of inquiries
to draw forth an exposition of the difficulties and
objections that may be considered to stand in the
way of an alteration in the existing system. We
cannot conceive why tee Noble Lord Lord has
thought proper to act separately from his fellow
commissioners, Lord MONTEAGLB and Mr.
HUBBARD, who were selected as his asso-
ciates by the Government. It would cer-
tainly seem more courteous if he had in-
vited the participation of his associates before
putting forward a series of interrogatories that
seem to indicate that the mind of one of the
Judges is already made up, and that so far as he
is concerned the result may be regarded as " a
foregone conclusion." We have already had bitter
experience of the practical operation of some of
Lord OTERSTONE'S monetary theories, and are
certainly by no means disposed to follow blind-
fold in the path on which he has entered. He
has already, in one matter of vast importance, ex-
hibited an unflinching resolution " to stick by his
order," and to promote the interests of
" the few at the expense of the many."
Any project emanating from that quarter musk
bhorarnra 114 atrintly anvil fin ;nail in nll rin4,llo,
and its probable, and even possible, effects ou the
interests of the less wealthy classes accurately cal-
culated, before it can receive public support. The
great merchants and bankers are those who would
chiefly profit by the introduction of the decimal
coinage ; and if any inconvenience is to be sus-
tained in the process, it is only fair that they
should sustain it, and not transfer it to
those who have but little interest in the
matter, beyond that of seeing that they are not
victimised by the means adopted.
There can be no dispute as to the advantages of
a well devised decimal currency, but as the fight
Hon. Gentleman, the Member for Kidderminster,
declared, the question-at issue is the modus deci-
mandi, so that the greatest good may be achieved
at the minimum inconvenience. The whole mat-
t..~r in fact turns on the selection of " the unit of
account," and, as we have repeatedly explained,
that should not be such as to affect the daily ope-
rations of the less wealthy classes, whose
dealings are conducted in " terms of pence."
The fact of getting but ten pence in
place of twelve, in change for a shilling, would
practically deprive the working men of 20 per
cent., or one-fifth of their income, and be pro-
ductive of great annoyance and loss in all their
transactions. We have, therefore, felt it essed-
tial that the copper coinage should remain un-
altered, and that the inconvenience which must
necessarily be encountered during a perici of
transition, should be sustained by those who d--
mand the change, and for whose exclusive benefit
it is t) be inaugurated. The working classes can
carry on their business very efficiently with the
existing system—and it is for those who believe
that they can economise time and labour by the
required alterations to defray the expense thereof.
0116 unanswerable objection to the "pound
unit" is, that it is far too high. It will require
four places of figures, while two, or at most three,
would answer every purpose with the franc or
florin. The fact that our smallest coin is a far-
thing, materially affects the interests of small con-
sumers. The fair proportion of cost cannot be
properly estimated therein, and the retailer inva-
riably takes advantage where fractional parts of a
penny are concerned.

" They manage these things better in France."
There the cent. or one hundredth part of a franc
answers every object that can be devised, and is
al:ke useful to vendors and purchasers. Here,
however, in many instances, the fractions of a
penny are disregarded, and the consumer in-
variably bears the loss. With the pound unit
many changes will be required. With the florin
or franc but one is essential, and that is in the
pound itself, which should be made equal to 25
francs, 250 pence, or 1,000 farthings, in place of
240 pence and 960 farthings, as in the present
scale. By this means the people would not suffer.
Pence or farthings would nut change. The pound
would be increased to 20g. 10d., but the calculations
during the transition stage would easily be made by
adding 1-25th, or-iu decimal notation .04. Tolls
and taxes would thus be satisfied without lossto the
payers, the receivers would lose 4 per cent., but
surely that would be far better than that they
should gain 20 per cent. at the expense of those
who are already too heavily burdened, and are
compelled to strain every nerve to make both
ends meet.

If the present pound or florin be retained, the
next coin of account will be equivalent to 2
2-5 pence, and the half of it to 1
1-5 of our present penny. It is clearly
perceptible that the penny receipt stamp and
postage stamp will be increased by 20 per cent.

Tolls to brides, tiTc., will be enhanced in a simi-
lar ratio, and every retailer will require five mils

where the penny now answets, or the cent. or

2d. 2-sths, where he it now satisfied with 2d.
The working man, who changes his shilling will
thus practically lose 2d. in every shilling, or
3s. 4d. in 1/. sterling—a very serious injury,
and far too high a price to pay for the crotchet
of the moneyocracy.

All who experienced the effects of the change
of currency in Ireland in the year 1826, must
remember the complaints of the labouring classes,
when they received but 12d. in place of 13d. for
the shilling. Many intelligent persons declared
that in consequence of the abolition of the ten-
penny, they found in all small transactions, the
shilling only went as far as the tenpenny had pre-
viously gone. The results will be of a very similar
character if the pound unit be adopted at present ;
whereas by taking the franc or florin of 20d. (not
of 25.), they will, if anything, gain by the tran-
saction, and our currency system will be more
closely assimilated to that of other countries, and
have a much better chance of being adopted at
any " Congress of Nations" that may be held for
the purpose of introducing a uniformity of
coinage, or rather of denominations of money,
throughout the civilised world.

1 desperate Forlorn Hope is now in active
course of preparation. A last Arctic Expedition
in search of the brave Sir JOHN FRANKLIN and
his heroic companions. This final enterprise
being courageously adventured upon at the par-
s-mai instigation of that dauntless lady with whose
name the memories of the missing navigators have
become long since indissolubly associated. GOD
speed this last daring project set on foot by Lady
FRANKLIN—and aided, our heart rejoices to know,
by the
_active sympathy of so many competent
" men of mark"—professional men, navigators,
and philosophers.

It will be remembered that the smallest ad-
ditional assistance has been positively and
peremptorily refused to Lady FRANKLIN by the
Government. Mistakenly and deplorably refused
we cannot but think—refused most cruelly and
most ungenerously I Refused, however, so expli-
citly and so definitively, that it were only waste
of time, and words, and energy, to complain one
moment longer of the course pursued in this mat-
ter by the Administration. We have, at least,
to thank Ministers for letting us know the worst
at once, unmistakeably. Tho Admiralty not
merely decline sending out any supplement try
expedition to the Arctic Seas in quest of the Erebus
and Terror—but absolutely (in addition to
this) return the most decided negative to
Lady FRANKLIN'S two final requests. First
of all, for the Gift of such stores from her MA-
JEiTY'S Dockyard as are available for this special
service only—gifts hitherto granted to her in all
her former private expeditions. Secondly, for
the Loan, of the Arctic ship Resolute, recently
restored in perfect order to our QUEEN by the Ame-
rican Government. It matters nothing that the
stores asked for must—now that they are declined
to be given up—remain idle and useless in her
MAJESTY'S Dockyard. Neither does it matter
anything that the Resolute, now grudged to the
(presumed) widow of FRANKLIN by the Admiralty,
has been restored to the possession of her
MAJESTY by the unexampled magnanimity of a
friendly Government. The Gift and the Loan
are alike refused to the sorrowing but still heroine-
hearted petitioner.
Lady FRANKLIN, left thus entirely to herself
in this last afflicting emergency, resolves, like a
true wife as she is, to dedicate the last remains of
fry trLv 1241.11•46
out of A Forlorn. Hops of Research for her
long-lost husband and his missing companions.
Will England permit this ? Can Englishmen
remain unmoved spectators of any proceeding such
as that ? We cannot believe it. We cannot re-
gard any public apathy so base, any national in-
difference so degenerate, as in the smallest
degree probable. There is " golden" proof
already, thank GOD, that the mere notion of an
apathy so base, and of an indifference so degene-
rate cannot be entertained for one moment
among right-minded Englishmen. Elsewhere,
in our advertising columns, will be found
a preliminary list of subscriptions towards
defraying the expense of this last heroic
expedition. A screw-yacht (the Fox) has
been already purchased, and is now lying iu pre-
paration at Aberdeen. The command of this
vessel has even now been awarded to the gallant
Captain MiCLINTOVIC, an experienced sailor,
already distingofished among our Arctio Navi-
gat )rs. The Programme of the whole expedition
is epigrammatically sketched in a single sentence
of this persuasive Appeal to the candour and mag-
nanir.nity of the population, where it is said—
" We hold to the opinion that it is the duty of
Englishmen to examine that limited area whence
the traces of their missing countrymen were de-
rived, which, though it lies to the south of well-
searched tracts, and has been approached by vessels
that returned without loss, has never yet been
explored." Observe--those few words thrill with
Hope—" never yet explored." And they are words
confirmed by the appended signatures of such men
as Admiral BEAUFORT, and. General SABINE, and
Sir RODERICK MURCHISON. The second of these
three giving twenty-five pounds, the first fifty
pounds, the third one hundred pounds towards
this noble aggregate of subscriptions. There is
another single gift of 1001. upon the list, and one
of even 150/. ! May the donations spread and
multiply. The project has our warmest sym-
pathy, and again we wish it "GoD—speed !"
Remember—there still is Hope. The likeliest
spot of all in those Arctic regions has
" never yet been explored." Captain Aus-
TIN, of the Royal Navy, would not per-
mit Captain PENNY, not of the Royal Navy,
to penetrate further in that direction, as he desired.
Capt sin MTLINTOCK may now (being himself so
far untramelled) be enabled to realise at last the
baulked intentions of his adventurous predeces-
More fortunate than Captain COLLINSON,
may he yet bring us news of the long lost naviga-
tors. Sir E. BELCHER returned homewards from
those Arctic seas virtually empty-handed. Sir R.
M.gCLURE brought back with him the barren glory
of having at last demonstrated the existence of a
North-West Passage. May a yet happier fate
than even the memorable one last mentioned, com-
pensate, sooner or later, for all his terrible respon-
sibilities, the heroic Leader of the Forlorn Hope
in search of the FRANKLIN Expedition 1

so r.

His Excellency th,3 Prussian Minister and the Coun-
tess Bernstorff, haw left the Bedford Hotel, Brighton,
near Ventaor, in the Isle of Wight.
the Belgian Minister P.4tertai„d a
forHSisteeEpxhcilelllCeansetyle
Blackwell,
party of friends at the Brunswick }lad,
yesterday afternoon.

Lord mirlythc season. His
have arrived in
town from
n TableLa d .Lady de
House, Tablet'u h h f
fo
i::
re,
e
lordship has tat, en a residence in Upper Brook-street.
Lord and Lady Olivia Ossulston, and Lord George
and Lady Alie izi Niannerp, are among the recent arrivals
at the Bedford Hotel, Brighton.

Can 13. at'oyany arrived in town on Tuesday from
Leamingto

Mrs. ar,d Miss Longueville Clarke have arrived for
the seasc n at their residence ir4 Eat)n-sotiare,