The Sun.
London, England, 1844-09-18 00:00:00

BANK ISSUES.

The Gazette of last night contains the following re-
turns under the new " Act to make further provision
relative to the Returns to be made by Banks of the
amount of their Notes in circulation." The period is
twelve weeks prior to the 27th of April last, and the
average amount in each case is certified by two of her
Majesty's Commissioners of Stamps and Taxes :
West of England and South Wales District £
Bank, at Bristol, Barnstable, Bath, Bridg-
water, and other places 83,535
Western District Banking Company, at Devon-
port, Falmouth, Penzance, Truro, and St
Columb
Penzance Union Bank, Falmouth Bank, and
Truro Bank, at Penzance, Falmouth, Truro,
and St. Columb—Ricketts and Co 14,245
St. Alban's and Hcrts Bank, at St. Alban's—
E. Gibson and G. Sturt 2,333

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE EVENING PAPERS OF YESTERDAY.

I )STANDARD.—The gratifying announcement of
the re-establishment of peace between France and
Morocco, has given the coup de grace to the insinua-
tion so frequently repeated, of the Morning Chronicle,
and other English war journals, that the French
Government were not sincere in their professions of
peace, but had framed their ultimatum with an ex.
press view to render its acceptance impracticable.
Lord Aberdeen was, of course, reviled for not dis-
covering at once the trick which M. Guizot was play-
ing upon him ; and the latter Minister denounced for an
insincerity which had no existence save in the imagi-
nations of his traducers. According to these alarmists,
France was preparing to occupy and garrison all
the principal ports upon the coast of Morocco; and
thus " convert the Mediterranean into a French lake."
Meanwhile, the British Minister for Foreign Affairs
was said to he looking on with his arms folded, con-
tent with assurances which were never designed
to be fulfilled ! It was in vain that the French
Ministerial press repeatedly declared that there ex-
isted no intention on the part of their Government
to occupy, further than for a temporary purpose,
any part of Morocco ; and that their sole object
in persevering in their hostile operations was to
secure France from the repetition of aggressions
on her territory, the wantonness of which has
never for a moment been denied. The seizure
of the island of Mogadore by the Prince de
Joinville, for the purpose of facilitating his
operations against the town, was made the pre-
text for an imputation of bad faith to the French
Cabinet ; and the English public was gravely in-
formed that unless it was forthwith evacuated, its
occupation would furnish a cases belli which it
would be impossible for Ministers to disregard.
Strange to say, the very journal in which this
preposterous doctrine was first broached (a journal
which, by the way, makes a vast pretence of the
authenticity of its foreign intelligence), is now as
busily employed in writing down the " alarmists,
who could see in this little island a whole king-
dom, and denounce its seizure as a cans belli !" nay,
even pretends to have suffered a martyrdom for the
vigour and constancy of its efforts in the cause
of peace ! Now all readers of newspapers must be
aware that it was the violence of this most pacific
journal (modified, afterwards, to be sure, like the
roar of Bottom, to the gentleness of " the sucking
dove"), which helped to create the angry feeling
which has occasioned so much difficulty to the Go-
vernments of the two countries. The original
" roar" on the subject of Otaheite was hardly less
bellicose. We have no desire to remember the
" eccentricities" of our Contemporary; but that it
should now claim to have predicted an issue which it
did its best to prevent, is rather too absurd. When
others regarded war as imminent, we knew, or fancied
we knew, enough of the good sense and moderation
of the great majority of the people of both nations,
and the just and moderate views of their Govern-
ments, to enable us to predict with certainty that
no interruption of the general peace would
arise. We have seen nothing, throughout, in either
the untoward affair of Otaheite or the hostile ope-
rations of the French against Morocco, to warrant
any other conclusion. As for the bugbear of a French
occupation of Morocco, we showed that beside the
impolicy of the attempt because it could yield no
fruit, its success was a physical impossibility.
Had we denied all credit to the repeated and
emphatic assurances of the French Government, of
the sincerity of which, however, no reasonable
doubt coull have been entertained, we should still
have predicted the same result. We have not
therefore, to learn, at this time of day, from our om-
niscient Contemporary, that " we are not likely to be
brought into a foolish war by Lord Aberdeen or by
M. Guizot." The willingness which France has dis-
played to fulfil her engagements in regard to Morocco,
could not have been more' clearly illustrated than by
her recent offer to the Emperor of the same terms
as were dictated to him before the bombardment of
Tangiers and Mogadore and the brilliant victory of
Isly- ; without demanding .a farthing by way of in-
demnity for. the very great expense to which she
has been put by her land and sea expedi-
tions. When we add that even this evidence of
moderation did not earn for her the approval of
the war faction in this country, we may fairly claim
for the French Government that its motives should
not be disp.araged, -or .its— sincerity questioned, be-
cause of the blindly furious attacks of M. Thiers'
press on England. The object of the war parties in
both countries is purely selfish ; for, although they
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