The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-22 00:00:00

\ _t.,a be an increase of
more philandering,
of restraining with a firm hand, the fierce,course, that there ought
rate, propagandist spirit of the French republicans, .
despe- t itSssuaenoianttfeurrther securities."
and finally'
Then he goes on to a little m
with their chimera of universal brotherhood and !
hewildeiing creatures of his own at. ;41(1;
equality, he would have lighted up the flames :
pulli up Mith this homage to his first love —th‘ "Polly"
of the most ruinous and extensive war that Europe
of his little operetta—for whom he once' more hands
has known since the outbreak of the first French
back the Bank of England to the contr. )fling powers
revolution. But the cause of Mr. O'CONNELL'S .
of the Government :
strong enmity to Louis PHILIPPE is no secret. It
" The recital o ese causes in the preaml)le we uld show
is not his state policy, but his educational policy, the intention a 'on of Parliament.—(ll ear, hea.".) He
that is the object of the Honourable and Learned proposed tabiiistsut k, in case it should de sire to ma
increaseke an
exc i eon securities, should not be permitted to' do
so
Gentleman's special abhorrence. Rightly appreciatingexcept on application to the executive Government, mut
the temper of the times, and the habits and tastes of permission sliteoruldial?eesrviennruhneeirl
icsosnusee,nt 0 ofbe 1 ISaluaitehotYrisiinno-Coaunnacdilditisouncallf
his subjects, the KING of the FRENCH has refused topublished Lmediately in the London Gazette."
allow the claims of the clergy to their old national Having unburdened our minds by ti,us forewarn-
supremacy ; he has compelled them to lower the tone ing our readers of the very contradictor y and waver-
of their :.pretensions ; and, if they exercise au- ing character of the Right Hon. Baron t's announce-
thority at all, he is resolved that they shall exercise ment of his propositions, we shall discuss the bearing
it by the influence of common sense instead of the and tendencies of the letter on another occasion.
jugglery of priestcraft. This enlightened and decided
conduct on the part of a Monarch who—unlike his
bigoted, priest-ridden predecessor, CHARLES the
TENTH—is a consummate man of the world, Mr.
O'Coralma. can neither forget nor forgive. And the
reason is obvious. He himself, however great the
moral influence which he exercises over his country-
men, is yet, in no slight degree, subject to the autho-
rity of the Catholic clergy of Ireland, and dare not
run counter to their opinions ; and as they naturally
entertain a strong fellow-feeling for their discomfited
clerical brethren in France, he has no alternative but
to chime in with their feelings and sympathise with
their professional prejudices.

The Madrid papers of the 13th contain further
accounts of the preparations made for the departure
of the Court to Barcelona. General NARVAEZ was
to quit Madrid on the 18th for that place, in order to
make the necessary arrangements for the journey.
The Ambassadors of England and France were to
accompany their Majesties to Barcelona, and after to
the baths of Caldas. The Madrid Gazette contains a
circular letter from the Home Secretary, addressed
to the Political Chiefs, calling upon them to use every
exertion to put down the bands of malefactors in
various parts of the country who intercept the com-
munications and endanger persons and property.
The Funds show not the slightest symptom of im-
provement, and were lower on the 13th than they
have ever been since the commencement of the panic.
This is a bad omen for the peace and security of the
country, and proves that the public have little confi-
dence in the new Cabinet, and the military, unconsti-
tutional system adopted by NARVAEZ.
The Three per Cents. closed at 27 for cash, and
271 at CO days ; and the Five per Cents., at 20 for
cash, and 201 at 60 days.

On Monday evening Sir ROBERT PEEL obtained
the concurrence of the House of Commons in those
resolutions and principles, to be affirmed in connexion
with the renewal of the Charter of the Bank of Eng-
land, which he opened in his speech of the 6th instant.
That these "resolutions" were unanimously passed
—that is, without any division being called for upon
one of them—is to be taken (many will presume) as
an indication of the conviction entertained by the
House that they were sound in principle, well digested,
logically demonstrated, and proper to be immediately
adopted. However natural such an inference would
be, from the facts of the case, we must deny that it
would itself be justified by those facts. All questions
connected with the examination of our monetary sys-
tem, the machinery of banking, in connexion with the
condition of the currency, the standard of value, the
merits of a metallic, paper, and mixed and paper me-
tallic circulation, &c., are distasteful to the majority
of the House. The lamentably defective extent of
that education (so far as the practical business of the
public is concerned) with which young men of family
or fortune usually quit our Universities, just before
entering upon their Parliamentary career, leaves
them almost utterly disqualified for the discussion of
great economic questions and the general operations
of our fiscal policy. The older Members, especially
those who are accustomed to look up with a species
of deferential respect for all that is uttered upon
official authority, seem to consider it bad taste to in-
tervene, in the way of objection or opposition, to any
propositions that are regularly brought forward and
enunciated by the head of a department. The fright-
ful heresy of bearding with a doubt the acknow-
ledged lucubrations of a Prime Minister is a heresy
they have never even contemplated. The best judges
upon such questions—practical men, well versed and
extensively experienced in all the bearings of them,
are generally too diffident of the value of their opi-
nions—too wanting in the confidence they might justly
entertain of their power to give expi ession to theory—
to enlighten the mind of Parliament on-a Premier's
deficiencies and mistakes. There are few, indeed,
who can handle such topics like Mr. CHARLES WOOD,
for example, of whose speech, notwithstanding we
dissent from much of its doctrine, it is impossible not
to speak with the respect due to its general research,
and well digested statistics. The exception supplied
by this gentleman, however, will not affect the
general application of the reasons we are endeavour-
ing to assign for that almost unbroken acquiescence
and response with which the speech of the Premier
was received.
Yet the speech of Sir ROBERT, on Monday, was
about the most pedantic and egotistical effort that the
Right llon. Baronet has yet made, in his most ex
cathedra lecturing on the Currency. It was, as we

shall presently show, full of the feeblest wavering in
its statement of purposes, and the most blank contra-
dictions which were, perhaps, ever collected to-
gether in so many consecutive sentences of a set
speeih, visibly prepared and arranged with unusual
cii6. It was so illogically reasoned, moreover
(a defect, of which,..if we may judge from
cvrtain phrases that . escaped, him, he was him-
self very conscious); that.thefp appliCation of his able
argument, from derangeine4 Of issues, was infinitely
stronger and moreimmediate to show the dangerous
and unmanageable character of a metallic, than that
of a paper circulation ; and to prove that the powers
which he would take from the joint-stock and private
banks of issue, in order to transfer them to the
Bank of England, would work now more safely
and beneficially in the hands of the former than
they have been found by experience, or can be calcu-
lated from analogy, to operate under the administra-
tion of the latter. The speech divided itself into two
branches ; the one relative to the Bank of England,
the other relative to the joint-stock banks and private
banks of issue. We shall confine ourselves, on the
present occasion, to the former. He re-stated his
plan, as detailed on the Gth :
" The House would recollect, when lie proposed this plan,
that he suggested to the House that it might be desirable
that the Bank of England should make its issues upon
securities and upon bullion ; that the issues upon securities
should be limited to 14,000,0001., and the remainder of the
issues of the Bank taking place on bullion alone, the amount
of that additional circulation being beyond the 14,000,0001.
being subject to the _influence upon the exchanges and the
action of the Government."

lie avowed that upon subsequent reflection and
inquiry he had found nothing to change these views.
But this difficulty had been propounded to him, and
he had been asked how he would deal with it :
" supposing, for instance, the country circulation to
amount to 8,000,000/., and in consequence of failures or volun-
tary agreements with the Bank, that circulation should be
diminished to 4,000,000/. In that case it would be quite
necessary that the Bank, in order to supply the void 'which
would be thus created, should issue Bank of England notes ;
and that issue should, i 9 point of fact, take place on securities."
Well ; this Minister, who has declared that he has
nothing to alter or retract in what he had said on
the 6th instant, proceeds, without further. pause, in
these words :

" He proposed originally that the Ranh should not be per-
mitted to increase its issues upon securities, excepting after
communication made to the Government, and with the con-
sent of three members of the Government."

The French Chamber of Deputies has at last
brought the discussion on the Prison Bill to a con-
clusion. On Saturday the Chamber divided on the
whole Bill, and it was passed by a majority of 231
to 128. The Government papers, in general, ap-
prove of the Bill ; and one of them describes it as
the most important measure of the session, while
others justly condemn its main principle, the silent
system, as unnecessary and cruel. The forthcoming
debate on the supplementary vote of credit for the
navy was looked forward to with much interest.
Several of the leading speakers, among others,
BERRYER, DUPAURE, and BARROT had inscribed their
names to address the Chamber on the subject.
The pamphlet of the Prince DE jOINVILLE still
attracts much attention. The Presse and the Quoti-
, dienne have noticed it at some length, and admit that
the main facts as to the state of the French navy can-
not be refuted. The following contrast between the
steam navy of France and that of England appears
in the Presse, and is extracted from an appendix to
the pamphlet :
" The Prince de Joinville's pamphlet on the steam navy of
France has made a great sensation in Paris, and must do the
same throughout the kingdom. In the sea ports, above all,
where the justness of his views and the aocuracy of his
stated facts can be better appreciated than elsewhere, atten-
tion will be excited in its highest degree. At the end is an
appendix full of curious information on the material condition
of our steamers, which we regret to be obliged to analyse. It
shows that the 103 steam-vessels put on the official list are in
reality reduced to 4s, constituting what can be called the war
portion of our steam-fleet. Of these 43 there are 16 or 18 in
permanent requisition for the service of Algeria, and 9 others,
too weak to serve as war-ships, are appointed to local duties.
Consequently there remain only 16 or 17 steamers for occa-
sional missions and foreign stations. Of this number 3 are
of 450-horse power, 1 of 320, 6 of 220, and the rest of 160,
or less. Such is the force of this description, that at the com-
mencement-of a war France will have to enter upon all the
chances of battles. In face of this statement, let us place the
resources of England. From this, as the Prince observes,
useful ideas may be elicited. Au official publication tells us,
in the first place, that the number of these armed vessels was
in March last 77. Of these the Mediterranean station employs
10, viz.-1 of 450,4 of 340, 4of 228 horse-power, and 1 ofless
fin Te. On the Western coast of Africa, there are 9, viz.—l,
the Penelope, of 700 horse-power, 4 of 320, 1 of 220, and 3
of from 80 to 100 home- power ; on the coasts of Ireland-12,
of which 8 are from 220 to 230 horse-power, and 4 of minor
force ; in 'North America, Canada, the Bermudas, and the
Antilles, 3 'of 220 horse-power; in India and China, 3 of 320
horse-power; in the South Sea station, 2 of 320 and 220
horse-power, and 9 others employed on hydrog-raphic surveys.
These make a total of 48. Now we devote only Bto the same
services ! The difference between these two amounts shows
the respective values put by each country on a steam -navy.
The other ships, making up the number 77, are ready for ser-
vice in the ports to go on eventual missions, local duties, or
to be used as transports. In this number 77, neither the ves-
sels constructed on the lakes of Canada, nor those in the
colonies for local services, nor those of the East India Com-
pany, are included. :Nor does it comprise the 11 ships laid
up in ordinary in the ports—a state of things in a steam-navy
hitherto unknown, and which we have no equivalent for.
Indeed, our number is far from being adequate to our wants,
and it is good to point out this difference between us and
England. After signalising the evil, the Prince prescribes
the remedy. He developer a new plan for organising our
steam-
navy maritime e
the f force, r
footingce it ought to stand upon, and he calcu-
lates which, if followed, would place our
lates the expense of a fleet composed according to his ideas,
comparatively to the sum put down for the same purpose in
the budget for 145. According to • the Prince's plan the
expense of our ships of war would be 24,135,672 f—viz., for
sailing ships 15,219,10, f., and for steamers 8,916,565 f. Ac-
cording to the budge!. for 1845, this expense is to be
24,070,620E—viz-, 1843,616 f. for sailing ships, and
5,517,001 f. for steamers. So that the plan of his Royal
highness would cfiuse no greater addition• to this expensethan 65,052 E This difference is insignificant in money, but
would produce results of very great importance."
The following are additional extracts from the

papers :--
"'The Courrier FrancaTh says it is assured that Lieutenant
Reine, who brought the last dispatches from Admiral Dupetit
Thouars, has quitted Paris for Brest, where he is to wait for
the orders of the Government.
" The Phare of Bayonne states that General Zurbano, who
has been for some time past residing at Bayonne, is about to
return to Spain, having, it is said, received a letter from
General Narvacz, in which he announces the Government
reckons upon him in the event of its having need of his
services for the defence of the throne and the maintenance
of order.
" The Marseilles journals contain accounts from Athens of
the 30th ult.: they confirm those which had previously
reached us as to the disturbed state of the country, and attri-
bute it to the intrigues of the Russian party.
" A letter from Vienna says We are going to have a
trial of an atmospheric railroad. A company has been formed
here to construct one between Vienna and lluttelsdorf, by
Iliertzing and Miedberg, on the left bank of the Wain. The
expense will be 1,200,000 florins (3,000,0000 All the ;hares,
each of which is 10,000 florins, were disposed of the very day
the prospectus of the company was published.' "
THE BOURSE--SATURDAY, MAY 18.
First Highest Lowest Last
Price. Price. Price. Price.
French Five per Cents•• • • 122 25 .. 122 30 122 25 .. 122 30
lour per Cents. • • • • • 106 90 .. 107 .. 106 90 .. 107
Three per Cents.• • • • b 4 55 .. 84 55 .• 84 45 .• 84 50
Belgian Ban k.. • • •• ••
Belgian Fives, 1840
1842 • • • • • • • • leBl .. 108/ .. 1081 .. 10141
Spanish Threes • ...... • • • • • 36 .. 36 .. 35 .. 35t
Neapolitan • • • • •• • • • • • • • • • 102 35 . • 102 40 .. 102 35 .. 102 35
Roman, ex tiiv.. ..... • • ••• • 1041 .. 1041 .. 1041 .. 1041

Here is a pretty distinct contradiction: It can only
not be such, on one assumption ; namely, that in the
first instance he had never thought of such a contin-
gency as that on 'which he is now about to legislate,
in the very teeth of his address of the 6th instant.
But he goes on to explain that this contingency was
then in his mind :

"Ile did not reserve that power of increasing the issues
upon securities from any distrust of the great principle which
he had laiddown ; or in order to meat any imaginary con-
tingencies, but he proposed it in order bona fide to meet
that particular case—namely, the eessation of certain banks
of issue, other than the. Bank of England, to supply the
country with their own notes."

We have heard of young ladies coying with their
lovers ; and young poets coying with their muses.
But, for a genuine example of the ".I would and I
would not" flirtation of a Prime Minister with a
" resolution," commend us to Sir ROBERT'S airy in-
consistency ! It is at the same time a little scan-
dalous, we protest, in a man of his years and gravity,
to indulge in the license of such unrestrained
" Macheathism," as this—in his inglorious con-
fession of

" How happy could I be with either,
Were t'other dear charmer away."
He has just been cajoling his Polly—we mean his "great
principle"—of " NOT permitting the Bank to increase
its issues upon securities, except on communication
with the Government, and the consent of three of its
members." In an instant the faithless Baronet is
toying with his Lucy—we mean, the other " great
principle" that the Bank should not be required to
invoke the interference or authority of the Govern-
ment at all. Thus, he begins with an insinuating
qualification—
"At the same time, on reconsideration of that part of the
plan, he thought it would be advisable, if possible, to pre-
vent all interference with this matter on the part of the Exe-
cutive Government, or the representatives of the Executive
Government."

Very good. And now, perhaps, the reader sup-
poses that the Proteus meaning of this man's mind is
settled. Not a bit of it !
" And yet at the same time he did not think it would be ad-
visable to give the Bank the absolute power by-law to
crease its circulation upon securities in certain cases ; for he
was not quite clear, even were there to be a void on account
of the withdrawal of other circulatiun, that it would follow,