The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-13 00:00:00

FLANDERS MAIL.

BRUSSELS, MAY 10.—To-day, at noon, the King received
the great deputation of the manufacturers of the province of
Liege, which it was said at first would not be received till
Sunday.
The Journal de Liege says, " We have received this morn-
ing the following particulars relative to the proceedings of
the great deputation of our manufacturers and merchants at
Brussels. On Wednesday evening the deputation waited
on the Minister of li inance and the Interior, and
some of the members stated the great objections of our
province to the system of differential duties, but they got
only evasive answers. In the interval that will elapse before
they have an audience of the King, they will wait on some
of the representatives, and endeavour to convince them of the
immense injury which the differential duties would do to the
country."
A correspondent at Madrid informs us that Senor Bermudez
de Castro, formerly Secretary to the Council of Ministers, has
just been appointed Minister for the Queen of Spain at
Brussels.
The Theodorea will leave Ghent to-morrow for St. Thomas,
with one hundred and thirty settlers. It is calculated, that
when they are landed, the European population of the colony
will amount to eight hundred souls. As from this time a
vessel will be dispatched every month, the European popula-
tion may amount, at the end of the year, to nearly two thou-
sand. Its subsequent increase will certainly be rapid.

BANK MEETING.—(THIS DAY.)
This morning, at twelve o'clock, pursuant to adjourn-
ment, a Court of Proprietors of the Bank of England was
held, for the purpose of considering the proposition which the
Government had made for the renewal of the Bank charter.
At twelve o'clock precisely the Governor and Directors en-
tered the Court Room.
The GOVERNOR said that this was an adjourned Court of
Proprietors, and, consequently, there were no minutes to be
read, but it might be as well for him to state how the case
stood. At the prior meeting, of which the present was an
adjournment, the correspondence which had passed between
the Chancellor of the Exchequer and the Court of Directors
on the subject of the renewal of the charter, had been read ;
it had been printed immediately afterwards and distributed
among the Court of Proprietors. At that meeting he had
read a resolation of •the Court of Directors, recom-
mending the Court of Proprietors to accede to the pro-
positions of the Government for the renewal of the char-
ter of the Bank, if the regulations referred to in the letters of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer should be proposed to Parliament
and adopted. His duty would be, when the proper time came,
and when the subject had been sufficiently. discussed to enable
the Court of Proprietors to came to a decision, to ask them
to accede to the proposition of the Court of Directors. He
would not then further detain the Court by making any ob-
servations. .
Mr. HAMIJOND wished to impress upon the Court the pro-
priety of acceding to the propositions which had been made
by the Government. He was surprised at the reasons which
had been urged to induce them not to consent to the proposition.
Something had been said about their having raised 1,000
men thirty years ago—why their charter had been twice
renewed since that period. There was one observation
which had been made by Mr. Levy which ought to have a
great effect upon the Court, and that was that it was almost
impossible at the present moment to get profitable employ-
ment for. capital. He thought the Government offer of three
per cent. was a gfeat boon to the corporation. There was
nothing but danger if they rejected the proposition. If it
were rejected by the Court there would be no difficulty in
picking out 100 gentlemen in the City who would
at once accept the propositions of the Chancellor
of the Exchequer and give him a premium. Sir Robert
Peel had taken a very enlightened view of the state of
our monetary system. The Bank would now stand upon more
secure grounds than ever. The division between the issue
and the banking departments would enable the Directors to
turn their attention to the banking department, and make it
much more profitable to the Proprietors than it was at present.
They would pursue their avocations as bankers as extensively
as others, now they were freed from the trammels of the Go-
vernment. This would be a great advantage. He would ask
one question before he concluded, and that was, if the depo-
sits were to be considered as part of the circulation?
The GOVERNOR replied, that their deposits were no more
part of the circulation than Coutts's. He offered no opinion
on the matter under discussion, but he was anxious to pre-
vent misunderstanding. The worthy Proprietor had alluded
to their capital of 11 millions, for which the Government
allowed them 3 per cent. That was a part of the foundation
of their circulation. If the interest on that had been reduced,
the 180,0001. a year which they paid to the Government must
have been reduced also. It should be recollected that out of
that 3 per cent. they paid 60,000/. a-year stamp duty, and
120,0001. a-year to the Government.
Mr. HAMMOND believed that, in point of fact, the position
of the Bank of England would be nearly the same as it had
been before the discussion. He implored the Proprietors not
to reject this excellent measure.
Mr. Cook thought they should well consider the circum-
stances in which they were placed. They had recently re-
elected the Governor for another year. The motto on his
diadem ought to have been Justice to the Bank Proprietors.
The Governor and the Directors were by their position un-
fitted for defending the rights of the Proprietors. They were
' tied down by the Government. They could not serve two mas-
ters, and the Proprietors and the public had conflicting interests.
Their duty was to support the Institution, but they were tied
down by their position and their connection with the Govern-
. ment ;so that the interests of the Proprietors were not taken
care of sufficiently. Twice had their rights been taken from
them, in the opinion of some of the most eminent lawyers.
Such, also, was his opinion.--(A laugh.) He was not a
lawyer by profession, but he understood something of law.
The Duke of Camliiidge was an excellent performer on the
violin, and surely it would not be said that his Royal Highness
was not a master of music because he had not made it his pro-
' fession, and was not paid for his services. The Directors had
not defended their interests. Two years ago he had sent a
petition to Parliament, expecting the question to come for-
ward, and he had sent another stringent petition to Sir R.
Peel, which had been kept, by some means or other, from
the public eye. He had, within
the last fortnight, had a
reprint of the letters that he had sent to the Chancellor of the
Exchequer and Sir It. Peel, the truth of which he would defy
them to deny. A copy of those letters he had sent free to every
Proprietor. The petition contained nothing but relevant
matter to the subject at issue, and it remained
with the Proprietors to say whether or not they
would hear it read. He had done all a man could
do on the subject, and it was more than probable that
he should, ere long, institute a suit in equity against those
who had done so much against his interests, and those of the
Proprietors at large. Would the Proprietors hear his petition
or not ?—(Cries of "No, no.") Well, all he could say was,
he had done his duty ; and there was no clause in the Bank
Charter Act that authorised the Directors to put an end to
the rights and interests of the Proprietors. The measures
proposed by Sir Robert Peel were no doubt of great im-
portance, and would probably aid in the _ welfare
of the country ; but they ought to have been ac-