The Sun.
London, England, 1850-12-27 00:00:00

totninit gAtitt

LONDON, FRIDAY, DECEMBER 27, 1850.

The announcement of the increase in the rate of

discount by the Bank of England from 2i to 3
per cent. fell like a thunderbolt on the Money
Market and Stock Eirahitige. lii ---ver7;as there a
more Uneipected and, we may oa, unweleorne

Christmas'-bdttbrin that Which ,t 124-
sented to "ye fayre •Citie: of I.4ondan."--••'4Stdniih'-'
ment and !consternatiOn reigned— stipreiiie, arifl " the '
Bears reaped a temporary harvest, although by no
means an equivalent foi the heavy and continuous
fleecing they have encountered for thelast eight Months.
The greatest excitement prevailed on every side,
and there was a complete panic for a few hours,
duricg which funds and shares were quoted at very
reduced prices. Consols fell immediately ,three-,
quarters per cent., while in railways the depreciation
was still greater—London and North-Westerns fell

three per share, Great Westerns two and a half, and
London and Scuth-Western, which in the morning
were well sustained at 801, closed at 15i, while shares
in all the other lines participated in the general dete-
rioration.

The absolute impossibility of accounting for, the
change on any rational grounds increased the dismay.
If there was any tangible reason that could be as-
signed it would have materially mitigated the alarm ;
but everything appeared prosperous. There was still
a goodly store of bullion in the Bank vaults—a
quantity of notes unemployed far beyond the amount
required by the Bank for its own business; indeed,
according to the ordinary calculation, nearly
7,000,0001. sterling might be issued without infringing
on the necessary reserve. Their duty to their con-
stituents would appear to require increased facilities
calculated to bring this large amount of capital, now
lying idle and unproductive, into active and remunera-
tive employment. Why, under such circumstances, the
directors should desire to " put on the screw" was a
problem of no ordinary difficulty, which could not be
solved by the wise men of the east. It was therefore
considered that there must be something rotten in the
state of affairs—something of the most formidable
character, that would speedily come to light, sufficient
to justify the most serious apprehensions. Omne
ignotum • pro magnifico is a well•known apho-
rism, the accuracy of which received ad-
ditional confirmation yesterday. The know-
ledge of the worst would be more tolerable
than the doubt and uncertainty in which they were
involved by the unaccountable proceedings -of the meg.:
nates of Threadneedle-street. It may, therefose,'be
desirable to show the true position of the Bank, so
far as it can be known from the published returns.

The last return for the week ending the 16Th instant,
showed that the notes in circulation amounted 'to

18,279,665/., being a decrease within the week of
427,045/. ; there was also a decrease in the quantity of
bullion 0f122,068/. within the same time ; but as this
was scarcely in proportion to the amount of notes•with-
drawn, and there still remained 15,820,130/. in both
departments, almost as much as there was in the
most stirring period in 1845, there could be nothing
on this account to fright the Buard fromits propriety,
or induce them to take such a step. The notes unem-
ployed at the same time amounted to no less than
10,902,8251. Now, on the sth ofJuly, 1845, when the
Bank was apparently in the zenith of ifB prosperity,
and railway speculation was at its height, the reserve
of notes only amounted to 9,279,7851., or more than
1,600,0001. less than it now is. It would, therefore,
really seem as if the act of the _Hank was intended to
show how utterly independent the directors were of
all rules, and that they were determined to merit
the general odium they had already incurred on .all
sides, and also to baffle every calculation that might
be attempted in reference to their proceedings.
We may, perchance, be told that the adverse state
of the foreign exchanges has occasioned this very
strange proceeding. But we have already pointed
out the causes of this unfavourable position. It
springs from the alteration in the relative values of
gold and silver. The former, from its superior porta-
bility and convenience, had for a long period been in
great request, and, as a natural consequence, at a
handsome premium. The large amount obtained
from California within the last few years, without
any corresponding addition to the stock of silver-bullion,
has, however, altered the proportions of the metals.
There has, therefore, been an appreciation in the
price of silver of about three per cent., and a corre-
sponding alteration in the exchanges between coun-
tries where silver is the standard, as in *all the- na-
tions of the continent, and England, where gold is
still the only standard, the change being against the
latter. This, however, is not owing to the balance of
trade being against this country, the only cause which
could justify the " putting on of the screw," but
merely to the large importations from California;
and it is as useless for the directors to attempt, by
any act of theirs, to keep up the price of gold in
the face of its largely-increaSed production, as it
was for the landowners to hope to keep up the price
of corn by artificial enactments, while they were at
the same time restricting the quantity, and mate-
rially increasing the value, of the national currency.
The efforts were about as reasonable as that of
Mrs. PARTINGTON to keep back the tide
with her broom. If, however, there be a temporary
drain of gold, owing to the uncertainty as to the deci-
sion of the committee DOW sitting on the currency
question in the French metropolis, it only affords an
additional proof of the folly of the Act of 1844, in
limiting the amount of silver which the Bank was
entitled to hold, fur there can be no doubt that the
exportation of silver would, under present circum-
stances, be more effectual in rectifying the exchanges
than even gold itself.

We would, before concluding, express a hope that
railway shareholders and others will not give way to
an unreasoning timidity, or be induced to sacrifice
their really valuable property for less than its real
value. They will find that the effect of the preatnt

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movement will not serve for more than a few weeks
at the outside.

31arvels of every imaginable description have been
already called into existence -by• the preparations
ma king in all quarters for the Exhibition of Indus-
try. Supposing even that, by some fatality, the
matter were to drop from this time henceforth, and to
be altogether abandoned, the scheme would at this
early period be found to have produced the most
beneficial consequences, by evoking in every direction
a thousand stimulants to rivalry, and to emulation of
the :most wholesome character. According admirably
with the actual Exposition itself, the various collateral
arrangements are being conducted on a colossal and
unprecedented scale. All the adjuncts are, it would
seem, to be as gigantic in their dimensions and as
remarkable in their conception. They are to be
contrived for the entertainment or instruction not
of a few, but of the million. They are
to be invariably cosmopolitan. They are to
appeal not to the sympathies of one class,
but of all classes. They are to contrast as
strikingly with each other as the commodities will
infajlibly do when at length classified and distri-
bute 1 round the transparent walls of the Crystal
Palace. Ad led to which,,it may be remarked, that these
diversified offshoots of the original project have sprouted
forth with a rapidity and vigour only comparable
to the growth of the parent enterprise. A few weeks
have witnessed their transformation from hints into
realities. They have risen abruptly from the mere
germ of an undertaking to its mature and extended
development. From all which circumstances we feel
ourselves authorized to augur well for the interests of
the cause taken in hand with so much skill and
energy of purpose by his Royal Highness the PRINCE
CONSORT. A movement which has elicited
from all sections of the community the
same identical fervour of regard, the same en-
thusiasm in its extension, the same ardour in its
general advancement cannot, we must believe,. result
in anything but success the most signal and unex-
.pected. What confirms us yet more in the conviction
!)11 to the triumph of the principle enunciated by the
illustrious Consort of our SOVEREIGN is the fact that,
from the initial labour of the preparations, the
earnestness of the people in their regard has not only
been sustained but extended. Nor can we recognize
anything which indicates the diminution of this
earnestness—every successive day, we might almost
say every successive hour, affording some new indi-
cation of its spread and enhancement.

Conspicuous among the collateral projects referred'
to, as having 'started into existence simultaneously'
with the preparatory arrangements made towards the
carrying out of the Industrial Exhibition, are several.
bi'a,bhitilidte'rea ileetillarlY attractive as te:Jaierit from
a more- tijTet—trad-explicit- all (pion : It-is know n
generally, icTexample, thatthe'Honoarable Gentlerndif
MerabA has undeatakea to coniiileleis
:stupendoui' 044 to be erected in the' antrp
'oeiter-square, or 'in some more desirable locality—a
globe representing on a; scale of magnitude hitherto
unattempted the geographical appearance, and' the
mineral, animal, and vegetable products of the various
climates and countries of either hemisphere. This
at-once for the amusement and tuition of the more
reflective visitors to the'Exhibition I Connected with
the manner of their conveyance hither, we are in-
formed also of a proposition which has been made for
the organizltion of a series of excursion trips, not
merely in one direction across the Channel,but in the
other direction likewise—across the Atlantic! Steam-
vessels, it,is intimated, are to convey the citizens of
the United States to and fro between America and
England at a charge never before imagined possible,
even in times of the most liberal competition. As to
tile'Tpreparations making for the reception of foreigners
in this metropolis, those are in, one or, two instances
of a nature more vast than may be conjectured.
Besides the enterprising scheme already announced
by ourselves and our contemporaries, as having been
adventured upon by M. ALEXIS SOYER, the grand
maestro of the cuisine, there are others of a like kind
and of almost equal excellence in active preparation.
In some of the more conveniently situated suburbs
of the capital new dwelling-houses are being has-
tily erected, and whole streets have 'been taken, and
furnished with a view to be let in detail as "apart-
ments." Hotels are multiplying, especially towards
the West-end, and in connexion with these hotels
will be spacious 'dining-rooms and regulated ordi-
naries.

It should be borne in recollection, moreover, that
while provision is thus being made for the corporeal
comforts of the foreign and native visitors to the
Exhibition, efforts of a very laudable description are
also being made in furtherance of their moral im-
provement and intellectual recreation. Among these
not one, to our thinking, can be considered as more
suggestive than the project of a Grand Chess Tour-
nament. In the history of that great game—a game
entitled to the more dignified epithet of a science—no
more interesting incident will be recorded than that
which will here lend another brilliant and
extraordinary attraction to the Exhibition of
Industry. When it is considered that the Chess Tour-
nament will be presided over throughout by the
greatest chess-player now living, one who in some
respects may even be considered the greatest chess-
player that has ever lived, it may be confidently ex-
pected that the highest anticipations in its regard will
in all human likelihood be realised. As may be ob•
served by reference to a communication addressed to
us by a correspondent—a communication published
elsewhere in our impression of this evening—arrange-
ments are now being actively made for the carrying
out,the scheme' of the proposed Tournament in a
manner worthy of the occasion, and worthy also of
its eminent originator, Mr. llowarip STAUNTON. We
shall watch the progress of this among numerous
other projects connected with the Year of Exhibition,
with an interest proportioned to its value, and ac:
cordant also with the spirit of enthusiasm out of
which the whole movement has emanated. What-
ever may be the result of other arrangements, an
enterprise like this, inspired by a consummate chess-
player like HOWARD STAUNTON, cannot but affect
every intelligent observer with an irresistible fasci-
nation. -

NEW USE OF THE ELECTRIC TELvoitArns.--The
telegraph now gives notice of storms. Fur example, the
telegraph at Ching° and Toledo notifies ship-masters at
Cleveland and Buffalo, and also on Lake Ontario, of the ap-
proach of the north-west storm. The result is practically of
great importance. A hurricane storm traverses the atmos-
phere at the rate of a carrier pigeon, namely, sixty miles an
hour. A vessel in the port of New York, about to sail for
New Orleans, may be telegraphed twenty hours in advance,
that a south-west storm is advancing on the coast from the
Gulf of Mexico. 'We are only on the threshold of the real
substantial advantages which may be rendered by the elec-
tric telegraph. In Great Britain and Ireland the advantages
'to the shipping interest by the announcement of approaching
storms, would be incalculable by preventing them leaving
safe harbours until after they had passed, or by signals on
various parts of the coast, directing them to take shelter at
the nearest port.
' THE GREAT NORTHERN RAILWAY.—We .learn
from good authority that one person, not Mr. Hudson, has
within the last twelve months, realised the princely sum of
75,0001., by "going for the rise," as it is called, in the Great
Northern kailway.—Advertiser.
DOVER.— On Friday a meeting of a private de-
- seription was held here concerning the long-standing dispute
existing between Messrs. Lee, the contractors of the Ad-
miralty Pier, and the South. Eastern Railway Company, the
latter complaining that the removal of beach from the sea-
side of their property, for the purposes ( f the pier works
greatly endangered their buildings. The dispute bad been
referred by the harbour commissioners to Admiral Sir Francis
Beaufort, the celebrated hydrographer, who made a visit to
this place on Friday, and heard evidence on the part of both
disputants, and will, we understand, shortly make his report
on the subject.—: Kentish Observer.

SURGICAL VOLUNTEERS WANTED - ELECTRIC
TELEGiAFll.—Communications were made yesterday from
the City electric telegraph to the medical authorities at
Edinburgh and Dublin, requesting them to obtain' volunteer
surgeons to proceed to Jaamica and other West India islands
to give assistance in the cholera cases.

God's livery is a very plain one ; but its wearers
have good reason to be content. If it have not so much
gold lace about it as Satan's, it keeps out foul weather
better, antLis besides a great deal cheaper.—Eliza Cook's
Journal.

WINDING UP OF RAILWAYS AND JOINT-STOCK
COMMANIES.—It has been decided by his Honour Master
Farrer, that the Courts of the Masters in Chancery are not
tribunals to try, but only to admit the claims of creditors
against the particular estates, and that the moment a dispute
arises a creditor has his usual remedy at common law. His
Honour Master Brougham has decided that, although he is
empowered under the Act to review the lists of contributo-
ries, and to re-hear cases upon the same evidence, he has
not power to re-hear a case on new evidence, unless so di-
rected by the Court.

AYLESBURY ELECTION.—Mr. Sergeant Byles, the
Protectionist candidate for the vacant seat in the representa-
tion of this borough, having retired, Mr. Montague Gore, of
Barrow-court, Somerset, has issued an address to the electors,
soliciting their suffrages as a sincere friend to protection to
native industry.—Bath aronicle.

SCHILLER.—The eldest daughter of Schiller, Mme.
Caroline Junot, died suddenly, on the 19th, at Wurzburg, in
Bavaria.

i . Y ..

A-C-) s r

THE FRENCH REPUBLIC.

We have received the Pi.ris journals of yesterday.
The Constitutionnel, in the course of a long article
from the pen of Dc VFRoN, cn the facility with
Which revolutions may be. made in France, says, in
allusion to the, Allais conspiracy—'' If we are cor-
rectly informed, it, was under the dictation of M.
DUPIN, the President' of the Assembly, that the
article of the Journal des _Mats was written. 7 This
is a most serious accusation, seeing that the articlein
questiort" was not signed by M. DUPIN, although
published after the Tingery law catne in force. The
publication of this accusation may be considered to
indicate that the breach between M. DUPIN and M.-
Louts BONAPARTE is now complete; henceforth they
are at war.

The Ordre, alluding to an article in the lndepen-
dance of Brussels about Count MOLEi throws dia.-
credit on the statement of his having, gone to the
Ely sec to.a sure Louts NAPOLEON that his intention
in forming a new Parliamentary 'club' was not in hos-
tility but devotedness to the PRESIDENT. The Ordre
supposes M. MOLE and his friends to be desirous of a
fusion of the two great monarchical parties, but ac•
quits him of any desire to create agitation, and even
expresses itself in a way which shows that it is not
so opposed to a fusion as some persons have
imagined.
The adjudication of the two million loan is fixed
for Tuesday, the 31st inst.
The trial of ALLAIS was resumed yesterday.
There was a considerable amount of business in rail-
road shares transacted at theßourse, and a further rise
took place. The Government Stock was firm. The Five
per Cents. opened at 95f. 70c., rose to 951. 90c., fell
subsequently to 95f. 60c., and closed at 951. 70c.:;
the Three per Cents. closed at 57f. 70e. ;
Orleans Railroad Shares, 875 f ; Rouen, 700 f.;
Havre, 285 f. ; Great Northern, 4881. 75c. ; Avig-
non, 1951.; Vierzon, 4131. 75e.; Basle, 1361. 25c.;
Bordeaux, 408 f. 75c.; Paris and Strasburgh, 360 f. ;
Tours and Nantes, 2551.

BUSINESS'DON F. IN FOREIGN RAILWAYS AT THE
LONDON STOCK EXCHANGE, DEC. 26.
Boulogne and Amiens' 93/, —Central of France (Orleans and
Vierzon), 16 3p • East Indian, 11% —Great' Indian 'Penin-
sula, 2—LuXembourg, 1,4 Namur sand Liege, 9Nortbern
of France, 14%—Orleans and Bordeaui, 2%—Paris and
Rouen, 2714—Rouen and Havre, 11—.-Sambre and Meuse,
3;B—Totirs and Nantes, 5,A ex div; : - • .