The Sun.
London, England, 1844-06-04 00:00:00

SEG 0 D EDITION.

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LONDON,. TLTESDAY, JUNE 4, 1844.

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little personal altercation place between
li.:twNAinn, and the Duke of RICHMOND, in the
;,ii nose of 1-,41%14, ,last .evca.7.ng. The Njokle Lord
whether,.after, the late ap-.
ay.,intrrient of 103 brother to a Goyernment office, he
r-ntended to brng forward a motion Ou . the 11 00l
• •
...t.)ubtea ? . • . •
Duke of. Pact-emtsn expressed his surprise at
ilia nOllll6l in which t!le question had been put. Ile
iiarllclol7n nothing of the appointment of his brother
it liaiz*Yen P.Licc...
LordWrix-g.NciArrn moved the. third reading of
. Vaetprl6 1-;'11, and; after a brief discussion, the
. read third time and passed.
The custotns'Dutiee and Stamp Duties' Bills were
;also read
.a third time. and IrtSed-'
In the Commons Mr. E-Newist.m took his seat for
Nana Lancishire..
A rtcr the protientation of numerous petitions, Mr. T.
7)ErscollnE galte•notie that, on the first Order of the
)413-eih,,,,iell-for'going ir,to a committ9qo Sup
he would mere that an address be presented to
'r, praying that the further execution of

the sentence on Mr. O'Comarz and the other pri-
soners be suspended till the writ of error should be
heard.

Some diseussionlook place about the future busi-
ness of the House,, especially as regarded the Poor-
law Bill. the bank Charter Bill, and the Irish Regis-
tration Bill, but Sir ROBERT PEEL, with his usual
tact, contrived to give answers which left Members
exactly in the same happy state of ignorance.
Mr, T. DUNCOMBE put a question about the cause
for sending troops to Guernsey, and also asked
whether Sir ROBERT PEEL would have any ob-
jection to furnish a copy of the judgment and com-
mitment in the case of " The QUEEN V. O'CoNsELL
and Others." Sir ROBERT PEEL said the Hon.
Member bad better give notice of motion on both
questions, which was accordingly done. We thus see
that the monster trial is only beginning. What
with the debates in the Commons, and the discussion
on the writ of error in the Lords, the whole battle
will be fought over again.
The House went into Committee on the Sugar
Duties Bill, when the CHANCELLOR" of the ExcHE•
QER moved certain resolutions of which he had given
notice, and which have appeared in The Sun.
Lord Jowl RUSSELL moved, as an amendment to
the propositions of the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER,
a reduction of duty on all foreign sugar to 345.

per cwt.
Mr. GLADSTONE resisted the 'motion, and after a
lengthened discussion the House divided, Wimp there
appeared for the resolutions 197, for the amendment
128—Majority for the resolutions 69. The. House
then resumed, and the report was ordered to be
brought up on Wednesday.
The other Orders of the Day were then disposed of,
and the House adjourned at a Quarter to Twelve.

The impriionment of Mr. O'CONNELL and the
other traversers has, as was to have been anticipated,
created an extraordinary ferment throughout the
length and breadth of Ireland. " The people be-
lieve," says the Irish correspondent of a Morning
Contemporary, "that the Liberator has been un-
justly convicted; they look upon him as a martyr in
their cause, and in the prison to which he has been
consigned, he is much dearer to them than ever.
The Repeal movement, so far from being checked by
the sentence,. has .received a new and powerful
impetus. The humbler classes have
.become still
more enthusiastic ; many of the middle classes,
who had heretofore kept aloof, are nor
eagerly joining. Government, in fact, have
made it a matter of pride and duty, on . the
part of the people to swell the ranks of the Repealers.
We are now only at the commencement of this move-
ment, and yet the whole country is ringing with the
cry of indignation at the incarceration of Mr. O'Com-
stem.?" This statement is confirmed by the greater
part of the Irish journals, which represent the people
as being everywhere deeply. exasperated by the sen-
.tence passed on their leader—an exasperation which is
only kept within due bounds by the earnest persua-
sions and remonstrances Of Mr. O'CONNELL him-
self. Were it not for his indefatigable effogi
to preserve tranquillity in Ireland, not all the
horse,. foot, and artillery, and marchings and counter-
marchings of the troops which Government, for the
last six or eight months, has been incessantly pouring
into the sister country, would preVent' it from being
In a state of hazardous disturbance from one end to
the other—more especialiy throughout the south,
where the peasantry are'Repealers almost to a man.
But though—thanks to Mr. O'CONNELL'S strenuous
exertions--there is no question that the peace of Ire-
land will be • maintained, yet .the tranquillity will at
best be but. a sullen and reluctant tranquillity; and
the imprisOnment of the Liberator will be the
means of engendering a bitterer feeling towards
Government than has ever yet existed hi the. hearts
of Irish people. And this is about the sem total
of all that. Ministers will have gained by their
late State prosecutions. Of course they imagined
that by convicting O'CONNELL they would effectually
draw the teeth and pare the claws of the great lion
whose roar has so often frightened them; but instead
of this, they have been the means of arming him with
additional power ; and they will find ere long —if
they have not begun to discover the fact already—
that O'CONNELL within the four walls of a prison,
debarred from the sight of the thousands—millions of
his couatrythen, who nightly offer up their fervent
prayers for. his welfare, is a more influential per-
;onage than O'CONNELL surrounded by hosts of enthu-
siastic adlisraits in the Conciliation -Hall, or addressing
myriads of ' the people at one of the monster-meet-
ings of Tara or Mullaglimast. As for the Repeal
agitation being put a stop to by the fine and imprison-
tiient of the "Iconsicted. conspiiators," such. an idea
is 'perfectly preposterous. It may not 'indeed be
ciuried on so openly as it was last year ; there may
be less apparent stir arid disquiet on the surfire ; but
a deee, bitter feeling will be at work underneath, and
the spirit ordetereiination will become more intense,
jtist in "proportion to the necessity that exists for
keeping it 'concealed. The monster-meetings, 'greatly
as Government deprecated them, acted a.S..a sort of
• safety-valve to carry off much of. the discontent and
' disgust of- the' nation ; but this' safetyevalve
•
eked, sye may reasonably 'antibipate that the
dissatisfaction of Ireland with Engliand will
daily aCqUire: fresh force. -Government, had it
11 chosen to' do so, might have allayed much of this
angry feeling bydaringing. forward remedial measures
in due season; but it has let opportunity after oppor:
tunity- slip. by, .and -is at this moment unprepared
with any-one comprehensive projecefor the benefit of
the, sister country. The Registration noto:
rieus blunder, by-the-bye-e--it seems to have tacitly
giVen up ; it deelineS having any thing to do with a
"reform -of the Irish Church EStablishment; and
though it has issued a Landlord-and-Tenant Commis-
sion of Inquiry, yet no one knows when the Commis-
sioners will make theifil,eport, and no one—at least,
in,lreland—seemslO Place any very implicit faith in
their impartiality.

We give, in another column, an abridged account
of some proceedings at a' meeting of noblemen, de-
plVieutenants, bankers, &c , of Scotland, con-
vened, for the purpose of considering the resolutions
with 'respect to the renewal of the Charter of the
Bank of England, and the future negotiation of bank-
ing in general. (brought foiwArd by
,Sir ROBERT.
TEEL on the 7th_ May), the Earl of EGLINTON in the
chair. As might be expected from a body of gentry
-so intelligent, and Of such practical experience as that
which composed this meeting, the subject was
cussed with much good sense and temper. No sec-
tion Of the community ha's been more benefited by
the system .on which banking is at present car-
ried _on than the Scottish public. .The .continued
circulation of small notes, and the facilities thereby
afforded to the Ideal agencies of the Scotch banks for
aocominodating,, the immediate :wants of remote
districtS, ,have led .to an extension of agricultural im-
provement, and an aggregate of social and commercial
prosperity, such as Scotland hasS never before attained
t0.,.;tp., These privileges, if so they are .to he called, our
Scottish brethren have- certainly enjoyedi whilst' in
England We haVe teen. deprived of 'then i during ,the
last sixte,en or eighteen .years. But they have availed
themselves of this advantage with se :much credit to
themselves and advantage to the: community--they
hale shown so much capacity to use, and so,little in-
•almse.it--7-that we heartily, 'concur in
the anxiety manifested at the Ayr meeting for its
cantinuance. .

• Afr. -- . A.LLANTINE, Mr. JAMES OSWALT), and Mr.
R.1611Y IiVASON, severally observed, with great force,
on the incalculable' benefits which Scotland
had derived froM " , the accommodation that
the existing
continued and extensive.
system,, accompanied by the
circulation. of ::small
notes, a ffordetl very .4yrattel, manufacturincr
and ~agricultural industry and.. entetprise.u.arnt Mr:
WAgoN, .With strict truth, insisted that no necessity
bad arisen • for any change in 'this condition of
things ; and that tbrougbajit Scotlaud there had been
,1a demand for. any such change. But the foolish
.n4,ense the bullionist clagners of Sir ROBERT
PEEL'S tinkapi,y currency exhibitions are so prone to
utter, touching the exigency for a metallic standard
of value, and a purely metallic currency, as, the"
legalised currency of the kingdom, is too apt to pass
with those who are too indolent to read, and :think,
and judge for themselves on these vital questions of
our monetary policy, for the suggeStion of a sound and
cautions policy. Why? Because it is combined with a
specioUS pretext of reason..: Thus, it ,is
_argued, 1. That
the Bill of 1819 was required, and that its proposed
extension in 1844 is still essential, for the control of

that "injurious tendency" which the foreign ex-
changes have to turn against us, for protracted terms,
at frequent periods. 2. That the circulation of a
paper currency of joint-stock and private banks,
under any regulations whatsoever, has a perpetual
operation to generate over-issues, or depreciated or
worthless paper. 3. That consequent upon such over-
issues of paper money, is a rapid and quickly in-
creasing depreciation of our commerce.
We have so often argued against these assumptions
at length, that we are content to cite, for efficient
answers to them, on the 'present occasion, a single
sentence from each of three speeches delivered at the
Ayr meeting in question.
L As to the foreign exchanges, Mr. BALLANTINE
said—" He could net conceive how it should ever be
thought that the issues should be regulated by the
state of foreign exchanges ; and that the country
ought to control traffic, whether manufacturing,
agricultural, or commercial. Currency should be the
servant, not the master." And Mr. TAYLOR re-
marked, that " the exchanges arose from the imports,
exceeding the exports,_er, vie& versa, the balance of
payment being in gold. It was not in the power•of
any Government to change the balance of payment,
without producing paralysation of trade, and great
confusion amongst mercantile transactions throughout
the country."
2. As to the apprehended danger of over-issues,
Mr. Boswm.x., of Garallan, stated that—" From 1836
to 1841, although a considerable number of new
banks had been started, the circulation was scarcely
increased at all . . . In fact, it was impossible, from
the very system in which banks were (in Scotland)
conducted, that an over-issue could take place."
3. The present depression of trade, Mr. TAYLOR
declared was " to be attributed solely and entirely to
any attempt at the diminution of present 1331103."

There have just been issued from the,Parliament
Paper-office, prints of a "Bill to regulate the Issue of
Bank Notes, ' and for giving to the Governor and
Company of the Bank! of England certain privi-
leges.for a limited 'peribd."—(Prepared and brought
in by;.Mr. GREENE, Sir ROBERT' PEEL, and Mr.
CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER, and 'ordered by the
House of Commons to be printed on the 24th inst.)
This'Bill, in its present form, consists of twenty-
seven clauses,. with three seWeittlea annexed, marked,
respectively,. A, B, and C. enactments are in
perfect keeping with that spirit of reckless interference
with the investment and the rights of private capital
employed in the business of banking, and with that
-proneness to tamper with the general currency of the
country, which are the besetting vices of the Pree
mier's whole official career. The preamble, after de-
claring it to be expedient to " regulate the issue, is
England and. Wales, of bills or dotes payable on de;
mend;" and setting forth the 3d and 4th Wm. IV. c. 98,
an " Act for giving to the Corp Oration of the Governor
and Company of the Bank of England certain privilegei
for a limited reriod, under certain conditions"—fur-
ther declarea the expediency of " continuing the pri-
vileges of exclusive banking therein mentioned to the
said Governor and Company, with certain alterations
such as are herein contained." Clause 1 enacts that
from and after the 31st August, 1844, the Bank of
. England shall establish. a separate ;.department for
issue, to be .kept wholly distinct from its general
banking. business. Clauses 2 and. 3 are intended to
carry out the 'notab!e'project 'of the Premier for the
future regulation Of the extent and management of
these issues by the Bank. The Governor and Com-
pany are to set apart and appropriate to the issue de-
partment securities ,to the value of 14,000,0001.,
(whereof the debt , due by. the public to that corpora-
tion shall be deemed to be part), and.are also to trans 7
fer'to the sAid department so rzinch of thegold coin,
and gold and silverbullion then.beld by, the Bank, " as
shall not be required by -the banking- department
thereof; and thereupon there shall be delivered out o
'the sail issue department into said banking depart-
ment of the Bank of England, such an amount of
Bank of Ezigland notes as, together with the Bank of
England notes then in circulation, shall be equal to
the aggregate amount of the securities, coin and bul-
lion, so transferred to the said issue department of the
Bank; and the ::hole amount
,of Bank of England
notes then in eirculatiOn, including. these" thuS de•
livered cut to slid banking department, "shall lie
deemed to be issued on the credit of such securities,
coin and bullion, so appropriated and set apart to said
issue department."
Thus far the: meaning and intent of the clause are
obvious, though it is no where stated what criterion
shall be adopted—or by whom 'it ishall be devised and
applied—for ascertaining the amount- gobt coin,
6-c., which shell-be required by the banking
departm'ent; Now this is—an. important integer of
a system, the ra4l and presumpfuons ail-11.9f Which is
to wsign. certain definite LIMITS to the whole legif
currency of the country—beraptible of any -extension
beyond a given point, but subject to diminution 'and
fluctuation within, it, according to the extent of the
excess of demand fyr gold. .For how does this clause
run on?

" And fronfthenceforth it shall nat be lawful for
:the-said Governor and Company to inprease the amount
of securities for the time being in the' said issue de-
partment, save as hereinafter'is mentioned ; but it shall
belawfulfor them to diminish the amount of such se-
curities—and again to increase the same to any sum
not exceeding in the whole 14,000,0001., and' so,- from
time to time, as they shall we occasion ; and from
and 'after such transfer, &c., it shall not be lawful tbr
the said Governor and Company to issue Bank of
England riotes,"either into the banking department
of-the Ilank of England, or to any 'person or persons
whatever, save in exchange for- other Bank of
England notes; or for gold-coin;- or-for gold or silver
bullion ,received or pnychased.rforrAhe said issue
department . . . . or in exchange for 'securities
acquired or taken in the said department under this
Act; and upon any diminution of the aggregate amount
of coin, bullion, and securities in the.said issue depart-
ment for the time being, the said Governor and Com-
pany shall call in and redUce the amount of Bank of
England notes in circulation to the same extent, and
so from time to time."

From these words, it is clear that a reduction of
the gold reserve or store in the Bank vaults -will be
a 'reduction pro &into, of the "aggregate amount of
coin, bullion, and securities." What limit will any.
man' venture to fix on the enhanced valite of money
which Will ensue on the growing scarcity of gold,
.and the proportionate contraction of the -Whole cur-
rency? What point of depreciation will
.any man
venture to assign beforehand, as that beyond, which a
coincident depreciation of prices; and a still further
_decline of •-wages, will net pass ? ; For the trade of,
the capital in particular, of . the country in general,
of the 'universal commerce of the. enipire,- no more
signal or
.effective manacles could be forged than
those which are comprised in these enactments—thus
worded, per se, and without qualification. For Sir
ROBERT PEEL, or any other- wealthy commoner pos-
sassed of an estate, unincwathered, and still thriving
under his shrewd and improving management, no
,doubt, such a clause as this is calculated to, produce
adnairable nsults. They who -have the money are
:hard legislators for those vvho--.haie yet to get
it. The successor to an enormous fortune realised
by the honottrable industry of Ids . immediate
progenitor, may :find in. iis strong-box heavy. mort-
gages for money raised at 'the depreciated paper cur-
rency that operated such :Wonders .after the "fatal
measure" of 1797 for restricting the Bank from cash
payments. To him—especially if he be as angry with
'that Act as the Premier avowed himself to be, on the
Ist of May last, on account of its disturbing " the
theerks and notions of men with respect to the stand-
ard of value"—it may. be delightful pastime to exact'
payment of such mortgages in the ninth enhanced
gold coin Of Cie realni, or in the broad lands on which
they have been securely charged. If he benot merely
a thrifty el actor of his legal rights; but somewhat of a
politico-economico pedant to boot, it must be an ex-
quisite rc venge thus to insist:" upon his bond" against
the reckless disturber of his bullion theories. But it
seems to us that this scheme is so palpably one con-
t..ivc.d for the selfi.,ll and exchisiVe advantage of all
pre.ient capitalists against all competitors in the
markets of :ndustry or the field of honourable"' com--
petition and public distinction, that it can only be
requisite -to demonstrate its bearings to secure its
present rejection; or compel its speedy withdrawal.
• If the clausei we have quoted Were left without
impartial qualifications in those Which follow, this
Bill would
.have made that portion of our monetary
system with which it attempts to grapple; arseiond
bed of PROCRCSTES, upon which the connmzceof these
kingdoms, despite its gigantic and growing propor-