The Sun.
London, England, 1844-04-22 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS

FROM THE EVENINQ PAPERS OF_SA.TURDAY.
STANDARD.—The approaching Exeter election
claims, we think, from the public a degree of atten-
tion beyond what is generally due upon such occa-
sions. The character of such a man as Sir William
Follett does not concern merely the place of his
birth, the city that he has already represented, or
even the distinguished profession of which he has
long been, according to the acknowledgment of
all men, the most brilliant ornament. The cha-
racter of such a man belongs to the whole
country ; it is not the least valuable of our
possessions, and the country is both . damaged
and disgraced when such a possession is treated
as of little worth. It is the boast of our free
Constitution and of our social system, that a man
may in England advance himself from the humblest
rank of life to the very highest honours of the
State, by his own unaided honourable exertions.
We use the word honourable emphatically, be-
cause here, in truth, lies the grand distinction. In
every country, even in countries governed by the
tyrants of the East, men can advance by means
less than honourable, and often advance themselves
with a rapidity proportioned to their indifference in
the use of means ; but it is the pride of England, that
advancement is open to those most scrupulous and
delicate in the steps of their ambition, and that an
honourable ascent is the only secure one. Of this
truth it is scarcely possible to find a more striking ex-
ample than in the person of Sir William. The son of
a gentleman of respectable but of middle rank,
he has, by the exercise of his rare talents and in-
domitable industry, in 20 years from his call to the
bar, wrought his way to a position in his profes-
sion and in the country which would be very in-
adequately estimated by the official station that
he has won, though that is the highest to which
the ambition of a practising lawyer can aspire. If
you would ascertain what is Sir William Follett's
real rank .as lawyer, statesman, and gentleman,
ask in Westminster Hall, has so great a lawyer
appeared there in the memory of any man living;
has a greater ever appeared there ? Ask in the
House of Commons, has any practisingttaor lawyer at all
approaching to Sir William Follett's professional emi-
nencein thatpsa
Parliament, ieol
sev
se
beipnys either y rt, ask d u \
hr the Attorney-General
se or e powerful
in 'Westminster n iemy rG e
es
Hall,snieo rna
oi nrs
known, and prosecute the inquiry indiscriminately
among Conservatives, Whigs, Radicals, and Chartists,
whether a man of honour more strict, morals more
pure, or manners more amiable has ever defied and
distanced envy by his talents ? 'We can truly say that
SirW. Follett is nearly the only public man, of whom we
never heard an unkind or disrespectful word spoken
by any than of any party. Such is the gentleman
who, in consequence of the favour conferred upon
him by his Sovereign, solicits a re-election by the
constituency that he has already, served—receiving
and reflecting honour—in two or three Parliaments.
It is said that the state of the Learned Gentleman's
wealth—which, though not alarming, is delicate—for-
bids his undertaking a personal canvass. Surely, the
generous feeling of the citizens of Exeter must in such
a case render a personal canvass superfluous. Sir
William Follett is in principles and conduct" without
shadow of change," the same Sir William Follett
whom the citizens of Exeter returned to Parliament
by a great majority in 1835, in 1837, and again in
1841. The only change in him is, that he has
gTeatly extended his reputation, added to its lustre,
and thus augmented the honours of his native
county, which in another age will add his to
the rich catalogue of illustrious names of which
the men of. Devon are naturally and justly proud.
An opposition to Sir 'William Follett is, however,
threatened—an opposition we must think insulting to
the sense and honour of the electors of Exeter, and
rendered especially disgusting by its utter hopeless-
ness, and by the supposed inability of the Attorney-
General, from temporary indisposition, to fight
t
his battle in person. The Opposition candidate is
said to be General Briggs. Who is General Briggs ?
We look in vain to the pages of Pole, Prince, Ris-
don, Dunsford, Carew, and Polwhele for evidence
of any connection of the eminent house of Briggs
with the county of Devon. Well, but the candidate
is a General : his name, however, does not shine in
any page of the annals of the Peninsular war, or in
the glorious roll of the Waterloo heroes. He is an
Indian general ; but the military history of India is
apparently as negligent o f his merits as the military
annals of Europe, or as the chronicles of Devon are of
his lineage. He is a General, and that most inconsi-
derable of all things----an unknown, undistinguished
General. High military rank, associated with obscu-
rity, perfectly realises the figure of " the little statue
upon the mighty. pedestal" which grows less by
its elevation. We can respect an old soldier, su-
baltern or captain, of whose name we never heard
before; because, however important their services,
however signal their gallantry, both may have passed
unnoticed in the crowd ; but we cannot extend the
same charity to an unknown General, for all a
General's exploits are sure to be trumpeted, and
when we hear for the first time of a General,
we are disposed to set him down with the
class spoken of by Frederick • the Great.
" These fellows," said the sarcastic hero, "have

not as much claim to favour as my baggage
mule, which has seen more service than any of
them, and has fully as much sense and spirit. Their
sole plea of merit is that they have contrived to keep
a long time out of the way of being knocked on the
head—a caution for which the Sovereign that must
feed and pay them has little reason to be grateful."
Until we hear what are the services of General Briggs
we shall without hesitation assign him to this class.
Meanwhile let the electors of Exeter decide between
their late accomplished, able, and faithful represen-
tative and this intruder.

- -
GLOBE.—The Times City article puts forth the
following statement, as serving towards the expla-
nation of the fall of more than 1 per cent. within
these few days, in Consols:—" As it appears that the
greater part of! the sales have originated with brokers
'
who usually act for the Scotch banks, it has been
conjectured that the very sagacious managers of
those institutions have obtained some scent of the
nature of Sir R. reels new measures relative to
banking, which he is to communicate after the
budget, on the 30thinstant, which induces them to
take up a defensive position, and by selling their stock
to provide themselves with a large amount of dis-
posable funds to meet the emergency. The point on
which they are most apprehensive is the circulation of
their small notes ; and should these be withdrawn, in
c
order to assimilate the Scotch curreneyown'liyth
btheatobof
the rest of the United Kingdom, their place must
btaeinseudpbpylieadsawleitohf
stogeokld,and Bankwhieh oafnEngland notes."
It may in some degree appear to confirm the con-
jectured surmises of the Scotch bankers, that Sir
Robert Peel has shown something like a small-note-
phobianootens
apower, which (under the condition severalof occasions ; and has attributed to
small
convertibility, and free competition in banking) we
cannot conceive as belonging to them, whether for
good or evil. On the last day of the session of 1842,
Sir Robert Peel, after remarking on the tendency of
his tariff to mitigate the existing distress, concluded
by saying—" I admit that there are modes by which
prosperity by the issue of 1/.
earteeamtepoararteymppororaspryerity might be created. I might
notes, and by encouraging the Bank to make large
issues of paper ; but such a prosperity would be
wholly delusive. It is much wiser, in my opinion,
to abstain from the application of the stimulus."
This is quite the style of .ZEolns (or Sir Jabesh
Windbag) with bladders full of that commodity which
mankind were so anxious to raise. Mr. Tooke, in his
recent pamphlet entitled "An Inquiry into the Cur-
rency Principle," remarks on this magnificent piece
of flatulence of. the Prime Minister, "At the time
when Sir Robert Peel made this reillark—nAm°lY,

in August, 1842—the rate of interest had fallen
below what it had been for several years before,
and most assuredly nothinc, like a return of pros-
perity, however short-lived, had yet manifested
itself. He cannot, therefore, any longer hare sup-
posed, whatever may have have been his impression
when examining Mr. Page two years before, the rate
of interest being then still comparatively high, that
mere advances on securities, that is, loans or discounts
by the Bank (always assuming that the securities are un-
exceptionable), could have the desired effect. How he
would have proposed the extra issue to be made, with
the view of creating temporary prosperity, does not ap-
pear." There is no reasoning with a fixed idea; and if Sir
Robert Peel has a fixed idea about one-pound notes, he
has probably given it, by this time, an apartment
for life in the structure of his brain. In that
case we take leave to consider him not a whit
less mad about currency, in his way, than the
Brummagem men in theirs. Time will soon show
whether this is the case. Meanwhile, we will
trouble the Minister to -take along with him the fact
that, while the number of banks in Scotland has in-
creased, the notes in circulation have diminished.
The same thing might be said of the country circula-
tion in England. If Sir Robert Peel is really going
to take the field against Scotch and Joint-stock
Banks, having for his banner the ragged petticoat of
the Old Lady of Threadneedle-street (no embroidered
garment of a Holy Virgin that), why, we can only
say we wish him joy of this new and most gratuitous
" difficulty" to his Government I