The Sun.
London, England, 1826-06-03 00:00:00

Directors the only persona that were sanguine as to the
reaults of these joint stock schemes ? Were the Ma-
nagers the only parties who looked forward to the
probability of personal advantage Were none but
the clerks stimulated by the hopes of profit ? Did the
Subscribers, as well as their Committees, 'entertain
some small hopes, that a few pickings might fall to
their share ? Was it solely and wholly through the
wiliness or the eloquence of their advocates that the
share's of every scheme were so greedily caught up ?
What right have the shareholders to suppose that they
'alone were heated, and that their respective , officers
were cool ? Strike off half a dozen individuals, and
what manager or director has made a farthing' more
by the mania of the day than the ordinary subscribers ?
—How thould they ? Generally speaking, they had
a great deal more at stake ; while stock was up, few
had wisdom enough to sell ; and when stoat got
down, still fewer had power. We don't mean to
deny that there were sharpers and gamblers mingled in
the throng ; what throng was ever without them ?
But, we say, and if the shareholders would but ; speak
out, we are sure they would say the same, it was "the
lust of wealth that never knows delay"—the aurisacra
fames--that stimulated every mother's son of them,
from the President to the porter. It is familiarly said,
" ho may laugh that wins ;" but if be that loses may
not laugh, that is no reason why he should cry. What
purpose is served by meeting and speechifying ad in-
finitum ? Will twenty orations repay one shilling of
lobs? When a person in trade has made a bad bar-
gain he puts it down to profit and loss, and resolves
to make a better the next tune if he can. Why should
not he who has made a bad Joint Stock bargain do
the same ? One gentleman, at the meeting of the
Milian Mining Company, is represented as saying,
that the best way was to submit to the thing, and
make no more fuss about it ; this is precisely the line
of conduct which we should wish our best friend
to follow in every case of irremediable loss. And
what, but irremediable loss, do the greater part of
these precious schemes present to Us ? We speak not,
of course, of those Companies, which, being formed
upon just principles, have nothing in common with
their bubble-brothers, but the number of their part-
ners. But then, it is said, if public meetings serve
no other purpose, they serve to expose the rogueries
of agents and bawds. But even granting this conse-
quence—le jcu ne mut pas la chandelle—the advan-
tage does not balance the labour. It is quite a mis-
take to suppose, that the great mass of spectators sym-
pathise with the cheaters, less than with the cheated.
We think it may be almost invariably observ4 that
mankind are more inclined to praise a knave than
to pity a fool. And how can any Shareholder
talk of the delusions practised upon him, which
now, that the public is awake and risen, appear so
gross and palpable to the meanest capacity, without
feeling that he has once, at least, in his life acted the
part of a very silly fellow. For our own parts we
have not, and never had, the slightest connection, di-
rect, or indirect, with any of these plans, for which we
consider ourselves indebted, not to our wisdom as-
suredly, but to our good fortune ; but, if we had hap-
pened to burn our fingers with any of them, we should
have had cunning enough to wear gloves until they
were. healed. In a word, where there exists a fea-
sible prospect of recovering their money, subscribers
do right to try every means of recovery ; where there
is none, they will do right to submit to their loss
with a good grace, and console themselves with the
old adage----" Levius fit patientia quicquid corrigere
est nefas Whatever cannot be cured must be en-
dured."