The Sun.
London, England, 1826-02-04 00:00:00

'rink LONDON JOURNALS.
DA IIX
`Extracts from the Morning Papers, Feb. 4, 1826.'

[MORNING POST.)
Several notices of importance were given last
night in the House of Commons, from which it
way be anticipated that the early part of the
resent Session will be dedicated to business of
moment. The Chancellor of the Exchequer, in
answer to Mr. Hume, who continues his usual
practice of endeavouring to smuggle motions into
the House without any previous intimation, an-
nounced that on the 24th instant he should make
a full statement of the Financial Situation and
Prospects of the Country ; and that on Friday
uext he should, propose the measures founded On'
the concession made by the Bank of England,
which concession he was happy to say had that
day been ratified by the Court of Proprietors.
itir. Secretary Peel stated the interesting fact
that the Report of the Commissioners appointed
to inquire into the practice of the Court of
Chancery was drawn up, and that when the
evidence, which 'was very voluminous, should be
printed, the whole would be laid before the House.
The Attorney-General gave notice that he should
propose three bills, one to amend the Insolvent
Debtors Act, and the Act for the recovery, of
small debts, and the other to alter, the law of
arrest. The report of the Address to the Throne
was then brought up by Mr. Stuart Wortley,
junior, and as usual, a kind of second-hand debate
arose, in which, however, some topics of interest
were introduced. Amongst these was the war in
'lndia, of the policy, justice, and successful ter-
mination of which doubts were expressed by Sir
C. Forbes in no very measured terms. The Pre-
sident of the Board of Controul, however (Mr.
Wynn), vindicated the justice of that war, which
had been provoked by systematic and persevering
eggression and though it was difficult to speak
with confidence in regard to military operations
in a country so distant, from all the information
in his possession, he entertained the most sanguine
hopes of a satisfactory termination to the contest.
The Right Honourable Gentleman also assured
she House that in the main army, under Sir Ar-
chibald Campbell, no sickness existed, and that
it would take the field in its strength as soon as
:he rainy season would be over. These state-
ments will, we trust, set at rest the unfavourable
rumours which have lately been circulated re-
specting the prevalence °fa destructive mortality
smongit our troops in India. Mr. Whitmore also
availed himself of the opportunity afforded him
by the re-consideration of the Address, to ex-
press hiA intention of shortly bringing the im-
portant subject of the Corn Laws before Perlis-
'lament. The Report of the Address was ulti-
mately agreed to. The House ‘of Lords did not
meet yesterday.

[Tit r. TIMES]
The financial plans of Ministers are now so
fully before the country, that they need but little
further development from us: but we would also
recommend to those of our readers who wish to
understand them thoroughly, to read with atten-
riot, the proceedings of the Bank of England
contained in this day's Journal. Branch-banks
from the parent stem at London I—and country
banks from broader basest that is, with more
partners t—in fact, chartered companies of coon.
Try bankers! These are the measures proposed.
To allow of the latter, the Bank of England
oust give up that part of its charter by which the
partners in country banks are prohibited from
exceeding six, retaining only a circle near Lon-
don, in which the old testrictiona must continue :
sod to this the Lank has, we should conceive with
no great sacrifice, consented. Who, we ask, that
should consider these,remedial measures without
kuoviing any thing of the past circumstances of
the country, but would' instantly conclude, that
the'evil sustained was the insufficiency, not the
redundancy, of the paper-currency ; and that the
chief object in view was to increase the means of
pushing that flimsy circulating medium ? The
branch-hanks seem to be less insisied on than
the new kind of country banks. Lord Liverpool
speaks of them in this manner, in his speech on
Thursday :—" If the Bank could he induced to
" give up so touch of their privileges, anti if
" they would accompany that surrender by a
46 measure' which he thought would be advisable
" for their sakes—namely, the estuhlishment in
" some ports of the country, of branches of their
" awn institution—the effect on the general cir-
" culation would, he thought, be most beneficial."
And it is yet more remarkable, with respect
to establishments 'purely country, that Mr. As-
tell, the Director of the East India Company,
says, in his speech of yesterday at the Bank,
that " they ought always to bear in mind, that
" it did not follow that new country hank asso-
" ciations would be formed, were these lep,isla-
" the amingerrients.adopted ; all they were re-
". quired to do, was to withdraw a difficulty
" (ruin the path of their formation, mid the gees-
" lion might afterwards be considered how far
Cl the Bank ought or ought not to assist directly
" 3a their, establishment." So that really, respect
being, h had to. these two clauses in the speeches of
the Vico
,Lord of the Treasury and of Mr. Astell,
it seems doubtfiit Whether execution would fol-
Ww.permission—whetlier, with the fullest power
iiy , the, Penh of England to bud and put forth
hranchei, and "with the conceded right to pro.
Vincial capitaliSk, or no-capitalists, to form
chartered associations for the purpose of banking,
either ,of the parties will availlhemselves of their,
privileges. With respect to the measure of in-
creasing time number of partners in country assn.
ciatimis, we do not see why an' seCension of weals.iiwiis,ilo;,t,i!;a4l of strongth;- Should not takeplace by
the imittipbcatiori Of the' ttrembejli ; or why the
wealjoess ,hoold 1101 lenst proportionate to
th('„,ikicrease.: fkreitlic;r .%‘-t; perceive how: the
spirit to engage in ''Jninkio.'''toticerns! should be
engendero,m bosof9s Yet"tinteinted with it, by,
the extended permission to engage in theta We
have not yet heard of 'people in the country
panting to become bankers, who were unable to
gain entrance within the sacred pale from the
prohibitory power conceded by charter to the
Hank of England, However, much will cer-

taraly depend on the, temptations held out, by
Government to become partners in such concerns.
The assurance that 46 Government had deter-
" mined to grant no charters which would screen
" the private property of the partners, which,
46 without reference to the individual share,
44 was to be open in the fullest extent to the
44 claims of the creditors," presents no strong
inducement to men of fortune to enlist in
such concerns. With respect to the resolu-
tion to withdraw country notes of one and
two pounds from circulation, our opinion
is most favourable to the measure : we fer-
vently hope it will be carried into execution, and
we have even heard that orders have Leen sent
to the office in Somerset House, to stop the
granting stamps for such paper, so that that
which is now flying about may wear itself out.—
We are. aware that the measure will be attended
with difficulty ; but at no period can it be so
easy of execution as at the present, when the
mass has been already greatly reduced by ante-
cedent circumstances, and by the general want
of confidence in those who have issued it. Grant
the country but this measure, and exact deposits
of security from the country bankers, and pro-
bably little more may he necessary. The delay
of another Session of Parliament in the repeal of
the Corn Laws will be less sensibly felt.

riIItITISII PRESS.]
Now that the subject of paper-currency, as
connected with the unrestrained issue of country
bank paper, is taken under the immediate consi.
deration of Parliament, the application of some
remedy may be confidently looked for, that will
provide against the recurrence of those calami-
tous failures by which commercial credit has
been so extensively deranged. The leading
measure of this remedial system, it seems, will
be the removal of the present limitation of the
number of partners, w hid), by the charter granted
to the Bank of England, cannot exceed six.—
Much praise is certainly due to that Company
for the readiness with which they have consented
to relinquish their exclusive priviledge of exceed.
ing this number in favour of all minor establish-
ments, the stability of which this concession will
effectively tend to secure. The Bank itself, we
think, cannot fail to be benefitted by whatever
measure may have the effect of placing the pro-
vincial banks on an ultimately safe and solvent
basis. At present the Company is obliged, at a loss
to be provided against any season of alarm or
embarrassment which may occasion a run upon
the country bankers, and compel them on a sud-
den to turn their securities into Bank of England
notes to be exchanged for cash, which the Direc-
tors must of necessity supply. The heavy and
unexpected demands made at the same moment
on the bankers in London, occasioned by the ne-
cessity of providing for the pressing exigencies of
the banks in the country to which they are
agents, operate to drain the Bank of England of
specie—to enforce the curtailment of discount—
to enhance all the difficulties occasioned by the
pressure on public and private credit, and to ag-
gravate all the mischiefs of a disordered paper
currency. The Bank must supply the deficiency
of gold displaced by the exorbitant issue of local
notes, as well as of that portion which the alarm
of individuals induces to lock up in their coffers,
and the quantity of gold which a general panic
withdraws from circulation is very great. The
Directors have, therefore, a manifest interest
in assisting to carry into effect any system
which promises to guard them against those evils
to which they are exposed, the removal of which
would more than compensate any loss of the pri-
vilege they are called upon to surrender. In the
debate on Thursday evening the system of free
trade was but slightly glanced at, nor was the
present state of the manufacturing community
adverted to beyond the sympathy expressed for
its embarrassments. The abstaining from all un-
necessary agitation of these topics was certainly
the prudent course ; it will be enough to discuss
them when the time culls for their discussion ; if
then the principles which they involve shall be

traced to (heir ultimate results, the debate will be
interesting beyond any one that ever passed
within the walls of Parliament. But the manufac.

turors will expect some better reasoning than was
proGred to them in the gratuitous assumptions
and vague generalities of Mr. Brougham. They
will not he content with the dicta retailed from

the Edinburgh Review. They will look for
cogent and conclusive arguments, and will seek
to count each link 'in the chain. The country
has a deep stake on the result. Its commercial
Capitalists have every thing at risk ; they cannot
afford toraoge with the, theorist into the pleasing
uncertainties of the future ; they must argue from
what has been, to what will be, and must be made
to see their way clearly along the new road to "the

Wealth of Nations,,' before they willingly forsake•
the old paths through which their forefathers
found the way to it. The Corn Laws—as pre.
dieted will not be brought into (lift:WOW' during
the Session. It is a topic of great compass, and
is too comprehensive—in more senses than one—
to be ventilated at the eve of a general election.

Ministers possess the confidence of the country,
and they have well earned it, by the enlightened
and manly course of policy which has charac-
terised their measures. lied Parliament been

dissolved last year, Members would undoubtedly
have canvassed their constituents under better aus-
pices. But it is not given to man to look into futu-
rity. As to the question of the Silk Trade, we con-
sider the postponement of the new law as a men-
sure which the hourly increasing calamities aria-
ing from it will' render imperative. All legisla-
tion in affairs of commerce is, at the very best, of
doubtful policy. It is in vain that we appeal to
theoretic reasoning. The practical result is the
definitive test, That result is before us, and it
holds forth—as far as it has gone—an awful
warning of the consequences which await the
Commerce of this country should we persist in
nlfpoairtg experiment to experience, and intro-
ducing a revolution into the system of trade on the
faith of A science, the teachers of which are not
even agreed as to its elements.

[THE PUBLIC LEntan.l
The business in the, House Of Commons last
Right, as H ill be seen by our. Report, vas not of

very considerable importance. The Report of
the Address, in reply to the Speech, occupied the
principal attention of the House, and afforded an
opportunity to several Members for expressing
their opinion upon the remedies proposed by the
Chancellor of the Exchequer as calculated to re-
medy the existing difficulties in the commercial
world, and to prevent a recurrence of them in
future. In the course of the discussion the Bank
of England came in for its full share of censure ;
and, on the other hand, the proposition of the
Chancellor of the Exchequer, for depriving the
Bank of that portion of the monopoly which re-
stricts the number of partners in private
banking establishments was attacked by Mr.
Lockhart, Mr. Hume, and other gentlemen,, with
considerable ability. Mr. L. especially con-
tended that adopting the proposition of the Right
Hon. Gentleman could not at all avail to give
the public the security said to be derivable from
an extended firm, unless some mode could be
devised of obliging gentlemen of fortune to em-
bark in banking speculations—experience having
proved to us that even, when private banking
was supposed to be an extremely profitable spe-
culation, the firms were never so numerous even
am the existing laws would have allowed them to
be. The Hon. Member also dissented from the
proposition for calling in the 1/. and 2/. notes ;
urgine, as an argument against the adoption of
such a course, the inconvenience to which the
Public would be exposed upon any variation in
the course of exchange by the sudden exporta-
tion of the precious metals. Sir Thomas Leth-
bridge also took this opportunity of protesting
against any interference with the Corn Laws. A
new light has broken in upon the Honourable
Baronet, who assured the House that, after
several interviews with numbers of the dis-1
tressed silk-manufacturers of Somersetshire,
his Constituents, he conscientiously believed
they had changed their opinion, and were not
at all desirous that any change should take place
upon this subject. The Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer gave notice that he would bring forward
his Financial Statement on the 21th instant. To
that period public curiosity will be more parti-
cularly directed, as the Right lion. Gentleman's
Expose on that occasion will open to the country
at large a view of the domestic policy of the
Government for the year, and afford an oppor-
tunity of judging more accurately than can be
done at present of the opinion of his Majesty's
Ministers as to the real state of the country.

[MORNING II VRALD.]
Mr. 13rogden, last night, in the House of Com-
mons, on the appointment of the Sessional Com-
mittees, complained of the aspersions that had
been cast on him by the Newspapers, respecting
some Companies in which unfortunately he had
been engaged. He said his conduct had been
justified by the amplest inquiries of numerous
gentlemen ; and that though he would not answer
the Newspapers, there was nothing of which he
was so desirous as the most public inquiry into his
conduct. If there could be a Committee to in-
vestigate his proceedings, he should be glad, con-
vinced that on investigation he should stand ac-
quitted in the estimation of every honourable and
intelligent mind. Several important notices were
afterwards given. The Chancellor of the Exche-
quer said, that on Friday next he should bring
forward his plans for ..the improvement of
the banking system. Sir T. Lethbridge, in the
course of some observations on the Address, re-
marked that he had extensive communications
with country bankers, and that it was the uni-
versal feeling with them, that the proposed
withdrawing of one and two-pound country
bank notes, would be attended with the
greatest inconveniences to the trading and
labouring classes. The Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer afterwards announced that on the 24th
inst. he should submit to the House a full and
complete statement of the finances of the coun-
try, its income, expenditure, and means—in
other words, what used to be termed the " Bud-
get." Mr. Hume observed, that it was evident
there was to be no reduction of taxation ; and
as there was no reply to such remark, he
moved for a series of Accounts and Abstracts
for years back, to show that in reality there had
been no reduction of the burdens of the peo-
ple, whatever Mr. Canning or Mr. Robinson
might pretend. Mr. J. Williams, having asked
when the Report of the Chancery Commis-
sion might be expected, Mr. Secretary Peel
replied that he should have to present it in the
course of a few days ; and he added, that, in
order to make the Report better understood, it
would be accompanied with the evidence, and
an Appendix. On the bringing up of the Re-
port on the Address on the Lords Commis-
sioner' Speech, Sir C. Forbes complained of the
disastrous character of the Burmese war, and im-
plored Ministers to bring it to a conclusion as
early as possible. Mr. C. Wynn, the President
of the Board of Control, answered that the war
had been unavoidable, and that, according to
letters very recently received, the health of our
troops was much improved, and that there was
now the prospect of such war being brought to a
speedy and satisfactory conclusion.

[MORNING CH RONI CLE.]
The Liberal journals of ',ranee have begun to
attack the alteration in the Law of Succession,
announced in the King's Speech. It seems to us,
that before a law
of primogeniture can be sac-
cessfully introduced into a country, it must, like
England, have colonies in every quarter of the
globe, in which the younger children may be
maintained or killed off; or it must have monas
'teries and convents in abundance, in which they
may be supported. In the interval between the
suppression of monasteries in England and the
acquisition of Colonies, the Cadets of noble
families were generally in, a most deplor-
able .condition. it appears from a volume
published in 1683, under the title of cc The
Traveller's Guide and the Country's Safety, be-
ing a Declaration of the Laws of England against
Highwaymen or Robbers upon the Road," that
the ranks of the highwaymen in this country
were then chiefly recruited from the younger
sons of the Nobility and Gentry, Cadets, as they
are called, 4‘ a pack of idle, dissolute rascals."

We are told that they " entitled themselves Gen•
tlemen of the Road, and gloried in their invention
of the most genteel trade of ruining mankind." It
appears that their connection was often no small

impediment in the way of bringing them to
Justice ; and it is not improbable that we owe
to this cause the long prevalence of highway
robbery in this country, to au extent unknown
in any other boasting of civilization. In France,
before the Revolution, in most of the provinces,
property was divided according to the rule of
the Civil Law, that is, equally among the child-
ren. In the customary provinces, the eldest son
was often left with only the chateau beyond his
fair share. A law of primogeniture on the Eng-
lish model, would therefore be going much
beyond the state of things before the Revolution.
With the exception of Englund (and England, as
we have observed, is particularly circumstanced),
we know of no country that has made any great
advances in civilization in which the children

have not succeeded equally. The Netherlands,
and Lombardy, the two parts of Europe in which
cultivation has been carried to highest perfection,
had no primogeniture. The contrast between
the parts of Italy with and without primo-
geniture, is, indeed, most striking. Who would
prefer Lombardy, with its beautiful farms, to
Naples with its Barons and beggars? It seems
to us, that that law, in the English sense,
must remain, if carried, a dead letter in France.
Having no monasteries, having no rich church
livings, the army is the only resource for younger
sons without capital, and that will only provide
for a small part of them. A provision for younger
MR, with a view to establishing them in the
world, must lend to the mortgaging of the estates,
and to the ultimate sale of them ; so that all the
effects of equal succession must be perpetuated,
whatever the law.

[THE REPRESENTATIYL.]
The Paris Express which arrived last night has
brought us some of the French Papers of Wed-
nesday and Thursday, containing news from St.
Petersburgh to the 15th January, and also inlet.
ligence from the seat of war in Greece up to the.
30th of December last. These accounts from
Greece, if they can be relied upon, are most im-
portant to the Greek cause, bringing,as they do,
the news of the total defeat of the Turkish army
before Missolonghi, and also of the block-
ading squadron in the Gulf of Patras. The
Seraskier has been superseded and exiled to Asia,
and Jussuf Vadat has succeeded him in the corn-
mend of the besieging army. At the time of this
attack, Ibrahim appears to have been at Patras,
au account opposed to the contents of private
letters given in our Paper of yesterday, and
which represent him as being on the 27th of Dec.
before Missoloughi. The confirmation of this
news would, therefore, appear to be desirable.
The intelligence from St. Petersburg merely re-
fers to the order of the funeral of the late Em-
peror Alexander, in the course of the removal of
the body. It is there said, that the conspiracy
of the 2Oth had extensive ramifications in the
interior of the. Empire, and had been traced
chiefly to Kiew. On the 3d January an official
r;vialasiepatidbelrissi:ed, containing a list of the
princippamphletealt

DI ENV TIM ES.]
It will be seen by our full report of the pro-
ceedings at the Bank Meeting, held yesterday,
that the great majority of the Proprietors present
agreed to the terms proposed by Government.
His Majesty's Ministers, acting on behalf of the
public, and with a view to place the Currency of
the Country on a sure footing, consider that the
existing privileges of the Bank contained in their
Charter are injurious to Public Credit. This point
has been frequently urged in the New Times, not
with any invidious view against the Bank of Eng-
land, whose conduct has been above all praise,
but simply on the ground of that additional se-
curity which is necessary to the Country Bunk
circulation. It is conceded by Ministers, that
within 65 miles of London the existing privilege pf
the Bank of England shall continue; but beyond
that distance, the number of partners in a bank-
ing firm shall no longer be limited by law to six.
The immediate consequence will be, that many
of the present Banks will extend their numbers,
and those u hich do not, will, in many instances,
be met by a competition of numerous share-
holders. When security is thus given to Bank-
ing firms, it will not be easy to spread such panic
as that by which the country has lately suffered,
The Bank Proprietors, in sacrificing so readily
their privilege, have entitled themselves to the
thanks of the Country.