The Sun.
London, England, 1844-05-08 00:00:00

SPIRIT of the PUBLIC JOURNALS.

FROM THE ETENING PAPERS OF THIS DAY.
STANDARD.—The two Joe Humes of Parliament—
Lord Normanby in the House of Lords, and the Josephus
ipse in the House of Commons—last night raised two
,debates upon the now familiar subject of Lord Ellen-
borough's recaL The Earl of Ripon in the one House,
and Sir Robert Peel in the other, resisted the produc
tion of the correspondence between the Board of Con-
trol and the Court of Directors, on the ground that
s full investigation, in the absence of Lord Ellen-
borough, was impossible, and that a partial dis-
closure would be unjust to his Lordship, while any
tecurrence to the dispute, before the new Governor-
G eneral should be fixed in his high office,
must render his government more difficult,
not merely by fettering his exercise of his own
independent judgment, but by exciting ground-
less hopes in some, and groundless apprehensions in
others. The noble "Joe Hume " did not make any for-
mal motion upon which a division could be taken, and
the authentic Member for Montrose was defeated by a
majority of 197 to 21. The Whigs, as represented by
Lord Campbell in the House of Lords and Mr. Macaulay
in the House of Commons, made the most
of the opportunity to worry the Government,
afforded to them by the act of the Direc-
tors ; but, after all, with little chance of success, as we
suspect, in the opinion of the public. The Government,
it is not to be denied, are in a difficulty, but it is a diffi-
culty in the creation of which they are wholly blame-
less ; a difficulty, in fact, of that kind which few who
have lived long in the world have escaped encounter-
ing at some one time or another, even in their indi-
vidual character—a difficulty analagous to that in
which men are so often involved by the " indiscretion"
or fully of those with whom they are connected by
family ties, by friendship, or business. In such a per-
plexity it is often impossible to exculpate oneself with-
ut ruining the delinquent that has involved him in it,
and seriously injuring innocent parties. When this
happens, the conscientious and prudent man submits
in silence to suspicion and reproach. This is
just the case of the Government at present; they
wish to defend the Directors against the effect
of the enormous " indiscretion" committed in the
recall of Lord Ellenborough, and they wish to protect
India from the fatal consequences of a display of dis-
union in the governing power to which that great
eenpire is subjected, and they are therefore compelled
to hold back the defence of their injured col-
league. Meanwhile the Directors are, without any
such intention, giving to the public the materials
of Lord Ellenborough's justification. The Morn-
ing Chronicle, evidently prompted from Leaden-
hall-street, says that the Directors were compelled to
dismiss the Governor-General because they were not
invested with any power to stop the supplies, and they
found their Governor-General too expensive. This re-
duces the quarrel to an affair of pounds, shillings, and
pence ; and it is extremely likely that the Parlia-
ment and the public will come to a conclusion re-
specting it very different from that at which the
Directors have arrived. Under favour, we must think
that commercial men are not the best qualified to
judge of the means by which a great empire is to be
defended, or very rich men the most disinterested
upon a question of necessary taxation—we think it
even more than probable that if it had been left to the
identical twenty-three Directors who recalled Lord
Ellenborough to decide upon our own property-tax,
the revenue would not now exhibit the surplus that
Iseiapily it does exhibit. It is only in natures of a high
order indeed, that full pockets do not prove fatal to pro-
vidence and patriotism, if not to humanity—" crescit
amor," &c., says the proverb. If the Directors and Lord
Ellenborough disagreed upon the batta—an extraordi-
nary allowance to be made to the gallant troops engaged
in foreign service—we will venture to say that the
people of England will side with him whose views were
the more liberal, more especially as the withholding the
belts in question has given occasion for mutinies, the
sumiression of which has cost, in money only, to say
nothing of the sacrifice of affection, more than three or
four times the batta saved.
GLOBE.—The " principles" of Sir Robert Peel are
something like the conscience of Baillie Macwheeble,
which was described as " a. good-natured conscience,
that never did him any harm." It may be said, in like
manner, of Sir Robert's " principles,' that they never
do him any harm ; for he avows that he stops short of
them on system, to avoid collision with existing
interests. It is also sometimes an agreeable disap-
pointment to the interests in question to discover that
Sir Robert's bark is worse than his bite ; and accord-
ingly we find Bank Stock, and Joint-Stock Bank Shares,
as well as the Funds, showing a tendency to rise—
suspense being removed as to the weight with which
Sir Robert's paternal ferule was to descend on the cul-
prits horsed on the subministrant back of Goulburn.
We are inclined to suspect that Sir Robert Peel de-
:serves the title of " the first financier of the day" in
somewhat like manner as George the Fourth deserved
that of "the first gentleman in Europe"—namely, by
making the best imaginable bow to a subject, on first
accosting it—not by having anything particular to say
to it afte_rwards. If " the first financier of the day" is
the man w:.110 can deal best with the common-place of
a subject—vho can best establish what nobody in his
audience disputes—we confess his claim to the de-
signation. But we should have thought, that to
merit that title, there was required more than the
mere faculty to show up, at their full length, admitted
and Oaring absurdities. We should have thought there
was req.eired subtlety and acuteness to penetrate the
dark and disputed passages—the difficulties which the
subject pre, sents to instructed persons. Sir Robert Peel
has either ex srcised his own mind very little on those
difficulties, or t -.lse he is diffident of his power of exposi •
Lion to make the. 'la clear to other minds, or, finally, he
has taken a contei
nptuous measure of those of his audi-
tors, and is determ, ued,above all things, to avoid the
example of him, who-
Too deep for his hearer, still went on refining,
r:,
•g while they thought of dining."
And thought of convincie '
but we mast be permitted •+4) say that, from a statesman
about the " principles" of
who makes so much fuss
s expect, on this occasion,
a subject, we had a right tt
a luminous exposition of the -se principles. We had
a right to expect something mo, wti than to be told that
Sir R. Peel differs from Adam Smith and Ricardo,
in their opinion that convertibili, 'II of paper currency
Was sufficient to prevent over-issue; end that new lights
have been discovered since their time, • which new lights
iSir Robert Peel follows. We have no t the slightest in-
timation what those lights are, thou gh we have a
shrewd guess at them; and could also, we think, enu-
merate those of them which are nowt 'turning in the
Bank parlour. But to be told that Sii • Robert Peel
differs from Adam Smith and Ricart without
being told
told
_
why, is really presuming quite sufficiently
on t
Times honoured title of "the fir st financier
of the day." A Minister who affects the a. esertion of'
large "principles"—larger. than he tests by piactice-7
incurs the obligation
exposition of these of. giving the most complex possible
of the public lectuSgiliciples. If he assumes .the chair
he fills it well. New, itf is incumbent on him t. ) see that
we should like to kno;er°w'n what lecturer on . -,aurrency,
.opuld be tolerated for 'moment
such a skip from Brum Zuletd Philadelphi ts to con-
clusions in favour of a sole e ofgoing
issue ?—r prac-
tical propositions, not indeed'
tending in that direction ? The whgolethatsle ogth, but
ates lty of the
subject lies—not in answering advoe erul
ourrency—not in expatiating on tize isbuses °.
pf
whether on this or the other bide of credit,the
Atlantic—but in establishing the connect:on of those
abuses with unrestricted liberty of issue. Tb eonnec-
tion Sir R. Peel did not even attempt to estal iDels. He
took it for granted. But he had no right tot Ake jt for
granted. He repeated merely the results of the lessen
taught him by Old Mother Hubbard and her si ins. But
the correctness of that lesson is disputed. Right or wrong,
it is disputed ; and disputed by many persons o f unques-
tioned abilities, and practical knowledge of th. s subject.
We need only mention the names of a few of theg. ?riflemen
, 1 ie well
-
examined by the last Committee. Mr. Tooke,
known author of the " History of Prices," and of a • recent
able treatise on the currency principle. Mr. Stud ce y, the
head of the banks of Somersetshire under his firm, w. hi ch are
described as admirably conducted, who was formes) by
his position, in intimate communication with tli a late
Lord Liverpool (one of Sir Robert Peel's oracles) a; id Mr.
bi skis/son, and was examined by the famous Bullior t Com-
mittee. Mr. Gilbert, Mr.
Alexander Blair, treasttr or and
manager of the Bank of Scotland, who mentio as the
circumstance
ornfsht=htghat, while there lies been a great exten-
and of bankincapital, and of banking accomrno dation,
the amount of4har.
competition, in Scotland sines 1826,
ea gate circulation has cons; "derably
commentary," observi .s Mr. ,
Tooke, "upon the receive octrirse of the p, iwer of
banks to increase their issues of paper money I as suits

their interest or convenience; and that it is the effect of
the competition of banks of issue to create a vast mass
of worthless paper !" Now, we say that the opinions
of practical men, based upon facts like these, and coming
in confirmation of the views of Adam Smith and Ricardo,
are at least as well deserving of the honour of confuta-
tion as the rag money reveries of the Brummagem
Incurables, or the trash of the Gemini Letters. They
required answer the more, as they lay directly across Sir
Robert's path—contradicted the principles he has ad-
vanced, and dissuaded the restriction of issues he
proposes. It was a safer chivalry certainly to engage
the Attwood apostles in preference ; but it was not
paying (on Sir Robert's part) exactly the highest
compliment, either to himself, or his audience. And
what sort of relevancy had Sir Robert's citation
of the smash in America ? Remark !—the question
is not whether credit, - and banking, may be abused
—but whether, with a convertible currency, the abuse
will take the shape of over-issue of notes. Does Sir
Robert Peel mean to affirm that, if not one, or only
one, a these American banks had been banks of
issue—if the United States Bank had preserved its
privileges—the loss of which he seems to consider
the source of the evil—the vast wreck of American
credit could thereby have been avoided ? Take Uncle
Sam as the head of a family—who went on borrowing
for years without means of paying—what does it signify
to the main fact of his ultimate smash, whether he
paid his servants and petty tradesmen in gold or
paper ? It was not Uncle Sam's " shin-plasters,"
but his State stocks, his railway and canal shares, his
gardens of Eden in the impervious forest, and his town
lots in the eternal swamp—that did John Bull out of his
money. Sir R. Peel might as well tell us that Danae was
seduced by a shower of small notes, as that these were the
elements of corruption between us and Brother Jona-
than. We wish to heaven statesmen would try to talk less
nonsense about America. The real source of mischief
in transactions with that, as with other new countries,
is the absurd delusion prevailing in old ones about the
enormous rates of profit there to be reaped. This is
emphatically an old country delusion ; just like the vast
value of waste lauds.

STATE OF TRADE.
(From the Manchester Guardian of this day.)
The continued and increasing firmness of the Liver-
pool Cotton Market, awl the nature of the commercial
advices from the east, appear to have exercised a favour-
able influence upon our market, for yarn was, yesterday,
decidedly steadier in price than for some weeks past,
and, though little or no actual advance of prices was
obtained, spinners generally showed little inclination to
make contracts for future delivery at present rates. In
the goods market there was a fair demand for all de -
scriptions of cloth suitable for the east ; and for some
descriptions of low shirtings advanced prices were ob-
tained. Printing cloth was steady in price ; but stout
domestics continue somewhat depressed.
ROCHDALE FLANNEL MARKET, MONDAY, MAY 6.—ln
the flannel market there has been something like an
average quantity of business transacted, at former prices.
The wool market has been remarkably quiet, and prices
the same as last week.