The Sun.
London, England, 1827-09-17 00:00:00

skier the ruin which these loans, particularly the
South American, have brought down upon thou-
sands ofindividuals, who have been induced by
false and specious representations to advance
their hard-earned gains—their little all, to Go-
vernments who probably care no more for the
sufferings of their unfortunate creditors than the
gambler or swindler does for khe Man whom he
has duped out of his property. Many of these
loans Wert, in fact, from the first, nothing more
than gambling transactions on the part of the
original contractors. Some people appear to
have an idea, that when a capitalist contracts
with a Government for a foreign loan, that he,
the capitalist, advances all the money in the first
instance, and afterwards disposes of his securities.
The fact is, however, that he does no such thing.
The affair, indeed, is generally so managed
that, providing the contractor has credit, very
little money is necessary on his part. The public
arL made to run all the risk, for the contractors
can generally so manage as to keep up the price
of what they call the scrip till it is all disposed
of. Such are some of the domestic evils arising
from the system of foreign loans. We have, in
a previous article, pointed Out the political ills
that may spring from them. So sensible, in-
deed, was the Government of Holland of the
evils of foreign loans, that they have prohibited
them in that country, where it is, in fact, at this
time illegal to lend money to a foreign state. In
a former article we observed that we were in-
clined to think that such was the case in Eng-
land, and we are now enabled to say that our
conjecture was correct—or at any rate, that an
Act to this effect passed into a law in the begin-
ning of the reign of George 11. during the Ad-
ministration of Sir Robert Walpole. This Act.
was to prevent any subjects of Great Britain from
' advancing money to Foreign Princes or States,
without having obtained a license from his Ma-
jesty under his Privy Seal, or some great autho-
rity. According to the Minister, the law was
proposed to prevent the Emperor, who wanted
to borrow a great sum of the English merchants,
from raising and maintaining troops to disturb
the tranquillity of Europe. The Bill contained
a clause, empowering the King to prohibit, by
proclamation, all such loans of money, jewels, or
bullion. The Attorney-General was also em-
powered to compel, by English Bill, in the
Court of Exchequer, the effectual discovery, on
oath, of any such loans ; and it was enacted, that
in default of any answer to such Bill, the Court
should decree a limited sum against the person
refusing to answer. The Bill was opposed by
the Liberals of the day, hut finally passed into
a law. In our opinion, the reason alleged for
the passing of this Act was a sound one. Cer-
tainly every Government has, or ought to have,
the power to prevent its subjects from lending
money to a rival state, that may employ it to the
injury of the community from whence it ema-
nated. 'We are not aware that this Act has
been repealed ; and, if not, it is of course as
much the law of the land as it was the first day
it was passed. Whether, however, this be or be
not the case, it is not of the slightest importance
to the holders of foreign stock. The loans
hitherto raised were raised with the tacit consent
of the Government, and it is not, therefore, likely
that they would proceed against the parties, much
less attempt to prevent them from receiving the
interest of their money.—Morning Herald.

The Mexican Bonds, as we anticipated, ex-
perienced a fall on Saturday of 7i, the closing
price being 47k. There were sales effected in
the course of the day, we have heard, so low as
45 Our opinion of the ultimate payment of
these Bonds, however, is not altered. The re-
sources of Spanish America, with a very few
years of undisturbed peace, will be more than
sufficient to discharge, without inconvenience, all
the engagements into which they have entered.—
And we nave the stronger assurance that the
Bonds will be fully and honourably discharged,
as the interests, not less than the honesty of those
States, are implicated in their liquidation. But
we do not hope that the ultimate payment, to
which we look confidently forward, will he an
event of speedy occurrence. We have not for-
gotten the analagous case of the Colombian
Bonds. There also accidental causes interposed
to prevent the payment of the dividends—causes
which were to disappear like the early cloud and
the morning dew before the sun of Colombia's
prosperity ? How have the anticipations of the
Colombian Government and the hopes of their
creditors been answered ? Yet, from the cir-
cumstance of the Councils of that State being
guided by the enlightened, comprehensive, and
energetic mind of Simon Bolivar, the premises
held out in that case offered a much fairer and
speedier prospect of accomplishment than any
which can be held out by the Government of
Mexico. It has been justly observed, that in
the case of man and man it requires an infinite
effort to come to the resolution of stopping pay-
ment ; but, that sacrifice to necessity once made,
the most delicately sensitive mind will go through
the remainder of the process of bankruptcy very
coolly; and even where assets are forthcoming
a debtor will seldom waste his strength in en-
deavouring to discharge obligations which he has
once been prevailed on by accidental causes to
violate. With States as with individuals ce
nest que le premier pas quicoute. Appeals to
the honour of an individual may be answered,
and so may appeals to the honour of communi-
ties, but no wise man would be inclined to re-
pose much trust in either. We stated our opi-
nion on Saturday, that if Mr. Rocafuerte or
Messrs. Baring, were aware of the fact adver-
tised by the former on that day, one minute be-
fore it was made public, the bondholders were
most equitably entitled to the advantage of that
single minute. An evening contemporary
observes on this, that Regociations might be
going on up to the moment beyond which
the announcement could not be delayed.—
We admit that such might have been the
case, and if it were so M. Rocafuerte could
not be blamed for waiting, so long as there ap-
peared any reasonable prospect of a favourable
issue ; but, except in the charitable supposition
of our respectable contemporary, we have not
seen it alleged that any such negociations took
place. We allow the position of M. Roca-
fuerte to have been a painful one ; but we look
on the loss of fortune, and of the comforts and
conveniences of life, by a number of individuals,
as still more deserving of compassion than the
wounded sensibilities of the most delicate mind
in Christendom. Neither do we mean to insi-
nuate that Messrs. Baring were, ,pr are, legally
or equitably responsible for the suspension of
payments by the' Mexican Government ; but it
cannot be denied that many persons were in-
' duced to purchase Mexican Bonds, on the belief
that had there been the slightest doubt of their
goodness, so respectable a house would not
haVe mixed or connected itself in the remotest
way with them. One thing we must not pass
over—we mean the report, that for a considerable

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