The Sun.
London, England, 1845-11-11 00:00:00

H V BIT 'N,

beauty or the ailtantages. itoW vexatiots for the Premier,
who has allowed a dozen Cabinet Councils, with little more
than as many days, to be summoned, assembled, adjourned,
re-assembled, and dismissed, with no more practical results
than those of a dozen remarkably bad lucifer matches,
vainly ignited and contemptuously thrown away ! Our
deficient corn harvest is not to be supplemented by
foreign importations. Our pestilence-smitten potato crop
must not be replaced by sound corr. The throes
of coming famine are not yet sufficiently convulsive. We
suffer, but are not yet frenzied. We complain, but we shall
go on sonic time longer—perhaps--without raving. So, there
is still no " Ordei- in Council" for opening the ports. The
"sliding scale" continues to fall, by a necessity, inherent in
its own construction, as irresistible as the law of gravitation.
It is admitted on ali hands that its touching that point of de-
clension at which it becomes neutralised or extinct would,
under existing circumstances, avert an incalculable amount of
present privation and suffering, and an unknown ex-
tent of future misery, from the devoted heads of
millions of our poorer fellow-creatures and country-
men. To linger at the penultimate stage is to perish
of inanition on the very borders and within sight of
plenty. But the Prime Minister will not allow
even the SOVEREIGN to accelerate this consummation. He
has inflicted upon the whole empire, for the last quarter of a
century, the curse of dear money. He seems resolved now,
upon perpetuating, if it be possible, or maintaining, for as
long a term to come, the curse of dear bread. No Minister who
was not interested, as he is, in this dearness both of the sue
commodity and the other—as a large money capitalist and a
large landowner—could have endured for one week
the contemplation of the working of his corn-law
and his money legislation. The former he has based upon
the principles of that rule which COCKER and WALKING-
IIAME have denominated "simple (i. e. self) interest.'
The latter he seems to have framed on no higher elements
than those of " vulgar fractions." The one is an exempli-
fication of the most obtuse prejudice—the other, evidence of
the most exploded prepossessions of modern European states-
manship. But the time is at hand at which the popular
voice will vindicate its own demands in the name of com-
mon sense and common humanity. All ministers of expe-
dients ultimately succumb to principles. The Premier's
public career has been a succession of dramas, of which the
plot was always founded on the attempt to set up an expe-
dient, and the catastrophe the establishment of the rightful
principle. He has yet to "go through " the denouement of
his tragic farce of " The Gold Standard ;" and the public have
yet to be edified with the downfal of his usurping Cur-
rency Bill of 1819, and its progreny of 1826 and 1844,
and the restoration of the rule of legitimate money.

In reference to this matter of the currency, we postpone for
want of room some further remarks which we propose to
offer in confirmation of an able exposition of sound monetary
principles that we had yesterday the pleasure of transferring
to our columns from those of a Contemporary. But, in ad-
dition to the observations we submitted in onr yester-
day's impression on the still' increasing drain of bullion
from the cellars of the Bank, and on the Bank's weekly ac-
count, as published in last Friday's Gazette, we desire to direct
the reader's attention to these facts. That account showed a
decrease in the weekly circulation of 149,0001., and the de-
crease in gold store (helping it out by taking credit for
1,685,0001. of silver bullion) to 304,000/. ; so that to-
gether the two items of decrease amounted to
453,0001. But, on the other side, one class of
deposits had last week increased from 8,930,1341. to
9,099,7371. ; a difference in the amount of their banking
floating capital of 169,60.31. Their " Rest" had increased by
12,3201.; their " Public deposits" by 163,3961.—t0tal of in-
crease on these items, 345,3894 Now,inreference to the com-
bined operation of deposits- locked up, and circulation re-
duced, and bullion stores diminished, this account represents
a pressure on the public circulation equivalent to the sum of
the actual aggregate of the heads of decrease, and that of
the items of increase, to the extent of which latter the com-
mercial public has always a right—under the automaton ma-
chinery adapted by Sir ROBERT PEEL to the action of the
Bank of England—to expect to be benefited. Here we
verily believe lies the secret of Sir ROBERT'S aversion
to an Order in Council, opening the ports to foreign corn.
He knows that the gold bullion would flow out of the
country upon the same tide on which the vessels that
had brought the consignments of grain would sail
down the river on their homeward voyage, with return
cargoes, not of manufactured goods—which at present you
cannot persuade the foreigner to take in exchange for wheat
—but with your vainly boarded sovereigns. It must, how-
ever, come to this. The Premier is already convicted of
having been run away with by two enormous fallacies. He
must make up his mind to enter a double record of his politi-
cal failures by promulgating two Orders in Council. The
one will repeal his sliding-scale ; the other must repeal his
Currency Bill and " its complement." Government taxation
paper, or Bank of England small notes, must be formally
called into circulation ; and in this way only can we hope to
escape the horrors of impending-scarcity with scarcity prices,
and the convulsions of a monetary panic, which nothing but
persevering in our present suicidal monetary system could
make inevitable.

It is a generally received opinion, and admitted by impa-
tial Frenchmen themselves, that France with her present
limited commerce, and with no colonies that deserve the
name, can be only a second or third-rate naval power.
The Chambers may vote any sums they please for building
ships of war; France may possess the finest docks in the
world, and the finest vessels, but money cannot make
sailors, and without an ample supply of able and skilful sea-
men, men accustomed from youth to the hardships of the
ocean, and deterred by no danger, the most powerful navy in
the world would in the space of two or three years' war,
become only a useless incumbrance. It was the trade
of Holland, employing so many merchant vessels,
that first raised that small republic to a great
naval power, and its strength in that respect has decreased
exactly in proportion as other states have become more en-
gaged in the carrying trade. These are chiefly England and
the United States of America, who, probably, have larger
commercial navies than any other ten ,states in the world-
Some of the influential men in France begin to view the
question in this light, and to place no confidence in the
strength of a French fleet till a new system is adopted, by
which the navigation laws shall be altered and colonies
formed as nurseries for French seamen. The Prince DE
JOII•IVILLE seems to be partly of that opinion,
and is compelled, therefore, in the meantime, to
look to steam-ships, and other modern inventions,
as the only grounds for security against the vast
resources of England and the United States. But a
steam navy is at best but a doubtful arm of defence. Steam-
ships are of great use in rendering assistance to a fleet; they
are excellent for bombarding towns, and as privateers would
be unrivalled, but without a vast proportion of large sailing
vessels, manned with good seamen, they could make no im-
pression in a great naval fight. The French journals, there-
fore, that call out for increasing the naval power of the
country are directing the attention of the Chambers to this
important subject, and urging, as they have for years done,
the Government to lose no time in adopting great
measures for rendering the navy really effective. A
long article on this subject, as we stated yesterday,
appears in the Flotte, in which a comparative view is taken
of the actual strength of the Engl.sh and French navies, and
in almost every respect superiority is given to the former-
The following analysis of the English fleet is thus
stated : Three-deckers afloat, 19, carrying from
120 to 104 guns. Two-deckers afloat, 32, carry-
ing from 90 to 70 guns. Frigates afloat, 54, carrying
from 60 to 36 guns ; and corvettes, brigs, &c., 95, carrying
from 26 to 10 guns. The French actual naval force is
given as follows :—Three-deckers, 9, with 120 guns
each. Two-deckers, 19, carrying from 100 to 80 guns.
Frigates, 28, carrying from 60 to 40 guns ; and other small
vessels 65, with 30 to 10 guns each. The total farce of
each nation, including vessels building, is reckoned as fol-
lows :—English, 282; French, 161. After stating the man-
ner in which this force of vessels of the line, frigates,
and brigs is divided, numbering those armed, the
advance-ships, and the reserve, the Flotte makes
the following remarks ;—" The three deckers and the
vessels of 92 to 78 guns are in perfect order. The 23 of 70
to 76 alone are out of repair; nearly the whole of them re-
quire repairs, and that of an important description, pro-
bably for one-third of them. They are the oldest vessels of
the British navy. They are ordinarily when armed employed
upon distant stations. Thus then, should England wish to
make a great demonstration of her maritime force, it must
be evident to those who are acquainted with the English
arsenals, and the power of the Admiralty, that within a
month after the orders should be dispatched from London
the 28 vessels and 6 advance-ships might be joined to the
15 vessels and 15 armed frigates, making a total of 43
vessels, of which 12 three-deckers and 21 frigates would
be furnished in time of war with the best sailors. That
could Franee do if she wished to contend against this
powerful fleet ? To the eight ships and 12 armed frigates
she might join four ships and four frigates afloat, and arm
promptly enough five ships and five frigates in ordinary.
These vessels ought to have their materiel complete; but such
is the penury of our arsenals, that it is frequently necessary
to take from the ships in ordinary the exchanges indis.
pensable for the armed vessels. Admitting then, that a
month after the declaration of war, these vessels were com-
pletely ready to go to sea, we should have 17 ships and 23
frigates to oppose to 43 ships, 12 of which are
three-deckers, and 21 frigates." This is a striking difference
in point of numerical force, but the difference is still greater
in the qualities of the combatants. The sailors of both na-
tions are equally brave. but mere bravery without other
qualities cannot obtain victories, and supposing, with the
Prince Dm JOIN VILLE fora moment, that by some accident the
French fleet should obtain over the English a great victory,
it would be equal to a defeat. One-half possibly of the goad
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mon, as stated in The Sun of yesterday, that before France
can compete with England she must have maritime
commerce and colonies. The former, certainly, she may in-
crease by abolishing foolish monopolies, by encouraging other
nations to trade with her on liberal terms, and by some alter-
ation of her navigation laws. But colonies cannot be created
in a few years—a century would be required, and even then,
the French, to make them useful, must change their whole
system of colonization.

The only intelligence from Madrid, of the 3d instant, pos.
genius the slightest interest relates to the public fluids, which