The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-12-19 00:00:00

The first charge brought against this witness is, that he
condemns the " facility for discounting ;" and on the
other hand " he regrets that the bank had not

enlarge its issues!) Now in the question referred to
by the Chronicle—(2,244)—Mr. Brown makes no such
charge against the bank. He is asked, " might it not
have been possible that the ministers of the Crown might
have thought that that restriction of discounts (meaning
in April 1847) ought to have commenced two months
earlier, while the directors of the bank were of a differ-
ent opinion ?" "It is very probable, if it had commenced
two months earlier it would have saved a great deal of
difficulty to the country." It is on questions like these
that Mr. Brown qualities his assertions, simply because
they concern the operations of banking, more than of
mercantile pursuits; and must be left to the dircretion of
the bank directors. Why the writer has brought in op-
position to this part of his evidence the answer to ques-
tion 2,222, we cannot discover. The remarks of Mr.
Brown respecting "a larger amount of specie in their
vaults" is solely referable to the bank department which
is fully proved by his answer to the next question, (2,222)
" when you speak of the specie in their vaults, Scc.,
you mean the reserve in their banking departments."—
..

I speak of the whole spcie held by the discount depart-
nent, assuming that the specie in the bank of issue is
ilso available for them."

We must remark here, that in the evidence of Mr.
Brown he does not condemn the Bank for not having suf-
ficient amount of specie at their command, but that what
they do possess is so separated by the act of 1844, that the
Bank has no power to relieve the discount department in
It is impossible for any but a

at pressur

caviller to put any other construction upon this part of his
evidence. When Mr. Brown says the Bank might have

reduced its specie to two millions, it is in reply to a ques-
tion, whether the Bank had ever found " eight millions of
specie in their vaults on any similar occasion previously ?"
The question is a very natural one; and we may imagine
no small degree of stupidity would have been attached to
the advocates of such a system of banking by foreigners,
when they learned that the Bank of England had become
insolvent with £8,000,000 of bullion in its coffers ; yet
such would have been the case in the space of one more
week, had not the act itself been suspended, notwithstand-

ing the assertions of Mr. Jones Loynd to the contrary.
We can pity the writer for not being able to compre-
hend the difference to the Bank between a commercial
and a political panic. It is a fact well known, that in al-
most every instance of a commercial panic in his country
it has been paper, and not gold, that has been required ;
and there is not on record an instance in which paper is-
sues have not been the remedy of the Bank to recover its
position. It is the sudden withdrawal of this means of
accommodation to our merchants that has brought them
into difficulties, which have terminated in their ruin.
We cannot help thinking, on a review of the evidence
of Mr. Brown, which occupies 23 folio pages, that the
Chronicle has by no means done justice to that gentleman
by collecting here and there a few passages, on subjects
which are not easily decided by any single individual;
while, on the other hand, he has kept out of view the more
important points of the subject on which he is called to
give his opinion.
Before closing these remarks, we shall notice the re-
ference of the Chronicle to the mode of issuing notes by
the Bank. " Has Mr. Brown never read the act of 1844,
or has he never heard that this very government debt

forms the main part of the basis upon which the Bank is
authorised to issue its fixed amount of £14,000,000 of
notes, UNREPRESENTED BY BULLION ? " He then ex-
plains it in government language :—" We will continue
to pay you interest at 3 per cent. on that £11,000,000
which we owe to you; but besides that, you shall virtu-
ally have the use of that sum, as if it were repaid to you,
in being allowed to is.,ue notes to that amount upon the
securities which you hold on account of it." We are
then informed that the other " three millions form the
residue upon which the issue of the fourteen millions is
based, and they too are represented, pound for pound,
by an equivalent amount of Bank paper issued to the

It would not be necessary to enter into any investiga-

tion of this theory of creating paper money, were it not
for the vindication which is here boasted of by the chro-
nicle: nor could we scarcely imagine, that within two
days from this period, the same journal should have pub-
lished, in its remarks on the " Liverpool Currency Asso-
ciation," the following : . .

In the first place, it is to be observed, that the 'basis' on
which the Association propose' to found a national currency',
is the National Debt. They are pleased to call it capital, mis-

aat the £800,000,000 referred

the fair winds; the debt, i.e. the obligation to pay, alone sur-
vives. To talk of a capital cf £800,000,000 being guaranteed
by the property of the British nation, is mere moonshine."

+The (vriter then adds
" Now, what these gentlemen propose is, actually to make
the debt the basis and guarantee of a new liability."

Doubtless both Mr. Brown and the " Liverpool Cur-
rency Association" will both feel themselves under an
obligation for such enlightened views. Here we find a
writer vindicating one day what in two days after he ut-
terly condemns. He tells Mr. Brown, that " the govern-
ment debt forms the main part of the basis upon which
the Bank is authorised to issue its fixed amount of
£14,000,000 of notes !" He laughs at the " Liverpool
Currency Association," and exclaims, "These gentlemen
propose actually to make the debt the basis and guarantee
of a new liability." He says, " they are pleased to call it
a capital." Now, in the very quotation printed in the
Chronicle, the association says nothing of the kind ; but
that " Consols represent a bond fide amount of capital,"
or, in the language of the Chronicle, " Debt."
We make this digression to show how the advocates of
the Bill of 1844 are driven to a course of reasoning which
is contradictory and delusive. If the evidence of Mr.
Brown cannot be reconciled with any "distinct school or
theory," or with any " fixed principles," of this much we
are certain, that he has clearly shown to the committee of
the House of Lords, and to those who have read his opi-
nions, that the theory of the Bank Charter Act of 1844
has been propounded, acted upon, exploded, and con-
demned by every sensible merchact in the kingdom. It
has been proved, by the evidence of Mr. Brown and many
others, that it can neither bring gold to the Bank nor
keep it when there. It is, in short, in the language of the
committee, an act which has " to be repealed the moment
it comes into operation, and is, therefore, good for no-
thing." FABRICIUS.
December 13th, 1848.

CIRQUE NATIONAL DE PARIS, ROYAL AMPHITHEA-
TRE.—To-morrow will take place the last two perform-
ances of this season ; and the public cannot do better than
avail themselves of the only opportunity left of witnessing
the unrivalled artistes of this celebrated troupe. We feel
quite certain that M. Dejean cannot fail to receive in the
metropolis that full reward which it is in the power of
London to compensate him with. In comparison with
last year, the attendance at the Amphitheatre to witness
these performances, has only failed so far as the boxes are
concerned. The pit and gallery have been equally as well
attended as before. We remarked that the Earl of Sefton
and his family were in one of the private boxes on Friday
evening. Several novelties have been introduced during
the week in addition to the usual routine of the perform-
ances. The comic Pas des Grosse Nies is a highly divert-
ing scene, and the expression of the huge masks is most
admirable. M.M. Newsome and Andre acted their parts
capitally and kept the audience in a convulsive state of
laughter, and the whole of the effect was so droll upon
the young children that they seemed struck dumb with
astonishment. We have now to take leave of M. Dejean ' TO THB EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD
and his talented corps, and he has our best thanks for the SIR, —I have read Mr. Dunn's eomtnunication with
gratification be has afforded us. ! very great pleasure, and I hope his problem will be tho-

GEOLOGY OF THE NEIGHBOURHOOD OF

LIVERPOOL

rrughly discussed in your columns, on sound practical.
grounds.

- Mr. Dunn is personally unknown to me; but judgin&
from his occasional communications to the Mining Jour-
nal, his opinions demand every consideration and respect..
I have long entertained an opinion that the plain be-
tween Bidston and Kirby is a coal field, independent of
the Dee field; and I did commence an examination of the
district, with a view to satisfy myself, as far as possible;
but my design was frustrated by engagements requiring
me elsewhere. I fear I have lost the notes and sketches I
made; but if 1 can find them, I will give them to any re-
spectable competent person, who may be inclined to make
use of them. A bore, I have been informed, was made in
some part of the district; but the party who made it,
for reasons which can, I believe, be satisfactorily ex-
plained, abandoned operations. Perhaps some of your
readers know the party, and may be able to induce hirs
to make known any particular facts he may be in posses-
sion of.

I have a doubt in my mind, whether the red stone on
the Liverpool side of the Mersey is not of that thickness,
that coal seams lying under it would be so much com-
pressed as not to be worth working. I would, therefore,
suggest that an endeavour to obtain an approximate esti-
mate of the thickness should be made, before a boring is
determined. Mr. John Formby, I believe, made a bore
in the red stone in the vicinity of Aintree, and he is a gen-
tleman very likely to have kept a good record of his pro-

Is not Mr. Dunn in error as to the coming in of the
throws at Torbock and Ness ? He says they come in
south and north. I should have expected the seams to
have been cut by the red stone coming from the west in
one place, and from the east in the other, or nearly so.
Indeed, I do not see that the principle of his diagram can
be correct on other conditions.

Your local geologists have now a very excellent oppor-
tunity to display their talents on a really practical point
of geology, and, consequently, to lay the community un-
der great obligation to them.

Afr. Dunn,-as well as Mr. Gladstone, deserve especial
thanks for the trouble they have taken ; but certainly
priority of publication gives the merit of the suggestion
to Mr. Dunn.

sed so far under real

As this matter has been disci]
names, I do not think it right to
mously. I am, yours very obedientl

Glanadda, December 15

you anony-

B. DONBAVAND.

P.S.—lt occurs to me to ask if a pit has not been sunk
with succors, recently, some distance east of the Old Nes&
collieries ?

TO THE EDITOR OF THE LIVERPOOL STANDARD..
SIR,—I have had my attention drawn to a paragraph_
in the Liverpool Albion, copied from the Manchester
Guardian, which is calculated to mislead the public, as
to the conduct of myself, and certain of the committee of
the Liverpool Stock Exchange, in reference to a member
of that association ; and I beg, with their unanimous con-
currence, to make known, through the medium of your
paper, some facts as a justification of the line of conduct
which I and these gentlemen have thought proper to
adopt. The party in question has failed twice as a mem-
ber of the Liverpool Stock Exchange. On the occasion
of his last failure, in October, 1847, the committee, as
the guardians of the interests of the association, deemed
it their duty to institute a strict investigation into the
character and extent of the dealings of the defaulter,
shortly prior to and at the time of his declaring himself
unable to meet his engagements. In the course of the
investigation it came to the knowledge of the committee,
that with a capital, on the 30th of September, 1847, of
under £l6OO, which capital, according to the insolvent's
own statement, consisted of cash, shares, houses, &c.,
(the house property being overvalued at £l2OO, and un-
available) he had an open account in the Liverpool and
London markets of upwards of 5000 shares of paid-up
London and -Midland stock of the value of £Booo—of
65,000 consols, and 5000 Mexican bonds. It was also
ascertained that the party in question had a balance sheet
drawn up for him for each account, and although with.
this docunient before him, and a constantly falling mar-
ket, he continued to increase his liabilities by opening
further contracts with fresh parties. Under these cir-
cumstances, the committee, so far from (as stated in the
if r

Manchester tiluardmn) reporting favourably of the honour
and commercial integrity of the insolvent, very naturally
came to the decision, thrt any one dealing in so reckless
and unjustifiable a manner, on such very equivocal means,

was not worthy of reinstatement as a member of the asso-
ciation, and they accordingly declined to reinstate him.

The above st

atement, together with the facts that the
last composition of ss. in the pound, accepted by the
creditors a year ago, is still partially unliquidated, and
that the defaulter had never for twelve months applied to
be reinstated, or tendered the necessary securities as a
member, will, probably, disabuse the public mind of the
impression which the article alluded to is likely to pro-
duce, as to the implied harshness of the committee to-
wards the defaulter, or of their inconsistency in retiring
from office when their decision was reversed.—l beg to
remain, yours, very obediently, D. NEILSON.

ist rift

=~e~US.

The directors of the " Lind " concerts for the Manches-
ter Infirmary have already lodged £2OOO in the bank.
The British Archaeological Association have finally de-
termined on holding their next Congress at Chester.
A YOUTHFUL DRUNKARD.—A lad named John Wil-
liams, who stated his ago to be fifteen years, was charged
at Manchester, on Wednesday, with being found "drunk
and incapable."

NOTICE TO BEER RETAILERS.—At the Borough Court,
anchester, on Friday, whilst hearing the summonses

house keepers, Mr. Maude stated that the
Magistrates were about to take steps to prevent beer re-
tailers from coming before the court so many times. They
were going to keep a register of the offences, and any
beerseller offending more than three times, would be dis-
qualified from keeping a beer-house.
THE CHARGE OF SWINDLING.—The family of swind-
lers, Maria, Ann, and Joseph Whitehouse, otherwise
Green, whose exploits at Chester, Birkenhead, and else-
where, having rendered them so notorious, were again
brought up at the Borough Court, Manchester, on Mon--
day. Mr. Maud discharged the prisoners on the ground
of non-jurisdiction, leaving Mr. Reay, of the Guardian.
Society, Liverpool, to pursue his own course in again hav-
ing them apprehended. Mr. Reay had the daughter again
taken into custody.
On Friday week, a man named Parry was poaching on
lands in the occupation of Mr. Jones, farmer, of Poulton,
when he observed a hare in the hedge, which he made an
attempt to shoot, but the gun hanging fire, he resorted to
the butt end, with the view of striking it dead—the muz-
zle of the gun necessarily pointing in the direction of
himself. While in the act of raising the gun, it acciden-
tally went off, and the charge passed through his groin.
He was found shortly after in a helpless state through loss
of blood, and he lingered until Tuesday.
A JUDICIAL LECTURE.—At the Chester Assizes, Mr.
Baron Alderson, in sentencing the chartist named Mantle,
said, " It was you who made seditious speeches, and
were a party to the conspiracy and riot. It is true you
were not at the latter in body, but your spirit was there.
You sounded the trumpet, but you were not in the van ;
and it is always so with people like you. Quacks leave
their dupes to suffer. You are a young man with a very-
voluble tongue and an empty head just such stuff as
mob orators are made of ; with enough of plausibility to
make what you say dangerous, but not enough of wisdom
to make it safe. I advise you to study more and speak
less—to know, if you can be made to know, that a boy of

against beer-.

twenty-two is not the person to alter the constitution of
this country. You must be made to feel that burning
brands are not to be tossed about with impunity ; that
our towns and cities must not run the risk of being placed
in flames; that society at large must not suffer from the
acts of a madman, a child, or a fool."

AFFRAY WITH AND CAPTURE OF POACHERS.—A
desperate affray took place on the grounds of T. F.
Brockholes, of Claughton Hall, near Garstang, on Sun-
day morning week. The visit the poachers intended to
make had been anticipated, and keepers to the number of
ten had been employed. A little before 3 o'clock that
morning, it being known that the poachers were at hand,
•

immediate pursuit anu attncs WGIG UCL.IIIIIII,I. upun.
The poachers took to flight, but their retreat was cut off;
' • '

and they made a stand in a lane. and armed themselves
with stones, which they threw at their pursuers, and
severely wounded two of them on the head. They then
presented two guns, and threatened to fire ; but the
keepers closed upon them, and three of them were
secured ; a fourth, who ran off, was afterwards caught in
a ditch. They were taken to Claughton, and the guns
were found to be loaded. On them were found nets for
taking hares. They had two hares and a rabbit. On
before the magistrates, and.

:onday they were taken

five wounds on his head, and others were badly hurt.
They were committed for trial.
ROBBERY, AND RECOVERY OF THE PROPERTY.—OR
Saturday week, M. Gregson, Esq., of Liverpool, arrived
in Lancaster, and at seven in the evening started for
Caton, in a phaeton. A portmanteau containing valuable
property was placed under the back seat. In Bulk, a lad.
was seen to get up behind, but no notice was taken, as.
those who saw him thought.he merely wanted a ride.
On arriving at Caton the gentleman found that his port-
manteau had disappeared. The Lancaster superintendent
of police was apprized of the loss, and bills were printed.
offering rewards for the recovery of the property. The
articles consisted of gentlemen's and ladies' clothing, a
sum of money in notes and gold in a bag, books, &c.
Nothing was heard of them till Sunday afternoon, when,
about four o'clock, several lads, of ages varying from 8 to
12, were amusing themselves rat-hunting in a field at the
back of the Lady's Walk, close to Dalton Dam, when a
dog that was with them was observed to be snatching and
shaking at an object, which, on bang examined by the
boys, was found to be a canvas bag—the canvas bag, in
fact, which had been described as being in the pocket of
a dressing-gown. This bag contained at that lime £475,
viz., two paper packets sealed up, each containing
100
sovereigns, one paper containing 15 sovereigns, and ano-
ther containing 10; besides £250 in Bank of England.
notes. The boys ran off to the Aqueduct, and got into a
hollow to divide the spoil. The notes they considered of
no value, and some of them were torn and thrown about;
but the sovereigns they divided, taking them for bright
farthings or medals: one got 43, two 30 each, one 44, ono
21, one 45A, and one 30 ; and amongst them they had also
one £3O note, ten £5 notes, two £2O notes, three £lO
notes, and half a£s note, all in good preservation.. One
of the boys, on going home, exhibited his share to his
mother, who sent for his father out of church, and he
gave information to the police. Other boys, hearing of
the affair, went and gleaned up fragments of notes, which,
when put together with gum on tissue paper, made up an
additional £45. Out of 225 sovereigns, 212 were reco-
vered ; and with the notes restored, Mr. Gregson is less
annoyed at his loss of money than the loss of his account-
books. Persons were sent to watch the spotwhere the
bag was found, in hopes that the thief or thieves would
return, but without success.

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