The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1844-06-18 00:00:00

HOUSE OF LORDS.-THURSDAY.

Lord CLARENDON elicited from Lord Aberdeen some
interestin4 information upon the respective relations of
France and Spain and Morocco. The quarrel of the lat-
ter power with Spain he considered as in a fair way of ar-
rangement, both parties having accepted the mediation of
Great Britain, and he had reason to believe that, in spite
of the skirmish which had taken place, no serious inter-
. option to the existing good understanding between France
and Morocco was to be apprehended.
Lord MONTEAGLE then rose, and in a very long speech
endeavoured to make out the proposition that protecting
duties are injurious to all classes, but most especially
to those whom they profess to protect.
The motion was opposed, on the part of the govern-
ment, by Lord Dalhousie, who gave place to Lord Cla-
rendon. Lord Colchester, the Duke of Richmond, Lord
Wicklow, the Marquises of Lansdowne and Winchilsea
followed and after a short reply by Lord Monteagle,
their lordships proceeded to a division, negativing the mo-
tion by a majority of 109.

HOUSE OF COMMONS.—THURSDAY.
On the motion, in the House of Commons, for the se-
cond reading of the Bank Charter Bill.
Mr. HAWES proposed a resolution that no evidence
had been laid before the House to justify the interference
of the legislature with the circulation of the banks of
issue. He maintained, that in order to warrant such an
interposition there ought to have been proof of some de-
preciation in our paper currency ; but that no such proof
had here been given. He contended that prices had never
been proved to rise and fall with the increase and contrac-
tion of the circulation; and he produced a table of prices
to verify his argument. He asserted that if the present
small-note circulation were withdrawn, its place would be
supplied, and much more injuriously, by a paper credit in
the shape of small b Ils of exchange. In past seasons of
pressure, as in 1825 and 1839, assistance had been given
to credit by the Bank in a way which had been approved
by the highest authorities ; but, under the proposed plan
of contraction, if like seasons should recur, such assistance
could not again be afforded. The present corn-laws
would be a disturbing cause to your currency, but that
would give him an additional argument for demanding
their repeal. He feared that the references which the
Bank would have to make to the government would in-
troduce an evil not hitherto known in the city—the mix-
ture of party politics with banking affairs.
Mr. HASTIE seconded the motion.
Mr. GOULBURN considered the speech of Mr. Hawes
as an objection to the whole plan. It would have been
more manly to mole that the bill should be read a second
time on that day six months than to let the bill pass with
this kind of slur upon it. One of the main articles whose
cheapness Mr. Hawes had relied on, to show that prices
were not raised by excessive issues of paper, was sugar ;
but the cheapness of sugar was owing to the peculiar cir-
cumstances of the maritime supremacy of England dur-
ing the war. Did Mr. Hawes forget the difficulty which
from time to time had occurred in maintaining the con-
vertibility of paper, which he admitted to be indispensa-
ble? Did he forget Mr. Id uskisson's declaration, in 1825,
that the country was reduced almost to a commerce of
barter ?. To guard against the recurrence of such evils it
was necessary to introduce a measure like the present;
and he considered the evidence taken before the Banking
Committees had supplied the house with amply materials
for judging of this bill. He restated the principle of
the measure as before explained by Sir R. Peel, anti
called upon the house to sustain it.
Sir W. CLAY and Mr. HUME spoke against the motion
of Mr. Hawes, and Mr. WODEHOUSE in favour of it.
Mr. C. BULLER thought that Mr. Hume, to be consis-
tent with his speech, ought to have voted for Mr. Hawes's
motion. According to Sir R. Peel, this would be dcure
for all the evils of our complicated commercial state; but
he could not regard it in that point of view. He was not
prepared to agree that the American disasters arose mainly
from excessive issues ; he imputed them rather to wild
speculation. Nothing could be more absurd than the old
policy of parliament in restraining the number of partners
in banking. concerns; the reversal of that, policy by the
legalization of joint-stock banks had worked well in point
of security for 'the public, whatever losses might have
been sustained by the shareholders. The most objec-
tionable part of the present plan appeared to him to be
the suppression of the issues of country banks. •It was
not a sound principle to limit speculation, by excluding a
particular form of credit : worse forms were sure to be
substituted. One would suppose to hear in these discus-
sions that all the great speculations had been effected with
bank-notes ; but the fact was that the amount of bills of
exchange in circulation during the year 1829 was upwards
of £132,000.000 sterling, while the amount of bank• notes
was only £25,000,000 or £26,000,000. The clearing-
house daily settled about £3,000,000, with cash to the
amount of only about £200,000. In fact, the evil lay
much deeper than legislation could go—it had its roots in
the cupidity and folly of mankind. Suppose you succeed
in extinguishing the notes, the result would be only a
complicated system of credits in each neighbourhood,
resting not on the solvency of the one bank, but of its
many customers respectively. He questioned the accuracy
of Sir R. Peel's list of bankers who had failed, and argued
that but a small proportion of them were issuers of notes.
It had been said that the banker was induced to make
advances by the facility of issuing his own notes, when,
but for the notes, he would have lacked the means ; but
this was an error, for if his regular circulation was
£lO,OOO, and he issued £20,000 beyond that amount to
a borrower, a few days only would elapse before the sur-
plus £20,000 would be returned upon him. He ()ejected,
then, to this bill—first, because it was delusive; secondly,
because he thought it would introduce objectionable forms
of credit; thirdly, because it sacrificed private interests
a ithout a clear ground of public necessity. It was obvi-
ous that the object of Sir R. Peel was to put an end to all
issues except by the Bank of England. The bill proposed
to fix, as the maximum of each banker's future circulation,
the average of his circulation during the last two years.
But why should the average between the highest and the
lowest point in time past be fixed as the highest in time to
come ? In Lancashire there was no circulation but of
bank-notes, yet the bankruptcies in that county were just
as numerous as in counties where country notes were cir-
culated. He complimented the government upon their
adoption of the opinions of the Political Economy Club ;
this very measure was the invention of Mr. Jones Loyd ;
but, on banking, the club was much divided. How much
better would it be if the government would adopt those
opinions in which the club were unanimous—for instance,
their views nn the subject of the corn laws !
Sir R. PEEL commented upon the inconsistencies of the
speakers who had preceded him. The arguments of most
of them went substantially, though not professedly, to the
rejection of the metallic principle. He exposed the futility
of any reference to the prices of particular articles as a test
of the value of the currency. He appealed to the example
furnished by America while the control of a central bank
subsisted there, and to the warning held out by the con-
sequences which had followed the removal of that control.
He quoted the opinions of Mr. Gallatin and Mr. Webs
ster, that convertibility was not, by itself alone, a sufficient
security against overissue. In each of the commercial
crisises of this country there had been an overissue of
most injurious magnitude. He knew perfectly well that
the Bank of England, under the worst of those circum-
stances, could have maintained the convertibility of its
notes ; but how frightful was the cost of that msinte-
nsnce ! The present measure proceeded upon the princi-
ple of a wholesome precautionary distrust of the Bank.
With respect to country paper, it was said that the want
of accommodation would be seriously felt. But he had
shown that an issue of only £1,300,000 supplied the whole
of that great circle round London of which the radius was
65 miles. And if country banks should not be prepared
to give accommodation, would the Bank of England refuse
to make proper advances ? In some of the greatest ma-
nufacturing districts more than five-sixths of the notes in
circulation were those of the Bank of England ; such was
the case at Gloucester; so at Manchester, where the cir-
culation was of such vast extent ; so at Liverpool. It was
said that the noteholders of joint-stock -banks had sus-
taiiied.no loss. Perhaps not, after four or five years of
pressure upon every individual shareholder; but many of
those banks were founded in fraud, and had failed under
the most disgraceful circumstances : and he did feel that
it was justifiable and necessary to protect the poor man,
who had no opportunity of receiving their notes, the retail
dealer,. the servant, and the•laboarer. He trusted that no
further opposition would be offered to this bill, even by a
small minority. Four times in the last twenty years events
had occurred in the monetary-affairs of this country which
proved the • necessity "of. the present 'Precaution ; and,
though that precaution could not control illegitimate spe-
culation, the'government felt it their duty to interpose as
far as it wail' in their power; 'ant:ink to those mischiefs
which it was.pessible to restrain. •
After a few words from Colonel SIBTHORP and two
other members, Mr. Hawes's motion 'was rejected by a
majority of 785 to 30.

- HOUSE OF LORDS.-L---FuluAy.
,In reply to a question from the-Earl of WICKLOW.
The LordtuANcELLoit said there was no truth in the
report that the judgei had 'postponed. the circuits, • in
order to attend the disc'usSion of the-writ of error in the
House Of Lekds,resjartirig the 'Mil state
The "BishOy' of EXETER moved the second reading of
the Suppression of Brothels. Bill, Which- was seconded by-
. ihe Earl of .FrrztiAoiSTUE in' a mostextraordinary•
' it
sneech,' which drew a reply from the Bishop of,
GLOUCtSTER, in defence of the. Dean and Chapter of
Westminster, and an expression from Lord BROUGHAM
of condemnation of the exclusion of the statue of Lord
Byron from the Abbey.
The Bishop of LONDON was of opinion that the dean
and chapter were right in refusing admission to the
statue.

-
MR. MACREADY IN NEW Yonx.—Mr. Macready
played Shylock last night at the Park Theatre for the first
time in this city. Our expectations were raised very high
on the occasion, and_they were not disappointed. The
trial scene is well calculated to call forth all the talents of
the most admitrable performer, and never was histrionic
talent more triumphant. Loud shouts, and three distinct
rounds of applause when Shylock left the stage, spoke-the
feelings of the audience.—American paper.
PRAYERS FOR RAlN.—Prayers ta.the blessed Virgin
were offered up in all the Roman Catholic churches for
rain, and high masses were celebrated by the bishoaPnsis—ts
NeulYorh Sun. [lt is constantly denied by
tthheaitr
prayers
authorised
the fact
co-reli-
gionists convincing n.anner. Their transatlantic
are
prayer-bookse ever addressed
establish' t o fnaß, although
te
wor-
shipped, and they only state
d •
cannot be disproved, and what is so unblushingly denied
gionists do not hesitate to declawreitohpeinnolyrethcaatnsdhoeuirs
crha
in this country.]

ller Majesty the Queen Adelaide arrived at Ghent on
the 4th instant, and on the sth reached Cologne, from
whence her Majesty was to proceed the following morning
to Mayence. in the Victoria steamer, belonging to the
Dusseldorf Steam Navigation Company, which the Queen
had caused to be engaged some days ago, thiough the
London Company.
THE ARTESIAN WELL NEAR PARIS.—The volume of
water supplied by the Artesian Well of Grenelle was mea-
sured a few days ago, and found to have lost nothing of
its force or quantity. The source furnishes 2,000,000
quarts of water per 2-1 hours, which is more than suffi-
cient for the quartier of the Pantheon, where im-
mense reservoirs have been constructed to receive it. The
water is as limpid as filtered Seine water, and has conti-
nued clear since tubes have been inserted in the aperture.
—Constilutionnel.

THE POPE AND THE BIBLE SOCIETIES.—The
follow-
ing is the conclusion of a rescript which the Pope has just
issued to the Romish clergy of France respecting the move-
ments of the Bible Societies :—" We recommend you,
therefore, to announce and to explain in proper time and
place to the people confided to your pastoral charge, our
present advice, and to use all your efforts to withdraw
your faithful flock from any connection with those Bible
Societies. It will be your duty to trice from their hands
any Bible translated into the vulgar tongue, or published
contrary to the sanction of the Roman Pontiffs, and to
watch over them that your counsels may be attended to,
and particularly to watch the conduct of those whose duty
it is to expound the Holy Scriptures, that they may acquit
themselves diligently of their office, according to the ca-
pacity of their auditors, and in strict conformity with the
tradition of the fathers and in the sense of the Catholic
Church." The document furnishes abundant encourage-
ment to that noble institution, the Bible Society, to pro-
ceed in its beneficent career. The truth is beginning to
exert its power, and,must ultimately triumph alike over
the errors of Roman-Tsui and the dogmas of an atheistical
philosophy, which have for so long a time exercised a
withering influence upon the mind of France.
NEW ZEALAND.—By two or three arrivals from Sydney
we have part of the intermediate files, containing the par-
ticulars of the arrival of. Capt. Fitzroy. at New Zealand,
and the proceedings which immediately followed. Capt.
Fitzroy landed at Auckland on the 26th of December,
and was most cordially received by the official authorities,
with the whole assembled population, including a coosi-
derable number of the aborigines. A public meeting had
b:en called, and addresses had previously been prepared,
embracing all the real and alleged grievances which the
colonists have been subjected to. These addresses, and
the Governor's reply, are very elaborate; but the main
point embraced is the state of the land tenures, which it
is obvious, from the conflicting views and interests, will
be the new Governor's chief difficulty. It appears from
what fell from the Governor in this preliminary speech, in
reply to the addresses, that there will be no interference
by the government to dispossess the settlers of land pur-
chased from the natives, except where there is an excess
of the quantity allowed to be purchased by Europeans.
He further observed that the power of selling their land
to whom they please was withheld from the natives by
the Crown, for their own benefit, but that he was autho-
rised, to prepare for other arrangements more suitable to
their improved, and daily improving, condition. A re-
survey of the lands held by the settlers he seems to think
necessary, as the most likely mode of terminating disputes,
and he seems also to contemplate introducing a plan to
enable the natives to let their lands on lease, with selling
them outright.
AIISTRALIA.—From Sydney we have accounts to the
16th of February, and from Launceston to the 12th of
December. There is nothing from either place of a coat
mercial character worth communicating. The general
statistics of New South Wales denote a rapid rate of ad-
vancement. Ten years ago the number of acres under
crop were 60,520; last year it was 115,660; and this is
stated to be only one-fifth of what is required for the pre-
sent population. The number of sheep in the colony 15
years ago was 536,600? it is now 6,000,000, and Great
Britain alone could take the produce of 20 times as many
in common seasons. Of horned cattle, at the same period,
the colony possessed 263.000; it has now 800,000. Seven
years since, when its affairs were most flourishing, the
coin in circulation amounted to £420,720 ; last year it
was £475,390. In 1832 its ex ports amounted to £384,344
in official value ; and in 1842 to £1,067,411. The sheep
now in New. South Wales, it is estimated, according to
the ratio of Great Britain, would supply food to about
3,200,000 inhabitants, and itg cattle to 2,500,000 inhabi-
tants. The proportion of imports per head, indicative of
the substantial prosperity and comfort of the inhabitants
in general, as compared with those of some other coun-
tries, is given as follows :—Russia, 81d. ; Prussia, 32d. ;
Frane, 11d. ; United States of America,. 175.; British
North America, £1 Ils. 7d. ; British West Indies, £3 12s ;
New South Wales, £ll 15s. In contemplation of these
statements, we cannot but concur in the remark of the
Sydney journalist, that the present embarrassments of the
colony are " nothing but the natural and proper punish-
ment of an extreme infatuation."
COLONEL STODDART AND CAPTAIN CONOLLY.—
Capt. Grover has received letters from Dr. Wolff dated
Meshed, from the 14th to the 24th of March. The in-
telligence contained in these letters was considered so im-
portant, that they were sent open to Constantinople for
the perusal of Sir Stratford Canning : this will account
for the dates being anterior to those already received, ex-
tracts from which have been published. At Askarea, two
miles from Meshed, Dr. Wolff was met by Mullah Me-
shiakh, the Jew of Meshed who assisted him in 1831
when he escaped, from slavery at. Torbad. He was ac-
companied by Mohammed Ali Seraf, Colonel Stoddart's
agent; They had heard of his approach by the caravans.
This Mohammed Ali Seraf was the man through whose
hands passed all the letters, and the doctor says—" In less
than two hours I found this man to be a lying, treacherous
scoundrel !" Numerous proofs are given of his
and it is known that he alone, and not Colonel Sheil, is to
blame for the detention of the Sultan's letter. The Doc-
tar discovered that this man had property in his possession
belonging to Colonel Stoddart of the value of £l.OOO
sterling. In a subsequent letter Dr. Woolf mentions that
Aga Abool Kasem, a respectable merchant, formerly Bri-
tish agent, informed him that Colonel Stoddart hat sent
to Mohammed Ali Seraf shawls to the value of £lOOO
sterling, for the purpose of raising money to pay for some
land. The Doctor says—" i asked him about that. He
replied that he had still the shawls in his possession, and
that be intends to deliver them to Colonel Stoddart's sis-
ter in person ! You see by.this that the fellow is a rogue."
A chief of a caravan, named Kurban, who goes to Buk-
hara every three months, states that Stoddart and Conolly
are alive, and imprisoned in the Kalai, outside Bokhara ;
and the Doctor says, " Kuktilli, a Turcoman chef,
showed me a letter fro:n his brother at Bokhara, in which
he states that Stoddart is alive to a certainty, and his Ex-
cellency the Assoof Adowla (Viceroy) of Khora-san, to
whom I sent the King's courier to inquire where I should
go to meet him, at Madaan or Meshed, sent me word that
Stoddart and Conolly were alive last year.