The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1857-11-21

against Cuba three years since. Senior valiente
was Secretary Of the Cuban Junta in this city
at the same period, and arrived quite recently
from Paris. We learn that about the time of
his arrival here Capt. G. w. Smith, formerly
Professor of Engineering at West Point, and
who also resigned his commission in the army,
where he had high reputation, to take part in
Quitman's expedition, returned quite suddenly
from the West, and that soon after his arrival
here Mcssrs. Lowell and Valicnte left for Next
co. II is probable that these gentlemen had a
conference with Gen. Qutman, who is in the
South before leaving for Vera Cruz. What
has stirred up the old Cuban Junta and their
allies 80 suddenly Is the descent upon Cuba
from Mexico already underway,
The Financial News from England.
The financial news from England, details of
which reached the city in the Nagara's mails
yesterday morning, adds little to what we knew
previously. A portion of the commercial COM
munity, with few journals. were actively
pressing on the government the necessity of re-
Taxing the provisions of the Bank act, so as in
fact, to remove all restrictions on the issue Of
Bank Of England notes; these were opposed by
other authorities who, through their organ the
London Times, took the ground that SO long as
the public retained fortitude and common sense,
the bank could protect itself by progressive
changes in the rate of interest, while doing its
duty to the nation by discounting all eligible
paper at that rate. Pending the controversy
few of the large houses connected with Ameri-
can trade had gone by the board, while others
were known to he grievously straitened. As
was to be expected, general business was great
ly embarrassed by the high price of money, and
the absence of private accommodation from
capitalists, who as they did here, had with
drawn almost entirely from the money lending
| market.
! ~ Course, in no point Of view can this news
be regarded as cheerful 1t is without mitiga-
ton unfavOrable. But, for all this, ii is doubt
full whether it can have an injurious effect on
our people here. Our position is SO very singu
lar and abnormal, indeed, that one can hardly
conceive anything which could operate serious
ly to our injury at present Certainly, it can
not be asserted that failures of British houses
would react upon us fatally.
For our trouble has been gone through. Our
merchants have broken, our banks have sus-
pended our rotten railways have gone to the
wall: Disaster can find no field for employment
among us. And since the worst took place. we
have been steadily improving. Our banks have
been gaining specie so rapidly that they hold
more gold now than they ever did, and have
just, to all practical intents and purposes, re-
sumed specie payments. Those among our
broken merchants who were really solid have
obtained extensions or are doing so. and are
going on; the utterly rotten ones have been
weeded out Of the circle, and their places taken
by new men. Even many of the railways have
picked up, and promise really to prove good
property. There never was time when the
prospect Of u general imitation seemed more
promising.
All the rotten parts Of our commercial frame
have been cut out; all the solid parts remain.
| Our debt to the foreign world is in fair way
of being wiped out by the insolvency of the in
| dividual debtors; but while the British and
French manufacturer must lose part and may
lose all Of his claim, the goods will remain
here. The stockholders in the broken down
railways have suffered, and are by this time re-
signed to their loss; but the railways none the
less remain to us, engines Of commerce and
progress. And. TO add to all, while our pre-
sent liabilities are being vastly reduced by in
solvcncy and our future ones curtailed by the
tendency to contraction and liquidation now
universal in the business world, our resources
have not been in the least impaired, our crops
were never more abundant, nor the demand for
them abroad more generally satisfactory.
The general deduction from these premises Is
that whatever news may come from Europe
during the next few weeks, the tendency of
things here must be toward imitation. And con-
sidering the point from which we start, and the
probable contingencies that may befall us, 1t
seems not unlikely but that such imitation may
be carried to point unprecedented even before
the panic.
OF course ii will be followed by q reaction.
not less severe than the imitation will have been
sudden and extensive. But when that reaction
may come, or how long the imitation may last,
no man can tell. If we keep all our own riches,
throw overheard our rotten companies and
commercial firms, and don't pay our debts, the
imitation may last very long time indeed
city Intellsrcpc~