It is all in vain that FE...
The Times, 1824-08-26T00:00:00

It is all in vain that FERDINAND rakes up the vcry sweepings of the English money-markut, for means of de- !sEruction to the bcst Interests of England. Wl'ithour pre- ten(ling to the honour of having already foiled, by our own exertions, the wicked and baneful project of a new Spanish loan, we can afrin, on undoubted authority, that no one among the lealing capitalists of this kingdlom will conde- scend to treat with the bankrupt Servile Government. The ehiefs of our monied interest have, we are well informed, refused so much as to investigate the condition of Spanislh finance, or to listen to a syllable tha-n can be urged on be- half of the wretched creattnres who have ruined it. \Ve 'would, if we wero able, infer from this rigour, the preva- fence of lofty sentiments of freedom and philanthropy cimongst our moniedl men. But if political morality be at a discount upon change, prudence, we believe, is at a premium: so the safer inference may be, not that the capitalists are ashamed of a Spanish loan from any squeamishlness touching the claracters of those with whom they might have to negotiate, but that they tremble at the notorious insolvency of the borrower, and at the whole- sale destruction in wlhich their own friends and clients, who might buy up his securities, would be involved. In the nean while, a consciousness of the coming catastrophe haunts and overwhelms the partisans of the legitimate Court of Madrid, in every corner of the world. They are driven to desperation, and they are acting desperately. That credit which they move the whole earth, anti certaini regions under the carth, to boltster up, they hnow wil;, be- fore they can find time to turn round againi, have became a perfect by-word in every countinig.house over the face of Europe and America. What, then, is thcir schelte ? Re- pulsed as they are with contempt and ignoininy by men of real capital, they seek, refuge with those wlho have none-advcnturers like OUVRARD. It is possible that, from the ranks of these people-for they are nu- mnerous anid prompt to such exploits-undertakers of what they will designate a "new Spanish loan" may be chosen, by lot or otherwise, it matters little. Nay, it is more than possible. Men who have nothing to lose, and who possess characters of wlhich no contingency cail dis- burden them-men of that des.ription would be eager to take the con!tract for a loan of ten millions in stock-the mudest sum, we have been t.lld, for which FERDfNAND appeals to English credulity. The commission upon a loan- contract seldoom falls short of 24 per cent. ; so that the pro- fit secured to the conltractors, without the advance of one shilling of capital, would be ONLY tu;o hunudred and fifry thousand pounds ! Wlhat, then, becomes of the stock ? NVhy, they sell it for whatever it will fetch ; they are not fools enough to keep a fraction of it on their own accotuit; the money-loving and believing souls, who hunt for large interest, and do not look before them, are hoaxed into purchasing, at small cost, the rubbish that loads the market. They are the holders-they receive a dividenid or two, and perish. The borrowiag Government pleads embarrassment against the discharge of interest, or coercion against the principal itself-flounders on until the next pinch, and seeks in some fresh dleceit, a refuge from its accumulatintg dangers. IVe again, for the hundre(dth time, solemnly warn our fellow-subjects against any, even the most distant approaches, to this deadly labyrinth of t:pateish finance. Once committed, there is no clue to an escape-the monster within, the natural fruit of despotism and profligacy, wvill devour them. Let Spain alone, and the temcdy will soonear or later he visible to all the world, Servi!es as well as Patriots. The securities established by the virtuous and unsuspecting Corte-, in an appropriation of ecclesiastical dtomains,must be againi resorted to. The clhureh is a favourite with tyrants, so o0), aS it does their work. The ' 'hrone aud the Altar" I seems a fair watchword, while there is a common enemry: but when the cry shall be in the alternative " the I " Tbrone OR the Altar," we need not revert to HENRY VIII. for a guide to our conjectures upon the policy of FERDUNAND lVII. _