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Leader (1850-1860), 11th February 1854, Edition 1 of 1, Page 133, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      that the dishonesty , if not the fact- of bankruptcy , reigns in St . Petersburg . Recent events appear to have cancelled the good resolves in money matters which Russia has for some years enforced . We have already mentioned the issue of 60 , 000 , 000 paper roubles , to supply the .. expenses of the war . The expenses of war have been provided in different times and different countries by different ways . In our own country , formerly , a kind oi royal circular used to be sent round to the feudal lords to find men fully equipped , while the people were asked for "

      benevolences . "" More recently any sudden demand of this kind has been met by a loan , —a plan under which William . Pitt outraged the Hume that he did not foresee by the most lavish devices to attract lenders . Amongst others , the Minister would acknowledge that the State had contracted a debt of a hundred pounds , if the lender would pay him something over sixty ; and , in the maintenance of the national faith , we are , to this day , paying interest upon pounds nominally lent to William Pitt , by devices such as that . Under great difficulties , Government have sometimes

      issued paper money . The revolutionary Governments of America and France did so ; and great difficulty was afterwards experienced in redeeming or sweeping away the rubbish thus cast upon the market . The legitimate Governments of Austria and Russia have converted that kite-flying expedient of Provisional Governments into a settled form of State finance . Austrian money matters we have recently passed under review . Kussia , it appears , after having for some time acted in a purer manner , is now reverting to the expedients of issuing paper money rendered worthless by its indefinite amount .

      The . London contemporary whom we have Already mentioned , revives the memories of Russian finance during the wars of the close of the seventeenth and commencement of the present century . The money issued by Russia took its denomination from the silver rouble , value about 3 _ 8 d . or 40 d . British money . The issue was excessive , however , and successive , and the value of the paper rouble declined to 30 d ., 24 d ., 18 d ., and ultimately lO £ d . It is true that Russia declared these notes inconvertible , and decreed them to be wortheso much ; just as the value of our paper

      was asserted by an inverse process , the guinea being declared to be worth only 2 Is . when gold was at a high premium , and paper at a proportionate discount , la 1840 Russia redeemed those notes , but after a peculiar fasliion—we maj say an Austrian fashion ; onlv having more power , Russia carries the Austrian fashion to a larger extent . New paper was issued under conditions which secured its convertibility at the real value of the rouble—namely , 38 d . ; hut for every one of those new notes , three-and-a-half of the old

      notes were to be delivered up ; and thus Russia wrote off the old debt upon payment of 28 per cent , upon the amount . That is how legitimate financiers keep faith with the public creditor ! In Austria they do it by annual degrees ; in Russia it is done at a blow . Subsequently to the date just named , a sum of money vras lodged in the citadel , to the amount of 19 , 000 , 000 / . Russian authorities recently stated this amount at 22 , 5 O 0 , 000 Z . ; but the statement , which we doubted at the time , is rendered more intelligible upon consideration . Some portion of th _ » buDion Iodized in the citadel was abstracted

      some years back , and invested in the English and French funds ; but there is no reason to suppose thnt thes bullionhas returned to the citadel : vestigia nulla retrorsum . For is not every Czar a crowned Cacus ? We can now perhaps guess how the amount of 19 , 000 , 000 / . has been raised to 22 , 500 , COOZ ., or , as we should now read it , 24 , 000 , 000 / . ; it must be by adding to the 19 , 000 , 000 / . the 5 , 000 , 000 / . that was taken away . That is how despotio financiers eke out their resources , and , according to the Birmingnam theory , they are not quite wrong : for -was not the capital imprisoned in tho citadel of St . Petersburg

      dorgets money from English capitalists for railway purposes , Bets them down on the credit side of the war account , receives a war payment from Austria , which goes into some other account , for the five millions have not been returned , and yet we have no reason to suppose that Austrian bullion has found its way into the citadel of St . Petersburg . It is almost certain that the 19 , 000 , OQ ( W . has received further augmentations of the kind which we have indicated above , but which in England we should call abstractions . We are now then in a condition to understand

      the value of the guarantee upon which this 60 , 000 , 000 of rouble notes are Issued . It is saud that bullion to a sixth part of that amount is to be lodged in the citadel , in addition to the 22 £ millions , which do not exist there . But as the Emperor Las already betrayed his extreme want of cash , we cannot conceive how he is to lodge it there , except by borrowing it ; or , as is much more probable , transferring to a horde in one place the sum of ten millions of roubles token from the Horde in another . For Russia has

      already found out the advantage of Mrs . Primros& ' s financial operation , when she gave her daughters a guinea a piece to keep in their pockets , with the injunction not to spend it . Always able to show a guinea , they appeared to have a genteel command of gold when ever they required it . Russia , then , is professedly issuing paper on the guarantee of ^ 224 millions of bullion in tie citadel , wlen there 5 s every reason to suppose that the 14 millions which remain there after the French and

      English investment has undergone successive abstractions . Thus the hew paper is depreciated by one third or more in the very act of issuing ; -and when a payment is promised , in Russian money , to the amount of 10 O / ., the utmost that the creditor caa hope to realise , if he accepts the Russian money , is 66 ? . I 3 s . 4 d . —with every chance of its being considerably less . The caution of our contemporary ,, the Economist , therefore , that those who deal with Russia should stipulate payments in English money , is perfectly sound .

      But , wo say , the caution may bo carried farther . We would recommend those who possess money not to deal with Russia , except on cash principles , and not to deal with her at all , except on the security of the Far West—that is , vuth portion of the good £ in one hand and a revolver in the other , until tho equivalent be given . Anticipating war some little time ago , the Emperor summoned English merchants and endeavoured t& cajole them into the belief that they need apprehend none of the effects of war in the seizure

      of British vessels . When the English merchants however , asked for some guarantee , the Emperor declined to give it . I ^ ow , there was an amount of Russian produce then on sale , and it was desirable to prevent that depreciation of price wliich any danger of shipment might have occasioned , and great was the zeal of the Emperor to prevent injury to the resources of his own subjects . But when the English merchants asked for a guarantee— even for his royal word that if they brought ships to ship away that produce they would be allowed , at least twenty-four hours notice of seizure—the Emperor declined to give it . Turkey granted his ( the Czar ' s ) subjects six weeks , or

      even three months , to complete their commercial transactions . Recently Russia has expected some retaliation from England , and a trick was attempted to evade it . Several Russian vessele , it has recently been stated , were transferred to English owners , that they might pass in safety under the English flag . English subjects , however , who risk their money and property , or any interest whatever , in such transactions as these , should be aware that by the public law of Europe , not only is trading with an enemy forbidden , not only is tho property of an enemy subject to seizure , but trading l ) y third parties ia ns illegal as direct trading , and the third parties themselves become involved ill the risk and in the

      loss . It will be well for any capitalists to be very cautious in limiting their transactions with Kuasia , and to enter into no transactions at all unless they thorou g hly understand every riaJc which they may incur through the war or through the dishonesty of KusMa .

      mant , ulle , and sterile ? has it not , on being spent , been brought into circulation , added to the wealth of tho country , and has not the Czar , in fact , added 5 , 000 , 000 / . to bis resources ? Some years back he borrowed 5 , 500 , 000 / . to pay for the Moscow and St . Petersburg railroad , and then used the cosh to pay fur the Hungarian war . It is wonderful how this great Caesar converts every transaction to a profit ! For , - observe , Austria paid him for the expenses of the Hungarian w-air , and no doubt tho Austrian payment went in augmentation of his resources . Thus he

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      THE RECENT WWKTINCJ OF CONVOCATION . Ani > tiij £ u and a vorj decided jwlvnnce in tlie progress of the Con vocational movement we briefly recorded last week in our summary of news . 33 ut the character of the sitting' at which that step was taken forms part of iL ^ importance and fully warrants further comment .

      Two facts stand out in broad relief : first , tha ( t the House of Bishops recognised the necessity of making Convocation a reality or abolishing it altogether . That alternative was very ennphatically expressed by Bishop Thirlwall , a man 6 f moderate views , who cannot be supposed to be capable of paltering with , the question- Then the speech of the -Bishop of Oxford , going ^ y thoroughly to the root of the question at issue * showing the dishonesty of tolerating for one moment longer than can be avoided , the present

      state of the Church , and quite confirming the strongest views we have ever ventured to takespeech which made a deep impression , and which was not controverted—proves that the Church is now fully alive to its position . The active consequence of these views was , that the Bishops ' House , -with all but unanimity , agreed to appoint a committee for the purpose of framing & reform bill for Convocation . This is the most

      momentous step yet taken . It is admitted , and always has been admitted , indeed , the opponents of the movement have urged it as a charge against its promoters , that Convocation does notTepr ^ setit the Church at all , and that , if it d | d , thetfonns of proceeding alone would obstruct' any real cation . Well ; that objection must be met * by thia ; committee . Even the Archbishop of X ^ bwbury doubting the 4 ise df Convocation— '

      ' * Content to dwell ia decencies for ever" - — . , ? et thought it better to appoint the committee . ' 'herefoxe we are approaching the time ^ hen the Church of England will . be called upon bo make good hex tremendous claims and show 3 iow they can be enforced . , " ' ~ ; The second fact is that when the resolution was communicated to the i Lower House , . who should start up to oppose it hut Mr . Archdeapo jl Denison . He saw in it a coup d ^ Sglise . ReWgnisfcig as much as any man f the faulty nature otfilJcmvo ^

      cation as it exists , Mr . Denison would not suinnit ; to one of the old forms , in compliance wit& which the Upper " directed" tie Lower House to appoint a committee . Mr . Denison rebelled . He saw all sorts of heresies under the mask of the resolution . Appoint a committee ? Nat he . He would not revive the functions of the Church . by a coup d ' eglise . We have often before pointed out the inconsistent conduct of this gentlemanr—the churchman who abjured politics , but strove fiercely to facilitate Lord Derby ' s election and oppose that of Mr . Gladstone .

      Last week he exposed the melancholy ioct , that the EtLiop of the Church , any more-than the Ethiop of Scripture , cannot change his skin . And , verily , he met his reward : he was nxade ^ e tool of the Low Church party a third tune in his life . As at Oxford in 1852 and 1843 , so at Westminster in 1854 . Nor can it be aiky consolation to Mr . Denison to know that his patrons —• the Dean of Bristol and Mr . Montague Villiershad collected their strength , had brought up their proxies , and yet failed . Mr . Denison must' no more talk of church principles ; thrice has he . deserted and denied his party .

      However , the useful and practical upslxot of the sitting was not marred . By a large majority a committee was appointed , which , whatever maybe the ulterior result . of the whole movement , can but have a good effect ; either in showing that Convb- ^^ cation must be finally abandoned , and with it the claim of the Church to unity , or that ib can ^ be reestablished and set to work . If the fowner , how can the Church survive the blow ; if the latter , what harm to the Church or the country will be done ? One thing is very clear , as seen , by the light of surrounding events and rising opinions ; either the Church must succeed in restoring harmony , or she must split asunder .

      Untitled Article

      TRUE REFOHM OF THE NAVY . Grkat improvements have been effected in the Navy , and we trust that one great practical result will bo an increased willingness of men to offer for tho service . Their pay has been increased ; their comforts lmvo been much better secured ; a larger allowance of promotion is placftd within their reach ; mid in practice the frequent resort to corporal punishment has been abated . A "useful little tract , recently composed for extensive distribution amongst the seafaring class , put * some ol these advantages in a very clear light , and is calculated to make the men better understand the improvements in the service . Considerable as these improvements lave been , however , there is a crowning one which we are very anxious to see carried out , "bat which

      Untitled Article

      Fbbruary 11 , 1854 . ] THE X , E A DER . 133

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Feb. 11, 1854, page 133, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2025/page/13/