CORRESPONDENCE.

Nelson Examiner and New Zealand Chronicle, Volume IX, Issue 439, 3 August 1850, Page 90

CORRESPONDENCE.

To thk Editor of the Nelson Examiner.

Sir— A word or two of explanation with reference to my letter of the 10th, and your remarks thereon in last week's Examiner.

When, after a cursory perusal, I inferred from the tenor of your article of the 6th, that it had been written in ignorance, or at leaat hastily, and without any very distinct and accurate knowledge of the instructions to Governor Grey which accompanied the Secretary of State's announcement of the Royal assent having been given to the Currency Ordinance, I did so in all simplicity and charity, because I did not conceive that, after reading those instructions, and having clearly before you all the facts of the case, you would have thought it worth while to occupy two editorial columns in explaining to your readers divers malign aspects and influences of that Ordinance, all of which, like so many astrological chimeras, to me appeared of necessity to vanish into thin air immediately the facts were rightly apprehended, and it was seen th,at the discretion given by the Ordinance to the Governor, with respect to the mode of investing the Bank's surplus specie, was already, for all practical ends, superseded by Earl Grey's subsequent direction to his Excellency to invest such specie only in the British funds. Now, however, that I fully underatand your drift, I have only to apologize for having troubled you, and bring this letter to a close as quickly as possible, for with those who, in canvassing the character and probable consequences of the Bank Ordinance, practically leave out of their consideration altogether the qualifying circumstances under which it received the Royal assent, and under which it now comes into actual operation — in other words, who really believe in sober earnest that the Governor will not scruple to set at defiance the positive instructions of his superior, and the Lords of the Treasury, in a plain but important matter of business like this of the Government Bank, because hia Excellency,* a year or two back,

assumed the responsibility of temporarily suspending a Constitution which was by no means perfect, or particularly acceptable to those for whom it was intended, I am afraid it would be idle for me to attempt to reason : I only wish them greater discrimination for the time to come, heads a little clearer "at distinctions," as the phrase is, and fewer mere blind party prepossessions.

With respect to what fell from the Governor in the debates upon the Ordinance, to the effect that he thought " the coin might be kept in the country, and invested, perhaps, in Government securities "—in that expression of his Excellency's opinion (no doubt looking to the possible results of such a mode of investment, a mistaken opinion, though one very naturally taken up on a first consideration of the subject), I see nothing to alarm us very much at the present moment, because, even if still entertained, his Excellency, in my judgment, can have no opportunity of making the experiment, after the authoritative insti -actions he has received to the contrary, notwithstanding that the Ordinance still remains unaltered, in the particulars pointed out by Lord Grey's despatch. I think you have probably magnified the evil which would arise from the colonial investment of the surplus specie, though I agree that the effects of such a step, if not actually mischievious, would be very hazardous ; how. ever, if you examine Mr. Trevelyan's letter, you will find that the objections raised by the Lords of the Treasury to the Ordinance as passed by the Council, do not apply to the Governor's proposal of investing in the public securities of the colony, but to "the general discretion regarding the mode of investment given lo the Governor by the 20th clause, which would seem to constitute the bank a general Loan Bank, and to devolve on the Governor the responsible duty of selecting the mode of investment, and the invidious task of approving or rejecting applications for loans, and deciding upon the sufficiency of each security that may be offered." J

I have referred back to Earl Grey's despatch of February 2d, 1847, which contains his lordship's original instructions to the Governor as to the establishment of a Colonial Bank of Issue, and it does not appear to bear out the statement in your article of the 6tb, that it was "there expressly enjoined, that the investments made by the Bank should be in extra- colonial securities, as an indispensable precaution against over-trading, which the investment of the money here could not fail to excite." All that the despatch says on that part of the subject is this : —

" The iissue of the new paper currency being complete, it would be advisable that one fourth of the specie received in exchange for it should be retained to meet any demands for payment that might be made, and that the remainder should be invested so as to produce some return to the colony ; with this view, the best arrangement would probably be, that it should be transmitted to Sydney, and deposited (on sufficient security) with one of the principal banking establishments in that town."

Indeed, Lord Grey, whilst acquainting the Governor that the Ordinance had received the Royal confirmation, and directing certain modifications of its provisions to be hereafter made, proceeds to state that " those modifications apply rather to matters of detail than to the general principle of the Act, which is entirely in accord' ance with the recommendation of my despatch of the Id February, 1847"/* But in order to prevent further misapprehension, and all unnecessary controversy, and to satisfy the public mind with respect to the whole question of the Government Bank, than which none of greater future importance to the entire community can well be entertained, I beg to suggest to you, in conclusion, the propriety of printing in extenso, and together, the different public documents which relate to the Ordinance, along with the Ordinance itself; and lest you should not have those documents by you, I shall be happy to supply you with my own copy for the purpose. I am, sir. Sec, Francis Jollie.

Thackwood, July 23, 1850.

Attraction of Gravitation. — Sir J. Hershel has lately expressed his opinion, that it is impossible any longer to attempt the explanation of the movements of all the heavenly bodies by simple attraction, as understood by the Newtonian theory— comets, with their trains perversely turned from the sun, deranging sadly our systematic views.

An Engineer's Prescription. — When the late Conway tube was raised, the following colloquy took place betwixt Mr. Stephen son and another eminent engineer. " Hallo J what is the matter with you, Mr. ? you seem out of sorts." Mr. : "lama martyr to a periodical nervous headache, and must go up to town to be cupped." Mr. Stephenson: "Cupped! pooh I nonsense! lessen the supplies; eat less at meals: it is always better to damp the fires than let off the steam."

Arrangements are now making for building no fewer than seven new cotton factories at Bolton, some of which will be on a very large scale. An acre of ground is marked out as the site of one of them, and others may probably even be of larger extent.

Mr. John O'Conuell, in a letter to the i^cen»an'* Journal, begs that the question of a collection for him may not be mooted at all. He adds " I have no claim to, nor expectation of what is therein mentioned ; and the state of the country and the pressure of the times render that suggestion, if possible, still more inappropriate and unsuitable." Accounts from Turkey state that the Sultan, in order to testify to his ministers his sense of gratitude for their patriotism and noble conduct in parrying the thrusts of Russian diplomacy, has given to the Grand Vizier a royal donation of £20,000, and to each of his other ministers £10,000.