carefully preserved and returned to the Convention, by which they were counted and inspected. The report of the Counting Committee was transmitted to the General Assembly at the January session, and a motion was made to inquire into the return of the votes polled. This was rejected by a large majority. In view of such a state of uncontested facts, we cannot but conclude that the Charterists have no right to dispute that fact of majority thus ascertained and published, which they were thus unsuccessfully invited to investigate for themselves, to their own satisfaction. It was their duty to accept that invitation; to scrutinize and verify the return of this voting; and on becoming satisfied of the genuineness of the majority declared by the Popular Convention, to come in with an honorable and loyal adhesion to the Constitution thus established, by the first direct exercise, which had yet taken place in the State, of the primary and fundamental popular sovereignty. Having failed to do so,-having thrown themselves on a principle antagonistic to this of the sovereign right of the people to frame their own Constitution, by refusing even to inquire into the truth of the fact of the majority-they placed themselves in an attitude of real moral treason against the State; and the Constitutionalists were perfectly right in going on to carry that instrument into effect, and in organizing the State government under it. In sustaining it, they were the true party of law and order, occupying a defensive position against disloyal and factious aggression, brought against the legitimate and rightful Constitution of the State, under the forms of the superseded Charter. The failure-the present temporary failure-of this noble movement, we sincerely regret. The means by which it has been effected are yet enveloped in too much mystery to justify any conclusions in relation to them. That there has been some foul treachery in the business skilfully brought into play at the critical moment, is manifest enough; and that most of the leaders of the enterprise were grossly incompetent, destitute of moral courage and energy, and unworthy of their position. Mr. Dorr's itself, which says that "every person entitled to vote as aforesaid, who, from sickness or other causes, may be unable to attend and vote in the town or ward meetings, assembled for voting upon said constitution on the days aforesaid, is requested to write his name upon a ticket, and to obtain the signature upon the back of the same, of a person who has given in his vote as a witness thereto. And the moderator or clerk of our town or ward meeting convened for the purpose aforesaid, shall receive such vote on either of the three days next succeeding the three days before-named for voting on said constitution." Now when it is considered that this voting was upon the adoption of a constitution, it will be manifest that this was a very proper provision to secure the actual vote of as nearly the whole number of the people as possible. At ordinary elections, a very large proportion of the whole do not vote at all. Many doubtless did not deposite their votes in person, from reasons of convenience, in reliance upon the reserved ability to do so within the course of the three ensuing days. conduct, personally, appears to have been spirited and brave; though he was either led or forced by those surrounding him to commit some serious mistakes of judgment,—such as his most unwise and really fatal departure from the State on his mission to Washington. We have witnessed with profound satisfaction the spontaneous and warm sympathy of the Democratic Party of other States with the whole movement; and with equal disgust the part played by the Federal Government in relation to it—a part for which Mr. John Tyler must yet be brought to a severe reckoning. The spectacle has been a melancholy one, of the zeal with which nearly the entire body of the Whig Party have betrayed the true instincts and affinities of their political character, in the course they have taken on this question. The ferocity with which they have denounced one of the most legitimate, reasonable, orderly, and moderate movements ever made for the vindication of popular rights, has almost equalled that with which the worst toryism in England always meets the first indication of such a spirit on the part of the masses enthralled and degraded by their fetters of force and aristocratic law. Following so closely after all their "democratic" professions of late years, this question has acted upon them like the touch of the spear of Ithuriel. We trust that no portion of this history will be forgotten by the people.' Let not the Free Suffrage party of Rhode Island be disheartened or disorganized. They are in The Right. They have the full sympathies of their friends and brethren elsewhere. If a new constitution is now offered them, with as free a suffrage, and as fair an apportionment, as their own, let them accept it—and the whole affair will be their substantial triumph. If not, let them repeat their recent movement, with better preparation and better men in their prominent places, and they need fear nothing from any hireling soldiers with which they may be menaced. They must and will succeed. BULWER. WE had intended to present in our present number a sketch of the personal and political character and career of BULWER, one of the most decided liberals and radicals of England, as one of the series of "Eminent Liberals in Europe," of which one has been given before, (Christolphe of Sweden,) and of which others will follow in the course of the coming year. The friend who had undertaken the preparation of this paper has found himself unable to accomplish it; and as we know of no other individual similarly competent to that duty, we are compelled to await the results of a correspondence with the other side of the Atlantic before laying before our readers the article in contemplation. In the mean time, we do not omit the engraved portrait which is intended to accompany it, though thus compelled to give it without the paper which it was intended to illustrate. MONTHLY FINANCIAL AND COMMERCIAL ARTICLE. DURING the month which has elapsed since the date of our last, some degree of improvement has taken place in the prospect of commercial affairs. This has principally grown out of the nature of the news received from abroad. A great and important change had taken place in the tariff of Great Britain, by which the duties on most articles of American produce have been greatly diminished. This was received as an earnest of a greatly improved future trade between the two countries, and went far to revive expectations of returning activity in commerce; and being accompanied by indications that the political differences between the two countries were in a fair train of amicable settlement, a greatly improved feeling was produced in the markets, which might also in some degree have been ascribed to the opening of the canals in New York, releasing large quantities of produce, and carrying back a fair amount of merchandise-the spring purchases of the country dealers. These facts failed, however, to create any material rise in the prices of produce or goods gener ally; the demand for the former being scarcely more than sufficient to maintain rates in the face of receipts. The business doing is very healthy on a cash basis, but has been far from large. Money with the banks has been plentiful, and they have with difficulty found the proper description of paper to employ their funds. Remittances from the country have, however, been procured with difficulty, and a vast number of debts have been compromised on the part of those merchants depending upon realizing their outstanding accounts. The exports of produce from the South have decreased, diminishing the supply of foreign bills, which has been very moderate, and the rates have consequently advanced. The transactions for the packet of the 16th were not large, in consequence of the great firmness of holders, and the indisposition of purchasers to meet the demands of drawers; and the rates closed firm at the following figures :— Nov. 15. March 1. ...8 a 81. France.... 5 20 a 5 21.....5 27 a 5 28. 40 351.. 76 a 77 London.......10 a 101. Amsterdam 40% a 401. 39% 391 a 351 & May 16. par. 74.....8 a 8....9 7-10 37...5 30 a 5 32....5 36 39 391 a 391 35 April 1. May 1. .5 a 7....6 a .5 37 a 1.5 35 a 5 38 a 391.. 381 a 34 & 35 34 a 75 a 761.. 75‡ a 40 35 a 35. 35 80 These are rates for 60 day bills, the interest for which period, added to the price, gives the true rate of exchange, which is about par on London. The disposition of exchange to rise has induced caution among moneyed men to some extent. Several bank failures have taken place in different parts of the Union, two of them being free banks, and one Safety Fund of the State of New York. This is a natural and necessary consequence of the revulsion of business, and must continue until the redundant capital is purged from the banking business of the Union. In order to show the force of the storm which has overtaken the credit system, we have, with patient research, compiled a table of the capital of all the banks that failed throughout the year 1841, with the outstanding circulation and specie held by each at the time of failure. Although we denominate them all as failed, yet in some cases they have voluntarily wound up without dishonoring their liabilities. This has been the case with the United States Bank in New York, the New York Banking Company, the Bank of Attica, and one or two others. These banks have all stopped since the 1st of January, 1841, and in nearly every instance the capital has been entirely lost:— CAPITAL, CIRCulation, and SPECIE OF BANKS THAT HAVE FAILED IN THE United StatES IN 1841. Capital. New York Safety Fund. Wayne County Bank................................. .$100,000... Circulation. Specie. .200,000. Commercial Bank do.............. .400,000... City Bank do....... 400,000. Commercial Bank, Oswego... 250,000. New York.... 500,000 .121,370 55,464 .193,616 11,216 Lafayette Bank. 32,817 Lewis County Bank.. 8,561 \Watervliet Bank....... .250,000....... .118,640....... 11,714 This gives the astonishing sum of nearly $70,000,000 of bank capital that has ceased to exist within the year, withdrawing from circulation in round numbers $24,000,000, and throwing into the channels of business $5,600,000 of specie. The circulation of all the banks in the Union on the 1st of January, 1841, including the free banks of New York and the United States Bank of Philadelphia, amounted to $121,465,198, and the specie $35,034,516. The circulation of the banks still in operation has been reduced about 10 per cent., and the specie remains nearly the same. This will give the following as the state of the paper currency of the Union at this moment :- This table presents the fact that the circulation is less now than at any period since 1833, and the bank capital is nearly the same as in 1837. As circulation forms the chief medium of profit to banks, it is evident that, with so reduced a circulation, even the amount of capital now employed in banking must be far from profitable ;— hence the great depreciation in the value of bank stocks in the market. If we sup◄ pose that all the banks in operation in 1836 paid dividends averaging 6 per cent., the amount was $15,000,000. The probability is that the gross dividends for the past VOL. X., No. XLVIII.-77 year have not exceeded $5,000,000. This loss of capital and the falling off of dividends have dried up one source of the accumulation of funds in the hands of those capitalists from whom the demand for public sécurities is mostly derived, and therefore have had an influence upon their prices. The depreciation on the bank capital still in operation will average 30 per cent., equal to a loss of $87,600,000. In State stocks, the depreciation at the present market prices is $100,400,000. In company stocks of various descriptions it is $75,300,000, and in real estate it may be estimated at $300,000,000. These sums brought together make an immense item, as follows:Loss of bank capital by failure... Loss on State stock company real estate Total loss of capital..... depreciation.. .$66,936,245 87,600,000 100,600,000 75,300,000 300,000,000 .$730,236,246 In many cases these items run one into the other. For instance: the capital of the United States. Bank was invested in State and company stocks and real estate, and the depreciation of those annihilated the capital of the bank. (While this operation has been going on, the profits of trade have been very small, and the accumulation of capital from all quarters has not been equal to the loss nominally sustained.) Yet, after all, the real wealth of the country is far greater at this moment than when those paper bubbles were in their prime. They were evidently the means by which the property of the producing classes was drawn into the coffers of the stockholders. As above stated, the dividends upon bank capital in 1836-7 was 15 to $18,000,000. This was ultimately actually paid by the working classes, who at the same time were paying $13,000,000 per annum interest on State loans, making the enormous tax of two dollars per head on every soul in the United States. From the bank tax the mass have in a great measure been relieved, and to some extent of that to meet State indebtedness. The loss of paper wealth is therefore a gain to the country at large, but it operates immediately to prevent a demand for public securities, because there is no accumulation of capital in the hands of those who seek these investments. Hence the continued fall of stocks, and the difficulty of obtaining money on the most undoubted securities-even the 7 per cent. loan of the State of New York. In a former number we stated that many new loans were about to be put upon the market, viz., $3,500,000 of the $11,500,000 six per cent. loan of the Federal Government authorized at the present session of Congress, $1,000,000 of the $3,500,000 authorized at the late session of the State of New York, and a 7 per cent. city loan. For the U. States stock, after proposals had been advertised the legal time, it was found that no bids had been received except for about $400,000 on Boston account at near par. Of course, no other result could have been expected while the finances of the Government are in such confusion, with a revenue deficient near $10,000,000 per ann., no definite system adopted, and a powerful faction bent upon creating a permanent national debt by giving away the revenues from the public lands and diminishing the customs revenue by protective duties-at the same time that a N. York 7 per cent. stock was offering upon the market. The latter was taken up slowly by small capitalists to the extent of about $600,000, and the remainder was then taken mostly on foreign account by two leading Wall street houses. Of the remaining $2,500,000, $1,500,000 it is understood will be taken by the banks, in view of the temporary loan expired in March last. This state of affairs clearly shows how little money is seeking permanent securities for investment, while on the other hand there is every disposition to realize upon the stocks bearing low rates of interest, if it could be done without too great a sacrifice, an event not likely soon to happen-although, from causes hinted at in the fore part of this article, a nominal rise has been effected in some descriptions. In order to show the change which has taken place, we annex quotations up to the departure of the last packet, as follows: United States.. Prices of Leading Stocks in the NEW YORK Market. Dec. 31. Feb. 15. April 1. May 1. May 14 ..5.. 1844....100 a 100..96 a 97.96 a 97..90 a 95..93 a 97..96 a 97 ......6......1844.. .97 a 97.97 a 99..90 a 97..97 a 97..98 a 109 New York State....6......1860....100 a 1004..86 a 871.79 a 80..80 a 85..90 a 93..89 a 91 |