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    32$ The Leader aiid Saturday Analyst. . ...

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    PHILOSOPHY OX FISTICUFFS. THAT ready sou...

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    11tse Ix Discount. In An Article Under T...

    These curtailments , so inopportune for our expanding trade , are the necessary consequences of legislation , still .. animated by the spirit . of CornJawism . First , the law prohibits the establishment of any new bank oi'issue ; itmight as well prohibit a manufacturer from establishing an additional factory or a fanner from cultivating an additional field . Next , the law having- both diminished the quantity . and deteriorated the quality of private bankers' notes , makes the similar notes of the Bank of England legal tenders , and confers on them exclusively , so far as it can , the quality of money . Then , the law having- unjustly and stupidly taken : away the rights of individuals , places a limitation on the action of the favoured Bank , and prohibits it from issuingmore credit notes than it has gold hi its vaults over and above an arbitrary sum of £ 14 , 570 , 000 , which it is permitted to issue on a part of the Government debt . Having thus created a currency — which it never did as to metallic currency—the precious metals

    beiiur , as Lord Overstoxe ( Jokes JUoyd ) admits , natural currency , though , on the pretence of having dune the latter , it bases a right to do the former ; and having restricted that currency within very narrow and inflexible bounds in relation to our vast and expanding business , the law compels the public to pay into the Bank of England quarterly the money it extorts by taxation . Ihe consequence is that . towards the close of every quarter tlnsjegal paper currency flows from the public in large masses into the Bank . The only way ' it can be got out is by borrowing of the Bank , and this but leased at to

    the public is willing enough to do , disp having pay an increased rate for the . use of money so unnecessarily forced into the Bank , while it is arbitrarily restricted and contracted in amount by the law . The public justly complain , therefore , of the Bank that it uses a . triple monopoly to extort a higher rate of discount , and gather to itself more wealth than naturally falls into its lap . The most strenuous advocates . ofthis stupid and unjust law— -such as the city writer of : the Times—now condemn the conduct of the Bank , and begin to open their eyes to the evil consequences of an anti-free trade enactmeiit hitherto devoutly worshipped .

    It is very difficult , however—we are all such idolaters of wealthto suppose that this rich corporation , endowed with great privileges , can be in any way detrimental to the nation . On the contrary * the public knows it " to be au instrument and part of our commercial system , and admires it for t he share it has in the immense general benefits which accrue therefrom . But the Bank cannot be more beneficial than that of which it is a part . It is only beneficial ' as being-subservient to commerce . It is admired as contributing-to commercial greatness . Now the law which regulates it , and the •^¦ | seHisbness \ vhich guides its conduct under those regulations , make : '> > it detrimental to commerce . It is very rich , very powerful , very useful , but neither so rich , so powerful , nor so useful as the trade whcli it ought only to serve , ami which , as now regulated , it enfeebles and cripples .

    At present , the corn markets are rising / and foreign trade is expanding . On this depends the entire success of Mr . Gladstone ' s budget , ' and to this end he professes to direct legislation . Dear corii might be only a trifling impediment to the increase of trade , were trade not otherwise checked . In the main , however , it is carried on by credit , and . the law which lessens or cripples credit checks trade * The vise in the price of corn will induce ' larger purchases of corn abroad , which , in the first instance , will cause an exportation of . gold . This will lead to a still the Bank of

    further curtailment of the credit notes issued by . Eng > land , and thus at the very moment when we shall most Want credit moiieylo fill up the place of"the abstracted metallic currency it will be ciirtailed , Expanding- commerce will be checked by further and unnecessary rises in the rate of discount . The Bank- of England , we can foresee , will be nipi-e ' severely tried by the steady growth y t trade than by its convulsions . The prosperity which makes its Obstructive power ' -manifest will bo more fatal to it than the dissensions which retard progress , and conceal all wrongs but . those they engender . ,

    32$ The Leader Aiid Saturday Analyst. . ...

    32 $ The Leader aiid Saturday Analyst . . [ Aprij . 7 , JS 60 .

    Philosophy Ox Fisticuffs. That Ready Sou...

    PHILOSOPHY OX FISTICUFFS . THAT ready source of modern classical erudition , the Latin grammar , luy a down the axiom that to have faithfully learned the liberal sciences , softens the manners and prevents them from bocoming- brutal . With this mnxim iirmly impressed on our wind , wp can only account for the universal interest excited by the forthcoming png-ilistio encounter botweon Mr . Thomas Saykus and Mr , John Heenan , the Bonioia Boy , by the supposition thut among the liberal sciences ,, which the moralist contemplated , must bo included the noble art of self-defence . Assuredly the age in which wo live has applied itself most assiduously to the study and cultivation of the "liberal sciences , " The moral progress of tho nation has fully kept pace with its material advancement . The electric telegraph is not an inch in advance of the rng-g-ed school and the midnight meetings at St . James ' s Hall , Stki > jienso : n and Bkunisi , have not waged more determined war against the obstructions of physical nature ; than hns been curried on against the rudeness of moral nature by such philanthropists as BiRkbeck , Bjrofgham , and Shaftesbury . Nor have . the latter obtained » less yloxio . ua victory , We live in times when philanthropy covers tho face of the land like a mautlo . Within the last deqade we have seen a Peace Society earnestly engaged in tho laudable effort to rcconoilo { ho lion to tho lamb ^ and even to include the Russian Boa r in the stuno happy , family . We have seen a lady ' of rank and fortune following- our armies to the bnttle-fieltl , and spending dnys and mights at the bedaides of dying nnd wounded soldiere . We have seen proud earls , tho

    descendants of a long line of ancestry , throwing aside the insignia of their rank and , clothed only in the habiliments of humanity , going forth into the lanes and alleys of overcrowded ¦ towns to succour and reclaim the lost sheep of society . Hospitals , homes , refuges , asylums , and missions have multiplied , until there is scarcely an " excuse left for adding another to the list . Nor are such efforts confined to home . England's stock of philanthropy is , like her stock of coal—inexhaustible . She has plenty to spare for her neighbours . By and by we . may expect to hear the British Philanthropist , like Alexander , heaving a deep sigh , because he has no more worlds to subdue with the sword of civilization . The active exercise of these Christian virtues has changed the whole face of

    society . Wince this war of civilization began gentlemen have left off getting drunk after dinner . The rosy-nosed , six-bottle , man has become extinct , like the Dado or the Ichthyosaurus ; and his successor leaves the table with the ladies , and follows them like a lamb ' to read Tennyson , or listen to Mendelssohn " ,, in the drawingroom . The fast inan , who wrenched off knockers , bonneted watchmen , and took delight in " spicy " songs at late supper-rooms , now shoulders a rifle in , the cause of his country , improves himself at odd hours with Macauxay and CAJiiYiiE , and finds amusement in a classical concert , a lecture by Mr . Thackeray , or a reading by Mr . Dickens . The only attribute remaining- of his original folly is a penchant for outrageous trousers and extravagant coat sleeves ;

    The improvement in the tastes and habits of Young Lngland is best shown in the fact , there is not now a single supper-room in ¦ London where indecent songs are sung . This sort of thing was rampant ten years agoi but it has now been entirely .. suppressed , not by an Act of Parliament nor by the police , but by the progress of a purer taste .. This emolition of manners— -to adopt the phrase of the Latin moralist- ^ -may be discerned in ^ eyery grade of society . The savage breast of the hodman on strike no longer harbours lethal . 'intent against the master who has locked him out . His

    brickbat is turned into manifestoes and argumentative letters to . the papers . He isainorai-foreemahnovv . A glimmer of the newiuilleiiriial light has even penetrated into Parliament and the state councilchamber } and Governments-pursue the march of improvement without the '' pressure from without . " We see in these days ministers so imbued with tenderness for humanity , that they are willing to let their country sink in the scale of nations , rather than do anything calculated in the most remote degree to provoke a brench of the peace . . In one word , we have attained to a high pitch of civilization and refinement .

    Having reached this high ; eminence , let us look around and see who is the hero of the day ; who the ; man upon whom all eyes are most intently fixed , and in whose fortunes we take the deepest interest . Is it Lord John JtussELt with his Reform Bill under his arm ? Mr . Gladstone with his tariff and treaty ? Louis Napoleon ? Yictok Eaima ^ x'el or the Pope ? Certainly -not . The hero of the day is Mr . Tiiomas Saykks , jointly with Mr . John Heeijan . Are not their respective merits and chances a prominent topic of conversation at the clubs and in society ? Are not the shop windows blazing with their portraits ? There is Mr . Sayeks , with

    his bullet head ami broken nose , and his hair combed expressly . for the occasion ; and there is Mr . Heexan with his short , black curls and far collar , looking' Jike what Lord Byron might have looked , had he taken to bushranging- instead of poetry . Mr . Savers as the champion of Bngiahd adopts the royal arms of his country ; while over the image of Mr . Heenan proudly floats the star-spangled banner of the States . The newest " thing " in silk liandkerchiefs is adorned with a pair of medallions , bearing , portraits of the illustrious twain , Nor do wo Hear of the doings of these worthies alone through , the medium of J 3 eli ' s Zife . The Times gives us a full account of Mr . Hjeenak ' s mode of life in his eomltry retreat , in

    much the . saine form that it makes us acquainted with the interesting fact ; fchafc the Queen walked on the slopes , or rode in the riding school . Tow and tho Benicja Boy have even invaded . TiU'liaincnt , and cpjne to the cars of royalty . An honourable and humane member beseeches the Home Secretary to interfere to prevent the fight , but that functionary will only answer " for the exertions of Sir tticiuyi ) Maybe ; Hei * Majesty goes to the Olympic Theatre , and sees Mr . ' Rowsox in the cl )« racter of the " B . 1 J . " give n display of science with -delight . And here is Virgil , ef the Seven Dials , singing Arms and the men , " while the town is ringing with the refrain , expressing a national predilection for betting" money upon old Tom Sa . yi 2 . ks , with a duduh , dudah , doy . What is this ? Is it a phenomenon , or tho first . symptom of tho decline and /' all of tho British empiro predicted by M . Lkdru Rolun P Or is it tho

    prevailing at length of the magnet vent an , that tho P . R . is a healthy institution , worthy of all encouragement ? There are philosophers who tell us that it is owing ? to the practice of boxing , that tho knife and the pistol are rarely used in JjJiiglund } and thftb tho habit of manly exeroiae which it hns promoted is one of tho chief eausfos of the superior physique of lCng-liahmeni If this bo so , boxing- lias really been an important element in the formation of our national character . Tho only grave objection to prize- lighting , is , thnb tho combatants are liable to be killod . But so are those who ong-ttgo in cricket , boat racing , and hunting 1 , and no one thinks . of denouncing 1 these sports on , that account . At any rate , it is high time thut we come to samp delinito imdoratandinj ? on this bead . It prize-lighting- bo unlawful and pernicious , let the Legisluturo take active and effeotual measures to put n stop to it . If it bo a thing to bo encouraged , let us not continue to coquet with tho subject by making 1 a public pretence of denouncing the practice , while wo privately favour ftud eneyurag-e it .

• Citation
  • Leader (1850-1860), April 7, 1860, page 10, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse-os.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/cld_07041860/page/10/