London, October 4. The Bank of England has once again raised 
the rate of interest, from 5 per cent to 5'/y per cent. In the first 
instance this measure is directed against the Banque de France, 
which—by way of bills of exchange drawn on London and 
discounted there—has shipped gold to the value of £4,600,000 
from England to France in the course of the last six weeks. The 
most disturbing rumours are circulating on the stock exchange 
here concerning the financial state of the Banque de France. 
According to some of them a suspension of cash payments 1s 
imminent, according to others the notes of the Banque de France 
will receive a guarantee of increase “for additional security”. This 
latter measure would then infallibly lead to a “run”* on the bank 
and to the immediate depreciation of its paper currency. Finally, it 
is claimed that the Banque de France will attempt to increase its 
capital to double the present amount by means of a subscription. 
However protean these rumours may appear as far as their details 
are concerned, they all indicate that the Banque de France is 
heading towards a crisis and that this institution, which has always 
been regarded as unshakeably solid since its foundation during the 
reign of Napoleon I, has become under Napoleon III just one 
more of the inverted credit pyramids which must be regarded as 
the most characteristic monuments of his reign. That section of 
French society which demanded more than anything else the 
appearance of abundant credit and of a “ prospérité toujours croissante” 
cannot complain when it is time to pay the price for 

this pleasant deception. In any case the financial operations, stock 
exchange manoeuvres and bank speculations which caused such a 
tremendous sensation in the last years of Louis Philippe’s reign 
and gave rise to a whole polemical literature of the type of Juizfs 
rois de l’époque,* La dynastie Rothschild,” etc., appear as mere child’s 
play when they are compared with what has been achieved in this 
line from 1852 to the present time. 

At this moment there are approximately 6,000 men under 
orders for shipment to the Crimea, among them 800 artillerymen, 
900 cavalrymen and the rest infantry. In addition to these about 
4,000 infantrymen are supposed to be despatched from Gibraltar, 
Malta, the Ionian Islands and Piraeus to the theatre of war. These 
reinforcements—even taking the Foreign Legion into account— 
are far from sufficient to restore the active English army even to 
its original strength. This brought the following comment from 
Bright at a meeting in Rochdale yesterday: 

“Were I an advocate of the war I should adopt a quite different policy with regard 
to our internal military establishment. I should introduce a proper system of 
conscription, such as exists in Russia, Austria and France, and thus compel people 
from all classes to play their due part in what is called the task of the nation.”* 

The appointment of the superannuated lords and earls Comber- 
mere, Strafford and Hardinge as field marshals as a reward for 
General Simpson’s defeat before the Redan bastion (he is to be 
recalled, incidentally) is one of the many poor jokes and frivolous 
jests with which Palmerston is wont to brighten the evening of his 
life. The first two generals may fittingly be considered deceased, so 
their promotion has rather the character of a_ retroactive 
canonisation. Their earthly career long since finished, they have 
been raised to military sainthood. Lord Hardinge holds the 
antediluvian rank of Commander in Chief of the English army and 
has amply earned his field marshal’s baton for his determined and 
indefatigable sycophancy and fawning upon field marshal Prince 
Albert. What makes the business still more piquant is the 
circumstance that a victory gained with the French over the 
Russians is celebrated by the promotion of forgotten officers who 

report published in The Times, No. 22177, October 5, 1855.— Ed. 

have fought against the French with the Russians. Thus for 
instance Lord Strafford’s merit consists in having led a brigade of 
Guards at Waterloo,’”? commanded the first army corps in the 
march on Paris and taken possession of Paris by occupying the 
heights of Belleville and Montmartre.