The Sun. — London, England, 1859-03-18 00:00:00

CUR. I RM. LECTURE BY SIR A. ALISON. (From Me Glasgow Daily Herald.) On Tuesday night Sir A. Alison, Bart., at the request of the Council of the United Trades, Glas gow, delivered, in the City Hall, a lecture on " The Currency Laws : their Effect on the Profits of Trade and the Wages of Labour." The hall was crowded in every part, and the lecture was throughout lis tened to with the deepest interest and attention. The greater portion of the audience consisted of working men. Sir JOHN MAXWELL, Bart., who occupied the chair, made some explanations in regard to the currency question. He then introduced the hon. lecturer. Sir ARCHIBALD ALISON, who was received with three rounds of hearty applause, before commencing his discourse, invitedthose who were standing at the far end of the hall to come forward and occupy some of the reserved seats not filled. The eagerness with which they availed themselves of this privilege ex cited great laughter, and the audience testified their appreciation of the kindly feeling which prompted this act of courtesy on the part of the hon. baronet by hearty applause. Sir Archibald then said—l respond with pleasure to the flattering invitation given me by the united trades of Glasgow to address them on the all-important subject of the currency. It is always agreeable to meet a vast assemblage such as I see before me on any occasion, when not met for the purposes of party, or any thing that will cause division, but animated by one reeling —a desire to alleviate as much as possible the amount of human suffering, and to add to the amount of human happiness. (Great applause.) And, gentlemen, I see with peculiar pleasure that there is a large proportion of the working classes in this great assembly, for the question I am to dis cuss—the question which you have done me the honour to request that I should address you upon Is, in a peculiar and emphatic manner, a question for the people, a question not of labour against capital—for labour without capital is the steam engine without the coal or fire, but a question of labour, whether exerted on the part of the masses, or of the employer with his active industry, against the case of realised capital, which seeks often to make an unjust profit over both. A ques tion of this sort is one that always must be of great importance in every manufacturing and commercial community ; and I think I will show you before I am done that it is one which has now acquired greater and colossal importance, in consequence of the great changes that have taken place of late years, in the establishing of a new system of trade, and the annexation of our Indian empire. This is a time above all others when the working classes in this and other great commercial and manufac turing towns should acquire clear and distinct ideas of what is the cause of their suffering, and where is that alleviation to be found, if they are, as I believe they are, on the verge of a large extension of poli tical power—(eheers)—and their voice may soon come to have a preponderating influence in deter mining and guiding the future counsels of their country. (Cheers.) I am persuaded that the reason you have requested me to address you upon this subject is, that you think that, having been engaged for a long time in the study of contemporary history, I am acquainted with facts connected with this subject, relating to our own and other countries, which you would like to be laid before you in a brief form. (Cheers.) Impressed with that idea, I have come to the resolution to address you entirely ex tempore. I have nothing written whatever but the figures, which I shall give to you and to the gen tlemen of the press. I feel that, in thus speaking Ixtempore, I shall best answer the object in view; for I do not wish to address you as a professor ad dresses his students, or a clergyman his congrega tion, or as a political leader his adherents, but to converse with you as a friend does with his friends. (Great applause.) Before I begin to speak of this question I shall tell you what the question we are met about is not, and then I shall tell you what it is. It is not, in the first place, a question of party, and I thank Heaven that it is not. It is not a question which either the Tories or the Whigs, the Conser vatives or the Radicals ever have taken up as a cri de guerre—a party cry. Protection to industry, pro tection to labour, has never yet been inscribed on the banners of any of these parties. The question I stand here to plead, is not one that ever has been one of party. It is one, I know well, in which a large section of the community feel the deepest in terest; I need no further proof of that than the vast assemblage which I see before me. But it is not a question that has ever furnished a party cry. And I will tell you the reason. It is because the subject I am to speak of to-night is not one to ele vate one party over another—to give one party the command of the country at the expense of another, but to elevate, improve, and bless all parties alike. (Applause.) Because it is so, it is neglected by all parties, because, with the usual selfishness of human nature, what is everybody's business is nobody's business, and what concerns the whole community, concerns no one party in particu lar. Further, this is not a question which can by any possibility be made interesting in the way of moving the feelings. It is interesting in the highest degree to those who can feel the force of intellect, to those to whose understanding argument can be directed. But it is not a question about which you can move the feelings ; it is a question that depends on figures, on statistics, and anxious thoughts ;:no human genius can make it interesting to the feelings. Also, it is not a question that is easy. It requires, at the outset, a certain amount of thought. I will tell you when I come to the part of my argument that requires thought ; but, in the meantime, I say that it does reauire thought, and that it is this that explains why we need never expect the whole community to be moved upon the subject, and an amount of public opinion brought to bear upon it which will tend to that satisfactory solution of the question, without which we can never be a happy and a prosperous com munity. I have told you, then, what the question is not. I now proceed to tell you what it is. It is a question on which depends the liberty, indepen dence, and existence of the British empire. I tell you, and I stake my credit on it, that if the present system of the currency laws continues, no amount of wisdom in your statesmen, no amount of valour in your soldiers, nor of prowess in your sailors, can prevent us from rapidly declining below our neigh bours, and being ere long destroyed. I say that the liberty, independence, and the very existence of Great Britain depend upon a right adjustment of her currency laws ; and I will demonstrate that, if I am not much mistaken, before you are half an hour older. It is a question also on which depends not only the independence, liberty, and existence of the British empire, but on which depends the re muneration of industry, and the prosperity of every human being in the country. There is not a human being I now address, or who may read the report of this speech in the newspapers, from the Queen on th e th rone to the captive in the dungeon, whose fortune s i n life, and the fortunes of their children's children, are not bound up with and essentially dependa n t upon the question we are now discussing. I nee d not say aquestion of that magnitude is one o f universal interest. I cannot s ay that I will bring it powerfully home t feelings, but I am your sure the fa c t s I have o to state will sink into your minds, and awaken a train of thought i n your bosoms , which without fruit, and may I trust will not be conspire to bring about the object we all have in view, viz., that societyin this country maypresent a uniform course of prosperity instead of occa sional flashes of prosperity, only to render more painful, and gloomy, and distressin g the reverses by which they are succeeded. The first observation -I i will make is this — that if we examine th e s t a y t e e a r o s f the country, as it has been for the last fort y all parties must be convinced that there is some thing essentially wrong . in our social positi on. There is something which prevents the labour, e, talent, pers everanc energy, and industry of this vast community from giving us that vast national power, and th a t unbroen stream of social pros perity which we are en titl e d t o l oo k for from these the greatest blessin gs o f G o d. M y g reat object is to show you what that cause is, and in what way it is to be removed. The first remark I will make to you is, that since the year 1819, when the great change in our monetary laws took place, a double set of foatures may be observed in the coun try, apparently utterly inconsistent with each other, but which, nevertheless, are, both of them, perfectly established, and placed beyond all doubt. And it is for us to say how these opposite sets of facts are to be reconciled. In the first place I will give you the figures of the exports and imports, of the tonnage. and of the population of Great Britai n in 1849, with the years preceding and following, and at the present time • and you will see in them avast andprodigious increase—an increase exhibitin g all the appearance of the great est amount of national strength and social prospe rity. In 1818 the export, were 45,180,0001., the imports 35,845,0001., and the shipping tonnage 2,674,000. In 1819 the exp ort s s were 34,202,0001., , the imports 29,680,6401., and the tonnage 2 666 000. In 1820 the exports were 35,569,000/ 7theimports 31,515,0001., and the tonnage 2,500 A °. The popu lation at this time was as nea r l y Its possible 19,000,0 00 . Now, there was the state of tit coun try in 1819, when cash payments were resumed in the Bank ; and I will now tell you what the state is for the three years preceding 1857. In 1854 the exports were 97,184,0001., the imports 152,389,000/. and the tonnage 7,899,000. In 1855 the exports were 95,688,0007., the import s 113,542,0007., and the tonnage 7,018,000. In 1856 the exports were 115,826,0004, the imports 172 ,544,000/., and the tonnage 8,241,064. In 1857 04 expo* were 122,066,0001., the imports 187,844,0001., and the tonnage 9,386,000. Now, just reflect on the figures I have given you, Here is a nation which since the year 1819-a period of 40 years-has increased one-half in population, with its exports more than tripled, its imports multiplied nearly fivefold, and its shipping increased threefold. Every one will say, is not that an indication of the greatest pros perity? Is there in the whole annals of mankind a nation which, in so short a time, has made such progress ? So far so well. But I will give you another set of figures, and you will judge whether national power and indications of social happiness have kept pace with this vast increase of national resources. The figures I am now to give, I venture to say, are the most astonishing and alarm ing ever yet given to a British assemblage. I could not have believed them, strongly as my own views pointed in the same direction, if they had not been given by the highest authority-that of Sir John Pakington, in speaking on the state of the navy. In 1760, a hundred years ago, we had 113 ships of the line in commission ; 1783-the period of the Ameri can war-we had 126 ; in 1799, we had 120 ; and, in 1809, we had 113. In 1812, there were 245 ships of the line in commission and ordinary, and 272 frigates, and altogether, 1,000 vessels bearing the royal flag. France, in that year, had 113 ships of the line and 72 frigates. In 1820, England had 146 ships of the line in commission and 164 frigates; France had 58 ships of the line and 39 frigates. In 1840, England had 84 ships of the line and 180 frigates ; and France, 44 ships of the line and 59 frigates. In 1850, England had 86 ships of the line and 104 frigates ; France had 95 ships of the line and 56 frigates. In 1858, Eng land had 29 ships of the line and 87 frigates; and France, 29 ships of the line and 76 frigates. At the end of this year, 1859, England will have 36 ships of the line and 40 frigates ; and France, 40 ships of the line besides as many frigates. (Hear, hear.) Now, gentleman, here is a picture ! Here is a nation adding a half to its population, increasing in wealth and industry to such a degree, and you see how it has let its navy go down, till the French have got a greater navy than we have ; so that we have no Channel fleet to protect our shores against an army of 600,000 men, at the disposhl of the French Em peror. This is one proof that there is something wrong. I will give you another proof. Is this diminution of our navy explained by an increase in our army ? Are we turning our blue jackets into red coats ? Let us examine the returns moved for by Mr. Sidney Herbert. I need not tell you that when we were at war with France, we had 300,000 men in the regular army and militia, and about a million men i n arms altogether. Howi stand mat ters now ? In 1828 we had on home service 53,934 soldiers, and 25,559 in India. In 1836, we had 43,432 on home service, and 19,720 in India. In 1846, there were 56,286 on home service, and 29,382 in India. In 1856, there were 64,541 on home service, and 29,629 in India. Twenty-nine thousand soldiers in India to keep down 180,000,000 Asiatics, and to combat 120,000 sepoys, whom we knew were ready to revolt ! Sixty thousand sol diers in England, and Napoleon with an army of 600,000 men, and no Channel fleet between us ! (Hear, hear.) Lord Hardinge told me that when he came to the head of the army in 1852, after pro viding for the seapert towns requiring to be garri soned, in order that they might not be destroyed, he could not have brought together an army of 10,000 men to defend London; and only 40 guns, which had not been repaired since the battle of Waterloo, and most of which, he said, if put in a clay field, would have gone to pieces. (Laughter.) All this took place in defiance of the strongest remonstrances from the Duke of Wellington ; and when the illustrious warrior sunk into the grave, a melancholy proof was afforded of the truth of his complaints, for seventeen guns could not be got in London to fire a salute over his grave, the customary honour to a field marshal ! You see, then, that this great nation, with its 27 millions of inha bitants, nine millions of tonnage, 187 millions of imports, and 125 millions of exports, has sunk down, in that period of time, to the rank of Bavaria as a military, and Denmark as a naval power. Is this to be explained, then, by our having paid off our national debt ? Let us see. After the Battle of Waterloo, the national debt was 816,000,0001. It is now 803,000,0001., and, what is most extraor dinary of all, the national debt was 5,000,000/. larger when the Crimean war began than it was in 1832, when the Reform Bill was passed. Is there not something wrong here? I will now turn to another thing, which is still more important -to the indications of national prosperity, the marks of national happiness, the evidences of social well being, particularly among the working classes. In judging of these, there are, as you will all admit, three great tests ; and if these point the wrong way, we may be perfectly sure that the community is suffering. These are the amount of pauperism, the extent of emigration, and the amount of crime. Well, in 1846, the number of paupers relieved in England was 1,332,000, of whom 382,417 were able bodied-for able-bodied men in England are en titled to relief when out of employment, which, I am sorry to say, is not the case here. (Cheers.) In 1847 the number was 1,721,350, of whom 562,355 were able-bodied. In 1848 the number was 1,626,200 of whom 666,338 were able-bodied. (Hear, hear.) And in that same year there were 2,000,000 pau pers in Ireland ; and the whole number of persons relieved. by public funds in that year in the two islands was 4,000,000. We know that there has been great relief by the mines of California and Aus tralia, by the vast emigration to other parts, and by the Crimean and Indian wars. Yet, notwith standing all this, in 1854, there were 1,000,576 paupers relieved in Great Britain ; in 1855, there were 1,017,417; and, in 1856, there were 1,030,737. I ask you whether that should be the condition of a country which has madesuch unexampled advances in wealth ? Let us now turn to the statistics of emi gration. In 1821, there were 13,349 emigrants who left our shores ; in 1831, there were 83,160 ; in 1841, there were 118,192 ; in 1851, there were 335,966 ; and, in 1852, the number had reached the enormous amount of 368,800. During the last twelve years, 2,752,000 subjects of Great Britain and Ireland have emigrated-a much greater number than the natural increase of the population. In 1821, there were 5,337 commitments by a jury ; in 1831, there were 13,115 ; in 1841, there were 19.647 ; in 1851, there were 27,960 ; and, in 1852, there were 26,780. So that while the population has not doubled in these years crime has increased more than fivefold. And you will be surprised to hear that the total number of persons in Great Britain and Ireland committed for crime in the three years of unex ampled prosperity, end 1856, has been as follows : -In 1854, 135,427 ; in 1855, 151,494 ; in 1856, 147,758. And to give you an idea of what these numbers amount to, I will just say that they are as many as the men of both armies who fought at Waterloo. Here is a state of things which I do not think was ever exhibited before in the history of the world. Here is a country which has made the most extraordinary advances in industry, wealth, and population, in which, at the same time, there is the most rapid and deplorable prostration of the national strength, descending in real strength from a first-rate to a third-rate power, and emigration come to such a pass that it has exceeded the natural increase of the pop ilation-criminals increasing four times as fast as the population, and the paupers, in a year of great suffering, actually amounting to a seventh part of the whole population. I am quite sure that the facts now mentioned, which are all taken from Parliamentary reports, are facts that really require serious attention. Surely, where there are such extraordinary results, I am within bounds when I say that there is something rotten in the state of Denmark. (Applause.) lam now to tell you what I conceive to be the cause of all this, and I will conclude by telling you the remedy. The principal cause of all this I conceive to be the erroneous state of the currency. When I say that s pi a i t e e a m b l e e n . such vas t resu l ts are to b e ascr ib ed to the state of the currency, I am aware th a t I am ma ki ng a strong t t, for I am t o g i ve f rom an o b scure cause an explanati on o f f acts t h at appear to be inex to the expe l' surprised at the earliest exercised a m os t es pro sperity. Perhaps first pointed out by L or d n accomplished classical Bat I think when you look back with me the e ce of other countries you will not be timstatement I have now made. From man, that the contest betweeirt was less determined by the it th is e s s co t ht a o t kl e a of the currency has powerful effect on national m n el own to you what was Melbourne, who was an skill a Rome w pa e na l apci l _ ne d a l p. s rccoauawrrs currency eh a s ns t a states man, et: the contest, not to be paidtill the (1 Hannibal than by was Scipio e issued during conclusion of peace. The Romans thus centuries before the Christian era, what Pitt did in 1797, and it was this which carried the Roman Republic through its contest with Carthage. ( A ,_ plause.) The Roman empire . a was nd saved bye tell b you he wise adoption of that principle , what the Roman empire was ruined by. They had not that wonderful discovery of paper money, which has been the source of prosperity, and the abuse of which has done so much mischief in modern Europe. All their currency was in gold and silver. The mines failed during the reign of the Emperors, and did not produce one-fifth part of their former amount. Accordingly the prices of everything fell, debts assumed an over whelming magnitude, the nation was unable to support armies to keep off the barbarians, the currency was contracted so as no longer to be ade quate to the wants of the country, and therefore Rome perished. Then what was it that gave the great impulse to the trade and industry of Europe -in . the 16th cen t ury ? I t was the d i scovery of metalsAmeri ea, and the importation of the p recious from Mexico and Peru, to s u ch an exte n t t ha t fif ty Year after, the prices of every article of next year the gold and silver all came back, and the Bank was able to resume cash payments. (Cheers.) Now, the principle that I say should be adopted is this :—ln the first place, I would in crease the sum that the Bank of England and the other banks issue without having gold by 50 per cent. In 1819 Sir Robert Peel thought that 14 millions issued without gold was a proper thing for the country at that time. The country had then 19 millions of inhabitants; it has now 28 millions. At that time the country had 40 millions of exports ; it now has 120 millions. It had 45 millions imports — t it now has 185 millions. Considering the increase in these things, it is only fair that the issue of notes without gold should be increased to 21 millions; and as to other banks, they should be called on to deposit securities with the Bank of England for the amount of their issue. The notes would thus, in the event of a cras h, b e per f ect l y secure. (Loud applause.) In addition to that, there is another thing which 'I think should be done in order to prevent that terrible drain of gold which is now of so frequent occurrence. Suppose we fix 15,000,0001. sterling as the amount of gold that should be in the Bank of England to meet the pro bable wants of the country, I would have a regula tion by which, whenever the gold should get below that amount, the ineonver,tible notes should be in creased by the araount of the deficit. Then, when the gold comes back—which it certainly will do in six months—these notes may be called in, and not issued until required again. (Applause.) I leave it to the bankers and other practical men to arrange as to how this should be carried out ' • but that is the principle on which th e Currency Laws ought to be based. (Hear, hear.) There is only one other subject on which I wish to say a few words—the unhappy matter of strikes among working men. I understand perfe. ly and appreciate strongly the cause of these stri es. I feel the evil of what the men complain of, and I am not at all surprised that the . rtake this mode of remedying it. What .I wish to impress on you is, - that of all mistakes:that ever were committed by working men, the most fatal is that of striking. (Applause.) I know perfectly well that in many cases strikes are successful. When the produce of labour is rising in the market the working men are entitled to say thatthey ought to sh are in the common benefit that is going on. But the great error they commit is this, that they think, by the same means, they can prevent their wages falling in periods of adversity, and all the great strikes which have produced such devasta - tion in society have arisen from this cause. When the price of produce falls, as it has done now; the master is of necessity obliged to lower wages; if he did not do that, he, would become bankrupt in the space of three or four months. Nevertheless, the master will retain his workmen as long as he can, because he loses so much by their going away. He will never stand out against a strike in the face of a falling market unless be is compelled to do so. If you strike when he could not pay you the wages you demand but at a loss, you strike not in your in terest but in his. He is too happy to be rid of you in such circumstances. Nevertheless, he will not hold out unless forced to do so. It is the same evil to a master if his workmen go away as it is to a general if his army be disbanded. New hands are never half so good as old ones. (Cheers.) The old hands therefore will depend upon it that if the master reduces their payment he does it from actual necessity ; and the reason of that is that the changes of the currency produce a fatal change in the price of his goods. Now, only consider what is the effect of these great strikes on the interests of the work ing classes. Why, the colliers' strike of 1842, in this county alone, did not cost less than £500,000. The strike of 1857, which was the consequence of the monetary crisis of the year before, cost, in the counties of Lanark, Ayr, and Stirling, no les s th an £700,000, all of which fell on the working classes. In these strikes you combine to do a thing which is impossible, and in the attempt to do which you are yourselves subjected-- - the severest priva tions: ' Therefore, what recommend is, not to combine against your master, who is the victim merely of the currency laws, but to combine against the laws which create these great changes in the mirreney—(applause)—and you will carry with you the whole of society. There is no man of any sense in the country who won't join with you in the effort to make such a change in the currency laws as will prevent these fatal changes in prices, and with them wages and profits. - (Hear, hear.) I will conclude by making one observation, and it is this, I will give you an idea of the enormou s extent of loss inflicted on the country by these monetary crises to which I have alluded. There have been four great mone tary crises in our own recollections—those of 1825, 1838, 1847, and 1857. Not one of these crises ha s occurred without causing a loss of no- less than 100 millions on the country—the last much more ; the bankruptcies in 1857 alone were 45,000,000/. The monetary crise s w hi c h h ave occurred since the passing of the bill of 1819 have inflicted upon the community a loss of not less than 500 millions sterling. To do away with the probability of such loss occurring again is an object worth striving for. (Applause.) The present system is that holders of money issue money to all persons en gaged in speculations, however absurd, and, when the money comes to be paid, up goes the discount. There is ruin spread over the country to an extent which would be inconceivable to those who have not witnessed it. Sir Archibald concluded his lecture by remarking that if he had made some effect on the many intelligent persons before him, and through them OR the country, and that thus a Aange of the laws which produced so much disaster might, be effected, his lecture of that evening —the epitome of the labours of a whole life —would . not have been given in vain. (Great cheering.) On the motion of Mr. MITCHELL, Chairman of the Trades' Council, a vote of thanks was passed to Sir Archibald Alison for his able lecture ; and the usual compliment was paid to the Chairman. THE SUN, LONDON, FRIDAY EVENING, MARCH 18, 1859. rose to four times their former amount, and a vast impulse was given to industry. The wages of labour, and the price of industry rose at the same time, and debts were rendered so easy as to amount comparatively to nothing. The United States of America were saved during the war with England by the issue of a currency bearing a forced circula tion. The greatest republic of modern, like the greatest of ancient days, owed its existence in the last extremity to the same sovereign remedy. Then, come to our own times, to 1792, w h en, as you all know, the French issued a paper currency, having a forced circulation. It was that that fitted out the immense armies that enabled France to conquer all the monarchs of Continental Europe. England followed the example. In 1797, Pitt passed an act suspending cash payments by the Bank of England, and it was that increase of cur rency which enabled us to carry on the war with France, and brought us through that terrible struggle. Our allies followed the example, and in liil3 they issued paper currency guaranteed by the sovereigns of R ussia, Prussia, Austria, and Great Britain ; and that bought all the stores for the armies, paid all the troops, and passed without ob jection, and without the least depreciation, from Kamschatka to the Seine. So power ful is a paper currency, when issued in a wise way, that the little country of Hun gary, when engaged in a contest with the power of Austria, issued a paper currency of 14 millions sterling, which enabled them to maintain the armies that maintained an equal contest with Aus tria, and, but for Russian intervention, would have rendered Hungary independent. (Cheers.) Thus you see how many nations have been saved from ruin by a paper currency, and to many empires it has given the fruits of conquest. But there are dangers equally great on the other side; a paper currency is to 'nations the elixir of life ; but, taken in undue quantities, an elixir will destroy as well as save. France furnishes one remarkable ex ample of that. I have told you that France issud bank notes with a forced circulation, which every one was forced to take. They were transported if they did not take them. The necessities and pro digality of France were such that whereas when they began this system, their currency was about 60,000,0001., they Issued paper aftci paper WI it reached the enormous amount of 750,000,0001. ster ling. You may easily conceive what effect that had on the state of the country. It altered prices so much that at a later period of time it was com mon to say that a breakfast for six persons cost one Louis d'Or, or 28,000 francs in paper, which was the same as to say a pound in gold, or 1,200 in bank notes. The result was utter confusion in regard to the value of property, and debtors who could only lay hold of a few guineas, by theft or otherwise, were able to discharge debt to an inde finite amount. The consequence was the subsequent misfortunes of France, her inability to raise up a free government, and her present subjection under a despotism as powerful as that of Louis XIV. In Great Britain the effects were not so disastrous, but effects, nevertheless, did take place which we still labour under, and which I will show you are the main cause of the extraordinary contradiction be tween the two sets of facts I have laid before you. The circulation of Bank of England notes rose from 11,000,0001. at the beginning of the war, to 45,000,0001. at the close of the war. All the other banks increased their circulation in the same pro portion, and in 1815 the circulation was 60,000,0001. That was a much greater quantity than was required for the circulation of the country at that time, and nearly double what the country has now. And what was the effect of that ? Prices of everything immediately rose. I will explain shortly how it is that a plentiful currency raises prices ; but in the meantime I say that in the year 1815 and preceding years, prices had undergone such a change that the national debt was raised to 800,000,0001., being at least 300,000,0001. more than it would have been if the currency had not been so much expanded under the pressure of necessity. Had it not been for the change in the prices of everything, the nation would not have needed to borrow more than 300,000,000/. subsequent to 1797. But the money was borrowed at a time when we were obliged to borrow 500 in stead of 300, in consequence of the change in the value of money. Private debtors borrowed in the same way, and so 500,000,0001. of private debt were borrowed. in England which would not have been borrowed had prices remained as they were. Rents were tripled in value, and all other articles in pro portion, and the parties borrowed in the expecta tion that they would not fall. But it may be said that if everything increased alike in value there would be more money to pay for everything, and we would just be where we were. But alas ! we have contracted our currency since 1819, and so, while, during the war, we borrowed 60 per cent. more than we would have done under a contracted currency, we have now, by contracting the currency, contracted the resources of the people that have to pay for it, and that in a still greater proportion. The 'lutes in circulation in the whole empire in 1814 were 59,000,000/. ; in 1618, 58,325,000/. ; in 1823, only 36,283,0001.; in 1847, 37,300,000/. • in 1849, only 33,130,000/. ! Th e avera g e paper under discount of the Bank of England was in 1810, 20,070,000/. ; in 1823, 3,853,000/. ; in 1840, 7,280,000/. ; in 1847, 20,710,000/. ; in Nov., 1849, only 9,810,000/. ; in Oct., 1855, 19,240,000/. ! What have been the effects upon capital, and industry, and wages of these astonishing fluctuations in the supply of money ? The result has been a constant fall of prices from 1819 to 1851, attended with vast profit to the monied, and utter ruin to the working classes. The consequence is that the riches of the country accumulate in the hands of the money lenders, the currency laws having made a man with 100,0001. worth 200,0001. That is the reason why the nation is not able to make her armies adequate to her strength ; the whole wealth of the country has run into the hands of the monied class, and the whole burden of that wealth has fallen upon the working classes. (Cheers.) Now I must, in order to let you fully understand this point, request your close attention to what lam now going to say. I am now going to touch upon a point which has been, as mathematicians would say, the asses' bridge to the whole community. Most people never have been able to get over it; and ninety-nine people out of every hundred to whom this propo sition is stated turn away, and say they don't understand it. And yet it is a point upon which their own fortunes depend. The proposition that I have to state to you is very simple. It lies at the foundation of the whole question of the currency ; and if you once get hold of this proposition, and. master it, the whole thing will follow as a matter of course, and you will at once be able to under stand how all the effects I have mentioned have come to pass. You know that everything that is plentiful becomes cheap. If bread is plentiful it becomes cheap ; if oatmeal is plentiful it becomes cheap ; if beef is plentiful it becomes cheap. There is no division of opinion as to that. But, then, there comes the next thing: money is an article of commerce, as well as bread, oatmeal, or beef. If money is plentiful, money becomes cheap, for the same reason that if beef is plentiful beef becomes cheap. But, observe the effect of money becoming cheap : it is, that everythinglelse as mea sured in money becomes dear. For example, if the price of a boll of oatmeal is 205., and if the shillings in the country are increased in number one-half, then the man with the oatmeal says to you, " Oh, money is plentiful just now; I won't let you have my oatmeal for 20s. now; you must give me 305." And, then, you have got so much money that you are quite willing to pay the 30s. In short, the effect of what I have stated is that prices inevitably rise as soon as money—that is the currency—be comes plentiful. When money is withdrawn, when the currency is contracted, wh e n th e go ld goes away, the prices fall. If the money is taken away, then it becomes more valuable. And what is the meaning of the money becoming more valuable ? It is just this, that an article will be got for a less amount of money—that is prices fall, and with them the wages of labour come down. Therefore, just fix these two principles in your minds, and you will at once see the key to all the extraordi nary effects I have mentioned ;—that the increase of the currency, whether in gold or in paper raises prices, and the contraction or w ithd rawa l o f th e currency, whether in gold or in paper, lowers prices. Attend to the effect of that, and you will perceive how it is that the currency is such a vital thing to profits, to trade, and to tie wages of labour. By increasing the currency, speculation immediately rises, great profits are made wag es are i ncrease d , universal prosperity prevails. Take away the cur - rency, withdraw the gold and the silver, and the notes. and everything falls in price —down comes the profit ; everybody that has commodities finds that every day they get cheaper. The grazier finds no market for his cattle, the farmer can get no profit by his grain, and the manufacturer cannot get his goods sold. In short, the contraction of the cur rency leads all classes to misery ; the increase of the currency makes all classes prosperous. But it won't g o on for ever. If you increase the currency too rnuch, aft er t h e manner of the French with their assigna ts, the w h o l e good w i ll be destroyed ; but if you wisely do it i n moderation, an increase of the rr ccyionnecoefstsharie l e y ar m re a n ke y s n p e e c o e p s ! ar e i h iy ap m py ak , e w s h t i h le em a c c o u nt e ra n t miserable. (Applause.) c I have ' told you of the state which in 1815 h a d r i sen to 47 millionsio m an a d tt a ers ha i i n t 97 ; - whi when the paper acquired a forced circulatio n,l7ll Bl9, cash payments were re verted to. It was th en settled that the Bank of millions of s England were to be allowed to issue 14 millions sterling of notes upon securities, and the, private banks about 12 millions more on the same basis. These were issued in paper, w ith out their being required to reta i n gold for the amount. But still, under this system, the currency was rendered per. fectly dependent loon gold, because there was only a limited amount if securities on paper, and that limited amount wa; not one-third of the circulation required. Well, in .823 a relaxation took place, and. the Bank of England notes were declared a legal ten der at every place sive at the Bank of England. In 1826, small notes wcre abolished in England, which was a most fatal step, for the whole small circu lation was turned into gold, and in 1844 the present Currency Act was passed. The Currency Act of 1844, whici was applied to Scotland by the Act of 1845, wts to this effect :—lt declared that the Bank of England was to be obliged to receive all the gold that was brought to its door from any part of fie world ; and that for every note issued above X 14,000,000, they must have five sovereigns in their coffers, which they were forced to retain in the issue department. Theintention of the Act was to make the Bank of England the great emporium of the gsld throughout the world. It fixed 31. 17s. 10W. as the price of the ounce of gold, at which it had to take all the gold which was brought to it. At the same time the other banks in the empire had a certain amount of notes given them that they might issue without having sovereigns for them. That was the immediate change made by the Act of 1844, and you know what has been the state of the country sincethat time. It has been this, that the currency may be said to be almost entirely de pendent upon the retention of gold, because the Bank of England is obliged by the Act to retain as much gold in their coffers, and not to issue it to the public, as they have notes out; and in general the Bank of England his about two millions of notes out. They must have seven or eight millions in their cof fers which they are not allowed to issue in whatever extremity. The consequence of that is this, that the Bank of England are under the necessity of con tracting their issue whenever the gold in their coffers approaches even the low level of seven or eight mil lions. And why are they obliged to do that ? Be cause, whenever they find their gold going down, they know they are coming to the limit—they know there will be a great demand upon them by the country banks, and if they go b e l ow e i g ht m illi ons they are bankrupts, because they cannot go below that. (Hear, hear.) In order, therefore, to prevent that calamity, th e y are ü bli sc d to taho nicaauL CN of precaution ; and hence they put on the screw the moment they see the gold descending, and when other banks see that, they put on the screw also from the pressure of the same necessity. (A laugh.) I will now run over the different crises, and show you how it is that all the crises may be at once ex plained, and may be referred to the erroneous cur rency system which prevails. There was first of all the crisis of 1818, which immediately followed the resumption of cash payments by the Act of that year, and I crave your attention to the immediate effect which that had on the exports and imports of the country. In 1818, before the Act passed, the exports of the country were 45,000,0001., and the imports 35,800,000/. In 1819, the year after the bill passed, the exports were 34,252,0001., and the imports 29,000,000/. ; so that both the exports and imports fell off 10,000,0001. the moment the bill passed. Now, what was the reason of that ? Mr. Wallace, President of the Board of Trade, said in the House of Commons (and these are his own words), that "such was the state of the country, that it bore all the symptoms of a dying nation." (Hear, hear.) In 1823, as I have said, the Bank of England notes were declared legal tenders, except at the Bank of England itself, and that was an im mense relief. There was a great increase of the paper issue, but soon after that there came a great drain, in consequence of the South American specu lations. The South American mines were opened at that time, and there was no end of speculation then, in consequence of which there were 12 mil lions of sovereigns drawn out of England to carry on these South American speculations. The result of this drain was that the Bank of England were almost obliged to apply to Government for a suspen sion of cash payments, when some clerk bethought him that there was a box of old notes in the bank. These notes, to the amount of two millions, were issued, and saved the country from bankruptcy. (Applause.) Well, gentlemen, things went on, and the Americans must have a crusade against the notes too. In 1835 and 1836 they had an immense number of banks, which had spread an amount of prosperity throughout the Union, altogether un paralleled in the history of the world—greater even than any progress made by Britain in the same time. One-third of the whole number of notes issued were represented in gold. But they must needs make a crusade against the banks. It was not a crusade for money, but a political measure. The seaboard had become too strong for the small free holders in the back provinces, and the cry was, not as in France, " Down with the aristocracy !" but it was " Down with the banks !" Under the influence of this pressure President Jackson and the Congress passed a bill to this effect, that no payment of taxes should be received except in gold ; and secondly, that no payment of tho public landhold should be received except in gold—in short, they were deter mined to revert to a metallic currency. What was the effect of that upon America and upon England? The effect upon America was that there was such an overturning of everything that no less than nine-tenths of the whole commercial wealth of the country was destroyed ; and the imports into Ame rica from this country, which in 1836 had been 12 millions, sank down in 1837 t o f our m illi ons . Th e effect oithis was an immense drain of gold from En gland to America to meet this crash—the amount sent being about 9 or 10 millions. The consequence of that in England was, that the gold in the Bank of England was brought down in 1839 to 2,225,0001. Now, what was the effect of that ? We were saved from bankruptcy only by a loan of two millions from the Bank of France. The consequence was a long period of lassitude, and a great amount of suf fering, which continued for about four years—the longest period of suffering that ever was expe rienced. Things, however, got better, and consider able relief' was experienced by the railway expen• diture in 1845-6. In 1846 the free trade system in the importing of grain was introduced ; and the great object I have in view is to show you that that change in our system in regard to grain must be followed in regard to a change in our currency, if we are to avoid the continual recurrence every one or two years, of the disasters that occurred in 1848. (Cheers.) In 1846 the Irish famine occurred. That caused a great importation of grain, amounting to 10,000,000 quarters ; before that no more than 2,500,000 had ever been imported in any year. This grain went far to abate the suffering, but it was al most all paid in gold and silver. It was stated in the House of Commons that there were 33,000,000 stg. paid for foreign grain at that time. I will show you 'what was the effect of that upon the country. In 1847 the exports were 58 , 8 00,0001., and imports 90,921,0001; in 1848 the exports were 52,800,000/., and the imports 93,547,000/. ; in 1849, the exports were 63,500.000, and the imports, 105,000,000/. Now, attend to what is the effect of this great balance of imports over exports ; that is the vital thing you have to consider. Recollect, lam not complaining of free trade. I take free trade as the settled, fixed policy of the country. I argue upon it as such; and what I say is this, that you must make your cur rency laws similar in a certain degree to your corn laws or the country will be ruined. (Cheers.) In 1849 there was a balance of 40 millions of imports over exports. The paupers of that year numbered 1,731,000, and the emigrants were 280,000. You see how close, how immediate have been the bad effects of this great drain of the precious metals. I will now give you the counterpart ofall this, which is, if possible, still more illustrative of my argu ment. I need not tell you what was the effect of the gold discoveries in 1852. I will merely mention that, in consequence of these discoveries, the an nual produce of gold over the whole world, and for the use of all its inhabitants, was increased from 8 or 9 millions to 36 millions. The gold came in in such quantities that the paper was issued in similar quantities, and that is the history of the prosperity of these times. I will tell you what the state of the currency was brought to by this great change. In 1846 the gold and silver in the country amounted to 39 millions, in 1856 they amounted to 69 mil lions ; the total currency in metals and paper in 1846 was 79 millions, in 1856 it was 149 millions. So you see there was an increase in the currencyof 30 millions in consequence of the gold discoveries.' Here is the history of the resurrection of England inmillionsand of in the suppression o f th e gold were added t o th e currency by the good p rov id ence o f G o d , w h o opened n d t i h a e n Crimean war-3o w ar these huge banks of issue in California and Aus tralia. And what was the effect of that ? Why, it was that prosperity again was spread over the land, not by the wisdom of men, but by the blessing of God. (Cheers.) That was the occasion of the immense exports and imports of those years which I have already read to you. It was that which en abled us at once to raise our taxation from 55 mil lions which it was before, to 75 millions, just in the same proportion as the currency was increased, and without the slightest oppression being felt by the people. It was that which enabled us to fit out an army which put a stop to Russian am bition on the shores of the Crimea. It was that which enabled us to increase our Indian army from 29,000—that small driblet which it was in 1851— to the magnificent army of 100,000 men, who now assert the power of England on the shores of the Ganges. (Loud cheers.) It was the good provi dence of God that gave us that strength because it gave us the money, which all the foolishness of men had not been able to take away. The very effect, however, of this great prosperity that was poured upon the country in consequence of the gold discoveries, was to open up another and equally for midable source of evil ; and that is the cause that produced the crisis of 1857. I will tell you what that source of evil is. The effect of the present currency laws making the currency of the country entirely dependent upon the retention of gold, is that the moment that the gold begins to leave the country credit is shaken and everything comes down. Now, on the other hand, when gold is plen tiful prosperity flows in, there is a great increase of profit, a great rise of wages, and a great increase of consumption—consumption by the working classes above all. And that was what took place in 1845 and 1846 during the railway mania, when the im portations increased to an enormous degree. I will show you how true this is. In 1846 the imports were 75,900,0001. ; the three following years they were respectively 90, 93, and 105 millions. The same effect took place to a still greater degree dur ing the four years of prosperity from 1852 to 1857, when, as already stated, the balance of imports over exports became so prodigious that it amounted to 55,406,0001. in 1854 ; to 47,972,250/. in 1855 ; to 56,764,0001. in 1856 ; and to the enormous sum of 65,000,0001. in 1857. Now, consider what is the effect of a great excess of importations over expor tations. Why, the balance must be paid in gold and silver ; and that is the fatal circumstance in our present condition to which I wish to draw your attention. Under the present law, two or three years of prosperity are inevitably followed by disaster, and the reason of that is that the prosperity raises the wages of labour, increases the consumption, and thereby increases the impor tations to an immense degree. During the last three years the balance of importations, from 40 to 65 millions a year, had to be paid in cash. I do not say that there is any loss in sending money out of the country mild getting in grain ; but what I com plain of is this, that you establish a system of cur rency which makes the credit of every bank, the credit of every merchant, the wages of every labourer, the profit of every shopkeeper in the country dependent on the retention of gold by the Bank of England—(hear, hear)—and at the same time you establish a system which makes that re tention perfectly impossible. (Cheers.) I have shown you what the balanbe is, and I will now tell you how it happens that the balance in an old country like this will always be against the rich. The reason is this ; the rich country brings to the market a far greater demand for consumption and a far greater power to purchase than the poor country. For example, we deal with'Russia to an immense extent. We import four or five millions of quarters of grain from the south of Russia or Poland. Our imports from Russia are eight mil lions ; our exports to Russia are 1,500,000. Why is that ? Because Russia is a poor country, and is not able to buy our manufactures, while England is a rich country, and able to buy its grain to an in definite extent. Look at India. Colonel Sykes, the late chairman of the East India Company, told us lately in the House of Commons, that last year our exports to India were 12 millions, and our im ports from India were 23 millions, the 11 millions of balance being paid in cash. Now what is the reason that they will not take our produce, while they take our gold to any extent ? The reason is this :—ln India we have 181 millions of subjects, and they have only 370,0001. paper currency among them. The paper does not go beyond Bombay, Calcutta, and other great towns ; the rest of the population have no currency at all, except gold and silver, and from the unsettled state of the country, the tyranny to which they are subjected, and to constant wars, the great wealth of the coun try is turned into gold and silver ornaments for the persons of the people. There is the history of the absorption of the ,recious metals in India, and that shows you the great importance of attending to the currency now that we have entered into a closer connexion with that country. By uniting with India we have got 100 millions added to the na tional debt, and in addition to that we have got a province to our empire, which will annually absorb from 20 to 30 millions of our gold and silver. Therefore, India must be a perpetual drain upon our monetary sources, and what I want you to con sider is this—if our present currency laws continue and we have a constant excess of imports over ex ports, occasioning an annual drain of from 40 to 50 or 60 millions, how is that state of things to be re conciled with the currency laws which say, the moment the gold and silver go out of the country, up go . the discounts, and the merchants must pay 10 per cent. upon the money they get—and they are very lucky if they. can get it on these terms ? For 100 years before the passing of the Act of 1844, there had been no change in the rate of discount. It had always been 5 per cent, except a few months in 1839, when it was 6 per cent. SincelB44 the rate of interest has been changed 50 different times in the Bank of England, and it has varied from 2 to 10 per cent. a year. This variation has been the ruin of many commercial houses of the first credit and respectability, and a most serious impediment to all engaged in large. undertakings. I remem b er asking the head of a great mercantile firm who had failed in 1857, to what he ascribed his failure, and' he replied to the rise in the discounts, which he said made a difference of 40,000/. a year to him";, and in our country how many masters and mer chants are there to whom the rise in discount from 2 or 3 to 8 or 10 per cent. would make a difference of 15,0001. or 20,000/. ! Under the system of Sir Robert Peel in 1844, the Bank of England must raise their discount when the gold goes down, be cause if they do not they will become bankrupt. But in doing so, they only shift the burden off their own shoulders, and place it on the shoulders of trading and manufacturing men. (Loud applause.) Now, here I will make, one remark. We have been told that all these evils are the resuit'of undue specu lation and the abuse of credit. But I go a step far . ther, and ask what is the abuse of credit owing to? Why, it is owing to this, that the banks are forced, when gold is plentiful, to reduce discounts to a great extent, and thus inflame speculation. When the Bank of England lowers their discount the Scotch and Irish banks do the same, and the country is thus flooded with credit, and speculation is encouraged. There was a banking establishment in this city, of which much has , been said. We have heard enough from the London journals of the ignorance and reck lessness with which that bank was carried on. I know nothing about the matter. lam neither a friend to the Western Bank, nor an enemy; but I think that they were most imprudent and reckless in their conduct. But this I will say, that the recklessness, of the Western Bank, which created so much misery, was a recklessness forced upon them by the mone tary laws of England. We never heard of such a thing before the currency acts came into operation, and I am happy to say, for the honour of Scotland, that the old Scotch laws have enabled them, not withstanding all that recklessness, to redeem their honour, for they have paid their debts in full. (Cheers.) There are many p eop l e wh o w i ll tell you that all the evils that I have described are owing to the weight of the debt and the taxation. But that it is not so.I will prove to you. The count.y never was so prosperous as it was from 1810 to 1815, and at that time we maintained 1,000,000 armed men, and raised by taxation 76 millions. You remember the great prosperity. from 1852 to 1856: Well, the sums raised by taxation during these years were from 72 to 76 millions annually. There fore, you see the evils l alluded to are not the re sult of debt and taxation, for when currency is suffi ciently plentiful, we can-pay the debt and taxation perfectly well. I wonldnot have dwelt so long upon the distress which has occurred, if I did not think it possible to find a remedy. I think it is perfectly remediable, and though I will not venture to state positively what that remedy ought to be, I think I can suggest the principle upon which it ought to be based. (Cheers.) Bythe present currencylaws specula tions are inflamed, and undertakings of the greatest magnitude are set on foot as they were in 1816,1855, and 1856, and just when they are approaching their completion, and when the greatest possible advances are required to carry them on, then is the time that the imports exceed the exports, and the dis counts are raised. The way of remedying this is as follows principle of Sir Robert Peel is this, the more gold in the country the more notes. Well, what is the effect of that ? The country continues in prosperity when currency is plentiful. But speculation of the wildest kind is set on foot, wages rise, profits are great for a time, consumption rapidly increases, the imports come to exhibit a huge excess over the exports, and the gold is withdrawn. Sir Robert Peel then says, diminish the notes in order to bring back: the gold. The discounts are raised to 10 per cent. or altogether refused, and general ruin ensues.' How would a similar conduct do in other similar cases ? Suppose the case of an army when the supply of beef ceases. Sir Robert Peel says, " if the beef is taken away take away the bread also, and then they will be all right." (Cheers and laughter.) But I say, if the beef is taken away, issue more bread. (Cheers.) If the gold is taken away Sir Robert Peel would take away the notes also, and leave the country without a penny to pay its debts. Now, .my principle is that, when the gold is taken away, issue more notes- and 'then we will be able to get over the crisis. (Loud applause.) Between the years 1810 and 1815 there was not a guinea sent into the country, never theless there was no monetary crisis at all. Why ? Because there were plenty of notes issued. The monetary crisis has only been a creation of modern, times, since 1819, when the system, of paper currency was established. A. very curious fact is that, in 1848, when there was a dreadful monetary crisis, the stock h e ld i n th e B ank of France, which had formerly been 10 or 12 millions, - suddenly fell to 2,800,0001. What did the Bank do ? They issued 18 millions sterling of notes, bearing a forced circu lation. They did not issue 750 millions, as they did of assignats, but they issued a reasonable amount, which never became excessive or was depreciated, and the consequence was that credit was immediately re stored, and 120,000 men, who had been thrown out of employment, were re-engaged, and before the end (From the Glasgow .Daily Herald.) Sir Archibald Alison has delivered his views at great length on the Currency and kindred questions, which latter, in his opinion, are more numerous and more momentous than the generality of mankind have imagined. The address of the honourable and distinguished Baronet will be read with interest by all classes, especially by the working, for whose especial benefit it bears to have been given. Whe ther his conclusions will meet with an equal degree of con currence from the intelligent classes of his countrymen, is a very different question. Ho says :—" It is a question on which depends the liberty, independence, and existence of the British Empire. I tell you, and I stake my credit on it, that if the p resen t sys t em of ihe currency laws continues, no amount of wisdom in your statesmen, no amount of valour in your soldiers, can prevent us from rapidly declining below our neighbours. I say that the liberty, independence, and the very existence of Great Britain, depend upon a right adjustment of the currency laws!' If the currency laws be so far wrong, and fraught "with the very existence of Great Britain," it is high time thht our statesmen bestirred themselves to save us from such fell results. Unhappily for the country, our wisest statesmen, without respect to their political tenets other wise, with our political economists of highest repute, do not see the ills apprehended by Sir A. Alison. That may be their fault. They may change their views when the flood of light shed forth in our City Hall on Tuesday night descends on them "alike golden shower." In the meantime, however, they are diametricallyopposed to the views propounded by Sir Archibald Alison. For our humble selves, we speak with all deference, and the most unfeigned respect for Sir Archibald Alison, when we declare, unhesitatingly, that we canno t su b scr ib e to his views on the Currency. In an address so lengthened, ne cessarily embracing so many and important topics, it is im possible for us at present to do more than touch upon a few of the more salient propositions. Sir Archibald commenced by informing his auditory—by whom be was deservedly most cordially received—that our population, our shipping, our imports and exports,. or trade generally, had enormously increased from 1818 up to 1858, a period of 40 years. This is self-evident. Corresponding with this increase, we are told, and we were startled by the assertion, that our navy had alarmingly deereased. It appears that in 1812 (when were in the thick "of the great European war), we had "245 ships of the line in commission, and 272 frigates, and altogether 1,000 vessels bearing the Royal flag." Then comes the climax,—" At the end of this year, 1859, Eng land will hair() 36 ships of the line and 40 frigates, and France 40 ships of the line. Now, gentlemen, here is a picture I" It is. Further, the . picture is heightened by the reminiscence that during the American Revolutionary War we had 126 ships of the line in commission ; prior to that, in 1760, nearly a cen tury since, we had 113 ships o f th e li ne in commis sion. We have therefore declined in naval power. Now, without instituting any comparison between our navy and that of Franco, we ask, with all deference, where is the use of raking up such naval statistics; still more, where is the end of lending them such a peculiar application ? What ever the number of our ships of the line, frigates, or cor vettes, in commission, or ready for being put into commis sion, at the present moment, it is notorious that our naval power, whether in the time of Rodney, Nelson, or at the opening of the last Russian war, could not for a moment compare with that which is now, or shortly will be, avail able. Why, our gunboats could destroy the most powerful fleet that Britain ever fitted out ere the application of steam power. We do not look to the navy list as affording any real indication of our naval might. Still, it ought to pass for something, looking to the statistics which Sir Archibald has adduced, for prior and more palmy periods. Well, it gives a number of vessels, of all descriptions, but entitled to bear the pennant, of nearly nine hundred, including about 161 gunboats. A very large portion of these are, of course, in the non-effective schedule. We admit our navy is not what it should be, but we trust will soon be ; still we have not so declined since 1766. Then, our army stands very deficient at present, according to Sir Archibald, as com pared with what its force was when we were at war with France, and finally fought the battle of Waterloo. We will not enter on that question, beyond saying that our army, deficient as it may be, has lost none of its former well-woe renown, either on-the plains of the Crimea or in the wide expanse of Central India. Our pauperism, ou r emigration, our criminal stati s ti cs, are also all unsati s factory, or not keeping pace with our progress otherwise as a powerful nation, "There i s, " as Sir Archibald Alison says, using the words of another also rather distinguished literary authority, "something rotten in the state of Denmark;" and he adds, o n hi s own autho rity, " I am now to tell you what I co nce i ve to be the cause tbyo telling you th e remedy. T of h all ecause thi ofbe the er roneous state of the currency. anltwihialllco conceivenelude When I say that s uc h vast results are to le and ascribed to the state of the currency, I am aware that I am making a stsong statement ! for I am th us giving an ex planation We that are m ost inexplicable," It is in deed a "strong statement," however inexplicable the data may be. But we must refer our readers to the address itself for the explanations or reasons adduced in the sup port of such startling promises. We cannot very well make out whether Sir Archibald approves of paper cur rency as opposed to, or auxiliary of metallic, for he appears to blow hot and cold on the question. But we can gather from his statements the general proposition that, " a plentiful currency raises prices," that the suspension of payment in specie by the Bank of England, by Pitt's Act, in 1797, "gave that increase of currency which enabled us to carry on the war with France, and brought us through that terrible struggle. We had imagined that the war was • carried through by borrowing and adding to the national - debt, as we now feel to our cost. Further, we learn, "So powerful is a paper currency, when issued' in a wise way (the qualification is necessary), that the little country of Hungary, when engaged in a contest with the power of Austria, issued a paper currency of 14 millions sterling, and it was that which enabled it to maintain the armies that maintained an equal contest with Austria, and, but for Russian intervention, would have rendered Hungary inde pendent." W e would have been happy had such been the result,though,with due deference, the agency would havebaea due to a different source from the mere issue of a paper cur rency. What is the issue of a paper currency by a nation any more than a trader carrying a bill to his banker to be cashed ? In both cases, the, creditor or party so advancing looks to the credit or solvency of the party giving the pro mise. On that security the value of the document depends; on no other. There is no royal road to geometry; as little is there any magic process by which paper, coming, it may be, from filthy rags, can be converted into gold, corn, wine, or any substantial article bearing an exchangeable value. These are commonplace elementarypropositions and we would not have stated them h a d we not f oun d Sir Archibald putting forth such axioms. "If you increase the currency too much, after the manner of the French with their assignats, the whole good will be destroyed ; but if you wisely do it in moderation, an increase of the currency necessarily makes people happy, while ,a contraction of the currency neces sarily makes them miserable." If for the word " currency" in the above passage, the words " beef, mutton, and corn" were substituted, we would adopt, it, but not as it stands. Gold is in itself capital, like houses, lands, flocks, or raw or manufactured produce. Gold is also selected, along with silver and paper, for the purposes of currency. Paper • itself is nothing but the interposition of credit. But we must close, with the expression of regret that, in this in stance, we are not more at one with Sir Archibald Alison. We cannot help it, as we are as much bound as he is to state our honest impressions; whether they prove erroneous or otherwise. We cannot, however, take leave without ad verting to another statement, among many, which we do not think will find much favour on our 'Change :—" I am neither a friend to the Western Bank nor an enemy ; but I think that they were most imprudent and reckless in their conduct; and this I will say, that the recklessness of the Western Bank, which created so much misery, was a reck lessness forced upon them by . the monetary state of Eng land." Our simple comment is—Why were not the other Scotch banks forced into the same slough of despond, seeing they were subject to the like monetary condition of Eng land, be it real or imaginary ? As to the remedy for those various evils, it is thus given —" If the gold is taken away, Sir Robert Peel would take away the notes also, and leave the country without a penny to pay its debts. Now, my principle is, that when the gold is taken away, issue more notes, and then we will be able to get over the crisis." If this issue of notes would enable as to get over a crisis such as that of November, 1857, it ought to enable us to do what would be still better, viz., prevent us getting into it. With all respect, we believe the said issue of notes would enable us neither to avoid nor get over those periods of commercial crisis, which have their source in undue trade and improvident speculation, and would occur, as they have already done, independent altogether of the currency—or whether it was paper, me tallic, or a combination, as now exists. COUNTRY MA_RKETS. BIRMINGHAM-MARCH 17. We had small supplies of all descriptions of grain to-day, and wheat met a slow sale at about late rates. No change is made in the prices of any other article, except beans and peas, which are rather cheaper, the latter nearly neglected. LOUTH-: :ARCH 16. We have still to report a want of animation in the de mand to-day for wheat, and prices tending downwards. Wheat ...38s to 42s Oats.... 2ss to 28s White do .45s:to ..s Ditto, old ........—s to —s Barley .37s to 40s Beans 42s to 46s STOCKTON-ON-TEES-MARCH 16. The show of wh ea t a t ' our corn mar k e t t o -d ay was tolerably good, and in improved condition, at a slight ad vance in prices. There was a moderate supply of barley and other grain, but the trade ruled quiet. EDINBURGH GRAIN-MAR= 16. Supplies small to-day, and, with the exception of wheat, sales rather dull. Wheat on the top is Od up... average Os 2d down Barley on the top 2s Od up • • average Os 8d up. Oats on the top is Od up... average O s 3d u. Beans on; the top is Od down.... „average Os 5d down. Averages per Imperial quarter. Wheat Barley 1 10 3 6-12ths Oats Beans Total Supply and Sales. Wheat ..1028 qrs Sold 920 qrs 8ar1ey........1040 qrs Sold 667 qrs Oats .2662 qrs Sold 1354 qrs Beans 920 qrs Sold 327 qrs GLASGOW-MARmi 16. The supply of wheat at our market was very fair, and the currencies of last week were barely realised. Barley, beans, and other articles unchanged. CORK-MARCH 16. The following were the quotations this morning :—Red wheat, 20s Od to 225; white, 23s 4d to 23s 6d; .barley 12s Od to 14s 6d; oats, 12s 2d to 14s 2d. DERBY SMITHF ELD—MARcH 15. -- - Beef 6ld to 7td Veal . 7d to 71d Mutton .. Bd to Bid I Pork Lamb Od to —d Rough fat, 5s Od per stone. • Hides, 4d to sd; calf skins, 51d to 6d. [ADVERTISEMENT.]—HoIIoway's Pills and Ointment.— The complexion.—Deep is the sigh, and lasting the regret that a little attention h a d no t b een pa id to regulating the digestive organs and establishing natural functions at that youthful age whence bea u ty or p l a i nness, h ealth or de bility so often dates its origin. Holloway's Pills taken at this juncture, would have purified the blood, cleansed the system, regulated every function, and saved the future victim to remorse or disease. Mothers - to save unpleasant less hereafter, sh ou ld g i ve these purifying pills, which preserve alike health, strength and . beauty. The most careless observer must connect the blooming complexion with good - health—the sallow with disease. Before form ing alliances. the prudent reads from the face the usual health and decides accordingly. [ADVERTISEMENT.] SIGHT AND HEARING. TACLES.—POWERPCL TELESCOPES..-.-OPERA, RACE, AND PERSPECTIVE GLASSES. Messrs. S. and B. Solomons, opticians, 39, Albermarle-Street, Piccadilly. Observe— opposite the York Hotel, W.—Opera, Race-course, Field, and general Out-door Day and Night Perspective Glasses, very small, for the waistcoat pocket, each containing 12 and 18 lenses, constructed of German glass. Will show dis tinctly a person to know them at two-and-a-half and three miles, and an object from eight to ten miles distant. Her Majesty's Coast Guards are making use of them as day and night glasses in preference to all others ; they are also pre ferred for deer-stalking b sportsmen, gentlemen, and gamekeepers. Telescopes 31 inches long, by which a per son may be clearly seen and known at 3i miles' and an object at 12 to 14 miles' distance ; .and with an extra astro nomical eye-piece, Jupiter's moons, Saturn's rings, and the double stars are distinctly seen. All the above can be had of larger and all sizes, with increasing powers, and are secured by her Majesty's Royal Letters Patent. The Royal Exhibition, 1851. A valuable, newly invented, very small, powerful Waistcoat-pocket Glass, the size of a walnut, by which a person can be sees and known one and a half mile distant. They answer every purpow on the Race-course and at the Opera houses. Country scenery and ships are clearly seen at four to six miles. They are invaluable for shooting, deer-stalking, yachting, to sportsmen, gentlemen, game keepers, and tourists. Price 30s.—Spectacle Lenses of the greatest transparent power. The great advantage derived from this invention is, that vision becoming impaired is preserved and strengthened, and very aged persons are enabled to employ their sight at the most minute occupation —can see with those lenses of a much less magnifying power, and they do not require the frequent changes to the dangerous effects of further powerful assistance. Persons can be suited at the most remote part of the world by send ing one of the glasses out of their spectacles in a letter, and stating the distance from the eyes they can read small print with it, and those who have not made use of spectacles by statingtheirage. Deafness.—New Discovery.—The Orgame Vibrator, an extraordinarily powerful small newly-invented instrument for Deafness, entirely different from all others, surpasses anything of the kind that has been, or probably ever can be,.produced. Being of the same colour as the skin, is not perceptible. It enables deaf persons to hear distinctly at church and at public assemblies ; the unplea sant sensation of singing noises in the ears is entirely re moved, and it afford s a ll th e ass i s t ance t h at poss ib ly could be desired.-39, Albemarle-street, Piccadilly. Observe— opposite the York Hotel, W. BIRTHS. MANNERS.—On the 16th inst., the wife of Major Herbert Russell Manners, of a son. STANLEY.—On the 13th inst., at Hendon, Middlesex, the wife of Rear-Admiral Edward Stanley, of a daughter. WYNN..—On the 16th inst., at 2 Lower-street, th e L ady Annora Williams Wynn, of a daughter. WILLIAMS.—On the 17th inst., at 146, Regent-street, the wife of A. K. Williams, Esq., solicitor, of a son. MARRIAGES Monamkr—MAGwoon.—On the 16thinspt.e,nattoni S v t.d e o_ ro hn aci: 's Buckhurst-hill, .William Morgan, of to Mary Ann, niece of Robert Magwood, Esq., of Clare mont-square.. a a NORTH.—On the 16th inst., at North Creake, Norfolk, C North, Captain Norfolk Artillery, and barrister-at-law, only son of Frederick North, Esq., of Rougham, Norfolk. M.P. for Hastings, to August a , eldest daughter of th e Hon. and Rev. T homaslieppel, and niece of the Earl of Albemarle. DEATHS. AMPIILET.—On the 13th inst., at 6, Cottage-place, West street, Walworth, Mrs Sarah Amphlet, aged 91. CLARK. -fit his residence, Bellefield House, Trowbridge, Thomas Clark, Esq.,. aged 71, a J.P. for the county of Wilts. C OLLOTT.—On the 13th inst., Mr. T. Collett, late of the Poor Law Board, aged 69. PEILDEN.—On the 13th inst., John Feilden, Esq., of Mel lington Hall, Chester, aged 90. SKELTON.—On the 15th inst., at his residence, in Dover, Captain Daniel Jones Skelton, late of Royal Artillery, aged 74. - TAIT.—On the 16th inst., at London House, St. James's square, Colonel Tait, C. 8., and Aide-de-Camp to the Queen. LONDON : Printed and Published by MURDO YOUNG of No. 112, Strand, Printer, at The Sun Office, No. 112, Strand, in the Precinct of the Savoy, in, th e coun t y of Middlesex, Friday, March 18, 1859. MAIMPOPOPn .. " trenry John Rdwd. 'Mina Thom Alexm Fredk. Charle Rivers Robt. Wm. 'I Jas. St NOT FIRE 9th Ap FIR' Corpor In tb ticipati Partici] . The . nearly cent. ni Equi Pavabll The 1 years. Any Life. This IN C allowed ment under t on or bb due. NCI TRIBU have la tution mon I The Ma The Re Lond( The A lielin The Ril M.P. The Rig The Rig Bart, The R I chere, The Ri Gibso The Rig stone; The Rig Hall: The Rig M.P. The RI, Smith The Rid Wort] The Rig The fc Marq.of Earl of ] Earl Po Earl of Vint. r Lord J. Lord 0' Sir B. E Sir J. It CountP lecki Right E Ellice Right Wort] Eon. A M.P. Probyn Rathba jun... A se turday. Cont eerie, a S.W., s " PC( -114 (e 4 SUER 245. pet Dozens Import Wished HE Dozen. HEIS per Ga HET Strong Dozen. Pad la. per paid. Cow Gray's DA Ididwi Dr. him m his by SOR place boroui 'Just on De Dietai A' Marc] Res Gove: Bank this C Ord daily IV (Esti Sir J 118, 1 their and o opriN 100 CI Syr --Tlu Treat for, a Cons , ON / C E Wti MIT . tract whit' strop on tla store Imp( pain of M Red Dc