The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-09-18 00:00:00

THE M.0,-,NE Y .31,,Ajt K E T.

~,HER MAJESTY :arid the Royal Family awe :in
Their Highland retreat ;at Balmoral; London is 4e-
-scrbed, except by Lord ..PANMVRE„who has to reniChin
ask,tke Minister in town -to attend to the concerns -of
tho.war ; the Assizes .are over ; and ewrywhere those
who, can are enjoying the 4E:flights of marine or rural
retreats. Under such Circumstances, when the ex-
citement of business has ,been . superseded by the
quietude of rest and recreation, it is difficult to excite
attention to any topics beyond. those •,which may be
considered immediately presaing., .The war:, however,
is still"being carried on,; -the interesting pro-
ceedings -connected with the -capture of Sebastopol
have served in some deg Tee to gratify the-thirst for
sometifingoaew ; but as days elapse without receiving
any important particulars, it is found: necessaryio dis-
cover another theme on which to,ereste an excitement.
Under these -circumstances, it is not .surprisingl(:,-hat
monetary affeilas have been brought ,uuder discussion,
and magnifiedirdo a matter of more,oonsequence-then
they would otherwise be entitled to. Ilt;appears frog,
the returns, pulilished every Friday in 'the _Landon
Gazette, that for .some few weeks there 'has been .a
decrease in the stock of bullion in the Bar,k.of Eng-
land, a circumstance which might have created very
,little attention but for:the publicity rendered eompul-
:sexy by PEEL'S Act of 1844. The Bank Dixectors
accordingly raised their minimum rate of diseount
from 31 to 4 per cent., and again, a week afterwards,
to 4 per cent. This has been eagerly seized upon ;as
a ground for apprehension es to monetary security,
when, in reality, there is nothing but the bare fact
upon whioli to raise any comment, the accompanying
circumstances conducing rather to inspire confidence.
If the stock of bullion has decreased, it remains at
more than fourteen millions, and there is a reserve of
unemployed notes of more than seven millions and a
half, with an aetiv,e circulation of above twenty mil-
lions. The diminution may be easily ,accounted for
without the slightest cause for fear as to results. In-
stalments have had to be paid for three loans raised
for the purposes of the war: there have been but few
arrivals of specie lately in proportion to the quantity
known to be on the way, and the recent rise in several
important markets has necessarily created a demand
for money for the ordinary purposes of trade, as shown
by the increase of nearly a million under the head of
" other securities." On the other hand, there is
nothing in the state of commercial affairs to justify
any anxiety—for, notwithstanding a general augmen-
tation of prices, there has been a remarkable freedom
from hazardous speculation, and bankruptcies have
been almost confined to retail traders. Indeed, mer-
cantile affairs may be considered in a peculiarly healthy
state, and even the demands for the war have been
more than supplied by the receipts of specie. If some
sudden revulsion had occurred in one or more of our
principal markets, so that semanarge raves were