The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1855-12-25 00:00:00

THE CIRCIT,LATING MEDIUM..

AN energetic ,discasiion is-gaing on in London,.on
the important quedion of . the <extension of the cur-.
r ency, in which, asiis not unusual in such cases, the;
argument is ,coniiderably overstated on each side.:
The opponents .Or the present system advocate such'
an extension ,of isscesas will .ilrovide, not only for all:
the wants et:commerce, but Art the same time furnish'
!till employment Small, ak' asd of wholesale .creation.:
of money, and i-virlaich is att by the Times :and -lid
correspondents ..with the: vottinent question as*olphe.
meaning of the words ""I promise to pay," if Abe
proposed note:46:llot ,becorivertible into gold:at-the
pleasure of the holder ; -asidilf it is to be so convertible,
then it is asked how is tbetilemand to be met, nialees
the issue 'of the notes .be limited to the .amountsf
gold of whiOb. they ,profess-ito be representativesitand
which should' he in reserve to meet the anticipated
demand. A consideration of the subject, ifree!!from
-.
the bias of fpreconceival. Inetions, will serve to show
that a coneeesionof thelfirst proposition ander proper
conditions by ~no znaams incompatible with :the
position .rissnmed. by the opponents. It is of ':course
an indispensable condition-of any safe syAemof:pf,kper
currency,', hat there, should be a capability.Ofiper-
feigning. the obligationuundertaken on the face- cifrthe
note; :bit ;le extentto4hich such capability should
be obligatory ought to% have some referenceAe ie
reasonable probability :of requirements, so :that tate
stock,efgiild may not .15e needlessly augmented; and
inconvenience thereby .occasioned to the mercantile
community by restrictions on the amonnt.ofaccora-
modatimrrequired for thelegitimate purposes oftrade.
By thcactof 1844, th 6 Iroit of issue irrespective of
gold is fixed at Fourteen\ Millions, and has lately,been
in ceased the extent :of something less than half a
mil Eon; 4but experience has shown that, inotiiitlt-
standinvthe many impecraments which have .been
throwninthe way of extension, owing to thetrestric-
tion referred to, the actedl,!dirculation lane lrfatly been
below- Twenty Millions, and might, no :doubt, have
been still /larger, had the issues kept pace ,with
the greatiinerease which' bas taken place in tem-,
mercial 'transactions. it :becomes, therefore, a‘ques-,'
tion for serious considerationi,:why the limit :Should: be
placed so far below the almost possible necessity:; or.
rather, why .= amount of :gold -should be compulsorily
retained .as 4-stock, which, by ono probability, Will, ever
be recimireddo meet the demand for notes in Circula-
tion. iff, instead of Fourteen .millions and-a h ;the:
limit were :raised to Twenty :I_7llions, the surplus.
which the Directors of the Bank of England would
always retain for their own safety would be amply
sufficient to meet any unexpectod,contingency, While
the freedom which it would necessarily give to their
monetary operations, in increasing :the facilities for
discounts, would .of itself so augment the ordina7
average of Circulation, as to render the supply of gold
abundant. All that is really required* the capability
of being able to luifil the promise toipay, and public
confidence in the :existence of that ,ortpability ; and
these conditions o,:tght be readily attpinod by the
extension we have ,suggested, and the mercantile
community be ther4y relieved from cthe present
seedless and unjustifiable pressure.
The large supply .of-gold from California ~and
.Aus-
tralia has necessarilybeen taken into the,conAderation
.Qf this question, and thesuggestion naturally made as
-to what might have beenthe present state of.monetary
affairs, had no such extraordinary sources of ,metallic
supplrexisted. The inference drawn is that wesbould
have been in a state of collapte; and when thelueshion
is asked as to the possibility,of retaining the present
system under such cireumatances, the Times meds
the ditileulty-by stating it to ;be one of the necessary
consequences of war, the penalty which must perforce
be paid for vindicating the national honour in the
resistance ito Russian aggression. In other words„
commerce :nay be ruined and the nation bankrupt, AO
long as the pet scheme of Sir RODEUT PEEL is pre-
served intact. The very fact that, notwithstanding
the enormous additional supplies of gold, we have now
to suffer from a long-continued pressure, exorbitant
rates of interest, and restricted accommodation, is one
of the best proofs that could be afforded of the imprac-
ticable nature of the system which was legalized in
1844. If, with all the fortuitous circumstances in its
favour, more than sufficient to compensate for the ex-
traordinary demands for the purposes of war, it has
landed us in such a state of difficulty, the inference is
obvious that the system itself is at fault, and the

necessity for a change has become urgent. There is
no real deficiency of the circulating medium but that
which is created by the law ; and if even the mischief
should arise which the defenders of the Bank Act

point at, of an impossibility'of maintaining the conver-
tibility of Bank notes into gold, owing to a still greater
drain, it might be met by reducing the amount of the
note, which would at once set free an enormous amount
of sovereigns. By far the greatest restriction is that
on the amount of the note, and this, in combination
with that on the extent of issue, creates the pressure
which under a more judicious system would not exist.
The remedy, therefore, is in the power of the legisla-
ture, and as it may be applied without in any way
injuring public credit, it ought to receive early atten-
tion in the next session of Parliament.

KEEPING CHRISTMAS.

AT this auspicious season of the year, devoted by
time-honoured custom and the common consent of all
Christendom to the festive celebration of the birth of
the Saviour of mankind ; when the operations of corn-
merce, in which Liverpool is so largely interested, are
for the time suspended, and men are closing their
accounts for the past year, in order to prepare for the
commencement of another ; when the mind is recalled
to a sense of other duties than those which immedi-
ately belong to the affairs of every-day life, and many '
feel disposed to give out of their superfluity some
portion to relieve the distresses of their less fortunate
brethren, it may not be out of place to remind them
of those institutions which, for the blessings they
diffuse, commend themselves so peculiarly to the
support of the benevolent. There are many by whom
alms-giving is considered not only a duty but a privi-
lege, and as the practical application of the chiefest of
Christian virtues. Unfortunately, however, experience
has proved that the most charitably-disposed are too
often the dupes of imposition; and it has been gene-
rally admitted by those who have paid most attention
to the subject, that the increase of mendicity and
vagrancy has been owing in a great measure, if not
wholly, to the indiscriminate bestowal of alms with-
out any knowledge of the truth of the tale of pity.
The really distressed are most generally the least
importunate for aid ; while the practised impostor
becomes skilled in the detail of imaginary woes, with I
this further mischief, that the discovery of the cheat
too often tends to steel the heart against the appeals
uf the deserving poor, as the only safeguard againgt
further imposition. The innocent in stch cases stiffer
for the guilty, and of this abundant evidence is
afforded in the annals of our police-courts, and the .oft
repeated paragraphs in newspapers, .eautioning the
public against itnpostors.
The only effectual remedy for this abuse, and rich
offers the oppdttmity to relieve the greatest amount
of human suffeiing with the least Eoutlay of available
resources, is -by means of such ,eslablishrhents as the
Hospitals 'and Dispensaries, whkh may be classed
amongst tthe noblest institutions of which !Liverpool
has justly,roason to be proud. :It is not very easy for
those 'whom Providence has ;Placed beyond the reach
of want :to judge correctly-of the bitter privations
experienced by the many 'who at inclement
season:have neither a sufficiency of food, clothing, or
fuel ;;but when to these wants, which in themselves are 1
hardito bear, are added the still -gyeater sufferings I
caused by disease or accident, their claims upon human
sympathy are greatly Eenhanced. It is not surpriSing.
114 t, amidst the dirt and unwholesome air 'which
-surround the dwellings ,laf: the peer, the tendency-to
.disease should be great where' the means of alleviating,
its pangs are so little,,and the more so at the ,present'
tiime, when the 'high prices of the necessaries of life
;have compelled those of limited means to submit to,
'many additional haulships. 'lt is under suet. eircum:
stances that the Hospitals and Dispensmievare more
than ever needed, that E these institutions -should
be placed in that-State of effraiency which will permit:
their adv-antagesto be .bestowed on the greatest pos.;
sible number of al3plicants fik aid.
It has happcna, however, that high Iprices,.whichl
have auginentdd the number of oliiefts requiring'
assistance, have also operated to diminish the .meass
of assistance, by increasing the expenditure, Witt
receiving a corresponding- ount of -increased support
from the public. A special appeal has been madelor
additional support, in or-in that the :sphere of useful-
ness may not ',be contracted ; and we °take advantage
of this appropriate time for the performance of Averks
of charity cud mercy,' to remind ,our-readers (Of the
claims which these institutions possess upontileir
active syraptithy and benevolence.