The Press.
London, England, 1855-11-17 00:00:00

THE PRESS.

House of Commons, prop up a Ministry with-
out a fixed purpose or a firm connection.
In such a state of affairs the facetious First
Lord of the Treasury may be sobered on ob-
serving the art with which the Bedford Whip
cast out baits to Exeter-ball. Lord PALmus-
TON relies too much on his friends in " the
City," and on certain " organs." He may find
that the Bedford Whip are not so far wrong
in thinking that Exeter-hall has a wider don-
nection in the country than those who toasted
his name at the Guildhall, inspired by that
" punch" which accompanies turtle-soup,
while, in a literary sense, it is always present
in the sayings of the " Grey Momus " of the
Ministry.

" WHAT WOULD ' THE DUKE' HAVE

SAID ?"
SOME time since it was sought to edify the
public with considerations on what Sir ROBERT
PEEL would have thought, if he were now
alive. It would bo still more important and
interesting to reflect on what " The Duke "
would have said. Yet, in uttering that opinion,
we are aware that there is at least one person
—the Premier of England—who would not
concur with us. Lord PALMERSTON had not
the highest opinion of the Duke of WELLING-
TON, and the feeling on the Duke's part was
intensely reciprocal. His Grace despised the
character of the volatile Viscount ; the latter
disliked the stern dignity of the uncompro-
mising "F. M."
It may be of no use, therefore, to quote
" Gurwood " for the instruction of the present
Prime Minister. Possibly even the name of
" Gurwood " is disagreeable to the gay deceiver
of all parties. It is certainly a most curious
fact that Lord Viscount PALMERSTON makes so
particularly small a figure in the pages of the
great Duke's despatches. There are twelve
volumes of them, besides an additional one,
with an index, of two hundred and thirty-five
pages, and only twice did ARTHUR WELLESLEY
address himself to the present Viscount PAL
MERSTON, who was then Secretary at-War. The
fact is certainly curious, for the Duke wrote
freely and frequently to all descriptions of
official persons. Last session, the Earl of
ELLENBOROUGH informed the House of Lords
about the Duke's opinion on " small birds " of
the genus Palmerston.
The public at large, however, might care to
know whether there was any parallel case in
the Duke's own times which presented ana-
logies with the present state of affaira. We
can show from GuawooD's authentic pages,
that the Duke of WELLINGTON'S opinion on the
necessity of defining clearly the objects of
military campaigns, was exactly in unison with
the opinions advanced in these columns during
the present emergency.
For example, µn 1813, while NAPOLEON was
still on the throne of France, and when the
English army had not yet crossed the Pyrenees,
a proposition was made by the Duc de BERRI
on the part of the BOURBONS, to join the Duke
of WELLINGTON in Spain with twenty thousand
armed Frenchmen. The proposal had many
attractive aspects ; amongst others, if accepted,
it would have taken away from the foreign
character of an entry into France, and a less
wary leader would have jumped at the accep-
tance of the proposition.
But the Duke, with his circumspective
sagacity, saw that there was great difficulty
in receiving aid from the BOURBONS in that
form. Just as in the present instance, the
ultimate objects of the war were not then
agreed upon amongst the Allies in various
parts of Europe. Was this object to dethrone
NAPOLEON, or to confine him within the bounds
of France ? Was his dynasty to be accepted,
and his ambition restrained, or was his per
*sonal existence as a Sovereign to be obstinately
struggled against? (These various consider-
ations were, in the Duke's mind, so many ob
stacles to the acceptance of the proposal.
What, therefore, did the Duke of WELLING-
TON recommend to the English Cabinet of that
time in relation to that proposal?
Writing from " Lesaca, Bth August, 1813,"
after enumerating the eventualities, and en-

SATURDAY,

larging upon them, his Grace proceeded to
say :—" We must, before the Duo de BERRI
"be allowed to join the army, get from the Allies
"in the North of Europe a declaration how far
" they will persevere in the contest with a view
"to dethrone BONAPARTI, and the British
" Government must *sake sip their minds on the

"question, and come to an understanding upon
" it with those of the Peninsula."
SO that, even in so comparatively small a
question as the acceptance or not of twenty
thousand Bourbonic troops, the Duke of
WELLINGTON emphatically urged the necessity
of the Allies first agreeing distinctly as to
their ultimate objects in warring against
NAPOLEON. His Grace saw that if the Due de
BERRI'S offer was taken, and that if afterwards
some of the Allies should have disavowed the
object of dethroning NAPOLEON, that vast con-
fusion and increased discord would be intro-
duced amongst the various confederated
Powers. In the present case, a fortiori,
the great Duke would—consistently with that
opinion—have strongly urged the necessity for
a clear and distinct purpose being publicly
avowed and acted on by the Allies. He would
not have been satisfied with being told that
the war was carried on against " Cossackism,"
" Oriental Despotism," or the other phrases,
not objects, which are vulgarly employed.
Vagueness of purpose is necessarily fatal to
the ultimate success of all great operations in
war. It is now admitted on all sides that Mr.
Pirr's military operations during the French
revolutionary struggle were rendered futile
for many years by the haziness which he
allowed to envelope the public mind. This
error was also largely partaken of by some of
the Allies, who contented themselves with
declaring that they fought for no other pur-
pose than to put down " Atheism " and Ja-
cobinism." In the same way the Holy Alliance
did enormous evil in later times to the amity
of nations, by assembling great physical forces
and concentrating them on a fictitious object,
while they indulged in indefinite cant, and
refrained from any clear understanding of
what they were to do.
We are almost sure, therefore, that the Duke
would have said, that a war without distinct
objects, clearly seen, and openly avowed,
would not be terminated with satisfaction, and
would drag on a protracted existence. The
worst of carrying on such a war policy as that
which Lord PALMERSTON supports, is, that it
tends to an indefinite prolongation of hostil-
ities. The enormous length of wars, it should
be recollected, is one of their direst curses.
In ancient times the Peloponesian war lasted
twenty-seven years ; one Punic war was twenty-
four, and another eighteen years. In modern
times, the treaty of Westphalia concluded a
war of thirty years, and the length of the
French revolutionary war was scarcely
shorter.
It deserves, also, to be recollected that the
Duke of WELLINGTON never at any time under-
rated Russia. After NAPOLEON had astounded
Europe with the gigantic nature of his arma-
ment against Russia, the Duke of WELLINGTON
quietly wrote (25th July, 1812)—" If the Em-
" peror of RUSSIA be prudent, and has any re-
" sources, and if his Russians will really tight,
" BoNapswrz will not succeed." Since that!
war commenced, " prudence," " resources,
and " Russians that will really fight.," have not
been wanted to the enemy, of whom some
people think so lightly.

CURRENCY AND CAPITAL.
WHILE the accounts from Australia and Cali•
fornia speak of continually increasing yields of
gold—of the discovery of new fields, and of
the more successful working of those already
known—there is a party in this country which
contends that the supply of gold is insufficient
to maintain our existing system of currency.
The product from Australia in this year of
1865 is estimated to be of the value of
10,000,0001. sterling ; the product of California
will be more considerable. These yields are
in addition to the produce of the mines worked
before the new discoveries took place. Alto-
gether, the total yearly produce of gold cannot

NOVEMBER 17, 1855.

be less than 30,000,0001. sterling. Previous to
1848, when the accidental loosening of a mill-
race on the Sacramento revealed the riches of
the soil, the total yearly yield of gold was not
estimated at more than 8,000,0001. Yet, even
at that figure, Sir ROBERT PEEL thought there
were good grounds for believing that the sup-
ply of gold, by increasing the total amount in
circulation, was more than sufficient to main-
tain an equilibrium between money and com-
modities, and had a direct tendency to raise
prices. If this was true with a yearly yield of
8,000,0001, how much more true must it be
with a yearly yield of 30,000,0001.?
Circulation and capital, though sometimes
confounded, are essentially distinct. The one
may be sufficiently abundant when the other
is scarce, and vice versa. The price of com-
modities is a test of the relative scarcity or
abundance of circulation ; the rate of interest
is the test of the relative scarcity or abundance
of capital.
If we look to the present prices of com-
modities we assuredly see no evidence of any
scarcity of the circulating medium. Wheat is
at 90s. a quarter; meat at ss. a stone; sugar•
a the highest figure realised for many
years past. For the last few years, owing
to the increase in the circulating medium,
prices have advanced all over the world. We
find complaints of dearness in every country
with which we have any communication.
Coincidently with the dispersion through
Europe of the treasure brought from the New
World in the sixtenth century, the chronicler
HOLINSHED notices the " excessive prices " to
which all commodities had risen. Precisely a
similar action is taking place at the present
time, from a similar cause. The rise, though
perhaps conducive to general prosperity, bears
hardly on many classes ; and were there to be
any alteration in the currency, it should, in
strictjustice, be rather of a restrictive than an
expansive kind. It would be for the public
vantage,—considering the height to which
the upward movement in prices has already
risen, and the rapidity with which it still pro-
gresses,—rather to check than to stimulate it.
The principle of non-interference is, however,
the best; as any artificial interference with the
existing system, of a partial or a temporary
kind, would be more likely to aggravate than
diminish the evil. A total change of system—
as the substitution of a gold for a paper cur-
rency—would have to be met by other argu
ments.
The paper-currency theorists are entitled to
be treated with much respect. We believe
their theory to be fundamentally sound. There
are obvious disadvantages in making the price
of all commodities which can be bought or
sold depend on their relation to a metal which,
from its greater scarcity or abundance, is itself
liable to great fluctuation in value. Were it
possible to invent some medium of exchange
less liable to fluctuation, and at the same time
incapable of abuse, industry and commerce
might he benefited by the exchange. The
paper theorists say such a medium might be
found in Government notes, made receivable
for taxes ; but with such power of issue there
must be power of abusing it; and it cannot be
pretended that there is any such necessity for
the change at the present time as would
justify so large and so perilous an experiment.
If our circulation were not already full,
prices could not be at their present height,
nor can there be any reasonable fear that we
shall ever need gold for our wants while the
new discoveries continue so productive.
Mr. JOHN TAYLOR has been called the father
of the paper-currency theorists of our age.
Distinguished for his learning, thought, and
publications on this subject, he has yet candidly
confessed that with the discovery of the new
gold-fields he saw swept away all hope of the
one great object of his life being carried into
effect. Had the action turned the other way—
had gold become more scarce instead of more
plentiful—it is highly probable that necessity
would have driven us to the adoption of some
scheme by which we could have maintained
for internal use a currency equal to our wants
and consistent with our ordinary range of
prices.
The scarcity of capital is easy to be ac-
counte I for. A nation is but an aggregate of
individuals. If a gentleman with ten thousand