The Express.
London, England, 1864-10-10 00:00:00

Che erortoo.

TO CORRISPONDEITS.
Advertisements intended for The &press" London ➢ranin`
Paper, must be at the Once, 10, Boareelentreet, h 7 Twe
o'clock on the day of public:Won.

HAYMARKET.
Tap Krennto, MADLIIGISELLZ DE BELLEISLE. Mews.
Helmand Farm : Mesdames NNWlosand AngeL—PIEBENTID
AT COURT. )L. Buchanan, Romeo, and Braid Madames
Inowdon, Griffith, and 11111—Aud BAOCHUS AND ABLIDNI.

PM:IMM
TM Enigma. BORN TO 000 D LUCK. Mr. D. Murray.
And THE STREETS OF LONDON. Mean. Vining. J. W. Ray,
D. Asher, D. Murray, J. Salo" H. /ornerier, and H. Mellon .
Mrs H. Manton, Minn Barnett and Gwynn°.

DDITAXIFIA.
TIM Emma, THE 11(YTHEICI3 DYING CHILD. Mrs: S.
lane.. Slnipbog by Madame Ram mad Lads Llndry.—And
TOY OF TADCASIKR.

HIGH WATZH AT LONDON-BEIDGE.
TIM Day Moran& ets. 2DAA....ADATnooti. 9h. 13131.
TO-Roatoll Morning. ab. fes....Atiernow, loh. Was.

LONDON, MONDAY, OCTOBER 10.

The money market has again been troubled.
Last week appearances favoured the belief that
the Bank rate of discount was about to be
lowered from its present extravagant point, and
there was a general expectation that the exceptional
pressure, which has so long weighed upon the
trade of the country, was about to be removed.
The demand for money had sensibly decreased
after the close of the quarter, and gold was steadily
flowing into the Bank. The general aspect
of affairs, however, changed instantaneously on the
publication of the last account. It was then
shown that a falling off of no less than a million
and a quarter had occurred in the reserve. The
result has been a renewal of distrust, the appre-
hension of a further rise in the rate of discount,
and as • matter of course a general fall on the
Stock Exchange.
This diminution of the Bank's reserve has been
traced to perfectly legitimate causes. The reins-
'ursine, that have been given have nevertheless
failed to exercise any appreciable influence on the
public mind. The fact may be clearly accounted
for, but the explanation leaves it still
there. The question would be com-
paratively of little importance it money
were at a low rate of interest, say 3 to 5 per
cent., but it is vastly different when the current
terms are 9 per cent., with a prolpect of going to
10, or even higher. When the money market Is
in this state of tension the public mind is naturally
far more affected by any adverse event than in
ordinary times. It is this circumstance that gives
the decline in the reserve such prominent impor-
tance. For some reason or other sufficient
weight is rarely given to the moral operation of a
diminution of the Bank reserve ; it appears to be
thought in some quarters that a merchant is a
machine. Turning solely to experience, there
is ample proof that in periods like the present
a serious fall in the reserve of the Bank is emi-
nently calculated to cause alarm, and this for
reasons which are not difficult to discover.
The reserve of the Bank represents the last re-
sort to which a trader can have recourse to obtain
assistance and uphold his credit. When money is
plentiful and rival capitalists are com-
peting to place it out on good security, it is
of little consequence whether the reserve stands
at a high or a low point. No probability, then,
appears that this last fund will, at least for the
present, be trenched upon. The case is entirely
altered when discounts become difficult and holders
of money restrict their supplies as far as they can
do so without seriously damaging ther business.
The position of the reserve then becomes o.ie of
paramount interest. For years the Bank have
adopted the wise and generous policy of according
to trade all the assistance that can be legitim ;sly
afforded, even to the exhaustion of their last no*.e.
It is impossible to praise too highly this course o'
action. A merchant knows well, that as long as
he can offer good security the Bank will provide
him with money ; and that, though it may de-
mand a rate that may appear exorbitant, it wi,l
never go the length of refusing accommodation
altogether. But however good the will may be,
there is a limit to the means of the Bank.
This limit is represented by the state of the re-
serve. When once that is exhausted the Bank is
placed in a position that it must inevitably stop
lending. It can neither part with bullion nor
notes. The first must by law be kept to meet the
outstanding circulation, and by the same law that
circulation cannot be increased. No doubt the
Bank have ample securities—more than sufficient
to cover any demand that could be made ; but if
these securities are unmarketable, they can be o'
no present use. This difficulty remains thoroughly
palpable to the public eye. There is so much
money in the Bank capable of being bor-
rowed, and the total is gradually decreasing. The
other banks see that it is diminishing, and naturalli
enough hold back as much as they can, to secure
better terms for their capital. The public are thus
compelled to resort to the Bank, the pressure soon
intensifies, and then comes a crisis on a grand
scale, followed by the inevitable suspension of the
Act of 1844.

In a wealthy country like England, the whole
question in fact resolves itself into the presence or
absence of confidence. On what real grounds
should money be dearer now than it was last week?
The nation is assuredly not the poorer ; there have
been no new companies or loans to draw away our
capital ; and the exports of specie to India and
elsewhere have decreased, while our kn.
ports of gold have been steadily advancing.
And yet our whole trade is disorganized because
there has been a falling off in the reserve. The
matter would be intelligible enough if these notes
had passed into foreign bands, and thus become a
heavy liability which, in the course of events, we
should have to meet. On the other hand, it is
well known that they have been diffused solely
among our own people, and that in every sense the
nation is as rich, whether in currency or other
commodities, as it was before. According to