The Express.
London, England, 1851-08-26 00:00:00

CANADA.

TORONTO, Am°. 9.
Lord Elgin has communicated to the Legislative
Assembly of this province, a correspondence between
the Canadian government and Earl Grey, relative to
the disallowance of the Currency Act, passed during
the last session of the Canadian parliament. This I
correspondence has been printed, and has excited II
great interest in the country, as the subject is of the ,
first importance to us.
'I he letter of Sir C. E. Trevelyan, expressing the
views of the Lords Commissioners of the Treasury, 4
has excited at once much indignation and laughter
against their lordships; and they have certainly
given us a strange specimen of the quality and quan- •
tity of their information in the matters in which they
interfere. The Legislative Assembly, only the other
evening passed, dissenting voice, without a dissentin voice, a bill
through its second reading, founded on the same
principles as the act which has been disallowed;
and also with a view of providing for an uniform
decimal currency for all the British North American
colonies and assimilating it with that of the United
States.
Upon this subject, the memorandum of Mr. Hincks
has drawn forth warm encomiums from all parties here,
and even from the old tones, the respectors par ex-
cellence of the prerogative of the crown. Mr. J. H.
Cameron, the ablest man among them, declared in
his place in the house, that none respected the prero-
gative more than lie ; but he held to the rights of
the colony, and these, he said, party dillimenceri
could never make him waive.
The government have declared their intention to
stand by their present bill; but which will be re-
ferred to her Majesty before the assent of the go-
vernor of this province is given to it. The proba-
bility is that the Lords Commissioners will have to
withdraw their unreasonable objections.
It would be impossible for me in the limits of this
letter to do justice to the objections contained in the
letter of Sir C. E. Trevelyan ; and, besides, I could
not do them the justice that Mr. Hincks has done
them. But I may state that the anomaly which
exists in our currency, and which we are
taunted with by Sir C. E. Trevelyan, was forced
upon us by the interference of this same department,
against the wishes of the representatives of Canada,
a few years ago. Mr. lliucks observes, with regard
to this, that—
Although Sir C. Trevelyan ascribes the difficulties which
have arisen to the "Kl-considered and partial proceedings
adopted .n the colonies," yet he elsewhere admits that
" the last act 4 & 5 Viet. e. :15, was passed in accordance
with previous instructions from her Majesty's government."
The undersigned is well aware that this statement is cor-
reet. The Legislative Assembly in 1841 resolved, with the
same unanimity that it did in 1850, that the value of the
silver dollar should be fixed at 55., the rate at which it had
been a legal tender since the settlement of the country.
The influence of the then Governor-General acting under
instructions from the Treasury, was brought to bear on
the question, and it was intimated that the bill would
not be assented to unless an amendment fixing the value of
the dollar at .ss. Id. was agreed to. The bill 'tieing very im-
portant on other grounds, its supporters most reluctantly
yielded the point. It was however the opinion of all those
best acquainted with the subject, that a blunder hail been
committed, and the experience of ten years confirmed that
opinion in the minds of all practical men. Sir C. Trove-
lyan's objection to the rating of the dollar at ss. is that
.• the Eagle, which contains nominally ten dollars, does not
represent the value of ten silver dollars, that the silver
dollar, though a legal tender for no more than one tenth of
an eagle, is intrinsically worth more," and that, " ss. Id.
currency is as nearly as can be expressed in that denotnina-
tion itsintrinsic value."

I may also say one word on the tone of the letter
of Sir C. E. Trevelyan, which is nut in all respects
unexceptionable. Take the following specimen :
Front the arguments employed by the Inspector-G.-nem',
he would appear to be under the impression that the cur-
rency of Canada hof heretofore tern based on n silver
standard. Such an impression can only have been formed
from an imperlect knowledge of the state of the law.
Now, there is hardly a merchant's clerk in Canada
who dues not know that while the law does not make
silver the standard in Canada, it is such in effect. In
the fate of this fact, the manner in which Sir C. E.
Trevelyan characterises the statement of our govern-
ment can only be termed flippant and impertinent.