The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-11-20 00:00:00

THE CURRENCY QUESTION,

LETTER NO. X.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE NORTHERN Tllif.
Sire--On a former occasion I was under the necessity of
lecturing your correspondent, who persists in styling himself
CURRENCY REFORMER, not for his partiality to his
!yin Plan, of which he has given us a short outline in his last
tatter, but for his erroneous definition of the word—
MONEY, and his gratuitous abuse and misrepresentation
of the plans of others. I regret to say that, in his letters
Published by you on the 11th and 18th of this month, he
manifests no symptoms of amendment. In his letter of
Yesterday, he says that " I. W. an 1 his friends" advocate a
creme which, so far as it is explained, proposes an issue of
Pal'er'" whose only title to be called Money, is that which an
Act of Parliament, a strong police, and a standing army, can
Rite it—paper, which may sometimes require the sort of credit
risileetied by the paper roubles of Russia, which were recom-
mended to the patriotic acceptance of the good people of
,lOdessa by a general at the head of a large army, who stood
with loaded muskets and fixed bayonets, ready to enforce his
argument."
What Does vonr correspondent mean to say, that paper
oed under the sanction of the Imperial Parliament of Great
Britain and Ireland, limited by the annual amount of our
-11tien$ and every pound of which would be received in full
NYthent of Twenty Shilling; at all our public offices—does he
mean to say that such paper would only be legal tender at the
b°_,tt of the bayonet? Ho knows very well, for I do not
eileve that he is incpable of puttin two and two tgether,
tha,
$ even without ana act of Parliamentg. such paper,o in this
Pest, enlightened country, would be de facto a legal tender,
even though it were not so, de j'ere. If he continues to in-
V'ige in these misrepresentations, I must continue to lecture
rn occasionally.
two
As to
tters his definition of Money, contained in the first of the
spile to which I in referiine, I beg to inform him that
one of these " constructed philosophers," who, in
te„ of his assertioi respecting GOLD, that, " strictly speak-
r,c." noth.ny else is MONEY—" entertain the visionary, and
ii°7litts] almost incomprehensible theory," that, strictly speak-
-49, COLD ts not MONEY.
trAs, therefore, our premises are wide as the poles asunder,
inil'etY speaking, we cannot both be Currency Reformers.
but 4
detinition of MONEY is, that it is value—Gold, nothing
1,„ .I'd, —and he maintains that whatever is not value, but
"lif 'lgo of value, " strictly speaking, is not MONET."
definition of Money is, that it is a sign of value, and I
e?airitein that whatever is not a sign of value, but the value
n9"1.1781, strictly speaking, is not MONEY.
Accordingi to his theory, Money, strictly speaking, eeeer-
lea'"Y possesses an intrinsic value, and the Bank Note, secured
r"'Y lane, must be made payable in Gold, whenever presented
I°' Payment at the Bink of England.
According to my theory, Money, strictly speakin7, does not
be""aeilv posses an intrinsic value, and the Bank Note
ured by the Good Faith of the Nation, is made receivable
everywhere as a type, or representative, of value.
is th It
es monetary system rests on the assumption, that money
substance of all the good things comprised in that ono
I°N, Wealth.
MY system rests, as I think more securely, on the axiom,
,a Money is the type of the value of all the good things that
constitute the wealth of the world.
1. We had better, therefore, agree to travel each on his own
th He, on the narrow guage lino of a Currency, limited by
oe production of Gold ; I, on the broad guage line of a
eelirrneY, limited only by the productive power of every
.et of industry.
•ver aught I know, these may be parallel lines, but they
start
a„, "mu different points, and lead to different results, and
aware there are some switches to connect them, that I am not
eware of there is no danger of a collision. S e now that wee
fderstand each other, let us avoid the unphilosophical course
ZPutting our heads out of the windows of respective car-
gess to abuse each other's theories. Butour before my train
cs,Zeds any further in its Course, I may as well say to " A
ee-re Reformer," that if his definition of Money be the
-ertect one, then our devotion to gold, which he says is the
ltle:," of our present dangerous position, is only "our reasonable
i,bce" and instead of being lowered by a repeal of the act of
Ittrt, it ought to be raised to a loftier height, by a still more
ho,P6'ent act, compelling every Bank of Issue to biso all its
..88 exclusively on gold.
ILA. to our friend "A Spartan," whose playful, and, perhaps,
eZt critique on my railway simile has amused me not a little,
hut me remind him that an illustration mey be faulty and
b. PP, roPriase, though the doctrine it was chosen to illustrate be
itectly sound and orthodox.
to !think, however, he must admit that if the Government were
1,0, down my trial line of a taxation currency, the country
ea,,1,1(1 he amply supplied with money enough to circulate its
ko-sith for years to come. It would at all events perfectly
dioe''cuplish all that it was designed to accomplish, namely, to
212 the inhabitants of the United Kingdom with a currency
14'46501 to pay all their taxes. By and bye I hope to show
po°4„,, that my system of currency does not stop short of that
section'T he so justly admires.
cite regret that your "J. H." (not the original " J. H")
as he says, essentially from the views I have already
s• illed• This is rather strange, as he says that I have anti-
the ed him in publishing a portion of his scheme, namely, that
'Nt taxes of the year be the basis of our legal paper circulation,
1:141;4(1 of the absurd and restricted limit fixed by Sir Robert
to 8 act. When lie knows a little more of the way I intend
I„otsePPly this principle, I think '.se will see that the legal tender
7,,0f my system will he practicably convertible into spe.cie.
lettlito adoption of the system advocated in my two previous
tom s, would afford immediate relief to the commercial
teO-14nnity, and by removing that growing distiust which is
the ;Parent of panic and bankruptcy, give a fresh impetus to
feco`Adotnitahle energy of our merchants, and to the world-
%let! industry of the masses of our people. The now notes
great b,e gradually introduced so as to prevent any sudden
elevation of prices.
ite the first issue were to consist entirely of one pound notes,
eh,eecinal amount of gold would soon be withdrawn from
t:lation and so incar rease the metallic reserve of the Bank
Tbs allay all our fes respecting the present drain of specie.
toe° Continental demand for gold could then be proriptly
fort,:.lh fact it would afford us much gratification to supply it,
es
should soon discover that we hail enough, and to spare ;
Ittlgn to supply our own wants, and the wants of all the world.
ltb_ bas been objected by some, against the system which I
valo-vacating, that it would create a great apprecia.ion in the
atit of gold ; and, singularly enough, it has been objected by
• thsl it would create a great depreciation in the value
at met a
/ .
he ix all deal first with the latter of these objections. It has
etoeandatiOn in the silly idea, that if gold were no longer
fit, 84 Money, it would lose east amongst the metals, that, in
11:n., eno longer used as money, it must become dross,
thtt'"l3 t not absurd to suppose that it ie the coinage of gold
ittelstl4 the cause of its great value ?—lts use as a medium of
tint 1,;(1e is the effect, and not the cause of its value. We do
itatal.e diamonds, and many other valuable productions of
40 if :„as stoney, and yet their intrinsic value is maintained
caste: the world were to follow our example in adopting a
hap "e 7 equally efficacious with, and far more economical
tettioi"r Present golden one, the intrinsic value of gold would
alel4,nualtered. The master of the mint is not the mighty
114141140 that many suppose, he cannot impart a value to the
'llyelYhich it did not previously possess. The stamp with
2hce be • . . •
ie o trupresses the coin is simply a certificate that it con-
:4, -,.,corthiu__quantity of gold, or, silver, of a certain degree
rkiae-ess. With a national paper currency, the value of the
,leitt,,4" Metals would vary like that of all other commodities,
•che° gi'veraed, like them, by the laws of supply and demand.
ti4le. national note being the only legal tender, would alone
be '4tein
te. an unalterable nominal value, and would alone be
ellneo-o,tntarying measure of tho relative valise of all other
t The services of the mint might still be retained.
asteit'usnaith and silversmith would constantly avail of these
%N es, as they do at present. If the consignee of a cargo of
!Nit was desired to invest the proceeds in gold, he would
sea bars of gold, marked at the mint, to certify their
tl4 T
re In fact, under the new system, cotton and gold,
Pt "'I la merchandise •
„etud ,_ go , of every description and gold,
'oe "'" Convertible into each other at the pleasure of holders,
le=etitt4 national being the adjuster of the relative value of
hangeable commodities.
41364.1aY be thought that I have wasted too much time in
ktcset7lfith the objection,. that a national paper currency would
Peat depreciation in the value of gold ; but I nave
241 C --and am not easily diverted from my purpose—
elitt -`f„ t'c're I conclude this series of letters, I shall not leave
4,iJeetions against my system se-much as a leg to stand on,
°t help it if, like Withrington in Choy, chase—
s
" After their legs are smitten off,
tiltiek,4 They fight upon their stumps."
• Bret '3g them to their fate, I must now proceed to deal with
„,,cthiectiou, namely, tat if the system I am advocating
-'7Pted, it would create a great appreciation in the
kilalste::e. `argteoalina. Well, what harm if it did? Indeed, it is
o
that, a natural paper currency would greatly
lO'cti; Price of gold in England, as it would enhance the
1 it teoe ,
every other article of merchandise. If it did not do
4:tera be a failure. It would not effect the object which
f4-`l4B j 844 it is able to effect. It would not enable the
latio_n bullion, the goldsmith, and silversmith, to add
ttlite
euroto price. But this, so far from being a valid objection,
4titatatiwont.g excellency of my plan. Its adoption would
tetee,ileia b " to the price of gold, as well as to the price of" old
wa "e ; dealers in bullion, as well as dealers in old
lad 414 equally
•edit Wo._ benefit by a change of our monetary eys
kmcct),enable them to pay their taxes (direct or
, blest n,114,Lh; met the slightest inconvenionce—without the
ie sere t-'stole curtailment of their profits.
44 1° yet : i toi with aneteer chess of objectors--though last, not
)ereee,whem I shall deal very plainly in my next.
Nov., 1855. J. W

7ib Le T e
Sll. til 1 hep . 74EGRAPM COMPANY OF IRELAND.—At a
t e 4011 '4
In
this matter, at the chambers of the Master
Atitithe rli:e'it Was reported to Mr. Whiting, the chief clerk,
1 ton of
suLors had not been able to carry out their pro—
ue 11.1.1,1siag by subscription sufficient money to pay
ih sat .. "uluties amounting
‘44e/ the or ' to some £20.000, and
.e.3nse-
ltiot,eo4o. der to wind-up the affairs will be carried out
- gad * It is understood, however, that it will be
ardriit,