The Northern Daily Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1856-10-14 00:00:00

IHE CURRENCY QUESTION

[LETTER 111

stt. TO THE EDIl'OR.or THE NORTHERN TIMES.
Th 6, " The knowledge of a disease is half the cure.
e,,„aaast skilful physician cannot hope to benefit his
14'41ut without first ascertaining the nature of his malady.
the ,I°, before we can hope to discover a true remedy for -
ape rrsnt :unsatisfactory state of our monetary affairs,
tic% 43 '`Certain whether it arises from a real diminu-
lawc'tt',,tirlational wealth, or from the operation of some
aliflst.olatem, which produces a scarcity of money in the
Undiminished wealth,
4.ain Other
aawords, we must inquire whether it arises from
er; a beyond our means, or living bayon,l our means ;
aod
a'alY 'from a temporary diminution in the number
N eurr
le n'eannt the metallic counters which are our only
fro enof Y.
' the latter only, it is, it must. be evident to every
eithat th
ate to a Present perturbations in the monetary world
la traced to the operation of the law which
oohspre tthieep,Umber and amount of these counters—or, which
~ue lame TY the same thing, enacts that they shall only
„",41teho a metal that may be rendered so scarce,. as
• healualiways available in sufficient quantity to maintain
The t Y activity of trade.
l'tote: ate of our revenue, as exhibited by the official
'aae,,- as published—the sound condition of our
P,_ruved by the rapidly increasing amount of our
thc, prosperity of the working classes—the price
I.BlaVitel°l..:t;_o.f their labour—these are facts universally
,t(!tot ding ample proof that. our gelieral wealth
an !shed, and that, as a nation, we have neither
ears dingthat nor living beyond our means. They also
pstrZw"at the great war we have concluded within the
44DairoAteunths, has neither exhausted our resources nor
It• is, therefore
strength.
;',ave a'',ll:ierefore, clear that the perturbations to which.
nu-
c,""3ll le t'llued, are entirely owing to a temporary.
• Path e number and amount of our legalised counters,
the ,erer to a fear—and that not a causeless one—that
;it our ',,,°Perations of that trade which is the source of
eat wealth, will so seriously diminish thorn, owing to
"at▪ ea—an,„.'re foreign demand for the metal of which they
saWLaetured, as to create a commercial crisis that
'.,„tiloe``„kie foundations of our great prosperity.
!e the however, anticipate• such a fatal termination
kost ';+,oulties in which we are just now involved. It
D i,ikely that the self-protective measures adopted
1.12 of auk will regulate the exchanges, and stay the
~L4(l co-' our bullion • but as Messrs. T. and H. Little dale
'h-"StY properly' enquired in their circular of the
t something wrong in our monetary
ere
_no
,C• etent „7,", gives discouraoement to importers at the very
Ahem our supplies of rate produce of every kind are
tat
„7 deficient ,and tares our merchant with a rate of
r %Mich ope rat;ons cannot be c trried on with profit,
4,„"%;',,Lecluee the monetary affairs on the continent areh
East in,"? and the balance of Imports from China and
_t e
couat,74l3.4ave to be paid for from the current coin of those
,Ilollin4,l*:.' In fact, from the very simple process o!' tea
`4l)lee' have adopted, the conclusion is, I think, inevi-
lr'll4 ilea in
the source of the evil I am endeavouring
.to
in the law which compels us to use so fugitive
Zit oh%taa'gold for the basis of our currency. The late
"as rt Peel was the author of that law. His theory
°4(l, built upon the assumption that gold, and gold
le
,44 ;Las 'the eal measure of value. He . appears
it v•n- 4ust sight of the fact, that although it
value than most other commodities, still,
4-ncl eg not always maintain an unvarying value,
oho-anstitutes, after all, only a very little itemh
410ni :alit catalogue of our national wealth. The ul-
'gr4e," '"c the present day, following the wake of theird
artio—a3ter, speak and act as though it were the leda ifneg
tolite„af their financial creed that "M an was ma e r
• c4ot. gold for man." Hence it is, that the prosperityth
.I,4lle4oefeuntry
is almost., if not entirely; dependant on
the e
:aelt"o'f°,l gold located in the issue department ofe_,
.14,„.'411.1and And so it comes ta pass, that thi! id
.1
l'heztworualciyearteotinle the destinies of the richest nation in
moment's reflection will convince us,
sim a pmroduct of nature, destined by P. rovi-.
piek jae be colinvearted by the industry and ingenuity of
'etterutt° useful and profitable servant. But having
sekied the freedom of its action, by restrictive legislativeh
leelberLta--having decreed, by an inflexible law, te
11111. e,,, which its services must be secured by those whol
Vide ""ern—we have degraded it from its nature
spitehe, ali,d legitimate functions, and so it escapes fropa
ora'aum and rules where it ought to serve. Ye.s, idn
that"°
r-n
an our currency checks, so cunningly devise ,
that": elaborately ingenious—these patent safety locks
these ere d—
‘e) baffie the skill of our commercial rivals—
us we had
and bolts which we had forged so strongly, and,
th:ad fondly imagined, fastened so securely—in spite
c!normous " addition made to the aggregate
'worm °, bullion in circulation throughout the tradin.,
eaefo' and the still increasing supplies from Australia and
"re:lie-4n spite of the sound and legitimate state of
eseap-tutnercial relations with other countries—the gold
ererwell._frorn our thraldom, regaining its freedom, to
r Nen,- 'nus with the evils of a monetary panic.
fkotti ule Progress of the late war we suffered severely
aa--,,-Operatiou of this absurdly impolitic law. Alter
"04' had raised the rate of discontit, on the leth of
altd 7er, last year, to a minimum of 6 per cent. for short,
metaer cent. for longer bills, houses of undoubted
9a_bm.
IA ; -",,Y ere compelled to pay ruinous rates, say 8,
4" el,au som instaneee even 10 per cent. and upwards,
Pray, RLt_nliQn commercial hills. The
Yllt tt&—,_"4rY action on the currency then adopted by leis
71-ate oirtP the efflux of its bullion led to this disastrous
11 heav gs.
ueity Y blow was thus inflicted on the trading corn-
teacee, at a time when, in an especial manner, the utmost
111 C wgisetaent oil ht to have been extended to that
_com:
strine‘gth—loitTewasg.then, as now, the life and soul, and
et., no other empire.
n'hecx he
her course has been left open to the Bank,
1114% r bullion has been withdrawn in large Tiantities,
"d italrellasaing Of the law, which, on the assumption that
vue only safe basis of a national eurrenc
tte waled that it should always be maintained at one uniform
without reference to the natural laws of
Ile:lnaud•
ahem evils of our monetary system were then most
‘te-aIY dlsPlayd, and had. it not been for the speedy
beget blisilment of,
peace, the government would havee
PreeocaellaPelled. however reluctant, to have followed the
fro% iteet of 1797, when the Bank of England. was relieved
"Yo ' responsibility of paying her notes in specie.
ina)r,tr readers may remember that the Times, then
lacla-I„,,sed with the serious nature of our difficultie!,
w-a hi one of its' leaders, that, "if the war expend 1-
ibas nn 3. scale to involve a permanent drain of' gold.
*eh, -as no alternative but to lower it, or prepare our-
TiLa for a suspension of specie payments."
aelere can be no doubt that a continuation of the war
idea oflaae led to a continuous drain of gold, anddastethee
t'terte.i°wering the war expenditure was too absurd
wouldlpi
Arely have
for a moment, the latter alternative
Oleo, been adopted; for vain aro all attempts to
to pay the exportation of gold, when others are prepared
earn a higher price for its services than we all ow our
auntrymen to pay.
AeYounet question=—whether the war expenditure was
asks e; ''"e means of the country—would never have been
litaac,"" era if asked, would have been met with an unan
AN; and indignant NO I—if, in. lieu of the miserable
41tth:., " our monopolist bulliopiets, we had been fur-
with a tegal tender paper currency, convertible, not
the .h4,aertain fixed quantity of gold, which appears to be
leteudionist's only idea of convertibility, but convertible
nt
tall the
necessaries and luxuries of life, and based, not
tortat,Lew Millions of gold, but 'on' that boundless nationalfie
thous.; inich has been estimated at not less than
.v.
'Au Millions of pounds sterling l Ohl it is humili-
, •
votltto think that a country, thus wealthy beyond corn-
i• 'c'e and beyond conception, should be brought to the
efit's'erße of ruin by the exodus of a few paltry millions
golden counters. J. itl.

THE VICTORIA. PROMENADI
SOUTHPORT.