Northern Times.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1857-12-12 00:00:00

Hence, he would be compelled to look out for

some positive demand for his notes. Parliament

sets a limit to the disbursements of the

Exchequer, but there are no restrictions placed
upon the States's receipts. The issue of their
notes for domestic use would, consequently, be
impossible, until the Government was called on
to pay its debts. They would then begin to put
their paper money into circulation. The
quarter's expenditure would, probably, amount
to 20,000,0001. The taxes to be paid within the
same period, adding local rates to imperial
taxation, would amount to 26,000,000 ; and here
we arrive at the practical bar to any abuse of
these issues, and the impossibility of deprecia-
tion. These notes being made legal tender in
payment of all taxes and duties, would return to
the Government coffers as fast as they were
issued. The taxation of each month would be
more than sufficient to absorb the whole of the
notes issued within the month ; and we defy
those alarmists who are always warning the public
of the dangers of an over-issue of paper money,
to show how the Chancellor of the Exchequer
could, by any possibility, contrive to keep even
5,000,0001. of these notes in the hands of the
public at any one time. By limiting their issue
to the actual disbursements of the Exchequer, it
would always leave the demand from five to six
millions in excess of the supply. How, then,
could any depreciation take place ? Such a
currency would require no other security to
render it safe to the holder than the positive
certainty that, as the Government note entered
his pocket the tax collector would be at the door
to lighten its possessor of his burden. And this
is the paper money—the currency—taxpayers
desire to see introduced, in order to relieve the
money of commerce, which must of necessity be
comprised of gold and silver, of the payment of
80,000,0001. of taxation, and leave this vast
amount of money to employ libour and
discharge the more legitimate duties of commer-
cial capital.
There are a variety of ways of spelling words
and concocting programmes, which mean one
and the same thing and when Currency
Reformers speak of a Government issue of paper
money, they mean nothing more or less than
making taxation the basis of our paper currency.
They have no desire to see the Bank of England
deprived of any of its powers or privileges as a
mercantile institution. They would rather have
its efficiency increased, and, what is more, its
stability placed beyond the reach of danger in
monetary convulsions. Their desire is, to have
it released from its present State trammels, and
left free to combat the difficulties of our mighty
commerce. But, there are persons who write
on monetary matters who really know nothing
of the currency Reform movement, or the views
of its leaders and supporters; and some of these
scribes advocate a low fixed standard price for
-e (In sna
the same time. In this way, they would compel
the merchant and tax-payer, to find gold at a
low fixed price, and then would allow those who
had obtained this particular discription of money
at their own rate, to charge any amount of
interest they pleased for its use ! The man, who
knows what Currency Reform means, would
not breathe such an idea as this. The way to
remedy this gross imposition is, to anew gold to
be as free of restriction as any other commodity.
Then we should have no right to complain of
excessively high rates of interest. But if you
will have a fixed price for gold, then we protest
against every thing bordering on usury. Bind
the feet or hands of the debtor, as merchants are
called now-a.days. but do not bind -him both
hand and foot. Let Mr. DISRAELI try it with
the farmers of Buckinghatnshire. Let him tell
his constituents that they must pay their debts
in wheat at 40s. a quarter, ani if they cannot do
that, they must pledge their grain and raise the
money at ten per cent. There would be some-
thing too unjust in this for agricultural dinners.
Currency Reformers denand, however, that
either the low fixed standard price of gold, or
usury, such as we are now suffering from, shall
be abolished. Had six per cent. been the
maximum legal rate of interest at the commence-
ment of the existing pilule, the Bank of England's
ceasing to discount would have had precisely the
same practical effect as the ten per cent. rate
has had. The refusal to afford accommodation
to trade is quite enough, of itself, to produce a
panic, without siperadding usury to its pains
and penalties. The only " limit " we require
then, in our moaetary system is, the restriction
which a usury law provides, or, that " limit "
of common justice which would -give to all
persons, having to pay debts in gold, an open
market for the metal in which he has to discharge
his contracts. The nature of money, whether
paper or metallic, prescribes bounds, beyond
which human ingenuity cannot push it, and
mar's artifice has ever failed to pervert it from
its Godly ends with credit and profi,

ST. CHRYSOSTOM'S WoRKING MENS' ASSOCIATION.—We
are glad to hear that this Association prospers both in the
number of its members and in the efficiency of its various
and numerous classes. The concert!, on Saturday evenings,
continue, as we understand, to draw large audiences of 300
or 400 persons. The glees and songs for this evening
are, we believe, of a character even more promising than
usual. In these entertainments no professionals are
employed ; but the working classes amuse themselves.
STRANGE AND FATAL ACCIDENT.--An accident of a
singular nature took place on the Ist instant, in a foundry
in Jordan-street, and terminated fatally at the Royal
Infirmary, yesterday. It appears that on the day just
stated, a man mined Henry Hughes, who was engaged in
a foundry in Jordan-ltreet, was lying bef)re one of the
fires, he having a box of matches in his pocket. He felt
asleep and on turning, the pressure set fire to the matokeF,
and his clothes being impregnated with oil, caugb! fire,
and he was terribly burnt all over the upper par t of the
body. He died in the Infimary yesterday, fror4 the effect
of the injuries he bad received,