The British Press; or, Morning Literary Advertiser.
London, England, 1810-08-14 00:00:00

which Is equivalent in intrinsic cal to to it given
quantity (au 00,11. e. for eventide) of the metal its
; and if the: intrinsic value of that sum of
cool tie lessened, it is egnit elem. to atrial quantity
of Bullion than be ore. sicoe rise Of the
.earket puce of goldubove its Mod price will take
place, if the local currency of tins particular coun-
try, being nu longer convertible into gold, should
ut any time be issued to excess. That excess can-
not he exported to other countries, and, not being
convertible into specie, it is act iiecc,miaily returned
'ipso those who issued it ; it reassiirs in the (Ani-
ntl of circulation, and is grainiest's, sileenhed by
increasiug the prices of all cuairnoiiities.
crease in the quantity of the local iiirscney of u
particular country, will raise prices to that country
exactly io the sante manner as en increase an the
general supply of precious metals raises prices all
Aver the world. By means of the increase of
quantity, the value of a given portion of that cir-
culatingusedium, in exchange for other commo-
dittes, is' lowered ; in other words, the money prices
of all other commodities are raised, and that of
Million with the rest. Its this manner, en excess
of the local currency of a ',articular country will
occasion a rise of the in irket price of gold above
its Mint price. It is 110 lets evident, that, in the
event of the prices of 40.mm:tidies being raised in
one country by an augmentation of its circulating
medittin, while no similar onginentation in the
circulating medium of a neightion.ieg country has
led to a similar rise of prices, the wirrencies of those
two countries will no longer continue to bear the
same relative value to each other as before. The
intrinsic value of a given portion of the one cur-
rency being lessened, while that of the other re-
mains wialtered, the exchange will be computed.
between those two countries, to the datudvantege
of the former.
la this manner, • general rise of all prices, • rise
in the market !nice of gold, amid a fall of the foreign
exchanges, wi I be the effect clan excessive quan-
tity of circulating medium in a country which has
adopted a curreecy, not exportable to other coun-
tries, or not coavertible at will iuto a coin which is
is exportable.
Your Committee are thus lea t the next head of
their inquiry—the present state of the Exchanges
between this country and the. Continent. And
here, as under the tor.ner toad, your Committee
will first state the opioiotts which they have received
from practical men, respecting the causes of the
present state of the exchange.
Mr. Greffolo., a general merchant, trading
chiefly to the Continent, aecrilwil the fall of ex-
change between London anti illambiirgh, near 1$
per cent. below par, in the year " altogether
to the commercial situation of this country with the
Continent; to the circumstance of the imports, and
payments of subsidies, iSce. having very usu.-is ex-,
ceeded the exports." 11, stilted. however, that he
formed his judgment of the baance of trade in le
great measlier from the 'tide of the exchange itself,
though it was corroborated he whet fell under his
observation, Ile insisted particularly eta the' large
imports from the Baltic, and the wines and brandies
brought from Frailty, in return fur which no mer-
chandise had liren exported Irma this country.—
He observed, on the other baud. that the export of
colonial product' to the Continent lied iocreased its
the last year compered with former years ; and nest
during the I .et year there was to excess, to a cuts-
sideeaide a mount, of Ilse exports of colonial pro-
duce and British inanufactinCs to 11,,Iland &drove
the impor s from thence. but tint wooly equal, lie
thought, to the excess of irn:ioris lions other parts
of the world. julteserg from the state of the ex-
r change, as well as from what fell generally under
his observation. He afterwards explaieed, that it
`was not strictly the balance of trade. 'but the
!stance of pigments, being unievrittralile to this
country, which he assigned as the principal cause
of the sate of exclionge; observing also, that the
balance of payineist. foe the year may be againsims,
while the genet d exports exceed the imports. He
gave it as his opinion, that the cause of the present
state of exchange was entirely commercial, ,with
the addition of the foreign rail...obtuse of Gown-
meat ; and that an excess of imports above exports
would account for the rates of exchange continuing
so high as lti per cent. against this country, tin' a
permaneut period of time.
it wit, lie lonisd to the evidence. that several
oil'. r witnesses agree in substance with Mr. Cref-
folio., in this 111 l of the unfavourable state
of the exchange; particularly Mr. Chambers and
Mr. Cotaingliam.
Sir Francis Baring stated to the Conimittee.
that he ~shirred the two great circumstances
which affect the exchange its its present uisfavour-
able state, to be the restrictions upon trade with
the Contimot, lied the increased circulation of
this country in paper es productive of the scarcity
of hulliun. Au.! Le meta:,.: a, as examples of a
contrary state of things, the Seven Years' war, and
the American war, its oloich there were the 5.1111 e re-
mittances to make to the Continent for naval end
military expenditure, yet no worst of bullion was
ever felt.

The Committee likewise exatit'ned a very emi.
Dent CattlintOtal Wei chant, • loai, evidence will be
found to contain a v.,riel v of raltraide informat- .
That Gentleman stale,.. thst the Ex...hang.- taltilOt
fall in any cotmtry in Enrep- t!n• resent time.
if computed in coin tit a definitive val me, or in
something ceilvertihte into. such coin, lower than
the extent of the chat ge of triusporting it, together
stilt au adeluate profit in proinntion to the rook at-
tending Stich transmission. He conceives. that
such fall of our Excli4tige as has exceeded that ex-
tent in Ow lief onnith., must certainly he
referred to the circiini,ustice of our roper currency
not tiling v °avertible into /lit le ; and .hat if that
paper had been so convertible, and guineas had
been in genital vie/id:l6on, unfaeouneble ba-
lance of trade could hardly have caused in great •
fall in the P1C113....:.e as to lit* extent of five Of six
per cent. Ha ex:Joins hi omition onion the sub-
ject more specifically in the following answers,
which are extracted front different parts of his evi-
dent....
es To %oh*t rinses do you a.ciihe the prevent
on-
fsvaurable row., of goohoogo -: live first great
depreciation to-lt place when far French got pos.
seuron of the Noah of Germany, and passed severe
penal de"re.s against * Couuniiiii,:ation with this
conntey; wt ilo...totor time roar a scquestrattoott
laid upon till EngieS iino4s and property, whild

•
the payine..ts for E. gitsit account were s1;11 to be J.
mud_', and the rennburseniento to he taken- sip'
this counter ; malty 'more hills were in cons: quest
tole sold than could be taken by p-rsons regalia.**
to make pay:news in Hoglund. Tue craininott.ca-
t.oo by letiers being also very itifficuit and uncer-
tain, middle men were not to be found. as in usual
lilies, to purchase and 'cod such bids to E•.gland
for returns; whilst no stut at lave could be insti-
tuted In the Co•itts of Justice there any
stetson who chose to res et payment of a returned
1).11, or to dispute the charges of re-es c..atige.
Vt.itilst those csnses Jepressed the exchut ge, pay-
tnento due to Eoglatid only came round at st.t
periods: the excflato4e or.ce lowered by .
unistancrs, and bullion bring withbeld
to make up those occasiotial differences, the opr ni•
tiens between this country and the Coatineut hare
continued at iilow rate, as it is only matter of opi-
nion what rate a pound sterling is Ihere to he va-
lued at, not bring able to obtain what it is meant
•
to npresent."
" The exchange against Englar.d fluotuating
oin 15 to •20 per ceitt. how much of that loss rosy
lie ate:tilted to the ellect of the measures taken by
the enemy in the North of Germany, and the in-
terruption of intercourse which has been the resale,
and how
hind paper not heiug convertible tutu (lull, to
which you have Aserilwd a part iir 0,41 dew. cia-
tion ?—I ascribe l e whole of the .I.l....ciatiost to
have taken place originally in con,equeoce of the
tumours of the enemy and its not having reco-
vered, to the circumstance of the paper of England
not being exchutigeoitle for cash."
" Since the conduct of the enemy which you
have described, what ether causes hive continued
to operate on the Continent to lower the cows, of
exchange ?—Very considerable ahipnatatts from the
Baltic, which were drawn for, and the bill. hego-
tiated immediately on the shipments taking place,
without conoul.itig the interest of the propriet.os
in this country much, by deferring such a negotia-
tion till it demand shoilld take place fur such bll:s :
the coutiuued delfinulty and unc. dainty in carry-
ing On the correspondence between this country
and the Continent : the curtailed number of hosiers
to be found on the Continent willing to undertake
such operations, either by acceptiug bills for Eng-
lish account drawn float the vicious pad, where
shipments take place, or by accepting bills drawn
from this country, either ogaiust property shipped,
or on a speculative isles that the exchange either
ought sir is likely to rise : the length of time that
is required before goods can be converted into cash,
from the circuitous routes they are obliged to take :
the very large sums of money paid to foreign ship
owners, which is some instances, such us on the
ert.cle of hemp, his amounted to 'nook its rime
cost in Russia: the want of middle men, woo, at
forinerl), used to employ gr. at capitals m exchange
operations. who, from the Ulf reared difficulties aril
dangers to which such operations are now subject.
are at prewat mark to be met with. to rilakt cow-
buried exchange op. 'Aims, with tend to anbais
pate prat able ultimate results."
_

. .
The preceding answers, and the rest of this
ge:itlemin's evidence. all involve this print7iPl,,
expressed more or less doitinctly—thst fs
the mot retolator of the ip.lue or u cur-
rency, aud of the rate of foreign exchanges ; ist.d
abet the free colivertilai!itv of paper
.corevi:cv into
the precious meoils, end the tree exportation of
those metals, place a limit to the fall of exchange,
and not only check the exchahges .frouv faking
below that limit. but recover them by restoring
the balance. .

Your Committee rived not particularly point out
in what respects these opinions, recei% e,l from Per-
sons of practice( detail, are vague and unsatisfac-
tory, and in almt respects they are contradictory '
of one stooh.er; considers:le issaistunce. however,
may be (I,4Perl from the information Which tl.e
evidence of there person affords, in explaining the
true (MO'S of the present rude or the ex, hinges.
Yon, Committee conceive that there is so point
of trade, considered politically, which is better set-
tled than the subject of toleign exchanges. The
p r of exchange between two Countries is that sum
of the currency of either of the two, which, in point
of intrinsic visitor, i. precisely equal •er a given sum
of the currency of the other; that is, contains pre•
cisely ao equal weight of gold or silver of the seine
fineness. If Y 5 livres of France contained precisely
an equal quantity of pure silver with twenty shil-
lings sterling, '23 would be said to be the pie of
exchange between London mid Paris. If one (Inan-
ity uses gold for its principall measure of value, and
another u,. s silver, the par between those couutrie.

cannot be estimated for any particular period,
'without takinx jute. account the relative %aloe of
gold and silver at that particular perod ; at d as
the relative valne'uf the two preCious metals is sub-
ject to fluctuation, the par of rschan.:e between two
such countries is not strictly • fixed point, but
fluctwates within certain limits. An illustration of
this will be found in the evidence, in the calculation
of the par between Loudon and Hamburg!), which
is estimerod to be 341. 31 Flemish for a
'pound alerting. That ride of exchange. which is
proctor-el at any piirticolar .period by • bal met of
trade or payroenli between the two countries, and by
• consequeut disproportion between the supply and
the demand of hills thaws by the one upon the other.
is a departme on one side or the oilier from VIP reel
■tot fixed par. Botthis real per will b altered if oily
change takes place in the currency of vil.e of the two
commie*, whether that change consists in the wear
or deloweinent of a metallic currency below its
siandatil, or in the discredit of a forcrel paper cur-
rency, ..r in the excess of • paper currency not
convertible Into specie ; a fall having taken place
in the intrinsic value of a given portion of one
currency, that portion will so longer be eonsl to
the Some portion, as before, of the other currency.
But though the real par of tit.. currencies is thus
altered, the dialers, having little ur a•. uccas•ou to
refer to the par, continue to reckon their cours. of
exchauges froze► the former denomination of the
par ; and in this state of things ■ di- ion is or-
ee,yary to he mode I.rt•.rew the real end cennpuled
course of each lige. Tile computed canny ut ex-
change, as . xprei.sed it, the tables used by the trier-
chains, will then include, not only the real differ-
ence of exchatige aristug lion the state of trade,
but likewise the flarrence bet ire? i the oriAiiird par
and the new par. 'Place too snit• filly happen to
be added together in the cal. ula'ioa, ur they may