The Sun.
London, England, 1852-04-22 00:00:00

THE GOLD CURRENCY.

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,
TO THE .EDii uiz ut THE SUN.
asela Sze,—l perceive by the Parliamentary notices in the-
iseee„ Public prints, that Colonel Thompson intends, on the
ertt. 27th instant, to bring the question of the gold currency
Ruse before the House of Commons, and to move a. series
-*rate of resolutions for the especial purpose of protect-
iLls3il; lug the fundholders against the consequences of the
.11145.ee dogma, so long maintained by themselves and their
ohampion the late Sir R. Peel, "that according to
Via'``
practice; according to law, according to the ancient
monetary policy of this country, the meaning
of a pound is neither more nor less than a certain
definite quantity of gold with a mark upon it to de-
termine its weight and fineness," and that conse-
quently all obligations entered into with the public
creditor can be discharged in no other way_ than by
the payment to him of 5 dwts. 3 grs. of gold of
standard fineness for each pound of debt or of dividendi
As an old currency reformer, I need not say that
Most heartily rejoice that the bullionists have at
length, by any means, been brought to see and ac-
knowledge the truth upon this vital subject. It must
be a bitter pill for them to have to make so unre-
served an admission of former error. At the same
time, it is a great gratification to all those who, like
ourselves, Sir, have been for so many years steadily
maintaining the right amid the obloquy, the reproach,-
and the sneers of tour interested opponents, to see
that these men are now afraid f
obeing held to
their
own words, and would gladly take refuge in the
very principle they have so long denounced—.
namely, that corn or subsistence is the properstandard
of value, not gold ; that, in the words of Adam
Smith, " the revenue of a person to whom
a guinea is paid does not so much consist in the price
of gold as in what ha can get for it," and that the fair
interpretation of any bargain entered into with the
fundholder is that he shall be paid the same value
that he lent ; at the same time recognising, as Colonel
Thompson does, in one of his proposed resolutions,
that,the real value can be ascertained by the applica-
tion of the principle of a corn rent.
But, Sir, while I still heartily subscribe to this prin-
ciple so long contended for by the monetary reformers,
and so tardily admitted by our opponents, and while I feel
squally with Colonel Thompson "that the contract with
the holders of the national securities ought to be sub-
stantially fulfilled," lam utterly at a loss to con-
ceive how the Gallant Colonel makes out that, on an
equitable adjustment, a balance of eight millions and
a half is due to the fundholders, and I await with no
little curiosity his exposition in the House of Com-
mons, by which he will have to support this aver-
ment. On the contrary, I believe the fundholder
has been overpaid, not to the comparatively trifling
amount of eight or ten millions, but to much
more than twenty times that sum—that, in
effect, the principal part 'of our national debt has
been. more than doubled by its mode of con-
traction, and by the changes in the currency
effected by the Bills passed by Sir R. Peel and his
confreres, the bullionists. If this be so, which I will
endeavour to prove, it cannot be allowed that Colonel
Thompson should, without remonstrance, endeavour
even to substitute a good system of currency for the
present wretched pretence of a system, upon a false
plea; and that that which is a boon justly due to our
greatly injured productive classes should be urgently
demanded by him on the part of those who alone have
been benefited, and that to a most prodigious extent, at
the expense of all other classes of society. Lst us by all
means have the improvements long suggested by us,
and which our opponents now seem so anxious to con-
cede, but let us also clearly understand on whose pe-
. culler account, and for whose special behoof, these
inSprovements are imperatively required.
I will now, Sir, proceed to the proof of what I have
previously advanced ; that the principal part of our
national debt—all that part arising from the prosecu-
tion of the last great war—has been more than
doubled by the systems of currency and finance
hitherto and at present prevailing.
The national debt on the sth January, 1793,
amounted to 238,231,2481., in addition to certain an-
. tuities.
s,
Prom this period to the termination of the war,
• the end of the year 1815, there was additional
',..llsl°ol4racted to .the amount of 999,592,1661., of
wucsk i
284,581,7311.• wes'afterwards-redeemed by the
'64 ainkin leaving increase debt
g hind, a. net o con-
meted this
during these 23 years of 715,010,4351. Now, it
4fee
""tiviett_nir. ticular portion of the national debt to which
sti la the first place to call the attention of your
_reader
and to ask them which is the party entitled to
--aanale e
• 0 its mode of contraction, the national
ednor°te
It is au the national debtor.
Nee, Pposed by most people that this 715,010,4351.
°d' raentaactu,allY borrowed and received by the Govern-
ott ar centutszthe nation ; but this is not the fact. There
that am-4411Y, so much debt or stock created, but not
did not—aunt of money received. The Government
traeted. get 1001. of money for every 1001. debt con-
Therese, y borrowed in a much more scientific
tlyster-eue much more calculated to keep up the
tacho Y and profundity of the Chancellor of the
quer's office. Money, at this time, was ordi•
'441117 worth, f
6,7, and or the common purposes of business,
8 per cent. interest, and it would have been
tOO simple,
obvious, and unscientific a mode—one too
• 'iknie to the commonalty—to have created a stock
bearing that rate of interest, and to have got that stock
subscribed for at par--that is, to have obtained 1001.
money for every 100/. of stock. No, the principal part
:Tag borrowed in a 3 per cent. stock. Now, it is evident
that money lenders would not lend money at 3 per.
ZCent. to„. the Government if they could in other channels
make 6 per cent. of it. They would not give so much
fora 3
A percent. as they would for a 6 per cent. stock.
'aid so they only paid 501. or 601, as the case might
-be for each 100/. stock, while this 50/. or 60/. was
written down, as a debt against the country and to the
credit of the fundholder, as 100/. Taking the aver-
Qge of all the loans during these 23 years, 3 per cents.,
4 Per cents.,
and 5 per cents., I find fromon extract
-.l,olade from Marshall's Tables some time ago, that
'l3l. of stock or debt was created for every 100/.
Money received by the Government; so that instead
of 715,010,435/. having been actually borrowed and
received, not more than 412,000,000/. was so re-
!eived by the Government and nation—the additional
h J millions being merely the necessary result of
borrowing 501. or 60/., and writing it down as a debt
of ma
„I know it will be argued, and with some degree
of 'truth too, that the best bargain was made at the
Ikk time that was possible; that the loans were sub-
_ltnytted' to public competition, and that the highest
bidder obtained the loan; that it made very little
difference in contracting these loans whether two
principal sums of 50/. each were borrowed, and 3/. per
annumo interest paid for each, or one principal bum of
o
/ was borrowed, and 61. per annum paid for it.
This
is very true, applying it solely to the time when
Thetueiedight-oaraonitesrevalseins were contracted. But the evil is, that ibis
money has entailed a comparatively
"interest for ever. The loan of capital
has long tined
f
3,.11174fr0m 6,7, and 8 per cent. in-
terest to 2,
a great Iraeallire PreCitip'er cent. ; but the nation is in
imprudent
from availing itself of this
circumstance by the
anniooprul dent bargain of writing
itself down debtor . far every 601. borrowed,
4 -and thus necessitating the
payment of 100/. whenever
f it should find itself cappe
unstoiunwfcaprdayilgoff
r Had it not been for this
circumstance, theloatnhse.
Government might long
Get. have made a very
the national debt.
great reduction in the amount
Reductions, certainly, have _
to which the might have.
the money beenyrami
been made, but t
nothing of the extent
more than
les steed have
1 ; been carried. Had
per cent. stock, no
'been borrowed instead of 700
been , and these
millions might have gradually paid off b 400
judicious Chancellor of the Exchequer by the ereaLna
m4i9lolieultisil.ll° Sea
in a 6
of a new 3or per cent. stock at par, which Wolf-
' 'have saved on the 400 millions some Bor 10 millionsud
Per annum interest. By the plan pursued, the ori-
ging loan contractors or their successors and repre-
% sootatives, the present fundholders, have been secured
lathe enjoyment of a perpetual high rate of interest
kg, , for the original sum lent, so that the .
50/ or 601, first
br) inbscribed is this da worth on the Stock Exchange
991/. This, as far asst goes, does not leek very much
; -like the fundholder having "on an equitable adjust -I
• Jolene' a lar6
e,ba lancedueto
contrary, it appears very strongly to • thindicate that
414 credit has been given him for a very much larger
fe sum than he ever lent to the nation.
But, Sir, this is only one portion of the matter in
• " question, and not, by any means, the Most important.
We have not yet touched upon the principle of the
!eat and true value of" the pound," which the bullion-
. "t 8 seem now, for the first time, anxious to transfer
from 5 dwts. 3 grs. of gold to a corn value. Col. Thompe
..8.011 very properly acknowledges, in his 9th resolution,
_that "the pound" should be the representative of a
en quantity of corn, by providing that when wheat
Should fall below a certain unstated price, Parliament
should
endeavour to remedy it by the issue of a paper
currency, so that 20 shillings, or the pound,
should al-
ways,
at any rate, he or command a certain quantity
of Wheat The Honourable Member thus r
5 d epudtates
wts. 3 grs. of gold as the true " pound" of account,
azd
says that the contract with the fundholier, (2nd
rosolution) ought to he substantially fulfilled, and
that this contract was (3rd resolution) to pay him the
real value received ; while the other resolutions
to
go
affirm mean
the principle of a corn rout, which, if it
anything
at all, must ineen that the fundhulder is en-
titled to receive back as much corn as he lent. We
have to objection to tden thisprinciple
w
and to say; ' • a great deal
that
tied to
as not only is the national creditor enti•
much corn as he lent, but es much of an
average of all
at the • other commodities as the money he lent
time represented
Let us the
je question, n apply this principle to the subject
and ate what ground the fundholder has
for the assertion that he has not only not been over-
paid, but that a
balance is due to him, "on an Equit-
able adjustment. The " pound" that was lent by the
old et daring the Principai part of this long

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