The Sun.
London, England, 1864-05-03 00:00:00

'AR IN AMERICA.

THE CIVIL 1

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(From the Time Correspondent.)

NEW YORK, April 20.
There has been a panic on the Stork Exchange
since Saturday last. Mr Chase, whom it is the
fashion in Wall-street to call the" Great Bear," has
come and gone, and the panic has come after him.
His object was to bring down the premium on gold.
In this he succeeded, though not to the extent anti-
cipated ; while he accomplished another not set forth
in his programme, and brought down the price of
Government securities and railroad stocks and mine
ing shares of all kinds. The failure of his note.ble
scheme for regulating the price of gold by the issue
of what he called " gold certificates" for the payment
of Customs' duties had taught the speculators that
the Secretary of the Treasury was not so powerful
as he imagined, and his presence had no more real
effect upon the premium than to bring it within 2
or 3 per cent. of the high level of the last fortnight.
But, if he did not frighten the speculators and stock-
brokers, he alarmed the bankers, who called in their
loans, restricted their advances, and tighteneed the
money market, and thus led to a crash. The weaker
class of operators could not meet their liabilities
without effecting forced sales of stocks, and rail-
way shares as well as Government securities came
rattling down, burying under their debris some of
the more important and apparently the most pros-
perous of the new firms that have sprung up
with the rapidity of Jonah's gourd, carrying
with them hundreds of weaker brethren who
relied upon them for support, if not for existence.
The "Five-twenties," so long a favourite invest-
ment, declined 11 per cent. the day before yester-
day, and the " Seven-thirties" 31, while the
decline in Railway stocks was still more decisive.
The Illinois Central fell 13, the New York Central
7, the Erie 7, the Hudson Rieer 171, the Burling-
ton and Quincy 16, and others too numerous to men-
tion from 41 to 18 per cent. Gold, which it was the
object of Mr. Chase to pull down to 150 or lower,
stood firm at 170 in the morning, and rose, as the
day wore on, to 1711. Yesterday the violence of
the panic somewhat abated, gold fell to 166, rose
rapidly to 168, and closed at 1691. Some of the
railway shares recovered themselves partially—
among others the Illinois Central, which advanced
6 per cent., the New York Central 6+ par cent., and
the Erie 31 on the previous day's prices. Govern-
ment stocks were in less favour, and Five-twenties
suffered a further decline of 4 per cent., or virtually
stood at a discount of 1 per cent. This morning
gold is at 169, and stocks are generally firm, but
without any marked improvement in the price of
Goverument securities.
Great as the panic has been, a worse must follow.
It is but the first faint vibratory movement of the
coming e trthquake, which will level with the dust
many a stately edifice, whirl into the air like dry
leaves the paper securities of a wealth that has no
foundation, consign the millionaires of to-day to the
penury and obscurity in which they existed before
their countrymen went crazy, reduce thousands of
now prosperous citizens to ruin, and fill the homes
of honest and industrious men with waiting and
lamentation. The delusion of the multitude is as
great as ever. Men in high places preach and teach
that the country is rich merely because there is
enough paper money afloat to set speculation ram-
pant; although a million of men who four years
ago were engaged in producing wealth are now
wholly employed in destroying each other. Mr.
Chase, aware that he cannot fir ever go on bor-
rowing or printing waggon loads of inconver-
tible greenbacks per diem, insists that the country
must be taxed to the extent of 500,000,000 dollars
per annum to pay its way, now and for the tuture,
and in order to reduce gold to par and advance
paper to the same honest level. This is a sum
representing with gold at par no less than
X 100,000,000 sterling, and, as it would have to be
drained out of the resources of a country cot nearly
so populous as Great Britain, which is but scantily
settled for its immense area, and on which the chief
burden of taxation would have to fall upon the in-
habitants of the large cities, all that need be said
is that Mr. Chase's ideas of finance are peculiarly
American. " They jest at scars who never felt a
wound ;" and people who talk with such stupendous
unconcern about a fiscal harden, even of half the
weight of one hundred millions sterling per an-
num, are in a condition of blissful ignorance. Mr.
Chase does not stand alone in his faith. Yesterday
Mr. Morrill, the author of the famous " Morris
Tariff," which imposed a duty of about 33 per cent.
on every article of European manufacture imported
into the United Suetes, in proposing to raise that
high rate to 66 per cent., and generally to double
the duties imposed by the Internal Revenue Bill of
last year, which so egregiously disappointed the
expectations of every financier in America, Mr.
Chase included, gave utterance to opinions on the
eulject of the taxpaying powers of this people that
were enough to take away the breath of everybody
but an American in surprise at the Brobelignagian
character of his estimates. "The demands upon
the Treasury ho admitted to be unprecedented."
but the resources of the country he affirmed " to bo
equal to any possible emergency, goad or bad."
"Five hundred millions of dollars per annum were
a trifle." "The people of the United States had
" not only the means to pap every dollar they owed
or ever would owe, but to pay the debt, however
large it might become, principal and interest, in
gold." "The Government was supplied with
more gold than was sufficient for its purposes, and
was ac!ually begging creditors to receive payment
in advance." "If the war were closed in 1835 the
whole debt now and to be in the interval incurred
would be paid off in ten years." "Let us," said this
foriously hopeful financier, "have loans and taxes,
and increase the pay of the soldiers. With the dash
of a general who never fails, we must anticipate
crushing results to the enemy ; and with military
success we shall be victorious over all ills," 'dr.
Morrill, in the excitement of his inaaginatio-_, never
condescended to explain what might h-jppen, pro.
'with " military
vided " we" should not be favoured
success." But why should he ? Ts he not as mad as
the dwellers in the Paradise of Fools? Or why
should the reason of those who are not fools and the
experience of the whole world be brought to bear
against the delusions of a gentleman so credulous as
to take his dreams for facts and his hopes for reali-
ties, and who is so dazzled by the brilliancy of his
own patriotism as to be unable to see for excess of
light that which others who do not gaze; upon the
sun with their naked eyes can behold quite plainly ?
For Mr. 3lorrill there are no shadows. All is light
and glory—iiiimitable wealth, illimitable power,
and illimitable conquest. Were all his countrymen
equally blind, the impending financial catastrophe
would be hidetnia indeed. He, at least, would not
put the bresis on
the wheel when the frantic horses
were dra aging the
chariot down the hill to the in-
evitable precipice, but would lash and goad them to
renewed speed. This gentleman's name has been
mentioned as Mr. Chase's successor in the Treasury
.gc,lepartment should the latter resign or be dismissed'
rhe mischief he would do
above may be i
choice extracts of his speecspeechmagined from the
quoted, in the
purport of which, I had al
most forgotten to
mention, 1,
ee was supported by. Mr. S teb -
bins, the chairman of the Boa-rd
of Brokers
in this city. But madness rule
and if Mr. Morrill he not Secretary ofsththe hour,
it is very generally considered that he Treasury
be.
e deserves to
The war tams is not favourable to the Fede a
cause. The operations of General Forrest °
the
Mississippi create anxiety, and the repulse of the
forces of General Stone at Pleasant Hill, in Louis-
iana, on their way to Shrevefort, where the Con-
federate Governor of the State has taken up his
headquarters, is looked upon fls Britt mere ominous
of future disaster. The loss is admitted by the Fe-
dt.ralii to amount to 2,000 killed and wounded—
end stated by the Confederates to bo seven times
that number,—showing in either case a desperate
fight, and a severe defeat of the plans of General
Banks in that region. There is no movement as
yet upon the Rapidan by either of the armies.
The Confederates have destroyed and evacuated
Fort Pillow, probably finding it impossible to hold
it without gunboats. There is as yet no confirma-
tion of the reports of the barbarity inflicted upon
the negro soldiers—reports that bore the stamp of
gross exaggeration, if not of positive falsehood, aueh