The Sun.
London, England, 1863-04-13 00:00:00

The Gold Panic in America:

The heavy fall in the premium on gold is a mat-
ter which causes very general satisfaction, but the
suddenness of the movement is very naturally creat-
ing great uneasiness in commercial circles. All the
legitimate interests of the country demand a cur-
rency as near a specie basis as possible, but the tre-
mendous fluctuations of the past month are ex-
ceedingly injurious—are disastrous, indeed, to
regular commercial operations. To the citizen who
reads the Stock-list dy by day it is very pleasant
to notice that within a few weeks gold has fallen
from 72 to 38 per cent. premium, but the merchant,
whose operations extend over months, regards this
fall in a very different manner. The debts he con-
tracted on a currency of one value he has to pay in
the same currency of a much higher value. If he
is a foreign importer he finds goods on his hands
which he had to pay abroad with exchange at 180,
and the duties on which he paid in gold at 165.
The enhanced value of the currency is simply
ruinous to him. It is equally so to the domestic for-
warder, who bought his flour, wheat, pork, provi.•
sions, &e., out West at the point of extreme depre-
ciation, and is compelled to receive far less in the
appreciated currency. These fluctuations are the
curse of all inconvertible paper money. It is ruin-
ous to legitimate commerce. Proper enterprise is
checked by the impossibility of knowing what a day
may bring forth.
It ie in Mr. Chase's power to apply a corrective
to this state of things if he will but do so, and that
is to give the widest publicity to the operations of
the vast currency machine he is running. Gold rose
in value because of the issue of vast quantities of
irredeemable paper ; it is now falling because the
volume of the redundant currency is being reduced,
—l, by the conversion of nearly a million of green-
backs per day into five-twenty bonds ; 2, by the
deposit on call of nearly 500,000 dols. in greenbacks
per day at the sub•treasurera' offices ; 3, by the
heavy payments for taxes; and, 4, by the retention
of all the greenbacks paid in in the Treasury vaults.
If this process could go on it would be possible tot
reduce the premium on gold to a mere triflet;
clearly it cannot go on, as the Governmeidn
in must
bonds, taxes, and on deposit.
Wdhitel it will cause
use, and before long, the greenbacktszamoneyt
an immediate rise in gold and a
again disbursed to the
mudities.
mercial public require of Mr.
Now, what the cora marketable com-
ublish semi-monthly state
gold
and
Chase is that be should p
f the Tree •
n o Bury, ESpecially of
ments of the CO
geltender notes on hand and in
the amount of
lLunt of
circulation. The amount currency afloat absolutely
governs prices, and it is the right of the business
unity to have this
coraw knowledge as well as the
Secretary of the Treasury and his friends. Whether
wrongfully or not, the men are
daily pointed out in
Wall-street as being the recipients
of this informa-
tion from Mr. Chase,
and by which it is charged
they and he realise enormous fortunes
almost
monthly, It is inChase's Mr. power to put a stop
o these aisgracetul inuemdos by hereafter making
known semi-monthly theprecise condition of theg
Treasury, especially the amount of legal-tender
notes bilaat.—/Veto York World.

THE SANDTFORD MURDER.—The Glasgow Herald
says:— We have good grounds for stating that pre-
vious to her temoval from the North Prison, Mrs. 11I'Lach-
lan told more persons than one that she was present when
old Mr Fleming struck the first blow, instead of being out
for whisky, as she said she was in her sensation' statement.'
But this is a small matter in comparison with another re-
port which is ciiculating through the city, and which we
are disposed to receive as the plain and terrible truth. We
have been told that Mrs. M'Lachlan made a confession of her
guilt, in which she entirely exonerated old Mr. Fleming;
that her 'statement' was an afterthought, and a pureifionc:
Cot. from beginning to end. According to this coinfense
the
Mrs. M'Lachlan did the blo.dy deed alone, part
samebed bedroom o
mannerm and pia: tly
whichin thesheekitchen;ad it w
stones
it was who trailed the bleeding body
T andas she alone who
premature discovery. ...t w
down
key to prevent
and when the old man came.
washed the kitchen floors,
she concealed herself in the
asindoare baytriFofietaaligtY:rl:2Sthil:
and into the room, where she locked it upr took away the
stairs before she got
away'bore
stairs
marks a
again
nf
she
er victim's
gathered
accounts for some of
and made her escape liy the
here set down ; and, assum-
ter diet] e' partlyu
tablethatae i n the
d
or alleged
silverback blood.
plate
door;
aV t he e
tan: theidn gth
lengthc
left
this
ls d
thmhl 1
nu
.aarnrndryiei h
bedroom. We
lobby
o g e th press,e
r h etr
htpihsl that
0 otn afterwardsn confession,
confession, repeated
lahotagyf aeirthtoe"be true, surely it is monstrous that the innocent
an contumely for the
slue of the guilty,"
ahouldgerueffateerreoc iel excommunicationBhsal: