The Sun.
London, England, 1839-09-05 00:00:00

IMPROPER CONDUCT OF THE

BANK.

By the return of the l 1 th of December last it ap-
pears that the average amount of securities held by the
Bank for the preceding three months was 20,707,000/. ;
tnd the average stock of bullion for the same period
.vas 9,362,000/.

From that time to the present moment there has
,een a regular and steady increase in the securities,
tnd as regular and steady decrease in the bullion, till
It length, by the present return of the 20th of August,
he securites have increased to 25,588,0001., and the
mllion has decreased to 3,265,0001., and therefore it is
nanifest that against 6,097,000/. of notes sent in and
ancelled for bullion, the Bank re-issued 4,881,0001. on
securities.

Now, look at the conduct of the Bank Directors
mtween August, 1838, and December of the same
;ear, because this was somewhat different.
It was well known in August last that the crop of
corn was deficient, and that there was no stock of old
corn in the country. Of the truth of this the Bank
Directors seemed also themselves to have been per-
suaded, and to have shaped their course accordingly by
gradually diminishing the amount of their engagements,
and so that their securities, which for the three months
ending the 21st of August, 1838, stood at 22,747,0001.
were gradually reduced, till at length, in December of
the same year, they stood at only 20,707,0001. And
the prudence and wisdom of this conduct then became
nanifest ; for though, during the period from August
:o December, there had been a very large importation
of foreign corn, yet the reduction in the stock of bullion
inly amounted to about 400,0001., and indeed, by the
return of the month of December, it appeared that, as
!ompared with September, there was even an increase of
69,0001.
And therefore it is evident, that up to the month of
December the greater part of the corn imported had
ueen paid for by the means of British manufactures.
But the Bank Directors, tired of a state of things
which by limiting their securities diminished their pro-
fits, suddenly changed their conduct, and not only re-
sumed the practice which they had long discontinued,
of making advances on Exchequer Bills, and all manner
of approved securities, but they also actually bought
Exchequer Bills and Stock in the market for the account
if the Bank. They continued the same practice of
flaking advances on Exchequer Bills, &c., during the
shutting for the April quarter.
The consequence of these proceedings was, that
corn rose immediately, and that the advance in the
price of cotton, in the space of about three months, was
nearly 30 per cent., and then it followed that, by the
rise in the price of corn, more bullion was required to
pay for what we imported, and by the rise in the price
of cotton a check was given to our exportation of manu-
factures. And so that, finally, we had to pay for all
the corn we imported after December in bullion, where-
as if the Bank had not interfered in the same manner,
that the greater part of the corn imported to the end of
the year 1838 had been paid for by manufactures,
would the importations after that period also have been
paid for by manufactures.
And, therefore, it is clear as light that the present
Ntate of things, and all the mischief that has hoppened,
,s to be attributed entirely to the conduct of the Bank
Directors.

As regards the entire paper currency of England and
Wales, that is what may be said on the matter
By the return in the Gazette of the '2d inst ,
it appears that the average of the country
circulation for the three months ending
the 30th of June last, was
And the average amount of the circulation
and deposits of the Bank of England for
the three months ending the 25th of
June, was

£37,943,818
This was, then, the total amount of paper money in
England and Wales for the three months ending in
June of the present year.
On the other hand, the average of the
country circulation for the three months
ending the 29th of June, 1838, was... £11,745,503
And the average amount of the circula-
tion and deposits of the Bank of
England for the three months ending
the 26th of June, 1838, was 29,473,000

£41,218, 503
And, therefore, by comparing the three months ending
June, 1838, with the three months ending in June of
the present year, it should seem that there is a decrease
of 3,274,685/. in the total quantity of paper-money in
England and Wales ; but in reality there is an increase,
for it must be recollected that in so far as the paper
rests on bullion, this is precisely the same thing as if
the bullion itself circulated, and to all this extent, there-
fore, we must abstract from the quantity of paper.
Now, the quantity of bullion in the coffers of the
Bank for the three months ending the 26th of
June, 1838, was 9,722,0001., which, deducted from
41,218,5031., leaves 31,496,508/. for the quantity of
paper money in England and Wales, which had no
foundation in the precious metals.
On the other side, the bullion in the coffers of the
Bank for the three months ending in June of the pre-
sent year, was 4,344,0001. which, deducted from
37,943,8181. leaves 33,599,8181. for the quantity of
paper-money in England and Wales, which has no
foundation in the precious metals.

And therefore there is an increase in the quantity of
paper-money ; and if we bring the comparison down to
the present time, the case will appear still stronger.
As it is pretty certain, we believe, that

there has been no considerable varia-
tion in the country circulation since
the last return of the 2d of August,
we shall not greatly err in putting it £
down at the same amount of 12,275,818
The circulation and deposits of the Bank
of England by the last return, amount
to

£38,273,818
Deduct for bullion

Remains £35,008,818

And therefore the quantity of paper money in the
present month of August which has no foundation in the
precious metals being 35,008,818/., while the quantity
in June, 1838, was only 31,496,5031., it is evident that
there is the enormous increase of 3,512,3151. in the
quantity of paper money.
Now, this is the true way to consider the matter,
for as by the Act which makes Bank of England
notes a legal tender, the private bankers and
joint-stock banks are relieved from the necessity
of paying their notes in specie, so it is evident that
the entire paper currency of England and Wales has no
-other foundation in bullion than the quantity which
exists in the coffers of the Bank of England. And
then it truly comes to this, that the paper being
38,373,818/., while the bullion is 3,265,0001., the pro-
portion which the bullion bears to the paper is about
Is. Bd. in the pound. A pretty state of things. This
,comes of making Bank of England notes a legal tender.
Precious quackery I—Times.

THE FASHIONABLE APOTHE-

CARY.

A The apothecary of the present day is a differet.,
iicharacter from the apothecary of Shakspeare's time,
and he recomm...as himself to the public by some-
thing more attractive than " an alligator stuffed, and
beggarly account of empty boxes." You may know
him by his black suit and white neckcloth, and the
handsome equipage which he sports. He is gene-
rally ,in a hurry, and the seats in his carriage are
covered with notes, pamphlets, and books. He has
a half-clerical air, and his countenance is a com-
pound of sobriety and cunning, with a slight dash
of the vulgar. Every muscle of his face is subdued
imo a forced repose, but his eye is restless and
o bserving. In his manners the apothecary is haughty
and overbearing to his inferiors ; to his superiors and
enose by whom he lives, he is all servility and affected
solicitude. Nevertheless, he has an inward scorn of the
wi'tole human race,—looking upon all ranks as asses,
ant.d all made for his own especial purpose ; viz. to be
ph) sicked ! When he is called to a case his first
thought is, how much he shall make by it ; how much
physic he may put in, and what connection he may gain
through it. The apothecary is all things to all
urea ; he fosters every prejudice and popular delu-
sion,—all of which he turns to his own advantage.
hew doctrines with him are an abomination,—the
more especially
if they tend to diminish his profits ;
for his business is to sell physic, and the more he can
manage to make his patient swallow, the more satisfied
does; he feel with the progress of the case. If in spite
of every effort on his part to prolong convalescence, the
patient feels himself so well as to ask for his bill, that is
not his fault, but his misfortune. But if he can
manage to make him keep the house, and
take six draaghts a day for a twelve-
month,
the interesting nature of the case is as obvious
to himself as the patient. The parties calculate from
different data I It sometimes indeed happens, that
doubts arise as to the propriety of his practice ; but
here the apothecary is doubly armed. He immediately
names a fashionable physician, whose business of course is
to swear all is right. A sham consultation takes place;
that is, the two worthies retire to a private room, talk
about the weather, compare notes abut the existing sick-
ness, and deliberate about the number of visits their
patient's finances will stand :—the number he requires
has nothing to do with the matter. Nor is this all
" Instead of the simplest, rno3t efficient, and cheapest
prescriptions, which a ould be most suitable to the pa-
tient, the physician must consider that the very reverse
is most suitable to the apothecary. Accordingly, the
inure fully 3 ou renounce all principle, the better you will
succeed in London as a physician."—Advice to a young
Physician from the Lancet.
If it should happen that, in spite of all this double
advice and double attendance, the object of ! ,
their solicitude should slip through their fingers, that is
not their concern, but the undertaker's whom they re-