The Sun.
London, England, 1862-10-31 00:00:00

COMMERCE OF NETV YORK.

The last commercial advice: from New York
mention that the highest rate for gold touched
during the week was 39 premium. This movement
seems to have been caused almost entirely by the
demand on the part of the bankers for exportation,
the profound ignorance of the people at large, to
which most of the journals daily minister by assur-
ances that on the first news of victory the price will
recede nearly to par, having, even up to the present
time, been sufficient to prevent any manifestation of
actual panic. Subjoined is an extract of a private
letter describing the general tone of feeling on the
questions of currency and national debt :
" The issue of paper money continues as fast as
printing presses can supply the demand, and this is
not fast enough for the wants of the Government,
as the pay of the army is from four to eight months
in arrear, and the excuse alleged is want of paper
currency for small amounts, which takes time in the
preparation, registration, &e. This morning it re-
quires 133 dots, of legal tender currency to purchase
100 dols. in gold ; still no general fear exists of an
explosioh. In talking the 43.41er day with a person
who had made over 100,000 dols. out of the war, I
remarked, Well, I suppose you are disposed to lie
upon your oars now, and not take hold of any more
contracts ?" I beg your pardon,' replied he, ' I am
on the track of one now. There is plenty of money
in the war yet. 1 only wish it would last half a
dozen years Up to very recently the expansion
has been mainly felt in stocks, railway bonds, &c.,
the speculations in ‘s hich have been enormous, and
current articles of necessity, as tea, sugar, coffee,
breadstuffs, and provisions, have advancedparipassu
with the depreciation of the currency ;,,but at pre-
sent almost every article is moving upward—in
paper prices—and, although the confidence in the
legal tender notes is professedly unbounded, every-
body is anxious to turn them into something that
has not the property of melting away like ice on a
summer's Lay. When the quantity of paper money
in circulation becomes double what it now is—
and that it soon will be—there will be a fine chance
for paying off those heavy mortgages on real estate
in this city which are held by European capitalists,
and such activity in business as has never before
been witnessed. At this moment a thousand mil-
lions of dollars would not suffice to pay our national
debts, without taking into account the innumerable
claims for pensions that will have to be met after
the war; nevertheless, many people are of opinion
that the national debt ought to be brought up to
2,000,000,000 dols. at least, as a salutary check to
the bravest race in the world,' and to confer per-
manent stability upon the Government, and eclipse
Great Britain in that as in all other respects. The
argument is that if we succeed in subjugating the
South, which, so long as we retain the mastery of
the seas, is only a question of time—say a few years
at most—we can pay the chief part of the interest
on the debt by a tax of 5 or 6 cents, per lb. on cot-
ton—a contrlbution to our efforts on behalf of
universal freedom,' which the world would be glad
to pay. If, on the other hand, we should fail in
our holy mission, and afford materials for unrigh-
teous rejoicing to European despots and aristocrats,
our public debt need not give us any unhappiness,
as it would be absurd to imagine that a section of
the United States should be held responsible for
debts contracted on behalf of the entire Union. In
short, we know that small failures are not respect-
able, and, therefore, we should outlive our tempo-
rary embarrassments."