The Sun.
London, England, 1838-03-12 00:00:00

LONDON :
MONDAY EVENING, MARCH 12, 1839.

According to the notices in the Order Book of the House
of Commons, the CHANCELLOR of the EXCHEQUER iS to
move to-night for the re-appoiutment of the Committee
on Joint Stock Banks. We do not see, however, in the
Notices, auy mention of Mr. Honda's announced intention
to move that the Bank of England be included in the in-
quiry. We hope, nevertheless, that the Hon. Member will
not forgo his intention ; for any inquiry into the conduct of
the Joint Stock Banks, with a view to ascertain the effect of
their issues on the currency, without including, the Bank of
England, would be performing the tragedy of the Prince of
Denmark, leaving out Hamlet by particular desire. The
true source of all genuine paper money is in the first place
credit, and all genuine credit rests on future production
or on commodities hereafter to be brought to market. Any
paper money, whether bills of a long date, or promises to pay
on demand, which are not issued on genuine credit resting
on future production, and to be taken out of the market as
the commodities are taken into consumption, or as the credit
comes to an end, is fictitious and spurious. Now, what-
ever may be the nature of the paper issued by the Joint
Stock Banks, we can unhesitatingly assert, that a large
proportion of the paper issued by the Bank of England is
fictitious, spurious, and not required by the wants of com-
merce, nor by the genuine demands of credit. Four
times per year does the Bank of England emit in payment
of the National Debt, a very large sum of Bank-notes
which represent no genuine credit, which arc not the value
of commodites on the way to market, but which are
created for the payment of debt, and which represent the
value of commodities which have already entered into con-
sumption. Commerce has gradually adapted itself to this
periodical emission of Spurious paper, and by forethought
has rendered the emission less ruinous than in its own
nature it is calculated to be. We have not in fact, quar-
terly fluctuations as we have almost annual fluctuations in
the currency, because the health-bringing operations of
private indisiduals which the Legislature in its overweening
vanity mistrusts and despises, prepare for these foreknown
issues of the Bank of England, and correct the enormous
evils they would otherwise produce. Nevertheless it is
the spurious paper periodically issued by the Bank in
payment of the dividends and to make other payments
connected with the Government, which paper in no shape
represents commercial, agricultural or mariufacturing
credit, which is the chief cause of all the derangements
which the country still suffers from the currency; and it
will be a disgrace to the Legislature if it inquire into the
operations of Joint Stock Banks on the currency, without
including that greatest joint-stock bank, called the Bank of
Enlland. We hope, therefore, that Mr. HOME will not
depart from his intention, and will put it to the vote,
whether that one Company is for ever to assume the cha-
raeter of a public benefactor, while it is continually the
the cause of a great public ed!. While we -are on this
subject, let US ask the CHANCELLOR OF the EXCHEQUER
per cenat Partin the
, and
re
why he does not reduce the interest on Exchequer bills?
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th
oo:- CHANCELLOR was worried
autumn of 1836, the p
out of his life by the bank people and the monied
classes to raise the interest on Exchequer bills. The
welfare of the public then, it was said, required the inte-
resthe raised ; but the Bank and the Bankers are now
4-12 e increase of interest established in
pro to he
largely by .
the autumn of 1836 ; and no person n 67 hints 4. the
CHANCELLOR that the welfare of the tax-payers requires
the interest to be reduced to the jevel of interest on other