The Sun.
London, England, 1822-05-31 00:00:00

To THE MARQUIS OF LONDONDERRY.

MY Lonn,—Having recently addressed a let-
er to your L)rdship on the subject of agricul-
mral distress, and attempted to prove that the

high price of food and labour was beneficial to

our foreign trade, and finding that my opinions
therein contained have been favourably received

and admitted by many.. of the manufacturing
classes, I am induced again to present myself be-
fore your Lordship, and endeavour more clearly
to demonstrate the truth of my theory, and to

point out the mode in which high prices act ;
not only for the benefit of the agricultural inte-
rest, but the manufacturing also, and the com-

munity.
In my former letter I contended that if Eng-
land disposed of her corn at 80s. per quarter,
and Russia at 9.05., the number raised in one
country being as four to one over the other, the
advantages, of course, lie with the former ; and I
further contended that the numbers for use in

any kingdom must rise in. the first instance from
the soil.
How those numbers do rise I. shall endeavour
to explain, and point out the manner in-which
corresponding numbers are produced to meet the
Price of corn. The food of man being raised,
the whole is to be taken off' by, the numbers
used, whether those numberi proceed from a real

currency, Or from credit, •
'The National Debt compels Enffland to use
credit for the establishment of our numbers, and
they. tire 'established in the first instance, on a
metallic currency, through, the medium' of the
Bank of England, receiving a limited
quantity of the precious metals, issues in lieu
thereof promissory notes, and a further 'issue of
Bank notes takes place for discounts and the
wants of a Minister, under a presumption that
repayment of the notes will not, be required in
real currency. to .a •great extent..
Supposing.fOur notes to be-:.issued for every
pound. in
.the Bank, and that five millions
are- deposited: in its custody,
.the issue of notes
will' fie twenty millions. These .20 millions of
.pap.::r go forth for the use of. the Society, and
generate a further'credit of:country Bank paper,
and the various. other . descriptions of credit,
whether exchange, or credit between in-

dividuals,:where, no written acceptance or pro-
mi,se•-is'iiiveit.; and thus, descending from the
eredit to the more minute, constitute a
capito;-cominepsurate to the National Debt, and
serve to preserve the equipoise, or our
system could not stand ; and these imaginary
numbers, extending to 800 -millions, are all
created by the original five millions of specie
deposited in the Bank of England. .
'On a former. occasion, in a small pamphlet, I
explained how a bank note, issued on discount,
generated a credit equal to' 60 times its value,
which, if true, will account for our present em-
barrassment ;- for supposing the
,diminution of
Bank paper to be equal to 10 millions (from 28
millions to 48,- the amount of the notes which
may now•be in circulation) and that 5 millions of
specie are, issued in lieu of •the 10 millions of
paper .withdrawn}" there -will remain an actual
r.dirnifiutionof 5 millions froth the Bank notes in

the market, and if those 5 millions a!►e multiplied
by 30 only, it will account for the deficiency of
150 millions, which -during the war supported
❑ational credit, and supplied the nation with its
wants.

metallic' currency, at i before observed,
is deposited in the Bank, and remains there as a
sort of nest egg, .to obtain others; or like a
standard bushel in the market house, serves only

to establish the quantum of measure for articles
brought
.for sale ; in 'like manner the pound
sterling is to denote the value of commodities,
and- it becomes immaterial whether the Bank
may have.s, millions in hand or only one million,
proVidedit is not demanded out for currency.
Our numbers being so generated, they conse-
quently must be imaginary, yet althouglt they are
irnaginary, they
,serve to call forth the energies
Of man, thereby 'adding to national prosperity
and comforti the only object' attainable by the
precious, metals.
• here. observe in regard. to the exchange
between countries (on which such stress is laid
to keep._ it in favour of. this country) that: that
state which has the advantage „in science com-
bined with' industry, will ever retain the asecn-
dcinegin the exchange, and though with any- par-
ticular country it may appear unfavourable, still
.generally the scale will preponderate in its favour.
'TO expect thata country circumstanced as Eng-
land is could proceed without imaginary-numbers,
would be the Most preposterous idea that ever
•
entered' the head of man ; and we might as well
attempt to measure the distance between the
Earth and Jupiter, Or any. other planet with a
string, as to. measure -the National Debt by real
pounds- sterling. . .
Were sit possible for us to use real numbers,
and establish' a metallic currency, wholly of gold,
for the various transactions of society, it would
require half the horses in the kingdom to convey,
and half-the nian.ual labour of the population. to
-count it over." -Seeing the impossibility of con-.
veying and -counting by real numbers, the•inge-
nuity of man has established fictitious ones, and
only rctained.the Metallic .:currency as a standard
.for .a measure, as- I, have said, to estimate with ;
and- that...man must. be the most visionary of the
visionaries who would ever attempt to substitute
a real or metallic for a paper currency.
Mr: PITT perceiving the want of -currency to
answer to the
,National Debt, which was iucrea-
sing, and the wants of the State during the wai,
caught, at the advantages which resulted from
credit : He issued his paper-currency on an en-
larged scale, and all went on prosperously, i. e.
it excited the industry of man; when instantly,
as by magic, agriculture, manufactures, -and com-
' mercei flourished, and gave vigour to the World ;
while it at the same time gave a corresponding
tone to the monetary systeth over the world
, with which we traded,. the numbers of which
.were established to correspond with those used in
England, which. took the lead of other countries;
and it would be miracilous iedeed, bad not other
States sympathised with England, and experien-

ced corresponding embarrassments from our change '
in the quantity of currency at hothe.
The National debt was the first cause of the
increase of our paper-currency, without which it
could not have subsisted; while the National
Debt itself in turn became a species of currency,
or credit, giving life and vigour to the inferior
credits established to preserve it.
As to paying off the National Debt, it is as
Quixotical, and on a par with establishing a me-
tallic currency for use. It may be laid down as
an axiom, that no country ever did, that no
country ever will, and that no country ever can,
revert to first principles : the thing is impossible.
We might now multiply every thing by 5, and
bring the debt. to 4,000 millions, provided we
extended our circulation medium to 5 times its
fullest amount : in like manner as we increase
the debt from 100 to 800 millions by multiply-
ing by 8 ;—yet we could not divide every thing
by two and reduce to one half, for this only
reason ; because the mind of man will not sub-
mit to the reduction, every one conceiving that
he is injured by the act.
To use a metaphor—corn and currency may be
compared to Galvanism ; when the two points of
the battery are made judiciously to approximate,
they produce a perpetual fluid, which annihilates
gold ; withdraw either and the stream (the most
subtile) ceases instantly to flow.
The high-price of food enhances the price of
labour; the residue of food over the consumption,
in exchange for labour, is sold at a higher rate,
and pays rent and taxes. The dividends being
paid by a fictitious currency, act on the articles
of prime necessity; while the currency is esta-
blished by the Bank of England by its paper ;
and thus the circulation proceeds from the, heart
through the aorta (the public funds in dividend)
and flowing through the arteries of agriculture,
descends to the veins until it returns again to the
heart, preserving life to the community in general.
While. on the subject of agricultural distress,
it may not be amiss to give a simple illustration,
in opposition to Mr. RICARDO'S hypothesis of
good land only being useful to the State for rais-
ing of corn. Would he have all the inferior dis-
tricts depopulated and laid waste ? While read-
ing • a few of his pages I observed a monkey
sitting on a. plot of ground—the.monkey is sup-
posed to be the man, with few wants, and has
accidentally taken possession of the soil—he
Can with his claw: deposit the grain—he can
reap—his food is the remunerating price for his
labour, with a restoration of the quantity of,grain
used for seed—all produce above seed and food
will be rent and taxes for the ground—the worse
the soil the greater will be the merit of the monkey.
I cannot but again and again urge on-your
Lordship's consideration, and I even implore of
you to shut the ports, and thereby excite the in-
dustry of the agricultUral class, as a benefit
even to the manufacturing interest. More food
may and will . then be raised to remunerate
the farmer and supply the wants of all other
classes of the community. With the exclusive
market for corn the prices will rise, in proportion
as credit is enlarged, and as the circulation me-
dium is increased, it will prove the only sure
means of alleviating the otherwise insupportable
onus of the National Debt.
A. 11. CHAMBERS, Banker, Bond-street.
May 38th, 1822.