The Sun.
London, England, 1847-04-29 00:00:00

THE CURRENCY.

The adjourned debate on the state of our monetary affairs,
will be resumed to-morrow night, when, we trust, the sub-
ject will undergo a searching discussion. A more important
question, or one more urgent in its claims on the attention of
Parliament, was never brought before any Legislature.
Whatever else may admit of a diversity of opinion, there can
be no doubt on one point, namely, that the present state of
things cannot last much longer without entailing entire ruin
on the commerce and credit of the country. A month more
of the state of affairs which has been witnessed since Satur-
day last, in the metropolis and the provinces, would inevi-
tably bring the machinery of our monetary and trading
system to a complete stand. With regard to the conduct of
the Bank of England, we yesterday expressed our opinion.
There can be no doubt that that great establishment has
been blameable in not preparing gradually for the present
pressure, instead of going on for several months, in discount-
ing bills with its wonted liberality, and keeping up the cir-
culation of its notes, though it must have seen it was adopt-
ing the course which, of all others, was most calculated
to precipitate the monetary crisis which has now over-
taken us, and which menaces the trading and ma-
nufacturing interests with entire and immediate ruin.
We are aware of the defence which has been made
of the conduct of the Bank in regard to the continued libe-
rality of its discounts, until about three weeks ago, when it
suddenly ceased to afford its accustomed accommodation. We
are told that the establishment in Threadneedle street was
anxious, above all things, to see abundant supplies of food
imported from abroad, and that it did not diminish its dis-
counts, solely lest that circumstance should prevent the
transmission of orders for food to the various corn-exporting
countries of the world. There are two or three facts which
do not exactly accord with this representation. First of all,
the Bank could not have been ignorant that, with so urgent
a necessity for additional supplies of food as existed in this
country, with an abundant harvest in various countries
abroad, it was not likely that a gradual diminution of the
liberality with which it discounted bills, could have sensibly
interfered with the amount of imports from foreign shores.
But what is still more at variance with the theory,
that the Bank continued its discounts on its wonted
scale of liberality, and kept up its note circulation at
its usual amounts, solely for the :purpose of holding
out inducements to the importers of corn from America
to continue their importations, is the fact, so notorious in the
City as. not to be denied—that the very paper which was
first proscribed by the Bank, and which has since been
most frequently rejected, is the paper of the very merchants
whii have been the most extensive importers of corn from the
other side of the Atlantic. This, we repeat, is a fact which
there is no gainsaying, and which is at irreconcileable variance
with the statement that the Bank has had no other motive in
delaying the adoption of a more stringent course sooner,
than its anxiety to see au abundant supply of food brought
into the country. The secret of the 13ank's conduct is, we
have no doubt, to be found in some vague notion or hope
that the exchanges would, before now, have become so favour-
able to this country, as to take away all inducement to ex-
port bullion from our shores. Calculations had been confi-
dently made, that in exchange for the corn which we im-
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from the coffers of the Bank. Immense orders, there can
be no question, will, ere long, be received from the United
States for British manufactures, which will have the effect of
bringing back to our shores the gold which has gone out to
New York ; but the evil is, that this favourable state of matters
cannot take place in time to prevent the serious injury to our
trade and commerce. But while we regard the Bank as
highly blameable for not having acted with greater prudence,
it is impossible not to see that the principal blame attaches
to the Government. The large; demands which Ministers
lately made on the Bank, just at the moment of the greatest
pressure upon it, must not only have greatly aggravated that
pressure, but been mainly instrumental in compelling the
Bank to resort to those excessively stringent measures which,
within the last few days, have filled the minds of all mercan-
tile men with a degree of alarm, which has well nigh led to
a complete cessation of commercial transactions. But we
have no wish to dwell on the past. The great question now
is, what can and ought to be done with the view of mitigat-
ing, if we cannot entirely remove, the pressure which is still
so severely felt in the money market? We referred the
other day to the fact of a deputation being in town from the
Scotch bankers, to urge on Government the propriety of
suspending, for a short period, the operation of that part
of Peel's Bill of 1844, which requires that their paper
issues should be based on • the amount of the
precious metals in their vaults. Another most
influential deputation, from Lancashire, is, we are I
told, about to wait on the Premier and the Chancellor of the
Exchequer, for the purpose of making a similar request.
The Liverpool and Manchester journals concur in stating,
that this deputation, consisting of a number of men, not only
of superior intelligence, but of the very highest integrity,
will make such a representation of the deplorable state of
affairs in the manufacturing districts, as can hardly fail to
make an impression on the Noble Lord and the Right Hon..
Baronet. The deputation, we are further assured, will
submit to the Premier and the Chancellor of the Exchequer a
variety of facts, which will prove, with the clearness of de-
monsttation, that if Government do not interpose, by teq-
porarily suspending the operation of Peel's Bill, ithe trade
and commerce of the country may, in a few weeks, be in-
evitably and extensively injured, and the revenue, as a
matter of course, suffer to an extent which must tell, with
a fearful effect, on the public securities. We earnestly hope
that such a catastrophe may be averted, and the existing
'pressure on the money market relieved, by the prompt adop-
tion, on the part of Government, of the suggestions al-
ready made by the Scotch bankers, and which are in a
,day or two to be so emphatically enforced by the Lan-
cashire deputation.—Advereser.