The Sun.
London, England, 1847-05-19 00:00:00

MMES.

Real del Monte, Unregistered
COURSE OF EXCHANGE.
Amsterdam .. C.F. 12 8 Gibraltar.. .. . ..... • ...
Ditto, at sight • • .... 12 5 Leghorn ..... • • 30 90
Rotterdam .. .. 2C. 12 814 Genoa ................ 26 35
kntwerp ..... 26 39 Milan .. • ••• • • •
Hamburgh .... • . ALB . 11 15 Venice.... ••••• • • • • •
Paris, 3 days' sight 25 90 Palermo, per oz.. ..... . 119
Ditto, 26 30 Lisbon... ••••••• • • • • • • 52%
Marseilles - ...... • 26 40 Oporto .. 53%
.. 26 35 Rio Janeiro ••••• • • • • • 26
Frankfort on Maine.... 1233 w Bahia
Petersburgh, 3 U 5...... Buenos Ayres
Berlin •• • • New York, 21 days' sight
Vienna, effee.flo 10 15 Philadelphia
Trieste, ditto.... ...... 10 15 PRICES OF BULLION, PER 05.
Madrid ...
C 34113 • • •.. : ........ 473 New Dollars ..... • 0 4 IN
Bilbao.
Barcelona Spanish Doubloons .. 0 0 0
rev We.. ••• • • • Silver lu bars ...... •• 0 4 104

SIR R. PEEL AND MR. SPOONER.
TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN.

I Sin,—Again I am about to trespass upon you an opinion
diametrically opposed to the position which you advocate as
regards the currency of the country. I am always proud to
see my little crotchets in your journal, on the ground that I
believe you are nearly the only editor of a London newspaper
who admits to his columns arguments opposed to the general
principles he advocates. You, I feel convinced, would rather
support the opinions of that highly honourable and most
worthily respected individual Mr. Spooner, one of the
Members for Birmingham, than Sir Robert Peel, on the cur-
rency question. I had rather row in the boat with Sir
Robert, still I feel assured you will not hesitate to allow my
request to Mr. Spooner to appear in your publication of to-
morrow evening, as it will be quite in time for him to notice
the point when he delivers his prepared speech on monetary
affairs at the adjourned debate.
On the 30th of April Sir Robert Peel asked Mr. Spooner
this simple question, " What is a pound ?" Mr. Spooner, in
noticing the question, said '• he could not answer the ques-
tion directly." Now Mr. Spooner has had a whole fortnight
to consider the point, and I would request that he would
oblige the House of Commons and the country generally by
defining what the monetary pound in reality is. We do not
want to be told what it was during the war; the base of the
pound then was the fair average value of the then twenty
shillings of the abrased and worn silver coin ; before the
, S s definition of the monetary
compulsory issue of the gold coin after the peace, when gold
was at 41. 2s. 6d. the oz., the base of the monetary pound
was the value of twenty shillings of the new silver coin.
What is wished:is Mr.
pound. I must confess that I was greatly surprised that
Mr. Spooner, who has been a banker the greater part of his
life, and who has been a writer on monetary affairs for up-
wards of twenty-five
an i. years, should have had the least hesi-
tation in giving pooner'
mmediate reply to Sir Robert Peel, and
admit the answer required consideration.
While I have the pen in my hand, I may as well give
you my opinion as to the real cause of our present monetary
ditliculty—my opinion, did I say? who cares for opinions?
I will give you the real cause and nothing else—there is
nothing like writing dogmatically.
In consequence of the foreign exchanges having been fa-
vourable to this country, the Bank of England's coffers
an
lvdidailsocuotun materiallytedaway
became overladen with bullion. The Bank directors thought
they had better make something of it in the shape of in-
terest than let it remain idle, so they set to work with good
heart
increasing infine
style,
t h
eamount o
makingt this
s issuebullion
its base
of
its notes payable on demand. In consequence credit became
inflated, and its centrifrugal force instantly came into action.
As long as this extra bullion remained in hand things went
on very thrivingly, but as soon as the depositors of this bul-
lion (the exchange dealers) could make a profit by buying
up bills on London in a foreign country at a discount, viz.,
below the par of exchange, they required to draw the same
from the Bank in order to export, and as a matter of course
the directors opened their selt-protecting safety valve, and let
out the credit gas, by refusing any longer to give the credit
they had afforded on the foundation of the bullion they

formerly held—thns bringing the centripetal force of credit
into immediate action, from the furthest point it had fl, wn,
down, down it has come narrowing and narrowing as
corn down the hopper of a mill. There was no necessity
for an increase in the amount of issue of bank notes ; it was
done from merchant to merchant, from banker to banker, by
means of securities, bills of exchange, and bankers' cheques—
mere transfer of figures from one party to another in various
bankers' deposit accounts (refer to Mr. Henley's speech in
Saturday's Sun, " the real circulation of the country were
bills of exchange and cheques; by these all the great opera-
tions of the country were conducted,"), and thus, by stopping
this operation the private credit system has been shaken.
Are the Bank directors to blame? I say, no; they have only
followed Gut the advice which has been rung into their ears
for a long period of time, " to watch the foreign exchanges,
and suit the accommodation they give the public accord-
ingly." The public have had a pretty good specimen as to
the fallacy of this doctrine—an oscillating base ! 1 !—a kind
of express train running on a railway, the foundation of
whist' is on a quicksand; as long as this system of watching
the foreign exchanges exists, so long shall we have seasons of
apparent prosperity, followed with periodical seasons of adver-
sity and distress. A banker has as much right to refuse credit
to one of his customers, when he can impeach his solvency, as a
merchant hiscustomer ; but if he encourages his customers to
extend their mercantile and commercial affairs, by extending
their usual credit, and, in order to protect himself from less,
he refuses to coatinue such accommodation, without ability
to impeach their credit, such banker becomes a trap, and a
dangerous and a treacherous enemy. Enterprising men have
raised noble businesses upon credit, and have been crushed
without rhyme or reason, merely to save the banker who was
not iestified in affording the credit he gave; so have men of
capital, who have taken extra credit on the faith of an ad-
vance being continued.
A Government has nothing to do with this question—they
are not to take the place of the banker, and give the credit
the banker refuses. In 1825, when Government was applied
to, what did Mr. Herries say, " Is a Government to legislate
for moneyless speculators ?"—Yours, &c.,
Ilfracombe, May 17, 1847.

A BULLIONIST.

COURT CIRCULAR.

The Queen will hold a Privy Council to-morrow (Thurs-
day) afternoon at Buckingham Palace.
The Queen and Prince Albert rode out on horseback yes-
terday, attended by the Hon. Miss Stanley, Lieutenant-
Colonel the Hon. C. B. Phipps, and Captain the Hon. A. H.
Gordon.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Gloucester visited her
Majesty yesterday.
Lord Marcus Hill, Comptroller of the Household, had an
audience of the Queen yesterday at Buckingham Palace.
His Royal Highness Prince Albert visited St. Paul's Ca-
thedral yesterday afternoon. His Royal Highness was at-
tended by Viscount Clifden, Lieut.-Colonel the Hon. C. B.
Phipps, and Captain the Hon A. H. Gordon.
Their Royal Highnesses the Prince of Wales, the Princess
Royal, and the Princess Helena took airings yesterday in
the Royal pleasure-grounds.
Their Royal Highnesses Prince Alfred, and the Princess
Alice, accompanied by the Dowager Lady Lyttelton, took an
airing in an open carriage and four yesterday.
Her Majesty and Prince Albert, accompanied by the
Prince of Leiningen, honoured the Royal Italian Opera
House with their presence yesterday evening. The Royal
suite consisted of the Viscountess Canning, the Marquis of
Ormonde, Lieutenant-Colonel the Honourable C. B. Phipps,
and Captain the Honourable A. H. Gordon. Her
Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent, attended by Laay
Augusta Bruce and Baroness de Speth, also honoured the
performance with her presence.
The Viscountess Canning has succeeded the Countess of
Charlemont as the Lady in Waiting to the Queen. The Mar-
quis of Ormonde has succeeded Lord Waterpark as the Lord
in Waiting to her Majesty; and Sir Frederic Stovin has suc-
ceeded Admiral Sir Edward Codrington, as the Groom in
Waiting to her Majesty.
Her Royal Highness the Duchess of Kent visited her Ma-
jesty the Queen Dowager yesterday at Marlborough House.
His Royal Highness the Duke of Cambridge left his re-
sidence at Kew yesterday for the Royal Military College at
Sandhurst.

The Governor of the Bank of England and the Deputy-
Governor had an interview with the Chancellor of the Ex-
chequer ye,terday at his official residence in Downing-street.
Count Schimwelpenninck, the Netherlands Minister,trans-
acted business at the Foreign-office yesterday. Mr. W. P.
Robertson, Consul-General of the Ecuador, had an interview
with Viscount Palmerston yesterday at the Foreign-office.
The Rev. Sir Henry Dukinfield, and Mr. John Bullar, had
an interview with Sir George Grey yesterday at the Home-
office.

A deputation, consisting of the Earl of Mountcashell, Lord
John Chichester, M.P., Sir Horace Seymour, M.P., Mr,
David R. Ross, M.P., the Hon. George Handcock, Mr.
Alexander Shafto Adair, and Mr. John M'Neill, had an in-
terview yesterday with the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
A deputation, including Mr. Hudson, M.P., and Mr. G.
Carr Glyn, had an interview with Lord John Russell and the
Chancellor of the Exchequer yesterday.
Dispatches were sent off yesterday evening from the
COlonial-office for the Governors of the North American
Provinces.

Archdeacon Durham had an interview yesterday with Sir
George Grey.
Mr. Wickham, Chairman of the Stamps and Taxes, had
an interview with the Chancellor of the Exchequer yes-
terday. Mr. Higham, Secretary and Comptroller- Gengral
to the Commissioners for the Reduction of the National Debt,
had also an interview with the Right Hon. Gentleman yea.
t erday.