The Sun.
London, England, 1856-04-15 00:00:00

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(Front the Derbyshire Courier.)
Oa Monday last Lord Eglinton called the atten=
tion of Government to the expediency of issuing&
Royal Conimission .to inquire into the operation of
the laws which regulate the Curreacy of the United
Kingdom.
Lord Eglinton introduced the subject in a very
business-like and sensible speech, enforcing' his
opinion 3 with equal moderation and ability. His
reason for preferring the issuing of a. Royal Corn.
mission to the appointment of a oonamittee was
thus stated :

" In the session of 1848, in consequence of the severe
monetary crisis of the preceding year, committees were
appointed of both house; of Parliament-to inquire into
the causes of the distress which -bad ,spread ruin all
over the country. Both committees I were equally,
anxious to do their duty ; but («lie resitit of their in-:
vostigaticn was that they came to diireetfy! opposite
conclusions ; .and• whilst the committee 'of this house
reported strongly in favour of the abrogatioti of relaxation
of tke act of 1844, the committee of the ff.c.iuse of Oom-:
moss came to the conclusion that no change whatever
should be made. He might also remark that; in each case,
the decision was arrived at by a very narrow snajori.ty.
He apprehended, therefore, that the difference in the con-
clusions come to by the two committees, and the natrow-
ness of the majoritie', constituted very fair ground:why
the f-uject should be now taken up by a Royal cominia-
siun instead cf by a committee of this or the other Hittite
of Par:iament."

As to the necessity of an investigation into the
working of the Bank Charter Act, his lordship said,
" the system now in force had been tried and
failed. The act of 1844 had not worked well.
It had failed alike in preventing over-specula-
tion, and in showing where the danger had arisen,
and under its operation there had beeni the moat
serious commercial crises, and the greatest fluctua-
tions in the rate of interest that were ever known
in this country."
When Sir Robert Peel introduced the Act of.
1844, he said that " during the last 20 years, four
decisive proofs, at four distinct periods, had been
given; viz., iu 1825, 1832,;.1837, and 1839, thit
under the present system of Currency" (that is
under his Bill of 1819) " the principle of converti-
bility is endangered." This was Peel's own con•
demnation of his Bill. The reason he assigned for
his attempt to improve the Currency Laws ira 1844
was that under the Bill of 1819 we had had the
Panic of 1825, and the commercial depressions
and fluctuations in the value of money which oc-
curred in 1832, 1837, and 1839. What then has
been the result of that " perfect system," the
Bank Charter Act of 1844, the production of the
combined wisdom of Sir Robert Peel and Lord
Overstone. Lord Eglinton answers that question.
" The faults of the present Act were not mere mat-
ters of theory, for he had in favour of his arguments the
results of several years' operation of the Act of 1844.
During the last 11 years there had been no less than 40
fluctuations of interest, which bad varied from 2 to 8 and
9 per cent. ; while during the previous years there had
been hardly any fluctuations at all, and these of a very
trifling nature. (Hear.) He regretted to say, too,
that those fluctuations, instead of being on the decrease,
were on the increase ; for during the last four years there
bad been no less than 18 fluctuations ; while even within
the last year there had been eight. (Hear.) At the
commencement of the railway mania, the rate of dis-
count was only 23, 3, and 3i per cent., and this low
rate greatly encouraged over•speculation. The result
had, of course, been a drain en the Bank for gold, and,
in 1847 the amount of that metal left in the banking
department was considerably under 2,000,0001. (Hear,
hear.) So treat was the pressure at that time that
the rate of discount reached 8 and 9 per cent. ; and
they had it in evidence from Mr. Samuel Gurney that
even his solvent house had to pay 9 per cent. for an ad-
vance of 200,0001. Mr. Horsley Palmer told them in
evidence, that had the Bank at that time end eavoured
to lessen its difficulties by a sale of Consols, to the ex-
tent of 1,000,0001., these securities would have gone
down to 601. (Herr.)"
Lord Overstone sat by and heard this statement.
Had he nothing to say in defence of the system
which he has had the misfortune to have inflicted

on this country? Had ho no pet theory to bring
against Lord Eglinton's facts ? What a splendid
opportunity did Lord Overstone throw away on
this occasion. The question of the currency has been
much dkcussed. Mercator recently thought it worth
while to enlighten.the public in the columns of the
Times. Could not Lord° verstone, in his place in the.
House of Lords, say something for his bill ? Merca-
tor's theories have indeed been rather severely han-
dled in the public press. He was driven from one
theory to another, and every succeeding letter
announced some novel advantage of the bill of
1844—something which it was to do, though it had
failed to do it. But could not Lord Overstone who
has been all his life a man of business, controvert
the plain facts of Lord Eglinton? The system has
" worked well" for Lord. Overstone and many
other money-dealers. The period of a low rate of
interest is their seed time, that of a high rate their
harvest. But the producers and the industrious
classes will not always be content to have their hard
earnings wrung from them periodically. Even
Anglo-Saxon stolidity will, at last, perceive the
folly of submitting to a panic or depression every
seven or eight years to protect ut-from the evils of
"inconvertibility," which the country from 1797
to 1819 has proved to be entirely imaginary and
baseless.

Lord Eglinton tells the merchants, manufac-
turers, and working classes of England what the
Act of 1844 rendered necessary whenever a few
millions of gold leave the country.
" There was no resource but to put on the screw ; and
let them see what putting on the screw was.' To the
Bank it'was a measure of commercial policy ; but to the
country it was a measure of ruin. (Hear.) The Governor
of the Bank of England, in 1848, said—" The means of
getting back the gold is by making money dear, and
causing a fall generally in the price of commodities,
which will bring back gold. Prices will fall in conse-
quence of the increased value of money. The effect,
therefore, of putting on the screw was, not only to over-
throw houses that were tottering, but to depreciate, per-
haps one half or more, the entire property of the
coun'ry. (Hear, hear.) '
This is the system which Peel's bills established,
and this is the system with which the Duke of
Argyll says the present Government are not " dis-
satisfied,' and the evils of which they have no de-
sire " to remedy."
We quite agree with Lord Eglinton as to the ad-
visability of allowing 1/. notes to be issued in Eng-
land. Can any 'absurdity be greater than that of
allow a banker north of the Tweed to issue 1/.
notes, and restricting an English banker from &cling
so ? The experience of the Scotch and Irish proves
that the issue of 1/. notes is beneficial, and that no
evil whatever attends the issue. Even the assumed
liability of such notes to forgery has been proved to
be a groundless apprehension. "In Scotland," said
his lordship, " forgery has been almost unknown for
many years." We de not like " dirty" notes ; and
as a minor point of currency reform we recommend
that bankers should pay a certain composition on
the amount of their issues, instead of having a stamp
for each note, and that no note should be allowed
to be re-issued. Let them be cancelled whenever
they return to the bank which issues them. 1/.
notes would then be quite as " agreeable," and
much more convenient than sovereigns.
But we remind his lordship that 1/. notes-did
not protect Scotland and Ireland from the effects
lof the panic of 1847. Nor will any improvement
in the constitution of the Bank direction prevent
panics. Bank notes of 1/. and upwards, regulated
by the most skilful directors, will always be liable
to be exchanged for gold, the gold to be exported,
such notes are by law exchanged for a fixed quan-
and the circuvvlateion to
had
frboemcoln7t9ra7ctteod,
laBsn long as
notes "convertible into every kind of commodity,
gold
tity of gold.
and silver included, at the market price.
With such a currency we should insure an adequate
amount of the circulating medium, a steady rate of
interest, and a freedom from panics, depressions,
and monetary crises. A system of this kind, which
enabled the country to provide for the enormous ex-
penditure of the great war, would promote, to an ex-
tent which can scarcely be calculated, the prosperity
and progress of the nation in time of peace. The
great enemies of the English people are in ignor-
ance, vice, and poverty. A sound currency, which
enabled us successfully-to contend against our for-
midable enemies abroad, would enable us to van-
quish these more destructive foes at home.
The future of Great Britain depends, in our opi-
nion, more largely on the adoption of a just and
wise monetary system than on any other thing
whatever. All other reforms are but as dust in the
• balance, while we allow the monster evil of a bad
monetary system to remain in force. Of the import-
ance of the currency question we adopt Sir Robert
Peel's estimation :
" There is no contract, public or private, no engage•
ment, national or individual, which is unaffected by it.
The enterprises of commerce, the profits of trade, the
arrangements to be made in all the domestic relations
of society, the wages of labour, the tranmetions of the
highest amount, and of the lowest, the payment of the
national debt, the provision for the national expenditure
on the one hand, and the command which the coin of
the smallest denomination has over the necessaries of life
on the other, are all affected by the decision to which we
may come on that great question which lam about to
submit to the consideration of the committee."—Speed
on the Bank Charter Act, May 6, 1844.

We beg leave to submit to Lord Derby and to
Lord Eglinton that such a reform of the Currency
as would promote the general prosperity of the
people, and consolidate the Institutions of the
Nation, must go far beyond an alteration of the
miner details of the Act of 1844. We require for
this great country, with its enormous load of Debt,
and its increased and increasing population, a
money independent of the precious metals. Money
of the Realm. Representative Paper Money based
lkiioll taw wcalth Nitious