The Sun.
London, England, 1856-01-10 00:00:00

LONDON, THURSDAY, JANUARY 10, 1856.

" Mercator" is again in the field. The " high
financial authority" has once more rushed into
print. We rejoice that it is so, partly because it
shows that there is terror in the bullionist ranks,
and that the principles of the Act of 1844 are
generally impugned, and in great danger of being
overruled when so doughty a champion conde-
scends to buckle on his armour and descend into
the arena ; but chiefly because we are thereby
enabled to obtain materials wherewith to confute
him out of his own mouth, aad to expose the in-
consistency of his arguments. A great name is
occasionally a very potent weapon. The public
are disposed to believe that there must be very
cogent reasons for the obstinate adhesion of " a
high financial authority" to a law which has
already totally failed in attaining the objects
for which it was enacted, and which, so far from
maintaining the currency at the same intrinsic
value as it professes to do, had, within a few
years—we -might almost say a few months--led to
more violent alternations, more sudden and in-
jurious fluctuations in the value of money than
had occurred during the preceding century and a
quarter. When, however, the grounds for these
opinions are put forward, they will only prevail
according to their actual value. The mystery
which disposes the 01 70XXot to invest them with
extraordinary weight is dispelled, and the ques-
tion may be discussed on its real merits—albeit
a wealthy Nobleman, reputed to be worth some
0,000,000/. or 7,000,0001. sterling, has taken up
the cudi,rels in defence of a favourite hobby.
The letters of " Mercator," alias Lord OVER-
STONE, the putative parent of the defective
monetary code, will therefore be welcomed by all
real Currency Reformers, who only desire a calm
and attentive consideration for the all-important I
topic, confident that truth will eventually prevail,
and a system really beneficial to the country be
ultimately adopted. The general apathy and
ignorance is what they have most to fear, and
these can only 100 obviated by bringing forward
the leading supporters of the bullionist theories
in support of their doctrines, when it will clearly
appear that there are as many, and as serious dif-
ferences between them, as the Times asserts there
are between the different sections of Monetary Re-
formers.

Some weeks since " Mercator•" declared that
" the trade or commerce of a country are carried
on, not by means of its paper money, or its cir-
culation, but by means of its Capital," and en-
deavoured to show that all the existing distress,
or difficulty, was ascribable to the want of that
"Capital." We thou pointed out the nature of
his mistake—the fallacy that pervaded his entire
argument ; that it was, in fact, a total misappre-
liension of the real nature of "Capital" which
he limited to bullion, which formed at best but
a very small proportion thereof, even supposing
that the gold which is discharging the functions
of currency can really be termed " Capital."
That which can be regarded as an article of mer-
chandise unquestionably is so, but where it is
taken as the measure and representative of other
commodities, where it is merely circulating
from hand to hand, in the form of yellow counters
or tokens, many experienced persons have doubted