The Sun.
London, England, 1866-03-10 00:00:00

RAILWAY BILLS.

Lolirdesti‘eirdonayteatghiee L(ocrhcalsi;:iCnatm:ltEteaersl, consisting of
ilie,
Earl Minto, Lord Hunsdon, and Lord De Lisle and
Dudley, commenced their sittings, and considered
the following bills :—The East London, which, the
opposition being withdrawn, will be referred to the
committee ; the Furneis ; • and the Furness and
Whitehaven and Furness and Cleator, which,was
ultimately adjourned until Monday next.
The Earl of Devon's Committee, consisting of
the Marquis of Lansdowne, Lord Skelmersdale,
Lord Chaworth, Lord Congleton, and the Earl of
Devon (chairman), sat yesterday for the considera-
tion of some Gas and Water bills.
A third committee sat in the House of Lords yes-,
terday, consisting of the Marquis of Bath (chairman),
Earl Portarlington, Earl Cawdor, Viscount Lifford,
and Lord Overstone, who considered the following
Railway Bills :—The Sandown and Newport (Isle
of Wight), which was thrown out ; the Dagenham.
Dock Railways and the South Essex, which were to
be referred to the Chairman of Committees ; the
Talacre Pier and Harbour Railway, and the Ar-
drishaig and Loch Awe, which were adjourned until
:Monday' next.

In Group 2, the Maidstone and Ashford, with ft
share capital £350,000 and £116,000 by loan, to
make 20A miles of railway, was passed. In the case
of the Hadlow the preamble was not proved. The
Elham Valley would be considered on Monday, and
the New Romney on Tuesday next.
With reference to the Exe Valley Bill, the re-
ferees state that it is for a railway to connect Ti-
verton with Exeter. The works would be efficient
for the proposed objects, and the estimate would be
sufficient.

The American Dollar.

(Front the Money Market Review.)

We have been frequently asked to take up
the question of buying and selling American
securities at an exchange of 4s. per dollar,
instead of 4s 6d. The reason urged for the change
is that the sum in sterling of 5-20 Bonds and other
American securities would be arrived at readily
through merely dividing by five. To this reason
there is another to be added, namely, that it is mat-
ter of every-day complaint, and complaint, too,
which, from the assumed intricacy of the ques-
tion, cannot be satisfactorily explained away,
that the buyers of American securities are
charged 4s. 6d. per dollar, while the holders
' of American coupons are paid at the rate of 4s. per
dollar. Change obviously is desirable, for it can-
not be doubted that an impression of unfairness
is often, if not always, left on the minds of those
who are too indolent to grasp the abstraction of the
exchanges ; and it may even be assumed that many
unsatisfactory investments have been made in
American securities on the basis of an off-hand
comparison of the quotations here and in New
York. A state of things against which there is
so much to be said calls loudly for amendment,
and we regret to think that the obstacles in
the way are so great. All the dealers in
American securities must, it appears, assent to the
change, and it is feared that too many of them are
wedded to old abuses to give their sanction. Then
who are to agitate the matter—who suffers suffi-
ciently to take the movement up, and to persevere
in it until the end in view has been attained ? But,
while saying so much on the one side, let us hear
the other—the side of usage and of the established
buyerorder oo
ff
Americanthings.
securitiesis effect,
should
m statedake thata
of ascertaining what he is really buying. He should
acquaint himself with the fact that the exchanges
n
are always varying, and it is urged that, there-
fore, an invariable ineasare of exchange value is not
to be looked for. In justification, it is added, of
buying and selling at 4s. Gd. per dollar, there stands
the broad fact that all our exchanges with America
rest on that basis. To uphold the present system
on the strength of this latter fact, however, would
obviously be merely arguing in a circle. Such are
both sides of the question; let us, therefore, endea-
vour to assist the judgment of the reader by placing
the problem of the American exchange before
him. The American dollar was originally sil-
ver ; strictly speaking, it was the Mexican dol-
lar, containing 3711 grains of pure silver, or
416 grains of standard silver. The equivalent of
4.44 dols. of those dollars was £1; the equivalent
of one of those dollars 4s. Gd. At •the same time
the American gold eagle contained 270 gains troy,
with one part in 12 alloy ; establishing a relation
of 1 to 15, as between gold and silver ; which proved
to be an undervaluing of gold, for all the gold was
exported, and silver alone left in circulation. The
inconvenience of the absence of gold was soon felt,
and, to remedy it, a relation of
1 to 16, as et
gold and silver, was established, which proved to between
ben
an undervaluing of silver, and silverhe wasexported,eagle now con-
bw
and gold aloneleftin circulationo
tained 258 grains, with 1p alloy in 10 ; and
f
the silver dollar 412}
grains, insteal of 416 grains.
Then came the alterations of 1834—the silver dol-
lar weighing 4121
grains, but rarely appearing in
circulation before the,, wax,
and the smaller silver
coins weighing
dollareigi containing g only 384
23.
grains
in- 2 gnpreari dollars
Thus,;and
te in
the experimental adjustment, as between gold and
silver, two standards have .been set up. When,
therefore, American securities are bought and sold
at 4s. 6d. per dollar, the practical effect here
is that the quotations are nominally low. On
the other hand, when American • securities are
bought and sold at 4s, per dollar, the practical
effect here is, that the quotations are nominally
high. In truth, the distinction is one of those •
which are said not to imply a difference ;. it is a
verbal distinction. That it would be a simplification
and a convenience to all concerned in American
the chan rie to
4s. 6d., must be manifest. But litorNavdes
in
American
securities and trade to get rid of thei exchange of
be brought about? As far
as
robable that there
will be any change, an
ports is concerned, it is
and,
inipsom e
will add, it
far
as the buying
is undesirable. But se'iocis and shares on
and the selling of
agreement that the
arsealcloncerned, there is no-
thing more needed
this side of the Atlantic
but..
quotations shall be
dollar.fra The
on the receipt and payhe framing of such
quotation
ment of 4s. per
It nor impossible. We will say
quotations be sometimes intricate, but cer-
tainly neither difficult
t to be brought about.
more : the Change a
and the American people should not
from
Those ignorant of the exchanges should be protected
mistake,
lie under the absurd imputation of selling their
securities here at 4s. Gd. per dollar, and paying only
coupons at 4s. per dollar.

•a,49•‘%.

LONDON SATURDAY, 1Y SATURDAY, MARCH 10, 1866.

The noble Lord .1.
the Secretary for the Admiralty
must be very glad to
think
that so much of his
arduous duty of ping
the Navy Estimates has
been got through.
Criticism and reproach have
assailed him, or rather the Board which he repre-
sented, from every side, and fronth_
.._
ue construction of
ships to the payment of dockyard ,
tabourers there
was matter for complaint. Captaz-in•
COLES found
an able advocate in Mr. SEELY, whose speech
very much to tile 1 p
the p
ose. He began , " was
by asking
whether Capt. Col.i:s was to be allowed to construct
a vessel according to his own views, or whether be
and Mr. BEEP were to be coupled together to the
obstruction of each other. Thcpoint at issue is, as Mr.
SEELY justly observed, something more than a money
question. The settlement of the rival claims of
broadside and turret is absolutely necessary for the
efficiency of our fleet and the consequent safety of
our commerce and security of our shores. There is
no way of deciding the matter, save by full, fair,
and comprehensive experiment, such as nobody can
pretend to say that Captain COLES'S principle has
yet been submitted to. Mr. SEELY protested against
Coupling Captain COLES with a gentleman whose
opinions were • against the turret principle; but there
is Little doubt AE) to Mr, lizzD's opifliOn4 On the.,

Mr. HUGHES last night called attention to a sub-
ject well worthy of consideration, namely, the de-
struction of the dwellings of the labouring classes,
consequent on the construction of railways and
public works. The evils of overcrowding cannot
be exaggerated ; and it is the bounden duty of the
Legislature to provide some remedy for the mischief.
Unfortunately it is a very difficult thing to do, and
it is essentially one of those matters which require
time, care, and thought to arrive at a satisfactory
conclusion. Lord STANLEY showed that the pro-
posals of the hon. member relative to the standing
orders would not answer the purpose. The noble
lord agreed that it was advisable for the in-
terests of the working classes to be protected, and
showed at the same time all the obstacles in the
way of doing so. Many causes contribute to render
it ditncult for the poorer classes to get lodgings in
London now ; and,
be he question of the as Lord So rA Lf
E T
working observed,
snelrevuedis,
coming one of nationalt importance, and an in-
quiry into the whole subject would be a great public
eared to take a very nar-
row view of the subject, and declared that they
might go on too far, and render improvement al-
most impossible, and the execution of valuable works
so difficult that they could not be undertaken. The
right hon. gentleman also said that no class
had benefited so much by the improvement
iu the metropolis as the labouring classes, for their
wagee had been raiked And employment altogether