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

VALE OF CLWYD.

The report of the directors states that the income
from all sources, including the receipt under the
agreement with the London and North-Western

(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 Gd. 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
throughl 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. Gd. 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
in effect, stated that the
order of things. It is,
buyer of American securities should make a point
of ascertaining what he is really buying. He should
acquaint himself with the fact that the exchanges
are always varying, and it is urged that, there-
fore, an invariable measure of exchange value is not
to be looked for. In justification, it is added, of
buying and selling at 4s. 6d. 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.
your 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. 6d. 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_vre:
exported, and silver alone left in circulation.
inconvenience of the absence of gold
and, to remedy it, a relation of 1 lF to be
IG, as soon felt,
as
gold and silver, was established, which provedbetween
an undervaluing of silver, andn
ail silver The cI
was exported,
and gold aloneleft in circulate
oagle
ino lno w
;and
con-
tained 258 grains, with Ipart o
of
instead of 416 grains.
the silver dollar 412} Frain
tegrartalionn_s, obf 1834—the silver dol-
gbut rarely appearing in
11Thar ewnecigTinegth4el2a
weighing only 81 grains per dollar ; and
circulation before they war, and the smaller silver
the gold
gold dollar containing 23.2 grains. Thus, 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 aro
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
it is which are said not to imply a difference ;. it
verbal distinction. That it would be a
s'in American
and a convenience to all concerntehsle
in
of
'mplification
securities and trade to get rid
4s. 6d., must be manifest. But so tinhe changeto
American
be brought about? As far
ports is concerned, it
will add, it
will be any change,
an
'far as the buying
is
dinasii:orombeable that there
is undesirable. But so how
frwaci
and the. selling of
stocks and shares on
agreement that the
more needed but
'this side of the Atlantic arelnconcerned, there is no-
thing The framing of such
quotations might
pay-
ment of 4s. per be sometimes intricate, but quotations shall be dollar. The
an
the receipt and
cer-
tainly neither difficult nor impossible. IVe will say
more :
the change ought to be brought about.
T exchanges should be protected
hose ignorant of the
frommistake, and the American people should not
lie under nder the absurd imputation of selling their'
securities here at 4s. 6d. per dollar, and paying only
coupons at 4s. per dollar.

HIGH WATER AT LONDON BRIDGE.

Trna DAY.—Morning, 7h. 26tn.—Afternoon, 7h. 5Em.
To-Monnow.-Morning, Bh. 31m.--Afternoon,l 9h. 12m.