The Sun.
London, England, 1857-03-14 00:00:00

FIFTY THOUSA.ND POUNDS PBR ANIMAL

The only ground on which the advocates of
the Bank Charter Act now attempt to sustain it
is, that it insures the immediate convertibility of
the Bank note 1 That, under any circumstances,
the holders of Bank of England paper are certain
of obtaining the specified amount, without delay
or annoyance. In this respect it has been stated
to be the necessary complement to the Act of
1819, without which there would be no ade-
quate security for the effectual maintenance of
specie payments. Mercator has definitively aban-
doned all pretences respecting its preserving an
equable rate of interest, or evey not occasioning
great fluctuation therein. "The immediate re-
demption of the paper issues" is the motto he
has adopted—the sole ground that he puts for-
ward, and if that fails, cadit questio, the Act can-
not be sustained or justified.

Let us, then, examine how far that single
alleged advantage is well founded—whether it is,
indeed, justified by the real fact, or whether, as
we distinctly and unequivocally assert, that
precious convertibility, for the maintenance
whereof so many sacrifices are sustained, so much
misery and suffering, is not, and has not been,
greatly endangered by the very law whose sole
recommendation is, that it prevents the possibility
of such a calamity.

Before we enter into this part of the subject,
we shall refer to the speech of the Chancellor of
the Exchequer, in which he confirmed that which
we long since put forma rd, viz., that in the event
of the insolvency of the Bank of England, " all
the creditors, the note holders, and depositors
would have equal rights and equal claims to the
general assets of the B ank," that in such a con-
tingency the funds of the Bank would be consi-
dered as one, notwithstanding the separation of
the arguments. Arguing on this assumption, we
shall proceed to show -what not only might, but
unquestionably would;, have been the result but
for the issue of the letter of the 25th October,
184'7, which virtually condemned and annulled
the Act of 1844—and the opportune discovery of
the auriferous regions, which enabled the Bank
with difficulty to meet all demands, and to main-
tain the convertibility of the Bank note, despite
the restrictions imposed by the Act.

Bub for that letter the Bank must have closed
its doors within a few weeks if it could so long
have withstood thq prossure. The reserve in the
banking department con the 23d, both of notes and
bullion amounted,,-to only 1,994,516/. not only
for the parent establishment, but for all its
branches. The atuou,.lts were thus distributed
ivotee in Lone-- OOO

Do., in the Pro.' inces
Gold coin in,Lozidon
Do., in the Provinces
Silver Coin in Landon 104,045
Do. in the Provinces

The proportion- —Notes-- .61,547,276

Specie 447,240

This comparatively insignificant amount was
further reduced within the following week. On
the 30th October it stood as follows :
Notes in London
Do. in the Provinc
Gold in London 151,053
Do. in the Provin CO3
Silver Coin in Loudon 105,787
Do. in the Provint ;es 62,990

Total—Notes £1,176,740
Spst .cie

R 1,606,384

These simple " facts and figures" will explain
,he position of the quo tsi National Establishment
better than a scarf., of far-fetched argu-
ments to prove—or rather to attempt to
prove—what might have been done had the
Government refused to incur the responsibility
of illegally
setting aside the express provisions of
the Act; and, be it rem, embered, that the insertion
of a clause in the Bill c .1 1844, investing the Go-.
vernment with such a relaxing power, had been
fully discussed and del; iberately rejected—(a mat-
ter which induced the .celebrated remonstrance of
the London bankers 01F the 11th June, 1844.)
The total means of pay! ment were, in round num-
bers, 1,600,0001., ante!. there were notes issued
beyond the amount tof bullion deposited in the
vaults at Threadneedl grstreet, 14,000,0001., and
deposits to the amour tt of 14,500,0001., of which
the deposits of the Lor c don bankers alone exceeded
2,000,0001.; so that I y combined action, which,
in self-defence, they should have been com-
pelled to adopt, the metropolitan firms
might have brought the career of the Old
Lady to an igno DC Linious conclusion in a
single day. The Gov a rnor and Deputy-Governor
admitted that if any cane had called for anything
beyond that 1,600,4100/. " they must have
stopped payment." M There, then, would have
been the boasted convex tibility of the Bank-note
Where the security fo,r immediate redemption of
the paper issues, whic b "Mercator" now tells us
was the sole objeot of the Act ? It is true that
there was at that mom c nt bullion to the amount
of nearly 7,000,000/. l; ,ring idle in the issue de-
partment of no gre Ler utility than an equal
weight of paving stop gs, that, but fok the separa,
tion between the t‘ vo departments, and if the
Bank had been conch toted on the old principle,
instead of being within I ,600,0001. of s topping,there
would have been very r nearly 8,500,0001. of trea-
sure in its vaults. I ;at after the 1,600,0001. had
been paid over the counter, the balance-sheet

would have been thus :—Creditor, bullion,
7,000,000/. ; defici ancy, 27,000,0001. ; total,
34,000,0001. Debt ;or, notes, 21,000,0001.; de-
posits, 13,000,0001. , (deducting the 1,600,0001.
paid). Total, 34,0' )0,000/. There would thus,
as we have already shown, been less than 21 per

cent., or 4s. 2id. i xi the pound for noteholders

and depositors—" s 'beggarly dividend, less than
paid to the creditors lof the Royal British Bank."
The other assets, exclusive of bills, wire the
dead weight or annuities for terms of years, which,
it was admitted, cou tld "not always be disposed
of," and certainly zit i,t under the then state of