The Sun.
London, England, 1859-04-12 00:00:00

French with respect to the freedom of the press as
we were enabled to do, we must ascribe that
partially to her want of strength to resist the
gigantic force which he could bring to bear against
her, and in some degree also to the hope of winning
him over to her designs against Austria, or at all
events to enter into an alliance offensive and de-
fensive, which would ensure a powerful protector
at all times, and under any circumstances.
Whatever may be the result, we trust that Great
Britain may keep herself out of the scrape, and
observe the most perfect neutrality. None of the
parties come into court-with clean hands. None are
deserving of support which would lead to the ex-
penditure of English treasure, and, what is
far more important, of English blood. Of
course, Ministers will be willing to do all
in their power to avert the outbreak
of hostilities, or will be prepared at any moment to
mediate between the opposing parties, when media-
tion is possible, or when there is any probability of
its producing favourable results. But they must
not permit England either to be dragged or to drift
into war. Let the belligerents take their own
course if they will not listen to judicious and pru-
dent advice. But eight hundred millions of our
national debt stands forth as a gigantic monument

:o warn us from unnecessarily intermeddling in

the affairs of other nations, or engaging in any
contest in which the honour or safety of our native
land are not in some degree concerned.

Now that the great Reform question is placed

.'or a time in abeyance, we seize the opportunity

for directing the attention of our readers to a
kindred subject of reform, which involves the
happiness and prosperity of all classes, high and

ow, of her MAJESTY'S subjects.
It will be remembered that we gave a full report

of an admirable lecture recently delivered by Sir
A. ALISON, at the City Hall, Glasgow, at the
request of the Council of the United Trades, on
" The Currency Laws, and their effect on the Profits
of Trade and the Wages of Labour." We are

glad to find that this able exposition of the evils
of the present monetary system has been widely
circulated throughout Scotland, and has attracted

the attention which it so amply merits.
It has, consequently, called forth a vituperative
and very flippant article from the City writer of
the Times, who took occasion, last week, to attack
Sir ARCHIBALD and the working classes of Glas-

gow, 3,000 of whom received his address with

warm acclamations of approbation.

The Times writer assails Sir ARCHIBALD as an
opponent of Free Trade. But whatever his opinion

- -
on that question may be, Sir ARCHIBALD now

comes forward in a candid and manly manner to

express his views on things as they are. " I take
Free Trade," he says, " as the settled, fixed policy
of the country. I argue upon it as such ; and
what I say is this, that you must make your
currency laws similar in a certain degree to
your corn laws, or the country will be ruined."
But what right has the Times writer to call

himself a free trader ? He supports free trade in
corn and other commodities, but does he support
free trade in the most important of all things—
money ? Not at all. He supports the most
gigantic monopoly in the kingdom, that of
the Bank of England. He supports the ab-
surd monopoly which PEEL'S Bill of 1844
gave to the existing banks of issue, accord-
ing to which no other bank, however large
its capital, or respectable its partners, can issue a
single note, because it did not issue notes in 1844.
He supports a currency restricted, limited, con-
tracted, and monopolised in every possible way that
the perverted ingenuity of the money-mongers and
"hard calculators" could invent. Why, the Dutch
merchants in Sumatra, who were accustomed to
destroy half their crop of spices in order to enhance
the value of the remainder, were better Free-traders

than the Times or the " hard calculators," who
deprive the country of half its money, and then
grumble that even that portion is left to save the
nation from absolute bankruptcy ! We remember
well the howl of a disappointed usurer uttered by
the Times during the panic of 1857, when Govern-
ment interposed at the eleventh hour to save the
nation from a state of barter, and enable the Chan-
cellor of the Exchequer to collect his taxes and pay
the dividends. Amidst the general consternation
and ruin the " hard calculator" of the Times gave
utterance to sentiments such as these :—" Had
not," he said, " the Government letter appeared,
no doubt money would have been worth 20 or 30
per cent., owing to the general panic which would
have been created." But, pity my misfortune !
says this patriotic Free-trader, Government
having, when gold leaves the country, restricted
the paper currency by act of Parliament, to such
an extent that in consequence I might have bought
" sugar, silk, and all sorts of articles at a
vast reduction," —lo ! merely to save thou-
sands of merchants from unjust ruin, hun-
dreds of thousands of working men from
the poor-house, and the nation from bankruptcy, I,
the " hard calculator," am deprived of the results of
my "patient inquiry and reflection," and, after all,
cannot buy my " sugar, silk, and all sorts of articles"
at more than a trifle below their prime cost ! Here
is an enlightened political economist, a large-minded,
disinterested public instructor ! Can we wonder
that our friend the "hard calculator," whose mag-
nanimity is only to be equalled by his powers of
language, regards with wonder the hearty enthu-
siasm and warm approval with which the working
men of Glasgow hailed the noble•spirited and states-
man-like exposition of their distinguished and
estimable neighbour and friend, Sir ARCHIDALD
ALISON, and fails to recognise in him " a particular
iiminary or a good patriot."
The Times' objection to Currency Reform is the
very trite and worn-out sophism which has been
used in all ages by the supporters of abuses. The
country, it says, has increased in wealth end
population under the existing currency laws, there-
fore do nothing to amend or improve them. We
should not notice such an argument as this, if we
did not find it adduced by many persons besides
the Times, who are too indolent or prejudiced to
investigate the question of Currency Reform. What
the argument amounts to is just this : trade and
commerce have increased since Peel's Bill of 1819
was passed, therefore do nothing to prevent a re-
currence of monetary crises and panics which
paralyses trade and lays commerce in ruins.
The population has increased largely within
the last 40 years, therefore do nothing to
reform the evils of a monetary system, the direct
effects of which are to reduce greatest distress
eat masses of
the population to a state of the g
every few years.
It is quite true, indeed, that since the termina-
tion of the great French war this country has made
rapid strides in civilisation and wealth. But we
Say that the commencement of this great national
improvement was a consequence of the enlightened
system
of currency which WILLIAM PITT intro-
duced in 1797. We had then a paper currency for
commerce capablere required.
of expansion
our domestic circulation adequate to the wants of
the people,and
As
taxes
xa as
s w expandingwere
in
trade and-
creased to meet the exigencies of the war, the cir-
culating paper medium was • increased, so that by a
proportionate rise of price in all commodities the