The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-23 00:00:00

THE CURRENCY.

TO THE EDITOR OF THE SUN. be
Sra—ln the discussions of the currency, it TOPA.,
asked, what becomes of our definition of " standeru,
when it has been clearly shown that the standard by
which our liabilities are measured is a variable ql°11;
tity ? The exposition of this complex affair inducf,,
Iff
a belief that it is an " arrant juggle," mystified
such manner as to delude the industrious portion I',
the community, who are paying, and have all sl°ll6
been paying, the piper.
It is, doubtless, an easy matter to censure; it W -
be more commendable to show some plan that 113111:
improve the state of our currency arrangements'
under such impression I hope to be pardoned in Pre:
suming to offer the following suggestions, more egg
cially as I have anything but a profound' know' g".
of the subject under consideration.
Select for a standard some material that has bail:
tained, for a run of years, a steady relation to tic'
necessaries of life. Suppose gold to be that materis';
then let a certain weight of' gold of specified quality
be the standard pound, by which all money trans!c;
tions are to be measured. Let the Bank-note rt.,
of the standard pound be daily published in the nnwof
ner of the price of stocks; and for the convenienoethe
arranging money transactions, let it be stated by
pound and decimals of the pound.
A money transaction, for example, would then be
conducted in some such manner following
pose on the day of transaction the Bank-note price (1)
the standard be 1.002; I borrow 5001., which I vcit
to have in Bank-notes; Bank-notes are at a discoun
of .002 ; 500 .002.1; I must therefore receive
t
5011. in Bank-notes, and give an acknowledginel
for 5001. sterling. Suppose, after a lapse of YEII4
the money I have borrowed is called in, and on t",,
day of repayment the standard is quoted at '99u;
Bank-notes are now at a premium of 'vvi;
500, •002=1; I pay therefore only 4991. in 800
notes, and my debt is cancelled. e• t
Bank-notes of the Bank of England and 101v11
banks to be legal tender; their circulation to be e%:
petled, perhaps to the amount of taxes necessary'o
pay the annual expenses of the Government and int
rest of the debt.
That all bankers deposit in the hands of Goverl;:
ment securities of real property equal to, or exce4o
log, the amount of their notes in circulation.
Government can by the issue of stamps know the
amount of the notes in circulation, or the limit W 111,,,
they cannot exceed ; the whole to be under the C°R
trol of Parliament. :A red
Bank-notes in payment of taxes to be consia-is
always at par; and in the payment of dividenun,!
salaries, and, in short, all payments made by Gruver
merit, Bank-notes are to be considered at par. 0f
The foregoing suggestions comprise an outline,,j
a scheme ; but it may be remarked that confusion o"if
difficulty would arise from such a plan ; and o'6! ,
it were good in theory, it would be bad in practic_f
In reply, it may be stated that the relative value ;10
Bank notes and gold could be arranged, according o,
the fluctuation of the Bank-note price of the standard
in a tabular form, and that any transaction conic". o.
quickly performed; in fact it would be sometlllna
like taking out logarithms to natural numbers, 1111
vice versa, in the process of computation. aot
As gold in the form of coin would be nearly, " of
wholly, superseded by Bank-notes, and as the use iO,l
gold would be confined very much to eommerciir
purposes in the state of bullion, the amount of 0,..0
currency would not be liable to fluctuation from ;10
abstraction of gold for exportation, and changes in t 0
relative value of gold and Bank-notes would, Wee,
great degree, be avoided. Perhaps such steadin
to
would prevail' as to render it unnecessary to take 111;0
consideration the Bank-note price of the standard, '1
transactions of small amount. Parliament ilavin,s
the control of the currency, its care should
,be of
p of
regulate the issue of Bank notes, so that the vaiti-n° •
Bank-notes be kept at, or nearly at par, and
sequent steady relation between Bank-notes and -
11
ducts of industry.
Jan. 16, 1844. A WORKING 31-AS.

WOC'a
JOUTHAMPTON, JAN. 22.—The Lady Mary e
Peninsular steam-packet entered the Docks this mer°,..leleit
half-past eleven o'clock, from Gibraltar, which place sea 04
on the 14th instant, Cadiz 15th, Lisbon 17th, Oport°,by
VigolBth. The mails being landed were dispatc!ie;oit,
the ten o'clock train. She has a full carpgaockl :eooo'
Her Majesty's ships Belvedere and Locus,t etes,toe
were at Gibraltar, where her Majesty's store-ship Seqrittla
had arrived from Mahon. The Peninsular
Liverpool, arrived at Lisbon, with mails from SoutharnP,t:d for
the 17th instant. Her Majesty's ship Warspite sei!creoch
Gibraltar the same day. Remaining at Lisbon the the
brig Volage. The Lady Mary Woed passed the Pacha 0
20th, steaming south. tO
THE ISLAND OF LEIVIS.—We are truly haPP:pur-
learn that James Matheson, Esq., of Achany, ha of the
chased from the family of Seaforth the princely propertY ,re•
Lewis—one of the largest islands in the Hebrides, with
lation of about 15,000, and included in the county oind bit
The purchase money was 190,000/. Mr. Matheson at, will
lady are at present on a tour in Italy ; but improven'eaupder'
soon be commenced, for the new proprietor intends, tce,oordo
stand, to devote a further sum of 41.,000/. or 50,000/•
establishing a regular steam communication with the tort'
forming. roads, and otherwise improving his extensive ter7o the
The fisheries may be rendered highly productive, aut;lotion•
interior of the country there is ample scope. for 0,401100111
Ihe circumstance altogether is matter for rejmcleg• she sveret
of the poor islanders are in a wretched condition
fed, worst clothed, and worst housed peasantry in P"av lOW
to be found in this remote uncultivated island. We 10"yireet
expect that the country will be opened up, and "'P. t, the
afforded to the inhabitants ; •while the commercial Nilo not
benevolence and generosity of the proprietor (whien.ho age
less conspicuous than his wealth) are the best pledge
social and moral condition of the people will not be neglecte
Inverness courier. d
cwraeya,sefooryseor
the receipts of the Durham end Sunder.
eumstance had the effect of enhancing the value ot,root only
full ten per cent. This fact is very gratifying.. "
as
erailwAl
mtheewceoerkrsesppaosnt,dihnagvpeereixohdibofitelasd
last Year, yceoanrs,ilda.e;rkhaebielsbehari.:
leads to the encouraging hope that the property in the
will shortly be increased in permanent value, buts sbUegroo long
inference that the trade of Sunderland, which as , .ctivity•
heavily depressed, is gradually reviving into a state 0,
—Du: ham Chronicle.