The Sun.
London, England, 1844-01-31 00:00:00

" What constitutes the peculiar fitness of gold to
perform the office of money ?" asks Mr. GELLIBRAND
HUBBARD. " Its limited supply," he answers, and
continues, "If it could be made as plentiful as brass
it would no longer be used as money. Supposing
that brass counters, struck at Birmingham, were per-
mitted to pass upon an equality with sovereigns,
would not the entire currency be depreciated ?"
Some men are born to greatness, some achieve great-
ness, and some have greatness thrust upon them.
The last we conceive must have been the misfortune
that has befallen Mr. HUBBARD—for misfortune it
certainly is, when a man finds himself in a position
for which he is evidently unfit. We are inclined to
be very tender with Mr. HUBBARD, for we entertain
no doubt, as we have before observed, that right feel-
ing directed a wrong head. But really, when the
happiness, or the misery of millions is placed upon a
turning point by a fallacious theory, it is no joke, and if
ever we met with bottled nitrogen in print it is to be
found in the inference which our quotation would se
palpably induce. It is true, there is at first sight
nothing perceptible to the eye. It seems nothing but
a bottle of smoke ; and, with a slight alteration we
might apply a hacknied quotation to it, and say that
it is--

" Vapor et preterea nihil,"

but it is vapour of so injurious a nature, that we feel
compelled, in sober sadness, to add :

" Sed lethalis in teternura, si pectore haustus."

Had there ever been a period in the world when
symbolic money had not been used in the change of
commodities, had commerce never been able to pro-
ceed without the use of those means of representing
value, which possessed no intrinsic value in them-
selves, had the attempt even ever been made to do
without them, then would the fallacy which is here
propounded have had some excuse to palliate that
weakness, of which wickedness is made, to apolo-
gise for the terrible mischief which its
practical operation would accomplish—an ope-
ration in the monetary world which, like
the deadly influence of wintry congelations upon
external nature, would so contract the intercourse
between nation and nation, and between man and
man as to render the satisfaction of the requirements
of our present refined and artificial state of existence
altogether impossible—would so influence the deal-
ings of men as to throw back the world centuries in
its experience, and would consign the poor to imme-
diate destitution and famine. If the present limited
supply of gold constitutes its peculiar fitness to per-
form the office of money, how much more fit would
it not be for that office if the supply were more
limited still, and its virtue might be increased, so that
just as labour daily increased the quantity of commo-
dities in the market, the amount of money would be
so diminished that labour would speedily find itself in
a state of starvation, from a want of the means
through which those commodities were to be pur-
chased. And we suppose the author of this won-
derful apothegm would at length so enhance the
value of his favourite gold as to cause the whole of the
value of the commodities of the world to be represented
by a unit no larger than a mathematical point.
This would indeed be the acme of the gold theory,
unless he would attain the pinnacle of perfection, by
annihilating gold altogether, and then, perhaps, he
might effect a great good. Truly, the sublime and
the ridiculous are, in some things, wondrously near
neighbours.
It is sometimes not a little useful, in the appre-
hension of a subject, to recur to the principles on
which it is based, and to examine the terms by which
it is expressed. Had Mr. HUBBARD taken the
trouble to inquire a little into the origin and use
of that of which he talks so much and so incor-
rectly, he would have found that the term
money itself was derived from a Latin word, signi-
fying just one of those very Birmingham tokens
which he holds in such utter contempt—a piece of
metal made into a token of authority, by the im-
press of a public stamp—just such a thing, in fact,
as, not only at Birmingham, but in almost every town in
the kingdom, purchased during the war the quantity of
goods which it was authorised to represent, just as a
one pound note in Scotland will do now. Moreover,
it may be a little news for Mr. HUBBARD to hear—
for he seems to lack information sadly on this subject
—that this same term moneta, from which our term
of money is derived, is neither more nor less than
another form of a word, the signification of which
is "to advise," and thence by secondary inference,
and according to commercial usage "to inform," just
as a bank note, or a bill of exchange, does in the
present day.

Thus we find that money consists, in fact, of
tokens, of whatever substance, issued to represent
value, and bearing an impress of authority, which
advises or informs all men that it is receivable and
payable by the State whose impress it bears. The
whole story will be found in the excellent pamphlet,
entitled "An Essay on Money," to which we alluded
in our last, and a more clear or able exposition of a
topic it has seldom been our good fortune to meet with.
We should not have troubled our readers with so

Average circulating medium, per individual ... £ 16 0 0

Then, taking the above average as a basis, he goes
on to ascertain what the circulation ought to have
been, only to keep pace with the population, and
what it really has been, and then exhibits the defi-
ciency sustained by the country, leaving his readers
to conceive the dreadful misery that must have been
experienced, whilst this crushing process was going,
or rather, we should say, is going on :

1820 to 1825 (both inclusive)
Average population

12,050,000

Circulating medium required at 161. per indivi-
dual £192,800,000
Actual circulating medium :
Bills of Exchange £129,500,0001
Bank of England notes 21,000,000 I
Country bank notes
Gold in circulation in England I
and Wales 13,000,000)

Deficiency £18,800,000
Or only 141.95. of currency per individual.
1826 to 1831 (both inclusive).
Average population

Circulating medium required
Actual circulating medium :
Bills of Exchange
Bank of England notes
Country bank notes, &c
Gold as before

13,375,000

... £214,000,000

.. .£115,000,000
- 21,500,000 160,000,000
... 10,500,000
... 13,000,000

Deficiency £54,000,000
Or, only 121. of currency per individual.
1832 to 1839 (both inclusive).
Average population

. 14,980,000

Circulating medium required £239,680,000
Actual circulating medium
Bills of Exchange £108,000,000
Bank of England notes ... 18,200,000 i 50,000,000
Country bank notes, &c 10,800,000 •
Gold as before

Deficiency

Or, only 10/. of currency per individual.

We will now proceed another step, and show the
inconvenience that has been suffered by the mercan-
tile community, by placing the official values of goods
exported, and the amount of discounts by the Bank
of England, in the respective years, side by side

Official value of Exports of the Amount of Discounts by the
United Kingdom. Bank of England.

1801
-- - -

1812
1819

1825
1831

2,000,000

And while the exports for 1841 were upwards of
116,000,0001. the discounts of the Bank were under
1,000,000/.

We hope Mr. HUBBARD is satisfied that if gold is
only " valuable from its limited supply" he will now
believe that a substitute may be used, which will
better serve for the currency of the realm.

The accounts from Madrid are to the 23d inst.,
but they are without interest. On the 22d the Three
per Cents. were done at 25i for cash, and 26i at 60
days. The 23d being the feast of San ILD EFONSO
the Bourse remained closed.

The Paris papers of Monday have been received at
a late hour, owing to the boisterous weather in the
Channel. The great topics of conversations in the
French capital were the results of the debate, and,
among others, the resignation of five Royalist Depu-
ties. LAROCIIEJACQUELIN'S resignation had been
accpted by the Chamber on Sunday ; the party had
a meeting to consult on their future policy, when
they resolved to resign. At three o'clock the whole
of the party entered the Chamber, and presented to
the President the following protest :

" The last paragraph of the address voted in the sitting of
the 27th of January is, in our eyes, an attack upon the in-
dependence and the dignity of several members of this Cham-
ber. A doubtful vote has already produced, in this assem-
bly, a striking and loyal protest. We come in our turn not
to protest against the injurious language, which does not
apply to us, but against the violence which is done to us in
contempt of our rights, and of the guarantees for our liberty
which was promised to us by the declaration of the 7th of
August, 1830. Resolved to fulfil all our duties in regard to
those who have elected us, in regard to our political friends,
and in regard to ourselves, but struck by what is really a
moral exclusion, it is not upon us that will recoil the respon-
sibility of our resolution. We declare that we resign our
functions as deputies.
,(Signed) " BERRYER.
DUC DE VALMY.
DE LARCY."

BLIN DE BOURDON is also said to have resigned.
After a brief discussion their resignations were ac-
cepted. The Chamber on Monday elected the Pre-
sidents of its bureaux for the ensuing month, and all
except one, M. Govor, belong to the Ministerial
party. The Meniteur announces that full satisfaction
had been given at Jerusalem for the insult offered to
the French flag on the 29th of July.
The receipts of the traffic upon the Paris and Or-
leans Railway, for the week ending the 23d of Ja-
nuary, were—For passengers, 53,732 f.; luggage,
7,083 f. 84c.; carriages and horses, 1,426 f. 30c.;
goods, 17,499 f. 90c. Total, 279,147 f. 11c.

THE BOURSE-MONDAY, JAN. 29.

First Highest Lowest I.:.st

Price. Price. Price. Price.
French Five per Cents. • • • • 124 65 124 65 • • 124 40 • • 124 50
Three per Cents.. ... 82 25 82 25 82 05 .. 62 05

HONE V AND COMMERCIAL NEWS
CITY, QUARTER TO THREE.
In the Liverpool Cotton Market yesterday the sales were
20,000 bales, including 15,000 American on speculation, and
all sorts under" good" were id. per lb higher than on Friday.
In Shares a fair business was done. Eastern Counties were
101 ; Grand Junction, 232 ; Great North of England, 87 ;
Great Western, 1094 ; Birmingham, 243 ; Manchester and
Birmingham, 391; Manchester and Leeds, 110 ; Midland
Counties, 91 : /aria and Rouen, 31i.
Accounts hike been received from the Cape of Good Hope
to the sth December, and from Natal to the 19th November.
At the latter place matters remained in nearly the same po-
sition, the farmers being dissatisfied at the uncertain state of
the tenure of the land they occupied. It was expected, how-
ever, that the return of the Commissioner, Mr. Cloete, from
his excursion to Panda, would gradually tend to allay the
feeling.
It is satisfactory to find that the parties connected with the
tobacco trade are continuing their exertions to obtain a reduc-
tion of the duty payable upon this article of import. State-
ments, founded upon actual ifacts, have long been placed
before the Chancellor of the Exchequer, present as well as
past, showing, beyond all question, that the present tax
affords such immense advantages to the encou-
ragement of smuggling, that a reduction to a low
impost, say one shilling per pound, would, in a
very short time, yield more than the present duty.
The Chambers of Commerce of Liverpool, of Glas-
gow, and of other principal places in this coun-
try, have backed the dealers in the article in London
in their attempts to obtain the concession sought for, and
from the tenor of the reply of the Chancellor to the deputa-
tions that have waited upon him on this subject, we believe
we may assert with confidence, that there will be an altera-
tion in the duty imposed upon tobacco made in the coming
session, though not to the extent desired by the trade.
As might have been expected, the information com-
municated yesterday from America of the decision of the
American Equity (a misnomer, surely) Court, by which a
trust deed, involving large sums of money due to the Bank of
England and others, was set aside on the impudent plea of
undue preference, has created a vast deal of indignation in
commercial and moneyed circles in the City.
The Funds have been much the same to-day, nor is any
material alteration expected until Parliament re-opens. The
Government broker has made no purchase to-day. Consols
for present transfer have realised 97i to 971, and for Time
about corresponding rates. Exchequer Bills are 695. to 665.,
and India Bonds, 81s. to 83s. premium. The New Three-
and Half per Cents. are 1014 to 102, a purchase having im-
proved them. Bank Stock is down to 1951 and 1941. India
Stock is firm at 2771 to 278.
The Foreign bonds have been flat. The settlement is
going off easily. Spanish Five per Cents. are 23 to 4, and
1 the Three per Cents. 311 to I. Mexican are 34 to i. Por-
tuguese Cunverted realised 474 to 4. Dutch Two-and-a-Half
per Cents. are 1011 to 1.
The Railway Shares are firm. Brighton look very buoyant,
and South Easterns have fallen back a trifle.
BRITISH FUNDS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK.
(From the Official List.)
Bank Stock
3 per Cent. Reduced Annuities 9B*/
3 per Cent. Consols. Annuities
34 per Cent. Reduced Annuities
New 34 per Cent. Annuities 10144 102 11
Long Annuities, Expire sth Jan. 1860
India Stock 2774 278
India Bonds, 1,000
Ditto under 1,000 Bl 83
Consols for Account
Canada Guaranted Deb. 4 per Cent... llO4
Exchequer Bills, 14d. 14d.
10001. .. ............ .......... 66 ..... 66 pm.
5001.
Ditto Small
FOREIGN FUNDS THIS DAY AT ONE O'CLOCK.
Mexican Bonds, 1837, 5 per Cent.......... 34
Ditto for the Account 34A4
Ditto Deferred Stock.
Portuguese Bonds, b per Cent -
Ditto Converted 4744
Spanish Bonds, Five per Cent.
Ditto Three per Cent. ...... ........ Bln
Dutch 24 per Cent ...... 544
Dutch 5 per Cent.
PRICES OF SHARES THIS DAY AT ONE.
RAILWAYS. Paid. Per Share.
Birmingham and Derby ... 100
Birmingham and Gloucester 100
Eastern Counties
Ditto New . ... .. 25 - to
Do. Extension
Edinburgh and Glasgow ......... 50
',rest Western - to
Ditto 4 Shares
Harwich Extension
Hull and Selby 5O ...... 60
Liverpool and Manchester .....100 ...... _
Ditto 4 Shares
London and Brighton ..... ....... 50 ...... 4144
London and Blackwall
London and Birmingham Stock ......244 to
London and Greenwich
London and South Western ... 4134 ...
.. _
..... to
Ditto Eighths 1 ... .. 2444 ... to
London and Croydon (Trunk) 134 ...... 17
......
to
Manche3ter and Leeds .. 70 ......110 ..... to 1094
Ditto 1 Shares
Manchester and Birmingham ••• 40 ...... 394 to
Midland Counties 100 ...... 92 ...... to 93
Newcastle and Darlington Junct 15 ...... 301 ... ... to 31
North Midland 100 ......
Ditto Thirds ............... 211. I3s. 4d. 314.-- to 32
Paris and Orleans 2O ...... 3311 ... to
Paris and Rouen .. •••• • •• ••• 20 •• ... 32/1 ... to
South Eastern and Dover 5O ...... 854,
...
t to
Ditto 5crip............ ...
York and North Midland 5O .. _ to
Ditto Scarboro' Branch ...... .. 24.....
20 194 to 204
MANCHESTER STocx EXCHANGE, JAN. 30.—There is
to day, the demand
prices •
still continues good, and are fully supported.
Eastern Counties. New Registered, l 2 i ; Lancaster and
ini Ditto
..... 5001. ..... 66 pm
no change to notice in our market -
Preston, 35; ; Manchester and Leeds, 110 ; Sheffield
and Manchester, 61 ; Birmingham and Gloucester,
Ditto Old Annuities...
Quarters, 16i ; Newcastle and Darlington Junction, 30.
Ditto New Annuities..
CLOSING PRICES.
BRITISH FUNDS.
Bank Stock ............ 1944 India Stock .. 2774 pm
Ditto Bonds
13-16 Stock for Acct —
433 N ePpive err
Cent ...... 1014 Ex. Bills, 1,0001. 1/4 66 pm
Long
r 3 Cent.
i Cent. Cent.
per c
Cons....
R Annuitiese
end
dts.
0:
...
e...
...x..
p...
Ampectrctotc.en..t....... 911
...............
Bank Ditto 5ma11..." 66 pm
Newesniv..,
Jailanini
005risa
zip eAl,Bs3:rri
31)):eCent.,..
r,
.6d.
cs.
p.c. ..
.n.
.r..t. ...c. ....
.e. .
in.
..
1. .
..„.2..
Oct.ot. 1859 ......... .... India Stock for Acct —
Jan. 1860 ...... .. --
FOREIGN F UND6.
A I.trma, 5 per cent.... Portuguese, 5 per cent.
1076,
PDCAntosan 5
'Spanish, b per cent
Chaim, 6 per cent....... L Ditto, sletallic ..... -
23
'Atto, 1824 ............... Ditto, 3 per cent... 3li
-It. 93 Ditto, Defr Ni....
Colombian, 6 per cent... Russian 9 5 Per cent.

dtsi;a Bonds, 6 per cent. _
' )anish, 3 per ant. .....• , French, 5 per cent. —f. —e.
Greek, 1825, 5 per cent. Exchange.......... —f. —c.
tleaicar, 5 per cent. ... 34 , French, 3 per cent. —f. —O,,
itto, 6 per cent. 1837 Dutch, 2k per cent. 55
Parnvian, 1825,6 per ct. Ditto, 5 per cent.... 1011
SHARES.
Birmingham and Derby (100 paid)
Ditto Thirds (20 paid)
Bristol and Exeter (70 paid) ..... . .. 68i

•
Eastern Counties (2:3 paid)... •. ••• ••
101
Ditto New Shares (25 paid) .
Ditto Extension (13s 4d paid)
Great North of England Railway (100 pd) 89
Great Western (75 paid) .................. ... 12
Ditto Fifths (12 paid)
London and Brighton (50 pa d) •
London and Blackwall (161 13s 4d paid)
London and Greenwich Railway (12115 s 4dpd) 51
London and Croydon Railway (Trunk)
Manchester and Leeds (70 paid)
Ditto New Shares (30 paid)
Ditto New Quarter Shares ( 2 paid) 9l
Norwich and Brandon (2 paid) ••• ••
Rouen and Havre ( 6 paid) 12
South Eastern and Dover (50 paid) ... ••• 3.4
Y ork and North Alidland (50 paid) ..
Ditto New Shares (20 paid) 57

SPORTING INTELLIGENCE.
(RECEIVED THIS DAY.)
BETTING AT INIANCHESTER.—TUESDAY.
CIIESTER Cur.
15 to 1 agst Sir Robert (t) 25 to 1 agst What (t)
18 to 1 agst Cattonite 130 to 1 agst Pharaoh (t freely)
18 to 1 agst The Prior 140 to 1 agst Young Lochin-
-22 to 1 agst Tacita (t) 1 car (taken freely)
25 to 1 agst Merry Andrew (t)1

51 to 1 agst Scott's lot
10 to 1 agst Col. Peel's lot
7 to 1 agst Ugly Buck (off)
15 to 2 agst Rattan (off to t)
14 to 1 agst Leander (t freely)
18 to 1 agst Loadstone

25 to 1 agst T'AuldScluire(off)
:25 to 1 agst Runningßein(off)
130 to 1 agst lonian (taken)
50 to 1 agst Foig,a-Ballagh
50 to 1 agst Saddle Bow
50 to 1 agst Telemachus

25 to 1 agst Cockamaroo (off

LLOYD'S SHIPPING.-(THIS DAY.)
LONDON, JAN. 31.—Wind light N. Westerly breeze,
with snow.
DEAL, JAN. 30.—Wind W.N•W+ moderate.—Arrd.
Brunette, Cousens, Ceylon ; Union, Allen, Mauritius ;
Matilda Luckie, Munro, Demerara ; Richmond, Boston ;
Emma Searle, Hogan, Prince Edward's Island ; Hardy,
Valparaiso ; Victoria, Havannah. Lady Falkland,
Bermuda, remains, with the Waterwitch, for Mauritius.
PORTSMOUTH, JAN. 30.—Wind, N.W. to W.N.W.—
Arrd. ofl-, City of Poonah, Brid, Calcutta.
SOUTHAMPTON, JAN. 30.—Arrd. Liverpool (s.),
Gibraltar.

OFF BRoAPsTATTte,
'quail ship).
OFF NEWHAVEN, JAN. 28. -- Sevea, Bahia, for
Gottenburgh.

JA`' "

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