The Sun.
London, England, 1845-08-25 00:00:00

to deter mine the value of commodities : we use a fee.; or a eyed
RS a measure of length ; we use au outice or a pound as a
measure ~f weight ; we use a peck or a bushel as a measure of
capacity ; and we use money as a measure of value.'' Ihen he
alts—•` What is the grand essential characteristic of all these
as measures? What is it that constitutes their efficacy? Is it
nut that they should be accurate and invariable quantities
themselves ? How can they accurately measure other things,
if they are in their own nature fluctuating and uncertain ?
What should we think of a foot measure that was made of
such a material that one day it was twelve inches long, while
another day it would be only nine or ten inches long ? Should
we not lose all faith in it as a measure of length ? Is it not
absolutely essential that iit should be invariable in length in
order that it may accurately measure the length of other
things?" And so on with the other measures enumerated.
Sir R. Peel's first concluSion then in this process of reasoning
was, that money as the measure of the value of all other
things should itself possess a certain definite invariable value.
Now Sir R. Peel went on a little further and reasoned thus :
" As the great essential quality of money ought to be its in-
variability in value, I must make my money of that commodity
which is the least liable to alteration in value, and that is
gold." " I know," says he, " that nothing is so steady in its
natural value as gold ; wheat, and all other agricultural pro-
duce, fluctuate very much in value, according to the seasons
or the crops. Iron, and most other metals, are too bulky for
money, besides these fluctuate very much in value ; there is
nothing like gold for money; it is steady in its,supply from the
mines ; it takes nearly the same labour and expense for scores
of years together to bring it into the market ; had seasons do
not lessen the crop of it, and good seasons do not increase the
crop. It being, therefore, of more steady value than anything
else, it will more steadily express any given value than'any-
thing else, and, therefore, gold is the thing for money." Sir
Robert Peel's second principle, therefore, was—that as gold
was naturally more invariable in value than any other com-
modity, gold was by far the best commodity to make money of
so far as invariability in value was concerned. Bat, said Sir
R. Peel again to himself--." Though I very much prefer gold
money to any other, yet this country requires a vast deal more
money to carry on its business every day than all the gold we
can possibly get together. We cannot obtain a fifth part of the
gold necessary for all our business transactions, if they are to be
carried on with gold money. What, therefore, shall I do ?
Shall I make the nation confine its transactions to the amount
that can be effected with gold ?" " Oh, no," says he, " that
would be to cut off four-fifths of the trade of the nation, and
reduce us to a state of semi-barbarism. I must contrive
soma other money which, though not made of gold itself,
will exactly represent the gold money, and act as an as-
sistant to it." Sir R. Peel's third great principle, there-
fore, was, that as he was obliged to have paper money in
addition to gold, as much paper money might be allowed to
circulate as could be kept in exact conformity in value to the
gold money. This was evident from his own words—" What
want is this—that I shall have an ample supply of that paper
currency whose value 'shall be eiactly conformable to gold."
These were what he (the lecturer) conceived to be Sir Robert
Peel's three great currency principles ; his other regulations
were only arrangements for carrying out those principles into
practice as far as possible. With respect to those principles he
would say, that though they were plausible, and even correct
as far as they went, they were incorrect, because they did not
embrace the whole subject. Now, the first principle he (the
lecturer) denied in toto,:, where an indirect taxation prevailed.
He asserted that the effect of indirect taxation was to lessen the
value of money in exact proportion to the degree in which that
form of taxation was imposed.—( Hear, hear.) He did not
say that indirect taxation lessened the value of the
commodities of gold and silver, but of money. To
make money of a certain definite invariable value, there
must be no taxation, but direct taxes, such as property-
tax—all duties from goods must be taken off—and that brought
him to the assertion with which he started, viz., that Sir R.
Peel's currency principles were correct only as parts of the
case, and not as the whole of the case. It money could pos-
sibly be so formed as to merit Sir R. Peel's description of it,
such money would throw all the taxes upon the farmers and
other producers. It would not matter to the consumers and
purchasers how much, taxation their produce was burdened with
in the course of its production. They would not be called upon
to contribute to it; their money arising from rents, interests,
and investments, would be a thing of invariable value.
What a base infraction, then, of the principle that
" when taxes are laid upon commodities. their prices
must rise in proportion," would this keel of money
of Sir Robert Peel's be.—( Hear, hear.) Sir Robert Peel was
labouring more and more by every successive measure to make
money ieore and more invariable in value, to regulate the issues
of it in such a manner as should render it more and more diffi-
cult to add taxation to the prices of all produce, agricultural
and manufacturing. He could not bring himself to believe
that Sir Robert Peel was doing this with a full understanding
of the bearing of this point ; he was subjecting himself to an
awful responsibility if he were ; but he thought it arose from
his never having sufficiently perceived the intimate con rexion
and niutual influence upon each other of currency and taxation.
Having, he hoped, satisfactorily disposed of the first of these
principles, it would not be necessary for him to refute at any
length the other two, fur, as respected the second principle, if
gold was only the best commodity for money because of its
invariability of value; and if, as he had shown, invariability of
value was a quality which money not only need not, but ought
130 t to possess, then it naturally followed that gold was not the
best commodity to make money of ; and the same argument
applied with equal force to the third principle; for if gold itself
was not the best thing for money, because of its natural inva-
riability of value, neither could that paper money whose value
was exactly conformable to geld, be the best kind of
paper money.—( Hear, hear.) Want of space compels us to
hasten to the conclusion of our notice of this lecture, and we
do so by giving an outline of the plan suggested as a remedy
of the evil complained of. The remedy, said the lecturer, was
simple and easy of comprehension. It consisted in the Go-
vernment issuing notes of a peculiar kind, so as to be distin-
guished at sight from other notes, to such an amount as
would be equal in the year to the amount of the annual taxa-
tion. Suppose the amount annually granted at the present
time for the service of the State was 50 millions ; the Exchequer
would have to provide notes of all sums equal in the gross to
that amount in the course of the year, and the Treasury would
draw cheques upon the Exchequer for those notes, wherewith
reesesseessias. eteeseeee_ stens eeiseese to nnhli..
notes to this amount were in process of being issued, the tax
collectors would for the first year bring in a very few of them
compared with the gaeat bulk of money of another kind, such
as was now circulated. The notes would be cancelled as soon
as they were brought in, having served the use for which they
were intended. The rest of the money, as far as it consisted
of Bank notes, would have to be restored tojthe Bank of Eng-
lane, in liquidation of the debt due from Government to the
Bank. That part of it which would be in gold should go to the
Mint to be resold at such prices as the current rate in the market
showed to be the just price. Suppose that in the first year the
sums brought in were 10,000,0001. in Government notes;
30,000,0001. in Bank notes of various kinds, and 10,000,C00L in
gold. Let the Government notes be cancelled, let the Bank
be repaid its lean of fourteen millions in its own bills, let
Exchequer-bills be paid off with the remaining sixteen
millions, and the country would at once be freed from all
further payment of interest on those sums ; the ten millions in
gold would go to the Mint. In the second year the same sum
of 50,000,000/. in Government notes would be in course of
issue. The proceeds of the taxes might then be 35,000,0001.
in Government notes, 10,000,000/. in Bank notes, and pay off
b,000,000/. in gold. We should cancel the 35,000,1,00/. and
the further sum of 10,000,0001. in Exchequer-bilis with Bank
notes. The 5,000,000/. of gold we should send to the Mint.
But by this time the sale of gold at the Mint, at the current
rate of the market, would probably have brought the further
sum of 15,000,0001. back again with profit, to:the account of the
Government in exchange for Government notes. Let the
whole of this, then, be applied to the discharge of the re-
maining Exchequer-bills, and .the balance go to buy up some
portion of the national debt. In a , year or two the
whole of the taxation would be collected 'by the means
of Government notes, for which no interest would
be payable by the country, and at no time would
there be more of these notes in circulation than would
be sufficient to represent one year's taxation. The price of
gold in Government notes would vary for a little time, but af-
ter a while would become steady. That price should be stated
in every Gazette, which would be twice a week, and it would
form in all the newspapers an important item of news along
with the price of stocks, corn, r c., as thus ', 41. 17s. 41.
So.eieigns. 255. each. With respect to the 6:lnk ei England
and other banks, they should be required to take up their own
notes on demand, in Government notes or in gold, at suoh
price as the last Gazette declared to be the current market
rate. Government notes would be a legal tender, and sove-
reigns also, when offered at the market price. After some fur-
ther iengthened observations, in the course i,f which the lectu-
rer referred to the monetary system of former Governments, and
introduced one of the wooden Exchequer tallies, instituted bs
Henry 1., representing in value about 1,260/., the lectui.e-
concluded his able address by a word of exhortation. He
trusted the meeting had seen what was the great defect in our
present monetary system: If they asked him what t:.ey should
do, he et-out(' say rally round those who had already organised
a society in London (toe Society for the Emancipation
of Industry), to serve as a nucleus or gathering point for
all the supporters of their principles, and which only
wanted the adhesion and assistance of the agricultural
interest to make a sensible impression in h;gh quarters. He
would aho recommend the formation of local associations: let
them study the subject, and prepare themselves to catechise
th it candidates upon it at the next general election. The
power was in then own hands,end it was a duty they owed to
themselves and the working classes generally, to enter iota
this contest, and manfully to fight the battle and redress the
grievances of those over whom they-iiefe placed.—( The lec-
turer resumed his seat amidst loud cheers.)
At the close of the lecture Mr, Baxait, of Writtle, rose and
moved the thanks of the meeting to Mr. Capps for the lucid
exposition he Led given of thus subject. Though it might be
difficult to bring the mind at once to hear upon this important
question, still he thonght they would concur in the views of
the lecturer upon it. Although Sir Robert Peel was great as
a statesman and as an orator, he might, nevertheless, be wrong
in his views of this question—a question, perhaps, the investi-
gation of which required a mind differently eonsitituted from
bis.--( Neer.) And when they looked back upon a man who
had stood forward in this country, and [was as great in his day
as Sir Robert Peel—he meant Mr. Pitt—they found that he
struck out a system different to Sir Robert Peel on this
question ; therefore they had a right to doubt a hether Pitt
was not right and Peel wrong. During the time of Pitt the
Country, notwithstanding the difficulties it had to contend with,
Nourished to a greater extent than at the present time ; the
profits on all articles were greater than was note the case, and
Pitt ,was looked up to as the salvation of his country, from
having under the most trying circumstances carried through a
Government with success to the nation, not only as a nation,
but with prosperity to the people as a people.—( Cheers. )
But, great as Sir Robert Peel undoubtedly was, he might be
wrong on this question. Having had the matter so fully in-
troduced by Mr. Capps, showing most distinctly that Sir R.
Peel was wrong, it became their duty as agriculturists, and as
forming a portion of the producing class, to take steps for a
full investigation of the subject; and before they parted he
would submit a revolution, which if seconded he would
put to a show of hands. Taking into consideration this
question as affecting their interests to such an extent as
et did, and having had so clear an explanation of it by
Dlr. Capps, before they parted, he (Mr. Baker) would call
upon them to express, their opinion that the subject required a
searching investigation on the Fart of the Legi•lature, in order
that if the present system was wrong it might be set right, or if
right that it might be more fully established. Ile was satisfied
in his own mind as to what the result would be. Mr. Baker
then moved the following resolution, which, being seconded,
was carried with only one dissentient voice That the cor-
dial thanks of the company be presented to Air. Capps for his
very lucid and talented exposition of the bearing of the exist-
ing currency on agricultural and other productions; and that
this meeting cannot separate without recording a strong con-
viction that 'the principle of protection of native iiiilustry, or
that of tree trade, can never be properly viewed without refe-
rence to a just currency. This meeting consisers the subject
that has beedexplained of such vast importance to the aericul-
turists as to require the most careful and scrutinising inv,stiga.
lion of Parliament on its re-assembling.

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Itati4S‘TS) 6.6ikraL DICK AT BATIL—This in-
quqet,ia,, rained o-d &thirties', when Mr. Herapth, the cele-
brated anaiytioal chemist, deposed that he had tilal!e an analy-
tical examination of the stomach, intestines, and liver, and
that he could, not and therein any traces of mineral metallic
poisons. Mr: T.. Barlett, the surgeon who opened the body,
stated that he had found traces of inflammation in the bowels;
and the jury returned a verct--" That the deceased had died
from inflammation of Eike stosnarh and bowels, but how this was
produced there waonotdence to show."
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