The Sun.
London, England, 1844-02-29 00:00:00

THE CURRENCY.

•
A lecture, illustrative of the national currency and its de-
fects, was delivered on Monday evening, by Mr. Capps, at
the Marylebone Institution. The audience was numerous,
and, the attention with which the. remarks of the lecturer was
received waa such alto evince theligh opinion entertained
of his ability and lund knowledge of the subject; and,
indeed, througho4 wit* course- of his observations,
there was an evident- titltieo appreciate the principles he
ha Thd—ifffr,rfakeir ope, which gave excellent point to
his statements.

The supposition that the subject is of a dry and uninterest-
ing character, was, happily, disposed of, by showingits direct
applicatidn to the concerns of every-day life. Mr- Capps then
took a view of the origin and nature of money as a medium
of interchange, and particularly. that of this kingdom,
showing the steps of its expansion by means of tokens
and tallies issued anciently by the Exchequer, and received
by the Government in the payment of taxes, until it assumed
it present extent. Under this system, it was observed, the'
producer of commodi ties received a sufficient remuneration, be-
cause the currency was kept at an amount equal to the weight of
taxation, and thus corn, and consequently every other species
of merchantable property, obtained its fair price. A Similar
effect resulted from "an approximation to this principle during
the late war, when by Mr. Pitt's restriction Act' thnpaper of
the Bank of England was issued under the authority of the
State to an extent commensurate with the necessity of the
Wiles ; and the industrial classes, by charging the cost of
taxation to the consumers, were enabled to obtain an ample
share bf "the "necessaries and comforts of life.

The lecturer went on to describe the consequences of de-
parting from the plan which bad been -thus successfully acted
upon, 'and proved to demonstration that, by the mistake of
1819, the.profits of our foreign trade gradually declined, at
length disappeared, and that ultimately a loss of 'thirty-five
niillions annually was Occasioned bythe adoption of a metallic
standard. And ho very forcibly proved the inexpediency of
measurin...the immense and. vastly increasing aggregate of
our high?), taxed commedities by a precious metal of foreign
production, which. is-not itself subject to taxation; and the
effect of this, it was alleged, was to Make gold the cheapest
article in the country, and so ludnce 'the foreign trader to
take it in preference to our manufactures.
But a much more disastrous consequence of the repeal of
the Restriction Act was to transfer the burden of the indirect
taxation to the extent of more than thirty millions a year
from the shouhlera of the consumers to those of .producers,
and thus to.depress wages to such a degree as to involve the
whole of the loWer classes in their present state of poverty
and distress. This was yery strikingly illustrated by a me-
chanical apparatus, which is well entitled to the appellation
of a currency clock. It consisted of a dial, on which were
described in several circles the comparative proportions be-
tween gold, corn, labour, taxation, and remunerative price,
and haying hands to indicate their various progress and their
bearings on each other. The confimation of this proof told'
with evident effect upon the auditory; and completely estab-
lished the validity of all that the lecturer had previously
advanced.
We earnestly hope that his success the other evening may
induce Mr. Capps to extend the sphere of his usefulness, and
difllise more largely the valuable information he possesses;
for 'we are assured. that, in a right or a wrong apprehension of
the principles of the currency, the happiness or the misery of
myriads is involved.

• SALM OF WINES, &C., BELONGING TO THE LATE
DUKE OF SUMFOC—On Tueiday, at one o'clock,: the entire-
cellar of wines at Kensington Palace, were sold at the room
of Messrs. Christie arid Manson, King-street, St. James's, by
order of the executors. The sale excited much interest, and
among the noblemen and gentlemen present, who were prin-
eipally the purehaors, were Lord Dinorben, Lord Ilawarden,
Sir C. Barrell,.lll.P., Skr.C. Chetwvnd, &c. The wines con-
sisted of 35 dozens of . Sherry, 58 of Port, 80 of Madeira, 100
of white sad red Constantia, with Champagne, Amontillado,
Claret, Hock, Cyprus, Lachryma Christi, red Hermitage,
Moselle, Burgundy, &c. There was also a great quantity of
whiskey, whithhad 'been-presented to the late Duke by the
Bishop of Derry, the Countessiistowell,-Mr. Bannerman, the
Hon. Fox Maule, M.P., and Sir Alexander Duff. The corn-.
petition was most animated,-and the sum realized was be-
tween 8001. and 900/. The 'first lot put up consisted of " two"
pints.of very extraordinary sherry (as described in the cata-
logue) 100 rears old, from her Majesty's table at-Guildhall,
given to his Royal Highness by -Mr. Lawson," which, after
much competition, were knocked down at IL 4s. a bottle.
The Amontillado (only four dozens) fetched 41.35. per dozen,
and 31. 4s. Of the Madeira 27 dozens taken out to India by
Sir Edward Paget,- realised 981. 2s. The Port realised the
sum of 133/ 75., and the Madeira, exclusive of the 27 alluded
to above, 1061. The Claret, .13 dozens, including some very
choice
,Chateau Margeaux, Of 1834, brought in 48/. 9s. . The
Constintia, in piut,bottles, sold from 245. to 455. per dozen,
the total sum realised being 122/. Ils. The whiskey, which
his late Royal Highness preferred to' wine, fetched remark-
ably high prices. There were 37 dozens, and the sum real-
ised was 157/. 19s. -Two dozens, presented by Mr. F. Malik,
sold for•10s. per bottle, and one 25 years old, presented by Sir
Alexander ,Duff, at, 9s. 641.• per bottle. Thirty bottles of
Kirschwasser fetthed 6s. 6d. per bottle. The Champagne (a
very small quantity), Cyprus, Shiraz, Mountain, White Bur-
gundy, &c., sold at very good prices. The sale concluded
about five O'clock. ' • . •

- - STATE OF TRADE AT MANCHESTER.-ID CODS 0••
quence of the:droeping of the cotton market at Liverpool,
there has been bet a moderate demand for goods and yarn,;
and, with the exception of the higher counts of twist (50's,
and upwards which aro in good demand, at full prices,) the
market has been fiat, with a'slight tendency to decline in
most articles. Manchester Guardian.

CAPTURE OP AN ESCAPED CONVICT.--Gunner and
driver Blake, of the Royal Artillery, under sentence of trans.,'
portation for fourteen years.-.for repeated offences, and who
escaped from the. ward-room of the. Ordnance 'Hospital, at
'WoolWieh, on.the night of the 16th instant, has been 'de.
tected at Harley Barracks, the cleP6t station of the Mist India
Company's Service: The piisoner had enlisted into the East
.India. Company, and was to have been sworn in on' the day
following that onwhich_he was recogi2ised.
ORTIRCEDIC INSTITUTION.—,-Xesterciay the: annual
meeting of the governors, donors, and subscribers to. the
Orthepcedic Institution; for the cure of club foot and con-,
tractions of the body, was held at the institution, No. 6,
BlOonisbnry-square: This is the fifth annual general meeting
since the-formation of the institute, which it is rather ship',
tar; is. the only one 'of the kind in the kingdom. , At one
efletlpc, the; lion. P. C. scarlett took the chair; suubrted by
..V,lO • residents QiiarleS .Barris, and F. lieiab, F.4qs., Dr.
iad'Other =lima Men,- Ite-ltePort; stated ithat'the-'
out-patients during the year had been 620, the nu nber of in-
pptients on the rottdiPll list 52.