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

THE CURRENCY.

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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 was such as to evince the high opinion entertained
of his ability and profound knowledge of the subject ; and,
indeed, throughout the whole course of his observations,
there was an evident aptitUde to appreciate the principles he
had undertaken to develope, 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 showing its direct
application 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 commodities 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 the paper of
the Bank of England was issued under the authority of the
State to an extent commensurate with the necessity of the
times ; and the industrial classes, by charging the cost of
taxation to the consumers, were enabled to obtain an ample
share of the necessaries and comforts of life.
The lecturer went on to describe the consequences of de-
parting from the plan which had 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
millions annually was occasioned by the adoption of a metallic
standard. And he very forcibly proved the inexpediency of
measuring the immense and vastly increasing aggregate of
our highly taxed conunoditiea 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 induce 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 shoulders 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 very 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 having 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
diffuse 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.

SALE OF WINES, &C., BELONGING TO THE LATE
DUKE OF SUSSEM—On Tuesday, at one o'clock, the entire
cellar of wines at Kensington Palace, were sold at the room
of Messrs. Christie and 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-
cipally the purchasers, were Lord Dinorben, Lord Hawarden,
Sir C. Burrell, M.P., Sir C. Chetwynd, &c. The wines con-
sisted of 35 dozens of Sherry, 58 of Port, 80 of Madeira, 100
of white and red Constantia, with Champagne, Amontillado,
Claret, Hock, Cyprus, ..Lachryma Christi, red Hermitage,
Moselle, Burgundy, &c. There was also a great quantity of
whiskey, which had been presented to the late Duke by the
Bishop of Derry, the Countess Listowell, Mr. Bannerman, the
Hon. Fox Maule, M.P., and Sir Alexander Duff. The com-
petition was most animated, and the sum realized was be-
tween 800/. and 900/. The first lot put up consisted of " two
pints of very extraordinary sherry (as described in the cata-
logue) 100 years old, from her Majesty's table at Guildhall,
given to his Royal Highness by Mr. Lawson," which, after
much competition, were knocked down at 1/. 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 98/. 2s. The Port realised the
sum of 133/ 75., and the Madeira, exclusive of the 27 alluded
to above, 106/. The Claret, 13 dozens, including some very
choice Chateau Margeaux, of 1834, brought in 48/. 9s. The
Constantia, in pint bottles, sold from 245. to 455. per dozen,
the total sum realised being 122/. 11s. 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 1571. 19s. Two dozens, presented by Mr. F. Maule,
sold for 10s. per bottle, and one 25 years old, presented by Sir
Alexander Duff, at 9s. 641. per bottle. Thirty bottles of
Kirschwasser fetched 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 MANCIIESTER.—III conse-
quence of the drooping of the cotton market at Liverpool,
there has been but a moderate demand for goods and yarn ;
and, with the exception of the higher counts of twist (50's
and upwards, which are in good demand, at full prices,) the
market has been flat, with a slight tendency to decline in
most articles.—Manchester Guardian.

CAPTURE OF 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
Woolwich, on the night of the 16th instant, has been de-
tected at Harley Barracks, the depot station of the East India
Company's Service. The prisoner had enlisted into the East
India Company, and was to have been sworn in on the day
following that on which he was recoeised.
ORTIINEDIC INSTITUTION.— esterday the annual
meeting of the governors, donors, and subscribers to the
Orthopaedic Institution, for the cure of club foot and con-
tractions of the body, was held at the institution, No. 6,
Bloomsbury-square. This is the fifth annual general meeting
since the formation of the institute, which it is rather singu-
lar is the only one of the kind in the kingdom. At one
o'clock, the lion. P. C. Scarlett took the chair, supported by
Vice-presidents Quarles, Harris, and F. Keish, Esqs., Dr.
Little and other eminent men. The Report stated thatTthe
out-patients during the year had been 620, the number of in-
patients on the rotation list 52.