The Sun.
London, England, 1810-08-14 00:00:00

EP R fr, t SIXPENCE ilAtlllgNN V.

seen-led agreeable, to all. 'former teasonings and
perience,, they thought it proper to enti.ti.re- tro7t
particularly into. the circultistmices tonneded, with
each of those two fads; and to hear., Ittorn er.i,
sons of onnmercial pradice aii i detai!, 7‘02 t ex-
plpnations they had to offer of so unusual a st.:te of
thin 7s: •

I With this view, your Committee icalkd Felt:re
them set eral 'merchants of exteusivq d_-aling; and
intelligence, 2.nd desired to.hav,, their opinions, a ith'
respett to the cause of the high price rot gold and,the
low rates of exchange.
.1. It will be found by the el idarce, that the
1,10 price of gold is aciibed, .by most of the wit- •
nesses, entirely to an Lalleged scarci y. of that arti:-
ele, arising out of an , 'unusual ,deinand., for it open
the Continent of Europe. This iniu,ual. demand
for gold upon the Continent is d :scribed by sortie of
.them as being chiefly for. the ese of the French
amities, though incre.bed also by that state of alarm,
arid failure: of confidence; which leads to the prae,
tics M hoarding.
Your Committee are of opinion, that, ih sound
natural ritate of tlt c'irrr ney I he 10,.nd.r-
-tiOn of which iS:gold,,nwincreast.d,dentand fur gold
frOm other 'parts 01. the world, however great, or
from whateV6r causes-arising, can have the t.tfeCt of
producing here,- for-a coniderable period of titr,b, a
'material Ilse in the market price of gold. But be-
fore they-proceed to explain the gr.unds of t foe-:
neral opinion, theY wish to state souse oth, r nasons
which alone would have led tiiiem' to doubt wt ether,
in point-Of' fad, such a demand. for gold, as is al-
leged, has operated in the mariner surposed..
If there were an unusual &man.; rur gold.ripon;
the Continent, such as could ibflueuce i's market
price in this' country, it would of. coursc:! ufluenoe
'also; and indeed iii the first toskatice, its. price in the
Continental,markets; and it was to be expected that
thoSe who ascribed the high pail e here to a great.
demand abroad, would have b,'-ett prepared to state
that .the.re•was'a corres:-rondi6g high, price abroad,.
-Your CoMmit lee did not find that they grounded
their inference upon any so ..1) i..torinationi ;and- .so
far as your Committee hate beer.eiiabled to aster=
taint it does not appear that during .the period when
the price of gold bullion wilsrising-,here, as valued in
our p..;per, there was any corresponding rise in the
price of gold bullion in l'he market of the Continent,
,as valved in their respective-currencies. Mr. Whit,
more, indeed, the late G)vernor of the Bank, qated,
-that in his opinion it was fliehigh later abroad which
had carried our gold coin ow of 'this country; but'
he did not offer to your Comm:tiee a; y proof of this
' high price. Mr.Gre.tfolite,C6,,t:ne,.tal merchant',
who appeared to be remarkably, well informed in Abe.
details of trade, being asked by the Comm:lite, it
.he
could state whether any change had taken 'place _in
the price of gold in any of the foreign markers
within the last- year ? answered; No very
_mate:.
rialch;nge that lam aware of," Upon a subs,lottii .
day, having,lind" time to refer to the actual
he again stated to the Cointnjttee,!--" 1 beg leave to
observe, that there has been no alteration of late in
the Mint price of gold in loreign piaces, nor have
the market prices experienced an acct ante at ail rela-
tive to the rise that has taken plaee in England ; one,
of -the.papers I have delivered .-shews the foreign
prices, reduced into sterling money at the ureseht
low rates of Exchange, aild the excess above our
market price may be considered as about c'crtai to the
charges of conveyance." The paper lie 'lelers to
will be found in the Appendix ; and this statement
made by. Mr. Gretfulhe throws great light Upon ti,is
part of thelubjea ; as it shew,s, t hat the ad uai prices '
Of gold in the foreign markets are juat much
lower than its market erice'llere, as the difference of
exchange amounts to. Mr. Gretful.he'y
.43
confirmed by another, which 'has been laid befor'e
your-Committee. Mr. Abraham Gadsmid 'IaS also
stated to your Committee, that cliiring"that parr of
last year when the -market-price of gold here rose
so high, its -price at iHarnbtargh did not fluct.tiatO
more than from 3 to 4 per cent.

Here your Comniittee must observe, that botkat
Hamburgh and- Amsterdam, where the treasure
value is not gold as in this country, but silver, Ili
unusual demand for gold would atfect its money
price, that is, its price in silver; and that as it •,!0(:-s
not appear that there,has been any considerable ,is
in the price of gold, as valued in silver, at those
-places' in the last year,.t he inference is, that ibere
.was not any considerable increase in the demand far
:gold. That permanent rise in the marliet price,of
gold above its Mint price, which appears by Nlr.
Greffulhe's paper to have taken place for several
years both at Hamburgh and Amsterdam, mar in
some degree be ascribed, as your Committee (Toll=
ceive, to an alteration which has Liken- place iit tie
ehtive value of the two precious metals all over the
world; concerning which,' much curious aild sat is-
fadory evidence will be found in the Appendix,
particularly in the documents laid Lv. fore your COm_
mittee by Mr. Allen. From the same esiusek a f,il
in the relxive price of .4ver appears «o h ive taken
place in this country for some time befOre tht, in
crease of our paper currency began to operate.
ver having fal!en, rt its relative' wake to gold through-,
opt the world, gold has appeared to rise in priec. 10
thoSe markets where •silv(r is the fixed meaure,
and silver has appeared to fall in those where goldits
the fixed treasure.

W;th respea to the alleged demand for -gold
upon the Continent fur the, supply of the Fre:ich
armies, your •Cotnmittee must further observe, that
if the wants of the mititaty chest have been Litteiiy
ouch increased, the general supply of -EoropL:
Old has been augmented by all thatcivainity which
this great" commercial country has spared in Coilhe-
(pence of the substitution of another inkiiurn of cir&
culation. -And your Committee cannot omit
.les.