The Sun.
London, England, 1842-06-22 00:00:00

ott, Sun,

LONDON:
WEDNESDAY MORNING. JUNE 22, 1842.

It is plain, from Mr. HORSLEY PALMER'S letter, which
Sir R. PF2-A. quoted on Monday evening, that we were
not far wrong in conjecturing that Mr. Gouminas had
lent himself to the purposes of the Bank of England.
Mr. PALMER says, in a letter written on the 2d of
Decamber last, " which has been placed," said Sir
Robert PEEL, " in my hands :"

"It-is necessary for those connected with the management and
use of the currency, to press upon her Majesty's Government,
through Sir R. Peel, the great and growing evil we are all
sustaining from the depreciation of the gold coinage. I be-
lieve that the Bank of England has done every thing in its
power, by constant and frequent representations upon the
subject, both to the late and present Ministers. The evil has
been admitted, but no remedy whatever has been suggested
by the Government to the present day. The prominent
points are as follow 1. The effect upon the foreign ex-
changes, which, in the event of an unfavourable course again
exiting, will either he exhibited in an advance from 1 to
per cent. on the price of standard gold above our Mint price,
judging from the character of the present depreciation, or by
(training every sovereign from the vaulti 'of the Bank, the con-
sequence of which you can estimate as well as me. 2. The
preient abstraction from circulation of a very considerable
amount of currency, consisting of the surplus light gold that
the hankers in London and the conntry are unable to pass "
through the Bank of England, or in payment to the re-
ceivers of the revenue.. If an arrangement he made for such
sovereigns being received upon good terms for account of the
Mint, bank-notes would immediately issue to the extent of
the receipts, and so far increase the money circulation of the
kingdom, 3. The last, and which may, perhaps, be considered
the most important objection in a public point of ♦iew, is the
great inconvenience to which the public are subject from this
depreciation.' Having thus briefly referred to the evils that
exist, it seems to me that a very prompt and easy remedy may
be afforded, if Sir Robert Peel can be induced to adopt it—
viz., to apply to Parliament, as one of his first measures after
Christmas, to authorise the Bank to clip all sovereigns pre-
sented, which power was formerly possessed in the case of gui-
neas, and at the same time, to sanction the receipt of such
light coin for account of the Mint at the standard price of
3/. 17s. 10id per oz."

It seems also that the London bankers, those paragons
of disinterestedness and public virtue, made a represen-
tation to the Treasury, which ran thus :

" London, Jan. 20, 1842.
"My Lords,—We feel it onr duty to represent to your
Lordbhips that much inconvenience arises from the quantity of
lighigoid in circulation, and, seeing no other mode to remedy
the evil, we beg to suggest that power be granted to the Bank
of England to clip such sovereigns as may be presented to them
under the proper weight, and that arrangements be also made
with the Bank to take in all light sovereigns at the Mint price
of 31. 17s. lOid. per oz.
.• We shall be obliged by your Lordship's early consideration
of this subject, and have the honour to remain," &c.

This letter was signed by twenty-four banking firms;
and, considering their wealth, united to the wealth of
the Rink of England, it was not passible for a Govern-
ment which reverences money to resist its application.
It was all-effwetual at the Treasury. Not a thought
seems to have been wasted on artisans and little shop-
keepers, ten thousand of whom were annoyed and in-
jured by Mr. GOULRURN'S proclamation for one levia-
than among money owners, whose hoards it increased.
The opulent classes, as Mr. C. BULLER remarked on
Monday, have -a paper currency of their own. They
make the bulk of their payments by checks and drafts,
and only use a sovereign or two for pocket money. To
the lower classes the Legislature has denied a paper
• currency, with a view, we believe, to
protect them. It
i, on' those, therefore, who arc in the receipt of weekly
wages, and the little shopkeepers they deal with, who.
cannot dispense With gold; 'who keep 1.10-hattker's ac-
countsthat. the weiAt- Cif the Tr0q.r...,7-114)3.. ! and. the ex-

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///
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Penso of restoring the currency, have mainly fall . lib, 3 --
bankers having applied for some measure, probably ants,
cipated it, and were prepared for it. The defence of the
Cabinet makes the reality more disgraceful than we had
imagined it. On this, as on other occasions, the heavy-
hand of the law has crushed chiefly, what Mr. Can•
LILE has called the dumb multitude, from their having
no voice in high quarters. For our statesmen, they are •
OEBOIIB, whose blows only make any impression.
It is, at the same time, plain that Mr. GouLnunx did
not exactly comply with the bankers' request. They
solicited that the Bank of England be empowered to clip
sovereigns under weight, and receive them at the Mint
price for bullion. This might have been done by an
engagement be tween the. Government and the Bank, the
Bank giving notice that it would act as desired. The
proposition of the bankers, in fact, is in principle
identical with the suggestion we yesterday threw out,
but not so general nor extensive, neither applying to all
public offices nor to all times. We do not quarrel;
therefore, with the proposition of the bankers, but it has
no resemblance to the actual proclamation. This pub-
licly discredited the whole of the gold coin, making it
necessary to weigh every piece ; tliat asked that coin
no longer of full weight be quietly withdrawn from cir•
culation. The bankers implied that the Government
was to bear the necessary expense—the Cabinet threw it
on the artisans and little shopkeepers. The proclamation,
therefore, was a very heedless and very unnecessary op-
pression of those classes which have little or no paper
money. We believe that Mr. GOULBLIIN blindly fol-
lowed a precedent, without the talent to appreciate the
consequences.

MONEY MARKET and CITY NEWS.

FROM THE MORNING PAPERR OF THIS DAY.
TIMES.—The premium on gold at Paris is 10 per milks
which, at. the English Mint price of 31. 17s. 103 d. per ounce
for standard gold, gives an exchange of 25 403, and the ex-
change at Paris on London at short being 25 523, it follows
that gold is 0.48 per cent, dearer in London than in Paris.
By advices from Hamburgh the price of gold is 4303 per
mark, which, at the English Mint price of, 31. 17s. 101,1 d. per
ounce for standard gold, gives an exchange of 13 73, and the
exchange at Hamburgh on London at short being 13 93, it
follows that gold is 0.93 per cent. dearer in London than in
Hamburgh.
The cuorse of exchange at New York on London is 108%
per cent., and the par of exchange between England awl
America being 109 23-40 per cent., it follows that the ex-
change is 0.33 per cent. against England. But the quoted
exchange at New York being for bills at 60 days' sight, the
interest must be deducted from the above difference.
SUN.—The market closed esterday with much firmness, which
may be mainly attributed to the absence of operations, the
'jobbers being fearful of transacting speculative business, in the
apprehension that further sales may be attempted on ac-
count of the Savings Banks. It is probable, in the present
state of the Money Market, consequent upon the large influx
of gold into the Bank, that that establishment may appear as
purchasers of stock and securities, in order to extend the circu-
lation, which must necessarily, to a certain extent, be con-
tracted, under the effect of the large payments now made into
it. It is, therefore, likely that this cause, combined with re-
investing a great portion of the dividends, payable in about a
fortnight hence, will tend to maintain the prices of the Funds
at their pv.eut rates, if not to drive them up still further. Al-
though there hes been a demand for money, and the rate has
risen to 4 per cent., yet Exchequer Bills keep their premium ;
and, though too late now, this tact would appear to prove the
position, which has always been held here, that-the sums ne-
cessary for the immediate exigencies of the .country, could
easily hive been raised, by means of these documents, without
pressure on the Market, or having recourse to the new tax
lately imposed.
The last prices were, as in the morning, Consols 91% 913 for
the opening ex dividend • Reduced, 913, sellers. Batik Stook,
167 158 ; Exchequer Bills, old, 45 47, new, 40 42 prem.
The Dutch Bonds, bearing: two-and-a-half per cent. in-
terest, declined to 526 52%; and the Five per Cents., to 1003
1013 ; the other Securities remained as before : Belgian 102
103; Danish, 801/ 81%; Brazilian, 66 67.
Mexican was quoted 363 363.
The Share Market was flat. London and Birmingham 175
177 ; Great Western, 87% 88%; the Half Shares, 613 613 ;
Birmingham and Gloucester, 50 52 ; South Western 613
62 ; North Midland, 62 64; the New Shares, 31 32 ; Western,
Eastern and Dover, 24% 253 ; the Scrip, 53 53 ; Eastern
Counties, 8.1 93 ; Northern and Eastern, 40 41; Blackwell,
96 10; and Brighton, 35% 36.
The Foreign Exchanges were as on Friday, but a greater
amount of business was negotiated. The rates were—Amster-
dam, 12 .5 ; Rotterdam, .12 53 ; Antwerp. 12 43 12 4% ;
Hamburgh, 13 113 13 123 ; Frankfort, 1513 151%; Parrs,
25f. 75c. 25f.; 80c. ; Genoa, 25 80 ; Marseilles, 25 SO; Vienna,
9 533 954 ; Trieste, 954 955 ; Leghorn, 2995 3000 ; Madrid,
363 ; Cadiz, 363 37 ; Lisbon, 523 ; Naples, 403.
7he nominal quotations for the Bonds were—Colombian.
253 253; Peruvian, 17 18 ; Portuguese Five per Cents., 373
373 ; the Three per Cents., 22 223 ; Spanish Five per Cents.,
213 223 ; and the Three per Cents, 233 2.n.
COURSE OF E XCH A N G—( YESTERDAY.)
Amsterdam CF. 12 8 Gibraltar .
Ditto, at sight
Rotterdam ...... ...2 U. 12 83 Genoa ... '25 96
Antwerp
Hamburgh M.B. 13 15, i Venice

Altona l3 15j Naples
Paris, 3 days' sight ... 25 65 Palermo, per oz 120
Ditto, 3 months 25 90 Lisbon
Marseilles ...... ..... . 25 90 Oporto s2i
Bourdeaux 25 90 'Rio Janeiro 263
Frankfort on Maine... 152 Bahl!'
Petersbutgh, 3Us ... 37 Buenos Ayres
Berlin.-- ... ............ 7 Ne*York, 21 dills sight 44..
Vienna, effec. IL 3M. 958 Philadelphia ..
Trieste, ditto ... 959 PRICES OF BULLION, PEP; OZ.'
Madrid ... - 9
Cadiz
Bilbao 36 New Doubloons 0 0 0
Barcelona
Seville ... 36 Silver in Bars... ..... 0 4 1l