The Sun.
London, England, 1845-08-26 00:00:00

LECI UHF: ON THE CURRENCY.

On Faday se'nnight an able tecture was delivered at the
Chelmsford Institute, by Mr. Capps, on the National Currency.
Ine lecturer commenced his address, the delivery of which
occupied nearly two hours, by observing that as he believed the
audience he had the honour of addressing was composed princi-
pally of the members of the agricultural class, he should con-
fine his remarks a, closely as possible to the action and influ-
ence of the currency on the welfare of that interest ; but at the
same time he would remark, that the injurious influence of our
monetary system was not exclusively confined to the agricul-
tural portion of the community. There was a radical error or
detect in our political or social system, which affected all classes
of the community in their turns, though not, perhaps, all at
one and the same time. He would beg them to enter upon
this subject calmly and reflectively, whilst he endeavoured to
take hold of sonic of the leading features of the case. What
was it which struck an observer as the main point of the
grievances of the farmer, and the great cause of his distress?
It was evidently this-that after having carefully cultivated his
farm to the best of his ability, the farmer could not obtain fer
the produce thereof a sufficient price to repay him his expenses
and a living profit. Hear, hear.) In 1822 the agricul-
tural interest called upon Parliament to mitigate by any
means in its power the distress which then oppressed them;
and what was the cause of that distress? Simply, that
wheat would realise only 435. per quarter. In 18:3.5, a mo-
tion was made by Mr. Cayley, in Parliament, to inquire
into the cause of agricultural distress, when the great feature
of the distress was alleged to be that wheat was only fetching
395. per quarter, which price would not afford the grower a
livine. And now, in 1845, what was the "head and front" of
their jest complaints? Precisely the same thing as before-
they could only obtain 455. a quarter for wheat. That this
was the true cause of the distress might be proved by referring
back • o the r2Ars previous to Sir R. Peel's Currency Bill of 1819.
The farmers were not distressed during the first 20 years of the
preseet century. simply because they obtained on the average
85s. a quarter for th or wheat, and similar prices for their
other produce. But our present statesmen wou'd have them
believe, that the distress was occasioned by the extreme drought
of one year, and the ex'reme wetness of another-the large
crops of one season, which produced low prices, and the crops
of others, which left the farmer nothing to sell. But they had
all those diversified seasons between the years 1800 and 1819,
arid yet they had no genet al complaints of agricultural distress.
He was aware that many landowners and farmers were apt to
at'ri vie the exceedingly low price of farm produce to the
Canadian Corn Bill, and Sir R. Peel's new tariff; he did nor
dispute that they had in some degree contributed to it, but he
denied that. they were, that they had been the principal agents.
They must recol'ect that wheat was 7s. a quarter cheaper than
it is now. The Canada Corn Act had not then passed : in 1822
also wheat was 3s. per quarter cheaper than now, and at that
time the price could not he affected by an act of gislatien
which did not take place until twenty years atterwarde.
But there was another measure of Sir Robert Peel's
then in operation, which continued in operation to
the present time-a measure professedly to regulate and give
stability to the money of thecountry, and to prevent speculative
lousiness and ruinous fluctuations, while practically it had
diminished and contracted the money, without in the least
degree abating speculation and panic. Upon examination they
would find that 'his was the principal cause 'f the low price of
ecru-so much so, that merle they vet the new tariff, and the
Canada Corti Ac' repealed to-morrow, and could they in adei-
twin get Parliament to legislate as much in their favour as it
had lately legislated against them, there would still be in opera.
teen a baneful measure, which wetild, whenever there was a
general average crop of farm produce, effectually prevent their
obtaining a fair price for it. The lecturer then proceeded to
prove that the changes effected by Sir Robert Peel in the
monetary system of the country, when c imbined with the sys
tem of taxation teruch erevailed, had nectesarity produced the
deplorable state to which the agricultural classes vser • reduced.
He fist adverted to those changes Daring the first twenty
years of the present century a system prevailed which permitted
gold and silver to take a market price, and not to be tied down
to a fixed price, as at present. It permitted the piece of go'd
called a guinea to fetch 275. or 2es. in the market ; and
that circumstance, he eontendeii, produced those re
manerseine prices for agricultural produce which calved
those times to he so prosperous to the farmer. He
wished them, therefore, to understand that he attri-
buted the low price of farm produce, which hail been
s prevalent during the last 25 years, to the operation of Peel's
Bill, passed in the year 1819, which fixed geld permanenly at
the low price of 3/. 17 s. 10ed. an ounce, a price too low for the
present circumstances of the country ; so low, that even wheat,
at 4.55. per quarter, was still 25 per cent. higher than mild.
The lecturer, after explaining the reason why gold had °been
fixed at that price, sffirmed that this low price of gold in the
general cireulitien of the country caused an equally low price
for c Hear.) That, it-. fact, it had a tendency to brir,g
w :eat chew as low as 345. er 355. a quarter, and that the only
reason why wneat was not new 355. a quarter was, because it
cost some 103. a quarter to bring it from other countries. For
what wis the inevitable result of 31 17s. lOict of the general
paper money of the ceuntry always commanding an ounce of
gold ? Why just this-that it always commanded those things
which were of the same natural value, those values being
fereteed upon the different degrees of expense or quantity of la-
bour necessary to pro lilt' the same. Dr. Adam Smith and
all politic .1 ecortomists hid told them that the higclirg and
bereainMe of the public market, would soon find out the real
va:ues of those various productions, arid that they would
Seen be found to exchange against each other in their
prop, proportions accosding to their respective values.
It temente a questien, then, of great interest to the sg
turist to :end out whet quantity of wheat was naturally
esp.,' in value to the ounce of gold, and it was to this point
that he would next direct their attentio Ile pointed out
epee a table which had been prepared from the statistics of Mr
Taylor, an ensieent au hor on the currency, that the utmost
price that the price of geld would anew for wheat in this
country, if there were average favourable seasons, was 455. per
qutrter ; that the natural tendency f the present standard
price of mild wt s to bring deem wheat to the universal overage
price of 33e or 344. per quarter, which result was only pre •
vented by our growing a little less corn than one annual cc:te-
st:imp:ion ; ant that should we by our agricultural improve-
meats produce any considerable surplus beyond the average
cansum dem, it was extremely probatee that wheat might fall
Is. a bushel lower than it was at present. The lecturer next
alluled to the amount of taxation which this country sustain d,
to snow th it no articles of production could be afforded at con-
tinental prices. Our revenue was principally derived trim
dunes epon the pro.luctions of industry. It was not suffimently
considered that the taxes raised in this manner were fully
equal to the whole landed rental of the kingdom. Mr.
lel•Cullseh hart estimated the landed rental at about
40,03 ,0 01. sterling ; now, the Excise and Custom duties
alone amounted to about 37,0 n odo/., and when they added
to th s the various items of :meal taxation which were
sustained by the occupiers of the sail, they would find that
the amount considerably exceeded the rent of the laud.
Yet S,r 11.,bert Peel's currency measures made no pro-
vision whate,-er for this important element of cost.-(Hear,
hear ) Th o was the very point in which Sir Robert
Peel's erand failure la d. lie ha I fixed gold at, the same
price at which it was cerrent bef there was any indirect
taxation imposed union tie intry. Gold at 3/. 17s. ,
and wheat at 4s. per bashel, did vern well 200 years ago.
when scarcely any indirect texation existe.l ; bet to attempt to
enforce such prices for the general products ot industry now,
would be to consiwn all the productive classes to unremuneratedtoil,
toil, if not t absolute' beegary ; but more especially the agri-
cultural claws, who could net, -n their distress, have recourse
to steam michreery as their manufacturing brethren could.-
(He tr. ) Al et- some furthrr arguments to show that the low
standard price +f gold peremptoris forbade any rise to the price
of what or other cominedities, the lecturer directed attention
to a machine he hail very ing•niously constructed, called a
currency clock, on wretch were shown the relative proportions
in value to each other of g nl i, silver, wheat, anit the wages of
labour on the level of an annual tax ition by Customs and
Exc:se of 17,00teteete, which he showed would consist with
45; per quarter fir whee, with gold at 3/. 17a. lrq 1. per
ou+ice; with silver at 54. per ounce; and the wage• of the
Weaver at 73. 61. per week. The e were the paces with
wet -4 the country (mule prosper under an annual ta•ation of
17,00 et) eq. But as tax item increa-e.t wheat. ought to rise
in usoeor•ion; ant that pro:rumen he maintained, as the result
of close oesersatien, should be-that fee every melion of indi-
rect tax it hie per annum beyond. 17,000,001)1., is. was ne tessary
te Inc meted to the eri -e of i he quarter of wheat to compensate the
tanner for the in weaved taxation he sustained.-( Hear, hear.)
Ar the present tittle the in Erect taxation was twenty millioes
beyend the seventeen milhons, so 203. were necessary to be
added to the price of the quarter of wheat to remunerate the
grower properly ; 210. add, d to 4. s., the original price with
seventeem no of taxation, would make 655. per quarter
for wheat, which he thought would commend itself to every
practical farmer as being ab ,tit the price which he felt would
afford him a fair and not extravagant remuneration.-( Hear. )
Bet th ,ugh the wheat rose, the gol l (mule not rise ; that was
held d two by the sta .chard price of 31. 17s. 1011 per Ounce.
Here then was an ebsuetity, a distinction in the price of two
things of tepid v due-one was fetchine, 65e, the teller stood at
the scale of ,inly 45i. Was that asystem et be established as one
which would exceariee equ d values fairly and upon equal terms?
-( Hear, bear. ) He had no to show them that this fixed,
ativareing price of gold pulled down eventually the prices of
all other productions from a remensrating price to its own
level ibis was effected by the certain export of gold by the
foreigner whenever, by the high p -ice ot other things, gold
became the cheapest article for him to take in return for the
geode he his so d us. The foreigner was naturally anxious
to take sack a return cargo; he therefore looked rount to see
what would be advantageous to him to buy to sell again ; but
he found wheat et 655. per quarter. " That won't do," says
he, " I can get it at Dantzic at 30s. , I won't take wheat."
He looked agaio ; he saw iron at 61. per ton. " That
won't do," he says again, " I can get it at Sweden
at 41. per ton." But there was one article which he
saw had not risen, an article ton whie i was the easiest of any
to carry away-gold. Gold has tint risen with the other cam.
modiiies, and therefore was to him the cheapest commodity,
and he took it. But, says an Englishman to this foreigner,
" You ought not to refuse taking our productions at our prices,
even if they are what you call h'gh, for you have had the benee
fit of bringing your goods to the same market, and obtaining
si oiler prices for them, and after all our prices nil, give us a
fair return for our °en expenses." " That is all very well,"
rej wls the foreigner, " but I like to take the cheapest which
I can find-t our iron, your lead, and your wheat, are all much
dearer than your :wild. I like your gold best. I prefer taking
your untaxed gold' to your taxed articles." Away, therefore,
the gold went. Suppose this operation to be continued for any
length of time, what would be the ultimate result ? Why, that
the country, and consequently the. Bank of England, wnuhf be
drained of its gold. So long a, goods were higher than gull,
gold w old be chosen by the foreigner in preference to goods.
-( Hear, hear. ) But the Bank of England being compelled
by law always-to provide gold on demand. was obliged to have
recourse to energetic though destructive measures to get the
gol i back again into its coffers. Then came the pressure
upon the prottuctive classes, agricul, ural and manufactur-
ing. The Bank of Euglaml knew tiiat the cause of the
gold going abroael was its cemperative cheapness, and
however grieved it might feel in putting an end to a
prosperous state ef things in luced by remunerative prices,
stern necessity compelled. The Bank must have the gold
back at all tote:Jets, and it took measures for bringing down
corn and all other productions, which were se much hiener
than the geld to the level of gold, for the Bank knew well
enough that that was the only eff mtual inethod et stopping
the exeort of gold and twinging it hack to its own coffers.
Phis
was done by the Bank beginnine to withdrew its supply of
notes, refusing discounts, or selecting only the very highest
character of bills for discount; raising the rates of interest,
contracting its accoinmoslation to country bankers, and varlets,
other methods which it had at its command By the use of
these means the general circulating medium became contracted;
everybody somehow or other found himself shmt of money •
there was no effecting sales without submitting to a redumien'
in prices, and in proportion to the intensity of the pressure was
the fall of prices, which fall only ceased till timings were
broueht down as low or lower than the price at which gold
was fixed. They were, therefore, placed on the horns of a
dilemma-if the Bar.k managed to keep the gold its the
country, it only did Si by keeping all our produce so low in
price itS to ruin the agricul twists and rnauulacturers, because
they del not get back what they had peel in taxation. On the
other hand, it they mot remunerating prices, and paid their
workpeople for their labour, then away went the gold, and the
Bates and our Inontsiary system were butte in danger
of being troment to a standstill_-( Hear, hear.)
In illustration of this, the lecturer r (*erred tin the panic of 1815,
which he seet was a rnemoralee lessen of the vascillating and
insecure revere of our present monetaryeystem. He then
p ~ reeee,l„l, considerpa,,i the causes of that Sir It, Peel's
Currsnt'y 8.11 of Ibl9, he said, instead of lo;:ering prices only

4 per cent., as its abettors had prophecied, speedily pulled
them down 40 or 50 per cent. Wheat, which had been 705.,
80s., and 9W. per quarter, was brought down by the latter end
of 18'2 to about 38s. ; meat, which had been sold for 4s. 6d.
or 53. per stone, was reduced to 2s. tid., and other things in
like proportion. This unexpected reduction in the income of
the sealers of commodities, without a proportionate reduction
of the national debt, caused such depression and ruin, that the
Ministers were alarmed, and hastened to relieve the distress by
the re-issue of one-pound notes, thereby inducing greater ac-
commodation by the country bankers. The end in view was to
increase the prices of goods which bad fallen so low ; that was
what was scanted, but, as he had already shown, the prices of
goods could not permanently rise without the gold leaving the
country, unless gold and silver were permitted to rise in the
same proportion. The Ministry were told this by persons who
understood the currency, but all areument was in vain—they
persisted in forcing up the prices of goods. while they kept gold
down at 31. 17s. 10id., and the result turned out as
had been anticipated. Gold left the country—the Bank lost its
stock of bullion—the nation was convulsed from end to end, and
had the panic continued twenty-four hours longer, Mr. Huskis -
son said, that a system of barter must have been resorted to.
What was wanted, continued the lecturer, was a system which
would let gold rise in the same proportion as taxation raised
the price of other things. If gold thus rose it would not be
exported, and a permanently remunerating price both for corn
and everything else would be obtained. —( Hear, hear.) And
here he would pause to inquire how, under the operation of the
present depressing system, was it possible for the farmer to
avoid pressing unduly on the labourer? It was the result ne-
cessarily engendered by the operation of the low price system,
and it could not be otherwise, unless they enabled the farmer to
pay better wages by giving him better prices for his produce.
It was all very easy for gentlemen of the manufacturing dis-
tricts, who counted their profits by thousands, to declaim
against the low wages of the agricultural labourer, and exult-
ingly to point to the condition of their own work-people by
way or contrast, thus taking credit to themselves for superior
generosity. This, however, was a very fallacious way of lock-
ing at. the matter. If they really wished to contrast the matter
fairly, let them compare the amount of wages paid with the
amount of profits realised from the wages.—( Hear, hear.)
But in order that gold might be able to rise in proportion to
other things, they must have a kind of currency which
would allow of this taking place ; they must have
another vehicle or medium of exchange ; and that could
be obtained by the issue of a fixed amount of Government Ex-
chequer money, based upon the proceeds oi the annual taxes.
In swill a currency as th.s, goad could rise or fall like all other
commodities, according to supply and demand, and in subser-
vience to the amount of taxation imposed up en goods. But
here they were met with what Sir Robert Peel, and those who
agreed with him, thought an insuperable objection. " What."
say they, " are you foolish enough to recommend that the
paper currency of the country should be convertible into gold
at the market price, instead of the fixed price that we have
now? Pray what would your pound be ? What would your
pound note mean ? This year, perhaps, gold would be 4/. an
ounce, and then your one pound note would exchange in the
market for a quarter of an ounce of gold ; next year gold
might be M. an ounce, and then your pound note, instead of
being the fourth-part of an ounce of gold, would only be the
fifth-part of an ounce ; and it gold were to rise to 6/. an ounce
then your pound note would be only the sixth•part of an ounce.
yeur pound would be always chsuging. upsetting all
contracts, and alternately robbing ail debtors and creddors.
No, no; let us have a pound which is fixed and invariable
in value. Let us have a pound which will alnays command a
certain definite quantity of gold or silver ; then we know
what we are about. But if the pound is to be a thing con-
stantly changing in value, nobody will know what thy are
doing." He had put this question in as strong a mariner as
he possibly could, because, in the first place, it was an ex-
ceedingly prevalent one, and, secondly, because he was
anxious to grapple with it in its most imposing form.
I he whole matter resolved itself into this simple question—
ought or taught not our money denomination, whether pound,
dollar, shilling, or franc, to be or represent at all times and
under all circumstances a certain definite (that was, an a.cer-
taicied and invariable) quantity of gold and silver? Sir R.
Peel slid it ought. He (the lecturer) humbly presumed to
say it ought not, and joined issue with him on this point. His
position was, that neither in this nor any other country ought
the money denominations to represent under all circumstances
a fixed and invariable quantity of gold or silver, and if they
overthren Sir Robert Feel upon this point, they, upon his own
confesion, overturned the whole of his currency scheme, for he
'ail said the whole of his measure rested upon that assumption.
—( Hear, hear. ) The lecn.rsr next remarked upon the
sources from which the revenue of the country was derived.
Eight-tenths cf it, lie said, was derived from duties upon com-
modities, and the price of them ought to depend upon the
amount of taxation inspo3ed ; for, as Mr. M.Culloch had justly
ob.erved, " when taxes are placed upon commodities, their
prices must rise in a corre•peeding proportion, otherwise the
producers will not obtain their ordinary rate of profit." After
some further able arguments upon the evils connected with a
fixed, unvarying price of gold, the lecturer proceeded to re-
mark that the system regulated the quantity of money in cir-
culat on, not by the wants of the people and the demands of
agriculture and commerce, but by the quantity of a certain
foreign metal which it was probable could be procured by the
Bank at the price fixed for it ; ant' there was no class of
persons where inierests had suffered so much from this cause
as the agricultural class. In London and other great
towns great facilities were afforded by bills of exchange
and promissory notes, so that the pressure which would other-
wise be felt was relieved in a great degree by these substitutes.
But in the country districts, where bil s of exchange were
almcet unknown, the want of an abundant supply of circulating
medium was most severely felt. The lecturer then alluded to
the restrictions placed upon the issues of country hank sby the
recent Act of Parliament; after which he said—However
clear and demonstrable this subject might appear to himself
and to the meeting, yet he was aware that in an assembly of
thinking men to whom a difficult subject had been fur the first
time brought under their consideration, that some such
thoughts es the following would be prevalent:—" Well, it ap-
pears, as far as I can judge, very plain and very true; but Si
R. Peel and other eminent men are of a different opinion, and
I wonder why this is : they surely must see the subject in some
other light, or perhaps they are acquainted with something
more respestitig it that has not been brought forward lay the
lecturer to-day. I should very much like to hear a little snore
of whet such parties as those have to sty to it. I should like
fully t and rstand the opposite opinion, that I might be able
fairly to judge between them, for at {Present I have only heard
one side of the question." He (the lecturer) would therefore
to the best of its ability, and without knowingly withholding
anything, give them Sir R. Peel's view of the subject, as se
forth in his public speeches upon the question, and then
leave them to draw a fair comparison between their views.
Sir R. Peel's view appeared at first sight to be very
correct and simple, and indeed it was true, as for as it
went, for it was wrong rather because it was incomplete,
and did not embrace all that was necessary to be con-
sidered, than that it was wrong in itself abstractedly. Sir 11.
Peel's philosophy of money appeared to he embodied in the fol-
',wing reflections What ie money ?" He answered
" The measure of value, that is the instrunient we make use u
to determine the value of commodities : we use a foot or a yard
as a measure of length ; we use an euuce 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. Then he
asks—" What is the grand essential characteristic of all these
as measures? What is it that constitutes their efficacy? Is it
not that they should be accurate arid invariable quantities
themselves? How can they accurately measure ocher things,
if they are in their own nature fluctutting and uncertain ?
What should we think of a foot measure that was made of
such a material that one day it was twelve inches loeg, 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 it should be invariable in length in
order that it may accurately measure the length of other
thins:s ?" 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 It. Peel went on a little further and reas9ned thus :
" A, the great essential quality of money ought to be its in-
variability in v duo, I must make my money of that commodity
which is the least liable to alteration in value, arid 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, ac iording 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 gild roe money; it is steady in its supply ;tom the
mines ; it takes nearly the saute labour and expense for scores
of years together to bring it into the market ; bad seasons do
not lessen the crop of it, and good seasons d i 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 Pc el's second principle, therefore, was—that as gold
was naturally more invariable in value than any other coin-
medity, geld was by far the bsst commodity to make money of
so far as invariability in value was concerned. But, said Sir
R. Peel again so 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 clay than all the geld 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-Ertl: of the trade of the nation, and
reduce us to a state of semi-barbarism. I must contrive
some other mosey 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 menet; 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 evidsnt front his own words—`c What
I want is Ins—that I shall have en ample sueply of that paper
currency whose value shall be exactly 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 plausibla, and even correct
a- far ai they went, they were incorrect, because they did not
ierns:uarraecre)thieenwi,hd
in tutu, where
Now, the first principle he ( the
He where en indirect taxation prevailed.
assertesl that the effect of indirect taxation was to lessen the
I value of money in exact proportion to the degree in which that
I form of taxation was impreed.—( Hear, hear. ) He did not
say that indirect; taxa ion lessened the value of the
commoditiesmak of g
e money of a.e golf and
certain dseifilyneirte invariable riaobf le aimoney.dLua,t to
mu-t lie no taxation, but direct tax. .s. "e'n as property-
tax—ail duties from greets must behetakjanrtoeff:—:and that brought.
inttyvolanzs., ,
tarts
oSfi r R.
him to the assertion with which
Peel's currency principles were correct
case, and not as the whole of the ease
sibly be so formed as to merit Sir R. Peel's dere'rifia.ct:mieueti.4o'lfVoitt:
such money would throw all the taxes upon the
other producers. It would not matter to the consumer': and
purchasers how much taxation their produce was burdened with in the course of its production. They would not be called 0100:t
to contribute to it ; their money arising from rents, intere-ts
and investments, would be a thing of invariable value,'
Whet a hoe infraeri n, then, of the principle that
" when taxes are laid upon commodities, their prices
mast rise in proportion," would this kind of money
of Se- Robert. Peel's be. ( Hear, hoar.) Sir Robert Peel was
lab iuring more and more by every successive measure to make
money more and more invariable in value, to regulate the issues
of it in such a manner as should tender it more anti more diffi-
cult to add taxation to the prices of all produce, agricultural
and manufacturine. He could not bring himself to believe
that Sir Robert Peel was doing this with a full understanding
lat,,,fivs nevertfhul erbeesra
Navinriinngi bli, u
of
ythis point ; he was subjecting himself to an
fliifehiets.
tl
y wereptccheuitv
perceived
de
tthheoui
intimate
aitte
ne
acroonsefrom
and mutual influence upon each other oftaxation.
Having, and
Having, he hoped, satisfactorily disposed of the first ofthse
principles, it would not be nece•sary fori him to refute at any
lemith the other two, far,camires.{,niii,titerf, the succinct principle, if
vaold
lue
i'vewabaisl ioatry' onlyyoufar vlhiatoyl u ewb e;hsitacthi if', us hnceie)t'hcaniiiiirl
yslm °n"
beeause of its
invariability of
not to possess, then it naturally followed thanatewe gold Olndotw,asbuntoctoigtihiet
barauirinsticiptileie; same argument
best commodity to make mane
applied with equal force to the ilhiorit,le'el gold itself
inva-
riability of value, neither could that paper itn)fonitesfy'inrwa
was not the best thing for money,
ithfair,sael
value
was exactly conformable to gold, -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 suagested 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 5l) 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
would be paid the public dividends, the salaries to public ser-
vants, the pay of the army and navy, &c. While Government
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 tnithe 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 10,000,000/. in Government notes;
30,000,0001. in Bank notes of various kinds, and 10,000,1001. 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 he 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 50,000,0001. in Government notes would be in course of
issue. The proceeds of the taxes might then be 35,000,000/.
in Government notes, 10,000,0001. in Bank notes, and pay off
5,000,0001. in gold. We should cancel the 35,000,t 001. and
the further sum of 10,000,0001. in Exchequer-bills with Bank
notes. The 5,0,-0,000/. of gold we should send to the Hint.
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 he 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, &c., as thus :—Gold, 41. 17s. 4d.
Sovereigns 255. each. With respect to the Bank of England
and other banks, they should he required to take up their own
notes en demand, in Government notes or in gold, at such
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 lengthened observations, in the course of which the lectu-
rer referred to the monetary system of former Governments, and
introduced one of the wooden Exchequer tallies, instituted by
Henry 1., representing in value about 1,260/., the lecturer
concluded his able address by a word of exhortation. He
trusted the meeting had seen what was the great defect in our
I:resent monetary system. If they asked him what they should
do, he would, say rally rotund those who had already organised
a society in London ( tue Society fur 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 high quarters. He
would also 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 their own hands, and it was a duty they owed to
themselves and the working classes generally, to enter int•
this contest, and manfully to fight the battle and redress the
grievances of those over whom they were placed.--(The lec-
turer resumed his seat amidst loud cheers. )
At the close of the lecture Mr. BALER, of Writtle, rose and
moved the thanks of the meeting to Mr. Capps for the lucid
exposition he had given of this subject. Though it might be
difficult to bring the mind at once to hear upon this important
question, still he thought they would concur in the views of
the lecturer upon it. Although Sir Rob, rt Peel was great as
a statesman and as an orator, he might, nevertheless, be wrong
in his views of firs question—a question, perhaps, the investi-
gation of which required a mind differently consitituted from
his.—( Hear.) And w hen 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 whether Pitt
was not right and Peel wrong. During the time of Pitt the
country, not withstanding the difficultit‘s it had to contend with,
tlsurished to a greater extent than at the present time ; the
profits on all articles were greater than was now 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 waiter 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 resolution, 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
it did, and having had so clear an explanation of it by
Mr. Capps, before they parted, he (Mr. Baker) would call
upon them to express their opinion that the subject required a
searching investigation on the part of the Legislature, in order
that if the present system was wroeg it might be set right, or if
right that it might he more fully established. He was satisfied
iu 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 Mr. 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 industry, or
that of free trade, can never be properly viewed without refe-
rence to a just currency. This meeting considers the subject
that has been explained of such vast importance to the agricul-
turists as to require the most careful and scrutinising investiga-
tion of Parliament on its re-assembling.