The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1848-03-14 00:00:00

"SIR,—As an old 'Money' Reformer I have had infi-
aite pleasure in reading your masterly articles in the
, and_ more especially from see-

on the currer

ing that you have avoided the fatal error of allowing the
general principle of ' Money' to •be confounded with the
subject of Banking, which is a question rather of circum-

stance or locality than of principle. Sometime ago I took
tile liberty of sending you, through Mr. Brooks, a rough
sketch of what I think should be done in England in
Money.: Permit me now to remark that I trust my

,ws entirely agree with yours, and that you will persist
not entering into the subject of whether the Banking
the United States is right or wrong. If we carry our

tciple this country will be infinitely more prosperous

. •
icier the worst system of Banking thin it could pOssibly
be under the best if the humbug of Gold is perpetuated.
Gold I have always viewed as a cannibal, that creates

mrifulence only to 'destroy it. The prejudice however is
in fairor of Gold (as at least the lesser evil) is so invete-
rate that I don't think ' MONEY REFORM' will ever be
carried, except we profess our willingness to retain gold
as the SECURITY OF THE CURRENCY, and confine our
objections to its being the MEASURE OF VALUE. On the
grounds that the change of the value of Gold robs the
labouring man, thus—the produce of a man's labour
brings in France—(ln a foreign, country the price got is
not dictated by the cost of the article.)-105 cents, of
which 100 goes to the industry of the United States, and
cents to the capitalist or man of money in U.S.—but
money becomes dearer through the export of Gold from
U.S.—and the man of money demands a proportion of
10 or 15 or 20 cents of the 105. Now this he is enabled
to do through your having adopted the principle of Sir
Robert Peel's Bill of 1819, by which a bank note is made
exactly in relation to gold, as a dock warrant is to indigo
—the scarcity of the article raises the value of the war-

rant, and the same enhancezient occurs to the bank note,
although to blind the people it is not allowed to express
itself directly, but only indirectly through capitalists'
money' fetching more interest and commanding more
commodities and labour when gold gets scarce through
exportation.

' What ' money' reformers.want, as I understand, is
t the whole industry and property of this country be
aoved beyond the changes on gold which are brought
)ut by foreign influence. We want to show the absui -
y of every kind of industry and
,property being made

ialeable and worth half nothing (is was lately the case

in England), because of the importation of double the
quantity of foreign labour we can pay for by our home in-
dustry. It is enough that our home industry be interfered
with by the competition of foreign labour, without having
the whole currency and also banking or confidence,.of the

country demolished 1)y the mode of paying for that foreign
labour. If gold must be paid (as of course it must for our im-
portations), let us arrange that its exportation shall not di-
minish the home trade. Gold must be put in the same
category as all other commodities, and permitted to rise
and fall according to the laws of supply and demand. It
were preeminently absurd to attempt to retain a standard
of value in a country whose imports exceed its exports,
except such a one as would• represent a gradual reduction,
as the country's industry and property would of course be

ore and more impoverished, the more the country out-
Ted its income. But even if there could be any doubt
to the above, it must be self evident, that gold would
) to no greater premium than the extent of the exports-
-311 of the article, or, in other words, the extent of Fo-
ign Exchanges are against us ; and that when the fo-
ign exchanges are at par, notes a LEGAL TENDER, and
)1d would be the same value. We cannot prevent gold
)preciating. It does so now—and at present its doing
to that extent depreciates all other property and
bour—a state of things so utterly ridiculous that it
11 not stand long in America. Quite in consistency
fh these opinions, I AM AN ADVOCATE FOR SIR R.
CEwTRICTIONS ON BANKING; and I see that
recent Currency Committee in England will come
nothing, because the QUESTION RAISED will be
r R. Peel's restrictions on banking,'
_instead of

EL'S E

e simple question of PRINCIPLE, CURRENCY,'
MONEY, to speak more correctly. I have long seen
iat you seem to see clearly, that we may have a NOTE
at will not depreciate in' reference to gold, any more
an any other property. For instance, you might take
irperty in New York to the value of a hundred millions,
d issue bonds thereon to twenty millions. Those bonds
add surely be as good as, or better (more saleable),
an any other property in the city. But, as I have said,
e prejudice in favour of gold is so 'inveterate, that to
ta change commenced from wrong to right principles I
xild consent to arrange the national money so as to leave
e people their GOLDEN BAUBLE till they got tired of the
pense of it. Without interfering with the present legal
nder, I would add thereto, say, TWENTY MILLIONS OF

ER, THE RECEIPTS OR EVIDENCES OF THE DEPOSIT
GOLD TO THAT VALUE, in a new department of the
sury at Washington (or of the proposed mint at New
k), allowing the Government to increase the issue of
to the extent therein an export of gold, or in other
Is to the extent the 20,000,000 of gold rises in value in
market, decreasing the circulation of PAPER THE EVI
GE Or DEPOSIT to the exteLic the gold fails In value
in other words, the- foreign exchanges got righted
s, I feel satisfied, would THE INDUSTRY OF THE
TED STATES I

FREE FROM FOREIGN INFLUENCE,
way. This plan would
ld, which he wanted, was
) would be the indigo or other articles he had im-
The mere capitalist or ' MONEYED MAN' would

t free in no (

to the industry of the country, for
liviciends he would get on his stocks would buy less
3ttr, and thus, and thus alone, we shall be able to make

a proper tribut

,nterest of the money market to encourage native
liscourage foreign labour in the markets of the United
the more the latter took the place of the
gold and all other commodities would
as compared with money—(' money' I understand
3e a legal tender or ISSUE BY THE GOVERNMENT
rrency,' properly speaking, is bank notes, or private
1s). I commenced to write a short note, but have
insensibly led on,.and for the length of this epistle I

to offer many apola

in conclusior
would be no

.that of course on my

in or interest accruing on the
enty millions gold ; but neither would there be any
he public. By and by the country would come to
; mime would be made by
t of the amount dividend

n there

ar,:pa

lent, humble servant,
ISAAC BUCHANAN

e following is the

OF CURRENCY FOR

LAND alluded

the foregoing letter :

c of England to issue fourteen
iblic owe the Bank. These
hi, silver, or in a NEW CLASS

:es would be pay

CES OV

at the market
I would com

)LD OR SILVER, TO THE
f gold and silver.)*
never to hold less

,o the whole amount, or any

•ould have the power of issuing
cal tender because an evidence

le legal-tender notes to

;, and a consequent

xtent the foreign exchung
icreased pfice of gold.

lo not believe that there can be a class of

those periods of popular
ly follow great political or
kall platform spouters and
influential portion of the
obscurity, so long as the
keeps within its legitimate
as our busy world main-
luable revolutions; no
check throw these out of
Lled to witness the des-
ch the process of infla-
Med nuisances, and to
sounds with which they
What a

hich invari

thunder,

for small grievances do

im or the tongue

that nett:

of paltry

o be palmed off upon us

onslaughts against ima-
esperate decapitation of
ake the very blood run
idering spectators. We
exhibitions. It is human.
owever, . we have too fre-
Is productive of mischief
it originators to check or
—a spark applied to a few
2onflagration which defies

nen to quench

led from its

nt from her

esty's

intention to im-

istry of Great

i • to five r