The Liverpool Standard and General Commercial Advertiser.
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, 1833-06-11 00:00:00

E Li VERPOOL STA NDA RD.

If they have any respect for themselves, any regard
for their families, any reverence for their protectors, any
detestation of the men who planned the conspiracy for
their disfranchisement and degradation, they will be at
some pains to carefully scan the characters of the persons
who have formed and who preside over these unlawful as-
sociations. They may not know,butwe happen to know, that
the authors of these combinations are the secret agents of
their political enemies. They have been commissioned
to do this nefarious work by the verypatriots who wish to
ride rough shod over the liberties of the town of Liverpool.
Their leaders are the hired foes of the freemen. They
are employed to ensnare them, and make their credulity
the excuse for traducing them in the first instance, and
robbing them afterwards. We therefore, in honest sin-
cerity, say to the freemen—BEWAßE

VtruEN the ministerial plan for remodelling or reform-
ing the currency was brought forward the other day by
Lord ALTIIORP, we took leave to point out those parts of
the scheme which either involved a new principle, or were
a positive departure from the provisions of PEEL'S bill of
1819. Although well satisfied as to the soundness of cur
own opinions, we were nevertheless rather surprised to
find that little attention was paid to the subject by any of
our contemporaries. Is this to be accounted for on the
score of apathy, or is the study itself so intensely dry and
abstruse, that our fair-weather politicians avoid it as a
lame man would a steep ascent or a rough road ?
Be this as it may, we are glad to observe that one of
the most intelligent of the Bank directors, Mr. YOUNG,
at the meeting of last week, took exceptions to the scheme
on the same round as we had previously done in the
STANDARD. The honourable member observes:— _ _

" As to making Bank of England notes a legal tender by
every one but by the Bank and its branches, that was a question
that involved the security of the whole country. (Cries of hear,
hear.) All the property of the country was to be in Bank of
England notes, thereby presuming, of course, that the Corn-
pany was to be immaculate; and he highly objected to the
proposition. Besides that, they must be the collectors of all the
gold in the kingdom, and the consequence would be, they would
have all the metallic currency of the country in their own
coffers. That was investing the Bank with a power that would
be most injurious to the public. If country bankers were not to
be compelled to provide a metallic currency, how were the mane-
.fitcturers pf the country to be enabled to pay the wages ? (Hear,
hear.) They would he put to a serious inconvenience for the
want of a small metallic currency, and consequently the Bank
would be driven to an issue of small notes—a means, certainly,
of increasing its responsibility, and of course its difficulties.
(Hear, hear.)"
We argued the case in the same way, but of course
without having the practical knowledge of Mr. YOUNG.
In the first place, it is proposed by Lord ALTHORP to
make the notes of the Bank convertible into gold, not
only at head-quarters in London, but at all the agencies
of the Bank throughout the country. In other words, the
Branch Bank at Exeter, or Bristol, for instance, may be
required to give gold for every Bank-note which may be
presented for that purpose at that particular place. 'We
contended, and we still contend, that this would be a most
dangerous experiment, and one to which we cannot con-
ceive it possible that the directors will agree. Let us
suppose a case under the new law. Mr. ROTHSCHILD, or
any other large capitalist, takes a pique against the Bank
—is insulted—is offended--is perhaps injured—and in
the spur of the moment resolves to punish or expose the
Bank. He collects its paper to the amount of a million
sterling, hurries down to Devonshire, and demands gold
for this paper at the Branch in Exeter. Is it likely that
that Branch would have so much specie at any given
time ? Certainly not, for one rule must apply to all, and
if the Exeter Branch should require a million of gold, the
Liverpool and Manchester Branches would require three
millions each, the Birmingham two millions, and all
the other Branches a proportionate sum, which, indepen-
dent of that required by the Old Lady herself, would be
a larger sum in gold than it would be possible to collect,
or at least keep in England for many weeks.
This being the case, we were confident that the go-
vernment would be compelled to abandon this part of
their plan, and we are still of the same opinion What
then becomes of the proposition to make Bank of Eng-
land notes a legal tender ? How are they to be con-
verted into gold ? One pound notes, it would appear,
are condemned without even the hope of a respite. We
are to have a flood of five pounds, but nothing in the
shape of change except gold and silver, the first being
expelled by the paper, and the latter not being a legal
tender. Of what then is our small circulating medium
to consist ?

Some authorities contend, and amongst the rest Mr.
LLOYD and Mr. GROTE, that country bankers will always
be induced to keep a quantity of gold for the benefit of
their customers. True,for their customers, but it is only
one person in a hundred who has any dealings with
bankers. The banker is not compelled to pay in gold,
and consequently he will not give gold to a stranger
unless lie be paid a commission. Thus we Should have
Bank of England notes selling at Exeter and Swansea,
as Dublin notes are sold in London,—at a discount—a
ten pound note, perhaps, not being worth more than
£9 10s. in gold.
The whole subject is beset with difficulties, and we
wish Lord ALTRORP joy of them.

We take leave to recommend to the especial notice of
the magistrates of Cheshire an attentive perusal of a let.
ter, which will be found in another part of our paper,
under the signature of "A." The scenes described are
such as ought not, cannot, and must not be any longer
tolerated: they are a nuisance, a violation of the divine
law, the laws of decency, and the law of the land. In a
former number we adverted to the abominable treatment
which the poor brutes on the Cheshire side of the Mersey
were subjected, to gratify,mere children, whose puerile
pleasures we are far from having the slightest wish to
interfere with; but, when it assumes the complexion it
now does, that of systematized cruelty, we can no longer
refrain from calling upon the authorities to put it down.
We apprehend that Mr. Martin's act for the protection of
animals is the law of the land, and therefore applicable to
every part of England. Why are its salutary provisions
suffered to become a dead letter in Cheshire ? ‘Ve hope
that no respectable persons, after this exposition of the
revolting practices here alluded to, will be found among
the patrons of the steamers and hotels who have hitherto
derived their chief profits froth this most unholy desecra-
tion of the sabbath. We again repeat, that we have no
wish to interfere with the innocent pastimes of the work-
ing classes, but we must say, it would be better that these
hotels and steamers should be deserted altogether, than
that such acts of abominable cruelty and indecency should
be tolerated.