Lynchburg daily Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1852-1861, 1855-11-10
FROM / RANCE,
Extracts from Letter from an American Resi-
dent in France to his Friend in Washington.
La lAnE

dent in France to has Friend IN washington.
PARIS, OCT l5, 1855.
The npprehensons expressed in my recent
letters of commercial and financial crisis and
much general distress in Europe have been daily
gaining strength. You will note that there is
II sort of war between the two great Banks of
London aud Paris, owing to the latter having
drawn very large amount of gold from the for
mer. This forced operation: for when
banb ers can realize even one-eghth of per
cent by the transmission of gold, it flows freely
between the two countries under the natural op.
Grafton of exchange and commerce ; but in this
instance the President of the Bank of France.
who is clever an | efficient officer, by bold and
decided stop, agreed to pay one per cent. for
one hundred millions of francs in gold, (&2o, 0OO-
000) Every thing was adroitly managed with
out shadow Of suspicion in England, until the
gold was in the vaults of the Bank at Paris. So
great has been the drain of specie the
Bank of France that in the short interval of
one month, between two of their stated publica-
tons it had lost 49, 000,0O0 of francs upwards of
$50 600. The l00,00 600 drawn from Eng
land repenishes this II 20 that extent This GER
tainly is alarming in t. specie paying country,
where bank notes only circulate in the large cit
les; for even in the manufacturing towns of TWEEN
~ to forty thousand inhabitants n bank note is
seldom seen, aud no note is issued by the bank
for less sum than one hgndred francs
There Is another alarming feature in the recent
scarcity of silver, which il legal tender in this
conntry but now il is at a premium of from two
10 three francs per thousand, and when silver is
demanded in payment only an eighth or tenth Is
paid, and tn" balance in gold. The latter very
recently bore II small premium. Among the de-
mand; or drains for silver the export to the
East for the army; the Turkish loan drawn for in
hills and the returns in silver; remitianccs to
Spain tu pay for wines received from thence M.
der the failure of the vintage here; and now for
large purchases of wheat; aud, on the top Of all
this, boarding under the feeling of distru>t that Is
existing anl increasing. The change has been
great within few weeks, when gold bore a
premium and silver was more plenty than
bank notes. The suspicion is general that
gold will depreeiate and the premium Tor silver ad-
vance. So soon as the latter takes place to any
considerable extent of course the silver vii! all
disappear from circulation, aud become an article
OF sale only for the sake of the premium. 1T Is
reported that Russia has made Il heavy loan with
the Dutch aud German bankers. 1t so, the
whole amount will be paid in coin, tprobably
gold,) and SEM in that form to st. Petershurgh.
and the drain for it will fall heavily on England.
and also. bit much more lightly. on France.
Both England and France will have 10 pay
largely for foreign brcadstuftS Great eXertions
have been made and able pens employed to pro-
! duce the impression that the haryests OF the two
countries are not very short. | do not pretend
! to>sav what deficiency may exist in Great Britain,
! Int in this country it is officially admitted that
they will require foreign supply of twenty mil
lions of bushels. 1t is stated that Algeria will
lac able to supply from its surplus more than one
| hal of this. think, however, this is an over
estimate; but from good sources Conformation,
! believe from that quarter about o ,e third of the
deficiency, say six to seven millions OF bushels
! tlwo and half millions of hectolitres,) may be
relied upon. This Of course will be Il great re-
/ lief. 1t is most fortunate circumstance that
the potato crop all over Europe is good, and ii
the North If France has been very abundant
and good; more so than ever previously known
There it is great article OF food for the poorer
aud laboring classes. They cook it in various
ways, and, like the "Down- Casters" make it
kind of "hasty pudding" with lard and salt II
Italy and Germany the production has also beer
very large. If this crop had failed the distress
in Europe would have been greater than in the
famine year of 1917, which, under existing cir
cumstanres in other respects would have pro-
duced most lamcntable results over this entire
continent. as under an nsurrectionarv spirit
goaded to desperation by hunger the conse-
puences would have been such ais find no
comparison for in history