Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1855-10-23
wAsH1xeroH NEWS AND GOSSIP.

Inc fan1c.-NeW 1ork seems ihchneu w ~
almost into fits for fear the threatened suspen-
sion of specie payments in France may force
such a measure on the banks of this country.
There can be no doubt that France is on the
eve of that description of bankruptcy, and
that her financial inducements also threaten
England. The decrease Of the amount of
specie in the banks of France and England
during the last four months has been alarm
ing, and has been caused directly or indirectly
by the war; France has borne the pecuniary
brunt Of the war, and to obtain specie for its
expenses in sufficient quantity has been Sc
cretly paying premium necessarily high, to
extract most unwillingly on its part, from the
Bank of England, some SIS, 1000, 600. The
to have sold and obtained (mostly in English
specie) their investments in the English funds,
which amounted, when the war began, to
$50, 100000 The amount of specie in the
vaults of the Bank of France, notwithstand-
ing the extraordinary supply from England to
which We refer above, has become alarmingly
small indeed, owing to the drain to meet the
cost Of Louis Napoleon's share of the war.
1t may be that the very next European ar
rival will tell Of the suspension of specie pay
ment in France; or, at least, of a rise in gold,
there and in England, which will induce large
shipments of it from this country. Yet it
strikes US that with the existing French and
English demand for American breadstuffs at
the existing rates, naught but sheer reckless
ness and dishonesty on the part of the banks
of our commercial emporiums can involve
our commercial interests in the coming Euro
pean catastrophe. Every American bank
knows, to dollar, the number of notes they
have out, and by refraining from joining in the
gold speculation it is in their power to keep
their specie basis up to the sound and safe
"notch" or amount. What they lose by the
withdrawal of deposits for this game Of specu-
lation they may replace by reducing circula-
ton and eurtailing discounts
The condition of business, generally, in the
United States is remarkably healthy, the era
of Over-speculation having passed and gone
long since. 1t is, indeed, the duty of the
banks of the great cities to commence the work
Of guarding against the threatened European
crisis with as little delay as possible; an ounce
of prevention being worth pound Of cure es-
pecially in such matters.
Hullabuno.-We are not little amused
with the noise being made in Northern news
papers sympathizing with Britain in the cur
rent war, over the fact that the Emperor Of
Russia has offered employment to an Ameri-
can scientific man-an engineer. This is in
the face Of the fact that that Government has
honored our professional men, after the same
fashion, for perhaps quarter of a century;
and, never, without making the whole country
grateful, as it were, for the compliment in
volved in the fact that the scientific of Europe
a-head-ativeress Of Americanisn. As matters
stand now, however, the fact Of the tender to
the gentleman in question is attempted to be
used to break the force Of the British minister's
notorious violation Of the American naturali-
cation laws, involving violation Of his tacit
personal pledge as an ambassador. We need
hardly say that the employment of, or the
offer to employ the gentleman in question, en-
braced no violation whatever Of American
law-none whatever. -.-
By-the-by, it is singular that the journals to
which we refer above, have net noted the
late changes in the prices of gunpowder and
saltpetre in the United States markets, and
the cause thereof. Britain and France, by
their purchases of these articles in our midst,
have stripped our markets of them-literalIy
stripped them bare. The Messrs. Hazard, of
Connecticut, and Dupont, of Delaware, have
long been manufacturing Tin their more ex-
tensive mills than all the other American
powder mills put together) almost exclusively
for them. Why, the very powder used for the
late unsuccessful attacks on the Redan, went
to the Crimea from this country A single
factory of arms in Connecticut has been for
months past turning out quito thousand
patent rifles PEI month, and other fire arms in
considerable quantities, on an order from the
English Government, all of which have been
and are being shipped to the Crimea. Now,
as there is no violation of American law in
this commerce, its existence has given Us great
qualification indeed, insomuch as 1t is exceed.
ingly profitable to our countrymen. 1t isa
legal and legitimate business-as much 80 az
the employment Of American men of science
and distinguished mechanics at very hand.
some salaries by the Russian Government.
We regret that, so far, Russia has made few
purchases connected with the war in Ameri-
can markets, and attribute the fact wholly to
the difficulty Of getting supplies from the
United States into her ports through the Bal
tic, commanded as that sea is by the fleets of
the Allies. Small invoices of arms have re-
Gently gone from the United States into Ger.
many, ultimately, we trust, to find their way
into Russia; our hope being that the Emperor
may soon become an extensive customer of the
United States in that line ... q.
The Court of Claims This tribunel; "a fa;r