The Athens post. [volume] (Athens, Tenn.) 1848-1917, 1855-11-02
COMMERCIAL TROUBLE IN ENGLAND

NeW IOTh liefaiuN P"s'e "''N'''o" 10 W.
rected to the commercial intelligence from
Great Britain which is most alarming. The
drain of specie had continued till the Bank
of England, finding its stocks Of bullion ap-
proacl the low figure at which it stood in
January last, decided to raise the rate of in
terest to b l.2 per cent. The announcement
naturally created much alarm. According
to the sanguine money writer of the London
Times, the bears were chiefly to be found
among the Greek merchants who are friends
of Russia, and the British politicians who
lean to the side of Austria. But there seems
no very good ground FOR narrowing the cir
Gle within such small limits. 1t is notorious
that large portion css;hs mercantile commu-
nifty has looked fay, - {pt some time to The
prospect of g& ss,5f ssebast ~ l@a g s1A,r
hope that it would relieve the market. Now,
Sehastopol has fallen, and instead of helping
the merchants, the event has steadily depress.
ed all public securities, and close on its heels,
the Bank has raised the rate of interest to
figure which practically puts stop TO one
half the commercial operations in England.
1t is not necessary to be Russophite, one
would fancy, to regard such u state Of
things us with uneasiness and alarm.
TO American readers, this news will not
appear surprising. 1t has long been expected.
No one in this country believed that Eng.
land and France could maintain the enormous
expenditures Of the past year without feeling
them severely; especially rs in the former
country, at least, the government has very
properly declined to pursue the old plan of
mortgaging the future to raise money. When
the difficulty would arise, no one saw very
clearly. 1t seems 10 have been precipitated
at the present moment by two causes. The
first of these is the partial failure OF the crop
In Paris we learn that corn has already reach.
ed the maximum price-that is TO say the
highest figure at which foolish imperial
law allows it TO be sold and great
dissatisfaction is expressed because the
Emperor refuses to apply the same alb
surd system to butchers meat, and forbids
it sale over u fixed price. In England, the
apprehensiOns of a scarcity Of grain are SO
great that immense sums OF money have been
sent into Austria to buy up all the surplus
of the Austrian provinces: there being sort
Of impression among the British corn factors
that partly from the large quantities of bread.
stufs required for home consumption, and
partly from the manpuvres Of the seaboard
speculators to sustain the price, very little
reliance can be placed upon the supply
from America. These circumstances Ger.
ttinly had much to do with fastening the
crisis.
But a second cause was equally influential
1t is well known that many years ago, on II
certain occasion when British credit was
shaky, the Russian court and royal family
invested some ten millions of pounds in Bri.
tish securities. II was familiar operation
to the Russians. LOUIS Philippe was once
aided in the same way; and in lS47, the Aus
trah government was saved from ruin by II
similar subsidy from the same quarter. Since
the war broke out, it is understood that the
Russians have been gradually selling out
their British funds and requiring their money
to be sent them back in gold. Latterly these
sales Of stock have beer very large, and the
shipments correspondingly 80. Hence We
find the funds falling from 90 to 81 in
the course of month-thut same month
which witnesses the greatest triumph the
Allies have won since the beginning of the
war--and the gold in the Bank of England
falling in four months from eighteen to about
thirteen millions.
On the 4lh of October it was officially
announced that the rate of interest would
hereafter be five and Il half per cent.
In the article from the London Times,
which we give elsewhere, it is said that the
Bank of France, to prevent disturbance and
alarm, and to avoid raising the rate of inter-
est, has been buying up four millions of gold
at u premium and selling it at par. Such an
operation is well worthy of tho financial
minds which conceive and carry out u law
fixing maximum price of wheat. But after
all, it only accounts for four milions-much
of which must find its way back; and gold
does not seem so very plentiful at Paris eli.
ther. There can be very little doubt that
most of tho gold in the Bank of England has
gone to Russia.
Looking to the future, the Times money
writer prepares the public for "that mitigated
form of national bankrutcy which consists in
n suspension Of specie payments" 1t must
come to this apparently. Such result is
inevitable when nation banking on the
same principle as Engand-ramely, de-
post of bullion equal to one third the amount
OF its circulating pnper-goes to war with
another nation which has the power TO draw
away the gold. In time of peace. British
bank notes, and British credit are better than
gold; but so long as the war lasts the Rus.
slams will be apt to prefer the latter. Poll
ticians already talk of II repeal of Sir Robert
Peal's act, which would be followed i'm.
mediately by suspension of specie pay.
ments.
tW- Twelve officials, conductors and brake.
men, of the Central Railroad, Rochester,
N.,,, Vork ,v.re arrested IN the lhth ult ,