New-York daily tribune., 1856-01-15

note. N an amount limited ouly BY its own dis
cretion. This bold step at once restored Puphc
confidence after which the law of 1874 resumed
is course but not unchallenged. AT the neN'
session of Parliament committee OF inquiry was
sppointed in both Houses, and the committee oil
the Lords in very able report condemned the
principle of Peers Act; the report OF the COM
mittee of the lower House. csrried by the casting
vote Of the Chairman, was favorable to that act.
Such authorities in economical science as MN ana
Tooke published their opinions at this time that the
act was productive of more mischief than oeneht,
and this point the currency agitation was SET 70
rest until the present monetary pressure caused oy
the drain of gold for war supplies has called ii again
into life
There are three currency parties in England The
first is the men of the statxs quo, who are called
the Bullionists; next, there are the moderate he-
formers, who wish a repeal or modification OF the
settlement of 5i4 and, thirdly, there are the rad
ical currency Reformers who desire ineonvertible
paper money, according to the ideas OF Robert
Owen and Messrs. Atwood and Spooner, the Bir-
mipebam bankers from whom this party has re-
These last We may dismiss as not possessing SUI
fcient influence TO make them OF any account save
in so far as they act with the moderate Retormers
This body includes the chief political economists
country bankers. and their organ, The Bankers
Mago.ine, mill-owners aud traders of the manutac-
turing districts and the small capitalists generally.
In Parliament its chief strength lies in the Lords,
and in the Tory party of the Commons who desire
o overthrow the act of l644 out OF enmlty to It's
author, together with number OF independent
members of the Liberal party. The strength OF
the BulliOnsts is in the metropolis aud the House
of Commons. The three National Banks OF the
three Kingdoms are of course interested in sustain
ing their present monopoly; the London banks,
which have no issue department, but are mere
banks of deposit, are on the same side. In the
Press The London Times is a jealous partisan OF
the Bullionsts; in the House OF Commons they
have had up TO the present time good majority
embracing all the moderate Conservatives. Wings
and many of the Radicals.
The argument of the moderate Retorners is that
the community demands medium OF exchange
proportioned in amount TO its wealth and business
transactions: that what was sufficient supply OF
paper in l644 will not suffice for the wants OF looo
even the development of the national resources that
have accrued in the interval tho only considera
ton; but that that insuiciency has been peculiarly
aggravated by the drain of gold occasoned oy the
war. which has narrowed the foundation on which
all paper above 100000 must be based One
nronosition is that the Bank of England be EN-.
powered to issue G2O,0OO,00O on its own credit,
instead of GA ,000 900, as at present. This would
add SO, 900, 900 to the currency, which Is not de-
pendent on the reserve of gold in the Bank cellars
and exactly fill the hole made in the circulating
medium by the war expenditures. We may rely
on il that the currency agitation IS about to assume
large dimensions, and to evoke from the leading
minds of the British Parliament and Press an earn
est and searching discussion.
Our own view of the case is, that while the
system of Sir Robert Peel has secured great sta
bility to the currency OF England it Is neVerthe-
ess essentially defective. The idea of absolutely
fixing the sum of paper money which shall be al
lowed to circulate in commercial country IKE
the United Kingdom, without any specie basis,
is on the face of it an absurdity. To be sure, If
he sum is large enough it might do. because the
Inevitable fluctuations in its wants might all come
within the limit. But in establishing the sum, as
Sir Robert Peel did, at something near what he
considered the demands of the community, ne did
thing no more sensible than to make the clothes
of a growing child upon one pattern. The needs
of growing commercial community for clrcu-
latiDg medium expand with every hour of its
growth What will serve in one year may be
totally inadequate for another What seems to us
to be the plain policy for England, as for all coun
tries where paper money circulates is to permit
the circulation to adapt itself to the CONNER
cal necessities OF the country, simply hold
ing that paper issue to fixed proportion
of specie in bank In his Bill, Sir Robert Peel
assumes that circulation of twenty millions
issued by the Bank of England would be safe
and proper issue on a specie basis OF f6,OOO0 900,
the remaining fourteen being secured by gov
ernment debt. If this be 50, is it not equally true
that a circulation OF double the amount is safe
and proper issue when resting upon double specie
basis and double amount of equally valid secur-
tiles Without undertaking to say precisely what
proportion oil specie TO It's circulation Dauh
should hold We are clear that when that proportion
is established, the amount of the issue should be
left to the needs OF the trading community with
only such guards in reference to the capital of the
bank as oil experience has shown to be reasonable.
This is preeminently the case with bank of large
and abundant means like that of the Bank Of En-
gland, and far removed from all suspicion OF being
operated as swindliDg institution.