The weekly Minnesotian. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn. Territory) 1852-1858, 1857-12-12
ITOW tNS ". 7. HeFuttI, MO-. Z7W.
European COMvulsiOn...The Suspension
Of the Bank of England.

From the N. Y. Herald, Noe. 27M
European COMvulsiOn..-The Suspension
of the Bank of England,
That terrible event, which has been darkly
fOreshadowed in these columns on various
occasions during the past three weeks, has
come to pass at last the Bank of England
has virtually suspended specie payments
True, it is not literally a suspension. The
bank continues to redeem all it's notesin coin,
for the present. But it has been authorized
not to issue notes beyond the point of possible
redemption, and it has therefore proximately
or constructivey suspended. Should bust
ness suddenly revive and confidence return,
1t might not be found necessary for the bank
to issue larger amount of notes than it
could conveniently carry in 1847, when
Lord John Russell like Lord Palmerston now
took the responsibility Of authorizing the
bank to break tho law and overissue notes in
deed were issued, and the bank took care of
them without difficulty. But should the
present crisis last for any great period of
time, should disasters of still greater magni-
tude than those which have yet occurred be-
fall the straitened commercial world, it might
become necessary for the bank to issue such
an amount Of notes as it could by no common
possibility hope to be able to redeem in coin.
That contingency, which would be nothing
less than the utter ruin of the bank, is now
rendered possible,
Of the attitude Of the other European
banks we have but few details. All are rails
ing their rates of interest to the neighhor-
hood OF ten per cent. But can they stay
the storm with appliances Of that kind We
think not. The panic which caused the stop
page OF the Bank of England must spread a.
cross the Channel and it will be a piece of
uncommon good fortune if the banks of
France, Prussia, Hamburg and Frankfort do
not find themselves under apositive necessity
OF suspending specie payments. The shrew-
dest financiers foretold the speedy suspension
OF the Bank of France by last mail
We are thus in the same boat, and the Lon
don Times will probably revise the structures
it contained some days since on the uncom-
monty mercurial temperament of the Ameri-
can people, and their liability to be led away
by gusts and flaws of panic. Even solid John
Bull, it seems, went roaring to his bank for
his guineaS. IF the truth were known, indeed
we suspect that all the comm ercial and cor
porate rottenness is not on this side the water;
queer stories about frauds and breakdowns
~ "aS pS'G "uioi'CiCu tuc
Royal British Bank, it is feared, was not an
unique specimen.
At all events, whatever change the virtual
suspension of the bank may cause, it is quite
evident that nothing can for the present re-
store to England the control of the CONNER
cial affairs of the world. That control has
been vested in the United States by force of
circumstances. The priority of our revulsion
here, and the suspension Of our New York
Banks the sudden aggregation of specie
here, and the stagnation of trade, have placed
the United States in position to command
the world in commercial point Of view. We
can exact specie for our cotton, and Europe
cannot do without it ; we can keep all our
gold, and England cannot take it from U.S.
If our banks play their cards with ordinary
discretion this crisis will crown the commerce
of the United States as the controlling power
of the Worlds trade.