The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1859-07-11
Influences Of the War ON Trade-stagu~tiOn
afCasnmsreinl (1peraflons EYoryyYhere.

influences OF the War on Trade-StaguatiOn
of Commercial Operations Everywhere.
The depressing effect of the present war in
Italy on the commerce of the world has dis
PEELED the golden dreams Of those who, for time,
supposed that it was going to produce great
activity here and rapid fortunes for our merchants
and shipowners.
Every mail that arrives from Europe brings
to our bankers and commercial men letters from
their correspondents there, all painting the same
stagnation and continued distrust in trade. 1t is
not only in Au1gia and Germany thai this fee'iug
prevails; but in those countries which will strive
and still hope to remain neutral the same state
of things exists. Merchants refuse to enter upon
those enterprises which require time for rpeir de-
velopement and maturity, and which constitute
the life Of the trade of nations. Capitalists de-
cline to loan their money except to the most
steadfast houses and then only Tor short periods.
The natural result of this state Of things is an
abundance of money and a scarcity OF safe eni-
ployment for it. In fact, the credit system is In
state Of collapse, and its contraction is pinch.
ing commerce severely.
cited to produce like effects. The currency OF
the world is experiencing the same pressure of
contraction with the credit system. The war
has awakened the spirit of boarding to such an
extent that Sardinia, Austria, and even Russia,
have been compelled to resort to the doubtful ex-
pedient of suspension Of specie payments
Conflicting as are the views of the opposing
schools Of political economists as to the effects Of
such measure on the internal trade of any
country, they all agree that il must be disastrous
to the foreign trade, because there can be no
such thing as suspension of specie payments in
the foreign trade Of any country. Exchanges
between nations must always be reduced to their
equivalent in the precious metals; and when
ever the spirit Of boarding creates scarcity and
increases the relative value of these, it must
have restrictive effect on finance and trade.
A third cause which is producing disastrous
influence on commerce is the fact that war can
not be carried on, either at home or abroad,
without large sums Of specie for its uses and pay
ments Thus, England has been under the ne
cessity of sending large sums of silver to India
Austria has been compelled to resort to the sys.
tenn of forced loans in order to supply her
army chests and Prussia had to resort to
trick and deception to secure public
subscriptions to her loan Of thirty mil
lions of thalers. Bavaria had not even the
power to do that, and all the arts of the Court
than three hundred thousand forms for subscrip-
ton to the proposed Bavarian loan of four mil
lions. But, though the power and the arts of
governments succeed in finding specie for their
armies this does not return it to the channels of
trade. 1t merely changes its hiding place, for
the spirit of boarding absorbs it as rapidly as
the parched and thirsting earth absorbs the rain
All Of these causes combine to produce the
present stagnation in commerce and the future
disasters that will attend it. Credit and cur.
rency are the great pillars Of the fabric of trade,
and when these are attacked the entire edifce
is menaced. The present war has shaken them
severely, and they have not fallen only because
the great commercial nations are not involved
n it. Should the conflict become general in
Europe, VIC shall have arevulsion in the financial
has never seen, for it has not known a general
European war except through the pages of
history, and history records little more than the
glory Of the soldier. The thousands Of mer-
chants that it carries bankrupt to tue
grave, and the pinching want and misery
of the industrial classes through the impossi-
bility of exchanging with other nations their
productions, are only glanced at incidentally, or
entirely ignored. During the great struggle of
England with the first Napoleon her people were
reduced to state of beggary, and her merchants
were nearly all destroyed, though she had the
entire command of the ocean. Few or none of
the merchant princes that now constitute her
boast and her power can trace their fortunes
back beyond the peace Of Vienna. Army con-
tractors and the desperate followers Of the camp
then constituted her wealthy class.
The scope, the appliances and the multitudes
of trade, are far greater now than they ever were
at any former period; and, as a natural conse-
quence, the stagnation Of war must be more
widely felt. The extent Of the commercial en-
terprises that have hitherto quickened commerce,
.
gether stopped, constitutes much larger pro-
portion of the movements Of mankind than at
any former epoch. The crops that will find a
diminished market for their surplus, the fleets of
ships that must lie idle at their wharves. aud
even the vast amounts of capital that must cease
TO bring returns to its owners or to stimulate
the exchanges of trade, form an immense ele-
ment in the scheme Of industry, and its distur-
bance by the operations and influences of war
cannot be replaced by anything that war can
create, nor can it be restored suddenly to its
normal state In this way the present fears that
the war may become general in Europe are
almost as disastrous as war itself would be- Our
commercial community should be prepared for
the worst A stagnant year will be nearly as
disastrous as a revulsion would be: and with the