The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1865-11-20


for the Office, have been, as they are now, but
little better than public nuisance. Mr.. Clinch,
at this juncture, would be welcome and COM
plete relief against these disturbers of the adj
ministrati0n.
Financial History-suspension OF Specie
Payments In England.
This days edition of the HERALD, as will be
seen, is partly composed Of an epitomic history
covering the suspension Of specie payments in
Great Britain from 1897 to 1919, including re-
concentrations for final resumption in 1891,
embraced in report TO the British Parliament,
which was presented on the 9th Of May, 1919,
by a secret committee appointed for the pur-
pose of asccrtaining what legislation was neces-
sary to alleviate the serious consequences that
would be likely to follow forced sudden re-
sumption, or to report an act extending the
time for restoration to the metallic standard.
BY this report it will be observed that the
first law authorizing the Bank of England to
suspend specie payments for it's notes was
passed by the legislators of Great Britain and
received the sanction Of the Third George as
monarch on the Sd of May, 1897; and that by
supplemental acts Of Parliament, to the num-
Der of eleven, the suspension was legalized and
extended until May, fS21-embracing period
of twenty-four years.
| When the bank was first authorized to decline
The passing of mint issues over its counter in
redemption of the notes. upon all of which the
"promise to pay" was prominent, no panic
was created thereby, and no financial disturb
ance heralded the event. Paper money, which
became practically the legalized "coin of the
realm" was as plentiful then there as now here,
and the prospective success of the people
ELECTED the admiration of the world. Every
body was flush with bank issues, the spirit of
speculation was rife and rampant, the burdens
of the war which was then raging with France
were lightened, and prosperity seemed to
| fringe the entire kingdom. But when the
public began soberly to consider upon the
frailty Of paper wealth, to seriously con their
condition, and to look upon the thousands of
speculative schemes engendered by the eager
ness for easily acquiring fortunes, through the
| lenses Of reason, their precarious position be-
came apparent. Then commenced that series
of financial disasters which drew ecliptic sha-
dows over England's advancement. Panics
| and reyusions riots and bloodshed. running
through decade OF years, succeeded, which
shook the old kingdom, as by Peruvian earth
| quake, from centre to confines.
| The report being an authentic history will
| be found 10 contain matters of interest to
philosophic writers on domestic economy and
financial propagandists. 1t contains the senti-
| ments Of some of the most prominent financiers
in England at that time; and as the monetary
condition Of that country was somewhat SINH
| lar to that of the United States ut present,
some profitable ideas may be obtained bya
! careful perusal of the evidence of those men.
| Mr.. Alexander Barring, ii will be observed, was
| of opiuion that the operation OF a reduction Of
the currency necessary for the purpose of re-
sumption would be accompanied with restraint
and inconvenience to every branch of indus
try in the country, and that, if it were forced
with rapidity ut all approaching to what
would be required for the resumption within
year from the time MAY, 1879 at which the
evidence was given, the injury that would be
0ccasioned would be intolerable. Mr.. Barring
further says that the consequences Of con-
traction or expansion Of the amount of money
in a country seem more felt during the pro-.
gress Of such contraction and expansion than
from any positive amount of money ut any
one given period. 1t is not of great inn
portance what amount of money may exist i'm
any country; but the question OF whether
il is on the increase or decrease il one OF great
importance 10 every branch of its industry"
Mr.. Haldimand, one of the directors of the
bank, thought that by sudden reduction of
the currency every possible disadvantage
and Inconvenience 10 the public would arise,
and hc therefore recommended a gradual con-
traction. Mr.. Gladstone, prominent East
| India merchant and member OF Parliament,
gave an opinion that the influence which the
| reduction OF bank issues would produce would
be Of n secondary nature in ordinary times,
he said, the retirement Of two or three millions
of paper would moi be felt. but that in the
| then existing state Of trade Of the country,
after two or three years Of much overtrading
| Tor speculation he might better have said),
| whatever would tend to narrow the means of
circulation would have very depressing effect.
| Mr.. Gladstone speaks Of q contraction of two
or three millions of pounds sterling, which is
only about ten or fifteen millions of dollars,
which at this time, when considered in connec-
ton with the aggregate circulation in this
country, seems but very small amount; but il
| must be borne in mind that trade has increased
immensely since that day, and that now the
commerce Of the United States alone requires
more capital than was necessary at that time
TO move the entire business of the world. We
do not propose in this article to summarize the
report to which we refer. but merely to call
attention to il as being curious document
and applicable in many respects to the present
financial condition Of this country, and we
thiuk wp can aufc1v claim, for IL n On rpf,rI no