The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1866-05-23
The Commercial Crisis.

The Commercial Crisis.
The last news from England communi-
Gates intelligence Of great panic in Lon
don. There had been failures in London
to the amount Of s75,000,0 900 or ss0,oOo,-
900. The London Times some time since,
In abiding to the advance in the rate OF
interest by the Bank of England, and the
expectation of gold, stated that there was
evidently great deal of extravagant deal
ing and speculation going on, which must
be checked soon in order 10 prevent
very great revulsion. 1t predicted fail
ures from the policy of the bank which
would inevitably cut off the means ne
cessary to maintain the concerns ensaseo
in this sort Of trade and speculation.
The Times. however, exhibited no I'M
common wisdom in this. That uhcrring
Indicator, the shipment OF goid, showed
that England was in excess "t oohgatioh
abroad beyond her exports, and the move
men, of the bank in raising the interest
proved it. The managers of that institu-
ton are very wise. 1t stands like scnti-
mel watching the commercial world, and
never fails to detect a coming storm, and
10 take measures to break its force. Yet
even this far-secing institution cannot see
far enough ahead to prevent the storm.
The reports for week past of our own
great market-the settling point of this
continent--have shown a gradually in
creasing alarm and unsteadiness. The
Government has used its gold freely to
keep down the price of the precious metal
to about 100, and succeeded for several
DAYS. But after the export last week of
nearly s9,OoO,00o, it seems to have relaxed
lis efforts, and yesterday gold in New York
went up to 1885.
There can be no great monied disaster in
England without seriously affecting this
country. How far the panic and crash
there. reported by last steamer, is to 60,
time must disclose. 1t is evident, however,
that the anticipation was that it would go
to o much greater extent. The Bank OF
England, when applied to toassist the bank
ers OvEREND, GURNEY s Co., declined on
the ground that ait would be ruin in
"crisis like the present to assist one es-
Establishment without being prepared to
"hclp other applicants" The Bank evil
IDENTITY anticipated that there would be a
goodly number of applicants. Another
strong sign is, that the Government had re-
solued to suspend tie charter Of the Ba"k.
This is TO enable il to raise the rate of in
terest dbore ten per cent, that 1t may
still further put down the breaks upon
speculation and upon the expectation OF
gold. A very decided storm was, beyond
doubt believed to be raging, and the Go
vernment and the Bank were cndeavoring
to break its force.
To what extent this country is to be
affected, q few weeks will tell. Govern
ment stocks have come back too freely for
comfort and all available means, in Eng
land at least, would evidently be employed |
to draw gold from this country to ease off
the pressure there. Some are in favor of
letting the gold go freely, in order to re-
lieve the British money market, and in
that way prevent disastrous reactionary
revulsion in this country. Others differ
from this view. The matter depends on
how much England wants. If that were
known, we could act Understandings but
entirely obscured as is the magnitude of
this pressure, it cannot be certain that the
United States can stop it and glut the de-
mand for gold.
Panics and monetary revulsions have
generally followed all great wars. But
there had been so long an interval since
the conclusion of the war in this country,
that we began to think the present an ex-
ception, and that we should have no
trouble of the kind. We may, however,
be about repeating history. Let US nope
that the vast amount Of gold in the couh-
try, and the absence of all paper money |
except that of Government, may be the
means of Strengthening alike credit ana
confidence, and checking the violence Of
the reaction from Europe.
Panics are wonderful in the worlds his
tory. They generally appear in the midst
of the greatest degree of national pros
perity, and when, by the people at large,
they are least expected. Nothing else in
the economy of life more clearly shows
how short-sighted man is and how his
schemes and magnificent fancies dissolve
into nothing before the events shaped by
the Supreme Disposer of all earthly affairs
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The Bankrupt Bill.