, 1866-01-31
The Financial Panic In England
British Wealth nnd Speculation,

The prodigious accumulation Of wealth
during the last ten years In Great Britain.
under the favorable working of an almost
untrammclcd trade with the whole world,
and the busy industry of the people, is pro-
ducing its natural effect. The Savings Of the
British people are poured Into every country
They 60 to construct railways in India, TO
build lactorfcs in Germany, erect cotton
machines in Turkey, found Villages In Aus
fra1ia, mud lay railroads In Canada; they
serve to send ron'stcamess for italy or Aus:
tria over the Mediterranean, and to bridge
the isthmus Of Panama they are helping
Russia, md Italy, aud Turkey, and India to
develop their resources.
For the last two years they have been pour
Ing go1den tide Into thIs country. The profits
OF "BFitfsh free trade" arc paying our nation
nj expenses for the food and clothing, and
arms and wages Of our armies, by taking our
'promises to pay" or By enabling continental
the favorable system Of Great Britain. are
now building or running our railways, or MD
ing our citizens to develop the immense re-
sources Of the West and South.
The profits Of England fertflize the world.
But the natural elect of such prosperity ID q
bounatess spirit OF speculation.
Our citizens are IN the habit Of considering
New York somewhat speculative, and our
capital is engaged In every possible enterprise,
sound or uasound. But our speculation Is
mild and tame compared to tho raging fever
for business purposes which prevails now in
London, and the vast and wild range Of tho
financial enterprises Of London citizens. No
one who has not watched the business course
Of London during the last ten years, can i'm
agiue the incredible development Of her finan-
cial schemes and methods Of getting forth the
savings OF the people into every possible
species Of " company" association" bauk
aud investment.
There seems no quarter Of the world which
ls not represented in some finance associa-
tton" Of the British Exchange, or some COM
EanE which appears solely on paper or In the
companies" formed during the last year
hold nominal capital Of SSH, ,o00, go IN gold,
and ask the legal authority for adding 3150.-
oOO,0O0 more to their capital, while the arrre-
gate capital Of all those companies during the
last three years reaches the enormous sum Of
nearly tTo thousand millions Of dollars In
gold. ~
. Added to all the bo,1ndlcss spccu1atton Of
London In these innumerable ventures. gome
Of which were sound and productive, and
others purely visionary and plundering
schemes. md all the etilnx of capital to swell
the productive industry of other countries.
has now to be considered the speculative ex-
port ot products to thfs country, during the
!ast sn months increasIng to m alarming ex-
sSA-N* A< 41AAA " III VIEW Ql kQlS
rnge for speculation, has raised the rate Of
discount from four per cent In August last to
eight per cent now, and a shadow Of com
ing financial calamity seems to rest UPON the,
whole English commercial and financial world,
vast as are the accumnlations In Great Brit
ain, It Is probable she has been trading or
sFeculattng beyond her ability.
One great fear. however, at the bottom or
the present British panic, We believe 10 be
perfectly ground that Is, the ability Of
our own Importers to pay. The universal
testimony OF trustworthy informants here is
that the Importing class were never In bet
ter condition to meet all obligations than
now. How It Is with the English houses who
import merely on speculation, We cannot say.
But the general interests Of our commercial
classes we believe to be as sound a. the state
Of our currency admits. A ynst amount of
cotton is still on hand in our ports for export,
md the prospects for the next crop are fair,
With the whole market Of the South open to
the West.
We do not, Of course, argue that we are just
now IN pre.eminently prosperous condition.
The elect Of the tarIF ls to make the expenses
OF labor, tools and transportation 30 great that
1t Is doubtful If our distant cereal crops cau
compete in England with the export of grain
from the Black Sea and other European coun-
tries, aud, therefore, whether We sh3l1 export