The New York herald. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1840-1920, 1866-05-23

The Panic I'm Europe.
The news from Europe as to financial mat
ters is of an exciting character. 1t excites the
greatest interest and some perturbation in the
gold, stock and exchange market here, but
does not and need not create alarm. The
heavy failures that were occurring in England
the drain upon the Bank of England, AMI the
raising of its rate of interest to nine and ten
per cent, together with the financial condition
of the continent, caused great sensation. The
London Times says editorially, "such excite
ment on all sides has not been witnessed since
the great crisis of 1926" The London Daily
Ne,os charactcrizes it as "a complete reign Of
terror on the stock exchange" Government
found it necessary to come to the rescue. Mr..
Gladstone bad consultation with bankers and
others on the situation when these gentlemen
represented TO him that the panic in London
was without parallel in the financial history
of the country" The Chancellor of the
Exchequer thereupon addressed letter to the
Bank of England offering to afford relief by all
the means in his power, stating that If it were
necessary for the Bank to issue notes beyond
the amount allowed by act, he would make
immediate application to Parliament for an
act Of indemnity. BY the very latest news il is
stated that the government had resolved to
suspend the Bank Charter act All this shows
what an extraordinary crisis existed.
Various opinions are given as to the cause
Of this state of things. Excessive specula-
tons are generally stated as the latent
cause, and no doubt with truth; but
the immediate cause may be found in
the feeling Of apprehension, uncertainty and
distrust as to what may take place in Germany
and Italy. The questions Of war and peace
have been hanging in the balance for some
time past, sometimes inclining one way and.
sometimes another but now the scale on the
war side falls heavily. Lord Clarendon de-
clared in the House of Lords that Eng
lands good offices would be freely rendered if
desired in the German-Italian question, Git is no
longer question Of the Schleswig- Holstein
Duchies only; "but the result was dis
couraging, and England could do nothing
alone. He feared the consequences and de-
nounced the war" The Paris Constitutional
says that France has ceased 10 give counscls
OF moderation to Prussia, Austria and Italy;v
and it was reported that the Emperor Napo-
leon had made q significant speech at Auxerre,
which the Paris Bourse had accepted as u sig
nal of war; There may be, however, a more
deep-eeated cause OF the panic than Is generally
understood. Mr.. Gladstone made lately very
remarkable speech, in which he showed that all
the nations Of Europe are in q state of bank
ruptcy, or are approaching that, and that they
are overwhelmingly in debt, and yet con-
tnuing to borrow upon deprecated credit
and doubtful future. Have not the eyes Of
the people Of England been opened by this
startling statement! Have not the people of
other European nations seen the truth so
boldly asserted by one Of the first statesmen of
the age, Perhaps Mr.. Gladstone's novel and
striking exposition of the bankrupt condition
OF European nations has contributed to the
present financial crisis.
But what concerns us most is the effect the
panic in Europe may produce on the business,
credit and securities of this country. The tenn
porary effect may be bad. Our intimate and
extensive commercial relations with Europe
naturally involve us TO some extent In financial
difficulties that occur there. But this can
be only limited and in the present instance
more sympathetic than real. Our securities
abroad may decline with foreign funds and
stocks for the hour, and we may experience
perturbation to some extent on Wall street
and in the price Of gold for the time being; but
this can only be temporary. We may feel the
shock or excitement momentariy, just as q
brave man in battle may who runs with the
towards while the panic lasts, but who soon
returns to assert his manhood and power.
Conscious Of our strength we shall return rein
spired and maintain our position. The i'm
mense wealth and resources Of the United
States are now too well appreciated to cause
any great fear from panics In the Old World.
Soma specie MAJ be dsAIn nom " while The