The Elk County advocate. [volume] (Ridgway, Pa.) 1868-1883, 1871-11-09
The Great Payment.

The largest sum of money ever con-
tracted for in one bargain is the indem.
nifty to be paid by France to Germany
in consequence of the recent war. 1t is
30 large that its payment disturbs the
money markets of the whole world and
no intelligent forecast of the financial
future, even in New York, cannot
be formed without understanding the
progress already made in it, and that
soon to be made.
Reducing the payments in every case
to American money, the account, ao-
cording to the last advices by telegraph,
stands thus: France has paid, as a con-
tribution for the city of Paris, $4,000
600; for the maintenance of German
troops in France, from March to October
1871, $60,O00,000; and for first pay
ment upon the national indemnity,
1926 100000, besides 65,000,000 allowed
as the purchase money for the railroads
in Alsace and Lorraine; in all $780,
100000. Of this, perhaps $5,000,0O0
must be deducted, as spent in France by
the German troops for supplies, leaving
$3.50 100000 for the amount of specie ac-
tually moving to Germany, and causing
the present disturbance.
There are due to Germany in the
spring of 1872, 100000, 600, to be paid
in six instalments of $l6,000,000 each,
beginning with january 10; the re-
mainder of $4,000,000 to be paid April
/; besides more than $30,000,000 for in
terest, at five per cent. per annum, upon
the remaining $600,000000. The total
amount of money to be transferred from
one country to the other for the year
ending April l, 1872, is, therefore, more
than $460,OO0,000. England is the only
medium through which the payment
can be made, in the present disorgan-
lied state of the French currency, and is
indeed, the only market in which French
credit can obtain cash on large scale
Hence the alarm of British fnanciers at
the prospect of a heavy drain of coin and
bullion from their vaults.
1t remains to be seen how London is
to escape BLACK Friday" of her own,
which now threatens to come to her be.
fore February next. According to al
precedent, there will be a severe strin'
gency in the money market there, {
panic in securities, long list OF mercan
tile failures, q minimum bank rate OF tel
per cent.-all as the consequences of 6
drain of specie from the Bank of Eng
land and then, after endless mischief il
done, the government will step in, sus
pend Peel's banking act, enabling thu
bank to expand its loans and circulation
without 80 much coin in its vaults an(
public confidence will gradually return
The bank lost $23, 100000 in coin during
the month ending October 7, and $29,
100000 in its total reserve; and thi
seems to have been but the beginning o
the drain, since the German governmen
is very slow to restore the funds to gen
eral circulation, and there is every pros
pect that, by February l, it will hav
$500, 100000 locked up from use as care
fully as is the coin reserve in the Unite
States Treasury.
But public attention has been calle
to the subject in England, and in ful
view of the dangers yet in prospect, th
alarm which the first great movement c
coin caused has subsidized. If the conf
dence and hope now expressed have an
justification, it must be that the finan
ciers of London have in view some wa,
J which is not clearly understood by ott
ers, of keeping their own money at HON
without producing panic.-M Y. Eoer
: ing Post.