The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1879-01-25
The Causes of England's Commercial
Depression.

The Causes of Ensland's Commercial
Depression.
An explanation of the mercantile and
industrial crisis from which Great Britain
IL now suffering has been frequently cssaycd
with varying succcss but the most striking
attempt to interpret this difficult problem
Is made in the current numbcrof the Prince
ton Rcrier The author is IHoRoLD
RoGERs, ono Of the most sturdy thinkers
and trcnchant writer's in England. who was
! formerly, and is STILL we believe Professor
Of Political Economy in OXford University.
IL was Mr.. RoGEI.s who first announced
some fifteen years ago the noteworthy fact.
| that when the price OF any commodity rises.
the greatest appreciation inevitably takes
place IN the lowest qualities Of the article.
IL was he, too, who used To say about the
same epoch that there were but three clever
men in oxford To wit, JowErr GOODWIN
SMITH. and another, whom modcsty would
not suffer him to name.
We must premise that tho English econo-
mists conclusions would have boon more
satisfactory II he had compared the state Of
| things In his own country with the rcla-
| lively prosperous condition Of France, and
accounted for the difference Some of the
causes which he assigns for the prostratiun
of trade aud industry are quite as applica-
BILE on one side 81 the Channel as on the
other. Nor can We think the superior COM
mcrcial morality which undoubtedly obtains
IN France, explains the escape Of that COM
munity from the general depression. There
Is, we think, a specific and potent source Of
disturbance to which Mr. RoaERs has not
referred, but which, as we shall SEQ, bears
with grievous and peculiar weight ON the
British Islands. With this proviso, we may
draw attention to his suggestions. which are
set forth with singular lucldity and vigor.
! The Professor finds the most important,
! general, and enduring cause Of the FALL in
prices and arrest Of production throughout
| Great Britain in the rapid rise in the
economical value Of gold. He points out
that while the annual produce Of this metal
| is probably not more than sufficient to cover
the annual wear and trar. vet the demand
! for il has been ahnprmally increased by the
monetary revolution NJ the past five years
! This DEAFNESS Of gold has hccn reflected in
tall ~ prices which entails loss Of profit
not only ON the stocks Of fabrics which
/ have accumulated under the agency Of
/ higher prices, but ON those parts OF a
! producers capital, such a. buildings,
| plant, and machinery, which were called
| into permanent existence while these higher
| prices ruled No doubt this phenomenon
/ may be- remarked under more or less acute
| phases I'm all European countries: and over
in France, where the tolerance or double
/ standard checks the natural effects Of the
drain Of gold, it may be- traced In the par
tlal eclipse of certain industries. But the
result must needs be profound aud striking
| in the case OF q world-purvcyor like Great
Britain, both because gold is there the only
standard of value, aud because the accumu-
lations Of stock and the volume Of capital
locked up in the appliances Of production
are far greater than they are elsewhere.
After conceding that the general decline Of
prices has been specially furthcred in Eng
land by local overproduction, Mr. RoGEps
[ goes on to make the significant concession
that the tendency has been further asgra-
waited By practices which have lowered the
quality Of the product, and damaged the
reputation OF the producer. He tells us that
this fraudulent eNpcdicnt has been extern
siycy adopted by English houses, some
manufacturers having lately asserted that
certain goods are loaded with rubbish to u
weight double that Of the original material.
But of course adultcration practiscd on the
consumer only differs from forgery prac-
tised on banker in that the evil induced Is
more far reaching ana lasting, since it af-
fccts trade generally, and not traders indl-
Vdually.
An additional and, in Mr.. RoGERs's judy
mcnt, heavy blow was inflicted on British
industries by the Russo-lurksh war and
the consequent curtaimcnt Of tho demand
Tor British fabrics throughout eastern Eu-
rope. 1t is certain that Turkey had always
been n great consumer of English goods,
while very considerable quantities we're i'm
ported into the northern empire Nor can
we doubt that the recent contest, prolonged
and destructive a. II was must have zone
far TO exhaust the purchasing power Of the
district which lies east Of Germany and
Austria from tine Baltic Sea 10 the
Mediterranean. War carried on by wealthy
nations may stimulate the demand for
foreign products, as we know It dli in
our own case, but a war wagcd between poor
States Is entirely without the phenomena of
eager and successful business. The COM
melcc Of the world had to suddenly dispense,
except in some unlnportant particulars.
with tho trallic Of some sixty or seventy
millions OF people, ana in the face OF the
other facts above referred to il was incvlta-
Bile that the depression Of trade should he
augmented, especially in tho United King
dom, which hitherto had the largest business
relations with the countries lately involved
in war.
We cannot but think, however that Prof
RoGrns oyerooks the most efficient factor
IN the species of collapse which has OYER
taken British industries. Far more potent
in arrangement than the curtalcd consump-
ton of eastern Europe has been the abrupt
and permanent falling OF in the demand
from the United states. We have only to