The Iowa plain dealer. [volume] (New Oregon, Howard County, Iowa) 1867-1895, 1882-01-12
RESUMPTION or SPECIE PAYMENTS
IN ENGLAND.
From the New Yo,k kentts. !

IN ENGLAND.
From the New York Aentts.i
Our readers ntc aware that after the
suspension Of specie payments by the
Bank Of England in 1897 until 1923, a
period Of more than quarter Of Gen.
fury, Great Britain enjoyed nh era Of ir.
rcdeemable paper money, which dcvel.
oped her commerce and manufactures to
as important nh extent as did our similar
experience during the late war.
With Great Britain, as with us, such
currency was instituted as M cxigcncy
Of war, and her politicians, like our own,
clamored for reconstruction Of specie basis
OH the declaration Of peace.
Englnnd's experience In reducing tho
volume of her circulating medium was,
like our own. dcvastativc Of production,
commerce md The interests Of the work.
ing and middle classes generally, hut
after the abomination Of its .lcsolation
had "madc wilderness and called il
peace and the national dcstinics If the
British people had been rcmanl.d To
the domination of the bnllioni,ts alul
other Insurers, y jniilaDt shout arose TINT
"honest money" had resumed its func-
tions, and that nh err Of unprecedented
prosperity for the British people wns Mt
hand.
So thoroughly imbucd were tho ruling
classes IF the nation with that theory,
that on the 6tn Of July, 1926, when the
Lord Chancellor presented the custom.
ary address Of the Grown, previous 10
the adjournment Of Parliament, he iubi.
lnntly advertcd to the general and in
creasing prosperity on which his Majesty
had the happ;ne . Of congratulating his
Parliament ut the opening Of the session,
continued to pervade every part of the
kingdom. (See Hansard's Parliament.
ary Reports, vol. xiii, page 1852
But such optimists failed to realize the
fact that the vacuum which was caused
by the withdrawal Of the irredeemal,le
paper money, was more than filed by
bank discounts and other inflated cred.
its, which were nominally rcd enable III
s.,ccic-tllat spe,ic left the country
new credits were refused, and thus cash
AID credit being both withdrawn, com.
merce and industry, like the scriptnral
house, which was built upon another
shifting basis, fell, and great was the fall
thereof.
That fall came in less than six months
from the time when the British King
| congratulated his Parliament on the firm
foundation Of prosperity resulting from
specie pa, ments, and is fully and graph
ically chronic!ed by Miss Martincnu, in
her history Of England, from Which VIC
abstract thus:
1.-THE Bank Of England began to draw
IN. Her issues hnd ,been profnse when
money WINS to- plentiful and gold was
rapidly leaving the country. NV, when
money was wanted in abundance to RES
cue commercial credit on all hands, she
began to lie stiff about tliscounting an,,.
to contract her issues. Panic first and
then despair, were the consequences.
Every man seemed ready to seize his
debtor by the throat aud say, "pay me
that thou owest." The hilarity and
opcnness Of heart and hand which had
made England such a sunny place year
| ago, were gone, and instead there wa
now the suspicion with which every man
regarded his debtor and his creditor
the daily dread of the post, the eager
glance at the gazette, the walking ont to
await the mail, the laying down oi
pony-carriage and new footmen,
the giving mp the visit to the
sea and the subscription to the
book club and concert, md even, too
often, the humbling inquiry Of servants,
whether they could wait while for
their wages. The manufacturer looked
round on his overloaded shelves and for
every 81 900 worth Of goods, now rcck.
oned $500. The widow lady and her
daughters, who ! nj paid ready money
all their lives, now found themselves
without income for half year together,
and could not enjoy meal because the
butchers and bakers bill was running
on. The dying man. who could not
wait for better days. altered his will with
Il sigh, lessening his chillren's portions
Ivy one-half or two thirds. Young low
crs, who were to have had jocnnd we'd
ding this autumn, looked in one anotll-
cr's faces, and saw that it must not be
thought Of at present. But worse was
to come"
Then followed the toppling Of monc-
tary firms, rs they did in this country in
1887, 1857 and 1873. thus
ION the 9th Of December (l825) the
news spread with tho speed of the wind,
that the banking house Il Sir Peter Pole
a Company had stopped. This must
occasion many failures in tho provinces,
rs this firm had accounts with forty-four
country banks. The funds (hontls) went
down Immediately, and faster still mex.
day, when the bank Of Williams & Com.
pany etopred. From this time the crash
went on without intermission, till, in five
or six weeks. from sixty to seventy banks
had stopped payment.
But, not content with the mer. enron.
icing Of how many ha.ks collapsed, how
many merchants were ruined, and how
much realized property was transferred
from its creators to satisfy the claims OF
usnrers, Miss Martinean follows the
walls Of distress and despair to the
homes Of tho people, whose agonies
she graphically delincatcs by PEN pict
ures, thus
1.-THE question now was, how to get
money to go on with from day to day !;
q question which involved that Of the
very life Of the working classes through
tho winter. There seemed to lie not ing
before millions of them hut absolute
starvation, unless commerce could he Sc.
agoing again, mere or less. ri they
could not earn, they must starve; for
even those Of them who had some prop
erty could not sell. The pawnhrokcrs'
houses were crammed from the raft. rs
to the door step. till they would not hold
one article more md, If they had, the
pawnbrokcrs had no money any more
than other people. It was touch
ing thing to those who had acquaintance
among the poor, to see, that winter, the
bride-honsewife, who had lately looked
forward to a marriage OF substantial
comf,rt, polishing up her new furniture,
or looking for something to mend in her
own or her husbands new clothes, while