The Labor enquirer., 1884-07-26

W sss "a Nss fds
yVsIs net Dsilain I'D Scofland;
Il M 81 q i sere ~ ~ "a 4 1874 -
.; rsSs'y q g & II Il ab nj numts was M
ers6 IL, is27. 70 md in 1879.
these Nes i slixht ll5nckion; still the!
nsnbsr ~ 1. .440.s Itappeexed 70 BIN
impd1ahae 70 present more sppslllng
md complete pictnre Of pyogre1sive
forc uf distress, Snd tAe crime which
mns essr - consequent toit. Ihe duke
Of Wellington st the same time said !:
aMy lords, am perfectly aware Of tho
diAicnIties. danger and the distress Of
the country it is not my Intention now.
nor has it ever been to extenuate any Of
them.s Earl Gray said ct the same
time For my part 4 am ready to ad-
init that an unfortunate mistake has
taken place with respect to the change
effected in the currency In the house
of commons on February 5. 1880, Lord
Palmerston said: 4There can be no
doubt that the present distress which
prevails has been brought about by the
change which has taken place In the
currency Mr.. Western, at the same
place on the fourth Of the same month,
said "The present distress, though
spoken of in the kings speech as being
only partial, is unprecedented, and the
productive classes of every description
are in state of misery unequalled in the
history Of the country. The late war
has doubled our burdens, iby funding the
currency into bonds the same as with US
in this country, the taxes have been
surreptitiously advanced, and all classss,
excepting the fund holders, (bond-
holders) were equally suffering. All
others were subdued and oppressed,
their funds exhausted, the whole moral
feelings of the people have changed"
Thus was said in both houses Of parlia-
ment.
Nowlet us try and lift up the veil on
the outside and find out what this dis
tress was which caused SO much commo-
ton by the mistake Of changing the cur
rency of the people into q specie basis
in 1919. The Record Of Leeds, Decem-
Der %, 1929, says: During the last
week relief was afforded 223 families,
amounting to S29 persons, whose whole
weekly income was not more than $76 OF
9 cents per week each, or II cents q day.
The Standard, January s, 1880, says;
During the last week more than 400
families, containing more than LOCO
souls, have been visited and relieved,
making an appalling aggregate Of up
wards of 1000 persons whose daily in.
come is somewhat short Of 2 cents. 7
Record. January I, 1880, says 4In Ma
celesfeld 900 families were found NOT
possessing more than one blanket to
every ten persons" I" The Quarterly Re,
view, January, 1880, page 22s, says: Tc
trace the effects Of the measure of 1919
the pressure under which we have been
suffering for the last ten or twelve years
has gradually become more and more
severe, until the agricultural, manufac-
turing, commercial and laboring interests
of the country have become involved in
general and deep distress"
HThe equences were even more ruin
ous than would have beensproduced by
the landing of 100000 French in, arms
upon our shores. The effect of the cash
payment bill was that the paper which
had previously passed for money was
called in. las we have done, and burned
them as I have showed in one of my let
ters1. whereby money was made scarce
Intentionally done as did the republi
cans, aided by the democrats, in this
country, every holder of commodities
found the price of them sunk from {
guinea tol4 shillings, and no market a
that. (How could there be.a marke
when toilers were earning less than
cents day y If merchant held good
bought for 100000 he lost $4,000
Every farmer found his crop deprecated
]above third, while his rent remained
the same. The national taxes were il
effect augmented, too, above third
The misery this created in the most re
spectacle classes of the community sunl
many broken.h hearted into the grave
On the other hand, the common people
deprived of employment and bread
tsought refuge in exile or barely existet
amidst starving families. - Forsyth
Political Fragments in the Quarterly Re
view for January 1880, page 255.
And this is the record and more coult
| be advanced of the ravages of the fnan
cial system of a nation upon its people
To say that the greenback theory doe
not and cannot cure this evil, is to my
mind arguing for arguments sake. Tht