Year: 1870

Inconvenience ofthe vVar-The Prop
osfttOn to Establish - Paper CEErren-
cy-Enthustasm of the People.


/ The correspondent of the London Times


writes from the French Capital on the 25th:
In Paris we begin to experience some Of
the inconyeniences of war. People old
enough to remember the time when silver


was almost the exclusive currency in
France, and when, If one drew 600 francs
at a bankers, he had either to pay high
premium for gold or to carry home the
| numbering dollars, will appreciate the in
convenience implied by the announcement
that we have returned to very nearly the
same state of things. The
Bank Of France now makes
| its payments only in silver and paper
! Gold is at five per cent. premium at the
I.money-ch8ngers'. There is an enormous
accumulation OF cold IN the Bank, but it is
not put into circulation. There is fear Of
it's being exported to England and Bel
giun1, thence to be taken to Prussia. I
hear that a Paris banker has recommended
| the Government to establish forced paper
currency. The objections to this are OBJ
viohs, and We have only to look back to
1866 for an experience of the evil effects OF
such q measure. In Italy the compulsory
paper was immediately at heavy dis



countries rose in proportion. The conse-
| quence, of course, was that everything
brought from abroad rose greatly in price,
and this reacted on home produce.


Throughout Italy everything became
! dearer, and although the premium on gold
not long afterward fell to five per cent, and
| has even, [ believe, since been as low as
three per cent, shopkeepers' prices, SER
wants wages, And in general all the neces-
saries and luxuries of life have never since
fallen again in proportion. A forced paper
currency is n real curse to any country,
entailing also the issue of innumerable
small notes-in Italy they have them down
to half franc, miserable little shinplasters;
while the local banks issue twenty-cent
notes, which do not pass out of their own
town or district; for when there is no silver
or gold, the copper also disappears.


( Meanwhile, the Bourse is well supported
considering that we are on the brink of a
terrible war, and financial men speak
cheerfully OF its prospects. There have
been no catastrophes yet and we are hop
ing that the next settling day (July 81
will go off as the last, when everybody paid
up. My own conviction is tLat there is
hardly a moneyed man, a banker, merchant
or trade8man who would not gladly have
aE 1rted the war, but, since it is inevitable,
they put the best face on it, and grid them
selves up to support the burdens it must
inevitably entail. To quote their own
proverb. The wine is drawn and must be
drunk, :" bitter though the draught
may be. and more akin to worm
wood than to the grape juice.
One class of persons, upon whom
the war imposes a heavy tax is that fathers
OF families whose sons are to draw in the
next conscription, and who are not dis
posed to let them serve. A case came to
my knowledge two days ago, that of a
friend Of my own, whose son is studying
for the bar, and who is not disposed to let
him break off those studies and be con-
verted into food for powder He tells me
that If the young man draws a number low
enough to include him IN the levy he shall
have to pay 5000 francs for a substitute
The usual price in peace time is about
l,500 francs, or little more.


That the martial and patriotic spirit OF
France runs high at the present moment
is proved by the fact Of 100, 900 volunteers
having already enrolled themselves. 9th
proofs are not wanting of willing deter
mination to make sacrifices in support of
the government and of the war The
percepteIr, or chief tax-collector, Of one of
the districts of Paris, informs me that all
the taxpayers in his district have volun-
tarily paid up the whole of their taxes for
the year 1870, and that many of them have
offered to pay Immediately those for 1871
ifit would be agreeable to the government. |