The Evening Star TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1874.

Evening Star, Issue 3411, 27 January 1874, Page 2

The Evening Star TUESDAY, JANUARY 27, 1874.

In-the London ‘ Mail,’ of Novembei? 5* ;is an article professing to give reasons ;f6r the riiinoris advance in the rate' of 'interest that; took,- place, a,,short .time ■ago* ..I We have ou ' mauy occi(sioris' pointed to r the corisequences i°f such f . fluctuations on .commerce jof the Vprld, arid expressed riur-opfoipii jthat to the monopoly given to The of Englß;nd is attribubable tnost of the disastjrof is;crises that periodically jor fitfully caiusa ;Tbis virtually is admitted iirthe article referred to: oChe question Is asked—- • How comes it that the rate of .discount-has jumped up with suchffihplesisant speed ? ‘ The atmosphere of' A .ugilst And' September was m serene that thp ’change may welldivcohoert us? ; went away for their holidays believing that all was and' they have returned Tb md the financial sky troubled, ; and overcast, if, indeed, they 1 lave not- been called back, by the pnplcasant portents. Thero are very few mer* chants. or . manufacturers yvho .do .not in some m ® aßure toatle on borrowed' capital, and a sudden string ,ehcy in the terms of accommoda- ' is • a ; r ario of peril, , wbilp, an absolute refusal' to' c( mtinue or ’ renew ‘ an outstanding loan may be.»’ message of suspension. The tb.Bwe* givhfl to thfe question is a narrative of the causes tliat led tp ; the withdrr*wal of more than'five millions of brill ion ( from the Bank of England in less; thari/three Weeks. The eriiimeratiori bf those causes is set forth .in the article .as -sufficient reason for; all the commercial embarrassments that fob' ow(jd • but it must be remembered that , lipndon, v Times,’, of. which, the 4 Mail’ is a -reprint, has: always! beenthe organ an d defender of a monetary clique, at tbei head of- which stands the Bank of Engl and. it is set out in defence of The Bank that the money had gorie iri a).’l‘direCtiori6 ;-r ; : * ' .Some of.it has passed to Gerinany, some to Fraace, a large proportion to the United States; some of it has left the till of the Bank to increase for a time the circulation throughout the ’ United Kingdomi

; have 210 doubt that the statement is true . enough; the money did £nd its way hither and thither, for in the first words of the article “ money belongs to ho country.” Germany Wanted gold for its new; currency ; the Bank of ; Fra-nce wanted helg- to. enable jibe ;Govcpi»oent,. to pay its ■dividends j the United States- wanted money for a variety of purposes. The draw upon the bullion inEngland'.'for foreign, use is easily understood j so is the reason why some was withdrawn for English use; but it was not so much ‘for -circulation, as falsely suggested r by the ‘ Tidies,’ as for protection against the coniing panic. Admitting .that ,ev^ry t fact •.of,, w'iffi-* drawal the Bank decreased in twenty days from thirteen millions to eight, and admitting too that under suqh circumstances the Directors of, the Bank were bound to protect themselves by cheeking the demand for money, the question still remains to be answered—Why the trach and commerce of the United Kingdom, and indirectly that of the world, should be deranged: why merchants sho«?Jd ’ ■■ 5 '-1 a US w/u- ,i-i:sv.'-U*'-U -

be ruined; manufacturers stopped work or deprived of profits; producers mulcted, of the fair return for their labor; and workmen doomed to idleness, because so paltry a sum as five millions of bullion was redistributed out the civilisedworld 1 Compared with the capital engaged; ik industrial pursuits -in 'any one , of--. the countries named, its: total abstraction would be unfelt. Ten titaes amount is often wasted in a week’s war without producing any sensible effect upon the world’s capital But this five millions, not destroyed, but only differently distributed, produced all the effects that the breaking out of a war would have caused. Thus in Birmingham! .under, date November 8, we are told—

An uneasy feeling has been produced in commercial circles here by the last unexpected advance in the Bank rate, and its alarming effect upon the stock nJarkets. 1 ~ ‘ ' In Bradford-

The advance in the Bank rate has caused a depressed feeling. Every branch of the worsted tnide is stagnant. The wool market during the week has been languid.

fix Glasgow, after quoting prices— V

The unsettled state, ofthe, money market, however, restricts business at these reduced figures. ' i , In.Leeds—, j

■ The present hijth rate of discount seems to have checked speculative trading, as nbbusiness of this kind has been transacted in either of the (cloth) haUs.

From Manchester, Newcastle-on-Tyne, and Nottingham similar reports were forwarded to. the f, Times,’ from which it is evident that this is.& subject in which,the Colonies are deeply interested. ' The question is, in what lies the evil 1 And we answer unhesitatingly that it lies in the, sole control of English currency Veihg with the Bank of England. Monopoly is ; always hurtful to the public interests, and ; all the mpre dangerous in proportion.,to its influence arid hidden character. ; Nor do we know well how we in these Colonies can free oursfelves from its effects. We have more than’ once pointed out’that prices of. .raw material exported from this Colony depend upon the rate of discount at the Bank of England when it is offered' for sale* and are therefore to Express an opinion at Home. .There can be no doubt whatever, but there will sooner or later be an effort made to abolish the. Bank . Charter .and place. all Banks on an equal footing, as in the Cp'onies and in • Scotiand’; and we tliink,; considering hpw deeply we are interested in the matter,: the Colonial Government would be quite justified in passing resolutions condemning the perpetuation of. -a ; system through which l so much loss: may be entailed upon the Colony. In that case, T7e require a member of the Hbrise of Representatives to. move , who Can .do justice to the subject; but his knowledge must be thorough, arid if is said but few understand it.. , ■ *