The New-Zealander. SATURDAY AUGUST 21, 1847.

New Zealander, Volume 3, Issue 128, 21 August 1847, Page 2

The New-Zealander. SATURDAY AUGUST 21, 1847.

He just and fear not: Let all the ends thon aims't at, be thy Country's, Thy Rod's, and Truth's.

His Excellency has acted wisely in making the PnptT Currency hill an open q-.iestion. He could have don© no less. The tide of opinion has set in so strongly against the

measure, it is ao generally repugnant to the wishes of the Colonists, that an attempt to force it through the Council, by a mere preponderance of Government votes, would not only have been injudicious, but unfaii. Even now, owing to the absence of the Honorable Member for the South — whose place ought to have been filled up, and filled up from the South — (he ultimate fate of the measure will be decided by the Governor himself. For although the bill is as yet but in Committee, and much cogent argument may still be adduced on either side, it would be a piece ol political prudery to affect a doubt about the numbers on the last division list. Honorable Members have expressed their opinions too distinctly to recede from them ; two having already voted on the second reading ng.iinst the principle of the bill, and a third having only abstained from supporting them out of a feeling of delicacy, the motive to which shall be presently explained. The division on the third reading will be a tie, three to three ; and it then remains to be seen whether the Governor will use his privilege of giting a double vote. It may be assumed that he will not ; for be has long ago declared that his j own personal vote in Council shall never be suffered to turn the scale. The trenches were opened by Mr. Merriman, who presented a memorial Bigned by the principal merchants of Auckland, containing a strong expression of dissent from the general principle of the bill, followed by an especially marked objection to one particular clause. It should be observed, however, that one memorialist signed only with refeicnce to the clause, not otherwise disap proving of the &vstem nought to be introduced. The Colonial Treasurer then moved the second reading ; he was followed by Mr. Biown, who opposed, and the Colonial Secretary, who spoke in favour of the bill, when His Excellency rose, to explain. Although he had made it an open question, he certainly did not demean himself with the indifferency of an open question. We had hitherto been accustomed rather to admire the Governor's management of the temper of his Council ;»,' but this time all tact seemed to have deserted him. The jeering, supercilious tone in which he spoke, -was certainly not calculated to render the opposition more amena ble to persuasion ; and he himself appears to have felt it at a subsequent stage of the proceedings, by the sort of half apology which he thought it necessary to offer. His Excellency's attack upon the AttorneyGeneral, for having introduced a proviso into the bill, " that such cash received in exchange 1 for notes as should be placed out at interest, should not be invested in the Colony of New Zealand," was neither just or well placed : the innuendo coupled with it, we leave to speak for itself. " His learned friend, the Attorney 'General, had introduced that objectionable proviso, perhaps, unwittingly ; but as his learned friend wns opposed to the bill, one might almost imagine that he had done so in order to create an unfavourable impression against it, and so render it the more unpopular.'* The intentions of Earl Grey are plain enough in the Instructions, in accordance to which the draft of the bill was to be prepared. But, says the Governor, it is a mere suggestion of Earl Grey's ; and the A ttorneyGeneral " has transmuted that which was a mere suggestion into durable metal by a peculiar alchemy of his own." Of course, it is only a suggestion ; what elae is the whole despatch but a suggestion ? Lord Grey would hardly assume openly, however he might feel convinced, that the bill would be forced through council. The de»patch is the recommendation of a measure to the colony, not an Imperial Ukase. Not only is the transmission of the specie to Sydney a suggestion, but the entire law likewise, as, unfortunately for His Excellency, vre are expressly told by Lord Grey himself, who " would suggest that a law should be passed, authorising the issue of a Colonial Taper Currency." His Excellency's observations were uttered in a tone of surprise, as if he had been then first made aware of the obnoxious clause ; not that he said so in words j but that he certainly contrived to convey that impression pretty distinctly to his hearers. Now, if His Excellency can impute motives, go can we too j and think that we can point out his object! in having suffered the clause to lie so long unnoticed, while a single word from him would at any time have secured its ex* titiction. It was clear that tho opponents of the bill would fasten upon (his proviso ; that the ar« guments with which they might come prepared would be mainly based upon it; that their attention would have been partially diverted fiora the other grounds of objection. Now, if he could suddenly cut this ground from under their feet, he would take them unawares, and gain for himself an easy victory in argument ; disbelieving, we suppose, iu the extfjmporal powers of Colonial members of Council. They were to be altogether " dctoricntcs' — thrown out of their reckoning. So far he was probably disappointed ; but the second object, he was enabled to attain. This was, by throwing the whole blame of the unpopularity of the bill upon the Attorney-

General, to oblige him, as a matter of delicacy, to vote for the second reading, that the measure might be allowed the advantage of amendment in Committee. It was cleverly done, and successfully ; his opponents were out-jockeyed, though we can scarcely say out-argued. We have said that the clause took its place in the draft of the bill, as a matter of course from the instructions ; but we are prepared to go still further, and to affirm that the " suggestion" is of vital importance to the system j that the bill standing as it now does, without the restriction, is even more objectionable than it was before. It is the turning point of the whole despatch, the very principle of which is lost sight of as soon as the suggestion is disregarded. The plain object of the measure is this, to introduce a paper currency so regulated, that the amount in circulation should vary according to the same laws which govern a metallic currency ; to maintain a positive relation between the specie and the paper issued for it, And tiiis intention cannot be accomplished without retaining the clause in question, which is an integral portion of the system, and not, as it was yesterday treated, a simple adjunct. We say, that if the coin received in exchange for notes pass again into circulation by being put out at interest within the colony, it may be again and again presented at the bank for exchange, each time diminished by one-fourth, ot third, as the case may be, but each time calling into circulation a certain number of notes, additional to the original isoue upon the gross sum. in other words, against a given amount of specie, paper to an equal amount, together with the sum of the rest of a decreasing series, might be issued. And this has been admitted by Captain Grey ; his answer having been, that even if the specie should be expoited, the danger of over issue would not be done away with, for the cash might still return. Certainly it might ; but this time, the influx would be in perfect accordance with Lord Grey's system, under which it is supposed that the circulation will only be increased when it is the interest of private individuals to import bullion, vrh'«h they may exchange in paper, and can only be contracted in like manner when it, is their interest to demand bullion in exchange in exchange for paper. The whole bill should have stood or fallen by the restriction ; there was something approaching to completeness about it before ; it had form and shape, at all events ; it is now left without compactness, , a mere series of straggling clauses. With the restriction, we think it bad, without it, we think it worse* But the key to the failure, as we shall endeavour on a future occasion to shew, is the over looking of two remarkable words in the despatch — of the meaning of the "fixed amount." For the whole amount can now fluctuate. The pervading fallacy of the Governor's reasoning was in assuming, as a proved position, that the circulation of a country can never exceed " the wants of commerce." It U nothing but the old argument of the country bankers— that they cannot force their issues; that if they attempt it, the increase comes back to them either in deposits, or by being presented for payment — which was so unceremoniously disposed of by Sir Robert P«el, when he cut down their issues to a two year's average. We ourselves have no faith in the doctrine; even as regards the MotherCountry; but, in a colony, believe it to be a plain fallacy ; we aie convinced that mad speculation, once set a going", would easily swallow up double the circulation required for the legitimate purposes of trade. Neither must it be forgotten that the argument, whatever the worth of it may be, was used in opposition to Sir Robert Peel*s bill of 1844-, and that it is now used in support of Lord Grey's bill, which is based on the same identical principle. We were told in Council that the bill, after the details of it shall have been finally settled in committee, is to be allowed to lie on the table for awhile, that the colonists may have time to reflect upon it, and get used to it. The device is not a bad one ; there is nothing like familiarity to do away with fear : but the dislike to this measure is based upon too good grounds to be softeued dowu by delay. We conceive, and hope that it will be with them aa with a cockney craning at a leap ; the longer he looks at it, tho less he likes it.