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Leader (1850-1860), 11th December 1858, Edition 1 of 2, Page 1353, Untitled Article

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      Untitled Article

      OUR FOREIGN ALLIANCES . The condition of Italy , and the more than ordinary oiicitude shown by France and Russia in her affairs , inevitably suggest the consideration , How is Austria preparing to maintain her ascendancy south of the Alps P We know what sho is doing in Lombardy . Civil arrests and military reinforcements take placo

      day by day . The people are exasperated more ami moroby new measures of rigour , while all relief from old oppressions is contumcliously denied . Many believe that the sinister motive of those proceedings is to provoke premature and ill-orgnnised resistance , and so to let off the steam beiore the boilor bursts . The actual force in the garrisons of Milan , Venice , Padua , and Verona 1 ms been greatly strengthened , and the possession of railways nmt telegraphs gives enormously augmented power fenny government having to deal only with partial revolt . On tho other hand , ft is obvious that these appliances are tho easiest wronqhod out of despot 10 hands in tho event of a general uprising , and that tho habit of reliance upon thorn tends to moi-caso tho administrative paralysis caused by their sudden interruption . Upon tho whole , however , it cannot ' i i : i i ' i

      Untitled Article

      ¦ PBSj- ! Wt ^ wpiu , j . ,, ,. ... ii - ; : ;•••;•; - ; " ~ '— " ; " ' •""• ' - *"";* ;"" ¦ - >""• - •¦ •* . ? .:... < y- ^ - .-. -. . .,-- . ,.. . -,..... , . .. .. . . - .. - w-v .. . - . - - <• . ; ' 7 -. ; ' ¦ "¦•' ' .. '¦ ¦" " ¦' ¦ , ¦ ' ' ¦ ;¦ '¦ '; ' " " '" No . ¦* « T ^^ mi . 1 858 . 1 T H B . LEAD E R . 1353

      Untitled Article

      Ever since tho use of the Government stamp to newspapers became optional , and two prices have I been necessary , it does not seem to be clearly understood that unstamped papers can be delivered to regular subscribers in the great provincial cities vith a very trifling addition , and in some cases at the same price as charged in London . In order that the Leader may in no instance be charged more than Sixpence , cash or prepaid , the proprietors have determined to settle the prices , on and after this date , as follows : — - Unstamped , FIVEPENCE . Stamped , Sixpence . Quarterly , unstamped 5 s . 5 d . .. ' . , stamped > 6 6 yearly ( prepaid ) , stamped £ 1 6 0 Unstamped , per year , prepaid * ONE GUINEA . Arrangements will be made with present Subscribers . These terms , it is hoped , will meet the approbation of the large clas * of Traders and General Readers , to which the LEADER ( greatly increased in size ) appeals by its special attention to COMMERCIAL as well as to LITERARY and POLITICAL AFFAIRS . * # * Order of any Newsman .

      Untitled Article

      NOTICES TO CORRESPONDENTS . No notice can bo taken of anonymous correspondence . Whatever is intended for insertion must be authenticated by the namo and address of -the writer ; not necessarily for publication , but as a guarantee of his good faith . It is impossible to acknowledge the mass of letters we receive . Their insertion is often delayed , owinp to a press of matter ; and when omitted . it is frequently from reasons quite independent of the merits of the communication . . . Wo cannot undertake to return rejected commuiucatioiis .

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      Untitled Article

      - — v . s ~^ SATURDAY , DECEMBEB XI , 1858 .

      Untitled Article

      " ^ REDUCTION OF DISCOUNTS . On Thursday the Brink of England lowered tho minimum rate at which it will discount bills and m ^ ko advances on stock while the books arc shut for tho dividends , from 3 per cent ., at which it has stood since February 11 th , to 2 h per cent . Great surpriso is expressed at this reduction , although it has boon imperatively 1 demanded by influential writers of City articles for many weeks , and no inconsiderable discussion has ensued as to tho motivos of tho Bank Directors for now making it . If thoso clovor and commanding mem had consulted tho Bank accounts which they publish weekly , thoy would not havo been surprised , nor would they enter into idlo discussions as to tho motivos of tho Bank Directors . Tho solution of tho whole matter inuy i be found in tho Bank accounts . But our ovorwiao ; contemporaries aro a great deal too much occupied i

      with preconceived theories , and too resolutely the advocates of the Bank Act , ever to question its beneficial effects . The easy and simple explanation of the present alteration , is the great abundance of money now in the Bank , the very favourable state of the revenue indicating a still greater redundancy of money in the Bank hereafter , and the continual influx of gold , which carries with it by law a continual creation of money equal to double the quantity of gold imported into the Bank . It was made this week probably because the gold * continued to accumulate , and the returns of the Bank of France show that gold is not needed abroad . Though we did not know , till our contemporaries announced the fact , that the Bank had made this alteration , we had previously prepared the following paper , which we now submit to our readers with trifling adaptations as affording a full explanation of the conduct of the Bank .

      EASE IN THE MONEY-MARKET AND IN THE EXCHEQUER . " The extraordinary ease of the money-market at a season when stringency is usually experienced is noticed by our contemporaries without being accounted for . On looking at the Bank returns , published last Saturday , it will be seen that the bullion in the Bank , including the coin , was 18 , 77 M 14 J . ; and if we look through the Bank returns for the same week , the last in November in each year , we must go back to 1852 before we find an equal amount of bullion . In the last week of November , 1852 , it was 21 , 321 * 994 / . The rate of discpunt , which is generally determined by the quantity of money in the Bank , was then 2 per cent ., and it had been 2 A per cent , in the early part of 1852 , with the bullion at 17 , 300 , 000 / . ; so that th . e present reduction seems consistent with the general conduct of the Bank . The average amount of bullion in the Bank in the same week of the ^ five years intervening between 1852 and 1858 , when the rate of discount varied between 2 J and 10 per cent ., was 11 , 521 , 536 / . ; consequently the bullion at present is 7 , 254 , 778 / . in excess of this average , and 11 , 419 , S 47 / . in excess of the minimum amount of bullion in the same week of the interval which it was at this time last year . The following aro the figures in detail : — Bank of England Returns for the Last Wees . in November .

      Untitled Article

      - ¦¦•—•— ^—¦ There is nothing so revolutionary , because there is nothing bo unn / itunil ami convulsive , as tho strain to keep tilings fixed when all tho world is by tho very law of its creation in eternal progress . —Dr . Akkoi-d .

      Untitled Article

      I NOTICE . I On and after Saturday , the 18 th inst . the Office of I ¦ u this Paper will be I NO . 18 , CATHERINE-STREET , I STRANP , W . C ., I The commodious premises formerly occupied by the I . Morning Herald . I jj j 3 The CITY EDITOR of the Leader has an I Office , No . 7 , " GEOBGB-YABD , LOMBARDI STREET , to whom communications can be made on I commercial affairs . ME . W . JEFFERY , Bookseller and Stationer , No . 7 , GeOkge-yaed , LOMBAKB-STKEKT , Will act as City Agent , and supply Papers or receive Advertisements .

      Untitled Article

      Years . Bullion . Reserve of Notes . £ £ 1852 2 1 , 321 , 994 12 , 506 , 195 185 3 14 , 990 , 08 6 7 , 049 , 825 1854 1 3 , 709 , 794 7 , 352 , 645 1855 11 , 139 , 937 5 , 492 , 645 1850 10 , 411 , 3 97 4 , 785 , 180 1857 7 , 356 , 467 2 , 268 , 340 Five years 57 , 607 , 681 26 , 948 , 635 Average 11 , 521 , 536 5 , 389 , 727 1858 18 , 776 , 314 12 , 324 , 040 Above the average 7 , 254 , 778 6 , 934 , 313 Above the minim . 11 , 419 , 847 10 , 055 , 700

      Untitled Article

      Bullion ani > Reseuyis of Notes tooetiieh . " £ 1858 31 , 100 , 354 Average of five years , 1853-1857 16 , 911 , 263 Excess in 1858 14 , 189 , 091 Minimum in the period 9 , 624 , 807 Excess in 1858 above minimum ..., 21 , 475 , 547 Turning' from tho bullion to tho notes in reserve , we find that thev , in tho last week of November , 1 S 58 , amounted to 12 , 324 , 040 / . To find an equally largo reserve in tho samo week wo must also go ' bnek tp tho year 1852 , when it was 12 , 500 , 195 / . Tho average amount of reserve in tho same week in tho five intervening yoars was 5 , 389 , 727 / . Thus tho amount of reserve at present is 0 , 934 , 313 / . in excess of the average of tho sumo week in tho five years intervening uetwoen 1852 and 1858 , aud it is 10 , 055 , 700 / . in excess of tho minimum amount of reserve in the same week of the interval whioh it wns fit this time last year . Now , adding togothor the bullion and tho reserve of notes , both 6 f which are money , wo boo that at prosont tho Bank hns 31 , 100 , 854 ;/ ,, while tho avorago amount of money in tho Bank during the

      five years was 16 , 911 , 263 / ., and the monej at present is consequently 14 , 189 , 091 / . ii excess of the average of the five years intervening between 1852 and 1858 . It is 21 , 475 , 547 / . excess of the minimum amount in the same week in any one of those five years Which end in 1857 . Does it require any ghost now to _ tell us why money is so easy when it is so much in excess , ana why discount is lowered ? If this were the natural result of free trade and of the unbiased diffusion of capital and its representatives , the precious metals throughout the world , not one ^ word of criticism should we utter on the subject . We should accept it with thankfulness , as we do the

      return of day and night . But the half of this excess is entirely the creature of a banker ' s whim , incorporated by an ignorant Minister—we say it unhesitatingly , though that Minister was the late Sir Robert Peel—in an Act of Parliament . By law the Bank of England notes , to a specific amount determined by the law , are made legal tenders , and as truly and completely money as the sovereigns in the Bank , or in an individual ' pocket . The bulk Of the reserve is the creature of the enactment which absurdly compels the Bank to issue a legal tender bank-note for every ounce of gold it , receives , or to coin legal money in proportion as gold—also money—comes into the country . The ordinary

      banknotes— promises to pay on demand- —no more add to the money of the world than do bills to pay after date ; but Bank of England notes , made a legal tender by Act of Parliament , received at the Bank in payment of taxes , are money . They are a factitious creation of fictitious money by Act of Parliament . Thus making money in excess , like the old-fashioned plans of issuing debased coin , the real good money , which can be made use of in other countries , goes thither , and the consequence of the law ordaining the creation of so much real legal tender , but fictitious money , is that gold , or abroad to be invested rail

      capital , is readily sent m - ways , or lent to Chili or Turkey , or embarked in any kind of schemes in which it is likely to be profitable . To have an equable money-market , neither excessively easy , as in 1 S 52 and in 1 S 58 , nor excessively stringent , as in 1857 , we must get rid of the absurd enact ment which creates legal tender currency when it is not wanted , and extinguishes it when it is wanted . There is another sign of an easy money-market and of easy times for the Finance Minister worth notice . The public deposits last week amounted to 8 , 245 , 211 / . They are an index to the receipts in the Exchequer , as well as so much addiback to

      tional money in the Bank ; aud we must go the year 1 S 50 to find an equal sum to the credit of the Government in the last week of November . It was then 9 , 398 , 752 / . The average of the same week , during the seven years which intervened between 1 S 50 and 1 S 5 S , was 0 , 234 , 291 / . ; so that at present the public deposits are 2 , 010 , 920 / . above the average , and 3 , S 05 , 622 / . above the minimum in the same week within the period which occurred in 1 S 55 . The Government will have no oc ^ casion to make any demands on tho Bank to pay the dividends ; tho Bank will bo still more flush of money after they are paid than now ; the Exchequer is flourishing ; and the people may look for , and ought to demand , the abolition ot some taxation .

  • Citation
    • Leader (1850-1860), Dec. 11, 1858, page 1353, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse2.kdl.kcl.ac.uk/periodicals/l/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2272/page/17/