TOPICS OF THE DAY.
REGULATION OF THE CURRENCY.
IN what is called "the City article" of one of the morning papers, two or three days ago, the writer expatiated upon the influx of Currency pamphlets which marks the approach of the Parliamentary session; each in its turn " attributing the national distress to something rotten in our monetary system," and putting forth an " infallible " remedy. These productions, some of them in second and third editions, show that Corn-law Repeal and Irish agitation do not altogether exclude attention from a further subject of equal im- portance, and that the national capacity has not only risen beyond the power of entertaining one idea at a time, but that it can abso- lutely grasp a third. It is true that a majority of the recent effu- sions are characterized by absurdities too gross to find place in any thing but a currency pamphlet ; yet they will not the less prove useful in showing the Ministry, that the subject is widely stirred by all classes of minds, and that the settlement of one part of it—that which concerns the Bank of England and its expiring charter—must now be entered upon in good earnest. And not only is this question ripe for adjustment, but every acci- dental circumstance of the time invites to action. It was a matter of reproach to the Whigs, that, with abundant evidence of the ne- cessity of a comprehensive measure, they suffered the last oppor- tunity to pass; but, under the impression that their existence de- pended upon not offending any class, the dread of offending the then all-powerful body of joint-stock bankers furnished them with a plea for hesitation, which, although a miserable one, was stronger than any which can be brought forward at the present time. In addition to the favourable circumstance that the prestige of
joint- stock interests has dwindled so as no longer to present any undue impediment, there can be no doubt that a consolidation of opinion as to the specific nature of the measure required has in the mean time taken place to a remarkable extent. From its first sug- gestion, the necessity of a Central Bank of Issue found advocates among men of all shades of opinion on other points of monetary policy ; but it was reserved for Mr. LOYD and Mr. NORMAN, by their evidence before the Parliamentary Committee of 1840 to ex- pound and popularize the principles upon which it should be esta- blished,—principles which, notwithstanding the new " remedies" to which every day gives birth, have never been shaken, and which during the past few years have sunk deeply into the convictions of every sober mind.
That any system might be managed more efficiently byst Central
Bank than by a number of rivals acting not only without concert but in most cases in opposition to each other, seems clear enough. That Mr. JONES LOYD'S proposal of a plan by which the currency shall be regulated so as to undergo no changes save those to which it would be subject if purely a metallic one, might be tried with somewhat less risk than any other, is also pretty evident ; and it is equally apparent that the general monetary condition of the coun- try has never been more favourable than at the present moment towards the enforcement of any necessary change in its routine ad- ministration. The Ministry, therefore, are bound immediately to take choice of the principle they will recognize among the many propounded, or to suggest a better than the best ; and, inasmuch as no system could prove so injurious as the present absence of all system, they will deservedly incur the heaviest charge of incompe- tency if they fail to act.
And besides that their interference is essential with the view to place the currency upon a footing by which the constantly recurring miseries of inflation and discredit—miseries which press upon masses unhappily insensible to their cause—might be prevented, it is called for as a point of direct justice to the nation ; since, during every year under the existing circumstances, a large amount is di- verted which properly belongs to its revenues. It is true that a pecuniary sacrifice is submitted to by the Bank of England for the advantages of its circulation ; but the amount of this sacrifice seems to be regulated upon no rational basis, and the other money-makers of the country are permitted to carry on the process solely to their own advantage. There are, then, no difficulties in the way of this most desirable improvement, save those which must attend the working out of its details. Any thing to be dignified by the name of argument against its principle is nowhere to be found. Claptrap allusions to the advantages of competition are sometimes urged; but the doc- trine is sadly out of place in application to the currency. Com- petition is to be encouraged in all things which admit of improve- ment by the exercise of individual energy ; but the business of issu- ing "promises to pay" calls for no talent or exertion of any kind, and to be carried out nationally, as a substitute for gold, must be worked upon a plan the most obvious and automatic, from which all chance of accidental disturbance must if possible be excluded. And even the opposition naturally to be expected from individual interests admits of ready conciliation. The capital invested in the issuing-banks has been drawn to them not only with the tacit ap- proval of the Government, but in some measure by its actual en- couragement. These banks have performed a function which the Government were too supine to regulate; and they have a fair claim to compensation for the sudden withdrawal of a privilege upon the prospect of which they were tempted to embark. With the recog- nition of this claim—and any measure in which it is not recognized would be fraught with injustice—all plea, and it may be hoped all wish, on the part of individual interests to raise obstructions, would be effectually suppressed.
The other giant questions of the Corn-law and Irish grievances will not arrive at a settlement during the present year. On the first, no one expects that the Minister will make up his mind be- tween resignation and total repeal until he is compelled to do so ; and for that at least a dissolution of Parliament is essential ; while the Irish agitation can only be subdued by many patient and long- continued efforts. The Bank of England question, therefore, is the only one of the three wholly free from embarrassment and ripe for immediate adjustment ; and a ground of lasting reproach will in- deed exist if it do not stand prominently out as a practical mea- sure of the session.
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