31 MARCH 1860, Page 2

The Bank of England has thought it expedient to raise

the rate of discount from 4 to 4 per cent. That the genuine de- mand for money, not certainly confined to the home market, has sent up the rate, is beyond question. The usual formalities have been observed, and the usual sensation has been made, but happily the causes of the rise are understood and the sensation will soon subside. These formal announcements give an ex- aggerated importance to the decision of the Bank parlour, and we have often suggested that the Bank should regulate its dis- count from day to day without beat of drums. Several of our contemporaries insist on the same doctrine.