On Saturday last, M. Tirard, the French Finance Minister, introduced,
and on Tuesday the Chamber passed, a very remarkable Bill, under which the maximum issue of Bank -of France notes is to be raised from three-and-a-half to four milliards of francs. The public, it seems, was becoming annoyed at having all payments made in coin since the Wednesday previous to the introduction of the Bill, owing to the Bank having reached the limit of its note-issue. It is said, indeed, that had the Government not intervened, large bank-notes would have been at a premium. Considering that a depreciation of Bank paper is an almost universal sign of political crisis, this is a very remarkable fact, and shows that no one in France seriously believes their political institutions to be threatened. The French people have, we suspect, an unconquerable belief that whatever else may happen, four things will always remain,—the Bank of France, the Administration, the Academy, and the Legion of Honour. It must be remembered, however, that the Bank pays not in gold but in silver when it pays in coin, and that silver is heavy to carry.
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