Mr. Lowe has had to give way about the silver
coinage after all, and Colonel Towline must be in the seventh heaven. He not only gets his silver, but may pose as a far-sighted person, instead of a wrong-headed doctrinaire. On Thursday the Chancellor of the Exchequer, questioned by Mr. Mundella, admitted that the Mint could not meet the demand for silver, so he had contracted with a Birmingham firm to supply £50,000 a week while the demand lasted,—that is, to increase the existing rate of supply by 50 per cent. Mr. Lowe grumbled dreadfully about it, predicting " a glut of silver," but he can prevent that if he likes. Why does he not relieve the demand, without coining more shillings, by issuing gold five-shilling pieces, and so become the most popular of Mintmasters ? We presume the auxiliary Mint he is setting up at Birmingham will be under pretty strict regulations.
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