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of the ruin, misery, and distress, which have already taken place, and the still greater and more permanent injuries and evils, which will take place, if this measure be persevered in. And if the Parliament and the Ministers have the interest of the community at heart, and wish to do justice to the country at large, a committee will be instantly appointed, to inquire into the effects which had been produced by the previous depreciation of the money, and also to inquire into the contrary effects, which will be brought upon the community by returning permanently to the old metallic standard; and immediately adopt measures to avert the impending and general ruin which must otherwise inevitably take place.

There is no doubt but it is the acting upon the bullion payment plan, or the preparation by the Bank of Ireland to return to the ancient metallic standard, which is now producing the present ruin and distress in that country; and before it proceeds further, those members of Parliament, who are more particularly interested in the welfare of that country, ought to consider, if greater evils even are not being committed in Ireland, than will be committed in this country, through its unjust, ruinous, and cruel operation. The currency of Ireland was about 10 per cent. less in value, than the currency of England; but it would appear, that the Act of 59 Geo. 3rd. Chap. 99. which compels the Bank of Ireland to pay in bullion, at the same price with the Bank of England, and at the old standard price of the English mint, is actually a raising of the standard of the Irish currency 10 per cent. more in value in proportion, than is so impolitically and unjustly being done in England; and will be virtually a raising of the taxes in Ireland, and of all debts and incumbrances, 10 per cent. more in value in proportion, than they ought to be.

There is not an instance in our history, (or in that of any country in the world) where the currency, that is, the whole circulating medium or standard of value, having once been depreciated in value, has ever afterwards been enhanced again, which may be proved from authentic documents; and Mr. Peel was equally unfortunate in his observations relating to the currency in Edward Sixth and in Elizabeth's reigns, as he has been in William the Third's, having very much mistated what actually did take place, as to the state of the currency, and the alterations made in it, at those periods; which shall be explained in a future letter, in which further arguments shall be adduced, to prove the great injustice and utter impracticability, at this time, of restoring the ancient metallic standard permanently to circulation,

HENRY JAMES.

THE

UNITED KINGDOM

TRIBUTARY

TO FRANCE;

THE

REAL CAUSE

OF THE

DISTRESSES OF THE COUNTRY:

DEMONSTRATED IN A

Letter

TO THE

RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF LIVERPOOL,

FIRST LORD OF THE TREASURY.

LONDON:

A

LETTER,

&c.

MY LORD,

THAT the distresses of the country continue rather to increase than to diminish, is a fact which seems to be admitted on all sides; and it is equally evident that there is no public confidence, either that the cause of these distresses has been satisfactorily ascertained, or that any of the various remedies proposed will remove the evils, of which there is so much reason to complain. In the Houses of Parliament, the subject, in some shape, is almost daily adverted to; and members, of different interests and opposite politics, are actively and eagerly engaged in discussing those questions, which are supposed to affect our national prosperity. The Poor Laws, the Corn Laws, Cash Payments, Liquidation of the Public Debt, Depression of Trade, Ruin of Agriculture, or Reform in Parlia ment, are the daily topics of senatorial eloquence. Session after session, since the decisive battle of Waterloo, have the talents of the first men of the age been exercised on various subjects relative to the situation of the country; and nothing has been done, or rather, no cure has been effected. Year after year passes away, and our difficulties augment as we go on. Remedies seem to be proposed and adopted before the cause of the disease has been accurately defined. For the two or three first years after the peace, the sudden transition from war, and the revulsion, as it was called, of commerce, were said to be the causes of all our calamities; that we were suffering a temporary evil, which would very soon cure itself. Certainly a change from war to peace must affect many thousands of individuals, but it cannot for a moment be admitted to be a national calamity, even of short duration. This opinion

does not now prevail. Experience has taught that it is not true, and people seem to be at a loss to what to attribute the distresses of the country. It is indeed inconsistent with common sense to suppose, that a nation can be in a state of less prosperity in peace than in war; that poverty can be the consequence of diminished expenses with undiminished means; and that a free commerce to all parts of the world can be productive of less profit to the nation than the confinement of it under severe restrictions, expenses, and dangers, to particular countries, as was the case during the war. These things cannot be; they are utterly at variance with common sense. It is not, therefore, the peace which has produced the evils of which we so loudly complain. There must then be some other cause for our distress. Enlightened statesmen, political economists, and writers of various descriptions, all admitting the fact, have assigned to it different causes;-The disciples of Mr. Malthus hint at a redundant Popu tion;-Mr. Tierney says it is Paper Currency ;-Mr. Brougham, excessive Taxation;-Mr. Baring, restrictive Trade ;-Sir Francis Burdett, want of Radical Reform;-While others attribute all the calamities of the country to the Poor Rates.

I will endeavour to prove that these causes, jointly, or separately, are not sufficient to account for the great stagnation and poverty which cover the face of the land; and first I will show that it is not a redundant Population.

A nation cannot be said to be over-peopled if sufficient food be generally produced for the consumption of its inhabitants: I believe that in the United Kingdom a sufficiency is generally produced, and that it is only in bad seasons that we are compelled to seek the aid of foreign countries: if we had only one half our present population, we might still be sometimes under the necessity, if the seasons became worse, of importing food from abroad. That we do so occasionally is therefore no proof that there are too many people in the country.'

I admit that there is a redundant Population in the educated parts of society, which occasions much misery to that portion who have to maintain themselves by the exercise of mental talent. The competition in the professions, and in the middle ranks of the trading community, is dreadful. It is the source of much wretchedness to many thousands; and it is our misfortune that these men, of all others, are the least fit for emigration. The consideration of this subject will be well worthy the attention of the public, and may tend to discourage that spirit of educating all ranks of people, which seems to be very much the fashion of the day. I do not, however, believe that redundant Population, generally speaking, is the cause of our distress.

Secondly, Paper Currency.-A great deal too much gloomy consequence has been attached to this expedient, which was highly beneficial to the country when adopted, and can only be made injurious by our own folly. Money being useful merely for the purpose of an interchange of commodities; of what consequence is it, whether that interchange be made by paper or gold? There may be some danger of persons in power supplying the market with more than the public necessities require, which would immediately produce a depreciation in the value, by raising the price of commodities, and thereby injuring those who were holders of paper money before the depreciation took place. But even this evil (I mean an over-issue of paper money, which has not yet taken place,) could not create permanent distress. A paper currency is generally received and paid at the same value. It cannot affect national riches or prosperity, which depend not on the species or quantity of its currency, but on the produce of its soil, and its arts and manufactures. Substitute gold or silver for every bank note now in circulation, and will any one contend that our miseries are at an end?

Thirdly, Excessive Taxation.-I am aware that it will be difficult to dispose of this question, as not touching the distresses of the country. In fact it must be admitted, that taxation does materially contribute thereto, though I think it does not produce that overwhelming ruin which some people are apt to imagine. The effect of taxation, and particularly such a taxation as ours, the bulk of which goes to pay the interest of the National Debt, is simply this-It enables a certain number of persons (creditors of the State) to live by the labors of others; but it does not so materially affect the national prosperity--that is, the productions of the soil, or the industry of the people- because it neither increases nor diminishes those productions in any great degree. It may be said, indeed, in one way, to increase the national wealth, by stimulating the people to industrious exertion, to enable them to pay the taxes; while, on the other hand, the creditors of the State, being themselves with their servants and dependants, idle and unproductive, in proportion to their numbers, must diminish the resources of the country. In making this calculation upon the effect of the National Debt, I presume that the mass of the fundholders are Englishmen, and that they expend in this country the amount of their dividends. It makes every difference if the money arising from the dividends were to go abroad; in that case, it would have the effect, as I shall soon show, of a contribution to a foreign State; it would impoverish and exhaust us; but spent amongst ourselves, it is money taken out of the pocket of one and given to another, and again to another, and no value actually

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