'The bank shares in the depressed period of 1847-8 fell to 180, after having reached, in the flattering times of 1844-'5, 215 per share, or 115 per cent. advance. Consols, at the same depressed period, fell to 78-3/4, when starvation stared Ireland in its face, and the bank simultaneously sought protection from the Cabinet.'
Attention has been recently directed in this country to the premium on gold, or to the alleged fall in the value of bank paper and Government notes. Although the premium on gold as an article of merchandise has reached a high rate during the present year, it will be seen, on reference to the reliable tables in the History of the Bank of England, that a great difference occurred during the suspension of the bank in 1797 to 1819. Gold at one time (1812) reached £5 8s., a difference of 30 per cent. The annexed table shows the changes from 1809 to 1821.
| YEARS | Price of | Difference from | Nominal | Amount in | |||
| Gold. | Mint Prices. | Taxes | Gold Currency | ||||
| £ | s. | d. | £ | £ | |||
| 1809, | 4 | 9 | 10 | 16-1/3 | per cent. | 71,887,000 | 60,145,000 |
| 1810, | 4 | 5 | 0 | 9-1/10 | " | 74,815,000 | 68,106,000 |
| 1811, | 4 | 17 | 1 | 24-1/2 | " | 73,621,000 | 55,583,000 |
| 1812, | 5 | 1 | 4 | 30 | " | 73,707,000 | 51,595,000 |
| Sept. to Dec. 1812, | 5 | 8 | 0 | 38-1/2 | " | ... | ... |
| 1813, | 5 | 6 | 2 | 36-1/10 | " | 81,745,000 | 52,236,000 |
| Nov. 1812, to Mch. 1813 | 5 | 10 | 0 | 41 | " | ... | ... |
| 1814, | 5 | 1 | 8 | 30-1/3 | " | 83,726,000 | 58,333,000 |
| 1815, | 4 | 12 | 9 | 18-8/9 | " | 88,394,000 | 66,698,000 |
| 1816, | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2-1/2 | " | 78,909,000 | 72,062,000 |
| Oct. to Dec. 1816, | 3 | 18 | 6 | under 1 | " | ... | ... |
| 1817, | 4 | 0 | 0 | 2-1/2 | " | 58,757,000 | 57,259,000 |
| 1818, | 4 | 1 | 5 | 5 | " | 59,391,000 | 56,025,000 |
| 1819, 4th Feb. | 4 | 3 | 0 | 6-1/3 | " | 58,288,000 | 54,597,000 |
| 1820, | 3 | 17 | 10-1/2 | par. | 59,812,000 | 59,812,000 | |
| 1821, | 3 | 17 | 10-1/2 | par. | 61,000,000 | 61,000,000 |
The increased volume of Government and bank paper afloat in the United States since the 1st January, 1862, is conceded to be only temporary. The Government is engaged in crushing the greatest rebellion known to history; in doing this, the national expenditures are six or seven fold what they ever were before, in a time of peace. During the four years 1813 to 1816, when war raged with England, the whole expenses of the Government were $108,537,000. During the Mexican war, when the disbursements of the treasury were much heavier, the average annual expenses of the Government were about 35 to 48 millions. It will be well to recur to these tabular details for future history. They are presented as follows, for the whole period of the General Government.
EXPENDITURES of the United States, exclusive of Payments on account of the Public Debt.
| Years | 1789-1792, | Washington, | $3,797,000 |
| " | 1793-1796, | " | 12,083,000 |
| " | 1797-1800, | John Adams, | 21,338,000 |
| " | 1800-1804, | Jefferson, | 17,174,000 |
| " | 1805-1808, | " | 23,927,000 |
| " | 1809-1812, | Madison, | 36,147,000 |
| " | 1813-1816, | " | 108,537,000 |
| " | 1817-1821, | Monroe, | 58,698,000 |
| " | 1821-1824, | " | 45,665,000 |
| " | 1825-1828, | John Quincy Adams, | 49,313,000 |
| " | 1829-1832, | Jackson, | 56,249,000 |
| " | 1833-1836, | " | 87,130,000 |
| " | 1837-1840, | Van Buren, | 112,188,000 |
| " | 1841-1844, | Harrison and Tyler, | 81,216,000 |
| " | 1846-1848, | Polk, | 146,924,000 |
| " | 1849-1852, | Taylor and Fillmore, | 194,647,000 |
| " | 1853-1856, | Pierce, | 211,099,000 |
| " | 1857-1860, | Buchanan, | 262,974,000 |
During the past fiscal year, 1862-3 and the year 1863-4, the Government expenditures are estimated at ten hundred millions of dollars. These heavy disbursements cannot be carried on merely by the ordinary bank paper and the gold and silver of the country. Instead of sixty-five millions of dollars, the average annual expenditures of the Government during the last administration, these now involve the sum of five hundred millions annually. Hence the obvious obligation on the part of the Government of putting in circulation the most reliable currency, and of avoiding those of local banks, which do not possess the confidence of the people at a distance. This can be done only by maintaining a currency of Government paper which every holder will have full confidence in, and in which no loss can be sustained.
There is here no conflict or competition between the Government and the State banks. The latter have the benefit of their legitimate circulation in their own respective localities; while the national treasury furnishes to the troops and to the creditors of the nation a circulation of treasury notes which must possess confidence as long as the Government lasts.
The policy of the English Government in this respect was a wise one. At the adoption of the last charter of the bank (1844) the Government allowed the country banks to maintain from that time forward the circulation then outstanding, which was not to be increased; and as fast as the banks failed or were wound up voluntarily, their circulation was retired and the vacuum became filled by the notes of the Bank of England. The latter was forbidden by its new charter to exceed certain prescribed limits in its issues. They could issue to the amount of their capital, £14,000,000, and beyond that to the extent of gold in the vaults. Thus the bank circulation of England, Scotland, and Ireland is less now than in 1844, when the new principle was established, viz.: