ble undertaking in a minister of this country, however favourable the circumstances might be, to engage to support the petty principalities of Prussia, Hesse, and Hanover, with the assistance of Sweden in giving law to Austria and the empire of Russia. The greatest part of the Russian troops being engaged on the southern frontiers of the empire, Sweden had carried on a petty war on the borders of Finland with various success. The King, at last, made a descent in Russian Finland, apparently without any determinate design, for no valid reason could be given for such an expedi tion, except that of enabling him to take the Rossian positions in the rear; this he did not attempt to any extent, but remained in the gulph of Hybourg till he was blocked up by the Russian fleet. Our administration in their fluctuations between arming and disarming had a sufficient force and sufficient time to have sent it to relieve him; ten or twelve line of battle ships would probably have changed the face of affairs in the Baltic; but the squabble respecting Nootka Sound happening at that time, although there was a certainty, that in the then state of France, Spain had very little, or, at most, a very distant prospect of assistance, yet our ministry were seized with affright, and did not send a single ship to disengage him; the consequence of which was, that the King was obliged to submit to sach terms as the court of Petersburgh chose to dictate, and from that day Sweden became little more than a province of Russia. In this Mr. Pitt did the Empress a more essential service than if he had yielded to her all her Turkish conquests, and certainly a much greater prejudice to the rest of Europe; for, however desirable it might be to see Russia a powerful state, it never could be so to give the court of Petersburgh the command of the Baltic.--Before the death of the Emperor Joseph, large bodies of Prussian troops had been collected on the frontiers of Bohemia and Moravia, and the Austrian forces had begun to file from the Turkish provinces to that quarter; at his death the Netherlands were in open rebellion, and a body of Prussian troops in Westphalia ready to support them. Hungary was in a state of commotion, and a considerable fermentation prevailed in other parts of the Austrian dominions, his successor's election, -as emperor, had not been secured, and the affairs of France and the situation of the Queen had begun to engage his attention. So many powerful reasons against entering into a new wir determined the cabinet of Vienna to submit to treat on the terms proposed. proposed. The two principal articles of this treaty will give a pretty just idea of Mr. Pitt's discernment in foreign affairs. By one the court of Vienna, after a strenuous opposition, was obliged to dissolve the alliance with the court of Petersburgh; by the other, Austria was deprived of the fortresses of the Danube and Hungary, laid open to the irruptions of all the savages of the Torkish empire whenever France or Prussia chose to have the Austrian armies called back from the defence of the empire. From another article too, an opinion may be form. ed of the disinterested attachment of his ally to the Porte, Austria was still allowed to acquire, on the side of Turkey, provided Prussia received a compensation in Silesia. The Empress of Russia. though deprived of her ally, was not to be driven from her pur pose; as that ally was no longer to partake of the spoils, she contracted her claims, but persisted in retaining what she had demand. ed at the time of the last convention with the Porte; Oczackow.and the adjacent ter ritory. Prussia threatened, and Mr. Pitt equipped a fleet; but how that fleet was to compel the Empress to submit it would probably be necessary to have recourse to himself to explain. At the commencement of a war with France it was necessary to pre. pare a fleet with the utmost expedition, to insure our superiority at sea; but on that occasion no danger was to be apprehended from that quarter, as he was at that moment fighting the battles of France. Russia had no foreign possessions,, very little shipping, except a fleet which could only leave their own ports to add to the number of the British navy; and, perhaps, he did not expect himself, that it would penetrate up the Neva or the Palus Mootis. It is probable that he had never thought of the difficulty of the undertaking in which he had engaged, for the only way in which he could have acted offensively against Russia was by hiring German troops, and no step had been taken for that purpose; when, finding the Empress resolute, the measure very unpopular out of doors, and the minority increasing in Parliament, he dispatched a gentleman to notify to the court of Berlin, that he was to give up the point, and to inform the Empress, that since she was determined not to yield to him, he must yield to her. It was the lofty and magnanimous maxim of the ancient Romans to spare those who submitted, and to compel those who resisted; Mr. Pitt adopted the converse of the proposition as more easy and safe; to take every thing from those who submitted, and to leave those in possession who were resolved to defend it.When Mr. Pitt came into office a new combination of the powers of Europe had taken place, which promised to restore that stability and permanency which had been lately endangered. Though the object was great, never was the task of an English minister more easy, nothing more was required than to shew that he was favourably disposed towards it; no force, no exertion was necessary, while France was out of the field. From the time that he entered into administration till the end of the Turkish war, there was no part of his conduct that indicated that he ever had an idea that comprehended the general system of Europe. He received his first lesson in foreign affairs from a corner of Germany, nor do his views seem ever to have expanded beyond the narrow circle in which they were formed. In defence of Sweden he treated Denmark with hostility; terrified by a phantom, he laid Sweden prostrate at the feet of Russia; he dissolved an alliance upon which the security of Europe depended; he stripped without mercy, and laid open the dominions of Austria; when called upon to enforce the remaining objects of his treaty of alliance, he deserted his preceptor, and allowed himself to be vanquished by the firmness of a woman; he reduced Europe to a chaos in which every germ of a general system was destroyed, and all confidence in national faith, treaties, or alliances, totally lost. Mr. Pitt shewed considerable talents for political economy; he might have directed the plough and the shuttle to advantage, but Mr. Pitt taking the helm at a time when a new system of Europe was to be consolidated, was Omphale leaving her distaff to try to wield the club of Hercules.CAMILLUS. BANK DOLLARS. SIR, -When I submitted to you a few observations respecting the price of dollars, it appears, that I was so unfortunate as not to make myself understood. Upon the question, whether the currency of this country was depreciated or not, it was not my intention to have offered an opinion. I aimed only at convincing you, that in your own reasonings upon this question, you had done wrong in taking the price of dollars at 5s. each; which as far as their price could bear upon the subject, ought only to be taken at 4s. 9J.; and consequently that your arguments must fall to the ground. as far as they could be affected by this difference. I shall state more explicitly, the reasons upon which this opinion of mine is founded. During the latter part of the last year, in order to remedy in some measure the scarcity of silver coin, large quantities of dollars were purchased in London, and sent into the country for the purpose of being put into circulation. The price at which they circulated varied from 45. 7d. to 48. 9 d. each, and rose in Jan. to 4s. 10d. The great convenience with which they were attended, was considerably diminished by this variation in their price. Many could not determine at what rate they were willing to part with them; and some were apprehensive of taking a coin at a high rate, by which they might be losers if the price. should fall while it remained in their hands. To remedy this inconvenience, the Bank of England came to a determination in January last, of issuing dollars which should bear a fixed price. It will easily be seen, that if the price had been fixed lower than the rate which dollars bore in the market, they would have been as quickly withdrawn from the circulation as they could have been poured into it: and if the market price of the time had been that fixed, the same consequence would have followed on the smallest rise of the market. It was, therefore, judged expedient to fix a nominal price, higher than the price in the market was ever likely to rise, and five shillings was the price determined on. In order to establish this nominal price a stamp was affixed upon each dollar, and the Bank engaged to pay it again at the same rate of five shillings. By using the same means the Bank of England could, if it pleased, have established a nominal price of six, seven, or fifteen shillings, or any price whatever; and by no other means could the Bank, or any other set of men, have established a price of five shitlings, or indeed any other price than four shillings and sixpence. What I maintain is, that it is absurd to take the market or current price of dollars from the rate at which the Bank of England has thought it proper to issue these stamped dollars. It is not as dollars that they appear, and are current, in circulation at five shillings, but as stamped tokens which the Bank has engag ed to repay at that price. In fact, as promissory notes of the Bank. In this state they form a criterion, no doubt, of the degree of credit, which the Bank enjoys with the public; but of nothing else. If it should here be said, "they are still dollars; "their price is five shillings; and, there"fore, the price of dollars is five shillings." I answer, that this is a quibble, and I say, as I have already said, that it is not as dollars that their price is five shillings; as dollars, they would have been current for no more than 4s. 101. in January last, and 4s. 9d. now.* With as much reason it might be said, that the price of paper was so much raised, that a small piece was worth a thousand pounds, because a promise of the Bank to pay that sum was written upon it.——— Now, Sir, I think you must be convinced, that although there were no other dollars in the country than those which the Bank has made use of to stamp its engagements upon; still it would be wrong to infer the price of dollars from the rate at which these Bank engagements circulated. This would be a criterion improper to apply to, even if we had no other criterion. It happens, however (and it will put the question beyond all possible doubt), that there are larger quantities than usual of other dollars in circulation in this kingdom. I have already mentioned, that previous to the issue of dollars by the Bank, which took place in January last, large quantities had been put into circulation by private individuals, which circulated at a price of from 4s. 71d. to 4s. 10d. Many tons weight were sent from London in the months of November and December for that purpose. After that Having thus explained the grounds of the opinion which I had before delivered, I would be permitted to say a few words upon the observations which you have made upon that opinion. But first I will notice an assertion which you made in answer to another gentleman, who, it seems, has corresponded with you upon these subjects. It is rather singular, Sir, that in the same page in which you have been arguing against me, that dollars are not depreciated; you should also have maintained in your arguments against this gentleman, that guineas are depreciated. Did it never occur to you, that it was necessary to explain to your readers how this extraordinary circumstance had come to pass? Did you expect it to be believed upon your bare assertion of the fact, that the same broth was at the same time both hot and cold? The very circumstance of guineas being depreciated if once admitted, would overthrow every thing you have said respecting dollars. Your argument stands thus: Bank notes, you say, are depreciated; the proof is, that the same quantity will not now exchange for so many dollars as formerly. Dollars, therefore, are not depreciated. Again, guineas, you say, are depreciated; they have been borne down in their price by the depreciating paper. Now, Sir, if it is the tendency of a depre ciating paper to bare down the price of guineas, must it not have the effect upon dollars? If any circumstance exists tending to exempt dollars from this depreciating influence, it rests with you to point it out; The and to shew that it does not tend to exempt time, too, and during the months of January, February, and March, large quantities were put in the same manner into circulation at the price of from 4s. 9d. to 4s. 10d. These dollars, or the greatest part of them are in circulation still; those of them which circulate in the metropolis, bear but a small proportion to the number of Bank dollars in circulation there; but in many parts of the country they bear a very considerable proportion. Their price at present is 4s. 9d., and has never been higher than 4s. 10d. This, therefore, is the real price at which dollars circulate in company with Bank notes. If it should be still maintained, that the price of dollars ought to be taken from the rate at which the Bank dollars circulate, and that I have not assigned sufficient proofs 'that Bank dollars are raised above their natural level, by an extraneous circumstance, entirely unconnected with any supposed depreciation of Bank notes; then it is incumbent upon the person maintaining such opinion to show by what means the unstamped dollars have fallen below their natural level. guineas at the same time. But I deny that any such circumstance does exist. If it be said the cause is, that dollars never bore any established price at which they exchanged for, or with paper, which guineas always did bare; I answer, that whilst dollars re mained in this state, they passed for 4s. 9d. or 45. 10d. only; and the part of them which now pass for 5s. did not rise to that price, till an established price had been fixed. The unstamped dollars which still remain in circulation, without having a price established, pass for 4s. 9d. only. On the other hand, if you maintain that the very circumstance of the Bank establishing a price upon the stamped dollars, was the cause which prevented them from depreciating; then, I say, that this is a virtual admission of what I have been attempting to prove; because the Bank did not raise the price of these stamped dollars from 4s. 9d. (the price at which, I say, dollars ought to be taken) to 5s. (the price at which you say they ought to be taken) by means of any issue of their paper, more or less, but by a means entirely unconnected with any issue of paper; and can sink the price again to 4s. 9d. without making any alteration in its paper issues. It must be clear, therefore, that this rise from 4s. 9d. to 5s. can in no point of view affect the question of a depreciation of paper. And, I would ask any one who considers the inconsistency which appears in your reasonings, as I have stated them, whether it is not the most natural conclusion, that Bank notes have neither been themselves depreciated, nor yet have depreciated, by their influence, either guineas or dollars; but that these last have risen to the price of 4s. 9d, by one of those variations which are common in the market; and that the stamped dollars are current at 5s. not as dollars, but as promissory engagements of the Band of England? However, this is not to the purport of my argument. To proceed to what you have said in answer to my letter; you say, "the argument you "had previously stated was, that as the "sterling value of the dollar is no more "than 4s. 6d. and as the dollar now passes "in company with English Bank paper for "5s. that paper is depreciated from its for mer value ten per centum." The question of depreciation is not that upon which I am now writing; yet when you state, "that the sterling value of the dollar is no " more than 4s. 6d." I would remark, that in this country the value of the dollar, as exchanged for English money, either gold, silver, or Bank notes, has at no time been long fixed at 45. 6d. or any other price. In the course of the last year only the price varied from 4s. 4 d. to 4s. 11d. and it will most likely vary equally this year. In regard to the other part of the sentence which I have quoted, I have sufficiently proved, that the dollar does not pass in company with English Bank paper at 5s but at 4s. 9d. You say, "you stated this proposition in another way, thus: formerly, only a few years ago, a ten pound "Bank note would purchase forty-four "dollars and nearly a half, and that now "a ten pound Bank note will only pur"chase forty dollars of the same weight "and metal." Further on you say, "that "whilst stating this proposition, you were "not talking of dollars bought and sold for "Bank notes, but of dollars acting with "Bank notes in the purchase of commodi"ties." In order to simplify your proposi tion you did, indeed, make use of the word purchase, instead of the words ex change for, but nothing did you say, whence any one could possibly conclude that you meant dollars as bullion. The truth is, there is not the smallest difference between your proposition as you first stated it, and as you have left it with your alterations and simplifications, Whatever a Bank note will purchase, that it will exchange. for, and vice versa. The price of dollars as bullion, and their price as currency, can never long or materially differ; and the price which they bare in buying or being sold for Bank notes, must always be the same as their price when acting with Bank notes in the purchase of commodities. No doubt dollars may appear in circulation under some different character, and circulate at a higher price than they bear as bullion or than dollars not appearing under such character bear in circulation. This is the case with Bank dollars which appear under the character of promissory notes of the Bank of England. But simply as dollars it is impossible. To recur more particularly to your proposition, it must follow, that a ten pound Bank note which would formerly purchase forty-four dollars and a half, will still purchase forty-two dollars and a quarter of the same weight and metal. There is one point upon which I am happy that I can agree with you; you say, that you see nothing holy in the trade of banking any more than in the trade of shoe"making, which ought to turn you aside "from the pursuit of your inquiries ;" and you are right. But there is one plain rulo of common sense, which ought to prevent every man from attempting to teach to others what he does not understand himself. - I am, Sir, your very humble servant, C. B.-London, April 30, 1804. P.S.-In addition to what I have said, it may be proper to add, that I do not know of any circumstance which can have raised the price of dollars in Ireland to, the rate they bear there; except it be allowed, that the paper of that country has suffered depreciation. It should be remembered, that guineas have risen in price in Ireland as well as dollars. It appears, however, by a letter in your Register of Saturday, the 5th of May, that they have not risen so much. I think the same letter sufficiently accounts for this circumstance. Your correspondent informs us, that an attempt was first made to circulate dollars at a higher price than they were worth, even of the depreciated paper. He says, they have already fallen from six shillings each to five shillings and sixpence; and that it is still an article of traffic to purchase dollars in England, and circulate them in Ireland at five shillings and sixpence. There must, therefore, be some profit upon this trade, which, supposing it to be five per centum, would leave the price at five shillings and three pence; at about which price it is most probable that dollars will soon circulate in Ireland. Reckoning the real value of the dollar at 4s. 9d.; this would shew a depreciation in the paper of ten per centum, as exchange for dollars; and your correspondent has proved, that ten per centum is the rate of its depreciation as exchanged for guineas. SINKING FUND. which, we are told, is to ruin our finances, will accelerate their re-establishment. Fiftyeight is about the average price of the commissioners purchases to this time; and the price of the funds is stated gradually higher; as, no doubt, the more we advance in redeeming them, the more the price will advance also. Should it not, the sooner wil the debt be discharged. We may not be exactly correct in quoting 20 millions, as the sum actually paid to the 5th of January last; but we believe it is pretty nearly so. One million per annum Extracted from the Royal Cornwall Gazette of the having been first voted, in 1789-then 14afterwards 2-and last year 24 millions. 28th April, 1804. It has been recently doubted, in a contemporary publication, [Register, present Volume, p. 590,] whether any benefit arises to the nation from the Sinking Fund; as we are still paying interest on he whole amount of the national debt, 561 millions, though we are told that 77 millions have been redeemed or paid off. We are happy to have it in our power to lay before the public, a calculation by which it will appear that the most beneficial effects do positively result the nation from the operation of the Sinking Fund: and we have no doubt but every wellwisher to his country, every Briton, will rejoice with us, when assured, that not only a total redemption of the present national debt will be effected in 28 years, or perhaps less, if the present system is persevered in; but, even should that debt be increased 300 millions, by loans or the funding of Exchequer bills during those 28 years, that 12 years more will pay of those 300 millions also. We shall then see an end to all taxation, but for the current expenses of the year, which at present are estimated at 30 millions; and consequently the interest of the present debt will be extinguished.-In the following calculation, the sum at the disposal of the commissioners for liquidating the national debt, for the present year, is stated at £6,311,626 being the amount as quoted by them on the 5th of January last. This sum, supposing the average of their purchases for the present year to be at 58, will buy up £10,882,113 stock. The interest of this last amount at 3 per cent. is £326,463. which added to the £6,311,626. will leave £6,638,089. in the hands of the commissioners for the year 1805 and so on. The price of the funds I have stated high throughout; should it be lower, of course the more advantageous it will be for the Sinking Fund. And for this reason the effect of that fund will be greater in war, when the price of stock is low, than in peace, when it is higher.--So that the war itself, 1804 6,311,626'58 0,882,113 77,693.467 20 1805 6,638,089 58 11,444,981 88,580,589 22 1806 6.981,436 58′ 12,036,958 100,025,561 25 1807 7,342,543 58 12,659,556112,062,519 211 1808 7,722,328 58 13.314.358 124,722.075 30 1809 8,121,757 60 13,536.261138,036,433|| 38{ 1810 8,507,813 60 14,213,071 151,572.694 35 1811 8,954.233 60 14,923.721 165,785.765 37 1812 9,401,944 60 15,669,906, 180.709.486 40 1813 9,872,041 60 16,443,401| 196,409,392 42 1814 10,365,643 70 14,808,06:|212.862 793 45 1815 10,809.883 70 15,443,691 227,670,854 474 181611,273,161 70 16,104,515 243,113,545) 50 1817 11.756,296 70 16,794,708 259,218,060 52 1818 12,260,137 70 17,514,481 276,013,768 55 1819 12,785,569 75 17,047,423 293,527,249 57 1820 13,296,991 75 17,729,313310,574,672 60 182113,828,870 75 18,438,493 328.303,985 62 182214,332,022 75 19,176,029,346,742,478 63 182314,937,302 75 19,943 069 365,918,507 67 1824 15,555,592 80 19,944,490 385,861,576 70 1825 16,138.942 80 20,173,655 405,806,066 724 1826 16,744,132 80 20,930, 165 425,919,721|| 75 182717,372.035 80 21,715,043 446.909,386 77 1828 18,023.485 8022,529,356468,624,929 80 1829 18,699,364 85 21,999,251 491,154,285 82 1830 19,359,340 85 22,775,694 513,153,536 $5 183120,042,600 85 23,579,538 535,929,236 874 559,508,768 1832. Thus, by the operations of the Sinking Fund, the whole debt of 561 millions may be paid off in 28 years from this period, or 43 years from the first establishment of that fund, with a capital of 87 millions and half only. It is, we believe, pretty generally understood, that the origin of the Sinking Fund was the appropriation of a million per annum, (and which million is now increased to two millions and half) for buying up stock on account of the nation: the interest of which stock so bought up, was, and continues to be, annually added to the sum so |