A Letter to Thomas Brand on the Practicability and Propriety of a Resumption of Specie Payments (Paperback)

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated.1819 Excerpt: ... Brought up . 700,000 Loss per annum of 5 per cent, on 6 millions of productive Bank-paper, abstracted from circulation 300,000 Loss, per annum, of 5 per cent, on 6 millions of unproductive specie stock, kept in their vaults 300,000 Reduction of annual income.... 1,300,000 Sacrifice on the sale of stock to the amount of 14 millions--say, 10 per cent 1,400,000 Sacrifice on the purchase of gold to an equal amount 1,400,000 Sacrifices of the Bank in sale of stock and purchase of gold 2,800,000 Making not less than a reduction of one million three hundred thousand pounds in their income, and a sinking of principal to the amount of nearly three millions of pounds. "If the Bank should be again called upon to "pay their notes in specie," says Mr. Ricardo, "the effect would be to lessen greatly the profits "of the Bank, w ithout a correspondent gain to "any other part of the community; and thus, "to indulge a mere caprice, a most expensive "medium would be substituted for one of little "value. Besides the loss to the Bank, which "must be considered as a loss to the community, "general wealth being made up of individual "riches, the state would be subjected to the 44 useless expense of coinage, and, on every fall "of the exchange, sovereigns would be melted "and exported." All this time I am supposing that there will be no particular difficulty in procuring gold, since Mr. Ricardo assures us, that the Bank may now, if they please, have a stock of specie equal to all their notes in circulation, and upwards- " an assertion, the correctness of which 1 am disposed to doubt, particularly, if the specie, when purchased, is to be withheld for a time from circulation, --a circumstance which makes in the operation an essential difference. Gold, under this supposition, w...