The Industrial Revolution

Bibliographic data

Monograph

Identifikator:: 1027928145

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-159926

Document type:: Monograph

Author:: Cunningham, William http://d-nb.info/gnd/128907487

Title:: The Industrial Revolution

Place of publication:: Cambridge

Publisher:: The University Press

Year of publication:: 1922

Scope:: xxii S., S. 404-886

Digitisation:: 2021

Collection:: Economics Books

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

LAISSEZ FAIRE + The expectations of Sir Robert Peel were soon to be jut this did falsified, however; before three years had elapsed a very pot prevent serious crisis occurred. This had not been brought about by ence of over-trading and the inflation of prices; indeed it followed th a period of commercial depression, which was chiefly due to the vigour with which railway enterprise was taken up, and she fact that the ordinary course of commercial transactions was dislocated. In the autumn of 1845, 2,069 miles of railway were opened, with a capital of £64,288,600; while 3,543 miles of railway were in progress, involving capital to the amount of £74,407,520. Of course there was no im- mediate return on this large amount of capital; it was for the time absolutely sunk ; the investment of so much money, in forms that were not immediately productive, had the result of injuring many branches of industry, and depressing commerce. In so far as the wealth devoted to railway enter- prise was withdrawn from circulation in the form of wares, the sffects were for the time being disastrous. The proprietors had less means available to purchase goods. Capitalists found that their sales diminished; they were unable to replace their stock of materials, or to continue to pay wages, until their stores of finished goods were realised; and a general stagnation resulted? As Mr Wilson puts it.— Let 27) word ‘a Pound,’ with which we are all familiar? What is the engagement to pay » ‘Pound’? Unless we ars agreed on the answer to these questions it is in vain we attempt to legislate on the subject. If a ‘Pound’ is a mere visionary abstraction, a something which does not exist either in law or in practice, in that :ase one class of measures relating to Paper Currency may be adopted ; but if the word ¢ Pound,’ the common denomination of value, signifies something more than i mere fiction—if a ‘Pound’ means a quantity of the precious metals of certain weight and certain fineness—if that be the definition of a ‘Pound,’ in that case nother class of measures relating to Paper Currency will be requisite. Now, the whole foundation of the proposal I am about to make rests upon the assumption ‘hat according to practice, according to law, according to the ancient monetary policy of this country, that which is implied by the word ‘Pound’ is a certain lefinite quantity of gold with a mark upon it to determine its weight and fineness, and that the engagement to pay a Pound means nothing, and can mean nothing alse, than the promise to pay to the holder, when he demands it, that definite quantity of gold. * * * We want only a certain quantity of paper, not indeed fixed and definite in nominal amount, but just such a quantity, and that only, as shall be rquivalent in value to the coin it represents.” 8 Hansard, Lxxrv. 723. 736. \ Wilson, Capital, Currency and Banking, p. vi. 3 The doctrine that demand for commodities is not demand for labour, is often stated in a form which neglects the necessity for the replacement of capital bv the

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: The Industrial Revolution

Monograph

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation