nessed to devote their time and energies to this little-under- 

 stood question : because we believe that the interests of all, 

 rich and poor, manufacturers and agriculturists, are so deeply 

 involved in it, that permanent prosperity can never (under any 

 circumstances) be secured, till \ve have a thorough reform of 

 the present Monetary System established by Peel's Bills of 

 1819 and 1844 (cheers). 



The resolution, which will be put from the Chair for your 

 adoption or rejection, declares " That the Question of the 

 Currency is one which materially affects the Agriculturists of 

 Great Britain." And with respect to the importance of the 

 question to the agriculturists, and all other classes, I beg to 

 call your attention to the opinion of the late Sir Robert Peel, 

 in his speech of May 6, 1844, on the Bank Charter Bill. 

 Speaking of his Currency Bill, he says, " There is no con- 

 " tract, public or private, no engagement, national or indivi- 

 " dual, which is unaffected by it. The enterprises of commerce, 

 " the profits of trade, the arrangements to be made in all the 

 " domestic relations of society, the wages of labour, the 

 " transactions of the highest amount, and of the lowest, the 

 " payment of the national debt, the provision for the national 

 " expenditure on the one hand, and the command which the 

 " coin of the smallest denomination has over the necessaries 

 " of life on the other, are all affected by the decision to which 

 " we may come on that great question which I am about to 

 " submit to the consideration of the committee." With this 

 comprehensive and well-expressed statement of Sir Robert 

 Peel I entirely agree. Money is one-half of every bargain 

 made between man and man. In early times, all traffic was 

 a matter of barter. Each man bartered the superfluity of 

 what he possessed, for that which he desired to possess. But 

 it soon became requisite to have something for which all 

 should be willing to exchange commodities. That something 

 was called Money. In different countries, various commodities 

 have been considered money ; but the precious metals, as they 

 are called, Gold and Silver, have, from their portability and 

 durability, been generally adopted for that purpose. One of 

 the earliest instances on record of a precious metal being a 

 medium of exchange is that of Abraham, with which you are 

 all familiar. Abraham bought the field of Machpelah, of 

 Ephron the Hittite, the son of Zohar, for four hundred sheckels 

 of silver. This silver was " current with the merchant," but 



