Miscellanea. 351 
a letter addressed to myself in March, 1850, the late Sir Robert Peel, after 
alluding to an evening discourse I had delivered at the Royal Institution, 
thus proceeded:—‘ On the 6th of May 1844, in bringing in the Bank 
Charter, I adverted to the rapid increase of the annual supply of gold from 
mines within the dominions of the Emperor of Russia, and recommended 
those who wished for a relaxation of the standard of value in order to 
benefit the debtor, well to consider whether their objects might not be 
effected by natural causes—the decreasing relative value of gold in conse- 
quence of more abundant supply, without the aid of legislative intervention. 
Your arguments,” he added, “are powerful to show that there is no 
probability (risk I should say) of precipitate and violent disturbance. Jé 
takes a long time, and a great disproportion in the amount of supply, to 
affect the relative value, throughout the world, of two such articles as gold 
and silver. The united influence of Siberia and California will, however, 
I think, justify my inference of 1844, that there is a tendency towards 
diminished value on the part of gold. An extraordinary increase in the 
supply of both gold and silver might concurrently take place, not affecting 
their relative value between each other, but affecting the price of all other 
commodities estimated with reference to the precious metals, and the in- 
terest of debtor and creditor.” 
The truth of the sentiment which is italicized has been fully borne out 
by the events which have followed since the great statesman was taken 
from us. Those events have also concurred in showing the improbability 
of any precipitate or violent disturbance being produced by the new 
discoveries. 
On THE INFLUENCE OF SuGGESTION IN Mopiryine AND Directinec MuscuLar 
MoveEMENT, INDEPENDENTLY OF VOLITION. 
By Wiis B. Carpenter, M.D., F.R.S., &c. 
(Notices of Meetings.—Royal Institution of Great Britain.) 
1851-2. 
Pus.ic attention has recently been so much attracted to a class of pheno- 
mena, which has received the very inappropriate designation of Hlectro- 
Biological, or simply Biological, and so much misapprehension prevails 
regarding their true nature and import, that it becomes the Physiologist to 
make known the results of scientific investigation, directed in the first place 
towards the determination of their genuineness, and in the second to the 
elucidation of the peculiar state of the nervous system on which their pro- 
duction depends. 
With regard to the genuineness of the phenomena themselves, the 
