But such prosperity is more specious than real. It would have been
better, probably, as the shock would have been less, if prices had
fallen sooner. At length, however, they fell; and as there is little
doubt that certain events in Europe had an influence in determining the
time at which this fall took place, I will advert shortly to some of the
principal of those events.
In May, 1819, the British House of Commons decided, by a unanimous vote,
that the resumption of cash payments by the Bank of England should not
be deferred beyond the ensuing February. The restriction had been
continued from time to time, and from year to year, Parliament always
professing to look to the restoration of a specie currency whenever it
should be found practicable. Having been, in July, 1818, continued to
July, 1819, it was understood that, in the interim, the important
question of the time at which cash payments should be resumed should be
finally settled. In the latter part of the year 1818, the circulation of
the bank had been greatly reduced, and a severe scarcity of money was
felt in the London market. Such was the state of things in England. On
the Continent, other important events took place. The French Indemnity
Loan had been negotiated in the summer of 1818, and the proportion of it
belonging to Austria, Russia, and Prussia had been sold. This created an
unusual demand for gold and silver in those countries. It has been
stated, that the amount of the precious metals transmitted to Austria
and Russia in that year was at least twenty millions sterling.
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