e old one. It is also said, that a
half-farthing piece would be a great boon to the poor, especially in
Ireland. The circumstances alleged in recommendation of this scale, are
just what appear to us to be its defects. The continuance of the poor
man's penny would not appear a boon if he found there were to be only
ten of them for a shilling; especially as many small articles, which
were a penny before, would probably be a penny still, the dealers not
finding it convenient to adjust the fraction. We well remember the
dissatisfaction of the poorer classes in Ireland at the equalisation of
the currency in 1825. Hitherto, the native silver coins had been 5d. and
10d. pieces, a British shilling had been a thirteen-penny, and a
half-crown, 2s. 8-1/2d. This half-crown was the usual breakfast-money of
gentlemen's servants--that is, their weekly allowance for purchasing
everything except dinner. When the servant now went to the huckster's,
and got, as heretofore, 6d. worth of bread, 9d. worth of tea, 4d. worth
of sugar, and 5d. worth of butter, there was only 6d. of change to buy
another loaf in the middle of the week, instead of 8-1/2d., which was
wont to afford, we will not say what, over and above. It is for a
similar reason that we say, if there remain anything which can be either
identified or confounded with a penny, it should be lowered rather than
raised in value. Small prices are not easily adjusted, and the
temptation in the other case lies on the side of the dealer not to alter
them. It is more certain, for instance, that a baker will take care to
divide 2s. worth of bread into twenty-five penny-loaves, when a penny
comes to be the twenty-fifth of a florin, than that he will divide 1s.
worth into ten only, if a penny become the tenth of a shilling. And it
would be less hardship for the poor housekeeper to find her penny-loaf
1-25th smaller, if she could discern the reduction, than to get only ten
for her shilling, even if they were a fifth larger. Besides, we should
feel it to be a poverty-stricken thought, that our internal commerce
should be reduced to barter in half-farthings' worths, and that our
merchants and bankers should have no denomination above the value of
10s. for the enormous sums which figure in their books.

The subject of names is worth a remark or two. The commissioners
recommended 'florins,' as affording facilities to foreigners for
understanding our monetary system; and in this respect it has
advan