The Sun.
London, England, 1870-01-13 00:00:00

licans into disrepute, and he used the Times as sn
effective tool. " The new Congress," wrote that
gentleman on the 10th Nov., 1863, " with the ex-
ception of the seven members of the House from
New Hatnpshire and Connecticut, and a few of the
Senators, is now chosen, and the results show that
he greenback party has a decided majority in the
Representatives." Proceeding, he elaborately ana-
lysed the composition of the House, taking State
by State, all carefully grouped into sections of the
Union. For New England he gave 26 in favour of
gold, and 1 for greenback redemption. From. the
Middle States all the Democrats, lee said, are pledged
to greenback payment, adding, " But it is probable
that 3 or 4 of the New York Citymembers, when the
pinch comes, will vote for gold payment, together
with the entire Republican delegation from New
York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Delaware, and
West Virginia ; making 41 for gold, and 21 for
greenbacks. The 33 Southern members, Republican
and Democrat, will be for paper payment ; while
probably many of them would oppose any pay-
ment at all if they had the chance. In the West
nearly every member has put himself on record
against gold payment, and both the Republican
anal Democratic parties in that section support
greenbacks. Deven Western ,members, however,
way vote for gold payment ; the other 83 will vote
solidly against it. The four members from the
Pacific States are put on the gold side of
the question," and the correspondent's conclusion
is that eighty-two Representatives would be for
gold and 145 for greenbacks. On this, as usual the
7 rotes wrote a leader, representing that the coun-
try, in returning a majority for currency redemp-
tion, had pronounced in favour of that financial
arrangement. We asked investors not to be guided
by this, pointing out the object of the correspon-
dent as well as his errors of fact, and giving the
reasons why " greenback redemption was not the
policy of the people's representatives, nor of the
Senate, nor of Grant. That it was inexpedient,
indeed too plainly foolish, for men of ordinary
ability to adopt, the Legislature being composed of
men of ordinary ability ; finally, that there was
not sufficient temptation for the measure, the wealth
and progress of the country giving promise of
ample means to meet all requirements." These
were our words on the 28th November, 1868, in
reply to the Times. The House met on the 4th
December, and immediately passed a resolution by
154 votes against 6, declaring all forms of repudia-
tion of the national indebtedness odious to the Ame-
rican people, whose representatives will not offer to
the national creditors a less amount than the Go-
vernment has contracted to pay." It was imme-
diately said, this is from the old Congress, notwith-
standing our assertion that the new was sub-
stantially the same as the old ; but the new
met in March, and instantly passed a similar
resolution, meeting again last month, and giv-
ing the coup de grace to the solitary repudiator
found within its ranks ; the very representatives, of
every shade of opinion, thus carefully classified, de-
nouncing as infamous the very measure for which
the Times asserted there was a majority of nearly 2
to 1. With such a fact before English eyes (see
Times, November, 1868), we ask, whether tbey will
follow this financial guide ? 'We do not desire to
prove how wholly erroneous were the other predic-
tions of the correspondent. A deficit in the re-
venue he clearly foresaw ; the election of Seymour
he confidently announced ; all after " careful sur-
veys," and a parade of figures calculated to impress
even the well-informed. We cannot, however, pass
unnoticed a remark in a recent article of the Times
comparing 5-20's with Consols, the former at 87,
though paying 6 per cent., the latter at 93, while
yielding but 3 per cent., which, it says, is the pub-
lic estimation of the relative security. In the first
place, the arbitrary and absurd exchange valuation
makes the U.S. Bonds appear some 8 or 9 per cent.
lower than they really-are; in the next, the holder has
to cash his coupon at New York,exercising an injurious
influence on the value of the Bond in England; then,
as an American loan, interest must be in propor-
tion to the value of money in that country. British
Consols in America would not fetch 50 as a mere
investment, nor will U. S. Bonds be voluntarily
held in America at a lower rate than six per cent.
The interest is not the measure of security as insi-
nuated by the 'limes,
imes but the value of money where
the loan is floated. In England capital is cheap,
and therefore London is the best market for the
new Bonds. A writer from Edinburgh calls our at-
tention to a charge made in the limes against the
States of the Union, that all except Massachusetts
had in one way or another repudiated. This, as
usual with that journal, is untrue. California, for
instance, has always paid in coin ; many States
have little or no debt at all, such as lowa ; others
are new, and have not yet had even the opportu-
nity of repudiating. The South suspended after
the ruin of the war, but is doing its best to meet its
liabilities ; Virginia notably so, while Tennessee
and South Carolina have lately introduced bills for
the payment of their State Debts in gold. That
there are States which raised loans abroad in coin,
and paid the interest iti greenbacks, as did Pennsyl-
vania, we admit, but they are not only marked ex-
ceptiousibut daily growing more exc, ptional. Take,
for instance, Governor Hoffman's message to the
New York Legislature telegraphed ou Wednesday.*
He urges legislation to secure the payment of the
principal and interest of the New York State Debt
in coin,declaring that " the currency payment, which
has been going on since 1863, has been a practice
of bad faith and bad policy, and a virtual repudia-
tion." Supposing the Debt had been raised in the
United States and not abroad, the interest being
payable in foreign countries, it is open to question
whether a Government is any more bound to repay in
coin than is a mortgagee. Both, from a high feel-
ing of honour, may do so ; but when they do, there
are those who consider it to be more a proof of a
keen sense of honesty, than paying in legal tenders
the interest on a loan borrowed and before paid in coin,
is of dishonesty. If there was a suspension of specie
payments in England, and Bank of England notes
while remaining alegal tender fell in v.ilue, how many
debtors would make up the difference when settling
with their creditors? Not to do so far a loan raised
abroad would partake of repudiation; but what
about at home ?—and it is this to which the Times
alludes with regard to some States.