The Sun.
London, England, 1868-03-12 00:00:00

"SO WE GO!"

We have " assayed" some of the " deposits of finan-
cial wisdom of some of the financial doctors of those
extraordinary financial tunes. We start with that of
Secretary M'Culloch, as given in his last report. in
our opinion the Secretary is nearer right than any of his
Co-labourers on this question. Our view is that the
shortest road to a gold standard is the shortest road to
good times. The followinz measures are, in the opinion
of the Secretary, important, if not Indispensable :-1.
The funding or payment of the balance of interest-bearing
notes, and a continued contraction of the paper currency.
2. The maintenance of the public faith in regard to the
funded debt. 3. The restoration of the Southern States
to their proper relations to the Federal Government. The
Comptroller of the currency, lir. liulktud, as in duty

bound, pleads in accord with the Secretary, and at the
close of his Report shows that there are 300 millions of
gold in the country, and exclaims :—" Give these millions
their place. Make room for them by calling in the Legal-
Tender notes, the great disturbing element of our cur-
rency, and the- most expensive debt the Government has
incurred—gradually, if you please, but surely. Enforce

rigidly the redemption of National Bank notes. Retain
for the Federal Government supervision and control of the
currency of the country through the National Banks, mad
we may yet realize the great desideratum, a safe, uniform
currency, convertible into coin at the will of the holder."
Mr. Geo. S. Coe, President of the American Exchange
National Bank (per pamphlet) recommends —" To so far
modify the Act, that henceforth all transactions by agree-
ment made in coin may be legally enforced in coin or its
equivalent; and allow full liberty to fund the Legal-
Tender notes into bonds, as any holder may desire. Then,
"Every citizen who chooses to resume specie payments
for himself would be allowed to do so, the legal tender act
remaining in force for those who do not." "Mercator"
(Cowing., of Wall-street), proposes to solve the great
financial problem now before the Government and
people of the Unitel States thus : —l. To restore coin
to its legitimate position as standard money. 2. To
provide and sustain at par an abundant paper cur-
rency convertible into coin at the will of the holder. 3.
To retire all of our present issues of depreciated paper cur-
rency. 4. To consolidate the public debt into bonds bear-
ing a low rate of interest, with the principal payable at the
convenience of the Government. 5. To restore the entire
trade and commerce of the country, and the fiscal affairs
of the Government, to the specie standard, and maintain
them there. Mercator," shows, to his own satisfaction,
how all this can be done. "0. D. A." (Col. Ashley, of
Exchange Place,) recommends as follows :—" On and after
July Ist, 1868, the Secretary shall exchange at the rate of
one dollar in gold for one dollar and 30 cents in Legal-Ten-
der notes.

On and altar Jan. Ist, 1869, at
71 71 July Ist, „ „
„ „ July Ist, 1870 „
7/ . /7 July Ist, 1871 „
1, ~ July Ist, 1871 „
il 1, July Ist, 1873 „
7/ 71 July Ist, 1874 „

We like the Colonel for this one fact—he fixes a policy
for six years to come, provided something don't break.
The Hon. James Gallatin, in a pamphlet-letter to Presi-
dent Johnson, simmers a deal of wisdom into his "tenth"
truth of his "Financial Economy :"—" 10. The demorali-
zation of society progresses steadily under the blighting
influence of an irredeemable Legal-Tender paper money.
Religion, virtue, and honour decline. Vice becomes fa-
shionable. Gambling prevails in the marts of trade and
the financial centre, from the very necessities of the case,
because the slow processes of honesty, prudence, fore-
thought, and plodding industry are impracticable in occupa-
tions subject to the licentious reign of such paper money."
We close our " assay" of financial quartz by giving a
part of a Circular for Europe by one of the oldest Exchange
houses in Wall-street. We are sorry to admit that its
compound is too largely of the truth :
" Per City of Antwerp, New York, Friday, p.m., Jan. 31,
1868.—The tendency of gold is still upward, and the
principle of repudiation referred to in our last circular as
being plainly avowed in recent financial measures in Con-
gress is daily receiving fresh accessions of strength in
political circles, so that it is no longer safe to predict that
Congress will not order the redeemable 5-2') bonds to be
paid off in currency, nor even that they will not be made
subject to taxation in their present shape. The Western
votes will control the coming elections, and will be given
to that party which will bid highest for such expansion
of the currency as will send gold up to 150 and keep it
there, and the present enormous depreciation of the Go-
vernment currency sufficiently indicates the public appre-
hensions as to the course of business during the current
year.—WOTHERSPOON & CO."
Cisco, Clews, and some 50 other luminaries have
"Twinkled, twinkled in the sky." Also from same—"Finan-
ciering."—The amended bill, reported by Senator Sher-
man from the Committee on Finance, for funding the Na-
tional Debt, is in brief as follows :—Sec. 1. Authorizes a
5 per cent. 10 40-year bond, interest and principal in gold.
Sec. 2. The bends are named Consolidated Loan, and are
exempted from taxation, except for incomes, at such rates
as may be assessed on other incomes. Sec. 3. Ap-
propriates 135 millions per annum, with which to
pay interest on the whole debt, pay principal as it
falls due, and, if anything is left, reduce the debt.
Sec. 4. This is very important, and very muddy, so we
give it verbatim : "Five-Twenty Bonds shall, after the
expiration of five years from their date, at the option of
the holders thereof, be exchanged for the bonds authorized
by this Act; And such as are now redeemable (old 5-20's)
shalt be presented for exchange on or before the first of
November next, and not thereafter; and the residue to be
presented within six months after the expiration of five
years from their date, and not thereafter." Sec. 5. The
holder of greenbacks may fund them into these new
10-40 bonds, at any timo ; and the holders of any of
these bonds may present the same to the U. S. Treasurer,
and demand greenbacks, at par and accrued interest,
so long as the greenbacks outstanding shall not exceed
400 millions, and so long as the United States notes aro not
payable in coin. Sec. 6. Legalizes contracts payable iu
specie, anything in the several acts relating to Legal-Tender
notes, to the contrary notwithstanding. Comments.—The
4th section is a very singular piece of legislation. We
could not bAieve that any Committee on Finance had
become so demented as to say to the holders of the
5-20 Bonds you SHALL exchange them for a five per
cent. 10-40 Bond. This word shall is repeated in that sec-
tion, and becomes a mandate, a law, if the bill is passed ;
and then every holder of a 5-20 Bond must obey the law,
and make the change within the given time, or he violates
the law and is indictable. Ia the sth section, the
holder of a greenback is told that he may do a cer-
tain thing with it, and, after having done it, he may
go and undo it again ; and this doing and undoing
may continue for forty years, provided specie pay-
ments are not resumed. And here we make a point :
How can greenbacks ever be brought to gold
value in the face of, such a bargain ? Whenever Govern-
ment shall make an attempt to resume, these 10-40 Bonds
will surely be presented for greenbacks, so long as any
portion of the 400 millions of greenbacks is outstanding.
If Uncle Sam can resume with 400 millions of greenbacks
outstanding, then this bargain between the holders of
"Consolidated Bonds" and him may be all right. If not—
not. The 6th section is well in itself, but very much out
of place as a " bob" to such a kite.
SECOND SOBER THOUGHTS.
Does the Senate Finance Committee seriously intend
to take, " on call," at 5 per cent. gold interest, all the loose
money of the country, when nobody wants money, not
even the Government, and hold the Treasury ready to
repay, on demand, the whole amount, whatever may be
the condition of the Treasury? Does the Finance Com-
mittee intend to repudiate the bonds ',that are not pre-
sented for exchange, when the holders thereof shall have
violated the 4th section of their bill by declining to obey
he mandate of SHALL.

THE CENTRAL PACIFIC.—This company was organized
for the purpose of constructing a railroad from tide water
on the Pacific, east, through the States of California and
Nevada to such point as their work might meet that of the
Union Pacific Company building a road west on the same
central route. The point of junction will p •obably be in the
vicinity of Salt Lake. Having completed their road in 1866
as far east as Cisco, 93 miles from Sacramento, this
company have since extended it over the summit of the
Sierra Nevada mountains, and for 20 miles down their
eastern slope, making the entire part of their work now
finished and in running order 138 miles. The herculean
task of carrying a railroad track over this range of moun-
tains, 7,242 feet above the level of the sea—cutting 15
tunnels, au aggregate distance of nearly ono and a half
miles through solid rock—being now accomplished, it
is comparatively an easy task to reach the valley of
the Humboldt river during the year 1868, and Salt
Lake in 1870. The business of the road has steadily in-
creased during the past year, reaching a monthly gross
earning of $212,000. In addition to the Washoo and
Nevada business now passing over this road, the trade and
travel to and from the Owyhee mining district, Idaho,
.Montana, and Utah Territories, will largely increase
its future earnings. With their snow ploughs and
machinery for clearing snow from the track, there is
no serious difficulty experienced in operating the road
with regularity at all seasons of the year. This com-
pany have displayed immense energy and tact, and, not-
withstanding the fault-finding of ignorant, prejudiced, or
interested parties, the public have reason to feel not
only satisfied, but profoundly grateful to them for the
work they have accomplished. The company now
employ a force of about ton thousand hands, their ex-
penditures thus far having exceeded $15,000,000. The
mato of the road has now boon explored as far east
as the Wasatch mountains, beyond Great Salt Lake,
and found to bo generally favourable. The following are
the officers of this company : Leland Stanford, president ;
C. P. Huntington, vice-president; Mark Hopkins, trea-
surer; E. H. Miller, jun., secretary; S. S. Montague, chief
engineer ; Charles Crocker, superintendent ; E. B. Crocker,
attorney. Directors: Leland Stanford, C. P. Huntington,
A. P. Stanford, Mark Hopkins, E. H. Miller, jun., and
Charles Marsh.

-
(By Telegraph to the Journal of Commerce.)
LOUISVILLE, Feb. 20.—Tobacco : sales 1091hhds ; lugs)
$5 to $7 50 ; common to medium leaf, $8 to $l6 25.
Flour: superfine, $8 to $8 75 ; fancy, $l2 50 to $l3.
Wheat, $2 50 to $2 55. Corn, 75 to 80c. Oats, 61 to 70e.
Cotton, 22 to 22/e. Lard, 141 to 14/c. Mess pork, $24.
Bacon, shoulders, ll e ; clear sides, 141 e ; bulk shoulders,
101 c ; clear sides, 131 c.
NEW ORLEANS, Feb. 20.—Cotton market irregular ;
middlings, 231 to 23/e ; sales, 3,500 bales ; receipts, 1,424
bales. Exchange—Sterling, 151 to 154 ; New York sight
1c discount. Gold, 1391. Sugar and molasses unchanged.
Flour unchanged, sales slight. Corn easier at 97c to $l.
Oats unchanged. Pork nominally unchanged. Lard-15c
in tierce, and 16c in keg. Bacon scarce ; shoulders, rib
sides, 14c; clear 15c.
MOBILE, Feb. 20.—Cotton market closed quiet but firm ;
sales 2,800 bales. Middling 24c; receipts 1,06 bales; ex-
ports 5,477 bales.
AUGUSTA, GA , Feb. 20. Cotton market firm ; sales
820 bales; receipts 1,225 bales; New York middlings,
221 to 23c; sales for the week 6,360 bales; receipts, 6,315
bales.
SAVANNAH, GA., Feb. 20.—Cotton market opened excited
and closed firm but quiet ; sales 2,271 bales ' • middling 24e;
re3eipts 3,897 bales ; exports to-day 10,464 bales, of which
669 bales were Sea Island ; receipts for the week 23,137
bales. Exports, foreign-5,844 bales Uplands, 124 bales
Sea Island ; coastwise-8,433 bales Uplands, 93 bales Sea
Island. Stock 2,138 bales Sea Island, and 67,772 bales
Uplands. Sales-375 bales Sea Island, and 11,794 bales
Uplands.
CHARLESTON, S.C., Feb. 20.—Cotton market moderately
active and prices steady ; sales 9,000 bales ; middlings 23
to 231ci exports for the wok, to continent 189 bides ;

coastwise 11,400. Receipts for the week 10,920 bales.
Sales for the week 7,000. Stock 24,300 bales.
WILIKINGTON, N.C., Feb. 20.-S pirits turpentine firm at
60e. Rosins advanced ' strained and No. 25350 ; No 1
$3 75; pale $4 371. Cotton advanced and firm ; mid-
dlings 22c. Tar firm at $2 36.
BALTIMORE, Feb. 20.--Cotton excited ; middlings 241
to 25c. Flour-- Medium city mills shipping extra $l2,
to 121 ; high grades $12.25 to $12.50. Wheat quiet
and unchanged. Corn active and firmer ; white $1.15
to $1.20 ; yellow $1.17 to $1.20 ; mixed Western
$1.17. Oats firm at 78c. to 80c. Rye firm and un-
changed. Seeds inactive ; Eastern cloverseed $8.121- to
sB.lB* ; good $8.25 to $8.50 ; Western firm at $9. Pro-
visions very active, and tending upward. Bacon-shoul-
ders 121 c. ; bulk shoulders 111 c. ; do. loose 10c.
PHILADELPHIA, Feb. 20.-Cotton unsettled 'and ad-
vancing; middlings 27e ; stock nearly exhausted. Clover-
seed active at £7 50 to $8 50. Flaxseed at $8 30 to $8 35.
Flour steady, demand limited ; superfine $7 50 to $8 50 ;
extra $8 50 to $lO ; north western extra family $lO 50 to
$ll 50. Wheat comes forward slowly, and is steady at
$2 50 to $2 55 for red, and $2 60 for amber. Rye active ;
sales 3,000 bush. Pennsylvania at $1 70. Corn in fair
demand ; sales 3,000 bush ; new yellow at $l. 18. Oats
steady, at 80c. Coffee firm. Sugar finn. Molasses firm.
Provisions advancing. Mess pork, $24 to $24 25. Hams
in 'pickle, 151 c. Beef hams, $35. Lard, 15f to 151,c.
LOUISVILLE, Feb. 21.-Tobacco steady and -higher ;
lugs $5 25 ; common to medium leaf $8 to $l7 50. Flour
-superfine $8 25 to $8 75; fancy $l2 50 to $l3 50.
Wheat $2 50 to $2 55. Corn 75 to 80c. Oats 68 to 70c.
Cotton 22 to 23c. Lard 141 c. Mess pork $24 50. Bacon
-shoulders 111 c ; clear sides 141 to loc. Bulk shoulders
101-c; clear sides 134 c. Whiskey nominal.
111EMPHIS, Feb. 21.- Cotton dull at 2:31c ; receipts of the
week 11,961 bales ; export 12,660 do; stock 25,440 do.
Bacon dull ; clear sides 141 c ; shoulders 11 to 111 c ; hams,
141 to 17c. Lard scarce at 141 to 151 c.
Naw ORLEANS, Feb. 21. - Cotton unsettled ; middling
231 to 231 c ; sales 4,000 bales ; receipts, 4,329 ; exports,
2,052 bales; salesof the week 33,500 bales; receipts 25,676
bales. Exports-coastwise, 1,278 bales; receipts, 7,427 ;
stock 107,981 bales. Sugar-common 12 to 124 c ; fair
141 to 141 c ; prime to choice 15f 151-c ; receipts very
light. Molasses -receipts very light ; common 60 to 61c ;
prime to choice 75c to 75c. Flour dull ; superfine $9 75
to $10; treble extra $l2 95. Corn easier at 93 to 95c. Oats
dull at 84 to 85c. Pork unsettled at $25. Lard easier ;
tierce 141 to 141 c ; keg 151 to 151 c. Sterling exchange
152 to 154 c. New York sight exchange 1 per cent. dis-
count.

MOBILE, Feb. 21.—Cotton dull; sales 300 bales; mid-
dlings 24c ; receipts 1,282 bales. Sales of the week 23,700
bales; receipts 12,775 bales; exports—foreign, 18,111 do;
coastwise 3,494 do; stock. 67,999 do.
AUGUSTA, GA., Feb. 21.—Cotton active but easier ; sales
1,265 bales at prices ranging from 22 to 22ic for middling;
receipts 760 bales.
SAVANNAH, GA., Feb. 21.—Cotton opened quiet, became
excited and closed flat ; sales 359 bales middling at 231-c ;
receipts4,B99 bales ; exports—Liverpool 5,047 bales ; coast-
wise 931 bales.

CHARLESTON, South Carolina, February 21—Cotton dull,
and declined to lc ; sales 400 bales middlings at 23c.
WILMINGTON, North Carolina, February 21—Spirits :
turpentine buoyant at 65c. Rosin firm ; strained and No.
25265 : No. 1 at $3 37/ ; pale $4 25. Cotton weak ;
middlings 21c. Tar firm at $2 35.
BALTIMORE, February 21—Cotton firm; middling held
at 25 to 251 c. Flour dull, and nothing doing. Wheat
steady and unchanged. Corn dull and declined 2c; prime
white and yellow $1 17 $1 18. Oats stronger at 80 to 82c.
Rye unchanged. Cloverseed firmer; eastern $8 12i to
$8 75 ; western, $9. Provisions very firm. Bacon : clear
ribs 14 to 141 c. Lard, 15 to 151 c.