Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1836-05-05

had been devised, than the pretence
tnat Il IS possible or desirable to make
me currency Of this great trading com.
munlty Metallic Currency, entirely
or chiefly.
! The pretence was SCI up by designs
ing men for selfish purposes. Gid
Hickory was ticklei with the conce;t !
and being duped himself, has boon
made the Instrument of dipping others,
The various movements which have
been made, to bring about so great n
matter, have been all ridiculous, tho
some Of them have been also disastrous
las a monkey playing with gunpow.
der may cut ridiculous capers, and yet
blow his owners house to atoms. In.
deed, those intelligent men who pre-.
tend to think it great affair, must
laugh in their sleeves at the fooleries
with which the flats are gulled.
An entire metallic currency in this
or any other large trading country is
impossible in the nature ofthings. In
some countries, to be sure, the governs
ment emits no bills of credit, and no
bank notes. But ifnny credit is given
by one man to another, for goods, or
for land, or for any thing whatever.
there is an inroad made upon the hard
money system, for the debtors note.
or the creditors charge against him, is
not hard moncy--it is only the evidence
OF so much property in his hands; and
1t the note be taken up, or the bill paid,
oven If paid in other goods, i, was good
paper money; ifnot, it was bad.
lllustration.--Mr. Smith is a grocer,
rich and liberal, and Mr.. Greenfield
farmer, owning public place, tempe.
rate and industrious, but short oil cash.
lie buys sugar, and molasses, and tea,
in the spring, and gives his note to s.
on intesest, for pay. He hauIs in Pc.
tatoes in the fall, and turns them in to
s., and takes up his note. Here was
no hard money. His note was paper
money, and it answered just as well az
gold, for his purpose. and for S. also.
But suppose 5. to be short Of money
also, and let him sell G's. note to q
nelghbor, nnd we have banking as well
as paper money.
Another.--A. and B. are two Mer.
chants; A. buys cargo Of Flour Of
y. and is TO pay specie for it--but he
does not keep $4,000 III specie in his
breeches pocket, because il would be-
cumbersome; nor vet in his counting
room, because thieves might break in
and steal it; but deposits il in the bank
Tor safe keeping. 1t would be useless
for him to take il out and pay it over
to A. because he keeps his money in
the same bank, and can take it when
he pleases. He therefore writes a
billet to the Banker, desiring him to
pay the specie to A. A. does no,
want the money today, and so he
keeps the billet, (or il you please, the
check,) till tomorrow, and wanting
to pay like sum TO G. on that day.
he hands it over TO him, and thus BIS
check becomes paper money without
his getting charter to issue It. Some.
thing like this is done every day, now;
and 1t would be ten times more. if
there were no bank bills, and If specie
alone occupied the vaults.
| Again, specie currency is no better
than any other currency that is sound.
! Money is, in itself, good for nothing.
| The hen on the dunghil preferred a
grain Of barley to a diamond ring /;
and starving passenger, in disabled
J ship, would give bag of dollars for a
crust Of bread.
Nobody but a fool desires money
whether Of gold or paper, for its own
sake, but for the sake of what il will
buy. A negro man in Hayti buys a
hat for himselfand shawl for his wife.
ola yankee captain. for which he is to
pay 10 dolars--but the yankee knows
that the 10 dollars will be 100 pounds
of coffee. The coffee is his currency.
and IT answers the purpose Just as we'll
as gold. The coffee has an intrinsic
value, but its convenience as currency
does not depend on that,-but on the
fact that it is current.
In some parts Of Asia, shells are cur
rent as money, under the names of
cowries, and bags filled with these, seal~
ed and marked on the outside with the
amount, are paid and received by the
merchants. This is kind of money,
but it is not gold nor silver, and no one
will pretend that there is any real val
ue in purse of shells; yet, as they
will, by common consent, buy food and
raiment, and every thing people want,
they are money, and we see not why
they are not as good as any.
lfany body wants money to bury in
the earth, or to lay up in napkin, sill.