Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1837-10-13
VERMONT PHGNIx.
Friday Mornine, ocsober b, 1887.

converted into coin at sight, at the pleasure
Of the holder. Nothing short Of this can be
currency, because nothing else will pass for
any considerable length Of time without loss
The object Of a currency is TO furnish a
measure of value, and convenient element
20 give and receive in exchange for all the in
Vulnerable productions Of human skill and
labor. II is the living principle Of trade
and commerce, as air is OF animal life; and
although air, it may from time TO time fuctu
ate, il will, hen not disturbed, find its level
among all nations who are connected by
commercial intercourse, and circulate in
each in proportion adequate to its wants.
In order that this may always be done with
facility, and without disturbance among ma
tions having such commercial intercourse,
this element must have the same character.
possess the same power Of expansion or con-
traction as the greater or less production Of
skill and labor, or, in other words, as all
sorts Of floating capital at any given time
may require A paper circulation, based
upon specie and always convertible into il
at pleasure, has such power; and il has the
power also OF regulating itself, while kept to
rigid specie redemption, approSimating to
that which sound trade and commerce may
at any time require And thus they mutu-
ally have healthy action and reaction on
each other. A soundcommcrce will always
indicate and regulate the amount Of curren-
cy necessary FOR healthy and vigorous cir
cuution; and a sound currency will compel
trade and commerce 10 confine themselves
10 their only legitimate, and therefore only
healthy purposes that is, TO an actual quid
~ IL
something Of value received. Although it
is indeed true tina, the foreign trade and COM
merce OF any one nation is seldom Of equal
magnitude aud importance as its domestic
transactions, or home trade. yet il is always
Of sufficient magnitude to prevent the nation
that has no circulation but specie, from car
rying on trade with foreign nations whose
currency is paper. with a specie basis Ma
lions whose circulation is redeemable pa
per, WILL as general rule always have at
least three times the amount OF a circulating
medium. as the nation whose currency is
confined to specie only. Now money al
ways rises in value in proportion 10 its
scarcity; and the whole floating capital of n
country sinks in relative value in proportion
as money rises. Upon this principle, which
is immutable. how could the United States,
with currency composed solely Of the pre-
cious metals. carry on profitable. or indeed
any, commerce with the European nations,
whose measure OF value is a currency ut
least three-iold in relative amount, and there
fore three times less valuable2 II is de.
monstrable that such commerce under such
circumstances. could not be carried on. Yet
this is the semi-bar barian state to which the
administration and its abetlors. are striving
to drive this commercial and enterprising
people.
We have already had little foreiasie OF
the practical results of such policy I'm.
porialions were made IRON Europe in antici-
patton Of the large growing cotton crop OF
1886, and in the expectation that the value oil
money and the equality OF exchanges would
remain the same as usual. But the policy
OF our government altering the mint value OF
gold, or in other words debasing tie coin
and the large and forced importaiions of gold
for such coinage, in order to make golden
eagles float up the Mississippi in profusion, ("
had operated gradual drain ofbnllion from
the bank Of England. the nation with which
we had the greatest commercial intercourse.
To counleract this drain, tina. bank refused
TO discount American bills Of exchange, and
other American paper. This paper relying
mainly upon the cotton crop for its redemp-
ton, and to an amount equal nearly TO the
immense importation for the year, was all pro-
tested. Embarrassment Immediately fell
upon mercantile houses in England connect
cd with the American trade These in their
turn strained the American importing houses
Tor the precious metals, Nothing else would
now answer To raise this the cotton crop
was forced into the market; and ruinous
loss Of no, less than forty per cent on the
whole crop was sustained A loss like this
upon such such immense transactions was
frightful and appalling. One by one the
ablest OF our importing houses. in most OF
our cities. failed or stopped payment The
rest is known.
II is impossible but that the coniriyers OF
this disastrous specie bubble, TO wit, Benton,
Van Buren,, aud their associates, must have
known what its pernicions operations would
be. To suppose them ignorant Of il would
imply in them greater degree of stupidity
than that shown by the idiot who blew him,
solf up with gunpowder, for the purpose oil
trying an experiment at flying. Yes, they
must have known its no distant fatal result
But they had two mighty projects in view
which could be carried only by some afro
cious and daring experiment upon the credu.
llly and gulibility of such wild and misin.
formed rabble as they supposed they held
sufficiently secure by the vile collar Of party
discipline and terrors. These projects we're