The Hawk-eye and Iowa patriot. (Burlington, Iowa) 1839-1843, 1840-07-30

The following is an extract from the
Speech of Hon. Mr.. OSBORNE, on the
Sub. treasury Bill. That bill, which will
operate so iniuriously on the working
men Of the country, and which is to bene-
fit nobody but the holders, is now
the law of the land. Mr. Van Buren, has
now the sword of the nation in one hand,
and its purse in the other.
In connection with this subject, new
doctrine has been recently advanced
which deserves the grave consideration of
the American people. It is now alleged
that. under our system of credit and pa
per money, we have too greatly enhanced
the price of property and the cost Of pro-
duction. Those who adopt this reason
ing say that prices depend on the qean-
tity of currency, and that as you increase
or diminish the amount of circulating me-
dunn, iii the same proportion you en-
nance or reduce the nominal price both of
property and labor. A comparison is in
stituted between the U. States and Eng
land, France, and Germany and it is
alleged that the redundancy of our curren-
cy has SO greatly enhanced the cost of
manufacturing; that we cannot enter into
successful competition with these TO-
reign nations. The argument on this
point is so well stated in the printed
speech | hold in my hand, that I will ask
the clerk to read the passages | have
marked. The clerk here read the fol-
lowing extracts from the speech of Mr.
Buchanan, of Pennsylvania, delivered in
the Senate, January %, ls4O:1
Son Friday last, when unexpectedly
addressed the Senate, stated a principle
of political economy, which | shall now
read from the book. 1t is this: 8 that if
you double the amount of the necessary
circulating medium in any country, you
thereby double the nominal price of eve
~ article. If, when the circulating me-
dunn is fifty millions, an article should
cost one dollar, it would cost two, if,
without any increase of the uses of a cir
culating medium, the quantity should be
increased to one hundred Millions The
same effect would be produced, whether
the circulating medium were specie, or
convertible bank paper mingled with spe-
Gle. II is the increased quantity of the
medium, not its character, which pro-
iduces this effect. Of coursesI leave out
of view irredeemable bank paper
"The discovery Of the mines in South
America, and the consequent vast increase
of the precious metals put into circulation
in the form Of money, have greatly en-
HANGED the nominal price of all property
throughout the world. aF
"The United States carry on trade
with Germany and France; the former a
hard-money country, and the latter APP
preaching it it SO nearly as to have no
bank notes in circulation under the demo-
mination Of FIVE hundred francs, or near
lily one hundred dollars. On the contrary,
1.-THE United States is emphatically paper
money country, having eight hundred
! banks, of issue; all of them emitting notes
| of denomination as low as Ave dollars,
and most of them one, two, and three
dollar notes. For every dollar of gold and
silver in the vaults of these banks, they
issue three, four, and FIVE, and some of
them as high as ten, and even fifteen, dol
! lars of paper, This produces avast but
| ever-changing expansion of the currency !;
and consequent increase ofthe prices of
jail articles, the value of which is not re-
gulated by the foreign demand,i above the
Iprice of similar articles in Germany and
]. France. AT particular stages of our ex-
pansions, we mightwith Justice apply the
principle which IhaveI stated to our trade
with these. countries, and assert that,from
the great redundancy Of our CURRENCY. ar