Lynchburg Virginian. [volume] (Lynchburg [Va.]) 1829-185?, 1840-04-02
h.as alns A..
From he RlclmanR uhip
TO HENRY CLAY. ESQ I'm.

10 HENRY CLAY, ESQ .--LeHer Is
WHEN NJ the elnse Of the general war in Europ,
the Emperor Alexander lunkca INTO i',r state Of h,
/ Finanees, lie found the fnh oil the Iovr,nn-,
pledged 10 an amount almost inralcnl,ble. IN
evidences OF public debt consisted for the mos
part. oi u sort 81 Gostfument paper, or rrcasur
/ notes. NJ low rate Of depreciation Ills pnpr
] iptmed almosi The only currency Of tho sntnf, =
he rest consisted ehnt fly OF ltt'e copper Coins. I,
"hIrh an Arbitrary value WAS affixed, aud whel
answered NO pntpnse n basis Tor the pancr Gu,
frnev The paper nj the Government testified Ina
ne Government had received from the holder
'aine equal to ITS noninal anaonui, While To hin
was not woth the tenth patt Of that value.
Mugs and Empefnfs are TAT above the ofdi
nary temptations Of enpidts that thry must b,
very wicked, or they arc apr 10 be oetably honest
Houesiy IL the isi virtue that fails in the tuies nj
y Tree people. Ina ltspot il survives all The rest
me Emperor Alexandei being "indlllrtent honest
told his ministers thu this debt must be naid ana
they told him that The Thing was impossible lie
resolved. however. thni he would do ulat he could
and ha', If The princifal dehl could nol be paid he
would al least nny the interest. 70 effect thIs lie
issued ukase aothnrizng The holders Of Govern.
mrn' papero pay II into the Treasury. AID 10 re-.
feNc IN exchange lpr II, scrip for Government slor
hearing interest, 10 b. regularly paid in speeie.
10 make sure OF the means 81 paying this in
iefes' IN specie II WIS deemed necessary 10 require
the payment of all ia9cs and Gorernntent dues ).
specie so that tie circulating medium not di-
bui merely convertible into sfa,k.
The Offer was eagerly caught ~, for II a1o tded !,
ptosp Ct /" tie hodei Of receiving yearly. ~ wa,
OF utter ST, sum not much less than the whole
market value Of the paper he held. The cunse.
gus nee was. MT The rhpef Was poured into the
lieasury from evrry quarter, and il seemed rs If
the Whale would be presently absorbed.
Now let II be remembered that the issue Of y base
currency or baseless paper, IN any community
mas the inevitable tendency 10 dive uu, all beuer
currency, aud TIM, "hcfe hire is enough Of The
spurious to Fl all The channels OF commerce.. the
o'he' will rntneiy disappear. So 1t had been in
tins case. The Gove,nmert paper had beeon,c nj.
most tho only oneullting medium Of the empire
aud when II was thus sndlenl, sucked into Tie ynt-
tex OF the Treasury, the channels Of commerce. be
e"n to be laid b,le. Sn many. IN their caGrrness
10 Fund lhcir paper. elt themselves without the
means Of purchasing mlIaf they wanted that the
competition among buyers dlninishrd. and lie lev
who remained Ia IN irkei bo lphi NJ lower plccs. In
other words, the market value Of the paper rosr,
and as the supply continued diminish, the Va "
G niinued TO use. Meantime interest Tell due aud
II was punttualiy pad II was found that thr slne,
was worth as much any oihe, stock. There is
nHthUg tl'd fuH eapnalisls would rather haVe
tl'an stock vel seened, atd yielding regular &c
tur"sof inntest atd II is the great eapual st WIN
fixes the value ni all enitffty. TIE paper, there
lore began 10 apptoell par value; but rs long rs
was at all bel pa, the process OF funding wuuld
go ON, aud the dnlintion OF The supply w,,Ild b.
{ II nrutr and more. The tandn did o on, aud he
regular pay OF iafertsi nt1 ra,ed tie ftnc,
OF Stockholders. ull, h, the oompnnd operation Of
both causes, the pepet iosr par. As soon is
tlls took place II became ohvious Ihal IL was wurh
iar aud then . suit disclosed ltscii, b, Nhlrh III
bDncsy uI the En,p9er was rewarded by disco
very IN 6Ha 60 ,eartb more 10 DeSporsm Than Ill
me armies that haze done DE bddjag oJ Usnpers
and 1yraBts from Casa 10 .SgpotecR. . -
What lliai was aud Low our own fulels mean to
nv all ~ 81 YES NJ If Il In
As long as there was any difference in value be
tween the paper and spet let = fund holders would
mvari ,hly dIdw from thr Treasury their annual in.
tPrrsi IN sprcre. Bni "hen tie paper had ,lsen 10
par. aud heeoHe ffmly established asa uniform
stat dad OF value, tie lnducrmcnt 10 demand gold
aud silver from lie Treasury ceased H. great nlea
For all purposes bat dat uf paying Gov
eminent dues, it was no better than paper; aud TO
such as dad not want IL for lhal purposr, there was
motive 10 demand The payment Of Interest in spt
Gle. The result has been. mat. while all Govern
men dues Of every son paid in specie, H..
amount winch is pad ont 0i The Treasury Is COM
ea,arIeely sutall Hence tile amount Of bun on IN
the vaulis Of The Government has cons.an,y in
creased AID, at This mon cut, there is now IN the
bands of the Anoeral. a mass of specie more than
sufficient TO carry Russia through the Two longest
foreign wars she ever waged.
llu be asked how lhls monsirous accumulation
has taken place, there is Two fold answer. l. The
revenue IT Russia is ample aud all that she receives
aver aud above the interest Of her JcJi, remains on
hand. 2. Russia contains mines III the precious
metals, hardly less rich Han Hose Of the United
STATES. The pIodue ofthese nj cs is taken 10 The
mint, and the owners always prefer 10 take away
in pdper as much OF The proceeds as not wanting
lor The pnymeni OF taxes. Tie bullion is stored
am ay uncOHcd, lntle rs II wanted in I me OF
peace, aud II rs Of tbs uncOincd bullion that The
fund reserved loi the exigcucies Of future was To-
reig aud domestic, is composed.
But how is II that the continued Issue uf this pa
per Tor all the current expenditures uf the Govern.
mcni. docs moi food lie county at length with de-
prcciatcd currency The ppsweris thai the tx
change OF paper Tor scrip silli goes on. and IS long
there are great capitalists in the world. "hn wish
rs they always do, To invest ihtr funds in interest
paving stocks, well secured. any excess Of Taper
unhesna,ingly funded The Governments indeed
goes deeper aud deeper Ia deb, year but "A,
The whole expenditure falls ff sljurt Of he ~huie
revenue il ia every dag more and more able t. IN e
+ its engagements. TIN lale uf exchange affords an
j unei,iue INDICATION 81 any excrss OF paper and d
reefs the h0l leisto tic never failing tciney Of fund
ing. II Al any moment, tins Is carried too far. lli,
new issues Of Government soon make up The def
cheney and thus Russia is supplied wnh a circula
ting metlinn, mote st1doftu III snpply. and more
stable in value, ihao any oer nnder the
What, thcn can be iofe cnylable than tie CEN
mcrclal con'nlon oil feople blessed with such q
system! Nolliog-so tong as The Governn. em i
ADMINISTERED by an Auiocrai, Distinguished ier abb
/ ity, hun,anity and Justice. Dnt let the ibone b
6ed by Coran odus Duuiiiap. who mus
wash his hands csriy Inurntng IN the hes blood q
the Empire let an Elagabelus appear to waste la
substance Of tie people in The indulgence cf ht
beas,Iy luXuties-let The even. handed justice ~ cl
IS alike cairluI d the iighls sud h1ppness ni tin
subject, whether on the shores of tie Il 'lric, liz