The Madisonian., 1840-02-18
Ffcn, ths Richmond Waig'
TO HENRY CLAY, Esq.
LETTER KIN.

n -.
IL debt consisted for the most part oi sot oi ~
vernment paper. or Treasury notes, 81 low ~ =
depreciation This psreI iofmed almost he Ia ~" aC
rency OF the country The rest c"nss@u ','"' =
hule oonper coins TO which an arbitrary 'aue va
aaixod aud which answered purpose as basis -.
,ha n.ner currency The paper Of the oosern'hen'
,est,6ed that the Government had received rom INC
holder value equal iis nominal amount, "h"e y
MN II xas not worth lhe tenth part OF ihai value
Kia,. snJ Fmnerors are so far above the ordinary
.mnaiions of cnpdlty that they must be very wekeo
or they are apt be tolerably honest Honesty 70 'o
first virtue that fails in the rulers Of Tree people ~
despo il seryicesal the rest Jhe Emperor aesanue'
he,ng indifferent honest" told his ministers that his
dehts n,us be paid and they told him that the thing
was impossible IIe resolved, however ths, he would
do what he could aud that, II the principal deh cond
nu, be paid he would at least pay The interest 10
eject ibls he issued ukssc authorizing The holders o'
Government paper to pay into the feasuiy anu -
receive in exchange for H. scrip for Government s'oeA
bearing interest. 10 be regularly PAID ~ specie.
To make sure Of the means Of paying tins interest
in specie il deemed necessary TO require me P"
men, Of all fares aud Government dues an specie, SO
that the circulating medium was not directly Iedeoma-
ble IN CON- nor receivable for taxes but merely con-
vertible into stock. =
| The offer was eagerly caught at for u afforded
prospect The holder OF rtcesing yearly hy way oi
| interest a sum much less ihan the Whole market
| value OF the paper he held The consequence MAS
that The paper poured into the Treasury from every
quarter and il seemed if the whole would be pre-
! Sen'ly absorbed
| Now let il be remembered. that the issue Of base
currency or a bsseless paper, in any community has
the inevitable tendency drive out all better CURRENCY
and that where there enough OF the spurious 10 M
all the channels Of commerce, the other VIII entirey
disapnoar So il had boon N this case. The Govern
meut paper had become almost the otly circulating mo
dlum OF the empire, ard when it thus suddenly
sucked into the OF the Treasury the channels oi
commerce began to he laid bare so many, IN their
esgerness fund their paper lett themselves whont
the means OF purchasing what they wahted That Tue
competition among buyers diminished, and the few who
renamed Ia market bought at lower prices. In other
worcs the market value Of the paper rose, and as the
supply continued diminish, the value continued %
rise Meantime ineres, fell due aud II was punctuslly
paid 1t was found that the stock was worth as much
as any other stock There is nothing that great capt
tsss would rather have than stock well secured, and
Welding regular returns OF interest," and Is the great
capitalist who fixes the valne OF all currency Inc pa
per- therefore began TO approach par value but as
long as was at all below par the process OF funding
would 90 on and the dinlnuon Of the supply would
be felt more and The funding did 60 on, and
the regular payment Of interest increased the confidence
Of stockholders m by the compound operation OF both
| causes the paper par. AS soon as this took
place, it became obvious that it was worth par and
then result disclosed itself, by which the honesty OF
the Emperor was rewarded BY discovery m finance
uorfh more Despo'sm than all he armtes that hare
done Me bidding " UsarPns and Iyrams from Cas'r
10 Napoleon.
What that was aud how our rulers to
avail themselves Of H. proceed to show
AS long as there was any difference in value be
tween the paper and specie the fnnd.hoders would
invariably draw from The Treasury their annual in
terest in specie But when the paper had risen 10
par and became firmly established as uniform
Standard OF value, The inducement 70 demand gold
and silver from the Treasury ceased in great nea
sure. For all purposes, but that oi paying 10
vern emf dues il no better than papcr AMI TO
such as did not want il for that purpose there was
no motive to demand the payment OF Interest ~ Spe-
Gle. The result has been, that while all Govern
ment dues OF every sort are paid IN speete, the
amount which is paid ont Of the Treasury is com
paratively small Hence The amount of bullion in
the vaults of the Government has constantly M
creased and, at this moment there IS now III The
hands Of the Auiocra, mass OF specie more Than
sufficient 10 carry Russia through the two longest
| foreign wars she ever waged
| II il be asked how this monstrous accumulation
has taken place, there is a twolod answer l. Ihe
revenue Of Russia is ample and all that she receives
over and above the interest of her debt, remains on
hand 2 Russia contains mines of the precious me-
tails hardly less rich than those OF the United STATES
The product Of these mines is taken TO thc mint ana
the owners always prefer TO take away IN paper as
| much Of the proceeds are not wanting Tor the
payment of taxes. The bullion is stored away m
coined little is il wanted in time OF peace, and II
is Of this uncoined bullion that the fund reserved ior
The exisencies OF future wars, foreign and domestic
! is composed.
| Blu, how is il that the continued issue OF this pa
per for all the current expenditures OF the overn
ment does not food the country al length with de-
precIaled currency2 The answer is, that The ex
change Of paper for scrip still goes on and long
as there are great capitalists IN the world, VINO Wish
as they always do, 10 invest their iunds IN interest
paving stocks well secured, any excces OF paper IS
| unhesitatinsly funded. The Government, indeed
| gncs deeper and deeper in debt every years bur as
the whole expenditure falls tar short OF The whole
revenue il is every day more and more abe 10 meet
! It's engagements. The rate OF exchange affords an
unerring indication Of any excess oil paper, and d.
| holders
ing II al anv moment this is carried loo lar, lhe
new issues of Government soon make up me den
Cheney and thus Russia is supplied with a circula-
ling medium. more uniform IN supply, ano more
stable in value than any other under the sun
| What then, can be more envablt than the COM
| mercal condition of people blessed with such
SySteml Nnhng-so long as he Govefninent IS
administered BY an Aulocra distinguished Tor APT
lity, humanity, and justice. bu let Tue tntohe oe
| filled by a ConmuduS or Dpmiuan who must
wash his hands every morning in the best blood OF
the Empire-et an ElaeabeluS appear TO waste me
substance Of the people IN The Indulgence OF aus
beastlv luxurie>let the even handed lnstice "hich
is alike careful OF the rights and happiness oi the
subject whether on the shores of the Bdllc the
| Euxine or the sea of kamSca,ka, be exchanged
for system calculated TO enrich lhe cnvirons OF inc
Capitol, at the expense OF The provinces, ana Where
will be the remedvl No struggle can be success
inlly maintained by peope absolutely without
money, against a power commanding unoounded
pecuniary resources Let an surfettion take place
| OF sufficient importance 10 require the remedy, ana
nothing is necessary but to repeal the ukaSe aulho-
rizng the funding OF Government paper, and imme-
d,ately the revolving province will be leit without
1 the means OF buying musket blanket, or gun
/ flint, while This measure would cost the Empire no
hlng more than temporary issue al specie from the
| Treasury. While contemplating the colossal pow.
er Of Russia, | was in the habit oi thinking
that her ambition might defeat itself, and that by
pushing her conquesis on the Danube ana me black
Sea- she was preparing the severance OF her Empire.
Il eemed impossible that the inhabitants OF coun-