Martinsburg gazette. [volume] (Martinsburg, Va. [W. Va.]) 1833-1855, 1842-08-11
From he New ORLEANS Bulietin.

nanciers Of this country, that many mil
lions Of silver and gold have been unjust.
fiably swallowed up and kept out Of prop.
er circulation. This has been done in two
ways; and both these may be attributed
TO an unwonted and very false condition
Of the public mind relative to the supposed
wealth and prosperity Of these u. States.
The frs, of these ways" referred to was
the outlay ofpaper funds in immense guam.
titles OF gold and silver plate, and the enor-
nous amount oil both metals put into jew.
elry, at the call of men who riyalled their
wives in extravagant notions, and demand
ed equally with them, the most preposter-
Gus expenditures. The second, being
consequent upon the first, consisted in
boarded gold and silver, not as money, but
as something too rare and curious to
spend, after the experience Of the ills and
bad consequences of inflated credit and
false mediums ofcirculation. The amour.
of the precious metals converted into arii.
cles of luxury, show, and reriu, is q thou.
sand times greater than that Of the money
now boarded up us too precious TO spend:
but both combined, make a sum, which,
could we get at il correctly, would s,arts
the boldest advocate Of paper that ever
lived. No man can approximate 20 how
much has been diverted from the ordinary
channels Of trade. Ii has been so gene
raj as to defy research, and so penetrating
| TO all classes MS to eludc detection. We
have only 10 recollect-lhose for instance
who can recollect, for twenty years back,
the great diff renee between the value set
upon tho metals in lSl4-l5, and that
warded them by the public mind in 1886
to lS3o-ayc, poor as we ere, even to the
present day. Then how few were the
families who used silver forks? II was
considered remarkably gentee, and their
daily use stamped upon the us RS the seal
| Of accorded wealth. Now he who docs
rot use them, no matter how poor he be,
| If he would retain caste, Is considered vul-
gar and almost beyond the pale OF gen
tlemanly consideration. Recollec;, too,
how in those earlier days. gold watch
stamped the wearer as gentleman Of
wealth. II was the insignium Of the rich
mans son, and distinguished his daughter
at the ball. Even SILVER one was gen.
teel, and many man who now sports his
repeater" was then perfectly contented
with "pinchback. How change has
overshadowed all this i! 1t is no uncom-
mon thing TO see drayman or cah-drIv.
er with silver watch, and some Of tho
latter wear gold ones; but il is a common
thing TO see young clerks in stores or
counting rooms with gold levers Of three
hundred dollars value.
10 spectacles, this change Of public opin.
ion may be seen more plainly still. Even
in our day, we remember when a pair
mounted with light steel or tortoise shell
" bows" were very respectabe-silver
ones quite the fashion-but gold ones, in
dIcativc Of full purse and no debts. Now
the steel is disgraceful-the tortoise an
tlque and unfashionable-sil rather
vulgar, and gold not distinctive Of augh,
save a compliance Of fashionable necessity,
Such are the changes relative to opinion
extending the value Of silver and gold
and these alone without any other indica-
ton, are sufficient, to show the present
generation how Far we have wandered
from the wisdom of past times. We must
melt up this extra plate and change our
notions about luxury, would we come back
to those hcalthful days which made our
fathers contented, and therefore happy.
A letter from Washington to The New
Orleans Advertiser states that Captain
Wilkes, of the Exploring Expedition, has
brought home, among other valuable ar.
licles, 1000 charts, 1000 maps, 1000
specimens Of plants, 1000 specimens Of
fishes, $4,000 specimens Of shells, 1000
landscapes, $500 specimens of reptiles,
100 specimens of marine plants, looo