New-York tribune., 1842-03-22
Pc; To- Trrzre,
The Precious NTctaI-


c'l!atiar AIodiuIT. haze been progressively
lleeJ: ina, ,:.cy take her names from s::ce
the: respectively perform ard I'M: each IN Is or
der"as bu; adding a-oth"riaciity % those before
II existence in the Transaction OF business The
first i: order .PFears 10 7aye been the C'srTea
OK, which K acit.ar r1o-e nor less than ne pre-
c;ous metals themselves n ;heir an:ashioned
star and these are strictly speaking exactly
wha, constitutes the Currency now. ard wili
passed with q view to change the character or
Introduce scn2etning else. /: Early understood
that gold ond silver po-.sssed Qualities peculiar
70 themselves which rendered them ia:rinsicay
valuable, and because OF tnese qualities they we're
esteemed and .aued By 81 nations. whether CIV
;lizc4 or Baroaraus. and oceause Of this tFey BE-
came cugrcnt#ll1c world OYER. This induced Ne
tia1s 20 pass regulations L: reatio. :l1esa
ra!s- Primarily they passed b Weight.
ounce Of gold being deemed wo-:i= times
. much as ,lvc:.: j. i then #evideH, hiatt was
ne currency o: the metals from which me: derived
the name of TIE CuaREscY.-
The next in order appears haze ben The
! Standard of Value or the con=;tSelf, aud lis IN
PRODUCTION seems 10 have been The result OF ne
cessi,y, and its to have beea perpetusted By
il practical utility.
The Inconvenience 5ttcndan; on weignin. these
metals and giving them the divisions necessary in
common transactions and The fraud likely 10 be
rractised When left to individuals. induced gov
ernments - take the ehtirc regulation Int. their
own hands and &c establish standard al which
each metal shall be received and 10 designate the
exact quality each piece Of metal contained and
to SO marx each piece as to preycnt fraud and i'm
position. These metals, 50 marked and stamped
the mint are .thc Standard by which all ex-
changes of property governed and take their
name NEUTRALITY-SUSPICIOUS. OF VALUE.
The next and last in order Is the ClRcuLArISG
MEDIUM, which in the United States is Bank pa
per and nothing else, and FOR the that there
is other medium that circuates Bills OF ex-
change are medium BY which property Is trans
tcrrcd from one individual to anothcr-tEus bv
means OF q bill of exchange on Par. or Lo;don
merchant dng at Newly ork becomes possessed
OF property in either Of those places A deed i.
the medium By which the purchaser becomes pos
scsscd Of 4 house and lot; but the deed Is not the
house and lot, nor are the house and lot the decd:
and il is exactly the same with the currency
and the circulating ncdiur7.@Thc currency is
real property COINED nnconcel( AZ much a. the
house and lot; tho utility OF the com IS simply TO
designate q given quantity for any and every par
tlcular transaction, and the paper medium is that
by which the holder becomes possessed Of the
coin It's equivalent, wliiislying in the vaults of
the Bank. and by which il may bc transferred to
thousand individuals without=being once with
drawn
The standard of value bring established, those
becoming possessed of large quantities OF coin,
found it attendant witll-tlc same or more care
than ordinary property, and that the recept=and
delivery were attended with the same or more
care than ordinary property To avoid this n safe
place OF deposit was sought and the property OF
great number of the Individuals placed me
care of one man, whose duty ii was to attend TO
the receipts and delivery OF the whole. This indi-
vdual took his name from the bench on which he
sat or the table al which he transacted his bust
ness, and was termed from Bench Banker.
The written receipts Of this individual were
evidence ef deposit and became the medium BY
which tho holder of them could transfer his prop
erty on deposit to another, without the trouble Of
counting and handling the coin, but this medium
did not circulate. because it vas not sufficiently
well known. In process of time, however Bank
paper took the place of these receipts and being
uniformly known passed from hand to hand taking
its name from the Office ii performs and is called
THE CIRCULATING MEDIUM.
The business of the individual Banker will be
prescribed to the circle OF those who become ia
niliary acquainted with him. and for his iIlme-
tiatc neghborhood may afford all requisite IA
ciliticS.
The circulation of State Banks mus; neccssa-
rv be confined within the limits that confnc the
authority that gave them birth; for il is not be
presumed that the Authority can be conferred By Il
power which shall be more extensive than the
power granting it, Each State can e.isatc for
tsclt hut not for lis neighborS. Hence the i'm
proprietv OF State institutions attempting to fur
nis a paper medium which in It's circulation shal!
! be cocN,cnsiye with the United States. Tie an
sardi,v is as grca,us the suppo>tion that tie Uni
| ted States could furnish! medium that would cir
culatc cc-cxtensiyely with thedomnons Of Great
Britain and France. or that either of these powers
could furnish medium that would circulate CO.
extensively with the bounds of the United States
I Each in its respective sphere has night to fur
nisli "a medium that will circulate for itself, but
NAV not interfere with that#ot lis rcighbors.
Tie States may by State Institutions furnish
medium that Will circulate the extreme bounds
of the States and Territories over which they have
control
/ In their original introduction and u.s.. TIE Cur
rGScY. the STANDARD OF VALUE. and the Circu-
+ luIiug Medium were considered essentially der
yrlt in ;l.sir nature, their quality and their
and it is worthy the consideration Of Legislators
and others whether they sot as essentially 80
now as a, any former period, and whether the sub
ice, OF currency and exchange has not be,tl greatly
! nvstifcd by inatlention to facts here stated, and
whether return 10 first principles in lesislating
upon this vcxed qucstionwoul not relieve ittronl
ali the difficulty with which it How appears sur
rounded.
thai ,llcs,, three lhitlcs AZ essential