The spirit of democracy. [volume] (Woodsfield, Ohio) 1844-1994, 1846-04-11

destruction by the generosity Of Hol-
land and France.
France has tried both paper and gold,
and the study Of six years of her histo-
ry-the study Of it from 1899 10 1906 !,
from the exclusive deprecated paper.
currency Of the Republic to the exclu-
sive specie currency Of the Empire
will teach all nations the easy way to
reform ruined currency, and 10 recoy-
er the solid one, which-is the only sure
basis of public and private-of nation.
al and individual prosperity. When,
Bonaparte became First Consul, in 1893
the currency of France was far worse
than ths.t Of Michigan or Mississippi at
this moment. Neither the Govern
n,ent nor the people had specie; moth
ing but assignats and mandals. wholly
mconvertible and ruinously depreciat-
ed; yet, in ixyears that great man had
chased away paper, and brought in
about five hundred millions of gold and
silver; enough to revive industry, to
sustain prices to reward labor, to de-
hay the expenses of wars and of the
Imperial Court, to make roads, canals
and docks. and to build a navy; enough,
in word, for the habtual currency of
the forty millions of souls who consti-
tuted the population of the Empire.
Holland is another subject for the
study of the American statesman. A
small territory of eleven thousand square
miles, lying below the level of the sea; !;
drawing so feet water as Hudibros
rhymes it-and walled in 10 keep the
sea out; soil Of clay, sand, and loam,
a disadvantageous climate, without a
mine, fossil, stone, mineral, or a
forest tree; this little country, so small
in itself, and so little favored by nature,
besides the pre-eminence which it at
taired in agriculture, manufactures, and
commerce; in military and naval war
fare; in learning and science, in the
useful, and in the fine arts, besides all
this. this little country constituted itself
the SPECIE WAREHOUSE OF EU-
ROPE AND AMERICA! lending gold
TO all nations, to emperors, kings, and
princes; to cities, states, and corpora
tions, TO this city even, which, with Its
SIX millions ofclIartered bank capital,
was unable to pay back either princi-
pal or interest, and must have been
sold upon thirty days notice at public
auction, if the United States had not
assumed the debt. This is Holland, a
country which has no paper money
banks, but has merchants who are able
to save the Bank Of England and the
Bank Of the United States from break
ing like glass; merchants who are able
to lend gold by the million at four per
centum per annum, while we give two
per cent. month for deprecated pa
per; who are able to purchase every
dry goods store in such State as Mis-
souri,, (St. Louis included,) pay down
for them and burn them up, and never
know that they had lost anything ex-
cept by the change offgures at the foot
of the balance sheet. This is Holland,
and her merchants, who never saw a
bank note; and yet we have dry goods
merchants in Missouri, whose store re-
al strong man could run stick through
and hang over his shoulder and walk
off with, and who undertake to per-
snade people that they can do no bust
ness at all--can creditnohody, andmust
sue every body unless they have a
branch OF the United States Bank 10
accommodate them with paper credits.
Yes sir, this is Holland, the specie mag
azine of Europe and America; the mead
ow and the garden of Europe; the hap
py home Of rich, moral, and tranquil
population of2O0 to the square nile and
which has made itself what it is. not by
building paper credit banks, and bor-
rowing money on the resources of pos
terity, but by INDUSTRY, ECONO-
MY, HARD MONEY, AND SHORT
CREDIT.
Holland is the country for our states
men to study, but ii she is too distant,
let them cross over TO the island Of Gu
ba, and there see population of less
than one million and near one half OF
them slaves carrying on an immense
commerce, building commercial city
second only to new York in the New
World, paying twenty-one millions Of
dollars annually in direct and indirect
contributions to the Government, pay
ing high for wages, produce and prop
erty, and doing the whole upon gold
alone and the commercial bill Of ex-
change. ! say, and repeat upon gold
alone, and this bill of exchange, for
bank note Of any kind, and piece OF
silver, except Of twenty-five cents or
under, for change, is not to be seen up
IN the iSland