Washington telegraph., 1849-08-15
From the N. Y. Courier 8- Enquirer.
NATIONAL CURRENCY.

From the ~ Y. Courier $ Enquirer.
NATIONAL CURRENCY.
We have received pamphlet signed "Pster
Scriber," dated New York, l849, and addressed
'to the people of the United States in general and
to their representatives in Congress in particular"
in which the writer brings forward as original q
proposition for national currency, which in our
judgment, is very far superior 10 any other which
has been proposed. Our correspondent is in &C.
stacy with it, and well he may be, for. if Congress
could rise above all party considerations and look
only to the welfare Of the whole nation, there
be no doubt but the plan proposed would be very
promptly adopted.
We annex the plan as presented in this pamphlet
by Peter Scriber:"
"To secure sound national currency, such
shall be of equal value at all points of the Union,
wherever the trade and intercourse of our people
may extend, very brief and simple law Of Con-
gress would sufce and that law to be in substance
as follows:
The Secretary of the Treasury is hereby directed
to receive from such State institutions as shall be
authorised to issue notes for circulation, by the
laws Of said States respectively, an amount Of u.
S. stock, bonds, or treasury notes, not exceeding
ehaf the amount of the actual capital Of said
institution, and shall cause an equal amount of the
notes of SAID institution to be stamped and counter
signed in the words following. TO wit:
Receivable in payment of sums due to the Gov
ernment Of the United States, according to act
of Congress, approved --*--* A. b.,
register.
And it shall be the duty of the said Secretary
of the Treasury to hold the said deposited stock,
bonds, or treasury notes security for the
dempton of said notes thus stamped and counter
signed as aforesaid--payilg over to the depositors
the accrung interest Oh same so long as said notes
OF circulation continue to be redeemed in coin, on
demand, where issued, but in the event of inability
or refusal to redeem said notes by the institution
issuing the same, then and in that case it shall be
the duty of the Secretary of the Treasury to ad-
vertise and sell the deposited stock, bonds, or
treasury notes, which shall have been deposited as
aforesaid, and apply the proceeds thereof 10 the
final redemption OF the notes SO stamped and coun-
tersigned as aforesaid.
And it shall further be the duty of the Secretary
of the Treasury to give to the institutions Of the
several States, and at such points of trade and
commerce shall be most convenient for such
trade and interchange, pro rata share OF the
operations of this act, so lar as the same shall be
also most convenient to the treasury of the United
States And that the amount Of circulating notes
to be stamped, countersigned and registered by the
Treasury Department shall not at any one time
exceed, in the aggregate, the sum of - millions
OF dollars.
And it shall also be the duty Of the treasury
department to report to Congress, from time to
time, the operation of this act and the practical
working of the same" Here should follow the
necessary law for Furnishing the crime of altering
or counterfeitng the stamp or countersignature of
the Treasury, the notes OH which the same may
be made.)
SNOW it is respectfully conceived that law in
substance above would at once furnish the
country with the very best description of SOUND
national currency-one that could not be inflated,
or exceed the amount authorized by the law. 1t
could be diminished or extended crcumst ances
xl.,tat Ill ala,
gether if found 10 work detrimentally to govern
ment, any leading interest Of the country; and
in can the government or individuals be
exposed to loss in using such currency; for, be-
sides the ability of the banking institution issuing
it, under the worst of times, at least to redeem
portion the whole amount is based upon the best
security known to the country. 1t would be
currency good in any State of the Union as the
present currency of New York is equally good in
every ward Of the city. based il is a deposit
of New York Slate stock, as this national currency
would be, based the stock, bonds. or treasury
notes of the United States"
That the plan is a good one-n our opinion the
very best that human ingenuity has devised a
substitute for United States bank, and superior
to such institution, because it does not admit
of aa unnatural expansion, and is not based upon
individual credits--we think there can be no ques-
ton. Let it be adopted, and at every collection
district in the United States banks,
according to the wants Of the country, would inn
mediately issue the requisite amount Of such reg
stered paper, which would be nearly at par
throughout the entire Union. While the Bank
of the United States was national institution aud
its bills receivable in payment of government dues,
the bills Of its branches at New Orleans, on the
Gulf Of Mexico, and at Portland in Maine were
always within one quarter OF one per cent. of par
in this city; and simply because they were receva-
Sle everywhere in payment OF government dues.
Declared by the register of the treasury, some
duly appointed government agent, 10 be good in
payment of government dues, bank bill thus is
sued in Texas, Wisconsin, Portland, Florida
would be just valuable in this city as WASH
ngton Baltimore bill. and could nuver fall below
quarter per cent. discount, because at that rate
they would always be in demand by persons hav-
ing duties to pay to the government. In short,
for all practical purposesAfor all the purposes OF
commerce, for circulation everywhere throughout
this widely extended country--they would oe at
par, and it would only be in making deposits at
bank that foreign bank note of this description
would not be as good as the notes of local banks.
For that matter, we cannot now deposit in bank
the paper of any bank out of this city; and so it
would be then, except that in no contingency
whatever would the discount on such registered
bank bills, not where Issued, be more than
a quarter per cent. 1t is impossible for the mind
to conceive of a perfect currency; and We
indulge the hope that the Secretary of the Treasury
will at his earliest leisure turn his attention to this
subject and give it the deliberate consideration 30
imperatively demands.
But "Peter Scrber" is not alone in his advocacy
of this measure. He claims it original con-
cepton of his financial brain; and of course it does
not become 10 question the accuracy of the
anon ymous pamphletcer. 1t is worthy OF remark,
however, that the late comptroller of this State in
his last annual report suggested this Identical
species of currency. We quote from that report,
published early in February last:
"If Congress would authorise such notes as